All sin is social. That sentence was part of a reading I was doing yesterday. It made me stop and put the book down to think about what that means exactly. What I came to understand, with the help of the Holy Spirit, is that it goes directly to the fact that we are the Church on earth. We are the hands and feet of God on earth. All sin is social because we sin often as a world community. The stain of abortion across the United States and other parts of the world is a good example. Sin is the absence of goodness. Sin is turning away from God. There is no goodness in abortion because it is murder. But we as the church must replace the bad with good. How are we doing that in our community? Are we serving as the hands and feet of God in our local community to replace the sin of abortion with good? I finally was able to watch the movie Fireproof (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5lSu6GkC2k) this weekend. If you have not seen it, I would encourage you to do so. Some critics dismissed it because the producers used amateur actors. So what. The folks I saw in the film made up for their lack of acting experience by just being themselves. You could tell they were on fire for the Lord. They wanted to be the hands and feet for God on earth. The Love Dare is now a tool that is available for us to share with our brothers and sisters in Christ who are experiencing marital strife. I picked up a copy of the book (http://thelovedarebook.com/) and found it to be terrific. I have been blessed with a terrific spouse for the last 27 years and we are part of a trinity with God in everything we do. As scripture says, a cord of three strands is not easily torn apart. I challenge you to become the hands and feet of God in your community today.
The twelve apostles chosen by Jesus formed the bedrock of the early Church , and their Catholic identity is deeply rooted in their direct relationship with Christ and the mission He entrusted to them. The Catechism of the Catholic Church highlights this foundational role, stating that Jesus "instituted the Twelve as 'the seeds of the new Israel and the beginning of the sacred hierarchy'" ( CCC 860 ). These men were not simply followers; they were handpicked by Jesus, lived intimately with Him, witnessed His miracles and teachings firsthand, and were specifically commissioned to preach the Gospel to all nations ( Matthew 28:19-20 ). Their unique position as eyewitnesses to the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, and their reception of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, established them as the authoritative leaders of the nascent Church, a reality echoed in the writings of early Church Fathers like Ignatius of Antioch, who emphasized the apostles' authority as repre...
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