Father Chas Canoy
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In this powerful reflection, Father Chas challenges us to move beyond distraction and division by reclaiming our identity as disciples of Jesus Christ. Drawing on Saint Paul’s call to unity and the celebration of Word of God Sunday, this message invites us to live with intentionality, discipline, and single-minded focus on the one thing necessary: full dedication to God and His Word.
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Father Chas:
So it’s great that this college kid can be a great model not only for our youth, but even for us who can lose sight of the big picture in our obsession with the little picture. Sometimes we may even choose the little picture over the big picture. We may sacrifice our love and worship of God to get an extra couple of hours on the beach while on vacation. We may sacrifice our love and worship of God for what is ultimately, in the big picture of life, just a mere game.
In the second reading, Saint Paul encourages us, the Church, that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and with the same purpose. Saint Paul laments that there were rivalries among the faithful, with people saying, “I belong to Paul” or “I belong to Peter.” No—we are all one in Christ Jesus.
Friends, there is so much discord and division in the world today. And if people who proclaim Jesus as Lord and Savior and profess to believe all that the Catholic Church teaches cannot be united, there is little hope for the rest of the world. You and I are part of something much bigger than our own personal dreams and ambitions.
There is only one team that really matters in the end, and that team is called the Communion of Saints. If we miss that team—if we fail to make that team—we lose everything. To claim victory, we must rally under the coach and teacher who is also the Lord and King of the universe: Jesus Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life.
How do we achieve that unity and bring as many brothers and sisters as we can into it? We dedicate ourselves to knowing the playbook inside and out and focusing on execution. What is the playbook? On the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, we celebrate Word of God Sunday. I want to encourage the faithful to make God’s powerful Word the strong foundation of everyday life.
Knowing the playbook and being wholly focused on executing it in our lives is especially necessary in this age of distraction and confusion. We suffer from information overload. To attain victory over that—and over the evil in the world—and to keep ourselves from being distracted from fully loving God and our neighbor, loving our families and friends, and doing the hard work that love demands, we must be all the more vigilant.
We must live lives of intentionality, discipline, fortitude, and commitment to executing the playbook. We need a single-minded focus on the unum necessarium—the one thing necessary. Our identity is not an amalgam of worldly desires and ambitions. Our identity is this: sons and daughters of God, disciples of Jesus Christ, saints in the Communion of Saints.
To attain the peace, the abiding joy, and the victory that God desires for us, we must be wholly dedicated to Him and allow His Word to be the data that informs our lives.