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God took the fullness of being human on Himself and lived as Jesus. He suffered and died simply out of love. He did not make conditions for that love. He died, out of love, in order to give the possibility of eternal life, beginning in the present moment, to everyone. He has never revoked that possibility. We are imperfect; it seems as if we are incompatible with God, who is perfect, all-good. We separate ourselves from Him by our faulty loving. Yet He wants us reconciled with Himself and, in order to allow this, He became a human being, reconciling us with God in one life, one death. In Jesus we have the opportunity to share in eternal life, to taste the life of God, to live the resurrection, here and now. When we turn our attention to 'All Souls' it is to remind us that God's love is unending, and that, although we may die without knowing Him, He still extends His invitation 'come to Me ...' even in death, and beyond death. Lord, grant those near death with Your peace and love. |
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P R A Y I N G W I T H T H E C H U R C H
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That holy and exemplary men and women may be our companions in proclaiming boldly the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.
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"They began to proclaim the word of God boldly" (Acts 4:31). The word "boldly" can also be translated as "audaciously" or with "forthrightness" in announcing the Christian message. The ideal agents of evangelisation should be "holy and exemplary persons". Though God could have spread His Kingdom without human collaboration, He has always sought human partners, who as suitable and free instruments, work for the salvation of humankind. The laity can evangelise chiefly through prayer, the testimony of life and the establishment of a temporal order inspired by the Gospel. Though preaching the Gospel is the competence and principal duty of those who have been ordained, lay people, who have the necessary theological training, can preach. Vatican II stresses the need for priests to be holy preachers. God ordinarily prefers to show his wonders through those men who are more submissive to the impulse and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Because of their intimate union with Christ and their holiness of life, they are able to say with St Paul: "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me" (Gal. 2:20). Let us therefore pray that all those who devote themselves directly to evangelisation may live a holy life that emphasises the credibility of the Christian message. | |
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