Conversion is both urgent and possible

Homily for 3^rd Sunday of Lent Year C 2016

Exodus 3:1-8a,13-15; 1 Corinthians 10:1-6,1-12; Luke 13:1-9

Introduction

Do you remember after 9/11, when some people, especially some evangelical preachers, blamed that terrorist tragedy on the sinfulness of America?  And then after Katrina, when some people also blamed that natural catastrophe on the decadence of New Orleans!

Such thinking, that makes an automatic connection between sin and suffering also existed at the time of Jesus.  And Jesus, then and now strongly rejected it.

Scripture and Theology

For example, in the first part of today's gospel, Jesus refers to two tragedies.

1.    The first was the atrocious massacre of some worshippers by Pilate, when as we heard, Pilate mingled their blood with that of their sacrifices.

2.    The second tragedy was a construction accident at Siloam, where a tower fell and killed eighteen people.

We can think of the first incident as being like the kind of suffering we experience at the hands of others: terrorists, criminals, gun-toting students.  We can think of the second incident as being like the suffering that occurs by accident or by natural phenomena, like hurricanes or the recent tornadoes.

Regardless of their cause, Jesus asks his listeners, if the victims of these tragedies were greater sinners than everybody else?  And of course his answer is an emphatic "No."  He rejects a one-to-one link between sin and suffering.  Yes, some suffering is our own doing, like diseases that result from not taking care of ourselves.  But not all the suffering in the world is caused by personal sin.

The reason Jesus rejects this automatic link between sin and suffering is because it creates complacency in people who are doing well.  They think, "I am okay, I don't have to do anything."  To them, both then and now, Jesus says: "I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!” 

By "perish" Jesus is not merely talking about physical death; he is talking about eternal death, separation from God forever and ever.  In other words, he reminds the Jews and us, that the punishment for sin is not always given here on earth, but will certainly be given after death.  And so, since we don't know when we are going to die, just like those victims of Pilate and the construction accident, we must repent. And if any tragedy befalls us, we will die physically, but we shall not perish eternally, for we shall be found in a state of grace.

Alfred Nobel, the man who instituted and endowed the Nobel Prizes, was a Swedish chemist who made his fortune by inventing powerful explosives and licensing the formula to governments to make weapons.  One day Alfred's brother died.  By accident, the newspaper printed the obituary of Alfred instead of that of his deceased brother.  It described him as the inventor of dynamite who made a fortune by enabling armies to achieve new levels of mass destruction.

When Nobel read his own obituary, he got a glimpse of how he would be remembered: as a merchant of death and destruction.   That's when he decided to change, convert, turn around.  He took his fortune and used it to establish awards for accomplishments contributing to life rather than death, awards which we know today as the Nobel prizes.  He got a second chance, to repent.

If Nobel's example and the tragic examples Jesus uses serve as negative incentives against complacency, the parable of the fig tree should be a positive incentive that gives our repentance hope. The fig tree is a special tree in Palestine. Every family tries to raise one, showering care and their limited supply of water on it and expecting to harvest some figs after three years and every year after. 

That is why the master is tired of a tree that is not giving fruit, and wants it cut down.  But the gardener pleads for the plant and asks for one more year, to tend it a little more, so that it might produce fruit.  The gardener believes that change is possible; given some more nurturing, the tree will produce fruit.

In this parable, God the Father is the tree owner and he has just about had it with humanity.  Jesus is the gardener, pleading with the Master to allow him try his hand one more time at converting stubborn humanity with his life-giving message.  But now, even the gardener, Jesus, is getting really frustrated especially with the religious leaders who have refused to listen to his message of salvation and who are actively persecuting him.  That is why in very stern words Jesus says to them: “I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish . . . .”

Christian Life

But like a bitter pill, these stern words bear a message of hope for us.  They tell us that repentance is possible, even for the worst of sinners.

You have heard the proverb, "a leopard cannot change its spots."  While  that might be true for leopards, for us Christians, Jesus teaches that we can change our spots.  Through the mouth of Isaiah, the Lord says: "Though your sins be like scarlet, they may become white as snow; Though they be red like crimson, they may become white as wool" (Is. 1:18).  We must not give up on others and especially not on ourselves.  We must not resign ourselves to our sinful condition, but must always harbour the hope that change is possible.

But conversion, is not always easy.  Thankfully, from the parable of the fig tree, we see three things that can help: time, other people and God.

Change needs some time and work.  That is why the gardener asks for one more year, four seasons for nurturing the tree.  For us Lent can be such a time, when through prayer, fasting and almsgiving, we work on our addictions and sinful habits.  Some sinful habits built over time, will also take time to work on; and we should not be discouraged if change is not instant but gradual.

And as much as we need time to change, we also need the help of others.  On its own the fig tree was unable to change; only with the help of gardener, watering it, fertilizing it, would it begin producing some fruit.  This gardener is like the accountability partner or sponsor in many 12-step programs. For us, our gardener could be a spouse, a parent, a teacher, a friend, a co-worker to point out our sins and help us avoid them.  And the most important gardener that the Lord left for us is the priest, who through the sacrament of confession, helps us with his counsel and advice as we walk away from sin towards God.

But perhaps the most important person we need in our journey of conversion is God himself.  Sin has such a powerful hold on us, that we need a powerful ally.  That is why regular prayer is such an important tool if we want to resist the Evil One, turn away from his allures and turn towards God.  God's help comes best from the sacrament of confession, where the priest says to us: "I absolve you from your sins, in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."

Conclusion

This message of repentance, both its urgency and how to go about it, has been taught by the Church for the past two thousand years.  But Pope Francis, in a particular way, has brought it to the forefront, reminding us especially during this Jubilee Year, that if only we turn to God, his mercy is there for the taking.

Let me suggest that we allow Pope Francis to be our gardener, working on us this year, to help us repent and produce some fruit.  In particular, I would like to recommend his book, entitled, "The Name of God is Mercy."  This book is wonderful Lenten reading for all us, but also a wonderful gift for someone else, who like us wishes to repent, but needs a little nudge, a little help.  For when Moses asked God for his name, so he might tell the Israelites who was liberating them from slavery, God said: "I am who I am."  When Pope Francis asked God the same question, the answer he heard was: "The Name of our God is mercy."

Our citizenship is in heaven

Homily for 2^nd Sunday of Lent Year C 2016

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

INTRODUCTION

"Our citizenship is in heaven." What does St. Paul with these words?  Is he suggesting that because you are Catholic, you are not American citizens?

Actually he and the readings of today are telling us that we Christians are dual citizens: we are citizens of this world for a short while, but our permanent citizenship is with God in heaven.  And the gospel story of the Transfiguration, 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 God wanted to reveal himself or his message to them, 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 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, this experience on the mountain is a complete revelation of himself to the disciples.

·        We heard that: "While he was praying his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white."  This is what Peter, James and John saw when they woke up.

·        Even Moses and Elijah, revered messengers of God, symbols of God's Law and the Prophets, came to testify to Jesus.

·        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 can now see fully in the transfigured Jesus.  The disciples have a foretaste of the heavenly citizenship that awaited them.

And Jesus has a special purpose in bringing these three with him up the mountain.  Peter, James and John were his inner cabinet, the closest of the Twelve.  Now 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 every one of his disciples would have to deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Jesus.  His painful fate would also be their fate.

And so, having proposed this rather stark picture of what it means to be a disciple, Jesus now provides a morale booster, an antidote, if you like.  By giving them this experience of the Transfiguration, he assures them 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.

·        And 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, “the before” and “the after” picture.  On seeing a preview of the "after" picture, the patient might be more inclined to undergo the pain and suffering.  Similarly, the disciples, were able to understand the Cross, because they had seen the glory in heaven that would follow.

CHRISTIAN APPLICATION

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, of Lenten Penance, as well as of the difficulties of our daily lives.  This gospel should remind us to have 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 our destination, even when we take the wrong turn, 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 means of getting there: ascending the mountain and descending 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 remain strengthened, 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.  Through prayer we are constantly reminded of our heavenly home.

But then we must climb down the mountain of prayer.  We cannot like Peter decide to build three tents and remain on 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.  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.  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, we live out our sneak-peek experience, through almsgiving and the 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.

·        May we learn to climb the mountain in prayer, for a regular foretaste of our heavenly citizenship.

·        May we learn to climb down so that we can live out fully and transform our current citizenship in this world.

We 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.  We look forward to taking up permanent residence and citizenship there, where God the Son lives and reigns with the Father, in the Holy Spirit, forever and ever.

Let us go out to the Desert

Homily for 1^st Sunday of Lent Year C 2016

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

Introduction

On Ash Wednesday most of us received ashes.  It was not just to make up for our Mardi Gras indulgence.  It was to kick-start the period of Lent.  But why Lent?

We can answer this question about the meaning of Lent, by looking briefly at the history of Lent and at the readings of today's Mass.

Scripture and Theology

The inspiration for Lent can be traced back to the many incidents in the Bible, of people going out into the desert.

·        When Moses led the people of Israel from Egypt to the Promised Land, he did not use the shorter route along the Mediterranean Sea; rather they took the longer route through the desert.  This was no scenic route; it was a gruelling 40-year journey in harsh conditions of heat and depravation.

·        The Prophet Elijah also fled into the desert to escape the death threat issued against him by Queen Jezebel, wife of King Ahab.  He too spent 40 punishing days and 40 nights in the desert.

·        And as we just heard, Jesus too spent 40 days and 40 nights in the desert.

In all three cases, the time spent in the harsh conditions of the desert, was a time of training.  Like gold is purified in fire, with the impurities burning away, so the Hebrew people, Elijah and Jesus were tested by the harsh realities of the desert.  The difficulties they faced brought on many temptations, three of which we heard about in today's gospel.  While Jesus did not give in to the temptations, the others did.  But still God took care of them all during their desert experience.  And they all came out stronger, having discovered and honed their strengths, and at the same time having pared down their weaknesses.  Now they were all ready to start their missions: the Hebrew People to living in the Promised Land, Elijah to prophesying, and Jesus to proclaiming the Good News of Salvation.

With this history in mind, it was natural for Christians to celebrate a desert-like period of 40 days.  But when would they have this experience?   Before Christmas or at the beginning of the year?  They decided that the best time to experience 40 days in the desert was right before the most important Christian feast, one certainly greater than Mardi Gras or Valentine's Day.  The desert experience was to prepare us for Easter, when we celebrate Christ's death and resurrection, which brought about our salvation, restoring us to God.

Besides being a preparation period for all Christians, two special groups of Christians used Lent to prepare themselves in a special way.

·        Catechumens, who were preparing to be baptized and so enter the Church, spent these last 40 days before Easter in intense preparation. 

·        And so did Penitents.  At that time the sacrament of confession required sinners to do their penance first, sometimes for years, and then they would be reconciled to the Church on Holy Thursday.  They too used these final 40 days to prepare themselves to tie up any loose ends in their conversion.

And so, the Lent has a long history; from the desert experience of Moses, Elijah and Jesus, to the intense preparation of Catechumens and Penitents.

Christian Life

From this history, we can see that Lent still has meaning for us today.  After all like the catechumens and the penitents, we need to renew our relationship with God through conversion. After all, like Moses, Elijah and Jesus, we need to be purified by the desert, and come out triumphant over the temptations of Jesus.

1.     The devil tempted Jesus with the pleasure of food saying: “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”  Aren't we also subject to sensual temptations of over-eating, over-drinking, sexual pleasure, pornography, television, the internet, video-games, to name but a few?

2.    After failing with the first temptation, the devil then dangled power before Jesus saying: "All this [power and glory] will be yours, if you worship me.”  Aren't we also tempted by the seductive lure of power over others at work or in the family, or the power of good looks, intelligence and wealth?

3.    Finally the devil uses piety to tempt Jesus saying: "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here [after all your God will protect you]."  Don't we succumb to this temptation when we fail to do our part and presume that God will take care of everything, such as when we fail to take care of our health and expect God to do it all, or when students refuse to study and expect that prayer will substitute for sheer hard work?

Through the desert experience, Jesus overcame these temptations of uninhibited pleasure, unbridled power, and presumptuous piety.  For us our desert experience is the season of Lent, particularly the traditional Lenten practices of fasting, almsgiving and prayer.

1.    Fasting allows us to get down to bare basics.  When faced with hunger and thirst, we quickly realize what is important in life and what is only accessory.  If we can do without food and water, which are necessary for life, we soon realize that we can survive without many other things.  Like Jesus told the devil, “One does not live on bread alone,” but on a deep relationship with God and with others, in the family, Church and society.

2.    Almsgiving allows us to realize that we are not the centre of the world.  We realize that there are others besides us, with whom we must share what is ours.  When we give alms, we use our power for good.  We share our bread with the hungry, water with the thirsty, because God has shared his life with us.  Through almsgiving we worship the Lord our God who is in the other, and through serving others we serve him who is God alone.  One very practical way to practice almsgiving is to carry out the traditional seven corporal works of mercy and the seven spiritual works of mercy, especially since this is the Jubilee Year of Mercy.  In both works of mercy, we give something of ours to another person; in the corporal works we give them something for the body like food and shelter; in the spiritual works, we give them something for the soul, like knowledge and correction.

3.    The third Lenten practice of Prayer focuses attention on our relationship with God.  In prayer we speak to God, we listen to God.  Heartfelt prayer is like a cordial conversation between close friends, where everything is put on the table, the good and the bad.  In this conversation we do not presume nor bribe nor demand from God.  True prayer makes the request and leaves it to God, to decide whether and when to grant the request.

Conclusion

Let us live out this Lent in such a way that like Jesus came out of the desert triumphant, we too will come out of the Lenten desert victorious.  For having set off on this journey with the three tools of fasting, prayer and almsgiving, we shall come out with a threefold harvest at Easter:

1.    Within ourselves, a greater control of our addictions to pleasure and power

2.    With others whom we show mercy, a closer relationship

3.    And with God who shows us mercy, a renewed relationship

And when the time comes for us to enter our heavenly Promised Land, our admission will be assured not because we bear roses or chocolate, but because we shall bear the three most important gifts: a right relationship with ourselves, with others and with God.

God does not choose the able, he enables the chosen

Homily for 5^th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year C 2016

Isaiah 6:1-2a,3-8; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11; Luke 5:1-11

Introduction

During an interview, about two and a half years ago, Pope Francis was asked: “Who is Jorge Mario Bergoglio?” And in what has now become a famous answer, he said: "I do not know what might be the most fitting description....  but the best summary, the one that comes more from the inside and I feel most true is this: I am a sinner whom the Lord has looked upon.”

Many people, were surprised that the Pope had described himself as a sinner.  We are not used to important people admitting weakness.  Rather we are used to a culture of self-promotion like Muhammad Ali, who said, "I am the greatest," "I’m the double greatest. Not only do I knock ’em out, I pick the round."  We are raised to think of ourselves as great.

Scripture and Theology

But for Christians, Pope Francis saying that he is a sinner, should not have come as a surprise.  About two thousand years ago, another would-be-pope said “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man” (Lk. 5:7).  That was Simon Peter, when he first met the Lord.  As we heard in today's gospel, faced with the true greatness and holiness of Jesus, Peter realized how unworthy he was.

This feeling of unworthiness was also felt by the prophets in the Old Testament.

·        When called by God to be a prophet, Jeremiah protested his youth, saying: “I do not know how to speak. I am too young” (Jer. 1:6)!

·        Amos lacked pedigree: "I am not a prophet, nor do I belong to a company of prophets. I am a herdsman and a dresser of sycamores" (Amos 7:14).

·        And in today's reading we heard from the prophet Isaiah, who described his unworthiness in this way: "Woe is me, I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips" (Is. 6:5).

And in the second reading, St. Paul described himself as "one born abnormally."  "For I am the least of the apostles, not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God" (1 Cor. 15:8-9).  Paul writes these words at the end of his first letter to the Corinthians, in which he chastises them for their sinful ways, but he does not forget, in fact he acknowledges his own unworthiness.

And so, from all three readings and indeed in all of the Bible, we see that God almost always picks the lowly and unworthy to be his messengers and his ministers.  Even the Blessed Mother, although immaculately conceived, was a poor, lowly teenage girl, tasked with being the mother of God's son.

But why does God operate in this way?  Why does he have such low hiring standards?  A catchy phrase used by promoters of religious vocations is: "God does not call the able; he enables those he calls."  In other words, perhaps God picks the lowly so that he can form them in his own way and so that they might do his work in his way, and not their way.  God is able to reshape and reform what is broken, and use it for his great purposes.

Just look at Simon in today's gospel.  The Lord tells him: “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men” (Lk. 5:10).  From then on the Lord teaches and trains Peter and his friends, and turns them from fishermen, to fishers of men.  That is why we see that Peter who gives that passionate sermon at Pentecost, is able to do so, only because the Lord has looked upon him with kindness and blessed him with the gifts to overcome his weakness.

Even the prophets who we have seen, despite their initial unworthiness, God worked on them and made them worthy instruments of his message.  Isaiah described for us in some detail how this transformation happened.

He touched my mouth with [an ember] it, and said, “See, now that this has touched your lips, your wickedness is removed, your sin purged.”

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” “Here I am,” I said; “send me!”

As for St. Paul, we know the Lord called him on the Road to Damascus.  Paul admitted as much in today's second reading when he said:

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been ineffective. Indeed, I have toiled harder than all of them; not I, however, but the grace of God that is with me.

God's hiring process, therefore, is not based not greatness, but on the potential to become great in the hands of God.

Christian Life

We who live at time when receiving Oscars, Emmy's and Grammy's, winning the Superbowl, is far more important that feeding the poor or dying for one's country, really need to recognize our unworthiness before God.

The words and example of Pope Francis should inspire us to look at ourselves.  But even Pope Benedict was equally self-effacing.  When he was introduced as pope on the balcony, his first words were:

After the great Pope John Paul II, the Cardinals have elected me, a simple and humble labourer in the vineyard of the Lord.  The fact that the Lord knows how to work and to act even with inadequate instruments comforts me, and above all I entrust myself to your prayers.

And anybody who had the privilege of meeting Pope Benedict personally like I did saw firsthand, his humility, most evidently demonstrated in his decision to resign the papacy.

But even Pope John Paul, despite his charismatic gifts, was just as self-effacing.  Around the time of his funeral, I remember someone calling into Catholic Radio in Uganda, with a concern.  He had heard, that one of the dying wishes of Pope John Paul II, was to ask for prayers for his soul.  This caller, a Catholic was really disturbed and said: "If we have to pray for the pope, what hope is there for the rest of us?"  Thankfully the priest on the radio show explained to the caller, that like all the faithful, Pope John Paul too was a sinner, who needed God's mercy.

Conclusion

Coming back to how we see our own deacons, priests and bishops at home, let me suggest three take-away messages for us today.

1.    First, "cut your priests some slack;" they are only human beings who can and do make mistakes.  As I have demonstrated with our three recent popes, we priests ourselves will be the first to acknowledge that we are only poor instruments of the Lord.  There is no clearer evidence of this unworthiness, than having to celebrate Mass and preach with a stomach full of butterflies.

2.    Secondly, don't stake your faith on the minister of Christ, but on Christ who works through them.  I have heard of people who have left the Church perhaps because Father so-and-so offended them in some way.  Why leave Jesus because of the unfaithful Judas Iscariot; why not stay because of the faithful Peter?  Remember our successes as priests belong to Christ; but our failures are ours as human beings.

3.    Third and finally, the humanness of priests is not excuse for mediocrity.  Like the readings have shown us, God takes shapeless clay and moulds something beautiful out of it. In the same way, God always continues to work on his priests to make them worthier instruments of his.  That is why priests-to-be take at least six years of specialized training in the seminary, to say nothing about the general training in the Christian life that they receive at home.  What can you do to help your priests become a better instrument of God?  Perhaps encourage them, advise them, an most of all, pray for them.

SOME REMINDERS FOR DEACONS

From The Order of Mass (OM) and The General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM)

A. Say the Black and Do the Red

Here is a gentle reminder from Redemptionis Sacramentum #59 about the need to use the words given in the Ritual and not make them up.

"The reprobated practice by which Priests, Deacons or the faithful here and there alter or vary at will the texts of the Sacred Liturgy that they are charged to pronounce, must cease. For in doing thus, they render the celebration of the Sacred Liturgy unstable, and not infrequently distort the authentic meaning of the Liturgy."

CORRECT	COMMON ERRORS
GOSPEL
Before the Gospel "Your blessing, Father" (OM 14). Reading the Gospel ". . . At the ambo the Deacon greets the people, with hands joined, saying, The Lord be with you" (GIRM 175). After the Gospel "Through the words of the Gospel may our sins be wiped away" (OM 16).	Before the Gospel "May I have your blessing Father." Reading the Gospel Saying "The Lord be with you" with hands extended.
PRESENTATION OF GIFTS
"By the mystery of this water and wine may we come to share in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our humanity" (OM 24)
SIGN OF PEACE
With hands joined, he faces the people and says, "Let us offer each other the sign of peace" (GIRM 181, OM 128).	Let us offer one another the sign of peace Brothers and sisters . . . (blah, blah, blah), let us . . . (yada, yada, yada). Hands extended.
DISMISSAL
After the Priest’s blessing, the Deacon, with hands joined and facing the people, dismisses the people, saying (GIRM 186, OM 144). 1. Go forth, the Mass is ended. 2. Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord. 3. Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life. 4. Go in peace.	Hands extended 1. The Mass is ended, go in peace 2. Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord by your life. 3. Go and glorify the Lord by your life. 4. Go in peace, the Mass is ended.

B. Uses of the Trinitarian Formula in the Liturgy

Say the Trinitarian formula as given in the ritual, especially as it is used differently in different liturgical contexts.  When you leave out  or add the preposition (of/to), the conjunction (and), the article (the), you are probably making some heretical statements about the doctrine on the Trinity, doctrine over which much blood and ink was spilled.

	SIGN OF THE CROSS/ BAPTISM	BLESSING	DOXOLOGY
Case	Genetive Case	Nominative Case	Dative Case
English	In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.	May Almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.	Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit
Latin	In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti.	Benedicat vos omnipotens Deus, Pater, et Filius, et Spiritus Sanctus.	Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto.

C. Communion for celebrating and Concelebrating Priests

Redemptionis Sacramentum #98 reminds us that concelebrants (and principal celebrant) must always receive communion under both species, and from the hosts/wine consecrated at that Mass, as such reception is required for the completion of the sacrifice that they offer.  The deacon who often distributes communion to the priests must be aware of this.

"The Communion of Priest concelebrants should proceed according to the norms prescribed in the liturgical books, always using hosts consecrated at the same Mass and always with Communion under both kinds being received by all of the concelebrants. It is to be noted that if the Priest or Deacon hands the sacred host or chalice to the concelebrants, he says nothing; that is to say, he does not pronounce the words “The Body of Christ” or “The Blood of Christ”."

Love: seeking the good of the other, without expecting a return

Homily for 4^th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year C 2016

Jeremiah 1:4-5,17-19; 1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13; Luke 4:21-30

Introduction

If today's second reading sounded familiar, it is probably because you have heard it read before, at several weddings.  Because it speaks about love, it is the go-to reading for many weddings.

This reading comes from Paul's first letter to the Corinthian Church, the most troublesome of his daughter-Churches.  This community had all kinds of divisions and factions.  Part of his answer to these problems, is to teach them about love.

Scripture and Theology

But the kind of love that Paul is describing, is not exactly the love we celebrate at weddings, but a much broader love.

The English language, with limited success tries to express three quite different feelings with this one word "love."

·        First, we use "love" to refer to that romantic feeling between a man and a woman, a desire and longing based in physical attraction.

·        Second, we speak of love to refer to friendship and general affection, even our desire for knowledge, art and other abstract things.

·        But the love that Paul is talking about is called by the Greek word, Agape.

Agape is "to will the good of another and to act concretely on that desire," expecting nothing in return.  It is more than erotic love; it is more than philosophical love.  This is the love that God has for us, the kind of love that Jesus displayed so generously on the cross, when he gave his life for the life of the world.  He willed our good, he actively sought our good and he gave it without expectation.

Paul dedicates several verses to describing this agape, this love.

·        "Love is patient, love is kind" Paul says.  True love waits and readily gives up righteous anger or outrage, for example towards someone who is slow or imperfect, because such love wills the good of that other person.

·        Paul says "love is not jealous." Someone once said: "when a friend of mine succeeds, something in me dies."  Does this feeling sound awfully familiar?  But as Paul continues to say: love is not pompous, not inflated, not rude; love does not seek its own interests.  Selfishness and love do not go together; selflessness is the true quality of love.

·        Paul goes on: "love is not quick-tempered, does not brood over injury." If we will the good of the other, we cannot hold grudges.  We cannot hold on to old wounds for decades, opening the scars once in a while to brood over them.  Agape requires forgiveness and letting bygones be bygones. 

·        "Love does not rejoice over wrongdoing, but rejoices with truth" says Paul.  The Germans have a word for this; schadenfreude is the morbid revelling in the pain of others.  Love cannot rejoice at another's misfortune, even the pain of our enemies.  Jesus already teaches as much when he says "love your enemies, and do good to those who persecute you" (Lk. 6:27).

·        Paul ends his description of love by saying: "love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things and endures all things."  Such love does not pick and choose what is convenient, but what serves the good of another.

Besides describing the kind of qualities that make up Christian love, Paul also compares agape with the spiritual gifts, especially since the Corinthians were fighting over whose gifts were more important.

·        He says: "If I speak in human and angelic tongues, but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal."  In other words, even spiritual gifts like the gift of tongues, the gifts of prophecy, understanding and knowledge, mean nothing, if not used for the good of another.

·        Paul goes on to say: "If I have all faith so as to move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing."  Even faith, profound belief, does not count, if such belief does not will the good of others.  This can happen, for example, when of our deep faith goes to our heads and we automatically exclude others from God's love: the Protestants, Jews, and especially the Muslims.

·        "If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing," Paul says.  Imagine that!  Even charitable giving and martyrdom don't count if they are done for selfish reasons like showing off.  In true love, like Jesus, one has to give something of theirs, without expecting anything in return.

Christian Life

It is interesting that the reasons for which Paul wrote this letter, the problems of division in the Corinthian community are still with us today.

1.    In the first four chapters of First Corinthians, the problem is cliques and camps with some people saying, "I am for Paul," and others "I am for Apollos," instead of "I am for Christ."  Today we say: "I am for Pope Francis," "I am for Pope Benedict."  Or "I am for Father so-and-so" and not "Father-so-so."

2.    In Chapter 5 of the same letter, the problem is the community's failure to deal with a church member who is committing incest.  Aren't we guilty of similar indifference to the promiscuous license of our society today, even in small things like a lack of modesty in dress?

3.    In Chapter 6, church members are taking each other to pagan courts, participating in religious prostitution, and in Chapter 10 in pagan sacrifices.  Again aren't we often guilty of similar sins, when we substitute the values and practices of Christ, with the pagan ones of society, when we allow secular courts and the media, rather than Christ, to dictate our moral values? 

4.    In Chapter 11 the problem is segregation at the Eucharistic celebration,.  between rich and poor.  Thankfully, gone are the days when different classes and races were assigned different seats at Mass.  And yet we still have all kinds of subtle divisions in the Body of Christ even today! 

5.    Finally, in Chapter 12 the Corinthians are fighting over which spiritual gifts are more important; tongues, prophecy, knowledge?  Sadly, we too do this when we jealously protect our turf in the parish or church group.  Our society promotes this attitude, at school, at work – the zero-some game that always seeks to put down others, so that I can be lifted up, impressing whom we can, destroying whom we must.  For all these problems, love is the answer.

Conclusion

St. Paul concludes his lesson on love by saying: "Love never fails;" and then "So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love."

In other words, at the end of time, because we shall see God as he is, all other good things will pass away, but not love.

·        The spiritual gifts of prophecy, tongues and knowledge are only tools to help us see and know God.  Paul says: "At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face.  At present I know partially; then I shall know fully, as I am fully known."  We will not need them in heaven.

·        Even the two theological virtues of faith and hope will no longer be needed; when  I am seeing God face to face, there is no more need for faith; when I am seeing God face to face in heaven, there is no more need for hope.

But in heaven, love will still be needed, because God is love and because life with God means love.  

As the Baltimore Catechism taught us: "God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him forever in the next."  That's why we must start loving while we still can learn.

The Jubilee Year: resetting and rebooting my relationships

Homily for 3^rd Sunday of Ordinary Time Year C 2016

Nehemiah 8:2-6,8-10; 1 Corinthians 12:12-30; Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21

Introduction

When a public leader such as a mayor, governor or president is taking office, he or she usually states their manifesto, saying what they hope to achieve.

Scripture and Theology

In today's gospel, as Jesus begins his ministry, he states his program of action: "to bring glad tidings to the poor, . . . 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."  Jesus borrows these words of Isaiah to introduce himself and his mission.  Isaiah had said these words to give hope to the people of Israel, as they prepared to return from exile.  But Jesus says: “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”  He is fulfilling Isaiah's promise.

But what is "proclaiming a year acceptable to the Lord" or as other translations put it, "a year of the Lord's favour?" This is the year we know as a jubilee year, prescribed in the Book of Leviticus Chapter 25.  The Lord instructs the people of Israel to celebrate the jubilee year.  Just as the Lord had rested on the seventh day when he created the world, so he asked the people to rest on the seventh day, the Sabbath.  But he went further and asked them to rest also during seventh year, which they called the sabbatical year.  And further still, after seven times seven years, that is 49 years, the 50^th year would be a very sacred year of rest – a jubilee year, a year in which liberty would be given to all (Lev. 25:10).

While our silver jubilee today celebrates the 25^th anniversary and the golden jubilee the 50^th anniversary of something, the jubilee year of Leviticus served to return everything to its pristine condition, to restore all relationships.  The jubilee year was like reset feature on our smartphones or the rebooting feature on the computer, to give them a fresh start, especially when they have been corrupted.

·        And so, during the jubilee year, family relationships were to be restored; family members that had split or sent away were to return home.

·        Debts were to be cancelled, much like we do today with bankruptcy protection.  For example, if a relative owed you a large debt and the only way they could pay it back was by becoming your indentured servant, this debt was cancelled when the Jubilee year came around. Lev. 25:39-41).

·        Even the land was to be given a rest during the Jubilee year, a kind of fallow that farmers even today give to the land to allow it regain its nutrients.  The people could not farm any crops, but would only eat what the fields provided naturally.

The Jubilee year, therefore was aimed at resetting relationships among people and relationships to property.  In this way the jubilee year stopped unchecked selfishness and refocused people on God and the community.

And so, when Jesus wants to describe what he has come to do, he uses this familiar image of the jubilee year, the year of the Lord's favour.  But while Isaiah had invoked the jubilee to speak to the exiles about freedom from political oppression, Jesus used this image to speak about the freedom of God's eternal Kingdom.  Jesus came to bring the good news of salvation, freeing people not only from their physical shackles of illness, materialism, oppression, but especially freeing them from the captivity of sin and ignorance of the Lord.

Christian Life

The Church has inherited this mission of Jesus, of preaching freedom and salvation to the whole world.  Every day the Lord uses the Church to bring glad tidings to you and me who are poor; he proclaims liberty to you and me who are captive to sin; he restores sight to our blindness caused by sin and hatred; in the Church's sacraments, especially confession, he sets us free.

But the Church has also continued to periodically set aside a jubilee year, like the Book of Leviticus prescribed, to help us do a full or partial reset of our lives.

·        The first Christian jubilee year was in 1300.  At a time of much suffering from war and the plague, many people had come to Rome, to the tombs of St. Peter and St. Paul, as a sign of repentance.  And so Pope Boniface VII called a jubilee year for the forgiveness of sins.  Thereafter, jubilee years were to be called every 50 years, like in the Old Testament.

·        But soon it was realized that if the jubilee year was only every 50 years, with the short lifespan of people at that time, those born in between would miss out on the benefits of the jubilee experience.  So it was decided to call a jubilee every 25 years, in other words, once every generation.  Many of us probably remember the great jubilee in the year 2000; some might remember the jubilee of 1975, some few the jubilee year of 1950.

·        But besides the ordinary jubilees every 25 years, some popes have also called extraordinary jubilee years for special purposes.  In 1933 Pope Pius XI called an extraordinary Jubilee to mark 1900 years since the death of Christ, since our redemption.  Fifty years later in 1983, Pope John Paul II did the same thing, marking 1950 years of our redemption.  As we know,  Pope Francis has made 2016 an extraordinary jubilee year of mercy.

But what does this have to do with you and me?  Let me offer two thoughts.

First, we must take Jesus at his word, when he says that he has come to proclaim a year of jubilee, to free us from all captivity.  Sometimes we are too bogged down with the weight of our daily sufferings and our daily sins, to experience this freedom of the children of God.  Like Martin Luther King said, we are free at last, thank God almighty, we are free at last.  Do we realize that?

And if we are free, then we must celebrate our freedom.  Jubilee is not just about liberation; it is also about jubilation.  In fact, both words, jubilee and jubilation, come from the Hebrew word "jobel," the ram's horn that was joyfully sounded, to kick off the jubilee year.  Like the Jewish people in today's first reading, celebrated their return home after the exile, with the reading of Scripture, with rich foods and sweet drinks, we Christians must go about our daily lives with joy and gratitude, for the amnesty that the Lord has given us.

Secondly, as we rejoice in our liberation, we share that fruit of jubilee with others as well, particularly as we cancel debts and restore relationships.  You may have heard about the atrocious civil war that raged on in my native Uganda for nearly twenty years.  Joseph Kony and his men committed untold atrocities against the people of his own tribe.  But when the war ended, the victims and their families did not want the perpetrators tried in court; they wanted them returned to their villages to undergo a community system of justice.  Basically they would have to confess their sins publicly, take on some form of community punishment and then be restored to the community.  This same way of resetting relationships was used in Rwanda after the genocide as well as in the Truth and Reconciliation Commissions of Northern Ireland and South Africa.  As difficult as it was for these victims, somehow they embraced the meaning of jubilee.  They decided that letting bygones be bygones was the best way to reboot their communities.

Conclusion

May this Jubilee year when Jesus proclaims mercy give you and me a fresh start. 

·        Does your relationship with God need resetting?  Why not go to confession, pass through the Holy Door and perhaps make a pilgrimage?

·        Does your relationship with a family member or friend need rebooting?  What about making a phone call or writing them an email or a letter?

May this jubilee year not go to waste.  May it be truly a year of the Lord's favour.