God did it again

Today a couple who had been away from the Church for a long time returned. It would be nice to say it was because of my hard work, my preaching, my attention, but that would not be true. It was entirely because God had been working on them interiorly. They had not spent the time away from God, they had spent the many years earnestly searching for the will of the Lord. It really is better the way it happened. No one needs to be Catholic because of me, but because they believe in Jesus with their whole heart and are convinced that He has established the Church.

Still, preaching is essential to spreading the Good News of God’s love. We must tell people (including ourselves) over and over again that God has loved the world so much that He sent His only Son to redeem us (see John 3:16). He calls us to be His children, to experience the Love of God and to spend eternity in the home of Our Father in Heaven. Every day, the priests, deacons, and vowed religious, as well as many others, pray the Liturgy of the Hours. Repeatedly, we recite the Psalms and Canticles. And eventually, the soak in like a gentle rain, getting to our roots. That is the way preaching should be- soaking the hearer with the Truth of God over and over again, so that the Truth can reach down to the roots. It is the work of God, but He calls us to be cooperators.