Preached Saturday, May 18 - Feast of Pentecost SKT at St. Cecilia

Readings:  http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/051913-pentecost-mass-during-day.cfm

Audio:   https://sites.google.com/site/sktdeaconed/home/mp3/150518_001.mp3?attredirects=0&d=1

          One of the ushers asked me a few months ago, “Deacon Ed why don’t we ever hear about your family in your homilies?” and I told him to wait awhile, that “I’d get around to it” eventually.  So I guess I’ll start today with a little anecdote about my family that perhaps you parents and kids can relate to.
             It was just about the time our oldest daughter Lauren was born, my wife and I went out and spent money we didn’t have because we had to have a VHS video camera.  And boy did we get our money’s worth – from the Hospital delivery room where I got some shots my wife has probably erased, and at every significant moment in Lauren’s first few years plus more than a few insignificant moments as well, we have tens of hours of video tape of Lauren doing anything and everything.  And hours of her doing nothing at all.  Same thing with still pictures – we took hundreds of pictures of her, and that was when you had to buy film and pay to have it developed!

            Then along came Colleen, our second daughter, and now busy with two little ones, we didn’t haul out either the video camera or still camera nearly as often.  So as a rough guess I’d say that if we have 50 hours of video of our oldest, we might have five hours of video of Colleen, our middle daughter.

            Then along came Erin, our youngest, and boy did she get short-changed.  Because busy as we were with three little ones, and with the novelty of parenthood having worn off a bit, we probably have at most have 20 minutes of video of her, and almost no still pictures.  We found this out a couple years ago putting together a collage of pictures for her High School graduation  party – we could barely find any!  Poor Erin!

            This all came to mind as I was preparing for this weekend’s Feast of Pentecost, because that’s just about how much attention we seem to give to the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Holy Trinity, whose descent upon the disciples we celebrate today.  Now I admit it’s a bit of an awkward metaphor, but think about it - look at the bible, the entire Old Testament speaks of God the Father and His relationship with His people.  And we have the Gospels and much of the rest of the New Testament, that tell of the life of Jesus Christ.  But there’s almost nothing in scripture that speaks of the Holy Spirit.  A handful of scripture references, many of which comprise our readings tonight and tomorrow (last evening and today).

            So it seems that the Holy Spirit gets short-changed, big-time.   Which is odd, don’t you think, since if you stop to think about it, it’s the Holy Spirit who’s actually the closest to us.  Who since our baptism has lived within us.  And Who was poured out anew upon us in the Sacrament of Confirmation, poured out upon our young people at the Cathedral ten (eleven) days ago. 

            It is the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who pours into us the Spirit’s seven-fold gifts:  which you’ll recall are Wisdom, Understanding, Fear of the Lord, Right counsel, Knowledge, Fortitude, and Reverence. 

            And if we are living in the Spirit, we will exhibit all the many fruits of the Spirit – Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, and chastity.

            Now that’s your catechism lesson for today (there’s a quiz later), but what does it mean for you and me?  Put another way, “why should I give a darn about the Holy Spirit?  So What?” You might ask.  And who is this Holy Spirit, anyway?  After all, it’s not some white bird that we worship today.

            So in answer to these questions , there are three things I want to focus on.  Three reasons we should give a darn about the Holy Spirit - Power, Courage and Love. 

            The Holy Spirit is the source of the power in our faith, that energy, the fire within us.  It’s not unlike an appliance that, if not plugged into the electric outlet, just sits there.  But once plugged in to the source of its power, only if plugged in to the source of its power, can it do what it is supposed to do, what it was created to do.   If the electric outlet is Jesus Christ, then the Holy Spirit is the electricity flowing through that cord and making it work.

            And there’s courage, or fortitude.  Think about the disciples and apostles after Our Lord had left them, and ascended into heaven.  They just sat there, locked in a room.  No energy.  No direction.  No power.  Filled with fear.  But when the Holy Spirit descended upon them, was breathed into them, overcame them, they became completely changed.  Completely energized.  Brimming with fortitude, filled with courage.  No longer afraid of anything, they went forth and boldly proclaimed the good news of Jesus Christ – that Christ’s kingdom is at hand, that by faith in Christ their sins are forgiven and eternal life is set before them.  They were unafraid to proclaim that they had encountered a person, Jesus, who had saved them and set them free. 

            Filled with the same power of the Holy Spirit, you and I have that same courage to proclaim our faith.  To tell those around us what our Lord has done for us, how He has set us free, forgiven our sins, raised us to new life.     

            And the Holy Spirit is love.  In the Nicene Creed we profess faith that the Holy Spirit “proceeds from the Father and the Son.”  We believe that the Holy Spirit is the very self-giving, life-giving love that flows forth from that intimate love relationship of the Father and the Son.  And is the very same self-giving, life-giving love that flows forth from Christian men, women and children. From you.  From me.  Into our marriages.  Into our families.  Love that shines forth and enlivens our communities and workplaces.  Our nation and our world.  Self-giving love for each other, especially the neediest, the poorest, the most forgotten among us.  That is the love the Holy Spirit breathes into us.

            The power and love of the Holy Spirit can be summed up in a simple, two-letter word, a word that I as deacon proclaim at every Mass I serve.  And that word is “go.”  The Holy Spirit prompts us to go and shows us where to go.  The last line of the liturgy is “Go.  In peace.  To love and serve.  To glorify the Lord by your life.”  Go.  It is the Holy Spirit that makes you and me “go.”  To go forth from the friendly, comfortable confines of this Church and to bring the Word and Love of Jesus Christ out into our world.  We “go” only with the power, the courage and the love of the Holy Spirit.

            May the Holy Spirit that flood us with the Spirit’s gifts, that our lives may shine forth the Spirit’s fruits, that by our Words and our lives, many may come to know our Savior, Jesus Christ.

            Let us pray:  Come Holy Spirit.  Fill the hearts of Your faithful and kindle in us the fire of Your love.  Send forth Your Spirit and we shall be created and You shall renew the face of the earth.  Amen.

Preached yesterday and today - Sixth Sunday of Easter - at St. Kateri at Christ the King

Readings:  http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/050513.cfm

 

Audio:  https://sites.google.com/site/sktdeaconed/home/mp3/150505_001.mp3?attredirects=0&d=1

          I can remember it clearly, because it happened before every single Christmas when I was a kid.  And before every one of his birthdays, too.  My dad, when asked what he wants for Christmas or his birthday, could be counted on to tell us “All I want is peace and quiet.”  Like clockwork.  “Peace and quiet.” 

            A father of seven unruly kids who went to work six days a week as a lawyer and politician, he probably didn’t get very much “peace and quiet,” and I admit now that I’m a dad and go off to work each day, I have days when I yearn for a little “peace and quiet,” too.

            We gave my dad Old Spice.  He never did get peace and quiet.

            Peace.  We hear it in the first reading from Acts - how some of the disciples have come down from Judea and are disturbing the peace with teachings that are apart from the teaching of the Apostle.  And Jesus speaks of peace in this Gospel.  Peace is His gift to His disciples.  “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you.”

            Reflecting quite a bit over the past couple weeks about “peace” I realize that I am often not all that peaceful a person.  Oh, I’m not a violent guy.  I don’t own a gun, nor am I on a waiting list to buy one.   And I keep my road rage under control.  Well, usually.  I guess in my book, violence isn’t a very good way to solve problems. 

            But that kind of peace, the absence of conflict or violence, isn’t what Our Lord is talking about here.  He’s talking about inner peace, peace in the mind and heart.  And it occurs to me that there are many times when I’m not very peaceful deep down inside.  Perhaps there are times when you aren’t either.

            Now, that’s an understandable thing – I mean there are a lot of things to be unpeaceful about these days.  To be stressed out about.  Anxious.  Worried.  Bombings in Boston, shootings  in Connecticut.  Natural disasters.  Rapid changes in society, often seeming out of control.  A secular culture that each day seems to stray farther from the teachings of Jesus and His Church. 

            And each of us has crosses in our daily lives to bear.  Some small.  Some large.  Some perhaps seemingly unbearable.  Sickness.  Perhaps chronic illness.  Perhaps life threatening.  Family, or marital problems perhaps.  The loss of dear loved ones.  And I could go on.

            And don’t forget the crosses that we bring on ourselves through sin.  Especially the sin of pride – a lack of humility – in my case my being a know-it-all, or wanting to change the world – change everybody else (rather than the one person I actually can change!).   Or maybe our attachments to the things of this world disrupt our peace.   Not as the world gives do I give to you, says the Lord.  The things of this world won’t give us peace, He tells us.

            All of these things tend to shake our inner peace, our inmost calm.  All can bring us down, discourage us, maybe even depress us.  Each one of us, I’ll bet, comes here today with his or her share of burdens, of distractions, that keep us from experiencing the peace that Jesus promises us.

            What is it about these things that keeps us from experiencing that peace?  Two things come to mind – living in the past, and living in the future.  Rather than living in the present, the here and now.  Many of us are stuck in the past.  Holding on to hurts, to grudges, refusing forgiveness.  Replaying scenes of our lives, over and over and over again.  Always with the same outcome.  Reliving the same frustrations.

            And many of us live perpetually in the future, planning for tomorrow, more likely worried about everything that might happen, or might not happen. 

            What Jesus is saying to you and to me today is this.  Do not let your hearts be troubled or anxious.  I am with you today.  Right now.  Not in the past.  Not in the future.  Right now. 

            Now in this Gospel He is preparing the disciples for His departure, for His passion and death.  But He promises them that they will not be alone.  That the Father will send the Spirit Advocate to them, to come and dwell with them.   Each day, in the present. God with us, and in us.  To teach them and remind them of Jesus’ words.

            Jesus says to us – “don’t obsess about the past.  Or be anxious or worry about the future.  Live in the present, for that is where I Am.  Give to me and let go of all that is troubling you, all that burdens you, all that weighs you down.  All that keeps you far from me, all your sins, all your attachments – give them to me and trust me.  Trust me.  Cling to me,” He is telling us.  That is where you will find my peace

            The celebrant begins Mass by saying “Grace to you and peace from God our Father.”  Father Paul prays that the “peaceful grace” of God be ours.  After the “Our Father” Father Paul?Joe will pray these words:

            “Deliver us, O Lord, we pray from every evil, graciously grant peace in our days, that, by the help of your mercy, we may be always free from sin and safe from all distress.  As we await the blessed hope, the coming of Our Savior, Jesus Christ.”

            And just before we come to the altar to receive the Eucharist, the Sacrament of Christ’s presence, the Sacrament of his being with us here and now, we will hear the words of the Gospel again – “peace I leave you, my peace I give you.” 

            Let those words sink in. As we wait for Christ to come again, we pray for the grace to live free from sin and safe from all distress.  To Live in peace.

            And once we experience His peace in our hearts, God living within us, we can’t help but bring that peacefulness into the world, to our families, friends, co-workers, everyone we meet.  I think of Father Joe as the example of a truly peaceful person, one who brings peace everywhere he goes.  In the Peanuts cartoon, the character Pigpen has a cloud of dust and dirt that follows him everywhere he goes.  Father Joe has a cloud, but it’s a cloud of peacefulness that follows him wherever he goes.

            You and I are called to have that same cloud of peace, and through prayer, Sacrament and love of neighbor, Christ gives it to us.  Imagine the kind of community, the kind of country, the kind of world we would have if everyone lived in Christ’s peace. 

            Obviously, not everyone is peaceful.  But if we, those who profess Faith in Christ Jesus aren’t the peaceful ones, if we aren’t the peacemakers, who will be?