Fr Luke's Homilies: Recent Episodes
Fr Luke Goymour
Homilies preached by Fr Luke Goymour at St Thomas of Canterbury Brandon and St John the Evangelist, Mildenhall. Suffolk, UK. Fr Luke is a parish priest and chaplain to the Diocesan Youth Service of East Anglia.
We meet Christ in stillness and the silencence of prayer. Unless we have met Christ we are unable to offer him to others
When we come to the Eucharist we feed on Jesus in order to become evermore, his living body, the Church in the world.
As disciples we are called to love and bear fruit in the world. We can only do this if we are united to Christ
Homily for Good Shepherd Sunday, given at the Transform Ministries Retreat at Clare Priory.
We are called to let go and let God! To plant ourselves in Jesus Christ and water the seed of faith with prayer, sacraments and penance.
Tolerance is a modern virtue. But Jesus is anything but tolerant. We, too, are called to be radically intolerant of sin!
As we enter Lent we are reminded of baptismal vocation to be missionary disciples and spread the gospel of joy.
Jesus on the margins: As followers of Jesus, we are called to minister to those on the edge of society with the joy of the gospel.
He taught them with authority! What does it mean to live in and from the authority of Christ?
The mesage of John the Baptist is repent, prepare your hearts because the king is coming. It is as relevant today as it was 2000 years ago. We prepare for the coming of Christ at the end of time and at Christmas by sorting out our hearts!
As we begin Advent, we are invited and challenged to be alert and awake to God's action and presence in our lives and the lives of those around us.
God gives us good gifts,the purpose of these gifts is not to keep them for ourselves. Rather, we are to build up God's Kingdom.
Jesus challenges us to take up our cross and follow him. Following Jesus has a cost, are willing to pay it?
It's possible to know about God, but not know him as a friend. In Jesus, God has made himself knowable. The question is do we want to know him as a friend or stay as a stranger?
Whilst faith is a supernatural gift, it also takes effort on our part. Today's gospel has Jesus praise the tough and persistent faith of a foreign woman.
Life can feel like a storm sometimes. But in the midst of it all, Jesus calls us to live lives of holiness and assures of his presence amongst us with the words: "Do not be afraid!"
God is good. So why is there suffering in the world? The gospel today points towards an answer
Jesus invites us to come to him. When we do, he helps us to carry life's burdens, so that he can give us rest.
As Christians, our hope and security is in the One who cares so much about us that even the hairs of our head are numbered.
We are called by name and sent out into the world to be ambassadors for Christ. Catholic Christians are to be missionary disciples.
The Holy Spirit completes the Easter Mystery and makes us partakers in the life and mission of the Son.
Jesus is the full revelation of the God of love. The Old Testament finds it's fulfillment in Him.
We can desire and thirst for many things, but ultimately, only God can quench our thirst. Everything else will be lacking.
We are in a spiritual battle, and Jesus models how we are to respond to the onslaught of the enemy.
The gospel makes some extraordinary demands on us disciples, because with the help of Christ's grace, we are called to live extraordinary lives!
Jesus calls us as disciples to holiness, we become holy, not by keeping the rules in a legalistic check-box kind of way, but by living with amd from a real relationship with Him.
We are called to be light and salt in our world. In today's homily, Fr Luke explores what it means to be an evangelist and a Catholic.
Today we reflect upon the subversive, demanding and radical teaching of the beatitudes.
What does it mean to say Jesus is the Lamb of God? Why does the Church oblige us to come to Mass? In this weekend's message, we explore some of the reasons why the Mass is the source and summit of the Christian life.
In today's gospel John the Baptist is beginning to have doubts, but is reassured by Jesus with words of hope. Are we open to the hope that Jesus give us?
Christ is the King of the universe, but if we are thinking in earthly terms his kingdom is unlike anything we might expect.
In this month of November we are invited to reflect on resurrected life and heaven and challenged to expand our vision of God.
Jesus knocks on the door of our hearts, like Zacchaeus we need to welcome him in with joy.
In todays gospel we are reminded that those who humble themselves and recognise their need for God are the ones whom God approves. Self righteousness and pride have no place in our walk with God.
Miracles are instances of God's kingdom breaking through and taking hold of our world. In todays homily we reflect on what reigning with Christ looks like and how it relates to the Miraculous.
Faith is a precious gift. In today's homily, the first in his new parish, Fr Luke looks at how we can increase the gift of faith.
This week's gospel is a particularly hard saying from Jesus: "unless you hate mother, father, children....yes and even your own life too, you cannot be my disciple." Jesus spells out, what loving God first actually means...
Our modern world is ever more narcissistic in its outlook. People are obsessed with themselves to the point that humility looks like madness to many. Yet humility is the way of Christ, it is the way of the Gospel, it is the way of holiness. "He who exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
Following the crowd has never been the lot of the Christian. As followers of Christ often we are called to live in ways that run contrary to our modern culture.
Mary is the model disciple and in the Assumption shows us what participation in her Son's resurrection looks like.
In this Homily for the 18th Sunday of the year (Yr C) we reflect on the importance of getting our priorities right in life.
To be a disciple of Christ is to be, as Pope Francis says, a 'missionary disciple'. Today we reflect on what it means to be sent by Christ.
On this great feast day, we reflect on the feeding of the five thousand and examine what it teaches us about the Eucharist.
Jesus give us, his disciples, the greatest of all commandments: "love one another, as he loves us!"
God has done the hard work: Jesus has died and risen again, all that is required from us is confession of our sins and an openess to God's mercy. Is that too much to ask?
Easter Sunday morning confronts us with an empty tomb. When Peter and John saw the empty tomb they believed - we too, face many empty tombs in our lives, can the same be true for us?
Today we hear the dramatic encounter between Jesus, the woman caught in adultery and the pharisees. Who do we associate more readily with?
The Prodigal Son is a parable we are probably all familiar with. It is of course about the radical, unmerited and free forgiveness of the Father. But i6ts more than that; it's a challenge to us as well. It asks us: are we willing to love and forgive like God?
There is no such thing as Karma - Karma is not a Christian idea, yet so many people invoke this doctrine! Dometimes good things happen to bad people and bad things happen to good people - that's just life. The Christian is not excluded from suffering but Jesus transforms suffering and give it meaning.
Today we hear of Jesus's intense period of preparation for his mission. We too, are called in this time of Lent to enter into a period of spiritual training for the spiritual battles we are called to fight.
Our words come from within our hearts and what we say matters. Still, what it more important is that our lives match up to the gospel we preach we our lips.
Jesus commands us to be merciful to our enemies and to show the compassion if God to all people. The Bishop from the musical Le Miserables offers to us a shining example of what the compassion of God looks like in practice.
Blessed are the poor, the meek the marginalised! Kingdom values are the opposite of worldly values. As Christians we are called to build the Kingdom of God, by putting right that which is wrong and turning our world upside down!
Jesus calls Peter to follow him, he calls us as well. What might we need to leave behind in order to follow Jesus more perfectly?
Love is not a feeling, it's a decision of the heart. God has made a permanent decision of the heart towards us, as Christians we are commanded to return that love to God and to others.
As members of Christ's Body, Christ's mission and our mission are one: to proclaim the Kingdom of God.
Today we conclude the season of Christmas with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. The Lord's own Baptism helps us to reflect on our Baptism and what it means to live as baptised followers of Jesus Christ.
On this feast of the Holy Family, we are invited to reflect on our own families looking at them as a domestic Church.
On last Sunday of Advent we hear the account of the visitation. The pregnant Mary travels through the Judean Hill Country to visit her cousin Elizabeth. What journeys do we need to make in the name of charity?
There is a shift in the liturgy this weekend. John the Baptist is still centre stage....or is he? No, he isn't fit to untie the strap of the Messiah's sandal....Rejoice! Jesus is coming, are we ready?
St John the baptist issues a wake up call in todays Gospel. Christ is coming, are we ready?
Advent is a time when we prepare for the coming of Christ at the end of time and we remember Christ's first coming as we approach Christmas. We do this by reflecting on the third coming of Christ - that is, the daily coming of Christ. Christ comes to us each day - are we awake and alert to his presence?
In this homily for Christ the King (YrB) we reflect on how God's kingdom is very different to our earthly understanding of power. We remind ourselves that as Kings and Queens in God's kingdom we have a role to play in bringing the Kingdom about on Earth.
Remembrance is fundamental to our humanity. Memory and remembrance is also a Christian act, for ot lies at the heart of our Catholic Christian faith.
Generosity is the hallmark of the Christian disciple. We are called to be generous not simply because it's a good thing, but because we have encountered the the generosity of God first.
Today we celebrate the great feast of All Saints, where we celebrate all who have gone before us and are with God in heaven. As we do so, we are inspired by the example of the Saints and are encouraged to live saintly lives ourselves.
Authentic discipleship begins when we can "see" Jesus and follow him. In todays gospel it's a blind beggar who is the model for us, rather than the 12!
The gospel is counter-cultural. It turns the values prevalent in our world and society upside down. We know this, most of us have heard this before. Just like the disciples, however, we must be reminded time and time again and reflect on what it truly looks like to live in God's Kingdom.
Following Jesus means letting go: letting go of the things that bind us, possessions, wealth, status, false image...what do we need to let go of in order to follow Christ more perfectly?
In today's Gospel Jesus delivers a difficult teaching about marriage? Why does he say what he says? And who does this teaching really protect? As Christians we are invited and challenged to hear his teaching even if circumstances in our own lives may make this painful to hear.
Jesus talks in today's Gospel about the cost of discipleship: the cross. He doesn't sugar-coat what being a disciple will mean: He will suffer and so must his disciples. But though this suffering he does promise victory he promises that he will be with us, and he promises that, in the end, all will be well in him!
We all stand in need of healing. Sometimes that healing is obvious,like on today's Gospel, but often our wounds are spiritual and psychological. Are we willing to be healed? Are we willing to be helped by others? Are we open to Christ's presence ministering to us through our neighbours?
A Christian is someone who has chosen to follow Christ, and renews that decision throughout the twists and turns of life. All of us are given opportunities each day to make a decision for Christ or against him...whom do we serve?
On this Assumption day, with gove thanks to God for the great wonders he worked in Mary's life. Inspired by her example, and helped by her prayers we look forward to the time when we too will enjoy the glory of heaven.
The Mass is a sacrifice and a meal, in fact it's Jesus's sacrifice and meal. At every Mass we are challenged to see Jesus and meet Jesus through the humble signs of bread and wine. Sadly many people no longer believe in the real presence, this is a tragedy, but its nothing new. People struggled to believe in Jesus's words 2000 years ago, and they still struggle today.
Jesus is our true nourishment. Do we follow Jesus for who he is? Or are we just interested in what he can do for us?
Our God is a generous God. The starting point in our spiritual lives is the recognition of this fact and the living out of an attitude of gratitude.
"The Lord is my Shepherd" is one of the most popular lines from any of the Psalms. But do we stop to reflect on what it truly means to have the Lord as our Shepherd?
Today on this 10th anniversary of the death of Bishop Michael Evans of East Anglia. We reflect on the ministry and example of our local succesor to the Apostles.
St Paul prayed for God to take away some terrible torment or "thorn in the flesh. God answered his prayer not by removing the thorn but by reminding Paul to rely completely on God and not on his own strength. God's grace would be enough for St Paul and God's grace is enough for us. What is more, our weaknesses are opportunities for God to manifest his power and glory. If only we let him!
Fear is a reality of life. But as Christians we are invited to hear the voice of Christ telling us to not be afraid and to meet fear head-on, with faith.
Storms occur in our life, there is no changing that. What we can change is our response. Fo we recognise the presence of Christ in our storms? Or Do we lack faith?
Many people want to change the world but do not know where to start. As Christians we are called to build God's kingdom on earth - to change the world for the better, and we do this by being changed ourselves. The gospel, the Kingdom starts with us!
The Eucharist is the source and summit of our life and faith. Today, as we celebrate the great solemnity of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, we reflect on the divine food that sustains us in our Christian journey.
The Holy Trinity is the foundational mystery of the Christian faith. We will never be able to fully grasp the intricacies of this vast mystery but we can and must live it!
On this the Birthday of the Church we reflect on how as Spirit-filled followers of Jesus we are speak the language of the Spirit with our lives.
Truth matters. Truth is not a opinion or an idea. As Christians we are servants to the Truth made flesh - Jesus Christ.
At the heart of the Gospel is love. We are loved by God and we are commandmended to show that love to others. It's as simple as that!
If our faith is real it must be evidenced in our lives - it must bear fruit. Only when we live connected to Jesus can we truly bear fruit and be the people that God has called us to be.
Because of the resurrection we can like the disciples, meet and know our Risen Lord personally. This personal relationship with Jesus is the foundation of our witness.
God is mercy, the while Gospel is narrative of mercy. Om this Divine Mercy Sunday we explore the beautiful mystery of God's mercy.
Unless we are willing to let go and let God, we cannot truly live. In todays Gospel Jesus talks about his passion and death amd how this ultimate "letting go" will lead to glory.
We are God's work of art! That is a beautiful and powerful truth that we need to take to heart. Every human being is the loved, willed and unique creation of our loving and creative God. As such ever person, without exception demands love and respect.
Tolerance is seen as a kind of modern virtue. But a blanket acceptance of everything for the sake of the status quo is not a virtue and is far from gospel living. Jesus is intolerant of many of things and today's gospel shows us to what lengths our radical and disturbing saviour will go to right a wrong. Can we allow ourselves to be disturbed by the love of God?
The fact that we are loved by God is a magnificent truth. If we're honest though there are times when God feels distant and his love cold. Today's liturgy reminds us that God the Father loved Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration just as much as on the cross. God the Father didn't spare Jesus suffering, but that doesn't change his love for him or for us.
The coronaviris creates a barrier for social interaction but it's not a barrier for God. Today's gospel is bothe a comfort and a challenge to us in our covid-ridden world.
Humans beings are spiritual beings, made by God and for God. We have a void in us that can only be filled by friendship with God. It's when we try and fill that God-shaled hole with other stuff that things begin to go wrong.
Christ taught with authority and it moved people to conversion. As followers of Jesus we are called to live and act in and from that same authority. But what does this mean in practice? What does teaching and living with authority look like?
Jesus calls us to follow him, but what does following him actually look like? What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus? Well, its about letting go of false security and putting him in the driving seat of our lives.
Hearing and listening are not th same thing. In our noisy and chaotic world God still speaks to us, but do we hear him? And even if we hear him, are we really listening to him?
The baptism of Jesus speaks to us of our own baptism. Through baptism we are united to Jesus and to one another. In these days of darkness we are reminded that we are beloved sons amd daughters of God and are very precious to him.
Christ the Light has come into the world! The Jesus movement did not die out, but is very much alive. 2000 years have passed and we still celebrate the moment when the Word became flesh and was seem amongst us. Jesus is truly alive and wants a relationship with us, here now and today!
Mary gives us the model of perfect discipleship, she believes the Word, trust's the Word and then conceives the Word. As we enter these last few days before Christmas we are invited to do the same.
We have a gear change today on the liturgy as we begin to focus more on the coming of Christ at Christmas. Christ, we must remember, is already amongst us, his hidden presence with us. But is he known to us? Do we want to know and be known by him?
St John the Baptist's Advent calls is for repentance. Are we willing to change? Are we willing to repent? Are we ready to receive the Lord who is to come?
Advent is more than the run-up to Christmas, it is a season of hope. As we begin this new season and new church year we call on our God in hope and in trust to help us, to change us and through us to help others.
The feast of Christ the King presents to us the image of humble love and service of others. God invites us out of our own brokenness to be close to those who are the weakest and the poorest in society.
Stewardship is more than putting stuff in the recycling bin and trying to reduce your carbon footprint. Stewardship is about using the gifts we have been given to build the kingdom of God in our land. In this time of pandemic, we are called, evermore to be creative in the ways we use our gifts to further God's Kingdom.
As we enter a second lockdown of the year the gospel urged us to stay awake and be alert to the presence of God and open to the new thing he wants to do with us.
All of us are called to holiness, that is to real, genuine authentic living. To be a saint is to be an authentically human person. Today we celebrate all the saints and inspired by their example we strive to follow in their footsteps.
Love of God and love if neighbour go hand in hand. In todays gospel, however, Jesus reminds us to love our neighbour as ourselves. This is a real but important challenge to us: we can love others with the love that we have for ourselves - bitter, cynical and angry people do not have the capacity to love others authentically.
The gospel is a reality check.....we owe God everything so its only right that we put our priorities in order and give back ro God what is already his. When we do, peace follows and we begin to live more and more in the freedom of the gospel!
In this week's gospel we see how God is generous in his invitation to all, but we cannot just sit back and rely on the goodness of God without doing anything ourselves. God's generosity is something that demands a response if we are to experience fullness of life in the Kingdom.
In today's world it seems there is a lot to be anxious about. Yet the word of God address us today theough the apostle Paul with the instruction not to worry!
In an era of social distance the readings remind us this week that we are social beings, we exist in community and what we do (and don't do) effects us all. We are called to be a people of communion amd this happens only when we learn to be a people of reconciliation.
Being a Christian is serious, when we say "Yes" to the Gospel we say "No" to many other things and this can be cross. Yet we should not be discouraged, it is always through the cross discipleship that we reach the glory of the resurrection.
We can know all sorts of things about God, but to be a Christian means that we move past the facts and figures to a real personal relationship with the God who approaches us in Jesus Christ.
The Assumption is all about the resurrection. If we want to understand this great feast, then we must look to the Easter mystery. Mary did not see bodily corruption because she was united perfectly to her Risen and Glorified Son.
Life throws up many storms, but Jesus is still with us throughout these trials walking towards us and filling us with hope and strength....saying to each of us "Courage, it is I, do not be afraid!"
What we nourish ourselves with is important to our health and well being. In today's homily we reflect on how Jesus is our true nourishment.
The gospel makes demands of us and the kingdom of God is the pearl of great price....do we desire God's kingdom? Are we willing to five up everything for the sake of the gospel?
Homily for 16th Sunday Year A. So much goodness and beauty in our world exists alongside so much chaos and evil. God is present in the midst of it all bringing life out of death and glory out of suffering.
The Incarnate word comes to us each moment of each day...but when he comes does he find our lives as rich soil? Or are we full of stones and thorns?
As lockdown restrictions ease, this weeks gospel invites us to enter into the rest that only the Lord can offer.
We celebrate the great and beautiful gift of the Eucharist as a time when many of us cannot receive Holy Communion. Although this sad and painful this feast invites us to a deeper appreciation of how Jesus still feeds us, even now, through the Eucharist.
God is God of relationship and we are invited to join the relationship and live in Communion with God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. (Also contains a Dr Who - Holy Trinity image thrown in for good measure!)
Pentecost wasn't a one time event, all of us need a personal Pentecost. In today's message we reflect on what the coming of the Holy Spirit means for us today!
In today's homily we reflect on the nature of our deepest indenity: that we are beloved children of God created to love and to give God glory.
Love is everything! To be a Christian is to be in love with Jesus Christ. When we are in love with Jesus keeping his commandments become a natural way of life.
Jesus is the only way to God. Yet elsewhere in scripture we read that God is a loving God who desires all people to be saved. How can we reconcile the exclusive claims of Jesus with universal salvific will of God? In today's homily we reflect on how Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life and what that might mean for us and for those of other Faith's.
The fourth Sunday of Easter is vocations Sunday. In this homily we reflect on the call that Christ makes to each of us to enter into the fullness of life, here and now!
The Risen Lord comes alongside us even if we are going in the wrong direction! Are we willing to dialogue with him and be changed by him? Or are going to continue walking the wrong way?
We need Divine Mercy! Let us be united in bringing ourselves, our country and our world before the merciful throne of our Risen Lord.
Faced with an empty tomb the disciples are moved to faith. We face empty tombs in our own lives are we moved to faith? Or do we despair? Resurrection faith gives us hope to move past the vacuums that we may encounter. For Christ is truly risen. Alleluia!
This Holy night Christ transforms our fears into awe and great Joy. Jesus Christ is truly Risen! Alleluia!
Homily for Good Friday - isolation may be a new experience for us but it isn't for Jesus....let us enter with hope into the mystery of our redemption.
The passover, the cross, the Eucharist, the washing of feet - all these elements come together in the celebration of the Holy Thursday where Christ gave us the gifts of Eucharist and the Priesthood.
Jesus is not super-human, he is fully-human. The most human person who has ever lived. His also fully God but we encounter his divinity through his humanity. On this day when England is rededicated as Mary's Dowry, we are reminded that veneration of the human mother of God always leads us to him who humbled himself to share our humanity so that we can share in his divinity.
Today we reflect on the healing of the man born blind. His blindness was not simply a disability but also, in a sense a gift. For it allowed God's glory to be displayed through the man's poverty and fragility. This message of glory in fragility takes on a new significance as our nation is gripped by the coronavirus pandemic.
It seems there is much to be afraid of in our modern world and yet as Christians we are to be a hope-filled people and remember that Jesus speaks words of comfort to each of us; "Do not be afraid".
We are engaged in a spiritual battle and in Lent we are reminded of this truth. Jesus overcomes temptation with prayer, fasting and the Word of God. If we are going to resist temptation we need to follow his example and use the same tools that Christ did.
Christians are called to share in the perfection of God. This might seem like an impossible task, but it's not! In this homily we reflect on how Christ sets us on the road to perfection and spells out, in clear terms, what this perfection looks like in practice.
To be a Catholic is not about simply keeping the law but living the Law and this means having a real personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Jesus refers to us as light of the world and salt of te earth. These are two rich images that instill in us the need to change the world around us. In today's homily we reflect on the call that Christ makes to each of us to be heralds of the Gospel - in other words to become Evangelists!
The light of Christ and the hope of the gospel fills us with great hope and joy. We reflect on how this joy should urge us on to be people of hope, sharing the light of the nations with all people.
In this homily for Word of God Sunday we reflect on the great gift of Scripture . Through the pages of our Bibles we encounter the Word made Flesh, Jesus!
This week we reflect on how we understand Jesus to be the Lamb of God. Understanding this phrase is the key that unlocks the power and significance of the Mass.
Jesus shares our lot - the lot of sinners. As we conclude our Christmas season we reflect on how Christ who became one of us, stands with us and alongside us, as our Lod, our brother and our friend.
On this Feast of Epiphany we are challenged to go beyond our preconceived ideas and false securities and recognise the all-inclusive embrace of the Gospel message. Whatever our race, creed ur political persuasion we are one in Christ Jesus.
The incomprehensible God has made himself comprehensible in Jesus Christ. This truth is at the heart of the Christmas mystery and the heart of the Christian Faith.
This Sunday we reflect on how God is with us in all things even n the frantic hustle and bustle of the pre-Christmas rush!
On this Sunday we rejoice for our hope is in Christ and his Nativity draws near. Are we a people of hope willing to recognise the signs of the Messiah? Or do we fail to see the Kingdom that has dawned in our very midst?
In this homily for the second Sunday of Advent we look at the person and message of John the Baptist. His message of repentance is one that is actually full of hope and spurs us onward along our journey of Christian conversion.
He is coming! Today we begin the great season of Advent and we are invited to reflect and pray as we prepare our hearts to meet the Lotd Jesus in a new and deeper way in this sacred season.
Political ideologies and economical strategies cannot save us, only Christ the King can save!
Faith in the resurrection should fill us with hope and expand our capacity for God. In this Sunday's message we reflect on the invitation God gives us to go deeper and broaden our horizons. If our vision of God and the world is too fixed, too rigid then we might be in for a shock!
God does not create rubbish! Humans are basically good, sin disfigures this goodness but it doesnt destroy it. In today's message we reflect on how God wants to enter our mess, restore our goodness and begin a friendship with us.
Todays feast invites us to reflect on the Communion of Saints. The Saints in heaven are a constant source of inspiration and encouragement to us. They intercede for us and strengthen us as we too, strive to be the saints that God calls to be.
All of us are sinners in need of the mercy of God. As human beings, we are dependent beings: we are dependent on each other and we are dependent on God. When we lose this sense of dependency we become prideful and we suffer.
Have you ever prayed for something and felt that your prayer was not answered? Is your prayer all about just asking for stuff or does it go deeper? In today's homily we look at the nature of pray and how as Christians we can pray continually without becoming discouraged.
Homily for 28th Sunday, Year C. Miracles occurred throughout Jesus public ministry, yet they don't seem as common today...or perhaps they are. Miracles are instances of God reigning in our lives and these can be daily occurrences!
Faith is a supernatural gift from God, but like all gifts it has to be unwrapped and used. Otherwise, it's pretty useless . In today's homily we look at how we can increase our faith, grow our faith and fan into a flame this great gift that God has given us!
What we do, and how we love affects others. The gospel urges us to recognise that we are only on this earth for a short time and whilst here we are to use our time to serve the poor and marginalised. Life is more, so much more, than runningthe rat-race and serving our own self interests. Homily for the 26th Sunday of the Year.
Everybody serves something or someone, even if it's themselves. What we serve and who we serve informs our whole way of life. It's not just ego or money that's the problem. One of the more subtle things that many people become consumed by is anxiety. Anxiety can become a 'Lord and Master' that directs and informs our whole lives. Jesus came to free us from everything that enslaves us, even anxiety! Listen here to this homily for 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C. Preached by Fr Luke, in Brandon, Suffolk, UK.
How doe we see God? What is our abiding image of God? Is he a judge or a lover? Is he waiting to strike us down when we mess up or raise us up when we fall? Perhaps we see him as some kind of magic butler that we go to only when we need something? Who is God for us? It's an important question because how we see God shapes our whole lives. What is more the Bible, read in the wrong way an actually give us a damage image of God!
No human person is self-made, no human person has it all sorted and if we think we do, then we are deceiving ourselves! Humility is the way to God. Humility means we know our need for God and his divine mercy. Holiness begins when we admit our faults and frailties and confess our sins. Humility requires real honesty about our need for Jesus as our divine Saviour.
Enter by the narrow door: being a Christian means making some tough decisions and being willing to stand up for truth. Sometimes gospel truth does not equate with the majority opinion, nevertheless, Jesus urges to stay on the right path - even if it is an unpopular path.
No Cross no Crown! Being a Christian is not easy. Nowhere in the Gospel does Jesus say "follow me and have an easy life". In fact, he says the opposite. As followers of Jesus we need to wake and grow up to the reality that suffering is part of life. Being a follower of Christ means that we will face difficulties and sufferings, just like our Master. The difference is, however, is that He is with us in the trials of life, He is not absent!
Homily for Assumption Day, recorded live: Mary is the Ark of the New Covenant. Her body was the dwelling place for life incarnate, as such her body never saw the corruption of death . Where she has gone, body and Soul, we hope to follow.
We live in a narcissistic culture - people are obsessed with themselves. But true peace and fulfillment requires love of God, love of neighbour, and then love of ourselves (In that order!) Only then will we be truly ready to meet the Lord when he returns.