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Homily – June 22, 2014

Sunday, June 22nd, 2014

In November of 2013 Pope Francis wrote a letter to the church titled The Gospel of Joy. He said some very startling things. He said, ‘I want to remind priests that the confessional must not be a torture chamber but rather an encounter with the Lord’s mercy which spurs us on to do our best.’ Pope Francis said, ”I prefer a Church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets rather than a Church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security.’

As regards this feast of Corpus Christ the Pope has this to say about Holy Communion, ‘it is not a prize for the perfect but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak. Before we receive Holy Communion we say ‘Lord I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, say but the word and my soul shall be healed’ No one of us is worthy to receive the Body of Christ. Worthiness has nothing to do with our coming to receive Holy Communion. Need has everything to do with our coming to the priest or a minister of the Eucharist holding out an empty hand to show our neediness, our weaknesses and our struggles. The Body of Christ, the bread of life is a gift not a reward though I think that through the years we have been taught to see it as a reward for behaving ourselves. The Body of Christ is meant to nourish us, strengthen us, encourage us to get up and keep on trying when we know we have failed. When we walk up to receive the Body of Christ we are answering Christ’s call to all, ‘Come to me all you who labor and find life burdensome and I will refresh you.’ The Eucharist is not a prize for the perfect but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak.’

Different times in years past I would celebrate Mass for Sisters in their convent chapel. This was in the days when we all wore our religious habits. We all received Holy Communion on the tongue. When a sister received Holy Communion she would flip her veil over her head to keep out any distractions at this moment. She was to be alone with Jesus. This was a special time requiring peace and quiet. When you go back to your place after receiving Holy Communion you probably close your eyes and say your private prayers. You speak to Christ about your own or your family issues. You pray for family and friends who are ill or out of work. You’ll pray for harmony in the family. You may pray for family members and friends who feel it is no longer important to be with us here as we praise and thank God. In that short quiet time you place before the loving Christ the burdens of your life – trusting his promise ‘and I will refresh you.’

But there is far more to Holy Communion that Jesus and me. In the second reading Paul teaches us that our personal act of holding out an empty hand to receive the Body of Christ makes us one with every other person who has done the same. We who are many are one body for we all partake of the one bread. For Paul, receiving Holy Communion binds one not only to Christ but also to one another, to the entire Christian community . The Eucharist has a horizontal as well as a vertical direction. When we receive Holy Communion we are involved in the wellbeing of the Church and of the world, the Body of Christ.

The Body of Christ, the whole human family is plagued with so many problems. Social injustices, the exploitation and oppression of women and children, the unjust distribution of wealth, the human assault on the environment, the homeless and the hungry of our city and country, the effects of our consumerism on the health and wellbeing of Earth, the civil wars blighting so many countries, these too should be the things we bring to Christ when we receive him in Holy Communion, a conscious act that makes us one with the total Body of Christ. We may feel we cannot change the world but we can make every effort that the world does not change us. Pope Francis talks about the globalization of indifference – we tend to block out these harsh realities from our lives. This is not a good thing. These realities touch our lives too. We did not weave the web of life we are a strand in the web and what happens to the web happens to us and we should be conscious of wellbeing of the total web of life.

We’ll continue to celebrate this Mass as we celebrate Christ’s goodness and graciousness to us as he encourages each of us – this is my body, take and eat – this is my blood, take and drink.

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Homily – June 8, 2014

Sunday, June 8th, 2014

Can we hear the Spirit? Do we want to?

The feast of Pentecost was a powerful transforming event in the life of our church. Frightened and uncertain disciples became bold proclaimers of the awesome truth that Jesus Christ is Lord and Redeemer.

Different men and women were blessed with different gifts which were to build up the community of believers. These gifts, however unspectacular, were not meant for the benefit of the individual but for the welfare of all. The gifts of the Spirit must not lead to individualism but to the building up of the corporate body of the community. The church is one body through a common baptism and a common “drinking of one Spirit.”

Pentecost was not a one shot deal. The Holy Spirit is still alive and active in the life of the church and in the life of each one of us. This will always be so. We see the action of the Spirit in the words, the example and the teachings of Pope Francis. We see the presence and the action of the Spirit in the lived lives of family, friends and neighbours in their ordinary acts of kindness and support they offer us each day. We see the action of the Spirit in the dedicated lives of those family members who care every day for aging mothers or fathers or who cope with a challenged son and daughter. We see the presence of the Spirit in those who work for social justice for all men and women. We see the presence of the Spirit in the work of those who show us the injustices of our times, the exploitation in the sweat shops of the world, the exploitation of migrant workers and challenge us to live simply that others may simply live. We see the love of the Spirit in the work of those who try to bring about a world of economic justice in which men, women and children will have their basic needs met and no one lives in poverty, hunger or homelessness. These are all Spirit filled men and women though they may not see themselves as such. They enable the work of the Holy Spirit in our time.

On this feast of Pentecost we sing, ’Send forth your Spirit O Lord and renew the face of the earth.’

Can we see and hear the work of the Spirit in the efforts of scholars and scientists who warn us about the consequences of our abuse and misuse of the resources of Earth? Recently someone jokingly asked me ‘how can you talk about global warming after the terrible winter we’ve just had’? It is not about global warming it is all about climate change and the ways that change will affect our lives for generations to come. There is not a day goes by when we don’t hear of droughts, hurricanes, tornadoes, heavy and constant rain falls, glacier melting, air pollution and many other indications that all it not well with Earth. It would take a miracle for business tycoons and political leaders to hear the Holy Spirit calling the human family to heal its relationship with the rest of Earth’s community. As Joni Mitchell sings – they pave paradise and put up a parking lot.’ Canada is becoming an oil barrel for the Chinese, the Japanese, Koreans and other nations who need our resources. Companies will make lots of money exploiting and exporting our unrenewable resources but at what cost to our land, our air, our water and us. Sure we’ll make a lot of money out of all this. The taxes we collect will or might provide us with social, educational and health programs but do we consider the long term cost to our children’s, children’s, children’s? You’ve heard this before, ‘Earth does not belong to us; we belong to the Earth and what we do to the Earth we do to ourselves.’ When we pollute and diminish the beauty and richness of Earth we diminish and impoverish ourselves.

I spent last weekend out in Fort McMurray, the site of the Alberta oil sands. I attended a meeting at which the Athabasca and Chippewa Nations were trying to re-evaluate the treaties they made with the British, tricky treaties that were meant to last as long as the rivers flow. Many of these good people still live off the land, trapping, fishing and growing their own food. It is a life style and a world view far removed from our own. The impact the development of the oil sands is having on the health and quality of the air they breathe, the water they drink, the food and the fish they harvest is just beginning to be seen. I had an hour’s flight over the oil sands development. It is huge, it is amazing. Young people from all over the country find work there and make big money. It is a beehive of activity. Thousands of acres of forest have been peeled away to get to the oil sands. The sands are dug out twenty four hours a day, every day. We were told the oil companies will put it all back as it was before when they finished the mining. It’s taken thousands of years for these ecosystems to develop and we think we can duplicate it just like that. My trip to the oil sands was a learning experience.

On this feast of Pentecost let our prayer be; Send forth your Spirit O Lord and renew the face of the Earth. Send forth your Spirit O Lord and bless us with the gift of wonder and awe so that we might see in a new way the beauty of your creation and its fragility. Send forth your Spirit O Lord and help us realize we are one; we are family with every living being that shares Earth with us. Help us see that what we do to Earth we do to ourselves and those generations who follow us. Help us to be true stewards of your gift of Earth’s resources, may we develop these gifts wisely and justly for the benefit of all not just the wealth of a few. Give us insight to appreciate our need for a simpler life style, help us curb our consumerism. Help us to live simply that others may simply live.

We must know that the Spirit’s work of renewing the face of the earth must truly be our own. May the Holy Spirit gift us with the ability to be conscious of the environmental and ecological issues we live with and affect our wellbeing. Even in the smallest ways we can try to make a difference in the healing and enrichment of Earth. If not us, who? If not now, when?

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Homily – June 1, 2014

Sunday, June 1st, 2014

Coming full circle

I’m sure you’ve all heard the saying, ‘coming full circle’. One example of coming full circle would be the example of a family selling a home generations ago but just recently things have come full circle and one of their descendants lives there now.

On this feast of the Ascension of Jesus we celebrate that fact that Jesus has come full circle. In the beautiful beginning of St. John’s gospel we read,’ In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God….…and the Word was made flesh and dwelt amongst us and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only son….he came unto his own and his own received him not.’

In his letter to Philippians put this coming full circle of Christ in these words, ’Have this mind in you which was also in Christ Jesus who, though his nature was divine, did not consider equality with God as something to be clung to, but emptied himself taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human likeness he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross – therefore God has highly exalted him and gave him a name above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend and every tongue confess Jesus Christ is lord to the glory of God the Father.’

The resurrection of Jesus and his ascension into heaven are all one great event. The church separated them in order that it might contemplate more deeply the meaning of these two aspects of this single, invisible event.

In his ascension Jesus returns to the Father and the Holy Spirit, he has come full circle. You and I are at the centre of that circle. In the creed at this Mass we say the words, ‘for us and for our salvation he came down from heaven.’ For us Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary, for us Jesus became one like us in all things though he did not sin. For us Jesus came to his own people with the message of God’s love for them. For us Jesus brought God’s love for all of us as he gave sight to the blind, called cripples to walk, stretched out his hand to lepers, touch them and make them clean, for us Jesus raised the dead, for us Jesus became the Good Shepherd who would lay down his life for his sheep, for us Jesus gave us his body and blood as the nourishment of our souls. Jesus showed us that no one can have greater love than this, to lay down his friends.

Each one of us will come full circle when accept and fully live the life that is ours through the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus. We come full circle when we see in every person we meet, regardless of faith, nationality or life style, a brother or sister redeemed and love by Christ, just as we are, We come full circle when we come to live our lives not longer for ourselves but for Jesus as we meet him and reach out to him in the hungry and homeless, in the sick and the stranger, in the victims of the senseless violence we see every day. We come full circle when we try to make our own the words of St. Paul, ‘I live, no longer I but Christ lives in me and the life I live I live it trusting in the son of God who loved me and gave his life for me. We will all come full circle when we hear the welcoming words of the Risen Lord, ‘come blessed of my Father inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world for I was hungry and you gave me food, thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you made me welcome, naked and you clothed me, sick and in prison and you came to me’. We will come full circle when Christ says to each of us, ’you were always there for me, now I am here for you.’

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Homily – May 25, 2014

Sunday, May 25th, 2014

Lord Let My Light Shine

I remember my first summer vacation after my first year at Holy Cross seminary in Dunkirk, New York. I couldn’t wait to see a friend of mine, Holly Knight. We didn’t go to the same school but we spent a lot of time arguing religion. Holly was Anglican and eventually was ordained in the Anglican Church.

I couldn’t wait to see him because I’d taken a course in Apologetics – a course explaining the truth of the teaching of the Catholic Church and showing up the weaknesses of the teachings of other Christian churches and I was convinced that I could convince Holly that he must become a Roman Catholic. Needless to say my enthusiastic efforts were a flop.

For most people it really isn’t well thought out reasons that attract people to the Church. More often than not is it the lived example of ordinary people trying to be faithful to the teachings and example of Jesus that is the magnet.

In the second reading St. Peter tells the people; “in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defence to anyone who demands from you an accounting of the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and reverence.

How often did the people to whom Peter was writing were questioned by family and friends, “ how could you do such a things, how could you turn your back of the traditions of your family and join up with this motley crew of Jews?

Most of the early converts to the Christian faith were attracted to the Christian community by the lived lives of the ordinary men and women who belonged to that community. In the Acts of the Apostles we are told that the men and women who were not Christians marveled at how these Christians loved one another. They became aware of the love and kindness, support and reverence that vitalized the life of the community and they wanted to be part of that community too. Theological or philosophical arguments had nothing to do with it, they were attracted to the community be seeing how members of the community inter-acted among themselves.

These early Christians, because they were so different were often maligned because of their good conduct in Christ. Neighbours couldn`t understand why they shared food and clothing with one another. They couldn`t understand their hospitality and care of the poor.

It is the same today. Men and women are drawn to the church by living examples of those who put flesh and blood to the teachings of Jesus, teaching that tells us share with those who have less, forgive those who have harmed us, be peace makers, work for social justice, welcome the stranger.

St. Paul described the early church as being made of men and women who had no power, no influence, no money but men and women who believed in the love of the crucified Christ for every one of them. Men and women who were filled with gratitude for such love, men and women so filled with gratitude that they wanted to follow Jesus and his way of doing things. Such a way of life was counter-cultural then as it is now and not always understood by those around us, but Jesus asks us to follow him and by living and loving as he did and so make a difference in the world.

That dying to ourselves, which sounds so dramatic, can be carried out quietly every day in our lives: when we put the needs of another ahead of our own; when we refrain from an angry outburst; when we reach out to those in need or become more merciful to those around us and those in our world whose desperate lives so urgently need our awareness and mercy.

There is a saying, ‘you may be the only bible people will ever read’. How we live our lives, how we treat other people, how we care for those who have less than we do, how we welcome the stranger, how we care for the homeless, how we relate to people of different faiths, cultures or lifestyles will let us know whether or not our good conduct gives witness to the Christ in whom we believe.

When we see the optics of Pope Francis, the way he relates to people, the way he wants to be with them as they are, his openness to others no matter what their life circumstances, his humility of lifestyle, surely people`s attitudes toward the church have changed. His good conduct in Christ has made a difference in the lives of many people both within the Church and outside it.

In this Eucharist we celebrate Christ’s great and unconditional love for each one of us. We pray that his love inspire us to live lives worthy of our calling and that we be examples of faith and love to inspire others to follow Christ.

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Homily – May 18, 2014

Sunday, May 18th, 2014

Scriptures scholars claim that this section of John’s gospel is a bringing together of different teachings of Jesus and making them into a part a long teaching conversation Jesus had with the apostles the night before he was to die. This conversation deals with different things: there are prophecies, words of caution about the future, God’s intentions for the future.

The setting for this conversation was what we refer to as the last supper. There is tension in the air. The apostles knew the religious authorities were out to silence Jesus. Too many people were listening to Jesus and not to them. The first thing Jesus tells them is not to let their hearts be troubled, to hang in there to trust in him and trust God. He would be with them to see them through the troubled times of their unknown future.

We all need to hear these words. ‘Do not let your hearts be troubled, trust in God, trust in me.’ There can be times when we face frightening tomorrows; there can be health issues, job security issues, the stability of relationship issues, family issues, issues that leave us at our wits ends as to what to do. When we hear the words of Jesus,’ do not let your hearts be troubled, trust in God and trust in me’ we might be tempted to say, ‘that’s easy for you to say, you were deeply aware of your own close and deep, personal relationship with the Father and this is true but we have to remember that Jesus’ own trusting in God was tested on the cross. Hanging there enduring an agony we can hardly imagine Jesus felt totally abandoned by his Father, crying out, ‘my God, my God why have you abandoned me? Even then he totally surrender himself to his loving Father ‘into your hands I commend my spirit and bowing his head he gave up his spirit.

It is not an easy thing to hand over our lives, our futures to God trusting God to do what is best for us. We want to be in control, we want to set our own course, and we want to be certain of what is ahead for us. We want that ‘old age security’.But we know too that things are not that way. We never know what tomorrow will bring.

This past week Frs. Bernard, Brando. Fatima Lee and myself were at a meeting of our Passionist Community in Hartford Ct. There were at least 80 Passionist priests and brothers there from the US, Canada, Jamaica West Indies and from Haiti. There representative of the Passionist communities in Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and Uruguay and about 30 lay women and men who work with us in our different ministries. We have meeting like this every four years to elect our leadership and plan for the future.

If ever anyone ever needed to hear the words of today’s gospel it was us; Do not let your hearts be troubles, trust in God, trust in me.’ We are in trouble. Our last meeting was in 2010. Since then 30 of our men died, most were old but some were very active in ministry and their deaths meant having to cut back on our ministries. We have no young men coming into our community. Worldwide Passionist communities are thriving, especially south of the equator, but in Europe and North America we are in trouble. These past years we’ve had to close a couple of retreat house and leave parishes. Right now we have thriving retreat centres in Hartford, Florida, New York and Pittsburgh but our future is in the hands of God. We are in the process of joining Passionists in different countries in what we call ‘configurations’ so that personnel and resources can be better utilized. As you know Fr. Brando comes to us from the Passionist community in the Philippines.

But in the midst of our meeting in Hartford while facing the reality of our aging members we committed ourselves to looking into the possibilities of four new ventures; a greater involvement of lay women and men in our ministries, a preaching team of priests and lay people reaching out to young adults, establishing the Passionist community in Haiti building on the foundations laid by the work of Fr. Rick Frechette over the past 27 years, looking into the possibility on placing a Passionist community in Manhattan that would be involved in parish work and the TV apostolate

I have to tell you I was proud being a member of this meeting. Not denying our limitations we were willing to realistically look at our future with imagination and creativity. If it is of God, it will prosper.

Individually, as a parish family and as the Passionist family may we all take to heart these encouraging words of Jesus, ‘Do not let your hearts be troubles, trust in me, trust in God.

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