15th Sunday of Ordinary Time Homily for the Second Mass at Blessed John Paul II Parish, Cedar Springs, Michigan Translate What is in Our Minds into Our Hearts During my four years of studying theology in Rome, I often participated in the Station Church during Lent. A Station Church is where every day during the Lenten season, the faithful and clergy make a walking journey to a designated church. There the Eucharist is celebrated. The walking journey should serve as a reminder for all the pilgrims that they need to make a spiritual one. Each day a priest, or a bishop take turns in presiding at the Mass. I recall that at one of the Stations, St. Peter Basilica, the presider on that day was Cardinal Edward Cassidy, the retired president of the Pontifical Council of Promoting Christian Unity. His homily was short, right to the point, and yet very profound. I recall what he said: “During life, we set out for all sorts of journeys, and during this Lent we ask to make a spiritual journey. But the most difficult journey of all is to translate what is in our head into our heart. Sometimes in our head, we know what we should do as believers in Christ, but we never manage to move it into our heart. Only when things are translated into the heart will action happen and life be changed. During this Lent we pray for the translation of the teaching of Christ, our Savior, from our head into our heart.” The Gospel passage today reminds us of such a translation. A scholar of the law approached Jesus with the question “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Actually, he did not need an answer from Jesus. As a scholar of the law, he knew how he should live his life. When Jesus asked Jesus him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?” the man marvelously summarized the law: “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” In fact, he knew the laws of Moses so well that he took the best part of the Book of Deuteronomy and the Book of Leviticus as the summary for all the teachings. He knew the laws well, but they were not translated into practice. He memorized the laws with his mind, but in his heart he was far from it. Therefore, Jesus went on and gave him a concrete example of a man, who although he might not have the knowledge of the law like this scholar, he lived the very spirit of the law in his heart--the good Samaritan. As members of the Church, we are the disciples of Jesus. We are called not only to know our faith, but to translate what we know into our daily living. In short, we are called to move what is in our head into our heart—the most difficult journey of all. But that is the journey of those who follow Christ. On this second Sunday Mass on the grounds of the newly-established Blessed John Paul II Parish, we pray that all of our parishioners, now and into the future, will come to know and love the Lord and manifest the love of God in our service for one another, especially the poor and the unfortunate. We are all called to be the good Samaritans. To be good Samaritans or to live lives of service reminds me of a wonderful example in our Catholic faith, the Blessed Virgin Mary. Mary’s life was all about service to God and fellow human beings. As we begin the parish with Patron Pope John Paul II who dedicated his entire life under the protection of Mary in his code of arm, Totus Tuus, we pray that this entire parish is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. May she lead us into a life of service, life as good Samaritans. Many we follow her example to ponder all that God has done, not with our minds, but in our hearts (see Lk 2:19). Amen.
Posted on: Sun, 14 Jul 2013 12:57:06 +0000
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