Feast of Saint Mary of Cleophas

Good morning. I awoke this morning with a sense of joy and an enthusiasm for life. It wasn’t immediately clear as to why I was feeling so energized until going through the readings for today and reflecting about the events of these past few days and weeks. I feel a certainty about my life unlike any such feeling I’ve ever experienced. Jesus implores us to ‘not be afraid’ and the events of late as I consider them suggest that there really isn’t any cause to be fearful. 

 Now, it is perfectly normal to have some reservations about things to come, of what our futures hold for us. Yet, when one looks at the faces of so many people we encounter each day there is present so much worry and fear, fear and uncertainty of what will come. I have to wonder. It seems these fears and uncertainties drive a relentless felt need to consume and surround our lives with stuff. At the root of this mass anxiousness to consume and surround ourselves with junk appears to be a perpetual lacking sense of fulfillment and the uncertainty of our future. We attempt to fill the felt void and uncertainty of our lives with material things, and when we get home from spending and find ourselves still feeling anxious and uncertain about our future we turn right around and spend some more. Well, we can have all the stuff we want or feel we need, but without our faith and without our families nothing really matters. 

This past weekend reminded me of how truly rich my life is. Our life has meaning because we can enjoy life and pass on that life, and pay forward the gift of what life truly is about.  This past weekend reminded me of why the future offers no real reason to be anxious. As Jesus reminds us in today’s Gospel “Do not be afraid.” There is no reason to be anxious about what lies ahead, Jesus assures us that He will be there for us today, tomorrow, and into forever. I was reminded of this certainty over the weekend as our family celebrated together the celebration of life, life in the Resurrection, life in our growing family with our granddaughter Eve, the celebration of life passed on in our faith with her baptism, preparation for life to come as we ready ourselves for our daughter's wedding, sharing a moment with my one son and listening to the events of his life, and in the celebration of the life given to us in the Eucharist. I was reminded this weekend of how truly full and rich our life truly is, and why I have no reason to be afraid. 

 Today we recall the good life, gifts, and work of Saint Mary Cleophas.