"God doesn't love us because we are good, He loves us because He is our Father." St. John Chrysostom

Love is a gift, which is never earned, but responded to with love. It is God's nature to love freely. It is our nature to receive love and to respond in love. God' doesn't have to prove his love for us. He shows it in many ways from creation, to redemption, from adoption to glorification. It is up to us to recognize his many signs of love and to be grateful in response. If we truly know that God loves us, we would want to respond by doing that which pleases him out of love. Both the prodigal son and the angry elder son did not recognize the love of their father. Both felt that they were owed by the Father. Sometimes we feel the same way about our Heavenly Father. Everything he has is ours. He generously loves us beyond measure. We need to take our eyes off ourselves and be awed by the truth of the reality of his love. Then we will be set free.

 "Do not say that faith in Christ alone can save you, for this is not possible if you do not attain love for Him, which is demonstrated by deeds. As for mere faith: 'The demons also believe and tremble'(James 2:19)." St. Maximus the Confessor

There is no other Savior but Jesus Christ. Faith in him brings us salvation. But this faith involves doing the will of the Father. Jesus himself indicated this when he said there will be those who acknowledge him as Lord but did not do the will of the Father. What is this will? That we love others. Faith without love is like a friend only in name and not in action. Faith is the power that turns on the computer, but you need the password to activate it. It is a both/and reality. 

 "If you wish, you can be a slave of passions, and if you wish, you can remain free and not submit to their yoke; for God has created you with that power.? St. Anthony the Great

Grace and free will go together. Grace enables the grace to choose what is good, pleasing and perfect according to the will of God. Free will chooses between what is good or what is evil, in the guise of good. When we depend solely on ourselves, we will more likely make the wrong choice, based on self-focus. God's grace is always present to enable us to look beyond the self to the Other, to make the choice that is in relationship to the Other., who is our ultimate end. Will we allow grace to guide and transform us or will we allow our passions to control us?

 "If you believe what you like in the Gospels, and reject what you don't like, it is not the Gospel you believe, but yourself." St. Augustine

Too many people seek to pick and choose what they will believe, rather than accept and believe what God has revealed to us in his Word. They are looking for a man-made religion, rather than a divinely revealed religion. God foresaw this and promised the presence of his Spirit to guide us in  knowing and accepting the truth. Many things may be hard to accept in the Scriptures. We need to pray for the grace of faith in Jesus, so that we can embrace what he has taught us. For our faith is first in the person of God. Then, we can embrace, without the need of fully understanding, what he has revealed. 

 "God has ears only for the prayers of a humble heart." St. John Vianney

What is a humble heart? It is one which recognizes the greatness of God with gratitude and praise. The humble heart acknowledges one's total dependence upon God. At the same time, it comes before the Lord as a struggling sinner, who has failed many times, always in need of God's mercy and forgiveness. This was the attitude and stance of the Tax Collector in contrast to the arrogant Pharisee in the parable of Jesus. The prayer of the humble heart is heard and answered by God, because the person is in right relationship with God. How humble is our prayer before the Lord? 

 Each of us has a mission in life. Jesus prays to his Father for his followers, saying, “As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world” (John 17:18 NRSV). We seldom fully realize that we are sent to fulfill God-given tasks. We act as if we have to choose how, where, and with whom to live. We act as if we were simply dropped down in creation and have to decide how to entertain ourselves until we die. But we were sent into the world by God, just as Jesus was. Once we start living our lives with that conviction, we will soon know what we were sent to do. Henri Nouwen

As disciples of Jesus Christ, baptized and anointed, we have been given a mission. First, to be concerned and convicted about our eternal salvation begun in baptism. But secondly, to be concerned and convicted of the need to share with others the Good News of Salvation in the power of the Holy Spirit. Some may say, "Who me." Yes. God has many divine appointments for you to complete his mission, but waits for you to yield yourself to follow the lead of the Lord. Your role is to lead others to Jesus, who will convict and convert the other. But you are an instrument. Do not be afraid of your testimony concerning what Jesus has done in your life. Be humble and bold and watch what God will do.

 "Whoever has God lacks nothing. God alone suffices." St. Teresa of Avila

Only faith and the realization of the most important gift that one can enjoy will acknowledge this statement. The truth is that God is our all. To possess God or better still to be possessed by God is the greatest grace one can desire in life. Unfortunately, our sinful nature and our eternal enemy try to convince us otherwise. There is always the forbidden fruit in our lives, which looks attainable and temporarily satisfying. But then the truth sets in. God never stops reminding us that he alone can satisfy the true, deepest longings of our hearts, which is to live forever, free from all pain, suffering, temptation and trials. Once we allow God to possess us, then we are on the way to the fullness of that grace.

 

Homily: Thirtieth Sunday Year C

Reading 1: There are four groups of people listed in the reading whose prayer is heard by God: the weak, the oppressed, the orphan and the widow. What do they have in common? They serve God willingly; their prayer is humble; they are totally dependent upon God. Their prayer is not a matter of words, but an attitude of the heart. They acknowledge who God is and who they are in relationship.

 

God is said to be the God of justice, who judges justly and affirms the right. Normally, we think of justice due to us. But in reference to prayer, it is the justice due to God. Because he is God and we belong to him. We owe him praise, adoration, thanksgiving, honor and glory. This is due him. When these come from a sincere heart that recognizes the truth and lives in the truth, then a person is open to receive God’s blessings.

 

To serve God willingly is to recognize that he is the Master/Lord of our lives. We owe all to him from creation and sustaining us in existence to redemption, to sanctification and life eternal with him. We have no right to any of these. They are not ours by justice but by mercy. God does not need our prayers or service, but we need God just to be. We are not self-sufficient. Our sufficiency is in God.

 

Does our prayer reflect our dependency upon God? Does it reflect our sincere awareness of the majesty and awesomeness of God? Does it reflect our heart?

 

Gospel:  The prayer of the lowly and the prayer of the self-righteous. Both prayed to the same God. Both prayed out of their relationship with God.  Why was the prayer of one heard and responded to but the other did the expected response?

The self-righteous one focuses on the self and not the Other, on distortion rather than the truth. To show that his prayer was really words directed, not to God, but to himself and those around him.  His relationship with God was based on what he did, not on what God did in his life. He shows that he is not dependent upon God. Instead God should be impressed with his piety and accomplishments. What was he looking for from God? That God would bless him for being such a self-generated good person. But what was one of the flaws of his prayer, besides being self-conceited was that he looked down with contempt on the tax collector.

 

 In contrast, the tax collector recognizes the truth. He has sinned by his actions and life-style. He recognizes his own unworthiness to come into God’s presence. All he could do is admit he was a sinner and throw himself upon the mercy of God, who owed him nothing. He spoke the truth and acknowledged the truth. The psalmist said: the prayer of a contrite and humble heart will be heard by God.

 

Of the two, which on reflects our prayer before God? Do we pray because we believe God owes us something? Or do we pray for his mercy because we know that we are sinners who deserve chastisement in hope of his mercy.

 

Reading 2: The first reading said: “He who serves God willingly is heard.” What does St. Paul say about this? When he was on trial for preaching the word of God, no one supported him, but abandoned him. “The Lord stood by my side and give me strength.” He knew that he was called by God to proclaim the Gospel of salvation to the Gentiles. He knew first-hand the difficulties and sufferings he was enduring, as he sought to fulfill God’s call. He knew that his goal was to be with God forever in heaven.

 

He knew that his end of life was approaching quickly. He said at the beginning of the reading: “I am being poured out as a libation.” His sufferings and struggles were not in vain. The one constant for him was that God was with him. His focus was to complete the work of God. “God will continue to rescue me and bring me safe into his heavenly kingdom.”

 

What is God’s call for us? Are we serving God willingly? Are we convinced that no matter what, God will not abandon us?

 "Do not have Jesus Christ on your lips and the world in your heart." St. Ignatius of Antioch

This is in line with the words of the Prophet Isaias, whom Jesus quoted as the sin of some of the Chosen People. Paraphrasing, he said this people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Just saying the name of Jesus doesn't make us a true disciples of his. What is the key to a true disciple is if Jesus is the Lord of our hearts. We worship him both on our lips and in our hearts. We serve him both externally and internally. We don't have two masters. Which one will it be for us: Jesus, our Lord, or the world, our lord?

 Thirtieth Sunday Gospel Reflections C

Jesus addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else.  

· Have we found ourselves at times falling into this same mind-set?

"Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector.  

· Jesus was fond of using extreme ends of the spectrum to show the contrast. Here we have the externally devoted religious person and the external public sinner.

The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, 'O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity -- greedy, dishonest, adulterous -- or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’ 

· Do you hear the self-righteousness of the Pharisee? The focus was on him. His religious works gives him superiority in his eyes over others. It is almost like God should be grateful to him rather than seeing his need for God.

· “Took up his position” Where do you think he stood in the Temple to pray? Why do you think he took that position? Was he there to satisfy himself or God?

o He presumed that his adherence to traditional forms of external piety is an automatic guarantee of divine blessing. He sadly overlooked his need for God’s mercy.

But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, 'O God, be merciful to me a sinner.' 

· What opposite position did the tax collector take? Where did the truth lie between their two positions and words?

o He recognized that he was a sinner. So he pleaded for mercy from God, not as a merit but as a gift.

· Our sinfulness is greater than our deeds of goodness many times. If, as we believe that God sees the heart, do you understand the attitude we need to have when we come before the Lord in prayer?

I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted."

· If humility is truth, what is Jesus saying? We can impress others, but God sees us as we are. Even the Pharisee was a sinner in need of the mercy of God. In that sense he and the tax collector were on the same level before God. What made the difference was one recognized his need for God’s mercy and the other did not.

· How do we apply this parable to our own way of life before God and others?

 "Be a Catholic: When you kneel before an altar, do it in such a way that others may be able to recognize that you know before whom you kneel." St. Maximillian Kolbe 

There is a difference between external show and internal faith. The difference is in the reason I am doing a particular action. One is done that others may see and think well of me. The other is done to profess my faith in the God who loves me beyond measure. Our faith is to be a light that shines before others, so that they glorify God for his goodness to us. We are reminded of the importance of being conscious and deliberate in our actions, especially towards the Lord. Give him the reverence due him as our Lord and Savior. 

 "And if at times we seem to have hit rock bottom, let us remember that is the place from which God is able to begin a new creation." Pope Leo XIV

The Israelites felt that they were at rock bottom many times. And God in his mercy would deliver them from their dire situations. Upon the death of Jesus, the disciples felt in the same place of emptiness. Jesus' resurrected appearances stirred their faith once more. Have you ever been at the point in your life? If so, you can go in either of two directions: despair or hope. One is a temptation, the other a grace. The Evil One wants us to give up and to think that God has abandoned us. God, on the other hand, wants to do something new in our life, thus the grace of hope. In our darkest hours, God is there for us. Continue to wait upon him. How long? Only God knows.

 "Let me attain pure light. Only on my arrival there can I be fully a human being." St. Ignatius of Antioch

What is "pure light", if not heaven? I was made to be in the eternal light of heaven. There I will be "fully a human being." Many fear death! Is it because they are not in relationship with God, the Beginning and End of our existence, the perfection of our humanity? Yearning to be with God is not morbid, but should be the desire of our heart. As long as I am away from the Lord, I remain uncomplete and susceptible to sin. Like St. Paul we should yean to be with the Lord, unless the Lord desires us to stay here, working for him longer. Day by day, we are being drawn into that "pure light"; day by day we are being perfected in love. Our hope is that when our journey ends, we will begin a new life with God eternally.

 "God made us for joy. God is joy, and the joy of living reflects the original joy that God felt in creating us." St. John Paul II

If God created us in joyful love and has made us for eternal joy, how does the attitude of joy play in our daily life style? How joyful are we? Is my joy called to be a witness of the joy of the Lord? So often we let sadness and depression rule over us. Our focus is on the mud of the earth rather than the blue sky above.  Because of our sinful nature, joy doesn't come automatically. It must be practiced. How? By remembering and responding to the great ways that God has loved us, which produces joyful gratitude. With St. Paul, I "rejoice in the Lord, always." This joy allows us to participate even now in the eternal joys that await us.

 

Homily: Twenty-ninth Sunday Year C

 

Reading 1: The power of prayer. Human power unsupported by God is not power at all. Human power—Joshua and the Israelites were waging war against the Amaleks.  Human power supported by prayer was effected, as was Moses interceding before God for the Israelites. When Moses tired, the enemy had the best; when he persisted, Israel was powerful. Moses wasn’t called by God to fight the battle with the Amaleks with the sword, but with the weapon of prayer.

 

When we pray, God helps us always. It may not be in the way we desire or expect, but God will respond. The greatest intercessory prayer was the prayer of Jesus from the cross. This prayer was the gift of his life for our salvation. With arms outstretched he was obedient to the Father out of love even to the death of the cross.

 

We heard a few weeks ago Paul exhorting that we should raise our hands, praying for the needs of others. Our prayer is sustained when others join us in that prayer, like Aaron and Hur holding Moses’ arms. It was the persistent intercessory prayer of this community of three that gave the impetus and power of God to Joshua and his troops to overcome their enemies.

 

Our prayer of intercession is pleasing to God for it reflects our love for the one we are praying for. It is a reflection of the centrality of God and our dependency upon God for all things. Intercessory prayer does not change God’s mind, but allows us to be part of God’s plan for the person or situation. To intercede, someone has said, is to stand in the gap.

 

Gospel: Again, the theme of persistence in prayer. In Luke there are certain classes of people who are vulnerable and marginalized. He shows Jesus reaching out to them and ministering to them or using them as examples in his teachings.

 

Here it is a widow, who has a just cause against her adversary. She is totally bereft and dependent on God for her survival. The judge, who hears her case, gives her no immediate satisfaction or resolution. But she persistently approaches the judge with her case. He finely gives in to her request.

 

Jesus says that his Father is not like the judge, for God cares for us and our needs. He wants the best for us. However, he wants us to be persistent as a sign of that we have no one but him to take care of our needs and the needs of others. It is our faith in him as a loving Father that allows us to be persistent in our prayer.

 

The disturbing statement is the last: “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” What does faith and prayer have in common? We pray to God because we believe and are committed to him. The persistency is also in faith, even if we do not have all the answers. Our faith in God does not waver because thanks happen to good people or our prayer was not fully answered the way we wanted.

 

Our persistence in prayer is predicated on who God is and not on ourselves or what God does or does not do.  The persistency is not just in the asking for something but in coming to God, expressing our acceptance, acknowledgement, dependency upon God. We come because he is God.

 

Reading 2: Paul gives us two points. Remain faithful to the Word of God, which is capable of giving us wisdom for salvation through faith in Jesus. We need to read and reflect on the Word of God for different reasons, but especially that we may be competent and equipped for the work of the Gospel.

 

The second point is that we need to share with others the Word of God for their up building and salvation.

 "Let us do our part, and God will then do what He wills. This is God's cause, and all will end well. My hope is in Him; do not be distressed." St. Teresa of Avila

God invites us to participate in his works, not that he needs us, but that he may show his glory through us. In his timing and according to his plan, God will bring about the good he desires. There are times we become anxious that things are not moving as we had hoped and in the ways we had hoped. That is not our decision. God calls us to be faithful and wait upon him, while doing what he has asked us to do. God promised Abraham many descendants, but the patriarch had to wait upon the Lord, even when he and his wife were beyond childbearing. The Israelites waited for centuries for the coming of the promised Anointed One. So, if God is doing something through us, we must wait upon him. The vision will have its fulfillment.

 Twenty-ninth Sunday Year C Gospel

Jesus told his disciples a parable about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary. 

This parable is found only in the Gospel of Luke.

This encouragement to pray always is also found in 1 Thess 5:17. 

How often we find ourselves in this state of mind. We pray and nothing  happens. So we practically stop praying. This happens because we don’t believe that God hears us. In this parable Jesus teaches us the importance of continuing to pray even if there seems at the moment to be no response.

He said, “There was a judge in a certain town who neither feared God nor respected any human being. And a widow in that town used to come to him and say, ‘Render a just decision for me against my adversary.’ 

Widows were often powerless and vulnerable at that time. Many depended on the support of others, mainly family. 

Maybe the reason the judge seemed to ignore her was that her adversary may have been a rich friend of his whom he didn’t want to alienate.

For a long time the judge was unwilling, but eventually he thought, ‘While it is true that I neither fear God nor respect any human being,  because this widow keeps bothering me I shall deliver a just decision for her lest she finally come and strike me.’” 

As she persisted in her petition, the parable urges us to be persistent in our prayer. We should persevere in faith and tirelessly petition God for our needs. 

       She is pleading, not for a handout, but for justice, that which is due to her. The judge was acting indifferent, at first, to her need which was a violation of justice. He eventually caved in because of her persistence and what she was asking for was her due. 

The Lord said, “Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says.  Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night? Will he be slow to answer them?  I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily.”

God will come to our aid, not because we are pestering him, but because our persistence reflects our trust and faith in him.

But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

That is a haunting question. In spite of the difficulties of our human life, will our faith in him as our Lord and God, continue to be present, even when our prayers do not seem to be answered? How strong is your faith in the midst of tragedy and struggles?

 "Give your light to my lantern, I beg you, my Jesus, so that by its light I may see that holy of holies which receives you as the eternal priest entering among the columns of your great temple. May I ever see you only, look on you, long for you; may I gaze with love on you alone, and have my lantern shining and burning always in your presence." St Columban

What is that light for my soul that makes a difference in my life, which gives purpose to my life? Is it not the grace of his love, which enables me to see with eyes of faith the Beginning and End of my existence? When God's love transforms me, then I will desire him alone. My transformed human love will have found its fulfillment in loving the One who loves me totally as I am and for my perfection. God commands us to love him not for his sake but for our fulfillment. Fall in love with God and you will be satisfied.

 'Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what is still possible for you to do." St. John XXIII

Sometimes we allow our past failures to determine our present life. "I have tried that and it doesn't work."  This attitude leads to a sense of futility and hopelessness, which is detrimental to any spiritual growth. We fail to see that there are still possible things that can be accomplished.  Don't be blinded by the past. Ask God for the grace to see what is still possible for us to do in life.  A person may be bed ridden, but the person can still intercede, offering the suffering of age for the needs of others. If St. Paul had remained in his past failure as a persecutor of Christians, he would never have become the Apostle to the Gentiles. Only God knows what he still has in store for each of us to do. Be attentive to his grace.

 "Life is to live in such a way, that we are not afraid to die." St. Teresa  of Avila

Many people are afraid of death because of what might lie ahead of them. Is it death or judgement that they are afraid of? They are afraid because their life has not been in union with God. Rather than change their life-style, they continue to act the same. As morbid as it may sound, the Desert Fathers would have a skull in their cell, so that they would keep death always before them. Jesus reminds us that we don't know the hour or day of our demise. This is not as important as to live a life pleasing to God, so that when our life's thread is severed, we will be with the Lord.

 "Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible." St. Francis of Assisi

This adage of the Saint can apply to many efforts in our life. Take prayer for an example. Some people feel that it is impossible for them to pray for an hour each day. But if they start with fifteen minutes and then extend it to thirty minutes, they could reach what seemed impossible at first by the grace of God. The impossibility was only in their mind, not in action. The same thing can apply to other things, say for instance our habitual sin. What we can't overcome on our own, can be overcome with our dependency on the help of God. The saints are witnesses of this.

 

Homily Twenty-eight Sunday Year C

Reading 1: What is unusual about the first reading is that Naaman is a pagan, who has leprosy. He hears of a prophet in Israel, who has healed. He goes to him. Instead of coming out to Naaman, Elisha sends a servant to tell Naaman to go to the Jordan river and plunge in seven times. Initially, Naaman was angry. He expected that his rank as an official of the King of Assyria would warrant the prophet to come and pray over him and heal him. Instead, he was told to go do an ordinary thing, which he could have done in his own country.

 

However, he was urged by his attendants to do what prophet told him, in other words, be submissive and obedient.  He does and he is healed.  He returns to the prophet to pay for his services. Elisha refuses. The healing was to bring Naaman to the revelation that the God of Israel was the true God.  He is now a changed man, not only physically but spiritually. He has had a conversion.  He asks to take dirt from Israel back to Assyria so that he can offer sacrifice and worship to the God of Israel. 

 

Jesus uses this event later on to emphasize that just like Elisha only healed a pagan and not his own, so Jesus will not be able to heal in his own Nazareth because of their lack of faith. Obedience to the word of God leads to faith and conversion.

 

What can we learn from this event? When God moves in a mighty way in our lives how vocal and public are we in praising and thanking God? Did our life change?

 

Gospel: Again, we have the healing of lepers.  To be a leper was to be relegated to a life of isolation and slow painful death.  Their community is one another. When the ten asked to be healed, Jesus puts their faith to a test. He tells them to go to the Jewish priest who would attest to their healing. This was a double test of obedience: obey the Law of Moses which required this and obey the word of Jesus without seeing any results immediately.

 

Once healed they were to give thanks to God by offering a sacrifice. One man of the ten, a Samaritan, went further. He came back to thank Jesus.  Like Naaman, he recognized what God had done through Jesus, the new Elisha, through the ministry of word. Not only was he healed he was converted. As a result, he received an additional and greater gift than the other nine. He received the grace of salvation. Ten were physically healed. One was additionally healed spiritually. How often like the nine we are satisfied with the physical and missed the greater spiritual gift God has for us?

 

We are all spiritual lepers, for we are all sinners. We are all in need of spiritual healing. The one that can heal us is Jesus. He does that in the Sacrament of Reconciliation and in the Sacrament of Eucharist. How grateful are we when we receive absolution and when we receive Jesus’ Body and Blood? Is our gratitude superficial or profound? Is our life any different afterwards than before? The healed leper was given a new lease on life. Now he did not have to live in isolation and shame, in guilt and rejection. Jesus wants to do the same for us.

 

Reading 2: Paul never took his faith in Jesus for granted. He was willing to embrace sufferings for it. In spite of his imprisonment for the sake of the Gospel, Paul still preached the saving plan of God through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Why? Because he wanted all to be saved. Nothing matter to Paul, not life or death. The only thing was that he would come to a deeper sharing in the life of Christ. He desired to keep pushing forward, seeking the prize of eternal salvation and life with God, which Jesus promised to those who made him the Lord of their lives and were obedient to do his will in all things. Paul knew in faith that Jesus’ promises were true and that God was faithful to his promises.

 

So much is going on in our lives: new directions, old fears, apprehensions, and great uncertainties. Always, there is sadness and joy, fear and love, resentment and gratitude; there is nervousness about next week, next month, next year. Yes, there is so much going on beneath our feet that we are wondering if we can keep walking on all these waves. But Jesus is with us here and now. As long as Peter keeps his eyes fixed on Jesus, he can walk on the water. Problems are small and fears bearable when we know who calls us. The Lord looks into us, smiles, stretches out both his hands, and invites us to get out of the boat: “Come to me, be not afraid.” Henri Nouwen

Like Peter we tend to allow our fears and inabilities to rule over us. We see the impossible with human eyes rather than the possible with the eyes of faith. We fail to realize and actualize the call of Jesus. He would not call us if he didn't want to show us what is possible only in him. We are so use to trusting in ourselves and not in him and so we sink into nothingness. But if we learn to keep our eyes on the One who saves us, then we will see what is possible only in him.

 Twenty-eight Sunday Gospel C

As Jesus continued his journey to Jerusalem, he traveled through Samaria and Galilee. As he was entering a village, ten lepers met him. They stood at a distance from him and raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!”

· Because lepers were unclean, they were not allowed either in the Temple or in the Synagogue. They were ostracized from others, less in contact, they would render others ritually unclean. For the most part, they lived outside in their own community. 

· Notice their cry: “Have mercy on us!” They probably had heard of Jesus’ healing ministry.  Hearing he was coming through their area, they hastened to meet and petition for healing.

And when he saw them, he said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” 

· Notice he doesn’t touch them as he had done before. He doesn’t say, “Be healed.” By his command, he was telling them that if you believe that I have healed you, go to the priests to confirm it.

· Jesus said this because only when they have recovered, and fulfilled the Levitical requirements, could they be reinstated into the life of the people. 

· At the moment there was not change in their condition. They came as lepers and they left as lepers. What was different was the conviction in their hearts that Jesus had done something.

As they were going they were cleansed.  

· This is not the first time that people left Jesus, believing in his word and latter their faith in Jesus’ word was confirmed. Recall the Centurion who came seeking the health of his servant, or the woman whose daughter was possessed. 

And one of them, realizing he had been healed, returned, glorifying God in a loud voice; and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him.  He was a Samaritan. 

· The first thing to note is that one of them returned, glorifying God with gratitude and faith in Jesus. How often we experience God’s mercy and grace but do not respond with gratitude! 

· In fact, should not our whole day be a prayer of gratitude to God for all his blessings just that day? Gratitude opens us up to the more that God desires to give us.

· The second thing to note is that Jesus points out that the one who returned with gratitude was not a legalistic Jew, but a Samaritan who was to the Jews a scum. 

· God shows no partiality, for all are his sons and daughters, which is how we are to treat others.

Jesus said in reply, “Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine?  Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?” Then he said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has saved you.”

· The other nine were healed and were satisfied. One returned thanks and experienced the further grace of God, salvation. 

· Jesus wants not only to heal our bodies but to bring the healing grace of salvation for our souls. 

· As you reflect on this passage, what applications can you make in your life? 

· What is God saying to you?

 "As much as you love your worst enemy this is the measure of your love for God." St Isaac the Syrian

Wow! How do we measure our love of God? Not how many prayers we say or how much fasting we do or how much penance we undertake. The measuring stick of love is reflected in the Scriptures in the parable of the Good Samaritan. He reached out to care for an injured Israelite, whom he would avoid as an enemy. But his love of God was greater than his human, cultural thinking. God made the measure of our love for him very clear, when he commanded us to love our enemies, to do good to those who injured us, to forgive those who speak badly about us. Why? Because he, who is love, loves those who have wronged him. When we were enemies of God because of our sins, Jesus showed his love by dying for us that we may live eternally. If we are grateful to God, then we will love our enemies.

 "When a soul has come to hate sin and has delivered itself as far as it can to the power of virtue, it undergoes a transformation, by receiving the grace of the Spirit. Then it is healed, restored and made holy new. This is what the Lord wants when he says: whoever wishes to be first and great among you must be the last of all and a servant to all." St. Gregory of Nyssa

To hate sin is to put God first in our life. To hate sin is to seek holiness through the transforming power of God's grace. To hate sin is to desire the will of God to be fulfilled in our life. What is that will of God from all eternity? Why did God create us? St. Paul tells us that "we were chosen in Christ to be holy, blameless in his sight, to be full of love and to share in his divine life praising his glory."  Many people straddle the fence with one foot clinging to sin and the other dabbling in virtue. They will not grow in virtue because they are still not ready to flee from sin. Their hearts are more open to the voice of the Tempter than to the voice of the God who created and loves them beyond measure. Flee from sin less its tentacles engulf you.

 "My whole life is a battle between me and me--between me as I am and me as God wants me to be." St. Nikolaj Velimirovic

This is an interesting but true insight. Normally, we would think that our battle is between us and the world that is opposed to God. While this is true, we fail to realize the other greater battle between my fallen humanity and my identity as a child of God. God had and has a plan for my life when he created me. Through his death and resurrection, Jesus set us free from the old self of sin to become the new creature, reflecting God's glory. Even though we have been set free, the old self never gives up. It dies very slowly. The new self, a child of God, grows slowly through these inner conflicts. But for the grace of God, we have no hope. But with the grace of God, the new self grows more and more into the image and life of Christ, Desire and act with resolve to be the person God wants me to be.

 "The business of eternal salvation is to us the most important of all affairs, but it is also the most neglected by Christians." St. Alphonsus Liguori

We must be reminded of this reality. As Jesus said: "What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, but in the end lose his life?"  Our destiny is not this world, but the world to come with God. But many Christians know this in their head but their heart and lives reflect a different story. Some Christians are hoping that they can focus on this life primarily and at the end be able to think about the next life. Eternal salvation is nothing to gamble about. We have been saved by Jesus. But will we be saved depends on how we respond to the grace given us by God. Is it our primary focus or an afterthought? Live your present life always in view of eternity with God.

 

Homily Twenty-seventh Sunday Year C

 

Reading 1: We do not understand the ways of the Lord or the timing of the Lord. The prophet Habakkuk sees the violence and ruin around him. He witnessed the continual sin of the Chosen People, who rejected God’s ways. He cries to God to intervene with his justice. God’s answer is that he will chastise his people by letting their enemies overcome them and take them into exile. But after a time they will be restored

 

This is the vision that God tells the prophet to write down. He is then to wait upon the Lord’s timing. The prophet’s acceptance and obedience to the word of God is expressed at the end of his Book. For though the fig tree does not blossom, and no fruit appears on the vine, though the yield of the olive fails and the terraces produce no nourishment, though the flocks disappear from the fold and there is no herd in the stalls, Yet I will rejoice in the LORD and exult in my saving God.

 

In the New Testament, Peter’s Letter speaks to the question of why has Jesus delayed in his second coming. Peter said that Jesus is not delaying as much as he is giving the world time to repent and turn back to him. This is the time of mercy. But the day of judgement will come in God’s timing and way.

 

What is God looking to see in our lives? He tells Habakkuk at the end of our reading: “The just one who is righteous because of faith shall live.” It is faith put into practice that God desires to see in those who heed his word.

 

Gospel: Faith can be seen from the point of acceptance and belief in the mysteries God has revealed to us. This is the virtue of theological faith. In faith we believe that God is one and triune in persons, that Jesus is the Son of God and Son of Man, who through his death and resurrection has saved us from our sins. This is the faith we will proclaim in the Creed.

 

The faith spoken in our reading is the exercise of faith. It is the exercise of that faith with is the gift of the Holy Spirit which Paul speaks of in his Letter to the Corinthians. It was this faith that enable Peter to step out of the boat and to begin to walk on water. It was this same faith that moved Peter to say to the crippled man, “Rise up in the name of Jesus Christ.” And the man was healed.

 

We are called to exercise both aspects of faith: the virtue and the gift. In this response of faith, we are fulfilling our role as servants of the Lord, obeying him in all things. We are doing nothing more than what is expected of us.

 

Reading 2: Paul tells us to “stir up into flame the gift of God” we received through the imposition of hands. In Baptism and Confirmation

we were anointed with the oil of Chrism as disciples and witnesses of Jesus Christ. The Spirit we have been given is not a spirit of fear, but the power to witness the love of God poured out upon us.

 

How often we hesitate to act in the power of the Holy Spirit! We have the gift of faith but not the conviction in the power of God. We allow the fear of failure or the concern about what others think to hold our faith in check. To this Paul says: “Bear your hardship with the strength that comes from God.”  

 "If you wish to go to extremes, let it be in sweetness, patience, humility and charity." St. Philip Neri

Jesus was a man who lived a radical, extreme life. By his life, he set the bar for us to follow. Who was more gentle and humble of heart than he? Who was more patient then he, enduring the contempt and persecution of others out of love for us? Who was more loving than the one who gave his life that we may have life abundantly? Many people go to the extremes in the wrong way for the wrong purpose. Can we, the disciples of the Lord, go to the extreme in the right way for the right purpose? He conquered sin and death by extreme measures. We, in his name, can make a difference in the world by following his example of a radical, extreme life of love, mercy, forgiveness, humility, and patience.