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September 10, 2023

Sun, 10 Sep 2023 09:19:30 GMT

Jesus emphasizes the importance of reconciling a community member who has sinned. There are three stages: personal discussion; discussion with witnesses present; involving the local Church community. If none of these achieve the hoped for result, there may be nothing more they can do for their brother.

All too often, I stand in judgment of those who stray, and worse, I invite others to stand with me. Show me the way to reach out, to invite, to forgive.

This article comes to you from Our Sunday Visitor courtesy of your parish or diocese.

Jesus assures us

Sun, 10 Sep 2023 09:17:55 GMT

“We all go through times of tiredness and discouragement, especially when our prayers seem ineffective. But Jesus assures us: … God promptly answers his children, even though this doesn’t mean he will necessarily do it when and how we would like. Prayer does not work like a magic wand! It helps us keep faith in God, and to entrust ourselves to him even when we do not understand his will. In this, Jesus himself — who prayed constantly! — is our model.” — Pope Francis

Reflection: Have you ever lost heart when prayers seem to go unanswered? If yes, what helped you to turn back to God in faith and trust in his will for you? Do you treat prayer like a magic wand that is supposed to bring you what you want?

This article comes to you from Our Sunday Visitor courtesy of your parish or diocese.

How to live like saints in a secular age

Thu, 07 Sep 2023 00:11:11 GMT

More regularly, there is a monthly family Holy Hour where the children sit before the altar with one of the school’s Dominican sisters. Worship music is played in the background (this time, for my daughter, by Mom), and the children learn to pray with the sister’s accompaniment and witness. Each time, I feel I’m able to peer directly into the Gospels and see Jesus among his beloved children. You can sense that Christ — ever ancient, ever new — moves with the same mercy and power in our own nondescript corner of the world as he did in the rural villages of Galilee so many years ago.

My daughter goes to a Catholic elementary school with a robust religious life. Catholic identity here is more than just tenets of belief. It’s gritty. It’s multi-sensory.

This past May, she and I spent an evening picking out flowers together for a school-wide May crowning ceremony. I look forward to it every year because of the ways in which it draws together heaven and earth: The gentle perfume of our grocery store carnation commingles with gratitude and reverence for the Blessed Mother’s heavenly care for us. Here, a $5 flower becomes an invitation to the mystery of the Incarnation.

Questions of a child

This gritty and imaginative formation in the Faith is deeply Catholic. But the school doesn’t exist on an island. As my daughter has encountered and grown in the Faith, I’ve noticed her beginning to compare her experience with those of her friends and family, especially those who go to public schools. For her, public schools are like Catholic schools without religion. But since religion is so immersive in her education, she has trouble conceptualizing what that can mean. If schools can be “Catholic” or “public,” she’ll often ask the same about people: “Is my friend, Mary, Catholic or public?” She also once asked if the Olive Garden was Catholic or public as we arrived for butter noodles and breadsticks. We, of course, help her make the necessary distinctions, but it’s clear she’s trying to understand the landscape of the environment she inhabits.

This experience of faith formation being joined inseparably by an encounter with rival beliefs about God has become commonplace for nearly all of us.

While her experience of the Faith is transcendent, the context of her belief is a world where many don’t think and act and believe the same, particularly about God and the ways in which his transcendence shapes our daily lives. Many of the people she sees daily — family, neighbors, friends — believe differently, often in no God. This causes some sort of confusion that needs to be sorted out that makes her ask questions about her own faith: Why don’t they believe what I believe? Why don’t they go to Church on Sundays? Why don’t they believe in God? Why do we? If you hold still before these questions, they’re not easy to answer, especially for a child. The context creates a sort of self-consciousness in her faith; it can make it seem fragile.

This experience of faith formation being joined inseparably by an encounter with rival beliefs about God has become commonplace for nearly all of us. Your experience may not seem as pristine as a child’s, but, arriving at our theme, this sort of experience is a good entry point to understanding what is meant by the word “secular” or “secularity.” This is the experience of having faith in a secular age.

This article comes to you from Our Sunday Visitor courtesy of your parish or diocese.

A Parent’s Prayer of Stewardship

Mon, 04 Sep 2023 09:23:27 GMT

Lord, I give you thanks for creating me and redeeming me. I give you thanks for allowing me to participate in your creative action through my children.

Assist me in teaching my children that you are with them in all aspects of their lives including their finances.

Help me to always show my children through my words and action that I believe:

Divine Providence can provide.
Divine Providence did provide.
Divine Providence will provide.

Amen

This content comes to you from Our Sunday Visitor courtesy of your parish or diocese.

Work is intrinsic to Catholic stewardship

Mon, 04 Sep 2023 09:20:57 GMT

“Work is a fundamental aspect of the human vocation. It is necessary for human happiness and fulfillment. It is intrinsic to responsible stewardship of the world.”

— Stewardship: A Disciple’s Response

U.S. Catholic bishops’ pastoral letter on stewardship

When you meet somebody new, do you find yourself immediately asking, “What do you do for a living?” Jesus Christ worked as a carpenter. The “king of kings” and “lord of lords” may have had a callus or two on His holy hands. We are called to respect the dignity of workers, regardless of title, status or income. Work — whether vocation or a vocation — dignifies the human person. God gave each of us the gift of life and talents to bear for the Kingdom. We are obliged to contribute to the common good, whether we work for a paycheck, within the home or as a volunteer. Ideally, we must discern work that holds meaning for us. And we cannot confuse making a living with being alive.

“Lord Jesus Christ, bless the work of our human hands.” Amen.

Do you balance work and recreation? Does your job allow you to apply your God-given gifts and talents? Are you enthused about your work in the world? If not, check out the book “This Time I Dance:Trusting the Journey of Creating the Work You Love,” by Tama J. Kieves (J.P. Tarcher, 2003).

This article comes to you from Grace In Action ( Our Sunday Visitor ) courtesy of your parish or diocese.