Parish Bulletin for Sunday, January 7, 2007

Feast of the Epiphany

"From Night to Day"

Recently, I read a small book with a powerful impact. The book was written by Nobel Peace Prize winning author Elie Wiesel and was written in 1958. He described time spent in Nazi concentration camps as night, a night spent that had turned his life into one long night, seven times sealed. During that endless night, he saw his mother, a beloved little sister, and most of his family disappear into a furnace fuelled by the hatred and violence of living creatures. He witnessed his father's slow and inexorable journey into daily martyrdom and finally into death. He experienced within himself the loss of faith and a growing hatred for God who seemed not to see, not to hear, not to care.

Finally, his camp was liberated and Wiesel emerged from what he called the Kingdom of Night into the freedom of day. When he began again to see, to feel and to think, he vowed to confront the world that had remained silent and oblivious to the night that had swallowed up more than six million vessels of light. When he accepted the 1986 Peace Prize, Wiesel said, "I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor. Silence encourages the tormentor." Wiesel continues to spend his efforts in uncovering those pockets of night that exist all over our world, wherever human rights are violated, wherever there are victims of racism, hunger, poverty, and persecution.

This feast celebrates the night ending light. All three readings lead us, along with the Wise Men, to pay homage to the light of the world, Jesus Christ. Each one of us is invited to be that one person who can do something, however small, to dispel something of the night that enshrouds another. Isaiah's vision chases away Israel's night in terms of a great parade of nations coming to bask in the light of Jerusalem, made glorious by the salvific presence of God. The star in Matthew's Gospel leads the astrologers from the east into homage at the manger. What we hear today is a challenge – a challenge to us just as it has been a challenge throughout our faith history.

Where there is hunger and thirst in our world, darkness prevails; but our generous giving and sharing and serving the hungry poor can dispel that darkness. Where there is loneliness, darkness rules, but a caring word, visit, a phone call, a letter, an email, a text message can replace that pall of darkness with the warm light of caring and compassion. Where hearts hold grudges, swallow apologies, and withhold forgiveness, darkness reigns; but, when hands reach out in humble reconciliation, a light can begin to grow and wounds can begin to heal. Where voices are given over to gossip, lying, backbiting, slander, and bitter, angry words, a darkness can grow that will eventually succeed in alienating individuals and nations. Only when our words are rooted in and inspired by the living word of God will the light of understanding and cooperation begin to unite us, with all of our differences and distinctions. Where violence, war and hatred are sought as solutions for this world's problems, a darkness is ushered in that only peacemakers and seekers of justice can illuminate.

When the differences among us become barriers that separate, darkness follows. Aware that those who embrace Christ the light of the world may no longer allow such barriers to alienate them, the Ephesians author today challenges all believers to allow the mysteries of God to be revealed within them. Those mysteries preclude bias, prejudice, racism, and segregation of every kind; those mysteries invite and inspire communion, mutual respect, acceptance and love.

TUESDAY, Jan. 9

Weekday

8:30 a.m. - † Antonia Fung

Requested by Dr. Joseph Fung

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 10

Weekday

8:30 a.m. - † Amelia Couvinha

Requested by Helena Sousa

THURSDAY, Jan. 11

Weekday

8:30 a.m. - † Mr. E. Kerr

Requested by Paula J. Ho

FRIDAY, Jan. 12

St. Marguerite Bourgeoys

8:30 a.m. - † Doug and Peter Lancefield

Requested by family

Parish Bulletin for Sunday, January 14, 2007

SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

"The Wedding Feast at Cana"

I think it may surprise some of us to associate this Gospel reading with the Feast we celebrated last Sunday, the solemnity of the Epiphany. Further, last Sunday actually started a week of epiphanies.

On Monday of last week, our liturgical calendar marked the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. In our tradition, Epiphany has celebrated three major revelations of Christ's divinity. The first, last Sunday, was the revelation to the Gentiles, the nations of the world, represented by the wise men from the East. The second, celebrated last Monday, was the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist, an event that revealed to Jesus what his mission would be and revealed him as the Beloved Son of the Father. The third, our Gospel this Sunday, was the miracle of changing water into wine at the wedding feast of Cana, the first miracle that Jesus performed and a sign of his identity as the chosen one of God.

So, in a week, we have celebrated all the events traditionally associated with Epiphany.

And yet, we still have trouble with Cana. For some, this is a story about a mother and her son. For others, this is a story about poor planning and inferior wine. This Gospel is also considered one of the choices to proclaim during the marriage rite and is a favourite pick for those who choose their readings.

Nice gesture, but what does this story mean? For John, the Gospel writer par excellence, this is a story about signs; the first of seven signs revealing the person and ministry of Jesus challenging those who witness it to faith and to a closer following of Jesus. Through the sign at Cana, Jesus is revealed as the source of a new teaching and a new means of access to God. He is the new wine and his teaching brings all of us into new relationship with the living God. Today, we are invited into relationship. Wine for the feast is in short supply but water for ritual purification is at hand.

Into the midst of this quandary, the Johannine Jesus has Mary interject: "Do whatever he tells you." Herein lies the invitation and the challenge. To do as Jesus says names you, names me: "Disciple." Shall I accept this name? Shall we accept in faith, the proposition that purity of mind, heart and spirit shall be found in the new wine of Jesus' teaching? This new wine of Jesus' words and works leads to new life and to God. If I accept this and the name "Disciple", then I also accept that I will do whatever Jesus tells me to do. Disciple - a name, a choice, a profession of faith and belonging, a way of life. No wonder the challenge of Cana has been misunderstood.

This particular Gospel has captured the Christian imagination for centuries. Mary, whose name is never mentioned in John, is addressed as "Woman" just as she is at the death of Jesus. Perhaps she stands as the new Eve for all women, or for all humanity, or for Judaism. She recognizes people's need at this wedding, realizes that Jesus can abundantly fill the need, intervenes, and counsels openness to whatever he does. Jesus declares his independence of his roots by rebuffing her initially; he declares that the 'hour' has not come- and then he proceeds to do what she asks. For John, the transformation of water into wine symbolizes that the New Covenant has supplanted the Jewish tradition.

If we continued to read this particular chapter, we would find that the author explains his premise; Jesus transcends and replaces the Jewish tradition from which he came. The abundance of wine reveals Jesus' glory – he can control nature – he is the visible presence of God. He inspires his disciples to believe. This day, then, we ask for the wisdom to see what it is that Jesus is calling us to be and the grace to 'do whatever he asks.'

TUESDAY, Jan. 16

Weekday

8:30 a.m. - † Gorgena Aprile

Requested by husband and family

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 17

St. Anthony

8:30 a.m. - † Creighton Begy

Requested by Eileen Begy

THURSDAY, Jan. 18

Weekday

8:30 a.m. - † Rose Locicero

Requested by Sarah, Al, grandchildren and great grandchildren

FRIDAY, Jan. 19

Weekday

8:30 a.m. - † Samuel Johns

Requested by wife Dorothy

Parish Bulletin for Sunday, January 21, 2007

THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

It is interesting to note that all three Scripture readings that are proclaimed today share a common setting. We find the people of God gathered together to hear the Word of God proclaimed in their midst. In all three, we find the Word communicating both blessing and challenge. In all three, a response from those present and truly listening is expected.

In the Old Testament reading, the people are assembled at the Water Gate to hear Ezra proclaim God's Word. We are told that men, women, and children who are old enough to understand are hearing the proclamation from the Torah, the book of God's teachings and instructions. Torah was law, the way in which God's people, the Israelites, were to live and the morals that were meant to guide their thoughts, words, and actions. Torah was regarded as the very mind and will of God for humankind. Accepting the word as set before them that day, with all its blessings and challenges, the people responded with one voice. Amen! Amen! Only time would tell whether their words were translated into lives that also spoke, Amen! Amen!

Paul's first letter to the church in Corinth is also proclamation to the people. Imagine that the believers have assembled in one of the several house churches that have formed in the city following Paul's visit to them. A letter from Paul brings with it the wisdom and insights, the praise and the chastisement, the teaching and the preaching of the one who had introduced them to Christ. Gathered together are men, women and children old enough to understand. Each is reminded that he/she is a unique and necessary part of a whole that functions well if each bears mutual respect for all others. All heard the same truth; all received the same blessing and challenge that are a part of this message of faith. Only time would tell whether that message began to live within each member and to guide and govern all their communal interactions.

Today's Lucan Gospel finds Jesus in the synagogue of his hometown, Nazareth. Present are those who came together to pray, to hear God's Word and to listen as it was interpreted for them; present were men, women, and children old enough to understand. From the scroll of Isaiah the prophet, Jesus reads the text that details the job description of the Servant and then claims that job and the Servant's agenda as his own. As time would reveal, Jesus did, indeed, reach out to God's poor with good news. He effected liberty for those long held captive by sin or blindness or shackles of any sort, spiritual or physical. In Jesus, God's grace and favour became flesh and all of humankind was free to see, to believe, to be healed and forgiven.

From Jesus in the synagogue at Nazareth, from Paul's converts at a house church in Corinth, from Ezra and all who came together at the Water Gate, we turn to another setting and another assembly – our own – the community of Holy Spirit, gathered this day, January 21, 2007, around the Word of God. Here we stand, men, women and children old enough to understand. Here, we too, are blessed and challenged by God's Word.

Shall we hear the Word and be reminded that we are uniquely blessed individuals who, by grace, are capable of being bound together as one body, the Body of Christ? Shall we be blessing for one another? Shall we honour and value our differences as God-given? Jesus' vision and ours, Jesus' mandate to all followers of his Word, demands that we strike a path that leads to freedom, healing and grace. Those who dare to follow Jesus will encounter blindness in those who thought they could see and cause others to refuse to see what is before their eyes.

Grace, we are told, is present and available, but seeing will only come when that grace is grasped and humbly appropriated. Because our release from slavery to sin and from our indebtedness to death has been given to each of us in Jesus, we who continue his mission, we who are disciples on the journey, are to draw all others to a similar experience of him. Then, as the Gospel proclaims, will this passage continue to be fulfilled in our hearing. Rejoice and be glad!

TUESDAY, Jan. 23

Weekday

8:30 a.m. - † Emerinciana Soberano

Requested by Maria Soberano

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 24

St. Francis de Sales

8:30 a.m. - † For the Faithful departed

THURSDAY, Jan. 25

Conversion of St. Paul

8:30 a.m. - † Bijan Canda

Requested by Angilina Tolentino and family

FRIDAY, Jan. 26

St.Timothy and St. Titus

8:30 a.m. - † Paula Stark Hanley

Requested by Mr. And Mrs. Mike Prosen

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Did You Know?

Sacrament of The Sick

Our mission as Church is to do what Jesus did. And on nearly every page of the Gospels we read of Jesus' concern for the sick. Healing was essential to the mission of the disciples: "He summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two…They anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them." (Mark 6:7-13)

After Jesus ascended into heaven, the Church continued to be a sacrament of healing: "Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven." (James 5: 14-15)

In the course of time, the focus of the sacrament shifted from healing to forgiveness of sins and the time for receiving the sacrament was delayed to the deathbed when forgiveness of sins would also be the final preparation for heaven. "Over the centuries the Anointing of the Sick was conferred more and more exclusively on those at the point of death. Because of this it received the name – Extreme Unction." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, #1512.)

The Second Vatican Council set out to remedy this situation. Read more next week! A return to our roots!

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Parish Bulletin for Sunday, January 28, 2007

FOURTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

What Does it Mean to Be a Prophet?

To be God's prophet is a thankless job and one that can be downright dangerous. To be God's prophet requires a daring that will speak or write the word of truth to those who would rather lie, dissemble, deny or otherwise ignore the truth. To serve as prophet demands that the servant of God promote justice among the unjust at any cost.

Put another way, to be a prophet in this world can mean to be a party-pooper par excellence. The prophet must be willing to bear an unpopular and often unwanted message to an unwelcoming and unyielding audience at moments and on occasions that are most likely delivered at the worst possible moment!

Jeremiah, whose call is described in today's first reading, was such a prophet. Paul, who celebrates the virtue of love in today's second reading, also served bravely. But the prophet from whom all others take their lead and inspiration is Jesus, featured in today's Gospel reading.

Within moments of inaugurating his public ministry by reading from an Isaian text that he then embraced as his own prophetic agenda, Jesus receives mixed reviews. Some are impressed and marvel at his words; others claim a familiarity that diminishes Jesus in their eyes. Suddenly, the situation escalates as indignation quickly turns to hostility. His own people try to kill him in order to silence him, just as so many prophets had been silenced in the past.

Given the dangers inherent in the job, why would anyone in their right mind ever accept such a calling? Yet, if we are to read today's texts with the openness and responsiveness they invite, each of us must come to the realization that, dangers and trials or not, we too are called to be God's voice, God's prophets in our world. Along with Jesus, Paul, Jeremiah and so many other voices, our voice must speak God's truth, God's justice and God's goodness to all those whom God would have us serve as beloved brothers and sisters. But where shall we find the courage or even the desire to speak? To serve? To love?

Perhaps we need to remember that we do not have to struggle to find all the answers to our challenges and our problems. Our part is to surrender our will and ourselves to God in prayer; to keep our eyes fixed on God, to stand still and listen to God; to choose not to be fearful, discouraged or defeated; to show up and see what God will do. Until such time as our service of God and the Word rouses the hackles of others who would reject us and our message, we, like Jesus, keep our eyes fixed upon God, from whom comes our help and our salvation.

— Rev. Thomas G. Moore

TUESDAY, Jan. 30

Weekday

8:30 a.m. – Thanksgiving

Requested by Helena Sousa

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 31

St. John Bosco

8:30 a.m. – Thanksgiving

Requested by Helena Sousa

THURSDAY, Feb. 1

Weekday

8:30 a.m. - † Louis Toocilias

Requested by Vivian John

FRIDAY, Feb. 2

Presentation of the Lord

8:30 a.m. - † Amelia Couvinha

Requested by Helena Sousa

Did You Know?

The Sacrament of the Sick …Continued

Sacrament of healing!

Although the sacrament of the sick began as a ritual of healing, over time the emphasis shifted to the forgiveness of sins on the deathbed, when such forgiveness would be the final preparation for heaven. The Second Vatican Council returned the original meaning of the sacrament by emphasizing that it is not only for those who are at the point of death, but for anyone who is seriously ill. It also helped move the Anointing away from a private service toward a community-based one.

The Anointing of the Sick is a different kind of healing than a chemical placed into our body or a surgical removal of diseased tissue. Sacraments are acts of faith; they grace the whole person-body, soul and spirit. The blessing over the oil for anointing asks God to: "Send the power of your Holy Spirit, the Consoler, into this precious oil. Make this oil a remedy for all who are anointed with it; heal them in body, in soul and in spirit, and deliver them from every affliction." (Pastoral Care of the Sick, #123)

A person does not have to wait until illness is so grave that he or she is in the hospital to celebrate this sacrament. It is preferable to celebrate in the context of family and parish community even before going to the hospital. The sick person has a better opportunity to appreciate the prayers and symbols of the rite.

In this sacrament we pray that the sick be healed in body, in soul and in spirit. God alone knows what kind of healing the sick need most: that a wound be healed; that a fear turn to confidence; that loneliness be embraced by the support of a praying community; that confusion in the face of all the whys – why me, why suffering, why now - turn to insight.

The Sacrament of the Sick does not remove the mystery of human suffering. Yet its celebration gives us a window into the mystery of a loving God. Our loving God raises up the crucified Son to display his victorious wounds, sitting triumphant at the Father's right hand.

NEXT WEEK: The Hows and Whens…