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

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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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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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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© 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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Jesus calls us to be perfect and holy - how is this possible? The key is authentic love. - February 19th, 2023 - 7th Sunday in Ordinary Time - The L.S.M. of C.A.M. at St. Willibrord Church, Verdun

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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  7th Sunday in Ordinary Time  

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

 Homily MP3 version - PDF version 

Optional Spiritual Exercise: Sacred History Reflection on My Life 

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 

“Whoever obeys the word of Christ, grows perfect in the love of God. Alleluia!”

Sisters! Brothers! Good evening. Here we are at the end of the Lord’s Day. Our Lord Jesus does not beat around the bush tonight – he says to us: “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Through Moses, the Word of God addressed all the congregation of the children of Israel in similar terms: “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.”

The Lord is merciful, too; so, we don’t have to strain our brains to figure out what his word means. We are not to hate anyone of our kin; we are to reprove our neighbour. We are not to take vengeance or bear a grudge, and we are to love our neighbour as ourself. Jesus will have us imitate Him in his attitude as the Lamb of God. We are not to fight or resist those who impose on us but, on the contrary, we are to be generous and go beyond what is demanded of us. We are even to “love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us”.

“Whoever obeys the word of Christ, grows perfect in the love of God. Alleluia!”

There is no denying that it is very difficult for us, and even seems impossible at times, for us to follow in the steps of Jesus. Consider the challenge for Fr. Robert Clark to accept to endure his sudden illness and find himself on a hospital bed for weeks, or Fr. Robert Assaly, who has recently shared with his parishioners the news of his diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. Their attitude of trust in the Lord is from a human point of view astonishing, but from a faith point of view; both of these younger priests are an inspiring example for us. For those who know him, so is the layman Stephen Sims, who is currently in the palliative care unit of Lachine Hospital. 

We who are here to worship our God on the Lord’s Day believe that our Creator God is merciful and loves us, and that the Most Holy Trinity want us to enjoy forever their company with all the angels and saints in the Father’s House, in Heaven. Isn’t it ironic or even strange that none of us are in a hurry to come to the end of our lives? No matter what difficulties are ours in this life, we seem to be quite content to remain here on Earth for as long as possible. This is natural, given the beauty of God’s Creation and the wonder and value of life itself.

“Whoever obeys the word of Christ, grows perfect in the love of God. Alleluia!” 

Isn’t it strange, then, although we value life a great deal for ourselves, that under certain circumstances, we deprive others of this same value of life. If it is inconvenient to find ourselves pregnant, so many people around the world become willing to kill that innocent life which is unable to speak for itself and say to us in no uncertain terms: “Please, let me live!” All too often, the pregnant woman is abandoned to her own resources by the man. Where is that man? Why is he unwilling to take responsibility for his part in giving life to a new human being?

“Whoever obeys the word of Christ, grows perfect in the love of God. Alleluia!” 

Consider the challenge of being married and our reluctance to accept the other as they are, our relentless impulse to control the other and reshape the other according to our own desires and expectations. Jesus has revealed to us the key to understanding why we allow ourselves to get caught in such traps and contradictions. The key is love, and that love drives out fear. If we do not live as children of God, if we are not holy as God is holy, if we are not perfect as God is perfect; it is simply because we are afraid and we give in to our fear, instead of trusting in God. 

“Whoever obeys the word of Christ, grows perfect in the love of God. Alleluia!” 

The most heroic human beings who ever lived were afraid, but they refused to surrender to the fear. When it is easy to pray and we feel God’s love, that is not faith; we are simply being carried by God’s grace like a baby in its parent’s arms. When we feel alone or abandoned by God or it is hard to pray, activating our faith is simply deciding to pray anyway, to trust in God anyway, no matter what. That is faith. We are holy when it is difficult to love, but we love anyway. We are perfect when we have been hurt and it hurts to forgive, but we forgive anyway. This is foolishness in the eyes of the world, but this is the truth and wisdom of the Most Holy Trinity. God fills us with peace and joy when we walk in the ways of the Lord; when we listen and obey, when we give up our will and deliberately seek to know and to do the will of God.

In a few moments, it will be time to place at the altar our offering to God. It is ourselves that we offer: all that we carry within us, our reluctance to be holy, our distaste for being perfect; our hopes and our fears, our desires and our regrets, our sins and our repentance, and even our own will. Let us open wide our spirit to God; so that the Lord may do in us all that He desires to do: to lead, to forgive, to heal, to make us holy and perfect, and to give life.

“Whoever obeys the word of Christ, grows perfect in the love of God. Alleluia!” 

“Our Lady of Ville Marie, pray for us. St. Joseph, pray for us. St. Brother André, pray for us. St. Kateri, pray for us. St. Willibrord & St. Thomas More... St. Marguerite Bourgeois & St. Marguerite d’Youville... All you holy women and men, pray for us. 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 continues to fill us with the Radiance of the Most Holy Trinity.

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

© 2006-2023 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal QC           © 2006-2023 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC

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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.

----------------------------------------------------------------

© 2006-2023 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal  QC
© 2006-2023 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC 

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If we choose, we can live in the realm of divine love - it's up to us - and God is with us to help us. 7th Sunday in Ordinary Time - MQP Church in JLW Parish - February 20th, 2022

 Homily MP3 version     Homily PDF version     What are the offerings that we bring to God? What is the meaning of "HOSANNAH!" MP3 version

(This homily was prepared but not actually delivered; so that a much more important message might be heard... then, later I recorded this homily at home for you to read and hear.)

“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!”

Before Jesus came into this world to set us free, humanity was suffering the limits of the physical dimension of life, unable to live in the spiritual dimension of life. By the way He lived, by his teaching, and by his willingness to endure suffering and death, Jesus opened the way for us to be set free from the physical dimension by living in the spiritual dimension. Risen from the dead, Jesus overcame death and destroyed death’s power of fear over us. Jesus has set us free by demonstrating that God will never renounce his love for us. All that is left for us to do now is to do our best, with God’s help, to love Him back by worshipping Him and loving our neighbor.

“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.

 

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

 

© 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

We are preoccupied with ourselves, but Jesus calls us to be considerate of others, listen to them, love them, and serve them. 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time - MQP Church in JLW Parish - October 17th, 2021

 Homily MP3 version             Homily PDF version

“The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” “Let your love be upon us, Lord, even as we hope in you.”

We hear Jesus. What Jesus declares remains true today. “Among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them.” We see how those who exploit the resources of the Earth destroy the landscape, deprive all the creatures of their natural habitat, and pollute the soils, the waters, and the air. In their frantic pursuit of ever greater profits, the wealthy and their companies don’t care about the survival or the well-being of humanity, and they engage in their destructive practices with impunity. They live for today without caring practically about the consequences for tomorrow. For our part, we are so obsessed with our comfort that we justify murder by participating in the extermination of unborn children, mostly because we men do not support our women.

In the face of the destruction of Creation and the death of innumerable people, God our Creator does not impose Himself as almighty King or God to put an end to every evil. No, but rather, the Son of God continues to come among us humbly and as the One who comes to serve. He went so far as to give his life as a ransom for our sins. Jesus accepted to endure the pain of all the evil consequences of all our sins and the sins of all of humanity. He did this to obey the will of his Father; because God wants to show all of humanity for all time how He has chosen to act in order to correct the errors of humanity and the defects of Creation.

“The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” “Let your love be upon us, Lord, even as we hope in you.”

Jesus loves his apostles and teases the brothers James and John by calling them “sons of thunder”. Like all of us, they are preoccupied with their situation in life here and in eternal life, and they want to assure for themselves a “good position” for their future. Jesus teaches them a lesson, and He teaches us the same lesson, that God – almighty that He is – chooses to walk humbly among us. He has no need to impose his power; instead, God enters into solidarity with us in our weakness and in our sin. Why does He act this way? It is because He loves us and comes to show us the way; in order to save us. What exactly is salvation?

“The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” “Let your love be upon us, Lord, even as we hope in you.”

What is salvation, exactly? Jesus defined salvation as eternal life, and more specifically, He declared: “This is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” In other words, God offers us to participate in his own divine life, the divine life within the Most Holy Trinity. It is a life of authentic and practical love.

“The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” “Let your love be upon us, Lord, even as we hope in you.”

How can we adopt within ourselves the attitude of a servant? How can we recognize eternal life as communion with God? The Good God gives us lots of time to convert ourselves and to improve our behaviours. When we are responsible for others, rather than demand to be always right, we might show them patience and understanding, and offer them mercy and kindness in the face of all the challenges of life.

In our family relations, instead of always grabbing the first places, we might put ourselves at the service of the other members of our families; instead of wanting to be loved, we might put all our efforts in recognizing, affirming, loving, and serving others like they were Jesus Himself.

In our intimate relationships, let us not seek our own pleasure and comfort; let us rather try to please others and to offer them comfort and encouragement. With others and with strangers, rather than try to show ourselves as superior, let us simply be present to them, accompanying them with attentive listening in all sympathy and with encouragement.

“The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” “Let your love be upon us, Lord, even as we hope in you.”

For our own needs, let us take in hand our responsibilities, and for the rest, let us put all our trust in God by practicing to wait patiently for the unfolding of divine providence. Let us keep our spirits free to notice the needs of others and then to put ourselves at their service.

Every day, life offers us endless opportunities to practice putting our whole trust in God; for God alone is deserving to fully enjoy having all of our trust. From moment to moment, let us pray intensively to the Good God for ourselves but also for all the others in the world.

“The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” “Let your love be upon us, Lord, even as we hope in you.”

Thankfully for us the Good God never tires of forgiving us, He who is God: the Father, and + the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Let us take a few moments to let the Holy Spirit renew and deepen our trust in God.

 

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

 

© 2006-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal QC           © 2006-2021 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC