God is the authority, whose ways are vastly beyond what we humans can possibly comprehend or fathom, as St. Paul marvels at in great wonder in the 2nd reading. So it's even more unfathomable that God would give authority to us mere humans to be part of doing His work.
When Peter declares in response to His question that Christ is the Messiah, Jesus grants Him the privilege of being the foundation for His Church, and holding its keys, a symbol of authority. Yet this doesn't occur because Peter comes up with this brilliant statement by himself. God granted this knowledge to Peter. God alone makes us worthy, not because of what we have done, but purely by an act of His grace.
Aware of how amazing His grace is, we stand before God, compelled to see Him for who He is, and then live our lives on the foundation of this knowledge God reveals to us, as we build His Kingdom.
Monday, August 25, 2014
Sunday, August 17, 2014
August 17, 2014: 20th Sunday of Ordinary Time
This weekend's Gospel reading poses a significant challenge for us. But there's one part I really enjoy about it. When Jesus makes a remark about giving the blessings for the people of Israel to Gentiles, using the metaphor of food to the dogs, the woman jumps on that remark and offers a great come-back. And in that, she displays great faith, as she declares that the blessings for the people of Israel extend to all people. So as cruel as Jesus seems in His remarks, those remarks lead the woman to making a great declaration of faith.
This is what Isaiah writes of in the first reading. People from all over come to honor God, and, as such, God draws them to Himself, making a place for all peoples to pray and worship Him. We can see the reality of this reading in the Church, the body of Christ--not just the place, but the people who compose it. And this idea comes up in the 2nd reading, when St. Paul writes of how God gives mercy to all people. The Gentiles received it because the Jews wouldn't accept Jesus as Savior, and so those like Paul turned to minister the Gospel to them. And Paul hoped that his ministry would make his people, the Jews, desire that, too.
Ultimately, we are all sinners in need of God, and no matter who we are, God draws us to Himself to be His people. The challenge for us to is accept all as God does.
This is what Isaiah writes of in the first reading. People from all over come to honor God, and, as such, God draws them to Himself, making a place for all peoples to pray and worship Him. We can see the reality of this reading in the Church, the body of Christ--not just the place, but the people who compose it. And this idea comes up in the 2nd reading, when St. Paul writes of how God gives mercy to all people. The Gentiles received it because the Jews wouldn't accept Jesus as Savior, and so those like Paul turned to minister the Gospel to them. And Paul hoped that his ministry would make his people, the Jews, desire that, too.
Ultimately, we are all sinners in need of God, and no matter who we are, God draws us to Himself to be His people. The challenge for us to is accept all as God does.
Friday, August 15, 2014
August 15, 2014: Assumption of Mary
This feast commemorates when Mary was taken up into Heaven in body and soul.
It's an occasion for us to recall to mind our own resurrection that we experience as people of faith in God. By dying and rising to life with Christ now in our Earthly pilgrimage, living as disciples, as did Mary, we share in the hope that one day we will enter Eternal Life in God's presence. From God comes salvation, and through Christ, we experience it fully. And we are full of joy, as were Mary and Elizabeth in the Gospel reading.
Sunday, August 10, 2014
August 10, 2014: 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time
This world is so full of trouble, and our own lives are, too. Yet God remains ever present to us, in a quiet, calm way, like when Elijah senses a soft voice that is God's presence, after a violent wind, earthquake, and fire.
In the midst of rough waters on the Sea of Galilee, Jesus comes to be present to His disciples in the boat, summoning forth their courage against fear, and the doubt that He was walking toward them.
We learn to recognize this presence manifest in a sense of calmness, and reach out by faith, beyond our fears, to embrace it. We see that our loving God desires to grant us salvation, through Jesus Christ, manifested first in the Jewish people, as St. Paul writes of so gloriously.
In the midst of rough waters on the Sea of Galilee, Jesus comes to be present to His disciples in the boat, summoning forth their courage against fear, and the doubt that He was walking toward them.
We learn to recognize this presence manifest in a sense of calmness, and reach out by faith, beyond our fears, to embrace it. We see that our loving God desires to grant us salvation, through Jesus Christ, manifested first in the Jewish people, as St. Paul writes of so gloriously.
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
August 3, 2014: 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time
God always stands ready to provide for us. In the Gospel reading, even in the midst of the heartbreak of the death of John the Baptist, Jesus is moved to care for the people who stream to Him, and goes so far as to feed them.
The disciples were concerned over how they could feed so many people, yet Jesus opened the way for the people to be fed. The story shows how God truly provides--not just for our physical needs, but the needs of our whole being, body and soul.
That's what the reading from Isaiah alludes to, when God calls the people to come and eat, then adding He would renew the covenant with them, bringing them into a relationship with Him that would prosper them fully.
We have a God who cares for us, out of love so powerful and strong, which nothing--nothing--can overcome, as St. Paul writes in the 2nd reading, listing off various powers, even spiritual, and physical realities.
The disciples were concerned over how they could feed so many people, yet Jesus opened the way for the people to be fed. The story shows how God truly provides--not just for our physical needs, but the needs of our whole being, body and soul.
That's what the reading from Isaiah alludes to, when God calls the people to come and eat, then adding He would renew the covenant with them, bringing them into a relationship with Him that would prosper them fully.
We have a God who cares for us, out of love so powerful and strong, which nothing--nothing--can overcome, as St. Paul writes in the 2nd reading, listing off various powers, even spiritual, and physical realities.
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