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Homily file for April 16,
[_01__] As you and I go through our daily lives, we are told to appreciate meaningful experiences, to count blessings, to feel grateful for benefits we have. Researchers have shown that such an investment of counting your blessings leads to the payback of better psychological and physical well-being.
Recently, I had the untimely - but also fortunate experience - of being helped through Holy Week and Easter by our visiting priests, by you - our parishioners - by friends who checked in on me.
Just after Palm Sunday and before Good Friday, I lost my voice. Laryngitis.
My doctor told me of his own experience with the condition. This was also a blessing. I felt better, both physically and psychologically. I can count my blessings. Thank you.
[_02__] Do you remember that there is a parable / example of being blessed – the “parable of the talents” ?
In the parable, there is an unequal distribution to each of the persons, but each of the 3 is called to invest, use, make use of his or her talents.
And, of the 3 recipients of the money, one does not invest his money, he hides the money. And, as a result, this money/talent is taken from him and given to the others.
And, the punch line of the parable is: “to those to whom much is given, much will be expected.” (Luke or Gospel ___ ? )
This is, also, I suggest an important part of what it means to “count your blessings.”
“to those to whom much is given, much will be expected.” (Luke or Gospel ___ ? )
During Holy Week, while I could not speak or say Mass for Easter, I was also being asked to remember this – “to those to whom much is given, much will be expected.” (Luke or Gospel ___ ? )
[_03__] In Acts of the Apostles, 2nd chapter, we read that the
early Christians “devoted
themselves to the teaching of the Apostles and to the communal life … all who
believed were together and had all things in common. ”(Acts 2:___)
They were counting their blessings, but they were also recognizing
to those to whom much was given much would be expected.
The early Church Christians were not wealthy or living in large
houses, but they also saw that the gift of the Eucharistic - of Christ’s Body
and Blood was a reason for them to be generous to others.
I am inspired by the ways in which I see you - the people of God
of Our Lady of Lourdes - generous not only to me, but also to each other, to
those whom you know and those whom you do not know.
I try to remember the way that lessons of mission and ministry
were passed down to me. In the seminary, we had a very good priest - Monsignor
Robert Coleman - who also says Mass here at Lourdes. Monsignor Coleman is very
reverent, serious …and one Ash Wednesday he was celebrating Mass in the
seminary chapel and in the middle his homily when the cell phone loudly rang
one of our seminary employees.
Knowing Monsignor Coleman to be calm but also dignified, I did not
know how he would react. The cell phone was answered loudly in the
middle of his homily as the person walked out the door, right behind the
pulpit, saying “Hello, Hello !”
Monsignor Coleman did even shrug his shoulders.
“to those
to whom much is given, much will be expected.” (Luke or Gospel ___
? )
It was a lesson to me in being calm, one that I have not fully
learned.
It was also a lesson that the Mass -or going to church - does not belong to the priest. It is a ritual action belonging to God.
We are his servants.
We are his imperfect servants.
Count your blessings.
[_03__] In the Gospel of John, this Sunday, we read that Jesus commanded his apostles
“Receive
the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them and who sins you
retain are retained.”
(John 20:___)
Why do we practice forgiveness and mercy in the Sacrament of
Penance and Reconciliation?
We could say that we practice this because it is commanded. But,
more importantly it is commanded because it is good.
And … also
“to those
to whom much is given, much will be expected.” (Luke or Gospel ___
? )
Jesus has delivered all of us from our sins, but he has not yet
made this deliverance explicitly known to everyone.
It was made explicitly known to the apostles. When and how was it
made explicitly known?
That was at the Last Supper, which we recalled in our Solemn
Celebration of the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday.
This is our faith….
As we read in the Catholic
Catechism, the gospel is the revelation of Jesus Christ, of God's mercy to
sinners. The angel announced to St. Joseph, the husband of Mary, you shall call
Him Jesus for for he will save his people from their sins. The same is true of
the Eucharist, the sacrament of redemption. This is the blood of the covenant,
which is poured out for the forgiveness of sins. (CCC # ____)
Jesus loves you and me so
much that he died for our sins.
“But God commendeth his charity towards us;
because when as yet we were sinners, according to the time, Christ died for us;
much more therefore, being now justified by his blood, shall we be saved from
wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by
the death of his Son; much more, being reconciled, shall we be saved by his
life” (Romans 5:8-10)
And… “to those to whom much is given, much will be
expected.” (Luke or Gospel ___ ? )
[_04__] It used to be Catholic traditional practice that to go to
confession was a very public and highly structured act.
Catholics were even
known to put off confession until they know they were going to die… until they
were terminally ill….and they would do the penance at the last possible moment.
Our modern practice
of confession is, of course, different. But the reasons those early practices
came into being was a recognition that sin affects not just the wrongdoer or
sinner, but sin affects someone else, and may affect the whole community.
Penance was a structured
way for the person to recognize that forgiveness - through Christ - is
possible…. But also…
And… “to those to whom much is given, much will be
expected.” (Luke or Gospel ___ ? )
The way “scandals”
are handled and prosecuted in the media, these days, or even the way that
unpopular kids in school may find themselves in trouble has more connection to
the early and public penance.
Consider -whether you are a junior at West Orange High School or a
junior employee at a big company, do you not sometimes want to run and hide
rather than admit you are wrong?
There is a price to pay for admitting you are wrong.
The Good News of our salvation and your possibility of mercy and
forgiveness is that your sins - your faults - are only going to be conversation
between you and God through the priest in the confessional.
Another Good-News aspect of the superiority to Catholic Confession
to “social media” confession and so-called mercy is that you are not going to
be judged on the quality of your contrition or the level of your sorrow.
Consider what happens when there is a public scandal or even when
something goes wrong among a group of people.
The wrongdoer is judged also for how “sorry” he or she appears to
be or whether he or she was just trying to “save face” or “avoid retribution.”
The sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation is so much beter, so
much deeper.
God accepts you and me even if if our contrition is imperfect or -
for now - incomplete.
In this we, you and I are all a bit like Thomas the Apostle who
arrives late to the party, but still connects with Jesus.
The Easter Gospel of a shared life and community , of forgiveness
through Christ reminds to count our blessings.
Our main blessing is to have our sins forgiven.
That includes between 4:15
to 5 pm Saturdays, but also other times know that you can always call the
rectory to see me to see a priest for confession.
You're not bothering me by
your requests. I assure you that your request helps me to grow in closer to our
Lord and Savior.
If I seem busy, ask anyway.
I might have to get back to you with an exact time.
And… “to those to whom much is given, much will be expected.” (Luke or Gospel ___ ? )
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