“It is not enough for me that God has given me grace once, but He must give it always. I ask, that I may receive; and when I have received, I ask again. I am covetous of receiving God's bounty. He is never slow in giving, nor am I ever weary of receiving. The more I drink, the more thirsty I become.” St. Jerome (+420)

 

Praise God! The well of his grace never runs dry. It is free, but I must be receptive. He never forces his grace on anyone. Grace emanates from God, like the rays of the sun. The greater my receptivity, the more grace I can receive. The more grace I receive and respond to, the more I will be drawn closer to God in love. He shares his Divine Life with us and he gives us the help we need to remain in union with him. God is the initiator and the end. We are always the receiver, the beneficiary, and the responder. I pray, Lord, that I will always be open to your grace.

 “Gratitude for graces received is one of the best means for obtaining new graces." St. Vincent de Paul (1581-1660)

 

We have much to be grateful for. What are the graces we have received? We are blessed with the grace of revelation and the grace of faith to know and believe in the One Triune God. We are blessed with the grace of salvation and redemption, freeing us from the bondage of sin and alienation from God. We are blessed with the grace of being adopted by God as his son or daughter, sharing his own divine life with us. We are blessed with the grace of the Eucharist, which strengthens us in God's divine life. We are blessed with the grace of reconciliation, restoring us to friendship with God after we sin. The list goes on and on. Spend some time reflecting on the many spiritual blessings God's love has poured forth upon you. And as St. Vincent de Paul said, sincere gratitude opens us up to more of God's graces.

 

“Faith together with works, chastity together with humility, fasting together with moderation, poverty together with generosity, patience without resentment, work without grumbling, religion without hypocrisy — all these things are contained in holiness.” St. Colman of Elo (555-611)

 

The life of the ordinary follower of God is a life of both/ands, rather than either/or, even though some may have greater value than others. Holiness is not a matter of doing something good to the extreme, but doing the good well. A holy life is a balanced life, unless God calls and gifts a person to do something different. Just because a particular saint lived a life of intense suffering or another intense poverty, that is not the call that God gives the ordinary person. We have to be the saint God wants us to be, not the saint someone was. Following the Gospel rule of holiness is to follow the will of God for each person, given their circumstances and state of life. We are not called to be a Mother Teresa of Calcutta in serving the poor. We are called to serve the poor, as God leads.

 

Homily Twenty-sixth Sunday Year B

Reading 1:

It is the Lord who is the initiator and the source of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, one of which is prophesy. God’s Spirit was upon Moses and signs and wonders followed. These signs and wonders did not point to Moses but to God. The background of this reading is that Moses was feeling the burden of trying to be the spokesperson of God to all the people. People were demanding more and more from Moses.

 

So when Moses complained to God, God said for him to choose seventy-two elders who would receive the same empowering spirit. The Spirit came down upon them and they, like Moses, prophesied, speaking the word of God to the people.

 

The fact that two of those selected were not in the physical company of the others did not prevent God from fulfilling his plan. The issue here is not God’s plan, but human beings wanting to be in control of God’s plan, to determine and direct it according to their expectations. But God shows that he is not limited by human expectations.

 

Moses was able to see that it was God who inspired the two to prophesy. Joshua, at the time, could not see this. But Moses said something very prophetic and correct. “Would that the Lord might bestow his Spirit on all and that all would prophesy.” This theme appears in other parts of the Old Testament. Joel prophesied that in the end time God would pour out his Spirit upon all mankind.

 

Pentecost is the beginning of that fulfillment. Baptism and Confirmation are the moments in each of our lives that we have received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. In Baptism, when we were anointed with the oil of Chrism, we were told: “you now share in the life of Christ, as priest, prophet and king.” In Confirmation, we were told that we are to witness about Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit.

 

Reading 2:

The sin in the first reading was jealousy. What is the sin that James is signaling in this reading? It is injustice and wrongdoing towards others. Like any other sin, it is the betterment of self at the detriment of others. To be rich is not the sin. To have means is not the sin. How did we obtain it? How do we use it? That’s the issue. To obtain it unjustly or in a manner that deprived another what is due is the sin. To hoard it for self, when others are in dire need is sinful.

 

Gospel:

The Gospel reading contains two different thoughts. The first part is connected to the first reading, judging from human standards and not from God’s. John is asking out of jealousy and a need to control like Joshua. Jesus identifies the truth. God is not limited to any exclusive club but chooses to work in and through people we would not imagine.

What is the focus? Signs and wonders done in the name of Jesus that bear fruit are of God.

 

Jesus then moves into the focus of his own preaching and ministry, calling people to repentance of sin. First of all, we are called to recognize the seriousness of sin and the consequences of sin. He indicates the radical attitude we must take towards sin. It is not that Jesus wants us to take literally to the point of cutting off our hands or tearing out our eyes, if these were sources of our sin. Rather, he wants us to recognize the eternal consequences of sin, which alienates us from God now and eternally, if we die unrepentant.

 

Many times, we do not think of the eternal consequences and remain in sin. Jesus is not advocating decapitation of our limbs but the separation from sin through sincere repentance. As much as we revolt against the thought of severing a limb because of sin, we should be more horrified at the reality of an eternity without God because of unrepentant sin.

 

There is a sense of immediacy. Act now! How often do we delay and remain alienated from God because of serious sin, thinking that it is no big deal or there is no rush to repent and change one’s life style. One’s eternal salvation is never to be taken lightly. It is a gift from God, not something we deserve. To be indifferent to this gift is to say to God he is not that important in our life; to say that the death of Jesus is not that important to you.

 

 “Christ first of all, Christ in the center of the heart, in the center of history and of the cosmos. Humanity needs Christ intensely because, He is our ‘measure.’ There is no realm, that cannot be touched by His strength; there is no evil, that cannot find remedy in Him, there is no problem, that cannot be solved in Him. Either Christ or nothing!” St John Leonardi (1541-1609)

 

For Christians this is the only real choice that makes any sense in our lives.
“Either Christ or nothing!” Without Christ, there is nothing. With Christ I can do all things. Christ is the “Way, the Truth and the Life.” He is “all in all.”  I cannot even exist, if not for Christ. I cannot reconcile myself to God for all my sins, except for Christ’s sacrifice. I cannot be holy without the Spirit of Christ in me. In all things, what holds me together is not myself, but Christ. I can deceive myself or be deceived to think that I am the center of the universe, when in reality I am not. But when Jesus is in fact the center of my life, then my life is in right order.

 

Twenty-six Sunday Gospel B

John said to Jesus, "Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us." 

· What is your first reflection on this statement by John the apostle? Why?

Jesus replied, "Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me. For whoever is not against us is for us. 

· What is Jesus saying? Jesus is more inclusive that some of us are.

· Who do we exclude from fellowship with Jesus because of our own prejudices?

Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward. 

· If this is true of someone to you, would it not also be true of you to someone else?

"Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe (in me) to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life crippled than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. Better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna, where 'their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.' 

· Does Jesus want us to take him literally? Does Jesus want us to take him seriously? What is the difference?

· What areas in your life do you need to take Jesus more seriously lest you experience the fires of Gehenna that Jesus refers to?

· Do you recognize the seriousness of our relationship with others in regards how we live our lives?

· We teach more by actions than by words. What actions need to be change in your life as a result of this passage?

 

 

“My joy is in leading a hidden life unknown to others.” St. Euphrasia of the Sacred Heart  (1877-1952)

 

The desire to live a hidden life is so that we do not draw attention to ourselves but to Jesus. While in our life time, not too many people are aware of our journey with Christ, Jesus is aware and blesses it. That’s what really counts. Out joy is to give glory to God, while remaining unknown and unrecognized, to live in the shadow of Jesus. Mary is our model. Even though God had privileged her with extraordinary blessings, she remained in the background. The focus for her was Jesus, not herself. Her appearances during her Son’s ministry were miniscule. Yet, she played an important role in the history of salvation. In all humility, seek to be in the background, in a way that Jesus is always front and center.

 

"I shall be able to do much more for you in Heaven than I can now while I am on earth," Saint Padre Pio of Pietrelcina (1887-1968)

 

The intercessions of the Saints are powerful, greater than while they are on earth. In this life, they are not yet perfected. Thus, their prayer is still limited, though they are growing in holiness. In heaven, they are in full perfection and union with God. Their prayer before the throne of God is therefore perfect, according to the will of God. This is what the Catechism of the Catholic Church says about this subject.

 “The witnesses who have preceded us into the kingdom, especially those whom the Church recognizes as saints, share in the living tradition of prayer by the example of their lives, the transmission of their writings, and their prayer today. They contemplate God, praise him and constantly care for those whom they have left on earth. When they entered into the joy of their Master, they were ‘put in charge of many things.’ Their intercession is their most exalted service to God's plan. We can and should ask them to intercede for us and for the whole world.” (CCC 2683)

 When we don't know what to pray for, ask your guardian angel and your patron saint. They know exactly what is best for you, according to the will of God.

  “The Lord who made the beginning will take care of the finish!” St John of Capistrano (1486-1556)

 

In the beginning God made all that is good. In the end God will bring all that is good under his Lordship to share his glory. God created us good. If we remain good, even with scars and wounds, we will be with God eternally. It is not that we achieve this goal on our own. It is God who will perfect us and make our victory possible. Our role is to cooperate with his grace by submitting to the work of the Potter as the clay submits in order to become something beautiful at the end. God takes the clump of clay and transforms it into a beautiful teacup, even though there is resistance along the way. We are that lump of clay that can become the teacup. The clay was beautiful. The teacup more beautiful.

 

“A good man is not a perfect man; a good man is an honest man, faithful and unhesitatingly responsive to the voice of God in his life.” St. John Fisher (1469 –1535)

There are many people who fit this description. They are the unknowns in the world, who are not in the limelight. If you find such a person, get to know and befriend that person, so that you can learn from one another, support one another on the same road to your eternal destiny. There are more unknown saints in heaven than known ones. They found the Lord in their journey and decided to follow him on the only road to the Kingdom of God. Now they are interceding for all the unknowns still on the road. That’s you. Be heartened.

 

Homily Twenty-fifth Sunday Year B

Reading 1:

Last Sunday, we read from the prophet Isaiah where he prophesied about one who would suffer innocently. It is called the Song of the Suffering Servant of God. Though innocent they would beat him and put him to a cruel death.

 

In today’s reading, we hear the same message but from another source, the Book of Wisdom. The one who is attacked is a just one who claims to be the Son of God. He is attacked because his words and actions confront his hearers for their wrong doings. They revile, torture him and condemn him to a shameful death.

 

Who is the author referring to and has it happened? How often did the leaders of Jesus’ day put him to the test? Why did they put him to death? He said that he was the Son of God, the Just One. While on the cross Jesus experienced the fulfillment of this prophetic word. The religious leaders and the crowd mocked him. They said: “If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross and save yourself.” “Let’s see if God will save him.”

 

What was more shameful in those days than to humiliate someone and publicly hanging him on a cross, stripped of all dignity? But let us not judge them hastily. It was our sins which he took upon himself. It was our sins which reviled him and put him to death.

 

Reading 2:

Again this Sunday we read from the Letter of James. What does James say is the root of our sinful struggles? It is within ourselves that jealousy and selfish ambition exist! But when the focus is the other out of love and concern from true righteousness, then there is peace and right order.

 

He further says that our passions, or what is understood as the seven capital sins or roots of sin—pride, envy, anger, sloth, gluttony, lust and greed—are at the core of our self-centeredness. When self is the focus, it is like the tentacles of a giant octopus, drawing everything to itself. Try to hug yourself. Is there anylasting satisfaction in that? But when we hug others in true love, what happens?

 

Gospel

Last Sunday, after Peter confessed in faith that Jesus was the Christ, Jesus shared with the Apostles the true understanding of what was the mission of the Messiah. He would be one who suffered a cruel death at the hands of others but rise again. Peter objected strongly. Jesus corrected him sternly.

 

Sometime later, Jesus predicts a second time concerning his upcoming passion and cruel death. This connects with the first reading. Jesus further prophesied what the author of Wisdom had also said. Just as the leaders of the day did not make the connection, so the disciples of Jesus did not understand. Maybe they were unwilling to do so.

 

This time the Apostles didn’t respond directly, but only indirectly. Their focus was not on Jesus so much as on themselves. Who was the greatest among them? Does that come from wisdom from above or from sin within?

 

What is Jesus’ response to them? Unless you have a change of attitude, namely see things from a different perspective, you will not be able to be my followers. You will not be able to overcome the sin within you. Unless you totally surrender your life to me and give me permission to be Lord of every part of your life, you will continue to walk the path you are on and remain controlled by the sinful roots within.

 

What is needed is a humility and a servant’s heart. Becoming like a child in one’s attitude, depending totally on another, the Lord, trusting on the other, opens one up to the Lordship of Jesus and the Fatherhood of God. In this lies our true identity and true mission in life.

 

Clearly, what God wants, above all, is our will, which we received as a free gift from God in creation and possess as though our own. When a man trains himself to acts of virtue, it is with the help of grace from God, from whom all good things come …The will is what man has, as his unique possession.” St Joseph of Cupertino 

 

The human will is a blessing from God when we use it to glorify and unite our wills to that of God. The human will is the source of our downfall, when we use it in opposition to God’s will for us. The human will chooses with the help of grace the road of life it will follow: God’s way or self-way. Adam and Eve chose the latter. If relationship with God is important to me, if I desire more than anything else to be with God eternally, then I will choose the Way of the Lord. God wills our eternal good. He gives us the freedom to will the same or something else. The gift of the will is good. How I use it determines the consequences.

 Twenty-fifth Sunday Gospel B

They left from there and began a journey through Galilee, but Jesus did not wish anyone to know about it.  He was teaching his disciples and telling them, "The Son of Man is to be handed over to men and they will kill him, and three days after his death he will rise." But they did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to question him. 

· This was the second prediction of Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection? When did we reflect on the first prediction in Mark’s Gospel?

· Why do you think the disciples did not understand what Jesus was saying?

· Why were they afraid to question him?

They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house, he began to ask them, "What were you arguing about on the way?"  But they remained silent. They had been discussing among themselves on the way who was the greatest. 

· This will be the last time Jesus goes to Capernaum before his journey to Jerusalem.

· What does this say to you about where the disciples were in relationship to Jesus at this stage of their journey?

· What does it say to you about your own relationship to Jesus at times?

Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them, "If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all." 

· How does this teaching relate to what you and I were taught as we were growing up?

· How would we have reacted to this teaching if we were there with the twelve at the time?

Taking a child he placed it in their midst, and putting his arms around it he said to them, "Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the one who sent me." 

· Why does Jesus use the example of a child as the model of discipleship? What does a child teach us about life with Christ?

· What is Jesus asking of us as we reflect on this passage and apply it to our lives?

 “Great occasions for serving God come seldom, but little ones surround us daily.” St. Francis de Sales

 

Life is full of little opportunities, given to us to serve the Lord. But because they are small, we think they are insignificant. But these grace moments are the building blocks of our spiritual life. For when we show that we are faithful servants in the ordinary moments of life, then God can give us greater opportunities to grow in relationship with him. But if we can’t do the little things well, why should God trust us with greater responsibility?

 “Whatever a man prefers to God, that he makes a god to himself.” St. Cyprian of Carthage 

The First Commandment is “I am the Lord, your God, you shall not have strange gods before you.”  Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” (Matthew 6:24) How do we know if we have other gods in our lives? Is God always first in our life or are other things or people more important at the moment than God? Is prayer a priority or is work? Is my pleasure a priority or the service of others? Is the Word of God my rule of life or the word of others? Is God the connecting thread in my life or an afterthought? Like the ancient Greeks, I may have many gods, including an unknown god, as a way of covering my bases. But there is only one God. Choose and serve him above everything else.

 

Homily: Twenty-Fourth Sunday Year B

 

Reading 1: Who is Isaiah prophesying about? “I gave my back to those who beat me, my face I did not shield from buffets and spitting….The Lord God is my help.” From our perspective, it is Jesus in his passion which we will hear about in the Gospel.

 

Through the prophet God was preparing the people for the great mystery of his redemptive love, the suffering and death and resurrection of his own divine Son become man. But the focus of the prophet was not so much the sufferings of this servant of the Lord, but his resolve to trust in God in the midst of his sufferings. He endured this suffering even though he knew he was sinless and innocent. He would be true to his identity and mission.

 

In the midst of his sufferings on the cross, Jesus still could say, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they do.” “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.”  When Isaiah says that this suffering servant sets his face like flint, he means that he is resolved to be fully obedient to the Father and to do his will in love.

 

How often do we find ourselves in difficulties and struggles? How often we have suffered at the hands of others though we were innocent of their attacks? Do we turn to the Lord for his help? Do we trust in the Lord, knowing in faith He is near and will uphold our right? The difference between Jesus and ourselves is that we have sinned and he was sinless. At times, we may be reaping the consequences of our sins.

 

Reading 2: This is a continuation of the last Sunday’s second reading. James is balancing the emphasis Paul wrote that we are saved by faith in Jesus Christ. The works of the Old Law did not save us. This is true.  It is possible that in the community to whom James is writing some interpreted Paul the way some Christians do today. They say faith alone saves us.

 

James reflects on Jesus’ teaching about the need to feed and clothe and give drink to the needy out of love. This was very important in the life of the disciple. James makes that very clear. It is faith in Jesus Christ that saves us, but that faith must be expressed and lived in love by carrying for those in need. He says faith not expressed in works or actions is dead, a matter of external show. But faith accompanied with works demonstrate one’s faith in Christ. As Jesus said: “It is not the one who says, Lord, Lord will enter the Kingdom of heaven but him who does the will of my Father.”

 

Gospel

There are three parts in the Gospel today. First, the confession of faith in Jesus by Peter; second, the mystery of the cross is part of this; third, the need for us both to believe in Jesus and follow in his footsteps by embracing our own crosses.

 

First, the need for the apostles to make a decision about the identity of Jesus. They have been with Jesus for a period of time and have heard his teachings and seen signs and wonders. “Who do you say I am to you at this point of our relationship?” Peter, in faith, proclaims: “You are Christ” This is part of Jesus’ true identity. He is promised Messiah and Savior of the world.

 

Second, Jesus reveals to them what it really means for him to be the Christ. This is our connection to the first reading. He is the Suffering Servant prophesied by Isaiah. Jesus reveals that he will live out his mission as the Christ by suffering the cruel death of crucifixion.

 

To this Peter reacted negatively. Though he gave the right answer, he had a wrong understanding of its full meaning. Or maybe Peter really understood the implication of Jesus’ predictions of his suffering, but was not ready to embrace this himself. Peter was, in essence, telling Jesus to deny both his identity and his mission.

 

Third, Jesus rebukes Peter’s attempt to turn him from the cross. Instead, he emphasizes the disciple is to acknowledge Jesus’ identity and mission and embrace the mystery of the cross in one’s own life. Having faith in Jesus is not just agreeing with a set of statements about Jesus. Having faith means following him. It means giving our lives to him. Having faith means that we make Jesus our way of life. And this is the way of the cross, the way of love.

 

Who do you say I am? This is a question each disciple of Jesus needs to answer. If he is Christ for us, then how do we respond to this reality? Is he truly the Lord of our lives, at the very center of our lives? Do we embrace or run away from the crosses in our path?

“It is our vocation to set people’s hearts ablaze, to do what the Son of God did, who came to light a fire on earth in order to set it ablaze with His love.” Frédéric Ozanam (1813-1853)

 

Do you see this as your calling in your state of life? This was the conviction of the Saints, no matter their walk of life, to be witnesses of God’s love in a world lacking this fire. A person’s life may be routine and aimless until they fall in love with another person, then they can’t contain themselves. Their life has new purpose. If this is true on a natural level, how much more true is it on the most important level, our eternal destiny. A person’ faith life may be still a seed that has not borne fruit. But, when they have a transforming encounter with the One who planted the seed in the first place, the power of love brings forth new fruit. But this love cannot be contained. Of its nature it needs to be given away. This spark of love, through witnessing to other becomes a roaring fire, spreading from one person to another. All because love made the difference.

 Twenty-fourth Sunday Year B 

Now Jesus and his disciples set out for the villages of Caesarea Philippi. Along the way he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" They said in reply, "John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others one of the prophets." 

· Caesarea Philippi was rebuilt by Herod Philip and dedicated to the emperor, Caesar. There was another Caesarea on the Mediterranean coast.

· These were the popular opinions circulating about the identity of Jesus. But Jesus was more interested in who do they say he was.

· Who is Jesus to you? How did you see Jesus ten years ago? How do you see Jesus today? What has made the difference?

And he asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter said to him in reply, "You are the Messiah."  

· Though Peter gave the right response, he did not fully comprehend its true meaning.

· How did Peter see Jesus when Jesus first encountered him? What has made the difference in Peter’s present understanding of Jesus?

· Will Peter’s understanding of his statement that Jesus was the Messiah change after the resurrection? How so?

Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him.  

· Why did Jesus tell them not to tell anyone about him yet? What has not happened for the fuller understanding of what it meant for Jesus to be Messiah to be clearer?

He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and rise after three days.  He spoke this openly.

· Notice Jesus says the he “must” suffer for it is the Divine plan of the Father for the salvation of the world.

· Jesus takes Peter’s confession and gives the right understanding. He was not a political Messiah but one who would give his life for the salvation of the world.

· This is the first of three predictions of Jesus’ upcoming suffering and death and resurrection which he shares with the disciples. Why do you think he does this three different times?

Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples, rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do."  

· Peter did not want to publicly rebuke Jesus in front of the others. But Jesus was not going to so spare Peter. He had overstepped the boundary between disciple and Master.

· Why does Jesus call Peter, Satan? Would you be shaken if Jesus said this to you?

· Do we sometimes think not as God does but in the ways of others?

He summoned the crowd with his disciples and said  to them, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel  will save it.”

· How do you apply this teaching of Jesus in your own life? What is Jesus asking of you at this time of your spiritual journey?

· What part of this reflection has touched you the most?

 

"My confidence is placed in God who does not need our help for accomplishing his designs. Our single endeavor should be to give ourselves to the work and to be faithful to him, and not to spoil his work by our shortcomings." St. Isaac Jogues 

 

St. Paul said: “I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6-7) God will accomplish his plans in our lives, not without us, but with our full cooperation. Unfortunately, because of our tendency to sin, we get in the way of God, by inserting our “better mouse trap.” God is the Master Builder. He gives us the blueprint with each detail. He is the architect. We are the contractors and laborers. His design and details will lead us to eternal life, if we but follow faithfully. If we use faulty material, if we try to cut corners and not follow the specs, what is finished will not weather the storms and stresses of life.

 

 

“We must speak to them with our hands by giving, before we try to speak to them with our lips.” St. Peter Claver 

 

The old saying, “Actions speak louder than words” is definitely true. Don’t tell someone you love them, if you are not willing to show the person love. We are called to witness the saving powers of Jesus, but first we are called to take care of their needs. Once a person encounters the love of Christ, then the person is more receptive to hearing the message of Jesus. Too many times we are quick to inform before we prepare the soil of one’s heart to receive the saving word through an encounter of love and goodness.

 

 

 

“When you feel restless, sad, sorrowful and embittered, look for the cause, and if it is not worth being sorry about (and nothing that does not offend God is worth being sorry about), get rid of your anxiety; if you do not see the causes but feel restless and dissatisfied all the same, put up with it, arm yourself with patience, let the storm pass, and your inner peace will return.” Blessed Francisco Palau y Quer 

 

These feelings and emotions are part of the human journey. What we do with them or allow them to do to us is the issue. If these feelings come from sin on our part, then repent of the sin and return to the Lord. If they come from circumstances of life, which we have no control of, entrust oneself into the hands of the Lord, sharing in his passion. Turn the focus from ourselves to the Lord, who alone can make lemonade out of lemons. The peace that we desire during these times comes from our relationship with the Lord.

 

"God speaks in the silence of the heart.”  St Teresa of Calcutta 

 

When the prophet Elijah waited to hear God’s plan for him, it was in the quiet whisper in silence that he received his message. In that silence God’s quiet voice is heard. It is hard for us to enter into the quiet of silence because our mind is all over the place. Yet, that is the place and time God reveals his plan for us. There is no audible voice, but an inner awareness that brings peace to us. God himself gives us this direction in the Scriptures. “Be still and know that I am God.” Should we not follow it?

 

Homily Twenty-Third Sunday Year B

Reading 1:

Background.  People are exiled in Babylonia because they broke their sacred covenant with God. Isaiah gives them a message of hope from God. He said that God will bring them back, just as he delivered their ancestors, who were in bondage in Egypt. As God purified their ancestors in the desert for forty years and led them into the Promised Land, so God will deliver those now in exile.

 

While in exile, many had become accustomed to their new homeland and didn’t want to leave. Some were frightened of the harshness of the journey. God’s response: do not be afraid. Isaiah reminds them that it is God who will lead them back to Judea. He is their savior.

 

Isaiah reminds the people that God will give them signs, just as he did as of old. The blind will see, the deaf will hear, the crippled will walk and dance, those mute will speak. God will provide water to drink even in the desert. Do not be afraid. Trust and obey.

 

How often do we need to hear the same comforting words in the midst of our difficulties! We may not be in exile, but we are confronted with our own problems, personal and social, political and ecclesial.

 

Reading 2:

The focus of this part of the Letter of James is the equality of faith. God shows no partiality. He gives everyone the grace of repentance and conversion, the grace of faith. The problem is that we, who have been so gifted freely by God, show partiality how we treat others in the community of faith.

 

If we do this, we are basing our treatment of one another, not on our common gift of faith, but on external human realities. In the case of the people James was addressing the problem was the distinction made between rich and poor. They gave preference to the material rich, the well dressed, the good looking, but looked down on the poor, the marginalized and the less attractive.

 

James reminds us that the way we treat others should be the way God treats us. He did not choose us because we were deserving but all of us were spiritually poor and in need of salvation, which comes through faith in Jesus. We should let the eyes of faith be the lens we use in our treatment of one another.

 

Gospel:

Jesus sees the faith expectation in the request of the people and in the eyes of the man afflicted by deafness and dumbness. Jesus knows he has come to proclaim the message of hope and salvation to a people in darkness. Jesus desired to bring healing and salvation to all, even those outside of the territory of Israel.

 

One of the signs of the new era God would bring, according to Isaiah in the first reading, was the opening of the ears to hear and the mute to speak.

 

Jesus is not about entertaining the crowds by performing a miracle. So he takes the man aside in order for the man to focus on how much God loves him. It is in this one to one encounter with Jesus that will remain riveted in the heart of the man and to which he will return again and again to reflect on.

 

The external signs Jesus use—touching, spittle, words—are sacramental in nature, namely, outward, visible signs of Jesus’ messianic power. At the baptism of a person, we do the same. We say over the ears and mouth as we make the sign of the cross on them: Be open so that you may hear the word of God and proclaim it to others.

 

The miracle is further enhanced because, not only does the man hear for the first time, but he is able to speak a language he has never heard or learned. He communicated clearly.

At the time, the reason Jesus said not to tell anyone is because they would see Jesus only as a miracle worker. Not until his death on the cross and his resurrection will they see him as the Lord and Messiah.

 

Today, we experience the Eucharistic miracle. As a result, we too need to go and proclaim to others the Good News of salvation and the marvelous love of God for us. We need to say: Fear not! Our God has come to save us. This gift is for everyone. Our faith and treatment should be a sign of that reality.

 

“We do not want to curse anyone, we do not want to hold anything against anyone, and we want to be good to everyone.” Blessed Joseph Georg Simon Häfner 

 

When we are mistreated or falsely accused, our human tendency may be to wish the worse on the other. We both suffer. We add our sin to the sin of the other. That’s not the way of a true disciple of Jesus. St. Paul reflected the thought of Jesus, when he wrote, “Bless those who persecute [you], bless and do not curse them.^” (Romans 12:14) The world is not transformed by the “eye for eye” mentality. Only love can break the strongholds of evil, for love endures but evil will eventually fail.

 

 Twenty-Third Sunday Year B

Again Jesus left the district of Tyre and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, into the district of the Decapolis. 

· Jesus goes to Sidon which is north of Tyre and then east to the Gentile territory on the other side of the Sea of Galilee.  In a previous trip to this area he exorcised a demonic man and the people asked Jesus to leave their territory.

And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment and begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him off by himself away from the crowd.  

· Symbolically, the man can stand both for the Jews and Gentiles who were deaf to God and his word. Are we at times deaf to God’s word?

· Why do you think he took the man aside away from the crowd? Was it not to draw attention to what Jesus was going to do?

He put his finger into the man’s ears and, spitting, touched his tongue; then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him, “Ephphatha!”— that is, “Be opened!” --and immediately the man’s ears were opened, his speech impediment was removed, and he spoke plainly.  

· What is the symbolism of putting his finger in the man’s ears and saliva on his tongue? What is the symbolism of Jesus looking up to heaven before  saying the words?

· Do you see a connection with baptism?

He ordered them not to tell anyone. But the more he ordered them not to, the more they proclaimed it. They were exceedingly astonished and they said, “He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

· In ordering the people not to say anything about the actual healing, Mark was trying to convey to his readers that Jesus was more than a healer. We must wait until his death and resurrection to fully understand the mystery of Jesus.

· What needs to be opened in our hearts, eyes and minds? What application do we make from this miracle?

"There are in truth three states of the converted: the beginning, the middle, and the perfection. In the beginning they experience the charms of sweetness; in the middle the contests of temptation; and in the end the fullness of perfection." Pope St. Gregory the Great 

 

This is the spiritual journey that we are on. It began for us in Baptism, but we were too young to know. Later, we had a " conversion" experience, when we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior. The full grace of our baptism was released. The reality of sin became clearer to us as we moved on. Not that we no longer sinned, but we saw sin for what it is. We began to deal with our sins, seeking through the Sacraments the grace to move from darkness into light. Without knowing, we were on the road of perfection, which is completed in death and if necessary the purifying fires of purgatory. Keep your eyes on the prize.

 

 

“I calmly do what I can, the rest is done by the Lord, who can do everything. With his help everything is light and smooth, because we serve a good master.”  Blessed Francisco Gárate Aranguren, SJ 

 

Unfortunately, many feel they have to do everything, rather than only what they can. Why? Is to prove themselves? Is it that they don’t trust that God really cares? Whatever the reason their task becomes a burden to accomplish alone. They may feel overwhelmed. They failed to realize they are not starting from scratch, but with something given already by God. He gives us opportunities to serve with him in the perfection of his creation, as an apprentice under the Master. Once we realize this relationship, our task will be easy and our burden light, for all is in his hands, for his purpose.