Sunday the 13th Week in Ordinary Time, A July 2, 2023

Father Rick’s Two-Minute Homily for
Sunday the 13th Week in Ordinary Time, A
July 2, 2023, Matthew 10:37-42
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/070223.cfm

I imagine all of us can think of someone who sacrificed something extraordinary for Jesus. I am not thinking of giving up something for the season of Lent. I’m thinking of something gut-wrenching that changes the direction of your life.

My sister Bev dated a lovely man for five years. I was only about five years old. I remember he was a gentleman, tall with dark hair and a black mustache. She talked about him a lot. I thought, “She must like this man.” I didn’t know anything about love.

One day she came home and told us they were not getting married. I suppose they were engaged. Then she told us why they weren’t together anymore. He refused to have the children baptized Catholic. So she told him goodbye.

I cannot say I could comprehend that tender age her sacrifice for her Catholic Faith. But something has always been in the back of my mind. Did her loss of someone she loved so much for Jesus influence my relationship with the Lord? I wonder if I learned, in a simple way, if Jesus was worth losing everything. I truly believe that moment God planted the seed in my heart to be a priest and ultimately a religious.

The beautiful thing is that not long after that, she met a man who became a Catholic and was very spouse for over 50 years. Tom became a brother to me; God rest his soul.

Gospel Challenge:
Jesus talks about sacrificing even important people, like family, because he knows he is worth it. Perhaps you can think of someone who made the sacrifice that influenced your faith in Jesus.

Fr. Rick Pilger, IC
www.bscchurch.com

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