Bishop Gruss' First Friday Homily February 2022

The first reading today is a beautiful expose of the life of King David. Sirach begins with a beautiful image when he says: “Like the choice fat of the sacred offerings, so was David in Israel.”

Sirach chooses to summarize the life of King David in grand fashion. He lists out all of David’s accomplishments throughout his life - the killing of Goliath, the defeat of the Philistines, the praises he received from others because of his accomplishments, the many songs and prayers he wrote.

We heard: “With his every deed he offered thanks to God Most High, in words of praise. With his whole being he loved his Maker and daily had his praises sung;”

But if we read accounts from the books of Samuel and Chronicles, his sins would be revealed – he committed adultery, murdered a loyal servant, and forgot his role as a steward of God's people.

The only thing that Sirach has to say about his sins is that the Lord forgave him. By Sirach's description, it was all glory, but God would not let David build his temple since his hands had shed too much blood. But by Sirach's account, David is a hero.

Perhaps he is hero. But he is also a human being, often times ruled by his disordered passions – those things that led him to sin. Herod, too, was a king. And like King David, King Herod also was ruled by is disordered passions.

The difference between the two? David repented of his sins. Herod could not bring himself to do so. He could not bring himself to respond to John the Baptist’s call to repentance. He died a weak, cowardly man. David died a man who knew the mercy of God.

Repentance

The biblical notion of repentance is not just confessing sin, but involves a willingness to turn one’s life around.. a conversion of mind and heart... a turning away from sin and turning completely toward God... to undo the negative and do the positive....to get our act together....to shape up. Repentance is that the sinner forsakes his sin and puts it away out of his thoughts and fully resolves in his mind that he will not do it again.

Why would we want to repent and reform our lives? Not because we “dread the loss of heaven and the pains of hell”, but because “the reign of God is at hand.”  God’s reign of unconditional love, mercy and compassion, and healing is knocking on the doors of our hearts.   This is the PROMISE.

To put it an even simpler way, repentance is the recognition that I am infinitely loved by God, that I have sometimes failed to live up to that love, and that I need his mercy. Repentance, in the end, is giving God a free hand to work in my life as he wants. This is supremely freeing. It means that I don’t have to save myself. And of course, nor could I.

Jesus always pointed out that true repentance means accepting that God is free to work in our lives as he sees best. He is God, he loves us so much and knows what is best for us and wants what is best for us.

In order words, our merciful God gives us the opportunity to retrace our steps. We do this through the Sacrament of Penance. Many people have the fear of confession. If it is an encounter of Christ’s love, why would we fear it?

Remember the words of St. Paul: “Nothing will separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.”  Jesus is the face of the Father’s mercy.

A story about St. Jerome

After many years spent in Jerusalem translating the Bible into the language of the day, Jerome finished this massive project just days before Christmas. To celebrate his great accomplishment, he decided to spend Christmas Eve in nearby Bethlehem, praying in the many grottoes that span across the countryside. According to the story, sometime around midnight, Jesus appeared to him say, “Jerome, what will you give me for my birthday?”

Jerome declared, “Lord, I give you my translation of your word.” But instead of congratulating him, Jesus replied, “No, Jerome that is not what I want.”

Jerome was speechless and began to complain, asking him why he had let him go on for the forty years it took to translate the Bible, being far from home, laboring at something other than what God most wanted from him.

But Jesus remained silent as Jerome began suggesting other ways of honoring his birthday – fasting, becoming a hermit, giving his possessions to the poor. To each of these Jesus responded, “No, Jerome that is not what I want.”

Finally in exasperation, Jerome said, “Then tell me, Lord, tell me what would give you the most joy on your birthday, and you shall have it.”

“Do you promise, Jerome?” “Yes, Lord, anything at all.”  Jesus replied, “Give me your sins.”

For Jesus, “more than any service we can give him, He considered it a gift that we “allow” him to take away our sins. Why? Because he thirsts for us, because he longs for union with us.

The only obstacle to that union is sin – which in his eyes, then, becomes the most precious gift we can offer him.

Do we have the humility to offer him this gift?

Video of Bishop Gruss' Homily

Audio Recording Below

 

 

How to Listen to Our Podcast on Your Phone

Although you can listen to audio recordings (A.K.A. podcast episodes) using embedded players such as the one above, most people listen to podcasts using their smartphone.

If you have a smartphone, you have a podcast player on your phone. On an apple phone, your podcast player is called "Podcasts"

What is a podcast?

How do I listen using my iphone?

How do I listen on my Android phone?

How to Subscribe to our Podcast

Subscribing allows you to download and/or listen to any of our recordings anytime for free. Subscribing means you automatically receive new episodes. 

Subscribe on Apple Device

Subscribe on Android 

Subscribe on Spotify 

Subscribe on Stitcher