WEDNESDAY HOMILY: Faith Straightens our Priorities

10/17/2012

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Gospel of Jesus Christ in a world that lives in a state of rejection of the reign of Christ.

Here are a few practical ways we can allow our faith to form our priorities:

1.    Place the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass where it needs to be, in number one position. It is the source and summit of our faith. Is it the center of your life? Following the Mass our priorities should look like this: God, spouse, children, apostolate/work, myself - in that order. Ordering the Mass first should order the rest in its place.

1.    Frequent the Sacrament of Reconciliation. When faith has been wounded by sin, it needs to be healed by repentance. Go to confession. Frequently.

1.    Read the Mass Readings as the source of your prayer and communion with God. Scripture engenders faith, and since faith comes through hearing, faith will increase when you hear the message of salvation and truth.

1.    Pray the Rosary. The Rosary is the compendium of the Gospel. The mysteries of the Rosary help us to appropriate our lives to the life of Jesus Christ. Mary is the Mother of our Faith. Her valuable and powerful intercession will help you grow in faith.

1.    Learn your faith. Read the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and if you are really enthusiastic, read the Documents of Vatican II. This year of faith is the 20th anniversary of the Catechism and the 50th anniversary of Vatican II.

1.    Get rid of all models of what it means to be a man and place the life of Jesus Christ and the saints as your goal to imitate and emulate. For women, look to the Blessed Virgin Mary as a model of womanhood and femininity.

1.    Read a Catholic News source that can inform your worldview from a faith perspective. Discern world events from a Christ-centered perspective

1.    Celebrate your faith! To be Catholic means to be fully alive. Gather with your family, especially on Sunday, the day of the Lord, the day of families, to celebrate the gift of your faith in a community setting.

May the prayers of Saint Ignatius of Antioch and of Blessed Mary, ever Virgin, the Mother of God and our Mother, help us to allow faith's demands to order our lives to the Gospel that all nations may know the love and justice of God.

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Father Samuel Medley, SOLT, is a young priest of the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity, and is currently based in Hythe, Kent, United Kingdom. He is a speaks to groups around the world on Blessed Pope John Paul II's Theology of the Body. Visit his homily blog http://medleyminute.blogspot.com or his blog on sexual ethics http://loveandresponsibility.org.
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Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

Keywords: Year of Faith, Faith, Priorities, St Ignatius of Antioch

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1 - 6 of 6 Comments

Tessy
8 months ago
Very touching and excellently written.
RamanieW
8 months ago
Thank you. This is a very inspiring article which gives the real truth. God Bless you Father.
TheRose
8 months ago
Good morning, Isaiah 65:16 states in the NIV, "Whoever invokes a blessing in the land will do by the God of truth. He who takes an oath in the land will swear by the God of truth. For the past troubles will be forgotten and hidden from my eyes." Thus saith the Lord God of the Holy Scriptures. The question is does man know the God of truth? If man professes to honor God and follow the way of Jesus Christ man actually has made a vow to God and to Jesus Christ. A vow is, also, an oath, an oath of allegiance such as the Pledge of Allegiance Americans say to renew and profess their honor and devotion to the establishment of the country they live in to protect the land and what freedom means to those of that land. When man comes to Jesus Christ man is making a vow, actually it is a marriage vow, to love, honor and obey the desires of God through our belief that Jesus Christ is His Son and man is saved through the atoning blood suffered at Calvery for redeemption of sins. And, thus, man is indebted to Jesus Christ, The Master, for setting the prisoners of the sinful nature free. Now, the saved man is to be in bondage to Christ and not the flesh nature of the old creature. And with Salvation from mans own unrighteousness, the saved man gives graditude to God, mans Creator because of His gracious heart for calling man to reconciliation with God, Therefore, man is to stand up for what Thus Saith the Lord God in word and in deed. Those with Spirit eyes see the world as it is and the forked tongue of those who wear sheeps clothing yet are wolves in disguies. The God of truth convicts mans soul of error. Yet, man needs to, it's a mandate, to payheed and follow The Voice of Conviction of Righteousness, God's Righteousness, thru the Holy Spirit. As we watch our world today in the year of our Lord 2012, we see the fruits of deceit, the cloaks of unrighteousness, and the power struggle between Light and Dark, between good and evil...Step back and look at just the USA and observe the wave of spiritual corruption, moral decay that has been occurring over the past 30 to 50 years. The promoting of killing unborn babies, the promoting the acts of perversion called homosexuality and the attempts to bring down the church of Jesus Christ beginning with the Roman Catholic Church. This is truth of the modern world as we know it today. We, true believers of Jesus Christ, see that which is of God and that which is not. that which is a lie and that which is not. Adolph Hilter went to Catholic Schools, He was a great orator. He knew how to take control thru communication for the control of the masses and yet look what deception he brought forth thru the massive murders of women, children and men for whatever his reason was. Therefore, as we look back, does man learn about the cloak of unrighteousness and the forked tongue? Only if the Holy Spirit is present to show the saved man The Way , The Life and The Truth. A blessing is not invoked in the land if man is not doing the desires of God. Has anyone ever really sat back and thought what a blessing really is? Nevertheless, A man's word is his honor as old saying goes. It is the inward character of a man shaped and molded by the Great Hands of God with the Refiners Fire purifying the very soul of man that produces the integrity, the honesty, the alligance to the Holy One, Jesus Christ, for mans inner being has been washed and made whole thru the atoning blood and therefore man can go on and be productive in a world that God has blessed those He has called by His name to produce a new garden of righteousness and a new world of faith, strength, and power thru the Holy Spirit. If there is no peace in the world it is because there is no Jesus. For peace in the world, beginning within our own little world within ourselves, we have to know Jesus and then man can see what Jesus Christ saw. .....And then weep for the lost and the hurting and the weak to be saved from destruction but, also, from the eternal flames of fire, Gods Wrath.
Paul-Emile Leray
8 months ago
Very well written. Very clear.
Paul-Emile Leray
Paul-Emile Leray
8 months ago
Very well written. Very clear.
Paul-Emile Leray
Nathan Lewis
8 months ago
This priest is right on. I would love to read more of his writings. First things first! Year of Faith! Being fully Catholic! Love it!

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