Put out into the deep... (Easter 6.A)

 

Every Saturday morning a good friend and I go walking in Coal Harbour—from the foot of Denman Street to Canada Place and back.

On our way we pass two large marinas at which beautiful boats of every shape, size, and description are moored.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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?

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?

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.”

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?

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).

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.

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, Acts of the Apostles, 143).

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.)

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.

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 in us. We will not only know the Father’s love, but also experience it.

Certainly, in Confirmation we were given the grace the Lord promises. But many Catholics never experienced that grace at an affective and effective level.

What do we do about that?

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.

Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, the Preacher to the Papal Household explains it like this:

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

So join us and find out what he has for you.

  

First Words at Holy Name of Jesus Parish

 

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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, Ad Trall., 3,1).

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.

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.

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.

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.

And of course I want to know who you 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 Cantalamessa, Navigating the New Evangelization, pp. 49-50).

Not surprisingly, Cardinal Cantalamessa says that the laity’s contribution to this massive task is providential—and I would add, essential.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.”

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.

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.

Archbishop Francis Leo

Installed as Archbishop of Toronto March 25, 2023