Homily for Tuesday of the 5th Week in Ordinary Time Cycle II (2)

Homily for Tuesday of the 5th Week in Ordinary Time Cycle II

Theme: We are all called to be genuine followers of Christ like st Jerome Emiliani and St Josephine Bakhita.

By: Fr. Diotacious Chikontwe SMA

Homily for Tuesday February 8 2022

Memorial Of St Jerome Emiliani and St Josephine Bakhita

*READINGS OF THE DAY*
1 Kings 8:22-23,27-30
Psalm 83, 3-5,10-11
Mark 7:1-13

*INTRODUCTION*
Dear brothers and sisters today we are all called to serve the Lord wholeheartedly and to love Him from the deepest depth of our hearts, to be genuinely faithful and filled with love for Him and not just an empty gesture or paying lip service to Him.

*ABOUT THE FIRST READING*
In our first reading today, we heard the prayer of King Solomon made on behalf of the people of Israel at the time of the dedication of the Temple of God in Jerusalem, the great Temple and House that Solomon had built and established for the glory of God and to be His dwelling place among His people. King Solomon had completed the House after seven long years of construction and brought the Ark of the Covenant with great fanfare and celebration, placing it in the Holy of Holies within the Temple, and God’s glorious Presence filled up the entirety of the Temple.

*ABOUT THE GOSPEL READING*
In our Gospel passage today we heard of the confrontation between the Pharisees and the Lord as they scrutinised Him and how some of His disciples did not wash their hands in the manner that the Law of Moses had prescribed. They criticised the Lord and His disciples at the apparent failure to obey the commandments which were prescribed for all the people to follow, and which the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law enforced with great emphasis and even bordering on obsession.

*ABOUT THE LITURGY OF THE DAY*
Today we also have two saints, our holy predecessors whose lives and works can become great source of inspiration for us to follow in how we ourselves should live our faith as Christians. They are St. Jerome Emiliani, a renowned holy man of God who was prominent for his works among the people of God particularly among the sick and the orphans, and then also St. Josephine Bakhita, a Sudanese slave who became a Christian and who upon her escape and freedom became a member of the Canossian religious order, and was exemplary in her conduct in faith and life.

*CONCLUSION*
Through the examples showed by St. Jerome Emiliani and St. Josephine Bakhita we can learn how we should follow the Lord wholeheartedly through our love for our fellow brothers and sisters, through our genuine care for those who are needy, and not to focus only on our own needs and wants.
May the Lord be with us always!

Fr. Diotacious Chikontwe SMA