June 2010

My dear sisters and brothers we are called to serve God by our baptism. Many of Christians were baptized as infants and they don’t remember their baptism. Others were baptized as children, old enough to remember their baptism but perhaps not old enough really to make a choice! And some people became Christians as adults. All of us, me and you, who were baptized are called to fallow Jesus and serve God and people every day of our life. After our baptism God is calling us to follow Him; the Lord Jesus invites us to be with Him and Holy Spirit gives us strength to walk with the Lord.

Many times, we do not recognize that God calling us. Sometimes we dislike that the Lord is calling us. Like those in today’s Gospel from Saint Luke, we sometimes find different reasons not to go together with our Lord when we are invited. In today’s Gospel one the men which was calling by Jesus said- “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.” And another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say farewell to my family at home.” Sometimes we reject this invitation. Many times we are choosing our own way.

Our Lord tells us stories like those in today’s Gospel because He knows our weaknesses even better than we do. We are given the witness of the Old Testament, the Hebrew Scriptures, Saints, because we always need encouragement. Saint Paul is always reminding us how to follow God.

My dear brothers and sisters,

After our Baptism and confirmation we are called to serve God and one another through love. We are invited to continue to trust in the Lord, no matter how many times we fail. We are invited to walk with the Lord, no matter how many times we have turned down His invitation. We are invited to renew our good intentions, no matter how many times we have had good intentions and have done nothing.

My dear Brothers and sisters,

Jesus Christ came into our world to save us, bring us salvation, open the gate for everyone to heaven, not to condemn us. Jesus Christ calls us to believe in Him and gives us the power of the Holy Spirit in our weakness, gives us grace and power for spiritually growing in our daily life and being true disciples. May the power of the Holy Spirit and the love of our Lord Jesus draw us to the Father and give us strength this day to take one small step toward the Lord. Come, Lord Jesus Christ and help us in our weakness.

Jesus in today’s Gospel asked his disciples “Who do the crowds say that I am?” They said: “John the Baptist, Elijah, one of the prophets.” Then He asked the next question only they could answer: “But who do you say that I am?” And again Peter, who was never without words, whether the right ones or not, gave the bonus answer for all of them: “THE MESSIAH OF GOD.” Peter gave the right answer.

My dear bothers and sisters,

Jesus is asking us today, and every one who may believe in Jesus “Who do you say that I am?”

Some people today give answers that fall short of the whole truth about Jesus. For some, Jesus is just a teacher with beautiful ideas not popular in today’s society. Perhaps many more do not know how to answer, or perhaps try to ignore the question, hoping that it will go away.

Each person will have different way of answer. Yet there is something basic to all of us who recognize Jesus as the Messiah as our God. The more we acknowledge Him as the Messiah, as our Redeemer, the more we must deny ourselves and pick up our cross and follow Jesus.

We know that to follow Jesus and His teaching is not easy, not popular in our society, in our families. Many times we struggle in our families to put Jesus FIRST, then us, and after that the remainder of society.

Today as we celebrate Father’s Day, let us think what our heavenly Father would like us to do. Let us think what we as His children should do to please Him. It is about recognizing Jesus for who He really is.

Today we acknowledge and recognize our earthly fathers. With their wife they are our first teacher of faith and life. Today we thank them in various ways for the dedication to our families. And again, we give them material gifts, sent them cards, which is a beautiful way to express our gratitude toward them. As the family of St. Francis parish let us give them one more thing, a prayer. Now let us please kneel down and pray with me for our fathers living and deceased:

God, you are the Father of all creation. You promised the people of Israel long life and prosperity if they would follow Your commandments. One of those commands was “honor your father and your mother.” Help us to live this commandment each day of our life.

May we honor our fathers through their life. May we remember them with gratitude for the things they has given to us, and may Your blessings be poured out upon them.

We also ask a special blessing upon our fathers and grandfathers who have gone before us. We cherish their memory and pray that they are secure in heaven with you.

Heavenly Father, source of all wisdom, give strength and hope to all who are fathers today. Grant them wisdom, courage, mercy, and the grace they need to live out this most holy calling. Give them joy and peace in You. We ask all this in Christ’s name. Amen.

My sisters and brothers in Christ,

As we celebrate today’s Eucharist, we are invited to reflect on our own faith.

Today’s Holy Scriptures tell us that, our task is to believe and repent. When we believe, God transforms us. God is the one who forgives sins and change our lives. We can be saved, when we open ourselves to the justice and mercy of God.

The first reading, from the Second Book of Samuel, tells us the story of King David, who is one of the great people of faith in the Hebrew Scriptures. He is also an incredible sinner. Yet he always trusts in God’s mercy and forgiveness and truly repents of his sins.

King David is a full human being, with lots of desires and incredible energy to serve the Lord. His love for God does not stop him from sinning but when he recognizes that he has sinned, he repents with all his heart. So, King David is a wonderful example for all of us. He shows us how to repent and change his life and seek God as his highest good.

The Gospel has the same lesson. The Gospel remind us of something very important. God is the one who forgives sins. Jesus said in today’s Gospel to the woman,” Your sins are forgiven”. She was sinner but she wasn’t ashamed to repent in front of everyone. She is another incredible example to all of us of how to live the mystery of our faith.

We can take the words of the Letter to the Galatians as a model:

I live by faith in the Son of God who has loved me and given himself up for me. The more I recognize that I am loved, the more I can live from that love with complete trust and confidence in the Lord.

My Dear Brothers and Sisters, in our daily life we make mistakes and we sin, but we have to trust completely in the Lord Jesus Christ. Our task is to believe. When we believe, God transforms us. God saves us. God loves us. God invites us to eternal life. Let us live and walk in the way of the Lord.