From our Pastor’s Desk

Dear Family:

To be a Christian is to be on a mission and this mission consists of the proclamation of the reign of the Kingdom of God and of the everlasting presence of the peace which God has given to us in Christ. This Kingdom is available for all peoples of the world and this peace is our share as long as we remain attentive and positively responsive to the message of Christ, proclaimed by His disciples of every tribe and race and in every season and time.

God’s plan and design has always been for the peace of all of His creatures. Men and women for their part, at different points in the history of our journey with God, have rejected God’s priceless gift of peace, especially through sin and the rejection of God’s plans and purposes. Every sin is a disruption of the peace both of the individual and of the community of God’s sons and daughters. (took out the last sentence because you said it in the previous sentence)

God, however, never abandons us for He knows how helpless and powerless we are, even when we deceive ourselves with the fiction of the sufficiency of our human strength that is in itself empty and futile; always in yawning need of help from above. This was the story of the Israelites, having tasted the catastrophic inefficacy of human strength and plans without divine assistance. There was a state of great unrest and individual and communal uneasiness and also the painful experience of living in exile for many years that resulted from sin and disregard for God. God mercifully intervenes anew in their story in the First Reading today: “For thus says the Lord: Lo, I will spread prosperity over Jerusalem like a river, and the wealth of the nations like an overflowing torrent.” God’s conveyance of peace signals the end of anguish and anxiety and the beginning of an integral flourishing which transcends human comprehension. The reign of this peace is the clearest sign of the reign of God’s Kingdom and of the presence of God in our midst which is fully manifest in Christ, “For he is our peace, he who made both one and broke down the dividing wall of enmity” (Eph 2:14).

In sending His disciples out on mission in the Gospel Reading today, Jesus made known to us what should be our innermost disposition and first reaction to all those we meet: “whatever house you go into, let your first words be peace to this house.” The disciples are God’s messengers of peace. In the Biblical language, peace is “shalom.” It is not just the absence of conflict or wars. Rather, it is the presence of harmony and total wellbeing of a person and the entire community. Shalom means everything is totally well because God’s favor rests on each person. It is only God that can be the source of this peace. This is what Jesus said: “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give it as the world gives peace.” Nowadays, people are searching for peace, but they are unsuccessful, for they are looking for it away from God. True peace will come only when people learn to obey God’s commandments and live according to His will. Jesus sent his disciples as messengers of peace – to help them live according to God’s plan and commands. If they reject the message of the disciples, peace cannot remain with them. This is what happens now in the world. We are in constant turmoil, confusion and troubles because people reject God’s teachings and disobey His commands.

Peace is the very fruit of an encounter with the Word of God borne out of conversion. This involves first and foremost peace with oneself and then peace with fellow creatures and, most importantly, peace with God. It is quite unfortunate that there are individuals or groups who are not interested in peace. They take away their own peace by their actions and they do everything possible to disrupt the peace of others. Clearly they are never interested in building peace with God. On the other hand, as Christians, we are called to make our personal and communal contributions to the consolidation of world peace. This is made easier and possible when one encounters Christ in His mysteries and “but only a new creation” (Gal 6:15). To be new creatures is to be ambassadors of peace wherever we find ourselves.

The first step to being an ambassador of peace is to be obedient to God and to His commands. The second step is to be attentive to the message of Christ and to follow His examples at all times. The third step is to always respond positively to the promptings of the Holy Spirit who is the principle agent that leads us to peace. The fourth step is to listen to the Church as she continues to guide us, in God’s name, through the Path of Salvation. By so doing, we connect ourselves to the Triune God who is the only fount and source of peace. This is essential because at the end of our journey on earth, the deciding factor will definitely be how much at peace we are with God, with our brothers and sisters and with ourselves and how much we contributed to the consolidation of peace in the world; “Do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven.” (Lk. 10:20)

Jesus warns His disciples about love’s rejection by the world when he says, “I am sending you as lambs in the midst of wolves.” Jesus is aware of the opposition against the Gospel. The devil will try to stop the spread of the Gospel. The disciples must not be complacent and naïve, for the world is replete with enemies, temptations and distractions. Jesus himself was led to the cross by his enemies. His disciples should not expect a fate that is less harsh than what their Master had undergone. The warning of Jesus is just being realistic. He wants his followers to be conscious of the enemy, but he assures them of his presence and protection: “I will be with you always until the end of time”; “Not a hair on your head will be harmed.”

In these times of war, we only see actions of violence and antics of power among the elite leaders of the world. It is appropriate to quote and remember the words of Saint Francis’ prayer: “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace, where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.”

The love for us of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit make us always One Body, One Spirit, One Family! Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Katharine Drexel, Saint Teresa of Avila, Saint Michael the Archangel, Pope Saint Pius X, St. Charbel and St. José Gregorio Hernández, pray for us.

Yours in Christ Jesus!
Fr. Omar