Homily: St. Gregory the Great

St. Gregory the Great (1 Corinthians 2:10b-16) “Discerning the Spirits”

The spiritual life is about reading the various spirits that move inside and outside of us. In Christian Scripture these spirits are described in various ways. Usually, the Spirit of God is described in one way. We speak about the Holy Spirit.

The spirits that are opposed to God are given any number of labels. Various Christian writers speak of the evil spirits, the way of the flesh and St. Paul speaks of the spirit of the world. The spirits constantly reach out to us as we live our life.

St. Paul writes about the natural man in the section of 1st Corinthians that we read today. The natural man he says does not accept what pertains to the Holy Spirit.

We must accept one basic truth if we want to live as a spiritual person which is that God has something to say to us about the lives we lead. A lot of people move through life without every talking to God about what they are experiencing.

Quite often we may hear someone say that they have thought about a decision and chosen a certain course. Other times we hear people say that they feel that they must move in a certain direction. But how often do we hear someone say that they must take something to prayer before they choose a course of action?

How many times do we step back and take time to pray about an important conversation we must have with another person in our life? We probably push forward following our gut instinct. Two questions we could ask are whether we end up with the result we would want and the more important question we could ask is whether we have let ourselves be guided by the Holy Spirit.

Reflection:

1.    When was the last time I had to make an important decision? Did I pray about it?

2.   What are the symptoms of a holy choice? What are the signs that a choice is not holy?

 Dear Parishioners,

            This week you will receive a letter from the Diocese of Peoria. The letter concerns the Annual Diocesan Appeal. Each year Sacred Heart Parish is given a goal for this appeal. The monies support the various ministries of the diocese. Last year Sacred Heart made our appeal goal. This was a great help to our overall budget. We did not have to dip into our savings to meet our goal.

            I ask you to respond generously as when you receive your appeal letter.

            May Our Lady of Peace pray for our war-torn world,

            Fr. Mark