Homily for the 25th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Think about the very last line from today’s Second Reading from St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians, “Only, conduct yourselves in a way worthy of the Gospel of Christ.” That brothers and sisters is our calling to live lives worthy of the Gospel. Now we know how difficult that can be. The early disciples like us were sinners and made terrible mistake in their lives. For us as Christians to live lives worthy of the Gospel of Christ calls us to daily conversion. There is nothing that can separate us from the love of Christ, only we can separate ourselves from Him. Yet He is always there calling out to us…come back…come back. This week we focus on the theme of treasure. When we think of treasure our immediate thought is that of monetary contributions…don’t worry we will get there, but first we must ask ourselves what consists of a true treasure. We began our reflection two weeks ago speaking about time. Ponder for a moment do we consider our time spent with the Lord a treasure. It is important that we make time for the Lord who loves us. Don’t forget we pondered just last week the Lord’s love for each of us as we celebrated the Feast of the Exultation of the Most Holy Cross. The Lord loved each of us this much and in light of today’s Gospel reading He loves us all equally. It doesn’t matter when we come back to Him if we wonder astray He will love us with the same intensity He loves the one who doesn’t. Talent is another form of treasure, and it is one we can tend to sweep under the rug. Each one of us has a talent and we are called to use it to its fullest potential. Use your talents to build up God’s family, use your talents for the betterment of your parish. God needs us to respond. This week we honor our catechists and teachers for Catechetical Sunday. I always like to mention our families for our parents are the primary educators of their children. Thank you to all of our parents, volunteer catechists and school teachers for all that you do to teach the faith. The theme for Catechetical Sunday is “teaching about God’s gift of forgiveness.” What a theme! God is indeed merciful! Brothers and sisters, we are blessed with a great treasure in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. There is no greater catechetical tool at our disposal than the very sacrament itself. I am going to ask a rhetorical question…when was the last time you encountered God’s merciful love. If it’s been years…don’t let that stop you and if you don’t know what to say that’s ok most priests are willing to help you. Take advantage of it…don’t delay. Experience the Lord’s goodness. Some of our teachers are tasked this year with the awesome task of teaching their children about God’s merciful love to prepare them for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Others will be tasked preparing their students to receive the Sacrament again. One of the reasons for the differences of Mass times was to allow me to be present sacramentally for our religious education students. Our students in the school have the opportunity to go to confession throughout the year. Now our religious education students will have that same opportunity. Now I mentioned when we think of treasure the first thing that comes to mind is monetary contributions. We first had to establish what our true treasure is…and our true treasure is our time spent with the Lord, and our talents. This weekend’s theme for Catechetical Sunday “teaching about God’s gift of forgiveness,” reminds us that the Sacrament of Reconciliation and all the other sacraments are also a great treasure. It begins with renewing our hearts, then renewing our faith. Take advantage of the opportunities provided to grow in your knowledge of the faith, utilize the parish library, join Sister Monica’s Tuesday Bible Studies, and take advantage of the programs offered throughout the year. Now that we have established that as our greatest treasure, we can talk about our monetary offerings, but that can wait till next week.
Think about the very last line from today’s Second Reading from St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians, “Only, conduct yourselves in a way worthy of the Gospel of Christ.” That brothers and sisters is our calling to live lives worthy of the Gospel. Now we know how difficult that can be. The early disciples like us were sinners and made terrible mistake in their lives. For us as Christians to live lives worthy of the Gospel of Christ calls us to daily conversion. There is nothing that can separate us from the love of Christ, only we can separate ourselves from Him. Yet He is always there calling out to us…come back…come back. This week we focus on the theme of treasure. When we think of treasure our immediate thought is that of monetary contributions…don’t worry we will get there, but first we must ask ourselves what consists of a true treasure. We began our reflection two weeks ago speaking about time. Ponder for a moment do we consider our time spent with the Lord a treasure. It is important that we make time for the Lord who loves us. Don’t forget we pondered just last week the Lord’s love for each of us as we celebrated the Feast of the Exultation of the Most Holy Cross. The Lord loved each of us this much and in light of today’s Gospel reading He loves us all equally. It doesn’t matter when we come back to Him if we wonder astray He will love us with the same intensity He loves the one who doesn’t. Talent is another form of treasure, and it is one we can tend to sweep under the rug. Each one of us has a talent and we are called to use it to its fullest potential. Use your talents to build up God’s family, use your talents for the betterment of your parish. God needs us to respond. This week we honor our catechists and teachers for Catechetical Sunday. I always like to mention our families for our parents are the primary educators of their children. Thank you to all of our parents, volunteer catechists and school teachers for all that you do to teach the faith. The theme for Catechetical Sunday is “teaching about God’s gift of forgiveness.” What a theme! God is indeed merciful! Brothers and sisters, we are blessed with a great treasure in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. There is no greater catechetical tool at our disposal than the very sacrament itself. I am going to ask a rhetorical question…when was the last time you encountered God’s merciful love. If it’s been years…don’t let that stop you and if you don’t know what to say that’s ok most priests are willing to help you. Take advantage of it…don’t delay. Experience the Lord’s goodness. Some of our teachers are tasked this year with the awesome task of teaching their children about God’s merciful love to prepare them for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Others will be tasked preparing their students to receive the Sacrament again. One of the reasons for the differences of Mass times was to allow me to be present sacramentally for our religious education students. Our students in the school have the opportunity to go to confession throughout the year. Now our religious education students will have that same opportunity. Now I mentioned when we think of treasure the first thing that comes to mind is monetary contributions. We first had to establish what our true treasure is…and our true treasure is our time spent with the Lord, and our talents. This weekend’s theme for Catechetical Sunday “teaching about God’s gift of forgiveness,” reminds us that the Sacrament of Reconciliation and all the other sacraments are also a great treasure. It begins with renewing our hearts, then renewing our faith. Take advantage of the opportunities provided to grow in your knowledge of the faith, utilize the parish library, join Sister Monica’s Tuesday Bible Studies, and take advantage of the programs offered throughout the year. Now that we have established that as our greatest treasure, we can talk about our monetary offerings, but that can wait till next week.
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