Last week's homily is in the library>>>
This Sunday's readings are available at usccb.org >>>
I am presiding on Saturday July 31st at 4:00pm, and on Sunday August 1st at 11:00am and 12:30pm
Let's be real.
The very strong message of the scriptures this weekend has to do with "being real" as people like to say these days. What I am intending by using that phrase is "let's get down to the reality of things." As I have said before "it takes real eyes to realize where the real lies." (I stole that, actually)
What is real is that "this life is short and it is humanly and materially to a great extent, emptiness and pain." Wow! That's pretty real. Most human beings, however, don't want to believe that. Most want to believe that life is meant to provide us with pleasure, power, success, wealth, and self-fulfillment. But that's NOT real.
We are invited to hear the gospel and to turn away from the "unreal" pursuits of this world's values and to cling to the Truth, which is Jesus Christ crucified and risen from the dead....the things of heaven. In this "turn" we will find the fullness of life, the freedom to love, and the joy of living.
The Franciscan Richard Rohr has done a bunch of work with primative people's and their initiation rituals. He claims that these rituals are meant to communicate five messages to the initiate (usually a young man). He also claims that these five truths of initiation are at the crux of the Christian message as well. Here they are
-Life is difficult (Christian message - suffering/the cross is part of life)
-You are going to die (and eternal life is the goal)
-You are not important ( God is the center of the universe)
-You are not in control (You must die to self and live God's plan)
-Your life is not about you (Your life is about your salvation)
How happy are you about this real message. Maybe you prefer a little "unreality". Don't we all.
3 comments:
Wake up my friends, wake up!
What we treasure is not going to be permanent, what will be permanent is eternal life!
We can't continue having our hopes in what we own, it will be better to think who we are.
As people of faith and prayer in Jesus we have to share our possessions and life, trusting that the good Lord will provide our "daily bread." In my opinion, this is the reality of the Christian life. So hard to accomplish.
We have to empty ourselves of the "attachments" that we love because they give us such a FAKE comfortable well being.. and we are so proud off...Yeah!
Emptying ourselves will leave more space deep in our hearts for our dearest "Abba," this is freedom this is reality. We have to allow Him to control our life.
Something that I like to share with you.. (Venerable Matt Talbot 1856-1925)
To arrive at the perfection of humility, 4 things are necessary.
To despise the world
To despise no one
To despise self
To despise being despised by others.
P.
Much prefer the positive message (in parentheses) to the negative message. If someone wants to tell themselves, “life stinks then you die,” fine, but I think that person walks with that countenance. Look around!!! That’s our culture! If I walk with the realization that I am (and each of us is) loved unconditionally by God, that reality shows.
Don’t know what the homily will sound like this weekend, but I hope you give examples of the “unreal” pursuits of this world’s values. I hope for a wider vision/examples of “seek what is above”, “think what is above”. How do we become rich in what matters to God? We’re so used to seeing what we see, thinking what we think, doing what we do, our routines of life, that examples are helpful in jarring our worldly coma. I hope for my vision (and my heart!) to become wider in how do we live a life of conversion and communion and reconciliation in the day-to-day routines we are required to do.
I often ask the Holy Spirit to "give me eyes to see and to know" about this world; to see the Truth. It's amazing how He answers this prayer and reveals the blatant lies of the world in plain view. It's very sobering to see how many of God's people (the world)are ensnared in this trap and believe the lies.
The Holy Spirit imprints these things on your heart and after that, you truly feel like you do not belong here in this world but know you were made for Heaven. You see that Christian values are 180 degrees opposite from the values of the world. You cannot believe when you see how so many are duped into seeking happiness from the wrong sources. You know how shallow and empty and unfulfilling those things will be compared to spiritual happiness. They may be fun for a while, but eventually we will feel empty and search for more.
I am *relatively* young enough to have friends who cannot understand why I don't like to sit and drink all day at the bar, go to the Islands and party, why I don't do drugs, why I'm not seeking fame and fortune, and why I like to do "unpopular" things like spend time reading about God, going to church, not "enjoying" life and "living it to the fullest." Sadly this is how the world is. If you hold the Matador's views about this world (as we should, as Christians), people look at you as a killjoy, a pessimist (even though we are NOT), and depressed! We are not going to be popular in the world with our beliefs. And we shouldn't care one bit about that.
I once read that when the first commandment "I am the Lord your God. Thou shall not have any other gods besides me" is broken, all the other commandments soon and easily follow. People choose money, power, egos, careers, fame, etc. as their god. Eventually, they will realize that these things do not provide true happiness but will it be too late for them? lr
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