Homily: Feast of St. Blaise

Feast of St. Blaise (Heb. 13:1-8) “Welcome the Stranger”

The writer of Hebrews begins the closing remarks of his letter in the epistle at Mass today, he gives a lot of practical advice. He speaks, for instance, of brotherly love. Friendship is a daily challenge because we are to hold our friends accountable to their Christian vocation while at the same time being compassionate when they fail.

We must always balance these two things. We know that this is difficult. Friends, at times, make choices we do not agree with. Do we cut off contact with them when they do this? No, a true friend remains a friend in times of trial. We try to be supportive of friends through good times bad.

Another piece of advice that the author of Hebrews gives concerns hospitality. Hospitality was of great interest in the ancient world. There were no nice hotels to stay in when a person undertook a journey. Inns were notoriously bad. People stayed together in crowded unhealthy, dirty conditions. If one was an inn keeper, it was one of the most frowned upon occupations. Inn keepers were thought to be corrupt.

Extended families and friends had unwritten agreements that they could stay with each other when they traveled. Sometimes people showed up unannounced, but the host was to be gracious about this. It was a tit for tat situation. You allow me to stay in your home when I need to. I allow you to stay in my home when you need to. To be less than hospitable in the ancient world was considered the worst of behaviors. Family honor was at stake.

This seems so foreign to our world. In the modern world if a relative comes to visit we often would rather have them stay in a hotel and they might prefer to do so. We value independence above everything else. We like our space, and we don’t enjoy having it invaded. We also hate to inconvenience others.

The truest charity is not what we painstakingly plan to do, but it is the charity that we do for others when there is an emergency in their life. We could remember St. Benedict’s maximum today. “Always treat the (stranger) guest as if they were Christ.”

Reflection Questions:

1.    When is the last time I had someone just stop by? How did I feel about the intrusion?

2.   What provisions do I make for surprise visitors? Could I be a better host or hostess?

 Dear Parishioners,

           This Sunday is Scout Sunday. Troop 109 has been a part of our parish for one hundred years. Many boys have received their Eagle Scout award and the cub scouts have been very active as well. It is a tough time to be involved in scouting. There have been many lawsuits regarding sexual misconduct. Our scouts have always been very responsible and continue to be so. We have been blessed with wonderful leaders who have sacrificed their time to help youth.

          This Sunday we will be hosting the scouts at 11 a.m. Mass and they will be distributing religious awards. Everyone is invited to this special celebration. Please pray for the scouting program that it will be able to weather the storm and become stronger.

          May Our Lady pray for the youth of our parish.

          Fr. Mark