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Homilies are posted no later than during the week
prior to the Sunday they are needed |
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1 Advent
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First
Sunday of Sunday Advent - Cycle A - Matthew 24:37-44
Two men talked about salvation over drinks. "I'm making my
Confession on my death bed like the Good Thief." His buddy replied,
"There were two thieves on the cross. One guy didn't make it to
confession. What makes you think you're not going to be that second
guy?" The other fellow put down his Budweiser.
Student devils were being dispatched to the earth to
finish their training. Satan interviewed them. To the first: "How will
you operate?" Said he: "I will instruct people God does not exist." The
Devil shook his head: "Most know our Enemy exists." The next said: "I
will argue Hell does not exist." Satan was annoyed: "After millions of
abortions, people know Hell exists." The last said: "I will tell all
they have plenty of time." Satan beamed: "Good woman. Do that and
you'll bring people down here by the billions. Why can't these male
devils be as clever as you.?" (CS Lewis)
Most delight in telling ourselves that we have time to set
the record straight with God. Yet, if you want to hear God laugh, tell
Him about your plans for tomorrow. The most dangerous words in any
language is the word "tomorrow." Write your plans then in pencil. Give
God the eraser. (Unknown) If we put off a rapprochement with God, we
have bought the advice of the third apprentice devil. Some of us might
not see Christmas day. It is four weeks away.
On September 11, 2001, 3000 people intended to return to
their homes from the World Trade Center in New York City. None of them
made it.
The Great Wall of China was built to keep the enemy out.
They got in. How? They bribed the gatekeepers. Piece of cake. So much
for the best laid plans of mice and men. God writes the last word.
In 2007, 560 people lost their lives in an earthquake that
came without warning in Peru.
Jesus warns us six times in the Gospels that we do not
know what day or hour He is coming for us.
St. Paul advises us: "Realize what time it is. It is high
time to be awakened from sleep. Your salvation is nearer than when you
believed."
Like many illustrious people who followed him, St Paul was
alarmed by intimations of mortality. A 17th century poet spoke of
"time's winged chariot hurrying near." The genius John Keats guessed
his life would close before his pen had gleaned his teeming brain. He
was correct. He died at 26. Robert Louis Stevenson trembled "lest I
hear the sunset gun too soon." He too was prescient. He died at 44.
(William Barclay)
The prophet Isaiah invites us "to go up to the mountains
of the Lord...that He may teach us His ways so that we may walk in His
paths." Each of us should make this line the leitmotif of our
respective Advents this fresh liturgical year.
Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is but a promissory
note. Today is the only reality. Live then as though each day is your
last and someday you'll be right. You learn how to die if you learn how
to live. (Mitch Albon)
Remember Mohandas Gandhi's advice. He practiced what he
preached. "You don't have to be an angel to be a saint. Our greatness
lies not so much in being able to remake the world as being able to
remake ourselves."
Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about
creating yourself. (George Bernard Shaw)
But is not all of this too ominous a note to begin what
is a magic time of year? Might not the Church have chosen more benign
readings to cheer us on to the snowflake splendors of Christmas?
Negative!
The Gospel for the first Sunday of Advent would have us
get our affairs, especially our spiritual ones, in order. We
should give as much attention to this detail as we give to getting
prepared for Christmas. We are advised by the Church to move along our
preparations for the Christmas that will never end. Plan then as if
Jesus' return were years away but live as if it were this afternoon.
(Unknown)
If you are wondering what areas of your life you should
improve, check it out with St Paul. He ticks off such pastimes as heavy
drinking, sexual misconduct, arguing, and jealousy for openers. You can
take it from there. The Apostle to the Gentiles obviously spent many
long Saturday afternoons in the confessional box in Rome. As we go to
Confession in our parish, we might carry with us advice that salvation
is not measured by perspiration but by readiness. (Leonard Foley)
This might be you last Confession.
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http://www.st.ignatius.net/pastor.html
1 Advent
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1
Advent: Hope in the Lord, and Be Ready to Take the Shot
Advent is the season of hope. Hope is certainly the appropriate
feeling for this particular time in our American epoch. We are in the
middle of a new election cycle. Every candidate expresses a hope for
the future of the country if he or she is elected. Some might even be
serious about it. But presidents come and go. Nations themselves
rise and fall. But Jesus Christ, the One who is the Eternal Word
of the Father, the One who entered into our history by becoming one of
us, the One who is at the Right Hand of the Father, Jesus Christ is
forever. “Only in God be at rest my soul, from him comes my hope, ” we
pray in Psalm 62.
Advent is the season of hope. Today’s Gospel tells us that we need to
hope, and we need to watch. And we need to take the shot. Let me tell
you about an exciting high school soccer match where one of our young
men starred. Our young man, spent the afternoon running back and
forth, hoping and waiting, then with only thirty seconds left in
the game the ball came to him near the goal. He was ready.
He took the shot. Game over.
Hope
in the Lord, and be ready to take the shot. Watch and be
ready. That’s what this First Sunday of Advent is all about.
But
how can we watch if we are distracted? If the young man wasn’t
completely focused on the game, and instead was thinking about how he
really wanted some of his favorite food, Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo, he
would not have been where he needed to be to receive that pass.
If our lives are distracted by that which is not the Lord, we are not
going to be ready when He passes the ball to us. If our hope is
in Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo, our any of the material goods of the
world, if we get caught up in the sickness of the world, if we use
drink, drugs, sex and what have you as a relief from our difficulties,
we are not going to be ready for His particular entrance into our lives.
What
is it that you hope for, that we hope for? We hope for union with
our loved ones who have died. Well, we need to stay united to the Lord
and be ready when He comes for us.
We
all hope for love. The young hope for a person they can commit
themselves to and grow in love. Beauty and virility will
fade with time. Only the sacrificial love of the Lord is forever. If
the young place their hope in the Lord, and are open to His Love, and
live a life of sacrificial love, giving themselves to others and
rejecting all selfish inclinations, they will be ready to take the shot
if God calls them to love through another person.
We
single people may not be called to marriage but are called to expand
the possibilities of making His Love real. If we stay united to
Him, and are open to Him, we will be ready to take the shot, make
His love real, in ways we least expect. I have to tell you, I
always knew that I wanted to be a priest, but I never thought that my
priesthood would take the directions which it has. Like all
priests, I worry about the times that I have not been ready and have
not taken the shot when the Lord passed me the ball. But I also thank
God for the times that I have been ready for Him. I spent my last
years of training for the priesthood as a chaplain for children with
cancer. I never thought I would do that, or could do that, but my
need for a pastoral ed course in hospital ministry, and an elderly
priest’s need for a younger man to spend time with the children and
families on the oncology floor on a permanent basis resulted in my
taking the shot and receiving much more than I gave.
Eventually it all ended up with me here in the Diocese of St.
Petersburg and in this parish. Life is beautiful when we hope in
the Lord and are ready for His call. I am certain that every single
person can tell a story of how life has been enriched by hoping in God
and responding when He called.
The
married are continually called to grow in His Love. But it takes
tremendous sacrifice. Your way or her way, his way? The way
of the Lord is the way of sacrificial love. You hope in the
Lord. The opportunity comes for you to express his love to your
spouse. You take the shot. You chance your spouse rejecting
your attempts to love him or her more. But that is what love is,
love is being vulnerable to rejection. So you take the shot. That
shot might be something as minor as making your wife chicken soup when
she is sick, or calling your husband during the work day just to say,
“I love you,” or it might be as major as trusting in God to care for
your family if a new baby is in His plan. You place your hope in
the Lord and are ready for whenever and however He calls you.
Many
have adopted children or taken in foster children. They knew that
they would have no control over those forces that afflicted the child
during pregnancy and early childhood. But they also knew that
their hope was in the Lord. And when the time came, when the agency
called, when the ball was passed, it was their hope in the Lord that
kept them open to take the shot. And now they say, “I am so much
richer because of my daughter, my son. God has been so good to
me.” Yes, he has been good to you and to me and to all of
us. And His Greatest blessing has been leading us to places in
our lives, leading us to a way of living, where we are open to His
particular call.
Jesus said to His disciples, “Be Watchful. Be Alert.” None
of us know what the Lord has in store for us. Will we be taking
the same courses next year, going to the same school, living in the
same neighborhood, doing the same job? Will our family be bigger or
smaller? Will we even be here in Florida, or here on earth?
Whatever the year, whatever our lives bring us, all will be wonderful,
exciting, beautiful and full of love, as long as our hope is in the
Lord.
If
our hope is in the Lord, we will be ready to take the shot when He
passes the ball of His Love to us. |
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http://stmaryvalleybloom.org/
* available in Spanish - see
Spanish homilies
1 Advent
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It
Is Right and Just
(November 27, 2011)
Bottom line: As we begin the season of Advent we ask for the grace to
stay alert and watchful. We stand in awe of God's coming to us - and we
give him thanks. It is right and just.
Welcome to Advent - and welcome to the new missal! I would like to
begin by practicing the introductory dialogue to the Preface.
Priest: The Lord be with you.
People: And with your spirit.
Priest: Lift up your hearts.
People: We lift them up to the Lord.
Priest: Let us give thanks to the Lord, our God
People: It is right and just.
As at the beginning of Mass, we have the apostolic greeting, "The Lord
be with you" followed the response, "and with your spirit." Then the
priest says, "Lift up your hearts." The Latin is "Sursum Corda," -
Hearts on high! In the third exchange, I say "Let us give thanks to the
Lord, our God." And you respond, "It is right and just."
This succinct phrase then becomes the subject matter of the Preface.
The Preface gives a short declaration about why it is right and just to
praise God. For example, this Sunday we hear how God took on the
lowliness of our human flesh. It's like a Redwood being reduced to a
tooth pick. In Jesus, God humbled himself (as the Preface states) to
open the way to eternal salvation.
The Preface then indicates our response to what God has done: We "watch
for that day" as we look forward to the "promise in which now we dare
to hope." The Preface concludes with an invitation to join the angels -
the "hosts and Powers of heaven" - in their hymn of glory. We then sign
the hymn based on the prophet Isaiah's vision: "Holy, Holy, Holy..."
Today's Scripture readings have themes similar to the Preface. Isaiah -
the same man who had the vision of the heavenly court - speaks about
the distance between God and man. As Isaiah says: He is our father; he
forms us like a potter molds clay. We have no righteousness before him.
Even our good deeds are like "polluted rages." Thos are hard words, but
we need to realize that Isaiah does not say them so we will become
discourage. No he wants us to experience awe before God - especially
considering that he would come to us.
In the second reading St Paul speaks about exactly that: God comes to
us in Jesus. Paul asks God for strength so that we will perservere
until "the day of our Lord Jesus Christ." st. Paul had seen people grow
cold and weary. He knew that only by grace can we continue on - right
up to "that day."
Now, st. Paul did not invent the idea of the "day" - the Second Coming.
He received his message from Jesus. We can see that in today's Gospel.
Jesus speaks about his return and he tells us, "Be watchful. Be alert."
So, as we begin the season of Advent we ask for the grace to stay alert
and watchful. We stand in awe of God's coming to us - and we give him
thanks. It is right and just. Amen.
**********
General Intercessions for the First Sunday of Advent, Cycle B (from
Priests for Life)
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http://www.agreeley.com/homilies.html
1 Advent
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November 27th, 2011 A.D.
First Sunday in Advent Mk 13/33-37
"What I say to you I say to all: Watch"
Background:
“Stay awake” is an alarm sounding on the first Sunday of advent.
It means many different things, the most important of which is to seize
the opportunities of the present moment, prepare for Christmas, prepare
for death, yes, surely. But also, and more important, prepare for the
kingdom of God whenever it explodes into your life.
In Jesus’s view of the kingdom, it is always near, ready to break
through the barriers of every day and seize us, impel us, embrace us,
challenge us – and especially in Jesus’s view of things the kingdom
appears with God’s sweeping love in ordinary daily events: a confused
child, a sick friend, a discouraged spouse, a troublesome person on the
phone, a demand that seems unfair but where we can do much good with
little effort.
These are the places to look for God’s loving power.
Story:
Once upon a time there was a teenage girl named Belinda. She was
somewhat interested in a boy named Randolph, a nice boy, a smart boy, a
respectful boy, a good Catholic and a good dancer too. You know how
many teenage boys are good dancers. Randolph paid no attention to
Belinda, but she didn’t care because she wasn’t really sure that she
liked him.
Then Randolph began to call her on the phone every night for a
whole week. Why don’t you call that nice boy back her mother would say,
he’s so polite and so respectful. He’s a creep, Belinda insisted. He’s
BORING! I hear he’s a good dancer and very sweet, her mother said..
BORING, argued Belinda. Of course she had every intention of calling
him back, but she didn’t want to appear too eager because, after all,
he hadn’t paid any attention to her for months.
Well, finally on Saturday afternoon, she called him back and he
wasn’t in. She called him on Sunday afternoon and he still wasn’t in.
Furious, she called him Sunday night. I hear you have been calling me
on the phone, Randolph, she said in a snippy tone of voice. I’m sorry
you didn’t call before, Belinda, he said sadly, I was gonna invite you
to the Christmas dance. But I figured you didn’t want to go so I asked
someone else. I’m a total space cadet, Belinda admitted. Maybe some
other time, Randolph replied.
You never know when Mr. Right is going to call with an invitation to a
Christmas dance. |
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http://www.saintvincentarchabbey.org/sunday_homily
1 Advent
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First Sunday of Advent
Sunday, November 27, 2011
November 27, 2011
First Sunday of Advent
Mark 13: 33-37
Gospel Summary
In this gospel passage Jesus illustrates the mystery of his future,
final coming in power and glory with a simple parable. He says to his
disciples: "Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will
come." He compares his final coming to a man traveling abroad who had
placed his servants in charge of his house. The servants must do the
work assigned to them, and the gatekeeper must be on constant watch
awaiting the return of the master of the house. The parable, with its
accompanying admonition to work and watch for the Lord's final advent,
completes chapter 13 of Mark's gospel -- Jesus' last teaching before
his passion.
Life Implications
The First Sunday of Advent marks the beginning of a new church year:
the liturgical actualization for us of the saving events of Christ's
life, death and resurrection. The gospel passage proclaims the
essential truth that will be celebrated in all its dimensions
throughout the year -- namely, the "advent" truth that God has come in
the person of Jesus Christ, and that the same Lord, now invisibly
present through the Spirit, will come again in power and glory.
This Sunday's homily might serve as an overture, anticipating some of
the life implications of the Lord's coming which will be celebrated on
the Sundays and holy days of the coming year. Here are a few of the
major themes.
In the first reading from the prophet Isaiah, we hear that the exiles
have returned from Babylon to find their homeland devastated and the
holy temple destroyed. We can remember the prophet's prayerful plea and
make it our own at those times when our life-situation appears
hopeless, and God seems far away: "Oh, that you would rend the heavens
and come down " (Is 63:19).
Paul, in the second reading from his First Letter to the Corinthians,
presents a life implication that can also be a constant throughout the
coming year. Paul assures us that the heavens have been rent, and God
has come among us. Jesus, the Risen Lord, is now truly "God with us."
Because of this grace, we are able to stand firm with the Lord's
strength as we await his final revelation in glory. And as we wait,
despite difficulties and suffering, we thank God always for the gifts
of the Spirit that we have received.
Because the Church gives us the gospel in the context of the
celebration of the liturgy, we are reminded that throughout the year
the Lord comes, not only to proclaim the word, but also comes to give
himself to us as friend and life-giving savior. It is in the context of
the liturgy of the Last Supper that Jesus says to his disciples: "I
have called you friends" (Jn 15:15).
The First Sunday of Advent is also a good moment to hear a major theme
of the liturgical drama -- every human being, particularly a person in
need, is a sign or sacrament of the Lord's coming. In fact, as Jesus
tells us in the parable of his final Advent, our treatment of even the
least of his brothers or sisters will be the essential criterion of
judgment (Mt 25: 30-46).
Finally, there is the beautiful Advent theme of the sacrament of the
present moment. Each moment, each event of our life is a sign of the
Lord's coming. Whatever the moment, we can say in faith: It is the
Lord. And it is the Lord who awaits our response of love and gratitude.
"The one who gives this testimony says, 'Yes, I am coming soon!' Amen!
Come, Lord Jesus" (Rev 22:20).
Campion P. Gavaler, O.S.B.
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http://www.christusrex.org/www1/mcitl/lowhome.html Meeting Christ in the Liturgy
1 Advent
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First
Sunday
Isaiah 63, 16-17. 19; 64, 2-7; Psalm 80;
1 Cor 1, 3-9; Mark 13: 33-37
Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
"What I say to you, I say to all: Be on guard!"
The world from God's perspective must appear a veritable beehive of
activity as man goes about his perennial task of seeking "the good."
Once man has what he wants to possess, he guards it and cares for it.
What is the one thing above all others for which you and I make daily
sacrifices and in pursuit of which we spend great time and effort? Are
we "on guard"? For what? Why?
The young man and woman, deviantly pursuing sexual pleasure outside of
marital commitment, "guard" their Godless lifestyle by putting their
newborn child in a plastic bag and throwing it into a garbage can.
Women and men, married as well as not, seeking the fantasy of sex
without consequences "guard" themselves against what they believe to be
the "disease" of pregnancy. They turn to abortifacient contraception,
and to abortion in ever-increasing numbers when contraception fails.
Doctors too selfish to truly care for the well-being of their patients
"guard" their free-time and profits by prescribing abortifacient
contraceptives and dangerous implants and shots, rather than taking the
time to learn and teach God's beautiful, natural, healthy, and
effective means of spacing and delaying births through natural family
planning. Today pleasure is "guarded", at the expense of health and
life of the body, at the expense of the child conceived, by the marital
act sullied in a brief shameful encounter devoid of love or marital
commitment. The "cult of the body" leaves no effort undone in pursuit
of physique, "guarding" the passing splendor of the body while
neglecting the higher good of mind and spirit and the moral life.
Organizations worldwide seek to "guard" the environment or endangered
species from the effects of man's work and life, obsessed by ecological
concerns in a bizarre denial of the human holocausts in our midst. This
while the most beautiful and perfect "ecology" in all of creation, that
of the mind, body, soul and spirit of the human person, is attacked in
the womb, in old age, if unfit, handicapped or voiceless.
Misguided parents seek to "guard" economic security at the expense of
their children. The security and happiness of childhood is marred as
babies are shifted daily from one caretaker to another, denied the love
and presence of their parents, whom no person and no amount of money or
financial security can replace.
Blind nationalists or revolutionaries seek to "guard" their national
identity through a genocidal bloodbath in East Timor, Bosnia, Rwanda,
and other places through "ethnic cleansing", dirtying their own hands
through murderous wars which cry out to heaven. These and other
conflicts have raised up a near-countless host of Catholic and
Christian martyrs in this bloody "suffering century", as it is
described by Pope John Paul II.
The Catechism discusses the petition of the Our Father, "and lead us
not into temptation," in reference to the gospel according to St. Mark,
chapter thirteen, verses thirty-three to thirty-seven. The one who is
truly on guard is the one who struggles against temptation through
union with God in prayer. To "be on guard" means to turn away from sin,
to cast all one's sins behind one's back. Sin begins with our
consenting to temptation (CCC 2846). Only by prayer and spiritual
watchfulness are we ready for the "appointed time" of the judgment, the
coming of the Lord in glory to invite forever into the kingdom those
who have sought Him and His love above all things.
"Be constantly on the watch! Stay awake!" When, roused to attention by
Christ's unmistakable words of warning, we discover what is that thing
we "guard" most, will we find it something lasting? Or are we "asleep",
lulled into spiritual blindness by our love of comfort, our fear of
human respect, our lust for money, our romance with a false "security."
The true vision given by Christian faith infuses us with the truth to
see that the only security is in God, fully revealed in Jesus Christ.
In prayer, the prayer of the Our Father and the perfect prayer of the
Eucharistic Sacrifice, we embrace Christ. Pray for the blessing of
strength in battle, for the grace of watching in love while others
sleep, pray for victory over temptation. Effective prayer is a generous
expression of love, rather than a hurried obligation, or a perfunctory
rattle of words.
Such a battle and such a victory become possible only in prayer. It is
by his prayer that Jesus vanquishes the tempter, both at the outset of
his public mission and in the ultimate struggle of his agony. (Mt
4:1-11; 26:36-44) In this petition to our heavenly Father, Christ
unites us to his battle and his agony. He urges us to vigilance in
communion with his own. Vigilance is 'custody of the heart,' and Jesus
prayed for us to the Father: 'Keep them in your name.'(Jn 17:11; Mk
13:9, 23, 33-37) The Holy Spirit constantly seeks to awaken us to keep
watch. (1 Cor 16:13; Col 4:2) Finally this petition takes on all its
dramatic meaning in relation to the last temptation of our earthly
battle; it asks for final perseverance. 'Lo, I am coming like a thief!
Blessed is he who is awake.'(Rev 16:15)
The greatest tragedy of all, beyond the power of words or weeping to
express, is the murder of the soul and of the conscience. They invite
everlasting exile from God who, though they may pursue and gain the
whole world, "guarding" it as a treasure, reject eternal life and lose
their souls in the process.
I look forward to meeting you here again next week as, together, we
"meet Christ in the liturgy," Father Cusick
(Publish with permission.) http://www.christusrex.org/www1/mcitl/
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http://www.ctk-thornbury.org.uk/
1 Advent
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First
Sunday of Advent
Today we begin the new liturgical year. During this year we hear the
Gospel as told to us by St Mark. But do not think that we hear it the
same way as we did three years ago.
This is a new year; we are older and hopefully wiser. Although on the
surface we might think and feel the same, underneath we have changed.
Time has moved on, our experience is richer and changes have occurred
in our lives; we are indeed different.
So with these different ears let us hear the gospel afresh. Let us make
an Ecclesiastical New Year’s resolution to be particularly attentive to
the Word of God especially as presented to us in the Gospels in this
coming year.
If I were to make one suggestion that would really help it would be to
take the Gospel of Mark, the shortest of the Gospels, and invite you to
read it through in one sitting. It is only twenty-five or thirty pages
and it will take less than an hour of your time even if you read it
very reflectively.
This will help to set the scene for the year ahead. It will help you
get the feel of Mark who is much more urgent and insistent than the
other Evangelists. In Mark Jesus is always going somewhere immediately
or directly; he is always on the road leaving here or going there.
Jesus’ teaching is always fresh, direct and to the point. No words are
wasted.
We begin our new year with the Season of Advent. It is a season in
which we prepare for the celebration of the anniversary of the coming
of Christ into our world. It is a season which looks back to that most
crucial of all events; the one which was the effective beginning of our
redemption.
But it is also a season which looks forwards. It looks forward to the
second coming of Christ at the end of time. We already heard last
Sunday about the final judgement; in this season of Advent we learn how
to prepare ourselves and in the liturgy we express our longing for the
Kingdom to come. It is a season in which those words in the Our Father,
Thy kingdom come, are especially significant
In the Gospel selected for today Jesus tells us to be on our guard and
to be ready for that day because we cannot know when it will come. All
we do know is that the Master will certainly come and that we must
prepare ourselves to be ready to greet him.
Because 2000 years have gone by since the time of Christ we tend to
think that we will not see the Last Day in our earthly life. We think
this despite the fact that in recent years enough nuclear bombs have
been produced to blow the world to smithereens several times over.
However, one thing that we can be absolutely certain about is that we
will die, that we will meet God and that we will experience judgement.
We surely hope that we will not be found wanting. We hope with all our
hearts that Christ will find us worthy on that great day of days.
Of course, we can hope as much as we like, but unless we actually do
something about it all our hope is in vain.
The message of today is that sorting ourselves out is not something
that we can leave till tomorrow. Our moral failings must be dealt with
today. Tendencies towards spitefulness, malicious gossiping, correcting
other peoples mistakes, telling untruths, dishonesty, failures in our
relationships, etc, etc, must all be dealt with today.
Repentance and making amends cannot be delayed. We know that sin is a
contaminant; it pollutes our lives. We know that, like a bad stain on
our clothes, the longer we leave it untreated the harder it is to
remove.
So it is not only a question of being on our guard against new sins, we
must also repent and make amends for all those old ones.
We are, however, especially blessed because we live in a Christian
community. We in the Church are all striving for holiness. We are all
aiming in the same direction and there is strength in numbers; it is
far easier for us to grow in holiness together rather than alone and
isolated.
St Paul points this out in the second reading. Like him we should be
thankful that we have so many teachers and that so many people around
us are actively witnessing to their faith in Christ. His prayer for the
Corinthians, and we presume also for us, is that God will keep us
steady and faithful until the last day.
That is the clue to achieving it, of course, that God keeps us steady
and faithful. For this is something that we cannot do by our own
efforts, something we cannot achieve simply by ourselves.
In the First Reading Isaiah says that without God our natural
inclination would be to drift away from him and become proud and
independent.
But God has revealed his face to us in the person of Jesus Christ and
through him acts in our lives constantly guiding and protecting us. He
invites us to trust in him and place ourselves in his hands just like
clay in the hands of an expert potter.
If we place our trust in him he will surely shape our life and make it
a thing of beauty and lasting joy.
It is right that, like St Paul, we should thank God that so many
teachers and examples of faith surround us. But more important is that
we ourselves should become one of those teachers and examples of faith.
By doing so we will not only help others gain salvation but will surely
also gain it ourselves.
There are not enough positions as catechist available in the parish to
accommodate everyone, nor do we really need to be crowded out by dozens
of deacons and priests and sisters.
But there are many other ways to teach. The simplest acts of kindness,
the times we give encouragement or affirmation, the inclusion of other
peoples’ needs in our prayers—all these are ways we can teach and give
example to our faith.
Let us resolve in this new year to make this new year a year of grace,
a year in which we move decisively towards God and away from our sins.
A rather wealthy aristocratic lady had an audience with Pope Pius X. As
she knelt before him and let him take her hands into his she asked the
Pope if there was anything she could do for the Church. She expected to
be asked for a hefty cheque towards some worthy cause but the Pope
looked at her very kindly and simply said: Teach catechism.
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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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