Discernment of Spirits - Jesus ascended to the Father but did not leave us orphans, giving us his Church to help us learn the "ways of the Lord" - Ascension Sunday, May 16th, 2021

The Ascension of the Lord Jesus into Heaven 

On ascending into Heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father, our Risen Lord Jesus did not leave us orphans, but left us in the care of a mother, his Church, at the hands of his apostles. Jesus remains to this day and until the end faithful to the promise He made to them as recorded by Matthew in 28:16-20.

"Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

 

The 14 Rules for Discerning of Spirits - "The Different Movements Which Are Caused In The Soul"

RULES FOR PERCEIVING AND KNOWING IN SOME MANNER THE DIFFERENT MOVEMENTS WHICH ARE CAUSED IN THE SOUL; THE GOOD, TO RECEIVE THEM, AND THE BAD TO REJECT THEM. AND THEY ARE MORE PROPER FOR THE FIRST WEEK IN THE FOUR WEEKS OF THE SPIRITUAL EXERCISES OF SAINT IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA.

Listen to Audio Podcast Teachings By Fr. Timothy Gallagher OMV 

    (1). The first Rule: In the persons who go from mortal sin to mortal sin, the enemy is commonly used to propose to them apparent pleasures, making them imagine sensual delights and pleasures in order to hold them more and make them grow in their vices and sins. In these persons the good spirit uses the opposite method, pricking them and biting their consciences through the process of reason.

    (2). The second: In the persons who are going on intensely cleansing their sins and rising from good to better in the service of God our Lord, it is the method contrary to that in the first Rule, for then it is the way of the evil spirit to bite, sadden and put obstacles, disquieting with false reasons, that one may not go on; and it is proper to the good to give courage and strength, consolations, tears, inspirations and quiet, easing, and putting away all obstacles, that one may go on in well doing.

    (3). The third: OF SPIRITUAL CONSOLATION. I call it consolation when some interior movement in the soul is caused, through which the soul comes to be inflamed with love of its Creator and Lord; and when it can in consequence love no created thing on the face of the earth in itself, but in the Creator of them all.

Likewise, when it sheds tears that move to love of its Lord, whether out of sorrow for one’s sins, or for the Passion of Christ our Lord, or because of other things directly connected with His service and praise. Finally, I call consolation every increase of hope, faith and charity, and all interior joy which calls and attracts to heavenly things and to the salvation of one’s soul, quieting it and giving it peace in its Creator and Lord.

     (4). The fourth: OF SPIRITUAL DESOLATION. I call desolation all the contrary of the third1 rule, such as darkness2 of soul, disturbance in it, movement to things low and earthly, the unquiet of different agitations and temptations, moving to want of confidence, without hope, without love, when one finds oneself all lazy, tepid, sad, and as if separated from his Creator and Lord. Because, as consolation is contrary to desolation, in the same way the thoughts which come from consolation are contrary to the thoughts which come from desolation.

    (5). The fifth: In time of desolation never to make a change; but to be firm and constant in the resolutions and determination in which one was the day preceding such desolation, or in the determination in which he was in the preceding consolation. Because, as in consolation it is rather the good spirit who guides and counsels us, so in desolation it is the bad, with whose counsels we cannot take a course to decide rightly.

    (6). The sixth: The Golden Rule of the Interior Life - the Counter-Attack - Although in desolation we ought not to change our first resolutions, it is very helpful intensely to change ourselves against the same desolation, as by insisting more on prayer, meditation, on much examination, and by giving ourselves more scope in some suitable way of doing penance.

    (7). The seventh: Let him who is in desolation consider how the Lord has left him in trial in his natural powers, in order to resist the different agitations and temptations of the enemy; since he can with the Divine help, which always remains to him, though he does not clearly perceive it: because the Lord has taken from him his great fervor, great love and intense grace, leaving him, however, grace enough for eternal salvation.

    (8). The eighth: Let him who is in desolation labor to be in patience, which is contrary to the vexations which come to him: and let him think that he will soon be consoled, employing against the desolation the devices, as is said in the sixth Rule.1

    (9). The ninth: Why does the Good God permit temptation? There are three principal reasons why we find ourselves desolate.

The first is, because of our being tepid, lazy or negligent in our spiritual exercises; and so through our faults, spiritual consolation withdraws from us. The second, to try us and see how much we are and how much we let ourselves out in His service and praise without such great pay of consolation and great graces. The third, to give us true acquaintance and knowledge, that we may interiorly feel that it is not ours to get or keep great devotion, intense love, tears, or any other spiritual consolation, but that all is the gift and grace of God our Lord, and that we may not build a nest in a thing not ours, raising our intellect into some pride or vainglory, attributing to us devotion or the other things of the spiritual consolation.

    (10). The tenth: Let him who is in consolation think how he will be in the desolation which will come after, taking new strength for then.

    (11). The eleventh: Let him who is consoled see to humbling himself and lowering himself as much as he can, thinking how little he is able for in the time of desolation without such grace or consolation. On the contrary, let him who is in desolation think that he can do much with the grace sufficient to resist all his enemies, taking strength in his Creator and Lord.

    (12). The twelfth: The enemy acts like a woman, in being weak against vigor and strong of will. Because, as it is the way of the woman when she is quarrelling with some man to lose heart, taking flight when the man shows 1Sixth Rule is in the handwriting of St. Ignatius, replacing fourth Rule.her much courage: and on the contrary, if the man, losing heart, begins to fly, the wrath, revenge, and ferocity of the woman is very great, and so without bounds; in the same manner, it is the way of the enemy to weaken and lose heart, his temptations taking flight, when the person who is exercising himself in spiritual things opposes a bold front against the temptations of the enemy, doing diametrically the opposite. And on the contrary, if the person who is exercising himself commences to have fear and lose heart in suffering the temptations, there is no beast so wild on the face of the earth as the enemy of human nature in following out his damnable intention with so great malice.

     (13). The thirteenth: Likewise, he acts as a licentious lover in wanting to be secret and not revealed. For, as the licentious man who, speaking for an evil purpose, solicits a daughter of a good father or a wife of a good husband, wants his words and persuasions to be secret, and the contrary displeases him much, when the daughter reveals to her father or the wife to her husband his licentious words and depraved intention, because he easily gathers that he will not be able to succeed with the undertaking begun: in the same way, when the enemy of human nature brings his wiles and persuasions to the just soul, he wants and desires that they be received and kept in secret; but when one reveals them to his good Confessor or to another spiritual person that knows his deceits and evil ends, it is very grievous to him, because he gathers, from his manifest deceits being discovered, that he will not be able to succeed with his wickedness begun.

    (14). The fourteenth: Likewise, he behaves as a chief bent on conquering and robbing what he desires: for, as a captain and chief of the army, pitching his camp, and looking at the forces or defences of a stronghold, attacks it on the weakest side, in like manner the enemy of human nature, roaming about, looks in turn at all our virtues, theological, cardinal and moral; and where he finds us weakest and most in need for our eternal salvation, there he attacks us and aims at taking us.

The above was cited from: 

The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola TRANSLATED FROM THE AUTOGRAPH BY FATHER ELDER MULLAN, S.J. I.H.S. Scanned by Harry Plantinga, 1994 This etext is in the public domain.

Saint Joseph, pray for us. 

© 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

Obedient to the Holy Spirit, we can rejoice in persecution and be joyful witnesses for God and for life - Saturday, 5th week of Easter - May 8th, 2021 - Mary Queen of the World Basilica Cathedral for QLC

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Pilgrimage with our Blessed Mother for Life 

Abortion, Human Rights, Animal Rights, and Human Dignity

        I watched the April 12th Vision TV Current Affairs show “Test of Faith” attempt to open up the debate on abortion.  I was somewhat surprised at first that none of the guests were very willing to take the animator up on the question.  Is it that the pro-choice lobby has become so successful that there is now a generalized public impression that to even raise the question about the morality of abortion is automatically branded as a stance against women? 
        In that regard, I believe the same to be true about the debate around same-sex marriage.  The gay lobby has also been quite successful in reshaping public opinion, so that any attempt at legitimate debate on the nature and value of marriage in human society as an institution always understood to be for a man and a woman is immediately branded as an attack against gay rights.  In other words, I believe that what we are witnessing in our time and culture is the advent of inverse tolerance: we pride ourselves at being tolerant and go so far as to defend our tolerance by attacking and condemning anyone who disagrees with us, and we do it in not so subtle fashion by branding them as intolerant by simple virtue of the fact that they wish to disagree with the formerly and perhaps still minority view that is entrenching itself in the public forum as the self-appointed correct view.
        To get back to the animator’s attempt to stir up some debate on abortion, there really wasn't much debate on abortion itself.  What I remember hearing was mostly an affirmation of women's rights to make their own moral choices.  That's a fairly safe position to adopt.  Even those that are considered "conservative" Roman Catholic Christians hold to the primacy of the individual conscience.  When people like Pope John Paul II make public declarations about abortion and other moral issues, they are simply trying to carry out their mandated responsibility to express the positions that emerge from what is called the natural law - the common denominator of truth that the average human being can perceive within them - whether or not they follow it.  For example, the majority of German citizens from 1932 on knew in their conscience that what was happening to their Jewish neighbors was wrong, but for various reasons, they chose to ignore their conscience.  The debate on abortion would have been more complete and there would have been more of a chance to reach for the whole truth if more had been said about the nature of abortion and how that relates to our nature as human beings.
        The animator attempted to bring into the debate recent scientific research, but I sensed she was too polite - actually a scientist would have been in a better position to make those points.  There is an inner logic that what is conceived by a man and woman in her is human from the very first instant of fertilization.  No scientific research has been able to establish that there is any intervention whatever that takes place after fertilization that could demonstrate or prove a change in the nature of the living organism that just goes on multiplying and growing.  All the visible changes that occur are all contained in the genetic coding of the very first fertilized cell, much as the roots, trunk, branches, leaves, flowers, seeds, and fruit are all contained in the seed of a fruit tree.  An apple seed never produces anything other than an apple tree, and apples of the very same kind as the fruit from which the seed came. 
        If then, what is conceived is indeed fully human, but just so little that it cannot yet be conscious as we understand consciousness or speak for itself, then this raises two questions.  First, at what point of development does that consciousness become human?  Second, if what we are aborting is little human persons, what are the problems that emerge from this action?
        The Nazis were not the first and they won't be the last to set limits on what can be granted the status of human being.  The long-standing Christian view - though there are some who claim to be Christian but deny the basic tenets of their faith - is that the essence of human dignity is that we have this dignity by the very fact of our nature.  As Genesis puts it, we have been created in the image and likeness of God.  No one can have the temerity to claim for themselves the right to grant or deny that dignity.  It is there from the first moment of independent and spontaneous self-sustaining growth, regardless of the flaws that may occur in that growth - in other words - from the first moment of fertilization.
        This implies then that whenever we abort a human life - from as early as the contraceptive pill that disallows the fertilized cell cluster from adhering to the uterine wall to as late as final term abortions or even infant killings as was practiced by the Greeks of antiquity - we are murdering a human life.  Of course, this is the very discourse that all who advocate pro-choice and the rights of women to do what they want or need to do with whatever is contained within the confines of their body at times stridently refuse to hear or allow to be spoken. 
        I really do sympathize with women - especially young women - who find themselves with an unwanted pregnancy, and deeply pity the men - especially the young men - who avoid their opportunity to become men and shirk their responsibilities to the woman they have ravished and the life she has conceived.  What we have is a mess, which in many ways is of our own making.  I remember not so long ago as a child watching movies where the young adult children rebelled against their parents' restrictive moral directions and engaged in uncommitted sexual intercourse, sometimes getting away with it, and sometimes not.  What became evil was no longer the irresponsible sex, but the parental attempts to impose limits on their children's behavior.  Granted, the parenting may have often been faulty.  You can forbid and punish a young child, but an adolescent and young adult needs to be trained and prepared to make personal and responsible decisions.  If they are never allowed to decide and make mistakes, then they will deliberately go against their parents' directions simply to affirm their independence and strive to search for their innate human dignity, which they sense within them.
        On the other hand, our culture has become so allergic to authority as to become blind to anything but our own desires, views, opinions, feelings, and inclinations.  As a society, we have come to take a very adolescent stance in the face of life: we want to do what we want to do, but are in total denial of the facts of life - the laws of nature and the natural law of conscience - we want reality to be the way we want it, and when it isn't we resort to bending it out of shape so it can fit our distorted desires.  It is a massive attempt to exert mind over matter.  Because the life in the womb is defenseless, there is no longer anyone to oppose our distorted self-will.  There used to be laws that were an attempt to enshrine in human law the dictates of the natural law and human conscience, but since so many are now in denial of both, it no longer made sense to keep the law on the books.  In a way, human justice is a reflection of the common conscience of the people.  As it was in Nazi Germany, so it can be again anywhere, anytime.
        As a practitioner in the development of human consciences - through my ministry of guidance and in the Sacrament of Reconciliation where the faithful of all ages come to confess the sins of which they have become aware - it has been my experience that there truly is a natural law that is discernible by the individual human heart and conscience.  It is there even in the absence of parental restraints.  It is there even in the almost complete absence of restrains in our open, western culture.  Anytime people go against their conscience, they begin to live a life of inner torment, without inner peace.  Whenever they go along with their conscience, such as it is and often in error or not fully informed, but against the natural law, it's only a question of time before the consequences of their choices cause sufficient upheaval within them to bring to awareness at least the basic notion that all is not well within them.
        At times like that, without telling them what I think is wrong with them, a little guided tour through the landscape of their living situation and conditions, of their choices and preferences, of their opinions and views, and of how all of that compares with what is to be found in the Christian and Jewish Scriptures, usually begins to bring sufficient light within their conscience that the penny begins to drop and they can draw their own conclusions about where they have gone wrong.  No one needs to tell them.
        The problem, I think, with the sterility of the current debate is that there is a whole view - the one anyone disagrees with - that is being demonized (on both sides) with the result that there really isn't a true debate.  Only partial truths are being admitted to the debate.  Only partial conclusions can be reached.  When all is said and done, there may be the temporary comfort of having our own way, but this is not what acknowledges our human dignity in all of its stature, nor is it what respects the individual person in all their potential for living a fully human existence.  We are settling for something less that fully human, and we are condemning whole generations by attempting to lock them into partial truths.  At some point, it can only blow up in our faces, and when the younger generations some day awaken to all of the truth involved here, we can expect them to have considerable contempt for how we will have disrespected their freedom of conscience.
        I found it most interesting that the topic lined up for the following week - this past Monday - was the debate on animal rights.  Isn't it ironic that on the same planet at the same time we can find views that will on the one hand deny the humanity, dignity, and rights of the unborn human lives unwanted for whatever reasons, and on the other hand come to the defense of the rights of animals to be treated humanely?  I must admit that the contrast leaves me almost speechless.  Silence in the face of such a contradiction is in some ways the better response.  As they say in poker, "Read 'em and weep!" 
        Still, I would like to make one point here.  Through all of human history, it has been generally considered part of a woman and all women's dignity that they have the capacity and determination to generously conceive, nurture, deliver, and rear human beings, with the support of their man.  No matter the circumstances, it saddens me to observe the harm that a woman does to her own nature when the confines of her body - designed to be a place of nurture, safety, and tender care - becomes a place of deliberately dealt out death.  We all know how tragic and painful miscarriages are, and how devastated many women feel afterwards - even though it was not at all their fault - we can only begin to imagine the dire consequences for the female psyche when the life they carry is deliberately terminated. 

Even in the case of rape, though that act was so terribly wrong and such a violation, an additional wrong and violence can't make it right, but only further violates the dignity of her womb, her body, her sense of herself, her conscience.  I can only weep.  And I am outraged at attempts - without anger at those who do so with the best of intentions - to declare abortion OK, or without serious consequences, or less wrong, or whatever.  Killing is killing.  It just isn't self-defense as in war, when the one to be killed is an aggressor who fully and deliberately intends to take lives.
        In addition, it has also been generally considered part of a man and all men’s dignity that they have the capacity and determination to care for their woman or wife and for the human life she conceives, nurtures, delivers, and rears, and to defend them from all external dangers.  It saddens me to observe the disintegration of the male psyche into something base and less than human that seeks only its own comfort and ease.  I am equally outraged at attempts by men but also by parents to leave the burden of unwanted pregnancies on the shoulders and consciences of the women – it is unfair that the man be allowed to escape what the unfortunate woman cannot – since she cannot escape her own body or feminine nature.  Our notion of the male nature is so damaged that there is little or no sense of failure when the man just abandons the woman and goes back to his own narcissistic agenda and his parents are content to let the woman’s family bear the whole burden.

In conclusion, I must thank the animator for at least attempting to spark the debates.  If I may make a suggestion, it would be that animators research and find other speakers who can better represent the other facets of any given issue, so that there may be more likelihood of at least touching on the full spectrum of facets to the usually multifaceted truths of our human existence.

Fr. Gilles A. Surprenant, pastor – St. Thomas à Becket Parish – Montreal QC – April 2004

© 2004-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal  QC
© 2004-2021 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC 

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

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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

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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.

https://frgilleshomilies.blogspot.com   

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

Easter Sunday / - Dimanche de Pâques - 4 avril / April 4th, 2021 - Paroisse Sainte-Suzanne Parish

 Gospel & Homily / Évangile et Homélie - version MP3        - version PDF   

Christ est ressuscité! Alléluia! (Il est vraiment ressuscité! Alléluia!) (Expliquer)

Christ is risen! Alleluia! (He is truly risen! Alleluia!) (Explain)

Frères et sœurs, la résurrection de Jésus n’est pas un événement de l’ordre de la politique, de l’économie, ou de la culture populaire; ni alors, ni aujourd’hui. La preuve est que Pierre devait tout annoncer et expliquer au centurion romain et sa maisonnée. Le matin de Pâques, Pierre est allé avec Jean au tombeau et ils l’ont trouvé vide comme Marie Madeleine. Ensuite Jésus leur est apparu, mais au début ils étaient lents à croire ce que Jésus leur avait déclaré : qu’Il devait mourir et ensuite ressusciter le troisième jour. Pour nous non plus, la résurrection de Jésus n’est pas évidente. Nous avons tous à croire en Jésus et Lui faire confiance.

So, the resurrection of Jesus was not a fact belonging to the political or economic world of those days; nor was it part of popular culture, no more than it is today. Peter and John and the other apostles and disciples were slow to believe what Jesus had told them: that He would die and rise again on the third day. Jesus’ resurrection is not obvious for us either. We need to put our faith in Jesus and trust Him. God waits for our faith in order to give us new life.

When we were baptized, we were introduced to God and the Father adopted us as his very own children. God loves every human being, but through Baptism we are brought into a more personal and intimate relationship with our Creator in Jesus. Now it’s up to us every day to make room for God in the course of living our days and nights.

Par le baptême nous avons été introduits au Bon Dieu et le Père nous a adoptés pour ses propres enfants en Jésus. Dieu aime tous les êtres humains, mais par le Baptême nous entrons dans une relation plus personnelle et intime avec notre Créateur. Maintenant c’est à nous de faire de la place pour Dieu dans le courant de nos jours et de nos nuits.

Pourquoi souffrons-nous tant de découragements, d’anxiétés, de craintes, ou de désespoir au milieu de nos défis, de nos troubles, de nos déceptions, de nos craintes, et de tout ce qui vient assombrir nos existences? Au fond de nous il existe toujours un doute que Dieu est vraiment bon. Toutes les misères du monde semblent crier à pleine voix que Dieu est méchant. Mais cette voix ténébreuse et malfaisante est la voix du diable – l’adversaire de Dieu qui divise et cherche à nous séparer de Dieu. Son nom est aussi Satan, l’Accusateur.

C’est un non-sens que nous pourrions être séparés de Dieu… Jésus a accepté d’être exécuté pour nous démontrer à quel point Dieu est pour nous et qu’Il nous aime. Dieu fait déjà tout ce qu’il Lui est possible de faire; maintenant c’est à nous de donner une réponse à ses avances d’amour et de réconciliation. Allons-nous humblement admettre notre péché et nos fautes? Allons-nous accepter son pardon? Allons-nous croire qu’Il nous aime? Allons-nous chercher à L’aimer à notre tour? Mais comment nous est-il possible d’aimer Dieu?

Why is it that in the course of our challenges, troubles, disappointments, fears, and all that darkens our human existence we suffer so much discouragement, anxiety, fear, and despair? Deep down we doubt that God is really good. The world is full of troubles which seem to cry out loudly that God is evil. To tell the truth, this dark and evil voice is that of the devil – God’s enemy who divides and tries to separate us from God. His name is also Satan, the Accuser.

It doesn’t make sense that we could be separated from God… Jesus accepted to be executed to show us how much God is for us and loves us. God is already doing all He could possibly do; now it’s up to us to give a response to his overtures of love and reconciliation. Will we humbly admit our sin and our faults? Will we accept his forgiveness? Will we believe that He loves us? Will we try to love Him back? But how exactly can we possibly love God back?

How can we love God or give Him anything when He is already complete? God is a Holy Trinity of divine Persons full of life and of love for each other; we cannot add anything to God. However, since God loves us, He hates to see us suffer and be miserable; so, we can stop causing misery and stop hurting ourselves and each other. We can accept to be loved by God and show gratitude by loving our neighbor; even when the neighbor is difficult to love.

Comment est-il possible d’aimer Dieu, Lui qui est une Sainte Trinité de Personnes divines pleines de vie et d’amour mutuel? Dieu est déjà complet et on ne peut rien ajouter à Dieu. Mais puisque Dieu nous aime, Il n’aime pas nous voir souffrir. Nous pouvons cesser de nous faire du mal à nous-mêmes et aux autres. Nous pouvons permettre à Dieu de nous aimer et montrer notre gratitude en aimant notre prochain; surtout quand notre prochain est difficile à aimer.

Nous laissons Dieu nous aimer quand nous Lui ouvrons notre pensée, notre cœur, et notre esprit par la prière souvent durant la journée et même la nuit. Dieu nous invite à être intime avec Lui; alors pourquoi pas le faire? Nous aimons Dieu quand nous acceptons l’invitation de Jésus de participer à la Sainte Eucharistie le dimanche pour ensuite faire de toute la journée du dimanche le Jour du Seigneur pour nous reposer et prendre joie dans notre famille et nos amis.

We let God love us when we open to Him our thoughts, our heart, and our spirit through prayer often during the day and even at night. God invites us into intimate friendship with Him; so, why not do it? We love God back when we accept Jesus’ invitation to participate in his Holy Eucharist on Sunday and rest all day long on the Lord’s Day and take our delight in our family and in our friends. C’est l’Esprit Saint qui vient à notre aide pour nous ouvrir à Dieu. The Holy Spirit is with us to help us love God: the Father, + the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Let us take a few moments in silence to reflect on this Good News given to us by the Lord. (bil) 

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© 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

Palm Sunday / Passion Sunday - LSM sponsored by CAM - March 28th, 2021 - OLF Parish

  Gospel & Homily MP3 version                                 Homily PDF version     

Dear brothers and sisters, what a story we are living today! We have been held captive for a year now by this worldwide Covid-19 Pandemic. Behold! Today we have been allowed – to a maximum of 250 people – to return to church. Naturally, we must still observe the public health protocols; so, our church doors have not yet been opened wide. Here, the maximum is closer to 65. Still, we can give thanks to God for inspiring those who govern us to allow us to worship God this Holy Week and for Easter.

Today, the Lord’s Day, is a day of contradictions – we call it Palm Sunday but also Passion Sunday. The palms are for praising Jesus and for welcoming Him as King… while the passion, well that is literally the execution of our God. On one side of our face, we make Jesus our King, but on the other side, we kill Him. We have really messed things up…. What a story!

God must love us a lot to send his only-begotten Son to Earth, and for the Son who became Jesus to accept to take the risk of living among us. We’re a sorry lot, and I include myself in this. Sooner or later, we hurt those we love, and we neglect or forget our loved ones when it doesn’t suit us anymore to please them. We believe in God, but we don’t really expect Him to make a difference in our daily lives. We constantly throw ourselves into taking charge of our situations just because we can’t stand to wait to give God time to act. What a story!

Nevertheless, Jesus knows us very well; so, the big shock is that He loves us anyway! So, this is the great drama of Holy Week. What shall we make of Jesus? This year, how will we react to the proclamation of his passion, his death, and his resurrection? What shall we do about our life, our family, our situations and our concerns? What a story!

In addition, it is as clear as mountain stream water that God invites us to enter into intimate family relations with the Most Holy Trinity. Jesus presents us to his Father and the Father invites us to accept his love, his forgiveness, and his great mercy. The Holy Spirit invites us to enter more deeply into our spirit, and there to welcome friendship with the living God. These three Divine Persons invite us to show our love and gratitude by loving our family and our neighbour as ourselves. How shall we respond? What a story!

And here is the clincher. God asks us to forgive each other all our sins and all our faults, without limit! He even wants us to love our enemies, without necessarily making them friends; at least there’s that. What a story!

This Holy Week let us walk together with the Apostles, Mary Magdalene, Veronica, Simon of Cyrene, Mary the Mother of Jesus, and accompany Jesus on his Way of the Cross; as we pray to God: the Father, + the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Let us take a few moments in silence to reflect on Jesus’ awesome Passion.

https://frgilleshomilies.blogspot.com  

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3/28/21 | Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion - The main event upon which our faith is based... Had it not been for what happened between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday, we would never have heard of Jesus. - Homily by Archbishop Seán Patrick O'Malley OFM Cap of Boston Archdiocese, MA

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Pope Francis on Palm Sunday: Let us ask for the grace to be amazed 

Presiding over the liturgy of Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion, Pope Francis underscored the sense of interior amazement that marks this celebration and remains with us throughout Holy Week. For the second year in a row, Pope Francis led the celebration of Palm Sunday inside Saint Peter’s Basilica with a limited congregation participating due to the Coronavirus pandemic. At the same time, millions joined the celebration with the customary global television and radio broadcasts and live streaming. In his homily for the occasion, the Holy Father focused his thoughts around the sense of amazement evoked in today’s liturgy and all of Holy Week, since we go from the joy of welcoming Jesus as he enters Jerusalem to the sorrow of seeing him condemned to death and crucified. We hear of the crowds shouting “Hosanna” and a few days later crying out “Crucify him”. The Pope said this contrast reflected a reality where people admired Jesus, but did not let themselves be amazed by him. He said both terms are fundamentally different: admiration “can be wordly” since it follows its own likes and expectations, whereas, amazement remains open to the wonder of others and the newness they bring, allowing our attitudes and lives to change as a result. We have to go be beyond admiring Jesus, the Pope said, and “follow in his footsteps, to let ourselves be challenged by him; to pass from admiration to amazement.”

Homily of Pope Francis on Palm Sunday 2021 HD on YouTube 

Every year this liturgy leaves us amazed: we pass from the joy of welcoming Jesus as he enters Jerusalem to the sorrow of watching him condemned to death and then crucified. That sense of interior amazement will remain with us throughout Holy Week. Let us reflect more deeply on it. From the start, Jesus leaves us amazed. His people give him a solemn welcome, yet he enters Jerusalem on a lowly colt. His people expect a powerful liberator at Passover, yet he comes to bring the Passover to fulfilment by sacrificing himself. His people are hoping to triumph over the Romans by the sword, but Jesus comes to celebrate God’s triumph through the cross. What happened to those people who in a few days’ time went from shouting “Hosanna” to crying out “Crucify him”? What happened?

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

Are we really "good enough Catholics"? Or does Jesus expect more from each and every one of us? Tuesday in the 2nd Week of Lent

  Sign of the +                            Greeting                        

 Penitential Rite         Brothers and sisters let us acknowledge our sins and so prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries.  

HOMILY

Do you know that people generally tell me they are Good Catholics? They believe that they are “doing enough” to satisfy God’s expectations. “We go to Church often enough. We give enough to the poor and to the Church. With regards to sexuality and other moral questions, we are good enough. Although this attitude seems to be almost universal, there is a question that bothers me and just won’t go away. Is being “good enough” really pleasing God our Father?

Come to think of it, I find distasteful people who seem content to be “just long enough” with me in person, on the phone, or by email. By contrast, I believe we all much prefer the person who enjoys our company so much that they lose track of time and almost miss an appointment. Our human heart, mind, soul, and body are made for relationship, and only authentic personal relationships are deeply satisfying and meaningful to us. This is real life. This is really living.

Why should eternal life be different? We have been designed for relationships with other human beings and also with God the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. John the Beloved Disciple, Apostle, and Evangelist in his Gospel in chapter 17 verse 3 recalls Jesus saying: “And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” That means that by the gift of God, by his grace, we can already taste here and now on Earth how good it is to know and to love the Father and the Son Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit.

The sad reality is that we don’t do the good we want to do, and we don’t always avoid the evil that deep down we don’t want to do, but we do it anyway. God is not pleased because He knows this is not how we can give meaning and purpose to our lives; this is not the way to love God, others, and ourselves with our whole mind, heart, soul, and strength. Because He truly loves us and wants our lives to become truly meaningful, good, and beautiful, God is eager to forgive us if only we are willing to confess to Him our sinfulness and seek his forgiveness.

Jesus hated the scribes and Pharisees because they were hypocrites who preferred pleasure and comfort rather than make room for others in their hearts. Jesus taught people to do what the religious leaders taught, because they were teaching the Word of God, but Jesus warned people not to imitate what they did, because they did not live in accord with the Word of God. The religious leaders did not care about people or about God. God wants us to care for Him as well as for others, because only then will we live truly of love and taste the goodness of our life.

It is hard for us to go to a priest and confess our sins. We don’t like to admit we messed up. Yet this is how Jesus wants us to reconcile with God, because Confession humbles us and makes us real. “Father in Heaven, help us put away our pride and humbly declare by confessing our sins that You are God: the Father, + the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Blessing and Dismissal

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© 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

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God offers us friendship and calls us to accept that we need to believe and trust in Him - 2nd Sunday of Lent, Feb. 28, 2021 - MQP - JLW Parish

 The Gospel and Homily MP3 file                    The Homily PDF file   

Today, the Lord’s Day, Almighty God speaks to us, the divine Eternal Word of our Father in Heaven and Eternal Son speaks to us about human sacrifice, trials and tribulations, the scary reality that God lets us be tempted and tested, and the transfiguration of Jesus in the presence of his chosen Apostles Peter, James, and John.

When we hear or read about human sacrifices, we spontaneously think of primitive societies and of people practicing primitive religions in which idols – strange gods who are not the true God but in fact are probably demons – demand human sacrifice. It seems shocking to us that God, who called Abram to leave ancestral religion behind, to leave his country for an unknown land He promised to give him; that God now demanded that Abram sacrifice his only son.

When Abram left his homeland, he also put behind him the local religion with its common practice of making human sacrifices. Abram followed God’s voice for 25 years and God blessed Abram and lengthened his name to Abraham as a pledge of his promise that he would have so many descendants that he would expand and become a people, God’s Chosen People.

As it happened, God gave Abraham and Sarah in their old age only one son, Isaac. So, it is all the more difficult to understand why God would demand that Abraham make of Isaac, his only son, a human sacrifice: killing him and burning him up as a holocaust. At the last moment God stopped Abraham and provided a substitute victim, a ram caught in a bush; saving Isaac from death. Then God revealed to Abraham that he had passed the test.

This is very disturbing, because it confirms our experience that God does at times put us to the test. We don’t like being tested, but God is sovereign, and He alone knows his holy will for us, for our eternal destiny, for the good of our families, and for the salvation of humanity. It is also true that our human potential for good does not become activated until we face adversity and are obliged by troubles to make an effort to put into practice our ideals and values. If we never had any trouble in life; then we would remain weak and undeveloped.

God also needed to prepare a people who would one day be ready to welcome his divine and only-begotten Son when in his incarnation He would take flesh of the Blessed Virgin Mary under the action of the Holy Spirit. We just finished celebrating Jesus’ Nativity at Christmas.

Today we see Jesus transfigured in radiant light and talking with Moses and Elijah about his suffering and death about to take place in Jerusalem. When Isaac, the true son of Abraham and Sarah was substituted for sacrifice by a ram, God taught humanity that his divine Son was substituted for sacrifice by Jesus’ humanity. The Divine Son of God could not die, but Jesus in his humanity could die. Death is the just punishment for all of humanity’s crimes and violent exploitation of others, and for all our sins against God’s love. Jesus died so we might live.

Illness, trials and tribulations, suffering and death – we find all of these revolting – and we often pray to God, asking Him to deliver us from all of them. We know from experience that at times God does deliver and protect us; while at other times, He allows us to suffer instead. We find it almost impossible to understand the ways of the Lord; still, we need to be more grateful.

Part of God’s plan for our life and eternal salvation, is that we learn to put our faith in God, to trust in Him. God has revealed to humanity through his Son Jesus that our Creator loves the human beings He has created. We cannot give our Creator a genuine return of love; not unless we choose and decide to believe in Him, to put our trust in Him. We cannot love what we fear, but we can love what we hold in awe and amazement with respect.

This is the meaning and purpose of the Season of Lent, and of our whole life on Earth: to learn to freely choose and decide to hold God in awe and amazement with respect and to give our Creator a genuine return of authentic love. This is why Jesus gave his apostles the “Last Supper” and commanded them to “do this in memory of Me”. This is the primary purpose of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass: Jesus invites us to share in his own attitude of obedience to the Father’s will, even when we don’t fully understand his will, and especially when we find his will revolting, scary, and completely undesirable. This is how Jesus himself felt on Holy Thursday.

This is also why Jesus declared that we cannot be his disciples unless we accept to carry our cross and follow Him. No doubt the heaviest part of our cross is the daily burden of not knowing or not understanding why God allows us to suffer trials and tribulations, to be sick, suffer, and die, and why God gives humanity such extreme freedom that we actually do terrible things to one another. At no time in human history have there been as many human sacrifices as in our own day. Each year 40 million innocents are ripped from their mothers’ wombs and killed. They are slaughtered primarily because we men don’t support our women, and because both men and women have lost any sense of the sacredness of life and of our fertility. We have made pleasure our idol and have made it more important than life itself. We need to be saved.

If you haven’t been to confession in a long time, maybe now would be a good time to do it while we are still alive on this Earth. Jesus is there through the priest to give us his mercy.

So let us continue to fast, do penance, give alms to the poor, and pray for one another that we might accept this Lent to allow God to purify the intentions of our heart, our mind, our spirit and even our body, and renew our ability and willingness to trust in God our Creator with our lives, and to love God: the Father, + the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Let us take a few moments in silence to reflect on this Good News given to us by the Lord.

https://frgilleshomilies.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