Greetings to you in this first full week of the Lenten season! How are you and how is your journey going so far? Hopefully you are well and your Lenten resolutions are drawing you closer to Christ. As some of you are aware there is a six part Bible Study going on here at Immaculate Conception about Saint Paul’s Letter to the Philippians. It is proven to be an illuminating experience and very educational to learn about the ancient Christian community at Philippi. The Apostle Paul was very closely connected with the folks there and did what he could to communicate with them in a way that they could grasp. One of the ways that he did this was speaking to them about citizenship.
The people in Philippi were living in modern-day Greece but were considered members of the Roman Empire. Their citizenship meant that they had certain rights but also responsibilities as a consequence of that. Using that fact as a springboard Paul drew their attention to the profound reality that their true citizenship is in heaven. These words are taken explicitly from Chapter 3 of the Letter, “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (20). The truth of those words is still applicable to us today.
Even though we are citizens of the United States of America by virtue of our baptism we were drawn into a spiritual family that is marked by a celestial citizenship. There are brief words that actually appear in the beginning of the Catholic burial rite wherein we are reminded that each of us is just passing through here on earth as we press onward to our heavenly home. Be that as it may we live with grateful hearts in this earthly life and strive with the Grace of Christ towards our home in Heaven. May our Lenten practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving help us to attain the goal of our salvation, namely eternal citizenship in heaven.
