Readings: Zechariah 12:10-11, 13:1; Galatians 3:26-29; Luke 9:18-24
The community Mass will be celebrated at 11:00 AM, Fr. Vincent Collins presiding and preaching.
Our national observance of Fathers’ Day is also celebrated this Sunday and we will remember in our prayers and in the Eucharist all our fathers, living and dead. In an era when public leadership is disappointing, when the integrity of pastors is questioned because of our inconsistencies and when men are unsure of their identity, it is crucial that we pray for those in our society and our Church who are called to generate vision, guidance, healing and instruction. One very important form of prayer for both men and women is to explore the scriptures with an openness to God’s Spirit, to better recognize what fatherhood is not, as well as what is and how it communicates God’s will and God’s presence to us.
In a certain sense, the Bible is a collection of family stories from Genesis through the spiritual “tribes” described in the Book of Revelation. We are confronted by all the familiar dynamics of dysfunctional families, family conflicts and jalousies (even in the ranks of the apostles) as well as overwhelming loyalty, mercy and redemption. In the Gospels we certainly find a rhetoric that speaks healing, challenges the arrogant confidence of anger and leaves judgment to God, while provocative and stimulating self-transcendence.
Leave a Reply