A Meeting of Good

Over the last few years in Athens, GA, I have gotten to know people from many different cultures, faiths, backgrounds, etc.  This exposure to diversity has been a blessing for me in my personal development and appreciation of the world in which we live.  I have come to recognize the common ground that we all share simply as a result of our human bond.  While I understand that not everyone believes in Jesus or even God for that matter, I strongly believe that we can all still believe in one another because of our shared humanity.

Pope Francis spoke just the other day about this sentiment of shared humanity. Here is an excerpt from his homily:

The Lord created us in His image and likeness, and we are the image of the Lord, and He does good and all of us have this commandment at heart: do good and do not do evil. All of us. “But, Father, this is not Catholic! He cannot do good.” Yes, he can. He must. Not can: must! Because he has this commandment within him. . . .

The Lord has redeemed all of us, all of us, with the Blood of Christ: all of us, not just Catholics. Everyone! “Father, the atheists?” Even the atheists. Everyone! And this Blood makes us children of God of the first class! We are created children in the likeness of God and the Blood of Christ has redeemed us all! And we all have a duty to do good. . . . “But I don’t believe, Father, I am an atheist!” But do good: we will meet one another there.

Now, these words have the potential to cause debate and controversy over different teachings on salvation.  However, I challenge you to simply read them through a lens of commonality with our fellow brothers and sisters in humanity.  If we can try to do this, then I think we are more likely to walk in peace with one another whether we are Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim, Atheist, etc.  

Here is another resource on the words of Pope Francis that I came across yesterday. It attempts to answer a common question that arises from inclusive statements like the one Francis made this week.  

If Atheists Can Go to Heaven, Why Bother with Faith? 

A Jesuit priest on my Manresa retreat recently, shared with us a lesson on identity.  In essence, he was teaching us that when we focus on knowing and understanding that our primary identity is that we are beloved sons and daughters of God, friends of Christ, and temples of the Holy Spirit, we will be able to work through all that life presents us.  I might go a step further and say that when we embrace our primary identity, we will be able to meet any and everyone at doing good for each other.

May we be ever-faithful, ever-mindful, and ever-joyful.