June 29, 2008
Posted in Homilies
at 9:00 am
Year A, June 29th, 2008
The experience of Christ’s love in the breaking of the bread and the sharing of all things in common helped continually transform St. Peter and St. Paul into other Christs, and the same grace is offered to us if we truly live the Eucharist and love one another as brothers and sisters of the same family.
One of the highlights for me of the Eucharistic Congress in Quebec was the experience of the universal Church as a single family. People from all over the world attended, and each day we celebrated Morning Prayer and Mass in the principal languages of English, French and Spanish (and some Latin). In the line-up at the café, or at lunch in the outdoor tents, strangers would suddenly turn around and talk to each other even though we didn’t know each other – but wait a minute! We did know each other because we all had something very profound in common – we were all believing and practicing Catholics – all 12 000 of us who gathered for Mass each day. And we were all there for the same thing – to worship and adore Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, to come to know and love him more, to grow in fellowship and communion with one another.
In our times, I think we have forgotten the power of the Eucharist and communal life to transform us as human beings. Consider the example of the first Christians, and of St. Peter and Paul whose feast we celebrate today (and today is also the beginning of the year of Paul proclaimed by Pope Benedict).
The lives of these great apostles were certainly changed at the moment of their conversion and calling when they first met Jesus and by the sending of the Holy Spirit, but also, their lives were continually transformed by the Eucharist, which they celebrated in their homes when they gathered for the “breaking of the bread” (an early Christian term for the Eucharist), and by the communal life of sharing all things in common (Acts 2:44).
Saint Peter and Saint Paul were willing to face persecution, beatings, imprisonment and a violent death — because they lived in Jesus and he in them through his Spirit and through the Sacrament of his Body and Blood. The first reading tells us the story of St. Peter’s imprisonment. I am reminded of one of the testimonies at the Eucharistic Congress of Elizabeth Nguyen Thi Thu Hong, the sister of Cardinal Van Thuan of Vietnam, who was imprisoned by the communist leaders of his country for 13 years, 9 of them in solitary confinement. After his release, people asked him, “what was the secret of your strength keeping you healthy and sane in prison?” His family smuggled in hosts to him in a flashlight, and wine in a bottle marked, “stomach medicine.” Every day he celebrated Mass using his hands as an altar, with a host on one hand and on the other, three drops of wine and one drop of water. He said that they were the most beautiful Masses of his life, almost as if the walls of his prison dissolved as he lifted his heart up to the Lord and joined hands with the family of the Church throughout the world (You can watch the testimony of his sister on www.ecdq.tv).
And what about our own lives? If, through the Eucharist, God gave one man strength to endure 13 years in a communist prison, surely God will give us strength through the same Eucharist to persevere in a demanding job, a difficult family situation, or in mental or physical suffering. If we have faith. If we can look at the host and believe it is God, responding in the words of St. Peter’s confession of faith: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16: 16).
What was the secret of St. Peter’s strength in prison? It was partly the prayers of the community, for we read “the church prayed fervently to God for him” (Acts 12:5). God sent the angel to rescue St. Peter. The chains fell off his wrists and the walls of his prison seemed to dissolve. The Church that prayed to God for him gathered every Lord’s Day for the breaking of the bread. Both St. Peter and St. Paul received Jesus in the Eucharist every week, which continually transformed their lives, so that both of them could say, “I no longer live; Christ lives in me,” (Gal 2:20); both were martyred and poured out their lives as a libation (2 Timothy 4:6), as a pleasing sacrifice to God who awarded them with the crown of righteousness (2 Timothy 4:8)
At the Eucharistic Congress, I listened to about 11 different talks, given by Cardinals, bishops, priests and lay men and women. There were many presentations on the link between love of God and love of neighbour, the breaking of the bread and sharing all things in common, the Eucharist and the poor. Another way of putting it – the link between “sursum corda” (lift up your hearts to the Lord) and “pax vobis” (peace be with you – the sign of peace we give to our neighbour at Mass).
Like Mother Theresa and countless others have discovered — it’s the same Jesus on the street as in the Church, on the hospital bed as on the altar, in the person next to me as in the tabernacle – the same Jesus. One evening talk was given by the Cardinal of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, whom I had met in early May, so I wanted to hear what he had to say. It was at the end of a thrilling but tiring day, and I was fighting to stay awake. Luckily, the Cardinal repeated the same point many times, so it started to sink in.
I can still hear him saying, “Jesus rompe los muros!“ Jesus breaks down the barriers and walls between peoples – Jews and Gentiles, rich and poor. As St. Paul wrote: “Christ is our peace, in his flesh he has made us one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us” (Eph 2:14), a hostility perhaps fed by our insecurities. And I wondered, “how does this apply to our parish? There are no walls between Jews and Gentiles, rich and poor . . . there are no walls that we put up between us . . . right?”
Often we don’t notice the walls we put up until we go away someplace where people have no walls or a lot less of them, for example, to live among the poor on a mission trip, to visit a community like Madonna House (I hope to bring some people with me for a three day visit in August), to go to a Eucharistic Congress or World Youth Day or a retreat like Journey to the Father.
And then you come back and say, “Holy S . . . Something! Look at those walls! I thought these people were brothers and sisters of the same family in the Church, and friends in the same parish! That’s a cement block wall! And this one is solid brick! What’s going on with all these walls?”
We put up walls in our houses to protect ourselves from the elements – from the extremes of heat and cold, and we lock the doors on our walls to protect ourselves from thieves. But why do we carry walls around with us? (Walls to protect us or prison walls?) Why do we keep to ourselves behind our walls and our closed doors? To protect ourselves from what?
And then it dawned on me. People are insecure! When I was younger, I used to think that I was the only person who was shy and insecure. But now that I am a priest, and God gives the grace to see into people’s hearts, I realize that everyone is insecure. Look, she’s so beautiful, but she’s insecure. Look, he’s so successful (and rich!) but he’s insecure. And this person is so intelligent, but insecure. But of course! The only person who is not insecure is the person without sin, like the Blessed Virgin Mary, or the great saints like Peter and Paul who died to themselves and were continually transformed into other Christs as they drew near to the perfect peace and security of the kingdom of heaven.
Jesus came to tear down these walls! Not to expose us and shame us, but to heal us of our sin, guilt and insecurity, so that he can embrace us and bring us into deeper fellowship and communion with one another.
One of the most positive results of our recent parish survey was the enthusiastic report people gave of our parish as a welcoming community of friendly people with a warm, family atmosphere. That’s true. We do love each other. But God’s infinite love calls forth from us more love, more trust, and the willingness to risk ourselves and open ourselves to find that deeper security, that perfect love which casts out all fear (1 John 4:18). To love like the first Christians who lived the Eucharist, the breaking of the bread, and who shared everything in common including their hearts.
There are some individuals, couples and families in our parish who come to Mass but never socialize. They practice “sursum corda” but not “pax vobis”. We need both – I lift up my heart to the Lord, and I reach out a hand in friendship to my brothers and sisters during the sign of peace and throughout the week. There are some people who come to Mass but never come to Coffee Sunday or pancake breakfast (or strawberry tea) or spaghetti supper or other social gatherings, youth group, prayer group, men’s group, special Masses, mini-retreats or pilgrimages – whatever.
Never socializing is a bit like saying, “I’ve been coming to this parish for several years, and I’ve seen that person or family almost every week, but I have no idea who they are. We will probably continue to see each other at a distance, through a crack in our walls, for years to come. But I am never, ever going to meet them – ever. Because I’m not going to be the one to reach out to them. I’m too busy; it takes too much effort; it’s too risky; it’s easier to keep myself behind my walls and my closed doors.
My friends, if you think that way, then you are not celebrating the Eucharist. St. Paul wrote about this to the Corinthians. He said that their lack of love for each other when they gathered for the Lord’s supper (specifically between the rich and poor) actually invalidated their Eucharist, for he told them, “it is not the Lord’s supper you are celebrating” (1 Cor 11:20).
My brother and sisters in Christ, some of the kindest, most loving, generous, trustworthy and interesting people in this town are here now in this building. And they also happen to be your brothers and sisters in Christ. Open your hearts to each other. Do not be afraid to meet new people and to deepen your relationships with those you know. And in your intimate relationships in marriage or family, do not be afraid to tear down those prison walls, to allow yourself to feel insecure but to go forward, sharing yourself with another, sharing your heart with Jesus in personal prayer and in the Eucharist. And for those who feel secure already in your little group of friends, you may think you don’t need others, but others may need to be included by you.
So I close with the words of my introduction: the experience of Christ’s love in the breaking of the bread and the sharing of all things in common helped continually transform St. Peter and St. Paul into other Christs, and the same grace is offered to us if we truly live the Eucharist and love one another as brothers and sisters of the same family.
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June 22, 2008
Posted in Homilies
at 9:00 am
Homily for the Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time, June 22, 2008
Three times in today’s Gospel, Jesus tells the Apostles not to be afraid. Not afraid to speak of the truths that He was teaching them. Not afraid of those who would kill their bodies – but not their souls. Not afraid because, if God cares for the sparrows, He will certainly care for them. The only thing He says they should fear is “him who can destroy both body and soul in hell”.
Like Jeremiah, we may sometimes be mocked – for being Catholics and Christians; or we may become a laughingstock to some people. At this point, most of us don’t face the threat physical violence or death because of our beliefs. But, there is much opposition to those beliefs from people who would like to silence us because we acknowledge Christ before others, and that makes certain people uncomfortable. In the world, the message of peace does not go over very well with those who are perpetrating violence on others. The example of living our lives according to God’s will is not welcome by those who prefer to live according to their own will.
Although unintended, we may find that following Jesus can create tension and conflict, even with those closest to us. Our proclaiming of the Good News should always be done with love and respect in order to minimize hostility. Our witnessing, as Father Joseph Champlin once said, should “challenge, not crush” – and I might add, not antagonize. Since we know that God cares deeply for us, we naturally want to share that love with those around us. If someone was sick, and we knew of a way to heal them, would we withhold that information from them? Of course not. Would we force it on them? That may not be the most helpful approach either. But we probably wouldn’t be reluctant to share that information out of fear of negative consequences to ourselves.
As recent events have shown, even in our own country some people have suffered for speaking the truth boldly, in the light. But that should not deter us. Whether it is to a friend, or to our families, or to our provincial or federal governments – the teachings of Christ need to be proclaimed. Let us not be afraid to do so. After all, we are worth more than many sparrows.
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June 15, 2008
Posted in Homilies
at 9:00 am
Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A, June 15th, 2008
“When Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Mt 9:36). These words are equally true today as Jesus looks out on the people of our culture, “troubled and abandoned” like children without a father. The opening lines of this Gospel are a clear call to pray for an increase in priest-pastors, the shepherds of God’s people, and I continually beg you to please pray for priests and an increase in vocations to the priesthood. But on this Father’s Day, I propose that this Gospel also invites us to pray for all fathers, to look to St. Joseph as a father, and to renew our trust in God our Father.
Fatherhood is little revered and even mocked in our society. Consider the portrayal of fathers in media and entertainment. Homer Simpson for example (yes, I still watch the show on occasion). He is the father of three children, and a lazy, stupid drunk. (Doh! But he’s so funny!) And I recently heard a comedian say, “When I was younger, I used to be afraid of becoming like my father, until I realized that all men are afraid of becoming like my father.” Then he went on to describe his relationship with his father with sarcastic humour, barely disguising some bitterness and lack of forgiveness.
My brothers and sisters, it is so important for us first of all to thank God for our fathers, to forgive those who have failed in some way, praying that their weaknesses or mistakes to damage our relationship with God our Father. I forgive my father, and I hope he forgives me for my past transgressions. I can honestly say that we are friends, and we are actually going fishing soon! (But my brother and father aren’t talking, so I am praying for forgiveness and reconciliation between them).
And I also ask your forgiveness for any of my failures as a priest-father. Sometimes we fathers (spiritual or physical) don’t seem to notice when someone else is hurting, or we neglect to give a word of comfort, a smile of encouragement, or the love that can help heal a wounded heart. Forgive us, pray for us and remember – God alone is the perfect father.
There are disturbing signs in our society of a premeditated and systematic attack on fatherhood – the fatherhood of men and the fatherhood of God. Interestingly, John Paul II has written that “Original sin attempts to abolish fatherhood” (Crossing the Threshold of Hope, p. 228, quoted from Theology of the Body Explained, p. 141). And who is at the source of all attempts to abolish fatherhood? It was the devil who whispered in the ear of Eve, and tempts us with similar lies: “God is not your Father. He doesn’t love you. He wants to control you. You can’t trust him.”
The temptation to listen to the lies of the devil and lose our trust in God our Father leads to spiritual dis-eases , psychological problems, and even physical illness. A loss of trust in God our Father contributes to low self-esteem, hypersensitivity, workaholism, alcoholism, addictions, anxiety disorders, insomnia, panic attacks, social phobias, youth rebellion, violence, and so on, and so on.
In yesterday’s paper, for instance, appeared this article, “Hooliganism Begins in the Home,” with this quote: “The question marks placed against male identity, resulting from . . . the progressive and willful destruction of fatherhood, are creating widening spirals of despair, irresponsibility and violence among men and boys” (Ottawa Citizen, June 14th, 2008 – article by Margret Kopala).
What can we do? We can respond by really praying and living the “Our Father.” “Abba, Father, I trust in you.” And by being devoted to God as our Father, so that he can heal us of our spiritual diseases, psychological problems and even physical illnesses.
The Gospel today invites us to pray to our heavenly Father and renew our trust in him. As Jesus tells his disciples: “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest” (Mt 9:37-38). Note: A much better translation is “pray” to the Lord of the harvest – and I will explain my reasoning. The original Greek word is “deomai” which can be translated “ask,” “pray” or “beg.” It appears 21 times in the New Testament, and is translated “ask” only 4 times in the NRSV (the version in use in the Canadian Church). In 29 different English Bibles, this verse (Mt 9: ), it is translated “ask” only 7 times, “pray” 17 times, and 5 times using stronger words such as “entreat,” “supplicate” or “beseech.”
In English, there is a significant difference between “asking” God and “praying” to him. “Asking” could be a quick and casual query. “Praying” implies more engagement, devotion, perseverance, and a listening heart. I think a good case can be made that a better translation is: “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.” Pray for an increase in vocations to the priesthood; pray for fathers; pray for all your needs.
Any farmer will tell you that a plentiful harvest is a course a gift, but with few labourers, it also represents a crisis. The harvest will spoil, so get busy! Work harder! Work a double shift! Work until it gets done! Isn’t that the logical human response to any crisis? Work! But what does Jesus advise? “The harvest is plentiful but the labourers are few; therefore . . . work harder?” No! “Therefore, pray.”
The price of gas is through the stratosphere! It costs an arm and a leg to commute to Ottawa or to run the machinery for the harvest! What am I going to do? I’ll have to work over-time or get a second job! Work! Stress! Panic! What does Jesus advise in any sort of crisis? “Pray.” Pray to the Lord of the harvest; pray to the Lord of all the earth; pray to your Father in heaven. Every crisis is also an opportunity. Perhaps this world-wide problem of rising food and oil prices will inspire us to simplify our lifestyles and re-arrange our priorities.
Jesus knew about praying in a crisis not only because he is the Son of God, but also because he learned from the example of his earthly father St. Joseph. I simply cannot imagine St. Joseph and the Holy Family being like so many families today – busy, frantic, frenetic – or imagine St. Joseph working and yelling, “Jesus where d’you put my hammer?” And Mary yelling back, “it’s on the window sill where you left it!” Instead, I imagine St. Joseph responding to any problem by leading his family to kneel on the dirt floor of their simple house, kneeling and praying to the Lord of the harvest, to “our Father who art in heaven.” I’m impressed by any man who knows how to fix things, especially since that is not one of my gifts, but I am even more impressed by the man who knows how to kneel, to pray and ask for help.
Why o why are we so busy in our culture? The busy beaver is one of our national symbols. But if you look on a five-cent piece, even he is taking a break, sunning himself on his mound. Why is it that we are so frantic and frenetic, so “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Mt 9:36), like children without a father? My guess is that we have lost our childlike closeness to God our Father, our organic bond to him that is normally passed on to children by the faith of their parents and a Christian culture.
We don’t know what we’ve lost so we don’t know what we are looking for. So many people crave attention, appreciation, affirmation, approval, recognition, success. So many people exhaust themselves, working themselves to the bone, almost in an unconscious attempt to earn something that cannot be earned, something that is a free gift that must be received in faith – the Father’s love, perhaps the love of an earthly father, but above all, the love of our Father in heaven.
On our pilgrimage walk last Sunday, we had a tour of the magnificent chapel of the Grey Nuns on Bruyere Street, where one of the nuns mentioned the devotion of St. Marguerte D’Youville (and Elizabeth Bruyere) to the “eternal Father.” This devotion to the Father is not some pious relic of by-gone days, a forgotten chapter in a dusty book from the basement archives of our country. No, this devotion to the Father is living water, from a pure spring that never dries up, but a spring that we must re-discover; this devotion to the Father can heal us of our low self-esteem, hypersensitivity, workaholism, alcoholism, addictions, anxiety disorders, insomnia, panic attacks, social phobias, youth rebellion, violence, and so on, and so on.
The saints inspire us to trust in God our Father and to call upon him – above all St. Joseph. Jesus is always pointing us toward God the Father, but he also gives us his own earthly father St. Joseph to be a father to us. Devotion to St. Joseph is one of the supernatural solutions to the crisis of fatherlessness in our culture. St. Joseph’s Oratory in Montreal is not only the largest shrine to St. Joseph in the world, it is also a monument to God the Father, and a privileged place for us to re-discover the living water and renew our trust in our heavenly Father. (By the way we have a car-pool pilgrimage to St. Joseph on Saturday, June 28th – there’s a sign up sheet in the foyer).
Today’s readings remind us that we have every reason to trust in God our Father. In the second reading, we hear: “God (the Father) PROVES his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8). In the first reading, the Father encourages the Israelites, saying, “you shall be my treasured possession . . . indeed, the whole earth is mine, but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation” (Ex 19:5-6). “You are my family, my beloved sons and daughters. I am your Father.”
And: “You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself” (Ex 19:4). Elsewhere, Scripture compares God to an eagle spreading her wings and hovering over her brood (Deut 32:11). And the peace and joy of living in God’s presence in the temple is described as dwelling in the shadow of God’s wings. These almost “feminine” metaphors illuminate the consoling truth that in the heart of God the Father is all the tenderness of a mother. Then why are we afraid of approaching him? St. Therese of Lisieux said it best when she described her spirituality as that of a child sleeping without fear in her father’s arms.
Tomorrow/today begins the 49th International Eucharistic Congress in Quebec, which I will be attending from Sunday evening until next Friday or Saturday. It is to the Eucharist that God the Father leads us, through the deserts of this world to the promised land, to his holy mountain and the sanctuary where he dwells among us. It is here that he gathers us under the shadow and protection of his wings, brings us to himself, and feeds us with the Body and Blood of his Son, continually proving his love for us.
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June 8, 2008
Posted in Homilies
at 9:00 am
Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A, June 8th, 2008
My topic today is probably the most unpopular subject for a homily in the Church in Canada in the 21st century, which is unfortunate, since this topic is very good news for the men and women of our time. The topic is “the Church’s teaching on contraception,” or in more positive terms, “good news about sex and marriage.”
People may wonder why I am raising this issue now. Next month is the 40th anniversary of Pope Paul VI encyclical on contraception, called “Humanae Vitae.” And our bishop also inspires me, since he recently mentioned contraception at a talk at Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy in Barry’s Bay. For almost two years, we have had information on natural family planning on our website and our pamphlet rack; we even had an evening information session on NFP led by a married couple, which almost no one attended, perhaps because people are blinded by the god of this age (2 Cor 4:4), held fast by a deaf and mute spirit of paralysis (Mk 9:25), that prevents them from hearing and acting on the Church’s teaching on sex and marriage. Let us pray that our Lord Jesus Christ will cast out this spirit and open our hearts to the truth that will set us free and make us more fully human.
I want to begin by asking forgiveness from all of you on behalf of the Church for our failure to proclaim and explain the Church’s teaching on sex and marriage, contraception and natural family planning. Our Popes have been excellent shepherds for us, but many bishops and priests have neglected to teach the truth, so I ask for your forgiveness.
I also want to place this discussion of contraception in the context of God’s mercy, which is the message of today’s Gospel. Jesus re-assures us all: “I have come to call not the righteous but sinners” (Mt 9:13). This is very good news for us, since all of us have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God (Rom 3:23). We all live together among the ruins of the sexual revolution. Fr. Raymond D’Souza put it well in an article on the movie and TV series Sex and the City: “The lasting accomplishment of the sexual revolution was to remake society according to the desires of corrupted adolescent males, with plenty of pornography, easy women and disposable relationships, facilitated by contraception and abortion, cohabitation and divorce” (National Post). I don’t have time to go into detail, but the deceits of the sexual revolution contributed to the break-up of my own family and in the death, through abortion, of two of my cousins. I have also sinned through my own fault by choosing to believe the lies of the sexual revolution, and I did not live a chaste and celibate life prior to becoming a Catholic.
But Jesus Christ came to call sinners, and I am one of the worst! Christ died on the Cross and shed his blood to take away my sins, your sins, and the sins of the world. We are no longer dominated by lust; we are redeemed by Christ! (Theology of the Body Explained, 427). And when we confess our sins in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, God forgives us; he makes us a new creation (2 Cor 5:17), then sends us out saying, “go and sin no more” (Jn 8:11) and proclaim what God has done for you (Mk 5:19).
Now before explaining the Church’s position on contraception, I would like to thank all those families who have been so generous in bringing new immortal souls into this world and in living and proclaiming the Church’s teaching on natural family planning. I would also like to publicly thank Jane Burkett. At the age of 43, she was willing to have an 11th child named Evelyn Slee who later had a son named Gary McCauley who later had a son named Tim McCauley. I want to thank my great-grandmother (and my great-grandfather, Benjamin Slee Sr.) for being so generous.
I’m so happy that my great-grandmother didn’t decide, after her fourth, fifth, sixth or tenth child, to contracept her subsequent conjugal acts – then I would not exist. I am very grateful to God that I do exist, that he created me out of nothing through the generosity of my ancestors. I am grateful to God for all of you whom he has likewise created with immortal souls, so beautiful in his image, and destined for eternal happiness with him. In our contraceptive culture, we have lost sight of the truth that every single human life is precious, and we have forgotten the miracle of conception. A sperm does not have an immortal soul; an egg does not have an immortal soul. But in the moment of conception, God acts, in the same way he did when he made the universe: he creates something out of nothing, someone, a person, that will live forever – a new human being, an immortal soul.
Abraham rejoiced that he would be the father of many nations and that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars (Rom 4:18 – second reading). Every generation up until ours has considered fertility a gift, not a disease to be cured with a pill; every generation up until ours has considered children to be a blessing, not a burden. Something has gone wrong with this generation.
On to the topic of contraception, I want to emphasize that this homily is directed to all of you, not just fertile married couples. I am speaking to young people, who will most likely marry one day, that they might know the truth. I am speaking to you older parents with children, that you might better teach the truth to your children. I am speaking to you grandparents and single people, that you might also understand and support the Church’s teaching on sex and marriage.
In the “theology of the body” of John Paul II, popularized by Christopher West in such books as Good News About Sex and Marriage and Theology of the Body Explained (available through St. Pat’s bookstore), our former Pope reminds us that part of the meaning of life is to love as God loves, and married couples, in their conjugal love, are meant to reflect the love of the Holy Trinity, and the love of Christ on the Cross. John Paul explains that sexual love is the power to love as God loves. How many have heard that before? Sexual love is the power to love as God loves. In part because when God loves, he creates new life. Sexual love within marriage is meant to create new life. Life and love go together.
As Pope Paul VI states in his encyclical Humanae Vitae, the Church’s teaching on contraception “is founded upon the inseparable connection, willed by God and unable to be broken by man on his own initiative, between the two meanings of the conjugal act: the unitive meaning (love) and the procreative meaning (life)” (#12).
John Paul II provides a fascinating insight into the deeper meaning of the marital embrace. In every conjugal act, a couple renews their wedding vows with their bodies; the words they spoke on their wedding day they renew through the language of the body. On their wedding day, couples promise a love that is free, total, faithful and fruitful. They are asked three questions: “Have you come here freely and without reservation to give yourselves to each other in marriage?” (Free and total love) “Will you love and honour each other as man and wife for the rest of your lives?” (Faithful love) and “Will you accept children lovingly from God?” (Fruitful love).
When a couple engage in contracepted sex, they are not offering each other a love that is free, total, faithful AND fruitful. John Paul even goes so far to say that they are even lying to each other with their bodies. The language of the body proclaims, “I am giving myself to you completely” when in fact I am holding back my fertility. I am putting up a barrier between us (whether that barrier is a physical or chemical contraceptive or sterilization).
Christopher West adds that the husband is meant to love his wife as Christ loved the Church, Christ who says to the Church, “this is my Body which is given up for you.” Look at Jesus on the Cross. This is love as self-sacrifice, whereas contraception tends to promote love as lust, using another person for one’s own selfish pleasure. In contraception, the couple says to each other, “this is my Body which is NOT given up for you. I am not willing to give you everything” (Theology of the Body Explained, 423-4). Can you imagine if Christ had said this at the Last Supper or if the priest were to say this during the Eucharist? “This is my Body which is NOT given up for you.” That would be sacrilegious (Theology, 418). For married love to be an image of God’s love, it must be free, total, faithful and fruitful.
I don’t have time to go into more detail, but I encourage you all to listen to Janet Smith’s CD “Contraception: Why Not?” There are 50 copies in our CD display case, and we are making them available for the lowest possible price – $1. Please take the time to listen to it. I think you will be amazed by what you hear. For example, she explains how contraception, over the last forty years, has actually resulted in an increase in unwanted pregnancies, single motherhood and poverty, abortion, sexually transmitted diseases, adultery, divorce and social chaos. She also explains the side effects of the chemical contraceptive called “the pill”: it makes women more irritable and prone to depression; they tend to gain weight, and have a reduced sex drive. If we don’t want to put chemicals into the air, the water and our food, why, she asks, would women want to put such harmful chemicals into their bodies?
The healthy and proper alternative to contraception is natural family planning (or NFP). The Church does not teach that you must have 11 children like my great-grandmother did from 1878 to 1903 (but of course the Church encourages people to be as generous as possible in having children). Natural family planning is free, healthy, and safe; it enhances communication between the couple and improves their relationship, AND is just as effective as contraception. For example, as Janet Smith explains in her CD, there was a study done in India of 19 000 women who were taught natural family planning: a third were Muslim, a third were Hindu and a third were Christian; most of them were illiterate. Any guess what the pregnancy rate was among these women? Almost zero. If illiterate Indian women can learn NFP, I am confident that educated Canadian women can also.
Here is another very interesting statistic. The divorce rate in the U.S. hovers around 50%, and I think it’s about the same in Canada. In a study done of 1400 couples who practiced natural family planning, any guess what their divorce rate was? Maybe down from 50% to 30% or 20%? Actually, it was zero! A 0% divorce rate! (Good News About Sex and Marriage, p. 128). “Wow! There must be something about this “natural family planning!” Teach me more!” Well, listen to the CD. Grab a brochure from our pamphlet rack. Check out the links on our website. Ask around in the parish from other couples who practice NFP.
It is true that NFP requires sacrifice and periodic abstinence of 7-10 days per month. (By the way, NFP requires mutual sacrifice; the contraceptive burden is not on one person). The same means of grace that permit a priest to be permanently celibate (and normal and happy!) are the means that will strengthen married couples to abstain for 7-10 days a month: personal prayer, Reconciliation and the Eucharist.
St. Matthew sacrificed everything to follow Christ. What did he sacrifice exactly? The Gospel only states, “he got up and followed him.” He certainly left behind all his wealth and probably his family also. What gave him the courage to change his life so radically and follow Jesus? When Jesus had called another rich man to follow him, we read that Jesus “looked at him and loved him” (Mk 10:21). I believe that Jesus also looked at Matthew and loved him, and Matthew experienced this love and responded.
Jesus Christ is asking all of you today to follow him by following all the teachings of the Church he founded, including the teachings on sex and marriage. But Jesus does not ask you to do something impossible. He will give you all the grace you need through prayer, confession, and the Eucharist, in which he says, “this is my Body, given up for you.” He looks at you and he loves you; he has come to call all us sinners and make us into saints.
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June 1, 2008
Posted in Homilies
at 9:00 am
Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A, June 1st, 2008
Do you notice anything different about this Sunday? The decor? Yes, it’s the first “green” Sunday since February 3rd! We had Lent, Easter, and some special feast days like Pentecost and Corpus Christi. Now we are back to Ordinary Time, to living our ordinary lives as Christians and Catholics, coming to Mass every Sunday (Sat eve) and lifting up our hearts to the Lord, seeking the grace we need to live all the teachings of Christ and the Church, to do the Father’s will so that we will eventually enter the kingdom of heaven.
Let us ground our faith on the rock of Christ, our refuge and our strength, and through him continually lift up our hearts to the Father. In today’s Gospel, the Lord tells us quite simply: “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock,” while the fool builds his house on sand. Is your marriage built on rock or sand? Is your family built on rock or sand? The rock refers to all the teachings of Christ and the Church, the Church that Jesus built on the rock of Peter’s faith (Mt 16:18).
When Jesus says, “these words of mine” what does he mean? He is referring to all the words he had just spoken on the Sermon on the Mount, very challenging words: teaching on love of enemies, turning the other cheek, renouncing anger, for “whoever is angry with his brother or sister, will be liable to judgement” (Mt 5:22). Teaching on marriage, divorce, and adultery, such as: “everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Mt 5:28). Who can possibly live all these teachings to perfection and build his or her life on this foundation? As the disciples once asked Jesus, “Who can be saved?” (Mk 10:26) Jesus replied, “for human beings (on their own) it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible with God” (Mk 10:27) if we lift up our hearts to him.
I have heard that some people in Russell have had problems with floating foundations because their houses were built on wet clay or sandy clay (on sand instead of rock). As it was explained to me, a floating foundation will shift and crack, and it is very expensive to repair. A foolish builder doesn’t care if the foundation is sandy clay, but a wise builder will either pour a larger concrete footing for the foundation or dig deeper and put pilings into the ground underneath the foundation.
Yes, people take great care to make sure their houses are built on firm foundations. Why would you want your house built on rock, on a firm foundation, but let your marriage or family be built on sand? It doesn’t make sense, does it? But that’s what many people do. By refusing to base their marriage and family on all the teachings of Christ and the Church, they build on sand. One example of building on sand is basing a marriage on love as mere feeling instead of love as a choice. Love as a feeling is like sand disappearing through our fingers. Another example is basing a marriage on contraception rather than natural family planning (more on that next week). So when the devil comes, as he always does, to “huff and puff and blow the house down” (like the wolf in that fairy tale of the three little pigs), the marriage fails, the family breaks apart.
Although the sacrament of marriage is itself meant to be as immovable and unchangeable as solid rock, and families are meant to be a stronghold against all the huffing and puffing of the devil, we know that in our times unfortunately, there are many “rocky” marriages and broken families.
But whatever sort of ground you may be standing on, in whatever situation you find yourself, you are called to lift up your heart to the Lord. Isn’t that what you are doing here today at Mass? For those who enjoy stability in their marriage and peace in their families, you can lift up your hearts in thanks and praise to God. For those in troubled or uncertain relationships, who feel like the ground is shifting beneath their feet, who fear that the foundation will crack, the earth will open up and swallow them – you too are called to lift up your hearts to the Lord, with loud cries and tears if necessary, but always with hope and confidence.
The Lord knows about all our temptations to give in to anxiety, depression or despair; he knows that some days our hearts feel like cement blocks that we cannot possibly lift an inch. But he looks at our will; our effort to lift up our hearts. He will never deny the grace necessary to lift up our hearts if we come to him in our need, confessing our weakness, begging for his help. And when you feel weak, also trust in the rock of the Church, in the love and support of your brothers and sisters in the Church, who will also lift you up on days when you are feeling down.
Lift up your hearts – “Sursum corda!” is the original Latin from the opening of the Eucharistic Prayer. “The Lord be with you.” “And also with you.” “Sursum corda!” “Lift up your hearts!” “We lift them up to the Lord!”
I am quoting it in Latin because I want this phrase to stick in our minds, and sometimes hearing it differently will do that. The writer Dietrich von Hildebrand, whom Pope Pius XII called a 20th century doctor of the Church, used this phrase “sursum corda” as a teaching – that Christians should live in a continual ambience of “sursum corda,” of constantly lifting up our hearts to God throughout the day, throughout the week, in prayer, petition, thanksgiving, adoration, trust, and never, ever, letting the devil, depression or despair drag us down. “Sursum corda!” is a good motto for the “green” Sundays of “ordinary time.”
Sursum corda! Let us live the Eucharist! Remember the theme of this pastoral year that our archbishop chose to coincide with the Eucharistic Congress, the theme written in our weekly bulletin: “Together with Mary we live the Eucharist.”
Mary brought the child Jesus to the temple, and presented him, lifted him up, to the Lord. She lifted up her heart with her son, in praise and thanksgiving. When Jesus was lifted up on the Cross, Mary lifted up her heart to God in self-offering and agonizing prayer. When Mary shared in the Eucharist with the apostles, she lifted up her heart to the Father through Christ, with him and in him. Mary lived in a permanent state of “sursum corda.”
It breaks my heart to see at times the pain in people’s faces – tension in marriages, strained relationships in families. So to all of you I say, “sursum corda!” Lift up your hearts to God and put to flight the devil, depression and despair.
A few examples: there are some young people who fall into the temptation of thinking, “my parents don’t really love me. They’re too busy for me.” What? That’s a lie! Don’t let the devil drag you down! Sursum corda! Lift up your heart to the Lord! Your parents do love you, but they’re only human and sometimes they don’t know how to express it.
And then there are parents who think, “My kids don’t really appreciate me.” What? That’s a lie! Don’t let the devil drag you down! Sursum corda! Lift up your heart to the Lord! Your children do appreciate you, but they’re only human and sometimes they don’t know how to express it.
You feel like your wife nags you or your husband neglects you? Sursum corda! Do you get discouraged in your faith journey, thinking you can’t possibly follow the Sermon on the Mount and all the demanding teachings of Christ and the Church? On your own you can’t; with Christ you can. Sursum corda!
Take heart! Have courage! God is with you! He will never abandon you!
Let us also ask our Blessed Mother Mary to help us, for in union with her, we can and do lift up our hearts to the Lord in each Mass. With Mary we live the Eucharist.
What is the secret to living in a permanent ambience of “sursum corda,” to lift up our hearts to the Lord and to live all the teachings of Christ and his Church? (PAUSE) . . . The secret is to receive holy Communion with a felt need and genuine faith, and when possible, to extend the moment of Communion with a time of adoration. Last Monday I visited the convent of the Sisters of Jesus and Mary in Hull where they have perpetual adoration with an immense monstrance on their high altar. (By the way if anyone is interested in adventure, next Sunday, June 8th, the fifth annual Walking Pilgrimage to the Churches of Ottawa is taking place. We have special permission from the Sisters to visit the tomb of 2 Ottawa “saints” buried there – Fr. Alexis-Louis Mangin and Eleonore Potvin. See me for more details).
A time of adoration can extend the moment of Communion, the moment Jesus takes hold of our hearts to lift it up to his own. Do anyone of you remember the visit of the ark of the covenant of the Eucharistic Congress to St. Thomas Aquinas and the parish for an evening Mass with the CWL? It was sometime last year, but it seems so very, very long ago. On the ark, there is a striking icon of Christ risen from the dead: with one powerful arm oustretched he is lifting up Adam out of the tomb; with the other, he is raising up Eve – both at the same time like Superman! That’s what Jesus does for us in holy Communion: he raises us from the tombs of our depression; he lifts us out of the quicksand of our despair; he picks us up from the cracked foundations of our doubts. But we must receive him with a felt need and genuine faith. A “felt need” means that you know in your heart that you need God’s help in your life, and you believe that he is present in this sacrament.
He gives us all the grace we need to follow his commandments and the teaching of the Church, so that we can build our marriages and our families and our lives on solid rock, and enter the kingdom of heaven.
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