Amos was a simple, hard working man who lived under the reign of King Uzziah of the kingdom of Judah in the 8th century BC. Amos was a shepherd and a harvester of fig trees. In the Southern Kingdom of Israel, the upper classes prospered and amassed great wealth, not caring about the lives of the poor workingmen who lived below them in society. Corruption and injustices and unscrupulous business practices were commonplace in that society. God called Amos to be his prophet in the midst of the reality around him, to call attention to the way the people had broken their covenant with him, to the way they were unjust and corrupt. Amos called the people to mercy, compassion and integrity. He declared that God would not accept the exploitation of the weak and vulnerable of society.
Like the reading from the prophet Amos, the other readings today help us reflect upon the way we are called to be good stewards as disciples of Christ. Stewards of our treasures. Stewards of our gifts and our talents. Stewards of the covenant God has made with us. We cannot be good steward as disciples of Christ unless we grow and learn constantly in our faith. Indeed, we are called to be life-long learners in the faith. Today, the third weekend of the month of September is the day in which we recognize Catechetical Sunday. We recognize the importance of religious education and faith formation in our lives of faith and the men and women who serve our community as leaders in these programs. Those who our community of faith has chosen to serve as catechists and teachers will be called forth today at mass to be given a blessing and to be commissioned in their ministry. Catechetical Sunday is a great opportunity for all of us to reflect upon the role that each of has, by virtue of our baptism, in handing down the faith to others and to be witnesses to the Good News of Jesus Christ. It gives our community of faith here at St James an opportunity to rededicate ourselves to that mission, which is a foundational mission we have as a Roman Catholic parish.
The theme our bishops have chosen this year for Catechetical Sunday is this: “Prayer: the Faith Prayed.” Think about how each week in the Gospel reading, we hear about Jesus proclaiming God’s kingdom, we hear about him reaching out to those on the margins of society, we hear about him curing the sick and teaching the values of the kingdom through stories and parables, such as the story of the steward of his master’s riches in today’s Gospel. We also hear often about Jesus praying, about the way he always made time for his relationship with God the Father. In fact, Jesus’ disciples frequently observed him interrupting his journeys in order to spend long hours alone in prayer to his heavenly Father. The disciples were moved to ask Jesus to teach them how to pray. During this year of religious formation, may we be moved to do the same as an essential element of our discipleship. May we all draw closer to the Lord and to one another through a deeper and more faithful commitment to prayer, in private and with others, in communion with the sacramental life of the Church. Mother Teresa of Calcutta, always a saint in the eyes of so many in our world, and now an official saint in our Catholic Church, says this about prayer: “I used to pray that God would feed the hungry, or do this or that, but now I pray that he will guide me to do whatever I'm supposed to do, what I can do. I used to pray for answers, but now I'm praying for strength. I used to believe that prayer changes things, but now I know that prayer changes us and we change things.” Prayer can affect changes in us in ways that we could never imagine. It can help us discern the will of God in our lives, to grow closer to God and to our brothers and sisters. In the spirit of prayer and of Catechetical Sunday today, we will give a special blessing to our catechists today and we will have our catechists pray together the prayer of the catechist.
Yet, I must say this before I close my thoughts in my homily today. We the parish have a big responsibility in our program of religious education and faith formation. But the Catholic Church teaches this, which is stated so beautifully in our new Diocesan Catechist Companion: “Parents are the primary religious educators of their children.” The parents are to be the first teachers to their children in religious education, and the best teachers. In addition, the Diocese states: “Parents and Parish act in partnership in the sacramental preparation (and religious education) of children (and youth).” If we do not collaborate together in this mission, our program of religious education will never succeed.
Yet, I must say this before I close my thoughts in my homily today. We the parish have a big responsibility in our program of religious education and faith formation. But the Catholic Church teaches this, which is stated so beautifully in our new Diocesan Catechist Companion: “Parents are the primary religious educators of their children.” The parents are to be the first teachers to their children in religious education, and the best teachers. In addition, the Diocese states: “Parents and Parish act in partnership in the sacramental preparation (and religious education) of children (and youth).” If we do not collaborate together in this mission, our program of religious education will never succeed.
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