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21st Sunday
in Ordinary Time Jn 6/63-68 |
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| Background:
This dramatic crisis in John’s account of the life of Jesus (and probably in
the life of his own community) as it is reflected by and reflects the Joshua story in the
first reading is about faith, as are the stories in the other August Gospels. It is easy
to slip into the conviction that one “has” the faith until times of crisis and
challenge come along – tragedy, suffering, and death. Then one realizes that faith
requires hard work and practice even in times when there is no particular challenge. |
read the padre |
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Story: Once upon a time there was a terrible
tragedy. Only two years after marriage a young husband died suddenly of an aneurysm. His
wife, who loved him very much, was devastated. She was also furious. Why would God do this
to her? Why had not the Church warned her about the possibility of tragedy when they were
married, so she would have been prepared? A priest tried as best he could to console her,
but she would not listen. She was angry and she would not give up her anger. She stopped
going to church, she stopped praying, she denounced the Church on every possible occasion.
She had been a fine Catholic, strong in her faith, till her husband died. What good does
faith do, she said. It didn’t keep my husband alive. So one night he came to her,
perhaps in a dream, and said I’m ashamed of you, cut it out. So she did. Very slowly
she drifted back to Church. The pain would never go away but slowly her anger did.
August Homilies: 6th | 13th | 20th
| 27th |
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