This Sunday’s Gospel gives us what I would argue is the most important question in all of the Scriptures.
Your Answer, Please
This Sunday’s Gospel gives us what I would argue is the most important question in all of the Scriptures. Jesus asks his disciples who do the crowds say that He is, who do they say that He is, and, through the Gospel, we are asked who we say that He is. For those who say Jesus was just a “nice man” and a “good teacher” then he must have been delusional in calling himself the Son of God. Others believe that Jesus was a liar, that he was a fraud claiming to be something that he knew he was not. For those of true faith, the answer is easy: Jesus is Lord!
What is our answer? Some may find the question puzzling: we are Catholic, we support the parish, we send our kids to Catholic school or to PSR, we wear gold or silver crosses around our necks….all that is well and good but for us to answer that Jesus is Lord takes more than all that. To say the Jesus is Lord means that we must be willing to give Him full sovereignty over our lives, over every aspect of who we are, and not just for sixty minutes on Sunday or Saturday evening. We must proclaim the Lordship of Jesus with the totality of who and what we are.
Jesus’s question of who we say that He is must be kept before our eyes constantly as a guard against Christian hypocrisy, for the Gospels are clear in informing us of Jesus’s disdain for hypocrisy. If Jesus is Lord for us then His life and His truth must be the way that guides our daily living and not the things of this world, be they power, pleasure, honor, or wealth. If we truly allow Jesus to reign as lord of our lives, the world may sneer at us for it, our lives will certainly not always be easy, but our salvation will be assured.
No Confessions Wednesday Afternoon, August 30th
Due to overseen circumstances, there will be no confession heard this Wednesday afternoon, but exposition and benediction will still happen. I apologize for any inconvenience that anyone may incur because of this.
Missionary Appeal – September 2nd/3rd
Next weekend September 2nd/3rd, Patrick Miner, from Mary Mother of God Mission Society will visit our parish for our annual Mission Appeal to speak about the Roman Catholic Mission Churches in Eastern Russia. In over twenty years of priestly ministry, this will be the first time I have heard about the Church’s work in Russia; I look forward to hearing about the Mission Society’s work. A collection basket for the society will be in the vestibule of the church before and after all Masses.
Eucharistic Congress – October 28th at the BOS Center
Last weekend at all of the Masses I spoke about the upcoming Diocesan Eucharistic Congress. Below is the day’s schedule for our Congress in celebration of the National Eucharistic Revival and marking the centenary of the transfer of the Diocesan See from Alton to Springfield:
Admission to the Congress is free and concessions will be available for sale at the BOS Center. I will be there and I hope you will consider joining me and other members of faithful throughout the Diocese for this historic celebration. Registration is done through the parish office.
Blessings to you and yours for the week ahead!
Father Chris House