Unchanging God
January 2024 Chapter Assembly Topic
Objectives
Understand our theme this year based on the writing of our Servant General
Set our hearts for our life and mission this year
I. Introduction
“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.” Mother Teresa
As we begin our life and mission this year let us understand our 2024 theme based on the writing of our Servant General.
The past few decades have seen the emergence and rapid rise of cultural changes in society and the world that have impacted greatly on the lives of peoples and nations. Most of these changes are ideologies that are opposed to the Christian faith, and in fact have contributed to the decline and weakening of Christianity. Such as radical feminism, abortion as healthcare, and gender ideology. These have overturned much of what the Church has taught about the natural order of things, as established by God.
II. Changing World
Tragically, these ideologies have infiltrated the Church herself, and worse, have been embraced by Catholics, including authorities at the highest levels. When those in the Church no longer accept what she teaches, that is the recipe for disaster. And indeed, that is what we are experiencing now.
What then are faithful Catholics to do? We must know the basics of our faith and defend them. But the foundation to be able to do this is to know that God does not change. The faith cannot be dependent on the culture of the age. We cannot look to the secular well-being of man but neglect the righteousness of God. We must look to Jesus and only Jesus.
III. Unchanging God
And so for us in MFC, next year we take as our inspiration this truth from Hebrews 13:8. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” As such, our theme for 2024 is:
“UNCHANGING GOD”
Our personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Yesterday Jesus called us, touched our lives, and brought us to conversion. Today Jesus continues to pour out his grace upon us to bring us to holiness, to be more like him, to follow closely in his footsteps. And we look to forever, when at the end of time Jesus brings us into our eternal destiny, to live with him eternally in heaven.
This is about our mission. Yesterday, from the very beginning, our calling had been evangelization founded on family renewal. Today, after over four decades, we are still focused, even more so, on these two aspects of the work given us. And looking to forever, we rest in the hope that we can bring our families and the people God has used us to touch to heaven with us.
A particular emphasis will be on our resisting the ideologies that are destroying the faith, the family and society. This includes opposing and denouncing the modernism that has arisen in our Church. Modernists have been overturning Jesus’ teachings, which just yesterday were firmly planted in the Church. Now bad is good and good is bad. Today modernists are making us accept what is wrong, such as the culture of DEATH, and to embrace such abominations as transgenderism. And they no longer look to forever, as they even deny the reality of hell and eternal punishment.
We’ll learn more about this in our upcoming conferences.
IV. Conclusion
These are crucial but exciting times, as the spiritual war that rages intensifies, and the forces of evil march on. Who will resist? We as MFC are among those called. We must remain faithful to yesterday’s call, steadfast in today’s task, and joyfully looking forward to what is forever.
Let us journey together in understanding deeper our theme: Unchanging God. Let us allow our unchanging God to change us as we faithfully attend our households, chapter assemblies, teachings and community events this year. Take time to read and reflect on the writings of our Servant General about our theme. Let us share our unchanging God by evangelizing and bringing at least 1 person to CLS this year.
“My past, O Lord, to Your mercy; my present, to Your love; my future to Your providence.” St. Pio of Pietrelcina
Discussion Question:
How can I testify to others that our God is the same yesterday, today and forever?