THE WORD THIS WEEKEND

This weekend at Catholic mass you will hear in the Gospel reading from Matthew, the first of three weeks of Jesus speaking in parables to the locals near the Sea of Galilee.   His parables were not easy to understand by the agrarian peoples of that time but struct their interest because familiar settings were chosen for them.  This one, like others, was about a farmer planting seeds.  Parables have several meanings and should be studied with that in mind.  

Today, let's focus on the reading from Paul's letter to the Romans.  I choose this because it fits our time.  It begins, "Brothers and sisters, I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us."  If you are a person bemoaning our present plight, consider what Paul was talking about here.  His sufferings were imprisonment, torture and eventually death as a martyr.  A little worse than wearing a mask in public.  The trick is to keep your eye on the goal - the glory that is to be revealed to you when you transition to the next world.  Don't sweat the small stuff.  Keep moving in the right direction.

God bless you!

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