Homily for Third Sunday of Easter: April 30, 2006

Given by the Most Reverend Stephen E. Blaire at the Homily National Conference, Catholic Professional and Business Club.

After the resurrection when Jesus appeared to the disciples He said: “Touch me and see…” and He ate a piece of baked fish in front of them. The gospels want to stress the reality of the presence of Christ. He is truly risen. After several appearances Jesus returned to the glory of the Father to be seen no more. However, by the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus is present in the Church in a mystical, spiritual and very real way. And in the Eucharist it is a sacramental and real presence.

The reality of the presence of Jesus requires a very real response on our part. The words of Peter in Acts: “Repent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be wiped away.” The words in the Letter of John: “The way we may be sure that we know him is to keep his commandments.”

What we are talking about here is the reality of conversion and love. It is not simply a matter of belonging to the Catholic Church like some kind of association. To be a genuine Catholic is to be profoundly converted to Jesus Christ and to live that conversion in the way of love. “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” “My commandment is this, that you love one another as I have loved you.”

In the mission statement it says: “As Catholic professional business men and women, we are called to live our Christian ethics not only on Sunday, but throughout our daily lives at home and at work.” Before we speak about Christian ethics we should speak just about ethics- which Webster’s Dictionary defines as “the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation.” We are talking about human conduct and right relations that flow from our humanity. The Church speaks about the natural law which expresses itself in the imperative of doing good and avoiding evil. All people regardless of religious conviction have the ethical responsibility to do good and avoid evil.

What then does the Christian bring to the market place, to the professional and business world? It is not really not so much what the Christian brings, but how the Christian acts and who the Christian is. Everyone – Christian or not – is expected to be ethical. The Christian comes into the business and professional world as one converted in mind and heart to God. The Christian has accepted the dominion of God over his or her life and follows Jesus Christ as a disciple in the Church. In other words the Christian is a believer, one who has faith in God and faith in Jesus Christ. The vision of faith affects every aspect of what one does. And what the Christian does is faithful to the commandment of love. Pope Benedict XVI in his encyclical GOD IS LOVE says that “the exercise of charity…is as essential to (the Church) as the ministry of the sacraments and preaching of the Gospel.”

Bringing Christian ethics to the professional and business world is a matter of exercising human morals and values of right conduct in accord with the natural law but precisely as a committed (converted) believer who loves God and serves the neighbor as Christ has loved us and given His life for us.

Last Update May 2, 2006