8-15 January 2011, I traveled as Catholic chaplain for the Seton Hall DOVE (Division of Volunteer Efforts) trip to Maison Fortune Orphanage in Hinche, 77 miles (128 km) outside Port au Prince. The orphanage suffered no earthquake damage on or after 12 January 2010.
The trip was led by Mark Cantine. Annie Touhill (Seton Hall 2010 grad) also assisted in leading the trip, as did David Peterson. There were 12 students, 8 women, 4 men.
These are transcripts of my homilies during 10-14 January 2011.
[__Mon Jan. 10]
Hebrews 1:1-6 | Mark 1:14-20 [GIFTS]
On Christmas day, any day, we are called to open and to accept gifts that are given to us.
That gift might be the gift of another person. That gift might be a talent that we have. And, sometimes, we might have trouble – practical difficulty – opening the box or untying the strings.
This is also true of personal gifts, talents. For example, we may believe a gift is only worthwhile if it exceeds the qualities of others.
For example, we may prefer – or demand – high grades, superior performance. We may have very high expectations of our gifts. We might say …
“well if I can’t be a concert pianist, therefore I am no good at music”
That is kind of an extreme view. But, we might also have a similar struggle here at Maison Fortune or the Azeal.
We may expect that we are able to reach or encounter a child in a particular way. We may be struggle … and conclude, well, I’m not good with children.
But, that would be a rejection of God’s gifts to us.
For example, here, we try to accept all the children who come into our lives, the
children who are well behaved and those who are growing and maturing and adjusting.
We remember that children are a gift, to parents, but also a common gift to the whole world, to the whole church.
Jean Louis, Brother Michael, Brother Harry, and the whole team take care of the gift given to all of us.
We are called to open the gifts given to us, the children. And, also to recognize that the children want to open us up.
As we know, children are not interested in the packaging. They may turn the packing itself into a toy ..but only after they have figured out what is inside. They want to tear open the gift as soon as possible.
And, the children want to do that with you and me, in any language.
In the Gospel, we hear that Jesus is passing by the Sea of Galilee. He meets his first disciples.
Those words “passing by” suggest that he did not stay very long, that it was just an accidental encounter. But, it was significant. And, we ourselves are also only passing by here for a little while. But, we are also seeing God’s presence in these children.
And, we pass by here, to discover the gift of our time here.
[__Tue Jan. 11_ ] Hebrews 2:5-12 + Mark 1:21-28
In this Gospel, Jesus shows his authority. He gives a direct order to this unclean spirit afflicting a person.
And, we also at times the exercise of authority, the giving of orders. This could an order / instruction given by a teacher, our parents, by the R.A., the boss.
It could be anyone in our lives.
Authority also reminds us of obedience. There are two responses to authority. You and I can either (a) obey; or (b) rebel.
Authority and obedience go together quite well. Or you could have authority and rebellion and some kind of anarchy, some problem, some trouble.
The challenge for any teacher - Christ included – our parents included – is to persuade others to follow. That is, the wise teacher does not simply impose his or her will on others.
Rather, the wise teacher – as Christ is – persuades others to follow. And, those who follow (students, team members, apostles) are persuaded that the commands are good for them.
That is, the followers are persuaded when they see the “rules” or “methods” as not only for the group but also good for the individual.
As an individual, I may want to obey other rules, obey other things.
In the Gospel, we hear about the unclean spirit.And, this could be an example of my own desire to follow another spirit, to follow a spirit contrary to Christ and Gospel.
I might be following my own way. There are certain spirits we might follow.
In the Gospel, we sense that this spirit-possessed many is completely devoid of free will. He is unable to make any decisions for himself.
That might not be our exact situation. But, still, we might follow some other idol, some other spirit.
For example, we might follow the spirit of:
• Comfort
• Popularity
• Intelligence / Appearing Intelligent
All of these are good things.
COMFORT For example, it’s good to be comfortable. But, we could also so idolize comfort that we never put aside of anything else.
I think this week is a good example for you and me that we have put aside the idol of our personal comfort for the children here. We have put aside our time for our fellow team members too.
POPULARITY Popularity could be an idol. I want other people to like me, to know me.
INTELLIGENCE - This could be an idol because I want others to think I am smart. This may have nothing to do with whether or not I have done my homework or not. Either way, I want people to know, to recognize my intelligence. And, it is pleasing, isn’t it, when other people recognize it?
So, all of these are examples of superficial idols that we might put before the true spirit of the Gospel. The spirit that God calls us to. Also, we can put aside these things, we can grow in our own sense of obedience and service, service to a group like this.
When we put aside these idols, we are learning to love others as Jesus loves us.
[__Wed Jan. 12_ ] Hebrews 2:14-18 + Mark 1:29-39
[*** 6:00 a.m. at Missionaries of Charity, Hinche]
In this Gospel, we hear that people are searching for Jesus. They are trying to find him, so he might bring a cure, a miracle.
Today marks one year since the Leogane / Port au Prince earthquake, a time when we also witnessed many searches. Searches for the injured, searches for the lost, searches also for those who died.
Perhaps, you were part of this search.
If you were not part of the search, you were certainly receiving those who were lost. The good work you do as Missionaries of Charity shows the value – in God’s eyes – of searching out the lost. The value of every human life.
What do we do, seeking someone who is lost?
We would observe visual clues, listen for sounds. We would go to likely places. The temptation – in seeking the lost – is to look for the thing which is easiest to find, but not to use too much effort to find the difficult thing.
Or, we seek out the healthiest, the strongest. But Jesus our Lord gives us the example of lost sheep, the lost coin, the lost son.
That is, it is important to seek the one lost sheep out of 100, the one lost coin of 10, the one lost son of two. In these cases, unlikely finds are made.
For example, in the parable of the man who had two sons. The father waits for the son who is ungrateful, the younger son who seems unlikely to return, the younger son who seems undeserving of a welcome.
These are unlikely reconcilations and discoveries.
On January 12, 2010 and January 12, 2011 and every day, we follow this same principle to forgive and reconcile.
We can use this spiritual principle to forgive and to welcome the person who is ungrateful to us. We can welcome the person who does not say thank you.
Doing this, we also try to seek out and save the lost.
[__Thu. Jan. 13_ ] [*** 6:00 a.m. at Missionaries of Charity, Hinche]
Hebrews 3:7-14 + Mark 1:40-45
In this Gospel, a man approaches Jesus and says …. “if you will to do so, you can make me clean.”
If you voluntarily choose to do so, you can make me clean.
This is a Gospel that touches on voluntary choices that we make, on voluntary choice that Christ makes to cure.
And, we may approach others asking for a favor..
We may be approached by others seeking help, a favor, asking us to make a choice.
If you are willing you can give me money. All you have to do is make the choide.
And, in the Gospel, Jesus chooses to heal this one man.
We might imagine that our happiness is the result of such an encounter with Jesus who chooses to forgive us, to heal us, to make us one with him.
And, that we might imagine that our happiness is the result of encounters with others who will give us money, comfort, etc.
We are called to trust in God even beyond what we can ask for.
We do not know exactly what to ask God for.
We may not understand scientifically or rationally everything going on in our lives.
So, it is our challenge to turn our lives, to trust even beyond what we understand. We see this in the lives of children, that children are asked to do things that they do not understand.
Sometimes, a child trusts not because he/she fully understand what is going on ..but will trust who it is …
Our faith, then, is not only a search for what …but also a search for who…and.
And, Augustine reminds us… of this- I believe in order to understand… Augustine emphasizing the personal aspect…
ADDENDUM – IDEAS
The idea that we act according to our will/our belief. Every action I do reflects something I believe, right?And, that means that if I do something wrong… then I am called to reflect on how my action [regrettable] say something about my beliefs. We might deny that it says anything. We might excuse it saying…oh, I did not really mean it, etc. But the greater challenge is to consider what sinfulness says about what I believe..
Also, what about sacrificing for one’s beliefs, martyrdom. Sometimes, our beliefs are not accepted, are they?
Here, I’m not simply referring to an opposing religious or governmental group that subjects me to capital punishment. Rather, I am suggesting that between two friends, two spouses, two roommates…the pain experienced when these two individuals do not share a particular belief.
This could result the husband and wife not sharing responsibilities in a peaceful manner, it could hinder communication, etc.
And, one person sacrifices more than the other. It could be a temporary situation, It could be permanent. But, it is definitely painful.
And, we feel persecuted, martyred when our beliefs are not respected (too extreme?). Maybe the other person violated a boundary (time, space, property) did not respect my space, etc. But, all of this originates in a set of beliefs.
Isn’t it true that if another person respects what I believe, then that person will respect my time, my property, my money, my person/body, all things.
Also – maturity for all of us involves reflection on what I believe. Say, for example, my boss is unhappy w. my work or something.
Or, someone is unhappy with what I ‘m doing. Then, I’m called to reflect on what I believe. Am I acting in accord with those beliefs? It may be possible only to change my actions … only to apologize for my actions … but ultimately we also may be called to change our beliefs, modify our beliefs for good of others, for our own good.
[__Fri. Jan. 14_ ] Hebrews 1:4-5, 11 + Mark 2:1-12
[*** 6:00 a.m. at Missionaries of Charity, Hinche]
In their journey out of Egypt, the people of Israel are seeking a place of rest, the Promised Land.
And, we hear about this rest in the letter to the Hebrews today. And, we also hear about this rest in the Gospel also.
The 4 men who carry their friend to Jesus are also seeking rest, healing for their friend. And, they have to use heroic effort, remove the tiles from the roof and then lower the man down through the roof and into the house.
This encounter reminds us that the rest Jesus promises is not a particular geographical place, or house. It is something both physical and spiritual.
Jesus is trying to connect the physical and the spiritual, saying to the man, Rise pick up your mat and go home. This is the physical.
We also seek a physical welcome in a home.
Arriving at someone’s house, we expect some material nourishment, a drink, food. And, we usually offer this to guests.
But, this is not the only aspect of welcome.
Jesus is also speaking of a spiritual welcome. “Your sins are forgiven” Imagine we can welcomed into a place, invited into a place. However, if we sense some disunion, .. some hurt feelings … it can be hard to feel at home.This can be a much longer journey. And, if we we have arrived at a place, it is a constant journey to grow closer to God, to reach the promised land.
For example, every commitment has outward signs of closeness – marriage, religious life, family …
But, we are also tyring to grow closer and closer to God not just physically but also spiritually.
This is true in our commitments, to forgive those who sin against us.
And, this also helps us to enter into God’s rest. [__end __]
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