At this point, most of us new bishops are on overload with the amount of information received. Overall, the presentations are quite insightful and quite helpful. The real challenge of the week is the jet-lag complimented by the endless challenge of functioning in various languages.
As in the days of being a student here in Rome, it is always interesting to ¨rub elbows¨with people from other countries and other experiences. The bishops of our group are 110 representing 39 different countries. We are enjoying our time together.
One of the recurring themes of the many talks, whether on communication in the digital age, evangelization, culture, family life, social teaching of the Church or prayer is the reality that all the Church, in all its members, is to be in a living relationship with the living Christ. All of us are called to continually grow in our relationship with Christ, so as to be a ¨living, walking gospel in the world¨.
From nurturing our interior life with the Living Word of God, to personal prayer, to reception of the Sacraments, most fundamental of all the Eucharist, we are to then put this life of Christ into “action” in the day to day life we live.
For example, if a married couple is to be another “incarnation” of Christ through the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony, their day to day life must also be rooted in the regular reception of the other sacraments of the Church. Thus, they are properly and well equipped to embody the love of Christ in the love for each other, in their love for their children, and in their love for those placed in the daily life.
This is what the ministry of the Church is ultimately to aim for; assisting every Catholic, indeed every person, to encounter Christ and to embody Christ more and more fully in their own lives.
Jesus Christ is the fullest expression of the full potential of every human person. He is our “starting point” and our “end”. The work of the Church is to bring all people to Christ, that we may be fully all that God envisions in and for us. It is only in and through Christ we come to the Father, we come to the Kingdom. Let us continue to seek Christ together, that together, we may go to the Father.
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