REFLECTIONS

Faith has never been about comfort. It’s about courage, trust, and holding steady when life gets messy. In this Gospel, Jesus reminds us that following him doesn’t mean an easy road – it means a meaningful one. Every family knows something about endurance. We live it in the ups and downs of daily life: holding our households together when work is stressful, showing love when tempers are short, keeping faith alive when the world seems to pull us in every other direction. It’s not easy. Yet Jesus’ words speak

right into that space: “Stay with it to the end. You won’t be sorry; you’ll be saved.”

Endurance for families today might look like choosing forgiveness instead of holding a grudge, sitting together for a meal when everyone’s tired, or praying together even when it feels awkward or rushed. It’s the quiet strength that says, we keep showing up for each other, because love is worth it. When Jesus says that “not a hair of your head will perish,” he is promising that no act of faith or love goes unnoticed. God is present in the small moments – in the school run, the family dinner, the late-night worry, the kind word spoken when it’s hardest to say. As parish communities, we are called to walk together through the challenges of modern life. Our endurance as families, as neighbours, as people of faith, becomes a living sign of hope to those around us. In staying faithful and loving through it all, we quietly proclaim the Gospel in ways words never could. So keep going. Keep believing. Keep loving each other through the chaos and joy of family life. God is at work in your endurance. And through that endurance, your family’s story becomes part of God’s story of hope. (GPBS eNews)