Homily: Twenty-sixth Tuesday of Ordinary Time (Lk 9:1-6)
Twenty-sixth Tuesday of Ordinary Time (Lk 9:1-6) “Slow Growth is the Best Kind”
The Catholic church has a long history of monasticism. When someone joins a monastery, they must be integrated into the community. I lived for six years in a seminary attached to a monastery. The monks take vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. These are called the evangelical counsels.
At first the candidates are what are called novices. They live the life of a Benedictine or whatever religious order they are joining. They give all their property away or turn it over to the monastery for safe keeping. They wear the special garb of the monastery or what is called the habit. They have no money and if they need something they go to their monastic superiors to ask for what they would like to have. The novices are expected to be at the daily prayers, and they do not leave the monastery grounds as they try to practice stability.
Eventually the novices become juniors if all goes well and after that they become fully professed members of the religious community. It must be very humbling to submit yourself to the authority of others. What are the young monks learning in novitiate? They are learning to trust in God’s providence, and they are seeing if they can live the life they are aspiring to.
The novitiate process is trying to imitate how Jesus formed his disciples. We read in the gospel today how they go out into the world to preach the Gospel. Jesus asks that they live with radical simplicity so that they might learn to trust God implicitly. The poverty they were asked to live did not last forever, but it lasted long enough for them to grow in confidence. They learned they could be the disciples they were being asked to be.
We have penitential seasons like Advent and Lent where we live an intense Christianity. It is like being a novice for six weeks if we take these seasons seriously. We all need to learn and relearn to trust in the Lord.
Reflection Questions:
- The process of becoming a monk happens in stages. Have I slowly grown in my Christian commitment? How have I tested myself?
- How do I show my commitment to my Christian life to others? If people do not respond to my example of Christian living, at what point do I shake the dust from my feet?
Dear Parishioners,
We have been having information sessions all this month where we have tried to update parishioners on the progress of the last phase of our TTT campaign. This all concerns the Gathering Space we would like to attach to the church.
The meetings have provided information on different designs, materials costs, fund raising strategies and other issues. If you have not attended a meeting, we would love to have you come. We have another session tonight at 6:30 p.m. A tour of the priest’s residence will follow the presentation. The evening will close by 8 p.m.
If you have attended a session already the same information will be given. If you have not been present, feel free to stop in. We would like everyone to be as well versed as possible about our plans. The meeting will be at Culemans Hall in the Audio-Visual room.
May Our Lady and all the Angels and Saints watch over you.
Fr. Mark