St. Thomas the Apostle Parish

There is a story of a young couple who received a mirror as a wedding gift. The mirror frame was an odd aqua color, and they couldn’t find a spot in their home where it would look good. They moved a couple of times and brought the mirror with them, but they never could find a place where that aqua color fit in.

 

A few years passed, and as they prepared to move again, they decided to hold a tag sale to get rid of all their unwanted belongings. Among the items was the mirror with its aqua-colored frame, which never once hung on their wall. They put a $1.00 price tag on the mirror and put it in the yard with all their other unwanted possessions.

 

During the tag sale, a man was looking at the mirror when he called his wife over. He said to her, “Look at this beautiful mirror. The frame is gorgeous and still has the plastic on it.” The couple selling the mirror looked on in horror as the man peeled away the ugly blue plastic from the frame, which revealed a beautifully carved golden frame surrounding the mirror.

 

In our own lives, there is a great deal of beauty and joy that we may never recognize or appreciate. Too often, these gifts are hidden beneath layers of discouragement, disappointment, and resignation. We become so accustomed to seeing only what is on the surface—our struggles, our failures, and the burdens we carry—that we overlook the deeper goodness and potential within ourselves and others.

 

In baptism, we have been called to participate in the work of resurrection—that is, to help remove the "plastic" that covers the inherent goodness and unique gifts in so many people. We are invited to reach out to those around us who, like Lazarus, may be bound by grief, isolation, or pain and need our compassion, support, and healing presence. It is our call to help lift up those who feel lost, forgotten, or overwhelmed by despair, offering them hope and the opportunity to experience new life.

 

This is the kind of resurrection we can bring to our world today, even as we await the ultimate fulfillment of the Easter promise. By embracing this calling in our everyday lives, we help create a community where hope and transformation are possible for everyone.

 

Many people think they want to know the truth. But when Jesus proclaimed the Gospel, it was more than people expected. The kingdom of God that Jesus talked about was based on justice and making peace with others, which could be scary. It challenged the safe lives people created for themselves and their selfish way of thinking.

 

For people who really understood Jesus, His teachings were not always comforting or happy. Some people saw Him as a troublemaker or radical who did not understand how complicated life is.

 

The message of Jesus is not always comfortable, especially for people who already feel comfortable. It is not a message of peace for people who fight with themselves or with others. It is not a message of love for people who only care about themselves.

 

Jesus taught us to love our enemies, to pray for them, to welcome poor people into our homes, to forgive again and again, to be humble, and to follow him even when it is hard. These difficult teachings make us question our comfortable lives and the things the world thinks are important.

 

Let us seek to be brave and humble. Let us look within ourselves, seeking to understand Jesus' message, and ask Him for the help and support we need to truly follow Him.

In today's Gospel, we are reminded that we often become so focused on searching for God in places where we expect or hope to find Him that we fail to recognize His presence right in our midst. We may believe that God reveals Himself only at certain times, under certain circumstances, or through certain religious practices.

 

However, the truth is that God is with us at all times, even in the ordinary aspects of our lives. He is present in the kindness and love we show to others and in the kindness and love we receive. He is also present in the everyday events we experience and in the many blessings that sustain our lives.

Let us pray for the awareness to recognize God's presence in every moment, situation, and action of our lives so that our lives may reflect that presence more fully.

Today's Gospel highlights that while St. Joseph deeply loved and protected his young Son, he sometimes struggled to fully understand Him. After anxiously searching for Jesus with Mary for several days, they finally found Him in the Temple. There, Jesus calmly explained to His parents that He must be in His Father's house, emphasizing that His mission was guided by a greater purpose.

 

In that moment, while the reading says that Jesus’ parents didn’t understand, St. Joseph must have had some inkling that his Son had a deeper connection with another "Father." He would have to come to understand that he needed to step back and allow his Son to pursue the calling and destiny that God had set for Him, even if it went beyond what he had hoped or imagined for Jesus.

 

This experience was both humbling and enlightening for Joseph. As a result, St. Joseph stands as an inspiration and a guiding force for all parents who face the difficult but necessary task of learning to "let go" while supporting their children as they follow their own paths in life.

In today's Gospel passage, Jesus emphasizes that His purpose is not to follow His own will, but rather the will of the One who sent Him—His Father. Jesus' entire life was guided by the Father's will, which is for all people to find life through faith in Him. Chapter 3 of John's Gospel states, "God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him." God wants life for everyone, so Jesus proclaims, "I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly."

 

This same view of God is reflected in today's first reading from the prophet Isaiah. Just as a mother cherishes the child in her womb and nurtures that life, God also cherishes us and works to bring us to the fullness of life.

 

God guides us to springs of living water. When we pray in the Lord's Prayer, "Thy will be done," we ask for a culture of life to prevail over a culture of death. We also commit ourselves to doing God's will by protecting life, nurturing it in others, and helping everyone live fully human lives shaped by the Holy Spirit and leading to eternal life in heaven.

Today we celebrate the Memorial of St. Patrick, who, as a teenager, was taken far from home as a slave and made to herd animals on a cold mountain in Antrim, Ireland. Even though his father was a deacon and his grandfather a priest, St. Patrick hadn’t cared much about religion growing up in a comfortable home in Roman Britain. But after Irish slave traders turned his life upside down, he experienced a deeper meaning in his heart. Something about Ireland’s land and scenery awakened a spiritual side in him. Nature became a sign of God’s presence. Whether it was the mountains, the beautiful coastline, or the changing seasons, St. Patrick came to treasure the land’s beauty and realized God was close.

 

One day, after his escape from Ireland at the age of 22, Patrick felt called—like the Apostles—to follow Jesus and share his faith with others. He became a “fisher of people” among the Irish. In his writing, Confessions, St. Patrick says he did this very successfully, even though he saw himself as a sinner and not well educated, like a stone stuck in the mud. But God raised him up and gave him an important role.  St. For Patrick, that meant going back to Ireland, where he’d once been a slave, to bring its people the freedom of God’s children.

 

Patrick’s Confessions show how much he admired St. Paul. Like St.Paul, St. Patrick cared deeply for the people he served. He refused to accept gifts from his converts, just as Paul didn’t want to profit from preaching. Patrick loved the Irish so much that he promised to stay with them for life. He followed Paul’s example of self-giving.

 

We are called to this same self-giving, as we, like St. Paul, St. Patrick, and so many others, answer the call to share God’s love with all those we meet.

In our Gospel passage, we encounter a royal official desperately seeking help for his gravely ill son. Despite the many people who had already turned to Jesus for healing in the towns He visited, this official’s plea stands out for its urgency. When he first approached Jesus, it seemed as though Jesus would deny his request. Yet the official did not give up. With heartfelt persistence, he pleaded, "Sir, come down before my child dies." Rather than accompanying the man to his home, Jesus responded in a way that challenged the official’s faith, declaring, "Your son will live." Trusting in Jesus’ words alone, the official set out on his journey home. As he traveled, he received the joyful news that his son had recovered, and he discovered that Jesus’ promise had been fulfilled.

 

Similarly, when we turn to the Lord in prayer, we may sometimes feel ignored or disappointed when our requests are not answered as we would like. It can be difficult to keep praying when we do not see immediate results. However, the example of the official encourages us to persevere with faith and to trust in God’s promises, even when the outcome is uncertain. We are reminded to hold the Lord’s words in our hearts, just as the official believed Jesus when He said, "Your son will live." In time, we may come to realize that the Lord does answer our prayers, though His response may be different from what we anticipated.

Among the many lessons in today's Gospel passage, one stands out: Some may find it strange that Jesus used saliva and earth to make clay, placed it on the man's eyelids with His own fingers, and told him to go wash in the pool of Siloam. He could have simply snapped his fingers, but He chose a more tangible, personal approach.

 

In ancient times, saliva was believed to have life-giving, healing properties. More importantly, through this method, the blind man experienced Jesus Christ's personal touch, heard His voice, and actively participated in God's saving action. Christ communicated God's grace in a way adapted to human nature, engaging both body and spirit. He always works not from a distance, but up close and personal. Christ's touch inspired hope and confidence, making the miracle a personal encounter rather than a mere magic trick.

 

The Church continues to administer God's grace through the Sacraments. The priest's words of absolution at the end of confession offer real closure to our longing for forgiveness. The water of Baptism, the Bread and Wine of the Eucharist, and the chrism of Confirmation are tangible elements that express God's desire to reach out and touch us. As we are not purely spiritual beings, it is fitting that we encounter God through physical realities. Christ saves human nature by redeeming it, not by destroying it.

 

Many people become frustrated with God, wishing He would solve the world's problems instantly. Some cite widespread injustice as evidence against God's existence, arguing that if He were real, He would not allow so much suffering.

 

But this is a superficial argument. Faced with injustice, God has two options: He could obliterate the world and start over, which would mean destroying every person who has sinned—even those guilty of the smallest selfish thought or action.

 

Instead, God chooses a second option: He offers us salvation. He redeems us by inviting us to cooperate in saving the world. This takes longer, but it gives us sinners a second chance. God is always at work, most often through ordinary people and events, never violating our freedom.

 

Whittaker Chambers, the great American writer who exposed so many communist spies during the Cold War, had himself been a committed communist and atheist.

 

In his famous autobiography, Witness, he described how his atheism began to crumble. One morning as he watched his young daughter at breakfast, his gaze fell upon her ears. He marveled at their intricate perfection and suddenly realized they must be the product of immense, intelligent design. Though the thought was involuntary and unwelcome, it led him to believe in God. There were no supernatural fireworks, no spectacular miracles—just God's quiet way of reaching us through our human nature.

 

The Church requires us to go to confession at least once a year if we have a mortal sin on our conscience, but recommends going much more frequently.

 

Today, we've been reminded of one reason behind this command and recommendation. Christ doesn't want us to experience His forgiveness vaguely or from afar. He knows we need more. The fullness of joy that comes from friendship with Him requires a real, tangible experience of confession and forgiveness. That's why confession is sometimes called the “sacrament of regained joy.”

 

Lent is a season of penance and repentance, but Christian penance does not end in sadness—it leads to deeper communion with God. Jesus suffered on the Cross, taking upon Himself the punishment due to our sins, so that we could find in Him a new beginning, ready help, and unconditional forgiveness. Today, He renews His commitment to us through this Mass and Holy Communion.

 

When He does, let us give Him the joy of being our Good Shepherd. Allow Him to heal and renew our souls through real, sacramental contact with our human nature by committing to making use of the great Sacrament of Reconciliation.

In our Gospel reading, Jesus tells a parable about a Pharisee who takes pride in his religious lifestyle. He brags about his fasting and tithing while looking down on the humble tax collector. However, no matter how well we live, we cannot claim any special favor from God.

 

Most of us struggle with feelings of excessive self-worth and pride from time to time. Jesus warns us to be careful of pride, even when we accomplish something important. Earlier in Luke’s Gospel, He said, “When you have done all you have been commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.’”

 

The good news is that we don’t need to earn God’s favor through our achievements. God has already blessed us by giving us His Son. In response, we serve God by humbly following His will. Our service to the Lord pales in comparison to His faithful service to us.

 

Most of the time, the Scribes are shown as being at odds with Jesus. But in this story, they actually get along. Jesus even says to one of them, "You're not far from the kingdom of God." They both agree that the two greatest commandments are to love God and to love your neighbor. The strongest kind of love is meant for God.

 

The two commandments differ in the intensity of love required. We must love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Only God deserves our absolute love. To love God in this manner means to be enveloped in God's love for humanity, which naturally leads us to the second commandment: loving our neighbor. This love for our neighbor directly reflects God's pure and total love for us.