Reunion This Week - No Homilies!
Sorry Folks! No Homilies at Church this week,
Our Parish Festival is this weekend...so it's our tradition not to give a homily. If you're in range of Johnstown, please stop out to St. Benedict's this weekend for a good 'ol fashioned parish reunion.
If you still want one, here's a homily for this weekend from the Archives...(2009 to be exact)
Late in the evening, after the kids are finally put to bed, finally, after a whole day of non-stop mahem, there is some quiet in the house. At last there is a little time for peace. Mom sits back in her chair for a few minutes to read her book, perhaps makes herself a nice cup of tea. Then…she hears a crash, and a few seconds later, the screams and tears. Quietly, Mom closes her book and trudges upstairs to find out what happened…..the book will have to wait for another night.
It's an easy image to imagine, every one of us has had a time when we have felt overwhelmed, overworked, and were ready for a break. Even if we love our Job, even if it's the best job in the world, the stress can get to us. There are times when we do need a break, when we need to take time off. there are times when we just really need to get away. Sometimes, though, it can be terribly difficult, sometimes we're afraid that if we leave, We live in a world that believes that those who really want to get ahead are the ones who put in the extra hours, who aren't afraid to sacrifice everything for their career. Many live in fear that if they do take that vacation, will their job really be there when they get back, or will someone else have slipped in to take over for them. The pressure can certainly be overwhelming.
Last week in the Gospel, we heard how Jesus was sending out the 12 disciples on a mission. They were to go out to all the towns to preach the good news. They had been learning at the feet of Jesus for some time now. They had witnessed him perform more than a few miracles, and the time had come to send them out into the world to preach the good news. If we remember, he only sent them out to the Jewish towns, and not yet to gentiles or to Samaritans, presumably because he didn't want to overwhelm them at first. Today, we hear the results of their journeys. Today they come back from those missions. It's very clear the hard work they had done, clear that Christ was with them and that the good news must have been incredibly effective. They had become celebrities of their day. Even when Our Lord attempted to lead them off into a deserted place, all those people they had preached to, where they had healed the sick and cast out demons, followed them. Then, as the disciples arrived at the deserted place, they discovered it was not so deserted after all, as a vast crowd had already arrived before them. It's only too easy for us to imagine the sigh of reluctance from those disciples. Yes, they very much loved the Lord. Yes, they very much wanted to do his will, but they had just gone out to preach to all the towns, they had just labored greatly for the work of the Gospel, but now they were tired, really, they were exhausted. Jesus took a close look at the situation, and realized that he needed to step in on their behalf. If we look very carefully at the Gospel, Jesus and the disciples got into the boat, but only Jesus stepped out. When the disciples were overwhelmed, it was Jesus who stepped out to teach the crowd, and then eventually, as we will hear in next week's Gospel, told the great crowd to sit down and he provided them with the miracle of the loaves and the fishes, providing everyone enough to eat with great quantities left over. Then too, when we remember what is about to happen, there's something additional we can see this week. Above all else, the multiplication of the loves and the fishes is a symbol of the Eucharist. So when the disciples are weary, and need rest, our Lord feeds them with the bread of life.
Even in those most troublesome times in our lives, especially when we feel the lowest, how comforting it is to us, to know that in the toughest times of our lives, Christ is there, walking with us, that when we are spent and weary from our labors, he will give us rest, As the good Shepherd, he leads us by restful waters, what is that but recalling our baptism, where we have become reborn forever as one with Christ. He guides us in the right paths, he teaches us through his church. Then, like sheep, when we do go through the dark valley, we are called to trust that Our Lord Jesus Christ walks beside us, he protects us with his rod and staff. We still have to trust in him and walk through the dark valley, we still have to do our part and labor for the Gospel, we still have to strive to be good Catholics and follow the Church, but when we do, we have faith that when we are weary, Our Lord will watch over us, will protect us, and like he did in the gospel today, will step in when he knows we just can't handle it anymore. Then, he will spread the table before us, and our cup will overflow. What else could he possibly be talking about besides the Eucharist, the banquet of eternal life. When we come to the table of the Eucharist, we receive the grace, the strength to keep going, we are joined to Christ, and given the door to eternal life. That's precisely why the Church has always called the final communion a person receives before death "viaticum," literally "food for the journey," because then it is meant to strengthen the person on their final journey into eternal life.
So above all, especially when those times come in our lives when we feel terribly frustrated, when we know we're doing good work, but aren't sure we can do it anymore, when we stand like the disciples today, terribly weary and unable to continue their work, striving to just get away, its so very important that we remember that we are the sheep of the good shepherd. We might walk through the dark valley, but he will always be with us, beside us, and when we really need him, we will be able to stay on the boat, while he steps out to handle the crowds.
Our Parish Festival is this weekend...so it's our tradition not to give a homily. If you're in range of Johnstown, please stop out to St. Benedict's this weekend for a good 'ol fashioned parish reunion.
If you still want one, here's a homily for this weekend from the Archives...(2009 to be exact)
Late in the evening, after the kids are finally put to bed, finally, after a whole day of non-stop mahem, there is some quiet in the house. At last there is a little time for peace. Mom sits back in her chair for a few minutes to read her book, perhaps makes herself a nice cup of tea. Then…she hears a crash, and a few seconds later, the screams and tears. Quietly, Mom closes her book and trudges upstairs to find out what happened…..the book will have to wait for another night.
It's an easy image to imagine, every one of us has had a time when we have felt overwhelmed, overworked, and were ready for a break. Even if we love our Job, even if it's the best job in the world, the stress can get to us. There are times when we do need a break, when we need to take time off. there are times when we just really need to get away. Sometimes, though, it can be terribly difficult, sometimes we're afraid that if we leave, We live in a world that believes that those who really want to get ahead are the ones who put in the extra hours, who aren't afraid to sacrifice everything for their career. Many live in fear that if they do take that vacation, will their job really be there when they get back, or will someone else have slipped in to take over for them. The pressure can certainly be overwhelming.
Last week in the Gospel, we heard how Jesus was sending out the 12 disciples on a mission. They were to go out to all the towns to preach the good news. They had been learning at the feet of Jesus for some time now. They had witnessed him perform more than a few miracles, and the time had come to send them out into the world to preach the good news. If we remember, he only sent them out to the Jewish towns, and not yet to gentiles or to Samaritans, presumably because he didn't want to overwhelm them at first. Today, we hear the results of their journeys. Today they come back from those missions. It's very clear the hard work they had done, clear that Christ was with them and that the good news must have been incredibly effective. They had become celebrities of their day. Even when Our Lord attempted to lead them off into a deserted place, all those people they had preached to, where they had healed the sick and cast out demons, followed them. Then, as the disciples arrived at the deserted place, they discovered it was not so deserted after all, as a vast crowd had already arrived before them. It's only too easy for us to imagine the sigh of reluctance from those disciples. Yes, they very much loved the Lord. Yes, they very much wanted to do his will, but they had just gone out to preach to all the towns, they had just labored greatly for the work of the Gospel, but now they were tired, really, they were exhausted. Jesus took a close look at the situation, and realized that he needed to step in on their behalf. If we look very carefully at the Gospel, Jesus and the disciples got into the boat, but only Jesus stepped out. When the disciples were overwhelmed, it was Jesus who stepped out to teach the crowd, and then eventually, as we will hear in next week's Gospel, told the great crowd to sit down and he provided them with the miracle of the loaves and the fishes, providing everyone enough to eat with great quantities left over. Then too, when we remember what is about to happen, there's something additional we can see this week. Above all else, the multiplication of the loves and the fishes is a symbol of the Eucharist. So when the disciples are weary, and need rest, our Lord feeds them with the bread of life.
Even in those most troublesome times in our lives, especially when we feel the lowest, how comforting it is to us, to know that in the toughest times of our lives, Christ is there, walking with us, that when we are spent and weary from our labors, he will give us rest, As the good Shepherd, he leads us by restful waters, what is that but recalling our baptism, where we have become reborn forever as one with Christ. He guides us in the right paths, he teaches us through his church. Then, like sheep, when we do go through the dark valley, we are called to trust that Our Lord Jesus Christ walks beside us, he protects us with his rod and staff. We still have to trust in him and walk through the dark valley, we still have to do our part and labor for the Gospel, we still have to strive to be good Catholics and follow the Church, but when we do, we have faith that when we are weary, Our Lord will watch over us, will protect us, and like he did in the gospel today, will step in when he knows we just can't handle it anymore. Then, he will spread the table before us, and our cup will overflow. What else could he possibly be talking about besides the Eucharist, the banquet of eternal life. When we come to the table of the Eucharist, we receive the grace, the strength to keep going, we are joined to Christ, and given the door to eternal life. That's precisely why the Church has always called the final communion a person receives before death "viaticum," literally "food for the journey," because then it is meant to strengthen the person on their final journey into eternal life.
So above all, especially when those times come in our lives when we feel terribly frustrated, when we know we're doing good work, but aren't sure we can do it anymore, when we stand like the disciples today, terribly weary and unable to continue their work, striving to just get away, its so very important that we remember that we are the sheep of the good shepherd. We might walk through the dark valley, but he will always be with us, beside us, and when we really need him, we will be able to stay on the boat, while he steps out to handle the crowds.
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