To the Ends of the Earth: Action – Week 1, Day 2 – The Eucharist is About Abundance
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What does it profit, my brethren, if a man says he has faith but has not works? Can his faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and in lack of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what does it profit? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.
James 2:14–17
Some believe that Catholics preach a “works-based” salvation, that God requires us to jump through a series of spiritual “hoops” in order to get to heaven. In reality, Catholics see salvation as faith lived out in everyday life. Each day is a glorious opportunity to store up treasure in heaven, to make investments of righteousness in the lives of those around us, especially our children.
As Catholic fathers, we cannot just talk the talk of faith; our faith must be completed by acts of love. It is critical that our children see us living out our faith in an integrated way. How we witness to what it means to be Catholic is crucial to leading our children — and all children of the Church — into putting flesh onto their faith by acts of Christian charity done in service to Christ. As they grow into adulthood, it is their faith, completed by charity, that will form them into solid members of the Church who will live to spread the Gospel to the whole world.
Questions for reflection
Do you live your faith in acts of love, or are there days when you simply “talk the talk”?
Do your children (or the children in your life) see you living your faith? If not, how can you begin to change that?
How can you encourage other men to be godly witnesses in their homes and families by putting flesh onto faith by acts of charity done in service to Christ?
Praying with Scripture
And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. (1 Jn 3:23)
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Mark C. McCann is an author and Ministry Consultant with more than 30 years of writing and ministry experience. He has published articles for a number of Catholic magazines and websites including St. Anthony Messenger, Emmanuel Magazine, Liguorian Magazine, Catholic Stand, the Connecticut Catholic Men's Conference, and Homiletic and Pastoral Review. He recently published the 4-volume Catholic men's devotional, To the Ends of the Earth, as well as the 2021 Advent Daybreaks devotional and 2022 Lenten Daybreaks devotional with Liguori Publishing. He has also released his End Times novel series, Jacob's Dream: The Vision and Jacob's Dream: The Final Battle. He was a radio host and producer for 8 years at a Connecticut Christian radio station and has worked as a Catholic religion teacher/campus minister and a parish youth minister. He has also served the Norwich, CT Diocese as a Youth Ministry Director and Family Life Director. He currently lives in Connecticut with his Proverbs 31 wife, where together they have brought up three incredible children. He strives each day to live out his call to be a man of words. You can learn more about Mark and his writing at www.wordsnvisions.com.
