HOMILY EASTER SEASON WEEK 04 02 – Year I
A Positive Faith
(Acts 11.19-26; Ps 87; Jn 10.22-30)
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Fr. Bryan Massingdale, a black priest who in 2017 received an honorary doctorate from the Oblate School of Theology for his ministry in theology and social justice, delivered a passionate and inspiring talk at the commencement exercises that year.
He shared his analysis of the American election that revealed three key elements: they are a fearful nation; they are a nation divided and polarized, and the truth is now being manipulated. To help the graduates minister in this social context, he gave them three suggestions: Be a pastoral presence; be a prophetic voice, and be a joyful witness to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He ended his talk with the ringing declaration that goodness will have the last word, and that God is always drawing good out of evil, positive out of the negative.
The readings during this Easter Season illustrate that last point very clearly. The very persecutions that were intended to stamp out the early Christian church actually helped to spread it. It was almost as if the persecutions were necessary for the Good News to reach beyond the comfortable boundaries of the Jewish people.
Often in these readings, one reads of the apostles and disciples “speaking the word” to their listeners. It might be helpful to explore just what that “word” was, to better understand the dynamic spread of this “new way.”
Taking a hint from the question of the Jews addressed to Jesus in the portico of Solomon, we could summarize the Good News this way: Jesus is truly the Messiah who was to come into the world, and who fulfilled all the prophecies of the Old Testament, especially the suffering servant passages of Isaiah, and Psalm 22.
As Messiah, he fulfilled all the roles that the Messiah was to fill: he gathered all the nations to himself; he restored the temple in his own body; he overcame the real enemies of Israel (not the Romans but sin, sinfulness, sickness, suffering and above all, death through his resurrection), and he now reigns as Lord and King over all of creation.
He also shares with us his own life with the Father, eternal life that we could summarize as peace, joy, justice and an intimate relationship of prayer with the Father. Our relationship with Jesus is also our relationship with the Father, for as he says, “The Father and I are one.”
Blessed Catherine of Augustine
One of the unsung Canadian heroes who lived out this Good News and spoke this “word” to many others was Blessed Catherine of St. Augustine. Born Catherine de Longpré in France, she entered the convent of a branch of the Augustinians, the first order to send missionaries to Canada. In 1648 she asked to go to Quebec City to help the sisters in the Hôtel-Dieu hospital, the first established in Canada. She worked with the poor through famine, conflict and illness, and was graced with several mystical experiences. What stood out for the people, though, was her kindness and great love for them. She battled poor health all her life and died in 1668 at the age of 36. Counted among the founders of the Canadian Church, she was beatified in 1989.
The Eucharist is what sustained the early evangelists in the fledgling church, and what sustained Blessed Catherine throughout her life and ministry.
May our celebration today help us find the positive in what often seems negative, and share our faith with the world that we find ourselves in.
