With an Eye Towards Heaven
This Sunday’s first reading offers us a passage from the Book of Ecclesiastes. The book tells us that its author is named Qoheleth. We do not know anything about this Qoheleth except one thing: he is not happy. While Ecclesiastes offers us many beautiful passages, its overall tone is one of skepticism and frustration with the world. If we read Ecclesiastes in light of the world’s fixation on materialism, and especially in conjunction with today’s Gospel reading, then it makes perfect sense for any true disciple that Jesus Christ makes all the difference and not the world.
Ecclesiastes gives us the famous phrase “there is nothing new under the sun.” This is proven true in that the root of Qoheleth’s frustration over some twenty-three hundred years ago is the same for many people today: everything, every person, and every labor, all of these things are finite and will pass away. This doesn’t mean that we just shrug our shoulders and give up, but this reality invites the disciple to ask his or herself a vital question: “why do I do what I do” or, put another way, “what motivates me in life?”
In the end, what do we want? Do we want to be like the man in this Sunday’s Gospel who labored for the things of this world but who did not live long to enjoy them or do we want to labor for the things of heaven, the things that “matter to God” as Jesus says in today’s Gospel passage? Everything that a disciple does, be it in word or deed, is to be done with an eye towards heaven or, more aptly, with an eye towards God. God alone is eternal and the good news for us is that he wants us to share eternity with him in heaven. This does not mean that we cannot enjoy the fruits of our labors or the “good things” of this life, but if our ultimate desires are for comfort and wealth or the things of this world then we will be sorely disappointed in the end.
The tragedy for Qoheleth is that he did not know Jesus Christ, being that he lived in a time before the Lord’s coming. This is not the case for us. We are invited to grow deeper each day in our knowledge of and relationship with Jesus and to derive our hope and comfort from his true promise of everlasting life with him in heaven. The more we come to know the Lord and value the life he freely offers, the easier it is to live our lives each day with an eye towards heaven.
We are faced with a choice: look at what the world will ultimately offer us and look at what Jesus Christ will ultimately offer us. Our choice should be obvious.
CTK’s 2022 Woman of Distinction
For the past ten years, the Diocesan Council of Catholic Women has invited the pastor of each parish in our diocese to nominate a Woman of Distinction from the parish, and last Saturday ladies from throughout the diocese were honored in a special Mass with Bishop Paprocki at our cathedral. I am happy to share with you that Linda Younkin was CTK’s Woman of Distinction for 2022. From her dedication to the liturgical life of our parish through her music ministry, to her working with bereaved families in planning their loved ones’ funeral Masses, to being a special help to me in my past two years as pastor here as well as in the transition, to so many other ways, for over thirty years Linda has been a living sign of Jesus the Servant in our parish. Please join me in congratulating Linda and thanking her for her continual service to our parish.
Summer Camp Thank You
School days are quickly approaching, and we expect another great year in our school here at CTK. One of the many areas where our school stands out is that it has a wonderful summer camp program that is available for students, but it takes a special dedication from its staff to make it happen. Summer camp ended this past Friday and I want to thank the camp’s staff for all their efforts in making it happen by providing a fun and educational summer experience for those students who were a part of it.
Blessings to you and yours for the week ahead!
Father Chris House