{"id":379,"date":"2012-07-17T16:50:00","date_gmt":"2012-07-17T16:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2012\/07\/our-heavenly-citizenship.html"},"modified":"2016-03-25T20:00:47","modified_gmt":"2016-03-26T01:00:47","slug":"our-heavenly-citizenship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2012\/07\/our-heavenly-citizenship.html","title":{"rendered":"Our Heavenly Citizenship"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

[written for The Southern Cross<\/i>, newspaper of the Diocese of Savannah]<\/p>\n

Saint Paul wrote the Philippians, \u201cbut our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.\u201d \u00a0In the last week I have been asked five times if I am a United States citizen. \u00a0Each time I answered \u201cno\u201d to baffled hearers. \u00a0I had never been asked that question so closely together in the twenty-one years I have lived here.<\/p>\n

As Catholics, we believe a person\u2019s identity is not determined primarily by a person\u2019s earthly citizenship, but rather by his or her heavenly citizenship. \u00a0All the baptized are citizens of heaven and this is the foundation of our personal identity. \u00a0At baptism we all become adopted children of God, heirs to the eternal kingdom. \u00a0Our country of birth receives us into the world, but our rebirth in Christ inserts our souls into eternity.<\/p>\n

Immigrants who are displaced from their home country oftentimes struggle with their identity. \u00a0Immigrants are always identified as alien in their host country even if they arrive as children, and when they return to their native country, they are usually received as foreigners since they no longer live there. \u00a0The immigrant does not belong to either place.<\/p>\n

I recall many years ago struggling to identify home. \u00a0Home may be my native country, but I came to the United States as a child. \u00a0Home may be here since I spent my formative years and most of my life in the United States. \u00a0Yet my certain home is the Church. \u00a0Not only is the Church an institution present in both native land and host country, but it sustains the immigrant with God\u2019s grace and a solid community life. \u00a0Thus the importance of the Church to reach out to immigrant communities since it provides a foundation for their identity.<\/p>\n

A solid identity leads to peaceful, integrated, faithful people. \u00a0Those without a solid identity meddle with risky behaviors such as gangs, drugs and even suicide. \u00a0No wonder Hispanic youth in the United States have the highest rate of suicide attempts among youth (CDC). \u00a0Their identity as human beings with infinite value is weak, and the Church can help them strengthen it.<\/p>\n

I recall an elderly Mexican lady tell me months ago, \u201cFather, I am not wanted here, but if I return to Mexico, I would be killed. \u00a0I am not wanted here or there. \u00a0When will I find a place where I am wanted?\u201d<\/p>\n

Our citizenship is in heaven and not on earth. \u00a0All are wanted in the Church. \u00a0All are needed in the Church. \u00a0All belong in the Church. \u00a0It is within the Church that distinctions disappear as we all share in the one citizenship of our true home.<\/p>\n

Pictures are mine, all rights reserved.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[written for The Southern Cross, newspaper of the Diocese of Savannah] Saint Paul wrote the Philippians, \u201cbut our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.\u201d \u00a0In the last week I have been asked five times if I am a United States citizen. \u00a0Each time I answered […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2533,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-379","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nOur Heavenly Citizenship<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Saint Paul wrote the Philippians, \u201cbut our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.\u201d \u00a0In the last week I have\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, 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