Instituted by Christ and founded on the apostles, the Church on earth is the kingdom of heaven in its seed and beginning. The Church is God the Father’s intended home for all people, deigned to be so from before time began. She is inclusive, barring no person from communion with her and her founder, Jesus Christ. It is only the individual who voluntarily excludes himself by rejecting communion with the Church through free-choices that are incompatible with the love of Christ and the rule of his kingdom.
Homilies
Responding to Mighty Deeds
Today’s gospel serves as a powerful lesson—admonishment—against Catholics who have been entrusted with the fullness of divine revelation and the treasury of the Christian faith in Christ, yet have nevertheless squandered it through acts of injustice, apostasy, and heresy toward the Tripersonal God.
Is God After You?
At all times and places, God labors to draw you to himself. Are you aware of God’s presence? The prophet Hosea gives a beautiful description of the gracious mercy and compassion of God, who allures his fallen people to himself by speaking to their hearts with words of love.
Blessed Are Those Who Have Not Seen and Have Believed
When Jesus said, “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed,” he emphasized the importance of the virtue of faith. Through faith, we seek Whom we cannot see and enter into a personal relationship with Jesus. It’s about getting to know who he really is. Doing so requires reaching out in self-entrustment.
Heaven and The Narrow Gate
People today often think that getting to heaven is easy. All you have to do is be a “nice” person. We dabble in sin regularly, even nearly constantly, telling ourselves “it’s no big deal. God is merciful.”