August 29, 2021: 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

In the first reading, as Moses nears the end of his life, and as the Hebrews prepare to enter the Promised Land, he exhorts them to observe the Law of God carefully.

It is clear from the other readings that careful observance of the Law goes deeper than just rules:  Religion is ultimately about having a relationship with God that transforms us from the heart.  Truly people will notice the effect our religion has on our behavior:  Indeed, we are called to go beyond just hearing and acting on that Word as doers, like St. James writes.  When the Word penetrates us, it purifies our hearts so that we reflect God's character and so become a blessing to others, especially in meeting the needs of those around us.

August 22, 2021: 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time

God, now in this age, through Jesus Christ, has made Himself known in our world.

Now, we have a choice: to follow the ways of the world, or to live committed to God.

Joshua presents this choice to the people of Israel at an assembly following their conquest of the Promised Land, and states that He will not serve the gods of the nations around them, but serve the Lord God.  The people, fully aware of all that God has done for them, declare their commitment to God.

In the Gospel reading, many people are unable to accept Christ's teaching and the idea they have to eat His flesh and drink His blood.  It's very likely the Spirit is not at work in them to embrace what Christ offers them beyond food to satisfy their physical hunger.  So they turn from following Christ and resume their former way of life.

Jesus Christ then asks the 12 apostles if they also want to leave.

St. Peter declares that they acknowledge He has the words of Eternal Life, and so they will follow Him.

Christ indeed has done so much for us, like in the spirit of what the 2nd reading says, pouring Himself out to sanctify us.

God's love for us in Christ is a great mystery, and we recognize it in the marriage commitment of husband and wife to love each other, a sign of the relationship between Christ and the Church.

As people of faith, we are all called to similarly make a commitment.

It is a decision of whether or not we'll be obedient to the One Who has the words of Eternal Life and has sacrificed Himself for us.

And we must decide to affirm our relationship with God day after day.

I remember being presented with this choice 12 years ago on Sunday, August 23, 2009, the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time that year.  I heard these readings proclaimed at the first Mass I attended at the St. Teresa of Avila Roman Catholic Student Center the day after moving to Valparaiso University.  In a new setting, I was invited to commit myself to follow the ways of faith even in circumstances unlike anything I knew before in my life.

Yet I saw God's goodness fully revealed in the community of St. Teresa's that was ready to support me in my pursuits as a student and in my walk of faith.  So I gladly committed myself to living out faith, and to continue growing in it, which has led me on quite a journey to this very day, as we cycle back in the 3-year cycle to these readings and they speak to us anew.

August 15, 2021: 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

The Feast of the Assumption this year superseded the 20th Sunday of Ordinary Time.  In year B on this Sunday, we normally continue with the Bread of Life discourse.  Since it's proclaimed over the course of multiple Sundays, including last Sunday, I feel it's worth offering a few thoughts.

God grants to humble humans the great gift of wisdom, ultimately so that we can come to know Him.

Through this wisdom, we see that God has come to us in Jesus Christ, who sustains us by His Body and Blood.  Jesus declares, "My flesh is true food and My blood is true drink."  By partaking of Him, we remain in Him, and we will have Eternal Life.

And we experience that Eternal Life now, because the gift of wisdom together with Christ's Body and Blood in the Eucharist transforms us to live in a way that is pleasing to God.  We live with a different purpose each day, so that in this mortal life on Earth, we can make the most of our days, living according to God's will, as the Spirit fills us and directs us.

August 15, 2021: Assumption of Mary

The Paschal Mystery is not something that happened to Jesus that we view from the sidelines: It is something in which we participate.

Mary, as the first disciple, demonstrates how.  She believed in the Word of God and committed herself to it, and so became the Mother of God, giving birth to Christ.

By following the way of faith in her life, she reached the fullness of the Resurrection at the end of her life:  Assumed into Heaven, she followed after Christ, Who died and rose from death, and victoriously conquered the power of sin and death, which sought to oppose God's plan for the world.

So we, too, live in this hope, awaiting the experience of the fullness of Resurrection, and rejoicing that Mary has made it after striving through this life, along with all the saints.  We walk in the same path they did, finding the courage to face the struggles of this life from Mary who overcame in the midst of challenges herself, and so we live with purpose.

August 8, 2021: 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

This Sunday morning I was in Miami, OK, where I stayed 10 years ago this past May for a night.  While there, I had dinner at the Buttered Bunns Cafe.  Featured there are these large bread buns served with meals.

To reconnect with that memorable meal, I went to that restaurant again for lunch a little while after attending Mass in town.

And how fitting it was to dine there, as we continue the theme of spiritual food in the Bread of Life in the readings today.

God tenderly cares for Elijah as He makes his journey through the desert while running from Queen Jezebel.  An angel comes to him twice and urges him to get up and eat, so that he may have strength for the journey.

His journey leads him to an encounter with God on Horeb.

In Jesus Christ, humanity encounters God.  In the Gospel reading, the people gathered with Jesus Christ can't understand how He is God present to them, and offering Himself as Bread from Heaven so that we who believe may have Eternal Life.

He is truly the One Who meets our greatest need for salvation as we reach out to Him by Whom we live.  And He continually sustains us so that we may live to imitate Him and show the kindness of God to one another as an offering with an aroma pleasing to God.

August 6, 2021: Feast of the Transfiguration

The prophet Daniel has a great vision of glorious figures.

Then, Sts. Peter, James, and John accompany Jesus up a high mountain, and they see a vision of Jesus in His Glory.

They truly see Him as God, the One Who came to Earth so that we could share in that glory.

St. Peter declares in the 2nd reading that this truly happened. God is real, and has made HImself known to us.

Let us be transfigured like Jesus Christ, as we listen to Him, the Beloved and Chosen One, so that we become more like Him and reflect His presence in our world.

On our way to the glory of Heaven, may we recognize that Glory now, because Jesus Christ, very God and very Man, has come to be among us.  Let us be a blessing as we make Him known.

August 1, 2021: 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time

God miraculously provided for His people as they journeyed in the desert after they complained about the lack of food, especially in comparison to Egypt, of all places.

When the crowd gathered to hear Jesus teach, He miraculously provided food for them.  Yet when they followed after Him, Jesus declares that they come only to get more food.  He invites them to perceive a deeper reality, that God is the One Who satisfies our deepest longings.  

He has done so by sending to us His Son, Jesus Christ.  By His Paschal Mystery, He offers Himself as the Bread of Life, and is our source of Salvation, meeting our greatest need.  So we lay aside our old selves, experiencing renewal as we put on the new self, baptized to be one of His.

We live as one of His, as He lives in us, constantly feeding on Him, because we know He satisfies the hunger and longing of our souls.