I had to share..

Vespers – Part of the Homily NOT preached Today (Aug 17) at the Vigil Mass: “Jesus has indeed set the earth on fire with His truth, and there will be no peace in this world until all falsehood finally bows to the truth”.

Someone says, “During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act”. We are living in such times. The world today stands in a great danger of being crushed by the secular aggression that is pouring out from all sides. A prophet is always a revolutionary. A prophet’s primary duty is to speak forth God’s message to God’s people; to tell people the truth they would not like to hear. A prophet to admonishes, reproves, denounces sin, calls to repentance, and brings consolation and pardon. Human society in every age bears testimony to the fact that to offer the light of truth to any morally depraved society is to invite serious repercussions. Prophet Jeremiah called the people of Judah to repentance. So the people hated him because of this, and plotted to kill him. Through baptism, we share in Christ’s own prophetic office. We too are invited to speak the word of God to our increasingly morally depraved world. As prophets, we are also called to speak in prayer to God the way Jesus does, and the main prayer of Jesus to His Father is the offering of His flesh and blood. We too are called to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, in spiritual worship. We are called to be completely crucified to the world, live to God alone, enjoying an intimate familiarity with the Lord. This is total commitment. As St Paul rightly counsels in the second reading, we must persevere in living out our faith, while always keeping Jesus before our eyes, and having in mind the joys of eternal life that await us in heaven.

One Egyptian Christian said two days ago, following the burning of several Churches in his country: “You can burn our Churches but you cannot burn our faith”. This is the spirit of martyrdom to which we are called as prophets in Christ. Jesus has indeed set the earth on fire with His truth, and there will be no peace in this world until all falsehood finally bows to the truth.
Fr-Nwora Okeke
Johns Creek, Georgia