Session 4: The World and the Church; a Lent video reflection from Gregory Pierce

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Session 4: The World and the Church; a Lent video reflection from Gregory Pierce

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http://deepeningfriendship.loyolapress.com/ Join Gregory Pierce with his Lenten reflection that answers your questions. Thank you for all your comments and questions so far. As we continue our Lenten retreat, I will try to address some of the common concerns I hear from you. One of those is the issue of the Church and the world when it comes to the kingdom of God. First of all, we simply must acknowledge that there is a lot of pain among some of our fellow retreatants regarding the Church. And while we all work at ongoing healing and restoration for people who have been deeply wounded by the institution and by some individuals within it, we too can become cynical and despairing. How can the kingdom of God be manifested in this life when the church itself needs repentance and reform? First, let me say that no one who believes in the kingdom of God can ignore injustice and sin wherever we find iteven inside the Church itself. The season of Lent is a good time to reflect on how God may be leading each of us to contribute what we can to help the Church better reflect the kingdom of God. However, it is also true that we cannot let the problems our Church is presently going through be used as an excuse for our not living the kingdom of God in the world. Most of us have also experienced the Church as a source of grace in our own calling to bring about the kingdom of God in the world. In fact, if it were not for the Church, most of us would never have learned of our own mission or vocation in and to the world. As we continue to use the kingdom of God as our theme for this Lent, we know: 1.The kingdom of God has already begun, but it is not yet fully realized. That means that we will experience many things that are not the kingdom of God, even inside our own Church. We should neither be surprised by this nor let it deter us from our mission. 2.The kingdom of God is meant for the world. The kingdom is to come On earth as it is in heaven, as Jesus taught us to pray. It is Good News for everyone, especially the poor, the oppressed and those who are sad. So we cannot allow ourselves to become discouraged when we experience disappointments with the Church. We must continue to take the message of Jesus out into the world on our jobs, with our families and loved ones, and in our community and civic involvements. So, please read and then reflect upon or discuss with others two chapters from The World as It Should Be. The first is Chapter 4, In and to the World. Answer this question: How can we work for the kingdom of God in the world if our Church itself is not perfect? Let reflecting on THAT be our reflection for this week. The other chapter Id like you to read is Chapter 5, Already Begun. How do we help bring about the kingdom of God in the here-and-now, even when it is obvious that it has not yet arrived? Let reflecting on THAT be our reflection for this week. This Lent, let us take seriously Jesus command to Seek first the kingdom of God. If we do that, he promised, all else—in heaven AND on earth—will be given to us.

Category: People
Uploaded: March 15th, 2010 @ 2:14 pm
Author: LoyolaPress

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