Homily–2nd Sunday of Lent–Blinded By The Light

Genesis 12:1-4a

2 Timothy 1:8b-10

Matthew 17:1-9

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Remember that popular 70s song, “Blinded By The Light?  The rest of the song’s refrain was almost unintelligible -- until the advent of internet-based lyrics websites.

            “Blinded By The Light.” This is what’s going on here in today’s Gospel message. Jesus is transfigured and radiated light, blinding his disciples to the reality before them.  The three disciples are just as bewildered about the experience as we were about those song lyrics.

In the transfiguration, we have proof Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets. He’s the new Moses. He’s the Suffering Servant; a person we should listen to.

Filled with good intentions, Peter proposes what could be a religiously significant idea, the creation of three tents for Jesus and his two famous friends (commemorating the Jewish Feast of Booths). 

“While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud cast a shadow over them, then from the cloud came a voice that said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.’  When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate and were very much afraid.”    

How many of us are afraid as we walk through this valley of the shadow of death? How many of us are living in the shadows unable to see the light of Christ?  

Perhaps we, too, are “blinded by the light.”  Or perhaps we need to do a few things before the light can shine through to our souls. 

Lent is a good time to reflect on our spiritual blindness, these feelings of darkness, of fear, of abandonment, of our own sinfulness, and draw closer to the light of Christ.

From the life of St. Teresa of Calcutta, we discovered there are two kinds of shadows. One form of shadow can be divine (as found in today’s Gospel reading and St. Teresa’s life). The other form of shadow is more sinister (like when we sin while operating in the shadows). 

Our prayer life can help us discern between the two shadow worlds as we find our way back to God.  But even the greats struggle with this.

Archbishop Sartain sent us deacons a beautiful book about St. Teresa of Calcutta called, “I Loved Jesus in the Night,” soon before she became a saint.

A Dominican priest from Ireland, Fr. Paul Murray, penned this beautiful, short and easy-to-read book.(Click HERE to order the book on Amazon)

On the cover the book claims “a secret revealed.” The secret is really no secret to most Catholics who’ve heard about Mother Teresa’s letters or read the book “Come Be My Light.”

Mother Teresa had a transfiguring encounter with Christ while on a train in India headed on spiritual retreat in September 1946.  At the time she was head mistress at a private girl’s school.

Her encounter with Christ illumined her heart to the needs of the poorest of the poor in India; the people she saw each and every day, living in the streets, just outside her comfortable and cloistered community.

Jesus called Mother Teresa to go to the darkest place in the world and “be my light.” Go into the slums of Calcutta, minister to untouchables and leave behind everything comfortable and safe.

It took her several years to convince her Bishop, Sisters of Loreto superiors, and the Vatican to let her do what Christ ordered this humble woman to do.  But eventually her persistence won out.

As she went about her new ministry and started recruiting young women to join her (many her former students), Mother Teresa began to experience a terrible darkness in her spirit.  She could no longer feel Christ or God’s presence in her prayer life.  This went on for the remainder of her life. The revelation surprised and shocked many when it came out years after her death.

How could this woman so filled with Christ that it radiated from her very being not feel Jesus or God in her prayer life?  Was it a mysterious paradox or a troubling contradiction?

This was the secret revealed in Fr. Paul’s book, and in the book “Come Be My Light.”

Fr. Paul believes Mother Teresa was experiencing the Dark Night of the Soul, referred to by Spanish mystic St. John of the Cross.

Fr. Paul says the darkness was not depression or despair. “Rather it was the shadow cast in her soul by the overwhelming light of God’s presence.”

God was “utterly present and yet utterly hidden” to Mother Teresa for most of her ministry leading the Missionaries of Charity.  

As Fr. Paul put it, “His intimate, purifying love (was) experienced as a devastating absence and even, on some occasions, as a complete abandonment.”

Could it be Mother Teresa, too, was blinded by the light?

Maybe you’ve experienced similar feelings of abandonment by God?

Catholic author and priest Henri Nouwen wrote THIS about the overwhelming power of the light of Christ: 

"We only know that we're in darkness when we come into the light of God's love.  It is only in the light, in the fullness of the sun, that we know there is a shadow." 

Many times these shadows are places where we do things that are less than holy… like slander our neighbor, or post Islamophobic or other racist messages on Facebook, or look at things we shouldn’t look at online, or bad mouth homeless people, immigrants, the poor or people who speak on their behalf, or cheat on a spouse? 

St. John of the Cross challenges us to see our souls as windows and our sins as smudges on those windows.

“A ray of sunlight shining on a smudgy window is unable to illumine the window completely and transform it into its own light. It could do this if the window were cleaned and polished.”

So, how do we clean and polish the smudges off the windows of our souls?

Through counsel, one of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit.  Counsel is the gift of right judgment where we come to understand the difference between right and wrong, choose the right, avoid sin, and live out the values taught to us by Jesus.   

  

Counsel builds on both wisdom and understanding. It comes from the Holy Spirit, mostly through prayer, reading sacred scripture or the catechism, or is found in the confessional. 

As St. John of the Cross reminds us, “A soul makes room for God by wiping away all the smudges and smears…, by uniting its will perfectly to God’s (will).  … When this is done the soul will be illumined and transformed in God.”

The Sacrament of Reconciliation and absolution are the best way to wipe away these smudges.

  Mother Teresa knew this perfectly well.  It’s why the only people who knew about her suffering in darkness all those years were her confessors and spiritual directors.

In the second letter of Timothy we heard today,

“He saved us and called us to a holy life, not according to our works but according to his own design and the grace bestowed on us in Christ Jesus before time began.”

What expectation has Christ bestowed on us? Are we listening to his voice? Have we united our will with the will of God in our lives?  Perhaps this is the reason for so much darkness in the world today.

For Mother Teresa, this darkness, these shadows, were her suffering (50 years of suffering!). This suffering united her with the suffering of the poor in their desolation, and the suffering of Jesus on the Cross.    

 Franciscan Fr. Richard Rohr shared something enlightening about suffering, and it definitely applies to St. Teresa, and all of us: 

“If suffering is ‘whenever we are not in control’ then you can see why some form of suffering is absolutely necessary to teach us how to live beyond the illusion of control and give that control back to God. Then we become usable instruments because we can share our power with God’s power.”

St. Teresa of Calcutta was a usable instrument in God’s hands and radiated the light of Jesus to the world. She’s now a saint to those living in darkness; those who feel bewildered, abandoned or lost, but who are determined to keep walking the path of faith.

As we walk on our Lenten journey, may we each grab a bottle of Windex and starting cleaning the smudges on the windows of our souls, and let Christ’s light shine through before all.  

May we discern if our darkness is a sign of our own closeness to Jesus or something else.

May our spiritual sight be made pure by Christ.

Then, and only then, we will no longer by blinded by the light, but transformed by it.

Homily - School Mass on Laudato Si - 2/16/2017

Genesis 9:1-13

Mark 8:27-33

Laudato Si

-     Written in June 2015

-     Pope Francis’ Papal Encyclical on care for our common home (Planet Earth)

-      Named from Saint Francis of Assisi's 13th-century "Canticle of the Sun" (also called Canticle of the Creatures), a poem and prayer in which God is praised for the creation of the different creatures and aspects of the Earth

                   Top 7 Things You Need To Know about Laudato Si

1.    For the first time, caring for the earth is seen from a religious/faith perspective and Laudato Si is NOW added to the body of Catholic Social Teaching

2.    From now on discussions about ecology can be grounded in Sacred Scripture and Church Tradition

                                          i.    Gospel of Creation (Chapter 2 - Read It!) – It leads readers on a reflection of scripture for care of the planet that starting with Genesis

3.    Climate change has a disproportionate effect on the poor (developing countries:  Latin American, Africa and much of Asia)

                                          i.    Go to areas near the Amazon Rain Forest of South America and see the vast devastation that has happened in the past 50 years (tearing down of the forest)

4.    Technology is NOT the key to human existence

                                          i.    The dangers of consumerism (needing every new gadget)

                                        ii.    Sometimes we embrace new technology without thinking about its effects on our planet and its people (iPad screens)

                                       iii.    Christian spirituality by contrast offers a growth marked by moderation and the capacity to be happy with little

5.    The encyclical has a critique of selfishness and indifference

                                          i.    Asks: Why are the wealthy turning away from the poor? 

1.    Some feel they are more worthy of their wealth and status in the world

2.    Decision-makers are removed from the plight of the poor on the planet with no real physical connection to their brothers and sisters in poverty

                                        ii.    Selfishness leads to evaporation of the notion of the Common Good (one of the Catholic Church's most important teachings)

6.    Everything is connected

                                          i.    We are all linked to creation, we are part of nature, but our decisions about how we treat the earth have an effect on the future of the planet

7.    This encyclical is addressed to everyone on the planet

                                          i.    Not just 1.2 billion Catholics, but all 7 billion people on the planet

                                        ii.    Calling for an ecological conversion

                                        iii.    Listen to the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor

What can we do to help save the planet?

1)      Turn off lights

2)      Reduce your use of water (5-10 minute showers vs. 15-20 minute showers)

3)      Help your family to recycle and compost (paper, plastics, food)

4)      Start a garden this spring -  grow vegetables and fruits

5)      Walk more, drive less

6)      Live more simply

7)      Don’t take more than our fair share

Homily – 6th Sunday of Ordinary Time – “What is the Truth?”

Sirach 15:15-20

1 Corinthians 2:6-10

Matthew 5:17-37 

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           Have you noticed a rising tension in our culture?  How angry we’ve become?  How intolerant we are of the views of others?  How divided we are as a nation?   Our battle lines are drawn between the truth -- as we see it.  This is most prevalent today on social media.  Some of the anger is caused by an explosion of fake news or partisan news posing as the truth.

The truth Jesus is sharing in today’s Gospel made a lot of people angry in His day. The truth of God can do that to some. 

But what we see online is not the truth of God. It’s the exact opposite. 
          We continue to live in a world where the truth is turned upside down, twisted and distorted – many times for political reasons, not Gospel reasons.  

Relativism is tearing at the very fabric of society. It’s a cancer eating away at the soul of our great nation.

The best way to understand the concept of relativism is to remember that famous conversation between Jesus and Pontius Pilate found in John’s Gospel:

So Pilate said to him, ‘Then you are a king?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say I am a king.  For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.’ Pilate said to him, ‘What is truth?’”

In a nutshell, this conversation is EXHIBIT A of the concept of relativism. 

“What is truth?” 

The danger with our world today is this:  “I have my truth. You have your truth. Everyone in the room has their own truth.”

So, we can see why Pontius Pilate was tempted to throw up his hands and say, “What is truth?” 

For Jews, the Law was the truth as defined by God, the “revelation of God’s will, a kind of divine blueprint for action” in life. The Pharisees and Scribes were known for their strict adherence to the law, but Jesus is challenging us all to go even deeper in our understanding -- to the heart of the matter.  

He‘s just finished sharing the Beatitudes during His Sermon on the Mount when he turns to the Law of Moses.

Jesus is talking the truth here.  Not the surface level, superficial truth, but the deep down truths. The truths about how we can sometimes carry God’s law in our hearts; hearts that are filled with our angers, our prejudices, our lusts, our justifications, our fears.

These deep down truths are what’re bubbling to the surface in today’s divided culture, causing much anger, hatred and division.

The latest hot-button issue dividing Catholics is the Trump Administration’s Executive Order on immigration and refugees.  The travel ban is currently on hold.

Our Bishops had something important to say on the matter days before a temporary halt was imposed by a Seattle judge, writing:

“Though many of its features are temporary, we are deeply concerned about the effects of the Executive Order. We have both a right and a duty to protect our borders and our citizens; at the same time, we have a responsibility to come to the aid of those who seek a better life, with their families, in our wonderful country.

United with all U.S. Bishops, we will continue to safeguard and maintain the well-being of those entrusted to our care. We will continue working with our government to bring about a just and effective solution for all who have fled persecution, violence and poverty in order to build a better life for themselves and their families.” The Bishops full letter can be found in today’s Bulletin.

The Bishops are speaking the truth here, albeit an unpopular truth in some quarters. 

Here’s the truth about our Catholic faith on these issues (A special shout-out to prominent Catholic writer Fr. James Martin for this).

            “I am Pro-Life.  That means that I’m also pro-social justice.

That means that I am not only for the dignity of the human being from the moment of conception, but also for the dignity of the human being until the natural end of life. For life does not end with birth. A person who is truly Pro-Life is Pro-all Life, Pro-every stage of Life, Pro-every stage of Life for every person. For all life is sacred, because all life is created by God.

That means I support caring for the marginalized among us: the refugee, the migrant, the displaced person, … minorities of every kind who are persecuted, and all those who feel left out, mocked, lonely, ignored or frightened.

That means that when any particular group is targeted, as refugees and migrants have been recently, I feel a responsibility to speak out, as much as I can… I am against silence in the face of injustices visited on others.”

This is the truth about our Catholic faith.  We don’t get to pick and choose like a cafeteria what is our truth as Catholics.  No, we are called to embrace the truth of Jesus, live this truth and share the whole truth about our Catholic faith.

Sadly, we live in a culture more focused on politics than on the truth.

Some who get angry about relativism of faith sometimes relativize or turn a blind eye to social justice issues (“Jesus said, the poor will always be with us”).  They want their politics to align perfectly with their faith. 

Some who get angry about social justice issues want to relativize or turn a blind eye to the evils of abortion or euthanasia.  They want their politics to align perfectly with their faith. 

Problem is being Catholic means not being fully Democrat, not being fully Republican. For our faith has aspects appealing to both major parties. But a hyper focus on politics will miss the message of Jesus completely.

This is what Jesus is talking about this weekend. How we allow our human politics to get in the way of God. The Scribes and Pharisees were notorious for doing this, too.    

In his series of Screwtape Letters, noted Christian author C.S. Lewis foretold our democratic society’s penchant to be led down the primrose path of polarizing politics and the anger that would follow. 

Reviewing this 75-year-old letter, one contemporary author says it perfectly reflects what’s happening in present day America.

C.S. Lewis was asking this important question many years ago, “Are we becoming the democracy Hell wishes us to be?” 

Here’s what C.S. Lewis wrote:

“For ‘democracy’ or the ‘democratic spirit’ (diabolical sense) leads to a nation without great men, a nation mainly of subliterates, full of the cocksureness which flattery breeds on ignorance, and quick to snarl or whimper at the first sign of criticism.  And that is what Hell wishes every democratic people to be.”

Please tell me if this doesn’t ring true when reading the excessive vitriol and unfettered anger found online, much of it caused today by fake news or partisan news found on social media.

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Here's an excellent graph for discerning political slant of your news source
Fake news comes from sources on far left and far right

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Are we sharing the truth online?  Are we spreading the Gospel?  Or are we spreading ignorance, lies and misinformation? 

Is this what Jesus calls us to do?    No!

As we heard from the Book of Sirach, “he has set before you fire and water to whichever you choose, stretch forth your hand. Before man are life and death, good and evil, whichever he chooses shall be given him.”  

Bishop of Rome Emeritus Benedict shared something meaningful about living the truth of Jesus Christ prior to being named Pope.

As Cardinal Ratzinger, he gave the following homily during the 2005 conclave: 

“All people desire to leave a lasting mark. But what endures? … The only thing that lasts forever is the human soul, the human person created by God for eternity.  

The fruit that endures is therefore all that we have sown in human souls: love, knowledge, a gesture capable of touching hearts, words that open the soul to joy in the Lord.  

So let us go and pray to the Lord to help us bear fruit that endures. Only in this way will the earth be changed from a valley of tears to a garden of God.”