Genesis, our first reading, (2:7-9; 3:1-7), tells us of the creative power of God: He created human beings. He created the Garden of Eden, with all the trees of beauty and food for life. He created Wisdom (Truth). We see the good created by God. Genesis also tells us that while the good, formed by the Wisdom or Truth of God, exists for benefit of humanity, evil, which is formed in the absence of God, is meant to temp humanity and to provide untruth or misinformation as a counter to the Truth

I nominated parishioner Craig Taylor to receive the archdiocesan 2023 St. Joseph Medal of Appreciation and Archbishop Leonard P. Blair has confirmed this nomination, which shall be bestowed at the Cathedral of St. Joseph on March 19, 2023 at 3 p.m. Our parishioners are invited to attend.

Next Wednesday—is Ash Wednesday—and we enter into the Lenten Season. But this Sunday we hear in the Matthean Gospel a new teaching of the Lord, one meant to move us from the insulating safety and security of what we know and are comfortable with, i.e., our attachments to like-minded peoples, cultures and ways, and overcome the natural indifference to others by following God’s Will.

The season of Lent is a Catholic liturgical season consisting of forty days of fasting, prayer, and penitence beginning at Ash Wednesday and concluding at sundown on Holy Thursday. The official liturgical color for the season of Lent is violet....The observance of Lent is related to the celebration of Easter. In the first three centuries of the Christian era, most Christians prepared for Easter by fasting and praying for three days. In some places this was extended to the entire week before Easter (now known as “Holy Week“)

Today’s Matthean Gospel informs us that Christ did not come to abolish the Law but rather came to infuse the meaning of the Law with His Love, His Passion and provide for the depth and breadth of God’s commands. He came to complete the Law. If God so loved the world (John 3:16), then what is the purpose of His commandments and His Teachings through Christ? Is it not a search for the excellence of all? And with His Love for all created peoples and things, then does God not wish to give to us all that we need to be reconciled with Him for all eternity?

Our readings this weekend really tie into the news of the day. In many urban settings in these United States, homelessness—or as we are supposed to call them, “the unsheltered,” is an overwhelming problem. And we might think, “How may I solve this problem?”

This is one of those topics that needs no research to back it up, as it just takes common sense. There is an old adage that states, “Do as I say, not as I do.” And that sums up why so many of our Catholic brothers and sisters don’t attend Church, practice their faith, or even know the rudiments of the Catholic teachings. And what is the end result of that? Ignorance of faith, and ignorance of God and His Love.