Homily: Seventeenth Friday of Ordinary Time
Seventeenth Friday of Ordinary Time (Leviticus 23:1ff) “Our Time is God’s Time”
Catholics are not very familiar with Jewish religious practices, even though the Jewish faith has influenced our faith greatly. Christianity grew out of the Jewish faith.
We can see Jewish influence in the fact that the Jews have a liturgical calendar as do Christians. Two feasts that we can see that corelate are the Feast of Passover and our Feast of Easter. We remember that Jesus instituted the Eucharist at a Passover celebration.
The feasts on the Jewish liturgical calendar quite often aligned with certain times in the harvest cycle. Passover coincided with the barley harvest for example. Fifty days later, the Feast of Pentecost coincided with the wheat harvest.
Fall harvest days then coincided with the liturgical calendar were the Day of Atonement which was a day to do penance for sin. The other feast day was the Feast of Booths. This feast was held at the time grapes and olives were harvested. The Jewish people would live in temporary shelters for seven days to remind them of their time in the desert during the period of Exodus.
The Jewish people realized the importance of remembering the past. They believed that if they remembered how God intervened for them in the past, they would have confidence in the present and the future. The feasts days were a time of thanksgiving. Also, there was a sense that certain times of the year were sacred.
The Catholic liturgical calendar also reminds us that certain sections of the year are holy. We prepare for our high feasts for weeks, and we rejoice for weeks afterward. If we have a sense that time is sacred, then we make good used of each day the Lord gives us on this earth and we are constantly grateful.
Reflection Questions:
- Have I ever thought about other religions having a liturgical calendar? Is it important to me to have sacred times of the year?
- Do I feel like the Jews are my ancestors in the faith? Am I respectful when other religions celebrate their festivals?
Dear Parishioners,
I visited with the Seton School administration yesterday. The fall semester is starting to take shape, but there are a lot of questions. The new coronavirus surge is making everyone anxious again. There seems to be no doubt that there will be in person classes, but other precautions may still be in place. It has been a long year and a half, and our school personnel have done a marvelous job educating our children, but they are just as tired as all of us of the constantly shifting trajectory of the pandemic.
The enrollment for the school looks strong. There is still room in all the classes. If you know of anyone who is looking for a tremendous education for their children have them contact Seton School. Classes begin in a few short weeks.
Please pray for all teachers and administrators as the new semester approaches.
May Our Lady and All the Angels and Saints watch over you today.
Fr. Mark