Goodbye Homily at St, Peter's

Homily for Mark 5: 21-43 Thirteen Sunday 2009
Today in our reading of St. Mark Jesus is shown busy in his apostolic mission, going from place to place teaching and healing. In the account, Jesus is asked by a synagogue official to heal his daughter and on the way He heals a long ill woman. Jesus is one who seems to be overwhelmed by the crowds and the sheer amount of people coming to Him. One can image in this one episode that if every day Jesus had days like this, it must have been rather extraordinary.
In the midst of the crush of the crowds and the multiplicity of requests Jesus finds people with faith. St. Mark desires to teach us and point out the faith of people in order to help us grow in our own faith. Let us look closely at the two accounts of the healings.
In the first story, the humble synagogue official is the one who approaches Jesus in a humble way. Generally speaking, the leaders and elders of the people were the ones who did not accept Jesus or His teaching. So, Jairus is unique in his faith in Jesus. Perhaps Jairus was so desperate because of the illness of his daughter that he came to the point where it was easier to believe, to have faith. Its interesting how we can all of a sudden have time for Jesus in our busy lives; how we can have time to pray and attend holy Mass when we are desperate for help from God. Often times in desperate situations people come to faith or to stronger faith, as the old adage that there are no atheists in fox wholes comes true; this is exactly why God allows crosses, whether they be crosses of suffering, loss or even injustice, in our lives, because too often when things go well our faith becomes weak. It’s not that God Wills these things, because God doesn’t will the death of those He loves and who love Him; we can’t say God Wills injustice or evil, but He does permit them as part of His permissive will; he does however still expect us to stand up to injustice and evil and do what ever we can do to over come them with the help of God’s grace, after that it is up to Him. God even permits the death of those He loves in order to bring a greater good out of it.
So the seemingly desperate Jairus comes to Jesus. Most of the leaders were proud men whom themselves had others approach them with their problems. They were the so-called powerful ones. But here, Jairus humbles himself and in a bold move asks Jesus to come and lay His hands on her and she will be well. Jairus is both humble and bold; a true man because He was a man of faith.
The other story within the story is the poor ill woman. She had been ill for 12 years and was desperate as well. She had reached the end of her money and her health was failing. She came to faith perhaps because of her situation, yet her gesture to reach out and touch Jesus, even to touch only the hem of His garment, was a bold move of faith. It was not proper to do such a thing- women did not approach men and touch them. She reached out in faith and touched Jesus; a true woman because she was a woman of faith.
Both Jairus and the ill woman were humble and bold. The bold gestures they did provoked a strong response from the crowds- “How dare they;! Who do they think they are?!” The crowd around the house of Jairus ridiculed both Jesus and Jairus. The crowd around the poor woman made her so fearful that she trembled. They both were desperate and looking to Jesus for healing, but they were willing to risk being mocked for their acts of faith in Jesus. Jesus, on His part, grants their requests.
For us, we too should adopt these two desperate but faith filled persons, adopt their attitude and stance of faith. We must be humble in our prayer, and acknowledge Jesus as our sovereign Lord; are we desperate enough? The truth is, whether we realize it or not, we are all in desperate need of God’s Divine Mercy. And so we, if we are to receive Jesus’ healing, we must recognize the truth of our situation; and that is we all, each one of us no exceptions, we are all poor sinners in desperate and equal need of Divine Mercy. After this act of humility, we must be bold. We must risk a lot to gain the pearl of great price, which is our relationship with Jesus through faith in His true presence in the Eucharist. Jesus will reward us with His mercy and love. It does not mean that Jesus will answer our requests the way we want Him to; we must be humble to ask for His will be done. Jesus will never turn away from those who humbly ask Him in faith for healing, especially those who find themselves in the darkness of anguish and sorrow.
Today, let us do this; let us turn to Jesus in faith. As we approach Jesus in the Eucharist, may we be both humble and bold, drawing our hearts ever closer to the heart of Jesus.
May our comfort in this time of anguish as our parish family experiences trial and separation, be the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus. As your pastor and Father, I myself turn now in this time of great personal anguish to the Eucharist Heart of Jesus; who alone knows the depth and the darkness of my sorrow. And you too must also turn to the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus in this and all of lives difficulties, trials and sorrows, as well as in it’s joys and triumphs.
We as a parish family have been through so much together. I want you to know that I am so proud of this family. We have stuck together; we have grown in knowledge and in love, and so in grown in the faith of the true Church of Jesus Christ, the Roman Catholic Church. But most importantly we have grown in our faith, hope and love of Jesus Christ, the only way to the faith and the only consolation in this life or the next. But we must not stop here, we must grow in our love, and so in our knowledge of Jesus and His Church, we must grow in love for the Holy Mass, all for the Sacred Heart of Jesus, all through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, all in Union with St. Joseph all for the love and the salvation of souls.
I thank all of you for your love and faithful support of this parish family. Please do not let my leaving be the reason for your departure as well…after all, if there is one thing I have tried more deeply to teach you all…is that is all about the Eucharist and our proper worship and adoration of the Eucharist Heart of Jesus at Mass and outside of Mass. I thank you as well for you love and support of me, your spiritual father in Christ. Again, I ask for your forgiveness in any ways that I have failed you as your spiritual father.
Of all men, I have been most blessed to have you as my parish family. I will forever consider you as such. I am not replacing one family with another, that would be inhuman, I am merely expanding my family. Know as well, that I will forever keep you and your family in my prayers, and even more, remember each of you at the Sacred Altar each time I offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Please remember me and to pray for me; I still need your prayers to remain faithful to the task at hand.
My mother has taught me never to say goodbye. And so I leave you, my parish family of St. Peter’s by not saying goodbye, but instead by saying, see you later. May our Dear Lord bless you and keep you and yours; may our heavenly mother protect you in her mantle; and may Joseph protect your families. All good things must come to an end, except for heaven, and the love that we have shared together. By the grace and love of God, given to us through our adoration of the Holy Eucharist, the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, and dispensed to us through the Mediatrix of all grace, the Blessed Virgin Mary, may we remain always in God’s love, united to Him and to one another and so attain the gift of Final Perseverance in order to be in heaven forever. There to be never to be separated again, but to be one with the Father from whom all fatherhood has it source, our Heavenly Father who loves us all so much. God bless you all.