29th Week in Ordinary Time 2023 - Friday - I do not do the good that I want

 With piercing insight into the human experience, St. Paul wrote about the Christian’s ongoing struggle with sin. It is a struggle we all face: most of the time, we know what we should do, we recognize the desire to do it, yet we frequently fail. There is a glaring discrepancy between our intentions and our actions, a moral disconnect. 

The reason for this disconnect—is that even though we are baptized—we still experience the effects of fallenness. We continue to wrestle with the agitations of sin—with the frailties and inclinations to sin experienced by all the descendants of Adam. 

Baptism brings the forgiveness of sins. The guilt of sin is remitted in baptism, but concupiscence remains. We are reborn as children of God, but the memory of the old man remains, and not just the memory, but some of his frailness, so that by struggling against it, sanctity and virtue might be produced in us.

Christians sin. And we admit that. It’s the first step of Christianity: admitting I’m a sinner in need of a savior. That admission begins every time we gather for Mass.

Yet, admitting our sins doesn’t mean justifying our sins. We are to make no provision for the flesh. We are to root out sin as best we can, with God’s help, through sacraments, and sacramentals, with examinations of conscience, penances, fasting, and mortification. But when we fall under the influences of the flesh, which is nearly inevitable for most of us, we repent. We go to confession. We beat our breast before God. We do penance. 

We must also not allow ourselves to become too discouraged over sin. We are weak. And that doesn’t cause God to love us any less. Yes, there is a failure to rely on God’s grace when we sin. But, the sooner we recognize that, the sooner we can repent and try again. This time, maybe with our pride put in its place.

Humility about our own sinfulness also produces patience with others. Humility leads us to extend the same patience with others—in their sins—that we would want for ourselves, as the Lord says, “the measure with which we measure, shall be used against us.”

When we humbly and sincerely approach the mercy of God, we begin to experience the freedom, joy, and peace that comes from God for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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That all Christians may know the grace of sincere repentance and seek to grow in virtue and the fruits of the spirit.

That young people be inspired to respond generously to God’s call to sanctity, and for vocations to the priesthood and religious life.

For all the sick and suffering, and for all those in hospitals, nursing homes, and hospice care, for all those who will die today, for their consolation and that of their families.

For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, for the deceased members of our family, friends, and parish, for the deceased clergy and religious of our diocese, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom. 

God of mercy, hear our prayers, ease the sufferings and comfort the weakness of your servants, and bring us to eternal life, through Christ our Lord.

October 20 2023 - St. Paul of the Cross - The Cross is the School of Love

 The saint we honor today was born the son of a wealthy merchant near Genoa Italy, in 1694.  He received his early education from the Capuchin Franciscans.  As a young boy he was marked with great sanctity.  Not only did he excel in his studies, but he was deeply reverent, and devoted to prayer, especially the Holy Mass.  Shortly before his confirmation, he had a miraculous vision: the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Him wearing an all-black habit.  This became the habit of the religious order he found later in life, called the Congregation of the Passion of Jesus Christ, known today as the Passionists.  

When he was 26 years old, Paul had a series of prayer-experiences which made it clear to him that God was inviting him to form a community who would live an evangelical life and promote the love of God revealed in the Passion of Jesus. It was his life-long conviction that God is most easily found in the Passion of Christ.

“It is very good and holy,” today’s saint said, “to consider the passion of our Lord and to meditate on it, for by this sacred path we reach union with God. In this most holy school we learn true wisdom…love is a unifying virtue which takes upon itself the torments of its beloved Lord. It is a fire reaching through to the inmost soul.”

The Cross is the school of love—how much God loves us, and how our lives are to be redeemed, transformed, and transfigured by imitating that love and growing in that love. Love requires self-donation, love requires daily sacrifice, love requires forgetting ourselves in order to give ourselves more fully to others—there is no greater love than for one to lay down his life for a friend. 

In our moments of weakness and failure, it is easy to grow discouraged and to lose hope. That’s why in our sinfulness it is so important to meditate on how much we are loved by God. He didn’t die for the perfect, he died for us. He embraced us in our most unlovable state. Meditating on the cross of Christ, then, is to be a key which opens up and transforms our hearts and makes them more like the one who embraced the cross for our salvation. 

The love Christ showed on the cross is, as the first St. Paul—St. Paul of Tarsus—wrote in our first reading this morning, is a love which surpasses all knowledge. God’s love surpasses our human understanding, if you think you understand God’s love—his love is greater still. But also, seeking to grasp and experience God’s love is more valuable than any other knowledge we can gain in this earthly life. “More precious than gold, than fire-refined gold” is the law of God’s love. The psalmist is not just speaking poetically here, but rather, calling us to realign our priorities—to seek to truly value God’s love over everything else. 

May the Passion of Jesus Christ be ever in our hearts. May we meditate often on the cross of the Savior, and encounter “the breadth and length and height and depth” of God’s love for us, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

 

For unity in the Church, faithfulness to right teaching, detachment from worldly vices, generosity in the works of charity, and courage in the Church’s evangelizing mission. 

Through the intercession of St. Paul of the Cross, we pray for the spiritual good of the Passionist Orders—and that all members of the Church may be more deeply conformed to the Cross of Christ.

For all victims of war, for peace in the Holy Land, an end to the violence and suffering, and healing for those whose lives have been tragically disrupted. May God come to the assistance of the communities and families devastated by the horrors of terrorism and war; and may world leaders work together for peace. 

For those experiencing any kind of hardship or sorrow, isolation, addiction, or disease: that they may know God’s consolation, healing, and grace.

For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, the deceased members of our families friends and parishes, for those who fought and died for our freedom, and for N. for whom this mass is offered.

Graciously grant our petitions, we beseech thee, O Lord; may your grace sustain us always in your service, through Christ Our Lord.