July 6, 2025, Luke 10:1 to 12, 17-20
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/070625.cfm
Vocation – To Be a Saint.
The word that jumped out at me when I prayed over today’s gospel is the word “appointed.” The Lord appointed” those whom He sent ahead of Him. I prayed over the word appointed, and I heard that my vocation to the priesthood and religious life isn’t something I chose to do. The Lord chose me.
The same is true for men and women who become “one flesh” in the Sacrament of Marriage. They are no longer two people, but one person – the Person of Jesus, for each other first and then for the greater community of Faith and the world.
How different for couples who live together or get a state license but are not married by a priest or deacon in the Catholic Church! It is the difference between a piece of bread on a plate and the Body of Jesus on the altar.
When an engaged couple comes to me for Marriage, I ask them at some point to look into each other’s eyes. I say, “When you state your married vows to love and honor each other for the rest of your lives, from that point on you are looking into the eyes of Jesus and He is looking into yours. When you do, what do you see? It takes a few moments for couples to look away from each other.
Then I ask them, “When you hold each other’s hands, what Cross of Jesus are you helping each other carry? Jesus will stay with us through the tough times. We will never go wrong when we put the person first. This is the grace of the Sacrament of Matrimony. Pray for couples who choose not to receive the Sacramental love of Jesus for each other. In prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, I see Jesus on the Cross praying to His Father, “I thirst” for them.
When a couple states their vows to a priest during the Rite of Marriage, Jesus is present in the priest, witnessing their lifelong bond.
When I pray the words of Consecration at Mass, and proclaim the words of absolution to the penitent in confession, I want to prostrate myself on the ground and worship Jesus. Why would he call a weak, sinful man to do through him what only God can do?
There is only one answer – Jesus loves you and others so much that He wants to think, see, touch, speak, and love through the likes of you and me. We, the Church, are a Sacrament for each other.
In summary, a vocation in the Catholic Church is a call to be the Presence of Jesus for all people, beginning with those who are closest to us. It’s what saints do.
Jesus appointed 72 others, so a vocation is something Jesus does in us. So, a vocation is something Jesus does in us.
With Mother Mary, we respond, “Let it be done to me as you say and as you do.”
Love Your Neighbor!
Fr. Rick Pilger, IC
www.bscchurch.com
Father Rick’s Gospel Reflection for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 6, 2025, Luke 10:1 to 12, 17-20
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/070625.cfm
Vocation – To Be a Saint.
The word that jumped out at me when I prayed over today’s gospel is the word “appointed.” The Lord appointed” those whom He sent ahead of Him. I prayed over the word appointed, and I heard that my vocation to the priesthood and religious life isn’t something I chose to do. The Lord chose me.
The same is true for men and women who become “one flesh” in the Sacrament of Marriage. They are no longer two people, but one person – the Person of Jesus, for each other first and then for the greater community of Faith and the world.
How different for couples who live together or get a state license but are not married by a priest or deacon in the Catholic Church! It is the difference between a piece of bread on a plate and the Body of Jesus on the altar.
When an engaged couple comes to me for Marriage, I ask them at some point to look into each other’s eyes. I say, “When you state your married vows to love and honor each other for the rest of your lives, from that point on you are looking into the eyes of Jesus and He is looking into yours. When you do, what do you see? It takes a few moments for couples to look away from each other.
Then I ask them, “When you hold each other’s hands, what Cross of Jesus are you helping each other carry? Jesus will stay with us through the tough times. We will never go wrong when we put the person first. This is the grace of the Sacrament of Matrimony. Pray for couples who choose not to receive the Sacramental love of Jesus for each other. In prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, I see Jesus on the Cross praying to His Father, “I thirst” for them.
When a couple states their vows to a priest during the Rite of Marriage, Jesus is present in the priest, witnessing their lifelong bond.
When I pray the words of Consecration at Mass, and proclaim the words of absolution to the penitent in confession, I want to prostrate myself on the ground and worship Jesus. Why would he call a weak, sinful man to do through him what only God can do?
There is only one answer – Jesus loves you and others so much that He wants to think, see, touch, speak, and love through the likes of you and me. We, the Church, are a Sacrament for each other.
In summary, a vocation in the Catholic Church is a call to be the Presence of Jesus for all people, beginning with those who are closest to us. It’s what saints do.
Jesus appointed 72 others, so a vocation is something Jesus does in us. So, a vocation is something Jesus does in us.
With Mother Mary, we respond, “Let it be done to me as you say and as you do.”
Love Your Neighbor!
Fr. Rick Pilger, IC
www.bscchurch.com
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