This weekend I am preaching for the Annual Pastor Appeal – so I thought I would post a homily from several years ago that I gave on this same weekend.
As I have loved you, so you also should love one another (John 13:34)
In his book Surprised By Joy, CS Lewis describes being at a very proper English tea, standing there with an overly filled cup, when, quite by accident someone bumped into him, causing the jostled cup to spill some of its content out. Later, when reflecting on that most ordinary of things, he noted isn’t that a lot like life. If we want to know that with which we have filled our life, we only need to be jostled by life to see what spills out. Continue reading
It is said that you can tell a lot about a person by their hands. The common wisdom is that a person’s self-image is revealed in the manner in which they shake hands. One of the oft-told stories in my family is when my then college-aged niece brought home a young man to meet the family and her grandmother. We were all greeted by the “dead-fish handshake,” a weak hello, and eyes cast to one side. The family advice was uniform: dump him. My niece thought we were all a bit judgmental. Perhaps, but let’s just say it was an occasion where experience met prudence. The handshake told us almost everything we needed to know. Several weeks later, our niece came to the same assessment. 
Two days ago, the 256-page, 60,000-word papal exhortation, The Joy of Love, was released to the waiting world. Since then, I have been asked for comments, quotes, opinions, and insight. Here is about all that I can respond: “Thanks for asking, but I haven’t had the chance to read it.” … or think about it, or pray about it, or muse about its content. So, have I read Pope Francis’ exhortation? Not yet. 
As a liturgical season, Lent is rather straightforward. It is kinda’ easy to write about. There is Ash Wednesday to dramatically mark its beginning, and we all know we are moving relentlessly towards Easter. We count the days even as we mark Lent’s beginning. The Ashes make a visible mark upon us, reminding us that we are dust and to dust we shall return – but that is not the end of the story. We are reminded to repent and believe in the Gospel – but that is not the end goal. We are encouraged to pray, fast, and give alms – but those practices are meant to make room in our lives for God that we too may rise to the newness of life at Eastertide.
One moment of time out of a whole lifetime and Thomas is branded for life: Doubting Thomas. Ouch. And the funny thing is that the word “doubt” never appears anywhere in this Gospel passage. There are six perfectly good words in Greek to express doubt. None of them are used. The word that is used is “not trusting.” 
Pope Francis has declared a Jubilee Year of Mercy to begin on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception this December 8th . In Judaism and Christianity, the Jubilee is a special year of remission of sins, forgiving debts, and reconciling broken relationships. It is a year in which the people of God are asked to especially make manifest the mercy of God. So maybe, here at the beginning, it is a good time to think about the meaning of “mercy.”
“Death, be not proud, though some have called thee Mighty and dreadful, for thou are not so; For those whom thou think’st thou dost overthrow Die not, poor Death…. One short sleep past, we wake eternally, And death shall be no more, Death, thou shalt die.” So wrote the 17th century poet John Donne about the freedom from the seemingly unsurpassable power of death and the promise of new life, eternal life at the core of our Easter celebrations. 
“When I was a child I used to walk five miles to school in the snow, just to let them know that I was too sick to come to school that day.” So my father used to tell me. Hmmm…? Really – but hey, dad was really old, right? He probably grew up in the ice age and maybe the weather was very different back then. Such are the stories of our youth as parents try to teach us the lessons of life, sometimes wrapped in yarns, tall-tales, and memories of a different time and place. I still wonder how the to-and-from the store was uphill both ways. 
Lately, during weekday Mass celebrations, I have been asking people, “So…how’s your Lent going? Are you getting there?” It is just under three weeks until we celebrate the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday. So…. how’s your Lent going? A lot of the time people tell me that they have given up such and such for Lent and they are still good, sticking to the plan. That is a good thing. But I wonder, and often ask, “does that make room in your life for God?” 
I arise today
friarmusings 