sermons on how to overcome worry
BISHOP BOYCE'S KNOCK SERMON IN FULL
Homily of Bishop Philip Boyce, at Knock Novena To Trust in God
Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace (Heb. 4:16).
The word of the Lord urges us to place our trust in God, not in the brittle supports of created things on earth. People have always been tempted to rely on some visible and profitable reality. To us, it seems at times to be a step too far to place our confidence in Him whom we know only through faith. It was a test failed by Adam and Eve when they were asked not to taste of the fruit of the tree of Good and Evil. Relying on their own wisdom, and abetted by the false promises of the Evil One, they put their trust in a created gain rather than in the power of the all-wise Creator.
They were very soon to regret their folly. They immediately tasted the bitter fruit of the confidence they placed in a lie. They felt ashamed of each other and afraid of God. Their misplaced confidence led to death for both of them. There we see how true it is that God did not make death (Wis 1:13) but that through the devils envy death entered the world (Wis 2:24). Our first parents trusted in a lie and in the father of lies. As Jesus would say one day: The devilwas a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies (Jn 8:44).
Throughout the history of salvation, people have been led astray. They trusted in something or someone less than God human idols of one kind or another. It was either in riches or power, earthly princes or human allies. Yet the wisdom of God denounces such shallow confidence: Cursed is he who trusts in man.whose heart turns away from the LordBlessed is the one who trusts in the Lord (Jer 17:5-7).
The Trust of one who believes
Trust or hope means persevering in faith against the evident difficulties that free us. On a natural level, hope is a movement of our will towards something we perceive as good, that is not ours completely, but that is possible though difficult to attain. Psychologically it creates a tension within us because, what we aspire to, we do not fully possess as yet. But the very fact that it is possible to attain makes us overcome the uncertainties and be confident that what we long for is not beyond our grasp.
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