Homily Lent 2C: Working for our citizenship is in heaven

 Homily for 2^nd Sunday of Lent Year C 2022

Genesis 15:5-12,17-18; Philippians 3:17-4:1; Luke 9:28b-36

Introduction

"Our citizenship is in heaven," we just heard St. Paul say in the second reading.  What does he mean? Is he suggesting that because we are Catholic, we are not American citizens, Ugandan citizens, Canadian citizens, Mexican citizens?

Fortunately for us, there is a thing called dual citizenship.  For example, I can be both a Ugandan and a US citizen.  Someone can be both a Canadian and a US citizen.  And some European countries like Italy, Spain and France allow you to claim citizenship if at least your great grandparent was a citizen of that country, so that you can be both an Italian and a US citizen.

For us as Catholics therefore, we are dual citizens; we are citizens of this world and citizens of heaven.  Moreover, as St. Paul and indeed our readings today remind us, we are citizens of this world only for a short while; our permanent citizenship is with God in heaven.  And story of the Transfiguration in the gospel, gives us a glimpse of that heavenly citizenship.

Scripture and Tradition

In last Sunday's gospel we saw that the desert was the place where God prepared his messengers for their mission: Moses and the Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 years, the prophet Elijah and Jesus for 40 days and nights.

But when he wanted to reveal himself, he met them on mountains.

·        It is on Mount Sinai that Moses often met God and from where he came down with God's message, including the Ten Commandments.

·        Elijah too went to meet God on that same Mount Sinai (1 Kg. 19).

·        And in today’s gospel we heard that "Jesus took Peter, John, and James and went up the mountain to pray."

But while Moses and Elijah only conversed with God on the mountain, they did not see his face.  God revealed himself to them only in partial way, like a shadow or a silhouette.  In the case of Jesus, however, he reveals himself fully.

·        We heard that: "While he was praying his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white."  This is what the disciples saw.

·        Even the appearance of Moses and Elijah, revered messengers of God, symbols of God's Law and the Prophets, testified to who Jesus was.

·        And to top it off, there was the voice of the Father himself from the cloud saying: "This is my chosen Son; listen to him."

What Moses and Elijah had only seen partially on their previous trips to the mountain, the three disciples could now see fully in the transfigured Jesus.  The disciples had a foretaste of the heavenly citizenship that awaited them.

Moreover, Jesus had a special purpose in bringing with him up the mountain these three, Peter, James and John, his inner cabinet, the closest of the Twelve.  For a week earlier, he had just announced to his disciples for the first time that “he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.”  The disciples found this message difficult to understand or accept, since for them, a Messiah was someone who would come in glory and power; not someone who would suffer.  Jesus had even told them that every one of his disciples would also have to deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Jesus.  His painful fate would be their painful fate.

And so, having proposed this rather stark picture of what it means to be a disciple, Jesus now provided a morale booster, an antidote, if you like.  By giving them, this experience of the Transfiguration, he assured Peter, James and John that this suffering, both on his part and on their part, is not for nothing.  It is the means by which they will share in the glory of the Father, their true citizenship.

·        And so, in this experience of the Transfiguration, they have a sneak-peek of that glory, to which they must look forward, for which they must work.  Like a preview of a good movie entices you to go and watch the real thing, a preview of heaven, would make them work for the real thing.

·        This experience might also be compared to a plastic surgeon showing his patient what he or she will hopefully look like after the procedure.  In this way, the patient might be more inclined to undergo the pain and suffering.  Similarly, the disciples, were able to understand the Cross, because they saw the glory that comes from it, their true citizenship that would follow.

Christian Life

What this experience did for Peter, James and John, it should do for us today.  And coming as it does on the Second Sunday of Lent, this story should help us understand why we have to go through the harshness of the desert, that is, of Lenten Penance, as well as of the difficulties of our daily lives.  This gospel should remind us that the prospect of heaven (and for that matter the avoidance of hell), must always be at the forefront of our thoughts.  We must never forget as St. Paul told us that our true citizenship is in heaven.

·        In virtually all sports, coaches always tell their players to keep their eye on the ball, if they want to win.  For us Christians, the ball is heaven, which we must never keep far from our thoughts and actions. 

·        And for those who use the GPS for navigation, it only works if you enter the correct destination.  If we enter heaven as the destination of our life's journey, even when we take the wrong turn, as we tend to do with sin, it should recalculate and keep on the true path that leads to heaven.

Besides reminding us about our true home in heaven, this story of the Transfiguration also gives us the two ways of getting there: ascending up the mountain and descending down from the mountain.

We climb up the mountain, whenever we pray.  Luke's gospel tells us that Jesus went up to the mountain to pray.  And it is during his prayer, that this marvellous experience of his glory happened.  We too, can experience something of God's glory, both in our private prayer and in our community prayer.  We come to prayer, to leave behind, at least temporarily the cares of our current citizenship and have a foretaste of the other citizenship.  We come to the Eucharist, Confession, devotions and personal prayer, to acquire strength, be anchored and properly oriented for the difficult journey we are making towards heaven.  That is why prayer is not only one of the three Lenten practices, it is also one of the seven spiritual works of mercy; it reminds of our heavenly home.

But then we must climb down from the mountain of prayer.  We cannot like Peter want to build three tents and remain there; rather we must bring our experience from the mountain-top to the valleys and even the deserts of everyday life.  We must let that sneak-peek experience of heaven we get in prayer inform the rest of our life.  For Peter than meant coming down and enduring the suffering and death of his Lord and Master, and later his own.  For us, coming down from the mountain means that we must return to the world ready face the daily hustles of family life and work life, to face questions such as why is all that death and suffering happening in Ukraine, why did Hurricane Ida destroy our homes, why are family and friends, or even ourselves in poor health.  When the deacon or priest after Mass dismisses us saying: “Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life,” he is essentially saying, start climbing down the mountain; go back to your daily lives and live out what you have received here.  And particularly during this season of Lent, our sneak-peek experience of heaven, should inspire us to do this by fasting and almsgiving, the corporal and spiritual works of mercy.

Conclusion

And so, may the experience of the three disciples on the mountain, inspire our own lives, especially during this Lenten season, by both climbing the mountain in devout prayer to have a foretaste of the heavenly citizenship, and climbing down the mountain transform our current citizenship in word and action.

Let us eagerly look forward to that day, when we finally get to heaven, to the mountain of the Lord, where there will be no more ascending and descending.  There we shall take up permanent residence and citizenship, with Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with the Father, in the Holy Spirit, forever and ever.

Homily Lent 1C: Dealing with temptation through fasting, almsgiving and prayer

 Homily for Lent – 1^st Sunday Year C 2022

Deuteronomy 26:4-10; Romans 10:8-13; Luke 4:1-13

Introduction

Temptation is a daily experience of our lives, with virtually nowhere to hide from it.  A friend of mine with little children once told me that even going to the grocery store presents a dilemma.  For when passing through the check-out lane, should he let his kids be tempted by the tonnes of sweets on one side or by the tonnes of magazines with pictures of people in various stages of undress? Or should he leave them home with television?

No wonder then that even our Lord, who despite being without sin, experienced temptation.  For our reflection today, I would like to reflect on the three temptations Jesus experienced in three parts: first by going back to Genesis where we see our first parents falling to them, then seeing how our Blessed Lord rejected them, and then thirdly how we can also fight them.

Scripture and Theology

We heard that Jesus "was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil."  This harsh environment of the desert, which has hardly any rainfall, limited plant life and often extremely high temperatures, is a place of trial and purification.  And just like Moses led the Hebrew people to the Promised Land, not via the shorter route, that is the present-day Gaza strip, but through the desert for 40years to test them to see if they were really ready and worthy to be God's chosen people, so for Jesus the 40 days in the desert was a period of testing.

The purification and preparation itself partly took the form of three temptations, which Luke arranges in a slightly different way from what the gospel of Mark and Matthew do.  For Luke the three temptations of Jesus correspond to the three reasons that caused Adam and Eve to sin in Genesis.  There we read that "The woman saw that the tree was [1] good for food and [2] pleasing to the eyes, and the tree was [3] desirable for gaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it."  And so, we see that Adam and Eve succumbed to the temptation to eat of the fruit of the tree, first because it was "good for food," the temptation of bodily pleasure just like Jesus is tempted to change the stones into bread to satisfy hunger.  Secondly, Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of the tree because it was "pleasing to the eyes," the temptation of possessions, just like the Devil offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world.  And thirdly Adam and Eve succumbed to the temptation to eat of the tree because it was "desirable for gaining wisdom," the temptation of presumptive pride, just like Jesus was tempted to throw himself down from the Temple.  And so, like he tempted Adam and Eve, the Devil tempts Jesus by dangling before him the same three false goods.

"If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread."  This first temptation places before Jesus is the prospect of bodily pleasure.  Considering that Jesus had been fasting for forty days and forty nights, this first crack at him by the Tempter was particularly attractive, for he was surely hungry.  As we know, later in the gospel Jesus will be in the business of making bread out of nothing for the crowds and will change water into wine at Cana wedding.  And so changing stones into bread is something that he can very easily do.  But Jesus, unlike and Adam and Eve, does not succumb to the temptation of instant bodily gratification.  He tells the Devil, "It is written, One does not live on bread alone."

Having failed to get him, the devil then "took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a single instant."  And then he tempted him: "I shall give to you all this power and glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I may give it to whomever I wish.  All this will be yours, if you worship me."  This second one was the temptation to possessions.  Actually, this was not an empty promise by the Evil One.  Jesus had come to take the world from Satan's control.  And so, it was a real temptation that would allow him recover the world, not via the arduous way of suffering and death on the cross, but the easy way proposed by the tempter.  But again, Jesus says, thanks but no thanks.  Quoting from Scripture he says: "You shall worship the Lord, your God, and him alone shall you serve."

The third temptation is that of presumptuous pride.  After taking Jesus to the roof of the Temple, the devil tells him:  "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written: He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you, and: With their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone."  This proposition places before Jesus the choice of trusting in God unreservedly or obtaining a little proof that the Father cares for him.  Moreover, jumping down from the temple roof and surviving the experience would have been an excellent opportunity for Jesus to show his divine power and win over many people.  But since doing this would be also be testing God for his own purposes, Jesus rejected this temptation again quoting Scripture which says: “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.”

And so, Jesus recapitulated and overcame the three fundamental temptations of Adam and Eve, of human nature: the temptation of physical pleasure, the temptation of possessions and the temptation of pride.

Christian Life

Like Adam and Eve, and Jesus were tempted, we too are tempted in the same ways.  Fortunately, we have the Season of Lent and its three traditional practices of Fasting, Almsgiving and Prayer, to help us deal with these temptations.

By fasting we battle the first temptation of physical pleasure, the tree that Eve considered "good for food," the stones that Satan wanted Jesus to change into bread.  When we fast by giving up all food and drink, in that experience of hunger, we get to know that deprivation felt by the poor man Lazarus and what total dependence on God is.  Abstaining from meat and other favourite foods or pleasures, helps us to set our sights on the greater pleasures of God.

By almsgiving we battle the second temptation of possessions, the tree that Eve considered "pleasing to the eyes," the possessions of kingdoms that Satan presented Jesus.  Almsgiving is sharing our material possessions with those who are less fortunate than we are.  We can do this privately by giving to those who we encounter in our lives or we can support the Lenten campaigns promoted by the Church, such as giving to Catholic Charities which helps the poor within the USA, and Catholic Relief Services which does so abroad.  And then we realize that possessions are only a means to pass through this world, not an end in themselves.  God is the end of everything we do.

By prayer we battle the third temptation of pride, the tree that Eve considered "desirable for gaining wisdom," the adulation Jesus would have received had he thrown himself down from the Temple roof and lived to tell the experience. We grow in humility before God when in prayer we realize that we are nothing before him and he is everything to us.  During Lent we intensify our prayer activities, so that we can get closer to God and know more clearly his will for us.  And so, we don't give in to the temptation to presume God's providence.

Conclusion

As we begin our Lenten observance, we are therefore invited to follow the Lord into the desert for purification and growing in intimacy with God.  It should be no surprise that the period of Lent is also 40 days, the same number of days that Jesus spent in the desert.

May our experience of the Lenten desert through fasting, almsgiving and prayer lead us to realize that only God can offer us what is "[1] good for food and [2] pleasing to the eyes, and [3] desirable for gaining wisdom."

Homily Ash Wednesday: The true meaning of Ashes: Repent and believe in the gospel

 Homily for Ash Wednesday 2022

Joel 2:12-18; Corinthians 5:20-6:2 · Matthew 6:1-6,16-18

Introduction

"Getting my ashes."  That is a phrase I have heard a lot in the past few days here in New Orleans.  This craze for ashes has reached a point where some Christian denominations, even in our area, are offering drive-through ashes or ashes to go.  Just to be clear, we do not do that in Catholic Churches.

And why don’t we? Why don’t we get our ashes in the way we get our double cheese-burger?”  Put simply Catholics receive ashes in the context of liturgy because we believe that ashes by themselves mean nothing, if they are not accompanied by a few other things about which I would like to reflect today. 

Scripture and Theology

Our first port of call to understand the meaning of the ashes that we receive today is the words used by the priest or deacon as he imposes the ashes on us.  The Church offers two formulas to use:

1.    “Repent, and believe in the Gospel.”

2.    “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

You will be happy to learn that both formulas come from the Bible.

The first formula is from the words of Jesus in the first chapter of Mark's gospel.  When Jesus begins his public ministry, he introduces his mission by saying: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand.”  And then he concludes with: “Repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mk. 1:15).  By this instruction, Jesus is not only announcing the “Breaking News” about the arrival of the Kingdom of God; he is also instructing his listeners on what they must do, if they are to gain admission to that Kingdom of God.  The two things required are contained in this first formula: Repent from your sins and believe in the Gospel, which is Good News of God.

The second formula for the ashes comes from Genesis 3:19, where God pronounces sentence on Adam for his sin.  He declares: “By the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread, until you return to the ground, from which you were taken . . . .”  Then he concludes: “For you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”  In these few words God describes what the fate of man is: a life of toil and suffering ending up in death, that is, until the Saviour comes.

Therefore, whichever formula the priest uses, the message is the same.  The ashes, Ash Wednesday itself and Lent cannot be empty signs of cultural Catholicism, or an empty external mark that we carry around; they must be a reminder to us of the journey of repentance from sin that we must travel.

·        If the priest wants to scare you into conversion by a stark reminder of eternal death, which comes from sin, he will remind you that "you are dust and unto dust you shall return," unless you turn to the Lord.

·        But if he wants to encourage your conversion by reminding you of ugliness of sin as compared to the beauty of the Good News, he will choose the much gentler encouragement to repent and believe in the gospel, which essentially is turning away from sin and being faithful to the gospel.

And so, when we present ourselves in a few minutes to receive the ashes, we are committing ourselves to doing these things, turning away from a life of sin and turning towards the message of the gospel, because otherwise we shall miss out on eternal life and instead embrace the dust of eternal death.  And although this is something we must do throughout the year, during this time of Lent, we are asked to make an extra effort, go the extra mile.

Christian Life

What will this extra focus, extra effort, extra mile be for us?  Today’s gospel suggests the three traditional penitential acts of almsgiving, prayer and fasting. 

By almsgiving, we share our material possessions with those who are less fortunate than we are.  We can do this privately with those who we encounter each day or we can support the Lenten campaigns promoted by the Church, such as supporting Catholic Charities which helps the poor within the USA, and Catholic Relief Services which does so abroad, as well as other groups that truly help the poor.

In this year's Letter for Lent, Pope Francis has some ideas for our almsgiving.  He says:

Let us not grow tired of doing good in active charity towards our neighbours. . . . Lent is a favourable time to seek out – and not to avoid – those in need; to reach out – and not to ignore – those who need a sympathetic ear and a good word; to visit – and not to abandon – those who are lonely. Let us put into practice our call to do good to all, and take time to love the poor and needy, those abandoned and rejected, those discriminated against and marginalized (cf. Fratelli Tutti, 193).

And when we carry out almsgiving in all its forms, we remember that we and what we have is dust, and what really counts in the long run is life with God.

A second Lenten practice is prayer, which is something we do every day, but during Lent we kick it up a notch.  Do we say prayers as a family, before and after meals, perhaps the rosary before we watch our favourite television show, as well as our morning and night prayers?  Can we consider coming to daily Mass, if that is a possibility?  And of course let us not forget the Sacrament of Penance, which after baptism, is the sacrament that reconciles us to God.

About prayer, Pope Francis has reminded us:

Let us not grow tired of praying. Jesus taught us to “pray always without becoming weary” ( Lk 18:1). We need to pray because we need God. Thinking that we need nothing other than ourselves is a dangerous illusion. If the pandemic has heightened the awareness of our own personal and social fragility, may this Lent allow us to experience the consolation provided by faith in God, without whom we cannot stand firm (cf. Is 7:9). . . . Faith does not spare us life’s burdens and tribulations, but it does allow us to face them in union with God in Christ, with the great hope that does not disappoint, whose pledge is the love that God has poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit (cf. Rom 5:1-5).

The third Lenten practice is fasting and abstinence.  We fast by giving up all food and drink, particularly today on Ash Wednesday and on Good Friday, so that in that experience of hunger, we might know what the deprivation of the poor man Lazarus means and what total dependence on God is.  We also abstain from certain foods or pleasures, so as to set our sights on the greater pleasures of God.  But fasting and abstinence is not a weight-loss program, although that could be an unintended lagniappe.  Like the ashes, it is a sign of what is happening inside our spiritual lives.

The Holy Father has also given some advice on fasting and abstinence.

May the corporal fasting to which Lent calls us fortify our spirit for the battle against sin. . . One of these is addiction to the digital media, which impoverishes human relationships. Lent is a propitious time to resist these temptations and to cultivate instead a more integral form of human communication (FT., 43) made up of “authentic encounters” (FT., 50), face-to-face and in person.

Conclusion

There are many Catholics throughout the world today who will not receive ashes, in mission countries like Uganda, perhaps because they lack priests and churches.  As we receive our ashes, as we carry out our Lenten observance of almsgiving let us remember them.  And as we receive our ashes, let us remember them especially in our prayer today and throughout Lent.

And then in forty days, on Easter Sunday, we shall return to this very place, to celebrate the Lord's resurrection in joy.  Having been reminded that we are only dust and unto dust we shall return, during the season of Lent we shall have truly repented and believed in God's Word in the gospel.  And on Easter we shall anticipate the fruits of our Lenten observance, by celebrating the joy of the Lord’s resurrection, which has paved the way for our own.

I will be looking out to see if you will be here.  If you don't show up, I will hunt down in your homes.  It is a date.

Homilia Miércoles de Ceniza: El verdadero significado de las cenizas: Arrepiéntete y cree en el evangelio

 Homilía del Miércoles de Ceniza 2022

Joel 2:12-18; Corinthians 5:20-6:2 · Matthew 6:1-6,16-18

Introducción

"Recibir mis cenizas". Esa es una frase que he escuchado mucho en los últimos días aquí en Nueva Orleans. El deseo por las cenizas ha llegado a un punto en el que algunas denominaciones cristianas, incluso en nuestra área, ofrecen cenizas para llevar sin dejar el carro. Para ser claro, no hacemos eso en la iglesia católica.

¿Y por qué nosotros católicos no hacemos? ¿Por qué no ponemos nuestras cenizas en la forma en que obtenemos nuestra hamburguesa con queso? En pocas palabras, los católicos reciben cenizas en el contexto de la liturgia porque creemos que las cenizas en sí mismas no significan nada, si no van acompañadas de otras cosas sobre las que me gustaría reflexionar hoy.

Escritura y teología

Para comprender el significado de las cenizas que recibimos hoy vamos primero a las palabras que usa el sacerdote o el diácono cuando nos impone las cenizas. La Iglesia ofrece dos fórmulas para usar:

1.    Conviértete y cree en el Evangelio. O bien:

2.    Recuerda que eres polvo y al polvo has de volver.

Les alegrarán saber que ambas fórmulas provienen de la Biblia.

La primera fórmula es las palabras de Jesús en el primer capítulo del evangelio de Marcos. Cuando Jesús comienza su ministerio público, presenta su misión diciendo: “Este es el momento del cumplimiento. El reino de Dios está cerca.” Y luego concluye con: " Arrepintanse y crean en el Evangelio" (Mc. 1:15). Por esta instrucción, Jesús no solo anuncia las "Noticias de última hora" sobre la llegada del Reino de Dios; él también está instruyendo a sus oyentes sobre lo que deben hacer, si quieren ser admitidos en ese Reino de Dios. Las dos cosas requeridas están contenidas en esta primera fórmula: "Conviértete y cree en el Evangelio."

La segunda fórmula para las cenizas proviene de Génesis 3:19, donde Dios pronuncia una sentencia sobre Adán por su pecado. Dios declara: “Con el sudor de tu rostro comerás el pan, hasta que vuelvas al suelo, pues de él fuiste tomado. . .. " Y luego concluye: "Porque eres polvo y al polvo tornarás." En estas palabras, Dios describe cuál es el destino del hombre: una vida de trabajo y sufrimiento que termina en muerte, hasta que llega el Salvador.

Y así, cualquiera que sea la fórmula que use el sacerdote, el mensaje es el mismo. Las cenizas, el Miércoles de Ceniza y la Cuaresma no pueden ser signos vacíos de catolicismo cultural, o una marca externa vacía que llevamos; deben ser un recordatorio para nosotros del viaje de arrepentimiento del pecado que debemos viajar.

1.    Si el sacerdote quiere asustarle para que le convierta mediante un recordatorio de la muerte eterna, que viene del pecado, le recordará "que eres polvo y al polvo has de volver," a menos que le vuelva al Señor.

2.    Pero si él quiere alentar su conversión al recordarle la fealdad del pecado en comparación con la belleza de las Buenas Nuevas, elegirá el estímulo mucho más gentil para arrepentirse y creer en el Evangelio, que esencialmente es alejarse del pecado y ser fiel al evangelio

Y así, cuando nos presentamos en unos minutos para recibir las cenizas, nos comprometemos a hacer estas cosas, alejándonos de una vida de pecado y volviéndonos hacia el mensaje del evangelio, porque de lo contrario nos perderemos la vida eterna, y en cambio abrazamos el polvo de la muerte eterna. Y esto es algo que debemos hacer durante todo el año, pero durante este tiempo de Cuaresma, se nos pide que hagamos un esfuerzo adicional.

Vida cristiana

¿Cuál será este esfuerzo adicional? El evangelio de hoy sugiere los tres actos penitenciales tradicionales de limosna, oración y ayuno.

Al dar limosna, compartimos nuestros bienes con aquellos que son menos afortunados que nosotros. Podemos hacer esto en privado con aquellos con quienes nos encontramos cada día o podemos apoyar las campañas de Cuaresma promovidas por la Iglesia, como el apoyo a Catholic Charities que ayudan a los pobres dentro del país, y Catholic Relief Services que lo hace fuera del país, así como otros grupos que realmente ayudan a los pobres.

En la Carta de Cuaresma de este año, el Papa Francisco tiene algunas ideas para nuestra limosna. Él dice:

Durante esta Cuaresma practiquemos la limosna, dando con alegría (cf. 2 Co 9,7). . .. La Cuaresma es un tiempo propicio para buscar —y no evitar— a quien está necesitado; para llamar —y no ignorar— a quien desea ser escuchado y recibir una buena palabra; para visitar —y no abandonar— a quien sufre la soledad. Pongamos en práctica el llamado a hacer el bien a todos, tomándonos tiempo para amar a los más pequeños e indefensos, a los abandonados y despreciados, a quienes son discriminados y marginados (cf. Carta enc. Fratelli tutti, 193).

Y cuando llevamos a cabo la limosna en todas sus formas, recordamos que nosotros y lo que tenemos es polvo, y lo que realmente cuenta a la larga es la vida con Dios.

Una segunda práctica de la Cuaresma es la oración, que es algo que hacemos todos los días, pero durante la Cuaresma lo mejoramos un poco. ¿Rezamos oraciones en familia, antes y después de las comidas, tal vez el rosario antes de ver nuestro programa de televisión favorito, así como nuestras oraciones matutinas y nocturnas? ¿Podemos considerar venir a misa diaria, si es una posibilidad? Y, por supuesto, no olvidemos el Sacramento de la Penitencia, que después del bautismo, es el sacramento que nos reconcilia con Dios.

El Papa Francisco nos ha recordado nuevamente sobre la oración, diciendo.

No nos cansemos de orar. Jesús nos ha enseñado que es necesario «orar siempre sin desanimarse» ( Lc 18,1). Necesitamos orar porque necesitamos a Dios. Pensar que nos bastamos a nosotros mismos es una ilusión peligrosa. Con la pandemia hemos palpado nuestra fragilidad personal y social. Que la Cuaresma nos permita ahora experimentar el consuelo de la fe en Dios, sin el cual no podemos tener estabilidad (cf. Is 7,9) . . .. La fe no nos exime de las tribulaciones de la vida, pero nos permite atravesarlas unidos a Dios en Cristo, con la gran esperanza que no defrauda y cuya prenda es el amor que Dios ha derramado en nuestros corazones por medio del Espíritu Santo (cf. Rm 5,1-5).

La tercera práctica de Cuaresma es el ayuno y la abstinencia. Ayunamos renunciando a toda la comida y bebida, particularmente hoy el Miércoles de Ceniza y el Viernes Santo, para que en esa experiencia de hambre, podamos saber qué significa la privación del pobre Lázaro y qué es la dependencia total de Dios. También nos abstenemos de ciertos alimentos o placeres, a fin de fijarnos en los placeres mayores de Dios. Pero el ayuno y la abstinencia no es un programa para bajar de peso. Al igual que las cenizas, es una señal de lo que está sucediendo dentro de nuestras vidas espirituales.

Escuchamos que dice el Santo Padre:

Que el ayuno corporal que la Iglesia nos pide en Cuaresma fortalezca nuestro espíritu para la lucha contra el pecado. . .. Uno de estos modos es el riesgo de dependencia de los medios de comunicación digitales, que empobrece las relaciones humanas. La Cuaresma es un tiempo propicio para contrarrestar estas insidias y cultivar, en cambio, una comunicación humana más integral (cf. ibíd., 43) hecha de «encuentros reales» ( ibíd., 50), cara a cara.

Conclusión

Hay muchos católicos en todo el mundo hoy que no recibirán cenizas, en países de misión como Uganda, quizás porque carecen de sacerdotes e iglesias. Mientras recibimos nuestras cenizas, mientras llevamos a cabo nuestra observancia cuaresmal de la limosna, recordémoslas. Y al recibir nuestras cenizas, recordémoslas especialmente en nuestra oración de hoy y durante la Cuaresma.

Y luego, en cuarenta días, el domingo de Pascua, volveremos a este mismo lugar, para celebrar la resurrección del Señor con alegría, celebrando los frutos de nuestras cenizas y de nuestro viaje cuaresmal.  Que nuestra cuaresma proceda con la gracia de Dios.

Homily Ordinary 8C: Avoiding the sins of the tongue

 Homily for 8^th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year C 2022

Sirach 27:5-8; 1 Corinthians 15:54-58; Luke 6:39-45

Introduction

We have just heard Jesus narrate three short parables or riddles. 

1.    The first about a blind person leading another blind person.

2.    The second about taking a log out of one’s eye before attempting to remove a speck in another's eye.

3.    The third about a good tree bearing good fruit while a rotten tree bearing rotten fruit.

So what is the overall message of these seemingly different parables?

Scripture and Theology

For our homily today, I would like to suggest that we reflect on these parables through the lens of the sins of the tongue.  That Jesus here is talking about how we should use our speech is suggested by the setting of these parables:

1.    First, these parables follow immediately upon where we left off last Sunday, when Jesus said: “Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned," a clear injunction not to use our speech unfairly and incorrectly against another.

2.    Second, today's gospel ends with the words "from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks."  And so in way, our short three parables are sandwiched at both ends by a clear instruction about using speech, and we can see them as ways of elaborating on that message.

Jesus gives the first parable in form of a rhetorical question: "Can a blind person guide a blind person?"  Of course not, since both will fall into a pit, perhaps one of those abandoned water wells found in Palestine.  Obviously, the person who is physically blind lacks the ability to see potential obstacles and dangers and will not only harm themselves but also those others who are depending on them.

But much worse is spiritual blindness, to which this image of physical blindness points; the failure to know God's will for us similarly leads to spiritual harm.  That is why Jesus goes on to explain that the disciple must not presume to know more than his teacher, at least until he has been trained like his teacher.  A disciple who presumes such knowledge can be said to be spiritually blind; and when he or she leads others it is often into the pit of spiritual destruction.

How often today people mislead others because they themselves don't know what they are talking about!  You see this all-over social media, when people write and post on social media all kinds of things that are not based in the truth.  As someone put it well, on social media we argue about things we don’t know, and with people we don’t know.  But even in the traditional media of talking on the phone, or shooting the breeze as they say, we can peddle such blind guidance.  Such falsehoods are fairly innocuous if they are dealing with pictures of cats, one's favourite dishes or even one's favourite sports team.  But they are particularly dangerous if they deal with matters of the spiritual life and of the moral life, with our relationship with God and with fellow man.  The message of this first parable, therefore is this: "Have you used your tongue to mislead because you yourself are spiritually blind?"

Jesus also begins the second parable with a rhetorical question: "Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?"  Of course the answer is that you shouldn't.  Instead: "Remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter in your brother's eye."  Perhaps more clearly than the first parable, this absurd image of the log in one's eye shows once again how a lack of self-knowledge is a very dangerous thing.  Here we are not only talking about inability to see, but we are also talking about hypocrisy of the highest level.  Such hypocrisy often occurs when we claim to see the faults of others, but cannot see our own much greater faults.  And like Jesus warned, we are often very fast to express judgement and condemnation when we see the splinter of sin in the other.

Now let us be clear that Jesus is not saying we cannot point out the sins of others unless we are completely squeaky clean ourselves; for nobody is without sin, except Jesus and the Blessed Mother.  No, what he is asking is that we do both, but start with our own sinfulness.  In fact, it is by dealing with our own sinfulness first, that we can more easily see the sins of others, and perhaps even understand why they do what they do, and offer them the most effective help to repent and return to righteousness. Some of the greatest saints like St. Paul and St. Augustine were able to speak so clearly about sin, only because they had reflected on their own sinfulness, rejected it and gained better insight, thanks to the light of God.  And so, the message of this second parable is this: "Before speaking about the sins of others, something which we must often do, especially to help them repent, have we looked at our own condition before God?"

We should be familiar with the third parable about good trees and good fruit, since we say that the apple does not fall far from the tree.  But while we use this image to speak about a son taking after his father, or a daughter after her mother, Jesus uses the image to teach about the relationship between inner virtue and external witness.  He says: "For every tree is known by its own fruit.  For people do not pick figs from thornbushes, [but certainly from a fig tree] nor do they gather grapes from brambles [but from a vine shrub]."  So if we are the tree and our words and actions are the fruit, then only a good person will produce good words and actions; a an evil person, will produce evil words and actions.

Returning to our theme of speech, our speech can only reflect what is going on in our hearts.  Unless we cultivate hearts and minds that are filled with virtue and truth, our words cannot but lack truth and virtue.  That is probably why Jesus said of the disciple earlier, that they need training, so that they can teach the truth like their teacher.  And so the question for us from this third parable is this: "Do we take the trouble to form ourselves in virtue, goodness and truth, so that our words come from hearts that are virtuous like good fruit comes from good trees?"

Christian Life and Conclusion

James Melton (via Msgr. Pope) offers a list of ten ways of sinning with the tongue, sins which Jesus in today's gospel, instructs us to avoid.

1.      The Lying Tongue that speaks falsehoods to intentionally mislead others.

2.      The Flattering Tongue that overstates the good qualities of others so as to win their favour, through lying and brown-nosing.

3.      The Proud Tongue that overstates the good qualities about oneself, so as to seem more than they actually are, again through lying.

4.      The Overused Tongue that speaks too much, too often, about everything, even about things they know little or nothing about.

5.      The Swift Tongue that draws conclusions from scanty information or none.

6.      The Backbiting Tongue that talks about others behind their backs, harming their reputation by calumny, that is by lying about them, or by detraction, that is, by drawing attention to their faults.

7.      The Tale-bearing Tongue that spreads information about others, information that should not be shared.

8.      The Cursing Tongue that wishes others harm and damnation.

9.      The Piercing Tongue that speaks with needless harshness and severity, vitriol and nastiness.

10.  The Silent Tongue that does not speak up when it should, especially to warn people about sin, as well as to speak up for others.

May our tongues never speak from blindness, or with a log in our eyes, but always be the fruit of a tree that is steeped in virtue and truth.

 Homily for Feast of the Chair of St. Peter 2022

Peter: strengthen your brethren

1 Peter 5:1-4; Ps 22; Matthew 16:13-19

Introduction

A question I often get asked by Catholics is, “Do you like Pope Francis?”  This question makes me mad because it seems out of place.  It would be like asking do I like my father or mother?  I want to reply that it is a stupid question, but I usually hide my annoyance and instead explain who the Pope is for Catholics.

As well intentioned as this question often is, it is rather borne out of a culture of celebrity where we like this pop star or that football player.  It is borne out of a culture of partisan politics, where we like this leader and not the other one.

But when it comes to the Pope, at least for Catholics, his job is not to be liked or not liked.  As we heard in the gospel, his job is to be the rock upon which Jesus is building his Church.  His job is to strengthen his brothers and sisters.  And he does this, whether he is liked or not liked.

Scripture and Tradition

That is why today we celebrate a special feast called, the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter.  It should be obvious that we are not celebrating a piece of furniture, but rather the office it represents.  When I was growing up, there was a chair at home, that was dad’s chair.  And if we knew what was good for us, we children never ever placed our little bottoms on it.  That chair was a sign of his authority as our father.  Every bishop in the world has also a special chair in the cathedral, called a cathedra, which only sits upon.  It is a symbol of his authority over that local church.  As the successor of St. Peter, the Pope also has a chair, a cathedra, which represents the authority of the Pope over the Church.

Where do Peter and his successor get this authority? We have just heard Jesus in today’s gospel, telling Peter: “And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it” (Mt. 16:18).  Peter and his successors have since then been the rock upon which the Catholic Church has been built, with Peter and his successors being the source of unity for the Church.  I, from Uganda and you from here can both call ourselves Catholics because Peter, the Holy Father is our rock.  Jesus further affirmed Peter’s leadership by saying: “I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Mt. 16:19).

Was Peter the smartest of them all?  Probably not.  Was he the most pious of them all?  Probably not.  In fact, on the night before the Lord died, Jesus predicted that Peter would deny him and yet still gave him authority over the Church.  The Lord said: “Simon, Simon, behold Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat, but I have prayed that your own faith may not fail; and once you have turned back, you must strengthen your brothers” (Lk. 22:31-32).  That is why even today the Pope continues to strengthen his brother bishops and the whole church, when they are attacked or when they go astray.  In fact, in today’s first reading Peter does exactly that, advising his fellow presbyters.

A third place the Lord gives authority to Peter in the gospels is after his resurrection.  Three times he asks Peter, “Do you love me”?  And three times Peter responds that he loves the Lord, in a way cancelling the three times he denied the Lord.  And Jesus tells him: “Feed my lambs. . .. Tend my sheep. . .. Feed my sheep” (Jn. 21:15-17).

We see Peter doing exactly that in the New Testament, playing the role of leader of the apostles.  He presides over the election of Matthias to replace Judas Iscariot.  He speaks on behalf of all before the Sanhedrin and on the day of Pentecost.  That is why Herod Agrippa wants to kill him, and by removing the head of the Church, he would deal a mortal blow to the Early Church.

Christian Application and Conclusion

It is a pity that some Catholics today, even bishops and priests, reject the authority of Peter in the Holy Father.  There were those who did not like Pope John Paul II and Benedict XVI. And there are now those who don’t like Pope Francis.  But again, Popes are not there to be liked, but to lead and guide us to heaven.  Those who reject their authority are like Protestants, finding their own personal authority to guide them.  They fail to follow the example of St. Paul, who was called specially by Jesus to be an apostle, but who still submitted himself, even his differences, to Peter, head of the Church.

May today’s feast of the Chair of St. Peter, be a reminder that Jesus did not leave us orphans.  He left us Peter to captain the ship that takes us to heaven.  How many Peters have guided you in your life?  In my twenty-four years of the priesthood, I have counted on the guidance of three great men who have occupied of the Chair of Peter: John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and now Francis. In their different styles and personality, with different emphasis and focus, they have continued to captain the boat called the Church and preach the same gospel of Jesus Christ.  The only boat that I am willing to sail on through the rough waters of the sea that leads to heaven, is the one, which the successor of Peter captains.  The only teaching of Jesus that I will listen to, is that which comes, from the man who occupies the Chair of St. Peter.

Homily Ordinary 7C: Giving without expecting anything in return

Homily for 7^th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year C 2022

 1 Samuel 26:2,7-9,12-13,22-23; 1 Corinthians 15:45-49; Luke 6:27-38

Introduction

"Love your enemies."  What a tall order!  Loving is difficult by itself, even loving those who are close to us: parents and children, spouses and siblings, family and friends.  But now, Jesus is asking us to love our enemies.  Is that even possible?

In our world today “to love” means having good feelings towards someone, especially someone who makes us happy.  It is this kind of feelings that popular love songs sing about; it is this kind of passion that the magazines write about; it is this kind of delight that we see in movies.  But this is not the love that Jesus is talking about, since it focuses only on what is in it for me.  I give love, because I expect something in return.

One of my favourite TV shows is The Big Bang Theory. In one episode, Sheldon is informed by his neighbour Penny that she has gotten him a gift, which he will find under the Christmas tree.  Now while most of us would be happy to receive a gift, Sheldon complains that this gift is an obligation, since now he has to give her something in return.  To compound things, since he does not yet know what she has given him, he does not know what kind of gift of equal value to give her back.  He is so disturbed that when he goes shopping, he buys all kinds of gifts and hides them in his room, so that later when she gives him his gift, after seeing what it is, he will then run back to his room to pick the right gift that matches hers.

Later in the episode, he finds out that the gift was a napkin, with which Leonard Nimoy, his childhood hero, had wiped his mouth, a priceless gift.  Sheldon is overcome with emotion, and he rushes into his bedroom, to give her all the gifts he had bought, instead of just one.  But even then, he thinks they are not enough to match her gift.  So, he gives her one more gift, something he rarely does, a hug.

Aren’t we all in some way like Sheldon, in that we think of gift-giving as being a commercial transaction, a quid pro quo, I give you this, you give me that.  That is why with this mindset it is difficult for us to understand why would should love our enemies, people who can never give us anything in return, or worse people whose only return gift is grief and suffering.

Scripture and Theology

But like he taught in the Beatitudes in last Sunday’s gospel, Jesus is reversing our worldview, teaching us to see things through the eyes of God, not the eyes of man.

And so, the kind of love Jesus is talking about, the kind of love he asks to extend to our enemies is defined by St. Thomas Aquinas, "willing the good of the other."  Notice something different here; to love is to will the good of the other person, not myself.  This kind of love has nothing to do with how I feel or what benefit I receive from the interaction; this love focuses on the good of the other person.

But wherever could one ever find such love, such self-less love, that is concerned about others, without expecting anything in return!

Well, Jesus does not ask of us what he has not done himself.  We see this selfless love of God who created us in love, sharing his life with us, and expecting really nothing from us, except do his will.  And even when we failed to do his will, he continued to love us in this selfless manner by sending his Son as our Saviour instead of destroying us like we deserved.  We have to look no farther than the Cross, to see what true Christian love means.  That is why Jesus can ask the same thing of his followers. Like he loved us his enemies, he asks us to love our enemies.

But how do we love our enemies?  How do we will the good of our enemies?  Jesus gives us three possible ways to do this:  "do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you."  In other words, you can will the good of your enemies by doing something good for them, blessing or wishing them well, and thirdly by praying, interceding for them before God.

And then Jesus gives examples of how one can do this, how he did this:

·        “To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other one as well”, exactly what Jesus did during his agony and passion.

·        “and from the person who takes your cloak, do not withhold even your tunic,” he was stripped naked during his agony and crucifixion.

·        “Give to everyone who asks of you, and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back”; on the Cross Jesus gave all of himself.

But there is one more element about loving enemies that Jesus gives his followers.  By asking them to love their enemies, Jesus is challenging the disciples to go the extra mile, going above and beyond ordinary expectations.

·        He says: “For if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?  Even sinners love those who love them”

·        “And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same.”

·        “If you lend money to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners . . .”

Essentially Jesus is showing that the kind of love expected of his disciples cannot be the quid pro quo type of love in the world; it must be greater because Christians have God's grace to help do a little heavier lifting.  That is why together with faith and hope, love is a theological virtue, a direct infusion of grace from God.  It is only with God's grace that we can even attempt to love our enemies, to treat them better than the ordinary fairness found even among sinners.  That is why Jesus says: “love your enemies and do good to them, and lend expecting nothing back.” If at all we expect something in return for our love, it cannot be something in this world, but something from God.  That is why he says if you love in this way, “then your reward will be great and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.  Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Christian Life and Conclusion

So we have seen what love means, willing the good of others, even our enemies.  But who are these “our enemies”?  Jesus does not give us examples, like he does when asked “who is my neighbour?” in the Story of the Good Samaritan.  But that same story can teach us about who our enemies are.  If you remember in that story, the injured Jewish man and the Samaritan traveller were supposed to be enemies due to ethnicity.  And yet, it was not his fellow Jews, the priest and the Levite, who loved the injured man, but his enemy, the foreigner, the Samaritan.

Another example of loving one’s enemy is found in our first reading from the book of Samuel.  We heard that Saul saw David as a threat and was jealous of him, and mistrusted him. Saul pursued David to destroy him, but it is David who gained the upper hand and had the opportunity to kill Saul. And yet David was not consumed with the desire for revenge. David did not harm Saul. David loved his enemy.

Today our enemies take many forms.  Like David was for Saul, our enemy can be someone we know: a co-worker who took our promotion, a boss who is not very nice to us, a spouse from whom you are divorced, a sibling you haven't talked to in years perhaps over mom's estate.  Jesus is not asking you to invite them to your next birthday party; he is asking you to do good to them, to bless them and to pray for them.

Like the Jewish victim was to the Good Samaritan, someone can be our enemy by virtue of belonging to a different group, such as a different race (Black or White), a different religion (Mormon or Muslim), a different nationality (Mexican or American), a different political party (Democrat or Republican).  Jesus is not asking you to agree with their culture, religion, ideology.  He is simply asking you to do good to them, to bless them and to pray for them.

Let us remember that when we sin, we are God's enemies.  But he treats us with generous mercy.  Should we not do the same to those who sin against us?  Should we not respond like Sheldon when he realizes that some gifts are priceless?