Blog Post - Homily Cycle A 10/15/2023 Offered at OLPH

 

 

 

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.