Every year the Bible Study group from my parish and our mission, St. Michael's in Bush, LA holds a one day retreat during Lent. This year I have been invited to talk about forgiveness and miracles based on two chapters from the book Be of Good Heart by Joseph McSorley.
Below is my presentation and I hope to publish others from the retreat in the next few days:
Retreat presentation March 28, 2009
Please stand and join me as we pray, Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Please be seated.
Quite a bit of pressure wouldn’t you say; letting the rookie deacon bring the retreat full circle? Yet, here I am; right where God wants me to be at this moment, in this place. And the same is true for each of us here today.
I still have a hard time saying Deacon Mike. Since December 13, 2008, that is who I am. Most of you know that I serve at St. Jane’s/ St. Michael’s but you may not know that I also have been assigned to Rayburn Prison, up the road in Angie. I love my assignments and thank God for the trust placed in me to minister to my home parish and the men at Rayburn.
My talk this afternoon is in two parts; forgiveness and miracles. What a graced moment to discuss forgiveness as we approach the 5th week of Lent.
Forgiveness calls to mind some names; Debbie Morris, Immaculee Ilibagiza, Norma McCorvey, Pope John Paul II.
Debbie Morris was a teenager spending a quiet night on the riverfront in Madisonville with her boyfriend. In one fleeting moment, her life would change forever. A gun placed to her head, she and her boyfriend came face to face with Robert Willie, a convicted killer, better known as the real “dead man walking”. Debbie and her boyfriend were kidnapped, he was shot, she was brutally raped. After quite some time, she was freed near her home with Mark left for dead in Alabama. Eventually, Willie was captured and would be convicted again of a horrible crime. He eventually had a date with death row. Enter Sister Helen Prejean, who ministered to him, to help him try to forgive himself and ask for God’s mercy.
Meanwhile, Debbie continues to deal with her emotions, raw, angry and now confused at the attention Willie and Sr. Helen are getting. In her desire to find peace, she confronted Sr. Helen and to her amazement found compassion, understanding and peace. Soon, Debbie was on the way to internal peace, because she learned to forgive the dead man walking; the title of her book released in 1998.
Immaculee Ilibagiza is a beautiful young college student in Rwanda when a horrible civil war broke out. Simply because she was a Tutsi and not a Hutu, her life was in danger. Forced to take refuge in a pastor’s tiny bathroom with seven other women for 91 days, her family was brutally murdered, five victims among the more than one million murdered in a war of hate. Throughout her long ordeal, Immaculee often prayed for her enemies and is convinced that she was spared, in part, because she offered forgiveness and asked God to soften the hearts of crazed killers. Her book, Left to Tell, is a riveting story of her nightmare but also of great forgiveness and mercy.
Norma McCorvey is now, one of the most pro-life advocates in America. She works tirelessly for crisis pregnancy centers. Her ministry is called Roe No More. She used to be known as Jane Roe, the famous Roe in Roe v. Wade. For Norma, forgiveness was all about forgiving herself. She had to make peace with herself, with God. She asked for forgiveness for all those innocent babies who died under the title of Roe v. Wade. Her total conversion is testimony to the depth and breadth of God’s mercy.
In 1981, Pope John Paul II was shot while preparing for his weekly papal audience. We all know the story and thank God that his life was sparred and we experienced the guidance of a saint who served for nearly 27 years. In a remarkable example of forgiveness, John Paul went to the prison where his would be assassin was serving time. John Paul met with, prayed with and forgave Mehmet Al Agca.
We all have within us the power to forgive because we all have been forgiven. From the very cross on which he hung, Our Lord said, “forgive them Father, they no not what they are doing.” Luke 23:34. And these words of forgiveness would be repeated by St. Stephen, the first deacon of the church, as he was being stoned for his public testimony, his witness for Christ. He said, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” Acts 7:60.
Forgiveness is at the core of the Gospel message. It is taught to us in parables and stories throughout Scripture. It usually is a two part process: we must ask for forgiveness from God; we must forgive others. That is why we started this presentation with the Our Father. Jesus clearly teaches that we must forgive to receive forgiveness.
Let’s visit the story of the unforgiving servant from the Gospel of Matthew 18: 21-35. Here we have Jesus telling Peter not to forgive seven times but seventy-seven times; a number in that day that really means as often as always. Then he tells the story of two servants, one who receives forgiveness then fails to forgive another.
In my homily last week, I quoted several Scripture scholars when I said Christ died for us; a debt he did not owe because we owe a debt we can not repay. But God does indeed offer forgiveness. Likewise, we too must forgive. Remember, in the 7th chapter of Matthew we hear, “for as you judge so will you be judged, for the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you”. Matthew 7:2. We all can acknowlwedge that this is a hard lesson to learn. And a hard lesson to put into practice, especially with those we are around most often; our spouse, children, neighbors, co-workers. The key is formation; the formation of a loving, patient heart; the heart of Jesus.
What a great gift then we have in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Just last Saturday, I had the opportunity to serve at Mass with Archbishop Philip Hannan; soon to turn 96 years young. In his homily, Archbishop spoke about the blessing, the grace we have in our Catholic faith in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Every time we go to confession, sincerely confess our sins, embrace the penance we are asked to do and then we hear these words: “may God give you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” we have assurance from God that our sins have been forgiven. We are clean, we are whole. These are words of hope, of love and of mercy; sweet to the ear and life-saving to the soul.
For it is God who forgives sin and it is Jesus who left us the formula; who sacramentalized reconciliation. On the evening of His resurrection, Jesus breathed on the Apostles and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them; whose sins you retain are retained.” John 20:22. Surely, Jesus did not mean for this sacrament of forgiveness to die with these 11 men who he breathed on. The act of forgiveness continues with bishops, the successors of the Apostles and their help mates, priests. For we read in James, “is anyone among you sick? They should summon the presbyters (priests) of the church and they should pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord, and the prayer of faith will save the sick person and the Lord will raise him up.” James 5:13-15. Now we may recognize more the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick here. And true that is. But listen to the next few lines, “if he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven.” This is why both reconciliation and anointing of the sick is reserved to a priest; scripture says so. In James it goes on to say, “Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another.” James 5:16.
Confession is so necessary; so vital to our eternal health; our eternal life. It is a Sacrament misunderstood and sadly, falling into disuse even among practicing Catholics. Properly understood and aware of the grace, the mercy dispensed in Reconciliation, it is beautiful; awesome! Recently, we had a parish retreat with Deacon Glenn Harmon. On the night with Reconciliation, dozens and dozens of people went to confession. Some of the priests were blown away as Catholics returned to the sacrament that night after 5, 10, 20 years. Just this past Wednesday, Fr. Robert went with me to Rayburn and heard the confession of a man who had not been in 10 years.
I still never forget my first Ash Wednesday inside Rayburn, still in formation to be a deacon; my assignment was to bring ashes to anyone in the infirmary. I spoke of this incident in my very first homily a few months ago. There was an inmate, an older man, in a wheelchair, recovering from some type of surgery that scarred him across the length of his stomach. Beside that, he was rock solid, hardened, tough, tattooed. He definitely wanted ashes and I applied them using the formula, “turn and away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel.” At the words, turn away from sin, he heaved forward, let out a sigh and began to cry huge tears. No words were necessary; he experienced God’s mercy.
Perhaps we here today need reconciliation with the Father, with others, maybe even with ourselves. Avail yourself of this awesome Sacrament; to the mercy and loving forgiveness of God. If you are not reconciled to someone; reach out this Lent and ask for forgiveness. Say “I’m sorry” to someone who needs to hear that. Perhaps you may hear that yourself. And forgive yourself as well. Rest in the peace of God’s mercy and know that He wants you to be healed; in body, mind and spirit.
Forgiveness; it saved a Debbie Morris, Imaculee Ilibagiza, Norma McCorvey; it played a vital role in the spiritual life of Karol Woytila; who forgave time and time again and canonized Sr. Faustina, the apostle of Divine Mercy. And forgiveness is ours for the asking; if we ask for it and give it; generously, freely.
God so desires to show us his mercy. And he reveals his mercy in many ways. One way is through miracles.
We hear many different things described as a miracle. The fact that we had such a strong snow event a few months ago was called a miracle. The victory of the USA Olympic hockey team against the formidable Soviet squad was called the miracle on ice. And we all know that if the Saints ever win the Superbowl, well, that truly would be a miracle!
But these miracles are not what I am talking about. Throughout the history of this life, we have marveled at all of God’s miracles. From the story of Abraham and Sarah, to the parting of the Red Sea, the Jordan River turning back on its’ course, and many, many more, God guided his people wit great miracles. In part, this was to show his great power, but more so, it was to demonstrate his great love. Even at that most important moment in salvation history, when Gabriel announced that Mary would be the mother of Jesus, he told her of the pregnancy of her cousin Elizabeth. Believed to be barren, this was considered a miracle by Elizabeth and Zechariah kinsmen. But what does the angel tell Mary? He says, “for nothing will be impossible for God.” Luke 1:37.
When Jesus begins his public ministry, he does so with the miracle of the wine at the wedding feast of Cana. We all know the story and perhaps because of our familiarity of this miracle, we miss the true miracle. Yes, Jesus did change water into wine after Mary is heard saying, “do whatever he tells you”. John 2:5. The real miracle for all of us is the depth of Christ love for us, the gift of his presence, the choice to do his will, not our own. Embraced properly, this, and all of his miracles lead us to joy, truth and eternal life.
Most of the physical healing miracles in the Gospels, on first read, seem to focus on the temporal, the external. We read and rejoice with the man born blind, the woman with a hemorrhage, the deaf mute, the centurion’s servant, Jarius’ daughter, Peter’s mother-in-law, even Lazarus raised from the dead. Indeed, a physical healing takes place, a temporal result is achieved. Is that all there is to the miracles of Jesus? Is that what Jesus wanted to accomplish in performing such powerful and merciful healings?
Before we explore this answer, let me share a personal story; one I have shared before; the story of Angela Boudreaux and Fr. Francis Xavier Seelos. For it is a story I know well, one that I recall from my youth; one that, as I grew older, continued to have a profound impact on my life. Angela was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer in 1968, a mother of four young children, told she had weeks to live. Go home Angela and get your affairs in order. She already had a devotion to Fr. Seelos and she asked her husband Melvin to take her to his grave at St. Mary’s Assumption Church in New Orleans. Angela asked Seelos to intercede and she prayed for a miracle. Yes, if it be God’s will, heal me physically so I may raise my four children, but heal me spiritually, completely so I may share eternal life with you.
Angela lived more than two weeks, more than two years and continued to feel better until her gall bladder required removal. Doctors were looking forward to an opportunity to look at her liver while she was under anesthesia. To their amazement, the liver was healthy, free from all disease, all cancer. Her cause became the approved miracle that allowed Rome, under Pope John Paul II, to declare Seelos a blessed.
But as I came to know personally, Angela’s real healing was her 30 + year commitment to God’s work, to spreading the Gospel, to being a shining, happy example for all to emulate, for doing God’s will.
Yes, we know that God uses his dear friends, the saints, sometimes as intercessors for miracles. And I’m not just talking about miracles that allow the lame to walk, the blind to see or someone like Angela Boudreaux to be cured of cancer. I’m talking about the powerful miracle of spiritual illumination.
The greatness of God’s miracles is that they touch and heal the soul. Any physical healing, any temporal blessing is good, and serves as a powerful witness to those who need reassurance or strength. But we realize that these physical healings are minor compared to the spiritual gifts that come from miracles. But what if we never have experienced a physical miracle, does that mean a spiritual miracle perhaps has past us by? Of course not! When we examine the effects of following Christ in our lives and we realize the many gift’s Christ as bestowed on us, we come to understand the gracious dealings God as with us daily from our soul that our Savior redeemed.
We forget the miracle of the seemingly ordinary, the everyday, all that we may take for granted. The fact that we “live and move and have our being”; Acts 17:28, is in itself a miracle. We breathe in and we breathe out; every breath we take is a miracle. Every beat of our heart is a miracle. Our friends are a miracle. To grow old with someone is a miracle. To overcome difficulty is a miracle. To wake up everyday is a miracle. We are a miracle; life is a miracle.
Maybe that is why God challenges us to protect life, to defend life, to choose life.
I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live. Exodus 30:19.
So today, ask for God’s mercy and forgiveness; and forgive others; seek reconciliation with each other and the Father. Rest in His Divine Mercy.
And learn to appreciate all of God’s miracles; big and small; for they are a gift from God; a gift he bestows on each of us.
Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever! Heb 13:8.
Presented by Deacon Mike
March 28, 2009 at Bush, LA
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