Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Ultimately faith is the only key to the universe: New Faith Based blog from Patricia Maloney
Ultimately faith is the only key to the universe: The title of this blog is a quote from Thomas Mert...: The title of this blog is a quote from Thomas Merton from his book New Seeds of Contemplation . I will post my faith based entries here ...
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Christmas 2012 - Annunciation of the Lord Parish, Ottawa Ontario
Christmas Eve Mass, Annunciation of the Lord Parish, Ottawa, ( highlights)
___________________________________________________________________________
Father Jerry's Homily
Labels:
Annunciation of the Lord Parish Ottawa,
Birth of Jesus,
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Father Jerry Gauvreau C.C.,
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Saturday, December 22, 2012
Monday, December 17, 2012
Hymne a Notre Dame de Guadalupe - Isabelle O'Connor
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Labels:
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Ward O'Connor
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Saint Juan Diego Pray for Us
Today's feast anticipates the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Wednesday,.
St. Juan Diego was born in 1474 in Cuauhtitlan, located 20 kilometers north of Mexico City.
On December 9, 1531, a native Mexican named Juan Diego rose before dawn to walk fifteen miles to daily Mass in what is now Mexico City. Juan lived a simple life as a weaver, farmer, and laborer. That morning, as Juan passed Tepeyac Hill, he heard music and saw a glowing cloud encircled by a rainbow.
A woman's voice called him to the top of the hill. There he saw a beautiful young woman dressed like an Aztec princess. She said she was the Virgin Mary and asked Juan to tell the bishop to build a church on that site. She said, "I vividly desire that a church be built on this site, so that in it I can be present and give my love, compassion, help, and defense, for I am your most devoted mother . . . to hear your laments and to remedy all your miseries, pains, and suffering.
The bishop was kind but skeptical. He asked Juan to bring proof of the Lady's identity. Before Juan could go back to the Lady, he found out his uncle was dying. Hurrying to get a priest, Juan missed his meeting with the Lady. The Lady, however, met him on his path and told him that his uncle had been cured.
She then told Juan to climb to the top of the hill where they first met. Juan was shocked to find flowers growing in the frozen soil. He gathered them in his cloak and took them at once to the bishop
Juan told the bishop what had happened and opened his cloak. The flowers that fell to the ground were Castilian roses (which were not grown in Mexico). But the bishop's eyes were on the glowing image of the Lady imprinted inside Juan's cloak.
Soon after, a church was built on the site where our Lady appeared, and thousands converted to Christianity. Our Lady of Guadalupe was declared the patroness of the Americas.
Juan Diego deeply loved the Holy Eucharist, and by special permission of the Bishop he received Holy Communion three times a week, a highly unusual occurrence in those times
He died on May 30, 1548, at the age of 74
Pope John Paul II praised Juan Diego for his simple faith nourished by catechesis and pictured him (who said to the Blessed Virgin Mary: “I am a nobody, I am a small rope, a tiny ladder, the tail end, a leaf”) as a model of humility for all of us
Pope John Paul II's homily during Juan Diego's canonization
I thank you, Father ... that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes; yea, Father, for such was your gracious will" (Mt 11:25-26).
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
These words of Jesus in today's Gospel are a special invitation to us to praise and thank God for the gift of the first indigenous Saint of the American Continent.
With deep joy I have come on pilgrimage to this Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Marian heart of Mexico and of America, to proclaim the holiness of Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, the simple, humble Indian who contemplated the sweet and serene face of Our Lady of Tepeyac, so dear to the people of Mexico....
Today I address a very affectionate greeting to the many indigenous people who have come from the different regions of the country, representing the various ethnic groups and cultures which make up the rich, multifaceted Mexican reality. The Pope expresses his closeness to them, his deep respect and admiration, and receives them fraternally in the Lord's name.
What was Juan Diego like? Why did God look upon him? The Book of Sirach, as we have heard, teaches us that God alone "is mighty; he is glorified by the humble" (cf. Sir 3:20). Saint Paul's words, also proclaimed at this celebration, shed light on the divine way of bringing about salvation: "God chose what is low and despised in the world ... so that no human being might boast in the presence of God" (1 Cor 1:28,29).
It is moving to read the accounts of Guadalupe, sensitively written and steeped in tenderness. In them the Virgin Mary, the handmaid "who glorified the Lord" (Lk 1:46), reveals herself to Juan Diego as the Mother of the true God. As a sign, she gives him precious roses, and as he shows them to the Bishop, he discovers the blessed image of Our Lady imprinted on his tilma.
"The Guadalupe Event," as the Mexican Episcopate has pointed out, "meant the beginning of evangelization with a vitality that surpassed all expectations. Christ's message, through his Mother, took up the central elements of the indigenous culture, purified them and gave them the definitive sense of salvation" (14 May 2002, No. 8).
Consequently Guadalupe and Juan Diego have a deep ecclesial and missionary meaning and are a model of perfectly inculturated evangelization.
"The Lord looks down from heaven, he sees all the sons of men" (Ps 33:13), we recited with the Psalmist, once again confessing our faith in God, who makes no distinctions of race or culture.
In accepting the Christian message without forgoing his indigenous identity, Juan Diego discovered the profound truth of the new humanity, in which all are called to be children of God. Thus he facilitated the fruitful meeting of two worlds and became the catalyst for the new Mexican identity, closely united to Our Lady of Guadalupe, whose mestizo face expresses her spiritual motherhood which embraces all Mexicans.
This is why the witness of his life must continue to be the inspiration for the building up of the Mexican nation, encouraging brotherhood among all its children and ever helping to reconcile Mexico with its origins, values, and traditions.
The noble task of building a better Mexico, with greater justice and solidarity, demands the cooperation of all. In particular, it is necessary today to support the indigenous peoples in their legitimate aspirations, respecting and defending the authentic values of each ethnic group. Mexico needs its indigenous peoples and these peoples need Mexico!
Beloved bothers and sisters of every ethnic background of Mexico and America, today, in praising the Indian Juan Diego, I want to express to all of you the closeness of the Church and the Pope, embracing you with love and encouraging you to overcome with hope the difficult times you are going through.
At this decisive moment in Mexico's history, having already crossed the threshold of the new millennium, I entrust to the powerful intercession of Saint Juan Diego the joys and hopes, the fears and anxieties of the beloved Mexican people, whom I carry in my heart.
Blessed Juan Diego, a good, Christian Indian, whom simple people have always considered a saint! We ask you to accompany the Church on her pilgrimage in Mexico, so that she may be more evangelizing and more missionary each day. Encourage the Bishops, support the priests, inspire new and holy vocations, help all those who give their lives to the cause of Christ and the spread of his Kingdom.
Happy Juan Diego, true and faithful man! We entrust to you our lay brothers and sisters so that, feeling the call to holiness, they may imbue every area of social life with the spirit of the Gospel. Bless families, strengthen spouses in their marriage, sustain the efforts of parents to give their children a Christian upbringing. Look with favor upon the pain of those who are suffering in body or in spirit, on those afflicted by poverty, loneliness, marginalization, or ignorance. May all people, civic leaders and ordinary citizens, always act in accordance with the demands of justice and with respect for the dignity of each person, so that in this way peace may be reinforced.
Beloved Juan Diego, "the talking eagle"! Show us the way that leads to the "Dark Virgin" of Tepeyac, that she may receive us in the depths of her heart, for she is the loving, compassionate Mother who guides us to the true God. Amen
St. Juan Diego was born in 1474 in Cuauhtitlan, located 20 kilometers north of Mexico City.
On December 9, 1531, a native Mexican named Juan Diego rose before dawn to walk fifteen miles to daily Mass in what is now Mexico City. Juan lived a simple life as a weaver, farmer, and laborer. That morning, as Juan passed Tepeyac Hill, he heard music and saw a glowing cloud encircled by a rainbow.
A woman's voice called him to the top of the hill. There he saw a beautiful young woman dressed like an Aztec princess. She said she was the Virgin Mary and asked Juan to tell the bishop to build a church on that site. She said, "I vividly desire that a church be built on this site, so that in it I can be present and give my love, compassion, help, and defense, for I am your most devoted mother . . . to hear your laments and to remedy all your miseries, pains, and suffering.
The bishop was kind but skeptical. He asked Juan to bring proof of the Lady's identity. Before Juan could go back to the Lady, he found out his uncle was dying. Hurrying to get a priest, Juan missed his meeting with the Lady. The Lady, however, met him on his path and told him that his uncle had been cured.
She then told Juan to climb to the top of the hill where they first met. Juan was shocked to find flowers growing in the frozen soil. He gathered them in his cloak and took them at once to the bishop
Juan told the bishop what had happened and opened his cloak. The flowers that fell to the ground were Castilian roses (which were not grown in Mexico). But the bishop's eyes were on the glowing image of the Lady imprinted inside Juan's cloak.
Soon after, a church was built on the site where our Lady appeared, and thousands converted to Christianity. Our Lady of Guadalupe was declared the patroness of the Americas.
Juan Diego deeply loved the Holy Eucharist, and by special permission of the Bishop he received Holy Communion three times a week, a highly unusual occurrence in those times
He died on May 30, 1548, at the age of 74
Pope John Paul II praised Juan Diego for his simple faith nourished by catechesis and pictured him (who said to the Blessed Virgin Mary: “I am a nobody, I am a small rope, a tiny ladder, the tail end, a leaf”) as a model of humility for all of us
Pope John Paul II's homily during Juan Diego's canonization
I thank you, Father ... that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes; yea, Father, for such was your gracious will" (Mt 11:25-26).
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
These words of Jesus in today's Gospel are a special invitation to us to praise and thank God for the gift of the first indigenous Saint of the American Continent.
With deep joy I have come on pilgrimage to this Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Marian heart of Mexico and of America, to proclaim the holiness of Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, the simple, humble Indian who contemplated the sweet and serene face of Our Lady of Tepeyac, so dear to the people of Mexico....
Today I address a very affectionate greeting to the many indigenous people who have come from the different regions of the country, representing the various ethnic groups and cultures which make up the rich, multifaceted Mexican reality. The Pope expresses his closeness to them, his deep respect and admiration, and receives them fraternally in the Lord's name.
What was Juan Diego like? Why did God look upon him? The Book of Sirach, as we have heard, teaches us that God alone "is mighty; he is glorified by the humble" (cf. Sir 3:20). Saint Paul's words, also proclaimed at this celebration, shed light on the divine way of bringing about salvation: "God chose what is low and despised in the world ... so that no human being might boast in the presence of God" (1 Cor 1:28,29).
It is moving to read the accounts of Guadalupe, sensitively written and steeped in tenderness. In them the Virgin Mary, the handmaid "who glorified the Lord" (Lk 1:46), reveals herself to Juan Diego as the Mother of the true God. As a sign, she gives him precious roses, and as he shows them to the Bishop, he discovers the blessed image of Our Lady imprinted on his tilma.
"The Guadalupe Event," as the Mexican Episcopate has pointed out, "meant the beginning of evangelization with a vitality that surpassed all expectations. Christ's message, through his Mother, took up the central elements of the indigenous culture, purified them and gave them the definitive sense of salvation" (14 May 2002, No. 8).
Consequently Guadalupe and Juan Diego have a deep ecclesial and missionary meaning and are a model of perfectly inculturated evangelization.
"The Lord looks down from heaven, he sees all the sons of men" (Ps 33:13), we recited with the Psalmist, once again confessing our faith in God, who makes no distinctions of race or culture.
In accepting the Christian message without forgoing his indigenous identity, Juan Diego discovered the profound truth of the new humanity, in which all are called to be children of God. Thus he facilitated the fruitful meeting of two worlds and became the catalyst for the new Mexican identity, closely united to Our Lady of Guadalupe, whose mestizo face expresses her spiritual motherhood which embraces all Mexicans.
This is why the witness of his life must continue to be the inspiration for the building up of the Mexican nation, encouraging brotherhood among all its children and ever helping to reconcile Mexico with its origins, values, and traditions.
The noble task of building a better Mexico, with greater justice and solidarity, demands the cooperation of all. In particular, it is necessary today to support the indigenous peoples in their legitimate aspirations, respecting and defending the authentic values of each ethnic group. Mexico needs its indigenous peoples and these peoples need Mexico!
Beloved bothers and sisters of every ethnic background of Mexico and America, today, in praising the Indian Juan Diego, I want to express to all of you the closeness of the Church and the Pope, embracing you with love and encouraging you to overcome with hope the difficult times you are going through.
At this decisive moment in Mexico's history, having already crossed the threshold of the new millennium, I entrust to the powerful intercession of Saint Juan Diego the joys and hopes, the fears and anxieties of the beloved Mexican people, whom I carry in my heart.
Blessed Juan Diego, a good, Christian Indian, whom simple people have always considered a saint! We ask you to accompany the Church on her pilgrimage in Mexico, so that she may be more evangelizing and more missionary each day. Encourage the Bishops, support the priests, inspire new and holy vocations, help all those who give their lives to the cause of Christ and the spread of his Kingdom.
Happy Juan Diego, true and faithful man! We entrust to you our lay brothers and sisters so that, feeling the call to holiness, they may imbue every area of social life with the spirit of the Gospel. Bless families, strengthen spouses in their marriage, sustain the efforts of parents to give their children a Christian upbringing. Look with favor upon the pain of those who are suffering in body or in spirit, on those afflicted by poverty, loneliness, marginalization, or ignorance. May all people, civic leaders and ordinary citizens, always act in accordance with the demands of justice and with respect for the dignity of each person, so that in this way peace may be reinforced.
Beloved Juan Diego, "the talking eagle"! Show us the way that leads to the "Dark Virgin" of Tepeyac, that she may receive us in the depths of her heart, for she is the loving, compassionate Mother who guides us to the true God. Amen
Labels:
Our Lady of Guadalupe,
Saint Juan Diego
History of the Miraculous Medal
Miraculous Medal
from
the book: 33 Days to Morning Glory
by
Fr. Michael E. Gaitley, MIC pg. 2169,170
Like the scapular, the miraculous medal is a
sacramental. It originated from an apparition of Mary to St. Catherine Laboure,
a French nun, living in Paris. The specific apparition that has to do with the
miraculous medal occurred on November 27th, 1830.
In that vision of November 27, St. Catherine saw Mary
standing on a half-globe, with a serpent crushed beneath her feet and her hands
bejewelled with rings, holding a small golden globe with a cross on it. Bright light shone from some of the jewels on
her fingers. Suddenly, the small golden
globe disappeared from Mary’s hands, and she opened her arms outward. The light
from the jewels extended out from her hands and a semi-circle frame with an
inscription in gold: “O,Mary,
conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.”
The vision seemed to rotate and on the reverse side.
Catherine saw the letter “M” with a
cross on it and surrounded by twelve stars. The cross stood on a horizontal
bar. Under the “M” were two hearts engulfed in flames, one encircled in thorns,
and one pierced by a sword.
Mary then told Catherine, “Have a medal struck upon this model. Those who wear it will receive
great graces, especially if they wear it around their neck.”
Mary explained the meaning of the medal to Catherine
as follows. Mary is Queen of heaven and
earth. She crushes Satan who is helpless
before her, under her foot. ( see Gen.
3:15 ). Her arms are open and the many rays of light are graces she obtains for
those who request them. The dark jewels, the ones that are not full of light,
represent the graces that are available but that people don’t receive because
they don’t ask for them.
The inscription, “O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee,”
refers to Mary’s Immaculate Conception, which means that from the first moment
of her conception, she was free from all stain of original sin.
On the back of the medal, the twelve stars which surround
Mary, represent the twelve Apostles, who represent the whole Church. The “M” is
for Mary and the cross is the Cross of Christ, the symbol of our redemption.
The horizontal bar represents the earth. The placement of the cross and the bar
on, and in the letter “M” shows Mary’s participation in the Cross of Christ and
in our world. The two hearts are those of Jesus and Mary burning with love for
us all.
With the Church’s approval, the first “Medals of the
Immaculate Conception” were made in 1832, and almost immediately reports of
miraculous cures began to spring up so much so that the medal became known as
the “miraculous medal”
Since the time of the apparitions, millions of
medals have been distributed around the world, especially by people like
Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta. It’s reported that her Missionaries of
Charity currently distribute 1.8 million medals per year.
The miraculous medal received liturgical approbation
( special recognition and approval for public prayer) at the direction of Aloisi
Cardinal Masella, Prefect of the Sacred Congregation of Rites, in 1895. It’s
one of only three sacramentals in the Church to be so liturgically honored,
sharing this distinction with the rosary and the brown scapular.
Far from being a good luck charm or superstition,
powerful conversions have taken place through Mary’s intercession and the use
of the miraculous medal.
One of the most famous conversions happened to
Alphonse Ratisbonne, a Jewish atheist, on January 20, 1842. He despised the
Church and the Catholic faith, especially since his older brother Theodor
converted to Catholicism and became a Catholic priest. On a dare from a
Catholic friend, Baron de Bussieres Ratisbonne began to wear the miraculous
medal and to recite the Memorare
prayer to prove the fruitlessness of what he thought were just the ridiculous
superstitions of the Catholic religion.
On January 20th, Ratisbonne accompanied Baron de Bussiers into
a church, what is now the Basilica of St. Andres delle Fratte in Rome, where
the Baron had some business to attend to. When the Baron returned to him, he
found Ratisbonne weeping and kissing his medal saying, “I saw her! I saw her!”
Labels:
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Father Jerry Gauvreau,
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Saturday, December 8, 2012
Feast of the Immaculate Conception
Homily
Father Jerry Gauvreau C.C.
Annunciation of the Lord Parish,
Ottawa, ON, Canada
Immaculate Conception Dec. 8th
The
Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary is truly a most beautiful
Solemnity we celebrate today, especially in the Church’s Year of Faith.
Our Blessed
Mother Mary not only shows us how to have Faith in God but also how to step out
into expectant Faith all the while believing in ourselves!
In 1830,
Our Blessed Mother appeared to a young girl by the name of Catherine Laboure.
In these
apparitions, it was Mary who revealed or instructed Catherine to have the
Miraculous medal made – Catherine spoke
to her Spiritual Director and it was then proposed to the Archbishop (of Paris)
who agreed and allowed the medal to be made.
For a more
detailed explanation see the book: 33 Days to Morning Glory by Fr. Michael E.
Gaitley, MIC pg. 169,170
Back of the
medal: letter M with a Cross above it and a crossbar below it - 12 Stars (apostles)
circling this and under the letter M there are 2 hearts – Sacred Heart with
crown of thorns & Immaculate Heart, pierced by a sword.
On the front
of the medal; Mary as the Immaculate Conception with the date 1830 and circling
Mary are words inscribed which say: “Mary conceived without sin, pray for us
who have recourse to thee.” (recourse-turning to thee – turning to someone for
help)
The
Miraculous medal back then was actually known as the medal of the Immaculate
Conception but due to so many cures and miracles people started to call it the
Miraculous Medal.
At the time
of Our Lady appearing to St. Catherine in 1830 the Immaculate Conception of
Mary was widely believed throughout the Church but it wasn’t a dogma of our
faith.
Around 1847
it was Pope Pius IX who consulted with the Cardinals and the theologians of the
church to help him discern whether or not the Immaculate Conception should be
defined as a dogma of the Church - the Cardinals agreed and then over 603
bishops of the world were asked for their input – 543 agreed (4 said no and the
rest abstained) on Dec.8th 1854.
The definition itself reads as follows: "We declare, pronounce and define that the doctrine which holds that the Most Blessed Virgin Mary in the first instant of her conception by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God in view of the merits of Jesus Christ the Saviour of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin, is a doctrine revealed by God and therefore to be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful."
The definition itself reads as follows: "We declare, pronounce and define that the doctrine which holds that the Most Blessed Virgin Mary in the first instant of her conception by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God in view of the merits of Jesus Christ the Saviour of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin, is a doctrine revealed by God and therefore to be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful."
Just 4
years later in 1858 this dogma of our Faith was confirmed in the Marian
Apparitions to St. Bernadette in Lourdes. After persistent requests from St. Bernadette as to who she was
Mary said to her: “I am the Immaculate
Conception.”
Just to
re-cap: The apparitions of Our Blessed
Mother to St. Catherine back in 1830 about the Miraculous Medal prepared us for
the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in 1854, and the apparitions at Lourdes
to St. Bernadette in 1858 confirmed it.
Turn to
Mary today with open hearts for it is when we have open hearts that the Lord
will fill them up with Himself
Last night
at the CCO Summit – which consisted of a talk, Eucharistic Adoration, praise
and worship and confessions, the young lady who spoke challenged all of us to
Prepare Him room – "are we doing it?” she asked
Mary said
Yes – why can`t we? What’s holding us
back?
A few years
ago in one of Our Blessed Mother’s messages (during Lent) from Medugorje, Mary,
Our Lady Queen of Peace said: "our
freedom is our weakness."
This Advent and in the church’s Year of Faith I would like all of us to use our freedom as our strength – choose Jesus!
This Advent and in the church’s Year of Faith I would like all of us to use our freedom as our strength – choose Jesus!
I encourage
everyone today to turn to our Blessed Mother Mary. In fact, each day we need to
beg her to obtain the graces we need to totally surrender our hearts to Jesus,
to say yes to him just as she did. Pope
Benedict XVI says: Mary is Mother of the Yes.
I think
many sons & daughters would learn plenty from their mother- no question Jesus did. We need to pay attention or start paying
attention to what Our Blessed Mother is telling us. At the Wedding Feast of
Cana, Jesus turned water into wine.
Mary
instructed the servers to do whatever Jesus told them to do. This is certainly a good word for us today!
If you’re not
sure what this “do whatever he tells you
to do” is for your own life - just
ask Mary for help – ask Mary to help you love the Lord Jesus with all your
heart as she did.
Fr. Dennis
Lemieux from MH in his book, the Air We Breathe encourages us to: sit at the
feet of Mary today, to contemplate her and to ask her in silence and prayer to
teach us what we need to know about loving God – Amen!
Father Jerry Gauvreau C.C.
After Mass the Knights of Columbus led us in a beautiful Rosary for Life. Click Here to pray this rosary
Labels:
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Sunday, November 25, 2012
Christ the King
Homily Rev. Hezuk Shroff
Today is the last Sunday of the Church’s
liturgical year. Ever year, we end the
Church’s liturgical cycle by celebrating the Kingship of Christ. But what exactly do we mean when we say that
Christ is King? Even in the Gospel, we
see that Pontius Pilate is confused over the whole notion of kingship? “You are truly king?”, he asks Our Lord. And Jesus’ reply is very enigmatic, but also
very enlightening: maybe not for Pontius
Pilate, but it certainly is for us.
Jesus replies, “My kingdom is not of this world.” And then he adds, “I came into this world to
bear witness to the Truth. Everyone who
belongs to the Truth listens to me.”
Our Lord Jesus Christ, then, is truly a
King. But his Kingship is not of this
world. It is not a kingship founded on
worldly power and strength and might. It
is a Kingship that is founded on Truth.
Jesus Christ is King in the realm of Truth. What exactly does this mean, and how does it
apply to us today, we who desire to be his disciples, faithful to his
Commandments and his teachings?
In the Old Testament, the people of
Israel did not originally have a king.
They had patriarchs, elders, and then judges. But there came a time when the Israelites
looked all around them, and saw kings on all their borders. They became jealous, and so they cried out to
God, “We want a king! We want a
king! We want a king, just like all the
other people around us!” This cry for a
king saddened God. It was never in his
divine plan to give his people a king.
Why? Because he wanted them to
understand that he himself was their King!
They did not have a human king because their true King was God
himself. That is what God meant when he
said to his people through the prophets, “You shall be my people, and I shall
be your God.” And also, it is what we
heard proclaimed in the responsorial psalm:
“The Lord is King; he is robed in majesty!” Now you have to admit that having God himself
as your King is not a shabby deal at all!
And yet that was not enough for the Israelites. They insisted, “We want a king! We want a king!” And so, God finally said to them, “You want a
king? Fine. I will give you a worldly king.” And that is when the monarchy was founded
among the Israelites. Some of Israel’s
kings were good, others were horrible.
Every king in the Bible was measured against one standard alone: was he faithful to the Will of God? In other words, was he faithful to the true
King? Some kings instituted sacrifices
to idols or false gods. Others remained
faithful to the one true God of Israel.
Other kings were faithful in terms of how they governed the people, but
in themselves, they led very morally questionable lives or frequently fell into
sin. King David is an example of a king
who “was after the heart of God”, as the Scriptures say. And yet, he too fell into moral vices, such
as adultery and murder. But King David
repented, and that is what made him so blessed in the eyes of God.
Finally, the monarchy fell apart among
the Israelites. And despite their
attempts to restore it, it was never restored to Israel. And so, when Christ came into this world
among the Jewish people, they had long lived without a king of their own. The only kings they knew were representatives
of their oppressors, the Romans. And so
Our Lord’s response to Pontius Pilate was a bit of a surprise. He clearly told Pilate that he is truly a
king, but not a king in the worldly sense.
And he unites his Kingship to the notion of Truth: “Whoever belongs to the Truth listens to
me.” This is a very bold claim that Our
Lord made.
Psalm 22 (or 23 in some modern Bibles),
begins with the famous words, “The Lord is my Shepherd, there is nothing I
shall want.” This translation follows
the Hebrew version of that psalm. But
the Latin and Greek versions of psalm 22 are very different to the Hebrew. They both begin the psalm with the words,
“The Lord rules over me; there is nothing that I lack.” These versions of the psalm do not speak of
God as being a Shepherd (as the Hebrew version does): rather, they speak about God as being a ruler
over his people: in other words, God is
King! And so it seems that the
Israelites finally understood through the psalms and the prophets why the
monarchy had to die: because they came
to a realisation that God himself is the only King that they truly need, and
when God rules over you, how can you possibly be in want of anything else --
much less, of an earthly king?
The Church very consciously applies the
words of Psalm 22 (23) to Jesus himself.
“The Lord rules over me” means, for us Christians, “Christ rules over
me.” Christ is therefore the true King,
in the fullest sense of the word, because he is not only a man, but God
himself, the King of Heaven and earth, incarnate in human flesh. There is a
very traditional and triumphant hymn in the Catholic Church that always used to
be sung on the Solemnity of Christ the King.
The words and melody were both triumphal in nature, very regal we would
say. In that hymn, we would sing, Christus vincit, Christus regnat, Christus
imperat! which means, “Christ
conquers, Christ reigns, Christ rules!”
Sadly, it is not heard very often today, except in places where the
Traditional Catholic Liturgy is still strong and alive. Perhaps it is not used today because it
appears to sound a bit triumphalistic to modern ears. But there is nothing triumphalistic about it,
in the negative sense. It is simply a
hymn that proclaims the universal Kingship of Christ, over all peoples, all
nations, all men and women. Many who do
not accept Christ can deny his kingship over them; but that does not make him
any less of a King. Christ must
reign in our hearts, for without him, we can do absolutely nothing.
Ultimately, saying that Christ is our
King means that we give over all that we have, and all that we are (our very
being itself) to him, to do with as he wills, according to his good will and
pleasure. Saying that Christ is our King
also means that we must humbly submit ourselves to him, and to his Truth. Remember what he said to Pontius Pilate: “Whoever belongs to the Truth listens to
me!” Saying that Christ is our King
means allowing all that we do to be offered up to him for his greater
glory. In the Church’s liturgy, we show our
reverence to Christ the King is various ways.
For example, the priest bows his head slightly whenever the Most Holy
Name of Jesus is said aloud (as we do also at the Holy Name of Mary). And we genuflect in the presence of Jesus,
once again to acknowledge that we are in the presence of our King. In ancient times, whenever a King entered a
room where his subjects were present, they would bend the knee to the floor in
order to acknowledge his kingship over them.
In the Middle Ages, this custom was maintained, but with a very
important difference: the right knee was
bended only to God (so, for example, before the Real Presence of Jesus
in the Blessed Sacrament), whereas the left knee was bended in the presence of
the earthly king. This was done to show
that we never give the same honour and veneration to a human king that we would
give to God himself. That is why even
today, we always bend the right knee before the Tabernacle or the Real
Presence of Jesus on the altar. This is
also why we kneel to prepare ourselves for the consecration, to remind us that
Christ our true King is about to become present on the altar.
One of the natural consequences of
acknowledging Christ as our true King is that we also acknowledge the Virgin
Mary as our true Queen. She is Queen of
Heaven and earth, because she is the worthy Mother of the King of Heaven
and earth. Images of Jesus as King and
Mary as our Queen are not meant to distance Christ or the Blessed Virgin from
us: on the contrary, they are meant to
show us how much we are loved by God.
True kingship is not about lording it over one’s subject. The true king is the one who serves his
people, and that is exactly what Christ came to do for us out of love. As our King, he serves us: “I came not to be served,” he says, “but to
serve, and to give up my life for the multitude.” Christ the King shows us that true power,
authority and kingship always imply humble service; they imply taking the last
place, becoming the servant of all.
Today, we give thanks to God the Father,
for sending us his Son to be our Saviour, our Lord, our King. We pray that one day, all things may be
restored to God the Father in and through Christ his Son -- just like the
Collect (opening) prayer of this Mass says.
And as the same pray says, we ask for the grace of being set free from
slavery and sin, so as to render service to our Majesty, Christ the King, and
to proclaim unceasingly his praises for all eternity! Christus
vincit, Christus regnat, Christus imperat!
Christ conquers, Christ reigns, Christ rules...in our hearts! May his Kingdom come, here on earth, as it is
in Heaven. Amen.
Rev. Hezuk Shroff is the Associate Pastor: of Divine Infant Parish
6658 Bilberry Drive
Orleans ON K1C 2S9
Rev. Hezuk Shroff is the Associate Pastor: of Divine Infant Parish
6658 Bilberry Drive
Orleans ON K1C 2S9
Pro Life Mass, Divine Infant Catholic Church Ottawa Ontario, November 24, 2012
Homily of Rev. Hezuk Shroff
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Today the Church celebrates the memorial of the Martyrs Andrew Dung-Lac and his companions. This feast day celebrates all those Vietnamese Catholics who were martyred in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. I think that it is rather providential that our monthly Pro-Life Mass falls this month on the feast day of these martyrs, for what we are doing in the Pro-Life movement today is in itself a type of spiritual martyrdom, in the original sense of the word.
What exactly is a martyr? The word “martyr” means “witness”. The martyrs are those who bore witness to Christ, the supreme witness that man can give to God: the witness of allowing one’s own blood to be shed, giving up one’s own life in order to remain faithful to the Lord. The witness of the martyrs is a heroic witness. Martyrdom is a heroic type of fidelity. Saint Paul tells us that Our Lord Jesus Christ was faithful: faithful to the very end, faithful unto death on the Cross. Our Lord could have made his life “easier” in a certain way, by either denying the truth of who he was, or even remaining silent in regard to that truth. He was crucified because he chose to bear witness to that truth, the truth of his identity as the Son of God, and instead of telling his persecutors what they wanted to hear (and thus probably sparing himself the ignominy of the Cross), Our Lord told them what they needed to hear.
In the Pro-Life movement, we need to have the courage to do the same. Telling people what they want to hear, watering down the message of the Catholic Faith and the inviolable dignity of the human person, created in the image and likeness of God …. watering that down in order to please the world is a compromise that we and the Catholic Church can never make. The world needs to hear the truth, and true charity means that we have the obligation to bring that truth to the world -- whatever the cost may be.
The holy Vietnamese martyrs, whose feast day we celebrate today, attest to Christ’s lordship over their whole lives by freely giving up for him the most fundamental gift that God had given them: the gift of life itself. They faithfully bore witness to the truth that is found in the words of Our Lord to his disciples, “No greater love is there than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Saint Andrew Dung-Lac and the holy Vietnamese martyrs did just that: they laid down their lives for their greatest Friend: their Lord and their Saviour, Jesus Christ! They laid down their life also for their own people, so that the sacrifice of their blood being shed in union with Christ’s own Precious Blood, may bring about the graces needed for the conversion for their people.
The readings at today’s Mass are proper to the feast of the holy Vietnamese martyrs. But in a certain way, these readings correspond fortuitously to our Pro-Life theme at this Mass. The first reading, from the Book of Wisdom, tells us that the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God. It tells us that no torment will every touch them, and that in the eyes of the world, they are destroyed, but in reality they are at peace. Their hope is filled with immortality, though in the sight of the world, they were somehow punished. Their lives were offered up to God and accepted by him as a sacrificial burnt offering.
Who can read these words, in the context of this Pro-Life Mass, without thinking of the unborn? To the eyes of many, they are useless; they have no “rights” until they have come forth fully from the womb. Until they are fully born, to many, they are just a part of their mother’s body, and so their mother can dispose of them as she chooses, much like she would dispose of a wart, or a cancerous group of cells -- as if to be pregnant were some sort of a contagious disease. How can today’s so-called “sophisticated” world look at the unborn in this way? When science has proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that a foetus is indeed a living, human being, the forces that be insist that it is nothing but a group of cells, with no rights in the eyes of the law, and no rights from a moral perspective either. If they are only a part of the mother’s body, then surely the mother can do with them as she wills.
Such ideas defy human logic, human reason, human compassion. In the name of freedom, our society says that a mother can choose to kill her own child. Is this what “freedom” truly is? Is freedom the right to choose evil? Is freedom the right to kill? Am I more free when I choose to murder, to steal, to do what is morally unacceptable? If so, then there would be no one more free in our Western society than the murderer, the rapist, the thief. Does the power to do evil make man free? That is the fundamental question that must be answered.
The modern notion of freedom equates freedom with licence. Licence is about me being able to do what I want, how I want, whenever I want -- regardless of the consequences. But is that what authentic freedom is? Is that what makes a man truly free?
The Church’s answer is a categorical “No!” How does the Church, then, see freedom? The Church views freedom in the same way in which Our Lord sees it. In St. John’s Gospel, ch. 8., Our Lord is speaking to those who believe in him. When asked how to be a true disciple of his, Jesus replies, “If you continue in my word, then you shall be my disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (Jn 8:31-32) “The truth shall make you free.” Ever since those words were uttered, Jesus has made it clear beyond a shadow of a doubt what authentic freedom really is. Freedom and truth are inseparable. One is only authentically free when one is living in accordance with the truth. That is Christ’s definition of freedom; and so too it has become the Church’s. The Catholic Church emphatically states that freedom and truth can never be separated. To live in a way that is not in conformity with the truth is not to be “free from the truth”, but to be “a slave to untruth”. In fact, that is exactly what Our Lord says to his disciples. “Whoever sins,” he says, “is a slave of sin.” (Jn 8:34-36). And so we see very clearly that there can be no such thing as the “freedom to sin” or the “freedom to do evil”. Sin and evil, by their very nature, turn us away from God. They are anti-God, and because all freedom comes from God and from his truth, whenever we sin or do evil, we do the exact opposite of becoming free: we become slaves.
The Church is unconditionally and unabashedly pro-life. How can she be anything else? All life comes from God: that is a central truth of our Faith. If God therefore is the author of all human life, then he alone has absolute power over life. The great temptation of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden was the temptation to “be like God”: to usurp the power and authority that God alone possesses. Satan, in the form of a serpent, tempted Eve with the false notion of freedom that reigns in today’s world. He tempted Eve with the ultimate temptation: “You shall be like God.” In other words, “you will be the one to determine what is good and evil. You will be the norm of truth.” Isn’t this what many in today’s society wish for? Do not many today seek to be the norm of all truth? “If I believe something, then it is true. Don’t tell me that I don’t have the right to do this or that: if I believe it is good for me, then it is good -- regardless of what you say.”
This attitude is what leads to the desire, in our modern Western culture, to re-define anything and everything according to our own “convenient truths.” We want to re-define marriage, to re-define life, to re-define even what it means to be human. And in doing so, we become less human. That is the great irony of it all. Ultimately, when man rejects God and the truths given to him by God, he does not become more of a man, but less. We see this very clearly in the movement that calls itself “Pro-Choice.” In reality, as we all know, it is not a movement that is pro-choice, but one that is pro-abortion, that is: pro-the-choice-to-kill. The pro-death or anti-life movement is founded on this false notion that somehow we are more free when we can choose evil. But in choosing evil, not only do we lose our freedom: we also lose our humanity. Man was created for God. He was thus created for the Good and for Truth. He was created for the Supreme Good, the Supreme Truth, and it is only insofar as he pursues that Good and follows that Truth that he will become truly free, and truly human. The Pro-Life movement, therefore, is a movement that is Pro-Truth, Pro-Goodness, and ultimately, Pro-God. One cannot be for God and against Life, just like one cannot be for God and against Truth. This is why the Pro-Life movement is not just an action of Social Justice. It is much deeper than that. It is a fight for all that is good, noble, just and true -- because it is a fight for the primacy of God. Life and Truth always lead us to God, for he is their very Author and Source. How many people, for example, begin in the Pro-Life movement, who are Pro-Life but not necessarily Catholic, and who end up through their service to Life by ultimately finding God and finding Christ in his Catholic Church? This is not a sheer coincidence. It is the Truth of God active and alive in their hearts.
Last week, I went to a showing of a beautiful movie on the life of St. Augustine, and in that movie, the great bishop Ambrose confronts the early Augustine (before his conversion). And what he says to Augustine resonates in his heart, and eventually leads to the conversion of that great saint. In the movie, Augustine is speaking about truth and man’s search for the truth. He speaks about it in philosophical and abstract terms. “Man was made to search for the truth,” Augustine says. Saint Ambrose listens to him charitably, and then simply says these words: “Man does not search for the Truth; man allows the Truth to find him.” These words were one of the highlights of the film. How true they are! Yes, we do seek the truth, but ultimately it is the Truth that seeks us. Why? Because the Truth is not an abstract concept; the Truth is not a thought, an intellectual reasoning: the Truth is a Person, and that Person is Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Most Blessed Trinity! This is why truth always leads us to Christ, who said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life!” To be pro-Christ means therefore to be pro-Truth and pro-Life!
In today’s world, we have the obligation to bring the message of that Truth to all those who have ears to hear. We must always do so with great Charity, of course, but we must never allow a false charity to lead us to watering down the Truth. And neither should we allow fear to turn us away from proclaiming the Truth. Remember Our Lord’s words in today’s Gospel: Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves. They will hand you over to councils; they will flog you in their synagogues; you will be dragged to bear witness before governors and kings because of me. But when they hand you over, do not worry about what you will say or how you should speak, for it is not you who will speak, but the Spirit of your Father in Heaven speaking through you. Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child [and today, we should add: And a mother, the unborn infant she carries in her womb]. You will be hated by all because of my name. But do not fear, for the one who perseveres to the end will be saved.
In other words, brothers and sisters, Our Lord is telling us that we have the obligation to proclaim the Truth -- charitably, but with boldness -- and that we should never fear the consequences, for it is God himself who will be our strength, and God himself who will be speaking and converting human hearts through our words. God is Truth, and God is Love. That is the heart of the message of the Catholic Church. And that is also the core of the Pro-Life message. We are Pro-Life because we are pro-Truth and pro-Love, and ultimately, because we are pro-God!
May God bless each and every one of you as you continue bearing witness to the Truth about the dignity of all human life, from the moment of natural conception to natural death. May the holy Vietnamese martyrs give you the courage to bear witness to the inherent sacredness of human life, even in the face of adversity and suffering. And may Our Blessed Mother intercede for you and for your ministry, may she lead you and guide you as you work unceasingly for the cause of Life. Our Lady will reward you greatly for what you do (you can be sure of it), for she is the Mother of the Pro-Life movement. Eve, whose name means “Mother of all the Living” sadly brought sin and death into this world. But Mary is the New Eve, the true Mother of all the Living. She brought Life into the world, by conceiving and giving birth to the Son of God. May God bless you all through the intercession of His Blessed Mother. And may the Holy Angels and Saints strengthen you in your resolve to be authentic witnesses to the very end, witnesses to the Gospel of Life, witnesses to the Gospel of the One who said, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life.” In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Rev. Hezuk Shroff is the Associate Pastor: of Divine Infant Parish
6658 Bilberry Drive
Orleans ON K1C 2S9
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