God is in control. We do our best to give ourselves to Him. He gave Himself to us for that very reason, so that we, in turn, can give ourselves to Him. As people united to the One who brings life through death, united to Jesus Christ, we trust our loving Savior to care for us.
As good stewards we give from our needs, our need for more time to do the necessities of life, and our need to use our monetary blessings to care for ourselves and our families. But there is a Greater Need in our lives. That is the Need for Jesus Christ.
A graphic statement in the First Letter of John forcefully reminds us that we must never forget the meaning of Jesus' words to the scribe of today's gospel and to us: "If anyone says, 'I love God,' but hates his brother, he is a liar..." (4:20).
The blind and deaf Helen Keller said, "The most beautiful things in the world can't be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart." Clever Bartimaeus saw Christ clearly with the eyes of his soul. So must you and I.
What really matters in life? The Book of Wisdom, the first reading, says that the wisdom of God is all that matters. To see things as God sees them. To understand as God understands. To enjoy the fruits of creation as God means them to be enjoyed.
With this solemn concelebration we open the thirteenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the theme The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith. This theme reflects a programmatic direction for the life of the Church, its members, families, its communities and institutions.
The readings for this Sunday point us to a consideration of the sacrament of matrimony. This is the sacrament so many of you live. I can provide the theological, spiritual basis of the sacrament, but only those of you who are married can provide the reality of the sacrament in your marriages.
Most of the people here have been faithful Catholics throughout their lives. They have attended Mass weekly from their earliest days. They have lived moral lives and searched for ways that they could serve God in others, particularly in their families.
Following of Jesus Christ is serious business. It is not a matter of just being a member of a faith. It is not just a matter of observing various rules and regulations. It is not just a matter of knowing the beliefs of the faith. Christ is calling us to more than this. He is calling us to be completely sold on His Kingdom.
The story is told of a four year old saying her night prayers. She asked God to take care of mommy, daddy, and her cat. Then she asked, "And now, God, what can I do for you?" A question still hotly debated is how do we take care of the poor.
Many Catholics lose sight of the forest because of the trees. We give attention to minutiae and turn our backs on the essentials. Unhappily for us, we are living our lives in an epoch which downplays sin. There is a danger, John Newman warned, of thinking God takes our sins lightly because we take them lightly.
Jesus had given them a teaching that demanded their absolute trust in Him, their absolute faith in Him, even though this teaching was completely against what their eyes, ears and senses were telling them.
Eating Well. One of the things that I, and I am sure you, love watching children do is eat. For a child, particularly a young child, eating is a total body experience. For example, the young child doesn’t just taste ice scream, he smells it, and feels it and wears it.
After God saved them by parting the Red Sea, they murmured that there would not be enough food for them to eat in the desert. After God gave them manna, they murmured that the food was boring and wanted better grub.
The Archbishop said that, just as David 'wasn't much good at fighting in overgrown suits of armour but was quite good with stones and slings', we all have to look inside ourselves and learn what gifts God has given us - gifts that will help 'when life is tough and the challenges and crises are fresh and difficult'.
The food that God gives demands a total commitment to Him. It is called the Bread of Life. We often, rightly so focus on the “bread” part as we discuss the Eucharist. It is the “life” part I want to consider today.
The author of John’s gospel calls the miracles of Jesus as “signs”. Precisely because these are signs of the kingdom… concrete and present. The place and timeframe of John’s good news is “here and now”: I have come that you may have life, and live it to the full. Thus feeding miracles are best to portray this proposal of Jesus.
Good Shepherd: God’s image as compassionate, merciful, forgiving, generous, just, liberator. In every moment the human is caught with enormous difficulty, there is God not only present to rescue him or her but also giving him or her freedom to decide what is best. God’s love is always respectful to human choices.
In today’s Gospel we hear about Jesus sending out his Apostles to preach the Good News. He gives them instructions on how to go about this task. Curiously he doesn’t tell them what to say but gives them authority over unclean spirits and tells them what not to take. They are not to go well provisioned or with a lot of gear because this will mean that they arrive in a place with an attitude of humility about them.
A Prophet among Them. Many people in our society would rather that Christ stayed in the tomb then have to listen to His confronting them with the Truth. All this leaves us with two questions: First, do I have the humility to handle the truth? And second: do I have the courage to proclaim the truth?
