6th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2021 - Jesus touches the leper

 In seminary each year, each of the seminarians in our diocese are given an apostolate—we are sent outside the seminary walls—to engage in some form of holy work. Each week, the seminarians would go to different sites throughout the diocese to engage in ministry to the sick, hungry, lonely, or poor; we’d visit residents at the Catholic nursing homes or homes for the mentally or physically challenged, and hospital, we’d assist at the Ozanam Center of West Side Catholic Center, or Teaching RCIA or Adult Faith Formation in parishes, we might work with Parish Youth Groups. The holy work was of course good in itself, but it would also provide experience for our future priestly ministry.

Well, my first year of seminary, I was paired with another seminarian, who is now a very good friend of mine and brother priest, Father Jared Orndorff, pastor of St. Joe’s in Cuyahoga Fall, and we were assigned to minister to the inmates at the Cuyahoga County Jail under the supervision of Fr. Neil Walters and Deacon Tom Send. Each week we would answer requests the inmates made to the chaplain’s office for rosaries, bibles, and prayer books, we’d take note for Father for requests for the Sacraments, and we’d accompany Father Neil to the prison cell blocks and occasionally even sit down and talk with the prisoner.

It was sometimes a bit intimidating to walk free through the jail hallways. But in the short conversations we’d have with the inmates when handing them a bible or a rosary, or going to pray with them, we knew we were doing to the Lord’s good work—bringing a bit of the Lord’s goodness and love into the lives of others. “When I was in prison, you visited me.”

This weekend’s first reading reminded me of an occasion at the Jail, when we were accompanying Father Neil to the cell blocks, and as we were leaving an inmate calls out to Father, maybe a bit like the leper in today’s Gospel. He comes up to us, and says, “father, can you please take a look at this”, and he lifts up his pant leg to reveal a pretty nasty skin condition. Father took a glance at the sores and wounds, nodded, and laid hands on the inmate, blessed him, and we left.

What was that all about, we asked Fr. Neil. And he referenced today’s first reading. “If anyone has on his skin a scab or pustule or blotch, he shall be brought to the priest. The inmate must have been reading Leviticus”. In those ancient days, the Levitical priests had this responsibility of diagnosing leprosy. The priests, learned in the law, was tasked with this duty in order to preserve the health of the community. That there are these laws about public health in God’s inspired word, reminds of us God’s care for the health and integrity of his people.  Having diagnosed leprosy the leper was then required by the law to quarantine outside of the common dwelling areas, again to preserve public health. We understand this quite well, don’t we, due to the events of the past year?

Now, we, as Christians, are not bound by this precept of Levitical law to show your skin conditions to the priest. But this reading certainly contains some lessons and foreshadowing’s for the life of the Church. Firstly, we do not show our skin pustules and blotches to the ordained priests, but Church law certainly requires us to bring our mortal sins to the priest in the Sacrament of Confession.

Secondly, we’ve seen this last year Church leaders continue this practical care the physical health of the Church. Almost a year ago now, the bishops relieved us of our obligation to attend Sunday mass due to the virus, and after reopening the churches, the bishops continued to prescribe that those showing flu like symptoms should remain home out of care for others, and that masks be worn to stop the spread of the disease. As attendance at mass is deemed safer and safer by our Church leaders, it is likely we will soon see a reinstitution of the mass obligation. For example, the Archdiocese of Detroit has alraedy announced that the obligation will go back in effect for the faithful of Detroit on March 14.

I was deeply impressed with Detroit Archbishop Vigneron’s letter to the archdiocese because he balances pastoral sensitivity for people’s health with a real religious sense for the reasons why mass attendance is so important. He writes,  “God did not come to us virtually. He came to us—and continues to come to us—in the flesh. As Catholics, unmediated contact with the Real presence of the flesh and blood of Our Lord in offering [the Eucharistic sacrifice of the Mass] to the Father is irreplaceable and essential”. Again, he says, for anyone who needs to refrain from attending Mass for medical reasons, the obligation will not be binding, but for those who are able to attend Mass, the obligation will again be in effect.

I don’t know the future, but I think we’re likely to see a similar policy here in Cleveland in the next month or two, and for the same theologically sound reasons the Archbishop raises: Real encounter with the Lord Jesus in the Sacraments is an irreplaceable and essential element of our faith.

In the Gospel this weekend, we see the leper, approaching the Lord, and the Lord reaches out his hands to the leper and touches him. That Physical contact with the Lord Jesus, in the Gospel today, that real, not virtual, but real encounter with the Lord who pronounces the leper clean, is a foreshadowing of what happens in the confessional and what happens at holy mass, and in all the Sacraments of the Church.

While  livestreaming mass has made it possible for us to remember our connection to the prayer life of our parishes, there is an ontological difference between watching mass on television or internet and the real sacramental encounter. I know I’m preaching to the choir here, for so many of you have desired that real encounter, and came back to church as soon as possible, and many of you who are still unable to come to mass, have shared with me how much you miss it.

For we know, don’t we, that something happens here that doesn’t happen anywhere else. We gaze upon the Lord in his Holy sanctuary. We kneel before the Lord, acknowledging our sins and our challenges and crosses and difficulties, and he extends his hands to us and touches us, touches our lives, blesses us and strengthens us. He pronounces us in the confessional forgiven of our sins. And in the valid reception of the Eucharist he deems us in holy communion, in right relationship with God.

And that maskless, physical contact with others, it’s part of healthy normal human communication, and showing of affection, and comforting others. Shaking hands as a greeting, or agreement, or making peace with a brother. Serving a meal to a hungry stranger. These physical actions and connections are so important for the Gospel. For as members of the body of Christ we are to be that hand extended to the leper, the hand laid upon the leper.

But we’re not quite entirely back to normal yet, for as you may have read in last week’s bulletin, our practice for ash Wednesday this week will be a little bit different than in recent decades. As you come forward for ashes on ash Wednesday, the Bishops of the United States, following the instruction of the Pope in Rome, have mandated that instead of marking each forehead with a cross, the priest will sprinkle ashes on the head of each person without saying anything and avoiding physical contact. Though, this involves a change from longstanding tradition in the United States, the distribution by sprinkling rather than tracing the sign of the cross is a common practice in nearly every other country around the world.

We will however continue our Lenten tradition of offering stations of the cross each Friday at 7pm here in the Church, and I encourage you all to make a good Lenten confession sometime this season. In addition to the normal confession schedule of Saturdays from 3-4, Sundays from 10 to 10:45 and Mondays from 4:45 to 5:15, I will have three hours of confession the evening of March 24. This is in lieu of the diocesan evening of confession which has been cancelled. But I’ll be here for you, dear parishioners.

As we prepare for the holy season of Lent, let us consider how the Lord desires to draw near to us through our prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, and wishing to extend his hands to the lepers of our own day, through us for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

February 8 2021 - St. Josephine Bakhita - World Day Against Human Trafficking

 For a number of years, February 8 has been designated the International Day of Prayer and Awareness Against Human Trafficking. Today’s saint in fact is the patron saint against human trafficking.  

In 1877, as a young girl, Josephine was taken from her village in Sudan and forced to walk 600 miles to the market where she was sold. Over the next 10 years, she was bought, sold, and regularly abused. 

One of her owners was particularly sadistic and scarred her for life by cutting her with a razor blade and salting the wounds. 

Finally, as a young woman, Josephine was freed from this cruel cycle through the intervention of the Canossian Sisters of Verona Italy, and was housed and employed by an Italian family through whom she became acquainted with the Catholic faith. She would go on to join the Canossian Sisters as a vowed religious. 

During his homily at her canonization Mass in St. Peter's Square, Pope John Paul II said that in St. Josephine Bakhita, "We find a shining advocate of genuine emancipation. The history of her life inspires not passive acceptance but the firm resolve to work effectively to free girls and women from oppression and violence, and to return them to their dignity in the full exercise of their rights."  Slavery and human trafficking continue even in our present age, and through the intercession of today’s saint, we pray for its complete abolishment.  

St. Josephine was canonized, not just because she was victim of terrible cruelties and inhumanity. She is now held aloft as a model of virtue and holiness because her life speaks of power of Christ-like forgiveness, reconciliation and love. As a victim of inhumanity and injustice, she could have allowed hatred and resentment to mold her life—many in our society are fueled by much slighter injustices than faced by St. Josephine. Rather, Josephine found liberation from hatred and resentment through Christ. So much so, that she came to say, “The whole of my life has been God’s gift”, and as a vowed religious devoted herself to steadfast charity and compassion through a life of self-donation. was not defined by the abuse that she received, but by the love that she shared.

On this day in 2019, Pope Francis invoked St. Josephine and called upon government leaders worldwide to intervene and stop the trafficking of persons. 

May we join our prayers and steadfast works with St. Josephine, contributing to righting this injustice, and imitate her virtues of forgiveness, compassion, and self-donation for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For all of those children, women and men currently trapped in situations of slavery that God will help to liberate them from their chains. Let us pray to the Lord.

For all those vulnerable to being trafficked, especially immigrants and refugees, orphans and runaways that God give them safe passage and safe homes, we pray to the Lord. Let us pray to the Lord.

For the conversion of all who perpetuate slavery, human trafficking, child prostitution and evils against humanity. Let us pray to the Lord.

That all government leaders and lawmakers will recognize the dignity of every human person and, free from all corruption, work for the development of all peoples. Let us pray to the Lord.

For our departed loved ones and all of the souls in purgatory, and for N. for whom this Mass is offered. Let us pray to the Lord.

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord

5th Sunday in Ordinary Time - The priority of the spiritual over the physical

 

Imagine, with you, that you are peter, james, john or Andrew in the Gospel today. Now mind you, this passage is very early on in the Gospel of Mark. You’ve known Jesus for less then a week. You may have heard something about him being called the Lamb of God by out preacher out in the desert, but you aren’t really sure what that means. He’s told you that he’s going to make you a fisher of men, but you don’t really know what THAT means. He’s indicated he needs a place to stay, so you’ve invited him to come to Capernaum, your home town, and just this morning, he did the most amazing thing you ever saw: he walked into the town synagogue, and a demon began hissing and cursing at him, and called him the Holy One of God. He then commanded the demon to be silent, and cast it out, amazing everyone present.

Leaving the synagogue you go to Peter’s house, and Jesus does something else you’ve never seen. He heals Peter’s sick bed-ridden mother-in-law. Then at sunset, his fame having spread throughout the region because of the exorcism, droves of sick people come to him, and he heals them too and drives out even more demons. Who is this person?

I bet it was quite difficult for Peter, James, Andrew, and John to sleep that first night: replaying the scenes of the preceding day, the anguished haunted faces of the demon possessed becoming serene, the deathly ill suddenly regaining health. Questions bouncing around in their head, possibilities for the future. What’s going on here? What does he want from us? Is there a limit to his ability to heal? What’s tomorrow going to bring?

You finally drift up to sleep, and upon waking, He’s gone. Where is he? Where’s the miracle man. Everyone goes out to look for him. He has a lot to answer for, and there will be, no doubt, more people demanding healing. 

And then he says something surprising: he says, let’s get out of here. No more healings today. Because that’s not why I’ve come. I’ve come to preach.

Your first thought might be “come from where?” He’s from Galilee, we’re in Galilee. He speaks with the accent of Galilean. Again, what is he talking about. And what does he mean? Where has he come from? And how is preaching more important than casting out demons and healing the sick? What could be more important than that?

If the first great question in the Gospel of Mark is “who is this person?” The second, is certainly, “how is preaching more important than healing the sick?” How is preaching a greater priority than curing people who are dying? If he has the power to do that, why doesn’t he do that?

Here the Lord intimates the priority of the spiritual over the physical. Preaching the truth of the Gospel is more important, it is the reason he has come. To “preach” in St. Mark’s original Greek is the Greek word “kérussó”—to preach, to proclaim, to herald, to announce, to establish through his Word—the kingdom of heaven. This is the priority: to preach and establish the kingdom of God for the conversion of those held sway by the kingdom of darkness. And in the end, that is everybody. To preach and invite all people of all places and all times to conversion—to faith and new spiritual life though him. 

All those healing miracles, while yes, they show us the love that God has for all the physically sick, they indicate God’s love for the spiritually sick, all of us. Moreover, all those physical healings symbolize on the physical level what Jesus has come to do on the spiritual level. The healing miracles—the healing of the mute, the blind, the deaf, and the leper—are physical analogues of what he’s come to do spiritually. He has come to heal the spiritually mute—those unable to speak the Word of God due to ignorance or fear; he’s come to heal the blind—those who do not see God at work in the world, and those who do not see the dignity of the human person; he has come to heal the spiritually deaf—those who turn a deaf ear to the truth of God and the call of the poor; and he has come to heal the spiritual leper—those who have contracted the deadly spiritual malady of sin that has separated us from God.

Why is there a priority of the spiritual over the physical? Because the spiritually dead will be separated from God for ever. While those who are reborn by grace, those alive in the spirit—they will remain united to God forever, even though they may experience physical death, they will live forever.

Hence the importance of maintaining and nourishing our spiritual lives. Repenting of sin and confessing our sins. Receiving the bread of life, the Eucharist. Engaging in prayer and good works and spreading the Gospel even when there is a physical price to pay for these things. For the spiritual takes priority over the physical.

In less than two weeks, we will begin again the holy and penitential season of Lent, the time of the Church year for identifying those habits, attitudes, behaviors, and attachments that keep us from living for Christ. We identify the physical pleasures and comforts that, however good, we fast from and abstain from, to remember that in this earthly life, I am not meant to live for the physical and the earthly, but to pursue the spiritual and the heavenly. 

I think it is so important for us to be immersed in the history of the apostles and saints and martyrs, because we encounter, in the holy ones, men and women, of every race and age, who have recognized the need to live for God. The apostles imprisonment and  torture to preach the Gospel, and counted it a joy to persecuted for the sake of the name of Jesus. The martyrs of the early Church, like St. Ignatius who when offered the opportunity to save his physical life by offering a tribute to a pagan god refused, as it would violate the first commandment? Would you die for the first commandment. What does it profit a man to preserve his earthly life, or gain the whole world, but lose his soul?

In the martyrs and the saints, the Lord takes very weak and very ordinary people and transforms them into heroes of our faith, again to show us, the importance, the priority of the spiritual over the physical. So much so that Paul, as we heard in the second reading today, counts all things as loss—woe to me, if I do not prioritize the preaching of the Gospel over all else…for if I don’t preach it, I don’t have a share in it. If I don’t preach it, I don’t have a share in it. That line should cause us to do some serious reflection on our priorities, no? If I don’t preach the Gospel, I don’t have share in it. Does my life, do my words, do my actions, does my lifestyle, speak of—does it preach—the Gospel of Christ? Does the way I act in public and private stem from and point to the Gospel?

Paul hints at the radical nature of Christianity. Radical, not meaning not crazy or irrationally zealous, like it’s sometimes used, but radical coming from the word radix which means, root. Christianity requires reorientation to God all the way down to the root of our human nature. Again, this is why Paul, imprisoned, sentenced to die, having spent his remaining days preaching the Gospel, so transformed by grace, is able to say, it is no longer me, but Christ, who lives in me. 

When faith is prioritized over all else, it shapes and changes and transforms all else, into the work of Christ—preaching and establishing the kingdom—just as he did 2000 years ago, he continues this work, through us for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

First Friday Holy Hour - February 2021 - Courage in uncertain times comes from the Eucharist

 This morning we celebrated the feast of the virgin martyr St. Agatha of Sicily, so widely venerated by the early Church. For resisting the advances of a degenerate civil official, she was arrested, and when she refused to offer pagan sacrifice to save her life, she was tortured and martyred. 

In 2005, Pope Benedict made a pastoral visit to St. Agatha’s native Sicily and celebrated mass for the people in Palermo. He acknowledged that in Palermo, as in the whole of Sicily, problems and worries and difficulties, he said, “are not lacking” in particular unemployment which gives rise to uncertainty and worry about the future, and also the physical and moral suffering caused by organized crime. Today I am among you, the Holy Father said, “to witness to my closeness and my remembrance in prayer. I am here to give you strong encouragement not to be afraid to witness clearly to the human and Christian values that are so deeply rooted in the faith and history of this territory and of its people.”

In a way, it sounds a lot like our own country, now in 2021. Unemployment, the breakdown of the family, organized crime in the form of vast corruption in government. We come here tonight, uncertain about the future. 

The Holy Father recalled how in past centuries the Church in Sicily was enriched and enlivened by such fervent faith, seen particularly in the lives of Sicily’s saints, like St. Rosalia, St. Lucy, and of course, St. Agatha. And how has inspired and guided family life, fostering values such as the capacity of giving of themselves, and the respect for life that constitutes a precious heritage to be jealously guarded. 

Again this makes us think of our own country, how the Christian faith so shaped and guided the early history of this country and family life. And now, religion is banished from public life, banished from schools, faith is replaced with materialism in many families, Catholic tradition is not kept or upheld or passed on. 

And I think that reading from mass this morning from the letter to the Hebrews is just so pertinent. Let brotherly love continue. Let marriage be honored among all. Let your life be free from love of money. Remember with confidence that the Lord is your helper. And where does true brotherly love come from, but the Eucharist. Where does honor for God's holy institutions like marriage come from, but from the Eucharist. Where does freedom from the love of money and all that keeps us from holiness, but from the Eucharist.

Do not do not fear, Pope Benedict said to the lay faithful of Palermo,  to live and to witness to the faith in the various contexts of society, in the many situations of human existence, especially in those that are difficult! May faith give you the power of God in order to be ever confident and courageous, to go ahead with new determination, to take the necessary initiatives to give an ever more beautiful face to your land. And when you come up against the opposition of the world, may you hear the Apostle’s words: “Do not be ashamed then of testifying to our Lord” (v. 8).

In difficult and confusing times, it is always best to return here, to the Blessed Sacrament, to receive the courage and guidance and inspiration we need to live with the courage we need to testify to the truth, and to remain faithful when faced, like St. Agatha, and the martyrs, with the opposition of the world. May our time with the Lord tonight bear fruit in this life and the life to come, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

February 05 2021 - St. Agatha - Chastity and Martyrdom

 Saint Agatha is one of the great virgin martyrs honored by the early Roman church. She was martyred in the brief but ferocious persecution of the emperor Decius, whose own reign lasted only two years, 249 to 251. Prior to Decius, much of the persecution, was local and sporadic throughout the empire, even with periods of general tolerance toward Christians. 

But, in 250 AD, Decius issued an imperial decree requiring all citizens of the empire to offer a sacrifice to the Roman Gods, renounce the Christian faith in front of a Roman official and obtain a certificate called a libellus proving they had done so. Many Christians publicly rejected their faith by offering the sacrifice; some bribed the public official to obtain the libellus.  

Saint Agatha was a beautiful Sicilian woman who had consecrated herself to Christ—to be His bride—to spend her life in his prayerful service and consecrated virginity.

When she refused the romantic advances of a pagan man, he turned her into the authorities. Since she would not offer the pagan sacrifice, she was imprisoned, tortured, and eventually killed. The popular legend states that her gruesome torture involved the cutting off of her breasts. St. Peter is said to have appeared to her and healed her wounds. She was then put over hot coals and roasted, but an earthquake saved her from the fire. 

For these reasons she is both patron saint of breast diseases and also invoked as a protector from fire, like volcanic eruptions in her native Sicily.

In the Gospel about the beheading of John the Baptist, we see the world’s hatred of the saints is nothing new. For speaking out against the corruption and sexual sins of the royal court of his day, John the Baptist was imprisoned and beheaded. 

Throughout the ages, the Church has been hated for teaching God’s vision for marriage and sexuality and chastity. St. John the Baptist, St. Agnes, St. Anastasia, St. Lucy, St. Charles Lwanga, St. Maria Goretti in our own modern day, were killed for this reason. 

Christians today are surrounded by innumerable pressures to forsake the faith, to make compromises with the world, to embrace errors repugnant to the teachings of Christ. And in this increasingly perverse and degenerate age, it is likely the Church will be increasingly opposed and more ferociously mocked and attacked for teaching the Truth, even from within the ranks of the church, even perhaps by members of the hierarchy. But woe to the faithful if we flee from this task. For the Truth of the Gospel does not change, especially due to the whins of the world. For Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. So we do well to increase our devotion to the great martyrs, that we may have the courage to witness clearly and teach clearly and embrace the inevitable sufferings that follow, that the power of Christ and the love of God may shine in our lives for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For Pope Francis’ prayer intention for the month of February: for women who are victims of violence, that they may be protected by society and have their sufferings considered and heeded. Let us pray to the Lord.

Through the intercession of St. Agatha and the holy virgin-martyrs, for an increase of reverence for the virtues of chastity, purity, and modesty and for greater respect for the dignity of the human body and all human life.

For all the needs of the sick and the suffering, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, the underemployed and unemployed, immigrants and refugees, victims of natural disaster, war, and terrorism, for all those who grieve the loss of a loved one, and those who will die today, for their comfort, and the consolation of their families.

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord

4th Week of Ordinary Time 2021 - Wednesday - Bonum Diffusivum Sui

 

There is an medieval latin aphorism:  bonum diffusivum sui, goodness spreads out from itself. A saint for example, spreads the goodness of God. The light of Christ, like that which we celebrated at Candlemas, yesterday, isn’t to be hidden under a bushel basket, right, but spreads, as it is lived devoutly and generously. 

This truth can be seen even in the life of the Holy Trinity. God is perfect, perfect goodness, perfect joy, and yet, he chooses to bring creation into being, and share that goodness, and life and joy with his creatures, particularly mankind made in his image.

We are happiest and most fulfilled in life when we are engaging in acts of goodness because that’s what we’re made for, not for selfish self-centeredness, but selfless self-giving, even self-sacrifice.

It is true that bonum diffusivum sui, but, in our first reading today, we also find that goodness’s opposite also spreads. “See to it that no one be deprived of the grace of God, that no bitter root spring up and cause trouble, through which many may become defiled.” In other words, the bad apple can spoil the bunch. Selfishness, sin, the deprivation of grace, can also spread and defile and spoil the bunch.

We have to be very careful when we are in the presence of a gossip, for example, that we aren’t drawn into their habit of gossiping. We have to be very careful when we are in the presence of drunkards and gluttons, that we don’t begin to mimic their behavior. 

Of course, we are all sinners, and have the potential to set bad example for each other, from time to time. And yes, we need to be out in the world of sinners spreading the Gospel and doing our best to set good example for each other and non-believers. But we also have to be very careful that we don’t begin to assume to errors and sinful lifestyles of the world.

Discipline, is needed. “Do not disdain the discipline of the Lord”, we hear today. Endure your trials as “discipline”; discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain, yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who are trained by it.

In two weeks, we’ll be beginning once again the great season of Lent, a time of discipline. We do well to identify those parts of our lives that do need to be brought under the Lord’s dominion once again, for God’s Word promises the peaceful fruit of righteousness, to those who endure their trials. 

The disciplined soul, therefore, becomes a tree for others, a fountain, a spring for the refreshment of others, and instrument which draws others to the grace of Christ, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For a deeper openness to God’s will, readiness for service, attentiveness to those in need, endurance to do the will of God, and peace in our world and our hearts.  Let us pray to the Lord.

During this Catholic Schools week, for all young people, for their teachers and catechists and parents who are the first teachers of the faith, and that the truth of the faith may be learned, cherished, and practiced in every Catholic school and Christian home.

For the discipline necessary to resist temptation and to build virtue. 

For those who struggle because of addiction, discouragement, mental illness, chronic sickness, unemployment, or ongoing trials of any kind:  that the new wine of God’s grace through Christ will bring them consolation and peace.

For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, For the deceased members of our family, friends, and parish, for the souls in purgatory and for…N. for whom this mass is offered.

O God, our refuge and our strength, hear the prayers of your Church, for you yourself are the source of all devotion, and grant, we pray, that what we ask in faith we may truly obtain. Through Christ our Lord.

February 2 2021 - Feast of the Presentation - Light of Christ, Fill our Lives

 

Many of you know that I was able to live and complete my college studies in Rome. One of the first things I did when I got to Rome was to visit St. Peter’s Basilica. And if you’ve never been there, it is difficult to convey the grandeur and the beauty of that magnificent edifice. 

A few days after I arrived in Rome, it was on this day, the feast of the Presentation, that I was able to attend my first papal liturgy at St. Peter’s. And that too was quite the experience. For on the Feast of the Presentation, the consecrated religious of Rome go to St. Peter’s to renew their vows in front of the Pope. So as we made our way to the basilica the streets and buses were filled with nuns and monks and religious brothers and sisters in their habits.

And as we entered St. Peter’s I got to witness that “mostly controlled chaos” that the Italians are so well known for. But then, the music of the liturgy started and chaos was brought into order. And then to my great surprise, the lights of the basilica, that I didn’t even know existed, came on to full blast. And all the art, and ornamentation, and colors of the marble, were all illuminated, and it was quite breathtaking. 

And I remember thinking how not many years before that, the light of Christ was quite hard for me to see, in the angst of my teenage years. And now, there I was standing in St. Peter’s Basilica filled with light and truth and beauty, amidst all of these good religious men and women who were offering their lives to God, so grateful that the light of the Catholic faith was shining in my life.

I think today is a good day for reflecting on the many ways the light of Christ shines in your life, like Simeon thanking God for the Christ Child. Thank God today for the truth, the beauty, the goodness you’ve experienced. Thank God for the people, parents, grandparents, teachers, priests and religious, who shared the light of faith with you, and pray for them, especially those who’ve passed into eternity. Also, today ask God to help you see ways he might be calling you to share his light with others, with the next generation, with people in whose life the light of God has grown dim, with non-believers.

For the light that we are given, as Christ teaches in his sermon on the mount, is not meant to be hidden, but is to shine brightly before others, shared with others. 

In 1997, St. John Paul II designated the feast of the presentation as world day of prayer for those in consecrated religious life. So we will offer prayers for the consecrated religious who are such a great light in the Church. May we join them in responding more devoutly today to the Lord’s invitation to turn away from the darkness of error and sin toward the light of Christ, to bear that light courageously and generously for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For those consecrated to God by the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience that they may seek to live their baptismal promises more intensely and have the grace to persevere in their commitment to the Lord and serve with open hearts and willing spirits. We pray to the Lord…

In gratitude for the consecrated religious who have served this parish and our diocese, for an increase in vocations to the consecrated life. We pray to the Lord…

During this Catholic Schools week, for all young people, for their teachers and catechists and parents who are the first teachers of the faith, and that the truth of the faith may be learned, cherished, and practiced in every Catholic school and Christian home.

For all the needs of the sick and the suffering, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, the underemployed and unemployed, immigrants and refugees, victims of natural disaster, war, and terrorism, for all those who grieve the loss of a loved one, and those who will die today, for their comfort, and the consolation of their families.

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord