Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Homily)
September 25, 2016 11:00 am · Sergio Muñoz Fita
Let's go to the beautiful readings the Church offers us today. Especially the Gospel because we have a powerful parable from the Lord that speaks about three things, about death, about life and about our spiritual life, our union with God. It is first about death and the inevitability of death. To everybody, to rich and poor, saints and sinners, just and unjust, famous and unknown. Death as they say is a fact of life. We know that we will all die. We don't know where, don't know when, but one day it will be our moment to cross to the other side.
In the invocations of the Litany of the Saints there is a petition, "A subitanea et improvisa morte, libera nos, Domine.", "From sudden and unexpected death, deliver us, O Lord." We don't know where or when the Lord will come to us. But today in light of the readings we've just heard, we should ask ourselves. Are we prepared? Are we in God's grace? Could we get to heaven today, now? Here? A second point of this parable is about life. We pass this way but once. Abraham says to the rich man that there is no going back to his brothers. There is no reincarnation, no rerun, so second take. The letter to the Hebrews says that it is appointed for every person to die once. The days or years that we waste do not come back. The days or years that we waste are wasted forever. The question is, are we using the time we have to know, love and serve the Lord here and then be happy with Him forever in heaven? How are we using the life and graces we that are given everyday? We only have one life to live.
