Author: WebDept ParishAdmin

“What then will this child be?” How many parents, marveling at the mystery of their newborn nestled in their arms have asked the same question. “What will this child be?”

We are certain that God has a plan for great people who populate the pages of Scripture and have an important part to play in the story of salvation. We can think of Moses, and Jeremiah, and Peter, and Mary, and Paul. We can imagine the divine plan prepared for them which unfolded day by day in their life. When we read the narrative of their response to God who called them for a specific purpose, we might be a little bit in awe of how God used them and how clearly he loved them. Maybe even a bit jealous. “That could never be me.”

Today is the feast of one of these “greats” of salvation history: the birth of John the Baptist. The mystery and the miracles that surrounded his birth indicate how important he was as a hinge between the Old Testament prophets and the arrival of the Messiah. The Baptist’s austere life and courageous preaching when he became an adult confirm the divine predilection God had for this child.

He truly could say with the words of the Responsorial Psalm today:

Truly you have formed my inmost being;
            you knit me in my mother’s womb.
I give you thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made;
            wonderful are your works.
My soul also you knew full well;
            nor was my frame unknown to you
When I was made in secret,
            when I was fashioned in the depths of the earth.

These words of the Psalm came spontaneously to my mind one difficult yet amazing day 40 years ago. I remember it so clearly. I was sitting on the side of my bed in the hospital after having suffered a stroke. On that day, I was finally able to stand up with the help of two of the nurses. How marvelous! How amazing is the human body! We are truly “fearfully, wonderfully made,” and how “wonderful are your works,” O God. Look, today I can stand!

Whether we are the greatest prophet who ever lived as was John the Baptist, or someone sitting on the side of a hospital bed struggling to stand up for the first time in a week, God has a plan for our life. 

Remember, you are important to God and play a vital role in the story of salvation. 

In your mother’s womb God loved you more than your own parents. He created you as a unique expression of his image and his glory.

Surely, the hand of the Lord was with you, and he continues to be with you each day of your life. As the courageous and difficult life of St. John the Baptist reveals, in both happy times and in paths filled with shadows, on mountain tops and in the deepest of valleys, you are fulfilling the very special purpose for which you alone were created. It is only as we wander through these ups and downs of life, faithful to allowing God to have his way with us, that we discover truly who we were made to be.

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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 their 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 implores: “Teach me the ways of your decrees”. I do want to live in the ways of the Lord and I want to teach my children to live that way too. Everything I do matters. Every comment I make, every tone of voice I emit, will affect them in one way or another. Teach me your ways, 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 ask the Lord to teach us His ways, He can make that good fruit grow within us. 

May our children, and all those we meet, encounter Christ through our good fruits.

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Discerning what the teaching, “do not give what is holy to dogs, or throw your pearls before swine,” means in your life can be a little perplexing. The language is strange, and this verse may take extra prayer and even a little research to fully comprehend Jesus’ intended lesson. Additionally, “lest they trample them underfoot, and turn and tear you to pieces” seems a little harsh, yet we trust Jesus, and those who recorded His words, never include filler—every word has purpose. 

There is nothing more holy than the Eucharist—the body, blood, soul, and divinity of our Lord, Jesus Christ. To receive this gift, our hearts must be properly prepared. On Corpus Christi Sunday, in dioceses across the nation, the USCCB launched the National Eucharistic Revival, “three years for discernment, encounter, and grassroots response on the diocesan, parish, and individual levels” to (re)kindle a living, loving relationship with Jesus Christ, especially in the Eucharist. 

In John’s Gospel, Jesus reveals the difficult teaching of His Real Presence in the Eucharist: “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.” Many followers walked away, confused and unable to accept Jesus’ gift of himself in the Eucharist. He did not use those next moments to talk of symbolism but instead looked to those remaining and inquired if they, too, would leave. It is being able to embrace this difficult yet true teaching of the Catholic faith that leads through the narrow gate, also presented in today’s Gospel. The one that leads to life, Jesus tells us, although those who find it are few. There are many reasons we fail to enter the narrow gate— doubt, fear, caution, or merely unwillingness to allow the mystical to reveal something to us this world cannot.

Faith is a gift. Gifts are only useful if they are received, opened, and used. In light of today’s Gospel, when we refuse to allow the Holy Spirit to enlighten our hearts about the holy things of God, we are truly casting them down before swine. They will be trampled into pieces and, maybe even unwittingly, miss out on one of the most incredible gifts God has prepared for us. We can be no closer to Christ than when we receive Him in the Eucharist. The greatest gift God has given us is his Son, who took on flesh, our sins, and the suffering meant for us so that we may one day be with Him forever in heaven.

Do not cast your faith away. Do not let it be trampled under foot by worldly cares, cynicism, or confusion. As Matthew 7:7 so wisely counsels, ask, seek, knock, trusting the Lord will answer the door of your heart and He will answer your questions. Like the centurion in Mark’s Gospel, let us pray in those weak, faltering moments so as not to be lost, “Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief.” It is in prayer where we open our hearts to be renewed and redeemed by the God who loves us enough to be consumed under the guise of bread and wine so that we may have eternal life. 

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It really is easy to judge others. And often we cloak it as help or worry or wanting what is best for the other person. Why aren’t we to judge others? It’s simple, we are not God. We don’t know the whole story. We don’t have the big picture. We compare ourselves and decide about the other person’s life or motive without ever talking to them. We may even use shame or try to manipulate when we judge. 

We say we are judging because we don’t want the person to sin. But before we go talk to someone about stopping a particular sin, we need to make sure of our motive. The best way to learn if we have the right intention is to ask God. In prayer, ask if you are supposed to do something about the problem you see. And God will let you know if you are to speak. You see, Jesus is telling us not to judge, not because He is unconcerned with sin but because He wants you to be right with God before you do anything. And then, this is the verse that gets to me the most, one of those that always makes me pause and think, “For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you.” And that judgment, that measure will come from God. 

I cannot judge others. I am too harsh. When I was growing up, it was the time of ‘Jesus loves you.’ Yes, Jesus loves you, but there is much more to Him. There was rarely talk of sin or punishment. We did not know that God was justice and mercy. All we heard about was love, not even mercy. It was as if we had no need for mercy. Yet, we need all God offers us.

And that is the point Jesus is making in these verses from Matthew. God will judge, with great justice and mercy and love. Jesus wants us to leave the judging to the Father so that we can be free to live as His followers. 

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