THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

Her Doctrine and Morals

Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost

12 October 2025

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The Sunday

Sermon

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Dear Friends in Christ,

In today's Gospel reading (Saint Matthew 9:1-8), Jesus healed a man who had palsy. The healing was twofold. Jesus healed the man's soul when He said to him, "Be of good heart, your sins are forgiven you." And Jesus healed the man's body when He said to him, "Take up your bed and go into your house."

There were two miracles, but our natural attention is drawn only to the cure of the man's body. The cure of the body was done to prove the cure of the soul. It is the cure of the body that we see with our physical eyes. The most important of these miracles is obviously the cure of the man's soul, but we must see this with spiritual eyes rather than physical ones.

Jesus directed the man to get up and go to his house after he had been blessed with these two miracles. It was not the time to go out and celebrate or to party with his friends. The gifts that he received needed to be received in quiet and away from the world. It is in our house and sheltered from the world outside that we can better think, meditate, and pray. A lot has happened, and the man needed time to process it all so that he could truly understand and appreciate what Jesus had given him.

We often overlook the role of others in our spiritual journey. The faith and prayers of the man's friends were instrumental in bringing about the miracles performed by Jesus. This man was unable to pray for himself or bring himself to Jesus, and so his friends interceded for him. It would be beneficial if we all had friends like this, who truly pray for us. It would be beneficial if we were true friends to others and interceded for them as well.

However, the time spent with friends needed to be curtailed so this man could go into his house and be alone with God. There is a time to spend in the company of others, and there is a time that we need to be away from the world and others — even the best of our friends. It is hard to hear and see God in our prayers when there are others around us distracting us. God is everywhere, but we see His presence best in our personal solitude, rather than in our community of friends.

Our best prayers are done in secret, where only God sees us, rather than in public, where we risk the temptations of pride and vanity. We need not seek the approval or praise of our fellow men, so it is best to enter into solitude to pray to God.

Rather than looking outward to see the image of God all around us, it is sometimes best to look inward to our souls to see God within us. To appreciate all that we have received from Him. But, as we look inward, we must understand that it is not ourselves, but God within us. Saint Augustine suggests that we look inward and upward. That is, we turn our attention into our souls, but then lift our attention above ourselves to see God.

Saint Gregory says: "God is the place (house) of man; abandoned through disobedience. At the judgment, God shall not know them who here despised Him." The man had abandoned his house (the place of God) through sin, and so Jesus instructed him to enter that house once again after he was spiritually and physically healed.

In the spiritual life, we are reminded of the necessity of silence, quiet, and solitude. In the world, we are surrounded by the constant activity of sights, sounds, and movements. Very often, we try to spiritualize these very distractions in our prayers. We think of prayer as a continual barrage of our petitions, thanksgiving, praise, and so on. When we have finished presenting our verbal or mental lists to God, we believe our prayer is over, and we return to our worldly affairs. What we have is simply a one-sided conversation with God. We have not yet listened to God to hear His response. We don't expect God to answer us audibly, but within the depths of our souls, He gently guides us. If we never put ourselves into that state of mind, we never truly hear God within our hearts.

This is the house that Jesus directs the man to enter after he cured him in both soul and body. This is where Jesus directs each of us to enter frequently. This is where we truly feed and nourish our souls. It is not always possible to have a physical house to retreat to and block out the distractions of the world. However, we can tune out the worldly distractions and enter our spiritual house even when the distractions of the world physically surround us. This requires a lot of effort, but it can be achieved, and we see that many saints attained inner peace and even ecstasy despite the presence of noise and distractions all around them.

We should strive daily to find and enter that inner house, even if it is only for a few moments. It is there that we see the faith that brings us to Jesus; it is there that we begin to appreciate all that God has given us; it is there that we truly pray; it is there that we spiritually commune with God even while we are here in this world. This is as necessary for our souls as breathing is for our bodies.

May the Immaculate Heart of Mary inspire, guide, and protect us!