Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Discerning Spirits: Daily Mass Homily--Monday, January 5th, 2015


(Listen to this homily here).

            The ancient philosopher Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.”  It is important for us to take regular times of reflection in order to grow in self-knowledge and awareness.  Here I am not talking about a selfish naval gazing practice, but examining ourselves in order to grow.
            John wrote in his first letter, “Beloved, do not trust every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they belong to God…”  In the spiritual realm, we face many different realities.  We are influenced by the world, evil and God’s grace.  All of us leaves us with the “new man” who battles against our sinful self.
            St. John gives us a key to discern the various spirits that are present in our life: “This is how you can know the Spirit of God: every spirit that acknowledges Jesus Christ come in the flesh belongs to God, and every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus does not belong to God.  This simple standard can help us grow in virtue.  For instance, will doing x, y or z acknowledge Jesus to me, a friend or stranger?  If not, what does this say about why I am acting?
            While I am still learning, this process has helped me make decisions at our parish.  Like any institution, we can be affected by secular society, sin or even evil.  I want to ensure that the decisions we make—be they financial, practical, spiritual or with personnel—acknowledge that Jesus is what we are about.
            May we proclaim Jesus Christ today through how we act towards God and neighbor.

No comments:

Post a Comment