31st Week in Ordinary Time 2024 - Wednesday - Grace, Free Will, and the Cross of Discipleship

 Today's readings highlight a profound mystery of our faith – the dance between divine grace and human free will, and the true cost of following Jesus.

"Work out your salvation with fear and trembling," St. Paul tells us today, "for God is the one who, for his good purpose, works in you both to desire and to work." 

At first glance, this might seem paradoxical. Are we to work out our salvation, or is it God who works within us? The answer is both. 

God's grace is the initiating force—the unmerited gift that empowers us to seek Him. It's His grace that stirs our hearts, giving us both the desire and the ability to do what is good. Yet, He doesn't override our free will. We are invited to cooperate with His grace, to actively participate in our own salvation. This cooperation involves effort on our part—hence Paul's exhortation to "work out your salvation with fear and trembling." This isn't a fear born of terror but a reverent awe at the magnitude of God's gift and our responsibility in responding to it.

In the Gospel, Jesus presents a stark message about the demands of discipleship: "Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple." 

To apply the lesson from St. Paul “carrying our cross” involves both human effort and reliance on God’s grace. The choice to carry our cross is ours, and our human strength is involved, but that feeble human effort is sustained and strengthened by God’s grace. We aren’t carrying our crosses alone. God is with us at every step.

Let us pray for the courage to embrace the cost of discipleship, trusting that God's grace will sustain and guide us. May we respond generously to His call, allowing His grace to work through our free will, and thus become true disciples who reflect His love to the world, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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I would like to share a message from our bishop, which he posted online this morning, in light of yesterday’s election. His excellency writes:

“We are truly blessed to live in a democratic nation where we can participate in free elections to choose our government leaders. So many people across the globe do not have the opportunity to do so, and we should never take this fundamental right for granted.

Whether your chosen candidates won or lost, never forget that we are all brothers and sisters, created in the image and likeness of God. We are all neighbors, who more than ever, need to come together, united in peace. We must work for the common good, prayerfully, respectfully, and thoughtfully. We must put divisiveness behind us and move forward, together. May we approach one another with open hearts and minds, listen more, and talk less. It is only then that we can engage in meaningful, honest, and civil dialogue with our neighbors, friends and families, who might have opinions different from our own.

Please join me in praying for our newly elected leaders, asking that God grant them wisdom and courage to lead with compassion and justice. Let us pray that they demonstrate respect, kindness and generosity to all people. Let us pray that they uphold the God-given rights we are privileged to possess as U.S. citizens, especially the most fundamental right to life. And let us ask, through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, Queen of Peace, that our Lord fill us with a spirit of faith, hope and love, that we may be peacemakers in our homes, in our communities, and in our great nation.”

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For the Church, that we may faithfully respond to God's grace as we carry our daily crosses, cooperating with His divine will in building up the Kingdom. Let us pray to the Lord.

For our newly elected leaders, that God may grant them wisdom, courage, and compassion as they serve the common good of all people. Let us pray to the Lord.

For our nation in this post-election period, that we may heal divisions, engage in respectful dialogue, and work together as brothers and sisters created in God's image. Let us pray to the Lord.

For those struggling with the demands of discipleship, that they may find strength in God's grace and support in our Christian community. Let us pray to the Lord.

For those facing heavy crosses of illness, loneliness, or hardship, that they may experience God's sustaining presence and our compassionate care. Let us pray to the Lord.

For our parish community, that we may grow in our ability to recognize and cooperate with God's grace in our daily lives, becoming true disciples who reflect Christ's love to the world. Let us pray to the Lord.

We pray in a special way during this Month of November for all of the faithful departed; for the deceased members of our family, friends, and parish, for deceased clergy and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom, that they may experience the fullness of God's grace in eternal life. Let us pray to the Lord.

Merciful Father, you call us to discipleship and provide the grace we need to follow your Son. Hear these prayers and help us to respond generously to your call. Through Christ our Lord. 

3rd Week in OT 2019 - Friday - God causes the growth

On Wednesday we heard from Mark’s Gospel the great parable of the sower: a parable to explain Jesus’ earthly ministry and the different responses he encountered. Through his preaching of the Gospel, the Lord was scattering seed, preaching to all who would hear him. Some would ignore his teaching, some would initially accept it, even enthusiastically, but would abandon it because of their rocky hearts; some would accept it, but the thorns of their worldly and sinful attachments would cause the gospel message to be choked in their hearts. Some would rightly cultivate their minds and hearts, to make their souls rich soil for the reception of the Gospel, and these ones would bear fruit for the kingdom of God.

Today’s reading contains two parables. The first speaks not so much about our individual responsibility in cultivating the soil of our souls, not so much the work that we must do, and the efforts that we must make. Today’s first parable deals with God’s work, what God does in the soul. In this parable of the seed sprout and growing in a way that is mysterious even to the farmer, Our Lord teaches us that our growth in holiness and the growth of the Church is ultimately God’s work.

St. Paul alluded to this parable when he said, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused the growth. Therefore, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who causes growth.” Christian humility acknowledges that God is the one who brings about growth and blessings and holiness.

But this parable also serves as an encouragement for those who think their efforts are fruitless. When we don’t see a parish growing as we would like, when we don’t see a lapsed catholics return to the church as we’d like, when we don’t see ourselves excelling in a particular virtue as we’d like, we are encouraged by this parable to keep the faith, and allow God to work according to God’s timeline.

We must do our part: preaching, teaching, engaging in works of charity, examining our consciences and repenting of our sins. And we must not allow our egos or personal preferences to get in the way of the work God wants to do. For true renewal, true spiritual growth involves allowing God to be God, to lead us out of our selfishness, to surprise us in our preconceptions, to bring us out of comfort zones, to transform us into saintly witnesses of his goodness, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That every member of the Church may cultivate minds, hearts, and souls to receive the Word of God more deeply and fruitfully.

That leaders of nations may find guidance in the Word of God for proper governance and the pursuit of justice for all.

That Christian families may be places where the Word of God is studied, understood, obeyed, and cherished.

During this Catholic Schools Week, for the students, teachers, staff, and alumni of St. Ignatius School and all of our Catholic Schools.

That the word of God may bring consolation to all those who suffer: for the sick, those affected by inclement weather or political turmoil, the indigent, those who will die today, and those who grieve.

For the deceased members of our families and parishes, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, and for N., for whom this Mass is offered.

O God, our refuge and our strength, hear the prayers of your Church, for you yourself are the source of all goodness, and grant, we pray, that what we ask in faith we may truly obtain.