Sunday Sermon - 9.15.24
LATIN MASS: SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
EPISTLE: Ephesians 4:1 I therefore, a prisoner in the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation in which you are called, 2 With all humility and mildness, with patience, supporting one another in charity. 3 Careful to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 One Body and one Spirit; as you are called in one hope of your calling. 5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism. 6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in us all.
We hear it said many times that the Catholic Church is the Body of Christ. One thing that must be remembered is that a body must work together. It cannot be opposed to itself or fight itself. Each part of the body must perform its function so that the body can move and be active. Infighting in the Catholic Church negates our witness to the rest of the world. The good works that the Father wants completed will not be done if the Body of Christ is fighting itself. So the other faithful Catholic that you don’t like, you must not undermine, backstab, gossip about or treat badly. You don’t have to like them, but you must love them and help them in their good works.
Naturally this does not apply to those who are unfaithful. They must be confronted. Those who promote or excuse sin cannot be allowed to remain. They must be confronted as Christ taught in Matthew 18:15-17. Allowing those who promote sin or heresy to remain unchallenged is a great evil.
GOSPEL: Matthew 22:34 But the Pharisees hearing that He had silenced the Sadducees, came together: 35 And one of them, a doctor of the Law, asking Him, tempting Him: 36 Master, which is the greatest commandment in the Law? 37 Jesus said to him: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind. 38 This is the greatest and the first commandment. 39 And the second is like to this: Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments dependeth the whole Law and the prophets. 41 And the Pharisees being gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42 Saying: What think you of Christ? Whose son is He? They say to Him: David's. 43 He saith to them: How then doth David in Spirit call Him Lord, saying: 44 The Lord said to my Lord, Sit on My right hand, until I make Thy enemies Thy footstool? 45 If David then call Him Lord, how is He his Son? 46 And no man was able to answer Him a word; neither durst any man from that day forth ask Him any more questions.
King David realized that the coming Messiah would possess all the authority of God and would be given the throne of God. King David had the humility to realize that the Messiah would be King of all and every person would bend the knee for Him. Those who accept Jesus as the Lord of all are happy to bow down in worship and reverence to Him. Remember that the sin of pride is the very first sin and is involved in every other sin. Because for sin to occur, we must first reject the will of the Father, which in itself is the sin of pride.
NOVUS ORDO: TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
OLD TESTAMENT: Isaiah 50:5 The Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious, I did not turn backward. 6 I gave my back to those who struck me, and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard; I did not hide my face from insult and spitting. 7 The Lord God helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame; 8 He who vindicates me is near. Who will contend with me? Let us stand up together. Who are my adversaries? Let them confront me. 9 It is the Lord God who helps me; who will declare me guilty? All of them will wear out like a garment; the moth will eat them up.
Isaiah prophecies the coming Passion of Our Lord and shows that He will be hideously mistreated by those who should be worshipping Him. Even still, to reconcile mankind back to God, Our Lord was willing to go through this abuse. He was willing to suffer His Passion for each of us. Never forget that God did not even exempt Himself from suffering, so we should expect the same for ourselves.
NEW TESTAMENT: James 2:14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? 17 So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith.
Faith alone is heresy. It is utterly condemned by the Bible and Sacred Tradition. Faith must be put into action. Good works are a required condition for salvation. If you are unwilling to do the good works of God, do not be surprised if He is unwilling to do the good work of saving you. Just as committing a mortal sin will sever the life of grace in your soul, so will refusing to do good works. Remember the parable of the talents and the servant who hid his talent rather than use it to make more. It did not go well for him.
GOSPEL: Mark 8:27 Jesus went on with His disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way He asked His disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” 28 And they answered Him, “John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” 29 He asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered Him, “You are the Messiah.” 30 And He sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about Him.
31 Then He began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 He said all this quite openly. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. 33 But turning and looking at His disciples, He rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind Me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”
34 He called the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become My followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Me. 35 For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for My sake, and for the sake of the Gospel, will save it.
In this life we are not promised comfort or pleasure by Our Lord. We are promised suffering and crosses. We are also promised the heavenly reward of eternal joy with Our Lord if we will be faithful to Him. If you follow Him, He WILL redeem you and raise you up to heavenly glory.
Beautiful. Thank you for this and have a blessed Sunday!
Thank you 🙏 Clear and concise and to the point. It’s time to get to work 🙏📿