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PRACTICING BUT NOT BELIEVING: In the days of Communist rule in Poland, a visiting dignitary from the West was on a mission to Warsaw. A chief of protocol was assigned to accompany the official on his visit, which included attending Mass at the cathedral. The visitor asked the Polish functionary, "Tell me, are you a Catholic?" "Believing, sir, but not practicing," he replied. "Of course," the diplomat said. "Then in that case you must be a member of the Communist Party." The Polish official responded, "Practicing, sir, but not believing."
CONNECTION: In today's Gospel, Jesus calls us to decide exactly what we believe and hold sacred. Our baptismal certificates are much more than membership cards identifying us as belonging to a group of like-minded Christians. Faith is a calling to proclaim to a despairing world the promise of the resurrection and the life of the world to come. Jesus' question to His followers in the Gospel asks us exactly what we mean when we say we are "Christian;" when we pray that "we believe in Jesus Christ, (God's) only Son and our Lord;" when we identify ourselves as members of this family of faith. Our love for family and friends, our dedication to the cause of what is right and just, our taking the first step towards reconciliation and forgiveness, our simplest acts of kindness and generosity declare most effectively and courageously our belief in the Gospel Jesus as the Messiah and Redeemer.
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