1st Sunday of Lent, Cycle B - February 18, 2024

 1st Sunday of Lent – B 

February 18, 2024 – 5pm 

Our Lady of Grace Parish, Parkton 

 

Normandy and Forces of Evil

 

About ten years ago, I was on a parish trip to France. 

 

One day we visited the Normandy coast. This, as you know, is where D-Day took place in World War II – eighty years ago. 

 

We went to Omaha Beach – part of the beach front where 6,000 Allied ships dropped off thousands and thousands of soldiers for the invasion of Europe. We stood on the top of the Nazi Sea Wall and could just imagine the terrible carnage that took place. 

 

We walked through the German artillery bunkers. But what moved me most was walking through the American Cemetery. 

 

There are 9,500 crosses or Stars of David over the remains of each dead American soldier. By the end of the Normandy campaign, there were 425,000 Allied and German troops killed, wounded, or missing.  

 

As I stood in that cemetery, I felt keenly aware of the great force of evil that the world was caught up in at that time. I felt very aware of the forces of evil that are much bigger than we are as individuals.

 

Lent and These Forces 

 

Maybe all of us have had this awareness of forces bigger than ourselves.

 

There are these powers in the world that just seem to swirl around us and maybe catch us up in them. Sometimes, we can be unaware of all of this, but then comes the Season of Lent.

 

Lent makes us aware that much of life is a complicated dance between good and evil, between light and darkness. Much of life is a conflict: between charity, justice, and peacefulness, on the one side, and then, self-absorption, injustice, and hostility, on the other side.  

 

Jesus and These Forces

 

Today’s gospel tells us that Jesus goes into the desert and wrestles with these forces of darkness.  

 

Jesus confronts the same choices that we confront. 

 

Ø Jesus chooses Faith in the Father in the face of temptation to believe in something else.

Ø He chooses a trusting Hope in the face of darkness.  

Ø And he chooses sacrificial acts of Love in the face of insult and rejection.

 

We and These Forces

 

The Season of Lent reminds us that we also must make choices in the face of the conflicting forces around us.

 

Jesus calls us to choose Faith. Sometimes we may question or doubt. 

 

But Jesus calls us to believe in the Almighty One and to be anchored here. He wants us to be in relationship with God through the Eucharist and to make sure we participate in this. 

 

And he also wants us to make time for personal prayer.  Jesus calls us to share this Faith with one other person today.

 

And then Jesus calls us to choose Hope. On a personal level, maybe we feel unjustly treated at work or unfairly talked about by others.

 

On a global level, there are major problems, like the two wars preoccupying us right now or the violence in our own country. But with all of this, the power of Hope lies not in what is around us but in what is within us.

 

The power of Hope lies in God’s constant presence within. Jesus calls us to share this Hope with one other person today.

 

And then Jesus calls us to choose Love. There is much demonization today of those who are different from us or who disagree with us.

 

And there is a lack of sensitivity to the life of the unborn and the life of children without proper food or health care. But with all of this, the power of Love flows from the One who is Love itself.  

 

This power of Love leads us to find common ground with other persons and to be open to the common good of our country and of our world. Jesus calls us to share this Love with one other person today.   

 

Conclusion

 

So, there are forces bigger than us and we have choices to make.

 

Lent makes us aware of this and makes us aware that our choices shape who we are as persons.  They have etern

6th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle B - February 11, 2024

 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle B

February 11, 2024     8:30 and 11am  

Our Lady of Grace Parish, Parkton 

 

The First Two Steps 

 

Probably most of us know something about Twelve-Step programs.

 

These programs are very helpful in dealing with alcoholism or addiction to other substances and behaviors. Today’s gospel about the healing of the leper has led me to recall the first two steps of a Twelve-Step program.

 

Step One – We admit that we are powerless – and that’s the key word – powerless over alcohol or whatever the habit or addiction is. And Step Two – We admit our need for a Higher Power, a Power greater than ourselves to restore us.       

 

The Leper’s Two Steps 

 

In today’s gospel, the leper knows that he is powerless. There is nothing he can do about his physical disease.

 

It was disfiguring and repulsive, and there was no known cure. And because of this, this man is declared “unclean.”

 

He has to dress in shabby clothes and live alone, staying away from anyone else. And he even has to shout out “Unclean” to warn anyone who would come near him.

 

He is also ostracized from the temple or synagogue. The leprosy is seen as making him unclean even to God.

 

So, imagine how he feels: lonely, abandoned, unworthy, worthless, unwanted. That was his situation, and he knows that he is powerless to do anything about it. 

 

So, that’s step one: admitting powerlessness. But then, this leper admits his need for a Higher Power.

 

He dares to approach Jesus. He sees God acting in some way in Jesus. 

 

So, he says to Jesus, “If you wish, you can make me clean.” “If you wish” – so he believes that Jesus has the power, the higher power, and can heal him of this awful disease and its effects.

 

And, of course, Jesus does not hesitate. In fact, he even touches the man as he says, “I do will it. Be made clean.”

 

Amazingly, Jesus himself is not made unclean by touching the man – that’s what the religious law stated. Instead, it is the man who is made clean by Jesus and his touch and power.

 

Our Two Steps 

 

Now, I wonder if all of us are in some way in the postion of this leper and need to take these two steps.

 

First, we need to admit our powerlessness. This isn’t easy because most of us naturally like to have power.

 

We want to have the power to live independently and take care of ourselves. But there usually comes a point when we realize that ultimately, we are not in control and we are powerless.

 

Maybe it is a personal sickness or the death of a loved one or the break-up of a relationship. Or maybe it is a habit, not necessarily an addiction to a substance, but maybe a bad temper or over-eating or sexual infidelity or being unable to forgive someone. 

 

We come to admit that we cannot manage this. We admit that we are spiritually powerless.

 

Ultimately, in the long run, this will be true of all of us. So, the sooner we admit our spiritual powerlessness, the better. 

 

And that takes us to the second step. We turn to our Higher Power. 

 

This means God, Jesus. We also say, “If you wish, you can make me clean.” 

 

Only God, only Jesus can do this for us. Only God, only Jesus can make us whole and healthy spiritually.

 

So, we approach Jesus in the Penitential Prayer at the beginning of Mass or in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. In Reconciliation or confession, there is something transforming in saying that I am powerless over something and then hearing the words of absolution.

 

In effect, it is Jesus saying, “I do will it. Be made clean.” And we leave feeling refreshed, renewed, and empowered. 

 

And again, before we receive Eucharist here at Mass, we say, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.” Well, the Lord has said the word.

 

Words like “I call you my friends” or “Come to me, all you who are burdened, and I will refresh you.” God has spoken the word, and now we are worthy.

 

We are made clean. And we are empowered by the Eucharist. 

 

Conclusion

 

So, the story of the leper is one of admitting his powerlessness and seeking a Higher Power, God, Jesus.

 

It is also our story. Jesus will respond to us just as he does to the leper.

5th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle B - February 4, 2024

 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle B

February 4, 2024   5pm, 8:30 and 11am  

Our Lady of Grace Parish, Parkton 

 

Respect

 

Today I want to talk about respect. One word – respect. 

 

The Word Respect

 

Our English word respect – like many of our words – is derived from Latin. 

 

It is made up of two Latin words: 

1)    First, the word re (spelled R-E) which means back, as in going back;

2)    and second, the Latin word specere (spelled S-P-E-C-E-R-E), a verb that means to look at. 

 

And so, our word respect literally means to look back at, or to take a second look. From this, the word has come to mean to treat someone with value and dignity. 

 

The connection between the original meaning – to look back at – and the developed meaning of the word is clear. If we don’t just take a quick look, but if we look back and take a second look, then we are valuing others. 

 

As a result, we are much more likely to act out of that – to treat them with value and dignity. And, of course, we are much more likely to avoid behavior or words that would injure others.

 

Why am I so focused on this today? Because I see respect as the virtue or trait that is underneath what happens in the first part of today’s gospel.     

 

Jesus Respects Women

 

Jesus goes into Peter’s house.

 

Peter’s mother-in-law is sick in bed with a fever. I have to wonder if it was something like the flu.

 

At any rate, and here’s the key point, Jesus goes right up to this woman and takes her by the hand. Now to us, that may not sound like a big deal, but it was in Jesus’ day.

 

In those days, men were forbidden to talk with or touch any woman other than their wife. They couldn’t even shake hands with a woman.

 

It’s important to know that this prohibition did not exist out of respect for women. Instead, it existed out of disrespect for them.

 

It was a highly patriarchal and culture. Women had no rights and were seen as inferior – not to be talked with and certainly not to be touched.

 

So, a point that’s easy to miss here is that Jesus, right at the start of his ministry, is breaking a barrier. I mean, this is chapter one of Mark’s Gospel – Mark talking about the first things Jesus does in his ministry.

 

And here, Jesus breaks the gender barrier. He respects this woman as a person with dignity, as a person in need, and he wants to help her.

 

Apparently, Saint Mark is really out to make a point about this. I say that because at the end of his gospel, as Jesus ends his ministry, dying on the cross, Mark carefully notes the presence of women.

 

He points out that these women were followers or disciples of Jesus. So Mark’s entire Gospel is framed or bookended with Jesus showing respect for women.

 

Respect Women Today

 

Today, I think that Jesus would do the same thing and support the dignity and respectful treatment of women. 

 

He would speak out against verbal or emotional abuse, demeaning jokes, sexual harassment, and maybe even less pay for the same work and same competence.  I believe that Jesus would call out all of this as wrong.

 

He would want us to look back at, to take a second look, the meaning of the word respect. He would want us to be respectful in our attitudes, our words, our workplace policies, and our Church practice. 

 

So, yes, there is a spiritual and moral dimension here. There is quite a lesson in Jesus’ healing of Peter’s mother-in-law.