Homily: Feast of St. Rose of Lima

Feast of St. Rose of Lima (Ezekiel 37:1-14) “The Breath of Live”

The allegory of the dry bones is one of the more powerful in scripture. God commands Ezekiel to preach over a valley filled with human skeletons. Two things in the story stand out. One thing is the lifelessness of the human remains that Ezekial speaks to. The other is the breath of God that blows over the bones.

The People of Israel were in exile in Babylon when Ezekial makes this prophesy. Their hope is dead. The people question if they ever will return to their homeland. 

Hope is a life force for all of us. If we lack hope then we are depressed, we have no energy, we have nothing to look forward to. If we have hope, we look ahead with a sense things will change for the better.

Ezekial predicts a day when the lifeless people of Israel will rise from the dead. What brings them to life? The breath of God restores the people.

We could be reminded of the opening lines of Genesis. We are told that the earth is formless. The waters of chaos cover the earth. Nothing is happening. Everything is stagnant. And then God’s spirit moves across the waters and creation is jump started.

The people of Israel are told that they will live again, they will be recreated as a nation. The prophecy came true. The people of Israel returned home.

The allegory of the dry bones could apply to any historical period where faith seems to have waned. We have a sense that there is less religious faith than there was just a few short years ago. There are many reasons we have this feeling. But if we believe in resurrection, we know the dry bones of the people of God will come together and we will begin again.

Reflection Questions:

1.    Have I ever felt that my hope had died away? What restored me?

2.   Has the church had difficult times in the past? Do we trust enough as a community in Holy Spirit?

 Dear Parishioners,

           Please remember that we will be having an outdoor movie on August 31st at dusk. The movie is titled, “Migration.” The movie is family friendly, so everyone is invited.

          This is a wonderful way to get together with other parishioners and enjoy each other’s company. The movie will be shown on the parking lot next to the Damien Center. Come and enjoy.

          May St. Rose of Lima pray for us,

          Fr. Mark