One of the defining moments of Jesus’ public ministry takes place before his work even begins. In the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, God’s Spirit leads Jesus into the desert for fasting and prayer. While there, Satan attacks him with temptations to vanity, worldly power and glory.
In effect, Christ’s knowledge of who he really is and the nature of his messiahship are put to the test. Pressed by the devil to turn stones into bread, a hungry and weakened Jesus nonetheless answers: “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God’” (Mt 4:4).
Reading the New Testament reminds us again and again that Christian discipleship has social implications. We have obligations of charity, mercy and justice to each other that bind us together as one human family. We cannot be saved alone. We prove our faith and we make our way to God through service to other people, especially the poor and the weak.
The Epistle of James especially warns us that pious words alone do not make a Christian. James urges us to “be doers of the word and not hearers only” (Jas 1:22). And he stresses that “religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world” (Jas 1:27).
We are in the world, and we have duties to help ease its needs. We’re called to make it a more virtuous and humane place. But — and this is vital — we are not of the world. The material dimension of Gospel justice flows from a deeper and more important spiritual truth: We were created by God. We cannot be happy or whole without him.
Human beings are much more than mere animals or interesting biochemical systems. We have souls. Through Jesus Christ, we will live forever. Thus we have needs and longings that can never be satisfied by merely material things.
There can be no real “justice” divorced from questions about man’s final purpose and humanity’s deeper spiritual hungers. Any social order that denies God or refuses to allow him space in the public life of its people fundamentally attacks its own legitimacy because it denies reality and trivializes the scope of the human person.
This week, on Ash Wednesday, Catholics around the world begin the holy season of Lent, one of the most sacred periods in the Christian year. Lent is a time for self-denial and prayer; a time to reconnect with Scripture; a time to purify ourselves and reconcile with God through the sacrament of penance. It’s an invitation to humility, forgiveness of others, honest self-examination and repentance — but also to growing joy, because with Easter, our redemption will be at hand.
Lent is a precious time and gift; a unique chance to reorient our lives toward those unseen but enduring things that really matter. This year, may God grant us the wisdom to use these weeks of Lent well. May we remember that we serve justice best by first giving ourselves to God; and then bringing the light of Jesus Christ to others through the witness of our lives, our words and our actions. There is no justice without truth; and only Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life.
Thank you for the reminder that being a Christian is not for the passive. The Christian puts the Gospel into action through works “and” prayers.
“Through Jesus Christ, we will live forever!”
Thank you for reminding us of His amazing friendship and love!What can we possibly give in return?
Archbishop, I was one of the first to bash you for the closing of our schools. Let me just as quickly thank you for your strength to reverse these decisions. I for one will do all I can to make sure you don’t regret it. With my deepest thanks, Matthew Palmer
Archbishop-please know your words of pure truth do not fall on deaf ears. May the Holy Spirit continue to inspire you with our Blessed Mother’s constant protection–God bless you and thanks for all you do for God’s people.
Thank you, again, for you inspirational words, Archbishop. I hope our archdiocese’s leaders will heed your words about truth and justice and they are called to more openness and honesty in dealing with the Faithful of our Church.
Archbishop Chaput: “Re-orienting our lives to the things that matter”
The protection of the children of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania from sexual predation and abuse, regardless of the organization or agency, public or private, in the family or in the community. We all can agree that this is a “thing that matters”.
Support HB 832 and 878, sponsored by Reps. McGeehan and Bishop, Philadelphia which would provide better protection, now and in the future, for the state’s children as well as ensure legal access for the victims to pursue their cases through the court system, civilly and criminally.
Lent calls me to apply a series of jolts to my ego. Somewhere under this facade is the creature God desires me to be. Now all I have to do is want to find it badly enough.