Homily from Sunday at Saint Therese Old Catholic Church
The Readings we have heard at Mass over the last few weeks have been less then uplifting. Next weekend the Church celebrates the Solemnity if Christ the King, the last day of the Liturgical year, and the following Sunday is the First Sunday of Advent, which begins the new year in the Liturgical life of the Church. As a result these last weeks of the current year, the readings focus on the end of time, the last days. At first glance, these readings are quite unsettling, but if we look closely, they are actually full of hope.
When reading the readings of the weekend, I was reminded of a story I once heard about a man who lived with his daughter in a Canadian Prairie. Prairie fires began to spread through the region, and the man came up with a very clever idea. He started a fire of his own, burning everything in the area. When the fire was out, he took his daughter to the center of that area, and remained there, so that when the Prairie fires drew near, they would stop when they reached his location, as everything that could burn had already been burnt, making it the safest place in the region.
The Gospel today talks about “mighty signs from the sky”, earthquakes, plagues, nation rising against nation, and the list goes on. But towards the end, Jesus gives us some words of hope. “You will be hated by all because of my name, but not a hair on your head will be destroyed. By your perseverance you will secure your lives”
You see God has already burned everything that can burn, so to speak. He has already secured that safe place for us to hide from the prairie fires that burn around us. He sent His only Son to Earth, who suffered and died on the Cross so that we could have salvation. If we persevere through the challenges, and attacks of this life, we will be rewarded with eternal happiness in heaven.
The reality of it is, we don’t go through life with this mindset naturally. When the pressures and stress of everyday life is bearing down on us, we don’t say to ourselves, “well, these things are only in this life, what really matters is getting to heaven”, because the cold reality of it is, such thoughts don’t pay the bills, or fix the leaky roof, or repair the car battery, or keep the heat on, or fix the broken relationships.
Tomorrow the Church commemorates Saint Albert the Great. He was a Dominican Philosopher and Theologian, who died in the year 1280. The good Dominican that he was, he wrote extensively about the Eucharist. Of this wonderful Sacrament, he said, ”Nor could he have commanded anything which is more like eternal life. Eternal life flows from this sacrament because God with all sweetness pours himself out upon the blessed.”
Albert hit’s the nail on the head. Every Sunday we gather here as a community of faith, and come forward to receive this great Sacrament, and when we do, we find ourselves in that place of safety with our father. We are like that little girl, embraced by her father in the safest place possible, where the fires cannot burn any closer because everything has already burnt that can burn. We get a taste of eternal life, as we receive the Body and Blood of the Lord hidden in the form of bread and wine.
This great Sacrament may not put out the fires, it may not pay the bills, or fix all our problems, but what it DOES do, is give us the grace that we need to face the fires of everyday life. You see when we receive the Eucharist, we become active participants in what Theologians have called, “the Christ Event”. We stand at the crib in Bethlehem, we stand at the foot of the Cross at Calvary, and we stand before His throne in Heaven.
My dear friends as these last weeks of Ordinary time pass by, I would invite you to treasure this precious moment of safety with our Father. When we receive this Eucharist today, let’s take a moment to bask in the reality of the situation. When we leave here today, we return to the real world, where the Providence Place Mall would tell us that Christmas is already upon us, and the headaches and heartaches of life taunt us regularly. This week when the real world pushes down on us, let’s all commit to return to this moment of safety with our Father, so we can rely on the grace we receive today, then we can stand proudly and really believe that these fires will not harm us, because everything that can be burnt has been burnt already
God Bless You!
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Homily from Saint Therese' Parish First Mass
A couple had two little boys, ages 8 and 10, who were excessively mischievous. They were always getting into trouble and their parents knew that, if any mischief occurred in their town, their sons were probably involved.
The boys' mother heard that a clergyman in town had been successful in disciplining children, so she asked if he would speak with her boys. The clergyman agreed, but asked to see them individually. So the mother sent her 8-year-old first, in the morning, with the older boy to see the clergyman in the afternoon.
The clergyman, a huge man with a booming voice, sat the younger boy down and asked him sternly, "Where is God?".
They boy's mouth dropped open, but he made no response, sitting there with his mouth hanging open, wide-eyed. So the clergyman repeated the question in an even sterner tone, "Where is God!!?" Again the boy made no attempt to answer. So the clergyman raised his voice even more and shook his finger in the boy's face and bellowed, "WHERE IS GOD!?"
The boy screamed and bolted from the room, ran directly home and dove into his closet, slamming the door behind him. When his older brother found him in the closet, he asked, "What happened?"
The younger brother, gasping for breath, replied, "We are in BIG trouble this time, dude. God is missing - and they think WE did it!"
The beauty of the innocence of children is always inspiring. After I read this story, I found myself thinking back to my own days as a child. I remember the days before worrying about my rent, the bills, the car, relationships, a career, and all the other realities the world brings with it. That’s why in our Opening Prayer of today’s Mass we heard the words; “God our Father, you have promised your kingdom to those who will become like little children.” You see a little child does not understand hate, or fear. A little child does not cast judgments, or subscribe to stereotypes. A little child only sees the love that is in the world around them. It’s when they enter the real world that they discover the harshness that everyday life throws at us.
Our Parish Patroness Saint Therese understood this, despite her own difficult childhood. By the age of 13 she had lost three mothers, endured the scorn and contempt of her classmates, and had faced a horrible Kidney Infection, that nearly claimed her life. It was at Midnight Mass at Christmas that year, that she discovered the answer to so many of her problems. She realized that the child that was born on that holy night, had come into this world to personally bring her, salvation. Motivated only by love, God was made man, to walk among us, endure our hardships, be tortured and killed so that she could have salvation. Therese fell in love. She fell in love with this Jesus, and in her life as a nun, she never left the confines of her convent, but lived a life she called “her little way”. When she died at the age of only 23, she knew that she had made a difference in that convent, in the lives of those nuns, and indeed in the larger Church, because despite all the challenges she faced, she relied simply on love, the love that she shared with Christ. As a result, those challenges became bearable, because all those challenges were taken on in view of that love.
As Independent Catholics, Therese would have felt comfortable among our numbers. We are a community of believers who have faced challenges, we have felt the scorn and contempt of others, we have all been rejected somewhere by someone. We strive everyday in an uncertain world, and we have gathered today, in this space, to stand up and commit ourselves to living that same “little way” as Therese did. We gather to love our God and neighbor regardless of who that neighbor is. Regardless of sexual orientation, or who’s been divorced, or age, or gender. We come together to love with the hearts of little children, who do not judge, discriminate, or subscribe to stereotypes. Rather we gather like those two young brothers from our story. They may have been mischievous, but they stood by one another in thick and in thin, and learned life’s lessons together, in childlike love.
As we gather today to celebrate our first Mass as a Parish community, you can be assured of my commitment to you as your Pastor. My role is to bring the Sacraments, and celebrate with you, and nourish your relationship with Christ, never to judge it. Our numbers will start small, but as we grow in that relationship, the world we live in will see it, and is through the testimony of our lives that we will grow. We will never be a large Cathedral, but what we will be is real, with an honest and true commitment to the God who made us. Despite our many differences, we are all alike, we are all persons engaged in a childlike relationship with God, the rest of the details of life, are just that, details.
My dear friends, as we grow in this journey together, it is my earnest prayer that when we are asked, “Where is God”, we can answer with confidence in the words of the famous children’s Church song. He is “down, down, down, down in my heart, to stay”.
God Bless You.
The boys' mother heard that a clergyman in town had been successful in disciplining children, so she asked if he would speak with her boys. The clergyman agreed, but asked to see them individually. So the mother sent her 8-year-old first, in the morning, with the older boy to see the clergyman in the afternoon.
The clergyman, a huge man with a booming voice, sat the younger boy down and asked him sternly, "Where is God?".
They boy's mouth dropped open, but he made no response, sitting there with his mouth hanging open, wide-eyed. So the clergyman repeated the question in an even sterner tone, "Where is God!!?" Again the boy made no attempt to answer. So the clergyman raised his voice even more and shook his finger in the boy's face and bellowed, "WHERE IS GOD!?"
The boy screamed and bolted from the room, ran directly home and dove into his closet, slamming the door behind him. When his older brother found him in the closet, he asked, "What happened?"
The younger brother, gasping for breath, replied, "We are in BIG trouble this time, dude. God is missing - and they think WE did it!"
The beauty of the innocence of children is always inspiring. After I read this story, I found myself thinking back to my own days as a child. I remember the days before worrying about my rent, the bills, the car, relationships, a career, and all the other realities the world brings with it. That’s why in our Opening Prayer of today’s Mass we heard the words; “God our Father, you have promised your kingdom to those who will become like little children.” You see a little child does not understand hate, or fear. A little child does not cast judgments, or subscribe to stereotypes. A little child only sees the love that is in the world around them. It’s when they enter the real world that they discover the harshness that everyday life throws at us.
Our Parish Patroness Saint Therese understood this, despite her own difficult childhood. By the age of 13 she had lost three mothers, endured the scorn and contempt of her classmates, and had faced a horrible Kidney Infection, that nearly claimed her life. It was at Midnight Mass at Christmas that year, that she discovered the answer to so many of her problems. She realized that the child that was born on that holy night, had come into this world to personally bring her, salvation. Motivated only by love, God was made man, to walk among us, endure our hardships, be tortured and killed so that she could have salvation. Therese fell in love. She fell in love with this Jesus, and in her life as a nun, she never left the confines of her convent, but lived a life she called “her little way”. When she died at the age of only 23, she knew that she had made a difference in that convent, in the lives of those nuns, and indeed in the larger Church, because despite all the challenges she faced, she relied simply on love, the love that she shared with Christ. As a result, those challenges became bearable, because all those challenges were taken on in view of that love.
As Independent Catholics, Therese would have felt comfortable among our numbers. We are a community of believers who have faced challenges, we have felt the scorn and contempt of others, we have all been rejected somewhere by someone. We strive everyday in an uncertain world, and we have gathered today, in this space, to stand up and commit ourselves to living that same “little way” as Therese did. We gather to love our God and neighbor regardless of who that neighbor is. Regardless of sexual orientation, or who’s been divorced, or age, or gender. We come together to love with the hearts of little children, who do not judge, discriminate, or subscribe to stereotypes. Rather we gather like those two young brothers from our story. They may have been mischievous, but they stood by one another in thick and in thin, and learned life’s lessons together, in childlike love.
As we gather today to celebrate our first Mass as a Parish community, you can be assured of my commitment to you as your Pastor. My role is to bring the Sacraments, and celebrate with you, and nourish your relationship with Christ, never to judge it. Our numbers will start small, but as we grow in that relationship, the world we live in will see it, and is through the testimony of our lives that we will grow. We will never be a large Cathedral, but what we will be is real, with an honest and true commitment to the God who made us. Despite our many differences, we are all alike, we are all persons engaged in a childlike relationship with God, the rest of the details of life, are just that, details.
My dear friends, as we grow in this journey together, it is my earnest prayer that when we are asked, “Where is God”, we can answer with confidence in the words of the famous children’s Church song. He is “down, down, down, down in my heart, to stay”.
God Bless You.
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