Feast of Saint Giles Mary-of-Saint-Joseph

Good morning. We need not travel to Rome to St. Peter’s Basilica, nor do we need to travel to the banks of the Jordan River to find God. For those who can see and hear, for those who can trust their senses He is present to us everywhere, and that makes everything about us sacred. In the Gospel today Jesus challenges the Jewish leadership on the issue of tradition and in particular their being so ostentatious in their carrying out of Jewish tradition. Jesus suggested to the Pharisees that they often lost sight of what was truly important out of their felt need to impress or lord themselves over others. Their inflated sense of self prevented their appreciating the dignity and worth of others. How often do we do likewise? Do we treat things with an appreciation of its sacredness; do we treat one another as if we truly are aware of His presence? Do we fail to recognize the sacredness in one another?

In marriage we are called to love one another through honoring Christ in each other. We live in a world of secular lies and deception which would have us see one another as objects and this secular world encourages us to treat one another in this way. We need to remind ourselves to see the sacred in one another and lovingly challenge one another to be true to who we are with encouragement, openness, truthfulness, and forgiveness. It is easy to forget our own sinfulness and ignore the gifts God has given to others. Our Saint whose life we honor today had a healthy awareness of his own sinfulness and spent his life helping others in recognizing the sacredness in their selves. May Saint Giles Mary-of-Saint-Joseph intercede for all married couples for the help we need in recognizing God’s presence in our partner. What a difference it would be if we responded to each other as if the other were Christ. May each of us have the grace needed to assist each other in recognizing and embracing our own sacredness. May we better recognize the Thee in you and me. Make a great day!

Today we recall the good life, gifts, and works of Saint Giles Mary-of-Saint-Joseph.