Homily Twenty-Eighth Saturday of Ordinary Time (Luke 12:8-12) “If You Don’t Use It You Lose it”
Homily Twenty-Eighth Saturday of Ordinary Time (Luke 12:8-12) “If You Don’t Use It You Lose it”
We hear often there is no unforgivable sin. But Jesus says to us in the Gospel of Luke that if one blasphemes against the Holy Spirit that sin will not be forgiven. What does it mean to blaspheme against the Holy Spirit? Various theories have been put forward.
We might explain this sin in this way. The Jews believed that one needed to listen to the Spirit and try to move with the Spirit. If a believer did that they would be cooperating with God. The desire of a person to follow the Spirit is also inspired. People are born with an innate hunger to seek God in all things.
All humans are also born with free will. We can refuse to listen for the Spirit. We can reject God’s promptings repeatedly. We could say that we become tone deaf to the music of the Spirit. It is like when we do not use one of our limbs. If we do not use our legs for example they can atrophy. They become so weak that they cannot carry our weight. We need to make sure we walk or run every day.
When we refuse to listen to the Spirit, we can become oblivious to the sin in our lives. The voice of our conscience can become weaker and weaker until we do not hear it at all. Also, we can become unaware God’s loving overtures. We don’t care about God. The virtue of faith becomes something we seldom exercise. God’s forgiveness is not even important.
This is the unforgivable sin Jesus is alluding to. If we do not ever seek the will of God in our life it can have dire consequences. Our spiritual life can wither and fade away.
Reflection Questions:
- How do I try to listen to the Spirit? Have I felt that I have been guided by God at important moments in my life?
- What might I do to improve my awareness of the movements of the Spirit? How might that benefit me?
Dear Parishioners,
I would like to thank you for your continued generosity toward the parish. Just one example of your charity is the Society of African Missions appeal. Fr. Matthew made his appeal a few weeks ago.
We have collected approximately $8800 so far. This exceeds last year’s appeal. These donations go directly to educating missionaries in Africa. The COVID crisis has had a dramatic impact on fundraising for the SMA priests.
We have one mission appeal a year. This is a chance to help with the broader needs of the church. It shows we have a bigger vision.
May Our Lady and All the angels and saints watch over you today.
Fr. Mark