Homily for October 12, 2014 - 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Homily for October 12, 2014

Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Afterlife

 

            Almost a hundred years ago, three simple shepherd children – two girls and a boy – were tending their sheep in a small, humble Portuguese town when they saw something remarkable: the Blessed Mother appeared to them, standing atop of an oak tree. The Blessed Mother spoke to them and invited them to come back to the same spot on the 13^th day of each month for the next six months, as She wanted to send a message to the world through these three children.

            Of course, news of this supernatural visitor spread like wildfire. Some believed, others didn’t, and the three children: Francisco, Jacinta, and Lucia, were alternately hailed as living saints and also persecuted for their visions. The Blessed Mother continued to strengthen them, as She revealed to them a message of prayer, penance. Mary was trying to call the world back to the Gospel.

            Finally, on the final apparition date – October 13^th – she promised that an incredible miracle would occur to help everyone believe that she really did appear to the three children. So on that day, over seventy thousand people gathered in the pouring rain just outside of the town of Fatima, hoping for the miracle. And they weren’t disappointed! As they stood there in the rain, the sun suddenly came out and began to dance around the sky. It changed color, and finally began to appear to plummet to the earth. People cried out in terror, but the sun immediately returned to its normal place in the sky – and everyone’s clothes were completely dry, even though they had been soaked moments before. Journalists were able to take pictures of this miracle, and it was reported in the newspapers of the time – one of the true miracles of the 20^th century!

            One of the messages that Our Lady of Fatima gave to the children was that it was very necessary to pray for the conversion of sinners, because, in her own words, “Many souls go to Hell because there is no one to pray for them.” Today’s Gospel uses the image of the wedding feast to say something similar.

            God has prepared this remarkable feast – the feast of everlasting life, a deeper joy than we could ever know. In Scriptures, it is written of Heaven that “no eye has seen, no ear has heard, nor has the mind of man ever conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him.” Have you ever had an experience that you never want to end? Maybe it was a vacation with family or friends, maybe it was a view of an incredible sunset, perhaps it’s your favorite song or movie. Imagine being that captivated by God. When we see Him, we will lose all track of time, every second falling deeper and deeper in love with Him Who first loved us. We cannot even imagine the joys of what it will be like to see the Face of Pure Love.

            So in the Gospel, we have God setting this marvelous wedding feast of Heaven before us – but look at how many people reject it – and look at the lame excuses they use. “Sorry, I wish I could join you for the banquet, but I have to look after my farm, I’m too busy at work, I have to wash my hair…” Don’t we use that as well? I’d love for my life to be set ablaze with the overflowing joy of knowing Christ as a personal friend, but gosh, my favorite television show is on, so I can’t be bothered. I wish I could come and receive the Body and Blood of Jesus at every Mass in the Holy Eucharist, which was purchased at the cost of His bloody and excruciating death, but my kid has sports practice on Sunday mornings, so I just can’t make Mass.

            The same invitation is offered to us – to spend eternity at the Banquet of the Lamb in Heaven. How we live our lives is how we accept or reject that invitation. And for those who reject the invitation, there is another place to spend eternity: Hell. Yes, we Catholics still believe in Hell – it’s not a fun topic to talk about, but it IS a reality. Actually, in Scripture, the person who talked the most about Hell was…Jesus Himself. He mentioned it 19 times explicitly in the Gospels. Clearly it’s a reality, and one that we should be aware of.

            If someone were to die in the state of serious mortal sin, then Hell is the consequence, since a mortal sin is basically a rejection of God’s invitation of grace. We often think of mortal sins being things like murder and adultery, but there are other mortal sins that are far more common – things like intentionally skipping Mass on Sunday, looking at porn, or getting drunk. These destroy God’s life of grace within us, and if we do not repent of them and confess them, then we risk eternal separation from God.

            This is the meaning of that man who gets kicked out of the banquet at the end of the Gospel. He is not dressed in the “wedding garment” – in other words, he does not have God’s grace in his soul because of sin. Luckily, we can easily have our wedding garment restored through the Sacrament of Confession.

            If we die with our wedding garment on, but perhaps a bit stained – in other words, if we die with God’s grace dwelling in our souls but we are imperfect, then God has provided a way to be purified. This is called Purgatory, and this is our opportunity to be cleansed before entering the presence of the all-holy God. What a great gift it is! I would be embarrassed to show up at a dinner at the White House with a huge spaghetti stain on my shirt. Likewise, I’d be embarrassed to show up before God with even the slightest stain on my wedding garment. Thankfully we have Purgatory as an opportunity to cleanse our souls. For this reason, we should always pray for the dead, that their stay in Purgatory may be lessened.

            In all, God has prepared an amazing, abundant life for you and I, and He sent us an invitation to the banquet sealed in the Blood of His Son. The way we live our lives is our RSVP – having a living friendship with Jesus Christ, and growing in righteousness daily.