Author: admin

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If you have ever played a video game, then you know that there is always a series of levels.

The first level is the easiest, and the final level is the most difficult. Sometimes it takes multiple tries before you succeed in beating that final level.

But if you do, then you have mastered the game.

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In a similar way, if Christianity were likened to a video game, then today’s Gospel would be the final level: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

If you can do this, then you’ve mastered Christianity.

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This is a particularly tough message on the heels of September 11^th.

But just as mastering a video game takes repeated attempts, it can take a lifetime – if not more – to forgive those who’ve hurt us the deepest.

But, as Jesus himself says, “Nothing is impossible for God.”

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May the Lord fill us with every ounce of love and strength we need to continue our attempt at mastering Christianity, something we can only do through him.

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Pope Francis said recently, “People will not follow ‘Christian parrots,’ those who talk about our faith, but do not live it.”

What people are looking for is an authentic witness, someone who not only speaks about Jesus; but also lives like him.

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This will be the challenge for the Twelve Apostles, called by Jesus in today’s Gospel.

Over the next three years, they must learn not only how to speak about Jesus; but also how to live like him.

To some extent, the credibility of the Gospel message will depend upon it. People will not follow them if they’re “Christian parrots,” or we might say, hypocrites.

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This is the same challenge we face today. Jesus has called all of us to follow him – it’s why we’re here.

But how can we act a little more like him?

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Perhaps it means being even more generous, more forgiving, more patient or less judgmental.

Anything but a “Christian parrot.”

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Hurricane Dorian was the most destructive hurricane in the history of the Bahamas.

70,000 people have been displaced, thousands of homes destroyed, and hundreds remain unaccounted for.

Where is God?

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God is in the men and women who got into boats and went searching for survivors perched on their rooftops.

God is in the volunteers organizing disaster relief.

God is in the heart of every Bahamian who believes in life after Dorian.

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Today we celebrate the feast of Saint Peter Claver, a Spanish priest from the 17^th century who spent his life in the epicenter of the slave trade.

Though he couldn’t end the massive evil swirling around him, Father Claver did something.

For 33 years, he stood on the shores of Cartagena, Colombia, welcoming incoming slaves with food, water, and interpreters.

When people asked, “Where is God?”

God was in the hands of Peter Claver, who eventually baptized over 300,000 people, offering them hope in the midst of chaos.

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When we see the evil happening around us – whether it’s a natural or manmade disaster – many ask, “Where is God?”

God is in you and me.

Like those Bahamians in rescue boats after Hurricane Dorian and Father Peter Claver on the shores of Cartagena, each of us is called to make some difference.

How might we do something positive today?