Easter Tuesday 2017 - Letting Go and Letting God

Two mysteries arise from the Gospel reading today.  First, why does Mary Magdalene have difficulty recognizing the risen Lord? And, second, why does Jesus tell Mary not to cling to him?

Some scholars have suggested that Mary doesn’t immediately recognize the Lord because her tears and grief have clouded her vision. Perhaps, she confuses him with the gardener because of a connection to the Adam who failed as the "tender" of the Garden of Eden. The first Adam allowed the powers of evil and death to creep into the garden, which claimed his soul and the soul of his bride. Now the risen Christ is the New Adam, who gave his life so that his Bride might be free from sin, breaking Satan’s power over man and creation.

Perhaps, Mary does not recognize him because the resurrection has transformed him. The Risen Christ physical body has been eternalized, recreated, beaming with life. We know he is able to walk through locked doors, and appear and disappear.

And perhaps, Mary does not recognize him for the same reason the disciples on the road to Emmaus do not recognize him. He remains veiled until they are ready to see him. Well, it doesn’t take Mary quite as long to recognize Him, she sees clearly when he speaks her name. The faithful flock know the voice of the Good Shepherd.

This certainly challenges us to ensure that we are accustoming our minds and hearts to the sound of his voice through prayer and service.

Secondly, why does he tell her not to cling to him? Many scholars indicate there seems to be no satisfactory answer in light of the fact that a week later Jesus will invite Thomas to place his hands on Jesus' very wounds. St. John Chrysostom suggests that, having known the human Jesus He is now asking her to show more respect for His glorified body. Perhaps, He is simply urging her not to waste time clinging to Him but He has given her the mission to run quickly to the Apostles with the news that she has seen Him. Or perhaps, her desire is to cling to Him is to keep Him bound to earth, or to cling to the past, how things were, before the arrest.

The relationship to Christ is meant to grow. Our faith in Christ, our hope in Christ, our love for Christ should be greater than it was last Easter. We should be growing in using our spiritual gifts for the service for others. Easter is about new life, not simply celebrating the new life we received in baptism, but the new life Christ wants for us, today. What do we still have to let go off, in order to let God’s life flourish?

May we continue to accustom ourselves to the voice of the Risen Christ, who sends us out with the message of Good News, and allow the new life of the Spirit to flourish in our souls in his service for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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Filled with paschal joy, let us pray more earnestly to God that he, who graciously listened to the prayers and supplications of his beloved Son, may now be pleased to look upon us in our lowliness.

1. For the shepherds of our souls, that they may have the strength to govern wisely, the flock entrusted to them by the Good Shepherd.
2. For the whole world, that it may truly know the peace given by Christ.
3. For our brothers and sisters who suffer, that their sorrow may be turned to gladness which no one can take from them.
4. For our own community, that it may bear witness with great confidence to the Resurrection of Christ.

O God, who know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the desires of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ Our Lord.

Homily: Oct 4 2016 - St. Francis of Assisi - Making room for God

There is a little story about Saint Francis, about a conversation he had with a Gardner.  Francis told the gardener never to plant the whole garden with vegetables but to always leave part of the garden for flowers, so that at every season of the year it may produce, “our sisters, the flowers”.  He always wanted there to be beautiful flowers to honor the Blessed Mother Mary and also he wanted people to see these beautiful flowers and be moved to praise God for the beauty of creation.

To some, that area of the garden set aside for flowers would seem like wasted space.  It’s not being used for production and food was scarce as it is.  This is one of the temptations of modern man who is always so busy that he barely makes time for God: no time for prayer, he is at work and busy all day, and considers faith a waste of his time.  Ask many of our families who don’t come to Church and they’ll say, we just don’t have time for that sort of thing. 

And to look at the life of busy modern man, you can definitely detect that something is missing.  He is not in harmony with God or the world.  And when man is not in right relationship with God, his nature simply cannot flourish.

To reflect on the life of Saint Francis of Assisi is to discover a man who, at first, was also ignorant of his saintly calling. As a young man, Francis gained the reputation of squandering his Father’s money, dressing in the latest fashion, drinking in taverns all night. Definitely an example of man who made no time for God. Yet, Francis became one of the greatest saints of Christian history through a radical commitment to Christ’s Gospel. Francis’ nature flourished because he entered into harmony with God.

Francis wanted nothing more than to become like Jesus Christ.  He embraced Jesus’ poverty, he embraced Jesus’ itinerant preaching, he embraced Jesus’ love for God and love for man, and what happened?  He performed miracles like Jesus, he drew men to himself and won souls like Jesus, he even more the marks of the crucifixion in his flesh, the holy stigmata, like Jesus.  His nature flourished because he was in harmony with God and his holiness continues to echo through the ages 800 years after his death.

We pray that our desire may be the same, to desire nothing more than to become like our Savior and Our Lord for the glory of God and salvation of souls.