Homily Holy Family B: Building holy families

 Homily for Holy Family Year B 2020-21

SIR 3:2-6, 12-14, COL 3:12-21, LK 2:22-40 

Introduction

Today we remember THE Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph.  And as the opening prayer of today’s Mass prayed, we hope to imitate them in the various ways of being a Holy Family.

But what is a holy family?  Is my family holy? Is your family holy? Is the family of your neighbours from hell also holy?

We can try to answer this question by looking at its two parts:  What is a family?  What is a HOLY family?

Scripture and Theology

The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes the family as “the original cell of social life” (CCC 2207).  In other words, the smallest natural group of people in society is in a family.  “You can choose your friends but you sho' can't choose your family" we are reminded by the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird.  Going on it says: "an' they're still kin to you no matter whether you acknowledge 'em or not, and it makes you look right silly when you don't.”

God himself made this small unit of the family when he created Adam and Eve and joined them together as husband and wife.  That is why the Catechism goes on to say that “A man and a woman united in marriage, together with their children, form a family” (CCC 2202).  Family and marriage go hand in hand.

All families therefore, must base themselves on this basic unit of father, mother and children, just like the Holy Family of Joseph, Mary and Jesus.  But just like here in the South, in Uganda where I grew up, family often means far more than this nuclear family of father, mother and children. The African family is the extended family that includes cousins, uncles and aunts, several steps removed.  That is why when looking for a husband or wife, you have to be careful that you are not related.  And if you think your Christmas dinner was a large one, or that your Christmas gift list was too long, spare a thought for the African mother or grandmother who has to prepare a meal for what seems like a football team.  Even the gospels often speak of the brothers and sisters of Jesus, that is, probably his cousins and other relatives.  And in Matthew’s gospel, when his mother and brothers come looking for him, Jesus instead points to his disciples and says: “Here are my mother and my brothers.  For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother” (Mt. 12: 49-50).  Even Jesus expands the idea of family to include his disciples.  And so, while the basic unit of family is father, mother and children, by extension it can be stretched to include others who have ties of blood or marriage.

But if family can be extended to include distant relatives, can family also include situations which have fewer members, lacking a father or a mother or children?

From the age of seven, I grew up in a single-parent family.  No, I was not an orphan; both my parents were alive, but they separated and so my siblings and I were raised by our mother – and I think she did a good job, playing both mom and dad.  Would I have loved to grow with a father teaching me manly things?  Certainly!  So would orphaned children who miss the love of a father or mother.  So are widows and widowers, who miss the love of their spouse.  So are parents who lost or never had children.  But these two are families.

While the ideal is a two-parent family with children, as Pope Francis has continually reminded us, even those families lack an element or two, often through no fault of all the members, must not be cast aside.  We must not make the perfect the enemy of the good.  Instead, we must keep striving to build on the good already there and bring it to perfection and holiness.

Christian Life

So, what is a holy family?  I would like to look at three words used to translate the word holy and what those translations tell us about the meaning of holiness.

The word for holy in Spanish, Italian and Portuguese is santo, very similar to our English word “saint.”  Santo or saint come from the Latin word sanctus, which means to set part for God; to consecrate.  That is what Joseph and Mary come to do in the Temple as we heard in the gospel.  Jewish law required that "Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord." In other words, every first-born male, human or animal, had to be given to the Lord.  Mary and Joseph were not exempt from setting apart their child for God, presenting him in the Temple, as if to say, “God you have given us a child; in gratitude, we give him back to you, to be all yours, to serve you.”  Of course, in the case of Jesus what they did more than a formality, more than a ritual.  For Jesus was indeed set apart for God in a special way.   Simeon and Anna confirmed this when they revealed to all that this baby, was going to be something great; he was going to be the Saviour of Israel.  And so, these prophets revealed the principal reason of why the family of Mary and Joseph was holy, because their son, Jesus, is also the Son of God, truly set apart for God.  A holy family sets itself apart for God.

Leaving the Latin languages, we turn to the Germanic languages whose word for holy is heilige, a word which means “whole”. Something holy is therefore complete and pure.  And what makes our families complete and therefore holy is if they have God in them, God who completes them.  In many homes you will see a plaque that says: “Christ is the Head of this House, the Unseen Guest at every meal, the Silent Listener to every conversation.”  If our families are to be holy, these words must not remain on the wall, but must be lived out. In today’s reading from Colossians St. Paul asks families to have “heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another.”  He concludes by saying: "And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection."  Our families are holy, if they have God and if they have these values God teaches us to have.

Besides the ideas of consecration and completeness that we learn from the Spanish santo and the German heilige, let us turn to Africa for a third word for holiness.  When the missionaries brought the faith to East Africa, they translated holy into Kiswahili by creating a new word mtakatifu, from two words, kutaka which means “to desire” and utifu which means “obedience.”  They wanted to communicate that holiness is the desire for and living out obedience.  Our first reading from Sirach told us that “God sets a father in honor over his children; a mother’s authority he confirms over her sons.” That is because the fourth commandment asks children to obey their fathers and mothers.  The reading also asked children to care for their parents, especially in their old age; this makes sense since the parents took care of their children when these were young.  St. Paul also spoke about the mutual relationship of love and obedience between spouses.  Jesus too at Nazareth was "obedient" to his parents and there he "increased in wisdom and in stature, and in favour with God and man."  In a holy family, therefore, obedience must exist, not just to each other, but also to God.

Conclusion

There is a lot of good advice today on how to be family on promoting the family.  And that is good.  But for Catholics, we must go beyond just being family and becoming a holy family.  Being a holy family is not a sprint, but a marathon.  It is not a permanent state, but a work in progress.  We must not sit back and relax, perhaps because we have some of the trappings of holiness.  Like Jesus, Mary and Joseph did we must work every day to live out those three elements of holiness: to set ourselves apart for God for example by regular prayer; to be complete and whole, for example, by eliminating sin and living out the virtues; to be obedient, not just to each other, but especially to God.  We must holy just as God is holy, not only in good times, but even in times of trial.

Homily Nativity ABC: Keep Christ in Christmas

 Homily for the Nativity of the Lord 2020-21

Introduction

In the last few days, in many a Catholic rectory and office around the country, the phone has rung and the caller has asked this all-important question: "What time is the midnight Mass?"  And mustering all the patience of a good Catholic the priest or secretary has told them that midnight Mass will start at midnight.

Now I am sure that you did not make that call, since you are at this Mass.  You see, on Christmas Day, the Church gives us four sets of Masses: The Vigil Mass, Mass During the Night, Mass at Dawn and Mass During the Day.  Unlike our anticipated Saturday evening Masses which use the same readings as Sunday, each of the four Christmas Masses has its own proper prayers, readings and gospel, providing us a rich fare of the Word of God.

And so, for my homily today, I would like to reflect on how the four gospel writers (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), three of whom we hear in the four Masses, each in his own way, tell the story of the birth of Jesus.

Scripture and Theology

Mark, also the shortest gospel, says nothing about the birth of Jesus.  He starts his gospel with the public ministry of Jesus.  It is like skipping the hors d'oeuvres and going straight to the main course.  Mark skips the preliminaries and goes straight to the heart of the matter, which is the teaching of Jesus, his suffering, death and resurrection.  Mark’s gospel is like a biography of Abraham Lincoln that writes just his political life and says nothing about his birth and childhood.

John's gospel is only slightly different.  He too does not tell the beautiful stories about the angels, the shepherds and the baby Jesus in the manger.  Rather he chooses to tell us what it all means.  In the very first chapter of his gospel, he writes a dense theological essay, which we read in the Mass during the Day.  John tells us that God, in Jesus, has come into the world and by becoming a human being, has united heaven and earth.  Jesus has done this by his Word and example, but especially by giving his life on the cross.  We can compare John’s coverage of the birth of Jesus, not to the frontpage news story, but to the editorial on page 8, that gives a commentary on what Jesus’ birth means.

Matthew tells us the story of Jesus’ birth in quite some detail, part of which we read in the Mass at the Vigil, with the long genealogy that traces the ancestry of Jesus back to Abraham.  But Matthew also tells the story with some sadness and foreboding.  Like Mark, for him the birth of Jesus is an introduction to the main story, which is, his death and resurrection.  Matthew hints at this theme when in the Christmas story he writes about the hostility of Herod, the indifference of the Jews, the slaughter of the Holy Innocents and the flight of the holy family into Egypt.  Matthew's gospel is like a novelist who hints at the main theme of the novel at the beginning and then develops that theme throughout the novel.

It is Luke’s gospel that highlights the joyful aspects of the Lord’s birth and does so at some length.  We read from Luke during the Masses at Night and at Dawn.  Luke tells us about “the sky being lit up, an angel of God appearing to the shepherds to announce the birth of Jesus and a multitude of heavenly hosts singing God’s praise” like we do in the Gloria.  Luke “speaks of tidings of great joy, nothing to fear, peace on earth, and most especially the good news that a Saviour has been born, a Saviour who is both Messiah and Lord.”  We can compare Luke’s gospel to the feel-good feature story of a newspaper.

And so, the different ways of telling the Christmas story, while helping us appreciate the richness of Christmas also tell us that Christmas is really above all about the birth of the Saviour.  That is why we must remember that Christmas is first and fore most about Jesus Christ, as these three catchphrases remind us.

Christian Life

Let us start with Keep Christ in Christmas, a popular campaign sponsored by the Knights of Columbus today, that goes back to the efforts of some Lutherans in the 1920s.  This cliché tries to remind us of what the angel announced to the shepherds that "today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord." Keep Christ in Christmas also reminds us what Matthew's gospel said of the child to be called Emmanuel, which means "God is with us."

Our Christmas festivities mean nothing, if they don't in some way point us to this Saviour, the Word Made Flesh, Emmanuel, Jesus Christ.

·        For example, when you hear the Christmas bells and carols, when you see the wreaths and mangers, the lights and stars do they help you remember that the child born into this world is God's Son, our Saviour?

·        Even the vegetation, the mistletoe and poinsettia, the holly and Christmas tree, does their life remind you of the eternal life, that this new born baby Jesus came to bring about?

·        Let’s not forget about the Christmas gifts and cards, the meal and drink, even Santa Claus; do these Christmas traditions remind you of the glad tidings and gift of life that this infant was born to bring?

Unless our Christmas celebrations draw from or lead us to Christ, we might be celebrating something alright, but it is probably not the Birth of Our Saviour.

If the first catchphrase focuses on the Christ part of Christmas, the second one focuses on the “mas” part of Christmas, asking us to Go to Mass in Christmas.  In other words, among our many Christmas observances, going to Mass must be the most central one, like you have done.  And why do we go to Mass?  Is it simply for the beautiful singing or because our family always goes to Christmas Mass?  No. We come to Mass especially Christmas Mass, to celebrate the death and resurrection of our Saviour.  The only reason for his being born was so that he might die and rise for our sins.  And gift of his life, that is what we celebrate at Mass, proclaiming his death and resurrection, until he comes again.

The third Christmas catchphrase is part of the perennial debate on whether to greet people with "Happy Holidays" or "Season's Greetings" or "Merry Christmas."  This seems to be a problem only in this country because several American holidays like Halloween, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Kwanza and Christmas happen to fall in November and December.  And so, some lump all these holidays together into one big happy holiday season; some others also claim that saying Merry Christmas might offend non-Christians.

But Christmas is not just one other holiday, especially for Christians.  Christmas belongs to a whole other league of holidays, for it is the day when "the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, . . . [the day] when grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" as John’s gospel tells us.  From that day onwards, the world has never been the same; from that day onwards, Jesus has revealed God to us, and revealed the way to God.  And so when Christians greet each other, we should not be ashamed to wish each other Merry Christmas, and thus proclaim the joyful tidings, the Good News of the birth of the Saviour, Christ.

In my home country of Uganda, the whole country celebrates Christmas, Catholics, Protestants and Muslims.  Even Muslims who don’t believe that Jesus is God are happy to rejoice with us.  And because they know that this day means something special for us, they will wish us, Christians, Merry Christmas.

Conclusion

This year, as we keep Christ and Mass in Christmas, as we wish each other Merry Christ, we are doing so during the coronavirus pandemic, which has brought sickness and death, loss of livelihoods and jobs, giving up normal ways of relating which other and perhaps even disrupting our Christmas dinner and other traditions.  Does Christmas have anything to say to us about our situation?

One of the things we can still do is watch the common staple of classic Christmas movies such as A Charlie Brown Christmas, It is a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street.  Do you know why these movies are classics?  It is because they have a lasting message, the message of Christ, that even in times of adversity, Christmas is about action, about taking care of each other, especially the neediest among us.  A Christmas Carol, for example, describes Christmas as:

. . . a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time: the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creature bound on other journeys.

What these movies tell us in their own secular way, that own sufferings must never allow us to shut our eyes to others, Jesus has already taught us in the widow who gave her last food to the prophet Elijah, or the widow in the gospels gave her two last coins.  But mostly, Jesus even in his birth at Christmas, has taught us to give of ourselves completely.  For despite being born in a feeding-trough for animals, despite being forced to flee to Egypt as a refugee almost as soon as he was born, he came for action, “to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord” (Lk. 4:18-19) to free us from sin and death.  What has this Christmas inspired you to do?  What has this Christmas inspired you to become?

Homily Advent 4B: God builds us a house and a home

 Homily for Advent – 4^th Sunday Year B 2020-21

2 Samuel 7:1-5,8-11,16; Romans 16:25-27; Luke 1:26-38

Introduction

We just heard David say he wanted to build a house for God.  What a noble sentiment!  Houses come in all kinds.  You have the really nice mansions that I see on Barataria Blvd, driving on my way here.  Then you the simpler houses on the other side of town.  You also have apartments, condos, and townhouses.

In Uganda, when a boy in the village grows up to be a teenager, with the help of his father and friends, he usually builds his own small house, what Americans might call a hut; but it is his house.  And when he finishes school, gets a good job, makes some money, he will usually build two much more modern houses: one for himself and one for his parents, in gratitude for all they did for him.

Scripture and Theology

So, we can understand why David wants to build a house for God.  God had been kind and generous to him.  He had helped him to win many battles, to unite the 12 tribes of Israel into one nation.  And now he is settled and is living in a magnificent house of cedar.  Like the Ugandan son, he wants to show gratitude by building God a house, a temple, since till then God’s ark was housed in a tent.

But God turns the tables on him.  He says, you don’t get to build me a house.  I decide who will build me a house; that will be your son.  And then here is the clincher; God tells David: “I will build you a house.”  David probably thought that God was going to build him another mansion, but instead God was talking about his lineage.  Through the prophet Nathan, God told David: "Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me; your throne shall stand firm forever."  God made this promise about the year 1,000 B.C.

And for a while things seemed to be going on well.  David’s son Solomon was a wise and successful ruler; in fact, he built the House for God, the Temple.  But then 80 years after God’s promise, the train seemed to go off the rails.  David's grandchildren divided the Kingdom into two.  The ten northern tribes formed the Kingdom of Israel, while the two southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin retained the throne of David in the Kingdom of Judah.  And so, the House of David was now continued only by smaller southern kingdom of the people called "the Jews."

But things would get even worse.  Two-hundred years later in 722 B.C., the northern kingdom was overrun by the Assyrians.  They drove most of the people into exile and scattered them among the Gentiles.  Till today, those tribes have never returned to home; they are the so-called lost tribes of Israel.

Further disaster struck, when in 587 B.C. the southern kingdom that was still carrying the torch of David, was also attacked and driven into exile, this time by the Babylonians.  The Temple and Jerusalem were destroyed.  Particularly, the royal family was tortured and murdered thus removing any royal successor.

Thankfully, fifty years later, the Persian King Cyrus allowed most of the people of Judah to return to the Holy Land.  They rebuilt the Temple but did not succeed in restoring the monarchy.  Instead, they would be ruled by various world powers of the time, including the Romans who ruled at the time of Jesus.  Two monarchies arose during that time, the Hasmoneans and the House of Herod, which ruled at the time of Jesus.  But there were no more kings of the House of David.  And so, for all intents and purposes, after 587 B.C., for about six hundred years, it seemed like God had forgotten his promise to David, to build him a house. 

But as we know, God never forgets his promises.  After all, what is 600 years, when we are dealing with an eternal God?  In today's gospel we heard that God sent his angel Gabriel, "to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David." Yes, did you hear that?  Joseph was a descendant of the House of David.  This poor carpenter was of royal blood, of the House of David.  That is why as we shall hear at Christmas, during the census, Joseph had to travel from Galilee in the north to Bethlehem in the south, to the homeland of David his ancestor.

And so, now God fulfils his promise to David, whose line had been broken for six hundred years, not by installing a political king, but by sending His son to be born into this family of David's line.  That is why the angel told Mary:

Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,

and you shall name him Jesus.

. . . and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,

and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,

and of his kingdom there will be no end.

The coming of Jesus fulfils God's promise; he completes the House of David.

Christian Life

But now, the Kingdom of David over which Jesus rules will include not only the Jewish people, but also the gentiles as well.  While David united the twelve tribes of Israel and formed them into a kingdom, Jesus invites the people of the whole world into the Kingdom of God, his Father.  While David's earthly kingdom did indeed die out in 587 B.C., the Kingdom of Jesus, set in motion by him on the Cross and confirmed in his Resurrection, continues on today in the Church and will be fully accomplished on the Last Day, when the Lord returns.

But for this promise to be fulfilled, God needed the cooperation of human beings, a family, the family of Mary and Joseph.  Place yourself for a moment in Mary’s shoes!  You’re a teenager; you are already engaged to marry Joseph.  The wedding date has been set a year in advance as required by your parish and you have already booked the synagogue and the rabbi; your mother is already running crazy with the wedding plans.  Although Joseph is a little older and he is not that rich, you are not picky; he is a good man who will put food on the table.  You look forward to having a bunch of kids with him.  All your childhood dreams seem to be going smoothly!  Then an angel comes to you with this shocking proposal, that you are going to be Mother of God's Son.  What do you say?

Or place yourself in the shoes of Joseph.  You are engaged to this really beautiful girl; she is pure and loving, the daughter every man would like to have.  Then an angel tells you that your bride-to-be is already with child.  What a shock!  As soon as you come to, you will probably want to call the reception place and get back your deposit.  “The wedding is off,” you will declare, until the angel assures you that the child was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit; that you are “to name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

Conclusion

Father Amal wanted to speak to you about the family today.  And so, I would like to conclude by drawing some conclusions for the family from the story of God building David a house.  For as the saying goes, while the house is made of bricks and beams, a home is made of love and dreams.  But the house that God built David house was not made of bricks and beams, but was made of God’s love and dreams fulfilled in Jesus Christ, and so should our homes, our families.

1.    Do we have the same gratitude that David had towards God that we are willing to do things for God and others, maybe even build him a house?

2.    As husbands or wives, as parents and children, do we keep our promises like God kept his promise to build David a house?  Do we also keep faith in God’s promises, even when it looks like he has forgotten us? 

3.    Finally, when God asks us for a favour, like he asks the teenage Mary and the elderly Joseph to bring his Son into the world, to save the world, is our response like that Mary who said: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.  May it be done to me according to your word”?

May we have the ingredients that build a house, a home or a family: undying gratitude, fulfilled promises and generous self-surrender to God and others?

Homily Advent 3B: Who are you? I am a child of God leading others to God

 Homily for Advent – 3^rd Sunday Year B 2020-2021

2 Samuel 7:1-5,8-11,16; Romans 16:25-27 · Luke 1:26-38

Introduction

“Who are you?”  That is the question the messengers from Jerusalem ask John the Baptist.  The Jews want to know who, this man, going around preaching and baptising people is.  So, they ask him: “Who are you?”

If I were a betting man, I would bet that you today have the same question for me.  Although I have been here before, it was back when Fr. Kyle was pastor.  So, you too are probably asking: “Who are you?”  And a few of you are probably wondering, because of my foreign accent, if I am from Mississippi.

Even John the Baptist, when he was in prison and heard what Jesus was doing, he sent messengers to Jesus to ask, not in so many words: “Who are you?”  “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” (Lk. 7:19-20).

Two chapters later, even Jesus asks the disciples to tell him who people think he is.  They gave various answers: “John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, ‘One of the ancient prophets has arisen.’”  And when Jesus asked them: “But who do you say that I am?” Peter said: “(You are) The Messiah of God” (Lk. 9:18-21).

That the Jews, John the Baptist, even Jesus ask this question “Who are you” shows the importance of this question.  For although our society is concerned more with doing things, actions, in Scripture, who we are, our identity comes first.

Scripture and Theology

Did you notice the answer that John the Baptist when asked who he was? First, he told them who he was not.  He refused to take on a false identity.

·        When asked if he was the Christ, the Messiah that was to come, he flatly denied it, saying: “I am not the Christ.” In other words, I am not the Anointed One whom God the Father has sent to redeem the world.  We will say a little more why he denies being the Messiah.

·        Again, they asked him: "What are you then? Are you Elijah?"  Still, he said: "I am not."  As you know Elijah was one of the great prophets of the Old Testament.  And tradition had it that he did not die, but was taken on a chariot to heaven.  Before the coming of the Messiah, he would come back to earth to prepare for his coming.  And although in some way John has taken on the role of Elijah, he is not Elijah.

·        Finally, they asked him: "Are you the Prophet?"  Now they are not asking if he is any prophet, but "The Prophet."  This special Prophet was Moses, who in Deuteronomy (18:15) had told the people: "A prophet like me will the LORD, your God, raise up for you from among your own kindred; that is the one to whom you shall listen."  John denied that he was Moses.

But why would all these learned people confuse John the Baptist for the Messiah, or Elijah or even Moses?

Well, they had been waiting for God to fulfil his promise for a really long time.  It was about time, that the Messiah or someone like him showed up!  Moreover, John the Baptist seemed to fit the bill.  He was eccentric, in fact, quite unconventional in his lifestyle, in his words and in his actions.

·        Like a homeless man, he lived in the desert, ate locusts and wild honey, and dresses in camel hair, the kind of things prophets might do!

·        He preached that the Kingdom of God was at hand, and asked people to prepare the ways of the Lord and to make straight his paths, that is to change their ways and return to the Lord.

·        Most of all he carried out this dramatic ritual, of baptising people in the Jordan River, as a sign that they had repented from their sins.

And so, the priests and Levites, perhaps exasperated that John is not who they thought he was, ask him again: "Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us?"  They are joined a little later by the Pharisees who also ask: “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ or Elijah or the Prophet?”

This is when John tells them who he really is, the one who has come to prepare for the Messiah, the one who plays second fiddle to Jesus.  And he describes this identity three times when he points away from himself to the Messiah.

·        "I am the voice of one crying out in the desert, 'make straight the way of the Lord,'" he says. In other words, he is only a forerunner to the Messiah.

·        “I have baptized you with water; he [the Messiah] will baptize you with the holy Spirit” (Mk. 1:8).  In other words, his baptism only prepares the people; the baptism of the Jesus by the Holy Spirit will save them.

·        And to top the comparison off, he says: “there is one among you whom you do not recognize, the one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.”  In other words, John is even lower than a slave, whose job it was to untie the sandal strap of the Master.

And so, John is content to be just the best man standing by the bridegroom; he is content to decrease so the Messiah might increase.  For as today's gospel says of John the Baptist: "He was not the light, but came to testify to the light,” to point to the light, to point to the Messiah.  That is who he is!

Christian Life

When people ask you and me: “who are you?”  How do we respond?  Perhaps we might say: “I am a man or a woman; I am an American or a Ugandan; I am a husband or wife; I am White or Black; I am a teacher or businessman; I am a Republican or a Democrat; I am a lay person or a priest.”  And these are good answers, as they point to something of who we are.

A few years ago, in an interview, Pope Francis was asked this very question, “Who are you? Who is Jorge Bergoglio?”  He didn’t say, “I am the Pope, the head of a Church of one billion plus people” or something like.  His answer was: “I am a sinner. . .. I am a sinner whom the Lord looked upon with mercy.” 

For our answers to the question of identity, to be like that of John the Baptist and of Pope Francis, they must have these two essential elements.

First, our answer must refer to something that is really important, an essential part of who we are, and not merely a passing state.  For example, when you say “I am a husband or a wife,” that is a true identity, because that identity is like the skin you carry around all the time, not the clothes which you put on and take off.  And knowing what this permanent identity is will guide your behaviour, for example, your fidelity, because it will flow from your inner self.

Secondly, our answer must be relational, connecting us to our neighbour and to God.  Our most important identities are not just about ourselves, about the unholy trinity of “me, myself and I.”  Your identity as a husband or a wife, a father or a mother, a son or a daughter comes from your relationship with another person, a spouse, a child, a parent, who God has placed in your life.

Conclusion

As you know, Advent is a season not just for preparing for Christmas, but also for preparing for the Second Coming.  At that time, the Lord will ask us “who have you been on earth?”  That is why we must ask ourselves, while we still have the chance, we should ask ourselves: “Who am I?”  And occasionally, we should examine ourselves to see if you are truly living up to our identity.  And if we discover we are not, then we go to confession, to cleanse ourselves, and as it were, return to who we are, to who God created us to be.

So, who are you?  I really cannot answer that question for you; each of us has to do it himself or herself, hopefully giving a profound and a relational identity.  As for me, here is my rather long-winded answer.  “I am a child of God, chosen by Christ to be his priest, to be a mediator between him and his people.”  I hope that this identity guides my action towards God and my neighbour, especially those entrusted to my care.  I hope that this identity, like that of John the Baptist helps me to point others not to myself, but to Christ, to play second fiddle to the Master.

Homily Immaculate Conception 2020: Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee

 Homily for Immaculate Conception December 8, 2020

Genesis 3:9-15; Ephesians 1:3-6,11-12 · Luke 1:26-38

Introduction

Imagine a Protestant, Jewish or Muslim neighbour saw you coming to church and asked: “Today is not Sunday, why are you going to Mass on a Tuesday?”  I am guessing that being the good Catholic that you are, you would tell them that today is a holy day of obligation, a special day, like a high holy day.  And we are honouring the Blessed Mother, under the title of the Immaculate Conception.

But the neighbour might still ask: “Why?  Why are you honouring this woman?”  I am sure you already have a good answer for her.  But I would like to offer you a few more things you might say to her, especially by reflecting on the Hail Mary prayer. And I will do so by reflecting on two questions:

1.    What is the Immaculate Conception?

2.    Why is the Immaculate Conception a big deal for us?

Scripture and Theology

If you paid close attention to today’s gospel, you could be forgiven for thinking that today we are celebrating the Immaculate Conception of Jesus.  We heard the angel announce to Mary: “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus.”  Clearly, this passage is more fitting for the feast of the Annunciation which we celebrate on March 25, which remembers, as it were, the conception of Jesus, who was also immaculate from the very beginning.

This would be like if you attended a 50^th wedding anniversary and a person stood up to speak; but instead of speaking about the golden couple, he focused his remarks on their children or someone else.

But in fact, the Immaculate Conception we celebrate today is that of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  In 1854, Pope Pius IX declared this dogma, confirming what Catholics and even the Eastern Christians had always believed.  He said:

The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin (CCC 491).

Thus we believe that not only did Mary not sin in her life, but even at her conception, she did not inherit the sin of Adam and Eve; she was born entirely clean, just like Adam and Eve were when God created them, before they sinned.

Now we don’t get this belief out of thin air; we get it from what God has told us in the Scriptures.  And we can this in the Hail Mary prayer, which comes from gospels.  And when we pray it, we not only profess our belief in the Immaculate Conception, but its words also show us where that belief comes from.

We begin the prayer by saying: “Hail [Mary], full of grace! The Lord is with you.”  We just heard these words said by the angel Gabriel in the gospel.  He greeted her by telling her that she is full of grace, or translated another way, she is highly favoured by God.  You see, grace is God’s free gift of his life to us.  The Catechism defines grace as ". . . favor, the free and undeserved help that God gives us to respond to his call to become children of God, adoptive sons, partakers of the divine nature and of eternal life" (CCC 1996).  The angel thus tells Mary that she is full of this divine gift.  A few verses later he says to her, “you have found favour with God.”  This greeting, among others led the first Christians and those that came after to believe that Mary was conceived without original sin.

But there is more.  In the second part of the Hail Mary, we say: “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb" (Lk. 1:42).  These are the words of Elizabeth, Mary's cousin.  When Mary visited her, Elizabeth cried out twice that Mary was Blessed and John the Baptist, confirmed this, by leaping in her womb, because he recognized a special presence of mother and child.

And so, think about that!  God decided that this one woman, among all human beings, would be exempt from something which befalls all the rest of us, original sin!  What a special privilege for her!  What a great example for us to behold!

Christian Life and Conclusion

But besides being in awe at this great thing God has done for Mary, we need understand what this Immaculate Conception means for us.  Surely it is easy to understand why Jesus was without sin from the very beginning, being God and all.  But why Mary?

I remember a story I heard told about an Italian man, a high-ranking officer in the army.  His mother died and he went home for the funeral.  At the funeral Mass, the man could not stop crying, I mean not just tears rolling down his cheeks, but the whole works, audible crying.  His father then whispered to him and told him to knock it off as he was embarrassing himself and the family; he was a man, after all, a man’s man, a military man.  Well the son looked the father squarely in the eye and said, “My mother has died; leave me alone.”  And then added: “If it were you there in the coffin, I would not be crying.  But it is my mother.”

No wonder then that this boy, Jesus, had such an intimate bond with his mother that he made her pure from the very beginning, an inviolate vessel to bring God into this world.  The reality is that none of us gets to choose our mothers.  But supposing you could choose or mould your mother, would you not make a perfect one in all things, especially one without sin?  What son would not do everything in his power for his mother? Well, Jesus could do that, and he did! 

We are fortunate that what Jesus did for his mother in a singular manner, he does promise to do for us his brothers and sisters in a general way

·        Just as the angel told Mary that she was "full of grace," the Lord says the same thing to us in his Word and in his Sacraments.  We too can be filled with grace when we attentively hear his Word and worthily approach the sacraments, seeking especially the grace of forgiveness and mercy, the grace of healing, the grace of communion with God.

·        Just as the angel told Mary "the Lord is with you," Jesus assured us that he would be with us until the end of time, when we are gathered together in his name, and especially in his Body and Blood which we celebrate at the Eucharist.

·        Just as Elizabeth was inspired to blurt out that Mary was blessed among women, we too can count on the many blessings we receive from the Lord, especially those that come from our living out the teaching of Jesus in the beatitudes, when we are blessed to be poor in spirit, humble, meek, persecuted and most of all living righteously.

The Blessed Mother’s special place in the Church was an inspiration for centuries of Christians until the Protestant Reformation 400 years ago.  And you may not know this but in Islam, Mary has a special place, because she is the mother of Jesus, who they honour, not as the Son of God, but as a prophet of God. Even more recently, football invokes her when they must make a desperate pass and win the game, in the so-called Hail Mary pass. 

Conclusion

We must continue to honour the Blessed Mother, who has paved the way for us, warmly receiving the grace of her Immaculate Conception and preserving it undefiled until her Son took her to the Father.

That is why we invoke her help whenever we say the Hail Mary, asking her to pray for us, now and at the hour of death, so that we too might be filled with grace, we too might be blessed, so that we too can worthily bear her son in our bodies and souls, he who comes to us in the Eucharist.  And most of all, may her example and her intercession allow us to respond to God like she did: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.  May it be done to me according to your word."

Homily Advent 2B: Preparing the way for the Lord

 Homily for Advent – 2^nd Sunday Year B 2020-21

Isaiah 40:1-5,9-11; 2 Peter 3:8-14; Mark 1:1-8

Introduction

“Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.”  That is what John Baptist does.  Given the bad roads in our area, we can understand what this image is all about.  First century roads in Palestine, were probably as bad.  And so, when an important guest like a king was visiting, they had to do something about the roads.  Preparing the roads and making straight the paths, was therefore an image that the Jewish people would easily understand.  And that is why the gospels use it to explain what John the Baptist is doing. 

Scripture and Theology

But John’s message of preparation for the Messiah had already been prophesied by the prophet Isaiah from whom we read in the first reading.  Using the similar image of road construction Isaiah had indicated that when the Messiah came, “Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill shall be made low; the rugged land shall be made a plain, the rough country, a broad valley.”

John the Baptist fulfilled that prophecy by asking the people to fill in the valleys, to level the mountains, to smoothen the rugged land and to broaden the rough and narrow country roads.  Of course, we must realize that John was not asking them to become road contractors, but rather contractors of their hearts.

And so, to help them make this preparation, we heard in the gospel that John the Baptist “proclaimed a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”  And we heard that “People of the whole Judean countryside and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins.”  Thus the two ways of preparing the ways John asked repentance and baptism.

The first action of repentance required them to turn away from their old ways of sin and return to the ways of the Lord. Many centuries before, God has chosen the people of Israel as his own special people.  And he made a special agreement with them at the time of Moses, that he would be their God, one who provided and protected them, and that they would be his people, a people that followed his commandments.  But time and again, they had reneged on their end of the deal; they sinned over and over again and sometimes they sinned very grievously, like when they turned to other gods.  To prepare for the coming of the Messiah, they had to reverse this trend and leave that sinful life behind.

We can think of repentance as being like when the road contractor, first clears away the old and broken tarmac, or for a brand-new road, clears away the trees and stones.  These obstacles have to be taken away, for us to have a good road.

In the same way, John wants the people to remove sin from their lives, as they wait for the coming of the Lord.  By his fiery teaching and by the example of his very austere life in the desert, he calls the people to conversion.  They must once again honour the deal their forefathers had made with God, that is, to follow the commandments of the Lord.  They must do a complete about-turn as the first step in preparing for the coming of the Messiah.

The second step then required them to show outwardly in a ritual that they had made this decision to abandon sin internally.  The outward sign for showing their conversion was baptism with water carried out by John the Baptist.  Already in their traditions, ritual washing with water, was a sign of inner purification.

We can think of this baptism as being like the contractor, after clearing the area, now pouring the good tarmac on the road.  For baptism too adds something to the person who has repented and is undergoing this symbolic washing.

And so, people prepared for the coming of Jesus, by interior conversion and by the exterior act of baptism in water.  These are the people who will be the first disciples of Jesus.  In fact, Jesus picked some of his apostles, like James and John, from among this crowd.  The Baptist had done his part; he had helped the people prepare the way for the Lord, so that Jesus might easily enter their hearts.

Christian Life

We are given these readings during Advent for a special reason, to help us also prepare for the coming of Christ.  But unfortunately, our secular society skips over Advent, jumping straight from Thanksgiving to Christmas, sometimes even from Halloween.  We too sometimes buy into that mentality and fail to appreciate what Advent is all about.

As yet we heard in last Sunday’s readings, the season of Advent is a season to help us prepare for the two comings of Jesus, both the first coming at Christmas and his second coming on the Last Day.  We Christians are fortunate to have our Jewish ancestors to whom we can look back and ask: "how did they prepare for his coming the first time? Can we learn from what they did?"

The readings from Isaiah and John the Baptist tell us that they prepared for the Messiah’s coming by conversion from sin and by baptism.  Can we do the same?  Perhaps the most recognizable Advent song can remind us what Advent is really about, that we must repent from sin.  Perhaps when we sing “O come, O come, Emmanuel” our thoughts jump straight to Christmas.  But we must listen to the words that come immediately after, which say, “and ransom captive Israel, that mourns in lonely exile here . . .”  We too need to be ransomed from our sins.

For us today we are fortunate to have many more tools to aid our ransom.  The Church has a practice called examination of conscience, in which we to look over our thoughts, words and actions and see which ones are not compatible with the Lord’s ways.  Especially as we want to celebrate Christmas with clean hearts, Advent is a great time for us to compare our lives with the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes, the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy and see how well we measure up.  Are there great discrepancies between our ways and the ways of the Lord?  Are there potholes and broken bridges in our lives that might be stopping the Lord from coming in or might be delaying his arrival in our hearts?  If so, with God’s help, we must like the people who came to John the Baptist, fill in these potholes and rebuild the bridges, by repenting of our sins.

Secondly, after reaching this decision, like the crowds came to John to be baptized in the Jordan River as an external sign of admitting their sins and showing their conversion, we go to what has been called our second baptism, the sacrament of confession.  We go to the priest and through that ritual, demonstrate our conversion.  Moreover, the sacrament of confession is far superior to the baptism of John, because in our case, at the end of the process, the priest declares in the name of God, “I absolve you from your sins,” and your sins are actually forgiven by God.  While John with his baptism was only pointing to the saving work of Jesus, the priest, standing as God’s delegate, dispenses the forgiveness that comes from the saving work of Jesus.

Conclusion

If Christmas is the season to be jolly, Advent is the season to be ready.  One of these days someone might say to you: “Are you ready for Christmas?”  Of course, they probably are referring to the Christmas decorations, shopping, dinner, which are all important.  But can you hear in this question, the call of Isaiah and the call of John the Baptist: “Have you prepared the way of the Lord?  Have you made straight his paths?”

If the image of road construction, does not speak to you, Bishop Barron suggests another image, a more modern image, a helicopter.  We can compare our preparations to preparing a level ground for the landing of the helicopter, that is carrying Jesus.  And so, when on the Last Day, the Lord comes whether by road or by air, will he find us ready?

Mass for the Dead: With you I am a Christian, for you I am a bishop

 Homily for the Mass for the Dead – Archbishop James Odongo

Notre Dame Seminary, New Orleans, December 5, 2020

Fr. Deogratias Ekisa, STD

The famous saying attributed to St. Augustine, “With you I am a Christian, for you I am a bishop” applies very much to any bishop and particularly to Archbishop James Odongo for whose peaceful repose we are celebrating this Mass.

For when Jesus sends the Twelve out on mission as today’s gospel tells us, it is because they are first and foremost his disciples; they are Christians.  He tells them to preach that “The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.”  He asks them to “Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons.  Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.”  They can only give that which they have received, especially their own falling in love with Jesus.  For how can they preach that the Kingdom of heaven is at hand, if they don’t believe in it themselves?  How can they heal people, when they themselves are not healed, or at least are not availing themselves of the healing power of Jesus?

My first assignment as a priest was to serve as Archbishop James’ assistant.  I lived with him and worked with him every day for seven years.  That put me right at the centre of the diocese; I was thus able to see first-hand the inner workings of the Church, the behind-the-scenes decision-making, with all its blessings and curses, all its joyful moments and unavoidable tensions.  I was placed, as it were, in the sausage-making factory itself.

When some people visit the sausage-making factory, and see messy sausage-making process, they never eat sausage ever again.  I, on the other hand, came away, with a greater appreciation for the tough ministry and life of our shepherds.

From antiquity bishops have faced opposition and challenges to their ministry.  With the advent of social media that phenomenon has exponentially increased and unfortunately even among priests and seminarians.  Sometimes such opposition is certainly inspired by a love for the Church, for a return to its purity and mission.  Often however, the manner in which it is expressed does more harm to the unity of the Church than any intended good.  This is especially when there is a hermeneutic of writing off ALL bishops, because of the sins of SOME.

My close working with Archbishop James and others like our own Archbishops here, has instead taught me to realize what Shakespeare said of kings that “heavy is the head that wears the crown.”  This applies even more to bishops, for truly heavy is the head which wears the mitre.  Not only does this head have to carry its own weight of being a Christian who is pursuing holiness and admission into heaven for himself, but this head also has to do that for his flock.

Archbishop James was the fourth African bishop in Uganda and the first African ordained for Tororo at age 34.  He became the ordinary at 37, shepherding a relatively new mission diocese. A few years into his episcopate President Idi Amin expelled many foreigners including missionaries, leaving him with only two or three dozen priests to serve an area that today has two million Catholics.  In his episcopal ministry of 55 years, he served for 39 years as the ordinary with great discipline, and brought the Word and Sacrament to his people, as well as providing for their material needs, as mission bishops often have to do. 

Did he make mistakes in his ministry?  He most certainly did, being human and all, as well as not always having good information.  That is why I made it part of my ministry as his secretary to provide him with the information he needed to make those difficult decisions.  That is our job as priests, seminarians and laity; not only to pray for our shepherds, but also to provide them with the information they would otherwise not have.  But we don’t do that on Facebook, on Twitter or in speech that can only be described as gossip, cynicism and sarcasm.

Let us pray that the Lord receives Archbishop James with mercy and raise him to eternal life; let us pray that he gives him the reward promised to those who use their talents and gifts well, and return them to the father tenfold, a hundredfold.

Homily Advent 1B: We are not there yet; watching and waiting for the Lord

 Homily for Advent - 1st Sunday Year B 2020-21

Isaiah 63:16-17;64:1.3-8; 1 Corinthians 1:3-9; Mark 13:33-37

Introduction

Tailgating parties – a uniquely American tradition of preparing for the football game by celebrating, sometimes for hours before the actual game.

Well, we Catholics have some tailgating of our own.  Before the two main highlights of our Church Calendar, that is Christmas and Easter, we put on a tailgate party of sorts.  The Season of Lent is the Catholic way of tailgating for Easter, while the Season of Advent, which we begin today, is the Catholic way of tailgating for Christmas.  But unlike sports tail-gating, Lent and Advent are sober, restrained, even penitential kinds of preparation.  And so what is Advent for us?

Scripture and Theology

Advent celebrates the two comings of Jesus: the first coming of Jesus at Christmas as well as his second coming.  That is why we begin Advent today, not by hearing about preparations for Christmas, but by hearing about the end-times.

In today's gospel passage, Jesus says: "Be watchful! Be alert! "You do not know when the time will come."  Like the people of Israel waited for the Messiah to come the first time, we Christians wait for him to come again.  That is why Jesus compares himself to a man travelling abroad, leaving “his servants in charge, each with his own work.”  That is exactly what Jesus did when he returned to the Father on Ascension Day.  He left his work in the hands of the Church.  He left a job for each of us to do, some as deacons, priests and bishops, others are mothers, fathers and single lay people, others still as religious men and women.  We must be found doing something useful, when Jesus returns, “whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning.”

I learned something about waiting when I was growing up in Uganda.  When my parents separated, even though I was only eight, I often had to help look after my three siblings, when my mother went on errands or when she went to work.  Ad before you accuse my mother of child abuse, there is nothing wrong with teaching children responsibility at an early age.  Anyway, at first, like any self-respecting teenager, I chose not do what my mom asked me to do; rather, I played the whole day, bossed my siblings around and each day invented new ways to be naughty. I would then try to guess when mom might be returning and get ready for her by destroying all evidence of my mischief.

Now this strategy this worked sometimes, except when she came home early.  And I soon realized that playing Russian roulette in this way required way too much energy and was way too stressful.  I realized that it was much easier simply to do my chores and do the right thing always.  That way, I did not have to worry if mom came back earlier than usual.  And so, besides the kudos she gave me for finding everything in order, I received another reward for being good, which is, that I spent my time watching and waiting with peace of mind.

Similarly, Advent is a mock exercise of the waiting that we must do throughout our lives.  We are given four weeks of Advent, not just to prepare for Christmas, but to hone our skills in preparing for the coming of the Lord on the Last Day.

Christian Life

Of course, none of us likes to wait.  We don't like waiting at the doctor’s office or at the DMV office; we don’t like waiting in traffic or in line at the Black Friday sales; we don't like waiting to get on to a plane and to get off the plane.  We are an impatient people always in a hurry.  We are like the children in the back seat of the car who keep shouting “Are we there yet?  Are we there yet?”

We are not there yet.  And yet many, even us Catholics, simply skip over Advent and move straight from Thanksgiving straight on to Christmas.  Our television, radio and stores are already in Christmas mode.  Even Catholics have Christmas parties during Advent.  Unlike children who ask "are we there yet?" we don't even ask, we simply declare, "we are already there."  Advent is the perfect solution to this impatience of ours, a season that is all about waiting without excitement, watching without drama.

That is not to say that Advent watching and waiting must be idle.  Like the servants in the gospel story, our waiting must actively do something for the Kingdom, not by anticipating Christmas things, but by doing Advent things, which helps us watch and wait for the Lord’s coming.

Consider the symbols of Advent, which remind us of the waiting that we must do.  These symbols are not as glamorous as the Christmas ones, but nobody ever said that waiting for the Lord is glamorous.

·        There is the Advent wreath, the empty manger and the Jesse tree, all pointing to the waiting and watching for the birth of the Lord.

·        We also have some customs for the feast of St. Nicholas on December 6, the feast of St. Lucy on December 13^th and of course the feasts of Our Lady on December 8 and on December 12.

·        Even at Mass, you will notice a few Advent things: the vestments are the penitential colour of purple, we don’t sing the Gloria, and the wreath has five candles which we keep lighting one by one until Christmas Day when we light the big white candle in the middle that represents the Lord’s birth.

And yet, as important as these external signs and symbols of Advent are, even more important is the preparation we make to our personal spiritual lives.

1.    Although Advent is not strictly speaking a penitential season like Lent, yet any waiting for the Lord must involve some conversion on our part.  We do this best when we examine our souls to check the health of our relationship with God, with one another and with our very selves.  And if there is something terribly amiss, we go to confession and therefore get clean as we wait for the Lord’s coming – for we are not there yet.

2.    Many parishes also hold parish missions and Advent days of prayer and study – we go to them, to be nourished by God’s Word to prepare us for his coming, for we are not there yet.

3.    And then of course we must not think about ourselves, but of others as well.  The corporal and spiritual works of mercy are always there to remind us of how to prepare ourselves for the Lord's coming, as we take care of the material and spiritual needs of our brothers and sisters.

Besides the Advent symbols and our spiritual preparations, we also have to make the practical Christmas.  Where am I having Christmas dinner this year, grandma’s or the in-laws?  What about that Christmas shopping list – where can I find that latest gadget for my nieces and nephews and I might add, for my favourite priest?  And the decorations – they are not going to get put up by themselves, are they?   Yes, we need to do all these things – but these cannot be the extent of our Advent preparations for the coming of the Lord.

Conclusion

But the watching and waiting we do during Advent is only practice, dress-rehearsal.  Learning to prepare well for Christmas teaches us how to prepare for when the Lord will call us, and for when he will return.  That long term waiting is something we do all our lives, and not just during the Advent season.

On Christmas Day or Eve , ask yourself:  Have I tailgated, waited for Christmas with the enthusiasm of the child who keeps asking “are we there yet?” Have I also waited with the patience and hard work of the adult who knows that we are not there yet?  Let these four weeks help us to watch and wait faithfully and patiently, so that when the Lord returns at Christmas, we shall be found ready.  More importantly, when he comes on the Last Day, we shall be found ready.