Fr Kevin Kilgore

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Gospel: Matthew 22: 34-40

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees,
they gathered together, and one of them,
a scholar of the law, tested him by asking,
“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”
He said to him,
“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart,
with all your soul, and with all your mind.
This is the greatest and the first commandment.
The second is like it:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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In 2018, the CARA Institute at Georgetown University published the results of an extensive survey on why young people leave the Catholic Church 

One statistic that still keeps me up at night – and fills my heart with unrelenting passion – is the fact that up to 90% of children leave the Church by the age of 13, which is commonly celebrated as the age of Confirmation.

Just when youngsters stand before God, their bishop, their faith community, and their families promising to embrace the faith given to them at their baptism, they’re out the door.

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It is my deep-seeded belief that children are not rejecting God, or even a right-understanding of the Church. Rather, they’re often rejecting the sense of boredom that came from years of transactional religion, as well as their belief in outdated “rules.”

Is it just me, or is there something that must be done?

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Pope Saint Pius X, whose feast day we celebrate today, foresaw the same phenomenon – a potential exodus of belief in Christ and his Church – over a century ago. The world was being “modernized.” Societies and cultures were changing at a rapid pace.

The Church had to keep up.

So, he instituted several reforms. First, he required that our Catholic faith be taught to children in every parish through a program commonly referred to today as CCD. 

Here, we call it “faith formation,” because we believe the learning never stops. Confirmation is not the end of one’s faith journey; rather, a transition into an adult faith.

Secondly, he lowered the age for First Communion, allowing children to receive the Eucharist as early as seven. St. Pius believed our children are not the future of the Church; they are part of the present, called to a life of holiness.

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Perhaps today we’re all being called to contemplate how we pass on our faith. How can we turn the tide? In what ways can we become increasingly effective in sharing the Gospel, not only with children, but with “all generations”?

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Pope Saint Pius X, pray for us.

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Image credits: (1) Faithful Families Retreat (2) CARA (3) Stock Cake

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Gospel: Matthew 22: 1-14

Jesus again in reply spoke to the chief priests and the elders of the people in parables saying, 
“The Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king
who gave a wedding feast for his son.
He dispatched his servants to summon the invited guests to the feast,
but they refused to come.
A second time he sent other servants, saying,
‘Tell those invited: “Behold, I have prepared my banquet,
my calves and fattened cattle are killed,
and everything is ready; come to the feast.”’
Some ignored the invitation and went away,
one to his farm, another to his business.
The rest laid hold of his servants,
mistreated them, and killed them.
The king was enraged and sent his troops,
destroyed those murderers, and burned their city.
Then the king said to his servants, ‘The feast is ready,
but those who were invited were not worthy to come.
Go out, therefore, into the main roads
and invite to the feast whomever you find.’
The servants went out into the streets
and gathered all they found, bad and good alike,
and the hall was filled with guests.
But when the king came in to meet the guests
he saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment.
He said to him, ‘My friend, how is it
that you came in here without a wedding garment?’
But he was reduced to silence.
Then the king said to his attendants, ‘Bind his hands and feet,
and cast him into the darkness outside,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’
Many are invited, but few are chosen.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Did you ever show up to school without doing your homework?

To me, it was the worst feeling ever. Watching my teacher weave her way through the maze of desks, slowly inching her way towards me was awful. 

In a state of panic, I’d turn to theatrics, trying to convince her that it was somewhere nearby, like turning my backpack upside down and giving it a good shake as if it would magically fall out.

She was never fooled. She knew as well as I did that I simply hadn’t done it; I had showed up to school unprepared.

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In today’s Gospel, Jesus describes the end of the world and the final judgment through the use of a parable. A king is set to celebrate his son’s wedding, but the first group of invitees turn him down.

So, he sends his servants out into the streets to invite a second, final group. Those who are invited shuffle into the hall. All except one of them come dressed in proper wedding attire. 

When the king inspects the room – a bit like my teacher collecting her students’ homework – he discovers that one person has come unprepared, represented by their lack of proper wedding attire. So that person is cast out into the darkness. 

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Who does this unfortunate person represent?

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Certainly in terms of the Church, a person who is Christian in name only, someone who presumes that salvation is free, and thus does nothing in response, living a lukewarm, selfish life. 

As Saint James reminds us, “Faith without works is dead” (James 2:17).

Have I done my “homework”? Is my faith expressed in frequent works of charity?

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This is what the Lord will be looking for when he weaves his way through the wave of humanity hoping to enter the kingdom of God. Only those who have brought charitable works with them will be sent in to enjoy the feast.

May that include us.

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Image credits: (1) Asbury (2) ABC7 News (3) Concordia Publishing House

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Gospel: Matthew 20: 1-16

Jesus told his disciples this parable:
“The Kingdom of heaven is like a landowner
who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard.
After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage,
he sent them into his vineyard.
Going out about nine o’clock,
he saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
and he said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard,
and I will give you what is just.’
So they went off.
And he went out again around noon,
and around three o’clock, and did likewise.
Going out about five o’clock,
he found others standing around, and said to them,
‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’
They answered, ‘Because no one has hired us.’
He said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard.’
When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman,
‘Summon the laborers and give them their pay,
beginning with the last and ending with the first.’
When those who had started about five o’clock came,
each received the usual daily wage.
So when the first came, they thought that they would receive more,
but each of them also got the usual wage.
And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, saying,
‘These last ones worked only one hour,
and you have made them equal to us,
who bore the day’s burden and the heat.’
He said to one of them in reply,
‘My friend, I am not cheating you.
Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage?
Take what is yours and go.
What if I wish to give this last one the same as you?
Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money?
Are you envious because I am generous?’
Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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We live in a society that values being first. We reward the highest achievers, the hardest workers, the first into the vineyard, and the last to leave at night. 

We can carry this belief into religion, thinking that the best way to get into heaven is to never lose our faith, to pray early and often, to excel in charity, to know and live the scriptures.

But according to today’s Gospel parable, such an idea gets us nowhere. In fact, the opposite seems to be true. 

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Does this mean that sinners will storm heaven before the Saints? That it’s better not to run the race of faith from start to finish, rather to convert on our death bed?

How can someone who’s lived a storied life receive the same reward as the virgins, martyrs, and Saints… and even receive their reward first?

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Imagine all of humanity standing in front of the pearly gates, struggling to get into heaven before all of the spots are filled and the gates are closed. 

Where do you see yourself standing – in the front, in the back, in the middle? Would you let someone else cut in front of you?

Suddenly, Jesus makes an announcement, quoting today’s Gospel, “The last will be first, and the first will be last.” 

Imagine the cheering, backslapping, excitement, relief, and gratitude erupting from the back. All of those who didn’t “deserve” a spot are admitted first. 

They’d have quite the story to tell of God’s infinite love and mercy, while the ones formerly up front may struggle with a bit of jealousy.

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Maybe this is the point.

Whether we are first, last, or somewhere in between, it’s not about when we get into heaven, but that we get in at all. Eternal life is pure gift.

Cutting the line – or seeing ourselves as more deserving than others – is a fruitless exercise, because God alone is the judge.

Wherever we may land, thank you, Lord, for saving us a spot.

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Image credits: (1) C.S. Lewis Institute (2) Phil Witte, The Funny Times (3) Dreamtime.com