But God is also Love - and the nature of Love is to create more Love, give Love to others. Love is diffusive of itself. How do we know God is Love? Could any Universe be more beautiful, more creatively diverse, more intricate, more finely tuned? Such a creation, like any human work of art or science, had to be lovingly made. Could Love exist in this world - and we know it does just by thinking of the people who love us - if our Creator isn't passionately alive with Love?
But even if God created us, could God have chosen to set creation in motion, and then leave us alone? Many of the Fathers of our Country were Deists, and that is exactly what Deists believe: for them, God is an Uninvolved, Indifferent Deity Who does not interfere with us and does not interact with us.
Many people today are Deists; they don't believe that a personal relationship with God is possible.
But, if God is Love, if God is a Lover, what do Lovers do? They want an intimate relationship; they give their hearts away. The overwhelmingly Good News that Christians believe is that God DOES love us, and God DOES get involved in our lives - and not from a distance. God chose to set foot on our world. God chose to take on a fragile, limited body, the flesh, bone, and blood of Jesus of Nazareth. God chose to be one with us to have the most intimate relationship possible with us. Even though we sinned and turned away from His Face. Even though the end result of His intimate relationship with us was Jesus' death on a cross. Death, followed by a glorious resurrection.
How could a perfect God love totally imperfect, inadequate, you or me? Because Love above all else is merciful. Love is Patient. Kind. Enduring. Forgiving. Love never Ends. If we try to live like this, how much more so does God, Who is so far above us and beyond us that we cannot begin to fathom the depths of purest Love and Mercy?
Pope Francis says "The salvation which God offers us is the work of his mercy. No human efforts, however good they may be, can enable us to merit so great a gift. God, by His sheer grace, draws us to Himself and makes us one with Him. He sends His Spirit into our hearts to make us his children, transforming us and enabling us to respond to his love by our lives."
When we look at our lives, we know that we need people, we weren't created to live in isolation. That is why God doesn't call us as individuals, or by our own efforts. God chose to call a people, people who live in relationship with each other just as God lives in relationship as Trinity. God created a People of God in every age; God created a network of committed personal relationships called His Church.
We who are the Church have been baptized into Christ's death, and given eternal life in and through His resurrection. What incredible news! But, do we keep this Good News to ourselves? Do we think only our priests, deacons, ministers, women religious, and laity like Directors of Religious Education are called to spread the Good News? We are ALL the Church, and "Evangelization - spreading the Good News - is the task of the Church."
Have you thought about your own personal Good News, the Gospel of your life? The unpredictable, mysterious way God has led you through the years. The gifts of people God has given you. The sudden, unexpected graces of consolation in hard, tragic times. The Divine Strength that has upheld you in times of doubt and temptation. The Words of Scripture that have given you clarity and light. The prayers that have enfolded you in God's heart. The worship experiences with your faith community that have deepened your commitment to each other and to God.
You have your own story of grace and redemption, your own words to speak about how God has been in a personal, intimate, loving relationship with you through the years. But do you speak about God? Do you share your own, personal story of faith, hope, and love, as a member of a Church which is called to spread the Good News?
To speak about God to others, to share our own stories of our personal faith journeys, is the greatest Work of Mercy in our lives. We are acting like Jesus, who felt compelled to speak and to heal because he saw people who were lost and without a shepherd. The Word of God should be burning on our lips so that we don't want to hold back. We want to befriend others, show them by our actions and then by our words, that they are not alone and drifting in a chaotic, meaningless Universe. We want them to know and believe that they are infinitely loved by an infinitely merciful, forgiving God!
God wants each one of us to respond to His love by lives that live and preach this message of Good News: "To those who feel far from God and the Church, to all those who are fearful or indifferent, I would like to say this: the Lord, with great respect and love, is also calling YOU to be a part of his people!" (Pope Francis)