Lord, give your servant an understanding mind to discern between good and evil! - July 30th, 2023 - 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time "A" - MQP Church in JLW 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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17th 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....

  Homily MP3 version - 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 

“Lord, give your servant an understanding mind to discern between good and evil!”

God loves to listen to all of our prayers. However, it is not good for us to only pray for our own good. This is why the young King Solomon’s prayer was so pleasing to the Lord: “Give your servant an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil; for who can govern this, your great people?”

“Lord, give your servant an understanding mind to discern between good and evil!” 

God does not need us to inform Him of our needs; for He already knows them, even before we do. Nor does our prayer have as its objective to convince God to give us his blessings; for He already desires to give us all good things. The purpose of our prayer is to bring our heart, our thought, our body, and our soul into sync with the Sacred Heart of Jesus, with his thought, his Body, and his Soul; which perfectly reflect the will and the love of God our Father. Our prayer, as we persevere in prayer, our patient waiting on the Lord and our hopeful anticipation of his reply; all of these make us exercise the holy desires which the Holy Spirit places in us.  The passage of time increases the intensity of our holy desires. This gives us time to empty our hands in order to be ready to receive more, and our patient waiting allows the empty space within us to grow sufficiently large to have room to take in the gifts God wants to give us.

“Lord, how I love your law!”

Life, with its pleasures and pains, with all of its changes and the passage of time, and with our losses and grieving, our gains, our blessings, our thanksgiving, and our praises to the Lord, all of these enable us to grow in our love for God and for our neighbour. If we are to be ready for heaven in God’s eternity, we need while there is time to attach ourselves more and more to God and his holy will; while detaching ourselves from the concerns and goods of this world. Rare is the person that is a saint right from their infancy. Our life passes through stages, and at each stage, God is there to immerse us in his grace, and in the life and love of the Most Holy Trinity; in the unity of their will and in their communion of love.

“We know that all things work together for good for those who love God!”

The parables which Jesus tells invite us to examine the intentions of our heart. “The one who found a treasure in a field” and “the merchant who found a pearl of great value”, both realized the value of their discovery and decided “to sell all that they had” in order to acquire that treasure or that pearl. Have we discovered yet the great value of the kingdom of heaven? To live in the kingdom of heaven actually means to live in a real and personal relationship with God the Father, through Jesus his Son, in the power of love of the Holy Spirit. Living in an intimate relationship of love with God doesn’t happen by itself, but it requires our decision and our participation from day to day. Praying is opening ourself up to God dwelling within us.

“We know that all things work together for good for those who love God!”

The parable of the “net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind” warns us that at the end of our life, and “at the end of the age, the Angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire”. Let’s not wait. It is up to us right now to separate ourselves from the evil in order to be ready for the Lord. It is not up to us to judge those who appear to us to be evil; on the contrary, we must pray for them. However, we must take care not to let ourselves be influenced or confused by their words, their attitudes, their gestures, their practices, or their behaviours.

“In the furnace of fire, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Have you understood?”

Today, there is great confusion over the gender ideology: am I a man or a woman? Does this depend on how I feel inside, or am I man or woman according to the design of God our Creator? In the 1960’s it was all about the so-called sexual revolution. The father of sexual permissiveness and experimentation was a certain Alfred Kinsey. His research included the sexual abuse of infants and the sexual practices of sexual criminals who were in prison. He was fraudulent in publishing his findings in 1948 and 1953 as the behaviours of ordinary citizens. His successor, John Money, invented gender theory. He experimented on two young twin boys who later committed suicide. I invite you to watch the YouTube video “What is a woman?”

“Lord, give your servant an understanding mind to discern between good and evil!”

We need to wake up and get informed. The one who doesn’t have both feet on the ground, and a spirit deeply rooted in God and his Word, can easily be confused by the voracious wolves who are now experimenting on our children in schools and universities. We must pray for the evil, but we must be vigilant to not let ourselves be confused by them. “Lord, give discernment to us and our children; form us and help us form our children. By your Word, make us into missionary disciples equipped with “what is new and what is old.” 

“Lord, give your servant an understanding mind to discern between good and evil!” 

“Mary Mother of God, St. Joseph, walk with us 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.

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

© 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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Lord, you are good and forgiving; listen to my cry of supplication! - July 23rd, 2023 - 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time "A" - MQP Church in JLW Parish & The LSM at St. Willibrord

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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16th 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....

  Gospel & Homily MP3 version - PDF version 

Brief meditation after Holy Communion - "On the Communion of Saints" - remaining connected to our dearly departed - The Meditation MP3 version  

  LSM Gospel & Homily MP3 version - 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 

“Lord, you are good and forgiving; listen to my cry of supplication!”

Our God hears us as we ask the questions that trouble us. Why, Lord, do You allow so many people to do all kinds of evil to others, and apparently get away with it and even enjoy the fruits of their evil schemes? How are we to react, and what are we to do when we see evil people go on doing all manner of evil with apparent impunity? How are we to continue walking in the ways of the Lord when we find ourselves surrounded by so much evil and godlessness?

“Lord, you are good and forgiving; listen to my cry of supplication!”

Last week we remembered that birth pains are a necessary and inevitable transition through which the pregnant woman must pass in order to be delivered of the infant she carried in her womb for nine months by giving birth, by pushing it into the world. Just as the infant must leave the security of its mother’s womb in order to pass into a world that is much bigger, richer in possibilities, and with infinitely more space to explore and enjoy; so too must we eventually leave this world in order to be brought by God into his eternity. God our Creator reassures us that we, that the whole Creation, “groans in labour pains” because we are all in transition from a worldly, insecure, fearful, and selfish life towards the fullness of life by loving God and our neighbour. In bearing all our trials, our prayers are often “sighs too deep for words”.

“Lord, you are good and forgiving; listen to my cry of supplication!”

Although we go through many trials and tribulations and experience at times prolonged pain; it is no reason to seek a quick exit by ending our life prematurely. Just as the caterpillar needs to slowly push itself out of the cocoon in order for its new wings to be fully inflated, and just as we had to squeeze through our mother’s birth canal in order to enter this world; so too do we need the fullness of every human experience – both pleasant and painful – in order to become capable of entering into eternal life. Our Creator God and Father knows what He is doing, and we need to put aside our fears and put all our trust in Him and his divine will.

“Lord, you are good and forgiving; listen to my cry of supplication!” 

Today, the Lord Jesus grants us the grace of a detailed yet simple explanation in answer to our questions about the presence of evil in the world, and also what action God intends to take. We, “the children of the Kingdom”, we are “the good seed which Jesus, the Son of Man, sows in the world. The weeds are the children of the evil one”. If God were to uproot and trash bad people out of this world, this act of power and violence on God’s part would make us terrified of our Creator. He doesn’t want to frighten us. Moreover, He behaves with great patience even with bad people, in the hope that they may decide to repent and ask our Father for his mercy.

“Lord, you are good and forgiving; listen to my cry of supplication!”

The power of God, our Creator, is evident everywhere in his Creation: in nature, in the universe, and even in our own body. If we choose out of audacity, or temerity, or foolishness to ignore the limits; then, we suffer the consequences. Everywhere on Earth, at the bottom of the oceans, on mountaintops, and in the darkness of space, those who ignore the limits are often wounded or lose their life. By accepting to learn and to respect the limits, we can experience God’s goodness, wonder at his beauty, feel his mildness, and acquire his wisdom.

“Lord, you are good and forgiving; listen to my cry of supplication!” 

Our mortal life on this Earth is brief, even if we live over a hundred years. Our Father has designed us to share in his eternity with his Son Jesus and the Holy Spirit, in communion with all the saints, and in the company of all his angels. To get there, we must begin living in heaven now, by trying every day to love our God with our whole heart, our whole mind, our whole soul, and our whole strength, and our neighbour as ourselves. The three Divine Persons offer to dwell within us, in order to enable us to begin sharing even now in the divine love which unites them. For those who insist until the end of their lives on doing evil and making others suffer; God will respect their choices, and they will be able to prolong their miserable life into eternity.

“Lord, you are good and forgiving; listen to my cry of supplication!”

It’s not possible for us to fully understand the mysteries of God. It is enough for us to nurture the desire to better understand the ways of the Lord. Jesus invites us to contemplate the Word of God and carry it within us as we go through our day’s activities. Then, with his Father and the Holy Spirit, Jesus does within us what only God can do. Day by day, little by little, their thoughts come to transform and enrich our thoughts, their love comes to inflame our heart, and their creativity comes to stimulate our desire to serve the common good of humanity. At Mass, we offer to the Father all that we experience and do, and all that we endure out of love.

“Lord, you are good and forgiving; listen to my cry of supplication!”

“Mary Mother of God, St. Joseph, walk with us 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.

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

© 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 

+ + + + + + + + + + + +  

We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labour pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves! - July 16th, 2023 - 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time "A" - MQP Church in JLW 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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15th 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....

Prayer for deliverance from all evil and demonic influences, blessing of the water, and sprinkling of the Assembly

  The Prayer MP3 version - PDF version 

  Gospel & Homily MP3 version - 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 

“We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labour pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves!”           Saint Paul to the Romans 8:22

God wants to hear us ask the questions that trouble us. Why, Lord, do You let our forests burn? Why the floods, the tornadoes and destructive storms, the earthquakes, the landslides, the volcano eruptions, the droughts, and the famines? Why the quarrels and the wars? Why all the illnesses, the pain, and the suffering? Why allow the poor to be exploited, or poor nations to be exploited by the wealthy nations?

“We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labour pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves!”           Saint Paul to the Romans 8:22

We know that birth pains are the necessary and inevitable transition through which the pregnant woman must pass in order to be delivered of the infant she carried in her womb for nine months by giving birth, by pushing it into the world. The infant must leave the security of its mother’s womb in order to pass into a world that is much bigger, richer in possibilities, and with infinitely more space to explore and enjoy. In this word of God received by Saint Paul, God our Creator reassures us by declaring that we, that the whole Creation, “groans in labour pains” because we are all compressed in the birthing canal towards the fullness of life.

“We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labour pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves!”           Saint Paul to the Romans 8:22

For the baby, the canal through which it must pass is so narrow that it must endure terrible compressions in order to pass through into the world. This image of the baby squeezed in the birthing canal in its mother’s body is an image that helps us to understand a little better the narrow passageway in which we are actually stuck by our mortal life on this Earth. We are stuck in the passageway between our mortal life in this world, the place of our beginning, and the place of our destiny which is Heaven, the divine domain of the Most Holy Trinity, in the presence of God with all his angels and all the saints from all times and places.

“You visit the earth and water it; you greatly enrich it!”

Our situation is far from hopeless, because God our Creator declares: “Don’t be afraid in spite of all the dangers which you must face.” As well, six centuries before the arrival of Jesus in this world, God declared: “My word, that goes out from my mouth, shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” God fully intends to realize his will for us. He wants us to enjoy eternal life beginning now, because “this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” John 17:3 The question is, are we nurturing within us this desire to understand the Word of God?

“You visit the earth and water it; you greatly enrich it!”

After telling the parable, Jesus explains it. If we receive the Word of God with no desire to understand it, then “the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart” and we lose all that God wants to give us. If we don’t cling to God with confidence in Him, then there is little soil within us, and the Word of God “has no root”. “When trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away.” If we focus our attention and our preoccupation on “the cares of the world and the lure of wealth”, that “chokes the word, and it yields nothing.” All this means that the Word of God cannot bear fruit in us without our free, desired, and determined participation.

“You visit the earth and water it; you greatly enrich it!” 

In order for there to be in us “good soil”, we must first of all make efforts, with the grace of God, to read, study, pray with, and finally understand the Word of God. In addition, we must cling to God with confidence in Him; in order to hold on when “trouble and persecution” come to us. Also, we must not let troubles or persecution frighten us, but on the contrary turn towards the Most Blessed Trinity and put all our confidence in God. It goes without saying that we must accept to endure the inevitable troubles and sufferings of life. It’s no use comparing ourselves to others; for we have no idea of the trials and interior sufferings others are going through. 

“Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him, says the Lord!”

It is impossible for us to understand everything of the mysteries of God. It is enough for us to at least nurture the desire to better understand the ways of the Lord. Jesus invites us to contemplate the Word of God, and to carry it within us as we go through our day’s activities. Then, with his Father and the Holy Spirit, Jesus does within us what only God can do. For our part, we offer to the Father all that we experience and do, and all that we endure out of love.

“Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him, says the Lord!”

“Mary Mother of God, St. Joseph, walk with us 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.

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

© 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 

+ + + + + + + + + + + +  

Lord, I declare that your steadfast love is established for ever; your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens! - July 2nd, 2023 - 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time "A" - MQP Church in JLW 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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13th Sunday in Ordinary Time  

Give thanks to the Lord with me for his gift of the priesthood to his Church - it was 40 years ago today that the Lord Jesus made me his priest through the hands and beautiful spirit of then Archbishop Paul Grégoire, soon to be made Cardinal of the Church. 

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

  Gospel & Homily MP3 version - 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 

“Lord, I declare that your steadfast love is established for ever;
your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens!”

Well now, who does Jesus think He is to tell us we must love Him more than our families? Actually, Jesus doesn’t think, but He knows that He is the Son of God, our Creator. That means that He wants for us the absolute best, while we often are willing to settle for much less. He knows us all too well and He sees us all too often flirting with danger not only in this life, but even risking the loss of eternal life in communion with God and all the saints. 

“Lord, I declare that your steadfast love is established for ever;

your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens!”

When we become overly absorbed or even obsessed with our own comfort or in a race to satisfy our numerous passions; we risk loving poorly or even failing to love our loved ones, our own family. What is more, if we become obsessed with the need to love our loved ones, our family, at all cost; we risk ignoring the Lord God as well as his holy will for our salvation here and now and our eternal happiness.

“Lord, I declare that your steadfast love is established for ever;

your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens!”

The wealthy woman of Shunem recognized that Elisha was a holy man of God, a prophet, and she saw the opportunity to serve both the holy man and the Lord by offering Elisha a place to stay when he had to travel through their town. For them to build Elisha a chamber on their roof would certainly have resulted in a significant outlay of money, which, for her, would have been interfering with her husband’s administration of their goods. Her husband was old; yet she was willing to risk stirring up his wrath in order to serve both the holy man and God. 

That woman put all her trust in the Lord her God. “For our shield belongs to the Lord, our king to the Holy One of Israel.”

“Lord, I declare that your steadfast love is established for ever;
your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens!”

Is it not true, at least some of the time, that we care more about what our family and others think of us than we care about what God thinks of us? If we haven’t learned this hard lesson by now, then it’s about time we learn it: trying to please others at all cost will get us into trouble.

The only One we must always please is our God and Creator, the Most Holy Trinity. That is because we can please God only by becoming the best version of ourselves. This we can do by taking good care of our own life, and out of whatever health, strength, and energy we have, to do our best to also care for others, beginning with our own family, but also for neighbours.

“Lord, I declare that your steadfast love is established for ever;
your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens!”

As we do our best to keep our life in relatively good order and to do the will of God, then the Holy Spirit fills us with the peace of divine love, and our life – however imperfect – becomes a personal witness to the mercy and goodness of God and a living proclamation of Good News.

“Lord, I declare that your steadfast love is established for ever;
your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens!”

Finally, at the end of each day, as we prepare for sleep, and when we review our day, we can ask God our Father to forgive us for our faults, and give Him thanks for his Presence, his help, and his love. It is as we pray that we can become conscious of the Presence of the Most Holy Trinity within us, and that we can realize that all is grace; all is gift. God shows us that we have control over nothing; so, why keep trying to carry the weight of the whole world on our shoulders, when Jesus is already carrying the world? Since all that we are, and all that comes to us, and all that we have is gift from God; we can relax, we can rest, and we can breathe.

“Lord, I declare that your steadfast love is established for ever;
your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens!”

That is why it is so important for us to participate well in the Sunday Liturgy, at Holy Mass. We can prepare the day before and Sunday morning by remembering all that we have lived since our last presence at the Sacred Liturgy. We can dispose ourselves to place on the altar the offering of ourselves: our efforts during the week to live as daughters, sons of God; all that we accept to endure out of love; our trials, sorrows, and losses; our worries, prayers, and temptations; our disappointments, and our repentance; putting all our trust in God. 

“Lord, I declare that your steadfast love is established for ever;
your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens!”

“Mary Mother of God, St. Joseph, walk with us 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 lay down our offering together with 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.

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

© 2006-2023 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 

+ + + + + + + + + + + +  

Sing to the Lord; praise the Lord! He has delivered the needy from the hands of evildoers! - June 25th, 2023 - 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time "A" - MQP Church in JLW Parish & LSM - Late Sunday Mass in St. Willibrord

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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12th 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....

 Word of God - Readings & Gospel - PDF version 

Noon Mass - Homily MP3 version - PDF version 

The LSM at St. Willibrord in Verdun 

8:00 p.m. Mass - Homily MP3 version - 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 to the Lord; praise the Lord! He has delivered the needy from the hands of evildoers!” 

Here is Jesus always near to us to encourage us to put aside all fear in the face of evil men and their terrible actions in the world. What is the condition of our spirits in the face of all the threats multiplying all over the world today? Whether it be the Russian aggression in Ukraine, or acts of war or violence in the Middle East, in Africa or Asia, or else the virulent persecution of Christians in general and of Catholics in particular all over the world; what is our attitude, what is our prayer, and what is our response?

“Sing to the Lord; praise the Lord! He has delivered the needy from the hands of evildoers!”

Just as dramatic are the constantly changing conditions of our world economies, of the Covid pandemic and other health threats, as well as the great climatic challenges. What will our living conditions be in the future? Even more pertinently or essentially, what is our attitude towards God in the face of all these disasters in our world? Are we ashamed of our God, or are we able to recognize his Presence and action in our world and in our lives? When others are defiant towards us and our faith, do we feel pressured to deny the Lord Jesus “before humans”, or are we ready to declare ourselves for Jesus and to acknowledge Him “before humans”?

“Sing to the Lord; praise the Lord! He has delivered the needy from the hands of evildoers!”

In the face the daily challenges of life and the unending and unavoidable changes which life brings us every day, are we inclined to let ourselves be crushed and discouraged? And yet, we are neither alone nor abandoned. We have only to open the Bible to the Book of Psalms to find a complaint perfectly suited to express the anguish of our heart, the confusion of our mind, and the distress of our soul. As we pray the complaint, God hears and permeates us with his grace.

“Lord, in your steadfast love, answer me. It is for your sake that I have borne reproach, that shame has covered my face. I have become a stranger to my kindred, an alien to my mother’s children. It is zeal for your house that has consumed me; the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.”

“Lord, in your steadfast love, answer me!”

Jesus declares it clearly: God our Father sees us and watches closely over us. He sees all that happens to us, and He permits all that happens in the world, far away, as well as close by. We are not ready for Heaven; that is why God permits that all these trials purify the intentions of our heart; in order to make room in us for all the love of God and of our neighbour.

As well, we are weak, and we need these trials which provoke us to resist the evil and the temptations, and to fight against all that is evil. God knows very well that it is only by our resistance and our struggle against all that is evil, that we can be strengthened to endure.

“The Lord hears the needy, and does not despise his own that are in bonds!”

Finally, at the end of each day, as we prepare for sleep, and when we review our day, we can ask God our Father to forgive us for our faults, and give Him thanks for his Presence, his help, and his love. It is as we pray that we can become conscious of the Presence of the Most Holy Trinity within us, and that we can realize that all is grace; all is gift. He shows us that we have control over nothing; so, why keep trying to carry the weight of the whole world on our shoulders, when Jesus is already taking care of that? Since all that we are, and all that comes to us, and all that we have is gift from God; we can relax, we can rest, and we can breathe.

“The Lord hears the needy, and does not despise his own that are in bonds!” 

Our life on this Earth is brief. We can choose to live as if God doesn’t exist or as if He is doing nothing, and we can deny Him before humans, or we can choose to believe in Him, to trust Him, to open our eyes, our minds, and our hearts, and to welcome into our lives his Presence and his saving action. Ask to meet with a priest and allow the Lord to strengthen you in your faith. Jesus declares that it is the truth which will set us free. In the presence of the priest one can obtain God’s forgiveness but also some spiritual direction.

“The Spirit of truth will testify on my behalf, says the Lord, and you also are to testify!”

That is why it is so important for us to participate well in the Sunday Liturgy, at Holy Mass. We can prepare the day before and Sunday morning by remembering all that we have lived since our last presence at the Sacred Liturgy. We can dispose ourselves to place on the altar the offering of ourselves: our efforts during the week to live as daughters, sons of God; all that we accept to endure out of love; our trials, our sorrows, our losses, our worries, our prayers, our temptations, our disappointments, and even our sins; putting all our trust in God.

“The Spirit of truth will testify on my behalf, says the Lord, and you also are to testify!” 

“Mary Mother of God, St. Joseph, walk with us 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 lay down our offering together with 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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© 2006-2023 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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