DAILY HOMILIES #Religion

From Jesus’ response, we learn two important points. One, Jesus is God; He is the long-awaited bridegroom. He is the Lord of the Sabbath. Two, God wants us to worship Him in spirit and truth instead of merely observing rules (Cf. John 4:23). There is a difference between worshipping God and following the commandments. This is the difference between the new wineskins and the old wineskins.

The only sign we need is the Cross. Have you ever wondered why the Crucifix is boldly displayed in the middle of all Catholic Churches? This is what we preach – Christ crucified.

Have I fully received Christ? Am I a wolf in sheep's clothing? Do I outwardly claim to be for Christ yet act against him in private? And finally, as a child of God, what are my New Year's resolutions?

Hostility towards others is a sign of the absence of true inner spirituality. Just as Jesus’ detractors were hostile to him looking for faults at every instance, we could relapse into such hostility and forget the essence of our faith in God is love for our neighbor. Once we no longer love others, our worship of God becomes mere religiosity.

Wherever it occurs, disunity prevents people from facing a common enemy. Think about this, if only the Pharisees were united in thought and doctrine with the Sadducees, perhaps they would have been able to put an end to the missionary enterprise of Paul but they couldn’t stop him. In our Gospel passage, Jesus is praying for unity among his followers. Even in the prayer, Jesus highlights the scandal of disunity when he says “. . . MAY THEY ALL BE ONE . . . SO THAT THE WORLD MAY BELIEVE THAT YOU HAVE SENT ME.”

The honest truth is that riches bring a lot of happiness and security but there is a certain extent to which the continuous increase in riches no longer affects one’s state of happiness.

Sunday 10th May 2020. Acts 6:1-11, Psalm 33, 1st Peter 2:4-9 and John 14:1-12 “Let not your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me… And when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” (John 14:1-3).