SIXTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - JULY 21, 2024

SIXTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

When we are sick or suffering, we seek out any way we can in order to alleviate our suffering. If our bodies hurt, we seek out the care of a doctor. If our emotions hurt, we seek out the comfort of friends and family. If our minds hurt, we seek out the care of therapists or other mental health professionals. When our spirits hurt, only one person can help us: Jesus Christ. However, Christ empowered his followers to be his hands and feet in this world, he entrusted the leadership of his Church to our shepherds, priests and bishops, to prepare us as we are sent off to be Christ to the world around us, and he asks us to allow him to work through us so that we can serve those who are suffering spiritually.

READ THIS SUNDAY'S MESSAGE

The world is suffering. One only needs to look around to see the carelessness we have shown towards our environment, our countries, and even our neighborhoods. Wars rage between nations, but we see even in our own country how the infighting reaches an unsustainable level. Issues such as homelessness, mental illness, and drug addiction are overlooked by those who wish to turn a blind eye and refuse to seek out long-term solutions. But the one issue we are struggling with the most at this moment in history, and perhaps the cause of all other issues, is that so much of the world has fallen away from God. Interestingly, though, this is an issue more common in wealthy and developed areas of the world; the ones who are more inclined to seek out doctors, more inclined to seek out therapists and psychiatrists, more inclined to throw money anywhere we can to make us feel better, are also the ones less inclined to seek after Christ. All suffering is a consequence of the breaking down of the spirit, and Christ is the only one able to heal the spirit. Undeveloped but Christian nations may struggle temporally, but their understanding of faith enables them to trust God, to humble themselves, and to rely on the love of their neighbor when things become more difficult. Every year, we seem to discover new “happiness index” studies that tell us the happiest countries are the wealthiest. These studies measure happiness based on “quality of life,” not interior contentment; these wealthy countries also have higher rates of depression, higher rates of suicide, and higher rates of loneliness. Everything can be handed to us directly to live a content life, but this still won’t be enough for us to find true happiness. Our spirits are broken, and Christ is the only one who can mend them.

In this Sunday’s Gospel, Christ has taught his Apostles how to heal the spirit of those in need by doing so in his name; even for these men, the toll of being a spiritual physician can be too great and requires some rest, which Christ grants to them after some time. But the suffering of the people never stops; though we might need rest, there are still so many souls desperate to find a solution to their suffering. Christ is moved by pity for them, and diagnoses the problem of the world, which even persists to this day - we are sheep without a shepherd if we do not have him. Christ does not rest. His yoke is easy and his burden light because he carries them with us. He bears the brunt of our spiritual brokenness, but even more miraculously, he shows us how to be him for others. As a Catholic, you will encounter broken people daily; if you live your faith outwardly, they will come to you just as the crowds rushed after the Apostles. It can be difficult especially when you need spiritual comfort for yourself, but remind yourself that you are serving as Christ in the world to sheep without a shepherd. Share him with them. Allow the one person who can heal them to do the healing, but serve as his hands and feet in this world for now.