The Church’s Apostolic Charity

As agents of Christ in the world, our approach to the world around us ought to be different than that of an unbeliever. 

by Fr. Jeff Loseke

When Jesus established the apostolic ministry among His own Apostles, He commanded them to continue His mission of reconciliation in the world.  We see this most clearly Saint_Luke_Catholic_Church_(Danville,_Ohio)_-_tympanum_painting_-_Immaculate_Heart,_Charityexpressed by Jesus in His appearances to the Apostles after the Resurrection (e.g., Matthew 28:18-20; Luke 24:46-49; John 20:21-23).  Not only did He command them to preach “repentance, for the forgiveness of sins” (cf. Luke 24:47) but also He gave them a share in His very power so as to effect it.  The Apostles, once filled with the Holy Spirit, went out and began building up the Church, the Body of Christ on earth.

Saint Paul reminds us that, “It was he [Christ] who gave some to be apostles… to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God…” (Ephesians 4:11-13).  As Jesus’ disciples today, we have benefited from the witness of the Apostles and have been gathered together in virtue of our common baptism.  Our mandate is clear: we must be active in “works of service.”  Anyone who has heard the Gospel and has been taught how to live as a disciple cannot ignore the prompting of the Spirit to put his or her faith into action.  Through our works of charity, we participate with the Apostles in transforming the world and communicating Christ’s presence wherever we go.  As agents of Christ in the world, our approach to the world around us ought to be different than that of an unbeliever.  The way we conduct our business, participate in our communities, and raise our families ought to show others how Christ Himself would do such things.  Living more like Christ will draw us more and more together and overcome the divisions our sins have caused.

As Catholics, we recognize that the apostolic ministry itself has been shared with the Apostles and their successors, the Bishops today, through the laying on of hands and the invocation of the Holy Spirit (cf. 2 Timothy 1:1-2,6).  We are confident that the Apostolic line has remained unbroken for 2,000 years and that Christ’s ministry remains present and active in His Church today.  All of us who have benefited from the Apostolic ministry—especially through the preaching of the Word and the reception of the Sacraments—must take up our own part in the Church’s apostolate.  Through our works of charity, we reveal to the world that Jesus Christ is indeed risen from the dead and that He desires to draw the whole world to Himself for salvation.

The Reverend Jeffery S. Loseke is a Priest of the Archdiocese of Omaha and is currently the pastor of  St. Charlccn_father-les Borromeo Parish in Gretna, Nebraska.  Ordained in 2000, Fr. Loseke holds a Licentiate in Sacred Theology (S.T.L.) from the Pontifical Athenaeum of St. Anselm in Rome and is working to complete his doctoral degree (Ed.D.) in interdisciplinary leadership through Creighton University in Omaha.  In addition to parish ministry, Fr. Loseke has served as a chaplain in the U.S. Air Force, taught high school theology and college-level philosophy, and has been a presenter for various missions, retreats, and diocesan formation days across the country.

Art: Saint Luke Catholic Church (Danville, Ohio) – tympanum painting – Immaculate Heart, Charity, 2016 (Wikimedia Commons)

 

The Terrible Beauty of God’s Love

Despite our complete inadequacy before God, we know that He desires that we open up ourselves in order to give ourselves to Him to the best of our abilities—even if it falls short.  Love requires an openness that makes one vulnerable.

by Fr. Jeff Loseke

There is nothing more beautiful—and more terrifying—than to reflect upon the love of God.  God’s love is so beautiful and so terrifying because God’s love is utterly real.  It is Believer Heartnot merely an emotion, a thought, or an ideal.  Rather, the love of God is His very self.  To stand before the love of God is to stand before Him who made us and who knows us better than we could ever know ourselves.  Despite our complete inadequacy before God, we know that He desires that we open up ourselves in order to give ourselves to Him to the best of our abilities—even if it falls short.  Love requires an openness that makes one vulnerable.

As human beings, we do such a good job covering up our weaknesses and donning various armors and defense mechanisms all for the sake of protecting our weak and vulnerable selves.  On the one hand, we desire love and intimacy.  On the other hand, we want to remain in control.  We struggle with weakness—both in ourselves and in others.  We are often perturbed by our own lack of strength and fortitude, and we are not always gentle and understanding with the weaknesses and shortcomings of others.  And so, as an antidote, we must look to the Cross.

The Cross of Jesus Christ is God’s most perfect communication of His love for us.  On the Cross, Jesus chose to become weak, broken, despised, and even forgotten.  What an act of faith to look at Jesus’ Cross and see God there!  To the nonbeliever, one would see only a criminal, beaten beyond recognition, guilty of treason, and left to die on an instrument of profound humiliation and torture.  He is a loser, defeated… and yet, in that total emptying of self, He gives all, and He gains all.  This is the truth about love, which makes little sense to our secular society that is driven primarily by feelings, emotions, and personal desires.

To understand and relish the truth about love requires one to spend time studying, digesting, and even entering into a relationship with the truth.  I use the word relationship to highlight this reality because if God is truth, then to know and relish the truth is to know and relish one’s relationship with God.  That relationship, however, ought not to collapse in on itself, however.  Therefore, to translate the truth into the way one lives his or her life is necessary for love to be complete.  Love must bear fruit, give life, and bring people together.  It must be relational, fruitful, and affect the way we live our lives—for God and for others.  This is the mystery of love, the mystery of God, and the mystery of the human person.  To be open and vulnerable before another in total self-gift is to be real.  This is what makes God’s love both beautiful and terrifying at the same time.

 

The Reverend Jeffery S. Loseke is a Priest of the Archdiocese of Omaha and is currently the pastor of  St. Charlccn_father-les Borromeo Parish in Gretna, Nebraska.  Ordained in 2000, Fr. Loseke holds a Licentiate in Sacred Theology (S.T.L.) from the Pontifical Athenaeum of St. Anselm in Rome and is working to complete his doctoral degree (Ed.D.) in interdisciplinary leadership through Creighton University in Omaha.  In addition to parish ministry, Fr. Loseke has served as a chaplain in the U.S. Air Force, taught high school theology and college-level philosophy, and has been a presenter for various missions, retreats, and diocesan formation days across the country.

Art: Christ, helped by angels, decorates the believer’s heart wit, 2014 (Wikimedia Commons)

 

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