Homily OLPH School Mass 1/15/2021
Thank you for your prayers for my daughter-in-law Laurie [she suffered a brain aneurysm on July 4, 2018; she is making continued progress in her recovery. My son Brian [Laurie’s husband] is in need of your prayers for her and for himself. He was helping his next door neighbor who suffered a possible stroke, which he did not suffer, but was found with COVID. Brian has been tested for COVID and is awaiting the results, since her is the primary caregiver, a negative COVID test is needed. Thank you, in advance, for your prayers.
de Sales said, “Perfection does not consist of not having friendships, but of having good & holy friendships.” In our 1st reading from Hebrews, we were reminded to “… be on our guard.” And so, we should be on our guard with our friendships, as deSales tells us “good and holy” ones we should have!
In our Gospel Mark says that four friends of the paralytic man carried him onto the roof and lowered him down in front of Jesus! The Gospel of Luke relates a similar and as does the Gospel of Matthew. That means it was an important event in the early Church communities. Jesus clearly told the Jews then and He tells us today that He is God. He forgives sin and to prove it today He heals the paralytic man.
Imagine if the roof of our Church suddenly opened and a man was lowered down in the center aisle. Wow, well that is what happened with the paralytic and Jesus was clearly pleased with the man's friends who cared enough to bring him. Good friends are a gift from God, the best friend we can have is Jesus.
We have many means of communicating, among them various electronic ones, e.g., texting, instant message, Skype, email, cell phones, FaceTime, Zoom, and face to face, among others. Use the means of communicating that you have wisely and put communicating with God, with Jesus as the TOP PRIORITY on your communicating list.
One way is to read the bible, a little bit every day or you could go on the Internet to USCCB. Org where you will find the readings for each day’s Mass, as well as the Bible.
The four men in today’s Gospel had Christ in their heads because they wanted to take their friend to him. They had Christ in their hearts because they wanted their friend healed. And they had Christ in their hands because they carried their friend on his mat to meet Jesus.
Franz Leopold Möst was born on August 16, 1960, he suffered injuries in a car crash that led to nerve damage. That accident, which was not his fault, but it ended his pursuit of becoming a world class violinist. He had two choices get angry with God or accept his situation and use his musical talent to become a top conductor. He chose the latter and today he is one of the top conductors in the world, currently serving as maestro of the Cleveland Orchestra. He didn’t do it on his own, he had a lot of help from friends.
I pray that you and I will have the courage to do the same when our friends need Jesus!
Saint Joseph, pray for us.
Saint Andre Bessette intercede for us.
Saint Thomas More, plead for us.
May God Be Praised!
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