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In answering the scholar with regards to which commandment in the law is greatest, Jesus says, “You shall love the Lord your God first and then you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

During this election cycle, we find ourselves in a world that has become somewhat divisive. We are forced to blur the lines of faith and our political systems. Jesus offers us an interesting response in today’s Gospel. When addressing the Pharisees, Jesus gives them a message that applies to us today—simply that we need to get our priorities in check. We need to get “back on track” and keep our eyes on the Kingdom of God, focusing less on what we have and more on how we serve, advocate, and stand for all peoples.

We ask the Lord to give us the grace to be consistent with our choices and to accept His invitation to come to the banquet.

Are we able to let God’s loving embrace bring us the peace that can help us manage life during a pandemic and racial unrest? God’s love for us is so vast that it is beyond our comprehension. If we open ourselves to that love, God’s peace will calm our mind and spirit and make us whole.

esus speaks sternly and directly to the chief priests and elders. They are spoken to awaken the consciences of these religious leaders. They were filled with pride and self righteousness. They held to their own opinions and their opinions were wrong. Their pride kept them from discovering the simple truths that tax collectors and prostitutes were discovering.

his weekend’s Gospel reminds us that, as ministers, we are called to a privileged labor in the Lord’s vineyard. It is privileged because God is that generous landowner who welcomes people to His vineyard until the very last moment.

What does it really mean to forgive someone? We often learn about it as a practice from a very young age, being taught from a very young age to say, “I’m sorry,” and then “It’s OK. I forgive you,” even though it might hurt more than we let on.

We should go to the one who sins against us and seek to bring them back reconciling them to the Church. We should get help if necessary and when two or three are gathered in His name, He is in our midst. We are never alone.

If we want to have a place in God’s heavenly kingdom, we must willingly take up our cross and demonstrate the faith in our hearts by living it out so that we can respond in love for all He has done for us.

Now is the time to be the example and the “rock” that Jesus wants us to be. Jesus has chosen us to be the rock on which to build His church.

We are called to do that which will effect change; change that is reflective of God’s view of what is just and right. As we listen to God’s Word today, we hear that God’s justice and mercy is available to all people.

Jesus tells us to take courage so that we can continue the work we have been called to do, no matter how challenging and unpredictable it has become. And so we pray: Lord, save me! I can’t do this on my own. Give me courage to keep my eyes on you amidst the storm, give me strength to continue to move forward despite the challenges, give me faith to believe the storm will eventually subside.

When everyone shared, everyone had enough. This is exactly what our Church should stand for. Do we take the opportunity to share what we have with others?

Some years ago, composer Leonard Bernstein when speaking on simplicity and the simple things of life said: “Sing God a simple song … God loves all simple things, for God is the simplest of all.” What an interesting and nice idea! It challenges us just as Matthew’s Gospel by telling us that God’s kingdom isn’t what we think.

The Good is separated from the evil and the bad will be thrown into the fire. We are called to be good seeds bearing much fruit.

Who would have predicted the challenging circumstances that we would face this year? And yet — God is ever faithful. Our faith is built on the transforming power of God, Who sent His word—Jesus, the Christ—to accomplish His saving work for humankind. We trust that our allpowerful Creator will love us through these unprecedented times and bring redemption through our suffering.

Today’s Gospel is a very well-known verse. Preachers and teachers like to quote this verse. And we like to hear it because it gives so much comfort to our souls as we live in a world that doesn’t give us much rest. How do we come to that rest? What are the conditions? Jesus makes this promise: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

We should be capable of taking up our cross and following Jesus. In the social unrest of today, can we hear the prophet’s voice? Are we centered enough on God to hear the still, small voice through all the anger, fear, and hate?

We all have fears. Some of these fears are worse than others. Then there are the things that we fear for no reason at all. There are some things that we don’t fear that we should. There’s a paradox in today’s Gospel. On the one hand, Jesus tells us not to be afraid, because our Father in heaven loves us more than all the sparrows in the world and knows us intimately down to the last strand of hair.

We are given many gifts and one great gift leads us into today’s readings on this Solemnity of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. By gifting us with an ongoing reminder of Himself in the Eucharist, Jesus physically lets us know He is still with us. He did and will continue to feed us.