Peace and blessings from all of the staff of THE WAY HOME television program and from the members of the Christian Community of God’s Delight. Once again, dear friend, our good Lord continues to provide through you the means for us to carry on the ministry into which we have been called: witnessing to the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Thank you for watching and continuing to faithfully respond to the Holy Spirit with your prayers and support.

"You are the salt of the earth . . . You are the light of the world" (Mt 5:13-14). These are the words of Jesus to his disciples shortly after his Sermon on the Mount. Two thousand years later these are the words of Pope John Paul II to the young people of the 17^th Annual World Youth Day in Toronto, Canada. The Papal word to the youth of the world today is a challenging word to every Catholic Christian. This is even truer as the faith of Catholics today is being attacked from both inside and outside our ranks.

We are all too familiar with the attacks and allurements of the world. The Pope told the youth that, "The ‘spirit of the world’ offers many false illusions and parodies of happiness. There is perhaps no darkness deeper than the darkness that enters young people’s souls when false prophets extinguish in them the light of faith and hope and love. The greatest deception, and the deepest source of unhappiness, is the illusion of finding life by excluding God, of finding freedom by excluding moral truths and personal responsibility."

Father John Hardon, S.J., in his article, "The Crisis of Faith," published in the March/April 1996 issue of The Catholic Faith magazine, describes attacks from within. He talks about the "intrusion" of "alien" ideas, coercively introduced into our Catholic culture by consecrated and lay leaders alike. These ideas sometimes subtly confuse and often overtly challenge the Church’s historical teachings on marriage, contraception, celibacy, homosexuality, the divinity and humanity of Christ, the real presence in the Eucharist and many other teachings.

Fr. Harden goes on to state that, "When we say that the Church is faced with a crisis of faith, we mean just that. It is a critical period in the Church's life when millions of her faithful are confused about their beliefs. They are uncertain about what as Catholics they are to hold. And as a result they are emotionally insecure, bewildered and, in Christ's words, wandering ‘as sheep without a shepherd.’"

What is to be our response to these attacks from within and without? Pope John Paul II issued a call to the youth of the world, stating, "Jesus offers one thing, and the ‘spirit of the world’ offers another. The Lord is calling you to choose between these two voices competing for your souls. …Choose between life and death, between truth and falsehood." He said that we must, "Listen to the voice of Jesus in the depths of your hearts! His words tell you who you are as Christians. They tell you what you must do to remain in his love." Again he says, "You, too, are called to be transformed. ‘Awake, O sleeper, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light’ (Eph 5:14)." It all begins with a choice.

Dear friends of Christ, let us embrace wholeheartedly the words of the Holy Father to the youth of the world. Now is the time to go to the next level and generously encourage one another to embrace heroic holiness and fidelity to the historic teachings of His Bride, the Church. Let our love be authentic and our unity sincere. Pray for all our brethren in the Christian family to receive the grace and desire to hate what is evil and cling to what is good and holy in these times (Rom 12:9). Desire for your own life to be a shining example of Christ’s light and life amid this present culture of death.

Inspired with holy fire, be silent no longer but joyously encourage one another in the truths of the scriptures, the teachings of the Church and the example of the saints. Accept the challenge of St. Paul to strive with all your strength not to be conformed to this age but to be changed by the renewal of your heart and mind (Rom. 12:2, Eph 4:23). Let us persevere in offering our lives and our families as holy light and blessed salt. May the example of our passionate holiness and love inspired by true fidelity to Christ our Lord so starkly contrast the wisdom of this world as to illuminate its true futility and darkness.

The time for fear and timidity has passed. Our Lord is calling His faithful followers to be salt and light to this age wherever He has placed us and to whomever He sends us. Let us put off the confusion, apathy and lukewarmness of the past and embrace with holy zeal the great commission, not just in word but also by the very example of our lives. Let us each personally accept as our holy mission the third stanza of the Canticle of Zechariah (Lk 1:68-70):

You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High;
For you will go before the Lord to prepare His way,
To give His people knowledge of salvation
By the forgiveness of their sins.

Let us go forward before the Lord to prepare His way in bold confidence each day knowing that the blessing of our good God goes with us together with His Son and the entire Church triumphant. By the grace of the Holy Spirit, may we usher in a new age of holiness and power and authentic Christianity for the glory of God and the salvation of souls. Perhaps our God will grant us the privilege of witnessing a new outpouring of His Holy Spirit on the world and allow us to experience the reality of the fourth stanza of the Canticle of Zechariah:

In the tender compassion of our God
The dawn from on high shall break upon us,
To shine on those who dwell in darkness
And the shadow of death,
And to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Arise! Let us greet the dawn from on high together as members of His wonderful light. This is the spirit of THE WAY HOME. To be salt and to bring the light of Christ to the whole world is the basis for our mission and for our ministry. We invite you to visit THE WAY HOME web site at www.lumen2000.com, where you will find a number of prayers to use in your devotional life. You will also have access to Father Bob Hilz’s commentary on the scripture readings for daily Mass, book lists on the Holy Spirit and spiritual direction, clips from the program and copies of our monthly newsletters.

Thank you again for supporting THE WAY HOME. We continue to actively solicit your financial support as we seek to serve the Lord with our whole hearts. THE WAY HOME is a non-profit ministry that maintains its existence through the support of viewers like you. We appreciate your assistance in the past and ask that you continue your financial support as the Lord provides the means.

You may make a contribution now through our secure server (click here).  I also invite you to submit your prayer intentions (click here).  All prayer intentions are lifted up daily by our staff, at the weekly prayer gathering of our community and at various Masses during the week.

As school begins, let us remember in prayer the students that God is forming for tomorrow and the teachers that are leading them today. Let us pledge together our prayers, sacrifices and lives for the renewal of our Church and Christ’s people all over the world. May the peace and protection of Christ our Lord be with you, and may the intercession of our Blessed Mother in the Feast of her Assumption always be with us.

Forever in His Service,