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Sunday, 30 March 2008 |
This is Divine Mercy Sunday. On this octave day of Easter, you and I are invited to rejoice in the loving embrace of the Crucified and Risen Lord. This Lord, this Anointed one of God (Christus) is our Divine Mercy.
How are we to show our gratitude, our thanksgiving to this merciful Lord, this saving grace? The Lord calls us to a spiritual renewal, to an abundant new life in Him. Every disciple of the Lord Jesus at St. John Neumann is being called to a renewal of heart. Each of us, in receiving this great gift of divine mercy, is called by the Lord to become an instrument of His divine mercy for our neighbor, for the strangers among us, for any enemy we have held at arms’ length. Each of us is being called anew to accept the vocation given to us at baptism… to be saints of God, right here, right now.
As I told you several weeks ago, I believe that our Building a Legacy of Faith campaign is the plan of God for us. This desire to build will be an instrument of this call for renewal. As each of you offers a sacrificial, life-style changing, three-year pledge… of $5,000 or more, you will be taking an initial step in renewal. I need to receive a sacrificial three-year pledge from every parishioner. With the total participation of all, including everyone reading this column, we will have the funds to build all we need!
Another step in this call to spiritual renewal involves a book. By God’s grace, the Matthew Kelly Foundation has given us 3000 copies of Rediscovering Catholicism. This book by Matthew Kelly is a call to renewal, to joy, to holiness. This Rediscovering Catholicism calls us to renew our love for the world-wide Catholic Church, and to rejoice in our part in the Church mission and ministry.
After each of the Masses in English this weekend, every household will receive a copy of Mathew Kelly’s book (one per household please). I would ask you to read this book, slowly. Allow the author’s voice to seep into you. Allow the author’s obvious love of Christ and His Church to touch your mind and heart. We are called to be renewed in spirit, allowing the Lord’s love to transform our minds and our hearts. We at SJN are called to be God’s saints… to be a bright light of God’s love for all to see. This summer, our parish staff hopes to offer a few talks on this book. Please “stay tuned” for more information.
The Divine Mercy given humanity in and through the Lord Jesus is no simple idea. No “fact”. This Truth of God is the power of God for this earth and this power of the Spirit is calling each of us to step out in faith: to offer a sacrificial pledge of time and talent and treasure, in building a legacy of our renewed faithfulness. This campaign will be the book we will write, as we “rediscover Catholicism”, as saints of God.
AMDG
Msgr. David Talley |
A Catholic women’s service organization affiliated with the Knights of Columbus. For information, call Teddie Swain 770-923-6633 x 865. Craft fair info, ext 860. 
