(audio 12pm)
(audio 8am)
There is an
important distinction between Memorial Day and Veterans Day. Memorial Day is to remind us of members of
the Armed Forces that have passed away, while Veterans Day is to remind us of
those that are still alive. It is said
that there are 2 forces in the world willing to die for us: The first is Jesus
Christ and the second is the American soldier.
In the first case, Jesus died for our spiritual freedom, but the
American solider is willing to die for our physical freedom. Thank you for those that have served in uniform
and are no longer with us. And speaking
of being reminded of those who died for us, this leads into today’s homily.
In a couple
of weeks, we will close these 40 days of Easter. During these 40 days of Easter, the Risen
Christ Jesus stayed with the Eleven Apostles before he ascended into
Heaven. Then, after ascending into
Heaven, the Church prayed 9 novena days for the great Feast of Pentecost and the
coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Church.
This is the context for today’s Gospel: Before the Ascension and before
Pentecost, Jesus prepares us, His Mystical Body, to continue His mission
of saving the world through His Spirit. There
are 3 main points, therefore, in this homily from today’s Gospel:
1.) First, the
Holy Spirit reminds us about Christ’s
teachings through the Church.
2.) Second, the
Holy Spirit protects the Catholic
Church from officially teaching error in matters of faith and morality.
3.) Third, the
Holy Spirit helps us to live the
official teachings of the Church on faith and morals, especially through the
Sacraments and personal prayer.
Again, the
Holy Spirit reminds, Holy Spirit protects, and the Holy Spirit helps…
I
For the
first point that the Holy Spirit reminds us about Christ’s teachings through
his Church, Jesus said, “The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will
send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told
you.” In other words, the institution of
the Church has not just a human element but a divine element to it.
Think about
this: If the Church does not have the divine spark of the Holy Spirit, then it
is a mere human institution. And, as a
human institution, it will collapse. If
the Church can make an error in her official teachings, then that means that
Christ’s mission has failed in a sense.
The resurrection will have meant nothing if God’s Church is teaching
darkness and error. And so we need the
Third Person of the Blessed Trinity, the Spirit of God himself, to teach and
remind us of the truth.
The Spirit
of God, then, is active in official Church teaching. We hear in the First Reading from Acts of the
Apostles how the first Apostles and elders officially taught. The Greek words here to describe the official
teachers were “apostoloi” and “presbyteroi”.
Presbyteroi is sometimes translated as elders or presbyterate or priesthood. When there were controversial issues, it was
the apostoloi and the presbyteroi who resolved errors through official
teachings. So when the Church heard that
there were some Christians going around without any mandate from them to
officially teach, they sent representatives with a letter that boldly said, “It
is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us that you must avoid
paganism and unlawful marriage.” Here,
the Apostles and their Successors have the audacity to dare claim not only the
authority of the Holy Spirit but also their own authority. The Holy Spirit reminds us through formal teaching,
like the Creed or the Liturgy or the Mass or the Catechism or the Bible. The Holy Spirit reminds us.
II
Second, the
Holy Spirit protects the Catholic Church from officially teaching error in
matters of faith and morality.
Throughout our 2,000-year teaching history, the successors or the
replacements of those first Apostles over time handed down a clear body of public
declarations. Now, just because the
Church is protected from teaching error doesn’t mean that the members of the
Church are protected from sin. In fact,
as human beings, they sin and make mistakes; however, when they teach with the
authority of the Apostles on faith or morals, it is preserved. We have to distinguish between official
Catholic teaching versus official teachers who sin. Peter sinned, and yet he was the official
leader of the Church. Also, the
protection of the Holy Spirit is on a religious faith or moral issue and not
just whatever they say goes. For
example, political diplomacy or a member of the clergy’s personal opinions for
dinner are not protected by the Holy Spirit, but a moral issue like God’s plan
for marriage and family is a moral issue, and as a moral issue the Church’s
teaching are protected from error. Jesus
said that whoever loves him keeps to the words of his teachings. The Father sent Jesus, and the Spirit is sent
upon the Church. So, whoever then loves
the Church’s teachings loves the Spirit and Jesus and the Father. Her teachings are his own.
III
Finally, the
Holy Spirit helps us live Catholic teachings on faith and morals, especially through
the Sacraments and personal prayer. In
the Second Reading from the Book of Revelation, the holy city Jerusalem came
down from heaven like a bride prepared for her husband. The city is the Church, the mystical body of
Christ. She had no need of sun or moon
to shine on her, for the glory of God gave her light, and her lamp was the
Lamb. Here, the holy city of the Church
of which you and I are members through baptism shines brighter than the sun. The Catholic Church uniquely was granted by
her divine Founder, Jesus, the means to conquer the evils of the world. And we know today how evil is increasing in
the world. No other institution can
claim this! [If time permits, talk about
Protestantism and warmly invite back home to the Catholic Church.] The mysteries of faith or the Sacraments like
the Eucharist at Sunday Mass and Confession, and Matrimony and Baptism and
Confirmation, all of these will assist us in living Catholic teaching on faith
and morality, esp. the difficult teachings.
And if there is a difficulty, remember that one thousand difficulties do
not make a doubt to leave the Church.
Let it be an invitation to renew our faith in the Risen and Ascended
Christ who said that whoever loves him will keep to his teachings. During this month of May, which is dedicated
to the Mother of Jesus, let it be an invitation to pray the rosary more, esp.
every day, and to consecrate and entrust our weak and fallen nature to her loving
and motherly Immaculate Heart. Let the
difficulty with Church teaching be an opportunity of growth [and study more]
and for deeper conversion, as we prepare for the Ascension of Jesus and the
sending of the Spirit at Pentecost.
So, in
summary: (1) The Holy Spirit reminds us of Christ’s teachings through the
Church. (2) The Holy Spirit protects the
Catholic Church from error in matters of faith and morals. (3) The Holy Spirit helps us to live official
Church teachings that come from Jesus Christ.
Just as Memorial Day reminds us of those who gave their lives so we can
be physically free, let us remind Jesus who gave his life so that we can be
eternally free. God the Holy Spirit himself
will teach all nations now and until the end of time. O God, let all the nations praise you.
