“This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
Mk 1:15
The season of Lent has begun. Having been reminded of the need to repent of our sins, and marked with ashes on our foreheads, we enter into six weeks of penitence and prayer; preparing for the celebration of our redemption at Easter. As the snow seems to keep piling up endlessly, the bitter cold sets in (as I write this the temperature in Laconia seems to be plummeting by the minute), the joyful notes of "Gloria in excelsis Deo" and "Alleliuas" no longer resound in our churches, the flowers have been taken away, and violet seems to cover everything, it is easy to become gloomy and depressed. But Lent is not a time of gloom and doom; it is a time of JOYFUL anticipation. While we now walk with our Lord in his passion and crucifixion, we look forward to his resurrection in glory at Easter.
Lest we be tempted to gloom and depression the Church in her wisdom has given us the Gospel for Ash Wednesday to remind us of how we are to give alms, to pray, and to fast.
MT 6:1-6, 16-18 reads:
Lest we be tempted to gloom and depression the Church in her wisdom has given us the Gospel for Ash Wednesday to remind us of how we are to give alms, to pray, and to fast.
MT 6:1-6, 16-18 reads:
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Take care not to perform righteous deeds
in order that people may see them;
otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father.
When you give alms,
do not blow a trumpet before you,
as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets
to win the praise of others.
Amen, I say to you,
they have received their reward.
But when you give alms,
do not let your left hand know what your right is doing,
so that your almsgiving may be secret.
And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
“When you pray,
do not be like the hypocrites,
who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners
so that others may see them.
Amen, I say to you,
they have received their reward.
But when you pray, go to your inner room,
close the door, and pray to your Father in secret.
And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
“When you fast,
do not look gloomy like the hypocrites.
They neglect their appearance,
so that they may appear to others to be fasting.
Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.
But when you fast,
anoint your head and wash your face,
so that you may not appear to be fasting,
except to your Father who is hidden.
And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.”
Having now celebrated the First Sunday of Lent our penitential Lenten observance is in full swing. Normally I would post the audio of my homily, but alas technology has failed me, as for some reason my iPhone stopped recording after about 7 seconds into reading the Gospel. So instead of the audio of my homily, I present to you the text of my homily. Maybe this is a little more penitential—it is for me since I had to actually type it up today, as I don't normally preach from a full text.
Homily: The First Sunday of Lent
| Two years ago, while I was still in the Seminary, I was assigned to the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Baltimore. One of my responsibilities as a seminarian was to serve Mass at the Cathedral. On Ash Wednesday of that year I had decided that I was going to fast from all food (and drink only water), on Wednesdays and Fridays of Lent. I was hardcore, so I thought, "I am all that is man. Who needs food anyways?" That evening at 7:00 I went to the Cathedral to serve Mass for Archbishop Lori. Whenever the Archbishop of Baltimore celebrates Mass at the Cathedral a special processional cross is used—a HUGE, 35+ pound, 10 foot-tall, gold, enamel, and jewel encrusted monster of a cross. Since I was the only server over the age of twelve, and thus capable of carrying the thing, I, of course, was given the task. We started processing down the incredibly long aisle of the church, and at first I was doing fine. As I neared the sanctuary however, I began to feel a little woozy and weak in the knees. So I sped up. Finally I made it up the countless steps into the sanctuary and back to the sacristy without passing out—thank God! Fortunately Thad, the sacristan, had some Fig Newtons in his desk, so I ate a few and was fine. The moral of this story: 1) Don't be too ambitious in your Lenten penance; be realistic. And 2) Don't be a semi-pelagian. |  "Don't mind me, I got this." |
What is Pelagianism?
Pelagianism is a late 4th Century heresy that was propagated by the Celtic monk, Pelagius who lived in North Africa. He taught that God’s grace was NOT necessary for salvation since human nature was not TRULY corrupted by sin. Thus human weakness was due to the environment in which one lived, or to bad example. This meant that God’s favor was to be obtained by moral rigorism and extreme ascetic practice alone—outside of God’s grace. This was in direct opposition to St. Augustine, his contemporary, who taught of the supremacy of God’s grace over free-will.
Pelagianism has often reared its ugly head since being condemned at the Councils of Carthage in 418 AD, and Ephesus in 431 AD, but usually in its less obvious form, semi-pelagianism. Semi-pelagianism basically teaches that God meets us half-way. I take a step toward him, and he takes a step toward me. While that seems harmless enough, and kind of appealing (as heresies often are), it is still wrong. St. Paul says, “It is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” (Phil 2:13) The desire for holiness--to draw close to God--is already a result of God’s work in our life
Pelagianism is a late 4th Century heresy that was propagated by the Celtic monk, Pelagius who lived in North Africa. He taught that God’s grace was NOT necessary for salvation since human nature was not TRULY corrupted by sin. Thus human weakness was due to the environment in which one lived, or to bad example. This meant that God’s favor was to be obtained by moral rigorism and extreme ascetic practice alone—outside of God’s grace. This was in direct opposition to St. Augustine, his contemporary, who taught of the supremacy of God’s grace over free-will.
Pelagianism has often reared its ugly head since being condemned at the Councils of Carthage in 418 AD, and Ephesus in 431 AD, but usually in its less obvious form, semi-pelagianism. Semi-pelagianism basically teaches that God meets us half-way. I take a step toward him, and he takes a step toward me. While that seems harmless enough, and kind of appealing (as heresies often are), it is still wrong. St. Paul says, “It is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” (Phil 2:13) The desire for holiness--to draw close to God--is already a result of God’s work in our life
| Sometimes Lent turns us into semi-pelagians (take my attempt at fasting as an example). We become ambitious, prideful, gung-ho and self-reliant. We can get a self-help, can-do kind of attitude, strive too hard, and forget that we must depend on God's grace. The other extreme is indifferentism. This is a “whatever” kind of attitude. We might think, "why bother" or "its not worth it." The common expression today—one that really bugs me—is "meh." Unfortunately this is most of the world. |  |
 | “The Kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe in the gospel.” Lent is all about repentance; acknowledging our sins (something we all must do), turning away from them, and being faithful to the Gospel. Its not just about “giving up something” like chocolate, dessert, alcohol etc... Yes, penance implies: fasting, prayer, and almsgiving, all of which are essential to living a Christian life. But we don't do these things for their own sake. We don't fast to lose weight; we don't pray to change God's mind; and we don't give alms to curry favor with God (to buy our way to heaven). We do these things to empty ourselves of our JUNK so that we can be filled with God. What junk do we need to clear out? There’s a lot, certainly in my life, but here are two things that I think we need to turn away from this Lent: 1) neo-pelagianism and 2) indifferentism. |
Pelagiansim, semi-pelagianism, neo-pelagianism?—thats a mouthful. Neo-pelagianism is just a modern form of the same old heresy. Its basically the belief that I am justified by own actions. We see it in the very common pop-religious belief that niceness ("I'm a nice guy"), or being "a good person" somehow can guarantee admission to heaven. This erroneous belief leads to a culture of minimalism. I'll just punch the card, check the box, do the bare minimum I need to do in order to slide in. The result of this attitude is an inability to know the sheer audacity of God’s mercy. A person who believes this can’t grasp fully the "Good News" of salvation, and thus can’t know or communicate the JOY of the Christian life. The proclamation of the "Good News", the Gospel, has to be part of EVERYTHING we do. Proclamation is not just about teaching WHAT Jesus did, or about him, but WHO Jesus is, and actually introducing people to him. Jesus is a person, not an idea.
There is a great word in Greek for this kind of proclamation; Kerygma. Kerygma is used nine times in the New Testament. Pope St. John Paul II defined it as “the initial ardent proclamation by which a person is one day overwhelmed and brought to the decision to entrust himself to Jesus Christ by faith.” (Catechesi Tradendae) In other words, kerygma is preaching an encounter with Jesus Christ. Pope St. John Paul II also said in “Mission of the Redeemer” that, “a renewed kerygmatic proclamation of Jesus Christ crucified and risen has a power and a special anointing which comes from the Holy Spirit and which cannot be minimized or overlooked in the missionary enterprise.”
There is a great word in Greek for this kind of proclamation; Kerygma. Kerygma is used nine times in the New Testament. Pope St. John Paul II defined it as “the initial ardent proclamation by which a person is one day overwhelmed and brought to the decision to entrust himself to Jesus Christ by faith.” (Catechesi Tradendae) In other words, kerygma is preaching an encounter with Jesus Christ. Pope St. John Paul II also said in “Mission of the Redeemer” that, “a renewed kerygmatic proclamation of Jesus Christ crucified and risen has a power and a special anointing which comes from the Holy Spirit and which cannot be minimized or overlooked in the missionary enterprise.”
We are all called to be missionary disciples. Let us then turn away from a dead, lifeless, joyless faith, and JOYFULLY preach the Gospel. In his interview with America magazine, Pope Francis was asked the question, “Who is Jorge Mario Bergoglio?” His answer was simply, “I am a sinner whom the Lord has looked upon.” This is his fundamental identity, and ours as well. We are all sinners, but the Lord has looked upon us, and has shown us mercy—he has made us his children. Let us then repent of neo-pelagianism.
| Indifferentism—the "meh" attitude--also leads us to withdraw into ourselves. It is a selfishness that leads me to focus on myself and not on others. However, indifferentism isn't limited to just the individual. The Church, parishes, communities can all become self-referential and inwardly focused. This can be well intentioned, but we must be careful. It is good and important to minister to one another in our community, but we can't leave it at that. We have to go out beyond ourselves, our parish, our community, as missionaries. Lenten penance is about personal holiness, but it is also about being a better disciple, a better missionary. In his Lenten Message for 2015, Pope Francis reminds us that in order to receive what God gives us and for it to bear abundant fruit, we have to press beyond ourselves, and even beyond the visible Church—to the peripheries, “by uniting ourselves in prayer with the Church in heaven." |  "Meh." |
"The prayers of the Church on earth establish a communion of mutual service and goodness which reaches up into the sight of God. Together with the saints who have found their fulfillment in God, we form part of that communion in which indifference is conquered by love. The Church in heaven is not triumphant because she has turned her back on the sufferings of the world and rejoices in splendid isolation. Rather, the saints already joyfully contemplate the fact that, through Jesus’ death and resurrection, they have triumphed once and for all over indifference, hardness of heart and hatred.” (Lenten Message, Pope Francis, 2015)
He also tells us:
"Every Christian community is called to go out of itself and to be engaged in the life of the greater society of which it is a part, especially with the poor and those who are far away. The Church is missionary by her very nature; she is not self-enclosed but sent out to every nation and people.”
The Ark of Noah served as a refuge for the peace and order of creation, preserved so that the light contained within could re-enter the world after the flood. This prefigures the Church, which bears the light of Christ. After the storm had subsided and the flood was over Noah opened the windows and doors of the Ark in order to let that light out into the world. Do we not do the same each time we come together for Mass? The priest says, "Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life," or something similar. In Latin its, "Ite missa est"—"Go you are sent." The light of Christ in the Church is meant to flood the world and transform it. Let us then repent of self-referential indifferentism, and be the missionary disciples we are called to be.
He also tells us:
"Every Christian community is called to go out of itself and to be engaged in the life of the greater society of which it is a part, especially with the poor and those who are far away. The Church is missionary by her very nature; she is not self-enclosed but sent out to every nation and people.”
The Ark of Noah served as a refuge for the peace and order of creation, preserved so that the light contained within could re-enter the world after the flood. This prefigures the Church, which bears the light of Christ. After the storm had subsided and the flood was over Noah opened the windows and doors of the Ark in order to let that light out into the world. Do we not do the same each time we come together for Mass? The priest says, "Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life," or something similar. In Latin its, "Ite missa est"—"Go you are sent." The light of Christ in the Church is meant to flood the world and transform it. Let us then repent of self-referential indifferentism, and be the missionary disciples we are called to be.
Pope Francis is calling on us to engage in a formation of the heart this Lent. Turning away from the self-sufficiency of neo-pelagianism and the sin of indifferentism means we have to have strong yet merciful hearts—closed to the evil one, yet open to God. I think it is appropriate to end with Pope Francis' very own conclusion of his lenten message:
"During this Lent, then, brothers and sisters, let us all ask the Lord: “Fac cor nostrum secundum cor tuum”: Make our hearts like yours (Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus). In this way we will receive a heart which is firm and merciful, attentive and generous, a heart which is not closed, indifferent or prey to the globalization of indifference."
Have a blessed and fruitful Lent!
- Fr. Jeff
p.s. If you have some questions about Lent, what to do for penance, etc... pop over to our Lenten resource page.
"During this Lent, then, brothers and sisters, let us all ask the Lord: “Fac cor nostrum secundum cor tuum”: Make our hearts like yours (Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus). In this way we will receive a heart which is firm and merciful, attentive and generous, a heart which is not closed, indifferent or prey to the globalization of indifference."
Have a blessed and fruitful Lent!
- Fr. Jeff
p.s. If you have some questions about Lent, what to do for penance, etc... pop over to our Lenten resource page.
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