Homily
for October 10, 2017.
“And the
people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and
small, put on sackcloth.” Jonah 3:5.
To repent is
to acknowledge my sinfulness before God, to be truly sorry for them and to ask
forgiveness from God. Repentance begins from the heart and finds expression in
physical actions such as FASTING, SELF-DENIAL or SELF-HUMILIATION which is
symbolized by the wearing of sackcloth. It is actually punishing myself.
The action of
the people of Nineveh in our modern day and time would translate into being able
to bring myself before a priest to confess my sins. Like the people of Nineveh,
I would have to punish myself, fast from my personal pride, deny myself and
mention my sins to Jesus who is represented in the person of the priest.
Virtually all
the spiritual masters and saints recommend regular confession at least once a
week. In other words, I don’t need to wait for Jonah to warn me before I repent.
If I really want to live above sin, then I must take advantage of weekly
confession. If I put off confession for more than a week or longer, the weaker I
become spiritually.
The more I repent
of a particular sin, the more I confess it, the less likely I commit it. At times,
I become too ashamed of confessing a sin that I just flee completely each time I
am faced with the temptation to commit that same sin. This is why confession is
good.
If I just sit
in my room and beg God to forgive me without actually humiliating myself by
confessing it to a priest, I might as well be deceiving myself.
“When God saw
what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about
the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it.” Jonah
3:10.
Repentance
moves God. The more I repent and leave my sins behind, the brighter my future
will be. I would be saving myself from a lot of calamity by repenting
constantly and living a truly holy life.
In our Gospel
passage, Jesus would not allow Mary take Martha from his presence because for
him, she had chosen the better part. I could be very busy for Jesus but if
there is no connection spiritually between me and Jesus, my busyness becomes
null and void.
I could be
working for Jesus but if I allow sin fester within me by putting off
confession, it means I am not choosing the good portion. On the last day, it is
not my sweat and energy for Jesus that will count, it is not the number of
meals I cooked for Jesus that will count but my spiritual connection.
In Luke 13:26-30, we read: “Then you
will begin to say, 'We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.' But
he will say, 'I do not know where you come from; go away from me, all you
evildoers!' There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham
and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you
yourselves thrown out. Then people will come from east and west, from north and
south, and will eat in the kingdom of God. Indeed, some are last who will be
first, and some are first who will be last.”
Let us pray: Lord Jesus, in my busy-ness
for you, may I not miss heaven. Amen.
Be Happy.
Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Tuesday of the
27th Week in Ordinary Time. Bible Study: Jonah 3:1-10 and Luke 10:38-42).
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