THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCHHer Doctrine and MoralsThe Purification2 February 2025 |
The SundaySermon
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Dear Friends in Christ,
Forty days after the Birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ, we celebrate His presentation in the Temple and Mary's purification. Our children, as gifts from God, are entrusted to us for a short period. We are called upon to raise them in the faith and guide them towards a life of holiness, ultimately returning them to God as saints in Heaven. Under the Old Law, parents were required to present their sons to God with an appropriate offering in the Temple. The Holy Family, despite their poverty, faithfully fulfilled this obligation by offering two doves to God.
In our modern world, we seem to have lost sight of the fact that children belong to God. They are not ours to do with as we please. Families should consider it a great honor and a privilege to raise their children for God's service, whether in the religious or clerical state. It is a great honor to have children and grandchildren around us as we grow old, but giving children to God is a greater honor. These children will not provide us with material grandchildren, but they will have many spiritual children who become, in a way, our spiritual grandchildren. We can indeed have many more spiritual children than we may ever have physical ones. As spiritual things are far superior to material things, spiritual children are much greater than material ones.
In giving our children to God, we become instruments in His Hands. The children we give Him will serve Him and bring forth more souls for Heaven. Our greatest honor in Heaven will be the saints we have aided in getting there.
However, not all are called to serve God in the religious or clerical state. Many are called to serve Him in the world, and these will require even greater prayers, sacrifices, and offerings if they are going to enter Heaven. They must somehow live in the world but not be of the world. They must own and possess many things in this world but remain unattached to them and spiritually free from all material bondage.
The shortest path to Heaven is not always the easiest, and the longest path is not always the safest. Each has its own difficulties — crosses to bear. The best path is always the one that God wills for us. We need to rise above our own selfish interests and teach our children to do so likewise by asking not what I want, but what does God want? When we seek to do God's Will, we find all the graces and help necessary to make our crosses light, sweet, and joyful. This guidance and reassurance from God's Will is what we should always seek and follow.
It is profitable for us to remember that God is not outdone in generosity. The more we give to God, the more we will be blessed by Him. God has given Himself completely for us. The only appropriate response for those called to religious or clerical life is for us to give ourselves completely to Him.
Today (Candlemas Day), we recall that Jesus Christ is the Light of the World. His disciples are called to follow Him to obtain His Light to share with the world around us. The present world is shrouded in spiritual darkness because so few will give themselves or allow themselves to become instruments in God's hands to bear His Light to the world.
We genuinely need families to foster religious and clerical vocations in their homes so that the call of God can be heard, understood, and cooperated with. Everyone must become involved in this, even if they have no children of their own to offer to God. We must all pray and offer sacrifices to God; we should encourage and support good and holy vocations wherever they may be.
While we emphasize religious and clerical vocations in serving God, we by no means wish to imply that the single or married state in the world is unimportant. We need good, loyal Catholics in every vocation to cooperate and work with God for His greater honor and glory and the salvation of men. Our prayers, encouragement, and support should always be directed to fulfilling God's Holy Will —not our own selfish wills.
These prayers, sacrifices, and offerings are not a one-time thing but must become habitual with us. It is our commitment and responsibility to maintain a deep and continuous connection with God. There seems to be a very shallow way of thinking among many that if they say a prayer once, they never have to pray it again. If we cannot have the prayers on our lips all the time, then we should strive to serve God with these prayers in our thoughts or minds all the time. If we cannot have prayers on our minds all the time, then we should strive to keep them in our hearts all the time.
May we always remember to add the intention to our prayers for our children to cooperate with Him in following the vocations that He wishes them to follow. And that many children will choose to serve Him in their spiritual lives, becoming the Light of Christ to others and leading many saints into the Kingdom of Heaven.
May the Immaculate Heart of Mary inspire, guide, and protect us!
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