Here is the text of the homily I prepared for this weekend's gatherings of God's people. As we begin the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, and as we mark the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, the scriptures provide some food for thought ... and prayer.
A few years ago, I was serving in an inner-city parish where we were fortunate enough to count many people among our parishioners who were relatively well off, but there were also those who were silently suffering. They always appeared with a smile, but we knew that they needed help. In the modern parlance, these were the working poor: the ones who had to work multiple jobs just to make ends meet. We searched for a while to find a way to respond to their needs, all the while remembering that we needed to respect each person’s dignity.
Respecting each person’s dignity is something that Jesus did with grace. In the gospel account that we have heard today, he was at a wedding party and a situation arose that could have ended up being very embarrassing for the young couple. Mary saw the first signs of trouble and brought the matter to Jesus’ attention (cf Jn 2:3). With reluctance, he responded to their needs out of respect for his mother and also for the personal dignity of the couple, not wanting them to face the prospect of being judged by their guests.
Jesus is concerned for the dignity of every person, and so should we. It would have been easy for us to provide hand-outs for the people who came knocking at the door of our inner-city parish, but that would only have responded to an immediate need. Instead, we wanted to find a different way. After much thought and prayer, we decided to open a Community Kitchen: a place where we would teach parents and adults who were income-insecure how to cook. We opened the parish kitchen and invited clients to cook with us. Each week clients learned how to cook one dish each and at the end of a two-hour period, each client went home with enough portions of each dish to feed his or her family. It was so rewarding for us to see the pride on their faces as they left, knowing that their families would be able to eat, but also knowing that they had learned something about cooking, about budgeting, about portion control ... and most importantly that they were not alone in their struggle.
The prophet Isaiah reminds us today that for the sake of the dignity of our brothers and sisters, we must not remain silent when we encounter situations where their dignity is being overlooked (cf Is 62:1), and Saint Paul reminds us that each of us has been given gifts of the Spirit which we must use for the good of others (cf 1 Cor 12:8-10). We often speak of the Spirit’s gifts when we are addressing children or adults who are being Confirmed but all of us need to remember that these gifts are given. They are not intended to be hidden away, because if we hide them, we risk the possibility of forgetting that we possess them. Instead, we should be on the lookout for the Spirit’s gifts. When we recognize them in others, we should call them forth and invite others to use them for the good of the community.
Today, the Church celebrates the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, and in the coming week, we are being invited to pray for the unity of all Christians. As we remember and pray for these brothers and sisters of ours, let us also remember that we should always be willing to use our talents, which are gifts of the Spirit, in order to respect and enhance the dignity of others.
Respecting their dignity
A few years ago, I was serving in an inner-city parish where we were fortunate enough to count many people among our parishioners who were relatively well off, but there were also those who were silently suffering. They always appeared with a smile, but we knew that they needed help. In the modern parlance, these were the working poor: the ones who had to work multiple jobs just to make ends meet. We searched for a while to find a way to respond to their needs, all the while remembering that we needed to respect each person’s dignity.
Respecting each person’s dignity is something that Jesus did with grace. In the gospel account that we have heard today, he was at a wedding party and a situation arose that could have ended up being very embarrassing for the young couple. Mary saw the first signs of trouble and brought the matter to Jesus’ attention (cf Jn 2:3). With reluctance, he responded to their needs out of respect for his mother and also for the personal dignity of the couple, not wanting them to face the prospect of being judged by their guests.
Jesus is concerned for the dignity of every person, and so should we. It would have been easy for us to provide hand-outs for the people who came knocking at the door of our inner-city parish, but that would only have responded to an immediate need. Instead, we wanted to find a different way. After much thought and prayer, we decided to open a Community Kitchen: a place where we would teach parents and adults who were income-insecure how to cook. We opened the parish kitchen and invited clients to cook with us. Each week clients learned how to cook one dish each and at the end of a two-hour period, each client went home with enough portions of each dish to feed his or her family. It was so rewarding for us to see the pride on their faces as they left, knowing that their families would be able to eat, but also knowing that they had learned something about cooking, about budgeting, about portion control ... and most importantly that they were not alone in their struggle.
The prophet Isaiah reminds us today that for the sake of the dignity of our brothers and sisters, we must not remain silent when we encounter situations where their dignity is being overlooked (cf Is 62:1), and Saint Paul reminds us that each of us has been given gifts of the Spirit which we must use for the good of others (cf 1 Cor 12:8-10). We often speak of the Spirit’s gifts when we are addressing children or adults who are being Confirmed but all of us need to remember that these gifts are given. They are not intended to be hidden away, because if we hide them, we risk the possibility of forgetting that we possess them. Instead, we should be on the lookout for the Spirit’s gifts. When we recognize them in others, we should call them forth and invite others to use them for the good of the community.
Today, the Church celebrates the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, and in the coming week, we are being invited to pray for the unity of all Christians. As we remember and pray for these brothers and sisters of ours, let us also remember that we should always be willing to use our talents, which are gifts of the Spirit, in order to respect and enhance the dignity of others.
Respecter leur dignité
Il y a quelques années, je desservais une paroisse du centre-ville où nous avons eu la chance de compter parmi nos paroissiens de nombreuses personnes qui étaient relativement aisées, mais il y avait aussi des personnes qui souffraient silencieusement. Elles sont toujours apparus avec un sourire, mais nous savions qu’elles avaient besoin d’aide. Dans le langage moderne, il s'agissait des travailleurs pauvres: ceux qui devaient occuper plusieurs emplois afin de survivre. Nous avons cherché pendant plusieurs mois avant de trouver un moyen de répondre à leurs besoins, tout en nous rappelant que nous devions toujours respecter la dignité de chaque personne.
Respecter la dignité de chaque personne c’est quelque chose que Jésus a fait avec grâce. Dans le récit évangélique que nous avons entendu aujourd'hui, il se trouvait à une fête de mariage et une situation s'est présentée qui aurait pu devenir très embarrassante pour le jeune couple. Marie, la mère de Jésus, a vu les premiers signes de trouble et a attiré l’attention de son fils (cf. Jn 2: 3). Avec réticence, il a répondu à leurs besoins par respect pour sa mère et pour la dignité personnelle du couple, ne souhaitant pas qu'ils soient menacés par leurs invités.
Jésus se soucie de la dignité de chaque personne, et nous devrions en faire de même. Il aurait été facile pour nous de distribuer de la nourriture aux personnes qui venaient frapper à la porte du presbytère qui se trouvait du centre-ville, mais cela n'aurait répondu qu'à un besoin immédiat. Au lieu de cela, nous voulions trouver un moyen différent. Après avoir longuement réfléchi et prié, nous avons décidé d'ouvrir une cuisine communautaire: un lieu où nous pourrions aider les parents et les adultes qui vivaient dans l'insécurité de se sentir plus à l’aise dans une cuisine. Nous avons ouvert la cuisine de la paroisse et nous avons invité les clients à cuisiner avec nous. Chaque semaine, les clients apprenaient à préparer un plat chacun. Au bout de deux heures, chaque client rentrait chez lui avec suffisamment de portions de chaque plat pour nourrir sa famille. C'était tellement gratifiant pour nous de voir la fierté sur leur visage quand ils sont partis, sachant que leurs familles pourraient manger, mais aussi qu'ils avaient appris une nouvelle recette, ou la budgétisation, ou comment contrôler des portions ... surtout qu'ils n'étaient pas seuls dans leur lutte.
Le prophète Isaïe nous rappelle aujourd'hui que, pour préserver la dignité de nos frères et sœurs, nous ne devons pas rester silencieux lorsque nous rencontrons des situations dans lesquelles leur dignité est négligée (cf Is 62, 1). Nous avons reçu des dons de l'Esprit que nous devons utiliser pour le bien d'autrui (cf 1 Cor 12: 8-10). Nous parlons souvent des dons de l’Esprit lorsque nous nous adressons aux enfants ou aux adultes qui se préparent pour la célébration du Sacrement de la Confirmation, mais nous devons tous nous rappeler que ces dons sont partagés. Ces dons ne sont pas destinés à être cachés, car si nous les cachons, nous risquons d’oublier que nous les possédons. Au lieu de cela, nous devrions rechercher les dons de l’Esprit. Lorsque nous les reconnaissons chez les autres, nous devrions les inviter à les utiliser pour le bien-être de la communauté.
Aujourd'hui, l'Église célèbre la Journée mondiale des migrants et des réfugiés. La semaine prochaine, nous sommes invités à prier pour l'unité de tous les chrétiens. En nous souvenant de nos frères et sœurs et en priant pour eux, rappelons-nous également que nous devrions toujours vouloir utiliser nos talents, qui sont des dons de l'Esprit, afin de respecter et d'accroître la dignité des autres.
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