Host: Welcome to Saint Patrick Catholic Community Podcast. We're glad you're with us.
Fr. Jude: Think it was about three times this morning that father Eric said to me, well Jude, are you ready with your homily? And I told him I'm still working on it. There's a lot to share with the people of Saint Patrick's. And he said, well, that sometimes happens to him too. There's so much to share.
So tonight, I'm going to share with you four things. Hopefully, you will find them somewhat inspiring or, stimulating. And the first thing I want to share with you is a reflection by a woman named Elizabeth Loretta Grotzky and this is a reflection of how we might be talking to Jesus about the story, the gospel story we just heard. And, I like this reflection because of us speaking with Jesus and perhaps his reaction as he went along on the road to Emmaus. The travelers on the road seem agitated, confused as if something unbelievable had happened to them.
It was during one of their gaps of silence that you, Jesus, decided to join them. Although startled, unsure, they admitted you into their company. Your question put them on the spot. Us, sad? Of course.
Our best friend, teacher, companion is dead. Who in the world are you that you don't know? We assumed that he as prophet and messiah would be our deliverer, which set Israel free. The silence was defiant. It challenged you, the stranger, who had invited yourself into their company.
But Jesus, your heart responded. These two were seeking an insurance that their friend was not a hoax. They had left all, changed their lifestyles, for you had promised them a kingdom. They needed a thread of hope that had not all been in vain. Prophet, yes, you said.
This friend of yours has links to Moses and Isaiah, to Jeremiah, Elijah, Ezekiel, John who prepared the way proclaiming that this prophet would be different. This messiah would focus on the inner world of the spirit and not on the outer world of pleasure, riches, and domination. He would be a kingdom within individuals and among peoples within love that would take precedence over power. The hearts of the travelers stirred. The nudging of their memories brought back understanding, captivated.
They resisted as you turned at the fork. No. No. You must come with us. Home is close.
We need to hear more for hope is high within us. And so you, Jesus, you three sat at table. The breaking of the bread and the blessing of the wine eradicated disbelief. They knew the stranger in their midst. Your task was done.
You were no longer needed. They would be witnesses to others that the Lord was alive indeed. The Lord was alive indeed. We are those people on the road. Some like to think that the couple is a husband and wife.
I like that too. But it could be any of us, a single person, youth. We have a lot of youth here, And we are called to be witnesses that Jesus is alive, and not just alive, but that Jesus who brings the promises of life, the promises of acceptance, the promises of compassion and forgiveness. That Jesus is alive who is one who reaches out to the poor and the marginalized, who welcomes everyone into his embrace as he did the little children when their parents brought them to Jesus. This was the Jesus that you and I, whether you're youthful or elderly or in between, are supposed to bring to the world, are called to bring to the world.
That is the Easter message. That's why, as Eric spoke about the many stories of resurrection that we hear throughout this season, they are marvelous stories of death becoming life, of hopelessness becoming hope. So that's the first of my four. The second is well, actually, that's the second. So you've heard one and two.
See, it's getting quicker. So along that journey, and this is to the great credit, I think, of the inspiration of the holy spirit on the church. For Jesus and his ministry, the healing of the sick, reaching out to the sick, was one of his prime, ministries. I once read, and I don't know if this is true or not, but if you took all of the stories of healing found in the gospels, That would be the biggest section of ministry of Jesus in the gospels. Not his death, not his resurrection, not his his parables, but his healing, his reaching out.
And so tonight after, the liturgy, you're going to have an opportunity to come forward and be given the sacrament of the anointing of the sick. You also will have the opportunity to receive a blessing with the relic of Saint Odelia, the patroness of the closures, who is a patroness, particularly people who have eye problems. But back to the sacrament of the anointing, I don't think we realize how beautiful the prayer is that is used for the sacrament. It's a wonderful prayer. So for the third part of my harmony, thought I would just share a little bit about it.
It begins with through this holy anointing. It is a holy anointing. If it's holy, god is present. It is present between the one who's giving it, the priest, the bishop, the pope, and the person receiving it. It's a holy encounter with God present.
Through this holy anointing, may the lord in his love and mercy so this is a loving and merciful act done by god to each one of us. Help us with the grace of the holy spirit. So the holy spirit is called down upon the person. Every sacrament, the holy spirit is present. But very much in this one, the anointing of the sick, the holy spirit is called down upon the person.
And then the prayer goes on to say, may the lord who frees you from sin so there is a forgiveness of our sins. It's not just an anointing for you or me who may be sick, but it's a forgiveness of our sins. So may the lord who frees you from sin save you and raise you up. And I was struck during, Lent how often in the Psalms we prayed that salvation comes through forgiveness of our sins. So once again, that idea of forgiveness of our sins as we receive the sacrament of the anointing of the sick.
So our sins are forgiven. And finally, save us and raise us up. So raise us up to better health, maybe to a sense more of hope, maybe to a sense of feeling, you know, in my suffering, I'm not alone. Jesus is with me. God is with me.
Or to raise up can mean, I'm not going to make it. I'm going to die. But to be raised up and to be embraced by the eternal God in love and eternal life. And really, that's all our goal. Our whole goal in life as Christians is to aim for eternal life with God, with Jesus, with all those we have loved and maybe not so much loved when we die.
That's our goal. And so that's the prayer that will be said over you for those of you who receive the sacrament of the anointing of the sick. And finally, to end my homily, this is sort of a reminder to all of us about being on that road back to God. That Emmaus road of our life. Remember, you belong to God from eternity to eternity.
You were loved by god before you were born. You will be loved by god long after you die. Your human life, long or short, is only a part of your total life in God. The length of time doesn't matter. Life is just a little opportunity for you and me, doing a few years of life, to say to God, I love you too.
Host: This has been a Saint Patrick Catholic Community podcast. For more of our shows, go to our website and click Saint Patrick's Studio.