Optional Memorial of Saints Marcellinus and Peter<\/em><\/p>\n (2 Pt 3:12-18; Ps 90; Mk 12:13-17)<\/p>\n *******************************************<\/p>\n St. Peter, in the first reading, recognizes that we are all keeping vigil \u2013 all waiting for the final coming of Jesus Christ to bring all of creation to fulfillment. In this time of waiting, he offers us a profound invitation \u2013 to \u201cgrow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n The Gospel picks up that theme by teaching us more about who Jesus is, revealing the brilliance of Jesus when confronted by his enemies. The representatives of both the Jerusalem priestly establishment and Herod Antipas\u2019 regime conspire to entrap Jesus into giving some pretext to arrest and kill him by asking him if it is lawful to pay taxes to the emperor.<\/p>\n This was a genuine dilemma. In strict adherence to the Law of Moses, supposedly advocated by the Pharisees themselves, it was not lawful to pay taxes to the emperor because God was their exclusive sovereign, yet the Romans treated non-payment of tribute as rebellion.<\/p>\n Turning the trick question back upon the questioners, Jesus exposes their own hypocrisy and collaboration with the Romans by asking them to show him a coin \u2013 literally forcing their hand. Jesus ingeniously gives an ambiguous answer that does not literally advocate non-payment of tribute to the emperor but could be understood that way by those committed to the first commandment of the Mosaic covenant: the things that are the emperor\u2019s<\/em>, i.e., nothing; and the things that are God\u2019s<\/em>, i.e., everything.<\/p>\n Our response must be more than amazement, but faith in Jesus and continuous growth in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ, as Peter insists in the first reading. Speaking personally, my own knowledge and understanding of who Jesus is for me has grown over the years. I have found myself gradually expressing that growing knowledge in some prayers I say as I enter into my holy hour each morning, reminding myself of God\u2019s love for me \u2013 for us all \u2013 and then who God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are for me.<\/p>\n Here is the part of that prayer referring to Jesus: \u201cLord Jesus Christ, totally receptive to the Father\u2019s love, humble, obedient, pure and faithful in response to that love; Son of God, Son of Man, Son of David, Savior, redeemer, Word made flesh, sinless one, free from addiction, the Way, the Truth, the Life, the Resurrection, suffering servant, crucified Messiah, sacrificial victim, victorious king, friend of sinners.<\/p>\n Reflecting back over the years, I truly believe that contemplative prayer and Lectio Divina is perhaps the best way to grow in grace and intimate knowledge of Jesus. Just being in the presence of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and realizing that they are also in my presence as I sit in silence, is humbling and awesome. That the Holy Trinity would deign to come and sit with me, with us, the particularity of that love for each one of us, is almost too much to take in.<\/p>\n Thomas Keating has a brilliant insight about Mary of Bethany that I treasure for its inspirational richness. He is convinced that Mary, sitting at the feet of Jesus in the posture of a disciples, was not so much listening to his words, as she was aware that she was in the presence of The Word. That distinction can have a major impact on our prayer life when we can grasp it and integrate it into our own prayer.<\/p>\n The Eucharist is itself an experience of grace, growing in knowledge of Jesus, and an act of faith in his presence among us. So, as we celebrate, let us pray that we may, like St. Marcellinus and St. Peter, grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" HOMILY WEEK 09 02 \u2013 Year II Growing in Grace and Knowledge of Jesus Christ: Optional Memorial of Saints Marcellinus and Peter (2 Pt 3:12-18; Ps 90; Mk 12:13-17) ******************************************* St. Peter, in the first reading, recognizes that we are all keeping vigil \u2013 all waiting for the final coming of Jesus Christ to bring […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3635","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-homilies","category-ordinary-time"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3635","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=3635"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3635\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3637,"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3635\/revisions\/3637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3635"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3635"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3635"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Sts-Marcellinus-Peter-300x166.jpeg\")
Today the church invites us to honor Saints Marcellinus and Peter. Little is known about these two saints who lived in Rome during the time of the Emperor Diocletian. Peter is said to have been an exorcist who ministered under Marcellinus, a priest. Put to death for their faith about the year 304, the two are commemorated in the canon of the Mass. Accounts exist of miracles which resulted when their remains were moved to a German monastery in 827.<\/p>\n