The Secret to Freedom is Standing Still?
God Reveals: We Respond
Photo By: Flickr/RPI Virtuell
As Christians, our lives revolve around God and not the other way around.
Often busy Catholics think that they can bring the methods of the secular business world and use them in the kingdom of God. Yet the truth is that Church growth and Christian activities are all about God’s actions, not man’s. Listen to Pope Francis:
As for us, if we wish to form church, we need only to listen and respond to God who acts and speaks first. Of course, our response is not perfect. As Pope Francis reminds us, “When we recognize that we are sinners, God fills us with His mercy and love, and He forgives us. He always forgives us. This is what makes us grow as the people of God, the church.”
Throughout a teaching on The Nature of the Church, the Holy Father reminds us of man’s pride, egoism and hardness of heart. These are the traits that drive man to take the initiative, to take control.
During this audience, Pope Francis gently chided us for both our self-centered idea that it is we who form Church, and challenged the way we look at the Church. However, as usual, he closes with inspiring words that both warm our hearts and encourage us.
“When God called Abraham this was His plan: form a people blessed by His love and who would bring His blessing to all the people of the earth. This plan has never changed and in Christ it reached its fulfillment and, still today, God continues this work in the church… I like to think that a synonym for being Christian is being men and women – a people – who always bless. Through their lives, Christians must always bless God and bless others….It’s a beautiful vocation.”
As Catholics ,we must always remind ourselves that God reveals Himself to us and we simply respond. When we recognize that it’s not all about us, we begin to develop a spirit of humility. Believing in revelation means that we are to be aware and responsive to God’s initiative, and we stop trying to build church on our own.
It is impossible to be spiritually proactive; anybody who tries always ended up with disastrous results. Just look at Adam and Eve, and the people who built the Tower of Babel, and Judas.
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About the Author
Melanie Jean Juneau serves as the Editor in Chief of Catholic Stand. She is a mother of nine children who has edited her kid's university term papers for over a decade. She blogs at joy of nine9 and mother of nine9 . Her writing is humorous and heart warming; thoughtful and thought-provoking. Part of her call and her witness is to write the truth about children, family, marriage and the sacredness of life. Melanie is the administrator and writer for ACWB, a columnist at CatholicStand, Catholic Mom, Catholic365 , and author of Echoes of the Divine and Oopsy Daisy, and coauthor of Love Rebel: Reclaiming Motherhood. Visit her Author Page
