This morning, we were blessed to have three of our shepherds here to celebrate Mass with us: Archbishop Carlson from the Archdiocese of St. Louis, Bishop Rice from the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau, and Bishop Kemme from the Diocese of Wichita.
Archbishop Carlson began his homily by reminding us that the God who has invited us here for the Eucharist is the same God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and all the saints. That same God most likely touched many of our hearts and souls this weekend. He also placed prayers and goals on our hearts, but we are not able to achieve those goals alone. We need each other. We need to be bold and inspire hope in one another by how we live our lives because none of us need to walk alone.
As St. Paul said, “We are ambassadors for Christ.” Our God desires that we would come to know His love through and with each other. As we walk with each other, we need to walk with men and women of God who will stand up and address the issues of our time; whether that’s praying outside of Planned Parenthood, teaching the youth about Jesus, whatever the need might be. When you are a companion and have an act of concern for one another, that concern leads to the mystery of Christ inside each one of us.
Today in the Gospel, Jesus tells us that we are called to serve our brothers and sisters, no mater the need, whether in prayer or action. So Archbishop Carlson asked us, “Are you willing to pray for your friends? Are you willing to serve your friends?” When you pray for and serve your friends, you are living out the Gospel. While prayer does not always take precedence in our lives, when the time comes to pray for our friends and those in need, we need to be there to pray. Hopefully the Lord has filled you up with love and opened your heart this weekend so that you can better hear the whispers of the Holy Spirit in your life. Archbishop Carlson’s prayer is that all present this weekend will leave filled with the same Jesus they have heard about and experienced all weekend.
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