ofusuntilwemakearesponsetothisgood GodourFather,Ibelievethatoutofyourinfinitelove news.Forexample,imagineadatingcouple.Towardthe youhavecreatedme.InathousandwaysIhaveshunned endofaniceevening,themangetsdownononeknee yourlove.Irepentofeachandeveryoneofmysins.Please andsayssomethingromanticendingwith,“…Iwantto iveme. spendmylifewithyou.Willyoumarryme?
”Imagine theladyresponds,“Wow!
Thisissuchgoodnews.”And ThankyouforsendingyourSontodieforme,tosaveme then,filledwithjoy,shewalksaway.Weird,right?
Yet,so frometernaldeath.Ichoosethisdaytoenterinto(renew oftenthemessageofGod’sgoodnewsisproclaimedbut my)covenantwithyouandtoplaceJesusatthecenterof noresponseisgiven.Wemustmakeachoice.Godislike myheart.IsurrendertohimasLordovermywholelife. thatmandownononekneewaitingpatiently,hoping beyondhopethatyouwillsay“yes”andgivehimyour IaskyounowtofloodmysoulwiththegiftoftheHoly wholeheart. Spiritsothatmylifemaybetransformed.Givemethe graceandcouragetoliveasadiscipleinyourChurchfor Scripturespeaksofatleastthreewaysthatwecan therestofmydays.Amen. positivelyrespondtoGod’sgoodnews:
A.Repent—Inordertoreceivethegoodnews,wehavetofirstbreakfreefromthebadnews,namelysin. IWeneedtoexamineourselveshonestlyandhumbly comebeforeGod,acknowledgingourweaknessanddisobedience.ACatholicwillexperiencegreatfreedomwhenheorshegoestotheSacramentof leReconciliation.Asfrighteningasitmaybeatfirst, thissacramentisawonderfulplacetoencounterJesus’mercy.Countlesspeoplefeelsomuchbetter,evenlighter,afterconfessingtheirsinstoJesusthroughapriest. pB.Believe—HereweproclaimourfaithinGodwho isFather,Son,andHolySpirit.Wemustacknowledgehissavingactioninourlivesandchoosetoput mhimincharge,attheverycenterofourhearts.Atits essence,thisisaboutdecidingto“surrender”pletelytoGod.Herespectsyourfreedomand awwouldneverforcehimselfuponyou.Godiswaiting foryoutoopenwidethedoorsofyourhearttohimandtogivehimpermissionsohecantransformyour Sielife.
C.BeBaptized—Baptismisthenormalwaythatapersonbeginslifeasadisciple(cf.Matthew28:19).It vispossiblethatyoucanbeafollowerofJesus,though youmightnotyetbebaptized.Ifthatisthecase,it’sstronglymendedthatyoulearnmoreabout rebaptismbyspeakingtoaCatholicpriestoranother committedCatholic.Itisalsopossiblethatyouwerebaptizedasaninfantbuthaveneverhadthechance,asanadult,toratifythedecisionthatyourparentsmadeforyou.Perhapsyouwouldliketofreelychoosethat Pnow?
Thefollowingisashortprayerthatprovideswordsfor ryoutomakeaheartfeltresponsetoGod.Anyonecan praythiswhetherbaptizedorunbaptized.Readitoverfirstandtakethetimetodecideifthisistrulyhow oyoudesiretorespond.Italsohelpsifyouhaveafriend, whoisalreadylivingasadisciple,whocanprayforyouandwithyouasyoumakethisresponsetoGod.When Fyouareready,prayitslowlyandoutloud.Pausefora momentofsilenceattheendofeachofthe3sectionstoletitreallysinkin: WhatNow?
fyouchosetorespondtoGodwiththisprayer,believethathehasheardyou.Justlikeexchangingweddingvowsisonlythebeginningofalifelongmarriage,sotoo,thisisjustthestartofarelationshipthatGodwantstohavewithyou,onethatismeanttocontinueforallofeternity.Again,likeamarriage,therewillbetoughtimes.Perseveretotheend!
It’ssoimportanttosurroundyourselfmunity(namelyavibrantCatholicparish)thatcanhelpfosterthisrelationship.Youmayalsowishtovisitthefollowingwebsiteformorehelp:/ibelieve. Inadditiontothis,oneofthebestwaystoreallyownthismessageistoshareitwithsomeoneelse,someoneyoulove,someonewhoreallyneedstoheargoodnews.GoandannouncetheGospeloftheLord!
WrittenBy:Fr.SimonLobo,CC Fr.SimonLoboisamemberofmunityofpriestscalledtheCompanionsoftheCross,foundedinOttawa,Canadain1985.TheirmissionisEvangelization!
| EditedBy Fr.CharlesFox|MariaMellis|AlexColauttiFr.EduardoMontemayor,SOLT BibleVersion: RevisedStandardVersion Tolearnmore:/ibelieve lesiasticalapprovalforpublicationgrantedbytheMostReverendAllenH.Vigneron,ArchbishopofDetroit,July25,2014,thefeastofSt.James. Copyright©bySt.PaulStreetEvangelization,Inc. TheGoodNews Only GoodNews Allofus—nomatterourage,race,gender,education,orthesizeofourbankount—carryinourheartssomeverybigandverybasicquestionsaboutlife:WhoamI?
WhyamIhere?
Whyisthereaworldinthefirstplace?
WhoisGod?
Whatdifferencedoesallofthismake?
Isitpossibletofindtrueloveortruefulfillment?
Whathappenswhenwedie?
the“MotherTeresas”oftheworldwouldbeatoneendofthecurve,andtheserialkillerswouldbeattheotherend.Mostofuswouldseeourselvesasbeingsomewhereinthemiddle(notperfect,butnotallthatbadeither).Byanalogy,ifyouhadaterminalillnessandwerelivinginahospital,youmightsay,“Well,I’mcertainlynotassickassomeoftheotherpeoplehere.”Therealityisthat,whetherwerealizeitornot,wehaveallbeeninfectedbythesin-virus!
Andallsincarrieswithitaconsequence: fallenhumans(whohadcreatedtheproblem),and,beinginfinite,hewasablepletelyhealthewoundedrelationshipbetweenhumanbeingsandGodtheFather. WhenJesus,theLambofGod,diedonthecrosshebecameforustheultimatesubstitute.Butdeathdidnothavethelastword.OnthethirddayJesuswasresurrectedtonewlife,victoriouslyconqueringevendeathitself!
Noweachofushasthepossibilityofbeing Youdon’thavetogothroughlifethinkingthatit’simpossibletofindadequateanswerstothesequestions.Thefollowingisasimpleexplanationofwhatisreferredtoasthe“goodnews”—thatGodisaGodoflovewhoyearnstorevealnotonlyanswerstoyou,buthimself,personally.Ultimately,heisinvitingyoutothemostsatisfyinglife—friendshipwithhim. J1)GodtheFather WlelyCreatedusoutoflovehoareweandwhyarewehere?
Scripturetellsusourcoreidentity:“SeewhatlovetheFatherhasgivenus,thatweshouldbecalledchildrenofGod;and nsoweare”(1John3:1).It’sworthpinghere.Read thisscriptureafewtimesandreflectonwhatitmeans pforyou.IOTheCreatoroftheuniverselovinglymadeyou—your individualhumansoul—fromnothing.Furthermore,you mweremadeintheimageandlikenessofaSupernatural Beingwhoisinfinite,eternal,all-powerful,all-knowing, awandall-good(cf.Genesis1:26).Makesense?
That’swhy itisn’tenoughforyoumerelytoknowafewconcepts,totraveltoafewplaces,andtorackupafew“lifeexperi- Sieences.”Deepwithinyouisadesiretoknoweverything, togoeverywhere,toexperienceallthatthereis.DeepwithinusisthelongingtobeunitedwithourCreator vforever. 1B)Sin&Death SreAproblemwecan’tfixadly,the“badnews”isthatinsteadofstrivingforthisInfiniteFather,weoftensettleforthingsthatarefinite.What’sworseiswemaysubconsciouslytreatthem Pasiftheywereinfinite(e.g.,expectingafinitehuman relationshiptooffereternalbliss).Wheneverweprioritizeourselvesorthepeopleorthingsinourlivesabove rGod,weoffendhim.Wecallthissin.Thismisplaced worshipescalatesquickly,andsoit’snothardtoseetheeffectsofsininourworldtoday:war,starvation,racism, opoverty,rape,thespreadofSTDs,etc. Thatbeingsaid,manyofusdonotfeelthatwemittedsin,orwefeelthatoursinsarereallynotthat Fbigofadeal(especiallyparisontoother“bad” Tpeople).Ifwecouldchartourmoralityonabellcurve, death!
“Thewagesofsinisdeath”(Romans6:23).Inotherwords,ourpaycheckattheendofthedayforoursinfulworkisthatwewilldie—notjustphysically,buteternally.Sorryifthissoundsmorbid,butnoneofuscanescapedeath. Thoughwewerehard-wiredwithalongingfortheinfinite,wehavealteredourdestinyandhavecondemnedourselvestospendeternitywithwhatisfinite.Ithasbeensaid,“Godissolovingthatwhenyoudiehewillgiveyouwhateveryouwantforever!
Unfortunately,ifwhatyouwantisanythinglessthanGod,itwillfeellikehell.”Ponderthatforamoment.Thepointhereisnottoscareyouintobeliefbuttoacknowledgethatsinanddeatharereal—andthathumansareincapableoffixingeither. 2)GodtheSonDiedtoiveus ntheOldTestamentoftheBible,God’speoplewereenslavedinEgyptformorethan400years.GodusedMoses,asmediator,toeventuallyrescuehispeople.Aspartoftheplanforfreedom,eachhouseholdwasinstructedtosacrificeababysheep.Soundscrude,right?
Ifoursin(akindofinteriorslavery)leadstodeath,thensomethinghastodie.Rightfromthebeginning,whenhumansoffendedGod,theyneededtofindawaytomakeatonement(repairthewrong).Insteadofgivinguphisorherownlife,alambactedassubstituteforthesinfulperson—lifeforlife.Yearafteryearthepeopletriedto“getright”withGodbyofferingthesefiniteanimalsacrifices. However,theinfiniteproblemofsinstillhadnopermanentsolution.SoGodtheFathersenthisbelovedSonfromheaventoearthtoeman.Oneday,whenJesuswasbeginninghispublicministry,hewaswalkingbytheJordanRiver.JohntheBaptistpointedhimoutwiththisprophetictitle:“Behold,theLambofGod,whotakesawaythesinoftheworld”(John1:29)!
Inotherwords,hewastellingeveryonethatJesuswouldbethefinal“greatlamb”whowoulddieonce-and-for-alltodealwiththeproblemofsin.TheSon,fullyGod,tookonourfullhumanity,joiningtheinfiniteandthefinite.Beingafinitehuman,Jesuswasabletorepresentall ivenofoursinsANDlivingforeverwithGodineternallife.ivenessisfreefortheasking,andwearesavedbyJesus’giftoflove!
Whatcouldbebetter?
Butthegoodnewsdoesnotendthere. 3)GodtheHolySpiritComestoliveinus esussaid,“Icamethattheymayhavelife,andhaveitabundantly”(John10:10)!
However,heknewthatforhisfollowerstoexperiencethefullnessofthis“newlife”hewouldhavetoleavesothattheHolySpirite.(Bytheway,theHolySpiritisnotlike“TheForce.”HeisthethirddivinepersonoftheTrinity,whowantstobeinrelationshipwithyou.)Rightbeforehisdeparture,JesusinstructedhisfollowerstowaitforthepromiseoftheFather.Inafewdays(Pentecost)theywouldbe“baptizedwiththeHolySpirit”(Acts1:5).ThetermbaptismreferstoanimmersionofapersoninwaterasameansofbeingfilledwiththeHolySpirit.That’sright,Godactuallywantstodwellinsideofyou!
NotonlydidGodcreateyouinloveanddieforyoursins,buthewantstomakeofyouasacredspace,sothatyourbodyliterallyeshistemple(cf.1Corinthians3:16). WhenapersonisimmersedintheHolySpirit,everythingchangesforhimorher.Imaginebeingnearsightedandwearingglassesforthefirsttime.It’snotthatyouwereblindbefore,butthingswereoutoffocus.Suddenly,thewholeworldappearsclearandcrisp.Youmightexclaim,“Ithoughteveryonesawtheworldalittlefuzzy…butthisisthewayIwasalwaysmeanttosee!
”Receivinganout-pouring(orarenewal)oftheHolySpiritcanleadtoanewfoundclarityaboutlife,whichisoftenpaniedbygenuinepeaceandjoy.Apersonmightalsoexperienceadesireforprayer,strengthbattingoldhabitsofsin,andayearningtoreadScriptureandtolearnaboutthewaysofGod.Mostimportantly,beingfilledwiththeHolySpiritcanhelpustobefocusedonothers,makingusintomuchmorelovingpeoplethanwecouldevereonourownstrength. OurResponseGoodnewsalwaysdemandsaresponse hegoodnewsofGodtheFather,GodtheSon,andGodtheHolySpiritiswonderful,butitremains