In the Bible, the book of Genesis recounts the beginning—the beginning of the world, of the human race, and of the Chosen People of God.
The first eleven chapters of the book recall what happened before the Lord called Abraham to be the father of the holy nation.
The Fall caused the division of mankind into different nations. As we read in Genesis 11, the separation of one nation from another is partly a punishment for human pride.
The Lord does not, however, despise the diverse nations of the world. On the contrary, He has blessed them all.
After the flood, the sons of Noah became the fathers of all the nations. And God made a covenant with them. The rainbow is the sign of that covenant.
Now, the nations of mankind have betrayed God’s covenant with Noah. The history of paganism is the history of this betrayal.
So there is still a fundamental division–between the Chosen People and the Gentiles. We baptized Christians have the privilege of being members of the holy nation—not through any accomplishments of our own, but by God’s Grace. We have been baptized into the Jewish flesh and blood of Christ.
The zeal of God’s love, however, is not divided—as the ancient covenant with Noah makes clear.
God loves every nation. God loves every human being. Mankind has been unfaithful. The nations have become pagan nations, Gentiles. But God is faithful. God does not revoke His covenant with Noah and his descendants.
Our apostolate, therefore, is universal. There is not a single human being whom Christ does not love, so there is not a single human being whom the Church does not love.
The will of God is that every human being would be united with Him in His Church.
[For more on this, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 56-58]
P.S. Check out Alex Ovechkin’s sliding goal in last night’s Caps win over the Candadiens:
Father Mark White Blog 