Final CTR Sunday Homily ~ July 2, 2023

 

In my formal farewell last week, I highlighted the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats  that I see as I entrust the parish to God and a new pastor. 

Today, I’d like to offer a specific vision for the future of our parish. It comes from a book that is taking the Church by storm called From Christendom to Apostolic Mission.

The thesis of the book is quite simple. The era it calls Christendom has ended. And now we must return to the apostolic approach of the early Church.

I’m convinced that this short book contains a message from the Holy Spirit to the Church in North America and Western Europe. Society has turned away from and even against the Church, creating the same conditions that the apostles faced when they set out to evangelize the world. We can no longer rely on widespread support for our mission.

The world has changed—dramatically, and swiftly. And so must we.

Please take the time to watch this short video which summarizes the message.

Are you convinced? Perhaps not—it’s a lot to take in, a huge shift from what we’ve taken for granted all our Christian lives.

Let me tell just one story. After they watched this same video, Archbishop Miller asked a group of people if they agreed that Christendom is over.

A silver-haired woman responded with quiet dignity. “I know it’s finished,” she said. “I have five children with whom we prayed, whom we took on retreats, who all attended Catholic schools—and not one of them goes to church.”

What else can explain this situation—repeated in numerous families in our parish—other than a seismic shift in society, an earthquake in values that undermines our best efforts to share the Gospel with our children?

We all thought, understandably so, that if we raised our children like we were raised, then the results—committed Catholics—would be the same. Who could have guessed that the death of Christendom, with the consequent erosion of the moral consensus in society, could make such a difference?

But it did. And now we must face up to it, with God’s help and guidance.

It’s fitting that my final homily  ends with the Scripture verse I have quoted so often, Romans 8:28, which tells us that God works for good in all things.

These are difficult days and we face a challenging future. But that’s a great blessing because it gives us the opportunity to become fully-engaged, fully-intentional disciples carrying out the mission Christ entrusted to the Apostles.

The end of Christendom calls us to share the Gospel with the same courage and zeal of the early Church, which allowed the faith to spread to the ends of the earth.

Epilogue

Last Saturday was the greatest day of my life.

That might sound shocking. How could my farewell celebrations eclipse my ordination day and first Mass?

Here’s the answer. Thirty-seven years ago, the potential of my priestly ministry began. Last week, the fruits of it—fruits beyond my dreams—became visible to me in all that you said and all that you did.

I think there will be some married couples who understand what I am saying. Is a wedding day more precious than the marriage or graduation of your last child, when you see what marriage made possible?

As a Monty Python character exclaimed, “I’m not dead yet!” I look forward to some years of ministry still, and hope and pray they will be richly blessed.

But somehow, I suspect that last Saturday will remain the best day of my life.

I cannot begin to thank those who worked so very hard to make Mass so beautiful and the dinner celebration so special. And to thank all of you  for supporting me, encouraging me, and putting up with me throughout these sixteen blessed years.