4th Sunday of Easter - The Voice of the Shepherd

Location: Basilica of Saint Francis Xavier (Dyersville, IA) – 7 a.m. Sunday Mass

                Saint Paul Catholic Church (Worthington, IA) – 9 a.m. Sunday Mass

Date: Sunday May 11^th, 2014 (4^th Sunday of Easter, Year A; World Day of Prayer for Vocations)

READINGS:

1^st Reading: Acts 2:14a, 36-41

Resp. Psalm: Ps. 23:1-2a, 3b-4, 5, 6

2^nd Reading: 1 Peter 2:20b-25

Gospel: John 10:1-10

FOCUS: To embrace our vocations means to hand our life over to Jesus, the Good Shepherd.

FUNCTION: Follow Jesus faithfully; do not be afraid where He will lead – it is abundant life. 

            Today marks several important events: first, it is the 4^th Sunday of Easter.  The 4^th Sunday of Easter always stands out because the readings aren’t centered on the Lord’s resurrection, like the rest of the Easter season; instead, we hear the passage from St. John’s Gospel about Jesus as the Good Shepherd; and that’s why the 4^th Sunday of Easter is often called “Good Shepherd Sunday.”  Today is also the World Day of Prayer for Vocations and Mother’s Day. 

          All of these events are very important; however, my homily today will focus more on Good Shepherd Sunday and the World Day of Prayer for Vocations than on Mother’s Day.  But I haven’t forgotten about Mother’s Day; all the mothers here will get a special blessing after the intercessions, because we love them and want to recognize all their hard work, dedication, and love for their families.

          So what are we to make of a day like today, Good Shepherd Sunday?  It’s a very comforting thought, picturing Jesus as the Good Shepherd; we’ve all seen the images – Jesus is holding a sheep on His shoulders, with a flock of sheep following behind Him.  It’s soothing to think about – shepherds take care of and watch over the flock entrusted to their care; but maybe the analogy seems a little ridiculous – we are not sheep, and maybe it’s kind of insulting to think of ourselves as sheep.  After all, we’re trained by society to be independent, original, our own person, and not just a follower.  So maybe “Good Shepherd Sunday” doesn’t always make a lot of sense to us.  But on the flip side, it’s not easy being a shepherd – the sheep have a mind of their own, and aren’t always interested in following the shepherd’s lead.  Sometimes they wander off where they shouldn’t; they don’t always fall in line; and they don’t always come when they’re called.  Sometimes sheep are stubborn – maybe a little like us, sometimes.  Maybe the analogy isn’t so far off after all.

          Ultimately, the point is more about the person of Jesus than it is about us; yes, we are compared to sheep; and no, that’s not always a flattering comparison.  But the point is that the Lord is looking out for us, watching over us, shepherding the flock of God with a shepherd’s care.  Why?  Because the Lord loves us; we are the Church, His Body; we belong to Him; He ransomed us from sin by shedding His precious Blood and gave us new life by His resurrection.  Today is about Jesus.  But it’s also about us.  It’s about us trusting Him. 

          When I was in college, I got to be an RA or Resident Assistant in the dorms.  Training was always a lot of fun.  We RAs got to hang out with each other a lot and we practiced how we would respond in different scenarios if we had to knock on someone’s room while we were doing our nightly rounds in the residence halls.  Part of our training happened at the Four Mounds ropes course in Dubuque.  Not only was it a way for us to build community with each other, but we also learned to how to work with each other.  The goal was to develop trust with each other, and to know we had each other’s backs – much like a soldier or a police officer might take care of one of their own.          

          One of the activities we did at the ropes course was a “trust fall.”  Some of you may already be familiar with this idea, but some of you may not.  A trust fall is an exercise where one person, with their hands across their chest, stands in front of another person who stands behind them.  Without looking at the person behind, the person in front is supposed to fall backward, trusting that the person behind will catch them and not let them fall to the ground.  Now, if the person standing behind wants to be a practical jokester, they could let the person falling simply fall; however, that would not help to establish trust; just the opposite – the person who was doing the trust fall would grow to distrust the person supposed to be catching.  That didn’t happen among us – whether we did the trust fall or we were the ones doing the catching, we were faithful, so that the trust fall would be a success and a way to develop trust. 

          I think our relationship with the Lord is supposed to be like the “trust fall” exercise that my fellow RAs and I did during our RA training; we are supposed to trust that the Lord is standing behind us, ready to catch us when we fall.  How “good” would a “Good Shepherd” really be if we were falling and He were not there to catch us?  Recognizing Jesus as the Good Shepherd means that we allow ourselves to trust Him.

          We can bet that King David, the author of Psalm 23 (today’s responsorial psalm), did a kind of “trust fall” with the Lord; otherwise he would never be able to say, “The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.”  David placed his trust in God.  Psalm 23 has been a source of encouragement for countless Jews and Christians down throughout the ages.  And it should do the same for us.  God will not leave us or abandon us; He will not allow us to fall, even if it seems like we’re falling for a while before He catches us. 

          Embracing our vocation is very similar; it involves trusting in God and putting our lives in His hands; it means that we trust Him to lead us and guide us toward the right path.  To embrace our personal vocation means to hand our life over to Jesus, the Good Shepherd.  It means stepping out on the water, like Peter, trusting that the Lord will allow us to stand on the water.  We must not be afraid.  Right now, the Church needs good men and women to answer the call to follow Jesus, the Good Shepherd, as priests and as consecrated religious men and women.

          It starts at home.  Pray together as a family every night; encourage whatever vocation other family members feel drawn to, but especially the vocations to priesthood and religious life.  Try to follow what Jesus taught – love others like He loved us; turn the other cheek; go the extra mile; forgive over and over again; pray as He taught us to pray; be open to the coming of the Holy Spirit; and be willing to follow where the Spirit leads. 

          Embracing a religious vocation means trusting God and following the path that Jesus, the Good Shepherd, lays out for us; and never forget what He said to us – “I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.”  Jesus is our Good Shepherd, and He will always lead us to full and abundant life, and finally, to eternal life with God in heaven.                                   

Beckman Baccaluareate - Called and Sent

Location: Beckman Catholic High School (Dyersville, IA) – 9 a.m. Baccalaureate Mass

Date: Saturday May 3^rd, 2014 (Feast of the Apostles Philip and James)

READINGS:

1^st Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:1-8

Resp. Psalm: Ps. 19:2-3, 4-5

Gospel: John 14:6-14

FOCUS: Like the Apostles, we are sent out to make a difference in the world around us. 

FUNCTION: Look to the future with confidence; be a trailblazer in name and action. 

          Seniors, family members, teachers and faculty, administrators, supporters, and friends of Beckman Catholic: the road ahead looks bright.  The education our graduating seniors have received here at Beckman has laid a good foundation for what’s still to come.  The end of the year is near, and since we’re not far away from graduation, we celebrate this Baccalaureate Mass for all of you here today, but particularly our seniors.  A Baccalaureate Mass is the occasion to do a couple of things: it’s a time to look back at what has been and to give thanks to God for His blessings, to celebrate graduation, and to look forward to what’s still to come – the aspirations we all have for the future.

          That’s how our faith works: we remember the past, we celebrate in the present moment, and we look forward to the future.  At every Mass, we remember how the Lord gave us His Body and Blood first in the Holy Eucharist and then upon the cross; we make that memory a present reality in the Eucharistic prayer; and we look forward to His coming again in glory.  And that’s what today is all about: we remember, we celebrate, and we look forward.

         

          Today, we also remember the example of two men who were closest to the Lord, the Apostles Philip and James; today is their Feast day.  They were chosen by the Lord to proclaim the good news of the Gospel throughout the whole world.  They weren’t perfect: when Jesus was arrested, they fled out of fear; they weren’t present at the Lord’s crucifixion; and after Jesus’ death they hid in the upper room.  But after they saw the risen Lord, they were empowered by the Holy Spirit to proclaim the Gospel to the ends of the earth.  And now we remember them as men of courage and zeal who initiated the Church’s all-important work of building the kingdom of God in the world. 

          To be an apostle literally means “to be sent.”  Jesus was sent by the Father, and He in turn sent His disciples into the world.  The same is true for us – we, too, are sent out.  This will be even more real at the graduation ceremony, often known as commencement, which means “to start or begin.” 

         

          Like the first apostles, we are sent forth; we are beginning something new; we are on the cusp of new opportunities.  Today we stand on the threshold of a new beginning, a new adventure, a new experience.  In the Gospel we just heard, Jesus told His disciples, “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these….”  These words help us realize that God has not made us for mediocrity, but for greatness; our task is to begin new journeys, and to accomplish new wonders.

          Sometimes, though, it takes a while.  We might be tempted to act like the apostles did before the risen Lord appeared to them – we might be tempted to run away because we’re afraid, to avoid getting involved in certain things because they seem hard or challenging, or to hide for fear that we’ll be asked to take on more than we think is possible. 

          The apostles weren’t perfect, and neither are our seniors.  There have been days and weeks and perhaps even months where they’ve been lazy, not motivated, fearful, ignorant and maybe a little arrogant, stubborn, impulsive, irresponsible, uncooperative, rude, mean, and selfish; let’s be honest – they have been all those things and possibly more.  But those days are hopefully behind us; and now something new lies ahead of us.  The education our seniors have received here has prepared them for this new path.

          We must become who and what we claim to be: we must become trailblazers – people who lead the way, perhaps through uncharted territory; we must become men and women of heroic virtue, in imitation of the Church’s two newest Saints, John Paul II and John XXIII; we must become true leaders – visionaries – in a world that’s become all too accustomed to following.

          Outside the walls of this school, there is a mission field – it is there that we find our apostolate; there are plenty of men and women living in our area who do not yet know the love of God; many people who have been raised in the faith have fallen away; and maybe some of us here today haven’t been living up to our goal of regularly living and practicing our Catholic faith. 

          The past is what it is.  We can’t change the way things have been, but we can change the future, and it doesn’t have to look like the past.  It can be different, better, brighter; we can be different, better, brighter.  The future will be what we make of it.  But in order to make the future the bright place we all want it to be, we have to start right now, in the present moment.  We have to remember our foundation of faith, and we have to start making the future a present reality, here and now.  We must be the change we want to see in the world around us.

          I’d like to offer two quotes for us to think about today, and these quotes should be pretty familiar to us.  The first one is written on the wall behind me, from Ralph Waldo Emerson: “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”  A good philosophy!  Do we want to be trailblazers?  It’s time to be innovative, to be daring, to blaze new trails toward the kingdom of God.  The Saints knew how to do this; they often acted in unexpected and surprising ways.  St. John Paul II thought he could do a lot of good by staying in his native Poland; little did he realize that by being elected Pope he would be instrumental in bringing down communism in Europe; St. John XXIII was elected to be a kind of “caretaker” or “transitional” pope – no one thought he would convene the Second Vatican Council.  St. Catherine of Sienna also offers us some wisdom with the quote written on the front of our worship aid today: “If you are what you should be, you will set the world ablaze.”

          Dear friends, this is our mission: let’s be who we should be; let’s set the world around us on fire with the power of the Holy Spirit; let’s refuse to follow well-worn paths and start blazing new trails, like the apostles and the Saints. 

          We may not know what the future holds, but we know who holds the future, and we know that He is faithful.  So let’s be true trailblazers, all for the honor and glory of God, and the salvation of souls.    

2nd Sunday of Easter - God's Great Love and Mercy

 It's quite late, but here's my homily for Divine Mercy Sunday.  Comments are always welcome.  God bless you!

Location: Basilica of Saint Francis Xavier (Dyersville, IA) – 5 p.m. Sat., 8:30 & 10:30 a.m. Sun.

Date: Sunday April 27^th, 2014 (2^nd Sunday of Easter, Year A – aka Divine Mercy Sunday)

READINGS:

1^st Reading: Acts 2:42-47

Resp. Psalm: Ps. 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24

2^nd Reading: 1 Peter 1:3-9

Gospel: John 20:19-31

FOCUS: God’s great love and mercy makes everything we’re celebrating this weekend possible. 

FUNCTION: Have recourse to the sacrament of mercy when you fall into sin. 

          There is a lot happening today – we observe today as Divine Mercy Sunday; Beckman has prom (tonight); we are celebrating First Holy Communion for our 2^nd graders; and this weekend Pope Francis will also canonize two modern popes: Blessed John Paul II and Blessed John XXIII.  We have a lot to celebrate.

          But how do they all connect?  It’s all about God’s great love and mercy.  That’s why a school like Beckman Catholic exists which enables students to go to Prom; that’s why Jesus gave Himself to us as the Bread of Life and the Chalice of salvation in Holy Communion at the Last Supper; that’s why we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday and the revelation of merciful love by Jesus to St. Faustina; and that’s why two Popes were inspired to live a life of heroic virtue and holiness.  God’s great love and mercy is the reason we’re here today.

          First of all, God’s great love – it was love that led God to create humanity; and after humanity’s fall from grace, it was love that led God to give humanity a Savior in the person of His only Son, Jesus our Lord; it was love that led Jesus to suffer and die on the cross and be raised to life again on the third day; and it was love that led Jesus to form the Church and send that Church forth to proclaim the good news of the Gospel and the promise of new life in Christ.  Love created us, Love redeems us, and Love sustains us. 

          Secondly, God’s great mercy – because God knew that we could not repay the debt that we would accrue because of our sin, God had mercy on us.  God instructed the Jews in the beginning to offer various sacrifices in atonement for sin; but knowing that the blood of bulls and lambs could never take away sin, God offered a sacrifice that only He could provide – the sacrifice of His only Son.  Jesus suffered and died and rose again so that we might experience the forgiveness of sins and the joy of eternal life; His death on the cross paid the price of our sin.  While He was on earth, He exercised a ministry of mercy; and before He ascended to the Father, He entrusted to His disciples the new ministry of mercy – they were given authority, by the Holy Spirit, to forgive sins and to reconcile people to God and to each other. 

          We see Jesus doing that very thing in today’s Gospel – “…he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.  Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.’”  Jesus gives the authority to forgive sins to His disciples; He Himself had and exercised that authority during His earthly ministry; and after His resurrection, He entrusted His disciples to do the same; this is the biblical origin of the sacrament of reconciliation.  We confess our sins to a priest because Jesus gave the authority to forgive sins to His disciples, who transmitted that same authority to their successors, the Bishops, who likewise shared that authority with their co-workers, the priests.  It all goes back to the words and actions of Jesus Himself. 

          The sacrament of reconciliation is vitally important in today’s world as a source of grace and healing for God’s people; our 2^nd graders celebrated their first reconciliation last year in preparation for receiving their First Holy Communion today; our students at Beckman (and our other area Catholic schools) go to confession at least twice a year in Advent and Lent in order to be prepared to celebrate the solemnities of Christmas and Easter.  The sacrament of penance and reconciliation cleanses us of our sins and helps us experience the grace of Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross; it is the sacrament of conversion by which we try to turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel. 

          Jesus entrusted that great sacrament to the Church so that we might become saints by experiencing spiritual conversion and growth in grace.  Ss. John Paul II and John XXIII weren’t born Saints; they were made Saints by their cooperation with God’s grace; they sought to live a life focused on God, because they knew that only God would satisfy them; and so they continually turned from the many false pleasures and dark allurements of the world and, with God’s help, worked hard to be faithful to the message of the Gospel.  They are Saints because they were faithful, and because they knew Jesus. 

          Today’s Gospel also gives us the story of “doubting Thomas,” who also proved to be an incredible man of faith; after He experienced the risen Lord, He said one of the most remarkable acclamations of faith in the whole New Testament – “My Lord and my God!” 

          And we can have that kind of faith, too, but we have to allow ourselves to believe in more than what we can see and touch.  We believe that Jesus is really and truly present in the sacrament of the Eucharist; but we can only know that by the gift of faith.  To our eyes, it looks like bread and wine.  But when we look at the Eucharist with eyes of faith, we see that it is so much more – it is the very Body and Blood of Jesus, who seeks to reconcile us with God and with each other.  After St. Thomas’ incredible acclamation of faith, Jesus says to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me?  Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”

          That can be us!  But it all starts with recognizing God’s great love and mercy.  God wants to make us Saints.  He wants us to become men and women of heroic virtue and authentic holiness.  How does that happen?

          Jesus shows us – we should live as His disciples and follow where He leads; we should practice what He taught; we should love God with our whole being and love our neighbors as ourselves; we should approach the sacrament of penance and reconciliation whenever we fall into sin; and we should look to the example of the Saints who have gone before us and imitate their faith. 

          May we be strengthened by the intercession of the Church’s new Saints, John Paul II and John XXIII, to live as disciples of Jesus, the Risen Lord.