Fr Jim Cogley
Facilitating people to open their hearts and come into a personal and vibrant relationship with Jesus Christ has to be the key for hope and renewal in our churches. Otherwise, he remains but a distant historical figure to be admired. For so long there has been a presumption that because someone was baptised and confirmed then he or she had made a personal commitment to Christ or that the conferring of the sacraments would act like a slow-release capsule of grace throughout their lives. If someone had been conferred with the sacraments, they were automatically regarded as being Christians. Experience and observation prove that this is not the case. For a gift to be effective it needs both a giver and a receiver. The gift of grace is freely given in the sacraments and so they do not need to be reconfirmed but in every case, they do need to be consciously received by the recipient. Otherwise, the gift remains dormant in that person’s life is like an unopened parcel with its contents waiting to be revealed.
The centrality of Christ in the whole faith edifice is well expressed in what is believed to be a true story: A wealthy business man who travelled widely had the opportunity during his life to accumulate lots of very valuable pieces of art work and paintings. As an avid art collector his reputation became widely known. These were displayed in his mansion and when he died the auction of his collection attracted the attention of art dealers from far and wide. The only painting that no one seemed interested in was that of a young boy by an unknown artist which wasn’t in great condition. Surprisingly on the day of the auction this piece was the first to be put up for sale. Bidding was slow and no one seemed interested except the man’s butler who started bidding with a single pound. He knew the painting to be that of his master’s beloved son who had died as a youth, there were no more offers and the auctioneer lowered his hammer. The solicitor immediately intervened and halted the auction. He said that on the deceased instructions he was now required to publicly read out the will. It stated that whoever bought the painting of the son that he loved would be the one to inherit all that he owned. The painting was the key to the inheritance. Our spiritual inheritance is intrinsically linked to our relationship with Christ. In the words of St Paul's letter to the Ephesians, ‘It is in Christ that we are blessed with all the spiritual blessings of Heaven’.
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