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Homilies are posted no later than during the week
prior to the Sunday they are needed |
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2 Lent
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Second Sunday of Lent
- Matthew 17:1-9
A child saw a dust-covered book. He asked what it was. His
father replied, "That's God's book - the Bible." The boy replied, "You
better return it to God because nobody here reads it." If our Bible is
in good shape, we are not.
The Transfiguration was among the very few exhilarating
moments in the career of Jesus. His was hardly a cake walk. It was one
tough existence. We have a nasty habit of confining His horror moments
to His last days. That judgment comes from not reading the Gospels.
The Transfiguration is so familiar to all of us that
it has lost its original bang. We have to take off our wraparound sun-
glasses. The scales of over-exposure must be peeled from our eyes in
order to take a fresh look.
Our Leader was finishing an eight month tour of one night
stands in the provincial towns of Galilee. He was eating nothing but
junk food at greasy spoons. He considered Himself lucky when He got it.
He was sweltering in the 100 plus degree heat and freezing at night
under the stars. He was not sleeping. He was staying one step ahead of
the cops. His audiences were receiving Him coldly.
Shortly before this account opens, the Teacher had told
the twelve of His approaching death. They went into a downer. They had
thought the glory days were coming. They had visions of twenty year
service and retirement as monsignors on pension, clergy discounts, work
on their golf swing, etc. And now this announcement. Who needed it?
Then Jesus took them on a three day forced march southward
from northern Palestine. He had to wear a no-nonsense face. He feared a
mutiny or suspected they would slip away after dark. That they did not
reveals the love that already bound the apostles to Him. For them Jesus
was Teilhard's smile of God.
Exhausted, they wound up at Mount Tabor situated near
Jesus' hometown of Nazareth. The mountain runs up about 1800
feet. It is almost a straight ascent. When I was there, tourist buses
could not reach the top. One had to go up in an eight cylinder auto.
Imagine the physical condition of Jesus. As a boy said to me, "Jesus
was no wimp."
He loved mountain tops. They brought Him closer to His
Father.
Christ elected Peter, James, and John to join Him. The
other nine, left at the base camp, were happy they had not been
drafted. They were looking for a shady tree, a cool breeze, and a
stream to do laundry and chill red wine. They needled the three drafted
ones with the message, "Tell us about it tomorrow, fellows."
Their clothes sticking to their skin, the four finally got
to the top about 4 PM. They were running on empty. The apostles had one
thought: sleep. Jesus chose to pray. As Peter climbed into his sleeping
bag, he mumbled, "Everyone has his own idea of a good time." In the
early AM hours, the mountain top exploded as though hit by a nuclear
weapon. The apostles were basket cases. Their Employer, "was
transfigured before their eyes." He had removed His disguise. This was
no carpenter. This was God. This was His Big Bang.
When Jesus put on a show, it was not low budget. The Big
Bang must have been something spectacular. He deserved Oscar, Tony, and
Emmy awards for best show on a mountain top ever.
The apostleswere witnessing Moses and Elijah
passing on the torch to their Leader. The Father was saying to Christ's
followers, "You have been brought up to listen to Moses, Elijah, and
their peers. Up to this point, they were my advance men. But now it is
my Son you will listen to. He is numero uno. Him I appoint as your new
Commander in Chief."
Next day Peter, James, and John came down that mountain
jumping from rock to rock with the agility of boys. They were on a
high. Their Jesus had proved to be a big winner. Their arduous climb in
the sauna heat had paid off.
Heaven for them now would be forever spelled h-o-m-e.
We move into the second week of Lent. And, if you are off
to a good start, bravo. Like His apostles, the Teacher has much to tell
you at the mountain top. If you have yet to begin the climb, you can
play catch-up. Jesus will toss you a rope and pull you up.
Reflect on Elizabeth Vanek: "The Transfiguration is not
just an indication of Christ's divinity; it also reveals our potential
to become divine." We can achieve "deification." Blow the dust off your
Bible. Don't allow it to be the least read best seller of all time. Be
a Bible reader, says Kenneth Woodward, and not just a Bible
owner. |
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http://www.st.ignatius.net/pastor.html
2 Lent
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Second Sunday of Lent
- Matthew 17:1-9
A child saw a dust-covered book. He asked what it was. His
father replied, "That's God's book - the Bible." The boy replied, "You
better return it to God because nobody here reads it." If our Bible is
in good shape, we are not.
The Transfiguration was among the very few exhilarating
moments in the career of Jesus. His was hardly a cake walk. It was one
tough existence. We have a nasty habit of confining His horror moments
to His last days. That judgment comes from not reading the Gospels.
The Transfiguration is so familiar to all of us that
it has lost its original bang. We have to take off our wraparound sun-
glasses. The scales of over-exposure must be peeled from our eyes in
order to take a fresh look.
Our Leader was finishing an eight month tour of one night
stands in the provincial towns of Galilee. He was eating nothing but
junk food at greasy spoons. He considered Himself lucky when He got it.
He was sweltering in the 100 plus degree heat and freezing at night
under the stars. He was not sleeping. He was staying one step ahead of
the cops. His audiences were receiving Him coldly.
Shortly before this account opens, the Teacher had told
the twelve of His approaching death. They went into a downer. They had
thought the glory days were coming. They had visions of twenty year
service and retirement as monsignors on pension, clergy discounts, work
on their golf swing, etc. And now this announcement. Who needed it?
Then Jesus took them on a three day forced march southward
from northern Palestine. He had to wear a no-nonsense face. He feared a
mutiny or suspected they would slip away after dark. That they did not
reveals the love that already bound the apostles to Him. For them Jesus
was Teilhard's smile of God.
Exhausted, they wound up at Mount Tabor situated near
Jesus' hometown of Nazareth. The mountain runs up about 1800
feet. It is almost a straight ascent. When I was there, tourist buses
could not reach the top. One had to go up in an eight cylinder auto.
Imagine the physical condition of Jesus. As a boy said to me, "Jesus
was no wimp."
He loved mountain tops. They brought Him closer to His
Father.
Christ elected Peter, James, and John to join Him. The
other nine, left at the base camp, were happy they had not been
drafted. They were looking for a shady tree, a cool breeze, and a
stream to do laundry and chill red wine. They needled the three drafted
ones with the message, "Tell us about it tomorrow, fellows."
Their clothes sticking to their skin, the four finally got
to the top about 4 PM. They were running on empty. The apostles had one
thought: sleep. Jesus chose to pray. As Peter climbed into his sleeping
bag, he mumbled, "Everyone has his own idea of a good time." In the
early AM hours, the mountain top exploded as though hit by a nuclear
weapon. The apostles were basket cases. Their Employer, "was
transfigured before their eyes." He had removed His disguise. This was
no carpenter. This was God. This was His Big Bang.
When Jesus put on a show, it was not low budget. The Big
Bang must have been something spectacular. He deserved Oscar, Tony, and
Emmy awards for best show on a mountain top ever.
The apostleswere witnessing Moses and Elijah
passing on the torch to their Leader. The Father was saying to Christ's
followers, "You have been brought up to listen to Moses, Elijah, and
their peers. Up to this point, they were my advance men. But now it is
my Son you will listen to. He is numero uno. Him I appoint as your new
Commander in Chief."
Next day Peter, James, and John came down that mountain
jumping from rock to rock with the agility of boys. They were on a
high. Their Jesus had proved to be a big winner. Their arduous climb in
the sauna heat had paid off.
Heaven for them now would be forever spelled h-o-m-e.
We move into the second week of Lent. And, if you are off
to a good start, bravo. Like His apostles, the Teacher has much to tell
you at the mountain top. If you have yet to begin the climb, you can
play catch-up. Jesus will toss you a rope and pull you up.
Reflect on Elizabeth Vanek: "The Transfiguration is not
just an indication of Christ's divinity; it also reveals our potential
to become divine." We can achieve "deification." Blow the dust off your
Bible. Don't allow it to be the least read best seller of all time. Be
a Bible reader, says Kenneth Woodward, and not just a Bible
owner. |
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http://www.geocities.com/seapadre_1999/
* available in Spanish - see Spanish
homilies
2 Lent
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http://www.agreeley.com/homilies.html
2 Lent
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Second Sunday in Lent,
Mt. 17.1-9
Background:
The story of the Transfiguration of Jesus in today's gospel in
one of the stranger stories in any of the Gospels. Evidently Jesus had
a powerful "religious experience" at some point in his public life, an
experience which had a profound effect on him and on the apostles who
were with him. As the story of this experience was related among the
early Christians it took on a heavy overlay of theological symbolism.
In the context of St. Matthew's Gospel it becomes a turning point in
Jesus' life, an experience in which he saw that he must go to Jerusalem
and suffer and die while he was there. Since Jesus was human he was
fasted to die just as all of us are fated to die. In his death,
however, there would be something more. Since God was present in Jesus
in a special way, God would also go down into the valley of death to
show us how great was his love for us, to assure us that He would be
with us at the time of our own deaths, and how all of us should face
death. The manner of Jesus' death was not fated. He could have declined
to go to Jerusalem without sin. Yet he came to see that he had to go
there and so he did.
Story:
Once upon a time a teenager was in a car wreck which totally
wrecked the family car and just about totally wrecked her. And it
wasn’t her fault, though the last thing she thought before she lost
consciousness was that her parents would blame her anyway. So she
hovered between life and death for almost a week. She couldn’t say a
word when her mother and father came to visit her. Why are they crying,
she wondered. Why aren’t they shouting at me because of my reckless
driving. Then she understood. They think I’m going to die. Maybe
they’re right. Maybe I am going to die. That’s kind of geeky. But she
was so doped up and so weak she didn’t much mind. She’s going shouted a
nurse. The doctors rushed into the room to try to save her. That’s all
right she said, like I don’t mind dying, not really. Don’t die her
mother wailed. Don’t dieher father wailed. Please don’t die her
little sister who was like a total brat wailed. She died anyway,
floated out of her body, watched from the ceiling for a few moments,
said “forget about it” and then drifted off. The next thing she knew
she was facing God. You’re here a little early, God said. It wasn’t my
fault, she pleaded, suspecting that God was like a parent. I know THAT,
God said. You like this place? She looked around heaven and said, Yeah,
it’s totally neat. Do you want to stay here? Why not! Or do you want to
go back and take care of your family for like sixty more years or so.
Why? Your family needs you. They’ll fall apart without you. You’re sure
I can get back in. Like totally, God goes. She sighed, “OK, but
sometimes my family are nerds. And you never are. Well, sometimes.
Because God wanted her to, she went back to her family, go better and
took care of them. And they didn’t blame her for the accident. I won’t
say that they all lived happily ever after, but they lived a lot better
than they would have if she had stayed in heaven. |
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http://www.saintvincentarchabbey.org/homilies/index.lasso
2 Lent
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Feb, 17, 2008
Matthew 17:1-9
Demetrius R. Dumm, O.S.B.
Second Sunday of Lent
Gospel Summary
The fact that Jesus takes his more intimate disciples to the top of
this nameless mountain alerts us to the deeply personal nature of the
episode to follow. When they arrive there, the appearance of Jesus
suddenly changes and he is radiant with a light whose source is not
identified. When Matthew notes that the face of Jesus "shone like the
sun," he wants us to recall how Moses came down from Mt. Sinai with
luminous face after having spoken with God (Exodus 34:29). For Matthew
considers Jesus to be the new Moses who brings a new and definitive
revelation or Torah from God.
It has been customary to attribute the illumination of Jesus to a beam
of light from heaven intended to reassure the disciples who have just
heard that the Messiah must suffer and die (Matthew 16:21). However,
most of the disciples are not present, nor do those few present seem to
have been reassured. Nor is there any mention of a light from heaven.
It is far more likely that this illumination derived from within Jesus
who, for the first time, came to a full realization that God wanted him
to save the world, not by feats of power or by killing Roman soldiers
(too frequently the human way), but by loving and therefore suffering
and dying (the divine way). This would be then an ecstatic moment of
discovery as Jesus became fully aware of the true nature of his
messianic mission.
If that is so, it is entirely appropriate that Moses and Elijah should
join him there, for they too had met God on a mountaintop and received
a revelation that illumined their futures. The face of Moses glistened
from the divine encounter on Mt. Sinai (as noted above) and Elijah
outran the chariot of Ahab after meeting God on Mt. Carmel (1 Kings
18:46). Finally, when the voice of God is heard, the baptismal
affirmation is repeated and significant new words are added: "Listen to
him." This tells us that Jesus is now ready to teach the ultimate
divine wisdom of salvation through loving and self-giving.
Life Implications
We Christians are asked to follow Jesus, not only by listening to his
words, but also by sharing in his experience of human life as an
opportunity for ultimate victory and freedom. We have heard with Jesus
the liberating baptismal words, "You are my beloved child," and as we
have grown in confidence we have learned to be a beneficent presence in
our world, just as Jesus was in Galilee.
However, the time will inevitably come when we begin to wonder whether
building monuments or achieving status is really the purpose of life.
Then, in middle age (sometime between 30 and 80!), we are invited to
the mountaintop for a transfiguring experience which will hopefully
enable us to discover that brain-power and money-power, though very
useful, are not nearly as important as love-power. Suddenly it becomes
clear that being kind and gentle in an often-violent world is the
ultimate wisdom for us humans. Moreover, we discover to our relief that
age is not an obstacle to being a loving, caring presence. Indeed, the
touch of an octogenarian is probably more tender even than that of a
20-year-old.
We also learn that true loving is always a kind of dying. And after we
died in countless small ways, we discover that our final dying is just
the last and best opportunity to trust a gracious God who has illumined
all our days. In this way, bright promise and luminous hope can conquer
dark and frightening fear and despair.
Demetrius R. Dumm, O.S.B.
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Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
JGHealey@aol.com
2 Lent |
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http://www.christusrex.org/www1/mcitl/lowhome.html Meeting Christ in the Liturgy
2 Lent
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Second Sunday
Genesis 12, 1-4; Psalm 33; 2 Tim 1, 8-10; Matthew 17, 1-9
Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Christ "was transfigured before their eyes. His face became as dazzling
as the sun, his clothes as radiant as light."
Last Sunday in our Gospel we heard that our Lord's sharing in our flesh
meant that he suffered temptation. As God he does not share our sin,
for sin cannot coexist with his holiness, but he shares with us every
other reality of our earthly existence. He does this in order to
transform us, as a share in his Transfiguration, of which we read in
today's Gospel. Our Lord's divine nature is now our gift, so that our
human nature can be raised up, glorified, changed completely by his
holiness. The marvelous reality of our Christian life is that we share
more and more in Christ's glory until, one day, we see Him face to
face.
The Transfiguration is also a strengthening, a source of hope in time
of trial.
From the day Peter confessed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the
living God, the Master 'began to show his disciples that he must go to
Jerusalem and suffer many things...and be killed, and on the third day
be raised.'(Mt 16:21) Peter scorns this prediction, nor do the others
understand it any better than he.(Mt 16:22-23) In this context the
mysterious episode of Jesus' Transfiguration takes place on a high
mountain, (Mt 17:1-8) before three witnesses chosen by himself: Peter,
James and John. Jesus' face and clothes become dazzling with light, and
Moses and Elijah appear, speaking 'of his departure, which he was to
accomplish at Jerusalem.' (Lk 9:31)" (CCC 554) "For a moment Jesus
discloses his divine glory, confirming Peter's confession. He also
reveals that he will have to go by the way of the cross at Jerusalem in
order to 'enter into his glory.'(Lk 24:26) (CCC 555)
In this season of Lent, let us put off all those things which are not
of Christ, so that we may more and more put on His glory and share in
God's own peace and joy. Let us approach the Sunday liturgy,
sacramental Confession and all of the good things our Lord has given
us, not as obligations or empty duties to fulfill, but as invitations
to share in the gift of His love and life which never end.
Let us pray for one another until, again next week, we "meet Christ in
the liturgy"---Father Cusick
(Publish with permission.) www.christusrex.org/www1/mcitl/ |
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http://www.ctk-thornbury.org.uk/
2 Lent |
Second Sunday of Lent,
Year A
We have in our readings today two extraordinary religious experiences
taking place on the top of mountains.
I’m sure that we’ve all been to the top of a very high mountain at one
time or another and found it to be a very exhilarating experience—the
height, the thin air, the wind, the sense of achievement after a hard
ascent, and the prospect of an easy and rapid descent. And there is the
appreciation of nature in the tremendous view.
Although we speak only figuratively, there is also the sense of being
close to heaven. Many people have religious experiences on the tops of
mountains.
Here in our first reading there is the extraordinary story of the
sacrifice of Isaac—or rather the non-sacrifice of Isaac.
Abraham is put to the test by God, the sacrifice of his only son is
demanded and Abraham obeys. Abraham is prepared to believe in the Lord
God although he appears to be a very hard and demanding God demanding
back the gift of this precious son born so late in life.
But Abraham accedes to the Lord’s stipulations and seizes the knife to
kill his son. But then the angel intervenes and the ram is sacrificed
instead. Abraham’s obedience brings him untold blessings which will
pass from generation to generation.
And even today we do exactly as God has said, we bless ourselves
through his descendents because it is through them that salvation was
brought definitively into the world.
And then Jesus takes his closest disciples up Mount Tabor where he was
transfigured. There they see him transformed and radiant and Moses and
Elijah appear next to him: Moses for the Law and Elijah for the
Prophets. This is the sign that all that has gone before and recorded
in the Old Testament is now come to fulfilment in Christ.
That close band of disciples see the glory of God shining through
Jesus. They get a glimpse of his glory and realise that he is truly the
Messiah and is greater that they could ever have imagined till now.
We are given this wonderful Gospel reading is given to us during Lent
to remind us what we are about as disciples of Christ. It is presented
to us to help us to realise that we are all called as Abraham was,
called to follow the will of God in true obedience—even when it seems
difficult or incomprehensible to us.
It is given to us to help us to realise that our main purpose in life
is to experience a gradual transfiguration ourselves so that out from
us the love and holiness of our God increasingly radiates. All our
time, all our energy, all our work, all our leisure, all our
encounters, all our thoughts and actions must increasingly radiate the
glory of God.
What we are called to do is to enable the divine life which entered our
souls at baptism to become more and more evident to others. The aim is
that through our lives the splendour of the Father becomes ever more
visible to the world.
Of course, the question we are left with is: how do we do this?
I think the answer is don’t get in the way. God knows what he is doing;
like Abraham we might not find it comprehensible but ours is not to
reason why. Ours is to let God act through us, for us to become
conduits of his love, for us to hold back our egos and let God prove
his love to the world by prompting us to act in this way or that way.
We need to step back in life to forget our own plans and to let the
plans of God evolve. We all have examples of how he has worked wonders
in our own lives and in the lives of those around us. But that doesn’t
stop us from interfering. We see his Divine Providence one day and yet
the next day we blame him for something
The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited
island. He prayed fervently for God to rescue him, and every day he
scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming.
Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood
to protect himself from the elements and to store his few possessions.
One day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little
hut in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky. The worst had happened;
everything was lost. He was stunned with grief and anger. "God, how
could you do this to me?" He cried.
Early the next day, however, he was awakened by the sound of a ship
that was approaching the island. It had come to rescue him. "How did
you know I was here?" asked the weary man of his rescuers. "We saw your
smoke signal," they replied.
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Contact Father at cbonar@cfl.rr.com;
information about his book of homilies is available at www.clydebonar.com.
2 Lent |
Second Sunday of Lent,
Cycle A
Readings: Genesis 12: 1-4; 2 Timothy 1: 8-10; Matthew 17: 1-9
"This Is My Beloved Son, Listen To Him"
Introduction
One day a man asked a monk to give him
spiritual direction. To impress the monk, the man gave a lengthy
recital of all his accomplishments — his university degrees, his great
importance in the business world, his many volunteer activities.
As the man talked, the monk began to fill a teacup with water. The
water reached the rim of the cup, and the monk kept pouring, until the
water spilled onto the table.
The man said, "Stop, the cup will hold no more
water!" The monk answered, "Neither can I teach you anything. You are
too full of yourself now. Come back when you have some room for God."
No Room For God
Isn't that also our problem? No room for God.
No time to listen to God. Not that we do not want to listen to God. We
would not be at Mass right now if we did not want to listen to God.
But, from every side, we are bombarded. Our attention drawn this way
and that.
We in central Florida know this because we
have theme parks. Long time residents learn to aim their visiting
friends down the road and to say: theme parks are that way, see you
later. And, off our house guests go, to see Mickey and Xena. A day at
Sea World, and a trip to the Kennedy Space Center. Perhaps over to
Tampa and Busch Gardens? So many theme parks. City Walk and Downtown
Disney. When does the tourist have time to listen to God?
Just like theme parks keep the tourists busy,
our own daily schedules leave us in a whirlwind. After work, there's
grass to cut and laundry to do, and car-pooling to take the kids to
school activities, and parent-teachers meetings, and club meetings, and
our ministry for the church. The list goes on and on. A trip to the
supermarket, with a stop at the ATM. A movie once in a while, season
tickets for basketball. When is there time to listen to God?
Our young people are no less busy. Check a
high school student's daily schedule. Classes at school only anchor the
day. There's also soccer practice, piano lessons, school play
rehearsal, Scout's, Junior Achievement, part-time job. When does the
student have time to listen to God?
Isn't that the problem? Not that we do not
want to listen to God. But, from every side, we are bombarded with
must-do demands on our time.
God’s Beloved Son
Sometimes God breaks in with an attention
grabber. Like in today’s Gospel. What a scene, the transfiguration of
Jesus. The words say: "his face shone like the sun and his clothes
became white as light." Jesus was showing Peter, James and John what he
would look like after his resurrection. He’d appear transformed,
glorified.
"A bright cloud cast a shadow over them, then
from the cloud came a voice that said, 'This is my beloved Son, with
whom I am well pleased; listen to him.'" Know ye all, God says, your
friend Jesus, this carpenter from Nazareth, he is God the Son. And we
need to listen to him.
The disciples had been with Jesus as he cured
the sick, drove out demons, made the cripple walk. They’d heard Jesus
tell stories, and knew he spoke with an authority greater than any
prophet. Now, God tells us very clearly, "this is my beloved Son,
listen to him."
On one side of Jesus, there’s Moses, the Law
giver; on his other side, Elijah, the great prophet. Moses and Elijah
link Jesus with the traditions of the Jewish faith (or, Old Testament).
On Mount Sinai, Yahweh had spoken to Moses face to face. Coming down
from Mt. Sinai, the face of Moses was radiant with a light so bright he
had to cover his face with a veil. (Exodus 33:11; 34:29-34) Now, Christ
himself radiated that same light of God. The message: Jesus speaks with
authority. "Listen to him."
Elijah had been the first great prophet of
Israel. When the priest of the pagan god Baal challenged the power of
Yahweh, Elijah had called down the might of God. It had been quite a
contest. The priest of Baal pleaded with their pagan god to take their
sacrifice. And, nothing happened. Then Elijah called upon Yahweh, and
God left their sacrificial offering a pile of sizzling ashes. Now, on
this mountain, clearly understand, Christ preaches with an authority
greater even than the prophet Elijah.
The transfiguration of Christ. Jesus stands
with Moses and Elijah, Jesus transcends both Moses and Elijah. Make no
mistake, this is God's "beloved Son." God the Father says, "listen to
him."
The Saints Listened
Let’s talk about three ways we can listen to
God. First, through our Catholic faith; second, we listen with our
hearts; and third, we hear God speak to us in our spiritual reading.
First, God speaks to us through our Catholic
traditions. A great example, St. Francis of Assisi. In Assisi,
everybody was Catholic. Sundays and Holy Days, from his boyhood Francis
heard God’s word during Mass in the Cathedral of San Rufino. And,
Francis listened. Jesus commands us, "love your neighbor as yourself,"
and Francis did. Francis treated the poor with an exquisite courtesy
which mirrored Christ himself.
Everywhere Francis saw reminders of his
Catholic faith. Perhaps a fresco depicting a scene from the Bible, or
he’d pass a small chapel with the statue of a saint. Walking the steep
path between the valley and the town of Assisi, Francis always would
stop for a prayer at the Chapel of San Damiano. Accustomed to hearing
God speak within his Catholic faith, Francis could hear Jesus from the
San Damiano crucifix say, "Rebuild my church." A first way God speaks
to us, through our Catholic faith.
A second way, God speaks from within our
hearts. From her heart, St. Catherine of Siena heard God speak. In her
heart, Catherine heard God tell her to help the needy. She started to
visit hospitals. When the plague struck, Catherine tended the sick and
buried them with her own hands.
From her youngest years, Catherine had a
hunger for the Word of God. Catherine never missed Mass, twice during
the night she’d get up to pray, she kept all the fast days. Attuned to
God, Catherine listened with her heart as God spoke to her.
The story of St. Ignatius of Loyola was quite
different. As a young knight, his leg was wounded while he was fighting
at Pamplona. Recovery was slow, taking over a year. Ignatius asked for
romance novels to read. But, in the castle of Loyola, they only had two
books, one the life of Christ, the other a collection of the lives of
saints.
At first, Ignatius read just to kill time. As
he kept reading, Ignatius found joy and peace when reading about the
saints, and he would feel uplifted for days. But, when Ignatius turned
his attention to matters of business, he quickly fell into despair.
By his reading, Ignatius started to hear God. A third way God speaks to
us, in our spiritual reading. Ignatius gained great spiritual insight.
He started the Jesuit order and gave us his "Spiritual Exercises."
Three saints, three examples of
listening to God. St. Francis of Assisi listened to God within his
Catholic faith. St. Catherine of Siena heard God speak within her
heart. God spoke to St. Ignatius of Loyola through his spiritual
reading.
Conclusion
But God speaks not only to saints. God wants
to talk to each one of us.
Question is: Are we listening? Do we follow
our Catholic faith close enough to hear when God talks? Do we live the
sacramental life of the Church, regularly come to Mass, do we turn to
God each day in prayer? Do we listen to the prompting of our heart? Do
we do some spiritual reading, so that we might be inspired?
God the Father said, "This is my beloved Son,
listen to him." What voices do we listen to, noises of the world or the
gentle whisper of God?
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These
homilies may be copied and adapted for your own use;
however, they may not be commercially published without permission of
the author.
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