{"id":1545,"date":"2018-10-14T02:37:02","date_gmt":"2018-10-14T02:37:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/?p=1545"},"modified":"2018-10-14T02:37:02","modified_gmt":"2018-10-14T02:37:02","slug":"homily-sunday-28-b","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/2018\/10\/14\/homily-sunday-28-b\/","title":{"rendered":"HOMILY SUNDAY 28 – B"},"content":{"rendered":"

Be Wise; Follow Jesus and Live His Word<\/em><\/p>\n

(Wis 7:7-11; Psalm 90; Heb 4:12-13; Mk 10:17-30)<\/p>\n

***************************************************<\/p>\n

When the late Paulo Ehle OMI returned from ministering in Brazil for a visit, I apologized for not staying more in touch with him. He replied simply, \u201cThe Portugese have a saying: \u2018What you spend your time and money on, that is where your heart is.\u2019\u201d That wisdom convicted me, to say the least, and helped me value relationships more deeply.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Fr. Paulo Ehle OMI<\/p><\/div>\n

The readings today invite us to be wise; to follow Jesus and to live according to his Word.<\/p>\n

The first reading from the book of Wisdom extols the gift of wisdom in lavish terms. There is almost nothing to compare with wisdom in terms of importance, priority, value and esteem. There is certainly much to be said for this argument. Wisdom can save us from untold hardships and trials. Wisdom is not the same as knowledge. Knowledge can be learned from books and teachers; wisdom is what is learned from life experiences, and helps us to apply our knowledge in ways that will benefit all of creation. Certainly, today, let us pray for that beautiful gift of wisdom.<\/p>\n

The Gospel today, less directly, also speaks of wisdom. The young man who approaches Jesus is earnest and honest in his request. He wants to acquire or possess eternal life. That is a noble request, only he lacks some wisdom. Eternal life is not something we possess, earn or acquire. It is given to us as grace, as gift. So, Jesus gently responds in that vein, even to the extent of limiting the use of the word \u201cgoodness\u201d in reference to him. Then Jesus gently leads him beyond the focus of commandments on \u201cYou shall not\u201d to a focus on the broader \u201cYou shall.\u201d In his case, he was invited to let go of his possessions, make a radical commitment, follow Jesus, and he would experience the joys of the kingdom of God. Unfortunately, this young man\u2019s wealth limited his freedom to say \u201cYes\u201d to Jesus\u2019 invitation to a more radical discipleship, and he went away sad. Had this young man had the wisdom of the first reading, he would have made that leap of faith.<\/p>\n

The Jewish people saw wealth as a sign of favor from God. In fact, it is the gift of salvation that is a sign of God\u2019s favor. Jesus\u2019 words demonstrate the commandments are intended to be a framework for our faith. Faith fully lived is a call to action in our daily lives.<\/p>\n

The second reading speaks of another kind of wisdom \u2013 the wisdom of making the Word of God a priority in our lives. What could be more important than listening to God through his Word? Yet how many of us Catholics have a bible, read scripture, study it and are familiar with it? Whenever I preside at a Eucharist at the Lac St. Anne pilgrimage each year in Alberta I always ask the congregation of about 2,000 if they have brought along a bible. It is always shocking to see how few people, pilgrims, put up their hands. One of the greatest needs in the Church today is to have people fall in love with the Word of God and make it a priority in their lives.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Blessing of the lake at the Lac St Anne pilgrimage<\/p><\/div>\n

The late Cardinal Carlo Martini, hailed as a great proponent of Vatican II, in his last public statement before his death, mentioned three key elements needed to revive the Church today: Conversion; the Word of God, and the sacraments as an encounter with a living God.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Cardinal Carlos Martini<\/p><\/div>\n

The liturgy brings together the three themes of today\u2019s readings: we are wise to be here participating in this celebration, in which we first of all celebrate the liturgy of the Word, and finally commune with Jesus and are strengthened to follow him into a deeper experience of eternal life.<\/p>\n

So, let us be wise – follow Jesus and live His Word. May God bless us all in this effort.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Be Wise; Follow Jesus and Live His Word (Wis 7:7-11; Psalm 90; Heb 4:12-13; Mk 10:17-30) *************************************************** When the late Paulo Ehle OMI returned from ministering in Brazil for a visit, I apologized for not staying more in touch with him. He replied simply, \u201cThe Portugese have a saying: \u2018What you spend your time and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1545","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ordinary-time"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1545","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1545"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1545\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1549,"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1545\/revisions\/1549"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}