The past few months have been kind of depressing
in the Catholic world. With the clergy sex abuse scandal flaring up once again,
passionate and angry declarations have been dominating the daily news cycle.
Our heads are swirling with various names and phrases: McCarrick, Viganò,
Wuerl, cover-up, Martin, lavender mafia, Bergolio, settlements, seminaries,
celibacy, Mansell, Cupich, PR statements, non-disclosure agreements, and on and
on.
Some people are actually calling for
Pope Francis to resign. Others are insisting that any criticism of the hierarchy
is the work of Satan, as the Evil One attempts to create scandal in the Church.
Reports indicate that countless
parishioners are leaving the Church, disgusted at the level of sin by the
clergy and the cover-up by the leadership. Experts are certain dozens of states
will follow Pennsylvania’s lead and conduct their own grand jury investigations,
which will lead to further billions and billions of dollars in payouts to
victims. Many pundits predict the financial impact will be so devastating, the Church
will be forced to declare bankruptcy and may collapse entirely.
So, during this sad Season of Shame for
Catholics, it is quite likely that many folks have been so focused on the
failings of the Church, they’ve lost sight of the one and only reason the
Church exists: to preach the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Jesus founded the Church and declared
the gates of Hell will not prevail against it. This is very comforting,
especially during these times of crisis, when it seems Hell is doing a bang-up
job of tearing the Church apart. We can and must remain confident that the
Church will prevail in the end.
The Church needs to get back to the
business for which it was founded: preaching the Good News of the Gospel. If
you’re like me, you probably haven’t thought about that in quite a while, with
the current scandal dominating the headlines.
Therefore, let’s have a little refresher
course. What is the Good News of the Gospel anyway? We can simplify it down to
four basic points:
First, God loves us and has a wonderful
plan for our lives. In our very secular culture, it’s easy to forget that there
is indeed a supernatural divine Being who created the entire Universe,
including all life on earth. And this Being, called God, did it all out of His
abundant love. He knows each of us by name, and He desperately wants us to
share in His love.
Second, unfortunately, human beings
committed sin, which separated us from the love of God. Just like Adam and Eve
after they sinned, we feel shame and fear, and we hide from God. This makes
things even worse, as we get caught up more and more in the habit of sin and
selfishness. It becomes a spiritual downward spiral.
Third, God provided us with a way out of
our predicament: He sent His only Son, Jesus, to become a man and bridge the
big gulf between God and humanity. Jesus’ death on the cross paid the price for
our sin, and His Resurrection three days later conquered death once and for
all.
Fourth, and best of all, Jesus promised
that if we put our faith in Him and live our lives according to His teachings, we
too can conquer death and spend eternity in God’s heavenly kingdom.
This is the basic Gospel message. The
Church exists only to spread this message to a hurting world. It is truly the
Good News.
If you are feeling overwhelmed by the
current scandals, if your faith life is sputtering these days because of the
relentless negative news, spend some time focusing on the Good News. Spend some
time focusing on Christ. Turn off your computer and all those negative reports,
and open your Bible. Spend some time alone with Jesus in prayer.
The Good News is always good, no matter
how often sinful members of the Church try to mess it up. Let’s not lose sight
of that.
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