Juan Bermudez was a small-town boy with big dreams. He had always harbored a burning passion for music and he had a voice that could melt even the coldest of hearts. Juan spent hours practicing his craft, performing at local gigs and events, trying to make a name for himself in the music industry. But no matter how hard he tried, Juan couldn't seem to break through. He watched as other artists soared to fame and fortune while he remained stuck in obscurity. It was frustrating and disheartening, but Juan refused to give up on his dreams. One day, a talent scout from a major record label stumbled upon one of Juan's performances and was blown away by his talent. He offered Juan a record deal, promising to make him a star. Juan couldn't believe his luck and he eagerly signed the contract, ready to finally achieve the fame and recognition he had always desired. With the backing of the record label, Juan's music spread like wildfire, captivating audiences all around the world...
tladible never give Up
Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C
August 4, 2024
Homiletic notes prepared by Juan Bermudez
“The world doesn't always tell the whole truth. Christ teaches all the whole truth.” Tladible
The readings for this Sunday invite us to rediscover the truth, beauty and holiness of God. We live immersed in the world, and the world exerts a profound influence on our soul. What we hear and experience in life from childhood to adult life, in our environment and culture may have planted ideas, notions or habits (good or bad), which may now be deeply ingrained in our souls.
2 Vanity, pure vanity! says Cohelet. Vanity, pure vanity! Nothing but vanity!
21 Because a man who has worked wisely, knowledgeably, and efficiently must leave his share to another who has made no effort. This too is vanity and a grave misfortune.
22 What brings to man all his effort and all that he earnestly seeks under the sun?
23 For all his days are hard, and his occupation, a suffering; even at night his heart does not rest. This too is vanity. (Ecclesiastes 1:1, 2:21-23).
What are we going to do? What can we do to free ourselves, to be freed from wrong ideas or bad habits? Yes, the wheat and the tares can grow together (cf. Mt 13, 24-30).
When this world ends, it will be the beginning of the new life in heaven, Christ will separate the good from the bad. Today it is good to remember that on that day - when the world comes to an end - we will be judged, individually and collectively.
Each of us lives and dies only once. Today we are called to strive to live Christian values in an excellent way. Therefore, it is urgent that we turn our eyes, our ears, our minds, our intellect, our will, our imagination, our reason, in a word, our whole being, body and soul, to Christ. This task cannot be left for later.
CIC
1043 Sacred Scripture calls this mysterious renewal that will transform humanity and the world "new heavens and a new earth" (2 Pet 3, 13; cf. Rev 21, 1). This will be the definitive realization of God's plan to "make everything have Christ as Head, what is in heaven and what is on earth" (Eph 1, 10).
1044 In this "new universe" (Rev 21, 5), the heavenly Jerusalem, God will have his abode among men. "And he will wipe away every tear from his eyes, and there will be no more death, nor will there be crying, nor shouting nor fatigue, because the old world has passed away" (Rev 21, 4; cf. 21, 27).
Let's take a moment to reflect on this question: Am I ready to stand before God's judgment? Will God find me worthy to enter the beatific vision [the new heaven and the new earth] as I am now at this stage of my life? And if I conclude that I am not ready to stand before the judgment of God, today is the day of salvation, not tomorrow; but today.
We can pray together:
Lord, in this moment, in this place, I commit or recommit myself to return all of myself to you. Lord, I belong totally and completely to You. Nothing belongs to me. Everything is yours Lord: You are the Creator of the universe. The world and all its creatures, including men, are all yours. Amen.
“Recognize that the Lord is God: he made us and to him we belong; we are his people and sheep of his flock” (Ps 100:3).
I think today's first reading is a strong statement about two things that are essential for every baptized person:
First, trust God! Trust the Creator. Believe in his promises! He wants you to be happy. Here on earth and in the world to come [the new heaven and the new earth]. Therefore, you must deal with all the things that are a direct response to what God wants from you.
Second, stop worrying. Do not worry so much. Father Ignacio Larrañaga used to say: “Busy yes, worried no.” The excessive anxieties of the anxious and the paralyzing fear is the result of the world not paying attention to its Creator: "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, I will give you rest" (Mt 11:28 ).
Yes, it's true, sometimes we may need the help of our friends. They can pray for us. We can also attend one or two retreats, but when we don't have the personal determination to do the good and avoid the bad, we will continue to be slaves to the bad. We pray every day saying: "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." Of all kinds of evil.
Colossians 3:1-5, 9-11
Saint Paul addresses the Colossians saying:
1 Since you have risen with Christ, seek the goods of heaven where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
2 Keep your mind on heavenly things and not on earthly things.
3 For you are dead, and your life is henceforth hidden with Christ in God.
4 When Christ, who is our life, appears, then you too will appear with him, full of glory.
5 Therefore put to death in your members everything that is earthly: lust, impurity, inordinate passion, evil desires, and also greed, which is a form of idolatry.
9 Also do not deceive one another. Because you put off the old man and his deeds
10 and they put on the new man, the one who advances towards perfect knowledge, constantly renewing himself according to the image of his Creator.
11 Therefore, there is no longer pagan or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian or foreigner, slave or free man, but only Christ, who is all and is in all.
Today's Gospel refers us to the Tenth Divine Commandment:
THE TENTH COMMANDMENT
"You shall not covet [...] anything that [...] belongs to your neighbor" (Ex 20, 17).
"You shall not covet his house, his field, his male or female servant, his ox or his donkey: nothing that belongs to your neighbor" (Dt 5:21).
"Where [...] your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Mt 6, 21).
2538 The tenth commandment demands that envy be banished from the human heart. When the prophet Nathan wanted to stimulate King David's repentance, he told him the story of the poor man who only had one sheep, which he treated like a daughter, and the rich man who, despite his numerous herds, envied the former and ended up steal his sheep (cf 2 S 12, 1-4). Envy can lead to the worst misdeeds (cf Gn 4, 3-7; 1 R 21, 1-29). Death entered the world through the envy of the devil (cf Wisdom 2, 24).
«We fight among ourselves, and it is envy that arms us against each other [...] If everyone works like this to disturb the Body of Christ, where will we end up? [...] We are weakening the Body of Christ [...] We declare ourselves members of the same organism and devour each other as wild beasts would» (St. John Chrysostom, In epistulam II ad Corinthians, homily 27, 3-4) .
2539 Envy is a capital sin. It expresses the sadness experienced before the good of others and the inordinate desire to possess it, even in an undue way. When you wish your neighbor a serious evil, it is a mortal sin:
Saint Augustine saw in envy the “diabolical sin par excellence” (De disciplina christiana, 7, 7).
"From envy are born hatred, slander, slander, joy caused by the evil of others and sadness caused by their prosperity" (St. Gregory the Great, Moralia in Job, 31, 45).
2540 Envy represents one of the forms of sadness and, therefore, a rejection of charity; the baptized must fight against it through benevolence. Envy often proceeds from pride; The baptized person must strive to live in humility:
“Would you like to see God glorified for you? Well then, rejoice in your brother's progress and with it God will be glorified by you. God will be praised — he will say to himself — because his servant has known how to overcome envy by putting his joy in the merits of others »(Saint John Chrysostom, In epistulam ad Romanos, homily 7, 5).
Here is the Gospel of the day:
Luke 12:13-21
13 One of the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to share his inheritance with me."
14 Jesus answered him, "Friend, who made me judge or arbitrator among you?"
15 Then he said to them, "Beware of abundance, a man's life is not assured by his riches."
16 Then he told them a parable: "There was a rich man, whose land had produced much,
17 and he asked himself "What am I going to do? I have nowhere to store my harvest."
18 Then he thought, "I am going to do this: I will tear down my barns, build bigger ones, and pile up all my grain and goods there,
19 and I will say to my soul: My soul, you have goods stored for many years; rest, eat, drink and have a good life".
20 But God said to him, "Fool, this very night you are going to die. And for whom will what you have heaped up be?"
21 This is what happens to the one who stores up wealth for himself, and is not rich in the sight of God.”
Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time [Reference for further study]
CCC 661, 1042-1050, 1821: hope for a new heaven and a new earth CCC 2535-2540, 2547, 2728: the disorder of covetousness.
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