Dear Family of God,

NO means “Next Opportunity,” what a positive attitude! This weekend we will hear the teaching about being persistent in prayer. God wants us all to never give up with our prayer life and with our interceding for the conversion of those who have not known yet the love of God.

Dorothy Day, the great Catholic activist, doubted God’s existence. At least in her early adult years. But something changed when after giving birth to her daughter, she experienced an overwhelming gratitude. She later described how, as she held her daughter, the only appropriate response was a kind of unlimited gratitude. She had done nothing to deserve such a gift — this tiny, miraculous life — but there she was, flooded with gratitude, completely undone by the love of such a Giver.

A priest friend of mine received a call from a family whose elderly mother was dying. Within thirty minutes, he was at her bedside, offering the consolation of the sacraments, anointing her with the oil of the sick, and commending her soul to God. She passed not long after, and for months, her family spoke of their deep gratitude for his presence. When I phoned him to commend his faithful ministry, he simply said, “I was just doing my job.”

I am embarrassed to admit that I frequently find myself dining and socializing with people who have millions and sometimes billions of dollars. I’ve eaten more caviar, lobster, and wagyu steak than most people on the planet. I justify it by saying it’s part of my job. But I have seven pairs of nice jeans and expensive shoes.

So it is rather uncomfortable to hear Our Lord say: “My child, remember that you received what was good in your lifetime, while Lazarus likewise received what was bad; but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented” (Luke 16:25).

Before I was a priest, I was a lazy worker for a retail Apple store. Hearing a rumor that my boss was going to fire me, I secretly sold iPhones for half-price, gave away dozens of free iPads, and donated several brand-new laptops to managers in other stores in the mall. After a week, my boss called me into his office. He knew what I was up to. He said I had cost the store thousands of dollars. “Really great work, John,” he said. “I am going to recommend you to be my assistant manager and double your pay.” I was amazed.

All that Jesus did in his life is left to us to follow. He humbled himself; he came to do God’s will; he loved us until the end… he never gives up on us sinners. True love always involves sacrifice. True love is self-sacrificing love. True love is not afraid to lose oneself, for it is only in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

According to Patricia Sharbaugh, in her article, in The Priest Magazine, entitled “The Fullness of Love”, “God’s saving love is revealed on the cross of Jesus Christ. The cross is not merely a means of salvation but is the primary way for Christians to know God.”

Dear Family of God,

The readings this weekend instructs us on how to become Jesus’ Disciples: Detachment from family, from self, and from possessions and willingness to carry our own cross: “If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” (Lk. 14:26)