HOMILY WEEK 28 05 – Year II
Enjoying our Inheritance –
Memorial of St. Marguerite d’Youville
(Eph 1:11-14; Ps 33; Lk 12:1-7)
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Are you aware of what your inheritance will be?
The readings today invite us into a deeper appreciation of our spiritual inheritance – the kingdom of God – and how we can live out that inheritance with faith and love.
St. Paul, writing to the Ephesians, is basically reminding them of their inheritance in Christ, the salvation they were destined to receive through their faith in the resurrection of Jesus and their hope in his second coming. One of the first communities to be evangelized by Paul, they were keenly aware they were confirmed in that inheritance by the Spirit of the Kyrios, the Risen Lord, who fills them with peace and joy.
Twice in his message, Paul stresses they are now to live for the praise of God’s glory, leading us right into the message of Psalm 33 – happy to be chosen as his own by the Lord, we are now to rejoice in the Lord, praise God with lyre and harp (perhaps today keyboard and guitar), seek to do right and work for justice and fairness in all our dealings.
Jesus, in the gospels, gives us more ways we can live out our inheritance of his own kingdom so freely given to us through his forgiveness and healing. We are first of all to beware of the hypocrisy of the scribes by striving to be transparent and open, much easier to do if we let our will rest in his. This speaks of humble self-awareness, being human and genuine, grateful for the gifts and talents God has given to us, using them to make the world a better place. It also speaks of befriending our shadow, admitting our imperfections, ready to apologize if we have fallen short and hurt anyone in any way, and ready to forgive anyone who has hurt us. There is no longer any need to wear masks, to pretend or feel the need to be superior to anyone else. It means we are aware of our sins, for which we have received forgiveness from Jesus, and of our negative attitudes, for which we receive his healing.
Some of the steps of AA are very pertinent here: “admitted I was powerless over something; searching and fearless moral inventory, becoming ready to have God remove all our defects of character.” We could all benefit by working that program for our own personal growth, as a way of living today’s readings. Cardinal Bernadine of Chicago, when he was falsely accused of sexual misdemeanor, replied very simply that everyone who knows him is aware the charges were false, because his “life has always been an open book.”
Jesus goes on to invite us to have complete trust in him, and live without fear, even as we “revere him”. There is so much fear and insecurity in our world today, with so many people putting up walls and building self-protective barriers, we may be forgetting this teaching of Jesus. He is in charge, and as long as we are trusting in him and doing his will, we have nothing to fear and everything to celebrate.
The passion of the Lord has become central to my own ministry and life. Some contemporary speakers and writers, struggling to make sense of our world, have arrived at one basic truth grounding us all as human beings on this planet earth – there is suffering and we all will suffer. The key to the kingdom of God is how we deal with that suffering inevitably coming to us. We can be bitter and resentful, or like Jesus, we can accept it with no bitterness or resentment, just forgiveness. Then our suffering becomes radical discipleship and redemptive, connected to that of Jesus, and actually takes on profound meaning and purpose.
Actually, we could say God, in Jesus, is “suffering love.” Our call is to follow Jesus through his Pascal Mystery – passion, death, resurrection, appearances, ascension and Pentecost, a path guaranteed to fill us with peace and joy only he can give, even in the midst of all our suffering that our society today unfortunately sees as meaningless and tries to avoid at all means – so often resulting in addiction as a way to medicate pain instead of redeeming it.
That is what the readings are calling us to today. And we have a model to follow – St. Marguerite d’Youville, whose memorial we celebrate today. Marie-Marguerite Dufrost de Lejemmerais was born at Varennes, Quebec, on October 15, 1701. Following the death of her father in 1708, Marguerite’s family lived in poverty. Thanks to generous relatives, Marguerite was able to study at the Ursuline Convent in Quebec for two years. When she returned home, she taught her five younger brothers and sisters.
In 1722, she married Francois d’Youville, who proved to be a selfish and indifferent husband, involved in illegal liquor trading. When Francois died eight years later, he left Marguerite with two children (four infants had died) and enormous debts. When she had overcome her financial difficulties, Marguerite rented a house in Montreal in 1737 where she and three companions, the first Grey Nuns, sheltered needy women. For several years, the four were slandered and persecuted, accused of being drunkards and prostitutes.
In 1747, Marguerite was given charge of the colony’s general hospital which was deep in debt. Trusting in Providence, she worked hard and saved the hospital. In 1765, fire destroyed the hospital but she rebuilt it within four years. Following a brief illness, she died on December 23, 1771. Marguerite was declared blessed in 1959 and on December 9, 1990, the first Canadian-born saint.
The Eucharist is our one great act of fidelity making present the unconditional love of Jesus shared with the world on the Cross, and our family banquet within the reign of God as we wait in vigil for the fulfillment of that reign when all things are gathered back to the Jesus the eternal high priest.
May our celebration empower us to come closer to be walking saints ourselves, redeemed and healed, full of joy and peace, and ready to share the reason for our hope with anyone who asks.
