FOURTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - JULY 3, 2022

FOURTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

As we get ready to celebrate Independence Day as Americans this week, we simply cannot ignore the issues and the divisiveness that persist within our country today. As Catholics, though, we are called to approach our communities, whether they be local or national, with love, charity, and prudence that is formed by our faith. Above all, God is calling us to be disciples to our communities and evangelists of His Gospel. This will not be easy, but if we love our fellow neighbors and our fellow countrymen, we will speak to them in the way God wants us to.

READ THIS SUNDAY'S MESSAGE

There are many nations throughout the world who have completely turned their backs on their past as nations that serve God. So many of us have been tempted by and caught up in what the world has to offer that we have pushed God to the peripheries, if not entirely out of our communities. We are first and foremost Catholics, obedient to the Pope and to the Law of the Church, but that does not mean our nationalities are meaningless. We are Americans because God willed us to be placed here at this point in history for a reason. America is still strongly tied to its Godly foundation, but we can look at the culture and see where this might be weakened or in the process of being undone. As Catholics and as Americans, God is calling us to be disciples to our people, just as Isaiah was a prophet to the Jews, just as Paul was a disciple to those within the Roman Empire, and just as other Apostles were disciples to their own people. Many of our neighbors have heard the Gospel and have rejected it, but as we start to see our society turn away from Christ, we should look at this as an opportunity. There are now many people who have never heard the Gospel; this is our chance to share it with them for the first time, and in an authentic and loving manner. Christ knew that this would be a challenging task. He tells us that he is sending us out like lambs among wolves. But there is reason for us to go into this perilous journey with joy - if we take on the responsibility of discipleship, our names will be written in heaven.

FAMILIES, ACTIVATE!

Family activity to do at home: Discipleship should first begin in the home, passed on from parents to their children, and it should be done at a young age. That being said, we become increasingly capable of knowing how to follow Christ as we get older, but being younger enables us to use our child-like innocence to know and love the Lord exactly as He is known and loved by the communion of angels and saints in Heaven. Discipleship is something that we need to be trained in; fortunately for parents, the innocence of youth is a valuable tool that makes this training more effective. The activity below shows us how we can start to train our children in discipleship as soon as possible.