Msgr. John N. Fell

Our readings this Sunday focus on faithfulness amid trials as a means of witnessing to God’s goodness here on earth and ultimately achieving glory in heaven. The Letter to the Hebrews reminds us that “for the sake of the joy which lay before him, [Jesus] endured the cross, despising its shame” (Heb 12:2b). Our readings depict both Jesus and Jeremiah as models of patient endurance, tolerant of the suffering they encountered for the sake of their divine mission.

“Be intent on things above rather than on things of earth” (Col 3:2). St. Paul’s advice to the people of Colossae, a city of wealthy merchants more devoted to material wealth than religious faithfulness, serves as a fitting summary of this week’s Sunday readings.

This Sunday’s Gospel presents a series of Jesus’ missionary instructions to his disciples. Having himself just set out on the road to Jerusalem, Jesus must have been considering his own destiny, for these instructions stress both the urgency of proclaiming the Gospel as well as the opposition which the disciples will face.

We mark this 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time amid this Religious Freedom Week, a period of special prayer and reflection called by our American Catholic Bishops is a time for strengthening our hope in Jesus as the way of facing and solving the problems that plague our church and our nation. As well, this is also the beginning of the week in which we will celebrate the 243rd anniversary of our nation's founding this Fourth of July. During our Independence Day observances we will hear much about the blessings of freedom or liberty. It is fortuitous then that our second reading this Sunday, taken from St. Paul's Letter to the Galatians, also speaks about freedom - freedom as understood by the Christian community.

“I will not leave you orphans . . . I will ask the Father and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always” (Jn 15:18a, 16). In our Scripture readings this Pentecost Sunday, Jesus dramatically fulfills these promises to send another Helper to forever accompany his followers.