Memorial of Saint Stanislaus, bishop and martyr
(Acts 9:1-10)
With the jubilee year of St. Paul fast approaching, we can reflect for a few minutes on his conversion. Of course, the reading from Acts today tells its story. But today’s reading is just one of four accounts the New Testament gives of the event. Paul himself writes about it in the Letter to the Galatians which must be considered the most reliable source. The two other accounts are taken from speeches of Paul also recorded in Acts. One interesting note is that none of the four accounts mentions that Paul was knocked off a horse on the way to Damascus. That detail probably comes from a painter’s depiction of the conversion. A more curious element is the light which supposedly blinded Paul.
Did Paul actually see a light or is this reference a metaphor meaning that Paul came to know the truth? In Galatians Paul does not tell of any light. He only says that God revealed His Son to him. This reference indicates a vision of the resurrected Jesus which Paul twice claims he had in his first letter to the Corinthians. Perhaps Jesus appeared to Paul wrapped in light. Matthew describes Jesus in this way when he describes the Transfiguration which is traditionally interpreted as a glimpse of Jesus’ future resurrection.
At the Easter Vigil services this year Pope Benedict baptized Magdi Allam, a 55 year-old Italian journalist who was raised a Muslim. In a letter to the newspaper of which he is deputy director, Mr. Allam wrote of his conversion as “finally (seeing) the light.” The journalist went on to say that he received death threats for turning to Christ just as Paul did. Reading the letter, we get the idea that significant forces within Islam are intent on terrorizing people into accepting what they cannot in conscience believe. Paul, of course, never evangelized in this way although in history other men did so in the name of Christ. As Christians seeing the light have apologized for the sin of fanaticism among ancestors, we can pray that the light of respect and peace penetrate the consciousness of all Muslim brothers and sisters.
Homilette for April 10, 2008
Thursday of the Third Week of Easter
(Acts 8:26-40; John 6:44-51)
In the reading from Acts today we meet the deacon Philip on a mission. Like other Greek-speaking disciples, he has left Jerusalem to take the gospel to other places. On the way, he encounters the Ethiopian court official. The black man characterizes our society today. He is rich and successful, sincere in his desire to believe but not sure what faith is all about. So too are many among whom we live. As we commonly say, they have been “programmed” to seek riches and prestige. They want to love, but often mistake the authentic version seeking union with the beloved for mutual benefit with its cheap imitation desiring self-gratification. Like Philip our mission is to allow them to embrace true faith and love.
Of course, Jesus accompanies us as we go forth. He calls himself in today’s gospel “the bread of life.” These words are deeply meaningful. Bread is one of the most available and portable of foods. We can eat it wherever we find ourselves. Made with care, bread also can provide the body many of essential nutrients for life. Thus, we commonly 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 embodies Jesus’ presence but signifies it. Participating in the Eucharist, we become the body of Christ with a mission to the world. We are to demonstrate to all that faith and humility, not riches and prestige, make a person good. We are to show how true love entails not only personal satisfaction but also self-sacrifice for the good of the beloved.
(Acts 8:26-40; John 6:44-51)
In the reading from Acts today we meet the deacon Philip on a mission. Like other Greek-speaking disciples, he has left Jerusalem to take the gospel to other places. On the way, he encounters the Ethiopian court official. The black man characterizes our society today. He is rich and successful, sincere in his desire to believe but not sure what faith is all about. So too are many among whom we live. As we commonly say, they have been “programmed” to seek riches and prestige. They want to love, but often mistake the authentic version seeking union with the beloved for mutual benefit with its cheap imitation desiring self-gratification. Like Philip our mission is to allow them to embrace true faith and love.
Of course, Jesus accompanies us as we go forth. He calls himself in today’s gospel “the bread of life.” These words are deeply meaningful. Bread is one of the most available and portable of foods. We can eat it wherever we find ourselves. Made with care, bread also can provide the body many of essential nutrients for life. Thus, we commonly 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 embodies Jesus’ presence but signifies it. Participating in the Eucharist, we become the body of Christ with a mission to the world. We are to demonstrate to all that faith and humility, not riches and prestige, make a person good. We are to show how true love entails not only personal satisfaction but also self-sacrifice for the good of the beloved.
Homilette for April 9, 2008
Wednesday of the Third Week of Easter
(John 6:35-40)
People do not want to die. They seek the best medical care available to extend their lives as long as possible. For this reason every year American health care costs grow by almost 10 percent. Of course, this rate of increase cannot be sustained forever. People still have to buy groceries, pay the mortgage, and purchase gasoline. As a matter of fact, our society seems to be approaching the limit of what it can afford for medical treatment. Then what? Jesus offers us an alternative in the gospel today.
Jesus promises eternal life to those who believe in him. He does not say here that believers will not die but that he will raise them up on the last day. As we would inquire about a medical insurance policy, we have to ask what we must do to believe in him. The simple answer to this question is that we must follow his ways implicitly. We must love others as he has loved us. We must sacrifice our comforts and even our well-being if he calls us to do so.
Some people would undergo grueling and expensive treatment to squeeze a few more months out of their lives. This choice is not as wrong as it may be unwise. Christians believe that they are much better off to pay less attention to physical treatment and more to how they might follow Christ more closely. His promise, after all, is not just a short period of intense struggle as death closes in. No, he assures us that we will relive forever the best time of our life.
(John 6:35-40)
People do not want to die. They seek the best medical care available to extend their lives as long as possible. For this reason every year American health care costs grow by almost 10 percent. Of course, this rate of increase cannot be sustained forever. People still have to buy groceries, pay the mortgage, and purchase gasoline. As a matter of fact, our society seems to be approaching the limit of what it can afford for medical treatment. Then what? Jesus offers us an alternative in the gospel today.
Jesus promises eternal life to those who believe in him. He does not say here that believers will not die but that he will raise them up on the last day. As we would inquire about a medical insurance policy, we have to ask what we must do to believe in him. The simple answer to this question is that we must follow his ways implicitly. We must love others as he has loved us. We must sacrifice our comforts and even our well-being if he calls us to do so.
Some people would undergo grueling and expensive treatment to squeeze a few more months out of their lives. This choice is not as wrong as it may be unwise. Christians believe that they are much better off to pay less attention to physical treatment and more to how they might follow Christ more closely. His promise, after all, is not just a short period of intense struggle as death closes in. No, he assures us that we will relive forever the best time of our life.
Homilette for April 8, 2008
Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter
(Acts 7:51-8:1a)
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 the best sense of the word. 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 the Lord to receive his spirit. Of course, Stephen is only imitating Jesus who, in Luke’s gospel, prays from the cross, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” The other half of a truly Christian death is to forgive one’s enemies. As Jesus asks his Father to forgive his crucifiers, Stephen asks Jesus to pardon those hurling stones at him.
Many people talk about the “quality of life” of those in their final months. They measure this characteristic in terms of communicating with loved ones, of living without excruciating pain, and of enjoying simple pleasures like 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 spirit and that He forgive all who have offended us. These latter prayers will raise our quality of life to the highest level possible.
(Acts 7:51-8:1a)
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 the best sense of the word. 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 the Lord to receive his spirit. Of course, Stephen is only imitating Jesus who, in Luke’s gospel, prays from the cross, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” The other half of a truly Christian death is to forgive one’s enemies. As Jesus asks his Father to forgive his crucifiers, Stephen asks Jesus to pardon those hurling stones at him.
Many people talk about the “quality of life” of those in their final months. They measure this characteristic in terms of communicating with loved ones, of living without excruciating pain, and of enjoying simple pleasures like 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 spirit and that He forgive all who have offended us. These latter prayers will raise our quality of life to the highest level possible.
Homilette for April 7, 2008
Monday of the Third Week of Easter
(John 6:1-15)
Once a woman came up to the altar to receive Holy Communion. She took the Eucharistic host and looked around for the cup. Not seeing it, she blurted, “You mean I’m not getting any wine?” She was finally offered the Precious Blood, but we may question whether she worthily received it. After all, she seemed to consider it as one might a free sample of cheese at the supermarket. In the gospel today Jesus notes that the crowd who follow him to Capernaum similarly have little appreciation for the Bread of Life that he provided.
The crowd saw the sign that Jesus just worked. He fed five thousand with just a five loaves and two fish on the other side of the sea. Sensitive people would have stopped to ponder what was at hand. They would have recognized that at least a prophet of God akin to Moses has visited them. And they would have adjusted their lives to be in accord with what the prophet was telling them. But the crowd here hardly gives what Jesus says a second thought. They search him out in order to receive more bread.
We must do better. The Church asks us to make a reverential sign – a simple bow is sufficient – before receiving Holy Communion. It is a way to recognize that what we are about to take is not bread and wine but the Lord himself. He will mold us from within to demonstrate his love for the world. He will also prime us for eternal life. The physical value of Holy Communion is negligible -- not worth climbing out of the pew. The spiritual value is infinite – worth climbing a mountain.
(John 6:1-15)
Once a woman came up to the altar to receive Holy Communion. She took the Eucharistic host and looked around for the cup. Not seeing it, she blurted, “You mean I’m not getting any wine?” She was finally offered the Precious Blood, but we may question whether she worthily received it. After all, she seemed to consider it as one might a free sample of cheese at the supermarket. In the gospel today Jesus notes that the crowd who follow him to Capernaum similarly have little appreciation for the Bread of Life that he provided.
The crowd saw the sign that Jesus just worked. He fed five thousand with just a five loaves and two fish on the other side of the sea. Sensitive people would have stopped to ponder what was at hand. They would have recognized that at least a prophet of God akin to Moses has visited them. And they would have adjusted their lives to be in accord with what the prophet was telling them. But the crowd here hardly gives what Jesus says a second thought. They search him out in order to receive more bread.
We must do better. The Church asks us to make a reverential sign – a simple bow is sufficient – before receiving Holy Communion. It is a way to recognize that what we are about to take is not bread and wine but the Lord himself. He will mold us from within to demonstrate his love for the world. He will also prime us for eternal life. The physical value of Holy Communion is negligible -- not worth climbing out of the pew. The spiritual value is infinite – worth climbing a mountain.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)