Sunday, II Lent
(Exodus 2)
Remember the movie “Titanic”? How can we forget it? It probably was the last blockbuster to dominate the Academy Awards. Once two young girls were watching it on a bleached out television screen in a store window. They just couldn’t take there eyes off it although they had probably seen the movie many times before. The burning bush in the first reading today rivets the same attention.
An angel of God appears in a burning bush. The angel, however, is not a separate being from God. Rather it is a manifestation of God. In the fire of the bush which is not consumed the angel reveals God as love. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, the French priest and scientist, once wrote that when humans discover how to control the forces of love, for the second time they will have discovered fire. Here the love stands ready to unite itself to the Hebrew people in their struggle for liberation. In pictures of the Sacred Heart we find a similar non-consuming fire. Christ shows himself desiring to be one with us in our struggle against evil.
To accomplish victory we certainly need Christ at our head. The challenge, of course, is colossal. Not only are the forces of the enemy formidable – ignorance, disease, violence, and poverty – but he has also infiltrated our ranks. Pride, envy, and lust cripple our efforts. In large cities across the country there are schools that have defied “No Child Left Behind” and every other education program. The reason is not the lack of constructive ideas but the fact that home life of students is a mess. Only Christ, the Son of God who shares our human nature, can heal our infirmity to prepare us for battle. In the passage, Moses seems to have been likewise selected for his special qualities. Since he is Hebrew by birth, he knows and loves the people. Being reared by Pharaoh’s daughter, he has access to the chambers of Egyptian power. When God calls Moses by name, we get the sense that he has been hand-picked for the role of liberator.
Moses must remove his sandals in the presence of God. The instruction appears odd since Moses is walking on open ground. But the action is symbolic. The sandals carry soil from other places, and Moses should be free of all contaminants in God’s presence. The removal of sandals indicates Moses is dropping all pretensions before God. He will submit to the divine will. Of course, in Catholic churches we don’t take off our shoes before entering, but we do bless ourselves with holy water. The blessing has the same symbolic significance. We want to cleanse ourselves of all sinful tendencies as we listen to God’s instructions.
Then God reveals his plan to Moses. He has heard the Hebrews plea. He will rescue them from suffering in Egypt and deliver them to a land of plenty. As spectacular as that accomplishment will be, it will not equal Christ’s Easter victory over sin. His death will achieve for us forgiveness of sins. We can leave behind the guilt of our past to start over again. His resurrection will send us the Holy Spirit to advance in the struggle against evil. Yes, individual Christians sometimes backslide. Yet the record of Catholic schools in education and of Catholic organizations in charity is impressive. Catholic Relief Services, for example, is ranked among the largest and most efficient relief and development organizations in the world.
Yet some of us are reluctant to trust ourselves to Christ as presented in the Church. We wonder if the achievements of the Church in education, medicine, and social development are incidental to its claim as being the body of Christ. “Why does the Church exclude women from the priesthood or prohibit divorced Catholics to receive Communion?” we ask. We dither like Moses when he asks God to reveal His name. Moses is not quite sure that God is a friend. After all, the gods of other peoples are quite capricious, treating human beings with no more care than boys swatting flies. How could Moses be sure that God is not just leading him down a dark alley? He has the answer to that question: he will ask God for identification.
Astoundingly, God provides it! He tells Moses that he is, “I AM” – that is always there for His people. He is always ready to help them and even to forgive their faults if they but repent of their sins. Providing the people with His name is no small concession. It is having the cell number of the President! We might find in the name “I AM” the motive of the Church’s resistance to faddish change. As God is eternally there for His people, the Church tries to remain faithful to Christ’s teachings. His commands to treat the least of people as we would treat him as well as the proscription of divorce stand forever.
A particularly disgusting advertisement shows bacteria germs infiltrating toenails leaving them green and calcified. That’s a very graphic way to picture the evil which we face in the world. It confronts us outwardly with ignorance, disease, violence and poverty. It also leads us down the blind alley of pride, envy, and lust. To advance in the struggle against it we need Christ’s help. He is human by birth so he knows and loves us. He is also the Son of God with access to the chambers of power. We can count on him in our struggle against evil. We can always count on him.
Homilette for Thursday, March 8, 2007
MASS OF ANOINTING OF THE SICK
Fr. Leo Thomas was a Dominican priest who had a gift of healing the sick. In a book he writes of how he ministered to a fellow Dominican, called only “Fr. Anthony,” who had cancer. When Fr. Anthony eventually died, his superior asked Fr. Leo if he wanted to preach at the funeral mass. Fr. Leo writes that he had the distinct impression that the superior was asking Fr. Leo to bury one of his “failures” because he had prayed for Fr. Anthony’s healing for six months. No, Fr. Leo concluded, he hadn’t failed. During the time of ministry, Fr. Anthony experienced a transformation. He went from having an intellectual idea of God’s love to a feeling of God’s compassion and an experiential knowledge of God’s care. He became ready for, indeed he had a glimpse of, eternal life. This kind of transformation is what the Sacrament of Anointing proposes.
The principal purpose of the Sacrament of the Sick is to take away sins. For this reason it is grouped with the Sacrament of Reconciliation as the “sacraments of healing.” This does not mean, of course, that sickness is caused by personal sin as was commonly thought in Biblical times and is sometimes held today. Disease is a manifestation of evil in the world which God sent His son Jesus Christ to overcome. We remember Jesus telling his disciples when he is about to cure the man born blind, “Neither he nor his parents sinned; it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him” (Jn 9:3).
The second benefit of the Sacrament of the Sick is that it strengthens the soul’s conviction that God can and will save us. With increased confidence in God’s mercy, the sick person can “more easily bear the trials and hardships of his sickness and resist the temptations of the devil.” “What temptations?” we may ask. The truth is the sick and aged may commit many kinds of sins. Burdened by sickness, they might curse God! This serious sin is exactly what tempted Job, but didn’t succeed in bringing him down. More typically the sick can become cranky and inconsiderate of those around them and even forget to thank God for their lives.
We should not expect physical recovery with sacramental anointing, but we should not exclude the possibility either. We certainly can hope that it takes place and we have all heard stories of it doing precisely that. But like Fr. Thomas, we do not have to think that the sacrament has failed if after its administration there is no physical change or if the patient’s physical condition becomes worse. The primary purpose of the sacrament is to strengthen our faith, not our body.
So let’s come forward – any who are seriously sick or weakened with age – to receive the Sacrament of the Sick. Believe that Jesus is bringing you salvation. Perhaps you will not be healed of the infirmity but your faith shall increase in Jesus. He will deliver you from death. He will give an eternal home. Be at peace.
Fr. Leo Thomas was a Dominican priest who had a gift of healing the sick. In a book he writes of how he ministered to a fellow Dominican, called only “Fr. Anthony,” who had cancer. When Fr. Anthony eventually died, his superior asked Fr. Leo if he wanted to preach at the funeral mass. Fr. Leo writes that he had the distinct impression that the superior was asking Fr. Leo to bury one of his “failures” because he had prayed for Fr. Anthony’s healing for six months. No, Fr. Leo concluded, he hadn’t failed. During the time of ministry, Fr. Anthony experienced a transformation. He went from having an intellectual idea of God’s love to a feeling of God’s compassion and an experiential knowledge of God’s care. He became ready for, indeed he had a glimpse of, eternal life. This kind of transformation is what the Sacrament of Anointing proposes.
The principal purpose of the Sacrament of the Sick is to take away sins. For this reason it is grouped with the Sacrament of Reconciliation as the “sacraments of healing.” This does not mean, of course, that sickness is caused by personal sin as was commonly thought in Biblical times and is sometimes held today. Disease is a manifestation of evil in the world which God sent His son Jesus Christ to overcome. We remember Jesus telling his disciples when he is about to cure the man born blind, “Neither he nor his parents sinned; it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him” (Jn 9:3).
The second benefit of the Sacrament of the Sick is that it strengthens the soul’s conviction that God can and will save us. With increased confidence in God’s mercy, the sick person can “more easily bear the trials and hardships of his sickness and resist the temptations of the devil.” “What temptations?” we may ask. The truth is the sick and aged may commit many kinds of sins. Burdened by sickness, they might curse God! This serious sin is exactly what tempted Job, but didn’t succeed in bringing him down. More typically the sick can become cranky and inconsiderate of those around them and even forget to thank God for their lives.
We should not expect physical recovery with sacramental anointing, but we should not exclude the possibility either. We certainly can hope that it takes place and we have all heard stories of it doing precisely that. But like Fr. Thomas, we do not have to think that the sacrament has failed if after its administration there is no physical change or if the patient’s physical condition becomes worse. The primary purpose of the sacrament is to strengthen our faith, not our body.
So let’s come forward – any who are seriously sick or weakened with age – to receive the Sacrament of the Sick. Believe that Jesus is bringing you salvation. Perhaps you will not be healed of the infirmity but your faith shall increase in Jesus. He will deliver you from death. He will give an eternal home. Be at peace.
Homilette for Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Wednesday, II Lent, March 7, 2007
The great virtuoso violinist Ishak Perlman tells the story of a woman asking him to listen to her son play the violin. When Perlman rather reluctantly agreed, the mother took out a tape recorder and played a cassette. Perlman marveled at the beautiful music. “He sounds just like Ya Ya Haifitz,” Perlman said. “That is Ya Ya Haifitz,” the mother replied, “and my son plays just like that.”
Parents are apt to exaggerate their children’s talents. Children may allow them to do so if they see some gain for themselves. Evidently James and John do not mind their mother soliciting Jesus for seats ahead of Peter and the rest of the disciples in the Kingdom of God. But the brothers’ exalted images of themselves in the Kingdom do not impress Jesus. He is interested in whether they are willing to suffer for the sake of that kingdom.
Lent is the season for us to get a grip on our pride. Most of us generally think too much of ourselves. Rather than compare ourselves downwards to see how much better we are in some things than other people, we should compare ourselves with the saints. Then we will see how we fail to trust God with our worries and how we fail to love our enemies with our prayers.
The great virtuoso violinist Ishak Perlman tells the story of a woman asking him to listen to her son play the violin. When Perlman rather reluctantly agreed, the mother took out a tape recorder and played a cassette. Perlman marveled at the beautiful music. “He sounds just like Ya Ya Haifitz,” Perlman said. “That is Ya Ya Haifitz,” the mother replied, “and my son plays just like that.”
Parents are apt to exaggerate their children’s talents. Children may allow them to do so if they see some gain for themselves. Evidently James and John do not mind their mother soliciting Jesus for seats ahead of Peter and the rest of the disciples in the Kingdom of God. But the brothers’ exalted images of themselves in the Kingdom do not impress Jesus. He is interested in whether they are willing to suffer for the sake of that kingdom.
Lent is the season for us to get a grip on our pride. Most of us generally think too much of ourselves. Rather than compare ourselves downwards to see how much better we are in some things than other people, we should compare ourselves with the saints. Then we will see how we fail to trust God with our worries and how we fail to love our enemies with our prayers.
Homilett for Tuesday, March 6, `972
Tuesday, Week II
(Matthew 23)
The gospel today should hit church-goers between the eyes. Jesus is criticizing the Pharisees, the religious zealots who give religion a bad name. They are pompous about practicing religion, but are hardly charitable toward other people. The passage implicitly asks us if we may not be women and men of the Pharisees. Do we like to be seen in church but afterwards gossip about people? Do we pray at home but then express intolerance for other races and religions? If so, we would be among the biggest of sinners in Jesus’ book.
Of course, not all people who come to church are Pharisees – far from it. But at times someone calls the rectory demanding an apology for something as small as a mass intention that he had requested not being announced publicly. Certainly priests can be among the greatest of the Pharisees. The scandal over sexual abuse of children and adolescents testifies amply to that. When we find Pharisaical tendencies in our behavior, we must seek God’s assistance in prayer. We should also keep in mind Jesus’ constant teaching about humility. The ones who exalt themselves God will humble while those who act humbly, God will exalt.
(Matthew 23)
The gospel today should hit church-goers between the eyes. Jesus is criticizing the Pharisees, the religious zealots who give religion a bad name. They are pompous about practicing religion, but are hardly charitable toward other people. The passage implicitly asks us if we may not be women and men of the Pharisees. Do we like to be seen in church but afterwards gossip about people? Do we pray at home but then express intolerance for other races and religions? If so, we would be among the biggest of sinners in Jesus’ book.
Of course, not all people who come to church are Pharisees – far from it. But at times someone calls the rectory demanding an apology for something as small as a mass intention that he had requested not being announced publicly. Certainly priests can be among the greatest of the Pharisees. The scandal over sexual abuse of children and adolescents testifies amply to that. When we find Pharisaical tendencies in our behavior, we must seek God’s assistance in prayer. We should also keep in mind Jesus’ constant teaching about humility. The ones who exalt themselves God will humble while those who act humbly, God will exalt.
Homilette for Monday, March 5, 2007
Monday, Lent Week 2
(Luke 6)
Matthew Shepard was brutally murdered in 1998. Shepard’s killers assaulted him because he was a homosexual. After the guilty verdict Shepard’s parents agreed with the state not to seek the death penalty. Shepard’s father told one of the killers, “I would like nothing better than to see you die, Mr. McKinney, but now is the time to heal.” Although this may sound like half-hearted forgiveness, it probably took real courage to utter.
In the gospel today Jesus calls us to be merciful. It has been pointed out that where in the Gospel of Matthew Jesus calls his disciples to be perfect, Luke shows him emphasizing mercy as if mercy is the perfection of God. When we are called upon to forgive a really serious offense, it certainly seems like a superhuman task. As one poet put it, “To err is human; to forgive divine.”
What’s critical is that we don’t dwell on how we feel in such situations. Naturally we are upset. Many times anger will remain as a residue in us like the smoke marks around a fire place. We should imitate Matthew Shepard’s father and not let what we would like to see rule over what we think. No, as Jesus’ disciples, we must decide to forgive those who offend us.
(Luke 6)
Matthew Shepard was brutally murdered in 1998. Shepard’s killers assaulted him because he was a homosexual. After the guilty verdict Shepard’s parents agreed with the state not to seek the death penalty. Shepard’s father told one of the killers, “I would like nothing better than to see you die, Mr. McKinney, but now is the time to heal.” Although this may sound like half-hearted forgiveness, it probably took real courage to utter.
In the gospel today Jesus calls us to be merciful. It has been pointed out that where in the Gospel of Matthew Jesus calls his disciples to be perfect, Luke shows him emphasizing mercy as if mercy is the perfection of God. When we are called upon to forgive a really serious offense, it certainly seems like a superhuman task. As one poet put it, “To err is human; to forgive divine.”
What’s critical is that we don’t dwell on how we feel in such situations. Naturally we are upset. Many times anger will remain as a residue in us like the smoke marks around a fire place. We should imitate Matthew Shepard’s father and not let what we would like to see rule over what we think. No, as Jesus’ disciples, we must decide to forgive those who offend us.
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