Homily Twenty-Fifth Saturday of Ordinary Time (Eccl. 11:9-12:8) “Live Long and Prosper”
Homily Twenty-Fifth Saturday of Ordinary Time (Eccl. 11:9-12:8) “Live Long and Prosper”
We have all had days when nothing seems to go right. We wake up and the air conditioning or heat in our home is not working. Our breakfast toast gets burned. When we push the button that starts our car nothing happens. We have all had those days.
The reading from the Book of Ecclesiastes sounds like the writer is having one of those days. The water pitcher is shattered at the spring, the broken pulley falls in the well, etc.
The writer reflects on the aging process. When we are young, we are healthy, mentally sharp and shake off setbacks that come our way he says. When we are old, we must put up with physical decline. Many things that came easy are now difficult. We remember the old saying, “Growing old is not for sissies.”
But this is a rather skeptical view of aging. The average life expectancy of a human being from the time of Christ until the turn of the twentieth century remained constant at 40 years of age.
If you lived a long time it was thought that you must have a lot of wisdom. Older people were sought out for advice and they were leaders in society and in families.
The wheels do not have to come off when we get older. If we live a healthy lifestyle and make good choices longevity and health can be a reality for us.
One characteristic that helps us live a long life is that a person has an active faith life. Prayer is part of this as is belonging to a church congregation. The truth of this has been shown in scientific studies. People of faith also are more positive and optimistic.
So, what is wrong with the writer of Ecclesiastes? Maybe this person was a religious curmudgeon. We do have a few of them in every faith community. The ironic part is many times they live a long time.
Reflection Questions:
- How does my faith impact my life? Does my religion uplift my spirits?
- As I look toward the future do I do so with optimism or pessimism? What would Jesus say to me about the value of life?
Dear Parishioners,
Tomorrow we will have our second to the last outdoor Mass at 9 a.m. These Masses have been well attended and Fr. Matthew and I have enjoyed celebrating them because of the energy that is present. We can do a little singing as well.
The weather is changing so it will be impossible to continue with these Masses over the winter. This means we will have to move inside. We will take all the precautions we can, and we will try to keep everyone safe.
Let’s pray that infections rates go down and we can keep our liturgies going.
May Our Lady and All the Angels and Saints watch over you.
Fr. Mark