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THE CURSE OF CONTEMPT By Rev Fr Victor Ibiyemi

JULY 8- THE FOURTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME- EZEKIEL 2:2-5, PSALM 123:1-4, 2 CORINTHIANS 12:7-10, LUKE 4:18, MARK 6:1-6
Last Sunday we reflected and saw the connection and power of FAITH in the lives of Jarius’ Daughter and the Woman with haemorrhage. In our readings today, we see the opposite of faith as expressed in the manifestation of an impertinent contempt.
 Truly, familiarity had bred an unforgivable contempt. In the first reading, Ezekiel was sent to the obstinate and rebellious Israelites- a people whom God had labelled as his own and they too had customised God as their heritage. He has fought their battles, gave them the land of others, blessed them with profuse goodness and did numerous things that cannot be counted. But what did they give in return to such a loving God? Uninterrupted transgressions, deafened disobedience, imprudent rebellion. But very soon! They will know that there has been a prophet among them. 
The case is not different in the Gospel, Jesus came back to his hometown and instead of his people to benefit greatly from his mighty deeds, they discarded him, they were offended and even question the source of his power. The rejected him pettily because he was a working-man and because they knew his family. Of course, the result of that insulting contempt was a closed and arid atmosphere for the manifestation of God’s power. We are not different from these Israelites in the first and gospel readings. Maybe Catholics are the most contemptuous Christians who never value anything in the Church until they lose it. We have everything, but then, we throw everything away because of our infectious-familiarity. What is our attitude to the Sacraments? What is our attitude to the Holy Mass? What is our attitude to our Priests? What is our attitude to “Catholic Prayers”? What is our attitude to the Sacramental? Just to mention a few.
 The Holy Mass, the Sacraments, Our Catholic Prayers, the Priests, the Sacramentals are the greatest channels and portals of God’s blessings, healings, favours, miracles and answers to our problems. Like Saint Paul in the second reading, let us today be contented with the hosts of blessings we have in the Church, let us use them adequately and be blessed accordingly. Let us open ourselves up to the graces of God abundantly present in sacraments, sacramentals, priests and most importantly, the Holy Mass. May God open our eyes to see the riches of his graces in the different mysteries of the Church through Christ our Lord.

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