August 31st, 2026 (22 Sunday Ordinary A) Dear brothers and sisters,

Today Jesus Christ shows us the way to happiness. The way to happiness is our cross. This might seem absurd! “The cross can give me happiness??? The cross destroys me!!! What happiness!!!” This that Jesus Christ is saying might seem totally crazy in the eyes of the world. Nobody wants to lose his life, everyone tries to save it and defend it. Even Peter is scandalized by the words of Christ and wants to run away from the cross. The fact is that the world always rejects the truth, and the truth is always persecuted. Christ says to Pilate, “I have come to the world to bare witness to the Truth. Whoever is from the truth listens to my voice.” Christ makes present to us his kingdom by willingly entering into the cross and not running away from it as everyone does. “My kingdom does not belong to this world.” Christ is inviting us today to enter into his kingdom, to abandon the mentality of this world and enter into our cross without rejecting it. In it we will find the greatest happiness because in the cross we discover Jesus Christ and his immense love for us. As Jeremiah says, “there is terror all around, but within me there is a burning fire flowing through my veins.” This burning fire is the love of God manifested for us in Jesus Christ. Where the cross terrifies us the love of God prevails and gives us strength, a burning fire within, Jesus Christ in us. Let us love our cross as our greatest and most precious gift. It is the place where we can come out of ourselves and our selfishness and find eternal life. “Whoever loses his life will find it!”

Peace, Fr. Nicholas