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homilies
on the liturgy of the Sundays and feasts
by charles m. mangan
Jesus heals
5th Sunday of the Year—February 6
“B” Readings: Job 7:1-4. 6-7 • 1 Cor. 9:16-19. 22-23 • Mark 1:29-39
Title: The Sacrament of the Sick
Purpose: to show (1) the need for this sacrament when in danger of
death, either remotely or proximately; (2) how and when to celebrate this Sacrament
oneself and help others receive it.
Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Son of Mary. While on earth, he preached the Good News to the poor; he taught his listeners about his Father. The Master is also remembered for the numerous miracles he worked. In short, the Lord healed.
We hear today about the healing of Simon Peter’s mother-in-law, who was burdened with a fever. Jesus grasped her hand and helped her to her feet. The fever had gone. Now, this woman began to “wait” on Jesus and his Apostles.
Showing compassion to the sick was a significant part of Jesus’ public ministry. He spent much time in attending to the sick and their needs. The Evangelists relate one miraculous healing after another.
We would be in error if we concluded that Jesus—now with his Father and the Holy Spirit in Heaven—no longer has any time for the suffering, whether in body, mind or spirit. The Ascension of Jesus into Paradise did not signal the end of his involvement with the sick. Rather, Christ continues to care for those who carry the heavy cross. How he desires to heal those who are ill, much as he did when he walked the dusty trails of Palestine nearly two thousand years ago!
Jesus instituted the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick, one of the Seven Sacraments, to carry on his good work of healing. This Sacrament, sadly, is generally only thought of when one has need of it. A reflection on this Sacrament and its effects is in order.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church identifies the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick as one of the two “Sacraments of Healing,” the other being the Sacrament of Penance. Confession effects the healing of the soul through the forgiveness of sins, while the Anointing brings about the healing of both body and soul: not only are sins forgiven but also the body is healed of its malady, if this be the Lord’s will in a particular instance.
The benefits of this Sacrament are plenty. Here are just a few. The first is that the recipient receives abundant graces to be strong, peaceful and courageous when things are difficult, especially during illness. So often the temptation to doubt God’s concern and sheer weariness can overcome those who are ill. The Sacrament of the Anointing bestows a singular grace on the sick in body, mind and soul.
The second benefit is a fresh, powerful union with the suffering Christ. Jesus came to earth to save us from our sins. Meanwhile, he showed us how to suffer. Much of the suffering in our world today is useless because it isn’t joined to the suffering of Christ on Calvary. Imagine the result if each person were to lift his suffering to the outstretched arms of the Savior! Then, all the anguish which is experienced would not be merely tolerated but would be embraced as the sure way to proceed along the path to everlasting life.
The third benefit is an opportunity to assist the Church in her pilgrimage to the Father. What does this mean? Our suffering received and accepted in the Name of Christ is valuable for the universal Church. We contribute, as the Catechism asserts, “to the sanctification of the Church and to the good of all men for whom the Church suffers and offers herself through Christ to God the Father” (#1522).
The fourth benefit is the preparation for our passing from earth and our “journey” to the next world. We know that the passage from this temporary existence to the “new” creation is challenging. “This last anointing fortifies the end of our earthly life like a solid rampart for the final struggles before entering the Father’s house” (#1523).
One who is “in danger of death from sickness or old age” (#1514) may—and should—receive this Sacrament. If the sick person is not able to contact the priest, a family member or friend should do so.
We should not forget that the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick is just one element in the Church’s preparation for the Particular Judgment. Along with this Sacrament, the Church also offers Viaticum—the Holy Eucharist for the final time. Furthermore, the Apostolic Blessing (sometimes called the Apostolic Pardon) gives the disposed person the forgiveness of punishment due his sins.
Job had a pessimistic view of life; he was more than a little skeptical of an afterlife. We, on the other hand, are believing and practicing Catholics and Christians who are hopeful in and trustful of the Lord’s overwhelming mercy, especially to the weak. We acknowledge that Jesus will accompany his obedient disciples to the Father’s throne; we will not be left orphan when we are in the greatest need.
What fills us with hope is that our loving God has mercy on the sick. The Psalmist put it very well: “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. . . . Great is our Lord and mighty in power. . . . The Lord sustains the lowly.”
Like Saint Paul, we are compelled to speak out and share with our families, friends, relatives, co-workers and even strangers the mercy and compassion of the living God. The Creator of heaven and earth loves the sick and seeks to comfort them in their sorrows. This truly is good news for all to hear.
Suggested reading: Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1499-1532.
Imitate Christ
6th Sunday of the Year—February 13
“B” Readings: Lev. 13:1-2. 44-46 • 1 Cor. 10:31—11:1 • Mark
1:40-45
Title: The Imitation of Christ
Purpose: (1) to picture the perfect life and character of Jesus Christ;
and (2) the imitation of Christ as our key to living.
Saint Paul, we might think, must have been infected with a nasty case
of arrogance when he boldly declared: “Imitate me as I imitate Christ.” But on
further inspection, we note that the Apostle to the Gentiles—a one-time ardent
persecutor of “the new way” of Christianity—wasn’t really boasting.
Rather, he was telling the unadulterated truth.
Although this great saint was weak and even sinful, he had an abiding passion which wouldn’t disappear: he sought to imitate the Master, Jesus Christ. Saint Paul was tireless in seizing one opportunity after another to follow the Lord no matter the cost and imitate his unsurpassed virtues.
Yes, Saint Paul was beheaded nearly two thousand years ago. But his persistent example of imitating Jesus hasn’t been buried. His fidelity to Christ and his glorious, challenging cross lives on.
What Saint Paul does for us today is to stress the absolute necessity of imitating Christ. This is truly what being a Catholic and Christian is all about. If I as a Catholic don’t try to imitate the Son of God in my daily life, then I am not sincere about becoming the disciple he calls me to be.
But, before I attempt to imitate the Good Shepherd, I must first know who he is. I must possess the authentic understanding of who Jesus is.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church offers an excellent overview of the Person of Jesus Christ. He is one Divine Person, the Second Person of the Most Blessed Trinity. Jesus Christ is the Son of God who with the Father and the Holy Spirit form the Godhead, known as the Holy Trinity. The Second Person took upon himself our human nature. Therefore, Jesus is one Divine Person with both a divine nature and a human nature. We may rightly call him the God-Man. These two natures are distinct but are joined together in the one Divine Person.
Why did the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, who is also referred to as the Word, become man? The Catechism gives us four reasons.
The first is that the Word became flesh “in order to save us by reconciling us with God” (#457). We were lost in sin because of the disobedience of our first parents, Adam and Eve. We were in desperate need of being made right with the Almighty. So, the Father sent his Son to reconcile us to himself.
The second reason is that the Word became flesh “so that thus we might know God’s love” (#458). God is love. He wants us always to live in his love, never more to be estranged from him.
The third reason that the Word became man was “to be our model of holiness” (#459). Jesus is the pattern of holiness; he alone is the source of sanctity. Christ is for us the model of what it means to be holy. His life is to be imitated and not just respected.
The fourth reason that the Word became man was to fashion us as “partakers of the divine nature” (#460). The Word became flesh by adopting our human nature. Now, we “become” in a certain sense divine through the grace of God. We don’t actually become “little gods.” Instead, we share in the divine life of the Most Blessed Trinity through grace—that special substance which makes us holy and like Jesus Christ.
The life and character of Jesus Christ have no blemish; nothing sinful or imperfect touched him. How can he be imitated, given his complete perfection?
We may imitate Jesus even though he is God. This is so because although Jesus had no sin, he lived in the same human atmosphere as we do. He saw the filth of sin, yet he never consented to it. He witnessed the sinful actions of people all around him, but he himself never gave into any sin. In other words, Jesus lived in our world but was not of the world. He didn’t abide by the spiritual darkness and deceit which he daily observed during his earthly existence.
And this is the key to imitating Christ Jesus. We are to conduct ourselves as he did, continually aware that we are sons of our heavenly Father. We are to be not of this world. Our origin and goal are from another world—the Kingdom of God.
To imitate Jesus is not easy. Yet, the assignment is easy, clear and straightforward: to make his love, gentleness, kindness, mercy and patience our love, gentleness, kindness, mercy and patience. To imitate Christ is the essence of living as faithful, free and devout Catholics who love and serve the Lord with all their hearts.
The leper approached Jesus with a heartfelt request: to be cured of his painful leprosy. We also have a request of Jesus: to be made more like himself. As the Israelites of old worried about being physically unclean, so we are concerned about being spiritually unclean in the sight of the Lord. By imitating Jesus in his virtues, we grow in true holiness and move further away from all that displeases our Creator.
Convinced of the call of Jesus to imitate him, thereby deepening in his image, we cry out with the Psalmist: “Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you just; exult, all you upright of heart.” Christ summons us to imitate him. When we respond affirmatively, we will only then be happy, realizing—in some faint way—the unending joys in Paradise for which the Redeemer is preparing us.
Suggested reading: Catechism of the Catholic Church, 422-429; 456-483.
Satisfaction for sins
7th Sunday of the Year—February 20
“B” Readings: Isa. 43:18-19. 21-22. 24-25 • 2 Cor. 1:18-22 • Mark
2:1-12
Title: Indulgences
Purpose: to explain (1) what an indulgence is, what kinds of
indulgences are given and the conditions for their reception; (2) to encourage a proper
reception of indulgences.
Nothing could keep Jesus from dispensing hope and healing to the needy—neither the fierce condemnations from various religious leaders of his day nor the confusion and misunderstanding on the part of onlookers. Our Dear Lord didn’t suffer from “human respect,” that spiritual illness which urges one to abandon truly good works for fear of “what others will think.”
Christ spent his life in service. But his care and concern for his brothers and sisters didn’t cease once he reached his rightful place at the right hand of his Father immediately following his triumphant Ascension into Heaven. Even now, Jesus Christ the Lord helps us, granting us all we need.
Almost two thousand years ago, Jesus said to his Apostles: “He who hears you, hears me. And he who hears me, hears him who sent me.” The Master stressed this important point: the Apostles, who were the first bishops of the Church, had the God-given authority to teach in the Name of Jesus Christ. The leader of the Apostles, Saint Peter, was especially granted the unique authority to preach in the Name of the Savior. Both Saint Peter and the other Apostles were sent out by Christ himself to teach and preach on his behalf.
Without exaggeration we claim that the Pope—the successor of Saint Peter—and the bishops—the successors of the Apostles—speak with the living Voice of the Good Shepherd. What the Church holds out to her children for their spiritual benefit is from the compassionate hand of the Creator.
One such gift which comes from Jesus through his Bride the Church is indulgences. Indulgences are rather mysterious for many believers. A careful look at just what they are and how they are valuable is helpful.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines an indulgence as “a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church which, as the minister of redemption, dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of Christ and the saints” (#1471).
When we sin and go to Confession, we know that we are really forgiven when the priest grants us absolution as long as we are sincerely sorry for our sins, tell them honestly to the priest, intend to do better in the future and plan to do the penance which the priest has given us. Hence, Confession effects the forgiveness of our sins. But, something remains from our sins even after they have been forgiven. This residue is called the temporal punishment due to our sins.
What an indulgence does is to remit either part or all of that temporal punishment due to our sins. As one may expect, a partial indulgence is that partial remission, while a plenary indulgence is the total remission of the temporal punishment.
To better understand the necessity of gaining indulgences, we might reflect on the difference between eternal punishment and temporal punishment. The Catechism once again assists us. “Grave sin deprives us of communion with God and therefore makes us incapable of eternal life, the privation of which is called the ‘eternal punishment’ of sin” (#1472). Venial sin “entails an unhealthy attachment to creatures, which must be purified either here on earth, or after death in the state called Purgatory” (#1472).
Imagine a person who dies in God’s friendship—a condition we call “the state of grace.” This means that he has no unconfessed mortal sins; hence, he will never go to Hell. But, let us say that he still must atone for some venial sins which he committed. In other words, he still must repent of and repair for that injustice which was caused by his sins. This is that temporal punishment.
The Church has long encouraged her sons and daughters to gain both plenary and partial indulgences for themselves and for the faithful departed in Purgatory. How does one gain these indulgences?
To gain a partial indulgence, one “performs” the prayer or good work involved. For example, one may recite the Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus or visit a cemetery to pray for the faithful departed.
To gain a plenary indulgence, several conditions must be met. First, one must have the intention of gaining the full remission of the temporal punishment due to sin either for himself or for the souls in Purgatory. Second, he must recite the prayers or perform the good works which have a plenary indulgence attached to it. Third, he must go to Confession and Holy Communion. Fourth, he must say some prayers for the intention of the Holy Father. Finally, he must be unattached even to venial sin.
Some pious exercises which have a plenary indulgence attached to them are the devout reading of Sacred Scripture for at least thirty minutes, the attending of the Mass of Thanksgiving for a newly-ordained priest at which he gives his first priestly blessing, and the visiting of a designated church during a special Holy Year.
The Messiah and Lord—as we note in today’s Gospel—looked for every opportunity to aid his people on their journey to his Father. He does that with us now. He makes all things new by wiping away our transgressions. The Holy Spirit has been deposited in our hearts. We have been sealed at Baptism with the Oil of Salvation. By cooperating with God through the gaining of indulgences, we proceed along the path to unending life with the Blessed Trinity, Mary and all the Angels and Saints.
We realize what the Almighty is doing for us as he prepares us for Heaven. In wonder and gratitude, we can only exclaim: “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from all eternity and forever. Amen. Amen.”
Suggested reading: Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1471-1479.
Chastity in an unchaste world
8th Sunday of the Year—February 27
“B” Readings: Hos. 2:16-17. 21-22 • 2 Cor. 3:1-6 • Mark 2:18-22
Title: Sexual Morality of a Christian
Purpose: to explain the proper Christian attitude in regard to (1)
pornography and indecent entertainment; (2) the general amorality that has no standards of
right and wrong.
How refreshing it must have been for the Christians in Corinth to hear
Saint Paul exclaim that the Holy Spirit—not the written law—gives life. So many
during that first century believed that merely following the written law with no regard
for authentic love of God and neighbor meant that one was “justified” in the
sight of the Almighty.
Make no mistake about it. Saint Paul was not counseling his hearers to disobey the written law. Rather, this great man wanted all to realize that following the written law as God intends also means that one is to truly love God with his whole heart, soul, mind and strength and his neighbor as he loves himself.
The Holy Spirit teaches us how to really love the Lord and how to obey his life-giving commands. What God requires of us is different from the stale demands that only command “jumping through hoops”—performing all the rituals with legalistic precision but yet being devoid of true love of God and man. The commandments which come from our loving God are all for a purpose: to grow in the image and likeness of Jesus Christ, our Lord and God.
It isn’t easy today to keep oneself pure and holy. After all, we find ourselves in the midst of a society which glories and revels in the lewd and suggestive. The more indecent books, magazines, television shows, movies and Web sites, the better. We are adults, the argument goes. We surely know when to stop. It does not hurt us to enjoy “adult entertainment.” Once we become 18 years old, we can vote and fight wars. We can surely experience a little harmless fun where there are no victims but only some good old pleasure.
Such an attitude, while certainly common in some quarters, is erroneous and non-Christian. The traditional counsel of the Church still holds for us, even now in the twenty-first century and the Third Christian Millennium: we must avoid the persons, places, things and events that lead us to sin. In other words, we must stay away from the “near occasion of sin.” This is excellent advice which the Church did not invent yesterday. This encouragement is logically sound. One does not play around a heated stove if one doesn’t want to be burned. Similarly, we do not place ourselves in situations which we know will lead us to sin unless we are really not all that sincere about avoiding the sin itself.
Both the Sixth and Ninth Commandments address the need for purity, chastity and modesty. The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains the objection of Jesus and his Church to pornography. “Pornography consists in removing real or simulated sexual acts from the intimacy of the partners, in order to display them deliberately to third parties. It offends against chastity because it perverts the conjugal act, the intimate giving of spouses to each other. It does grave injury to the dignity of its participants (actors, vendors, the public), since each one becomes an object of base pleasure and illicit profit for others. It immerses all who are involved in the illusion of a fantasy world. It is a grave offense. Civil authorities should prevent the production and distribution of pornographic materials” (#2354).
How are we to act when numerous impure images are practically in our faces? How do we respond to the general impurity which we encounter almost everywhere?
We need Christian discipline and the Christ-like virtues in abundance to follow Jesus and remain pure. One can do no better than frequenting often the Sacraments of Penance and the Most Holy Eucharist, praying daily to the Ever-Virgin Mother of God whose very life was one of stellar purity, reciting the Rosary, wearing the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pondering Sacred Scripture and the lives of the saints (especially those like Saint Maria Goretti who laid down her life in defense of her virginity) and making visits to the Blessed Sacrament. These tried-and-true helps along with the Church’s injunction to avoid the near occasion of sin will sustain those who are desirous of imitating Jesus and staying pure.
Our era suffers from a rampant amorality which has no standards of right and wrong. Morality all depends on how you feel on a particular day. Some assert that as long as you hurt no one, you may do as you please.
This opinion is unacceptable because it pays no attention to the standards of right behavior which the Lord himself established. The Natural Law, which Saint Paul called “the law written on every man’s heart,” is knowable by each person. Furthermore, although we may not be injuring another in our pursuit of illicit, sinful pleasure, we are hurting ourselves and our chances to see God for all eternity in Heaven.
Jesus came to earth to give us the New Law of love. For it to be accepted, the New Law of love for God and neighbor must be accepted in the “new hearts” of Christ’s chosen disciples. He wants to speak to our hearts. He knows that impurity and immorality lead to brokenness and bitterness, not to sanctity and new life. Christ the King willingly pardons our past iniquities when we turn to him in contrition and seek amendment of our lives.
May Mary, the chaste Mother of Jesus and spouse of Saint Joseph, assist us in our struggle to keep pure in a world which exalts sin and spiritual blindness of all kinds.
Suggested reading: Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2354, 2514-2533.
Reverend Charles M. Mangan is pastor of two rural parishes and is
vice-chancellor of the Diocese of Sioux Falls, S.D. He attended Mount St. Mary’s
Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md., and was ordained in 1989. He received the J.C.L. from the
Gregorian University in Rome. His last series of homilies appeared in May 1999.
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