HOMILY FOR SATURDAY OF THE 25TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME CYCLE II
THEME: They were afraid to ask him about what he had just said, because He talked about His own sufferings that will come.
BY: Fr. Diotacious Chikontwe SMA
HOMILY FOR SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 24 2022
*READINGS OF THE DAY*
Ecclesiastes 11:9-12:8
Psalm 89:3-6,12-14,17
Luke 9:43-45
*LITURGICAL COLOUR*
GREEN
*FROM OUR FIRST READING*
In our first reading today, we heard how the author of Ecclesiastes reminded those who were young that they ought to keep those words in mind, reminding them that each and every one of their actions will be accountable to God. There is nothing that we do which will not be known or unveiled to God. The Lord knows everything in our hearts and minds, and He shall judge us all by everything He knows of us. We have been given the opportunities and the time to do the things that God has shown us, to be His faithful disciples and witnesses in the midst of our communities.
*FROM THE GOSPEL READING*
In today’s gospel reading, we hear that, just at the very moment when people were full of admiration for Jesus, he announced to his disciples that he was going to be handed over into the power of men, who would put him to death. The gospel reading says that the disciples did not understand him when he said this, and they were afraid to ask him about what he said. They could not grasp how this messenger of God, who was so admired by so many, could suffer at the hands of others. They did not understand the mystery of his destiny, which entailed suffering and death. How could someone so good, so innocent, fall into the power of people who wanted him dead?
*CONCLUSION*
Instead of celebrating the successful healing and the crowd’s response, Jesus spoke a hard truth the disciples did not understand. He invited them to open their hearts to the reality that suffering is part of life and that he had come to share in the suffering that faces every human being. Jesus did not come to eliminate suffering; rather, he came to accompany us in our suffering. He also invites us to realize that suffering has meaning, “By his passion and death on the cross Christ has given a new meaning to suffering: it can henceforth configure us to him and unite us with his redemptive Passion” (Catechism of the Catholic Church nō 1505).
The Lord is Good, Are ll the time, and that is nature wow.
