Various Reflections on the Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ by Josephine Fernando

Josephine attended several Masses during this weekend and kindly sent along these reflections on the homilies she heard:


St. Patrick's Catholic Church ~ Fr. Wayne's sermon...

The first reading speaks about grudges. Matthew's gospel ends with a final instruction, "Be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect". How to be perfect? What is the distinction between being in error and committing a sin? Sin is doing wrong; we know it is wrong and still we choose to do it.

We as human beings will definitely make mistakes. Mistakes are not sin. Sin needs choice. Suppose someone is ill, is mentally handicapped; then we know the reason why that individual behaves in that way. However, if we normal human beings behave in some weird way, we need to seek medical advice.

We cannot help someone else's doing but my reaction (response) to his / her doing is my choice, and can help us behave in a decent way. I have to overcome people who provoke me. Let go and let God.

The theme in the first reading is TO BE HOLY. The theme in the second reading is YOU ARE HOLY, BECAUSE GOD DWELLS IN YOU. St. Paul, in the second reading tells us, that we have everything that will make us holy. Be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect. Is it easy? No. We need to work on it.

People can provoke us, but we can control what we say. We need to be aware, that God is with us. Stop in between your busy schedule and pray. Let us remind ourselves of the presence of God. We have the freedom to choose the kind of person that we want to be. We are to be like God.

Can we make the responsorial psalm to be our own? "The Lord is kind and merciful, the Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger and rich in mercy." Replace the Lord with I. Can we act on, or can we say, that I am kind and merciful, I am kind and merciful. Slow to anger and rich in kindness? Yes, we can say it and do it, how? By the Spirit of God which dwells in us, by the sacrament of the Eucharist, by the sacrament of Reconciliation. We make errors, yes. Can we try to live without sin? Oh yes, by being aware of the presence of God in us, when we are constantly making choices.


Cathedral ~ the Deacon's sermon...

This deacon stressed the word, Forgiveness.

It is easy for us to love those who love us; to do good to those who do us good; to be kind to those who are kind to us; to borrow and to lend. It is easy, because this is the current trend in the world. It is a reasonable and a rational behavior. However, the Lord invites us to forgive more; to give more; to offer more, to make enemies our neighbors, to go an extra mile; to be more generous, to pray for our adversaries... for we will become children of God.

To show real love, excessive compassion, to do good for evil... that is sacrificial love. It is a polar opposite. When we forgive, the Lord will restore our dignity, our self-worth. The important prayer which Our Lord taught us: forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. To err is human, to forgive is divine. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we should not retaliate. We should be generous; we should not judge. Thus Jesus overturned the standards of this world; how to honor and nurture relationships with one another.