Homily for March 2019 Holy Hour
Exodus 17:3-7
Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9 (8)
Romans 5:1-2, 5-8
John 4:5-42<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How\nmuch do you know about our faith? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
How\nwell do you know Jesus?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019m\nsure everyone here tonight knows the Lord\u2019s Prayer by heart. How much time do you pray about what the\nwords of this prayer that comes from Jesus really mean?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\nknow at least some of you pray the rosary at least once a day, if not\nmore. It\u2019s a lot of repetition. How much do you just say the words without\nmeditating on the words and the mysteries of the rosary?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These\nprayers are meant to draw us into relationship with Jesus. The repetition of the rosary is meant to draw\nus into the presence of the Lord. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
What\ndo you seek from Jesus?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What\ndid the Israelites want from the Lord? \nThey had cried out the Lord while in slavery in Egypt. He set them free. Then, in the desert, they complained about\nnot having food to eat. He gave them\nmanna, the bread from Heaven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then, they grumble against Moses because they did not have water to quench their thirst.\u00a0 Food is necessary for life.\u00a0 Likewise, without water we die.\u00a0 They had every right to ask for food and water.\u00a0 Yet, it doesn\u2019t say they \u201casked\u201d for water.\u00a0 We are told they \u201cgrumbled<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 Of course, God provides them water.\u00a0 He does it in a way no human ever could.\u00a0 The water flowed from a rock.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n When\nyou are in need, do you come to God with a contrite heart, submitting yourself\nto our Father\u2019s Will, or do you grumble because God doesn\u2019t make everything\neasy for you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\nsit before the bread in the monstrance on the altar. Do we know what the bread has become?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nobvious answer would be yes, it is the Body of Jesus. If we thought it was still just bread, we\nwouldn\u2019t be here tonight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Do\nyou appreciate what it means to say it is the Body of Christ? Do you fully comprehend the mystery of the\nEucharist?<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\nthink a lot of people don\u2019t. Why else\nwould they not come to church? If you\nknow it to be Jesus, why not come to Mass?<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\njust listened to the story of the encounter the Samaritan woman has with Jesus\nat the well. On her part, it started as\na very superficial conversation. To her,\nit was two people who happen to go to the well to get water at the same\ntime. She recognized Jesus as a Jew but\nnothing more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So,\nshe was shocked when He speaks to her, \u201cgive\nme a drink<\/em>.\u201d It\u2019s not the words that shock her. She takes them at face value, thinking He asked\nfor a drink because he had no way to draw water for himself. She was shocked because no Jew would talk to\na Samaritan, let alone a woman. It just\nwasn\u2019t done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesus\nspoke of \u201cliving water<\/em>\u201d but she\nremained on a surface level and said it was impossible for him to give her\nwater when He has no bucket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While\nshe remained on a surface level, she was intrigued when Jesus said those who\ndrink of this \u201cliving water<\/em>\u201d \u201cwill never thirst.<\/em>\u201d How convenient it would be to never have to\nfetch water again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\nwonder how many people who have some sense of the Eucharist are in a place\nparallel to the thinking of this Samaritan woman. They know the Eucharist is something good but\nhave a hard time appreciating or understanding why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesus\nhelped the woman along in her spiritual life by speaking of her husbands,\nsomething He would not know if He was just a regular Jew. So, she came to think He must be a prophet\njust as some come to realize the Eucharist is not just ordinary bread.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nconversation continues and deepens to talking about Jesus as the Messiah. She went and told us others what she has discovered\nabout Jesus. She said to others, \u201dCould he possibly be the Christ?<\/em>\u201d She can\u2019t explain it but she is coming to\nbelieve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\ntransubstantiation of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus\ncannot be explained in earthly science. \nIt is a mystery<\/em><\/strong>. We don\u2019t have\nto be able to explain it. Science can\u2019t\nbut we have something better than science. \nWe have Jesus\u2019 words, \u201cthis is my body\u2026.this is my blood.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Look\nat the bread in the center of the monstrance. \nSee Jesus. Now, bask in his\npresence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Homily for March 2019 Holy HourExodus 17:3-7Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9 (8)Romans 5:1-2, 5-8John 4:5-42 How much do you know about our faith? How well do you know Jesus? I\u2019m sure everyone here tonight knows the Lord\u2019s Prayer by heart. How much time do you pray about what the words of this prayer that comes from …<\/p>\n