Fr Kevin Kilgore

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Gospel: Luke 7:36-50

A certain Pharisee invited Jesus to dine with him,
and he entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table.
Now there was a sinful woman in the city
who learned that he was at table in the house of the Pharisee.
Bringing an alabaster flask of ointment,
she stood behind him at his feet weeping
and began to bathe his feet with her tears.
Then she wiped them with her hair,
kissed them, and anointed them with the ointment.
When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this he said to himself,
“If this man were a prophet,
he would know who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him,
that she is a sinner.”
Jesus said to him in reply,
“Simon, I have something to say to you.”
“Tell me, teacher,” he said.
“Two people were in debt to a certain creditor;
one owed five hundred days’ wages and the other owed fifty.
Since they were unable to repay the debt, he forgave it for both.
Which of them will love him more?”
Simon said in reply,
“The one, I suppose, whose larger debt was forgiven.”
He said to him, “You have judged rightly.”
Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon,
“Do you see this woman?
When I entered your house, you did not give me water for my feet,
but she has bathed them with her tears
and wiped them with her hair.
You did not give me a kiss,
but she has not ceased kissing my feet since the time I entered.
You did not anoint my head with oil,
but she anointed my feet with ointment.
So I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven;
hence, she has shown great love.
But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.”
He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
The others at table said to themselves,
“Who is this who even forgives sins?”
But he said to the woman,
“Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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One of my favorite Christian songs is I Can Only Imagine by MercyMe. The singer wonders what it will be like for him when he enters into the loving presence of God.

“I can only imagine what I will do,” he sings. “Will I stand in your presence? Or to my knees will I fall? Will I sing halleluiah? Will I be able to speak at all? I can only imagine.”

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In today’s Gospel, a sinful woman has her chance – not to imagine – but to be in God’s presence.

Her generous, humble, tear-filled response is one of the most beautiful encounters Jesus has with another human being.

And we don’t even know her name.

Perhaps because she could be any one of us.

Knowing that Jesus would be dining in a certain Pharisees’ home, she went out and likely spent all she had on an alabaster flask of ointment. 

It was her intention to wash the Lord’s feet in the costly perfume, but before she could kneel, tears began flowing uncontrollably from her eyes – so much so that she bathed Jesus’ toes and ankles in them.

Then she used her hair as a towel to dry up the beautiful mess her eyes and heart have made.

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In Jesus’ day, it was considered immodest for a woman to wear her hair down in public. But the fact that this woman uses hers so readily as a towel implies that her hair was already down, flowing past her shoulders.

A sign she either did not care about social customs, or was so enraptured by being in Jesus’ presence that she saw no one else – as if the two of them were alone.

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What will we do when we enter into the presence of God? Will we stand in his presence? Or, like this woman, to our knees will we fall? Will we sing hallelujah? Will we be able to speak at all?

I can only imagine.

But I’m sure there will be tears.

Like her, tears for having been loved and forgiven.

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Image credits: (1) David Jeremiah Blog, WordPress (2) The Alabaster Jar, Ordinary People, Extraordinary God (3) Instagram

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1 Corinthians 12:31 – 13:13

Brothers and sisters:
Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts.

But I shall show you a still more excellent way.

If I speak in human and angelic tongues
but do not have love,
I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal.
And if I have the gift of prophecy
and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge;
if I have all faith so as to move mountains,
but do not have love, I am nothing.
If I give away everything I own,
and if I hand my body over so that I may boast
but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind.
It is not jealous, love is not pompous,
it is not inflated, it is not rude,
it does not seek its own interests,
it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury,
it does not rejoice over wrongdoing
but rejoices with the truth.
It bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails.
If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing;
if tongues, they will cease;
if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing.
For we know partially and we prophesy partially,
but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.
When I was a child, I used to talk as a child,
think as a child, reason as a child;
when I became a man, I put aside childish things.
At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror,
but then face to face.
At present I know partially;
then I shall know fully, as I am fully known.
So faith, hope, love remain, these three;
but the greatest of these is love.

The Word of the Lord.

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Perhaps there’s no greater standard to measure our lives against than Paul’s description of love. “Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, it is not inflated, it is not rude… it rejoices with the truth.”

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How might you define love in your own words? 

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To me, love is the energy inside that urges us to see beyond ourselves, living in a world of “we,” not “me.” It’s a law written into all of creation.

For example, the sun does not shine on itself; it gives its light away, warming and brightening the earth.

Rivers do not drink their own water.

Trees do not eat their own fruit.

Flowers release their fragrance.

Everything and everyone – not just humanity – has been created to give itself away for the sake of others. It just seems harder at times for human beings to do so because we bear the burden of freedom. 

Unlike Mother Nature, we must choose to see beyond ourselves.

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How do we give ourselves away?

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It’s often little things like a parent tucking a note inside their child’s lunchbox; asking your spouse about their day; listening to a friend burdened by life; taking a neighbor to a doctor’s visit; forgiving someone their trespasses. 

Love is anything that helps us to see beyond ourselves, in a world of “we,” not “me.”

This love, Paul says, endures because it is of God. 

May we all find some small way to freely give ourselves away today.

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Image credits: (1) 1 Corinthians 13, YouTube (2) Saint Paul Writing Letters, Valentin Boulougne (3) StockCake

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Gospel: John 19: 25-27

Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother
and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas,
and Mary Magdalene.
When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved
he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.”
Then he said to the disciple,
“Behold, your mother.”
And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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The crucifixion of Jesus Christ was the most dreadful moment in world history. As the Gospels recount, “darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon.”

Even the sun had to hide.  

Humanly speaking, Jesus was a victim robbed of his friends, his dignity, and his life. 

While Mary was robbed of her son.

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But Jesus and Mary were not only victims on Good Friday; they were also victors.

Jesus was a victor because he never reneged on his identity; even in the face of unimaginable torture, he would not back down from his claim, “I AM.” 

He was also victorious because he died with love in his heart. 

Not even spittle, thirty-nine lashings, thorns, or mocking cries from a Godless crowd could beat the love out of him. Rather, Jesus spent some of his final, precious breaths interceding for his guileless murderers.

“Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.”

Then drawing another fill of air, he turned to John, the only Apostle who did not abandon him, and said, “Behold your mother.”

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That is, behold the other victor of Calvary.

Mary did not give up in the face of torture, either. As seven swords of sorrow pierced her immaculate heart, she stood by the cross, clinging – not to understanding – but to faith. 

“How can this be?” She must’ve wondered. The same question she asked the Archangel Gabriel more than 30 years prior.  How could God allow this? 

Still, she stood her ground.

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The Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows reminds us that, even in the face of the most unimaginable loss, there is always victory to be found.

We are victorious when we do not allow life – or the circumstances we may find ourselves in – to rob us of our faith in God, the love he has poured into our hearts, or the dignity he bestows upon us as his beloved children.

May Jesus and Mary intercede for us, that we, too, would compete well, run this race of life to the finish, and keep the faith.

Then the victory is ours.

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Image credits: (1) Pieta, William Adolphe Bouguereau (2) Cristo Crucificado, Goya (3) The Resurrection, Piero della Francesca