23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Sept. 4, 2011
Fr. Elvio Baldeon
Gospel: Matt. 18:15-20
Homily summary: Freedom is something that everyone talks about. There are three kinds of freedom. First of all there is freedom from physical restraint. Secondly, there is freedom from psychological oppression, such as when someone threatens to burn down your home. Society protects you from the first two.
Are you attracted to a life of prayer and contemplation? The words Contemplare et contemplata aliis tradere – “to contemplate and to share with other the fruits of the contemplation” – is the motto of the Dominican Order – friars, nuns, and active sisters. Learn more about the Dominican Sisters of the Immaculate Conception and find out whether you might have a calling as a Dominican Sister by taking our 7 Quick Questions survey.
The third type of freedom is moral freedom. This has to do with the type of person that God wants us to be, to become what He created us to be. Christ’s life, death and Resurrection helps us to become this third type. The Gospel warns us against seductive tendencies. We make moral choices each day. Thus, we move either closer to God or farther away from Him.
There are two types of judgments: first of all there is a particular judgment, which comes immediately after death. Depending on our thoughts, words and actions during our life, we will be shown whether we need to be purified. The second type of judgment is at the end of history. This is the last, or final judgment. We see not only the morality of our deeds — we see everyone else’s. We see the effects of our good and evil actions. Our actions affects not only us, but others. They have a ripple effect. Each person will see the good or evil that he has done or failed to do. This judgment will be full of surprises, about how we have used moral freedom for actions good or bad.
Two kinds of choices
There are two kinds of choices. The first one is right vs. wrong. Ninety percent of the time we know which it is, if we have formed our consciences. If we lie, cheat, steal, waste time, lose our patience, and so on. The hard part is not seeing what’s right — not choosing what’s right. We must avoid temptation, whether it’s using the computer late at night, or hanging out with the wrong person. Pray, “Lord, Jesus, help me to do what is right.” Thus, we need the Sacrament of Reconciliation, for a spiritual shakeup.
The second kind of choice is right vs. right. We may be looking for a friend to sit next to. Why not sit with a new person who needs a friend? Both are good. If we ask, “What would Jesus do?” that comes in handy.
One choice is right vs. wrong. The other is right vs. right. Each day if we want to enjoy life, and be assured of our place with the elect, we must take care of how we choose.