CHURCH IN ONE HAND, JESUS IN THE OTHER, THE WAY TO HEAVEN

R.C. PRIEST - HERE TODAY
GONE TOMORROW
SEE YOU IN HEAVEN

There comes a time in every Catholic diocese during the course of every year when the faithful congregants struggle with the meaning of the changing of the guard, so to speak.  

The world of the Catholic Church is one that is focused on the end times, the final judgment, the moment of truth, the hour of death, the arrival of the Bridegroom, the meeting of our Creator/Father.  There are many elements of Catholic life that prepare us for the moment when we leave the temporal dimension and enter into dimensionless eternity.  One such element of this preparation is the call and the promise to continuity and unity of purpose in the life of the Church.  It is the factual, flint hard, day to day renewal of our Faith in the presence of God in every facet of our lives.  Besides the call to stay faithful to our families, to our jobs, to our country, to our own personal relationship with our friends and neighbors and finally to God through His Church.  Yes, all of these commitments require dedicated perseverance.  They require that we keep our hearts, souls and minds focused on the final reality, the rest of eternity in the presence of God.

We are brought up in the faith that says that the Church is One, Holy, Catholic (Universal) and Apostolic.  The greatest of these is its Unity.  It is one through time, one in mind, heart and soul every day and everywhere.  It is in its Unity, Holiness, Catholicity and  Apostolicity that Jesus could promise that the gates of Hell would never prevail against it.  We know that this is true because every day we get the opportunity to talk to someone clear across the world who has been to Mass in the morning; we say "God be with you" as we part company with an acquaintance; we get a telephone call from our Presbyterian friend asking for Catholic prayers before submitting himself to surgery; we travel anywhere on the continent and go to Mass in any language and we can relate; we travel anywhere and we know that there will be a daily Mass somewhere in which we can participate either to begin or end our day; we also know that at that Mass there will be warm hearted brethren willing to spend a joyful moment with us.  The priest may even be one of those who approaches us lovingly. Yes, the priest.  Ah, the priest.

Where does he come from?  How long has he been here?  For how long will he be here?  Is he the pastor?  Maybe one of the vicars?  Maybe from across town?  Maybe even traveling like us and just happens to be here for a couple of days?  Oh, he's from Africa!  We take that for granted these days.  We don't give it a second thought but in these two paragraphs we are living moments of preparation for eternity with the One, Unchanging Creator Father.  Eternity will be dimensionless, remember.  No time.  No coming and going.  Just constant measureless, wonderfully awesome love of God.  Our life in the Church prepares us for that.

We don't go to participate in the Mass because Father Mack is the celebrant.  We don't go to Mass at the cross-town church for the sake of the cross-town church.
We don't go to Mass where there are cushioned kneelers and pews for our comfort.  We don't have to worry about which priest will be celebrating the sacrament of Baptism next Sunday.  We don't worry about which priest is going to come to our death bed.  We know that if we are in our own country or a country far away, when we are there we are also in church, prayers and sacraments, tabernacles and sanctuary lights, pictures (icons) and statues, tabernacles and Stations of the Cross as well as incense and holy water.  It doesn't matter whether it is Bethlehem in Palestine or Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, it's all the same.

Finally, and to the point of all this, when the jolly merry-go-round of clergy changes happens every year, one priest leaves and one comes in behind him.  The Church doesn't move, they do.  You and I move too, but the Church doesn't move, we do.The Church is our heaven here below. It doesn't change.  The Church is the beginning of Heaven.  The Church is the bride of Jesus.  We hold Her hand and side by side with Her we hold His hand along the Way to heaven.  On the way to heaven we have to have the Church in one hand and Jesus in the other.  The occasional do-si-do of the clergy is nothing but the confirmation that the Church remains the Church and the rest is God's plan of using his human creatures as His collaborators along the way to Eternity.

We find the foundation of our faith in the Church in the mystery of Pentecost.  Jesus promised us the Advocate, the Counselor, the Comforter, the fire carrier who infuses our hearts and souls with the zeal for God's house.  The Holy Spirit showed the disciples the way of courage, penance, prayer and zeal.  We are in that same boat. The Ark that did not sink; the boat where the apostles were sleeping did not sink; the boat that we are in will not sink per the promise mentioned above.  This is a journey in a boat that leads to the Eternal Harbor of boundless, dimensionless love.  We know that because even in our short lives we see it weather so many storms.  Our contribution as faithful members of the Church is to keep our hearts and souls locked in to the eternal Light that never wavers because it is not human.  That is what the Church teaches us by its very existence.  

I firmly believe that and because I do, I am telling you, never cry at the transfer of the clergy because we don't own them, and do not even get tempted to cry at my funeral.

Amen.

INTO YOUR HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT OH LORD

I have written many times about the experience of death in this space.  There has been quite a procession of saints that has passed before our eyes.  Some young people and some older people.  Some who died quickly and some who took a while to get it done.  There were some who died from violent causes and some who slipped into the night quietly.  There are some with who I exchanged pleasantries as we bade one another goodbye.  Each time it has been a learning experience in love.

I can't tell you how many times I have been the witness to death because they are too numerous for my aged memory to capture in a moment like this .  There have been those with whom I had good times and there have been those with whom I did not. That did not take the love out of the death experience.  Death is that moment when the gift of life becomes the gift of love because it is the gift of no return that has no boundaries.  It is the gift that defines the life of the deceased and in that definition we all participate in a moment of defining ourselves.  This is true even if we were not very close to the individual, in whatever way you want to define "close."
It is inevitable, that in the moment of death there is a lot going on right there on the threshold of eternity.  It's one of the most profound experiences of human learning with which we are blessed.

All that being said, today we said goodbye to Catalina Sotelo.  This simple, humble, hard working, loving, caring, dedicated person who was warm to everyone with whom she dealt.  She defied my 50/50 rule, I dare say.  My 50/50 rule states "At your funeral 50% of those present will be there mourning and 50% will be there to make sure that it's true."  I know, deep down in my heart that the nearly 500 people in church this morning were closer to 90/10, with only about 10% attending just to check it out.  No, Catalina filled the church because of her great love for people.

When someone fills the church even though they died at only 46 years old, you know that they did something right.  You know that God is showing us that this person had done what had to be done for Him.  It's a witness to a life well led and a faith-life shared with those in communion with you.  

As we pray for the eternal repose of her soul, let us also remember to thank God for the life that He gave her to share with us.  We enjoyed her help while she was warm and vibrant by our side.  Let us enjoy her vibrant spirit across the dimension of the spiritual existence and the physical existence.  

Into you hands, we commend our spirit Oh Lord!

Finally, don't forget that my 50/50 rule, part B is, "No Crying at MY Funeral."

CONTRITION (PERFECT OR NOT) BEGETS MERCY

Every year at this time we are challenged to live out the fulfillment of our Lenten season of penance, prayer and zeal.  This is the season of the Resurrection.  This is the season of the new dawn.  This is the season of the Divine Mercy.  This is when we realize that the Resurrection is the glory of the Mercy of God.  Ah, the Mercy of God is the caress of infinite Divine love.  Just as the sunrise is for everyone, so is Divine Mercy; just as the sunrise is manifesting itself somewhere to enlighten and comfort creation in its warm caress, so is Divine Mercy.  That is why the season of Resurrection is the season of Divine Mercy.

One of my heart movements this year as this new season rose over the spiritual horizon was about the "birth" of the Divine Mercy relationship that Saint Faustina was commissioned to bring to the world.  I was wondering what had happened to this spirituality over the centuries, and I do mean centuries.  I could not help but wonder how the faithful children of the merciful father could have failed to distil this faith conviction from the parable of the "Prodigal Son" that we hear every year.  

This sassy, disgruntled child carved himself out of his family's life with the money that should have been enough to support him had he behaved properly. When things went badly and he could no longer take it, he decided to go back to the "farm" where the owner's "hands" were eating better than he.  Yes, he went back home to his father in order to eat better.  He wasn't feeling super sorry that he had insulted his father, he was suffering from eating pig slop.  He did know one thing, though, he knew the depth of the love of his father.  He knew that in that deep pool of love was boundless mercy for sons such as he.  He was right.

We too are right.  We too believe in the boundless source of Loving Grace and Redeeming Mercy of our Divine Father.  We too know that we can come home.  Just as sure as the sun rises to meet us every day, so does God continue His loving and merciful vigilance over us.  We too can come back to Him, both from near and from far.  The distance doesn't matter.  The purity of our intentions doesn't even have to be at the 24 carat level.  When we come back and feel that warm and merciful embrace, we just know that the costume jewelry heart that brought us back is on its way back to the 24 carat grade that He created.

I leave you with an invitation to visit the wonderful, hope filled Bible book (Right after Jeremiah)  that goes by the name of Lamentations.  It is three chapters of beautiful, down to earth poetry full of hope in the mercy of God.  Yes, many centuries before Saint Faustina.  Just another reason to celebrate this powerful attribute of our Divine Creator.  As a blessing to you, I leave these few lines to you from the Word of God, coming to us from time immemorial in the Scripture entitled "Lamentations:"

19 The thought of my wretched homelessness is wormwood and poison;

20 Remembering it over and over, my soul is downcast.

21 But this I will call to mind; therefore I will hope:

22 The LORD’s acts of mercy are not exhausted, his compassion is not spent;

23 They are renewed each morning— great is your faithfulness!

24 The LORD is my portion, I tell myself, therefore I will hope in him.

25 The LORD is good to those who trust in him, to the one that seeks him;

26 It is good to hope in silence for the LORD’s deliverance.  [Lamentations, chapter 3]

His mercy is limitless,it is tangible, it is always new, and it is near to you every morning.  Rest in the power of His Grace and let mercy greet you where you are. (Dawn Boyer, Journeysingrace.com)

SEEING IS BELIEVING

Be ready for you know neither the day nor the hour...
Yes, you're looking at a clock, believe it!

Dear brothers and sisters:
May these simple words find you in peace and joy.  I have have to tell you about s conviction that I have been nursing now for the last 15 or 20 years.  It has to do with a Gospel character who has become very dear to me.  I have to tell you that I have come to the personal conclusion that this individual is laboring under the effects of a "bad rap."  You all know him well.  He is the one a who is hardly never quoted as the tough character who was not afraid to say,  “Let us also go to die with him.” (John 11;16)
It's been a long time that I have been admiring him for his ability to stare death in the eye and not be afraid. So this year, during the Holy Week and Easter season I have been spending a lot of time reflecting on the strength of faith and it's victory over doubt as we see it in the Bible.  
May I start with Sarah and Abraham?  Of course Sarah is the one who giggled.
Then I have to jump to Peter on the water.
Then we see the eleven disciples in Galilee where Jesus had told them to meet him, and we read the words of Matthew:  "The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them.  When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted."
This was after Mary Magdalene wondered if the body had been stolen.
After the apostles ran to the tomb to check it out.
After the two disciples from Emmaus had their theophany.

I say that we cut Thomas a little slack and admire him for the courage of his convictions.  This man is brave and humble at the same time.  Who among us can imagine standing in front of our community of love and fraternity and stand our ground?  Furthermore, who among us has the strength and courage to accept our doubt in humility and love and atone for it?  
The man who had the courage to "...go to die with Him" also had the courage to go and live the way that the Master directed,  
“All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit,  teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
(Matthew 28;18-20)

Yes, Thomas is a big hero of mine.  I never call him "Doubting" because it is not fair to single him out from among the other doubters, many of whom still populate today's world.
Keep what I have said here in mind if you are ever slightly tempted to cry at my funeral.

LOVE IS INFINITE AND ETERNAL

SERVANT KING by Melinda Gallone (www.melindagallone.com)

It was Holy Thursday.  My wife and I had celebrated our priesthood at the Chrism Mass on Tuesday evening.  It was the perfect introduction to the Sacred Triduum.  The immense church was filled and every person there seemed to be deeply engaged in the Sacrament.  The homily was very good, but stopped, rather than ended in what the French call "a fish tail."  It was a well-crafted 1,000 word effort.

Wednesday was a day of prayer, organizing the work area and preparing to spend a day or so at home, including Holy Thursday and Good Friday. You can tell by the lovely watercolor that this is about Holy Thursday, in a way, but, as the saying goes, "you really had to be there..."

So, let's go there.
After a lifetime of hearing Holy Thursday sermons and homilies about humility, service, the glories of the ordained priesthood and the role of the priesthood infused at Baptism, etc. I heard one that got my attention and sent me away the richer for the experience.
It turns out that it was the personal testimony of the Vietnamese Priest at the altar, young pastor of a relatively small parish in San Diego, part territory and part "national/cultural."
He started by telling us that the Sacred Triduum is a celebration of boundless love.  Jesus enveloped in a towel and washing the feet of the disciples is a picture of infinite, eternal love brought to us from heaven.  Now the parable part of the story.  (Not a quotation; a paraphrase)

You have heard parts of my life experience and you are living a part of it with me now.  You know that I escaped from Viet Nam with my brother and sister.  I was ten years old.  We got to a refugee camp where we lived for two years.  I was miserable.  My brother and sister did what they could for me.  Then one day a priest appeared.  A big white man who was a powerful presence in the camp.  He arrived there from Australia.  He was kind, but there was not much, if anything that he could do for me.
His presence there was a mystery to me.  Why would a person such as he come from a rich, comfortable country like Australia to a refugee camp?  How could a person such as he be happy in such a place as this?  Yet, there he was, always calm, always happy, always available, always kind, always more than anything, he was filled with love for everyone..  He was THERE.
It was he whom God used to convince me that I should be a priest.  Now I am not in a refugee camp any more.  I am no longer miserable.  I can't do much for anybody except to be present.  I can't do much for anyone except to love, just like Jesus, just like the priest in the refugee camp, be there in love.
I am comfortable with that, and here is why.
The priest could do small things for us, and he did.  Of course, it was never enough.
I can do small things for you and of course, they would never be enough.
When we give something to someone, or do something for some one, it always has limits.  We only have one thing that we can do that doesn't have any limit.  That is to give our loving presence.  Loving presence is a spiritual gift that has no bounds.  Love is infinite and it is eternal.  Love that is brought to the world, to those who need it, by our presence is God's infinite and never ending gift to them.  That's what Jesus brought to His disciples.  It is what Jesus brings to us.  It is what we can bring to others by being present.  It's what we will bring with us to heaven too, by the way.
When Jesus wrapped the towel around His waist, what He was giving is infinite, eternal love and it remains with us now and forever.

So, when you hear that I have died, don't buy a plane ticket for me, go visit someone who needs your presence, not in tears for me but with a smile on your lips and love in your heart.

Promise.