A Word of Hope

In today's Gospel, the Sadducees try to trip up Jesus with a question about the resurrection. Jesus had an answer, though they did not want to hear it. Jesus ultimately has the answer for all our deepest questions, so let us not be afraid to ask them if we want answers.

Today we celebrate St. Cecilia, patron saint of musicians. Music can unite us, for we cannot be enemies while we sing together. Perhaps we can use music to bring us together at a time after the elections when we are so divided.

In today's Gospel, Jesus says, "whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother." His mother, Mary, lived in such a way as to always point to God rather than to herself. We should do the same.

In today's gospel, we hear Luke's version of Matthew's parable of the talents, where a rich man goes away and leaves his money in the care of his servants. This versions stresses the need to invest the faith we have been given by proclaiming God's graces.

In the Book of Revelation we hear a challenge for Christians living in a pagan society to hold fast to their faith, living in the world but not being of the world. We live in a very secular world. Can we live as Christians without caving in to the values of this secular world?

In today's Gospel, a blind man hears that Jesus is coming and calls out to him. The crowd tells him to shut up, but Jesus calls him over and heals him. This is a complex story about the many ways we respond to God's presence in our life. Are we like the blind man, the crowd who tells him to shut up, or the crowd who is amazed at the healing? Which type of encounter do we want to have with Jesus?

In today's Gospel Jesus talks about the end times, when heaven and earth will pass away. What is revealed is that we are not masters of the world or even of our own lives. God is. We are only stewards of our little corner of it. The Good News is that when this time comes, God will collect and protect his faithful. So don't worry, just tend to the little part of the world that God has given you to be steward over. The Master will handle the rest.

Jesus told a parable of the unjust judge who finally gave a widow her due because of her persistence. God will also grant what we ask for, but seeks to have an ongoing conversation with us as we would with a friend. Also, as with friends, we cannot make demands of God but must trust that God loves us and will do what is right for us.

On this Feast of St. Albert the Great, Doctor of the Church, we remember how he integrated knowledge from theology, science, and politics, seeing no disparity between faith and reason. All of these realms of knowledge speak of the genius and imagination of God in creation. In the same way, we should let our knowledge of the world bolster our faith rather than setting these things in competition.

Jesus proclaimed that the Kingdom of God was among us. So, while this is not heaven, the fulness of the Kingdom, we do not have to look to the future to see the Kingdom. We can find the Kingdom of God here and now in how we live out the salvation of God.

Jesus healed lepers and allowed them to rejoin the wider society. Mother Cabrini worked tirelessly on behalf of immigrants to the United States towards the same end. May we follow their example and work to integrate into our society those who today cry out for mercy.

Paul's Letter to Titus gives advice on how to life so that as we grow in age, we might also grow in wisdom and holiness.

In today's Gospel, Jesus admonished his disciples against leading others astray. Let us ask God to remove the obstacles in our own lives that cause us to harm others, and to help us to share whatever blessings come our way.

Today we hear of the woman who gave two small coins for poor, which was everything she had. Jesus noticed her generosity and pointed it out to others. Perhaps he was even moved to be more generous himself. So let us together do all we can, encouraging one another to be more generous.

Today we celebrate the oldest church in Christianity, the Basilica of St. John Lateran. But our readings remind us that however important buildings are, when Jesus walked the earth he was God's temple. Now it is we, the baptised, who are God's true temples, called to be living stones, active in the world.

Paul reminds us that our citizenship is ultimately in heaven. Keeping this in mind moves us beyond optimism or pessimism and into a mindset of hope— that Jesus has already conquered death and whatever is happening here and now, in the end, Jesus triumphs over all.

Sorry, today's Word of Hope was taken down for being too political.

Paul tells us never to grumble, but to rejoice whatever comes our way, so that we can shine as a beacon of faith and hope for others. This is particularly important as the world get darker.

We long for a political system that will be just and perfect, but it will never happen in this life. Jesus came not to fix everything in this world, but to open for us a better one in heaven. The effects of original sin are still in this world, and it can never be perfect, but if we can be life Jesus, not grasping for power but humbling ourselves for the sake of others, we will join him in heaven.

Can we be like Jesus, who emptied himself of his divine glory in order to come and be one of us. Can we listen to one another without needing to be right? Can we take a moment to just listen?

Jesus told us that the greatest commandment was to love God with your entire being. Whatever we do to pray, if we do it in a spirit of love for God, it will draw us closer to God.

On this Solemnity of All Saints, we hear the Beatitudes, and the many ways that we can be holy. With so many different saints in heaven already pulling for us, we can be hopeful of finding our own way to heaven.

On this Feast of All Souls, we ponder what heaven might be like, and we pray that everyone might get there.

St. Paul advises us to to stand against the power of the devil. God unites, the devil divides. In this election season, we must not give in to division, even though we must in truth acknowledge differences. The key is to see that God created us all to be united. Then we are motivated to to get to know one another and come to understand our various motivations and opinions, so we can love one another despite our differences.