We can all hear God say at the end of our days, ‘Well done! Good and faithful servant! Enter into the joy of your Master!” These are the only words that matter. And each and every one of us is either going to hear those or else we’re going to hear, “Depart from Me…” Either eternal glory or everlasting shame, horror and disgrace.

Parishes aren’t small businesses; they’re the people of God — a family of families. We often say in ACTS XXIX that one of the primary crises we see in the Church is a need to recover what it means to be human. A friend of mine speaks frequently about what he calls “the corporatization” of the Church. What he means is that, for a variety of reasons, we often relate to each other in overly functional and transactional ways. This week, especially for those parishes receiving new spiritual fathers, is a great time to change that.

Nobody in Paul’s day said or thought that Caesar Augustus loved them and gave himself for them. But Paul said this about Jesus. Nobody in Paul’s day said or thought that the various gods of Rome truly cared for them and loved them. At best the gods were to be appeased by various sacrifices and rituals so as not to incur their wrath. But Paul’s contemporary and friend, John, could write the daring and unheard of words: “God is love” (1 John 4:8).

Fear. How many of us are crippled by it in one way or another? Fear for the future of a son or daughter. Fear of getting sick. Fear about our financial future. Fear of losing a job. Fear of not finding a job. Fear of not finding a spouse. Fear of dying. Fear of…you name it. Of the many arrows in the enemy’s quiver, fear is one of his sharpest.