June 28
Give It Away and
Watch What Happens
Thirteenth Sunday in
Ordinary Time - Year A
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| Image created using Google AI Image Creator. |
You are sitting
with readings today that are asking you one quiet but serious question: How
tightly are you holding onto your worldly life? The couple in Shumen asks
nothing in return when they feed Elisha and give him a room. They simply see a
need and fulfill it. That is everything right there; it’s not a program or a
plan, it’s just someone moving toward a person in need with open arms. Here is
what makes that possible: they were not clutching their possessions so tightly
that they had no desire to let go and to give. That is what dying to self
actually looks like. It is not dramatic or monastic; it simply means you have
loosened your grip on your stuff enough that when a need appears in front of
you, you are willing to respond to it. You own your possessions; they do not
own you, whether it is food, money or time. Because you live in the world, but
the world does not live in you. And the moment that shift in your heart happens,
the moment selfishness loses its tight grip, something happens to your heart;
it opens with love and compassion for others.
Jesus is direct
with you this morning. He talks about crosses and priorities and what comes
first. Don’t think of that as a burden being added to your Sunday. When we die
to self, it’s not a punishment; it is the most honest description of a life filled
with joy, because Jesus is at the center.
Paul seals it in
the second reading. You were buried with Christ at your Baptism, and you rose
with Him. That is not some fancy poetry; that is your present reality in this
life. The new life is already in you. The question this Sunday is simply
whether you are going to live from it.
Today, we are also looking at Our Lady of the Angelus, a title rooted in crisis, courage, and complete
surrender to God. In 1683, a Polish general named John Sobieski stopped at one
of Our Lady’s shrines before riding into battle against an overwhelming enemy.
He prayed, fought, and won. And when the victory was done, this is what he
wrote to the Pope: “I came, I saw, but God and Mary conquered.” That is
the thread running through every word proclaimed in today's readings. When you
give generously, die to self, and welcome others, you receive life back
abundantly. Sobieski lived it on a battlefield. You are being asked to live it
in your daily life, starting right now. Three times today, a bell rings
somewhere in the world, calling the faithful to pause and pray the Angelus. Let
it call you too, and maybe even beyond today.
The Angelus
V. The Angel of the
Lord declared unto Mary.
R. And she conceived
of the Holy Spirit.
Hail Mary, full
of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is
the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
V. Behold the
handmaid of the Lord.
R. Be it done unto
me according to thy word.
Hail Mary…
V. And the Word was
made flesh.
R. And dwelt among
us.
Hail Mary…
V. Pray for us, O
Holy Mother of God.
R. That we may be
made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray. Pour forth, we
beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the
Incarnation of Christ Thy Son was made known by the message of an Angel, may by
His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection. Through the
same Christ our Lord. Amen.
Rosary Man Jim, AKA James Dacey Jr., OFS
Communications Director, National Shrine Basilica of Our Lady of Fatima
