tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91790270644581715712024-03-14T00:35:19.836-07:00Homilies and Occasional ThoughtsMsgr. Gregory Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07739878171006169486noreply@blogger.comBlogger605125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9179027064458171571.post-83323343898767233622023-07-02T09:47:00.005-07:002023-07-02T15:47:37.252-07:00Final CTR Sunday Homily ~ July 2, 2023<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbLdvCRBrQUhymqNyPRAL5s4BIyKYbnQUHIP9rbpdoPx-chUpVRjaoj_tsZAEMsHodfFh6igwr8EVnNtK4ynpvgbzK6eDCjeN4pWNkfzwfeTKtVOybJk6O9G5x5LK8Vxk59aOEE20SOnL59k7GEfoaFDVH4o2uVPWqf5x8X3PtxSmSPz3JHTtXz4rhRqY/s484/Christendom%20Book.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="484" data-original-width="316" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbLdvCRBrQUhymqNyPRAL5s4BIyKYbnQUHIP9rbpdoPx-chUpVRjaoj_tsZAEMsHodfFh6igwr8EVnNtK4ynpvgbzK6eDCjeN4pWNkfzwfeTKtVOybJk6O9G5x5LK8Vxk59aOEE20SOnL59k7GEfoaFDVH4o2uVPWqf5x8X3PtxSmSPz3JHTtXz4rhRqY/w261-h400/Christendom%20Book.jpg" width="261" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; text-align: justify;">In
my formal farewell last week, I highlighted the </span><a href="http://gregorynsmith.blogspot.com/2023/06/farewell-homily-june-24-2023.html" style="font-size: 14pt; text-align: justify;" target="_blank">strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats</a><span style="font-size: 14pt; text-align: justify;"> that I see as I entrust the parish to God and a new pastor. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; text-align: justify;">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 </span><i style="font-size: 14pt; text-align: justify;">From Christendom to
Apostolic Mission</i><span style="font-size: 14pt; text-align: justify;">.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">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.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">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.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The
world has changed—dramatically, and swiftly. And so must we.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Please take the time to watch <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zTCPn4jrl0&ab_channel=PrimeMatters" target="_blank">this short video</a> which summarizes the message.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">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.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">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.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">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.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">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?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">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?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">But
it did. And now we must face up to it, with God’s help and guidance.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">It’s
fitting that my final homily <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>ends with
the Scripture verse I have quoted so often, Romans 8:28, which tells us that
God works for good in all things.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">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.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">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.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Epilogue</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="http://gregorynsmith.blogspot.com/2023/06/remarks-at-farewell-dinner-june-24-2023.html" target="_blank">Last Saturday</a> was the greatest day of my life. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">That
might sound shocking. How could my <a href="https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1EI3w6Jrpl-Z2zZa-r1QrDQoFWgJqQUkY" target="_blank">farewell celebrations</a> eclipse my ordination day and first Mass?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">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.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">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?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">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.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">But
somehow, I suspect that last Saturday will remain the best day of my life.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://shoutout.wix.com/so/6eOZvzC0d?languageTag=en&status=Draft&cid=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000" target="_blank">I cannot begin to thank</a> those who worked so very hard to make
Mass so beautiful and the dinner celebration so special. And to thank all of
you <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>for supporting me, encouraging me,
and putting up with me throughout these sixteen blessed years.</span></p></div>Msgr. Gregory Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07739878171006169486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9179027064458171571.post-22664656807797689442023-06-27T16:17:00.004-07:002023-06-28T09:32:51.492-07:00Remarks at Farewell Dinner ~ June 24, 2023<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaE_2HRGATQxY1FF4S2Rvxc7sD-auZquh6KqUoSVoOtfkcLLnjGHJnS7vI84Lu5XGbkrFVMg6dqLywNsUMuQhjqR3i1lJeYygQus9TokXerj9P_DFdhGYd_DKPXeGkHMULROfiIV4rkaYgAwVTKpRwYZOspMEhjLqYCmTsycjD9iNG3HxIKmHWr-dbpr0/s296/Just%20arrivederci.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="147" data-original-width="296" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaE_2HRGATQxY1FF4S2Rvxc7sD-auZquh6KqUoSVoOtfkcLLnjGHJnS7vI84Lu5XGbkrFVMg6dqLywNsUMuQhjqR3i1lJeYygQus9TokXerj9P_DFdhGYd_DKPXeGkHMULROfiIV4rkaYgAwVTKpRwYZOspMEhjLqYCmTsycjD9iNG3HxIKmHWr-dbpr0/w400-h199/Just%20arrivederci.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div></div></div><div><span style="font-size: 14pt; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; text-align: justify;">Looking
at me now, it may come as a surprise to you that I was not an athletic young man.</span></div></span></div><div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Well,
maybe not. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">My
complete lack of interest in sports was neatly explained by my father when he said,
“Gregory doesn’t like anything he wasn’t good at the first time.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And
since I didn’t play sports, I didn’t follow sports. I never once opened the
sports pages, even though I was reading the newspaper shortly after I learned
to walk. My father did get me to read a story about his late uncle, an NHL star.
But since the article was full of mistakes it didn’t inspire me to change my
reading habits.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">By
a quirk of fate, in my forties I got to know a BC Lions football player, a
Vancouver Canucks hockey player, and one of the best known local sports writers.
So, I was pretty much forced to start reading the sports pages. And I read them
still.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I
noticed something early on about the reports of victorious games, winning
goals, and athletic trophies. The players almost always said the same thing: it
was really just a team effort.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Of
course, they said it in different ways. “I don’t really think the trophy
belongs to me but to my teammates” or “I really just tipped the goal in after a
great setup.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I
didn’t believe a word of it! Since the only team I ever played on was a
political party I was used to people following a script with reporters. This
“aw, shucks, it was really the other guys who made this happen” struck me as a
formula; they were saying what was expected.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Tonight,
I apologize to all those athletes whose sincerity I doubted. I have heard so
many kind and generous things about my ministry here over the past sixteen
years that I feel like a winner of the Grey Cup, Stanley Cup, and even the
World Cup. Yet I can only say exactly what those athletes say in the post-game
interview. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I
say it with sincerity and almost urgency: this amazing parish, this
irresistible parish, is the result of shared responsibility, collaboration,
brilliant staff, generous volunteers, and engaged disciples. And, of course,
dedicated assistant pastors, one of whom liked it here so much that he’s come
back for more!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">My
single greatest contribution was getting out of the way of those who were listening
and responding to the Holy Spirit.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Sad
as I am to be leaving, I want to make it very clear that I’m very happy
tonight. I never dreamt that I would experience such an outpouring of love,
affirmation, and support in my life. I am a happy and grateful priest beyond
anything I could have imagined on my ordination day, joyful though it was.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">This
incredible celebration, for which I warmly thank the dedicated and hard working
organizers and volunteers, has only one negative aspect for me. I want so badly
to name names, to thank individuals … but I can’t.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">There
are at least three reasons for this, beginning with the fact that we want to go
home before midnight.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The
second, of course, is that speaking of the debt that I and the parish owe to
certain individuals would reduce me to tears faster than ice cream melts on a
hot summer day.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And
finally, any attempt to name names risks both missing some and failing to
acknowledge the hidden contributions of those who have quietly prayed and
sacrificed for the mission of the parish.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">An
overflowing heart is a dangerous thing because it’s hard to stop the flow of
words; I think I’ve said enough.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I
give the last words to Dag Hammarskjold, the mystical secretary-general of the
United Nations, whom I have been quoting all week: “For what has been, thanks.
For what will be, yes.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDr-zXPv0F7StY2T9KopuLIxxgDtpY42Ga2BMIS7ovCG1dpArauBBzyqk9goKNMCE7RxwDcHdt8EIpdTIjtPjd-vI4VEvUxMzJqB58AD5UwDWmxs4ZZK-pwmls9I6oZ6J5pAd8UN-J_7s7gNMR6Zk5BGIrueUNXcxRW9zWdnQdyQrNPyFACVSwHLJqFG0/s2155/Dinner%202.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1100" data-original-width="2155" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDr-zXPv0F7StY2T9KopuLIxxgDtpY42Ga2BMIS7ovCG1dpArauBBzyqk9goKNMCE7RxwDcHdt8EIpdTIjtPjd-vI4VEvUxMzJqB58AD5UwDWmxs4ZZK-pwmls9I6oZ6J5pAd8UN-J_7s7gNMR6Zk5BGIrueUNXcxRW9zWdnQdyQrNPyFACVSwHLJqFG0/w400-h204/Dinner%202.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"></p><br /></div>Msgr. Gregory Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07739878171006169486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9179027064458171571.post-17408208711528064872023-06-25T11:39:00.004-07:002023-06-28T12:34:23.786-07:00Farewell Homily June 24, 2023<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7TVtbxsS55Gmjlkm-KzGWATQSNEaqb6Ruaa_F-La8spB0-cQSYXxvVOen485ZK1JxKbV7Qyy_faHYsaUI3xnQxVos20mXzY0Rps0y7uB9oDMTZjbK_GbHosSjzFbJ7yYEihjfc-Ls-_uKHZKnf5El5vEkaFZuQ1EVlu58hshTrY8TybnpTIpRy9u9V_M/s628/SWOT.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="394" data-original-width="628" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7TVtbxsS55Gmjlkm-KzGWATQSNEaqb6Ruaa_F-La8spB0-cQSYXxvVOen485ZK1JxKbV7Qyy_faHYsaUI3xnQxVos20mXzY0Rps0y7uB9oDMTZjbK_GbHosSjzFbJ7yYEihjfc-Ls-_uKHZKnf5El5vEkaFZuQ1EVlu58hshTrY8TybnpTIpRy9u9V_M/w400-h251/SWOT.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; text-align: justify;">I’ve
been thinking about this homily for six months.</span></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">In
my head, I wrote at least three different homilies. The first overflowed with
gratitude to God. The second overflowed with gratitude to you. And the third
began “You can’t possibly expect me to say <i>anything</i> tonight, so
Archbishop Miller will preach!”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Well,
the Archbishop will not preach. When he told me he could not make it in time
because of a prior Mass in Surrey this afternoon, I got the feeling he was
secretly pleased that I was forced to confront my famous emotions head on.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">However,
the homily I’d really like to give—deeply grateful reflections on the most
fruitful years of my life, looking back on the past sixteen years with wonder
and awe—will remain in my heart, the words unspoken.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">You’ve
all heard the slogan “know your limit, play within it.” That’s what I am going
to do at Mass tonight. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">You’ve
also all heard, many a time, my favourite Bible verse: Romans 8:28, God works
for good in all things. I think that my tendency to choke on emotional thoughts
has turned out to be a blessing tonight. Guided, I hope, by the Holy Spirit I decided
not going to look back; not even to talk about the present; I am going to speak
of the future of this irresistible parish of Christ the Redeemer.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I
got the idea in a planning meeting at the Pastoral Centre where I work. One of
the senior staff said he was going to present a SWOT analysis.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmnLzWtUFMH8YcICcfB961l4pPQ9TYRDE3RnwVQJYqSP8wXYTb_bWOKNIUOFHQ7Qhn6b74Z5OC2zzaW_nk0J4I5W5fugA5hebnsAzBRH0hu3uySXy1ngz9DsroOxa2No2dEyEqFX-dUEalUiRI5pPMgOtKXp6TSu0RSSrEecfJYAbckbZSeaeoPALNphY/s301/SWAT%20team.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="202" data-original-width="301" height="134" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmnLzWtUFMH8YcICcfB961l4pPQ9TYRDE3RnwVQJYqSP8wXYTb_bWOKNIUOFHQ7Qhn6b74Z5OC2zzaW_nk0J4I5W5fugA5hebnsAzBRH0hu3uySXy1ngz9DsroOxa2No2dEyEqFX-dUEalUiRI5pPMgOtKXp6TSu0RSSrEecfJYAbckbZSeaeoPALNphY/w198-h134/SWAT%20team.jpg" width="198" /></a></span></div><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">My immediate thought: “A SWAT
analysis. And I said to myself: I know things are bad, but surely they’re not
that bad!</span></div><o:p></o:p></span><p></p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Turns
out that a SWOT analysis—S-W-<b>O</b>-T—is a clever way of looking at an
organization or situa-tion. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">S
stands for Strengths. W stands for Weaknesses. O stands for Opportunities, and T
for Threats: S.W.O.T. The first two—strengths and weaknesses—come from within.
The second two—opportunities and threats—come from outside.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Before we move on to this SWOT analysis let’s
stop for a moment to recall that we are gathered to celebrate the birth of St.
John the Baptist. It wasn’t planned that way, but it’s perfect. The Gospel for
this feast tells the dramatic story of the naming of this great saint. I’ve
read it many times—I always focus on poor Zechariah. I didn’t pay any attention
to what he called his son, since John is such a common name… like Smith. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">But
while I was preparing this homily, I stumbled across something quite delightful
and relevant to my thoughts about Christ the Redeemer tonight. The name John
means “God is gracious.” That sums up in three words so much of what I wish I were
able to say tonight. God has been gracious to me, God has been gracious to us,
and has called us to be his gracious presence in the world, as we become ever
more an irresistible sign of his salvation.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3B_10kBeuZSV-k6hVF7iSlajzK3WlFeizBm4JrDQc11RNwgv6tFn6P_6MnB6zJaGFImEwaae-qxnbBhi2xFUF_pLdVvwYkaAVEK3BaWAdrwmZgr4rixWiszMtcfstqdsq6aPWO08imXxAl7PQq4xYIT7XnmpDy2AVGF6daCwSv5R86CiUH9CPM8a00X4/s801/June%2024%20Strengths.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="178" data-original-width="801" height="38" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3B_10kBeuZSV-k6hVF7iSlajzK3WlFeizBm4JrDQc11RNwgv6tFn6P_6MnB6zJaGFImEwaae-qxnbBhi2xFUF_pLdVvwYkaAVEK3BaWAdrwmZgr4rixWiszMtcfstqdsq6aPWO08imXxAl7PQq4xYIT7XnmpDy2AVGF6daCwSv5R86CiUH9CPM8a00X4/w160-h38/June%2024%20Strengths.png" width="160" /></a></span></div><p></p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"></p><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">We’ll
come back to John, but first let’s turn to the <b>strengths</b>,<b><span style="color: #c00000;"> </span></b>the
strengths of our parish community and what these mean for the future. Near the
top of the list is vision: this parish knows what God wants; it knows where
it’s headed; and it knows how to get there.<o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Early
in my time at Christ the Redeemer we spoke often about forming intentional
disciples. We’ve worked hard at that. But somewhere along the way we realized
that to form intentional disciples we needed to be an <i>intentional</i>
parish. And that is what we are becoming and will become more and more.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">An
intentional parish requires three things to succeed. First, unity. If there is
disagreement or even uncertainty about what we’re going, we will surely never
get there. Now I have a bird’s-eye view of parish life in the archdiocese, and
I know that our parish is second to none in harmony.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Second,
openness to the Holy Spirit. Unity is a gift from God himself, and vision must
be shaped by carefully discerning God’s will with the Spirit’s help. I look
ahead with great confidence precisely because I know that the parish’s
strengths are not rooted in human wisdom or gifts.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Now
let me contradict myself! A third tremendous strength is the emergence of
teams. Teams aren’t simply a way of multiplying volunteers: they’re a whole new
way of doing things. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Without
teams it’s just not possible to accomplish some aspects of our vision—some
aspects of the mission we have. It takes teams to become welcoming and hospitable
to visitors; it takes teams to express charity and compassion for the needy,
the sorrowing, the refugees; even our vibrant prayer ministry involves teams.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Most
of all it takes teams to evangelize widely. Reaching large groups of people
demands equally large numbers of volunteers.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">John
the Baptist was the last solo evangelizer! He had a unique call from God, from
his birth. No one, not even St. Paul, had such an assignment. From Jesus
onward, spreading the Gospel has demanded teamwork. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The
pandemic was an amazing example of what teams can do; it’s been difficult to
keep that energy going post-pandemic but I’m confident that teams are what will
drive the parish forward in the years ahead.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDK2nTrc1sYWNZkXNqTRFS6N5oBRMbrXAw2oUTKisP8qnrHt7_7ES7DGwv_wMvXsAmO0jtlo-yDtXbAaZ42uYo1d7y3NKJ1muZNT1NoWUOO0F3jRJkjlSyOUnmRY72MfATy24_xvPZ7BOqTRWuwHKQ-zkG-pLQqrMskF8j3jwDPHYsbnrFAasEN4wijC0/s844/June%2024%20Weaknesses.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="171" data-original-width="844" height="35" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDK2nTrc1sYWNZkXNqTRFS6N5oBRMbrXAw2oUTKisP8qnrHt7_7ES7DGwv_wMvXsAmO0jtlo-yDtXbAaZ42uYo1d7y3NKJ1muZNT1NoWUOO0F3jRJkjlSyOUnmRY72MfATy24_xvPZ7BOqTRWuwHKQ-zkG-pLQqrMskF8j3jwDPHYsbnrFAasEN4wijC0/w174-h35/June%2024%20Weaknesses.png" width="174" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt;">Of course, we have <b>weaknesses.</b> Despite our best efforts, some of
us are still reluctant to invite others to know Jesus or even to bring them to
church events. Effective evangelization requires a culture of invitation, which—let’s
be honest—takes us out of our comfort zone.</span></div></span></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Connected
to this particular weakness in our parish is a strong tendency to over-protect
our personal time. When someone pointed this out, I was very quick to defend
our parishioners by saying how busy everyone is. The person I was talking to—a
very busy person—looked me straight in the eye and said, “people find time for
what matters most to them.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Since
we only have seven days in a week and twenty-four hours in a day, individuals
will need to change some priorities if we are to move ahead, they’ll need to put
their baptismal call ahead of chairing the strata council or serving on the
golf course board. I don’t dare say anything about coaches!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And
speaking of priorities, stewardship manages to be both a strength and a
weakness at Christ the Redeemer. Parishioners show remarkable generosity when
presented with extraordinary needs: when the roof eventually gives up, Father
Paul will have no problem finding the money to replace it. That’s the good
news.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The
bad news is that regular weekly giving is stagnant and doesn’t show the
enthusiasm typical of a thriving evangelical church. Continuing and growing our
commitment to excellence requires not only volunteers but paid leaders able to
devote their energies to our mission full time. And that requires not special
donations but ordinary support.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Before
looking at opportunities, one last weakness. We’re still waiting to see the
full fruits of our efforts to promote Eucharistic devotion. There is all kinds
of evidence that adoration of the Blessed Sacrament strengthens the committed
and helps the weak commit. Yet there is sometimes a general lack of reverence
toward the Real Presence here in the church that we will need to overcome to
reap all the benefits of being a Eucharistic community. We need our visitors to
see what we believe and how we stand before the Eucharistic Lord in his house.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvicOpgCcr6jTx93U5VYSmL5yAVJ-dbkMmhi2rSqL_Azna6Uqguh9AAaweWibg-KQFdnG2jyDCODylWkEerb4LN5VMtSRGjI0yfZQ5A2Io_6hEFRfsHFETEIFKfuSs9NSZPXRjQ3ra3Q9-cbN_iORa1qi0Jf93iz4n3do2sedA8NcZpijmwza3l60e6Lw/s787/June%2024%20Opportunities.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="129" data-original-width="787" height="35" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvicOpgCcr6jTx93U5VYSmL5yAVJ-dbkMmhi2rSqL_Azna6Uqguh9AAaweWibg-KQFdnG2jyDCODylWkEerb4LN5VMtSRGjI0yfZQ5A2Io_6hEFRfsHFETEIFKfuSs9NSZPXRjQ3ra3Q9-cbN_iORa1qi0Jf93iz4n3do2sedA8NcZpijmwza3l60e6Lw/w217-h35/June%2024%20Opportunities.png" width="217" /></a></div><span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt;"><b>Opportunities</b>, well they<span style="color: #c00000;"> </span>abound. You
can’t miss the signs of new housing going up in the area. Single-family houses
are being replaced by townhouses and apartments, giving young families a chance
to come back here. You only need to look around on a Sunday—or today—to see the
young families, the new families with their children at Mass.</span></div></span></span></div></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Immigration
is an opportunity and a challenge. There are many new Canadians in our area who
are looking for a connection. They don’t find their former religious culture
meets their needs and they are open to exploring our Faith.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="line-height: 115%;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 14pt; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXz0eU85g1A36v2GzCiwhro6xM4qdgFEEGIGRqK2skrx5pZrkV7YDcxNdZ8WQu5wnR-Lmkt00539ZsMwXe5gJFluo5Cn5u9dksFl1SYyZ_IfTmQs15HVmTRqhqc3lBKR4eAJfnh6ziU2t_-ejkdWKAyWxSITFMZN-kYAGBu1CY3Z1iQMhyv8kZqgwbIjM/s555/June%2024%20Threats.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="169" data-original-width="555" height="43" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXz0eU85g1A36v2GzCiwhro6xM4qdgFEEGIGRqK2skrx5pZrkV7YDcxNdZ8WQu5wnR-Lmkt00539ZsMwXe5gJFluo5Cn5u9dksFl1SYyZ_IfTmQs15HVmTRqhqc3lBKR4eAJfnh6ziU2t_-ejkdWKAyWxSITFMZN-kYAGBu1CY3Z1iQMhyv8kZqgwbIjM/w141-h43/June%2024%20Threats.png" width="141" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And
finally, <b>threats</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;">
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Today,
as I mentioned, we’re celebrating the birth of St. John the Baptist and his
place in the history of our salvation. But we can’t forget that on another
feast day we remember his death. The greatest threat as the parish moves into
the future is the society in which we live, which is becoming almost daily more
hostile to Christianity and Christians.<o:p></o:p></span></p><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">We
encounter this threat chiefly in two forms. The most insidious is the effect on
our young people who, under the influence of social media and the entertainment
industry, are almost brainwashed into beliefs that are incompatible with
discipleship. It demands superhuman effort by our families, and our school, and
our parish to keep them united to Christ and his Church when they reject so
much of the Catholic understanding of the human person and of the family.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The
second form that this threat takes is the blatant prejudice against professing
and living the faith at work and in the public square. What was first a problem
mainly for doctors, nurses, and pharma-cists—and we have all those in the
parish—became a problem next for lawyers. Now almost no one can escape the
so-called cancel culture, whether a banker, an athlete, or a counsellor.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">This
will make ordinary churchgoing increasingly difficult. Sixteen years from now
there will be few parishioners who are not willing to suffer for their beliefs.
The others will have left us.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Christ
the Redeemer faces lesser challenges as well. These need to be acknowledged as
we look ahead. It’s increasingly difficult, in the labour market, to hire staff
of every kind, including teachers in our schools. Our location is both hidden
away, not visible to passersby, and beset by traffic problems and limited
public transit. And always the issue of housing prices casts its shadow.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2yXAE8rH4zmAXSag-PtE_XgV8tTPeWBzEPfcWDT7bSlVgD1oIZdMUD9wt1Zi6mWMX9egN09Q_nrY3lHveDn5K3WpBrfpSZdysYwGGDDGudD4RcUN-yrgpcD4tDwjHJsI3URPqdjGfsbRogSCAIlCdZ4rMX88mylHFWVfGbP4ggAuwne6U6vlC8QkDCHE/s488/June%2024%20John%20the%20Baptist.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="488" data-original-width="385" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2yXAE8rH4zmAXSag-PtE_XgV8tTPeWBzEPfcWDT7bSlVgD1oIZdMUD9wt1Zi6mWMX9egN09Q_nrY3lHveDn5K3WpBrfpSZdysYwGGDDGudD4RcUN-yrgpcD4tDwjHJsI3URPqdjGfsbRogSCAIlCdZ4rMX88mylHFWVfGbP4ggAuwne6U6vlC8QkDCHE/w194-h246/June%2024%20John%20the%20Baptist.png" width="194" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 4pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I don’t know what John the Baptist would
make of our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. He really had only
one strength, that given him by the Holy Spirit and deep-ened by prayer and
penance in the desert.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 4pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">He
had few opportunities, preaching in the wilder-ness and on the riverbank. Yet
his voice echoed with such power that the religious leaders could not ignore it
or dismiss it.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Threats,
on the other hand, he had. Like the prophets of our day, he upset the powerful.
Fulfilling his mission to be a voice crying in the wilderness cost him his
life. He was not beheaded because he proclaimed Jesus as the Lamb of God but he
was beheaded because he defended the natural law of marriage. It was the
ultimate in cancel culture.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">As
we ponder the example of John the Baptist, we can ask ourselves where we fit
ourselves in terms of our SWOT analysis of our parish. Are there some things we
might do to be part of its strengths? Could we get involved—more involved—in
overcoming the weaknesses and seizing the opportunities?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Most
of all, in our lives of prayer and worship and service, let’s think about
John’s laser focus on Jesus. John had a central message, proclaimed it
tirelessly, always keeping the attention off himself, pointing literally to the
Lord, the Lamb of God.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">John,
like King David, was a man after God’s own heart, a man who carried out God’s
wishes. The Lord now speaks to us as he spoke in the first reading. He says,
“You are my servant … in whom I will be glorified.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">God
has given every member of our parish community the same task he gave to John
the Baptist, and for the same reason. We are all called to be a light to the
nations so that salvation may reach the ends of the earth.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">It’s
a daunting task to say the least, and we will sometimes be as discouraged as
Isaiah was, feeling we laboured in vain. But the battle is the Lord’s, the Lord
who rewards us for our labours both now and in eternity.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Yes,
we face weaknesses and threats—but they are no match for our strengths and
opportunities. The parish can look to the future with hope and with confidence if
each member responds to the Lord’s call.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">It
all depends on you.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 4pt; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCB8hH3CaYTguK-y4NP4mkQRE2NZXBenAOAYxd43sqKXP3IRFqNXy9F4xZ6h09S8CvI0e9qz2rsOG39tR-hMmFS9ERNrNuW2nOJiNeQYAFKd3b7Xf5tuWYVaaxWxjF-0_tvL3yDtrIgaqyftA0JV_1h6QGvpHNkvjn0OmwVCUMmequm7sbgVPEXe2nkP4/s2155/Mass-2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="877" data-original-width="2155" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCB8hH3CaYTguK-y4NP4mkQRE2NZXBenAOAYxd43sqKXP3IRFqNXy9F4xZ6h09S8CvI0e9qz2rsOG39tR-hMmFS9ERNrNuW2nOJiNeQYAFKd3b7Xf5tuWYVaaxWxjF-0_tvL3yDtrIgaqyftA0JV_1h6QGvpHNkvjn0OmwVCUMmequm7sbgVPEXe2nkP4/w400-h163/Mass-2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>Msgr. Gregory Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07739878171006169486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9179027064458171571.post-63200484275456874272023-06-18T11:19:00.000-07:002023-06-18T11:19:55.571-07:00Calling ALL Labourers! (11.A)<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3vhj7p-XlQPLFIKegzeg1fdjXIZOwbbtMCQDkgFXY0MsxDPhv0z5VOGBvso6IIENnjvyaGmBH3abE_xeG0FE4iFU-4ZqRWdFvNf8BIDnHreIJs6xw1QQdi624IH39E5p61_dAic72jz_7OjaeKVCPilqrh4St-95jgRJ5zAcuhqZaHEBtkl1z81yU/s300/31465-Reach-Your-Community_image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3vhj7p-XlQPLFIKegzeg1fdjXIZOwbbtMCQDkgFXY0MsxDPhv0z5VOGBvso6IIENnjvyaGmBH3abE_xeG0FE4iFU-4ZqRWdFvNf8BIDnHreIJs6xw1QQdi624IH39E5p61_dAic72jz_7OjaeKVCPilqrh4St-95jgRJ5zAcuhqZaHEBtkl1z81yU/s16000/31465-Reach-Your-Community_image.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I have never been happier being a priest than I am right now. Not on my
ordination day, not as I said my first Mass.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Leaving Christ the Redeemer may be the hardest thing I have ever done, but
it’s let me see the fruit of my labours in a way I never expected. Hearing
people talk about my ministry here is the closest thing to attending my own
funeral.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">So, it would be easy to focus this homily on the need for priests. After
all, the words of Jesus in today’s Gospel were part of the prayer for vocations
we used for many decades in this Archdiocese: “The harvest is plentiful, but
the labourers are few; therefore, ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers
into his harvest.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And what better time to ask you to pray for priestly vocations than now,
when the joys of priesthood are almost overwhelming me?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But it’s not where the Holy Spirit directed me this weekend.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">God’s words from the first reading are what landed on my heart: “you
shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation.” He is speaking not to
the ordained, but to every single one of us.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">This divine call is echoed clearly in the New Testament, where St. Peter
writes “like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to
be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through
Jesus Christ" (1 Pt 2:5).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The Catechism of the Catholic Church puts it simply: “Baptism gives a
share in the common priesthood of all believers” (n. 1268).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But despite such rock-solid foundations, we’re slow to accept the idea of
the baptismal or common priesthood. We’ve tended to focus on the gift of the
ordained or ministerial priesthood, while our Protestant brothers and sisters
have emphasized the priesthood of all believers. Happily, the tide is turning.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The <a href="https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2016/10/the-priesthood-of-all-believers" target="_blank">words of a noted Protestant theologian</a> apply completely to our
Catholic Church: “ The priesthood of all believers is a call to ministry and
service; it is a barometer of the quality of the life of God’s people in the
body of Christ and of the coherence of our witness in the world, the world for
which Christ died.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I’m struck by that word ‘coherence.’ I even looked it up to understand it
better. Coherence is “the quality of being logical and consistent.” It’s when “the
parts of something fit together in a natural or reasonable way.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Is it logical when the work of an organization is carried on only by its
leaders and not by its members? Is it consistent when ordained ministers are the
only ones proclaiming good news to the world?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Is it natural or reasonable that the world’s 407,872 priests try to
evangelize or re-evangelize the world’s eight billion people? That’s about two
million people per priest.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But there are about 1.3 billion baptized Catholics in the world—more
than one for every eight people on the planet.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The math is obvious.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But it’s not only about numbers. When we become convinced of our call to
be labourers in the Lord’s harvest, we experience a new level of Christian joy,
of satisfaction with our faith.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Working alongside one another in the Lord’s field or vineyard, we
discover what the Christian life can be. Before I came to Christ the Redeemer,
I was a happy and productive priest. I had assumed I would do good work in the
Archdiocese, using my canon law training to help the Church. I was like a happy
middle-aged bachelor who was no longer thinking of getting married and starting
a family.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And then, like one of those men who marries late and discovers that fatherhood
was what he was really made for all along, I became a pastor, a shepherd, and
indeed a father.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">A similar joyful discovery is available to every single Christian ready
to sign up as a labourer—a priestly labourer—leaving the sidelines or what
Pierre Berton called the comfortable pew.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">We saw it yesterday as more than a hundred people were prayed over for
the baptism in the Holy Spirit, each of them ready for whatever God had in
store for them. I am still processing the power and wonder of it all, but I suspect
it may have been the spiritual high point of my years in the parish.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNYZ0_Z0XPErQoRhRx2VNBslz99h1TXLCwjaADRgDzQW93VDL-H2oWh3PTtvqBEOwS1ASaDHeZguAPRdr1IccS6_QwgICukAd4BziKoahNBJNvpqyuMhL_uWduWD8Enq5FyI6TgVYS9RfFKXNeZVlKo0NPe3jjFeVCHhHlNf87xCfokO-6jUbBB0Lk/s2000/pray-over-someone-how_to_pray_post.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="2000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNYZ0_Z0XPErQoRhRx2VNBslz99h1TXLCwjaADRgDzQW93VDL-H2oWh3PTtvqBEOwS1ASaDHeZguAPRdr1IccS6_QwgICukAd4BziKoahNBJNvpqyuMhL_uWduWD8Enq5FyI6TgVYS9RfFKXNeZVlKo0NPe3jjFeVCHhHlNf87xCfokO-6jUbBB0Lk/s320/pray-over-someone-how_to_pray_post.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Here’s something interesting: there were about a dozen three-person
teams praying over individuals. Thirty-six or so Catholics asking the Holy
Spirit to fill the hearts of those who came forward for prayer. One of those 36
was a priest—me. (Father Zidago was in the confessional.) The other 35 were
exercising their baptismal priesthood in a non-sacramental ministry of prayer
and intercession.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Simply unimaginable before the New Pentecost that St. John XXIII prayed
for in 1962.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">To return to the image I quoted earlier, the barometer is rising, and rising
fast, at Christ the Redeemer parish.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">In closing, we can’t forget that we are a priestly people, a priestly
kingdom, in a very particular way when we gather for the Eucharist. The ordained
priest has a unique role in the Mass, but every one of us is also exercising a
share in Christ’s priesthood as we gather at the altar.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Words from St. Leo the Great can serve as my summary today: “What is as
priestly as to dedicate a pure conscience to the Lord and to offer the spotless
offerings of devotion on the altar of the heart?”</span></p>Msgr. Gregory Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07739878171006169486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9179027064458171571.post-16768309900921571432023-06-10T18:17:00.005-07:002023-06-13T15:20:35.531-07:00Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ: June 11, 2023<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://support.rcav.org/project-advance-2023/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="215" data-original-width="901" height="95" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6cn-g9jvDu75MMg60CRXVeJE1yub5BRFNbyW8g-q_tWOwYiKfuiDqwrXSPArr_LXqk8uhDH3J4nmjAFfGTXoIyDsohAi6peEXwRtuUJozGjbYZOYKh6T2P7mI2peht_ISA1iAW4TtKPC7IOItc4V20oM9glycWSxgE1JQpO78ayVN7AmVzLoTonQx/w400-h95/PA%202023.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; mso-line-height-alt: 1.1pt; text-align: justify;"><a name="_Hlk137229430"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">On today’s Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood
of Christ, commonly known as the Feast of Corpus Christi, I’d like to talk
about … money.<o:p></o:p></span></a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; mso-line-height-alt: 1.1pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Shocked? You shouldn’t be: the
connection between the celebration of the Eucharist and the generosity of those
attending goes back to the first Christians.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; mso-line-height-alt: 1.1pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">But the connection between the
worship of God and the offering of gifts goes back much farther than that.
Sacrificial offerings are part of the history of almost all religions, even
paganism. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; mso-line-height-alt: 1.1pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The chosen people were no
exception. Recently at weekday Mass we heard the Book of Sirach say, “Do not
appear before the Lord empty-handed. Give to the Most High as he has given to
you, and as generously as you can afford”<i> </i>(cf. Sirach 35:1-15).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; mso-line-height-alt: 1.1pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Many centuries earlier, the
Book of Genesis tells the story of Abraham offering the priest-king Melchizedek
one tenth of all he had, in gratitude for victory over his enemies.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; mso-line-height-alt: 1.1pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The command to offer the first
fruits of the harvest in the Temple appears in the books of Exodus and
Deuteronomy (Ex. 23:19; Dt. 26:1–11). We see the offering of grain and bread in
Leviticus (2:14; 23:9) alongside peace offerings or communion sacrifices of
animals.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; mso-line-height-alt: 1.1pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Returning to the early Church,
we all know that the first Christians owned everything in common, sharing their
goods and possessions as they met in their houses for the breaking of bread.<i>
<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; mso-line-height-alt: 1.1pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Before I continue let me tell
you about a priest who followed a strict rule during almost 40 years as a
pastor—he spoke once a year about money, no more, no less. That’s what he’d
been taught to in the seminary. When he retired, he overheard someone say, “I’ll
miss his sermons, even though he was always talking about money”!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; mso-line-height-alt: 1.1pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">To be honest, I’d consider it
a compliment if someone said that about me, because I haven’t talked enough
about this subject. And I think I’ve made it clear that those who think that
priests shouldn’t talk about money haven’t got a biblical leg to stand on. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; mso-line-height-alt: 1.1pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">But to those who still find it
a bit shocking to hear me preaching about money on this Solemnity of the Most
Holy Body and Blood of Christ, I want to point you to the tabernacle. Of all
the changes to the church, from the new meeting rooms, outdoor deck, beautiful
new doors, etc., nothing’s more important than what you see behind me: the
renovations that placed the tabernacle in the heart of our sanctuary.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; mso-line-height-alt: 1.1pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The tabernacle housing the
real presence of Christ whom we revere on this feast day is now at the center
of our attention, second only to the altar where we celebrate his saving
sacrifice.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; mso-line-height-alt: 1.1pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">So, what’s the location of the
tabernacle got to do with money?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; mso-line-height-alt: 1.1pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I’ll answer the question with
a question. How were the extensive sanctuary renovations paid for?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; mso-line-height-alt: 1.1pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The same way everything else
I’ve mentioned was paid for: by your generosity to Project Advance. We didn’t
draw on a savings account, nor were there any huge individual benefactors. Our
annual fundraising campaign funded each of the projects I’ve mentioned and many
others. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; mso-line-height-alt: 1.1pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Although the tabernacle is
easy to point to while I’m talking about fundraising on this Eucharistic feast
day, let’s not forget that Project Advance has also supported the growth of our
spiritual communion with one another. By funding evangelization, youth
ministry, and community-building projects it has helped call us together in
communion with God and with one another.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; mso-line-height-alt: 1.1pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">On top of this, the annual
campaign has funded much of our charitable work and giving. It has helped
refugees, needy people on the North Shore, women in crisis, Catholic education,
Pro-Life, and many other good works. This, too, is connected to our Sunday celebration.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; mso-line-height-alt: 1.1pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Have you ever wondered why the
deacon stands beside the priest at Mass? The first deacons were ordained to aid
with the daily distribution of food to the poor when the Apostles, who presided
at the Eucharist, could no longer manage. The deacon at the altar reminds us of
the connection between our worship and our charity (cf. Acts 6:1-6). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; mso-line-height-alt: 1.1pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Today I hope we will “consider
not only what Jesus is offering us in the gift of the Eucharist but to also
consider our response to that gift.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; mso-line-height-alt: 1.1pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">As the American Bishop Daniel
Mueggenborg has written, “When we receive Communion and say ‘amen’ to the Body
of Christ we are not only professing our belief in the reality of the Eucharist
but are also stating our commitment to live that reality in what we say and do”
(<i>Come Follow Me</i>, p. 138).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; mso-line-height-alt: 1.1pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">There are countless ways to
live that reality—from the smallest acts of charity to the greatest of
sacrifices. Today I am just saying that your generosity to Project Advance is
one of them and that it’s a form of charity that, like the Mass itself, is not
individual but part of our common response to Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; mso-line-height-alt: 1.1pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I’m not sure why <a href="https://support.rcav.org/project-advance-2023/" target="_blank">Project Advance</a> has had a slow start this year. Our projects are certainly attractive: in
the first place, the campaign will subsidize the eighteen young adults who are
going to World Youth Day in Portugal. It’s pretty well unaffordable otherwise. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; mso-line-height-alt: 1.1pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">It will also support the Talitha
Koum Society and Spectrum Mothers Support Society in their work with women who
are in recovery or dealing with the challenges after childbirth.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; mso-line-height-alt: 1.1pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">We will acknowledge the
important place that Alpha, CCO, and Divine Renovation that played in the
renewal of our parish by donations to these ministries.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; mso-line-height-alt: 1.1pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And, if the campaign takes off,
we will be able to set aside funds for the replacement of the tired and fraying
carpets in the church.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; mso-line-height-alt: 1.1pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">A wise priest never tries to
make people feel guilty about the level of their giving. Only gratitude fuels
Christian stewardship. As Psalm 116 asks: “How can I repay the Lord for his
goodness to me?” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; mso-line-height-alt: 1.1pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The answer is we can’t! We
can’t. But we can at least do our best to show God where our heart is.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; mso-line-height-alt: 1.1pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"> </span></p></div></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk137229430;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW5EYeEFdL2RIJae23BY8YvHDfPKc4zKnwaX7AV7nkvpEp3QHA6EidyseOCzpDZJMmUUtGoMLkHZZkPgYQp_l7Pux_wNK_ZjGno07XbNHP4PhIoPh16HNibjFGpASD5MuRXSzreBk-4ZgT80yk_WYFwpXx3s68kuqcDlJ8HGNheFVBI_Hm1eufUYs1/s825/Corpus+Christi+Sunday.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="825" height="91" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW5EYeEFdL2RIJae23BY8YvHDfPKc4zKnwaX7AV7nkvpEp3QHA6EidyseOCzpDZJMmUUtGoMLkHZZkPgYQp_l7Pux_wNK_ZjGno07XbNHP4PhIoPh16HNibjFGpASD5MuRXSzreBk-4ZgT80yk_WYFwpXx3s68kuqcDlJ8HGNheFVBI_Hm1eufUYs1/w200-h91/Corpus+Christi+Sunday.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br /><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk137229430;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span><p></p>
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk137229430;"></span>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Msgr. Gregory Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07739878171006169486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9179027064458171571.post-33962937385713023542023-06-03T16:41:00.004-07:002023-06-04T19:07:33.120-07:00A Book Sale on Trinity Sunday!<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVBL8Kd4a5sp4c-ZKthGWLAjY8tkffXj1QBaTip6WM0ozzhicrtn-VSto7ICKZT2A5JOq_T4Mz7QqYNJ62e2w5QAN0OkWB2ZbMZ4NRhYlVrrYAD9DBOTc1fwHJ6_Oc-LXZHraboiwhPLJGOmgNWhuZJSLMIfGvpLNyNNxGvmijExaZNHOPhTiHgbIw/s600/41kU5uH7UwL._AC_UL600_SR600,600_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVBL8Kd4a5sp4c-ZKthGWLAjY8tkffXj1QBaTip6WM0ozzhicrtn-VSto7ICKZT2A5JOq_T4Mz7QqYNJ62e2w5QAN0OkWB2ZbMZ4NRhYlVrrYAD9DBOTc1fwHJ6_Oc-LXZHraboiwhPLJGOmgNWhuZJSLMIfGvpLNyNNxGvmijExaZNHOPhTiHgbIw/s320/41kU5uH7UwL._AC_UL600_SR600,600_.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;">We are having a book sale today to support our parish pilgrims heading off to World Youth Day next month. I had decided it was time to downsize my personal library.
To tell the truth, I didn’t have much choice—there’s no room for two-thirds of
my books in my new home.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;">It’s been painful. Letting go of books given to me by
friends now deceased, books inscribed to me by their authors, and books that
remind me of my failures, like “Teach Yourself New Testament Greek” or “Lose
Twenty Pounds in Just Three Weeks”!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;">But it’s also been prayerful. Some of these books are
milestones on my spiritual journey. Some have helped me develop my adult view
of life and love.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;">This is why there are some books I’ll never give away.
At the top of the list is one that a dear priest friend gave me when I entered
the seminary, called <i>The Spiritual Life of the Priest</i>, by an Irish abbot
named <a href="https://www.amazon.ca/Dom-Eugene-Boylan-Trappist-Writer-ebook/dp/B0881V5N3D/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2LYYPARLEEAJ4&keywords=Eugene+Boylan&qid=1685835631&sprefix=eugene+boylan%2Caps%2C168&sr=8-2" target="_blank">Eugene Boylan</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;">In that book I discovered the best-kept secret of our
Catholic faith: that “God, by grace, resides in the soul as in a temple, in a
most intimate… manner.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;">Those aren’t even Abbot Boylan’s words; he’s quoting
an <a href="https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_09051897_divinum-illud-munus.html" target="_blank">encyclical on the Holy Spirit by Pope Leo XIII</a>. In other words, the teaching
that rocked me wasn’t anything new; it’s solid Catholic teaching. But no one
ever told me about it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;">This teaching may be called the indwelling of the Holy
Trinity in the Christian soul.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;">The abbot states this awesome truth in simple words:
“When a soul… is in a state of grace, when a soul is supernaturally alive, God
is in that soul.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;">“He dwells in our souls, giving them life, making them
share in some way in his own nature.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;">Now this is a teaching with consequences. Leo XIII
said that the presence of the Trinity unites the soul “more so than a friend is
united to his most loving and devoted friend, and enjoys God in all fulness and
sweetness.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;">It doesn’t get any better than that this side of
heaven. So why don’t we talk more about the indwelling presence? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;">“Children seem to get it,” one Catholic blogger
observed. “They seem to understand that God dwells in their hearts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, if you asked them how they know
this they may look at you with a confused look and not know how to
respond.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But somehow they do understand
that God dwells within them.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;">For adults it may take a bit more thought. God’s
ultimate plan is our eternal unity with him. But the Catechism of the Catholic
Church tells us that “even now we are called to be a dwelling for the Most Holy
Trinity” and it offers the words of Jesus as proof: “Those who love me will
keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make
our home with them.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium;">Eugene Boylan says we have sound authority for believing
that we should enjoy God in our souls. But he asks, “what about our practice?”
Do we in fact enjoy Him? Certainly we can’t if we don’t recognize him.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;">Today’s feast is our invitation to acknowledge and
welcome the divine presence within us—to take a big step on our spiritual
journey if we haven’t already.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;">The one-sentence summary of my short homily on this
Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity comes straight from <i>The Spiritual Life of
the Priest</i> but it applies to every single baptized person: “We look for God
outside of ourselves, and all the time he is within.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;">I am sure each of us is aware that God is fully
present to us every time we receive Holy Communion. But let’s never forget that
after his divine presence in our bodies is gone, his divinity remains in our
souls—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.</span></p>Msgr. Gregory Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07739878171006169486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9179027064458171571.post-20435938424552691202023-05-13T17:03:00.005-07:002023-05-14T16:03:33.467-07:00Put out into the deep... (Easter 6.A)<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7E8KjTX7H-iSn79k8KsIPvWAgSdj3AYn-LDoKoGVbCprkR2o5rkc-AL3DsLcGOwaTPth05-YHudk9a53B5FkAJpXlKeQpKze7vRmaCtdOHmPDssG6XdSDglnS1JpIEdbmF1jY-9o5hIUQPaDrQe_B2AYY8bTo5eFMLmQNCGx60OzkQpn82cgnzlcK/s522/into-the-deep-2.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="373" data-original-width="522" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7E8KjTX7H-iSn79k8KsIPvWAgSdj3AYn-LDoKoGVbCprkR2o5rkc-AL3DsLcGOwaTPth05-YHudk9a53B5FkAJpXlKeQpKze7vRmaCtdOHmPDssG6XdSDglnS1JpIEdbmF1jY-9o5hIUQPaDrQe_B2AYY8bTo5eFMLmQNCGx60OzkQpn82cgnzlcK/w400-h286/into-the-deep-2.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><a name="_Hlk134958641"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Every Saturday morning a good friend and I go walking
in Coal Harbour—from the foot of Denman Street to Canada Place and back.<o:p></o:p></span></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">On our way we pass two large marinas
at which beautiful boats of every shape, size, and description are moored.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">But we’ve noticed something. We never
see a single craft leave its berth. Not one boat heading out into the sunshine,
even on glorious days like today.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">This morning it hit me: could we in
the Church be a bit like that? We are blessed with something beautiful and
powerful—our Catholic faith. And we’re in the boat, which is a word often used
to describe the Church. We’re on board.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">But might we be like those boat
owners who just can’t get out of their comfort zone to start the engine or run
up the sails—to push off from the dock?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Because you need to set sail to
really experience the excitement of a sunny day on the water, the joy of riding
the waves, the natural splendour all around.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">So, there’s my question for everyone
here today. Has life in the Church been exhilarating for you? Have you ever had
an experience that compared to feeling the wind in your hair as you skimmed
over the waves, with sun and blue sky overhead? <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Well, those are only analogies, so
let me be more direct. Do the words of today’s Gospel resonate in your hearts? Have
you experienced God abiding with you and in you?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">What if I asked young people why they
stopped attending Mass in the years immediately after their Confirmation? I’m
almost sure that many would answer “because it didn’t make any difference.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Pope Francis has said “There are
Christians whose lives seem like Lent without Easter.” Which makes me ask: Are
there Christians whose lives are like Easter without Pentecost?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">But let me come back to the owners of
those berthed boats. Should they ever ask me to preach on the dock, I’m ready
with a Scripture text: the words of Jesus to St. Peter in the Gospel of Luke, “put
out into the deep” (5:4). <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">That’s what Christ the Redeemer parish
is inviting you to do next weekend and beyond—to put out into the deep so that
you can find a richer Christian life, what you may have been missing while sitting
on the dock. We’re offering you what those believers in Samaria experienced
when Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy
Spirit.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Now let’s take a time out for a
moment of sacramental theology. “The apostles’ practice of laying hands on new
believers to impart the Holy Spirit,” as we heard in today’s first reading from
Acts, “is regarded by Catholic tradition as the origin of the sacrament of confirmation,
which completes baptism and ‘in a certain way perpetuates the grace of
Pentecost in the Church’” as the Catechism says (Catholic Commentary on Sacred
Scripture, <i>Acts of the Apostles</i>, 143).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">We’re not inviting you to be
confirmed—most of you already are. (Of course, if you aren’t, do let me know
and we can talk about that.) <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">But what we are offering is the
experience of what you’ve already received in Baptism and Confirmation. Call it
a new Pentecost—an opportunity to realize the effects of these sacraments.
Every one of us calls God our Father when we say the Lord’s Prayer; but all too
often we live like orphans.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Jesus promises that the Father will
send us the Spirit. He calls the Spirit “another Advocate,” because Jesus is an
Advocate also, who pleads our cause and intercedes for us. He says the Spirit
will not only remain with us but be <i>in</i> us. We will not only <i>know</i>
the Father’s love, but also <i>experience</i> it.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Certainly, in Confirmation we were
given the grace the Lord promises. But many Catholics never experienced that
grace at an affective and effective level.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">What do we do about that?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">In recent years the Church has come
to understand what is usually called the Baptism in the Holy Spirit as
something distinct from the Sacrament of Confirmation.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, the
Preacher to the Papal Household explains it like this: <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .25in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 6.0pt; margin: 6pt 0.5in 0in 0.25in; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The Baptism
in the Spirit is not a sacrament, but it is related to a sacrament, to several
sacraments in fact—to the sacraments of Christian initiation. The Baptism in the
Spirit makes real and, in a way, renews Christian initiation.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 6.0pt; margin: 6pt 0.5in 0in 0in; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Another Cardinal, Paul Jozef Cordes,
points out that while the term “Baptism in the Holy Spirit is common in
English, French and Italian speakers refer to “Outpouring of the Spirit.” Whatever
it is called, he says it is “a concrete experience of the ‘Grace of Pentecost,’
in which the working of the Holy Spirit becomes an experienced reality in the
life of the individual and the community.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 6.0pt; margin: 6pt 0.5in 0in 0in; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">He says that this experience is the
certain and sometimes overwhelming ‘realization’ of the loving nearness of God
proclaimed in the Church’s message and encountered in the individual act of
faith.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">How can this be? How can a sacrament
received so many years ago come back to life with explosive energy, as often
happens through the Baptism in the Holy Spirit? Cardinal Cantalamessa refers to
Catholic sacramental theology which teaches that the fruit of a sacrament can
be “tied”—the sacraments are not magical rituals that act without the person’s
knowledge or response. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">They bear fruit when human freedom cooperates
with the divine grace. As St. Augustine said, “The one who created you without
your cooperation, will not save without your cooperation.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I’m not trying to explain all this
today. But the truth is that many of us know that our Christian lives should be
much more of an adventure than they are. Deep down, we want to experience, and not
just believe, the promises Jesus makes in today’s Gospel of the life-changing
gift of the Spirit.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">My one sentence summary is just a
question: Do you want more? Because there’s more on the way—in just a week the
dynamic Bishop Scott McCaig will be here to preach our Holy Spirit Mission. The
Mission begins Saturday afternoon at 2:00, ending with the Saturday 5:00 Mass celebrated
by the bishop.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">By the time the mission is over you’ll
be able to decide for yourself whether you’re ready to “put out into the deep.”
The parish team will make sure the boat’s ready for you two days later. Our
first-ever Life in the Spirit Seminar, which is a preparation for the Baptism
in the Holy Spirit, begins on Tuesday May 23 at 7:00 pm.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">This dramatic moment in the history
of our parish may, for some, feel like boating on a choppy sea. After all, no
one ever got seasick on a boat that’s tied up. But as I’ve said, they missed
out on the excitement—and there’s nothing more exciting than what God has in
store for those who love him.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">So join us and find out what he has
for you.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;">
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt3f3FSWbB9MeXdi0eo1fFHjVgTr27mcT42CUYrf6tCO9fF20dASKSaX136Fv9jVOyN6PHpdII1E26aaBnbJAwVZjUZDv_MxjXqwGVvf4iMtK1QPzb0bWT8BAkbWjYNJLkyXO83E0AcNroaJaJSQutgjH76J8b1lNoOP7_qamFf7hrN7EPx26Ya8Xq/s596/Another%20Advocate.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="353" data-original-width="596" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt3f3FSWbB9MeXdi0eo1fFHjVgTr27mcT42CUYrf6tCO9fF20dASKSaX136Fv9jVOyN6PHpdII1E26aaBnbJAwVZjUZDv_MxjXqwGVvf4iMtK1QPzb0bWT8BAkbWjYNJLkyXO83E0AcNroaJaJSQutgjH76J8b1lNoOP7_qamFf7hrN7EPx26Ya8Xq/s320/Another%20Advocate.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span><p></p><br /><p></p>Msgr. Gregory Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07739878171006169486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9179027064458171571.post-66585841140549482312023-05-11T14:17:00.003-07:002023-05-11T14:17:46.564-07:00First Words at Holy Name of Jesus Parish<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiLPKnZezVkmfukS3wEWb2jfOTbJfZoF0GvKz-lkkK6mkNCIeWY5PIAQCmlGU6_an8_OFBq184qyLN_5A1A1uBL9KnrYbaGerJ_HE4_Mi5M2LWv6UMur5ZibvgncpU61ymQ2v93JR9fR9L7yHJv3YnxWmERuVM0bLX6_E8We_qluHTm2kQzZV1ukkM/s652/Holy%20Name%20front%20-%205.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="454" data-original-width="652" height="279" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiLPKnZezVkmfukS3wEWb2jfOTbJfZoF0GvKz-lkkK6mkNCIeWY5PIAQCmlGU6_an8_OFBq184qyLN_5A1A1uBL9KnrYbaGerJ_HE4_Mi5M2LWv6UMur5ZibvgncpU61ymQ2v93JR9fR9L7yHJv3YnxWmERuVM0bLX6_E8We_qluHTm2kQzZV1ukkM/w400-h279/Holy%20Name%20front%20-%205.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="line-height: 115%;">Although I
will not become pastor until mid-July, I visited my new parish this weekend to
celebrate First Holy Communion with eight children. I preached a special homily
for them, of course, but at the other Masses I gave the homily below. I will be
back to celebrate Confirmation at Pentecost, but otherwise generous replacement
priests will hold the fort in the meantime.</span></i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Catholics
in Toronto have something in common with the members of Holy Name of Jesus
Parish in Vancouver—they are both welcoming new shepherds. Of course, the new pastor
in Toronto is a bishop! But that’s not the only difference. Archbishop Frank
Leo is 24 years younger than his predecessor, while I am about that much older
than mine!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">On
top of that, Toronto’s new shepherd has a great big head of curly black hair while
I have... well, you can see for yourself.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I
am mentioning this not only because the contrasts are fascinating, but because
I intend to shamelessly borrow from Archbishop Leo’s homily at his Mass of
installation in Toronto. That’s the bad news. The good news is that my homily
will only be one-quarter the length of his.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Archbishop
Leo’s first thought was the same as mine: gratitude. Gratitude to God for the
faith that unites us, the salvation that we celebrate, and the joy that we
share.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Gratitude
to Archbishop Miller who has entrusted this parish family to my care. And
gratitude to Father Rodney who in his time at Holy Name did much good. I
particularly wish him good health and spiritual blessings.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The
young archbishop went on to introduce himself to his new flock. I can’t really
introduce myself to you without making some reference to our first reading,
which tells about the call of the first deacons. Only once every three years do
we hear this reading on a Sunday, so today is very special for me, because
deacons are very special to me. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">It
has been a great privilege for me to have served as the first Director of the
Permanent Diaconate Office in the Archdiocese, and to have implemented Archbishop
Miller’s vision for the ministry of permanent deacons from the very beginning.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">My
new assignment as Vicar General means I must sadly give up the
diaconate this summer, but I will certainly never lose sight of the importance
of this ministry to the Church. I wasn’t completely convinced at the start, but
then I read what Saint Ignatius of Antioch, martyred in 107, wrote. He said “one
cannot speak of the Church” without the deacons, the bishop, and the priests (St.
Ignatius of Antioch, <i>Ad Trall.</i>, 3,1).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The effective restoration of this order through the permanent diaconate is a tremendous gift
to the Church throughout the world and to our own Archdiocese. During my years at
Christ the Redeemer three parishioners applied to become deacons; one was
ordained and the other will be ordained in a year. I have every hope that Holy Name
will beat Christ the Redeemer’s record during the coming years.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I
also hope and pray it will be possible at some point that we will have the
support of a deacon in this parish, given my other responsibilities and the
importance of this ministry.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Archbishop
Leo said that there were certainly going to be many questions in the minds of
those he is called to lead and serve. “Who is he? What’s his story? What makes
him tick?” I can’t answer all that today, but you already know that I do have a
very significant time commitment to the Archdiocese, one that I have prepared
for during many years studying canon law, the law that guides the Church. So Holy
Name will need to share me with the Pastoral Centre, just as Christ the Redeemer
did with the Permanent Diaconate Office.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I
felt that the parishioners of Christ Redeemer were blessed by my dual role in
many ways and I am confident that the same will be true for you. God always
repays our generosity to His Church.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">And
of course I want to know who <i>you</i> are! What your story is, and what makes
this community tick. You’ll need to be patient with me “as I strive in the
coming months, and hopefully years, to understand more deeply the strengths and
weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges” of this parish community. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">So
that’s another way of saying that I don’t have an agenda! As Archbishop Leo
told Torontonians, I will take the necessary time to come to know you, and to
listen to you. I want to learn from you about the history of Holy Name, its diversity,
changing trends, and new challenges. I have already seen ministries which exist
and are thriving and I am filled with hope and gratitude.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">But
even though I do not have a personal agenda, there are some aspects of parish
life that are already clear, and which will not change. We are called to
outreach—to concern for the poor and refugees; we are called to defend human
life at every stage from conception to natural death; to promote and strengthen
marriage and the family; to draw youth and young adults into the heart of
parish life; to cooperate with Catholic healthcare and education; to work for
reconciliation with indigenous communities; to protect children and vulnerable
adults and prevent all forms of abuse; and now, more than ever, to evangelize—to
proclaim the Gospel to those who have not heard it. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Although
by the time I become pastor the Easter season will be over, these days of
listening to the apostles preaching in the Acts of the Apostles have been a
wonderful reminder to me that we need to proclaim what we believe and not to
keep it to ourselves.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Cardinal
Raniero Cantalamessa, the preacher to the papal household, reminds us that two
occupations were central to the lives of the apostles. Jesus called them to be
shepherds, and showed them what a good shepherd looks like. But he also called them
to be fishers of men. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">It’s
often easier to be shepherds rather than fisherman—to nourish and care for
those who already come to church rather than to go out in search of those who are
far away. The Cardinal says the parable of the lost sheep is reversed today: ninety-nine
have strayed and only one remains in the sheepfold. “The danger is that we
spend all our time nourishing the remaining one and have no time ... to go out
and search for the lost ones” (Raniero <a name="_Hlk134333214">Cantalamessa</a>,
<i>Navigating the New Evangelization</i>, pp. 49-50).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Not
surprisingly, Cardinal Cantalamessa says that the laity’s contribution to this
massive task is providential—and I would add, essential.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Holy
Name of Jesus is possibly the parish most filled with potential in the entire
Archdiocese. The development that has already happened up and down Cambie
Street, the massive Oakridge Park project eight blocks away, and the
development of the former RCMP property three blocks away will bring a surge of
new residents to our community—new residents, who will in many ways be
different from the old ones.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">How
do we prepare for such a daunting task? Pope Francis makes it somewhat simple,
as he often does. He says there are three challenges to evangelizing today,
first, to make Jesus known; second, to witness to him; and third, fraternity.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">As
I’ve already suggested, the first challenge requires that we return to the
initial proclamation of the Gospel—to communicate the core message of Jesus with
such programs as ALPHA. Archbishop Leo adds that this calls for “pastoral
creativity” that can reach people where they are living—not waiting for them to
come.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Proclaiming
the Gospel demands that we be credible. And there is the second challenge the Pope
gives us: witness. The Gospel is preached effectively when how we live and act
is in line with what we say. We must begin with ourselves, showing respect for
each and every individual. Effective witnesses are like living Gospels that all
can read.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">And
finally the third challenge is fraternity, or, if you prefer, community. As
Jesus said, “by this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have
love for one another” (John 13:35). In the early Church, Tertullian tells us
how non-believers reacted to the witness of Christians. “See how they love one
another,” they would say. If our own community does not mirror the communion of
the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, if it is not capable of quality relationships
and respectful dialogue, the words we preach to others and even to ourselves,
will ring hollow. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Toward
the end of his remarkable homily, Archbishop Leo called his appointment to
Toronto “an arranged marriage, with Pope Francis as the matchmaker.” Something
of the sort could be said of my impending arrival here, with Archbishop Miller
as our matchmaker.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">With
arranged marriages it is hoped that in due time the spouses get to know each
other and then come to love one another. Archbishop Leo reminded the people of
Toronto that since he was 51 years old he had about a quarter of a century for
them to get to know one another and fall in love.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">We
don’t have that much time! We’ll have to make the process move a little more
quickly. But what Archbishop Leo said about his situation is true of ours: “as
in all successful marriages, commitment, and patience, forgiveness and sacrifice
will be required.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">This
welcome chance to say hello to you is also something of a “goodbye for now”: until
my appointment here becomes effective in the middle of July I am still
responsible for Christ the Redeemer and the diaconate. I will be back on
Pentecost Sunday for the Confirmation of our young people, but other than that
my existing commitments require that I simply keep an eye on the parish while
generous replacement priests provide you with the pastoral care you need.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">I know that you will continue to pray for me,
and for one another, as I will for you, until the day when we are indeed a family
together.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihd1DhmLz0D4C9o80qtrhMm3_AnCaTiBvrJ2tjECQkUXSNH5z3r8-f8Ba12TFM07fX_2YX82PB-F3Op2T5_MnYG9G1riEl4FDAI8owBGY5LhUYfs7bID8y0Qg3xReo4gc_kJIAgC-yihvKPgNRx8c7GdUTO421zUC0B3dRjQapo2jYCl7wJtHho_c3/s320/Abp%20Leo.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="254" data-original-width="320" height="159" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihd1DhmLz0D4C9o80qtrhMm3_AnCaTiBvrJ2tjECQkUXSNH5z3r8-f8Ba12TFM07fX_2YX82PB-F3Op2T5_MnYG9G1riEl4FDAI8owBGY5LhUYfs7bID8y0Qg3xReo4gc_kJIAgC-yihvKPgNRx8c7GdUTO421zUC0B3dRjQapo2jYCl7wJtHho_c3/w200-h159/Abp%20Leo.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">Archbishop Francis Leo</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">Installed as Archbishop of Toronto March 25, 2023</span></div><br /><p></p><p></p>Msgr. Gregory Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07739878171006169486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9179027064458171571.post-41868947940671570362023-04-09T15:14:00.002-07:002023-04-09T15:14:45.934-07:00Easter Afternoon 2023<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil0IRsRXTEWi75ME6GQQyDkN123DTVU8A_1cgfVOZT7HqHskJAPsTj881F1mNqi6eTa6wNjq7_E3-s_VDAXIxdqEcbrN-XwbULdZpoas-XLwq0aZ2jBb3UzrK1XRuc2OR_aSmV8hW3J-juBfxk2Jw5auiixOauaX97WCj0w_s-aLEky93Fh3VMBf6W/s1000/JC155_1000x500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="1000" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil0IRsRXTEWi75ME6GQQyDkN123DTVU8A_1cgfVOZT7HqHskJAPsTj881F1mNqi6eTa6wNjq7_E3-s_VDAXIxdqEcbrN-XwbULdZpoas-XLwq0aZ2jBb3UzrK1XRuc2OR_aSmV8hW3J-juBfxk2Jw5auiixOauaX97WCj0w_s-aLEky93Fh3VMBf6W/w400-h200/JC155_1000x500.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #002060; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Let’s go for a
walk!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #002060; font-size: 14pt;">Don’t worry, you
can stay in your pew—it’s probably raining outside anyway.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #002060; font-size: 14pt;">But let’s join
the mysterious stranger and two bedraggled disciples along the dusty road to
Emmaus. We know that one of them was called Cleopas; let’s imagine you’re the
other.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #002060; font-size: 14pt;">It shouldn’t be
all that difficult. Haven’t we all had days—or weeks, or months, or even
years—when we felt that life had let us down—that God had let us down?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #002060; font-size: 14pt;">The two
disciples were, like us, people of faith. They’d opened their heart to the
message of Jesus; they’d put their hope in him for their future and for the
future of their people.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #002060; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><o:p>N</o:p></span><span style="color: #002060; font-size: 14pt;">ow, nothing but
confusion and uncertainty. Stories they found hard to believe.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #002060; font-size: 14pt;">What first
happened on the road was simple and can happen to us without drama. A master
teacher showed those two how the Scriptures applied to their experience. He let
them see that the prophecies of ancient times, which they knew well from
childhood, were true and able to explain the unexplainable.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #002060; font-size: 14pt;">It’s something
modern folk need—which is why the Alpha course in Christianity goes out of its
way to talk about how Jesus fulfilled the prophecies of the Old Testament.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #002060; font-size: 14pt;">Jesus showed the
confused pair the way that the Jewish Bible made sense of the events they’d
experienced. Knowing the texts wasn’t enough for them: they needed to
understand and apply them concretely.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #002060; font-size: 14pt;">Like the two
disciples, we need to allow the Holy Spirit to instruct us in the truths of
Scripture. Just listening to the readings at Mass—just listening to the homily,
for that matter—is not enough. Although Jesus was the teacher, the Spirit was
at work on the road to Emmaus—that’s why the disciples hearts started to
burn</span><span style="color: #002060; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="color: #002060; font-size: 14pt;">within them.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #002060; font-size: 14pt;">And that’s not
all. After what must have been hours of instruction, Cleopas and his companion
still didn’t know their teacher. They knew the Bible a lot better but did not
know Jesus.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #002060; font-size: 14pt;">What happened to
change that? It’s described perfectly: they recognized Jesus in the breaking of
the bread—in a Eucharistic encounter.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #002060; font-size: 14pt;">There’s our own
Sunday experience in a nutshell. We break open the Word of God so that we might
understand the Scriptures. Then we break the bread, celebrating Christ’s
sacrificial meal.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #002060; font-size: 14pt;">Strengthened by
Word and Sacrament, today and every Sunday we recognize Jesus and join the
disciples of every age in proclaiming “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has
appeared to Simon!”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #002060; font-size: 14pt;">Here in this
parish, and throughout the world in the Church, we celebrate Easter every
Sunday. Like the disciples on their way to Emmaus, we sit at table with the
Lord. So, I’ll offer just one key thought that applies to all of us, regular
Mass-goers or not: At Sunday Mass we can find answers to our confusion,
remedies to our problems, and consolation for our hearts.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #002060; font-size: 14pt;">Our eyes will be
opened, and our hearts will burn, if we will stay on the road with Jesus.</span></p><br /><p></p>Msgr. Gregory Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07739878171006169486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9179027064458171571.post-28221608748125558992023-04-08T18:03:00.001-07:002023-04-09T07:46:51.975-07:00CHRIST IS RISEN, ALLELUIA! ALLELUIA! (Easter Vigil 2023)<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6UWSv_RwNwGJ9U4qZy2fbdbtbHGWk75LH0FBFbiIBSatc7QjUu3309EMv8izklnti25cFyUUeAHJLWhh-tcsx2jo_wklgUWn-e3UrJRtAl8Uz2bOeS3IwhBJmGT0nBgclEcgulwpGqsz0tqxIxfv11ovk859QZNQE4H4B7qQcPLLQ6S4l8T48r3_K/s1781/maffa.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1194" data-original-width="1781" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6UWSv_RwNwGJ9U4qZy2fbdbtbHGWk75LH0FBFbiIBSatc7QjUu3309EMv8izklnti25cFyUUeAHJLWhh-tcsx2jo_wklgUWn-e3UrJRtAl8Uz2bOeS3IwhBJmGT0nBgclEcgulwpGqsz0tqxIxfv11ovk859QZNQE4H4B7qQcPLLQ6S4l8T48r3_K/w400-h269/maffa.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Olivia, Chelsea, Sara, Dara, and Britanny</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">, you are
about to become a statistic!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">That
doesn’t sound flattering, I know. Nobody wants to be a mere statistic. But
tonight it’s wonderful and important, not only for you, but for the whole
Church.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">An
</span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://www.strathroyagedispatch.com/news/canada/canadians-faith-in-god-religion-poll" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">opinion poll</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">
published on Wednesday found that only 49.3 per cent of your fellow Canadians
answered “strongly” or “somewhat” when asked whether they believe in God.
Already you have responded with a with a strong “yes” to the question.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">But
that’s just a start to your new place in Canadian society.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Sad
as it is to know that half of the population doesn’t believe that God exists, it
isn’t particularly new—the figure hasn’t changed much over the past few years.
And I wasn’t surprised that it’s common for Canadians to believe in God and
feel unattached to their religion. We’ve all heard someone say, “I’m spiritual
but not religious.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">But
the poll reports something astonishing: many Canadians doubt that God exists,
even to the point of atheism, while still feeling closely attached to their
religion.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I
never thought I’d hear “I’m religious but not spiritual.” Yet apparently some
people can question their belief in God without questioning their religion,
according to the president of the Canadian Studies Association that
commissioned the research.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The
poll also measured attachment to religious groups. Three-quarters of Sikhs and
40 per cent of Jews say they are very attached. Tragically, Catholics come out
last. Just 17.8 per cent said they felt “very attached” to their religion.
(Remember, of course, that these are self-identified Catholic respondents, not
the average people in the pew.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Tonight,
you will stand before family, friends, and this community to profess not only
your faith in God but your faith in his Church—your personal decision to become
part of a community that has been called “a messy family.” As on a wedding day, you are promising to be faithful in good times and in bad; you are joining with
all your heart that 17.9 per cent minority and doing so with eyes wide open.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Whether
through Baptism or entering into full communion with the Church, you are taking
a big risk. But unlike those who became Catholics as infants, you won’t be able
to say you weren’t warned.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The
very first reading of our long Vigil, from the Book of Genesis, already presents
a challenge to modern Christians, in just one sentence: “God created man in his
image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” As
you know, holding fast to this truth, once universally accepted, can now lead
you to misunderstanding and even persecution.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The
second reading tells you that God can be very demanding. He does not always act
in the way humans expect. Doing what God asks can be painful. That’s why it’s
important not to miss the last sentence of the reading, which promises great
blessings to those who obey God’s voice. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Our
third reading, the story of the Exodus, also sounds a note of warning for those
who wish to be faithful Christians and for you five joining the Church tonight.
The modern Pharaohs and their armies may well come after you as you follow the
pillar of fire toward freedom and God’s plan for you.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">At
this point, you might be thinking that I am trying to frighten or discourage
you. I want to reassure you that you are not only going to face challenges: you
are also becoming part of a religion that has over many centuries “inspired the
greatest achievements of the human creative mind” as columnist Rex Murphy said
in today’s National Post.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">He
says “Religion is so often disparaged. Easy minds cast easy abuse at its
failings and faults. With some justification.” But he goes on to celebrate the
work of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>artists, composers, musicians,
writers, and poets who were inspired by their Christian belief. To which I might add missionaries, teachers, philanthropists... and martyrs.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Rex
Murphy, not a practicing Catholic as far as I know, concludes by saying Easter is
a time to be “eternally, grateful” for centuries of inspiration, beauty, and
excellence.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">So,
dear friends, even as Christians in this modern den of lions you will have your
admirers and defenders. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">But
back to Exodus. The story begins with a flight from Pharaoh’s chariots; but it
ends in victory and triumph. That’s beautifully underlined by the song of
victory that followed the reading: “Let us sing to the Lord, he has covered
himself in glory.” The Lord is sovereign, mighty, and victorious: if we join
his people in leaving Egypt for the Promised Land, he will look after us on the
journey.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The
fifth reading offers the same assurances but in more detail and in gentler
language. However, it too challenges you who are about to be baptized and
confirmed. Though the reading is rich in promises, it also asks some very pointed
questions.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Why
do you spend money for that which is not bread? Why do you work for that which
doesn’t satisfy?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">This
prophecy from Isaiah tells us we must think the way God thinks, not the way the
world thinks, because God’s thoughts are not ours, and the world’s thoughts are
not his. The life of faith requires a new set of values and a new attitude,
even to ordinary things, such as finances and work. When we are baptized we put
on Christ, as St. Paul says to the Galatians (Gal 3:27). He tells the
Corinthians that this means having the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">This
really may be the hardest thing of all for the young modern Catholic. Thanks to
massive changes in the world, this is probably the smartest generation in
history when it comes to knowledge and information. But it seems we have lost
much wisdom along the way. Happily, among the gifts of the Holy Spirit that
you, our catechumens and candidates, will receive in Confirmation tonight will
be those of wisdom, understanding, and knowledge.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Our Old Testament Vigil readings reach their
climax in the bold prophecy of Ezekiel. However hard the way ahead may be for
faithful Christians, however much darkness descends on our world, the Lord will
act for the sake of his holy name, as the prophet says.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The
Lord who cleanses us from our idols and who gives us a new spirit and heart is
at the center of everything tonight. He will guide and lead us where we need to
go, and make us his people.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">We
travelled a long way between tonight’s first reading to the Epistle and Gospel. I
haven’t left myself much time to address them; but perhaps they speak for
themselves, at least to you Sara, Chelsea, Olivia,
Dara and Britanny. You are beginning a new walk with God, a walk in
newness of life. You are leaving your old self behind that you might become a
new creation.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">All
these promises, all these challenges, and all your hopes are unshakable because
of one thing. That one thing is the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
St. Paul says boldly that if Christ has not been raised, then “we are of all
people most to be pitied.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">But
in fact we are of all people most blessed. That blessing, though, comes with a
responsibility. The gifts of grace you will receive tonight, Chelsea, Sara, Olivia, Dara, and Britanny<span style="color: #0033cc;"> </span>are
meant to be shared with others. You are called, each in your own circumstances,
to reach out to the 50.7 per cent of Canadians who do not know God and his love,
as you do.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">You
are called also to share your joy with the 82.2 per cent of Catholics who are
not engaged in the Church, as you are.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">All
the while, find strength in what the Lord said to his disciples on the first
Easter and says this Easter to you: “Do not be afraid.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 110%;">The image of Christ appearing to Mary
is from the JESUS MAFA series, a response to the New Testament by a Christian
community in Cameroon, Africa. Texts were selected and adapted to dramatic
interpretation by the community members. Photographs of their interpretations
were made, and these were then transcribed to paintings. Dramatically
picturesque, this painting of John’s resurrection narrative captures the moment
when Mary recognizes Jesus outside the tomb. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 110%;"><br /></span></p></div><p></p>Msgr. Gregory Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07739878171006169486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9179027064458171571.post-67336929914106061732023-04-06T17:12:00.003-07:002023-04-07T07:23:20.758-07:00Food, Glorious Food! (Holy Thursday 2023)<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx-JxODfSG9cdTVWBWtW-eqAaYGw6OR_VCBa-P_Taue2b9gsptAk6abN97UpJB46Q5YUuregrWH6BTizu2x79ABjyRePyvUo2wvJOEWvZKs8MN3eHt_oXBCE-YbBdk3Q_tYcnrfOgZRIxJYc6FKZ76rt5Sr1FVOg5-IrRGbPj8PcPZAWykS9aIpvFy/s1000/eucharist-1.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="325" data-original-width="1000" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx-JxODfSG9cdTVWBWtW-eqAaYGw6OR_VCBa-P_Taue2b9gsptAk6abN97UpJB46Q5YUuregrWH6BTizu2x79ABjyRePyvUo2wvJOEWvZKs8MN3eHt_oXBCE-YbBdk3Q_tYcnrfOgZRIxJYc6FKZ76rt5Sr1FVOg5-IrRGbPj8PcPZAWykS9aIpvFy/w400-h130/eucharist-1.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; text-align: justify;">When I was twelve years old, I appeared in </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; text-align: justify;">Oliver!,</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; text-align: justify;">
a musical based on the story of Oliver Twist. While you may find it
surprising when you look at me now, I was one of the starving orphans in the
workhouse.</span></div><p></p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">(Even then I didn’t look starving—I failed the
audition for the title role because the director remarked that I looked too
well fed.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The workhouse boys’ show-stopping song was a rousing
number called “Food, Glorious Food.” Believe it or not, that is the title of my
homily this Holy Thursday night.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">But please don’t think I’m being irreverent. St.
Thomas Aquinas says much the same thing when he calls the Mass a “sacred
banquet, in which Christ is received, the memory of his Passion is renewed, the
mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Although the
Mass is fundamentally a sacrifice, it is also a meal—a sacred and sacrificial
meal. And a meal has to have food. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“That the Eucharist … is a meal shows us that we do
not have life in ourselves. We must receive it, eat it … if we refuse to
receive, refuse to eat and drink him, we remain without life.” We starve.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">That thought comes from a new book on the Eucharist called
<i>Bread That is Broken</i> by a Carmelite priest from Belgium, Father Wilfred
Stinissen. His opening sentence is: “What is most striking about the Eucharist
is that one eats and drinks. The Eucharist has to do with food and drink.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">My first thought was “thanks for telling me what I
already know.” But that thought didn’t last long before the author began offering
marvellous insights that can deepen our understanding of the Lord’s Supper that
we celebrate tonight.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">He shows how the Eucharist, which is directed to the <i>new</i>
creation, is related to the <i>original</i> creation in which food and drink
were very important. When God created Adam and Eve he said “Behold, I have
given you every plant … you shall have them for food” (Gen 1:29). The fact that
our first parents needed to eat even in paradise reminded them of their
fundamental dependence on God. By eating, they were living in communion with
God.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">And even their Fall had to do with food. After all, Adam
and Eve ate the apple.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">So it shouldn’t surprise us that when Jesus comes to
renew creation, he also comes with food. Both the first creation and the new
creation have, in the end, to do with food.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Father Stinissen reminds us that Jesus did not
improvise the Eucharist. “He meditated for a long time on what and how he would
act when his hour came. That he chose bread and wine was the fruit of an
intensive listening to the Holy Spirit.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The book is filled with startling and fresh things
about the two elements Jesus chose to transform into his Body and Blood at the
Last Supper.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Father Stinissen starts with the obvious: “Bread is
loaded with a rich symbolism that Jesus understood.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“In the first place, as we hear at the Offertory,
bread is the ‘fruit of the earth’.” We hear that all the time, but the book
points out that when grain falls into the earth, it draws energy from the earth
itself. To sprout it needs “all the powers of heaven: rain, light, warmth,
wind”—the entire physical world.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“The Father places all of creation into the hands of
the Son so that he will transform it to his body and thus divinize it.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">This hidden symbolism is matched by something more evident
to us: “The bread is also the result of ‘the work of human hands’. There would
not be bread if man did not sow, harvest, grind, knead, and bake.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">And all of this work “is or should be a concrete
expression of love.” We do not work primarily to nourish ourselves but rather
to nourish our family and loved ones. “We are created to give life to others,
never to ourselves.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">And “by our work, we create possibilities for deeper
fellowship.” That deeper fellowship is expressed when we sit down for meals
with others. We even use the expression “breaking bread” together.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Father Stinissen then turns to the wine, in a very interesting
way. He points out that bread “is the normal, necessary food. Wine, however, is
not necessary. One could be content with water.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Bread is for survival; wine is for joy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“Wine,” he says, “is also a symbol of ecstasy … the
joy that the wine brings about anticipates the joy of the world to come.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">But that’s not all. “In the Bible, wine is also a
symbol of God’s wrath and of suffering and punishment.” We see that when Jesus
begs the Father to take away the chalice from him.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Thus, “the Eucharistic wine is a symbol of both joy
and suffering. By choosing wine as a sign of his presence and his sacrifice,
Jesus indicates that his death, despite all the bitterness it entailed is
nevertheless a source of exuberant joy.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">These are just a very few of the new things reading <i><a href="https://www.amazon.ca/Bread-That-Broken-Wilfrid-Stinissen/dp/1621643174/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2LAKUJOWM91KY&keywords=bread+that+is+broken&qid=1680824755&sprefix=bread+that+is+broken%2Caps%2C150&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Bread That is Broken</a></i> taught me about the bread and wine that we will soon consume
as the Body and Blood of Christ. I also learned something more general, and I
want to share that with you too.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">As this little book offered me so much in so few pages, words
of St. Paul kept going through my head: in the Letter to the Romans, he
exclaims “how deep are the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">How much meaning and treasure is in front of us at
every Mass—should we not do more to discover these riches?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Yesterday, together with the other priests of the
Archdiocese, I renewed my priestly commitments at the Chrism Mass at Holy
Rosary Cathedral. I did, of course, look back on thirty-seven happy years, but
I also took stock about where I am right now and what the future holds. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Somewhat to my surprise I realized that I am
particularly grateful for the fact that I am still learning exciting things about
the Eucharist, even after all these years of celebrating Mass. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I suppose there must come a time in the life of lawyers
when they pretty well know just about everything there is to know about their
area of the law or a time in the career of engineers when there is little more
to be learned about building a machine or a skyscraper. And I sure hope there
are no pilots who jump up in the middle of a book about flying and exclaim,
“Oh! I hadn’t thought about <i>that</i> before!”<span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">But as a priest and a Catholic, I know I can never
stop learning about God and his wonderful ways. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Let’s go deeper. The Eucharist is “an excellent
school” where we learn and live what Christ wants from us and wants to give us.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">And tonight we are in the most privileged of
classrooms. As we witness the washing of feet, recalling our Lord’s own wordless
teaching, we enter into the heart of the Eucharist. “To be nourished by
Jesus in the Eucharist implies that we become nourishment for others
ourselves.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">If we eat and drink Love himself, we start to long to
make our life a life for others. We live less and less for ourselves, and seek
to say in action rather than words “this is my body given up for you.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I am challenging you—and I’m challenging myself—to deepen
our understanding of the Eucharistic sacrifice. For some, this might mean
re-reading one of the Gospel accounts of the Last Supper. For others, it might
mean purchasing this inexpensive book, easily available on <a href="https://www.amazon.ca/Bread-That-Broken-Wilfrid-Stinissen/dp/1621643174/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2LAKUJOWM91KY&keywords=bread+that+is+broken&qid=1680824755&sprefix=bread+that+is+broken%2Caps%2C150&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Amazon</a>. And of
course the <i><a href="https://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc/index.htm" target="_blank">Catechism of the Catholic Church</a></i> is a priceless online
resource about the Eucharist.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Tonight’s one-sentence summary tonight is therefore: Let’s
not be content with what we already know about the Mass.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">But let me give the last word to Father Stinissen, who
says “Nothing lies outside of the Eucharist. The answer to the question: ‘How
shall I live?’ ought always to be: ‘live Eucharistically’.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">And how do we live Eucharistically? Strengthened by
the ‘glorious food’ of the sacred banquet in which Christ is received.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3KRMVRlK5_XFvcklXBphnSjplrM2GMx9pq5CM7jIBOVbI06LhNEQcLy6JlAf_3TP9gmgntB-XyBKCQoi0o2YqIy3JDwjFRwUb62p0GFQfElBnCe5Oxfdy393DzTHzFgf5FjdhGGoBAtp1IH307cabLREs8xPrhPLo27f8StvlDHjyUpw9qKap8jtu/s760/eucharist-3.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="760" data-original-width="638" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3KRMVRlK5_XFvcklXBphnSjplrM2GMx9pq5CM7jIBOVbI06LhNEQcLy6JlAf_3TP9gmgntB-XyBKCQoi0o2YqIy3JDwjFRwUb62p0GFQfElBnCe5Oxfdy393DzTHzFgf5FjdhGGoBAtp1IH307cabLREs8xPrhPLo27f8StvlDHjyUpw9qKap8jtu/w168-h200/eucharist-3.png" width="168" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Msgr. Gregory Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07739878171006169486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9179027064458171571.post-79814645272494239662023-04-02T09:17:00.003-07:002023-04-02T14:28:43.927-07:00It is not good to die alone... (Palm Sunday 2023)<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijMcAQ8Qw9b4J7hHKwvUAXyDU-DSPctnH0ONqjuqkKhoGGZ_w3ls2FeB0qpEn3DqoQXa2VUeXOIkk1NPizwqEqqMrkwGID4t_wTp8eKDGB4HeHWoEazWC45oRa7xAO0qwQnOL2C403CjVMgC5qAO7kd53KNCRUILPIk28-lOAtLy51-ABPapyfjE4P/s811/crown%20of%20thorns.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="431" data-original-width="811" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijMcAQ8Qw9b4J7hHKwvUAXyDU-DSPctnH0ONqjuqkKhoGGZ_w3ls2FeB0qpEn3DqoQXa2VUeXOIkk1NPizwqEqqMrkwGID4t_wTp8eKDGB4HeHWoEazWC45oRa7xAO0qwQnOL2C403CjVMgC5qAO7kd53KNCRUILPIk28-lOAtLy51-ABPapyfjE4P/w400-h213/crown%20of%20thorns.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 8.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">One
of my favourite verses from the Old Testament is in the Book of Genesis where
God tells Adam “It is not good for man to be alone.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 8.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">You
might think it odd that a celibate is keen on that verse, but it not only
announces the creation of woman, but also states a basic truth. It is <i>not</i>
good for man (or woman) to be alone. Making due allowance for our need for
privacy and solitude, we all want to be with others at least some of the time. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 8.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I
don’t like eating alone, I don’t like praying alone. You can ask Father Zidago!
One or two of my assistant pastors—though not him!—got a bit frustrated when I wanted
them to show up for meals and join me in the chapel for Evening Prayer.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 8.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">My
insistence comes partly from how I think priests should live in community, but
it is also a question of what I personally need. And I’m in good company: Pope
Francis made this very clear after his election<s> </s>when he announced that
he wouldn’t be living alone in the Apostolic Palace but in a Vatican hotel
surrounded by other priests.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 8.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">It
is not good to live alone. But it is also not good to die alone. That is why
the Church accompanies the dying with such tender care; with solicitude, with
special prayers and rites. This is why we pray so fervently for our sick and
dying parishioners.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 8.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">It
is not good to suffer alone. Even in a hospital bed, surrounded by people, we
might feel alone, but still we never need to suffer alone—because we can suffer
together with the one whose suffering we have just heard described in
excruciating detail. Whatever our suffering—mental or physical—Jesus, the man
of sorrows, wishes to be at our side to accompany us, to strengthen us, to say
to us “You are not alone. I am with you. I am beside you in your suffering.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 8.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">There
are many reasons why we begin this Holy Week with the reading of the Lord’s
Passion but one of them is to make it real for each one of us—to make it matter
for us.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 8.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">It
was necessary that Christ die for our sins, necessary that he give his life for
the redemption of many. But surely it was not necessary that he suffered in
such an awful fashion.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 8.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The
Passion therefore has a double value: Jesus places himself in the Father’s
hands by accepting death on the cross. But he also places himself in our hearts
by accepting absolute solidarity with all who suffer and especially with those
who suffer most.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 8.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Today
we have read the Passion. Archbishop Fulton Sheen points out, however, that
Jesus didn’t want us only to read about the great drama of Calvary but to be
actors in it. We are actors in the drama whenever we participate fully in the
Mass. But we also enter deeply into the mystery every time we unite our
sufferings with Christ’s.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 8.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">A
friend who looked over my homily asked “But how do we do that? My sufferings
are nothing like his.” My answer was: Precisely. That’s why uniting our own
miseries with Christ’s is possible and powerful. We are not alone. Our
sufferings, be they small or great, acquire purpose and meaning when they are
united with his.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 8.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">As
we enter Holy Week, let us pray that these each of our solemn celebrations will
make a difference in how we live—and how we die.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p></p>Msgr. Gregory Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07739878171006169486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9179027064458171571.post-69198282409739872852023-03-26T15:33:00.001-07:002023-03-26T15:33:33.127-07:00Two afterthoughts on Lent.5.A.....<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaiR2Y6yp8iQeLj-bNw6f1afW6YakmPtIcLz6_o-ldQRPDaU6GYm-G-KiosG5wI4xKaYlipYkT8d-vgLsUu0wShd4468SRAXXFvVdT7j9evgyFOm2b1vvdzH9Le0wCcaWqov5DnQ9hxLwVImmx-_Fkagvxw4SwX32ZJ_8N7OmEZ88mZuVL1Oy98CIK/s718/lazarus-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="482" data-original-width="718" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaiR2Y6yp8iQeLj-bNw6f1afW6YakmPtIcLz6_o-ldQRPDaU6GYm-G-KiosG5wI4xKaYlipYkT8d-vgLsUu0wShd4468SRAXXFvVdT7j9evgyFOm2b1vvdzH9Le0wCcaWqov5DnQ9hxLwVImmx-_Fkagvxw4SwX32ZJ_8N7OmEZ88mZuVL1Oy98CIK/s320/lazarus-2.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Although my blog is
called “Homilies and Occasional Thoughts,” this post should be called “Afterthoughts.”</span><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">My original post of this
Sunday’s homily featured the picture above, with a note that I could not find
the name of its artist or the source. An old friend and former parishioner
promptly emailed to tell me that the painting came from a remarkable source,
Vie de Jesus Mafa, a catechetical project from Northern Cameroon that
aimed at helping </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mafa_people" style="font-size: 14pt;" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Mafa</span></a><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> communities teach the Bible.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">You can read the
remarkable story </span><a href="https://scripture-engagement.org/content/life-jesus-mafa/" style="font-size: 14pt;" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">here</span></a><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">and take a look at the catalogue of
images from Vanderbilt University's digital archive </span><a href="https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/diglib-fulldisplay.pl?SID=20230326817508065&code=act&RC=48269&Row=15" style="font-size: 14pt;" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">here</span></a><span style="font-size: 14pt;">. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And that’s not the only
afterthought I have to share. On Twitter this morning I saw this quotation from
Pope Francis about today’s Gospel of the healing of Lazarus. The Pope
said: “Here we can experience firsthand that God is life and gives life,
yet takes on the tragedy of death. Jesus could have avoided the death of his
friend Lazarus, but he wanted to share in our suffering for the death of people
dear to us, and above all, he wished to demonstrate God’s dominion over death.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I found this emphasis on
Christ’s sharing in our grief over the death of those we loved very helpful.</span></p><br /><p></p>Msgr. Gregory Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07739878171006169486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9179027064458171571.post-18988296952760280612023-03-25T08:00:00.002-07:002023-03-26T14:35:48.760-07:00Are we ready to be 'unbound'? (Lent 5.A)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4bL8E7fF8J1Ib_qnK3R0rn_JW1z09FjmzMIgXN8eKhMxCqknqWH41lfO1fAQKd-Ir3QC5wtSW3sgduX2pDf-S9AbASXSVAwyPPD-PYJS8p715khj_jxcT7viIjUFtIMGc4A87K0cRz8Q1qkq3L3rNQ3LCAAunaOHTZCYGpoZHOX2wW_ZB49HV4n2j/s718/lazarus-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="482" data-original-width="718" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4bL8E7fF8J1Ib_qnK3R0rn_JW1z09FjmzMIgXN8eKhMxCqknqWH41lfO1fAQKd-Ir3QC5wtSW3sgduX2pDf-S9AbASXSVAwyPPD-PYJS8p715khj_jxcT7viIjUFtIMGc4A87K0cRz8Q1qkq3L3rNQ3LCAAunaOHTZCYGpoZHOX2wW_ZB49HV4n2j/w400-h269/lazarus-2.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div><i>This week's homily is one I gave some years back, with updated dates and links. I couldn't find the source or the name of the artist of the powerful painting above.</i></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Today’s Gospel is a drama
in three acts. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">First, there is the
illness of Lazarus—during which Jesus seems unwilling to respond. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Then there is his death,
followed by Martha’s encounter with Jesus. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The drama concludes with
the raising of Lazarus. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">At every point the
dialogue is gripping. Jesus declares that his friend’s illness will not lead to
death, words his disciples must have struggled with when they found Lazarus was
already in the tomb. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">There are the pained but
faith-filled words of Martha when Jesus makes finally his appearance. And of
course, we hear the words Jesus speaks to his Father as he stands at the
entrance to the tomb.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We could reflect and pray
for hours on any one phrase from this magnificent Gospel passage. Certainly,
the Church intends us to think about the Resurrection of Jesus, to which the
raising of Lazarus is obviously connected, especially as Easter draws near.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">But I would like to
preach today on just two words from St. John’s powerful text. The two words are
“unbind him.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Unbound</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">
is the title of a book by the Catholic layman Neal Lozano, who helps people
struggling with evil in their lives. The book is about the Gospel message of
deliverance from sin, proposing what it calls “five keys” to freedom. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I have spoken about this
ministry in several homilies over the years, but there’s no time for that
today. I just want to mention the first of the five keys described in <i>Unbound</i>, the essential one: repentance
and faith.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Jesus is speaking to the
Church when he says, “unbind him.” The Church is called to free us from the
sins that bind and encumber us—the sin that clings to us and restricts us, as
the Letter to the Hebrews says (12:1).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">But we are not passive,
like Lazarus; we must repent personally of wearing the burial shrouds of sin,
and have faith in Christ’s ability to restore us to life by his merciful
forgiveness.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">This is the time in our
Lenten journey when we decide whether we’re going to make the effort to go to
confession. The last of our three Tuesday evenings of adoration and confessions
is this week. The first of the two regional penitential services is this Thursday,
at Holy Trinity parish. The second is Monday April 3, in Holy Week, here at
Christ the Redeemer. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We can think of those
dates as mere schedules. Or we can hear the Lord calling us to come out from
the cave and into the light.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We all have our reasons
for avoiding confession. Too busy. Too
good. Too bad. But the worst reason is “
I’m not ready.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Archbishop Fulton Sheen
wrote that our modern world of instant communications, instant food, instant diets,
and instant-beauty aids often makes us think of repentance as instantaneous
transformation: “We are rotten one
moment, pure the next.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">He says this is bad
psychology, “because it leads us to think God accepts us only after and <i>because</i> we
have reformed. It leads also to discouragement because we soon see how quickly
we fail after we had repented.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">But Archbishop Sheen, one
of the great preachers of the 20th century, reminds us that the Prodigal Son
did not say to himself: “I know what I will do. I will pull myself back up by
my own bootstraps, make myself acceptable again, and <i>then</i> I will
return to my father.” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">“No, he went back a
repentant, but not yet fully reformed, prodigal. We must think of repentance as
a beginning rather than an ending, as a change of heart that only gradually
leads to a change of ways. Repentant sinners are still sinners, but the
difference is, they no longer want to be sinners.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Doesn’t that make it seem
easier to approach the sacrament of reconciliation? <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">During these final weeks
of Lent, the Church hears the Lord’s call to unbind and untie her members from
sin. Each of us should hear him cry “Come out!” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">But there’s something
else we should hear: our own call to invite others to this sacrament. In our
parish we are working to build a strong culture of invitation. So why not ask your spouse, child or
grandchild who may have been away from the sacrament to come with you to the
sacrament of reconciliation before Easter? <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I have known many people
whose hearts turned back to Jesus and the Church through one good confession.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> So, there’s my brief “takeaway” this week:
come to the Lord and bring someone with you.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Even though our bodies
are dead because of sin, as St. Paul said in today’s second reading, we know
that God’s spirit will give us life.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal">
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p><p></p>Msgr. Gregory Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07739878171006169486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9179027064458171571.post-68378222803208644322023-03-18T20:33:00.002-07:002023-03-19T07:03:15.759-07:00The man born blind is all of us... (Lent.4.A)<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj69iftwh40olb-VBAWVVSp4toiL4cYC1Dbm4pf2MJfIM4DphpIKu9MwCEI3KgZ1mXlfXue9wXGBjRqBdgLl1B2gHDuhhsmpWp_bPLDC96_NH_Sh2UKLoOCRnqelXqHrh7SGCglyTt71s9eo6DHNErOFjIxl2VRBa50Zt9Dt9rJZVbjdDlLDkx2nQ3z/s263/chatgpt-logo-2.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="263" data-original-width="221" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj69iftwh40olb-VBAWVVSp4toiL4cYC1Dbm4pf2MJfIM4DphpIKu9MwCEI3KgZ1mXlfXue9wXGBjRqBdgLl1B2gHDuhhsmpWp_bPLDC96_NH_Sh2UKLoOCRnqelXqHrh7SGCglyTt71s9eo6DHNErOFjIxl2VRBa50Zt9Dt9rJZVbjdDlLDkx2nQ3z/w163-h194/chatgpt-logo-2.png" width="163" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%;">I’m sure that most of you
have heard about ChatGPT. But in case you haven’t, this is a so-called application
of artificial intelligence, or AI, that has taken an unsuspecting world by storm.
Its ability to write excellent academic essays has teachers everywhere running
scared.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%;">So, I thought I would see
how well ChatGPT could write a homily on today’s Gospel.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%;">The answer? Let’s just
say I’m looking seriously at retirement and taking up gardening!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%;">However, there was one
thing the new technology could not do. I asked it the name of the man born
blind, and it couldn’t tell me. But I can tell you.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%;">The name of the man born
blind is Gregory Smith. And Kieran Magee. And Karen Magee. And your name, too.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%;">There’s a reason that the
Gospel doesn’t give us a name: that man is all of us. All of us came into a
world shrouded in darkness, and wounded by sin. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%;">In Baptism, the celebrant
says “You have been enlightened by Christ. Walk always as children of the light
and keep the flame of faith alive in your hearts.” This is not simply symbolic
language but practical truth. The light of faith provides Christians with moral
clarity in a confused world; as St. Thomas Aquinas said “the certainty that the
divine light gives is greater than that which the light of natural reason
gives.” (CCC 157)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%;">We sometimes hear the
expression ‘blind faith.’ It’s misleading. Faith is anything but blind when the
intellect is enlightened by grace. And the further away we move from the
Creator the more our thinking is clouded. The prophet Jeremiah, proclaiming God’s
judgement on infidelity, summed this up in three words: “truth has perished.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%;">You have only to watch a
newscast or read a paper to see how this applies to our own society today. On
many issues, fundamental to individual and social flourishing, a line from
Shakespeare’s Macbeth is fitting: “Fair is foul, and foul is fair.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%;">Of course, the most
powerful light given in Baptism is the ability to recognize Jesus as Lord. The
drama of the blind man’s healing is secondary to the gift of seeing Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%;">In all of this, we are
the man born blind. Even ChatGPT understood this. It suggested four ways in
which we are like him and can receive the healing he received. I agreed with
all four and tried to fit them in to my homily today.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%;">First, we have many
questions and doubts. The disciples’ question to Jesus regarding who sinned,
the man or his parents, shows their lack of understanding of who God is and how
he works. Similarly, modern Christians are also faced with doubts about their
faith. We wonder why God allows evil to exist or why he hasn’t answered our
prayers.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%;">However, just as Jesus
answered the disciples’ question by teaching them about God’s saving plan, we
can find answers to our questions through prayer and studying God’s word.
Through our doubts and questions, placed before the Lord, we can grow in faith
and develop a deeper understanding of how God works.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%;">Second, like the man born
blind, many Catholics today face ridicule and rejection—even persecution—when they
profess their faith. I hear, especially from young people, about how hard it is
for them at school and work.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%;">The man in today’s Gospel
is not yet a Christian but he is certainly treated like one. He reminds us of
what Jesus said to us: “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute
you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.” (Mt 5:11)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%;">Look at what happened after
the Jewish leaders rejected him. The man did not need to go looking for Jesus—Jesus
came looking for him. Jesus rewarded his constancy by revealing himself even more
clearly. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%;">Accepting the darkness of
discrimination can lead to a deeper relationship with Jesus, the Light of the
world. As the psalmist says to God, “taunts against you fall on me.” (Ps. 68)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%;">ChatGPT’s third point was
a bit on the obvious side—a reminder that artificial intelligence is actually
not intelligence at all. AI just does a terrific job of gathering and presenting
the work of human minds, cutting and pasting with remarkable skill, but cutting
and pasting all the same.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%;">The obvious point is that
each of us needs healing. The man born blind received his sight in a miracle of
physical healing, but he also received spiritual healing through his encounter
with Jesus. In the same way, each of us needs healing and redemption from our
sinful nature.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%;">As St. Paul writes “once you
were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light.” (Eph. 5:8)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%;">Only at the end of its homily
did ChatGPT say something I hadn’t thought of. But I liked it very much. The
application’s fourth point was that we are like the man born blind because we
too have a testimony to share.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%;">After he received his
sight, the man witnessed to others about the transforming power of Jesus. We
heard his simple testimony “One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see … if
this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%;">Every baptized Christian
has something to share about how God has transformed or healed us. Whether it’s
about a personal encounter with Jesus or about the power of prayer, we need to
share our stories of how faith has changed our lives.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%;">I can’t tell you how much
I admire the parishioners who have stood in this pulpit to give their testimony
of faith at Water in the Desert, month after month. But I pray that the day
will come when such sharing is no longer extraordinary but understood as part
and parcel of an ordinary Christian’s life.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%;">As the man born blind
showed us, all it takes is stating simple truths without hesitation or
compromise, in a spirit of thanksgiving.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%;">My one-sentence takeaway
can come straight from ChatGPT. The story of the man born blind has much to
teach modern-day Christians; like the blind man, we face questions, doubts,
rejection, and the need for healing and redemption. However, through faith in
Jesus, we can find hope, comfort, and a testimony to share with others.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%;">But I’m not prepared to
give the last word to a computer! In the first place, ChatGPT did not know it
was preaching on Laetare Sunday. It did not know this was the fourth Sunday of
Lent, a day when the Church invites us to be especially joyful.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%;">In the second place, it
didn’t recognize that today is the occasion of the second scrutiny of catechumens,
those preparing for Baptism at the Easter Vigil. But I cannot criticize it for
that failing, because I myself did not know we had catechumens, since none appeared
last week for the first scrutiny.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%;">It turns out that we have
three catechumens who will be baptized and confirmed at Easter—but all three
are away with their families for spring break!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%;">Being joyful was easy
today when I found out that three participants in our RCIA program had asked
for Baptism, and two who are already Christians will be received into full
communion with the Church and confirmed alongside them at our glorious
celebration of the Easter Vigil.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%;">So now I can add that the
names of the man born blind are also Chelsea, Olivia, Sara, Brittany, and Dara.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%;">Take that ChatGPT!! And
my homily was almost 600 words longer than yours—which may or may not be something
to brag about.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;">
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfozB4xlTb1Y2jxS6pgMkWAc942bKRVcPq97pge6CdT-uTVrJ_QV5JLHkJJkrJg8qw5dBXYFXQBnbnt0zapuvbcZLFqzmEIspsaBjme5Im4ZygFhWSl3uAo4uubqsaePAq5yiCzNJL3SuDzxGRzSKNtufiJtwLaa_08iM_-SBjQPJDgMvbD4VArpp9/s550/Picture1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="474" data-original-width="550" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfozB4xlTb1Y2jxS6pgMkWAc942bKRVcPq97pge6CdT-uTVrJ_QV5JLHkJJkrJg8qw5dBXYFXQBnbnt0zapuvbcZLFqzmEIspsaBjme5Im4ZygFhWSl3uAo4uubqsaePAq5yiCzNJL3SuDzxGRzSKNtufiJtwLaa_08iM_-SBjQPJDgMvbD4VArpp9/w285-h246/Picture1.jpg" width="285" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Msgr. Gregory Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07739878171006169486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9179027064458171571.post-33657583128325456482023-03-05T08:25:00.000-08:002023-03-05T08:25:19.646-08:00Go up to the mountain... (Lent.2.A)<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwb98CHPvud2S3PA_sI_BZvLuN_5krffswmXoz6TXWbHiHel8ykSSlrME9RlamwVk7pn6CQ3YRhTuvrqqHHGYLEfKRAhFPAHIhGMfiet31L7oW63pgcdJSSlsspHM9Bqghj2jasQAnK8UZHyXG1aUrMYScSpibeq6x-Y7WGVjrMDvYtCgG-KLbR3Dn/s900/mt-tabor-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwb98CHPvud2S3PA_sI_BZvLuN_5krffswmXoz6TXWbHiHel8ykSSlrME9RlamwVk7pn6CQ3YRhTuvrqqHHGYLEfKRAhFPAHIhGMfiet31L7oW63pgcdJSSlsspHM9Bqghj2jasQAnK8UZHyXG1aUrMYScSpibeq6x-Y7WGVjrMDvYtCgG-KLbR3Dn/w400-h266/mt-tabor-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; text-align: justify;">We ended a very busy week
in the parish with a flood in the rectory, which is now full of noisy machines
trying to dry things out. We started with a parking lot full of snow and a
no-show plowing company.</span></div><p></p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Life is full of
challenges, big and small.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Does anyone disagree with
that?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Travelling with small
children is one of life’s small challenges that can seem enormous. I was flying
to Toronto a while back, and across the aisle was a couple with a baby who
screamed almost non-stop.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">At least the mother was a
model of calm. She spoke very gently “Keep calm, Albert. No need to be upset,
Albert. We’ll be home soon, Albert.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As we were getting off
the plane, I asked the young father how old little Albert was.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Oh, no,” he said—“his
name’s Michael. I’m Albert.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On the surface, today’s
Gospel seems miles away from such everyday challenges. The high biblical
mountaintop is about as far away as you can get from my fears and my issues. The
story doesn’t seem to have much to do with our daily life at all. Clearly, as
we will hear in the beautiful Preface today, it’s about Jesus preparing his
friends for his crucifixion, arming them in advance with a preview of his
glory.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But if that’s all, why is
the Church so keen to share the story of the transfiguration every year on the
second Sunday of Lent? This year we read St. Matthew’s account, next year St. Mark’s,
last year St. Luke’s. Obviously, this story is very important, but why? After
all, we don’t need a preview of Christ’s resurrection; it has already happened,
and we know that.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I can only think of one reason:
the transfiguration strengthens our hope that we will be transformed.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In this season where we
hope for personal change, we need a reminder to rely on the power of God. Lent won’t
make a difference because of what we accomplish, but as St. Paul says in our
second reading, according to God’s “own purposes and grace.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Just as no human power transfigured
Jesus—Mark’s Gospel says his clothes were dazzling white “such as no one earth
could bleach them”—so too we make progress in our Lenten journey by God’s
goodness not our own.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Today we’re invited to
share in the mountaintop experience of Peter, James, and John. If we have
stumbled our way through these first days of Lent, we need to hear the Lord
saying “Get up and do not be afraid.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As my great friend Father
Groeschel might have said, today the Church is speaking to those of us who have
been schlepping along, not those of us who have been steadily running the race.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Which leads to the big
question: are we on our way up the mountain to witness Christ’s glory, or are
we standing at the base of the hill scratching our heads? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Are we looking for
personal transformation during these days of Lent, or just ‘more of the same’?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Are we really looking for
visible changes in our daily lives? More patience, less selfishness; more
insight, less anger; more generosity, less self-indulgence. Are we anticipating
victories, large or small, over some of the things that enslave us or hold us
back?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Do I expect to be the
same old me at Easter? Is the journey from Ash Wednesday to Holy Week a Sunday stroll
or a bold climb up the mountain?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If we’re settling for
“Lent lite,” today might be a day to think again. God offers real change and
deep renewal to those who ask.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The spring training we
call Lent is founded on three kinds of spiritual exercise: prayer, fasting, and
almsgiving. It works very well for athletes, but it’s by no means the only way
to get in spiritual shape.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And fasting from food is
not the only way to fast. We can also fast from our over-scheduled lives—all planned
down to the minute—and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>make space for
things of the spirit.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Thursday is the final night
of our parish mission, which was titled “More Than a Story: The Jesus You Never
Knew.” The last of our three dynamic speakers is Heather Khym, who will be
assisted by her husband Jake Khym. Both have given powerful presentations at
Christ the Redeemer in the past.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Heather’s talk, like the
others we’ve heard, will be transforming. Not just inspiring, not just
uplifting, but transforming. When you hear her, you will echo St. Peter: “Lord
it is good for us to be here.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The mission is offering the
blessing promised to Abraham, of whom we are descendants. The mission is
revealing the glory of friendship with Jesus, even if you have not known him
before.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The gym has been packed for
the first two nights of the mission. We’re moving into the church for the final
evening so there will be plenty room for those of you who haven’t been able to
attend yet. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I understand the reasons
for missing the mission. If it’s not a flood, then it’s soccer practice. Tennis
lessons. Homework. Business pressures. Kids.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But I also understand—as
I know you do—that the disciples had to walk up the mountain before they could see
Christ’s glory and the promise of their own glory. I’m sure when they came down
the mountain their friends were full of stories of all the fish that got away
while they were away being dazzled by the Lord.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Still, you can be sure
that they wouldn’t have exchanged their experience for anything.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Will you join us on the
mountaintop this Thursday? And bring someone along?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I’ll end with my one-sentence
summary. Hope and faith are more important to a good Lent than efforts alone—because
it’s God who reveals his glory and grants us the grace of conversion. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Our personal Lenten
program—and the Weekly Update lists other activities besides the Mission—should
give fresh hope of personal change here and now, and the beginning of our
glorious transformation in the life to come.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Msgr. Gregory Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07739878171006169486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9179027064458171571.post-68413702317126359472023-02-25T14:55:00.003-08:002023-03-05T08:25:53.393-08:00I have seen the future... (Lent.1.A)<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Foi7KAGKis1vvpmN6-WllcDH1-5gAx37Nt8FBBF8L0BmbYqe8wEudxDH47_kvphqNZ5Q9ldVWhiDaXkNMphkfdLchJxvkkYmGphW33mYxjH4W6TNc7JR0FDbA75OsowNZuAxFeFnMN3J1szG6jqdCQKENabui915qlFCkmg3eCbmok1s5zeOKnBQ/s1200/10442-istockgetty-images-plusrudall30-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="627" data-original-width="1200" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Foi7KAGKis1vvpmN6-WllcDH1-5gAx37Nt8FBBF8L0BmbYqe8wEudxDH47_kvphqNZ5Q9ldVWhiDaXkNMphkfdLchJxvkkYmGphW33mYxjH4W6TNc7JR0FDbA75OsowNZuAxFeFnMN3J1szG6jqdCQKENabui915qlFCkmg3eCbmok1s5zeOKnBQ/w400-h209/10442-istockgetty-images-plusrudall30-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I have seen the future, and it works. I didn’t know where the words came
from, but they came to my mind after the first night of our Parish Mission on
Thursday: I have seen the future, and it works.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">By which I mean that the vision of the parish we’ve been talking about for
the last six months or so, namely becoming an irresistible parish that puts
evangelization in the forefront, is becoming something visible and fruitful.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The gym was filled, and we had to keep bringing out more tables and
chairs for all those coming through the doors.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The talk by Father Richard Conlin was the perfect beginning to the topic
of the mission, “The Jesus You Never Knew.” He presented the Jesus he has known
and invited us into that friendship. I simply couldn’t imagine a better way to
launch Lent.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Strangely enough, I was also thinking about the word Lent this week. Years
ago, I probably knew where it came from but I’d certainly forgotten; I
suspected it came from the French word <i>lent</i> which means ‘slow.’ Well, I
was wrong. Lent indeed comes from old German and old English words meaning
Spring, or the lengthening of the day.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Quite the opposite of slow. The ancient word probably refers to the
increasing daylight in Spring, helping us realize that each Lent is a new springtime.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">That was another word that came to my mind: the new springtime, which Pope
John Paul II spoke of in his apostolic letter on the millennium as a ‘new springtime
of Christian life.’ As it happened, soon after he wrote those words, the Church
became mired in scandal and sadness and it seemed like we were going into a
long winter, certainly not a new springtime.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And yet Jesus and his message is ‘ever ancient, ever new.’ There is
never a time when the Gospel becomes stale, when the Good News becomes old. The
truth is that a season of sorrow, whether in our own lives or in the Church, is
a time to encounter the deepest truths about our Faith.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">So it’s wonderful that the Church in her wisdom takes us right back to
the beginning in our readings today. The very origins of humanity, the origins
not only of man and woman but also the origin of sin. The sin of our first
parents, the scar that the human race continues to bear is described in the first
reading, calling us to reflect on the roots of sin in our lives.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Why is it that—blessed as we are, perhaps not exactly as Adam and Eve
were, but blessed with so many riches, so many good things—we choose those
things that are not held out to us by the hand of God?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">When we get to the second reading, we have a more complex but more
hopeful teaching on sin. Yes, it came into the world through Adam, and indeed
through sin came death, yet the Fall was as the Easter Exsultet says: a happy
fault, the necessary sin of Adam. It brought us redemption by another man,
Jesus Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">So just as the first reading presents us with the source of our
condemnation, so the second presents us with the source of our salvation, which
is, of course, the saving death and resurrection of Jesus Christ the Lord.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The Gospel moves us away from those fundamental, big-picture themes to
something we can immediately apply to ourselves. Which one of us doesn’t know
temptation? If you can say you don’t, I would really appreciate being let in on
the secret. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Temptation is part of the human condition. So much so that we have the
remarkable scene in today’s Gospel of Christ being tempted. Jesus, ‘a man like
us in all things but sin,’ nonetheless endured temptation. Tempted, one would
think, rather severely after a fast of forty days and forty nights. I didn’t
manage to walk by a bowl of peanuts during my fast on Friday.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And so: let’s look ahead. We have listened to the story of sin. St. Paul
has proclaimed the story of redemption. Where does this leave us? <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">In one way or another every Christian spends some time in the wilderness,
confused and uncertain. Each of us has moments when we doubt God, when we want
him to prove himself. And there are times when we stand on the mountaintops of
ambition and achievement, tempted to worship these and other false gods. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">How can we receive what St. Paul calls “the free gift of righteousness”?
How do we gain access to the abundance of grace that leads to justification and
life?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Listening to Father Richard Conlin on Thursday, I was once again
reminded that Jesus must be at the center of our Christian life. He talked
about the powerful, playful, and prodigal love of Jesus for us. That’s what
makes our parish irresistible—the love of Christ for each one of us.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">My one-sentence takeaway this week is this: it’s more than a story. We are
being offered a deep personal friendship with Jesus, which is the ultimate
remedy for temptation and the scars of sin. If we’re not looking for that in the
Church, then we are—if not in the wrong place, then certainly not obtaining the
benefits of being in the right place.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I have seen the future and it is working. The future for a renewed
Church, a renewed parish, and the renewal of our own lives, despite the effects
of sin and any weakness that besets us.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">People are responding to what we are doing at Christ the Redeemer. Guided
and strengthened by the Holy Spirit, we are going to keep it up.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">To end on a slightly humorous note, I never use quotations without
double-checking the source, since I find my memory often plays tricks on me. I Googled
“I have seen the future and it works” only to discover the words were written
by a naïve American journalist who wrote them after a visit to Communist Russia
in 1918! <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;">
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">He lived, of course, to eat his words. But I won’t eat mine: as I said
last week, in person and on video, this Mission can change your life. So if you
weren’t there on Thursday join us, and if you were there come back and invite
someone along with you.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><p></p>Msgr. Gregory Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07739878171006169486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9179027064458171571.post-30379039726079158722023-02-18T17:38:00.005-08:002023-02-18T17:42:47.780-08:00...as our Heavenly Father is Perfect (OT.7.A)<p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3mmqW4Djl66WJsvTVbcjihCiWAeC8QiF9b23oLslmleeIBamWyaU9qTFqFQDjxzX24QsYkTFxFScqs7rR62aicv7fbyjpK7OKSMFF90WSpaxjvcrmgvg98gzilkmLI2yW0PdWL8tLAZ5z180oZ3yWSCMNm_PkTNPWJUWB6QfMxO2Elme_KQ_w5oYE/s381/jesus%20teaching%207OT.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="135" data-original-width="381" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3mmqW4Djl66WJsvTVbcjihCiWAeC8QiF9b23oLslmleeIBamWyaU9qTFqFQDjxzX24QsYkTFxFScqs7rR62aicv7fbyjpK7OKSMFF90WSpaxjvcrmgvg98gzilkmLI2yW0PdWL8tLAZ5z180oZ3yWSCMNm_PkTNPWJUWB6QfMxO2Elme_KQ_w5oYE/w474-h167/jesus%20teaching%207OT.jpg" width="474" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; text-align: justify;">Let me start by reading something:</span></div></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .25in; margin-right: .25in; margin-top: 12.0pt; margin: 12pt 0.25in 0in; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">First thing every morning tell yourself: today I am going to meet a
busybody, an ingrate, a bully, a liar, a schemer, and a boor. Ignorance of good
and evil has made them what they are. But I know that the good is by nature
beautiful and the bad ugly, and I know that these wrongdoers are by nature my
brothers, not by blood or breeding, but by being similarly endowed with reason
and sharing in the divine.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">These are words that Marcus Aurelius wrote in his book of meditations some
two thousand years ago. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">There are two reasons I’m quoting an ancient Roman emperor this Sunday.
First, because of the <i>similarity</i> between his thoughts and those we hear
in today’s Gospel.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">If you compare the wisdom of Jesus with that of Marcus Aurelius, who was
renowned as a philosopher and ruler, you will see that Our Lord is not teaching
something that’s only relevant for Christians. The man or woman who is not at
the mercy of unpleasant people, of ungrateful people, even of treacherous people,
is truly free.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Marcus Aurelius says that these unpleasant and even evil people cannot
harm us because they can’t force us to do wrong against our will. Treating our
enemies better than they treat us expresses our autonomy and integrity and
spares us anger and resentment.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The second reason is the profound <i>difference</i> between the Emperor’s
meditation and Christ’s teaching. The Roman philosopher was a stoic, someone
who believed that wisdom and the path to happiness was found by self mastery,
submitting to the natural law, and enduring the circumstances of life.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">While these concepts are not foreign to Christians, compare what Marcus
Aurelius writes to what Jesus says about meeting evil with good. Philosophy
offers a way to bear the burdens of living with difficult and dishonest people;
Jesus shows us how to transform them and ourselves.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And he does so by turning the Old Testament law of justice into his own
law of love. It is one of the most important revelations in the New Testament.
The philosophy of the ancients was based on reason; but what we have heard
today seems not only unreasonable but impossible. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">However, as Jesus says elsewhere, nothing is impossible for God.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The Lord’s wisdom is not meant to be separated from grace. Marcus
Aurelius could not help the reader follow his advice, while Jesus—through the Holy
Spirit—fills our hearts with the love we show those who wrong us. What’s more,
he rewards us for our efforts to live the law of love.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And that’s not all. Even as wise and respected an emperor as Marcus
Aurelius was not someone we would want to imitate. We’ve heard his wonderful
words about tolerating others, but his tolerance did not extend to Christians! They
were brutally martyred during his rule; he even criticized them for crying at
public executions and for failing to die like stoics.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Jesus, on the other hand, became the living proof of his own words.
There are various examples of this but none better than when he prayed on the
cross for forgiveness of his executioners.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I’m fighting a nasty cold I picked up during my travels last week—nasty enough
that every time I tested for Covid I was disappointed at the negative result!
But I think it’s enough of an excuse to end this homily with its simple
summary: Love your enemies is earthly wisdom that brings us inner peace and divine
guidance that brings us a heavenly reward.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">So however ‘impossible’ it may seem, let us do our best to be perfect as
our Heavenly Father is perfect.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKGONRaUGs1JoEBMOkqruVa1PWfRfVsOSmiceqbJ_6Zx3m--Wb4FxtB_RohrocNu2ZKjRlELUUseSkjj4fy8z1q4kV4lsr4ZyDGpoX2s_EH9nLpx4FAu4IPJDg75GxSemwokqooBykEtCpsYRg-skj-EEonKSbGH6UbRvfp1ChBKUxeA60_nQyRJ21/s441/marcus-aurelius.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="441" data-original-width="332" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKGONRaUGs1JoEBMOkqruVa1PWfRfVsOSmiceqbJ_6Zx3m--Wb4FxtB_RohrocNu2ZKjRlELUUseSkjj4fy8z1q4kV4lsr4ZyDGpoX2s_EH9nLpx4FAu4IPJDg75GxSemwokqooBykEtCpsYRg-skj-EEonKSbGH6UbRvfp1ChBKUxeA60_nQyRJ21/w184-h245/marcus-aurelius.jpg" width="184" /></a></p></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="line-height: 110%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 14pt; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Aurelius" target="_blank">Marcus Aurelius: 121-180</a></i></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p></p>Msgr. Gregory Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07739878171006169486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9179027064458171571.post-59457602042484699882023-02-05T08:31:00.005-08:002023-02-05T08:46:26.216-08:00Be Salt for the World and Your Light will Shine (OT.5.A)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmUlpPOJLHCPuAVLdGT6noxzzhSkGEFUfvDYQU_WUgiputdoUuWxektQAzKNtcG70dbiQRDdD-AuIOTjqDrdmg-A3EGj4X7vtltZe4FAYUInuxW6bwDlHCC8EfP8Jx4dN0nQ_VGRSOu0rEmcDkSLOQevf45Dp82_Ki_o6cm1GNlIqNvEh7O-RKZU7Y/s1698/salt%20shaker.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1698" data-original-width="1133" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmUlpPOJLHCPuAVLdGT6noxzzhSkGEFUfvDYQU_WUgiputdoUuWxektQAzKNtcG70dbiQRDdD-AuIOTjqDrdmg-A3EGj4X7vtltZe4FAYUInuxW6bwDlHCC8EfP8Jx4dN0nQ_VGRSOu0rEmcDkSLOQevf45Dp82_Ki_o6cm1GNlIqNvEh7O-RKZU7Y/w164-h245/salt%20shaker.png" width="164" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: 14pt; text-align: justify;">I don’t talk much about my vocation story, partly because there’s not
that much to say! No dramatic conversion, and I wasn’t one of those boys who
wanted to be a priest from an early age.</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">In fact, from the time I was four years old until I was fourteen I wanted
only to be a doctor.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">What happened at fourteen, you might ask. Simple. I got back a report
card with my first C in science. And I’m sorry to say it wasn’t my last. It
didn’t take long to figure out I was not destined for medical school. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">But a preacher has to know some science—several of the great Fathers of
the Church, including St. John Chrysostom, were quite scientific in their
sermons on today’s Gospel. They speak about its use as a preservative, as a
seasoning, and even as something destructive used to destroy crops in time of
war.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Most of the other natural substances Jesus uses in his teaching are
straightforward: things like bread, wine, oil, seeds, and leaven. But salt is
ambiguous.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I may not be an expert on salt, but I know more than a fourth century
preacher did. And what I know—what we all know these days—is just as ambiguous
as what St. John Chrysostom knew.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Too much salt leads to high blood pressure and other medical problems.
Too little is just a big a problem even if it’s not as common. We need salt for
our bodies to work properly. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And cooks know that some foods need salt and others don’t. I haven’t
seen anybody putting salt on their ice cream lately.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">So there are two sides to the story when Jesus calls us “the salt of the
earth.” There’s a downside to salt. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">We need to be careful about being the salt of the earth for others. If
we over-season our conversation with morality or judgement, we can raise
someone’s blood pressure pretty darn quick. Just this week I heard two stories
from people in health care whose jobs require them to deal with people
requesting assisted suicide—medical assistance in dying. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The situations were different but the conclusions were the same: just telling
people it’s wrong to end their life this way almost always does more harm than
good. A Catholic doctor tells how she listened with great care to a patient
asking for MAiD. The patient told the doctor she was so touched by the
compassion that she wanted her to be the one to cause her death.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The physician explained that she could not do this, and told the patient
why. The patient, comforted by the doctor’s caring approach, chose not to carry
on with the request.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I wasn’t surprised to hear this. In our pastoral counselling course in
the seminary a brilliant professor of medicine, founder of the Catholic
marriage counselling network in Britain, urged us to resist our natural
instinct to tell people what they need to do—not because there’s no place for
that in the pulpit but because it’s simply no use in counselling.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">(In most cases, if they are Catholic, their heads know very well what is
right and what is wrong. It’s their hearts we can help.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Whether it’s a priest dealing with parishioners, a doctor with patients,
or a hospital chaplain with someone asking for MAID, we need to be like a good
cook, who know that less can be more, especially when it comes to salt.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">This, of course, is something many parents have learned the hard way. Contrary
to instinct, young people tune out sermonizing—they don’t like to be told, but
they love being heard. If we listen to them they will usually provide an
opportunity for the truth to be told sooner or later.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">We may have incredibly good arguments but if we come across as negative
or stern, young people will want nothing to do with what we’re offering.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I got a tremendous Christmas gift from a generous parishioner—a book
called “<a href="https://www.amazon.ca/St-Benedict-Collection-Brandon-Vogt/dp/1943243743/ref=sr_1_4?crid=2TST4193Q6GMH&keywords=Brandon+Vogt&qid=1675610866&sprefix=brandon+vogt%2Caps%2C134&sr=8-4" target="_blank">Return: How to Get Your Child Back to Church</a>.” The book, published by Bishop Barron’s
Word on Fire ministry, is full of great advice for parents. Among the simple
things it says is just “speak with positivity and joy.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The author, Brandon Vogt, has <a href="https://brandonvogt.com/books/" target="_blank">other books</a> with practical advice on what to say and how to say it when sharing
our faith with anyone. You can get them on <a href="https://www.amazon.ca/s?k=brandon+vogt&crid=3N9SYGN42J2J4&sprefix=brandon+vogt%2Caps%2C135&ref=nb_sb_noss_2" target="_blank">Amazon</a>
or “Return” directly from <a href="https://bookstore.wordonfire.org/collections/all-books/products/return" target="_blank">Word on Fire</a>. And over the summer another kind parishioner gave me a book of
essays, also from the amazing people at Word on Fire, titled “<a href="https://bookstore.wordonfire.org/products/the-new-apologetics?_pos=1&_sid=2191e3166&_ss=r" target="_blank">The New Apologetics: Defending the Faith in a Post-Christian Era</a>.” It too
presents a whole new way of being salt and light. You can also get it on <a href="https://bookstore.wordonfire.org/products/the-new-apologetics?_pos=1&_sid=2191e3166&_ss=r" target="_blank">Amazon</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">(Links to these books are on my blog. I should also mention that after
Communion today we are going to hear about a <a href="https://youtu.be/YMfQ6THu8cM" target="_blank">terrific event this week</a> that can help strengthen
fathers in their important role.) <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And then there are teachers. Pope Paul VI famously said:</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%;"> </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">“Modern man
listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to
teachers, it is because they are witnesses.” (<i>Evangelii Nuntiandi</i>, 41)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">We are so blessed in our parish and in our Archdiocese to have solid
Catholic schools with many disciples teaching in them. I’m particularly proud
of the two schools our parish supports. A number of our active parishioners
teach and minister at St. Anthony’s and St. Thomas Aquinas. We support the
schools financially, but we really owe the teachers our prayerful support as
well.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I hope I haven’t discouraged anybody from being salt of the earth. I
thought I might end by saying at least there’s nothing ambiguous about being
the light of the world. But a commentary on the text points out that there’s a
danger here, too. “If people see our good works they might praise us as good,
saintly Christians and then we would ‘have received our reward’,” as St.
Matthew says in the next chapter. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">“But Christ never lets his light and wisdom shine forth from his own
center. Instead he lets them radiate from the Father’s light and wisdom.” (Hans
Urs von Balthasar, <i>Light of the World</i>, p. 46) <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Christ’s disciples must also take care that their actions reflect God’s
glory and not their own. St. Teresa of Calcutta regularly said Cardinal
Newman’s prayer “Radiating Christ,” which is inspired by what we heard Jesus
say this morning.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">That prayer includes these words “Shine through me, and be so in me that
every soul I come in contact with may feel Thy presence in my soul. Let them
look up and see no longer me, but only Jesus!”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">St. John Henry Newman wasn’t praying only about being light to the world
but also, indirectly, about being salt for the earth—because the prayer ends
“Let me preach Thee without preaching, not by words but by my example, by the
catching force of the sympathetic influence of what I do, the evident fullness
of the love my heart bears to Thee. Amen.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And so my one sentence summary: there can be too much of a good thing
when it comes to sharing the faith or speaking the truth; sometimes “less is
more.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Let us season and preserve the world of our families, friends, and
workplaces more by what we do than by what we say—all for God’s glory, and with
the Holy Spirit’s help.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-CzXxSzMRI1o1k0t_GF9qFnz8CXPCk9cNKLqv6-d1RPmAorKmJvY2SLzXj2vYsCzqOoam7Ed1OYq1idxIHz0qvvckUTqWWiIOHKJD4aOuhVe8OuN3uN0YAWPFwfSKYK3IXuD38PahZVhjZa_4u89eySQ74imRJ0W5fJNwaYOZ04yxjABXyJE_WSPm/s3104/John_Henry_Newman_by_Sir_John_Everett_Millais,_1st_Bt.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3104" data-original-width="2400" height="125" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-CzXxSzMRI1o1k0t_GF9qFnz8CXPCk9cNKLqv6-d1RPmAorKmJvY2SLzXj2vYsCzqOoam7Ed1OYq1idxIHz0qvvckUTqWWiIOHKJD4aOuhVe8OuN3uN0YAWPFwfSKYK3IXuD38PahZVhjZa_4u89eySQ74imRJ0W5fJNwaYOZ04yxjABXyJE_WSPm/w96-h125/John_Henry_Newman_by_Sir_John_Everett_Millais,_1st_Bt.jpg" width="96" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i><span lang="EN-CA">Radiating Christ</span></i></b></div>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span lang="EN-CA">Dear Jesus, <br />help me
to spread Your fragrance wherever I go.<br />
Flood my soul with Your spirit and life.<br />
Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly,<br />
that my life may only be a radiance of Yours.<br />
Shine through me, and be so in me<br />
that every soul I come in contact with <br />may feel Your presence in my soul<br />
Let them look up and see no longer me, but only Jesus!<br />
Stay with me and then I shall begin to shine as You shine,<br />
so to shine as to be a light to others.<br />
The light, O Jesus, will be all from You; <br />none of it will be mine.<br />
It will be you, shining on others through me.<br />
Let me thus praise You the way You love best, <br />by shining on those around me.<br />
Let me preach You without preaching,<br />
not by words but by my example,<br />
by the catching force of the sympathetic influence <br />of what I do,<br />
the evident fullness of the love my heart bears to You.<br />
Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"> </span></p><p></p>Msgr. Gregory Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07739878171006169486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9179027064458171571.post-31352403553263801752023-01-29T07:58:00.003-08:002023-01-29T08:04:14.849-08:00The Beatitudes: Teaching for Disciples Only! (OT.4.A)<p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjmZKjiIv5djibF7QlmZI_pgpziNpi_uJVyimVqYScZcwgSKPZmNksKtpcud_zsEGRhWeYoWSRGFlYmKgvCCB7J29Hfp56YKifVub198SV6dtocjK1Axdf2Ihat57jyn7y9Tjg5Ma71_I-U0IM2wfew0D2iJVok2Xs8SXHXo5dzoVhFi6Q2cUKtu9d/s505/Beatitudes-of-Jesus.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="409" data-original-width="505" height="324" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjmZKjiIv5djibF7QlmZI_pgpziNpi_uJVyimVqYScZcwgSKPZmNksKtpcud_zsEGRhWeYoWSRGFlYmKgvCCB7J29Hfp56YKifVub198SV6dtocjK1Axdf2Ihat57jyn7y9Tjg5Ma71_I-U0IM2wfew0D2iJVok2Xs8SXHXo5dzoVhFi6Q2cUKtu9d/w400-h324/Beatitudes-of-Jesus.jpg" width="400" /></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; text-align: justify;">The Ten Commandments are
for everyone, even if the atheist philosopher Bertrand Russell said they were
like a final exam of ten questions, with the heading “answer only six.”</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">You don’t need much faith,
if any, to recognize that most of the commandments are fundamental to living a
decent life.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Not so the nine beatitudes
that we have just heard. They are for disciples. Jesus is speaking “to those
who are not only ready to listen to him but to accompany him.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">This is particularly clear
for the ninth beatitude, which is obviously addressed directly to the
disciples.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The great theologian Hans
Urs von Balthasar explains why this teaching is not something everyone can
understand. Jesus gives the beatitudes as “a self-portrait that invites his
listeners to follow him.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">“He is the one who has
become poor for our sake, who weeps over Jerusalem. He is the non-violent one
against whom all the world’s violence rages and is shattered. He is the one who
hungers and thirsts for God’s justice … who has the pure heart who always sees
the Father.” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">“He is the one who is
persecuted by the entire world because he has incarnated God’s righteousness.”
(Hans Urs von Balthasar, <i><a href="https://www.amazon.ca/Light-Word-Reflections-Sunday-Readings/dp/0898704588/ref=sr_1_2?crid=3COQSBY5FVRIF&keywords=light+of+the+world+Urs+von+Balthasar&qid=1675006240&sprefix=light+of+the+world+urs+von+balthasar%2Caps%2C209&sr=8-2" target="_blank">Light of the World: Brief Reflections on the Sunday Readings</a></i>, p. 43)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">And in all of this, Jesus
is blessed by the Father and exults even in the midst of tribulation.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">So, the big question for
us today is not whether we believe the difficult teaching of the beatitudes. It’s
whether we are ready to pay what the Lutheran martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer called
“<a href="https://www.amazon.ca/Cost-Discipleship-Dietrich-Bonhoeffer/dp/0684815001/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1XOGAKJE8298F&keywords=cost+of+discipleship+bonhoeffer&qid=1675006316&sprefix=cost+of+dis%2Caps%2C132&sr=8-1" target="_blank">the cost of discipleship</a>,” which according to the Scottish spiritual writer
John Dalrymple is “<a href="https://www.amazon.ca/Costing-Not-Less-Than-Everyth/dp/0232519536/ref=sr_1_1?crid=20MRVI4LCHEU4&keywords=john+dalrymple+costing&qid=1675006412&sprefix=john+dalrymple+costing%2Caps%2C123&sr=8-1" target="_blank">not less than everything</a>.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">In saying that, I may
have put the cart before the horse. The real question is simply ‘are we ready
to become disciples?’—not only to listen to Jesus but to accompany him all the
way.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Our response to the
beatitudes is like a rapid antigen test. Just a few minutes of reflection can
tell us where we are on the discipleship path.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">For that matter, looking
at the beatitudes as Christ’s “self-portrait,” as “the pure expression of his most
personal mission and destiny,” can tell us how well we know our Lord and invite
us to go deeper with him.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Each of the nine beatitudes
needs a separate homily, but today I will focus only on one: “Blessed are you
when people revile you persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you
falsely on my account.” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">For me, this is more difficult
than all the others.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">But it is also, for me,
the beatitude I have felt personally and painfully in the persecution of
Cardinal George Pell, who died suddenly earlier this month. Probably because I
care too much what others think of me, I can’t imagine any suffering greater
than false accusation not to mention imprisonment.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">At the same time, only
the stories of the valiant martyrs whose blood has watered the Church’s soil
from the beginning until now, have moved and challenged me as much as Cardinal
Pell’s. When his <a href="https://www.amazon.ca/Prison-Journal-George-Cardinal-Pell/dp/1621644480/ref=sr_1_2?crid=JZ9W0UAOP9O1&keywords=prison+journals+pell&qid=1675006479&sprefix=prison+journal+pell%2Caps%2C133&sr=8-2" target="_blank">prison journals</a> came out in <a href="https://www.amazon.ca/Prison-Journal-State-Rejects-Appeal/dp/1621644502/ref=sr_1_1?crid=JZ9W0UAOP9O1&keywords=prison+journals+pell&qid=1675006548&sprefix=prison+journal+pell%2Caps%2C133&sr=8-1" target="_blank">three volumes</a> my first thought was
“couldn’t he have found an editor?” Even St. Augustine and St. Therese made do
with one diary.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Now, halfway through the first
book I’m deeply grateful for how this journal paints a daily picture of a man with
such faith in Jesus that he was able to put more hope in his vindication in
heaven than on earth, even if that was eventually granted also.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">His friend George Weigel
writes that “Throughout his ordeal, Cardinal Pell was a model of patience and,
indeed, a model of priestly character. Knowing that he was innocent, he was a
free man even when incarcerated.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">It’s fair to say that a
deep faith in Christ’s promise to those who are persecuted was the source of
that freedom. The journal also makes clear that he embraced the Gospel teaching
of loving and praying for his enemies, of which there were many.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">My relatively high-profile
position in our Archdiocese could expose me in future to a minor version of
what Cardinal Pell experienced; few of you need to fear that. But surely
everyone, especially the young, knows what it is to be reviled for their
Catholic faith. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Some years ago a
parishioner sent an office e-mail describing Holy Week to his fellow employees.
He was formally reprimanded by his superiors for a respectful communication
that would have been commended coming from someone of another faith.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Although anti-Catholic
sentiments run high, actual persecution usually affects people in certain
professions or at certain stages in their education or careers. If you are fortunate
enough to be spared the worst of this, might I suggest choosing another
beatitude—just one—and spending some time with it.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">How, for instance, do we seek
to be peacemakers, to be pure of heart? How do we imitate Jesus, the Prince of
Peace, whose pure heart willed only the will of his Heavenly Father?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">So here’s my “one
sentence” challenge to disciples: dive personally into one of the beatitudes. Even
one will test our willingness to follow Jesus by becoming like him.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">And let us pray for all
those who are persecuted for righteousness or on account of their faith in
Christ and his Church. Let us pray also for the repose of the soul of Cardinal
Pell, whose visit to our parish some years ago I now consider a very special grace
and blessing.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;">
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">We can end with a prayer
from the martyr St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, better known as Edith Stein.
Cardinal Pell prays it during his fifteenth week in prison, awaiting the result
of his appeal: </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">“We know not, and we should not ask before the time, where our
earthly way will lead us. We know only this, that to those who love the Lord,
all things will work together to the good, and further, that the ways by which
our Saviour leads us point beyond this earth.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>Those interested in knowing more about Cardinal Pell can read the recollections of his friend (and mine) Father Raymond de Souza <a href="https://www.ncregister.com/commentaries/remembering-cardinal-george-pell-personal-reflections" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="https://www.ncregister.com/commentaries/remembering-cardinal-george-pell-personal-reflections-part-2-1r6c1466" target="_blank">here</a>. The internet abounds with accounts of the Cardinal's judicial proceedings, but I find the <a href="https://thesydneyinstitute.com.au/blog/lessons-from-the-pell-case-two-years-after-the-high-court-decision-frank-brennan/" target="_blank">detailed analysis</a> of the Jesuit priest and civil lawyer Father Frank Brennan particularly cogent.</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPrn3w0sRwRDtQrV8Nxgsdysywr-CrPJCH_UWoGDJLtvb-XcNYN5Ko0J72J8jK77Snl3mtt5vImD6MHta0eq9WS5FzLUCBjH1yUOpJsw54dLGiHWXPzui6J0UlfQCDOkVNsZyNN_H6zT_YtRNpGYbzjoJtImzFonGv-ig0lUduIPV3cNpGXfETsDZ5/s263/images.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="263" data-original-width="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPrn3w0sRwRDtQrV8Nxgsdysywr-CrPJCH_UWoGDJLtvb-XcNYN5Ko0J72J8jK77Snl3mtt5vImD6MHta0eq9WS5FzLUCBjH1yUOpJsw54dLGiHWXPzui6J0UlfQCDOkVNsZyNN_H6zT_YtRNpGYbzjoJtImzFonGv-ig0lUduIPV3cNpGXfETsDZ5/s16000/images.jpg" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i><p></p></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><p></p><br /><p></p>Msgr. Gregory Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07739878171006169486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9179027064458171571.post-66509352063329342162023-01-22T09:30:00.003-08:002023-01-22T17:01:32.323-08:00Read God's Word – Receive His Promises (Ord.3.A)<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEOXDJF3YJ8EIAb7qg2UwhOQuHb8jgFszD-gXPQZwmRPqFe14Z6Hf_p4jfUQcb5ju0qXF8zEICFwBDuDDfMG-agoDnfLJVAz5RFYWc930S5gVMiArqWSfqZTJwb11BnRr2buZFtnGCZ-mmYky9Q2PsHyG6v0L0Z-PGL6D6f2CGRqTLyLPBaJWTTWn4/s450/word-of-god-2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="450" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEOXDJF3YJ8EIAb7qg2UwhOQuHb8jgFszD-gXPQZwmRPqFe14Z6Hf_p4jfUQcb5ju0qXF8zEICFwBDuDDfMG-agoDnfLJVAz5RFYWc930S5gVMiArqWSfqZTJwb11BnRr2buZFtnGCZ-mmYky9Q2PsHyG6v0L0Z-PGL6D6f2CGRqTLyLPBaJWTTWn4/w320-h213/word-of-god-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; text-align: justify;">What promises we hear
this morning! Light in gloomy times, freedom from our heaviest burdens, an
increase in joy. And it’s not even Christmas.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">That’s just the first
reading. In the Gospel, Jesus repeats the promise of light in darkness, even
the darkness of the shadow that death casts on all of us.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">“What’s not to like?”, as
a 2022 pop song asks.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">But where do we find the
light? Where’s the freedom? How do we get out from under the things that weigh
us down?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Let me answer with a
story I heard more than thirty years ago. I don’t even remember if it’s fact or
fiction, but it’s stayed with me all this time. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The story is about a
young man whose father promised him a new car for his 21st birthday. But when
he came down to breakfast on the big day, all he found waiting on the table was
a new Bible, nicely wrapped.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The headstrong young man
threw it down and stormed out of the house. He was so angry he didn’t return
until he received news that his father had died suddenly.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">After the funeral he went
up to his old bedroom. There, on a shelf, was the Bible that had so deeply
disappointed him. He opened it—and his father’s cheque to the car dealership
fluttered to the floor.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Fact or fiction, the
story reminds us that the Bible contains what we’re hoping for; there’s a
treasure within its pages. But we need
to open the book.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The Word of God is where
we can find the way to all that’s promised us today—light, freedom, joy, and
more. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">In 2019 Pope Francis
decided the Church needed to devote one Sunday each year specially to the word
of God to help us experience how the Lord opens up the treasury of his word. So
the Holy Father instituted the celebration of Sunday of the Word of God, on the
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">He pointed out that the
Sunday of the Word of God will occur around the time of the annual week of
Prayer for Christian Unity. This is no accident: the Bible, which we share with
all our fellow Christians, point out “the path to authentic and firm unity.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">As suggested by Pope
Francis—not to mention one of our own parishioners—we will bless our lectors at
all Masses today “in order to bring out the importance of the proclamation of
God’s word in the liturgy.” (<i><a href="https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/motu_proprio/documents/papa-francesco-motu-proprio-20190930_aperuit-illis.html" target="_blank">Aperuit illis</a></i>, Pope Francis, 19 Sep 2019)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">But not for a moment
should Word of God Sunday end on Sunday—any more than our prayer for Christian
unity should only last a week. Today, however, the two themes combine
beautifully. Our Protestant brothers and sisters give us an excellent example
of devotion to the Scriptures, and it is one of the gifts of the ecumenical
movement that many Catholics have been inspired by them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I was out for a walk with
a good Catholic friend the other day and I thanked him for sharing something
helpful with me. Right away he replied “Simply I learned about Wisdom, and
ungrudgingly do I share; her riches I do not hide away”—words from the seventh
chapter of the Book of Wisdom, which he continued to quote.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I asked when he’d
memorized these words, expecting him to answer ‘religion class.’ Instead, he
told me that when he started to pray Morning and Evening Prayer some years back
he found himself both consoled and inspired by the Word of God, particularly
the Book of Wisdom, (and I quote) “in its beauty, its potent truth and concise
clarity.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">He said that he wanted to
“carry” the words with him, and so set out to memorize the passage, although
that wasn’t something he’d done for years! <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">He emailed me later to
say that memorizing the text has not only been a delight but continues to be a
constant inspiration.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">How many of us have a
text from the Bible longer than a sentence close at hand—or close at heart?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I won’t show off by
quoting, but there are several passages in the Letter to the Hebrews that I
know from memory, and two in particular remind us of the power of Scripture.
The first is probably quite familiar to you: “The word of God is living and
active, sharper than any two-edged sword…able to judge the thoughts and
intentions of the heart.” (Heb. 4:12)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The second is: “Let us
keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, who leads us in our faith and brings it to
perfection.” (Heb. 12:2 NJB) How can we keep our eyes fixed on him without
looking to God’s word? As St. Jerome has said, ignorance of Scripture is
ignorance of Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">By meditating on the
words of God we enter into the mysteries of Christ’s life, death, and
resurrection—not to become theologians but disciples.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">A fine Dominican—who was
a theologian—said that “a deep and loving knowledge of God, a deep insight into
Christ and a loving imitation of him,” will refashion our way of living, and
give us courage and power impossible to human nature on its own.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">“As a result of such
knowledge and love of Christ, discouragement and weakness will be replaced by
joy and strength in doing great things for God,” the late Father Paul
Hinnebusch, </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-caps: small-caps; text-align: left;">op </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">wrote.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">In other words, the
answer to the question I asked earlier “Where do we find the light, the freedom
and the joy?” is from knowledge and love of Christ. And we obtain that
knowledge and love in part from the living and active word of God.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Of course we know Christ
in other ways—through the liturgy, the sacraments, prayer, and the example of
fellow disciples. But his word plays a key role in all these ways as well.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I can end right there as
long as I keep my promise to provide a one-sentence summary for each homily.
Today it is simply this: Let us read Scripture and reflect on it more often so
that we can receive all that God has promised us in Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Perhaps one last word
from the Word of God as we begin the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, the
prayer Jesus made to the Father in the Gospel of John: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I ask…that
they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also
be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that
you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I
in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world
may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.</span></i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjR0J8ai41lTWqWxdH24uGbI7m6wPVW8dF8C3Mk6Eb5SXASICimjuSMV9isfaA_oqTBzU07mPaiYn-A8XF-6i8hwH5WLBk0D5hFcFNl7yM_gb1IX1VwLuvRJwizj3e1k131WaXukVwU8esBo1ZTEog-dwY7kedMCmtRpm4Dbg2P6BFGCzvf2HaPweRL" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1" data-original-width="248" height="1" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjR0J8ai41lTWqWxdH24uGbI7m6wPVW8dF8C3Mk6Eb5SXASICimjuSMV9isfaA_oqTBzU07mPaiYn-A8XF-6i8hwH5WLBk0D5hFcFNl7yM_gb1IX1VwLuvRJwizj3e1k131WaXukVwU8esBo1ZTEog-dwY7kedMCmtRpm4Dbg2P6BFGCzvf2HaPweRL" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="line-height: 115%; margin: 12pt 0in 0.0001pt 0.25in; text-align: justify;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 4.3pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt; margin: 12pt 0in 0in 4.3pt; tab-stops: 2.0in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Here is what my good friend actually
wrote me; it needed to be shortened in the homily. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6.0pt; margin: 6pt 0in 0in 0.25in; tab-stops: 2.0in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">“Simply, I learned about Wisdom<br />
<i> and ungrudgingly do I share—<br />
her riches I do not hide away; <br />
for to men she is an unfailing treasure;<br />
those who gain this treasure win the friendship of God,<br />
to whom the gifts they have from discipline commend them</i> </span><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">(Wis. 7:13-14).</span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 12pt 0in 0.0001pt 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">“As I have been fortunate
enough to cultivate the habit of praying Morning and Evening Prayer over the
last number of years, I have been greatly consoled and inspired by the Word of
God. The Book of Wisdom has had a
particular attraction for me and the above passage really resonated for me, in
its beauty, its potent truth and concise clarity. I wanted to “carry” it with me, and so I was
compelled to try and memorize it, although such an exercise had not been
something I had been in the habit of doing for some decades! Committing the passage to memory has been not
only a delight but continues to be a constant inspiration. This exercise has
also inspired me to the happy task of committing the following passage to
memory as well:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 4.5pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt; margin: 12pt 0in 0in 4.5pt; tab-stops: 2.0in;">
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt; margin: 12pt 0in 0in 0.25in; tab-stops: 2.0in;"><i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Love is patient and kind; love is not
jealous or boastful; <br />
it is not arrogant or rude. <br />
Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; <br />
it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. <br />
Love bears all things, believes all things, <br />
hopes all things, endures all things </span></i><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">(Cor. 13:4‒7)</span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">.”<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></p></div><p></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: 0.25in; tab-stops: 2.0in; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYzSSGWHTxdwSzuc7HMLo2LO4os2pCXfWv6o4xWTFiutVFUuhrLEWz3ZZoS_eMlASC6yGzfbJ27UEh_sW74KJK-O4i6YmuVLczsc2lYrd0rBDTON6vH2tyiGxObTG13EZEAeLEgjZ647TB0-oY2QX-XDx97gpQ7LlofsoLaVW428Xcw7jEC0pwXpqB/s1200/sunday-wordofogd-logo.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYzSSGWHTxdwSzuc7HMLo2LO4os2pCXfWv6o4xWTFiutVFUuhrLEWz3ZZoS_eMlASC6yGzfbJ27UEh_sW74KJK-O4i6YmuVLczsc2lYrd0rBDTON6vH2tyiGxObTG13EZEAeLEgjZ647TB0-oY2QX-XDx97gpQ7LlofsoLaVW428Xcw7jEC0pwXpqB/w293-h195/sunday-wordofogd-logo.jpg" width="293" /></a></p></div><br /><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><p></p><br /><p></p><p></p>Msgr. Gregory Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07739878171006169486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9179027064458171571.post-87008542991235735862023-01-08T06:13:00.011-08:002023-01-11T18:26:25.446-08:00Epiphany: Time, Talent, and Treasure<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5zjw3d-bNHrlgzCS76dR8sC1XzTkYXIz8dbTi93TB715WsTItawjauKk7pDpYkdAYxMsn0DXClAF11LucnuDBLgXdk4tuUyUBb5QDNm_5cUX5XmPIXI1-OhEIGyDHoVGgUrEukgojzP5-mIxU2vrtkbcXn1IY3jR2hAGMydI12yjiGFzhVvf1GSoa/s800/6a00d83452fd3d69e201b8d1931b7b970c-800wi.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="396" data-original-width="800" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5zjw3d-bNHrlgzCS76dR8sC1XzTkYXIz8dbTi93TB715WsTItawjauKk7pDpYkdAYxMsn0DXClAF11LucnuDBLgXdk4tuUyUBb5QDNm_5cUX5XmPIXI1-OhEIGyDHoVGgUrEukgojzP5-mIxU2vrtkbcXn1IY3jR2hAGMydI12yjiGFzhVvf1GSoa/w400-h198/6a00d83452fd3d69e201b8d1931b7b970c-800wi.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">On
New Year’s Day, I dropped in on a parishioner for a visit. As I was getting up
to leave, he asked me to wait a second while he got something from another
room.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">When
he returned, he handed me a solid gold bar as a donation to the parish. It was
only the size of two Purdy’s chocolates, but I realized at once this was a very
valuable gift.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I
was grateful, of course, but I confessed right away that I had mixed feelings
about the timing.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">“If
only you’d waited a week, I could have brought your gift of gold to the Lord on
the feast of the Epiphany!”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Well,
nothing’s perfect. I do have some frankincense here, but sadly the gold is already
locked away in a safe downtown. And I really wouldn’t know where to find myrrh.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">But
even if I can’t imitate the Three Kings this morning, we can do some thinking
about their three gifts. Much of it you’ve heard before, but it’s worth
thinking about again.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The
gifts of the magi are all about Jesus, not about them. Gold is a gift for a King.
While it’s obvious that you would only give a king something very precious,
there’s more to it than that. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The
Old Testament makes some important references to how gold is used to pay homage.
The Queen of Sheba brings a large amount of gold to King Solomon (1 Kings
10:1-2), while Psalm 72 and a passage from Isaiah both prophesy that the
nations will pay homage to the king of Israel, offering him gifts of gold and
frankincense. (Curtis Mitch and Edward Sri, <i>The Gospel of Matthew</i>, page
53)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">We
see here that Jesus is not only King of the Jews, as the magi first refer to
him when speaking with Herod. By the time they arrive in Bethlehem, the wise
men pay homage to the King of the world.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The
gift of frankincense recognizes that this King is divine. Incense was used
then, as it is now, in worship. We pay homage not to an earthly power but to
the Creator of earth itself.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And
of course, myrrh foretells the death and burial of Jesus. St. Mark tells us
that Jesus was offered wine and myrrh at his crucifixion (Mark 15:23) and in
John's Gospel, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea brought myrrh and aloes to anoint
the Lord’s body (John 19:39).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Thus,
as Bishop Daniel Mueggenborg says in a fine homily for the Epiphany, the
identity of Jesus is shown in the three gifts: “He is King, God (and/or High
Priest) and Man (someone who will die).”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">He
then reaches a powerful conclusion: In one way or another, the gifts we offer
from our lives show who Jesus is to us.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">“For
some, Jesus is a small part of their lives whose reign extends only to an hour
on Sunday morning. Such a limited understanding of Jesus will be reflected by
an equally limited gift of one’s life to the Lord.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">“For
others, Jesus is the Lord of their lives twenty-four hours a day, seven days a
week.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And
<i>that</i> understanding of Jesus will be reflected in an all-out gift of one’s life
to him. <o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-size: 18.6667px;">(Daniel H. Mueggenborg, </span><i style="font-size: 18.6667px;">Come Follow Me: Discipleship Reflections on the Sunday Gospel Readings, Liturgical Year A</i><span style="font-size: 18.6667px;">, page 39)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Obviously,
I am not going to tell you the name of the parishioner who handed me the gold
bar. But I can tell you that for many, many years—long before I came to Christ
the Redeemer—he and his wife made an all-out gift of themselves to the Lord.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I’m
not even thinking of their generous financial support. However much their support for
the church means at this crucial time of change and rebirth, it pales in comparison
to all they did in bringing people to Jesus through evangelization and teaching.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Coincidentally—or not coincidentally!—2022 ended the same way 2023 began, with a budget-balancing donation from other two other very generous parishioners. We’ve talked a lot about <span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">‘</span>engagement’ lately following our <a href="https://www.avcatholics.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Gallup-Faith-Practice-ME25-Brochure1.pdf" target="_blank">ME25 Survey</a>. It shouldn’t come as any surprise that the second couple whose gift has made such a difference to the parish are models of engagement—parishioners involved for many years in multiple roles supporting the mission of Christ the Redeemer.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And even though the
magi teach us a lot this morning, we can’t lose sight of the humble
shepherds. Because as we heard in last Sunday’s Gospel, it was the shepherds who
“made known what had been told them about this child.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The
gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh are precious symbols, but only that.
Today isn’t primarily about the gifts we bring, but about the Gift we have
received—Jesus Christ, true God, and true Man.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Today
we are invited to make him known in the darkness of a world beset by war and an
attack on life worthy of Herod himself. We pay homage to the Lord in the best
possible way when we share in the mission for which he came to earth—the sharing
of Good News to all the earth.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">There’s
the key message of today’s homily. If we sincerely acknowledge Jesus as our
divine King and Saviour, we will share our gifts of time, talent, and treasure,
always mindful that the greatest treasure is not gold or silver, but Christ
himself.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">We
don’t need angels, camels, or treasure chests to kneel before this Child and
pay him homage. We only need to invite someone to kneel beside us. In the
simplest and most practical of ways, we do that by inviting someone to Alpha, a
modern version of what the shepherds and the magi experienced.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I
visited another parishioner yesterday, on the eve of the Epiphany. No gold, but
a very tasty cake! She told me, as if she’d failed, about unsuccessfully inviting
a family member to Alpha. When I asked about inviting him to Water in the
Desert, she said she’d done that too. And she told me she’d eventually just
asked him to sit in the empty church with her.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">A
failure? No, a great success! She had learned the key message we’ve been sharing
at Christ the Redeemer for several years and lived it perfectly. The message is
not “Succeed” but “Invite.” Make the Lord known in simple ways, and let the
Holy Spirit do the rest.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">We’ve
been talking lately about becoming an irresistible parish. Even if we’re not
there yet, it’s been a week for me of irresistible parishioners, loving the
newborn King with all their hearts.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The image above is a painting by Alaska artist Kesler Woodward titled </span><span style="font-size: 18.6667px;">“</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: 0.5in;">A Small Epiphany</span><span style="font-size: 18.6667px; text-indent: 0.5in;">.” He explains the work <a href="https://keslerwoodward.typepad.com/painting_in_the_north/2016/01/a-small-epiphany.html">here</a>.</span></i></p>Msgr. Gregory Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07739878171006169486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9179027064458171571.post-42565062040025885232022-12-24T12:51:00.007-08:002022-12-24T13:14:04.930-08:00Feel the Joy! (Christmas 2022 Year A)<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFp6la-dyH37RGSsjErhJoYTBxA2o8JECm_fzO_lCU6mFulzsp1dT8hdN6xHp4gJjzXHnoitc-7_LsuBOKOXXS3OUQVhxKxm5xNVD3PUknjU_3af5wzkHfYzFvBIamZgsDkIH8xnTu6QoRvcMZt6-QRs_3JqjimkM8EdIT5JcisktG-h2xHa_KWh6q/s903/mother-teresa-christmas-1.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="903" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFp6la-dyH37RGSsjErhJoYTBxA2o8JECm_fzO_lCU6mFulzsp1dT8hdN6xHp4gJjzXHnoitc-7_LsuBOKOXXS3OUQVhxKxm5xNVD3PUknjU_3af5wzkHfYzFvBIamZgsDkIH8xnTu6QoRvcMZt6-QRs_3JqjimkM8EdIT5JcisktG-h2xHa_KWh6q/w406-h202/mother-teresa-christmas-1.png" width="406" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; text-align: justify;">What’s your favourite
Christmas carol?</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">If you chose “Joy to the World” you picked a winner. Although the
internet is filled with lists of ‘most-popular’ carols, Joy to the World is the
</span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://hymnary.org/node/6445"><span lang="EN-CA">most published</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Surprisingly, it was not written
for Christmas. The Protestant minister Isaac Watts, who also wrote “When I
Survey the Wondrous Cross,” and “O God, Our Help in Ages Past,” wrote the song for a 1719 hymnal of psalms set
to music.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">But where it started out is not where “Joy to the World” ended up: it’s </span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://hymnary.org/text/joy_to_the_world_the_lord_is_come"><span lang="EN-CA">been called</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">
“one of the most joyous Christmas hymns in existence; not in the sense of
merry-making but in the deep and solemn realization of what Christ’s birth has
meant to mankind.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">It didn’t hurt that some of the tune is taken from Handel’s Messiah. But
I suspect that its first word is what attracts so many people to this carol.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Joy is a simple word but a powerful one. It appears about sixty times in
the New Testament. And it appears three times in the scriptures we’ve heard
tonight: twice in Isaiah’s prophecy to those who lived in darkness, and once in
what the angel said to the frightened shepherds.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Let’s take a close look at what the angel said. “Do not be afraid; for
see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Good news of great joy! The angel seems confident in his message. Which
makes me wonder: are we? We all agree that the birth of Christ is good news—you
wouldn’t be here tonight if you thought it was bad news! But do we experience
it as “good news of great joy”?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Even for the shepherds, the angel’s announcement brings joy from the
outset. Look how the angel begins by acknowledging that they are frightened:
his first words were “do not be afraid.” But the next thing he said was “I
bring you good news of great joy.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">This news overcomes the shepherds’ fear: by the end of the Gospel reading,
they are heading off to Bethlehem, something no shepherd in his right mind
would do without a very good reason, unless, of course, they took the sheep
along—and if they did, St. Luke really ought to have told us. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">It’s very clear that the angel’s words are not intended just for the
frightened shepherds. The angel says he is bringing “good news of great joy for
all the people.” This message is for everyone.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">It’s for everyone, in the first place, because Jesus came to save the
whole world. That’s precisely what St. Paul says to Titus in our second reading
today: “The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all.” We find confirmation
of this in chapter three, verse sixteen of St. John’s Gospel, a reference which
we see on signs held up at American football games: “For God so loved the
world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not
perish but have eternal life.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">But let’s be careful! “The world” and “all people” seems a long way from
me. From my family. My friends.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">If there’s good news for all the people, there better be good news for
me—for my messiness, for my troubles, for my sins and fears.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And there is. The engaging Christian writer Rick Warren puts it this
way: “Regardless of your background, religion, problems, or circumstances,
Christmas really is the best news you could get.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">“Beneath all the visible sights and sounds of Christmas are some simple
yet profound truths that can transform your life for the better here on earth
and for forever in eternity.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And, Pastor Warren adds, “it doesn’t matter who you are, what you’ve
done, or where you’ve been, or where you’re headed—this news is for you.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">So, really, the angel brought the shepherds more than good news—it was
the best news. And if that’s not a reason for joy, what is?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Yet there are still some among us who view Christmas—or Christianity at
least—with anything but joy. It’s about being naughty or nice—mostly naughty.
Rules. Duty. Burdens.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The fact is, you can’t separate Christian faith from joy. St. Paul tells
the Philippians to rejoice in the Lord always—not some of the time but all of
the time. In good times and in bad, we can find a baseline of peace in knowing
that we are loved, and that God has a plan for us.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">It’s not a feeling, but a conviction—an attitude of gratitude rooted in
belief that the Lord has come and will come again in glory. Our faith in his
appearing brings the blessed hope of his final coming; and between the two, we
live serene in the knowledge that God works for good in all things for those
who love him (Romans 8:28).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Of course, it’s not only Christmas that gives us joyful hope. The baby
in the manger, who becomes the man on the Cross, dies for us. In the most
joyful moment of all history, he rises from the dead. We celebrate this at
Easter with hymns even more glorious than Christmas carols!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Everything we do to serve God and neighbour, however difficult, can be
joyful if we do it in gratitude for what God has done for us by becoming man.
It’s been said that Mother Teresa left happiness to find joy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">In fact, Saint Teresa of Calcutta understood very well the difference
between true joy and mere human happiness at Christmas. She is quoted as saying
“The coming of Jesus at Bethlehem brought joy to the world and to every human
heart. May His coming this Christmas bring to each one of us the peace and joy
He desires to give.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">My trusty dictionary of Catholic spirituality points out that while we
might experience an ecstatic kind of joy from time to time, “the principle aim
of the Christian life is to serve God and neighbour joyfully.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">At the same time, “in the spiritual life, God is the supreme joy and the
greatest delight” (<i>Dictionary of Catholic Spirituality</i>, p. 578).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Four or five weeks ago I promised to give a one-sentence summary of
every homily. Today, what I am saying is that the joy of Christmas is joy to
the world and for every single one of us. I can make that even shorter: <i>Feel </i>the joy!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The angel’s message to the startled shepherds was meant for all of us:
rich, poor, young, old, Christian, and non-believer. It’s a message of joy—a
joy that is personal and that can give meaning and purpose to our challenges
and struggles.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">This joy is more powerful than our fears, because ultimately it is
deeper and more real.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">We’ve heard the Christmas story
so many times that we can forget it’s not a story. Nothing could be more real
than what took place at Bethlehem when heaven and nature sang. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Even the first words of tonight’s Gospel are intended to remind us that
this event actually happened. St. Luke does not begin “Once upon a time,” like
a fairy tale. He says “In those days,” when Augustus Caesar ruled the Roman
Empire and Quirinius was governor of Syria. Scholars argue about the exact date
but that’s not really the point here. Luke wants to make it clear that we are
talking about a historical event.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">A historical event that changed the world. Tonight we ask ourselves
whether we will let it change our world—our hearts, our homes, our society—even
our parish. What will we do with God’s invitation to a more joyful life?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">We are going to sing “Joy to the World!” tonight. As we do, will we
accept the gift of joy ourselves?</span></p></div><br /><p></p>Msgr. Gregory Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07739878171006169486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9179027064458171571.post-91166095289926275572022-12-17T15:30:00.003-08:002022-12-18T10:27:00.442-08:00Go to Joseph (Advent.4.A)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCsZPgCL4g2i5XuPVeWXBvEh6Ej_kBn6JrMkTjqvwxCF1EdO1peHGxh1E2sHLaHqQvg_7dly_SFyvOlHu86eajffZFyvsQtDR42jwI1RPnJ0eQzCZMBasmu9-sVlW8SFCggk4q4gC81r-jGY_TILFnblWjxtH73hqsDRQ7VYWFLPgP_e4kLwhD_hi3/s2519/StJoseph-2.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2519" data-original-width="1888" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCsZPgCL4g2i5XuPVeWXBvEh6Ej_kBn6JrMkTjqvwxCF1EdO1peHGxh1E2sHLaHqQvg_7dly_SFyvOlHu86eajffZFyvsQtDR42jwI1RPnJ0eQzCZMBasmu9-sVlW8SFCggk4q4gC81r-jGY_TILFnblWjxtH73hqsDRQ7VYWFLPgP_e4kLwhD_hi3/w197-h263/StJoseph-2.png" width="197" /></a></div> <br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Whether it’s a Shakespeare play or a Broadway musical, the first page of
a script or program always lists the cast of characters. Today’s liturgy
presents a cast of three: Mary, Joseph, and an Angel. We will wait a week for
Jesus to enter the Christmas drama.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I thought we might shine the spotlight today on St. Joseph, who doesn’t
always get the attention he deserves. He appeared at the Christmas concert put
on by St. Anthony’s School on Thursday, played very well by a youngster from
junior kindergarten. But I heard about another school’s Christmas pageant where
the boy who was to play St. Joseph took ill.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">They didn’t replace him—and nobody missed him!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">We don’t want that to happen as we reflect on Joseph’s role in the
Christmas story. St. Matthew, whose Gospel is the only source of our
information, tells us just how important he is—not just historically but for us
today.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The first thing Joseph does is to conquer his fears. The Annunciation to
Mary, which we hear about from St. Luke, is quite different. When the angel
tells her “Do not be afraid,” he is simply reassuring her, telling her not to
be afraid of him. After all, who <i>wouldn’t</i> be unnerved by such a strange
encounter with a heavenly visitor? <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">But in today’s Gospel, Joseph is already in distress when the angel
appears in his dream. His fiancée is pregnant, and he is not the father. In
this difficult situation, the angel tells Joseph not to be afraid to take Mary
as his wife. God is at work!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Sometimes we must conquer our human fears before we can do what God
calls us to do. We can have no better model of that than St. Joseph.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">That’s not all we should imitate. Joseph is obedient to God. When he
wakes up, he did as the angel commanded; he didn’t overthink or argue but put
his trust in the word that was spoken to him.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">In our second reading today, St. Paul gives us a nice phrase to describe
Joseph’s reaction to his call: “the obedience of faith.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">St. Joseph’s obedience was formed by faith. In the passage we’ve just
heard, Matthew quotes our first reading from the prophet Isaiah. This is typical in his Gospel, since he wrote
for Jewish Christians and often quotes the Old Testament to show how its
prophecies are fulfilled in Christ. I wonder if St. Joseph made the connection?
While we will never know, as a devout Jew he would have studied Isaiah’s text.
It’s worth thinking about—the more we know our Bible the easier it is to see
God at work.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The future foster father of Jesus Christ was not only an obedient and
faithful man—he was a man of commitment. Even when he thought it would be
necessary to dismiss Mary, he resolves to do so quietly as a mark of the past
commitment to her that he wished to honour.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Commitment is in short supply nowadays, which may be one of the reasons
for the falling marriage rate, and high rate of divorce, not to mention priests
and religious abandoning their vows and public figures their responsibilities.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“Joseph could have walked away from his commitment to Mary and Jesus,
even after this dream, but he didn’t. Christmas is a good time to renew our
commitment to our families, our vocations, our work, and our Church.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">“Maturity is defined,” one of my favourite homilists says, “not by the
number of options we keep open but by the commitments we keep even when it
isn’t easy.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Joseph “is a model of adult commitment which our culture desperately
needs and a reminder to us to renew those commitments that shape our life and
our soul.” (<i><a href="https://www.amazon.ca/Captured-Fire-Sunday-Homilies-Cycle-ebook/dp/B0047DWYOQ/ref=sr_1_4?crid=3384A9L95EP6P&keywords=Captured+by+Fire&qid=1671372613&sprefix=captured+by+fire%2Caps%2C135&sr=8-4" target="_blank">Captured Fire: the Sunday Homilies</a>—Cycle A</i>, Rev. S. Joseph
Krempa.)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I should mention that these thoughts come only from this morning’s
Gospel. St. John Paul, in his letter on St. Joseph titled “<a href="https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_jp-ii_exh_15081989_redemptoris-custos.html" target="_blank">Guardian of the Redeemer</a>” lists many other ways in which St. Joseph can guide us: as guardian
of the mystery of God; as a just man—a husband; a worker; and a model of
devotion and the inner life.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Speaking of keeping commitments, I want to keep my recent promise to provide
a one-sentence summary of my Sunday homilies. I’ll even give it to you in
Latin: </span><i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Ite ad
Joseph. </span></i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">“Go to
Joseph.”</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">These words of Pharaoh to
the Egyptians in the book of Genesis are about a different Joseph, but they are
inscribed at the base of the statue of St. Joseph in front of <a href="https://www.saint-joseph.org/en/heritage/" target="_blank">St. Joseph’s Oratory</a> in Montreal</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">,</span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> founded by St. André Bessette, who obtained many miraculous
healings through the intercession of St. Joseph.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">By declaring St.
Joseph as its universal patron, the Church tells us to go to St. Joseph in our
times of need, just as Pharaoh told the hungry to go to that other Joseph. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Although I’ve left the Blessed Mother aside for now—she will take center
stage at Christmas—let’s finish by recalling that her “yes” to the angel came
before St. Joseph’s obedience to another angel. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;">
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Advent is the season when we too say “yes”—yes to the gift of Christ in
our hearts, yes to the plan of God for our lives. Each of us also has our part
to play in the joyful drama of Christmas.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p></p>Msgr. Gregory Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07739878171006169486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9179027064458171571.post-19367107909627815082022-12-10T19:41:00.002-08:002022-12-11T15:43:46.431-08:00Wait for the Lord (Advent 3A)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIYwM57O-pqDC-Mr_wOmZ2q0WX2TQ1akLEF1bHAEoVDvhWZSbG7rJozHS5SlABjnS0K2fSynmq_ZIijOr0Dj3MryzjZowfFlVDcggod8to_10aVcl18zrWSi0GJfLXOtgwsDg7kmGE__COpXR1mSKbJXDk8YMMBejUxBZeCAG_NL2WzlreZZvrgCOU/s350/rain.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="242" data-original-width="350" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIYwM57O-pqDC-Mr_wOmZ2q0WX2TQ1akLEF1bHAEoVDvhWZSbG7rJozHS5SlABjnS0K2fSynmq_ZIijOr0Dj3MryzjZowfFlVDcggod8to_10aVcl18zrWSi0GJfLXOtgwsDg7kmGE__COpXR1mSKbJXDk8YMMBejUxBZeCAG_NL2WzlreZZvrgCOU/s320/rain.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; text-align: justify;">Our weather around the province during the past few years is something
of a joke. We go from floods to droughts without much in between. It even seems
to be inspiring jokes. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; text-align: justify;">Just this week: Q: What does daylight saving time mean
in Vancouver? A: An extra hour of rain.</span></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The weather is one of those things that we don’t think much about unless
it’s extreme, but it touches every aspect of our lives. No wonder there are so
many phrases and expressions revolving around it.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">You can be under the weather. Or have a fair-weather friend. Sometimes,
you have to keep a weather eye open. Other days, you just have to weather the
storm.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">It’s not surprising that weather appears often in the Scriptures. Psalm
148 says “Praise the Lord from the earth… Fire and hail, snow and frost, stormy
wind fulfilling his command!”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Isaiah 29 says “You will be visited by the Lord of hosts with thunder
and with earthquake and great noise, with whirlwind and tempest…”, while
elsewhere the book promises that we “shall be like a watered garden, like a
spring of water, whose waters do not fail.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Jesus himself uses the weather as an image when he says “When it is
evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ And in the
morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You
know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the
signs of the times.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And we see him rebuking the winds and the waves, and he tells us that
God “makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just
and on the unjust.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Those words, by the way, inspired a Sister I know to write a very cute
bit of rhyming theology. Her poem went “The rain it raineth, everyday, upon the
just and unjust fella. But more upon the just—because… the unjust’s got the just’s
umbrella.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">We could spend a lot of time reflecting on weather in the Bible, but let’s
just focus on weather in today’s readings.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The background to the first reading is a drought—something we experienced
not very long ago, as we watched lawns and even trees turn brown. Few things in
the ancient world were more devastating. No water, no crops. No crops, no food
or money. Animals, a rare form of capital for some, would die of dehydration.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Against that dry desert background, these words from Isaiah are all but
ecstatic. What joy when the flowers appear! The prophet spends hardly a moment
on this wonderful event before telling us he’s really thinking about something
even more important than water—the coming of the Lord, the avenger, the just
One. Salvation. Healing. An end to sorrow.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The dryness of the desert was just a metaphor. We’re talking about the
dryness of our souls, parched by sin, hardship, fear, and discouragement.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Whether we are oppressed, hungry, prisoners, blind, bowed down, lonely,
widowed or orphaned—today’s Psalm mentions all the major misfortunes of life—we
are called to hope in the Lord who brings justice, food, freedom, sight, and protection
from despair.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But in the concrete circumstances of each of our lives, how do we gain
access to the liberation and encouragement of the Lord who loves us and keeps
faith forever? After all, who hasn’t experienced unanswered prayer or unrelieved
distress?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The second reading answers the question in a very practical way: “Be
patient, brothers and sisters.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Be patient like the heroic farmers of old and of today, who wait for rain or
who endure floods without giving up. Wait for what’s coming—wait in hope for
the weather to change. In our age of instant gratification, when we’re annoyed
if it takes two seconds for a webpage to load, this is crucial advice. God is
not a computer.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">It's not good theology, of course, but I once said that God has only one
fault: He has no sense of timing.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But he does—his timing is as perfect as he is. Just as nature cannot be
hurried by farmers anxious for their harvest, neither can God be hurried by our
expectations of instant answers to our prayers.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Which doesn’t mean we do nothing in times of trial. The apostle James,
one of the most practical writers in the Bible, tells us what to do as we wait:
“Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">This, of course, is my one-sentence summary of today’s homily: </span><span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the
Lord is near.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">How? By prayer. By actions like planning to attend the Tuesday Advent
Masses and adoration. By going to confession. By some time reading the Word of
God—ideally reading one or all of the Sunday Mass readings on line or from your
missal. By attending Water in the Desert next Saturday evening—that especially can
be the experience of joy Isaiah so beautifully describes in the first reading.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">A final point. I was at Mass earlier today with the Archbishop and our
permanent diaconate community. Archbishop Miller stressed that the “coming of the
Lord” that is near is not Christmas but the second coming. We’re not trying to
strengthen our hearts just so we have a better celebration on December 25.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">We are not patiently waiting for Christmas like children eager for the
arrival of Santa—not even the arrival of the Christ Child in the crib.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">We are waiting for the second coming of the Son of Man, who will come to
judge the living and dead. For that we must wait patiently, but like any good
farmer do the best to yield a crop of holiness in hope.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>Msgr. Gregory Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07739878171006169486noreply@blogger.com0