Is There a Place for those with Same Sex Attraction in the Church?

I was once asked by a student if I was "pro-gay" or "anti-gay." My simple, but emphatic response was, and still is, "I'm pro human being."

What most wouldn't realize is that response is perfectly in line with the teaching of the Catholic Church. Consider paragraph 2358 of the Catechism:

"The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God's will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord's Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition." (emphasis added)

People on all sides have a hard time with the "hate the sin, love the sinner." The only option seems to be love both or hate both. The Catholic Church is perfectly happy with the slightly more complex, slightly messier "both/and" approach that is one of the hallmarks of Catholic thought.

We are called first and foremost to love the sinner--any sinner. At the same time we call sinners to accept the challenges (crosses) of our situations and states in life. This includes me. As a married man, I have challenges and temptations that are the normal stuff of life in a Fallen world. My Church calls me to embrace those challenges and, with God's grace, allow them to lead me to a fullness of life I would miss out on if I refuse to take them up.

Our brothers and sisters with same-sex attraction are called to share in this life too. Without question they face different and probably heavier challenges than most of us. I'd like to think the possibilities and promises are just as great.

Advent is...Wait for it....Wait for it...

We do a lot of waiting.

Some waiting we don’t mind so much. Some waiting irritates us. Some waiting brings eager excitement.

Hopefully, Advent is the third kind.

Waiting is anticipating. Whatever is at the end of that wait means something to us, even if it is simple as the end of the checkout line or as thrilling as a new baby.

Real waiting occupies us. If I am in the checkout line, I stay there. The end of the line and the need to pay for my items has my time and attention. I may be looking at tabloid headlines or forty varieties of chewing gum, but my real concern is the end of the line.

Advent is waiting—waiting for Jesus. The word “Advent” comes from a Latin word that literally means “arrival”. Think of children waiting for grandma and grandpa to come, “When are they going to get here?”  As they wait, they prepare. They might clean their room, make cards, figure what games they want to play.

Expectant parents do not proceed with life as if nothing has changed or is going to change. They prepare by getting baby’s room ready, stocking up on diapers, finding a childcare provider.

How anxious are we for Jesus’ return? How anxious are we to have him come into our lives right now? To what extent are we waiting? Does Jesus’ arrival occupy our thoughts and our time? Are we preparing?

Predicting Pope Francis

With Pope Francis now in the United States there is plenty of talk about the comments he has made so far, and plenty of speculation about what he will say throughout his visit and beyond.

If you want a pretty good predictor of what Pope Francis might say and do, pick up the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

People think that everything Pope Francis does is so new and fresh, when in reality, he is simply saying what the Church has always taught.

Take for example his comments on the flight back from Rio in 2013 regarding homosexuals. When asked what he would do if he found out one of his priests was gay he simply replied, “Who am I to judge?” Everyone treated it as if he had said something revolutionary. He said himself in the interview published in Jesuit journals across the world including America in the U.S., “I really just said what was in the Catechism.”

Here is the paragraph he was hinting at:

“[Homosexuals] must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided.”  (CCC #2358)

Another more recent example is the letter he issued September 1 giving priests the authority to grant absolution to women confessing the sin of abortion. Is this a change? Not really. Priests are required to have permission from the bishop to grant absolution to anyone confessing the sin of procuring or helping some to procure and abortion. What the pope has done, as part of the Year of Mercy that will begin December 8, is extend that permission to all priests.

 In doing so he is not downplaying the seriousness of abortion, he merely making further effort to extend the healing and forgiveness of the Sacrament of Reconciliation that has always been there.

Pope Francis has made changes in papal protocols and has begun changing the way the Church is governed most especially in the Vatican itself. He also intends to explore ways women can have more of a role in Church governance. There is one thing he will not do. He will not change what the Church actually teaches in matters of faith and morals. These are not the possession of any pope, but rather the entire Church—past, present, and future.

The pope is a big deal because the gospel is a big deal. The attention Pope Francis is getting is proof of how desperate people are to hear it and see it in action, even if it confuses them a little.

The days to come will have no shortage of “new” things the Pope Francis will say that the Church has already said—that people will finally hear.

Reflection for Saturday, February 14: More than Enough

Mass Readings: Genesis 3:9-24/Mark 8:1-10

Sometimes, when following the Lord, we get to that point where we feel like we have nothing left. If we were to continue on, we would collapse. Today’s gospel tells us Jesus will never leave us empty or send us away hungry. He will always take what we or others have and make it enough.

This is one reason Jesus gave us the Mass. He knew that without it we would collapse under the weight of our sins, anxieties, and efforts. The feeding of the four thousand foreshadows Eucharist in that it reminds us of three important truths: 1) Jesus will never send us away hungry; 2) Jesus will take what we have and make it more. 3) Jesus is super-sufficient. Jesus will give us everything we need and enough to share.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, let me never forget that you are more than enough.

Reflection for Friday, February 13: Deliverer

Mass Readings: Genesis 3:1-8/Mark 7:31-37

When the crowd exclaims, “He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak,” they are referencing a passage from Isaiah describing Israel’s deliverance. Deliverance had different meanings to different people back then, as it does today.  In Jesus’ time, deliverance from Rome was one of the deepest desires of the Jewish people. As Messiah, Jesus is certainly the deliverer, but ending Roman rule was not Jesus’ mission. Besides being freed from foreign, rule one could be delivered from deafness, blindness, disability, or disease. One can also be delivered from sin and death.

All that holds us “captive”—addiction, ill treatment, sickness, unhealthy relationships and more—flows from Original Sin. Only in Jesus, the promised Redeemer, and in his Church can we find the deliverance we all seek.

Prayer: Deliver us, Lord, from all that holds us captive.

Reflection for Thursday, February 12: Speak Up

Mass Readings: Genesis 2:18-25/Mark 7:24-30

Jesus was beyond his home territory and reaching beyond his mission to his Jewish brethren. Why limit his efforts to the Jews? Were the Gentiles just not ready? The Chosen People, after all, had been waiting for the Messiah for 2000 years.

The Syrophoenician woman seems to have understood the difference. She seemed to grasp better than most her place in God’s plan of salvation and was better prepared to receive the Messiah. Perhaps Jesus’ challenge was to get her to confess her faith out loud. Spoken out loud and received by Jesus and others, her faith was made real to all.

How often are we challenged to express out loud our faith in Jesus? As a sacramental people, if it is not said out loud or otherwise made tangible, then how real is it?

Prayer: Lord, help me to trust you enough to make you known in the world.

Reflection for Wednesday, February 11: External vs. Internal

Mass Readings: Genesis 2:4b-9/Mark 7:14-23

The scribes and Pharisees of Jesus’ day were obsessed with the external. Strict observance of every ritual and law was paramount. As we see over and over, this preoccupation with the external was at the expense of the internal. Worse, they seemed most obedient to the obligations that most sheltered them from serving their neighbor.

It’s easy to do the external. Following rules or rituals doesn’t require much difficult change. The external does not necessarily require us to be open to the needs of our neighbor. Real change, real conversion, real love--that’s a different story. If God breathes his own breath into us to make us living beings, then “evil thoughts, unchastity…greed, malice” and other impurities of our hearts are all the more profane. Our need for cleansing is all the more profound.

Prayer:  Lord, cleanse my heart of all impurity; of all that is not you.

Reflection for Tuesday, February 10: Be Intentional

Mass Readings: Genesis 1:20-2:4a/Mark 7:1-13

We love our traditions. Traditions mark important events in our individual and communal lives. But what happens when rituals or traditions become the focal point and not the meaning or intention behind them?

Hand washing and dedicating one’s assets to God may have had legitimate meaningful origins, but they became the focal point, an end in themselves. If some of our religious practices have become lifeless it is probably because we have forgotten the intention behind them. Imagine Mass with all its ritual but no Jesus. If we abstain from meat on Friday during Lent by eating lobster we have missed the point. Love of God and neighbor, gratitude for God’s mercy, solidarity with the poor—these are the intentions that animate our rituals and traditions. Without the proper intention they are truly lifeless.

Prayer: Lord, help us to be intentional in following you. 

Reflection for Monday, February 9: Healing Touch

Mass Readings:  Genesis 1:1-19/Mark 6:53-56

Illness is sometimes referred to as a “disorder.” Disorder takes on many forms. Sometimes that disorder is in our bodies. Other times it is in our hearts, our relationships, and our lives. In a way, healing is bringing order back to what is disordered. God is the One who brings order out of chaos. When we experience disorder in our lives we are invited to seek Jesus’ healing touch in the Sacraments, in prayer and Scripture, and in those who love us.

The people of Gennesaret and the surrounding countryside may not have understood who Jesus was, but they definitely understood what he could do. They also understood their own need for healing. How well do we understand our own need for Jesus’ healing? How intentional are we in seeking Jesus’ healing touch?

Prayer: Jesus, bring your healing touch to all experiencing disorder and chaos in their lives.

Reflection for Sunday, February 8: Keep Moving

I don't normally post Scripture reflections, but I had written some for this week and submitted them to a magazine last summer as a sample in hopes of landing a larger assignment. They weren't the right fit for the magazine, but I thought they were still worth sharing. I will post one each day this week.

Sunday, February 8, 2015

Mass Readings: Job 7:1-4, 6-7, 1 Corinthians 9:16-19, 22-23, Mark 1:29-39

Keep Moving

Jesus’ ministry is just beginning and already he is drawing a crowd. Preaching with authority is one thing; demonstrating authority over sickness and evil is quite another. He could have stayed put and let people come to him. With his reputation spreading, surely people would have made the trek to seek him, but that is not why he came. He came to seek the lost, not let the lost seek him.

Everyone is looking for Jesus whether they realize it or not. Our task is to help them find him. We may draw crowds with programs and events, but Jesus shows us that we need to keep moving. We must be the seekers if we are to carry the message of Jesus Christ to the world.

Prayer: Lord, grant me the courage to seek the lost with you.

Challenged by The Joy of the Gospel

I have been reading Pope Francis’ Joy of the Gospel.  I wish I had read it a year ago. If you haven’t read it yet, I highly recommend it. You can find it at the Vatican website. If you are the type that prefers to read an actual book, you can order it from Amazon or other retailers. For a papal document it is fairly easy to read.

The pope has been pretty good at making us feel good, but if we are really listening he is challenging us too. He should be making us a little uncomfortable. I am only about a third of the way into the text and the pope has already motivated me to change a few things.

First, I have started journaling again. The reason I journal is to hold myself accountable for how I pray and how my prayer affects the way I live out my vocation as a husband, father, and teacher.

Secondly, he challenges the way I and everyone looks at our free time. Am I so worried about “free time” that I use it as an excuse to be stingy or selfish with my time? Do I use it as an excuse not to do more at my parish or even play with my kids?

Finally, I am challenged once again to be patient with the plan God has for me, my family, his Church, and the world. I need to do my part, but that doesn't mean I get to decide what my part is.

I don’t doubt I will have more to say as I read further. If you happen to read it let me know what your “take aways” have been.

The Logic of Life

G.K. Chesterton, in Orthodoxy, relates the hypothetical situation of a patient in an insane asylum. The patient is convinced that the staff is out to get him. Given the small list of reasons the patient provides his logic is perfect. The catch, of course, is that the patient’s reasons don’t consider the whole story. When all of the facts are considered, his argument falls apart.

When someone is facing a slow painful death of a terminal illness, with their “quality of life” compromised, “dying with dignity” just makes sense.

When a couple is facing a pregnancy in which the baby has a severe birth defect and “is likely not viable,” abortion just makes sense.

Here’s the catch: Their reasoning doesn’t consider the whole story.

We have a big God that challenges us to think big. When we think big, our logic changes.

There is a logic to life that is much bigger than most of the world realizes.

How many beautiful moments of love, patience, sacrifice, redemption have been lost to narrow-mindedness?

The logic of life takes into account that every human being is wanted and loved by someOne .

The logic of life takes into account that trials and tribulations result in peace and joy when we let them.

The logic of life takes into account that even in suffering and pain there can be a deeper gift.

The logic of life takes into account that without the Crucifixion there is no Resurrection.

The logic of life takes into account that, just maybe, there is more to this than we realize.

Cotton Candy Spirituality

Photo Credit: Indi and Rani Soemardjan via Compfight (cc)

Who doesn't love cotton candy? It’s sweet, it’s light, it’s fun. At the same time, you wouldn't want a steady diet of it. Our bodies need more than light, sweet, and fun. We need our meat, vegetables and whole grains. Not as much fun, but enjoyable in their own way and vital to our physical health.

Our spiritual lives are no different. We love the fun, upbeat events. We like the witty homilies. We need a little of the light and sweet once in a while. But when that makes up the bulk of our spiritual diet, we find ourselves spiritually malnourished.

Mass can as dry as an overcooked roast. But a dry roast still gives us protein and iron, just as the Mass always gives us the spiritual food of Christ’s body and blood. Our experience may be less than what we hoped for, but the result is just the same. The Mass is still a foreshadowing of the heavenly banquet regardless of the human limitations that
keep our experience of worship from being what it could and should be. A cute story in a homily might entertain us or even teach us a lesson, but is it enough to move us to conversion?

On the same token, our personal prayer time can seem like a chore—just one more obligation we have to meet. That time we set aside with God becomes time spacing off about work, unfinished projects, or the laundry. I find myself wanting the “warm fuzzy” presence of God in my personal prayer. I recently viewed a video by Fr. Robert Barron in which he quotes a homily by one of his professors, “The love of God is not a warm fuzzy!” One only has to look at a crucifix as evidence of this truth. Occasionally I am blessed with a profound sense of peace and intimacy in my prayer, but if I don’t drag myself through the desert I’ll never get to the oasis.

We can’t always have the treats nor always have things prepared just right.  In a fallen world things don’t always seem like the “juicy rich foods” God promises us.  The question is, are we mature enough to take in what is good for us instead of what we like?

God vs. Meatloaf

Photo credit Brett Davies via Compfight (cc)

Have you ever heard the song “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad” by Meatloaf? (I’m not really that old, just a student of history).  The chorus goes, “I want you, I need you, But there ain’t no way I’m ever gonna  love you...”

I thought of this song while watching a video of Fr. Robert Barron explaining various proofs of God’s existence. God is sort of the opposite of Meatloaf. He wants us, he loves us, but he doesn’t need us.

God does not need us, yet we exist. Why? Because God is love.

God wants us. He wants you. He wants to see you become the amazing, talented, spirited man or woman he created you to be. He wants you to have babies, build houses, fix cars, care for the sick, run your business. He wants you laugh. Yes, he wants you to cry. He wants you to be a saint. He wants you to love.

God loves and wants us so much he not only created us, he became one of us and died for us. As speaker and author Mark Hart put’s it, “God would rather die than spend eternity without you.”

Loved, but not needed has other perks. I think we have a tendency as followers of Jesus to worry about whether or not we are doing our part. In a way this is good. We have a role to play in the Church and the world, we need to play it. At the same time, knowing that I am not needed for God to accomplish his saving plan takes a lot of pressure off. I want to play my part because I want to participate in the same love that willed us into existence.

This is what God wants for us--to participate in His love.

How are you a participant in God’s love?

The Linchpin

Photo Credit: Bill Barber via Compfight (cc)

Paraclete, Advocate, Comforter, Sustainer, Fire, Dove, Wind, Breath—all different words used to describe the Holy Spirit. I would like to propose another: the Linchpin.

There’s no coincidence that in the Creed we profess our faith in the Church right after we profess our faith in the Holy Spirit.

The Church is the body of Christ. Christ continues to act and minister through the Church.  When the Pope, the vicar of Christ speaks on matters of faith and morals, Christ is speaking through him.  How?

When we profess our faith in the Holy Spirit in the Creed, just after we profess our faith in Christ and before we profess our faith in the Church we are actually professing another important reality.  The Spirit is the linchpin—the piece that keeps the two distinct parts united as a single whole.

Another analogy for the mission of the Holy Spirit I heard in a homily on the Vine and Branches discourse in John’s Gospel: “I am the donut; you are the sprinkles. But sprinkles need something to make them stick to the donut. We’ll call that the icing of the Holy Spirit.” The Holy Spirit is literally the divine “glue” that keeps us grafted to the vine of Christ.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church makes clear that wherever the Son is so is the Spirit and vice versa:

When the Father sends his Word, he always sends his Breath. In their joint mission, the Son and the Holy Spirit are distinct but inseparable. To be sure, it is Christ who is seen, the visible image of the invisible God, but it is the Spirit who reveals him… this joint mission will be manifested in the children adopted by the Father in the Body of his Son: the mission of the Spirit of adoption is to unite them to Christ and make them live in him. (CCC 689, 690)

The Sacraments are one example of this truth. In every Sacrament the priest acts in persona Christi or in the “person of Christ.” How? By the work of the Holy Spirit. Every sacrament includes an epiclesis, a calling on the Holy Spirit (e.g. “Make holy, therefore, these gifts, we pray, by sending down your spirit upon them like the dewfall.” Eucharistic Prayer II).

We need to let the Spirit work.  If we don’t trust the work of the Spirit in the Church then it all falls apart.  Either the Church is guided by the Holy Spirit or it is not.  If we deny the Spirit working in Church we deny our connection to Christ.

What are some other ways you understand and know the Holy Spirit?

Happy (Belated) Birthday to the Church!

Photo credit Marina del Castell via Compfight (cc)

We just celebrated Pentecost. It is sometimes referred to as the “birthday of the Church.” In all my years of studying and teaching the Catholic faith, I just never quite understood why. Didn't Jesus establish the Church? Did the Church not already exist?

I don’t remember when or how, but it finally hit me. Yes, the Church existed prior to Pentecost, just as a child exists in his mother’s womb. However, only when a child leaves the safety of his mother’s womb, enters the world, and takes his first breath do we say he is born.  Just so the Church, while it existed, was not yet born. When God sent the Spirit, the Church took her first breath. In Greek, "spirit" and "breath" are both denoted with the word pneuma (it is also where we get the words "pneumonia" and pneumatic). When the Church received the life-giving breath of the Spirit the infant Church left the safety of the upper room, entered the world, and began preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ. At this point the Church was born.

We are called and invited to breathe deeply the life that comes to us from the Spirit. Like the infant Church we are called to leave the safety of our comfort zone and proclaim the Good News. The first steps of the Church took her out to a hostile crowd that upon hearing the Good News was begging to know more. Where will your first steps take you?

Keeping our Kids Catholic

Photo Credit: Dmitry Ryzhkov via Compfight (cc)

We are right in the middle of First Communion and Confirmation season. If as parents we care enough about our Catholic faith to bring our children to the Sacraments then hopefully we care enough to keep them Catholic.

If there was one thing parents could do to make sure their children remain Catholic it would be to never miss Mass—ever. Celebrating Mass is the single most important thing we do as Catholics. If it’s true that we vote with our feet, then Mass attendance would be a good measure of just how important our Catholic faith really is.

When we let sporting events, work, or vacation keep us from going to Mass we are basically saying, “Nothing is more important than our faith except _______________.” If going to that tournament or work are allowed to be more important, a whole list of other priorities creep in until our children arrive at the conclusion that our faith must not be that important at all.

On the other hand, when we get up extra early to go to an early Mass before the tournament starts, or take the time to check Masstimes.org for a Catholic church while on vacation, our children catch on. If we make the effort to get to church when it is inconvenient or even difficult, it sends the message to our children that our commitment to Christ is in fact our number one priority.

As we make that extra effort it is important to remember that we are not just going to Mass out of obligation or to follow some rule. We go out of love for Jesus. It is Jesus that offers himself (through the priest) at every Mass so we can directly receive the fruits of his sacrifice. It’s those graces that fuel our lives and our families.

Never missing Mass is no guarantee that our children will remain Catholic. If we allow other priorities to overtake our commitment to Christ and his Church then it’s almost a guarantee that they won’t.

See you Sunday.

Pay Attention to Peter

As we proceed through the Easter season as Church I urge you to pay attention to Peter. In the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles you will see a different Peter than we encounter in the Gospels. Even better, pick up a Bible and read the first two chapters of Acts and compare it to chapter 18 of John’s Gospel. The Peter of the gospels, while fiercely loyal to Jesus is rash, impulsive, weak, and to be quite frank a little thick. The Rock seems a little unstable.

In Acts, we see a Peter that truly is the Rock. He leads the meeting to select Matthias to replace Judas. He preaches to the bewildered and skeptical crowd immediately following the descent of the Holy Spirit. He cures crippled man and stands up to the authorities when told not to preach in Jesus’ name.

Why? Why is Peter so different? What changed?

Everything.

Peter has seen and knows the Risen Jesus. (He has also received the gift of the Holy Spirit, but that is for a different discussion.) Peter is as changed as a man can get this side of eternity. Everything that wasn’t quite clear before is now crystal. Every doubt is shattered. The one who was a little shaky is now rock solid. This is what an encounter with the Risen Jesus does.

We can be changed too. We can encounter the Risen Jesus.  We encounter Him first and foremost in the Eucharist, but also in prayer, in reading Scripture, in service to others especially the poor. When we learn to see the presence of Jesus in everyone we meet (something I have to constantly work on) our knowledge of the Risen Jesus becomes even stronger. They more we know him, the more we love and imitate him. We find ourselves less shaky.

How will you encounter the Risen Jesus this Easter season?

Will you spend more time with the Word?

Will you spend some time with the Blessed Sacrament?

Will you make more of an effort at Mass?

Will you look at your neighbors and co-workers differently?

Will you serve the poor?

Pay attention to Peter this Easter and watch him change. Experience the Risen Jesus for yourself and see yourself change.

Peace.

Lord, You Will Never Wash my Feet

It’s an attitude too many of us have too often.  We just don’t want anyone’s help—even God’s.

Normally, when I think about John’s account of the washing of the feet (13:1-15) I usually think of it as a reminder that we need to serve others. I especially think of my vocation of husband and father and how I need to put the wants and needs of my wife and children ahead of my own. As a teacher, I need to put the wants and need of my students ahead of my own. In either situation, I’m just not that good at it.

This story has another lesson. We need to allow God to help us. I’m not that good at that either. I don’t like asking for help. When I don’t ask for help I think I am doing the person I am not asking a favor by not asking them. I’m trying to assume a state of “betterness” by not asking. Like Peter, “Lord, you will never wash my feet,” I’m trying to be the good and obedient one by not inconveniencing anyone else. I sense in Peter and in myself a sense of egotism or stubbornness.

Jesus tells us we need to be the least. We tend to think of that on the giving end. Sometimes we need to remember that being the least can mean being on the receiving end of help.

Having and living our faith is not about being better than anyone else. It’s not about following bunch of rules. It’s about allowing ourselves to be loved by the One who is Love and sharing that love with others. This begins with the humility to let Him love us and help us. If the number one way we love God is by loving others then the number one way we let God love us must be to let others love and help us.

What’s keeping you from letting God love you?

Keeping the Most Important Thing the Most Important Thing

I first heard it from speaker John Findlater: “The most important thing is to keep the most important thing, the most important thing.” The most important thing for us as a Church of course is Jesus. 

One could easily argue that for centuries too much emphasis was paid to the institutional nature of the Church. The Church is still perceived this way today. Jesus, the living head of the Church is cut off leaving nothing but the lifeless body. Of course, Jesus has never really been cut off from the Church, we just haven’t paid the kind of attention to Him we should, and we increasingly live in a world that discounts him entirely.

You could say our Church has been working on this since Vatican II. The council itself was very “Christo-centric,” placing significant emphasis on the person of Jesus Christ. (Some would argue it does so at the expense of the Father and Holy Spirit, but that’s a different discussion.)

John Paul II continued re-focusing us on Christ throughout his pontificate. His call for the “New Evangelization” and the Theology of the Body are just two examples where this effort is plain to see. In the Christ-centered spirit of the Council, Catholic high schools and many parish faith formation programs have begun implementing a theology curriculum outlined by the U.S. Catholic bishops that very much revolves around the person of Jesus Christ.

Jesus is the heart and center of who we are and what we do not just as Catholics, but as human beings. As JPII reminds us, “Christ fully reveals man to himself.” If we want to know who we really are both individually and as a Church, we need to know Jesus.

The most important aspect of keeping Jesus at the center of our lives as Catholics, and a regular theme of Pope Benedict’s writings, is developing a personal relationship with Him. Everything we do as Catholics: the Eucharist, working with the poor, even fish fries, leads to and flows from this relationship.

May we remain focused on Jesus and His saving gospel—keeping the most important thing the most important thing.