Looking back at the weekly messages of Father Paul Counce, first published in The Carpenter, our weekly Parish Bulletin
Published: April 15, 2018
At the great Easter Vigil on March 31, our Parish welcomed three new Catholics. Anita Anderson, Victoria Silvio, and André Simoneaux, already baptized in other Christian religions, professed their Catholic faith and joined the Church. Bishop Muench then administered the Sacrament of Confirmation to them, and later in the Mass was able to give them their First Holy Communion.
The three Sacraments of Initiation – Baptism, Confirmation and First Eucharist – can be celebrated at any time of year, of course, but they are especially beautiful and meaningful when accomplished at Easter. God the Father gave His Son Jesus “new life” in raising Him from the dead, and in turn Jesus gives us “new life” of a spiritual sort: at Easter we get to connect these realities in a rather more obvious way.
I do want to express my deep thanks to our pastoral assistant, Mr. Chris Redden, for being both catechist and companion to those who take part in our R.C.I.A. process. Even more than teaching the facts of our faith, Chris is able to share his enthusiasm for Christ and His holy Church. When one purposely wants to be a Catholic and share one’s faith – to be an “intentional disciple,” to use a phrase that is popular right now in religious circles – it’s a great virtue.
Basically, it’s a question we should all ask ourselves: “Am I an intentional disciple?” In other words, “Do I really want to follow the way of the Lord Jesus in my life? Does He really mean that much to me?” If our religion has been determined basically by the circumstances of our birth or family background, we may never have actually made a personal decision to embrace it! If our religious practice is motivated mostly by habit – or worse, fear and guilt! – we’re likely closing ourselves off to the tremendous joy and interior peace that accompanies those who have made a conscious decision to seek out God’s grace. And of course, if our life of faith in reality is just a pretense, done to fool others into thinking we’re better than we are, well, then, we’re probably increasingly depressed as well as doomed, since we’re basically living a lie.
What God instead wants us to be is “Catholic on purpose.” This means that although ordinary people, we have experienced the love, forgiveness, presence, consolation and challenge of God poured out through Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit. We have “fallen in love with the Lord” and find our deepest identity in our relationship with Him.
Pope Francis just this past week issued an apostolic exhortation to us all, asking us to become more holy. It’s entitled Gaudete et Exsultate (Latin for “Rejoice and Be Glad”). He stresses that we must see “life as mission,” and if we do we will be transformed, renewed by God’s Spirit (nos. 23-24). When a Catholic makes a personal faith-commitment, Christ comes alive in a new and special way within that person. What is more, others are attracted and transformed by his or her word and example, testimony and behavior.
I’m out of room in this column. But next week I’ll explore this a bit more for you, and try to outline how it might be done.
Yours in the Risen Lord,
Fr. Paul
