This weekend we welcome another priest to the parish: Fr. Jeremy from the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Once a year we have a chance to support missionary work throughout the world. This weekend we have a chance to support Fr. Jeremy and his congregation. You can find more about his work in this bulletin and also from what he tells us at each of the weekend Masses. Please welcome him, pray for his order’s work, and, if able, support that work through a financial contribution.
Why do we give to the Church and to her missions? In the Acts of the Apostles we hear about the community of believers who were of “one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they had everything in common. With great power the Apostles bore witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great favor was accorded them all.” This sharing of one another’s goods mentioned in Acts included not only physical goods, but also spiritual and intellectual goods as well. This is still found in one form in the monasteries and convents.
Notice that this “charismatic communism” in Acts has a deeper meaning than simply egalitarianism or humanism. It relates to the jubilee theme in the Old Testament. Old Testament law provided for a “Year of Jubilee” occurring every fifty years, in which wealth and property were redistributed and abject poverty among the Israelites essentially eliminated. Significantly, this Jubilee was proclaimed on the Day of Atonement. After the people’s debt of sin was abolished by the High Priest in the Temple, a trumpet was blown throughout the land and debts of money were forgiven everywhere. Importantly the Jubilee was the socio-economic sign of a spiritual reality. Here we see the Church, after the true Day of Atonement, of Christ’s death and Resurrection, living out, being a sign to the Jews and the world that forgiveness and equality have been established. True charity and neighborly concern finds its meaning through the Cross and Resurrection.
As the Church grew and spread throughout the world, this “charismatic communism” of the small, early Church became unworkable, but today the principle of a communion of goods remains. Symbolically it is found in the Mass during the Collection. It might seem like it is tacked on, but the collection is actually an important part of the Mass. It acknowledges that God is the giver of every good gift, and that we are simply offering back to Him, what he has given to us. It shows that we can offer something and participate in the sacrifice of the Mass. It provides us the opportunity to share our excess goods with the needy. It is an act which looks forward to the eschatological reality present in the community of believers. Finally, it is an important symbolic gesture, by giving visible sign to the communion of goods, which expresses a real aspect of the communion of saints. In this way (among many others) we make tangible the reality of forgiveness, equality and mercy made possible through the Risen Christ.