Homily (Reflection) for the Memorial
of Saint Philip Neri, P. (26th May, 2018) on the Gospel and the
Memorial
(Saturday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary
Time (II))
Jas 5:13-20;
Ps 140:1-3.8. (R. v. 2);Mk 10:13-16.
Saint Philip Neri was born in Florence in the year
1515. He abandoned the chance to become a businessman and moved to Rome where
he devoted his life and individuality to God. Philip Neri was ordained a priest
at the urging of his confessor and soon became an outstanding confessor, gifted
with the knack of piercing the pretences and illusions of others. He founded a
religious institute, the Oratory. His characteristic virtues were humility and
gaiety. Philip Neri was a sign of contradiction, combining popularity with
piety against the background of a corrupt Rome and a disinterested clergy, the
whole post-Renaissance malaise. He died in the year 1595.[1]
Topic: Terrible yet persistent
mistake.
Children are rightly referred to as the leaders of tomorrow
or the tomorrow of today. Yet they were denied access to Jesus by His disciples
in today’s gospel. Note that they never prevented the Pharisees, their scribes,
the elders, and so on, who were the problems. The gospel further reads, “But
when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the little
children come to me....’”
Children rarely receive proper attention in the family, the
schools, and most regrettably even the church. And we read often, “Train
children in the right way, and when old, they will not stray” (Prov 22:6). The problem is where and
how do we hope to achieve this divine mandate? This is because the parents are
busy making money according to them for these children. The teachers are waiting
for alerts from banks instead of teaching. In many churches, the children are not
even allowed into the church whereas seats are reserved for those we hope will bring
money for developmental projects for these children.
Our collective failure in the training of our children makes
nonsense of all we do today for tomorrow. Jesus admonished us, “Do not give
dogs what is holy; and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample
them under foot and turn to attack you” (Matt
7:6). How do we treat our children who worth much more? We must remember
that, “...the love of money is the root of all evils; it is through this
craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced their hearts
with many pangs” (1Tim 6:10). Again,
we ought to be contented with what we have because God has assured us, “I will never
fail you nor forsake you” (Heb 13:5; cf.
Deut 31:6, 8; Josh 1:5).
Bible Reading: Prov 4:1-27.
Thought for today: We define the future in the training of children.
Let us pray: God help us to understand and to take-up
the task of training the children – Amen.
Saint Philip Neri – Pray for us.
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God bless you all+
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