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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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
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.
© 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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