Homily: Friday the Twenty-first Week of Ordinary time
Friday the Twenty-first Week of Ordinary time (Thes. 4:1-8) “Pray Constantly”
We have just had a hurricane in Florida. We also have had a heat wave here. Isn’t it interesting how we pay attention to the weather at such times. We used to look in the newspaper or on television when the weather was threatening. Now we can look at our cell phones getting minute by minute reports. Usually, we don’t pay attention. Days go by when things are calm, and we aren’t too interested in what is going on weatherwise. We stay in our air-conditioned places unfazed. But then our cell phone sounds the alarm. We then become awfully interested.
The spiritual life is like that for a lot of people. Many do not pay much attention to God. Perhaps they pray on Sunday, but not the rest of the week. But then something bad happens. Maybe it is a health crisis. Perhaps it is a world crisis. We then might fall to our knees prayer fervently asking for favors. We might also ask what choices we need to make if we are deciding something.
St. Paul did not operate that way. He tells the Christians he is writing to Thessalonica they should not wait until they need God desperately to pray for something. Prayer is most effective when it is ongoing. Paul was in dialogue with God most of the time.
We have people who go to bed each night without uttering a prayer. What are they saying? They are saying I can bear up under whatever the consequences are to my actions on this day. Many people find they can’t.
Someone once said that an atheist is someone who has no invisible sources of support. It may well be that our failures as Christians come because we believe we don’t need God’s help.
If we have a consistent prayer life, we will know there is a difference in our lives. We will be calmer when the storms of life blow through. Even a surprise squall will not shake us as much.
1. Do I pray every night reflecting on my day? Do I pray every morning about the day ahead?
2. Do I feel that life unfolds differently when I pray? How so?
Dear Parishioners,
We will not be selling tickets to the St. Damien play this weekend after Masses. The tickets are starting to move well. We only have 350 seats available. If you want to be a part of this special performance by Wayne Messmer you might want to go online to purchase them, stop by our office or buy some at Blessings Gift Shop. The tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for children over ten.
We also have raffle tickets available. The three-thousand-dollar prize can be used for a trip to Belgium, or you may just accept the cash. There are four other cash prizes. All tickets will be sold after Sunday Masses on the 9th and 10th of September and on the weekends that precede the performances.
May Our Lady of Peace pray for our violent world,
Fr. Mark