12th Sunday of OT Year A Homily

When a priest wears his Roman collar in public it serves as testimony of our Catholic faith and thus of Christ Jesus. At times it can be difficult for he never knows what he will undergo for doing so. Sometimes it may be the blessing of a soul who is in need of the Sacrament of Confession, other times it is a fallen away Catholic who desires to return to the faith, other times it is a Christian of another faith community who wants to instruct him on how he will burn in hell unless he is saved, and sometimes it is those who persecute him due to effects of the sexual scandal. Truly the priest must be courageous for he never knows what he will undergo.

As those who have been baptized into Christ Jesus we are each called to undergo a similar path. We are called to be courageous for we do not know the temptation, chance for evangelization, or the ability to assist another with prayer that might lie ahead.

Thankfully during the Sacrament of Confirmation we receive the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit and one of these gifts of the Spirit is that of fortitude which is also known to us as courage.

It is courage which allows an individual to overcome their fears, makes them willing to take risks when it comes to being a follower of Christ, and assists them in remaining steadfast against the draw of sin.

In our Gospel we are instructed: "Fear no one."

This is precisely what we must be willing to do, but in all reality this is a tough command for us to live out. It is easy to caught up in fear when it comes to evangelization, standing up to another when a wrong is being committed, and remaining blameless in the sight of the Lord.

We must be willing to take this Gospel message to heart and thus we need to foster the virtue of fortitude within ourself. Our Gospel reminds that we are not to hide the gift of faith nor are we to be willing to hand ourselves over to the death of sin.

It is only in fostering the virtue of fortitude that we can make this so. For the virtue of fortitude is the virtue which bolsters all other virtues. We cannot practice virtue unless we first allow ourselves to be courageous in the sight of the Lord thus taking to heart our Catholic faith and thus be willing to live it out faithfully in thought, word, and deed.

As we approach this week which lies ahead may we come to practice growth in the virtue of fortitude. Let us sent forth from here to fear not in presenting ourself to the world as Catholic and inviting others to share this life of faith. Let us realize the glamour of sin and be willing to stand firm in its sight to reject it. Let us be sent into the world to be courageous in our practice of faith.

May we thus truly allow ourself to grow in the virtue of fortitude.