Homily for Monday of the First Week in Ordinary Time (Year C - 1/13/2025)

Good morning. Last Monday, I shared that Pope St. Pius X observed that “the distinguishing mark of Antichrist [is man] raising himself above all that is called God.” This leads to “apostasy from God” and “the total repudiation (or rejection) of the Christian faith.” I also shared that our response to the “spirit of the antichrist” is by turning away from sin and returning to God. The Catechism states that the “movement of return to God, called conversion and repentance, entails sorrow for and abhorrence of sins committed, and the first purpose of sinning no more in the future” (CCC 1490).

Pope Francis said that repentance ”arises entirely from an awareness of our wretchedness in the face of God’s infinite love, his boundless mercy. . . The more we feel his tenderness, the more we desire to be in full communion with him and the more the ugliness of evil in our life becomes apparent to us. . .” (3/8/2024). Once again, the Catechism states that the “process of conversion and repentance was described by Jesus in the parable of the prodigal son, the center of which is the merciful father. . . Only the heart of Christ Who knows the depths of his Father's love could reveal to us the abyss of his mercy in so simple and beautiful a way” (1439).

For this reason, the Holy Father reminds us to “remember that God never tires of forgiving us, and on our part, let us never tire of asking for forgiveness.” (Pope Francis, 3/8/2024). And so, like the prodigal son, we turn away from a life of sin and return to God by keeping God’s commandments. We attend Mass and receive the Eucharist regularly. We go to Confession. This is what Jesus tells us in today’s Gospel when he says to us, “This is the time of fulfillment. The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel.” Simon and his brother Andrew, along with James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John, did this when Jesus called them, saying,  “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” They left behind their old ways of life and followed Christ.

Like them, our conversion and repentance happen when we leave behind our old ways of life and come and follow him to a new life in Christ. However, like them, it is not a one-time conversion and repentance for us but rather a daily, ongoing turning away from sin and temptations and returning to God. We know this from the Gospel accounts of the times that the disciples did not understand what Jesus was doing, when “their hearts were hardened” (Mark 6:52), and how they abandoned our Lord during his Passion. Yet, except for Judas Iscariot, they remained Jesus’ apostles and, because they repented and believed in the Gospel, Christ tasked them to continue his mission to go forth and make disciples of all nations. And so it is for us, this ongoing conversion and repentance that started with our own Baptism and continues each and every day of our lives when we choose to say “Yes” to Jesus and come and follow him.