DOORS OF MERCY

HOMILY PREACHED AT COMMUNAL PENANCE SERVICES AT OUR LADY OF THE LAKES CHURCH, WATERFORD, MICHIGAN DECEMBER 2015 – Fr. Lawrence Delonnay

On December 8^th, Pope Francis opened the Holy Door at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome to usher in the Holy Year of Mercy. On the following Sunday he went to St. John Lateran, the cathedral church of Rome, and opened the holy door there.  That same day Archbishop Vigneron opened the holy door at Blessed Sacrament Cathedral.  Bishops around the world did the same.  The Holy Year of Mercy has begun.

God’s mercy is overflowing upon the world.  It is a free gift.  But it is not a gift thrust upon us.  There is a requirement that must be met before we can receive God’s mercy.  We have to confess, to admit at least to ourselves and to God in prayer.

In 1995, the South African government instituted the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.  With the end of apartheid, the country was torn down the middle.  On one side was half the nation that were the victims of state sponsored racism and violence.  On the other side were the victimizers: the members of the military, police and officials in government.  The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was charged with healing the nation.  The Commission met with anyone who had been a victim and listen to their stories.  This went on for months.  At the end of this inquiry, charges were brought against anyone who was implicate with credible evidence from the Prime Minister down to lowly police officers.  Those facing charges were brought before the commission and evidence against them was presented.  If they pleaded not guilty to the charges, the case would continue to trial.  If they were found guilty, then the punishment earned would be imposed.  Yet, if they confessed, they were free to leave.

When this procedure was first announced, it was roundly questioned all over the world.  People thought that just walking away was unjust to the victims.  There was too much pain and suffering. The perpetrators would get off Scot free.

But a remarkable thing happened.  Over the time that the commission was in operation, real healing took place.  The victims had a chance to tell their stories to people who would listen.  The accused who wished a trial were offered one.  If they were found guilty, they were punished. Those who confessed were shown mercy and that changed their lives.

First there must be confession.  Mercy is never shown to the innocent.  They don’t need it.  It is only shown to those who are guilty, and admit their guilt.  Confession must come first.

In Sacred Scripture we hear about the “sin against the Holy Spirit” the unforgivable sin.  This is usually interpreted as the person who feels that their sin is so horrible that not even God can forgive them.  It is unforgivable because they cannot ask for forgiveness.  I think that there is another side to that coin.  That would be the person who feels that they have no sin.  My mother, God rest her soul, told me once. “Larry I am 86 year’s old.  I am too old to sin. I never do anything wrong.”  At that moment, God’s spirit came upon me and I bit my tongue.  If we say that we never sin, we cannot receive forgiveness.  Heck, I cannot get through the morning with doing something wrong.  Confession must come first.

We must be honest with ourselves and with our God.  We have to look at our lives, our hearts and souls and see what lays there.  If we find that we have sinned, then we need to confess it to God.  That is the only way that we can get it out of ourselves.

Then God’s mercy can flow in. Then God’s love can fill our hearts and heal us.  God’s mercy is far greater than our greatest weakness.  All we have to do is ask for it.  All we have to do is become honest with ourselves and with God.  All we have to do is confess.

Doors open out and open in.  The holy doors of mercy open in.  They open to let us in.  The price of admission is an honest confessions of our sins.

HOLY WEEK AND FORGIVENESS: Forgiveness is not acceptance; I forgive what I cannot accept.  Forgiveness is not tolerance; I forgive what I cannot tolerate.  Forgiveness is not forgetting; I forgive what I cannot forget.

This week we remember all that Jesus endured to secure the forgiveness of our sins and to open the entrance to eternal life. “By His suffering, we are freed from sin. By His death and resurrection, we are freed from death.”  We believe in our forgiveness of sins.  He hope for eternal life. We know that we are underserving.  We trust that God’s words to us are true.

Yet…

We find it hard to forgive. We do not want mercy for those who harm us.  We know we are justified in our feelings.  There is a backside to God’s mercy for us.  We in turn must show mercy.  We in turn must forgive (“forgive us our sins AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO SIN AGAINST US).  We in turn must not judge.  And that can be so hard.

It can so hard to forgive when the offense is ongoing.  It can be so hard to forgive when the other doesn’t think they have done anything wrong.  It can be so hard to forgive when the pain of betrayal is fresh and ongoing.  It eats at us.  It causes us to lose sleep.  It makes our stress level go through the roof.  We become impatient and cross in turn with others.

Yet…

We have to forgive for our own sakes.  If we do not forgive it will eat us from the inside out.  The offender doesn’t know how it affects us.  We only hurt ourselves and God does not want that.  God wants us whole and at peace, which is why He forgives us in the first place.  His mercy gives us the grace to in turn forgive.  As the above quote says: Forgiveness is not acceptance; I forgive what I cannot accept.  Forgiveness is not tolerance; I forgive what I cannot tolerate.  Forgiveness is not forgetting; I forgive what I cannot forget. This week, as we pray for our sins to be forgiven, let us also pray for the grace to forgive others.  Or, if we are not there yet, pray for the grace to some day forgive.

We have to.  For our own sake

The Parable of the Talents

We are all familiar with Jesus’ parable of the Talents.  A rich man goes on a journey and distributes his wealth to three servants.  One get 5 talents, another get 3 and a third gets one talent.  The first two double their talents but the third one buries his and doesn't invest it.  He is punished and cast out.  The usual lesson is that God gives us all talents and we are supposed to use them.  I recently saw a short video from Fr. Robert Barron that cast a totally different light on the parable and the lesson.

Fr. Barron says that it is unfortunate that our word “talent” appears to be the same as the “talent” in the parable.  He said that for those listening to the parable, they were aware of two meanings for that word.  One meaning had to do with wealth.  A talent was a unit of measurement used to weight gold or silver and meant about 50 pounds.  50 pounds of gold or silver was a huge amount.  The man in the parable with 5 talents actually received 250 pounds of gold, the second 150 pounds and the third, who only received one talent, still had 50 pounds of gold which was still an unbelievable amount of wealth.  The first two men had to do a great amount work to double that amount of gold.  Not only that, but they got to keep it.  The first man even got the one that the third man had buried.  Those listening had to be impressed with the rich man’s (God’s) generosity.  But still, the last line of the parable, “(f)or to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have it in abundance. But from the one who has not, even that will be taken away.”, is very troubling.

Fr. Barron says that those listening knew that there was still another meaning for the word “talent”.  In King David’s temple, the Ark of the Covenant was kept in the Holy of Holies. On top of the Ark were two angels with their wings reaching towards each other, just barely touching.  It was believed that all of God’s mercy rested there, where the wings touched, as an infinite number of talents of mercy.  God’s mercy, His talents, flowed down from the Holy of Holies, upon those in need of His mercy.  Those who were so blessed with mercy, then showed mercy to others and in that way the talents of mercy grew and grew.  The man with the 5 talents showed so much mercy that it grew and multiplied back to him. The same was true for the man with 3.  The man with one talent, buried it and refused to show mercy to others. That is why he lost the talent.  He had been treated mercifully by God and refused to be merciful to others.  That is why he was thrown out into the street.  Those listening to Jesus’ parable were reminded that to those who have been shown mercy were to go out and show mercy to others who were to go out and show mercy and on and on.  Mercy multiplied and came back to the merciful one.

God blesses us with mercy all the time but especially when He forgives our sins.  We are expected to go out and do the same.  We need to be forgiving to other, even those who don’t ask for it or, perhaps, don’t deserve it. If we want to see God’s mercy multiplied in our lives, we must just give it away.

"CHANGES IN LATITUDES, CHANGES IN ATTITUDES"

“CHANGES IN LATITUDES, CHANGES IN ATTITUDES” –Jimmy Buffett

While on vacation back in July, I spent most of my time at my cottage and while there posted 3 or 4 pictures to FaceBook of the lake.  One of my friends commented that I should post other photos rather than the “same shot of the lake.”  Actually each photo was different.  One was before a storm, another was after the storm, another of a sunset and another of a sun rise.  All the photos were taken from the same perspective but the lake changed.  Every moment the view changes as the sun moves across the sky, as clouds billow and leaves change color.  To say that one photo captures all that the lake has to offer is to miss so much of the beauty that is there.  To enjoy the gift from God that is present, one has to keep watching.

It’s like music.  You don’t listen to a piece of music, love it and never listen to it again.  You listen to it over and over because with each hearing you hear something new.  Last Sunday we sang “Oh God Beyond All Praising”, one of my favorite hymns.  The tune is from Gustave Holts’ “The Planets” which has also been a favorite.  On Thursday evening, Jenna Mauro-Vetter, our music minister, told me that she loved meaning behind the lyrics.  I read them over and she was right.  They are beautiful.  The thing is I have heard, and sung, that hymn for years but never really “heard” the words.  If I had sang that hymn once and never again, I would have missed so much.

I have shared with you that this summer I re-read the book “The Source” by James Mitchner.  This was my third time reading it and I discovered so much more beauty and meaning than I had seen in the first two times that I read the book.  The book didn’t change.  The words weren’t’ changed but I was.  I am different than I was in 1999 or 1967 the last times that I read the book.

The same can be said for the study or religion or the reading of Scripture.  High School students will say that Religion Class is repetitious.  They just study the same thing that they studied in fifth grade, they will say.  While it might be true that the content is the same, they are not.  They have changed and grown and matured.  Hopefully they will look at that content with different eyes and see a deeper meaning.

The readings from Sacred Scripture that we hear at Mass repeat every three years.  I don’t think that the intent of that repetition is out of some fear that we may have forgotten them.  They are repeated because we have changed.  We are not the same as we were three years ago.  The words of Scripture, the telling of the parables take on new meaning and insight because we are not the same people we were three years ago.  That is why the Word of God is always alive – because we are alive and the Word speaks to us as we change.  To say that Mass or the study of religion or the reading of Scripture is “the same old thing” is to say that you are “the same old thing”.  It is to admit that ­you have ceased growing.  You haven’t stopped growing.  God speaks to you in so many ways to address the needs and dreams and hopes that you have right now.  We should never presume that God tells us something once and from then on it is just repetition.

I will keep taking pictures of the lake.  I may continue to post them on FaceBook or Twitter.  I my “friends” and “followers” see something new each time that would be great.  If not, then they can “un-friend” me.

Questions of Morality

QUESTIONS OF MORALITY: Every year I enjoy teaching the sections on morality during the R.C.I.A.  I begin the class by writing down some words on a white board:

            Right verses Wrong

            Legal verses Illegal

            Sinful verses Non-sinful

            Guilty verses Not Guilty

            Good verses Bad.

I ask the students if these equations are all the same? Can something be wrong but not illegal? Can something that is illegal be not sinful?  Can something that is bad be legal?  It can get very confusing.

We learn right from wrong and good and bad primarily from our parents.  Good table manners and bad table manners are an example of good and bad. I remember my grandmother asking me to pass the salt to her when I was a little boy.  I picked up the shaker and held it out to her.  She just looked at it and refused to take it.  Finally she told me, “Larry when a lady asks you to pass her something at the table, a gentleman places it before her so that their hands do not touch.”  Lesson learned.  I remember one dinner when I was 7 and my brother was 16.  He had been working outside and washed up before dinner but did not put on a shirt.  My father glared at him and then said, “If you were at your grandmother’s house you would not come to the table without a coat and tie.”  My brother went to his room and came back wearing a coat and tie – no shirt, just a coat and tie.  It was funny but the lesson was learned.  These might appear silly but the hint at where we learn our basic morality.  Where these acts sinful or illegal or bad? Probably not.  Were they wrong? In my family, yes.

Society teaches us what is legal and illegal.  I remember my canon law professor tell us, “For the good order of society, society enacts laws.  Once enacted, society bends to the laws.”  There was an article recently in the Oakland Press about speeding on Dixie Hwy.  Chief Macaw of the Waterford Police Department stated that the speed limit had been reduced to 35 mph. during construction. He said that it remains in effect even on those sections of the construction zone that appears to have been finished, like in front of Lakes.  He said that it was needed to protect the workers who were working up ahead.  It was the law.  If you speed on Dixie Hwy. is it illegal? Yes.  Is it wrong? Yes. Is it bad? Yes. Is it sinful? Maybe.  If you speed during the day and endanger workers or other drivers it just might be a sin.  If it is at 3:00 in the morning, and you are only going 5 over and no one else is around, while still being illegal it would not be sinful.

Is abortion sinful? Yes. Is it illegal? No. Is it bad? Yes.

Can someone be found not guilty and still not innocent? Yes. In the recent George Zimmerman trial, his attorney argued that very point in his closing arguments.  He told the jury that they didn’t need to find him innocent, just not guilty if they had a reasonable doubt.

Are all sins the same? No? The Hebrew Scriptures teach that some sins are hatta (missing the mark) while others are pasha (rebellion). We call them mortal and venial. Hatta would be a venial sin.  Pasha would be mortal.

It can all be very confusing especially when we are trying to live a moral life.  The Church teaches us that we must follow our conscience.  It also tells us that we have an obligation to form a correct conscience.  We cannot just act on our feelings.  We need to look at all those things listed above, good verses bad, right verses wrong and so on.  We need to listen to what the church teaches.  We need know what Jesus has said.  We need to look at the consequences to our actions.  We need to make sure that what we are doing is loving.  It is not always easy.

If we constantly try to do the best in living a good life, making the correct decisions will come easy and when faced with the difficult ones we will be confident that what we choose what is best.

Salt shakers and coats and ties are not big things, but they have helped formed my life.

END OF SUMMER?

END OF SUMMER?  A few years back, a number of priests gathered for an Advent day of prayer.  During lunch, the conversation turned to the long nights of winter.  One of the priests commented that the saddest day of the year for him was not December 21, the shortest day of the year, but June 23.  We asked, “Why” and he replied that the days began to get shorter from that day on and he thought that was sad.  We thought that he was nuts and all of us would trade December 21 for June 23 any day.

That being said, the days are getting shorter.  Last month it stayed light outside until 10:00 pm.  Now darkness begins at 9:00 am.  Last Sunday I awoke at 6:00 am. to make my holy hour and had to turn on a lamp for the first time since early June.

I came back from vacation last Saturday and there is a feeling that summer is over.  Fall sports practices begin next week.  Most of the school renovations are over and teachers and students will begin wandering the halls soon.  Plans have to be made for autumn.  Believe it or not, we have to order our snow melt in August.

Back in the winter, although it was a rather mild one, we all made plans for the summer.  We pictured times by the pool or on the boat or on vacation.  In our winter dreams, those times seemed to go on forever.  In reality, they were fleeting.

There is still time for more summer fun.  It will be warm throughout August and September.  But the days will still be getting shorter.  The sunlight will take on a different color.  Football will fill our Saturdays and the lakes will be a lot more quiet.

According to my priest friend, it is all downhill from now until December 21.  There is probably some sort of deep meaning in all of this but I think I will go outside and soak up some sun.

Blue Highways Michigan

In 1999, William Least Heat-Moon published a book, Blue Highways, A Journey Across America. In it he told of his adventure across America, driving the blue highways. On a map, interstate highways are usually colored red. State highways are colored blue. He wanted to travel the back roads and see the towns and villages that are often skipped by the expressways. I did my own mini version over a long weekend. I left Lapeer and traveled state and county roads to Bay Port, Michigan on the west shore of Michigan's Thumb. Then I travelled from the Thumb across the state to New Buffalo, Michigan on the Indiana border on Lake Michigan. I decided to skip the expressways and drive the blue highways. It was a real pleasant drive. Slowing to 55 on two lane highways, was a great stress reliever. I saw small towns and drove across the agricultural heartland of the state. Fields of corn and beans and sugar beets stretched along rolling hills. Prosperous farms painted white were predominant with only the occasional shell of an 1890's farm house abandoned and overgrown. The small towns hosted car washes and antique fairs. Some looked prosperous and others mostly abandoned. The occasional sign warning of Amish wagons caught my attention. Reaching the west side of the state I drove on the Blue Star Highway for 100 miles along the shore through stands of trees and alongside dunes. The occasional break in the trees allowed for views of the big lake. Expressways are meant for speed and hills are softened and curves gentle. On the blue highways the road, rather than taming natures landscape, went over or around what the glaciers had deposited many years ago. Bridges crossed streams. Wayside stores and scenic outlooks dotted the drive. When I was a child, my family always vacationed "up north". This was well before the interstate highways we built. The only way north was via the blue highways, slowing for towns and road side attractions like Mystery Spot, road side cheese stands, farmers selling sweet corn, tomatos and home made preserves. I discovered that the road side stands still are there are fresh produce abounds. I figured my trip took about 6 1/2 hours adding about 30 minutes to the time. Those 30 minutes were well worth the price paid avoiding truck traffic, construction back-ups and the monotony of super highways. The blue highways showed me that the still is a wealth of history to be seen at a much slower pace.