We Can Change the World

We are always called to be open

The late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI once said, “If we allow the love of Christ to change our heart, then we can change the world.” During the Advent and Christmas seasons we were invited as people of faith to do just that, to allow Christ to be welcomed anew into our hearts so that we could move outward, changed ourselves, to make a difference in the world. And if our hearts were changed in any way, deepened perhaps, we will remember that we are always called to be open to the angels who arrive with His message, to be pregnant and then give birth to Jesus in our relationships, to ponder the Scriptures, and most important, to continually say with Mary, “Let it be done according to your will.” These things are central to the gospel of Jesus and as such they bring peace no matter what our circumstances. This is the peace of which we heard, the peace that will dwell in our hearts, nourished through prayer. However, this peace is not about emotion; rather, it is a powerful force which is found in the person of the little child, Jesus: “He shall stand firm and shepherd his flock by the strength of the Lord… And they shall remain …; He shall be peace.” (Micah 5:3-4) Who we received at Christmas is the Prince of Peace, and as His disciples we are called to bring His peace to those we evangelize  by the way in which we live our lives. This peace is indeed powerful; as Pope Benedict pointed out, with it we can change the world.

---

We must become like little children

As Christians, we are invited and empowered to become peace. What makes this so beautiful is that we are called to do it through a paradox or contradiction, the very contradiction spoken of by the prophet Simeon at the Presentation of the Lord. (Luke 2:34) The contradiction is that a little child, Jesus, came with the strength of peace, to change a world which offers a different message than then one He brought. It should not be lost on us that when that Child was an adult  undertaking the mission for which He came, He said that we must become like little children, (Matthew 18:2-6) and that the Kingdom of God belongs to children, (Mark 10:13-16).* This is a clear indication that Jesus intended each of His disciples to be a contradiction: in our powerlessness, our littleness, and our weakness, He gives us the strength to change the world one word or action at a time. 

---

The Shekinah... the glory of God

It is through the power of the Holy Spirit that we are called to do the work of healing and love, ultimately bringing peace into our encounters. We do it without extravagant measures, but simply through our daily living, strenghtened by prayer. The very same Holy Spirit that impregnated Mary when she assented is the Spirit written about in the Old Testament. When God led Moses and the Israelites out of Egypt, He led them as a fiery cloud, the cloud which Moses ultimately entered when he went up the mountain to receive God’s words. What enveloped Moses was the heart of the Shekinah, the protective power and glory of God, the intensity of God’s love made manifest. It was so profound that when Moses emerged from the Shekinah, he had to cover his face because he reflected the glory of God and could not be looked upon easily. 

---

Peace is strong when we are weak

Primarily, God’s glory made manifest was about leading them to freedom, but the reason He led them was love. That love is the same Love that came to birth in the person of Jesus, and it was extended to us after His death and resurrection. Through our Baptism, we also have that presence within; indeed, we are filled with the fire of love and the fire of peace.** This peace is strong when we are weak, a contradiction, and so it can burn away hatred and indifference, self-doubt and indecision, selfishness and all that which separates people; it burns away apathy and the thought that our ‘little’ actions cannot possibly make a difference, and it burns away our sins when we let that fire act upon our own heart through Reconciliation. 

---

We have the Shekinah presence of God with us

It would be good to reflect upon the Old Testament passages that describe the Shekinah presence of God so that we can come to a deeper recognition and understanding of the fire of His love and peace.*** Then we can appreciate, like the holy ones, how we have the Shekinah presence of God with us. This understanding can open our eyes to His presence when we go to worship and intentionally immerse ourselves into the fire of love and peace. Like Moses, Elijah, Elisha, Mary, St. Paul and countless disciples who struggled with the same things we do, if we allow our hearts to be changed, to expand and grow, then we will change the world just as they did. The good news is that we don’t have to accomplish this on our own: the power of God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, does the work, but needs our cooperation to act through us. It is in immersing ourselves in Him that we will find our hearts expanding, so that our little acts can be as a contradiction to the world, bringing peace where there is discord and love where it is absent. To be a Christian means that we have accepted the ‘mission’ to be a contradiction, to change the world. So let’s trust in Jesus and share the fire of His love and the fire of His peace.

---

May we allow the love of Christ... to change the world

May we allow the love of Christ to change our hearts so that we can change the world! May we commit ourselves to reading Scripture and reflecting prayerfully upon it! And may we trust that the Prince of Peace will continue to speak to our hearts so that we have the courage to imitate Him always! Let us meet in the Heart of Jesus! Peace!

                                                      ©Michele L. Catanese


* There are numerous statements made by Jesus in the Gospels concerning children. Here are a few in no particular order:
Mark 9:36-37: “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me.” (Also Luke 9:47-48)
Matthew 18:2-6: “Unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven….”
Matthew 19:13-14: “….Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”(Also Luke 18:15-17)

** I am using the term 'fire of peace' as a symbolic reference to the Shekinah.  
*** My suggestions are these: In Exodus read and pray with the saga of Moses from start to finish. In 1 Kings 19 read how Elijah went up the mountain: there, God’s Shekinah was a contradiction, gentle and loving rather than visibly bombastic and cataclysmic. I believe that the gentle presence of the Spirit of God that was not visible but was felt, was more ‘fiery’ and powerful than the thunder, lightning, trumpet blasts, and earthquakes in Exodus. Unlike Moses, this manifestation of the Shekinah was not something that became visible in Elijah’s face, but rather burned in his heart. It burned so much so, that he burst into flames, so to speak, when he was taken up into heaven by the fiery whirlwind not long thereafter. In 2 Kings 2:1-14 pray and reflect with Elisha: the Shekinah fire of love and peace was so powerful that it changed Elisha’s heart forever, enabling him to continue the work begun by Elijah. Then pray with the New Testament by returning to the Annunciation, Mary’s encounter with the Holy Spirit and her response to it. (Luke 1:26-56) The last suggestion is to prayerfully reflect upon the conversion of St. Paul in the Acts: the Holy Spirit literally burned the prideful attitude out of him and set his heart ablaze with the message of love and peace. (Acts 9:1-19)
Images:
1. My photo taken in a church in Vico Equense, Campania, Italy. I have never seen anything like this before, but it is a beautiful representation of the presence of Jesus.
​2. Photo, children playing.
3. My photo, taken near Mt. Cook. The lenticular clouds reminded me of God's Shekinah. There is great beauty in the contrasts in this scene.
4. My photo, butterfly on a flower: so much strength in such a small creature.
5. Image, The Holy Spirit The Lord the Giver of Life The Paraclete Sender of Peace, by Fr. William Hart McNichols. You can find it at fineartamerica.com/featured/the-holy-spirit-the-lord-the-giver-of-life-the-paraclete-sender-of-peace-093-william-hart-mcnichols.html
6. Painting, Taking the Backroad, by Kim Casebeer. 

Note: In compliance with GDPR rules, I wish to make it clear that I do not gather any information on any of my readers at any time. 

---