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While praying through the readings for today the last couple lines stood out to me. “When Jesus finished these words, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.” At first I had no idea why this specific line would keep coming to my attention, but as I reflected more I realized that we have all been given authority by God. The question is, do we use that authority to preach the Good News. 

All of us at our baptism were baptized into the offices of priest, prophet, and king. Though these roles may look slightly different for all of us depending on our stages in life, we all have them. It is interesting to hear in the Gospel that the scribes had forgotten any authority they had or at least were not putting it into practice. Maybe sometimes we struggle with that same problem. Often we can think of baptism just as the sacrament that forgives our sins and opens salvation, but it is much more than that. 

Baptism makes us part of a family and within that family we have certain responsibilities and authority. Now you might be asking yourself what the priesthood role has to do with you if you are not a priest? Or how does a king apply to me? Aren’t kings just an old-school method of governance? 

Well let’s break these down one at a time. First, a priest’s role is to make the commonplace holy. This is what he does during every Mass with the bread and wine. Although we are not going to be consecrating the Eucharist, we should be asking ourselves how we can make the commonplace holy in our day to day lives. How can we bless the people God has given us to care for? 

Second, a prophet is one who has faith that what God says is true and then communicates that message to others. We can do the same thing. We can have that same amount of faith to trust God with our whole lives and then invite people into that beautiful mystery by proclaiming the Good News. 

Finally, a king is one who has power over their domain. For many of us our domain might be our family. It might be various relationships we have in our lives. Or it might even be our own body. A good ruler is one who takes care of his kingdom. Our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit that we have been given to take care of. Are we acting like a good king and making sure we are taking care of our “kingdom” or are we stuffing our temple with garbage in our words, thoughts, and actions? 

I think all of us can benefit from taking a moment today to reflect inwardly and see how we can use the offices of our baptism to better serve the Church. 

From all of us here at Diocesan, God bless!

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As soon as I walk in the door from any given workday, I am ambushed by a barrage of “Mommy!!!” “Hi Mommy!” and “Yeah! Mommy’s home!!” My usually subdued workplace atmosphere gives way to the chaos of several littles as I try to get dinner on the table while listening to their stories and complaints. 

Sometimes these moments are overwhelming. Sometimes my reactions are not loving. Sometimes I wish I had some earplugs. Sometimes, I remind myself to take a step back and take it all in while it lasts. 

I often feel like I’m in the midst of a whirlwind. One day blows into the other at a rapid pace. The years go by in the blink of an eye. Am I behaving as I should as a Catholic Christian?

Today’s Psalm exclaims: “Give thanks to the LORD, invoke his name; make known among the nations his deeds.” I do want to be thankful and call upon Him always; I do want to teach my children (my own little nation) about all He has done so that they may follow in His footsteps. Everything I do matters. Every comment I make, every tone of voice I emit, will affect them in one way or another. I invoke your name oh, Lord. Teach me your ways. 

The Gospel tells us: “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit.” I long to be that good tree that bears fruits of goodness in my children. There are days that I hear sarcasm come out of their mouths and I say to myself, “I taught them that.” And there are other days that I hear them say, “I shared with my brother today” and I taught them that too. 

The daily struggle between good and evil is real, but if we remember to invoke the Lord and ask Him to teach us His ways, He can make that good fruit grow within us. May our children, and all those we encounter, find Christ through our good fruits.

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Have you ever questioned God’s will, and been struck mute because of it? I would guess your answer is no. Sometimes it is difficult for me to believe that such extraordinary things happened to the people in the Bible, and to saints. I’ve questioned what God asks of me millions of times in my life and have never been left mute, blind, deaf, or anything else.

 Zechariah questioned God’s will and experienced a radical consequence. For us, the consequences of our doubts may not show on the outside, but to us they are just as real as a sleepless night. When we are faced with those doubts, we have two choices: we can dwell in them and let them take over, slowly destroying our faith altogether OR we can acknowledge our struggles and rely on God to bring us through them.

Growing up I had a sign in my bedroom that said “The will of God will not take you where the grace of God will not protect you.” This saying got me through many situations that brought a lot of doubt. Faith is an incredible gift from God, and perseverance through the darkest times often leads us to the biggest breakthroughs. “Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed,

and he spoke blessing God.” As dark as our doubt can be, our faith can be just as bright on the other side if we persevere and allow God to do the rest. 

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I was explaining to one of my daughters recently the difference between an urgent care clinic and the emergency department at a hospital. I told her that the very broad rule is if you are concerned about the loss of life, limb, or eyesight, go to the emergency department. I don’t honestly know if this is old advice, perhaps there has been an update, but it’s what I went with. She thought about it for a minute, and then asked, “What about loss of hearing?”

What is it about eyesight that we are so very concerned about, even over and above another critical sense like hearing? I believe today’s Gospel may hold one clue about the importance of sight.

Jesus challenges his disciples to discover a new way of seeing. Rather than starting from their own perspective, they should adopt God’s perspective. What does this mean? Jesus offers some examples. To start with, stop judging other people based on preconceived notions, biases, understanding, and desires. What one person believes to be the truth of a particular situation may be incorrect because they don’t have all the facts. It can be very easy to point out all the ways someone else’s behavior is problematic, but how much harder is it to consider how our own behavior affects others. 

To see the world as God sees the world. God sees each of us as beloved children, cherished and uniquely created with mission and purpose on this earth. No one is expendable, no one is unwanted. Everyone is loved. There is something of critical importance in these statements to understand. It is not just that everyone else is loved, cherished, unique, etc. It means that you too, dear reader, are loved, cherished, unique, wanted, created with mission and purpose. When each of us wake up in the morning, can we honestly claim these adjectives about ourselves? Do we really see ourselves the way that God sees us? 

Jesus is trying to show us something about ourselves. We have disordered sight. We would rather not look at our faults and we often overplay any good qualities we have received, forgetting who gave them to us in the first place. At the same time, the faults of others are highlighted while their good qualities are undervalued. We don’t see others clearly, but we also don’t see ourselves clearly. Jesus tells us to remove the beam from our own eye before we can help someone with a splinter. Jesus is saying that if we wish to see others clearly, we first have to see ourselves clearly. And the way to see with clarity is to allow God to transform our sight so that we can see as He sees.

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It surely could not have been enough. Five loaves of bread and two fish could feed ten people but not five thousand. I wonder if the Twelve ever thought Jesus was crazy or if they saw enough signs to know that he really was God. It’s on my list of questions for when I arrive in Heaven. 

My study Bible says this passage is a foreshadowing of the sacramental miracle of the Eucharist. I think it’s also an example of trusting that what we are given by Jesus is enough. When my husband lost his job, I prayed for a very specific salary for his next job. Our parish and seminary were planning capital campaigns and I wanted to donate. Thanks be to God, my husband found employment but the salary was not what I’d hoped. One of those campaigns began and we were asked to donate an amount we thought would be out of reach. We prayed and talked about it and decided to give it a go. It turns out that what I didn’t think would be enough is, in fact, enough. Again, I am reminded that Jesus can do big things with our humble trust.

Feeding five thousand people is a big task. I would like to know what the Apostles thought when Jesus instructed them to distribute the loaves and fish. I would like to thank them for their trust in this and in so many other matters. The example they set as flawed humans like us, is inspiring and helpful. 

Slowly, as I live this life I’ve been gifted with, I am learning that Jesus’s reality is so much bigger than mine. He has the whole picture while I have just a bit of it. I can trust that what He gives is not just enough, it’s more than enough. He is so good. 

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“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides.” The Gospel reading today is part of the bigger Sermon on the Mount, which spans three chapters (Matthew 5-7) that are still relevant today. Christ’s words to his listeners about dependence on God are more important than ever in the twenty-first century.

We live in a world that has removed most of the inconveniences of daily life. No need to wash or clean by hand; we have machines for that. No need to travel on foot or by horse; we have cars and planes. There are some great blessings to this era, including safer, better ways to live, and that is a gift we shouldn’t take for granted! However, the control we have in many areas of our lives comes with a downside: the temptation to try to control every part of our lives.

It is an easy and understandable mistake to make. We already take charge of so many things. We press a button, and the problem gets fixed. Unfortunately, that method only works with machines, and human beings are not machines. Our lives cannot be programmed. Truthfully, the most important things in life – God and others, living and dying, love and loss – are not the kind of things we can control.

That was no less true for Christ’s audience two thousand years ago. His listeners were people from a world very different from ours with no modern conveniences, no easy way of life. He told them, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life.” Not a single part of it. 

As always, He gives us a practical reason and a deeper philosophical reason for that. The practical reason is simple: Worry never did anybody any good. In fact, as we know from experience, worry often makes a situation worse! And the philosophical reason is this: We truly have no reason to worry.

We have a Father Who loves us so dearly that He will do anything to give us whatever we need to come home to Him. Anything. My brother once said to me, “God loved you enough that He let His only Son die for you. You really think He isn’t going to take care of your problems?” Lost keys. A missed job interview. A falling-out with a family member or friend. The loss of a loved one. No matter how convenient our modern age is, we still can’t control the things that matter most to us. And we aren’t supposed to.

Who should be in charge, you or me, imperfect humans who can’t always see the deeper picture? Or our loving Father, Who sees and wills all things for our good (even lost keys!)? He will not let a single thing happen to you that will take you away from Him. All He asks, as He reminds us in today’s Gospel, is that we trust Him to take care of it all, today, tomorrow and always.

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“They say that money can’t buy happiness, but if I have a lot of money, I can go on a cruise, and that would make me happy.” That philosophical twister was posed by one of my eighth graders with the approval of many of his classmates. What followed was a spirited debate that was, as is often the case when teaching, completely off topic but completely on point. We talked about the difference between enjoyment and happiness, and we discussed the emptiness of always striving for that next shiny thing. Can something that fleeting really be called happiness? 

Toward the end of the class period, another student – one who had spent a year traveling the world with her family – wrapped it up quite well. “We have too much stuff in this country,” she said. “When I was in Africa, I met the poorest people I have ever met, and they were all so happy.” Clearly money had not bought their happiness.

It all comes down to grammatical semantics – adjective versus noun. Money may have the power to make you feel “happy” by acquiring some good or adventure you long for, but those feelings are temporary. “Happiness” as a noun is much deeper, more profound. It is a contentment and a peace in the soul for one who has discovered a deeper purpose in connection to God. That is the happiness that money can’t buy. And that is the treasure Jesus urges us toward in today’s Gospel.

Our hearts will seek that which we treasure. When we treasure (value, long-for) the newest gaming system, a shiny new car, or the praise of our peers, the fleeting happy feeling we may experience when we get these things won’t last, and it will leave us longing for more. But when we treasure God and treasure discovering and living His purpose for us, we find true, deep, abiding happiness. As St. Augustine wrote in his Confessions, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”

Things of this world can never fully satisfy. If our happiness is based on these things, and even the “happy” in our lives fades, spoils, and disappoints, how devastating will the sad days be? In today’s Gospel, Jesus reminds us to look toward the light so that we will be filled with light. We are called to set our hearts on God and the graces of our faith. Finding joy in the treasure that endures, the abiding love of God, makes our earthly joys more sweet and our earthly sorrows less bitter.

So, to the bright young man who posed our opening question, yes, money may be able to buy you a happy feeling here and there, but, no, it cannot buy happiness. That happiness, as the villagers your classmate met in Africa would likely be able to tell you, is a treasure borne of their Creator, and it doesn’t cost a dime.

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The readings today point to God the Father as full of justice, truth, majesty, compassion, mercy, care, and love for us. St. Paul reminds the Corinthians that he preaches the Gospel with humility and knowledge and his boasting is only in Christ Jesus, not for himself. The psalmist gives glory to God for all His works of creation, for the deeds He does, and tells us that God is reliable. Jesus teaches His disciples to pray the Our Father, possibly one of the first rote prayers many of us learned. Jesus wants us to go to God as our Father, since we are His children. 

As a spiritual director, I often talk to people about prayer. We are familiar with “prayers we say” but those wordless prayers, or whispers from the heart, can be challenging for us. We think that we must pray the right way, that we somehow pass or fail in our prayers, and if we pray the wrong way God will not hear or answer us. That is our human fear of approaching God, but God wants to hear from us. All the time. About all that we need. If we go to God with humility, we will pray well. 

In the Our Father there are two phrases that strike me often; “thy will be done” and “Give us this day our daily bread.” They will be done – in other words, Lord, I am turning over my needs, wants, hopes and life to You, so that Your will, not mine, is done. And I can do this because I trust that You will give me my daily bread. In other words, You will care for me today and give me what I need for today. 

I often have trouble with the “today” part of that phrase. I want to know how I will be taken care of for the next few weeks, months, and really, what is the ten-year plan. Can I have that, Lord? Do you feel that way sometimes as well? How can we move past that and focus on what is happening rather than what might happen?

I like to begin with gratitude for what is going on in my life now and where I see God’s hand on me. Then I slow down. I mean that – I slow myself down and hold onto what I know. God cares for me, and He will provide what I need for today so that His will is done. I try, as best as humanly possible, to cooperate with God. 

As you go through your day, ask yourself how you can better cooperate with God. 

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When I was growing up and times were tight, my parents dug up a section of the backyard and planted a garden. We grew carrots, green and yellow beans, radishes, lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers, all to help feed the family and cut down on the cost of groceries. One year, we also bought a package of corn seeds, and it was my job to plant them. Now, I’m quite fond of sweetcorn, so this was a task I could get behind. I planted as many rows as that packet of seeds would fill, and I waited. When the plants started to sprout, I was sent out to thin and weed them.

As I look back, the basic problem with this arrangement was I was a corn eater, not a corn farmer. I was just a kid, probably not even a teenager yet, and I had no idea if that was a little corn plant or a weed. When I got done with that task, those rows were pretty sparse. As the summer went on and the plants grew, we ended up with just 15 cornstalks, thanks to me and my lack of weeding expertise. I think we then ended up with maybe a dozen ears of corn total. I can’t even remember if it was good corn or not. The basic components of successful corn sowing and reaping just weren’t there.

The basic components of our faith, however, are pretty straightforward: prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Those are the things we try to do more fervently during Lent, and those are the things we then try to carry forward into the rest of the year. And we do so out of love. What is prayer but our conversation with our God? What is fasting but our attempt to remove those things that get in the way of our relationship with God? And what is almsgiving (the righteous deed Jesus points out in Matthew’s Gospel today) but our attempt to love and serve others because of our love for God?

Thus, Jesus’ teaching also seems pretty straightforward: We know what we’re supposed to do, but we definitely need to watch out for how and why we’re doing it. None of it is for show. None of it is to gain us the praise or admiration of others. All of it is for God. But the beautiful promise is that when we do it all for God, the Father will repay us. He will, as Paul tells the Corinthians, increase our harvest of righteousness. And, as the psalmist tells us, He is gracious and merciful and just. Pray, fast, and give alms, but do it all for God and with God and through God. And the Father’s generosity to us shall endure forever. Talk about reaping bountifully!

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Love my enemies? Pray for those who persecute me? Be perfect? That’s crazy talk. 

Every time I hear the passage from today’s Gospel, a thought that goes through my brain for a split second that says, “This is crazy talk.” Not because it is Jesus asking this of us, but because it all seems so impossible. “Lord, you know humanity. You know my sinful self. I can’t possibly live up to this.” And yet, Jesus still asks us. 

What if we could be perfect? What if we could love as God loves? If He’s asking, it must be possible. 

As Christians living after the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus, we have an advantage that His followers during His life on earth did not. We know the entire story from the beginning. We know how the story ends. The only way that what Christ asks of us makes any sense is in light of His dying and rising. 

The Cross is the answer to impossible things. Jesus showed us what to do, to carry our crosses and embrace them fully. In the mystery of suffering, we rise above human thinking to the mind of God. 

Today, let’s ask for the grace to see and understand not as we see, but as God sees. Let us ask for the gift to think as God thinks, and the courage to carry our crosses well so that they might transform our lives. 

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