Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time

If I preach the gospel, this is no reason for me to boast, for an obligation has been imposed on me, and woe to me if I do not preach it! If I do so willingly, I have a recompense, but if unwillingly, then I have been entrusted with a stewardship.

We are all called to preach the gospel through our thoughts, words, and works. Sometimes preaching the gospel comes naturally to us through acts of charity and mercy. Other times we may not want to proclaim the gospel, especially to those whom we dislike. We might not want to do the right thing for the person or persons who always hurt us... and yet, they are exactly the people we are called to preach the gospel to. It may not be easy to put aside our personal feelings, but that is why God gave us the example of Jesus showing compassion even for those who were persecuting him. If we follow his example, like Paul, then we will have a recompense... graces and consolations that will help us. If we still find it difficult, then we must remember we have been entrusted with the stewardship of the Word of God. We have an obligation to do what we don’t want to do because it is what God wants. But hopefully, we shall accept the sacrifice that comes with proclaiming the Good News... otherwise, woe to us!

Are we preaching the gospel with our whole hearts, minds, souls, and strengths? Do we do so even for those whom we find it most difficult to love? How can we become better preachers of the Good News in thought, word, and work?

O Lord, give us the grace to proclaim your gospel faithfully.

Amen.

The Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

"Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!" And when he saw them, he said, "Go show yourselves to the priests." As they were going they were cleansed.  And one of them, realizing he had been healed, returned, glorifying God in a loud voice; and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him.  He was a Samaritan. Jesus said in reply, "Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine?  Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?"  Then he said to him, "Stand up and go; your faith has saved you."

There is a vast difference between living our faith as an obligation or as a blessing. The ten lepers came to Jesus to be healed, hoping he'd cleanse them, but when he sends them to show themselves to the priest nine of them do so, but never return to give thanks. Only the Samaritan returns to give glory to God and thank Jesus. He doesn't actually go to the priest as Jesus told him to, but rather he realizes once he is healed that there is something greater than the priest and returns to Jesus. The other nine did what they were told, but we know nothing else about them. They followed the regulations for lepers and proved to the priest they were clean, but they didn't return to Jesus. They might have followed his commandment, but they didn't take their healing to heart and respond to it as true disciples. This is why it is so important for us to view our faith as a blessing and not an obligation. If our faith is an obligation, then we never truly enter into its depths. However, if it is a blessing, then we will give thanks to God for it and never take it for granted. And then, when we meet Jesus at the judgment, we shall also hear the words, "Your faith has saved you."

Do we see our faith as an obligation or a blessing? Do we glorify God in a loud voice and fall at his feet when he helps us? How can we remind ourselves that our faith is a gift that we should be thankful for and not see as a burden?

O Lord, thank you for the blessing of our faith.

Amen.

Ninth Tuesday of Ordinary Time

“Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.”

We have responsibilities to the world, but we also have them to God, too. Whenever these do not conflict, then we are obliged to perform both duties. It is a good thing to act as a responsible citizen and we should not shirk our worldly tasks. However, when they conflict with doing God’s Will, then we have the obligation to put God first and our country second. This does not mean that we should look for loopholes and try to rationalize our own selfishness or laziness. It means that we should be discerning about how our government acts and if it is acting contrary to our Christian morality, then we should attempt to work within the system to bring it back into compliance with God’s message of love, mercy, and grace. As Jesus says, render to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s, then we shall be acting not only rightly, but for the good as well.

What are our obligations to our family, friends, neighbors, country? What are our obligations to God? When they are in conflict with each other how do we resolve the crisis?

O Lord, help us to remember to repay you first and the world with what is left over.

Amen.