September 29, 2023: Feast of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael

Transcending our reality is spiritual warfare.

God has created the angels to serve us and the archangels fight mightily in defense of the Truth that is God.

May we have the eyes of faith to recognize God is aiding us through the angels so that we can stand strong in the face of opposition from evil and uphold what is right and true.

September 24, 2023: 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

It's clear that sometimes God's ways don't make sense to us.

Surely the laborers who started the earliest in the parable thought they would get paid more than those who only worked one hour at the end of the day.  The landowner, representing God, has to up his tone a few notes to make clear what his perspective is on payment.

In a similar spirit, the prophet Isaiah invites the readers to repent and focus upward, embracing that God is abundantly generous in ways beyond our comprehension.

God imparts to us His Grace and His very life in Christ, Who offers Himself totally to us.

In that spirit, we are called to repent and focus our lives toward God, living generously like Him, sharing ourselves and all that we have, which is all the gift of God, with others and so bring God's life and presence to the world.

St. Paul writes so eloquently in the 2nd reading about the mission that should drive all baptized faithful, that Christ may be magnified in our lives.

18 years ago today, I was on a retreat as part of my Confirmation preparation, which was three weeks prior to Confirmation.  We heard from a speaker who helped us see how our lives were meant to be lived as Confirmed, to live in love before God and in the communion of saints.

September 21, 2023: Feast of St. Matthew

God meets us where we're at, just like when Jesus came to Levi/Matthew at the customs post and called Him.

Jesus knew His divine power to transform those in sin and call them for great purposes.

St. Matthew answered the call to follow Jesus and proclaim the Gospel message of salvation that was first handed to the Chosen People and destined for the whole world.

So we are all called to repent and enter into a new way of life devoted to God, each of us doing our part to build up the Church.

September 17, 2023: 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

God is calling us to forgiveness as a way of life, as we acknowledge how God has forgiven us.

Through His forgiveness, He has freed us from sin and brought us to newness of Life.

As we build the Kingdom, we experience the full effects of this forgiveness when we share it with others.  While it's not readily human for us to forgive those who wrong us, even those close to us, when we do so, it is a sign of God at work in our hearts.

On this day when we commemorate the signing of the US Constitution, we are reminded of the ultimate Law of God that directs our lives, and calls us to love as God does.

In such conduct, we truly show ourselves to belong to God, which is our Eternal Life and our Life now.  That is where we find our purpose.

We celebrate Catechetical Sunday this weekend, and in my personal experience, I have found such tremendous blessing in leading my students to walk in the way of Life to which God calls us all.

September 10, 2023: 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Through baptism, we join in Christ's mission as Priest, Prophet, and King.

In the role of prophet, we proclaim the Truth, and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit to help steer others in the way of righteousness according to the Truth.  We are indeed meant to uphold this righteousness in our world.

In the Gospel, Jesus established steps for how to address misbehavior in the Church.  If it goes so far that someone won't even accept discipline from the church, we treat that person as a Gentile.  They may have removed themselves from acceptable standards of Church membership, but we still show them love.

Indeed, like St. Paul writes in teh 2nd reading, all the commands are ultimately about living love to others that God has first shown us.  Jesus came as the ultimate fulfillment of the Law, transforming us so that we can truly manifest that love in our lives as we put faith into action.

This week is special for me because it marks 10 years since I started teaching Religious Education.  The great gift of faith in me had been shaped in significant ways throughout my life, especially in middle school and college years.  Teaching RE has been a way for me to channel that faith in helping the middle schoolers in class before me to follow the way of faith.

I also think about how my grandparents have all shaped my faith in their unique ways, including how the love we have shared has manifested God's presence in our lives.  I certainly have so much to celebrate on this Grandparents' Day.

When we are faithful to this work of advancing God's righteousness through obedience to the commands, which is ultimately about manifesting God's love, He is truly present among us.  May our faith help us recognize that God is at work in us.

September 3, 2023: 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Following Christ can be a great burden as we take up the Cross.  And to our human ears, it doesn't make sense that we would have to deliberately enter into a painful experience.  Just like St. Peter, we would perhaps go so far as to try and deny it.

Yet we are called to enter more deeply into the will of God, even when it's illogical and involves pain.  As we grow in our understanding of the Paschal Mystery, we realize that pain has a purpose.  Even Jeremiah yearned to be free of the traumatic experience of proclaiming God's Word to a people who opposed it because this Word condemned them. When he tried to stop speaking it, the Word burned in him.  In a sense, he realized it was his purpose.

So we realize we have a great purpose, because we offer all of ourselves to the One Who truly brings us alive, and are renewed to be more conformed to His purposes.  Furthermore, through death, we experience life, in Eternity, and even now because we are living according to His purpose, which is how we experience abundant Life.

Today is a special day for the United States, marking the Treaty of Paris 1783, which ended the American Revolution.  After a long struggle, there was peace.  So much striving led to the end of conflict and a new nation, in which a people could live with purpose of upholding ideals of God-given right and liberty.

I also think about how I started at Julian Middle School 21 years ago today.  It was a time when I came to see that faith brings great purpose to my life, a legacy that is ongoing for me even today.