Sunday, November 16, 2014

Father Carroll's Homily for the 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time



Homily for the 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time
          “For all of you are children of the light and children of the day.”  Brothers and sisters let us strive to be children of the light.  What does that mean?  It means that we need to allow the gifts and talents God has given to be used to their fullest potential.  God has given us all gifts.  Some have been given the gift to sing, some of been given the gift of writing, some are good orators, others are good listeners.  We all have a gift, and that gift isn’t meant to be hidden from the world. 

          In our responsorial psalm we sang, “Blessed are those who fear the Lord.”  This isn’t a fear of fright but rather a deep sense of reverence for the Lord and what He calls us too.  As Christians we are called to go out and use the gifts we have been given constantly.  Continuing with St. Paul’s letter to the people of Thessalonica, “Therefore, let us not sleep as the rest do, but let us stay alert and sober.”  While yes we need to rest and sleep to renew our bodies and minds what this passage is saying there is no rest from living the Christian faith.  Think about it, and ask ourselves is there a time in which we are not using our gifts to their fullest potential.  Do we attempt to hide our gifts from the world?  If the answer is yes to those questions then we have something to work on. 

          There are a lot of distractions out there brothers and sisters.  The devil will try to discourage us and bring us into darkness.  As children of the light, bring everything into it.  “Let us stay alert!”  It’s easy to allow darkness to consume us, but my encouragement to us is to not allow that to happen.  Trust in God’s mercy and love.  We are reminded today of two things that as Christians we are called to action to use our gifts and talents for the building up of His kingdom.  Secondly what should motivate us is our love and deep sense of reverence for the Lord for all He has done for us.     Moving forward this week look for ways in which we can shine the light of our faith to give light to those who might be walking in the midst of darkness. 

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