The Sunday Sermon Archive

Dear Friends in Christ,

In today's Gospel reading (St. Matthew 9, 1-8), Jesus heals a man with palsy lying in a bed. Jesus first forgives the man's sins. The Scribes said within themselves, "He (Jesus) blasphemes." To prove that He can forgive sins, Jesus then heals the man of his physical ailment and says: "Arise, take up thy bed and go into thy house."

St. Gregory the Great speaks of a mystical interpretation of "house." God is our house or our home. It is in Him that we dwell. We fall into sin and damnation when we leave Him or stray far from Him. Jesus tells the man to go to his house. That is, within himself, he is to return to God. Also, we should consider that Jesus would have this man leave the company of the Scribes who are inwardly accusing Jesus of blasphemy. Evil companionship can only bring harm to our souls.

When we leave the spiritual home of our souls where we dwell in God's presence, we venture into the world of temptation and sin. Our safety is behind the walls of our home. Our rest is inside the walls of our home. Our joy is inside the walls of our home.

When we turn away from God, we turn away from ourselves. In turning away from God, we do not truly love ourselves because we only bring darkness, sickness, death, suffering, misery, and despair upon ourselves.

Our spiritual joy is turning away from the world and temptation outside ourselves and returning to the House of God in our souls. To truly enter ourselves, we must quiet ourselves physically and spiritually. When we are quiet and recollected and away from the world's hustle and bustle, we hear God's voice in our consciences.

In the quiet of our souls, the pains and agonies of our consciences rise up and sting us. This pain is often extreme; therefore, many rebel against the idea of ever quieting their minds and entering their interior houses. The world, their passions, and the devils call ever so imploringly for them to come out and "enjoy life." It is a bitter struggle; tragically, the majority seem to give up the fight and return to lives of sin.

If we persevere in the fight, the pain from our stings of conscience develops into remorse for our sins, repentance, amendment, and penance. With this transformation, the earlier pains are replaced with peace and joy. The burdens are made light; the bitterness becomes sweetness; the sadness becomes happiness.

The interior recollection of the saints makes them long for Heaven. In this world, they increasingly become exiles, and with St. Paul, they find an eagerness to be released from this life so that they can become eternally united with God in Heaven.

The steps for all of us are like the man with palsy in today's Gospel. We need to approach Jesus, directly or through friends praying and working for us, to have our sins forgiven. We often seek physical blessing when we are shown that we must first heal our souls. Having exposed our sins to Jesus through the Sacrament of Penance (Confession), we receive absolution (forgiveness) and do the penance that the priest gives us. Then, it is time for us to go into our houses.

In the innermost recesses of our hearts and minds, we observe the before and after of our souls. We see the incompatibility of parts of our physical lives with the interior life God calls us to live. God lifts us up, but we must let go of whatever it is in the world that is holding us back and keeping us from Him. Having entered into ourselves and tasted how good and sweet it is, we become reluctant to return to the world. When we must return to the physical world, we do so with spiritual goals and purposes. Charity draws us out to do all things in Jesus Christ.

Whatever we do, we are called upon to do it for the love of God. It is said, every time a man leaves his house and enters the world, he returns less of a man. But, return, he must if he is ever to be healed and find true purpose and happiness.

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