Over the last few weeks the Lukan Gospels as well as our Old and New Testament readings have been speaking to us on the subject of faith and prayer: from its small dose, like that of a mustard seed, which can do great things, to the gratitude of the one leper—a Samaritan—who praises God for His goodness and healing, we heard of the need for our persistence in prayer which develops our relationship with God and aligns our will to His, and finally this weekend when we hear about our inner disposition to prayer and how that disposes us to Godly ways in our living out our life.

This weekend the Prophet Sirach in the first reading tells us that to know God and His ways disposes us to God’s Will and from His vantage point or perspective we see our faith and our world, thus we act in accordance with the Lord in our daily lives.

This past Tuesday night one of our parishioners, George Trumbull, a member of the Board of Directors of The Malta Foundation which supports the Malta Mobile House of Care—which in turn is supported by our parish’s Advent Giving Tree program—and provides free health care and ongoing medical treatment to the poor, working families and those who are unable to afford the not always Affordable Health Care Act, invited me to the 10th Year Anniversary of the founding of the Malta Mobile House of Care in the Archdiocese of Hartford. This one example of the Corporal Works of Mercy of the Catholic Church helps to illustrate our readings this weekend and specifically Sirach’s call to be disposed toward Godly ways.

At Malta, doctors, nurses, dieticians and other health care providers offer annually more than 1.5
million hours of volunteer work in the greater Hartford area to those in need of medical care. More than 40,000 patients have been treated, and untold numbers of lives have been saved—who otherwise would have fallen through the cracks. And more than $12-15 million have been donated and allocated to this project. This is a corporal work of mercy—as are your donations and participation. This is the work of Christ.

As we heard last weekend, persistent prayer helps all develop our relationship and friendship with God. As with friends, we only get to know them by talking with them. We only get to know God and His ways by conversing with Him in prayer, which includes listening to God as He speaks to us in-and-through the movement of our hearts. This weekend we hear of the need for our inner
disposition to be open to God and His ways. We become disposed to Him by doing “His things” in our world. The mercy, the love and the kindnesses of the Malta Mobile House of Care are just that—Godly acts. When Jesus walked the earth He cured the sick, comforted those in need, and nourished the weak. Isn’t that what healthcare does? To paraphrase an old saying: If you feel bad about your life, your situations—go help someone in real need.

Christ is present to people through Malta Healthcare and thanks to Malta—and all of you here at
St. Catherine of Siena. Numerous lives have been literally saved—and we heard from those living patients last night—from cancer, heart failure and other life-threatening diseases. When we as a Church—the Mystical Body of Christ—see something that needs to be done—providing healthcare—and then do it, or “make it happen,” we are Christ to someone in need. Let me again
paraphrase one of the speakers at last night’s celebration who said, “Dream and Do It.”

We have much work to do in our world. We cannot let the modern world’s culture or selfishness or
anything else stand in the way of our inner dispositions being aligned with God’s.

In recent days we have heard of political statements against the Catholic Church. These statements
are prejudicial, they are false, and they are seriously ignorant. We are not a “bastardization of the Christian faith”. We are the apostolic faith of Christ from which others have denominated. Our Church was instituted by Christ Himself and given over to Peter and Christ’s apostles for all generations. If the words recently said about the Catholic Church were said about the Jewish
community or the Islamic community—or any other—we would have seen a firestorm of criticism against those who spewed these hateful words. But the Catholic Church—which feeds more people, heals more people, educates more people and cares for the lost and wandering more than any
other faith or private organization on earth—is OK to insult and ridicule. How do we refute these mean-spirited lies? Listen to Sirach and to Paul and to Luke. Dispose our hearts to God by reaching out to those in need. I am reminded of something my mom once said to me in a similar prejudicial situation, “they crucified our Savior, don’t think they won’t come after us.” Remember what Christ said about our His Church: “And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will
build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.” Matthew 16:18 Amen!