Sunday evenings

Sunday evenings always seem to be a mixed bag. Sunday is a great day to spend time with family, relax, and most importantly, go to Mass and celebrate the mysteries of God... but Sunday is also the last day of the weekend. I'm always loathe to part with weekends at their end - the weekend is my refuge from crazy weeks at work, my opportunity to refresh, mentally and spiritually.

Long weekends are even harder. I've been away from work since July 4 - and spent a few very excellent days in Taos (wish I could go back right now - I think I could use a few extra days!). Come tomorrow morning, it's back to the grind, back to the craziness I live with at work.

But I believe that just as Sundays remind us of the Resurrection, of God's greatest gifts to us, Sunday also reminds us that, as receivers of those gifts, we have been tasked to share them with the world - which is what Monday is all about (and Tuesday, and Wednesday, and... ...).

Like St. Paul in the second reading from today's Mass, we are those called to be strong in our weaknesses, through the thorns that torment us and the crosses we bear, relying on the sufficiency of God's grace.

St. Francis of Assisi understood well the call to share the gifts of God with the world, as well as how to rely on the grace of God in the midst of trials - he is honored in many churches in this Archdiocese (and is its patron saint, for anyone out there who is unfamiliar), including the one in Ranchos de Taos:

(St. Francis, pray for us!)