How Desperate Are We for God?

Sermon by Rev. John Paul Shea

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time, June 28, 2015

Saints Peter and Paul Parish, Tucson, AZ

How desperate are we for God? 

In today’s Gospel passage (Mark 5:21-43),we hear of a series of healings by Our Lord.

We first hear of a man named Jairus who approaches Jesus and begs Him to heal his daughter who is dying. He falls at the feet of Jesus and cries out, “My daughter is at the point of death. Please, come lay your hands on her that she may get well and live.” As Jesus goes to heal the girl, we then hear of a woman who is suffering from hemorrhages. She had suffered for a long time, and the doctors could not help her. She had spent all her money! She heard about Jesus and desperately went to Him for healing!

My brothers and sisters, in each incident in today’s Gospel the persons were desperate

Fr. John Paul Shea

for the healing power of Jesus. They were desperate for the intervention of the Lord in their life situation, and they begged the Lord for help.

It is when we also turn to the Lord in our need for Him that He acts in our lives. But, Our Lord does not want us to wait until we are facing a life crisis before we come to Him. He wants us to be desperate for Him now. He wants us to live our lives for Him.

When we live for Christ we are given grace to help us prepare for future struggles… Each one of us will face struggles in life. Many of us have faced major struggles already. Wherever we are at in our lives at this time, today’s Gospel calls us to turn to the Lord and beg for His help and mercy!

So many people today live their lives in misery because they do not turn to the Lord. So many today wander around each day with no hope. We harm ourselves. We misuse our bodies and our sexuality… Some get hooked on drugs… Others get taken up with other wrong behaviors. It is often not until we hit rock bottom in our destructive behaviors that we realize our need for God. But it is when we acknowledge our need for Him and beg for His help that He comes to our aid.

We are reminded in today’s Gospel that we need to come to our Lord in faith. We must trust that He will provide for our needs. When the woman in today’s Gospel approaches Jesus and falls down before Him He says, “Daughter, your faith has saved you.”

If we want the Lord to work in our lives, we must come to Him in faith.

So let us ask ourselves, “Where is our faith today?” Do we trust in our Lord? Do we submit ourselves to His will in our lives even though we do not see Him face to face?

The woman in today’s Gospel simply wanted to touch the cloak of Jesus. She said, “If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured.” My brothers and sisters, as Catholics we don’t simply

touch a piece of our Lord’s clothing. We receive Him into our very bodies through the Eucharist! Do we come to the Eucharist with passion and devotion in our hearts knowing Who it is we are receiving? Do we strive to receive our Lord worthily in the Eucharist by following the teachings of Our Lord’s Church?

We live in a world today that is filled with lax Catholics. Only 36 percent of Catholics here in the United States attend Mass regularly, and many Catholics who attend church still do not follow Church teachings… Ireland, which is supposed to be a Catholic nation, has just voted for same sex marriage. A nation of Catholics has voted for a law that is against God’s laws.

Now, since two days ago, we have same sex marriage here in the United States as law of the land. Now that same sex marriage is part of the United States Constitution, this decision of our courts will test the faith of every Catholic at some point in the not distant future because the devil wants to destroy marriage. As Pope Francis taught while serving as Archbishop in Argentina: "Same-sex marriage is not simply a political struggle, but it is an attempt to destroy God’s plan. It is a move of the ‘father of lies’ who seeks to confuse and deceive the children of God."

My brothers and sisters, today’s Gospel calls us to be on fire for our faith! Our Lord wants us to be desperate for Him. He wants us to be passionate for His truth!

We are living in a critical times right now… both in our Church and in our world. For the devil is in full force striving to deceive souls! God does not want lax Catholics. In fact, in the Book of Revelation our Lord says that we must be either hot or cold in our faith. But if we are lukewarm He will spit us out His mouth (Rev. 3:16).

As Catholics we have a choice to live our lives for Christ through His Church and His teachings or to live for the world which is passing away.

As you know Pope Francis just came out with an encyclical on the environment where he reminds us of the desperate need to take care of the earth because the earth itself is “crying out” for justice. Yes, God wants us to take care of the earth. But what is most important is the salvation of souls.

Ultimately, this earth is being renewed both spiritually and physically. This world of sin is passing away, and God will make a new earth for those who are found worthy. This is why Our Lord Jesus has come into our world. He has come to save us from a world that is perishing. This is why our Lord commissioned His disciples to preach repentance for the forgiveness of sins!

If we want to know what taking place in the future of the world we live in today, all we need to do is look in the Book of Revelation.

Or we simply listen to the words of Jesus Himself who said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away."
What we await is a new heaven and a new earth where there will be no disregard for the earth. There will be no more war. No ISIS. No terrorism. No abortion. No pornography. No adultery. No ‘so called’ same sex ‘marriage.’ No crooked politicians… No violence. No pain…None of this stuff! For the meek and humble shall inherit the earth.

The only thing that is going to save our souls from the death of this world is conversion of

heart. The only person who is going to bring healing to our souls is Our Lord Jesus Christ. But we must come to Him. We must be desperate for Him. We must beg Him for healing. When we come to Him with a humble and contrite heart, He is always there to help us.

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