How often does God in the Scriptures speak of the need to return. Why?Because as struggling sinners we stray from the path of life to the path of destruction. The first step in that direction was taken by Adam and Eve, when they chose their own self-gratifying will rather than the life-giving will of God. We, their descendants, have made the same decision many times in our life-time. God's response then and now has been consistent. Return to me with all your heart and I will return to you. 

A number of years ago I heard someone share a prophetic vision. He saw a crowd of people following Jesus on a highway. There was a lot of excitement. But then he saw Jesus take an exit off the highway, but the crowd kept going. Not only are we to return to the Lord, but we are to follow close behind him, no matter where he takes us. Return to your first love.

Sometimes, in the midst of the chaos of our present world, we may feel like the Israelites in the Old Testament.  They  asked where was God? They did not ask themselves what have we done to feel so separated from God? They refused to see how as a people they had broken their covenant with God, even though there was a remnant who was faithful.  God had not abandoned them, for God loved them with an everlasting love. He sent prophets to call them back to him.  Unfortunately, it took chastisements to get their attention.

The faithful, then as now, know that God has not abandoned them. Jesus said, I will be with you until the end of time and my Spirit will be with you to guide you to the truth.  The Lord, who may be "asleep" in the stern of our boat, will calm the storms and the waves, as we cry out to him. But we must stay in the boat with him and not abandon ship.

Eighteenth Sunday Gospel A

When Jesus disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick. 
· When have we experienced a sense of compassion for the needs of others? Have there been times we forgot about ourselves and totally gave ourselves to provide for the needs of others?

When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said, "This is a deserted place and it is already late; dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves."
· On the other hand, have there been times we acted more like the disciples, thinking we were being practical and realistic in addressing an issue, but in fact it may not have been what God wanted?

(Jesus) said to them, "There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves." But they said to him, "Five loaves and two fish are all we have here."
· When were the times that we couldn’t see the bigger plan of God in a situation?  We saw the problem not the possibility.  On the human level it looks impossible to resolve, but not for God.

Then he said, "Bring them here to me," and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds.
· Notice the four actions: taking, blessing, breaking and giving.  Notice too how similar the same actions are to the institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper. These actions were normal at any Jewish meal.
· In the OT the prophet Elisha is recorded as feeding miraculously a much smaller group. (cf 2 kings 4:42-33)
· What do you think was going on in the minds of the disciple as they shared the fragments with so many?
· There may have been several miracles going on at once. One was that five thousand were fed through the multiplication of five loaves and two fish. Another was the faith of the disciples as it must have grown in the process.
· Where has God used you to touch the lives of others, even though at first you didn’t understand?

They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the fragments left over  --twelve wicker baskets full. Those who ate were about five thousand men, not counting women and children. 
· This miracle of the feeding of the thousands is the only one of the many signs and wonders Jesus did that is accounted in all four Gospels.

Back in the time of England's Queen Elizabeth the First, there was a retired admiral of the Royal Navy who in his retirement was now running a t to thriving business. The Queen asked him to return to military service during a time of a national crisis. The man hesitated, asking "but what will become of my business?" The Queen replied: "You look after my business,  and I will look after your business."

How often we fail to remember that our business or our work is God's above all. If we focus on God's business, will he not take care of ours in a way we could never imagine? But if we forget God's business, what chance has ours? What is God's business? Being a true disciple/witness of the gift of salvation and eternal life, given to us in Baptism and enhanced in Confirmation.  We don't have to neglect our business to do  God's business, nor should we neglect God' business to do ours.

As we continue our reflection on the virtue of fortitude we now focus on one of the blocks to being courageous used by the Evil One. It is fear or cowardice. Again, where real fortitude is a virtue, cowardice is a vice. There is a natural fear such as fear of wild, dangerous animals. But the fear that rises as a block to courage is the fear of the unknown, fear of the cost to oneself.

How often in the scriptures does God addressed this hesitation of the heart by saying upfront: "Fear not." When God was giving someone a new task that seemed humanly impossible, the Almighty would call out the fear and remind the person that the he, the Lord, would be with him/her. This grace stirred the virtue of courage within the person, who then, facing the odds did what God commanded. Though they experience much hardship in the process, they kept their eyes on the Lord throughout.

God promises us this same grace when we need to be virtuously courageous to accomplish the will of God for us in the present moment. "Fear not, I am with you." Alone, we can not succeed, but with his strength, we shall be victorious.

Seventeenth Sunday Gospel A

Jesus said: "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 
· To prevent others from stealing their valuables, people would not keep them in the house but bury them in the ground.  Sometimes, they failed to tell others where they buried their treasure. Others would find it by accident.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it. 
· The point of these two parables is similar. Both the pearl and the field are of great value. So is the kingdom of God. If one understands this, then the person is willing to give up whatever he must to obtain it.
· While the Kingdom of God is a free gift from God, my being part of the Kingdom is my free choice.
· How important is the Kingdom of God to me? Is there a price too great for me to pay?
· What were the decisions in my life in reference to my relationship with God that brought me great joy and peace?  When did I become aware of the great treasure/the great pearl of God’s Kingdom?

· The attitude of each is one of joy. Do we embrace the kingdom of God—life with God—with joy or obligation?

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea, which collects fish of every kind. When it is full they haul it ashore and sit down to put what is good into buckets. What is bad they throw away. Thus it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. 
· This parable is similar to that of the wheat and the weeds; it stresses the final judgment of God, which will exclude evil persons from the kingdom.

· What part is God asking me to play in the work of the Kingdom? Am I the fisherman casting out the net? Am I sorter, working with the good?  Am I the evangelist? Am I the teacher/formator?


"Do you understand all these things?" They answered, "Yes." And he replied, "Then every scribe who has been instructed in the kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old." 
· How attentive are we in reflecting on and praying over the scriptures so that we can better understand God’s message?
· How will we respond to the Word of God this week?

We have natural courage which helps us to deal with the natural circumstances of life, like scaling a difficult cliff.. But God gives us the spiritual gift of fortitude at the time of our baptism to help us grow spiritually in our relationship to God. It is this grace of courage that helps us to overcome temptations, which seek to lead us into sin. For this we need to thank God. On our own we are weak but with his grace and strength we are strong. In humility we acknowledge this.

Is is hard for us to enter and remain in this silence, in this mystery. Yet, it is the only way to enter into a fuller relationship with God, the source and end of our life. We seek answers but the only answer is wait. 

I remember experiencing this time of silence and mystery many years ago. For a year and a half God was silent and the only word I would get was "wait". He was preparing me for a new moment of relationship with him, but I had to wait and trust in his timing and process. It was very hard for me to wait and I was not patient many times. After that period of waiting, however,  I came to a deeper awareness and experience of his unconditional love for me. 

Homily: Sixteenth Sunday Year A

Sixteenth Sunday Gospel A

Jesus proposed another parable to them. "The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While everyone was asleep his enemy came and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off. When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well. The slaves of the householder came to him and said, 'Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where have the weeds come from?' He answered, 'An enemy has done this.' His slaves said to him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?' He replied, 'No, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them. Let them grow together until harvest; then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters, "First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning; but gather the wheat into my barn."'" 
· The weed plant at first looks like the wheat. As the plants mature the roots of both intertwine. The weed is both bitter and mildly toxic. It needs to be separated from the wheat prior to milling; otherwise the flour is ruined. Thus, servants would separate the grains after cutting them by spreading them on a flat surface and then removing the weed, which is a different color at that stage.
· Jesus reminds us that we should not anticipate the final judgment of God by excluding even known sinners from the kingdom. God has the final judgment. Until then we much continue to share the Good News with others and to urge repentance.

· Apply this to our relationship with others in the Church. Jesus calls us to be patient with those who seem to be superficial in faith and to trust that God will deal with them at the right time.

· How patient are we with others?

· What are the “weeds” in our life that threatens to chock off the good that is there? How are we dealing with them?
He proposed another parable to them. "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants. It becomes a large bush, and the 'birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.'" 
· This parable and the one following bring out the same thought: the contrast between the initial, small beginning and the tremendous growth that occurs.
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He spoke to them another parable. "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch was leavened." 
· How is our spiritual journey likened to the parables of the mustard seed and the yeast?
· Do we sometimes get discouraged in our spiritual journey because we do not see much progress happening? We must not be discouraged by small beginnings -- must not judge too quickly that which seems hopeless.

All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables. He spoke to them only in parables, to fulfill what had been said through the prophet: "I will open my mouth in parables, I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation (of the world)." Then, dismissing the crowds, he went into the house. His disciples approached him and said, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field."
· Even though to the crowds Jesus spoke to them in parables, when asked to explain by the disciples, he turns the parable into an allegory (every detail has a hidden or symbolic meaning)

 He said in reply, "He who sows good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the good seed the children of the kingdom. The weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. Just as weeds are collected and burned (up) with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all who cause others to sin and all evildoers. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears ought to hear. 
· When Jesus states the parable of the weeds the emphasis is on the need for patience until judgment time. But when Jesus explains the parable the emphasis is on how the wicked will have a fearful end.

· Which of these parables has the most meaning for you? What is Jesus’ message to you through these parables?

We will continue our reflection on the silence of God.

Homily: Fifteenth Sunday Year A

When you pray and hear only silence from heaven, know that God is working in that silence.

Fifteenth Sunday Gospel Reflections A

On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd stood along the shore. And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying: 
· The parable was a favorite tool Jesus used to teach.  He would take ordinary, every day examples as a means to convey a particular point. He also at times used allegories. The main difference between the two literary forms is that the details of a parable usually had one point to make; whereas every detail of an allegory was important to the message.  Here, Jesus tells it as a parable: the fruitfulness of the seed sown on good soil equals the fruitfulness of the Kingdom of God.

"A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and birds came and ate it up. 
· In Palestine in those days, the farmer would hand-scatter the seed first and then plough the ground. Thus, seed scattered so widely would fall also on ground that was not suitable for growth

Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep, and when the sun rose it was scorched, and it withered for lack of roots.
· Fields were not as neat as we may be accustomed to.  In any given field there would be footpaths, shallow soil over rocky terrain, not always completely cleared of weeds or brush.

Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it. But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold. 
· The point which Jesus makes is that, though there will be some failure to properly respond because of opposition and indifference, the message of Jesus about the coming of the future kingdom will experience great success.

Whoever has ears ought to hear." The disciples approached him and said, "Why do you speak to them in parables?" He said to them in reply, "Because knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted.
· To understand a parable requires reflection. But since Jesus is revealing the deeper mystery of God’s plan, proper understanding comes from the grace of God to those who truly seek its meaning.
To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
· What does that say to me about how God does things?

This is why I speak to them in parables, because 'they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand.' Isaiah's prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says: 'You shall indeed hear but not understand you shall indeed look but never see. Gross is the heart of this people, they will hardly hear with their ears, they have closed their eyes, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and be converted, and I heal them.'
· When at times have we found ourselves in this position in the past?
 "But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear. Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
· When at times have we found ourselves in this position in the past or presnt?

"Hear then the parable of the sower.
· In giving an explanation of the different soils, Jesus adopts the parable to an allegory. Thus it is partially both a parable and an allegory.

The seed sown on the path is the one who hears the word of the kingdom without understanding it, and the evil one comes and steals away what was sown in his heart. 
· Do we appropriate the Word of God we hear every Sunday or does the Word go in one ear and out the other and thus we never allow it to penetrate and convict us in the core of our being?  Good intentions are not enough.

The seed sown on rocky ground is the one who hears the word and receives it at once with joy. But he has no root and lasts only for a time. When some tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, he immediately falls away.
· Can we relate to this? What were those times we allowed difficulties and struggles dissipate an initial spiritual fervor we were having?

The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word, but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word and it bears no fruit.
· What have been the anxieties, concerns and distractions of material comforts that have taken our eyes off Jesus during our spiritual journey?

But the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold." 
· In what ways has our own spiritual journey reflected the different soils in the parable and our response to God’s grace?
· What specific actions can I take to improve on the way I respond to God’s Word?
· If we substitute the idea of “love” for the “word” does that give us a better insight into the foolishness of God’s mercy towards us? Are we free to imitate that degree of foolishness in our relationship with others, especially if they don’t respond to our efforts towards them?

We end our reflection on the virtue of patience with a quote from St. Therese of Avila:
Let nothing disturb you,
Let nothing frighten you,
All things are passing;
God only is changeless.
Patience gains all things.
Who has God wants nothing.
God alone suffices.

Impatience focuses on our wants; patience focuses on what does God want for us. Impatience focuses on immediate self-gratification. Patience waits upon the Lord. The more we are in relationship with God, the more we will grow in patience with ourselves and others. That patience will bear the fruit of love.