The theme of faith has been quite prominent in the Gospel for the past three Sunday’s including this weekend. Two Sundays ago, Jesus remarked to Peter as he was sinking in the water, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” in contrast to the Canaanite woman in last Sunday’s Gospel whom Jesus praised: “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.”

Peter seems to have redeemed himself in the Gospel this Sunday with his firm confession of faith in Jesus: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” The question of Jesus to Peter “who do you say that I am”? is a fundamental question of faith. It is a question that Jesus asks also to each and every one of us. Our own image of God is so important because it really does affect all the other relationships that we have and the way we lead our lives. If, for example, we have an image of God who is distant, aloof and is only concerned whether we are doing right or not, then our spiritual life and even our personal relationships would be marked with rigidity and scrupulosity – where the only important thing is complying with the letters of the law and not so much as a form of witnessing borne out of joy and liberating love. It is as if God is like one of those highway police, who point the speed radar in order to catch those who are speeding. If we have an image of God like a highway police, who points to us like a “sin radar” to catch us whenever we are committing sin, then our relationship with him would always be that of fear, a negative and paralyzing fear, always on the lookout if we would be caught or not. But if our image of God is that of a loving Father who in his mercy and compassion always wants us to deepen our relationship with Him by loving oneself, by the way we take care of ourselves, by the way we live out our own unique vocation, by the way we manage our relationship with other people and, of course, by a regular and solid life of prayer, then our relationship with God would be marked by openness, faithfulness and also a sense of justice, meaning in as much as we see God as a loving figure, he also challenges us to get better and not be stuck in our sinfulness. In the depths of your heart, who is Christ to you?

Fr. Mark has written in this Sunday’s bulletin about our plans for the Young Adult Ministry here in the parish. I asked him to be the priest-moderator for this important ministry in collaboration with the other parishes in our vicariate. We are excited for this wonderful development and the new possibilities it will bring in the renewal and deepening of faith for our young adults, not just in our parish, but also in our neighboring parishes. – Fr. Cary