Homilies
33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
November 12-13, 2011
Matthew 25:14-30
Sometimes, we can learn much about ourselves when we listen to the Gospel and identify with one of the person featured in it.
We can ask ourselves, which person in the Gospel could I be compared to most of all?
In today’s Gospel, am I more like the first two servants who were praised for their choices? Or am I more like the third servant who was admonished for refusing to use what he had been given, choosing instead to simply bury it in the ground.
The point of today’s parable is about seizing the moment. How important it is to take advantage of opportunities to use what we have given for the purpose of glorifying God.
Every time we gather to celebrate the Eucharist, we are given an opportunity to praise and glorify God and to bless and comfort one another.
The high point of our gathering continues to be the sharing of our common union with each other. Think about that -- our common union. The word Communion relates so well to this. Our sharing in the Body & Blood of Jesus is intended to make us all one in the Lord!
For several months, we’ve been talking about some of the changes in some of the prayer-words we’ll be using at Mass. The changes will begin in two weeks and continue afterwards. Some of the words we pray immediately before Communion will be different.
The priest will invite people to Communion by saying: “Behold the Lamb of God, behold Him who takes away the sins of the world. Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb.”
The people will reply by saying: “Lord, I am not worthy that you should come under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.”
We seize the moment to welcome the Lord in such a special way.
We take the time to ponder what Jesus did for us. He is the Lamb of God who was sacrificed for our sins, and we are mindful of how He blesses people us by choosing to feed us.
We take the time to realize that Jesus heals our broken lives so that our lives of loving service, nourished by His goodness, might nourish the world around us by His ongoing presence.