What will separate us from the love of Christ? Nothing, because Jesus is the Lord!

My friends, He will never abandon us. The people listening to Jesus, as we are today, were hungry for the presence of God.  Jesus reminds us that hunger cannot be satisfied by earthly bread alone.

What Jesus gave them and what He gives us is the Bread come from heaven. When they ate this Bread as we will, they understood and believed, they had their souls filled with satisfaction.

What must we do to satisfy our hunger? The first reading said, “Come to me heedfully; listen that you may have life.” This means that we need to live our lives more consciously, know what we are doing. So many times, we live unconsciously. For some years, I worked in an office and offices are famous for having candy dishes, and people eat from them all day, oblivious to how unhealthy it is to just graze on sugar. It is the same with life itself. We can do and say things, make decisions or judgments without really understanding the true meaning of life.

Take time this week to listen more carefully, become more conscious of the words you hear, “The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs”(Psalm 145).

There is a story about Saint Francis of Assisi, that after he died, the brothers were preparing him for his burial, They removed his old habit and in his pocket was his most valued possessions: A small bible, wooden prayer beads and some stones. After finding these treasures the brothers pronounced him the richest man in the world.

Saint Francis died a peaceful man, and a joyful man.

Sometimes we don’t realize how little God needs to love us. We don’t appreciate that God really does hear our prayers and that the treasure we all have is not in monetary notes but rather in the Word of God, which is contained in our bibles.

This week would be a good week to look around for your bible, find your rosary and pick up some really nice rocks from your garden: rediscover the treasure that awaits you.

Saint Augustine wrote once: “Christ is not valued at all unless he is valued above all.”

Micah 6:1-4,6-8          Matthew 12:38-42

Micah reminds us of the wonderful power God shares with His children. He asks only ‘to do the right and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God.”

This power is quite awesome and it is why people of little faith lack trust and they desire a ‘sign.’ The Gospel reaffirms our place. It reminds us to be brave.  Even the great saint, Francis De Sales said, “Let the waves roar all around you. Let the mighty winds blow and turn the world upside down. Your angels are around you like sentinels of God. Nothing can hurt you. God is near.”  This is something greater than even Solomon. So believe with all your heart, mind and soul that God loves you. He will never abandon you.

All Christians through baptism are preachers of the Word. Saint Paul says, “all of us who possess the first fruits of the Spirit, we too groan inwardly as we wait for our bodies to be set free.”  What he is saying is that everything we do, everything we think and say belongs to Christ and through us He communicates to the world.

When we sow the seed of the Word, we rarely see the effects of that sowing. We can look back on our own lives and remember people who affected us and yet they will never know how much they changed us; old teachers, our parents, priests, former classmates, coworkers. We too have an effect on people’s lives without knowing it.

Continue reading “Matthew 13:1-23 We belong to Christ & through us, He communicates to the world. Matthew 10:24-33” →

A parishioner offered this reflection on what she saw at the 11:30 A.M. Mass one Sunday.  She writes – “Before the 11:30 Mass, Deacon Mark was showing a young boy who was an altar server some things that he would have to do.  The boy looked very nervous, but never took his eyes off of the Deacon.   Continue reading “A PARISHIONER’S MEMORY” →