God's Mail

Marcus Grodi of The Coming Home Network, Intl., talks about the verses he overlooked as a Protestant Pastor.

I know what he means by that. It seems that I stumble upon verses - daily - that underscore the truth that Jesus established one Church, a visible and tangible Church, and placed within Her the fullness of the faith.

There was a time when I would have said that any faith community who claims to have the full deposit of Truth, to be the one Church Jesus founded, was obviously a cult (or at the very least extremely stuck on themselves).

But now, it seems like God puts a message in my mailbox daily to let me know that He did, indeed, establish one Church - see red sections in today's reading. Sometimes, these messages come from the writings of early Church Fathers, but more often than not, they come straight from Holy Scripture. They are everywhere in Sacred Scripture, if we have eyes to see.

The only explanation I have for why I missed it for 40 years is that we all focus on different things . . . like sorting the mail . . . and we keep what we think is important and set aside as junk mail what we think is not that important. I would have to say that, as a Protestant, I simply would have focused on different parts of the following passage - see gray parts.

From Today's Mass Reading:

Ephesians 3:8-12,14-19

I, Paul, who am less than the least of all the saints have been entrusted with this special grace, not only of proclaiming to the pagans the infinite treasure of Christ but also of explaining how the mystery is to be dispensed. Through all the ages, this has been kept hidden in God, the creator of everything. Why? So that the Sovereignties and Powers should learn only now, through the Church, how comprehensive God’s wisdom really is, exactly according to the plan which he had had from all eternity in Christ Jesus our Lord. This is why we are bold enough to approach God in complete confidence, through our faith in him; This, then, is what I pray, kneeling before the Father, from whom every family, whether spiritual or natural, takes its name:
Out of his infinite glory, may he give you the power through his Spirit for your hidden self to grow strong, so that Christ may live in your hearts through faith, and then, planted in love and built on love, you will with all the saints have strength to grasp the breadth and the length, the height and the depth; until, knowing the love of Christ, which is beyond all knowledge, you are filled with the utter fullness of God.





(I also like the part about the hidden self - hence the bold text. Another very Catholic sort of thing. Makes me think of St. Therese and the strength that comes from being small and hidden.)

God's Mail