March 26, 2006
Posted in Homilies
at 9:00 am
Fourth Sunday of Lent, March 26th, 2006
The readings today encourage us to believe in God’s personal love for us, and a pilgrimage is a unique opportunity to experience that love – through the aura of holy places, the Eucharist, the intercession of the saints, friendship with other pilgrims, and so on.
In the Gospel we hear: “God so loved the world that he gave us his only Son,” and in the second reading, “God . . . out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead in our (sins), made us alive . . . with Christ.”
St. Paul continues : “we are what God has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works.” Literally, this passage reads: we are God’s poema, a Greek word for “something made,” from which we get our English word “poem.” Another translation is: we are God’s “handiwork.” But I prefer the translation of: we are God’s “work of art.” That is how God’s sees us in the light of his loving gaze. When God gazes upon us, he does not dwell on our sins, but he looks upon us with love as his work of art.
We must remember this because so often we are tempted to forget God’s loving gaze. One person feels sad or lonely because he or she has not yet found that true love that leads to marriage, or has lost this love through divorce or death. Another feels unloved or unappreciated by his or her spouse . . . . We can all be tempted at times to turn in upon ourselves in sadness or self-pity, forgetting God’s loving and attentive gaze.
And how does the heart of Christ react when his beautiful work of art is sad and feels unloved? The next time you are feeling a bit down or sorry for yourself, (and instead of lifting up your heart to the Lord, letting it sink into self- pity), stop . . . stop and think about how Christ feels about you at that moment . . . He is in agony for you because he can’t understand why someone so beautiful (you are his work of art) could be so sad when He loves you so much!
The saints understood this! The saints remembered God’s love for them. We will be honouring many of the saints of Canada when we visit their tombs and holy sites on our pilgrimage to Quebec City, Cap-de-la-Madeleine, and St. Anne-de-Beaupre in May. In Quebec City, there are the tombs of Blessed Francois de Laval, first bishop of Quebec, Blessed Marie of the Incarnation, and Blessed Catherine of St. Augustine. St. Anne de Beaupre contains some of the relics of Anne, the mother of Mary. And Cap-de-la-Madeleine was the home for many years of Blessed Frederic Jansonne. So what is the difference between these saints of Canada and us today?
The saints really believed in God’s love for them; they were so overwhelmed by God’s extravagant love that they made it the law of their life, the inspiration of their every thought, word and deed. They believed that “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life” – may go to heaven and become a saint!
I’d like to share with you a story of believing in God’s personal love. These two little “miraculous” signs happened to my mother during our first visit to St. Anne-de-Beaupre in August 2000. For years, my Protestant grandmother carried in her change purse a little piece of bread the size of an olive which she had somehow found or bought or received at St. Anne-de-Beaupre. Very mysterious. She told my mother that she carried it as a sign from God that they would never go hungry, that God would always provide. For almost 40 years, my mother was curious about going to St. Anne, but not being a Catholic it wasn’t a high priority. But when her second son went insane and started studying to be a Catholic priest, she agreed to go.
Has anyone here been to St. Anne-de-Beaupre? . . . We were praying the stations of the Cross are on the hill near the main basilica, and my mother asked me if I wanted to climb to the top of the hill. I was too lazy, (probably sitting down at one of the stations), and I waved my arm and said, “No, you go on ahead.” Seemingly inspired, she climbed to the top and discovered a chapel. She went inside. And there was Jesus truly present in the monstrance in Eucharistic adoration. She looked down and there was a basket with tiny plastic bags containing little pieces of bread the size of an olive.
It’s as if God said to her at that moment, “I am with you. I brought you here. I was with you mother, and I have been with you all these years. Let this bread be a sign to you: I watch over your every step, and you walk in the light of my loving gaze; you are my work of art, and I love you.” God so loved the world that he gave us his only Son so that we might know that he loves us personally.
As if to confirm this “miraculous” sign with the bread, as my mother and I were later sitting at the back of the basilica before Mass, we were “randomly” chosen to bring up the wine at the Offertory, and to sit in the sanctuary during Mass. We did bring up the wine, but my mother felt more comfortable returning to the pews since as a Protestant she could not receive Communion. But I told her, “Mom, it’s a sign from God – He wants to accept your gifts in the Mass; He’s inviting you into the sanctuary of the Catholic Church – to become a Catholic!” Needless to say my mother did not interpret this heavenly sign the same way that I did, but it did move her deeply and convince her more than ever of God’s love for her.
As I share this story with you, I can’t wait to go back to these holy places – St. Anne, Quebec City and Cap-de-la-Madeleine – to thank God for my life, my faith, my vocation – for his love for me. And to pray for my family and friends, that they might come to believe in God’s love for them in Christ.
We all desire some sign that God is with us, that He notices us and loves us personally. In our pilgrimage through life, we often fail to notice the many signs that God gives us each day. A pilgrimage to a shrine, a holy place, a tomb of a saint can bring us a step closer to heaven and re-awaken us to God’s presence all around us. At St.Anne-de-Beaupre (and other shrines) blind people have recovered their sight, crippled people have walked again, and those dead in their sins have come alive again in Christ and re-discovered His love.
I know many people cannot afford the time or money for this pilgrimage. Some people would have to miss two days of work. But it is well worth it to dedicate two days of our holidays to a pilgrimage for God. For those who feel called to go but can’t quite afford it, please talk to me after Mass or call me. We want everyone who feels strongly called to go to be able to go.
If you cannot come, please mention to your parents or friends in other parishes. We want to fill the bus (not so that I can get a free ticket, since I’ve already paid for my ticket) but so that many people can benefit from the trip and so that we won’t have to pay any penalties. There is information in the bulletin, in pamphlets and on the website; the deadline is April 10th. Please also pray for God’s blessing upon this pilgrimage, and that all of us may be deeply convinced of God’s personal love for us, the love that will inspire us to be saints.
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March 19, 2006
Posted in Homilies
at 9:00 am
Third Sunday of Lent, Year B, March 19, 2006
In my homily today, I will be taking my lead from the “angry” Jesus of today’s Gospel. Not that I’m going to become an angry preacher. We’ve all heard stories of angry preachers pounding the pulpit and condemning sinners to hell. But in the last 30 years, the pendulum has swung to the other extreme, in which we NEVER hear of sin and judgement. There must be a middle ground that will include, at times, some harsh truths that we need to hear, such as Jesus judging us based on our fidelity to all the commandments.
Today’s first reading from the Book of Exodus lists the Ten Commandments, which includes the Third Commandment: “Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy.” In the Gospel, we see the zeal of Jesus for his Father’s house as he casts out the money-changers from the Temple. Jesus defends the sacred space of the Temple from being profaned; the Third Commandment is meant to defend the sacred time of the Sabbath in dedicating it to God, Church and family, not to work, shopping or even organized sports if they interfere with our duties to God.
These themes of sacred space and time are connected. Jesus would have the same zeal for his Father’s day as he would have for his Father’s house. Just as Jesus did not want the Temple to be defiled by the greed and consumerism of the money-changers, neither does he want the Christian Sabbath, Sunday, to be defiled by the modern idolatries of workaholism, consumerism and shopping, and the idolatry of sports that interferes with Sunday Mass attendance.
We know that Jesus never sinned, but he certainly seems angry in this Gospel. He made a whip of cords and drove out the sheep and cattle from the Temple. The 13th century Italian painter Giotto even depicted this scene with Jesus about to punch someone! Jesus never sinned, but he did express righteous anger.
I can easily imagine one of the money-changers reacting in total shock and dismay, saying, “Jesus, what are you doing? I thought you were my friend!” Similarly today, people would be shocked if Jesus were to become angry with them for breaking the Third Commandment. As we know, for Catholics, the commandment to keep the Sabbath holy includes attending Mass on Sunday. But no one would expect Jesus to become angry with us if we were to purposely miss Mass on Sunday. “Jesus, what are you doing? I thought you were my friend!”
The recently ordained priests of Ottawa met two months ago with our Vicar-General, and a former pastor of OLMM, Fr., Now monsignor, Kevin Beach. He commented on the failure of catechesis in the Catholic Church over the past 30 years, because the only message that people seem to remember is: “Jesus is my friend.”
It is true: Jesus is our friend, our best friend. He is the Spouse of our souls, the love of our life! But He’s much more. What is that we repeat in the Creed each week? . . . I can’t remember the words . . . my mind wanders during Mass . . . what is that we say? . . . “I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son our Lord . . . He is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again . . . to be my friend?” What is it? . . . Oh, yeah! “He will come again to judge the living and the dead.”
Yes, Jesus is my friend, but also my judge. And He has the right to judge me according to what I have done or failed to do in this life. Have I loved God and my neighbour? Have I kept or broken the commandments, including the Third Commandment to keep the Sabbath holy?
Sunday Mass attendance is not meant to be a burden. It is meant to be a joy to enter God’s presence in this holy Temple – this is the house of God and the gate of heaven. It is a joy to hear God speak to us through his Word, to receive the Body and Blood of Christ, to be encouraged in our faith by our common worship and the presence of others, and so on. For almost 1900 years, the Church simply assumed that Catholics would attend Mass on Sunday, and most did. But finally, when the love for God had grown cold in people’s hearts, the Church was forced to make it into a law in 1917, to remind people of their serious obligations toward God, and the bare minimum necessary to be a Catholic.
Again, people would be shocked if Jesus were to become angry with them or judge them based in part on the Third Commandment. Imagine you die and appear before the judgement seat of Christ, and you realize, “Wow! He really is God! This is serious!” And Christ greets you and says, “Hi! . . . who are you?” You reply, “Don’t you remember? I was wearing that pretty white dress for my first Communion 63 years ago!” And Jesus says, “I don’t really know you . . . “ And then he takes out the Book that contains everything we’ve ever done or left undone and he says, “Let me see . . . you lived for 75 years . . . you came to see me at Mass an average of once per month . . . that means you broke the Third Commandment 2 700 times! And you never once told me you were sorry.”
“But Jesus, I thought you were my friend!” Jesus replies, “I am, and I love you, more than you can imagine, but . . . do you love me? Why do you want to be with me forever in heaven if you spent so little time with me on earth? You used to tell your friends that you could pray at home on Sunday morning, but you barely spoke to me at all. Do you really love me?”
In speaking about attending Mass and keeping the Sabbath holy, it appears that I am preaching to the converted, since you are all here today in Church. Thank you for coming. Perhaps you could gently pass on the message to friends who couldn’t make it today. And all of us can examine our consciences in order to better observe the Sabbath and to better honour this holy temple where we have come to worship. We do not buy and sell in this temple, but sometimes we bring the spirit of the world into this place by immodest dress in the summer or by our unguarded conversation, our lack of silence or lack of attentiveness. We can also examine our consciences on how our families live our Sundays, the Christian Sabbath. For example, is it really necessary to shop on Sundays? Could it not be done on Saturday or left until Monday? And is God truly the priority in our families? These are questions we can ask ourselves.
We thank you Jesus for always judging us mercifully and for being our best friend and the love of our life. We thank you for your real Presence in this temple, for your Resurrection that has made this day holy, and for your Body and Blood you give us in the Eucharist as a foretaste of heaven.
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March 5, 2006
Posted in Homilies
at 9:00 am
First Sunday of Lent, Year B, March 5th, 2006
As the Church enters the desert to fast and pray with Jesus during these 40 days, we also consider our struggle with temptation. Many Christians are unfortunately very naive when it comes to temptation. We flirt with the devil and think that’s O.K. It is vital that we as Christians can distinguish, in our own desires, the difference between an invitation from God and a temptation to sin. I need to clarify one important point: God gives us many good and holy desires, to love him and to love others, and so on, but some of our own desires can also be a temptation to sin.
We know how Christ was tempted by the devil according to the more detailed accounts in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. John Milton, in his second epic poem, Paradise Regained, imagines Belial, one of the demon’s, suggesting that Satan tempt Christ through the beauty of women, or sexual temptation. But Satan (or Milton) argues that won’t work on Christ. Nonetheless, those kinds of temptation are so universal, I will comment on them with three examples, and at least everyone will listen to my homily!
Imagine a man who is having some difficulties in his life and his relationship with his wife. A co-worker of his is single, attractive, and so sympathetic. He finds himself talking with her over coffee or at lunch time. Without realizing it, he ends us spending more quality time with her than with his own wife, because at home they are so busy with the kids. He can tell that she is interested in him, and he is flattered. He looks forward to going to work in order to see her. He starts telling her about his problems at home . . .
Need I go further? He finds himself falling in love with this woman who is not his wife! What is the meaning of this desire? Is it an invitation from God (to leave his wife and marry this woman?) Or is it a temptation to sin? It is a temptation to sin, but many Christians are so immature they don’t seem to know the difference, and they end up flirting with the devil instead of immediately rebuking him as Christ did.
(It may be an extreme case, but each one of us can find some truth in it. For example, there are few who commit adultery, but how many are free of lust in their hearts?)
Another man finds himself strongly attracted to other men (or a woman to other women). Is this desire an invitation from God or a temptation to sin? One of my best friends is struggling with this, and we had a long conversation about it. I tried to convince him of Christ’s love for him, and Christ’s power to free us from disordered desires. And he tried to convince me that what the Bible and the Church have taught about homosexuality for 2000 years is wrong, and his desires are good and right (basically an invitation from God), and he should follow them. (He didn’t persuade me, but we’re still friends).
Another example: a man falls in love with Christ and goes to the Seminary and becomes a priest. Then he goes to a parish, meets a beautiful young lady and falls in love. Is that an invitation from God or a temptation to sin?
In all three cases, the answer is obvious, but I am amazed how frequently Christians and even priests make serious mistakes in these areas.
Obviously priests are held to very high standards and are expected to be mature and holy. But God says to all his people, “Be holy as I am holy,” (1 Pet 1:16) and “resist the devil and he will take flight.” Everyone here is called to Christian maturity and to holiness. So stop flirting with the devil, swing-dancing with Satan, thinking it’s kind of exciting to indulge some of your evil desires. Yeah, Satan may spin and dip you for a while to give you some thrills, and then drop you over a cliff. Don’t dally with him; don’t listen to him; and don’t lie to yourself, convincing yourself that the Bible and Church teaching are wrong, while your desires are always right.
It is very important for us as Christians to realize that God does give us MANY good and holy desires, but also to know the difference between an invitation from God or a temptation to sin. It is the difference between slavery to the devil or the freedom of the children of God, the difference between happiness or misery, and ultimately heaven or hell.
As we spend these forty days with Jesus in the desert, may God help us resist the devil and overcome temptation; may he send angels (and spiritual friends) to help us, and may He feed us with manna in this desert, with the bread of life, the Body of Christ we receive in this Eucharist.
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Homilies