Sunday, September 15, 2024

September 15, 2024: 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

As a fitting follow-up to yesterday's Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, we consider what the Cross means for us.

Jesus Christ is God's divinely Anointed One.  To fulfill God's purposes, He must suffer, which is something that doesn't make sense to the disciples, including St. Peter, who, after declaring Him Christ, rebukes Him for such an idea, maybe even recoiling at the idea that he would have to suffer with Christ.  Yet St. Peter is focused on human ways, rather than God's ways.

Following the Cross involves suffering for bearing the name of Christ.  Yet in losing ourselves, we gain the promises of God that are fulfilled in Eternity.

That reality gives us purpose now.  Indeed, we don't just claim faith, but we open ourselves to transformation by faith so that we demonstrate it with our works that make God real in the world.  Bishop Barron said it well in his homily that God doesn't want to just heal us by the Cross and Resurrection, but deify us, make us reflect God's character.

Today is Catechetical Sunday, and I have much to reflect on as I begin my 12th year of teaching Religious Education.  As I seek to hand on the faith to my students, I realize how important it is that I model what I'm imparting to them.

So we follow Christ's way to Life.  On our journey, we are transformed to show that we are bound for Eternal Life as we share, through our actions, our hope with others.

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