Memorial of St. Pius V
(John 10)
Fr. Raymond Brown spent a major part of his life studying the Gospel and Letters of St. John. You will find his two volume commentary on the Gospel on the bookshelves of most preachers. He observes that in all the Johnanine works very almost nothing is said about different functions in the Christian community. Where St. Paul writes of apostles, prophets, and teachers, St. John speaks of only Jesus and his disciples or Jesus, the shepherd, and his sheep. Fr. Brown further points out, however, that a small exception to this rule is found in the final chapter of John’s Gospel. In that passage, that we all know well, Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves him. With each affirmation Jesus tells Peter to care for his sheep.
In John the Evangelist’s mind there is little need for many roles and no need at all for people ruling over one another. What is critical is that everyone loves Jesus and loves one another. For this reason Jesus emphasizes that Peter love him before he assigns him the duty of watching over the sheep.
Today the Church remembers a successor of Peter who tended Jesus’ flock in the perilous time after the major Protestant reformers. St. Pius V faced several daunting challenges: corruption in the Catholic Church, withdrawal of whole nations from the Church’s guidance, the threat of Turkish Muslim invaders seizing control over a sizeable portion of Christian Europe. He met the demands of the office with firmness tempered by prayer. Certainly we can say of him that he loved Christ as was, is, and always will be necessary of successors of Peter.
Homilette for Friday, April 27, 2007
Friday, III Easter
(Acts 9)
Every once in a while a report about intelligent design breaks into the news. Intelligent design is the evolutionary theory that claims that the Creator has left His tracks on nature in guiding the development of the species. Most scientists claim that random chance controls evolutionary development with no evidence of the hand of God at work. Some Christian thinkers have taken a middle position -- God works through chance even if He doesn’t reveal Himself in nature.
Even if God doesn't reveal His hand in nature, does He do so in history? I suppose many historians would argue no. They would see the course of history as meandering as aimlessly as students the first hours after final exams end. Yet this is not how St. Luke, the New Testament writer most concerned about history, sees Salvation History. For Luke God’s work is evident everywhere. He turned the martyrdom of Stephen into the apostolic impetus to take the gospel to different lands. Today in the reading we listen to Luke narrating the story of how Christ personally intervenes in Saul’s life to direct him to preach to non-Jews.
Why, we can ask ourselves, does God have such an elaborate plan for Saul? The answer is contained in the gospel message itself. God loves each of us – most of us here are of non-Jewish lineage – more than we can ever appreciate. Out of this love He wants us to have the privilege of knowing His son Jesus Christ!
(Acts 9)
Every once in a while a report about intelligent design breaks into the news. Intelligent design is the evolutionary theory that claims that the Creator has left His tracks on nature in guiding the development of the species. Most scientists claim that random chance controls evolutionary development with no evidence of the hand of God at work. Some Christian thinkers have taken a middle position -- God works through chance even if He doesn’t reveal Himself in nature.
Even if God doesn't reveal His hand in nature, does He do so in history? I suppose many historians would argue no. They would see the course of history as meandering as aimlessly as students the first hours after final exams end. Yet this is not how St. Luke, the New Testament writer most concerned about history, sees Salvation History. For Luke God’s work is evident everywhere. He turned the martyrdom of Stephen into the apostolic impetus to take the gospel to different lands. Today in the reading we listen to Luke narrating the story of how Christ personally intervenes in Saul’s life to direct him to preach to non-Jews.
Why, we can ask ourselves, does God have such an elaborate plan for Saul? The answer is contained in the gospel message itself. God loves each of us – most of us here are of non-Jewish lineage – more than we can ever appreciate. Out of this love He wants us to have the privilege of knowing His son Jesus Christ!
Homilette for Thursday, April 26, 2007
Thursday, III Easter
(Acts 8, John 6)
The movie “The Mission” tells the story of a settlement of Indians in upriver Paraguay. Spanish Jesuits converted the Indians to Christianity. Under their influence the Indians reached harmony of life, what we would call peace, shalom or even a golden age. Then the area is ceded to the Portuguese who come to enslave the Indians. Of course, the natives resist, and with the assistance of the Jesuits, are at least temporarily successful in turning back the invaders.
We see in the movie how the word mission has different meanings. The mission is the settlement of Indians on the outskirts of civilizations. Mission also represents the efforts of Jesuit missionaries to convert the Indians. There are several levels of meaning for mission in our lives as well.
We can call our coming together to be inspired by the Word of God and to be energized by Christ’s body and blood a mission. It is a retreat from the hustle-bustle of our everyday activities to the sanctuary of church, a mission of God in the world always compromised by sin. We should also see our time together as preparation for our going forth – still another kind of mission -- to loved ones and, indeed, the whole sin-pocked world.
In the first reading today the apostle Philip begins a mission. With the martyrdom of Stephan the whole church in Jerusalem undergoes persecution. The trials cause the apostles to take news of Jesus Christ to other places. Philip meets an Ethiopian eunuch on his way. The black man may stand out in Palestinian society but he represents our society today. He is rich and successful, sincere in his desire to believe but not sure of what the Scriptures mean. So too are many among whom we live. They have some decent tendencies but have been indoctrinated in the need for success – bringing home a six-figured salary, driving a SUV. They are attracted to the idea of love, but often mistake the authentic version seeking union with the beloved for the eternal benefit of all with its cheap imitations concerning themselves with immediate self-gratification. Like Philip our mission is to open the eyes of those whom we encounter with the love of Jesus.
Jesus accompanies us as we go forth to fulfill our mission. He calls himself in the gospel reading “the bread of life.” The words are deliberate and deeply meaningful. Bread is one of the most portable foods. For this reason we pack sandwiches for lunch. Made with care, bread also gives the body many of its essential nutrients so we call it “the staff of life.” The Eucharist – the bread transformed into the body of Christ and the wine changed into his blood – then not only signifies Jesus’ presence but embodies it. Participating in the Eucharist together as we have done for the last five days, we have become the food that we have consumed. We are the body of Christ with the mission of announcing God’s love to the world. So let us go forth this evening more determined and more enabled than ever to announce God’s love to the world.
(Acts 8, John 6)
The movie “The Mission” tells the story of a settlement of Indians in upriver Paraguay. Spanish Jesuits converted the Indians to Christianity. Under their influence the Indians reached harmony of life, what we would call peace, shalom or even a golden age. Then the area is ceded to the Portuguese who come to enslave the Indians. Of course, the natives resist, and with the assistance of the Jesuits, are at least temporarily successful in turning back the invaders.
We see in the movie how the word mission has different meanings. The mission is the settlement of Indians on the outskirts of civilizations. Mission also represents the efforts of Jesuit missionaries to convert the Indians. There are several levels of meaning for mission in our lives as well.
We can call our coming together to be inspired by the Word of God and to be energized by Christ’s body and blood a mission. It is a retreat from the hustle-bustle of our everyday activities to the sanctuary of church, a mission of God in the world always compromised by sin. We should also see our time together as preparation for our going forth – still another kind of mission -- to loved ones and, indeed, the whole sin-pocked world.
In the first reading today the apostle Philip begins a mission. With the martyrdom of Stephan the whole church in Jerusalem undergoes persecution. The trials cause the apostles to take news of Jesus Christ to other places. Philip meets an Ethiopian eunuch on his way. The black man may stand out in Palestinian society but he represents our society today. He is rich and successful, sincere in his desire to believe but not sure of what the Scriptures mean. So too are many among whom we live. They have some decent tendencies but have been indoctrinated in the need for success – bringing home a six-figured salary, driving a SUV. They are attracted to the idea of love, but often mistake the authentic version seeking union with the beloved for the eternal benefit of all with its cheap imitations concerning themselves with immediate self-gratification. Like Philip our mission is to open the eyes of those whom we encounter with the love of Jesus.
Jesus accompanies us as we go forth to fulfill our mission. He calls himself in the gospel reading “the bread of life.” The words are deliberate and deeply meaningful. Bread is one of the most portable foods. For this reason we pack sandwiches for lunch. Made with care, bread also gives the body many of its essential nutrients so we call it “the staff of life.” The Eucharist – the bread transformed into the body of Christ and the wine changed into his blood – then not only signifies Jesus’ presence but embodies it. Participating in the Eucharist together as we have done for the last five days, we have become the food that we have consumed. We are the body of Christ with the mission of announcing God’s love to the world. So let us go forth this evening more determined and more enabled than ever to announce God’s love to the world.
Homilette for Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Feast of St. Mark
(Mark 16)
The Feast of St. Mark is the first required celebration of a saint during the Easter Season. This fact explains why we hear in the gospel reading today Mark’s account of Jesus’ resurrection appearance to his disciples. Interestingly, we see St. Mark symbolized by a lion because only in his gospel is Jesus pictured among wild beasts in the desert.
The Gospel According to Mark emphasizes the humanness of Jesus more than the other gospels. Only in Mark is Jesus called a carpenter. Also, only in this gospel does Jesus use both fingers and spittle at the same time to cure the deaf mute. Mark also quotes Jesus healing in Aramaic, Jesus’ original tongue when he tells the dead girl to arise, “Talita koum.”
The Gospel of Mark treats the disciples as dull and cowardly. After Jesus feeds the five thousand and walks on water, Mark says that the disciples still do not understand him. They further abandon Jesus like thieves in the night when he is arrested in the garden. The disciples await the grace of the resurrection in order to understand who Jesus is and to carry out his mission. In other words, they need the Holy Spirit. And that’s where we are today – waiting for the Spirit. We also need the Holy Spirit to announce to all God’s love and his desire that we truly love one another.
(Mark 16)
The Feast of St. Mark is the first required celebration of a saint during the Easter Season. This fact explains why we hear in the gospel reading today Mark’s account of Jesus’ resurrection appearance to his disciples. Interestingly, we see St. Mark symbolized by a lion because only in his gospel is Jesus pictured among wild beasts in the desert.
The Gospel According to Mark emphasizes the humanness of Jesus more than the other gospels. Only in Mark is Jesus called a carpenter. Also, only in this gospel does Jesus use both fingers and spittle at the same time to cure the deaf mute. Mark also quotes Jesus healing in Aramaic, Jesus’ original tongue when he tells the dead girl to arise, “Talita koum.”
The Gospel of Mark treats the disciples as dull and cowardly. After Jesus feeds the five thousand and walks on water, Mark says that the disciples still do not understand him. They further abandon Jesus like thieves in the night when he is arrested in the garden. The disciples await the grace of the resurrection in order to understand who Jesus is and to carry out his mission. In other words, they need the Holy Spirit. And that’s where we are today – waiting for the Spirit. We also need the Holy Spirit to announce to all God’s love and his desire that we truly love one another.
Homilette for Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Tuesday, III Easter
(Acts of the Apostles 7)
Cecil Post was a Benedictine priest and pastor in a small North Texan town near the Oklahoma border. He was a kind, gentle man and progressive in his own way. At about the age of retirement, a cancerous tumor invaded his brain to claim his life. As he was dying, he was asked if he was afraid. No, he said, he had counseled so many people to trust in God that he had to follow his own advice.
Fr. Cecil showed half of what it means to die a Christian death. By exhibiting trust on his deathbed he, like Stephen in the reading from Acts, was asking God to receive his spirit. Of course, Stephen is only imitating Jesus whose last words on the cross are, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” The other half of a Christian death is to die forgiving one’s offenders. As Jesus asks his Father to forgive his crucifiers, Stephen asks Jesus to pardon those who heaping stones on him.
Many people talk about the quality of life of those who are in their final years. They often measure quality of life by the abilities to communicate with loved ones, to live without excruciating pain, and to enjoy simple pleasures like chocolate ice cream. We might pray to maintain these standards as death closes in on us. But let our prayer include as well that God accept our spirits and that He forgive all who have offended us. These inclusions will raise our quality of life to its highest level.
(Acts of the Apostles 7)
Cecil Post was a Benedictine priest and pastor in a small North Texan town near the Oklahoma border. He was a kind, gentle man and progressive in his own way. At about the age of retirement, a cancerous tumor invaded his brain to claim his life. As he was dying, he was asked if he was afraid. No, he said, he had counseled so many people to trust in God that he had to follow his own advice.
Fr. Cecil showed half of what it means to die a Christian death. By exhibiting trust on his deathbed he, like Stephen in the reading from Acts, was asking God to receive his spirit. Of course, Stephen is only imitating Jesus whose last words on the cross are, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” The other half of a Christian death is to die forgiving one’s offenders. As Jesus asks his Father to forgive his crucifiers, Stephen asks Jesus to pardon those who heaping stones on him.
Many people talk about the quality of life of those who are in their final years. They often measure quality of life by the abilities to communicate with loved ones, to live without excruciating pain, and to enjoy simple pleasures like chocolate ice cream. We might pray to maintain these standards as death closes in on us. But let our prayer include as well that God accept our spirits and that He forgive all who have offended us. These inclusions will raise our quality of life to its highest level.
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