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Homily, 3rd Sunday Advent ● 2023 December 17 ● ● Isaiah 61:1-2A, 10-11 ● ● Psalm ___ ● ● 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 ● ● John 1:6-8, 19-28
Title: Pray. Give
Thanks.
[__00__] Every year the biblical-readings structure of Advent at Mass starts – on the 1st Sunday – with the 2nd Coming of Jesus. On the 2nd Sunday, John the Baptist appears on the scene. And on the 3rd Sunday – today - John the Baptist leaves the scene to make way for Jesus. And this Sunday is also has special candle this with brightness and is known as Gaudete Sunday or Rejoice Sunday.
[__01__] In the initial years of my service as a parish priest here at Our Lady of Lourdes, I had the privilege of working alongside Monsignor Joe Petrillo, our beloved pastor. During this time, I observed his genuine desire to express gratitude to our parishioners, dedicated staff, and volunteers. Monsignor Petrillo exemplified the words of St. Paul to the Thessalonians in our 2nd reading, urging them to "give thanks in all circumstances," serving as an role model in my early priesthood.
In this season, we
remember Monsignor Petrillo for his commitment
to our Christmas liturgy and worship, and recall the coincidence of his passing on December 20, right before the
4th Sunday of Advent in 2013—we commemorate his 10th
anniversary with prayers for his eternal rest.
[__02__] Monsignor Petrillo also also provided a
noteworthy example of prayer, silence, and meditation. He made a weekly
practice of praying before the 5:30 pm Mass, kneeling before the Blessed
Sacrament in the first pew on the right side of the altar. In both good times
and bad, he dedicated his prayers to you and all of us.
Paul
wrote of this importance in his Thessalonians letter [2nd reading]as
well: “pray without ceasing”
[__03__] This Sunday, as we gather for the 3rd
Sunday of Advent, themed around joy—Gaudete Sunday—I invite you to reflect on
the profound joy Jesus calls us to embrace even in times of adversity.
This
also is an invitation to “give thanks in all circumstances“ and to “pray
without ceasing”.
To attain true joy, beyond fleeting entertainment
or pleasure, we are called to confront and understand the troubles that may
weigh on us.
In the face of grief, the Gospel's Good News
doesn't erase our sorrow but guides us to comprehend it and connect with
others.
I heard one
preacher say: if you don't know the bad news, the good news is no news. So
we're called to know about our sinfulness, our suffering.
Just before his
ultimate triumph through suffering, Jesus prayed, "not my will but thy
will be done."
Several months ago, I thoroughly misplaced my laptop, my 2016 Windows 7 laptop, which was kind of outdated, but I loved it. I couldn't remember where it was. It was only a laptop I use for personal use. I had a real computer at my desk.
But I was
still anxious, upset knowing that this device was not obsolete, not to me. And
I looked for it, for days, because it was so useful to me as a device. Then I
finally gave up.
I prayed for
strength to let it go. Because it was only a thing. I once heard someone
praised for “not being into things and attached to things.”
I thought, wow,
that is an admirable quality. That is not me, because I am into things. I like
things. But so I can get attached to a thing, but I needed to grieve this loss
and move on which I did with some intention.
But shortly
after making this prayer, I remembered where it was, I remembered where it was
it was in another building.
Of course,
it's not always that easy. And this was just a material object. But the
experience of real grief is not just about the momentous loss of a person, the
death of a loved one, of a mother, a father, a spouse, a sibling, a child, but
also about the loss of other things.
We can and do
grieve the loss of health, the loss of physical strength, the loss of status,
the loss of a job, the loss of a home, the loss of someone's affection, even
the loss of things.
All of the these
losses can disrupt our joyfulness, all of these experiences and more can leave
us anxious, fearful.
What's the
solution? The solution is pray that you may grieve, pray that I will be able to
grieve the loss of these things.
This will
help you remember where you are, to remember where I am.
I'm hardly
100% good at this. I sometimes go in the opposite direction.
My experience
of loss or trouble turns into comparison, what other people have or don't have,
it turns into competition.
What are the
losses I have to conquer? This would be a natural outgrowth of my fear, because
I'm so afraid of losing what I have, or losing more.
However,
grief, the experience of grief is not meant to be a competition or a
comparison. But it's meant to be the connective tissue, and the corrective
medicine that urges us to greater compassion with God and neighbor, not to be
too attached to things too, but to pray, “not my will, but Thy will be done.”
I read this in an article that the truth of the cross affirms that perfect casts out or drives out fear, from 1st John. (Source: https://www.hprweb.com/2014/06/giving-our-grief-over-to-the-man-acquainted-with-grief/)
Despite living in fear of potential losses,
believing in the truth of the cross helps us overcome such anxieties and
uncertainties.
Deacon
James Keating writes: “With the coming of Christ into the depths of all things
human, we now know that even our grief can be given over to the good God
because “we do not have a priest who is unable to sympathize with our
weaknesses” (Hebrews 4:15) All losses can become places of life, places of
intimacy with Christ.” (Source: https://www.hprweb.com/2014/06/giving-our-grief-over-to-the-man-acquainted-with-grief/)
There is a priest
who is who is able to sympathize with your weaknesses. That is priest is not
me. I try to sympathize your weaknesses, but the writer is talking about Jesus as
the priest who was able to sympathize with our weaknesses.
One
thing that Monsignor Petrillo was particularly adept at, in his own experience
of trouble – was in rejoicing at what had gone wrong.
As
you may recall, Monsignor Petrillo was not a fan of technology and for the
first few years that I knew him, he rarely used his mobile cell phone. He
certainly was not in the habit of using it in the car and hardly knew what
“Bluetooth wireless audio” was.
Too
bad for Monsignor!
But,
he did carry a cell phone, quite intentionally because Monsignor also worked
for the Archbishop of Newark, in helping make assignments of priests to
parishes. He had to maintain contact with the AB. One morning, he was driving
to Newark, to the Cathedral and Chancery and he got a phone call, from the AB
which he took. And, not only was the AB
in on this call but so were the East Orange Police. Monsignor was pulled over
on Park Avenue for using his phone without a headset and driving with the phone
in his hand.
When
the police officer approached the car he was asked in words only Monsignor
Petrillo could utter, “Officer, would it be helpful to know that I was speaking
with the Archbishop of Newark?”
The
police officer said that this would not at all be helpful and gave him a
summons for talking while driving.
Monsignor
Petrillo could laugh at his error and crime.
That story has been retold many times I asked you
to please retell the story. And don't drive while talking on your phone.
John Henry
Newman observed that what Christ asks of us is not sinlessness but diligence,
writing that if you had lived 10 times longer, you would be asked to do 10 times
more.
[To the end of the longest life you are still a
beginner. What Christ asks of you is not sinlessness, but diligence. Had you
lived ten times your present age, ten times more service would be required of
you. Every day you live longer, more will be required.](
Book 5, Sermon 4. Shrinking from Christ's Coming, n.3, https://www.newmanreader.org/works/parochial/volume5/sermon4.html)
The longer we
live, the more we observe that we need the Lord's help. The longer we live, we
live the words: “Lord, I am not worthy to receive you.” But we also become
aware of our need for God and His love to pray without ceasing ___ rejoice at all
times, ____ And in all circumstances, to give thanks!
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