On the last Sunday of August, at my home parish of St. Francis de Sales in Spooner, the universal Catholic Church was uniquely represented. My subsequent reflections have shaped this back-to-school season, renewed my appreciation for a lifelong love of learning and seem a relevant commentary at the start of a new academic year.
The Gospel for Sunday, Aug. 30, was Jesus’ scolding of Peter in Matthew 16:21-27. His “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” It followed the previous Sunday’s Gospel in Matthew 16:13-20 in which Jesus asks his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man in?” Peter replies, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” and is named the rock on which Jesus would build church in response.
In the Scripture’s context and having a strong sense of my Catholic identity as crossing boundaries others might see as barriers—of nationality, language, skin color, cultural heritage—I was very moved. Besides, it’s not every day that in our rural communities we have such an international presence.
These representations included our international priest, Fr. Papi Yeruva Reddy, and some of his family members visiting from India.
There was also a young Ukrainian woman at Mass who spent her summer in Spooner on an international work exchange. My family first met Anastasia earlier in the summer buying ice cream in town, noticing her accent and then seeing her at Mass the following Sunday. We introduced ourselves and found out she was from near the western Ukraine city of Kiev. We were all struck by meeting someone actually close to what we only know as a passing news headline and how, in this small but personal way, it brought the world to our doorstep—not as news, but as a young woman who was convicted in her faith to practice it so far from home.
The third impressive presence was the man and woman at our parish that weekend supporting the livelihood of Christian Catholics in Bethlehem selling Blest Art items. The other striking presence at that late summer Mass were the Bethlehem, Israel, natives selling Blest Art items created by Christians in the Holy Land.
Returning to Jesus’ question in the Gospel, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” it felt like I had answers in flesh and blood before me. Answers that have responded to Christ’s calling in different tongues, times and places but that also shared in the same roots of faith to which I cling.
Their presence was a tangible witness, an inspiration and prompted my pondering, who would those in our local community say that we, the members of St. Francis de Sales Parish, are? Who would they see and understand Jesus to be through our presence, word and witness?
Personally, would my witness of lived faith be seen or heard as a rock and solid foundation, or as an obstacle in the path of God’s revelation? Would people who encounter or observe me as I go about my daily personal, work and family life know that I am a Christian? A practicing Catholic? And what would that example tell them about who and what it means to follow Jesus in his church?
I felt confident that most would recognize a decent semblance of the “real” Jesus through an encounter with me, but it also challenged me to realize where I have room to learn and grow.
So, as my children have started new academic years, and I begin the last semester of graduate work for my master’s degree in Faith and Culture, I’ve thought a lot about the need we all have to remember that learning is a lifelong process.
For us as Catholics, this lifelong learning is particularly expressed in our pursuit of holiness in the everyday expressions of God’s will. While the international and global sphere might attract me with energetic appeal, the reality is that for most of us, the witness we are called to give as Jesus’ disciples and missionaries is much, much closer to home.
It’s in our own homes, families and friend circles, among our work colleagues, our children’s school communities and our parishes.
They say we learn best by teaching—let’s do just that. Listen to Jesus’ questions about who we say that he is, about who our words and actions describe Jesus to be. Be open every day to what God wants to share with us, and through us with others and stand back to see what adventures are in store for us this coming year.
Jenny Snarski
