Kaukauna Catholic Parishes

This Sunday is the 13^th Sunday in “Ordinary Time." In the Catholic Church’s Liturgical Year, “Ordinary Time” refers to all of the times that are not included in the major seasons of Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter.

With the pandemic these past few months, life has not been “ordinary.”  We are at war with a microscopic virus that has the entire world in crisis. All of us want to win this war.

It has been a long time since we “social people” have been able to be social. It is difficult for me to find this new way of life fulfilling. In addition, with the protests for “Black Lives Matter,” our lives become challenging.  Yet, we must open our eyes and ears to those who suffer.

In our Gospel reading today, St. Matthew writes “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” In this time of crisis, we need to take care of ourselves, nourishing and exercising our bodies, staying safe and yet making time for play as well as work.

If all we do, however, is look out for No. 1, we cross the line into self-centeredness, and maybe self-absorption.  Such a perspective shuts out any consideration of others and we begin to view people as a means to our ends.

The spiritually healthy person seeks to balance self regard with a clear vision to the needs of others. This requires self sacrifice; surrendering our time, attention and possibly resources to another.  We may form relationships with people who do not offer us any discernable-advantage, apart from the opportunity to love, share and grow in compassion. 

In our deepest commitment as spouses, parents, friends, neighbors and caregivers, self sacrifice is the only way these relationships reach fulfillment. This Christian path needs a deep faith life.

Yes, these are challenging times in the “ordinary times” of the church year, but with God’s grace, we can make these times extraordinary.