FS #38: Dogmatic Christocentrism, Part 10 – Jul 18 – Homily – Fr Terrance
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Fr Terrance gives the homily at Bloomington, IN, on Jul 18, 2023, where he continues his series on Franciscan Spirituality, and the idea of Christ becoming our redeemer relates to the doctrinal Christocentric basis of this spirituality.
Today's reflection is on Franciscan Christocentrism, viewing Christ as mankind's Redeemer. Reflecting on Genesis, we see all of God's creations are perfect - born from divine love and manifested through the Word Incarnate, resulting in the beautiful, orderly, and harmonious creation (Genesis 1: 31 - God saw everything he had made, and indeed, it was very good - https://bible.usccb.org/bible/genesis/1?31).
However, we were created free and God respects this freedom. We can choose to work with God or not, which can lead to either harmony or degradation. We reach our destiny by combining Christ's grace with our free will.
Both angels and humans were tested alike, and in their aspiration to be like God, rebelled (Genesis 3: 5 - your eyes will be opened and you will be like God - https://bible.usccb.org/bible/genesis/3?5). Angels, failing to be humble before Christ, led to a heavenly battle (Revelation 12 - Then war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels battled against the dragon - https://bible.usccb.org/bible/revelation/12).
Satan's defiance and attempts to seduce man led to sin, which is a rejection of Christ's mediation. Sin has caused a great imbalance, bringing about pain and suffering. For angels, this suffering is eternal due to their incapacity for repentance. For humans, capable of repentance, there remains hope in the incarnation - our source of redemption.
Christ, our divine Samaritan, found us in our misery and brought us to salvation. His suffering and death are not just the consequence of our sin but of our eternal election in Him (Ephesians 1: 4 - He chose us in Him, before the foundation of the world - https://bible.usccb.org/bible/ephesians/1?4). He didn't reject us when we sinned; instead, He took on our sins and freed us.
Our bond with Christ, a vital bond of love, is stronger than our ties to Adam, who gave us sin. Although we momentarily broke away from Christ through sin, He restored us with His blood. Let's ask Our Lady for grace to embrace the redemption Christ offers and to cooperate more willingly with Her and Her Son's plan of salvation.
Ave Maria!
This is a continuation of his series of homilies on Franciscan Spirituality - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNN151zTIO4&list=PLejh_e0-LN4xgMllKrzSasL2Hljd5BHom
The material for this series comes primarily from Ciccarelli, Marciano M., "I capisaldi della spiritualità francescana" in Italian, which translates as "The Cornerstones of Franciscan Spirituality". No English translations exist at the time of this recording.
Mass: St. Camillus de Lellis (USA) - Opt Mem
Readings: Tuesday 15th Week of Ordinary Time - http://usccb.org/bible/readings/071823.cfm
1st: exo 2:1-15
Resp: psa 69:3, 14, 30-31, 33-34
Gsp: mat 11:20-24
More on the Readings: https://airmaria.com/r?m=2270&r=1445
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and YouTube: https://youtu.be/vZvVdajkAm4
