Category: Parish News & Events

The Gospel reading today is only four lines. The parable about the kingdom of God in Luke 13:18-21 is a favorite of mine, among others, as images of a mustard seed immediately come to mind. What has been catching my attention are the two lines about a woman mixing yeast into the dough. Jesus’ inclusion of women in his teachings and ministry was quite radical for his time. A woman with three measures of flour (more than a bushel today) would have produced over 50 loaves of bread. Imagine how many would be able to have their hunger satisfied from the blessing of this abundant bread.

Before I could understand a definition of the kingdom of God, I was drawn to the women in my life who were deeply faithful: my Grandmothers, my Aunt and my Mom. I spent much time with these dedicated, strong, wise women in their homes and especially in their kitchens.

I have enjoyed being in the kitchen since I was a toddler. Yes, there are family photos to prove it and no, I’m not sharing those. There was a warmth that radiated from the kitchen that wasn’t from the heat of the oven. A peaceful encompassing embrace seemed to draw you into the room without having physically touched anyone. I can remember more than once startling each one of these beloved ladies out of their task at hand when they turned to find me just standing there. I loved to watch what they were doing as well as being part of the meal preparation or baking project. My soul was nourished along with my body. It was a small intimate depiction of the kingdom of God.

What is your favorite image of the Kingdom of God? Do you have an oasis in your memory or a place where you can experience the peace and fellowship of God’s Kingdom? 

Lord, may I be aware of the grace You have given me.  Help me to always work diligently for the upbuilding of Your divine Kingdom.  And help me to see it as a joy and honor to do so.  Jesus, I trust in You. Amen.

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Not only are we created in the image and likeness of God, we are to be imitators of Him who created us. 

God is love. Love is a creative force. Love cannot be withheld and turned inward. Love goes outward into the unknown. It does not bend or change for obstacles, but shines the light of truth on all it encounters. 

This is an awfully high standard for us human beings who are prone to protect and promote the self. We carry within us that darkening of our minds and weakening of our wills which makes it difficult for us to shine. We so easily become entangled and mired in our feelings and worry more about how unfair life is, than how we are called to uplift those around us. 

God knows this. Through the person of Jesus Christ, God has experienced our humanity and he understands us better than we understand ourselves. He hasn’t left us alone. We have the Sacraments which make present and visible God’s love in space and time, here and now. We just need to meet him there. Today’s readings so poetically describe what we will know and be like when we choose to meet God in the Sacraments and through them, allow him to transform us into imitators of him. 

So let us frequent the Sacraments and allow God to work through them to instill his love in us so that we too can turn away from immorality, impurity, greed, suggestive or silly talk and bring God’s kingdom to those around us through compassion, gratitude, and forgiveness. We can then truly live as the children of light. 

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When looking up the definition of humility, I came across two different responses.  It was first defined as a modest or low view of one’s own importance; humbleness. The second definition states, freedom from pride or arrogance: the quality or state of being humble. Whenever I think of this topic, I think of a good friend of mine. We met in college and throughout our friendship, I began to realize that Stephen’s definition of humility followed the first definition. Whenever someone would affirm him or acknowledge his gifts, he would hang his head low and say “No, no, no. I’m not (fill in the blank)”. He was nervous that if he received these compliments and praises that he would not be “humble”. As a good friend, I called him out. He began to work on it throughout the year and as he did, he began to change. By the end of the year, there was a new sense of joy, peace, and humble confidence in him. He finally understood that humility doesn’t mean ducking your head low and rejecting or denying your own goodness. If one is truly humble, there is a sense of freedom. A freedom from the sins of pride and arrogance. When others would complement or affirm something he said or did, he then responded with “Praise God! Thank you.”

In today’s Gospel we hear the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. The Pharisee thanked God for not making him like everyone else and recalls all the holy things he did. The tax collector only focuses on himself, beats his breast and prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’ We are told at the end of the Gospel that the tax collector was justified, not the Pharisee. The Pharisee was comparing himself with others and that is not true humility. True humility is looking into the inmost depth of your own heart, not focusing or comparing the tasks of everyone else. Jesus said, “for whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

I hope that as you continue to do God’s will in your life, you recognize that He is the source of all glory and remember that whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.

Some people in Jesus’ time believed that there was a direct correlation between a person’s sins and their sufferings – sick people must surely have sinned and were receiving what they deserved; the Galileans killed by Pilate’s soldiers must have deserved it too! On the other hand, those for whom everything was going well must be doing everything right, and being blessed by God because of their goodness. Sound familiar? Some preachers today tell us that if only we will embrace their version of the Gospel (and generously contribute to their cause!), God will bless us with financial security, the life we want, and even the car we’ve been dreaming of driving. But, no.

Jesus (and subsequently the Church) tells us that personal suffering is not necessarily the result of personal sin. He himself was subject to poverty and suffering and death! On the contrary, suffering can often be a sign of God’s blessing: He chastises those whom He loves (Heb 12:6, Prov 3:12, Rev 3:19), so that they grow even closer to Him. Jesus even says that if we are to follow him, we must “take up our cross” every day (Matt 16: 24, Luke 9:23); if you are carrying a cross, you are not skipping to your next selfish distraction, you are not refusing to suffer; you are carrying it to your own execution! Far from being the result of our own sinfulness, suffering can be a way to walk with Jesus, to rely on Jesus, to “die to ourselves,” and become less selfward and more generous, to become more like HIM.

So Jesus says that those Galileans were NOT greater sinners than others! But tragedy IS the lot of those who refuse to repent of their sins. If we are sinners, we are like bad trees that bear no fruit in the orchard of God’s Kingdom. Fruit trees are planted with the expectation that they will bear fruit. What is the point of a fruitless fruit tree? Why would it be left in place to exhaust the soil? The parable shows us that fruitless fruit trees (and we are all in this category at some season of our lives) are left in place in the hope that, with some additional cultivation and fertilization and sometimes painful pruning (John 15:2), with grace and sacrament and love, we will repent and open ourselves to all that the Lord has created us to be, and will bear the good fruit He calls us to bring forth.

In His infinite patience and loving mercy, we are given hope and a future.

Today is also the Optional Memorial of Pope St. John Paul II, whose public suffering serves as an example of bearing one’s cross with Christ, and certainly a fruitful fruit tree in the Kingdom of God!

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Algunas personas en la época de Jesús creían que había una correlación directa entre los pecados de una persona y sus sufrimientos: las personas enfermas seguramente debían haber pecado y estaban recibiendo lo que merecían; ¡Los galileos asesinados por los soldados de Pilato también deben haberlo merecido! Por otro lado, aquellos a quienes todo les iba bien deben estar haciéndolo todo bien y ser bendecidos por Dios por su bondad. ¿Suena familiar? Algunos predicadores de hoy nos dicen que si aceptamos su versión del Evangelio (y contribuimos generosamente a su causa), Dios nos bendecirá con seguridad financiera, la vida que queremos e incluso el automóvil que soñamos conducir. Pero no es así.

Jesús (y después la Iglesia) nos dice que el sufrimiento personal no es necesariamente el resultado del pecado personal. Él mismo estaba sujeto a la pobreza, al sufrimiento ya la muerte. Por el contrario, el sufrimiento puede ser a menudo un signo de la bendición de Dios: Él castiga a los que ama (Heb 12, 6, Prov 3, 12, Ap 3, 19), para que se acerquen aún más a Él. Jesús incluso dice que si vamos a seguirlo, debemos “tomar nuestra cruz” todos los días (Mateo 16: 24, Lucas 9:23); si llevas una cruz, no te estás saltando a tu próxima distracción egoísta, no te estás negando a sufrir; ¡lo estás llevando a tu propia ejecución! Lejos de ser el resultado de nuestra propia pecaminosidad, el sufrimiento puede ser una forma de caminar con Jesús, de confiar en Jesús, de “morir a nosotros mismos”, y volvernos menos egoístas y más generosos, para llegar a ser más como ÉL.

De esta forma, Jesús dice que esos galileos NO eran más pecadores que otros. Pero la tragedia es la suerte de aquellos que se niegan a arrepentirse de sus pecados. Si somos pecadores, somos como árboles malos que no dan fruto en el huerto del Reino de Dios. Los árboles frutales se plantan con la expectativa de que den frutos. ¿Cuál es el punto de un árbol frutal sin fruto? ¿Por qué se dejaría en su lugar para agotar el suelo? La parábola nos muestra que los árboles frutales sin fruto (y todos caemos en esta categoría en algún momento de nuestras vidas) se dejan en su lugar con la esperanza de que, con un poco de cultivo y fertilización adicional y, a veces, una poda dolorosa (Juan 15:2), con gracia, sacramento y amor, nos arrepentiremos y nos abriremos a todo lo que el Señor nos ha creado para ser, y daremos el buen fruto que Él nos llama a producir.

En Su infinita paciencia y amorosa misericordia, se nos da esperanza y un futuro.

Hoy también es el Memorial del Papa San Juan Pablo II, cuyo sufrimiento público sirve como ejemplo de llevar la propia cruz con Cristo, y ciertamente como un árbol fructífero en el Reino de Dios.

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