– In the first part of “Seeking the Fullness of Truth”, Kevin recognised that it was only in surrendering to God that he could be all that God had made him to be. In this second part, Kevin shares about where surrendering to the Lord has led him. –Ed.
When I thought about what I needed to be doing with my life I realised that sharing the Good News of Jesus and his redemptive power in our lives was far more important than building a big successful company, solving people’s financial problems or even helping the poor and sick or working to alleviate poverty in third world countries.
These were all important things but they weren’t ‘the most important’ thing.
Deepening my relationship with my Creator and living out the expression of that relationship would result in what the Church calls ‘the corporal works of mercy’, but they are a consequence of something else and not an end in themselves.
I was utterly unprepared to make any difference in relation to sharing the great commission of Mathew 28:19,
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them all that I have commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the close of the age.”
Stop and Surrender to God
I didn’t know enough about my faith to know where to begin.
I had fallen into the belief in a clericalism that many Catholics of my generation suffer from where we think our role in the Church is to go to Mass on Sunday and that everything else is the realm of the priests and bishops.
I had poor formation in the post Vatican II environment where we fell into the experiment of discarding so much of our history and tradition and beliefs. I had never seen a catechism, let alone read or studied it. Yet, I was compelled to answer the universal call to holiness, as we all are.
The very act of surrendering and putting God in the driver’s seat of my life has led me to places I didn’t imagine.
It is a journey and it has been unfolding over several years now and only becoming clearer as I walk the path.
Of course I stumble and veer off course, but I am convinced that the role of the laity is critical to the future of the Church’s mission.
We are each individually called to specific lay apostolates that make Christ real and present in our world.
Some Specific Lay Apostolates
I needed formation and knowledge in order to begin and God led me to become involved in Parousia which cooperates with most of the best international formation and discipleship apostolates from around the world and brings them to Australia. Along the way I have received some of the best formation available anywhere in the world.
Along the journey I have sold my business and become more involved in activities that focus on evangelisation and provide formation and discipleship programs.
I was able to set up a foundation to help with the funding of a number of lay apostolates. I have been able to become involved in developing the first girls and boys Pared (Parents-for-education) Schools in Victoria.
These schools focus on virtue and piety and build strong, vibrant Catholic communities. They have already become a rich source of faith development in NSW and now we have the chance to enrich the life of the Church in Victoria.
I am involved with Campion College, a liberal arts Catholic College in Sydney that is graduating some brilliant young Catholics that will become leaders in our community and influence our society.
I am involved politically as well with our democratic processes as there is a real need to have a Catholic voice in the formation of our laws and governance.
My commitment to the Alpha program is based on its capacity to transform people’s lives through an encounter with the Living God that is real and personal.
My friend Fr James Mallon from Canada has developed Divine Renovation as a way of rejuvenating parishes incorporating the Alpha program and I am contributing to the global growth of this initiative.
Will You Take a Stand?
There is much more to be done. Next month I am attending the Napa Institute Forum in the USA as leaders from around the world grapple with the ways in which we can share the good news of the Gospel to a world that has been fed a lie and a society that has become embroiled in the misinformation of our age.
There is one truth that requires our witness and for my part it seems that there is nothing I would rather be championing. Jordan Peterson, in a recent interview with Dennis Prager, said:
Catholicism is ‘as sane as people can get’. We need a narrative metaphysic to hold us together and it has to be predicated on something that is transcendent and absolute. If you lose that you will fall for something else or you will fall for nothing; which is no better.
I, for one, am grateful for a clear direction and the knowledge that there is worthwhile work to be done.
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