Fr Ed Homily 8-21-20

I Recommend . . .

Ezekiel is commanded to prophesy to the dry bones. He has been given the word of God. Now he is to speak that word to bones? I picture Ezekiel holding a book or a scroll proclaiming to bones the word of God. You see, the people of Ezekiel’s day were not listening to Ezekiel, nor were they listening to God. So, God tells Ezekiel to preach the dry bones because they will listen.

Do you find yourself preaching to dry bones? Sometimes people say I might as well be talking to the wall. As parents get older, they become more focused on the spiritual life of their children and grandchildren. They want their children to remain in the church, raise the grandchildren, teaching them the faith, accepting God into their lives. But our children have minds of their own. They do not always listen to the parents. We end up with nephews and nieces and grandchildren who have fallen away from the faith.

Many times, parents ask me if I would recommend a book or program that they give their children that would bring them back to the faith. There are thousands of books and programs just for that purpose. And they are all relatively quite good. Unfortunately, they only work in a few cases. Why? It comes back to the person giving the fallen away Catholic the book. If the fallen away Catholic does not see in your life what is proclaimed in the book, then that book will be put on the shelf or thrown away. If your life does not reflect the values and teachings in the book, why would they want to read the book? Recognize now, you are the book. Ask yourself: “What are the virtues and morals I demonstrate to my family?” Does your life reflect what you say you believe? Or are you preaching to the wall and no one is listening because your words do not reflect who you are? Think about it.

May the Lord bless you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen