From Our Pastor

08-27-2023Weekly ReflectionFr. Aruldoss, Pastor

Dear People of God,

Good morning to you all! I am very happy that our St. Boniface Fall Festival went on well. First of all, thanks be to God. A Huge thanks to all the chairpersons headed by Teresa Waters for your meticulous planning and its execution. I also thank all the Volunteers and all the Parish community who worked hard both on the stages and the behind scenes. It was cooperative effort and hard work. I could see a big gathering of relatives & friends and sharing their Joys & hardships. It is really the “Ecclesiae” (Church).

In the Gospel we see Jesus asking his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" They respond to him saying, "some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." Their response shows their relationship to Jesus as passive observers. Now comes the crucial, pointed question, "Who do you say that I am?" Peter confesses, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus himself then acknowledges that though these words came out from Peter's lips, they have their origin not in Peter, but in God. It shows Peter’s expression of Faith in Jesus and his inner disposition to towards God However, the image of Peter in the Gospel is not so encouraging, because we see him faltering in many places. He comes across to us as an unstable, impetuous person. We may wonder why Jesus chose such a person to lead the Church instead of someone reliable like John the Evangelist. By human standards, we may not find anything extraordinary in Peter. God chose him not because Peter "deserved” it as his portion. Perhaps God wants us to know that the Church He intends to build is not a "perfect society" according to human standards but a divinely ordained community of followers of weak. So, God's choice is not based on our merits but benevolence of God himself.

What is particular about Peter is that with all his shortcomings and failures he is ready to be guided by Christ and His Spirit. He is not self-righteous like the pharisees and other religious leaders of his time. We need Peter's openness to understand the riches and wisdom of God. We need to surrender our lives to Jesus, our Lord and Savior and be guided by Him with all our weaknesses and failures as St. Peter. Have a Blessed Sunday!

Yours in Jesus

Fr. Doss