Homily for the Feast of the Exultation of the Most Holy Cross and a continuation of our “Labor of Love” theme focusing on talent.
Homily
for the Feast of the Exultation of the Cross
“Christ
Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God
something to be grasped. Rather, he
emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and
found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even
death on a cross.” This week we
celebrate the feast of the exultation of the most Holy Cross of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ. We turn to the
cross of Christ for it symbolizes the very means of our salvation.
Continuing
with our theme of “labor of love,” we focus this week on talent. Everyone’s got talent! Yes everyone here in this Church has
talent. Some are skilled laborers…electricians,
plumbers, and roofers. We have some
gifted musicians and singers in the congregation. Also we have some accountants, lawyers,
doctors, and nurses. Perhaps someone
here might be a good listener that’s also a special gift and talent.
One
of the biggest obstacles we face sharing our talent(s) is often ourselves. We often feel that we don’t have the time to
get involved in one more thing. Many of
us do have busy schedules. We all struggle
with juggling them. Sometimes however we
have to make sacrifices. Brothers and
sisters, we can learn something from Christ today courtesy of Saint Paul, when
he wrote, “he emptied himself.” There
are times we need to empty ourselves and offer back to Him.
As
we move forward looking at our commitment to our parish I would like to ask you
to consider getting involved in one thing at the parish. Deacon Michael DeVivo is currently working to
update the listing of our parish ministries and it is my hope to highlight one
of them in the bulletin each month. We
are using this year to update our data in preparation for next year providing
our parish groups an opportunity to share with the parish their ministries at a
ministry fair. It’s a work in
progress. Nothing happens
overnight! We are moving forward! In the meantime please consider how you might
want to get involved. We need your help
now. Think about what you would like to
do. As members of the Saint Patrick
Church parish family we all share a responsibility in keeping it together.
Another
thing to think about as we celebrate the feast of the exultation of the Holy
Cross…laboring can be hard. Work wasn’t
meant to be easy. Keeping a parish
together takes a lot of hard work and a lot of individuals. We are called “not to forget the works of the
Lord!” Our Lord worked day in and day
out in His Father’s vineyard proclaiming the good news of salvation. He preached the Gospel all the way to the
cross! As you gaze upon the crucifix
don’t look upon it in sadness, but rather look upon it with hope! The crucifix stands as a symbol for all
Christians of the Lord’s victory over sin and death. When life gets hard, look to the crucifix! The cross is the very means of our salvation,
and without it there would be no salvation.
So
today gaze at the image of Christ crucified.
Just think for a moment about this, if life seems to be going smoothly
and on auto pilot then something must not be right. Yes the Lord allows us to be happy, but if
there are no bumps or obstacles in that road anywhere, then we must honestly
ask ourselves are we doing God’s will.
It was only two weeks ago for the 22nd Sunday of Ordinary
Time when we heard the Lord say, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny
himself, take up his cross, and follow me.”
Be open to sharing your gifts and talents. Don’t be afraid of the cross, carry it
proudly!
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