Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time – Back to the Gospel of Matthew
Today we are back to Ordinary Time on Sunday for the first time since February. Being in Cycle A from the Sunday Lectionary, we pick up again the Gospel of Matthew which we started after the Christmas Season in January and which was interrupted by the Easter Season. So now we will proceed from Chapter 9 of Matthew and continue with it through the end of the liturgical year in November.
Picking up with the life of Jesus who has been in Galilee for some length of time, we know he has been preaching repentance and the Kingdom of God being near at hand throughout the cities and towns and villages of Galilee. He has seen so much suffering and hardship, mostly due to the Roman conquest of Israel a few generations earlier. The occupying Romans and their puppet king, Herod, instituted policies and taxes which led to poverty and its consequent problems – illness, malnutrition, crime, fear, and untimely deaths at the hand of the authorities. It was among these afflicted citizens that Jesus felt deep compassion with a desire to help them. As a result, Jesus healed and helped very many, no doubt hundreds, but he wanted help. So today in the Gospel, Jesus shares his divine authority with his 12 main disciples, who now become official Apostles. After being instructed, they are sent out as Jesus’ representatives with the purpose of continuing to teach the people of Galilee, to heal them, to raise some from the dead, and to drive out demons. Then the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth established by Christ the Lord began to really pick up steam and to continue to grow by leaps and bounds.
Our Lord Jesus is calling each of us today to be his representatives and spread his message to those around us and to touch people with his divine love. Ready or not, here we go!
Annual “Missionary Co-Op” Sunday
Our St. Bernadette Parish Family is fortunate today to have a missionary, Sister Mary Paul Asoegwu,DDL, talk at all of our Masses this weekend. Her congregation, the Daughters of Divine Love, was founded in 1969 and now has over 900 professed members. They are engaged in pastoral apostolates in many different parts of the world, especially in Africa and the Caribbean. They minister wherever a manifestation of God’s love is needed. They focus on the very poor of society, including the homeless and hungry, the adults and children living on the streets, battered women and children, babies affected by drugs, and anyone who is rejected by the community.
Sister Mary Paul is appealing to all of us at St. Bernadette to help her Order to have some income to provide for their sisters so that they are then able to work with the needy. They are also embarking on a self-help farm project for their novices, to enable them to produce some of the food they need and for the poor around them.
Be assured that these Sisters will be praying for all who are generous in supporting their missionary ministry.
P.S. If you want you can turn in your contribution to the Parish Office this week or drop it in the basket next weekend at Mass.
Father’s Day
Men who are good fathers are loved every day, but today we honor them and pray for them with a special fervor and love. All of us are grateful: to the men who first gave us life, to the grandfathers who taught and shared so much with us, to the godfather who sponsored us at Baptism, to the stepfather or foster father who chose to pitch in and help us, to the priestly father who helped us grow within God’s family, the Church, to the fatherly coaches and scout leaders who guided us in our youth, to the men who fathered our children in marriage, and to all the men who were wholesome role models for us. They were all called to be like Christ for us, and we thank God for the positive role they played in helping us mature in life! God bless all you fathers with graces you need and deserve to keep up the good work!