From our Pastor’s Desk

Dear Family:

The Gospel this Sunday is talking about a coin. Jesus said to his critics, “Show me a coin.” The coin was a Roman coin used to pay taxes to the Emperor. Jesus made this request because He was asked the question: “Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?” (Mt 22:17). Jesus was quick to notice the malice behind this simple question, reason why he responded: “Why are you testing me, you hypocrites?” He called them hypocrites because they were actually trying to trap him. If he answers “yes”, they will tell the people that Jesus is a supporter of the Roman Empire. If he answers “no”, they will accuse him of sedition and report him to the Roman authorities so that he would be imprisoned. He called them hypocrites also because it is not proper for Jews, especially the Pharisees, to have in their possession a Roman coin, for such would be an acknowledgement of Roman power over the Jewish people.

They laid a trap for Jesus, but he eluded it masterfully by saying: “Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God” (Mt 22:22). This statement, short as it is, spells out a guiding principle for us. We cannot deny the fact that we are still in this world. At the same time, we should not also forget that we do not belong to this world, for we are citizens of heaven.

While we are in this world, we abide by the principles of social life. No man is an island. We live with others in society. We should be useful and healthy members of society. And for a society to live in peace and harmony, there should be norms and laws, which must be followed for the common good and the protection of human rights. In this regard, a legitimate authority is necessary to implement the laws and to lead and unite the people. That is the meaning of the first part of the statement of Jesus: “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar.” We have duties and obligations as members of society: loyalty to country, honest public service, payment of taxes, obedience to the laws of the land, respect for persons in authority and defense of basic human rights among many others. I don’t think we have problem with this. I believe we are all law-abiding citizens of the land. Otherwise, we will not be here but in jail.

With this in mind, I want to touch a subject I never thought I had to. Recently, during Sunday Masses, some of us have found our cars damaged in the church’s parking lot. I understand that we are very many and that our parking lot is not big enough for everyone to park. But this inconvenience does not excuse damaging another vehicle in the parking lot without at least leaving a note to acknowledge what happened. This is not the attitude of a law-abiding citizen, nor the one of a Catholic person. I find this very disrespectful and troublesome. I bring this to your attention, so that it does not happen again.

Coming back to the Gospel, the second part is what is more difficult and challenging: “Give to God what belongs to God.” What belongs to God? There is a common tendency among us to dichotomize ourselves. Sometimes we say: my soul belongs to God, but my body belongs to me and to the world. Or we say: when I am in church, I belong to God. But when I get out, I am on my own. That is not correct. We belong to God, wholly and entirely. That is why, when Jesus was asked, “What is the greatest commandment?” He answered, “The first is this: Hear O Israel, the Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength” (Mk 12:29). He is not talking about ten percent or fifty percent. He said “all”, which means one hundred percent!

The Book of Genesis tells us that “God created man in His image; in the divine image He created him; male and female He created them.” In us is God’s image. Thus, God owns us. We repay God’s goodness with our whole person. Caesar is a person. God’s image is in him too. Thus, he himself belongs to God. In the end, we are commanded to be responsible citizens. More importantly, we ought to be responsible creation of God! So, what is due to God? Everything. Since everything comes from Him, we ought to give everything back to Him. That is justice, plain and simple. So, we ask ourselves: “Am I ready and willing to give God everything?”

Next weekend I will be absent, for I will be on our Marian pilgrimage in Spain, but I will be back in time for the end of the month. Fr. Michelle will be holding the Fort in my absence. I would like to thank you for your commitment to our parish, for your response to God’s calling. We have not seen the pledges collected this past weekend at the time I wrote this column but I am sure it has been as great, if not better, than past years. We are One Body, One Spirit, One Family!

Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Katharine Drexel, Saint Michael the Archangel, St. José Gregorio Hernández, Pope Saint Pius X, St. Teresa of Avila, and St. Charbel, pray for us.

Yours in Christ!
Fr. Omar