Today’s readings give us two different views of ourselves. In Ezekiel, we are sheep, and in Matthew’s Gospel, we are laborers. Today’s society doesn’t really have a very high opinion of either one of those. Sheep are considered brainless followers, easily fooled or told what to do by others. Laborers often are considered uneducated, uncouth or socially beneath the norm. Being called a sheep is a putdown, as is being called a common laborer. Isn’t it funny, then, how God, in His sacred Word, honors us by calling us His sheep and His laborers?
The difference, of course, is the point of view. In a self-centered world, being told what to do or allowing ourselves to be led by some authority, especially one that might restrict what we want to do, is an insult. But God is looking at us from an infinitely higher vantage point. Sheep are not a gang of fools to be duped and bullied, they are a group in need of care and nurturing. In fact, the reading from Ezekiel shows God chastising the shepherds for failing to properly care for the sheep. Proper care, when it comes right down to it, does require boundaries — a fenced pasture, for example — but modern society doesn’t like someone else putting those boundaries in place.
And then there’s Matthew’s view of Jesus’ parable, where God is the landowner in need of laborers. Think of that: God needs us! There’s work to be done, and we’re just the ones to do it. This isn’t volunteer work, these are paid positions. Ah, but once again, modern society wants to dictate the terms. Never mind the glorious generosity of the reward, why do these latecomers get the same reward as those of us who were out there sweating all day long?
The question is, then: What exactly do we deserve? In Ezekiel, God says we deserve care, nurturing, healing, protection. In Matthew, Jesus says we deserve payment for what we do. But we don’t get to dictate the generosity of the One paying us. We should recognize our place and rejoice in having such a high opinion held of us, that we might actually deserve anything at all from an almighty God.
It all boils down to the reason we exist at all. God created us out of love and loves us completely. He seeks nothing more than a relationship with us where we also love Him completely. Modern society also struggles with what true relationship should look like. In our pride and collective disobedience, too often we fail in what should be a fairly simple scenario: God loves us completely and we should love Him in the same way. Luckily, He wants to help us with our end of the bargain. Let us always pray for the grace to love the way we should. Because, what does God deserve? Our everything.
Daily Reading
Saturday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time
Reading 1 1 Cor 1:26-31 Consider your own calling, brothers and sisters.Not many of you were wise by human standards,not many were powerful,not many were of noble birth.Rather, God chose…
Saint of the Day
Saint Raymond Nonnatus
Saint Raymond Nonnatus, delivered by cesarean after his mother’s death, is the patron saint of expectant mothers and midwives.
The post Saint Raymond Nonnatus appeared first on uCatholic.
Money is one of those things that often brings out the worst in people. It can also bring out the best through charitable donations and helping the poor, but quite often money corrupts. It is the rich that Jesus is speaking directly to in this Gospel. To say it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for the rich to inherit eternal life is pretty strong language.
So what does Jesus mean by today’s passage? Is he really saying that if you make a good salary you will not go to heaven? I think some context here is important. Jesus reprimands the Sadducees and Pharisees time and time again. These were the religious leaders of the time who had a lot of money and status. They followed the letter of the law but were often hoarding the gifts that were given at the temple and were setting up a class system of the religious elite versus the common folk.
We can also recall the story where Jesus fashions whips and flips tables because the temple has become a marketplace as opposed to a house of worship. This topic is very clearly important to Jesus. But we have to read the Scriptures within the context of the time they were delivered. I do not read this verse as saying you cannot make a comfortable living and provide for your family. But what I do hear it saying is twofold. First, we should not put money above God. Second, we should realize that all that we have been given is a gift and we should not hoard our resources, but should be generous with the gifts God has given.
We all have a desire to make money. Nobody likes living paycheck to paycheck. But there is a big difference between allowing our money to control us and being in control of the things we have been given. Perhaps Jesus is asking us to see this difference and live by it. I once heard some great advice from a priest friend who said when we give we should feel it a little. If we have been blessed with wealth we should give enough where we feel it. If we have been blessed with less we should still give what we can back to the less fortunate.
None of us will be millionaires in heaven. Even if we reach this status here on earth, we don’t take any of that money with us. Maybe the question for today is, how can we use our gifts like the woman who gave her last two coins back to the Lord as opposed to the religious leaders who gave barely anything of the massive wealth they had? Generosity is much more important than the physical amount, as long as we remember it is all a gift and gifts are meant to be shared.
From all of us here at Diocesan, God bless!
Daily Reading
Saturday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time
Reading 1 1 Cor 1:26-31 Consider your own calling, brothers and sisters.Not many of you were wise by human standards,not many were powerful,not many were of noble birth.Rather, God chose…
Saint of the Day
Saint Raymond Nonnatus
Saint Raymond Nonnatus, delivered by cesarean after his mother’s death, is the patron saint of expectant mothers and midwives.
The post Saint Raymond Nonnatus appeared first on uCatholic.
In this Gospel passage, a young man is told that to have eternal life, he should sell his stuff and follow Jesus. That’s a big ask. It’s something that scares me and seems impractical. I would be a burden to others who would have to house and feed me at the very least.
I suspect my reaction is because that kind of radical response is not my calling. I have met people who have a call to voluntary poverty. I don’t think I’m one of them. I do think it’s a reminder to not cling too tightly to the things of this world, both physical items and attitudes.
Having children and pets has helped me let go of some of it. A decent amount of my stuff has been wrecked by a dog that likes to chew or a kid with butterfingers. Getting angry at the broken bowl or chewed up kitchen towel and acting on that anger is not following Jesus. The same is true for beliefs. Holding onto a negative perception of a person or gripping the hurt I have experienced by another isn’t following Jesus either. Jesus taught us to love others and forgive them.
Maybe it’s those types of things Jesus was talking about in the Gospel. Maybe he’s not asking me to live in a refrigerator box on the sidewalk but rather to loosen my grip on the things and attitudes that keep me from union with him.
Daily Reading
Saturday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time
Reading 1 1 Cor 1:26-31 Consider your own calling, brothers and sisters.Not many of you were wise by human standards,not many were powerful,not many were of noble birth.Rather, God chose…
Saint of the Day
Saint Raymond Nonnatus
Saint Raymond Nonnatus, delivered by cesarean after his mother’s death, is the patron saint of expectant mothers and midwives.
The post Saint Raymond Nonnatus appeared first on uCatholic.
“Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.” There is no other way to look at it. Jesus says, “unless”. If we want his life within us, we must eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood. And like many of the Jews of Jesus’s time, we may also say, “What? How? This is too far!”
Jesus meant what he said. When we partake in communion, we take into our body and soul, the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus. That is a pretty big deal and we need to spend the time and energy to wrestle with that. The flesh of the Son of Man is a reference to the suffering of Jesus, suffering which is the price for integrity. When we follow Jesus, when we do as he says and approach the altar to eat his flesh, to drink his blood, it shouldn’t be a passive reception. We need to embrace wholeheartedly what it means to become one with Jesus. We need to ask to see with his eyes, hear with his ears, speak with his tongue and, most of all, to love with his heart.
We embrace his way of suffering. As we say yes to Jesus, when we declare “Amen” to the person who offers us the Body of Christ, we are not simply saying thank you. We have to engage our will. We have to acknowledge that God is God and we are not. It is an act of humility as we give Jesus access to the core of our being – we want him to be active, to mold it, sculpt it, change it – change us from the inside out.
I heard a bishop suggest once that each and every Christian should spend time with John 6. A quick read through will take under 10 minutes. But we should not do this quickly. We need to engage with this passage of Scripture. We need to mull it over in our minds, to engage willingly and truly hear what Jesus has to say.
Lord Jesus, open my mind and heart. Help me to believe what you say, even the hard parts. When I meet you in the Eucharist, radically change me from the inside out, so that I truly have your life within me. Amen.
Daily Reading
Saturday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time
Reading 1 1 Cor 1:26-31 Consider your own calling, brothers and sisters.Not many of you were wise by human standards,not many were powerful,not many were of noble birth.Rather, God chose…
Saint of the Day
Saint Raymond Nonnatus
Saint Raymond Nonnatus, delivered by cesarean after his mother’s death, is the patron saint of expectant mothers and midwives.
The post Saint Raymond Nonnatus appeared first on uCatholic.
In the broader context of our Gospel passage for today, the disciples have just finished listening to Jesus field some difficult questions from the Pharisees. They had asked Jesus to explain more fully His teaching because they didn’t understand. Many of Jesus’ teachings were difficult and the disciples did not always come to a fuller comprehension until later, sometimes not even until after Jesus’ Passion and Resurrection.
In the midst of the intellectual and theological confusion, children begin coming to Jesus. Kids don’t always have the best timing. I know, call me crazy, but as a mom of six there are some days that my kids, as much as I love them, seemingly refuse to observe when they are interrupting, interjecting, or compounding issues with persistent off-topic questions.
Now, if the disciples couldn’t understand what on earth Jesus was talking about, I don’t find it too far of a stretch to believe they didn’t think children would understand either. Why bother having them around then, if they weren’t going to understand, weren’t going to ask the right questions, and wouldn’t comprehend the answers anyway?
Jesus is of a different mind. Jesus sees the children coming to Him in their innocence and He reaches out to them. He points to them as a model for how the disciples ought to approach the world and His kingdom. It’s not that the children were capable of understanding some kind of hidden knowledge inaccessible to the adult disciples. The children are coming to Jesus, not because they seek answers to complicated theological questions, but because they want to be close to Him. By bringing children into their midst, Jesus is inviting the disciples, and by extension all of us, to recall the real purpose of their time with Jesus.
Jesus calls each of us to become childlike. This is quite different from childish. We can turn to St. Thérèse of Lisieux for a great many spiritual truths, including this simple and profound revelation about childlike souls: “It is to recognize our nothingness, to expect everything from God as a little child expects everything from its father … to be disquieted about nothing, and not to be set on gaining our living,” that is, “the eternal life of heaven.” (Her Last Conversations).
When we recognize that we are utterly and completely dependent upon God, we enter into this place of childlike faith. When we turn to God, again and again, as a little child does to his mother for every need or desire, great and small alike, we become childlike before God. When we run to God in every moment of sorrow or delight, as a daughter flies into the arms of her father with equal vigor over a bouquet of dandelions or a scraped knee, we embrace our identity as children of God.
Daily Reading
Saturday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time
Reading 1 1 Cor 1:26-31 Consider your own calling, brothers and sisters.Not many of you were wise by human standards,not many were powerful,not many were of noble birth.Rather, God chose…
Saint of the Day
Saint Raymond Nonnatus
Saint Raymond Nonnatus, delivered by cesarean after his mother’s death, is the patron saint of expectant mothers and midwives.
The post Saint Raymond Nonnatus appeared first on uCatholic.
In today’s Gospel from Matthew, we hear Jesus say: “the Creator made them male and female and said, For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, man must not separate.”
This passage helps us stop and think about the institution of marriage and its sanctity, as well as the complexities of human relationships and societal norms. At its core, the passage addresses a question posed by the Pharisees regarding the legality of divorce. Jesus responds by invoking the divine intention behind marriage, quoting the Genesis narrative where God establishes the unity and indissolubility of the marital bond. He emphasizes the sacredness of marriage, declaring that what God has joined together should not be separated by humans.
However, the Pharisees counter with the Mosaic allowance for divorce. While acknowledging this concession, Jesus reiterates the original intention of marriage as a lifelong commitment between a man and a woman. He reinforces the gravity of divorce, stating that remarriage after divorce constitutes adultery, except in cases of marital unlawfulness.
Jesus speaks passionately about the sacredness of marriage throughout these verses and whether you are about to become married, have been married for 5 years, or have been married for 20 years it is very important to look back and remember the sacred commitment made to your spouse through God. In today’s culture, it can sometimes be hard to step away from what society says about marriage and divorce and remember what God’s expectations are. This passage from Matthew can help couples remember the sacredness of that commitment.
Ultimately, this passage calls us to embrace God’s vision for marriage and human relationships, rooted in love, fidelity, and selflessness. It reminds us that our choices in matters of marriage and celibacy should be guided by faithfulness to God’s will and a deep reverence for the sacred bond of matrimony.
Daily Reading
Saturday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time
Reading 1 1 Cor 1:26-31 Consider your own calling, brothers and sisters.Not many of you were wise by human standards,not many were powerful,not many were of noble birth.Rather, God chose…
Saint of the Day
Saint Raymond Nonnatus
Saint Raymond Nonnatus, delivered by cesarean after his mother’s death, is the patron saint of expectant mothers and midwives.
The post Saint Raymond Nonnatus appeared first on uCatholic.
My relationship and understanding of Mary, the Mother of God wasn’t always great. (And I was even named after her!) I understood that I needed to respect her in a Fourth Commandment type way, but besides that, I wasn’t really sure where she fit into my life.
As one might expect, it was in the middle of my own journey to motherhood that I began to understand and lean on her for intercession. As a woman who had suffered multiple miscarriages with no living children, I was skeptical of any pregnancy coming to term, even with the help of medical interventions I had not had in prior pregnancies.
Because of my history of losses, I had quite a few ultrasounds, many more than are standard for normal risk pregnancies. Before every ultrasound, I felt like I was in a state of emergency since I didn’t know if my children were alive or not. I’d heard of Mother Teresa’s “Flying Novena” that could be used when there wasn’t time for a full nine-day novena. The main prayer in this novena is the Memorare. I decided to try it, because I felt I had my entire world to lose.
Before every ultrasound, I would pray nine Memorares asking that my twins be alive within me, and a tenth thanking Mary for caring for me. And today, I have two three-year-old boys running around. I know, had it been a different outcome, she still would have been there comforting me. But I think the experience of loss, and then the birth of my twins, helped me to understand her maternal love and intercession for all of us.
We celebrate Mary’s Assumption today, the only person besides Jesus to rise to Heaven body and soul. As we reflect on her place with the Lord, let us always count on her maternal love and care for us. “Behold, your Mother.”
Daily Reading
Saturday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time
Reading 1 1 Cor 1:26-31 Consider your own calling, brothers and sisters.Not many of you were wise by human standards,not many were powerful,not many were of noble birth.Rather, God chose…
Saint of the Day
Saint Raymond Nonnatus
Saint Raymond Nonnatus, delivered by cesarean after his mother’s death, is the patron saint of expectant mothers and midwives.
The post Saint Raymond Nonnatus appeared first on uCatholic.
Every time I watch the altar server carrying the cross and leading the procession to the altar while the entrance hymn is sung, I feel slightly overwhelmed. We are being gathered together by Christ himself. It is something that is happening to us, given to us, being done through us. We are entering into the presence of Christ as into a new “dimension” which allows us to see the ultimate reality of life.
We are not gathering together like we gather at a meeting or a clubhouse or a restaurant. We are doing something more than going to this or that Mass in one parish or other at a time most convenient to us. We are answering a call to do what is most natural to the human creature: to adore. We are answering an invitation to keep our hearts lifted high. We are plunging into the new life of the Kingdom through liturgy and sacrament. We are approaching the altar, which is a sign that we have been given access to the heavenly sanctuary.
“Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”
In the Mass celebrated Sunday after Sunday, day after day, Jesus brings our personal reality into harmony with his own heart, his own truth, his own will. In the assembly, our voices and even our lives are more and more harmoniously united, as we become more and more like Jesus himself. That is why Jesus makes it clear that we are responsible for each other, that we are “brother and sister” to each other. If one member of the community gathered in Christ is having difficulty, or straying, or offending in some significant way, indifference or tolerance is not an acceptable response, since Jesus himself outlines in this passage a process for winning back our brother or sister to live their new life in Christ more deeply.
In the end, we do not belong to ourselves. We belong to Christ. We belong to each other. When we have answered the initiative of Christ who gathers us together, we grow more completely into one harmonious voice with him and with each other as we offer praise to the Father and intercede for the world.
Daily Reading
Saturday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time
Reading 1 1 Cor 1:26-31 Consider your own calling, brothers and sisters.Not many of you were wise by human standards,not many were powerful,not many were of noble birth.Rather, God chose…
Saint of the Day
Saint Raymond Nonnatus
Saint Raymond Nonnatus, delivered by cesarean after his mother’s death, is the patron saint of expectant mothers and midwives.
The post Saint Raymond Nonnatus appeared first on uCatholic.
There are two themes in the readings today that caught my eye: to eat and children. As a parent, auntie, uncle, grandparent or child care provider, you know what it’s like to feed little ones: a lot of trial and error, small bites, smacking of lips, using hands to explore and get accustomed to smells, tastes, and textures. Modeling of eating and sharing of food also takes place. There is a back and forth, give and take of food and relationship. Trust and bonding is woven throughout the eating process.
So it is with the passages in today’s Scriptures. In the first reading God tells Ezekiel to open his mouth to eat what He will give him. Ezekiel did so and it was as sweet as honey in his mouth. He was then instructed to speak the words of the Lord God to others. I sometimes struggle to remember that I too am instructed to speak the words of the Lord to others. I forget that I must listen, reflect, check for understanding, and share with those around me.
The disciples seemed to have similar experiences when trying to learn from Jesus, their Master. Jesus had to physically put a child in their midst to show them what He meant. Whoever becomes like a humble child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.
I receive the Word of God by listening to it at Mass or reading Scripture. I consume the Body and Blood of our Lord during the Eucharistic feast. It is my responsibility to unpack the wonder and meaning of this sacred meal. I need to digest and act on what the Father has shared with me.
Our Heavenly Father doesn’t want to lose one sheep – one person, or one child. Each individual is precious to Him. I have a responsibility to share His relationship with all as I go through my days. So eat, child, and share the Good News.
Daily Reading
Saturday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time
Reading 1 1 Cor 1:26-31 Consider your own calling, brothers and sisters.Not many of you were wise by human standards,not many were powerful,not many were of noble birth.Rather, God chose…
Saint of the Day
Saint Raymond Nonnatus
Saint Raymond Nonnatus, delivered by cesarean after his mother’s death, is the patron saint of expectant mothers and midwives.
The post Saint Raymond Nonnatus appeared first on uCatholic.
Jesus always tells us the truth, as portrayed in today’s Gospel where he speaks clearly and doesn’t mince his words. Jesus not only predicts His death but shares with his disciples how He is going to die by being handed over to men and killed. By telling the truth, Jesus wanted His disciples to understand the gravity and significance of His death and resurrection. His death was a crucial part of God’s plan for the salvation of humankind. In addition, Jesus is offering us the path to live a life full of peace, love, and joy by living out our faith.
Jesus predicts His death so that we can fully trust Him and believe. Yet, the disciples express their love for the Lord by being overwhelmed with grief. Jesus was able to console them before it even happened, as He is all-loving and all-knowing. This shows us that even in the most challenging times, we can trust in Jesus to give us comfort and strength. He desires to walk with us in the good and difficult moments of life.
In this Gospel, Jesus also performs a small deed with great significance. He pays the temple tax with a coin from a fish’s mouth for himself and Peter. This story is also a powerful example of trusting our little needs to the Lord and asking Him to help in all matters, both big and small, including asking Jesus to help with our finances and the needs of ourselves and our family. With this act, Jesus shows us how God loves to outdo us in generosity.
Of course, God’s generosity is not about being wealthy, but instead about learning to do all things for Jesus, to give all things to Him, and to trust in His Ways! May we live a life of being generous to others, allowing the Holy Spirit to guide us and help us, and no matter what, may we thank the Lord for all He does for us!
The greatest gift in life is not money, wealth, happiness, or life’s experiences but knowing that Jesus died for our sins and opened the gates of heaven. We must learn to trust Him to lead us through the ups and downs of life and have a desire to overcome our sin and be holy. By living out our faith and being generous to others, we can reflect Jesus’ love to others.
Daily Reading
Saturday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time
Reading 1 1 Cor 1:26-31 Consider your own calling, brothers and sisters.Not many of you were wise by human standards,not many were powerful,not many were of noble birth.Rather, God chose…
Saint of the Day
Saint Raymond Nonnatus
Saint Raymond Nonnatus, delivered by cesarean after his mother’s death, is the patron saint of expectant mothers and midwives.
The post Saint Raymond Nonnatus appeared first on uCatholic.