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Father Gilles' English Homilies and talks on the love of God given to us and to the whole world in Jesus Christ and how He helps us to live in Him by the Holy Spirit and go out with Him as his missionary disciples for our world today.
In the face of trouble, Jesus calls us to pray, trust in Him, and wait in joyful anticipation - 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time - MQP Church in JLW Parish - July 25th, 2021
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“With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bear with one another in love,
making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
Mrs. Marguerite d’Youville, venerated now as Saint Marguerite d’Youville, founded the Sisters of Charity also known as the “Grey Nuns”. She had a particular devotion to the Eternal Father and his magnanimous Divine Providence. She saw that the Eternal Father of Jesus is the Divine Source of all good things and of life itself, and she understood that God the Father does not seek glory but prefers to “hide behind” his Divine Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Marguerite started out as an ordinary woman who, when moved by the misery of others, rolled up her sleeves to do something to alleviate their misery. Other women looking for their own purpose in life were attracted to her and fairly quickly a circle of joyful women gathered around her. In fact, they were so joyful that some malicious tongues called them “the tipsy sisters”, which in French is a play on the word grey; hence “the grey nuns”. Rather than be offended, Marguerite was delighted and adopted the nickname for her new congregation.
Every day of our lives, we find ourselves facing an important choice, a crucial fork in the road of our lives. Will I let the troubles of life beat me up and discourage me, or will I choose to lift up my eyes to the Lord, cry out to Him, and live in patient and joyful anticipation that He will answer my prayers and manifest his power and unfold his inexhaustible blessings?
“With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bear with one another in love,
making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
We heard how almost three thousand years ago the prophet Elisha, moved by the hunger of the people of God, put aside any consideration of his own needs and instructed his servant to give to the people the food that had just been donated to Elisha by a man. Elisha’s servant, however, could only see that the food donation was insufficient for the number of people. He could only see his human point of view; whereas Elisha exhorted his servant to join him and to lift up his eyes to the Lord and know that with God all things are possible.
Years earlier, Elisha’s master the prophet Elijah had done the same when he was fleeing for his life and was sent by the Lord to stay with a poor widow. There was a drought and she had only enough flour and olive oil left to bake enough bread for a single meal for herself and her son. Elijah asked her for some bread and told her not to worry; as long as she gave him her hospitality, the jar of flour and the jug of oil would not run out. That is exactly what happened.
“With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bear with one another in love,
making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
In Medjugorje, a village in Bosnia-Herzegovina of the former Yugoslavia, during the war in the early 1990’s which broke up the former communist country, food miraculously multiplied when it was given away to the droves of refugees who flocked to the village because there were signs that, by the will of God, it was being protected by Mary, Our Lady of Peace.
So, how do we react in the face of all kinds of trouble that life brings to us day by day? At first, it is only human to be impressed by the trouble, to feel overwhelmed and fearful, and even to feel frustrated or angry. This is what happens to us in the first moments when trouble strikes. As long as we are alive, we will have all kinds of emotions throughout our days and nights.
“With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bear with one another in love,
making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
After the initial shock of being stopped in our tracks by a particular
trouble, it is also very human and quite normal for there to be a lull when the
emotions diminish briefly. That is when we can take a step back and examine the
situation from a distance; to see the “big picture”. It is during this lull in
the storm of emotions that we receive a grace from God to look up to the
Eternal Father, tell Him our need, and choose to put all our trust in his
Divine Providence.
According to John in his Gospel, this is what happened when Jesus, like Elisha, was moved by the hunger of the huge crowd of people following and listening to Him. The apostles, like Elisha’s servant, could only see from their human point of view. Jesus then opened their eyes to see how different reality is in the Kingdom of God. They were still on Earth but they saw that what seems impossible to us is possible for God. Our part is to pray and ask, and then to trust and patiently wait in anticipation of the ways in which God will manifest his will.
Our Eternal Father uses all our troubles as opportunities for us to practice putting our trust in Him through Jesus, trusting in God: the Father, + the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
“With all humility and gentleness, with
patience, bear with one another in love,
making every effort to maintain the unity
of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
Let us take a few moments to let the Holy Spirit renew and
deepen our trust in Jesus.
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© 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
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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:
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
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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
+ + + + + + + + + + + +
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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
The Lord invites us to reflect on all the times He has personally touched our lives - 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time - LSM sponsored by CAM - July 11th, 2021 - OLF Parish
Homily MP3 version
Prayer
Exercise #2 – Letting God Show You His Presence and Care throughout Your Whole
Life
A good, holy, elderly priest – Fr. Walter Lallemand, a
war veteran who as a recovering alcoholic was a man familiar with suffering – in
February 1977 gave us young adults a prayer exercise to see our life like that
of the people of Israel in the Bible. Like theirs, each journey is a sacred
history of God’s grace. This is an invitation to reflect in God’s presence with
your memory. Ask God to help you remember – whether you realized it at the time
or not – when God was there for you and with you. Sharper memories may present
themselves first – times when you were loved and cared for – or moments of
pain, illness, discomfort, or sadness. God can impress his Love on us
powerfully in times of trial. As this relies on our ability to remember, it is
an exercise that you can return to and add onto several times over the years. Each
experience we remember becomes a treasure enriching and enlightening our life and
relationship with God and others. Each box helps organize thoughts / memories and
reflect on them. You can use more paper. May the Holy Trinity reveal to you and
bless your sacred history.
God’s Sacred History with Me
(You can print this out as a spiritual exercise and fill in the blanks... use a separate sheet....)
COME HOLY SPIRIT, ENLIGHTEN MY SPIRIT. HELP ME REMEMBER THE GRACES I HAVE RECEIVED. THANK YOU, FATHER, FOR YOUR LOVE, IN JESUS YOUR SON OUR LORD.
AGE / OR YEAR / DATE
WHAT HAPPENED
CORE OF THE MEMORY
HOW I FELT
ROLE ANOTHER PERSON PLAYED
HOW I WAS AFFECTED
HOW GOD WAS / IS WITH ME
HOW I FEEL NOW
WHAT'S NEXT?
Saint Joseph, pray for us.
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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
There is no greater joy than to suffer humiliation for the sake of Christ, by speaking of God's love to others - 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time - MQP Church in JLW Parish - July 4th, 2021
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“I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardship, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.” “To You, I lift up my eyes, O Lord!”
Brothers and sisters, you are baptized and confirmed. Do you know you are also prophets? The prophet is not a person who foretells the future, no; the true prophet is a person whom God sends to tell the truth: the truth about God, the truth about us, human beings, the truth about the world, and the truth about life here on Earth which then continues into eternity.
Samuel, Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Jonah, and all the prophets of the Old Covenant had a lot of trouble in trying to declare the Word of God to the people. St. John the Baptist was the last of these great prophets, and according to Jesus, John was the greatest among all the prophets who preceded him. John the Baptist was the greatest because he was closest to Jesus, sent by God to prepare the way for Jesus, Saviour of the world.
We are all prophets in the image of John the Baptist, because like him we are called and sent by God the Father to prepare the way for Jesus in the hearts of the people of our time. It isn’t the eloquence of our words that matters, but the reality of our life of faith. Our Good God doesn’t need our strength or our success; for his divine power, his divine mercy, and his love are more than enough to give life to every person who opens their thought, their heart, and their soul to the advances of our loving Creator God.
“I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardship, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.” “To You, I lift up my eyes, O Lord!”
The perfect joy and the great freedom of the Good News is precisely that our Good God is sufficient in Himself to save the whole world. The Holy Trinity – Father, Son Jesus, and Holy Spirit – the Holy Trinity suffices in itself to save us. God desires to forgive our faults, to give vigor to our weaknesses, and to make us capable of loving even our enemies; for it is with the participation of us all, his children, that God wants to save the whole world.
Salvation comes from the sacrifice which Jesus made of his whole life from his infancy to the end on the Cross. In complete confidence, Jesus offered his life to the will of his Father. He calls us now to follow Him and to make of our own life the same sacrifice with the same confidence in God the Father by the grace of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes God delivers us from distress, but whether we are delivered or not, God needs our confidence in offering Him every day our illnesses, our faults, our sufferings, and even our sins. God uses the offering of our poverty to manifest to all his power and his mercy to save.
“I am content with weaknesses,
insults, hardship, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for
whenever I am weak, then I am strong.” “To You, I lift up my eyes, O Lord!”
It is difficult to speak of God to others, to share with them why we trust in God, why we love God. The Holy Spirit gives us the strength and the love of Jesus draws us on to do it. It is also for love of our neighbour that we can dare to open our mouth and let the Holy Spirit give us the words. In that moment, maybe people will be glad to hear us talk about God, but maybe not. They may even get angry. That’s the unavoidable risk we take.
Like Jesus, we cannot avoid suffering rejection and maybe even persecution at the hands of those who are closest to us: our own family, our friends, our neighbors, and our colleagues at work or at school. It is a wonderful thing for Christians to suffer opposition, persecution, and humiliation for the glory of God and out of love for our neighbor. Jesus said it Himself: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” John 15:13
“I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardship, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.” “To You, I lift up my eyes, O Lord!”
“God, our Father, fill us anew with your Holy Spirit; that we may trust in You wholeheartedly and from day to day freely choose to live as your children, and to testify before others to your love and your mercy; so that the world may turn to Jesus, our Saviour.”
Brothers and sisters, let us ask every day the help of Mary, Mother of Jesus, Saint Joseph, and all the saints of God – the Father, + the Son, the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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
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
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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
The indigenous children who were buried in secret reveal great contempt for human life; while Jesus shed his blood to make visible God's love - Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ - LSM sponsored by CAM - May 23rd, 2021 - OLF Parish
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You satisfy the hungry heart with gift
of finest wheat;
come give to us, O saving Lord, the Bread of Life to eat!
The media are saturated with news about the bones of some 215 indigenous children uncovered in a common grave at a former residential school for indigenous children. This media attention stands in sharp contrast with the secrecy in which these children disappeared. Taken from their families, each of these children’s lives obviously had no value in the eyes of their school. This is doubly tragic.
Our society expects to find more hidden graves elsewhere. This shocking discovery exposes the contempt that indigenous peoples have generally suffered at the hands of our whole society since the time of our first colonists from Europe five centuries ago. All the treaties and agreements made between our governors since the beginning of our colonies with indigenous peoples have generally been violated or ignored. This is an extraordinary injustice.
On his part, our God keeps his covenants. The blood of sacrificial animals was sprinkled on the people to signify the seriousness of the covenant offered by God. If one or other party broke his part of the covenant, then his blood was to be shed. Whenever the people of Israel were unfaithful to the covenant, their blood was indeed shed by the sword of their enemies.
Seeing our incapacity to be faithful, God let the blood of his own Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, be shed on the soldiers’ courtyard, on the way of the cross, and finally on the cross on Calvary. Jesus shed his blood to the very last drop. Jesus’ passion and death made visible the love of God for us, for each and every one of us. The Most Holy Trinity hopes that seeing Jesus on the cross our hard heart will break; then God’s love can penetrate into our heart to heal us and fill us with divine life.
By our Baptism the divine life of the Trinity seeks to replace the evil and selfishness which tends to destroy humanity. By our Confirmation the Holy Spirit strengthens us to dare believe in the love of God and trust in Him. By the Penance and Reconciliation of Confession Jesus erases our sins and renews in us this new life in God. As a mother feeds her baby at her breast, in each Holy Communion Jesus gives us a transfusion of the divine life He has by the love of the Father in the Holy Spirit.
You satisfy the hungry heart with gift of finest wheat;
come give to us, O saving Lord, the Bread of Life to eat!
It is high time for us to no longer treat God with contempt, this God who in Jesus shows Himself to be so sincere, so vulnerable, so merciful, so completely given and so generous. It is up to us to decide every day to make a return of love to God the Holy Trinity in prayer and devotion; while at the same time making courageous and generous efforts day by day to love our neighbor as ourselves, especially those who are most difficult to love.
If we want to be forgiven and to live in peace, we must forgive all those who offend us. God never tires of forgiving us; in our turn, let us not tire of forgiving others their sins and offenses against us.
God, this Most Holy Trinity who created us, who saves us in Jesus, and who sanctifies us in the Holy Spirit, this God who is the source of the fire which makes the stars burn, this God makes himself so discrete towards us, in all tenderness and mercy…. God quietly respects our freedom, all the while hoping that from one moment to the next, from day to day, we will freely choose to live, to behave, and to love as children of God….
You satisfy the hungry heart with gift of finest wheat;
come give to us, O saving Lord, the Bread of Life to eat!
Dear brothers, dear sisters, let us contemplate for a few minutes in silence this Real Presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament reserved in the Tabernacle and who in a few minutes will once again be present on the Altar in his Body and Blood risen from the dead and alive under the appearance of bread and wine.
Now for 4 minutes in silence we will contemplate and adore the Most Holy Trinity.
You satisfy the hungry heart with gift of finest wheat;
come give to us, O saving Lord, the Bread of Life to eat!
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©
2006-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate of Madonna House
Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal QC
Our Almighty God the Holy Trinity are discrete and gentle with us - Most Holy Trinity Sunday - MQP Church in JLW Parish - May 30th, 2021
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In the name of the Father, and of + the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Dear brothers, dear sisters, think of all that you learned on your parents’ knees about life, the difference between what is good and what is bad, and how it is a good thing to love well our brothers and sisters… all the truth that illuminates our thoughts and directs our hearts is infused into us by God our Father and Creator; so that we might resemble Him in all our thoughts, attitudes, words, gestures, and actions.
Dear brothers, dear sisters, take a deep breath… each time we breathe in, we breathe in the very breath of God, and when we breathe out, we return to our Creator God his breath that He gives us out of love; so that we might have his very own life within us.
Dear brothers, dear sisters, look at the holy Body of Jesus on the Cross… contemplate Him… as you contemplate his torment, his agony, his passion and death on the Cross, examine the depths of your heart and spirit… do you not feel compassion for Jesus for all that He accepted to endure out of love for you; feel gratitude for what He has done in offering us the adoption which makes us children of God; feel adoration in front of this Real Presence of Jesus so generous and available under the appearance of Eucharistic Bread, his Body and Blood?
Out of love for the humanity He created, our Father and Creator God sent his Son, the Eternal Word, to give to his people through Moses the Ten Commandments; so that everyone who keeps them may have “well-being… (and) may long remain in the land that the Lord (our) God is giving (us) for all time.” Let us hold in pity and have compassion for the whole of humanity which in our day is making a horrible and terrifying holocaust of millions of innocents from their mother’s womb, and for all those women who all too often are abandoned by their men and their families, but also for all those men who abandon their unique and irreplaceable role as fathers, defenders, protectors, and husbands who cherish their spouse.
Our of love for ourselves whom God has created, let us remember for a few moments all those instances in our life when we let ourselves be overwhelmed by “fear (even though we have) received a spirit of adoption to sonship (and daughterhood by which) we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’” The Most Holy Trinity has great compassion for us who feel so small when facing our fears. At every moment of fear, let us put the fear aside and remember this Presence of the Holy Spirit within us. “Come Holy Spirit, Consoler, and revive in us the love of the Father and hope for eternal life.”
At the moment of the Ascension
of Jesus on the mountain, “they worshipped Him; but some doubted.” We also have doubts from time to
time, and the Most Holy Trinity is fully aware of our struggles; the Father, Jesus his
Son, and the Holy Spirit look upon us and contemplate us with divine love, which is more
intense than the star which is our Sun… this love is given to us in Jesus the
Word of God and Jesus the Holy Eucharist; let us allow this Love of God burn
away in us all that is not worthy of God.
Glory be to the Father, and to +
the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be, world
without end. Amen.
God, this Most Holy Trinity who created us, who save us in Jesus, and who sanctify us in the Holy Spirit, this God who is the source of the fire which makes the stars burn, this God makes himself for us so discrete, in all tenderness and transparency…. God quietly respects our freedom, all the while hoping that from one moment to the next, from day to day, we will freely choose to live, to behave, and to love as children of God….
Dear brothers, dear sisters, let us contemplate for a few minutes in silence this dynamic, life-giving, and redemptive Presence of the Most Holy Trinity within us. At the end of the time of adoration and contemplation in silence I will begin another “Glory be”.
We
give glory to You, O God: the Father, + the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Now for 4 minutes in
silence we will contemplate and adore the Most Holy Trinity.
Glory be to the Father, and to +
the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be, world
without end. Amen.
https://frgilleshomilies.blogspot.com https://homeliesabbegilles.blogspot.com
©
2006-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate of Madonna House
Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal QC
God continues to pour out his Holy Spirit on mankind - we are free to accept or refuse - Pentecost Sunday - LSM sponsored by CAM - May 23rd, 2021 - OLF Parish
Fr. Gilles' Homily followed by Pope Francis' Homily for Pentecost
Homily MP3 version Homily PDF version
So, this evening you’re going to be treated to two homilies. I will only give one, but I have a few copies printed of Pope Francis’ homily which he gave today, that was quite remarkable. I was actually tempted to read it, but the Holy Spirit said “No. No. You give your homily and we’ll take care of the rest. So, there you are.
So, what happened all those centuries ago on the day of Pentecost, which was a feast that the Jews normally celebrated to anticipate the harvest and to give thanks and worship to God. The Lord used it to perfect all the work that He had been doing with his people for centuries before. When we read the Bible, the Old Testament, the Jewish Scriptures, we see once in a while a man or a woman stand out because God chose them for a particular purpose, and the Holy Spirit gave them strength, you know. Something happened to them. They changed and they suddenly became courageous, strong, and they had the power from above to do a very difficult thing that God was calling them to do. But these people were exceptional. What Pentecost manifested was God’s promise all those centuries that the day would come when He would pour out his Spirit on all mankind – not just the chosen, not just the Christians, not just the Catholics – but on the whole of mankind. We need to really get with that program. God wants to pour Himself out on all of mankind.
Now what is it that happens when the Holy Spirit fills a human being? What is that? Well, over the centuries the saints, the prophets, and the bishops, the fathers of the Church were given by the Holy Spirit to preach and teach all kinds of images to help us understand. One beautiful image is that of dew – I think it was St. Irenaeus, but don’t count on that, my memory is not that good – where would our world be without water? Nothing would grow. We ourselves would die within at most a month without water.
In the life of the spirit, in the interior life we carry within us an immortal soul, a spirit; we are flesh and spirit. Our spirit also needs dew or moisture – that’s the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the life, the vitality, the power, the love that is in the Trinity: the relationship between the Father and the Son is a Person, the Holy Spirit. And God created us in such a way that He would be able to pour into us a sharing in that vitality, that life, that dew, that moisture, that living water that is in God. We are created to contain that Living Water, but not as in a jar with the lid tightly closed.
If we try to contain and keep to ourselves the life, the Living Water from God, it doesn’t work, and we ourselves dry up and atrophy. We cannot keep for ourselves the Holy Spirit. That is why the 120 apostles and disciples, men and woman who surrounded Mary and did as Jesus told them to do and waited and prayed and prayed and waited for ten days after the Ascension. That’s why when the Holy Spirit came upon them – watch out! You know – I mean they went berserk in a good way, filled with joy and enthusiasm and they couldn’t shut up. And it was strange, you know, because all the people in Jerusalem for the Pentecost feast heard the commotion – first they heard the noise of the wind and then they heard the commotion, and they were all astonished to hear them speaking in their own language.
Well, in the same way that rain and moisture produce different life and vitality and fruit in different kinds of trees according to their nature; in the same way we all drink water but it does different things in each of us according to our nature, our individuality; so, it is that the Holy Spirit in each person produces what the Holy Spirit wants to produce according to who we are. So, a person depressed is lifted up by the Holy Spirit, someone wounded is healed, someone crippled can walk again, someone blind can see again, someone who’s afraid of their shadow becomes bold and courageous; and this happens the moment we step out of ourselves.
If we try to keep the Holy Spirit and tighten the lid on the jar, nothing happens, but if we take a step, if we don’t know what we’re going to say but we open our mouth anyway and start talking; then the Holy Spirit bursts and wonderful things happen. That’s what Catholic Action Montreal is all about, is providing a venue, a template, an interface, a possibility for people to see occasions to do that very thing: to step out and come to the aid of someone in need and share their gifts.
Why do we not see the world being transformed right now in the same way that happened that first Pentecost? Is it because God doesn’t want to do it anymore? Is it because God is tired or has gone on vacation, or is asleep? I don’t think so. It’s really because of us. The amazing thing, the almost unbelievable thing about God the Holy Trinity is the degree, the almost fanatical degree to which God respects the freedom He has given to each and every one of us. We could say God has accepted to handicap Himself according to the sum total of our handicaps, and God in a way is patient and willing to wait to produce all these wonders and fruits as soon as we give our consent; as soon as we do as Mary did and say: “Okay, I don’t understand, I don’t know how it’s going to work out, but here I am. I am willing to make a fool of myself for your glory and the good of others.
There’s also something else that prevents God, apart from our free will and our willingness to make fools of ourselves for God and for our neighbour; there’s also all the problems relating to what we call our fallen human nature: our inclination to step into the shadows, to give in to our fears, to give in to our impulses to eat more, drink more, do whatever more and more and more… you know what I’m talking about… we’re all human beings here. We all experience these struggles, and what makes the difference between an ordinary human being and a Christian, a disciple? The ordinary human being is overly impressed by these dynamics and interior struggles and becomes paralyzed, incapable of taking action. The Christian stops relying on herself or himself and opens their mind, heart, and soul to God and asks the Holy Spirit to help, to strengthen; so, the key is no longer to depend on myself but to allow the Holy Spirit to train me to rely on God in every situation.
I remember when I was a young man and it was the beginning of the charismatic renewal. They told the story of a young person who wanted so much to do only what God wanted that they sat on their bed for half an hour in the morning unable to make up their mind what color socks to wear, waiting for inspiration from above, you know? Well, that’s sort of a childish ridiculous example. God wants us to make decisions, He wants us to use our brains, He wants us to get up and go, but to learn how to discern, you know, the inspiration that’s coming from God, and to tell the difference between that and the bad inspirations that come from the bad spirit, the enemy of humanity.
There are telltale signs: the enemy of humanity wants our
destruction; the Holy Spirit wants us to enter into abundance of life as Jesus
said: “That you may have my joy and that your joy may be complete.” If anyone
is interested in knowing more about how to discern the interior contradictions
that we have all day long and from day to day, send me an email: fathergilles@gmail.com and I will send
you some links to Saint Ignatius of Loyola’s fabulous teaching on the
discernment of spirits. It is acknowledged to be the best, the clearest, and
the most practical teaching on these things in all of human history, literature
or anything that has been written in any culture of language.
Glory be to the Father, and to + the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Listen to Fr. Timothy Gallagher, OVM's simple and practical explanation of Saint Ignatius of Loyola's world changing teaching on "the discernment of spirits".
https://www.discerninghearts.com/catholic-podcasts/fr-timothy-gallagher-discernment-of-spirits/
https://frgilleshomilies.blogspot.com ©
2006-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Poustinik
---------------------------------------------------------------
Full text: Pope Francis’ homily on Pentecost Sunday
Vatican City, May 23, 2021 / 05:00 am - PDF
“When the Paraclete comes, whom I will send to you from the
Father…” (Jn 15:26). With these words, Jesus promises to send his disciples the
Holy Spirit, the ultimate gift, the gift of gifts. He uses an unusual and
mysterious word to describe the Spirit: Paraclete. Today let us reflect on this
word, which is not easy to translate, for it has a number of meanings.
Essentially, it means two things: Comforter and Advocate.
The Paraclete is the Comforter. All of us, particularly at
times of difficulty like those we are presently experiencing due to the
pandemic, look for consolation. Often, though, we turn only to earthly
comforts, ephemeral comforts that quickly fade. Today, Jesus offers us heavenly
comfort, the Holy Spirit, who is “of comforters the best” (Sequence). What is
the difference? The comforts of the world are like a pain reliever: they can
give momentary relief, but not cure the illness we carry deep within. They can
soothe us, but not heal us at the core. They work on the surface, on the level
of the senses, but hardly touch our hearts.
Only someone who makes us feel loved for who we are can give
peace to our hearts. The Holy Spirit, the love of God, does precisely that. He
comes down within us; as the Spirit, he acts in our spirit. He comes down
“within the heart”, as “the soul’s most welcome guest” (ibid). He is the very
love of God, who does not abandon us; for being present to those who are alone
is itself a source of comfort.
Dear sister, dear brother, if you feel the darkness of
solitude, if you feel that an obstacle within you blocks the way to hope, if
your heart has a festering wound, if you can see no way out, then open your
heart to the Holy Spirit. Saint Bonaventure tells us that, “where the trials
are greater, he brings greater comfort, not like the world, which comforts and
flatters us when things go well, but derides and condemns us when they do not”
(Homily in the Octave of the Ascension). That is what the world does, that is
especially what the hostile spirit, the devil, does.
First, he flatters us and makes us feel invincible (for the
blandishments of the devil feed our vanity); then he flings us down and makes
us feel that we are failures. He toys with us. He does everything to cast us
down, whereas the Spirit of the risen Lord wants to raise us up. Look at the
apostles: they were alone that morning, alone and bewildered, cowering behind
closed doors, living in fear and overwhelmed by their weaknesses, failings and
their sins, for they had denied Christ. The years they had spent with Jesus had
not changed them: they were no different than they had been.
Then, they received the Spirit and everything changed: the
problems and failings remained, yet they were no longer afraid of them, nor of
any who would be hostile to them. They sensed comfort within and they wanted to
overflow with the comfort of God. Before, they were fearful; now their only
fear was that of not testifying to the love they had received. Jesus had
foretold this: “[The Spirit] will testify on my behalf; you also are to
testify” (Jn 15:26-27).
Let us go another step. We too are called to testify in the
Holy Spirit, to become paracletes, comforters. The Spirit is asking us to
embody the comfort he brings. How can we do this? Not by making great speeches,
but by drawing near to others. Not with trite words, but with prayer and
closeness. Let us remember that closeness, compassion and tenderness are God’s
“trademark”, always.
The Paraclete is telling the Church that today is the time
for comforting. It is more the time for joyfully proclaiming the Gospel than
for combatting paganism. It is the time for bringing the joy of the Risen Lord,
not for lamenting the drama of secularization. It is the time for pouring out
love upon the world, yet not embracing worldliness. It is more the time for
testifying to mercy, than for inculcating rules and regulations. It is the time
of the Paraclete! It is the time of freedom of heart, in the Paraclete.
The Paraclete is also the Advocate. In Jesus’ day, advocates
did not do what they do today: rather than speaking in the place of defendants,
they simply stood next to them and suggested arguments they could use in their
own defence. That is what the Paraclete does, for he is “the spirit of truth”
(v. 26). He does not take our place, but defends us from the deceits of evil by
inspiring thoughts and feelings. He does so discreetly, without forcing us: he
proposes but does not impose. The spirit of deceit, the evil one, does the
opposite: he tries to force us; he wants to make us think that we must always
yield to the allure and the promptings of vice. Let us try to accept three
suggestions that are typical of the Paraclete, our Advocate. They are three
fundamental antidotes to three temptations that today are so widespread.
The first advice offered by the Holy Spirit is, “Live in the present”. The present, not the past or the
future. The Paraclete affirms the primacy of today, against the temptation to
let ourselves be paralyzed by rancour or memories of the past, or by
uncertainty or fear about the future. The Spirit reminds us of the grace of the
present moment. There is no better time for us: now, here and now, is the one
and only time to do good, to make our life a gift. Let us live in the present!
The Spirit also tells us, “Look to the whole”. The whole, not the part. The
Spirit does not mould isolated individuals, but shapes us into a Church in the
wide variety of our charisms, into a unity that is never uniformity. The
Paraclete affirms the primacy of the whole. There, in the whole, in the
community, the Spirit prefers to work and to bring newness. Let us look at the
apostles. They were all quite different. They included, for example, Matthew, a
tax collector who collaborated with the Romans, and Simon called the zealot,
who fought them. They had contrary political ideas, different visions of the
world. Yet once they received the Spirit, they learned to give primacy not to
their human viewpoints but to the “whole” that is God’s plan.
Today, if we listen to the Spirit, we will not be concerned
with conservatives and progressives, tradition-alists and innovators, right and
left. When those become our criteria, then the Church has forgotten the Spirit.
The Paraclete impels us to unity, to concord, to the harmony of diversity. He
makes us see ourselves as parts of the same body, brothers and sisters of one
another. Let us look to the whole! The enemy wants diversity to become
opposition and so he makes them become ideologies. Say no to ideologies, yes to
the whole.
The third advice of the Spirit is, “Put God before yourself”. This is the decisive step in the
spiritual life, which is not the sum of our own merits and achievements, but a
humble openness to God. The Spirit affirms the primacy of grace. Only by
emptying ourselves, do we leave room for the Lord; only by giving ourselves to
him, do we find ourselves; only by becoming poor in spirit, do we become rich
in the Holy Spirit. This is also true of the Church. We save no one, not even
ourselves, by our own efforts.
If we give priority to our own projects, our structures, our plans for reform, we will be concerned only about effectiveness, efficiency, we will think only in horizontal terms and, as a result, we will bear no fruit. An “-ism” is an ideology that divides and separates. The Church is human, but it is not merely a human organization, it is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Jesus brought the fire of the Spirit to the earth and the Church is reformed by the anointing of grace, the gratuity of the anointing of grace, the power of prayer, the joy of mission and the disarming beauty of poverty. Let us put God in first place!
Holy Spirit, Paraclete Spirit, comfort our hearts. Make us missionaries of your comfort, paracletes of your mercy before the world. Our Advocate, sweet counsellor of the soul, make us witnesses of the “today” of God, prophets of unity for the Church and humanity, and apostles grounded in your grace, which creates and renews all things. Amen."
Franciscus - Bishop of Rome
© Copyright - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
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