HE SHALL COME AGAIN TO JUDGE THE LIVING AND THE DEAD...
“To say ‘I believe… that Jesus will come again in glory’ is to say that hope is alive and well and
feeding on faith in God’s presence and love for God’s life in the world.”
“The segment of the Creed that calls us to remember judgment… is not a call to fear, it is
a call to growth, to rightmindedness, to fidelity of direction. It is a call to the human community and a
reminder to the individual. We are reminded by the thought of judgment that we
must make hope real. We have not been
created only to come to glory but to bring with us to Judgment Day our own
portion of the reign of God. We are
expected, the Creed implies, to prove our accountability, both personal and
communal, to God’s hopes for mankind.”
Practice: We are called to help the Kingdom of God to
grow; we are accountable to God for our participation in the Kingdom: “thy
kingdom come, on earth as it is in
Heaven.” The Catechism of the Catholic Church relates this to our “duty to put
into action in this world the energies and means received from the Creator to
serve justice and peace.” Find a
concrete way to “serve justice and peace” this week. Volunteer at the Thrift Store or Hot Lunch
Program, either on site Tuesday mornings, or by offering to deliver a vegetable
dish. Or identify another cause you can
bring passion to, and volunteer!
Quotations from Benedictine
sister Joan Chittister’s book In Search of Belief, which explores the Apostles’ Creed phrase by phrase,
demonstrating how the Creed is not a static set of rules or statements, but a
living document that speaks to the deepest meaning of our existence and serves
as a life guide, calling all of us to engage more deeply in relationship with
God and with each other. Sr.
Chittister’s thoughts challenge us to live the Creed more fully as Christians;
her writing is thought-provoking and inspirational.
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