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Generous Discipleship

Treasure

My God will fully supply whatever you need,

in accord with his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

To our God and Father, glory forever and ever. Amen.

As we continue our series on Generous Discipleship, we focus this week on our stewardship of treasure, our money, knowing how fraught a topic it can be for many. As a Church we run the risk of two opposite tendencies when it comes to money: the “prosperity Gospel” nonsense where we talk about money constantly and how God will reward you if you give us that money versus the other pole of never mentioning money out of fear that someone will get offended. But money is important because it denotes value--it is the evaluation of our work, of our security, of our priorities. Talking about money as a disciple is taking seriously our values and asking the tough question: are my values rightly ordered? Does the way I spend my money reflect the things that I say are most important in my life? Do I reflect on my life as a disciple before I make purchases or financial decisions? Does the fear of losing or making money dictate the most important moves I make in life? Am I prayerful and intentional about how much money I give to support my parish? Am I aware of the percentage that I give and what would happen if I increased it? These are the questions I want us as a parish to begin pondering this week, as we journey toward our Commitment Sunday on October 29th. May we seek to respond ever more generously to the infinite generosity of our God.

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Discipulado Generoso

Tesoro

Mi Dios suplirá todo lo que necesiten,

de acuerdo con sus gloriosas riquezas en Cristo Jesús.

A nuestro Dios y Padre, gloria por los siglos de los siglos. Amén.

Mientras continuamos nuestra serie sobre el Discipulado Generoso, nos centramos esta semana en nuestra mayordomía del tesoro, nuestro dinero, sabiendo lo tenso  que puede ser el tema para muchos. Como Iglesia corremos el riesgo de dos tendencias opuestas cuando se trata de dinero: la tontería del “evangelio de la prosperidad” donde hablamos de dinero constantemente y cómo Dios te recompensará si nos das ese dinero versus el otro polo de nunca mencionar el dinero. Por temor  a que alguien se ofenda. Pero el dinero es importante porque denota valor: es la evaluación de nuestro trabajo, de nuestra seguridad, de nuestras prioridades. Hablar de dinero como discípulo es tomar en serio nuestros valores y plantearnos la difícil pregunta: ¿están mis valores correctamente ordenados? ¿La forma en que gasto mi dinero refleja las cosas que digo que son más importantes en mi vida? ¿Reflexiono sobre mi vida como discípulo antes de hacer compras o tomar decisiones financieras? ¿El miedo a perder o ganar dinero dicta los pasos más importantes que hago en la vida? ¿Estoy orando y siendo intencional acerca de cuánto dinero doy para apoyar a mi parroquia? ¿Soy consciente del porcentaje que doy y qué pasaría si lo aumentara? Éstas son las preguntas que quiero que como parroquia comencemos a reflexionar esta semana, mientras avanzamos hacia nuestro Domingo de Compromiso el 29 de octubre. Que busquemos responder cada vez más generosamente a la infinita generosidad de nuestro Dios.

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“I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice” -Romans 12:1

“The body, in fact, and only the body, is capable of making visible what is invisible: the spiritual and the divine. It has been created to transfer into the visible reality of the world, the mystery hidden from eternity in God, and thus to be a sign of it” -St. John Paul II

This week kicks off our five week preaching series on the Theology of the Body, perhaps my favorite topic to preach about, meditate on and discuss. It is an in-depth, biblical exploration of God, sexuality, gender, the male and female difference and complementarity, and our destiny in Heaven. It helps to make connections between all aspects of faith and life: the Sacraments, the Bible, relationships, marriage, heartbreak, sin and redemption. The Theology of the Body was developed by St. John Paul II and taught over his first five years of being Pope. When I first stumbled upon the Theology of the Body (or “TOB” for those in the know!) I was a senior in college, beginning to seriously discern priesthood for the first time in my adult life. All of a sudden, so many of the questions and struggles I had concerning chastity, purity, vocation and who I was as a man were being answered in beautiful and dynamic ways. The TOB brought me back to “the beginning” on how God has made us male and female, destined us to participate in and model the love of the Trinitarian persons, shown how sin has twisted the dignity of our original state, and how the Redemption that Christ brings can restore and heal our hearts. It brings up conversations about how we have learned about sex, dating, and marriage that I hope you and your family will be having in the coming days. The beauty of this teaching is that it immediately applies to everybody in their life and relationships. It is challenging but helps to give answers to the questions that people are asking and a way forward for every person, no matter what their situation or struggles in life. I pray that this series will open up doors of grace and insight into the beauty of how God has made us, in His divine image, male and female. St. John Paul II, Mamma Mary and St. Joseph, pray for us!

Fr. Michael

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