Homily: JUne 5, 2024, Wednesday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time (Salvation).

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Holy Family School Mass

"He saved us and called us to a holy life, not according to our works but according to His own design and the grace bestowed on us in Christ Jesus before time began."

There are many important points to note in this verse, I will highlight four:

One, God saved us.

Two, we are called to a holy life.

Three, not by our works, but by God’s design.

Four, and by the grace of Jesus Christ.

Let me check your general knowledge. Can you name some well-known religions in the world?

Yes, Hinduism, Sikhism, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Jainism, Zoroastrianism, and Judaism.

Do you know any friends who believe in any of these religions?

Well, I did too when I was in school. That was in India. I had school friends who were Hindus, Muslims, Christians, and Buddhists.

Although I attended a Catholic school, majority of the students were Hindus, Catholics were a minority. We had school Mass on Fridays, right before the lunch break. During this time, the Muslim students would go to their mosque nearby for prayer, and Catholics would go to church, while students of other religions were free to spend the time as they wish.

Every religion proposes the right way to live according to their founder’s philosophy and understanding of life and death. From what I know, all the other religions suggest that the individual person must strive to live correctly in order to achieve the ideals of the religion, like peace in the family, success in life, prosperity, rebirth to a higher order or attaining the concept of nirvana.

And that makes Christianity very different from other religions in this, that simply by believing, we are saved, not by our own hard work or merit, but by the grace of Christ Jesus.

Listen carefully to the words of St. Paul again:

"He saved us and called us to a holy life, not according to our works but according to His own design and the grace bestowed on us in Christ Jesus before time began."

Salvation is already won and given to us, we just have to accept it willingly and wholeheartedly. It is like somebody gives you a gift, you can either accept it or reject it. You can take it and keep it wrapped up without any impact on your life, or you can open it and enjoy the full benefits of the gift.

Many Catholics are believers in name and half-hearted in faith, the impact of the gift will be minimal of course.

Jesus saved us through shedding His precious blood, which washes all our sins away. And the way to fully benefit from this gift is by regularly receiving His grace through the holy sacraments. When we fully accept and receive this wholeheartedly, our lives will be transformed.

Amen.


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