Homily: Feast if St. Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr

Feast if St. Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr (2 Cor. 9:6-10) “Cheerfully Give”

“He who sows sparingly will reap sparingly.” These are words from the second letter to the Corinthians. Christians are asked to give their all to spread the gospel.

Suscipe is a Latin word that means receive. This term is used at the beginning of the Offertory at Mass. The priest offers the bread and the wine and then the people pray “May the Lord accept this sacrifice at your hands for the praise and glory of his name, for our good and the good of all his holy Church.” We bring our gifts to the altar, whatever they may be, and we pray that God will use our gifts for his purposes.

The Suscipe is also a prayer that was written by St. Ignatius Loyola. We might remember it from a hymn we often sing. “Take Lord, receive, all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, my entire will, all that I have and possess ………. give me only your love and your grace, that’s enough for me. St. Ignatius called for his brethren to give heroically for Christ’s mission. Many did, as they went out to be missionaries to the world.

The Jesuits were known as the Pope’s marines. They went to places where no one was a Christian during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The Jesuits traveled to the Orient, to North and South America, to places throughout the world. Often, they died as the worked to spread the gospel, but they believed that the sacrifice was worth it if the Good News was proclaimed. The only reward they wanted was a deeper relationship with God.

The attitude of the Jesuits reflected the words of Second Corinthians. “Each must do as already determined, without sadness or compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” St. Paul was a role model for the Jesuits and is a role model for us. He traveled throughout the known world to spread the Gospel. He risked his very life to serve Christ. He gave everything he had.

Quite often I give the things I have left over be that material things or my time. I hold back what I think is essential. I don’t make a sacrificial gift. We know we are truly committed to a cause when we can’t afford to give anything more and we do because of our passion for the cause.

Reflection Questions:

1.    Have I ever given my maximum effort to a cause? What was that cause?

2.    When am I happy to share? What motivates me to do so?

 Dear Parishioners,

           Soon we will be training new altar servers. We always do that at the beginning of the school year. If you have a child that is entering the fifth grade, they are eligible to be an altar server. We will be training Seton students during school time. We will be training other children after school and on Saturdays. Call our office if you have a child that would like to serve at Mass.

          Remember that we also are recruiting musicians and singers. We are starting our adult choirs again. Call Cheryl Bolt at our office to participate. All are welcome.

          May Our Lady of Peace pray for our troubled world today.

          Fr. Mark