Where we meet God

Podcast

• Listen to this homily

Scripture references

• Exodus 22:21-27

• 1 Thessalonians 1:5-10

• Matthew 22:34-40
  

Reflection

This past week, priests from almost every English-speaking diocese across Canada were in Victoria (BC) for the Annual assembly of the National Federation of Presbyteral Councils.  Each year, we focus on a particular area of our priesthood, and try to model behaviours for healthy priests, who in turn will be able to speak the good news of Christ, and bring God’s people to experience and better understand the love and mercy of God.

This year, we invited three guest speakers, all of them priests, to share with us their reflections on the theme of ‘Where we meet God’.

The first of these presenters, His Excellency, John Corriveau, OFM Cap began our week of reflection by reminding us that the Church speaks of Christ as the Word of God.  When God speaks, his words have immediate effects.  We see this in the creation accounts of Genesis, when God spoke and it was created.  This same creating Word was present, guiding Moses and the Israelites to encounter God as one who calls us to care for the strangers, the widows and the orphans in our midst (Ex 22:21-22).

God’s word came to its fulfilment in the person of Jesus Christ and it is he who calls each of us to love one another as we ourselves have first been loved.  Loving God and our neighbour (cf Mt 22:34-40) is at the root of Jesus’ message because if we truly realize the depth of God’s love for us, we cannot help but love Him in return, and this love is tested by the way we love one another.

Living our lives as disciples of Jesus means that everything we do must begin from the assumption that we are loved, but following in Christ’s footsteps, daring to love as He does, we must also be prepared to be persecuted by those who don’t understand this premise.  The apostle Paul praised the believers in Thessalonica who themselves were persecuted for their faith but who chose to welcome the message of Christ’s love in spite of the trials such a decision would cause (1 Thes 1:5-6).  In a world which has been so richly blessed in so many ways, it can be easy to ignore the invitation to love, and persecution can run rampant.  Are we willing to welcome Christ’s message of love and to strive each day to live it in our relationships with others, even though it might very well be cause for derision?

Another of our presenters this past week was the emeritus Bishop of Victoria, His Excellency, Remi DeRoo.  This man, one of only a few of the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council, knows only too well what it means to be set aside and ignored by society, yet he continues to remind listeners even today of the call issued at the time of the Council that the Church should become a model of love, based on our experience of having received the gift of divine love.

Our third presenter, Father Bill Brennan, a priest of the Diocese of Saint John (NB), invited each of those present to prayerfully seek out the moments in our own lives when we meet God, in the midst of joy and sorrow, celebration and persecution.  Each one of us here today can recognize the moments when we meet God – in the stranger and the friend, in small quiet ways and at significant moments in our lives.  Having recognized this blessing, all we need do is give thanks, and then invite others to discover God who comes to meet us, to share our story and to make us examples for those who still seek the great gift of knowing that they are loved.