“Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.”  I recall visiting the place where my mother was raised and being excited about visiting family and going to Mass which was celebrated in a beautiful, tiny little church the size of a small chapel. Upon entering the church, I greeted the community gathered for Mass and I took a seat in the rear of the church in order to find a  quiet place to pray and prepare for Mass. It was evident by the glances and by the not so tiny whispers that there was a discussion taking place about the stranger among the group; the one that didn’t belong. They collectively decided that the identity of the stranger needed to be known. So they all gathered around me and asked, “who are you?” I introduce myself and indicated that I was a seminarian  of the Diocese of Orlando visiting my family. It was obvious by the look on their faces that I didn’t answer their question satisfactorily. Then they said, “no, no, no – who do you belong to?” Well there’s an interesting question that I did not anticipate. Who do I belong to? Who do you belong to?  To belong implies either an affiliation or membership to a group or to a community like a church or a family or it can imply being owned like a possession or personal property. So, who do you belong to? The members of the church that approached me that day wanted to know who my parents were – what family did I belong to – which family was I a member of. I had a totally different perspective of what I perceived they meant by belonging to. Initially, like I suspect most people would, I took offense at the question who do I belong to because like most, I don’t feel like anyone owns me. That has since changed as my relationship with Christ has grown and deepened. I now understand a little better the depth of God’s love for me and the extent of the sacrifice that was made for me; I was purchased at a great price. The cost of my freedom and belonging came at the cost of great suffering, persecution and death. Christ died for me so that I can belong to God. And now, I am part of God’s family – I am God’s special possession as scripture says, “they shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, my own special possession.” So who do you belong to?  Fr. Ivan