Archbishop Dolan really seems to “get” it. It’s so refreshing to hear the Gospel laid out in such bar and beautiful terms, particularly by the Archbishop of New York City. In a beautiful blog post about Eucharistic Adoration (with a nod towards Kansas City’s International House of Prayer, a non-denominational church which does 24/7 prayer), + Dolan wrote:
The Church is renowned for all that we do — Catholic charities, health care, schools, youth work, love, service, and evangelization — and rightly so.
But what we do must flow from who we are — people of faith, prayer, adoration, our hearts on fire with our Lord, our best friend, the way, the truth, and the life.
If what we do does not spring from who we are, we are listless and ineffective.
That’s the Gospel, in a nutshell. The only works worth doing are the ones which grow from the seed of faith. The whole post is worth reading, and Dolan’s conclusion is right on the mark:
When the first disciples asked Jesus about following Him, He did not say, “Come do a bunch of stuff with me.” Nope – He invited them to “Come, stay with me!” Eucharistic adoration is a great way to answer that invitation.
(If you’re wondering, the incident he’s referring to is from John’s Gospel: John 1:35-39).