Thursday, February 16, 2017

Homily for 16 Feb 2017

16 Feb 2017
(School Mass)

We hear today the famous story about Noah and the rainbow in the sky.  When it rains, and God showers down his blessings on us, there’s the rainbow in the sky.  And the rainbow is a reminder of the promise God made; the promise to love all of creation and all people everywhere.  That promise is what we call a covenant.  And a covenant is something that binds two people together; it’s like spiritual glue. 

Now, when a husband and wife get married, they put a ring on each other’s fingers.  Well, those rings are a sign of the spiritual covenant they have with each other.  The rings tell them (and everybody else) that, “I made a promise to love my spouse for the rest of my life.”  So, rings are the sign of a promise; especially, the promise to love.

And God gives us other signs too, besides the rainbow, as reminders of the covenant between him and us.  Holy water is a sign.  It’s a reminder of our baptism, when God became an eternal friend to each one of us.  And we dip our fingers into the holy water and make the Sign of the Cross.  Well, the Cross is another sign of the promise between God and us—that God would love us, and we would love God.

And the biggest sign we have of God’s covenant with us is the Eucharist—the Body and Blood of Jesus.  It’s the ultimate sign of God’s promise that he will love us always.  It’s even more beautiful than the rainbow in the sky.  And, you know, one of the most beautiful things we can do is to receive the Eucharist, and to say in our hearts, “I promise to love you too, God.”        

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