Saturday, October 16, 2021 - Homily

 Today, the sin against the Holy Spirit is to no longer believe that the Holy Spirit can transform me.

Saturday, October 16, 2021 - Will you depend on God today? How will you show this dependence?

To read the texts click on the texts: Rom 4:13; 16-18; Lk 12:8-12

The sin against the Holy Spirit that Jesus speaks about in the Gospel reading of today does not refer to a particular sin or action. It is not an impulsive, momentary rejection of Jesus, such as Peter’s denial of Jesus in the courtyard, but a persistent, obdurate rejection of God’s saving grace through the work of the Holy Spirit. It is, in other words dependence only on self and not on God.

Today the sin against the Holy Spirit is to no longer believe that the Holy Spirit can transform me. It is to give up before one can begin. It is to give in to despair and to lose hope. It is not to make a resolution for fear of breaking that resolution. It is not to trust, not to hope and not to believe.

Friday, October 15, 2021 - Homily

 

Are you still afraid of a God who is only Love? What will you do about your fear today?

Friday, October 15, 2021 - Are you still afraid of a God who is only Love? What will you do about your fear today?

To read the texts click on the texts: Rom 4:1-8; Lk 12:1-7

The text of today begins immediately after Jesus has spoken the woes against the Pharisees and scribes. Though there is a large crowd, which has gathered, Jesus speaks first to his disciples cautioning them against the yeast of the Pharisees.

The yeast of the Pharisees is identified as hypocrisy only in the Gospel of Luke. To be a hypocrite (Greek hupokrisis) originally meant to wear a mask or to play a role. The point that is being made is that at the judgment, everyone’s true character will be revealed. There will be no masks, and everyone will be seen as he or she is. Even the sparrow which is so insignificant when compared to human beings is looked after by God therefore, there is no need to be afraid, because a God who is and will always remain, Father, will judge us.

Though Jesus constantly revealed God as unconditional love, many of us still relate to him from fear. This is the reason why we wear masks before him and consequently before others. We are afraid to be ourselves. If we begin to realise that our God is a God who primarily wants to save, we can improve our relationship with him and with others.

Thursday, October 14, 2021 - Homily

 

Have you through your words or actions been a stumbling block in the way of others? What will you do about it today?

Thursday, October 14, 2021 - Have you through your words or actions been a stumbling block in the way of others? What will you do about it today?

To read the texts click on the texts: Rom 3:21-30; Lk 11:47-54

The text contains the second (11,47 – 51) and third (11,52) woe to the lawyers. The second woe deals with the attitude of the lawyers to the prophets whom their ancestors killed and the lawyers approve of that killing by building monuments to the same prophets. In this way they are accomplices to the murders.

The final woe condemns the lawyers because though they possessed knowledge, they did not use it as it was meant to be used, nor did they allow others to use it. They acted as stumbling blocks in others way. 

The woes that Jesus pronounces do not go down too well with the Pharisees, who began to ask many questions in order to catch Jesus on the wrong foot.

We too can become stumbling blocks in other’s way to God by the things that we say and the things that we do. When we point out the negatives in others and in the process forget all the positive qualities they possess we cause them to stumble.

Wednesday, October 13, 2021 - Homily

 When anyone focuses too much on sin and not enough on love, that person is also as guilty.

Wednesday, October 13, 2021 - How often have your external actions been a cause of scandal for others? What will you do about them today?

To read the texts click on the texts: Rom 2:1-11; Lk 11:42-46

The first of the four woes of the Gospel reading of today, continues the contrast between the inner and outer, but also adds the contrast between the important and insignificant. Jesus criticizes piety that observes external obedience while neglecting justice and the love of God. In the second woe, Jesus emphasizes that true piety does not seek praise from others, and in the third Jesus returns to the contrast between the inner and outer. Since the inner corruption of the Pharisees is not visible, others are defiled by their influence. (Contact with a corpse rendered a person unclean (Lev. 21,1-4.11; Num. 19,11-22). Graves had to be marked, therefore, so that persons would not unwittingly defile themselves by contact with them). The Pharisees are like graves that cannot be seen/are hidden and consequently result in corrupting others.

The fourth woe (11,46) is the first of the three addressed to lawyers. Here the woe is in response to the lawyer’s allegation that in condemning the Pharisees, Jesus is condemning them as well. Jesus responds by pronouncing a woe on them for imposing legal restrictions on people but doing nothing to help them. The law, which was meant to be a pointer and help, has been made into a burden and an end in itself.

There is the danger that when we read these woes, we might think that they apply to Pharisees only. However, they could just as easily apply to anyone today who like the Pharisees focuses on what is not essential and in the process forgets what is really important. When a person makes physical attendance at the sacraments more important than spiritual or internal attendance, he/she is also as guilty. When anyone focuses too much on sin and not enough on love, that person is also as guilty.

Tuesday, October 12, 2021 - Homily

 

The practice of constant giving, leads one to develop an attitude of detachment.

Tuesday, October 12, 2021 - Will your external actions show that your inner self is pure? How?

 To read the texts click on the texts: Rom 1:16-25; Lk 11:37-41

The section beginning in Lk 11,37 and ending in 11,54 is set in the context of a meal. The text of today begins with the notice that a Pharisee invited Jesus for a meal. Jesus sits/reclines at table without washing his hands, and this amazes his host. The Pharisees observed strict rules regarding ritual cleanliness, and generally ate only with those who also maintained ritual purity. By not washing, Jesus scandalizes his host. This amazement allows Jesus to give all those present a lesson on internal and external cleanness.

Jesus’ response to his host who is surprised because Jesus did not first wash, is that God is not concerned with the observance of rituals of purity, but with the purity of the heart. A person’s actions should reflect his or her inner purity.

The best way to remove greed and wickedness from one’s heart is to be generous with what one has. The practice of constant giving, leads one to develop an attitude of detachment.