DAILY HOMILIES #death

Do not be afraid to embrace hard times. These are moments of planting. “Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him.” (Psalm 126:5-6). It takes self-discipline (tears) to sow holiness and good habits but the harvest is always pleasant.

We celebrate the Cross of Jesus Christ today and the various crosses we bear as Christians. In the Beatitudes, Jesus told us to “rejoice and be glad” when we are persecuted, insulted, excluded, oppressed or denied our rights for His Sake. This is what we are doing today – rejoicing in our sufferings, knowing that for every pain we endure, a crown awaits us in heaven.

Finally the Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all stain of original sin, when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things so that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords and conqueror of sin and death

God knows how it feels to be so hungry that you begin to chew paper (or anything that meets your eye). Whether we like it or not, there is hunger in our country today; people are ready to do anything to survive. We may want to judge them like the Pharisees who condemned Jesus and his disciples. However, before pointing fingers at anybody, ask yourself: “What have I done to help?”

Jesus asked: “Who touched me?” The disciples did not understand the question because there were hundreds of people around Jesus. Anyone could have touched Him, but not everyone had the faith to draw a miracle from Him. The church is packed full. Everyone is touching Jesus, but only those who touch with faith will go home with miracles.

Life combines good and bad times, and there is no escaping the bad times. If you cannot endure the bad times, you won’t be around to enjoy the good times. If Peter had walked away from Jesus when He taught about the Eucharist, would he perform signs and wonders in Joppa?

The Holy Eucharist is the best protection any human can ever have. As Jesus protected the Christians in Damascus from Saul’s raid, Jesus would surely protect you from the plans of your enemies, whether known or unknown. As a communicant, no one can cut short your life or kill you before your time.

Lent is finally over. Am I also in haste to move on with my life? No more Stations of the Cross, no more fasting and abstinence. Am I going to return to my old habits and vices? Mary Magdalene refused to move on. Her actions proved she was a true friend of Jesus. She was among the Women of Jerusalem who wept for Jesus while the crowd cheered and mocked, but when others moved on, she went to the tomb early in the morning

This is the night that, even now, throughout the world, sets Christian believers apart from worldly vices and the gloom of sin, leading them to grace and joining them with his holy ones. This is the night Christ broke the prison bars of death and rose victorious from the underworld…

Good Friday shows God understands our pains. He knows what it feels like to love and be rejected, to be betrayed, angry, hungry, insulted, dissatisfied, sick, weak, or sorrowful. Good Friday teaches us that Jesus once felt whatever you were going through today.

The story of Susanna tells of the courage of a well-trained woman who preferred death to sin. The judges thought they could blackmail her, but God came to her rescue. In today’s Gospel passage, the scribes and Pharisees brought a woman to Jesus whom they accused of adultery. Like the Judges in our first reading, they thought they had cornered Jesus. In the end, Jesus, God in human flesh, displayed a wisdom far superior to any human imagination.

Has my love for the world made me a sterile Christian? What things must die so I can bear the right fruits? Could it be my desire for comfort or pleasure? The book of Hebrews teaches: “In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.” (Hebrews 12:4).