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The People of GodThe word "Church" means "convocation" or "calling together". In every time and in every place, God calls his sons and daughters together to form the People of God. Saint Peter reminds us that "Once you were "no people" but now you are God's people; you "had not received mercy" but now you have received mercy." (1 Pt 2, 10) The People of God is marked with characteristics that make it unlike any other group or organization. We belong to God himself, who created us in love and redeemed us by the sacrifice of his Son. We become members of the Church not by "signing up", but by being "born anew" in the sacrament of Baptism. We share the gifts Christ won for us by his death and resurrection, and we share the responsibility to let those gifts bear fruit in every time and place. God calls his people to carry out this mission in unity, and gathers us together in various ways. The diocese is the community of the faithful united in faith and worship with the bishop, who makes Christ present in the local church. In each parish, we gather together with the pastor and priests appointed to lead us in the bishop’s name. And in every family we can find a "domestic church"—the "church of the home" where we first learn what it means to be children of God.
How have you experienced being a part of the People of God? What is it about your diocese, your parish, and your family that makes you able to recognize God’s presence there?What obstacles make it difficult to find your place among the People of God? How do you think we can overcome those obstacles in our diocese? In our parishes? In our families?
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The Archdiocese of
Philadelphia serves over 1.4 million Catholics in the five counties of
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