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Take the path to freedom and joy

Mon, 21 Aug 2023 08:41:06 GMT

Take the path to freedom and joy

When we hear the word “sacrifice” most of us think of giving up something, like the things we give up during Lent as a joining with Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. That is certainly part of what it means to sacrifice, but reflecting deeply on this word can help us to think more accurately about the ways in which we are called to live as stewards. To sacrifice means to make holy. In the Gospel of Matthew, we hear of the multiplication of the loaves and fish. Jesus took the little the people had and made of it a banquet. Their sharing of the bread and fish was certainly a sacrifice — they did not know what was going to happen with what they gave!

We are invited to give of our very selves, our lives, time, attention and resources. But we are called to more than simply giving from our excess. We see and hear much that tells us that we should hold on to what we have, that having much is a sign of success. Christ’s way tells us something different. We must cultivate within our hearts the willingness to give more fully than we might want, and to ask God to bless our sacrifice and make it holy.

St. Paul says it this way: “Do not conform yourself to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect” (Rom 12:2). In this way, living sacrificially — giving when we might think it difficult or impossible — is a way of freedom and joy, a way that leads to holiness and to sharing Christ’s love with the world through our stewardship.

This article comes to you from Grace In Action (Our Sunday Visitor) courtesy of your parish or diocese.

August 20, 2023

Mon, 21 Aug 2023 08:41:05 GMT

Mt 15:21-28

This is the second time within the month that the Gospel about the Canaanite woman is read. A non-Jewish woman comes to Jesus on behalf of her daughter who is possessed. The disciples want her to go away and Jesus rebukes her saying that his mission is confined to the Jewish people. Her faith is obvious and her need great. Jesus’ mission opens to all.

We are your people. We kneel before you with gratitude for being created, redeemed and sanctified.

This content comes to you from Our Sunday Visitor courtesy of your parish or diocese.

Faithfulness to promises

Mon, 21 Aug 2023 08:41:04 GMT

Faithfulness to promises

“Faithfulness to promises is a true masterpiece of humanity! If we look at its bold beauty, we are frightened, but if we disregard its courageous tenacity, we are lost. No relationship of love — no friendship, no form of loving, no happiness in the common good — reaches the height of our desire and of our hope, if this miracle does not come to dwell in the soul.”

Reflection: When have you experienced the miracle of faithfulness in love? What challenges have you faced in keeping promises made to those you love?

This content comes to you from Our Sunday Visitor courtesy of your parish or diocese.

Faith in Jesus enables us to come together

Mon, 21 Aug 2023 08:41:03 GMT

Faith in Jesus enables us to come together

“He summoned the Twelve and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal.” (Luke 9:1-2)

The twelve Apostles were chosen from different walks of life. They differed not only in terms of their backgrounds, but also in their understanding and therefore, response to Jesus. Not every one of the Apostles understood what Jesus was trying to say and do, when it actually happened before their very eyes. And this affected their response to his commands.

However, the message of Jesus to them was loud and clear that they were to continue the mission began by him. When Jesus sends out the Twelve, he gives them authority to preach and to heal. This was because Jesus trusted that they would continue the mission entrusted to him. They were all different, but they all had one mission, to continue the healing mission of Jesus.

As disciples of Jesus, the mission today, is no different. We are called to be healers. Jesus went about healing the infirmities and afflictions of people. And he did this to both Jews and Gentiles alike. In the process, he was also healing the divisions that existed between people. He was opening the grace of God, and salvation to everyone. He made every attempt to bring people together.

In a world wounded by divisions of all sorts, we are called to continue the mission began by Jesus. Definitely, there has to be every effort and attempt to preach his words of comfort and to heal the physical infirmities of the afflicted. But the mission does not end there. In a world that is divided, we are called to seek ways for healing and to bridge the gaps that exist between people.

Often we seek, as human beings, to find what separates us. And the divisions are all well visible, that we find it easy to identify them and remain divided. What is required today, is to seek what unites us, rather than what divides us. There can be differences, but there need not be divisions. Differences are part of created beings, but not divisions.

What unites us is that we are all children of the same God, who created us in his image. We might look different, might speak different languages, might have different understanding of faith and faith affiliations, but we are all children of the same God.

Today, what Jesus asks of us is to be healers of the divisions that we encounter in our lives. As St. Paul reminds us, we are given the ‘ministry of reconciliation’. We have the power. What me might lack, is the will. To follow Jesus is to acquire the courage to be a healer, with the power of love that comes from him.