Dear Parishioners,
Saints of God, the Lord be with you!
It seems to me that the readings this weekend are preparing us to celebrate the Solemnity of Christ, King of the Universe and the end of the liturgical year. Perhaps these readings were chosen to initiate a time of reflection or introspection concerning the past liturgical year.
We who are the Church are often described as the “Spouse of Christ” and both the first reading from the Book of Proverbs (31) and our Responsorial Psalm (128) use the image of a faithful and fruitful wife to help our reflection. Remembering that God has entrusted His heart to us.
You could stop there and that is enough to reflect on.
We need to examine if we “bring God good and reach out our hands to the poor and extend (our) arms to the needy.”
And you, dear Saints of God of Sacred Heart Parish, do! Hands of Hope, Bikes from the Heart, the St. Vincent de Paul Society, the Knights of Columbus and many other groups and individuals are the arms of the parish reaching into the community. Not to mention how you treat our homeless brothers and sisters with dignity and charity.
As the opening Collect reminds us this is how we show our devotion to God as we “serve with constancy the Author of all that is good.” And there is more since: God is for giving, we are made in His image and likeness, are made for giving as well, and when we give ourselves to others, we discover full and lasting happiness and joy.
Today’s Gospel from Matthew reminds us that each of us has been given a gift from God that we are called not to cling to nor hide, but to use for the benefit of others, beginning with our families. Charity begins at home, but shouldn’t stop there. Discipleship (imitation of Christ) is not safe. It’s risky to reach out to others with kindness and mercy. But if you think about it, this might be a good description of heaven, the eternal reaching out in mercy and kindness to us by God.
To prepare for heaven we must begin living heaven here on earth. We are called not to speculate when Christ will return in glory, but live as if He is already here in His glory. And if we do, then when our earthly life is over we will hear Him say,
“Well done, my good and faithful servant…Come share your master’s joy.”
Peace and All Good,
Fr. Steve
