I Call You Friends: Homily for the 6th Sunday of Easter

 Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48

Ps 98

1 Jn 4:7-10

Jn 15:9-17

 

The Acts of the Apostles and John's Gospel are prominent during the Easter Season, a season that is rapidly coming to an end.  Acts describes the growth and success of the apostles' mission, along with the inevitable conflicts and squabbles that were part of the Church's early growth. It is fascinating reading.

One of the things that has mystified and amused me over the years is observing apostle bashing, the most popular indoor sport in theology schools.  

 

Apostle bashing reaches its zenith during Lent when we are reminded of the apostles misstatements and miscues in the readings.  Commentators and preachers have a field day sneering at Peter and the others. However apostle bashing shines an unflattering light on the bashers because of assumptions underlying their tirades: I never would have acted that way.  I never would have misunderstood, rejected, or tried to manipulate Jesus.  Were I there I would have TOTALLY understood everything. The reality is that none of us would have responded any better than the apostles.  Most likely, we would have reacted to Jesus' teaching more like the Pharisees and lawyers.

 

The bashers have a lot to say about Peter's triple denial, the apostles' non-presence at the foot of the cross, and so on.  They have much less to say about the apostles we meet in Acts following Jesus' resurrection. 

 

Over the past weeks we have seen a different Peter in Acts than the stumbling, bumbling, misspeaking and denying one of the gospels.  He is now confident, eloquent and humble, quite a contrast to the brash, shoot-from-the-hip-and-the-lip Peter we came to know through the gospels. The man who swung a sword in Gethsemane is now abashed by Cornelius' homage. "Get up.  I myself am also a human being."  The man who denied Jesus three times, now fearlessly preaches Jesus death and resurrection in hostile territory. Quite a change. 

 

The reading from Acts is discontinuous.  We miss the background that makes Peter's statements radical in his speaking to Cornelius and his guests.  Peter is preaching against an exclusivist tendency in the Judaism of the time.  By extension he is also preaching against our own desire for exclusivism.  God's impartiality was not, and is not, a new or uniquely Christian teaching. The statement that whoever fears him and acts "uprightly is acceptable to him" is definitive of Christianity. 

 

The Jesuit Biblical scholar Xavier Leon-Dufour traces the idea of God's impartiality back to the Old Testament, beginning with the psalms and moving to Jonah.  He writes, ". . .gradually we see the emergence of the idea that apart from the Jew Yahweh's love even embraces the pagans as well. . ."  

 

Thus, Peter's order that the Gentiles be given baptism is no surprise.  

 

The second reading from the First Letter of John and the reading from John's Gospel are perfectly intertwined. "In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins."  This verse recalls Paul's Letter to the Romans, "(God) shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us."   John and Paul both defined the human condition: we are sinners.  And they described God's response to that condition: His love.  We are sinners loved by God.  That is why we rejoice during this Easter Season.  We are sinners loved by God and redeemed by God.

 

"No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.  . . . Love one another." These words are among the most poignant and comforting in John's Gospel.  

 

One important dimension of friendship is that we are never really separated from true friends.  It doesn't matter if there are thousands of miles between friends. It matters little if dementia wrecks in the mind and memory or if one or the other has died. The relationship between friends never ends  because true friends are united by love.  Love never dies, succumbs to dementia or moves away.  As our friendship with Jesus grows, as his indwelling with us permeates deeper into our beings, it becomes more natural for us to share that love with others. That sharing is less through our words than our actions in responding to the needs of the other.  

 

Saint John Henry Cardinal Newman defined our friendship with Jesus, and the ideal relationship between two people when he chose his motto:  Cor ad Cor Loquitur.  Heart speaks unto Heart. He wrote the following prayer about friendship: 

 

"Shine through me Jesus

and be so in me

that every soul I come in contact with 

may feel your presence in my soul.

Let them look up and see no longer me, 

but only You."

______________________________

Blossoming tree in the front yard.

Tulips at the house nextdoor

Dogwoods in front.  Pushed the processing very far to get this watercolor effect as opposed to the clear blue sky that was the original background.

Gasson Hall at the end of the main drive to BC.  I suspect parents turn in, see this, and reach for the checkbook. 

St. Mary's Hall Jesuit residence.  Mailbox here, frequently eat here, but don't live here.  

The entrance to St. Mary's looking toward Gasson.  The tulips will be done by the end of next week and replaced with something pink.

A kind of outdoor classroom.  Science major at Penn State resented English majors.  In beautiful weather they were sitting cross-legged under a tree discussing Virginia Wolff and we were under ventilation hoods in organic chem lab.  

+ Fr. Jack, SJ, MD

Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition: Homily for the 5th Sunday of Easter

Acts 9:26-31

Ps 22

1 Jn 3:18-24

Jn 15:1-8

The readings we hear from Acts are an important window onto the history of the Church, detailing how the groups of believers came together into what became Church, a Church that was soon identified by the name "Christian" as we heard in the reading on Tuesday. We see ways of thinking and behaving in the apostles identical to ours. They argued among themselves. There were disagreements. But, they came together when they had to and responded to what was going on around them. They were not pious fools. They were believers who realized the importance of prudent action.

Today's reading brings to mind Frank Loesser's WW II jazz-inflected patriotic song with the hymn-like title: "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition." The song's underlying message is that while praising the Lord we simultaneously must act in our own interest. One of the best lines in the song is:

"Praise the Lord and swing into position.

Can't afford to be a politician."

It appears that those who can't do campaign for congress and higher office. The apostles acted prudently here. When the Greeks got touchy and threatened to kill the newly converted Paul Barnabas got him out of danger by sending him home to Tarsus where he would be safer, and perhaps where he could be observed for a bit.

The former persecutor of followers of The Way, the man who stood by and silently assented to Stephen's martyrdom, had to learn prudence himself. His reputation precede him and the others were a bit wary.

We need more than good intentions, enthusiasm, and a pleasant demeanor to succeed in any work of the Church. Chrysostom notes in his 20th homily on Acts that in addition to grace, human resourcefulness and sometimes caution are important when engaged in apostolic activity. He wrote, "You see, God does not do everything directly through his grace. He frequently compels the apostles to act in line with the rule of prudence."

While the first reading impresses on us the need for prudent action the second reading repeats a version of the two great commandments, "And his commandment is this: we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another just as he commanded us." The first part of this double command is not difficult as worded. The second part is a real challenge at times. Ideally our love for others should emerge from frequent reception of the sacraments and from regular prayer.

Preaching on John's Gospel is never easy. The Gospel is dense with little overlap with Matthew, Mark, or Luke. The farming images are a challenge for us who live in an east coast industrial society rather than on farms. We don't have much experience with sheep, goats, or grape arbors. Lamb comes shrink wrapped. Goat cheese comes in a little tub. Wine is poured from a jug with the Gallo label on the side. In the end it is our loss.

The image of Jesus as the vine is prominent in John. In the second volume of his study of Jesus, Pope Benedict discusses the principle images of Jesus in John's Gospel, including the image of the vine. He wrote, "The vine is a title that embodies" a whole understanding of church. The vine signifies Jesus' inseparable oneness with his own, who through him and with him are all "vine," and whose calling is to "remain" in the vine. Jesus is inseparable from his own and his own are one with him and in him." The word "remain" appears eight times in the few verses of John that were just proclaimed. That frequency highlights its importance.

What does it mean to remain in Jesus;

He who is The Way?

What does it mean to be steadfast clinging to Jesus:

who is The Truth?

What does it mean to be consistent in one's faith

that Jesus is The Life?

What does it mean to stay, to remain, to engraft oneself on the vine?

It means a mix of prudence, love, and unwavering commitment.

We are living in an era of unprecedented divorce rates. Professional sports contracts mean nothing. Vowed religious life is afflicted with broken promises and commitments. What is difficult about understanding the word forever? Initial enthusiasm is easy. There is a rush of something enthusiasm in the first bloom of romance, there is euphoria during the first months after pronouncing vows. The challenge in both marriage and religious life--and probably in professional sports as well--comes when things get mundane, monotonous, routine, frustrating, infuriating, and difficult. The challenge begins when reality rears it head. That is when the enthusiastic high has to be replaced by perseverance and prayer. Only perseverance combined with prayer allows us to remain part of the vine that is Christ who instructs us to remain in Him as He remains in us.

______________________________________________________

Spring is exploding at BC. Wandered with camera using a 70-300 mm lens for all the shots. Some cropping. Glorious weather.

First two shots are reflections of the tulips in front of Saint Mary's Hall, blowing in the wind and reflected through distorted old glass.

Shooting across the top of the dining room table in the satellite community in which I live.

Grape hyacinths down the street.

The neighbor's archway. Some very tasteful landscaping in the neighborhood.

All the trees are blossoming.

+Fr. Jack, SJ, MD

58th Day of Prayer for Vocations to the Priesthood and Religious Life

 Pope Francis published his annual message for this 58th World Day of Prayer for Vocations on March 19, 2021, the Feast of St. Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church.  In the message, he noted that Joseph is an extraordinary figure who  is also very close to our own lived experience.  The Holy Father wrote: "(Joseph) did not do astonishing things, he had no unique gifts, nor did he appear special in the eyes of those who met him. He was not famous . . . the Gospels do not report even a single word of his. Still, through his ordinary life, he accomplished something extraordinary in the eyes of God."  He accomplished great things because he was able to give, generate, and protect life in the course of daily routines.   

This is the need of the Church today as it tries to be a beacon of light in a deeply troubled and very troubling world.  And this is the need of our own country, a country that has lost its way--if not its mind--in being more concerned with preventing new life than protecting it.  In hastening the death of the sick elderly than caring for them.

 

The need for vocations to the consecrated vowed life and the diocesan priesthood, is great. The need has always been great  and it always will be. This is the day on which we pray for and, if the opportunity presents, encourage others, to explore the possibility of religious vocation, to take up the task of serving and protecting the most vulnerable, of teaching the unlettered, and bringing hope to the hopeless.

 

One of the most fascinating aspects of a vocation to religious life is the remarkable similarity a vocation has to a religious conversion of an adult who chooses to enter the Church after careful consideration and instruction.

 

Entering religious life requires a radical reorientation in three dimensions one's life:  A reorientation of convictions or beliefs, a reorientation of ways of behaving or conducting oneself, and a reorientation of community affiliation or belonging.  This reorientation is expressed in the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.

 

The Benedictines and Cistercians pronounce a unique vow that describes this reorientation and, ideally, underlies the reorientation demanded by of all forms of religious life. That vow is Conversatio Morum, the meaning of which is only partially captured by the English translations: conversion of life or, more awkwardly, conversion of manners.  

 

If you want to have fun give a group of Benedictines a few drinks and then ask them to explain conversatio morum. Who knew they could be so argumentative? The difficulty in explaining this vow reflects the complexity of living religious life in any order, congregation, or institute.  Conversatio morum underlies all of our lives.  When you really push it, no religious or priest can fully explain his or her vocation without lapsing into the inarticulate or the incoherent at some point. 

 

Not long before I entered the Society of Jesus almost 24 years ago, a Jesuit friend told me something I did not really understand at the time.  Indeed, I didn't come to a full understanding for at least ten years.  "If you enter and stay in the Society, your reasons for staying will be different than your reasons for entering."  He was correct.  

 

Entering religious life as a novice requires that one be open and willing to make the necessary reorientation of beliefs, behaviors, and belonging. Remaining for life indicates that one has made those reorientations--or adjustments--along with realigning one's expectations for oneself. 

 

A religious vocation is not easy. It doesn't answer all questions or remove all doubts. It is not a life free from stress. It is not a life overflowing with consolations in prayer and contemplation.  There are few mystical raptures.  But it challenges us on a daily basis.

 

Indeed, be it the active life of the Jesuit for whom a passport is a necessity upon entering or the strictly cloistered life of the Carthusian praying in cell, the religious seeks to emulate St. Joseph's strong, courageous, and humble presence in the manner described in Francis' message as one of the 'saints next door' whose witness can guide others on their journeys. 

 

What is needed to encourage a man or woman to explore a vocation to religious life?

 

A religious vocation does not take root in a vacuum. Others are necessary to pray for vocations.  Others are necessary to foster vocations.  Parents and grandparents are needed to encourage vocations early on through teaching children and grandchildren the basics of their faith and how to pray.  A young Chinese diocesan priest-friend attributes his vocation to his grandmother who, though not educated, planted the seeds of his vocation when he was a little boy helping her in the fields. She taught him and his cousins to pray every night.  I would have loved to have met her, she sounds formidable.

 

The lived example of mature religious is crucial as is our willingness to listen to and mentor a young man or woman who is considering the religious life or priesthood.  Most importantly a religious vocation requires that someone, a parent, relative, teacher, friend, or another religious ask.  

 

It requires that someone ask, "Have you ever thought of becoming a . . . " a Jesuit, a Carmelite Sister, a Franciscan brother, a Benedictine nun, a priest. It is not always easy. 

 

The first time I asked a young man if he was thinking about becoming a Jesuit the sensations as I prepared to ask brought back memories of asking my date to the junior prom in back in 1966.  Sweaty palms.  Dry mouth.  Rapid heart beat.  A vague knot in the gut.  And, I asked while driving on the D.C. Beltway, which is a good way to avoid making eye contact unless one is both suicidal and homicidal.  

 

Yes,  he had considered.  No, no one had ever asked.  He asked if I had a few minutes to talk about it. I did.  Turned into a two and one-half hour conversation. That first conversation continued for several years. The scene was a reenactment of the Friday morning in 1992 when George Murray, SJ, MD asked me the same question as we had coffee after rounds.  Indeed, I used almost identical wording to Murray's. 

 

The young man in question did enter the novitiate. I did not try to hide the tears as he knelt to pronounce his first vows in the Society. God willing, I will attend his ordination when he completes theology studies in three or four years. I may need sedation.

 

Accepting Jesus' call to religious life means no longer independently choosing one's own path but immersing one's will in God's will.  That immersion is accomplished only in the hope and faith that pushes us toward the future and sustains us in the present.  

 

Rooted in the history of the order, congregation, or institute, religious live and act in the present while being pulled and pulling others, toward the future, a future given us by Jesus' saving act.  

_________________________________________________

The photos were taken this afternoon on the BC campus.  The tulips are an annual thing.  Weather was spectacular after what had been a truly ugly weather the past few days.  I was surprised that they weren't destroyed by some serious downpours during a thunderstorm the other day.  

+ Fr. Jack, SJ, MD

What is mercy during covid? A homily for Divine Mercy Sunday

Acts 4:32-35

Ps 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24

1 Jn 5:1-6

Jn 20:19-31

 

 

Confitemini Domino quoniam bonus,

quoniam in saeculum misericordia eius

 

"Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, 

His mercy endures forever" (Ps 118:1).

 

St. John Paul II began his homily on 30 April 2000,  the Second Sunday of Easter, with the opening and closing words of Psalm 118.  They are words that encourage us to rejoice in God's mercy, a mercy that is never withheld, despite our unfaithfulness.   During that Mass the Holy Father both canonized St. Faustina Kowalska, the Polish visionary and religious sister who wrote of Christ's Divine Mercy in her diary. He also declared that from that day on the Second Sunday of Easter would be known as Divine Mercy Sunday. 

 

The familiar image of Divine Mercy depicts Jesus clothed in white with His right hand raised in blessing and His left touching his chest.  Rays of red and white emanate from beneath His hand.  The rays recall the blood and water that flowed from Jesus' side when he was pierced by the soldier's lance. They represent the Divine Mercy poured out upon the world through baptism and the Eucharist.  Below the image is the signature: "Jesus I trust in You." 

 

When considering today's gospel many like to slag Thomas, or Doubting Thomas as he is colloquially known.  But doing so misses a much deeper meaning. The narrative of Thomas is not about doubt. It is about faith, faith that, like ours, was tested.   Thomas's faith emerged victorious from that test.  Faith is not the opposite of doubt.  Faith's opposite is indifference.  Faith and doubt are sides of the same coin. One cannot exist without the other.  Faith must always contend with periods of doubt throughout life. Faith does not mature or come to fullness without periodic struggles with doubt, struggles during which we wonder about deeper meaning.

 

The faith of many has been tested throughout this ghastly year during which covid forced many to be away from the Mass. It was a year of bureaucratic cruelty during which absurd, unthinking,  merciless, and morally wrong regulations in hospitals and care homes forced many to die alone and terrified, without the comforting presence  of a family member or friend at the bedside. The sad reality is that computer images via zoom and cell phones don't cut it when one is dying, especially during the frequently associated delirium that precedes it.

 

The papers screeched:  ALL HEALTH CARE WORKERS ARE HEROES. That is an arguable proposition at best.  Despite being staffed and administered by so called heroes,  hospitals and homes denied a husband, or wife, or child, attired similarly to your average nursing assistant, the opportunity to attend to a dying loved one, to offer a sip of water every few minutes,  to be present when the patient woke, and to perhaps ease the delirium. 

 

Institutions chose a cruel one-size-fits-all approach created by faceless and merciless bureaucrats who made sure they took care of their own first.  Pennsylvania's former secretary of health moved his (sic) mother out of her assisted living into a hotel before issuing an edict that all facilities had to accept covid transfers from hospitals.  

  

One weeps for those who will never recover from their guilt over being forced to abandon a dying parent, husband, wife, or child because of government and administrative fiat.  Many were, and still are, forced to die without the benefit of the sacraments because in Massachusetts, priests who serve nursing homes are considered vendors, classed with beauticians and barbers, and thus barred from anointing the dying, hearing their confessions, and absolving them of their sins during their last hours.  This is the antithesis of mercy and approaches the immoral.

 

Our trust in those elected to govern has been tested.  It may have been completely destroyed.  A weeping physician proclaiming pending doom on national TV is not an image in which one can have confidence. 

 

What of faith in God? 

 

Thomas, who was not present when Jesus first appeared after his Resurrection,  can be a model for us today.  Thomas' love for Jesus did not die on the cross, just as ours should not die because of government fiat. Thomas continued to love Jesus with the same kind of love we hold for a dead parent or friend, a love that may keep us off-balance for a long time. In his sorrow he found it difficult  to believe the message of the other apostles that they had seen Him.  His faith was tested.  And then we hear his faith-filled gasp when Jesus appeared:  “My Lord and my God!”

 

In his Letter to the Romans Paul reminds us that,  “Faith comes from what is heard and what is heard comes by the preaching of Jesus Christ.”  That preaching of Jesus Christ does not come to us exclusively in oral form as it did at the Sermon on the Mount or in Jesus' many parables to His disciples.  Jesus' preaching comes to us in scripture, in the tradition of the Church, and, most especially, in the reception of the Eucharist.  Over the coming weeks we will hear of the beginnings of the Church.  Those early communities had the task of defining what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. 

 

In today's reading from Acts we hear of communal mercy that fulfilled the needs of those who otherwise would have gone without. That mercy is a reflection of the Divine Mercy bestowed on us today.  We will hear more in the coming weeks. 

 

At the end of their encounter, Jesus asked Thomas a question and bestowed a blessing, “Have you believed because you have seen me?  Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.”  We too must answer that question. 

 

The last sentence of this pericope puts the Gospels into perspective:  “Now, Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book.  But these are written that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in His name.” 

 

The gospels are not albums of verbal snapshots from Jesus' life.  They are not log books tracing Jesus' daily movements. There is no Captain Kirk-like "Star Date."  The gospels are not diaries of Jesus’ day-to-day thoughts and movements. They  are not history in the modern understanding of the word.   We can never interpret the gospels solely through the lenses of journalism, anthropology, or science without frustration and the risk of faithlessness.  

 

 

The Gospels proclaims one essential truth, that Jesus of Nazareth, of whom it speaks, is the Lord.  Thus, the fullness of Easter joy is contained in Thomas’ faith-filled, startled, and ultimately joyous proclamation.  That is why we too can gaze upon the True Body and Blood of Christ, from which flows the Divine Mercy, and say with Thomas and all the Church, “My Lord and My God.”  

 

Confitemini Domino quoniam bonus,

quoniam in saeculum misericordia eius

 

Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia

______________________________________________________

The photos below are from Divine Mercy Sunday 2017 when I was living with the Jesuit community in Ljubljana.  The church was full.  The men asked if I could take some shots.  In the end I walked over 2.5 miles during the two plus hour liturgy.

 + Fr. Jack, SJ, MD

 

 

 

 

 

 

Easter

 Acts 10:34a, 37-43

Ps 118: 1-2, 16-17, 22-23

Col 3:1-4

Jn 20:1-9

 

 

“This is the day the Lord has made; 

let us rejoice and be glad.” 

 

These joyful words have been circling the globe for hours. First in Australia, then Taiwan and the Churches of Mainland China.  After passing through Asia and Russia they were proclaimed in Poland, Slovenia and England while the East Coast of the United States was barely waking up. An then they swept across North and South America in churches, monasteries, and convents as the celebration completed its global orbit.  

 

The words from the psalm were repeated in: Mandarin, Fujianese, Swahili, Tagalog, Slovenian, Croatian, Portuguese, French, English, and every other tongue in the known world, as the news of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is proclaimed yet again. 

 

The first reading from the Acts of the Apostles summarized Jesus’ life from His baptism to His death on the cross.  We heard the commission to the apostles to preach the message of salvation.  It is the same commission we received: Preach the message of salvation through Jesus!  Proclaim the Gospel of the Lord. 

 

That message is the reason we are to rejoice and be glad.  Jesus is the one set apart, a root meaning of the word holy. Those who believe in him have  forgiveness of sins through His name. 

 

As St. Paul so memorably wrote to the Romans:  “God showed his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.”  While we were yet sinners Christ died for us.  Jesus, fully Divine and fully human, Son of God and Son of Mary, like us in all things but sin, died for our sins, because of our sins, and to save us from those sins.  We are sinners.  But, we are sinners passionately loved by God.  We are redeemed by Jesus’ passion and death in a redemption made manifest in His resurrection from the dead.  What more can we say than “This is the day the Lord has made; 

let us rejoice and be glad.” 

 

In the proclamation of John’s Gospel we heard of the disciple’s astonishment, confusion, sorrow, and fear upon discovering that the tomb, in which Jesus had been placed, was empty. The burial cloths were rolled up and lying off to the side.  The last line of this Gospel reading is instructive:  “Remember, as yet they did not understand the Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.”  They did not yet understand.  Despite the years that they had followed Him the disciples did not really understand who this Jesus was.  But that was going to change at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended.

 

The apostle’s confusion and lack of understanding of Jesus mirrors our situation.  Despite Jesus’ action in our lives, we don’t always understand.  Unlike the apostles who lived the events told here in real time we have scripture and the tradition of the Church to instruct us and help us understand.  Still, we don’t always get it.  We sometimes fail to understand how great a gift Jesus is to us. We sometimes fail to appreciate the gift he gave us.  We sometimes reject that gift outright. Thus, it is today, and every day, we are called to pray, to meditate on scripture and to receive the Sacred Body and Blood of Christ so that unlike the apostles, we will understand, we will see, and, through understanding and seeing,  we will believe. 

 

The words repeated while inscribing the paschal candle  are a very short catechism.  

 

“Christ yesterday and today

the beginning and the end. 

Alpha and Omega; 

all time belongs to him, 

and all the ages; 

to him be glory and power, 

through every age for ever.” 

 

“This is the day the Lord has made, 

let us rejoice and be glad.” 

 

 

Alleluia

Alleluia

Alleluia. 

______________________________________

An extraordinary night.  Over the past eight months I've been instructing a physician colleague to prepare him for baptism, confirmation, and communion in the Church.  It was quite a journey in which he pushed me.  I joked after Mass that he cost me at least $100 in books.  Four were baptized at St. Ignatius last night.  I had the joy of baptizing Tony.  Was going to post this homily last night but didn't have the energy to hold the computer let alone do anything with it.  

One of my favorite still-life shots taken in a tiny sacristy in a cloistered monastery.  I knew this was going to be black and white the moment the camera arrived in front of my eye.  

The small private chapel in which I celebrate Mass when visiting there.  I had just set up for Mass but had not yet started.  I will drive to the monastery in eight days to spend the week catching up with work. 

Have a most Blessed Easter.  

+ Fr. Jack, SJ, MD

May It Be Done Unto Me: Homily for the Solemnity of the Annunciation

Isaiah 7:10-14, 8:10

Psalm 40

Luke 1:25-38

 

Angelus Domini nuntiavit Mariæ,
Et concepit de Spiritu Sancto

"The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary,
And she conceived of the Holy Spirit" 

With rare exceptions spaced many decades apart, the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord  always falls during Lent.  This solemnity, this feast, is a welcome glimmer of hope during a season of penance and fasting.  We hear the prophecy in the first reading. We hear the fulfillment of that prophecy in Luke's Gospel.  We hear Ahaz's stubborn 'no' in the first reading.  We hear Mary's perfect 'yes' in the Gospel.  Isaiah narrates God's command to Ahaz that he ask for a sign.  Ahaz refused to ask.  In His frustration God told Ahaz the sign He would give. 

 

The Universe held its breath when the angel appeared in the house in Nazareth, a backwater town of no importance.  The angel was to carry news to a young woman living in the house.  How would she reply?  Is this the time or must the waiting continue?  The angel's appearance in the room startled the young woman.  The tension in the universe approached unbearable.  God had promised a sign, that the virgin should bear a son.  Is this the time?  Is this the woman?  The universe was still.  Nothing stirred.  All movement halted when it heard the angel's greeting, "Hail, full of grace!  The Lord is with you."

 

Clasping its hands in front of its heart, the universe waited for the scene to unfold. 

 

"Do not be afraid Mary,  for you have found favor with God. You will conceive and bear a son and you shall name him Jesus."  

 

The woman appeared puzzled and concerned, as if she were asking herself what the odd greeting meant. The universe was stilled.  Oddly, the anxious anticipation vanished to be replaced by a new calm.  The look on her face was changing.  Wait . . . . 

 

Maria dixit "Ecce ancilla Domini, 

fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum."

 

Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord, 

May it be done unto me according to your word." 

 

The universe changed instantly.  It would never be the same.  A new calm descended. The prophecy would be fulfilled. The young woman's words penetrated the very substance of the universe where they would echo forever. The most yes in history had just been spoken.  And the universe rejoiced. The virgin had accepted her vocation to be the Theotokos, the God-bearer, in fulfillment of the prophecy to Ahaz.

 

Like us, Mary was endowed with free will.  She could have rejected the vocation the angel presented to her. It seems irreverent to suggest that Mary could have refused. Her decision, however, was not inevitable.  It was not forced by God.  She was chosen.  But she had her own choice and  she responded with yes.

 

Et Verbum caro factum est.

Et havitavit in nobis

 

And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.  

 

Angels rejoiced. Seraphim, Thrones, Powers, and Dominations celebrated. Mary's life would change. Joseph would soon receive her into his house. They would soon make the arduous journey to Bethlehem where Jesus would be born of the House of David, once again in fulfillment of a prophecy.

 

On this great feast the Eastern Church will sing a hymn to the Theotokos, a hymn to the God-bearer whose reply to the angel enabled the universe to rejoice: 

 

"Receive, O earth, the glad tidings of great joy.

Heavens, praise the glory of God. 

The Theotokos, the God-bearer, the living tabernacle of God

shall not be touched by an unclean hand. 

The lips of believers shall sing to her ceaselessly 

with the voice of angels crying joyfully, 

Hail full of grace, The Lord is with Thee."  

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A particularly favorite feast for many reasons.  Rather than putting up photos am including the YouTube of the men of the Dale Warland Singers performing Franz Beibl's Ave Maria that is a setting of the Angelus complete with verses and response

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFPbNsGF0Y0

How to be a man: Homily for the Solemnity of St Joseph

 Mt 1:16, 18-21, 24a

 

Matthew’s description of the events leading up to Jesus’ birth contains fewer details than Luke’s Gospel. It does not include  the splendid prayers from Luke--the Magnificat, the Benedictus and others--that have become part of the Church's liturgy.  But it is as important as Luke's exquisite narrative. Matthew’s Gospel is filled with human drama and marked by pathos, anxiety, and fear.  Most significantly, we hear about Joseph and come to understand why he was called a righteous man. We learn of his compassion when he planned to divorce Mary quietly, unwilling to subject her to shame, and possible stoning for being with child. We hear of his obedience when an angel appeared to him in a dream, "do not be afraid . . .  it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived.  She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”  

 

Not one word  is attributed to Joseph in scripture.  He remains silent throughout. We know that he was a good man, we know that he was a real man, who accepted the role of husband and father, doing that which was necessary.  But, we know this only through observing his actions rather than reading his words.  We know that he was righteous through his courage and obedience in doing what God commanded without complaint or protest. 

 

Mary’s fiat at the Annunciation--“May it be done unto me according to your word”--changed the history of the world and continues to change the history of the world.  The sound of her yes still echoes throughout the universe to this very moment.  It will echo for eternity and beyond eternity.  Joseph’s yes was silent.  His yes was as important as Mary's.  Joseph's yes also continues to echo throughout the universe, but it echoes in its example rather than the sound of its words.  Joseph was righteous because his obedience to God was immediate and without question.  

 

An angel would again come to him in a dream after Jesus' birth.  In his obedience, in his role as protector of his young family, Joseph would take them to Egypt for an extended exile that would last until Herod’s death. The 90-mile trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem with a pregnant wife could not have been easy.  The flight to Egypt was probably even more difficult and filled with greater anxiety and complicated by the almost overpowering fear of a father whose son's life is threatened. 

 

Pope Francis was inaugurated on 19 March, the Solemnity of St. Joseph, eight years ago.  He asked the following question in his homily:  "How does Joseph exercise his role as protector?"  The pope then answered the question in a way that explains why Joseph must be a model for all men, men who are fathers and grandfathers in particular, as well men who are responsible for the care of others.  

 

The Holy Father explained that Joseph exercised his role, "Discreetly, humbly and silently, but with an unfailing presence and utter fidelity, even when he finds it hard to understand." Joseph did what had to be done.  He did what had to be done without question and without complaint.  He did it with quiet strength that grew from his trust in God. That is why he is credited as righteous.  That is why we celebrate him with such solemnity today.

 

St. Joseph protector of families, pray for us. 

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All but the first of the photos are of sv. Jože (St. Joseph) Church in Ljubljana, Slovenia.  Lived in the adjacent community during my time there.  

The sculpture of the Holy Family in Brezje, Slovenia.  The cross is actually several hundred yards away from the statue.  It is also much larger.  But if an observer kneels in front of the statue the cross appears in this way.   I could have gotten a bit better framing but it had rained, there was a puddle, and I was wearing wool slacks.  Black chinos I would have cared but wool?  Nah.

The bell tower from the road leading up to the castle. 

The bell tower at sunset one magnificent summer evening. 

 The interior of the church.  Commies had it for years.  A lot of work needs to be done. 

The statue of St. Joseph and the Child Jesus.  The altar was designed by Jože Plečnik I think in the 20s (last century not this).  Somehow it survived the community desecration of the church.  

+ Fr. Jack, SJ, MD