Daily HOMILY for January 6, 2017: Christmas Weekday, Cycle A

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Retreat for SMSU 1^st Theologians

January 6, 2107

Jesuit Retreat Center

“Happily ever after” ++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  The reading of 1^st John seems to assure us a “Live happily ever after” ending to life

Ø  After all, this is God’s testimony, “God gave us eternal life and this life is in his Son. Whoever possesses the Son has life; whoever does not possess the Son of God does not have life”

THE TWO-FOLD REALITY +++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  So fresh from the womb, we come from God, out through the birth canal, and into the world w/ this assurance

Ø  To get us back to God, which is our destiny, we are given a longing within that ultimately can only be satisfied by the Creator in whose image we were made

Ø  But it is too facile to think that returning to God during our life, or after we have died, will ever be a simple straight line

Ø  What enters our journey is the fact that, yes, God wants us to long for him w/ a longing he’s placed in us, but he also wants us to freely choose him, love him

Ø  So it’s with both a longing AND a respect of our freedom that we came forth

NEVER A STRAIGHT LINE BACK ++++++++++++++++++

Ø  And we also know from our own experience that it’s never a straight line back

Ø  To the contrary, our journey to the Father will be filled w/ twists and turns, detours and dead ends, false starts and lots of potholes into which to fall

Ø  “But take heart,” says John, “there is a guidance system,” a sort of GPS we call the Spirit, directing, guiding, beckoning

Ø  And don’t we know how we are w/ the GPS in our own cars?

Ø  “Turn right in a half-mile” “No!” And I go straight.

Ø  “Make the first U-turn” “No!” And I turn left. And then it comes: “Reconfiguring!”

Ø  Guidance from the Spirit, while honoring our longing to get to our destination, the Spirit of Jesus is also respecting our freedom to mess up

CONCLUSION ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  It’s time 2 pay more attention to both GPS in R cars & promptings of Holy Spirit in our spiritual lives! Contemplative prayer can help us do that!

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