Hymns for Mass – Press Here

FIRST READING (Praise no one before he speaks.)

A reading from the Book of Sirach (27:4-7)

When a sieve is shaken, the husks appear; so do one’s faults when one speaks. As the test of what the potter molds is in the furnace, so in tribulation is the test of the just. The fruit of a tree shows the care it has had; so too does one’s speech disclose the bent of one’s mind. Praise no one before he speaks, for it is then that people are tested. —The Word of the Lord.

R. Thanks be to God.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM (92:2-3, 13-14, 15-16)

R. Lord, it is good to give thanks to you. (Cf. Ps 92:2a)

It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praise to your name, Most High, to proclaim your kindness at dawn and your faithfulness throughout the night. (R)

The just one shall flourish like the palm tree, like a cedar of Lebanon shall he grow. They that are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. (R)

They shall bear fruit even in old age; vigorous and sturdy shall they be, declaring how just is the Lord, my Rock, in whom there is no wrong. (R)

SECOND READING (God gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.)

A reading from the first Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians (15:54-58)

Brothers and sisters: When this which is corruptible clothes itself with incorruptibility and this which is mortal clothes itself with immortality, then the word that is written shall come about: Death is swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be firm, steadfast, always fully devoted to the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. —The Word of the Lord.

R. Thanks be to God.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (Phil 2:15d, 16a)

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Shine like lights in the world as you hold on to the word of life. (R)

GOSPEL (From the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.)

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (6:39-45)

Jesus told his disciples a parable, “Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit? No disciple is superior to the teacher; but when fully trained, every disciple will be like his teacher. Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye,’ when you do not even notice the wooden beam in your own eye? You hypocrite! Remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter in your brother’s eye.

“A good tree does not bear rotten fruit, nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For people do not pick figs from thornbushes, nor do they gather grapes from brambles. A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good, but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil; for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.” —The Gospel of the Lord.

R. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Prayers

Celebrant: We have heard out Master teaching us about the state of the human heart. Let the words of our united prayer flow from what fills our hearts with sincerity and goodness.

READER: For the Church as she brings forth the fruits of the Holy Spirit, (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

READER: For God’s grace and blessing that we bear good fruit through our words and deeds to all around us, (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

READER: For the virtue of discernment and good judgment that we not be led astray by false beliefs and superstitions, (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

READER: For God’s blessings on all families young and old during these difficult weeks, that our faith help to keep the flame of HOPE alive in us as we prepare to begin our Lenten journey, (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

READER: For the repose of the soul of Bernice Ann Conceicao for whom this Mass is offered, and for the intentions we carry in our hearts, (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

CELEBRANT: Father and creator, at the altar of your merciful love your people ask you today to grant their sincere requests, through Christ, your Son. (all) AMEN.

Homily

Sirach 27: 4-7
1 Cor. 15: 54-58
Luke 6: 39-45

“The Store of Goodness”

Our Gospel last week was an eloquent lesson on generosity and how often gracious generosity spreads from one to another, “good measure pressed down, shaken together… and overflowing” – such as the way God gives to us so generously! The passage continues in today’s Gospel that uses many metaphors that centre on the influence we have on each other, reminding us that, “a good person, out of the store of goodness in his heart produces GOOD.”

Our readings today continue last week’s teachings but with a new perspective connecting speech and character. In our first passage from Sirach, he compares shaking a sieve to separate the worthless husks from the good grain and then talking about how the quality of fruit reflects the fruit tree and finally gives a lesson about the comparison of a person’s speech to their true character.

The gift of speech begins in the heart and is then filtered by the mind before it comes out as a WORD. So, we can say with conviction that our WORDS tell us something profound about both our MIND and HEART. But Sirach adds a very wise caution: “Praise no one before he speaks, for it is then that people are tested!”

In its own way, the teaching of Jesus in the Gospel continues this connection among heart-mind-word. The challenging words about how we judge others and the hypocrisy often seen in these acts shows how our hearts and minds often do not produce good fruit – good results – rather than harm others. And so, if there is a flaw – a serious disconnect where we use the heart and mind to harm others, then the Scriptures call us to a conversion to a NEW HEART. This is found in the ancient Scriptural understanding of the heart and the importance of God giving the people “a new heart, a heart of flesh rather than a heart of stone.” In the Jewish understanding, the heart was the seat of intelligence and decision, often meaning what in English we would call “the will.” The heart is the source of thought, of desires, and ultimately of deeds. And so the movement begins in the heart, is then filtered by the mind before it is uttered in speech, in action.

To understand our character, we should begin with the heart – that place that should store goodness. It is here that we come to see and discern our true values.

Many of us hold on to things, objects and memorabilia – seeing them as small treasures as they hold an emotional value for us. We store them away in a drawer, a bureau, a closet a room or some other safe place. What are those important treasures that each of us are holding on to at this time? Do you save letters? Do you store away memorabilia of an important event or date such as a marriage, a birthday, an important loss of someone close to you?

Do we realize, however, that far more important for us are those things that we store in our hearts – memories of events, of words spoken, of hurst we suffered, dreams we achieved, or hopes that were shattered, winning approval, overcoming obstacles, judgments we made, attitudes we absorbed, values we have held on to, loves and hatreds? That’s quite a lot in the store of our hearts.

The final instruction in today’s Gospel touches on this point: “a good person, out of the store of goodness in his heart produces GOOD, but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil; for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.” In other words, what we store within does not just stay there, but it bears fruit in word and deed – for good or for evil.

In the tradition of the Church, the daily reading of scriptural passages, lectio divina, has been a way of helping us to “store the words of Scripture” in our hearts. By reading aloud certain short passages, slowly savoring the words, chewing over them, digesting them, letting them enter our hearts and minds for further meditation and prayer throughout the day is a way of storing up goodness. It’s quite simple: just take a short text, repeat it over and over until you have memorized it or can carry it as a phrase to nourish your heart and soul through the day. One very good passage for this is the Sermon on the Mount, but there are many others.

Today’s Gospel flows from the Lukan version of the Sermon on the Mount and calls us to also care for the least in the eyes of the world: the poor, the hungry, the weeping, the persecuted. We are also called to LOVE OUR ENEMIES, those who despise and hate us, and perhaps those for whom we store hatred in our hearts.

A last thought for our parish, under the title of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque and her deep devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we can nourish our hearts with the heart of Jesus – a heart dedicated to doing the will of the Father. This was His mission – and it is the Mission of the Church as the Body of Christ to the world. To paraphrase a great preacher of the recent past, “The more we do the will of the Father in our life, the less unfinished business we will leave behind when we die. If our lives are examples of pastoral charity and the pursuit of social justice, then death will come not as an enemy but as a friendly angel who will take us to the One whose greatest HOPE is to say to each and every one of us, “Well done, good and faithful servant, welcome into the joy of the Father!”

Each Sunday we gather as a community to pray – even separated as we are now from physical gathering, we gather… to celebrate the power of God revealed in Christ. It is the power of God at work transforming the gifts of bread and wine into HIS Body and Blood, even when received spiritually. And this power enables us to live our call of the Gospel and to be a force for life in the world, a force for HOPE amidst despair. That power helps us to sing with St. Paul, “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” For truly God has given us victory over sin and death through Jesus Christ. So today – as we struggle with continued obstacles, difficulties and fears, let us resolve – as St. paul counsels us, “To be firm, steadfast, always fully devoted to the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord our work is not in vain!” YES! AMEN!