The Practice of Being: The Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time 2026

                                                   The Practice of Being:

The Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time 2026 

August 30, 2026

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Jeremiah 20:1-9; Psalm 63; Romans 12:1-2; Matthew 16:21-27

 

 

These are difficult words by Jesus for us to hear and to understand. Peter took exception to them when he tried to protect Jesus, so it is natural for us to resist what these words mean. The Cross means pain, suffering, and death before it can lead to glory. We naturally avoid pain and conflict, even minor engagements because it disrupts the peace and comfort that we rely upon. The Cross shakes the foundation of the world, and we must be ready for momentous change.

 

We are given crosses individually and we are asked to engage them and to follow Jesus. We therefore pray for courage because these are painful situations. We are asked to follow Jesus and adopt his way of life. Notice that Jesus does not ask us to adore him or to honor him or to worship him. He asks us to follow him and to worship God, the Father, the Parent, the Creator. Jesus calls us into friendship and into a community of believers who are striving to live in right relationship with neighbor.

 

What does it mean to be with Jesus? The focus shifts from what you do for him to getting to know the person himself. It is about developing a deeper relationship, increasing intimacy, and learning to be attentively present. This is what we want to happen in prayer. So, doing devotions is much less important that having a dialogue in prayer with Jesus. He does not really focus much on devotions. He wants you to come sit with him and come to know him. Think more about abiding presence that you can do in your backyard, on your patio, walking along the seashore, or your favorite place of relaxation. Give yourself over to those places and events where Jesus is present to you. 

 

It may be time to think about Jesus as an interested friend who wants to know something about your life. We therefore share our honest emotions, thoughts, and desires with him. It means that we approach God less as a master to obey and more like someone who wants to know the nuances of your daily life. Jesus wants to be immersed in your world. Sometimes, you do not even have to talk. You can sit there and waste time with one another. You simply want to be with the One who wants to be with you. 

 

By simply relaxing in the presence of Jesus, we develop an awareness of how the Holy Spirit is guiding us through everyday moments, like invitations, prompts, musings, and it can be at work, through conversations, through the words of another person, as well as quiet times. The Spirit wants to show us how distinctly and uniquely Jesus relates to us. We know the Spirit is present when we begin to have a metanoia, a time when our attitudes are transformed, when a word is softened, when our consciousness is expanded. The Spirit works from the inside out and we can notice remarkable changes over time. The power of being with, of listening, of simply attending is the future of the church, the future of our lives. Being with allows us to receive the wisdom of God with grace. 

 

In heaven, in God’s reign, there are no problems to fix. We simply learn to be with each other. On earth, we have to practice being with each other. What if we lived today as if we are already in God’s presence? 

 

Scripture for Daily Mass 

Monday: (1 Corinthians 2) I came to you in weakness and fear and much trembling, and my message and my proclamation were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of spirit and power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom
but on the power of God.

 

Tuesday: (1 Corinthians 2) The Spirit scrutinizes everything, even the depths of God. Among men, who knows what pertains to the man except his spirit that is within? Similarly, no one knows what pertains to God except the Spirit of God.

 

Wednesday: (1 Corinthians 3) I could not talk to you as spiritual people, but as fleshly people, as infants in Christ. I fed you milk, not solid food, because you were unable to take it. Indeed, you are still not able, even now, for you are still of the flesh.

 

Thursday (1 Corinthians 3) Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you considers himself wise in this age, let him become a fool, so as to become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the eyes of God.

 

Friday (1 Corinthians 4) Thus should one regard us: as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Now it is of course required of stewards that they be found trustworthy. It does not concern me in the least that I be judged by you or any human tribunal.

 

Saturday (1 Corinthians 4) Learn from myself and Apollos not to go beyond what is written, so that none of you will be inflated with pride in favor of one person over against another. Who confers distinction upon you? What do you possess that you have not received?

 

Gospel: 

Monday: (Luke 4) Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the sabbath day. He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. 

 

Tuesday: (Luke 4) Jesus went down to Capernaum, a town of Galilee. He taught them on the sabbath, and they were astonished at his teaching because he spoke with authority. In the synagogue there was a man with the spirit of an unclean demon

 

Wednesday (Luke 4) Simon’s mother-in-law was afflicted with a severe fever, and they interceded with him about her. He stood over her, rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up immediately and waited on them.

 

Thursday (Luke 5) He saw two boats there alongside the lake; the fishermen had disembarked and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, he asked him to put out a short distance from the shore.

 

Friday (Luke 5) “The disciples of John the Baptist fast often and offer prayers, and the disciples of the Pharisees do the same; but yours eat and drink.” Jesus answered them, “Can you make the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?

 

Saturday (Luke 6) While Jesus was going through a field of grain on a sabbath, his disciples were picking the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands, and eating them.
Some Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?”

 

Saints of the Week

 

September 3: Gregory the Great (540-604) was the chief magistrate in Rome and resigned to become a monk. He was the papal ambassador to Constantinople, abbot, and pope. His charity and fair justice won the hearts of many. He protected Jews and synthesized Christian wisdom. He described the duties of bishops and promoted beautiful liturgies that often incorporated chants the bear his name.

 

This Week in Jesuit History

 

• August 30, 1556: On the banks of the St. Lawrence River, the Iroquois mortally wounded Fr. Leonard Garreau, a young missionary. 
• August 31, 1581: In St. John's Chapel within the Tower of London, a religious discussion took place between St. Edmund Campion, suffering from recent torture, and some Protestant ministers. 
• September 1, 1907. The Buffalo Mission was dissolved, and its members were sent to the New York and Missouri Provinces and the California Mission. 
• September 2, 1792. In Paris, ten ex-Jesuits were massacred for refusing to take the Constitutional oath. Also in Paris seven other fathers were put to death by the Republicans, among them Frs. Peter and Robert Guerin du Rocher. 
• September 3, 1566. Queen Elizabeth visited Oxford and heard the 26-year-old Edmund Campion speak. He was to meet her again as a prisoner, brought to hear her offer of honors or death. 
• September 4, 1760. At Para, Brazil, 150 men of the Society were shipped as prisoners, reaching Lisbon on December 2. They were at once exiled to Italy and landed at Civita Vecchia on January 17, 1761. 
• September 5, 1758. The French Parliament issued a decree condemning Fr. Busembaum's Medulla Theologiae Moralis.

La práctica del ser: Vigésimo segundo domingo del tiempo ordinario de 2026

                                                              La práctica del ser:

Vigésimo segundo domingo del tiempo ordinario de 2026

30 de agosto de 2026

www.johnpredmoresj.com | predmore.blogspot.com

predmoresj@yahoo.com | 617.510.9673

Jeremías 20:1-9; Salmo 63; Romanos 12:1-2; Mateo 16:21-27

 

 

Estas son palabras de Jesús difíciles de escuchar y comprender. Pedro las rechazó cuando intentó proteger a Jesús, por lo que es natural que nos resistamos a su significado. La cruz implica dolor, sufrimiento y muerte antes de poder conducir a la gloria. Naturalmente, evitamos el dolor y el conflicto, incluso los más pequeños, porque perturban la paz y la tranquilidad en las que confiamos. La cruz sacude los cimientos del mundo, y debemos estar preparados para un cambio trascendental.

 

Cada uno de nosotros enfrenta su propia cruz y se nos pide que la afrontemos y sigamos a Jesús. Por eso, oramos pidiendo fortaleza, pues se trata de situaciones dolorosas. Se nos pide que sigamos a Jesús y adoptemos su estilo de vida. Cabe destacar que Jesús no nos pide que lo adoremos, lo honremos ni lo veneremos. Nos pide que lo sigamos y que adoremos a Dios, el Padre, el Creador. Jesús nos llama a la amistad y a formar parte de una comunidad de creyentes que se esfuerzan por vivir en armonía con el prójimo.

 

¿Qué significa estar con Jesús? El enfoque cambia de lo que haces por él a conocerlo a él mismo. Se trata de desarrollar una relación más profunda, aumentar la intimidad y aprender a estar presente con atención. Esto es lo que buscamos en la oración. Por lo tanto, hacer devocionales es mucho menos importante que tener un diálogo en oración con Jesús. Él no le da mucha importancia a los devocionales. Quiere que te sientes con él y lo conozcas. Piensa más en la presencia constante que puedes tener en tu jardín, en tu patio, caminando por la orilla del mar o en tu lugar favorito para relajarte. Entrégate a esos lugares y situaciones donde Jesús está presente para ti.

 

Quizás sea momento de pensar en Jesús como un amigo interesado que quiere saber algo de tu vida. Por eso, compartimos con él nuestras emociones, pensamientos y deseos más sinceros. Esto significa que nos acercamos a Dios menos como a un amo al que obedecer y más como a alguien que quiere conocer los matices de tu vida diaria. Jesús quiere estar presente en tu mundo. A veces, ni siquiera hace falta hablar. Puedes simplemente sentarte y pasar el rato juntos. Simplemente quieres estar con Aquel que quiere estar contigo.

 

Al simplemente relajarnos en la presencia de Jesús, desarrollamos la conciencia de cómo el Espíritu Santo nos guía en los momentos cotidianos, a través de invitaciones, sugerencias y reflexiones. Su obra puede manifestarse en conversaciones, en las palabras de otra persona e incluso en momentos de quietud. El Espíritu desea mostrarnos la singularidad de la relación que Jesús tiene con nosotros. Sabemos que el Espíritu está presente cuando experimentamos una metanoia, un momento en que nuestras actitudes se transforman, cuando una palabra se suaviza, cuando nuestra conciencia se expande. El Espíritu obra desde adentro hacia afuera y podemos notar cambios notables con el tiempo. El poder de estar presentes, de escuchar, de simplemente estar atentos, es el futuro de la iglesia, el futuro de nuestras vidas. Estar presentes nos permite recibir la sabiduría de Dios con gracia.

 

En el cielo, en el reino de Dios, no hay problemas que resolver. Simplemente aprendemos a convivir. En la tierra, debemos practicar la convivencia. ¿Y si viviéramos hoy como si ya estuviéramos en la presencia de Dios?

 

Lecturas bíblicas para la Misa diaria

Lunes: (1 Corintios 2) Me acerqué a ustedes con debilidad, temor y mucho temblor; y mi mensaje y mi predicación no fueron con palabras persuasivas de sabiduría humana, sino con demostración del Espíritu y del poder, para que su fe no se fundara en la sabiduría humana, 
sino en el poder de Dios.

 

Martes: (1 Corintios 2) El Espíritu lo escudriña todo, incluso las profundidades de Dios. Entre los hombres, ¿quién conoce lo que pertenece al hombre sino su espíritu que está dentro? De la misma manera, nadie conoce lo que pertenece a Dios sino el Espíritu de Dios.

 

Miércoles: (1 Corintios 3 ) No pude hablarles como a personas espirituales, sino como a personas carnales, como a niños en Cristo. Les di leche, no alimento sólido, porque no podían tomarlo. De hecho, aún no pueden, porque todavía son carnales.

 

Jueves (1 Corintios 3) Que nadie se engañe. Si alguno de ustedes se cree sabio en este mundo, hágase necio para llegar a ser sabio. Porque la sabiduría de este mundo es necedad ante los ojos de Dios.

 

Viernes (1 Corintios 4) Así es como se nos debe considerar: como siervos de Cristo y administradores de los misterios de Dios. Ahora bien, es necesario que los administradores sean dignos de confianza. No me interesa en absoluto ser juzgado por ustedes ni por ningún tribunal humano.

 

Sábado (1 Corintios 4) Aprendan de mí y de Apolos a no ir más allá de lo que está escrito, para que ninguno de ustedes se enorgullezca a favor de uno sobre otro. ¿Quién les da distinción? ¿Qué poseen que no hayan recibido?

 

Evangelio: 

Lunes: (Lucas 4 ) Jesús llegó a Nazaret, donde se había criado, y, como era su costumbre, entró en la sinagoga el día de reposo. Se puso de pie para leer y le dieron un rollo del profeta Isaías. Desenrolló el rollo y encontró el pasaje donde estaba escrito: «El Espíritu del Señor está sobre mí».

 

Martes: (Lucas 4) Jesús descendió a Cafarnaúm, una ciudad de Galilea. Les enseñó en sábado, y se asombraron de su enseñanza porque hablaba con autoridad. En la sinagoga había un hombre poseído por un espíritu maligno.

 

Miércoles (Lucas 4 ): La suegra de Simón tuvo una fiebre muy alta, y le rogaron que la curara. Simón se inclinó sobre ella, reprendió la fiebre, y esta la dejó. Ella se levantó enseguida y los atendió.

 

Jueves (Lucas 5 ) Vio allí dos barcas junto al lago; los pescadores habían desembarcado y estaban lavando sus redes. Subiendo a una de las barcas, la de Simón, le pidió que se alejara un poco de la orilla.

 

Viernes (Lucas 5) “Los discípulos de Juan el Bautista ayunan a menudo y ofrecen oraciones, y los discípulos de los fariseos hacen lo mismo; pero los vuestros comen y beben”. Jesús les respondió: “¿Podéis hacer ayunar a los invitados a la boda mientras el novio está con ellos?

 

Sábado (Lucas 6) Mientras Jesús pasaba por un campo de trigo en sábado, sus discípulos arrancaban espigas, las frotaban entre sus manos y se las comían. 
Algunos fariseos le dijeron: «¿Por qué hacen lo que no está permitido en sábado?»

 

Santos de la semana

 

3 de septiembre: Gregorio Magno (540-604) fue el magistrado principal de Roma y renunció para hacerse monje. Fue embajador papal en Constantinopla, abad y papa. Su caridad y justicia imparcial conquistaron el corazón de muchos. Protegió a los judíos y sintetizó la sabiduría cristiana. Describió los deberes de los obispos y promovió hermosas liturgias que a menudo incorporaban cantos que llevaban su nombre.

 

Esta semana en la historia jesuita

 

• 30 de agosto de 1556: A orillas del río San Lorenzo, los iroqueses hirieron de muerte al padre Leonard Garreau, un joven misionero.
• 31 de agosto de 1581: En la capilla de San Juan, dentro de la Torre de Londres, tuvo lugar una discusión religiosa entre San Edmundo Campion, que sufría las consecuencias de las recientes torturas, y algunos ministros protestantes.
• 1 de septiembre de 1907. La Misión de Buffalo fue disuelta y sus miembros fueron enviados a las provincias de Nueva York y Misuri y a la Misión de California.
• 2 de septiembre de 1792. En París, diez exjesuitas fueron masacrados por negarse a prestar el juramento constitucional. También en París, otros siete sacerdotes fueron ejecutados por los republicanos, entre ellos los padres Peter y Robert Guerin du Rocher.
• 3 de septiembre de 1566. La reina Isabel visitó Oxford y escuchó hablar a Edmund Campion, de 26 años. Volvería a encontrarse con ella como prisionero, llevado para escuchar su oferta de honores o la muerte.
• 4 de septiembre de 1760. En Pará, Brasil, 150 hombres de la Sociedad fueron embarcados como prisioneros, llegando a Lisboa el 2 de diciembre. Fueron inmediatamente exiliados a Italia y desembarcaron en Civita Vecchia el 17 de enero de 1761.
• 5 de septiembre de 1758. El Parlamento francés emitió un decreto condenando al padre Busembaum. Médula Teología Moral .

Photo: Rider

 

Spirituality: from Simplicity by Richard Rohr

One evening I laid my finger on my cheek and found to my surprise that it was wet. I wondered what those tears meant. What was I crying for? I wasn't consciously sad at all or consciously happy. I noticed at this moment that behind it all there was a joy, deeper than any personal joy. It was a joy in the face of the beauty of being. A joy at all the wonderful and lovable people I had already met in my life. But at the same moment, I experienced the exact opposite emotion. I hadn't known before that two such contrary feelings could coexist. Because the tears were at the same time tears of immense sadness, a sadness at what we're doing to the earth, a sadness at the people whom I have already hurt in my life, and a sadness too at my own emptiness and stupidity. I still don't know whether joy or pain had the upper hand -- both lay so close to one another.

Spirituality: from Everything Belongs by Richard Rohr

If the world is a temple, then our enemies are sacred, too. The ability to respect the outsider is probably the litmus test of true seeing. It doesn't even stop with human beings and enemies of the least of the brothers and sisters. It moves to frogs and pansies and weeds. EVERYTHING becomes enchanting with true sight.

One God, one world, one truth, one suffering, and one love.All we can do is to participate.

Spirituality: from There is a Season by Joan Chittister

When we grow radishes in a small container in a city apartment, we participate in creation. We sustain the globe. When we sweep the street in front of a house in the dirtiest city in the country, we bring new order to the universe. We tidy the Garden of Eden. We make God's world new again. When we repair what has been broken or paint what is old or give away what we have earned that is above and beyond our own sustenance, we stoop down and scoop up the earth and breathe into it new life again, as God did one morning in time only to watch it unfold, unfold, and unfold through the ages.

Prayer: Teresa of Calcutta

Love to pray – feel often during the day the need for prayer, and take trouble to pray. Ask and seek, and your heart will grow big enough to receive God and keep God as your own.

Photo: Two Hundred Years in Operation

 

Spirituality: from Climbing the Blue Mountain by Eknath Easwaran

My mind is still; my ego has been set at rest. The peace in my heart matches the peace at the heart of nature... No longer am I a feverish fragment of life; I am indivisible from the Whole. I live completely in the present, released from the prison of the past with its haunting memories and vain regrets; released from the prison of the future with its tantalizing hopes and tormenting fears. All the enormous capacities formerly trapped in past and future flow to me here and now, concentrated in the hollow of my palm. No longer driven by the desire for personal pleasure or profit, I am free to use all these capacities to alleviate the suffering of those around me. In living for others I come to life. 

Photo: Quaking