Homily originally presented March 10, 2019
Jesus, help me!
My Brother Jim has been involved with the Kairos Prison Ministry for
about 16 years now. Two times a year, in the Spring and the Fall, he joins with other Christian men to go into the Donaldson maximum-security prison west of Birmingham to accompany some 40 prisoners on a 4-day spiritual Retreat. These prisoners sign up for the chance to gather and talk about how Jesus can help them.
Some of the men there are serving very long sentences ... some will never get out.
Well, it’s customary for the Kairos Team to give the prisoners a certain Holy Card during the retreat that they found brings great comfort to the men.
It’s has a beautiful image of our Lord w/ the prayer “Jesus, help me” on the back
It reads,
- In every need, let me come to You with humble trust saying: Jesus help me!
- In all my doubts, perplexities and temptations: Jesus help me!
- In hours of loneliness, weariness and trials: Jesus help me!
- In the failure of my plans & hopes, in disappointments, troubles, sorrows, Jesus help me!
- When I am impatient and my cross irritates me: Jesus help me!
- When I am ill, and my head & hands cannot work and I am lonely: Jesus help me!
- Always, always, in spite of weakness, falls, & shortcomings of every kind: Jesus help me!
Wow! Wow! What a wonderful prayer!
When Jim showed me this Holy Card, I just knew I had to have some ..
for me and for me to give away to others like he does.
So I went to Alpha Catholic Bookstore in Birmingham and got a whole package of them and I’ve been giving them away for years!
You see, it’s a powerful prayer ... for people outside of prison too!
It’s a prayer that everyone can relate to ... because everyone experiences: doubts, perplexities, temptations, loneliness, trials, failure, impatience, weakness & illness.
All of us are looking for help in these areas. And the one place where we’re assured of finding help is in Jesus. He has the power and the desire to help us in all things!
Some people never heard that. Many others have forgotten it.
In each of our readings today,
God tells us of His desire and His ability to help all those ...who call upon Him!
In our First Reading from the Book of Deuteronomy, Moses calls the people to
remember the parting of the Red Sea and realize that it was
“the outstretched arm” of God that saved the Israelites from slavery to Egypt.
In the same way, we’re called to remember the Crucifixion of Christ, and realize that it was “the outstretched arms” of Jesus that saved all of us from slavery to sin.
Does that mean “once saved, always saved?”
It means that Jesus put mankind back in a “right relationship” with the Father ...
a loving ... graced relationship ... that we retain ... by avoiding sin.
And if we do ... freely choose to keep ... our friendship with God during our lives ... then we will be saved for all eternity ... united with God in Heaven.
You know sometimes after adults get baptized ...
or enter into the Catholic Church by making a Profession of Faith ...
they’re surprised to find that they still feel tempted to do the wrong things.
Somehow they thought that by becoming baptized or by becoming Catholic ...
they would be immune to Satan’s temptations.
Sadly, that’s not the case.
In fact, of all the souls in the world, the ones that are closest to God ...
are the biggest target of the devil.
For, if he gets one of those souls to fall from grace, that’s a huge victory for him.
No, the devil never gives up. Just look at our Gospel today where Satan is bold enough to tempt the God-Man, Jesus ... not just once … but over and over again!
And how did Jesus overcome these temptations?
Jesus overcame His temptations by calling on the word of God ... over and over again.
Recall how He responded to the devil:
“It is written, man does not live by bread alone.”
“It is written, you shall worship the Lord your God and Him alone.”
“It is written, you shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.”
We need to do the same thing.
We too need to call upon the word of God to overcome the temptations of the devil. But to do this, we first have to know the word of God,
which is why it’s so important that we come to Mass every Sunday ...
so that we can hear the word of God and allow it to become part of us.
What did the word of God say to us today?
If you went home today and someone who didn’t go to Mass with you, asked you, “What did you hear in the word of God today?” what would you tell them?
What do you remember from the 4 passages from the Bible just proclaimed?
Were you really listening? Do you really want God to help you in your life?
Here’s what He said to us today:
1st R: Moses writes,
“He heard our cry … and brought us out … with strong hand and outstretched arm.”
Psalm: God says of man, “He shall call upon me and I will answer him.”
2nd R: Paul declares: “Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.”
G: Luke writes:
“Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus (went) into the desert, (and was) tempted by the devil.”
What’s the bottom line of all that?
When we call upon God ... He comes to help us. It’s that simple!
God will always be there to help us, whenever we call upon Him.
And that means we could do no better than to have God ...
always in our mind ... on our lips ... and in our heart …
praising Him, thanking Him and calling out to Him for help in our many needs.
Today is day 5 of the 40-day Lenten Season. How are you doing?
Are you sticking to the prayers, the penances and the practices
that you committed to do for Lent?
Or have you fallen to the devil’s temptation to give up on your plans?
Please don’t give up!
Realize that there’s a much bigger battle going on than just trying to do your penance. There’s a battle going on for your very soul.
On one side there is God, who is all-good and will give you every grace to be good.
And on the other side there’s the devil, who is all-evil
and will tempt you in every way to fall from God’s grace.
God wants your soul to stay good because He loves you infinitely
and wants you to be able to live with Him forever in Heaven.
Satan wants your soul to be darkened like his ... because he hates God,
and wants to steal your soul from God, and live forever in Hell.
Satan will not give up. Recall Luke’s words in the Gospel:
“When the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from him for a time.
Sure enough, Satan came back and was right there in the Garden of Gethsemane tempting Jesus to turn away from drinking the 4th cup ... the cup of consummation ... and not going forward to undergo crucifixion and death.
No, Satan will not give up. … he wants you to give up.
What did Jesus do in Gethsemane? He called out to the Father and He was heard.
By completing the Paschal Mystery, Jesus became
our hope, our strength, and our salvation.
He is the one to call out to ... especially in times of trouble.
So, remember the simple prayer, “Jesus help me.”
He hears every prayer ... and he will always be there to help you.
Today, let’s recommit ourselves to making this Lent ...
a time of growth and transformation ...
a time to turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel.
And let’s use all the resources at our disposal ... especially the help of Jesus.
God has the power to help us overcome every temptation.
He promised this in Psalm 91:
“Because he clings to me, I will deliver him;
I will set him on high because he acknowledges my name.”
Be sure to keep the name of Jesus ever on your lips.
Let’s do what the prisoners do and call upon Jesus for everything, saying:
Always, always, in spite of weakness, falls, & shortcomings of every kind: Jesus help me!
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