Homily: Feast of St. Paul of the Cross

Feast of St. Paul of the Cross (Ephesians: 3:14-21) “Be Strong and Know that I am God”

In our reading today Paul prays for his readers. His is a beautiful sentiment. He speaks of the wonder of God’s love. His poetic verses reflect the fact that God’s love is without measure. We can rely on that love.

He also prays that his readers will have inner strength. Inner strength, according to Greek philosophy comes from three places. Inner strength comes from the reason, conscience and the will.

Sometimes we say that we need to get our head on straight. What do we mean by that. We can get into stinking thinking. We can believe that everything is going wrong in our life, and this can lead us into despair. When we take time to reflect deeply or discuss our life with a friend, we can usually come to understand that our life is a mixed bag of good and bad. “Everything” is not going wrong.

We also need to have a clear conscience. If we believe that we are sinful, we can also lose heart. Yes, we do things wrong. At those moments we must come to see that everyone is a sinner. We must also be put in touch with fact that God’s mercy is available to everyone including us. Jesus came to redeem us.

Finally, we remember that being strong is often an act of the will. How often we have heard it said, “You need to buck.” Or “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” Giving up is never a very good course of action. Sometimes people succeed by shear force of will. Often individuals succeed who have no business doing so.

Christians believe that what is needed beyond reason, conscience and will is grace. The power of God can transform our lives. If we believe in our heart that God’s power can help us through difficult moments this can lift us up. St. Paul believed that his life and mission were guided by the hand of divine providence. Because of that faith, he was able to do extraordinary things.

Reflection Questions:

1.    Do I get discouraged easily? What might transform my efforts?

2.    Is my God a God who judges everyone? What happens when I place my trust in God?

 Dear Parishioners,

           This week Fr. Matthew and I went to Peoria to what is called Assembly Days. This is an annual event. The priests have continuing education and Bishop Lou has time to talk to us about issues impacting our diocese.

          If you have not heard about it The Diocese is in the midst of a planning process called Growing Disciples. The diocese would like to make better use of money and personnel. The number of Catholics actively participating in the faith is declining. COVID has not helped that trend.

          Some difficult decisions might have to be made about the future. You will hear more about this process in the future. Let’s pray that the church may grow stronger and that we can listen to what the Spirit tells us.

          May Our Lady watch over us this day,

          Fr. Mark