Precious (2026-07-26, Sunday 17th)

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 [17^th Sunday, ver 6] ll 1 Kings  3:5, 7-12    ll Psalm 119 ll Romans 8:28-30 ll Matthew 13:44-52 ll

1. Solomon's First Request: An Understanding Heart

Imagine this. You receive this question from God:

"Ask for anything you want, and I will give it to you."

You would be in a situation similar to King Solomon, who receives exactly that question from God: "Ask for anything you want, and I will give it to you."

What would you answer?

You might answer, and I might answer, "Good health," or freedom, or healing from some injury or illness, or peace and forgiveness in our families. You might even ask for the winning Powerball numbers at the next drawing—for financial security.

All of those are good things.

But they are not what the young King Solomon asks for.

Solomon asks for an understanding heart to distinguish right from wrong. He asks for wisdom. Biblically, Solomon is closely associated with wisdom. One of the books of the Old Testament is even called the Wisdom of Solomon.

But is wisdom simply a one-time lightning bolt—a download from the hard drive of heaven into our heads? Is that what wisdom is?

Actually, no.

At this point in his life Solomon demonstrates great wisdom. But later, as he grows older, he makes many poor choices and ends his life in a rather scandalous way. That reminds us that wisdom is not something we receive once and possess forever.

Wisdom is a continual journey of turning back to God, praying for wisdom, asking Him to help us recognize what is right, and discerning right from wrong even in the midst of life's difficulties.

Saint Paul summarizes this beautifully with his famous words:

"All things work together for those who love God and are called according to His purpose."

That, too, is wisdom.

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2. The Treasure Must First Be Recognized

Jesus continues this same lesson in today's Gospel with His parables about the treasure hidden in a field and the pearl of great price.

A man discovers a treasure buried in a field. He goes and sells everything he has in order to buy that field.

Notice what happens.

He doesn't sacrifice first.

He first recognizes what is valuable.

That is the journey for you and me as well.

Before we can give our lives to what is truly important, we first have to recognize what is truly important.

We need God's wisdom and God's grace to recognize what is truly valuable, because sometimes what is most valuable can seem hidden beneath what appears ordinary or superficial.

Right now there is actually a field being sold off.

Have you heard about this?

It is the World Cup soccer field from MetLife Stadium. You can buy a small piece of that field—about this big—for roughly three thousand dollars.

What are people really buying?

Not grass.

They are buying what that piece of grass represents.

It is a souvenir.

It reminds them of something they value.

But the Gospel reminds us that there is something far more valuable than any souvenir.

The greatest treasure is the human person.

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3. The Family Table Reveals the Real Treasure

One place where this comes into focus is around the family table at Christmas or Thanksgiving.

Usually there are three generations gathered together: the older generation, the middle generation, and the younger generation.

Who does most of the work?

Usually it is the middle generation.

They do the shopping.

They do the cooking.

They do the cleaning.

They prepare everything so everyone else can be there.

Those who are older and can no longer shop or cook are still invited.

Those who are younger and cannot help with those things are still invited.

We treasure having children around the table because they help us see Christmas through new eyes.

When I was growing up, my grandparents often didn't say very much during those family dinners.

But my parents taught us to wait for them to speak.

We listened for their words of remembrance.

Their words of thanksgiving.

Their words of wisdom.

Their presence itself was part of the treasure.

They were, in a sense, the pearl of great price.

That pearl of great price invites us to see the whole person.

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4. Seeing the Human Person Through God's Eyes

Pope Saint John Paul II taught something called the Theology of the Body. He reminded us that every human person is a unity of body and soul. We are not simply bodies that happen to have souls, nor souls that happen to have bodies. We are whole persons, created in the image and likeness of God.

This also helps us understand the Catholic Church's teaching on marriage and family. The Church teaches that husband and wife are called to give themselves to one another completely. Contraception intentionally withholds one part of that complete gift—our openness to the possibility of new life. That is why the Church encourages Natural Family Planning instead, because it respects both the unity of husband and wife and God's gift of procreation and the bearing of children.

Don't you want to be loved as a whole person?

Don't you want to be seen not merely for what you can do, but for who you are?

That is exactly how Christ sees us.

Saint Paul writes elsewhere:

"Now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face."

He is describing what it will mean to be seen fully in heaven.

But we also long to be seen fully here—in our marriages, in our families, and here in our parish.

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5. Christ Has Already Found His Treasure

Jesus invites us to begin living that way today.

He reminds us that we are His treasure.

Saint Paul writes elsewhere that "you were bought at a price."

The price was His own Body and Blood.

We are His treasure.

And we are invited to share in the joy of His Kingdom by praying for wisdom every day.

Wisdom is not a one-time download.

It is a lifelong journey of turning back to God each day, asking Him to help us recognize what is truly priceless, so that one day we may inherit the joy of His Kingdom. 

Life. Eternal Life (2026-07-19, 16th Sunday)

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16th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)  

ll  Wisdom 12;13,16-19 ll Psalm 86 ll Romans 8:26-27 ll Matthew 13:24-43 llThe Beautiful Life

1. A Compassionate Principal

Being prepared is part of the message of today's Gospel.

When I was in second grade, I noticed that one of my classmates had not been promoted to the next grade. Curious, I embarrassed my mother by walking up to the school principal in the parking lot and asking, in front of everyone, why my classmate had been left behind.

I don't even remember asking the question. But my mother remembered the principal's answer for the rest of her life.

He explained that the boy was not being punished. He simply needed more time to learn. They wanted to help him grow. He was going to be all right, and all of us would continue growing together.

That conversation has stayed with me because it reminds me of the way God deals with us.

God's patience is not weakness.

God's patience is mercy.

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2. God's Patience Is Mercy

In today's Gospel, Jesus tells the parable of the wheat and the weeds.

The servants ask the master, "Do you want us to pull up the weeds?"

He answers, "No. If you pull up the weeds now, you may uproot the wheat as well. Let them grow together until the harvest."

Jesus is not telling us to ignore the difference between good and evil. We must recognize what is right and what is wrong. But we leave the final judgment of persons to God.

The Gospel also reminds us that good and evil are not only around us—they are struggles that exist within each of us.

Yet God does not give up on us.

He gives us another today.

Another day to pray.

Another day to forgive.

Another day to repent.

Another day to begin again.

That is why the Sacrament of Reconciliation is such a gift. Confession is one of God's greatest ways of helping us begin again. We receive His forgiveness so that we, in turn, may become more ready to forgive those who have sinned against us.

Every sunrise is another sign of God's patient mercy.

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3. The Harvest Will Come

For the people listening to Jesus, the harvest was the most important time of the year.

That raises an important question.

What is the most important day of your life?

You might answer: the day you were baptized, the day you were married, the day you began a new career, or the day your children were born.

Those are wonderful blessings.

But the most important day of your life has not happened yet.

It is the day you will meet Jesus Christ.

That truth is not meant to frighten us. Rather, it reminds us that every day matters because every day prepares us for that meeting.

God patiently gives us time because He desires to gather us into His Kingdom.

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4. Sunday: God's Holy Interruption

How do we prepare for that day?

Not by our own strength alone, but by God's grace.

One of the great gifts of Sunday is that God lovingly interrupts our routine.

Sometimes we need a disruption in order to focus again on what is truly right and good.

For one hour each week, we step away from work, entertainment, news, social media, and countless distractions that compete for our attention.

Notice what we are doing right now.

We are praying together.

We have willingly set aside food and drink for this hour, along with many other distractions, so that our attention can belong more fully to God.

Many of us will also place our gifts in today's collection.

Prayer, self-denial, and generosity all come together in the Eucharist.

This weekly "holy interruption" is not meant to burden us. It is one of God's greatest gifts. Week after week, God patiently forms us into the people He created us to become.

And that prepares us to live what has often been called the beautiful life.

5. The Beautiful Game

Many people this afternoon will be watching the championship match of the FIFA Club World Cup. Soccer is often called "the beautiful game."

The game is not beautiful simply because talented athletes are running around the field. It is beautiful because they have learned to play together. They have disciplined themselves. They know when to pass, when to defend, when to sacrifice for a teammate. They use their minds, their bodies, and their gifts in harmony toward a common goal.

The Christian life is also meant to become beautiful.

Jesus teaches us how to use our minds, our hearts, our words, and our actions for what is good. He gives us His grace so that little by little we learn to live as His disciples. Holiness is not something that happens all at once. It is something God patiently forms within us over time.

6. Ordinary Faithfulness Prepares Extraordinary Love

St. John Henry Newman once wrote that holiness grows through ordinary faithfulness: beginning each day with God, praying faithfully, examining our conscience, doing well the ordinary duties of life, and asking God's grace to persevere. Then he concludes with these surprising words: "And you are already perfect."

He does not mean that we are without sin. He means that when we are sincerely walking with Christ, God is already at work completing the good He has begun in us.

That ordinary faithfulness takes many simple forms.

It is preparing a meal for someone who needs one.

It is taking a neighbor or a family member to a doctor's appointment.

It is checking on a friend who is lonely.

It is making a phone call, offering encouragement, forgiving someone who has hurt us, or quietly doing our daily responsibilities with love.

These moments may seem small, but they are never wasted. Every ordinary act of charity is another way God prepares us for the greatest day of our lives.

7. Daniel Anderl: A Life Prepared

A few years ago, our own state of New Jersey witnessed a tragic but inspiring example of this.

Federal Judge Esther Salas answered the door of her home when a man disguised as a delivery driver came intending to harm - to take her life. Her twenty-year-old son, Daniel Anderl, stepped between the attacker and his parents. He gave his own life protecting both his mother and his father.

It was an extraordinary act of courage.

Today his cause for canonization is being opened by the Diocese of Metuchen—not simply because of one heroic moment, but because that moment grew out of an ordinary life of faith. He had been formed by his family, his parish, his Catholic education, and his relationship with Christ. Long before that final day, God had been preparing him.

What also moved many people afterward was the response of his parents. Instead of allowing hatred to consume them, they publicly spoke about forgiveness. They entrusted justice to God while refusing to let bitterness have the final word.

Heroic love and heroic forgiveness do not appear suddenly. They grow from years of ordinary faithfulness and from hearts that have learned to trust God's grace.

8. Become the Wheat God Has Planted

That brings us back to today's Gospel.

Jesus does not ask us to spend our lives worrying about the weeds.

He asks us to become the wheat.

Every time we pray...

Every time we come to Mass...

Every time we forgive...

Every time we repent...

Every time we perform an ordinary act of charity...

God is patiently preparing us for the harvest.

So today let us ask the Lord for that grace.

May He help us become the wheat He has planted.

May He help us forgive those who have trespassed against us.

May He give us the humility to repent of our own sins and the courage to begin again.

And may He continue forming each one of us—along with those we love—into faithful disciples, so that when the day comes for us to meet Jesus Christ face to face, He may gather us with joy into His eternal Kingdom.

And I ask you, please pray for me, as I am also called to pray for you.

Seed and Soil (2026-07-12, 15th Sunday)

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[Readings:    15^th  Sunday (Year A)  ●● Isaiah 55:10-11  ● Psalm 65  ●  Romans 8:18-23 ● + Matthew 13:1-23  ● ●]

Preparing the Soil of Our Hearts

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

Isaiah 55:10-11 • Romans 8:18-23 • Matthew 13:1-23

1. From Last Week's Burden to This Week's Soil

Last Sunday, Jesus gave us one of the most comforting invitations in all of Scripture:

"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest."

Every one of us carries a burden. Some carry illness. Some care for aging parents. Some worry about children, finances, relationships, or an uncertain future. Jesus never promises that those burdens will disappear overnight, but He does promise that we never carry them alone.

Last week, Jesus spoke about the burden—the yoke—carried by a disciple.

This week, He speaks about the soil that represents you and me.

The connection is important.

If Christ helps us carry our burdens, today's Gospel asks another question:

What kind of soil am I becoming?

2. God's Word Never Stops Speaking

The prophet Isaiah gives us the answer before Jesus even tells the parable.

Isaiah says that God's Word is like the rain and snow that come down from heaven. They land upon the earth, make it fruitful, and accomplish God's purpose. So does God's Word.

The seed is good.

God never stops speaking.

He speaks through Sacred Scripture, through the quiet voice of conscience, through faithful people around us, and through the ordinary events of daily life.

God's Word comes down from heaven to the earth so that, bearing fruit in our lives, it may lead us back to Him.

The question is not whether God is speaking.

The question is whether I am listening.

Have I turned down the other voices in my life so that I can turn God up?

God is the perfect visitor.

He does not “land on us” with force. He never forces His way into our lives.

He respects our freedom.

Remember what Jesus says in the Book of Revelation:

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, then I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me." (Revelation 3:20)

God knocks.

He waits.

He invites.

But He never breaks the door down.

He asks us to welcome Him so that His Word may bear fruit in us.

3. Preparing the Soil

Anyone who has ever planted a garden knows that good soil doesn't happen by accident.

Stones have to be removed.

Weeds have to be pulled.

The ground has to be cultivated.

The same is true of the spiritual life.

Prayer prepares the soil.

Listening prepares the soil.

Repentance prepares the soil.

Forgiveness prepares the soil.

Acts of charity prepare the soil.

Growth usually isn't dramatic.

No one sits outside watching the grass grow.

Yet every day it grows.

So does the spiritual life.

You're doing that right now.

We don't come to Mass simply to hear God's Word for one hour each week.

We come here to prepare our hearts to hear God's Word at the dinner table, in our workplaces, in conversations with family and friends, in the quiet of our conscience, and in the ordinary moments of every day.

Forgiveness is part of preparing that soil.

When we forgive someone who has hurt us, it doesn't mean we approve of what happened.

It means we stop allowing yesterday's wounds to keep tomorrow's grace from taking root.

4. Looking Beyond Place, Price, and Privacy

Jesus' image of soil naturally makes us think about land.

And land makes us think about home.

Many of us have worked very hard to own a home, care for a home, or perhaps dream of owning one someday.

Our homes teach us important lessons.

But Jesus invites us to think beyond them.

Place

This summer, some of us will travel to a different home—or perhaps to what we call a "home away from home."

One temptation is to think, "I'm away from home. I'll skip Mass this weekend."

Instead, one of the easiest Google searches you can make is:

"Catholic Mass near me."

The search results remind us that Christ is already waiting there.

The same Eucharist is celebrated throughout the world.

God's presence is not confined to one church building or one place.

Every faithful Mass prepares us for our true homeland—the Father's Kingdom.

Price

Owning a home also makes us think about value.

"What is my home worth today?"

"What will it be worth in five years? Ten years? Twenty years?"

Jesus asks a different question.

What is your soul worth?

Your dignity as a son or daughter of God does not rise or fall with your appearance, your health, your finances, your résumé, or your accomplishments.

From the first moment of your existence, you were created in God's image.

You have been redeemed by the Blood of Christ.

Your dignity has always been, and always will be, immeasurable.

Privacy

Home also reminds us of privacy.

"My house."

"My family."

"My room."

Our relationship with Christ is deeply personal.

But it is never merely private.

We are baptized into one Body.

We carry one another's burdens.

Before Mass ends today, pray for someone you know.

Pray for someone you don't know.

Pray for the person sitting beside you, in front of you, or behind you.

Perhaps he or she is carrying a cross you cannot see.

God knows.

And He invites us to carry one another in prayer.

5. Temporary Turf or Lasting Soil?

This summer, MetLife Stadium is hosting FIFA World Cup matches.

For those games, real grass has been brought into a stadium that normally doesn't have a natural grass field.

It's real grass.

It's real soil.

But it's only temporary.

When the tournament is over, it will all be removed.

Jesus isn't looking for temporary turf.

He's looking for hearts where His Word can put down deep roots and remain for a lifetime.

6. Jesus Is Still the Gardener

There is one more gardening image that has always fascinated me.

On Easter morning, Mary Magdalene mistook the risen Jesus for the gardener.

In one sense she was mistaken.

But in another sense, she was exactly right.

From the Garden of Eden to the Garden of the Resurrection, God has always been cultivating life.

Jesus is still the Gardener.

He removes the stones that harden our hearts.

He pulls away the weeds that choke our faith.

He patiently cultivates every life that is willing to receive Him.

As St. Paul reminds us today, all creation is still groaning, waiting for God's work to be completed.

Sometimes our own spiritual lives feel that way.

We are still growing.

The Gardener has not finished His work.

7. Preparing for Our True Home

Perhaps today's question is not simply,

"Which kind of soil am I?"

Perhaps the better question is,

"What is Jesus trying to cultivate in me today?"

Isaiah assures us that God's Word never returns empty.

Jesus promises that good soil bears abundant fruit.

If we allow Christ to cultivate the soil of our hearts, His Word will bear fruit in our lives—thirtyfold, sixtyfold, and a hundredfold.

Then, after our pilgrimage through this world, the Lord will bring us home.

Not merely to a promised land on a map.

But to our true home:

the Father's Kingdom,

where every burden will be lifted,

every tear wiped away,

and every seed faithfully planted in this life will be gathered into His eternal harvest.

Freedom (2026-07-05, 14th Sunday)

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[Readings:    14th Sun (Yr. A)  ● Zechariah 9:9-10 ● Psalm 145 ● Romans 8:9, 11-13  ● Matthew 11:25-30 ●  ] Independence Day Weekend – July 4–5, 2026

True Freedom: Living Intentionally

1. Some Things Are Automatic. Faith Isn't.

This microphone doesn't go on automatically. I have to turn it on.

But many things in our lives do happen automatically.

Have you noticed that when you begin typing something into Google, before you've finished your sentence, Google often finishes it for you? Or when you begin typing an email address, your computer fills in the rest automatically. Artificial intelligence can organize information, summarize articles, and answer questions in seconds.

These are remarkable tools.

But they invite us to ask a deeper question.

As life becomes more automated, am I becoming more automated?

And is that really a good thing?

Because discipleship often means struggling against what comes automatically or instinctively.

Faith is often a struggle against doubt.

Love is often a struggle against selfishness.

Forgiveness is often a struggle against revenge.

Repentance is often a struggle against hiding what I've done wrong.

These virtues don't happen automatically.

They grow through God's grace and our willing response, one choice at a time.

That is why Jesus never asks for an automatic response.

He simply says,

"Come to me."

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2. The King Who Comes in Humility

The prophet Zechariah gives us an unexpected picture of a king.

If we imagine a king, we expect someone arriving with an entourage, with power, perhaps on a mighty war horse.

Instead, Zechariah describes God's King riding on a simple donkey.

That prophecy is fulfilled when Jesus enters Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.

The King comes in humility.

Then Jesus says,

"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest."

Notice what Jesus does not do.

He doesn't drag anyone to Himself.

He doesn't force anyone.

He doesn't pre-program anyone.

He simply invites.

Then He says,

"Take my yoke upon you."

At first that sounds like a contradiction.

How can a burden become light?

A friend of mine once told me that early in his marriage he realized they didn't have enough money to pay the mortgage that month.

He dreaded telling his wife.

Instead of making things worse, she simply said,

"We'll get through this together."

He told me later that the burden immediately became lighter.

Not because the mortgage disappeared.

But because he wasn't carrying it alone.

That is exactly what Jesus promises.

He doesn't promise a life without burdens.

He promises that we never carry them alone.

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3. The Commitments That Shape Our Lives

There are signs of commitment all around us.

A wedding ring doesn't make someone married.

It reminds a husband and wife that every day they choose to love each other again.

Parents choose to love their children.

Citizens choose to serve their country.

Priests choose to serve God's people.

One simple way we answer Jesus' invitation is by making Sunday Mass part of our lives—not only when we're home, but even when we're traveling or on vacation.

I remember my parents doing that when I was growing up.

Wherever we went, we found a Catholic church.

Sometimes it was unfamiliar.

Sometimes we had no idea where we were.

One of the easiest Google searches you can make this summer is:

"Catholic Mass near me."

Jesus is already waiting there.

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4. Ordinary Afternoons Shape Our Lives

A few months after I was ordained a priest, I met several former coworkers for lunch in Manhattan.

It was a wonderful reunion.

The conversation felt very familiar.

I even remember Bryant Gumbel eating in the restaurant that afternoon.

As lunch ended, I caught myself thinking - AUTOMATICALLY,

"Well...now it's time to go back to work."

I caught myself. I wasn't going back to this office building anymore.

I was coming back here.

Back to priesthood.

Back to serving God's people.

Then another thought came to me.

My life wasn't going to reach its high point in that lunch.

The friendship around that table was genuine.

But it wasn't dependent on that restaurant.

The lunch would end.

The friendship would continue.

And I realized I was also being invited into another friendship—

a friendship with Jesus Christ,

lived out in the ordinary work of being a priest.

The same is true for every one of us.

This weekend we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

We celebrate with fireworks.

Parades.

Barbecues.

Family gatherings.

Those celebrations are wonderful.

But our lives are not shaped by fireworks.

They are shaped by ordinary afternoons.

One faithful decision at a time.

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5. The Greatest Freedom

The Declaration of Independence speaks about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Those words have inspired our nation for 250 years.

But every generation has to choose to live them faithfully.

The same is true of the Gospel.

Our greatest freedom is not simply political freedom.

Our greatest freedom is the freedom to worship.

The freedom to repent.

The freedom to forgive.

The freedom to love.

The freedom to answer Jesus' invitation.

Every day technology asks us,

"What would you like me to do?"

Jesus asks something very different.

"Will you come to me?"

That question cannot be answered by artificial intelligence.

It cannot be answered on autopilot.

It can only be answered by each one of us—

one ordinary afternoon,

one act of faith,

one response to God's grace,

at a time.

And so we hear His invitation once again:

"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest."

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Hospitality (2026-06-28 Sunday 13th)

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[13th Sunday, Year A: • 2 Kings 4:8-11, 14-16a • Romans 6:3-4, 8-11 • Matthew 10:37-42  ]

Hospitality Begins by Making Room for Christ

1. Preparing a Room for the Lord

Our first reading introduces us to a woman from the town of Shunem. Whenever the prophet Elisha passed through her town, she welcomed him into her home. Eventually she said to her husband,

"Let us prepare a little room for him."

Notice what she includes.

A bed.

A table.

A chair.

A lamp.

Everything needed for someone to feel at home.

She was not simply furnishing a guest room.

She was making room for God's servant.

She understood that welcoming God's prophet meant welcoming God's presence.

That beautiful image becomes the thread that runs through all of today's readings.

How do we make room for God?

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2. The Gift Is Small—The Love Is Great

Jesus answers that question in today's Gospel.

"Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the One who sent me."

Then He gives one of the simplest examples imaginable.

"Whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple... will surely not lose his reward."

We sometimes miss how ordinary that image would have sounded.

In the ancient world, "cold water" simply meant ordinary water. It wasn't refrigerated or luxurious. Jesus intentionally chooses the simplest act of kindness.

God does not first measure the size of the gift.

He measures the love with which it is given.

Hospitality begins with simple acts of love.

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3. Preparing the Heart Before Preparing the House

But today's Gospel quietly asks another question.

If we prepare rooms for guests...

do we prepare our hearts for Christ?

Whenever important visitors come to our homes, we usually prepare.

We clean the house.

We straighten the furniture.

We wash the dishes.

We put things back where they belong.

Not because our guests demand perfection.

But because they matter to us.

Every Mass is also an encounter with Christ.

More than that.

At every Mass He gives Himself to us in the Holy Eucharist.

If we prepare our homes for visitors, shouldn't we prepare our souls for Him?

That is one of the beautiful purposes of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Confession is not primarily about looking backward.

It is about preparing for an encounter.

It is about making room.

Making room by letting go of resentment.

Making room by confessing pride.

Making room by surrendering selfishness.

Making room by receiving God's mercy.

Confession does not simply erase sin.

It enlarges the heart.

It makes room for Christ.

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4. Learning Faith in Everyday Life

Many years ago, while I was in the seminary, one of my classmates shared something with me that I have never forgotten.

He had to have a very difficult conversation with someone.

Before he went, he stopped to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Not because he believed he was at fault.

He simply said,

"I wanted to have a clean heart."

I had never heard anyone say that before.

I didn't learn that lesson in a theology classroom.

I didn't learn it from a homily.

I learned it by watching another Christian quietly live his faith.

One of the beautiful things about the Church is that we don't learn only from priests and teachers.

We also learn from one another.

Our example often teaches more than our words.

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5. Baptism Changes the Way We Welcome Others

St. Paul reminds us today that through Baptism we have died with Christ and risen with Him.

We are called to walk in newness of life.

That new life changes everything.

Even the reason why we welcome other people changes.

The world often practices hospitality because it hopes to receive something in return.

A better reputation.

More business.

Future favors.

Good reviews.

Christians welcome others for a different reason.

We welcome because Christ first welcomed us.

We forgive because Christ first forgave us.

We love because Christ first loved us.

Hospitality is no longer a strategy.

It becomes charity.

---

6. A Lesson from the World Cup

Perhaps we can see a small reflection of that this summer.

Because of the FIFA World Cup, thousands of visitors have traveled throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

Some of the most widely shared videos haven't even come from the soccer matches themselves.

They have shown fans in the streets.

Scottish supporters wearing kilts, playing bagpipes, singing, and dancing through the streets of Boston.

Local residents joining them.

Even police officers smiling and dancing with them.

People enjoy those videos because they reveal something that almost everyone desires.

People long to feel welcomed.

Hospitality speaks a universal language.

But today's Gospel asks an even deeper question.

Not simply,

"How do we welcome one another?"

But,

"How do we welcome Christ?"

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7. Humility Makes Room

C. S. Lewis once wrote,

"Humility is not thinking less of yourself. It is thinking of yourself less."

That insight fits today's Gospel perfectly.

A proud heart has very little room for anyone else.

A humble heart always has room.

Room for God.

Room for family.

Room for strangers.

Room for those who are lonely.

Room for those who have hurt us.

Room even to pray for our enemies.

Humility transforms hospitality into charity.

Without humility, hospitality easily becomes self-promotion.

With humility, it becomes an act of love.

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8. Christ Is Knocking

The woman of Shunem prepared a room with a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp.

We prepare our hearts through repentance.

We prepare our souls through Confession.

We prepare ourselves to receive Christ in Holy Communion.

Then the Book of Revelation gives us one of the most beautiful images in all of Scripture.

Jesus says,

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me." (Revelation 3:20)

Isn't that remarkable?

Jesus does not force the door open.

He knocks.

Love always knocks.

Love waits to be welcomed.

God fills the heart that makes room for Him.

May we open that door through repentance.

May we welcome Him with humility.

May we receive Him with joy in the Holy Eucharist.

And may His Kingdom come, His will be done, beginning first in our own hearts.