Daily Homily 3-25-2020
Thursday March 25th (Feast of the Annunciation)
Today we have a break in the Lenten cycle as we celebrate the Feast of the Annunciation of the Lord. Nine months from today we will celebrate the Feast of the Incarnation of the Lord (Christmas). Right now, that probably seem so far away. What will happen in the next nine months? Last Christmas did we every think we would be in our present situation?
The Blessed Virgin Mary would never have believed that she would be chosen for a special role in salvation history. She was living in an obscure village in Palestine. Like numerous other people she looked forward to a normal life where she would get married and have children. Then, God acted, and she became the mother of Jesus.
We remember that she had a choice. She could have refused this new responsibility in her life. She knew she would be labeled as an unwed mother. Mary also knew that her engagement to Joseph would be put in jeopardy. Mary could have ended up as an unwed mother begging in the street, disowned by her family. Despite all these possibilities, she said yes to the Angel Gabriel.
This is how it works with a leap of faith. We are moved by the Spirit to do something unselfish in our life. Friends may encourage us to look out for ourselves and we can hesitate in our choice. If we look at back at our life and the moments when our destiny changed, we usually find that we had to make a leap of faith. An act of faith might be when a couple says yes to marriage. Maybe it is when parents decide to have another child. Taking up a new ministry in the church might seem like a risk as well. When we look back, do we regret these choices or do we rejoice in them.
The truth is that people who choose the unexpected course are the ones whose lives make a difference in this world. People who play it safe, are usually pretty boring.
St. Ignatius Loyola wrote a prayer once that he called the Suscipe. Suscipe means receive. It is a prayer of radical abandonment to God. The prayer is this:
Take, Lord and receive all my Liberty,
my memory, my understanding, my entire will,
all I have and call my own.
You have given all to me. To you Lord, I return it.
Everything is yours; do with it what you will.
Give me only your love and your grace, that is enough for me.
The Blessed Virgin lived with this attitude. St. Ignatius learned to live this way because of unexpected events in his life. In the days ahead can we live with a sense of self abandonment. We may be called to step out in faith repeatedly.
Our Lady is not just to be admired, but to be imitated. We need Christians to say with conviction, “Take Lord Receive.”
Dear Parishioners,
Fr. Matthew, Deacon Pat and I celebrated Mass and remembered all of you today. I hope that you all are doing well as you stay at home and try to comply with the mandates of our governmental leaders. We remember our sacrifice is for the common good. Truly it is a time to be unselfish.
I remind you that we will be livestreaming Mass on Saturday at 4 p.m. Please pass this information to any Catholic that you know. There are numerous other Masses and devotions on the WEB. I encourage you to explore them.
The best spiritual practice is to stay committed to our own personal prayer. Our fasting could also be regarded as a Penance for the sins of the world as we ask that all might be spared from Covid 19. This is a time to remember that much sin is social in nature and not personal. We fast and pray and give alms for others not as simply an exercise in self-discipline.
May the Archangel Rapahel (God’s healing archangel) intercede for us today and may Mary intercede for us.
Bless you,
Fr. Mark