SATURDAY HOMILY: 30TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR A)

SATURDAY HOMILY: 30TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR A)

THEME: Humble Pie – St. Charles Borromeo

Gospel – Luke 14:1, 7-11

Walking Hand in Hand, Sepphoris

Watch where you’re going! Don’t turn so fast! Where’s your cane? Slow down! Shouldn’t you be sitting down and resting? Do you need ice?

Yes, recovery from my knee injury is progressing, although slower than I would like. And that’s the big problem! I can be rather stubborn – surprise, surprise! I like to think I know what I’m doing and that I have all the answers? I think I know better than the doc or the therapist! I believe I can manage more and do more around the house! It’s left to Ginger (she who must be obeyed) to bring me back to reality and to remind me (strongly) to take it easy! It’s a very humbling experience!

What have I been missing here? The virtue of humility, the realization that I should put the needs of others above my own! If I don’t follow doctor’s orders (and Ginger’s), I don’t just put myself at risk; I risk extending my recovery and that can hurt others, not just myself!

We see it in today’s parable! Someone so full of himself thinking he deserves the place of honor at a wedding banquet, the best seat in the house where all can see how important and special he is! Thinking more of himself and not others! And then the humiliation when someone more important arrives and he is relegated to a lower spot! How embarrassing when we let our pride and self-importance get in the way!

We see that same virtue of humility in today’s saint – Charles Borromeo. Even though he came from a very wealthy and influential family, as a Bishop, he donated most of his wealth to charity. He lived a sparse life devoid of frills and luxury, even though most bishops at the time lived a life of excess. He gave up riches, power and influence to become poor like his flock. During the plague, he fed tens of thousands of people on a daily basis; he tended to the sick and dying. He was a model of Jesus’ words in today’s Gospel.

We are all called to a more humble life, to seek the good of others before our own.
God, grant me humility! And thank you, Lord, for Ginger’s patience!

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