ePriest.com: Your Spanish Homily

Readings

Reading I: Ezekiel 18:25-28
Psalm: Psalms 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9
Reading II: Philippians 2:1-11 or 2:1-5
Gospel: Matthew 21:28-32

Preaching Tip

What determines what they hear?

Fulfilled in Your Hearing, the United States Bishops' document on preaching, reminds us of the three elements of preaching: the preacher, the word drawn from the scriptures, and the assembly. With good reason, the third element is given great importance:

  • "...[W]e can point to the great emphasis which communication theorists place on an accurate understanding of the audience if communication is to be effective.
  • "Unless a preacher knows what a congregation needs, wants, or is able to hear, there is every possibility that the message offered in the homily will not meet the needs of the people who hear it.
  • "To say this is by no means to imply that preachers are only to preach what their congregations want to hear.
  • "Only when preachers know what their congregations want to hear will they be able to communicate what a congregation needs to hear.
  • "Homilists may indeed preach on what they understand to be the real issues, but if they are not in touch with what the people think are the real issues, they will very likely be misunderstood or not heard at all.
  • "What is communicated is not what is said, but what is heard, and what is heard is determined in large measure by what the hearer needs or wants to hear."

A To 26                                                                                                    

OBRAS SON AMORES

Hermanas y hermanos:

1.  Obedecer a Dios implica cumplir sus exigencias, a veces duras e imprevisibles. Muchas veces nuestras prácticas religiosas pierden su valor cuando nos procuran seguridades humanas y beneficios materiales. ¡Cuántas veces encontramos cristianos que se parecen a aquellos fariseos! Ponen su seguridad en los ritos externos pero rechazan algunos contenidos de fe o están en desacuerdo con las normas morales de la Iglesia. Las devociones como el rezo de novenas, peregrinaciones a santuarios, sacrificios públicos, uso de imágenes, cantos y signos de alegría o de dolor, solamente tienen valor si van acompañadas de la conversión, la entrega a los demás y el cumplimiento de los mandamientos. 

La parábola de los dos hijos es sobria, reducida a lo esencial, no hay nada superfluo. "Un padre tenía dos hijos": La diferencia entre los dos hermanos retrata dos categorías de la sociedad hebrea: Los que se creen justos y que no necesitan conversión; y los pecadores que sienten la necesidad de convertirse. Los fariseos se sintieron aludidos porque "dicen y no hacen". Se acordaron seguramente de aquel dicho de Jesús: "No el que dice ¡Señor, Señor! Entrará en el Reino de los cielos, sino el que hace la Voluntad de mi Padre".

2.  El Padre de la parábola usa el verbo en imperativo: "¡Ve hoy a trabajar en la viña!". Cada día es más urgente que el cristiano actúe como un testigo de Cristo en medio de un mundo secularizado y relativista. El mal va invadiéndolo todo, sin embargo, basta un poco de levadura para fermentar la masa, basta un poco de sal para evitar la corrupción, basta una pequeña grey para conservar la fe. Santiago apóstol no se cansa de repetir: "La fe sin obras es fe muerta". A nosotros nos lo han repetido desde niños: "obras son amores y no buenas razones".

¿De qué nos van a examinar el día del juicio? Dice San Pablo que "Dios dará a cada uno según sus obras". Y San Pedro Crisólogo añade: "la incoherencia es un mal sutil, una infección secreta, un veneno escondido". ¿Acaso no se oye por ahí con frecuencia: "Soy católico pero no practicante"?                                                                        

3.  A veces pregunto a buenos cristianos si son "practicantes" y me responden "Naturalmente, yo voy a misa todos los domingos". Pero ¿Dónde quedan los demás sacramentos? Examínate: ¿Cumples todos los mandamientos? ¿Practicas las obras de misericordia? ¿Sirves a los demás y piensas en la salvación de tu alma? ¿Oras y das buen ejemplo? ¿No estarás cometiendo quizá pecado de omisión? El criterio de la coherencia cristiana es claro e imperativo: "Si me amáis, guardaréis mis mandamientos"

Hagamos hoy el propósito de continuar la revolución que Cristo trajo al mundo: la revolución del amor. En la óptica de Cristo el justo no es el que observa la ley exterior, sino el que es capaz de liberarse de sus ataduras y de sus seguridades humanas. Que nuestra predisposición sea la de Teresa de Jesús: "Vuestra soy, para vos nací ¿Qué mandáis hacer de mí?"

English Translation

Twenty-Sixth Sunday In Ordinary Time (Year A)                                                           

GOOD ACTIONS SHOW LOVE

Brothers and sisters

1. It is tough to obey God’s demands because they are often difficult and unexpected. We often lose interest in religious practices when we acquire human securities and material goods. How often we find Christians that act like those Pharisees! They place their security in nonessential practices and at the same time reject certain contents of the faith or disagree with the moral norms of the Church. Devotions such as novenas, pilgrimages to holy sites, public penances, the use of sacred images, songs and expressions of joy or sorrow, etc., only have meaning if they are accompanied by conversion, a conversion expressed in serving others and obeying the Commandments.

The parable of the two sons is direct and to the point. “A father had two sons.” The difference between the two brothers can be paralleled to two prominent attitudes of ancient Israel: those who considered themselves as good people who didn’t need conversion, and those who knew that they were sinners and wanted to change. It was clear to the Pharisees that Christ was referring to them because they “only paid lip service”. They remembered Jesus’ saying: “Not everyone who cries out ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father”.

2. In the parable, the father gives his sons the command “Go work in the vineyard.” Every day it is more and more urgent for Christians to be witnesses of Christ in the midst of a secular, relativistic world. Evil is everywhere, yet it only takes a little yeast to ferment dough, a little salt to preserve meat, and a small flock to preserve the faith. St. James never tired of repeating that “faith without works is dead,” and we always hear that “the heart has reasons that the mind doesn’t know.”

What will we be asked on the judgment day? Saint Paul says “God will repay each one according to his deeds.” And Saint Peter Chrysologus adds that “incoherence is a subtle evil, a secret infection, a hidden poison.” All too often we hear: “I’m Catholic, but not practicing”.

3. Sometimes I ask good Christians if they are practicing their faith and they tell me, “Of course. I go to Mass every Sunday”. But what about the other Sacraments? Take a look at your life. Do you fulfill all the Commandments? Do you do works of mercy? Do you help others? Do you think about the salvation of your soul? Do you pray? Do you give others a good example of Christian life? Are you perhaps committing sins of omission? The Gospel gives a clear standard of coherence: “If you love me you will keep my Commandments.”

Today let us decide to continue the revolution that Christ brought to the world: the revolution of love. In Christ’s eyes, the just person isn’t the one who fulfills the exterior law, but rather the one who is capable of freeing himself from human attachments and securities. Let us predispose out hearts towards God in the same way as St. Teresa of Jesus: “I am yours. I was made for you. What do you wish me to do?”