DAILY HOMILIES #St. Paul

If making money stops you from your daily prayers or from attending church as you normally would, if you find yourself doing things that go against your conscience to make money, the truth is that money has become your master. If, as a minister, you only attend to members of your flock who are rich and ignore those who seem to have nothing to offer, then money is your master.

Bringing back the lost requires great discipline, courage and integrity. You cannot give what you don’t have. To be successful, you must be detached from the world. You must, like St. Paul says in today’s first reading, “count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus.”

The moment we begin to see ourselves as better than others, the moment we begin to talk badly about others as “good-for-nothings,” God teaches us a lesson; He humiliates us before their very eyes. Like a party host, God politely asks us to step aside, and He does it in so many ways.

Love is the ability to see God in others, especially in those suffering, hungry, thirsty, homeless, sick, etc. No law is superior to the law of love. On the last day, we shall be judged by how we kept this law of love: how we helped others and how we behaved, not like the Pharisees.

On the Last Day, God will not ask which church we attended. He will ask if we loved others as He loved us. Speaking to the Samaritan woman, Jesus said: “The hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such the Father seeks to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:23-24).

Some people have been disowned by their family members for choosing to become Christians. Some had to flee for their lives because their family members sentenced them to death. A lady once shared how she was driven from home because she refused to obey her mother’s instruction to go into prostitution. I know of persons who ended their relationships after deciding to take their Christian faith seriously. To enjoy Christ’s peace, you cannot be at peace with the world; you cannot be friends with everybody.

Why did Jesus tell this parable to the man who came to ask for Jesus’s intervention in an inheritance dispute? To assure him that even though he had been cheated, he could still live a very long and happy life. Meanwhile, his greedy brother is like the rich man whose lands yielded abundantly but refused to consider others in his enjoyment plan. If God calls this greedy brother tonight, what becomes of the inheritance he has gathered?

The Holy Spirit is the most reliable friend you will ever have. When in trouble, those you call your friends now will show their true colours, but the Holy Spirit will defend you. When trials come your way, Jesus says: “The Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.” Learn to call on the Holy Spirit by thinking of Him as the air you breathe. You cannot see it, but you can feel it. You don’t think about it, but you know it is there. Just as no one can survive without air, you cannot do without the Holy Spirit.

Starve your flesh and feed your spirit. As St. Paul says, “Be transformed by the renewal of your mind.” (Romans 12:2). Surround yourself with good books, holy pictures, videos and other sound materials. Filter your social media consumption. Take part in spiritual activities, and spend more time praying, studying the Bible, and meditating daily. Fast from whatever leads you away from God. You will know when you are progressing if your life radiates these virtues: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23).

St. Paul points out in today’s First Reading that we are justified by faith, not by the Law, having been freed from the Law’s curse. However, our faith demands that we hear and keep God’s words. We keep God’s words because we love Him, not because we hope to justify ourselves. We keep God’s word because we are His children, not because we seek payment like workers (who hate their master but obey him to earn their salary).

In other words, demons cannot function without a host. They only possess a free heart (swept and tidy). If God occupies your heart, there will be no room for the demons. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8). We make our hearts attractive to demons when we expose ourselves to impure thoughts, wicked imaginations and other sinful acts. We are either with Jesus or against Him.

In today’s Gospel passage, one of Jesus’ disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray. It takes humility to ask to be taught how to do something, just as it takes humility to take corrections when people point out our faults. The Lord’s prayer appears simple, but it is also very powerful.