A Seminarian’s Reflection for the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

A Seminarian’s Reflection for the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

My dear St. Joseph’s family, I ask that today you keep me in your prayers as I will be receiving candidacy to Holy Orders from Bishop Pohlmeier this afternoon at 4:00 p.m. at Marywood Retreat Center. This is my next big step in my seminary formation, where the Church has decided that I am worthy to continue along this path of formation. Please pray for me and four other of my seminary brothers: Daniel Maher, Johnathan Gunther, Micah Yanez, and Nicholas Patin.

In today’s second reading, St. Paul tells us that the path of the Christian is not an easy one. He opens up saying that he rejoices in suffering for the sake of the salvation of the Colossians, and he goes on to describe the duty that all Christians have, which is to bring the word of God to all peoples. He also describes the role of a priest, which is to bring to completion the word of God, which means bringing the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ to the Christian people. He then goes on to say that God has manifested the great mystery of the past to His holy ones, the Christian people. We are all tasked with teaching everyone the Gospel of Jesus Christ, so that we may perfect our brethren in Christ. The task is not easy; there will be suffering along the way. Many Christians, especially Catholics, today are met with persecution both physically (especially in certain foreign countries) and verbally (especially in the US and popular culture). We have seen more and more attacks on Christian values in movies and on TV in recent years. Very few shows or movies embody a strong Christlike figure anymore, or even just showing Christian morality. But the life of a Christian was never promised to be an easy one. We need to rejoice in the suffering we face daily for just daring to say that we are Catholic. This reminds me of one of my favorite scenes in the movie Men in Black. Tommy Lee Jones’ character, Agent K, is talking to Will Smith’s character, James Edwards, and he is discussing how his whole reality will change the next day now that he knows aliens exist. He then goes on to say the cost it takes to join the Men in Black, severing communication with all friends and family, cannot ever talk with them again. At the end of this talk, Agent K walks away, and James asks him, “Is it worth it?” Agent K responds, “Oh yeah, it’s worth it! If you’re strong enough!” In our lives there may have been moments where friends and family do not understand why you are Catholic, especially with everything going on in the world. But living the Catholic life, bringing the good news to the people, and perfecting people in Christ is worth it, receiving the gift of eternal life, but only if we are strong enough to endure the suffering and stay true to Jesus Christ and His Church.

Finally, in today’s Gospel, Jesus tells Martha that Mary has chosen the better part of listening to Him, listening to the Word that became flesh. His presence is not to be taken from her. That still holds true today; we listen to the words of Jesus Christ through the Gospels at the Mass, and nothing is more important than listening to Christ, and it will not be taken from us. We can become distracted with the many obstacles in modern-day life, but we need to remember that there is need of only one thing, and that is to follow Christ, receive Him in the Eucharist, and hear His words. This will not be taken from us. I pray that all of you are well, and I thank you for all of your prayers for my vocation; you are all in my prayers as well.

In Christ,
Christopher Morales, Seminarian for the Diocese of St. Augustine