In this week’s Gospel, Jesus poses a simple question to the church elders. Someone in authority asks two people to do something. One says no, but has a change of heart and does it. The other says they will do it, but never does. Who is in the right?

Those listening eagerly respond, “The man who ended up doing as he was asked!” It is the right answer, but it riles up righteous anger in Jesus. Why?

They didn’t even realize the one who they so quickly realized was in the wrong represented them! They had heard John the Baptist and had rejected him.

One the flip side, many prostitutes and corrupt tax collectors had been leading depraved lives, but were open to Christ’s message and changed their ways.

Dear Family of God,

What is freedom?

Freedom is doing what is good. Love is willing the good of the other. Willing or doing evil is deprivation of freedom, in other words, when we choose to sin, we are not acting freely, we are slaves to sin.

This weekend’s reading warns us that it is our final decision for or against God, that is, our choosing to obey Him by doing His will, or our choosing to go against His will, which will decide our eternal reward, or eternal punishment. As free beings, it is we who choose our eternal destiny.

As we do not know the moment death will strike, our only guarantee of dying in God's friendship is to live in that friendship always, saying “Yes” to God in our deeds. We should become men and women who profess our Faith in word and deed, remembering that, "Not all those who say to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but only those who do the will of my Father who is in Heaven" (Matthew 7:21).

Dear Family of God,

God does not deal with us “fairly” and it is a good thing! We should be thankful God does not give us what we deserve. The parable this weekend tells us that our Heavenly reward is not something we earn, but rather a free gift. God has made His rewards available to all through Faith in Christ Jesus. Indeed, as Isaiah says: “As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways above your ways and my thoughts above your thoughts” (Is. 55:9). Heaven is a gift to us by God, it is all about graces that He is willing to give to those who are willing to receive them. Grace is an "undeserved love" that God has shown us through the death and Resurrection of His only Son Jesus Christ.

During my eighteen years as a youth minister, I spent my fair share of time in various amusement parks. At some point during those years, the concept of the fast pass was introduced. (For an added price, you get to skip to the front of the lines.)

Initially, I absolutely hated the concept. I don’t like lines anyway. Now, you are telling me people get to walk right by me because the insane cost of my ticket isn’t enough?

Then, a friend bought me a fast pass. I never had to wait more than ten minutes to get on a ride. I’m not ashamed to admit...it was a beautiful day.

Dear Family of God,

Do you know that the “Lord’s Prayer” is a dangerous prayer?

What I refer to when I say dangerous, is the phrase “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” We take a risk if we do not forgive others. It is as if we are asking God not to forgive us. If we want to be forgiven, we must first forgive those who have wronged us.

The Book of Sirach says: “Forgive your neighbor’s injustice; then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven” (Sir. 28:2). When we forgive from the heart then God heals us from past hurts and we are at peace with God, with others, and with ourselves. On the other hand, unforgiveness is selfdestructive, it hinders our growth and robs us of peace.

Praise God! The Covid numbers in Arizona continue to plummet! The Lord is healing our land and our state is slowly awaking from its slumber. Movie theaters have opened with distancing measures, parks are opening in most cities, and my commute is taking longer every week.

In the midst of this, it is important to know your Faith Formation Department is already up and running—and ready to serve you online AND in-person.

Want to join the Catholic Church or complete your sacraments of initiation? Contact David at dlins@oloj.org

Want a Saturday morning online Bible Study? Reach out to Kathy at chatkath68@me.com

Want an in-depth explanation of the context and meaning of the coming Sunday’s readings (both online and in-person) every Monday morning? Contact David at dlins@oloj.org

This weekend’s readings focus in on human connection. They show us—clearly—that the vast majority of God’s children are called to the added drama and effort of relationships.

I understand in times such as these, must of us are tempted to keep our heads down and keep our thoughts restricted to those who know us best. God truly knows, any opinion on Covid, masks, vacines, whether or not children should go back to school, Trump, Biden...even Mass attendance...can elevate heart rates and endanger friendships.

But this weekend’s readings make it crystal clear: love is willing to have difficult conversation, to endure drama, and to put forth effort. We must challenge one another with love (Mt 18:15-20). We must be open to hearing God’s voice through others without hardening our hearts (Ps 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9).

Dear Family of God,

What is fraternal correction?

Why it is important?

St. Paul said, “Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.” Charity is the fulfilment of the law and our being. God who is love made us for love also, only when we love that we will attain true joy in life. Correcting an erring brother or sister especially when they are young, is a form of love. We care enough for them that we don’t want them to persist in error that will be self-destructive or will lead them to prison.

Dear Family of God,

Who is a Christian?

Christians are followers of Christ, they are called to live their lives in a different way from others around them. Christian discipleship demands honesty, the willingness to suffer (“take up your cross”), generosity (“to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice to God”), and readiness to follow Jesus by obeying his commandment of love. To follow our Lord is to imitate his life in the way He fulfills the Father’s plan, that is, through suffering. His example is left for us to follow, not just listening to it or admiring his great deeds, no, he wants us to do the same.

This weekend, we hear a lot about carrying our cross. How often do we reduce this phrase to its lowest possible meaning?

“I can’t go out in the sun without burning. It’s just my cross.”

“I’m lactose intolerant. Is my cross to bear.”

“I hate masks, but if Father Jess wants me to, I’ll carry my cross.”

Listen. When Jesus said this, the disciples weren’t thinking about bad skin, bad gas, or bad breath. They were thinking about one of the most gruesome forms of capital punishment used at the time and they had to truly love Jesus on an astonishing level to be willing to “carry their cross.” And so do we.

Dear Family of God,

How do we know the truth? It is either by Human Reason or Divine Revelation (Faith) or both, by reason and faith.

How are we certain it is the truth? When it corresponds to reality. We are not acting in truth if we use a knife as screw driver. Both the knife and the screw will be ruined.

Jesus asked: “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” This experience of trying to identify Jesus by human reason alone can be wrong. These people are living with Jesus, but they missed knowing who He is. This teaching is clearly telling us that we need a guide to know who really Jesus is.

When I was about 20 years old, I had one of the sweetest gigs on the planet. I house sat for several families. When they would leave Arizona for any reason, they’d hand me the keys and I’d essentially move in until they returned. Other times, they’d just ask me to stop in regularly, check the mail, and make sure there weren’t issues. Either way, I loved it without fail (except that time I had to hand-feed a Pit his meds...NEVER again…).

But the first time an owner handed me their house keys, I was overwhelmed with the responsibility and blown away by their trust.

In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus gives Peter the keys to the kingdom. This doesn’t mean heaven is a gated community and Peter is the eternal security guard. (See how I’m relating to the local area!?)

Dear Friends,

I’ve lived and/or worked in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, the Diocese of Tucson, the Diocese of Stockton, the Diocese of Orange (CA), and the Diocese of Phoenix. And in that time, I’ve worked with Bishops who I loved and Bishops who I...worked with.

I’ve worked for a total of seven parishes (six on a fulltime basis). In that time, I’ve worked with many priests. Some of them have been the most humble and holy men I’ve ever known behind the scenes. (I won’t give it away, but you are blessed to be at this parish.) Some of them...had struggles.

I’ve met thousands of Catholic families. In that time, some of them were kind, generous, and faithful. Others—to be blunt—were cruel, judgmental, and selfish.

Dear Family of God,

I often remember a poem that I would like to share with you. It was written by Elizabeth Cheney and is called, “The Robin and the Sparrow."

Said the robin to the sparrow, “I should really like to know, Why these anxious human beings rush about and worry so.” Said the sparrow to the robin, “Friend I think that it must be, That they have no Heavenly Father, Such as cares for you and me.”

In this time of many storms or crisis, we need to pause and remember that that we have a loving Father who wants what is best for us.

We need to renew our trust in Him alone for we know that this world is passing away, one thing necessary is our meaningful relationship with Jesus, who will give us peace, and will lead us to eternal salvation.

Hi Friends!

In this week’s Gospel, Jesus shows up walking on water. This happens in the middle of the Sea of Galilee, miles from shore, where the depth is about 43 meters. (So he isn’t walking on a sand bar or a big rock.) They freak out and think they are seeing a spirit.

When you look at the Greek, Jesus says, “Take heart, I am.” This is Jesus identifying himself, but also assuming the divine name of the Creator in the Old Testament and applying it to himself.

How do we know that this is an incident where Jesus reveals himself as God (and the fancy term for this is “theophany”)?

One of the things we have had to deal with during this pandemic and the civil unrest in our country is the need to discern what is true and what is false in the conversations that have been going on. We are being bombarded with very strong public opinions about these crises.

We know through common sense that not all public opinion is good and not all is bad either. But we must be aware that most of the times, the motive behind most public opinion is convenience. Because of our flawed human condition, our natural typical response to crisis and the search for truth is to go for the most convenient and most acceptable choice(s). But often times choices made out of convenience and general acceptability do not always solve the problem.

“When peace like a river, attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say It is well, with my soul.”

These lyrics are from the hymn “It Is Well With My Soul” and were penned by Horatio Spafford.

He was a family man, a successful lawyer, and a senior partner in a large Chicago firm. In 1871, he invested the majority of his money in real estate.

Shortly thereafter, his young son died of scarlet fever.

In October of that year, the Great Fire of Chicago destroyed almost all of his investment.

Dear Family of God,

In the bible, we hear about a man took a little food and multiplied it in order to feed many.

This happened in 2 Kings 4 and his name was Elisha. That’s right. Elisha.

He was known as one of the chief miracle workers of the Old Testament. He was rightfully held in tremendous esteem by all Jewish people.

He took twenty loaves and through the power of God, he feeds 100 people. Talk about miraculous!

Then, Jesus comes along and in the only miracle that is recorded in all four Gospels (including the Gospel to be read this Sunday), he takes a fourth as many loaves and feeds fifty times more men. (Additionally, he feeds all the women and children present, so the total number could’ve easily doubled that.) And he doesn’t do it through someone else’s power. He IS God. It is HIS power.