Lifeissues is mainly concerned with publishing thoughtful articles directly related to issues raised in Evangelium Vitae. However, from the very beginning, we have also published a few related homilies, notably by Fr. Al Cariño, O.M.I., Fr. Tony Pueyo, and others.
Please use the pulldowns below to select a homily by Liturgical Calendar date.
A missionary who just arrived from her assignment outside the country was telling me about differences in culture. The missionary was bringing with her certain cultural expectations from her own culture. In the culture where she was transplanted, she felt disappointed at first that people did not say "Thank you". Later on she realized that they had another way of expressing their gratefulness. In one instance when she gave something that she knew was badly needed by her neighbor, the man just turned around after getting it and did not say a word. The next morning however, the same man was working in her garden. It was his way of saying thank you.
Grace is freely given even when gratitude is not obviously shown. Gratitude is a response to grace and may not be immediate or ostentatious. More often than not, we may not be aware of gratitude shown for grace that is freely given.
We only really come to understand the Lord as a result of choosing to live that faith, to follow him first, to obey him in the dark, so to speak. There is no such thing as coming to understand first, and then acting on it after, after we are assured and have full understanding. Those who insist on that order always fall away, because they are left without understanding, without light.