Do we receive the gift?

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Homily Outline for the 19th Week in Ordinary Time, Year A

The Apostle Paul longs for his own people to receive the Gospel, “I have great sorrow and constant anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my own people.” Nearly all the first disciples were Jewish, but many Jews did not receive the Gospel in any full way. Having been a zealous Jew himself, Paul knew the rich gifts given to his people: the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises, the patriarchs. In light of such gifts, it is heartbreaking for St. Paul to see so many of the Jewish people walk away from Christ. They should have been the first to recognize and welcome Him. Paul speaks with great emotion – he could even wish to be himself cut off, if that would bring his people to Christ.

What might Paul say to us in Kingsford today? As Catholics, we too are heirs to a rich heritage of faith. Our Church, made up of imperfect people like us, people in need of redemption, has nonetheless received and preserved all the gifts Christ intended for His Church for 2000 years! We have the inspired Word of God, along with the living Apostolic Tradition. We have the great wealth of the 7 Sacraments, the principal means by which God offers us grace, healing, and life; and with them, the beautiful Liturgy of the Church, with finds its source and summit in the very Eucharist we are now celebrating. We have the successors to the Apostles, the bishops, who guide us in union with the successor of St. Peter, the Pope. We have the rich treasury of the saints, each one of them a living example of holiness and obedience to God. We have the cultural and artistic riches of Catholicism, even this very building built for us by our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents in faith. Like Paul’s Jewish brothers and sisters, we have received a fruitful, and rich patrimony, and we are part of an enormous family of faith, over 1.2 billion Catholics throughout the world.

Not unlike the Jewish people, we haven’t always received our rich heritage joyfully. Our Church faces attacks and enormous challenges. Perhaps the biggest challenge is the drifting away of very many of our own people. Sadly every one of us here could make a long list of family members and friends who have ceased practicing their faith… perhaps some of us here right now have experienced this drifting away. Even more than outside attack, we have fallen victim to a slow erosion of faith. Even as the Jewish people had been given so much by God and yet did not always accept Christ, we too have been given rich gifts. God in His mercy does not force these rich graces upon us. He doesn’t barge into our lives like a SWAT team; he gently knocks at the door. Will we receive this reich heritage… will we receive Him?

We see this Divine Gentleness in our first reading. Elijah has encountered violent opposition; fleeing, God has led him to the desert, and to a cave. Notice well… God does not come to Elijah in crashing wind, nor in the ground-shattering earthquake, nor in the raging fire… but in the tiny whispering sound. Where is God whispering to your heart? Have family duties, work, the buzz of music, text messages, and TV kept you from hearing His voice? It is a DAILY challenge for me to quiet my heart and listen, and I suspect it may be for you too. But, if we will stop and listen, Jesus WILL speak to us as He did to Peter out in the midst of the sea and storm, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” He will call us out of the boat of our comfort and routine, and invite us to walk on water, to serve Him, maybe even in unexpected ways. “Come,” He said to Peter, and while Peter’s eyes were fixed on the Lord, he strode over the waves. “Come,” He says also to you and to me.

The Lord continues to speak in our time! I was on the Steubenville trip last weekend with 300 young people from our diocese. All told, there were over 2000 high-schoolers in that gym in St. Paul, and the Eucharistic Lord was present in our midst, and our hearts were opened to Him. I heard dozens of heartfelt confessions, and saw the Lord’s mercy. I saw many young people realize that they are not alone: Jesus Himself is with them, and He is with them in their many brothers and sisters, with them in the Church.

Our youth LONG for the Lord; LONG for the Truth; LONG for the Body and Blood of Christ. Their hearts will only be satisfied by the rich tradition of our faith… Indeed, we ALL long for Christ! Will we respond? If our practice of the Faith is sporadic, will we make God our first priority? Without the Sunday Eucharist and regular confession, we die inside, starving and drowning under the burden of our sins and boredom. If we are regular in our practice, do we have the courage to go deeper… to make time each day for silence with the Lord? God will call each one of us, will we listen? He speaks to us: “Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid.” We have been offered a vibrant heritage of faith, a precious gift – may we receive it with joy. May we now draw near to this altar to receive that MOST precious gift, Jesus Himself, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity… having received Him, may we follow Him wherever He may lead.

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