Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

If Christ were to appear before us, what are we willing to give Him?  What is Christ asking us to offer to Him? 

Christ is the perfect example of self-offering.  No greater love have we witnessed than Christ stretching out His arms on the Cross, pouring out his life, enfolding us in love, granting us salvation and eternal life with Him.

We are able to give because of Christ's love infused by the Spirit of God within us.  Our offering has no meaning, if not for the love of God dwelling within us. And God, out of His great love for us, sanctifies whatever we will offer to Him.  

Our Lord's Divine Heart is always wide open to receive our hearts, our aches and pains, our sorrows and delights, our sickness and suffering, our weakness and strength, our guilt and sins, our troubles and hope.  His most loving Heart ever embraces our cries, our pleas, our sacrifices, our praise. And, as I once again endure the pain of gout, God must be asking me to unite this suffering to the sorrowful passion of Christ.  Christ will then transform it into a sacrifice of praise for the honor of His Name.  In this praise offering, I am drawn closer to God and to His store house of graces and love.

Christ is calling us each moment of our lives to respond to His love.  On this Vocation Awareness Sunday, we celebrate the men and women who have responded to Christ's call to build His kingdom here on earth and serve as priests, deacons, and consecrated persons. Let us thank God and pray for them.   We ask God to sustain and bless them, as they become Christ's hands and feet which attend to the hunger of our souls, help free us from captivities and lead us to the treasures of God's Spirit so we can also go forth with grateful hearts, serving God and one another in faith, hope and love, exclaiming forever, "Praise the Lord, our God who reigns through all generations!"

God is Love, 

father Al

Administrator