I have a question for you. Yes, it’s been a while since I’ve had one. In fact, it was in October of 2012, when I gave my last homily here at Christ the Good Shepherd. So, the question is: Why did I stop, and second, why am I giving one today? The answer to the first question has to do with aging.
It’s been our tradition here at CGS for the last thirty years or so, for a deacon to preach at all five weekend masses when he’s assigned to be the homilist. Which has been great until, in my late seventies, I was no longer able to serve as the deacon at five weekend masses, since that was also part of our tradition. A deacon would not only preach, but would serve as deacon for the entire mass. So, that’s why I went off the preaching schedule. It became too difficult, physically, for me to continue.
And why am I here, today, as the homilist? It, also, has to do with aging. Next Tuesday, February 25 is the 30th anniversary of my ordination as a Permanent Deacon for the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. And so, the staff asked me to give a homily at the 5:30 mass on Saturday, which is the mass where I’ve continued to serve as the deacon.
It’s been a wonderful thirty years being one of your deacons. During this time, I’ve had a lot to be grateful for. First of all, there are you, the wonderful people of Christ the Good Shepherd. And all of the other fifteen ordained deacons who have served with me, beginning with Steve LaBonte, who was the first deacon I ever met. That was back in 1977, when we first gathered at what we lovingly called “St Benfer’s” and “Our Lady of Strock”
And there are, of course, the four CGS deacons who were in classes with me for four years and who were ordained with me in 1984: Barry Beckman, Bob Degrave, John Charnisky, and Al O’Brien. We formed an active brotherhood over those early years. All of us owe much of our spiritual lives to one another and to the pastors who have labored with us, Fr. Ed, Fr. Bill and Fr. John, along with the many other priests and transitional deacons who have served here at CGS over the last thirty-plus years.
And then, there is the parish staff: administrators, directors, and day-to-day ministers to children, teens, and adults here at Good Shepherd, as well as those volunteers who served as part of our extensive outreach network. My thirty years as a deacon here would not have been happy ones without them. Thank God they were here to help me.
Of course, the main help came from my wife, Karen, and from our three kids: Deb, Ken and Chris. Back then, when I asked the boys about whether I should enter the Diaconate, they said it would be fine. It would keep me out of mischief and maybe I’d have less time to bug them. Perhaps, I should also mention Karen, at the time, worked with Fr. Drew Wood in the Vocations Office for the Diocese. Our family story goes that, since she could not get the boys to become priests, she had to donate me as a Permanent Deacon. I’m pleased she did.
And what have these years been like? Well, they’ve been very busy, busy with events for which I am most grateful. There have been baptisms to celebrate and catechumens to prepare. Over the past thirty years, there must be hundreds of children I’ve baptized by dunking them or pouring holy water over their heads. Some cried, most didn’t. And there have been all of the classes I’ve taught in adult education, here and throughout the archdiocese, that have brought me great pleasure. I hope they’ve, also, brought some pleasure and new insights to many of you.
Another enjoyable interaction has been in the preparation of couples for the celebration of the sacrament of matrimony. There are over three-hundred couples I’ve prepared over the years. They’ve been married here at Good Shepherd or in other parishes, even in foreign countries. I like to believe the vast majority is still married. But the facts of life may indicate otherwise, because I’ve also met with many others regarding annulments.
I’m pleased I’ve had the opportunity to have been with many of you in times of joy and of difficulties. Because that is what it has meant for the sixteen of us who have served as your deacons, to be with you during the celebration of your joys and of your sorrows. It’s a great honor and pleasure to see so many of you here today who share these memories with me.
And even if I have not been able to know each of you on a personal basis, I trust you have an idea of who I am through the homilies I’ve given. Over two-hundred-fifty of them. That’s a lot of questions. In a way that’s one of the purposes of the homilies I’ve given: To have you ask questions about life. And to get responses, not from me, but from our Lord God.
That’s what a homily is suppose to be about. To break open the Word of God. To help us understand how the scriptures from thousands of years ago are still relevant to our lives, today. My two-hundred-fifty homilies have focused on several major concepts. Concepts I hope I’ve conveyed to you over the years and not just my opening question.
First of all: God loves you. In fact, God is Love. That’s what it’s all about. Matthew, in today’s Gospel, reminds us, once more: “Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” That’s another way to say God is Love, that God loves each and every one of us and desires we love one another. Our reading from the Book of Leviticus could not be more clear when it states: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.”
And the second teaching I’ve tried to get across in all of my homilies is similar to the first. Namely, God forgives us. We are to forgive one another. Although we desire to be perfect, we know we are not. But in our love for God and for one another, we give and seek forgiveness. Once more, we heard in Leviticus the words: “You shall not bear hatred for your brother or sister in your heart.” And Christ’s words in the gospel of Matthew: “Pray for those who persecute you.”
Yes, in all of my homilies, I’ve tried to focus on breaking open the words of scripture concerning Love and Forgiveness. I don’t know if I’ve succeeded. Only you can say. Because it’s not a matter of listening to my homily. It’s a matter of listening to what God says to you in your heart.
The best homily is not the one you hear, or don’t hear, with your ears, but rather the one you hear in your own heart. It is to know within your heart that, because of his love for us, God became flesh, he suffered and died for us, and he rose from the dead and to understand he did all of this in order for us to be reunited with him. Each Weekend at Mass, and, perhaps, at other times as well, we have listened to the words of Holy Scripture not with our ears but with the grace given to us by the Holy Spirit.
As much as I have enjoyed being a homilist and helping you to break open the word of God, there is another gift I enjoy even more. Of all the roles a deacon has, for me, the greatest one is being an “Ordinary Minister of the Eucharist.” Many of you have served one another as “Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist.” We have given one another the Body and Blood of Christ.
In many different ways, Saint Paul has reminded us we are members of the Body of Christ. In today’s reading he reminded the Corinthians they are temples of God and “everything belongs to you, and you to Christ, and Christ to God.” He continues to remind all of us Christ, our head, functions in the world through the actions of each one of us. I’m personally reminded of this every time I act as an Ordinary Minister of the Eucharist.
I am truly overwhelmed when I place a host in your hands. When I feel the touch of your hand. Some are soft and tender, gentle to the touch. Others are firm and callused. Yet, all of them perform the works of the Lord in different ways. And when I look into your eyes and speak the words: “The Body of Christ,” I realize, as Vatican II has taught us, we, too, are, also, the Body of Christ. When I see you and the host together, I am seeing the complete Body of Christ. For this gift, I thank each and every one of you for allowing me for thirty years to see and touch the Body of Christ.
7th Sunday in Ordinary Time; Feb. 23, 2014 (5:30 pm Mass, 2/22/14)
Lev 19:1-2, 17-18; 1 Cor 3:16-23; Mt 5:38-48