The Divine Gardener

 III Lent, C

One of the key words of Pope Francis’s pontificate, of which we just celebrated the twelfth anniversary, is accompaniment. In his vision, this is the work of the Church and her sacred ministers, to accompany the People of the God and the grace at work in them.

As a priest, this makes sense to me. Jesus is the Shepherd, not me. The Holy Spirit is the Teacher, not me. My job is to help people recognize, discern, and embrace what the Blessed Trinity is up to in their lives. That’s pastoral accompaniment.

However, though it is the duty of the Church and her sacred ministers to accompany the People of God, all this in service to how God himself accompanies us. We see this divine accompaniment in our readings today.

Ascension

Ascension of the Lord, B

Happy feast day, brothers and sisters. Happy solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord. Pope St. Leo the Great describes our joy when he says that "we are commemorating that day on which our poor human nature was carried up, in Christ, above all the hosts of heaven, above all the ranks of angels, beyond the highest heavenly powers to the very throne of God the Father."

Yes, Jesus Christ has taken on our humanity, and, in his Ascension, has brought it into the presence of God the Father in heaven. This means that, in our communion with the Body of Christ here at the Eucharist, we are already seated in heaven and, in some sense, our ultimate destiny is already accomplished. We can now rejoice because our own bodily death, when it comes, will mean nothing more than a continuation of the communion with Christ that we celebrate here at Holy Mass.

The Holy Family

 (This is an update of a homily I gave on this feast day to a group of sisters from the USA during a pilgrimage they made to Rome.)

The good news of Christmas continues to unfold; the mystery of the incarnation continues to reveal itself. Today we are given to contemplate Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, as a member of a family – the Holy Family – together with Mary and Joseph.

The Woman At The Well

 III Lent, A

It’s plain enough that the readings today invite us to reflect on the symbol of water. In the first reading Moses gives water from the rock to God’s people in the desert – and as St. Paul says, the rock was Christ. (1 Cor 10:4) In the gospel Jesus leads the Samaritan woman through a process of enlightenment so that she might discover in herself the living water that becomes in us, as Jesus says, a spring of water welling up to eternal life.

It is very fitting that we reflect on this living water because the purpose of this season of Lent is the Church’s accompaniment of those who are preparing for baptism at Easter. And we too, who are already baptized, are preparing ourselves for the renewal of the grace of our baptismal promises.

In order to appreciate well the depth and beauty of this gospel that we have today, that of the Samaritan woman, there are certain things to note.

But I Say To You

6th Sunday, A

Well. We have a lot of stuff in the gospel today. It’s a collection of the moral teachings of Jesus that makes up part of the Sermon on the Mount in the gospel of St. Matthew.

I don’t think it would be possible to say something about all of it adequately, but perhaps we can find a thread that unites all these sayings of Jesus.

Let’s begin with the refrain with which Jesus introduces these teachings: “You have heard that it was said to your ancestors … but I say to you.”

The Servant Master

 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time, C

“Be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding, ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival.” (Luke 12:36-37a)

First of all, what’s the wedding? Who’s getting married? Well, it’s the marriage of heaven and earth, of humanity and God that Jesus Christ accomplishes in his life, death, and resurrection. So now, having accomplished and consummated this marriage of heaven of earth, of humanity with God, the Divine Master, Jesus, returns home.

Riches

18th Sunday, C

“Thus will it be for all who store up treasure for themselves but are not rich in what matters to God” (Luke 12:21) warns Jesus in the gospel today.

So how do we get or make sure we are rich in what matters to God? Well, I think the first step is to recognize that we already are! After all, as St. Paul puts it, Jesus Christ “for your sake became poor although he was rich, so that by his poverty you might become rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9)

How are we already rich in what matters to God? In many ways, of course, but I’ll note just two big ones.