February 25, 2007

Worship God in the Desert

Posted in Homilies at 9:00 am

First Sunday of Lent, February 25, 2007

Children’s homily

Q: Does anyone know why we have sand and cacti in front of the altar?

We have a little desert here to remind us of the 40 days Jesus spent in the desert.

Q: So why do you think Jesus would want to spend 40 days in the desert?

Remember that a desert is hot and sandy but it’s not the beach. We know many Canadians would like to go the beach right now to relax for 40 days, but that’s not why Jesus went into the desert. So why did Jesus leave his comfortable home in Nazareth, leave his beloved mother behind, and leave his job as a carpenter to go into the desert? . . .

Well, he was “led by the Spirit.” Jesus had just been baptized by John and the Holy Spirit had descended on Him. Then the Spirit led him into the wilderness or the desert, to pray and prepare himself for his work as our Saviour.

So Jesus spent 40 days in the desert. Today is the first Sunday of Lent, which lasts 40 days. We are supposed to imagine that we are with Jesus in the desert for these 40 days. During these 40 days, we try to pray more and worship God, because Jesus prayed while he was in the desert. The Gospel also says that Jesus ate nothing during those days.

Q: What about you? Is there something that you are not eating during Lent? Is there something that you have given up for Lent?

Q: Why do we give something up in Lent and choose not to eat something? Is it like going on a diet so that we won’t get fat? Or is it to show ourselves and others how strong we are? ‘Look at me I gave up pop for Lent!’ or ‘Look at me, I gave up pop and chips for Lent!’ or ‘Look at me, I gave up pop and chips, chocolate, TV and video game; I’m the champion of Lent!’

Children, we must remember why we give something up for Lent – it is to grow in love of God and other people. Giving up some food for Lent makes us think of the millions of children in the world who do not have enough food to eat. With the money we save not eating something during Lent, maybe we could put aside even 25 cents a day then give the money to charity at the end of Lent.

Also, by giving up some food during Lent, it reminds us of the words of Jesus in today’s Gospel, “One does not live by bread alone” (Lk 4:4).

The main reason we eat is to live. Right? We eat to live. But there are some people . . .who live to eat. They’re always thinking about food! They just had breakfast and now they’re thinking about lunch! There are some children at school, that if they miss snack time, they start to die of hunger, rolling on the floor holding their stomachs! Jesus went 40 days without eating, and we can barely go 40 minutes! By not eating something during Lent, we are reminded to think less about our stomachs, and more about our souls, to think less about ourselves, and more about God and others.

Lent is a special time to rediscover what it means to worship God. As Jesus reminds us in the Gospel, “Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him” (Lk 4:8). We live in a culture that has forgotten what it means to worship God. The desert is a good place to worship God and to pray because in the desert . . . what do you hear in the desert? . . . silence . . . in the desert there’s no TV, DVD’s, video games, CD players, radios, there’s no useless chatter, gossip, bad language, noise or distractions . . . just silence . . . and God (unveil empty monstrance set near desert scene).

Q: Does anyone know what this is for?
It is called a monstrance — not a monster but a monstrance, like the word “demonstrate,” “to show.” We put a host in the monstrance, the Body of Christ, Jesus himself, present but hidden. We put it in the monstrance to show it better, so that people can better pray, worship and adore God.

Children, I want to invite each one of you to spend some time with Jesus in the desert this Lent, to come to worship God here in front of this little desert in our church, to worship Jesus in the monstrance during our 40 hours of adoration.

Children, imagine if Jason Spezza, Dan Heatley or “Sugar” Ray Emery were signing autographs at our church on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. I know that lots of people could find time in their busy schedules to pay a visit to the Church. And behold, someone greater than Jason Spezza or Dan Heatley is here — Jesus Christ who died on the Cross to save us and is present for us in the Eucharist.

Children, imagine if you’re mother were sick in the hospital, but you had a very busy day with homework and hockey and a friend’s birthday party. I know that you would still make some time to visit your mother — even if it was only 5 minutes. And behold, someone greater than your mother is here — God who knit you together in your mother’s womb and created all of us out of nothing.

To all parishioners, I echo the words of Jesus who said that the Father is seeking true worshippers (John 4:23). God is seeking true worshippers from this parish, to worship him with our bodies and our souls — with our bodies by genuflecting before the Tabernacle or the monstrance, and kneeling at the consecration, and with our souls to make the most elementary act of worship that is nearly totally forgotten in our society: to say “You are God. You made me. (You knit me together in my mother’s womb). I belong to you.”

During our 40 hours of adoration from Thursday to Sunday, if you only have 5 minutes to come visit Jesus, then come for 5 minutes. But the more time you spend in the desert, worshipping God in silent adoration, the more you will experience the fruits of the spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal 5:22)

Let us spend some time this Lent with Jesus in the desert, and re-discover how to worship God with all our heart and soul and strength.

February 18, 2007

The Guy in the Pew with Nothing to Do

Posted in Homilies at 9:00 am

Seventh Sunday, Year B, Feb. 18th, 2007

(Rite of Enrolment)

Children, today you are being enrolled; you are being officially recognized as those for full initiation and membership into the Catholic Church through Confirmation and Holy Communion. I pray that this will be the beginning of your full, active, conscious and regular participation at Sunday Mass, and that you won’t come to Church saying, “Hey, what’s in for me? Hey, God, what have you done for me lately?” and that you don’t end up like . . . “the guy in the pew with nothing to do.”

Have you ever heard of this “guy in the pew with nothing to do?” He’s the guy who sits like this (arms folded), who doesn’t sing or smile, who doesn’t seem to be praying, and you’re wondering what he’s doing in Church. But I don’t want to be too hard on this guy, because after all he is in Church.

Actually, he’s here today! And I spoke with him before Mass and asked him if he wouldn’t mind coming forward to have a frank discussion with the priest and he agreed! So I would like to invite him to come forward now. (Choir members or altar servers bring out two chairs and place them in front of the altar)

Priest: (shaking hands) Hi, thanks very much for agreeing to do this.

Guy: You’re welcome.

Priest: So what’s your name again?

Guy: Guy (pronounced the French way)

Priest: You mean “G-U-Y”? So you really are the “guy” (English pronunciation) in the pew! . . . So to get started . . . hey, that’s a nice watch, where did you get it?

Guy: My wife gave it to me for our twentieth anniversary last year.

Priest: May I see it? I’ve been thinking of getting a new watch since the wristband broke on my old one. (Guy takes off watch and priest puts it in his pocket). I promise I’ll give it back to you after Mass. I notice you look at it a lot during Mass, and sometimes it’s a bit distracting . . .

Guy, I want to thank sincerely for agreeing to speak with me. Now it’s been said that the purpose of the Gospel is to “comfort the afflicted and afflict the comforted.” So if someone comes to Church and is feeling afflicted, sad, discouraged or overburdened, then the purpose of the Gospel is to say, “Hey, cheer up! God loves you! He’s real, and He’s here with you today!” But if you are comforted and complacent, the purpose of the Gospel is to say, “Hey, you’d better wake up; it’s time for you to change your life. You can’t go on like this and expect to be happy . . .”
So may I ask you, just in general terms (you don’t have to bear your soul in front of all these people), how you are feeling today?

Guy: Pretty good, I suppose.

Priest: Then it’s my job to afflict you! But I will try to go easy on you, because I do respect you for being here today. I notice you do come to Mass every Sunday, but you’re not exactly jumping up and down in the pew and clapping your hands. So may I ask . . . why do you come to Church?

Guy: My wife, I guess.

Priest: What– does she put a gun to your head?

Guy: No . . . let just say she encourages me. But to be honest, Father, I think that you can be a good person without going to Church. And I know lots of people who do go to Church and don’t really love their neighbour.

Priest: Yes, I’ve heard that said before. And I believe that all those people who are naturally good and don’t go to Church, that if they received the Sacraments of Holy Communion and Reconciliaton on a regular basis, they would be saints like Mother Teresa and have schools named after them! And to truly live the commandments of Jesus, such as his words in today’s Gospel, “Love your enemies, do good, and lend expecting nothing in return” (Lk 6:35), is very, very difficult for us selfish human beings; we need the grace of the Sacraments in order to follow the commandments – not just children in grade 2, but all of us!

But as for those who do receive the Eucharist every week but are no different from their non-practicing or non-believing neighbours, there are like . . . first let me ask you if you have any children, nieces and nephews?

Guy: Yeah, my wife and I have two teenage sons, and my little sister has two kids.

Priest: OK. God forbid this would ever happen, but imagine if your sister and brother-in-law were to die suddenly in an accident, and their kids were entrusted to you and your wife to raise, along with all the insurance money. What do you think you would you do with that money?

Guy: Well, use it to raise the kids, provide for their future, pay for their university . . .

Priest: There was a man and his wife who adopted his brother’s children in a similar situation, and received $1 000 000 from the insurance company. But they weren’t practising Christians and they didn’t know the warning of Jesus to be good and faithful stewards when the Lord puts us in charge of his children to give them their food at the proper time (cf. Luke 12:42) and they had a sort of consumer mentality toward life (“what’s in it for me?”).

So instead of spending that money on the children, they spent it on themselves, going out for expensive dinners and getting drunk, going to the casino, going on cruises and luxury holidays, leaving all their children behind for a month each year, until they spent the whole $1 000 000 on themselves, not leaving a single Looney to provide for the future of their adopted children.

Guy: That’s horrible!

Priest: Yes, but it’s a parable. In the spiritual life, there are people do this every Sunday! In our baptism and confirmation, we receive an inheritance from God. In Holy Communion, we receive a treasure worth infinitely more than a $1 000 000 — we receive God himself! And what do we do with this gift? Do we share it with others or spend it on ourselves?

I’m afraid that many people come to Church and receive Communion with a consumer mentality, saying, “what’s in it for me? Entertain me, feed me!” They forget that Jesus becomes food for us, so that we can become food for others, to give others life and love; we receive the Body of Christ to be the Body of Christ; and Jesus unites us to himself to take away our sins, our anxieties, our unhappiness, so that we can joyfully offer our lives to our heavenly Father as a beautiful and acceptable sacrifice.

(Guy looks at his wrist) What are you looking for? Your watch is in my pocket, remember? (Priest looks at watch) According to your watch, I still have three minutes left. Are you following what I’m saying? Do you agree or disagree?

Guy: Well, going to Church should make a difference in people’s lives.

Priest: I agree. And if we receive Jesus in Holy Communion and don’t change our lives, and don’t give ourselves more to our spouse or children or our neighbours, then we are eating the bread and drinking the cup of the Lord unworthily, and according to St. Paul, sinning against the Lord himself, eating and drinking judgement upon ourselves! (1 Cor 11:27-29).

And children preparing for First Communion, remember that it is supposed to change your lives, and make you love your parents more, your brothers and sisters more, your friends more . . .

I agree with you Guy, going to Church should make a difference in people’s lives . . . Has it made a difference in yours?

Guy: Father, . . . I’m feeling a little bit . . . afflicted now. Do you think that you could give me some comfort?

Priest: I’ll start by giving you your watch back. God will give you all the comfort and consolation you need at Mass if you really pray while you’re here – full, active, conscious participation in the Eucharist. Ask God for what you need; and give of yourself; give God thanks and praise for all that you have; crack open a hymnal! Crack a smile! Don’t be a mere spectator or bench-warmer when you could be a key player. God doesn’t just want your butt in the pew; he loves you and he wants your heart!

Guy, thanks so much for coming to Church and agreeing to speak with me. You’re a good sport, humble and honest. I hope to see you downstairs after for coffee and doughnuts (9:00 and 10:30).

February 11, 2007

Being One

Posted in Homilies at 9:00 am

Homily for Marriage Sunday

February 11, 2007

Last week, Father Tim spoke about vocations to the priesthood, and this week, since this is World Marriage Sunday, we decided that because I’m the one with experience in this area, it would be appropriate for me to speak about the vocation of marriage. It’s easy to lose sight of the fact that marriage is a vocation; it is a call from God, to both the husband and the wife, to a life of joy, sharing and sacrificing for each other and, if so blessed, for their children. We act in cooperation with God in joining together in matrimony. We continue to work with His will as we grow in love and unity with each other and with Him. It is particularly this unity that I want to focus on today.

Marriage is much deeper than the mere union of man and woman in a civil contract. It basically regards a wife and husband as symbols of another marriage, that of Christ and His Church. Christ refers to Himself as the Bridegroom, and it is the Church which becomes His Bride. So, the Sacrament of Matrimony is not just an extra holy bit added on to civil marriage so we can have a nice church celebration; it is an elevation of natural marriage to the supernatural. The husband and the wife participate in the union of Christ and the Church. The husband lives in the wife and the wife lives in the husband, and the two become one flesh.

In Genesis, we hear: “God created man in the image of Himself, in the image of God He created him, male and female He created them.” and “This is why a man leaves his father and mother and joins himself to his wife, and they become one body.” The Genesis account gives us the deepest truth about marriage, that it is the union of a man and woman who are made for each other, a union that is so close that it is one flesh. This union is defined by the deep complementary nature of male and female. We complete each other in our union with our spouses. Like two halves of a whole, we are equal, but unique, and in fitting together we both become what we could not possibly be by ourselves.

As we progress in our marriages, we grow together, and more and more we become one. In our society today, there is a focus on our individual freedom, on our independence. Yet, there is a greater joy, the joy of sharing our self, our life, with our spouse. It takes hard work, and a conscious effort, to give of ourselves so completely that we are truly united. But what tremendous rewards we receive for doing so! What great happiness it is to be so close to each other! This does not mean simply relinquishing a grasp on our personal desires, and our spouse doing the same; it means sharing those desires, and making them not individual and selfish, but focusing on those areas that we can both look forward to as we go through life. We do not cease being ourselves; we will always have some different interests, but these should build our relationship even if they are done individually. For example, Faith has many interests that I do not have the same enthusiasm for, and the same goes for me. I have attended many of Faith’s musical practices and concerts, even if it wasn’t at first my favourite thing to be doing – but it became my favourite because she was involved, and I love her. And she has done the same for me. We shared in those things even though they may have been primarily individual pursuits. We each could have stayed home and done other things, but being there contributed, however minutely, to our unity. Our marriage has not been and is not perfect. We should not expect any marriage to be so. But from the very beginning, we have shared our dreams, our aspirations, our fears, and our difficulties. We have helped each other through some tough times, and been the cause of some of those times, all the while trying to grow in love for each other and for God, and to become united as He has asked.

One of the greatest ways a couple can grow in unity is to pray together. You have heard me many times emphasize the importance of prayer, and praying together as a couple is a real boost to a marriage. Most of us do some praying, but often we do so alone. Some couples pray together only in formal prayer such as the Rosary, which is definitely important. But, how many of us pray together spontaneously – in our own words, from the heart? This is one of the deepest forms of prayer because it allows our partners to get a glimpse into our souls, to see how we see God and how we talk and relate with Him. Maybe, starting with this World Marriage Day, we can begin as a couple to develop a deeper prayer life, a deeper experience of Jesus and the Holy Spirit in the sharing of spontaneous prayer. By praying together with consistency, it is amazing how deeply God will bless our marriages, and how we will grow more and more to be united, to be one.

February 4, 2007

Vocations to the Priesthood

Posted in Homilies at 9:00 am

Fifth Sunday, Year C, February 4th, 2007

The year is 2022, and the Catholic people of Russell are upset with the new bishop of Ottawa because he has just announced that due to the shortage of priests, only on one Sunday per month will there be Mass in Russell; for other Sundays, people will have to drive into Ottawa. A delegation of parishioners pleads with the bishop saying, “Archbishop, we’ll pay more diocesan tax; we’ll do whatever you want, but please send a priest to Russell!” And the Archbishop shakes his head sadly and replies, “But whom shall I send? I have no one! I wish I could help you, but there’s nothing I can do.” . . .

Is this an unrealistic scenario? We just had a meeting of priests on Wednesday, and right now we have 93 active priests in Ottawa whose average age is 54, and by 2022, based on current trends, we only have 33 active priests. The future depends on the Holy Spirit, of course, but also on each one of us.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus calls Peter, James, and John to catch people, to be “fishers of men” (Lk 5:1-11), and in the First Reading, he calls Isaiah to be his prophet (Is 6:1-2, 3-8). So I would like to speak about vocations to the priesthood (and next week Deacon Tom will be talking about marriage for World Marriage Sunday).

I’ll begin by asking:
1) What is a priest?
2) What should we do about the crisis in vocations to the priesthood?”

1) A priest, in himself, is nothing, but by ordination, he is another Christ.
It’s part of the paradox of our Christian life — without God we are nothing, but God calls all of us to share in his holiness and his divinity.

St. Paul once told the Corinthians that God chooses those who are nothing, so that no flesh may boast before God (1 Cor 1:28-29). It’s a good reminder — since the priest in himself is nothing, no one should ever make the mistake of becoming attached to the fallen humanity of the priest. That would be a bit like . . . loving John the Baptist instead of Christ! It would be . . . very, very foolish.
But through ordination, this sinful man becomes an “alter Christus,” another Christ. God sanctifies those whom he calls. Consider the example of St. Peter, who began by saying, “Lord, depart from me, for I am a sinful man” (Lk 5: ). Later Jesus would say to him, “you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 18-19). Peter was a sinner who became a great saint by the grace and call of God. That’s very encouraging for all of us.

Furthermore, the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable (Rom 11:29). Christ did not take back his gifts and his call to Peter when Peter denied him. Nor does Christ do so with priests; he will still come into the world through the words and the hands of a sinful priest. So no one should ever make the opposite mistake of cutting themselves off from Christ and the Sacraments and refusing to go to Church because of something a priest once said or did or left undone.

Catherine Doherty gives this witness: “In Russia, when the last Roman Catholic priest in my city died (he was killed before my very eyes), if there had been a priest who I knew had committed every mortal sin in the book . . . I would have crawled on my belly to that man to receive the divine gifts that he could give me. I couldn’t have cared less about his mistress, or his other sinful ways. Because faith penetrates these things . . . (Yes) I would have crawled to that man to say, ‘Father, please hear my confession. Give me the Viaticum (Holy Communion)’ . . . And I wouldn’t have worried about the man, for I would have seen Christ in him.” (Dearly Beloved: Letters to the Children of My Spirit, Letter April 27th, 1974, p.20). And she even goes so far to say, “Nothing in this world can be greater than a priest – nothing but God himself!” (p. 25) This is one of the supernatural truths of our faith that even many people today have forgotten – even priests. A priest in himself is nothing, but by ordination, he is another Christ.

2) So what should we do about the crisis in vocations to the priesthood? There are less priests in the Church today for some of the same reasons that there are less people getting married in the Church and staying married – selfishness, the idols of materialism, personal pleasure and unrestricted freedom, a fear of commitment, a lack of trust in God, and so on.

But I would like to address one issue through this imaginary conversation between a parishioner and a priest who begins by saying, “We need a renewal of both marriage and priesthood. There’s a serious shortage of priests and vocations in today’s Church.”
And the parishioner replies, “Yes, Father, there’s a terrible, terrible shortage of priests and vocations, but what can we do?!”
Priest: “We need to pray daily that the Lord will send labourers into his harvest.”
Parishioner: “Yes, Father, we need to pray daily and storm heaven with our prayers, begging the Lord to send us some priests!”
Priest: “Well, what about your son?”
Parishioner: “What?!” No, he can’t be a priest!!”
Priest: “Why not? I notice he comes to Mass each week, listens, prays, sings, and he’s much more mature and holy at his age than I was, that’s for sure! I think he would make an excellent priest!”
Parishioner: “But he can’t be a priest . . .because . . . I don’t want him to be so lonely . . . and overworked, unhappy, repressed, an alcoholic or worse . . . “
Priest: “. . . Are you saying . . . that you think . . . that I’m like that?”
Parishioner: “Oh, no, not you Father! . . . It’s just that . . . well . . .we want grandchildren . . . Well, it sure is getting late and I have something in the oven. Well, it’s been nice chatting with you Father!”

That’s a “good Catholic family?” What happened to the days when parents encouraged their sons to consider the priesthood and prayed for vocations, not in the abstract – that they would come down from heaven – but prayed for vocations from their own families?

To those who do nothing to support and encourage priestly vocations, don’t complain if one day Mass is not available each Sunday in Russell, or that you don’t understand the priest because he’s from Nigeria or India. Don’t complain when you’re dying and you are afraid to face God, and you wish a priest would come to take away your sins, anoint you and give you Viaticum. But no priest is available. Don’t complain, if you do nothing to support vocations to the priesthood today.

On a more positive note, I would ask this fictional parishioner from the previous dialogue, and those who think the way she does: “You don’t want your son to be another Christ, to have hundreds of brothers and sisters, sons and daughters in the family of the Church, and to work with Christ to help save the world and lead all souls into heaven? That’s the most important work on earth!”

To increase vocations to the priesthood, we need to pray – at home, at Mass, in Eucharistic Adoration and Holy Hours – and to encourage our sons, grandsons, and friends to consider the call, and we need to learn to listen to God. In the First Reading, the prophet Isaiah heard the voice of the Lord, saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’” and Isaiah replied, “Here am I; send me!” People need to learn to listen to the voice of the Lord calling, if there is ever going to be an increase in vocations. At the World Vocations Congress in Montreal in 2002, the young people themselves asked the Church to provide them with more retreat opportunities, so that they could learn to listen to the voice of God calling them.

It just so happens that in three weeks, on Saturday, February 24th, there is a discernment retreat for men ages 16-35 on the call to priesthood OR marriage. And it just so happens that I am part of the Vocations Committee helping to organize this retreat. I have mentioned it already to some guys in our parish . . . and a reminder to parents that this retreat is about the call to holiness in priesthood OR marriage, so there’s no brainwashing or coercion involved!

To the young men in our parish, I encourage you to take some time for God. It is worth it to take one day this year to book off from work or change your shift, and to do your homework on another day, so that you can go on a retreat and let God speak to your heart. Maybe Christ will put his hand on your shoulder and say, “Come follow me” and call you to be one of his intimate friends and disciples as part of the greatest fraternity in the world doing the most important work on Earth.

To young men who may be called to the priesthood, or young women who may be called to some sort of consecrated life, I say, “do not be afraid.” And I quote John Paul II said to the young people, “Dear friends, question yourselves seriously about your vocation and be ready to answer the Lord who is calling you to take the place he has prepared for you from eternity.” And Pope Benedict who spoke these words at World Youth Day 2006: “If Jesus calls you, do not be afraid to respond to him with generosity, especially when he asks you to follow him in the consecrated life or the priesthood. Do not be afraid; trust in him and you will not be disappointed” (Message of the Holy Father Benedict XVI to the Youth of the World on the Occasion of the 21st World Youth Day, April 9th, 2006).