Homily MP3 version Homily PDF version What are the offerings that we bring to God? What is the meaning of "HOSANNAH!" MP3 version
“Bless the Lord, O my soul. The Lord is merciful and gracious!”
Brothers and sisters do you enjoy a spacious home, where you can stretch out your legs, in which you can move from one room to another, and where you can be refreshed with food and drink? Instead of this, do you suffer the constraints of a confined space, which is so small you cannot stretch out your legs, in which you cannot even stand to your full height but can only stoop and bend your back, and are unable to enjoy the food and drink which are there?
In other words, brothers and sisters, do you spend your days and nights bound to a prison cell, or do you enjoy the freedom of the children of God? Is your world painfully limited by the narrow limits of the physical dimension of life, or is your world open to the vast horizons of the spiritual dimension of life? Are you living like a slave under the harsh dictatorship of the prince of this world, or have you been set free from the tyranny of Satan by Jesus, the Son of God, who is victorious over death, has broken the devil’s reign of terror, and set free all the captives?
“Bless the Lord, O my soul. The Lord is merciful and gracious!”
If you lash out in anger against the troubles of this world, if you constantly complain about all that is missing in your life, if you never show gratitude to the people with whom you live, if you can only see what is wrong and are blind to what is right, if you are bitter about the cold or damp or heat and are unable to enjoy the beauty of the various seasons, if you make miserable your spouse, your family, your coworkers, or your neighbors, and never lift a finger to help, or never smile to affirm, or never express a kind word to bless, or never pray for any of them before God so that He might also bless them; then I hate to tell you this, but you are in prison.
“Bless the Lord, O my soul. The Lord is merciful and gracious!”
King David, before he became king, had been loved by the one who was the first king of Israel, Saul, and he was loved like a dear brother by the king’s son Jonathan. But Saul was a man living in the prison of his narrow mind, suffering the narrow confines of the physical dimension of life, unable or unwilling to put his trust in God and open himself to the vast horizons of the spiritual dimension of life. No, he trusted only in himself. He was so jealous of the young man. He was like a madman obsessed with hunting down and killing David.
David, on the other hand, was a man after God’s own heart. He was simply a man and at times did bad things, but soon after he would realize his mistake and would immediately ask the Lord to forgive him. David lived his life with complete trust in the Lord. That is why he refused to raise his hand against the one that the Lord had anointed king over Israel. He even refused to let his lieutenant Abishai raise his hand against King Saul to snuff out his life.
David did not hate Saul, but he did declare to the King that he had him
in his power that night; yet, did him no harm out of love and reverence for the
Lord, in whom he put his trust.
“Bless the Lord, O my soul. The Lord is merciful and gracious!”
“Bless the Lord, O my soul. The Lord is merciful and gracious!”
If we put all our trust in God, then we can do as Jesus says: “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.” Our trust in God can remove from our soul any desire to retaliate and instead enable us to offer peace. Trusting in God we can be willing to share what we have with others, without fear of having ourselves any lack of what we truly need. If we open our eyes to God’s loving care for us, and his great mercy to forgive our faults; then we can be willing to endure wrongs and patiently wait for God to deliver us. Our heart can expand to let us see that others are just as weak as we are; so, we can stop judging anyone else. Being forgiven by God every day, we can afford to forgive others all their faults against us. If we choose to live in the spiritual dimension, then God sets us free with the freedom of the children of God. We can refuse misery and choose love.
“Bless the Lord, O my soul. The Lord is merciful and gracious!”
So, it’s up to us. Jesus can’t live our life for us; every moment of every day, in every time and place, in every situation, it’s up to us. We can choose to be miserable in the narrow limits of the physical dimension, not only living in misery but making miserable everyone around us; or, we can choose to walk with Jesus, living a life of love for everyone, and enjoy the freedom of the children of God, enjoying God’s mercy, and generously showing mercy to others.
We need God’s grace. In our poverty, we pray: « O my Jesus, I trust in You! » Our Good God wants to forgive us our sins and remove from our minds, hearts, and souls every obstacle to his love, for He is God: the Father, and + the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In silence now, the Holy Spirit will help us see what we
need to surrender to the Lord.
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© 2006-2022 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal QC
© 2006-2022 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC
