Rescued Series

Created

“In the beginning…” These first words of the Bible, literally “Genesis”, proclaim that God has created all things with a word, a fiat of consent. God says, and it exists. God has created humanity – male and female – in His image and likeness. He has created us out of love and for love. This is the first part of the kerygma: the message of the Gospel that we are learning to understand and proclaim during our Lenten preaching series entitled Rescued. What is the content of the Gospel that we are called to share? It is the four words Created, Captured, Rescued and Response. This means that you are not a mistake, you were deliberately chosen by God to exist and live and respond to the mission that He has for you. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says it this way:

God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of sheer goodness, freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life. For this reason, at every time and in every place, God draws close to man. He calls man to seek him, to know him, to love him with all his strength. He calls together all men, scattered and divided by sin, into the unity of his family, the Church. To accomplish this, when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son as Redeemer and Savior. In his Son and through him, he invites men to become, in the Holy Spirit, his adopted children and thus heirs of his blessed life. (CCC, 1) Our Mission this week is to open our Bibles and read Psalm 65; Genesis 3, 4, 6 and Exodus 1-5 to prepare for our next homily on Captured. Feel free to pick up Fr. John Riccardo’s book Rescued: the Unexpected and Extraordinary News of the Gospel for further reflection and take the time to discuss these questions with family and friends:

Discussion Questions:

1. What am I anxious or fearful about right now in my life? Is my life filled with confidence and trust or am I riddled with anxiety and fear?

2. What effect does contemplating the grandeur and magnificence of God and his personal love have on me and on my fears?

3. What is my image of God now?

God bless you!— Father Michael