Homily: Twenty-fifth Thursday of Ordinary Time

Twenty-fifth Thursday of Ordinary Time (Haggi 1:1-8)

The Mass readings from the Old Testament this week are from different books of the Bible, but they all reflect on the same historical event. The Jewish people who have been in exile are returning to Israel.

We might ask what is the event in the history of the people of Israel that made them who they were? Many might point to the fact that the nation of Israel was enslaved in Egypt. Moses came and led the Jewish people to freedom. The people were given a homeland. And they were given a moral code to live by. The code was a gift of God. We have all kinds of material in the Bible relating to the story of Exodus.

But there is a second story that was just as important in the formation of the Jewish people. This is the story of the Babylonian captivity. The nation of Israel was conquered. The city of Jerusalem was captured. The temple where God lived was leveled. The Jewish people were carried off to exile and slavery once again.

The people then asked many questions? The questions were questions of faith. All of them revolved around one primary question which was, “If God loves us so much, if we are God’s chosen ones, how could the Lord let this humiliation happen to us? Has God forsaken us?”

The answer was that God had not forgotten. God brought the people home. Haggai and other prophets who lived at the time of this restoration proclaimed this truth. And they reminded the people of Israel that in order to be fully restored they had to practice their religion again.

The people were acting like God did not exist, that worship was not important, that spirituality could be secondary. Haggai tells the people the reason they were conquered by outsiders was because they had forgotten who they were. They needed to reconstruct their religious identity in order to be fully restored. When that happened, true healing would come.

Reflection Questions:

1.    Where does my relationship with God rate in my life? Is it first?

2.   Religious practice is waning in our society. What does that say about us?

 Dear Parishioners,

           Next week we celebrate the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. We always try to have a blessing for animals during this time of year. We will have two opportunities this year.

          This Sunday at 11:30 we will bless animals and on Wednesday October 4th at 2 p.m. we will also bless animals. The blessings will take place by the Sacred Heart statue outside of Culemans Hall. Come and pray for the health of the animals in our parish.

          May our Lady Pray for Us,

          Fr. Mark