You cannot serve both God and mammon

 

Today we have a recurring guest blogger:  Fr. Arthur F. Rojas, pastor of PRESENTATION OF THE B.V.M CHURCH, PORT EWEN AND SACRED HEART CHURCH, ESOPUS. For more information on this parish, check out their website at Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary & Sacred Heart Churches - Port Ewen - Esopus, NY (presentationsacredheart.org) 

Submission to Blog of Dcn. Thomas Tortorella for XXV Sunday in Ordinary Time by Fr. Arthur F. Rojas

© All Rights Reserved personally by Rev. Fr. Arthur F Rojas, September 18 th , 2025 ©

Scripture readings for this reflection can be found at Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time | USCCB

Glory to Jesus Christ!

In the Ordinary Form, the readings of Sunday, September 21 st speak to our times quite directly, namely Amos 8:4-7, Psalm 113:1-2, 4-6, 7-8; 1 Timothy 2:1-8; and Luke 16:1-13. Dear parishioners of the Extraordinary Form, although I know that your readings today are from Galatians 5:25-26, 6:1-10; and Luke 7:11-16, in light of recent events please consider these following points for all Catholics and people of good will.

Two common threads of the readings in the Ordinary Form are the supremacy of God and its impact on how we treat our neighbor, both high and low. Consider the denunciations of the prophet St. Amos of mistreatment of the poor and manipulation of norms by special interests, the Responsorial Psalm’s praise of God’s supremacy and His aid to the poor, the exhortation of the apostle St. Paul to St. Timothy and a broader audience (including you and me) to pray for our civil authorities, and the Gospel’s trenchant reminder that we should maintain God’s trust in us, let alone our trust in Him. As more and more Americans lack appreciation, even simple respect for the image of God in each human person, let alone our neighbor in this country, state, city, or town, from our secularized society’s increasingly overt rejection of a transcendent Supreme Being, thus we cannot be surprised that from turning our collective back on God, then we turn increasingly against each other, starting from the highest echelons of society and wounding so many families and relationships in our midst.

It is facile, in other words a cop-out, for one faction to point fingers at another faction in America when anyone with an attention span past several minutes or a historical memory past the last presidential election would notice that certain public figures who decried cancel culture at one time now clamor for it to advance their causes. Ironically, in quoting the words of a recently murdered public speaker and debater for reviving public debate and encouraging robust and civil exchange of views, the rhetoric and deeds of these persons foment further suppression of the freedoms of speech and expression in our country. Instead of merely reacting, let us think and pray before responding to the contemporary turbulence.

Let’s ask, what would count as actionable “hate speech” in the future when the balance of power changes at one level or another? Would preaching Biblical truth count, whether from a pulpit or on a tee-shirt or via social media? Common experience points to both left and right hands being on the throat of our God-given rights to freedom of speech, and collaterally, the free exercise of religion. As these hands from public and private sectors, even if serially, move to constrict public debate on a range of issues, both domestic and foreign, then as we address and engage each other less and less as neighbors, if not as brethren in Christ when applicable, it will become even easier to dehumanize and demonize each other, as what happened tragically in Spain in the early-to-mid 1930s. While human laws and policies have their proper place to ensure peace and good order, in the spirit of today’s readings more importantly we Americans – starting with us Catholic Americans - need to recover a Godly respect for each other and to reclaim the eroded practices of courtesy and good manners so that we may live in true freedom and not entrench the sway of might or Mammon. Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us! Our Lady of the Hudson, pray for us!

Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life.

 

Scripture readings for this reflection can be found at Optional Memorial of Saint Januarius, Bishop and Martyr | USCCB

Today we commemorate the feast of St. Januarius, bishop and martyr. Many know him better as San Gennaro. Probably most notable here in New York City is the feast down on Mulberry Street in honor of San Gennaro. It goes for several blocks, lasts about 11 days, and celebrates the life of someone we know very little about.

What little we know of him was that he was a bishop martyred in 305 AD during the Great Persecution, and a core part of his veneration involves the miraculous liquefaction of his blood, an event seen as a sign of protection. It was reported that this miracle happened again today. Finally, San Gennaro is considered a patron saint of Naples and is greatly venerated there.

The fact that he was a martyr for the faith tells us a lot about what kind of person he was. He was willing to put his faith in Jesus Christ first in spite of the possibility of being put to death. In our gospel for today we hear Jesus tell us, “Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life.” San Gennaro knew these words well and was able to preserve his life for eternal life and is now an example of what it means to be a Christian.

St. Augustine was able to understand what San Gennaro was facing in being a bishop and eventually a martyr when he said: “The day I became a bishop a burden was laid on my shoulders for which it will be no easy task to render an account.” St. Augustine and San Gennaro took their call as bishops seriously and knew they would be held accountable to the Lord on judgment day.

Most all of us will never rise to the level of being a bishop or face the possibility of being a martyr for the faith. But we are called, like San Gennaro, to follow and serve Jesus Christ as his followers. It isn’t easy and is often considered counter cultural. San Gennaro found this out when he was martyred for his faith in Jesus Christ. Like San Gennaro, all of us are called to keep Jesus as the center of who we are. We are called to love and serve him in how we live and treat others. We are called to love God with our whole mind, heart and soul and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Not an easy thing to do.

Let us pray for our bishops and priests and for each other to be better examples of what it means to be called “Christian.”

Your faith has saved you; go in peace.

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

In our gospel for today we hear the familiar story of the sinful woman weeping at feet of Jesus and washing them with oil and her tears. She is described only as a “sinful woman,” but it’s unclear what kind of sin she was guilty of or who she was. St. Luke only describes her as a “sinful woman” that is seeking forgiveness for her sins. In her humility and sorrow for her sins, she approached Jesus in front of everyone present, not caring what other people would think of her. She was only concerned with showing repentance for her sinfulness and receiving forgiveness from the Lord.  She had the faith that Jesus would forgive her of all her sins.

In contrast, we have Simon, the Pharisee, who was not only judging the woman, but judging Jesus. We read, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who and what sort of woman this is touching him, that she is a sinner.” In effect, Simon is condemning not only the woman, but Jesus as well. This Pharisee failed to understand that Jesus was more than a prophet: Jesus was the Messiah, able to bring forgiveness and reconciliation to all people. The woman recognized this of Jesus. She saw him as Messiah, and that he would have the power to forgive her sins and help her develop a loving relationship with God that she needed.

Jesus responds to the Pharisee, pointing out that he failed to show him any respect by embracing him, or giving him water to wash his feet. Jesus goes on to tell Simon, “So I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; hence, she has shown great love.” Then turning to the woman, Jesus says, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

This sinful woman serves as an example for all of us. We know that we can turn to Jesus for forgiveness of all our sins, whether they are great or small. Jesus is there for us to turn to him in the sacrament of confession ready to give us his forgiveness. It is through our faith in Jesus that we, too, can receive that gift of forgiveness for whatever sins we may have committed.

Let us take time to meditate on this gospel and be grateful that Jesus is always there for us in all our needs. We just need to turn to him and show him the same love that this woman showed him. Then he, in turn, will tell us: “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Most Holy Name of Mary

 

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

Today we commemorate the Holy Name of Mary, a feast that was created by Pope Innocent XI in 1684 to commemorate the Battle of Vienna in 1683. During the liturgical reform of Vatican II, it was removed from the general calendar but later restored by Pope John Paul II in 2002.

Mary has always been held in high honor in our Catholic understanding of God’s salvation for mankind. It is through her “fiat” or “yes” that Jesus was to come into the world through her, thus making her the Mother of God, since Jesus is true God and true Man. Her whole life was centered in her devotion to God and her awaiting the coming of the Savior that all devoted Jewish people were waiting for. So, when the Angel Gabriel came to ask her to be the mother of the savior, she at first was hesitant. She couldn’t understand how that would come to be since she was not yet living with Joseph as his wife. When the Angel further explained that it was to be through the power of the Holy Spirit, Mary quickly said yes, thus ensuring our salvation.

The example of her life and her humility in following God’s plan for salvation is something that we can emulate for ourselves. Though she knew she was going to have problems in being the mother of the Lord, she never hesitated in saying yes to God. She humbly embraced her role that God had laid out for her as Mother of Jesus. We all have our call from God to bring Christ into the world in our own situations. We are called to bring Christ into our family relationships, in our friendships, or among those we may work with at our jobs. We humbly bring Christ into each situation we face each day.

We hear in today’s gospel about Mary’s visitation to her elderly cousin Elizabeth during her time of need. At this point Elizabeth was already 6 months pregnant with John the Baptist. Mary came to be of service to Elizabeth to help her through what probably was a very difficult time for the elderly Elizabeth.

Elizabeth recognized the greatness of Mary and the fact that Mary was carrying the Messiah in her womb. Once Mary arrived, we hear Elizabeth say, "Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” These are words that we, as Catholics, say each time we pray the Hail Mary. Elizbeth and John in her womb recognized the holiness of Mary and the fact that Mary was carrying the Mesiah in womb.

Mary’s response was "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior." Let all of us each day, with Mary, always keep the Lord in the center of who we are. Let always proclaim the greatness of the Lord and rejoice in the fact that God is our savior.

 

Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.

I had the pleasure of doing a Holy Hour at the Carmel of Mary Immaculate and St. Mary Magdalen in Flemington, NJ. For more information on this Carmelite Monastery, go to their website: The Carmel of Mary Immaculate and St Mary Magdalen. Following was my reflection on today's gospel from Holy Mass.

Scripture readings for this reflection can be found at Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time | USCCB

In our gospel for today Jesus is giving us some strong examples of what it means to be His follower. He starts off with, “If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” Pretty strong words. Then he goes on to tell us that we must carry our crosses, or we cannot be his disciples.

How can we better understand what Jesus is trying to tell us? I think that what he’s trying to get across by using such strong imagery is that we need to prioritize.

There were indeed those followers over the years who put everything and everyone behind them to be His followers. The 12 apostles and his other followers placed Jesus before everything else in their lives. Then there were people like St. Francis of Assisi and St. Clare that took everything Jesus said literally and went off to form the Franciscans and Poor Clare’s. Further, there was John of the Cross and St. Theresa of Avila who knew that following Jesus was not meant to be easy. So, they reformed the Carmelite Order to be a truer example of what it means to be followers of Jesus Christ.  These are people we all know and love for their devotion and dedication to following Jesus Christ.

For the rest of us who have family responsibilities, how can we be true followers of Jesus without leaving behind those that we love? We want to be followers of Jesus, but we simply can’t renounce our families and possessions without being considered irresponsible.

Looking deeply into being a follower of Jesus and the cost of discipleship has to do with freedom of heart: holding possessions without possessiveness may be a way we achieve freedom from things. In other words, they are tools for us to use during our day-to-day life, but they are not to become more important than being a disciple of Jesus Christ. Same with our families: Jesus is not telling us literally to hate our families but rather is telling us that being his follower is more important than they are. We are called to care for and love our families, but our responsibilities as His followers is more important.

The gospel concludes with “…anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.” By renouncing them and making Jesus the central focus of who we are is where Jesus is calling us. Let us pray for the gift of true faith to always keep Jesus as the center of who we are while serving those people that he has placed into our lives. In this way we can truly love God with our whole mind, heart and soul, and those in our lives as we love ourselves.

Christ is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation

 

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

In our first reading from St. Paul to the Colossians we hear Paul teach a basic truth about Jesus Christ: he is True God and True Man. Paul goes on to explain that all things were created in him in heaven and earth.

This teaching of Paul corresponds to what is said in the Gospel of John, chapter 1, verse 1: “In the beginning^* was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John goes on to say that all things came into being through him and without him nothing came into being. Then finally in verse 14 we hear John say, “And the Word was made flesh and made his dwelling among us.”

Jesus’ coming into the world shows the love that God has for all of us. Due to the sin of our first parents, Adam and Eve, God decided to send his only begotten Son, the second person of the Trinity, into the world to redeem us and to help us to have that relationship with God that was lost due to original sin. Through his life, death and resurrection, we are able to turn to God and have that relationship that was lacking prior to Jesus coming in the flesh.

In our gratitude towards Jesus and his love for us, let us return our love to him by living a life that is worthy of being called Christian. In being Christians, we are called to love God with our whole mind, heart and soul and to love our neighbor as ourselves. When we fall short in this love of God and neighbor, let us turn back to him in the sacrament of confession. In this way we can be living reflections of God to the world.

On this feast day of St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta, let us remember what she said regarding love of others: "Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier".