Holy Trinity Sunday (May 31, 2026)

Today’s Scripture readings reveal our God as Three in One: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We heard God reveal his name and his love to Moses: “The Lord, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity.” Moses bowed to the ground in reverence as God revealed his tender love and he asked God to come along in the company of his people.

Jesus tells us even more about our God: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world but that the world might be saved through him.”

These are all familiar word to us. How do we hear these words and what do they say about how we live? Do we hear them as the truth about our God and believe in a God who has taken such a great initiative to love us?

Jesus is the revelation of the greatness of our God’s love for us. In Jesus, we see our God loving us: a merciful and gracious God who is slow to anger  and rich in kindness and fidelity.

Our God is speaking to us again today, reminding us,  ”I love you so much.” How are we going to respond? I would suggest a simple response: “I love you too.”

Then we need to sit in prayer with this word of God’s love for us and allow the love of God shown to us in Jesus to fill our heart. God’s love has the power to transform us little by little and lead us to love more in our daily actions.

St. Paul tells us something about loving: encourage one another and live in peace. This is loving one another as Jesus has loved us. This is learning to love as our God loves: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – Three Persons, yet One God.

Like Moses, may we learn to bow to the ground in awe and reverence at the mystery of God’s great love for us. Then let us rise and set about loving one another in daily living.

Pentecost (May 24, 2026)

We have just heard Jesus announce the new creation. Jesus breathes new life into his disciples. And then he announces that mutual forgiveness will be the mark by which his community will be recognized. As God has forgiven us in Jesus, we are to forgive one another as a sign of the new life we share.

St. Luke describes the coming of the Spirit in more dramatic fashion. As the Spirit descends on the disciples as tongues of fire, they begin to make bold proclamation of the Good News in an astounding way.

The same Spirit is given to each of us at our Baptism, and his presence has been strengthened in Confirmation. St. Paul points that that we are one in the Body of Christ because we all share the one Holy Spirit. 

Each of us has special gifts which have been given to us as a way of manifesting the Spirit’s presence in us. Our gifts are given, not for our own good, but for the good of others; when we use our gifts for others, we witness to our oneness in Christ. No one’s gift or ministry or work is more important than anyone else’s; all are needed for the unity of the community of the Church.

Each of us is important because we bring a gift or talent or way of working that no one else can bring to the group. We all lose something when an individual person’s gifts are not welcomed or used in the community. We need one another in order to experience the full wonder of God’s love for us. 

This morning, we have prayed, “Come, Holy Spirit, come!” This is a bold request on our part. Are we really open to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit that God wants to give us? Are we willing to use the gifts of the Holy Spirit in order to be drawn more deeply into the Mystery of God’s love? Can we find new ways to use these gifts in our efforts to love one another during the day?

May this feast of Pentecost be a rebirthing in each of us of all the spiritual gifts that help us stay centered in the Holy Spirit.

Ascension of the Lord (May 14/17, 2026)

Today we celebrate the conclusion of Jesus’ mission from his Father. We see Jesus stand before his chosen eleven as the Christ, Lord of the universe. With full authority for the salvation of the world, Jesus sends the Eleven forth to make disciples of all the nations. They are to baptize in the name of the Trinity and teach all they have been commanded by Jesus.

Then Jesus returns to his Father, leaving the earth in his bodily form. His leaving emphasizes the importance that faith will play in their mission. They are to put their trust in the Spirit he will leave with them, and they are to act on all they have been taught to believe. They will have doubts and fears as they go, so they are to remember his final words to them: “I am with you always.” Jesus’ abiding presence with them through the Spirit will give them strength and courage when they need it to continue their efforts.

Over the past few weeks, you and I have been renewed in our faith by our celebration of Jesus’ death and rising. Today, as we celebrate his return to his Father, Jesus speaks to us, his disciples in 2002, with the full authority of the Christ: I send you forth to make new disciples. Announce the truth of what I have taught you by living it every day. When you feel the insecurities of the journey, recall my promise to you: “I am with you always.” My Spirit will provide the strength you need to continue.

As we carry out our mission each day, we are not to waste time trying to judge our success or failure. Jesus asks us to place our faith in him and give the best effort we can each day. St. Francis de Sales reminds us to begin each day anew, trying to be faithful today to letting Jesus live in us and love through us.

As we celebrate Jesus’ return to his Father, let us renew our faith in all that Jesus has taught us. With confidence, let us set about living today with grace and enthusiasm. Remember: Jesus is with us always!

May Jesus draw others to himself by the way we live.

7th Sunday of Easter (May 17, 2026)

We have just heard that Jesus is praying for us – the ones who believe that the Father has sent him. And when the apostles returned to Jerusalem after the Ascension, we hear that they are devoted to prayer with one accord. Spending time in prayer allows us to be present to our loving God and receive the strength we need for daily living.

As Peter reminded us, we will have a share in the sufferings of Christ as part of his Body, the Church. He encourages us to rejoice in this sharing, because we will rejoice exultantly when the glory of Jesus is finally revealed.

How can we do this? St. Francis de Sales suggests a daily prayer practice: begin each new action mindful of God’s presence and ask for his grace, so that all we do will be done in God’s name. Then no matter what we encounter, God will help carry us through it, even sufferings. With God’s help, we can keep a peaceful, gentle heart throughout the day.

Today’s Psalm Response provides us with an encouraging prayer: “I believe that I will see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.”

SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER (May 10, 2026)

We have just heard Jesus preparing his disciples for the time when he will no longer walk with them.

He promises: “I will not leave you orphans.” The Father will send them and us another Advocate (the Spirit) who will be with us always. When the Spirit comes to us, we will realize that we have a most intimate relationship with our God: Jesus is in the Father, and we are in Jesus and he is in us.

We are loved to the point of sharing in the life and love of God through Jesus’ death and resurrection and the gift of the Holy Spirit. Jesus is telling us such good news!

We heard Jesus ask us to learn from him that love and obedience are one. The person who loves Jesus is the person who observes the commandments given by the Father. Knowing that we are loved so greatly leads us to trust in the one who commands us to love.

Peter tells us: “Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts.” Let Jesus live in us and fill us with his love. Jesus is the foundation of our hope. Knowing who lives in us makes us ready to explain the reason for our hope with gentleness and reverence.

Sometimes we may be misunderstood and have to suffer for our trust in Jesus – suffer for doing good. When that happens, we must willingly join our suffering to that of Jesus who suffered for our sins so that he could lead us to our God.

As we continue to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection and look forward to celebrating the coming of the Holy Spirit, let us remember how closely we are united to Jesus. Let us renew our commitment to letting Jesus live more fully in us. Then let us gently and reverently share with others the reason for our hope.

FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER (May 3, 2026)

Today’s Scripture readings tell us much about the new life we have received in baptism. Peter tells us: we are chosen by our God to be a royal priesthood, to be God’s holy people.

We are living stones built on Jesus our cornerstone. As a community, we are to be a spiritual house in which we share in the priesthood of Jesus. With Jesus, we are to offer spiritual sacrifices to praise our God who has called us out of darkness into his wonderful light. We are carrying out one of our priestly duties here this morning as we offer our Father this memorial of Jesus’ death and rising.

We heard Jesus tell us: don’t be anxious about anything. We are to put our faith and trust in him; he is the way and the truth and the life. He is leading us home to his Father’s house where he has prepared a place to us.

The words of Scripture are the living word of God. God is telling us the truth about ourselves, as he created us and redeemed us in Jesus God’s word is also gracing us to live out that truth, as an expression of our thanks.

Today’s Scriptures also remind us that Jesus can be a stumbling block for us at times. The truth Jesus tells us will call us to move beyond our self-interest and concern and reach out in love to everyone who crosses the path of our life. It isn’t always easy to see the people we meet each day as opportunities to love as Jesus loves us. The difficult people we meet offer us a graced opportunity to welcome them into our spiritual house where they can experience God’s loving compassion and mercy through us.

We have been given wonderful gifts by our baptism. Our mission is to use our gifts to do the work of Jesus: to bring our Father’s love to every corner of our world.

Let us be renewed in this Eucharist today, for Jesus comes to fill us more deeply with his life and love. Then he will bless us and send us forth to carry out his mission this week.

FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER (April 26, 2026)

Today’s Gospel reading speaks of Jesus as the shepherd who calls his sheep by name and leads them out to pasture. He is also the gate of the sheepfold. All who enter through Him will “have life and have it more abundantly.” Our relationship with Jesus allows us a place of refuge, a place where we will always find nourishment and safety. Jesus has called us by name, so we are able then to recognize his voice.

What does that mean in terms of our daily living? Jesus is the Good Shepherd who knows us by name, and he wants us to know Him in the same way that he knows his Father, and his Father knows Him. He knows and loves us intimately, and he gives us the grace to know and love Him in the same way.

We learn to do this by taking the time each day to listen to His voice. He speaks to us in the Scriptures, in our worship, in our personal prayer, and in the people and events that are part of our daily lives. St. Francis de Sales calls this process learning to let Jesus live in us. As we let ourselves be led by the voice of Jesus, He lives in us more and more - and the new life that He shares with us becomes the source from which we live each day. The power that flows from His death and rising transforms our self-centeredness into out-reaching love for one another. More and more, we become the love of God incarnated in our world.

Because we hear Jesus’ voice, we are able to be more patient in our suffering. We are able to look at Jesus’ own experience of suffering and learn from Him how to accept our own. He left us an example. He trusted in his Father’s love for Him and knew that His Father was with Him no matter what he was doing. He listened for his Father’s voice and found refuge in His love.

In the sacrament of Baptism, Jesus called us by name and made us part of His flock. What a wonderful gift we have been given in our baptism! May we learn to take hold of that gift each day and nurture its growth through prayer and generous love. Let us take joy in the fact that Jesus is leading us to an abundance of life with Him - an abundance that will be complete in eternity.

THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER (April 19, 2026)

In today’s Gospel Luke gives us a feel for the disciples’ encounter with the risen Jesus. He also gives us the essentials for a Christian liturgy. Once the Scriptures have been opened and the bread has been broken and shared, the eyes of the disciples who have gathered are opened ever wider and once again Jesus is recognized among us. We are so moved in our faith by this encounter that we rush out to share the good news we have come to recognize more clearly as word and sacrament were celebrated.

Notice the disciples’ remark: “Were not our hearts burning inside us as he talked to us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?” Their words indicate an eagerness and an openness to listening to whatever Jesus was saying to them. That attitude of openness and eagerness to listening to Jesus’ words allowed their hearts to be touched by what they heard.

We have to bring that same attitude of openness and eagerness to listen to our celebration. We have to be attentive to the Scriptures readings for they are the living word of God, meant to teach us about our lives and how God is working in them.

We also have to come to each celebration of Eucharist with an active faith, believing that Jesus is present, offering himself to the Father for our sins and feeding us with his Body and Blood to strengthen us on our journey.

It’s very easy for all of us to come to Eucharist out of routine and forget that we encounter our God in the celebration. The more alive our faith is as we celebrate, the deeper the word of God can speak to us and the more fully we are nourished. We will be able to experience what the disciples on the road experienced - our hearts burning within us as Jesus speaks to us and nourishes us.

Perhaps, then, we will feel a greater urgency to share the good news we have experienced in faith-filled, Jesus-filled living.

SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER (April 12, 2026)

With the reading of Peter’s First Letter, we are invited to join the whole Church in offering praise to our heavenly Father for his great mercy, shown to us in the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Through God’s mercy, we draw new life from the resurrection of Jesus and partake already in eternal life. Through his mercy, we already possess an imperishable inheritance. We are also reminded of the cost of this new life - the death of Jesus on the Cross - a death we too must share in. This new life that we celebrate will pass repeatedly through the cycle of death to new life. Each new suffering that we experience can lead us to a new experience of Jesus’ resurrection.

We have been encouraged to appreciate the description of the early Jerusalem community as a model for our own experience as a faith community. We all know from our experience that these expectations are not easily achieved. Each of us individually and all of us together must learn to share all things in common - including suffering, patience, forgiveness, and love. All of these are the marks of the crucified Jesus that we must learn to bear in order to bring about the transformation needed to live as Jesus calls us to live.

The ability to do all this must rest on faith that Jesus lives within and among us and shares the power of his death and resurrection with us. The signs of Jesus’ scars are the human weaknesses we see among us. In those scars we can learn to acknowledge “My Lord and my God” as Thomas did.

The glory of resurrection is to be revealed through the weakness of human flesh. The hope held out to us by our faith reaches beyond reality and expects more than what is seen and what seems possible. This hope brings us through the daily deaths we need to experience to new glory and wonder at the power of the Lord Jesus to transform those who are willing to be transformed.

There is a cost to living as the Jerusalem community lived - the daily cost of dying to our self-interest and selfishness. But the cost is nothing compared to the joy and strength we can be for one another in a loving community of faith and hope. Our willingness to accept the daily death required to live our common life opens us to sharing in an ever-deeper way in the risen life of Jesus. May we praise the great mercy of our God by letting Jesus live in us more fully each day.

RESURRECTION OF THE LORD (April 5, 2026)

This is the day that the Lord has made! We have good reason to rejoice and be glad. Jesus has triumphed over sin and death; he is risen!

In his great love for us, Jesus has drawn us into himself by his death and resurrection, making us his “body”. We now share in his loving obedience to his Father on the Cross; we now share in his new life after the Resurrection.

St. Paul reminds us: if we really believe that Jesus is risen and we share his new life, we must make a sincere effort to set our hearts on heavenly things. We must try to be intent on things above rather than on things of earth.

This is a daily struggle for most of us. It’s just too easy to become intent on our own needs and wants, our own suffering and pain. These can easily distract us from the new life we share and seeking to do God’s will and not our own and trying to love others as Jesus has loved us.

St. Francis de Sales encourages to start afresh each day. Mindful of God’s loving presence with us and the new life within us, we can ask our God for the grace we need to do each action of our day in a manner that is pleasing to him – as Jesus did.

In a moment, we will share again in the saving mystery of Jesus’ death and rising. We will renew our baptismal promises as a community of faith.

Let us be mindful that we are called to give witness to our renewal by the way we live our daily lives. Our words and deeds must flow from the same source - the grace of our salvation – being one with Jesus.

May the words we say and the actions we do proclaim to everyone we meet that Jesus is risen. He is alive in us!

THE EASTER VIGIL (April 4, 2026)

Tonight, we join the whole Church in a most sacred celebration -- the wonderful opportunity to experience once again and celebrate the full sweep of God’s saving work among His people.

We began our celebration by accepting once again the light that Jesus brings to our lives as believers. In the Easter Proclamation, we sang of our Father’s great care for us - his boundless merciful love. We even rejoiced over Adam’s sin, which gained for us so great a redeemer.

Our Scripture readings offered us an opportunity to remember - we have been made in the image and likeness of our God and, like the chosen people of old, coming through the water has saved us. And the prophet Isaiah spoke to us of God’s mercy: “My love will never leave you.”

The Gospel has just announced the great mystery that brings us together tonight: Jesus, the One who was crucified for our sins, is risen. He is alive, among us drawing us into a deeper sharing in His new life.

St. Paul reminded us that God’s saving work continues in our midst. We have been incorporated into his plan of salvation by our baptismal washing which allows us to share in Jesus’ death and rising. As a result, we are slaves to sin no longer. We have been made new, alive for God in Christ Jesus.

In a moment, we will renew our baptismal promises together: a further sign of our re-dedication to letting Jesus live in us more fully each day.

Jesus chooses us to be messengers of God’s continuing mercy and love for his people. May our joyful celebration this evening renew us and give us strength for our mission.

THE PASSION OF OUR LORD (March 29, 2026)

We have just heard Matthew go to great pains to show us that every event, every happening, every person involved in the passion and death of Jesus fulfills a passage from the Hebrew Scriptures.

The betrayal and abandonment of Jesus by his special friends, the innocent Jesus becoming the victim of religious and political conniving, the darkness and the skies and the dramatic ripping of the Temple veil - all are seen in light of the sacred scriptures of the Jewish people.

The proclamation of the centurion who has witnessed all these events is the surprised recognition from all the clues: “Clearly this was the Son of God.”

With that recognition, Matthew turns our attention back to the fidelity of the women who have been following Jesus from Galilee. They alone remained to witness the fulfillment. All the others had scattered in fear.

We are among the faithful who attend Jesus and will follow him through His passion and death. St. Paul tells us what we must be doing as we journey. We are to learn to live with the attitude that Jesus had toward life and its varied events. Suffering and glory will be so intertwined as to be inseparable. Learning to accept whatever comes as coming from God’s hand and doing it in obedience to the will of the God who is my Father, being willing to put aside any position so as to better love God and my neighbor - all of this is having the attitude of Christ.

May we all be open to learning more about life from Jesus this week.

FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT (March 22, 2026)

St. Paul is very clear in today’s second reading. Because of our baptism, Jesus lives in us through the Holy Spirit. Because the Spirit dwells in us, even though our bodies are subject to death as a consequence of sin, our spirit lives. The same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead will raise our mortal bodies to life beyond death. This is the sure promise made to all of us who choose to live, animated by the Spirit.

Today’s Gospel calls us to a deeper faith and trust in Jesus who tells us: “I am the resurrection and the life: whoever believes in me, though he should die, will come to life.”

“Do you believe this?”

No one seemed to be prepared for Jesus’ next words and actions. “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” Then he shouts: “Lazarus, come out!” And Lazarus comes out, still bound in his linen shroud. Jesus has to tell them to “untie him and let him go free.”

What is your response, my response, as we listen to the events recounted for us? The glory of God revealed in Lazarus’ new life calls us to faith and trust. Physical death only ends our earthly life; there is life beyond the grave - eternal life, resurrection of our bodies! The Spirit who dwells in us will give us a share in Jesus’ glorious risen life.

But before that promise comes true, however, we have an earthly life to complete. Reality must break through the marvelous events we have witnessed.

We know that this miracle hastened the tragic events of Jesus’ arrest, suffering and eventual death on the cross. As we listen today, we are reminded that there are daily deaths to self and sin that we must endure in order to share in Jesus’ rising. People and events in our daily living will challenge our faith and trust in Jesus as resurrection and life. How we handle these daily deaths to self and sin is often a good indication of how we will handle our final, earthly death. Seeing them as our opportunities to share in Jesus’ suffering and death gives us the courage to accept them gracefully.

Let us resolve, then, to use these challenges to deepen our decision to follow Jesus more closely each day. Jesus has told us that our daily deaths to self and sin, and our eventual physical death, will bring us to our promised share in his glorious risen life. May the grace of God and our faithfulness bring us to the fullness of life Jesus has promised us.

Fourth Sunday of Lent (March 15, 2026)

We just heard another of those wonderful stories found in John’s Gospel. Each story is told to teach us something, to get us to look deeper into life. This is a story of light and sight - about not seeing the light, being afraid to see the light, seeing the light, and tragically refusing to see the light.

Jesus, the light of the world, gives sight to the man who has been blind from birth. The waters of the pool of Siloam wash away the muddy earth from his eyes, and he sees - an obvious reference to the waters of Baptism.

It’s hard to believe that the Pharisees could be so obstinate in their refusal to believe what the man reported to them. They are blinder than the man ever was Even the parents are afraid to believe their own son’s story, for fear of being put out of the synagogue.

The Gospel points out that Jesus wasn’t only interested in the man’s bodily sight. He came to give him “saving sight” - the fullness of faith in him as God’s Son and Savior of the world. The man’s belief in Jesus cost him his place in the synagogue.

The final scene of the story shows us the tragedy that is unfolding. Those who took great pride in their religious sight are not open to the light that Jesus brings. They are the truly blind.

Each of us from time to time shares in the various attitudes displayed in the Gospel story. Sometimes we are like the man born blind and Jesus must give us sight. Sometimes, like the Pharisees, we’re reluctant to see his workings in those around us. Like the man’s parents, we can be afraid to acknowledge the light of Christ because others may criticize us, or worse, reject us. The Gospel is encouraging us to live faithfully by the light that Jesus gives us.

The conclusion of the Gospel is a warning: there are no privileged people in the community of faith. Jesus is the source of the light by which we all see. If we choose to be our own light, we risk eternal blindness.

May each of us have the courage to examine our own way of seeing and again choose Jesus as our light.

Third Sunday of Lent (March 8, 2026)

Lent is a time for us to encounter Jesus in a very personal way so that we deepen our baptismal consecration and commitment. John tells us that he wrote about the encounter of Jesus with the Samaritan woman so that we “may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through this belief we may have life in his name.”

Notice that, during this encounter, Jesus is drawing the woman beyond earthly realities and concerns to the deeper realities of the eternal. Jesus offers her “living water.” He means water that gives life, but her attention is on earthly water. She asks him, rather sarcastically, if he thinks he’s better than Jacob who gave them this well. Jesus refuses to be side-tracked from his goal - to give her water that will permanently end her thirst. All she can see is the convenience of not having to come to the well every day.

Jesus moves her to a new level by getting her to face the truth of her present situation. But he doesn’t tell her to “come back when you’ve straightened out your life.” The grace he offers is meant to help her to change – here and now.

Rather than make a commitment now, she says that she’s waiting for the Messiah to come. Now, Jesus can offer her the opportunity for a personal commitment: “I am he.”

The purpose of the story is to remind us that even committed disciples need to be brought to deeper understanding and conversion.

How great is our thirst during this Lenten season? What is the “food” we are seeking? What is it that Jesus wants us to understand through our Lenten encounters with him? St. Paul reminds us that God has proven his love for us. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Our Lenten journey will be more fruitful if we are sincerely open when we encounter Jesus and are willing to be led by grace into a deeper conversion of mind and heart to the ways of the Lord. Then our hope will be based on the love of God poured out into our hearts.

Second Sunday of Lent (March 1, 2026)

Like Abraham in today’s first reading, we are on a journey. The circumstances of our lives are always changing. As we get older, we find that we can’t do things they way we used to, so we learn to do things differently.

Change isn’t always easy; so, if we’re smart, we learn to be flexible. This is true in our spiritual lives also. We must learn to be more sensitive to the many ways the Lord is working in us and through us.

Lent is a time for developing this deeper sensitivity to God’s presence and love. St. Paul reminds us that there are a few things that never change. They become the sure foundation for our Christian living:

• God has saved us in Jesus, who has robbed death of its power and has brought us life and immortality.

• Salvation is a grace - a gift of God. We have done nothing and can do nothing to merit it. The gift is ours because God loves us with great compassion.

• We are called to live a holy life, bearing our share of the hardship which living and sharing the gospel entails.

Like Peter, James and John, we have heard and believed the voice from the clouds: “Jesus is my beloved Son on whom my favor rests. Listen to him.” Listening to Jesus is a vital part of our living a holy life. Our willingness to take the time to listen to Jesus is the primary way that we grow in our sensitivity to God’s working in us. Our listening can take many forms:

·        Personal prayer

·        Meditating on the life and passion of Jesus

·        Spiritual reading

·        Attentiveness to the needs of the people around us.

Lent is a graced time for moments of listening. What we will hear will point out the direction our journey with the Lord will take. None of us will probably hear a voice from the clouds, as the disciples did. God will speak to us in less obvious ways, but he will speak. He speaks in every event of our lives, in every person who crosses our path. As we grow in greater sensitivity to his presence in everything and everyone around us, we will more easily understand what he is telling us about ourselves and what he wants us to say and do each day. Our daily journey becomes an ever-growing dialogue with our God who loves us and calls us to be one with him.

These days of Lent are graced. Let’s be sure we take the time to accept the graces God has prepared for us and grow in our baptismal commitment.

FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT (February 22, 2026)

St. Matthew's Gospel provides details of the nature of the test that Jesus experienced in the desert: to be a different kind of Messiah, to find a quicker or more spectacular way to win people over, to employ a one-shot way of doing God's Will that would make everybody happy.

In other words, Jesus was tempted to be someone other than who God called him to be.

This test in the desert was simply the beginning.  The temptation dogged Jesus every day of his ministry.  The voices came in all different shapes and sizes - expelled demons, Pharisees, Sadducees, family, friends, even some of his closest disciples.  Screaming, whispering or shrieking, the voices of temptation tried to dissuade Jesus from being himself, to lose his focus, to abandon his mission, to turn away from his role in God's plan of salvation.  Even as the life drained out of his body on Golgotha, Jesus still heard the voices of temptation taunting, “You saved others, save yourself.  Come down from that cross.”

All of us are tempted to be someone other than who God calls us to be.  Voices around us, voices within us attempt to convince us that we would be happier, healthier, more successful, powerful and persuasive if we were someone - anyone - other than who we are.

We are most like Jesus when we strive to be faithful to God's plan for us.  We are most like Jesus when we are faithful to our unique role in God's plan of salvation for others.  We are most like Jesus when we refuse the temptation to settle for less, to sell ourselves short, to look for a short cut. We flirt with the easier, the more convenient, or the more popular way of trying to do what is right, of trying to do what is good, of trying to do what is just.

St. Francis de Sales' advice is on point: "Don't sow your desires in some else's garden; cultivate your own as best you can.  Don't try to be someone other than who you are; rather, desire to be thoroughly who you are."

With God’s help, and the encouragement of others, let us be who we are…and be that well. In the midst of the challenges of life, let us be true to ourselves…and give glory and praise to the God who made us.

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (February 15, 2026)

Today’s Scripture readings elaborate on the wonderful reminder that we have heard from the book of Sirach: God has created us out of love, and the surest sign of his love is the blessing of free will. Sirach encourages us to exercise our freedom to choose wisely.

St. Paul reminds us that God has revealed his wisdom to us through his Spirit who dwells in us. The gift of faith gives us a broader view of life than mere human wisdom can give. Allowing the Spirit to lead us will enable us to see beyond our own selfish needs and desires and choose to act in ways that manifest God’s goodness and love.

In the Gospel, Jesus speaks about one way to do this. He encourages us to look beyond the mere letter of the law and strive to act in ways that move us toward the ideal living of the kingdom of God. Minimal obedience is far beneath the dignity of anyone who genuinely loves God and neighbor.

Jesus’ words in the gospel are not to be taken too literally. He is using the customary Middle Eastern love of exaggeration to make his point. What he is saying is that reaching the ideal implies avoiding whatever will compromise the ideal.

For example, the letter of the law says: “You shall not commit murder.” Living by the spirit of the law will mean: Do nothing which can injury another person (anger, abuse, hatred). And if you have injured anyone, go and seek reconciliation immediately. Then the two of you can worship God in mutual love and respect.

Jesus is encouraging us to listen to the wisdom of God present in us in the Spirit and use our freedom to choose wisely as we go about our daily living.

In this way, we respond to the love that God has shown us in the gifts he has given us. Our choice to use our gifts wisely becomes an act of love. And in choosing to love, we are building up the kingdom.

May we learn to be faithful in following the lead of his grace.

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (February 8, 2026)

St. Paul reminds us that our faith rests on the Cross of Christ and the convincing power of the Spirit, not on the wise argumentation of the world that so often leads to conflict and division. The crucified Jesus is the powerful manifestation of God’s love that unifies.

In the Gospel, Jesus calls us to be what we are because of the power of the Spirit. You and I are “the salt of the earth.” We flavor the world with the presence of God’s loving concern. Jesus encourages us to look at the flavoring we are at present. If we are not flavoring the world around us with the presence of God’s loving concern by the way we live each day, then we must be careful. Then we are good for nothing except to be thrown out and trampled.

You and I are “the light of the world.” We are a “city set on a hill,” “a lamp set on a stand to give light to all in the house.” Everyone sees us. Are we light in the darkness? The power of the Spirit working in us and through us is meant to touch others’ lives with God’s loving concern and mercy.

The theme of “light” appears again and again during this time before Lent. As Jesus manifested the light of God’s great concern for the poor of this world, you and I are to be continuing manifestations of that care and concern.

When we are aware of God’s presence in our own lives, then we are capable of illuminating the lives of others. When we do this is a way that makes it clear that we are reflecting the “true” light, then those around us will recognize the “light” we manifest and give thanks to the Father for it.

Francis de Sales must have had this in mind when he wrote: “Let us be what we are, and let us be it well, to do honor to the Master whose work we are.”

May today’s Word be good news once again and may we rededicate ourselves to being flavorful “salt” and transparent “light” for our little corners of the world.

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time (February 1, 2026)

We have just heard very familiar words from the mouth of Jesus.

We know that his words are instructive, they are also filled with joyful encouragement. Our God rewards those who struggle to be poor in spirit and humble, those who hunger and thirst to be holy, those who show mercy and work for peace, and especially those who suffer for their efforts to be holy.

When we try to follow the lead of grace and be like Jesus, we are blessed and have reason to be glad. We are promised the reward of heaven.

Paul’s words to the Corinthians remind us of the great paradox of our existence. The lowly of the world are called by God to be his friends, brothers and sisters of His Son - not the wise and influential whom people of the world seek. Only the weak, the low-born, those who count for nothing are able to recognize the deeper realities of creation and give thanks for the wonderful mercy and love of God. They are overjoyed to let God be God. They are open to all that grace can do in their lives. They can take refuge in the Lord.

The prophet Zephaniah encourages us to continue to seek the Lord, observe his law, and seek justice and humility. When we live in this manner, then we are part of the faithful remnant whom God leaves in the midst of the world as a leaven.

As followers of de Sales, we have often heard the words of the Beatitudes. They are the foundation for “Live, Jesus!” May we find joy in hearing them again, and may they urge us on in our efforts to be humble and gentle as Jesus was.