Sunday Sermon - 10.22.23
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).
Stand in all things perfect. Have no sin in your soul. Give no foothold to the demons that surround us. Do not let them have an inch. Go to Confession regularly and pray an Act of Contrition every day. Use the weapons and defensive pieces that God has made available to you. Ask for your Guardian Angel to protect you. At all times we have demons watching you and looking for a spiritual weakness in you to tempt. They want to tempt you into sin so they have control over you. Receive the sacraments, pray your Rosary, pray an Act of Contrition, read your Bible, and do good works. Make yourself strong through His grace.
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.
The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant is so critical for us, especially in our day. Notice in particular what Christ says right at the end. “So also shall My Heavenly Father do to you, if you forgive not every one his brother from your hearts.” You can have sins forgiven by God, totally and completely. But if you refuse to forgive others, God will re-institute those sins on you because you refuse to have mercy towards others.
So today, right now or the next time you are at Mass, go before the Blessed Sacrament and forgive everyone of their sins against you. And you need to mean it. Make it an act of your will and turn over to Christ any sins that have been committed against you. Forgive them generously and completely. Do not look for repayment or revenge. Forgo it. Let those sins go.
Now this does NOT mean that you have to forget what they have done or put yourself into a vulnerable situation with that person again. You can keep separation from that person but go ahead and forgive them. You don’t need to worry about their sins anymore. Worry about your own sins and perform acts of penance for those.
This also does not mean that your feelings will comply with your act of the will that you make here. You may feel resentful to them, but make an act of the will to forgive. A judge can hate a defendant thoroughly but still rule them not guilty. They are free even in spite of the judge’s feelings. Keep forgiving your enemies and eventually your feelings will obey and follow your act of the will to forgive them.
NOVUS ORDO: TWENTY-NINTH IN ORDINARY TIME
OLD TESTAMENT: Isaiah 45:1 Thus says the Lord to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped to subdue nations before him and strip kings of their robes, to open doors before him—and the gates shall not be closed: 2 I will go before you and level the mountains, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron, 3 I will give you the treasures of darkness and riches hidden in secret places, so that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, who call you by your name. 4 For the sake of My servant Jacob, and Israel My chosen, I call you by your name, I surname you, though you do not know Me. 5 I am the Lord, and there is no other; besides Me there is no god. I arm you, though you do not know Me, 6 so that they may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is no one besides Me; I am the Lord, and there is no other.
God calls us before we even know who He is. God in baptism makes you part of HIS family. He gives you HIS NAME. Listen again to the words of Baptism and the prayer of the Sign of the Cross. “In the NAME of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost”. It is a singular NAME. Now read this passage again. “I surname you”. God takes us into His family and gives us HIS NAME.
Always remember that you carry the NAME of the Most High in your soul. Always try to remember that and act like it. Just as your parents would be embarrassed if your sullied their family’s name by acting like a fool in public, try to remember that you carry the NAME of God Himself within you. So act like it.
NEW TESTAMENT: 1 Thessalonians 1:1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace. 2 We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly 3 remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 For we know, brothers and sisters beloved by God, that He has chosen you, 5 because our message of the gospel came to you not in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of persons we proved to be among you for your sake.
As noted above, God calls us and chooses us before we ever know Him. He explicitly and deliberately created YOU so that you can spend eternity with Him. You weren’t a random chance and you weren’t an accident. God created YOU for Himself. He WANTS you to be with Him. So try to return just a fraction of His love for you back to Him. You won’t regret it. You were literally made for Him.
GOSPEL: Matthew 22:15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap Him in what He said. 16 So they sent their disciples to Him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for You do not regard people with partiality. 17 Tell us, then, what You think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” 18 But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why are you putting Me to the test, you hypocrites? 19 Show Me the coin used for the tax.” And they brought Him a denarius. 20 Then He said to them, “Whose head is this, and whose title?” 21 They answered, “The emperor’s.” Then He said to them, “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 22 When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left Him and went away.
As stated above, you were created by God for Himself. He gave you HIS NAME and made you part of His family. So whose image and likeness is on your soul? Whose NAME do you carry on your soul? You carry the image, Name and likeness of God upon your soul. So obey Christ. Give to God what belongs to Him.
You belong to God, so act like it.
I am an old lady but... I must frequently hear “ you are God’s. So act like it”.
Thank you for the heavenly reminder 🙏