NOTE: Christ in Our Neighborhood is a parish-based program consisting of small Christian communities that gather in the home weekly to prayerfully discuss the upcoming Sunday Mass readings. It’s easy to form a community and you can find out more at Christ in Our Neighborhood – The Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix (dphx.org)
This coming Sunday, we celebrate Pentecost. The question the Christ in Our Neighborhood Reflection asks us is: In what way are you Christ to those around you?
This is the question that gets right to the heart of the matter: Are we really living out our faith or are we just paying lip service to it?
Christ loves every single person, no matter what they have done or where they have been. His love is unconditional, even for those who do not love Him. Christ speaks the truth, even when it’s uncomfortable. Christ sacrificed for us — even when it led to a painful death on the cross.
To be Christ to those around us is a high calling and not something we do on our own. He commands us to love our enemies.
Let that sink in for a moment. How counter-cultural it is to love our enemies! It goes against our fallen human nature to love those who have hurt us or who despise us. Indeed. it is only in the power of the Holy Spirit that we find the strength to be Christ to our neighbors.
As we celebrate Pentecost, it’s a good time to call to mind the gifts of the Holy Spirit entrusted to us: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of God. The evidence of those gifts being put to use in our life shows up in the fruits of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control
All these gifts and fruits empower us to truly be Christ to those around us.
If you haven’t joined a Christ in Our Neighborhood small group yet, perhaps you are being called to start one yourself. Check out our website today to find out more: dphx.org/Christ-in-our-neighborhood.
Watch the video of the weekly podcast segment featuring Christ in Our Neighborhood with Bishop Dolan by clicking HERE.
To sign up for our weekly Christ in Our Neighborhood newsletter that has everything you need for your next meeting, visit: https://phoenixdiocese.flocknote.com/CION
