Father Joseph Illo, pastor of Star of the Sea parish in San Francisco, gave a 12-minute homily on Sunday Mary 3.
It was Peter, who denied Our Lord three times, whom He chose to lead His church. In three chapters in the Book of Acts, Peter accuses his people of killing Jesus. He feels the pain himself. “The Author of life you killed. Him you nailed to a tree.” And by us, he includes himself. In his own words, he says come to Him, it’s not too late.The women of Jerusalem were the ones who did not desert Him. This feminist translation misses this point.
The main point of my sermon is the many mansions of God. God is in my dearest friends, my mother, my father. God is in my home. It’s hard to live with other people. It’s hard to see God in the closest people to us, because they annoy us.But we must find God not only in the stars but in the home.
You 13 children in the front row will receive your First Holy Communion. A piece of bread half an inch in diameter. But God who created 20 million galaxies is in that tiny piece of bread.
We first find God pressed on our mother’s heart, dandled on our father’s knees. That’s where we first find God’s love.
For those of you who are married, I beg of you to try to find God in your spouse. Not easy sometimes. That is why the Church is so clear about the rules governing the sexes. We need marriage, and marriage needs purity.
Growing up knowing that there is a God, we need a family.
To fiind God in others, I think we must try to do so, by first trying to be close to God in prayer, and by daily practice of our Catholic Faith. We cannot see God. And when we give to God– by giving to God’s children– we do these loving little actions based on Faith– because our poor eyes cannot see Him. We give not to seek anything in return, for ourselves. We give becaise of Faith in our Good and Loving God, only to help bring His Love and Goodness to someone. But before we do anything– we should ask God in prayer, for His guidance and direction. What does He want us to do and say? How do we motivate a stubborn husband with a heart problem, to keep his doctor’s appointment, when he hates to go? How do we discipline a boy who hits his little sister, and calls her names? Typical family issues. We have to pray, and keep close to God!