Mt 5:27-32 Tear, throw away, cut it off

Jesus uses very harsh poignant language in today's reading.  To go against one's very nature is so incredibly hurtful.  In marriage the idea is that two become one.  To commit adultery is to go against one's self, to harm one's self.  True, there is the aspect of marriage of adultery, but one can also look at it as not being true to one's self, which is what calls us to live rightly in communion with God. 

There is a song called Trading My Sorrows by Darrel Evans that  reminds us that we ought to hear the Lord, not in the great sounds of the world around us or the rushing of the wind, but in that still small voice, where the Lord encourages us to be true to ourselves and him by turning toward him, and saying "Yes Lord."  When we do we trade our sorrows and shame for love and forgiveness.  We are not abandoned but lifted up.  The Lord reminds us not to commit adultery, so we must strive not be adulterous toward God by placing things before him, or before our commitment to doing right by ourselves, or others.  At the end of our lives, we don't answer to other people.  No, we meet God alone and have to answer for own words, actions, behavior.  How can we do this if we are pretending to be someone that we're not?  We must be ourselves, the people God intended.  There is great hope in this, and peace.  In being true to ourselves, it will lead us to a deeper connection and unity with the Lord, for it is only in him that we find ourselves.

Jn 16: 12-15 Holy Trinity Sunday

In catechism class recently we were discussing the Holy Spirit with a group of 2nd and 3rd graders.  We asked, "Can you see the Holy Spirit?"  They answered, "No."  "Can you feel the Holy Spirit?"  The kids took a little longer, and all but one child said no: one child said yes.  "Can you hear the Holy Spirit?"  There was a resounding "YES!"

How do we know that they Holy Spirit is with us?  The kids said that we had symbols to remind us where the Holy Spirit is.  They had been listening to Start a Fire by the band, Unspoken.  They said that the fire symbolized that excitement and energy that made them want to do good.  The wind shakes the trees and makes them move, so it was similar to the way the Spirit moves us.  When asked about the dove, they said it was how the Spirit brings us peace.  They were stuck on other symbols of the holy spirit, then someone shouted out, a heart...the Holy Spirit is love. 

In today's Gospel we hear of Jesus telling us that the Holy Spirit is the advocate that the Father will send, and like him, the Spirit speaks not his own words, but the Father's.  They are united as described by Christ's words.  They work for a common cause within our lives and within our hearts to lead us to Heaven to be united with them.  May the blessed Trinity guide us always and be with us to the end of our days.  Amen.