Word to the Wise
Sunday, September 13, 2009 - Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
[Isaiah 50:5-9A; James 2:14-18; Mark 8:27-35]What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?
This weekend I am in Mexia, TX, a small town in the northeast corner of the Diocese of Austin, TX, to preach a retreat to parish catechists and lay ministers of various kinds. It is a new type of event for me, but I hope it is helpful to those who participate. My approach is fairly simple. I am asking them to ask themselves about how "intentional" a Catholic they are. This is to be contrasted with being an "accidental" Catholic - one simply born to a Catholic family and goes through the motions of being a Catholic because that's the way they were born. In short, how is faith being translated into "works" or action? We Dominicans have four important values/actions that we use to shape our lives. We call them "the four pillars of Dominican life." They are prayer, study, community, and ministry. For the purpose of a retreat I turn each of these into a question that a retreatant can ask: How am I praying? How am I learning? How am I loving? How am I serving? These are directions in which faith can move to express itself in action on behalf of others. It is not a matter of "earning" salvation by "doing" something. God's love does not have to be "earned." But faith has to find expression; otherwise the second of the two great commandments - love of neighbor - disappears! Please pray that some seeds of "action" may be implanted in the participants on this retreat, and while you're at it, you might ask yourself those four questions! AMEN