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	1st Reading
	Psalm
	2nd Reading
	Gospel
	Written Transcript of Homily
	Footnotes

Perhaps you’ve noticed in the news in the past couple of weeks there is a ...an atheist group in London.

Whenever we talked about Richard... I think it was Richard Dawkins, who is a professor who’s an atheist who’s really kind of an evangelist for atheism.

He and his group have put signs on the buses... saying that there’s probably no God, relax and enjoy your life.

Okay...

You wonder if they might be in for a bit of a shock at some point..

But it reminds one of the scripture text that “the fool says in his heart that there is no God.”

God exists.

It’s incontrovertible

God exists by definition.

The question isn’t whether or not exists.

God is greater, which nothing exists.

God is the greatest reality.

And if you believe that the universe is somehow self creating, well the, the universe is God.

If you believe that all things were made out of nothing, by a spiritual reality greater than the universe, well then, that spirit is God.

So the question isn’t whether if God exists

The question is what is the nature of God.

There are five proofs in St. Thomas Aquinas and there are other proofs in other philosophers in the existence of God.

And they’re reasonable.

But somehow, they are ultimately unsatisfying.

The great proof of the existence of God is , I think found in today’s reading.

“You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart.”

What Jesus preached as that God is a personal being.

Of who He was the very heart.

And that God spoke in the world and desired your love and desired to be loved by you

However

You have to be aware that when a Jew in the time of Christ heard a scripture passage, having memorized most of the torem, the ( ? ?? ) the first five books of the Bible, having memorized those...

He heard what went before it and went after it.

For instance, if I were discussing with you, the need for forgiveness, I may say , well don’t you say Our Father?

I’ll have to conclude the prayer you know

Because on to say forgive as we forgive.

And so it was when Jews heard the scripture, so really, the first part of the Great Commandment isn’t “love the Lord your God” it’s here “Here, O Israel”

Here O Israel, the Lord your God is one.

That’s the great statement of faith in Judaism

Well...as Catholics, we believe, that the purpose of life is to know, love, and serve God in this world.

And to be happy with Him forever in the next.

In other words, happiness in this life is optional.

To know, love and serve God is not.

That’s the great promise of Christianity.

That you, and I, almost infinitelimously  small in the context in the universe can know God.

You cannot serve God, really, unless you love him.

And you cannot love God, until you know Him.

You can know God.

Here, O Israel, God wants to speak to you.

To me.

And that should amaze all of us.

That the creator of all things, not only notices you, but wants to speak to you.

You might say, well.. I’ve never heard God.

Well...

That maybe true.

But it isn’t for want Him speaking... God speaks.

The ultimate speak for the kind of God taht Jesus preached is the that we can hear Him

We can hear Him.

But most of us won’t.

You know...

I’ve been hearing rumblings in the consegrassions.

Not so much this Mass, but the other Masses.

Why are we always doing that chant all of a sudden?

It’s kind of boring.

Do you realize, when you come to a Catholic Mass, if it’s done right... you hear at least eight pieces of scripture.

And what is the scripture?

Has it ever occurred to you that has written a lot of letters and a lot of books for you to read.

God has never spoken to me..

Nooo.. You’ve never listened. 

You know you may have noticed that I kinda like quiet in Church, before mass and after mass.

I kinda try to close the doors and some of you may have been shushed by me.

Isn’t it interesting on how embarrassing it is to have to shush someone?

Or to be shushed..

Ever been in a a movie theater and someone turns around and goes “SHHH”

Well, why?

WE come together, we see people we haven’t seen in a while.

You can say hello to them

We have coffee in Robert’s hall and we have a lovely ( ? ?? ), 

But you see.... before Mass.... and after Mass....

There are some people.... who are trying to hear God.

Why don’t we hear God?

Because we live in a world that has become insufferably noisy.

Have you noticed that?

The tragedy of 9/11 a few years back, wasn’t it was strange those days?

To go out and not hear airplanes.

I never notice them

And we live in a flight path

I never noticed the airplanes, but I noticed the quiet when they weren’t flying.

We live in a world that’s become so noisy.

C.S. Luis in the Screwtape letters, which I quote far too often, talks about NOISE.

In Heaven it is all silence or music.

In Hell it is all noise.

I’ll never forget going down to preach in a prison in Texas, in sugarland, Texas.

And sometimes when I went into county jail, the thing that struck me most about being in jail was the noise.

You know.

If you’re as old as I am

and you see someone talking down the street, talking to themselves, you make a wide ( ? ? ) because they’re crazy, right?

Now... they’re talking on a blue tooth.

You know, it’s just so funny, you go into a store and see someone waving their hands and talking.

Oooh, they’re on a cell phone, they’re not crazy.

At least they’re on a cell phone.

There’s no place that we can escape noise!

And the scripture says “be still and know that I am God.”

We fill our lives with noise...

So we cannot hear the Lord

In not hearing Him we do not know Him, not knowing Him we do not love Him, and not loving Him we do not serve Him.

The first job of the Christian is to hear God.
 

Who speaks clearly and disticntly.

You know, those little papers that you get when people greet you, “Welcome to Saint Lamberts”

All of the sounds, all of the verses of scripture that we sing are written and translated if we sing them in latin

God speaks to you in every one of those words.

In the bulletin all the daily readings, for every day of the week all listed, and even if you can’t come to morning Mass, during the week you can follow along.

It’s a wonderful way to study the bible.

Those passages of scripture are what God is saying to the church

And yo know what, if you begin to seek God, to say “lord, if you exist, speak to me.”

You’ll find that those words jump off the page.

And say something to your heart.

We have, at the present time, we have four bible studies, in this parish.

Fr. Welsh does two, I do two.

Well God has never spoken to me.

Yes, He speaks to you.

But you haven’t listened.

The beginning of the Christian life is to desire to hear God.

St. Augustine said “Christianity: to want to go is to go.”

You know...we come and we pray... perhaps you’ve heard the paraphrase of the WordsEli the Prophet, Eli the Prophet , the little boy was sent to the Temple in Shilo, was given over by his parents to the service of God, one night he was awaken by a voice, calling out his name.

And he ran to the priest, not Eli, excuse me, not Eli, Samuel.

He ran to Eli the Priest, and Eli Said, go back, and if you hear the voice again, say “Speak Lord, your servant listens.”

Well..

When we pray

We say, “listen Lord, your servant is speaking.”

You know, most of you are parents, have children

And youv’e had this conversation, or if you’ve had a child, you’ve had this conversation.

“Will you please take out the garbage? Please. Take out the garbage.”

And finally mother comes into the room where the TV is blaring, and Mother says, “I ASKED YOU TO TAKE OUT THE GARBAGE.”

“I didn’t hear you.”

“....Three times I asked you to take out the garbage.”

“You gotta speak up.”

So it is, we the children of God, well named, do not hear our Heavenly Father say, “Would you do this for me, please?”

God speaks to us in a whisper.

So.

You want to go is to go.

To listen to the silence makes us able to hear.

To open the pages of scripture, and to prayerfully ask the Holy spirit to speak, is to begin to hear God.

And to hear Him is to know Him.

And to know Him is to love Him.

And it is the only possible way to serve Him, as He deserves to be served, by loving our neighbor.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.