St. Thomas the Apostle Parish

Traditionally, the human heart is seen as a symbol of love. However, in today's Gospel reading, Jesus offers a different perspective on the human heart, emphasizing it as the source of evil intentions that can harm and destroy others.

 

The heart represents a person's inner core, encompassing both light and darkness. It can be a reservoir for goodness or become a channel for evil. One powerful image in our faith is the Sacred Heart of Jesus—a figure that was prominent in my home while I was growing up and still holds significance today. This image represents God's inner core, which embodies completely selfless love. This love was fully revealed in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, showing a love that is deeply creative and life-giving.

 

We are called to cultivate hearts that, in some way, reflect the Sacred Heart of Jesus—to have inner cores that share in God's essence. This profound vision of our central calling is beautifully captured in the simple yet powerful prayer many of us learned in our youth: "Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, and kindle in them the fire of your love."

Jesus challenged His critics for putting human rules above God's commandments. He recognized that the religious traditions of His time often failed to align with God's will, as revealed in the Scriptures and, even more clearly, through His own teachings.

 

The Church must remain vigilant to make sure its traditions reflect God's Word, especially as expressed by Jesus. From time to time, the Church needs to renew itself, guided by the Holy Spirit, to purify its traditions so they match the true spirit of the Gospel. The Second Vatican Council is a major example of this kind of renewal.

 

Similarly, in our personal lives, we can slip into traditions that do not reflect the heart of God's message in Scripture. Whether in our religious practices or in everyday life, our personal traditions need to be reformed in light of the Gospel. We should always try to hear the Word of the Lord with fresh ears and ask the Holy Spirit for guidance.

 

Our Gospel today emphasizes Jesus' incredible popularity among the people of Galilee. He especially attracted the sick and broken because God's healing power was clearly at work through Him. People were hurrying to bring their sick to Him. People begged Him to let them touch even the tassel on His cloak.

 

We often seek out the Lord with the greatest sense of urgency in our brokenness and weakness. Something happens to us that makes us see our vulnerability, weakness, and inability to manage things on our own.

 

When we face our frailties, those experiences reinforce our recognition of our need for and dependence on the Lord. Often, life’s darker and more painful experiences open us up to the Lord.

 

When St. Paul struggled with his "thorn in the flesh," he heard the Risen Lord say, "My power is made perfect in weakness." Our recognition of our weaknesses can be the opening through which we reach out to and encounter God.

Today’s readings remind us that each one of us has some gift or talent that has been given to us by God who has called us to use these gifts and talents to share with others so that we might be instruments of God’s love and compassion in our world.

The difficulty we often have is our inability to appreciate the gifts that each of us has to offer. Perhaps we think that we’re not good enough to actually be messengers of God’s glory. Perhaps we lack the self-esteem and self-confidence to believe that God would actually want to use us as instruments of peace and love in the world.

Several years ago, in my discernment about the priesthood, I kept procrastinating because I felt that I had to somehow be perfect or exceedingly holy to be a priest. But then I recognized that priests are people just like anyone else; that they, like me, are interested in things other than incense and vestments, that they have their faults and foibles. I recognized that priests didn’t have some special “connection” to God above and beyond the rest of the members of the Church. It was then that I was able to surrender myself to this tugging at my heart and say “yes” to God’s call.

Another difficulty is that we sometimes find it inconvenient to use our gifts. That using our gifts and talents is sometimes a painful thing to do is a very legitimate statement. But that is what sacrifice, more often than not, entails. When we make a choice to do something, we often make the choice not to do something else that we may very well have wanted to do.

Another personal story, again, several years ago, I was on my way to a store. On my way there I drove by a neighbor’s house whose father had recently died. My neighbor was sitting on the steps. My immediate feeling was that I should stop and talk to him, but I hesitated because I only had a short time to get to the store and get back. I kept driving by something inside me caused me to stop and go back to talk to him. When we started talking about his father he began to cry. We talked for about an hour. I never did get to the store, but I knew I had done the right thing by stopping. My neighbor needed to release his grief and sorrow and God put me in the right place to help him to do that. While I had no idea that stopping to talk would help my neighbor, farthest from my mind was the idea that I would benefit so much from his pouring forth of emotion. Indeed, sacrifice is often more life-giving than we can ever fully appreciate.

And so, we come back to the call of today’s readings, the call to recognize our gifts and talents, the call to share those gifts, the call to see that God can work through our imperfections and failings if we open our hearts to His grace.

In discerning our gifts and talents, we must remember that not everyone has the same ones. Some of us are called to roles of leadership, some of us are called to roles of teaching, and some of us are called to roles that play themselves out quietly. But all of us are called to bestow God’s blessings on others by the use of our gifts, to see that our practice of faith means more than showing up for Mass on Sundays and Holy Days; that it means being an active part of the Church, the Body of Christ on earth. What we do in the building should be reflected in all our actions so that the Gospel message of Christ might be heard and seen by all who know us.

“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. People do not light a lamp and put it under a bushel basket. They set it on a stand where it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, your light must shine before all people so that they may see goodness in your acts and give praise to your heavenly Father.”

Flexibility is a valuable gift because things don’t always go as planned. In the morning, we may intend to complete specific tasks by the end of the day, yet sometimes they remain unfinished. On a broader scale, we might envision particular goals for our lives that don’t come to fruition for various reasons. Such experiences can lead to feelings of despair. However, we can choose to respond differently and move beyond disappointment or frustration.

Jesus faced similar situations regarding His plans and those of His followers. As we heard in today’s Gospel, He intended to take them to a deserted place for quiet prayer and reflection because they had been so busy that they barely had time to eat or pray. However, when they arrived at that secluded spot, they found it crowded with people who had gotten there before them.

Jesus’ response to the disruption of His plans was not anger or resentment. Instead, “His heart was moved with pity for them... and He began to teach them many things.” His plans needed to change because a situation arose that aligned with God’s larger purpose.

Whenever our plans veer off course, we should remain open to the possibility that something better might take their place. Being flexible allows us to recognize greater opportunities beyond our own desires. Ultimately, God’s plan always takes precedence over our personal plans. When we must set aside our own goals and dreams, we should pray that the Lord’s life-giving purpose for our lives prevails.

The Gospel describes John the Baptist as a "righteous and holy man." He courageously spoke the truth about God and His ways, even when it was unpopular or dangerous to do so. John didn’t waver in his commitment to God, even when it cost him his freedom and ultimately his life.

In a similar way, Jesus was crucified for the same reason: He also proclaimed the truth and purpose of God's teachings, challenging the status quo and inviting people to live according to God's will, no matter the consequences.

We are all called to share God's ways, as revealed by Jesus, not only in our words but also in our actions and choices. This often requires courage, as John the Baptist and Jesus showed. Standing up for what is right, defending the vulnerable, and living out our faith can sometimes put us at odds with the world around us.

Courage is one of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, enabling us to persevere even when we feel afraid or uncertain. Today, maybe more than ever, we need courageous faith and the strength of the Holy Spirit to stand up for the values and messages of the Gospel, as John the Baptist and Jesus did.

It's important to remember that courageous faith is not the same as arrogant faith; it's not condescending or self-righteous. True courage in faith is humble and compassionate, rooted in love for God and others. It's a solid, lasting faith that stays strong in tough times because its roots run deep. Even when we face challenges, criticism, or rejection, our faith can be a source of hope and strength, helping us remain steadfast and loving in all circumstances.

St. Mark illustrates that, early in His ministry, Jesus sent out the Twelve disciples He had chosen to assist Him in His work. He commissioned them to do what He had been doing: preaching the gospel and healing the sick. Jesus recognized that He needed help from others to accomplish the mission He had been given. Similarly, Jesus still needs us today to carry out His work. We are called to be His eyes, ears, hands, feet, voice, and presence wherever we are. He desires to work in and through us.

St. Paul understood this concept clearly. He viewed the Church as the Body of Christ in the world. The Body of Christ cannot function effectively unless everyone fulfills the role they are called and equipped to play through their baptism. Each person has a unique contribution to make to the life of the Body and, consequently, to the work of the Lord in today’s world. Every individual is indispensable and essential. The letter to the Hebrews expresses this clearly: in the Church, everyone is regarded as a “first-born child” and a “citizen of heaven.” There are to be no second-class citizens in the Church. Each of us is a vital member of Christ’s Body, uniquely endowed by the Lord for His work and mission in the world.

The people of Nazareth should have recognized that God the Father was working through Jesus in a unique way. Instead, they mocked Him and looked down on Him, unable to see beyond their limited expectations. They thought He was too familiar, too local, and too well-known. They knew His mother and His family, and they may have grown up alongside Him, seeing Him in the marketplace or at the synagogue.

Because He was one of their own, they saw Him as too ordinary to take seriously, forgetting that God often works through the ordinary and the overlooked. This is a classic example of "familiarity breeds contempt," where being too close to someone blinds us to their true significance.

Often, we fail to recognize God's presence in everyday life and the familiar. We may overlook the blessings and opportunities right in front of us because they seem too ordinary or routine.

In truth, we don't need to travel far or witness extraordinary miracles to acknowledge God's wisdom and power. His presence is all around us—in the nearby, the familiar, and the ordinary—if only we have eyes to see and ears to hear. Even simple acts of kindness, words of encouragement, or moments of quiet reflection can be signs of God's activity.

The Gospel urges us to view the familiar and the ordinary with a fresh perspective, to open our hearts and minds to the possibility that God is at work in ways we might not expect. The people of Nazareth's failure to see this way limited what Jesus could accomplish among them.

When we change our perspective, it creates space for the Lord to work among us in new and profound ways, transforming the ordinary into something extraordinary.

Throughout the four Gospels, Jesus asks many different questions. Reflecting on these questions can be valuable.

 

In today’s Gospel passage, we find one such question: “Who has touched my clothes?” The disciples were baffled by this question, responding, “You see how the crowd is pressing upon you, and yet you ask, ‘Who touched me?'” After all, many people were touching Him.

 

However, Jesus knew that one person had touched Him out of deep hope as a final effort to be healed. Although many people were in contact with Him, one woman intentionally reached out in faith to make personal and physical contact. When Jesus realized who it was, He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has saved you.”

 

The Lord is always present; He walks among us, often unnoticed. The woman in today’s Gospel shows the power of intentionally reaching out to the Lord. By doing so, we can experience His life-giving presence more deeply.

In today’s Gospel, St. Luke shares a joyful encounter in Jerusalem. A young couple and their infant son meet two elderly people named Simeon and Anna. When Simeon encounters Jesus, he prays aloud, cradling the child in his arms and praising God. Anna’s response is to tell everyone about Jesus, especially those awaiting a sign of God’s favor.

 

These two devout Jewish people demonstrated two essential qualities for recognizing God’s presence: Simeon lifted his heart in prayer, while Anna spoke to others about Jesus.

 

Simeon’s encounter with the Holy Family led him to God through prayer, and Anna’s meeting inspired her to share the Good News. Each teaches us valuable lessons about welcoming the Lord into our lives. We should thank the Lord in prayer, as Simeon did, for the gift of His Son, the Light who brightens our lives. Like Anna, we are called to proclaim God’s gift to others through our words and actions.

 

The Lord, who entered His temple as the Light of the World, has also entered our lives. Simeon and Anna show us how to respond to His gracious coming.