Saint Cyril of Jerusalem Catholic Church

We all aspire to greatness in some form or other.  It is this desire that our Lord addresses in today’s gospel.

James and John approach Jesus with their own idea of greatness— to sit at His right hand and His left when He comes into His glory.  However, Jesus has other ideas about greatness.  For Jesus, greatness begins with a cup of suffering and a baptism of pain.  Greatness is achieved through service.

We have here another reversal of values for which Jesus is famous.  “The first shall be the last.” “He who loses his life shall save it,” and “He who humbles himself shall be exalted” are other examples of how Jesus often reverses our values.

If we are aspiring greatness in some area,  we have to be able to suffer sometimes, put up with pain, whether physical or emotional, and overcome obstacles.  Moreover, if we aspire to higher forms of greatness in terms of what makes us truly human and holy, then we have to be willing to serve others and even lay down our lives for them.

The sense in which Jesus uses the term service includes any act that is noble and unselfish, any gesture that affirms and encourages someone, and any deed that is done with kindness and generosity.

Understood in this way, people who are achieving greatness in God’s eyes are: parents who raise their children according to Christian values.  Teachers who inspire students to high ideals; doctors and nurses who heal and care for the sick;  volunteers who visit the shut-ins; neighbors whom we call in an emergency.

Pray that we may be men and women who aspire to genuine greatness— a greatness that has a willingness to be of service and even give our lives for others.

God Bless,

Msgr. Powell

In today’s Gospel Jesus is questioned about divorce.  Jesus goes beyond the permissive stance assumed by Moses in his period of history.  He moves to what God intended from the very beginning of time as an ideal marriage relationship.

There is no compromise on what Jesus holds out as the ultimate and ideal goal of marriage—two people should become one flesh; what God has joined let no one separate, whoever divorces and remarries commits adultery.

Ideally a marriage should be marked by unity— a total sharing of body, mind and spirit; it should be a permanent relationship—till death do us part.

However, we do not live in a ideal world.  We live in a real world where to often selfishness overpowers love, taking dominates giving, and some marriages end in divorce.  What does Jesus have to say about that?

To answer that question, recall how Jesus condemned adultery, but forgave the woman caught in adultery; how He showed compassion toward the Samaritan woman at the well who had lived with five husbands; and how he gave Peter a new start after Peter had denied Him and ran away.

Do we continue to strive for ideal marriage?  Yes, with all our resources.  Do we condemn divorced people whose marriage fell short of the ideal?  No, we condemn divorce but not the divorcee.  We deal with the divorce the way Jesus would— by balancing the law with love, firmness, with forgiveness and principles with practices.

Today let us pray for married couples that God keep them in His grace.  Let us also pray for those whose marriages have failed, that God will continue to bless them and help them to always feel His presence in their lives.

God Bless,

Msgr. Powell