Homily Fifth Monday of Easter (2020)
Homily Fifth Monday of Easter (2020)
There are many organizations doing wonderful work to try to make other peoples lives better. And there are people who step in to take leadership in those organizations. Many times, people are inspired to support righteous movements by volunteering or donating funds.
Leaders of such crusades can inspire others. Maybe they gain a lot of power. But how often are leaders of churches, social justice causes, and charitable institutions brought down by scandal. Why does that happen?
Maybe it was because nobody is perfect. Sometimes we make believe our leaders are superheroes or superhuman, larger than life. We can be tempted to put people up on pedestals. We learn many times that everyone is human, and everyone has faults.
Another reason that leaders of noble causes sometime fall from grace is that they come to believe that the undertakings they are involved in are all about them. Such people begin to love the spotlight too much. The virtuous reasons they got involved in a great work are forgotten.
In the reading from Acts of the Apostles that we reflect on today at Mass we see Paul and Barnabas ministering in Lystra. They heal a man crippled at birth. The two of them know that the power to heal the person comes directly from Jesus. But the crowd that is gathered begins to worship Paul and Barnabas.
To their credit, they are horrified. Barnabas and Paul run into the crowd tearing their garments which is a sign of how sorry they are that they have been misinterpreted. The Apostles are aware of their own humanity. The other thing that they are very cognizant of is their need to tie people to the person of Jesus for that is the cause they serve, the cause of Christ.
The church has been humbled over these last few weeks. We have, as a group, been knocked down. We see that we have no power of our own, but the spirit that ties us together comes from God. We turn to God and ask that through his mercy we might reunite as a worshipping community soon.
Reflection Questions:
1. Have I ever had crisis of faith because a person I admired sinned in some way? How did I feel about that? Did their sin negate the good they had done for me in my life?
2. Do I expect too much from leaders? Am I afraid to step into leadership roles because I might let people down? What would Jesus say to me about this?
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Dear Parishioners,
Next Saturday we will be having a May crowning ceremony after our 4 p.m. Saturday Mass. We will ask the Blessed Mary to intercede for us. We have many in our community who have lost their jobs. We have many people who have died or are sick. We have a lot of people who are lonely and in despair. We ask Mary to plead our cause with our heavenly creator. Tune into Facebook next Saturday.
I offer you this prayer from Ascension Press today:
A Prayer to Combat the Coronavirus Pandemic
Most merciful Triune God,
We come to you in our weakness.
We come to you in our fear.
We come to you with trust.
For you alone are our hope.
We place before you the disease present in our world.
We turn to you in our time of need.
Bring wisdom to doctors.
Give understanding to scientists
Endow caregivers with compassion and generosity.
Bring healing to those who are ill.
Protect those who are most at risk.
Give comfort to those who have lost a loved one.
Welcome those who have died into your eternal home.
Stabilize our communities.
Unite us in our compassion.
Remove all fear from our hearts.
Fill us with confidence in your care.
Jesus, I trust you.
Jesus, I trust you.
Jesus, I trust you.
Amen.
May Our Lady and All the Angels and Saints watch over us today.
Fr. Mark