From Our Pastor's Desk
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From Our Pastor's Desk
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AT TIMES JESUS SLEEPS
Today the life of the faith and the Church encounter strong headwinds. It is a moment of trial which we can use in order to awaken from the mediocrity and superficiality we fall into at times. What affects us? There are those who become discouraged or who are scandalized and there are even those who try to tame the storm on their own. Jesus orders the winds and they obey him, but he takes the disciples to task for their cowardice and lack of faith. Sisters and Brothers: 1. The night scene of the twelve men bent over their oars, who fight to the limits of their strength against the fury of nature, helps us see the seriousness of the moment. But their symbolism goes beyond the narrative. The storm is the image of the persecutions that the Church suffers and the fight that each soul has to undertake against temptations and difficulties. Small or large storms: worries, plans that don't turn out, difficulties in dealings with others, unexpected misfortunes. And then the temptation to think that God has for-gotten us and that "Jesus has fallen asleep" comes. 2. Why does Jesus stay asleep in the midst of the storm? We all want and hope for a miracle! But a religion of miracles would place God at the service of our interests and of our whims. Jesus knew that the miracles he performed on things could distract attention from his person. It is as if Jesus is asleep, laid back, quiet, patient. We should be able to believe in him not needing other miracles other than the miracle of his love. In other words: Do not seek the miracles of the Lord, but the Lord of the miracles. 3. When we feel threatened by some evil we all go running to the Lord. The apostles' prayer was, in reality, a prayer of distrust, of worry and of doubt. If he was there, they should not have been afraid. When we are with Jesus we do not run the risk of perishing because he can save us even though he is asleep. "Why are you such cowards? - Jesus asks them - Don't you have any faith?" Fear is our greatest enemy, the greatest enemy of families and of communities. It paralyzes us, impedes creativity, the Gospel adventure. Someone was very right to say: "The only thing to fear is fear itself." Cowardice is our greatest sin against the Faith. We do not dare to take everything that the Gospel tells us seriously. Ballet used to speak of a "disguised heresy" of those who defend Christianity, even aggressively, but who never open themselves to the fundamental demands of the Gospel. At times it seems that Jesus sleeps; it is the night of the Faith. It is the heartrending and exasperating silence of the Lord. Jesus wished to experience our fear in the night of his agony and he begged his Father: "My God, My God, Why have you abandoned me?" This is the high point of the Faith, when, in spite of the darkness that envelopes us we trust in him. It is the moment of naked Faith. Source: ePriest.com / Best Practices and Homily Resources for Catholic Priests A SEED OF HOPE
It is quite likely that Jesus told the parables of the mustard seed and the parable of the seed that grows silently in the night and the parable of the sower, when the group of his followers was small and the fruits of his preaching were few and far between. It was the opportune moment for sowing hope in the hearts of his disciples. Sisters and brothers: Jesus also invites us today to draw three lessons from this Gospel: that we be realists, that we be patient, and that we hope in his promises: 1. The word of God does not bear fruit automatically. In life we reap what we sow. Going through life waiting for a stroke of luck is similar to that flame that quickly dies out. What remains is that which one toiling builds up. It is necessary that we create the conditions needed so that the seed takes root and grows until it reaches its fullness. Things that are worthwhile don't come about just like that; rather they are built little by little. Hope is a theological virtue, which responsibly takes the present into account and it values it and faces it with real-ism. Our life is transcendent and we know that our human drama will certainly be overcome. 2. The word of God will bear fruit at its proper time. And God's timing does not always coincide with ours. We have to begin each day with new goals as if each were the first, the only, and the last day of our lives. We should nev-er be downhearted. We always have to conquer new goals no matter what it may cost us. Thanks to our hope we nev-er remain fixed in a spot with our arms crossed; there is always a second chance. 3. The word of God has humble beginnings and sure ends. A farmer is a man of hope because year after year he begins preparing his land confident that this year will be better than the previous ones. We have the same sentiments as that farmer, because we can always be better, we always hope for better times. Let us allow things to develop grad-ually. Humble and insignificant beginnings will turn into works of God which change people and our contemporary society. In the Church we are that small seed that Christ wanted to sow; through us grace and salvation will have to reach all those men and women who live around us. Mother Teresa of Calcutta used to say: "Don't try to do spectacular things. What is most important is your daily gift of self." Let us ask God not to become disheartened in moments of crisis, even though we do not see the fruits; let us not allow ourselves to become seduced by purely material results; may we always feel the nearness and the solidarity of the Church, present in every corner of the earth; and above all, may we learn to discover the hand of God, even in the small actions of our lives. Amen. Source: ePriest.com / Best Practices and Homily Resources for Catholic Priests The Real Source of Courage
Jesus was focused on his mission
mission
And yet, he persevered.
God's will for us, to his commandments and to the circumstances that he permits to trouble us.
Source: ePriest.com / Best Practices and Homily Resources for Catholic Priests |
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