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SSCC - SUNDAY HOMILIES FOR ALL YEAR ROUND As lay associates, sisters and brothers of the Ireland England Province of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus & Mary, we are priviliged to be able to offer you some thoughts and reflections on our Sunday readings. Many of our lay associates, sisters and brothers have contributed to putting together for the first time, homilies which cover every Sunday of the Liturgical year. We hope that you will find this service to be of assistance to you in your ministry or just as an opportunity for you to reflect and to pray on the various themes that these reading have to offer us.
13. Homilies Oct/Nov Each Monday, we will try to post the homily for the following w/e on this Homepage. (See previous homilies below) THIRTY-FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Year by Fr. Michael Ruddy sscc The parishioners were delighted with their new Parish Priest on his first Sunday with them when he gave an inspiring and moving homily on ‘love.’ Because it was so good, they didn’t mind hearing the same homily the following Sunday, but they became a little disgruntled when Sunday after Sunday, he continued to preach the same sermon. One of the parishioners decided to question the approach of the their new pastor, and asked him after his eighth Sunday Mass why he continued to preach the same homily. The priest’s reply was that he would continue to preach this message until he had some evidence that they were living it out in their daily lives. A little judgmental on the priest’s part you might say, but he was making the point how easy it is to speak about Gospel love, rather than to put it into practice. The type of Gospel love the priest talked about was that mentioned in today’s passage from Mark, where Jesus inextricably links two kinds of love: love of God and love of neighbour. The first is the famous Shema (Deut 6:4-5,) the central prayer of Judaism, traditionally prayed at least twice a day and is given to us in our first reading. It invites Israel and us, to a joyful union with and a total love of God by our whole being: heart, soul, mind and strength. The second is taken from Leviticus: ‘You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbour as yourself: I am the LORD.’ (Lev 19:18) What is new is not the fact that Jesus brought these two commandments together, but that he made them of equal importance. How much easier it would be if only we had to love God and forget about loving and caring for our Sisters and Brothers in Christ. In the Incarnation, Christ becomes one of us, so our whole faith and relationship with God depends on our recognising and acknowledging the indwelling of the Trinity, first in ourselves and then in others. Two aspects of the same reality, two sides of the same coin - one without the other doesn’t make sense. In the Gospels, Jesus reminds us that His presence in our Sisters and Brothers is most visible in the poor, in those in need, in those who suffer and whatever we do for them we do for Him. Put another way, and in the challenging question on a sign in a homeless shelter: ‘How can we worship a homeless man on Sunday, then ignore him on Monday?’ Which brings us to the Eucharist and our regular coming into contact with these two inextricable realities of life and faith. Every time we come together as Sisters and Brothers in Christ, we are reminded, (especially through the Liturgy of the Word,) of how God not only dwells with us but within us through the Holy Spirit. We ask in the Penitential Rite, forgiveness for not recognising nor responding to this indwelling in both our own hearts and in the hearts of our ‘neighbours.’ Because this self-sacrificing love is often difficult to put into practice, we need to be constantly reminded of how Christ in his life, suffering and passion gives us the ultimate example and inspiration for imitating the Master in living this Gospel love. But that is not all, for in the Eucharist we are given grace, strength and nourishment to love God with our whole heart, mind, soul and strength and our neighbour as ourself. What a challenging life of faith we have, but what satisfaction and peace of mind comes at the end of each day, knowing we have done our best to praise, worship and thank God and to serve him in our Sisters and Brothers. END YEAR B |
