In Friday’s homily, Fr. James Otto tells us that Jesus Christ is the love of God made

flesh who encounters us, when we are open, in the sacraments and those around us.

Christ is present to us when we are alone, but in a different way when we are gathered

with others in His name. He is present at Mass in the Word and the Eucharist. He is

present in the sacrament of reconciliation where we receive the gift of His forgiveness.

He is also physically present with us when we are with Him during adoration. We have

many opportunities to encounter Jesus Christ in our daily lives.

Fr. Otto’s inspiring Saturday Mass homily shows that while we are made in God’s

image, we still have work to do to be in His likeness. The problem seems to stem from

the fact that we all have an evil twin that we must deal with. While we are striving to live

in love (service), our evil twin just wants to use others for his pleasure. Pope Benedict

XVI reminds us that we are not made for pleasure and St. Paul tells us to put off the old

man and old woman so that we can put on the new man and new woman. Jesus died

for us to put our evil twin to death so that we can live in His grace.

Bishop Fitzgerald spoke about the difference between faith and religion in Sunday’s

closing Mass homily. What we do in life makes a difference for everyone and can have

eternal consequences. We must be on “fire” for God and cooperate with the graces that

God so generously bestows on us. While faith is a gift from God, we still have to do our

part as we practice our faith.