Basilica Homilies at the University of Notre Dame
11/15/09
Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Year B
Reading 1: Daniel 12:1-3
In those days, I Daniel, heard this word of the Lord: "At that time there shall arise Michael, the great prince, guardian of your people; it shall be a time unsurpassed in distress since nations began until that time. At that time your people shall escape, everyone who is found written in the book. “Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake; some shall live forever, others shall be an everlasting horror and disgrace. But the wise shall shine brightly like the splendor of the firmament, and those who lead the many to justice
shall be like the stars forever.”
Reading II: Hebrews 10:11-14, 18
Brothers and sisters: Every priest stands daily at his ministry, offering frequently those same sacrifices that can never take away sins. But this one offered one sacrifice for sins, and took his seat forever at the right hand of God; now he waits until his enemies are made his footstool. For by one offering he has made perfect forever those who are being consecrated. Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer offering for sin.
Gospel: Mark 13:24-32
Jesus said to his disciples: “In those days after that tribulation the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.” “And then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in the clouds’ with great power and glory, and then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of the sky.” “Learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see these things happening, know that he is near, at the gates. Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” “But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”
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Along with the new Bishop-elect of our diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Bishop Kevin Rhoades, I wish to greet Fr. Ted Hesburgh, longtime president of Notre Dame, legendary and historic priest, concelebrating with us today; and Fr. James McDonald, here representing Fr. Jenkins.
Only in the last day or two we learned of the coming of our new bishop. How historic to have him here to celebrate Mass here at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, his second Mass celebrated after his appointment as bishop of this diocese. I also wish to greet all of those here for the conference on virtue, sacrifice and the common good, sponsored by the Center for Ethics and Culture, and the young people from all around the country here to pray and study at this holy place. I welcome all the young and brave students who stood for life with such dignity and beauty at the University of Notre Dame, a few of whom I met just before Mass last spring.
And so we all welcome your new bishop. This is an extraordinary moment in the life of the Church. When a new bishop comes it means that the apostolic ministry will continue; that the Eucharist will be celebrated, the gospel will be preached, priests will be ordained, the poor will have the gospel preached to them, and faith will be nourished. In a way it’s Jesus Christ keeping his promises, “I will not leave you orphans” and, “I will send you shepherds after my own heart.”
Bishop Rhoades comes to us with advanced degrees and with many years as the rector of a very important and historic seminary. He is well-versed in one of the great areas that the church must struggle with today in light of the painful dark time which we passed through not very many years ago, and knows well the importance of careful screening of candidates for the priesthood, forming noble and holy men who would be good fathers and spouses if they had made that choice, but having heard the call of Jesus Christ left everything for him.
The importance of this particular appointment is significant for two reasons. First it shows that the Holy Father and his advisors see the great importance of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend in all its aspects, to send a priest already trained with five years in a diocese larger than this, to entrust our diocese to a bishop with such an extraordinary background.
When the call came, like the apostles called in the gospel of Luke, Bishop Rhoades said yes. No hesitation. Aware of what he was giving up, he said yes, believing with all his heart that the call to the priesthood was from Christ. Such decisions on the part of anyone – bishops, priests, deacons, religious, spouses, families, teenagers, college students – are central to the gospel and to its nourishment and growth. We must say yes always to his will. Yes always to his person, to the person of Jesus Christ. Yes always to the Church, to whatever the Church is asking. Yes to the teaching of the church not just when it’s easy but especially when it’s difficult.
Remember the words of Pope John Paul II to us bishops at an old Catholic mission in California. A bishop gave a talk about the difficult moral issues that we face today, and the Pope clearly responded that we as bishops had to show people, especially young people, how attractive are these areas of church teaching about which people find difficulty, that they are linked to the dignity of the human person, especially the dignity of women. That sentiment connects us to the gospel we’ve heard today, a forbidding gospel about the end-times. But those who open their hearts to God need never fear the message of the gospel.
This conference on freedom and virtue addressed the idea that freedom appeals especially to Americans because of our history. It appeals also to young people who want to live a life that is free, but authentically free. So for us, freedom never means simply the choice to do this rather than that. Our minds, our will and our heart are more profound than that. Our freedom is, as Pope John Paul II said so often, “The freedom to do what one ought.” It’s an inner capacity to choose the good. It’s why Fr. Sorin established this extraordinary place, why he put the Blessed Mother at the center of it. He placed her atop the Dome and at the Grotto, he said, so that people would know the reason for our success in this place. Her success came out of her openness to the word of God – her “yes” to the word of God coming to her through the angel. “Be it done unto me according to thy word.”
People who live this way understand, as it says in the scriptures, that freedom is a gift. They understand what Pope John Paul II meant when he said, “Do not be afraid.” People who live with the peace of God in their heart, as Mary did always, say yes to God. Even when they must bear a cross they say yes to him. Because the cross is a sharing, and our small crosses, our small sufferings help us to share in God’s love, wisdom and goodness. My prayer for our diocese as you prepare to welcome your new bishop in a few months, is that your lives will always be a yes to Jesus Christ on the cross, who loved us and died for our salvation. Thus is the work of redemption spread and deepened and made more accessible to others.
It is the call of everyone. How blessed that some at this Eucharist in these few days will hear that call to do his will, in religious life, the priesthood, marriage, or single life, and freely with their whole heart accept his will. As we offer this Eucharist may our “Yes” be linked to him and given to him. It’s the only road to real joy. It’s the only road to heaven. It’s the only road to take.
The Most Rev. John M. D’Arcy
Bishop, Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend
November 15, 2009
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In the Aztec calendar, for one of the largest groups in Mesoamerica, every fifty-two years marked the end of their “century.” At the end of this fifty-two year period, as far as historians and anthropologists can ascertain, the people held many festivals and celebrations as they prepared themselves for the end of days. On that last night people of this great culture prepared themselves for the possibility that the sun literally would not rise the next day, and they and all they knew might cease to exist.
This was a people who were oddly apocalyptic, and yet prepared for life to continue, just in case the sun did rise again. They prepared themselves and their families for the end of time, while holding out hope that things might not end once and for all. While they were prepared for death and the end of the world, they were also prepared for the sun rising again and for a new beginning, the dawn of a new age. This cycle passed every fifty-two years like clockwork. They knew when to expect their possible demise, they prepared themselves for it, and each time, they woke up to find that the sun had risen again.
Another people on the other side of the world had their own apocalyptic thoughts! While the Aztecs awaited the return of their feathered serpent god Quetzalcoatl blowing in like the wind from the East, we hear in the first reading today from the prophet Daniel that for Israel, not the feathered-serpent Quetzalcoatl, but “Michael, the great Prince, guardian of your people” shall rise to protect “everyone who is found written in the book,” which we assume to be the book of the righteous, those who are good, and faithful to the Lord.
It would be wonderful if the image would be of Michael coming to bear everyone up out of the tumultuous times and events of the end-time, but we don’t hear that message. As the prophet speaks about the end-time, two very distinct groups emerge, those “who shine brightly like the splendor of the firmament, who shall live forever; and others who shall be an everlasting horror and disgrace.”
We must consider two very important ideas in this reading. First, we as a people must contemplate the end-times so that we may be prepared when the Day of Judgment comes: some will live forever and others shall suffer in an everlasting horror and disgrace. Second, we must not lose sight of our belief that the apocalypse does not mean everyone is destroyed. Often when we think of an apocalypse we let our minds wander to the trailers of movies like Armageddon and 2012, in which cataclysmic events may destroy our world, leaving us with nothing. But even when the Prophet Daniel talks about the end times, he speaks of it with hope. He tells us, “The wise shall shine brightly like the splendor of the firmament and those who lead the many to justice shall be like the stars forever.” The apocalypse is not the destruction of everything; it is our point of entry into a new time, a glorious time of justice and everlasting life with God.
In the Gospel we are given more apocalyptic images to digest: The sun will be darkened … the moon will not give its light … the stars will fall from the sky … the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
But again, it does not end in destruction and despair! While the things of this world may come to an end, they do so only to hearken the arrival of the Son of Man.
We hear that we will see the “Son of Man coming in the clouds,” with great power and glory, and that he will send angels “to gather the elect … from the end of the earth to the end of the sky.”
As all we know comes to an end, we still live in the hope that the Son of Man and his angels will come to replace the heavenly bodies that are no more. Through it all, we can have great hope.
We hope, borne out in the great cosmic battle of the apocalypse between order and chaos, good and evil, that “good” will win out. Through all of the devastation that ushers in the end-times, ultimately good will triumph. These readings today call us to trust in God, to trust in his care for us. While heaven and earth may pass away, his words will not pass away, and we are promised a share in this glorious eternal life with God.
At the same time our readings today are a reminder that we must be prepared, because “of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”
We have heard this message before, and in the coming weeks and months we will hear it often: we must prepare ourselves for the end-times. We must prepare ourselves for the coming of the Son of Man.
Unlike the people of the Aztec culture, we do not have a calendar that we trust to predict the possible end of time, as neither the angels in heaven nor even the Son know when this will be.
But let us not await the end-times in distress or anxiety. God gives us hope that good will triumph in our world, and that in giving ourselves over to trust in him, we will work to prepare ourselves to join him in his glorious reign, remaining ever faithful to his Word.
Rev. Thomas J. Eckert, C.S.C.
November 15, 2009
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