The Emmaus Pastorate’s Podcast

What does the kingdom of God look like?  Jesus describes it in several ways throughout the Gospels, and near the end of his life Pilate asks him whether or not he is a king and, if so, where his kingdom exists.  In 2021 on the Solemnity of Jesus Christ KING OF THE UNIVERSE, we're asked the same questions.  Is Jesus your king?  What have you done to bring about his kingdom?

It's hard to be guilty of sin.  It's easy to be forgiven and welcomed home into heaven.  At least, that's true for Christians who see the world upside down compared to secular society.  While the world is very quick to judge and condemn us for our misgivings, Christ is like the "running father" who saw his repentant child returning to him.  As the liturgical year ends, let us rejoice in that fact that we have a forgiving Father who longs for us to dwell with him in heaven! 

And thanks to Archbishop Jackels for visiting this weekend as Father John goes on retreat!

Those widows have something to teach us!  One shared the last morsel of bread with a stranger, and another gave all the money she had to the temple.  So we're faced the questions: Do we give everything we have, and do we give it from our surplus or from our livelihood?  A further question to ponder: Do we give just our money and treasures, or do we also give our time and skills (i.e. talents)?  Giving from our surplus is OK, but when we're personally invested in each other, in God, and in our Church, our sacrifices carry more.  Let's learn from those widows!

Are you a good enough Catholic?  When you come to Mass, give your charity, help out at various events, are you giving just enough of yourself?  Today, Jesus challenges us - like the Hebrews before him - to love the Lord with all of our heart, all of our mind, and with all of our strength.  We are asked to be not just good enough but to love and give our all.  Can you do that?

So one day you see Jesus passing by with a crowed following you.  You need some healing, some kind of assistance in your life, and you call out to him.  Someone escorts you over to him, he looks you square in the face, and asks, "What do you want me to do for you?"  What's your answer?  

Are you an admirer or a follower?  Jesus' two key disciples ask to sit at his right and left when the kingdom comes, and all Jesus can see are admirers: people who aren't committed to following in his footsteps.  Being a follower is more than just looking on in amazement; it requires dedication, commitment, and - many times - sacrifice.  Are you an admirer or a follower?

Do you possess things?  Do YOU possess things, or do your THINGS possess you?  This guy in the Gospel today, no matter his age, has observed all the rules.  That's good!  Following the 10 Commandments and obeying God's law are great actions and virtues!  But Jesus says those aren't enough.  It's easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for someone whose THINGS possess them to enter heaven.  The rich young man went away sad.  When we get to heaven, will you be turned away sad too?

Do you love your Church?  Do you love your parish?  Do you love them like you love your spouse or family?  Relationships, especially marital ones, get very rocky sometimes, and obviously there are times of great joy.  In marriages though, spouses promise to be true to each other "in good times and in bad."  Is the same true when it comes to your local parish?  Do you stay true to the global Church in good times and in bad?

A disobedient follower does not a saint make.  In days gone by, it was extremely rare to find people preaching against church teaching and leading people away from Christ's flock.  But these days, such people are ever more common.  Let us remember that divisiveness is opposed to Christ's mission, and woe to the person who leads God's people away from the Word.  As St. Augustine once said, "There are those who seem outside the sheepfold who are really inside it, and there are those who seem inside the sheepfold who are really outside it."  Do you lead people toward God or away from him?

In Fr. John's absence, Archbishop Michael Jackels visited St. Joseph Parish in Elkader and St. Mary Parish in Strawberry Point this weekend.  In his homily, he relays this Wisdom: Rejoice in what is, rather than lament in what is not.  Let us also be happy with what we have, rather than decry what we are without.