1. Jesus Christ described the members of His Mystical Body.
'Who is My mother, my sister, my brother. He who keeps My commandments.' This was Christ's answer to those who informed Him that his relatives were waiting outside for Him. Not that He disowned His mother and relatives. But that He emphasised that they are His relatives not because of blood relationship but because they obeyed His commandments.
We have emphasised the importance of hearing Mass everyday because the entire teaching of the Catholic Church is learned in the Gospels as presented on Sundays and every day at the Liturgy of the Mass. Since Ash Wednesday up to the present, Friday of the 12th weekday in Ordinary time, we have been taught the ideal atmosphere necessary to learn how to save one's soul. First, we must have a good curriculum. Second, good teachers. Third, an ideal classroom. Fourth, we must be good disciples. And, lastly, we must have a good review class before we die.
2. For the last week, 12th Weekday in ordinary time, the Liturgy had been giving us an image of a good class of disciples. Who are those who are truly inside the Catholic Church; who truly belongs to the Family of God; who are those within the kingdom of God; who are those who will go to heaven.
The examples given in the entire Liturgy is that we must have Faith. The Gospels gave the examples; first, Jesus Christ, who was conceived without original sin, born without sin, grew up without sin and died without any stain of sin. Secondly, the Blessed Virgin Mary who was conceived without original sin, born without sin, grew up without sin and died without any stain of sin. Thirdly, St. John the Baptist whose feast we recently celebrated, who was conceived with original sin, born without sin, grew up without sin and died without any stain of sin. And in today's Gospel, we have Mary Magdalene, who was conceived with original sin, born with sin, grew up with seven devils and died without sin. The Friday and Saturday Gospels added the man with leprosy, the centurion and the mother in law of St. Peter.
3. Sign that one is within the kingdom of God.
The sign of a community that is Church is that one who has Faith can discern the Faith in others and both minister to each other physically and spiritually. It is the description of 'two or three gathered together in the name of Christ, wherein Christ is in their midst.' That is the image of the members of the Catholic Church.
Today, nobody knows if they have Faith. They do not know if the other have Faith. And, though they could be ministering with one another physically, they are not ministering to one another spiritually. The Catholic Church, the Kingdom of God, is nowhere around.
Faith in oneself that gives us the power to notice the Faith in others who have it, therefore, makes us minister to each other physically and spiritually.
Many of us fall under this last category, in that, hopefully, we die without any sin, i.e. that we die in the state of grace.
But it is impossible for anyone to know if they are in the state of grace when they die. In some way, as St. Paul wrote, our conscience can inform us if we are in the state of grace or not. But without certainty.
Christ gave us many signs in the Gospel by which we can find out if we are in the state of grace or not. But these sign are available only to those who have the supernatural and theological virtue of Faith enlivened with Charity.
The man with leprosy was a sinner, especially shown by his leprosy. But he had Faith enough to cure his leprosy.
There is the ruler in a synagogue with the ill daughter who had great Faith. With St. Peter's mother in law and the woman with haemorrhage. All were described as having great Faith and their physical cure is a sign of the spiritual cure they underwent that made them disposed to receive the virtue of Faith from God.
4. Today's Gospel, an image of the Catholic Church.'
The Gospel describes Jesus Christ, with His apostles and disciples. Together with them are women who were ministering to their needs. It was an image of the early Catholic Church living in community. All were ministering to Jesus Christ. Both the apostles, the disciples and the women were ministering to Christ. That is an image of the Catholic Church as described by Christ 'as My family.' 'Those who obey My commandments.' All of them have the Catholic Faith.
5. How can we know that we have Faith enlivened with Charity, that puts a soul within the kingdom of God, i.e. the Catholic Church?
As Christ answered; 'by keeping My commandments.' Specifically what command; two commands, to repent and believe, as Christ, Himself, personally preached at the beginning of His public life. A soul must repent according to the Old Testament and repent according to the New Testament by acquiring the virtue of Penance that is prelude to receiving the virtue of Faith that forgives all his past sins. This is the beginning how a soul begins to be inside the Kingdom of God, i.e. the Catholic Church.
This initial Faith empowers the converted soul to follow Christ. But before he can follow Christ, he must remove all obstacles to the following of Christ, thus the necessity for Christ to tell the young rich man, 'to go home, sell all your things and give it to the poor.' Or, 'the other version of this command, 'to leave father, mother, brothers, sisters, wife and lands. ' This command of Christ to the young rich man is identical command Christ gave to all His apostles, to the young lawyer, to Matthew and to everybody because this is the first command of the New Testament. Without obeying this first command of the New Testament a soul cannot follow Christ to be a better Catholic.
Pope John Paul II very well described this first command of the New Testament in his encyclical 'Veritatis Splendor,' ordering the addressee of this encyclical, i.e. all bishops, to teach it to all their priests and eventually to all the faithful. Nobody did it. Nobody could preach what they have not done.
This is the answer to the question; where are all the Catholics. Nowhere, because it is impossible to find Faith in the earth, Christ, Himself, prophesied. Of course, there should be a few, but only those with Faith can find those with Faith, because they have in themselves what they are looking for in another. The faithless will not be able to find what they do not have in another.
The sign a soul has Faith is when one's educated conscience informs him that he has repented perfectly for all his past sins, therefore, he is at present sinless or immaculate or pure in heart. Thus he is worthy to see the face of God. Such a soul is within the Kingdom of God, is, in fact, in heaven while he is still on earth. And the Liturgy from Ash Wednesday up to today shows the steps a soul must take that he may be 'perfect as the heavenly Father is perfect.'