This evening I was at the Chrism Mass, my second one in this diocese. Speaking of this diocese, it's a Church spread through 94,000 square miles having 34,000 Catholics (For every 2.75 square mile one Catholic). 50 Parishes and 50 Missions.
In tonight's homily, Bishop Jeffrey put it very well. After having said what is happening in tonight's special Mass, he also said what should be happening at this Mass. I particularly liked the second part: what should be happening here at this Mass. I will quote him verbatim:
"From this altar we will receive His body and his blood. Here we will become one body, one Spirit. Here we will be in communion with and for each other, with and for our loving God. And it is here that we are challenged to remember and to know that we belong to each other. Here, there can be no Us and Them. Hear there can be no separation. It is here that we move from serving the other to being one with each other. It is here, that we envision and realize that no one stands outside the circle of God's love and grace. From here, we move closer to the margins, so that the margins themselves are erased. We stand here with those whose dignity has been denied. We stand here with the poor and the powerless and the voiceless. At the edge, we stand with the easily despised and the readily left out. We stand with the demonized, so that the demonizing will stop. We stand side by side with the disposable, so that the day will come when we stop throwing people away. We stand here together with and for each other: with and for our God. And then having been nourished by God's word and by his body and blood, we are sent from here. We are sent out together in ministry and service. Bishops and priests, deacons and religious, the laity - all the people of God. To be Christ to the world. To share His life, to share His love. To change ourselves so that we can change our world, and to welcome others so that they know that they are loved, that they are welcome."
One of the best homilies I have heard in recent times, with crystal clarity!
