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.
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