{"id":1698,"date":"2018-11-24T18:38:45","date_gmt":"2018-11-24T18:38:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/?p=1698"},"modified":"2018-11-24T18:44:26","modified_gmt":"2018-11-24T18:44:26","slug":"homily-week-33-06-yr-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/2018\/11\/24\/homily-week-33-06-yr-ii\/","title":{"rendered":"HOMILY WEEK 33 06 – Yr II"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Transfiguration and Resurrection<\/em><\/p>\n

Memorial: St Andrew Dung-Lac and Companions <\/em><\/p>\n

(Rev 11:4-12; Ps 144; Lk 20:27-40)<\/p>\n

**********************************************<\/p>\n

During a course I once took on addiction\u2019s awareness, I found out only two out of twenty-three participants actually believed in the resurrection. All the others were into reincarnation. A friend tells me her niece seemed to also believe in reincarnation, because of a faulty image of heaven \u2013 she didn\u2019t want to sit on a cloud eternally doing nothing.<\/p>\n

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We need to educate our people on the true nature of the resurrection. It will be a whole new heaven and a new earth; a divine dance with the Trinity; all of creation will be made new.<\/p>\n

There will be no more suffering, war, violence or evil. Our joy will be boundless, and perhaps all our pets and the animals we love will be there too.<\/p>\n

John Bosco would gather his street kids for what he called a Festive Oratory \u2013 mass, prayers, confession and games \u2013 on Sunday. Then once a month he would take them to a cemetery to talk to them about the last things and help them be ready for a holy death. Surely he also tried to get them excited about living in the risen world.<\/p>\n

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Jesus at the Transfiguration is a symbol of the new world. The very architecture of the Church of the Transfiguration on Mt. Tabor in Galilee seeks to proclaim that mystery with its three towers. The central main tower represents a tent Peter wanted to build for the transfigured Lord, the two smaller ones, tents for Moses and Elijah.<\/p>\n

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Church of the Transfiguration<\/p><\/div>\n

Moses is pictured with bare feet, for he is on holy ground he does not own. The burning bush is on the right, and the rock he struck twice on the left. That rock symbolizes the one crucifixion of Christ, so he would only see and not enter the promised land because he struck the rock twice. Nevertheless, his face glows because he saw the glory of God.<\/p>\n

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Moses – the great Lawgiver<\/p>\n

Elijah is pictured with the unburnt sacrifice of the priests of Baal on the right, and his burning sacrifice on the left. His face also glows with the glory of God.<\/p>\n

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Elijah – the great Prophet<\/p>\n

Both Moses and Elijah, in the Lukan account, were speaking to Jesus about \u201chis departure in Jerusalem he was about to accomplish.\u201d In the midst of all that glory, they were talking about suffering. It would be through the mystery of the Cross that Jesus would re-enter into his glory, reveal the depth of God\u2019s love for us, and redeem our sinful humanity. That brokenness on the cross is the key to the mystery of the kingdom of God., and our participation in that kingdom. When we can accept suffering in our lives the way Jesus did, without bitterness or resentment – only love and forgiveness – we are already in the kingdom of God and sharing in God\u2019s glory especially through peace and joy. What is truly exciting is that new world begins today, through faith, love and worship.<\/p>\n

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The Transfiguration – Moses, Elijah, Peter, James and John<\/p><\/div>\n

Today the church honors the Vietnamese martyrs who truly lived with great faith the paschal mystery of redemptive suffering. In the 16th<\/sup>century Christian missionaries went to live among the people of Vietnam. From the 17th<\/sup>to 19th<\/sup>centuries, some 130,000 Christians were martyred. Andrew Dung-Lac (born 1785) and Peter Thi, Vietnamese priests, were beheaded on December 21, 1839. A letter written in 1843 by Paul Le-Bao-Tinh, an imprisoned martyr, describes his faith in God\u2019s love and mercy: \u201cI, Paul, in chains for the name of Christ, wish to relate to you the trials besetting me daily, in order that you may be inflamed with love for God and join with me daily in his praises, \u2018for his mercy is forever.\u2019 The prison here is a true image of everlasting hell: to cruel tortures of every kind \u2013 shackles, iron chains, manacles \u2013 are added hatred, vengeance, calumnies, obscene speech, quarrels, evil acts, swearing, curses, as well as anguish and grief. But the God who once freed the three children from the fiery furnace is with me always\u2026.\u201d In June 1988, Pope John Paul II declared 117 Vietnamese martyrs saints of the Church.<\/p>\n

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The Vietnamese martyrs<\/p><\/div>\n

One of the mysteries portrayed in the alcove behind the altar in the Church of the Transfiguration is the Eucharist, featuring three angels and a host. The Eucharist is all about transformation \u2013 humble gifts of bread and wine are transformed into the body and blood of Jesus. Just as important, we are transformed into the Body of Christ.<\/p>\n

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Bishop Sylvain and Fr. Susai celebrating Eucharist in the alcove – Image of transformation in the background.<\/p><\/div>\n

So, let us believe, love one another and worship our God with our whole being, in the anticipation of seeing God face to face in the resurrection, but also experiencing the glory of God in our lives here and now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Transfiguration and Resurrection Memorial: St Andrew Dung-Lac and Companions (Rev 11:4-12; Ps 144; Lk 20:27-40) ********************************************** During a course I once took on addiction\u2019s awareness, I found out only two out of twenty-three participants actually believed in the resurrection. All the others were into reincarnation. A friend tells me her niece seemed to also […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1698","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ordinary-time"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1698","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1698"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1698\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1710,"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1698\/revisions\/1710"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1698"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1698"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1698"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}