Sunday, July 13, 2014

The Word: 15th Sunday of Ordinary Time (my last weekend homily at St. John's and St. Joseph's!)


            If I found the mythical genie in a bottle and had three wishes, here is what they would be.  First, I would wish that every Catholic went to Mass at least every Sunday.  Second, I wish every Catholic would go to Confession at least monthly.  Now my third one has recently changed.  Several months ago I would have wished that Bishop would assign me a long ways away from Fr. Rich!  But since he did this without one of my three wishes, I have one left.
            In all seriousness, I wish that every Catholic would encounter God’s Word in the Scriptures every day.  I have experienced first hand the truth of Isaiah’s prophecy: “Just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down and do not return there till they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful…so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; my word shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it.”
            As a junior in high school I was at a retreat and one of the youth ministers (now my classmate and friend Fr. Brandon) was giving a talk on the importance of reading the Bible.  He grabbed someone’s Bible (another man who has been a longtime friend) and held it up.  The Bible was held together with duct tape, had dog-ears and highlights galore.  It was a clearly used book and Brandon said, “This is what your Bible should look like.”  I looked down at my brand new Bible and brushed the dust off and said in my heart, “This will never happen again.”  Since that day over fourteen years ago, I have read my Bible every day.
            I don’t say this to brag.  Indeed, I probably spend more time watching ESPN every day.  And I certainly spend more time eating.  Yet my faith and vocation have been built on God’s Word by simply encountering the Scriptures every day.
            Some today think the Bible is only for the Evangelicals or other Protestant brothers and sisters.  While these men and women exemplify prayer, study and memorization of Scripture, the Bible is our book! 
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, “The Church has always venerated the Scriptures as she venerates the Lord’s body.”  Think of this…just as we venerate the Body and Blood of Jesus in the Eucharist, so to do we honor the Scriptures.
St. Jerome—a doctor of the Church and one of the most brilliant Scripture minds our Church has seen—had a well known claim: “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.”  In other words, we can’t know Jesus unless we know the Bible.
Today we heard a powerful passage about the Word of God in Jesus’ parable of the sower.  The Word was sown everywhere yet encountered different types of ground.  While it is easy to point to others and say, “There is an example of the seed falling on the path, in the rocks or among the thorns,” we must recognize that our souls contain each.  Sometimes we are faithful to God’s Word and produce fruit.  At other times our faith is choked out by worldly concerns—school, sports, work, money.  At still others our faith is shaken in the midst of controversial teachings or quickly fades.
Yet as every gardener knows, soil can be changed.  Farmers and gardeners must cultivate the land, removing the rocks and pruning out weeds or thorns.  They water the ground and fertilize it.  So, too, must we cultivate our souls to receive God’s Word.
The amazing thing is that God’s Word is unlike plants.  In order for a seed to sprout, the ground must be purified and made ready to be conducive to life.  Yet the seed Jesus’ speaks of—the Word—in itself purifies, nourishes and fosters growth.
I pray that from this day forward you will experience God in the Bible.  Pick up that Bible and read it.  Come to daily Mass.  Get an app on your phone that gives you a verse of the day.
God’s Word in the Scriptures leads us into a deeper relationship with Christ and helps us produce much fruit. 

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