Homily: August 20, 2022, Saturday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time

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“The angel led me to the gate which faces the east, and there I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east”. 

These words in the first reading remind of the Orthodox and Oriental Churches. When they construct their churches, they would set their church altars to face the east, so that, when the priests celebrate Mass, they will be looking towards that direction. In India, especially in Kerala where I came from, all our church altars face the east.

The concept is based on the expectation that Christ would come again, arriving from the east, and the priest is leading the community to the heavenly Jerusalem. 

Interestingly, the Hindu temples also face eastwards. 

And do you know, the houses in my village are built with the kitchens facing the east also. Why?

It has nothing related to the coming of Christ. It has to do with the sunrise. The mothers of the households start cooking when they wake up, and the kitchens are open concept, so the rising sun will provide the much needed light for preparing meals.

We all look forward to meeting Christ when He comes again. Scripture says He will come from the east. Would you turn your back to that direction then? Surely not. Our eyes will be fixed and focused in that direction, right?

Our earthly pilgrimage is a journey towards meeting the Lord. We catechists have a very important role in helping the children and their families prepare for that day, in leading them to look towards where Jesus is.

In the gospel, Jesus criticized the pharisees, “For they preach but they do not practice”.

Let us take this seriously. Let us preach and teach by example, by practicing, witnessing, and living it out in our interior and exterior life. The world is full of bad news but our faith is about the good news so let us always be joyful.

Amen.


Since for this Mass, we are a small group among ourselves, I would like to invite each of you to share briefly how you feel and think about today’s readings.

Preached for Catechists of St. Ambrose cathedral.  

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