divine love and our responsibility
"When much has been given a man, much will be required of him. More will be asked of a man to whom more has been entrusted." —Luke 12:48
We Catholic Christians rejoice that we have the fullness of the faith. No one can receive any more than the fullness.
We receive the Body and the Blood, the soul and the divinity of Jesus in Holy Communion. What more can God do for us?
All Christians have by virtue of Baptism a double, simultaneous indwelling — God is in us and we are in Him (see Jn 6:56; 17:23). God has given us "immeasurably more than we ask or imagine" (Eph 3:20).
God even became a Man, died on the cross, and rose from the dead for our salvation. "There is no greater love than this" (Jn 15:13).
God has given us a new nature (see 2 Pt 1:4) and made us " 'a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people He claims for His own to proclaim the glorious works' of the One Who called [us] from darkness into His marvelous light" (1 Pt 2:9).
All this is only part of the beginning of the manifestation of God's love for us. Our future is "full of hope" (Jer 29:11), for "eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor has it so much as dawned on man what God has prepared for those who love Him" (1 Cor 2:9).
It is a profound understatement to say that the Lord has given us much and more than much. Because we are perfectly and infinitely loved, much more is required of us (Lk 12:48). Live and love accordingly.
Prayer: Father, make my life holy — of the highest quality.
Promise: "Offer yourselves to God as men who have come back from the dead to life, and your bodies to God as weapons for justice." —Rm 6:13
Praise: St. John of Capistrano was a lawyer and judge before becoming a Franciscan priest. He preached in Italy, Germany, Austria, Hungary and Russia.
Rescript: †Most Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Auxiliary Bishop, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, March 11, 2019
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