September 25, 2022: 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

God is displeased with those who are complacent in the face of poverty.  It is not in keeping with the character of our God Who cares especially for the poor and lowly who are without the means to provide for themselves.  The prophet Amos declares that the complacent rich will be among the first to be punished in the coming exile.

The rich man in the Gospel parable enjoys an easy life in the lap of luxury, while Lazarus languishes at the door.  The afterlife brings a total reversal of their circumstances.

And that speaks to the call that St. Paul issues in the 2nd reading, to "pursue righteousness, devotion, faith love, patience, and gentleness", ultimately so that we can live to be a blessing to other people, and keep the commands, which ultimately call us to serve those in need as a way of living out our faith in Christ.  Indeed, in upholding our confession of faith through living it out, we will be well-pleasing to Almighty God as we strive toward Him.

I think about how Pope Francis called upon those gathered at the World Meeting of Families Concluding Mass to live out faith in this way within their families.

And I think about how that call has manifested itself each year with my RE students, through 9 years of the past and now to this fresh year, as we strive on in our journey toward Eternal Life with God and realizing God's presence now.

September 18, 2022: 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jesus offers a strange parable, but the master's commendation of the dishonest steward's response to the pending termination of his employment is a call for us as people of faith to step up and embrace the gifts God has granted us, rather than focusing on our own gain.

He saved us through Jesus Christ, Who is our mediator before God always.  So now, in faith, we reach out to do good for others, seeking to support authorities, and also tending to the needs of the poor.

Ultimately, what we do with our resources reflects whether we serve mammon, which is our wealth, or if we served God.  We seek transformation of our hearts to direct our resources toward noble purposes that make God known.

September 14, 2022: Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

God provides salvation for His people.

The story from Numbers shows the amazing love of God that He would save His people from the snakes after He sent them as punishment.

How powerful it is that God sent His Son to save us from sin.  Through His power of redemption, He went upon the Cross, an instrument of ignominy, and made it a symbol of glorious triumph, through His Paschal Mystery.

And we now live out the Paschal Mystery, as we join our sufferings and sorrow to the Cross, so that we may hope to rise to new life, reaching its fullness in Heaven.  Yet we experience newness of Life even now on our journey, throughout which, we proclaim Christ as our exalted Savior, who was once dead, and now is alive triumphantly forever.

September 11, 2022: 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

While God is just, He is also merciful.

He intended to smite the Hebrews when they turned from His very Presence on Mount Sinai to worship a golden calf, but He relented when Moses pleaded with God to remember His mercy and His covenant promises.

Those promises find fulfillment in Christ, Who shows us the full extent of the Father's great Love for us.  He seeks after us earnestly like the shepherd seeking a lost sheep and the woman seeking a lost coin, and even recklessly like the father welcoming the son who strayed.  Now, when we repent, turning from sin back to God, He truly rejoices when we, who were lost, are now found, passing from death to life again.

Indeed, His capacity for compassion is immense, and someone like the older son in the parable can't accept that.  Yet the father in the parable is compassionate even in pleading with the older son to embrace the reality of the younger brother's repentance.

God works mightily in repentance, as seen in the life of St. Paul, who turns from persecuting Christians to proclaiming the way of Christ.  God chose St. Paul and transformed him by His mercy to be an instrument to advance His  Heavenly Kingdom by proclamation of the Gospel message.  And so He chooses all of us by bestowing His mercy on us so that we can His people walking in newness of Life, proclaiming this reality of justice, grace, and mercy by our lives.

As we think about the devastation that happens in the world, like the September 11 terrorist attacks 21 years ago, and other conflicts that occur today, we can open ourselves to the working of God's mercy in our lives to bring the world healing and new life.

September 4, 2022: 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jesus Christ calls His followers to a way of life that isn't easy, and it compels us to take stock of the reality of the immense cost, renouncing all of what fills our lives to be wholeheartedly devoted to Him.

It changes the way we live our lives, giving us a different purpose, especially when we realize that there are many aspects of life that are futile and difficult.  We engage in our relationships so differently, because Christ is present among us, like St. Paul indicates that Philemon can embrace his enslaved servant Onesimus in a greatly different way.

And we know that God equips us who are committed to following this way, so that we can love Him above all else, and direct everything toward devotion to Him, because in this way, we find the most meaningful and lasting purpose for our lives.

It was 6 years ago that St. Teresa of Calcutta was canonized, a great example of someone devoted to serving Christ by meeting the needs of those around her, trusting in God even in the darkness she faced in life.

And I give thanks to God this day for the devotion to God my parents have had throughout their lives, which became the foundation for their marriage, which started 40 years ago today at their wedding.

Despite the difficulties of renouncing what brings us meaning so that we can follow Christ, He can have assurance in the promise that when we turn our loyalties to Christ, we will undergo a transformation that leads to an abundant new Life.