WHAT’S THE MISSION OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH?
If one had to sum up the mission of Catholics in one word, that word would be “Love.”
The Bible says that of faith, hope and love,
the most important is love. (1 Cor 13:13)
Romantic love is nice. So is the love of friendship.
But the highest form of love is "agape."
Agape is the one we must strive for as Christians. It is the one that will make us happiest in heaven. It is a radical desire for the good of others, even for those who do us wrong.
In heaven, nobody will be doing us wrong. Love will prevail everywhere. No suffering or sacrificing will be necessary.
But on the imperfect Earth, people who truly love God are willing to work and even suffer for the sake of others.
Because of Christ's love for us, and because of our
love for Him, a mission of the Catholic Church, and of all its
members, is to heal the sufferings of all who are hurting. That includes the poverty-stricken,
the sick, the lonely, the abandoned, the disabled, the prisoners, the widows,
and the orphans. Our mission also includes peacemaking and upholding justice. It
includes prayer for the conversion of sinners, and spreading
the news that Christ came, suffered, died and rose so that we could be forgiven
from the worst of our sins, so heaven could once again be open to all.
If
it weren’t for sin entering the world through Adam and Eve, we’d already have
heaven on earth. Things would still be perfect like they were in the Garden of
Eden. We would be immortal. Jesus would not have had to come endure agony for
us.
But contrary to God’s plan for us, sin did enter.
In heaven, things will be perfect again.
But during our short time on Earth, our love may
compel us to sacrifice, suffer, fast, labor, pray, and
use our skills to heal the world. In fact, Jesus said that while we are on
Earth, we must take up our
cross daily. (Lk 9:23)
“ . . . .because Christ also suffered
for us, leaving you an example that you should follow his steps” (1 Peter 2:21)
Any suffering, hardship or illness that one does for
God’s sake will help heal the whole Body of Christ in ways we could hardly
imagine. The smallest pains or sacrifices endured can and will be used to
further God’s plans.
“For that which is at present momentary and light of
our troubles is working beyond all measure an eternal weight of glory for us.”
(2 Cor 4:17)
“For I judge that the sufferings of this time are
not worthy to be compared with the glory to come, that shall be revealed to
us.” (Romans 8:18)
Yes, even if you fast for just the next two hours
for Christ’s sake, you will contribute to peace and justice in the world.
That’s the beauty of it. We are all connected in the
one Body.
THE DOMINO EFFECT
Just as the sin of Adam and Eve, brought sin into
the world for the entire human race, the smallest acts of kindness we do will
have a healing effect on the rest of the Body. If part of the Body is hurting,
no matter where in the world, then it’s the responsibility of another part of
the Body to compensate.
Prayer by one member of the body can help another
member because Christ is our head and we are all connected. Similarly,
suffering offered up to God by one individual can help another member. That’s
how it works because we were all baptized into the same Body.
Even the very next sentence that we verbalize is
part of our Christian mission. If we gossip or judge, we will hurt the Body of
Christ. If we are kind and selfless, we glorify God and heal the world. The
consequences of each and every one of our actions and words will be fully
revealed to us and to the world on Judgment Day.
The example that Jesus left for us two millennia ago is
relevant today and forever. If it sounds outdated that Jesus befriended
and cured the lepers, read about Mother Teresa’s work in Calcutta’s
slums. Many of the people she befriended were also victims of leprosy, which affects
millions to this day.
Mother Teresa also treated those dying of AIDS,
tuberculosis, and cancer - all the same people that Jesus would be seeking out
were he walking the Earth today.
"If we did not believe this was the body of
Christ, we would never be able to do this work. No amount of money could make
us do it," said Mother Teresa. "When you see each person as Jesus in
disguise, this work is beautiful and attractive because it fills the heart with
great joy and great love."
When other members, or even leaders, of Christ’s
Church are failing in their missions, performing wicked deeds, the rest are called to
work and pray even harder to mend the whole Body. In the same way, if an eye
goes blind, the ear on the same body must work harder. If the right hand is
broken, the left hand must work harder.
If we live lives of love and charity, people will
come into the Church, the Church will grow, and souls will be saved. If we
ignore our missions and embrace sin, the whole Church will be hurt.
When it comes to helping the marginalized and
oppressed, it is no more the responsibility of nuns like Mother Teresa than it
is our own responsibility. The pope has told us that those who help AIDS
patients are “"living out the parable of the Good Samaritan."
Those who say “I could never do” what Mother Teresa
did are failing to trust in the graces freely offered by Christ through the
sacraments. Without those graces, nobody could do a thing. But with them, one
can do anything because Christ works through you, and He can do anything.
Just as we need food and drink to nourish us
physically, we need our loving Christ Himself, in the Eucharist, daily if
possible, to nourish us spiritually so we can do our job and have power to snub
our nose at the temptations of sin.
The holiest saints throughout history will attest
that they could not have accomplished anything without having had Christ come
into them in the most personal way possible….. through the sacrament of the
Eucharist.
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Jesus gave us instructions on how to love Him and
others while we're on Earth:
Matthew 16:24-25 “…Whoever wishes to come after me
must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save
his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”
(words of Jesus)
1 John 3:17 “If anyone has material possessions and
sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in
him.” (words of Jesus)
Matthew 25:40 “Whatever you do to the least of your
brothers, that you do to me.” (words of Jesus)
Mk 8:35 “For whoever wishes to save his life will
lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that the Gospel will save
it.” (words of Jesus)
Matthew 10:39 “He that findeth his life shall lose
it; and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.”
John 15:13 “No greater love has anyone than that he lay
his life down for a friend.”
Luke 12:48 “…And unto whomsoever much is given, of him much shall be required: and to whom they have committed much, of him they will demand the more.” (words of Jesus)
Matthew 6:14: “If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.” (words of Jesus)
James 1:27: “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”
Matthew 6:16-18 “When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden, will repay you."
Matthew 6:19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroys, and thieves break in and steal. But store up treasures in heaven…..” (words of Jesus)
Matthew 5:44 “…love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (words of Jesus)
Matthew 5:39 “…When someone strikes you on [your] right check, turn the other one to him as well.” (words of Jesus)
Matthew 6:1-4 “[But] take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father. When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.” (words of Jesus)
Matthew 6:6 “…pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.” (words of Jesus)
Luke 6:37 “Stop judging and you will not be judged…” (words of Jesus)
1 Corinthians 6:20: “For you are bought with a great price. Glorify and bear God in your body.”
Matthew 7:12 “Do to others whatever you would have them do to you…..” (words of Jesus)
Matthew 22:37-39 “You shall love the Lord your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (words of Jesus)
Luke 18: 22 “There is still one thing left for you: sell all that you have and distribute it to the poor, and you will have a treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” (words of Jesus)
Luke 6:27-36 “…love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you,. To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other one as well, and from the person who takes your cloak, do not withhold even your tunic. Give to everyone who asks of you, and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you. For if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same. If you lend money to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, and get back the same amount. But rather, love your enemies and do good to them, and lend expecting nothing back; then your reward will be great and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicket. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” (words of Jesus)
“Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves.” (James 1:22)
John 6: 53-58 “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.” (Jesus telling us over and over again that his flesh and blood are not just symbolic food and drink….this hard teaching was accepted by all his apostles but Judas and the other disciples could not accept this and left… http://home.netcom.com/~matt1618/eucharist.html)
Luke 9:23-26: “Then he said to all, "If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself? Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. “
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The Corporal Works of Mercy:
The
Spiritual Works of Mercy:
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Some other relevant notes on our mission……..
In the Bible, St. Paul describes the Catholic
theology of SUFFERING by individual Christians for the sake of the body:
"I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my
flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of
his body, that is, the church" (Col. 1, 24); "For just as the body is
one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one
body, so it is with Christ;...If one member suffers, all suffer together with
it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it" (1 Cor. 12,
12-26).
The above passage, Colossians 1:24, according to http://ic.net/~erasmus/RAZ400.HTM,
“is the most striking example in Scripture of what Catholics call redemptive suffering or vicarious atonement, whereby the
sufferings of a Christian, as fellow
workers with God (1Co 3:9) can be applied - like prayer or fasting or
evangelism - to the benefit of another, either on earth, or in purgatory (2Mc
12:39-45 with 1Cor 15:29; CCC 1032). Our sufferings (Mt 16:24) can be literally
offered up to God (Rm 12:1), meritoriously and redemptively on behalf of others
or ourselves. Explicit biblical indications of this teaching - much disputed by
non-Catholic Christianity - are numerous (cf. Ex 32:30-32; Nm 16:46-48;
25:6-13; Rm 8:13,17; 1Co 12:24; 2Co 1:4-9; 4:10; Gl 2:20; Ep 3:13; Ph 2:17;
3:10; 2Tm 4:6; Hb 11:39-40; 1Jn 3:16). Paul even serves as a co-redeemer or co-mediator of God's grace, since he
was a steward of grace and
salvation (Ep 3:2; cf. 1Co 9:22) - precisely as Catholics teach concerning the
Blessed Virgin Mary. He informed Timothy that he, too, could be a savior of sorts, for himself and his
hearers (1Tm 4:16). All grace comes from God, but creatures have a share in its
dispensing and application, in God's Providence
(e.g., Rv 1:4). See related commentary for Ph 1:29; 3:10, and cross-references
for libation, Ph 2:17; also CCC
307,618,1508,1521”
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Suggested Reading on Suffering:
Suffering: The Catholic Answer
by Dom Hubert van Zeller
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EVANGELIZATION IS THE MISSION OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
AND OF EVERY INDIVIDUAL CHRISTIAN.
THE CHURCH RECEIVED THIS MISSION STRAIGHT FROM JESUS WHO SAID, “THEREFORE, GO AND MAKE DISCIPLES OF ALL NATIONS.” (Mt 28: 17)
Here are some words from the pope to cheer you along in spreading your faith as the Bible commands.
“Do not be afraid to go out on the streets and into public places, like
the first Apostles who preached Christ and the Good News of Salvation in the
squares of cities, towns and villages. This is no time to be ashamed of the
Gospel. It is the time to preach it from the rooftops…..” (Pope John Paul II,
Aug. 15, 1993 in Denver)
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