Homily for the Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B - 11/3/2024)

Good afternoon. St. John of Avila said that what “pushes our hearts to love of God is considering deeply the love that He had for us. . . he who loves, gives himself with everything he has, until he has nothing left to give.” Jesus gave everything he had for us when he was crucified and died on the Cross as expiation for our sins (1 Jn 2:2). When we gaze upon the Cross, we are reminded that “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him” (Jn 3:16-17).

In his encyclical, titled “He Loved Us,” Pope Francis wrote that “[once] our hearts welcome the love of Christ in complete trust. . . we become capable of loving others as Christ did, in humility and closeness to all” (203). Moreover, Pope Benedict XVI said that “the person of Jesus and his whole Mystery embody the unity of love of God and neighbor, like the two arms of the Cross. . . In the Eucharist he gives us this two-fold love, giving himself, because, nourished by this Bread, we love one another as he has loved us” (Angelus, 11/4/2012). And so, sisters and brothers in Christ, our response to the love that God has for us is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. . .” (Dt 6:5) and to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Mk 12:30-31).

The challenge for us is, can we truly love the God we cannot see, if we cannot love the neighbor we can see? The neighbor can be someone we have never met in person because our only interactions with them is through one of the social platforms. It could be a homeless person that we encounter that makes us uncomfortable. The neighbor could be a co-worker or a fellow parishioner that we have a difficult time working with together. It could even be one of our family members with whom our relationship is strained. The neighbor could also be parents who have strained relationships with their adult children who have fallen away from the Church.

Saint John the Evangelist wrote with much insistence that if “anyone says, ‘I love God,’ but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. This is the commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother” (1 John 4:20-21). When Saint John wrote this, I believe he was recalling that time, after the Resurrection, when our Lord Jesus Christ had a heart-to-heart conversation with Peter on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. After Peter had denied Jesus three times before his Passion and death, Jesus asked Peter three times, “. . .do you love me?” Peter answered Jesus each time, saying: “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” For each of Peter’s confessions of love, Jesus showed him how to truly love him by loving his neighbor, instructing Peter to “Feed my lambs,” “Tend my sheep,” and “Feed my sheep.” And so we ask ourselves, can we love the neighbor we can see so that we can love the God that we cannot see and be able to respond as Peter did, saying, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you”?

The Good News is, we can! By living a sacramental life and tapping into the graces of the Sacraments that we have received, especially the Eucharist. When we tap into the graces of the Sacraments, through prayers and fasting, we learn from God how to focus our “sacramental vision” so that we can “look at each other not only with our eyes, but with the eyes of God, which is the gaze of Jesus Christ. A gaze that begins in the heart. . . that goes beyond appearances and manages to capture the deepest aspirations of the other: waiting to be heard, for caring attention, in a word: LOVE” (Angelus, 11/4/2012). Therefore, my sisters and brothers in Christ, “our best response to the love of Christ’s heart is to love our brothers and sisters. There is no greater way for us to return love for love. . . [because] Love for the brothers and sisters of our communities. . . is a kind of fuel that feeds our friendship with Jesus. . . [and] may well be the best. . . way that we can witness to others our love for Jesus Christ” (Francis, 167, 212).

God loves us, Jesus saves us, and the Holy Spirit strengthens us so that we can respond to God’s love in how we love our neighbor. Over the past several weeks, we have been doing a Message Series on Generosity and were given opportunities to love the God that we cannot see by loving the neighbor that we can see. For example, last weekend, we had the opportunity to be sharers with Bishop Vasquez in the mission of the Diocese of Austin through the Catholic Services Appeal (or CSA). Now, if we ever needed a reason to give generously to the CSA, then here it is. . . Fr. Michael O’Connor, who we love and are inspired by his faith as he carries his cross courageously in times of health problems. The CSA supports priestly vocations and seminarians, two things that are near and dear to Fr. Michael’s heart, along with the John Paul II Residence for Priest, where he was able to live for a while after he was diagnosed.

This weekend, you have the opportunity to reach out to fellow parishioners, sisters and brothers in Christ within our parish community who are in need of our help. After Mass, please stop by the pastoral care table to find out how you can use your God-given talent to help someone in need. My wife and I have been helping with Communion Services at a senior living community in North Austin for over ten years now. It continues to be one of the most rewarding ministries for us to be able to minister to the residents there and bring our Lord Jesus Christ in the Eucharist to them. Also, at the pastoral care table, you have the opportunity to sign up to do a holy hour in Adoration before the Blessed Sacrament to pray for Fr. Michael. This prayer vigil for Fr. Michael will be next weekend - Nov. 8-10. My wife and I have already signed up for the prayer vigil. I invite you all to prayerfully discern joining us. Together, let us lift up Fr. Michael in prayers, as well as help those in need of pastoral care in our parish family.

. . .

Gospel (Mk 12:28b-34)

One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him,

"Which is the first of all the commandments?" 

Jesus replied, "The first is this:

Hear, O Israel!

The Lord our God is Lord alone!

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,

with all your soul, 

with all your mind,

and with all your strength.

The second is this:

You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

There is no other commandment greater than these." 

The scribe said to him, "Well said, teacher.

You are right in saying,

'He is One and there is no other than he.'

And 'to love him with all your heart,

with all your understanding,

with all your strength,

and to love your neighbor as yourself'

is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."

And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding,

he said to him,

"You are not far from the kingdom of God." 

And no one dared to ask him any more questions.