"The Gospel is about the kingdom of God"
the Eucharistic Liturgy and Catholic Social Teaching
Tomorrow night, Thursday, May 11th, I’m giving a talk at the Catholic Information Center in Grand Rapids, about the relationship between the Eucharistic Liturgy and Catholic Social Teaching.
It was exciting to put this talk together because it hits several ideas that I’ve been speaking and writing about for the past few years, things like:
Theosis
The Liturgy as place of healing and transformation
Morality = Living as Christ
Grace and Pelagianism
The Kingdom of God
Solidarity
The preferential option for the poor
The universal destination of goods
And, if I have time to sneak it in, St. Maximilian Kolbe :)
The heart of this talk is that God does not just desire to heal me of sin and make me divine, but he desires to heal and transform the entire world, to establish a kingdom of justice and peace. And he has given me a role in that plan.
“The Gospel is not merely about our personal relationship with God. Nor should our loving response to God be seen simply as an accumulation of small personal gestures to individuals in need…or a series of acts aimed solely at easing our conscience. The Gospel is about the kingdom of God; it is about loving God who reigns in our world. To the extent that he reigns within us, the life of society will be a setting for universal fraternity, justice, peace and dignity”
(Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium 180).
I’m really excited to give this talk. If you’re local to West Michigan, you can attend in person. If you’re not local, you can attend online. It will run from 7:00-8:30pm (EST). Registration is required and there’s a $10 donation suggested.
This presentation is part of the series celebrating the National Eucharistic Revival (eucharisticrevival.org).
Register below! I believe the talk will also eventually go up on Youtube.