South Texas Catholic (Corpus Christi, Tex.), Vol. 55, No. 2, Ed. 1, February 2020 Page: 4 of 36
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I
I
111
I
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DIOCESE OF CORPUS CHRISTI
4 South Texas Catholic | February 2020
MESSAGE FROM THE BISHOP
EUCHARISTIC
CONGRESS
2022
Love: TheDNA of the Church
(Below is an excerpt from “I Am with You Always Until the End of the Age: A Pastoral Letter from
Bishop Michael Mulvey.”)
T
he characteristics of divine love help us rec-
JL ognize that God’s love points us toward
our neighbors to build a rapport of unity with
every person we encounter. Pope Francis speaks
of accompanying people rather than merely doing
a kind act. He calls for us to be close to people
and offer them friendship. It
is of utmost importance for
parishes and all of us to create
welcoming environments for
God’s love.
“I give you a new com-
mandment: love one another.
As I have loved you, so you
also should love one another.
This is how all will know that
you are my disciples, if you
have love for one another”
(John 13:34-35).
Love then is our great call
and vocation. It is the DNA of
the Church. As your bishop,
I want to recommit myself
first and then ask the same of
every Catholic in the diocese,
every parish, community, and
Catholic organization in the
Diocese of Corpus Christi.
Please join me in this renewed
focus on what is the “heart”
and “life blood” of the Body of Christ.
To love as God loves is something we humans
must learn. Jesus is the teacher and the one who
has revealed love to us by his words and actions.
Recalling his actions and teachings in the Gospels,
we can put together a “handbook” of what char-
acterizes divine love. And how we can live divine
love in each circumstance each day.
We identify the first characteristic of divine love
by the fact that God loves everyone. Jesus did not
show partiality or “hang out” only with his friends
or people who were like-minded with him. He gave
himself and spent time with all those he met. Think
of his encounters with Zacchaeus in Jericho, the
tax collectors that people
scorned, the sinful woman
who people wished to stone,
and the Samaritan woman
at the well.
The second distinctive
mark of divine love shows
that God takes the first
step. St. Paul reminds the
Romans, “But God proves
his love for us in that while
we were still sinners Christ
died for us” (Romans 5:8).
While we were sinners, God
made his move toward us.
Love takes the initiative and
is first to reach out. Love
does not expect or wait
for others to reach out to
us. Jesus never waited for a
person to be perfect before
reaching out to them. Love
always acts first.
A third mark is how
God sees us. The Father sees us through the eyes
of his Son. St. Matthew in Chapter 25 speaks of
the filter through which Jesus instructs us to look
into the soul of every person, “...whatever you
did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did
for me” (Matthew 25:40). The grace to see Jesus
in every person is the key to finding the presence
of Jesus each day in those we meet. The people we
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Cottingham, Mary. South Texas Catholic (Corpus Christi, Tex.), Vol. 55, No. 2, Ed. 1, February 2020, newspaper, February 2020; Corpus Christi, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1337868/m1/4/: accessed July 7, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; .