In this weekend’s gospel reading, Jesus is teaching an important truth in that it doesn’t really matter how the building looks on the outside, it’s the foundation—it’s what most don’t see—that is what truly matters. A building will either stand or fall depending on the foundation it is built upon. We will either stand firm or fall depending upon the foundation that we believe. When we build on a firm foundation of Christ, we can withstand whatever comes our way. When a foundation is based on the true meaning and spirit of the word of God it produces steadfast faith and life.

Within the Beacons of Light process, we are beginning to build a firm foundation. Our assigned liaison from Catholic Leadership Institute is Linda Banecker. She has a firm foundation vocationally, educationally, professionally and parish wise. Vocationally, she is married to her husband, Joe, and is the mother of two sons. Educationally, she has a BS in Business from St. John’s University, an MA in Mathematics from Villanova University and an MA in Holistic Spirituality from Chestnut Hill College. Professionally, she is a leadership consultant for the Catholic Leadership Institute and the President of her own consulting company, LMB Leadership Solutions. She is a retired IT executive having worked in both Aerospace Engineering at Lockhead Martin and Financial Services at Vanguard managing multi million dollar projects. Parish wise, she has served as the Adult Faith Formation Director at St. Philip Neri Parish in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and teaches Bible studies while leading retreats and speaks at parish events. She is a Eucharistic minister as well as a minister for outreach ministries exemplifying a love for the elderly and hungry of the community. This fall she will be making an onsite visit to all parishes in our family to lead us through phase one of the Beacons of Light process. One of the first steps is to form a Pathways and Family Leadership Team.

Very important in this process is that we build a firm foundation in our lives. We can do that by:

• Trusting the Lord and knowing that the promises of God are sure.
• Abiding in God’s word where we see the power of God, the promise of God, the provision of God, and the presence of God.
• Apply God’s word to our lives: believe it, live it, trust it, apply it and pray according to God’s word.
• And last, we need to have faith in Jesus and in God’s word.

With a firm foundation, we can face each new challenge and opportunity that comes our way.