“Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be satisfied… Woe to you who are filled now, for you will be hungry.” Lk 6, 21.25

Dear parishioners,

Today’s first reading and gospel are really simply the beatitudes and maledictions that we find in Luke’s gospel, quoted above, only in parable form. Apart from these central points of the beatitudes and maledictions in Luke, two additional points are eloquently made in today’s readings. 

The first is that the rich man in the gospel parable is a reminder that we have only this life to engage in a mercy, a generosity, a magnanimity toward those in need that imitates that of God. And the opportunities abound. Lazarus is all around us, all the time. By the grace of God, may we not “miss the boat”. May a concern for the poor of all descriptions, and a concern for alleviating their want, their need, to the extent that is possible, be one of the core and abiding values of our lives.

The second point is Jesus’ striking affirmation: “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.” The truth is that the gospel doesn’t work for everyone. Many hear it. Not all subscribe to it. We have the Scriptures, and we have the claim of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. But they are not, in and of themselves, compelling. How do we explain that some embrace the gospel, and some don’t? I can think of only one explanation, and as always, that explanation is the grace of God. God has chosen those he wants to live their lives in possession of his gospel. He opens the eyes of those he has chosen to the truth of the gospel, and they embrace it. Given God’s way of operating, what is there to do but pray? Pray in thanksgiving, because clearly, we have been chosen, since  I am writing these Spirit-inspired words and in reading them, you recognize as an echo of your own faith convictions. We need to pray in thanksgiving, and to pray in petition to God, since everything is gift, especially the gift of faith. Pray that the grace of eyes that are open to the truth of the gospel will remain with us, that till the end, we will see and embrace the gospel. Pray for that grace for ourselves and for all those we love. That they too will live their lives in possession of the Christian gospel, and the consolation and the hope that it provides.

Even the prayer to which I exhort all of us is gift. So let us ask God for the grace of the prayer of thanksgiving and petition which arises naturally out of the gift of faith and hope, and which has the power to obtain it for others. 

If there is anything that emerges from the convictions I have shared with you over the years in this pastor’s corner and in my homilies, it is clearly that everything that is uniquely Christian about us is gift. Everything. By the grace of God then, may the core of our being be a prayer of thanksgiving for all the gifts we receive, and a prayer of petition for the gifts that God knows we need, for ourselves and for those we love.

God bless, and have a pleasant week.

Fr. Guy