Note: I preached this homily at the Basilica of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows in Navrongo, Ghana (Africa)
I must have been in heaven yesterday as I visited the
neighboring town of Paga. We heard
in Isaiah that when the Messiah comes, the wolf and the lamb will lie down
together and that the bear and cow will be neighbors. Well I sat on a crocodile yesterday afternoon, so this must
be heaven!
We
are first introduced to the gifts of the Holy Spirit in this reading from
Isaiah: “The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him: a
Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, A Spirit of counsel and of
strength, a Spirit of knowledge and of fear
of the LORD, and
his delight shall be the fear of the LORD.” These gifts are opened to us at Baptism
and lavished upon us at Confirmation.
And one the greatest signs of the gifts of the Holy Spirit in our lives
is the presence of peace, the peace the child Jesus comes to give.
I
pray that peace will reign in your hearts this Advent season, especially as you
vote on Friday in your presidential election. I liked what the four baby priests told you at their
ordination: “Please vote for peace in our country.”
In
a way, I am somewhat jealous of you as you go to vote later this week. I have never had the chance to vote between
presidential candidates who were both
pro-life or both believing marriage
is between a man and a woman. I am
not sure I ever will get that opportunity in the USA.
Jesus
calls us to live peaceful lives.
This is not an abstract, pie in the sky image, but a mission to be
sought daily as we strive for right relationship with God and neighbor. On Friday you go to vote as Catholics
in your wonderful country. Thank
God for the Holy Spirit that is at work in your country and vote to continue to
promote peace in this wonderful land.
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