Today, Jesus speaks to us, His disciples, of avoiding scandal, which causes “the little ones who believe in Him,” to sin.

We often think that scandal is something of which we are not capable; scandal seems to be something outside of us, those “big, public sins” which appear on TV news.

Jesus speaks to His disciples, you and me, who are loved by Him. Who are “the little ones who believe in Him”? They are our brothers and sisters who are “smaller” than we are, whose faith in Jesus is developing.

These can be converts to our Faith; they can be our own children or grandchildren, They may even be our parents, spouse, friends, neighbors or someone we encounter at work or school or in the store.

“Sin is an offense against reason, truth, and right conscience; it is failure in genuine love for God and neighbor caused by a perverse attachment to certain goods. It wounds the nature of man, injures human solidarity. It has been defined as ‘an utterance, a deed, or a desire contrary to the eternal law”
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 1849).

“This obedience is not always easy. As a result of that mysterious original sin, committed at the prompting of Satan, the one who is "a liar and the father of lies" (Jn 8:44), man is constantly tempted to turn his gaze away from the living and true God in order to direct it towards idols (1 Thes 1:9), exchanging “the truth about God for a lie” (Rom 1:25).

It is in the saving Cross of Jesus, in the gift of the Holy Spirit, in the Sacraments which flow forth from the pierced side of the Redeemer (cf. Jn 19:34), that believers find the grace and the strength always to keep God's holy law, even amid the gravest of hardships”
(Pope John Paul II, Veritatis Splendor, No.103).

“The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart” (Ps 19).

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Join us for a very special Mass with our Bishop John Dolan at 6:00pm on Wed, Oct 2 to Celebrate 91 Years of Catholic Charities in Arizona and on Sat, Oct 12 for THE WHOLE HEARTED Program National Rollout.

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