HOMILY FOR SATURDAY OF THE TWENTY-FIFTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A.

HOMILY FOR SATURDAY OF THE TWENTY-FIFTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A.

HOMILY THEME: THE WORD OF GOD

BY: Fr. Benny Tuazon

HOMILY:
(Lk. 9:43-45)
In the day’s Gospel, memorial of St. Jerome, Jesus admonished some Jewish towns for refusing to repent and believe in Him as the Messiah in spite of the many great miracles He had done. Jesus could not get out of His being a Nazorean and the son of a carpenter. At most, to them He was a great prophet which God had sent. His words also compliment His actions. He touched not only their hearts but their lives. Jesus knew their ills and challenges. His words comforted them.

The Word of God is our way to God. Unlike human words, His words come alive and reach the depth of our feelings. He knew how to speak to us. Jesus is the Word of God becoming flesh. In Jesus God’s promise of salvation was fulfilled. Jesus showed to us the God who is true and faithful.

St. Jerome was fascinated by the Scriptures, the written Word of God. He knew that it is vital to understand correctly and know the meaning and message of God’s Word. Inspired by the Spirit, he patiently and lovingly studied and published a thorough, extensive, and reliable exegesis and explanation of the Scriptures. He is the patron of archeologists, archivists, librarians, translators, and students. He made use of his scholarship for the greater glory of God.

Even up to now, after Jesus has resurrected, we still behave like the Jews. Our regard and reception of Jesus, the Word of God, is wanting. At mass, how attentive are we in listening to the proclamation of the Word? Why is it that we tend to listen more to others like people we idolize, admire, or like? When important persons like the president, the pope, or movie star comes and speak, we see to it that we are present and near. We even absent ourselves from other commitments and look forward to the day. Do we have the same interest in and anticipation of the Lord? What more do we need? More miracles? More words? Like what Abraham said to the rich man, even if the dead who had risen will visit us, if we do not believe in Scriptures, we will still be where we are in our faith. Let us open our hearts to God’s Word. Let us invite the Spirit to enlighten and invigorate us.

St. Jerome!
Pray for us!