In today's Gospel, the Lord curses the fig tree for its lack of fruit, and indeed, that
is a condemnation of the chosen people of old, for they did not bear the fruit that
God had intended them to their calling, and so he truly condemns them and points it out
by cursing the tree, which would ultimately wither.
And then it takes an interesting turn, for St. Peter, upon seeing the fig tree withered,
shows amazement, is in astonished, and the Lord's reply is, have faith in God, for for
Peter.
Peter should have known when the Lord said that this tree was not to bear any fruit,
that something would have happened to it, and so he shows his lack of faith in God,
and so he was called to grow that day to a deeper faith, and indeed, the Lord in saying
this statement to St. Peter is an explicit reference, as other times in the Gospel, but
he clearly means himself when he tells Peter to have faith in God, for Peter would not
be entrusted with the new covenant, the eternal covenant, the covenant that will not go away,
i.e., the covenant by which God will truly show his chosen people to be bearers of good
fruit, and so we are bearers of the Gospel message, and we must go forth showing the
fruit of that Gospel, seeking always and everywhere to imitate Christ, not doubting him or his
power, his power both to curse and his power to sin.
Peter says that he will truly protect us in good times and in bad times, as long as
we pray with that confidence by which he tells us to pray, fully believing that all those
good things that are necessary for the mystical body to thrive in the world will be given
to us if we ask of the Lord in humble prayer, and so while the old covenant has passed away,
it has been replaced by a new and more glorious covenant, a covenant that will
persevere until the end of time, always bearing the fruit of the tree, that is, the fruit
that flows from the side of Christ on Mount Calvary, as he lays on the wood of the cross
for the sake of our sins and the salvation of the world, and so we must always hold up
Christ crucified to the world, for Christ crucified truly is the remedy for all that
transpires, and ultimately, our Lord, in driving out the money changers, indicates
primarily what happens even to a chosen people when they have not that faith in God that
he speaks to St. Peter of, they turn to the things of this world, and that enterprise
becomes not divine enterprise, but it becomes worldly enterprise in the seeking of, in an
attempt to try to secure the wealth of this world, and indeed, we say very clearly in
our modern world, this is what is the primary concern for most souls, and so we must always
command yourself, we must help you fears in the things of this world, and also to pursue
the fight against them, neither as Christ NCAA in Maslow, the book of Gospels, nor as
Christians in theôipho discurs if you profess to help another.
For I will now turn to Jesus for his personal service to these stellen to save us and to
deliver us from this plan that will bring people into the lost wetred that I have overcome
But in the divine economy, that is, first and foremost, all citizens of a nation must be concerned with the salvation of the souls of all the people of that nation.
And so let us strive always and everywhere to remember these words of the Lord, that we are to have faith in God.
And then we are to pray with complete confidence that he will deliver us from all that seeks to drive us away from him.
And so we will not turn to that which the world constantly turns to, that is, it turns in on itself and it turns to the world because it cannot see beyond this world into that eternal kingdom to which we are all called.
And so we must pray always and everywhere to have a supernatural outlook ourselves and to pray that all may come to acquire that which is most important,
the absolute realization that in this life we are pilgrims on earth.
And after this life, we are called to stand before our good God to judge us, and we will be judged according to the faith that we had in Jesus Christ.
The people of old were condemned because they did not ultimately exercise that faith.
And so when the whole purpose of the old dispensation was completed, that is, the advent of the Messiah, they not only rejected him, they ignored him, and they sought to destroy him.
And so they truly showed themselves a people unworthy of the calling of God.
Let us pray that we who dwell in his eternal kingdom in this life, in that eternal kingdom that will be with us until the end of time,
let us pray that we do not imitate the chosen people of old, but let us always remain close to our Lord by remaining close to his mother,
for she knows the secrets of all hearts.
And she knows the secrets of our faith, and she and she alone can teach us all these things wonderfully well.
Indeed, Pope Benedict has pointed out that the mother of God was even the teacher of the apostles.
And so let us seek to understand Christ through the eyes of her who understood so well her mission and accomplished it with perfect conformity to the will of God.
Let us pray always to the mother of God, who alone,
can come into this world and show the world again the mercy of her son,
show the world again its purpose, and ultimately help the world to accomplish that purpose for which God has brought all things into existence.
And so let us truly pray that under the influence of the Immaculate Virgin Mother,
our Lord and Savior Jesus may truly come to exert a profound influence on all that that is authentically human,
all that those institutions by which human society must survive.
The church never condemns the political system or any other system unless it is absolutely contrary to the will of God.
But she always and everywhere seeks to see that institution sanctified through the workings of Christ and the witness of Holy Mother Church.
And so let us pray this day that we find ourselves worthy that we are not a generation by which the Lord will always come,
but we are a generation that will always be a bearer of salvation when the Lord is with us.
Amen.
Amen.
Thank you, Father.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
ultimately will ultimately curse but we are a generation that truly understands Christ came
to save all men and all peoples at all times and all places and through his body he worked those
miracles that are necessary to work for the conversion of souls and so let us pray that all
the gifts of the mystical body are manifested through her so that the world may truly come to
again that the world may truly come to acquire again that love that drove the greatest society
that has existed yet in this world that is at the height of Christendom let us pray in a holy rivalry
that we even exceed that love which was on the lips of all those who dwelt in that culture that
love that was rooted in the love of Christ and Mary and so it could not be discouraged it could
not be destroyed
but it went forward in good times it went forward in bad times always speaking of the love of Christ
and the power of God and so let us as the Lord has told us have faith in God truly believing
in the depths of our hearts that in having faith in our Lord we truly have faith in God
because we recognize him as the second person of the blessed trinity who became man for our sake
in the womb of the Virgin Mary and united his
mother and father in the womb of the Virgin Mary and united his mother and father in the womb of the
Virgin Mary and united his mother and father in the womb of the Virgin Mary and united his mother in the
mission of salvation in a unique and special way so that all who turn to her may turn to her with
the complete confidence that as Saint Alphonsus de Ligori says if we stay close to the mother of
God she will stay close to us and then it will not be possible for us to be lost for all eternity
and so let us operate always in a manner by which we seek to please the mother knowing that in
pleasing her we truly please the son and do all things that we please the mother and do all things
that do all things that he told us as Our Lady gave the disciples as the first message of the
followers of Christ do whatever he tells you and if we do that in this life then we will be with him
for all eternity in the life to come
and
you
you
you