June 30, 2019
13th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Luke 9:51-62
Welcome back to Ordinary Time. We won't be seeing a "special" Sunday for a while now. The Easter season is often considered to be the peak of the Liturgical Calendar, which is fair. By now, the Chreasters have stopped showing up to Mass. But just because it's simply Ordinary Time, doesn't mean we stop loving God and fully celebrating and receiving the Eucharist.
And as we enter into Ordinary Time, we also continue into the middle of summer break. For many, summer is a time of slowing down and relaxing. For others, summer is a time of filling up schedules with as many work shifts or sports practices as possible. For me, I never fail to hit a summer slump where I become notorious for procrastinating my faith.
But this Gospel is a reminder that there's no time to rest and no time to wait.
Personally, the beginning of this summer was emotionally draining. It took a substantial amount of time to recover from the laborious semester and I was constantly beating myself up for it. I was stressing to rush and find a part-time job and I already was missing my friends dearly. I quickly fell into a mundane and empty routine of work and nothing.
However in this Gospel Jesus says, "No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God."
That lamenting was then. This is now.
Recently, I felt called out during a homily as the priest asked us how we were preparing for the celebration of Mass and the Eucharist. Were we reading the readings before and hearing what God is saying to us through Scripture? Were we spending time with Him in the Blessed Sacrament? Were we present in the Mass?
These are all things that I did frequently at school, and those questions highlighted my summer idleness.
So if you're like me and find yourself in a similar kind of summer slump, let's challenge ourselves to cease this passiveness. Let's leave behind whatever is driving this recession and instead embrace all the ways that God is working in our lives right now. Let's pick up our Bibles and Rosaries. Let's connect with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Let's stop by a chapel. Let's pray.
Yes, "foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head."
Today I pray that as we enter into Ordinary Time and continue through summer, that our heads no longer rest and that instead they wander into the mysteries of our faith.
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