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Pastor’s Corner
Today we return to our topic about Mass and address those reasons some people have expressed for not attending Mass each Sunday. One such reason is an uncertain belief in the Bible as the living word of God.
As I mentioned in the last article there have been three paths taken in human history in response to God. The common belief among ancient people is polytheism, the belief in many gods. Monotheism was given to the world through God’s revelation to the people of Israel. It is really quite astonishing the profundity and understanding of God put forth by the people of Israel, especially when you consider that they were an insignificant nomadic tribe that settled in a foreign land and were often besieged by the neighboring nations. This fact alone lends credence to their claim of receiving divine revelation.
As Christians we have the further proof of the divine authority of Scripture because of Jesus Christ, who we believe is the Son of God. He is the Logos, the divine Word of God, who by the Holy Spirit was Incarnate of the Virgin Mary. The Old Testament foretold His coming and His life, death and resurrection fulfills and informs these sacred writings. As St. Peter testified in the Acts of the Apostles to the people of Israel: “Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs which God did through Him in your midst… this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and knowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. But God raised Him up, having loosened the pangs of death, because it was not possible for Him to be held by it” (2:22-24).
Our faith in Christ rests on the testimony of the Apostles, who themselves were transformed after they encountered the risen Christ. At the time of Jesus’ arrest they all fled and only St. John was present at the cross of Jesus along with our Blessed Mother and some other women. St. Peter even denied knowing Jesus in the courtyard of the High Priest. After Pentecost, when the Apostles received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, these same frightened men began proclaiming boldly the good news of Jesus Christ, even appearing before the very same religious leaders who orchestrated the death of Jesus.
St. Paul, who persecuted the early Church, encountered the risen Christ on the road to Damascus and was struck blind by a flash of light. He heard a voice say to him: “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me? When Paul asked who are you? He said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” (Acts 9: 4-5) In Damascus Paul prayed and fasted and was healed by Ananias, who also baptized him. Paul’s life was completely changed and he became the great Apostle to the Gentiles.
Besides the Apostles, we have the witness of all those faithful men and women who came after them, especially dear to us is the witness of our own ancestors. For many peoples, like the Irish, these ancestors of ours bore heroic witness to the faith even loosing life, liberty and property rather than give up the great gift of faith in Jesus Christ and His Church they had received.
All these witness support our faith but ultimately each person must take that leap of faith for him or herself. If we believe in Jesus Christ and His resurrection from the dead then everything else falls into place, including belief in the Bible as the living word of God. If we believe then we are called to respond by living our lives according to the teachings of Jesus Christ and His Church. How we live our faith will influence others therefore it is imperative that we live faith-filled lives bearing witness to our hope in Christ and living the peace and joy that are His gifts. This ultimately is the best proof we can give to others.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Fr. Cannon
