Jousting with the Devil - Father Bob Wild

- JOUSTING WITH THE DEVIL –

CHESTERTON’S BATTLE WITH THE FATHER OF LIES:

A public lecture with Fr. Bob Wild of the Madonna House community,

Combermere, on Sun., Mar. 1, 7:00​ p.m., 2015

Saint Paul University Amphitheatre, 223 Main St.

Sponsored by the Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky

Institute of Eastern Christian Studies at Saint Paul University.

Info: (613-236-1393, ext. 2332); (sheptytsky@ustpaul.ca).

 Part 1 

Part 2

Questions and Answers

Entire Audio 

Easter Homily Father Bob Wild

Mary Magdalene

Some of the details of the different gospels of what happened Easter Sunday do not agree. That’s understandable, as that day was explosive and most confusing—about someone rising from the dead. Different stories were circulating, and we all know how stories can change from one person to another! For example, in Matthew’s account that we heard yesterday, two Mary’s—Mary Magdalen and “the other Mary” both took hold of the feet of Jesus. “Then Jesus said to them go…” In John’s gospel this evening only Mary sees the Lord. Were there two first witnesses of the resurrected Lord or only one? The disciples along the road to Emmaus spoke of “some women.” In any case, it seems that
the first witnesses were women. For my meditation this evening I’ll
concentrate on John’s account, that Mary Magdalen was the sole and first witness.

Why did the Lord first appear to Mary Magdalene? (Think for a moment on how you would answer that question. Whatever answer you gave, it is not my theory.) One of your answers might have been, “Well, she was there!” That’s a probable answer. He might have appeared to Peter and John if they had hung around a little longer. But as soon as they saw the empty tomb, they left. Vs. 9 (just before our gospel this evening) says “For they did not yet understand the scripture that he had to rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned home.”

Maybe he appeared to Mary because she believed he would rise again. (It seems none of the apostles did.) We don’t know what Mary actually believed. From the text this evening it seems she thought somebody had removed his body—hardly a belief in the resurrection! But Mary was heart-broken. She didn’t know what had happened to her loving Lord. So she stayed and wept, probably hoping she might be able to find out what happened. Probably also this disappearance of the body was the last straw to all the suffering she had seen at the foot of cross; and days of pent-up and acute sorrow finally gushed forth.

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So the risen Jesus appeared to her, first of all, to console her. Perhaps. It was the depth and agony of her love, the fullness of her devotion, that caused her to forget, for a moment, the conventional restraints of a Jewish woman’s approach to a strange man.

A third explanation is that his appearance to this woman is another
sign of the graciousness of our Redeemer who came for us ordinary
people, people with whom he sits at a well and tells another woman
that he is the promised Redeemer of the world. When he rises from the dead he doesn’t appear to the roman emperor or the head of the
Jewish Sanhedrin. He appears to this woman from whom, Luke tells us, “seven demons had gone out,” and he reveals to her the greatest external, historical event in the history of the world—the resurrection.

Fr. Chris thinks he first appeared to Mary because of her great love for him. This probably is what most of you think. Fr. Linder came close tomy explanation in a general sort of way, but it was still deficient.

Here is my theory. St. John says at the end of his gospel that there are many things that happened that are not recorded. There might have been other resurrection appearances not recorded, appearances that even the apostles didn’t know about. Maybe Jesus appeared to his Mother first. I’d like to think so. We don’t know. But there must be some great mystery involved in why the Holy Spirit wanted the first recorded appearance for all time to be to Mary of Magdala.

What follows is my theory. It’s not in the Catholic Catechism! Actually, there’s no explanation at all in the Catechism to this question, so you can believe whatever you want!
I think the main reason he appeared to Mary had to do not so much
with who she was in her personal relationship with Jesus, as to the fact that she was a woman, and that as a woman he had a particular
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mission for her, an important role he wanted her to play in the
transmission of the resurrection to the history of the world.
I know it’s a cliché, but the hand the rocks the cradle rules the world. In God’s plan a child normally receives his or her first knowledge of the family’s religious understanding from its mother. St. John Paul said that parents are the first missionaries to their children. And the Second Vatican Council said that parents are the first heralds of the faith to their children. I think this is true especially of the mother.

I’m very sure I first heard the name of Jesus from my mother. It was my mom who taught me how to pray. It was my mom who held me for my first subliminal experiences of the Mass. I am sure this is true also for those of you who grew up in a faith-filled home.

For most of the history of the world—and still in many places today—the mother is the first bearer of tradition and religion to children.

So, Jesus wanted first of all to implant deeply the truth of the
resurrection in the heart of woman. (We don’t know if Mary had any children. Maybe she did. It’s not essential to this understanding of her mission I’m giving you.)

We hear a lot, in the scriptures, about the men spreading the
gospel—the apostles and disciples. And yes, Paul mentions a few
women who were helping out! But consider how the news of the
resurrection must have spread among and by the women!

After Mary took the good news to the doubting apostles, she surely
then went among the women-folk and told them that she herself had seen the risen Jesus. It was not something she had been told by Peter or any of the apostles: She herself had seen him! Jesus first planted the experience of the resurrection in the heart of women.
Women have the greatest communication system in the world! (I won’t go into it!) Mary`s testimony probably spread like wild-fire among the women near and far. They spoke about it in the market place; they
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spoke about it when visiting each other’s homes with their children;
they spoke about it when they were delivering children; they spoke
about it when they were washing clothes down at the water’s edge;
they spoke about it when they were talking over the back fences—if they had fences! I believe the message of the resurrection spread more rapidly and extensively among the women of the world than through the preaching of the apostles and men disciples.

So what does this mean for us? First of all that Jesus desires to reveal his risen presence to each of his sisters and brothers, to ordinary people, to sinners like Mary and sinners like us.

Secondly—according to my theory!—it emphasizes the enormous importance of the parents and the family in instilling their faith in their children; and especially the centrality of mothers in this primary mission to their children. And my final point I make in fear and trembling—trusting in the understanding of my brothers—it may be that the women of the world are more open
to believing in and preserving the faith of the resurrection than are
men. It may generally be so! The gospel witnesses, generally, to the
doubt of the apostles and the faith of the women. I will stop here
before the men start throwing things at me!

Anyhow, this is my meditation of why Jesus appeared first to Mary of Magdala. In the Orthodox Church she is considered to be an
apostle—the first to announce the resurrection. What a great dignity!

May she be an example to all of us, not only to spread the news of the resurrection, but especially to be excited about it! She must have ran all the way to tell the brethren that she had seen the Lord! It’s also her excitement we need to recover. (Story of parish homily)

And the Lord’s first appearance to Mary is a special vocational call to the women of the world to preserve and spread this great truth of the resurrection to especially, all the children of the world.

St. Mary Magdalen, first apostle of the resurrection to the nations, pray for us! And now, with great excitement—Christ is risen!

The Patristic Understanding of the Mystery of Epiphany/Theophany - Father Bob Wild

The Patristic Understanding of the Mystery of Epiphany/Theophany

Father Bob Wild

My sister once invited me to come to her class to see their Christmas play.  As the Wise Men were walking up the aisle one of them said to the other: “What is that in yonder sky?” The other boy said—forgetting his lines said— “I don’t know!” On this feast of the Epiphany we celebrate the gift of our faith: we are not ignorant about the star directing the wise men to the child they were on their way to reverence.

I’m going to attempt the impossible this morning: In a few words I will try to explain the liturgical history and the patristic meaning of the one feast of the Epiphany before it became several feasts. We’re going to be talking about the one feast in the second, third, and fourth centuries.

In the West Epiphany basically means the feast of the Three Kings as we are celebrating today. For the next fifteen minutes I’m going to ask you not to make this feast central in your understanding of the epiphany. It was always central for me in my early liturgical life, but I ask you to listen with a new kind of openness about the meaning of this feast in what I want to meditate on with you this morning.

The word epiphany, as most of you know, means “appearance”: when a king with his retinue came into a city they spoke about his “epiphany.”

In the first Christian century the only feast was Easter, and the Lenten period in preparation for that great feast. And then, about 120 in Alexandria, Egypt, they asked the question, “Well, when did Christ first publicly appear?” They focused on three events: they saw his baptism in the Jordan as the most significant public appearance; secondly, his first public miracle of changing water into wine at Cana; and third, his appearance to the nations in the persons of the three kings. Liturgically, over the centuries, these three feasts have been rearranged and celebrated at various times and sequences in the Eastern and Western traditions.

In the East, the Baptism of Christ has always been central; and we celebrate that tomorrow as a separate feast. In the West, the emphasis more and more fell on Christ’s appearance to the nations in the persons of the Kings. The celebration of the birth of Christ, Christmas, was a much later addition to the Epiphany liturgical season, and we will not be considering it this morning. The emphasis on his appearance at Christmas was to individuals, the shepherds and others. And for us too it is very much a concentration of each one of us going to the crib ourselves. However, the emphasis in the early celebration of Epiphany concerned the Lord’s public appearances.

The fathers drew three appearances together to explain the depth of the epiphany mystery. I’m going to cite two very ancient antiphons from the Divine Office of our feast today. They are very ancient patristic meditations on the meaning of the Epiphany mystery. The first is from second Vespers, and the second from Lauds. Both of them are very ancient and refer to three epiphanies I’ve mentioned. First, the antiphon from second Vespers this evening: “Three mysteries mark this holy day: today the star leads the Magi to the infant Christ; today water is changed into wine for the wedding feast; today Christ wills to be baptized by John in the river Jordan to bring us salvation.” Those are the three public Epiphanies of the ancient Epiphany feast. And note that this antiphon says, “mark this holy day,”— the antiphon refers to one day.

The first point I’d like to make it that these three epiphanies were all celebrated on the same day for several centuries. The antiphon I just read you was for one feast. Having originated in the East, the feast was called the Theophany, the manifestation of God. In the Eastern blessing of the water you will hear in a few minutes the word “today” is repeated over and over again, “today, today, today,” and enumerating all the graces happening on this one feast.

I ask you now to pay special attention to this second very ancient antiphon from a Greek hymn which gives the deeper meaning of this one feast of the Epiphany. “Today [that is, on this feast of the Theophany]  the Bridegroom claims his bride, the Church, since Christ has washed her sins away in Jordan’s waters; the Magi hasten with their gifts to the royal wedding; and the wedding guests rejoice, for Christ has change water into wine.” (Repeat)

You see what the fathers did with the three epiphanies? They became events in the wedding of Christ to his Bride. This is the very profound essence of the understanding of the fathers of the Epiphany mystery, and the main I want to leave with you this morning. This antiphon in one of the most profound antiphons in our whole Divine Office.

The center-piece of this original feast was the baptism of Christ in the Jordan. They saw his baptism as his most significant public appearance. Of course, we can’t know exactly what happened between Christ and the whole human race at his baptism. The Fathers give several explanations of its significance and importance.

Because of the revelation of the Trinity with the anointing of the Spirit and the voice of confirmation from the Father, and especially, as Mark says, “Jesus saw heaven torn open,”—not partially open but wide open—the Fathers of the Church saw in his baptism some kind of unique moment in the Incarnation. They saw it as his anointing as the Messiah by the Holy Spirit. It’s the inauguration of his mission and his acceptance of it. CCC: “The Father’s voice responds to the Son’s acceptance.”

Another understanding of this unique moment is in the theology of the Eastern Church that sees Christ’s baptism as the lowest point of his kenosis, of his identification with the human race.  Why? Because he who was sinless allowed himself to be baptized, which was a public act that ostensibly says that the person is in need of conversion and forgiveness.  CCC: “He allows himself to be numbered among sinners.” That’s why John was aghast at Christ’s approaching to be baptized!

The Orthodox liturgy especially emphasizes this marvel. Again, you will hear it in the blessing of the water:  John the Baptist cries: “How do you, O Lord, who have no stain, come to me your servant?”

When Christ reached this deepest point of his identification with the human race, the fathers of the church saw the whole human race present in Christ when he went into the Jordan.  When he descended into the purifying waters he raised all of humanity to participation in his divinity. CCC: “He became the source of the Holy Spirit for all mankind.” And the Preface for today’s feast says: “When he appeared in our mortal nature, you made us new by the glory of his immortal nature.” In the blessing of the water you will hear the Eastern prayer: “The Lord comes to be baptized so that mankind may be lifted up.”

In the fourth century St. Gregory said: “Jesus rises from the waters; the world rises with him.” (repeat) In the fifth century St. Peter Chrysologus said: “Today Christ enters the Jordan to wash away the sin of the world.” (repeat) And the Eastern liturgy sings: “In the Jordan River you washed away the sins of the world”; “Today the sins of mankind are blotted out by the waters of the Jordan river.”  

And in the first reading Paul alludes to this universality: “In former generations this mystery was not made known to humankind as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and Prophets by the Spirit: that is, the Gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the same body and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.”

You see, then, that the Fathers understood the baptism of Christ as the wedding of the human race with Christ. Listen again to the antiphon I want to emphasize this morning: “Today the Bridegroom claims his bride, the Church, since Christ has washed her sins away in Jordan’s waters; the Magi hasten with their gifts to the royal wedding; and the wedding guests rejoice, for Christ has change water into wine.”

Another Father of the Church interprets the opening of the heavens in bridal imagery: “The heavens were opened to Him on account of three wonders. For when Christ the Bridegroom was baptized, it was meet that the bridal-chamber of heaven should open its brilliant gates.”

Today, on our feast of one of the epiphanies, the wise men are coming to this wedding, representing all the nations of the world. In the fifth century Pope Leo said: In the persons of the Magi let all people adore the Creator of the universe.” But they are now coming to the wedding of the nations with the Son of God.

In a sixth century homily on the wedding at Cana, a Western bishop said this: “What wedding can this be but the joyful marriage of man’s salvation, a marriage celebrated by confessing the trinity or by faith in the resurrection.”

At his first miracle at Cana Christ is now seen as fashioning a great deal of wine for this wedding of himself with the human race.

And so, my sisters and brothers, the original one feast of the Theophany tied together the three public Epiphanies of the Lord into the one mystery of his wedding with the human race. And however you want to think of the gold, incense, and myrrh you personally are bringing to Christ in your hearts today, you are bringing them to Christ the Bridegroom and to the bride, the human race his spouse, that is, to us. This is the deepest mystery that pervades the whole  epiphany season—the wedding of the human race with Christ—Christ in the Jordan wedding the whole human race to himself, and the magi coming to celebrate this wedding. After the Resurrection, this is the next grace of the Incarnation celebrated by the early church: the wedding of God in Christ with the human race.

This feast is the fulfillment of the Old Testament theme of God choosing Israel as his bride. As Isaiah said, “As a young man rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you.” (62, 5) This future promise has now happened. The Epiphany season celebrates the fulfillment of this prophecy.

The feast of the Epiphany (as I said) originated in Alexandria, Egypt. There was a pagan feast there and on the god’s feast day the waters of the Nile turned into wine. It was this pagan myth that reminded the Christians of the Cana miracle. When we throw the cross into the river in a few moments, we can think of it, yes, as Christ blessing all the waters of the earth. But in the context of this deeper patristic meaning of the epiphany season, I like to think of Christ changing all the waters of the earth into wine to celebrate his wedding with all the nations of the world!   GKC?

In a few moments you will hear this: “For in this present feast we have seen you as a perfect man; today we have attained the time of feasting, and the ranks of saints have joined us, and the angels celebrate together with men.” “The rule of prayer is the rule of faith.” In this ancient understanding of Epiphany we are celebrating that in Christ, the whole human race has been wedded to God. Yes, let us rejoice and be glad!

 

I will miss you dear friend.

"Nobody is a Christian for oneself alone. The gift of faith is given to us so that by word and example we may become witnesses before others." Pope John Paul II

In my opinion Marjorie Riopelle exemplified what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. She never missed an opportunity to share her Catholic Faith, and always did so with a joyful heart. And her joy was contagious. I thank God that I was blessed to have had Marjorie as a friend for almost 40 years. I will miss you dear friend.

Yesterday on the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe  I attended her  funeral at Saint Mary's Catholic Church in Ottawa. Father Bob Wild, Marjorie's Spiritual Director for many years gave a wonderful homily at the link below. May Marjorie's soul and all the souls of the Faithful departed, through the Mercy of God Rest in Peace Amen

 

 

Transcript of Fr. Wild's homily

 

Dear daughters and sons  of both Marjorie’s families, and relatives and friends, parishioners  of St. Mary’s, and Fr. Sean of the Companions that Marjorie loved so much,

I’ve had the privilege of accompanying Marjorie in her life with the Lord for over 45 years. We often spoke on the phone, and I visited her a number of times at her home. Every once in while we spoke about her funeral Mass and her wish that I celebrate it. I’m only a few years younger than Marjorie was, so I didn’t know if I would be here or not. At my age I`m not only glad to be here but glad to be anywhere.

Besides asking me to celebrate this Mass she also made the point that she didn`t want me to talk too much about herself but about the Lord. I`ve been trying to figure out a way to get around this request! So what I`ve come up with is this: to talk about things in her life with the Lord, and give glory to the Lord for them. This desire was very much in Marjorie’s heart as she chose for the first reading this morning the beautiful hymn from Daniel. Each phrase concludes with “ praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.” That’s my intention as  I relates some of Marjorie’s graces—to give glory to God for them

 Secondly, I’d like us to see these graces as a confirmation that the Lord will be faithful now in keeping his promises to her. My we be filled with the firm hope that she is now in the arms of Infinite Love.

So, besides giving thanks this morning for Marjorie’s life and the place she had in our lives, I invite you to grow in your own faith in the resurrection. 

To increase our faith that Marjorie will receive the Lord`s promises, listen again to what St. Paul wrote to the Romans in the second reading Marjorie chose:  Brothers and sisters:

Hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life.

And a reminder what Paul wrote to the Thessalonians:  “We do not want you to be unaware about those who have died, so that you may not grieve like the rest who have no hope.  For if we believe that Jesus died and rose, so will God, through Jesus, bring with him those who have died.” In this letter Paul is in no doubt about those who have died in the Lord. This is not presumption but faith.

And in the gospel that Marjorie chose, you just heard the Lord say:  I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”

How many thousands of times has Marjorie eaten this living bread! She had a great love for the Mass and in her later years was sorry she could not always get to Mass. A few months ago I visited with Marjorie and Ruth and brought her Communion. She was so glad to receive it. We should trust absolutely that this promise  of the Lord’s “whoever eats this bread will live forever,” will be fulfilled in her.

The Lord said what we do for one another we do to him, and we will not lose our reward.  How many times did Marjorie open her home for people to stay?  “I was in need of a place to stay, and you welcomed me.” In her later years I had to often remind her that she wasn’t as young as she used to be! so she might not be able to take in people any more.  But her heart was always ready to do so. We can trust that she will not lose her reward.

She was very generous with helping people in a monetary way. Some of you here may have been recipients of such generosity. You all have your own experiences of this.

One of my memories of her generosity was when I was stationed in England and got a call from her. In the course of the conversation she said, “Would you like to go to Padre Pio’s canonization?  I’ll pay for it.”  I thought for about 5 seconds and said, ‘OK, alright. Thanks so much!

When Jesus came after the death of Lazarus he said to Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” I can testify to Marjorie’s faith and love for Jesus. I trust absolutely that his promise in her will be fulfilled.

 I remember reading in Pope Benedict’s encyclical on hope a very, very encouraging opinion about people when they die that I’d like to share with you this morning.

He said that the majority of people are neither entirely bad or entirely good. Marjorie would agree that she was not entirely good! Most of us, like her,  are in between those two extremes.  That means, Pope Benedict said, that the majority of people when they die have some love in their hearts, some desire for truth and beauty and goodness.  After death, when they experience God’s love for them, this goodness in their hearts will be purified and they will enter into his loving embrace.  Again, I can testify to this love in Marjorie’s heart up to her last days.

I’d like to close with an experience I had in the Holy Land, and apply it to Marjorie.

I went to visit the tomb of Lazarus in Bethany.  I had to smile, at the entrance there was a sign, “Open all day.”  It’s been open for 2, 200 years! You go down a flight of stairs and come to an enclosure with a stone slab. Presumable the body was placed there. As I sat down on a chair the lights went out! I let out a little cry, but then remembered the sign. They probably didn’t see me go in.

I decided to stay there and meditate on what happened there.  I imagined myself on that slab, and then hearing, ever so faintly, the voice of Jesus calling me: “Robert, come out!” I imagined myself struggling to get up and walking towards the stone entrance, and the stone being taken away, and seeing Jesus there.

My dear friends, that is what is happening now. Jesus is calling Marjorie by name, “Marjorie, come to me!”  And nothing in the whole universe can prevent her from entering the arms of his Love.

 

Catherine de Hueck Doherty - A Bridge Between East and West - Fr. Bob Wild

Lecture at Saint Paul's University, 223 Main Street, Ottawa, Ontario
Thursday September 26th, 7:30 p.m. Amphitheatre
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