6/17/2015 – Wednesday of 11th week in Ordinary Time - 2 Corinthians 9:6-11

     We have heard a lot about seeds and sowing in our readings recently. Sunday, we heard the parable of the sower and the parable of the mustard seed.  Today, we hear Paul tell that Corinthians, that if you sow sparingly, you will reap sparingly, but if you sow bountifully, you will reap bountifully.  I often look at the prayer intentions that Pope Francis has for each month.  Back in May, Pope Francis prayed that in our role as evangelizers, Mary’s intercessions will help Christians in secularized nations boldly proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ.  If we sow bountifully, we will never know where the seeds will land, we will never know what lives we will touch.  One thing that a lot of Protestant churches do very well is evangelization.  They never miss an opportunity to reach out to someone and to welcome them into their community.  Recently, I was speaking to some members of our staff of how we in the Catholic Church sometimes miss moments of evangelization.   An example is the Fall Fest and the Easter Egg Hunt we have.  We put a lot of effort into organizing these wonderful events, and then we do not reach out to the people there in any way in a spirit of evangelization.   What would Paul say to us if he was writing us a letter like he did to the Corinthians.  The message we have to bring to the world is a wonderful message.  Why don’t we think of ways we can sow the seeds of our faith?  We should not be embarrassed to do so. 

6/20/2012 – Wednesday of 11th week of ordinary time – 2 Kings 2: 1, 6-14

         Elijah is considered one of the greatest prophets in the history of Israel.  He is the one for whom an empty seat is left during the Passover meal that the Jews celebrate each year.  In today’s first reading, we hear about the moment before Elijah is going to be taken up to heaven by the Lord, when the mantle of prophet is going to be passed to Elisha.  Elijah offers to do what Elisha wants before he is taken up by the Lord. Elisha’s response is very remarkable indeed: to receive a double portion of Elijah’s spirit.  Elisha desires to serve the Lord as a prophet just as Elijah did, and he want to be legitimately recognized as such and to have Elijah’s spirit follow him.  In the end, we see that God has indeed blessed Elisha in this way, as he is able to part the Jordan River just as Moses and Elijah were able to do.

         I am really edified by the tenacity and fervent faith that Elijah and Elisha display in wanting to serve the Lord as his prophets, knowing the difficulty, frustration, and danger that are attached to such a service.  If we could all feel such fervor in whatever way we serve the Lord in our own lives.  Sometimes what so many in our society are looking for is the easy way out, or for a life filled with as much pleasure and material success as possible.  Any of us can fall into that trap.  Let us open the hearts to the ways we can serve the Lord with humility and selflessness.  Tomorrow evening we are going to recognize the vigil mass of the feast of St Thomas More and St John Fisher.  These men were both executed by Henry VIII in 16^th century England for their allegiance to their Catholic faith.  We will kick off the Fortnight of Faith tomorrow at this vigil mass.  Their desire to serve the Lord, and their willingness to accept the sufferings that such a service entailed, give us two other examples of faithfulness in addition to Elijah and Elisha.  May these witnesses of faith speak strongly to us today.