Sunday, July 12th, 2020

Wouldn’t it be great if God spoke to us in words we can understand? That it wasn’t just faintly intangible experiences in prayer, but really Jesus speaking to me personally? Something I could hang onto, and look at any time.

My friend - God thinks that’s a great idea. He thought it was a good idea a long time before you did. And so he gave it to us. It’s called: the Bible.

Now you may say: “But Father, its not personal. That’s a book for everyone.” Did you not hear what Jesus said to us today in the Gospel? He speaks specifically about it: he says how he is concerned about what individual people to with his words. Some don’t understand and lose it, some like it but give up on trying to do it, some stop doing it once things get a bit harder, some allow anxiety to drive his words away. There is one kind, however, for whom it bears enormous fruit: “And the one who received the seed in rich soil is the man who hears the word and understands it; he is the one who yields a harvest and produces now a hundredfold, now sixty, now thirty.’” So please don’t tell me the words of the bible are not for you personally. Jesus says that in those words he is talking to you. The question is: do you listen? And do put them into practice? For as Jesus says: that’s how your life will change.

So how do I do this? One way is fulfilling our basic requirement to go to Sunday Mass. Skipping Sunday Mass is a quick way to ensure you know nothing about God and become deaf and hardhearted to his Word. This is also why, if you have time during the week, its good to make time to go to weekday mass as well. A lot of Sunday-goers don’t even know there is mass during the week: some people seem to think the priests just watch TV except on Sundays. We are very busy my friends, and daily mass is one of the things which fill up our day. It is not as long as Sunday Mass, normally half an hour: but is a wonderful way to take us out of our rut and wake us up with the Word of God, surrounded by the prayers of our brothers and sisters.

A second way is to pay attention to the homily. A lot of people think homilies are only there because priests talk too much and just can’t help themselves. This is not true. I mean it is true that there are priests who talk too much. But the homily is part of the proclamation of the Word of God, “a happy experience of the Spirit” says Pope Francis, “a consoling encounter with God’s word...it surpasses all forms of catechesis as the supreme moment in the dialogue between God and his people which lead up to sacramental communion. The homily takes up once more the dialogue which the Lord has already established with His people.” (EG 135, 137)

When was the last time you implemented something said in a homily? If you are serious about wanting to treasure God’s word maybe one thing to do is to keep a diary where once a week after Sunday mass you write one thing that impressed you, and one small decision you will make to implement it.