From Ignatius House
9371 Annapolis Road
Lanham, MD 20706
"...and he sent them to proclaim the Kingdom of God"
(Luke 9:1)
Dear Friends,
Together, we, follower in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, are called by our Baptism and Confirmation to give witness of the love of Jesus Christ to our brothers and sisters wherever we may be.
Yes, we may be sinners -- some more serious than others. Nonetheless, part of our vocation demands that we ourselves first have a serious personal relationship with Jesus. As children of the Creator God, we share a fraternity with Jesus. It is this awareness of who Jesus is that should make our lives different.
Unless we are genuinely aware of this relationship and endeavor to strengthen it each day of our lives, how will those who see us, who watch us, who judge our faith relationship with the Trinity, how will we be seen and understood to be men and women like those who followed Jesus when he lived on this earth. (Whew! What a long sentence! Take a short break!)
To maintain a strong relationship with Jesus we must be followers who allow his power, his words and actions have a real impact on our lives. Do his words truly make a difference in our lives? Pope Francis now on numerous occasions taught that our lives are very weak when we try to live without him. As he wrote in Evangelii Gaudium, "Our falling short of perfection should be no excuse...." As difficult as it may seem at times, our vocation, in whatever work it may take form, is to be very active in the effort to continue to grow in faith -- our personal relationship with God. Yes, regardless of our past failures, we are, as St. Luke notes, "sent by him to proclaim the Kingdom of God" with our lives in our times.
Oremus pro invicem!
Fr. Milt
