HAND-ME-DOWN  FAITH! 

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “Hand-Me-Down Faith.”

For starters – there’s a great short prayer: “Hand me down faith, O Lord. Hand me down faith, O Lord ”

LOTS OF HAND-ME-DOWNS

When it comes to clothes – I’ve heard complaints about hand-me-downs from the younger kids in a family.

However, much of life consists of hand-me-downs.

We speak the same language as our parents…. We all have family proverbs that are part of our family language. We all have knickknacks from way back from earlier generations.

Check out the old furniture. Nobody is complaining about having a small family table from the 1800’s. Grandmother’s Singer Sewing Machine is in a prominent place in some homes. So to piano’s.  I’ve done baptisms and the baby’s white garment is from the 1800’s.

If we take a good look at faith – we’ll have to admit – our faith is not only a gift from God – but it’s also a gift from others.

Faith is a hand-me-down gift.

LOIS AND EUNICE

I hear that message from Paul in today’s first reading from this letter of Paul to Timothy.

Listen again to his words,

I yearn to see you again, recalling your tears,
so that I may be filled with joy,
as I recall your sincere faith
that first lived in your grandmother Lois
and in your mother Eunice
and that I am confident lives also in you.

I think that’s a wonderful message sandwiched in there in this short – [It’s only 4^th Chapters long] -  2^nd Letter of St. Paul to Timothy.

If we stop and think about it, who are our Lois’ or our Eunice’s?

Name the people who gave us the gift of faith?

If we dropped out of faith, Church, at some time in our life, was there one person who gave us the example to come back.

Paul names names. Name names.

Would anyone name us?  Would anyone put us on their list?

Names are good. Details in our faith story are good. 

Last year, I had someone call me up after a funeral . Having  heard the eulogy about the person who died, the caller said, “I didn’t know so and so went to church and did all those wonderful things in his life. I want some of that. Can I see you?  I’ve been away from the church since the 1960’s.  I talked to this man and I have seen him in church ever since. Those kind of details make my day.

TODAY’S GOSPEL

Today’s gospel talks about people with demons. Today’s gospel tells us that sometimes we can be divided.

Surely people pick up demons and addictions and lack or loss of faith from others. Hand-me-down bad habits or language.

In this homily I’m stressing – picking up faith – as well as that wonderful list of good stuff in today’s first reading: grace, mercy, peace, gratitude, prayer, self-control, and love.

CONCLUSION

At this Mass thank God for the people who gave us good example and faith – and pray that our faith – which has been handed down to us – often by parents, grandparents, great grandparents – don’t stop with us. Amen.