January 29, 2012

What has He to do with us?

Posted in Homilies at 9:00 am

Homily for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

January 29, 2012

As we heard at the beginning of today’s Gospel, “When the Sabbath came, Jesus entered the synagogue and taught”. Along with His disciples, and as a devout Jew observing the precepts of His religion, Jesus made sure that He went to synagogue on the Sabbath. In our own way, we do the same thing – following the precepts of our Catholic faith, and following the third commandment to keep holy the Lord’s day, we come to church for Sunday Mass.
As Mark notes, the people were astounded at the authority with which Jesus taught, which was quite different from the scribes. The scribes could not possibly have taught scripture they way Jesus did. Consider the difference between a teacher who just opens the textbook and reads to the class, and one who knows the subject so thoroughly that the class can sense the knowledge and passion of that teacher. Who could know and understand scripture better than the Son of God, the Word Himself? So, of course, His teaching had an authority that no one else’s could.
Amidst the many people in the synagogue, there was another person, another presence, that recognized Jesus and His authority. As the Gospel says “There was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out ‘What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.’”
We can imagine the tone of these words – this was not a friendly greeting. This spirit did not welcome having Jesus in the synagogue. And, we have to think that this man was not some raving lunatic, or he probably would not have been allowed to enter the synagogue. It is more likely that he was a member of the congregation, perhaps someone who was not completely possessed but who had some portion of his being that was under the influence of the unclean spirit.
Although over the years many books have been written and movies made about demonic possession, such a thing is very rare. But the influence of the evil one is not so rare, even when it may be quite subtle. How often do we hear words similar to those of the man in the synagogue: Jesus, what have you to do with us? You Christians, what have you to do with us, to tell us that what we’re doing is not in accord with God’s plan for us. You Catholics, who are you to try to point out that abortion, or embryonic stem cell research, or divorce, or our sinful sexual practises are wrong. Keep your views on contraception and euthanasia to yourself. And don’t think about working for social justice unless your program aligns with our secular agenda. What have you to do with us, anyway?
Of course, we are called to be light to the world, to help people to hear the voice of the Lord. Nevertheless, many people in our world say those kinds of things on a daily basis, and if we take a good look at ourselves, we have probably said something similar, if not quite so drastic, at some point ourselves. We are not possessed, and the primary influence may have been our pride and our wilfulness, but we do not always welcome Jesus’ authority, and the authority of His Church, into those very areas where we most need His help.
When the Church teaches us about matters of faith and morals, it is not trying to control us. We always have free will to do whatever we want. There are no Church Police lurking around the corner to force us into submission. We have been covering some of this in RCIA recently, and it is something all of us should remember. What the Church is doing is not controlling us but giving us the knowledge and guidance we need in order that we may share in the Resurrection and have everlasting life. We won’t get that from our society; we will only get that from Jesus and His Mystical Body, the Church. Jesus ordered the unclean spirit to come out of the man in the synagogue, and He wants to expel everything that may be unclean within us. But He needs our co-operation. He needs us to not harden our hearts when we hear His voice, and listen to what He is telling us. He needs us to examine our consciences in light of the faith and Church teaching, and to make use of the Sacrament of Reconciliation frequently. We need to keep holy the Lord’s Day, coming to Mass every Sunday to listen to His Word, to receive Holy Communion if we are worthy, and to worship God along with our brothers and sisters.
The authority of Jesus is not just something that we read about in the Bible, it is alive and present to us in our world today. It is the authority of God, who loves us and wants us to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Then perhaps we can rephrase the words of the man in the synagogue, and say respectfully and prayerfully: “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to save us? We know who you are – you are the Holy One of God.”

January 1, 2012

His Mother, Our Mother

Posted in Homilies at 9:00 am

Homily for the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God, January 01, 2012

I’m sure everyone remembers the anecdote Father Paul told us last week, about the gentleman who complained to the priest that all he ever heard when he went to church was “Christ is born” and “Christ is risen”. And what was the priest’s reply? “If you came to church more than just Christmas and Easter, you’d get to hear the rest of the story.” Well, you’re back again today, so you got to hear another part of the story.
Today’s Gospel picks up where the Gospel from Christmas Eve left off, with the shepherds finding the Holy Family in the stable, with the infant Jesus lying in the manger. We hear that these shepherds then make known what was told them about this child. What was it that the Angel said to them? “To you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Christ, the Lord.” And we are told that, as any mother would, Mary treasured these words, and pondered them in her heart.
During Advent, our focus was primarily on the impending coming of Christ. And at Christmas, we celebrated His coming, His birth as a human baby. But, appropriately in the background but not forgotten, has been Mary, Jesus’ mother, and therefore, the Mother of God. We revere Mary, but she is always humbly subordinate to her Son. In our reverence for her, for this woman as holy as anyone of only human nature could be, we may not always remember that she was a mother. A mother who loved her child in the same way that all normal mothers love their children. She cared for Him, she fed Him, and together with Joseph, she taught Him and raised Him. Mary is held out to us as an example of humility and docility to the will of God; she is also an example of motherly love.
So, it is only proper that we should take this day to remember her motherhood, and that she is not just mother of the human Jesus, but that she is truly Mother of God. Jesus is fully human and fully divine, not part one and part the other. He cannot be separated. Just as He is completely present in the Host, body, blood, soul, and divinity; He is completely present in the Precious blood, body, blood, soul, and divinity. As a baby, as a child, as a man, He was completely present body, blood, soul, and divinity. At the Annunciation, the angel Gabriel told Mary that her Son “will be called the Son of the Most High” and also “the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God”. As the Son, Jesus is the second Divine Person of the Trinity.
Mary could not be the mother of Jesus without also being the Mother of God.
The title of Mary as Mother of God, or theotokos, which is ancient Greek for “God bearer”, was part of a huge controversy in the early church. Around the year 429, the monk Nestorius went so far as to say: “Hath God a mother?” “A creature brought not forth Him who is uncreated.” “A creature bore not the Creator.” His discourse was considerably longer than that, but, basically, he was saying that actually there were two sons of God, one of them divine and the other human. A priest by the name of Proclus disputed this, saying in part: “The Lord came to save, but in so doing, to suffer. A mere man could not save; a God could not die. That which was, saved; that which was made, suffered. I see the miracles and I proclaim the Godhead; I behold the sufferings and I deny not the manhood. What clearer proof could I want that Mary is indeed the Mother of God?” The Council of Chalcedon in the fall of 451 declared that Jesus was “born of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God (theotokos) according to His humanity”. Christ is not just a divinized human but God become man, so if Mary is the mother of Jesus, she is also the Mother of God. Much of these early disputes were more about the nature of Jesus than about Mary’s role, but we won’t get too far into that or we’ll be here a long time. However, the things we believe about Mary are directly and inextricably connected to what we believe about Christ. Even as Mother of God, Mary does not draw the attention to herself. In her own words, she is but the Handmaid of the Lord. Mary points us to her Son, and He gives her to us. Just as he said to the Apostle John at the foot of the cross, “Behold, your mother!”, she also is our mother, who wants us to be brothers and sisters in Christ. She is a mother to whom we pray, asking her to intercede for us with her Son. The Catechism states: “In a wholly singular way she cooperated by her obedience, faith, hope, and burning charity in the Saviour’s work of restoring supernatural life to souls. For this reason, she is a mother to us in the order of grace.” And, “by her manifold intercession (she) continues to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation.” Not by her own power, but through her intercession, as our mother and the Mother of God. She asks her Son on our behalf, for what child could deny his mother her legitimate request? When we pray to Mary, we are actually praying to Christ through her. That is not to say that we cannot pray to God directly, only that we have confidence in asking Mary for her assistance.
A proper devotion to Mary is truly a devotion to her Son. As Pope Benedict wrote, “She does not contest or endanger the exclusiveness of salvation through Christ; she points to it”. Remembering Mary, and her essential role in the incarnation, and therefore in our salvation, is to know another part of the story. You can come back again next week to hear the next part. In the meantime, continue to pray to our Mother Mary for her intercession. And look to her as a model to follow for humility, fidelity, and holiness.

December 11, 2011

Gaudete in Domino Semper!

Posted in Homilies at 9:00 am

Third Sunday of Advent, December 11, 2011 – By Deacon Thomas Stephenson

Is everyone awake? As Father Paul has been reminding us for the past couple of weeks, during Advent we need to be awake, spiritually awake, so that we are ready for the coming of Jesus. And today, we are not just awake; we are rejoicing! Traditionally, we call this Sunday Gaudete Sunday, which comes from the Entrance Antiphon for today’s Mass, and is also found in the opening line of today’s second reading from the First Letter of Saint Paul to the Thessalonians. The Latin is Gaudete in Domino Semper – Rejoice in the Lord always! Even though it’s not yet Christmas, we rejoice in anticipation, with the knowledge that it will only be another two weeks until Christ comes.

Now, John the Baptist doesn’t usually strike us as a rejoicing type of guy. Living out in the desert, clothed in camel hair with a leather belt, eating locusts and wild honey – he sounds a little severe. Of course, all we have to go on is what we’re told in the Gospels, so our impressions may not be entirely accurate. And, even for us, rejoicing is not always expressed in ways that are easily seen, but that is still in our hearts. But the message John has for us gives us good reason to rejoice. Quoting Isaiah, he says that he is the voice crying out in the wilderness, “make straight the way of the Lord.” He tells the people sent by the Pharisees that there is one coming after him, and that One is coming so soon that He already stands among them. If they had been able to understand what he was telling them, they would have started rejoicing right then and there.

During this season, in Advent and over Christmas and New Year’s, we tend to have a lot of parties, perhaps at work, or with friends and family. This celebrating often takes on a more secular tone – our gatherings, while joyful, are not usually focused on the coming of Our Lord. And that’s okay, but we need to keep in mind why we’re doing all this, and make sure that our celebrations don’t end up leading us away from God. Whether religious or secular, these festivities require a lot of preparation. We don’t have to look too far to realize just how much we all put into getting ready for Christmas parties, and Christmas itself – the decorating, the cooking and baking; for some of us, the plans to travel, or to receive visitors. However, the real preparation for us, the preparation that John the Baptist is telling us about, is the preparation of our souls.
In addition to being awake, do we remember what else Father Paul told us about Advent? This is a penitential season, a time for us to examine ourselves in the light of our faith. This coming Wednesday evening, we will be having our Advent penitential service at 7:00. Although Father Paul is regularly available for confessions before both the 4:30 Mass on Saturday and the 9:00 Mass on Sunday, there will be at least three priests here for confessions on Wednesday. For those who haven’t been to confession for a while, or for that matter, even those who have been recently, this is our chance to make straight the way of the Lord in our hearts. With all of the activity that requires our attention this time of year, we need to make room in our schedule for this, the most important of our preparations. By doing so, we not only make ourselves ready for the coming of our Lord and Saviour, we also renew our enthusiasm for our faith and our desire for holiness.

Every Advent Season that we celebrate should be a reminder to us that our entire lives are a kind of Advent, a time of preparation as we joyfully wait for that time when we will rejoice in seeing Our Lord face to face. May God continue to grant us a holy advent, and make our hearts ready for the glory of Christ’s birth. (1)

(1) Adapted from letter from Archbishop Chaput to the faithful of Philadelphia, December 08, 2011

November 14, 2011

Faith and Fear of the Lord

Posted in Homilies at 9:39 am

Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A, November 13, 2011 – By Deacon Thomas Stephenson

When we think of talents, we generally think of certain natural abilities or skills that someone has. However, the talent referred to in the Gospel, on which our current usage is based, was a unit of measure for gold or silver. One assessment is that one talent was worth about 16 years of the average persons wages, so even without trying to calculate an exact equivalent value in today’s terms, it was a LOT of money. So, the master in the parable must have been very trusting of those three slaves, or servants, and had confidence that they would use wisely what he had left in their care.
God has given us our talents, our skills and abilities, and He wants us to use them wisely. These gifts may be in the obvious areas: in art, or music, in the performing arts, in writing; or they may be in other areas that aren’t what first comes to mind when we think of talents, like the ability to be good parent, or a caring counsellor, or an effective teacher. We can also look at the attributes of the woman in today’s first reading from Proverbs 31 as examples of God’s gifts. Regardless of what gifts God has given us, we have to work to make the best use of them. A musician, a writer, an actor, a parent, or anyone that may have a God-given natural ability needs to practise and use that ability in order to develop that talent to its full potential.
The most precious gift we have from God, more valuable than the ancient talent, more valuable than any of our abilities, more valuable than all our material possessions, is the Gift of Faith. The Catechism puts it this way: “Faith is a supernatural gift from God. In order to believe, man needs the interior helps of the Holy Spirit.” (CCC 179) Along with the Gift of Faith, He has sent the Holy Spirit to help us to use it well. Our faith is a treasure that God has entrusted us with, not to be buried or hidden, but to be practised and nurtured so that it may grow. God has given us this gift so that we may make the most of it, for our own benefit, for the benefit of others, and ultimately, for the Glory of God. If we just bury or hide our faith, we may as well be compared to the servant who buried what had been entrusted to him, because he had such an overwhelming fear of the master.
In the first reading, we hear “…a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised”. In the response to the Psalm, we repeated “Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord”. And yet, in the Gospel, the servant is severely punished because he was so afraid of the master that he couldn’t do what he should have. On the one hand, Fear of the Lord is praised, on the other hand, the actions resulting from fear result in punishment. Why is there such a difference?
We should have a healthy, respectful, Fear of the Lord, but we should not be afraid of the Lord. St. Thomas Aquinas distinguishes between servile fear, a fear of punishment, and filial fear, as when a child has a fear of offending or being separated from his father. We should never be terrified of God, who is a loving Father who has entrusted much to us, but we should be concerned about offending Him, particularly by not using His gifts to us wisely. St Paul says “For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of Sonship. And by Him we cry, ‘Abba, Father!’”. (Rom 8:15)

Currently, we also seem to be susceptible to another variation on fear, which is fear of what others think of us. This can lead us away from God, or prevent us from fully practising our faith. I read recently about an experiment comducted by some social scientists. A group of people were invited to give their opinions on some wines. What they didn’t realize is that all the wines came from the same batch, so there was no difference between the wines, with one exception. One sample had some vinegar added to it, so that it was sour, it did not taste as good as the others. Also, some of the people there were introduced as experts. Initially, of course, the people liked the other wines better than the one with vinegar, but then the experts claimed that actually the sour wine was the best one, and the other people, the non-experts, tended to fall into line with that opinion. They had a fear of what others would think, especially those they thought knew better than they did. Generally, we don’t like to feel like we are not in step with others around us. And, even if we continue to maintain our personal opinion about things when we disagree with the so-called experts, we may prefer to keep silent instead of speaking out against things that we know are not right. We may not immediately recognize this as fear, but that is what it comes down to: fear of not fitting in, fear of being thought less intelligent, fear of being mocked and ridiculed. God calls us to use our faith, “to nourish and protect our faith with prudence and vigilance, and to reject everything that is opposed to it”. (CCC, 2088) It is our responsibility, it is our duty to God, to believe and to bear witness to our faith, which includes not being silent in the face of error. Of course, it also means expressing our beliefs in a loving, Christian manner, not with belligerence but with understanding and discretion.
The third servant was paralyzed by his fear of the master. Because of this, he was unable to see even the safest way of putting the talent to use, by investing it with the bankers. He was operating out of servile fear, rather than filial fear. We should not fall into this trap. We need to have a healthy, filial Fear of the Lord. We need to allow this to motivate us to use all of His gifts, and particularly His gift of faith, wisely and confidently. Then, when the time comes, He may welcome us into His kingdom with the words, “Well done, good and trustworthy servant, enter into the joy of your master.”

October 2, 2011

Our Vineyards

Posted in Homilies at 3:45 pm

Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A, October 02, 2011 – By Deacon Thomas Stephenson

For the past few weeks, the vineyard has been a recurring image in the Gospel. Remember that, two weeks ago, we heard of the landowner who hired labourers to work in his vineyard, and even though some of them only worked a small part of the day, he paid all of them equally. Last week, there was the story of the man with two sons, whom he asked to go work in the vineyard. These sons demonstrated through their actions which one was faithful to the father’s will. Today, the vineyard is the theme of not only the Gospel, which picks up where we left off last week, but also of the first reading and the Psalm.

The vineyard image has a few meanings. In the reading from Isaiah, there is a specific reference to the vineyard as the house of Israel. God is the owner of this vineyard, and he has taken great care to create it so that it will produce good fruit. He expects a good and just society to flourish within the hedge. From all appearances, there should be only the best grapes ready at harvest time. Instead, inexplicably, there are only the wild grapes of injustice and corruption. You can imagine the disappointment of the landowner in this situation. He wonders, what more could he have done? He did all the right things, made all the necessary preparations – why did this vineyard not produce the good fruit that he expected?

In the Gospel, once again the landowner is careful to do everything possible to create the proper environment for his vineyard. Once it is ready, he leases it to a group of tenants, probably people he had some reason to trust, with the expectation that at harvest time, they will keep their allotted portion and give him what he is owed. Is that what happens? No, somehow, over time, they have become corrupted. They repeatedly defy the owner’s requests for payment. They have decided for themselves not to live up to their agreement. They abuse the servants that are sent to collect. Was the landowner being unreasonable in his demands? The vineyard was supposed to produce grapes for him. He invested land, time, and money in this enterprise. The tenants would have benefitted as well, but ultimately it was his vineyard, his fruit. He was the owner, the master. He was quite patient with the rebellious tenants, to the point of sending his son to reason with them. He was so compassionate that despite the obvious danger, he sent his son in order to reach out and give the tenants an opportunity to repent. Instead, they killed the son, in the mistaken belief that somehow the vineyard would then become theirs, that they would be their own masters.

Getting back to the meanings of the vineyard, we can say that it is representative of the house of Israel; it is specifically referred to as such by Isaiah, and again in the Psalm. We can also hear Jesus comparing the wicked tenants to the chief priests and Pharisees. Those are the indisputable, correct meanings of these passages. But beyond that, these passages are saying something to us; they have an application to our lives.

What are the vineyards that God has created for us? We labour in vineyards created by God with just as much care and attention as the landowners of the scripture readings. Do we recognize that we are working in a vineyard that we occupy as tenants, and that we owe the fruits of our labour to the true owner? And, that we have a responsibility to produce good fruit? We like to think that we are our own masters, and it may not even cross our minds that what we do, day in and day out, ultimately we should be doing in service to the Lord. We don’t always feel the immediacy of His presence – like the landowner of the Gospel, He leaves it up to us, he has given us free will, to work in the vineyard as we see fit.

We should consider that the Provincial election coming up on Thursday is one instance where our work, in this case our vote, can have an impact outside our immediate circle of friends and relative. Our decision on who to vote for should be informed by our faith, with an eye to at least in some way bearing good fruit. I’ll borrow from what I said prior to the Federal election in 2008: It is not enough to decide to vote for a particular candidate, or to not vote for a particular party, just because of slogans, or sound bites, or the headlines we read. Our politics must be about more than special interests and partisan attacks. It should be less about “what’s in it for me?” and more about “how does this truly serve to promote the dignity and sacredness of others?”. All of the political parties have plans that claim to be in society’s best interests. But what on the surface looks like it is a good solution may not be the best in the long run. It is only with proper discernment, looking past the hype and the conventional wisdom, that we can be confident in making a good decision.

Although we should be involved, politics is not the primary vineyard for most of us to be placing our efforts. Our vineyards start with ourselves, and with our responsibility to God to bear fruit in our own immortal souls. Our families, our friends and neighbours, our communities, and our workplaces, are all places where God is calling us to labour and produce fruit for Him. We mention these areas for us to work in fairly regularly, but it is important that we not lose sight of where we might be able to make a difference in the lives of those around us.

We may not always remember that God is the Lord of our lives. We may sometimes feel as though we are the masters, the vineyard belongs to us, and we can do what we want. That is a very human inclination. And it is important to note that God will have at least as much patience with us as the landowner had with the tenants. We see that the owner, God, strives to give the tenants, us, every possible chance to reconcile with Him. In this Gospel, the vineyard is an indication of God’s care for His people. So, let us commit ourselves to work in our vineyards using the talents God has given us. And, to remember that the fruits and the glory belong to God, and if we bear good fruit, He is happy to give us our portion for eternity in Heaven.

September 5, 2011

Fulfilling the Law

Posted in Homilies at 8:13 pm

Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time – By Deacon Thomas Stephenson

September 04, 2011

In today’s second reading, St. Paul says “Owe no one anything, except to love one another.” He then goes on to list some of the commandments, and says that they are “summed up in this word ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’”. We know that this is what Jesus taught us – “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” If we truly love our neighbour, and if we truly love God, we will naturally keep the commandments. The commandments still apply, but it is out of love that we adhere to them, not just because we are obeying a set of rules.

So, loving one another is not an option; it is what we owe to each other. And part of this requirement to love one another is our obligation to correct our brothers and sisters when we are aware that they are in sin or error.

In the Gospel, Jesus tells us, “If your brother or sister sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone.” This instruction from Jesus is easy to understand, but sometimes difficult to follow. Especially in issues of personal disagreement, one reason we may have difficulty is that most of us would prefer to avoid what we fear may end up becoming an argument. Our approach, though, should not be confrontational, or one of condemnation, but one of loving fraternal correction. To paraphrase a former pastor from my hometown, we are to challenge them, not crush them. It is in this way that we may, as Jesus says, regain our brother or sister.

At one time or another, perhaps many times over the course of our lives, we may end up travelling down the wrong path, or believing things that will take us away from the truth. We live in a world that often puts more emphasis on how we feel about certain behaviours, rather than on an objective moral truth. Many sinful actions are now considered simply matters of personal preference. The ones that seem to currently cause the most conflict between faithful Christians and the rest of the culture are abortion and homosexual activity. While there is no question that these are important topics to address, there are other issues that may strike a little closer to home, that are a little more widespread: artificial birth control, fornication, and adultery. Or maybe cheating, such as on taxes, or one St. Paul mentions – coveting, that inordinate desire for what belongs to someone else, which seems to be prevalent in our society. Now, it is not our place to judge people involved in any of these activities. And, it is never acceptable to discuss things of this nature behind someone’s back, or we may find ourselves guilty of the sin of detraction, which is when we tell others negative things about someone, even if what we say is true. There should be no place in our lives for gossip, whether or not it is true. When we pass along information that could injure someone’s reputation, some responsibility for that harm falls on us. But it is appropriate to recognize when someone is engaged in sinful behaviour. If we have first-hand knowledge of people in such situations and, after prayerful consideration, we can approach them based on a genuine loving concern for their eternal salvation, we are obligated to do so.

We also need to be aware of ideas in our culture that conflict with our faith. There are many concepts today that may sound very nice, that may be called spiritual, but that lead us into misunderstanding about God and our relationship with Him. From books that tell us about a “new earth”, or a “secret” to a better life, to the atheists that seem to be very popular these days, we must be able to intelligently and patiently offer correction to those of our brothers and sisters who may be seduced by some of these ideas.

Remember last week, when Jesus went so far as to tell Peter, “Get behind me, Satan!” Why did He say that? Peter wasn’t literally Satan; he wasn’t evil. Jesus admonished him because Peter was thinking not as God does, but as humans do. It’s obvious that, as humans, that is how we will naturally think. So, we may need someone’s help to adjust our thinking. And, as humans, we will naturally fall into sin. We may have sufficient understanding to recognize our sin and come to repentance, and go to confession. Then again, we may need someone’s help before we can see that.
Or, any one of us could find ourselves to be in a position at some point to be the one providing that help, that loving guidance. We need to treat everyone with kindness and respect. What greater kindness can we possibly show to someone than helping them on the road to salvation?

God loves each of us, whether we are saints or sinners, or as is more often the case, a mixture of both. We are called to love our brothers and sisters too, whether they are saints or sinners. In love, we may need to correct them when they behave like sinners, or we may need to support and sustain them when they are saints. Loving them in this way, we will not just have obeyed the law, but as St. Paul says, we will have fulfilled the law.

July 31, 2011

My Last Homily!

Posted in Homilies at 9:00 am

Eighteenth Sunday, Year A, July 31st, 2011

For my final homily in this parish, I have decided to do something that I don’t think I’ve ever really done over the past years, though I have talked about it . . . I have actually shortened my homily! Yes! All those who may have been praying for this intention for 7 years . . . it has happened! Actually, I have so much I would like to share with you, but I shortened my homily by writing you a letter, which you can pick up if you like, at either entrance.

I am glad that the readings this Sunday direct us to the source and summit of our faith, the Eucharist. Let us consider two simple points. The Eucharist will satisfy our souls
1) if we first worship
2) if we share what Jesus has given us, especially the gift of our faith.

The Eucharist can only satisfy us if we first worship God. In the first reading, we heard, “Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labour for that which does not satisfy?” (Is 55:2) The world does not satisfy our deep desire for love, for happiness. But then the Lord says, “Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food” (Is 55:2). This promise of God is fulfilled in the Eucharist, where Jesus delights us with rich food and satisfies our souls with His Body and Blood.

The Gospel miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes also foreshadows the Eucharist. We heard in today’s Gospel that Jesus “looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples” (Mt 14:19). Jesus used the exact same actions at the Last Supper: He took bread, blessed and broke it and gave it to his disciples. The same language points to the connection between the miracle of the loaves and the Eucharist.

Next we hear, “all ate and we filled/satisfied” (Mt 14:20). We should be able to say the same after every Mass: all ate and were satisfied. Yes, with faith we are deeply satisfied by God’s love for us in the gift of Himself in the Sacrament of His Body and Blood.

But is it not true that many Catholics receive Holy Communion each week and still are not deeply satisfied in their souls? Why not? I’m convinced that only if we truly worship will the “bread” satisfy us.

Only if we are consciously thinking of God and trying our best to bow down and worship the Maker of the universe, who created us out of nothing, only then can the Bread of Life satisfy our souls. Without worship there is no real Communion or spiritual satisfaction. Worship and adoration are the enzyme that helps us digest the Eucharist.

That’s my first point of my last homily and this is the second: we can only be satisfied if we share what Jesus gives us. Can you imagine, while Jesus was turning 5 loaves into enough bread for 5000 men, the disciples had decided that all this bread was just for them? Imagine, if after receiving a large portion of bread, Andrew went off by himself in a corner to stuff his face (sounds of eating). And Peter reproaches him saying, “What are you doing? That bread is for the crowd!” “I’m hungry!” (sounds of eating) “This is my bread!”

Scripture reports, “all ate and were satisfied.” This includes the disciples. But they were satisfied only with the crowd, only after sharing with them. It’s the same with us in sharing our faith. The Eucharist will only satisfy us if we share it with others.

Pause for a moment and imagine that you are present at this miracle. Who are you? What are you doing?” (PAUSE). For decades, if not generations, Catholics have imagined themselves as just part of the crowd being fed by Jesus and the disciples. Catholics have in many ways been passive in their faith, waiting for handouts (put hand out) as if saying to the priest, “Father, you pray for us. You talk to God for us. You feed us. You entertain us. We’ll just sit here.”

That’s not Catholicism; that’s consumerism! We need a total revolution in our thinking. Let me pause for an aside and say that I love you all and I will miss you. Thank you for your love, prayers and support during my 7 years here. Since I want you to continue to grow in your knowledge and love of God and in your mission of evangelization, I must remind you, on my last day in the parish, that you my brothers and sisters in Christ sitting there in the pew, you are not the crowd; you are the disciples! You are the co-workers and collaborators of Jesus Christ. This is my second point that I pray you will never forget.

The crowd is the world outside the Church, all those Catholics in Russell who are not at Mass this weekend, all your family and friends who are unbelievers. They are the crowd. You are the disciples helping Jesus to feed the crowd.

Jesus needs you to share your faith with others, to help Him feed them with the Word of God, with the message of truth of the meaning of this life, so that hearing this Word, the crowd out there can come inside the Church, where Jesus will satisfy them with the Bread of Life, His Body and Blood.

God is giving you a special mandate from this day forward: to be disciples, not the crowd. In Fr. Paul Nwaeze, who will be with you next Sunday, you are receiving a very fine priest, who has come to Canada for love of God and His people. He will feed you with the Eucharist. He will be to you a loving father, brother and friend. But you must be his collaborators in your joint mission of evangelizing the world, of giving every single person outside the Church an opportunity to know, love and worship Jesus Christ.

I will miss you all but I will never forget you. I will pray for you from this day forward at every Mass. Before Mass, in one of the prayers of preparation, we list our intentions; I will add, “and for the parishioners of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal.” Please continue to pray for me and the former pastors of this parish. To the younger people here whom I have baptized or to whom I have given their first communion, consider visiting me when I am old and frail.

And please warmly welcome Fr. Paul next week as you once welcomed me the first weekend of July 2004. I am not being transferred to India or China, so if you are ever in the neighborhood of Paddy’s Pub and the Mayfair theater, of Old Ottawa South, stop by and say hello.

Through the Eucharist we are now celebrating, we will always be united. Through Jesus Christ risen from the dead, we will always be united as brothers and sisters in one Body, the Church, here one earth, and forever in heaven.

July 24, 2011

To Leave Everything for Jesus, the Treasure of the Kingdom

Posted in Homilies at 9:00 am

Seventeenth Sunday, Year A, July 24th, 2011 – By Father Tim McCauley

Back in 2004, when Archbishop Gervais told me that he was appointing me pastor of Russell, (Russell? Where’s that? Near Kemptville or Cornwall?)
I had mixed feelings to say the least, some fear and trepidation. I had spent the last 19 years of my life living in the city Ottawa and I felt comfortable there. All my family and friends were in Ottawa. I knew only one person in Russell. One. It was as if Jesus were inviting me to “sell everything,” to leave everything and follow Him, as the Lord once said to Abraham: leave your homeland and go to a land, a town that I will show you.

About six years ago, Jesus invited a priest from the state of Imo in Nigeria to “sell everything” to leave everything to be a missionary priest, to leave behind his family and friends and to become a stranger in a strange land, far, far away – Canada. Fr. Paul Nwaeze said yes to the call.

It is not easy to leave everything for Jesus, but it is worth it, because we obtain the kingdom of heaven and a hundredfold blessings even in this world.
The man who found the treasure in the field sold everything to buy that field (Mt 13:44). The merchant in search of fine pearls sold everything to buy that one pearl (Mt 13:46).

Based on my life over the past 7 years, and Fr. Paul’s example as a missionary priest, I invite all of you, right now, to decide to leave something behind so that you can possess more of the treasure of the kingdom, of Jesus Himself. “How?” you might ask. Each in your own vocation. Marriage, single life, consecrated life, priesthood.

Some are called to follow Jesus more radically and work more directly for the Church. I applaud those who respond to this call even for a specific time period, such as Yves Chartrand who is spending this summer with CCO’s Impact Canada, and Jani Chartrand who will be a missionary this coming year with NET Ireland. Ashley Kupferschmidt is in the process of leaving everything for Jesus in the consecrated life of Opus Dei.

And I know there are several boys and young men in our parish who have thought of the call to priesthood . . . I can think of about 5 right now, aged 8 to 22 (?). Please pray for them and support them, so that Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal can proudly celebrate the great joy of sending a parishioner to the Seminary to study for the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Ottawa. It is not easy to leave everything for Jesus, but it is worth it, and each of you is called to do so in your own vocation.

Blessed Cardinal Newman gave a homily in the 1830′s called “The Ventures of Faith” in which he asks, “what have we ventured for Christ?” (It makes me think of our English expression “nothing ventured, nothing gained”). He comments that the very meaning of the word “venture” includes something of “fear, risk, danger, anxiety, uncertainty” and “in this consists the excellence and nobleness of faith” – that despite fear and uncertainty, we have faith to venture something for Christ (47). He remarks that most people called Christians venture nothing and that their lives would be the same “if they believed Christianity to be a fable” (Cardinal Newman’s Best Plain Sermons, 51). Is that true of you? Is your life any different from your unbelieving friends and neighbours? How does the world know that you believe in Jesus Christ?

One way to look at “venturing” something for Christ, to possess the hidden treasure, the pearl of great price, is to make an effort to stretch out to what lies ahead and above us – the divinity of Christ. As St. Paul writes to the Philipians: “forgetting what lies behind and straining/stretching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil 3:13-14).

In one of the prayers after Communion in our parish booklet, we ask God to help us “rise above our human weaknesses.” Yes, it is possible to venture something for Christ, to rise above our human weakness, to stretch out and touch the divinity. However, we live in a totally human-centered world with the cult of the body and the idolatry of technology. At times, it might seem almost impossible to us that we can stretch out and touch the divinity of God, but we can, through Jesus Christ, God and man, through the Church, the sacraments, prayer, fellowship.

But because of our doubts about touching the divinity of God, we often settle for the merely human. For example, someone is called to marriage and raising a family but is afraid of sacrifice, of being “stretched” beyond their comfort zone by the demands of marriage and family, so this person settles for less, for the merely human, for co-habitation, for living together without God’s blessing, without the sacrament, entrapped in a sterile life, lacking in joy.

Or someone else is called to the consecrated life or priesthood, to sacrifice everything and give their hearts totally and directly to Jesus Christ, but this person gives in to fear and settles for the merely human. They allow their hearts to become entangled, enmeshed in a self-centered relationship in which two people use each other to gratify their own selfish impulses.

It is possible that priests could be tempted in this way as well, to settle for the merely human. It is possible for temptations in this area to last for . . . (counting 1, 2, 3, 4) 5 years! I don’t have time to go into detail, but it should be obvious to everyone that we cannot obtain the hidden treasure, the pearl of great price by living an easy life, without battling temptation and without making sacrifices. Rather, holiness and happiness comes from the willingness to give our lives to receive the treasure that is Jesus Christ Himself.

This has been a challenging month for me, as it feels at times that I am losing and leaving everything for the sake of Jesus, but I have been receiving an unexpected gift and I’m not sure if I should say out loud in case I “jinx” it (but we’re Catholics and we don’t believe in superstition!). I think Jesus in his mercy, seeing my “sufferings,” has been giving me the gift of more faith. I am grateful. He will do the same for you. Do not be afraid to give your life in the vocation God has chosen for you.

Priests are poor, weak, sinful human beings. I am just like you. If I can do it, you can do it! Therefore, I beg you – do not settle for less! You can rise above your human weakness! You can stretch out and touch the divinity and experience God’s love for you! It is possible and it is worth it, to follow Christ, to leave behind our past, our selfishness, our doubts and fears, our limited way of thinking, our comforts and habits. It is possible to become a new person, a new creation, to find that joy that inspired the person in the parable to sell everything and buy the field containing the treasure.

Can you imagine if I had said “no” to the bishop when he appointed me to Russell in 2004? By leaving everything I had known in order to come here to a strange people in a strange land, I have received a hundredfold in return. As Jesus promised in another Gospel, “whoever leaves family etc for my sake will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life” In all of you, I have gained hundreds of brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, children, and I am grateful for how you have all made me enriched my life over the past 7 years.

When I first arrived in Russell, I was afraid that God might ask something really big of me, like my life . . . after 7 years, I have been discovering what a joy it can be to give it.

July 17, 2011

The Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds

Posted in Homilies at 9:00 am

Sixteenth Sunday, Year A, July 17th, 2011 – By Father Tim McCauley

I have here a stalk of wheat (Versteeg’s farm) a symbol of the children of the kingdom (Mt 13:38). We are this good seed, sown by Jesus Christ, the Son of Man. This seed was sown in our baptism, when we became children of God. But this seed must grow daily and bear fruit, if we are to gain eternal life and “shine like the sun” in the kingdom of our Father (Mt 13:43).

(Children’s liturgy). What do we do with the grains of wheat from this stalk? (We grind it to make flour). And what do we usually make with flour? (Bread). And what do we do with bread at Mass? (Present it as a gift and it becomes the Body of Christ). And what happens when we eat the bread that has become the Body of Christ? (We become the Body of Christ, one with Christ).

Children, as you take this stalk of wheat home, please remember two lessons:
1) like wheat growing together with other wheat in the same field, we must not remain alone, or we will be choked by the weeds and fail to bear fruit.
2) only together can we become bread and the Body of Christ. Can you make bread with a single grain? No. Can we become the Body of Christ alone? No. For Christians to bear fruit, we must stick together like flour with water that sticks together to make dough for bread, we must stick together to become bread and the Body of Christ.

O.K. Now I will say a few more words to the adults: in the parable of the wheat and the weeds, Jesus is teaching us to be both merciful to sinners and to beware of the weeds.

The focus in this parable set in the context of this Sunday’s readings is the mercy of God. We heard in the book of Wisdom that God’s sovereignty over all causes Him to spare all, and that He judges with mildness (Wis 12:16, 18). For this reason, God does not immediately tear out the weeds of the field and punish the wicked. God is patient, hoping that all will come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). We also must be patient and merciful with family or friends who do not believe in Christ, and continue to love them, praying for their conversion.

At the same time, Jesus also teaches us to beware of the weeds. How were they planted, in our souls, our families and communities, our world? They were planted by the Evil One, yes, but when, how? When “everyone was asleep” (Mt 13:25), when we Christians were spiritually asleep.

We must wake up and be vigilant that the weeds now planted do not choke the wheat. Later in the parable, Jesus refers to the weeds that will be burned up as
“causes of sin and all evildoers” (Mt 13:41). The word for “cause of sin” is scandal or “stumbling block,” referring to the bad example of other people that can lead us or even “cause” us to sin.

I am sometimes appalled by the naivete of Christians. Scripture says that “the whole world is under the power of the Evil One” (1 John 5:19), but we act like everything in our culture is good for our soul and fit for consumption. Christians nowadays have almost no discernment about the weeds of the world: bad movies, bad books, bad friends – it’s all good!

What? This is spiritual insanity, to be an indiscriminate consumer of whatever the world puts on our plate. The world is full of weeds that will asphyxiate us if we are not careful, and if we remain alone. One of the best ways to guard against the weeds is for Christians to gather together, to form communities and support each other.

I would like to quote from one of the patron saints of World Youth Day, St. Theresa of Avila. Most of you know that the Pope will be meeting with about a million youth in Spain in August; I will be accompanying the diocese for the pilgrimage and Elizabeth and Catherine Tanguay will be participating from our parish. St. Theresa’s autobiography is one of my favorite books; in these passages,she has some good advice about Christians helping each other:

“I would advise those who practise prayer . . . to cultivate the friendship and company of others who are working in the same way” (58)

“Since people find comfort in the conversation and mutual sympathy of ordinary friendship, even when it is not of the best sort, and enjoy talking of their worldly pleasures, I do not know why those who are beginning truly to love and serve God should not be allowed to discuss their joys and trials with others” (59).

“People are so lukewarm in all that pertains to God that those who serve Him must back one another up if they are to progress” (59).

Christians must back each other up to make progress, to grow; we should discuss our joys and trials with others. This sounds like a call to Christian community (and this was back in 1565!)

I know I have spoken of this many times before, but I will repeat myself because it is so important. And when I arrive in my new parish and for the rest of my life as a priest, I will never tire of repeating this theme: we Christians need to stick together and help each other in the spirit of a family, of communion, of community, of some sort of small Christian communities, where people can gather each week to pray with the Word of God, to our joys and trials, to grow in faith, to learn how to evangelize their friends and neighbours.

When Fr. Paul arrives here, I hope he will share with you some of the fascinating stories he has told me of the vibrancy of the Church in Nigeria, their focus on family, communion, community. We don’t have that here in our culture of single grains, of isolated individuals. We must make a conscious effort to build communion and community or we will be choked by the weeds of the world and die.

In leaving Russell, most of all I will miss all of you, the good seed of wheat planted by Christ. But I will also miss the wheat fields and corn fields, and walking by the fields of Forced Road and Route 200, pausing to contemplate the cows enjoying their summer holidays, grazing peacefully in the fields, not a care in the world!

We too need our holidays too, especially in the warm summer months, time to sit by a lake, read a book, take a nap. Spiritually speaking, however, we need to wake up from our long sleep of sloth and apathy. In our culture, we are good at working hard to make money and buy more things, but we are extremely lazy when it comes to our immortal souls.

In some of my last words to you, I beg you not to remain alone in your faith, and inactive in your parish, a mere passive and even useless observer of other people’s sacrifices. Do not remain a single grain that becomes a withered stalk, choked by weeds that fails to bear fruit, that is eventually gathered up and burned in the unquenchable FIRE!

Share your faith and the Word of God, above all in your family, and if possible, in a small Christian community that actively evangelizes the world. Only together can we become bread and the Body of Christ. And together we can attain eternal life and shine like the sun in the kingdom of our Father.

July 3, 2011

Devotion to Mary and the Heart of Jesus

Posted in Homilies at 9:00 am

Fourteenth Sunday, Year A, July 3rd, 2011 – By Father Tim McCauley

When I was on retreat at Mundelein Seminary near Chicago two weeks ago, I took a walk around their lake (an hour walk), trying to pray instead of worrying about the tremendous challenges facing me in leaving Russell and taking on 2 new jobs, etc . . . I was feeling rather inadequate, anxious and weak before the majesty of God, the mystery of His will, His seemingly impossible demands . .. All of a sudden I saw a path turn off from the main road that circled the lake. Curious, I followed it. In five minutes, it led out into an open space and a building . . . it was a Church, or a shrine of some kind.

I went inside, there was a twenty-foot high altar with a tabernacle topped by a golden monstrance (perpetual adoration) and there in the deep blue of the dome above the sanctuary was a tremendous painting of a Miraculous Medal. Amazing, isn’t it? If you were in a foreign country and stumbled across a Marian shrine with a link to the Miraculous Medal, would you not take this as some sign from God? (I had actually been there once last year. It’s the shrine of Marytown, Illinois. But I had never walked there through the words . . . I was adding to the drama just a bit.)

You see how God answered my prayer in all my worries, anxieties and weaknesses? Where do we go in all our needs? To Jesus, yes, but to Jesus with Mary. Every time I face difficulties in life that surpass my strength, the Mother of God and our Mother is there to teach me, as we heard in today’s Gospel, to be like a child (Mt 11:25), to be gentle and humble in heart (Mt 11:29), to trust in God.

I remember back in 2007, I visited the location in Paris where the Miraculous Medal was revealed to St. Catherine Laboure. I heard this story of a parish priest in Paris at Notre-Dame de Victoire who was discouraged by the lack of results in his priestly ministry. Just when he had decided to quit the parish, he heard a voice during Mass repeat twice, “Consecrate your parish to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.” He did so, and almost immediately his Church was filled to overflowing. Inspired by this story, I came back to Russell and we consecrated our parish to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on the first Saturday of May, 2007. Since (today/yesterday) is the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I would like to renew this consecration after Communion today.

After the first consecration, the change was not immediate, but change did come. I am convinced that the gifts of the Holy Spirit that our parish received this past year, through the life in the Spirit seminar and our small Christian communities, came through Mary’s intercession. To be consecrated to Mary means to imitate her life and virtues, to be a vessel for the Holy Spirit. Mary always prepares the way for us to receive the Holy Spirit, to be better conformed to the meek and humble heart of Jesus Christ.

Mary is one of the gifts I would like to leave you as I depart from this parish (though I know you are devoted to her already, I am hoping that some of you will go through with the personal consecration). She is one of the gifts that Jesus left us before He died when He said from the Cross, “Behold your Mother” (Jn 19:27). Leaving this parish is a sort of death for me, as I must say goodbye to a people and place I have known and loved these past 7 years. They say that when people are dying, they become prophets, that the Holy Spirit inspires their last words. Do you think that could happen here and now? (By the way, I also that you will start praying now for me and Fr. Paul during our times of transition).

In a beautiful and inspiring book on the Catherine Doherty’s devotion to Mary, Fr. Dennis Lemieux writes, “Our whole life of Christian effort and struggle . . . is for this alone – to allow Christ to cleanse us of our fear of pain so that we can abandon our efforts to limit our love, to manipulate and control our world” (156).

We might add our whole life of Christian effort should also lead us to have a heart like that of Jesus, a gentle and humble heart. On Friday, the Church celebrated the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and (today/ yesterday), the Immaculate Heart of Mary, two hearts that can never be separated. Any devotion to Mary always leads us more quickly, easily and deeply into the heart of Jesus.
She will help us so that we can be cleansed of our fear of pain so that we can abandon our efforts to limit our love, to manipulate and control our world.

I don’t know about you, but I encounter so many people who have surrounded themselves with massive brick walls (prop of a brick) to protect themselves from pain, which unfortunately cut themselves off from loving and being loved. There are even some of you listening to me now who seem to have built a brick wall around their hearts. Why? These are the people who don’t smile at Mass, who don’t pray much or sing, who come forward in the Communion line

to receive the gift of infinite love with bored faces, who don’t even bother to say “Amen.”

I ask these people, “Who hurt you? Or what are you afraid of, that you would be build a wall around your heart and be bored at Mass in the presence of infinite love?” You may feel that you have to protect yourself from some people who have hurt you, but why would you have to protect your heart from Jesus Christ, who assures us in today’s Gospel: “I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Why would you have to protect your heart from the gentle and humble heart of Jesus?

When we are hurt by other people or by life in general, if we are humble and trust in God, we turn to prayer, and/or a Christian friend, and we find the consolation we need. If we are proud, when someone hurts us we take out another brick (usually unconsciously) and build the wall higher. Jesus and Mary are deeply grieved when they see us build the wall that will put us to death. Yes, the wall that will kill us, because we are created by Love for Love, and without love we cannot live. Sometimes, with our wounded nature, and in our pride, we try to live without love and we destroy ourselves.

Take a moment to think of a person or a situation that has hurt you. Don’t be afraid to call it to mind. Imagine yourself taking out a brick(prop) and thinking, “I am not going to let this person (or any person) hurt me again.” But then imagine a Mother’s hand reaching out so delicately to touch your hand. You look up into the face of Mary, with tears in her eyes, saying, “My son, my daughter, you don’t have to do that. Let it go. Come to Jesus who is gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your soul.”

Mary always leads us closer to Jesus and helps us receive Him in Holy Communion with her own heart, with ever-growing faith, trust and love. After receiving Holy Communion today, we can say in silence, in the words ending the litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, “Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make our hearts like unto thine.” And in the words we use in our weekly Holy Hour on Tuesday night, we can pray, “Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, burning with love for us, set our hearts on fire with love for you. Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, may your kingdom come through the Immaculate Heart of Mary.”