Epilogue to Sunday

  Click HERE to read the original homily What signs of Hope have you seen?      Hope was the child laughing with joy before mass started.  Hope was the compliment from a woman who said she positive changes in the parish, and I need to keep up the good work.  Hope is the young persons who have formed a community. Hope - a theological virtue:    (n1813 Catechism)  "Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ's promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit..." Apocalypse:    The book of Revelation is a literary form called Apocalyptic,  That may sound scary, but it is not exactly what we may think it is.  Apocalypse means there is a change in the world, not the destruction of the world, but a change.  John of Patmos saw a change in Christ and through Christ in which the power of the Pagan Roman Empire would fall.  Yet John also knew and

 A Poem by Mary Oliver:  "Mysteries, Yes" Truly we live with mysteries too marvelous, to be understood/  How grass can be nourishing in the / mouth of lambs./  How rivers and stones are forever /  in allegiance with gravity / while we ourselves dream of rising./  How two hands touch and the bonds will / never be broken.  How people come, from delight or the scars of damage, / to the comfort of a poem./  Let me keep my distance, always from those / who think they have the answers.  Let me keep company always with those who say / "Look!" and laugh in astonishment, /and bow their heads. Questions: By taking a risk and going deeper into something (e.g relationship) what was the reward? What part of our faith as Catholic still confuses you and are unsure about? How has God worked to get you here and now?

 Click HERE is a great Catholic podcast on Mimetics and desire. Faith Sharing Questions: What was an act of generosity given to you?  How did it change you? What was an act of generosity given by you?  What was its effects? How has God been generous to you this past week?  What changes did it effect?

 

  Social Justice Intrinsic to us as Church is our Social Justice; it is our morality in action.  Social Justice becomes the visible sign of the invisible reality of our meaning.  This past week youth from various parishes were at Catholic Charities helping out; our teens when along the river to provide the homeless some supplies and cool drinks.  They do this not to earn favor or points, but to demonstrate to those in need they have value, and to show that they themselves have meaning. Gratitude What are we grateful for from the Church (not the institution per se)?  The answer or answers would then inspire us in our mission.  Presumably if we have gratitude, we would want to give thanks for what we have received through our actions.  Our actions correspond to our mission. Love To love someone is to see their value, their meaning; and it also means that we work to help the other express that value and meaning.  Love is not just a feeling, but it is a conscious choice.  This is the Love

What is a Prophet? The Prophets acted as Messengers from God to the people.  They were not necessarily seers, those who could see a future, but they could pronounce consequences of actions.  The prophets were often not listened to; they encountered resistance if not outright hostility.  Ezekiel would endure this and he is warned of this by God. Israel was told by their prophets to change their ways and to trust more in God, and to do what is right and just for people.  They resisted, sought alliances with other countries and eventually the Babylonians conquered them and sent the elite into exile and destroyed Jerusalem.   As I mentioned in the homily, the idea at the time was that when a nation was defeated in war it also meant that the nation's god was also defeated.  Israel going into defeat faced an existential crisis.  If they were the chosen people of God and God was defeated, who were they?  Thus God speaks to Ezekiel, tells him to go and tell Israel God remains alive and wit