April 26, 2009
Posted in Homilies
at 9:00 am
Third Sunday of Easter, Year B, April 26th, 2009
At the Last Supper, Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this world and return to the Father (Jn 13:1). He wanted to show the disciples how much He loved them. So he reached into his wallet and gave each one of them . . . a $20 bill. Each disciple took the money and kissed it, then held it close to his heart and said, “thank you Jesus.” Is that what happened? No!
Jesus knew He had to die and rise again, then ascend into heaven, to return to His heavenly Father. He wanted to return to the Father, but He also loved the disciples so much that He wanted to remain on earth, and give the disciples something to remember Him by. So he reached into his bag, and gave to each disciple . . . a picture of Himself! And he said, “If you ever get lonely and miss me, you can look at this picture and remember me.” Is that what happened? No!
When we die and return to the Father, no matter how much we love the people we leave behind, all that we can leave them are things: some of our possessions, our money, and maybe some pictures that other people will look at to remember us. Your parents love you very much. They never want to leave you. But could they ever say to you, “After I die, I will come back to you, and I will be closer to you than your own heartbeat.” No.
But Jesus is God. He is perfect and eternal love. He’s also really smart, and powerful. So He thought of a way of going up to heaven AND remaining on earth with his disciples. So He decided upon something that none of the disciples and no human being would ever have imagined: He decided to be their food. He took bread, said the blessing, broke the bread and gave it to them, saying, “this is my Body, which will be given up for you.”
At the Last Supper, when the disciples received their first Holy Communion, they were so happy that night they thought they were in heaven already. Just like when they saw and touched Jesus after He rose from the dead. In today’s Gospel, we read that “in their joy they were disbelieving” (Lk 24:41) – they were so happy they couldn’t believe it! When they received their first Holy Communion, the disciples were overjoyed, with tears in their eyes, because they could not believe that it was possible for God to love them so much – to be closer to them than their own heartbeat. This same love is available for us in every holy Communion we receive if we have faith.
Like the disciples in today’s Gospel, we too rejoice because Jesus has risen from the dead, so that we will also rise from the dead. The Catechism points out that “Christ is raised (from the dead) in his own body” and quotes today’s Gospel: ‘see my hands and my feet, that it is I myself’ (Lk 24:39) but he did not return to an earthly life” (#999). How this happens “exceeds our imagination and understanding; it is accessible only to faith. Yet our participation in the Eucharist already gives us a foretaste of Christ’s transfiguration of our bodies.” The Catechism then quotes from St. Iranaeus writing in the second century: “Just as bread that comes from the earth, after God’s blessing has been invoked upon it, is no longer ordinary bread, but Eucharist, formed of two things, the one earthly and the other heavenly: so too our bodies, which partake of the Eucharist, are no longer corruptible, but possess the hope of resurrection” (#1000)
At the Last Supper, Jesus also told the disciples, “I will not leave you orphans. I will send you the Holy Spirit” (Jn ). This is the same Holy Spirit that you receive today through the Sacrament of Confirmation. I want each of you to understand a little bit about the difference the Holy Spirit makes in our lives, so I have here on the table a rock and a clock. What is the difference between a rock and a clock? How does a rock become a clock? (Part of a clock truly comes from a rock: all the metal pieces in the clock come from minerals found in rocks in the ground). In one sense, it is through the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of knowledge and wisdom working through human beings.
Almost three hundred years ago, when the French came to Canada and met the Huron natives, they brought clocks with them. The Hurons were amazed by this technology. They were convinced that there was a spirit (which they called a demon) in the clock that made the hands move forward. Obviously, there is no spirit in the clock. The Spirit is in the people who made the clock.
So why wasn’t the clock invented in Canada by the Hurons or the Iroquois? Because they were still living in the Stone Age, while Christian Europe was already very technologically advanced. More and more scholars and historians are reminding us that science and technology came out of Christian Europe. The French and English were not smarter people than the Hurons or the Iroquois. The main difference is that the French and English were Christians – they had an increase of the Holy Spirit in them, an increase in knowledge and wisdom. They were baptized and confirmed!
I am showing you the rock and the clock so that you will have some idea of the power of the Holy Spirit. But even more important that the Spirit’s gift of knowledge and wisdom, is the gift of love. Pope Benedict spoke about the Holy Spirit to the young people at World Youth Day in Australia, saying that it is “the same Spirit who hovered over the waters at the dawn of creation and who . . . raised Jesus from the dead.” “At each Mass . . . the Holy Spirit descends anew . . . not only to transform our gifts of bread and wine into the Lord’s body and blood, but also to transform our lives” (Homily July 20th, 2008). He emphasized that “the Holy Spirit is God as love . . . God share himself as love in the Holy Spirit (and) love is the sign of the presence of the Holy Spirit” (Homily July 19th, 2008).
So the most important transformation that the Holy Spirit wants to effect in our lives is not that of a rock into a clock, but rather a transformation of love changing human hearts. Some people have hearts as hard as rocks. As God says through the prophet Ezekiel: “I will take your stony hearts and give you natural hearts” (36:26), and Jesus tells us, “I will take your human hearts and give you my Heart.” We see the heart of Jesus on the back of the Miraculous Medal on this painting – a heart on fire with love for us, a heart crowned with the thorns of our ingratitude. So let us pray for the Holy Spirit’s gift of love to change our stony hearts into hearts like the Heart of Jesus, on fire with love.
The first Christian disciples were transformed by God’s love, by receiving the Holy Spirit and by Jesus’s love for them in Holy Communion. So why do so many people today not experience this same love from God? Do you want to know one of the main reasons? It does not apply to children, because your hearts are still innocent, open, trusting. But this does apply to many adults. They do not experience God’s love for them because they go through life as if it is a competition . . . as if they are playing football, running for a touchdown.
They hold on to the ball so very tightly against their chest. The ball is a symbol of my money, my possessions, my plans, my life that someone else is trying to take away from me. So I have to stick out my other arm to block other people, to keep them at arm’s length. You can’t trust God or other people; they will try to take something from you. Life is a competition with winners and losers. You have to guard your heart like this (a fist). Obviously, people who go through life like this will never experience God’s love for them in Holy Communion or through the Holy Spirit. You cannot come forward to receive Holy Communion with a heart like this (a fist). You must first open your hand and open your heart.
And you must also confess your sins, as all these children have done before receiving their first Communion. As St. Peter says in the first reading: “Repent, therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out, and times of refreshment will come to you form the presence of God” (Acts 3:20).
This very last line of Peter’s speech is not included in the first reading, but there it is: “times of refreshment will come to us from the presence of God.” It is especially on these Sundays when we celebrate the Resurrection of Christ that God wants to give to us and our families times of refreshment, renewal, recreation, relaxation. So once again, as I did on Easter Sunday, I invite all of you to continue to celebrate the Resurrection on these seven Sundays of Easter by making Sundays holy, by avoiding work and shopping, and making it a time for God and family, a day to receive God’s love for us through the Holy Spirit and by receiving the Body and Blood of Christ in Holy Communion.
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April 19, 2009
Posted in Homilies
at 9:00 am
Second Sunday of Easter
April 19, 2009
Christ is risen! Truly, He is risen! It’s still appropriate to say that to each other. Does everyone remember what Father Tim told us last week? It’s still Easter! You can see that the liturgical colour is still white – we’re wearing white vestments, the altar cloth and the tabernacle veil are white. In the Liturgy of the Hours, much of the prayer each day of the last week, and continuing through today, is taken from the prayers on Easter. Even the beginning of our Gospel today takes place, not a week after Easter, but on the very evening of Easter. So we are even now joyously celebrating Easter, and of course will be right up until Pentecost Sunday. Even though every Sunday of the year is a remembrance of the resurrection, the Easter season gives us added opportunities to reflect on this central aspect of our faith, and of God’s mercy.
Today is the feast of Divine Mercy. In His mercy, God sent Jesus to give us salvation through His death and resurrection. We hear today that the resurrected Christ visited the Apostles that evening, as they were gathered behind locked doors, afraid of the authorities.
We have to wonder if the Apostles really believed what Mary Magdalene told them about her experience earlier that day, her encounter with Jesus at the tomb. If they did, perhaps, in addition to worrying about the authorities, they would have also been a little concerned about Jesus finding them and questioning them about why they all abandoned Him a few days before. But He doesn’t do that. He doesn’t call Peter over to say “I told you so, I told you that you would deny me”. Instead, twice He says to them “Peace be with you”. No anger, no condemnation. And the next week, when Thomas has joined them, Jesus doesn’t give him a blast for doubting, for being sceptical and not having believed the others. He gently gives Thomas what he needs to confirm the truth, and to believe.
These are a couple of examples of mercy. Jesus knows that, like all of us, the Apostles are sinners; they have fallen short of the ideal. But they are also forgiven of their sins, and are even empowered to forgive the sins of others. What an incredible gift God has given all of us, that we have the sacrament of Reconciliation.
This sacrament is not about punishment, or embarrassment, or guilt, but rather it is an experience of God’s forgiveness, His mercy. It is mercy that heals the wounds of our sins, especially those wounds we have inflicted on ourselves.
Do we need God’s mercy? And, is His mercy just a free pass to do whatever we want, because He will just overlook our behaviour when we stand before Him? We all agree that there is a Heaven, don’t we? But, what about the other place? We know that hell exists; it is referred to in the scriptures, and it is specifically mentioned by Jesus. These days, we may have the notion that God is so benevolent that He would not condemn anyone to hell. And actually, He doesn’t; it is the person who condemns himself or herself, through “a wilful turning away from God…and a persistence in it to the end.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1037). No one is perfect; we all have our weaknesses. Most of us would not wilfully turn away from God, and regular confession can help us to avoid developing a persistence in sin.
God does not want to lose any of us; He created us to live with Him for eternity. He also gave us free will, and our choices sometimes move us away from Him. We are responsible, we will be held accountable, for our actions. The good news is that when we are repentant after we have sinned, God in His mercy will forgive us, He will wipe the slate clean. So, yes, God’s mercy is necessary, it is so necessary that in His mercy, He sent His Son to suffer and die for us. In the Nicene Creed, we say of Jesus: for us men and for our salvation He came down from heaven. Mankind needed, and still needs, this salvation; God in his mercy gave it, and continues to give it, to us. It is up to us to accept it with gratitude and faith.
Salvation and faith go hand in hand. Faith, too, is a gift from God, it is something that He gives us freely but that we must carefully nurture. In Paul’s first letter to Timothy, he says: “fight the good fight, having faith and a good conscience. By rejecting conscience, certain persons have suffered shipwreck in the faith.” (1 Timothy 1:18-19). And St. Paul knew a thing or two about shipwrecks.
It is important that we work to maintain and strengthen our faith, and fully appreciate it as the gift that it is. Some of us who are, as we say, “cradle Catholics”, have enjoyed the benefit of this gift all our lives. There are some here whose faith began in another way, yet at some point, through the working of the Holy Spirit, and a stirring in the heart, they developed a desire to learn more. This led them to enrol in the RCIA program, and after communion today you will hear from Lorna Russell, who was in this year’s program and was received into the Church last Saturday at the Easter Vigil Mass. It is God’s mercy that leads people to the Church; it is God’s mercy that has brought all of us here, together, as Christians and Catholics. Our faith is gift from Him, and a gift that we give back to Him.
Like Thomas before that second Sunday, we have not seen Jesus in person. We believe, though we have not seen. But we do see Him in others, and we encounter Him personally in the Sacraments. The resurrection means that He is alive for each of us. That is reason for us to celebrate, throughout the Easter season and throughout the year. Christ is risen! Truly, He is risen!
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April 12, 2009
Posted in Homilies
at 9:00 am
April 12th, 2009
CHRIST IS RISEN! TRULY HE IS RISEN!
Children, I have some things hidden in this Easter basket that I would like to share with you – symbols of spring and Resurrection. I even have some chocolate eggs that I will hand out after Mass.
In Canada, there are many flowers and animals that symbolize spring and Resurrection. We think for example of all the birds that return to Canada in springtime and fill the air with their joyful songs, almost as if they are singing “alleluia” at the Resurrection of Christ. But I have a different animal in my Easter basket. If you listen closely, you might hear it making a sound (frog -ribbet)
Now you may wonder what a frog has to do with Jesus, but it is a symbol of spring, Resurrection, and transfiguration. First of all, does anyone know what happens to frogs in winter? (They hibernate. They don’t freeze completely because of high glucose levels in their blood, but they look almost dead, and barely move around at all.) In spring, the frogs come back to life in a sort of resurrection. Is that what happened to Jesus? Did He come back to life like that?
(No. He did rise again in a human body, but not in the same unchanged, physical body in which He died. He had a spiritual body in the Resurrection. As we see in John’s Gospel from which we read today, Jesus had a real body that the disciples like Thomas could see and touch (John 20:27), but also a spiritual body that could pass through locked doors (John 20:19), and a mysterious body that Mary Magdalene did not at first recognize, supposing Him to be the gardener (John 20:15)).
A frog might be a better symbol of the Resurrection earlier in its life cycle. Does anyone know the name for a baby frog? (tadpole or pollywog). And how does a tadpole or pollywog become a frog? (Metamorphosis). In the Bible, this is the same word used for “transfiguration” when Jesus revealed himself in glory to the apostles as a sign of his future Resurrection (Mt 17:2).
There were once 5 pollywogs who were brothers living together in a muddy pond. At the end of the summer, 4 of them had become frogs, but one remained a pollywog. His brothers all hopped back into the water and asked him, “what is this that you have you done?” (Gen 3:13) “Why haven’t you changed like we have?”
“What? I like being a pollywog. Why would I want to change? I like this muddy water. I like this world.”
And his brothers said, “But there’s a another world up there, above the water. God gives us new eyes to see the sun, a nose to smell the flowers, and lungs to breathe the air. God created us for that world too.”
All human beings are created by God both for this world and for another world – to go through a kind of metamorphosis or transfiguration in the Resurrection. God gives us new eyes to see the Son of God face to face. He gives us new lungs to breathe the air of a another world up there. Easter makes us think of that other world.
I have here another symbol of spring and of Easter. An egg. An egg is a symbol of eternity and of eternal life. The brightly coloured eggs of Easter call to mind the bright colours of spring, after the dullness of winter. The bright colours are also a symbol of the glorified body of Christ. But this particular egg here reminds me of another story. There was a farmer out West who found a dead eagle on his property. He climbed the tree and found this egg in its nest. So he took it and put it with his chicken eggs. When the baby eagle was born, he looked around at the other chickens and assumed that he was a chicken, and so started to act like one, scratching the ground with his claws and pecking at the ground like a chicken.
The little eagle always felt a little bit different from his chicken friends who were always so busy pecking here and there, always looking down at the ground, because the little eagle liked to look up at the sky. One day, he looked up and saw an eagle soaring majestically high above them. “Wow! What’s that? I’d like to fly like that!”
But his chicken friends said, “That’s an eagle. But you can’t fly. You’re just a chicken.” So the little eagle, instead of listening to his heart, that wanted to fly, that was created to soar, listened to his so-called friends who told him he was only a chicken. So that’s how he lived, and that’s how he died. A chicken.
So how are you going to live and die? Like a chicken or an eagle? All of us are created by God as eagles, for another world, designed to soar up into the heavens, to pray to our Father in heaven, to think of heaven and higher things, eternal life and the resurrection. But so many of us live like chickens, so busy working, pecking here and there, always looking down at the ground, consumed with the passing things of this world.
Easter makes us think of another world, but Easter will also enhance our life in this world, giving us more peace and joy, if we celebrate Easter well.
In our culture, I think we know how to celebrate Advent and Christmas (with Advent wreathes, Christmas trees, gift giving, and so on). And we know how to celebrate Lent (by giving something up, by fasting and almsgiving, through more prayer, Stations of the Cross, and so on). But I don’t think we know how to celebrate Easter. OK, we have chocolate eggs and chocolate Easter bunnies. We come to Church and have a nice dinner with family. And then Easter is over. But the Easter season lasts 50 days – seven Sundays.
For several weeks I’ve been thinking and praying about how we can best celebrate the Easter season these next seven Sundays. For example, it’s nice to share some special Easter recipes, of sweet cakes and desserts we only have at Easter. I thought, in terms of personal devotion, we could privately recite the Creed each day (“I believe in the resurrection of the body”) or instead of the Angelus, recite the Regina Coeli prayer to Mary: “Rejoice, O Virgin Mary, for the Lord has truly risen.”
And then one day it hit me. It was a Sunday afternoon, on a beautiful spring day, and I was doing something unusual. I was relaxing. And as I was relaxing, I gazed out my back window. The sun was setting behind the trees. The birds of spring were singing. There was a flock of geese soaring off into the sunset. So beautiful and peaceful.
Then it hit me: the secret to celebrating Easter has been part of western culture for over 1,600 years, but unfortunately, we have lost it in the past 25 years. That’s why we are all so busy, tired and unhappy, rushing around every day like chickens . . . with their heads cut off. What is the secret to celebrating Easter? Every Sunday is a little Easter. A day of rest from work. A day of peace. A day of joy. A day to spend with those we love, relaxing and enjoying life.
In John’s Gospel, Jesus appeared to the disciples when they were gathered together on Sunday, the first day of the week – read about it (John 20:1, 19, 26). It was on a Sunday that Jesus gave them peace: “Peace be with you” he said (John 20:19). It was on a Sunday that Jesus gave them joy: “the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord” (John 20:20)
It is on Sunday, above all days, that Jesus wants to continue to give peace and joy to us and our families. But what has happened to Sunday in our culture?
Almost completely lost. It had been a universal and official day of rest from work since 321 A.D. under the Emperor Constantine, and in Canada, up until 1985, when Sunday shopping laws began to change. Sunday had been a day of rest, joy and peace for over 1,600 years. Today, if we want to enjoy the benefits of Sunday as God intended, Catholics must choose to be radically counter-cultural; we must choose to come to Mass on Sunday; we must choose (if at all possible) not to work, and not to shop; we must choose to relax and enjoy time together with our family.
So if you want the rest, peace and joy of Easter to last more than just a single day or one long weekend, then why not re-discover Sunday as a little Easter? And why not try a little experiment for the seven Sundays of Easter? Come to Mass every Sunday. And if your work schedule at all permits it, choose not to work, and not to shop. Choose to relax and enjoy time with your family. Try it out, and see what a difference it will make in your life.
Today is Easter Sunday – the feast day of the Resurrection of Christ, the foreshadowing of our own future resurrection. And it is spring-time in Canada and all sorts of creatures are emerging from their “tombs,” while the song-birds have returned to our land.
In the Song of Songs, the bridegroom, symbol of Christ, says to his beloved, “Arise, my beloved and comeཀ For see, the winter is past . . . the flowers appear on the earth . . . and the song of the dove is heard in our land” (2:10-12). And the beloved says, “my lover (symbol of Christ) has come . . . to browse in the garden and to gather lilies” (6:2-3).
All creation is meant to rejoice in the Resurrection of Christ – the scent of lilies and spring flowers, the song of birds in the trees. When Christ was buried in the tomb in a garden, as we know from John’s Gospel (John 19:41-42), He was anointed with a hundred pounds of myrrh, aloes, and spices (John 19:39-40). His Body was also covered in flowers. We know this from all the pollen discovered on the shroud of Turin – the very same burial cloth that Peter saw in the tomb that first Sunday morning of the Resurrection (John 20:6). In the tomb of Christ, there was no odour of decay, but rather the scent of perfume and flowers. And when he rose from the dead out of the tomb in the garden, the scent of flowers emerged from the tomb as the stone was rolled away – the same scent that fills the Church today. The risen Christ is with us today. He browses in this garden among the lilies around the altar.
But in order for us to notice and appreciate His Presence – in the Eucharist, in His Word, in one another, in the beauty of creation, we literally have to stop rushing around like chickens with their heads cut off. We literally have to stop and smell the flowers. Then the risen Christ will enter our hearts like a gentle breeze, like the scent of lilies, like the song of the dove. And Easter will lead us both to better appreciate life in this world, and to long for life in the world to come.
CHRIST IS RISEN! TRULY HE IS RISEN!
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April 10, 2009
Posted in Homilies
at 3:00 pm
April 10th, 2009
“How do you know someone loves you?” I heard a Catholic evangelist speaking at Steubenville Atlantic ask the youth in the crowd this question. Then he asked, “Ladies, if a guy says he loves you, does that mean he loves you?” (“No . . .”) If a guy gives you a lot of gifts, does that mean he loves you?” (“No . . .”)
Then he offered this analogy to one of the young ladies in the audience.
“Imagine you’re hanging out at the mall with your boyfriend having a good time.
Someone comes up to you with a gun points it at your head and says, ‘I’ve hated your guts for years and now I’m going to kill you. I’ve been planning this for a long time, and now I’m going to do it.’
And your boyfriend says, ‘Don’t kill her, kill me instead.’ And he even takes the gun and points it at his own head.
‘What? You would do that? You would die for her?’
‘If you let her go, I would do that. Take my life instead of hers.’
And the killer pulls the trigger and he dies at your feet.
Did he love you? Yes.
How do you know? Because he died for you.
You already have someone in your life who has done this for you. Christ.
St. Paul writes, “God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.” Not only for humanity, but each one of us individually. “The Son of God loved me and gave himself up for me” (cf. Gal 2:20). You are worth dying for. That’s how much Christ loves and adores you.
In our times, we hear a lot about the importance of self-acceptance and self-esteem as essential to our psychological well-being. But trying to accept, affirm and love ourselves apart from Christ is like trying to pull ourselves up from our own boot straps, like trying to fly by flapping our arms. It’s impossible.
Imagine a modern psychologist going up to Peter after he denied Christ, or Judas, after he betrayed Christ, and saying, “Judas, we all make mistakes . . . don’t be so hard on yourself . . . you have to learn to accept yourself and live with yourself.”
“What? What the hell are you talking about? I hate myself! I feel like killing myself! Do you have any idea what I have done? I have betrayed Christ! And you’re telling me to ‘accept’ myself?!” The only thing that would have saved Judas – that did save Peter – is knowing that Christ had forgiven him. This is the only way that Judas could have accepted himself, lived with himself, loved himself.
Of course our denials and betrayals of Christ are not as definitive and radical as the betrayal of Judas or the denial of Peter. But we all have a conscience. We all know we have sinned against Him.
How can we accept ourselves and be at peace with ourselves? We must know that Christ has forgiven us. For me to truly accept myself . . . I must accept that Christ died for me.
“Christ died for our sins” (1 Cor 15 ). Your sins and my sins are so horrible – the abomination of our pride, our monstrous ingratitude to God – that Christ died because of all these sins. To truly accept myself, I must accept that Christ died for me, died for my sins. My sins are that horrible, but God’s mercy is greater. As Jesus once said to St. Faustina (Divine Mercy Sunday): “Even though your sins may be as numerous as the sand on the seashore, they are all drowned in the infinite ocean of my Mercy.”
People in the secular world like to say, “Thank God it’s Friday!” I’m so relieved! Finally I can relax and enjoy life! I’ve been working like a slave all week! Now I can relax and have a few drinks! Ahhh . . . But that relief doesn’t last.
But Christians say, “Thank God . . . for Good Friday!” I’m so relieved! I can finally relax and enjoy life! I don’t have to be driven by guilt anymore, or a troubled conscience, regret over past sin, the pressure to perfect so that people will love. I can finally be at peace – a lasting peace – because I know that Christ has forgiven me (when I confess my sins in the Sacrament of Reconciliation I know He has forgiven me). I can truly accept myself because I accept that Christ died for me to prove His love for me (Rom 5:8).
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April 9, 2009
Posted in Homilies
at 7:00 pm
April 9th, 2009
On Holy Thursday, Christ washed the feet of his disciples, giving them an example of service to follow. He also ordained them priests, when He offered the first “Mass” and told his disciples “do this in memory of me” (Council of Trent). Holy Thursday is very much “Priesthood Day.” For this reason, at the Chrism Mass, transferred from Thursday morning to Tuesday evening at the cathedral, all the priests of the diocese renewed the promises we made on the day of our ordination. (We also took a break from Lent and had a nice dinner with dessert. But we are very careful not to overeat, because we wouldn’t want to fall asleep during the bishop’s homily! It’s not a very good example, a priest sleeping during Mass – especially the vocations director!)
By washing the disciples feet, Jesus demonstrates by his actions the truth of his words: “The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mk 10:45). Priests are also called to serve, to love, and to give our lives, following the example of Christ. But in order to so, we need the help of your prayers. We want to be good servants. We want to give our lives, and love the people of God with the heart of Christ. But once again I say, we need the help of your prayers.
Consider this analogy: if a father of a large family with small children loses his job, should the children go out and get a job on their own, or should they pray that their father finds another job? They should pray, right? So if a parish loses a priest, or a diocese has a shortage of priests, should the “children,” the people of God, try to replace priests, or pray for more priests? They should pray, because priests are irreplaceable in the Church.
Catherine Doherty, the foundress of Madonna House, explains it with some striking images. She writes, “in Russia, when the last Roman Catholic priest in my city died (he was killed before my very eyes), if there had been a priest who I knew had committed every mortal sin in the book (and who was, perhaps, living in the house of his mistress), I would have crawled on my belly to that man to receive the divine gifts he could give me . . . I would know that on his ordination day . . . this man was transfigured into Christ. I would know that, whether he is a sinner or not, Christ in him would absolve me” (Dearly Beloved, Vol. 3, p. 20).
Yes, priests are irreplaceable. Only a priest can celebrate Mass to give you the Body of Christ. Only a priest can absolve you of your sins. But in order for a young man to say “yes” to the call to be a priest, in order for a priest to persevere in his vocation, and in order for a priest to be holy and a better image of Christ and instrument of grace – all these things are impossible without prayer – the prayer of the priest himself, of course, but also the prayers of all the people of God.
Human beings are not isolated individuals – billiard balls that sometimes bump into each other on our way through life; we in the Church are a family created out of love; we are inter-dependent, relying on one another. The people dependent on the prayers of the priest. The priest dependent on the prayers of the people. We rise or fall together.
I would like to share with you some words from one of the great priests of the Archdiocese of Ottawa:
“No sooner had I arrived (at my new parish), seeing all the work I had to do, that I realized that if I were not helped by the prayers of many people, it would be difficult to obtain all the graces necessary to sanctify all these souls.
One thought came to me incessantly in my meditation, especially before the Blessed Sacrament: in our times, more than ever, it is necessary to obtain for priests more numerous graces, in keeping with the more serious circumstances in which we are living. In my instructions and my homilies, I often asked for the prayers of my parishioners and explained to them that it is a duty imposed on them by the Fourth Commandment of God, to pray for the priests, who are the spiritual fathers of the faithful.”
These words were written, believe it or not, in the 1890’s, by Fr. Alexis-Louis Mangin, pastor in Masson, Quebec (which was then part of the Archdiocese of Ottawa) (Biography, p. 65-66). He was so concerned about the need to pray for priests that, along with Eleonore Potvin, he founded a new religious order, the Servants of Jesus and Mary, who till this day continue perpetual adoration for priests in their convent in Hull. Unfortunately, these nuns aren’t getting any younger. So who will continue their prayer? It will have to be the people of God – all of you. As Fr. Mangin explained, the fourth commandment – to honour your father and mother – includes a duty to pray for priests, who are the spiritual fathers of the faithful.
So please continue to pray that more young men will say “yes” to the call, that priests will persevere in their vocations and strive for holiness, to be good servants who love the people with the heart of Christ. Currently, we have four men in the Seminary, with possibly one more in the fall. One of them, Jonathan Blake, will be ordained on Saturday, May 2nd at 10 a.m. at the Cathedral – you are all invited. If you have never been to an ordination, I highly recommend it. We’re hoping each parish might send at least 2 delegates as a sign of support for the newly ordained.
It is undeniable that there is a crisis in diocesan priesthood. I have priest-friends who have already left the priesthood and others who are thinking about it. Whenever I hear of someone abandoning his vocation, whether priesthood or marriage, it breaks my heart. I feel like Jeremiah when he said, “oh, that my head were a spring of water, my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night” (Jer 8:23). Our entire culture is suffering from a crisis in commitment and perseverance, which affects both marriage and priesthood.
At the same time, priest are generally happy, which is encouraging news, especially for young men considering the call. For example, in a survey of priests done in the States in 2004, priests were asked to comment on the statement, “Overall, I am happy as a priest.” Any guess what the response was? The percentage of priests who agreed or strongly agreed was 90.5% (The Joy of Priesthood, p. 24). That’s good news! Sometimes people get the impression that priests are alone, isolated, overworked, unsupported and therefore unhappy. There are indeed many challenges, but most priests are happy in their life and ministry.
I must say that in my own life, I see myself changing and growing through the challenges of priestly life and ministry; I see myself becoming more and more the person God created me to be. I think this is a joy God offers to each one of us through commitment to our vocation: marriage, priesthood, religious life or single life. We grow in His image, we become more human, more divine, in a foretaste of the Resurrection.
I would like to share with you one of my secrets for perseverance, which I think you can also apply to marriage or any other vocation: I am not ashamed to be a beggar – to ask for help, support, and grace from many different sources. For example, I am an associate priest of Madonna House; I attend monthly recollections for priests by Opus Dei; I am a member of a Jesus Caritas priests-share group; I lean on the bishop and the Pope for fatherly guidance; I hang out with brother priests; I talk a lot to my two mothers (my earthly mother and our Blessed Mother), I have a spiritual director; I regularly confess my sins in the Sacrament of Reconciliation; I ask the wonderful people of my parish to pray for me and for all priests like I am doing right now!
I am not ashamed to be a beggar! As aside, for anyone who wants to be faithful and joyful in marriage or any other vocation then don’t wait for a crisis to ask for help, support and grace from many different sources.
As I pray for all of you every day, please continue to pray for me, for all priests, and that God will give us more priests to be alter Christus, other Christs, to wash the feet of others, to give their lives in service, to continue the life, mission and priesthood of Christ on earth.
The Pope is declaring this coming year, from June 19th, 2009 to June 20th, 2010 to be the year of priesthood. It is timely and providential. And our bishop has already asked each parish to offer at least one Holy Hour a week for vocations; he will also be publishing a letter and a prayer for vocations on the World Day of Prayer for Vocations, on Sunday, May 3rd. I would like to end with this very same prayer:
Lord God, in every generation you have provided shepherds after your own heart and spiritual fathers for the family of the Church. Hear us in our day as we beg you: “Do not leave us orphans! Send us the Holy Spirit!”
Stir up in the hearts of those whom you have chosen to be priests an awareness of your call and the courage to say, “Let it be done to me according to your word.”
By your Spirit, mould them in the heart of Mary to be the image of your Son, faithful stewards of your grace. Shape them into zealous apostles, who will preach the Gospel with boldness, celebrate the Eucharist with reverence and be living signs of your love for all people.
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April 5, 2009
Posted in Homilies
at 9:00 am
Passion (Palm) Sunday, April 5th, 2009
The Cross and the palm (hold up each one). They go together; they cannot be separated. Passion Sunday and Palm Sunday – it’s the same Sunday – they go together. In the first centuries of the Church, the Sunday before Easter was celebrated as Palm Sunday in Jerusalem, but as Passion Sunday in Rome. Over the centuries, the two traditions came together. The Cross: a symbol of pain, sorrow, failure. The palm: a symbol of joy and victory (the saints in heaven carry palm branches in their hands). There is a deeper logic here: only by accepting the pain of the Cross can we experience the joy of the palm.
This has been a frequent theme this Lent; two weeks ago I spoke of the sweetness of the Cross. Today I would like to share with you a reflection on the Passion from Fr. Bob Wild of Madonna House; it appears in this month’s edition of the Madonna House publication Restoration.
“Do You Understand What Jesus Has Done?”
A reflection on the Passion
by Fr. Bob Wild (Restoration, April 2009, p. 5).
“When he is in the garden with Jesus, Peter hears the sounds of soldiers coming and he thinks to himself, “Oh, my God, they’re coming after him like a common criminal!” He turns and says to Jesus, “Lord, I know what you’re
trying to teach us. We are the criminals. We are the thieves and robbers. We are the ones who get away with all our crimes. But you, you are the Innocent One. Lord, we understand now. So you don’t have to let yourself be taken like a common criminal! Please don’t go through with this! We’ll confess our crimes.”
Jesus says, “You don’t understand. Yes, you are the thieves and robbers. You commit crimes in your hearts and get away with it. Real brigands go free and innocent people suffer. How can I get it across to you that there is great injustice in the world? The only way is to let you see Innocence Itself apprehended. Maybe then you’ll see the injustice all around you! Unless you let me do this for you, you can have no part with me.”
When Peter hears that Jesus is going to be scourged by the soldiers, he runs to him and says, “O Lord, please, please don’t go through with this! Oh, please don’t! I know what you are trying to say. “We have offended your Father by our lusts and addictions and unruly appetites, and now you’re going to have your flesh torn apart to show what sin does to you. But Lord, we understand now. You don’t have to go through with this! Please, please don’t!”
And Jesus says, “Peter, Peter, you don’t understand. Unless I show you in my own flesh what sin does, you won’t understand. So I’m going to have my flesh torn apart to make you realize how sins of the flesh disfigure the image
of God. This is the only way to get through to you. Unless you let me do this for you, you can have no part with me.”
Peter sees that Jesus is going to carry a cross through the streets of Jerusalem. He runs up to Jesus and says, “O Lord, no, no, you can’t go through with this! Don’t drag your cross through the streets and the jeering crowds! We understand now, really we do. You told us to carry our crosses every day and to carry each other’s crosses. So we will. We promise we will. You don’t have to go this far! We’ll obey you. We’ll obey you.”
And Jesus says, “You won’t obey. You won’t carry your cross and the cross of one another. Your selfishness is too great. No. I must go through with this. I must show what it costs to carry one’s cross. The human heart is too selfish, too self-centered. I must do this for you. If you don’t let me do this for you, you can have no part with me.”
Then Peter realizes that Christ is actually going to be nailed to the cross. “Oh, my God, he’s going to go through with this terrible tragedy!” He runs up to Jesus and says, “Lord, O my Lord, stop, stop! We understand! We understand! We will stop being selfish. We will lay down our lives in love for one another. O my Lord, please don’t allow yourself to be killed. No, don’t! We understand now.”
Jesus says, “No, you don’t understand. I’m telling you, unless you allow me to die for you, your heart never will be broken open. The wound of sin is too great, an “incurable wound” which is too massive. “You have to see me, your Lord and God, die for you. It’s the only thing that will break open the human heart. If you don’t allow me to die for you, you can have no part with me.”
My brothers and sisters, we must “let in” the passion of Jesus. There is a way we can block it out of our hearts and consciousness . . . The passion is not only a revelation of love; it is also a revelation of the darkness, of the magnitude of sin as well.
To “let in” the passion of Jesus, we must let in the pain of truth – to acknowledge the darkness and magnitude of sin, of our lusts and addictions and unruly appetites, of our selfish, hardened human hearts. Only then can we also embrace the joy of truth, the Passion as the greatest revelation of God’s love for us.
Years ago, a friend of mine went to personal counseling to try to save his marriage. He began well, then gave up. His wife later told me that he had said, “it’s too painful.” The pain of the Cross. He decided that the revelation of his own inner darkness and sinfulness was too painful. So he gave up, and the marriage fell apart. My friends, we must never give up half-way: we see the shadow of the Cross and we run away, afraid of the pain of the Cross, of the truth of our sins, our brokenness, our need for a Redeemer. But if we persevere and go , we will come to the Resurrection; we will discover the joy of the palm, the joy of the truth of God’s infinite mercy.
A holy priest once gave this advice for Holy Week: to take some time to read on your own what we’ve read today – the story of the Passion of Christ in one of the four Gospels – to read it slowly and meditatively, to “let in” the passion of Jesus, to break open our human hearts, and to “ask for this grace, especially during Holy Week: that the fire of the holy love of God may be kindled in our heart” (Fr. John Gregory of the Trinity in Magnificat, March 2009, p. 39-43)
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