Fr. Don's Daily Reflection - April 3, 2024
Psalm 62: “In you alone is my soul at rest. My help comes from you.”
Complaints about the institutional church are standard and understandable. They usually go: “I believe in God or Christ, and I find God in people, in nature; I don't need any church or formal service.” Or, among many young people there is an absolute impatience and disgust with divisions within the Christian churches.
We have had for centuries much emphasis on hierarchy, organization and buildings, to the neglect of personal faith and individual responsibility. The initiative and the contributions of lay people were minimized or ignored. Among Catholics especially, we still too often wait for “Father” or the bishop or the pope to act.
Jesus encourages more initiative by ordinary Christians when he says: “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in their midst” (Matthew 18:20). They don't have to be gathered in the church or as Catholics or Baptists. “We are the church.” The baptized are the body of Christ in this world. The responsibility for the Christian faith belongs to all of us; hierarchy, dioceses, boards, conferences, etc., should not steal our thunder.
In this same context Jesus speaks of prayer: “If you join your voices on earth to pray for anything whatever, it shall be granted you by my Father in heaven” (Matthew 18:19). This is certainly an area where Catholics and other Christians can easily join or those who simply believe in God can join in times of tragedy or difficulty.
And fortunately, we do hear of Christians of various denominations consoling and helping each other; of believers of all religions, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Christians, turning to God together in times of disaster. In the face of another war we can work together for peace. But there are times when we Christians seem to be waiting for someone “higher up” to speak or act when we have that ability and duty by our baptism and often also by our education and skill.
Psalm 27: “I believe I shall see the Lord’s goodness / in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord; be strong; / be stouthearted, and wait for the Lord!”
