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Beloved Parishioners,

I continue my reflection in this forum on some doctrines which I started last week. Today I reflect on heresies and the church’s response. Every age has its peculiar fake news, counterfeits, and scams. Today, we deal with online fraud, pyramid, or ponzi schemes, and misleading headlines that spread faster than the truth.

Beloved Parishioners,

Today in this forum my intention is to touch on one of the doctrines of our faith, Jesus Christ true God, and true man. In the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, which we profess at Mass, there is a section on the Son that I want us to meditatively reflect on and it reads:

Beloved Parishioners,

Everyone can testify that truth is a beautiful yet costly treasure. The Greek philosopher Plato once observed, “No one is more hated than he who speaks the truth.” History and Scripture confirm this sobering reality: to stand for truth is often to stand against the tide of comfort, convenience, and compromise.

Beloved Parishioners,

Each year, in the month of June our diocese marks a joyful rhythm as it is — the season of priestly and religious ordinations. In this month in the diocese new priests are consecrated, deacons ordained. In my own country the month of July and August across the length and breadth of the country is marked by many priestly ordinations and religious professions as well.

Beloved Parishioners,

Today my reflection is centered on the cost of discipleship. Discipleships have never been cheap as you see even from last Sunday’s reading. It has never been a walk in the park. Jesus Himself declared: “If anyone wants to be my disciple, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23). Elsewhere He adds: “Anyone of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:33).

Beloved Parishioners,

I feel I need to remind us again that we are still in the context of the Jubilee Year of Hope. A Jubilee Year is a sacred reminder that we are on a journey. We are not settlers; we are pilgrims. The Church calls this year the Jubilee Year of Hope because hope is the pilgrim’s lamp — the light that keeps us walking when the road is long and the night feels deep.