"We rarely hear about sin, but it's rampant, it's rampant.

"We see it in the promotion of abortion. .. in this lunatic approach of transgenderism,... in the promotion of sex between two men or two women. That is sinful. That is mortal sin. And people don't seem to realise it. But it's a fact, it's a reality," said Fr Seán Sheehy.

"What I'm saying is not what I invented, it is not what I came up with, [it] is what God is saying. And the day you die, you will find out that is the truth.

Sheeny says when he was talking to a woman recently, who told him her daughter handed her a condom.

"She said an HSE van was handing these things out in Tralee. And I said my gracious me, that is promoting promiscuity."

A number of people walked out.

Undeterred, Sheehy said: "And to those of you who happen to be leaving today, God help you, and that is all I have to say to you."

Apologising for the priest, Bishop Ray Browne of Kerry said Sheehy's comments had caused "deep upset and hurt".

"The views expressed do not represent the Christian position.

"The homily at a regular weekend parish mass is not appropriate for such issues to be spoken of in such terms," said Browne.

Undeterred, during the week, Sheehy was a guest on Ireland radio station, where he repeated his claims that the bishop was "muzzling the truth in order to appease people".

He also pointed the finger at some of Ireland's politicians.

Not everyone is appalled, though.

In Crisis Magazine, Cole Kinder asks how Ireland can be considered Catholic if these traditional teachings are not upheld.

Sheehy's homily is very inclusive— it is calling all people to repent, wrote Kinder.

"How can you say Ireland is Catholic if those following its core tenets are considered controversial?

"And it gets worse.

"Not only is Ireland barely a Catholic nation anymore in its laws and actions, but the freedom to be Catholic is under attack, with many bishops completely complicit in the persecution.

"It feels like a story out of the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Church.

"A bishop, yes, the person who is actually an apostolic successor, has apologised for the homily not being Christian!

Kinder's perspective was not endorsed by the Association of Catholic Priests who have called on Sheehy to be banned from celebrating the sacraments.

Cork parish priest Fr Tim Hazelwood says "the majority of priests are absolutely appalled" by what Sheehy said in his homily, as well as his subsequent comments about politicians going to hell.

"He puts himself in the position of God to make judgments," said Hazelwood.

He thinks Sheehy's s celebret should be removed, saying that if he didn't have a celebret he wouldn't be able to repeat the performance.

A celebret is a letter of permission from his bishop allowing a priest to celebrate the sacraments and preach.

• Source
  Independent.ie
• CAN
• Crisis Magazine

Catholics often know more about their neighbour's business than they do about the normal spiritual struggles going on in their own hearts and souls, Francis said during his sermon at early morning Mass last Friday.

He pointed out that life involves a continuing battle "between grace and sin, between the Lord who wants to save us and pull us out of temptation and the evil spirit who always pulls us down,".

If we want to live a holier life, Christians need to pay attention to that struggle.

This doesn't involve wandering through life "without noticing what's happening," he explained.

"So often we Christians are busy with so many things, including good ones, but what is going on inside you?"

Pointing out spiritual life "is a struggle between good and evil, but it's not an abstract good and an abstract evil," he explained:

"It's between the good that the Holy Spirit inspires us to do and the bad that the evil spirit inspires us to do. It's a struggle, a struggle we all have.

"If one of us were to say, ‘But I don't feel this, I'm blessed, I live calmly, in peace,'" he said he would respond, "You are not blessed. You are someone anesthetized, who doesn't understand what is happening."

Francis said sometimes is saeems as if we "know what is happening in our neighbourhood, what's going on in the next-door neighbour's house, but we don't know what's going on inside us."

The best remedy for this is to take "two or three minutes" at the end of each day to reflect on its happenings.

"What important thing happened inside me today? Oh yes, I had a bit of hatred here and I spoke badly of this person; I did this work of charity," and so on.

"The next question is, 'Who helped you do these things, both the bad and the good?" he suggested.

It's important and necessary to ask ourselves these questions "to know what is going on inside us," Francis explained.

Source

• Crux Now
• Image: Crux Now

Take last Sunday's 9am Mass for Wellington's St Mary of the Angels' parish for example.

The celebrant, Father Joe Savesi, is well known for including jokes in his sermons. They catch people's attention and underline his main points.

To recap -the sermon focused on the Parable in Luke 18:9-14.

In this the upright man praying in the temple says what a good man he judges himself to be. He then compares himself to the tax collector who was also at the temple, and in his opinion is a far inferior person.

The tax collector, on the other hand, was too ashamed to ask God for anything except mercy.

Joe's way of explaining the Parable's message was to sing a verse of the Mac Davis song "O Lord it's hard to be humble" - much to the congregation's delight. Listen to the orginal

Cardinal Antonio Cañizares of Valencia made this denunciation in a homily on May 13.

In his preaching, the cardinal also listed gender theory as among the threats to the family.

A Spanish network set up to help refugees filed a complaint, accusing the cardinal of xenophobia.

Cardinal Cañizares had questioned if all the immigrants arriving in Spain were "clean wheat."

A second complaint process was started by the Valencian LGBT association Lambda, together with 55 other organisations.

A judge ruled on Thursday that the cardinal, simply by using such speech, was not committing a hate crime.

Rather, he was exercising his right to freedom of expression.

Criminal proceedings were dismissed without further investigation.

This was because the magistrate saw neither "criminal intent" nor an appeal to "hatred and violence".

Before the judgement, the cardinal had defended himself through an open letter.

Cardinal Cañizares wrote that he is not "homophobic, xenophobic nor sexist".

He added that he respects every person without excluding anyone.

He also apologised for the words that "might have hurt some", and he asked for reciprocity.

"Stop harassing the Church and respect freedom of religion," he wrote.

Earlier this month, Cardinal Cañizares led thousands in an "act of reparation" for an invitation to Valencia's gay parade that depicted a couple of kissing Madonnas.

The cardinal was supported by Spain's bishops' conference in doing the reparation.

Sources

• Crux
• Image: Catholic News Service

On Wednesday, the final day of his visit to Mexico, Francis went up a ramp overlooking the river and the border, to a makeshift memorial representing migrants killed in their attempts to reach the US.

Shoes of migrants who died were laid beside crosses at the memorial.

The Pope said a blessing there.

Those gathered on a levee across the river in the US waved and shouted, "Te queremos, papa!" — "We love you, Pope."

Among the people on the levee were families seeking asylum in the US.

Pope Francis did not cross into the US.

Tens of thousands of people gathered on both sides of the border to hear the Pope.

Pope Francis celebrated a Mass in Ciudad Juarez, just 80 metres from the border.

People in El Paso in Texas watched him via large television screens.

In his homily, Francis delivered a blistering salvo at injustices in Mexico and apparent indifference in the United States.

He did so without mentioning either country by name.

Francis called the "forced migration" of thousands of Central Americans a "human tragedy" and "humanitarian crisis".

"Being faced with so many legal vacuums," the Pope said before a congregation of more than 200,000 people, "they get caught up in a web that ensnares and always destroys the poorest".

"Injustice is radicalised in the young," the Pope continued.

"They are 'cannon fodder,' persecuted and threatened when they try to flee the spiral of violence and the hell of drugs."

The Pope asked for prayers for conversion, for tears, for an opening of hearts.

A Vatican spokesman said US presidential hopeful Donald Trump's previous criticism of the Pope's visit to the border was "very strange".

Sources

• CNN
• Los Angeles Times
• Reuters
• Crux Now
• Image: Yahoo News

In his homily at the opening Mass of the three-week synod at the Vatican, the Pope spelled out "God's dream" for humanity.

"[This is] God's dream for his beloved creation: to see it fulfilled in the loving union between a man and a woman, rejoicing in their shared journey, fruitful in their mutual gift of self."

The Pope said the Church has a duty to proclaim truth "that is not changed by passing fads or popular opinions".

At the same time, however, Francis told Church leaders they must not forget "the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath".

Quoting a 1978 reflection by Pope John Paul II, the Pontiff said: "Error and evil must always be condemned and opposed; but the man who falls or who errs must be understood and loved . . . we must love our time and help the man of our time."

"The Church must search out these persons, welcome and accompany them," Francis told the some 270 bishops gathered in St Peter's Basilica for the Mass.

"A Church with closed doors betrays herself and her mission, and, instead of being a bridge, becomes a roadblock."

The Pope spoke of "a Church which teaches authentic love, which is capable of taking loneliness away, without neglecting her mission to be a good Samaritan to wounded humanity".

This Church carries "out her mission in charity, not pointing a finger in judgment of others, but - faithful to her nature as a mother - conscious of her duty to seek out and care for hurting couples with the balm of acceptance and mercy; to be a ‘field hospital'".

The Pope focused his reflections on three themes: solitude, love between man and woman, and family.

He also quoted his predecessor Benedict XVI twice, noting that "without truth, charity degenerates into sentimentality" and that "forbidden pleasures lost their attraction at the very moment they stopped being forbidden".

Sources

• National Catholic Reporter
• Full text of Pope Francis's opening homily at the synod on the family
• Image: Manila Bulletin

Speaking during Mass at the Sancta Martha Guesthouse on June 9, the Pope's words came only days after he said a ruling on the Medjugorje apparitions will be coming soon.

On June 9, Francis preached on aspects of Christian identity, taking his cue from Paul's letter to the Corinthians.

Among various flawed approaches, he named those "who constantly need Christian identity to be renewed", "forgetting that they were chosen, anointed", that "they have the seal of the Holy Spirit".

Francis said such people ask: "'Where are the seers who can tell us exactly what message Our Lady will be sending at 4'o'clock this afternoon?"

"And their lives depend on this," the Pope said.

"This identity is not Christian. God's final word is ‘Jesus' and nothing else."

Three out of the six children who claimed to experience visions of the Virgin Mary in Medjugorje in 1981 say they continue to receive visions every afternoon.

This is because not all of the secrets intended for them have been revealed, they say.

On June 6, during a brief press conference on his flight to Rome from Sarajevo in Bosnia, Pope Francis said: "We are at the point of making decisions [about Medjugorje] . . . and then they will be announced."

He said guidelines will be given to bishops on the approach they should take.

On June 9, a Vatican spokesman said Francis's homily comments were probably referring to Medjugorje.

But Fr Federico Lombardi, SJ, stressed that the Pope's brief mention was not the Vatican's final word or an official pronouncement.

In his homily, Francis also cautioned against those who look for God "with these Christian spiritualites that are a little ethereal", calling them "modern Gnostics".

These people, he said, "tell you this or that: no, the last word of God is Jesus Christ, there is no other!"

The Pope also cautioned against broadening one's conscience "so much that everything enters".

Sources

• Catholic News Agency
• Vatican Insider
• Associated Press
• Image: Our Sunday Visitor

The priest made the comments in an end-of-term service for a Catholic primary school.

He reportedly said that if Irish woman Jill Meagher had been more "faith-filled" she would have been at home instead of out in the early hours of the morning when she was raped and killed.

The vicar-general of the archdiocese of Melbourne, went on radio to apologise.

"I've spoken with the priest; he acknowledges that the homily wasn't appropriate and apologises for the offence and upset it has caused," Msgr Greg Bennett said.

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The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments has issued a new Homiletic Directory, which was launched on February 10.

Congregation head Cardinal Robert Sarah said for many Catholics, the homily, experienced as "beautiful or awful, interesting or boring", is their basis for judging an entire Mass.

While the homily is not the essential part of the Mass, he said, it does help to ensure (or discourage) the participation of the congregation.

The homily, he said, "makes demands of he who pronounces it", and the new document should help priests to make proper preparation for preaching.

Congregation secretary Bishop Arthur Roche agreed that it is important that a homily not be boring.

If one looks at the homilies of Pope Francis, he said, "there is nothing boring. There is always something that challenges people. This is the point".

"The responsibility of the [preacher] is to bring the reality of God's life into a practical application with the reality of people's lives," Bishop Roche said.

The directory referred to Pope Francis's exhortation in Evangelii Gaudium that homilies should be brief.

Pope Benedict XVI had previously asked the congregation to produce the directory after requests from two previous synods.

The directory reaffirms that only ordained ministers - bishops, priests or deacons - are to deliver the homily at Mass.

"Well-trained lay leaders can also give solid instruction and moving exhortation, and opportunities for such presentations should be provided in other contexts", but not at the moment after the readings and before the liturgy of the Eucharist at Mass, it says.

The 156-paragraph directory has two main sections - on the homily in its liturgical setting and on the art of preaching - as well as two appendices.

It offers suggestions for how to tie readings to Church teaching on a variety of theological and moral topics.

But it emphasises that the homily is not a catechetical instruction, even if catechesis is an important dimension of the homily.

And, while the preacher's personal experience can help illustrate a point, "the homily should express the faith of the Church and not simply the priest's own story".

Sources

• Catholic News Service
• Catholic World News
• Vatican Radio
• Image: 200 Churches

Bishop Salvatore Matano of Rochester diocese in New York state is drafting guidelines to clarify that homilies at Mass are reserved for the ordained.

Bishop Matano said he is trying to help the faithful in his diocese understand the universal law of the Church.

He has been confronting the issue on a case-by-case basis since his installation in January.

Under his predecessor, Bishop Matthew Clark, Rochester was regarded as one of the most liberal dioceses in the US.

Lay people had preached the homily before Bishop Clark's time in charge in Rochester from 1979 to 2012.

But during his time leading the diocese, it was a regular occurrence in multiple churches.

Bishop Matano called the widespread nature of the practice "a bit perplexing" and attributed it to a misinterpretation of canon law.

He said he has addressed the matter in response to complaints from parishioners.

An estimated 20 women, most of them pastoral administrators or associates in the diocese with divinity and theology degrees, comprised the bulk of lay homilists.

Many described their preaching as a reflection on the Scriptures, not a homily.

Supporters of lay homilies described them as often being more attuned to modern families than those delivered by priests.

"It was a way to have a woman's voice and a woman's experience reflect on the readings for the day," said Gloria Ulterino, an author and religious scholar who gave reflections in various churches for 30 years.

Bishop Matano acknowledged that many women share pastoral responsibilities with priests and work in many ministries across the diocese.

He said he encourages women and laypeople to preach at prayer groups and other parish functions outside the homily.

The changes in Rochester come as Pope Francis is calling for broader opportunities "for a more incisive female presence in the Church" and for priests to spice up their homilies.

Last year, Francis lamented that clergy and laypeople suffer through homilies: "The laity from having to listen to them, and the clergy from having to preach them!"

Sources

• Democrat and Chronicle
• Patheos
• Catholic.com (GIRM and Redemptionis Sacramentum)
• Brisbane Liturgy
• Image: US Catholic

In the USA, more than a dozen Tallahassee churches are making use of podcasts of their sermons and lectures to get beyond the pew, and the congregations are responding. continue reading

175. The study of the sacred Scriptures must be a door opened to every believer.[136] It is essential that the revealed word radically enrich our catechesis and all our efforts to pass on the faith.[137] Evangelization demands familiarity with God's word, which calls for dioceses, parishes and Catholic associations to provide for a serious, ongoing study of the Bible, while encouraging its prayerful individual and communal reading.[138] We do not blindly seek God, or wait for him to speak to us first, for "God has already spoken, and there is nothing further that we need to know, which has not been revealed to us".[139] Let us receive the sublime treasure of the revealed word.

157. Simply using a few examples, let us recall some practical resources which can enrich our preaching and make it more attractive. One of the most important things is to learn how to use images in preaching, how to appeal to imagery. Sometimes examples are used to clarify a certain point, but these examples usually appeal only to the mind; images, on the other hand, help people better to appreciate and accept the message we wish to communicate. An attractive image makes the message seem familiar, close to home, practical and related to everyday life. A successful image can make people savour the message, awaken a desire and move the will towards the Gospel. A good homily, an old teacher once told me, should have "an idea, a sentiment, an image."

158. Paul VI said that "the faithful... expect much from preaching, and will greatly benefit from it, provided that it is simple, clear, direct, well-adapted".[125] Simplicity has to do with the language we use. It must be one that people understand, lest we risk speaking to a void. Preachers often use words learned during their studies and in specialized settings which are not part of the ordinary language of their hearers. These are words that are suitable in theology or catechesis, but whose meaning is incomprehensible to the majority of Christians. The greatest risk for a preacher is that he becomes so accustomed to his own language that he thinks that everyone else naturally understands and uses it. If we wish to adapt to people's language and to reach them with God's word, we need to share in their lives and pay loving attention to them. Simplicity and clarity are two different things. Our language may be simple but our preaching not very clear. It can end up being incomprehensible because it is disorganized, lacks logical progression or tries to deal with too many things at one time. We need to ensure, then, that the homily has thematic unity, clear order and correlation between sentences, so that people can follow the preacher easily and grasp his line of argument.

159. Another feature of a good homily is that it is positive. It is not so much concerned with pointing out what shouldn't be done, but with suggesting what we can do better. In any case, if it does draw attention to something negative, it will also attempt to point to a positive and attractive value, lest it remain mired in complaints, laments, criticisms and reproaches. Positive preaching always offers hope, points to the future, does not leave us trapped in negativity. How good it is when priests, deacons and the laity gather periodically to discover resources which can make preaching more attractive!

136. Let us renew our confidence in preaching, based on the conviction that it is God who seeks to reach out to others through the preacher, and that he displays his power through human words. Saint Paul speaks forcefully about the need to preach, since the Lord desires to reach other people by means of our word (cf. Rom 10:14-17). By his words our Lord won over the hearts of the people; they came to hear him from all parts (cf. Mk 1:45); they were amazed at his teachings (cf. Mk 6:2), and they sensed that he spoke to them as one with authority (cf. Mk 1:27). By their words the apostles, whom Christ established "to be with him and to be sent out to preach" (Mk 3:14), brought all nations to the bosom of the Church (cf. Mt 16:15.20).

The liturgical context

137. It is worthy remembering that "the liturgical proclamation of the word of God, especially in the eucharistic assembly, is not so much a time for meditation and catechesis as a dialogue between God and his people, a dialogue in which the great deeds of salvation are proclaimed and the demands of the covenant are continually restated". The homily has special importance due to its eucharistic context: it surpasses all forms of catechesis as the supreme moment in the dialogue between God and his people which lead up to sacramental communion. The homily takes up once more the dialogue which the Lord has already established with his people. The preacher must know the heart of his community, in order to realize where its desire for God is alive and ardent, as well as where that dialogue, once loving, has been thwarted and is now barren.

138. The homily cannot be a form of entertainment like those presented by the media, yet it does need to give life and meaning to the celebration. It is a distinctive genre, since it is preaching situated within the framework of a liturgical celebration; hence it should be brief and avoid taking on the semblance of a speech or a lecture. A preacher may be able to hold the attention of his listeners for a whole hour, but in this case his words become more important than the celebration of faith. If the homily goes on too long, it will affect two characteristic elements of the liturgical celebration: its balance and its rhythm. When preaching takes place within the context of the liturgy, it is part of the offering made to the Father and a mediation of the grace which Christ pours out during the celebration. This context demands that preaching should guide the assembly, and the preacher, to a life-changing communion with Christ in the Eucharist. This means that the words of the preacher must be measured, so that the Lord, more than his minister, will be the centre of attention.

A mother's conversation

139. We said that the people of God, by the constant inner working of the Holy Spirit, is constantly evangelizing itself. What are the implications of this principle for preachers? It reminds us that the Church is a mother, and that she preaches in the same way that a mother speaks to her child, knowing that the child trusts that what she is teaching is for his or her benefit, for children know that they are loved. Moreover, a good mother can recognize everything that God is bringing about in her children, she listens to their concerns and learns from them. The spirit of love which reigns in a family guides both mother and child in their conversations; therein they teach and learn, experience correction and grow in appreciation of what is good. Something similar happens in a homily. The same Spirit who inspired the Gospels and who acts in the Church also inspires the preacher to hear the faith of the God's people and to find the right way to preach at each Eucharist. Christian preaching thus finds in the heart of people and their culture a source of living water, which helps the preacher to know what must be said and how to say it. Just as all of us like to be spoken to in our mother tongue, so too in the faith we like to be spoken to in our "mother culture," our native language (cf. 2 Macc 7:21, 27), and our heart is better disposed to listen. This language is a kind of music which inspires encouragement, strength and enthusiasm.

140. This setting, both maternal and ecclesial, in which the dialogue between the Lord and his people takes place, should be encouraged by the closeness of the preacher, the warmth of his tone of voice, the unpretentiousness of his manner of speaking, the joy of his gestures. Even if the homily at times may be somewhat tedious, if this maternal and ecclesial spirit is present, it will always bear fruit, just as the tedious counsels of a mother bear fruit, in due time, in the hearts of her children.

141. One cannot but admire the resources that the Lord used to dialogue with his people, to reveal his mystery to all and to attract ordinary people by his lofty teachings and demands. I believe that the secret lies in the way Jesus looked at people, seeing beyond their weaknesses and failings: "Fear not little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom" (Lk 12:32); Jesus preaches with that spirit. Full of joy in the Spirit, he blesses the Father who draws the little ones to him: "I thank you Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes" (Lk 10:21). The Lord truly enjoys talking with his people; the preacher should strive to communicate that same enjoyment to his listeners.

Words which set hearts on fire

142. Dialogue is much more than the communication of a truth. It arises from the enjoyment of speaking and it enriches those who express their love for one another through the medium of words. This is an enrichment which does not consist in objects but in persons who share themselves in dialogue. A preaching which would be purely moralistic or doctrinaire, or one which turns into a lecture on biblical exegesis, detracts from this heart-to-heart communication which takes place in the homily and possesses a quasi-sacramental character: "Faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes by the preaching of Christ" (Rom 10:17). In the homily, truth goes hand in hand with beauty and goodness. Far from dealing with abstract truths or cold syllogisms, it communicates the beauty of the images used by the Lord to encourage the practise of good. The memory of the faithful, like that of Mary, should overflow with the wondrous things done by God. Their hearts, growing in hope from the joyful and practical exercise of the love which they have received, will sense that each word of Scripture is a gift before it is a demand.

143. The challenge of an inculturated preaching consists in proclaiming a synthesis, not ideas or detached values. Where your synthesis is, there lies your heart. The difference between enlightening people with a synthesis and doing so with detached ideas is like the difference between boredom and heartfelt fervour. The preacher has the wonderful but difficult task of joining loving hearts, the hearts of the Lord and his people. The dialogue between God and his people further strengthens the covenant between them and consolidates the bond of charity. In the course of the homily, the hearts of believers keep silence and allow God to speak. The Lord and his people speak to one another in a thousand ways directly, without intermediaries. But in the homily they want someone to serve as an instrument and to express their feelings in such a way that afterwards, each one may chose how he or she will continue the conversation. The word is essentially a mediator and requires not just the two who dialogue but also an intermediary who presents it for what it is, out of the conviction that "what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake" (2 Cor 4:5).

144. To speak from the heart means that our hearts must not just be on fire, but also enlightened by the fullness of revelation and by the path travelled by God's word in the heart of the Church and our faithful people throughout history. This Christian identity, as the baptismal embrace which the Father gave us when we were little ones, makes us desire, as prodigal children - and favourite children in Mary - yet another embrace, that of the merciful Father who awaits us in glory. Helping our people to feel that they live in the midst of these two embraces is the difficult but beautiful task of one who preaches the Gospel.

I can't call to mind ever leaving mass with a zeal and fiery passion to go make a difference that was so hot I wanted to jump in the Baptismal font just to cool off.

I don't mean to be facetious.

Let me state first off that it is my deepest desire to go to heaven.

However, I am human, a sinner, and in desperate need of unabridged, pure, uncensored truth.

• As such I long to be inspired, motivated, incriminated, and called to redemption.
• I need the gentle, and sometimes not so gentle, guidance of the shepherd's staff to direct and keep me on the narrow path.
• I hunger for Scripture to be opened up and made relevant, as well as doctrine and dogma to enlighten my mind and direct my footsteps.

Father Barron says that "too often the dogmas and doctrines of the Church are presented in such an abstract and disembodied way that their transformative power is largely overlooked."

I have sat in talks and been preached at in pews, as the speaker danced and side stepped around any word or phrase that has the potential to offend me in some unintended way. I once heard a Deacon preach on Ephesians 5:22, literally apologizing his way through the entire sermon, leaving the whole congregation totally befuddled and perplexed.

Why are so many fearful to save our souls, but doing back flips not to offend our puny egos?

I want to learn, to grow, to be provoked to change my habitual tendency to sin. I want the leadership in our Church to be the shepherds God appointed them to be and to do whatever it takes to bring their congregations to heaven. Teach us, arouse our curiosity about all things God, wake us out of our long slumber and lethargy. Continue reading

Image: Fox News

Outsiders could be forgiven for believing this service, with its homilies, its passing of the plate, its uplifting songs, belongs in a church.

If so, it's an atheist church without God — the brainchild of Harvard University's Humanist chaplain.

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I offer a warm greeting to my brother cardinals and bishops, the priests, deacons, men and women religious, and all the lay faithful. I thank the representatives of the other Churches and ecclesial Communities, as well as the representatives of the Jewish community and the other religious communities, for their presence. My cordial greetings go to the Heads of State and Government, the members of the official Delegations from many countries throughout the world, and the Diplomatic Corps.

In the Gospel we heard that "Joseph did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took Mary as his wife" (Mt 1:24). These words already point to the mission which God entrusts to Joseph: he is to be the custos, the protector. The protector of whom? Of Mary and Jesus; but this protection is then extended to the Church, as Blessed John Paul II pointed out: "Just as Saint Joseph took loving care of Mary and gladly dedicated himself to Jesus Christ's upbringing, he likewise watches over and protects Christ's Mystical Body, the Church, of which the Virgin Mary is the exemplar and model" (Redemptoris Custos, 1).

How does Joseph exercise his role as protector? Discreetly, humbly and silently, but with an unfailing presence and utter fidelity, even when he finds it hard to understand. From the time of his betrothal to Mary until the finding of the twelve-year-old Jesus in the Temple of Jerusalem, he is there at every moment with loving care. As the spouse of Mary, he is at her side in good times and bad, on the journey to Bethlehem for the census and in the anxious and joyful hours when she gave birth; amid the drama of the flight into Egypt and during the frantic search for their child in the Temple; and later in the day-to-day life of the home of Nazareth, in the workshop where he taught his trade to Jesus.

How does Joseph respond to his calling to be the protector of Mary, Jesus and the Church? By being constantly attentive to God, open to the signs of God's presence and receptive to God's plans, and not simply to his own. This is what God asked of David, as we heard in the first reading. God does not want a house built by men, but faithfulness to his word, to his plan. It is God himself who builds the house, but from living stones sealed by his Spirit. Joseph is a "protector" because he is able to hear God's voice and be guided by his will; and for this reason he is all the more sensitive to the persons entrusted to his safekeeping. He can look at things realistically, he is in touch with his surroundings, he can make truly wise decisions. In him, dear friends, we learn how to respond to God's call, readily and willingly, but we also see the core of the Christian vocation, which is Christ! Let us protect Christ in our lives, so that we can protect others, so that we can protect creation!

The vocation of being a "protector", however, is not just something involving us Christians alone; it also has a prior dimension which is simply human, involving everyone. It means protecting all creation, the beauty of the created world, as the Book of Genesis tells us and as Saint Francis of Assisi showed us. It means respecting each of God's creatures and respecting the environment in which we live. It means protecting people, showing loving concern for each and every person, especially children, the elderly, those in need, who are often the last we think about. It means caring for one another in our families: husbands and wives first protect one another, and then, as parents, they care for their children, and children themselves, in time, protect their parents. It means building sincere friendships in which we protect one another in trust, respect, and goodness. In the end, everything has been entrusted to our protection, and all of us are responsible for it. Be protectors of God's gifts!

Whenever human beings fail to live up to this responsibility, whenever we fail to care for creation and for our brothers and sisters, the way is opened to destruction and hearts are hardened. Tragically, in every period of history there are "Herods" who plot death, wreak havoc, and mar the countenance of men and women.

Please, I would like to ask all those who have positions of responsibility in economic, political and social life, and all men and women of goodwill: let us be "protectors" of creation, protectors of God's plan inscribed in nature, protectors of one another and of the environment. Let us not allow omens of destruction and death to accompany the advance of this world! But to be "protectors", we also have to keep watch over ourselves! Let us not forget that hatred, envy and pride defile our lives! Being protectors, then, also means keeping watch over our emotions, over our hearts, because they are the seat of good and evil intentions: intentions that build up and tear down! We must not be afraid of goodness or even tenderness!

Here I would add one more thing: caring, protecting, demands goodness, it calls for a certain tenderness. In the Gospels, Saint Joseph appears as a strong and courageous man, a working man, yet in his heart we see great tenderness, which is not the virtue of the weak but rather a sign of strength of spirit and a capacity for concern, for compassion, for genuine openness to others, for love. We must not be afraid of goodness, of tenderness!

Today, together with the feast of Saint Joseph, we are celebrating the beginning of the ministry of the new Bishop of Rome, the Successor of Peter, which also involves a certain power. Certainly, Jesus Christ conferred power upon Peter, but what sort of power was it? Jesus' three questions to Peter about love are followed by three commands: feed my lambs, feed my sheep. Let us never forget that authentic power is service, and that the Pope too, when exercising power, must enter ever more fully into that service which has its radiant culmination on the Cross. He must be inspired by the lowly, concrete and faithful service which marked Saint Joseph and, like him, he must open his arms to protect all of God's people and embrace with tender affection the whole of humanity, especially the poorest, the weakest, the least important, those whom Matthew lists in the final judgment on love: the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick and those in prison (cf. Mt 25:31-46). Only those who serve with love are able to protect!

In the second reading, Saint Paul speaks of Abraham, who, "hoping against hope, believed" (Rom 4:18). Hoping against hope! Today too, amid so much darkness, we need to see the light of hope and to be men and women who bring hope to others. To protect creation, to protect every man and every woman, to look upon them with tenderness and love, is to open up a horizon of hope; it is to let a shaft of light break through the heavy clouds; it is to bring the warmth of hope! For believers, for us Christians, like Abraham, like Saint Joseph, the hope that we bring is set against the horizon of God, which has opened up before us in Christ. It is a hope built on the rock which is God.

To protect Jesus with Mary, to protect the whole of creation, to protect each person, especially the poorest, to protect ourselves: this is a service that the Bishop of Rome is called to carry out, yet one to which all of us are called, so that the star of hope will shine brightly. Let us protect with love all that God has given us!

I implore the intercession of the Virgin Mary, Saint Joseph, Saints Peter and Paul, and Saint Francis, that the Holy Spirit may accompany my ministry, and I ask all of you to pray for me! Amen.

Sources:

• Vatican Radio
• Image: News Day