Jesus feeds us with his Word

Homily for Ordinary Time – 19^th Sunday Year B 2015

1 Kings 19:4-8; Ephesians 4:30-5:2; John 6:41-51

Introduction

We often use the expression “bread and butter” to refer to the basic source of livelihood.  For many of us, our jobs are our bread and butter.  Without them we cannot live.

From time immemorial, bread has been a basic staple for many peoples, especially those who live in the Mediterranean Basin.  From wheat or some other cereal, they made this food, which gave them daily nourishment as well as bound them together socially.

We still have a residue of this practice in today’s American society, whereby we put some bread at table alongside other foods.  When you go to a restaurant, especially an Italian restaurant, they will put bread on the table, as a matter of course, whether you ask for it or not.  In bread we recognise something beyond mere physical nutrition; bread represents everlasting and profound, the sweat of mankind and the bond of unity.

Scripture and Theology

It is no wonder that Jesus uses the same image in John Chapter six, which we are reading for five weeks; this chapter is called the bread of life discourse.

1.    Two Sundays ago, we heard Jesus feed the thousands with bread and fish that he multiplied miraculously.

2.    Last Sunday, the crowds look for him, expecting him to feed them again.  But Jesus makes a new proposition; he tells them to look for food that lasts and that bread of life is himself.

3.    Today’s and next Sunday’s gospel passages expand on what Jesus means when he calls himself the bread of life.  In today’s passage, the emphasis is on Jesus feeding people with the Word; next Sunday’s gospel will focus on how Jesus feeds them with his Flesh and Blood.

These two ways of feeding are reflected in the two main parts of our Mass: the Liturgy of the Word that has the readings, homily, creed and general intercessions, and the Liturgy of the Eucharist that has the offertory, the Eucharistic Prayer and communion.  And so let us today focus on how Jesus feeds us with his Word.

We know how Jesus traversed the hills and valleys of Judea and Galilee, preaching the Word to Jews and sometimes to Gentiles as well.  We have come to love his great parables such as that of the Good Samaritan, the Prodigal Son and that of Lazarus and the Rich Man.  We are familiar with his great sermons such as that of the Beatitudes and long sermon at the Last Supper in which he teaches the disciples about service to one another.

But what is Jesus really saying in all these teachings, sermons and parables?  In a nutshell, Jesus is conveying the good news, that God loves us.  That despite our human rebellion and sin, God still loves us, to the extent of sending his son to pay our debt for us.  Those of you who are married or who are simply in love know that unrequited love is not fully love.  And so, Jesus is the bread of life in part because he feeds us with this wonderful message of God’s love and the invitation from God for us to love him back.

In today’s gospel, Jesus insists that it is important to listen to this Word that he brings.  He says:  “It is written in the prophets: They shall all be taught by God.  Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me.”  In other words, for us to have salvation, we need to learn from God.  And Jesus is one who has come from the Father and is now telling us what the Father wants us to hear and put into practice.  And Jesus strongly affirms this message: “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.”We must listen to his Word and believe in him.

But as we heard in the gospel, the crowds rejected this message of Jesus.  We heard that:

The Jews murmured about Jesus because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven," and they said, "Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph? Do we not know his father and mother?  Then how can he say, 'I have come down from heaven?'"

They reject what he has to say, because they know him to be a human being like them, moreover one that hails from a rather small village like Nazareth.

Christian Life

Jesus continues to offer himself to us in the Word today.  In fact the whole gospel and the books of the New Testament are Jesus himself speaking to us, through the instrumental words of those who wrote those books.

·        We continue to hear Jesus’ good news when we read the Bible quietly at home or in Bible Study groups.

·        We hear the Word of Jesus when we read the Catechism of the Catholic Church, a very important source of that Good News.  For in the Catechism, it is like the Pope and Bishops have prepared the food from the Bible and broken it down into small morsels that we can handle.

·        We continue to hear Jesus’ Word spoken to us in all the teachings of those who have taken the place of the Twelve Apostles, the bishops and their collaborators the priests and deacons, as well catechists.

·        Most importantly, we continue to hear Jesus’ Word at Mass, in the Liturgy of the Word: the readings, the psalm, the gospel, the homily, the creed and the prayers of the Faithful.  This is the Table of the Word.

In all these ways Jesus is continuing to give himself as the Bread of Life for us.

Unfortunately, sometimes like the Jews, we too reject his Word.  Like them we reject this Good News because of the messenger, whom we either despise or do not recognize as being worthy enough to teach us anything.

But more often, we reject this bread of life, because it does not rhyme with our worldview, just as Jesus’ message did not rhyme with the worldview of the Jews; for they expected a political messiah and here Jesus was appearing as only a spiritual messiah.  Whether we are aware of it or not, we live in a very secular world, one that does not put God in first place, one whose ways of thinking are inspired by our individual needs rather than the will of God, a world in which the useful and material are more important than the merely good and spiritual things.

A friend of mine, a good Catholic man recently told me that he has resolved, for every hour he spends reading internet blogs and other media, he will spend a quarter of an hour reading the Bible and the Catechism.  For he realizes now, how much better his way of life will be, influenced more by the theology Jesus Christ, rather than the ideology of the secular and anti-religious media.

Conclusion

When I was learning the English language, I was taught the distinction between the words “listen” and “hear.”  I was told that to hear is simply to use our ear lobes which the good Lord has given us to perceive sound, something that often happens unintentionally.  Even when you don’t want to, you hear things that come to your ears, like the loud noise on the streets as you try to sleep.  But listening is using those ear lobes and other senses to pay close attention to what is being said, to take in what is being said.

Jesus is asking us to listen carefully so that we might understand and believe.  And so let each of us live our lives asking “what is Jesus trying to tell me and how does he want me to respond?”  Do I hear him telling me, “God loves you”?  And do I respond in kind, saying with both words and action: “I love you too?”

SOLICITUD DE LAS MISIONES – 18 Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario Año B

Exodus 16:2-4,12-15; Ephesians 4:17,20-24; John 6:24-35

Introducción

Buenos días / Buenas tardes.

Soy el Padre Deogratias Ekisa, sacerdote de la arquidiócesis de Tororo, Uganda.  Estoy feliz de hablarles hoy acerca de la obra misionera en mi país.  Pero también les pido disculpa que todavía estoy aprendiendo español. Espero que ustedes puedan comprender mi homilía, que un amigo ha traducido para mí.

Escritura

A partir del domingo pasado y durante los próximos cuatro domingos, el evangelio viene de San Juan Capítulo Seis, donde Jesús dice que él es el Pan de Vida. En el pasaje de hoy, las multitudes están buscando a Jesús, para que pudiera darles de comer, como lo hizo en el evangelio del domingo 

pasado. Al igual que sus antepasados ​​durante el Éxodo, esta gente busca de alimento para el cuerpo. 

Pero Jesús quiere alimentarlos con alimento para el alma, a sí mismo, la comida que dura. Y así él les dice: "Yo soy el pan de vida; el que viene a mí no tendrá hambre, y el que cree en mí nunca tendrá sed."  Con estas palabras Jesús señala a los regalos que él está dejando para el mundo: su Cuerpo y Sangre para comer en la Eucaristía y su Palabra para nosotros creer y vivir.

Durante dos mil años del cristianismo, la Palabra y los Sacramentos son los dos pilares de nuestra fe católica. Cuando los apóstoles establecieron iglesias en Jerusalén, Corinto, Éfeso y otros lugares, predicaron la Palabra y luego celebraron los Sacramentos, especialmente el bautismo y la Eucaristía. Se alimentaban a la gente con el alimento que perdura hasta la vida eterna.

Uganda

Tal vez movido por este mismo pasaje del evangelio, hace cerca de 135 (ciento y treinta) años los misioneros europeos, trajeron la Palabra y los Sacramentos a Uganda. Su mensaje fue bien recibido por los ugandeses. Muchos de ellos creyeron y fueron bautizados. Algunos de ellos dieron su vida por la fe. Son los 22 (veinte y dos) Mártires de Uganda, cuya fiesta es 03 (el tres) de junio.

El trabajo de estos misioneros y la sangre de estos mártires son la semilla que ha dado muchos frutos en Uganda.  El 85% (ochenta y cinco por ciento) de los ugandeses son cristianos y 45% (cuarenta y cinco por ciento) son católicos.  Una parroquia típica en Uganda tiene aproximadamente 10.000 (diez mil) parroquianos y cerca de 20 (veinte) iglesias; y todos estos se sirven de sólo uno o dos sacerdotes. Al igual que las multitudes en el evangelio de hoy, ellos también vienen a Jesús buscando alimentación del cuerpo y del alma.

Antes de asumir mi cargo actual, yo era párroco de una parroquia que se consideraría una pequeña. Mi parroquia tiene 4.000 (cuatro mil) parroquianos y 12 (doce) iglesias misioneras. Aunque a veces pienso en mí mismo como Superman, pero no pude celebrar 12 (doce) misas cada fin de semana. Traté de visitar uno o dos estaciones cada fin de semana.  Después de la Misa dominical en la Iglesia principal, viajé a otra misión. A este ritmo, las iglesias de las poblaciones reciben al sacerdote una vez cada dos meses más o menos.  Cuando el sacerdote no viene, el catequista guío un servicio de comunión.

Ellos están esperando la visita del sacerdote. Usualmente, el sacerdote pasa todo el día en ese lugar haciéndose cargo de todo el trabajo espiritual: bautismos, casamientos, confesiones, visitando y ungiendo a los enfermos, celebrando la Eucaristía. Obviamente, con todos estos sacramentos, la misa dura tres horas o más. Además, la homilía es bien larga, ya que el sacerdote tiene que decir todo lo que necesita enseñar por los próximos dos meses. Ustedes no se preocupen, porque la homilía de hoy va a ser mucho más corta.  El Párroco me dijo que si hablo poco, ustedes serían más generosos.

Visitar a mis parroquianos en los pueblos en mi pequeña motocicleta, es la mejor parte de mi ministerio. Estoy impresionado e inspirado por la profundidad de esta gente. Pero también estoy amargado por las condiciones difíciles en que se encuentran. Caminan millas y millas para venir a las misas, a veces bajo la lluvia. Ellos están allí cuando yo llego, rezando el rosario y listos para pasar toda la mañana o tarde en oración. A veces nuestra misa es debajo de un árbol de mango, porque la comunidad todavía no tiene iglesia.

Pero más interesante aún es la pobreza de la gente, que tiene muchas necesidades físicas como la gente en evangelio. Muchas familias viven de la agricultura, teniendo un par de animales y cosechando unos pocos metros de tierra sembrada. Las mismas dificultades se experimentan con respecto al cuidado médico. La gente tiene que viajar más de veinte millas para llegar a la clínica más cercana y mucho más lejos para un hospital. Niños mueren a causa de simples enfermedades como malaria o un simple rasguño. Algunas enfermedades se contraen por la falta de agua potable y limpia. Recuerdo cuando era niño teniendo que caminar millas con mi madre para buscar agua.  Cuando nuestra gente rezan el Padrenuestro y preguntan: "Danos hoy nuestro pan de cada día", que están pidiendo no sólo para el Cuerpo y la Sangre de Cristo, sino también para las necesidades físicas.

La Iglesia en Uganda trata de responder a esas necesidades, espirituales y físicas, lo mejor que puede. Además de las Iglesias, dirigimos escuelas, hospitales y otros servicios sociales. Pero nuestros recursos son limitados. Por eso estamos muy agradecidos de que la Iglesia en Canadá nos invite a venir y hacer un pedido a ustedes, para acompañarnos en nuestro trabajo con su ayuda. Ustedes puedan ver algunos de nuestros trabajos en las imágenes que se muestran en la parte posterior de la Iglesia. 

Cómo ayudar!

Apreciamos toda la ayuda que ustedes nos puedan dar. Ante todo, apreciamos el apoyo que nos brindan con sus oraciones. Las oraciones ayudan el trabajo de los misioneros que deben sobrellevar tantas pruebas, y nos mantienen fuertes.

También apreciamos cualquier ayuda financiera que nos puedan dar, en la segunda colección de hoy. Déjenme darles algunos ejemplos de cómo sus donaciones pueden brindar alegría y cambiar la gente de Uganda.

1)       $100 (cien dólares) permite a un catequista tener una bicicleta como transporte, para llevar la comunión a la gente de su poblado.

2)       Cerca $800 (ocho cientos dólares) permiten al Obispo preparar un seminarista por todo un año, en el seminario de Uganda.

3)       $3.000 (Tres mil dólares) pueden proveer a uno de los nuevos siete sacerdotes una motocicleta, para hacer su ministerio.

4)       $10.000 (diez mil dólares) pueden proveer con un pozo profundo de agua limpia y potable, a una comunidad de un poblado de más de mil personas.

Conclusión

El papa Pablo VI (sexto) dijo una vez que todos en la Iglesia somos misioneros. Algunos van a las misiones; otros van, por medio del dar. Por tanto, por medio del dar sus oraciones, sus donaciones, e incluso apoyo moral, ustedes están participando en el trabajo misionero de la Iglesia. Gracias por ser misioneros, por responder a las necesidades de sus hermanos y hermanas en Uganda.

Estamos especialmente agradecidos, porque sabemos que muchos de ustedes nos ayudan haciendo muchos sacrificios. Sepan que sus sacrificios hacen una gran diferencia en las vidas de mucha gente.  Muchísimas gracias, y que Dios los bendiga.  Finalmente, gracias por aguantarme con mi español.

APELLO PER LE MISSIONI DI UGANDA

DOMENICA XVI DEL TEMPO ORDINARIO ANNO B 2015

Introduzione

Buon giorno / pomeriggio. Mi chiamo Padre Deogratias Ekisa. Ringrazio il parrocco e gli altri sacerdoti della parrocchia, per avermi permesso di venire a parlare con voi sulle missioni e chieder il vostro aiuto.

Scrittura e Teologia

Il vangelo di oggi continua dove il vangelo di Domenica scorsa ha lasciato. Se vi ricordate, nel la Domenica scorsa, Gesù mandò i discepoli a due a due, con le istruzioni e il potere di curare i malati. Nel Vangelo di oggi essi ritornano e riferiscono a lui tutto il grande lavoro che hanno fatto. Come ogniuno di noi, probabilmente erano soddisfatti del successo del loro lavoro ed erano desiderosi di condividere con il Signore che li aveva mandati. Ma erano anche stanchi e aveva bisogno di un po 'di riposo. Ecco perché il Signore li porta via, non solo per sentire ciò che hanno fatto, ma anche per riposare.

La folla non capisce questa necessità; la necessità per i discepoli e Gesù a riposare, e la necessità di Gesù di informarse in merito al loro missione. La folla vuole essere servito; perche le loro esigenze sono molti.

Ecco perché Gesù deve sacrificare questo poco tempo di riposo e attendere alle esigenze della folla. Abbiamo sentito nel Vangelo che: "Quando ha sbarcato, vide una grande folla, il suo cuore fu mosso a pietà per loro, perché erano come pecore senza pastore; e si mise a insegnare loro molte cose."

Amici, questo passaggio del Vangelo descrive quasi esattamente il lavoro missionario!

Applicazione alla missione

Lasciate che vi dica qualcosa sui missionari che hanno portato la fede in Uganda quasi cento trenta anni fa. Infatti alcuni di loro venivanno da Italia – i Padri Comboniani e le suore Comboniane. Hanno lasciato l'Europa, non sapendo come sarebbero stati ricevuti: Sarebbero stati uccisi da animali selvatici o da gente ostile? Sarebbero morti per malattie o per fame? Ma quello che avevano da condividere, il vangelo di Gesù Cristo, era cosi’ importante che loro non sono lasciati scoraggiare da queste paure. Hanno viaggiato per migliaia di chilometri, spesso a piedi, a predicare il messaggio di salvezza di Dio per il popolo dell'Uganda.

Quando sono arrivati ​​in Uganda, molte persone hanno creduto e hanno ricevuto il battesimo. E alcuni hanno scambiato la loro vita terrena per Dio, morendo per la fede.  Sono ventidue i martiri dell’Uganda, la cui festa è il 3 di giugno. Per loro portare la croce e dare la loro vita come Gesù, era molto più importante di sopravvivere.

Il lavoro di questi primi missionari e il sangue di questi martiri hanno portato molti frutti in Uganda. Oggi, quasi l’85 (l’ottantacinque) per cento degli ugandesi e’ cristiano e più della metà dei cristiani in Uganda e’ cattolica. Infatti la parrocchia media in Uganda ha circa dieci mille parrocchiani, e circa venti chiese piccole.

Prima del mio attuale incarico, sono stato parroco di una parrocchia più piccola, con circa Quattro mille fedeli e dodici chiese piccole. Con tutte queste chiese, potevo andare in visita ad ogni chiesa circa una volta ogni due mesi. Eppure per loro, questa visita occasionale da parte del sacerdote è un grande tesoro. Questa è anche l'occasione per celebrare la messa e gli altri sacramenti, la confessione prima della Messa, unzione dopo la Messa e dei sacramenti celebrati durante la Messa.

In una occasione ho celebrato, in una Messa, un matrimonio, ho battezzato circa sessanta bambini e ho dato la prima Santa Comunione a circa cento bambini. Come potete immaginare, la Messa era piuttosto lunga, tre ore! La lunghezza è dovuta non solo dalle molte cerimonie, ma anche perché l'omelia era piuttosto lunga; dovevo parlare di tutti questi sacramenti e dire le cose che dovevo dire per i successive due mesi. Ma non preoccupatevi della omelia di oggi; il parrocco mi ha consigliato che se parlo poco, voi sarete più generosi.

Questa parrocchia ha 5 scuole e una clinica. Lasciate che vi dica brevemente il lavoro di suor Bernadette. Negli ultimi 25 anni, lei è la preside di una scuola elementare con circa 2.000 bambini. Un quarto di questi bambini vivono a scuola, perché le loro case sono troppo lontane perche possano venire a scuola a piedi ogni giorno. Con le sue consorelle, insegna a questi bambini la matematica, scienze, inglese; ma ancora più importante è una madre di questi bambini per nove mesi l'anno, insegnando loro l'amore di Dio, ma anche quei valori cristiani come il rispetto, la cura per l'altro, il duro lavoro, la disciplina, l'onestà. Anche se non sono andato alla sua scuola, sono andato a una scuola come la sua e devo quello che sono oggi, la mia fede, il sacerdozio agli insegnanti come lei.

Ci sono molti bambini in Uganda oggi, che come me, ricevono, il doppio tesoro del Regno di Dio, la fede e le esigenze materiali di formazione, assistenza medica, dal lavoro da sacerdoti, catechisti, e le sorelle come suor Bernadette.

Appello alla Missione

Vengo a voi oggi, per fare appello per il vostro aiuto, in modo che si può aiutare a portare la nostra croce di servizio per gli altri. La tua donazione nella seconda colletta di oggi ci aiuterà proprio per questo. Permettetemi di darvi alcuni esempi di ciò che facciamo con il vostro aiuto.

1. La vostra donazione di $ 100 ci permette di comprare una bicicletta perche un catechista possa viaggiare avanti e indietro dal suo villaggio e la chiesa parrocchiale principale, per riportare la comunione in modo che il suo paese possa avere un servizio di comunione eucaristica di Domenica. La tua donazione di 2.000 dollari consente a un sacerdote di acquistare una piccola moto in modo da visitare tutti i suoi parrocchiani, anche quelli nei villaggi piu lontani della sua parrocchia.

2 La vostra donazione di $ 50 a $ 100 al mese ci consente di pagare per i nostri giovani che stanno studiando per il sacerdozio. Quando questi giovani saranno ordinati alla fine, al momento abbiamo circa 50 di loro, essi potranno ridurre il rapporto di parrocchiani per ogni sacerdote, che è attualmente di circa 10.000 a uno, a un numero molto più gestibile - in modo che i parrocchiani abbiano più stretta e regolare accesso al grande tesoro della Parola di Dio e dei sacramenti.

3 Molte delle nostre chiese di paese potrebbe presto diventare parrocchie, se avremo più sacerdoti, ma anche se saremo in grado di costruire una piccola chiesa. Il nostro piacevole clima tropicale ci permette di costruire una piccola chiesa da villaggio per il poco prezzo di $ 10.000.

Le persone in Uganda portano la loro croce cercando cose di base, come cibo, medicine, istruzione e riparo. Puoi aiutarci ad alleggerire il loro fardello, come Simone di Cirene ha fatto, quando portò la sua croce per il Signore?

Conclusione

Le mie parole non sono sufficienti per mostrare quanta differenza fanno le vostre donazioni generose nella vita delle persone in Uganda. Ed è per questo che rivolgo un invito a venire a trovarci in Uganda. Prometto che non vi metteremo a lavorare, a meno che non si desideriate.

• Ma si avrà l'opportunità di pregare con i parrocchiani in una piccola chiesa del villaggio, il cui tetto è stato messo su con il vostro aiuto.

• Vedrete i bambini della scuola in attivita’ e soprattutto nella scuola delle suore, felice di avere un'educazione e la promessa di un futuro luminoso, grazie a te.

• Vedrete le madri che hanno portato i loro bambini malati alla nostra clinica parrocchiale, sollevati dal fatto che i loro figli possono avere un po’ di cure mediche, presso una clinica costruita e supportata con il vostro aiuto.

Vorrei concludere chiedendo per la cosa più importante, le vostre preghiere. Per favore pregate per la sicurezza e il successo del lavoro dei missionari in tutto il mondo e in Uganda in particolare. Io posso assicurarvi le preghiere di gratitudine del popolo ugandese, le cui vite sono rese un po’ migliori, grazie per il vostro aiuto. Grazie ancora per la vostra calorosa ospitalità e accoglienza. Possa Dio continuare a benedirvi.

Homily for Pentecost Year B 2015

The Holy Spirit: an advocate, an executor and the score

Acts 2:1-11; 1 Corinthians 12:3-7,12-13; John 15:26-27; 16:12-15

Introduction

“To what shall we compare the Kingdom of God?”  Jesus asks and answers this question, by comparing the Kingdom to everyday images: wheat growing in a field, the tiny mustard seed growing into a large tree, yeast causing a batch of dough to rise and a few other images.

As we celebrate the feast of Pentecost, let me borrow that line of Jesus and ask: “To what shall we compare the coming of the Holy Spirit?”  And my answers are, the Holy Spirit could be compared to an executor, an advocate and a composer.  But first, let us recall what the Bible says about the Holy Spirit.

Scripture and Theology

Pentecost was not the first time the Spirit was active in the world

·        At the very beginning, we are told that God created man by breathing his Spirit into him.

·        And then whenever God appeared to the people of Israel, he usually did so in a cloud of the Holy Spirit.

·        Later, as the Prophets announced the coming of the Messiah, they also spoke about the coming of his Spirit.

·        In the New Testament, when the angel Gabriel announces to Mary that she will bear a child, he tells her, “The holy Spirit will come upon you.”

·        And as Jesus begins his ministry in Luke Chapter 4, he declares that the Spirit of the Lord is upon him, and is the inspiration of all his work.

And so, when on Pentecost the Spirit came upon the disciples he was continuing a long tradition.  But there was something special with this coming: at Pentecost and since then, the Spirit comes to complete saving work of God in Jesus Christ.

Christian Life

And so to what shall we compare the Holy Spirit?  The Holy Spirit is like an executor of a last will and testament.  The executor ensures that the instructions left in the will are faithfully followed.  

Jesus left a rather important will, which we had him make in last Sunday’s gospel when he told his disciples: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.”

Clearly the disciples could not do this job by themselves without help.  A few weeks earlier we had seen them running away from the Lord when he was arrested.  They needed help.  This help came on Pentecost day, when after receiving the Spirit, we see them carrying out the Master’s instructions.  They are now fearless and effective preachers of the Word, because the Holy Spirit gives them clear directions and the courage, to proclaim the gospel to the whole world.

Today as we carry out our various duties in the Church, we do so effectively only with the help of the Holy Spirit.

·        For example, as a preacher of the Word, I know that it is not my words alone, but rather the Holy Spirit working through me, that enables people to hear God’s word.

·        Also, when I celebrate the sacraments, it is the Holy Spirit who brings about God’s grace.  At Mass, for example, listen carefully during the Eucharist prayer, and you will hear the priest asking the Father to send down his Spirit to change our humble gifts of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ.  Such things are above my pay grade.  Only with the Holy Spirit, as executor, can the sacraments produce grace for us.

To what shall else we compare the Holy Spirit?  Jesus himself suggests another image when in the gospel he says: “When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me.” The Holy Spirit is like an advocate, a lawyer, an attorney, who speaks up for a client in a court of law.

Lawyers today tend to have a bad name, because of a few rotten eggs.  But lawyers play a very important role because they know the law very well.  Recently I needed some legal papers drawn up and without the help of a lawyer, I was lost.  As the proverb goes, “A man who is his own lawyer has a fool for his client."

We could say the same for the Church and for us Christians.  If we act without the Holy Spirit as our advocate, we act foolishly.  We need the Holy Spirit as advocate to help us remain on the right side of God’s commandments.  We need the Holy Spirit as advocate to help us face persecution.  We need the Holy Spirit as advocate to help us fight off temptations.  How else would you explain those occasions when, despite every inclination in you, you succeed in avoiding sin!  How else could you explain those situations when despite your unworthy self, you do good!  We are found innocent only because the Advocate intervenes on our behalf.

To what else shall we compare the Holy Spirit?  The third and final image of the Holy Spirit is that of a symphony orchestra.  The orchestra is made up of a hundred different musicians and dozens of instruments.  But each of them is not the real source of the music.  Even the conductor, the visible focus of everyone's attention is not the real source of the music.  The composer is the real source of music; in front of every musician is a music stand holding a few pages marked with black lines and dots - the score, the music.  No one in the audience sees the score, but that score is what brings all those minds together, coordinates everyone's efforts, and produces a beautiful, inspiring performance.

That's what the Church is like, that’s how the Spirit operates in our lives.  The Pope is the conductor.  We are all musicians, contributing our own unique talents to the symphony of holiness that resounds throughout the world and history.  As St. Paul tells the Corinthians, “There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone.”

And so the Holy Spirit is the living musical score, the one who tells us what notes to play, when to play them, how fast to play them, how loud to play them, how soft to play them.  He is the silent force behind the holiness of every saint, behind the growth of every Christian, and behind the unity of the Church.

Conclusion

And so, this Pentecost Sunday should remind us of the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, the work of the third member of the Trinity, after God the Father and God the Son, who came down to earth as Jesus.

As executor, the Holy Spirit guides our words and actions, as we carry out the command of Jesus to go out to the whole world and proclaim the gospel.

As advocate, the Holy Spirit protects and defends us, so we might not go to hell, but might remain on the path of righteousness.

As composer of the musical score, the Holy Spirit provides the road-map for our lives, sometimes filled with excitement, but sometimes proceeding quietly as we go about our daily duties.

Let us make the words of today’s response our own:  “Lord send out your spirit and renew the face of the earth,” starting with each of us individually.

Sent forth and equipped for the mission

Homily for Ascension Year B 2015

Acts 1:1-11; Ephesians 4:1-13; Mark 16:15-20

Introduction

I would like to compare today’s feast of the Ascension, to the proverbial middle child.  The middle child, sandwiched between the over-achieving first born and the pampered baby of the family, often feels neglected and can’t find his niche.

That’s what seems to happen to the feast of the Ascension.  It is sandwiched between the great solemnity of Easter which we celebrated seven weeks ago and the solemnity of Pentecost which comes next Sunday.  And so, one might ask, what is the big deal with Ascension?

But Ascension is important in the Christian cycle of feasts.  Ascension celebrates the return of Jesus to heaven.

Scripture and Theology

For us Christians, the return of Jesus to the Father is indeed a big deal.  It marks the end of his physical presence on earth and the end of his earthly mission.  Since the Ascension, Jesus and his work are still with us, but in another way.

The reading from the Acts of the Apostles tells us that on that day, when the Lord gathered his disciples in one place, they imagined that something big was about to take place.  They thought that this was the big payday for which they had been working and waiting.  So they asked Jesus, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

But they must have been surprised by the answer that Jesus gave them.  He said: “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”  In other words, he was saying, “I am not going to restore the kingdom, you are.  I have done my bit; now it is your turn to carry on the job that I started and bring it to completion.  Go on; make me proud.”

·        We could think of the Ascension as being like the day when a successful CEO retires from the company and hands the reins to his successor, saying, “Carry on now – take the company to greater heights.”

·        We could think of the Ascension as being like when the runner in the relay race, who has ran a good race and now hands the baton on to the last runner and says “off to the finish line; win this one for us.”

Jesus is that successful CEO, Jesus is that star athlete on the relay team who pass on the task.  And we the Church are the new CEO, we the Church are the last athlete, and we have been given the task of completing the mission.

But are the disciples qualified to carry on this mission of establishing the Kingdom of God?  Well, Jesus did not just throw them into the water and tell them to swim or sink.  Actually he empowered them for the task in two ways.

First Jesus gives them knowledge.  For three years as they lived with Jesus, they heard him teach, they saw his miracles and his example of prayer and compassion, and most importantly, they saw his suffering, death and resurrection, the vents of our salvation.  And these are the things they areto  preach to the nations, these are the things of which they are to be witnesses. Like the retiring CEO who has been grooming his successor for several years, Jesus has indeed groomed the disciples.

Second Jesus gives them spiritual power.  “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you,” he tells them.  The coming of that Spirit, for which they have to wait in Jerusalem, is what we shall celebrate next Sunday, on Pentecost.  In other words in carrying on the mission of the now departing Jesus, they are not going to rely just on their own power and abilities; they will be empowered from God on High, who sends his life-giving Spirit.

·        And so if Pentecost is the birthday of the Church, when the Holy Spirit comes down upon the apostles and they begin to preach the Good News, Ascension is the conceiving of the Church, when Jesus gives the Church its great commission: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.”

·        If Pentecost is like the wedding day when the bride and groom seal their love with the grace of the sacrament, Ascension is like the engagement when the couple make the firm commitment to get married.

And so after all, Ascension, like the middle child, is important.  Ascension reminds us Christians of the great commission given to us by Jesus.

Christian Life

The Apostles did indeed carry out the great commission.  They preached the Good News, not only in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, but indeed to the ends of the earth.  They in turn passed on this baton of faith to their successors who continued the work until the Good News reached us here in Louisiana.

We today, now have the baton of faith.  We today, are called upon to be witnesses of Jesus.  We today, are responsible for restoring the Kingdom of God.  And by we, I don’t mean just Pope Francis, the bishops, priests and deacons; I mean all the Christian faithful, all the baptized.

What St. Paul in today’s second reading told the Christian community of the Ephesians, he tells our Christian community gathered here.  “. . . grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.”  In other words, like the disciples received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost to enable them carry out their mission, Christians have also received the grace of the Holy Spirit, particularly from the sacraments:

·        At Baptism, we are cleansed of sin and made worthy for ministry.

·        At Confirmation, we are strengthened by the Holy Spirit for witness.

·        At Eucharist, we receive the Word and Sacrament, food for the journey.

·        At Matrimony and Ordination, we each receive the graces we need to serve God and others, as married people or as ordained ministers.

We have no excuse!  We have the power to do the work Jesus left us.

That is why St. Paul in the same reading goes on to say: “And he gave some as apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers . . . .”  In other words, there is something for each of us to do.  And Paul continues to explain that these various callings are given “to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature to manhood, to the extent of the full stature of Christ.”  These are powerful words that should assure us that we have been equipped for the work of ministry, for the building up the Body of Christ, so that the Kingdom of God is established forever.

Each one of us must decide what role we will play in this noble mission, left for us by Jesus.  If I were to list all the things we can each do, we would be here until the cows come home.  And so I will just suggest three broad areas of action, which build up the Body of Christ.

1.    We build up the Body of Christ by preaching the gospel, in word and example.

2.    We build up the Body of Christ, by celebrating the gospel, in worship and the sacraments.

3.    We build up the Body of Christ, by living out the gospel, in morality and service.

These three things: preaching, celebrating and living.

Conclusion

When the Lord returns, as he surely will, to check on the progress we have made, will he find us at work?  Personally, I hope that he will find me doing at least one of these three things, if not all of them: teaching what he preached, praying as he instructed and serving others as he showed us.

Ascension reminds us of this mission and responsibility; that is why it is important.  Sometimes the middle child eventually finds their niche in life and become the responsible child, the dependable one.

May Ascension takes its rightful place in our lives, highlighting for us and reminding us the great commission given us by the Lord, to proclaim the gospel and to be his witnesses to the whole world.

Love is in the air – the love of Christ

Homily for Easter – 6^th Sunday Year B 2015

Acts 10:25-26,34-35,44-48; 1 John 4:7-10; John 15:9-17

Introduction

Listening to the readings of today’s Mass, I am reminded of an old song of the 70s, entitled “love is in the air.”  Both the second reading and the gospel used the word “love” nine times each.  The message for us therefore is loud and clear: Christians must “love one another.”

But what does the word “love” really mean?  We use it in many different ways.

·        A teenager sends a text-message to her boyfriend saying “I love you.” Do those words mean the same thing when a couple who have been married for 40, 50 or 60 years say them to each other?

·        A mother kisses the forehead of her bruised five-year old son saying “I love you.” Do those words mean the same thing when a father says them to his daughter as he gives her away at her wedding?

·        And then you have the love about which we read in novels, we hear in pop music and we see in movies.  What does it really mean to love?

For us Christians, if we are to understand what “love” truly means, there is only one place to go.  We go to Jesus.

Scripture and Theology

In today’s gospel passage he tells us: “This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.”  The command to love is nothing new. Even the Old Testament and indeed most other religions command people to love.  What Jesus adds to the meaning of love is those four little words: “as I love you.” Besides telling Christians to love Jesus specifies that they are to love just as Jesus himself loves.  And how does Jesus love?

He says: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”  That is how Jesus loves; he lays down his life for others on the cross.

But the love of Jesus started long before the cross.  His very coming into the world was an act of love.  Today’s second reading told us that the love of God was revealed to us in this way:  “God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him.”  And it goes on to define what true love: “not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins.”

A few chapters before today’s gospel passage, St. John describes Jesus washing the feet of his disciples.  John then says: “He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end.”  And after washing their feet, after showing them a symbol of love, Jesus tells his disciples: “I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.”

As we know, that very night Jesus actually puts his teaching into concrete practice.  He lays down his life, for the world, for you and me.  He is scourged, tortured and made to carry a cross.  He undergoes untold physical suffering, to take the place of a sinful world.  But his sacrifice goes beyond the physical pain; Jesus empties himself completely and gives himself body and soul to God, to redeem a world that rejected him.  That is how he loves!  That is radical love.  That is the way he wants Christians to love a he has loved. 

Christian Life

Christians throughout history have tried to imitate this radical love of Christ.

Think about the martyrs, those saints who give up their lives for the faith, when it would be just as easy to give in to the demands of their tormenters.  For example there have been several news stories recently, of Christians being killed by Islamist terrorists in the Middle East, for no other reason, than their faith.

But let me tell you about the Uganda Martyrs from my own country, whose feast is coming up on June 3rd.  When the missionaries arrived in Uganda in 1879, they set about preaching the gospel to the people.  Several natives joined them and became Christians.  But about six years later the Ugandan King was disturbed that his Christian subjects were turning their allegiance from him to this new religion.  They were abandoning some of the ways of their ancestors and living the Christian way.

·        For example, some of them abandoned the practice of polygamy and were now observing the Christian teaching on sexuality, particularly the teaching on monogamous marriage between one man and one woman.

·        And then the King’s own chief-minister, Joseph asked the King to spare the life of an innocent man who had been condemned to death.

And so, the King asked them to choose what they truly loved more.  They had to choose between their lives and their new faith.  Twenty of them chose to die for Christ, most of them by being burnt alive. They included a 13 year old catechumen who was baptized on the way to the execution. This is the greater love that Jesus speaks about, laying down one’s life for one’s friends.

Closer to home and especially as we celebrate Mother’s day, we must remember the many mothers who live out this radical love of Jesus day in day out.

·        Think of the many mothers, perhaps some among us here today, who juggle two or more jobs, to put food on the table for their children.  Think of the many mothers who spend sleepless nights with crying babies, sick babies, hungry babies.  This of the many mothers who have to deal with naughty teenagers. They lay down their lives for their children.

·        This morning I called my mother in Uganda, to wish her a happy mother’s day.  And I thanked her for putting up with a messy, bratty, naughty child, my sister.

·        Think of the many mothers who raise their children in truth, discipline and hard work.  Because these values are not popular today, these mothers would probably not win “Mother of the Year” award from their teenage children.  But they carry on, because they know that Christian motherhood is not a popularity contest.  It is laying down your life, your popularity for your children and even your husband.

·        Think of those women and girls, who choose the path of motherhood, when the path of abortion would have been easier.  Faced with an unplanned pregnancy that will affect their schooling, work and reputation, they still choose to keep the baby.  Sometimes the pregnancy is the result of rape or abuse; but they still decide to keep the baby.  But most radical are those women you hear about every now and then, who are diagnosed with cancer.  They know that terminating the pregnancy will give them a greater chance at recovery; but they choose to carry the pregnancy to full term, often at great risk to their own health and in some cases with the certain knowledge that they will die in the process.  All these women, in choosing Christian motherhood not only love, but love as Jesus loves.  This is the greater love that Jesus speaks about, laying down one’s life for one’s friends.

Conclusion

Many of us will not be martyred for the faith; some of us are not mothers, perhaps because we are men.  But we are all called to love as Jesus loved.  And we love in our day to day activities, in our daily duties, in random acts of kindness.

In one of my favourite movies, Fiddler on the Roof, Tevye asks his wife Golde: “Do you love me?”  She is confused and wonders what has brought this question on.  And then she wonders loudly?

Do I love you?

For twenty-five years I've washed your clothes

Cooked your meals, cleaned your house

Given you children, milked your cow

After twenty-five years, why talk about love right now?

Jesus loved in a very concrete way, so must we love others in a very concrete way.  “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

I am the vine and you are the branches!

Homily for Easter – 5^th Sunday Year B 2015

Acts 9:26-31; 1 John 3:18-24; John 15:1-8

Introduction

Last Sunday Jesus used the image of the shepherd’s care for his sheep, to teach that he the Good Shepherd loves his disciples.

Today he continues to teach a similar message, using another agricultural image, the vine, its branches and the vine grower.  Like rearing sheep, growing vines was and is still an important means of livelihood in Palestine, familiar to the Jews.

With this image of the vine, Jesus teaches three important relationships of love:

·        The relationship between God the Father and Jesus

·        The relationship between Jesus and his disciples

·        The relationship between the disciples and the Father, which completes the cycle.

Scripture and Theology

And so, when Jesus announces: "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower,” he is showing that what he does and what he teaches, do not come from his own authority.  The Father has sent him; the Father continues to guide him; the Father continues to tell him what to say and do.

This image of God as the vine grower was used already in the Old Testament.  The Prophets, especially Jeremiah and Isaiah lamented that the vine, Israel, had failed to provide good fruit to the vine grower, God.  Instead, by their sinfulness they were producing sour grapes.  With Jesus as the vine, there is hope that this time round, good fruit will be produced, because Jesus and the Father are close and united to each other.

Secondly, Jesus also announces, “I am the vine, you are the branches,” thus speaking about the relationship between him and the disciples.  Jesus compares himself to the main stalk of the vine and the disciples to the branches attached to it.  He is the part of the plant that goes down to the roots and is anchored in the soil; he is the part to whom all the branches are attached and from whom they draw their nutrition and life.  Just like the branches must remain attached to the main stalk of the vine to continue receiving nourishment and producing fruit, so the disciple must remain attached to Jesus to be fruitful.

The third relationship is that between the disciples and the Father.  Jesus says of his Father: “He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and every one that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit.”  The Father’s job is to prune the branches.  When we prune flowers in our gardens, we cut off unwanted shoots and leaves.  Pruning a plant might be considered an assault on the plant, cutting off some of its parts.  The wine growers pruned the vines especially in the first few years to allow them to spread out and produce better fruit; and every year they continued to prune them.

As pruning, though painful, is necessary for the growth of the plant, so suffering if part of the Christian’s life.  Remember that Jesus spoke these words about pruning at the Last Supper, just before he suffered and died.  Moreover, he had already warned the disciples that they too would have to suffer.  The suffering of Jesus on the cross brings us salvation.  Our daily suffering in some small way also contributes to our own salvation and that of others.  When the Father, hrough the teaching of Christ, through his graces, prunes us by separating them from sinful ways and patterns, that is often painful. But it also makes us fruitful.

Christian Life

Because we don’t grow vines in South East Louisiana, the message of this image might be lost on us.

But we have our own images that can teach us more or less the same message.

·        Think of the wires bringing electricity, the internet and cable into our house and the further connections within the house.  Like the branches need to connect to the vine for nourishment and life, our house must be connected to the main supply, if we are to have any electricity, internet and cable.  When we don’t pay the bill, the company cuts the connection and we are plunged in darkness.   Similarly, when we don’t pay attention to Jesus’ teaching in his Word and the Sacraments, we are plunged in darkness.

·        But perhaps the image most similar to the vine is the intimate relationship between mother and child.  Since Mother’s Day is coming up next week, let’s examine how similar the bond between mother and child, is to the bond between us and God.

The first lesson is that dependence on God.  Like the vine depends on the vine grower and the branches depend on the vine, a baby must depend on the mother for nourishment.  While still in the womb, the baby draws nourishment from the mother through the umbilical cord.  Outside the womb, the baby continues to receive nourishment through nursing for several months.  This bond, between mother and child, often continues even into adult life.

I live with two priests who are in their eighties, including Archbishop Hughes.  I am always amazed at how they still talk so fondly of their mothers.  Mother taught me this, mother said this, mother did this for me.  Sixty, seventy, eighty years later, they still remember what their mothers did for them.  The maternal bond between mother and child is that strong.

Can the bond between us and God be that strong?  Our bond with the Lord is strong if we regularly maintain that relationship.  One of the things to keep our relationship strong is listening to God’s Word and celebrating the Sacraments.  Coming to Mass on Sunday, for example, is not just a rule or obligation that we must fulfil; rather it is like the regular visit we make to a friend or to an elderly mother, a sign of our love for them.  Coming to Mass on Sunday to receive the Word and communion, is like the branches receiving life-giving sap from the vine, or like the baby receiving nourishment from the mother.

Of course even the loving relationship between a mother and child is not without its share of pain and suffering.  You have the tantrums of the terrible twos, the tantrums of the teenage years and the silent treatment of the young adults.  These difficulties need to be pruned.  And after the pruning, usually mother and child overcome these difficulties and grow closer to each other.  Similarly, despite our sinfulness, in the end our relationship with God is restored by conversion and penance, in the sacrament of confession.

Of course the whole purpose of growing vines and pruning the branches is to produce grapes, from which wine is produced. Many mothers usually expect from their children grandchildren.  But others are just content to see their adult children happy and doing well in life.  The fruit we produce as the disciples of Jesus is good deeds that follow the way of the Lord.

Conclusion

And so, as you prepare to honour your mother next Sunday, think about how that relationship somehow mirrors our relationship with God.

And as we have received love and nourishment from our mothers, let us remember all the love and nourishment from God.  And as we reciprocate perhaps by cherishing the memory of our mothers in some way, let us recommit ourselves to always doing good deeds, deeds that would make both our earthly mothers and our heavenly Father proud.