St. Bede-St. Denis Parish Home

Dear brothers and sisters:

 

Few things in life are improvised. The way a person reacts to adversity at a given moment is usually something that has been quietly taking shape within them over time. A few months ago, while discussing the fortitude with which an acquaintance was facing the news of a terminal illness, a good friend remarked: "There is far more faith and inner life in some people than is outwardly apparent."

 

Today’s Gospel reminds us that encountering Jesus cannot be merely an incidental or occasional event—something confined to a specific phase of our lives that eventually fades away. Jesus asks us to choose Him and make Him the center of our lives. He invites us to embrace the cross just as He did, so that when it enters our lives—in whatever form—we may feel His nearness and experience an unconditional love that consoles and strengthens us.

 

Choosing Jesus means refusing to settle for mediocrity or half-measures; it means bringing His forgiveness, affection, and hope into our daily lives and into the encounters we have with the people who shape our personal stories. It means acting as His ambassadors in His name, even in small acts— such as offering a glass of cool water to someone in need.

 

In a society where we rush from one thing to the next and tend to live in a state of distraction, Jesus comes to meet us, urging us to choose Him and assuring us that He will always remain by our side. Encountering Him gives meaning to what seems senseless; it offers a path to happiness and bestows the forgiveness and peace from which springs a joy that no one can take away. Jesus is worth it—for adolescence and youth, for adulthood and old age alike. Jesus is a friend and a companion on the journey, giving substance and meaning to every moment of our lives.

 

Happy Sunday!

 

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