May 27 – Homily – Fr Angelo: Jesus Tells It Plainly

 

In today's Gospel, Jesus is speaking with His disciples, His 'inner circle,' at the Last Supper. He tells them that He is about to stop speaking in parables and tell them clearly about the Father, the completion of His mission. But was not His teaching ministry over? Rather, His "telling plainly" will be His suffering, death, and Resurrection. And while He did speak to the people in parables, He would explain them to His disciples. Why? They asked, they wanted to know, and they were open to what He would say.
We too must be open to Christ and let His light penetrate our mind and heart, thus His teaching will be enlightened, but those who approach Christ with pride find only darkness and obscurity. The disciples accepted Jesus as Lord and Teacher, but only with difficulty as the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for His sheep. We must be open to the teaching of Christ and His leading even if it leads us to where we do not want to go. We must read the Scriptures in humility, for the Gospel was spread by humble, uneducated men who were close to Christ, and not through proud and powerful intellectuals with Ph.D.'s and all the right connections.
We proceed by steps, and not by leaps. There is an order in our ascent, we must first humble ourselves to understand the Scripture with the mind of Christ, and then be his witnesses in the world. For we too, by gathering around the altar, are Jesus' beloved inner circle.

Ave Maria!

Mass: St. Augustine of Canterbury - Opt Mem
Readings: 0