December 26, 2010
Posted in Homilies
at 4:54 pm
Feast of the Holy Family, Year A, December 26, 2010 – By Deacon Thomas Stephenson
In every family, we each have our own unique traditions, and it is especially at Christmas time that many of those traditions are observed. Some of these may not be religious at all, such as certain cultural customs that are followed, or special foods that are only made at this time of year. Others are distinctly religious; perhaps lighting the Advent wreath, or reciting of family prayers. I was speaking with one of my brothers yesterday, who lives in Los Angeles. We were discussing some of our old family traditions, and he mentioned that although a couple of them may have seemed a little hokey to him at times, he realizes that they were important. One of these was a Christmas Eve procession. Our Nativity scene was set up about a week before Christmas, but without the baby Jesus, because, of course, it was still Advent and He hadn’t been born yet. On Christmas Eve, we would process from the kitchen to the Nativity scene in the living room, with the youngest child that was able to do so carrying the baby Jesus and the others carrying candles, singing Silent Night. It was very simple, and it only lasted the length of the first verse of the song, but to us it was meaningful and special. And, Faith, William and I have continued that tradition; we had our procession on Friday evening. My brother and I were both quite moved by the discussion of this and other traditions that we continue to follow, not just because of nostalgia for things of the past, but because we are still doing them, those traditions are alive. In the past few weeks, I’ve heard of other families where a younger generation is picking up the traditions that were observed when they were children, and now passing them on to their sons and daughters, strengthening family bonds along with creating lasting memories.
Family traditions are important. Even more important are those things that form the foundation of our family relationships, the virtues and behaviours of which cherished traditions are tangible symbols. The term “family values” is used quite a bit these days, with various groups trying to define just what those values are in order to defend their own position. A better way of approaching this may be to look at “family virtues”. In both our first reading from Sirach and the second reading from Colossians, we are told of how we should live to have a happy, and even holy, family.
Let’s first take a look at the virtues mentioned in Colossians, virtues that are essential to any family: compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience. A huge one: forgiveness. And, above all, love. What family would not benefit from striving to practise these virtues? Can you imagine how much we could improve our family life if we were able to grow in each of these virtues, even a little bit at a time? We may not ever be perfect in these attributes, but we certainly will be better if we work toward that goal. And if we love, if we truly love in the way Jesus asks us, the others will more easily fall into place.
The reading from Sirach speaks of honouring father and mother. This not only lays out our obligations to our parents, it also indicates the blessings that will result from us faithfully following our responsibilities. Our prayers will be heard, our kindness will be credited against our sins – that sounds pretty good. As parents, we need to set the standard for our children to meet, to be the kind of fathers and mothers that they will naturally respect. Our society does not foster this respect; in the media, it seems as though good parents are more often ridiculed than honoured. So, it’s even more important that our children see us as being worthy of their respect.
Another facet of honouring our mothers and fathers applies to those of us middle-aged people who have elderly parents that need our care, our patience, and our respect. This is a rewarding, if sometimes challenging, responsibility. There may be some support available from community services, or from the pastoral care team here in the parish, but nothing can substitute for the loving attention we can give our parents. And our responsibility for love and care certainly extends to the rest of our family as well, brothers and sisters, maybe aunts and uncles, or other loved ones.
Besides our immediate family, we are members of another family, our parish family. This is more than just a community. We may not be acquainted with everyone here, and we may not always agree with all of those we are acquainted with; families can be like that. But we are all truly brothers and sisters in Christ, and not just in some vague, nice way. Perhaps we could put a little more effort in getting to know each other better, but the connection is there regardless. We gather to worship God together. We receive Jesus in the Eucharist together. We celebrate the holidays together, and we have our own traditions. There is joy in this family when children are born, when they are baptised, when they receive the Sacraments of First Communion and First Reconciliation, Confirmation, Marriage, or God willing, Holy Orders. There is sorrow in this family when one of us is seriously ill, and we pray for and support each other in times of need. We grieve together when a member of this family dies. Yes, we are a family in a very real sense. As such, we are called to practise those virtues: compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, forgiveness, and love, as much in our relationships with members of our parish family as with our natural family.
On this feast of the Holy Family, as we recall the difficulties that Joseph, Mary, and Jesus faced in the early days of their existence as a family, we also recognize that they are a great model of living these virtues, and of having total faith and trust in God despite the problems they encountered. We may not ever reach their level of perfection, but will always be on the right path if we follow their example. In doing so, we will help to make our families stronger and more holy.
I’ll close with a portion of a prayer from Pope Benedict’s homily for Christmas midnight Mass: Lord Jesus, grant us the grace of true brotherhood. Help us to become like you. Help us to recognize your face in others who need our assistance, in those who are suffering or forsaken, in all people, and help us to live together with you as brothers and sisters, so as to become one family, your family.
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December 25, 2010
Posted in Homilies
at 9:00 am
Christmas, Year A, December 25, 2010 – By Father Tim McCauley
“May we come to share the divinity of Christ, who humbled himself to share in our humanity.” These words, spoken by the priest in silence at every Mass, while the wine and water are being mixed, can be visually represented through straw and gold: the “straw” of our humanity being changed into the “gold” of the divinity (show props).
Here is Christ lying in the manger, the Son of God, equal in divinity to God the Father and Creator of the universe, humbling himself by becoming a human child and lying in poverty on the straw in the manger. His laying on straw is a symbol of the fact that he has taken on the “straw” of our lowly human nature. He may have been born in a stable, but He was a descendant of David and He – not Herod – was the rightful King of Israel, being also the King of the universe. Later, one of the three Magi would honour Him as King by giving Him a gift of gold, a symbol of his royalty and divinity. May we come to share the gold of the divinity of Christ, who humbled himself to share in the straw of our humanity.
To receive the divinity of Christ, to approach the manger, we too must be poor and humble like Christ Himself, and like the shepherds in the Gospel (Christmas eve and Mass at Dawn) and lay aside all our fool’s gold, our obsession with material things, our false security. Let us all, right now, also lay aside all our useless fears and anxieties, to live in the present moment, and pay attention! Let us bring our true selves to the Child in the manger, and let ourselves be loved by Him.
This reminds me of a not so well-known Christmas hymn that goes like this: “All poor men and humble, all lame men who stumble, come haste ye, and feel not afraid; for Jesus, our treasure, whose love passes measure, in lowly poor manger was laid. Though wise men who found him laid rich gifts around him, yet oxen they gave him their hay; and Jesus in beauty, accepted their duty: contented in manger he lay.”
All poor men (and women) who are humble, come to Jesus our treasure with the gold of his divinity. The oxen could only offer their hay, but Jesus accepted it. We can only offer the straw of our humanity, but He will accept it and turn it into the gold of his divinity.
In His Incarnation, in taking on flesh in the womb of Mary and being born into our world, Christ has in a sense united Himself with every single human being. My human nature, your human nature, has been permanently joined to the divine nature in Christ. Through our baptism, Holy Communion and a life of grace, we become in the one Son of God, sons and daughters of God; we become, in the King of the universe, princes, princesses! It is so important for us to know who we are!
Has everyone heard of Kate Middleton? She was born a commoner but she is going to become a princess. Her mother used to be a flight attendant, and her father, a flight dispatcher – not exactly from the nobility. But she is going to become a princess, because Prince William is going to marry her. And the very moment he marries her, on April 29th, 2011, she will become and forever remain, a princess.
They say that every little girl dreams of being a princess; well, it is only 1 in a million that are so lucky? No! That’s what has happened to all us in the moment of the Incarnation: there was a marriage between the divine and human natures. We are all princes and princesses, kings, queens!
In the third movie of C.S. Lewis’s Narnia, the Voyage of the Dawn Treader, now in theatres, one of the heroes, Edmund, is frustrated at how he is being treated at school and at home, and he complains to his sister Lucie saying, “I’m a king!” Yes, in the alternate universe of Narnia, he is a king. At least in this world he remembered who he was. The problem with us is, we forget. We forget who we really are: princes, princesses, sons and daughters of God. And we allow ourselves to be deceived, tempted and entrapped by the spirit of the world and the lies of the Evil One; we allow ourselves to slip, bit by bit, into slavery to sin.
Remember who you are! You are not a slave but a son, a daughter! Tonight is the night (Today is the day) that you can be set free and begin again. Christ was born into this world, so that we could be born from above, born again, begin again. You no longer have to be a slave to whatever binds you: alcohol, or drugs, sexual sin, your pride, anger or lack of forgiveness. You can bring all that to the manger, and lay it all down at the crib of this little baby who is also the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Though your sins be like scarlet, He will make them white as snow (cf Is 1:18).
Christmas Eve: In tonight’s second reading we heard that Christ “gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity” from all slavery to sin, and “purify for himself a people of his own” who are His sons and daughters! (Titus 2:11-14)
Mass at Dawn (9:00 a.m.) We heard in the second reading: “When the goodness and loving kindness of God our Saviour appeared, he saved us . . . so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs” – of the kingdom, sons and daughters of the King “according to the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:4-7).
Mass During the Day (10:45 a.m.) The first reading tells us that “the Lord has comforted his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem” – he has redeemed us, he has set us free from our slavery to sin. The letter to the Hebrews speaks of the mission of Christ as making “purification for sins” so that God the Father can also say to us, “You are my son,” “you are my daughter” (Hebrews 1:1-6, Mass on Christmas Day) And John proclaims in his gospel that all those who believe in Christ and receive Him, He gives “power to become children of God” (John 1:1-18).
Remember who you are, and the great dignity and beauty of your human nature and your human body. In our culture, we often treat the human body as a thing, a tool or instrument of pleasure, something to be discarded when it is unwanted whether in the womb or in old age. Remember your dignity! The Creator of the universe, who is invisible, almighty, pure, and holy, embraced our human nature in a marital union in which the 2 became 1 for all eternity – Jesus still has a human nature in heaven!
So don’t worry, thinking your body is too big or small, short or tall, young or old – No! You are beautiful. And God Himself wants to turn everything He has touched in you into purest gold.
Two thousand years ago, when God came into the world as a poor, helpless child, most people did not recognize Him – the gold of the divinity hidden under the human nature. And so it is today: most people do not recognize the presence of Christ, human and divine, in Holy Communion, in the Sacrament of His Body and Blood. The Church tries to remind us of His Presence by placing the bread that is His Body on a golden plate, and the wine that is His Blood in a golden cup. When you receive Holy Communion tonight/today, you will receive it from a golden bowl, to remind us all that we are receiving the gold of His Divinity.
Weekly Holy Communion reminds us and empowers us to live each day not as a slave, but as a son or daughter of the King! The Eucharist is the key to our divinization, to transforming straw into gold, to transforming the world! Yes, worthy, meaningful and fruitful reception of the Eucharist, and all that accompanies it – personal prayer, the Bible, Christian friendship and witness – is the key to transforming each one of us and the world.
I mention this because you might want 2011 to be a great year, a year of God’s grace and favour, in which He will say to you:
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned . . . Because you are precious in my sight and honoured and I love you” (Is 43:1-4). You are my son, you are my daughter. I formed you in the womb. I have espoused you and drawn you to my heart. I am calling you to my side in the glory of my kingdom.
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December 22, 2010
Posted in Homilies
at 9:53 pm
Fourth Sunday of Advent, 19 December 2010 – By Father Tim McCauley
Today I feel called to speak about an experience that I have never known and never will, because of the limits placed on me by our Creator (which I humbly accept), an experience that is intimately linked to the mystery of Advent, mentioned in today’s first reading and Gospel . . . What is it? Pregnancy! I’ve been meeting a lot of pregnant women lately, and trying to learn from their wisdom.
It is a great sign – pregnancy, the woman with child, a sign for King Ahaz in the 8th century B.C. and a sign for our world today. The prophecy of Isaiah, the sign of the young woman with child who will bear a son and name him Emmanuel (Is 7:14), is fulfilled in the pregnancy of the Virgin Mary, who conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit (Mt 1:18-25) and gave birth to the Messiah.
There is an intimate link between the meaning of Advent and pregnancy. Catherine Doherty once wrote, “Advent and pregnancy are times of waiting, times of the great prayer of silence that we women know . . . They are times of living with Mary and learning from her . . . “ (Catherine Doherty, Dear Parents)
Let us look closely at this sign of pregnancy, first, that of Mary, and the journey of the pregnant Mary, and her husband Joseph, to Bethlehem. If we spiritually accompany them, we can learn something for our preparation for Christmas. But we have to be silent and listen very carefully . . .
In his apostolic exhortation on the Word of God, released in November, Pope Benedict wrote, “Ours is not an age which fosters recollection; at times one has the impression that people are afraid of detaching themselves, even for a moment, from the mass media. For this reason, it is necessary nowadays that the People of God be educated in the value of silence . . . Only in silence can the word of God find a home in us, as it did in Mary, woman of the word and, inseparably, woman of silence.”
What was Mary pondering in her heart in silence during the months of her pregnancy? Perhaps she was looking forward to spending her first Christmas (the birth of Christ) at home, in peace and comfort. We might have certain expectations of what we want for our perfect little Christmas. What happened to Mary? God had other plans for her in the 9th month of her pregnancy – get up! And go with Joseph to Bethlehem – 150 km on foot and by donkey, then sleep outside in a cave! Isn’t it wonderful?
What do you think that Joseph and Mary said after they finally arrived days later in Bethlehem with sore feet and empty stomachs and no where to stay? (“That Was Easy” button). No! It wasn’t easy at all, but Mary trusted in God and in silence she pondered and accepted His will, giving her great inner peace. There are so many things outside our control. I think Mary wants to help us, as Christmas approaches, to give up control, to accept the things we cannot change, to trust in God.
“O my people,” says the Lord through the prophet Isaiah, “enter your chambers, shut the door behind you and hide yourselves a little while” (Is 26:20). “In quiet and in trust shall be your strength” (Is 30:15).
I want to briefly mention the miraculous birth of Jesus. I don’t know if Mary was expecting this miracle or not; regardless, she trusted in God in everything. After all the pain she endured in traveling to Bethlehem, the actual birth of Jesus was painless; it was not only easy, it was an ecstasy, in the traditional sense of ek-stasis, of “standing outside oneself” of total wonder and awe, of losing oneself and being transfigured in God.
Not every Catholic is aware of this, but the Church has always taught from the very beginning that Mary was ever-Virgin, before, during and after the birth of Jesus. (This was solemnly defined at the Lateran Council in 649 A.D.). The miracle of the birth of Jesus is often compared to the miracle of the Resurrection. As the body of Jesus passed miraculously through the walls of the tomb, so did it pass mysteriously through the womb of Mary (Mariology, ed. by Mark Miravalle, p. 300).
I don’t have time to go into detail, but we can also learn from Mary in this mystery. If we faithfully accompany Mary and Joseph on their difficult journey to Bethlehem, meaning that we trust in God and are patient with all the stress and busy-ness leading up to Christmas, then we can ask to also share in the miracle of the birth of Jesus, to dispose ourselves to receive even a moment of ek-stasis, of childlike wonder and awe, that might descend upon us as delicately as a single snowflake floating gently down from heaven. But we have to stop for a moment to look, to listen in silence. If you are a child, it could be any moment.
If you are an adult, it could be a moment of watching your children, of strolling with a loved one and gazing upon the Christmas lights on a snow-laden evergreen tree, it could be the moment of Holy Communion or personal prayer – a moment when the birth of Jesus becomes a miracle for you too.
Let us look again at this mysterious sign of pregnancy, of the woman with child in the first reading. When Isaiah issued his prophecy, it was a very dark time for the people of Judah. Jerusalem was threatened by invasion from the armies of the northern kingdom of Israel and of Syria. King Ahaz and the people were terrified of death, of being invaded and destroyed. But God said, “I will give you a sign.” What? The Egyptians on their chariots are coming to save us? No. A young woman with child. What? That’s it? How is that going to help us?
Well, in addition to its ultimate fulfillment in the coming of the Messiah-King Jesus Christ born of the Virgin Mary, this prophecy re-assured King Ahaz that he would have a son who would continue the Davidic dynasty, (the kingdom would not be destroyed) a son who turned out to be the just and holy king, Hezekiah. It was a sign of hope for the future – a young pregnant woman.
We also live in dark times. Marriage, family and life itself are under attack in our culture of death. There are young people who doubt the value of sacrifice in marriage, and in raising children. One of God’s greatest gifts, children, are considered by many to be a burden rather than a gift.
Therefore, the sign of a young woman with child is also a sign for our times.
Every young woman with a child (ideally with her husband standing beside her, but I mean every woman with a child) is a beautiful sign of love, of hope in the future. Christmas is a time to celebrate life, family, marriage, fertility, pregnancy, children. These are among God’s greatest gifts. We must thank God for them. We must fight to defend them. As we take time to contemplate in silence the sign of pregnancy, and all these signs that accompany the manifestation of Christ at Christmas, let us not hesitate to share this Good News with the world, to proclaim from the rooftops the beauty of life, marriage, children!
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Posted in pastor
at 9:44 pm
PASTOR’S CORNER
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
With the feast of Christmas, followed immediately by that of the Holy Family, I have been reflecting on the Church as a family. On December 17th, I took my final promises as a Madonna House associate, meaning that I try to live the “Nazareth” spirituality of Madonna House in my calling as a parish priest. When I first joined the Catholic Church in 1995, I felt that I had found my true family on earth. Belonging to the family of Madonna House, modeled on the lift of the Holy Family, has deepened my sense of the Church as a family.
Christ, the only Son of God, equal in divinity to the Father, became a little child for our sake. He chose to be born and to live in a human family. He has made us his brothers and sisters. The Church is the family of God. We believe it, now we must live it! In a family, we can be ourselves and be welcomed. We can be poor and weak, and know that we are loved. What a relief it is, what a joy, to know that we are loved as we are! It is this love that inspires and energizes us to grow in holiness.
So, dear friends, let us make a special effort throughout this Christmas season (ending with the Baptism of the Lord on January 9th) to accept and love one another as children of God, as brothers and sisters in Christ, as members of one family. In Christ, Fr. Tim
P.S. Thanks very much for all your Christmas cards, gifts, prayers and best wishes!
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December 21, 2010
Posted in posts
at 9:46 pm
Reconciliation – December 14th at 7pm
December 24th – 5pm, 8pm, and 10pm
December 25th – 9am and 10:45am
December 31st – 4:30 pm
January 1st – 10:45 am and 4:30 pm
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December 17, 2010
Posted in pastor
at 6:47 am
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
As we have been striving this Advent to listen with Mary to the Word of God, I share with you some reflections on Mary by John Paul II:
“During the final days of Advent, the Liturgy puts particular emphasis on the figure of Mary. The beginning of the Incarnation of the Redeemer took place in her heart, from her “Here I am” full of faith, in reply to the divine call. If we wish to understand the genuine meaning of Christmas, we must look at her, call upon her.
Mary, Mother par excellence, helps us to understand the key words of the mystery of the birth of her divine Son: humility, silence, wonder, joy.
She exhorts us, first of all, to humility, so that God can find space in our heart, not darkened by pride and arrogance. She points out to us the value of silence, which knows how to listen to the song of the Angels and the crying of the Child, not stifling them by noise and confusion. Together with her, we stop before the Nativity scene with intimate wonder, savouring the simple and pure joy that this Child gives to humanity.”
(John Paul II, Angelus, December 21st, 2003) In Christ, Fr. Tim
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December 12, 2010
Posted in Homilies
at 9:00 am
Third Sunday of Advent, Year A, December 12, 2010 – By Father Tim McCauley
Jesus. Friendship. Humility. These are three indispensable keys to joy, the joy that we wish to receive on Christmas, that we anticipate on this “Gaudete” “Rejoicing” Sunday, (and thus the reason for the rose-coloured vestments).
Today’s readings announce to us of the joy of salvation. In the Gospel, the blind receive their sight, the deaf hear, the lame walk! The first reading from Chapter 35 of the prophet Isaiah speaks to us of the joy of the Jewish exiles returning home: “the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away” (Is 35: 10)
This Advent I have been trying to make time to listen with Mary to the Word of God, specifically by reading and re-reading the first part of the prophet Isaiah (Chapter 1-39). In contrast to today’s reading, in chapter 24, Isaiah spoke about the punishment of sin seen in the absence of joy. To what situation would we compare our society today? The joy of salvation or the desolation of exile?
Isaiah prophesies, “the earth mourns and withers . . . (it) lies polluted under its inhabitants; for they have . . . broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore, a curse devours the earth, and its inhabitants suffer for their guilt; therefore . . . “ What is the punishment of sin, according to this vision of Isaiah? “The wine mourns, the vine languishes, all the merry-hearted sigh . . . all joy has reached its eventide; the gladness of the earth is banished” (Is 24:4-11). In this picture, human sin carries with it its own punishment of a total absence of joy.
What is the situation of today’s society? John Paul II offered his analysis in his 1984 apostolic exhortation on “Reconciliation and Penance.” He wrote, “Contrition and conversion are . . . a drawing near to the holiness of God, (and) a rediscovery of one’s true identity which has been upset and disturbed by sin, a liberation in the very depth of self and thus a regaining of lost joy, the joy of being saved, which the majority of people in our time are no longer capable of experiencing” (Reconciliatio et Penitentia, #31).
These are also prophetic words from our late Holy Father (which I believe I have quoted before). Did you catch what he said? The majority of people in our time are no longer capable of experiencing joy, the joy of being saved, because they have lost the sense of sin, of contrition and conversion. We cannot experience the joy of salvation without humility, without acknowledging the truth of our sin and our need for a divine Messiah. (A reminder of our Reconciliation Service Tuesday 7pm)
We cannot experience joy apart from Jesus Christ, whose very name “Jesus” means “the Lord saves.” Seeking joy apart from Him would be a little bit like wanting to fly to Florida for the winter – to fly by your own strength, by flapping your arms! I can guarantee you that you will never fly to Florida by flapping your arms! The same is true with joy apart from Jesus. You can buy and sell, eat and drink all you want; you can be busy and flap your arms, but there is no joy in this life apart from a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, who alone can save us from sin, giving us the joy of salvation!
Jesus. Humility. And friendship. All keys to experiencing joy. A few words on friendship. I just read an interesting study on religion and friendship in the Ottawa Citizen on Thursday, that indicates that 67% of people who “attend religious services every week, and who have three to five close friends in their congregation, said that they are ‘extremely satisfied’ with their lives . . . In comparison, only 19% of people who attend religious services weekly, but who have no close friends in their congregation, report that they are extremely satisfied with their lives” (Thursday, December 9th, 2010). 67% of people satisfied versus 19% dissatisfied, and the only difference is Christian friendship.
I don’t have much time to go into detail, but we all need to make an effort to develop Christian friendships in which we share our faith. Small Christian communities in our parish – we currently have 5 – aim to offer this friendship to anyone in the parish who is interested. And of course every marriage and every family should include Christian friendship and the sharing of faith. God made us for friendship, community, communion. We share our burdens and they are cut in half; we share our joys and they are doubled.
I want to mention one terrible temptation into which we all fall at times and that we must strive to avoid if we want to be truly joyful . . . and that is . . . comparing ourselves to others! It is normal, as the holidays approach, to think about our families, but it is deadly – an illusion, a temptation and a lie – to compare ourselves with other individuals or families!
There is no reason to compare ourselves with others. After being in this parish for 6 and a half years, and slowly, over time, getting to know individuals and families, and learning to see people not the way I might want to see them, but the way that God sees us, I have come to the conclusion that the people of this parish – and the pastor himself are basically . . . a mess! All of us! Would the first family here without sin please come forward, because we would like to paint your icon, and place you next to the sinless Virgin Mary, so that we can also kneel down and a light a candle to you! We’re all in a mess, but it’s not a total disaster, because we are essentially good, created in the image of God, and redeemed by Christ.
But look for a moment at the reality of sin – in our personal lives, our families, our world. We are not living the way God intended for us to live in the beginning. We do not live the way that Mary or Jesus lived on earth, or the way that the saints live in heaven, as we will one day live eternally. No. Our human nature is too deeply wounded by sin – pride, envy, lust, greed and so on. We are in a mess that we cannot fix on our own. When will we have the humility and courage to confess our need for a Saviour? Without this humility and honesty, there is no salvation and no joy.
Who was it that received joy from Jesus in today’s Gospel? Was it people like us who say “I am rich, I have prospered, and I need of nothing” (Rev 3:17)? No. The blind received their sight, the deaf heard again, the lame walked again, the poor received the Good News. Unless we learn to see ourselves in the Gospel, in the people to whom Jesus ministered, unless we learn to recognize and accept the ways in which we are poor, blind, deaf, lame, we will never know joy because we will never know Jesus Christ as our Saviour.
Mary will help us find joy in Jesus. No sooner did she conceive Him in her womb than she sang with joy her Magnificat, and shared this Good News with others, with her cousin Elizabeth, in Christian friendship and service. And let us look at Jesus Himself in the Eucharist. He humbles Himself before His heavenly Father and before us, taking on the lowly form of bread, to share Himself with us in friendship, saying to us, “I no longer call you slaves, but friends” (John 15:15) and “I have come to give you life”(John 10:10) “that my joy may be in you, and your joy will be complete” (John 15:11).
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December 10, 2010
Posted in pastor
at 6:00 am
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
As Christmas approaches, let us remember our spiritual father and the shepherd of the Church in Ottawa, ARCHBISHOP PRENDERGAST. I propose that we could offer him a SPIRITUAL BOUQUET of our prayers, Masses and little sacrifices for his intentions. As I work in the vocations office on Tuesdays, I personally witness how generously our bishop offers his time, talents and energy – his life! – in service to God and the people of our Archdiocese. I think he would appreciate hearing how the people in the parish really do pray for him when his name is mentioned at each Mass, and that we appreciate his strong leadership and tireless service. This coming week, let us pray for his apostolic visit to the diocese of Tuam in Ireland, as a delegate of the Vatican, sent to assist in the renewal of the Church in Ireland after revelations of cases of the clerical abuse of minors. Our Archbishop carries a heavy load for the good of the whole Church! Let us continue to assist him with our prayers. I propose that we could send him one super-sized Christmas card with all our prayers listed. Please consider what you can offer, and we will gather together our spiritual gifts. In Christ, Fr. Tim
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December 5, 2010
Posted in Homilies
at 9:39 am
Second Sunday of Advent – By Deacon Thomas Stephenson
December 05, 2010
We have to wonder – just what was it about John the Baptist that drew people to follow him? Here was this strange man who didn’t live in the village with others, but out in the desert, in the wilderness. His clothes were unusual, made out of camel’s hair, which besides being different were probably not very comfortable. And his diet of locusts and wild honey isn’t exactly what the average family would have been serving for dinner most days.
John’s appearance may have drawn those who were curious, but his teaching is what drew those who were serious. He spoke of justice between people, and spoke out against the evil that existed in some of those in authority. And most importantly, he spoke of the kingdom of heaven, and as he put it, the one who was to come after him, the Messiah. In the Canticle of Zecharia from the Gospel of Luke, which is read as part of Morning Prayer every day, we hear John’s father Zechariah say; “You my child shall be called the prophet of the most high; for you will go before the Lord to prepare His way, to give His people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins”. This knowledge is the basis for true hope, so it’s no wonder that people responded to it. They came from all the surrounding regions; as the Gospel says, “they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.”
During Advent, we too are called to repentance. The baptisms by John were not sacramental as is our Catholic baptism, but they did symbolize the person’s repentance for past sins. Now, we can only be baptised once, so we can’t have our sins forgiven by that method again. But there is another way God has provided for us to be forgiven for our sins. That, of course is in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We will have our Advent Reconciliation service on Tuesday, December 14, at 7 pm. Wouldn’t it be great if people came here for reconciliation the same way they came for baptism by John? People coming from all around to repent? There will be quite a few priests available, so you shouldn’t have to wait in line too long. Although sometimes I find the longer I spend in line, the better prepared I am when I get into the confessional.
Preparation is what Advent is really about. Not just preparation for Christmas, for the coming of Christ, but preparation of ourselves for the kingdom of heaven. One item I read said: The secular idea of Advent is the number of shopping days until Christmas; John the Baptist’s idea is the number of repentance days before judgement. We may have a negative concept of judgement, but judgement does not equal punishment, although some punishment may result from judgement. We will all be judged; as Isaiah says in today’s first reading “He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor.” This idea of righteous judgement is echoed in the Psalm, so our judgement is fair, not harsh or vindictive.
The Pharisees and the Sadducees, each in their own way tried to follow the law perfectly. They were afraid of being judged, but not for the proper reasons. We can’t know the state of their souls, but it seems as though they loved the law for the sake of the law itself, rather than following the law for love of God. So when they appear at the Jordan for baptism, John recognizes the insincerity of their coming to him. We aren’t told if he was reacting because of some supernatural insight of their intentions, or if he was just addressing them from his knowledge of that type of person. But he certainly was quite blunt in addressing them as a brood of vipers. It is not so much that he is judging them himself, but assessing their actions and warning them of their impending judgement by God. John seems to have no fear in saying what he sees that is not originating from God, or in declaring what is needed to become closer to God.
How are we becoming closer to God, preparing the way for Him in our hearts during this Advent season? Other than reconciliation, what things are we doing in our lives to be ready for the one who is coming after John? This is a really busy time of the year, and we may think that we just can’t fit anything more into our schedule. Father Tim commented on this last week, about all the frantic activity that seems to be part of this season but actually is a distraction from what Advent should be about. He came up with a couple of possible terms to use for this, but I like what a woman by the name of Anne Morse straightforwardly called it – “fake Christmas”, as opposed to “authentic Christmas”. How many of us could perhaps cut back on just a little of the activities that make this season so hectic for us, and use some of that reclaimed time to prepare the way of the Lord in our hearts an in our souls? Perhaps some extra time praying, either individually or with our families? Or, reading Isaiah, as Father Tim mentioned, or some other books from scripture. Particularly at this time of year, we may want to look to the Old Testament for words of hope, for prophecies and wisdom. As Paul states in today’s second reading, “Whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope”. Remember, in Paul’s time scripture basically consisted of what we now call the Old Testament, which points to and leads up to the coming Christ. So we should take some time to read and learn from that part of the Bible.
Also, let’s remember to reach out to our family and friends – maybe we could even invite them to come to church with us. This is the perfect time of year to do so. Yes, the church will be packed on Christmas, especially at the Masses on Christmas Eve, but there is always room for one more.
Advent is a gift to us, a time to allow us to reconcile ourselves with God in joyful hope for the coming of the Lord. Let us use this time well, make the necessary preparations, and bear fruit worthy of the repentance we express, worthy of Him Whose coming we await.
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December 2, 2010
Posted in pastor
at 9:30 pm
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Thanks again to all who participated in our 24 hours of EUCHARISTIC ADORATION to begin our Advent season. We all need that time of silence in the midst of busy-ness, to listen with Mary to the Word of God – both in the Scriptures and the Word spoken in our hearts.
Pope Benedict spoke at a general audience in November about a new “eucharistic springtime” in the Church. He said, “Dear friends, fidelity to the encounter with the Christ in the Eucharist in Holy Mass on Sunday is essential for the journey of faith, but let us also seek to pay frequent visits to the Lord present in the Tabernacle! In gazing in adoration at the consecrated Host, we discover the gift of God’s love, we discover Jesus’ Passion and Cross and likewise his Resurrection. It is precisely through our gazing in adoration that the Lord draws us towards him into his mystery in order to transform us as he transforms the bread and the wine.”
It is my hope that in our own parish we will experience this “eucharistic springtime,” perhaps with all-day adoration every First Friday. A reminder to all that we do have adoration every Tuesday night from 6-7 pm. Let us make time for God this Advent, to better prepare the way of the Lord into our hearts, our homes, our parish! In Christ, Fr. Tim
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