St. Mary's Catholic Church of Tomahawk, WI

Dear Brothers and Sisters:

We are in the 14th week of the Ordinary season. In the first reading Jerusalem is personified as a mother who cares for her infant child. King David established Jerusalem as his capital and Solomon built the temple. Providing safety and sanctuary, Jerusalem came to be imagined as a mother caring for her children whose care was divinely ordained. How do we consider the maternal care and love of God? Do we try to depend on Him who gently cares for us though we may be fragile?

The second reading highlights the cross as the basis of Christian boasting. All the baptized are invited to continue to ponder on the mystery of the Lord’s passion and death, which allows us to open a new pathway to our Christian vocation. When we try to see with the eyes of faith, the world in all its array – glorious and fallen – looks fundamentally different when seen through the cross. Do we try to recognize and ponder the mystery of suffering and its centrality in our Christian life?

In the gospel we hear Jesus commissioning and empowering seventy-two of His disciples. They are sent to share the Good News that God’s kingdom is at hand and to cure the sick. Since they had received graciously they are to respond and share with similar graciousness. They return to Jesus with a joyous report in which they indicate that they accomplished more than He asked and more than they anticipated. What about us? Are we carrying out graciously, sharing the message of the gospel in word and deed which the Lord had commissioned to us on the very day of our Baptism? Do we experience and live the joy of the Gospel?

Fr. Aloysius Royan Anthony