Daily Mass Homily: Wednesday, September 26th, 2012 (St. John's School Mass)

            Next week I have the chance to go camping.  And I’m not just camping anywhere…I’m going to the Boundary Waters in northern Minnesota to fish and hunt with my parents and friends.

            Who can tell me some of the things I should bring?  [Kids tell me to bring a sweatshirt, water filter, axe, tent, sleeping bag and a flashlight.  Not sure how they’re planning on me eating!] 

            These are some good ideas.  I especially like the flashlight idea.  When I’m out camping it will be dark when I wake up (if I wake up then!) and dark before I go to bed.  Without a flashlight I wouldn’t be able to do much of anything.  [Take out camouflage headlamp.]  Does anyone know what this sort of flashlight is called?  [One girl answered, “A headlamp.”]  Yep, this is called a headlamp.  [Put it on.]  This one is pretty cool as it has several different lights.  [Turn on green, then red…]  These are to have light so the bugs don’t fly in your face.  [Turn on normal beam…]  This one is the normal light.  [Turn on strobe beam…]  This one is if you want to have a dance party.  Actually, the flashing light is used if you’re in trouble in the woods.

            Our responsorial Psalm today is “Your Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.”  I’ll be wearing a headlamp when I camp, to guide me in the dark.  But did you know that the Israelites actually wore a lamp on their feet?  Don’t ask me how, but they did so that they could walk in the dark.  This Psalm, then, is important to them as they compared the Word of God to a light that guides them in the dark.

            This year we are going to focus a lot on learning about God’s Word in the Bible.  We’ll continue to memorize verses and read our Bibles on a daily basis at school.  Now, I don’t have candy on me at the moment, but does anyone have a Bible verse they memorized?  Let’s start with a Kindergartener.  [Kindergartener recites, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”  First grader recites, “Jesus Wept, John 11:35.”  Second grader, “Give us this day our daily bread.”]  Good one.  As we started to memorize verses, we found it a bit tricky until we realized that we already know a lot of Bible verses through the Mass, Lord’s Prayer and other common prayers!  Alright, third grade, who can tell me one of my favorite verses?  [Third grader recites, “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”  Fourth grader recites, “The Lord is my shepherd, for nothing shall I want.”  Fifth grader recites, “In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth.”  Sixth grader recites, “On the night he was betrayed, Jesus took bread, blessed it and giving it to his disciples said, ‘Take this, all of you and eat it.  This is my body.’”]  Good one, N.  Keep those in mind as you might say them at Mass some day!

            As we celebrate Mass this morning we rejoice in God’s Word.  We pray that His Word may truly be a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path.