A five-year-old lad was promised a puppy for his sixth birthday.  After weeks of anticipation, he was finally taken to the neighborhood pet shop where he was told that he could choose any one of the dozen puppies he saw there.   After looking them over carefully, he thought for a while and then pointed to an undistinguished looking, shaggy pup that was wagging his tail furiously.   “I want that one,” he cried out.   “I want the one with the happy ending.”

When we look at life, we long to see a happy ending, and we begin to make choices as to how we are going to reach that goal.   All too often, however, we rely on our own self-sufficiency in making those choices.  We leave God out of the picture.  That is the apostle Peter’s problem in today’s gospel reading.  Peter is looking at his life with Jesus longing to see happy ending.  He is not alone in his belief that the dream of a happy ending would come true when Jesus used his power to overthrow the Roman rule and restore the kingdom of Israel.   Jesus would be king and Peter and the apostles would be his chief lieutenants.  But Jesus would not be king!

Jesus had come not to be king but to do God’s will, and when Jesus told Peter that his mission would take him to Jerusalem where he would be tortured and executed, Peter can not handle it.  Peter actually rebukes Jesus for not seeing the happy ending his way.  That evoked one of the strongest responses from Jesus: “Get behind me, Satan!  You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”  Peter had just finished acknowledging Jesus as the Christ, the long-awaited Messiah whom God sent to bring his people to their promised fulfillment.  And almost in the same breadth, here is Peter telling the Messiah to carry out his mission according to his preconceived notions.   Jesus explained to all his disciples that if they chose to follow him, they must be willing to acknowledge their insufficiency in themselves to chart the course to that happy ending.  They must be willing to lose their lives to God in this sense.

What does it mean to take up one’s cross, deny oneself, and follow Jesus?  The answer differs with circumstances and needs, but this story embodies some of the spirit and courage of being a disciple.

Invading hordes of ruthless warriors swept through a town and discovered that the monks in a nearby monastery had fled, except for one monk, who chose to remain behind.  The leader of the barbarians marched to the monastery and kicked in its gate.  One lone monk stood there in the courtyard.  The warrior glared at his humble figure.  “Do you know who I am?  I am he who can run you through with a sword without batting an eyelash.”  The monk studied the savage calmly, and answered, “Do you know who I am?  I am one who can let you run me through with a sword without batting an eyelash.”

Like Peter, we want to jump to receiving the rewards without first paying the price.  We, too, need to hear about the cross, about righteous suffering, and about self-sacrifice.  Easter without Good Friday is not the way of the disciple of Christ.

Catechism of the Catholic Church

391. What does the acceptance of God's mercy require from us?

It requires that we admit our faults and repent of our sins. God himself by his Word and his Spirit lays bare our sins and gives us the truth of conscience and the hope of forgiveness.

Further reading: CCC 1846-1848, 1870


392. What is sin?

Sin is "a word, an act, or a desire contrary to the eternal Law" (Saint Augustine). It is an offense against God in disobedience to his love. It wounds human nature injures human solidarity. Christ in his passion fully revealed the seriousness of sin and overcame it with his mercy.
     
Further reading: CCC 1849-1851, 1871-1872 

By abortion, the mother kills even her own child to solve her problems, By abortion, the father is told that he does not have to take responsibility at all for the child he brought into the world. The father is likely to place other women in the same trouble. So abortion leads to abortion. Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching its people to love, but to use violence to get what they want. This is why the greatest destroyer of love and peace is abortion. "It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish. How can there be too many children? That is like saying there are too many flowers," The first person in the world to welcome Jesus, to recognize Him in the womb of His mother was a child: John the Baptist. How wonderful, God chooses an unborn child to announce the coming of His redeeming Son. 

Mother Teresa

Men of the parish, please save the date for September 25th and plan to attend the Annual Men's Conference to be held at the New Britain Stadium.  Please visit www.ctcatholicmen.org or click here to see the flyer for more details.  

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Save the Date:  The wedding jubilee Mass will be held at St. Matthew Parish on September 25, 2021 at 10:30am and 1:00pm.  Registration information will follow in the near future.

St. Marguerite Bourgeoys Parish's 29th Annual Fall Festival will be held on Saturday, November 6th, 9 am-4 pm. Vendor Applications are now available at stmarguerite.org under “Breaking News”. Questions? Email fallfestival@stmarguerite.org or call 203-775-5117, x215. St. Marguerite Bourgeoys Parish is located at 138 Candlewood Lake Road in Brookfield.

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