In this week’s gospel from Matthew, Jesus continues to prepare his disciples for their mission of healing and preaching his message. He warns them that as his followers, sometimes they will be persecuted, hated, and beaten; at other times, they will find open hearts, open doors, even a drink of cold water. To fulfill their mission they must step far outside their comfort zone and take the risks that come with reaching out to a wide variety of people. What happens to us when we reach out to the stranger?
We are called by Christ to reach out to those in need. This weekend St. Joseph’s welcomes Fr. Damian who has worked tirelessly in Tanzania for the last 50 years. He will share with us the message of his life and ministry and the critically necessity of this work with young women in Tanzania and their need for our support. Our parish has been a consistent supporter for this critical ministry and a number of parishioners have visited and seen first-hand the impact this ministry has made.
The Mass is our greatest prayer; we gather to give thanks to the Lord our God. Yet it is what we do outside the Mass that also determines the genuineness of the offering we make at the altar each Sunday. By our mutual love and, in particular, by our concern for those in need, we will be recognized as true followers of Christ. Go in peace glorifying the Lord by our lives in all that we say and do this day and every day. As you journey on your contemporary Exodus journey of the beauty and the challenges and the joys of your week, may you be connected with the Eucharistic life of Christ that is within you so that you may recognize and encounter the Lord in each and every person you share life with this week.
During this Year of the Eucharist, may we mindful of how we are Eucharistic Catholics 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The hour on Sunday is the beginning of our discipleship of the Lord Jesus Christ. As is spoken at the dismissal rite at Mass, “Go in Peace, Glorifying the Lord by Your Life.” The Eucharist calls us to continue to encounter the Lord in the ways we serve and love each other and in all the ways we wash the feet of God’s poor.
We are right to celebrate the Trinity and other truths of our faith on this Feast of the Holy Trinity. We recall that the Trinity is not three gods, but One, Three Persons united in infinite Love. If we all chose one concrete and loving thing to do today, this very Feast of the Holy Trinity, think of how much more visible the God's community of love would be present in our world. God so loved the world, that He chose to give so much, His Son. May we choose to make relationships a priority – our relationship with God, and through Him, right relationship with one another.
When our daughter, Megan, lost her battle with mental illness, we were left feeling like every part of our existence was scrambled. What would we do next? How would we continue on with our normal life? Would there ever be a “new normal,” what would it look like, and when would it happen? Even the simplest of decisions were excruciatingly difficult. These were the challenges we faced, challenges faced by everyone else who experiences the sudden loss of a loved one.