A Homily for the Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost

+ How often does the Sacred Liturgy cry out and command! How urgently are we directed to take up the new life of Christ. “Praise the Lord and invoke His Name: proclaim His works amongst the nations.” How much more must we make this cry our own under the banner of His superabundant work of redemption on Calvary. A work that abounds with infinitely more grace than is necessary for the salvation of everyone.

Yet how easily, how frequently, do we ignore, even put aside, this work of our salvation? How often do we turn to an alien God – whatever it may be? We are called here not merely to recall the Redemptive act but to proclaim it to the nations. This is our Christian dignity. This is our Christian vocation. Monk or secular, lay or cleric, we are all subject to this one mandate. Our particular vocation is, therefore, a definite manner in which God leads us to carry out this act. We can never replace the Evangelical proclamation with the proclamation of secondary human, or worse, political, concerns. This command is the very last thing Our Lord said to the Apostles before Ascending to Heaven. “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptise them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 28:18).

It is Christ Who is our Salvation. In baptism we are joined to Him. It is He Who guides us unto true acts which proclaim His Name. For all good that we do of itself bears witness to Him. Thus, it is He who offers a true praise of God in our person. Precisely as our Guide and Shepherd, He knows our needs before we call upon Him. Have confidence to cry before Him in all distress. And not just cry before Him, but to lean on Him and take our support from Him. He promises that all who truly cry out to Him in prayer can be assured of His presence and support. He will never leave us orphans even, or rather, especially when all around us to turn away from good.
“Praise the Lord and invoke His Name: proclaim His works amongst the nations.” Our invocation of Almighty God should never fail to be filled with praise of Him. Let us never fall silent in our praise of Him. Each day we say in the Spirit “the praise of God is always in my mouth” (Psalm 33[34]:1). It matters not what tribulations, what contradictions and injustices with which we may be confronted, we must ever let the praise of God resound from our hearts, minds, and souls. In calling on God with praise we can only discover the reality of those words God spoken to us by God as recorded in the Holy Rule “Before you call upon Me, I shall say to you, ‘Lo, here I am.’ What can be sweeter to us dearest brethren, that this voice of Our Lord inviting us? Behold in His loving mercy the Lord showeth us the way of life” (Prologue).

Our praise of Him, however, is not a pretence that everything is well and as it should be. Suffering is not a part of God’s plan for us but a punishment for sin. God does not change; He is good. We who are weak and ever changeable, however, are constantly battling to hold fast to truth of thought and deed. We are surrounded by sin – our own and that of others. We cannot fail to recognise the damage that is done by each sin: to ourselves, to our loved ones, to society, and, above all, the insult it offers to God. The Church, therefore, unceasingly exhorts us, as a spiritual work of mercy, to admonish sinners. A work through which we truly partake in the saving mission of Christ.

For there is more rejoicing in heaven over one repentant sinner than ninety-nine just (Luke 15:7). How often does our weaknesses lead us deny Christ in some small act? Who among us does not need to renew that repentance each day? A repentance which seeks to do everything necessary, anything apposite, to rectify that which was damaged by one’s sin. First, sacramentally in confession. Not, however, being limited to the confessional. Whilst the sacrament restores us to the grace of God, it does not undo the damage the sin has caused to our self and to our neighbour. Sacramental grace will fortify us in the renewed combat with sin and temptation – but it cannot replace that battle.Moreover, let us allow grace, flowing from the sacraments, to break all that holds us back from doing good unto the glory of God.

​Sin and the devil will never fail to try and break our song of Divine Praise – however, the Sacred Liturgy places on the lips of her priests each day words resounding with the same cry as that of the Alleluia verse: “praising I shall invoke the Lord and I shall be freed from my enemies” (Ps 17[18]:4). Let us truly make these words our own. As we approach the Altar let us be renewed in our praise, as in our crying out before God in all the trials and struggles which rise against us. As we partake in the one sacrifice of Calvary, here present in an unbloody manner, let us renew our sacramental share in the one redemptive work. Let us be filled anew with hope for in this sacrificial act Our Lord destroyed the power of sin. +