Blog & Pastor Letters

Speaking in the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, Pope Francis highlighted the image of the Last Judgement depicted in the cathedral dome: “At the center is Jesus, our light. At the apex of the fresco reads the inscription: ‘Ecce Homo.’ Looking at this dome we are drawn upward, as we contemplate the transformation of Christ judged by Pilate, into Christ seated on the judge’s throne. An angel brings him a sword yet Jesus does not take on the symbols of judgment, but instead raises his right hand, showing the marks of the passion . . .”1

Our lives are not our own. This may be a jarring reality, but our difficulty in accepting it makes it no less real. Everything that we have has been given. In other words, everything we have — including our very lives — is a gift. This is the logic the Lord invites us into in the parable of the talents, the logic of the good things the Lord desires to share with us and our response to His gifts.

As we approach the end of the Liturgical Year culminating in the Solemnity of Christ the King, our readings take on a more urgent tone and our longing for all things to be subject to Christ intensifies. In these days, the Church is encouraging us to be prepared. But how?

Jesus offers us the parable of the wise and foolish virgins. Five went prepared to meet the bridegroom with flasks of oil to keep their lamps burning bright. The other five brought no oil with them, only what was in their lamps. As we have just heard, when the bridegroom comes, the foolish virgins have to go out to purchase oil, and so arrive late to the wedding feast.

In you, Lord, I have found my peace. In the world in which we live, perhaps the search for peace can seem like a futile effort. There is so much noise, so many distractions, so much chaos. As ineffectual as it may seem, however, we continue the search. How much money is spent on self-help books, meditation apps, and therapy sessions? Perhaps to some end, these tools may be helpful. But what happens when they fail? How many people today seek to numb themselves with alcohol and drugs, or even by throwing themselves into the alternate reality of social media? In other words, our desire for peace cannot be extinguished.