Homily for Thursday Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time Year , 4th November, 2021. The Memorial of St. Charles Borromeo

Readings: Romans: 14: 7-12; Ps.26; Luke 15:1-10

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

ARE YOU LOST IN SINFUL THINGS OF THIS PASSING WORLD? THE LORD IS SEARCHING AND WAITING FOR YOU TO COME BACK

It is natural and common for any human person to desire to seek and find any valuable thing he/she have lost. Some people even have sleepless nights over their lost items. Some can go to any length hoping to recover any of their valuable commodity that is lost. If we can do this just for perishable things of this passing world, don’t we think that God will do even much more to save every single soul he created in his own image and likeness. 

Little wonder in our Gospel passage today, Jesus  while addressing the Pharisee who accused him of welcoming sinners, tells us the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin which illustrate the unrelenting love of God for each of us, especially sinners. 

In these parables, we see two examples of people searching for what is precious to them. And when they found it their joy was so great. So, Jesus uses these examples to explain to us how God seeks us when we are lost in sin and his joy when our friendship with him is renewed. His searching for us cost him the sacrifice of his Son Jesus Christ. 

This can help us to realize how precious we are to him, that he never gives up on anyone except those who chose to be lost. All we need is for us to return to God who is patiently waiting for us. Thus, St. Paul in our first reading said: the life and death of each of us has its influence on others; if we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord, so that alive or dead we belong to the Lord. This explains why Christ both died and came to life.

Dear friends, are we lost in sin? Have we given up in our struggle with sin? Do you think that our sins are so great that God cannot forgive us? Do we feel lost now? Jesus is searching for us, he is waiting for us at the confessional. When was the last time we visited him at the confessional? Just know that he loves us and we are too precious to be lost in this sinful world. Therefore, we must work out our salvation in fear and trembling, just like St. Charles Borromeo whose memorial we celebrate today, for though he came from a wealthy family of Medici, he never let himself to distracted by the things of this passing world. Rather, he dedicated himself entirely to serving God in his people in a very sacrificial way.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we are lost in this passing world due to our sinfulness, through the intercessions of St Charles Borromeo seek out humanity once again from the wilderness of sins, so that we may return back to you, just like the lost sheep and the lost coin and so rejoice and praise you once again with the angels. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Peace be with you.