Daily Mass Homily: Friday, February 15th, 2013

           Our first reading contains the corporal works of mercy in seminal form.  Here we are encouraged by Isaiah to be diligent in: “releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; Setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke; Sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless; Clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own.”  Jesus adds to these in the Judgment of the Nations in Matthew—we must visit the imprisoned and bury the dead.

            In my life as a Catholic I have often seen our faithful divided into two camps.  I saw this especially during my college years which featured the intense passion and zeal of young lives.  These two camps consist of those focused on social justice and those focused on prayer.  Often we can have bitter rivalry in our own Church between these groups and indeed I witnessed this when I was in college.

            Yet our faith isn’t either serve the poor or be faithful to prayer.  We are called to both fidelity to the Lord in our spiritual lives and be there for those in need. 

            Whichever camp you are in, Lent is a time to grow in areas in which we are weak.  For instance, I must make conscious decisions to get out and work with the poor.  I can’t just speak about it or pray about, but must go out there and do it.  Those who find service the main source of their spiritual lives must challenge themselves to continue to build their relationship with God in the depths of their hearts. 

            There are many ways to bridge the gap between the two groups of people I have described, but the greatest is the Eucharist.  We must remember Jesus’ body and blood are both the source and summit of our faith.  It is the source from which all our lives depend and we are called to go forth from this source into the world.  Yet we are also called to return to the summit of our lives by bringing those we meet with and serve to the Eucharist.  Rather than an either/or the Eucharist calls us to be both/and.  God feeds us, we feed others and then we are all fed again.