Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today's readings can be found here.



Today's second reading from the First book of Corinthians tells me that If I do not have love, “I am a resounding gong or a crashing cymbal.” I admit, week after week, it is difficult to write a reflection that can be both challenging to you, my reader, yet not hypocritical. Who am I to point out the splinter in your eye, when I have a plank in my own? I am not perfect, but I write because I love each person in the church and I love the Church herself. I write as a duty to love,to challenge you, and myself as well.

Last week, we heard that we are each a part of the body. One is the ear, one is the nose, and another the hand. We are each a part of the body of Christ. We cannot belabor that we are called to donate money to a cause, while another has the time to pray in front of an abortion clinic, while another can counsel broken mothers. We all have our strengths and our weakness, and we each have our purpose. Ultimately, this purpose is to love.

I write today, to challenge you to look at the life you participate in on a daily basis, the ministries you are involved in, and the things you are passionate about. The pro-life march this past week was a testament to the numbers of people who are passionate about life. It is important to remember, though, the woman who carries the unborn. It is important to remember that she must be loved. A woman who teeters on the edge of an abortion needs compassion and love, she needs strength and hope. A woman there needs the support of a loving community to pull her back and give her the strength to bear the child within. She cannot do it without love.

In the second reading, St. Paul tells us that Love is patient, love is kind. It does not seek its own interests, it is not quick tempered, it rejoices in the truth and bears all things. Your life is a gift to this broken world, but only if you have love. Otherwise, the sound of your cry is cacophony among the shouts of many others. It is a clashing cymbal, a resounding gong. We should follow the call that God gives to us. Following the call will help us to work and serve Him in the situations where we are best able to love.

If we have love, we see the individual, we see the need for healing, patience, kindness. Only if we have love can we bear, believe, hope and endure with others. I pray that you may follow God's call to love. I additionally ask your prayers that I won't just be noise in the world, but a loving voice, bearing, believing, hoping and enduring alongside the Body of Christ, calling each person to love others as God created them.

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today's readings can be found here. They are really good this week, so I suggest you look at them if you haven't already!

“Brothers and Sisters … To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit.” We are each called to God's work. We may not know what it is, but God certainly does. To determine what our call is, it is helpful to look at our strengths, abilities, talents and skills and pray about how they may be used to the benefit of God's holy church.

One person may be good at organizing and office work. Our parish almost always needs help in those areas. One may be good at planning parties and having fun. We have many events that need to be planned including fundraisers, youth events, and ministries to the poor during the holidays. Another may only be good at accounting, the church needs that skill too! Then we have talents such as speaking, writing, singing, and playing musical instruments. The Church needs people to lead music at worship, lector (especially at Saturday 5pm and Sunday at 11:30am), and write for the bulletin. The needs of our parish, and the Church at large are tremendous and each of us are called to serve our Mother Church and the Body of Christ. We are all a part of the one body of Christ and each part has its essential function.

Jesus Christ was called to specific work in His lifetime and when he was about 30 years old, His mother gave him a push that resulted in His first scriptural miracle. At the wedding feast, Mary turned to Jesus knowing He had a special skill that could help the situation at hand. Jesus tells his mother that he isn't ready. Mary pushes him to action, as a good mother would. Sometimes we need someone to push us to action, especially when it comes to serving others and God. Sometimes we need someone to believe in us and encourage us in the good works we do. We need encouragers and enablers in our lives to push us into action.

We need to be encouragers and enablers to our friends, family and to strangers we meet. When we see someone with a skill or ability the church needs, our job is to give them a nudge in God's direction. Every one of us has a part to play in the story of our faith, from the priest, to the lector, to the people who stuff the bulletins, to the ministers for the children, youth, sick, and prisoner, to the infant who plays baby Jesus in the Nativity play. As the hymn says, “We are many parts, we are all one body, and the gifts we have, we are given to share. May the Spirit of Love make us one indeed... Working for the Father's Son, working that His will be done, let us lay our gifts before the Lord.” Indeed, let us lay our gifts before the Lord.

Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today's readings can be found here


The question posed in James is "What good is faith without works?" For an individual, faith in God's sanctifying grace is all that is needed to be saved. However, on earth, we are living in community. Community needs each member to contribute in one way or another. Otherwise we are all just living next to each other instead of with each other.

Mahatma Ghandi once said, "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians." Wow. What kind of behavior must we have been displaying for him to say that? We must not be living out the ministry of Christ and the works of our faith to our fullest extent.

Looking at the vast array of religious orders, it is easy to see that there are many different types of works to be done: ministry to the sick, healthy, dying, survivor, poor, wealthy, orphan, child, teen, homosexual, married, single, addict, homeless, jobless, soldier, hungry, and more. There are orders who focus on teaching, healing, health, meditation, contemplation, preaching, politics, social justice, and missionary work. Even within our own church building, opportunities abound for works: extraordinary minister of the Eucharist, lectoring, singing, altar serving, greeting, taking the collection, becoming a Deacon, writing the bulletin, teaching catechism, collecting for the food drive, writing letters to representatives, leading the Mom's group, cleaning the church pews after mass, cleaning the candles and altar before mass, parish council, and so much more.

God asks for our time, talent and treasure to meet the needs of the community. God's gift of grace saves us. Our faith sustains us. Our works help our neighbor and build our community. I pray that each of us can respond to the needs of the community according to the call on our hearts and that one day, a great leader may say, “I like your Christ, and I love your Christians.”