St. Mary Parish, Manchester at 210 West Main Street, Manchester, MI 48158 US - Winter 2009 (Cycle B)

THE DIVINE PHYSICIAN
Cycle "B" Readings: Isaiah 43: 18-19, 21-22, 24b-25; 2 Corinthians 1: 18-22; Mark 2: 1- 12
22 February 2009

I would like to spend a few minutes reflecting on sickness and its relationship to the human person and then through the scriptures to observe what Jesus is revealing to us about healing. Every single one of us will experience sickness in our lifetime. Some people will live with chronic illness their entire life. Some people will remain free from illness for a good part of their lives, they might experience minor aches and pains and such things as allergies, colds and the flu, but overall they will be physically healthy. With the great advances that have been made in health care and medicines many diseases have become extinct and many people have been cured from serious ailments.

Unfortunately with all the many wonderful advances that have been made in the field of health care over the past century, there seems to have been a rupture that has occurred between the person’s bodily health and their spiritual health. Too often physicians have created this duality focusing strictly on the person as a type of machine that needs to be fixed. But in more recent times there has been a growing understanding that the human person is not just a body, the human person has a soul, a spirit, and that for the totality of healing to occur in that person their interior life plays a vital role. There have been studies that have shown that the sick person’s faith has been proven to assist in the healing of their body. What does this reveal to us? Human beings are not a duality of body and soul. To be a human being is to be in the body and in the soul, not one or the other. This is the truth of the mystery of how God has created us.

Now let us look to Jesus, the Divine Physician, and let us observe how he treats the sick. In the Gospel today we have this most beautiful story of the paralytic and his four loving friends. They want so much for their friend to be able to walk and to be freed from the prison of the stretcher that he is confined to. These four men will not allow any obstacle to get in the way of them bringing their friend to Jesus. Coming through the roof of the place where Jesus was staying, the four men lay their friend before Jesus in silence. Jesus is moved by the interior life of these four men. Jesus could read their souls. Jesus saw in them deep faith and the strength of their convictions that he could heal their friend.

Pay close attention to the first thing that Jesus does. Jesus heals the soul of the paralytic. He forgives his sins. Why? Why is the focus of Jesus on this man’s soul? It is because of our fallen nature, bruised, and wounded by sin, that human beings have this tendency, this pull, to focus purely on what’s on the outside, the physical, to the detriment of the spiritual, the interior life. Jesus is revealing to us that the interior life of this paralytic is just as important as his physical life. But also Jesus is revealing that the health of the soul will ultimate determine where both body and soul will spend its eternity; either in eternal paralysis and captivity, or eternal freedom.

Jesus continues to make himself present to his Church as the Divine Healer. He does so through the two sacraments of healing and forgiveness; the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick and the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation. Jesus established these two great sacraments of healing for the members of his mystical body, his Church, so that they could come to him, until the end of time, to be healed both in the body and in the soul. The pattern of healing remains the same today as it was in the days when Jesus walked upon the earth. Faith must come first.

Dear friends, faith plays a vital role in our healing. It takes faith to believe that we can be healed. It takes faith in Jesus in order for us to be forgiven of our sins. It requires our walking into the confessional, which is an act of faith, in order for us to be healed. And when we are seriously ill in the body it takes an act of faith to seek the Lord through the sacred ministry of priests for healing in the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick.

But how many of us believe this? How many of us truly believe with the strength of conviction that Jesus can heal us in the totality of who we are as human beings, one in body and soul? Or do we live our lives in a very secular and worldly fashion acting as if God did not exist and trying to get through this life on our own steam paying little to no attention to the state of our immortal soul or the gift and mystery of our body?

One final thought about this Gospel passage; notice that Jesus heals the paralytic because of the faith of his friends. Jesus is revealing another mystery to us. Our faith and the strength of our faith can heal others whose faith is paralyzed. These four friends show to us that we too must bring our friends and family members to Jesus in prayer and petition. The template of how to do this is shown to us by these four friends of the paralytic. In faith we simply lay them before Jesus in prayer and then allow God’s will to be done.

Friends, Jesus always heals. Jesus always hears our requests when made in faith and humility. Jesus always heals us in the soul when we ask and when we bring others to him in faith. And although not everyone who asks for physically healing is granted this request, ultimately, in the end they are, because Jesus will give to them and to all who believe in him a glorified and risen body and soul like his own, freed forever from suffering, freed forever from sickness and disease and freed from the captivity of death.

Amen.

FORESHADOWING OF THE HEALING
Cycle "B" Readings: Leviticus 13: 1-2, 44-46; 1 Corinthians 10: 31-11:1; Mark 1: 40-45
15 February 2009

Leprosy is a terrible disease, which is highly contagious. When a person became infected with leprosy, in the time of Jesus, they were doomed to watch their body literally decay and fall off piece by piece. On top of being infected with such a dreadful disease, there was a belief among the people of Israel that leprosy was a punishment from God. Contracting leprosy was considered to be connected with sin, either personal sin or parental sin.

According to the Law of Moses, if a person had been stricken with the disease of leprosy, they were required to present themselves to the priest for examination, and if leprosy had been identified then they were declared to be ritually unclean. The leper was then told that they had to keep their head uncovered and their clothing ripped open so that people could see their sores and rotting flesh. They were to cry out "unclean, unclean" whenever they would come near people who were not infected. Lepers were cut off from the life of their own village; they were forced to live a life outside the city, in alienation and isolation.

The healing of the leper in the Gospel of this Mass is a significant event in the public ministry of Christ. Now the healing of leprosy can take place in one of two ways: through natural processes, or through divine intervention: a miracle. When Jesus heals the leper he triumphs over the plague; he heals men whose illnesses he takes upon himself. By purifying the leper and restoring him to the community, Jesus miraculously abolishes the division between the clean and the unclean.

After the miraculous healing of the leper Jesus instructs him to do what the Law of Moses proscribed whenever a cure occurred. This meant that he was to show himself to the same priest who declared him to be unclean. Jesus insists upon this for two reasons: first so that the priest would see his respect for the Law of Moses, and secondly so that the priest could witness his miraculous power and then recognize him as the One who was to come, the Messiah of God.

My dear friends in Christ, leprosy is an external sign of what happens to the soul that is infected with sin. The effect of sin on the soul is the same as leprosy is to the body. Leprosy starts with a small sore and then it grows into a fatal disease. In the days of Jesus, if a person was diagnosed with leprosy it was a death sentence; there was no hope for a cure. The leper lived out his/her life in terror, despair and total isolation. They were doomed. But when Jesus heals the leper he takes upon himself his disease, he is bearing it for him. As a result the leper is made clean, made whole and allowed to share in the life of the community of the Jewish people.

Brothers and sisters, in my years as your pastor you have heard me talk of sin many times. Some of you might think too much. I might suggest those who are troubled about hearing about sin are in need of deliverance from the bondage of sin. But sin can never be spoken of too much for it is a serious matter. We are all infected with a spiritual form of leprosy passed onto us by Adam and Eve, that spiritual leprosy is called sin. It starts small with a venial sin, and if that venial sin is not identified and brought to the Sacrament of Penance, it begins to grow and has the potential to do great harm to the soul. Sin grows and multiplies through the habit of sin, which begins to take over the person and if unattended can blind the person to their sin.

Venial sins that are not attended to, or brushed aside and justified, grow like a rolling snowball and become larger through the habit of sin and will eventually lead to spiritual death in the soul by the commission of a mortal sin. This is why monthly confession, or confession after a mortal sin is committed is a matter of spiritual life and death.

As Catholic Christians we have a great, great spiritual advantage. We are already sharing in the redemption of Christ. Our souls were filled with sanctifying grace on our baptismal day. Our life-long task is to keep that grace healthy and strong. But we can lose this grace partially or completely and if completely we have lost salvation until we go to Jesus like the leper and asked to be made clean. For us, confession is the regular way to have our sins forgiven. Yes, before we even enter the confessional we must do the groundwork prior to the reception of the Sacrament, but it is only through the personal encounter and touch of Jesus through the ministry of the priest that a miraculous cure of the soul can occur. Friends, the forgiveness of our sins in the Sacrament of Penance is a miracle.

Mortal sin, just like leprosy, alienates the soul from the community of believers, the Church, as well as the spiritual benefits that are given to it. When a person commits a mortal sin, they not only have committed what would be considered spiritual suicide, but they have said ‘no’ to what the Body of Christ, the Church, believes and until they are reunited with the Church through that personal encounter with Jesus in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, they cannot receive the Body and Blood of Christ, because they have rejected it through the pride of mortal sin.

So this encounter that Jesus has with the leper today is a foreshadowing of the healing that he will bring through his saving death and resurrection. It is a preview of what he will provide for the spiritual healing of each and every soul on earth. That healing will be passed on to mankind through the Sacrament of Baptism and maintained by the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation. None of us likes to go to the doctor, yet we know that if we do not attend to our body when we discover something wrong it could be fatal. The Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation should be looked upon in the same light.

Each and every one of us should see ourself in the person of the leper. We should do a frequent examination of our conscience and not allow ourself to be blinded to our inner leprosy. This is why priests speak about confession and should do so often, for all priests have been sacramentally configured to Christ and they stand in his very person when celebrating the sacraments, and priests want all of the members of their flock to made spiritually clean and whole so that all may enjoy the fruits of the cross and the glory of the resurrection.

Amen.

The Fifth Sunday In Ordinary Time
8 February 2009
Fr. Louis Guardiola of the Fathers of Mercy preached the homily this week to begin our 5-day Parish Mission.

THE MADNESS THAT IS ALL AROUND US
Cycle "B" Readings: Deuteronomy 18: 15-20; 1 Corinthians; Mark 1: 21-28
1 February 2009

St. Mark presents us with a scene from the early days of the public ministry of Jesus; it takes place in a synagogue. The synagogue is the place where Jewish men would gather to hear the Torah proclaimed and then to have it explained to them by the rabbi. It was the right of every Jewish man to be a part of these gatherings and to be able to comment on the Law of Moses. St. Mark tells us that Jesus entered the synagogue in Capernaum and taught.

"The people in attendance were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes." (Mark 1: 22) What does this mean that Jesus taught them as one with authority and not as the scribes? Let’s think about this for a moment. It wasn’t because Jesus was a young man and came up with some new fangled ways of doing things. The word authority is used regarding his teaching. I would dare say that those who were astonished couldn’t at that moment put their finger on the difference between the teaching of Jesus and the teaching of the scribes. Both were teaching from the same scriptures. But St. Mark uses the word authority to describe this difference.

The difference was that the scribes were teaching and preaching on the word of God that was handed down to them by Moses. But Jesus was teaching on something that had its origin in him. Jesus is God’s word! When Jesus read and taught the scriptures in the synagogue in Capernaum he was proclaiming his very self. Jesus is God’s word come down from heaven in the flesh; this is the origin of his authority. And gradually through his teaching and miracles Jesus would reveal the mystery of his divine identity.

Take notice that the devil appears in the synagogue immediately after the authority of Jesus is declared. The devil, speaking through the man whom he had possessed, is not making a profession of faith when he declares Jesus to be the Holy One of God. But rather the devil is trying to destroy what Jesus is trying to do. The devil is attempting to confuse people. This is what the devil does he brings confusion.

What were people to think when the devil declared Jesus to be the long awaited Messiah? What would we think? Would we believe a liar? Certainly not! This is why Jesus silences the devil. Jesus will reveal his identity when his heavenly Father wishes it to be done. The message of Jesus to the devil is that you are longer in charge here, God is. But the devil is not going to give up without a fight, which he will ultimately lose as a result of the victory of Christ over sin and death on Calvary.

Now let us go back and take a look at the poor man whom the devil had entered, possessed, and then used in an attempt to discredit Jesus. When this man was possessed he was not himself. He said and did things that he would not have normally said and done. He acted in ways that were blasphemous and lewd. He was now capable of inflicting harm to himself and others. This man was a slave to the devil, and left in this awful state his life would have certainly ended tragically. I think that it could also be said that it was hard to recognize that he was a man, so marred and distorted had the devil twisted his image.

Friends the image of the possessed man is an image of what happens to human beings as a result of sin. Sin has the power to over take people, to make them behave in ways that are less than human and to cause serious and even mortal harm to both them and those who cross their path. It was only with the authority that he has as the Son of God that Jesus was able to liberate and to release the man in the synagogue from the torments of the Evil One setting him free and restoring him to full humanity.

Certainly diabolic possession is more rare than common, but with the deliberate pushing of God out of the public square demonic activity is on the increase. When God is pushed out of society who do you think will take his place? What other explanation could there be for the moral decline in our country and those so-called Catholic politicians who staunchly promote abortion and who then defiantly march up to receive Holy Communion knowing that they have violated God’s moral law, have broken communion with the Church and are committing sacrilege. These pro-choice Catholics are bringing a condemnation upon themselves and bringing public scandal to believers and non-believers alike. You would have to be overcome by the devil to claim that the killing of the child in his mother’s womb is health care, that it is a women’s right and that it is good for society.

You would have to be overtaken by the devil to propose the spending of 500 million taxpayer dollars on contraception in order to stimulate the troubled economy. A Catholic politician proposed this I might add! The underlying message being that children are a financial burden, not a blessing, and that by reducing the number of children born in the United States it will stimulate the economy. This is the madness that is all around us and the only answer that I have for it is that it is demonic activity. The devil has hardened the hearts of many and they have bought his lies and are worshipping at his altar. These so-called Catholics have rejected the teaching authority of Jesus in his Church. The dire consequences of such a choice is that they have become less than human to the point that they can longer recognize the sacred image of God in the innocent child in the womb.

But let us not think that this type of diabolical activity is limited to those in public office. Each and every single one of us can fall prey to the Evil One. It can happen when we separate ourselves from the teaching authority of Jesus Christ found in his Church and with full consent of the will defy Catholic doctrine and morality. The frequent examination of our conscience and our behaviors in the light of the Church’s teachings, as well as the frequent reception of the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation will reveal to us where we might have become a slave to sin and will liberate us from the devil’s deception and allow us to become truly human once again.

Amen.

WE HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR
Cycle "B" Readings: Jonah 3: 1-5,10; 1 Corinthians 7: 29-31; Mark 1: 14-20
24/25 January 2009

The Gospel of St. Mark presents to us the call of the first four of the apostles. They were two sets of brothers: Simon and Andrew, James and John. In the midst of their daily work Jesus comes to them and calls them to follow him. Simon and Andrew were casting their nets and James and John were mending their nets. We are told that each pair of brothers hears the call of the Lord and that they then leave their worldly lives behind. They detach immediately from work and family and begin a life long journey of conversion in the company of Jesus.

It is truly amazing that these four men could up and leave all of this behind them and follow Jesus. The only explanation for this has to be that what Jesus held out to them was so thoroughly attractive that those worldly things, which they considered to be of prime importance, of precious value, were deeply lacking. These men were willing to leave behind the comfort of what they knew and take a gamble on something totally unknown. Once again, a man would not do such a thing unless he knew that what he was going to place his time, his energies, and his resources into was going to be of a greater value.

The call and response of these men did not end on that day on the Sea of Galilee, it had just begun. In order for them to remain faithful to their response of detachment from their former way of life, each day the apostles had to hear the call of Jesus a new and then respond to him once again. Neither the call nor the response was a one time historic event for them it was an ongoing living event, an ongoing relationship. The only way that they could remain true to their ‘yes’ to Jesus was by daily immersing themselves in him.

It would be Jesus who would help them to continue to move forward and detach themselves from their old of way of life. This detachment, so totally immediate at first, would be challenged with the daily pull to go backward to what was known, even though it paled in comparison. This is the pull, the temptation that every disciple of the Lord experiences when they leave their old way of life behind and begin to walk with Christ.

Today the Church also celebrates the feast of the conversion of St. Paul and marks it with special solemnity during this jubilee year of his birth. St. Paul was a Pharisee and he was a zealous defender of the Jewish faith. So much so that Saul, as he was known prior to his conversion, would actually hunt down those he considered to be an enemy of the faith. The early Christians were the target of his religious zeal. So Saul would hunt for Christians like men would hunt for food. He was a great persecutor of the early Church. The death of Christians was his trophy. Saul thought that what he was doing was good and of God. But he was wrong. He was blinded by his zeal.

As Saul was in the midst of his work of hunting down Christians and while on his horse on the road to Damascus, "a light from the sky suddenly flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ He said, ‘Who are you, sir?’ The reply came, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Now get up and go into the city and you will be told what you must do." (Acts 9: 3b-6) Saul would go from being a persecutor of the risen Christ in his disciples to his greatest champion and defender. As a sign of his new life he was baptized and given the name Paul. From that day forward Paul would eat, drink, breathe, preach, teach, and sleep Christ and him alone. Jesus harnessed the zeal of the misguided, sinful Saul and channeled that natural energy into building up his mystical body, the Church as opposed to destroying it.

My dear brothers and sisters each and every one of us was called personally by Jesus to leave behind ‘the old man’, Adam and to put on ‘the new man’, Jesus Christ. And in the sacrament of baptism our new life began. Because the great majority of us were infants and unable to speak for ourselves, our parents made the initial ‘yes’ on our behalf. Our parents were charged with protecting, nurturing, and strengthening that call by the faithful witness of their own love for Christ and then by teaching us how to listen and to hear Jesus speaking to us. But eventually we had to make that ‘yes’ our very own response. Have we done so?

Some have spent their entire lives being called Catholic Christians but they are barely recognizable as different from those of the world, from those who do not believe in Christ. Some have lost the zeal and love for Jesus that they once experienced in the springtime and innocence of their young lives. Some Catholics are floundering, wandering with no direction being pulled every which way by a hedonistic culture that has no moral boundaries and has reduced human life solely to the pursuit of pleasure for pleasures sake. This type of pursuit leads to a life of emptiness, to an addictive enslavement and to cravings that can never be satisfied.

But Jesus is still calling out to us each and every day in the midst of our work. He says to us leave all things behind and come and follow me. We have nothing to fear in detaching ourselves from the things of this world. We lose nothing when we come to Jesus and cling to him. Let us not be satisfied with our lives as they are. Let us not be satisfied with mediocrity and with a lukewarm Catholicism. Let us courageously leave that behind. Jesus is holding out to us a glorious life, a life of freedom and joy. And once we say ‘yes’ to him, to his Church, he gives us the sacraments as the way by which we can be with him and encounter him personally.

Like Simon, Andrew, James, John, and Paul, once we have said ‘yes’ to Jesus he will harness the energy, the zeal, and the determination that we had formerly invested into worldly pursuits and channel it into building up his Church, his mystical body.

Amen.

LIVING OUT OUR BAPTISMAL VOCATION IN CHRIST
Cycle "B" Readings: 1 Samuel 3: 3b, -10,17; 1 Corinthians 6: 13c-15a, 17-20; John 1:35-42.
17/18 January 2009

Last Sunday the Church celebrated the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. And on that day the Church reflected on the ordinary means by which the gift of salvation is given to each and every soul; through the sacrament of holy baptism. On that day in the Jordan, Jesus instituted the sacrament of baptism, and at the end of his time on earth, just prior to the Ascension, he commanded his disciples to teach all nations about him and to baptize them, in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. This becomes the vocation of all the baptized, to draw others to Christ, to his Church, which is the vehicle of salvation for the whole world.

Today, the Gospel resumes where it left off on the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. John the Baptist’s vocation has reached its completion. John must now decrease, he must fade away; and the Christ, Jesus, must increase. John points his followers to Jesus. The first two of John’s disciples immediately follow after Jesus. Jesus asks them a very interesting question. He doesn’t ask them who are you, but rather, Jesus asks them "what are you looking for?" They respond in an unusual way by asking Jesus "where are you staying?" The dialogue is completed when Jesus responds, "Come, and you will see."

The two disciples of John the Baptist go and spend sometime with Jesus. One of the two is named Andrew. When their time with the Lord that day is completed, Andrew finds his brother Simon and tells him that they have found the Messiah, the Christ. Andrew immediately takes his brother to Jesus. Jesus looks at Simon and gives him a new name as the sign of his new life, and the sign of his vocation to which Jesus was calling him. Kephas or Peter means rock, and upon Peter, the rock, Jesus will build his Church.

Dear friends in Christ, when we were baptized, we too, were given a new name. That name is Christian. On our baptismal day, our fundamental vocation, our common call as Christians was given to us by Jesus. Then, our new life in him began. But, what is this call? The Second Vatican Council refers to it as the universal call to holiness. The Council Fathers taught that each and every baptized person is called to seek holiness throughout the entirety of his or her earthly pilgrimage. Baptism is the entranceway into the life of Christ. The rest of our life, after baptism, is to be followed by living in a particular way, which is contrary to the world.

When trying to live out our baptismal vocation in Christ, within the Church, there are different ways by which a person may attain holiness and salvation. But, first of all, there needs to be a clarification of terminology. We need to be aware that when the Church speaks about vocations, she is not using this term as the world does. The world uses the term vocation to speak about jobs or careers. When the Church speaks of vocations, she is speaking about a call from God to live in a certain way in order to attain holiness and salvation. The primary vocations in the Church, which flow out of the sacrament of baptism, are contained in the two sacraments of vocation: holy matrimony and holy orders. The other vocations are the consecrated life, and the single chaste-celibate life.

The story of the young Samuel, contained in the first reading today, offers us an important lesson in discerning God’s call. God was calling Samuel. God was summoning Samuel to his vocation at a very tender age. Samuel heard something, but he didn’t as of yet know the Lord, so he ran to Eli thinking that it was Eli calling him. Finally after three times, the wise Eli explained to Samuel that it was the Lord who was calling him. So Eli gave him a bit of spiritual direction, advice about how to listen and respond to the call he was hearing. Samuel then was able to hear and understand that it was God who was calling him. He would come to understand that God wanted him to be his prophet.

Dear friends, after our baptism God began to call each one of us to a vocation. But like the young Samuel many of us hear something and get it confused with the call of the world. Then many go out into the world placing all of their focus and energy on attaining jobs and careers. The worldly becomes the primary thrust of their life. In this case usually little to no thought is given to asking God as to what their vocation might be. In other words, how best can I love and serve the Lord and attain salvation?

I am convinced that there are many people who should never have been married because it was not properly discerned as to whether or not it was their call, their vocation from God. Many fall into marriage after cohabitation or intimate involvement with another and they just fall into marriage. The tragic results can be seen in the 55% divorce rate in the United States. And the divorce rate among those who cohabitate prior to marriage is 85%! These are alarming statistics!

I am also convinced that Jesus is calling many men to be his priests. There are many young boys who voice interest in the priesthood at an early age just like Samuel. I have witnessed this myself first hand. But unfortunately, in some cases their own families might discourage them in following the call to the priesthood. Many boys, if this call is not properly nurtured and discussed, become focused on worldly matters and therefore can no longer hear God’s call above the noises and distractions of the world.

Pope Benedict XVI, when he was known as Cardinal Ratzinger, once commented on the shortage of priestly vocations. He said that when the institution of marriage suffers then vocations to the priesthood suffers. There is also the important element of spending time with Jesus and listening to him. Prayer is vital in the ability to discern any vocation be it holy matrimony, holy orders, religious life. This is what Andrew and the other disciple did. They went and spent time with Jesus. The place where Jesus was dwelling was not significant as was the being with him. Then, after they had spent time with Jesus it became clear to them what their vocation was, what God was calling them to do; to draw others to him.

Like Eli who helped the young Samuel, we must help our young children to discern their vocation. A prayer as a family as simple as praying for God to reveal the child’s vocation does not take much time at all. Place before your children and grandchildren the Church’s call to holiness and that God is calling them to live this life out in a particular way. If we can begin to do these small little exercises, things will turn around for our children and for the Church.

Amen.