The person most in the news this past week is a man named Umar Abdul Mutalab. He’s the man who tried to blow up a plane approaching Detroit. He is a Muslim from Nigeria who is supposed to have been trained in Yemen to be a suicide bomber.
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Archive for the ‘Homily’ Category
Homily – 3 January
Monday, January 4th, 2010Homily – 1 January
Friday, January 1st, 2010As I often say on this day, this is a cluttered day. We know it is New Year’s Day, it is also the feast of Mary the Mother of God, it was the feast of the Circumcision and it is also the World Day of Peace.
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Homily – 27 December
Sunday, December 27th, 2009Just a few words on today’s gospel. Luke tells us that Jesus was 12 years old. At that time a 12 year old was considered an adult, one ready to learn a trade and start earning a living.
They had no amber alerts in those day so we can just image the panic Mary and Joseph endured as they search the city looking for their son. We can imagine Mary’s exasperation at his thoughtlessness. Why have you treated us like this? What were you thinking of? Mary’s was certainly a normal reaction. Jesus didn’t help the situation with his reply, ‘did you not know I must be in my Father’s house?’
Yet, think about it. Jesus did not come to earth in order to be Mary and Joseph’s child. Just the opposite. Mary and Joseph came into earthly existence to prepare him for his role as the adult son of the Father of all things. How often have you heard the complaint that parents never let us grow up, never treat us as adults? We could be in our 40’s and still a mother asks, ‘where are you going,’ ‘what time did you get in last night’ or any number of similar questions that might be appropriate for a teenager but not for an adult. How often do adults resent disapproving looks or comments from a mother or a father? We’re never allowed to grow up and though you may promise yourself you won’t treat your sons and daughters this way, how often have you thought to yourself ‘I’m sounding just like my mother, just like my father.’
I’ve mentioned before that parents are supposed to give their children roots and wings. Parents know from experience that there are times when the wings take their adult sons and daughters far from their roots. How often have parents said “This was not the way you were raised.” But it is good to remember that deep roots are stronger than wings.
Mary and Joseph had to learn that they were to give Jesus roots, which they did, and wings, wings that would carry him far from Nazareth, wings that would carry him to Calvary and beyond. But Mary was always a mother. She never stopped worrying about him as she heard He was provoking the authorities more and more. She was His mother to the very end.
Parents will always be parents, they will never stop worrying about their sons and daughters, parents will always be there with wanted or unwanted advice.
On this feast of the Holy Family we pray for all parents that they come to know the greatest gift they can give their children is that they nurture them in such a way that when they take wing they are mature, responsible people bearing witness to their family and their faith – by what they say and what they do.
Homily – Christmas
Friday, December 25th, 2009Christmas 09
We never tire of hearing this Christmas story told to us by Luke. All creation is involved in this happy day. The stars of heaven, the heavenly hosts praising God, the humble shepherds and their flocks and the young, frightened, far from home couple, Joseph and Mary and their new born son, Jesus. For centuries we’ve applied the poetry of the Book of Wisdom to Christ’s birth “when all things were in quiet silence and the night was in the midst of its course, your almighty word leapt down from heaven from your royal throne.” St. John tells of this wonder in another way “in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God – and the word became flesh and dwelt amongst us.”
Most crèches show the infant Jesus lying in the manager with a white cloth covering him, his arms opened wide in welcome. But Luke tells us that the shepherds were told they would find the child wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. I looked up the word ‘swaddling’ on the internet and read that swaddling is an age-old practice of wrapping infants snugly in swaddling cloths, blankets or similar cloth so that movement of the limbs is tightly restricted. Swaddling bands were often used to further restrict the infant. It was commonly believed that this was essential for the infants to develop proper posture. Swaddling fell out of favor in the 17th century. It has become popular again as modern medical studies indicate that swaddling assists babies to sleep and to remain asleep and that it lowers the risk of crib death. Every now and then I’m called to the neo natal section of NYGH and I’d see these preemies wrapped tight in blankets and I’ve often wondered why – now I know, they are being swaddled for their own protection.
But again, most crèches show the Christ Child free of swaddling clothes and with arms wide open. It’s all a very powerful gesture symbolizing the truth that Christ embraces all peoples and it points to that future day when Christ would open his arms on the cross.
When we stop to think about it, all through his life of ministry Christ’s arms were always open; open to embrace children, open to embrace lepers and outcasts, open to welcome tax collectors and sinners, Christ’s arms were open to embrace and support those robbed of sight, speech and hearing, His arms were open to welcome home the wandering, rebellious son, His arms were open to lift up from the ground the woman caught in adultery. His arms were open to embrace the grieving Martha and Mary.
At this Christmas Mass at which we celebrate the wonder that God so loved the world God sent His Son to the world not to condemn but to embrace our humanity Christ’s arms are open to welcome every one here at this Eucharist. It doesn’t matter whether the last time you were here was last Sunday or last Christmas Christ embraces us all as we are, with all the blessings with which we’ve been blessed and with all our faults and failings.
As Christ opens his arms in love to embrace and lift us up, may we be gracious enough, open minded and hearted enough to open our arms, our lives to each other and accept and respect every person who comes into our lives every day of lives, as they are, regardless of their race, religion, social standing or life style – this is what Christ has done to us – we can do no less to others.
Homily – 20 December
Sunday, December 20th, 2009A number of years ago Pope Paul V1 wrote a letter on Mary. He summed up the whole reality of Mary in a simple sentence. He described Mary as ‘she whose life was available to God” It was that availability that gave Mary the openness to say “be it done to me according to your word” when the Angel Gabriel told her of God’s wish that she should conceive and bear a son, a son she was to name Jesus.
In that same spirit of availability Mary went in haste into the Judean hill country to be with her elderly cousin Elisabeth who was also pregnant. Luke makes it all sound so simple, as if Mary hopped a bus or Go Train and took off for this visit. Most people of that time lived in isolated villages and travel was not a common thing. It could be that Mary hadn’t heard of or seen Elizabeth in years. The only way Mary knew of Elizabeth’s pregnancy was Gabriel’s word for it. Means of communication were very primitive in those days; no cell phones, no Blackberries. Town gossips did have a job to play.
For Mary to visit Elizabeth she would have to wait for a caravan heading in that direction, she would have to travel with people she knew. Mary certainly didn’t make this trip alone and Elizabeth would have been totally shocked when Mary showed up at her door. Mary was probably the last person Elizabeth expected to see. Elizabeth was expecting but she wasn’t expecting Mary.
Advent can be a time of waiting, wanting and watching, especially for children; how many more days til Santa comes, what will he bring me, when will the presents get here. There a bit of waiting and wanting and watching in all of us.
In this last week of Advent maybe we could wonder on something like this; who would we love to hear from, whether it be a phone call, an e mail, a visit, a Christmas card? For whom do we wait? Is it a brother or sister, son or daughter or once close friend whom we haven’t heard from in years? Do we wish to hear from or see someone from whom we’ve been estranged for a long time, a friend or family member with whom we’ve had falling out? Are we caught in a stubbornness that requires they call us first because we are convinced we were the wronged, we were misunderstood, unappreciated? Are we hurt because we did try to make contact with them at one time and never got a reply? Just think for a moment of someone you would really like to hear from and probably won’t – and hold that person in your prayers at this Mass. For whom do we wait?
More importantly we might ask ourselves who might be thrilled to hear from us? Who might enjoy a phone call or surprise visit from us, who would love to have us just drop by? It could be someone we’ve been meaning to visit for months but time just flies by and we are so busy. How many times have we said to ourselves ‘I must call, I must go see so and so’ a friend in a nursing home, a relative living alone, and then we file that good intention away?
Mary’s life was available to God; Mary was also available to others, like her cousin Elisabeth.
There was a song out years ago sung by a woman who had just given her boyfriend the boot. The refrain of the song was ‘flowers, perfume candy but you, you never gave me you, you never gave the greatest gift of all, you never gave me you.’ At this Mass Christ gives us the greatest gift of all – this is my body, this is my blood – this is me – take.
As we continue to celebrate this Mass may we be blessed to appreciate the fact that the personal gift of ourselves might just be the best gift somebody could receive – who do you think would love to receive that gift?
As we wait for Christ can we wonder is there anyone waiting for us?
Founded by St. Paul of the Cross, every Passionist takes a special vow to spend his or her energies in promoting remembrance of the sufferings of Jesus, the memory of the Cross, and reflection of the meaning of the Cross for the world.
