How is it August already?!? It just amazes me how fast time seems to fly these days, and the older I get it seems to go that much faster! Before you know it, Advent will be upon us…I know, I know it’s hard to even fathom that right now, but the days are ticking away. It is so bizarre to me that we seem to be stuck on “Ground Hog’s Day,” or we are stuck on a treadmill going nowhere. With the unrest in our society right now, it can be very scary to live in these times. I, for one, am very grateful for our beautiful Catholic faith, because without it, I am not sure where I would be. Without the Love of our Lord and God, I have no doubt I would be very lost in these trying times. It is only through His grace and glory that we can persevere through the chaos of these difficult days. It is through His love and Word that we can find the strength to push through the challenges of our lives and just when we think that we cannot go on, He gives us the ability to push through the darkness and live in His light.

Once again, our weekend readings are extremely powerful and appropriate for the current days. In our first reading we see Elijah ready to just completely give up and die, but God had a different plan. In our Second Reading Paul very much is trying to encourage the community to stop being so nasty to each other and truly live a life worthy of Jesus Christ. Paul is almost begging the people to stop with all of the pettiness, and stop belittling those that have a different opinion than that of their own. In our Gospel Reading once again, we see the powers that be are jealous of J Jesus, and constantly trying to un-fairly trap Him in a confrontation. What does Jesus do? He challenges them to at least have the courage to confront their disagreements. He already knows their hearts are hardened, and gives them every opportunity to drop their pride and live a life for God. Sadly many of these religious leaders could not surrender their pride, and allow the miraculous life of Jesus Christ to fill their hearts.

We have an amazing opportunity in front of us to be a beacon of light, so that our brothers and sisters can see God’s love shine through us. We have to make the choice to live this life, and we have to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. We have to be ready to be challenged, and accept the fact that living a life of faith will not always be the easy way. We can no longer be on “the fence of faith,” but we must rise up and stand firm for Jesus Christ!!! As we start this new week, let us make a firm proclamation to live the life and Word of Jesus Christ!!! Let us run to Him with open arms, and allow our hearts to be filled! Let us have our best week yet! God bless!