The Homily for June 15, 2008 was given by Deacon Don. Click the arrow below to listen.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Fr. Kane’s Homily for June 8, 2008.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Fr. Ernesto Urbina, C.M., 34 yrs. old, died yesterday (28 April) in Panama. “Chico”, as he was called, suffered from cancer during this past year. Last December 20, Fr. Tom Casella, C.M., 59 yrs. old, died of a stroke. When priests die, especially those who are still very active, it is jolting. When a pope dies, a new one is elected. When a bishop dies, a new one is appointed. When a priest dies, …. You see my point.
I believe that our God is very loving, just and fair. I believe that He calls the exact number of priests that the Church needs. I believe that He calls not one too many and not one too few. I also believe that not all those called respond. And that, to me, is a big part of the problem.
When we pray for vocations to the priesthood, pray that those called will respond generously. If you notice in some young people leadeship qualities, good personal relations with others and a healthy faith life, speak to them about the possibility that God has gifted them to be priests. Take the initiative yourself! Be God’s voice!
We pray for all priests, living and deceased, who have influenced our lives. Let us set our sights on the future and do what we can to assure that the future will have a vibrant Church.
Perhaps the Hasidim explain it best. They tell of a young disciple who said to the holy one, “You know, when I study and when I join others in great feasts, I feel a great sense of light and life. But the minute the feast is over it all disappears; everything dies in me.”
The old holy one replied: “It is just this feeling that happens when a person walks through the woods at night, when the breeze is cool and the scent in the air is delicious. If another joins the traveler with a lantern, they can walk safely and joyfully together. But if they come to a crossroads and the one with the lantern departs, then the first must grope her way alone unless she carries her light within her.”
Resurrection Sunday is about reconciling the light within us with the darkness around us. Jesus, you see, did not leave us with empty longing; Jesus left us with light, a direction, a way, a meaning, a truth. Consequently, the Resurrection did not change the world. On the contrary, the Resurrection changed the apostles who are supposed to change the world.
What is supposed to be celebrated on Easter Sunday is not only that Jesus has risen but that we have risen by His rising to become something new and something bold and something strong.
— Joan D. Chittister
Armed with the results of a recent survey that reports a sharp decline in support for the death penalty among American Catholics, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops plan a new, more aggressive campaign to abolish the death penalty in the United States.
For more information see the Salt of the Earth website.