Let me tell you a story: “A young man was very excited because he just won a ticket to the Super Bowl. His excitement lessened as he realized his seat was in the back of the stadium. As he searched the rows ahead of him for a better seat, he saw an empty one right next to the field. He approached the man sitting next to the empty seat and asked if it was taken. The man replied, “No.” Amazed the young man asked, “How could someone pass up a seat like this?” The older gentleman responded, “That’s my wife’s seat. We’ve been to every Super Bowl together since the day we were married but she has passed away.” “Oh, how sad,” the man said, “I’m sorry to hear that, but couldn’t you find a friend or relative to come with you?” “No,” the man said, “They’re all at the funeral.” Talking about commitment…
Today’s readings are about God’s call and man’s commitment in answer to that call. They ask one for total commitment made in total freedom with the spirit of patient love, – that is, to say an unconditional “Yes” to Jesus and to the Christian life, as a true disciple of Christ.
As Catholics, we should have the courage of our convictions and so honor our commitments: The marriage commitment: The spouses are expected to honor their marriage commitment, that is, to remain in mutual love and respect till their death and to raise their children to be zealous Christians. The priestly and religious commitment: Priests, Deacons and religious should honor the commitment they have made to obey their lawful superiors, to keep their vows, and to spend their lives serving God’s people faithfully. The Christian commitment: As Christians, all of us should honor our Baptismal commitment and to bear witness to him through ideal and transparent Christian lives.
We all have said to Jesus, “I will follow you.” But the truth of the matter is that most of us don’t want to follow Jesus because we want him to follow us. Hence, we are only partially faithful to him. But the Good News is that we are following him as best we can. Our everyday life brings to us all sorts of tough choices and difficult demands. We need to pray for strength, we need to ask for forgiveness when we fail, and we need to renew our determination to walk with Jesus. He is loyal to us always, let us be loyal to Him.
Over a week ago, I talked with my assistant Katie Cavitt (Morasso) who informed me that she has received a new job offer from St. Joseph in South Lyon, where she currently lives. My first reaction was “OH NO! We don’t want to lose you” But at the same time I told her: “If this is what you want, if that would help you on your life’s journey – Go for it!” Katie has been working in our parish for 4 years. I have had the privilege working with her for 2 years. We have developed such a nice way of communication and cooperation. She has been doing many very important things behind the scenes but also many ministries that you all know well, like – the youth group, the young adult’s group, and the funerals. And for everything, we are grateful. We will miss you Katie, but we understand your decision and wish you many blessings on your new journey. We know that you will never forget about St. Genevieve – St. Maurice parish: It’s your home! You are always welcome here. God speed Katie!
Have blessed week! Fr. Tom