Bishop Christian Riesbeck, CC homily Eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time, February 27, 2022

so as i begin my homily today i just want to on all our behalf express our closeness to the people of ukraine to uh all ukrainians or people of ukrainian descent especially in our province here and throughout the country we pray for those who are ukrainians who are literally fighting for their very lives in ukraine many have been displaced some have died and and some have been wounded and so forth so as a result of russian aggression so we really pray for an imminent restoration of peace the executive of the canadian canadian bishops issued a statement recently jesus came to bring the gift of peace and it is through him that new pathways of dialogue can be opened even while when all other avenues appear closed with pope francis who has entrusted the situation to the intercession of mary the mother of god we ask our lady through her powerful intercession to open hearts so that anger resentment and division may start to be healed and that any further escalation of unnecessary violence may be avoided it's for this very reason that that pope francis asked for a day of prayer and fasting this coming ash wednesday so we pray that we take that to heart and speaking of healing and reconciliation on a positive note we have the opportunity this weekend in a particular way to be in solidarity with our indigenous brothers and sisters many of whom continue to face intergenerational trauma thanks to the residential school system i spoke about this at length last weekend encourages us to be generous with our contributions to the indigenous reconciliation fund through our special collection this weekend on another positive note we're thrilled that all covet pandemic restrictions are being lifted here in the province of new brunswick on march 14th as is the case throughout the country on monday no more proof of vaccination will be required in any venue and i've said from the beginning that even though vaccines have been helpful in reducing the number of deaths hospitalizations serious illness especially among our vulnerable populations the decision to vaccinate must never be coerced some individuals for matters of health or conscience may choose not to receive the vaccine and that decision needs to be respected now for those who are waiting patiently for a vaccine that is not linked to fetal cell lines aborted fetuses a new vaccine has been approved by health canada which seems seems to fit the bill of an ethical vaccine as well as other ethical treatments being approved so that's another source of good news for us lent begins this week on ash wednesday it's a season of penance some people think it's a rather gloomy season but really it's a privileged season of grace we may wonder is joy possible during a season of penance the answer is a resounding yes pope francis reminds us that joy is not expressed the same way at all times in life especially at moments of great difficulty joy adapts and changes but it always endures even as a flicker of light born of our personal certainty that when everything is said and done we're infinitely loved that's from pope francis evangelii gaudium paragraph 6 let means new springtime and renewal and so we're encouraged to dive deeply into the infinite love of god through acts of penance which help to rid us of the effects of sin in our lives and bind us closer to one another in charity and experience the fullness of joy in god the first reading speaks of our universal need for conversion when a sieve is shaken the refuse appears so do a person's faults when he speaks we all struggle and the good news is that as sirac says its fruit discloses the cultivation of a tree so a person speaks speech discloses the cultivation of his mind so it's possible to change but none among us can escape the effects of sin on our own it's why we need our savior that's why we need jesus lent is a time to tend to our spiritual lives more closely taking care and pruning those areas that prevent our growth in jesus says to become mature followers of christ bearing much good fruit the catechism of the catholic church states the interior penance of the christian can be expressed in many in various ways scripture and the fathers insist above all on three forms fasting prayer and almsgiving which expressed conversion in relation to oneself to god and to others unquote so during this privileged season we look inwards to rid ourselves of all that prevents us from receiving christ's love and take up practices that will help us grow closer to him it's a time of purification and of self-denial of giving up in order to receive more of the love and freedom we're made for in jesus saint francis tells us that the principle means of union with god must be found in the reception of the sacraments and in prayer so lent affords the opportunity to make prayer a greater priority acknowledging the ways in which we have allowed other things to displace jesus and to put him once more at the center of our lives it's a time when individuals and families choose to take on new practices of prayer such as the daily ignatian examine lectio divina ignatian contemplative prayer all of which can breathe new life into our prayer regimen as we've pondered god's word in the scriptures more deeply i'll be releasing my lenten letter on monday so i'll be giving you some links to to these things many parishes offer additional times for mass reconciliation and adoration of the blessed sacrament during the season of lent as powerful ways to grow closer to jesus in the sacraments you will note that the cathedral mass schedule has been amped up for lent we have two daily masses from monday to friday 12 10 and 5 30 p.m for those who work during the day uh so the faithful are really encouraged those of you watching on your on on the live stream to consult your parishes and make use of these times to commune more deeply with jesus we're pleased we're pleased to be offering a diocesan revitalization series for lent on tuesday evenings following the 5 30 pms here at the cathedral of the immaculate conception in addition to the regularly scheduled time of eucharistic adoration in the afternoon which will be extended between the noon and 5 30 pm masses the blessed sacrament will be exposed for adoration from 6 to 9 pm every tuesday during lent and during this time priests of the saint john region will be available to celebrate the sacrament of reconciliation the diocesan rosary which normally takes place on tuesdays on facebook at 7 pm will be streamed from the cathedral right here followed by a teaching on the theme of prayer to assist us in going deeper in our relationship with the lord some quiet prayer reflection with intermittent worship will take place throughout these three hours and we see that the cathedral is under construction we're forging ahead with our restoration project and trusting this whole project to our lady and for for our temporal needs especially but our spiritual lives are also under construction in lent you know so i pray that this will be again through the decession of our lady a time of personal encounter with jesus in deep renewal as we bring our diocesan needs including our cathedral restoration both physical and spiritual before him in the blessed sacrament fasting is a means of self-denial depriving us of something good to make rome room for jesus in our lives and become more aware of the needs of others more than simply going without fasting offered as prayer is a powerful means of uniting ourselves to christ who gave up so much for us for those between the ages of 18 and 59 and were not prevented by poor health the universal law of the church calls us to observe days of fasting and abstinence especially on ash wednesday and good friday means abstinence from meat only one full meal plus two others sufficient to maintain strength on these days is suggested additional acts of self-denial are also encouraged to help us grow in self-discipline and turn our thoughts to jesus and our loved ones for whom our fasting may be offered as a prayer almsgiving which the catechism refers to as a witness to fraternal charity and a work of justice pleasing to god can be described as the donation of money or goods and works of charity to benefit others the holy father tells us that only the person who feels happiness and seeking the good of others and desiring their happiness can be a missionary the openness of the heart is a source of joy since it is more blessed to give than to receive quoting acts 20 verse 35 from again from evangelii gaudium our greatest vocation is to love god and love our neighbor so let's use this grace-filled time to reach out to our neighbors in charity especially the lonely and the isolated to bear witness to jesus and his love for them you know father doug in his weekly column as he has sent out a an exhortation to for volunteers to help with our saint vincent the paul ministry reaching even beyond the limits of the territorial limits of the cathedral here helping the the needy so we encourage people to participate in that very important ministry the psalmist tells us that the righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in lebanon they are planted in the house of the lord they flourish in the courts of our god in old age they still produce fruit they are always green and full of sap you know far from being empty gestures the practices we take on during lent if we engage ourselves seriously and with a heart wide open to jesus and all he wants to do in our lives will give us the strength we need to withstand even the most tumultuous storms of life saint paul tells us in the second reading the sting of death is sin and the power of sin is the law but thanks be to god who gives us the victory through our lord jesus christ if the past two years have shown us anything it's that we do not flourish when we plant ourselves in the world it's only when we're planted firmly in christ that we have any hope of facing our present circumstances or to offer real hope to others by heeding saint paul's advice to be quote steadfast immovable always excelling in the work of the lord we truly come to know that in the lord our labor is not in vain our interior conversion is deeply important not only for ourselves but also for the spread of the gospel we hear jesus say in the gospel no good tree bears bad fruit nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit for each tree is known by its own fruit the good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks holiness and and mission are two sides of the same coin if we're to be effective missionary disciples we need to grow close to jesus becoming more like him so let's return to jesus with new vigor and purpose especially in this season of lent growing closer to him in our acts of penance so as to experience the fullness of joy he promises may we rid ourselves of all that prevents us from living a truly fulfilled life and give god permission to move in our hearts drawing us ever closer to himself and the new life he has won for us through his resurrection

Channel: Diocese of Saint John

Views: 114

Keywords:

Id: vODkBxL0sO0

Length: 13min 43sec (823 seconds)

Published: Sun Feb 27 2022