Catholicism: Today's Counterculture
Today's readings are a clarion call for us to continually reinforce and reset our boundaries between the world and the Kingdom of God. "Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind ...", urges St. Paul, and "Get behind me, Satan!", commands Jesus. We live as pilgrims who practice detachment and we do so in a radical way.
In a culture that is saturated by relativism, hedonism, materialism, narcissism and addictive instant gratification via technology, it is incumbent upon us not only to limit our participation in idle vanities, but also to increase our daily engagement with activities that edify us and those around us. It is thus that we move ever closer to God. We deny our own whimsical and restless desires, and surrender some of our precious time and energy to prayer, spiritual reading, devotions and acts of service so that we may rest in God's peace and consolations.
We also grow in our embrace of Catholicism, the fullness of beauty and truth, the deposit of faith, and the moral compass for all humanity. As Blessed Conchita once wrote, "To love the Church is to cooperate with the work of Redemption by the Cross and in this way obtain the grace of the Holy Spirit come to renew the face of this poor earth, conducting it to its consummation in the design of the Father's immense love." Indeed, the Catholic Church follows her Savior on the way to Calvary.
Jesus says, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me." It is imperative that we participate in Christ's sacrifice" ... because in his incarnate divine person he has in some way united himself to every person … in the paschal mystery … " (CCC 618). St. Rose of Lima beautifully affirms this: "Apart from the Cross there is no other ladder by which we may get to heaven." We accept our sufferings and we passionately offer them up to the Father in a world that scorns the Cross.
As the prophet Jeremiah details his interior crisis, he shows us that true discipleship includes genuine suffering at the hands of others. Conversely, the psalmist depicts the love and union and devotion of those who consistently thirst for Christ over this passing world: "My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God!"
--Chris Engstrom
Send Us Forth are reflections written by St. Matthew parishioners and friends.