Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time - Is 22:19-23; Rom 11:33-36; Mt 16:13-20

08-27-2023Weekly ReflectionThe Faithful Disciple

GROW: God is not looking for perfection when it comes to his leaders, he is looking for true and loving hearts. In the first reading, God is not impressed with the master of the palace as a father for the people of Jerusalem. Eliakim the servant has the heart God desires. God will give Eliakim whatever he needs to guide his people – the right clothes, authority, and a place of honor. And we learn in the Gospel that Peter has the heart of love Jesus knows is necessary to guide his followers after he is gone. There are more learned and powerful men, but they lack Peter’s faith. Jesus knows Peter is not perfect and he has much to learn, but Peter has the right foundation for the Church. We don’t need to be the smartest people or have money and influence to be God’s leaders. We need hearts of love and faith, and God will give us the tools we need to do the work.

GO: There is much to be done in our parishes and God needs our hearts and faith to get to work. How can we use our gifts and talents to help make the parish a welcoming place? For some it might be liturgical ministry, but every church needs people to work behind the scenes. Dusting and cleaning the church is not a glamorous job, but caring for the house of God is a blessing in itself. Helping the parish office with special mailings or weekly tasks is welcome to the staff who have so many responsibilities. Why not use the eyes of the Father to look in our hearts and see how we can make our parish a foundation of faith for all our family? We can also use God’s sight to look for people at Mass who need an invitation to be more active in the parish, sharing the reminder none of us have to be perfect people to participate. We just need hearts of love.

ACT: Look over the bulletin this week and reflect on where your talents could make a difference in your parish. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you the wisdom and guidance you need to find where God wants you to be and what he wants you to do. Extend an invitation to one person to join you in participating in a church ministry.