A Word from Your Pastor - April 28

Dear Parishioners:

Over the course of several weekends, I included a bit of personal sharing about my silent prayer at Mass.  Just before the homily, I bow before the altar and I pray, “Lord, give me the homily You want me to have for this congregation.”  Of course I have done my preparation and I have an idea of what I want to say, based on the Scriptures and on whatever is happening in the life of the community and the world around us.  However, I am open to the Spirit and to the assembly in front of me to lead me down a different path in the proclamation of the Word for the present moment.  I am not sure when I learned to do this prayer, but I have prayed it for many years.  As a result, I have never delivered the same homily twice.  Even if I celebrate several Masses, the homily comes out a bit differently each time.

Pope Francis, in the first moments of his papacy, just before he gave his first blessing to the City of Rome and to the World, bowed and asked the people to pray that God bless him before he gave the blessing to the people.  Taking my cue from this act, I am inviting the assembly to pray in silence before the homily is given.  Here is what I invite you to pray before the homily at each Mass you attend: “Lord, give him the homily You want me to hear; give me the ears to hear it, the heart to receive it, and the grace to live it.”

With this prayer, you are invited to make a personal investment in the act of receiving the homily.  Note, this is not the same as a prayer for a short homily or even for a good homily.  Rather, it is far more intimate: it is a request to the Lord Himself to speak His Word to you through the homilist no matter what his skill.  It is also an expression of your willingness to hear what the Lord wants you to hear.  It expresses your commitment to have an open heart, a heart ready to receive whatever the Lord gives, whether it meets your own preferences or perceived need.  It also looks toward what will be happening after Mass, asking for the grace for you to put into practice what you hear.

We are living at a time when the burdens we carry near and far are too heavy for us.  As I look out at a congregation, I am aware of some of the struggles being faced.  The desire of my heart is to speak a word of comfort and encouragement, and to offer a challenge to renew your commitment to Faith and to a witness of trust in the Lord to meet whatever you may experience.  The only One Who can speak to all that is going on among us and in our world is the Lord.  I trust in Him.  Each homily I give is meant to be an expression of my trust also in you to hear the Word He speaks and to live it in such a way as to invite the world to come to meet Jesus in His Church.  The Good Shepherd will show us the way, if we follow Him.

 

Year of Faith October 11, 2012 – November 24, 2013

We continue our journey through the Year of Faith.  As one way of observing this year, each week a small section of the Catechism of the Catholic Church is read before the start of Mass.  This is a small way of offering some food for growth in Faith throughout this year.

ARTICLE 2 THE TRANSMISSION OF DIVINE REVELATION

III. The Interpretation of the Heritage of Faith 

The Magisterium of the Church  85 “The task of giving an authentic interpretation of the Word of God, whether in its written form or in the form of Tradition, has been entrusted to the living, teaching office of the Church alone. Its authority in this matter is exercised in the name of Jesus Christ.” (Dei Verbum 10 § 2.) This means that the task of interpretation has been entrusted to the bishops in communion with the successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome.

86 “Yet this Magisterium is not superior to the Word of God, but is its servant. It teaches only what has been handed on to it. At the divine command and with the help of the Holy Spirit, it listens to this devotedly, guards it with dedication, and expounds it faithfully. All that it proposes for belief as being divinely revealed is drawn from this single deposit of faith.”  (Dei Verbum 10 § 2.)

87 Mindful of Christ’s words to his apostles: “He who hears you, hears me,”  (Luke 10:16; cf. Lumen Gentium 20.) the faithful receive with docility the teachings and directives that their pastors give them in different forms.

Comment: Hearing the voice of Jesus in Church leaders today is not always easy.  There are so many voices that speak in opposition to what we hear from such leaders.  Our secular culture is under the sway of what Pope Benedict XVI called “the tyranny of relativism.”  The Word of God, interpreted and proclaimed by the Magisterium, the living teaching authority of the Church, speaks with the voice of Jesus for us.  How do we respond to Jesus’ own promise: “He who hears you, hears Me”?