Sunday Sermon - 10.13.24
LATIN MASS: TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
EPISTLE: Ephesians 6:10 Finally, brethren, be strengthened in the Lord, and in the might of His power. 11 Put you on the armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the deceits of the devil. 12 For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against principalities and power, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places. 13 Therefore take unto you the armour of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and to stand in all things perfect. 14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of justice, 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace: 16 In all things taking the shield of faith, wherewith you may be able to extinguish all the fiery darts of the most wicked one. 17 And take unto you the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Demons control this world. They have since they were cast out of Heaven and they will continue to do so until the Second Coming of Our Lord. At that time Our Lord will melt away both Heaven and earth and create a new Heaven and new earth. But this is the one we have now. Never forget that you have literal demons running this world and they want to destroy your soul.
But you are not alone. By yourself you have no hope of fighting back, but God does not leave us alone. He is with us until the end of the age. We have the sacraments, we have Him in the Eucharist. We have Confession, plus we have the graces that flow from Baptism, Confirmation and Marriage. We have our Guardian Angels. We have the saints in Heaven. We have Our Lady. We have St. Michael. We have St. Joseph.
Remember the weapons Our Lord has left for you to use, and all the spiritual cavalry for you to call upon for help.
GOSPEL: Matthew 18:23 Therefore is the Kingdom of Heaven likened to a king, who would take an account of his servants. 24 And when he had begun to take the account, one was brought to him, that owed him ten thousand talents. 25 And as he had not wherewith to pay it, his lord commanded that he should be sold, and his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 But that servant falling down, besought him, saying: Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 27 And the lord of that servant being moved with pity, let him go and forgave him the debt. 28 But when that servant was gone out, he found one of his fellow servants that owed him an hundred pence: and laying hold of him, throttled him, saying: Pay what thou owest. 29 And his fellow servant falling down, besought him, saying: Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 30 And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he paid the debt. 31 Now his fellow servants seeing what was done, were very much grieved, and they came and told their lord all that was done. 32 Then his lord called him; and said to him: Thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all the debt, because thou besoughtest me: 33 Shouldst not thou then have had compassion also on thy fellow servant, even as I had compassion on thee? 34 And his lord being angry, delivered him to the torturers until he paid all the debt. 35 So also shall My Heavenly Father do to you, if you forgive not every one his brother from your hearts.
So shall My Heavenly Father do to you. These might be the most terrifying words in the Bible. As tough as it can be, we must learn to forgive our neighbor. We must forgive those who have sinned against us.
When it is tough to do so, go to your parish and kneel down before the Tabernacle. Forgiveness is an act of the will. It is not a feeling. So make an act of the will before Our Lord in the Eucharist that you forgive everyone who has sinned against you. Give it all over to Him. Let Him deal with those who have harmed you.
You can still be hurt by what they have done. You can still be angry and upset about it. But even through your emotions, you can forgive them by an act of your will. Declare that you forgive them and trust in Our Lord to handle the situation. This does not mean you have to like those who sinned against you. It does not mean you have to let them back into your life. It means you need to let go of hatred and revenge against them. Forgive and get back to doing the work of the Father.
NOVUS ORDO: TWENTY-EIGHTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
OLD TESTAMENT: Wisdom 7:7 Therefore I prayed, and understanding was given me; I called on God, and the spirit of wisdom came to me. 8 I preferred her to scepters and thrones, and I accounted wealth as nothing in comparison with her. 9 Neither did I liken to her any priceless gem, because all gold is but a little sand in her sight, and silver will be accounted as clay before her. 10 I loved her more than health and beauty, and I chose to have her rather than light, because her radiance never ceases. 11 All good things came to me along with her, and in her hands uncounted wealth.
Wisdom is one of the greatest gifts God can grant to us. It can teach us to keep our eyes and focus on Him rather than on the temporal things of this world. Wisdom never fades and it never loses glory. If we ask and seek for the wisdom of God, it will be given to us so that we can know and love Our Lord even more. Ask God to grant you the grace of wisdom through your sacrament of Confirmation today.
NEW TESTAMENT: Hebrews 4:12 Indeed, the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And before Him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to Whom we must render an account.
The Son, the Word of God, is living and active. He is life itself. He sees everything and nothing is hidden from Him. We must give an account of our lives for everything we have done, failed to do, said and thought. Absolutely everything.
It is best if we start that process now by going to Confession regularly. In Confession you lay your soul bare to Our Lord. You accuse yourself of your sins and lay them at His feet. That way, those sins have already been confessed rather than have them brought out at your Judgment Day by the great accuser, who is the devil himself. Satan can have nothing to accuse you with if you have already accused yourself in the sacrament of Confession.
GOSPEL: Mark 10:17 As He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.’” 20 He said to Him, “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.” 21 Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven; then come, follow Me.” 22 When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.
23 Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the Kingdom of God!” 24 And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the Kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God.” 26 They were greatly astounded and said to one another, “Then who can be saved?” 27 Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.”
28 Peter began to say to Him, “Look, we have left everything and followed You.” 29 Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for My sake and for the sake of the good news, 30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age—houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”
If you are reading this, understand that compared to all of human history, YOU are one of the wealthiest people who has ever lived. It may surprise you but through most of human history, poverty and lack of food were the norm. Even today there are large sections of the world where people have very little of anything. They are truly poor. The “poor” in our country have an obesity problem. Let that sink in for a little bit.
Realize that WE are the rich that Our Lord is warning about. We have temporal comforts that even emperors could never dream about. So be on guard that this level of comfort does not lead you into hell. This is also why fasting, penance and almsgiving are so important for our souls. Being comfortable has endangered the souls of millions today. Realize that the temptation of comfort is risking hell for you.