Sunday, September 7, 2025

Dear brother and sisters,

We prefer to live in a healthy family, school, workplace, community, and society. We value communication filled with joy, confidence, compassion, and understanding. We strive to uphold moral justice, right conduct, good character, and human dignity throughout the world. We aim to create safe, peaceful, and supportive en-vironments where we lean on each other in times of difficulty, care for one another in moments of suffering, and stand together as we move forward. For this reason, we choose to meet others with kindness, gentleness, and positivity. Yet, in the real world, goodness does not flourish without boundaries. Harmful behavior re-quires limits. Ethical violations call for correction. Wrong actions demand deterrents. At times, serious and constructive feedback is not only appropriate but essential. Some of us need firm lessons to restore balance between rights and responsibilities, between momentary satisfaction and long-term consequences, between personal benefit and the common good. Some need clear cautions to obey laws, follow instructions, and re-spect authority. Others require strong warnings to recognize the danger in harmful thoughts and destructive behaviors before they lead to rule-breaking, dishonesty, or unethical conduct. For those trapped in harmful habits or addictions, real consequences can be the turning point toward change. In short, we all need to feel good, but we must also become good and work to protect what is good around us. That is why Jesus often de-livers hard teachings, offers serious warnings, makes uncomfortable demands, and even speaks of horrible consequences for those who refuse to obey God, love others, or open their hearts to conversion and eternal life.

This weekend’s Gospel is a striking example when Jesus firmly calls us to take up the cross and follow Him. He does not want us to remain in our natural or comfortable state. Nor does He offer us a comforting symbol or promise us a life of constant emotional ease. Rather, Jesus presents the cross as a symbol of sacrifice, death to self, and perseverance through hardship. It prunes away our selfishness, trains our hearts in sacrificial love, nurtures our faith, sharpens our moral courage, and calls us into a lifelong journey of spiritual growth and con-version. It transforms our life, strengthens us through suffering, challenges us in our discipleship, and leads us to become more like Him. When we truly grow in what is good and become good ourselves, we not only ex-perience deeper joy, but also inspire and uplift those around us in our families, schools, workplaces, commu-nities, and beyond.

Sincerely yours in Jesus Christ and Our Lady of La Vang!

Reverend Kiet Anh Ta.