Revisiting the Past: Carrier Landings

Way back on June 28, 1968, as a student naval aviator, I made my first carrier landings in an old North American T-28C Trojan. 

T-28C Trojan

T-28C Carrier Landing

This morning I collected a few videos (below) which brought back a lot of memories. Flying the T-28 with its big radial engine was like flying an old WW2 fighter. The engine, a Wright R-1820, generated 1,425 hp and gave the T-28C plenty of power. 

Anyway, I thought some of you might like to see what it was like to land on a carrier in those days. It's really not much different today, even in high-performance jets. The carrier landing pattern is pretty much the same, and although the speeds are higher, the modern aircraft have many helpful systems that we certainly lacked. 

Believe me, it was very exciting for the group of us who "carrier qualified" that day. You really didn't feel like a naval aviator until you had made those first carrier landings.

The first video, which two friends pointed out to me a few days ago, is obviously recent and shows a typical F-18 carrier approach pattern and landing. Other than the higher speed and slightly longer final approach, it really isn't much different from the pattern we flew in those old T-28s. After landing the F-18 is then taxied out of the landing/take-off area, maybe to await a catapult launch or simply to shut down. The below diagram shows you the pattern flown by the F-18 in the video:

The second video is a vintage Navy training film of the kind I sat through many times. Don't you just love the opening music! It's a bit longer -- 12+ minutes -- but gives a pretty good picture of what it was like on that day we first landed on an aircraft carrier. It always looked so much easier in the film than it actually was. Fortunately, we had been doing field carrier landing practices (FCLPs) for many weeks before we went out to "hit the boat."  You also get to see the take-off. When you took off from a carrier in the T-28 you didn't catapult off, but performed what was called a deck launch or run -- just flying off by adding full power with, you hoped, lots of wind over the deck.

The third video, made in the 1970s, is a clever and fairly realistic animation and is also a bit longer -- 13+ minutes. It shows a single T-28C aircraft flying out to the carrier from Saufley Field in Pensacola. It makes a single landing and then a non-catapult takeoff.

Homily: Saturday, 22nd Week in Ordinary Time

I have embedded a video of my homily for Saturday of the 22nd week of Ordinary Time. The full text of the homily follows.

_______________________

Readings: Col 1:21-23 • Psalm 54 • Luke 6:1-5
_______________________

What a wonderful Gospel passage, a beautiful example of the continuity between Old and New Testaments, where the New fulfills the Old. 

Luke tells us that Jesus and the disciples were walking through a wheat field on the Sabbath; and as they walked the disciples picked the heads of grain and ate them.

Unlawful on the Sabbath?

There are actually several places in Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy that apply here. In fact the Law allows gleaning, or picking grain from another's field [Dt 23:25], but only with your hand. In other words, pick just enough to satisfy your hunger. You can't roll through someone else's field with a combine. And then there are the Ten Commandments, requiring the observation of the Sabbath day by doing no work [Ex 20:10; Dt 5:12-15].

The Pharisees, of course, were shadowing Jesus, intent on finding fault. And so they challenged Him, asking why His disciples were violating the Law. As usual, they interpreted the Law narrowly, but Jesus, as always, turned the tables on them. He began by criticizing their ignorance of Scripture:

"Have you not read what David did...?" [Lk 6:3]

Here He referred to an event described in the 1st Book of Samuel. David and his companions were fleeing from King Saul. Hungry, David approached the priests of the sanctuary at Nob and requested bread. But the only bread available was the Bread of the Presence, which, by Law, was reserved for priests alone [Lev 24:9]. But Ahimelech, the high priest, gave the bread to David. Later, in his anger, Saul killed all the priests at Nob, not because he thought they had violated the Law, but because they had helped David.

Bread of the Presence

Jesus uses this event to explain the true meaning of the Sabbath, that the letter of the Law is not more important than helping those in real need. The letter of the Law might be violated, but not the good the Law intends. In Mark's Gospel Jesus adds the words:

"The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath" [Mk 2:27].

God instituted the Sabbath, Jesus reminds the Pharisees, not for its own sake, but for our benefit. And then He said something remarkable:

"The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath" [Lk 6:5].

Luke doesn't reveal the Pharisees' reaction to these words, but they must have been horrified. For them this was blasphemy. Using the Messianic title "Son of Man" was bad enough, but He also claimed the divine title, "Lord of the Sabbath."

Here Jesus proclaimed His divinity. It is He who gave the Law to Israel, and the Lord of the Sabbath has authority over the Law.

It's interesting that the Church, in today's Gospel proclamation or Alleluia verse, includes words Jesus spoke to His disciples at the Last Supper:

"I am the way and the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me" [Jn 14:6].

These words, too, also proclaim Jesus' divinity and in a very real sense expand on what He said to the Pharisees.

The Way, the Truth, the Life...It's all encompassing, isn't it? It's a perfect description of His complete fulfillment of the Covenants with Israel, the Good News wrapped up in three one-syllable words.

What is the way? It's nothing other than our Christian faith and the struggle to put that faith into practice by loving God and our neighbor. In our weakness we can't do it alone, and so we follow Jesus on His journey, which becomes our journey through life's struggles, knowing He walks with us.

The truth? Why, it's the Good News - the Good News of Jesus Christ, the Good News of God's mercy and forgiveness, the Good News of Salvation!  It's the truth of Jesus' promise, borne out and proven by His resurrection.

And the life? The life is eternal life, the fruit of Jesus' promise. It's the understanding that we're here for a purpose: to do God's will so that we may spend an eternal life of happiness with Him. It's the knowledge that salvation is a gift, that we can't earn it simply by following the Law.

As St. Paul reminds us in today's first reading, we too hope to stand before God "holy, pure and blameless."

Perhaps, we should begin by considering how we celebrate the Sabbath, the day on which we proclaim Jesus' glorious Resurrection.

Other than attending a vigil or Sunday Mass, what do we do to keep the day holy?

Is it just another day to spend on the golf course, or in front of the TV?

Or do we, like the disciples, take some time to walk with Jesus on the day He has declared holy?

Homily: Pentecost Sunday (Video and Text)

Readings: Acts 2:1-11; 1Cor 12:3b-7,12-13; Ps 104; John 20:19-23

I've posted the video of my homily for Pentecost Sunday below. The complete text follows.

Homily Text:

Back in the year 2000, with the advent of the new millennium, I heard an historian, who claimed to be an agnostic, say something remarkable in a television interview:

"As an historian, I think the most influential person in human history was Jesus Christ. The problem is, I can't understand how he came to be so influential. 

"He was really a nobody, tucked away in a little corner of the world. He didn't write anything, or go anywhere, or do anything very important. He was executed for treason. And his followers were just a handful of simple peasants, riffraff really. 

"He should have been forgotten in a matter of days or weeks. It's truly inexplicable. But, that's history."

Yes, Mr. Historian, that is history - but a history, when viewed from the perspective of the Church's teachings, that becomes very explainable. 

For you and me - indeed, for all Christians - the most influential events in human history centered on the person of Jesus Christ. If we exclude the Incarnation itself, we can focus on three events that took place within eight weeks of each other. And all three were actions, taken not by men, but by God Himself.

These events are true history -- His Story -- the story of the Creator of all things acting in a most remarkable way, and from a strictly human perspective, in an unbelievable, inexplicable way. It's the story of a loving Father sending His Son to suffer and die at the hands of those He created, as a perfect offering for their sins.

You see, our agnostic historian is at least partially right: Jesus Christ is inexplicable, until we plumb the depths of God's Love for us. And His Story didn't end on the Cross at Calvary. If it had, the historian's instincts would have been correct and Jesus would have been a mere footnote. Fortunately the Father wasn't content to let it end there. He wanted us to know. He wanted us to accept the truth of His love for us. 

And so, after three days, Jesus rose from the dead, not only to prove His Divinity, but also to give a foretaste of the glories that await those who love Him and keep His commandments. 

But even the Resurrection was insufficient. For the Father wanted His Truth, the knowledge of His infinite Love, to spread to the ends of the earth. Because God created every person in an individual act of love, the sacrifice of His Son, this act of redemption, was for all of humanity.

Today's first reading from the Acts of the Apostles describes this 3rd event in the history of salvation: an event that permanently and profoundly altered world history, the event we celebrate today. For what took place in Jerusalem on that Sunday morning almost 2,000 years ago is God's lasting gift to His children. 

He'd sent His Son to suffer and die as a redemptive sacrifice, to free us from the slavery of sin and death, and to give us the hope of eternal life. To spread this message of His love, He gave us the gift of His Holy Spirit, "the Lord and giver of life," the very personification of the Divine Love between Father and Son. 

And what power the Spirit has! Suddenly, those 120 men and women, that fearful little band of followers, were transformed into something very different. As they gathered in prayer around our Blessed Mother in the upper room, the mighty breath of God and the fire of the Spirit's presence engulfed them. They were forever changed.

The Jews had long celebrated their feast of Pentecost, a commemoration of the Mosaic Covenant as God's Law descended on Mount Sinai wreathed in holy fire. But now, in that upper room, the Holy Spirit descended once again, and ushered in the new and eternal covenant with God, the covenant instituted by Jesus at the Last Supper. In doing so the Spirit formed them into the Church through which they would bring God's saving message to the world. How had Jesus put it just ten days earlier?

"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" [Mt 28:19-20].

But now, for the first time, they understood what this mission is really all about. And just as suddenly, Jesus' teachings, His promises, the words of the Word of God that had seemed so cryptic, became perfectly clear. Inspired by the Spirit with this new understanding, and overflowing with enthusiasm for the mission He had given them, they poured into the crowded streets of Jerusalem to share the Good News.

But the Holy Spirit had only just begun to act. Out of those 120 disciples, He called one in particular to lead the way. For later, in this same second chapter of Acts, Peter stepped forward in faith and began to preach.

Peter, the fisherman, a man full of bluster and full of human weakness, a man who had betrayed his Lord in those final hours, now led the way. In doing so, Peter, the Rock upon whom Jesus promised to build His Church, was confirmed by the Spirit as the first Vicar of Christ on earth. For on that first Pentecost Sunday, the Church was born. And with that, miracle followed miracle. For the work of the Spirit cannot be stopped.

Because it was the Jewish feast of Pentecost, and the city was filled with Jewish pilgrims from throughout the Roman Empire. On that day the Apostles baptized 3,000 new Christians who would return to their cities taking their new faith and the Good News with them. Yes, indeed, the Church was catholic - it was universal - from its very beginnings. 

The One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, brought into being on that day so long ago, remains with us - still guided by the Holy Spirit, still led by Christ's Vicar, still committed to the Apostolic mission of preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ to the world.

In our Gospel passage, the risen Jesus breathes on the apostles saying, "Receive the Holy Spirit" [Jn 20:22], giving them a first taste of the Spirit's gifts. But this mission to evangelize isn't reserved solely for the Apostles and their successors, to the Holy Father and the Bishops. 

We are all called, clergy and laity alike. When Father Cromwell chanted the Collect at the beginning of Mass, he prayed that God would "pour out...the gifts of the Holy Spirit...and fill...the hearts of believers." And that's you and me. You see, Pentecost is God's reminder that we have work to do.

Just look at the sadness and hopelessness and sinfulness that plague so many in the world today. Brothers and sisters, these are God's children. They don't need our condemnation; they need our evangelization. The Father wants to take them to Himself, and calls you and me to join in His work.
An impossible task? For us, yes. For we can do nothing without the Holy Spirit. How did St. Paul put it in today's second reading?

"There are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of working, but it is the same God who inspires them all in every one. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good" [1 Cor 12:4-7].

Do you see what He's telling us? We all have the same mission, "the common good," but we carry it out in different ways and at different levels, using the particular gifts God has given us.

Today is a good day for you and me to invite the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Love, to fill us with His grace, to pour out those gifts, so He can dwell within us. Indeed, we should issue that invitation to Him every day of our lives. 

When we let the Holy Spirit enter our hearts, when we let Him guide us, and fill us with His gifts, He will teach us, just as He taught those first disciples, to listen humbly to others and to speak to others filled with God's Love.

Welcome the Holy Spirit. Enter into communion with Him. And then through Him, with your spouse, your family, with the others in your life, you can build a home that will manifest the Spirit's presence in your little corner of God's world. 

Can there be a better way to celebrate Pentecost?

Homily Videos

Today our parish's wonderful IT specialist, Krysten, gave me a DVD containing videos of three recent homilies I had preached. They are embedded below so you can listen instead of read, if you are so inclined.
-----------------------
Homily for Monday of the 3rd Week of Easter. You can read the homily here.

-------------------------------

Homily for Saturday of the 3rd Week of Easter. You can read the homily here.

--------------------------------

Homily for Monday of the 4th Week of Easter. You can read the homily here.

Morning of Reflection (Videos)

[Late Note: After watching the videos embedded below, a few folks have contacted me and asked what my comment about "The Godfather" was all about. During one of the talks (I think it was the 2nd talk), a cell phone in the congregation rang with the theme of "The Godfather" movie playing loudly. It wasn't picked up by the microphone I was wearing, so you can't hear it on the video. Anyway, my odd comment was in reference to the phone ringing.]

Our parish's Council of Catholic Women asked me to lead a pre-Lenten Morning of Reflection for the parish on Saturday, February 10. Designed as a kind of introduction to the Lenten season, its theme was "God's Call to the Way of the Disciple."

The CCW was joined by our parish prayer groups in preparing for this day. It was a monumental task and I extend my thanks to all who helped put it all together.

The morning began with morning Mass at 8 a.m., followed by a Scriptural Rosary in the church. We then enjoyed a wonderful breakfast in the parish hall.

After breakfast I exposed the Blessed Sacrament on the altar and delivered three talks on discipleship with each talk centered on a particular Gospel passage.

Each talk was followed by a hymn related to the talk's subject. These were sung by our three amazing and very talented music ministers -- The Grace Notes -- Dawn DiNome Wetzel, Becki Pishko, and Jillian O'Neil.  

After the third talk, I conducted Benediction and reposed the Blessed Sacrament. The prayer teams of our Emmanuel Prayer Group were  then available to pray over and with parishioners who brought healing and other needs. It was a wonderful morning and perhaps 500-600 people attended. I only hope that my talks were well-received. 

I discovered later that our A/V folks had recorded the three talks but not the brief homily I preached at morning Mass. I have included the text of the homily below since I intended it as a kind of introduction to the Morning of Reflection. Videos of the three talks follow the homily text. If you really want to watch the videos, understand that each is about 30 minutes long, so you'll have to set aside some serious time. Maybe they'd be good spiritual food for your Lenten meditation...or maybe not. I'll let you decide.

Here's the text of the homily I preached at morning Mass  -- Saturday, 5th Week in Ordinary Time:

-------------------------

Readings: 1 Kgs 12:26-32;13:33-34 • Ps 106 • Mk 8:1-10

Mark's Gospel has often been described as a Passion narrative with a long introduction. And that introduction? Well, it moves right along, doesn't it?

Mark's sort of the Sergeant Joe Friday of the Gospels: "Just the facts, ma'am. Just the facts." (If you're under 60, you might have to ask a more mature friend about Joe Friday.) Anyway, Mark doesn't waste time on what he likely considered extraneous details. He gets right to the point.

He even begins that way, No genealogies for Mark. No infancy narratives. None of John's deep theological insights. No, Mark tells us what it's all about with his opening words:

"The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God" [Mk 1:1].

You can almost hear him saying, "That's it, folks, the nitty-gritty - but let me tell you more just so your faith will stay strong."

And as Mark's Gospel progresses we encounter two themes, two threads that weave their way through the Gospel and converge in the Passion narrative of chapters 14 and 15.

One is the story of Jesus, the Son of God, and the suffering Son of Man, a life and ministry that moves inexorably to His Passion, Death, and Resurrection as the very fulfillment of all Scripture [Mk 14:49].

The other thread is the story of the disciples. At first glance it seems to be a remarkable story of the remarkably clueless. Moved by the Spirit, the twelve attach themselves to Jesus with little understanding of His teachings or what His call to discipleship really entails. Some, like Peter, James, and John, have moments of bravado, moments that end up as little more than cowardly bluster. Others remain strangely silent as they struggle to come to terms with their response to this calling.

Interestingly, it seems that the closer a disciple is to Jesus, the less he understands. That, of course, all changes at Pentecost. But don't see their spiritual struggles as a sign of human failure; rather, it's a story of God's success. It's a story of spiritual growth, of gradual formation, a time when the Spirit plants seed after seed in the hearts of these friends and followers of Jesus. Like every seed planted by the Spirit, these sprout and bloom according to His schedule, not ours.

Later this morning we'll look at three events in the Gospels, and see how the Spirit moved those involved as they responded to calls to discipleship. The Spirit can move quickly indeed, or He can lead us to the truth over a lifetime. And it's our response that makes all the difference. We see signs of this in today's Gospel passage.

4,000 people, a huge crowd, have been with Jesus for three days, and have eaten nothing. But we hear no complaints from the crowd, for in their hunger for Truth they have been fed with the Word. They are satisfied.

For them it has been three days of contemplative prayer, for what is contemplative prayer but placing oneself in Jesus' presence and listening, listening to the Word so He can alter one's very being.

It's also a time of fasting. But in his compassion, Jesus knows once He leaves them, their fast will end, and they will return to the world hungry. They will need to be restored so they can carry the Word to their homes, into their everyday lives where they can live from faith.

So Jesus turns to His disciples and simply states a truth:

"They have nothing to eat" [Mk 10:2].

"How can we get bread in the desert?" [Mk 10:4] they ask. He has yet to reveal that He is the Bread of Life, that wherever Jesus is, there is Bread. Yes, Jesus is the Eucharist, a gift He will institute at the Last Supper - the bread, His Body - the wine, His Blood - the gift of His Presence until the end of the age. But as yet they don't know this. Have they so soon forgotten His earlier feeding of the 5,000? Miracle upon miracle, healing upon healing, and yet they ask: "How can we get bread in the desert?"

Does Jesus answer their question? No. Instead, He asks the disciples another. "How many loaves have you?" [Mk 10:5]This, brothers and sisters, is a moment of grace and the loaves are its image. Grace is present because Jesus is present. It flows outward from Him to all who are open to receive it. But grace can never be a private possession. It must be passed on, flow from one to another.

Yes, how many loaves do you disciples have? How much faith do you have? Do you have enough? Are you instruments of grace?

"Seven," is their one-word reply. Does it point to the Spirit's seven gifts they will receive at Pentecost when the full meaning of their discipleship is revealed? Perhaps so.

So Jesus takes the loaves, but He takes nothing without thanking the Father. He gives thanks for the disciples' bread, bread meant for them and for Him, but now destined for thousands.

He breaks the bread, as He will break Himself in the Eucharist, and hands the bread to His disciples. The disciples distribute the bread; doing the miraculous, as the Bread received from the Church carries His miraculous Presence into the world.

Here we see the Church in the process of becoming, for the Bread it is given, the Eucharist - it, too, is blessed, broken, and multiplied. Jesus, through the work of the Holy Spirit, offers Himself, but His disciples carry Him into the world.

Jesus also blesses a few small fish so the people can eat an ordinary meal, the same kind of meal the disciples would eat with the Lord. This meal, this everyday experience, becomes for the people an extraordinary, miraculous experience.

Were those few small fish a sign, a reminder that Simon Peter and the others must soon abandon their boats, their nets, their lives and become fishers of men? Did the disciples learn this day that when they give all that they have - even if it's only seven loaves and a few fish - God will multiply it a thousand fold?

And what about you and me?

Can we abandon everything in our lives that is keeping us from true discipleship?

Can we, too, hand the loaves and fish of our lives to the Lord and let Him bless, break and multiply them - so we can carry Him into the world?

Will you let God work His miracles in the everyday ordinariness of your life, so you can be an instrument of His grace?

We are all called, dear friends.

Lord, teach us to serve you as you deserve; to give and not to count the cost; to fight and not to heed the wounds; to labor and seek no reward save that of knowing we do your holy will.

-------------------

We included meditation questions for each talk, including the morning Mass homily, in our reflection booklet. I gave the participants a few moments to meditate on the questions after each talk. The questions that follow were intended for meditation after the morning homily:

Meditation Questions -- the Call to Discipleship.

• What are some of the obstacles you have encountered, or are now encountering, as you strive to respond to Jesus' call to discipleship?
• How can knowing you are "loved into existence" affect your life and how you consider and treat yourself and others?
• Jesus invites us into an intimate relationship with the Blessed Trinity. What does this mean to you? How is this manifested in your life?

----------------

Videos of the three talks follow:

1. The Call to Abandonment.

"...the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life" [John 4:14].

In her desire for new life, for salvation, the Samaritan woman at the well is filled with hope, a hope she feels called to share. Driven by this hope she reaches out and shares the Good News. Like Mary, who carries the unborn Jesus, the Word, to Judea, the Samaritan woman becomes an evangelist, carrying the Word to others.

Meditation Questions -- Disciple and Evangelist: a spring of water welling up to eternal life.

• Describe a situation when you have experienced being refreshed by the Word of God.
• God calls everyone to discipleship. Through those who respond He extends that call to others. How can you better respond to this call to evangelize?
• What aspect of your life must you abandon and leave behind as you follow the path to being a disciple of Jesus Christ?
• What does it mean to be a "God-bearer" in today's world?

2. The Call to Follow.

"Go your way; your faith has saved you...he...followed Jesus on the way" [Mk 10:52].

Faith saves, but true faith is a living faith, one that always brings forth new life, one that demands a response. Bartimaeus turns from his own way, leaving his old life behind, and follows Jesus on "The Way."

Meditation Questions -- Respond in faith: Your faith has saved you.

• Have you ever had a surprising encounter with Jesus, an encounter in which you recognized His presence in your life? Describe it. What was your response? Share this with another.
• What fears might keep you and others you know from following the path to discipleship?
• People are often like the disciples who want to keep others from Jesus. Have you ever encountered this? Have you ever done this? What is the root of this lack of trust on their part and ours?

3. The Call to Serve Without Compromise.

"...her many sins have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love" [Lk 7:47].

We turn to Luke's Gospel and Jesus' encounter with the sinful woman who washed His feet at the house of Simon the Pharisee. Yes, true repentance brings forgiveness, God's gift to those who turn to Him in recognition of their sins. In an act of thanksgiving, overwhelmed by this gift, ultimately the gift of salvation, she is filled with a joy that can only be expressed in her love for the Giver. She responds in love, ignoring the world and its threats, and showers her love on the divine Word.

Meditation Questions -- Response in love: she kissed and anointed His feet.

• Can love ever be wasteful? Can we love too much?
• What is Jesus' attitude toward the sinner? Can you offer some other Gospel examples? How can we follow Him?
• What does the sinful woman in thus passage teach us as we respond to the call to discipleship?

Homily Video: 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

Yesterday our IT folks gave me the video file of the homily I preached last Saturday evening at our parish's 6 p.m. Vigil Mass. I posted the text of the homily a few days ago here. Now you get to watch the video, assuming this is something you just can't wait to do.

Anyway, I've embedded the video below. My homily addresses the Parable of the Sower as it is related in Matthew's Gospel (Mt 13:1-23)...

Wildwood Soup Kitchen Video

Our parish -- St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Wildwood, Florida -- is in the process of preparing a number of videos addressing the many ministries sponsored by the parish. Among the first of these videos is one describing the Wildwood Soup Kitchen, an ecumenical ministry that Diane and I have been actively involved in for over 13 years. We just completed this video, which I was recruited to narrate, so I thought I'd include it here on my blog.

The Wildwood Soup Kitchen is a wonderful ministry and Diane and I are the Thursday Cook and Captain respectively.  The Soup Kitchen serves meals six days a week, although a different team of volunteers prepares and serves or delivers these tasty, nutritious meals each day. It's quite an operation run by several hundred volunteers. For example, today we served and delivered well over 300 meals.

If, after watching the video, you get the urge to make a contribution, visit the Soup Kitchen's website. It's important to realize that we accept no government funds (Government agencies at every level try to exert too much control over the operation once you accept their money.) which means we are funded completely by private donations. And no one at the Soup Kitchen receives a salary or any compensation of any kind...other than an occasional donut. We are all volunteers.

Here's a link to the Wildwood Soup Kitchen's donation page:  http://www.wildwoodsoupkitchen.org/page/donations

I've embedded the video below, although I'm not sure how long it will be online...


SOUP KITCHEN MAY 18 2017 mpeg 4 from robert carberry on Vimeo.

Homily: 5th Sunday of Easter (Year A)

Readings: Acts 6:1-7; Ps 33; 1 Pet 2:4-9; Jn 14:1-12
-------------------------

(Below is a video of this homily. The text follows.)



In a few days I'll celebrate a milestone of sorts, the 20th anniversary of my ordination to the permanent diaconate. As a permanent deacon, I have a special fondness for today's first reading from the Acts of the Apostles. For in this brief passage we encounter the institution of the diaconate in the early Church.

But those first deacons, those "seven reputable men, filled with spirit and wisdom" [Acts 6:3], weren't ordained to hold high office in that rapidly expanding Church. They weren't ordained to do great things. They were ordained to do little things, in some ways the littlest of things.

Ordination of the first Deacons

You see, the early Church, like today's Church, had its imperfections. Although divinely instituted by Jesus, its members were human, and when they entered the Church, they carried a heavy load of human baggage. I think a lot of us, when we enter this Church each Sunday, would like to turn to the usher and say, "Look, here are all my problems, all my worries, all my aches and pains, all my biases, bigotry, hate, anger, and confusion. Here's everything that's keeping me from leading a Christian life. I'm going to leave it all with you." That would be nice, wouldn't it? The trouble is, I'm afraid too many of us would demand it all back on the way out the door.

Well, the early Christians were no different. Like you and me they carried their sinfulness with them.

In today's reading we see this manifested in the complaints of Hellenic Jews, the Greek-speakers, that the widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food - that the locals, the Hebraic Jews, treated them poorly.

St. Luke, the author, doesn't specifically address the problem of justice in the global terms we'd use today, but he does clearly define the roots of the Christian concept and mission of justice. In this particular instance, we encounter unjust discrimination based on language and culture, a problem still experienced by many today.

What did the Apostles do about it?

They established the order of deacons. The word, "deacon" has its roots in the Greek word, "diakonia," meaning service. Deacons were called to be servants, to wait on tables, taking food to the hungry. Perhaps that's why I enjoy working at the soup kitchen so much.

Although the Church was established by Jesus, it's filled with imperfect people, including deacons, priests and bishops. We are all fallible, often weak human beings whom the Lord miraculously uses to teach, govern and sanctify His Church.

Of course, God makes a point of raising up saints every so often to remind us of the lives we're called to lead. And among those first seven deacons were a couple of great saints: Stephen an eloquent preacher and the Church's first martyr. And Philip, a powerful evangelizer. What about the other five? We don't know. I suspect they just struggled to discern God's will in their lives and live up to their calling. Like today's Church the early Church had its share of sinners and saints, and all of them struggled just like you and me. Throughout its 2,000-year history the Church has also had to deal with the false teachers that Jesus warned us would appear regularly.

And so, what are we to do - we who struggle - to make sense of it all? Well, St. Peter gives us some pretty clear direction in today's second reading. Listen again to his words.

"Come to Him...rejected by human beings but chosen and precious in the sight of God...and whoever believes...shall not be put to shame" [1 Pt 2:4,6].

And then Peter says something rather remarkable. He calls God's people - now that's you and me - he calls us "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of His own..." [1 Pt 2:9]

Just consider what this means.

We're a chosen race. Chosen by God Himself we are related, not by blood, but by faith. We are brothers and sisters united in Christ in a unity that transcends all human barriers and distinctions.

We're also a royal priesthood and that gives us direct access to God and carries with it the responsibility to bring others to Him as well. Our very lives become an offering to God, or as Peter said, "let yourselves... be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ" [1 Pt 2:5].

And we're a holy nation, a nation set apart and consecrated to God's service: a holy nation, not a political nation like the United States, or Mexico, or Canada, or the UK, but a holy nation, a spiritual nation. As disciples of Christ we are called to be different from the world because our values are those of the Gospel. Nevertheless, as Christians we're dedicated to transforming the world and restoring it in Jesus Christ. That's what a holy nation does.

And lastly, we are a people of His own. We are God's private property. No matter how ordinary, how unwanted by the world, because we belong to the Lord, we each acquire priceless value.

Peter tells us we're pretty special in God's eyes, that as Christians we mustn't belittle ourselves. God wants each of us to recognize our value, to know how precious we are to Him. St. Paul calls our bodies "Temples of the Holy Spirit" [1 Cor 6:19], God's dwelling place. We must, then, keep ourselves holy, doing as Jesus has commanded us to love our God and each other.

As disciples of Christ, we are called to spread His gospel - His good news of eternal life - to others. Brothers and sisters, this is our calling. We, who are so imperfect, are called to follow Jesus, the source of all perfection, and to bring others to Him.

How did Jesus put it in today's Gospel?

"I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" [Jn 14:6].

Notice that Jesus didn't say, "I am a way, one way among many." Nor did He say, "I am a version of the truth." Or "I am a way of life, a lifestyle." No, he was very explicit, wasn't he?

"I am the way, and the truth, and the life."

C. S. Lewis

In other words, we can't pick and choose when there's only one real choice. C. S. Lewis, the great Christian apologist, said it well:

"Christianity is a statement which, if false, is of no importance and, if true, is of infinite importance. The one thing it cannot be is moderately important."

What is the Way? Nothing other than our Christian faith and the struggle to put that faith into practice by loving God and our neighbor. We can't do it alone, and so we turn to God for help, and trust in His mercy. Follow me, Jesus tell us, and I'll show you the way.

The truth is the Good News of Jesus Christ. the truth of His promise, borne out and proven by His resurrection. Follow me, He says, and you will know the truth.

The life is eternal life, the fruit of Jesus' promise - the understanding that we're here for a purpose: to do God's will so we may spend an eternal life of happiness with Him. Follow me, Jesus tells us, and I'll lead you to eternal life.

These are God's gifts of love to us. And He wants each of us to know how much He loves us.

Why does He love us? For the same reason a parent loves his child. He loves us for who we are, not for what we do. The Father loves us because He sees His Son in us. Yes, we are precious to God. We are living temples that carry the image of His Son within us.

Like those first deacons, we are called to do the little things, to live our Christianity in our daily lives, to carry Christ to others, one person at a time.

Yes, there will always be scandalous sinners and false teachers - but the Church herself will continue as Jesus' presence in time and space.

Today we join Pope Francis and pray even more ardently for her cleansing, a task that must begin with ourselves, with you and me.

May the choices we make be those that reflect the dignity given to us by the Lord of Life, and the truth He teaches us through His one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.

Lifted up by His love, and fed by His Church, we can avoid what the world says is acceptable these days, but what we know is unacceptable any day.

Brothers and sisters, we are the Church - all of us, you and I. We are a royal priesthood. We are a people chosen by God to bring light to all who live in darkness.

Bathed in the light of Christ, let the Word of God and His Eucharistic Presence transform you.