Homilies

Homily – 21st Sunday Ordinary Time (Fr. Smith)

| Fr. William Smith

The connection between popularism and white nationalism has become a staple of our daily news feed. It may seem new to us, but it has particularly deep roots in American history.  The post-Civil War economic boom and bust economy was a gilded age for some people, but a time of unrelenting poverty for many more. Reformers saw this at the time and attempted to unite the poor, downtrodden, and dispossessed. They made significant progress around 1890, but ultimately failed. The rich and powerful used their influence to create divisions between native-born Americans and immigrants and especially between blacks and whites. This delayed even basic reforms for over a generation and required a major depression to finally move. (1)  

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Events, Videos

Community Mass – 21st Sunday Ordinary Time

| St. Charles Borromeo

On Sunday, August 21, 2022, join us in person or online for the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Our current Sunday Mass times are:

The readings will be from Cycle C.

Entrance: Gather Us In – 848

Readings/Psalm – 1154

Offertory: Amazing Grace – 645

Communion: We Come to Your Feast – 938

Closing: Let There Be Peace on Earth – 829

Offertory: Seek Ye First – 658

Communion: Like a Shepherd – 402

Closing: All the Ends of the Earth – 604

The Gather 3rd Edition Hymnal/Missals are available for use in the church – pick one up as you enter and return it after Mass. Instructions on how to use the hymnal missal are available here: https://www.stcharlesbklyn.org/hymnal-missal/ .

Today’s readings are also available to read online at the USCCB website https://bible.usccb.org .

Scriptual Commentary

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time – Following Jesus Isn’t Easy, But Is Sure

| Fr. William Smith

The Narrow Gate to Heaven and the Wide Gate to Hell,
Cornelis de Bie, 17th century

Strive to enter through the narrow gate,
for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter
but will not be strong enough.
(Luke 13:24)

Fr. Smith’s Commentary on the Second Reading
Twenty-First Sunday of Ordinary Time
Hebrews 12:5–7, 11–13
August 21, 2022

We are continuing our examination of the 12th chapter of the Letter to the Hebrews. As we have seen throughout our reading of this letter, the author was responding to a specific situation. He wrote to the Church in Rome, most likely in the 80s. They were born “Hebrew” and knew the faith and expectations of their ancestors. One especially important expectation is that the Messiah would inaugurate the kingdom of God. This was very this earthy. All people of all times would rise and the good would be rewarded and the bad punished in the sight of all. They believed that Jesus is the Messiah and that he would return to establish this kingdom. They have been waiting for a generation and he has not returned. Also, they were no longer accepted in the synagogues and were subject to the Roman law which required sacrificing to the emperor. They were becoming discouraged and tempted to return to the synagogue.

The author writes to them as one Jew to another. He assumes that they know more than the basics of Judaism, yet he realizes that they are also part of the Roman world. He writes excellent Greek and as we saw last week, he is aware of and most likely participates in many Roman Customs and practices.

He will continue today to exhort the Roman Christians to preserve through a mixture of both Jewish and Roman/Greek images and examples.

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