“Have mercy, O Lord, for we have sinned!” - As Christian disciples of Jesus, we believe we can change, repent, turn from evil and return to God, in the power of the Holy Spirit - February 14th, 2024 - Ash Wednesday - Transfiguration of Our Lord Parish

In the "New Covenant" made by our Creator God with humanity, as reported in Jeremiah 31:31-34, every human being can know God from within - because the Holy Spirit is revealing our Creator to all who are willing to know the Lord and trust in Him. We can still help each other along the way; so please feel free to share with others these homilies and your own personal faith in God through Jesus Christ. G.S.

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Ash Wednesday

VOCATION: Jesus calls us - He calls you to follow Him, to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and become a missionary disciple....

All are welcome - the sounds of the "little children" are pleasing to our heavenly Father and "rise up" to Him like prayers - we "make room" for the little children and take our time - MP3

Gospel & Homily MP3 - PDF version

Blessing & distribution of the ashes - The Offering of ourselves with the bread & wine - the meaning of "Hosannah!" - 1st Eucharistic Prayer for Reconciliation - saying the Lord's Prayer - MP3

What are the offerings that we bring to God? What is the meaning of "HOSANNAH!" We acclaim God for his greatness and praise Him, while at the same time calling upon Him to rescue us in our distress.... "HOSANNAH!" MP3 version

“Have mercy, O Lord, for we have sinned!”

We are Christians, and we are trying to follow the Lord Jesus as his disciples in the Roman Catholic Rite. There are other rites in communion with the Roman Catholic Church such as the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Ukraine, and other unique rites in India, Lebanon, Syria and Palestine, Iraq, Hungary, Slovakia, Egypt, Eritrea, Romania, Ethiopia, and in eight other countries. We believe God can strengthen our will to make good changes in our lives.

In addition to these 23 Eastern Rite Catholic Churches, there are 17 autonomous Orthodox Churches in the world. All of these Christians observe the liturgical seasons of Lent and Easter, and also make use of ashes on Ash Wednesday to make visible their commitment to live a life of conversion in living their faith in God the Father through the Lord Jesus, by the grace of the Holy Spirit. Jesus constantly called people to turn away from sin and believe the good news.

Many people think they cannot stop doing evil or improve loving others or to forgive those who have hurt us and pray for their good. Ashes express our mortality and regret for our sins, and our intention to repent – to turn away from sin and turn back to the Lord – and to count on the Lord’s grace to help us remain faithful to Him, to help us forgive and love our neighbour.

“Have mercy, O Lord, for we have sinned!”

Generally, Christians in churches of what is called the Protestant Reformation are also trying to follow the Lord Jesus as his disciples, but most of them have done away with elements traditionally observed in Catholic and Orthodox Churches. These churches have in general abandoned using ashes on Ash Wednesday to give visible expression to the commitment to live a life of repentance and conversion; although some of them have come back to using ashes on this occasion of entering into the season of Lent.

We know that the first disciples of Jesus were all Jews. The use of ashes in order to do penance and practice repentance was continued by Jews when they became Christians, and it became a standard practice for all Christians. Most of us are descendants by faith of those peoples whom Jews called Gentiles or non-Jews. When they became Catholic Christians, they also adopted making use of ashes to deepen their life of conversion.

“Have mercy, O Lord, for we have sinned!”

They put aside their comfortable clothes and put on sackcloth, like burlap, which is very rough and uncomfortable. Then, they would dishevel their hair and pour ashes on top of their head. It seems a contradiction that renouncing comfort for a short or long period of time, and accepting to endure discomfort as a penance, strengthens our faith, but it does. In part, it is because peacefully accepting to renounce our comfort strengthens our character.

“Have mercy, O Lord, for we have sinned!”

Penitential practices which renounce comfort for a time actually intensify religious dispositions such as openness to God, docility to the Holy Spirit, and willingness to accept to do the will of God. Fasting is the penitential practice of giving up certain foods and remaining hungry; while eating enough to maintain sufficient energy to be able to get through the day and accomplish our duties without passing out. In addition, remaining physically hungry makes our hunger for God more intense; which makes our religious experiences more intentional.

“Have mercy, O Lord, for we have sinned!”

When I feel physically hungry and thirsty, this state in my body helps me become more aware of my soul’s hunger and thirst for God, for his life-giving Word, and for Jesus, the Bread of Life. Being in a state of fasting and penance also helps us to be more aware of the quiet and gentle movements of the Holy Spirit deep in our soul. The more aware we are of the presence and action of God within us, the easier it is for us to become friends of God.

“Have mercy, O Lord, for we have sinned!”

The money we save by eating less and giving up treats and luxuries, we can then give away as alms for the poor, to alleviate the suffering of those who are starving, or who don’t have safe drinking water. In addition, when we accept to endure in our body such states as hunger, thirst, and discomfort; these minor sufferings not only intensify the quality of our awareness, but they also help to intensify the desire for God with which we enter into times of prayer. Our times of prayer can be very brief, like sending to the Lord swift word arrows like: “Lord Jesus, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” As we enter into longer periods of prayer and keep silence in our hearts, our hunger, thirst, and discomfort can also help us express to God with much more intensity all that that is in our heart and our need for God to give us life.

“Have mercy, O Lord, for we have sinned!”

“Mary Mother of God, St. Joseph, help us walk in the steps of Jesus. O my Jesus, I trust in You! Thank You; You who are God, the Father, + the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.”

In silence now, the Holy Spirit helps us to unite our offering of ourselves to that of Jesus….

https://frgilleshomilies.blogspot.com https://homeliesabbegilles.blogspot.com

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© 2006-2024 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal QC
© 2006-2024 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC

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Our God weeps for us in our sufferings but also for all the slaughtered innocents. The Lord heals the humble. “You are my refuge, Lord; with deliverance You surround me!” - February 10th-11th, 2024 - 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Transfiguration of Our Lord Parish

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6th Sunday in Ordinary Time

VOCATION: Jesus calls us - He calls you to follow Him, to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and become a missionary disciple....

Saturday Gospel & Homily MP3 - PDF version

Sunday Gospel & Homily MP3 - PDF version

What are the offerings that we bring to God? What is the meaning of "HOSANNAH!" We acclaim God for his greatness and praise Him, while at the same time calling upon Him to rescue us in our distress.... "HOSANNAH!" MP3 version

“You are my refuge, Lord; with deliverance You surround me!”

Leviticus is the third book in the Bible; it comes after Genesis – which relates how God created the universe as our home and then created us human beings to live in friendship with Him on this Earth. God allowed our first parents to be tempted by the rebellious angel, the devil, who appeared as a lying snake. God permits us also to be tempted and tested in order to allow us to develop character by choosing to trust in God more than in anyone or anything.

Our first parents chose to stop trusting in God. The deadly consequences since then have been frustration in our labours, pain, suffering, illness, and death. In his mercy, God promised to save us from this distress. This promise was transmitted from generation to generation by the practice of faith in God. Then came Noah, and later Abraham and Sarah. Their son Isaac, had two sons, Esau and Jacob. God gave Jacob the name of Israel. He had twelve sons with two wives. The ten brothers were jealous of their half brother, Joseph, because their father loved him; so, they sold him into slavery. God used that evil act to bring blessing on the whole family.

“You are my refuge, Lord; with deliverance You surround me!”

God was with Joseph. He was a holy man who prayed and tried to please God in all things. God’s favour on Joseph lifted him up to Pharaoh’s right hand, and he organized the kingdom to be prepared when years of famine struck the whole Middle East. In this way, his brothers came to Egypt to buy grain and eventually their whole family, with their elderly father Jacob, came to Egypt. Joseph and his brothers were reconciled when he forgave them and told them how God had used their evil deed in the past to save the whole family from starvation in time of famine.

Exodus comes after Genesis. It tells how after four centuries Egypt became jealous and afraid of Israel, because God blessed his people and made them numerous. Pharaoh did not know God as his predecessors had known God. He took harsh measures to oppress Israel. God raised up Moses as leader, but first he had to be tested. He got in trouble and had to escape. In Midian, he met a family, married one of the daughters, and became a shepherd. God revealed himself to Moses in a bush that burned but was not consumed. He sent him back to Egypt to go deliver his people who were crying out to God. God worked wonders through Moses and forced Pharaoh to let his people go. Their liberation from the captivity of Egypt is called their exodus.

“You are my refuge, Lord; with deliverance You surround me!”

Leviticus comes after Genesis and Exodus. Through Moses, God gave his people the Law with rules to show people how to live a life pleasing to God, and how to avoid doing evil, which cuts people off from God’s blessings. The people needed rules because they were so headstrong and reluctant to follow the Lord’s ways. The purpose of the Law was to point out to people their sins, the ways in which they did evil and were displeasing to God, and how to repent.

“You are my refuge, Lord; with deliverance You surround me!”

God told his people to isolate lepers to contain the infection and stop it from spreading. Modern medicine still uses isolation to contain infections. God told them how to reintegrate the sick after they recovered. Jesus came to heal the sick, wounded, or those possessed by demons. Jesus came to reconcile us to his Father by forgiving our sins. We are complex living beings. Our mind, heart, soul, and body are intricately connected. Any trouble in one part affects our whole being. Pornography is a deadly plague infecting all of humanity today. Even children are being exposed. Porn perverts what God made beautiful. Human sexuality is designed to love and serve the dignity of the other person. Using it to selfishly seek pleasure infects us and blinds us to the dignity of others. We no longer respect others and become addicted. We are estranged from God and others, and we close ourselves off from God’s friendship in Jesus. We are sick.

“You are my refuge, Lord; with deliverance You surround me!”

One evil act leads to another. Porn leads to promiscuity, which can cause unwanted or unplanned pregnancies, which in turn can lead to an abortion. Today, there are 73 million live births a year worldwide, but the same number of abortions. All together, we are responsible for a slaughter of the innocents, and it is all because we are not concerned about pleasing God, because we do not trust in God. We are not trying to know his ways, or to walk in his ways.

“You are my refuge, Lord; with deliverance You surround me!”

Our Father in heaven is sorry to see us suffering, and his Son Jesus, human like us, weeps. God is not passive but active. Through confession, God restores our lost innocence and also our communion with Him and each other. Confession and God’s forgiveness in the absolution given by the priest remove the causes of our sinful infections. In the Anointing of the Sick, God heals our bodies, minds, and hearts from serious illness and the consequences of various evils. God’s grace helps us to know and to walk in his ways, to renounce evil, and to choose good.

“You are my refuge, Lord; with deliverance You surround me!”

“Mary Mother of God, St. Joseph, help us walk in the steps of Jesus. O my Jesus, I trust in You! Thank You; You who are God, the Father, + the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.”

In silence now, the Holy Spirit helps us to unite our offering of ourselves to that of Jesus….

https://frgilleshomilies.blogspot.com https://homeliesabbegilles.blogspot.com

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The routine, events, and challenges of life test our trust in God and provide opportunity to practice trusting in Him! - February 8th, 2024 - Thursday, 5th Week in Ordinary Time - St. Patrick Basilica Parish

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Saint Patrick Basilica Parish

Downtown Montreal

Thursday, February 8th, 12:10 p.m. Mass

The routine, events, and challenges of life test our trust in God

and provide opportunity to practice trusting in Him!

How much room do we make, do I make, for God?

Audio recording of the homily by Fr. Gilles Surprenant

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Sing praises to the Lord who heals the broken-hearted! - February 3rd-4th, 2024 - 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Transfiguration of Our Lord Parish

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5th Sunday in Ordinary Time

VOCATION: Jesus calls us - He calls you to follow Him, to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and become a missionary disciple....

Saturday Gospel & Homily MP3 - PDF version

Sunday Gospel & Homily MP3 - PDF version

What are the offerings that we bring to God? What is the meaning of "HOSANNAH!" We acclaim God for his greatness and praise Him, while at the same time calling upon Him to rescue us in our distress.... "HOSANNAH!" MP3 version

“Sing praises to the Lord who heals the broken-hearted!”

The Book of Job is very precious and useful to us because it relates the trials of a man who lost everything except his own life and the life of his wife. He complained openly about all his pain and suffering, but he got no sympathy from his friends; who tried to convince them that he must have done something wrong in order to deserve all his bad luck and tribulations. Even his wife told him to give up on his faith, to give up on God, because it wasn’t doing him any good.

Have you ever been so down and out that you felt you could not pray? The first time I had a kidney stone, I was terrified by the pain that kept intensifying more and more, with no end in sight. I was in hospital for 11 days, and during that time, I found it difficult to pray; even as a priest. Thankfully, even our moaning and groaning are a prayer which rises up to God, and in his love, our Father understands our heart, mind, and spirit, and he answers us in his own way.

“The Lord is near to all who call on him!”

“Sing praises to the Lord who heals the broken-hearted!”

Last Sunday and today, Saint Mark the Evangelist shows us Jesus casting out demons, and He sternly orders the demons not to make him known. This is called the “messianic secret”, the way in which Jesus tried to keep secret his true identity as the Son of God. Jesus knew that the religious leaders would never be able to accept him as the Son of God, and that sooner or later they would set out to kill him. Jesus knew He was just starting his mission, and He did not want it to be cut short before the time appointed by his Father. This is also why He wanted to move around and go from village to village; in order to spread as widely the good news as possible before his time ran out.

Jesus lived in close communion with his Father in Heaven. We see in the Gospels that Jesus didn’t try to make plans and strategies for his mission; instead, He was attentive to his Father and focused all his energies on doing the Father’s will. We see this attitude of Jesus reflected in Saint Paul, who gave God permission to use every aspect of his life and labours for the Gospel; so that as many people as possible might come to know Jesus and his good news.

“Sing praises to the Lord who heals the broken-hearted!”

The Lord is inviting us to consider this today, and perhaps wonder within ourselves how much room we are making in our lives, in our plans, in our mind, heart, and soul for the will of God, the will of the Father for us. Am I willing to put all my trust in God, or do I prefer to make my own plans and strategies? God want us to make plans, yes, but at the same time, he wants us to make room in our planning for the will of the Father. We discover the will of the Father for us in the life of Jesus; by allowing every aspect of Jesus’ life and mission to shed light on the details of our own lives. Jesus’ mission from his Father is our mission too.

“The Lord is near to all who call on him!”

Brothers and sisters, every priest in the world – from the Pope to the newly-ordained young priest – we all want the same thing, Jesus has put into a priest’s heart the same fire of the Holy Spirit, and the same desire. We desire you to have the same relationship with God that Jesus had as a human being; as the son of Mary and the adopted son of Joseph.

“Sing praises to the Lord who heals the broken-hearted!”

The simplest human being, even one with no education, who can’t read or write, everyone can be a saint. All it takes is a willingness to receive the gifts that God is offering. All we need to do is to trust in God, and to open our mind to his Word; open our heart to his love; open our soul, our spirit, to the indwelling Presence of the Most Holy Trinity. John in his Gospel, 14:23, reports Jesus saying: “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.” There is no magic formula for praying… all we have to do is to pray… just to do it. God is always present to us, and He is always waiting for us to respond, to be there with Him, to be open and trusting, to pray.

“The Lord is near to all who call on him!”

Jesus is still casting out demons and He is still healing people today. The press and the media are not interested in God; they prefer to think that God doesn’t exist, because they don’t want to be told what to do. We occasionally find out about the wonders that God is still doing when we learn about the lives of the saints, like Saint Brother André. You may have witnessed God’s miracles yourself, or know someone who has experienced them. All too often, when we are witnesses to one of God’s miracles, we are inclined to think: “Did I really see that? It must be just a coincidence.” We need to practice giving God credit for the wonders He does in our lives and in the world around us. Glory be to You, O Most Holy Trinity!”

“Sing praises to the Lord who heals the broken-hearted!”

“Mary Mother of God, St. Joseph, help us walk in the steps of Jesus. O my Jesus, I trust in You! Thank You; You who are God, the Father, + the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.”

In silence now, the Holy Spirit helps us to unite our offering of ourselves to that of Jesus….

https://frgilleshomilies.blogspot.com https://homeliesabbegilles.blogspot.com

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O that today you would listen to the voice of the Lord. Do not harden your hearts! The Lord is near to all who call on him! - January 27th-28th, 2024 - 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Transfiguration of Our Lord Parish

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4th Sunday in Ordinary Time

VOCATION: Jesus calls us - He calls you to follow Him, to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and become a missionary disciple....

Saturday Gospel & Homily MP3 - PDF version

Sunday Gospel & Homily MP3 - PDF version

What are the offerings that we bring to God? What is the meaning of "HOSANNAH!" We acclaim God for his greatness and praise Him, while at the same time calling upon Him to rescue us in our distress.... "HOSANNAH!" MP3 version

“O that today you would listen to the voice of the Lord. Do not harden your hearts!”

Have you noticed how Jesus never beats around the bush? We just heard how Jesus wasted no time with the unclean spirit, but immediately commanded it: “Be silent, and come out of him!” Just seven little words, but how very effective! The unclean spirit wasn’t happy about it and convulsed the man, making him cry “with a loud voice”, but it “came out of him”.

It will be just like that for unrepentant souls when they draw their last breath on this Earth and in this mortal life. Hard, rebellious souls behaving like evil spirits will find that Jesus will not beat around the bush with them either. Proud, controlling, and nasty souls will find that in the radiant Presence of God; they can no longer avoid facing the truth, all the truth. They will have one last chance to admit all the truth, to humble themselves, and to repent before God.

“The Lord is near to all who call on him!”

Jesus was just as firm with the religious leaders because they were hypocrites and didn’t really care about the people; they did not love ordinary people but showed them contempt. By being firm with the leaders, Jesus was giving them a chance to repent and accept Him. We are not merciful like God. We are more like the religious leaders; instead of like God. We easily judge others. We want God to get rid of those who do evil and harm in the world. We think that we are good, and we want to receive all of God’s blessings and graces, but we have a hard time accepting that God is merciful to everyone; even those who behave badly. He wants to give everyone a chance to accept the Father’s love and to learn to love their neighbour.

We human beings have a hard time accepting that there can be such different attitudes in God. Deep down, we doubt that God is really that good, that kind, that understanding, and that loving. We are a little like the People of Israel to whom Moses spoke. God wanted his people to believe that the words Moses spoke to them were the very words that God told him to tell them. So, God used fire and thunder, similar to a volcano, to make a deep impression on the people. As a result, they were terrified and didn’t want to hear God’s voice any more.

“O that today you would listen to the voice of the Lord. Do not harden your hearts!”

We need to learn the ways of the Lord. God needed to get their attention because they were so stubborn and proud and didn’t want anyone to tell them what to do. Sadly, that sums up the human condition, our mortal condition. None of us want to be told what to do. With an attitude like that, we are behaving as though we were God, but we aren’t. We cannot have a personal relationship with God without the humility to admit to the Lord every day the truth about who we are, what we are saying and doing, our attitudes, and how we are behaving towards one another. We need to know when we mistreat others, to stop doing it, and to ask forgiveness. When we refuse to wake up; God will let the troubles of life shake us up to get our attention.

“The Lord is near to all who call on him!”

That is why Saint Paul was trying to teach the Corinthians to put God first; to try to please God before trying to please other people in our lives. If we live in such a way as to please God; then our behaviour will definitely be humble, kind, caring, and loving towards others. We will even be willing to be merciful to those we don’t like; even to enemies. We will even pray for evildoers; asking God to bless them with the grace they need to wake up and start doing good.

“O that today you would listen to the voice of the Lord. Do not harden your hearts!”

Here is a simple rule of thumb, easy to remember, that can help us to please God at all times. When something good happens to anyone else; we can rejoice with them and thank God for his goodness. When we see someone doing what seems to be wrong or evil; we can ask God to show them the right way. Then, we can use that bad behaviour as an opportunity to examine our conscience and ask God: “Lord, am I doing something like that too?” If we are doing anything similar but didn’t realize it before; we can ask God to forgive us and help us change.

“The Lord is near to all who call on him!”

Our life on this Earth is in between the time when Jesus walked this Earth and the eternal life of Heaven. On Earth, Jesus exercised great authority over evil spirits and the hard-hearted religious leaders. Jesus continues to exercise that authority in the heavenly realm, but on Earth from now until he returns in glory; it is different. Jesus leaves it up to us to build the kingdom of God on Earth. The Father loves us, the Holy Spirit gives us life, and the Lord Jesus supports us. The Most Holy Trinity wants to rule this world through us. In every situation of our lives, God wants us to speak his words of life, to show his mercy to others, and to build peace on Earth. We are weak, but God wants to exercise his authority and power through us. He is waiting.

“O that today you would listen to the voice of the Lord. Do not harden your hearts!”

“Mary Mother of God, St. Joseph, help us walk in the steps of Jesus. O my Jesus, I trust in You! Thank You; You who are God, the Father, + the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.”

In silence now, the Holy Spirit helps us to unite our offering of ourselves to that of Jesus….

https://frgilleshomilies.blogspot.com https://homeliesabbegilles.blogspot.com

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The Lord is near to all who call on him! Lord, make me know your ways! - January 21st, 2024 - 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time - Transfiguration of Our Lord Parish

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3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

VOCATION: Jesus calls us - He calls you to follow Him, to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and become a missionary disciple....

Sunday Gospel & Homily MP3 - PDF version

What are the offerings that we bring to God? What is the meaning of "HOSANNAH!" We acclaim God for his greatness and praise Him, while at the same time calling upon Him to rescue us in our distress.... "HOSANNAH!" MP3 version

“The Lord is near to all who call on him!”

Good morning, sisters and brothers in the Lord. The Word of the Lord speaks to us this morning about his ways of dealing with the world. Through the Book of the Prophet Jonah, the Lord tells us of his love for all peoples. He would even send a Jewish prophet to foreigners who were living badly and were in need of conversion. God our Creator gives us the gift of life, and He has designed us to have fullness of life by living in peace and love with our neighbours.

When we choose not to live in peace and love with our neighbours, we become less human, living a life that is not holy, a perversion. But what happens then? God sent Jonah to warn the people of Nineveh that if they did not repent, they would be overthrown. This Word of God still applies today: there are many cities or lands that behave badly like Nineveh did centuries before Jesus. Russia invading Ukraine, and Hamas attacking and killing civilians in Israel are only two examples always in the news, but there are many, many others doing evil things.

“Lord, make me know your ways!”

Evil events and tragedies are usually caused by injustices. When Gorbachev was making renewal in the U.S.S.R. in the 1980’s, he talked with world leaders about the future. They all agreed on the unification of Germany, and the Berlin wall came down. They assured Gorbachev NATO would not move any closer to Russia, but until today, world leaders did the opposite. Led by the U.S.A., they got nations close to Russia to join NATO. Very few of us would approve of Russia’s war against Ukraine; it is brutal, tragic, and an evil thing. It was also wrong for the West to push the military alliance of NATO to the very borders of Russia.

Similar evil and injustices have happened between Israel and Palestine. For centuries, there was no Israel, and Jewish people no longer had a homeland. They lived as strangers in all the countries where they built their lives. Since the invasions by Muslim armies in the 7^th century, what is now Israel was known as Palestine, and it was mostly an Arab land. There were Jews and Christians living there, but they were minorities, and some of them got along well together.

“The Lord is near to all who call on him!”

When the Nazis exterminated some six million Jews and millions of others in the Holocaust, the Shoah, no western nation would help surviving Jews or accept to take them in. The newly formed United Nations helped establish the State of Israel in 1948. That was a good thing and it needed to happen. We can understand how the Jewish people want to protect their homeland, but these times are not like when their ancestors came from Egypt and God drove out the seven nations in that land and gave it to his Chosen People as their home. All these situations in the world show us how difficult it is for us human beings to know the ways of the Lord. What God did a long time ago is not necessarily what He is doing now.

Do you know that many Jews who survived the Holocaust lost their faith in God. They could not understand how God could allow their people to be exterminated like that. In many ways, we have the same problem with God and his ways. What our reading from Jonah did not say is that after the people repented, God relented from the disaster He had predicted. Jonah then was angry with God. It may have been because Jonah saw their bad behaviour and wanted them to be punished. Jonah didn’t much like God’s mercy and forgiveness to the people of Nineveh.

“Lord, make me know your ways!”

This morning, the Lord is scrutinizing us, our thoughts, our feelings, and our consciences. What are my attitudes toward God? Do I know his ways? Am I even willing to learn what are the ways of the Lord? Unless we learn the ways of the Lord, we can have no peace.

When Simon, Andrew, James, and John left their occupations and their lives to follow Jesus and begin a new life as his disciples; it was because they were at peace. They knew the ways of the Lord, and they recognized the ways of the Lord in Jesus, in his words, and in his actions.

“The Lord is near to all who call on him!”

The Lord’s ways are not our ways. The Lord’s ways are directed towards life that extends into eternity, but our ways are very limited to this mortal life alone. We tend to care only about this life on Earth, and we tend to put off thinking about what happens next. Though we believe in eternal life in Heaven with God, we are not eager to leave this life. Saint Paul’s words are wise. God wants us to live our life fully, but to avoid getting attached to this life; remembering to keep our eyes on our eternal destiny. What begins here is going to continue after we die. Just dying solves nothing. Who we are when we die is who we are when we get to the other side. We need to face our challenges, turn away from all that is wrong, and put loving care into action to everyone in our lives, even strangers, and even enemies. These are the ways of the Lord.

“Lord, make me know your ways!”

“Mary Mother of God, St. Joseph, help us walk in the steps of Jesus. O my Jesus, I trust in You! Thank You; You who are God, the Father, + the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.”

In silence now, the Holy Spirit helps us to unite our offering of ourselves to that of Jesus….

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The Father calls each of us to follow Jesus and to become more loving like Him! - January 13-14th, 2024 - 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time - Transfiguration of Our Lord Parish

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2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

VOCATION: Jesus calls us - He calls you to follow Him, to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and become a missionary disciple....

Saturday Gospel & Homily MP3 - PDF version

Sunday Gospel & Homily MP3 - PDF version

What are the offerings that we bring to God? What is the meaning of "HOSANNAH!" We acclaim God for his greatness and praise Him, while at the same time calling upon Him to rescue us in our distress.... "HOSANNAH!" MP3 version

“The Lord is near to all who call on him!”

The young boy Samuel heard in the night a voice calling his name. He did not know that it was the Lord calling him. He learned this from the Lord’s priest Eli, who served in the Temple of the Lord. Eli was not a good man and displeased the Lord. Notably, he failed to discipline his two sons. They abused the Lord’s Temple and had no respect for God or for others. Still, Eli did a good thing in guiding young Samuel to learn to listen to the voice of the Lord.

Have you ever heard the voice of the Lord? I haven’t; at least, not with my ears. What’s really important here is not whether or not we hear the voice of the Lord with our ears, but whether we are even interested in listening for the Lord’s voice within our spirit. We all have voices inside of us: our own conscience, voices we remember, like those of our parents; the voice of our spouse, of friends and relatives, or even voices we dread, like that of our boss. Most important among all the voices echoing inside of us is the gentle, quiet voice of God.

“Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will!”

Dear brothers and sisters in Jesus, I should get down on my knees and ask your forgiveness for the neglect of all the pastors and priests you have ever known; forgiveness for all the ways in which we have failed to coach you in learning to listen, to discern and recognize, and to obey the voice of the Lord… deep down within your spirit. The Holy Spirit is close to every human being, whether we realize it or not. This is in part because God is our Creator, and it is the will of the Father alone which brought us into being and which sustains us in being. Without the stable and loving will of the Father that we should exist, we would simply disappear without a trace, without even a puff of smoke. We would simply vanish.

“The Lord is near to all who call on him!”

The fact that we exist is evidence that God exists, and that He also wants us to exist. In the Bible’s perspective, our very breath is not our own, but it is God’s breath which He breathes into us. Further evidence of the great and unconditional love with which God loves us is the free will with which we have all been endowed. Our free will is a very great gift indeed.

However, we don’t always like the fact that we have free will. We would much prefer God to wipe out in a single stroke every hint of evil, violence, pain, poverty, and suffering in the world. Isn’t that right? Hello? We don’t realize that if God did as we wish and wiped out all evil doers, illness, violence, natural disasters, pain, and suffering, we would no longer be free. We would simply be a bunch of robots, programmed machines, like ChatGPT, with no free will. Family, love, friendship, and caring for others, especially those in need; none of that could exist if there were no free will, no possibility of freely deciding to make acts of love and caring. Would you really want to live in a world like that? I would most definitely not want to live in that world.

“Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will!”

Sadly, there is another reason for me to get on my knees and ask for your forgiveness on my behalf and on behalf of all the clergy you have ever known. It’s not just because we have failed to coach you in learning to know God personally and to relate to God personally every day. In addition to this, we have given you the impression that all you need to do to enter into Heaven when you die is to be a good person; to avoid committing crimes, and to do some good deeds. This is all good, but it is only part of what God expects of us. Our Creator cares a great deal about his Creation, and especially about all his human children.

If we don’t freely decide to learn how to also care a great deal about God’s Creation, and especially about all of his human children; then how can we possible stand to live in God’s company for all of eternity in Heaven? At times, aren’t we already allergic to people who, we may think, are too holy, too devout or too good. Such people give us to feel a bit uncomfortable. Unless we change, it won’t get any better in Heaven; in fact, it will only get worse. We won’t want to be in Heaven.

“The Lord is near to all who call on him!”

A few minutes ago, we heard St. Paul declare that in order to be in sync with God, we need to hold our bodies and the bodies of others in great respect; even reverence. That means there is no room for sexual hanky panky; no room at all. More important than this, though, is that God is calling each and every baptized person to do as John, Andrew, and Simon did. We are all to follow Jesus and become his missionary disciples. We may feel weak, imperfect, and fragile, yes, and that is what we offer, but the Lord brings to bear his power, holiness, and divine mercy; so in this partnership, God can do wonders and in fact does wonders through us. Jesus wants to fill us with the life and love of the Holy Spirit and send us out into the world to bring his good news to all those poor people who are starving and thirsting for the good news that God loves them unconditionally.

In our day, we have no excuse. Anyone can own a Bible as well as a copy of the Catechism. Anyone with a computer or smart phone with internet can read the Bible, the Catechism, and even listen to the Liturgy of the Hours and read along. The Lord, in the Word He addresses to us today, is testing us, scrutinizing our spirits, to bring to light our willingness to let Him work in us and bring about his holy will in us, for our own good and for the good of others. We have everything at our fingertips.

“Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will!”

“Mary Mother of God, St. Joseph, help us walk in the steps of Jesus. O my Jesus, I trust in You! Thank You; You who are God, the Father, + the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.”

In silence now, the Holy Spirit helps us to unite our offering of ourselves to that of Jesus….

https://frgilleshomilies.blogspot.com https://homeliesabbegilles.blogspot.com

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