CATHOLIC PRIEST -- SUNDAY HOMILY 

NOW AFTER John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel." [Jn 1:14-15]

Artist: Victor Luciano Rebuffo
(1903-1983)
Buenos Aires, Argentina

SIGN OF THE CROSS [1]

SAINT MICHAEL, the Archangel, defend us in battle; be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do Thou, O prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan, and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

DISCERNMENT NEEDED

1. The stress of a heavy workload may over-shadow opportunities for self-reflection, but it cannot extinguish them. Sooner or later, the need for thoughtful discernment surfaces again and makes its demands known. Discerning the Spirit is at the heart of Our Lord's proclamation of the Good News. In the days after the crowds honored Jesus by spreading their garments and branches on the road to Jerusalem, the Lord went to the temple precinct to teach. Jesus' detractors, determined to harass him, appointed a man adroit in religious law to inquire:

'TEACHER, WHICH is the great commandment in the law?' And Jesus said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets.' [Mt 22:35-40]

2. Irrespective of his compromised intentions, the impertinent Pharisee directs us to the personal questions of faith: What is the Spirit saying to the Church? and How does the Spirit lead me to the truth? Actually the lawyer speaks for all persons who hear the Gospel. If Jesus walked in our midst today, someone would approach him with this very question. Truthfully, is a question that each of us would dearly love to ask, for it points to a deeper mystery. What must I do to be saved? is the prayer of all humanity. Jesus, in turn, tells the clever fellow what is required. Love God and your neighbor.

OBSTACLES TO OVERCOME

3. The question What is necessary? implies a refreshing simplicity. Even more economical is Jesus' prophets, Our Lord says, is embraced by these two commandments. Unfortunately, this refreshing simplicity cannot be assured, for many obstacles between God and the faithful remain to be overcome in every generation. Sometimes staff members of the Church create these obstacles. How many times have the lay faithful been refused the sacraments of penance or holy anointing because their request does not correspond to the regularly scheduled times posted on the parish calendar? Or because a Catholic presumes to ask for the private administration of the sacrament? For example, a young couple calls the office of their nearby parish to inquire about marriage preparation.

4. Sometimes staff members will say, and sometimes curtly, You are not registered in the parish. You have to be registered for at least six months. And further, During the first six months we look at your tithing envelopes to see if you are attending and financially supporting the parish. Mothers and fathers whose children are preparing for their first holy communion may be told by a catechist, We have no first communion Mass as such. Just take your child to any Sunday Mass. Irrespective of whether some concerns are valid while others are not, why must pastoral ministry be subordinated to the interests of parish administration? Are office protocols what new members need to hear first? Or loudest? Catholics, requesting the Sacrament of Holy Anointing, may hear, You should have made an appointment at the Church before you went to the hospital, or Call the hospital chaplain, or We anoint twice a year in a communal rite.

FOR THE COMPLETE HOMILY, CLICK THIS LINK:   "SIGN OF THE CROSS"

 

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MOVED WITH PITY

FEW DISEASES were more feared or reviled than leprosy. Before man and God, it was presumed, a leper was the lowest of the low. His disease was proof he was less than nothing before God’s eternal, absolute and omnipotent majesty.

HOW REMARKABLE and touching that a distraught leper would kneel before Jesus—fully God and fully man—to give him permission to heal him. "If you will, you can make me clean,” he said. [Mk 1:40-45] Jesus was moved with pity. He reached out to the sick man as he would his own mother. He touched him, saying, I do will it. He healed him.

TO BE moved with pity is to permit the compassion of your heart to carry you into the experience of someone who suffers. To be moved means reaching out. It means speaking and touching. It brings healing, medicine for the spirit, and the renewal of relationships. Compassion makes possible the regeneration of human hope. It liberates the soul from the clench of the present moment and quiets its trembling.

THE COMPASSION of Jesus Christ is a stirring reminder that Christianity is more than the glimmer of old light or the nimbus of an ambiguous future. Christ is immediate. This immediacy has a name—the Holy Spirit—and he speaks what he hears. [cf. Jn 16:13] Become aware of your own poverty, now. Embrace the one who suffers, now. Open yourself to healing in this very moment.

PERHAPS YOU'LL speak freely about all this, spreading the news everywhere. The Mother of God counsels us that proof is vindicated by silence. Yet, we are not to worry. If a ruckus ensues in your heart or in your household, go quickly into the desert to pray with Jesus. There in solitude you will be little. Make yourself less than nothing before God. Give him permission to touch you and heal you.