Peter is the greatest of the gospel characters. His on the job training with Jesus is always fun to read. In this case the interplay between Christ and His leadership trainee enters into the topic of forgiveness. Peter confidently proclaims his answer to the question, "how many times must one forgive?" This moment in the 18th chapter of Matthew is brilliant, funny, deep, and critical to our understanding of true faith. Gotta start somewhere.

Faith and works must be separate things, right? One doesn't impact the other, right? Just say you love Jesus and then do whatever you want. That's the modern message. You won't think that way anymore when you hear the story of St. Peter Claver. Wow. This guy gave his life, comfort, food, and health to a 40 year ministry that resulted in over 300,000 conversions to Chrisitanity. Faith must produce works. Works can produce compassion. With compassion God can move mountains. Gotta start somewhere...

The old cartoons of the coyote and the sheepdog fighting it out are funny. Really funny. But, sadly they are a pretty accurate commentary on how we live. Humans seek the advantage over each other, while simultaneously sharing pleasantries. Not cool. Drama, jelousy, and backstabbing are unfortunately part of our wiring. But, we do not have to act on these human inclinations.

#catholic #faith #concupiscence #cartoons #drama #jealousy #ambition