Save us, O Lord our GodThese are words that should begin this weekend's Masses, we Catholics are not that good at speaking about the Lord as Saviour. Being English probably makes us more reticent.
It demands not only admitting we were lost but also that we have a need for the Lord, a continuing need. Without him we are nothing. "What good would life have been to us had Christ not come as great Redeemer".
I am pretty useless at bringing back the lapsed, it probably isn't
my fault, to give up the faith has as its bottom of the line saying Jesus and his Church have nothing to offer me and I do not need him. It is probably easier to convert an atheist than to restore to full communion someone who has known God and rejected him, thankfully God himself doesn't want to lose anyone and so some do return.
Reading bits and pieces about Cardinal Mahoney and his successor distancing of himself from him after revelations of a massive cover-up of sexual abuse, though I feel sorry for Mahoney, I am rather glad that the age of men like him is passing. Apart from the cover-up, Mahoney created a Church following his own lights and insights. As an outside observer it seems as if in Los Angeles one was called, in some sense, to believe in Mahoney rather than Christ. He was nicknamed, "the Pharoah", and the notorious annual Religious Education Conferences he fronted seemed to celebrate him and his vision rather than Christ. For me, he summed up the worst 'Americanism' and Modernism, ultimately it seemed to be about pride.
Pride pushes out our need for Christ, effective evangelism must have something to do with humility and speaking about our own personal need for Christ. In the same way growth in faith only comes through understanding our deep need for Christ. In today's gospel his fellow citizens wanted to destroy Jesus because they saw no need for him.
As Christians we need to ask if we ourselves actually do we need him. Regular Confession teaches us humility and to recognise our need for him.
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