Homily: Eleventh Friday of Ordinary Time
Homily: Eleventh Friday of Ordinary Time (Mt. 6:19-23) “Can I See Clearly?”
Jesus talks about the eye being the window which let’s light into the whole body. We all know that windows are what let light into a house. If the window is clean, more light will stream into the house. The eye lets light into the body, but also into the soul according to Matthew.
Spiritual writers often talk about how we each dwell in our own little house. In this analogy, the house has one window. The window into the soul is very important. The window can become dirty. If it does, we cannot see the world clearly nor will the light of Christ stream into our lives.
What is it that dirties our “window”? Sin does. What are the sins that can cloud our vision? Prejudice, Jealousy, and self-conceit can cause us to have a distorted picture of the world around us.
Prejudice causes us to have preconceived notions about certain types of people. We can have bias against people of the opposite sex, a person of a different race, people from a certain area of the country, individuals of a different faith. The list is endless. Prejudice can cloud our vision.
Jealousy can dirty the window too. We can feel that we are not as important as another person. We might sense that their opinions are given priority and ours are not listened to at all. Such feelings can cause us to be discouraged and give up certain interactions, especially with authority figures.
Self-conceit is related to Jealousy. If we believe that our gifts are not being properly used or respected that can also be disheartening. But if we are having these feelings we must ask if we are miscalculating our abilities. To engage in this type of reflection can be very humbling, but humility is a primary virtue for Christians.
In the end we might ask what can clean the window to our “little house”? Celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation can help us wash away the grime and see the world as it really is.
1. Have I ever had a distorted outlook on life? What caused this?
2. Which one of the three sins mentioned above is hardest for me to avoid?
Dear Parishioners,
Tomorrow we will be having another wedding here at Sacred Heart. The new space that we have is a real blessing on a wedding day. We have had a lot of people having sacramental marriages in the past year. The number of Catholic weddings, however, have declined over the past fifty years.
It takes time to prepare people for a church wedding. I would encourage everyone to encourage their relatives to come and speak to me about getting married here at Sacred Heart. They will not regret the decision. The grace of the sacraments cannot be underestimated.
May Our Lady pray for our troubled world today.
Fr. Mark