Gulf Pine Catholic

Gulf Pine Catholic • August 30, 2024 5 MORE THAN FUNERAL DIRECTORS We are Professional Remembrance Planners Explore the many unique ways to honor and celebrate lives. Call or visit Bradford O’Keefe today. BRADFORD-O’KEEFE FUNERAL HOMES Professional. Compassionate. Dignified. 228-374-5650 • Bradfordokeefe.com In thanksgiving to the Holy Spirit, Blessed Mother, and St. Jude, for prayers answered. BAB Opening Remarks -- Heroes: The 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, France, have just ended, with teamU.S.A. continuing their dominance of past years by winning more medals than any other nation. This year, we won 126 medals, 40 of them gold, and confirmed our legacy of fielding the greatest athletes ever. China was in second place with 40 gold and 91 total. Japan was third with 20 gold and 45 in total. And while Simone Biles, Torri Huske, and Regan Smith stood out as U.S.A. heroes, every medal earned has a name and personal story behind it, inspiring each of us to reach deep within and unleash our own greatness -- all for the glory of God. Divinely Inspired Lessons: In today’s first reading, Moses speaks to the gathered remnant of God’s people, poised to take possession of the Promised Land, about what it takes to be a great nation. For these survivors of the 40- year desert trek from Egypt, Moses had a simple formula to ensure their legacy would be great and history would herald them as a people of wisdom and obedience to God. Moses said, “Observe (study, ponder deeply, and carry out) the Lord’s commandments without adding to or subtracting from them” (Deuteronomy 4:2). God’s initiative of love, care, and mercy inspires us to be loving, caring, and merciful to others. Our response and action should be to comply with God’s will, not attempt to alter it as the hard-hearted Israelites did when they were critical of His perfect ways. Will Moses’ prodigies resist rebellion and remember the lessons learned in their formative years in the wilderness? Can they fully grasp the magnitude of God’s love and cooperate with God’s grace? Would they accept all that God has for them without variation and become a great nation willing to lead others to the living God? Today’s Gospel provides the answers! Athletic Action: St. Paul encourages believers to take the example of a disciplined athlete. “…know that runners in the stadium all run in the race, but only one wins the prize. Run so as to win. Every athlete exercises discipline. They do it to win a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. I do not run aimlessly but drive my body and train it” (1 Corinthians 9:24- 27). Paul is keenly focused on his mission to preach, live, and die for Jesus Christ. Will we avoid laziness, disinterest, and complacency in our goal for nearness to God? Will we pursue spiritual growth with intensity, focus, and relentless passion? We can know the Lord intimately, love him unyieldingly, and serve him unreservedly -- the prize for such a relationship is abundant life, joyful ascent, and a legacy that will last forever. Doers of the Word: James agrees with Moses’ line of thinking. With God, “There is no alteration or shadow caused by change” (James 1:17). James further encourages us to welcome with humility the greatness of our life in God, who provides every good gift and blessing. Receive God’s word of truth, embrace it, devour it, and let it influence every part of your being. People should see how different you are and how you stand out above the crowd with virtues of humility, kindness, love, forgiveness, patience, and deep- abiding worship of God. Everything in life is not ambiguous or open to interpretation by whim or personal preference. Instead, God’s word provides definitive answers to our most serious questions about life. Yes, there are absolute truths applicable to all times and all circumstances, so don’t be deceived into thinking anything less. God loves us too much to leave us without wisdom and guidance, which come to us through the Bible, Apostolic tradition, and the teaching magisterium of the Church (The Pope and bishops). Additional resources are the Catechism of the Catholic Church , papal encyclicals, writings of the Church Fathers, approved modern teachings, and Conciliar documents. These are resources to form our consciences according to God’s revealed truth and then acting on these truths as foundational to growing in holiness. God’s gifts and blessings are perfect and need only to be accepted, not criticized, ignored, taken selectively or partially, or changed outright. “Humbly welcome God’s word” implies a teachable spirit that eagerly accepts the discipline of learning and does not yield to pride, prejudice, or contentiousness. After all, salvation is at stake. Unwilling To Change? Today’s Gospel provides the results of Moses’ inspirational efforts in our first reading. Jesus, Israel’s newMoses, confronts the ancestors ofDeuteronomy’s faith heroes for drifting away from God’s deposit of truth in the Commandments. Instead of modeling God’s love and mercy and inspiring hearts attuned to God’s will, these leaders distorted God’s law by imposing more than 600 nitpicking rules that were impossible for anyone to keep. Additionally, they taught these rules as having equal weight and value with the Ten Commandments. Jesus calls them hypocrites whose hearts are far from God. Will Jesus’ challenge awaken our hearts to examine the sincerity of our religious observance? History, experience, and sacred scripture reveal the difficulties that accompany a hard heart and stubborn will that contradict God’s plan for our greatness (see Mark 7:21-23). Look up the song “Change My Heart, O God.” Use it as a source of praise, worship, and prayer. Deacon Ralph Torrelli lives in Hattiesburg and is assigned to St. Thomas Aquinas Parish. Visit his website: www.homilypearls.com. 1st Reading: Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-8 Psalm: 15:2-3, 3-4, 4-5 2nd Reading: James 1:17-18, 21b-22, 27 Gospel: Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time Attaining greatness Deacon Torrell i Sunday Scripture Commentaries We want to print your news! Please send your parish, student and school news items to: tdickson@biloxidiocese.org or submit digitally by going to our website gulfpine- catholic,com click on submit, and scroll to Calendar Event or Share Your Catholic Stories and Images. 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