April 30, 2006
Posted in Homilies
at 9:00 am
Third Sunday of Easter, Year B, April 30, 2006
(Confirmations and First Communions)
I’d like to say a few words to the children receiving the Sacraments. This school year, you are receiving three Sacraments: First Reconciliation, Confirmation, and First Communion.
In Confirmation, your souls are changed forever; you receive an increase of the Holy Spirit within you; you become more like Jesus; and you are given strength to share your faith with others. We see the effect of this gift of the Spirit in the First Reading in St. Peter. Before Jesus sent the Holy Spirit, St. Peter and the other apostles were afraid to tell others about Jesus, but after Peter received the Holy Spirit, he wasn’t afraid of anything and became a great preacher, telling people to “repent . . . and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out.”
And that is the meaning of the Sacrament of Reconciliation that you received last fall. You turned to God in confession and said, “I’m sorry for all my sins.” And God forgave you and wiped out all your sins. And it was important for you to celebrate Reconciliation before First Communion. The Church teaches that if we have committed any serious sins, we must always go to Confession before receiving Communion, and that we must go to Confession at least once a year.
If we only received a piece of bread in Communion, it wouldn’t matter if we went to Confession first or not. Go ahead – lie and steal, yell at your family, punch your friends, give in to temptation, live with whomever you want, and don’t bother getting married in the Catholic Church. Skip Confession, come to Communion. If it’s not really God, but only a piece of bread, who cares? But if it’s only a piece of bread, then don’t bother coming to Church, because you can have much bigger piece at home!
But we know by faith that the little piece of bread we receive in Communion, called the Host, is actually what? . . . Yes, the Body of Christ. We know this because Jesus, the Son of God, who could never tell a lie, told us at the Last Supper, “This is my Body.” He didn’t say that “This is a piece of bread, a symbol of my Body,” but “This is my Body.”
The same Person that the disciples saw and touched after He rose from the dead – Jesus Christ – that’s who you receive in Communion. In the Gospel, the disciples thought they were seeing a “ghost” (pneuma) or a “spirit” (Luke 24:37). In Confirmation, you receive the Holy Spirit, but in Holy Communion, you do not receive a ghost or a spirit. When you come forward today we don’t say “Spirit of Christ” and blow in your face! It’s the Body of Christ! He is real!
If you notice the wording of these three Sacraments, we don’t say “First” Confirmation. Why not? . . . Yes, you only receive Confirmation once, just as you are baptized only once, validly married only once, and ordained a deacon, priest, or bishop only once. OK. Then why do we say “First” Reconciliation and “First” Communion? . . . .”First” means that there will be a second Reconciliation and a second Communion, right?
Just in case I do not see you next week for your second Communion, I want to share with you a simple but very important secret that many Christians haven’t even heard about, even those who have been going to Church for years, and I don’t know why I’ve waited so long to tell people about it! This secret is hinted at in the Gospel Acclamation: “Lord Jesus, make your word plain to us; make our hearts burn with love when you speak.” (REPEAT). This is the secret: that each of us, as baptized Christians, no matter how young or old, can learn to hear the voice of Jesus speaking to us in our hearts.
I’m not talking about imagining things; I’m talking about God speaking to you personally in your hearts, the same God who spoke to the disciples in the Gospel, saying, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?” One word from God, speaking clearly in your heart, could change your life forever. Imagine if you were afraid of something. You pray in silence, and you hear Jesus say in your heart, “Do not be afraid. I am with you,” knowing it was Jesus speaking to you, would you be afraid anymore? No. It could change your life forever. Next week is the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. For some of you, if you learn to hear the voice of Jesus speaking in your hearts, will hear Him say, “Come, follow me” in the priesthood or another special vocation.
Jesus once said to a saint named Faustina,
“Oh, if souls would only want to listen to My voice when I am speaking in the depths of their hearts, they would reach the peak of holiness in a short time” (#584) – they would become saints.
I only have a little bit of time to tell you some ways that you can learn to hear the voice of Jesus speaking in your hearts. We need four things:
- prayer
- the sacraments
- the Bible and
- I think we need play also.
- We need prayer: we need to turn off the radio, TV, video games, computer, and pray in silence . . . listening to God’s voice who whispers. You don’t have to turn off the TV during the hockey game, because some people actually pray more during the Sens games . . . but in all seriousness we do need some time for silent prayer.
- We need the sacraments, especially Holy Communion, the Body of Christ, so that Jesus becomes more real to us. He’s not just a ghost or spirit up there in the air . . . He comes down from heaven for you personally in the Host in Holy Communion.
- We need the Bible, because the Bible is the voice of God speaking to the world, the same voice we want to hear in our hearts.
- and we need to play also so that we don’t try too hard, becoming too serious and working all the time. God can also speak while we’re playing, resting or enjoying life.
Let us pray: “Lord Jesus, make your word plain to us; make our hearts burn with love when you speak.”
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April 16, 2006
Posted in Homilies
at 9:00 am
Easter Sunday, Year B, April 15/16, 2006
On this most solemn, joyful, and holy (night/day), I ask you most seriously, do you really believe in the Bible and the Gospel of Mark/John that we’ve just heard, and what the Catholic Church teaches about the Resurrection of Christ? Do you really believe what you say in the creed: “on the third day he rose again”? And you believe in the “Resurrection of the body”?
I hope you do. For if we do not believe in the Resurrection and eternal life, then, as St. Paul says, our faith is in vain and we are still in our sins (1 Cor 15:17). Again he says: “If the dead are not raised: ‘let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!’” (1 Cor 15:32). Life is meaningless in the end. It is very important for us to make up our minds about what we believe, and to live accordingly.
But after The DaVinci Code and now The Gospel of Judas and The Jesus Papers, can we really trust the Bible and the Catholic Church? Michael Baigent, an important source for Dan Brown’s novel and the author of The Jesus Papers, claims to expose “the greatest cover-up in history,” the fact that Jesus did not die on the Cross or rise from the dead. (Sunday: In the paper this morning we read that 17% of Canadians believe in this cover-up Ottawa Citizen, April 16, 2006) It was merely a story invented by the writers of the Bible and perpetuated down the centuries by a band of influential conspirators called . . . the Catholic Church. Can you really trust them? . . .
Some people think that you can believe parts of the Bible and reject other parts you don’t like, or that you can believe parts of Church teaching, and reject other parts you don’t like. “I believe that Jesus was a holy man and a great teacher, but I’m not sure if he walked on water or rose from the dead . . . maybe he was revived and married Mary Magdalene and moved to Egypt! . . . And I know that the Catholic Church does a lot of good, but I don’t believe it all, . . . like the teaching on sexual morality – so maybe there has been some cover-up or conspiracy!”
Let us be absolutely clear: either the Bible infallibly teaches the truths necessary for our salvation, or it doesn’t. It’s the truth or a lie. Either the Catholic Church has been founded by Christ and teaches the truths necessary for our salvation, or it is a lie and deserves to be condemned to hell.
It’s one or the other. That’s why I asked you in the beginning if you really believe in the Bible and the teaching of the Catholic Church on the Resurrection or on any other matter. If you do believe, then repent of your sins now, change your life, and rejoice in God’s love for you and the Resurrection of Christ and the assurance of immortality – you and I will live forever! But if you believe that the Bible teaches some lies, and the Church is a conspiracy, then let us burn every Bible and tear down every Catholic Church!
For those of you who are devout and practicing Christians and Catholics, let me re-assure you that we have very good, solid reasons for our faith in Christ and the Church. Reliable eye-witnesses saw Jesus after He rose from the dead: Mary Magdalene, Peter, John, Thomas, James and hundreds of other disciples. They saw him, talked to him, touched him, ate and drank with them. If Jesus did not rise from the dead and if there is no life after death, do you really think that St. Peter, Paul, James and countless other martyrs would have been willing to shed their blood for a conspiracy and a lie? We have very good, solid reasons for our faith in Christ and all the teachings of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.
I believe it was Dorothy Day who once said, “Let us thank God that we live among the present difficulties. It is no longer permitted anyone to be mediocre.” My brothers and sisters in Christ, in our times, it is no longer permitted anyone to be mediocre and to sit on the fence. Whose side are you on? Jesus or Judas? Benedict XVI or Dan Brown?
My friends, it is our duty as baptized Christians to know what we claim to believe, and to learn about our faith from the sources – the Bible and the Church. So if you are going to read The DaVinci Code (which I have read – it was painful but I borrowed it and read it. Please don’t waste money on it; borrow it from a friend). If you are going to read it, then it is your duty as a baptized Christian to also read something like The DaVinci Hoax, Decoding DaVinci, or The DaVinci Deception which we will be selling in our parish shortly for $6.
I also recommend the following book for every single Catholic home; it’s hot off the press, and I sincerely believe that this book is a gift to the modern world and we desperately need it – The Compendium of the Catholic Church. I love this little book. It’s easy to read with question and answer format; it even has pictures! It’s a shortened version of the original catechism. I’ve even been reading it cover to cover, something I can’t say I’ve done with the longer catechism.
I can get you all a deal on this book. As a power-broker in de conspiracy of de Catlic Church, I got cer’ain connections . . . (so you can order this book through the parish for only $20 – much less than the price in bookstores). Don’ aks any questions . . . Dis deal is part of an elaborate cover-up . . . kickbacks and sponsorship . . . dat kind of thing . . . shhh. De sign-up sheet is in de foyer.
(9:00 & 10:30 only) I’d like to say one more word about the Resurrection and eternal life, for those who have lost a loved one, so that “you will not grieve like the rest, who have no hope” (1 Thess 4:13). David Spicer of Russell shared this story with me (and gave me permission to share it with you). Shortly after his wife’s funeral a couple of years ago, he gathered up all the pictures of her that had been displayed, and put them in a ziplock bag in his closet. A few days later, he mysteriously found a picture downstairs of his young wife holding one of their children as a baby. The baby was red-faced and screaming, but she had a peaceful and joyful smile. And he told his kids, “this is a sign from God. This is how Mommy is right now – young, beautiful, healthy, and happy.”
If we have faith we will see signs from God all around us, signs of the Resurrection and eternal life. Whether it’s the flowers of spring, a picture found on a floor, a peaceful moment in the presence of God: the Bible, the Church, and human experience all teach the same truth – Christ is risen from the dead, and all those who believe in Him will live forever.
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April 14, 2006
Posted in Homilies
at 9:00 am
Year B, Apr 14, 2006
For my Good Friday homily this year, I would like to share with you a reflection from Fr. Bob Wild of Madonna House. He begins with the scene from last night’s celebration of the Last Supper, in which Jesus washes the feet of the disciples. Peter at first refuses, until Jesus tells him, “unless you let me do this for you, you can have no part with me.” Fr. Bob then applies this dialogue to the entire Passion. He begins:
“Peter sees Jesus getting up from the table and asking for a basin and toweL Then he sees him taking off his outer garment. Peter thinks to himself, “Oh, my God, he’s going to wash our feet or something.” Then he says to Jesus, “Lord, I understand what you’re trying to do. You’re trying to teach us something about humility and serving one another. You have often told us to wash each other’s feet and we didn’t. But we understand now! Really, there’s no need for you to get down on your hands and knees and do this humiliating thing. Please don’t! We understand!”
And Jesus says to him: “You don’t understand! You don’t serve one another and you don’t wash each other’s feet. You’re still proud and want to be the big shots. There’s no other way to break through your pride except by myself washing your feet. If you don’t let me do this for you, you can have no part of me.”
While he was in the garden with Jesus, Peter heard the sounds of soldiers coming and he thought to himself, “Oh, my God, they’re coming after him like a common crimina1!” He turned and said to Jesus, “Lord, I know what you’re trying to teach us. We are the criminals. We are the thieves and robbers. We are the ones who get away with all our crimes. But you, you are the Innocent One. Lord, we understand now. So you don’t have to let yourself be taken like a common criminal! Please don’t go through with this! We’ll confess our crimes!”
Jesus said, “You don’t understand. Yes, you are the thieves and robbers. You commit crimes in your hearts and get away with it. Real brigands go free and innocent people suffer. How can I get it across to you that there is great injustice in the world! The only way is to let you see Innocence Itself apprehended. Maybe then you’ll see the injustice all around you! Unless you let me do this for you, you can have no part with me.”
When Peter heard that Jesus was going to be scourged and beaten by the soldiers, he ran to him and said, “0 Lord, please, please don’t go through with this! Oh, please don’t! I know what you are trying to say. We have offended your Father by our lusts and addictions and unruly appetites and now you’re going to have your flesh torn apart to show what sin does to you. But Lord, we understand now. You don’t have to go through with this! Please, please don’t.”
And Jesus said, “Peter, Peter. You don’t understand. Unless I show you in my own flesh what sin does, you won’t understand. So I’m going to have my flesh torn apart to make you realize how sins of the flesh disfigure the image of God. This is the only way to get through to you. Unless you let me do this for you, you can have no part with me!”
Peter saw that Jesus was going to carry a cross through the streets of Jerusalem. He ran up to Jesus and said, “0 Lord, no, no, you can’t go through with this! Don’t drag your cross through the streets and the jeering crowds. We understand now, really we do. You have told us to carry our crosses every day, to carry each other’s crosses. So we will. We promise. We will. You don’t have to go this far. We’ll obey you! We’ll obey you!”
And Jesus said, “You won’t obey. You won’t carry your cross and the cross of one another. Your selfishness is too great. No. I must go through with this. I must show what it costs to carry one’s cross. The human heart is too selfish, too selfcentered. I must do this for you. If you don’t let me do this for you, you can have no part with me.”
Then Peter realized that Christ was actually going to be nailed to the cross. “Oh, my God, he’s going to go through with this terrible tragedy!” Peter ran up to Jesus and said, “Lord, 0 my Lord, stop, stop! We understand! We understand! We will stop being selfish. We will lay down our lives in love for one another. 0 my Lord, please don’t allow yourself to be killed. No, don’t. We understand now.”
Jesus said, “No, you don’t understand. I’m telling you, unless you allow me to die for you, your heart never will be broken open. The wound of sin is too great, an ‘incurable wound,’ too massive. You have to see me, your Lord and God, die for you. It’s the only thing that will break open the human heart. If you don’t allow me to die for you, you can have no part with me.”
My brothers and sisters, we must “let in” the passion of Jesus. There is a way we can block it out of our hearts and consciousness. There is a cry in our hearts that says, “No, no, no, you don’t have to do that! Don’t wash my feet, don’t be scourged, don’t be nailed to a cross! You don’t have to go that far! Please don’t!”
But he has done it and we must let it in, accept it, allow his passIon to crack open our hearts. The “incurable wound” is too great. Jesus suffered his passion because it’s the only way he could get through to us, make us realize what sin is. The passion is not only a revelation of love; it is a revelation of the darkness, of the magnitude of sin as well. We must allow Jesus to wash our feet and be scourged.
Let us even say to him, “Lord, if you must do it, then let the truth of your passion enter not only a small part of me … not only wash my feet … but Lord, let your passion enter my whole being so that none of your sufferings will be wasted. I see now that only by your wounds am I healed.’”
From Desert Harvest, by Fr. Robert Wild, Locust Valley, NY: Living Flame Press, 1985. P. 88-91.
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April 13, 2006
Posted in Homilies
at 9:00 am
Holy Thursday, April 13, 2006
On Holy Thursday, we commemorate Jesus’ celebration of the Last Supper and his institution of the Eucharist. We also recall the institution of the priesthood on this day, and the priests of Ottawa all renewed our ordination vows at the Chrism Mass on Tuesday. Finally, in the washing of the feet, we remember Jesus’ example of service that all Christians should imitate.
Holy Thursday is in many ways the feast of love. Christ proves his love for us by humbling himself to the point of washing our feet and suffering and dying for us. He proves his love by giving us not just a few little trinkets or tokens of his love, but by giving us Himself in the Sacrament of His Body and Blood. “Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end” – he loved them fully, completely, perfectly (John 13: 1).
There is nothing more that Jesus Christ could have done to prove His love for us. He gave us His Body and Blood in the first Eucharist and on the Cross. In the movie The Passion, we see visualized the direct link between the Cross and the Last Supper. As Jesus is being raised up on the Cross, we see a flashback to the Last Supper, and the words of Jesus: “Take, eat, this is my Body given up for you.” Then we see that Body broken and bleeding on the Cross – for love of us.
There is nothing more that Jesus Christ could have done to prove His love for us. Then why are there so many Christians, even faithful Church-goers, who do not experience God’s love and fail to love Him in return as He deserves to be loved?
Is it a simple lack of faith? Then we need to pray, “Lord, increase our faith in your love!” and “We do believe, help our unbelief!” and “Jesus, I trust in you!” . . . Why is it that we doubt God’s love and fail to love him in return?
In his encyclical letter God is Love (which I have mentioned in previous homilies), Pope Benedict asks two questions:
1) “Can we love God without seeing him?
2) And can love be commanded?”
What do you think? . . .
First of all, the Pope reminds us that God has become visible in Jesus Christ, and that Christ continues to be present to us throughout Church history, and “encounters us ever anew,
1) in the men and women who reflect his presence,
2) in his word,
3) in the sacraments,
4) and especially in the Eucharist.”
He continues: “In the Church’s Liturgy, in her prayer, in the living community of believers, we experience the love of God, we perceive his presence and we thus learn to recognize that presence in our daily lives.”
In response to the Pope’s question, “can we love God without seeing him?” Yes, we can because we can still perceive and recognize His presence and experience His love. He also states: “(God) has loved us first and he continues to do so; we too, then, can respond with love” (#17)
And can love be commanded? In a culture that often interprets love as a feeling, how can someone be commanded to love God or neighbour?
Benedict also writes: “God does not demand of us a feeling which we ourselves are incapable of producing” and “love is not merely a sentiment. Sentiments come and go. A sentiment can be a marvellous first spark, but it is not the fullness of love. Contact with the visible manifestations of God’s love can awaken within us a feeling of joy born of the experience of being loved. But this encounter also engages our will and our intellect.”
Another way of putting this is to say “love is a choice.” We can choose to make an effort to love God and our neighbour more, and God will honour our efforts with the help of his grace.
Can you imagine what a marriage would be like if it were based entirely on the feeling or sentiment of love? “Honey, I don’t feel very loving today. I don’t want to talk to you. Just leave me alone so I can watch T.V.”
What? Can you imagine? . . . That marriage is not going to be very happy or long-lasting! So even though you don’t feel like it, you get up off the couch and choose to be loving, cheerful, and helpful around the house.
And so it is with our relationship with God. We may not always feel loved by Him or love for Him. But we can at least choose to love him, and say every once in a while, “I love you.” And show Him that we love Him, especially in the Eucharist. How? . . .
- By praying before and after Mass – or even praying outside the hours of Mass, for example, on First Fridays.
- By trying to be silent and reverent.
- By genuflecting when entering or leaving the Church – slowly, as a conscious act of adoration.
- By dressing modestly to help others focus on Jesus.
- By receiving Communion properly, and saying, “Amen.”
And by the way: why not also receive the Blood of Christ? (by sipping of course, since dipping is not permitted). It is the fullness of the sign – bread and wine, Body and Blood. In that sip from the chalice, the blood – and love – of Christ fills all our veins. And you won’t get sick from drinking from the cup since germs cannot live on the inert metal and the cup is carefully wiped and turned each time.
And Eucharistic ministers – don’t forget to lead others by your example of reverence, which includes carefully following the guidelines for Eucharistic ministers.
All these little acts of love are pleasing to God, just as little acts of love are so important in family life. And if we make that choice to love God with our will and intellect, then He will bless us with the experience and consolation of His love when we need it. Christ proves His love for us by suffering and dying on the Cross, and giving us Himself in Eucharist, the memorial of the Last Supper. He proves His love for us tonight.
That’s the end of my homily, but I have to tell you about the miracle of Tignish, PEI! Have you heard about it? . . . It was in the national news recently . . . During Adoration the First Friday after Ash Wednesday, some people noticed that a face had appeared outlined on the purple tabernacle veil. Most people saw Jesus, but some saw Mary. I just spoke with the pastor, a friend of mine, Fr. Jim Willick, last night. He explained to me that the design is made by protrusions in the cloth of the veil. It’s as if Jesus is saying by this miracle, “I’m here! I am truly present here in the tabernacle!” It has inspired hundreds of people to come and pray in the Church before the Real Presence of Christ.
Jesus also says, “Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet believe” (Jn 20:29). May we believe all the more in Christ’s Real Presence in the Blessed Sacrament, and be convinced of His love for us in this Sacrament of His Body and Blood.
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April 9, 2006
Posted in Homilies
at 9:00 am
Passion/Palm Sunday, April 9th, 2006
(21st World Day of Youth)
Today is Passion/Palm Sunday and the World Day of Youth. (At 9:00am and 1030am: Some youth will be reading highlights of the message after Communion). Why do we celebrate Palm Sunday and Passion Sunday on the same day? Doesn’t it seem strange? One minute we are praising Jesus in those same words we use in the Eucharist: “Hosanna in the highest!”, the next moment, He is being crucified! There is one practical reason: the Church wanted to dedicate one Sunday to the Lord’s Passion; for those who do not attend Good Friday, they would jump right from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday. It is only fitting that one Sunday be dedicated to the Passion of the Lord.
I believe there is a deeper reason for combining Palm Sunday and Passion Sunday – to teach us that even in the midst of suffering and death, “We do well always and everywhere to give God thanks through Jesus Christ our Lord.” When the crowds cried out, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!” Jesus knew that He was going to his death in Jerusalem, but He also gave thanks and praise to God for Jesus was coming to do the Father’s will, and to die for our salvation. At the Last Supper, the night before his torture and crucifixion, he took the bread and wine and gave God thanks and praise.
Jesus is our model, and inspires us by his example to give God thanks and praise even in the midst of suffering and death, or even in the midst of our daily routines. Imagine you wake up one day. You don’t know where you are. You look around. Is it the hospital? What’s wrong? You try to move your arms. You can’t feel them. What happened? Then you remember – you were driving on the 417, cursing because you were late and the traffic was bad – something must have happened – an accident. You think, “Oh, God no! It can’t be! I promise you, that if you give me back my arms so that I can hold the steering wheel and drive again, I will never ever complain or swear again, but I will give you thanks and praise even when I’m stuck in traffic.”
You try to move your legs. You can’t feel them either. Again you promise, “O God, please I beg you! If I can walk again I promise you that I will never complain, but even when I am run off my feet at work and exhausted, I will give you thanks and praise!” You turn your head as you see your wife and children come into your room, and you say in your heart, “O God, I give you thanks and praise for them, for their love for me . . . you see, I’m changing already! Please help me!” Then the alarm clock goes off, and you wake up! It was only a bad dream! And the kids are fighting at breakfast and you dread going to work because it’s going to be a long and difficult day . . . but . . . you give thanks and praise to God.
What will it take to wake us up? Are we really that arrogant and ungrateful that we take everything for granted, complain about everything that’s wrong, and fail to thank God for all the good things in life?
Now I’m going to depart from my original homily because of what I witnessed Friday night at the Mark Mallet concert. What inspiring music and a powerful testimony! He tells the story of his struggle with a particular sin that was weighing him down. He was attending a prayer meeting and the last thing he wanted to do was praise God, because he felt so enslaved to this sin, unworthy, hypocritical. However, as he explained, we sing to God and praise Him not because we feel good or it makes us feel good, but because God is worthy of our thanks and praise. So at his meeting, he decided to praise God just the same, and as he began to sing, a miracle happened: he said his whole body was filled with electricity, and from that moment forward (snap!) this sin had no more power over him.
So for those of you who never sing at Mass, or for those who don’t feel like singing, give God thanks and praise anyway, and see what difference it makes in your life! No harm in trying.
We have just listened to God’s word, and now we are about to begin the Liturgy of the Eucharist. On this World Day of Youth, the Pope has written a beautiful message to the youth of the world on the theme of God’s word, in which he explains that we need to be nourished by God’s word and the bread of eternal life – they are inseparable from one another.
He also writes, “God says what he does and does what he says.” An example: in the extended Gospel reading of the Passion, in the scene from the Last Supper, Jesus says: “Take; this is my body.” But later, in the Eucharist, Jesus will actually do what he says – through the Holy Spirit he will change the bread into His Body. For Catholics, we are nourished not only by God’s word that we hear, but also by the Word made flesh that we receive into our bodies.
Just as God does what he says (changing bread into His Body), let us pray that we will do what we say in every single Mass – that we will be changed by the Mass, freed from our sins, so that we can live the Eucharist out there in the world in our daily lives – that always and everywhere we will give thanks to the Father through our Lord Jesus Christ.
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April 2, 2006
Posted in Homilies
at 9:00 am
Fifth Sunday of Lent, Year B, April 2nd, 2006
Today is the collection for Development and Peace, the branch of the Canadian Catholic Church that helps the poor in the Global South of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. This is the third and final year of their campaign called “Water: Life Before Profit” promoting access to clean water for the poor of our world. Since Paul Schibli, after many years of fantastic service in this ministry, has withdrawn from Development and Peace, I will integrate this message into my homily. (If anyone is interested in getting involved with Social Justice and/or Development and Peace, please let us know).
In today’s Gospel from the 12th chapter of John, Jesus promises us: “when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people (rich and poor) to myself.”
He draws us to himself by giving us gifts such as “living bread” (John 6:51) and “living water” (John 4:10).
First, Jesus himself is “living bread” or the “bread of life.” In today’s Gospel he says “unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains but a single grain; but if it dies it bears much fruit.”
Show a grain of wheat. And what do we get from wheat? (Bread – loaf on display)
And do we use bread at Mass? What does it become?
Jesus is the grain of wheat that died and bore much fruit by becoming living bread or the bread of life. In Chapter 6 of the Gospel of John, Jesus tells us, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger” (6:34), and “whoever eats this bread will live forever” (6:51). Beautiful!
O.K. What about water? Jesus tells the woman at well in John 4 that he will give “living water” (4:10) and “whoever drinks the water that I shall give will never thirst” (4:14). Later, He says, “let anyone who thirsts come to me and drink . . . and rivers of living water will flow from within him” (John 7:37-38). Jesus was speaking about the Holy Spirit, which He gave us once He was lifted up from the earth in His death and Resurrection.
So Jesus wants to draw all people – rich and poor – to himself, by giving us gifts such as the living bread of his Body, and the living water of the Holy Spirit.
Both rich and poor need Jesus in His Body and Blood and the gift of His Spirit, to live forever. But the poor also need regular bread and regular clean water in order to live until tomorrow.
Children, imagine your mother or father says to you, “what would you like for lunch today?” A hamburger, hot dog, soup, a peanut butter and jam sandwich? You have about 20 choices! It’s different for the poor families that I know in El Salvador. They don’t eat much bread made from wheat, but tortillas made from corn. So for lunch in El Salvador, you have a choice of tortillas . . . or tortillas . . . or tortillas maybe with a few beans. And the same thing for dinner.
And what would you like to drink with that? In Canada you may ask for orange juice or apple juice or Coke or Ginger Ale or 20 other choices. In El Salvador, you have a choice of water . . . or water . . . or water. For breakfast, lunch and dinner. And the water is not always clean and will sometimes make you sick with bacteria or parasites.
Development and Peace, in their campaign, “Water: Life Before Profit” want to remind us that everyone on earth has the right to enough food and to clean, affordable water. Our donations can help the poor in places like El Salvador and throughout South America, Africa, and Asia.
In Canada, we are very rich, and we have lots of bread to eat and lots to drink. But my dear children, you will notice that many rich people who have too much to eat and drink still complain and are still unhappy, because they eat and drink selfishly. In the words of the prophet Haggai, “you have eaten but have not been satisfied; you have drunk but not been exhilarated” (1:6). But when we share with the poor, everything tastes better: crusty old bread turns into steak, and water into wine.
Have you ever shared the last piece of your chocolate bar with someone even when you really wanted to eat it yourself? But your little sacrifice put such a smile on the other person’s face that you felt warm inside – that was Jesus giving you the living water of the Holy Spirit inside you. As we receive Jesus the Bread of life today, may He fill us with the joy of the Holy Spirit, and inspire to share what we have with others. And we become a grain of wheat that dies to our selfishness and bears fruit in giving life to others.
I would like to end with this quote from Madonna House, which I have hanging in my kitchen: “Lord, give bread to the hungry, and to those who have bread, hunger for you.”
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Homilies