September 29, 2021: Feast of the Archangels, Sts. Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael

God created angels to serve His purposes in His work of salvation.

In the midst of the troubles we experience in this world, God's angels are active in doing His work, and aiding those of us who will inherit salvation.

We can have great confidence in the victory He has already won through the Paschal Mystery of Christ.  This victory inspires us to look forward to the final defeat of evil at the end of Time, a victory that God is already revealing to us in visions that point to His glory.

September 26, 2021: 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

First of all, I notice how the 26th Sunday of Ordinary Time is on September 26 this year.

God desires to save all people, and work His saving power in all through the Holy Spirit.  He bestows His Spirit far and wide so that His Presence can spread through all the world.  In marveling at the work of His Spirit, let us cast aside the temptation to restrict it, and let it overflow through the world.

When He bestows on us His Spirit, He calls us to reflect His love and participate in His work so that we open ways for people to encounter God, too.  

Furthermore, He desires for us to be present to the lowly among us, to be mindful of the needs around us, and to do our part to meet them.  When we do so, we participate in the work by which God makes His Presence and His saving action known in the world.

These readings were proclaimed 6 years ago when Pope Francis celebrated the Concluding Mass for the World Meeting of Families on Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia. He talked about showing love in small deeds within our families, domestic churches where we can experience God powerfully.

And when we abide in such love, we are transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit so that we can be free from what will prevent us from growing in relationship with God, and be free to do great works that reflect God's love.

September 21, 2021: Feast of St. Matthew

Jesus caused great transformation in the world because He called not the righteous, but sinners.

St. Matthew lived a disreputable lifestyle, but when Jesus called him, he followed a new way, and embraced fellowship with Christ, inviting Him to dine in his home.  St. Mathew would be part of the apostolic foundation of the Church and a herald of the Gospel, demonstrating that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah.

May we open our hearts to God's transformative power in our lives, so we may be a living testimony of His salvation as we live out the way to which He calls us.

September 19, 2021: 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Just as in the Gospel reading for last weekend, Jesus once again predicts His passion, and this time, the Apostles offer no response.

Jesus then uses this second prediction of His Passion to teach about what discipleship means:  It is not about seeking to be first, but having the humility to serve others.

It's about trusting God, when the world seems against us, like in the language from the reading in Wisdom, which is reminiscent of what happens at the crucifixion of Jesus.  In these circumstances, we trust that the Lord upholds our lives.

And living in such a relationship with God, we are called to bear fruit.  We don't seek for ourselves, but seek that which will build us up in virtues that make God known in the world, and focus on asking for what is virtuous.  We identify ourselves with those who are lowly, like children, so we can be part of accomplishing God's purposes in this world.  Through living focused in such a humble way, we live an abundant life that keeps us close to God.

On this Catechetical Sunday, I am grateful for the service I have given in teaching students for 8 years, and I give thanks for the students who I will begin teaching this week, as we open ourselves up to encountering God together.

September 14, 2021: Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Moses lifted up a serpent in the desert to heal those punished by sin.

Jesus told Nicodemus that the Son of Man must, too, be lifted up, not only to heal sin, but to bring Eternal Life.

Indeed, Jesus is worthy of great honor because He humbled Himself all the way to dying on the Cross.

Now He lives and reigns, acclaimed by all those because of the great gift of salvation He has bestowed.

September 12, 2021: 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jesus indeed is the Messiah Who has come to save the world.

Yet He doesn't come to conquer, but came destined to suffer as the means to win salvation, in the spirit of the servant in the first reading from Isaiah.

St. Peter declares Jesus as the Christ, but then rebukes Him for predicting His passion and suffering, after which Jesus rebukes Him for thinking as humans do and not as God.

In this new life, we live differently from the ways of the world.  We are called to demonstrate that we have died to the ways of the world and are living in the ways of Christ, doing as St. James writes and demonstrating our faith by our works that meet the needs of others.  (We give thanks today for grandparents and the ways they put faith into action by continually showing their love to all those in their families.)

Furthermore, living our Christian faith entails suffering as we follow in the way of Christ.  Yet that is where God's power of redemption manifests itself, in the great paradox, that in suffering and dying, we rise to new life.  We experience that new life even now as we follow His ways, living out our belief in Who Christ is.

September 8, 2021: The Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Mary lived in humble circumstances, and God chose her for an immense role, to be an instrument in His plan of salvation by birthing the Son of God in the world.

As disciples, we follow the same way Mary did.  He has chosen us to be born in the circumstances we are in, and calls each of us to play a special part as instruments in His plan of salvation.  In the midst of the challenges of answering the call, we rejoice in Him who calls us and in whom we have such great purpose in our lives.  He sustains us by the Holy Spirit that brought Christ into the world through Mary, who is forever blessed for the role she had.  We are blessed, too, in fulfilling our roles.

September 5, 2021: 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

The people who see the healing miracle of Jesus acclaim Him, saying, "He has done all things well."

Indeed, He fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah about healing those who are other-abled and bringing new life to a land of desert.

Notably in this specific healing in the Gospel reading, Jesus physically touches the deaf man to heal his hearing and his speech impediment.  It speaks to how God came physically among us in such a close way, ultimately to heal us from the effects of sin, as signaled by His healing of physical ailments.

And Jesus continues to bring that healing touch the world as He transforms our hearts so that we bring a healing touch to those around us, as we start by noticing their plight, and then not casting off the poor and needy, but instead, working to meet them where they're at and bring a healing touch.

St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta certainly brought this healing touch to the world and five years ago as of this weekend, this great servant of mercy has been acclaimed as a saint by the Church.

I also think about how 12 years ago, I received a wonderful gesture of welcome from the St. Teresa's community by receiving a knapsack full of gifts at the annual Mass on the Grass.  It was a gesture of great kindness that furthered the boosting of my spirits as a new student at Valparaiso University.

Truly, God advances His Kingdom and brings salvation as He heals hearts so we can meet the needs of those around us as He works with us, and so Life abounds in all the world.