Peter said in reply, “The Christ of God.”

 

Scripture readings for this reflection can be found at Memorial of Saint Vincent de Paul, Priest | USCCB

In our gospel for today, the Lord is putting his disciples to the test. “Who do people say that I am?” Their response is, “John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, ‘One of the ancient prophets has arisen.’” Then Jesus asks a more direct question: “Who do you say that I am?”

Peter answers correctly, “The Christ of God.” Then Jesus says something that I find a bit odd: he directed them not to tell anyone. Then he went on to indicate that he will be killed by the chief priests and scribes and rise on the third day. This was his reason for being here: to suffer and die for our sins. Then rise on Easter Sunday morning.

My take on the part of not telling anyone at that time is that his mission wasn’t quite finished yet. He still had things to do before going to Calvery to fulfill what his Father had called him to do. It was after he rose on Easter Sunday, once He was facing his disciples and they were experiencing the risen Lord, that he would tell them to go and make believers of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit.

In our relationship with the Lord, we know full well that Jesus is the Christ of God. We are called to develop that relationship with him by our daily prayers, our daily meditation on scripture, our regular reception of the Sacraments of the Eucharist and confession and doing our works of mercy and charity towards others. We are called to bring Christ into the world by how we live our lives in loving God and loving others. We are to be a visible sign of Christ’s presence in the world.

Let us always remember to keep Christ in the center of who you are and when approaching the Lord in Holy Communion, let us silently say to him, “You are the Christ of God.”

Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts.

 

Scripture readings for this reflection can be found at Tuesday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time | USCCB

In our first reading from the First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians we hear of the many ways we can serve the Lord. We are all united in the fact that we have been baptized into the faith and have received the gifts of the Holy Spirit. It is through the Holy Spirit that we all have different talents serving God. Some are called to be leaders, some teachers, and so on. We are all called to bring the Love and Healing of Christ in different ways to the people around us.

As important as our leaders in the Catholic faith are, all of us are not called to be priests, deacon or nuns. Most of us are called to follow Christ in married life and are to witness our faith in Jesus Christ by how we love and care for our spouses and children. By loving and serving our spouses and children in our lives, we are reflecting the love of Christ has for each of us. As spouses and parents, our Lord is calling us to bring our faith into our families and to help our family be God centered. We are called to lead our families towards heaven by teaching them about the love and mercy of God and to be obedient to the commandments of God as taught by the Catholic Church.

Further, many of us are called to be witnesses of the faith in Jesus Christ in the workplace. We are called to live out our faith as examples of what it means to be a Christian in a world that may not know what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. By showing love and kindness to those we work with reflects what it means to be a Christian. By bringing Christ’s love into the workplace, we are acting as disciples of Jesus Christ. It is through this love and respect for others that we can proclaim the gospel.

Pope St. John Paul 2 is quoted as saying, “This is no time to be ashamed of the Gospel. It is the time to preach it from the rooftops. Do not be afraid to break out of comfortable and routine modes of living, in order to take up the challenge of making Christ known in the modern 'metropolis'… The Gospel must not be kept hidden because of fear or indifference.”

So, preach the gospel always. When necessary, use words.

Can a blind person guide a blind person?

 

Scripture readings for this reflection can be found at Memorial of Saint John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the Church | USCCB

In our gospel for today, our Lord continues his teaching that we should not be so much worried about the sinfulness of other people we know but in how we are living out our call to be His followers as Christians. We all know and deal with people that appear to be not living out their lives in relationship with God. Our Lord is teaching us that we should worry about our own relationship with Him, whether it’s good or bad, rather than worrying about other people and their relationship with God. We are all sinners. Worrying about other people and their sins, while not worrying about our own sinfulness is being hypocritical.

Our Lord in today’s gospel asks, “Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?” (Luke 6:41) We’re so caught up in seeing the sinfulness in other people that we fail to see our own sinfulness.

We are called to live out our lives in loving service to God and to love our neighbors (even those people we consider our enemies) as we love ourselves. In yesterday’s gospel reading from Mass our Lord taught us, “To you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” (Luke 6:27-28) Pretty tough words from our Lord, but words we are called, as Christians, to follow.

In chapter 6 of the gospel of St. Luke, the Lord is teaching us to focus on the love God has for everyone, including those people we may not like. Further he’s calling us to a better relationship with Him through how we live out our lives as followers of Jesus Christ. The whole message of Jesus Christ is that of LOVE. Love not only for God, but also for us to love everyone in our lives, whether we like them or not. We are called to be loving and forgiving with everyone as we expect God to be loving and forgiving with us. It’s not easy to love those we don’t like, but the call of Christ is to love them, regardless of whether we like them or not.

Mother Theresa of Calcutta is quoted as saying, “It is easy to love the people far away. It is not always easy to love those close to us. It is easier to give a cup of rice to relieve hunger than to relieve the loneliness and pain of someone unloved in our own home. Bring love into your home for this is where our love for each other must start.”

Let’s bring that love of God to all we meet today! This way people will know we are Christians by our love.