The Sunday Sermon Archive

Dear Friend,

Let us not grow weary in doing good. Our lives here on earth are a time for us to sow so that we may be able to reap a bountiful harvest in Heaven.

Christ has given us the example in today's Gospel of assisting one another. This poor widow who has just lost her only son stirs up pity and compassion in our hearts; it did so for Christ too. And thus He restores her son to life and returns him to her.

Day after day we are given the opportunity to do good deeds. We must not allow these opportunities to slip away from us without making use of them. Each opportunity is a gift from God and we will be held accountable for them. Let us recall that Jesus has told us that what we do to the least of His brethren we do to Him, and what we fail to do for the least of His brethren we fail to do for Him. And upon this will our eternal happiness depend.

The corporal works of mercy are all very important in this regard, but we must remember that they are secondary to the spiritual works of mercy.

The large donation from the wealthy that serves as a tax write off or for ostentation or as a wise publicity stunt is not the spirit that we are striving for.

We must empty ourselves of all self love and self concern _ just as Christ has done in His sacrifice for us. We must purify our hearts' desires of all that is worldly or selfish; or rather all that is not of God. God demands all of our love. He is not content with part of our hearts; He wants all that we have. This is our spiritual goal for life, and as we draw closer to this goal we will find more and more opportunity to assist one another because we have less and less needs or wants for ourselves.

We are called upon to die to ourselves so that we may live for Christ.

The greater and more pure that our love of God becomes the greater and purer our love for one another becomes. We must strive to reach the goal of loving everyone (even our enemies) for the love of God. This does not lessen our love for God, but increases it. God is the center of our love and as it radiates outward it encompasses all that God loves; and so we love God first and foremost and everything else either in or for the love of God. Thus our love for one another must be a love in Christ. And as we do good to one anther we do good to Christ because it is the love of Christ that instills and motivates the love for everyone else.

Any other type of "love" for our fellow men is not true love but is lust. A "love" for one another that is self-interested or self-seeking is not true love. And this sadly is what most of the world mistakes for love. So many married people or couples living in concubinage are only looking to please themselves or to gratify their own passions and desires. They have no concept of true love because they have not yet learned to deny themselves and seek God with their whole heart, mind, and soul. And thus, we see the misery in so many families, the hatred of husbands and wives, the countless divorces, abortions, etc.

We must habitually strive to deaden all selfish or worldly desires; these are the greatest obstacles to our advancement in the spiritual life. It is not so much what we do or do not do that is important in the eyes of God; it is what we desire. What is the love or desire of our hearts? This is what motivates and inspires all our actions; and this is what we will be judged upon. This is what separates the honest men from the hypocrites.

Christ has told us that the man filled with anger is already guilty of murder because he has desired it. And the man who lusts after a woman is already guilty of adultery because he has desired it. And the Church teaches us that when we are impeded from some good such as the sacraments of Baptism, Confession and Holy Communion we should form a great desire for these and God will accept the desire for the deed.

It is what is in the heart that is important to God. And so we must strive to drive out all inordinate desires so that we can be filled only with the love and desire for God. In this manner we are made able to love one another as we should and are inspired to come to the assistance of each other without any strings attached; never for any selfish reason but in pure selflessness and love. In this state we will sow good merit here on earth to be reaped in Heaven.

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