There is no way to deny that Christ came to redeem and save everyone - not just the select few - so we need to encourage Christians - especially our fellow Catholics - to stop acting that way. The Good News is meant for everyone, so those of us who have been Baptized and Confirmed need to acknowledge our gifts and start using them. We need to get off the couch and out of the pew and engage with the rest of creation. We are absolutely capable of bringing love and healing to a world in crisis - and that healing will begin when we forgive others and do our best to share the peace of Christ with everyone!

Our Baptism is more than entry into the Catholic club - it’s a challenge and a command to leave our selfishness behind and live our lives according to Jesus’ commands. We have to try to live humbly and be gentle, truly living in peace with each other and all of creation. But we can’t stop there. We need to accept the gifts, support, and guidance offered by the Holy Spirit and share the Good News with all of creation!

God loves us all and doesn’t play favorites, so we need to start doing the same. And if we can manage to love more, then we’ll experience God in our lives more because God is love. So let’s stop trying to weasel out of it. Let’s simply strive to live Jesus’ command to love each other as he has loved us!

During this season of Easter, when so many adults have made the choice to join the Church and so many young people are being Confirmed and welcomed as full members as well, it should be very apparent that Jesus can change hearts. For those of us who have been in the Church for a long time, we might also need a little help in changing OUR hearts. We might need to be inspired to be less complacent and more involved, putting our faith into action and making sure “being Christian” is something much more than words. Because we are also called to stay actively connected to the vine - to Christ and his Church - so we can grow and live truly fruitful lives!

Being a true Christian is a risky proposition. For the most part, the world just doesn’t understand. But we should take comfort in the fact that Jesus is our cornerstone - and our cornerstone was a misunderstood outcast as well. Our cornerstone was rejected - and put to death because of it. And how powerful is it that our rejected savior is the one who clearly says we are called to be one flock? Think of what that message means to all of those people the Catholic Church has frequently marginalized. The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone, which gives us the foundation we need to take a risk, reach out, and bring all people together into one single flock!

We are all human and even though we are created in the image and likeness of God, we are going to make mistakes - we are going to sin. We should obviously avoid sinful ways but we should not FEAR sin because Jesus Christ is our advocate with the Lord. If we repent and turn to God by following Jesus’ commands, then we will be forgiven. And if we can truly open our minds and hearts to the Scriptures, then we’ll also help share the peace of Christ with the world!

The mission of the Church is a continuation of the mission of Christ on Earth. But we sometimes forget that WE are the Church - the Body of Christ - and we are called to care for each other and conquer the things of this world. The Resurrection has brought new life - has conquered death - and sharing in the Resurrection is being offered to all of us because Jesus wants us to believe!

The Catholic Church is rich in Tradition and symbolism - and a lot of it isn’t even known by most of us in the pews. It’s interesting when I’ve gone to Mass with someone who isn’t Catholic and afterwards I get all of the, “Why do you do such-and-such?” type of questions. And even after all my years of ministry and education, I still don’t know all the answers - I’m still finding out things I didn’t know. And there’s a LOT of stuff I knew at one point but it’s long since slid from my memory. But when we don’t understand WHY we’re doing what we’re doing, it means - at some level - we really are just going through the motions. We need to do a LOT better than that!

The readings this week really do support a rather common Christian theme, which is that being a Christian isn’t necessarily easy. Unlike the ancient Hebrews, we don’t worship God because we believe our lives will be all sunshine and rainbows - we don’t believe the Lord will make all our troubles go away. We believe because we know life is likely to deal us up a heaping helping of hardship from time to time - and some of us will get a bigger helping than others. But we know that Jesus Christ is the Lord of all, that God will give us the strength to persevere, and that we should follow the example of Jesus and NOT despair, no matter what life throws at us!

The love that God has for us is in our hearts, and it was written there by His hand. It’s something that is so much a part of us that, like Jesus, we shouldn’t try to hide it. We should live it and proclaim it! We should do our best to let it show… to share it with everyone we meet. It’s what we’ve been called to do by our Baptism. It can sound intimidating, but think of it this way: Everyone loves a love story. So let’s share the greatest love story of all! The love of the Creator for his creations - especially the creatures fashioned in the image and likeness of God. This Lenten season, let’s share the story of how Jesus laid down his life for our sins. And once Easter comes, let’s spread the Good News that Christ has been lifted up from the earth and will draw everyone to himself when he comes again in glory!