It was not so

Sisters and brothers in Christ, marriage is the visible reality of an invisible reality. Namely, the love between a man and a woman models the sacrificial, agape love of Christ and the Church. As Christ gave of himself completely for the Church; a husband and a wife are called to do the same in the covenantal bond of marriage. Yet, just as "the hardness of your hearts Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so", God allows us - of our own freewill - to stray from His love because of the hardness of our hearts; however, God's plan from the beginning as for us to be with Him always.

This Saturday, I have the blessed opportunity co-lead the Men's Retreat with Fr. Charlie. Men, in fulfilling their responsibilities as the breadwinner and head of their household, often forget their important role as the faith leader in their families. Men too often depend on themselves - their own strength, intelligence, and abilities - and forget about their relationship with God. Some even believe that they do not need their heavenly Father in their lives. But that is folly and nothing can be further from the truth. Yet, God will allow men to fall away from Him, but from the beginning, God made man for Himself and never stops calling man to Himself.

Please keep us in your prayers. Most of all, please pray for the 64 men that have signed up for the retreat, that they open their hearts to the Lord so that He can mold them into the men He has made them to be - made courageous and for others.

. . .

Some Pharisees approached Jesus, and tested him, saying,
“Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause whatever?”
He said in reply, “Have you not read that from the beginning
the Creator made them male and female and said,
For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother
and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh?
So they are no longer two, but one flesh.
Therefore, what God has joined together, man must not separate.” 
They said to him, “Then why did Moses command
that the man give the woman a bill of divorce and dismiss her?”
He said to them, “Because of the hardness of your hearts
Moses allowed you to divorce your wives,
but from the beginning it was not so.
I say to you, whoever divorces his wife
(unless the marriage is unlawful)
and marries another commits adultery.”
His disciples said to him,
“If that is the case of a man with his wife,
it is better not to marry.”
He answered, “Not all can accept this word,
but only those to whom that is granted.
Some are incapable of marriage because they were born so;
some, because they were made so by others;
some, because they have renounced marriage
for the sake of the Kingdom of heaven.
Whoever can accept this ought to accept it.”  

Forgiving

Sisters and brothers in Christ, Jesus teaches us a hard lesson about forgiveness in today's Gospel, saying: "Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?’ Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers until he should pay back the whole debt. So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart."

This should mind us of the "Our Father" Prayer (or the "Lord's Prayer") that we recite at Mass, asking God to "forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us". Sometimes, we recite a prayer from memorial but do not take the time to hear the words that we are speaking. More importantly, we do not allow the words of the prayer to penetrate our soul and dwell in our hearts and transform us into the person that God created us to be - to love others as God loves us, which includes forgiving others.

Forgiveness is hard, especially if we are hurt by a loved one. The sense of betrayal, the pain inflicted, and the feeling of abandonment are all visceral things that veil that light of Christ in our hearts. Only by the grace of God can we forgive but, when we do forgive, it frees us to love as God loves. This is one of the great lessons in the novel, "The Father's Son", by Catholic author Jim Sano (a novel that my Exodus90 brothers and I have been reading for our faith-sharing small group).

 . . .

Peter approached Jesus and asked him,
“Lord, if my brother sins against me,
how often must I forgive him?
As many as seven times?”
Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.
That is why the Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king
who decided to settle accounts with his servants.
When he began the accounting,
a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount.
Since he had no way of paying it back,
his master ordered him to be sold,
along with his wife, his children, and all his property,
in payment of the debt.
At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said,
‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.’
Moved with compassion the master of that servant
let him go and forgave him the loan.
When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants
who owed him a much smaller amount.
He seized him and started to choke him, demanding,
‘Pay back what you owe.’
Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him,
‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’
But he refused.
Instead, he had the fellow servant put in prison
until he paid back the debt.
Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened,
they were deeply disturbed,
and went to their master and reported the whole affair.
His master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant!
I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to.
Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant,
as I had pity on you?’
Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers
until he should pay back the whole debt.
So will my heavenly Father do to you,
unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart.”
When Jesus finished these words, he left Galilee
and went to the district of Judea across the Jordan.

It is well done

Sisters and brothers in Christ, today is the feast of St. Lawrence, deacon and martyr.

Legend has it that when the prefect of Rome demanded that the deacon bring him the "treasures of the Church", St. Lawrence. . . "gathered a great number of blind, lame, maimed, leprous, orphaned, and widowed persons and put them in rows. When the prefect arrived, Lawrence simply said, 'These are the treasure of the Church.'. . . The prefect was so angry he told Lawrence that he would indeed have his wish to die—but it would be by inches. He had a great gridiron prepared with coals beneath it, and had Lawrence’s body placed on it. After the martyr had suffered the pain for a long time, the legend concludes, he made his famous cheerful remark, 'It is well done. Turn me over!'” (excerpt from Franciscan Media)

St. Lawrence's life and martyrdom bring to reality the words of St. Paul to the Corinthians: "God is able to make every grace abundant for you, so that in all things, always having all you need, you may have an abundance for every good work." Truly, God's grace was poured forth abundantly on St. Lawrence and gave him all he needed to be a heroic witness for Christ in the early Church. He truly lived and served God in the way that Jesus spoke off in today's Gospel, saying: "Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be. The Father will honor whoever serves me." St. Lawrence is indeed honored by the Father.

 . . .

Gospel of the Day

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies,
it remains just a grain of wheat;
but if it dies, it produces much fruit.
Whoever loves his life loses it,
and whoever hates his life in this world
will preserve it for eternal life.
Whoever serves me must follow me,
and where I am, there also will my servant be.
The Father will honor whoever serves me.”

Return to the sheepfold

Sisters and brothers in Christ, I recently read a beautiful reflection on Jesus leaving the 99 sheep and going after the 1 sheep that strayed. The saint wrote:

"When a shepherd sees that his sheep have scattered, he keeps one of them under his control and leads it to the pastures he chooses, and thus he draws the other sheep back to him by means of this one. And so it was when God the Word saw that the human race had gone astray: he took the form of a slave and united it to himself, and by means of it won over the whole race of men to him, enticing the sheep that were grazing in bad pastures and exposed to wolves, and leading them to the pastures of God."

What a beautiful image of our loving God who became one of us to give us hope! Hope in the fact that, no matter how far we stray from God, He is always calling us back to the sheepfold, to Him, into His loving and merciful embrace.

. . .

Gospel of the Day

The disciples approached Jesus and said,
“Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?”
He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said,
“Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children,
you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.
Whoever becomes humble like this child
is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.
And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.
“See that you do not despise one of these little ones,
for I say to you that their angels in heaven
always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.
What is your opinion?
If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray,
will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills
and go in search of the stray?
And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it
than over the ninety-nine that did not stray. 
In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father
that one of these little ones be lost."

Anyway

Sisters and brothers in Christ,

Today's Gospel, in which Jesus told Peter to pay the temple tax even though they are exempted, reminds me of this poem that is attributed to Mother Saint Teresa of Calcutta. She  wrote:

People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered.
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends
and some genuine enemies.

Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you.
Be honest and sincere anyway.

What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight.
Create anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous.
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, will often be forgotten.
Do good anyway.

Give the best you have, and it will never be enough.
Give your best anyway.

In the final analysis, it is between you and God.
It was never between you and them anyway.

. . .

Gospel of the Day

As Jesus and his disciples were gathering in Galilee,
Jesus said to them,
"The Son of Man is to be handed over to men,
and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day."
And they were overwhelmed with grief.
When they came to Capernaum,
the collectors of the temple tax approached Peter and said,
"Does not your teacher pay the temple tax?"
"Yes," he said.
When he came into the house, before he had time to speak,
Jesus asked him, "What is your opinion, Simon?
From whom do the kings of the earth take tolls or census tax?
From their subjects or from foreigners?"
When he said, "From foreigners," Jesus said to him,
"Then the subjects are exempt.
But that we may not offend them, go to the sea, drop in a hook,
and take the first fish that comes up.
Open its mouth and you will find a coin worth twice the temple tax.
Give that to them for me and for you."

Sacramental Life

Reflection for the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (8/6/2022), shared during Communion Service at The Conservatory

Click on link below to listen.

https://phucphan.podbean.com/e/reflection-nineteenth-sunday-in-ordinary-time-872022/

2022 Friends of the Poor® Walk/Run

Friends, it's that time of the year again! Please prayerfully consider donating to my efforts for Friends of the Poor Walk. As in years past, I will pray the Rosary while I walk/run so please send me your intentions. 🙏🕊❤️

Click here to make a donation: https://www.fopwalk.org/walkerlisting/walkerprofile/?walkerID=58913

Please send me your prayer intentions to deaconphuc@saintalbert.org. God bless.