God's Guiding Light - Weekday Homily Video

God implanted in our human nature a desire to love and to be loved. When we are accepted by others, we have the assurance that we are lovable. The desire for acceptance is so great that any sort of rejection causes us much pain.

In the gospel, Jesus addresses his audience with a stark choice, accept him and his message as true light which comes from God or receive the consequences of disbelief and rejection. Believing in him meant believing in Him who sent him, God the Father. Jesus speaks of himself as the light, and we know from the scriptures light is associated with God’s truth and life. Jesus as light, he reveals God’s presence and word so that those who can accept that truth in their lives, in turn may have clarity, divine wisdom and guidance on their journey of faith.

Catherine of Siena, we celebrate her life today, was a mystic who lived a contemplative life marked with incessant prayer of the heart. During her prayer, she strove to bring every thought, word and deed before the dominion of Jesus Christ. As a Dominican tertiary, she espoused life of Solicitude. And through her prayerfulness she was constantly alert and attentive and conscious of the demands of her complete surrender to God’s loving relationship. She maintained that love received makes it possible for one to give that love to others. She sought to live the gospel and to bring that gospel to the lord in prayer and from prayer she went forth to reveal the Lord to others, becoming a public figure, dictating hundreds of letters to popes and monarchs, persuading Pope Gregory XI to return to Rome. Her mysticism did not make her withdraw from serving neighbors, working with the poor and those in prison.

Do We Believe?

We are challenged today to examine our own belief in Jesus. Do we truly accept Jesus’ teachings, or do we merely profess belief without living it out? We must, first receive Jesus into our own lives. He must be the center of our whole life. We must receive him with faith, with poverty of Spirit, with simplicity, with courage - and above all - with love. When Jesus becomes the priority in our lives then we will be able to present him to the world in which we live, move and have our being. We are invited to embrace Jesus as the source of the divine light that will help us internalize his teachings and allow our lives like Catherine of Siena to reflect his love and truth. Of course, this calls for humility, attentiveness and willingness to follow His guidance much like a ship navigating a stormy night is guided by a distant light house. We are reminded that rejecting his word has eternal significance, God’s judgment.

• Today’s Readings
  
  
• Father Fulgens’s inspirational homily was recorded live during Mass at the Father Peyton Center today. You can watch the entire Mass on the Family Rosary Video streams channel on YouTube.
  
  
• Join the Rosary (11:30 am ET) and Mass (Noon ET) livestreams on the Family Rosary YouTube or Facebook page, Monday – Friday. Invite your friends and family to pray with you as well.