Homily for the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time: July 20, 2008

Given by the Most Reverend Stephen E. Blaire at the Cathedral of the Annunciation in Stockton.

After the comedian George Carlin died in June, it was reported that he had been raised Catholic but became a convinced atheist. He had said in his lifetime that he tried to believe in God but the more he looked around he realized that there was something wrong here, “war, disease, death, destruction, hunger, filth, poverty, torture, crime, corruption.” Needless to say, I have often struggled myself with the great mystery of evil in the world, asking how a good God could allow such atrocities. It would be impossible in a brief homily to work through the great mysteries of God, evil, free will, goodness and sin.

Beginning this past June 29, the Feast of Peter and Paul, the Holy Father has designated a year dedicated to St. Paul, and I have asked our priests to preach on the passages in the Sunday liturgy which come from the writings of Paul. Today’s second reading from Paul’s Letter to the Romans (8:26-27) gives us a glimpse into the profound and difficult Letter to the Romans with its emphasis on justification by faith in Jesus Christ. The Law as contained in the Torah points out the way to God but it is through Faith in Jesus Christ that we find salvation and come to God .

The reality is that we find ourselves in an imperfect situation. We are in a world riddled with sin. Some, unfortunately, cannot get beyond the evil that surrounds them and maybe has penetrated their inner being. Their vision is so clouded; they have become so despondent, that they cannot see the beauty of creation let alone any redemption that would come from a crucified Son of God, raised from the dead in promise of future glory for all who believe. War, destruction, hunger, filth, poverty, torture, crime, corruption come not from God but from evil within. Why would God allow such evil? It’s not a matter so much that God allows evil but more that those who perpetrate wrong and injustice have corrupted and abused the freedom that was given to them to love God, to do good, to create justice and to reflect the beauty of God within themselves.

God has pointed out the way to righteousness by giving us His commandments. And God has given us the means of salvation, the way of redemption, the path to glory and final heavenly joy through Jesus Christ. As St. Paul said, can anything separate us from the love that God has for us? God has a purpose for each of us, a meaning for our lives and ultimate glorification in eternal life. Death which was the greatest of all evils has become the passage to eternal life through the death of Jesus on the cross. And the gospel word of Christ is a word of healing for those who are sick, not always a cure, but always a strengthening in perseverance to the end. Illness can destroy us or it can beautify us in our humanity, even if appearances do not reveal this beauty.

Do we remain weak? Do we sin? Do we fail? We must not become discouraged. What Paul proclaims today is the mystical reality of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We do not pray well. We are so limited. But the Holy Spirit dwells deep within us, so deep that we probably do not experience this presence, and the Holy Spirit intercedes to God for us in accord for the will of God. Let me put it another way. Being a devout Catholic, a sincere follower of Jesus Christ, is not a matter of observing moral precepts and religious practices. Of course, we keep the moral law. Of course, we observe the practices of our faith. But being a Catholic, being a disciple of Christ, is a way of life, committed to the Lord Jesus, as was Paul, dead to sin, living for God, filled with the Holy Spirit, who intercedes to God our Father on our behalf because of our weaknesses and limitations.

Do we believe in God? Yes, we do. Do we understand the terrible mystery of evil? We do not. Do we see a purpose to our lives? We do. Do we have hope for a final day of glory in the risen Christ? Indeed we do. Do we allow ourselves to give up hope because of the vicissitudes of life? We do not. In all things we have confidence in God because the Holy Spirit lives within the depths of our inner being and intercedes to God on our behalf in accord with the will of God.

Last Update July 20, 2008