25th sunday in ordinary time

Posted on by Cassie

Jesus leaves Galilee and begins His journey to Jerusalem where He will die and rise.  He is moving from the edge of Judaism.  Along the way He reminds His disciples what this confrontation will mean.  Again the disciples fail to grasp what He is saying.

Jesus tells them that the way to greatness lies not through advancing to higher positions but through taking the lowest position— and staying there.  Be servants, He tells them.  The competition of the disciples for top honors was exactly the opposite of what they should have been seeking as followers of Jesus.  True discipleship and true greatness mean humble service of others.

Notice the example He gives.  He brings a little child in front of them. He then talks not about the child, but about the person who cares for the child.  He says: “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me, but the One who sent me.”  Jesus does not present the child as a model.  The model is the person who takes care of the child. In the Hebrew society, the child had no social status, therefore the child was considered unimportant.  Jesus is calling us to become the servant of those who are unimportant.

Serving the powerless is serving Jesus, and serving Jesus is serving God.

God Bless,

Msgr. Powell

24th sunday in ordinary time

Posted on by Cassie

In the gospel, Jesus is identified as the Messiah.  Even though His journey to Jerusalem will lead Him to suffering and death, and even though Peter tries to talk Him out of going there, Jesus refuses to turn back and resolves to go through with the Father’s plan.  Jesus can already see before Him the cross on Calvary, and yet He will not let Himself quit His messianic task.

To be a disciple of Jesus means that we can not allow ourselves to quit whenever some cross confronts us.  Instead we have to take up that cross and resolutely follow in the steps of Jesus.

Whether our cross is unfair treatment of others, loneliness or discouragement, or whether it is the loss of our health, our job or someone we love, if we are truly Christian, then we cannot allow ourselves to quit carrying the cross.

Instead, we have to believe that God is near to uphold us and is indeed our help.  We need to believe that with Him, we will not only survive, but we will also overcome and triumph.  We have the Lord’s promise that even though we may lose something—perhaps even our life—in the end we will save it, provided we are faithful and don’t give up.

This is the Christian message.  This is what we are called to believe.

God Bless

Msgr. Powell

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Posted on by Cassie

In today’s Gospel there is a deaf and dumb man brought to Jesus.  Our Lord puts His finger into the man’s ears and touches his tongue with spittle.  Immediately the man is able to hear and to speak.

This same touch of our divine Master’s hand continues to transform our lives today.  Our brothers and sisters are the people who bring us into the presence of Christ so that His power can operate on us.  The sacraments are extensions of Christ’s hands reaching out to touch and heal us.   Scripture is the extension of His words of encouragement to us.

By the touch of His hand Jesus opens our eyes to the needs of others.  He opens our ears to the cries of frustration from people victimized by inflation, to the cries of loneliness from teenagers hooked on drugs, or to the cries of hurt from people we have injured.  He has loosed our tongue so that we can speak boldly in defense of the unborn and the handicapped, of honesty in government and business, and chastity in entertainment.

By the touch of His hand Jesus opens our eyes, unstops our ears and loosens our tongues.  He changes our hearts so that we can be more sensitive to the needs of others.   Under His transforming power we become His instruments to accomplish the works described in today’s Responsorial Psalm: to secure justice for the oppressed, give food to the hungry and set captives free.

Jesus not only touches us with His hands but also uses our hands to touch others, to sustain the fatherless and the widow, protect the stranger and raise up those that are bowed down.

During Mass, thank God for making the prophetic version of Isaiah a reality in us.

God Bless,

Msgr. Powell