COUNCIL #112
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CHAPLAIN'S
MESSAGE
By Rev. Anthony Kuzia, CM
May 2008
In the May issue of Columbia magazine, Bishop Lori continues his series of formation articles on the Catechism. This month the Bishop addresses atheism, that is, a non-belief in God, and the attempt by some atheists to discredit a belief in God by others.
In his article, Bishop Lori writes about God’s desire to reveal himself to his people. Humans, enlightened by faith through grace tell the story of God’s revelation to His people through creation and all through Salvation History. We find the record of this revelation in our sacred scriptures; the Old and the New Testament. It is faith, the Bishop writes, that “allows us to hold fast to God as the foundation of our existence and to assent to all he has revealed.” But not everyone has given a conscious assent to God in revelation. How are we to respond?
Pope John Paul II wrote an encyclical entitled “Veritas Splendor,” the “Splendor of Truth,” that deals with the topic of the truth of God’s revelation to man. In this encyclical the Pope offered great hope for all of humankind to come to know God. The Pope provides evidence of this by the observation that all people, regardless of their belief or unbelief in a faith system, have a basic understanding of the difference between right and wrong. For instance, all people know that it is wrong to do something to someone that you would not want done to you.
This means that every person is touched by God’s grace, even if they do not recognize it or believe that it is there. We know this because our faith teaches that every good act humans do, both believers and non-believers, has its origins in God. Therefore, when humans assent to do good, they are saying yes to God.
It is God’s intent that all come to know Him and believe in Him. Our spiritual recognition of this gift of faith from God increases our responsibility to those who do not yet believe. But what are we called to do?
First, I believe we are called to love. St. Augustine once said, “But who can doubt that love comes first?” The unbelief of another is not an excuse for us to treat them with disdain; even in the face of persistent arrogance and hostility, Christ calls us to love. This Christ like love is transformational. Second, we are called to pray. Third, we are called to lead by example. Our life should be a testimony to our faith in God and the belief that we are called to witness our faith to others. The following prayer by St. Theresa of Avila shows the great importance of embracing this responsibility. I pray that all of us accept the grace that leads us to bring others to belief.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours; yours are the eyes through which Christ's compassion looks out on the world, yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good and yours are the hands with which He is to bless us now.
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