Sun., 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Nov. 3, 2013
Deacon Robert Banet
Go in the peace of Christ.
Where have I heard that before?
What’s that, Charlie?
“Go in the peace of Christ!”?
Oh, that. That’s the dismissal at the end of Mass.
Now, I remember. But sometimes the deacon says, “Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.”
Yes. And do you know what that means?
Well, I’ll take a stab at it. We love the Lord and worship Him during Mass, right?
Yes, go on. How do we serve the Lord?
You remember, when Jesus spoke to St. Paul, He said, “Why are you persecuting Me”?
So?
So Paul was persecuting the Church. Jesus did not say, “Why are you persecuting My Church?” He said, “Why are you persecuting Me?” What that means is the in some mystical sense, Jesus IS the Church.
Oh, I get it. When the deacon says serve the Lord, that’s the same as saying, serve my people, or serve the Church.
That’s great. I’ll be sure and remember that next time I hear it.
Yes, and not only hear it but put it into practice.
I always learn something when I talk to you, Charlie. Glory to God.