A Reflection for the Memorial of St. Kateri Tekakwitha
Find today’s readings here.
“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me,
and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;
and whoever does not take up his cross
and follow after me is not worthy of me.
Whoever finds his life will lose it,
and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:37-39)
In today’s Gospel, Jesus gives us a tall order—to put him truly first in our lives, even above our families. Sounds doable, though, right?
Hands up, and be honest: Who here has ever slacked off on going to Mass?
Growing up, my family went to Mass every weekend. For many years, our Saturday night routine was to go to Church, go out to dinner, then come home and watch a movie. During the pandemic, we would watch a livestream or recording of Mass on YouTube. My parents impressed upon me and my brother that giving an hour of our week to God was the right thing to do, even if it wasn’t necessarily the number one thing we wanted to be doing (it builds character, after all).
Once I went off to college, however, my Mass attendance became…spotty.
There were readings to do, places in Washington to see, concerts and parties to attend, and sleep to catch up on. Now that I had the freedom to make my own priorities, attending Mass fell by the wayside. After my freshman year, when I confessed that I had not been going to church, my mom urged me to get back into going to Mass regularly. She told me that when she was in college, the routine of attending Mass weekly was grounding and reminded her of home. It was a place to step out of the hectic whirlwind of college life and enjoy some peace and quiet.
So, in my sophomore and junior years, I made more of an effort to attend Mass every weekend. I won’t pretend that I was perfect, but it was an improvement. Like my mother, I found that Mass was a place to retreat from the busyness and stress of school and re-center myself for the week ahead. It also reminded me of home and our tradition of going to Mass every weekend—especially when I attended Mass off-campus and was surrounded by families.
In this Gospel reading, Jesus warns his Apostles that he has “come to bring not peace but the sword.” Jesus knew that his teachings would be divisive, but his followers should keep their faith even in the face of opposition and persecution. Jesus wants us to devote ourselves to him, even when it’s hard—especially when it’s hard. No matter what’s going on in our perpetually busy lives, we should always remember to put Jesus above the noise. As Catholics, we are called to nurture and prioritize our faith lives—starting with Mass every weekend.
