I imagine that most, if not all of us, remember our First Holy Communion. You do, don’t you?

For me, it was a special day, May 14, 1944, I was in the 4th grade, it was a day filled with great anticipation, joy and of course, gifts and a "family reunion type party." Our Pastor had arranged for all in that class to have breakfast with him for the next two weeks. Yes, we had breakfast with the pastor if we received Holy Communion at daily Mass before school. Well, by the second Wednesday, I was the only one, and by then it was a Danish and coffee. So it is not surprising, that the very next day after my First Holy Communion I couldn’t wait to go back and get my "Second Holy Communion." And that is exactly how we, meaning most Catholics, talked about it. Holy Communion was something we received by coming up in line at the appropriate time. It was something we could count --- "I went to Communion X number of times this year." Hopefully the "X" in that statement for most of us was a high number.

As I grew older, the Church began referring to the Sacrament more and more as "Eucharist," a word meaning "thanksgiving." And that term is often used to describe both, Sacred Liturgy as a whole, and in a particular, the Body and Blood of the Lord – the Blessed Sacrament. Why the change? Apparently, the Church, in its wisdom, decided that "Eucharist" was a more accurate and traditional way of articulating what the faithful were expected to be doing each and every Sunday, in churches and other holy places around the world. We gather as a people of faith to simply give thanks.

And that makes sense to me. After all, everything is a gift from GOD. And nothing is a greater gift than the gift of GOD’s very self to us – in His teachings, in His shepherding, in His sacrifice on Calvary, and on this altar. And we can never repay GOD for His generosity, nor did we deserve it in the first place. So we are left with only being able to do one thing --- give thanks --- be a Eucharistic people --- with grateful and humble hearts.

We can do that, can’t we? It sounds so easy. "GOD, thank You." Why it even rolls off our tongue so effortlessly. But when I really think about it, something doesn’t fit for me, and I begin to wonder. "Are saying "thanks" and giving thanks the same thing? Is being grateful more than just saying the words?

Something tells me that it is. And now it doesn’t sound so easy. How does someone truly give thanks to the Lord for all He has done for us, particularly in the gift of Himself in this Holy Sacrament? What does it mean to celebrate Eucharist in the fullest sense of the word? How do we show GOD that we are genuinely thankful?

Think for a moment:

Someone loans us money during a tough time. Is a "thank you" enough, or should we do all we can to make sure we use the money responsibly?

Someone gets us a job at his or her place of business. Is a "thank you" enough, or should we strive to ensure that we are never anything but the best of employees?

Jesus died so that we might have life. Is a "thank you" enough?

Well, yes and no. Yes, if we feel that we want to "repay" GOD. That is simply not possible. Our small acts of kindness cannot measure up to GOD’s infinite sacrifice. They just can’t. And so in that sense a sincere "thank you" is probably the best we can do. Things between GOD and us will never be even.

But that misses the point. You see in the above examples, returning the favor is not to make things even or to settle the score or to keep us from feeling guilty. The acts of kindness described above are simply the natural responses of a grateful heart. A grateful heart is a responsive heart, a

heart of action, a heart of love. And in that sense, a simple "thank you" is not enough, not if it doesn’t motivate our hearts to respond to love with love.

There are many ways to show our thanks to a GOD Who has done so much for us. But when it comes to giving thanks to GOD for the gift of His Body and Blood, there seems to be one way that is the most appropriate. And it is this: communion. The most sincere way to show our thanks for what we experience each and every Sunday at this altar is to strive for the communion it represents. We are one family. We have one mission. We have one destiny. We have one Lord. Our relationships should reflect that reality. We come here as a community, not so that we can connect with GOD as individuals, but so that we may become what we eat as a family of faith. We eat the Body of Christ so that we may be the Body of Christ. We receive Communion so that we can be in communion. If we don’t honestly long for it and work toward it, can we really say we are thankful?

And so on this day we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, we acknowledge that both words have an important place in what we do here. Eucharist and Communion. We come to give thanks, and we show it by strengthening the bonds between us.

And so, while Communion and Eucharist are something and Someone we receive, they are more than that – they are who we are and who we continue to become. Recognizing the work we have to do in that regard leaves us in that holy place, that place where GOD can get to us and transform us into the people He calls us to be.

Where are we going to start?

Well, look around.

Who in this place do you pledge to reach out to?

With whom will you build a bridge.

Whose wound will you help heal?

Whose faults will you overlook?

Whose opinion will you consider?

Whose wrongs will you forgive?

Whose kindness will you accept?

Whose heart will you embrace?

Food for thought ….. Food for our souls.

Thank You GOD for both.

********************************************************************************

Deacon Wadas Homily on May 7, 2006

Why do we do what we do?

There is a story of a famous actor who was being honored at a banquet. A minister attending the function asked the actor if he would recite Psalm 23. The actor agrees but with one request, that the minister recite it after him. The minister agrees. The actor begins the psalm.

"The Lord is my shepherd. There is nothing I shall want…"

His voice is perfect, impressive. He holds the people completely spell bound. When he’s through reciting the psalm, the room bursts into spontaneous applause. As it dies down the elderly minister rises and begins that same psalm. His voice is not remarkable. He stumbles over some of the words. But when he finishes, there is not a dry eye in the room. The actor then stands up and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, I reached your eyes and ears, but this man reached your hearts. The difference is this: I know the psalm. He knows the Shepherd."

I don’t have to tell you the importance of listening to the voice of the Shepherd. You wouldn’t be here if you weren’t listening to His voice. The image of the shepherd and the flock is a beautiful one. We see it all over Scripture. It comforts us. I think, however, that part of the image falls a little short. When I think of sheep I think of the word "passive." Sheep have no responsibilities or expectations or anything. The sheep just receive orders and direction. That’s it. But think for a minute. What are the implications? If we are indeed to be followers of the Lord, then we are called to do what He does, to share His mission, to BE His hands, eyes and feet in the world. And that means that, not only are we part of the flock, but in our own way each of us is called to be shepherds.

That’s the part that is hardest to see. The Shepherd dwells in us so that we in turn can shepherd others. What a tremendous privilege that is! But it"s also a tremendous responsibility. Our GOD invites us to be part of His saving action in the world. We get to participate in one of the most exciting, adventurous, meaningful things we could ever do. We are asked to participate in the building up of GOD’s kingdom and in helping others encounter GOD in their lives. We are invited to cooperate with the hand of GOD in all that we do and all that we meet. GOD doesn’t need our help, but GOD certainly wants it, not for His edification and transformation, but for ours.

So, what does good shepherding look like? Have you ever seen the movie "Babe?" I first saw it about 10 years ago, and many times since. It’s a wonderful movie, if you haven’t seen it, you might try Movie Gallery. It happens to be about shepherding. I won’t go into the whole plot, but it’s basically about a little pig who, defying all odds and the disdain of many, becomes the best sheepdog. Yes, you hard that right. A pig becomes a sheepdog. The main gist of the movie is that Babe becomes the best sheepdog because what he does, he does out of love – pure, unconditional love. He shepherds the sheep in his care for no other reason. And so, not only is he by far the best in what he does, but he’s the happiest character in the film, because his life has real meaning and purpose. And this doesn’t mean that his life is easy. His life is one adventure after another – ups, downs, right turns, left turns, successes, failures – but always with a sense of peace and purpose.

You see, the other sheepdogs are good at what they do, but they always see themselves as "working" for the master. They do what they do out of obedience, but not out of love. The dogs do a good job, but loving is not a job, it’s a way of living. In today’s Gospel it is made perfectly clear that Jesus is not GOD’s hired hand. He is the loving, compassionate Shepherd, the One who will do anything for His sheep.

Well, what does good shepherding look like? It looks a little like Babe. But for many of us it looks a lot like our parents, moms and dads who day in and day out lay down their live for their children, who day in and day out deny themselves on our behalf, who day in and day out die to themselves so that we can have the best life possible – without counting the cost. And they do so not as hired hands, not as GOD’s employees, not as people on a payroll, but out of love. And for this we are eternally grateful.

So I guess that leaves us asking ourselves, as we listen to the voice of the Shepherd, as we accept the responsibility of shepherding others, why do I do what I do? And more importantly, who do I do it for?

Am I just a hired hand, ready to bolt at the first sign of trouble?

Am I just a hired hand carrying out my duties?

Or do I do what I do because I am madly in love with Jesus and GOD’s people?

These questions have no easy answers. But it’s important to keep asking them each and every day. For once we realize that true discipleship is not out of obligation, but out of love, our lives will never be the same. It will make all the difference in the world, because following the Lord is not a job … it’s an adventure.

---

From Deacon Wadas Homily, weekend of July 2-3, 2005

When we were, in diaconal training and studying homiletics, one of the principles that was stressed was that whenever you are preparing a homily you need the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other.

 

In the Bible, today’s Gospel we hear: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves.  For My yoke is easy and My burden light.”

 

Then on Wednesday we read the headlines:  “Priest’s Death Shocks Community:  Fr. Michael Labadie appears to have committed suicide.”  There it is the Bible and the newspaper.

 

When Jesus speaks of a lighter burden, He fully understands that life may feel like a burden to us, especially with those headlines.

 

It is during times such as these that our faith ceases to be academic and becomes personal and sustaining.  For it is only our faith in the unconditional, unbounded love and infinite mercy of Jesus that helps us to see through the dark glass of this past week.

 

Not only do we live with the pain of the loss but when someone close to us falls victim to suicide, and especially when that someone is a priest, we live with a lot of confusion.  There are so many questions, so much emotion that races through every fiber of our bodies:

 

 We ask WHY? [What really moved him to commit this desperate act?]

 

 There is GUILT [What might we have done?  Why didn’t we notice?];

 

There is MISUNDERSTANDING [This is the ultimate form of despair.”] 

 

and if we are believers there is considerable religious anxiety [How does GOD treat such a person?  What’s to be his eternal destiny?]   Feelings abound:  sadness, loss, guilt and anger.  There is so much to process and we cannot do or settle everything at once.  Part of the mystery of suffering is the need to be patient with our pain and with our perplexity.  True healing will come in time.

 

What needs to be said about suicide?

 

 First of all, it is a disease, something that in most cases takes a person out of life against his will.  It is the emotional equivalent of cancer, or a stroke or a heart attack.

 

 Second, those who remain should not spend undo time and energy second-guessing as to how we might have failed Fr. Labadie. 

 

Suicide is an illness and as with a purely physical disease, we can love someone and still not be able to save them from physical death.  GOD, too, loved Fr. Labadie and like us could not interfere with his freedom.

 

As for any religious anxiety any of us might have, well let me say that we shouldn’t worry too much about how GOD meets a suicide victim on the other side.  GOD judges the “victim of suicide” with the same standard that GOD judges all of us --- the standard of unbounded love that was made visible for us on the cross.  GOD’s love, unlike ours, goes through locked doors, descends into hell, and breathes out “Peace” where we can’t.

The circumstances, which moved Fr. Labadie to end his life, cannot be fully known to any of us.  There is always a curtain of mystery to our behavior that keeps us from even sharing with our dearest friends.

 

I believe that MOST “victims of suicide” awake on the other side to find Christ standing inside their locked doors, inside their heart of chaos, breathing out peace and very gently saying “Peace be with you!”

 

I can now hear the comments of some who object.  There will always be objectors and objections.  They say: “You are making light of suicide.

 

Suicide is the ultimate act of despair and MUST always be named as such.”

 

They are correct, if suicide is a despairing act within which one kills oneself.  But in most suicides, this is not the case because there is a huge distinction between – “falling victim to suicide” and “killing oneself” as in the Hemlock Society.  They are not the same.

 

In suicide, a person through illness of whatever sort, is taken out of life against his will.  So I prefer to use the word victim – a victim of suicide. We know that in almost every case the victim of suicide has problems precisely because he may have been too sensitive, too wounded, too raw, and too bruised to possess the necessary emotional attitude needed to absorb life’s many blows.

 

It is very important for us who may have some religious anxiety still, I tell, you again – Jesus encounters us with love.  This is not just some pious words of a preacher or even comforting sentiment of the Church that is expressed in the Catechism.  We know this in faith because we have the very words and the ministry of Jesus as our foundation.  Jesus words are true and life giving. In the Gospel of John, Jesus tells us, “All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me; no one who comes to me will I ever reject.”

 

Notice that Jesus says He accepts everything and everyone given to Him by the Father.  In Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist and Holy Orders, Fr. Michael Labadie was given to Jesus by the Father.  We must never lose sight of this reality in faith:  He is a child of GOD, redeemed by Jesus and sealed by the Spirit.  He forever remains one who is precious to Jesus. 

  

None of us can put a limit on the ways in which Jesus’ love is at work in the most troubled of souls or the confused of minds. Jesus never rejects us. 

 

He answers every prayer; opens every door; and patiently waits for us  after all our rambling days are done.  It is right for us to pray for the Labadie Family in this time of mourning, it is right for us to pray that Fr. Labadie’s pain is over.  His tears are no more.  He is at peace.

From Deacon Wadas's homily Dec 26, 2004:

Many of us enjoy the CBS show “60 Minutes” and we enjoy Andy Rooney.  In one of his little essays at the end of the show Andy Rooney talked about a house that has become a home.

 

Our home, our family homes are places of trials and triumphs, tears and laughter, love and sometimes birth and death. No wonder the ancient Romans put up a shrine to their household gods; this place is holy.  But what were Andy’s thoughts on the subject?  He said he was irritated when people sometimes sitting in their own home, talk of its increase or decrease in value.  They mean value on the real estate market, but he thinks this leaves out everything that matters.  He adds, “Our house is not an investment.  It is not a hastily erected shelter in which we spend the night before we rise in the morning to forge on farther west to locate another campsite at dusk.  Our house is a home, we live there, it is an anchor, it is a place we go when we don’t feel like going anyplace.”  He looks around his house and notices the crayon marks still on the wall in a room once a bedroom.  He says, “they been there since the twins were four, when they made them, nice to have that reminder now.  Brian’s marbles are still in the bottom drawer of the dresser.  Sure he’s out of college, but what if he comes home and wants to play marbles again?”  Andy concludes, “When anyone asks me how much I think our house is worth, I just smile.  They couldn’t buy what that house means to me for all the money in both local banks.”

 

When GOD decided to come to us, GOD did it in a family context.

  

This is a time of deep pessimism and rampant cynicism about marriage and the family.  So it is very important for us as a Christian community, to affirm the value of the family; when we do that there is no need to worry about family values.  We need to do all we can to strengthen the family.  Morally, as a people, we are only intact as our families.  But we have been allowing our families to disintegrate, perhaps without even realizing it.  We’re very busy; and often-about good things, but this does not relieve us from the responsibility to take time to BE family.

There are mothers and fathers who are physically there all the time but not really there at all.  It is a certain quality of caring and of being involved that must be there to sustain the family when those inevitable problems and crises come.

 

Raphael’s painting, The Holy Family,” has a way of propelling one right back into the Gospel where one finds that Jesus, Mary and Joseph are not living in a plastic, superficial family situation.  Rather we see them in all the realism, all the humanity, all the pressure, as well as all of the joy of a real, earthly family situation.

 

As a Christian community, it is critically important for us to affirm, in every possible way the value of marriage and family as GOD’s great gifts.  But this is not the only way GOD’s grace works.  Sometimes GOD finds other ways.  There are persons who live alone.  There are persons who have not had an immediate family for years and years.  So as Christians, not only do we affirm the value of the immediate family, but we also affirm the Church as family.  When we say “YES” to Jesus Christ, at our baptism, we are born into a family and never again are we alone.  Never!  We

 

feel one another’s hurts.  We feel one another’s joy.  We are fully present to one another. It was Vatican Council II that said, “The cry of one person in the Church is the cry of the whole Church.”  And so to those who do not have the experience of immediate family:  we say:  “You are loved!  You do have a family!  The family is here!”

 

The Church is heavily peopled with married couples who have children, but we must remember it also includes the non-married, the formally married, the remarried, the not yet married and those who have no intention of getting married.  The Church includes people who are saints and people who are sinners, people whose children are gone or yet to come, children without parents and parents without children.

 

                     Small as a peanut

                     Big as a giant

                     We’re all the same size

                     When we turn off the light.

 

                     Rich as a sultan

                     Poor as a mite

                     We’re all worth the same

                     When we turn off the light.

 

                     Red, black or orange

                     Yellow or white

                     We all look the same

                     When we turn off the light.

 

                     So maybe the way

                     To make everything right

                     Is for GOD to just reach out

                     And turn off the light.

                                  [Where the Sidewalk Ends]

 

Now GOD did just the opposite!  GOD reached out and turned on the light, Jesus, the Light of the World, the Light of love and mercy, and hope and peace.

 

A woman whose husband died six months ago, sat down to write a Christmas card to a close friend.  This is what she said: “Some say to me, ‘This first Christmas without your husband will be hard for you!’  It will be, of course.  But without Christmas, my life would be impossible.”

 

At the time of her husband’s death, that woman thought that GOD had turned out the light.  But then came the Christmas message to remind her that GOD reached out and turned on the light for all time and for all people.  And so Christmas came, yesterday, to remind us all that Christ our Light has come into the world!  Love is born and life is possible.  Where ever and when ever 2 or 3 meet in friendship and affection; in love, GOD is present.  Yes it is as simple as that and just as sublime.

Whether we are married or not, in this place we are family.  We should enjoy each other, as well as enter into relationships of concern, compassion, and interest in the other person.  These are just some of the ways we will become family; a Holy Family, and find GOD in this place.

---

(prayer from homily 7/25/04)

Now, into the keeping of GOD, I put
All doings of today.
All disappointments, hindrances, forgotten things, and negligence.
All gladness and beauty, love, delight, and achievement.
All that people have done for me,
All that I have done for them, my work and my prayers.
And I commit all the people whom I love,
to His shepherding,
to His healing  and restoring,
to His calling and making.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

---

 

 

From Deacon Wadas' Homily of Mar 28 2004

 

Commonly we think of religion as a good thing, a positive influence that helps people do a better job of living.  And certainly this is often the case.  For example there is no way to understand the life of Jesus apart from His religion.  He had the kind of faith in GOD that made Him strong in adversity, enabled Him to love without being loved in return, and sustained Him with a hope that not even the cross could destroy.

 

St. Francis of Assisi had the same kind of religion.  His faith in GOD made him an instrument of peace.  It sent him to bring pardon where there was injury, hope where there was despair and joy where there was sadness.

 

Throughout history the greatest achievements of character have been inspired by religious faith.  It is also true that some of the more tragic examples of moral failure have been inspired by religious faith gone wrong.  We can certainly see how religion has gone wrong with Al Qaeda and the Taliban.

 

When religion is healthy and robust, it is a positive influence that enables people to do a better job of living.  But when religion gets sick, it then becomes a negative influence, belittling and downgrading human life.  Our Gospel today draws a comparison and shows a sharp contrast between these two kinds of religious faith.  It is a familiar story and we know it well.  The Scribes and the Pharisees brought to Jesus a woman guilty of adultery.  They remind him that according to the Law she should be executed by stoning, but they wanted to know what He would recommend.  His response took them, totally by surprise.  He simply said: “Let the one among you without sin be the 1^st to cast a stone at her.” 

 

Knowing they had been outsmarted, these self-righteous guardians of the public morality; one by one melted into the crowd and slipped away.  Then Jesus said to the woman: “Neither do I condemn you.  Go and sin no more.”

 

The irony behind this story is that both Jesus and the Pharisees were devoted to the same religion.  Today we would say that they belonged to the same church.  They read the same Scriptures, they believed in the same GOD.  How different the results;

One was cruel and the other was kind. 

One was scheming and deceitful; the other was open and honest.   One was eager to condemn, the other was eager to redeem.

 Both motivated by the same religion, the time honored faith of Abraham and Moses and the Prophets.  How could that be?  

 

Well there are warning signs of religion gone wrong.  Let us consider two, though there may be more.

 

One is that we become increasingly conscious of the sins of other people and decreasingly aware of our own sins.  Those Scribes and Pharisees who brought that woman to Jesus had convenient selective memories.  They certainly could recall what Moses had said about the sin of adultery, but had forgotten what the prophet Micah had written about the requirements of justice, mercy and humility before GOD.  They were indignantly aware of the woman’s sin of immorality; but were oblivious to their own sin of pride and arrogance.  That is a sign of a religion that has gotten sick.

 

Please understand I am not suggesting that we should be morally neutral or close our eyes to crime and corruption.  I am simply saying that we should never lose sight of the fact that we, also, are part of the problem.

 

Another sign is that we start caring more for rules than we de do for people. The Scribes and Pharisees had a point --- the woman had violated the 10 Commandments, the Law of the Land.   There was no question about her guilt.  And the Hebrew Scriptures do say some harsh things about dealing with women who commit adultery.  Jesus did not deny or dispute any of this.  Nevertheless, His first concern was for the woman.  It seems that in His scale of values, people were always more important than rules.

 

Maybe Moses did not see it that way, but Jesus did and He did not hesitate to say so.  Personally, I have no doubt that Jesus would apply that same principle to all the 10 Commandments.  Please understand that rules, laws and regulations are important.  No society can function without them, but they should always be interpreted, revised and enforced to the highest benefit of the people.  That is why they were written in the first place.  Whether one is preaching the Gospel, practicing law or practicing medicine, managing a business, or running a home --- remember people are more important than rules.  We don’t throw out the rules, but we apply them for the good of people.  To do so is a sure sign of a healthy religious faith.

 

We all know that it is a good idea to have a regular physical check-up.  Shouldn’t we from time to time have a spiritual check-up? 

 

Our religion can get pretty sick just as our bodies can, but it doesn’t have to stay that way.

 

Jesus is called “The Great Physician” --- being open and honest with Him could put your faith and mine on the road to recovery.

From Deacon Wadas' Homily of Oct 19, 2003

The Hound Dog

A century ago Francis Thompson penned a poem he called "The Hound of Heaven." He envisioned God as a great Hound who pursues us without rest through the days and years of our lives.

Author Mary Ashcroft also thinks that a dog is a marvelous metaphor for God. In her charming little book Dogspell, she reminds us that we human beings desperately want to be loved and welcomed. St. Augustine tells us that God put this need deep in our hearts and ultimately God alone can meet it. Ashcroft thinks dogs are a splendid metaphor for the way God goes about it.

As a child, Ashcroft read all the famous dog stories, Old Yeller, Sounder, Lassie Come Home. The mound of soggy Kleenex beside her bed grew. These dogs swam raging rivers and battled cougars to reach and rescue the child they loved. As an adult, she found that her own dog, Cluny, wants to be with her when she walks through the neighborhood, cleans the garage or drives for groceries. After her slightest absence, he tumbles down the stairs to greet her, He's a very big dog and yet there is nothing he would enjoy more than crawling into her lap. This canine behavior, Ashcroft believes, is a metaphor for the God story.

God was so immense he would not fit in our lives much less our laps; so God became a tiny baby. When he was grown, he loved nothing so much as walking with those he loved, eating with them, sleeping beside them beneath the stars, healing them when they were sick, comforting them when they were discouraged. Finally, he went readily to his death for them.

As we all know, metaphors are statements with a yes and no quality. Obviously, God is not a furry four-footed animal with a tail. But dogs do tell us much about God. Dogs are devoted to us whether we succeed or fail, whether we are rich or poor, young or old, sick or well. Their devotion is unconditioned, unreserved and endless. Telling us that, they give us reason to trust, to hope. We may stand powerless, naked, poor, our empty hands stretched out to the Lord. How does God react? God is so delighted to see us he can hardly stand it.

How can you help responding to someone who loves you like that?

---

(Homily March, 2002) 

About 10 years ago, a story came over CNN about a man residing in Greenville, 

S.C. who had died.  After his burial, a letter from the County Department of 

Human Resources arrived at his home.  The letter said in part: "Your food 

stamps will be stopped effective March 1992 because we received notice that 

you passed away.  You may reapply if there is a change in your circumstances."

Today in the Gospel - we hear of a man named Lazarus, residing in Bethany, 

who dies.  Jesus, Lazarus friend, received notice that he passed away.  Jesus 

arrives in Bethany and drastically changes Lazarus' circumstances.  After 

having said to Lazarus' sister Martha, "Your brother will rise again --- I am 

the resurrection and the life."  Jesus brings Lazarus back to life.

"I am the Resurrection and the Life."   On the 1st Easter Sunday those words 

came alive.  It was then that Jesus' followers realized that the Almighty GOD 

was present in the death of Jesus Christ in a way that conquered death.  Have 

we ever given that any thought?  Death our greatest enemy, is overcome once 

and for all.  The sign of this Resurrection power, which Jesus gave when He 

raised up Lazarus, is a reality in every one of our lives.

The process of moving from death to resurrection is going on in our lives 

this very moment, because ours is a resurrection faith. Because we have a 

resurrection faith, we know there is a new world coming: coming in joy; 

coming in peace; coming in love.  GOD's resurrection power is acting to build 

a new world in and around us.  Yes, this crazy, confused, mixed up, polluted, 

war-torn world.  This world --- oh how GOD loves it!

It's terribly hard to believe this on some days.  Just watching the 10 

o'clock News any night of the week is enough to make one ask, "Is there any 

hope at all?"

No one is taking the Gospel of Jesus Christ seriously until they really 

believe that GOD is working in this world to make all things new.  A new 

world is coming.  GOD is doing this and nothing will ultimately defeat GOD's 

purpose.  This is our resurrection hope.  This  is the certainty of our 

resurrection faith in Jesus Christ who says; "I am the Resurrection and the 

Life.  Whoever believes in Me, though they die, will live."  

A college newspaper offered a prize to the person who submitted the best 

definition of life.  The entries came pouring in - hundreds more than 

anticipated and by an overwhelming margin the definitions were negative.

"Life is a joke; that isn't funny."   "Life is a jail sentence, we get for 

the crime of being born."  "Life is a disease for which there is one cure, 

death."  Even Ted Turner gave a cynical definition on the Larry King Show one 

night.  "Life is a "B" Grade movie, you don't want to leave in the middle, 

but you don't want to see it again."

But there is another vision - a positive vision - a Gospel truth vision that 

provides direction, purpose and meaning for all our lives.  A vision that 

opens us to the experience of GOD's loving presence in our lives.  A vision 

that enables us to face any anxiety or fear with genuine hope in the Lord's 

promise to be with us always.

A medical doctor tells the story of a mother and her 5 yr. old son who is in 

the hospital dying of painful cancer.  One morning, before the mother arrived 

at the hospital.  A nurse heard the little boy saying, "I hear the bells! I 

hear the bells!  They're ringing!"  Over and over that morning the nurses and 

staff heard him.  When the mother arrived, she asked one of the nurses how 

her son was doing.  The nurse replied, "Oh, he's hallucinating.  It's 

probably the medication; he's not making sense.  He keeps saying that he 

hears bells."  Then the mother's face came alive with understanding and she 

shook her finger at the nurse and said; "You listen to me.  He's not 

hallucinating and he's not out of his head because of some medicine.  I told 

him weeks ago that when the pain in his chest got bad and it was hard to 

breathe, it meant he was going to leave us, it meant he was going to heaven, 

and when the pain got really bad, he was to look up to the corner of his 

room, towards heaven and listen for the bells of heaven because they were 

ringing for him."

With that, she marched down the hall, swept into her son's room, swooped him 

out of the bed and rocked him in her arms until the sounds of ringing bells 

were only quiet echoes, and he was gone.

The doctor went on to say, "You will never convince me that that woman in her 

gallant act of mothering did not leave the hospital a different place from 

what she found it."

Today, by raising Lazarus Jesus gives us a truly awesome bell ringer!  Life 

is stronger than death, and because of this Gospel truth, in GOD's own time 

this world of ours will be a different place from the one we found.

We can talk, talk, talk forever about the resurrection power of GOD working 

in the world and still miss the point if we fail to realize that to accept 

Jesus as the Resurrection and the Life is to accept simultaneously His call 

to action.  This does not mean that we are called to solve the world's 

problems all by ourselves. But it does mean that there is something GOD is 

depending on us to do.  There are limits to our resources, our strength, our 

money, our power but there is always something we can do through the 

resurrection power of GOD that lies deep within us.

The season of Lent is a time to take stock, see what resources we do have and 

to emphasize these instead of those we do not have.

I am only one; but I am one.

I cannot do everything, but I can do something.

What I can do I ought to do;

And what I ought to do, by the grace of GOD I will do. 

---

 

(Homily - Oct 7, 2001)

A Nation Mourns

The Prime Minister of Britain, Tony Blair, gave a very moving speech this past week, on October 2nd.  In it, he described his trip to New York in the wake of the collapse of the World Trade Towers.  There were dozens of British citizens killed in the tragic events of September 11th.  After the prayer service for the victims, Blair met with some of the British families who had missing family members.  He lovingly described the occasion as typically British, with tea and crumpets and a steady rain outside.  An elderly woman, who had lost a son, came up to him and said, "Why?  Why did this happen?"  Blair said, "At a time like that, you certainly do not feel like the most powerful man in the country."

Indeed, such unspeakable horror can leave us feeling powerless and helpless.  All we can do is what people of faith have done for centuries, come together and console one another with the assurances of faith. This is how people of faith have always dealt with such things.

Today we hear the apostles say to the Lord, "Increase our Faith."  One of the greatest challenges to our faith has been the question of suffering.  Something bad happens to us or to good people around us and we cry out to GOD why?

At 8:45 a.m., Tuesday morning on September 11th our world changed and so many questions confront us and so few answers are available.  Watching TV or listening to the radio, or reading the paper we have been struck by the questions:  Why did they do that? How can they have so little respect for life?  How can people be so evil?  Who is to blame?  Where is GOD?  What can I do?  Are we still in danger?

Questions are so hard to answer in tragic times.  But we ask questions nonetheless. In our 1st reading we see the prophet Habukkuk ask, "How long O Lord?  I cry for help but You do not listen.  I cry out to You VIOLENCE!  But You do not listen!  Why do You let me see ruin?  Why Must I look at misery?  Destruction and Violence are before me."  Does that sound so current?  What does the Lord GOD answer?  "The just one because of faith shall live."

If we were to take a tour through the Bible we would find that one book has a more disproportionate number of questions than any other.  That book is the Book of Job.  Job has over 330 questions in its 42 chapters.  Genesis has only 160, Matthew has around 180, and even the book of Psalms with its 150 chapters has only 160.

So why does the book of Job have so many questions?  There is a very simple reason.  It is because the book of Job deals with horrible tragedy.

Here is what happened.  Job is a righteous man.  Greater than all others.  Suddenly and without warning and for no other reason than his being blameless and upright, his family and business is wiped out.  In the middle of the business of everyday life, two rogue groups from Arabia and Mesopotamia conduct a raid taking away Job's livestock and putting his servants to the sword.  Then his family is lost in a freak accident when a mighty wind sweeps in from the desert, strikes the 4 corners of the house, collapses it and all are lost.

It was swift.  It was unwarranted.  It was unconscionable.  Our very large family, our very robust economy has been hit and hit hard.  In
many ways the events of that "Terrible Tuesday" are echoed in the story of Job.  Why is there such a similarity between the events of Job and the events of our life this past month.  It's because even though 4000 years separate the 2 events, life, and I mean the things that make life meaningful, have not changed at all.  Not even over 4 millennia.

 So what do we do?  We do what Job did when he learned of his loss.  We mourn.  He was silent when he received the 1st two reports that his business and livestock had been wiped out.  But when he received the news that his children were lost, he got up and tore his robe.  Then he fell on his knees and mourned:  "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will return."  In other words, everything that had meaning in his life was gone.  As he came into this world so Job felt he was leaving it: barren.

As the news poured in, we learned that people of 80 countries were lost:  moms, dads, husbands, wives, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.  The news has shown their faces and told their stories and the mourning rippled across the country.  We have mourned for every family lost, every family torn apart.  We weep for our nation not because it has been weakened.  It has not.  We mourn because of our loss.

Does mourning demoralize our people and paralyze our country?  No it does not.  It rather reveals our soul.

Now, after we feel that we have cried about as much as possible, we start asking more questions.  Why this lack of reverence for life and who is to blame?  The very scary thing about answering these questions is that in this situation the implications are so profound.  Our world is now SO SMALL!  And how we answer this involves the whole world.  We thought we were impervious to attack because of our two great barriers the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.  Those are no longer barriers, they have been breached and our protection is gone.  The Disney song is correct; IT IS A SMALL WORLD AFTER ALL.

I have heard Christians say who have good intentions that this was GOD's will and we need to have faith that something good will come out of this.

Well, they are wrong.

We cannot pin this on GOD.  We need to learn the lesson that as good and as great as America is, we do not have an exclusive and closed
relationship with GOD.  No one does.  There is a force in the world that is evil and that evil intruded on us that Tuesday through the hearts and minds of ruthless men.

Let's ask the obvious question.  Where was GOD that week?  Hear me now and I'll tell you where God has been.  God has been in the firefighters' suit.  GOD has been behind police badges.  GOD has been holding a scalpel and syringe.  GOD is near the heart of all who in the face of this tragedy love their neighbor and turn to GOD in repentance.  Those who see the ashes of the World Trade Towers, or the Pentagon or the field in Pennsylvania see what evil does and as a result turn to GOD not for answers but because in the end, tragedies teach us that we are mortal.  And as mortals it is only natural for us to ask questions.

What should we do?     We should mourn, but we should also rebuild and pray for the victims, the families and the perpetrators.
Who is to blame?  We have done nothing wrong to warrant such atrocities.  This is the work of the forces of evil.
Where is GOD?  GOD is here.  GOD will never forsake us!

The road of life was bright.
It stretched before my sight,
The Lord was at my side,
To be my friend and guide,
And so I started out.

But then the sky grew dark,
And the road grew steep and dark,
Rocks and ruts cut my feet,
My legs grew sore and weak,
I scarce could travel on.

I turned and cried,
"My Lord!
Why the pain?
Why the plight?
Why these ruts?
Why these rocks?
Why this darkness?
Where's the light?
I cannot carry on!"

The Lord replied,
"My child!
Why this fear?
Why this fright?
Where's your faith?
Where's your trust?
Love chose this road for you.
Just trust and travel on."

Take my hand precious Lord and lead me home.
Amen.

GOD bless America!  GOD bless the world!

---