March 30, 2008
Posted in Homilies
at 9:00 am
Homily for the Second Sunday of Easter
March 30, 2008
Is everyone still celebrating Easter? What a great few days we had, and it was wonderful to have so many of us come together from Holy Thursday through Easter Sunday. And, it isn’t over – today is in the Octave of Easter, so we continue to rejoice just as we did last week.
However, the disciples gathered on the evening of the first Easter were not rejoicing. They were together, probably at least as much for security as because of faith. They were rightfully afraid, hiding from the authorities behind locked doors. And yet, as we hear in the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, in a short time this fearful group was spreading the Gospel, bringing more and more people to Christ, and causing the formation of vibrant communities of believers.
Almost 2,000 years later, we still share in the heritage of those early communities. We, too, are united in our faith. Like the disciples, like the first groups of Christians, we gather to encourage one another, to listen to and learn from the Word of God, to receive Christ in the Eucharist, and to go out into the world afterwards to live our faith throughout the week.
When we speak of our Catholic faith, it is not meant in a way that is exclusive, as in “this is ours and not yours”. But it should be our faith in the way that we possess it, and it possesses us, that it is a part of our very being. Believing is not just a matter of what we know, it is not simply what we feel, it goes deep down inside of us. Both Peter and Jesus speak of those who believe without seeing. But when Jesus says to Thomas “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.”, He is not rebuking Thomas. Remember, the other Apostles believed in great part because they had seen Jesus the previous week. And having seen – not touched, only seen – Thomas strongly affirms his faith by saying to Jesus “My Lord and my God!”.
Perhaps we sometimes have doubts or questions about our faith. We may think that we disagree with Church teaching on one subject or another. And our culture tends to undermine our confidence in the truth, to fuel our uncertainty. When we encounter those situations, we really need to educate ourselves, not just about what the Church teaches but why. And the ultimate answer to all of the “whys” is that the Church is entrusted by Christ to lead all souls to heaven, and the Church takes that responsibility very seriously. It tries to set out the path, and give us the proper guides to keep us on that path.
In our ways, we may ask for evidence. Like Thomas, it may take some persuading, it may take an invitation from the Lord, to bring us to a belief grounded in both faith and understanding. Notice that Thomas did NOT actually put his fingers into Christ’s wounds. He did not need to press his doubts that far. And he also didn’t say ‘my mind is already made up, don’t confuse me with the facts’. We are all frequently given opportunities to accept Christ’s invitation for us to believe, it is our obligation respond in faith. By informing ourselves, we allow ourselves to open our eyes and hearts and see things that strengthen our faith.
We are not just a community of believers when we are here in this Church building, we are always a community, and support each other as we live what we believe. It can be tough to stay rooted in the Gospel when we are dealing with the influences of our society and the demands of our daily lives. It is in living out our faith in the face of all those minor, and sometimes major, conflicts, that we grow, and that we help others to grow. The way we live, bolstered by the support of our fellow believers, is a sign to others that their relationship with God is blessing, not a hindrance to their happiness. Although it can be difficult to convince some people, sometimes even friends and family, it is not our words but our example of living in a manner that keeps us close to God that testifies to our faith, even if some people think that we are a little crazy.
How would we respond to these remarks:
“You mean to tell me that you go to church every Sunday?”
“Isn’t it a little weird to take time to pray every day, and even with your family?”
“I couldn’t possibly get everything done if I didn’t shop on Sunday!”
These are just a few examples, specifically of ideas pertaining to our current culture. But, going to Mass on Sunday, regular prayer, not shopping on Sunday, and many other facets of our response to the call to holiness in our daily lives are the ideal we all should be joyfully modeling to others, regardless of what they initially think. Once you get in the habit, you will probably discover that an hour at Mass or twenty minutes praying the Rosary as a family can be better than anything else you might otherwise be doing.
The early communities grew because of their faith, and because of the actions inspired by that faith. Our friends, neighbours, and family will also be encouraged when we are true to what we believe, when it shows in the way we live each day of the week, every hour of the day.
In addition to being the Second Sunday of Easter, today is also the feast of Divine Mercy, as instituted by Pope John Paul II in the year 2000. Christ spoke of His Divine Mercy at great length to St. Faustina Kowalska, a polish nun, in the 30’s. For those who are interested, we have a copy of her diary in the parish library.
Just as in His mercy, an understanding Christ strengthened Thomas’ faith, it is through Divine Mercy that we are given the great gift of our faith. It is truly a gift beyond measure. It is up to us to accept this gift, to make it part of ourselves, and to nourish it individually and in community. We are united in faith with each other, and with Christ. As Saint Peter says: “You believe in Him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”
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March 23, 2008
Posted in Homilies
at 9:00 am
March 23rd, 2008
“Christ is Risen!” “Truly he is risen!” This is an ancient greeting among Christians on Easter; it is much more inspiring that that secular greeting, “Happy Easter.” So today I will be greeting you with these words, “Christ is Risen!” and the response is “Truly he is risen!”
Christ is risen, and I can see the light in you; some of you are shining like the sun. The light of the glory of the risen Christ shines in you because you have been baptized in Christ; you have put on Christ. In baptism we have died and we have been raised with Christ (Col 3:1-4). Through Christ we have become sharers in the divine nature (Pet), and Jesus himself says about us poor, weak, mortal human beings: “You are gods, all of you sons (and daughters) of the Most High” (Ps 82:6, Jn 10:34-36). Check it out: that’s what Jesus says – John 10:34-36.
Some of you are shining like the sun – you are dazzlingly beautiful. In others, there is darkness and the ugliness of sin. But don’t be discouraged. You can be purified of sin and go to confession not only in Lent, but also in the Easter season. Do not be saddened this day; rejoicing in the Lord must be your strength. Are you to say to God the Father that he may have power to raise his Son from the dead, but that he cannot lift up your heart this Easter (night, day)?
There is light and darkness, beauty and ugliness, in each of our souls because we are still on our journey to our heavenly destiny, we are like soft clay that is still being molded in the image of God. But the moment we die, the clay is fired, and hardened into a form that cannot be changed. So for all eternity – that means forever and ever and ever – we will become light and beauty or darkness and ugliness.
As C.S. Lewis puts it, “it is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet . . . only in a nightmare . . . There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal . . . it is immortals that we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit – immortal horrors or everlasting splendours” (The Weight of Glory, p. 14-15, quoted from Heaven by Peter Kreeft, p.103).
Our secular culture promotes the myth that everyone makes it into heaven and we will all be everlasting splendours that shine like the sun. It’s not true. Not everyone makes it into heaven. Jesus alludes to the effort necessary to make it into heaven when he speaks of those found worthy of the resurrection of the dead (Lk 20:35), and St. Paul writes of striving to attain the resurrection of the dead (Phil 3:11). We must work and pray and strive to attain the resurrection of the dead.
In our culture, we don’t seem to realize that our daily choices have eternal consequences. The kind of person you choose to be today and tomorrow and the next day is the kind of person you will be for all eternity. If you have a problem living with yourself now, what’s it going to be like in eternity?
So what kind of person do you want to be for all eternity? Do you want to be the person who does the “bare minimum”? In your relation with God and the Church, do you give the bare minimum of your time? In school, was it, or is it, your goal to graduate with a 51% average? At work, do you do the bare minimum to get your paycheck? In your relationship with your spouse and children, do you do the bare minimum, so that you will have free time to pursue your own interests? Is that the kind of person you want to be forever and ever? To have the last seat at base camp on the Everest of God’s holy mountain? To have a sign put around your neck, and to have all the saints and angels, and all the people above you, look down on you for all eternity – “he’s one of those. He did the bare minimum.”
Scripture teaches us that in heaven, God will give us a new name, as a badge of honour that we will wear forever and ever (Rev 2:17). Wouldn’t you prefer to have an honourable name, and wear a different sign around your neck, like this one for instance? (“I gave my life”). In my relationship with God, my parents, spouse, children, siblings, friends; in my studies and my work, I gave my life. If we give our lives, we will be happy with ourselves for all eternity. We will graduate with honours (put on cap), and be counted among the saints who have received the crown of life, who carry a palm branch in their hand as a sign of their victory (Rev 7:9), who have been found worthy to attain the resurrection of the dead, who shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father (Mt 13:43).
One very good way to be found worthy to attain the resurrection of the dead is to celebrate the resurrection of the dead – the Resurrection of Christ every Sunday, (since every Sunday is a mini-Easter, the feast day of the Resurrection). (I draw your attention to our bishop’s Easter letter in the bulletin where he emphasizes the importance of the Sunday Eucharist).
Our secular culture promotes another myth: that we can be happy by breaking the commandments. Have you ever heard anything so foolish? For about 4000 years, God has been telling his people: “if you follow my commands, you will live (and be happy), but if your break the commandments – especially any of the ten commandments – you will surely die” (Deut 30:16-18)
We must wake up and realize that we cannot break a single commandment and expect to be happy. The third commandment is “remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day.” For 2000 years, for Catholics this has meant attending Mass on Sunday and remaining free from work or activity that would impede the sanctification of this day (first precept of the Church).
Have any of you had a run “bad luck” recently – persistent sickness in your family, unusual stress at work, recurring problems at home? Ask yourself if you are keeping the commandments or not – all ten of them. Are you coming to Mass on Sunday? Maybe that’s what is missing in your life and what will save you from your “bad luck.” God loves you and he wants to reach out to you and raise you up through the Sunday Mass and all the sacraments of the Catholic Church – the Church which is Body of the Risen Christ, present on earth.
John Paul II, in his apostolic letter The Lord’s Day, listed some of the benefits of keeping the Sabbath holy, one of which is rest: “Through Sunday rest, daily concerns and tasks can find their proper perspective: the material things about which we worry give way to spiritual values; in a moment of encounter and less pressured exchange, we see the true face of the people with whom we live” (#67). I find those lines very beautiful: through Sunday rest we see the true face of the people with whom we live. Perhaps through Sunday Mass and Sunday rest you may re-discover that your husband or your wife or your children or friends are not ordinary people; they are immortal, possible gods and goddesses. Try to see the light in them.
My brothers and sisters, baptized in Christ, I can see the light in all of you; and some of you are shining like the sun. I look forward to spending eternity with you, in the radiance of your presence and your beauty, all of us together bathed in the glory of God streaming from the throne of Jesus Christ, the Lamb once slain who lives forever and ever (Rev 5:6-14). Christ is risen! Truly he is risen!
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March 21, 2008
Posted in Homilies
at 3:00 pm
March 21st, 2008
Jesus to a soul:
You say that you love me. At each Mass, you honour me with your lips, but your heart is far from me (Is) and whenever I approach you, you run away from me. I want to talk to you, but you do not want to talk to me. I love you, but you do not trust me. Whenever I draw near to you, you fear that I am coming to take something away from you, so you turn away from me.
Oh! The agony in my heart! I love you and you reject me!
My heart is pierced, empty. I can feel it pounding in my chest, all because I love you and you reject me! Do you have any idea how I suffer for you?
I have created you and I have died for you, yet when I approach you, you treat me like a stranger and a thief. I come bearing gifts, with my heart on my sleeve, but when I look into your eyes, I see the shadow of suspicion and fear that once drove your first parents to doubt my goodness and spurn my love (Gen).
Oh! The agony in my heart! I love you and you reject me!
I am God but I am powerless. I have created you and I have died for you, yet I am powerless to make you love me and trust me. To love me is to be made happy. But you do not believe what I am saying to you. You do not trust the words of the prophets that I send you.
You are so busy and distracted, so anxious and depressed, exhausting yourself to earn the world’s approval. You are worshiping things beneath you, serving idols that enslave you, false gods that seduce you, lovers that betray you, while I stand beside you, the Faithful One, always there for you, day after day, year after year, hoping, waiting . . .
Oh! The agony in my heart! I love you and you reject me!
I love you more than you love yourself and I know what will make you happy, because I have created you. When will you stop running from me? When will you finally say “yes” to me? I am God but I do not understand why you refuse my love!
Oh! The agony in my heart! What have I done to you that you would treat me so?
Answer me!
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March 20, 2008
Posted in Homilies
at 7:00 pm
March 20th, 2008
“Do you know what I have done for you?” Jesus asked his disciples after he had washed their feet. This question is not limited to one act in the earthly life of the Son of God – the washing of the feet of the disciples. Jesus could very well have asked them the same question when he gave them his Body and Blood to eat and drink: “Do you know what I have done for you?” Or his birth in Bethlehem, his miracles, his death on the Cross, his Resurrection: “Do you know what I have done for you?”
We can also apply this line to the priesthood, since Jesus instituted his apostles as priests of the New Covenant at the Last Supper when he told them, “Do this in memory of me.” He could have asked them, or any priest today, “do you know what I have done for you in choosing you to be ‘priests’”? He could ask any parish in the Church throughout the world: “Do you know what I have done for you in sending you a priest?”
At the Chrism Mass on Tuesday night, the Archbishop encouraged all Catholics to pray for vocations to the priesthood, noting that we have four seminarians currently studying in Toronto, (and I hope to take them out for dinner on Easter Sunday night) but we would like, and we desperately need, a lot more, especially if every parish is to continue to have a priest to celebrate the Eucharist and the other sacraments.
“Do you know what I have done for you?” Perhaps the men who will have their feet washed tonight can better imagine what the disciples experienced in receiving this humble, loving service of Christ. But Christ asks all of us the same question when we receive him in Holy Communion which he first gave to his disciples on a Thursday evening about 2000 years ago. In fact, in relation to any of the graces we have received from God throughout our lives, Christ can ask each one of us: “Do you have any idea what I have done for you?”
To be honest in answering Jesus, many of us would have to say, “No.” “No, Jesus, we have no idea what you have done for us, because we’re too busy, and we don’t have time to think about it.” “After work, I’m tired. We take care of the kids, watch some TV and go to bed. I don’t have time to think about what you, Jesus, have done for me.”
But if we don’t take time to think about what Jesus has done for us – and the love that inspired him, if we do not take time to contemplate these beautiful works of God, then we are running on empty, life becomes routine, and we have no love to give, even in our closest relationships. In today’s Gospel we read, “having loved his own who were in the world, (Jesus) loved them to the end” (Jn ). “He showed them the depths of his love.” It is love that inspired Jesus to wash the feet of the disciples, and to give them his Body and Blood in Holy Communion. His birth in Bethlehem, his miracles, his death on the Cross, his Resurrection – all inspired by love.
But if we do not take time to think, to contemplate this love, it will mean nothing to us. The living water of Christ’s love that he poured out on the Cross to flow out over the whole world and throughout history, yes, even into the fields and furrows of Russell – without contemplation as an aqueduct to bring this water to each one of us – it will never reach us; it will disappear into an immense desert, and sink into the sands of time. The love that inspired Christ to hide himself in a piece of bread that we receive at Mass will never reach our hearts, but will go straight into our stomachs and bypass our hearts completely IF we do not take time to think, to contemplate this love. The historic event of the Last Supper, shrouded in the mists of time, can only be adapted to the big screen and catch the attention of this over-stimulated (and lost) generation – how? Through contemplation.
The Catholic spiritual writer Dietrich Von Hildebrand, in his book Transformation in Christ, writes that charity, or love, in its essence, is contemplative (134,136). At first this line makes no sense to modern ears: love, in its essence, is contemplative? What does that mean?
In other words, GOD LOVED US FIRST. “This is love, not that we have loved God, but that God has loved us” (1 Jn 4:10). We must first receive God’s love, in part through contemplation, if we are to have any love to share with others.
In our busy culture, we tend to think of charity as action, as doing good for others – serving the poor, caring for the sick or elderly, washing people’s feet. But we can only perform works of charity if we have first contemplated and received the charity of God. During Mass, the washing of the feet comes before Holy Communion, but in real life, the reception of Holy Communion comes before the washing of the feet.
It is only because we receive Christ’s love in Holy Communion that we have any grace, desire or inspiration to wash the feet of others, to serve others in love. For myself, I believe that it is partly the regular reception of Holy Communion that is sending me out on a crazy mission trip to Honduras and El Salvador, when I could go somewhere else and relax.
Consider Mother Teresa. How could she wash the stinky feet of beggars and the disgusting, putrid sores of lepers? Because she and her sisters spent an hour each day in adoration, contemplating and receiving Christ’s love for them. Since you are not called upon to wash the sores of lepers, maybe you don’t need an hour of contemplation a day. But if you happen to have parents, or a spouse or children, you will need some moments of contemplation each day, if your love is going to be more than a “resounding gong or a clashing cymbal” (1 Cor 13:1).
Dietrich Von Hildebrand, who was a married man not a monk, wrote that the “true Christian must at any cost conquer a place in his life for contemplation” (138), especially since we live in a “period of perpetual unrest, in which the machine has become the model” of all activity (138); “we live in uninterrupted tension, never ceasing to be concerned about what has next to be settled” (139), the next thing on our list to check off.
Thank God that stores are closed tomorrow and Easter Sunday. Finally we can take a break. Thank God most of us don’t have to work and can’t go into work even if we wanted to. Please take some time for God – on Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday – time to contemplate what Christ in his love has done for you. Please don’t spend the whole day in front of your computer or TV or working around the house. Take some time for prayer and contemplation.
You can even start tonight after Mass. We will be processing with the Blessed Sacrament to the entrance of the Church and down into the hall. I invite you to get up from your pews and join the procession downstairs to our altar of repose where there are many chairs set up for you to stay and pray for 5 minutes or up to an hour.
During his time on earth, Jesus said, “I have come to cast fire upon the earth, and how I wish it were already blazing! And I am held fast, constrained (sunecho) until it is accomplished” (Lk 12:49-50). The heart of Jesus, this “burning furnace of charity,” contained more heat and light than the sun, constrained within his human body. But like the rising sun whose rays touch every human being on earth, so the divine genius of the Son of God found a way to touch everyone, to give himself to every human being. Two thousand years ago he washed the feet of, and gave communion to, only 12 men. But now he gives himself to each one of us in Holy Communion, to prove his love for us.
After Communion, when you go back to sit or kneel in your pew, contemplate the words of Jesus addressed to you: “My son, my daughter, do you know what I have done for you in giving myself to you? Do you have any idea how much I love you?”
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March 16, 2008
Posted in Homilies
at 9:00 am
March 16th, 2008
It’s the most popular of all our Catholic CD’s on sale in the foyer. Which one is it? Is it the one on the Eucharist, Confession, Marriage? Which one could it be? The best-selling CD of all time (among the Catholic CD’s in the foyer of Our Lady of the Miraculous Parish in Russell, Ontario) is perhaps an indication of what is going on in the hearts of the people of our parish. The most popular CD is “15 things to do in the midst of suffering.” (Now I know it will sell out, but the parish has a copy and I do too if you would like to borrow it).
I know for some of you it has been a long, long lent, with physical sickness in your family, interior trials, hidden struggles that you don’t share with others. (I was sick with a cold on my retreat at the beginning of Lent). So, now Lent is almost over. The sun is peeking through the clouds, the snow is melting, spring is coming. Did any good come from your Lenten suffering? Did you learn anything new, grow closer to God? Or are you just relieved, hoping that you will never have to suffer again? (Dream on!)
Before going into detail about what to do in the midst of suffering, we might ask, “what does this celebration of this Sunday before Easter tell us about suffering?” First of all, I’m a little bit confused. Is today Passion Sunday or Palm Sunday? How can it be both? That’s like saying, “Today is Suffering Sunday and Triumph Sunday.” Doesn’t it seem a bit strange that one minute we are waving palms and crying out, “Hail Jesus our King! Hosanna in the highest!” and then we are yelling out, “Crucify him!” How quickly the triumphal procession with palms, as Jesus enters Jerusalem, turns into the sorrowful procession as Jesus carries his Cross through the streets of the same city.
Perhaps the Church is teaching us something about suffering by combining Passion Sunday and Palm Sunday. It’s as if the Church is saying, “don’t put your palm branch away during the Passion.” Follow Jesus in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. Learn to rejoice even in the midst of suffering.
Symbolically, always keep that palm branch with you, hidden under your garments, as you would keep a Rosary in your pocket or a Miraculous Medal around your neck, so that when you feel the weight of the Cross on your shoulders, you will reach inward and touch the palm branch; you will remember moments of joy that Jesus has given you, AND you will also “keep an eternal perspective” (which is #12 on the list of 15 things to do in the midst of suffering).
Remember that you are an eternal being, created for eternal life and a joy greater than we can ever imagine. As I tell my friends in El Salvador who have no concept of snow, I tell them that for Canadians, a palm tree “es un simbolo del paraiso” – a symbol of paradise, the promised land of eternal warmth and sunshine, where every tear will be wiped away, and there will be no more snow (maybe only one month of snow!).
Yes, for some it’s been a long lent, and we could all use some advice on 15 things to do in the midst of suffering. For five of the past Fridays, we have been meditating on 14 things to do in the midst of suffering . . . what have we been doing here on the Fridays of Lent? Praying the 14 Stations of the Cross (and if we add the hope of Resurrection, that’s 15 things to do in the midst of suffering). Jesus is our model in all things; he suffered for us and left us an example (1 Pet 2:21). If we take time to look at Jesus at each Station of the Cross and ask him about his interior disposition in those moments of agony, Jesus himself will teach us what to do in the midst of suffering.
For instance, #2 on the CD is “entrust yourself to God as Christ did.” As St. Peter wrote, “When (Christ) suffered . . . he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly” (1 Pet 2:23) – he entrusted himself to God the Father. We must trust in God’s loving plan for us, that good always comes from our suffering, that all things work together for good for those who love God (Rom 8:28).
I find that one of the biggest mistakes that we make when faced with trials is to see suffering as a wall rather than a window, to see it as rejection rather than an invitation. Sometimes you’ re like Simon coming in from the country, minding your own business, whistling to yourself (yipide do da, yipidee ya, my oh my what a wonderful day!), then BOOM! The Cross is staring you in the face and you are compelled to carry it – you’re struck with sickness, a tragedy in your family, a fight with someone you love. And your first thought is, “why is God doing this to me?” The wall has gone up between you and God. “Why is God rejecting me?”
God is not rejecting you, and suffering must not be a wall, but rather a window into the heart of God and an invitation from God to share in the sufferings of Christ for the redemption of the world (#1 on the CD!)
In his Apostolic Letter on the Meaning of Human Suffering, John Paul II writes, “the individual enters suffering with a typically human protest and the question “why”. . . (but) he cannot help noticing that the one to whom he puts the question is himself suffering and wishes to answer him from the Cross, from the heart of his own suffering . . . Christ does not explain in the abstract the reasons for suffering, but before all else he says: “Follow me!” Come! Take part through your suffering in this work of saving the world . . . “ (#26).
In the lives of the Saints, Jesus would often ask them to offer their sufferings for a particular purpose. For example, he asked Blessed Dina Belanger, “do you want to drink from my chalice?” (Autobiography, P. 272), meaning, “are you willing to share in my sufferings?” Each day, in accordance with our Lord’s requests, she would offer her sufferings for a specific intention: Fridays were for all souls, Saturdays for all priests, and so on.
Imagine Jesus appearing to you and saying, “would you be willing to suffer from a cold for a week to save a poor sinner from hell?” What would we respond? (With enthusiasm) “What? You mean by enduring a cold for a week with patience and a smile, this will help save a sinner from going to hell? Of course I’ll do it! I never understood the redeeming power of suffering!” Instead, I wonder if sometimes our reply is, “Well, let me think about it . . . how bad a cold are we talkin’ here . . . with a fever? Coughing at night? I’ll have to think about it . . . “
My friends, let us suffer well, and avoid illegitimate suffering by drawing unnecessary attention to ourselves (#8). I wonder if there’s any truth to that stereotype that women suffer more patiently than men. When a woman, especially a mother, is sick, she keeps going – flu or fever or broken leg – nothing’s going to stop her! With a child in one arm, marching through a snow storm, dragging her broken leg behind her . . . But when a man has the sniffles, watch out: the whole world stops (into microphone with sullen voice) “I have a cold. I don’t feel good! Somebody help me!” But there’s no truth in that stereotype!
My brothers and sisters, let us not waste our suffering; let us make good use of our suffering by uniting it the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, offering up our daily minor hardships and in fact our whole lives in union with Jesus to the Father for the redemption of the world. Then we will know true joy not only on Easter Sunday and in heaven, but also on our daily walk with Jesus.
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March 9, 2008
Posted in Homilies
at 9:00 am
Fifth Sunday of Lent
March 09, 2008
For the third week in a row, we had another r e a l l y l o n g Gospel today. With the amount of Scripture we have heard recently, we shouldn’t ever let anyone get away with saying that Catholics aren’t people of the Bible. And, although we really should be listening to the Scriptures proclaimed, or in the case of the Psalm, sung, during Mass, it’s also a great idea to read them at home. Now, aside from their length, what do these Gospels have in common? We know, of course, that they tell us about what Jesus did, about His interactions with people while He was here on earth. He performed specific and wondrous miracles, so that people could know that He is God. Also, these Gospel passages give us an indication of what God offers to us – living water, that we may never thirst; sight, that we may not be blind to evil and injustice; life and resurrection, that we may spend eternity living joyfully in God’s presence.
Our readings today all point to the life God gives us. As we are so often reminded, Lent is about renewing our lives, about aligning the way we live with what God desires for us and expects from us. Giving us life – both physical and spiritual – is one way His glory is manifested. So, as Catholics, the way we live our lives should be a reflection of that glory. By virtue of our baptism, we participate in the life of the Trinity. Pope Benedict tells us in his encyclical Spe Salvi, that “being baptized…is not just an act of socialization within the community, not simply a welcome into the Church… That faith, which includes the corporeal nature of the Church and her sacraments…give(s) life to (the) child – eternal life.” Through the Gospels, Jesus teaches us how to conduct ourselves so that we may continue to maintain that life.
We are all imperfect, and require God’s help – His Grace, His sacraments, His Word (even long Gospel passages) – to stay on the right path. When we really embrace our faith, we become more likely to develop patterns of behaviour which are consistent with life in the Spirit. This is one of the effects that the Gospel can have in our lives. As we grow in our faith, our priorities change so that God’s presence becomes increasingly important, and increasingly apparent. Our focus on personal worldly selfishness becomes diminished; our desire to be examples of faith, truth, and Christian charity grows, not for our own sake, but for the sake of others, and for the glory of God.
The Gospel truly is the Good News, bringing joy to us, and to others through us. It is meant to be life-changing. It is meant to be challenging, even exciting! It should make us passionate about our faith, not necessarily in an emotional way, but in the depths of our being, based on understanding what Jesus has done for us, the grace and life God has given us. Reading the Bible is crucial to that understanding.
The very beginning of the Gospel of John tells us: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” You cannot separate the Word of God from God. Pope Benedict says: “In the trials of life and in every temptation, the secret of victory lies in listening to the Word of truth and rejecting with determination falsehood and evil. This is the true and central program of the Lenten Season: to listen anew to the Gospel, the Word of the Lord, the word of truth, so that in every Christian, in every one of us, the understanding of the truth…given to us, may be strengthened, so that we may live it and witness to it.”
When we live by the Word, we are witnessing to it. This means living it every moment, no matter where we are, no matter who we are with, even when we are alone. Our religious life, our faith, is not separate from the rest of our life. Are we allowing our faith to influence every area of our lives? Are we inviting God, as Saint Paul says, to give life to our mortal bodies also through His Spirit that dwells in us? Are we responding, as Lazarus did, to Jesus’ call, believing that Jesus is the resurrection and the life, and that if we believe in Him, we will never die? If we believe in Him, we will conduct ourselves accordingly, not just for our benefit, but for the benefit of others, and the glory of God.
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March 2, 2008
Posted in Homilies
at 9:00 am
Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year A, March 2nd, 2008 (Children’s Homily)
Children, since we have just heard the Gospel story of the man born blind, and since all of you have sight, I will begin by asking you if you see or notice anything different about what the priest is wearing or something different around the altar of this Fourth Sunday of Lent?
Yes, I am wearing a rose-coloured vestment to remind us that this is “Laetare” or “Rejoicing” Sunday, taken from the entrance antiphon that says: “Rejoice Jerusalem!” God is inviting all of us to rejoice even during Lent because Easter is drawing near, the day that Jesus rose from the dead to open for us the kingdom of heaven.
And what do you see in this desert scene in front of the altar with all the sand and cacti? Yes, there are flowers blooming in the desert. They are not yet the white lilies of Easter, a sign of the Resurrection of Jesus, but still, flowers are a sign of the new life of spring and a reminder that Easter is near.
How is Lent going so far? You gave something up for Lent and you are still giving it up? Well, today you can take a break, because it’s Laetare Sunday, a little taste of Easter. But starting tomorrow, try your very best to live Lent even more faithfully for the next three weeks.
Let us continue with our theme of sight, and the Gospel story of the man born blind who was given sight by Jesus. You may have heard this story of a little girl at school who was drawing a picture. The teacher asked her, “what are you drawing?” And she said, “A picture of God.” And the teacher said, “But nobody knows what God looks like.” And while she continued to draw, she said, “Well, they will in a minute.”
So what does God look like? Does anyone want to guess?
It’s a tough question, because we know what Jesus looks like, but we can’t really say what the Holy Trinity – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit – look like in heaven. Moses once said to God, “Let me see your glory!” (Ex 33:18) And God replied, “I will make all my beauty pass before you” (33:19) and “you may see my back” (33:23), “but my face you cannot see, for no man sees my face and lives” (Ex 33:20). We cannot see God’s face in this life.
And when St. John had a vision of God in heaven, he saw a throne for a king, and on the throne one whose appearance sparkled, and around the throne was a brilliant halo, and from the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder, and the spirits were worshiping God using the same words we sing at Mass: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty” (Revelation 4:2,5,8). But still, that doesn’t say much about what God looks like.
Think again of the man born blind – he was so blessed to see Jesus, the Son of God, with his own eyes. And sometimes people think that they would have liked to have seen Jesus on earth, but would any of you like to die to go to heaven to see Jesus . . . right now? But God, who created us for himself, has put a desire in our hearts to be with him in heaven and to see him face-to-face.
I know a priest who is blind, and I think he was born that way. His name is also Fr. Tim, Fr. Tim Devine. And I remember when I was ordained a priest, he read the Gospel, with his fingers, in brail! And he read it with such joy! He’s a very good and joyful priest. Imagine if you were born blind, and you never got to see your mother’s face or your father’s face or the face of someone else you love. If you were born blind, one of your greatest desires in life would be to see – to see colours, to see snow, a sunset, to see the faces of those you love. And you would be willing to give up almost anything simply to be able to see. We are supposed to have the same desire to see God in heaven.
We cannot see God in this life, but we can believe in him. Jesus said,“Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet believe” (Jn 20:29). Believing is a kind of spiritual seeing.
In the hymn “Amazing Grace,” we sing, “I was once lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see.” We are talking about – spiritual seeing and spiritual blindness. Some people are spiritually blind because they go through life like this ( ) with tunnel vision. They never look up to God in heaven (the beatific vision), and they have no peripheral vision, to look around them, to notice other people, to sympathize with their sufferings. To have tunnel vision is to be spiritually blind.
“I was blind but now I see.” It is like being born again. We were all born in sin, with spiritual blindness. But in baptism, we were born again, and we were all enlightened by the light of Christ so that we can know and love God on earth, and see him face to face in heaven. And all of us will be renewing the promises of our baptism at Easter, when we promise to reject sin and to serve God.
“I was blind but now I see.” I think the author of “Amazing Grace” is saying that he had tunnel vision: he didn’t believe in Jesus and he didn’t notice or care about other people around him. But he changed. What does it mean for a person to change from having no faith in Jesus to suddenly having faith in Jesus? In the Gospel, the man born blind first said that Jesus was a prophet (Jn 9:17), then that Jesus was from God (9:33), then he came to believe that Jesus was the Son of Man, and he worshiped Jesus (9:38).
I remember when I was spiritually blind, and I used to think of Jesus as a dead prophet, a man from history. And then slowly, as I started to read the Bible, Jesus became a real Person for me. I remember one day looking at a beautiful painting of Jesus and realizing that I was looking at a real Person who was alive. The Pope has written that “Today there is a need to rediscover that Jesus Christ is not just a private conviction or an abstract idea, but a real person (Sacramentum Caritatis, #77).
Jesus is not dead! He has risen from the dead and he is alive! He wants something from us; he wants to talk to us! It doesn’t mean that we are in trouble, that Jesus wants to talk to us. It’s not like hearing that the principal wants to talk to you in his office. No. Jesus loves us, that’s why he wants to talk to us . . .
Each one of us, who have already been baptized in Christ, must continually rediscover that Jesus is a real person. We need those moments of enlightenment, “I was blind but now I see,” moments of “eureka!” I have found Jesus Christ, the one whom my heart loves (Song of Songs 3:4). We need to create a space for these moments by coming to Mass, reading the Bible, looking at a picture of Jesus, looking at the Cross, or looking at the host, which is the Body of Christ
When St. Thomas Aquinas wrote about the mystery of Jesus’ presence in his Body and Blood, he said that all the senses are deceived except hearing. With our sight, our touch, and our taste, the Body of Christ (that you will receive when you make your first Communion) seems like bread. But our hearing tells us the truth; Jesus said, “This is my Body,” and we believe it, because he said it. (Adoro te Devote)
We have a holy hour coming up this Friday from 7-8 p.m. Even children can come to a holy hour. If it is really too long for some of you, I’m sure your parents can arrange to have a vegee tales movie put on downstairs. But you can also sit in the presence of Jesus and pray, for Jesus himself said, “Let the little children come to me.”
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Homilies