DAILY HOMILIES

Even though the land of Sodom was a beauty to behold, the people who lived there had no fear of God. They were great and wicked sinners. Like many Christians today, Abram’s cousin, Lot, chose material prosperity over spiritual prosperity. This is what greed does to us. It makes us put the passing things of this world over and above God.

In the case of Abram, God wanted him to leave his Father’s house. In your case, God might want you to go through a particular sinful relationship or stop a bad habit. God might want you to take your prayer life more seriously. Whatever the content of your call will be, it will be so clear that you will know it is coming from God.

If, due to our fear of what people can do to us, we disappoint God and commit Sin, a greater danger awaits us. "For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? For what can a man give in return for his life? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, will the Son of man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels?" (Mark 8:36-38).

Dear friends, if God knows our name before birth, he knew about us when we were formed in our mother’s womb. Abortion is the greatest act of man’s inhumanity to his fellow man. By killing an unborn baby, we deny them the chance to live out God’s plans. No justification exists for taking anyone’s life, even if it is just a day old in the womb.

If you take just one child from the street, feed them, educate them and give them a chance to become someone in life, you have taken that money to heaven. You will not benefit directly from this child, but whatever you spend on them will never be forgotten by God.

The first thing we must do before we start praying is to place ourselves in the presence of God and realise that all our prayers are directed at God, not at those listening to us. Even if we use a microphone, we are not praying to people; we are praying to God. Yes, we may be praying for people, but it is God we are talking to.

If there is a giving that God loves, it follows that there is also one that does not please God. The first thing we must remember when presenting to God is that God does not need our gifts but is interested in the spirit with which we give. Hence, as St. Paul teaches us today, we must avoid giving as though we are forced. All our giving must come from our hearts; we must be happy about it.

In straightforward terms, Jesus defines perfection as the ability to love our enemies and treat those who persecute us with kindness. To be perfect is to be like God, who lets His rain fall on both good and evil. To be perfect is to love your enemies and pray for them like Jesus Christ on the Cross, who asked for forgiveness from those who hung Him. Indeed, this is not something easy, but it is the essence of perfection.

Jesus is not asking us to allow people to override us; He wants us to fight in the right place. The real enemy is not the one who struck you in one cheek but who comes to steal, kill and destroy. (John 10:10) Love your neighbour as yourself but fight on your knees. Fight with an active prayer life. Fight with praises like Paul and Silas, who sang even in prison.

Today’s readings proclaim loudly the superabundant love of God, the love that led the Israelites, our ancestors in the faith, on eagle’s wings out of the land of bondage. (First Reading) This is the same love that moved Jesus to die for our sake even though, as sinners, we didn’t deserve it (Second Reading). The love made Jesus look at the crowd compassionately and appoint labourers for Divine harvest. (Gospel Passage).

As we reflect on Mary’s Immaculate Heart, let us look at our hearts. Is my heart like that of Mary? What efforts am I making to guard my heart against all defilements of evil? Is my heart clean enough to accommodate God? Am I willing to listen to the truth and change my ways?

Learning from Jesus entails learning to forgive others. This is the yoke we must bear, but as Jesus says, it is easier than we think and is vital to finding rest for our souls. John tells us in today’s second reading, “Let us love one another (including our enemies), for he who does not love does not know God.” (1 John 4:7-8) If our hearts cannot love as Jesus loved, we have yet to learn from Him.