Category: Uncategorized

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Gospel: John 21:15-17

After Jesus had revealed himself to his disciples and
eaten breakfast with them,
he said to Simon Peter,
“Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”
Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.”
He then said to Simon Peter a second time,
“Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
He said to him, “Tend my sheep.”
He said to him the third time,
“Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time,
“Do you love me?” and he said to him,
“Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.”
[Jesus] said to him, “Feed my sheep.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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In 2018, the CARA Institute at Georgetown University published the results of an extensive survey on why young people leave the Catholic Church.

One statistic that still keeps me up at night – and fills my heart with unrelenting passion – is the fact that up to 90% of children leave the Church by the age of 13, which is commonly celebrated as the age of Confirmation.

Just when youngsters stand before God, their bishop, their faith community, and their families promising to embrace the faith given to them at their baptism, they’re out the door.

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It is my deep-seeded belief that children are not rejecting God, or even a right-understanding of the Church. Rather, they’re often rejecting the sense of boredom that came from years of transactional religion, as well as their belief in outdated “rules.”

Is it just me, or is there something that must be done?

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Pope Saint Pius X, whose feast day we celebrate today, foresaw the same phenomenon – a potential exodus of belief in Christ and his Church – over a century ago. The world was being “modernized.” Societies and cultures were changing at a rapid pace.

The Church had to keep up.

So, he instituted several reforms. First, he required that our Catholic faith be taught to children in every parish through a program commonly referred to today as CCD. 

Here, we call it “faith formation,” because we believe the learning never stops. Confirmation is not the end of one’s faith journey; rather, a transition into an adult faith journey.

Secondly, he lowered the age for First Communion, allowing children to receive the Eucharist as early as seven. St. Pius believed our children are not the future of the Church; they are already living members of it called to a life of holiness.

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Perhaps today we’re all being called to contemplate how we can more effectively hand on our faith (something our parish has been working on for several years).

In what ways can we share the Gospel, not only with children, but with “all generations”? How do we feed Christ’s sheep?

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May God continue to bless all catechists who teach and share our faith, a responsibility that is ultimately all of ours.

Pope Saint Pius X, pray for us.

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Image credits: (1) Universal Life Church (2) Universal Life Church (3) Vatican State

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Gospel: Matthew 20: 1-16

Jesus told his disciples this parable:
“The Kingdom of heaven is like a landowner
who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard.
After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage,
he sent them into his vineyard.
Going out about nine o’clock,
he saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
and he said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard,
and I will give you what is just.’
So they went off.
And he went out again around noon,
and around three o’clock, and did likewise.
Going out about five o’clock,
he found others standing around, and said to them,
‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’
They answered, ‘Because no one has hired us.’
He said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard.’
When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman,
‘Summon the laborers and give them their pay,
beginning with the last and ending with the first.’
When those who had started about five o’clock came,
each received the usual daily wage.
So when the first came, they thought that they would receive more,
but each of them also got the usual wage.
And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, saying,
‘These last ones worked only one hour,
and you have made them equal to us,
who bore the day’s burden and the heat.’
He said to one of them in reply,
‘My friend, I am not cheating you.
Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage?
Take what is yours and go.
What if I wish to give this last one the same as you?
Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money?
Are you envious because I am generous?’
Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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As a child, I absolutely hated brussels sprouts, especially the bland, boiled ones often served during school lunch. They tasted so awful, I knew they must be healthy. Still, I avoided them.

Today’s Gospel can leave a similar taste in our mouths. We know what Jesus is saying is “good news,” but God’s generosity is so profound, that it seems unfair. 

It is unfair.

Imagine those workers who spent all day laboring in the sun, sweating and sunburned, their muscles aching, wondering, “How can we who worked all day be paid the same wage as the one who only showed up for an hour? … And he gets paid first!”

Spiritually, we might wonder, “How can someone who has dedicated their entire life to Gospel work receive the same reward as someone who converts on their deathbed?”

It seems unfair.

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Perhaps there are a few lessons Jesus is trying to teach us.

None of these workers held steady jobs, which is why they were hired from the marketplace. Each morning, men who had nowhere to work – but families to feed – would stand and wait, hoping to be chosen for a day’s worth of work.

Had their host not chosen them – regardless of the time of day – they would’ve returned home hungry and disheartened.

Similarly, we’ve all come to know God at different stages in life. Had the Lord never planted seeds of faith in our hearts, then we’d find ourselves without a future at the end of our lives. The focus is not on when we came to faith, but that we’ve been chosen.

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Secondly, there’s an inherent dignity to labor. Human beings derive pleasure from hard work and results. Those who labored all day in their host’s vineyard should’ve felt more accomplished than those who only had the chance to work for an hour.

Similarly, we who’ve had the opportunity to share the Gospel our entire lives should feel good about the work we’ve done, as opposed to those who may have spent their lives worrying about less important things.

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Is this Gospel passage unfair? Absolutely.

But not because we’re all paid the same wage. It’s unfair because of what that “wage” is – grace for our journey, friendship with God, and the fullness of life to come.  

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Image credits: (1) Kelly Needham (2) Food.com (3) Ursuline Sisters of Louisville

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Gospel: Matthew 19: 23-30

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich
to enter the Kingdom of heaven.
Again I say to you,
it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle
than for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God.”
When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and said,
“Who then can be saved?”
Jesus looked at them and said,
“For men this is impossible,
but for God all things are possible.”
Then Peter said to him in reply,
“We have given up everything and followed you.
What will there be for us?”
Jesus said to them, “Amen, I say to you
that you who have followed me, in the new age,
when the Son of Man is seated on his throne of glory,
will yourselves sit on twelve thrones,
judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters
or father or mother or children or lands
for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more,
and will inherit eternal life.
But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Samuel Johnson, an 18^th century author, once visited a friend’s estate in the English countryside. After seeing all of the ornate rooms, Persian rugs, and priceless paintings on the wall, he said:

“These are the things which make it difficult to die.”

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Jesus never says it’s impossible for the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. But, he does warn us in today’s Gospel, “It is easier for a camel to pass through the needle of an eye than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.“

Riches are not a sin. But they are a danger, because we can easily become too attached to them, valuing earthly things more than heavenly things.

For example, think about how we might feel if we woke up tomorrow morning and our house was downsized; our closet cut in half; our bookshelves emptied; and our car ten years old older.

It’d be shocking! Some of us might be saddened by it. I know I would be. I like my little home and creaturely comforts.

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Meanwhile, there are families who cannot make ends meet; refugees seeking shelter; children who haven’t eaten since yesterday. 

Or even the day before.

This doesn’t mean that we have to turn our lives upside down and sell everything we have. But we should do what we can.

As Saint Paul says, “God loves a cheerful giver.”

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In what ways do I share my blessings with others? Am I attached to – or detached from – them?

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Like Samuel Johnson, if we find ourselves feeling a little too attached, then perhaps it’s time to part with some of our riches, sharing them with those most in need. 

After all, God loves a cheerful giver.

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Image credits: (1) My Faith Radio, X(2) Shutterstock (3) Silhouette Design Store