Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Feb. 6, 2011
Homily reflection by Kevin J. Banet
Kevin’s take: Yes, Fr. Brankin is big on sacramentals, and today’s homily doesn’t miss a beat in encouraging them. He even had priests after Mass bless throats with those large white candles, even though it was four days after the feast of St. Blaise. The blessing of throats calls on God to protect us from “every disease of the throat, and from every other disease.” We can all use that! Nearly everyone in the congregation came forward, and it took longer than that for Holy Communion.
Years ago, when I was still searching for my Christian faith, I attended a fundamentalist Baptist church on Chicago’s South Side that was full of prayer, singing and preaching. The only songs they sang took their very words straight from the King James Bible. Just to make it easy, the words of the songs were pasted in large cutout letters on the church walls. Of course, they did not believe in statues, holy water or other sacramentals.
If they could only realize that, as Fr. Brankin explained in his sermon, that sacramentals are good because the Second Person of the Holy Trinity became man, and chose human nature to become present to us. Why shouldn’t we use the physical aids such as holy water, statues, and images in our homes? We don’t worship them, only the God whom they represent.
Today’s sermon is as excellent presentation as I have ever heard on what is a sacramental.