Pastoral Messages
Rights and Responsibilities
As we continue our journey of learning about Catholic Social Teaching, this month our focus is on the principle of Rights and Responsibilities.
This principle teaches us that, because every person, created in the image and likeness of God, possesses inherent dignity, they have fundamental rights that must be respected and protected.
These include the right to life, food, clothing, shelter, healthcare, education, meaningful work, and religious freedom. These rights are not earned or granted by society; they flow directly from our God-given worth.
At the same time, rights cannot be separated from responsibilities. Catholic Social Teaching reminds us that we are not isolated individuals, but members of families, communities, and a global human family. Therefore, we have responsibilities to respect the rights of others, care for the vulnerable, contribute to the common good, and act with justice and charity in our daily lives. Our responsibilities extend to our families, our workplaces, our parish, our nation, and the wider world.
Living out this principle calls us to both advocate for just structures that protect human rights and to examine our own choices and attitudes. As disciples of Christ, we are invited to promote a society where everyone’s dignity is honored and where love of neighbor guides both our rights and our responsibilities.
For more information, visit the USCCB site here.
Blessings this week,
~Deacon Jim
Scripture
An Introduction to Sunday's Scripture Readings - March 1, 2026
“This Is My Beloved Son, With Whom I Am Well Pleased; Listen To Him”
In our Second Sunday of Lent, our readings continue to help us walk with Jesus on His journey to Calvary and the Cross. It should be noted that in Ordinary Time, our first reading reflects and supports the theme of the Gospel for that Sunday. But during Lent, the first reading bears its own track of highlighting important events in Salvation history.
Our first reading (Genesis 12:1-4)highlights one of the major events in salvation history—the story of Abraham. In a sense, this is where it all began. Abram (later to be renamed Abraham) was called by God to leave his homeland (in what is now central Iraq) and travel to a new land which God would give to him (the Promised Land). In this passage, Abram’s complete trust in God is rewarded. God made a three-fold covenant (promise) with Abram: a) a promise of land, b) a promise of descendants to become a “great nation”, and c) that “all communities of the earth will find blessing in you.”
In our Epistle reading (2 Timothy 1:8-10), St. Paul instructs his young protégé Timothy to “bear your share of hardship for the gospel”. He then offers him (and us) a most important teaching—that God’s gift “was not according to our works but according to his own design.” It is a pure gift from God. No amount of “good works” can give us what God gives us freely because He loves us.
In our Gospel reading (Matthew 17:1-9), we hear the account of the Transfiguration of Jesus. This is the pivotal event where Jesus is revealed to be the divine “beloved Son” of God. Elijah is said to represent all of the prophets and Moses is said to represent the Torah or Law of God. Together, they are said to represent all of Scripture. Jesus is the fulfillment of Scripture and all that the prophets had foretold about Him. Also, Jesus is the “new Moses” and the fulfillment of Law of God.
Knowing that it is through the gift of God’s grace that we are saved (there is nothing we can do to merit it), we have the confidence to follow God’s call wherever it leads. Just like the faith of Abram who pulled up stakes entirely to travel to an unknown land, might we have that same faith to follow wherever God calls us. We know that ultimately, like Abram, Moses, and Elijah, our journey of faith will lead us to the transfigured Christ.
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/030126.cfm
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