From the Pastor - 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time
The Gospel Reading for today is what is popularly called the Sermon on the Mount. Many think it is the absolute epitome of Jesus’ teachings. To be sure it tells us how we are to live our lives, the attitudes we are to have. We must remember that those who were waiting and hoping for the Messiah expected a military leader, one who would lead them in battle against their oppressors.
In His Sermon on the Mount Jesus gives a more accurate perspective of Who He is. He begins what we call the Beatitudes (the word means “blessings”) with “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” In a sense we are all “poor in spirit.” Without the guidance and strength provided us by the Lord there is no way we can escape this poverty of spirit, of spirituality, if you will.
That is why we often say that living God-centered lives is at the very core of stewardship. Being a disciple of Christ translates into being a steward of our many gifts and blessings. Some scholars believe that Jesus may have given this sermon often during His ministry. Those who followed Jesus and became the earliest Christians, the first members of the Church, were fond of quoting and referring to what the Lord said on this occasion. As stated, Jesus provides us with the secret of living a good life. If we rely on Him and follow Him, we will be blessed. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2022.
Pastoral Pondering
This Sunday we begin our annual celebration of Catholic Schools Week. It is always held during the week in which the celebration of the feast of St. John Bosco occurs. Don Bosco, as he was called, was a priest of Turin, Italy during the turbulent 19 century. He died on January 31, 1888.
Don Bosco dedicated his life to the education of street children and juvenile delinquents. He developed a system of education that was based on love rather than punishment and came to be known as the Salesian Preventive System. With the founding of the Salesians, he impacted Catholic education the world over and gradually Salesian schools were established around the world.
Don Bosco was also a mystic in many respects. He had many profound dreams that seemed to predict events in the future, especially regarding the persecution of the Church along with the spiritual well-being of his students. These experiences emboldened him in his vocation to education and led him to proclaim the essential nature of quality Catholic education. He is one of my favorite saints.
As we celebrate Catholic Schools Week, we recognize that Catholic schools today come in many varieties. We have traditional Catholic schools, Catholic homeschools, classical Catholic schools, any number of other configurations. We are fortunate that Bishop Jugis, and our Diocesan Schools office are very much committed to promoting Catholic education in all of its forms and insuring that those educational institutions that call themselves Catholic, actually live up to that name. This has been a challenge in some places over the past few decades.
Our parishes is blessed in many ways by St. Mark School and CTK as well as the other configurations of Catholic education that the parish supports in various ways. As we see more and more secularization of the public school system that more often than not is in opposition to Catholic teaching and values about the most basic things, the support of quality Catholic education becomes ever more important to the continued proclamation of the gospel message and the salvation of souls. Please pray for our Catholic schools and for all of those who support them.