No Backsliding

Second Sunday after Easter

    In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.  When I was a child, I usually gave up chocolates and sweets for Lent (even though I didn’t really like chocolate, and didn’t eat that many sweets because my parents didn’t really buy us any on a regular basis).  But it was the thing to do.  Then, on Easter morning, the Easter Basket would have lots of sweets in it (we also often did the chocolate bunnies), and I would go to town, seeming to make up for all the sweets I didn’t have over the past 40 days by indulging in those sweets the first few days of Easter (the sweets rarely made it beyond Easter Tuesday).
    Perhaps this is a familiar story to you.  Perhaps this is your own experience of Lent and Easter.  And to a certain extent, there’s nothing absolutely wrong.  I know some people gave up meat for Lent, and there’s nothing wrong with enjoying a nice steak as a way of celebrating Easter.  Or others, through Exodus 90, gave up warm water for their showers, so maybe Easter Sunday the hot shower was a little longer than usual.
    But one of the points of Lent is that we are growing closer to Christ, facilitated by those penances we take upon ourselves.  But Easter doesn’t mean that we move farther away from Christ, now that Lent is over.  In fact, each year God desires that we grow in holiness, even if in small ways, so that we don’t start at the same point in 2024 that we did in 2023.
    So how are you doing in living your Easter life?  Are you still growing closer to God through your prayers, weekly ascetical practices, and working on the virtues?  Or has it been more of the, “Phew! Thank God Lent’s over!  Now I can get back to all those bad habits that I used to have!”? 
    God wants us to follow Him closer and closer, like a sheep who not only hears the voice of the Good Shepherd, but stays closer and closer to Him in the pasture, and allows Him to lead us around, rather than having to chase after us and bring us back to the fold.  Because the closer we are to Christ, the less likely it is that we are going to feed on bad grass (i.e., bad doctrine, vicious habits), or be injured by wolves and other creatures that wish us harm (giving in to the temptations that the demons whisper in our ear). 

    Of course, none of this is possible by ourselves.  Christ, the Good Shepherd, laid down His life for us, His sheep.  He sacrificed Himself so that we could have live.  As St. Peter said in our epistle, “By his stripes we were healed.”  And because of that, we can die to sin and live in the virtue of justice.
    So what are the ways that you are growing your relationship with our Lord, and growing in your understanding of the faith?  You don’t have to take graduate-level courses, but are you engaged in what our parish offers for faith sharing groups and Bible studies?  We have a wonderful study on the Eucharist in the Scriptures that will start in May.  Have you checked to see if you can participate in it?  Or maybe you have a desire to study something else.  There are many online courses (some for free) that will guide you, like Fr. Mike Schmitz’s podcast “The Catechism in a Year.”  Or maybe it would be helpful for you to share your joys and struggles with others who are in similar situations, like various mom groups that we have in the parish and in the area, and see how God is helping you to be the best mom or dad, wife or husband, that you can be.  Or, if you’re younger, maybe try a new devotion in your life, like the Litany of Trust, or maybe organize a group of your friends to gather for prayer and a meal, or maybe prayer and some sporting event, or, if you’re of age, talk about your faith together at a local watering hole (with moderation in beverages, of course). 
    Lent is a time that is meant to turn us away from our sinful passions, and draw us closer to Christ.  And while it’s very appropriate to celebrate during Easter, we shouldn’t backslide, but should try to keep that strong relationship with Christ for which we worked so hard during Lent, so that when we come to Lent next year, we’re in a better place, and can work on getting rid of other sinful passions and drawing even closer to Christ.  God not only desires that we be in the same pasture with the Good Shepherd, but that we get closer and closer to Him, so that we can not only hear His shouting about remaining with Him, but even, like St. John the Apostle and Evangelist, lean upon His chest to hear His Sacred Heart and what He wants to whisper to us as His beloved.  May our Easter joy include the joy of being closer to our Lord Jesus Christ, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit, reigns for ever and ever.  Amen.

Why?

Third Sunday of Easter

    There’s this age that a child reaches, and it varies by child, where the child wants to know why.  And, for some children, that seems to be the main word that comes out of their mouth: why?  “It’s time to go to bed.”  “Why?”  “We’re going to see grandpa and grandma.”  “Why?”  “Eat your vegetables.”  “Why?” 
    Peter in our first reading, and Jesus in the Gospel are answering the question “why”, without a child asking it.  Peter talks to the Jews gathered in Jerusalem for Pentecost, and Jesus talks to the disciples on the road to Emmaus.  In both cases, there is confusion about who Jesus is, and why what happened happened.  Jesus, and Peter, following His example, open up how the Old Testament pointed to what happened to God’s Messiah and Son, Jesus.  The Passion, Death, and Resurrection weren’t simply accidents or forces stronger than Jesus to which He had to submit.  The Passion, Death, and Resurrection were all part of God’s plan from the beginning, culminating in new life for all those joined to Jesus and following Him.
    We call this treatment of the overarching theme of salvation history the kerygma, from the Greek word meaning proclamation or preaching.  It is the telling of how God has saved His people.  And it is a message that needs to be heard, not only among the unbaptized and those who do not know Christ, but even among the baptized, even among those who go to church every Sunday.
    Because it’s easy, especially for certain generations or personality types, to do what we’re told is right simply because we’re told it’s the right thing to do, or a person in authority tells us to do it.  But for others, they want to know why.  They want to know the deeper reality behind the rules, or else they will often leave due to their own lack of understanding.
    So do we know the story of salvation?  Could we explain it to someone?  I’m not talking about doing a doctoral dissertation on different aspects of the faith, but being able to explain, as St. Peter says, our reason for hope, and how God was working from creation to the Resurrection, Ascension, and Pentecost for the salvation of the world, and continues to work today?
    To understand salvation, we have to first believe that we needed to be saved.  And we have to know from what we needed to be saved.  This takes us back to Genesis.  God created Adam and Eve without sin.  They had everything the need, and enjoyed friendship with God.  But then they traded friendship with God for trying to be their own gods on their own terms, and sin entered the world.  A rupture was created between God and humanity, a rupture which we could not heal ourselves. 
    From that point on, every person needed a savior.  No matter how good a person could be (think Abraham, Moses, and David), they could never be “good enough” to earn heaven.  But God did not abandon His people.  He was helping them to learn how to be like God on His terms, not on their own.  God gave the law through Moses as an instructor, to help form virtues in each person, and to encourage them to say no to sin and yes to God.  But even though some approached following the entire law, no one did it perfectly, as God’s own people, the Israelites, would often wander away from His rule, because they thought they were doing fine on their own.  The prophets would call them back, but people generally ignored the prophets.  So God allowed the consequences of their sinful actions to fall upon them, which, more often than not, made the people realize that they had abandoned God, and returned to Him. 
    God’s preparation of His people culminated in sending His Son, Jesus, who would not just teach a new law, but would, because He is truly God and truly man, be able to repair the sin of Adam and Eve, and reconcile God back to Himself, and open heaven, a paradise even better than the Garden of Eden.  In God’s mysterious plan, our rejection of God the Son became part of the way that we were saved and that heaven was opened.  Jesus took upon Himself our punishment for sin (death), but conquered sin and death, which victory was proven in His Resurrection.  After the Resurrection Jesus, especially through His Church after He ascended into heaven, calls people to be joined to Him to receive the gift of eternal salvation by saying yes to God to the best of our ability each day.  Fr. John Riccardo, a priest of the Archdiocese of Detroit, summarizes the kerygma by putting it into 4 words: created; captured; rescued; response.  That’s it.  That’s the basic of salvation history. 
    We probably knew parts of it, if not all of it.  But now our challenge is not only to make sure that we do follow Christ throughout our life, but also that we help others to recognize the basics of salvation, because they need it, or need to be reminded of it.  And without knowing it, others, or maybe even we ourselves, are more at risk for walking away from the gift of salvation that Jesus offers us. 
    Being Catholic is not just about following the rules, but is about doing those things because of our relationship with Christ.  Others want to know: why should I have a relationship with Christ?  Can we now share with them the answer?
 

The Victory of Christ

Low Sunday
    In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.  While it has waned a bit, there was a bit of a hubbub in years past about participation trophies.  I think it’s good to promote participation in competitions, to encourage people to reap the benefits of such competitions.  But in any competition there is a winner and a loser.  I myself have been a loser many a time (some may still think I am!).  When taken to its logical conclusion, few really want to eliminate winners, though.  Imagine the Michigan fight song in a woke context without winners: “Hail to the Participants, valiant!” doesn’t quite do it.
    St. John talks about victory on this Divine Mercy Sunday, also called Low Sunday (contrasting it with last week’s High Sunday), also called Dominica in Albis or White Sunday due to the baptized wearing their white robes.  When it comes to salvation and God, there is a victor.  God is victorious.  And we, St. John says, can participate in that victory.  We can overcome the world.

Icon from the place of the Resurrection

    How are we victorious?  We are born of God; we have faith that Jesus is the Son of God.  That is victory.  Sounds good, at face value.  Who doesn’t want to overcome the world?  But that victory does not look like the victories that we are used to seeing, for example in battle or in sports.  When we think of those victories, we think of the utter destruction of the enemy, or the super amount of points of one team over another.
    But while we do talk about the victory of Christ over Satan and all that is fallen in such ways (one Orthodox chant I remember for Easter says something to the effect of: Christ has risen from the dead, trampling death underfoot), Christ is not a demeaning victor to those who opposed Him.  In fact, His victory seeks to gather His opponents onto His team, at least those who still have a choice (i.e., us).
    Christ on the cross does not say: “Crush them, Father!  Make them pay!”  He says, “Forgive them, Father, they know not what they do.”  To the Apostles, almost none of whom stood by Christ in His Passion, Christ doesn’t say: “You were not with me, so you are against me; depart from me, evildoers, into the pits of Hell!”  He says, “Peace be with you.”  And even when Thomas fails to believe when Christ appeared the first time, saying that he would only believe if he had physical proof, Christ loving rebukes Thomas, but starts by repeating his Easter greeting: “Peace be with you.”  
    Christ does destroy sin; utterly wastes it away.  But with sinners, He is patient, He is merciful.  Which is good news for us.  Because we are all sinners.  We all, even though baptized, switch sides when it seems convenient, to play for the enemy because it feels better and is easier.  When we choose to sin, we become traitors, Benedict Arnolds of our own day.  
    And so the victory of Christ until the end of time will not look like a military, March Madness, or Super Bowl victory.  It is not kill or be killed.  It is not lose and go home.  Christ constantly seeks to have His victory take deeper and deeper root in us, even if we stumble and fall.  St. Peter shows us that even if we deny Christ, we can still return to Him, and even be called to great responsibility as the fruit of great repentance and great love.
    So if we are looking for stupendous buildings as a sign of victory; or vast quantities of people becoming Catholic; or political power and clout, we may not see that victory, yet.  Christ is still victorious, and yet churches may close; many may abandon the faith; we may be politically oppressed and powerless to change laws and policies.  But Christ has still one.  And as long as we continue in faith in Christ, both in our personal trust and in holding fast to the truths of what Christ has taught through His Mystical Body the Church (this means both Scripture and the unchanging truths of the faith), then we will be victorious, and share in the spoils of the one true Victor: eternal life with Christ in heaven.
    But one day, Christ’s victory will take hold over all creation as He returns in glory.  On that day, of which no one knows the day nor the hour, all evil will be defeated; all those opposed to God will be sent to Hell to receive eternal punishment and damnation.  At the end of time, no matter how much power or prestige a person had; no matter what office a person held, any person who opposed the reign of the true king and set up his or her own reign will receive the fruit of a just judgment.  
    Because when it comes to eternal salvation, it is not enough that we simply participated in life.  Our decisions now have eternal consequences in what happens after our death.  Our choices for or against God confirm if we want to remain with God, thus being prepared for heaven, or if we reject God, thus being prepared for Hell.  Keep those white baptismal garments clean.  Wash them clean in the Blood of the Lamb when you have sinned by going to confession.  Stay on God’s winning team, and receive the prize for those who are victorious in Christ: eternal happiness in heaven, where he lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever.  Amen. 

The Power of Easter

Easter Sunday
    [In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.].  What does Easter mean to you?  You have come here to Mass, so it clearly has some religious importance for you.  Perhaps it is also a day with extra time spent with extended family, and maybe a better meal than usual.  But I dare guess that Easter does not have the same potency for us as it did for our Lord’s first disciples.
    Part of the waning of the extraordinary nature of Easter is due to a lack of appreciation of the seriousness of sin.  Whether it directly affects us or not, we all live in an environment that supposes that everyone is basically good, and everyone generally goes to heaven.  The first disciples did not suffer that opinion; their experience told them the exact opposite.
    The disciples lived in a time when a foreign power occupied their homeland.  This foreign power, the Romans, pushed their pagan views upon all under their rule.  They promoted worshipping false gods; sexual immorality, both homo- and heterosexual in nature; violence and intimidation as the surest way to keep peace (we might say today: might makes right). 
    But the Romans were not the only problem for the Jews.  No, there was real spiritual oppression by their own religious leaders, twisting the law and its meaning.  No small number of Jews found themselves in a position outside of what the Pharisees taught as a moral way of life.  How often do the Gospels relate that tax collectors and sinners were following Christ and changing their lives!  There were also many diseases and illnesses that could shorten a person’s life or lead them to be ostracized from even family and friends.
    Among the Romans, the Pharisees, sickness, and a lack of personal holiness, the disciples knew they needed a savior.  They knew that they had to change, but didn’t know if they could do it.  They hoped for life after death, a place of the fullness of blessings and peace, but did not know if such a place were attainable. 
    We ourselves live in a time that differs greatly and in some ways not at all from the time of the disciples.  Advances in medicine have extended life expectancy, but there are new diseases being developed, and wreaking havoc across the world.  Some Catholic bishops, priests, and laity promote teachings contrary to the faith.  Rather than a foreign government pushing their will upon a particular people, a wide-sweeping acceptance of worship of money and power, sexual immorality of various kinds, seemingly endless violence, even against children, and a might-makes-right mentality are ubiquitous. 
    The power of Easter is that God the Son conquered all that is wrong and fallen through His Death and Resurrection.  We no longer have to wonder if life after death is possible; Christ died and came back to life.  If death, the consequence of sin, no longer has the last word, then everything good and holy is possible.  No power, whether earthly or spiritual, can hold us back if we are in Christ.  No oppressor will have the final victory over us if we belong to Christ, the Victor over sin, death, and everything that connects itself to those fallen realities.
    Easter gives us the answer, just as it gave the answer to the first disciples, and has given the answer to countless generations since then.  Easter is a reminder that sin and death do not get the last word, but God does, because God conquered sin and death in Christ.  If we want Easter to make a difference, and not just be a Sunday where we eat better food and see other relatives, then we must take hold of the Easter graces and practices and live them out each day and each week.  If we want to see endless violence and suffering end, then we need to live as Easter people.
    Easter means making God number one in our life.  Not sports.  Not vacations.  Not relaxation.  Not exercise.  Not even another person, as dear as they may be to us.  God has to be number one.  Those other things and many more are good, but they cannot take the place of God.  If you want the reign of sin and death to which we have grown so accustomed to end, go to church every Sunday and Holyday, not simply to go, but to be transformed by the grace of God.  Go to confession at least every month, to acknowledge that you are a sinner and in need of God’s mercy.  Allow Christ’s victory over sin to take hold in your life by handing over to Christ all that is fallen and sinful, and receive the mercy which makes possible true transformation. 
    Easter means not supporting death, in any of its forms.  If we wish to live in Easter joy, we cannot re-invite the works of death into our life, or the life of others.  In its most extreme positions, it means not supporting abortion or euthanasia.  How can we not expect death and destruction when it’s openly voted for and codified in law?  When we devalue one human life, we devalue all human lives.  Other works of death include racism, unjust prejudice, and even those actions and thoughts of hatred towards other at work, on the road, or in any other place.  None of those are part of the new life that Christ brought.  The demonization of those who have different views, even if the ideas they propose are wrong, does not contribute to the new life that Christ desires for us. 
    If we wish Easter to be more than simply another Sunday; if we wish to see an end to the widespread violence and hate, then we need to open ourselves up to the graces from God that take us away from death and lead us to eternal life.  Go to church every Sunday and Holyday; go to confession regularly; stop supporting works of death.  If we want the joy and peace of Easter, of Christ’s victory over sin and death, then live His life each day to the best of your ability.  Allow the power of Easter to resonate in every inch of our being.  [In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.]

"Tonight is the Night of Nights"

Easter Vigil in the Holy Night of Easter

    On 5 June, 1944, as the 101st Airborne Division waited anxiously in England, Paratrooper George Luz of Easy Company read aloud a letter from the Col. Robert Sink, at first even imitating his voice: “Tonight is the night of nights.  As you read this, you are en route to the great adventure for which you trained for over two years.”  The next day, 6 June 1944, D-Day, they would jump into Nazi-occupied Normandy, and begin to change the tide of World War II, which, up to that point, had favored the Nazis.
    As we listened to the Old Testament readings, all seven of them, God took us back to all the ways that He had trained us for this night, the true night of nights, “when Christ broke the prison-bars of death and rose victorious from the underworld,” as the Exsultet proclaimed.  Even from the very dawn of creation, God was pointing us to the moment when His Incarnate Son would redeem the world that would fall at our hands, and forever destroy death and sin.
    We heard about Abraham and Isaac: how Isaac, the beloved Son, willingly walked up the mountain to be sacrificed, though God stayed the hand of Abraham and gave him a ram instead to sacrifice.  We heard how God led His Chosen People from slavery in Egypt, and how the Chosen People passed through the Red Sea safely with God’s help, while the forces of evil who pursued them were destroyed by the waters.  We heard from Isaiah how God would marry us to Himself, and how He would give us water to drink and food to eat that would truly satisfy us.  We heard Baruch prophesy how we had walked away from the Lord, but God brought us back, and has made known to us how we truly may be happy.  And lastly, we heard Ezekiel tell us that, though we had profaned God’s holy Name, He would display His power and holiness among us, and give us a new spirit so that we could be faithful to our covenant with Him, and be His holy people.  Not for two years, but for two thousand years, God was training us for the Resurrection.
    We have also been training over these past 40 days through our Lenten observances.  We took upon ourselves little “deaths” so that we could be prepared for the new life of the resurrection.  We recalled that even the enjoyable things of life are dust, and that we are called to turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel.  We fasted and abstained; we engaged in prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.  
    And you, my dear Elect and Candidate, and those who will receive sacraments tonight: you, too, have been training for weeks and months, preparing to open yourself up to become children of God, to become members of the Church, and to grow in your own initiation in the Catholic Church in which some of your were baptized.  You prayed over how God had led you out of the darkness of sin into the light of this night, and how He will walk with you, helping you to be His faithful follower, not only united to Him but also bearing witness to Him by word and deed.  
    You, like Easy Company, are being dropped behind enemy lines.  The fallen world, though Christ has conquered sin and death, still fights against Him.  But, like the Israelites and the Egyptians, with God on your side, you cannot be conquered.  God will crush your true enemy, Satan and all his fallen angels, and protect you through the waters of Baptism, which some of you are receiving tonight.  Through Confirmation, you will receive the Holy Spirit, who will go before you like a pillar of fire to light your way, and will give you the strength to witness to Christ by what you say and what you do.  And through the Most Holy Eucharist, the blood of the truly unblemished Lamb of God will be painted over the lintels of your lips, so that the angel of death will not smite you, but you will pass-over, unharmed by eternal death because you have received eternal life within you.  
    You, too, as with every person here, each have your own part to play in winning other souls for Christ and conquering the enemy.  Not everyone is expected to be a general, or a medic, or a radio tech.  But God has equipped each of you with certain gifts which will help His victory be spread and eternal life be shared with others.  From this point on, you cannot sit on the sidelines as a spectator.  You are an integral part of God’s mission to conform the entire world to Himself, which really means helping each person find true happiness by living like Christ in total obedience to the Father.  You have found the pearl of great price in Christ.  Do not hide that same treasure from others who desire it.  
    I close my homily with excerpts of the words of Col. Sink, which though written about the impending invasion of Normandy, are also aptly written about the victory Christ won tonight by His Resurrection: “Tomorrow throughout the whole of our homeland…the bells will ring out the tidings that…liberation has begun.  […] Imbued with faith…let us annihilate the enemy where found.  May God be with each of you….  By your actions let us justify His faith in us.”  Christ has liberated us from sin and death.  Filled with faith in him, let us put down the works of sin and death.  May our response to God’s grace be for the glory of His Name, and confirm the name that tonight we all will share: Catholic Christian.

Remain Here

Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion
    When something painful is about to happen, we generally pull back or look away.  Think of the squirming child who sees a needle and doesn’t want to be poked.  Or when something starts to get too hot we pull away our hand from the source of heat.  Remaining in a painful time does not come naturally to us.
    And yet, God invites us to remain with Him.  In his Gospel account, St. John highlights the importance of remaining with Jesus.  In chapter 15, the second chapter of the Last Supper Discourse, Jesus says, “‘Remain in me, as I remain in you.’”; “‘Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.’”; “‘If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you.’”; “‘As the Father loves me, so I also love you.  Remain in my love.  If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.’”
    Remaining when it doesn’t cause us pain is much easier to do.  We probably would all say that we want to remain with Christ.  But today, as we enter into our Lord’s Passion, remaining with Christ takes on a whole new meaning.  

Calvary

    It is no accident that St. John could talk about remaining with Christ, as he was the only apostle to actually remain with Christ at the foot of the cross.  Of course, the Blessed Mother was there, and some of the holy women also remained with Christ.  But out of all the Apostles, including our first pope, St. Peter, only St. John remained with Christ through it all.
    It is hard to remain with Christ on a day like today.  It is hard to remain with Christ at the foot of the cross, because it is so painful.  And yet He especially desires that we remain with Him even at the darkest moments of our life, when our cross gives us the most pain and despair.  At those times, we hear the voice of the enemy, inviting us to flee the pain of the cross and immerse ourselves in passing pleasures that make us forget or numb the pain.  But those passing pleasures do not last, while the love of God remains forever.  
    I have said this before, but one of the most precious experiences for me as a priest is the veneration of the cross.  As you come and kiss or genuflect or bow to the cross, I, as your spiritual father know some of your crosses, while others remain hidden from my understanding.  But as you process forward, I know that you are bringing your struggles and pains to Christ, and remaining with Him, though you could wander off somewhere else.  You chose to be here.  You chose to remain with Christ at His darkest hour.  
    But this call to remain with Christ does not only apply today on Good Friday.  Throughout the year Christ invites us to remain with Him.  He asks us to take His yoke upon our shoulders, because He carries it with us, making it light.  Today is meant to stick with us on every Friday, and every day when we are experiencing darkness, pain, and suffering.  
    Because remaining with Christ on Good Friday means that we can remain with Him on Easter Sunday.  But if we run away from the cross, then we also run away from the resurrection.  We want new life, but how often are we willing to go through the death that is the necessary path to new life?  How many times do we miss out on amazing blessings that God wants to share with us, because we choose not to remain with Him at all times, not just when times are easy or good?
    Today the Lord invites us to remain with Him, even when it means remaining at the cross, even when it is painful.  Remaining is not always easy; it is not always popular.  Remaining with Christ on the cross, as St. John, the Blessed Mother, and the holy women did was not easy and was certainly not popular.  There may be no words; there may only be tears.  But remain with Christ today, and always, as He remains with us.

Anamnesis: A Special Kind of Remembrance

Mass of the Lord’s Supper

    In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.  Usually at least once per lifetime, there is an event that looms larger than life, often times a tragedy.  Sometimes the event affects mostly local folk.  Other times it impacts an entire country or world.  No doubt those who attended MSU this year will talk about where they were when the shooting happened on campus.  For me, the major event was the terrorist attack on 9/11.  For those slightly older than me, maybe it was the explosion of the Challenger space shuttle.  For those in my parents’ generation and older, it was the JFK assassination. 
    These events weigh differently than other memories.  It almost always yields the question, “Where were you…?”  My mom talks about watching her mother, my grandmother, cry as the television reports of JFK’s death started to roll in.  I can remember walking down the hall of Lansing Catholic High School, and hearing our principal come over the PA and tell teachers that they may want to turn on the TV (we only had local channels) in their classrooms, and watching replays of the airplanes hitting the World Trade Center, and the buildings collapse before our eyes.  These events are not just memories in the sense that I remember my graduation; they etch themselves in a unique way into our very sub-conscience which seems to make the past present once more.
    The Greek word anamnesis is the word used for this kind of remembering, and which applied to the Passover celebration that Moses commanded the people to observe.  That night, the night that the angel of death passed over the houses of the Israelites marked with the blood of the lamb, was certainly one of those great events that etched itself in the memory.  But Moses commanded that it be celebrated each year in much the same way (though without the blood on the doorposts).  They were not only to remember the event, but, as it were, enter once more into that saving act which initiated their freedom from slavery in Egypt. 
    Since Christ celebrated the Passover (albeit a day early, due to His impending death), His celebration of the Last Supper dripped with that same significance and bearing.  The Apostles knew that they were entering into a sacred moment which brought to the present they ancient liberation from the Egyptians.  But our Lord changed some of the celebrations, which would have been noticeable.  First, He began with what we heard in the Gospel today, where He washed the feet of His Apostles.  Certainly the Apostles would have been shocked at this happening, but perhaps more so because it proceeded the ancient ritual.  Peter, never one to simply go with the flow, objects, but then wholeheartedly embraces such a new ritual.
    But even at the Passover meal, Christ changes the ritual.  No longer so much about a liberation from slavery, but now the giving over of His own Body and Blood, as He creates a new ritual for His Chosen Band, and for the Church which will embrace, not only Israel, but the entire world.  Again, the Apostles would have noticed this stark difference, and would have understood the words “Do this is memory of me” as a command for this new ritual to be repeated into the future, just as the Passover had been commanded by Moses. 
    As we enter into this new ritual, as we obey the command of the Lord to celebrate this sacrifice in His memory, we are not simply thinking back some 2,000 years to what happened in an upper room.  At this Eucharistic celebration, and at every Mass, we do not only recall what Christ did for us.  We enter into His offering of His Body and Blood under the sacramental signs of bread and wine.  We participate in that to which the Last Supper points, the death on the cross on Calvary. 
    No longer is it the blood of a dumb animal that covers the lintels of our doors, but the Precious Blood of the truly unblemished Lamb of God that paints the lintels of our lips as we receive the Body and Blood of Christ.  No longer does that blood tell the Angel of Death to pass over the house so that the children of Israel can be freedom from bondage in Egypt after they passed through the Red Sea, but the Precious Blood tells Satan not to enter the holy temple of God that we have become by baptism, and we are freed from any venial sins and oppression by the devil. 
    Remembering is good, and provides some benefits.  But entering in allows us to share in the benefits of what happened.  Our participation at Mass is not meant to be like watching an old Super Bowl on TV.  We are meant, using that analogy, to be on the field in that old Super Bowl game.  Yes, it happens sacramentally, but it still happens, nonetheless. 
    And so, at this Mass, as at every Mass, may we not simply act like spectators at an ancient event, but truly give our hearts and minds to being in that Upper Room with our Lord.  As we walk in procession tonight, may we see ourselves walking with our Lord from that Upper Room, across the valley, to Garden of Gethsemane, where Christ will ask us to watch and pray with Him.  As the ancient hymn from the Divine Liturgy of St. James sings, “Let all mortal flesh keep silence, / and with fear and trembling stand. / Ponder nothing earthly minded / For with blessing in His hand. / Christ our God to earth descending, / Our full homage to demand”, who, with the Father and Holy Spirit reigns for ever and ever.  

The Fickle Nature of Humanity

Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion
    [In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen].  Today’s Mass is an exhibit on the fickle nature of humanity.  It is an emotional roller coaster if ever there was one.  Even the usually pristine nature of the Mass takes on notes of higher and lower pitch. 

    We started today echoing the words of the people as Christ entered His city, Jerusalem, fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah.  We, like the Jews at the time of Christ, waved our palm branches, signs of victory and jubilation.  Not long after, however, our cries of “Hosanna” changed to “Crucify him!”  We started with, “‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’” and we ended with, “‘His blood be upon us and upon our children.’”
    How did this happen?  Our Lord was cheered as a hero, as the fulfillment of the messianic prophecies that filled the minds of the pilgrims in Jerusalem.  He was welcomed and embraced as an honored guest in the Holy City.  But in those few short days between Palm Sunday and Good Friday, the mood changed.  The Messiah was not the type of Messiah the people wanted.  They grew tired of His preaching.  The newness wore off.  Until, whipped into a frenzy by agitators, this honored guest was not only brushed away and forgotten, but snuffed out, even while the crowds called for the release of a notorious prisoner, Barabbas, whose name, ironically, means “son of the father.” 
    It would be easy to think of this simply as a past event.  It would certainly ease our conscience if we didn’t have to take any part in the great drama of salvation, and could stand as critics who know how the scene should play out, because we observe like omniscient spectators, convinced of our own wisdom.  But to do so is to miss the point.  We did not live 2,000 years ago, but we still cry out “Hosanna” and “Crucify him” because we are the crowd.  We are the mob.  We are fickle.
    We see Christ do amazing things for us.  Perhaps we ourselves witness miracles that Christ does to ease our suffering or heal our illness.  Something goes right and we say, “Thank you, Jesus!”  We embrace Him with love because of the mercy He shows us.  But then, as times get tough; as we do not receive all that we desire; as we have to say no to our fallen sinful selves; as our love is tested by sacrifice, we embrace Him again, but this time we say, “‘Hail, Rabbi,’” and kiss Him with the kiss of the betrayer.  We make the words of Psalm 41 (40) about us, as the Lord says, “Thus even my friend, in whom I trusted, / who ate my bread, has turned against me.”  We, who have eaten the bread of angels, the Eucharist, betray Christ and cast Him out of our midst. 
    To be welcomed and celebrated and then cast off so quickly.  How would we respond?  How does Christ?  He feels the agony of rejection, of betrayal, by those whom He loved so dearly: “‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’” he cries out, quoting Psalm 22 (21).  And yet, He also says, “Father, forgive them.  They know not what they do.”  As Isaiah prophesied, “The Lord God is [His] help, therefore [he is] not disgraced.”  He is not ashamed to be called our Brother, even though we are ashamed, at times, to be called His. 
    We are fickle.  Our love fades so quickly.  Perhaps, though, today we silent our tongues, not cheering out in joy, nor howling in impious mockery.  But we simply watch, silently, as our Lord does what must be done for the salvation of the world [In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen].