Today´s Gospel brings to
mind a conversation between two young men. One was a cradle Catholic, who later
left the Church. The other had been brought up in no religion, a humble guy who
joined the Catholic Church when he was in college.
The
first young man said, "Don't tell me about the Church. I went through
twelve years of Catholic schools and had it drummed into me. When I got on my
own, I started thinking for myself. It just did make any sense to me. It had
nothing to offer me." The second young man said, "Fair enough, but
can I ask you a question?" "Sure," the first said. "In your
years of Catholic education, did anyone ever tell you the purpose of the
Church?" Silence. In his twelve years of Catholic school, either no one
told him or he didn't remember the purpose of the Church. Why does the Church
exists at all? The young man, who converted to the Catholic faith, did know.
Before telling you, let me explain why it is important to know.
By
way of comparison, suppose I am considering membership in a local gym. I go for
a visit and get a full tour. I see all the exercise equipment and they tell
about "trainers" who can help develop a good exercise program. After
listening to presentation, I say, "Yah, but you don't have a place where I
can get my favorite latte and a cinnamon roll!"
The
gym manager would probably say to me, "That would be nice, but we're here
to help people get physically fit. You can get your latte and roll across the
street. Our purpose is physical fitness."
Now,
it's only fair to judge a gym according to its basic purpose. Just so, we need
to know the Church's purpose before we can say whether the Church - or any
individual parish - is doing a good job.
So,
what is the purpose of the Church? We see it dramatically in today's Gospel. Jesus
receives news of a massacre in Jerusalem. Pilate had murdered a group of
Galileans and then compounded his crime with a sacrilege -he mixed their blood
with Temple sacrifices. Jesus might have responded in various ways: He could
have gone to console the widows and orphans, maybe even taking up a collection
for them. He could have spoken out against the outrage, denounced Pilate for
his despotism. He could have even announced his supports for the Zealots, who
wanted independence from Rome. The Gospel, however, does not record Jesus
taking any of those actions. Rather, he turns to his listeners and says: If you do not repent, you will all perish as
they did.
At
first these words seem insensitive, but if you think about it, they show Jesus'
basic concern. First, foremost and
always, Jesus' concern himself with the salvation of souls. He knew that in
the long run, only one thing matters: where we spend eternity. For that reason,
he speaks about repentance - before anything else. In fact the very first word
Jesus speaks, in his public ministry, is: repent! Turn away from sin and turn
to God. If you listen carefully to Jesus' teaching, you will see that all his
parables have that basic concern: the salvation of souls.
Jesus
founded the Church to continue his mission: to bring people to salvation.
Salvation
of souls: calling people to turn from the Way of Death and to embrace the Way
of Life. That was how the Church understood her purpose in the first century.
That continues to be our purpose in the twenty-first century: saving souls,
human beings.
Perhaps
someone has come this Sunday because they saw the Catholics, Come Home commercials[1].
We welcome you! We want you. We need you. But above all, we love you. Love
means to desire the very best for the other person. And the very best we can
desire is that you spend eternity, forever, with God in the Communion of
Saints. As a parish, as part of the universal Church, that is our purpose: the
salvation of souls.
During
Lent we focus more directly on that purpose. We do that by accompanying our
catechumens and candidates as they prepare for the Easter Sacraments: Baptism,
Confirmation and Eucharist. This Sunday our catechumens will receive the First Scrutiny[2].
In the Scrutiny we will invoke the power of Christ to defend and protect them, and
by extension, all of us. This rite underscores the purpose of the Church! By
now, you probably know it by heart, and can say it with me: The salvation of
souls.
So,
my brother, my sister, the Church exists for the salvation of souls; like Jesus,
to call people to repentance. Let us be aware of this and let us be SO
grateful! ■
[2] The Rite of Christian Initiation
of Adults (RCIA) is the process through which interested adults and older
children are gradually introduced to the Roman Catholic faith and way of life.
Children who were not baptized as infants are also initiated through an adapted
process of this rite, sometimes incorrectly referred to as the Rite of
Christian Initiation of Children (RCIC).
