Homily for the Week of October 14, 2012

Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, 2012 First Reading: Wisdom 7:7-11 Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 90:12-13, 14-15, 16-17 Second Reading: Hebrews 4:12-13 Gospel: Mark 10:17-30 [17-27] On Thursday St. James Parish and every Catholic parish throughout the entire world began a Year of Faith. The year will end in November next year. This Year of Faith is an opportunity for all of us to rediscover our faith and become more deeply involved in living out our Catholic faith. We are invited to renew our commitment to our religion and, if necessary, to return to the practice of our religion. In so doing we can rediscover its beauty and truth and a chance to claim it more deeply for ourselves and for our families. The number of Americans who say they have no religious affiliation has grown very rapidly in the past 5 years to about 30% , The largest number of these are persons in their twenties. Obviously, many of these were Catholics who were baptized and made their First Communion as young children. There is also a large group of persons who say they do not practice their religion every week. These are not strangers: they are our parents, spouses, children, and friends. And they are Catholics but for various reasons do not come to Mass on a regular basis. Many of them find that they have busy schedules or a lack of time, some have family responsibilities and health problems or disabilities; conflicts with work. Some have sadly come to the conclusion that they are not religious enough and should not be here. Reconnecting with our Catholic faith in this year of faith can help us begin a process whereby we reclaim our lives for important things, like the question that the young man asked Jesus: what must I do to inherit eternal life? In the Bible we occasionally find Jesus upset with some who had little faith. Jesus often linked faith to his healing miracles. His followers would often beg him to increase their faith. Probably if we thought about it, most of us would also tell Jesus that we need His help to increase our faith. A lot of us if we were asked why we were Catholic rather than another religion, we would probably answer: “I was raised that way.” Today's gospel features a young and gifted man who was challenged to overcome an obstacle. No doubt, it was an obstacle with which many of us might liked to be burdened: riches. Unfortunately, the young man was not up the invitation Jesus extended to him. His riches stood between him and a share in everlasting life. Whether or not he eventually overcame his attachment to his wealth and opted to follow Jesus is not ours to know. But it is enough that this experience and many like them cause us to look at ourselves and find out what in our personal faith is lacking and is standing between ourselves and God. Jesus is trying to tell us that nothing should stand in the way of those called to participate in the work of God. In contrast to the rich young man, in our first reading we find that Solomon did not allow anything to stand between him and God. Although he was far from perfect, Solomon had his priorities in order when he came to God in prayer. His money, power and prestige did not stand in the way or cloud his vision or prevent him from making the right decisions. We all understand the point Jesus is making in today's gospel. To share everlasting life, the rich man had one more thing to do. Go, Jesus told him, and sell what you have and give to the poor...After that, come and follow me. The implications are not only bothersome but downright staggering if we look only at our material possessions. But what if we also included another possession or gift which is our Catholic faith? In fact it might be a lot easier to give away some of our possessions than to share our Catholic faith. Giving away a possession is a one time gift. But sharing our faith is a lifetime obligation, and it is often a gift that is refused by those to whom you want to give it. In fact, that command might be even more difficult than to give away our possessions. In fact it may be that many of us have not considered our faith as a gift, but maybe a burdened. But there is one more thing that Jesus is asking of us. Look closely, he would say, an you'll see that there is no sell by date on this gospel. Our faith is there 24 hours a day that comes in all types of expression. The faith of a young child or teenager or young adult is not the same as that of a senior citizen or newly married couple, or of a widow. Our faith is molded by our family and culture and experiences. It may be on hold for years or it may be loaded with question marks. However as we walk day after day it will always be there, waiting. Faith also fills us. One person once told me. I was living a barren life without God. I still so miserable? I felt like there was a big hole in my chest with a cold wind blowing through.After realizing that I had no relationship with God, I began attending Mass, and finally felt that I was home. Each and every day or at least once a week we have the opportunity to hear the word of God as read from the Bible to challenge us. Each time we hear the word of God being read or seen in our Mass booklets it should penetrate us to the heart. It confronts us where we are. It should make us look at our values, our priorities, our lifestyle. We will also find within the word the direction we need to remain faithful to it. And above all, the only possession or richness which we must have is the power of love which power is given to every human being.