Gospel & Homily MP3 version Homily PDF version
Good Morning. There is no sponsor today for this Holy Mass; so I offer it for your intentions and for Maureen Marolly, her husband Clayton, and their family; as well as for all those who rely on my prayers.
Sign of the + Cross
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ…. Brothers and Sisters, today, as we celebrate the Holy Eucharist, we give thanks to God for the dedication of this cathedral dedicated to Mary Queen of the World.
Penitential Rite Brothers and sisters let us acknowledge our sins and so prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries. (Formula 1)
LIVE HOMILY
I have prepared a homily but I believe the Lord would like me to share something a little different. The Lord today is quite forceful in his word to us, and it's about judging. Like it or not, even myself I realize that, without intending to do so, we can easily judge others by the way we look at them, by our tone of voice, and sometimes by what we actually say and do.
The problem is that we are incompetent to judge. We do not have the competence to judge anyone. That is because we cannot see clearly through the filter of our own personality, our own preferences, inclinations, our opinions, and our faults and sins. Only God is competent to judge anyone. Only God can judge truly, justly, fully, and mercifully. So, what are we to do?
Two things quite simply. First, we must never be tired of noticing our own faults and coming to the Lord humbly to admit our faults, confess them, confess our sins, ask the Lord for his forgiveness, every day, until the end of our days on this Earth. That's the first thing.
The second things is to not tire looking for the good in other people. Sometimes it takes an effort to find the good in others, and then not only to find it or notice it but then to affirm them, to build them up. We have no idea how a simple kind word can lift someone up out of a terrible darkness. We are responsible to do this for one another.
So, firstly, never to tire confessing our own sins, seeking the Lord's forgiveness, and secondly, to look for good in one another and to build one another up. These two practices will safeguard us from judging others and allow us to continue to walk in the mercy of the Lord. In the name of the Father, and of + the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
PREPARED HOMILY
Brothers and sisters, do you realize that we have two sets of eyes? Our physical eyes look out into the world and see many things, while also missing many things. Our interior eyes, the eyes of our mind, heart, and spirit, look inside us and there they see many things, while also missing many things. As our interior eyes look inward into ourselves, it is according to what they see, that our mind, heart, and spirit interpret what our physical eyes see of the world.
Today, both Saint Paul in writing to the Romans and Jesus in addressing the pharisees and lawyers, also address us. The Lord calls on us to stop and we aware of what our interior eyes see of all that we are inside, and all that we carry within ourselves.
It is so important for us to be aware of what we are and what we carry within ourselves, because if we do not see inside ourselves, or if seeing, we refuse to admit what it is that we see in ourselves; then we are blind and the most unfortunate among men. Those who do not see themselves on the inside are blind that can only see outside of themselves; as a result, they tend to judge others by focusing only on their faults and overlooking any good that is in others.
The Son of God came down to Earth from Heaven to give sight to the blind and to forgive sinners. Jesus offers to restore our humanity, but we must first admit that we need Him.
It is hard for me to admit this to you, both to you who know me and to you who don’t, but I must confess that in the Autumn of my life I am beginning to realize, by the grace of God, that I too am like the Pharisees and the lawyers Jesus convicted of blindness and hardness of heart.
In my own family as well as with others, I have been inclined to think better of those who go to church and show signs of following Jesus with a faith that is more obviously Christian and Catholic. In my mind and in my speech, I have openly declared that God loves everyone without prejudice or condition, whether or not people have faith or go to church. In my heart, though, I’ve been secretly on the lookout for people to go to church and manifest a Catholic Christian faith. While I’m busy doing that, I’m not giving thanks to God for the good in people.
The bottom line is that we will all be judged not on religious practice, but whether or not we showed compassion and gave assistance to people in their need. The quality of our life relates directly to the quality of our practical compassion. So, at my next Confession in front of the priest, I will confess this to Jesus, face to face. Some of you may want to do the same.
O my Jesus, I trust in You. Mother Mary, pray for us. Saint Joseph, pray for us.
We give praise to You, O God, the Father, + the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Prayer after Communion Announcement
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Saint Joseph, pray for us. Blessing and Dismissal
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© 2006-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal QC
© 2006-2021 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC
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I'm ever eager to learn from others, correct myself, and be converted to the Good News, the "ways of the Lord". Thank you for your comments, observations, or suggestions. God bless you and your family. Fr. Gilles