Called By God

06-26-2022Weekly Reflection© J. S. Paluch Company

We return to Ordinary Time this Sunday, and with this new season we focus on what it means to be a person who is called by God for some definite purpose. Elisha recognized God's call in Elijah's greeting and prepared immediately to follow. The people who came to Jesus seemed ready to follow, yet each had reasons to linger behind. As people who are given the freedom to follow or to stay behind, we must ask ourselves what we are ready to do for the sake of Christ and the call of the gospel. What are you called to do at this time in your life? Are you prepared to leave behind the things that get in the way of living as a Christian?

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The Abundance of God's Love

06-19-2022Weekly Reflection© J. S. Paluch Company

The crowd that followed Jesus to the deserted place was fed, body and spirit. Jesus wanted them to know that in his presence they would find care and compassion. He would not let them go hungry. Like Abram who encountered God in the bread and wine offered by Melchizedek, they experienced first-hand the abundance of God’s love. These sacred meals prefigured the meal most profound, the supper shared by Jesus and his disciples on the night before he died, the feast in which we share in the Eucharist. Today we celebrate the solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. On this day, we appreciate anew the great love of Jesus Christ for us and for the world and experience first-hand the presence of Christ in the sacred meal.

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The Mystery of the Holy Trinity

06-12-2022Weekly Reflection© J. S. Paluch Company

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. We say these words as we make the sign of the cross, the sign of God’s saving love for us in Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. God who created the heavens, earth, and all who dwell in it. Jesus Christ, through whom we are offered salvation and peace. The Holy Spirit, who breathes life, leads us to the truth, and strengthens us to live as God’s holy people. On this Solemnity, let us pause to reflect upon the mystery of the Holy Trinity, three persons in one God. As we name the mystery, may we come to know God’s love more deeply and live it more profoundly.

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God's Ongoing Work

06-05-2022Weekly Reflection© J. S. Paluch Company

In today’s Gospel Luke, the author of Acts, links the “time of Pentecost” to the Jewish Feast of Weeks. This was a harvest festival, fifty days after Passover. The feast became a celebration of God's gift of the Torah, the law of Moses, remembering Exodus 19. Luke suggests that just as the Feast of Weeks was a culmination of Passover, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit was a culmination of the Resurrection.

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