Rector's Homily for the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time

On the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 2, 2020, Msgr. Jameson delivered the following homily at the 10am Mass. Watch the video of the Mass that was livestreamed from the Cathedral, and open to the public.

“Healthy Food for a Healthy Mood”

“Eat A Healthy Meal to Let Your Body Heal”

“First We Eat; Then We Do Everything Else”

“Your Spirit Is Not a Trash Can”

Have you heard some of these slogans before?  If not, I am sure you have heard ones like them. One-liners like this are everywhere — t-shirts, shopping centers, on food products, and all over social media. And while these sayings may at times sound trite and annoying, they also reveal a struggle that many Americans face: to take care of our bodies, choose nourishing options, and live healthy lives.  Eating healthy is about being nourished, sustained, strengthened, and cared for. Our bodies were made to be nourished so that they can flourish.

Just as we are called to nourish our bodies, so must we care for our souls so that our spiritual life can blossom. If we go to him, our God promises to nourish us, feed us, and strengthen us each day so that we can flourish.

God invites all who are spiritually hungry and thirsty to come to him and be satisfied.

Wherever you are in your relationship with God, he wants you to be spiritually fed and to give you fullness of life.

St. Augustine said that our hearts are restless until they rest in the Lord. The longing in each of us, the restlessness and desire, these remind each of us that we were made to be in relationship with God.

God calls each of us to come as we are – not as we wish we were, or who we hope to be one day — but as we truly are. To each of us, as we are, God calls out “All you who are thirsty, come to the water!  (Is 55:1)

In times of trial, anguish, and difficulty, we often realize what has always been true: God is ALWAYS with us, offering us strength, compassion, direction, and salvation.

“What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through him who loved us.” (Rom 8:35, 37)

God is with us during the big moments of our lives and ordinary days. Was there a time in your life when you were struggling, and you experienced God nourishing you with what you needed (strength, hope, joy, or mercy)?

God wants to feed our spirits in every season; no occasion is too massive or mundane to avoid our turning to God with our needs.

God nourishes us so that we can flourish.

Sometimes our life and relationships begin to feel lifeless, and we feel like our connections are slipping away. This can also happen in our spiritual life, our relationship with God.

The Gospel reminds us that not only did Jesus heal the sick and feed the hungry, giving them what they needed to stay alive — he gave these gifts in abundance!

Jesus wants to give each of us abundance in our spiritual lives; he wants our relationship with him to flourish so that the overflowing of his grace in our lives nourishes not only us but the world around us.

Here are four simple things we can do each day to be spiritually fed:

  1. Pray: “First, we eat; then we do everything else.” Jesus taught us to pray each day for our daily bread, that is, our daily spiritual nourishment. The abundance that Jesus’ followers received in the Gospel was meant for us. We were built to go to God daily and be fed spiritually.
  2. Read Scripture: “Healthy food for a healthy mood.” We are spiritually fed by the word of God, offering us encouragement, hope, healing, joy, and the experience of God’s love out poured.
  3. Receive the Sacraments: “Eat a healthy meal to let your Spirit heal.” Sacraments are a source of healing, strengthening, and restoring our spiritual lives.
  4. Practice Discernment: “Your Spirit is not a trash can.” Choose to be intentional about the media and entertainment you consume. Don’t consume spiritual junk food. What you read, scroll through, watch, or listen to impacts your spiritual health.

The God who fashioned us out of love now offers us the bread of life and the saving cup. Let us go joyfully to the table of the Lord.

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