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Mary Queen of Peace, Bossier City, La

3 days ago

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Cycle A-2026
Bread for the Journey
Sunday, Oct 4, 2026

In 1999, a series entitled “Jesus” aired on national TV. In one profound scene, Jesus is being tempted by the devil in the desert. Satan was trying to convince Jesus that His death would be totally in vain. He showed him the future full of war, poverty, and misery, including people killing others in Jesus’s name. Jesus responded: “I am in the hearts of men. I will die for the everlasting kindness of the human heart created by the Father, so that men will make His image shine once again. And for those who want to, they will find in me the strength to love unto the end.” All I can say is wow! “For those who want to, they will find in me the strength to love unto the end.”

Our Gospel reading proclaims that Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of our faith. Within that cornerstone, the other cornerstone of our faith is the call and command to LOVE because God is Love. We are made in love and created for love. It is in drawing close to Jesus and doing His will, that the gift of love, which St. Paul tells us is the greatest of all spiritual gifts, will be born in our hearts, grow, overflow in abundance, and endure.

The invitation and challenge we face on a daily basis is: Will we love those who look, believe, and act differently from us? Will we love when we do not receive love in return? Will we love those who hurt us? Will we love when it is hard and inconvenient? Will we love others in our thoughts, words, and actions? There are so many internal and external forces that tempt us to slack off on or abandon the gift of love. As we go through life, we have so many seemingly practical and rational reasons for doing so: loss of health, relationships, prosperity, and the stresses and struggles of life; unfulfilled and shattered hopes and dreams; and disappointment and disillusionment over the contradictions, indifference, maliciousness, and betrayal of other people.

I recently came across a quote on my Facebook wall that touches on another factor that can chill the love in our hearts. The quote states: “One of Satan’s goals is to destroy your ability to love people because that’s what makes you like Jesus the most. That’s why he attacks your forgiveness, your patience, and your compassion. Because when you stop loving people, you stop reflecting Jesus. Guard your heart and continue loving.” Satan tempts us to embrace the mentality that believing in and embracing love, is naïve, unimportant, too difficult, and not worth the continual effort. Therefore, Jesus becomes less reflected in our lives and in the world. The devil absolutely loves that. It is so important to believe, and remain mindful, that we are in a spiritual battle.

I remember a time as a young adult that I was seriously tempted to give up on the love of other people because my disappointment and resentment towards others was at an all-time high. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, the following words from a song by the Christian band Petra were seared on my soul: “Don’t let your heart be hardened. Don’t let your love grow cold. May it always stay so childlike. May it never grow too old. Don’t let your heart be heartened, may you always know the cure. Keep it broken before Jesus, keep it thankful, meek, and pure.” In that moment of unexpected grace and blessing, my heart melted and I felt a renewed openness to love.

By bringing our bruised, broken, and angry hearts to Jesus, He can help us to do something we can’t do for ourselves. Jesus can give us His heart and His love. By being firmly anchored in Jesus our cornerstone, we will have the desire and courage to love for the first time, love once again generously and abundantly, love sacrificially and heroically, and keep on loving throughout this life and into eternity. Through our continued openness to the Spirit of Love, we will be able to live out the prayer of St. Mother Teresa entitled “Do It Anyway:” “People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway. If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway. If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway. What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway. If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway. The good you do today will often be forgotten. Do good anyway. Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway. In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.”

This life of LOVE, regardless of the circumstances of our lives, can be ours in lavish abundance, if we allow Jesus to be our cornerstone. As Jesus Himself said in the television series, “And for those who want to, they will find in me the strength to love unto the end.” Let us take Jesus up on His most wonderful offer! We and the people around us will be truly blessed, and we will inherit eternal life. Because only love can enter the kingdom of heaven. It is the ultimate House of Love.

#Homily by Father Karl Daigle #MaryQueenofPeace #Catholic Church in Bossier City, LA. For more information, please call 318-752-5971. ... See MoreSee Less