Feast of Saints Simon and Jude – Eph 2:19-22; Psalm 18:2-5; Luke 6:12-16
Trust
Faith is not empty words. It is a specific decision.
You are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God. (Eph 2:19)
If you don’t believe in God, talk of “God’s household” probably sounds like insider chat. But here’s the heart of what Saint Paul was saying to a bunch of ex-pagans in Ephesus: you’re not second-class. No inner circle, no VIP lane. In Jesus, the wall between “insiders” and “outsiders” comes down. Same mercy, same welcome, same access to the Father through the one Spirit.
Fast forward to us. Your background, politics, culture, or lack of religious past doesn’t disqualify you. God doesn’t sort people by tribe or tradition. What He looks for, Christians believe, is a simple, brave “yes” to Jesus and to the way He gives us to live that out — in the Church He founded, with His Word, His Sacraments, and the Church’s living Tradition. Hanging onto customs won’t save you; binning them for “freedom” won’t either. The point is a real encounter with Christ and a life that follows His Truth.
If you’re atheist, fair enough — you may not buy any of this. But if the claim is even possibly true, it means you’re wanted, now. No religious CV required. The Church isn’t a club for the sorted; it’s a home for the searching, the sceptical, the messy. A next step can be tiny: “God, if You’re there, I’m listening.” Sit in a church quietly. Read a Gospel. Speak to a Christian you actually respect. Catholics believe Jesus meets us concretely there — in Scripture proclaimed, in the Sacraments received, and in a Tradition that holds the line when we wobble.
So, let’s drop the labels for a moment. You’re not an outsider to be tolerated; you’re someone Christ died for and calls by name. In Him, no one’s second-class. Equally loved. Equally called. Equally sent.