Thanksgiving Holiday - Sunday, November 24, 2019 The Solemnity of Our Lord, Jesus Christ Monday, November 25, 2019 – NO CLASS - HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!! This Jesus who is King of the Universe doesn’t reign from a beautiful golden throne; He doesn’t wear precious clothes. He hangs from a wooden Cross, wears a crown of thorns and his body shows the marks of his torture and of the passion. This is the King we follow… and this King invites us with open arms to embrace him and in embracing him, to embrace all creation with our minds and our hearts. In that embrace and in that invitation he calls us to be merciful and forgiving. The world challenges us daily to choose the rule of other powers: greed, violence, indifference, cruelty, aggression, etc. As a result, accepting Jesus’ rule is not a once-and-for all act, but it needs to be renewed each day by the deliberate choices we make. Being members in the reign of God, under Jesus’ kingship, can be very discouraging at times. Today, we must learn from the man hanging next to Jesus. St. Augustine tells us that “Others failed to recognize the Lord even as he performed miracles, but this man recognized him as he hung upon the cross… with his heart he believed, and with his lips he made [a] confession… Today you are with me on the tree of the cross, and today you will be with me on the tree of salvation.” As we continue celebrating Jesus Christ as King of the Universe, may we come to understand the Mercy of God in our lives and extend that mercy to all. Today we ask the Lord to remember us as we remember him until He comes again! Yours in Prayer, David Caraway