Creation and Us
God is our hope. The God who made all things, and created all beauty is more beautiful than beauty itself. The Lord Who created us in His image and likeness wants us to be joy-filled and we can only do that when we follow The Way, The Truth and The Light.
The Lord our God made us for Himself and as St. Augustine said, “Our hearts are restless Lord, until they rest in You.”
Put your Hope in the Lord, God is the best Hope there is.
May God Be Praised.
St. Therese of Lisieux said, “Prayer, for me, is simply a raising of the heart, a simple glance towards Heaven, an expression of love and gratitude in the midst of trial, as well as in times of joy; in a word, it is something noble and supernatural expanding my soul and uniting it to God.
Whenever my soul is so dry that I am incapable of a single good thought, I always say an Our Father or a Hail Mary very slowly, and these prayers alone cheer me up and nourish my soul with divine food.” [The Story of a Soul p. 141]
Think about what prayer is for you and what part does it play in your life?
May God Be Praised.
The building up of the church today requires mutual effort between God and us. On the one hand, we can call out to God for help, “When I called, you answered me; you built up strength within me” (Ps 138:3).
On the other hand, God calls out to each of us to be “my servant,” and this is the truest vocation needed to build up God’s church. Faithful “servants” lead to a flourishing church. [The Word, America Magazine 8/24/2023]
We have been chosen to be a servant, let’s practice being a loving servant.
May God Be Praised.
Jesus said, this about the Roman centurion’s faith: “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” How often do we spend time meditate on faith.
The Scriptures are the inspired Word of God, and we can rest upon faith upon God’s Word, trusting in the presence of God in our world and in our Church. Neither of those are easy that it is called a leap of Faith. Faith is not about me, it is about God. Maybe this analogy can help our reflection.
A Flyer and a Catcher enter the circus ring and greet the audience with smiles and movement that cause their wide silver capes to swirl about them. They pull themselves up into the large net and start to climb rope ladders to positions high up in the big tent.
As the Flyer swings away from the pedestal board, she somersaults and turns freely in the air, only to be safely grasped by the Catcher.
The secret is for the Flyer to trust the Catcher to grasp them. So, it is with God and us, we need to trust that the Lord will grasp us each time we fly into His arms. God longs for us to fly to His loving embrace, fly now, fly tomorrow and one day fly into eternity with the Lord.
We are part of God’s great design, fly with God, God will catch you and take care of the you.
May God Be Praised.
St. Francis de Sales wrote in the Introduction to a Devout Life, “Some recreation is necessary to refresh mind and body... It is certainly wrong to be so strict with oneself, so austere and unsociable, as to deny oneself and everyone else, recreation.” We should seek balance in our daily life. Francis, also, suggested not over do the sport and recreation aspects of our life, he advised, “To spend too much time on a game makes it an occupation rather than a recreation.”
One exception to this rule would be professional and Olympic athletes because recreational sport is how they make their living. We are called to be “Professional Christians, so we should always “Live Jesus” whether in recreation, work, or at home, each time and every time should be a time of prayer for us.
May God Be Praised
Prayer to the Father
“Abba, save us by Your power, give us the Grace to Love and to Live Your Word. May its’ fire consume our sins and its light illumine our hearts and our wills. As dawn breaks forth, we are ready to walk with You, our Father.” Amen. [Deacon George Kelly]
May God Be Praised.
Living a Simple Life
St. Teresa of Avila said, "The closer one approaches to God, the simpler one becomes."
The path is clear, simplicity is the way.
May God Be Praised.
Love God
"Remain united with God and love Him with all your heart, always remembering that we cannot love Him too much nor can we ever love Him enough." [St. Francis de Sales]
The Holy Father is a living reminder of the Gentleman saint's advice.
May God Be Blessed!
Today we pray, almighty and ever living God, for You invite us deeper into Your Word, Your Sacraments and Your Church. Shower us with Your Grace so we focus on prayer, fasting and almsgiving, to strengthen our hearts to serve You more fully and more faithfully. Lord, on us Your people and grant that, through our lives we may reflect Your Light and Love to the world. May our prayers grow Your love in our hearts and reflect Your love in to the world. Amen.
May God Be Praised.
“The nature of water is soft, that of stone is hard; but if a bottle is hung about the stone, allowing the water to fall drop by drop, it wears away the stone. So, it is with the Word of God; it is soft, and our heart is hard, but the one who hears the Word of God often opens his heart to God.” [Abba Poemen, Desert Monastic]
Today begin anew by being soft like water and hard like stone, then allow God’s Grace drop by drop to mold your will to God’s Will.
May God Be Praised.
“Always be impartial and just in your deeds. Put yourself into your neighbor’s place, and him in yours, and then you will judge fairly . . . Frequently, therefore, examine your heart, whether it is so disposed towards your neighbor, as you would have his disposed towards you, were you to change places; for this is the true test.” St. Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Live, p. 226
Examine your heart [your motives] as if you were God examining them.
May God Be Praised.
An Insight into Prayer
St. Francis de Sales said, “Go to Prayer in Faith. Remain there in Hope. Go out only by Love.”
Today offer a prayer of thank you to God, who loves you.
May God Be Praised.
"Holiness
consists simply in doing God's will, and being just what God wants us to
be."
–St. Therese of Lisieux - The Little Flower
We can ignore the call to be holy or we can embrace it and live it in God’s joy.
May God Be Praised.
Henri J. M. Nouwen wrote, “Our weakness and old age call people to surround us and support us. By not resisting weakness and by gratefully receiving another’s care we call forth community and provide our caregivers an opportunity to give their own gifts of compassion, care, love, and service. As we are given into their hands, others are blessed and enriched by caring for us. Our weakness bears fruit in their lives.
And dying is our ultimate vulnerability. Instead of looking at the weakness of old age as simply the experience of loss after loss, we can choose it as a passage to emptiness where our hearts have room to be filled with the Spirit of Love overflowing. It is ultimate weakness but is also potentially the greatest moment of our fruitfulness.”
Reflect on how you view old age and dying.
May God Be Praised.
This prayer is offered by the priest or the deacon as they purify the chalice after the Holy Eucharist has been shared is, “What has passed our lips as food, O Lord, may we possess in purity of heart, that what has been given to us in time may be our healing for eternity.”
Take a few minutes to meditate on those words.
May God Be Praised.
St. Margaret Mary offers us this insight, "The Divine Heart is an ocean full of all good things, wherein poor souls can cast all their needs; it is an ocean full of joy to drown all our sadness, an ocean of humility to drown our folly, an ocean of mercy to those in distress, an ocean of love in which to submerge our poverty."
Swim in the Ocean of Divine Love that God prepared for you.
May God Be Praised.
Homily Cycle A 10/15/2023 Offered at OLPH
Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/101523.cfm
Not too long ago, I received an e-mail message that was entitled "Things I Really Don't Understand."
Let me share a few:
· Why do doctors & lawyers call what they do practice?
· Why is abbreviation such a long word?
· Why is a boxing ring square?
· What was the best thing before sliced bread?
· How do they get the deer to cross the highway at those yellow signs?
These questions are a lighthearted reminder that
there are indeed a lot of things in this life that we just really don't
understand.
Martin Luther said words to this effect sometimes you have to squeeze a Biblical passage until it leaks the Gospel, the Good News. That was my experience in preparing today’s homily. I had to squeeze and squeeze; I think it was well worth the effort. The wedding garment in today’s Gospel is an image of our soul, a purified soul.
A soul prepared to enter into the wedding feast of heaven; not one full of selfishness & sin; but a soul is wrapped in charity, a soul properly dressed. Our soul needs to be clean and our heart repentant.
We are called to embrace the Beatitudes as our way of life, our wedding garment, not for one occasion but for all occasions, a way of life that gives testimony to love for God and for our neighbor. We are privileged to participate in a glimpse of the heavenly banquet each time we come to Mass and each time we live the Beatitudes.
Today’s Psalm, 23, is one of the most beloved Psalms because it reminds us that God is our shepherd, God gentle loves sustains and guides us.
“I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.” Our Gospel verse, teaches us “May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ enlighten the eyes of our hearts, so that we may know what is the hope that belongs to our call.” Pope Francis said, “… [God] prepares his banquet for everyone; the just and sinners, good and bad, intelligent and uneducated.” [Angelis 10/11/2020]
We are not worthy of God’s love, but God showers us with His love. We are called to respond to God’s love by living the Beatitudes; that Jesus gave us to guide our lives. “God’s invitation to every one of us should inspire us to make our lives a ‘proper garment’….” A garment woven by our actions. [Connections, 10/2023]
The King wanted the wedding feast filled, the King of Kings wants heaven filled. As we prepare for the Heavenly Banquet, we should take time to pray for peace in the world especially in Ukraine and the Middle East. Today as we reflect on the Kingdom to Come, listen closely as I pray a shorten version of the Litany for the Anxious and the Suffering offering it for the people in the world suffering from war.
“From the temptation to doubt Your goodness, deliver me, Jesus.
From the anxiety of feeling helpless, deliver me, Jesus.
That Your silent love does not mean absence, Jesus, grant me Your peace.
For a heart sustained by Your love, remain with me, Jesus.
For a heart responsive to your grace, remain with me, Jesus.
For a heart wrapped continually in Your peace, remain with me, Jesus.
[Hannah Marie Fowerbaugh, by Litany for the Anxious and Suffering]
Reflect on your wedding garment, does it need some cleaning?
May God Be Praised.
When you pray.
Saint Padre Pio offers us this advice about speaking to, praying to Jesus, "… speak to Jesus, not only with your lips, but also with your heart; actually, on certain occasions, you should speak with only your heart."
Try to speak to Jesus with your whole heart, with your whole soul, with your whole being and use as few words as you can, preferable none; just be with Him.
May God Be Praised.
"Make friends with the angels, who though invisible are always with you. Often invoke them, constantly praise them, and make good use of their help and assistance in all your temporal and spiritual affairs." [St. Francis de Sales]
Today thank God for the angels, in particular for your guardian angel, and take time to offer this prayer: “Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God’s love commits me here, ever this day be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide.” Amen.
May God Be Praised.
Why Did God Make Us?
St. Augustine offers us this profound insight, "Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee."
Since, we were made for God, let us do God’s Will.
May God be Praised.
“For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy." St. Therese of Lisieux
Make your life, your prayer.
May God Be Praised.
Let us join with the prophet Isaiah and ask God to bring about peace in the Middle East, “They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; one nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again… let us walk in the light of the Lord.”
“O God, bend my heart to follow Your will and allow my voice to praise Your Holy Name, cleanse me from any worthless, evil, or distracting thoughts. Grant me Your grace that I may pray today with reverence, awe and love. Listen to my supplication, hear my prayer, and answer me. Guide me with Your Spirit that I may shine forth Your Radiance to the world.” [Dcn. George Kelly]
Our Lady of Perpetual Help, bring peace to the Middle East.
St. Francis of Assisi and St. Catherine of Siena intercede for peace in the Middle East.
May God Be Praised.