Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time_A - Good Ground for Hope_072323

Deacon Tom Writes,

“Good Ground for Hope”

 

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

 In today’s First Reading the author of the Book of Wisdom in speaking of God says, “You gave your children good ground for hope that you would permit repentance for their sins.” Suppose you were asked to make a list of those things in your life that make you hopeful, what would you write down? You may have a litany of things that give you hope. You may answer that a loving and understanding family is the cause for your hope. You may say the bright promise that the future holds in store for you and those you love fuels your hopeful attitude. Or, you may draw your hope from seeing the bright optimism on the faces of the young people in your life. There are many sources of hope in our lives but unfortunately, we don’t often think about them. I wonder if we did take the time to list them, would any of us have the least inkling that being reconciled to God is the source of our hopefulness or that our hope lies in God’s willingness to forgive (and forget!!!) our sins?

Reflecting on this thought, we are able to see that there are two amazing powerful spiritual dynamics at work here. Not only does God in his goodness give us the grace to allow us to seek his forgiveness, but he is also eager to grant us forgiveness. Our Lord is indeed “…good and forgiving.”

Our sinfulness stunts our growth, just as the weeds take away from the wheat growing in the field and reduces the bounty of the harvest. God does not want our lives to be diminished by sin. God does not want us to be stifled by the burden of our sins or be overcome by our sinfulness. He has called us to an “abundant life,” and God wants us to “live life to the fullest.” And, he has given us a way to do this.

The Sacrament of Reconciliation is the good ground for our hope. It is for our own good, our mental, physical and spiritual well-being. Reconciliation is the way we respond to God’s good graces that sustain and nourish us on our earthly journey and which leads us to the source of all of our hope, God himself. Let us spend some time this week taking an inventory of ways we need to be reconciled to God and perhaps each other and then seek the grace of the Sacrament itself. With our hope revitalized in this Sacrament of Reconciliation we will be better able to share not only that expanding hope but also the increased joy we experience in live with everyone around us.


Enjoy the day!
Deacon Tom

Please Visit www.deaconspod.com and listen in as the three deacs engage in a contemporary conversation exploring the treasures our Catholic faith has to offer to those thinking of coming into or leaving it.

 

OTHER RESOURCE

 

Recommended Reading: New Proofs for the Existence of God: Contributions of Contemporary Physics and Philosophy Paperback. With the incredible popularity of recent books championing agnosticism or atheism, many people might never know that such books almost completely ignore the considerable evidence for theism uncovered in both physics and philosophy over the past four decades. New Proofs for the Existence of God responds to these glaring omissions.

 

 

Recommended YouTube Video: How Science Supports Belief in the Spiritual World w/Fr. Robert Spitzer | Chris Stefanick Show. Fr. Spitzer is back, and he has even MORE ways that science supports belief in God. This time, he’s talking about scientific evidence for the supernatural world.