Do You Believe in the One God Sent? - Season of Joy

[After Jesus had fed the five thousand men, his disciples saw him walking on the sea.]

The next day, the crowd that remained across the sea

saw that there had been only one boat there,

and that Jesus had not gone along with his disciples in the boat,

but only his disciples had left. ...

Full scripture passage: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/042423.cfm

Today's gospel reading, which we just heard proclaimed, ends with the question: What can we do to accomplish the works of God? Jesus's answer: This is the work of God, that you believe in the one He sent. Jesus's answer puts another question to us today; a question that each of us can only answer for ourselves. Do you believe in the one God sent? I believe. And it began like most, with having faith handed down to me. A cradle Catholic, and the fifth of six children, I was raised in a devout, strongly conservative Catholic family. I was taught morals, values, and standards and was expected to live by them. I was well versed in the religious practices of prayer, attending Mass, and receiving the Sacraments. This became my road map for life, and the map helped to keep me anchored no matter the challenges in life.

I naturally expected to be able to pass along the faith to my children. Proud and happy to be able to afford to send my children to Catholic schools, my children grew up in a God-centered, Christian environment at home and at school, throughout their formative years. Imagine my surprise when my children became adults and rejected the Catholic faith, religion in general, and two of my three children rejecting a belief in the existence of God. I brought this heartbreaking matter to my beloved and trusted Spiritual Director, a Jesuit priest and Retreat Master. He assured me that my experience was common. He offered me a loving strategy:

1) Pray for your children.

2) Offer up small sacrifices for the renewal of their faith.

3) Extend invitations to them, and often, and without pressure. ‘Hey, I’m going to 10 a.m. Mass. Would you like to go?’ Want to go out to dinner? If they decline, just kindly say, ‘Okay.’

4) When they do engage with you, be careful to listen. Listen and do not offer advice unless asked for your opinion.

5) Be a good example of love, faith, hope, understanding, and forgiveness.

Easy peasy, right? Well, I'm here to tell you that after about ten years of working, and often enough failing, to incorporate the above practices, I had a powerful, sweet experience with my youngest, now 25. The child with whom I most often have discussions about God, higher power, and our own empowerment, my youngest looked at me compassionately and said, “Mom, I don't get it. What is it that you're worried about for me because I do not believe? What are you afraid of?” My response? “It's not that I think that you're going to hell when you die. What makes me sad or concerned is what you're missing out on right here, right now, on Earth by not believing in Jesus the Christ. And not realizing how the light of Christ shines now, and often so brilliantly so, in your life. ...

He shook his head, said, I love you and got out of the car. Six weeks later, I was dropping him off again after having dinner. He sweetly said goodbye and began to quickly walk away from the car since it was beginning to rain. Suddenly he turned back to me and standing in the shower of rain, he said, “Oh, hey, Mom. I wanted you to know, I believe now. I believe in God. I thought you'd be happy about that.” Indeed I was. Indeed I am. For oh what moments of amazement will he experience now, and has, that he has taken the first step to believe?

I imagine that most all of you listening to this podcast believe in the one He sent, Jesus the Christ. On Easter weekend you likely recited the renewal of your baptismal vows: Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was born of the Virgin Mary was crucified, died and was buried, rose from the dead, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father? I do. I must admit, there were more than a few times throughout my life when I spoke the, “I do,” simply by rote, with an attitude of, ‘Yes already, of course I do. Can we get on with the Mass?’ But, I've had the profound experience, and I hope you have too, when I listened intently to each baptismal promise and said, with full awareness and whole heart, “I do.” I believe in God and I believe in the one He sent, Jesus the Christ. That experience of belief is transformative, revelatory, and life giving now, here on Earth, as well as forever after that.

Read the full transcript: Read the full transcript: https://conta.cc/3W18law