"The whole spiritual life can be seen as a life in which we reclaim that first divine love. Prayer, contemplation, meditation, solitude, silence – they are all meant to develop an awareness of the voice in your heart that says, 'I loved you long before you could have loved one another. I accepted you long before you could accept one another. I embraced you long before you could hold one another.' This is how we will find our freedom. Freedom comes when you know with your heart that you are loved. If you could accept and believe that you are unconditionally loved and embraced, you could go all over the world and never be lonely." Henri Nouwen

Have you ever met people, Christians included, who complain how lonely they are in life? We can understand why people who have no belief in God experience this affliction of loneliness. But How can Christians share in the same situation? Is it possible that the Christian has never embraced the truth of the Gospel that proclaims God's love for us? Is it because, though they have heard and read where God says that he will be with us always, they never believed that for themselves? A trap of the Evil One is the deception of loneliness.  The level of our faith in Jesus will probably indicate the level of loneliness.  We are never alone if we are sharing in Jesus' life. He is with us and in us. Remembering this and embracing this truth is of the greatest importance.

 "The soul that truly desires to please God should expect warfare. Graced does not dwell in a soul that strives for comfort and avoids every cross." St. Macarius

The Devil attempted to dissuade Jesus from embracing the Cross. It would have been easy for Jesus to avoid death by crucifixion, but that was not the Father's will.  As much as humanly Jesus dreaded the cross, he chose the will of the Father out of love for us. In turn, Jesus said that anyone who wished to be his disciple and enter into eternal life must also embrace the crosses of life. The Devil tempts us with comfort, but this only leads us away from the eternal life God has promised us. Like Jesus we may dread our crosses, but like Jesus we must choose to endure the crosses for the greater life God has for us. The grace of God is there to strengthen us as it was there for Jesus. Fix your eyes on the Lord, not on the cross.

Homily: Twenty-second Sunday Year C

Reading 1: What is humility? We are who we are in the eyes of God and no more. If we embrace this truth, then we will be loved by God and will find favor with God. The humble and the contrite heart, the psalmist says, the Lord will not turn away.

The problem is that we don’t live in this truth of who we really are. Instead, we often seek to be other than. And this is the source of our sin: pride.  Adam and Eve were not satisfied with being who they were, creatures under and from God—blessed, honored, loved and sharing God’s divine life. They desired to be equal to God, knowing good and evil, being in total control of their life with God.

David, in spite of all that God did for him and given him—raising him from the life of a shepherd to the honor of being king—wasn’t satisfied. He wanted to take to himself what was not his, the wife of another man.

On the other hand, Mary exemplified humility. When God revealed his mighty plan by which he had chosen her to be the Mother of the Savior by the power of the Holy Spirit she answered “I don’t understand, but I trust in you.” She didn’t think of herself but of her cousin Elizabeth, who was with child. She went to help her. She saw herself, not as the chosen Mother of God, but as cousin going to help her cousin in need.

Gospel: Jesus spoke often about the attitude of the heart. He said where your heart is there is your treasure. He said what comes from the recesses of the heart is what makes a person defiled, not what goes into the person. He marveled at the widow’s mite. She gave from her sustenance in comparison to the largess of the rich who gave from their surplus.

Here, the attitude of the heart of the invitee and the inviter is the focus. To take a place of honor or to be invited to a place of honor. Jesus has been invited to dine at the home of a rich Pharisee. Jesus noted that probably people were trying to position themselves in the place of honor close to Jesus. To do so, they thought, would give them a sense of prestige from others.

Humility is an attitude of the heart, which helps us to keep in check that pride within us that sees ourselves more than we are in the eyes of God and others. We look for honor and recognition. We seek affirmation and praise from others. The focus is ourselves because we have not accepted the truth about ourselves. We live in a world of make-belief, of smoke and mirrors, rather than in reality. The world doesn’t revolve around us.

Our true self will be known by ourselves and others by our selflessness for the sake of others. There is a genuine love of the other, a genuine concern for the other, trusting in God’s care and providence for me, while seeking to respond to God’s command of love for the other above my own desires and wants.

Reading 2: While humility keeps before us our true self as struggling sinners always in need of God’s mercy, the author of Hebrews reminds us how privileged we are. Though we are sinners, who deserve the wrath of God, God allows us to experience him in a personal, real way, simply because he loves us.

The people of the Exodus in the Old Testament were not able to approach the Mount of the Lord because of their sinful, rebellious hearts nor hear his voice. On the contrary, we are privileged to be able to approach the Lord because of Jesus our Mediator, whose blood was shed for the remission of our sins. We can come into the Real Presence of the Lord; we can offer a perfect sacrifice; we can receive the Body and Blood of Jesus—not because we are worthy or deserving, but simply because of God’s mercy and love.

 "You don't become holy by fighting evil. Let evil be. Look towards Christ, and that will save you. What makes a person saintly is love." St. Porphyrios of Kavisokalyvia

The Evil One wants us to fight him directly. When we do, we probably will lose. When we are tempted, we need to turn our gaze and full attention to the Lord. Jesus has overcome Satan through his death on the cross. Jesus has broken the chains that enslaved us.  When we learn to switch our attention to the Lord and express our love for the Lord, then we are stepping aside for the Lord to confront and overcome Satan. By expressing our love for the Lord, rather than for self-satisfaction, we remain in right order. In doing so, we are proclaiming in action that the Lord is our deliverer and our stronghold, our defender and our strength.

Twenty-second Sunday Gospel C 

On a sabbath Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees, and the people there were observing him carefully. He told a parable to those who had been invited, noticing how they were choosing the places of honor at the table. “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not recline at table in the place of honor.  A more distinguished guest than you may have been invited by him, and the host who invited both of you may approach you and say, ‘Give your place to this man,’ and then you would proceed with embarrassment to take the lowest place.  Rather, when you are invited, go and take the lowest place so that when the host comes to you he may say, ‘My friend, move up to a higher position.’ Then you will enjoy the esteem of your companions at the table.  For every one who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”  

· What is our attitude at functions and events to which we are invited?

· What is humility? Here are some thoughts:

“Humility isn't thinking little of self; it isn't thinking of self at all.”

“That the virtue of humility consists in the knowledge of certain truths, I had already recognized. These truths are: that I am nothing, that I can do nothing but sin, that I depend on God for everything--for existence, conservation, movement, and grace. What is more, I am most happy in my dependence on God, and I prefer to depend entirely on God rather than on myself.” (St. Anthony Mary Claret)

“It is proof of deep humility if one realizes that he is condemned without guilt and yet suffers in silence.  This is an excellent imitation of Christ, who innocently suffered for our guilt.” (St. Theresa)

                “One day I was wondering why God so loves the humble when it suddenly and                unexpectedly struck me that this must be because he is the supreme Truth and                humility is truth.” (St. Theresa of Avila, (Interiof Castle, VI,10)

“If we were humble, nothing would change us--neither praise nor discouragement. If someone were to criticize us, we would not feel discouraged. If someone were to praise us, we also would not feel proud.” (Mother Teresa)

Then he said to the host who invited him, “When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in case they may invite you back and you have repayment. Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

· How do we apply this saying to ourselves?

· Is humility an attitude of the heart and mind, seeing ourselves through the eyes of God? As Francis of Assisi says: “I am who am as God sees me and nothing more.” Being whom God sees me to be and being that person is true humility.

 "Would you like me to list the paths of repentance? They are condemnation of your own sins, forgiveness o our neighbor's sins against us, prayer, almsgiving and humility." St. John Chrysostom

These five paths of repentance are found in the Scriptures in various places. Repentance is the first stage on our journey to eternal salvation. Repentance is our response to the grace of God and all that God has done for us, the greatest act was the death and resurrection of Jesus for our salvation. Without this fundamental step, we cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. God has forgiven our sins. We must repent of them and strive not to sin. Because God has forgiven our sins freely, we must forgive those who have sinned against us, as a sign of our gratitude. When we grow in our relationship with God through prayer, we are putting first things first. In forgiving us God shows the depth of his love. Providing for the needs of others acknowledges God's providential care for us. The greater is our repentance, the more we realize and embrace who we are in relationship to God.

 "If we must remember offenses, let us remember only our own. And if we remember our own sins, we shall never store up the sins of others." St. John Chrysostom

In remembering the sins of others, it is an attempt to hide from our own sins. As Jesus implied it is easier to see the speck in another's eye but failed to acknowledge the plank in our own. Dealing with our own sins is a full time job, for they are many. God will hold me accountable for my sins.  If God asks us to deal with the sins of others, he wants us to do so, not in condemnation, but in love and humility, as he manifested in the scriptures. He didn't condemn the adulterous but invited her to repentance and a change of life. But first start with our own sinfulness before we deal with others.

 "Anxiety is the greatest evil that can befall a soul except sin. God commands you to pray, but  he forbids to worry." St. Francis de Sales

Jesus addressed the fault of anxiety a number of times in the Scriptures. It is one of the ways the Evil One seeks and uses to draw us away from trusting in the Lord. Martha, while doing an act of service, providing a meal, fell into the trap of anxiety, focusing on herself and not on the Lord. At another time Jesus urged us not to fret about our material needs and desires, but to direct our energies to the things of God. How often we have been distracted and consumed by anxiety over things we have no control over! Recognizing these moments, we are called by Jesus to focus our attention on what is more important, not in worry but in total trust in the Lord, who loves us beyond measure. Anxiety leads to fear of the unknown. Trust gives us the freedom in the Lord to face the unknown.

 "Holy Communion is the shortest and safest way to Heaven. There are others: innocence, but that is for little children; penance, but we are afraid of it; generous endurance of trials of life, but when they come we weep and ask to be. The surest, easiest, shortest way is the Eucharist." Pope St. Pius X

Homily Twenty-First Sunday Year C

Reading 1: Isaiah is prophesying about the future plan of God. This is the beginning of what will later be known as God’s plan for universal salvation. Though he has chosen the Israelites—the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to be his Chosen People—to see his glory through many signs and wonders, God plans to extend his choice to all nations, who likewise will come to see God’s glory.

God had revealed to the Chosen People that there is no other God but the I AM. Once that reality was sealed in their hearts, God chose them to his messengers of this truth to all the nations. God will even use the infidelity of the Israelites—not living up to their covenant with God—to disperse them to many nations. There they will proclaim the glory of God. As a result, these will to Jerusalem to offer sacrifice.

God will make some of them priest. No longer with the priesthood of the Old Testament will suffice. A new priesthood will be established. The Old Testament priesthood was inherited, passed on from father to son. The new priesthood will be ones chosen by God. This prophesy was fulfilled in Jesus, who is the Savior of all and who established the priesthood of the New Covenant through a personal call.

Gospel: The theme of salvation continues.  Who will be saved? When this question was asked of Jesus, he didn’t answer it directly. The focus of his teaching is not who nor how many will be saved, but will I be saved.

Salvation is a response to a grace. Jesus through his death and resurrection has saved all, but not all will choose to be saved. They will not be willing to do what is necessary to respond to the grace of God given to them. Jesus makes it clear that just to be known as his followers or to know about him, is not enough. In another Gospel account he makes it clearer. It is not the one who knows of him, but the one who does the will of his Father will be save.

Then Jesus indicates that just because they were of the Chosen People. God will reject those who reject Jesus as the Lord and Savior of the world. Instead, God will invite others, who are not descendants of Abraham to experience the grace of salvation.

The words we don’t want to hear from God at the time of death and judgment is, “I do not know you. Depart from me.” That means salvation is a gift that if I don’t respond to and embrace, then I will love the eternal inheritance God had for me with him.

The key is, having been told about Jesus, have we come to a personal knowledge and commitment to Jesus as the Lord of our lives with all that means?  Peter’s journey is a model for us. After knowing about Jesus from his brother Andrew, after spending quality time with Jesus, when asked question number one, “Who do you say that I am?  Peter was able to answer, “You are the Christ.”  But the second question that Jesus asked Peter was the key to Peter’s eternal life. Jesus asked Peter, after the Resurrection, “Do you love me”?  Or more to the point, “Are you so in love with me that I am the Lord of your life.”?

Reading 2 Paul reminds us that part of our embrace of the grace of salvation involves submitting to the disciple of the Lord, as he forms us as his adopted sons and daughters. No one enjoys discipline, but discipline done in love bears much fruit. Paul thus tells us to endure our trials as discipline from God, transforming us.

We see the here and now. God sees our potential. We see our brokenness and weakness. God sees the possible end result. We cannot see or understand the end. God never loses sight of it for us. The end is our salvation, eternal life with him.

 "Love is sufficient of itself, it gives pleasure by itself and because of itself. It is its own merit, its own reward. Love looks for no cause outside itself, no effect beyond itself. Its profit lies in its practice. I love because I love, I  love that I may love. Love is a great thing so long as it continually returns to its fountainhead, flows back too it source, always drawing from there the water which constantly replenishes it. Of all the movements, sensations and feelings of the soul, love is the only one in which the creature can respond to the Creator and make some sort of similar return however unequal thought it be. For when God loves, all he desires is to be loved in return; the sole purpose of his love is to be loved, in the knowledge that those who love him are made happy by their love of him." St. Bernard

This is the heart of our relationship with God. The three divine Persons love each other for the sake of the other. God loves us for our sake, for our happiness. He doesn't need our love, for God is complete without us. He desires our love so that our love will not become dead for lack of response. His love is of such a nature that it calls forth the best from us for our fulfillment in him. Love is a mystery that only becomes clearer in the gift of love to the Beloved. When we truly love without conditions something happens within us. There is a sense of rightness, a sense of goodness. True love beings about union with the Beloved.

 Twenty-first Sunday Gospel C

Jesus passed through towns and villages, teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem.  Someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?”  

· Jesus focuses the question not on how may are to be saved, but on the individual who should be concerned whether he/she will be saved.

· What are you doing consciously to respond to the grace of salvation offered you by Jesus through his death and resurrection? Is salvation a focus of your life?

He answered them, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough. 

“Salvation depends first on God’s grace, then on our cooperation and obedience. Jesus here stresses the difficulties of the spiritual life, where few will enter God’s glory while the door remains open.”

After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door, then will you stand outside knocking and saying, ‘Lord, open the door for us.’ He will say to you in reply, ‘I do not know where you are from. And you will say, ‘We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.’ Then he will say to you, ‘I do not know where you are from.  Depart from me, all you evildoers!’ 

· How do you apply this to your life right now? Is knowing Jesus or being his disciples enough?

· What more is Jesus asking of us?

· Is there an urgency in Jesus’ message? Since we do not know when the door will be shut, how should we respond?

· The four words we don’t want God to say to us are: “I don’t know you!”

· In another Gospel Jesus says, “It is not those who say, Lord, Lord, who will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of my Father.”

· What is the narrow gate Jesus is talking about? Is it the same as the narrow road that few travel?

o The impenitent will be shut out from God’s blessings..

And there will be wailing and grinding of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and you yourselves cast out. And people will come from the east and the west and from the north and the south and will recline at table in the kingdom of God.  For behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.” 

· Jesus is speaking to his own people, the Jews. He is indicating that others—the non-Jews—will respond to his message and experience the life God. Some of the Jews became complacent about their relationship with God. Have we become complacent?

· How do we apply this to ourselves and others?

 "Detachment is often understood as letting loose of what is attractive. But it sometimes also requires letting go of what is repulsive. You can indeed become attached to dark forces such as resentment and hatred. As long as you seek retaliation, you cling to your own past. Sometimes it seems as though you might lose yourself along with your revenge and hate – so you stand there with balled-up fists, closed to the other who wants to heal." Henri Nouwen

How often we do more damage to ourselves than to the other by holding on to the hurts of the past! While the other has moved on and probably forgotten the event, we remain locked in the past, while life passes us on. We fail to remember or refuse to remember that our relationship with God and others is rooted in love and forgiveness, mercy and healing and not in stewing in anger and un-forgiveness. We fail to remember that God, rich in mercy, has shown us his forgiveness for the many sins we have committed, which are far greater than what was committed against us. Ask for the grace to forgive and act on this grace.

 "There is nothing more pleasing to God, than to see a soul who patiently and serenely bears whatever crosses it is sent." St. Alphonsus Liguori

God doesn't enjoy seeing us suffer. That would be contrary to his very being, who is love. Through our trials and temptations, our struggles and afflictions, what pleases God is our remaining one with him. It is not pain that pleases the Lord, but our obedience and steadfastness in spite of the pain and suffering. The Father did not take delight in Jesus' agony on the cross but in Jesus' obedience to the will of the Lord.  We can not avoid the sufferings of life, but by keeping our eyes fixed on the Lord, the Perfecter of our faith, we can unite our sufferings to his. This is what is meant by redemptive suffering. Jesus saves. We, through uniting our sufferings and trials to his, share more fully in that redemption.

 "The Cross had asked the questions; the Resurrection had answered them. The Cross had asked: 'Why does God permit evil and sin to nail Justice to a tree?'  The Resurrection answered: 'That sin, having done its worst, might exhaust itself and thus be overcome by Love that is stronger than either sin r death.'"

Death is conquered by Love. Out of love Jesus embraced the will of the Father to become a sacrifice for our sins.  Though he died, he conquered death by rising from the tomb. Death had no power over him. Because of our union with him, sharing his divine life, though we will die, death will not have the final word. If we die in Christ, we will live with Christ in eternal glory. One day our bodies will be resurrected to a glorified body. In faith, even now, we can say: "Death where is your sting? Death where is your victory?"

 "In short, so great is God's love for you that He seems to love no one but you. And therefore, you should love no one but Him." St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

God's love is a mystery that is hard to fully comprehend. Each one of us is unique in his eyes. Though he loves everyone, the truth of the matter is that he loves each person uniquely. That is what makes  us so special in his eyes. To love each person does not take away from the love he has for another person. His love is infinite and totally focused. In our response, we are called to love in return, but to love him above all. And in loving God above all, we have the ability to love others as he loves them. Without his love there is no life. Without our response there is no  life. To love is to live; to live is to love. What makes this possible is God's love.

Homily: Twentieth Sunday Year C

Reading 1: Jeremiah is a foreshadowing of Jesus. God sent him to warn the Israelites of the consequences of their sinning against God and not living up to their covenant commitment. God told Jeremiah that the word he will speak to the people will be a hard message for them to accept.

Before he went in the name of the Lord, God told Jeremiah that he would suffer greatly at the hands of the people. In our reading we heard one of the sufferings Jeremiah endured. Because of the word he will speak to them, even though it was true, they would reject it and him. It was because they refused to listen to the Lord, they should surrender to their enemy, who was attacking Jerusalem. This was for their chastisement from God.

The leaders and the people turned against Jeremiah. They sought to silence him by throwing him into a deep muddy well to die. But God rescued him through the concerns of some, who had accepted the fact that Jeremiah was indeed a prophet from God. What Jeremiah had predicted came true. Jerusalem was captured and many of the people were sent into exile. But this was not the end of the story. Those who remained asked Jeremiah to seek God’s plan for them. He did, even though he knew they would not act on it. This too came true. When told what God wanted them to do, they refused to act on it. They chose their own plan and experienced the consequences predicted by Jeremiah.

Their rebellious hearts were hardened to the word of God. No matter how many times they heard the word of God and saw what happens when it is not followed, they still repeated the same action. Have we acted the same as they did? We have heard the word of God, but choose our way instead.

Gospel: As Jeremiah was sent to the rebellious Israelites, Jesus has been sent by the Father to call mankind back to God, to reconcile the hardened hearts to God through his death on the cross. Out of love he chose to give his life, so that we have a share in God’s own divine life. Jesus, knowing the price he was to pay to accomplish the will of the Father, chooses with loving zeal the will of God. His desire is not cruel death of the cross, but the full embrace of the Father’s will out of love for the Father and us.

The fire Jesus has come to cast on the earth is this authentic, selfless love. The baptism, the immersion into his upcoming passion is freely embraced. Even so, he knows that, as the response of the Israelites to Jeremiah’s words were negative on the part of many, he will experience the same rejection. In fact, I believe that one of the temptations Jesus experienced in his agony in the Garden was the Evil One telling him that his death on the cross will have no impact in the lives of millions of peoples. He was being a fool, believing it would make a difference. Jesus’s response was: “Father, not my will but yours be done.”

This brings us to the reality of the second part of today’s Gospel. What does Jesus mean when he says family members will be divided against each other? A response to Jesus’ gift of love through his death is to accept him as Lord of our lives. In doing so, there will be those, even in our own family, who will react negatively towards us as a result. Whom will we submit to? The Lord or our family?

Reading 2 The author of Hebrews encourages us. 1) recall the many witnesses of faith and love who remained faithful to God in spite of their difficulties. 2) Continue to respond to Jesus by ridding ourselves of our many sins, which hold us back from the fuller life God has for us. 3) Keep our eyes on Jesus, who has shown us love beyond measure. 4) Keep your eyes on the prize and persevere in the race toward the prize, eternal life. As we keep our eyes on the Lord, remember his sufferings on our behalf, sufferings that include the shedding of his blood from scourging, being crowned with thorns, being stripped of his clothes, being nailed to the cross and the piercing of his side. In our resistance to sin, we have not yet had to shed our blood.  But in doing all of this Jesus put to lie of the Devil, that it will not make a difference to people, if Jesus died. In responding to Jesus we are saying it has made a difference in my life. For this reason, we continue to run the race, so that one day, with his grace, we may receive the crown of glory.

 "Beware of despairing about yourself: you are commanded to put your trust in God, and not in yourself." St. Augustine

Who is our true center? Others, ourselves or God? How do we know? Jesus said: "Where your treasure is there is your heart." If our center is other than God, then we open ourselves to ultimate frustration and despair. Why? We were made in the image and likeness of God for God. We were not made by and for others nor by and for ourselves. To complete our purpose in life, namely to be with God forever in glory, we need to trust God's plan for us, even when we don't understand or see. His plan is to purify us from everything that keeps us away from him, namely sin. We are called to be "holy, blameless in his sight and full of love." Thus, the purification and stripping. If our heart is in God, then we will walk the path he designs for us in love.

 Twentieth Sunday of Ordinary Gospel Reflections C

Jesus said to his disciples: “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!  

· What is this “fire” Jesus is referring to? It is a zeal for the Gospel message and life.

· Do you have this “fire” at the core of your being?

· What do you need to reignite this fire in you?

There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished! 

· What is this “baptism” Jesus is referring to? It is his imminent suffering and death on the cross.

· This is the baptism Jesus was speaking of when John and James asked to sit at his right and left. Cf Mk 10:38.

· Can you embrace the mystery of the cross in your life?  With the same surrender as Jesus? What prevents you?

 Do you think  that I have come to establish peace on the earth?  No, I tell you, but rather division.  From now on a household of five will be divided, three against two and two against three; a father will be divided against his son and a son against his father, a mother against her daughter and a daughter against her mother, a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”

· This is a strange statement for Jesus, the Prince of Peace, to make. What does he mean?

· Part of the life of the disciple is to choose to follow Jesus as Lord and Master even if it means to become at odds with family members.

· Have you ever experienced this division in your family because of your commitment to follow Jesus?

· Have you ever had to compromise to please others while knowing that this is not what Jesus wanted you to do?

· What application do we make in our lives from this passage?

o The “fire” will keep Jesus at the center of our lives, during any struggles we have with others because of our relationship with Jesus

 "To be grateful is to recognize the love of God in everything he has given us--and he has given us everything." Thomas Merton

Gratitude is a virtue that is sometimes ignored or unused.  Yet, it is the virtue that enables us to recognize the many blessings we have received, most of which are unmerited. God delights in showering us with his blessings, because of his great love and goodness. He does this whether we are grateful or not. He is not dependent upon our gratitude. But our gratitude enables us to receive his blessings more freely. For when we are ungrateful we block the generosity of God. Gratitude is like standing outside and enjoying the light of the sun. Ingratitude is to remain in a closed closet, blocking the sunrays.  How grateful are we?

 "To fall in love with God is the greatest romance; to seek Him the greatest adventure; to find Him the greatest human achievement." St.  Augustine

It is the greatest romance, because it is to fall in love with the One person who loves us unconditionally and unselfishly, losing ourselves in that union. Though God is ever present to us, we must be willing to leave our comfort zones to make the journey with its ups and downs, never losing sight of our goal. There will be times of darkness and question, a sense of abandonment and being lost. But we push forward, because we have experienced his love and desire it again. The culmination of our romance and adventure will be our eternal union in love with the Beloved. This is what made men women saints.

 "I have noticed in my own life that people I don't like have power over me because I am always thinking about them. They preoccupy me and have control over my thinking. I find myself jealous, resentful, and vengeful. I lose peace. I am holding on to these people as my enemies. Loving our enemies is the way of becoming free of our enemies. We free ourselves by letting go, by loving them, by caring for them. One of the most beautiful things is that when we let the enemy go out of our heart by love and forgiveness, we are suddenly free to let that unlimited, all-embracing love of God pour into us. We become a new person every time we forgive an enemy, because we let go of the angry person inside who was holding on to fear. The core of our faith is to be free people – free from the power we give to our enemies, free to love every human being with the divine love that always forgives, seven times seven and seven again." Henri Nouwen

God desires us to be fully free. The Evil One desires us to be in bondage. Freedom comes from forgiveness and love. Bondage comes from holding on to past hurts with unforgiveness, anger, resentment and even revenge. Freedom comes through the grace of God to choose to love. Bondage brings about the darkness of separation from God. It is our choice whether we desire true freedom or prefer to sulk in bondage.

 "If the written word of he Bible could be changed into a spoken word and become one single voice, this voice, more powerful than the roaring of the sea would cry out:" The Father loves you!'" Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa

How often people either forget or don't accept this single message of God's revelation. But whether we embrace it or not, the fact of  God's everlasting love is the greatest reality we can experience. It is what enables us to exist and to reach our final destiny, union with God. The real question is not God's love for us but our love for God.  Do you love God for God or do we love God for ourselves? If we love God for God, we trust in his love, even though we don't always see it or feel it. Cling to this truth, especially in trying times. The Father loves you. 

Homily Nineteenth Sunday Year C

Reading 1: “The night was known beforehand.” This was the night of the Passover, when God delivered his people from their bondage in Egypt. God revealed himself first to Moses, then through the many plagues, then to the people.

When he instructed them to slaughter a lamb, splash its blood on their doorpost, eat the roasted lamb in a stance of getting ready for a journey, they did so. God then struck down the Egyptians and passed over the houses of the Israelites. Then God led the people out of Egypt.

The key word in this phrase in this reading is: “They put their faith.” This faith gave them courage. Because they followed the instructions of God, they experienced the power and deliverance of God.

The Book of Wisdom, written many years after the event, gives the glorified version. Their faith wasn’t always as strong as portrayed. They also feared God whose power they had witnessed in the ten plagues. They had a “here and now faith”, as we realize from the rest of their forty years exodus journey with God in the desert. They murmured, complained, rebel and were disobedient. And yet God called them back to himself because of who God was and because of his plans for them. Their faith was foraged through the fire of many test and trials.

Is our faith in God any different?

Reading 2: “Faith is confident assurances concerning what we hope for, and conviction about things we do not see.” Faith is based on a relationship and on the conviction that the person I believe in is worthy of trust.

It was Abraham’s conviction that God had revealed to him his many promises. Because of this relationship and who God was, Abraham believed in the promises even though he did not see the promises fulfilled fully. It was faith that sustained Abraham and Sarah, who waited for a child even though they at times tried to take things in their own hands. It was faith that sustained Abraham when God told him to slay Isaac, who was his hope for the future.

However, the relationship with God was stronger than Abraham’s human desire to follow his human instincts. Abraham believed but never saw his many descendants, only Isaac. He believed though he never saw the many blessings that would come upon his descendants. He believed though he did not experience the extent of the land to be given. His faith was not in the promises but in the person of God, in whom he put his faith.

Gospel: Did you hear the promise? Your Father will give you the kingdom which is eternal life with him. If we believe and have hope to see this promise fulfilled, what must we do? Live in such a way that shows what our true treasure is. “Where your treasure lies, there your heart will be.” Is our treasure in material things or spiritual? Is our treasure in others or in God? Is it on what we can see, feel or what is unseen? Are we servants waiting for the Master to return or are we the one in charge? Are we the faithful, farsighted servant or the wicked servant?

The second key idea in this Gospel is the focus of our faith. We put our trust in God’s promises because of who God is. We express this faith by living in a way that shows we are anticipating and expecting his return either in death or at the end of time. We want to be ready to welcome him as we act in faith and live in hope.

The third key idea: “When much has been given, much will be required.” How much has been given us by God? What are we doing with it? Are we a people of faith and commitment or are we a people with a loss of memory of the bountiful blessings we have received?

 "Take Christ's hand in one of yours and Mary's in the other. Now even if you are in darkness you can go forward with the confidence of a child guided by its parents." St. Maximilian Kolbe

Often, we might feel alone, but we are never alone. As a child of God, we are surrounded by God and his angels and saints. Because we don't acknowledge the presence of our many protectors we feel alone. But if in those moments we remember the promises of Christ to be with us and the gift of Mary to us from Jesus, then the sense of being alone can dissipate because of the grace of faith, hope and love within us. Invoke Jesus and Mary to hold you in their arms and walk with you in this journey of life. As the words of an old song say, "Walk on, walk on With hope in your heart And you'll never walk alone." That hope is Jesus.

 Nineteenth Sunday Gospel C

Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom. 

· Why do you think the Father is pleased to give us the kingdom? What is involved in receiving the Kingdom of God.?

            “Do not be afraid” is a common message of God both in the Old and New Testaments.

Sell your belongings and give alms.  Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach nor moth destroy. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be. 

· What does Jesus mean by this last statement? What is your heart really centered on? What is in fact your heart’s desire? Is it God, or is it to survive in the present moment?

Gird your loins and light your lamps and be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding, ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks.  Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival.  Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself, have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them. And should he come in the second or third watch and find them prepared in this way, blessed are those servants. Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour when the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into.  You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.” 

· Do you have an expectation of Jesus’ coming again? Do you really want him to come anytime soon?  What if he came tonight, are you ready?  Will he find you prepared to receive him?

Then Peter said, “Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?” And the Lord replied, “Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward whom the master will put in charge of his servants to distribute the food allowance at the proper time?  Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so.  Truly, I say to you, the master will put the servant in charge of all his property.  But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, to eat and drink and get drunk, then that servant’s master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish the servant severely and assign him a place with the unfaithful. That servant who knew his master’s will but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will shall be beaten severely; and the servant who was ignorant of his master’s will but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating shall be beaten only lightly. 

· What is the key point of Jesus’ teaching?

· Do we know what Jesus expects of us? Are we doing it?

Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.”

· How much has God given us? Does he have a right to expect much from us? What are we doing with these gifts?

 "Don't treat people as bad as they are, treat them as good as you are." St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta

This is in line with Jesus' teaching: "Treat others as you would have them treat you." If we treat someone badly who has treated us that way, all we have done is perpetuate the evil in the world. We have not changed anything. Darkness responded to with darkness. But if we treat that person, as you would want to be treated, which is with kindness, understanding and love, then we bring the light of God into the darkness of sin. Light dispels darkness; darkness enhances darkness. We might not change the other, but we do not allow the other to change us into his likeness.

 "Nowhere other than looking at himself in the  mirror of the Cross can man better understand how much he is worth." St. Anthony of Padua

It is easy for us to forget our true worth, not in the eyes of others, but in the eyes of God. If we want to know that worth and to live up that assessment, then look at the crucified Lord. Let his words penetrate the depth of our being. "No greater love has one than to lay down his life for a friend." Our eternal worth is measured by his total gift of his life in sacrifice so that we can live eternally. Never forget the price Jesus paid for our redemption. Respond to this tremendous outpouring of love and worth by living a life worthy of our calling and gift.

 "It is not fitting, when one is in God's service, to have a gloomy face or chilling look." St. Francis of Assisi

If God is love, joy, hope and the fullness of life, how can we, who share in  his life, not be the same. No wonder so many people are not attracted to Christianity! The evidence we project of God in us many times is not attractive to others. As it is true that a little honey attracts the insects. so it is true that a simple smile, a s sincere greeting, a hopeful spirit, a genuine act of love will draw more to Jesus than rudeness, harsh words, a sullen look or a negative attitude. Did not Jesus say, "Love one another as I have loved you"? Seek to reflect to others the Jesus in you and not the spirit of the world.