Continuing in God's Presence
Sunday Mass at the Church of the Holy Family
Theme Continuing in God's Presence
March 22, 2015
Homily by Dcn. Yuri Mascarinas
First Reading Jeremiah 31:31-34
Second Reading Hebrews 5:1-10
Responsorial Psalm Psalm 57:10-15
Gospel John 12:20-33
"Cast me not away from Thy presence, oh Lord. And take not Thy Holy Spirit from me."
It would certainly be a scary thing if we were to be cast away from the presence of the Lord. I surely don't want that to happen. I want to be in the presence of the Lord at ALL times. What we don't know, or what we manage to completely forget, is that it is His desire for us to be in His presence always. Not just as often as we can, not sometimes, not just every Sundays...but at ALL TIMES.
More than 2,000 years ago, God gave us the perfect gift of salvation so that we can now come into His presence. He sent no less than His ONLY Son into the world, so that He could die for us and save us from our sins This gift of salvation is PERFECT and lacking in nothing.
I don't know about you but this is a BIG DEAL. This is a MAJOR thing. For someone to send His only Son for me, so that He can die on the cross and save my sins...wow. How greatly I am loved!
And yet...here we are, more than 2,000 years later. Have we forgotten? Have we heard the story too many times already that we have become jaded...The "magic" of that great act of love is now lost? Is this why we spend less and less time in His presence?
Through today's homily and readings, and with the help of the Holy Spirit, here are the things that I came up with so that we can all be reminded to spend time in His presence.
1. To stay connected to the Father, we must learn how to be obedient. If we continue to obey, we are going to be in His presence. As you can see, it works both ways.
In the first reading, we read in Jeremiah 31:33, "I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people." (NLT)
When we choose to obey Him, we allow Him to have Lordship over our lives. We become HIS. And he becomes OUR God.
My dad once mentioned to me that God is a Gentleman. He will guide you, He will lead you, He will prepare a path before you, but if you choose to say "No" to Him, He will not force anything on you. He will allow you to choose your path. So allowing Him to work wondrously in our lives is up to us. And it starts with obedience.
2. When we come into His presence, we should be in COMPLETE REVERENCE,not dictating to God the things that we want. Not demanding answers. Not as haughty and arrogant human beings but as people who understand that they are to come into the presence of a King.
In our second reading in Hebrews 5:7-8, we see here how Jesus Christ came to His Father. "While Jesus was here on earth, He offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could rescue him from death. And God heard His prayers because of His deep reverence for God. Even though Jesus was God's Son, He learned obedience from the things He suffered." (NLT)
If Jesus Christ, the Son of God, would come to the presence of His OWN FATHER with deep reverence, how much more for us?
3. Be wary of the things that stop you from being in God's presence.
We need to pay attention to this. When the enemy sees the people of God being obedient and doing the things that the Father wants them to do, he will panic. So the enemy will send distraction, after distraction, just to take you away from the presence of the Lord. We should be mindful of these things. We should be quick to recognize that these things are merely obstacles that we can so easily conquer if we just put our eyes on Jesus.
4. We need to deny ourselves so we can follow the Lord.
In John 12:24-27,Jesus said - "I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produced many new kernels- a plentiful harvest of new lives. Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep if for eternity. Anyone who wants to serve me must follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And the Father will honor anyone who serves me."(NLT)
I believe it is very clear what He said in the scriptures here about denying ourselves. I know it is one of the most difficult things to do in this world especially now where the culture of being self-centered is prevalent. We need to be careful about those things and be guided by the question - "Is what I'm doing pleasing God? Am I being His servant by doing this?"
By denying ourselves, we open ourselves to the wonderful possibilities that God can fill in our lives. We become better at being our brother's keeper. We become more compassionate. We begin to bear the fruits of the Spirit in our lives - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22)
We need to let go of our personal dreams to fulfill God's dreams for us.
Remember: Control of life --> God = Eternal Life = Genuine Joy
5. Lastly, remember that its is OUR RIGHT to be in His presence. We need to learn to use that right and fight for that right to seek His presence sincerely.
God didn't make it difficult. We did. So draw near to Him, He is simply waiting.
To God be the glory.
Theme Continuing in God's Presence
March 22, 2015
Homily by Dcn. Yuri Mascarinas
First Reading Jeremiah 31:31-34
Second Reading Hebrews 5:1-10
Responsorial Psalm Psalm 57:10-15
Gospel John 12:20-33
"Cast me not away from Thy presence, oh Lord. And take not Thy Holy Spirit from me."
It would certainly be a scary thing if we were to be cast away from the presence of the Lord. I surely don't want that to happen. I want to be in the presence of the Lord at ALL times. What we don't know, or what we manage to completely forget, is that it is His desire for us to be in His presence always. Not just as often as we can, not sometimes, not just every Sundays...but at ALL TIMES.
More than 2,000 years ago, God gave us the perfect gift of salvation so that we can now come into His presence. He sent no less than His ONLY Son into the world, so that He could die for us and save us from our sins This gift of salvation is PERFECT and lacking in nothing.
I don't know about you but this is a BIG DEAL. This is a MAJOR thing. For someone to send His only Son for me, so that He can die on the cross and save my sins...wow. How greatly I am loved!
And yet...here we are, more than 2,000 years later. Have we forgotten? Have we heard the story too many times already that we have become jaded...The "magic" of that great act of love is now lost? Is this why we spend less and less time in His presence?
Through today's homily and readings, and with the help of the Holy Spirit, here are the things that I came up with so that we can all be reminded to spend time in His presence.
1. To stay connected to the Father, we must learn how to be obedient. If we continue to obey, we are going to be in His presence. As you can see, it works both ways.
In the first reading, we read in Jeremiah 31:33, "I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people." (NLT)
When we choose to obey Him, we allow Him to have Lordship over our lives. We become HIS. And he becomes OUR God.
My dad once mentioned to me that God is a Gentleman. He will guide you, He will lead you, He will prepare a path before you, but if you choose to say "No" to Him, He will not force anything on you. He will allow you to choose your path. So allowing Him to work wondrously in our lives is up to us. And it starts with obedience.
2. When we come into His presence, we should be in COMPLETE REVERENCE,not dictating to God the things that we want. Not demanding answers. Not as haughty and arrogant human beings but as people who understand that they are to come into the presence of a King.
In our second reading in Hebrews 5:7-8, we see here how Jesus Christ came to His Father. "While Jesus was here on earth, He offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could rescue him from death. And God heard His prayers because of His deep reverence for God. Even though Jesus was God's Son, He learned obedience from the things He suffered." (NLT)
If Jesus Christ, the Son of God, would come to the presence of His OWN FATHER with deep reverence, how much more for us?
3. Be wary of the things that stop you from being in God's presence.
We need to pay attention to this. When the enemy sees the people of God being obedient and doing the things that the Father wants them to do, he will panic. So the enemy will send distraction, after distraction, just to take you away from the presence of the Lord. We should be mindful of these things. We should be quick to recognize that these things are merely obstacles that we can so easily conquer if we just put our eyes on Jesus.
4. We need to deny ourselves so we can follow the Lord.
In John 12:24-27,Jesus said - "I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produced many new kernels- a plentiful harvest of new lives. Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep if for eternity. Anyone who wants to serve me must follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And the Father will honor anyone who serves me."(NLT)
I believe it is very clear what He said in the scriptures here about denying ourselves. I know it is one of the most difficult things to do in this world especially now where the culture of being self-centered is prevalent. We need to be careful about those things and be guided by the question - "Is what I'm doing pleasing God? Am I being His servant by doing this?"
By denying ourselves, we open ourselves to the wonderful possibilities that God can fill in our lives. We become better at being our brother's keeper. We become more compassionate. We begin to bear the fruits of the Spirit in our lives - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22)
We need to let go of our personal dreams to fulfill God's dreams for us.
Remember: Control of life --> God = Eternal Life = Genuine Joy
5. Lastly, remember that its is OUR RIGHT to be in His presence. We need to learn to use that right and fight for that right to seek His presence sincerely.
God didn't make it difficult. We did. So draw near to Him, He is simply waiting.
To God be the glory.
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