Homily for Sept 13

Dear Friends:

I am fortunate that I do not have to shop for groceries every week to feed our rectory family of three; but recently I did go to the store to pick up a few items. When I gave the clerk my credit card, I was shocked at the price. Upon my return home, I added the items I had purchased and realized that I was not cheated. A small New England town decided recently to let go of their recreation director because COVID had caused most of their gatherings to be cancelled. The man is the father of two small children, one of whom is gravely ill with a rare disease. Now they have no health insurance. The plight of this family and the financial woes of many others during this pandemic remind me of the man in today’s gospel who begs the master to have mercy on his inability to pay his debts. The parable was told by Jesus in response to Peter’s question about how often to forgive. The number seven represents perfection or infinity. The master in the story is, of course, God, who is ever-merciful and always forgiving. Unfortunately, the forgiven debtor was not so merciful with the one who owed him a mere fraction of what he had owed the master. We can be so very forgetful of the love God so generously bestows upon us! People often hold grudges for generations and sometimes have no memory of the original offense. In the 1980’s there was a popular series of parables written by a retired priest from the Diocese of Albany, New York about a man named “Joshua.” He would appear as a guest of families that were arch-enemies of one another: Muslims, Jews, Christians, in the Holy Land and Protestants and Catholics in Ireland. All welcomed him as one of their own and loved him dearly; then he would vanish. “Joshua” is, of course, the same name as “Jesus.” The “Book of Sirach” speaks of “wrath and anger” as “hateful things.” (Sirach 27:30) There is so much anger seething beneath the surface in our world; and it frequently explodes like the geysers in Yellowstone Park. What is the antidote to all of this unrequited wrath? Justice requires a “righting” of wrongs, a balancing of inequities; but something more is also essential. The gospel writer wants us to be reminded of the mercy God has demonstrated in the saving death and resurrection of Christ. What is demanded is an attitude of gratitude! During the months of pandemic, we can all enumerate reasons for being resentful; but resentment only fuels unhappiness and depression. As I pray the fourth “luminous” mystery of the rosary, I am drawn to the words of Peter at the Transfiguration: “Lord, it is good that we are here.” As I go through the decade, I am reminded that I need to be grateful for this moment in time, even for the crises I must face. The sixteenth century spiritual director, Jean-Pierre De Caussade summed it up in these words:

“If we have abandoned ourselves, there is only one rule for us: the duty of the present moment.” (De Caussade, Abandonment to Divine Providence, p. 81)

Sincerely yours in Christ,
Father Bill Foley