Dear Parish Family,
We continue to hear from Jesus' rich teaching of the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew. In this part of the sermon, Jesus proposes a radical transformation of how we think about laws and commandments. When we talk about law, keep in mind that laws enacted in justice are good for us. We wouldn't be able to live well without the laws of life to guide us. Things like driving, building, language, sports and music would all be impossible without laws, rules, and regulations to guide us. Carry out the rules too rigidly, however, and we stifle the creative genius with which God endowed us. Follow the laws and rules? Yes, of course…but do so gracefully! That's where we see the fulfillment of the law in beauty, order, and freedom. 

Jesus proposes three ways we can deal with the law: (1) Follow the law out of a sense of duty, (2) Break the law by sinning, or (3) Fulfill the law by striving for sanctity and excellence. The first way is the way of the scribes and Pharisees. They follow the law out of duty, rigidly performing the minimum expectation and completing their obligations externally without allowing the law to transform their hearts interiorly. The second way is the way of unrepentant sinners who willingly break the law and aren’t open to the grace of transformation. The third way is the way of the saints who fulfill the law with a sense of reverence. They exceed expectations, internalize the goodness of the law, letting it take root even in the hidden thoughts of the heart, and gracefully fulfill it out of loving reverence for God and their neighbor. It’s this third way of fulfillment that Jesus wants for us as His disciples. 

To visualize Jesus’ proposal, think of a horizontal bar dividing an upper and a lower region. The bar is the law of righteousness, the upper region is virtue and blessedness (the place of discipleship), and the lower region is vice (the place of sin). The law is the commandment God expects us to follow and rise above if we are to live the blessed life. Jesus acknowledges where the bar of righteousness is set (“you’ve heard it said…”) and tells His disciples (“but I say to you…”) that their own bar of righteousness must surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees to enter the Kingdom of God. Moreover, Jesus warns that those who teach others to break the commandments (leading others to a place of sin) will be called least in the Kingdom. In other words, teachers who go their own way apart from Christ, those who try to change the truths, morals, or anthropology of the human person that Christ has revealed, are far removed from the life of the Gospel. 

This image of fulfilling the law flows from Jesus’ image of salt and light from last week’s Gospel. If Christians lose their flavor and become mediocre, if we hide the light of God’s grace from our culture, we miss the purpose of our lives to redeem the world in, with, and through Christ. The French novelist Léon Bloy wrote, “The only great tragedy in life is not to become a saint.” Amen to that. We can’t become saints by conforming to the culture or being mediocre Christians. While saints indeed follow God’s laws, they eagerly surpass the demands of the law by living out of the same generous self-giving love of Christ which knows no limits.

Catholic Charities Annual Appeal
Please keep Catholic Charities in your prayers over the next few weeks. Our annual appeal is taking place next weekend, giving us all the opportunity to make a pledge for this year to support the hundreds of ministries Catholic Charities provides to over 400,000 people throughout the year in our diocese. This year's Appeal theme is "A time to heal. A time to help." The Appeal goal is $14 million. You can make an early donation at https://www.catholiccommunity.org/ways-to-give/donate or by texting CCHOPE to 41444. Thank you for your support!

I am yours in Christ,
Fr. Scott Goodfellow