DISCIPLES IN MISSION:

Opening Hearts to Know God’s Love

Bishop Paul S. Coakley

Deus Caritas Est (God is Love) is the title of Pope Benedict’s much anticipated first encyclical letter. The title comes from the First Letter of St. John (1 Jn 4:16) and expresses the very heart of the Gospel message.  The Holy Father observes that in the same verse St. John offers a summary of the Christian life: “We have come to know and believe in the love God has for us.”  What we have “come to know” is not an abstract doctrine, but a person, Jesus Christ, who loves us and gave his life for us.  Jesus reveals the love of the Father.  His is the human face of God.   

This transforming experience of God’s love, through our encounter with the person of Jesus Christ, is what grounds and energizes the Church’s mission of evangelization.  As St. Paul says, “Love urges us on” (2 Cor 5:14).  Empowered by the gift of the Holy Spirit we become his witnesses. 

What we have received as a gift, we must give as a gift.  Often, however, we may lose sight of the gift.  Our faith has to be renewed regularly so that we can truly “know and believe in the love God has for us.”  

Lent is the Church’s great season of renewal.  One of the special Lenten opportunities which will again be available across the Salina Diocese is the Disciples in Mission program.  Though still nearly a month away, parish leadership teams are now preparing for the third and final sequence of Disciples in Mission Lenten sessions.  

Disciples in Mission is an evangelizing ministry whose goal is to renew faith, build Christian community and prepare Catholics to become more confident in sharing their faith with others.  Small groups meeting within parishes provide opportunities to reflect on the Sunday Scriptures and to discover their application and meaning for our own lives.    

God’s word is powerful.  It transforms and renews us.  I encourage everyone to participate in Disciples in Mission and to come once again to “know and believe in the love God has for us.”