Father Jim Golka

Father Jim Golka is the Rector of St. Mary’s Cathedral in Grand Island, Nebraska.

Catholic Women Preach

Seeing, hearing, and touching those in need

“The invitation before us today is to open ourselves to God and recognize our need. Open ourselves to the one who sees us, hears us, and longs to touch and connect with us. And when this happens, it changes something inside us. God’s touch opens us to see with new eyes- to see and hear those around us who feel separated- those who long to be seen, heard and touched. When we see and hear the need of those around us, we take on the mind of Christ. And the mind of Christ says this, ‘I am yours and you are mine- imperfect, yes- but highly valued and beloved.'”

U.S. Catholic Magazine

Restoring wholeness

The readings for this Sunday echo deeply in our current reality. They are about illness and isolation, faith and the common good, healing and restoration.

These elements resonate with our collective experience during a once in a century pandemic. Some are facing illness unlike anything known in recent memory; most are isolating and taking precautions to keep communities safe, promote the common good, and protect our most vulnerable neighbors.

Physical healing will continue as God’s gift of human intellect and innovation offers us ways to prevent the spread of disease via epidemiology, immunology, and virology, along with the development of vaccines. However, we will also have to navigate unknown paths of social reintegration and community re-building for which there are no prescribed routes, which yields an impetus for faithful reliance upon God’s grace.

Jeff Cavins