Jesus invites us to the dance... to an intimate relationship with the Living God. - April 24th, 2022 - Divine Mercy Sunday, 2nd Sunday of Easter - MQP Church in JLW Parish

Divine Mercy Sunday - 2nd Sunday of Easter

VOCATION: Jesus calls us - He calls you to follow Him, to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and become a missionary disciple....

 Homily MP3 version     Homily PDF version     

What are the offerings that we bring to God? What is the meaning of "HOSANNAH!" We acclaim God for his greatness and praise Him, while at the same time calling upon Him to rescue us in our distress.... "HOSANNAH!" MP3 version 

“Christ is risen! Alleluia!” “He is truly risen! Alleluia!”

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever!”

You know, brothers and sisters, you know that we are all called by the Lord Jesus to be his disciples and to be missionary disciples with our arms and our hearts wide open; but we hesitate. So, what is it that we need in order to give full vent to our heart's desire to be with the Lord? 

My sisters! My brothers! Do you enjoy dancing? Great! Whether it is social dancing where the man and the woman hold each other’s hand and back to dance together, or whether it is line dancing in a group, to really enjoy the full delights of the occasion, of the music, and of one’s partner or group…you need two things.

First, you have to go along or let yourself be led by your partner or by the group. Then, and this is equally important, you need to participate, to make efforts, you have to do your part. You can’t expect other people to carry you like a baby is carried. Now, think back and remember your good memories of dancing… remember the benefits of having let yourself be led by a partner or by a group. What joy to enter into the dance and the festivity….

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever!”

So, hopefully you have known the benefits of letting yourself be led in the dance, or at least you have seen others dancing. Now, remember all the efforts that you made to follow your partner or the group, your efforts to learn the various dances, the steps, and the great satisfaction you enjoyed for your success in dancing. What joy and fun to be able to join in the festivity!

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever!”

Well, either you know how to dance or at least you accept that in order to dance you need to let yourself be led, but you also need to participate and make efforts. Now, I may surprise you with my next statement. Your experience and understanding of dancing are assets that now you can apply with advantage in your relationship with God. Surprised? If you want to know and love God more, well then, simply accept his invitation to dance with Him!

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever!”

Fr. Gilles, are you nuts proposing that we dance with God? No, I'm not crazy. To dance, what do you need? You need an occasion, you need music, and you need either a partner or a group. To dance with God, every moment is an opportune occasion. Whether it is when going to bed or when rising in the morning, when preparing for the day or preparing for sleep; whether it is before, during, or after meals; at work or at school, doing housecleaning, groceries, laundry, gardening, or when it is about being together as a family or especially an intimate moment between spouses, or any other occupation, the moment is always right to enter into the presence of God. God is always and everywhere present. All we have to do is open our heart to Him.

“Christ is risen! Alleluia!” “He is truly risen! Alleluia!”

You don't sound very convinced. 

“Christ is risen! Alleluia!” “He is truly risen! Alleluia!”

You need to stand up; you're not breathing properly. Try standing for a moment. 

“Christ is risen! Alleluia!” “He is truly risen! Alleluia!”

Much better. Sit down, please.  

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever!”

All right then; so, if every moment is a good moment to dance with God, what's the music? What is the music to which we can dance with God? It is a celestial music… the music of the Holy Spirit… it is the music of the love of God which flows like a river inside of us, flowing from the vitality of the love within the Most Holy Trinity… that music of intimate love between the Father and his Son Jesus and the Son to the Father, the loving bond of the Holy Spirit. This music - mysterious, but true, celestial within us, is a glimpse of Heaven which rises within us at any time when we contemplate beauty – a lovely landscape, each person who loves us and whom we love, the abundance of living creatures on the earth, in the waters, and in the air – we have only to stop for an instant and take the time to breathe quietly… and behold the celestial music gently rising within us.

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever!”

Well then, we have plenty of occasions every day to dance with God, we have this mysterious music of God flowing within us, all right. So, do I hear this celestial music? He says we are never without music for dancing with Him; for He causes this very mysterious celestial music to arise within us from the very depths of our spirit. It is also like a fire, a heat of love which comes to warm us; it is the Divine Mercy. This gentle fire of Mercy is Jesus who will never cease loving us.

Thus, with God, we never lack a dancing partner or group to dance with. The group which dances to God’s music is our faith assembly, yes, but it is also our family, our neighbourhood, our friends, our work colleagues, our school acquaintances, and every person opening their heart and their spirit to the Divine Mercy, to the love and knowledge of God.

At every moment, the dance partner par excellence given to us by the Father is his Son Jesus, risen from the dead, and now living forever in Heaven with the Father, but still forever present to us here on Earth. Jesus is the Divine Mercy of God.

Well then, how exactly do we do this? How do we dance with Jesus? To dance with Jesus, all we have to do is pray, and what is praying? It is simply visiting with God. As soon as I open my mind and heart and look towards God, towards Jesus, I'm already at prayer. We visit with God when we contemplate God, in the Scriptures, reading the Gospel, the Psalms, the letters of the Apostles, and all the books of Sacred Scripture in the Bible. As soon as we turn the eyes of our spirit to Jesus, we are already at prayer and behold, Jesus is there taking us into his arms for the dance. Jesus is always ready, and at every moment it is up to us to enter into the mystery. Lord, I don't understand it, I don't get it, but, I want. Here I am. 

“Christ is risen! Alleluia!” “He is truly risen! Alleluia!”

 “O my Jesus, I trust in You!” Thanks be to God, the Father, + the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

In silence now, the Holy Spirit continues to pour the Divine Mercy deeply into our spirit..

 

https://frgilleshomilies.blogspot.com         https://homeliesabbegilles.blogspot.com

 

© 2006-2022 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal QC           © 2006-2022 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC

Remembering & praying for Alice Marolly - Father, fill our minds, hearts, and souls with your Love given to us in Jesus - Friday in the 4th Week of Advent, Christmas Eve - December 24th, 2021 - Sainte-Suzanne Parish

Remembering & praying for Alice Marolly - much loved mother and grandmother who passed into eternity on Christmas Day, December 25th, 2020

 Gospel & Homily - MP3 

Preparation for Holy Communion - MP3 

Prayers of the Faithful after Holy Communion - MP3

+ + + + + + + + + + + +  

https://frgilleshomilies.blogspot.com         https://homeliesabbegilles.blogspot.com

 

© 2006-2021 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC      © 2006-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal QC

We live in the presence of Jesus, Christ the King of the Universe and the Great Judge - his love helps us not turn our backs on one another. - 34th Sunday in Ordinary Time, November 21st, 2021 - Homily from the Poustinia

 Thank you Lord for the little children... their cries and babbling are not a distraction, but they actually help us allow the cries of our own hearts to come out... fears, pains, grief, joy, surprise, anxiety.... MP3 

      Homily PDF version

“Blessed are You, Lord Jesus Christ, Great King, the Prince of the kings of the Earth!”

Brothers and sisters in Jesus, have you noticed how our Good God makes Himself hidden and silent? As Creator of the Universe, the Most Holy Trinity has no need to give humanity any further proof of its existence than what is already before our eyes. The wonders of nature and of all living species and the magnificence and extraordinary abundance of the stars render their eloquent testimonies to the existence and grandeur of the Good God.

These testimonies come to us from the visible world, but beyond the visible world, there are the innumerable quantity of angels in the Presence of God in his eternity and whom He sends to the Earth with messages, like Archangel Gabriel appearing to Mary to announce God asking her to become the Mother of his only Son; which we are preparing to celebrate at Christmas.

“Blessed are You, Lord Jesus Christ, Great King, the Prince of the kings of the Earth!”

When the governor Pontius Pilate interrogated Jesus, he did not realize that he was in the presence of Jesus as the Great King of the Universe, the Son of God. What he did not know is that Jesus is the true Judge and that at that very moment it was Jesus who was interrogating him. Would Pilate open himself to the truth manifest in Jesus standing before him? Well, my brothers and sisters, Jesus is also our Judge, because He is the Great Judge of all humanity, and here we are standing in his Presence.

“Blessed are You, Lord Jesus Christ, Great King, the Prince of the kings of the Earth!”

At this very moment as I speak to you and as you listen to me, brothers and sisters, we are being interrogated ourselves before Jesus, the Great Judge; for He is the only Son of God, the Truth in Person, because He receives from the eternal Father divine Life and He lives this eternal life in the communion of the Holy Spirit. God the Trinity contains all Truth in Himself.

“Blessed are You, Lord Jesus Christ, Great King, the Prince of the kings of the Earth!”

We who are at this very moment living on planet Earth, we are surrounded by all sorts of truths proposed by human beings but which are not the truth at all. They all demand and grasp constantly after our attention, and they do it either to sell us something or to convince us of something. Whom shall we believe? In whom shall we place all our trust? That is the question of the hour, and it is undoubtedly the greatest question of our lives. There you see one of the reasons why Pope Francis has transferred the annual World Youth Days from Palm and Passion Sunday to this solemnity of Christ the King just before Advent.

“Blessed are You, Lord Jesus Christ, Great King, the Prince of the kings of the Earth!”

From the dawn of humanity, we inherit from those who preceded us a certain rejection of the Good God. God created us in communion with Him, but with the liberty to choose. We abuse of our liberty by rejecting the Good God, by turning our back on one another, and by destroying the natural environment which is our common home. We observe that humanity is still acting out its adolescence in the face of God and of life, and He, as perfect parent, He respects our choices but never gives up on the hope of winning us back by his merciful love.

How exactly do we experience this interrogation before Jesus, the Great Judge of all of humanity? We live through our interrogation in all the diverse moments of everyday life as we are faced with our neighbour, either in our family, or outside the home at work or at school, at the market, with friends, and in our refusal to take good care of the environment.

“Blessed are You, Lord Jesus Christ, Great King, the Prince of the kings of the Earth!”

At Christmas we will see who are those who turned their back on Joseph and Mary so pregnant with Jesus, and who welcomed them. The same goes for us. Whom did we welcome this week, and to whom did we turn our back? What did we do for the environment?

Today, whom will I welcome? To whom will I turn my back? This week, whom will I welcome? Against whom will I turn my back? What will I do for the environment?

“Blessed are You, Lord Jesus Christ, Great King, the Prince of the kings of the Earth!”

What personal offering of myself, represented by the bread and wine, will I now place on the Altar with Jesus? I confess and offer to the eternal Father all those against whom I have turned my back; that He may bless them and forgive me. I also offer to the eternal Father all those whom I managed to welcome since the last time I presented myself before the Altar of the Lord; for I acknowledge that it was only by the grace of God that I managed to welcome them.

Here is my prayer in my poverty: « O my Jesus, I trust in You! »

It is happy for us that the Good God greatly desires to forgive us our sins and to restore us to life, for He is God: the Father, and + the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Let us take a few moments to contemplate the Presence of God in our spirit.

 Here's something that can help us keep silence within ourselves... where we meet the Most Holy Trinity... by allowing to echo within us the Name of Jesus... Jesus... Jesus... Jesus...

https://frgilleshomilies.blogspot.com         https://homeliesabbegilles.blogspot.com

 

© 2006-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal QC           © 2006-2021 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC

We are preoccupied with ourselves, but Jesus calls us to be considerate of others, listen to them, love them, and serve them. 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time - MQP Church in JLW Parish - October 17th, 2021

 Homily MP3 version             Homily PDF version

“The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” “Let your love be upon us, Lord, even as we hope in you.”

We hear Jesus. What Jesus declares remains true today. “Among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them.” We see how those who exploit the resources of the Earth destroy the landscape, deprive all the creatures of their natural habitat, and pollute the soils, the waters, and the air. In their frantic pursuit of ever greater profits, the wealthy and their companies don’t care about the survival or the well-being of humanity, and they engage in their destructive practices with impunity. They live for today without caring practically about the consequences for tomorrow. For our part, we are so obsessed with our comfort that we justify murder by participating in the extermination of unborn children, mostly because we men do not support our women.

In the face of the destruction of Creation and the death of innumerable people, God our Creator does not impose Himself as almighty King or God to put an end to every evil. No, but rather, the Son of God continues to come among us humbly and as the One who comes to serve. He went so far as to give his life as a ransom for our sins. Jesus accepted to endure the pain of all the evil consequences of all our sins and the sins of all of humanity. He did this to obey the will of his Father; because God wants to show all of humanity for all time how He has chosen to act in order to correct the errors of humanity and the defects of Creation.

“The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” “Let your love be upon us, Lord, even as we hope in you.”

Jesus loves his apostles and teases the brothers James and John by calling them “sons of thunder”. Like all of us, they are preoccupied with their situation in life here and in eternal life, and they want to assure for themselves a “good position” for their future. Jesus teaches them a lesson, and He teaches us the same lesson, that God – almighty that He is – chooses to walk humbly among us. He has no need to impose his power; instead, God enters into solidarity with us in our weakness and in our sin. Why does He act this way? It is because He loves us and comes to show us the way; in order to save us. What exactly is salvation?

“The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” “Let your love be upon us, Lord, even as we hope in you.”

What is salvation, exactly? Jesus defined salvation as eternal life, and more specifically, He declared: “This is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” In other words, God offers us to participate in his own divine life, the divine life within the Most Holy Trinity. It is a life of authentic and practical love.

“The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” “Let your love be upon us, Lord, even as we hope in you.”

How can we adopt within ourselves the attitude of a servant? How can we recognize eternal life as communion with God? The Good God gives us lots of time to convert ourselves and to improve our behaviours. When we are responsible for others, rather than demand to be always right, we might show them patience and understanding, and offer them mercy and kindness in the face of all the challenges of life.

In our family relations, instead of always grabbing the first places, we might put ourselves at the service of the other members of our families; instead of wanting to be loved, we might put all our efforts in recognizing, affirming, loving, and serving others like they were Jesus Himself.

In our intimate relationships, let us not seek our own pleasure and comfort; let us rather try to please others and to offer them comfort and encouragement. With others and with strangers, rather than try to show ourselves as superior, let us simply be present to them, accompanying them with attentive listening in all sympathy and with encouragement.

“The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” “Let your love be upon us, Lord, even as we hope in you.”

For our own needs, let us take in hand our responsibilities, and for the rest, let us put all our trust in God by practicing to wait patiently for the unfolding of divine providence. Let us keep our spirits free to notice the needs of others and then to put ourselves at their service.

Every day, life offers us endless opportunities to practice putting our whole trust in God; for God alone is deserving to fully enjoy having all of our trust. From moment to moment, let us pray intensively to the Good God for ourselves but also for all the others in the world.

“The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” “Let your love be upon us, Lord, even as we hope in you.”

Thankfully for us the Good God never tires of forgiving us, He who is God: the Father, and + the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Let us take a few moments to let the Holy Spirit renew and deepen our trust in God.

 

https://frgilleshomilies.blogspot.com         https://homeliesabbegilles.blogspot.com

 

© 2006-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal QC           © 2006-2021 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC

God continues to replace the shepherds who do not take care of his sheep - 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time - MQP Church in JLW Parish - July 18th, 2021

 Homily MP3 version      Homily PDF version 

“My shepherd is the Lord; nothing indeed shall I want.”

From God’s point of view, we are all his sheep, and He sends shepherds into the world to take care of us. Among these shepherds there are first of all pastors – bishops, priests, and deacons – but there are also doctors, nurses, and all the personnel of the health and social services system. There are also judges, lawyers, notaries, counsellors, and therapists. We can also count those who govern us and all those who serve the population in the public service, including teachers. There are also plenty of entrepreneurs who offer all kinds of services aimed at health and well being.

According to God’s judgement, many of these shepherds are not taking care of those who are entrusted to them with competence, nor with honesty, nor with openness; some even clergy, have abused the innocents. The result: sheep are scattered by poor care; many of them even perish. For his part, God never stops caring for his sheep, and sends other shepherds who will care for his sheep according to the desire of our Creator’s heart.

“My shepherd is the Lord; nothing indeed shall I want.”

We could examine several domains of life where shepherds are not protecting the sheep. We will limit ourselves to examining their management of only three life domains: material goods, human sexuality, and human fertility.

Too many people who have access to material goods and to the resources of the Earth, to wealth, and to power let themselves be swept away by selfish attitudes and passions and then accumulate far more than they need. The first consequence is that plenty of people are deprived of access to even the basic essentials of life for themselves and their families. As well, too many businesses are so obsessed with maximizing their profits that they eliminate jobs and show no concern for ordinary people who need to work in order to provide for their families, to keep a roof over their heads, to clothe themselves, and to maintain good health.

“My shepherd is the Lord; nothing indeed shall I want.”

At every level of society, we see that many people, services, and offices reject the plan of our Creator God for our happiness. They recommend and encourage everyone to ignore God’s plan and instead to engage in all sorts of sexual practices which have nothing to do with a man and a woman together welcoming children and building their family. The indisputable results of all these diverse sexual practices are everywhere evident: infectious diseases, the loss of dignity and joy of living, vanishing concern for others, all kinds of psychological troubles – including depression – and suicide.

“My shepherd is the Lord; nothing indeed shall I want.”

When our Creator created us, He created us man and woman, and He endowed us with our fertility. When we embrace our fertility, it translates into generativity, our capacity to give life. Giving life to others opens us to the wellbeing of others and takes the center of attention off of ourselves. The first result of living for others is interior peace and joy.

Unfortunately, there are plenty of agents, shepherds at all levels of society, who see our fertility not as the blessing intended by God, but on the contrary as a curse, an illness. So, they invented medications to stifle our fertility and extinguish it. The most dramatic and troubling result of this “culture of sterility” is abortion which, in turn, has made us a “culture of death”.

In Québec there are some 23,000 abortions a year or 64 a day. In Canada, it’s 85,000 a year or 233 a day. In the U.S.A. it’s 862,000 a year or 2,400 a day. Worldwide, there are 73 million abortions a year or 200,000 a day. That’s more than Covid-19. The majority of people who offer abortion as a service don’t inform women – who are rarely accompanied by the man – about the disastrous risks from these procedures. Go see for yourselves on YouTube the documentary “Hush” which displays the data accumulated from years of scientific research.

Every woman – especially if she hasn’t had any children yet – who has one or more abortions greatly increases her risk of breast cancer, and of all kinds of psychiatric troubles: depression, sexual dysfunction, inability to carry a pregnancy to term, trouble sleeping, trauma, eating disorders, addictions, and suicide. Society creates a polemic around women’s right to choose, but they use this polemic to camouflage and hide all this crucial information that would allow women to really make a well-informed choice.

When I was a child growing up I remember hearing my grandparents, my aunts and uncles, my parents talk about how they were distressed by priests often preaching "hell and damnation" you know, "You're going to hell!", you know, pointing fingers and pounding the pulpit, you know, it was pretty dramatic, and they were probably a little bit traumatized by that. It could be one reason why many of that older generation no longer go to church. Anyway, when I became a priest 38 years ago, I was so impressed by all of those stories, that I was very reluctant to talk about these things. But I recently watched this documentary... I felt outraged... a lot of people involved in the abortion industry conceal from women the risks! Whenever we go to see a doctor, you know, planning a surgery of some kind, they always tell us the risks, but for this, no. And when women ask: "Are there any risks?", they lie, they say "No, there's no danger, no risk." It's intolerable. I could not keep from saying something about this. So, I'm sorry if anyone finds this upsetting, but the reality often is upsetting.

(Elsewhere I have already reflected on and written that if there are any women at all having an abortion, all too often it is a failure of our manhood, we men; for God designed us human beings male and female for us to make such important decisions together. God never intended for women to have to make such life and death decisions all by themselves, without any loving support. You can see for yourself what I have written here: 

https://fathergilles.blogspot.com/2020/06/abortion-is-failure-of-manhood-more.html

Thankfully for all of us our God is a loving Father, merciful and never gets tired of forgiving; for those who refuse to face the facts, the reality, the truth, eventually they will come face to face with God and they will find Him severe, but loving. For those of us who accept to admit our poverty, we find God tender and compassionate, for He is the Good Shepherd, God: the Father, + the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

“My shepherd is the Lord; nothing indeed shall I want.”

Let us take a few moments to let the Holy Spirit renew and deepen our trust in Jesus.

 

https://frgilleshomilies.blogspot.com         https://homeliesabbegilles.blogspot.com

  

© 2006-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal QC           © 2006-2021 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC

         

God is gentle and merciful and He trusts us so that we might trust in Him - Saturday in 15th Week in Ordinary Time - July 17th, 2021 - MQP Church in JLW Parish

 Gospel & Homily MP3 version 

A few related reflections....

Passing on God's Tenderness and Mercy -  Catherine Doherty, Madonna House Ap

Struggling for Joy - by Catherine Doherty, Madonna House Apostolate 

A Pathway to Peace - by Paulette Curran, Madonna House Apostolate 

Do You Want Fire? - by Fr. David May, Madonna House Apostolate 

Who Is Christ in My Life? - by Catherine Doherty, Madonna House Apostolate

+ + + + + + + + + + + +  

https://frgilleshomilies.blogspot.com         https://homeliesabbegilles.blogspot.com 

 

© 2006-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal  QC
© 2006-2021 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC

Indigenous people, our neighbors, God... We must take interest in others to develop a relationship with them and love them - 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time - MQP Church in JLW Parish - June 27th, 2021

       Homily MP3 version                                 Homily PDF version      

First, it was the bones of some 215 indigenous children that were uncovered in a common grave at a former residential school for indigenous children. Now others have discovered what may be the bones of another 751 people, probably mostly children but also including adults.

In the face of uncovered tragedy and the suspicion of foul play, investigations will look into the living conditions of the indigenous children who lived, ran away, or died in those residential schools. We need to recall how our ancestors lived in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. I grew up in the 1950’s hearing stories about my grandparents lining up in the 1930’s for “Direct Relief” – in French “Le Secours Direct” – which allowed them to buy basic food staples.

“Jesus said… ‘Do not fear, only believe.’”

During the entire period preceding WWII, there were few if any government assistance programs, and the average family did not eat very well. As children, my parents only received oranges at Christmas. So, it isn’t surprising that the religious who operated the residential schools were unable to give the children what we would consider today a balanced diet.

In the face of this tragedy, it is easy to forget that religious missionaries lived among native and indigenous peoples, learned their languages and cultures, and produced grammars and dictionaries, translating parts of the Bible into those languages and printing them. Before the missionaries, native and indigenous peoples had no written documents. Their cultures were entirely oral traditions. We as a colonizing society need to be patient with the investigations that will follow, and to enter into the dialogue that native and indigenous peoples are already opening up to all of us. They desire truthful and trusting dialogue with us as equals. Shall we?

“Jesus said… ‘Do not fear, only believe.’”

We cannot see others as equals as long as we harbor prejudices and biases that make them less than us. Once I decide to treat others as equals, then I begin to look at them and listen to them differently. I am now free to take interest in them, to try to walk in their shoes for a while, and once I do that, I discover new friends who are interesting and who have a lot to teach us.

Surprisingly, it is much the same with God. As long as we harbor grudges or doubts about God; then it is not possible for us to understand God, much less to love Him. Four generations before Jesus was born, the author of the Book of Wisdom made a strong case for God as loving Creator who designed us to live an abundant life on Earth and to go on living in eternity. When we believe that God is good, then our mind, heart, spirit, and soul open up to God and the Holy Spirit can then empower us to enter into the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity. As our interior life enters into communion with God, we become able to see life, the world, and others as God sees, and we are empowered by God to accept to be loved and to love God and others freely.

That is why the Son of God came to Earth to be conceived in Mary’s womb and be born into this world as Jesus. When He was around 30, Jesus began his public ministry, and as we saw in today’s Gospel, Jesus went about meeting people and giving them an opportunity to get to know God as kind and loving. Those who believed in Jesus were blessed in countless ways, and their lives were changed and made completely new.

“Jesus said… ‘Do not fear, only believe.’”

As it is today, some people laughed at Jesus and refused to believe. They preferred to think He was crazy. The Apostles and bearers of the Good News in every time and place have also gotten mixed reactions. Those who believe meet the living God who makes their lives new, but those who disbelieve or mock stay as they are, locked up in their closed minds and hearts.

Native and indigenous peoples in every generation since colonization began have had to endure both kinds of people. They were generally blessed by the kind and selfless missionaries, but they were made to suffer at the hands of entrepreneurs who came along and exploited them. Sadly, not all religious or clergy are saints; some of them are selfish or even mentally unstable, which makes them dangerous. That is why we must be wary, use our brains, and take care.

“Jesus said… ‘Do not fear, only believe.’”

In his letter to the Corinthians, Saint Paul calls on the generosity of the early Christians in Greece and Asia Minor, parts of Iraq and Turkey today. In 48 A.D. there was a famine in Judea and Jerusalem, and the Christians in the churches founded by Saint Paul gave generously to rescue their fellow Christians at risk of starving. We continue this charity today as we respond to appeals from Catholic and other Christian organizations that aid people suffering because of famine, war, natural disasters, and other tragedies driving them to become refugees.

“Jesus said… ‘Do not fear, only believe.’”

“Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me! O Lord, be my helper! You have turned my mourning into dancing. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever.”

Glory be to the Father, and to + the Son, and to the Holy Spirit... Amen.

Let us take a few moments to allow God to renew and deepen our trust in Him.

 

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© 2006-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal QC

God wants me to personally know Jesus as my Good Shepherd - 4th Sunday of Easter - MQP Church in JLW Parish - April 25th, 2021

     Homily MP3 version                                 Homily PDF version      

Christ is risen, alleluia! Good Day dear sisters and brothers in Christ. We rejoice today because it is the Lord’s Day, the Day of the Resurrection of Jesus. It is that special day every week God gives us so that we might rest and enjoy our family. We are also glad because we see signs in nature that Spring is here. We don’t mind the rain too much because it washes away the dirt of winter and it refreshes all green growing plants and the wild animals and birds. We rejoice in God, our Creator and our Refuge, even though the pandemic still causes us to suffer inconvenience, hardship, and in some cases illness and even death. We are glad not because of the suffering, but we rejoice because Jesus is Lord of Creation and He and the Father permit this pandemic for good reasons which we do not yet understand.

We have the testimony of Peter and Paul and the other Apostles, and we also have all the testimonies of the saints that God loves us and that Jesus is our Good Shepherd. Our parents, our bishops, our religious, and our priests have also told us these things. All these witnesses make it reasonable for us to believe that God is good and that He loves us. Still, there comes a time when testimonies from others are no longer enough. That is because God our Creator has put deep in our soul an intense desire for us to know God personally. We want to know from our own experience that God is God, that He loves us, and that our lives are safely in his hands.

Sometimes God makes Himself known to us in dramatic ways, with power and glory, but most of the time, God makes Himself known to us quietly, discretely, gently, deep in our soul. In fact, we can be blessed by God’s presence and action but take it simply as something natural, and then we let it slip away into forgetfulness. If we never stop to ponder our experiences in life and never sit quietly in God’s presence, we never learn to notice the Holy Spirit whispering in our soul. That is why it is so important to take small steps, to come visit the Lord in the church when it is quiet during the week, to come early before Sunday Mass, and to sit quietly at home.

We can sit quietly in God’s presence in church or at home in a prayer corner, in front of a holy image, statue or icon and pay attention to the Lord. In the silence, we can open the Bible and let God speak to us using the words of the Book of Psalms, or Proverbs, or the Gospels and the letters of the Apostles. At times, as we sit silently in God’s presence, the Holy Spirit may open our memory and remind us of the many moments throughout our life when we felt God’s presence, his love, or his healing grace at work within us or in our family.

The Bible is God’s sacred history of salvation which He has in every generation offered to his people from the beginning of time. God also has a sacred history of salvation with each and every one of us. We may not be aware of God’s sacred history with us if until now we have never stopped to ponder our life from our conception until today. As we decide to take the time to sit quietly in God’s presence, in church or at home, and visit with God, pondering his visits to us in our lifetime – as Mary pondered these things in her heart – then the Holy Spirit can wake us up to the sacred history God has been building up with us until today.

It is primarily in silent contemplation and prayer that the Holy Spirit can teach us to remember and to recognize the saving presence and action of God in our lives. Then we can acquire our very own conviction that God is alive, that He is good, and that He loves us, that He loves me. From that moment on, once I personally recognize that God has been with me all my life, and that I have a life-giving connection with God through Jesus; from that moment on, I can know Jesus as my Good Shepherd and be convinced that He is with me at all times.

In this way I become truly connected with God the Most Holy Trinity. There is no trouble on Earth – no pandemic, illness, pain or suffering, no loss of job or income, fire or destruction, no prospect of dying that can frighten me. God is greater than all these threats, and I can know inside myself that in his own time God will save me from all such dangers and troubles.

Our Baptism and Confirmation in the Most Holy Trinity are God’s power at work in us through life as God fills us with divine life and love, making us truly daughters and sons of God with Jesus as our older brother. It is this realization that we belong to God and that He is our treasure that motivates women and men to marry and have children, raising them up to know and love God. This is also how men hear Jesus calling them to follow Him and to serve his people as deacon or priest. This is how women and men hear Jesus calling them to join a religious community and dedicate their lives to serving Jesus in his people the Church.

Two weeks ago, I turned 72. I have been privileged and blessed to serve Jesus as one of his priests for almost 38 years now. I look forward to serving Him for the rest of my life, and I will be glad to do so until I am in my 90’s. However, I no longer serve like Fr. Francis in the Parish all week long. I stopped being in parishes full time 7 years ago in 2013. Who will take my place? Jesus is still calling men to follow Him, but are they being quiet enough to hear his voice? Perhaps they are afraid to hear Jesus calling them or to answer his call.

From a human point of view, it could be terrifying to think about becoming a priest. But that is because being a priest is not a job. It is not only a human activity. Before he ordained me a priest, Archbishop Grégoire said I would be “welded to Christ. Jesus would join his mind, heart, and soul to my mind, heart, and soul.” He spoke the truth. It is a wonderful adventure to become a priest and to live my life joined to Jesus, loving and serving Him in his Church.

Please pray for the men Jesus is calling that they may not be afraid to listen to his voice and to answer Him. We even have a priest who was married, has a daughter, was divorced, and his marriage was annulled. Jesus then called him to be a priest. Christ is risen, alleluia!

Let us put all our trust in God the Father, + the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Let us take a few moments in reflect on Jesus’ tender loving care for us.

 

https://frgilleshomilies.blogspot.com   © 2006-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Poustinik

God in Jesus accompanies us into the storm and saves us - 3rd Sunday of Easter - LSM sponsored by CAM - April 18th, 2021 - OLF Parish

    Homily MP3 version                                 Homily PDF version      

Christ is risen, alleluia! Good evening dear sisters and brothers in Christ. So, how are you? How is your family? Although we are in Easter joy, nevertheless, life goes on. I was in a parish this morning that is grieving because their elderly English choir leader was killed by fire in his sleep this week, leaving his elderly handicapped wife with burned lungs and throat. Life is not a picnic by any stretch of the imagination.

The troubles of life often leave us sick to our stomach, flabbergasted, and in shock. All the evil in the world seems an insult to life and to our human dignity. In fact, God is even more horrified than we are in the face of all that is evil. What’s even more astounding is that God understands our inability to react or to respond when evil knocks us down.

The Acts of the Apostles remind us that God in his goodness shows understanding to the people and religious leaders who put Jesus to death. God had already foreseen that his envoy from Heaven would be rejected and killed, but He fully intended to make of his death the very instrument by which God would offer us liberation from our sins, from every evil, and from the very fear of death itself.

Admittedly, it is difficult for us on seeing Jesus to acknowledge him the Son of God and our Lord. Even the Apostles “were startled and terrified” when Jesus appeared to them. They remained “frightened… and doubts arose in their hearts… disbelieving and still wondering” for quite some time. Jesus made considerable efforts to convince them that it was indeed Him and that He had indeed overcome death itself.

As incredible as it seems, God has confidence in us, even though from all time God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit had foreseen that when the Son would come to Earth, very few of us would be capable of welcoming Him, and the powerful among us would put Him to death. Not only had the Father foreseen this disaster, but He wanted that Jesus’ death would give ultimate expression to the merciful love of God for humanity.

In spite of their terror and astonishment, their doubt, and their slowness to believe all that Jesus had taught them, Jesus is fully confident in his Apostles. He takes the time to “open their minds to understand the Scriptures”. Then, concerning all these things, Jesus said to them “You are witnesses of these things.” Notice that Jesus did not send them out to the whole world; He did not put pressure on them to carry on his mission. No. Jesus left them entirely free and to their own initiative to decide for themselves whether they wanted to be his witnesses.

Brothers and sisters, do you realize how free you are before God? God does not push you in the back to do this or to do that…. What God desires is that we all personally meet Jesus, that we may become convinced ourselves that Jesus is living, that He is risen from the dead, that He is with us, that He loves us, and that He would like us to be his witnesses today. Jesus wants to share with us his own joy and He wants our joy to be complete, but He wants it to be really our own experience, that we may truly taste the goodness of his love within us.

It's possible for us to meet God when life is wonderful, when we are successful, when all goes well, when we find nature beautiful, when it feels good to be alive. Yes. But more often than not, when all goes well, we are inclined to not even think about God. We all too often forget to thank Him. We don’t realize that the most important reason to go to church on Sunday is to give thanks to God and glorify Him. We don’t often think during the day to adore the Lord in his grandeur, in his goodness, for his love and for his inexhaustible mercy. We are often distracted.

As it is, all too often it is when things go wrong, when we suffer, when we feel alone or rejected, all too often it is in the storm that we think of God. When we finally do turn to Him, He lets us know that He is always there for us, that He is always here, and always ready to rescue us and to welcome us into his love. Jesus calls us to not be afraid to live, to not be afraid of life, to not be afraid of the unknown; for He is always with us.

When we are tempted, Jesus gives us his Spirit to helps us resist the temptation and to put all our trust in Him. When we are in pain, Jesus reminds us that He endured his passion so that he could share all our distress; so that we might realize by his presence that we are never alone and that He is our strength.

When we are faced with people who bother us, Jesus helps us to understand that these people are offered to us by God to provide us with the opportunity to love our neighbor as God loves us, even when they are difficult to love.

In the storm of our emotions, we can, with Jesus, stop, remember, and put our trust in the love of God for us, and encouraged by his love, we can choose to go through our trials with attitudes of love and of peace. In spire of the burden of our emotions, we can put aside our anxieties, preoccupations, and worries, and instead turn to God, and with God we can show mercy to our neighbor, our family, and even to strangers. Christ is risen, alleluia!

Allowing God to manifest the power of his love and mercy through us in all our encounters with others, this is the joy of Easter! Let us find our delight in God the Father, + the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Let us take a few moments in reflect on Jesus radiant presence among us.

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© 2006-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Poustinik