Friday, September 30, 2011

Memorial of St. Jerome Homily

How many reminders do we need of God's love for us? The joy of being present when life is brought into the world. A near death experience which shows us the importance of the life that we have been given. That no matter how bad things seem to get we are still blessed to have a roof over our heads and food on our tables. Yes we have a countless amount of experiences that have been given to us and remind us of our love for God, but our generation is not unlike those that have gone before us.

The scriptures for today's Mass document this struggle in the generations that have gone before us. The Jewish people were led into the desert by Moses. They were freed from their slavery and yet they continued to turn against God through their actions. The prophets came to the descendants of these people and still they would not reform their ways. Even in today's Gospel passage we can see that many people were able to see the miracles and signs of Christ and yet they were still not able to reform their ways and trust in Him.

Today we celebrate the memorial of Saint Jerome who like the saints came before us in generations past. He gives us the hope to one day be able to trust fully in Christ and in His miracles. He was baptized later in his life while studying in Rome. While in Rome he was faced with the life of the early Christian martyrs who were willing to sacrifice all including their own life to follow the example of Christ. The example of these martyrs inspired him to grow in his faith.

May we not fall into despair when we fail to live up to the example given to us by Christ. May we not lose hope when the reminders of our faith nolonger seem to inspire us along our spiritual journey. May Saint Jerome intercede for us this day to draw us closer to God the Father, especially as we are nourished at the altar of God by the Body and Blood of Christ.

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