A Christmas Eve Homily: Manger and Ciborium

Homily Outline for Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve

Today is born our Savior, Jesus Christ the Lord! Our hearts and minds swell with joy and wonder. God has taken on flesh and dwells among us! We were lost in sin and darkness, and the Light of the World leapt out of heaven down to earth to seek and find us!

Who are we to have been chosen by the Lord? Christ came for us, for each one of us particularly, personally. Our gospel tells us of the census of Caesar Augustus, when the people of the whole Roman Empire were counted. It was a worldly gathering for worldly reasons: power, money, fame. That is NOT why we gather tonight. If we are here in this church, it is because in some way, shape or form these joyful tidings have reached us: Jesus Christ is born in Bethlehem! Why us?

If God has called us to celebrate this feast, it is because of His immense and faithful love for us. We have been created in love, and in Jesus Christ we are to be redeemed in love. No one of us is an accident, a random occurrence. We were born and chosen because of God’s love for us.

The gospel for this later Mass speaks very explicitly of the shepherds who heard those tidings, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord.” It is no small thing that these shepherds were among the first to hear this Good News. To be a shepherd was no great or honorable thing… it meant being out by yourself most of the year, wandering about in pasture lands, attacked by thieves and wolves, stinking as the sheep stank, cold in the winter, sweltering in the summer, wet when it rained, and no great pay at the end of all that trouble. People could smell you coming, and even if you were honest, you had the reputation of being a wanderer, a drifter, and a thief.

No shepherd thought of himself as being some great somebody. Yet it was upon the shepherds that the glory of the Lord shone and the angels spoke. Jesus did not come for those who needed no help, but precisely for us here tonight, who know, or should know, that we need God’s help very badly. We do not rejoice tonight because we are so great, but because God has loved us despite our brokenness. Listen to Paul again, “The grace of God has appeared, saving all and training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age…” This is the call of Christmas to each one of us: turn away from godless ways and towards Jesus Christ, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Those shepherds heard these tidings and came to the Manger. Will we follow their example?

Christmas is not just a time of generic cheer and family warmth. Nor is this the commemoration of something that is simply past history. Jesus was born of Mary to save us, and His birth set off a series of events that brought about our salvation and continues to offer each one of us a different path, the path of love and virtue. In what town was Jesus born? It was the town of David, Bethlehem. Do you know what Bethlehem means in Hebrew? House of Bread. No one could have predicted that the Messiah would be God Himself, but even less could they have predicted that Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man, would sustain and extend and continue His presence with us under the appearance of Bread and Wine.

What is our feast’s common name? It is Christmas, the Mass of Christ! Many in our time want to forget that Christ is the reason for the season, but we can also forget that the only fitting response to God being born as a baby child is to offer and receive the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the Eucharist. Jesus was born in a town called “The House of Bread”, and that was no accident, no mere coincidence.

So, tonight, we have been called together by faith, by family, perhaps even by force of habit or nostalgia. Perhaps you are here tonight mostly because it seems like a nice thing to do on Christmas. Perhaps you are here because it pleases your spouse or your parents or your grandparents. Whatever human reasons have brought us here, there is a deeper truer reason, God’s reason for bringing us here. The prophecy of Isaiah was fulfilled 2000 years ago in a little cave-stable in Bethlehem, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone…. For a child is born to us, a son is given us; upon his shoulder dominion rests. They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace.” That prophecy continues to be fulfilled, and at each Eucharist the Lord’s presence is just as real and surprising as it was in that little baby in the manger. How will we respond? Will we receive this unearned gift as the shepherds did? Will we continue about the eating and drinking and gift-giving without any deeper thought? A Child came down from heaven, and we still remember. Bread comes down from heaven, and it is that Child’s Body Blood Soul and Divinity. May we receive this gift with authentic joy. May it penetrate and change our hearts and lives.

How do we stand before the Lord? a passage from St. John of the Cross

“The soul…has grown aware of her obligations and observed that life is short (Job 14:5), the path leading to eternal life constricted (Mt. 7:14), the just one scarcely saved (1 Pet. 4:18), the things of the world vain and deceitful (Eccles. 1:2), that all comes to an end and fails like falling water (2 Sam. 4:14), and that the time is uncertain, the accounting strict, perdition very easy, and salvation very difficult.  She knows on the other hand of her immense indebtedness to God for having Created her solely for himself, and that for this she owes him the service of her whole life; and because he redeemed her solely for himself she owes him every response of love.  She knows, too, of the thousand other benefits by which she has been obligated to God from before the time of her birth, and that a good part of her life has vanished, that she must render an account of everything—of the beginning of her life as well as the later part—unto the last penny (Mt. 5:26), when God will search Jerusalem with lighted candles (Zeph. 1:12), and that it is already late—the day far spent (Lk. 24:29)—to remedy so much evil and harm.  She feels on the other hand that God is angry and hidden because she desired to forget him so in the midst of creatures.  Touched with dread and interior sorrow of heart over so much loss and danger, renouncing all things, leaving aside all business, and not delaying a day or an hour, with desires and sighs pouring from her heart, wounded now with love for God, she begins to call her Beloved and say:

 

Where have you hidden,

Beloved and left me moaning?

You fled like the stag

After wounding me;

I went out calling you, but you were gone.”

(John of the Cross, The Spiritual Canticle, The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross, stanza 1, no. 1, pp.477-78, cited in Ralph Martin, The Fulfillment of All Desire, p. 65-66)

Ralph Martin comments immediately after quoting this passage:

“What John says here is so direct and so intense that it is easy to be startled.  Or we might be tempted to pretend that we haven’t just read it, and move on.  Maybe our emotional reaction will incline us to say, ‘I can’t deal with that!’  Hopefully we’ll resist the temptation and attempt to understand!”

Rejoice, the Lord is near! Do not be discouraged.

Homily Outline for the Third Sunday of Advent, Year A.

Gaudéte in Dómino semper: íterum dico, gaudéte.  On the Third Sunday of Advent, our penultimate week of preparation begins.  From the Latin of today’s entrance antiphon we take this Sunday’s nickname, Gaudéte Sunday, that is, Rejoice Sunday.  And it’s in the command form – you, over there, rejoice!  The antiphon is drawn from Paul’s letter to the Philippians: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say rejoice!  The Lord is near.”  Every Mass has two proper antiphons that are just as particular to that Mass as the readings and other prayers are.  You’ll see them in the missalettes, but they are often replaced by hymns.  The beauty and value of these antiphons is that they help to summarize and set the tone and theme of each Mass.  And, today, we are told to rejoice! The Lord is near!

The celebration of Christ’s birth in time is near… we’re over halfway there.  Just as a runner in a race struggles to maintain the pace partway through, we are to stick to our preparations.  Now is not the time to flag, to falter, to let up! Keep getting ready!  Now is not the time to let prayer and confession, almsgiving and weekly Eucharist get snowed under! Now is not the time to let chances to reconcile with family and friends slip away!  My high school cross-country coach Mr. Murv always yelled at us from the sidelines, “You’ve gotta go NOW!”  I didn’t always appreciate it, but it was true!  If you wait too long to make your move, the opportunity passes!

In our gospel, John the Baptist is already imprisoned, and he sends word to Jesus, wanting to confirm whether He is in fact the Messiah. Jesus sends this message – the promises are fulfilled!  Isaiah’s prophecies have come to pass… truly, the Lord is near.  Jesus affirms John’s ministry of preparing the way for his coming.  He uses the strongest possible words, “Among those born of women, there has been none greater than John the Baptist!”  But listen to what He says next, “Yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”  

To accept Christ, to follow Him, to be part of His body, the Church – these things can make us greater even than John the Baptist!  The Lord wants to beautiful wonderful things in our lives!  Will we receive Him?  Do we call out His name?  Will we persist against our own brokenness and inconsistency?  God is perfectly faithful to us – will we be faithful to Him?

We are told to rejoice, but often we encounter situations that do not fill us with joy.  One of the great spiritual dangers or traps once we’ve begun to walk with Christ is discouragement.  Perhaps many of you here have experienced at one time or another some flush of spiritual enthusiasm.  Perhaps it was a sunrise, the love in another eyes… perhaps it was a moment of prayer in the midst of terror, perhaps it was a retreat…perhaps it was even a homily!  In that moment you knew God’s love and truth and beauty more deeply.  It was immediate, and real.  You were filled with the possibility in God… the possibility of renewal, of love, of faithfulness.

After a close encounter with the Lord, we are enthusiastic for a time… but then some of the immediacy and joy fades.  We see our own flaws, or the flaws of those we love once again come into focus.  Our confidence in ourselves, or even in God, wavers.  We rejoiced, but then we are tempted toward discouragement, or even despair.

Listen in this light to James today, “Be patient, brothers and sisters, until the coming of the Lord.  See how the farmer waits for precious fruit of the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and late rains.  You too must be patient. Make your hearts firm.”  God HAS planted the seed of life and love and conversion in our hearts… it WILL grow if we wait upon Him!  When the whisper of discouragement sounds in our ear: “You’re no good, you’re too broken, you can never change,” may we recognize it for what it is… the lie of our accuser, the evil one.  God does not speak to us with discouragement… Isaiah says today, “Be strong, fear not! Here is your God, he comes with vindication…”

Today is the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  One aspect of this feast is the Lord’s tender mercy in sending His mother to the despairing people of Mexico right in the middle of their world being turned upside down by the arrival of the Spanish.  She appeared to a humble and simple man, St. Juan Diego, and assured him of her maternal presence and protection.  One account gives her words thusly, “For am I not here, I, Your Mother? Are you not in the cool of My Shadow? in the Breeziness of My Shade? Is it not I that am your Source of Contentment? Are you not cradled in My Mantle?  cuddled in the Crossing of My Arms?  Is there anything else for you to need?”  So is the Lord close to us, in His own presence, through His angels and saints, through our Mother Mary.  

We are told today to rejoice, that the Lord is near.  May we surrender our discouragement, our doubts, and embrace this promise, and continue our preparations… Let me close then, with today’s second or communion antiphon: “Say to the anxious: be strong and fear not, our God will come to save us!”

Some recent parish events in pictures!

On top of Hogsback in the blizzard

We've had some great events here at St. Michael's lately. I mostly post pictures on Facebook, so here are some samples and the Facebook links.  You don't have to have a Facebook account to use these links!  Obviously some of these pictures are just stuff I've been up to myself.

Pictures on Hogsback: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=589239&id=789055155&l=af445e0fd4

After the evening Mass for the Immaculate Conception, we had an Ice Cream Social hosted by our Middle School Youth Group.

Pictures of the Ice Cream Social: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=587369&id=789055155&l=783e54a024

These ladies are scooping with real dedication!

 I was also able to help out with the confirmation retreat at American Martyrs Parish in Kingsford, my home parish, as I have for several years. It's a great retreat, I put together a team of high-schoolers and college kids to run the retreat for the candidates and their parents and sponsors.  We had a great group this year, pretty big too!

The pictures from the retreat are here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=585508&id=789055155&l=c534d55818

Finally, we also prepared some gift shoeboxes for the Great Lakes Recovery Center with the Middle School Youth Group... a lot of FUN!

Are we having fun?

 The rest of those shots are here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=583575&id=789055155&l=3992fab3f8

 Thank you, Lord, for these good times, Amen!

God Bless,
Fr. Ben

What welcome will WE give?

Blessed John XXIII

Homily Outline for the 2nd Sunday of Advent, Year A

In our Gospel today, John the Baptist say, to sum it up, “God is coming, get ready, repent!”  This is the Advent message!  Blessed Pope John XXIII was known for his happiness and charm, but also for his wit… One time a reporter asked him, “How many people work in the Vatican?”  He thought for a moment and said, “About half of them!”

We know when a boss is coming, it’s time to look busy!  But with Christ’s coming, we have more than a boss, He is our Lord and Savior, and He can see the depths of our hearts.  We have to do more than look busy and be busy during Advent… we need to really be ready.  Christ will come at the end of time in glory and judgment, we will commemorate at Christmas His coming as a baby child…  will we actually be ready to welcome Him?

John the Baptist cries out, “Repent” and he speaks of a king and the Kingdom of Heaven.  This is the King and Kingdom Isaiah describes in the first reading… a kingdom of justice, peace, and unity, of healing and joy, but also a kingdom of judgment and recompense.  These promises fill us with hope, they challenge us.  They speak words of beauty and truth.  Yet, we know they were not well-received when they were spoken.  How did John the Baptist end?  Herod killed him.  How were they prophets received?  They were ignored, mocked, and many were killed.  Even the Messiah Himself came to death on the cross!  God’s messengers, and even God Himself were not given a warm welcome, at least by most of those who heard them.

As we prepare for the celebration of Christ’s birth in time, we see this same dynamic of coldness and rejection.  Mary and Joseph couldn’t find room at any Inn in Bethlehem, and then they ended up in a stable.  When Jesus was born, almost no one came… some dirty ragged shepherds and three foreigners.  Where were God’s chosen people, the ones you would expect to be ready?  It’s easy for me to be pretty judgmental here – what were those people in Bethlehem thinking, turning away Joseph and his pregnant wife?

And later, when Jesus preached and taught and healed, when He performed miracles, again, some followed, but many rejected Him, mocked Him, ignored Him. How could they reject their Lord and Savior?  How could their doors and hearts be closed?  How could they be too busy to listen!

If I take a deep breath, if I calm down for a moment, though, if I look at my own heart, my own life, it’s not so easy to stand in judgment on those people in that time.  Do I really welcome the Lord when He knocks at my door?  Do I have time to listen, to learn from Him?  Sometimes I’m flying around on what I think is a mission from God, but I haven’t even had time to talk to God, who I’m supposedly serving!

So, as Christmas comes closer, and as we think about coming before the Lord in judgment at the end of time… What welcome will we give Him?  We cook, shop, hang lights, send cards, fill our deer tag if it's still empty like mine is… these are good.  But do we pray, fast, help others, listen?  When we come to Christmas Eve, will we be reconciled with God and man?  This is the invitation of Advent.

Let’s shift our focus from this season, and just think about this day… every Sunday the Lord who died on the Cross comes down upon this altar, a miracle of grace and humility, giving Himself to us Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity under the appearance of Bread and Wine.  He seeks room in the Inn of our hearts… are we even here to receive Him?  And if our body is here, what about our hearts and minds?  If Christ comes and we’re too busy elsewhere, we are left empty.  Do we pray, examine our hearts?   Do we invite Christ into a dirty rough stable, or into a heart and life prepared to receive Him?  We are never worthy to receive our Lord, we say as much moments before Communion. But we are called to dispose, to prepare ourselves.  If we are aware of mortal sin, we have to go to confession first.  

Listen to Paul, “Welcome one another, then, as Christ welcomed you, for the glory of God.”  We are to welcome not just each other, but even Christ Himself!  That’s what this time of Advent is for, to get ready, to repent and prepare a fitting welcome for Jesus… whenever He comes. At the end of time, at the moment of our death, on Christmas, and at this very Eucharist.  

So, here are 5 ways to get ready in the coming weeks so we can welcome Christ with joy:

1)  Pray every day, speak and listen.

2)  Mass every Sunday and Holy Day (this Wednesday, Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception)

3) Confession, especially if it’s been a long time

4) Reconcile with friends and family

5) Give of what you have to those in need

20 days until Christmas!  May we use them well, so that on Christmas, at every Mass, we may welcome Christ with Joy!