A Letter from Fr. Paul -- February 5, 2017

Thank you for your prayers last weekend for our first candidate weekend of 2017, which I attended as Director of Candidates for the Salvatorians. It is good for the candidates to meet candidates from other communities, while giving directors a chance to support each other. The next is the last weekend of February.

There is still no information on when the development project will be presented to the Wauwatosa Plan Commission. I will keep you informed of any developments.

What is the meaning of life? Jesus presents one answer in our Gospel reading: You are the light of the world. That YOU includes every person who identifies as Christian, each one of us, you and me. Jesus ends with a clear command to us about our light: Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father. This is discipleship. This is following Christ. This is ultimately the meaning of life for those who call themselves Christians!
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Our first reading today couldn’t be clearer on how we are to let our light shine: outreach to the most needy (share bread with the hungry, shelter the oppressed and homeless, clothe the naked…) and right relationships (remove oppression, false accusations, and malicious speech).

Imagine a world in which each person had what is needed for a decent life and where there is no slander, gossip, putting others down, complaining, etc., etc. That would truly be the Kingdom of Heaven!

Jesus says the Kingdom of Heaven is among us. We underestimate the damage we do with our tongues, with malicious speech, and these days social media magnifies the damage. I invite us to reflect this week on the following: do I help bring the unity and peace of the Kingdom by controlling my tongue? Or am I bringing division and unrest? In what situations can I do better? And let us support each other in prayer as we strive to be “light for the world.”

-- Paul James Portland, SDS