"Community"
Jan
21
Written by:
1/21/2012 11:33 PM
Greetings family!
I was reading a book by C.S. Lewis entitled Mere Christianity. The book is an exposition of the teachings of the Christian faith. In one section of the book, CS Lewis speaks of the importance of community. He teaches us that a community is the best place to come to know God. This should seem obvious to people who worship together in a church community.
We all view our community in different ways. Some of us see our community at St. Joseph's as a group of people who come together to worship God, to feed on His Word, to strive to live a better life and to love one another as Jesus loved us. We rejoice, as Jesus our Lord says, because "our names are written in the Book of Life,". Some of us come to church and are in this community because we always were part of the church, kind of like a habit. Then there are those who were hurting or alone and found a home here.
It is impossible to find Jesus by yourself. To find Him you have to hear the Word proclaimed and you have to see someone who has a living relationship with Jesus and lives by the principles Jesus taught. And when you do, you find yourself in the midst of a community of believers like St. Joseph's. We draw strength from one another. We pray for one another. We support one another spiritually and materially (at times). In this community, we can forge friendships that can last a lifetime and forever (in heaven)
You notice that I did not mention anything about money. Our community leaders, at this time, seem to be concentrating on money and the parish budget. When we do this, we are taking our eyes off the Lord and the blessings He wants to pour out on St. Joseph's. Regarding money, God only asks us to do our part. He suggests ten percent of not only our treasure, but also our time and our talent. But the ninety percent of our attention should be on loving one another and meeting each other's needs. This is called "ministry". If our attention is only on the money, we are not doing what God wants us to do. When we are obeying God and doing what He want us to do, the money will come, because God always pays for what He orders.
Let us turn our attention to Our Lord, who is the inexhaustible source of all of our blessings.
God bless all!