Last Monday was Labor Day, so that means that summer is behind us and the new school year is in full swing. Our students are all back in school, dedicating themselves to their studies. We here at St Jude have our school year activities in full swing too. We have an exciting year ahead of us in our faith formation program for our children, youth, and adults. And Sunday and Monday evening, we start our ALPHA programs for youth and adults as well.
Sister Elizabeth Johnson, a professor emerita of theology and religion at Fordham University in New York, wrote a book entitled Quest for the Living God. We might think about what we have at the foundation of our Catholic faith. We have our liturgies and the Sacraments of the Church. We have Sacred Scripture, doctrine, and dogma. We have our theology and the writings of the saints. We have so many important facets of our faith. But Sister Elizabeth Johnson asks these pertinent questions in her book: Where is God alive in the everyday lives of the people? Where do we see God present in our lives? If you ask a person in the pews here at St Jude these questions, you are going to receive different answers depending upon the person. And sometimes where we encounter God in our own lives perhaps even surprises us.
In his short letter to Philemon, St Paul writes on the behalf of the escaped slave Onesimus, even though, Paul imprisoned himself, hardly is in a position of power. Yet, Paul place his trust in his living Lord Jesus Christ, his savior who is very much alive in the reality of Paul's life. Like the way we see God present in our own lives, Paul saw God in the midst of his reality. Paul used his faith to evangelize and to touch the lives of others, as he does in the letter to Philemon.
As we journey and grow in our faith through the different programs here at St Jude, through our liturgies, our faith formation program, and our evangelization program ALPHA, may God’s grace accompany you and guide you on your quest for the living God.
No comments:
Post a Comment