From The Bishop

In the Second Reading for the 7th Sunday in Ordinary Time, St. Paul tells the Corinthians, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.â€� We are reminded that each person is to be treated with great respect because we are temples of the Holy Spirit. We should never seek to destroy one another. We find a similar theme in the Gospel of St. Matthew. Jesus sites many examples of how we should treat one another, especially those who are annoying or try to harm us. As followers of Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit, we respond with love, mercy and forgiveness. We know that this is not very easy and for some it may even seem impossible. How could I ever forgive an enemy? The fact is that Jesus would never ask us to do something if it were impossible. When Our Lord says, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect,â€� he is not being unreasonable in his request. He is challenging us to try for the best in our spiritual lives and not to settle for mediocrity. We can only do this if we rely on God’s grace. God would never ask us to do something without giving us the means to achieve the goal. Unfortunately, there seems to be a growing number of people who consider the more challenging teachings of Jesus and His Church as simply an ideal that can never be fully realized. That is only true when we rely on ourselves and not on God’s grace. This is not some pious sentiment; it is the foundation of faith â€" I believe that I can do all things in God who strengthens me. Jesus would never ask us to be perfect, love and pray for our enemies, turn the other cheek, or go the extra mile, if he did not believe it could be done. We are temples of the Holy Spirit; we are filled with power and grace that makes the seemingly impossible become possible!