| |
 |
| |
Homilies are posted no later than during the week
prior to the Sunday they are needed |
| |
4 Lent
|
Fourth
Sunday of Lent - Cycle B - John 3:14-21
The good news is the Bible is available in 2300
languages. The bad news is the world has 6700 languages. Two thirds of
the world's languages have not yet seen the Gospels. Christ tells us we
I was driving out of New York City across the
George Washingtonhave to do a better job of telling everyone about Someone who can save
anyone.
Bridge. My tank was empty. I almost had to push the
car into a gas station in New Jersey. The attendant filled my tank. He
gave me a leaflet titled "God's Plan of Salvation."
Then the young man in fractured English asked me the
question the Teacher asked of Nicodemus. "Are you born again, mister?"
He did not wait for my answer. He told me, "Jesus said to Nicodemus in
John 3:7, `You must be born again.'" As I put my refreshed car into
drive, he shouted, "We'll praise the Lord together, mister." My gas
jockey subscribed to the line that teaches "evangelism is one beggar
telling another where to find bread."
Happily there are people around who are saying yes
to Jesus. The young man above accepted the invitation of Christ "to
have eternal life in Him." Unhappily too many of us are zerox copies of
Senor Nicodemus. He is the timid disciple Jesus is chatting with in
today's Gospel. Like him too, we hedge our bets with Jesus. We are
afraid to place our lives on the table. We say, "Why not give me a call
tomorrow, Lord?" We know we will be out tomorrow. And we have no
answering machine. "Most people," said DL Moody, "talk cream and live
skim milk."
We should not be hard on Nicodemus. Christ enjoyed
his company. (Can the same be said of us?) He relished His
talk with the well-read gentleman. The apostles were hardly
brain surgeons. Only a few of them could read and write.
Chats of the type described in today's Gospel with them would have been
an exercise in futility.
Furthermore, through this gentleman Nicodemus,
we receive a splendid outline of the job definition of the Master as He
Himself understood it. What better authority is there?
After saying all that, the poor fellow was
still a reluctant disciple. In a word, Nicodemus was a respectable
person, who was shackled by conventions and fearful of great decisions.
The opinion of the fellow next door was more important than that of
Christ's. Do you get the feeling we are talking about ourselves?
His conversation with the Lord was held at
night. He was not anxious to be seen by friends in daylight with this
strange preacher. He had much to lose. So, he was an after midnight
follower. He would remain a closet Christian. Will that be our fate? Or
will we be bold enough to break free of our restraints and take a
genuine flyer on Christ? Will we "out" ourselves? Several months after my rendezvous with the
disciple of
Christ at the gas station, I pulled into a diner for a quickie
hamburger and coffee. My waiter was about 20. He spotted my Roman
collar and began talking volumes. He told me he had recently been
converted to Christ through Mormons. He was giving away 10% of his
income to the church. He was waiting for a call to be shipped out as a
lay missionary. I asked what country he would like to work in. He told
me, "Whatever country Jesus sends me to." Even though the hamburger
tasted like a hockey puck, I left impressed and ashamed. I was envious
of the man's compelling faith. Nicodemus or Gilhooley he was not. A
free spirit and genuine Christ follower he was. He had proved to me a
line I had read. "You can give without loving, but you can't love
without giving."
I had lunch with a college student. He told me how
our campus ministry program might be improved. I listened. Finally I
rejoined, "But, Jon, in your four college years you have never once
gone to Sunday Mass. In an emergency, you would not be able to find the
chapel." Said he hotly, "So what? I am a good Catholic." That wonderful
line of Kierkegaard came to mind. "It is so much easier to become a
Christian when you aren't one than to become one when you assume you
already are."
Yet, for Jon and us there is hope in this Lent
which
means spring or new birth, for "in every winter's heart there is a quivering spring." Christ will not force us to grow, but He can
love us into new life.
Do remember the missionary's line: "The world begins
where your front yard ends."
|
|
http://www.st.ignatius.net/pastor.html
4 Lent
|
Fourth Lent: God’s Works of Art
When
I first read through the readings for this week, I was struck by one
phrase found at the end of the second reading, from St. Paul’s Letter
to the Ephesians. The particular translation I used came from the
Jerusalem Bible. It read: We are God’s work of art. Other
translations, like the one we use at Mass, use the term handiwork of
God. Is it handiwork or work of art? The word used is the Greek
word, poiema. This same Greek word is used in the Greek translation of
the Book of Genesis when it describes God as creating the heavens and
earth. So, we are God’s creation. Ephesians goes on to say
that we were created in Jesus Christ so that we can do the work that
God has prepared for us. We are a unique part of the new creation
of the world through Jesus Christ. The authors of the Jerusalem Bible
obviously felt that God was far more than the Divine Handyman. He is
the Divine Artist. And we are His work.
We
are God’s work of art. Like you, I’m sure, I’ve never looked into a
mirror and considered myself a work of art. Well, maybe first
thing in the morning I’ve thought that I look like abstract art, but
nothing that reflects any sort of Divine Beauty, Divine Comedy yes, but
Divine Beauty, no. Our beauty really does not come from our looks,
thank God. I remember when our wonderful pastor, Fr. John
LaTondress, was suffering from cancer, but had made a bit of a
recovery. The bishop was going to have a dinner for all the
priests of the diocese and Fr. John wanted to go, but he was concerned
about the way he looked. He had lost a lot of weight and was
pretty much skin and bones. So he called me up. I was pastor of
St. Matthew’s at the time. He asked, “Joe, tell me the
truth. I really look pretty crummy, don’t I?” Actually he said
something else, but I won’t tell you exactly how he put it.
Anyway, I responded, “To tell you the truth, John, you didn’t look very
good before you got sick.” All those who remember Fr. John
remember that he was one of the most beautiful men and priests any of
us have ever met. And it had nothing to do with his looks, thank God.
Our
beauty comes from the way we reflect the Lord, the Infinite
Beautiful One. Our reflection is not the static reflection of a
painting or sculpture, but the dynamic action of people who make God’s
presence real on the earth.
We
are God’s work of art. That reminds me of the most discouraging
visit I ever had to one of my favorite art museums. In the
beginning of November, 2002, I joined our choir on a pilgrimage to
Rome. Part of the trip included a stop in Florence.
Florence is the city of the Renaissance, the city of Michelangelo’s
David, and the frescos of the Medici Chapel, and great art museums, the
greatest of which is the Uffizi. It is in the Uffizi that you
find Botticelli’s Annunciation, and the Birth of Venus, and the
beautiful sculpture, the Medici Venus, to mention just three of its
most famous works. Now, I had been to the Uffizi before, but
there were always long lines and hours of waiting to get in,
followed by overcrowded rooms, and noisy tourists who seemed more
concerned about proving to their friends back home that they had
been there than with enjoying the works of art. But, on
that trip in November I went to the museum in the afternoon and was
shocked to find that there was no line waiting to get in. I
walked right in, after paying a King’s ransom for a ticket. The
Italians are not shy in charging. Still it certainly seemed worth
whatever they charged. There were very few people in the
museum. It was all mine to enjoy! Then I found out why the
museum was almost empty. It was the latter part of an overcast
afternoon in November. And the Uffizi relies mainly on natural
lighting. The galleries were gloomy, even dark. Botticelli and
Raphael’s paintings looked brown and grey, certainly I could not see
their vibrant colors. Even the great sculpture that Napoleon
stole and that France sent back to Italy, the Medici Venus, looked
rather plain, certainly not worth the fuss. Artwork is not
beautiful if you can’t see it.
In
the conclusion of today’s Gospel, Jesus tells Nicodemus: “Whoever lives
in the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen
as done in God.”
There are times that we hide our Christianity. Someone is talking
about someone else, and we join in the backstabbing. Someone is being
vocal about his or her latest plunge into immorality, and we just
go along with the rest listening to the exploits in silent
agreement. A person is attacking our faith, and we don’t make any
effort to defend what we know is truth. And the artwork that God
created, the handiwork of God, remains hidden, in the dark.
But
there are those times that we do come into the light and let God’s
handiwork be seen in the world. There are times that we give up our
days and nights to stay at the bedside of a dying person, perhaps only
an acquaintance who would be all alone if we left. And the beauty
of God is seen in His Light. There are times that we sacrifice
something that we really want to do so that we can spend time with
someone who is hurting. You may take this for granted, but when
you go to a wake or funeral, you are giving tremendous comfort to the
family, even if you are just one of three hundred people there.
The family will remember every person present and will thank God for
the beauty of His people. There are times that we all take stands
which are not popular, which can result in others being upset with us,
but we stick with the truth for the sake of the Beauty of His
Truth. And His Light overcomes the darkness.
We
are God’s work of art. Artists take a deep pride in their
work. But their work must be in the light to be seen. We pray
today that we may have the courage to allow the light to reveal the
Beauty we have be given by our Loving Savior, who is, after all, the
Infinite Beauty.
|
|
http://www.geocities.com/seapadre_1999/
* available in Spanish - see
Spanish homilies
4 Lent
|
The
Beauty of Humility
(March 22, 2009)
Bottom line: In a human being, there is nothing more beautiful, more
attractive than humility.
Today is the Fourth Sunday of Lent. Our readings focus on a central
Christian virtue: humility. I'd like to begin with a humorous story.
When Oscar Wilde was visiting France, he was introduced to an upcoming
author, Marie Anne Bovet. She was a good writer, but plain, even homely
in appearance. She noticed that Oscar Wilde was surprised when he saw
her. She said, "Come on, admit it. Am I not the ugliest woman in
France?" Oscar Wilde made a profound bow and said, "In the world,
madam. In the world."
You know, that woman, Marie-Anne Bovet was not only a a good writer.
She was beautiful in her humility - her good-natured humility. There is
nothing more beautiful, more attractive than humility. I remember
seeing that at my ten-year high school reunion. I was struck by one of
the girls and asked myself, "Who is she?" As I got closer I recognized
her. She was a girl we boys made fun of. One of her facial features was
disproportionate. Now, nothing had changed about her face (no cosmetic
surgery), but she now had a nice gentle smile. She looked strikingly
attractive. What had happened was that she had humbly and gratefully
accepted the face God gave her - and she made the best of it. And I
hope that we boys had changed in ten years - that we were better able
to appreciate the spring of beauty. And, really, nothing is more
beautiful than grateful, good-natured humility.
Humility is like a lamp. It enables us to appreciate true beauty, to
see what really matters. When Michelangelo Buonarroti was in his
mid-eighties, realizing his death was near, he confided to a friend
that two things made him sad. "The first," he said, "is that I have not
taken more care for the salvation of my soul." Then he added, "the
second thing that saddens me is to die now, when like an infant, I am
barely beginning to babble the first words of my art." Michelangelo had
produced immortal works such as David, Moses, the Pieta and the Sistine
Chapel. They have have such overwhelming beauty that they often leave
people breathless. Yet, at the end of his life, he realized that even
these masterpieces - in light of eternity - were like incomplete words.
"I am barely beginning to babble."
By his humility before God, Michelangelo was like St. Paul. Today we
hear that no one can boast before God. We are saved by grace, says
Paul. Our salvation is a gift from God. In the Gospel, we have a famous
verse - John 3:16 - I hope all of you know it by heart, "God so loved
the world that he gave his only Son that everyone who believes in him
might not perish, but have eternal life."
Ironically, the recognition that we owe everything to God is the basis
for true self-esteem. Some think that self-esteem comes from doing
everything just right, achieving great things - and having others
acknowledge what we do. That kind of self-esteem is very fragile. If I
make a mistake, if I fail in some way or if someone criticizes me, I
fall to pieces. My self-esteem comes apart because it depends on
something external: my accomplishments - and whether others listen to
me or appreciate me.
St. Paul - and Michelangelo - point to a deeper source of esteem. Even
if I do the greatest works ever seen, they are small in comparison to
God and eternity. What counts is not so much what you and I do, but
what God does for us. God loves us so much that he gives his only Son
so that we have life in him.
A person who had this great trust in God was the Cure d'Ars - St. John
Vianney. He mentioned that one day he received two letters. One of them
praised him, said what a great saint he was; the other accused him of
being a fake and a hypocrite. St. John Vianney commented, "The letter
of praise gave me nothing. The letter of criticism took nothing from
me. I am what I am in the eyes of God and nothing more."
In the eyes of God our works matter only if they express a dependence
on him. And the wonderful thing is that acknowledging our sins can
bring that same result: humility, reliance on God. This doesn't mean
that we should keep sinning or start sinning. No: An unrepented sin can
drag a person to hell. Jesus did not come to condemn, but to give life.
That means returning to him, resolving to sin no more.
In just two weeks we will celebrate Palm Sunday - the inauguration of
Holy Week. What we bring to Holy Week is humility - the awareness of
who we are before God. In a human being, there is nothing more
beautiful, more attractive than humility. Before God none of us can
boast. We are saved by grace. He loves us so much that he has given his
only Son.
**********
Intercessions for Fourth Sunday of Lent (from Priests for Life)
Spanish Version
|
|
http://www.agreeley.com/homilies.html
4 Lent
|
| |
|
http://www.saintvincentarchabbey.org/homilies/index.lasso
4 Lent
|
Gospel
Summary Return to All Homilies
Mar, 22, 2009
John 3: 14-21
Demetrius R. Dumm, O.S.B.
Fourth Sunday of Lent
Gospel Summary
In today's gospel selection, Jesus continues his discussion with
Nicodemus on the subject of baptism. It is important to note this
because there is no explicit mention of baptism in this passage. This
does not mean that the author has somehow lost his train of thought.
What it does mean is that, though the water ritual of baptism is
important, what really matters is the quality of faith on the part of
the one who is being baptized.
Jesus gives us the wonderful good news that "God so loved the world
that he gave his only Son." We are included in that world, and it
should be most comforting to hear that we are loved by the One who is
most capable of loving. But we must also notice that the liberating
effect of that divine love will be available to us only to the degree
that we believe. "Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but
whoever does not believe has already been condemned." It is of the
greatest importance, therefore, that we understand what this believing
means in our daily lives.
Life Implications
It is tempting to think that believing in Christ means simply that we
affirm the creed, or that we agree that Jesus existed and worked
miracles and died and rose from the dead. To accept these truths is
important but this is not what is meant by "believing" in this passage.
In fact, one can sincerely affirm all these facts theoretically and
still live very selfishly. To believe in the One who was "lifted up"
means nothing less than to make his self-offering part of our own lives
through daily concern for others; it means to live unselfishly. This is
the only kind of faith that will give us eternal life.
Most of us were baptized as infants with no conscious awareness of what
was happening. Our sponsors promised, in our names, that we renounced
Satan and affirmed Christ. It was hoped that our sponsors and others
will explain all that to us when we became old enough to understand the
very serious commitment made for us. Unfortunately, we usually expect
our sponsors to do little more that to remember our birthdays…and often
less than that.
The simple fact is that those baptized as infants must "claim" their
own baptisms, as it were, as soon as they are old enough to do so,
which usually means in early adulthood. The sacrament of baptism is not
magic, and its graces become fully operative in our lives only to the
extent that we accept and live the promises made years ago in our
names.
When we promise to renounce Satan, we are declaring our firm resolution
to eliminate from our lives the "big lie" of Satan, namely, that we can
achieve happiness by thinking only of ourselves. And when we commit
ourselves to Christ, we firmly resolve to follow his example of
unselfish, thoughtful concern for others. When we are thus "lifted up"
like Jesus on the cross of love, we can be sure that we will also be
"raised up" with him in the victory of resurrection. Some may think
that this takes all the fun out of life, but in reality the people who
love in this way are the only truly happy people in the world. But we
won’t know that until we try it!
Demetrius R. Dumm, O.S.B.
|
|
http://www.christusrex.org/www1/mcitl/lowhome.html Meeting Christ in the Liturgy
4 Lent
|
Fourth
Sunday
Laetare Sunday
2 Chronicles 36: 14-17,19-23; Psalm 137; Ephesians 2:4-10; John 3:14-21
Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
"The Church condemned me."
"I don't go to Mass anymore because Father kicked me out of the Church."
"I was excommunicated."
In earlier days the Church used a rite of excommunication to teach that
by our sins we do separate ourselves from Christ and his Church, and to
call us back from our errors. Public sinners go a step further in
scandalizing others by their actions and so in fidelity to the Gospel
are barred from Communion and public celebration of the liturgies of
the Church. Holy Mother Church no longer makes use of such a ritual,
but the old language is still in vogue for some.
By her actions the Church proclaims today the truth that she never
really condemned anyone, as now in Christ "there is no condemnation".
It is in truth we who condemn ourselves by our own sins, and on the
final day if we have rejected grace God, rather than condemning us,
will simply respect our choice to be apart from him. We, by our own
faults, sever our personal union with Christ and the Church, are
"excommunicated" - no longer able to receive Communion until first
confessing our sins through the means entrusted by Christ to the
Apostles in the Sacrament of Penance.
"Following in the steps of the prophets and John the Baptist, Jesus
announced the judgment of the Last Day in his preaching. (Cf. Dan 7:10;
Joel 3-4; Mal 3:19; Mt 3:7-12) Then will the conduct of each one and
the secrets of hearts be brought to light. (Cf. Mk 12:38-40; Lk 12:1-3;
Jn 3:20-21; Rom 2:16; 1 Cor 4:5) Then will the culpable unbelief that
counted the offer of God's grace as nothing be condemned. (Cf. Mt
11:20-24; 12:41-42) Our attitude about our neighbor will disclose
acceptance or refusal of grace and divine love. (Cf. Mt 5:22; 7:1-5) On
the last day Jesus will say : 'Truly I say to you, as you did it to one
of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.' (Mt 25:40) " (CCC
678)
Along with our Lenten prayer, fast and abstinence we practice the
corporal and spiritual works of mercy according the Lord's counsel in
the Beatitudes. He has made clear that our relationship with him is
reflected in the way we treat the "least of these little ones."
Love of our neighbor is an indispensable duty of the Christian life. By
sin we reject the communion of the Church as well as her divine Head.
For this reason we confess our sins to the priest and he, for the
Church, welcomes us back as living members of the Lord's Body of
believers.
"Christ is the Lord of eternal life. Full right to pass definitive
judgment on the works and hearts of men belongs to him as redeemer of
the world. He 'acquired' this rite by his cross. The Father has given
'all judgment to the Son.' (Jn 5:22; cf. 5:27; Mt 25:31; Acts 10:42;
17:31; 2 Tim 4:1) Yet the Son did not come to judge, but to save and to
give the life he has in himself. (Cf. Jn 3:17; 5:26) By rejecting grace
in this life, one already judges oneself, receives according to one's
works, and can even condemn oneself for all eternity by rejecting the
Spirit of love. (Cf. n 3:18; 12:48; Mt 12:32; 1Cor 3:12-15; Heb 6:4-6;
10:26-31)" (CCC 679)
The Church would not truly express the saving love of Christ unless,
faithful to his teaching and commandments, she warned us of the reality
of our sins. So she teaches that sin is capable of separating us from
God forever, yet completely forgiven as soon as we will humbly approach
the Lord remembering: "whose sins you forgive they are forgiven them,
whose sins you hold bound they are held bound."
Observe the Church's precept to confess sins at least once a year
during the Lenten season.
I look forward to meeting you here again next week as, together, we
"meet Christ in the liturgy", Father Cusick
(Publish with permission.) www.christusrex.org/www1/mcitl/
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Liturgy Note
Today is Laetare Sunday: the joy at one stage of our Lenten journey
accomplished and a foretaste of the joy of Easter, which springs from
the Cross of Christ. Every Mass, every Sunday, even in Lent is an
experience of the joys and splendor of the new Jerusalem, the Church on
earth and the heavenly city. We celebrate that today, Laetare Sunday,
with the rose colored vestments, the playing of the organ and the
flowers on the altar, all signs of the Church's joy, alive with the
Resurrection, which cannot be contained even in Lent, though we still
refrain from Alleluias and the singing of the Gloria until the
magnificence of the Easter Vigil. Our entrance antiphon sets the tone:
"Laetare Jerusalem; Rejoice Jerusalem: and come together all you that
love her; rejoice with joy, you that have been in sorrow; that you may
exult, and be filled from the breasts of your consolation."
|
|
http://www.ctk-thornbury.org.uk/
4 Lent
|
Fourth
Sunday of Lent—Year B Homily
The readings today are all about salvation. The extract from the Book
of Chronicles gives us an account of the great exile known as the
Babylonian Captivity that occurred in 586 BC.
This is was most extraordinary event. After over four hundred years of
rule by the descendents of King David the Kingdom of Judah was
overthrown by Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon and the majority of
the population taken into captivity.
In many ways things in the Middle East haven’t changed that much, there
have been power struggles going on there right down the ages to our own
day. In the period we are thinking about the newly ascendant empire was
that of Babylon. Their King, Nebuchadnezzar, was well aware of the
riches owned by his weaker neighbour and soon decided to plunder Judah
and enslave its inhabitants.
One sure way to keep a whole people in slavery is to destroy their
hope. Since the hope of a nation is often expressed in its religion
Nebuchadnezzar lost no time in destroying the Temple in Jerusalem. He
was convinced that this would send the people into despair and they
would become more easily manageable.
Nebuchadnezzar thought that the Israelites would conclude that their
God was weak and powerless since he could not even defend his own
Temple.
But, of course, the very opposite happened. The Prophet Jeremiah had
foretold these events and the people came to understand that the
destruction of the Temple and their enslavement was not a result of the
weakness of God but due to their own infidelity. They interpreted the
Captivity as appropriate punishment by God for disobeying him rather
than any inadequacy on his part.
The Captivity lasted seventy years and then God moved the heart of the
new ruler of Babylon, the Persian King Cyrus, to release them and to
rebuild the Temple.
This must have seemed quite incredible to the People of Israel. They
had been lamenting their lot in Babylon as is so eloquently expressed
in the Psalm given to us today. And then this new pagan king suddenly
expresses his belief in their God and says that he has been instructed
by him to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem.
This was surely a most extraordinary miracle and a profound vindication
of the God of their fathers; a faith strengthened and renewed rather
than extinguished by seventy years of captivity.
Just imagine their rejoicing as they returned home to freedom. This can
only be described as a profound experience of salvation.
We should remember that this wasn’t the first time that the People of
Israel had experienced captivity and exile. You will remember the Exile
into Egypt in the time of the Pharaohs and how Moses led the Chosen
People through the Red Sea and then through forty years in the desert
until they reached the Promised Land of Canaan.
These experiences of salvation were deeply ingrained in the history and
culture of Israel. You could not think of a better way of preparing a
race of people for the definitive saving event of all time –the
salvation won by Jesus Christ.
The only trouble with us humans is that we forget. We continually
forget even the most important lessons in life. And, as a people, the
Jews were no different in that they continually forgot the lessons of
the deepest experiences they had collectively endured.
Jesus explains this to Nicodemus. He tells him how what Moses achieved
was going to happen once again but in a greater and more definitive way.
This time there would be no exile into slavery, no journey through the
desert, no glorious entry into the promised land. There would be no
captivity in Babylon, no sudden change of heart by a pagan Emperor.
No, this time the circumstances would be almost banal. A squalid
betrayal by a once loyal brother, an arrest in a garden in the middle
of the night, a trumped up trial, the exchange of his life for that of
a rebel and the crucifixion by Romans on behalf of a corrupt priesthood.
We have been speaking about memory but there are different kinds of
memory. We are all familiar with short-term memory. We remember where
we left our car in the supermarket car park. But we don’t retain this
information for long otherwise our minds would be clogged up with a lot
of unnecessary data.
Then there is long-term memory. This is more difficult; we often
remember scenes from our childhood or significant events. Sometimes
events flood unbidden into our minds, things that we thought were long
forgotten.
And there is collective memory. This is the memory of a whole nation or
community. It is about the significance of their history. A good
example would be the memory of the holocaust for the Jews, and indeed
also for the Germans. Keeping these events alive is important in order
to maintain the identity of the community concerned.
The events of the Exodus and the Captivity have been highly significant
for the Jews down through the ages. They were demonstrations of their
chosenness by God which was precisely what they considered made them
different from all the other nations of the earth.
These were powerful experiences of salvation which affected a whole
people for many generations. They were powerful demonstrations of God’s
love despite the infidelity of a considerable proportion of the nation.
And yet, by the time of Jesus, these things were being forgotten. The
priests especially were caught up in a highly clerical religion which
exploited the people and which ensured places of privilege from
themselves. This was accompanied by highly inappropriate collusion with
the Roman invaders.
Jesus tells Nicodemus what is about to happen. He reveals to this
important member of the Jewish hierarchy that God is now going to
intervene in a most spectacular way and is going to definitively bring
about salvation not merely for the Jewish people but for the whole
human race.
Memory remains important, because it is our collective memory which
communicates this extraordinary intervention of God in the history of
the world to future generations.
We keep this memory fresh by constantly reading the scriptures and by
gathering together to celebrate the Eucharist each week. These are the
means by which the Good News of the Kingdom is kept alive in the world
today.
In the words of consecration Our Lord says: Do this in memory of me. It
is his memory we keep alive, it is his salvation that we celebrate, it
is his Kingdom that we look forward to so much.
|
|
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.
4 Lent |
|
|
These
homilies may be copied and adapted for your own use;
however, they may not be commercially published without permission of
the author. |
|
|
 |
|
|
| |
|
