New Heart and New Spirit - Weekday Homily Video

The book of the Prophet Ezekiel was written during a time of extreme moral, spiritual, and political decay in the land of Israel. The most famous image in the book of the Prophet Ezekiel is the image of “the valley of dry bones.” The prophet saw a valley full of dead people, and the dead were not the kind whose skeletons were still intact; it was all human bones thrown everywhere! It is one of the most dramatic paintings of extreme hopelessness, yet the Lord in the book of Ezekiel promises to give life to all the dead who the Prophet Ezekiel saw in the vision.

In Chapter 36 of Ezekiel, despite all the moral, spiritual, and political corruption Israel had experienced, the Lord makes promises to Israel for a renewal, a revival, and a new beginning for Israel. A people that had been exiled from their homeland, the Lord says, “I will take you away from among the nations, gather you from all the foreign lands.” A people that had morally and spiritually decayed, the Lord tells them that “I will sprinkle clean water upon you to cleanse you from all your impurities.” A people that had become cold-hearted to one another and disobedient to Him, the Lord says, “I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you, taking from your bodies your stony hearts and giving you natural hearts.” He promises a “spiritual heart-transplant” for the Israelites!

Hope in the Lord

These beautiful promises of God were not only addressed to the people of the Prophet Ezekiel’s time. These promises are addressed to us as well in our times, in our countries, in our families, in our workplaces, and in our individual lives. Sometimes we look at our circumstances and what is going on where we are and wonder whether there is hope left. Around us we see so much brokenness and decay, we feel trapped in it, we feel complicit in it, and even more disturbing, feel powerless amidst it all. The Lord promises to do something about such supposedly hopeless circumstances.

The Lord promises to take us from the land of sinfulness to a land of holiness. He promises to cleanse us from the different idols we worship, such as power, wealth, and pleasure, to the worship of the true God. He promises to transform us through the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist so that He can truly become our God and we can truly become His people.

New Beginnings

The Lord’s promises of new beginnings, fresh starts, revivals, and new life are not only limited to spiritual matters, but they also extend to other dimensions of our lives where we think we hit rock bottom and there is no more hope. I have shared in the past the story of my own brother who for years struggled with alcohol addiction. He abandoned his family and I watched sadly how my sister-in-law struggled to raise the kids and take care of their family. At a point when we had given up on him, God gave him a new heart and breathed new life into him. He abandoned the bottle under the most miraculous circumstances. He has been “dry” for years and he is now one of the most committed husband, father, and grandfather I have ever encountered.

We too have been witnesses to marriages, family relationships, workplace relationships that we thought were long shut down and dead, but then God breathed a new spirit into them, sprinkled them with clean water and cleansed them of their impurities, and we saw an unbelievable new reality emerge right before our eyes!

Today we can ask ourselves—which area of my life needs a “new heart and a new spirit"? Which area of my family, my community, my workplace, my Church, my country can do with some “cleansing from its impurities”?

May we pray through the intercession of the Queen of Heaven for God to give us new beginnings in the different dimensions of our lives. May the many promises God made through the Prophet Ezekiel be experienced in our lives and in our families.

• Today’s Readings

• Father Fred's inspirational homily was recorded live during Mass at the Father Peyton Center this morning. You can view the Mass (and Rosary) on the Family Rosary YouTube page. 

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