HOMILY – 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Orlando’s Healing (y en español)

_______________________________________________________

I was blessed once to witness the miracle of Christ’s healing. It was pretty amazing to experience.

Today we offer the Sacrament of Holy Anointing at Mass.

What does the Catechism of the Catholic Church say about this Sacrament?

"By the sacred anointing of the sick and the prayer of the priests the whole Church commends those who are ill to the suffering and glorified Lord, that he may raise them up and save them. And indeed she exhorts them to contribute to the good of the People of God by freely uniting themselves to the Passion and death of Christ." 1499

While the readings this weekend may not perfectly reflect what we are about to witness as a faith community, I would contend all three readings show the mercy and love of Christ which is at the heart of this important Sacrament.

Nearly a decade ago, I served as the one and only Catholic spiritual care volunteer at Bailey Boushay, a HIV/AIDS hospice on Capitol Hill.

That’s where I met Orlando.  The first time I visited him I tried to offer communion. He spoke only Spanish. At the time, I did not. 

Orlando clearly understood what I was offering him, but got a scared look on his face and shook his head “no.”   I did not understand what he was trying to tell me.

Orlando had advanced AIDS. He also had a rare form of cancer eating away at his body. 

His doctors and nurses said he was nearing the end of his life.  In fact, some thought Orlando would only last a week or two at most. 

He was in his early 40's.  He was in a lot of pain.  He was very scared.   

So, I asked the Spiritual Care Director to ask Orlando through a Nurse interpreter what he was trying to tell me.  Orlando listed himself as Catholic, but refused to receive the Body of Christ.   

She found out.  Orlando was born in Cuba and baptized Catholic.  But due to Fidel Castro’s communism and anti-Catholicism, Orlando never got to celebrate first communion or any other sacraments during his lifetime.

Orlando thought it was too late for him.   

When told this, I asked her to share with Orlando that it might not be too late and to see if he would be interested in finding out more.

She immediately told him, and his face lit up and he said, “Si!" (Yes)!

A quick call to the Archdiocese, a helpful staffer, and a Redemptorist priest named Fr. Pete who spoke fluent Spanish was at Orlando’s bedside.

Over the coming days, he would catechize Orlando in the ways of the Catholic faith, he would hear his confession, anoint him, confirm him, and give him first communion.

When Jesus wants something to happen, it happens fast!

A few Sundays later, I stopped into Orlando’s room and noticed he looked much better.  When I offered communion, his face lit up with a big smile and he said, "Yes, Si!”

For the next few months, I would give him communion on a weekly basis.  Soon he was out of the bed and in a wheelchair.  A few weeks later he was walking. 

Doctors couldn’t explain it. Orlando’s health made a “miraculous recovery.” Those are the doctors' words not mine.

Eventually, Orlando was released from hospice care into transitional housing.  At last check, he was doing well.

 This miraculous healing came through Christ’s Sacraments.

Skeptics will say the miracle is anti-retroviral drugs keeping Orlando alive.  None would disagree that this miracle is part of God's plan for Orlando. 

But I believe his true healing came from being one with Christ and knowing he encountered Jesus in the Sacraments.

A wise person believes in the transforming power of the Sacraments.  A fool rejects them.  How many foolish people in our world today are in such desperate need of Jesus Christ in their lives?

Some rejected the power of Christ’s love found in his Greatest Commandment: “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your hearts, with all your soul, and with all your mind. And you shall love your neighbor as yourself. This is God’s greatest law for us.”

Jesus took all 613 Laws of Moises and boiled them down to the essence of what God asks of us. Love him and love each other. It’s that simple.

As we heard in our second reading from Thessalonians, "you became imitators … of the Lord, receiving the word with great affliction, with joy from the Holy Spirit, so that you became a model for all believers.”

Jesus Christ is Lord of all – yesterday, today, and tomorrow.  When we step into God’s house to show our love of our creator each week, we are joined with Jesus in His powerful ministry simply by taking Holy Communion, by receiving Christ’s Sacraments, and by showing loving our neighbor. 

As we celebrate Mass today, we make present Christ's life, death and resurrection and we are called to enter into it.  The Sacrament of Holy Anointing nurtures our spirit.

As you participate in this sacred healing, remember the miracle Christ did for my friend Orlando. Know that when you are anointed, you too have new life within you.   

I pray, we all pray, that as we encounter Jesus in this Sacrament, you will feel his healing touch, and the power of Christ will bring you new life.   

  _______________________________________________________

Una vez fui bendecido al presenciar un milagro de sanación de Cristo. Fue increíble experimentarlo.

Hoy ofreceremos el Sacramento de la Santa Unción en la Misa.

El Catecismo de la Iglesia Católica dice:

"Por la sagrada unción de los enfermos y la oración de los sacerdotes, toda la Iglesia encomienda a los enfermos al Señor que sufre y es glorificado, para que los levante y los salve. Y, de hecho, los exhorta a contribuir al bien del Pueblo de Dios uniéndose libremente a la Pasión y muerte de Cristo”. (1499)

Si bien las lecturas de este fin de semana pueden no reflejar perfectamente lo que estamos a punto de testimoniar como comunidad de fe, yo diría que las tres lecturas muestran la misericordia y el amor de Cristo que está en el corazón de este importante sacramento.

Hace casi una década, serví como el único voluntario del cuidado espiritual católico en Bailey Boushay, un hospicio para el cuidado de enfermos con SIDA en Capitol Hill.

Ahí conocí a Orlando.  La primera vez que lo visité traté de ofrecerle la comunión. Sólo hablaba español. En ese momento, no lo hice. 

Orlando claramente entendió lo que le estaba ofreciendo, pero tuvo una mirada asustada y se negó con la cabeza "no".   Yo no entendía lo que intentaba decirme.

Orlando tenía SIDA avanzado. También tenía una rara forma de cáncer devorando su cuerpo.

Sus médicos y enfermeras dijeron que se acercaba al final de su vida.  De hecho, algunos pensaban que Orlando sólo duraría una semana o dos como máximo. 

Tenía unos 40 años.  Tenía mucho dolor.  Estaba muy asustado.  

Así que le pedí al Director de Cuidado Espiritual que le preguntara a Orlando a través de un intérprete de enfermeras lo que estaba tratando de decirme.  Orlando se identifico como católico, pero se negó a recibir el Cuerpo de Cristo.  

Ella supo que Orlando nació en Cuba y fue bautizado católico.  Pero debido al comunismo y al anticatólico de Fidel Castro, Orlando nunca llegó a celebrar la primera comunión ni ningún otro sacramento durante su vida.

Orlando pensó que era demasiado tarde para él.    

Cuando le dijo eso, le pedí que compartiera con Orlando que no era demasiado tarde y que le preguntara si estaría interesado en averiguar más.

Inmediatamente cuando le dijo eso y su rostro se iluminó y dijo: "¡Sí!" "(Sí)!"

Después de una llamada rápida a la Arquidiócesis, una persona servicial y un sacerdote redentorista llamado Padre Pedro que hablaba español con fluidez, estaba al lado de la cama de Orlando.

En los siguientes días, catequizaba a Orlando en los caminos de la fe católica, oía su confesión, lo ungiría, lo confirmaba y le daba la primera comunión.

Cuando Jesús quiere que algo suceda, ¡sucede rápido!

Unos domingos más tarde, me detuve en la habitación de Orlando y me di cuenta de que se veía mucho mejor.  Cuando le ofrecí comunión, su rostro se iluminó con una gran sonrisa y me dijo: "¡Sí, Sí!"

Durante los próximos meses, le daría la comunión semanalmente.  Pronto salió de la cama y empezó a usar una silla de ruedas.  Unas semanas más tarde estaba caminando.

Los médicos no pudieron explicarlo. La salud de Orlando hizo una "recuperación milagrosa". Esas son las palabras de los doctores, no las mías.

Finalmente, Orlando fue dado de alta y del cuidado de hospicio fue a una vivienda de transición.  Por fin, lo estaba haciendo bien.

 Esta sanación milagrosa vino a través de los Sacramentos de Cristo.

Pero creo que su verdadera sanación vino de convertirse en  uno con Cristo y saber que se encontró con Jesús en los Sacramentos.

Algunos rechazaron el poder del amor de Cristo que se encuentra en su mandamiento más grande: "Amarás al Señor, tu Dios, con todo tu corazón, con toda tu alma y con toda tu mente. Y amarás a tu prójimo como a ti mismo. Esta es la ley más grande de Dios para nosotros".

Jesús tomó las 613 Leyes de Moisés y las revertió a la esencia de lo que Dios nos pide. Amarlo y amarse el uno al otro. Es así de simple.

Al celebrar hoy en nuestra Misa, hacemos presente la vida, la muerte y la resurrección de Cristo y estamos llamados a entrar en ella.  El Sacramento de la Santa Unción nutre nuestro espíritu.

Al participar en esta sagrada sanación, recuerden el milagro que Cristo hizo en mi amigo Orlando.  Sepan que cuando son ungidos, ustedes también tiene una nueva vida dentro de ustedes mismos.  

Ruego, todos oramos, para que, al encontrarnos con Jesús en este Sacramento, sientan su toque sanador, y el poder de Cristo les traiga nueva vida.

HOMILY – 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Control

_______________________________________________________

           After St. Teresa of Calcutta died in September 1997, they found a beautiful saying painted on her office wall that motivated her every day and helped her and her team do amazing things for Jesus in building up the kingdom. 

I believe the saying gets to the point of this week’s Gospel. I’ll share that with you in a minute.

My sisters and brothers, we are not the landlord, we are only the tenants.

It is not our vineyard, it is Jesus’ vineyard.

All we get to do is our little part to tend to the vineyard.

To understand this better, we need the grace of detachment – the grace to let go and let God be in charge.  

Our human desire to control things is at the heart of Jesus’ message this weekend. He knows the chief priests and the elders of the people think they are in charge in Jerusalem.

Jesus knows differently.

Isaiah reminds us what happens when we try to exert control over God’s vineyard, “Yes, I will make it a ruin: It shall not be pruned or hoed, but overgrown with thorns and briers; I will command the clouds not to send rain upon it.” 

Control leads to anxiety. Detachment leads to hope.   

Hope is letting go and letting God be in charge. Anxiety is when we believe we are in charge. This control mindset only makes us insecure, self-interested, competitive, and hungry for power. This creates social discord, usually leading to chaos and strife. God wants us to be gentle with each other and focus on what is good. Only when we let go and let God be in charge can we find peace and joy

This is the peace St. Paul is sharing in his message to the Philippians today.

Jesus knows when our lives are attuned to the will of the Creator we live in peace, and our earthly ministry prospers, bearing much fruit. But when our lives are only attuned to our own will, not the will of the Creator, we can have a destructive impact on the world.

Just think of St. Paul and his life’s actions before his encounter with Christ. He was a Pharisee who persecuted and killed many Christians, all in the name of his Jewish faith.

Then think of St. Paul’s fruitful ministry after his encounter with Christ. His actions helped spread the Gospel to places far outside of Jerusalem, produced the first words of the New Testament, and beared much fruit.

Hope comes from letting go and letting God be in charge of everything in our lives. This is how we find peace and joy. It’s how St. Francis of Assisi found joy and peace and then shared it with others.

Here’s what the sign in Mother Teresa’s office read – some have termed it the Paradoxical Commandments:

“People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered.  Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.  Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies.  Succeed anyway. 

If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you.  Be honest and sincere anyway.

What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous.  Be happy anyway. 

The good you do today will often be forgotten.  Do good anyway.

Give the best you have, and it will never be enough.  Give your best anyway.

In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway."

HOMILY – 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Forgiveness

                        _______________________________________________________

For the second weekend in a row, Jesus is talking about forgiveness. The concept is that important in the Gospel.

As Father Bryan told us last week, forgiveness is an easy concept to grasp, but a difficult one to put into practice.

Jesus reminds us we are to forgive without limit. Even in the Lord’s Prayer we are reminded to “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Jesus even forgave his executioners from the cross, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do."

“To err is human, to forgive is divine.”

I can think of no better model of this forgiveness in the modern age than Nobel Peace Prize winning Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa.

He experienced the social sin of racism in a country ruled by a white minority who felt it their birthright to oppress the black majority.

When it all came to an end, many thought the country would fall into chaos and violence.

Combine the social sin of racism with the grace Jesus is talking about in his parable on forgiveness and you get something beautiful and lifegiving.

In South Africa, apartheid was the law of the land until the early 1990s. Minority whites ruled over a majority, black population 10-times bigger than their white oppressors. 

It was a brutal, repressive and abusive system.

Enter Rev. Desmond Tutu. He was the voice of reason and a Prophet of the Gospel of Jesus in a time turmoil and violent oppression in the dying days of Apartheid.

He would eventually be joined by two other Nobel Peace Prize winners black President Nelson Mandela (a man imprisoned for nearly 30 years by the white South African government) and the last white South African leader President F. W. De Klerk.

These three helped a nation turn away from its social sin of racism and do so peacefully by embracing the power of forgiveness.

Through the creation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, restorative justice was allowed to reign in South Africa. And the country witnessed a peaceful transfer of power from minority white to black majority Democratic rule without the retaliation seen in earlier national transformations in Africa. 

In 1987, at the height of South African Apartheid, I had the blessing to travel to South Africa as a journalist. I went there with a group of U.S. correspondents.

We met with most major players in the country except for one who cancelled at the last minute: Archbishop Desmond Tutu declined his scheduled interview with us after learning of our meeting with South African President P.W. Botha. 

But Tutu was far too important a figure to not hear from.  So, on Ash Wednesday, I took a cab to Tutu’s home Anglican Cathedral in Cape Town to hear his noontime homily and hopefully secure an interview afterwards.

Tutu graciously accepted the interview opportunity even after I explained my connection to the American journalists touring his country.  

During the entire interview, I felt God’s presence. I felt God’s love in the man. And as we ended the interview, he surprised me with an embrace. I was so moved by how he exuded love, not hatred, nor bitterness, nor anger. Nothing but love.

Tutu was the spiritual leader South Africa needed to navigate its move away from Apartheid.

I read a beautiful quote on forgiveness by Archbishop Tutu:

“To forgive is not just to be altruistic. It is the best form of self-interest… However, when I talk of forgiveness, I mean the belief that you can come out the other side a better person.  A better person than one being consumed by anger and hatred.  Remaining in that state locks you in a state of victimhood, making you almost dependent on the perpetrator. If you can find it in yourself to forgive, then you are no longer chained to the perpetrator.  You can move on, and you can even help the perpetrator to become a better person, too.”

I can think of no better example of the lesson Christ is teaching this weekend than Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

To forgive is to act like God. This is also at the heart of Jesus’ parable. This quote hits the nail on the head and should be etched on all our hearts if we are to call ourselves disciples of Christ:

“If we are truly created in the image of God, then we cannot authentically and truly become ourselves until we also reflect God’s likeness. That likeness involves forgiveness because God’s nature is to forgive. By forgiving others, we become a living channel of God’s grace and action in the world as we manifest the Lord’s mercy in a specific way. It is this spiritual integrity that allows us to move forward in our discipleship and to become more authentically a friend of God who acts as God acts and loves as God loves. Sometimes we can find ourselves stagnating in our spiritual lives because we have chosen either not to forgive or not to seek forgiveness. That stagnation and spiritual frustration can be the Lord’s way of encouraging us to recognize and resolve the offensive obstacles that are preventing us from moving forward in our efforts to be more Christ-like. When we fail to practice forgiveness, we are fundamentally out-of-sync with the will of God.”

May we be blessed with the grace to learn to forgive the way Jesus tells Peter to forgive. May our acts of forgiveness be breathtakingly abundant. May we become channels of Christ's Peace in this broken and hurting world.