October 1, 2023: The Mission of Mercy

“You examined your conscience. You got on your knees. You poured your heart out. You received absolution… Now what?” In this homily, Father Loomis discusses what we do after we have received God’s mercy. Oftentimes the thought is that we will just “do better” or “try harder” to be “perfect”. But then how do we know that we have satisfied the intent for which God’s mercy was meant? Father Loomis asserts that we need something to aim at. “Otherwise we have no idea if the purpose for that mercy was realized.” He suggests that God has a plan for you in that moment. “If God’s mercy is going to change our lives, then we need to know what our lives are going to change into.” Two examples of the recipients of this mercy and it’s life changing abilities are the apostle, St. Paul and St. Thérèse of Lisieux. After experiencing the mercy of Christ, St. Paul gives up everything to serve and follow Christ- “to be the love of God for other people that he himself personally experienced.” St. Thérèse of Lisieux knew her own littleness and made it her mission to get to heaven “the little way”… practicing little acts of virtue with extraordinary love. She did everything in her life as of she was doing it for Christ himself. So, what is the mission of God’s mercy? To make us more like Himself. We have received divine love, and now we must become divine love for others. 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time: First Reading: Ezekiel 18: 25-28 Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 25: 4-5, 6-7, 8-9 Second Reading: Philippians 2: 1-11 Alleluia: John 10: 27 Gospel: Matthew 21: 28-32