HOMILIES

Dear Audience,
For better understanding of the spiritual message behind this homily I kindly remind you to first read and contemplate the biblical texts before reading or listening to my preaching - a human reflection on the Word of God!

Eighteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year A)

Aug 2, 2026

177

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First Reading

A reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah (55:1-3)

Thus says the Lord: All you who are thirsty, come to the water! You who have no money, come receive grain and eat. Come, without paying and without cost, drink wine and milk! Why spend your money for what is not bread; your wages for what fails to satisfy? Heed me, and you shall eat well, you shall delight in rich fare. Come to me heedfully, listen, that you may have life. I will renew with you the everlasting covenant, the benefits assured to David.

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalms of David (145:8-9, 15-16, 17-18)

(R) The hand of the Lord feeds us; He answers all our needs.

The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness. The Lord is good to all and compassionate toward all His words. (R)

The eyes of all look hopefully to you, and you give them their food in due season; you open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing. (R)

The Lord is just in all His ways and holy in all His works. The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth. (R)

Second Reading

A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans (8:35, 37-39)

Brothers and sisters: What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Gospel

A reading from the Gospel according to Matthew (14:13-21)

When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns. When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick. When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said, "This is a deserted place and it is already late; dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves." Jesus said to them, "There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves." But they said to him, "Five loaves and two fish are all we have here." Then he said, "Bring them here to me," and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the fragments left over - twelve wicker baskets full. Those who ate were about five thousand men, not counting women and children.

(P) The Gospel of the Lord.
(R) Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Homily

The Catholic Church recognizes over 10,000 saints, and more than 200 of them bear the name John, including prominent figures such as John the Baptist, (the prophet and cousin of Jesus who baptized him in the Jordan River), John the Apostle and the Evangelist, John of the Cross (the 16th century Spanish mystic and priest), and John Chrysostom (the 4th century Archbishop of Constantinople, which is modern day Istanbul in Turkey). The surname or title Chrysostom (meaning "Golden mouthed" in Greek) was given to John because of his extraordinary eloquence, powerful public speaking, and clear biblical preaching. He frequently spoke out against the elite, including the Eastern Roman Emperor Arcadius, his wife Empress Eudoxia, rival bishops, and court officials for their excessive luxury, greed, and abuse of power, drawing their fierce wrath that ultimately led to his permanent banishment from the city and death in exile.

According to legend, John recounted his defiance of imperial and worldly threats, particularly of the Empress Eudoxia, in a letter to a friend. When the Empress threatened him with exile if he did not renounce his faith, John replied that she could not banish him because the whole world is God's house. When she said that she would execute him, John answered, "No, you cannot, for my life is hidden with Christ in God." When she said that she would take away all his wealth, he said, "No, you cannot, for my treasure is in heaven and my heart is there." When she vowed to isolate him from his family and friends, he stated, "No, you cannot, for I have a Friend in heaven from whom you cannot separate me. I defy you, for there is nothing you can do to harm me." John Chrysostom strongly believed that nothing could separate a believer in Christ from the love of God, echoing the words of the Apostle Paul in his Letter to the Romans 8, a part of which we read in today's second reading, Romans (8:35, 37-39).

Paul starts his exhortation with the rhetorical question, "What will separate us from the love of Christ?" Here, the "us" refers to all those who belong to Jesus Christ through faith. This includes every true believer across all time - past, present, and future - who has been chosen, justified, glorified, and sustained eternally by Christ's ongoing intercession at the right hand of God, Romans (8:29-30). Our belief is that God is sovereign, powerful and loving, that is, God rules all creation with absolute authority, possesses supreme strength to do His will, and cares deeply for His people. This belief drives us to share comforting messages like "God loves you" or "You are never alone," or "God is always with you" and so on, with other believers, especially those who are hurting, lonely, or facing difficult times. So, the answer to the rhetorical question "What will separate us from the love of Christ" is a resounding "Nothing" or "No one".

However, just in case we are still not sure of the answer, Paul lists seven specific hardships in life that might make us feel separated from God: anguish, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, and the sword. Anguish refers to outward pressures, crushing circumstances, and general afflictions that weigh us down day by day. Distress refers to agonizing mental and emotional confinement, or a sense of having no way out. Persecution refers to being mistreated, humiliated, hunted, or hurt by others because of faith. Famine refers to severe hunger or lack of basic food. Nakedness refers to extreme poverty leading to a lack of proper clothing and shelter. Danger refers to sudden risks, threats, or scary situations. Sword refers to the ultimate threat of violence, injury, and death by a weapon or execution.

Paul came up with this list because he personally experienced and survived every single one of these trials throughout his ministry as recorded in the Book of Acts and his own letters. The famous list is in 2 Corinthians (11: 24-27) where he recounts that he received 39 lashes five times from Jewish authorities, was beaten with rods three times, was stoned once, suffered three shipwrecks and spent a night and a day adrift in the open sea, faced dangers from rivers, bandits, Jews, and Gentiles, endured many sleepless, weary nights from hard work and danger, and journeyed for days without food, water and enough clothing.

Paul's deep personal grasp of Christ's love allows him to boldly ask what can separate us and answer with absolute certainty that nothing or nobody can ever separate us from God's love. And in doing so, Paul wants us to know that pain, suffering, and hard times do not mean God has abandoned us or He is mad at us or He has gone away. As a matter of fact, Paul points out that as we go through the trials of life, God stays close to us, feels our pain, walks with us through the dark days, and ultimately enables us to gain an overwhelming victory over all troubles, suffering, and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul then uses pairs of extreme opposites and powerful forces - like death and life, angels and principalities, present things and future things, high places and deep places - to prove that absolutely nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God in Christ.

- Death is often feared as the ultimate end of relationships, but Paul asserts that death holds no power to break the spiritual connection between God and us. Instead of ending the relationship, death brings us into a deeper spiritual presence and fellowship with Christ who conquered death through His resurrection and secured eternal life for us.
- Life refers to the entire span of earthly existence including daily trials, challenges, struggles, pain, joys, pressures and trails. Paul states that nothing in life can keep us outside of God's love and care.
- Angels cannot break God's bond with us. The Bible describes angels as heavenly messengers who sometimes carryout God's powerful and destructive judgments on earth, like the destruction of the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah with sulphur and fire, Genesis (19), the striking down of the firstborn in Egypt to break Pharoah's resistance, Exodus (12) and so on. Angels are also called the hosts of heaven or the army of the Lord with immense power. Yet, Paul says that even those angels cannot separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.
- Principalities that is, unseen cosmic powers and invisible authorities, often understood as fallen angels, malicious demonic forces, or spiritual rulers that oppose divine will and influence worldly systems and human behaviour - cannot separate us from the love of God in Christ.
- Things present and things in the future cannot separate us from the love of Christ. In other words, neither today's troubles nor tomorrow's unknown future can break our bond with God.
- Neither height nor depth can separate us from God's love, because God's love is higher and deeper and wider and longer than anything else in the universe.

After naming all the physical, cosmic, and spiritual forces, Paul added the final phrase "nor any other creature" to assure us that no unnamed, forgotten, or any future human invention can break God's hold on us. What is notable in Paul's exhortation is that he was utterly convinced that God holds on to us with a love that never ends, that our link with God stays strong through all trials, and we win a big victory through the love of Jesus.

If Paul was convinced about this truth, then you and me should be convinced too. Paul gives us every reason to be confident, not in ourselves but in our salvation and in the sovereign God who is accomplishing it. Therefore, having come to believe in Jesus Christ and begun to follow Him since our baptism, we can continue our journey of faith with great assurance and deep peace because God is our safe refuge and strong anchor through every trial. We can also have confidence that God makes everything work out for our good, and that He uses every circumstance - both joyful and painful - to shape our lives and make us like Christ which is God's ultimate purpose in our lives, Romans (8: 28-29); Ephesians (4:15).

The apostle Paul was motivated by God's love, especially shown through Jesus Christ. It was the driving force behind all Paul wrote, did, taught, and the way he lived. He gave up his old ways to serve others selflessly, share the gospel with them passionately, and to love Christ deeply. We can also strive to live like Paul every day. Let us recall God's love frequently and actively. By recalling what God has done for us and for others, we can grow in our trust and feel new hope in God each day. This simple act will help us stay strong when life gets hard, bring peace to our hearts, motivate us to do everything in love, and grow to be more like our Lord Jesus every day.

(P) Amen.

God Bless You!

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