A Window into God’s Heart – Jul 08 – Homily – Fr Terrance
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Fr Terrance gives the homily at Bloomington, IN, on Jul 08, 2025, where he emphasizes Jesus's compassionate interaction, reaction, and request for laborers to shepherd His people.
Father reflects on three dimensions of Jesus’s ministry—interaction, reaction, and request—as depicted in Matthew 9:36-38. He vividly describes Jesus’s engagement with people, teaching and healing in villages, embodying God’s love through His incarnation. Jesus’s reaction is profound compassion, captured by the Greek term spalagnizomai, a visceral empathy likened to a mother’s love for her suffering child, as seen in His weeping for Lazarus (John 11:35) and His prayer for forgiveness from the cross (Luke 23:34). Father cites Isaiah 49:15 to illustrate God’s unfailing care, comparing it to St. Monica’s anguish over St. Augustine’s sinful life. Jesus sees humanity’s spiritual wounds, like sheep without a shepherd (Matthew 9:36), a critique of the Pharisees who, as Ezekiel 34 warns, failed as shepherds. Their accusations against Jesus (Matthew 9:34) highlight their role as spiritual roadblocks. Father emphasizes Jesus’s call to pray for laborers (Matthew 9:37-38), answered by sending the twelve disciples (Matthew 10:1), urging the faithful to seek priests and religious who reflect Christ’s heart and to become laborers themselves, as the Catechism of the Catholic Church in paragraph 1536 underscores the mission of holy orders. Through Mary’s intercession, Father encourages all to embody the compassion of the Good Samaritan and the prodigal son’s father, aligning with God’s merciful nature.
For Further Reading
Matthew 9: 36-38 - NAB - Jesus’s compassion and call for laborers - https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/9?36
John 11: 35 - NAB - Jesus weeps for Lazarus - https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/11?35
Luke 23:34 - NAB - Jesus prays for forgiveness - https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/23?34
Isaiah 49:15 - NAB - God’s unfailing love - https://bible.usccb.org/bible/isaiah/49?15
Ezekiel 34 - NAB - False shepherds condemned - https://bible.usccb.org/bible/ezekiel/34
Catechism of the Catholic Church #1536 - Holy Orders’ mission - http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p2s2c3a6.htm#1536
Catechism of the Catholic Church #773 - Mary’s role in the Church - http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p123a9p1.htm#773
Catechism of the Catholic Church #181 - God’s compassion for humanity - http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p1s1c3a2.htm#181
Catholic Answers - God’s Love for You - Explores divine compassion - https://www.catholic.com/tract/gods-love-for-you
00:00 - Introduction to Jesus’s Ministry
00:15 - Interaction with the People
00:48 - Jesus’s Compassionate Reaction
01:08 - Meaning of Spalagnizomai
01:41 - Window into Jesus’s Heart
02:25 - Biblical Examples of Compassion
03:09 - God’s Unfailing Love
03:54 - Prayer from the Cross
04:58 - Sheep Without a Shepherd
06:13 - Pharisees as Spiritual Roadblocks
07:37 - Request: Call for Laborers
09:39 - Prayer for Vocations
Ave Maria!
Mass: St. Gregory Grassi and companions - Opt Mem - http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=7229
Readings: Tuesday 14th Week of Ordinary Time - http://usccb.org/bible/readings/070825.cfm
1st: gen 32:23-33
Resp: psa 17:1, 2-3, 6-8, 15
Gsp: mat 9:32-38
More on the Readings: https://airmaria.com/r?m=671&r=1439
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