December 28, 2008
Posted in Homilies
at 9:00 am
Homily for the Feast of the Holy Family
December 28, 2008
Did everyone have a good Christmas? Since it’s only been a couple of days, I guess most of us are still in the Christmas mood and spirit. As we celebrate today’s feast of the Holy Family, following so closely after Christmas, I’m glad to see all of you here, faithfully coming to worship together as a parish family.
During Advent and at Christmas, family gatherings and family memories are a central part of the season. Today’s Gospel reminds us that Jesus, Mary, and Joseph were a family. As parents, Mary and Joseph had responsibilities to God and to their son. They took these responsibilities seriously. Joseph and Mary acted in pious and faithful fulfillment of the requirements of the Torah: they brought their child to the Temple to observe the precepts “as it is written in the law of the Lord”. Actually, the Gospel covers two separate prescriptions here: first, the redemption of the first born, which required sending a sum of money to the Temple, though not actual presence at the Temple; and second, the purification of the mother of a child forty days after childbirth. At that time, an offering was to be made – in the case of the poor, as Luke notes, “a pair of turtle-doves or two young pigeons”. If you were rich, you needed to bring a lamb. The custom of redeeming a first born child acknowledged that all life was ultimately the possession and gift of the Lord. The parents essentially “bought back” their child from the Lord. But, they were still required to bring that child up in their faith.
We like to think that, unlike our own families, the Holy Family had no worries or cares. Everything was always just wonderful for them, right? Their certainly were greatly blessed by God, but as we know, their lives were not without difficulties. Simeon’s words foretell this – not only will Jesus be “a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel”; He will also be opposed; and to Mary, Simeon says “a sword will pierce your soul, too”. We see the representation of the piercing of Mary’s soul, of her heart, on the reverse side of the Miraculous Medal.
Think of some of the events in the life of the Holy Family – starting with the Annunciation, and the perplexing situation that the conception of Jesus put Mary and Joseph in. Then, the Nativity, with Mary giving birth in a stable, amidst livestock, because they were no rooms to be had, even for a pregnant woman. The events in today’s Gospel, the flight to Egypt, later losing Jesus in the temple, eventually the death of Joseph, and of course the suffering and death of Jesus – this family was not spared from heartache. However, they were faithful, and their home was faith-filled.
Our attempts at imitating the Holy Family should start with that in mind – we too should be faithful and faith-filled, even in the face of our trials. Our own families are not likely to live in perfect virtue and harmony (especially if you try to do wall papering with your spouse on Boxing Day). We can, however, work to make Christ present in our families and in our homes just as much as He is here at church.
Being a parent is not an easy task these days. It can be difficult to keep children on the right path, and give them a solid foundation of values and faith. We need to recognize, and help our children recognize, the presence of Christ not just in the prayerful and peaceful moments of our family life, but also in those times that are hectic, stressful, disturbing, or tragic.
All of today’s readings are really about one main idea – living so that we are faithful to God, fulfilling our responsibilities to Him. Abraham and Sarah were faithful to God’s commands. The letter to the Hebrews reminds us of that faithful obedience. Even the Psalm speaks of faithfulness – God’s faithfulness to His covenant. As parents, our responsibilities to God include forming our children in the faith. Mothers seem to be particularly adept at this, but this responsibility is meant to be shared between husband and wife. Mothers and fathers are equally tasked with raising their children to love God and make Him an important part of their lives. This doesn’t necessarily mean regularly giving them lessons from the Catechism. It does mean living your life as a continuing lesson on developing a relationship with God.
As fathers especially, we can spend lots of time with our sons discussing hockey, or football, or fishing. We can teach them those “manly” things, like woodworking or auto mechanics. We need to be just as enthusiastic about our religion. If we neglect to teach our children to take their faith seriously, we fail in our responsibility to them and to the Lord. As fathers, or mothers, do any of us really want to stand before God and have to try to explain, truthfully, why we thought that making Him part of our children’s lives wasn’t important?
Unfortunately, in many families today, God is not important, or is even intentionally avoided. So that makes it all the more important that we make our families places of faithfulness. Like the Holy Family, the core of our family should be the belief in God. Our homes and families may not always be islands of tranquility, but let us continually strive to be filled with faith amidst the challenges of everyday life, and remember that Christ, faithfully, is always with us.
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December 25, 2008
Posted in Homilies
at 9:00 am
Christmas 2008
What was your best Christmas ever? Maybe it’s tonight/today! (Or still to come, on the horizon, happiness next year?) I have many good Christmas memories, but my best Christmas ever might have been my first Christmas, back in White Plains, NY, and I was a mere 9 months old. I was still coasting on the grace of my baptism 7 months before, my adoption as a child of God. It was a great Christmas because I didn’t have to do anything! No shopping, no decorating, no baking, no worrying about the economy! I just lay there, and let other people feed me and entertain me! It was great! Actually, I have no memory of my first Christmas, but I’m assuming it was wonderful!
I think this may be one of my best Christmases ever, because I’m with all of you . . . truly you are my brothers and sisters in Christ, and your love of God gives joy to my heart; I also rejoice that we share the same faith and that we can celebrate that together tonight/today. Oh, and one more thing: this Christmas might be the best so far because it is one step closer to the real thing – Christmas in heaven . . .
To have the best Christmas ever, you would have to be really, really ready. And is anyone ever perfectly ready for Christmas? Getting ready for the coming of Christ at Christmas is a bit like getting ready for the Second Coming of Christ – it’s impossible to be perfectly ready. Can anyone say that he or she checked off everything? O.K. We’ve finished our shopping, but we could have done a little bit more. We’ve finished cleaning, decorating, baking, but we could have done a little bit more. And spiritually speaking, are our hearts perfectly prepared, purified of all trace of sin? And I don’t know about you, but on December 1st, I had certain hopes that by the 25th, after four weeks of Advent preparation, I would have reached a certain level of peace, love and joy and . . . I’m just not quite there yet . . . Is anyone perfectly prepared for Christmas?
No, but that’s O.K. We come as we are. “Lord, I am not ready or worthy to receive you, but here I am!” Whenever we come to Church, and especially on Christmas, there’s no need to put on adult masks, a brave face, proving ourselves to the world, pretending to be perfect. No. We come running with open and childlike hearts who have just heard the voice of angels announcing good news of great joy to all people. A child is born for us, so that we can become children again and find our way back to the Father’s heart, our way back to peace in our families.
As we gather round the creche with Mary and Joseph, and contemplate the child wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in the manger, he seems to say to us, “unless you change, and become like a child – like me – you will not enter the kingdom of heaven, you will not have a relationship with me. Whoever humbles himself like a little child will be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, will have the closest relationship with me” (cf Mt 18:3-4). And to all the children here, just by being small, you are very close to Jesus who also became a child, born on this night/day. Don’t be in a hurry to grow up too fast!
Children, have you ever wondered why Jesus chose to be born in winter? Remember that Jesus is God, so He chose when and where He wanted to be born. I’m reminded of the hymn “In the bleak mid-winter.” For the sake of the children here, maybe I’ll sing the first verse: “In the bleak mid-winter/ Frosty wind made moan./ Earth stood hard as iron,/ water as a stone./ Snow had fallen, snow on snow,/ Snow on snow./ In the bleak mid-winter,/ Long ago. (Christina Rossetti). The hymn goes on to describe the child in the manger and asks, “what can I give him, poor that I am? I will give my heart.”
Jesus chose to be born in bleak mid-winter because he knew that the hearts of many people had grown cold (Mt 24:12) and He came to bring fire to the earth (Lk 12:49). His Sacred Heart is the fire of the frozen world (cf. Father Faber, Bethlehem, 132, quoted in Saward, 316). As we gather round the creche with Mary and Joseph, and contemplate the child wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in the manger, he is like a fire that warms our hands and our hearts, and helps us to love one another as He has loved us (Jn 13:34).
If only you knew how much God loves you! As your spiritual father, I can see the goodness, truth and beauty in you, and I love you, so how much more does God our Father delight in you as His own beloved son or daughter! If we knew God’s love, we would never say, “happiness next Christmas.” Happiness is right here. All you have to do . . . it’s so simple . . . is become little, like the Creator of the universe, of all the planets and stars, became a little child on this very night/day. All you have to do is come to Him. Lay down your burdens, and leave them here. Let down the walls around your heart. Do not be afraid to let down all those walls tonight/today. And let go of all resentment . . . let it all go . . . you don’t have to hold on to that anymore.
Then let God love you as His own little son, His own little daughter, the way you once let your own parents love you on your first Christmas in this world, when you were so very little, helpless and needy, but warmly wrapped in swaddling clothes, embraced by love in your mother’s arms, sleeping under your father’s gaze. Happy.
Without any denials about the real sufferings of life, I still rejoice in all the happy memories of Christmases with my family, and all the present signs of the grace of Christmas at work in my family. Even though my father and brother are not talking (which is a whole other issue), my sister and I are growing closer.
The coming of Christmas inspired me earlier this month on my day off to go and visit my sister at work and take her out for lunch. She has been working at the same place for I don’t know how many years, and I have never bothered to visit her there before. Why not? I don’t know. I think we just fall into habits of not making an effort in our relationships, a habit of not reaching out.
But Christmas rouses us from our slumber, and reminds us of the centrality of relationships. In fact, one of the hidden blessings of Christmas in troubled economic times is to find joy by focusing not on material gifts, but on our relationships, or as today’s/yesterday’s Citizen editorial put it, to distinguish the transcendent from the transitory.
It’s Christmas! A child is born for us, so that we can become children again and find our way back to the Father’s heart, our way back to peace in our families, by loving one another as He has loved us. You may have a difficult relationship with someone in your family, and you feel it just costs too much to love this person, the other is too much of a burden, and the person can’t be “fixed.” Remember, God has not given to you or me a mission to “fix” this person, but to love him, to love her, and let God do the rest.
My hope and prayer for you is that Christmas will make a difference in your life and the life of your family. So I encourage you to bring Jesus home with you tonight/today, so that the love of His Sacred Heart, the fire of this frozen world, will warm your hearts and your home. The most obvious way we bring Jesus home with us is by worthily receiving Holy Communion, which might be compared to a candle which we light at Church, and then bring home with us (light candle)
We have to be careful that the cold winds of this world, in bleak mid-winter, don’t blow out the candle. What can we do to protect this candle on our drive home?
Prayer. Prayer of the heart, such as a decade of the Rosary, prayed slowly and meditatively, As we gather round the creche with Mary and Joseph, and contemplate the child wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in the manger.
Please take home a bulletin (or a separate sheet) that includes prayers for the Third Joyful Mystery of the Rosary, the Birth of Jesus on Christmas Day, which you can pray as a family, gathered around the Christmas tree or the creche at home, or you can pray alone in your room (where you are never alone if you pray). It only takes five minutes. Before each “Hail Mary” you can read out loud the one-line meditation. For example . . . This is one very practical way that you can bring Jesus home with you, so that the fire in His Sacred Heart can continue to warm your hearts and your home.
Through prayer of the heart, Christmas can and will make a difference in your life. Imagine yourself truly present at the manger 2000 years ago. You are a skeptical shepherd, and some of the neighboring shepherds tell you they have just seen a vision of angels announcing to them that the Messiah has been born in Bethlehem. “Let us go and see this thing that has taken place!” “Bethlehem, but that’s 1 km away!” But they urge you: “Come on, let’s go!” As you approach the manger, you are intrigued by the light that seems to emanate from within. You notice other people around you kneeling. You look at their faces, and are drawn to the object of their intense concentration: a child lying in a manger, asleep on the hay.
You try to pray like the others, but are easily distracted. You look up and say inwardly, “O.K. I’m praying, but nothing is happening. Is anybody listening?” But you persevere. Then suddenly, it happens. As gaze upon the sleeping child, he opens his eyes and looks right at you, and your eyes meet! Your heart skips a beat. He looks at you with the recognition of a friend, and with love . . . as if He knows everything about you. Ecstatic with joy, you grab the person next to you, “He looked at me!” Christmas just became real for you. (God is always looking at us with love, but when we wake up and realize this, then Christmas – and Christianity – becomes real to us). It is an experience that God offers to each one of us, if we persevere in prayer of the heart. It might happen tonight/today, or tomorrow, next week or next month, but it will happen if we persevere.
To those who already come to Mass every Sunday (or Saturday), who already have a personal relationship with God and pray regularly, the Lord might be saying to you this Christmas, “Friend, come up higher, come closer” to Joseph and Mary and the child lying in the manger. Come closer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the fire of this frozen world, this burning furnace of charity, this heart that for many months was hidden in Mary, under her Immaculate Heart: two hearts beating in one body, two hearts that remain inseparable to this day. So friend, come up higher, come closer by considering a formal act of consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, so that your little human heart can be fused, moulded and melded into one with the Heart of God. Merry Christmas!
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December 21, 2008
Posted in Homilies
at 9:00 am
Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year B, Dec. 21st, 2008
Christmas is coming in 4 days, and we are all hoping that something is going to happen. We will receive gifts! Our families will be together! Everyone just might . . . get along! And when you think about it, what would you rather receive, more toys or things . . . or more love? A gift that you will return on Boxing Day, or a gift that will change you forever? Leading up to the first Christmas, Mary received a gift that changed her forever; she opened her mind and heart and her womb to receive not just any gift from God, but the gift of God himself, the Word made Flesh.
The Blessed Virgin Mary was completely transformed by the Word of God, and her “yes” to God helped redeem the world. She is a reminder to us of the great dignity of the human person, and a model for us on how to approach and live the Christmas mystery, which St. Paul proclaims in the second reading: the “mystery that was kept secret for long ages but is now disclosed” (Rom 16:25-26) of God’s plan for our salvation through the Incarnation, the Word made Flesh.
I would like to first say a few words about the perpetual virginity of Mary, highlighted in today’s Gospel with her own words: “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” (Lk 1:34). How? “Nothing will be impossible with God” (Lk 1:37)
In today’s penitential rite, we all called upon the intercession of “Blessed Mary ever Virgin.” The Church has always taught that Mary is “ever” Virgin: a Virgin before, during and after the birth of Jesus. Most Catholics believe in and appreciate that Mary was a Virgin before and after the birth of Jesus, but during? What does that mean? The Church has taught from the beginning that Mary was also a Virgin during the birth of Jesus, that Jesus, as God, was born in a miraculous manner, not causing His Mother any pain. As one writer put it, “In coming into this world in order to save it, the Son of God did not harm this world in any way” (Saward, The Crade of Redeeming Love, 201 n.114).
The Church Fathers “compare the sealed womb of the Virginal Birth with the sealed tomb of the Resurrection, or His passage from the womb to His entering through the closed doors into the Upper Room” (Saward, 214). John Paul II has commented that there is an intrinsic connection between these two saving events – the birth of Christ and his Resurrection from the dead” (Mariology, p. 300).
So already, in contemplating the Christmas mystery, we glimpse Easter; we recall that Christ was born into this world so that we can be born into eternal life; Christ took on a human body to give us a glorified body. We even see a connection with the mysterious body of Christ in the Eucharist. In the words of the hymn, “Ave verum corpus natum de Maria Virgine.” “Hail, true flesh (which we receive in the Eucharist) born of the Virgin Mary.”
Some may think that the miraculous birth of Jesus somehow distances Mary from us, making her so much different from the other women of our race. But this mystery does not subtract from the humanity Mary shares with us, rather it redounds to the glory of God. This truth highlights the divinity of Christ – that nothing will be impossible with God. St. Augustine even says that Mary is more blessed because she conceived the Word of God in her mind before she conceived Him in her womb. Therefore, Mary remains a model for all Christians and it is possible for us to follow her example.
In nearly every medieval or Renaissance painting of this scene of today’s Gospel of the Annunciation, Mary is portrayed (quite accurately I believe) as praying before the Angel Gabriel appeared to her. Long before Jesus came into the world, Mary meditated on the Word of God, the word she heard proclaimed every Saturday in the synagogue; and in her personal meditation, she conceived the word of God in her mind before she conceived Him in her womb. During the Synod on the Word of God in Rome in October, Cardinal Ouellette, speaking to the Pope and some of the world’s leading bishops, held up Mary as a model for us on how to listen to Jesus, the Word of God, to receive Him and be transformed by Him. Mary is an example for us on how to live Christmas!
There are some Christians who do not understand Mary as our Mother and Model, and who have, frankly, a deficient view of human nature. For example, some of the disciples of Luther and Calvin believe that “human nature is just a ‘lump of clay’ which was not changed through grace to its essence and which could not co-operate in the reception of grace” (Saward, 178, n.27). Is that your impression of Mary in today’s Gospel? She is just a lump of clay? God forbid! She who is full of grace fully co-operates with all her human freedom, all her love, all her femininity, in God’s plan for our salvation through the Word made Flesh: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. Be it done to me according to your word.”
Mary is not a lump of clay, and neither are we. Unfortunately, for some people, it seems like the gift and grace of the Christmas mystery barely touches them at all, sitting like a . . . “lump of clay” and observing it pass them by, like we might watch a plane pass by high over our heads (drone . . . ). Well, that’s another Christmas passed me by. Didn’t drop down any grace on me at all. I’m still the same person I was last year. No change . . .
The Christmas mystery is not a creation of man that passes by high overhead; it is a gift of God, the dove of the Holy Spirit that overshadowed Mary (Lk 1:35) that descends to transform us also from within! Like our spirits are transformed by . . . new wine! Or a woman’s body by pregnancy – yes, a real change!
We are not disciples of Luther and Calvin! We are disciples of Jesus and Mary! Not lumps of clay, not mere spectators at Mass, but actors in the Christmas drama! We do not merely hear the story of the Incarnation; we ask that the words of this Gospel – and the Person of the Word of God – will remain in our minds (sign of cross), will kiss our lips and be on our lips, in our conversations, (sign of cross) and will dwell in our hearts as in a temple (sign of cross) to transform us from within, especially when we receive the Word made Flesh in Holy Communion.
Mary is a model for us on how to approach and live the Christmas mystery, the mystery of God’s plan for the salvation of the human race. I find it touching that Almighty God made his plan dependent on a woman of our race, on Mary’s “yes” to his proposal that she would be the Mother of the Saviour.
God continues to make the fulfillment of his plan dependent on the fidelity of human beings. His plan for the renewal of society and the salvation of the world is dependent on you and me, on our “yes.” Look around you. You are the Church, God’s chosen people. He is trusting in you, hoping that your personal transformation will help renew society and redeem the world.
Briefly, I think part of this renewal is a recovery of the dignity of the human person and the sanctity of human life, marriage and family. Consider the whole context of the Christmas mystery: the miraculous conception of Jesus in the womb of Mary, the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, the adoration of the Magi, the threats against the life of the child from Herod, the role of St. Joseph in the protection of Mary and Jesus, and the flight of the Holy Family into Egypt.
It reminds us Christmas is a celebration of conception (not contraception, but conception), pregnancy, birth, childhood, motherhood, fatherhood, marriage, family. Christmas is a total affirmation of life and the dignity of every human being from the first moment of conception.
So the Christmas mystery also holds the key for the renewal of our society.
What is going to save our economy? A bailout? What is going to save our Parliament? Another election? More than new elections or a bailout, we need a re-building from the bottom up, based on the restoration of the dignity and divine vocation of the human person, begun in Mary and continuing to be fulfilled in and through each person in the Church.
As we look forward to the gifts of Christmas, let us open our minds and hearts, our bodies and souls, to the gift of God Himself, the Word made Flesh, so that his coming can truly transform our families, our society, our world.
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December 14, 2008
Posted in Homilies
at 9:00 am
Third Sunday of Advent, Year B, December 14th, 2008
We are living through the darkest days of the year, but three Advent candles are lit, and the light that shines in the darkness fills our hearts with hope, looking forward to the joy of the birth of Christ. The darkness this time of year is a natural fact: the days will grow shorter and darker up until December 21st, when the sunshine will slowly begin to return to our land.
But haven’t you noticed another kind of darkness in our country, one that tries to creep into our homes and our relationships to disturb our peace, one that threatens to overshadow our hearts with gloom? What is going on in the world? We are in the midst of an international financial and economic crisis. Canada is in the midst of a political battle. The city of Ottawa is in the midst of a labour dispute with the city bus drivers. A darkness seems to overshadow everything, feeding on human pride and human greed, a darkness that is trying to worm its way into the sanctuary of the Church and the temple of the human heart, a darkness that attempts to extinguish the Advent candles of hope.
Our pre-scientific ancestors seemed particularly anxious during these dark days of December, almost as if they feared that this might be the year, the sun might not return. For this reason, the pagan Romans, for example, celebrated a feast when the sun did return, called the “birth (or rebirth) of the unconquered sun.”
With our scientific knowledge, we could have re-assured our simple ancestors, “don’t worry, the sun will always come back. It’s actually due to the tilting of the earth, etc . . ” We are absolutely certain, in astronomical terms, that the darkness, although it will intensify, will not last; the sun will return and conquer all darkness.
We need this same type of certainty when it comes to the darkness that can overshadow a country, a city, a family, or a human heart. It is normal in Advent-December to pass through some darkness. That’s one reason we have Advent candles. We know that at this time of year we need extra light and grace because the darkness is more intense.
But Christ, the true light of the world, is coming. We can be absolutely certain of it. He will come to us all this Christmas, that’s why we are preparing his way this Advent (Parish Reconciliation service). And how appropriate that we also celebrate a great feast of Mary, her Immaculate Conception and our parish feast day, before we celebrate the birth of Christ. As the liturgy of the Church puts it, Mary is the white dawn announcing Christ the rising Sun. Let us stay close to Mary who will help us fix our gaze on the eastern horizon, to keep the Advent candles of hope burning bright in the darkness, to lift up our hearts to the Lord who is coming.
In today’s Gospel, John the Baptist also proclaims the coming of Christ. “He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light” (John 1: 7-8). The very next line of John’s Gospel reads, “the true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world” (1:9). And “the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (1:5). The father of John the Baptist also prophesied about the Messiah, that “the dawn from on high shall visit us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace” (Lk 1:78-9).
John the Baptist who appears both in last Sunday and this Sunday’s Gospel, preached a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins (Lk 3:3). As one bishop put it, “if the Baptist were here today, he’d not be wearing camel hair, but instead a purple stole; . . . he’d not be washing the folks in the waters of the Jordan, but instead hearing their confessions” (Archbishop Timothy Dolan in Advent Reflections, p. 29). On Wednesday night in our parish, there will be six “John the Baptists” wearing purple stoles, fighting traffic and driving in from all over the city to be mediators of abundant grace for all of you, to give you the opportunity to be relieved of all your burdens, to let the gentle light of Christ shine into any dark corners of your heart. “Lord, let your face shine on us and we shall be saved” (Responsory, Evening Prayer in Advent). In the sacrament of reconciliation, we let God’s face shine upon us; we let him gaze into our hearts and love us, we allow ourselves to be seen and known for who we really are, and we experience his salvation.
Some are afraid of going to confession. There is nothing to fear from the mercy of God. Some are proud and stubborn, thinking they do not need to go to confession because they have not murdered anyone or committed adultery. What does Scripture say? Anyone who says he has no sin is a liar (cf 1 John 1:10).
Everyone here, myself included, must be reconciled with God this Advent, if we want to truly rejoice in the Lord this Christmas.
Today is actually Gaudete or “Rejoicing” Sunday, that’s why we light the pink candle and I am wearing rose-coloured vestments. Consider how the readings are filled with joy. From the first reading, we hear, “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,” and the responsorial psalm is taken from Mary’s Magnificat: “My spirit rejoices in God my Saviour.” And in the second reading, St. Paul urges the Thessalonians and us also to “rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thess 5: ).
I didn’t want to start off my homily telling people “Rejoice in the Lord!” because I know that many people are not there yet; their hearts are still bogged down, slogging through the gloom of December; they have allowed their gaze to wander away from the Advent candles of hope that point us toward the east, and the coming of Christ the rising Sun, the source of our joy.
Advent is obviously a season of hope, as we look forward to the joy of Christmas. But it is also a time to mourn, and we forget that. Our culture seeks comfort without mourning, joy without struggle. We have forgotten the words of Jesus who said, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” Mourning first, then comfort. Comfort and consolation and joy will come, because this is God’s will for us in Christ Jesus. But very often it must begin with mourning. To live the spirit of Advent and Christmas, we cannot separate mourning, hope, and joy.
Consider for example what is arguably the most famous Advent hymn: “O Come, O Come Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel, that mourns in lonely exile here, until the Son of God appear.” And what is the response to this mourning? “Rejoice, rejoice! O Israel, to thee shall come Emmanuel.” Mourning first, then joy.
And why do we mourn? Like the hymn says, because we live in “lonely exile here,” burdened by our sins. We live in exile from Eden, from Paradise, from heaven our true home. The earth is beautiful, but it is not enough for us.
We always desire more. No matter how many Christmas gifts are under the tree, we will always desire more. There is always something missing. No human relationship, not even the most intimate marriage, can perfectly satisfy the deep desire of our souls for infinite love, the love we celebrate in the nuptial mystery of Christmas, when the Son of God wedded to himself a human nature, and in so doing united himself with every human being.
We mourn, but with great hope, turning mourning into holy desire that prepares our hearts for Christ’s coming. We are filled with hope because Christ comforts us in our exile by relieving us of the burden of our sins in the Sacrament of Reconciliation and assuaging our loneliness by giving us himself in the Sacrament of His Body and Blood. We are filled with hope because God has already fulfilled all his promises to the people of Israel in sending the long-awaited Messiah; Christ has already come once. So we know, better than all generations before Christ, that He will come again to save us and bring us home rejoicing. And his past and future coming are made present in the Christmas mystery, in the Mass, and in every sacrament.
Think of the abundant comfort and merciful love that God offers us in every Eucharist. In the Creed, we recite: “I believe in the forgiveness of sins.” We hear in the words of consecration, “this is the cup of my blood, which will be shed for you and for all, so that sins may be forgiven,” and “this is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world. Happy and joyful are those who are called to His Supper.” To highlight God’s mercy, and in anticipation of Wednesday’s Penance Service, I will be using one of the Eucharistic Prayers of Reconcilation.
In the Latin Mass, which formed and guided the spirituality of Catholics for centuries, the priest would always begin his entrance into the sanctuary by praying Psalm 42. The words of this psalm suggest to us the dispositions that all of us bring to Mass. It begins with words of mourning: “Why are you cast down my soul? Why groan within me?” And the reply is: “Hope in God, I will praise Him still, my Saviour and my God.” And then the prayer: “Lord, send forth your light (that light that shines in the darkness). Send forth your light and your truth. Let these be my guide. Let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell.” The light of God brings us to his dwelling place in the Church. The psalm that began with mourning ends with rejoicing: “And I will come to the altar of God, the God of my joy.”
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December 7, 2008
Posted in Homilies
at 9:00 am
Homily for the Second Sunday of Advent
December 07, 2008
Here we are at the Second Sunday of Advent already – we have 18 more days before Christmas. Do we view it that way, that we have all those days to prepare our hearts and our souls for the coming of Jesus? Or do we look at the calendar and say “What? Oh no! Only 18 days until Christmas!”? Have we remembered what Father Tim told us last week, to keep awake, and not to keep busy? I must confess that personally, although I did find time for prayer, I was more busy this week than I would have liked. Faith started a new job, my work is getting busier, there were meetings and things to take care of at home, one Christmas party already on Friday night and more to come, so it has been quite hectic. I’m sure many of you are in similar situations. So, for myself and for all of you who have been like me this past week, let’s pray that we can find more peace in our lives for next two and a half weeks.
The prophet Isaiah, and by reference the evangelist Mark, tells us to prepare the way of the Lord. We are not to just be passively waiting for Christmas, but to actively be allowing God, allowing Christ, to come into our lives. We must do our part, make our preparations but it is God who lifts the valleys, makes low the mountains and hills, and levels the uneven ground. He will do that, and more, in our hearts if we let Him.
John the Baptist proclaimed a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. As he said, “I have baptised you with water, but He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit”. John’s baptism was not sacramental; unlike our Christian Baptism it did not of itself have the power to forgive sins. It was an external sign of the person’s interior conversion, of repentance. The forgiveness came because of the repentance. The Greek word aphesis, translated in the Gospel as “forgiveness”, means “to release, to set free, to liberate” – which is what the Sacrament of Reconciliation does for us. When we go to confession, and sincerely repent of our sins, we are set free from our sins. We are set free, so we should not spend any time dwelling on our past sins. Our repentance makes way for God to heal us, to renew us, and to bring us peace.
The idea of peace is evident in all of today’s readings. Toward the end of today’s second reading, Peter tells us: “While you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by Him at peace”. And his prescription for being at peace is this: leading lives of holiness and godliness. This peace does not necessarily mean that our lives will be free of trials or difficulties. Our striving for holiness will not bring us wealth. It will not save us from pain or sickness. It will not prevent people or nations from perpetrating violence on each other. We still should pray for God’s assistance, that in listening to our entreaties He may mitigate some of our problems. And, although there we still be some measure of turmoil in our lives, if we let Him, God will be present. His presence will give us his peace.
As we all know from experience, and as Father Tim and I have mentioned before, living in holiness these days is not always easy. And you know, it has never been easy. It wasn’t easy 2,000 uears ago, or 2000 years ago, or even 20 years ago. That is one reason why God has sent us prophets, and why the words that come to us through Isaiah, John the Baptist, and the other prophets are still relevant to us. When we hear or read these passages, we should be encouraged, revitalised in our relationship with God. Are we growing more passionately in love with the Lord? During Advent, and in the rest of the year, are we striving, do we have that desire, for holiness, as we wait for Christ’s coming? It isn’t necessary for us to remove ourselves from society like John the Baptist did. However, we do need to pursue those things that lead us closer to God.
Yesterday morning, Faith was looking out the window as the snow started. And she told me that watching that was a gift from God; it gave her peace to sit, in stillness and in silence and see the beautiful snow falling, and that helped put all the insanity of our week into perspective. His ways of guiding us to Him are often very simple, if we only slow down enough to recognize them. God really does want us to be at peace, the peace deep in our hearts and in our souls that comes from the sure knowledge that He is with us. Possibly the most famous quote from St. Augustine is: “You have made us for yourself, Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” So as we continue to patiently anticipate the celebration of the birth of Jesus, let’s take at least a little time every day to rest in God’s presence, and be at peace.
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