In the "New Covenant" made by our Creator God with humanity, as reported in Jeremiah 31:31-34, every human being can know God from within - because the Holy Spirit is revealing our Creator to all who are willing to know the Lord and trust in Him. We can still help each other along the way; so please feel free to share with others these homilies and your own personal faith in God through Jesus Christ. G.S.
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Presentation of the Lord
Saturday 5:00 p.m. Mass
Sunday 10:30 a.m. Mass
February 1st-2nd, 2025
World Day for Consecrated Life
& Day of the Unborn / Day for Life
February 1st-2nd, 2025
World Day for Consecrated Life
& Day of the Unborn / Day for Life
First reading: Malachi 3:1-4
Responsorial: Psalm 24 "The Lord of hosts, he is king of glory!"
Second reading: Hebrews 2:10-11, 13b-18
Alleluia. Alleluia. A light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel. Alleluia.
Gospel: Luke 2:22-40
Good News from the Christmas season: In light of the "wedding feast of the Lamb", Jesus calls each and every one of us to be "God's secret agents" in the world... manifesting his power to extend his love, peace, and concord through us into other people's lives....
Good News: God does not judge us according to our circumstances, over which we often have no control, but rather, God looks to our heart, mind, and soul. - MP3 file
Homily Note Points (from Sunday morning)
You may recall how the last two weekends I may have surprised you by saying that we are, all of us, God's "secret agents" in the world. In face of all the world's troubles, from wars to exploitation, and famine to pandemics, we naturally ask God "Why?" and "What are You doing?" Jesus makes it clear that God the Father's one and only strategy in response to all our world's troubles is to send his Son Jesus, and now, Jesus sends us out into all the dark places of life as his secret agents.
We are "God-bearers" and "Bearers of God's Divine Light", which we bring with us wherever we go, and it is God dwelling within us, who brings peace where there is war, harmony into discord, solutions to problems, putting people first. You may very well ask "But how exactly are we to do this?"
When I was a young priest, in a short period of time, I celebrated three funerals for young people - high school or college students - who died under suspicious circumstances, perhaps taking their own lives. At the wakes, there were lots of large posters on which hundreds of their fellow students and friends had written love notes like: "You saved me." "You were there for me." "You always understood me." In other words, they were perceived as life savers.
What I was able to understand is that these very good human beings had been continually there for others, listening, accompanying, encouraging, giving of themselves unconditionally. Then, what happened? Their only fault was that they forgot, or didn't know how to go to God to replenish their life energy. They gave and gave of themselves until there were completely depleted and fell into darkness.
God doesn't want that to happen to human beings. Our Father in heaven loves us and doesn't want us to carry the weight of the whole world on our shoulders, because Jesus his Son is already doing that. God is God and I am not. I am a sinner whom God loves, and as the Lord said to Saint Paul, his power shines most clearly and wonderfully in our weakness. We need to constantly have our life force replenished by connecting with God every day and often during the day and night.
This is the meaning of this Feast of the Presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple. When we look at Jesus, at whatever stage of his life, we see two things. Jesus shows us something about God, what God is truly like, and He also shows us something about ourselves, who and what we are.
Looking at Jesus in the Temple today, we see that God loves us so much that He wants to be with us and became a human being, a baby, in order to share everything about our life with us. God trusts us so much that He is willing to be a helpless little Baby and is glad for us to take Him into our arms and hold Him, and love Him. That's what God is truly like. Also, He trust us to hold Him and not drop Him or hurt Him in any way. We can do this, we can take Him and hold Him and come to love Him. We are capable of love and friendship even with God.
God has made us sensitive and capable of noticing people around us who may be in need, especially when they are going through a hard time; not to save or rescue them or fix anything, but just to be there, to care, to listen, and walk with them a little part of the way. God wants us to know that He designed us to give to one another and to receive from one another in ways like this. This is what Pope Francis is constantly talking about, and he calls it the "Joy of the Gospel", the "joy of the encounter", which is synodality, walking with others and truly listening with our whole being. As we learn to do this, we discover something amazing: God is already present in others even in their trouble, and as we listen to them, God who is in them blesses us in mysterious ways; while, at the same time, God who is in us, also blesses those with whom we decide to walk and listen.
This is the meaning of this Feast of the Presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple: we are God-bearers, bearing the Light of God within us. We are God's living temples and living tabernacles, carrying God and his Light - which is Jesus - wherever we go. That is why we are here in Church together, and why it is so important for us to be here every Sunday; so that God the Most Holy Trinity can replenish our life force and energy to love with their own Divine Life. In Holy Communion we receive a transfusion of the Divine Life with is in God. We carry nothing less than God within us was He sends us back into our lives, to our families, our marriages, our work, our school, our neighbourhoods, and all the dark places in the world into which God desires to shine his Divine Light.
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In the "New Covenant" made by our Creator God with humanity, as reported in Jeremiah 31:31-34, every human being can know God from within - because the Holy Spirit is revealing our Creator to all who are willing to know the Lord and trust in Him. We can still help each other along the way; so please feel free to share with others these homilies and your own personal faith in God through Jesus Christ. G.S.
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© 2006-2025 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal QC
© 2006-2025 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC
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