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Homilies are posted no later than during the week
prior to the Sunday they are needed |
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2 Ordinary Time
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Second Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle B - John 1:35-42 -
Victor Hugo in Les Miserables wrote, "To love
another is
to see the face of God." Hugo was speaking figuratively. But John the
Baptist and Andrew had the good fortune to see the authentic face of
God. Immediately they fell in love with Christ for life and were never
the same again. It was love at first sight.
Today's Gospel is the word painting of two
extraordinary people. One is John the Baptist, who gets much attention
and does not like it. The other is Andrew who is put on
everyone's back burner and could not care less.
At this point, John is the star of the show.
He is
surrounded by great numbers. He is lionized by the press. People travel
hundreds of miles on foot to hear him. Everybody wants a piece of him.
And yet the Baptist is about to throw all that adulation overboard.
Standing before him is One whom he cannot ignore. It is the Messiah. At
this point, Jesus is a non-person as far as John's admirers are
concerned. It is John who puts the spotlight on Him. The only loser
will be himself. Perhaps then we can better understand why John is the
only person of whom Jesus says He stands in awe.
The day before this Gospel opens, John was
surrounded by
a mob of fans. He points to Christ and announces Him as the Main Man.
The Baptist is eager to step back into the desert. His job as Christ's
"advance man" is ending. Life in the fast lane is not to his taste.
In the Gospel, John stands with two fans. One
is our Andrew. The other is not identified. Many scholars assume it was
John, today's author. Modesty forbade him mentioning his own name.
Once again, their leader points to the
Nazarene and
identifies Him as the Chairman of the Board. And, as John foresaw and
even hoped, the two tipped their turbans to their now former guru and
followed Christ. They were unknowingly following out a plan that had
been programmed from day one.
There could not have been an ounce of envy in
the Baptist's person. He had his fifteen minutes of fame. Willingly he
surrenders his notoriety to the better man. If your problem is pride,
John the Baptist is your medicine man. He will teach you "no one has
ever choked to death from swallowing his own pride."
The Christ plays the host and invites Andrew
and his
friend to stay with him. He was hardly bunking at the Jordan
Hilton. In most probability, the Hilton in question was a
primitive hut along the Jordan River. One can still observe
these huts set up along the riverbank. They are built by farmers so
that they can guard their crops from night poachers. I suspect that
both Andrew and his friend kept Jesus up into the early hours with
their questions. When did He sleep? What a pity we do not know even a
fraction of their conversation into that morning! Oh, for even a twenty
dollar tape-recorder.
At dawn, Andrew rolls out of his sleeping bag.
He does
not even take time for cappucino and an onion bagel. He is most anxious
to introduce his brother Peter to their extraordinary Host. Peter too
was bedding down in the area. He had walked down from Caphernaum in
Galilee with Andrew to check the Baptist out for himself. Andrew makes
the proper introductions. Then he willingly surrenders front stage to
Peter.
From this point on, Andrew will lose his
identity. He will be spoken of constantly as the brother of Peter. It
will be his fate to live in his brother's shadow. But there is no hint
of sibling rivalry between them. While Peter will be referred to ninety
times in the Gospels, Andrew will be referred to seldom.
Even though Andrew was a charter member of the
apostles, it
was his fate never to become a member of Christ's inner circle or
kitchen cabinet. Yet, there is no evidence that this ever upset him. He
was willing to play second fiddle.
His gripes about riding in the back of the bus, had
he made them, would have been legitimate. Were we in his sandals,
we would have sounded off. But Andrew was willing to be the low
man on the totem pole. He considered himself a winner just to be
numbered among Christ's company. So should we. Most of us have been
lucky in life but never luckier than to be Jesus's follower.
Andrew advises us that when we tell others what
Jesus can do for them, we should first tell them what He has done for
us.
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http://www.st.ignatius.net/pastor.html
2 Ordinary Time
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Answer the Call or Send it to Voice Mail?
I
want to begin today by discussing my cell phone. My cell phone is
small; it fits neatly in my shirt pocket. It does all sorts of
neat things like contain my schedule, all my addresses, the names,
addresses and phone numbers of all 9,500 parishioners; it has a
calculator, it connects to the internet, it gets my email, and I can
even play solitaire on it. Or yes, my cell phone dopes something
else too: it makes and receives phone calls.
Now
when a call comes in to this phone I have some options. If the
call is from someone in my address book, the phone will show me the
person’s name, maybe even the person’s picture, so I can decide if I
want to speak to that person........or not. If the person making
the call is not in my address book, usually a number will appear.
Then I wonder if it is really from someone I want to speak to. It
could be a long lost friend, or someone who has changed their number.
Anyway, with my cell phone I can decide if I want to speak to someone
or send them to voice mail.
All
of us receive calls from the Lord. The question becomes: Do we
recognize his number? Sometimes, like the disciples in the
Gospel, we recognize the Lord and follow. Sometimes, we don’t
recognize His number and can’t be bothered with answering. Often,
though, we just send God’s call to voice mail. We might be afraid
of what He is going to ask of us. He might demand something more
than we want to do or give. Maybe, we’d rather deal with Him
later. Maybe if we ignore the call enough, we won’t have to deal
with it at all.
And
that is the sad truth of our reaction to God’s call. If we don’t
respond like Samuel in today’s first reading, “Speak Lord, your servant
is listening,” we might miss our opportunity to do His will. Maybe the
Lord wants us to lead someone who is estranged from Him closer to Him
with our kindness. Maybe the Lord is calling us to enter into the
path of life where we can best serve Him. God’s calls have an
impact on our lives as well as on the lives of people we might not even
know.
This
Sunday is the perfect time to discuss the call of God that we receive
in our lives, our vocation. Usually, when we hear the concept of
vocation we think of those who are called to become priests or to enter
religious life as sisters or brothers. These are certainly
vocations from God, but they are not the only call that God gives.
Many
of you are married or are hoping to be married someday. How do
you view marriage? If it is just a romantic matter legalized by
the state and celebrated in a Church, then you are missing an essential
part of the sacrament of marriage. Marriage is a vocation, a call
from God to greatness by embracing a life of sacrificial love.
But marriage takes two people. If you are married, you need to
pray to God that you will be a good Catholic wife or husband, concerned
with giving love. Husbands and wives also need to pray for each
other. In marriage, it takes two of you to push the receive
button on the phone and answer God’s call. You young folk
are full of wonderful romantic ideals and ideas. You date this
guy or this girl, and you look forward to a time when there will only
be one person in your lives. This is all great. But do you
ever pray for that person, even if you do not know who that person is
yet? Do you ever pray that God help you recognize the person that you
can best make a Christian life with?
Many
are involved in careers. Why do you do what you do? To make
money? That’s OK, but if that is the goal of your lives, you certainly
will have nothing to take with you. There is a reason why they
don’t put a luggage rack on a hearse. Do you do what you do to support
your family? That is a higher goal because sacrificial love
will join you in the next life.
The
drive to make a lot of money has hurt vocations to the priesthood and
religious life in the United States. Vocations to the priesthood
and religious life are down in the United States for various reasons,
not the least of which is the fact that the priest, sister or brother,
has to give up the thought of making a large salary and living in
luxury. Many times a young man with a lot of intelligence will
consider the priesthood and mention this to people he respects.
Sadly, sometimes their response is: “But you can become a lawyer or a
doctor.” Now these are great vocations, and we need good and
honest lawyers and doctors dedicated to helping people. But if a
person’s motivation to become a lawyer or a doctor is to make a
lot of money, that person will not be a very good lawyer or
doctor. And if an intelligent young person walks away from a call
to be a priest, brother or sister, in order to make money, well, it
might be hard to get God’s call off their voice mail. Throughout
their lives the will be wondering: “What if I had given it a go?
What difference could I have made in how many lives?”
John
Henry Cardinal Newman considered God’s call to him in life and
reflected on it with a beautiful prayer. But first, who was
Cardinal Newman? Cardinal Newman was an intellectual who lived in
England from 1801 to 1890. He dabbled with atheism early in
his life, but then sought God in religion, in the Church of England, or
Anglican Church. In 1845 he wrote that as he studied more and
more about Catholicism, he realized that everything they said was true.
He became a Catholic and led a movement of Anglican scholars to
Catholicism called the Oxford Movement. He became a Roman Catholic
priest, and eventually was even made a cardinal. Last April Pope
Benedict XVI announced that Cardinal Newman will be beatified sometime
this year. Cardinal Newman wrote this beautiful reflection:
“God
has created me for some definite service; He has committed some work to
me which He has not committed to another. I have a mission. I may
never know exactly what that mission is in this life. I shall be told
it in the next. I have a part in a great work. I am a link
in a chain, a bond of connection between persons. He has not
created me for nothing. I shall do good. I shall do His
work. I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth in my own
place, even if I do not realize what I am doing. But, if I keep His
commandments, I will serve Him in my calling.”
What
is your calling? What is my calling? The general answer to
those questions is simple: we are called to serve God. The
particular answer to these questions is a mystery, the mystery of our
lives. We pray today for the grace and courage to be attune to
God’s call in our lives. We pray for the courage to have an
orientation to the Lord throughout our lives, so that when He calls we
will respond, “Speak Lord, your servant is listening.”
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http://www.geocities.com/seapadre_1999/
* available in Spanish - see
Spanish homilies
2 Ordinary Time
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(January 18, 2009)
Bottom line: Like a great director,
selecting exactly the right person for a part, God chooses you or me.
I imagine most of you have seen the
film, "Gone With the Wind." If not, you have a treat waiting for you.
It is interesting how Director David Selznick chose the leading lady.
Everyone knew that no one but Clark Gable could be Rhett Butler, but
who should play Scarlett O'Hare? David Selznick considered a few dozen
actresses to perform the Southern belle. Finally he made a surprising
selection: not a girl born in the South or even in America. She was
born in India of British parents: Vivien Leigh. Almost everyone agrees
that she played a superb, unforgettable Scarlett O'Hare.
David Selznick took great care in
picking just the right person for that famous role. Similarly - but
with infinitely greater care - God selects us for a part in the divine
drama. We see it today in the call of the prophet, Samuel. When he was
a boy, sleeping near the ark in the temple, Samuel heard a voice. He
went to the priest, Eli, and said, "Here I am." But Eli said, "I did
not call you, my son, go back to sleep." This happened two more times
and finally Eli told the boy that if he heard the voice again, say,
"Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening." Of all the children in
Israel, God had selected Samuel for a vital role.
Samuel did not have an easy time of it.
If you read the two books named for him, you will see that he faced
enormous struggles. But God had chosen him and Samuel never wavered.
God continues to call people today -
sometimes in very unlikely circumstances. At the beginning of the
twentieth century, an Italian boy heard God's call. He was an unlikely
choice because his father was quite anti-Catholic. A member of the
Italian Socialist Party, he constantly mocked the Church. His son,
Albino, heard a Franciscan preacher and felt himself called to the
priesthood. Albino's dad was working in another city so - with great
trepidation - he wrote him a letter. It took some time for the
response. Trembling, Albino opened the letter. It contained a small
piece of paper, on which his father wrote, "If that is what you wish,
do it." Eventually his dad was reconciled with the Church. Albino kept
the note all his life - and he still had it in 1978, when as Bishop of
Venice, he entered the papal conclave. Against everyone's expectations,
the Cardinals elected him. He became known as "the smiling pope," Pope
John Paul I. His papacy lasted only thirty-three days, but it made a
deep impression. Today Albino Luciani - Pope John Paul I - is on the
path to beatification and sainthood.
Now God does not only chooses famous
people like Pope John Paul I or Samuel. He chooses folks like you and
me. And what appears to be a humble role might be a hinge in his plan
of redemption. In one of C.S. Lewis' books, a working woman with no
children - and a mean-spirited husband - shines as a great saint,
important for the salvation of many souls.* In God's drama, we do not
know who are the leading actors. We will find out on the final judgment
day. What we do know is that God chooses us with care for our role in
his drama. Like a great director, selecting exactly the right person
for a part, God chooses you or me.
Today Jesus asks, "What are you looking
for?" Do not be afraid to tell him. And you may hear those beatiful
words, "Come, and you will see."
**********
*See The Great Divorce, chapters 12 &
13.
General
Intercessions for Second Ordinary Sunday (from Priests for Life)
Spanish
Version
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http://www.agreeley.com/homilies.html
2 Ordinary Time
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Background:
Scripture: John 1:35-42
Jesus had peculiar taste in friends. You put the whole crowd together
and they were not as smart as one of the third rate philosophers in
Rome. Maybe some of them could read and write. They were perhaps street
smart, but you were going to announce the nearness of the kingdom of
God would you surround yourself with folks that wouldn't make assistant
precinct captain? They were utterly insensitive to Jesus's spiritual
message and interested only in the power and prestige they were going
to have in his kingdom (which they didn't understand at all). One of
them was a thief and ten of them cowards. Surely, even if he had
decided to limit is choice to Galilee Jesus could have done better? Why
these sluggards and nerds? Why indeed? And why do we pretend that our
leaders today are better than they were? Patently the first Pope and
the first bishops (if we want to use that analogy) were not sacred
persons, but inept, often stupid human beings? Why do have to pretend
that their successo! rs are any better? Why should they be immune from
criticism? Have we missed the point somewhere along the line that the
leaders of the church and the followers in the church are fragile,
imperfect human beings and that Jesus chose them precisely because he
wanted a human church. If he wanted something better, he should have
turned it over not to the philosophers in Rome but to the Seraphim.
Story:
One upon a time there were a group of young men who idolized the
quarter back on the local NFL team (no cities in mind in this story).
He was a great passer, a gutsy runner, he played despite pain, he was
modest at media interviews, generous with volunteer work, kind to kids,
and signed autographs till all had been accommodated. He was humble and
respectful and prayed before every game. He was practically perfect, it
seemed, a great role model for kids in the city and around the country.
Then one night he came into the tavern where these young men hung out.
He was roaring drunk and abusive. He pushed a couple of women around,
insulted the bar tender, picked a fight with a little guy, and sneered
at our group of idolaters. They were shocked into silence. However, one
of them, a bit of nerd, actually asked the QB for his autograph. He
knocked the pen out of his hand, shoved him back against the bar, and
cursed him out. What a jerk the crowd said. We'll never cheer for him
again.! He probably uses drugs too. He's no role model for children.
The team should trade. But, the nerd said, he's only human. That's no
excuse everyone else agreed.
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http://www.saintvincentarchabbey.org/homilies/index.lasso
2 Ordinary Time
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Gospel Summary Return to All Homilies
Jan, 18, 2009
John 1: 35-42
Campion P. Gavaler, O.S.B.
Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Gospel Summary
John the Baptist, standing with two of his disciples, upon seeing Jesus
exclaims, "Behold, the Lamb of God." When Jesus notices that John's
disciples are following him, he says to them, "What are you looking
for?" They reply, "Rabbi, where are you staying?" Jesus responds,
"Come, and you will see." Andrew, one of the disciples, goes to find
his brother Simon, tells him they have found the Messiah, and
introduces his brother to Jesus. Jesus looks at him and says, "You are
Simon the son of John; you will be called Cephas (Peter)."
Life Implications
There is a true story about a professor who was invited to give a
lecture at a major conference on religion. The subject of his lecture
was the nature of God. His many hours of research were rewarded by the
enthusiastic response he received upon completion of the lecture. On
the flight back to his university, however, his euphoric satisfaction
about his work was shattered when it dawned on him, as he later
reported: "I talked to everyone about God, but God."
We can easily have an experience similar to that of the professor as he
was preparing his lecture about God. With a little research we can
discover many interesting, even beautiful things about Jesus and his
disciples.
Thus, in today's gospel passage, we discover that when the two
disciples ask Jesus where he is staying or dwelling the question isn't
simply about a street address. John uses the same Greek verb
(translated as "staying or dwelling") when Jesus at the Last Supper
tells his disciples that he "dwells" in the Father and the Father
"dwells" in him (Jn 14: 10-11). We also discover that when Jesus says
"Come, and you will see," the essential meaning of "seeing" is the
seeing of faith (Jn 9). Only with that seeing can the disciples know
where Jesus truly dwells, with-in the Father.
Thus far there is no life-implication for us beyond appreciation of a
narrative about Jesus and his disciples. A life-changing implication
occurs only when we realize that Jesus is addressing each of us today
in as personal a way as he addressed the two disciples. The gospel is
essentially about an encounter with the Risen Lord now, not about
historical knowledge, however orthodox, about Jesus. The
historical-critical method of scholarship (like John the Baptist) can
give us valuable information about Jesus, but this knowledge cannot
enable us to see Jesus in faith -- that seeing is a gift of the Spirit.
Because faith means a personal union of friendship with Christ through
his Spirit, life implications will be unique and particular for each
person. Nevertheless, from the life of Christ and the lives of the
saints, certain patterns emerge that are actualized in the
particularity of each person's life. Union with the Risen Lord means to
share his relationship with the Father. It means that each of us is
able to hear with Christ "You are my beloved" and to say with Christ
"Thy will be done."
To be in communion with Christ means to pray, always and everywhere.
The second reading of today's Mass (1 Cor 7: 32-35) shows us that a
disciple's personal union with Christ through his Spirit is the
foundation of choices about moral behavior. Finally, we see that
through union with Christ the saints are not defeated by the setbacks
of life. Saint Paul speaks for them all when he wrote: "What will
separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish, or distress, or
persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? No, in
all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through him who loved us"
(Rom 8:35-37).
Campion P. Gavaler, O.S.B.
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http://www.christusrex.org/www1/mcitl/lowhome.html Meeting Christ in the Liturgy
2 Ordinary Time
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Gospel Summary Return to All Homilies
Jan, 18, 2009
John 1: 35-42
Campion P. Gavaler, O.S.B.
Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Gospel Summary
John the Baptist, standing with two of his disciples, upon seeing Jesus
exclaims, "Behold, the Lamb of God." When Jesus notices that John's
disciples are following him, he says to them, "What are you looking
for?" They reply, "Rabbi, where are you staying?" Jesus responds,
"Come, and you will see." Andrew, one of the disciples, goes to find
his brother Simon, tells him they have found the Messiah, and
introduces his brother to Jesus. Jesus looks at him and says, "You are
Simon the son of John; you will be called Cephas (Peter)."
Life Implications
There is a true story about a professor who was invited to give a
lecture at a major conference on religion. The subject of his lecture
was the nature of God. His many hours of research were rewarded by the
enthusiastic response he received upon completion of the lecture. On
the flight back to his university, however, his euphoric satisfaction
about his work was shattered when it dawned on him, as he later
reported: "I talked to everyone about God, but God."
We can easily have an experience similar to that of the professor as he
was preparing his lecture about God. With a little research we can
discover many interesting, even beautiful things about Jesus and his
disciples.
Thus, in today's gospel passage, we discover that when the two
disciples ask Jesus where he is staying or dwelling the question isn't
simply about a street address. John uses the same Greek verb
(translated as "staying or dwelling") when Jesus at the Last Supper
tells his disciples that he "dwells" in the Father and the Father
"dwells" in him (Jn 14: 10-11). We also discover that when Jesus says
"Come, and you will see," the essential meaning of "seeing" is the
seeing of faith (Jn 9). Only with that seeing can the disciples know
where Jesus truly dwells, with-in the Father.
Thus far there is no life-implication for us beyond appreciation of a
narrative about Jesus and his disciples. A life-changing implication
occurs only when we realize that Jesus is addressing each of us today
in as personal a way as he addressed the two disciples. The gospel is
essentially about an encounter with the Risen Lord now, not about
historical knowledge, however orthodox, about Jesus. The
historical-critical method of scholarship (like John the Baptist) can
give us valuable information about Jesus, but this knowledge cannot
enable us to see Jesus in faith -- that seeing is a gift of the Spirit.
Because faith means a personal union of friendship with Christ through
his Spirit, life implications will be unique and particular for each
person. Nevertheless, from the life of Christ and the lives of the
saints, certain patterns emerge that are actualized in the
particularity of each person's life. Union with the Risen Lord means to
share his relationship with the Father. It means that each of us is
able to hear with Christ "You are my beloved" and to say with Christ
"Thy will be done."
To be in communion with Christ means to pray, always and everywhere.
The second reading of today's Mass (1 Cor 7: 32-35) shows us that a
disciple's personal union with Christ through his Spirit is the
foundation of choices about moral behavior. Finally, we see that
through union with Christ the saints are not defeated by the setbacks
of life. Saint Paul speaks for them all when he wrote: "What will
separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish, or distress, or
persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? No, in
all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through him who loved us"
(Rom 8:35-37).
Campion P. Gavaler, O.S.B.
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http://www.ctk-thornbury.org.uk/
2 Ordinary Time
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Gospel Summary Return to All Homilies
Jan, 18, 2009
John 1: 35-42
Campion P. Gavaler, O.S.B.
Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Gospel Summary
John the Baptist, standing with two of his disciples, upon seeing Jesus
exclaims, "Behold, the Lamb of God." When Jesus notices that John's
disciples are following him, he says to them, "What are you looking
for?" They reply, "Rabbi, where are you staying?" Jesus responds,
"Come, and you will see." Andrew, one of the disciples, goes to find
his brother Simon, tells him they have found the Messiah, and
introduces his brother to Jesus. Jesus looks at him and says, "You are
Simon the son of John; you will be called Cephas (Peter)."
Life Implications
There is a true story about a professor who was invited to give a
lecture at a major conference on religion. The subject of his lecture
was the nature of God. His many hours of research were rewarded by the
enthusiastic response he received upon completion of the lecture. On
the flight back to his university, however, his euphoric satisfaction
about his work was shattered when it dawned on him, as he later
reported: "I talked to everyone about God, but God."
We can easily have an experience similar to that of the professor as he
was preparing his lecture about God. With a little research we can
discover many interesting, even beautiful things about Jesus and his
disciples.
Thus, in today's gospel passage, we discover that when the two
disciples ask Jesus where he is staying or dwelling the question isn't
simply about a street address. John uses the same Greek verb
(translated as "staying or dwelling") when Jesus at the Last Supper
tells his disciples that he "dwells" in the Father and the Father
"dwells" in him (Jn 14: 10-11). We also discover that when Jesus says
"Come, and you will see," the essential meaning of "seeing" is the
seeing of faith (Jn 9). Only with that seeing can the disciples know
where Jesus truly dwells, with-in the Father.
Thus far there is no life-implication for us beyond appreciation of a
narrative about Jesus and his disciples. A life-changing implication
occurs only when we realize that Jesus is addressing each of us today
in as personal a way as he addressed the two disciples. The gospel is
essentially about an encounter with the Risen Lord now, not about
historical knowledge, however orthodox, about Jesus. The
historical-critical method of scholarship (like John the Baptist) can
give us valuable information about Jesus, but this knowledge cannot
enable us to see Jesus in faith -- that seeing is a gift of the Spirit.
Because faith means a personal union of friendship with Christ through
his Spirit, life implications will be unique and particular for each
person. Nevertheless, from the life of Christ and the lives of the
saints, certain patterns emerge that are actualized in the
particularity of each person's life. Union with the Risen Lord means to
share his relationship with the Father. It means that each of us is
able to hear with Christ "You are my beloved" and to say with Christ
"Thy will be done."
To be in communion with Christ means to pray, always and everywhere.
The second reading of today's Mass (1 Cor 7: 32-35) shows us that a
disciple's personal union with Christ through his Spirit is the
foundation of choices about moral behavior. Finally, we see that
through union with Christ the saints are not defeated by the setbacks
of life. Saint Paul speaks for them all when he wrote: "What will
separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish, or distress, or
persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? No, in
all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through him who loved us"
(Rom 8:35-37).
Campion P. Gavaler, O.S.B.
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Father Bonar will not be posting homilies for Cycle B to allow himself
time for other projects. His collection of homilies (including homilies
for Cycle B) is available at www.clydebonar.com.
2 Ordinary Time |
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These
homilies may be copied and adapted for your own use;
however, they may not be commercially published without permission of
the author. |
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