Archives: Homilies

Most Reverend Joseph C. Bambera, D.D., J.C.L.
Bishop of Scranton
HOMILY
7^th Sunday of Easter – May 13, 2018
Mother’s Day Adoption Mass

On many of the Sundays on which we’ve gathered during this Easter Season, we’ve been reflecting in our gospel readings on the words of Jesus that come to us from the Last Supper in St. John’s gospel. In today’s passage, Jesus offers his final prayer, shared just prior to being arrested and led to his cross. Jesus begins by praying for himself, that he may obediently bring to completion the work of redemption entrusted to him by his Father. Then he prays for his disciples – those who were with him in his earthly journey – and those who would embrace discipleship down through the ages – ultimately me and you.

The prayer that Jesus offers is both a petition on behalf of his disciples and a commissioning. Jesus asks the Father that his disciples be protected from the evil one, consecrated to all that is true and good in God’s plan, and then sent into the world to take up Jesus’ own mission of proclaiming the Kingdom of God. … Our second reading from the first Letter of Saint John goes on to give us a blueprint for how this plan of God – this mission of discipleship – will be realized. “If we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us.”

You see, in the miracle and wonder of God, Jesus knew that in conveying the sublime love of God to the fragile and broken world that he was sent to save, he couldn’t merely speak about it in abstract terms. For love to mean anything to us, it couldn’t be just a word or a command. It couldn’t be remote or ethereal. It had to be understood in human terms. God’s love had to be concrete. So Jesus used his own life and death to teach us about this love. And he consistently proclaimed that God’s love would endure in our world when his disciples made his mission their own.

Consequently, it is only in and through our commitment to giving life and substance to Jesus’ commandment to love one another that we will ever begin to fulfill God’s plan and find the way to true holiness and peace in our lives and in our world.

Just about a month ago, Pope Francis issued a beautiful exhortation on the call to holiness in today’s world. It’s entitled Gaudete et Exsultate – “Rejoice and be glad.” The Holy Father begins his reflections by reminding all of us that this great goal of holiness is well within our reach. He speaks about the saints who accompany us on our journey of life and faith and then is quick to point out that not every saint who is worthy of our attention is already beatified or canonized. Instead, he speaks of “the saints next door.”

“I like to contemplate the holiness present in the patience of God’s people: in those parents who raise their children with immense love, in those men and women who work hard to support their families, in the sick, in elderly religious who never lose their smile. In their daily perseverance, I see the holiness of the Church militant. Very often it is a holiness found in our next-door neighbors, those who, living in our midst, reflect God’s presence. We might call them ‘the middle class of holiness.’”

How fitting that, as we reflect during these latter days of the Easter season upon Jesus’ challenge to embrace his invitation to holiness and mission, today we celebrate and give thanks for those women – our mothers – who have accepted that challenge and sought to live it authentically: Mothers who have given us life – mothers, who, though unable to care for the lives they bore, for love of God and life itself, entrusted those precious gifts to the care of others – mothers who opened their hearts to children desperately in need of a loving and nurturing home – grandmothers – foster mothers – and all who have nurtured and cared for life.

It is a common truth that we learn how to love from being loved and from seeing love in action. It’s as simple and profound as that. And that’s why it’s so important for us to recognize that underneath all of the commercialism that can easily attach to this day, there lies a deeper, sacred reality: we honor mothers because in almost every case, our first encounter with love came from our mother. That love is hardly a sentimental love – but rather, a sacred love – a selfless, sacrificial, forgiving love that mirrors the very love of Jesus himself.

It’s true that often people will reflect upon the struggles that they may have faced growing up in their family of origin. Such realities can hardly be dismissed. Yet, sometimes we look for a perfection or an ideal that’s just not possible. And in the process of so doing, we miss recognizing the good – the holiness – that is present among us.

Some of you know my mother – who this year celebrated her 90^th birthday. She wouldn’t mind for a moment that I’ve given away her age. In fact, she’s quite proud of it – and so am I and the rest of my family. At 90 years of age, she continues to be independent. She lives on her own, drives and enjoys traveling, and still cooks better than any of us. And most every other day, she spends about 20 minutes on the treadmill – which is more than I can say.

When asked around the time of her milestone birthday to reflect upon her 90 years, here’s what she said. “I’m grateful to God for still being able to experience life so fully at my age. I’m grateful as well for my family and friends.” And she added, “I’ve simply tried to do the best that I could with all that God has given to me.” … “I’ve tried to do the best that I could with all that God has given to me.”

Once again, Pope Francis has the blessed capacity to tap into my own mother’s sentiments and those that most of us embrace this day. Listen to his words. “To love like Jesus is not easy because we are often so weak. But just to try to love as Christ loved us shows that Christ shares his own risen life with us. In this way, our lives demonstrate his power at work – even in the midst of human weakness.”

We give thanks today for the blessing of those who have tried to the best of their God-given abilities to protect, support, sustain and love God’s gift of life – a blessing that has been so generously given to each of us through the lives of our mothers.

By their example, they teach us that it is possible to love as Jesus commands – generously and selflessly. … They also remind us that they – and we – become signs of the risen Jesus’ presence in the world when we open our lives to his love and make it our own.

Most Reverend Joseph C. Bambera, D.D., J.C.L.
Bishop of Scranton
HOMILY
4^th Annual Men’s Conference – 6^th Sunday of Easter
May 5, 2018

 

What an incredible gathering!  What a great day to celebrate our faith in Jesus Christ, risen from the dead!  What a powerful sign your presence is to our world as we resolve to live that faith as followers of Jesus!

The gospel just proclaimed for this 6^th Sunday of Easter is taken from the 15^th chapter Saint John’s gospel.  The words that Jesus shared with his disciples – and us – were spoken during the Last Supper on the night before he died.  He had already washed the feet of his friends.  In Matthew, Mark and Luke’s gospels, he would have just given his disciples the enduring gift of himself – his body and blood – for their life and salvation.  And Jesus would end his words by walking from the upper room to the Garden of Gethsemane where he would pray in silence, even as he prepared to allow himself to be handed over to death.

It is in this context that Jesus provides direction for his disciples and all those who will follow after him down through the ages.  These words then, my brothers, are meant for me and for you.

And at the heart of Jesus’ words is this injunction, “As the father loves me, so I also love you.  Remain in my love.  If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.”  …  Fair enough.  Keep the commandments and we’ll remain in God’s good graces.  We’re good with that, aren’t we?  Simple and straightforward.  Clear and direct.  We like that, don’t we?

But let’s not be so foolish as to breathe a sigh of relief so quickly.  The only commandment expressly stated by Jesus in the Gospel of Saint John is that his disciples love one another.  In fact, listen again to the words from the gospel passage just proclaimed, “This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.  No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

Brothers, this commandment may sound simple.  It resonates with an innate conviction on our parts to defend and protect our families and friends, doesn’t it?  But it asks so much more.  …  If we’re honest, it’s not always easy to love in the manner in which Jesus gives us example.  While Saint Peter in the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles asserted, “God shows no partiality,” sometimes we do – especially when someone has hurt those we love and care for.  It’s hard enough to love the people we like.  It’s quite another thing to love and respect those we don’t!

Yet, the reality of the gospel is such that Jesus’ words that we “love one another” do not amount to a mere suggestion or an invitation with qualifications.  His words are a command!  There are no conditions or limitations to what he asks us to embrace.

“Be a man!”  …  That’s the tagline for this annual conference, brothers.  But if we think for a minute that somehow being a man means that we need to get beyond the “love” talk of Jesus and live our faith more boldly and assertively, we’ve got it wrong.  For, you see, the love that Jesus demands is sacrificial and total – and born on the cross.

And what happened on that cross?  Jesus – the good shepherd – was unjustly led to his death – all because he preached the reign of God – all because it was more important for him to heal and forgive than to follow empty laws – all because he sought to change hearts and turn them to God rather than embrace rituals that had little meaning or value.

 

In familiar terminology, Jesus took the high road:  not returning insult, not threatening, but submitting to those who judged him unjustly.  He loved unconditionally.  He served to the end.  And he forgave in his last breaths on the cross.

Sadly, however, as Pope Francis reminded us in his homily for Palm Sunday, just a little more than a month ago, the selfless, unconditional love that Jesus proclaimed from the cross is often not appreciated in our polarized world today.  There are some who preach a different gospel message.  The hopeful message of Jesus on the cross, Pope Francis stated, becomes “a source of unease, scandal and upset for those who consider themselves righteous.”  …  The example of Jesus is “a joy intolerable for those who have forgotten the many chances that they themselves have been given.”  The Holy Father continued, “How hard it is for the comfortable and the self-righteous to understand the joy and the celebration of God’s mercy!  How hard it is to share in this joy for those who trust only in themselves, and look down on others.”

Brothers, pray every day for such souls.  But as Christian men, never yield to the message of those who seek to limit God’s mercy and love!  Jesus commands us to remain in his love.  So follow where he leads, prayerfully, humbly and joyfully.

The focus of this year’s conference builds on the message of today’s gospel and draws our attention to the presence of Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament – the Eucharist.  Christ is indeed among us!  He  is indeed here in our midst.

Perhaps you recall these words that were shared in the invitation to today’s conference.  “Jesus Himself is here, alive and eagerly waiting for each of us.  You live because of Him, and will live more abundantly when you draw closer to the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  You will experience how Jesus dwells in you and you in Him.  He loves us – what a beautiful consoling thought.”

These words are so true and hopeful, aren’t they?  In the gift of the Eucharist – simply put – we are given nothing less than the very presence and life of Jesus.  …  But in the same Eucharist gift, we also discover the essence of who we are and what we are called to be as Christians.

Recall the words of Jesus that we will hear in just a few moments as we offer the Eucharistic Prayer of this Mass.  “This is my body, broken for you.  …  This is the cup of my blood, poured forth for you.  …  Do this in memory of me.”  …  What is Jesus asking us to do in his memory?  …  Repeat a ritual?  …  Yes, indeed, for our life and salvation.  …  But he’s also asking us to do something else as his disciples.  He’s asking us to allow our bodies to be broken for the people he places within our lives.  He’s calling us to allow our life-blood to be poured forth in loving service.  …  Eucharist is hardly meant to be seen solely as a routine element of our worship.  Yes, it demands a response of wonder and awe at the gift of God’s presence.  But it demands much more.

Early on in his pontificate, Saint John Paul II wrote to the bishops of the world about the gift of the Eucharist.  He spoke of the great gift of God found in the sacramental presence of Jesus that we celebrate and receive this day.  He also said this:  “The authentic sense of the Eucharist is that it becomes the school of active love for my neighbor.  If authentically received, Eucharist must make us grow in awareness of one another.”

Yes, the great saint spoke of the awesome presence of God in the Eucharist.  But he also challenged us to actively embrace and reflect the same love poured forth into our lives from the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.

So when God’s people assemble in faith as we do today, we are called to recreate the ritual meal of the Last Supper.  But we are also called to do something else.  Saint Augustine put it best: “Become the mystery you celebrate.  …  Become the broken Christ whose life was poured forth for those that he loved.  …   Become the loving, compassionate Christ who multiplied loaves and fish and fed the hungry multitudes, satisfying not only their physical needs, but also their desire to be nourished by the God.

Receive Christ, the living bread that sustains us on our journey of faith.  …  Receive Christ and so become Christ in loving service to one another.  …  Become Christ for your husband/your wife.  Become Christ for your mother/your father; your sister/your brother.  Become Christ for your neighbor.  Become Christ for the stranger.  Become Christ for the unborn child.  Become Christ for the hungry.  Become Christ for the poor.  Become Christ for the immigrant.  Become Christ for the forgotten.  Become Christ for those on the margins of life whom the righteous  say are unworthy of Christ’s love.  …  Become the Christ whom you adore and worship.

In short, the great sacrament of the Eucharist that we celebrate this day is both a gift to be cherished and a responsibility to be embraced by all who seek to follow the Lord Jesus with sincerity of heart – from the first followers of Jesus – to countless witnesses of the Gospel message down through the ages – to me and to you this day.

My brothers, Jesus gives us the command to love generously and unconditionally – as he has loved us.  And he gives us the means to fulfill that command through the gift of the Eucharist.  May our prayer on this great day embody these simple words that, more than anything else, have the power to enable us to live as Christian men.  …  “As we receive Christ in the Eucharist, O God, help us, in turn, to become Christ for others.  Amen.”

Most Reverend Joseph C. Bambera, D.D., J.C.L.
Bishop of Scranton
HOMILY
Mass for Those in Consecrated Life
2^nd Sunday of Easter – April 8, 2018

At the heart of today’s gospel is a figure about whom we hear very little in the sacred scriptures – Saint Thomas.  It is today’s gospel passage from St. John, however, that provides us with the most lasting image of the saint, as we are given details of Thomas’ encounter with the Risen Jesus.

This passage from St. John’s gospel that describes the meeting between Thomas and the resurrected Jesus is also unique, insofar as it is one of a very few gospel passages that are provided for our reflection every year on the very same day – the Second Sunday of Easter – the concluding day of the Octave of Easter – Divine Mercy Sunday.  In the very heart of Easter joy and celebration, the Church annually offers for our consideration the story of one of Jesus’ closest followers who doubted – who just didn’t have it within his ability to believe that Jesus was raised from the dead.

Let’s look at Thomas a bit more closely in order to come to a better understanding of his significance to us in our journeys of faith.

Perhaps the most striking thing about Thomas in today’s gospel is that, initially, he was apart from the community of disciples.  For some reason, he wasn’t with them when Jesus first appeared to them following his resurrection.  What’s more, when Thomas eventually reunited with the disciples and was told about their experience of the Risen Lord, his faith seemed to waiver as he asserted that he wouldn’t believe the disciples unless he could probe the nail marks in Jesus’ hands and put his own hand into Jesus’ side.

Who knows how and why St. Thomas became so contrary in the midst of the miracle of the resurrection?  Yet, one thing is clear.  In not being a part of the community of believers, Thomas missed the opportunity to encounter the risen Jesus.  And because he missed that opportunity – because he was alone and apart – his fears and doubts likely intensified.  …  “I will not believe, unless … .”

Sometimes the best of us wonder about our presence in the Church – especially when we doubt our faith and struggle to find our way.  Sometimes, like Thomas, we just can’t seem to bring ourselves to believe and accept some aspect of our faith for one reason or another.  And we distance ourselves.  We stand apart from the community of believers when it gathers to pray on the Lord’s Day.  And we feel ourselves on the outside looking in!

Yet, look carefully at Jesus’ response to Thomas in today’s gospel.  While Jesus lifted up and called “blessed” all those souls who had not seen him as raised from the dead and who still believed, nowhere in his encounter with Thomas does he berate him or diminish him because of his doubts and struggles.  On the contrary, Jesus engages Thomas – loves him as he is – and sends him forth with the other disciples to proclaim the Kingdom of God and build the Church of Christ.

Jesus’ acceptance of Thomas – with his doubts and questions – was a sign not only to the earliest believers but also to Christians throughout the ages – including me and you – that we too are accepted by the Lord – doubts and all.  Moreover, Thomas’ place within the early Church, entrusted to him by the Lord himself, is a reminder to us of the pivotal role that the Church plays in nurturing faith and in providing us with opportunities to experience the risen Lord – in the Word proclaimed – in the Eucharist and the sacramental life – and in the community of believers in and through whom God is present.

Today’s first scripture reading is a powerful reminder to us of why the Church is so vital to our lives as Christians.  In the passage from the Acts of the Apostles, we’re told about the life of the early Christian community, a parish, if you will, of disciples striving to respond to the presence of the risen Christ in their lives.  We learned that, because of their relationship with Jesus, believers were of one mind and heart.  They worked together to respond to the needs of each member of the community, and they gave powerful witness to their conviction that through the Resurrection, God continues to live and work in our world, to touch our lives and to bring us peace.

Today we gather in prayer to reflect upon a unique gift that is a part of the life-giving Church of the risen Jesus:  the gift of consecrated life.  We reflect upon women and men who have understood and embraced the Lord’s universal call to holiness and mission.  We join together in our Cathedral to acknowledge woman and men celebrating jubilees of 25, 50, 60, 65, 70 and 75 years in religious life who collectively represent over 3,335 years of service to the People of God.  …  What a blessing you have been and continue to be for all of us.

We celebrate each of you, my sisters and brothers in Consecrated Life, who have abandoned your very lives and – with deep trust – and with the recognition of your own human limitations, doubts and struggles– have handed yourselves over to God – in the sure and certain hope that comes from the resurrection of Jesus – in order to be used as his instruments in the work of salvation, bringing life and hope to all.

In short, we celebrate your embrace of the mission that Jesus entrusted to Thomas – to the other apostles – to all of the baptized – and particularly to each of you – to witness to the risen Lord and to build the Church – the very community of believers in and through which our faith is nurtured and given life.

In so many significant ways, your lives and ministry constitute those foundational building blocks upon which the Church of Jesus has been built.  Certainly here in the Diocese of Scranton, for well over 150 years, you have helped to build the Church, not with bricks and mortar, but with living stones – the People of God.  Because of your holiness and singular commitment to the gospel mandate to serve as Jesus did – you have not only touched the hearts of countless numbers of faithful souls, but you have revealed the face of God to a broken, struggling world.

Earlier this year at a Mass celebrated on the occasion of the World Day of Consecrated Life – which we commemorate today – Pope Francis shared words that both reflect the words of today’s gospel exchange between Thomas and Jesus in today’s gospel and that speak to the essence of the lives of so many of you – our sisters and brothers in Consecrated Life.

First, the Holy Father offered words that are clearly addressed to each of us – words that remind us of his exchange with Thomas – words that speak to where and how the risen Jesus is to be experienced.  “Everything for us,” Pope Francis noted, “started in an encounter with the Lord.  …  We need to keep this in mind. And if we remember aright, we will realize that in that encounter we were not alone with Jesus; there was also the people of God, the Church, young and old.  …  This is important, because God’s promise does not come to fulfilment merely in individuals, once for all, but within a community – the Church.  …  In this encounter, the young see their mission and the elderly realize their dreams. All because, at the center of the encounter, is Jesus.”

Then Pope Francis went on to speak words of encouragement to those in Consecrated Life like so many of you whom we honor and for whom we pray this day.  “At the end of the Gospels, there is another encounter with Jesus.  …  It is that of the women before the tomb. They had gone to encounter the dead; their journey seemed pointless. You too are journeying against the current: the life of the world easily rejects poverty, chastity and obedience. But like those women, keep moving forward, without worrying about whatever heavy stones need to be removed (cf. Mk 16:3). And like those women, be the first to meet the Lord, risen and alive. Cling to him (cf. Mt 28:9) and go off immediately to tell your brothers and sisters, your eyes brimming with joy (cf. v. 8). In this way, dear consecrated brothers and sisters, are the Church’s perennial dawn!

With deep gratitude, my sisters and brothers, we give thanks for your example and for your witness to the risen Jesus alive among us.  Encouraged by the gift of your faithful service, may we look beyond our doubts and struggles to walk together in faith, reflecting always the love and mercy of Jesus in our lives.

Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, D.D., J.C.L.
HOMILY
Easter – April 1, 2018 

This is the day the Lord has made!   …  Welcome one and all on this day of Resurrection – this day that defines who we are as Christians.  …  Welcome to our Cathedral Church.  …  Welcome to our Catholic family – and welcome to our brothers and sisters from different religious and faith traditions – especially our Jewish brothers and sisters who are celebrating Passover during these same sacred days that we treasure in our Church.  …  It is good that we are here together.

With the entire Church of Scranton, we give thanks today for the great gift of all those who have opened their hearts to the risen Lord and who seek to walk more closely with him.  In parishes throughout our Diocese, 68 Catechumens were baptized and 89 Candidates were received into full communion in the Catholic Church.  Here in our Cathedral Parish, Agnes Musari, Serena Zatara and Isabelle Penton were baptized, confirmed and received the Holy Eucharist for the first time.  How blest we are by their presence with us, his Church.

On February 13^th, the day before Ash Wednesday, a cousin of mine by the name of Jen ended her Way of the Cross and passed into the life and peace of God’s eternity.  Jen’s death came somewhat quickly, less than two months after having been diagnosed with cancer.  That being said, the last ten years or so of her life were characterized by one health problem after another.

Despite the fact that Jen was eight years older than me, having grown up and lived in the same area, we were quite close.  Nonetheless, I was privileged to have many opportunities to speak with her as it became evident that she was winding down.  Just 4 days before she passed, she shared with me her thoughts about death and life as she prepared for the inevitable.

In our conversation, Jen never talked about the obvious crosses that she had carried throughout her 71 years.  …  She spoke with great love about her only son, Jason, who has been a resident at St. Joseph’s Center for most of his 40+ years, never for an instant bemoaning his situation.  …  She recalled her brother who had passed away a few years earlier from ALS, stating simply that she looked forward to seeing him again, along with her mother and father.  …  And not once did she ever suggest that her many health concerns had been a burden for her.

These were the profound words that my cousin Jen shared that day that I will never forget.  “I’ve been blessed by God and have had a wonderful life.  I’m not afraid.  I look forward to where God will take me on the next part of the journey!”

Jen’s story isn’t unique.  I know many of you have similar stories to tell of your loved ones as they prepare to face their journey to God’s eternity.  Nor do I mention my cousin Jen on “this day that the Lord has made” because she lived an extraordinary life.  To the contrary, hers was quite ordinary, like most of our lives.  She walked through life with both feet firmly planted on the ground – and would be the first to admit that sometimes they were even planted a little bit below the surface!  She was, however, blessed with the conviction that in her own powerlessness to navigate her way through what, at times, proved to be a challenging world, she desperately needed the power of God in her life.  Through her prayers – in caring for her family – by trying the best that she could to live with gratitude for the blessings she’d been given – she came to believe in the resurrection of Jesus.  And this belief was all the more significant for her because she was humble enough to see the hand of God carrying her in the midst of all that life unfolded.

Pope Francis reflected upon this simple reality that characterized my cousin’s life and so many of our own.  To experience the hope of Easter, we have to be “willing to enter into the mystery” of God.  “To enter into the mystery” means that we’re willing to wonder and to contemplate, to listen to the silence and to hear the tiny whisper by which God speaks to us.  …   The mystery demands that we not be afraid of reality:  that we not be locked into ourselves, that we not flee from what we fail to understand, that we not close our eyes to problems or deny them, that we not dismiss our questions.  …  To enter into the mystery of God, we need … the humility not to take ourselves so seriously, recognizing instead who we really are:  creatures with strengths and weaknesses, sinners in need of forgiveness.”  …  In short, we need to appreciate our “powerlessness” in the face of this world and our absolute need for God.

That powerlessness of which the Holy Father speaks characterized the followers of Jesus in the early hours of Easter morning.  Their world had come to an end.  …  St. John concludes his descriptions of that first day of the week by stating that the followers of Jesus “did not yet understand.”  …   Yet, it was their acknowledged powerlessness that opened the doors of their hearts to encounter the risen Jesus.

I always find it interesting that in the gospels of Easter, we don’t see Jesus.  While Jesus was very present to us throughout the gospels of Holy Week – Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday and Good Friday – today, of all days, we don’t meet him.  He doesn’t speak to us or show himself to us in the manner with which we’re accustomed to experiencing him in the scriptures.  But we do encounter him – most vividly through the gift of faith emerging in the early Christian community – a faith born not from some sort of proof – a faith that was characterized at times by uncertainty and doubt – yet a faith dependent upon the mercy and love of God.  …  My brothers and sisters, this is our story too – and this is to know and experience the resurrection of Jesus.

This gift of faith is nurtured not by an empty tomb that we’ve never seen but by countless numbers of encounters with the life and love of Jesus that we have all experienced.  …  Such encounters emerge within the life of the Church all the time.  …  They’re found in our families in the day to day blessings that we don’t even recognize but are there.  …  Encounters with the risen Jesus are particularly evident when we serve the most vulnerable in our midst – the sick, the poor, the elderly.  …  They’re deepened through our experience of the sacramental life of the Church.

My friends, when we’re wise and humble enough to open our hearts to the risen Jesus and acknowledge our need for God to make sense of our lives, not only is the path to eternal life discovered, but we are given reason to hope, despite and because of the brokenness of our lives.

Brothers and sisters, join me in making these words of Pope Francis our own:   “Let the risen Jesus enter your life.  Welcome him as a friend, with trust:  He is life! If until now you have kept him at a distance, step forward.  He will receive you with open arms.  If you have been indifferent, take a risk:  you won’t be disappointed.  If following him seems difficult, don’t be afraid.  Trust him.  Be confident that he is close to you, that he is with you and that he will give you the peace you are looking for and the strength to live as he would have you live.”

Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, D.D., J.C.L.
HOMILY
Chrism Mass – March 27, 2018

What a blessed gathering this is!  Thank you to all who join with me this afternoon to celebrate this Mass of the Sacred Chrism – Bishop Timlin and Bishop Dougherty – so many of my brother priests – deacons and their wives – religious women and men –Parish Life Coordinators and numerous lay leaders – our seminarians – a special shout out to the many young people present in our cathedral from our schools and parishes – and finally, to so many of you from parishes throughout the eleven counties that make up this great local church.  …  Welcome to our cathedral.  …  Welcome to your home.   …  Thank you for your presence and thank you for all that you do in support of the Church’s mission – most especially in your service of the poor and those who struggle to find God in their lives.

On March 3, 1868, 150 years ago this very month, a story began – the story of the Church of Scranton.  The seeds for this story were first sewn 75 years earlier – a mere 17 years after the founding of the United States – when a French colony was established on the banks of the Susquehanna River between Wyalusing and Towanda.  Within that colony, was found the first verifiable presence of the Catholic faith in this region of Pennsylvania.

Thirty-two years later in 1825, an Irish born missionary priest by the name of Father Jeremiah O’Flynn used his own savings to purchase property where the first Catholic church within the territory of what we now know as our Diocese would be built.  The church, placed under the patronage of Saint Augustine, was erected at Silver Lake in Susquehanna County and still serves our people.

For the next 40 years, the Catholic faith not only took root but also flourished in this portion of God’s kingdom.  Strength was drawn from the sacramental life of the Church with the increasing presence of missionary priests from the Diocese of Philadelphia and from several religious congregations.  Dedicated women religious also arrived, caring for the sick, serving the needs of growing immigrant communities and engaging in the vital mission of educating young people in the faith.  And the blessed People of God – in their own way – assumed their role in the building up of the Church of Christ.

And build they did!  Clergy, religious and lay faithful – together – embraced and proclaimed the message of hope in Jesus Christ, celebrated the sacraments, served their brothers and sisters, and in 1868 wrote the first chapter of the story of this local Church that we know as the Diocese of Scranton.

And the story continues!  …  This anniversary year is testimony to the resolve of the faithful of this local Church – throughout its history – to embrace the anointing of our common baptism and to bring glad tidings to the poor, the Good News that is Jesus Christ.   …  Today’s Chrism Mass is a moment for all of us to renew our commitment to ministry in the Church.

In the gospel passage from Saint Luke, Jesus repeats words spoken by the prophet Isaiah and proclaimed in today’s first scripture reading.  In recalling the prophet Isaiah and his unique mission as a messenger of God, Jesus goes on to link this text to his own mission.  “Today, this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”  Yet, while fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the words of Isaiah also serve as a blueprint for the life of the disciple, who, as noted in today’s reading from the Book of Revelation, is loved, freed from sin and made by Christ’s Blood “into a Kingdom, priests for his God and Father.”

These words are intended for all of the members of the Church.  But, they have a special significance for my brother priests, particularly as we gather during this Chrism Mass to bless and consecrate holy oils to strengthen the Christian faithful through the sacramental life of our Church.

The oils that are blessed today – the oil of catechumens, the oil of the sick, the Sacred Chrism – are channels of intentional holiness, provided for our life and salvation by the Lord Jesus himself through the unique and vital ministry of his priests.  It is well for us to remember this day that, while we give thanks for the symphony of lives open to the Spirit that serve to build the Church, it is only in and through the ministry of our priests that the sacraments are celebrated and Christ becomes present to us in the Eucharist that we receive from this altar.

And so, my brother priests, mindful of the gratitude of the People of God for all that you provide for the Church, reflect with me for a bit upon the journey of priestly ministry that you embraced two – ten – thirty – sixty year ago.

While my prayer is that our reflections are filled with joy, meaning and fulfillment, I know very well that the journey – on more occasions than you and I would care to admit – has been and continues to be difficult.  This is so, because our world – in so many ways – continues to be broken and in need of redemption.  …  It continues to bring into sharp perspective the words that we embraced on the day of our ordination when we vowed to imitate the mystery we celebrate and model our lives on the mystery of the Lord’s cross.

Yet, brothers, in spite of the struggles that we face – the imperfections of our own lives – the worries that fill our minds as we seek to provide for our people – the pain that we experience in the face of a world that doesn’t appreciate the message of hope that we preach – remember one thing:

You were chosen by God.  At some point, God called you by name to be his priest – and youanswered that call.  For all that may cause you to question how and why your life has unfolded in the manner in which it has, I remind you of something, brothers:  God does not make mistakes and God has not forgotten what he has called you to be!  While your journey of priestly ministry may all too often be filled with the image of the cross, remember the words that I shared with you not long ago from a modern day saint – Padre Pio.  “The cross will not crush you.  Its weight may make you stagger but its power will sustain you.”

Brothers, you are and will be sustained – by the God whom you serve – by Jesus, who bore the weight of the crosses you carry – by the people God entrusts to your care – and by the bishop who stands before you – who all love you, who give thanks for your service and who pray for you each day.

Holding fast to this great hope, I remind you of something else, brothers.  In addition to being called and chosen by God, you were also anointed and sent.  As Jesus made the words of Isaiah his own in today’s gospel, he challenges us to place ourselves within those same words and to make them our own.  …  The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord. 

Brothers, the “glad tidings” of the words of Isaiah that you and I are called by the Lord to embrace undoubtedly are a source of joy to all those left behind and overlooked in our world.  Such is the case for countless numbers of forgiven sinners whose dignity and hope have been restored by Jesus himself.

Sadly, however, as Pope Francis reminded us just two days ago in his homily for Palm Sunday, the joy that you proclaim is often “a source of unease, scandal and upset for those who consider themselves righteous.”  …  It is “a joy intolerable for those who have forgotten the many chances that they themselves have been given.”  The Holy Father continued, “How hard it is for the comfortable and the self-righteous to understand the joy and the celebration of God’s mercy!  How hard it is to share in this joy for those who trust only in themselves, and look down on others.”

Brothers, pray every day for these souls.  But never yield to their efforts to limit God’s mercy and love!  Jesus has anointed us and sent us on our way as his priests.  So follow where he leads, prayerfully, humbly and joyfully.  In every Eucharist you celebrate, every homily you preach, every child or adult you baptize, every truth you teach, every sinner you absolve, every marriage you witness, every suffering soul you anoint, every kindness you extend even to those who are unkind, in every action that you undertake in the name of the Lord Jesus, continue to do the work of God, bringing mercy and love to a world so desperately in need of it.

Pope Francis reflected upon our ministry in a prayer that he offered for us, his priests:  Dear priests, may God the Father renew in us the Spirit of holiness with whom we have been anointed.  May he renew his spirit in our hearts so that this anointing may spread to everyone, especially to those on the “outskirts” where our people most look for it and most appreciate it.  May our people sense that we are indeed the Lord’s disciples; and may they receive through our words and deeds the oil of gladness which Jesus, the Anointed One, came to bring us.

My brother priests – ours is a privileged calling – not privileged in the sense that we’ve been chosen to stand over and above the People of God, but privileged insofar as we are given the unique opportunity to stand beside them, to speak to them about God, to work for them and to journey with them to a place of peace and finally to the eternity that God prepares for us all.

My friends, on this blessed day, may each of us – bishops – priests – deacons – religious – lay faithful – young and old – rich and poor – black, brown, white – and every soul seeking a place in the family of God – proclaim words of thanks and praise to the Lord!  …  May we give thanks for the gift of the priesthood.  …  May we give thanks for the miracle and mystery of God at work within the earthen vessels of our lives that make up his Church.  …  And finally, may we give thanks, through the grace of God, for having been afforded a place in the story of this local Church begun 150 years ago – a story that is nowhere near its end, but continues to give life through the presence of God who called us into being and walks with us always on the journey of faith.

Most Reverend Joseph C. Bambera, D.D., J.C.L.
Bishop of Scranton
HOMILY
Palm Sunday – March 25, 2018 

In his message to the Church as we prepared to begin the sacred season of Lent almost six weeks ago, Pope Francis offered these words that are at once both challenging and hopeful. “I urge the members of the Church to take up the Lenten journey with enthusiasm, sustained by almsgiving, fasting and prayer. If, at times, however, the flame of charity seems to die in our own hearts, know that this is never the case in the heart of God! He constantly gives us a chance to begin loving anew.”

In these words, the Holy Father reminds us of how and why God works in creation. God’s plan to become man – choosing to be poor by leaving the glory of heaven in order to embrace our world – is rooted in love … a love which took Jesus to his death on the cross … a love which seeks our wellbeing, our life and our salvation … a love which offers itself in total sacrifice for our sake!

In Saint Paul’s letter to the Church at Philippi, we’re reminded that through Jesus’ poverty – his immersion into our world, his suffering, and his death – we’re given a way forward. … We no longer need to fear death. … The great unknown that we all face in our final journey – and that we so often fear – is revealed to us the more we open our lives to God and seek to embrace the same confidence in the Father’s love that enabled Jesus to face his death.

The verse immediately prior to Saint Paul’s words in today’s second reading gives us a clue into how this revelation comes to pass. For those who seek Jesus’ promise of life and peace, “Have among yourselves the same attitude that is in Christ Jesus.”

And what was the attitude of Jesus? … The scripture passage tells us that Jesus “emptied himself, taking the form of a slave – a servant – even to the point of death on a cross.”

It is this attitude that we are called to embrace as we gather at the beginning of Holy Week. Jesus displayed a life of humility over and above a life of self-glorification. The radical humility that Jesus showed in taking the form of a servant and in embracing God’s will, even to the cross, is what we are called to exemplify in our own lives. Indeed, it’s only in and through our imitation of Jesus’ pattern of living that we will discover the means to face the challenges of life with hope and be given a glimpse of God’s eternity and peace.

Life – with its joys – but particularly with its struggles and setbacks, its disappointments and fears – always brings us back to Jesus and to Calvary – to his trust in the Father’s will and to his powerful example of selfless love. Both of these realities enabled him to face his cross and both provided the means through which God raised him up!

Recall the final words spoken by Jesus in today’s Passion narrative. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Far from a cry of despair, this verse from the Aramaic translation of the 22^ndPsalm is meant to evoke the whole psalm. Yes, it begins with a question about the presence of God in the midst of suffering lives. It ends, however, with words of praise for God’s mercy and fidelity. “The generation to come will be told of the Lord, that they may proclaim to a people yet unborn the deliverance you have brought.”

My brothers and sisters, as we stand on the threshold of Holy Week, our faith calls us to affirm that God has indeed delivered us from the darkness of sin and the brokenness of our world.

Make no mistake; our experience of this Holy Week will not take away the harsh realities of life that we face each day. It will not cause life’s disappointments to disappear. It will not eradicate the selfishness and pride that exist in our world, that wound our hearts, and destroy our relationships.

But our authentic embrace of the example of Jesus and our selfless love and our care for the world and lives that God has given to us – even in the midst of the crosses that we carry – do have the power to open our lives the mystery of God’s saving grace. Only by entrusting our lives to the God’s will and to Jesus’ powerful example of selfless love will any of us truly be able to face each day – and even death itself – with hope and peace. … Therein, my friends, is the true and lasting gift of Holy Week.

Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, D.D., J.C.L.
HOMILY
Saint Patrick’s Day Mass – March 17, 2018

Back in the mid-1990’s, I was on retreat at Mount Savior Monastery in upstate New York.  While meandering through the monastery bookstore one day, one of the monks approached me and strongly recommended a recently published book entitled How the Irish Saved Civilization.  I’m certain that not a few of you are quite familiar with this publication.   

Frankly, not having any roots on that little green island in the north Atlantic, I had a bit of a problem with the title of the book.  But that’s another story!  …  Suffice it to say, however, that rooted in the book’s premise is the looming figure of Patrick, the saint whose memory we honor this day.

Thomas Cahill, the book’s author, wrote that Ireland of the early fifth century was a brooding, dank island whose inhabitants, while carefree and warlike on the outside, lived in fear of sudden death and the insubstantiality of their world.  Cahill asserted, however, that the Bishop, Patrick, provided “a living alternative” to the struggling people of Ireland. He was a serene man “in whom the sharp fear of death has been smoothed away.” The Christianity he proposed to the Irish people succeeded because it took away dread from the magical world that they had previously embraced and gave them hope in the loving and forgiving God revealed in Jesus Christ.

But how did Patrick accomplish do all of this?  After all, when he arrived in Ireland to preach to her people, he came with virtually no resources and with only a handful of co-workers.  While his accomplishments are the stuff of legend, in reality they were the result of one thing:  prayer.  Patrick wrote this in his confessions:  “God showed me how to have faith in him forever, as one who is never to be doubted.  He answered my prayer in such a way that… I might be bold enough to take up this holy and wonderful task, and imitate in some degree those whom the Lord had destined to be heralds of His Gospel.”

You see, Patrick understood well the words from St. Luke’s Gospel proclaimed just a moment ago, “Do not be afraid.”  And he wasn’t.  Like Peter, James and John and all of those who first heard the voice of Jesus call their names, Patrick left everything, embraced the life and mission of the Lord and imparted to the people of Ireland the gift of faith in the living God.

That’s what the grace of God did in the life of Patrick and the legacy that lies at the heart of our celebration today.  …  But how does this same grace and legacy continue to move within our world – in era that is still so very much in need of the power and presence of God?  …  How does the grace of God move within my life and yours?

The answer is pretty simple.  …  It moves and grows in much the same way as it did in Patrick’s life.  …  God’s grace builds upon an openness to his presence that is rooted in hearts that are searching for something more than what this world of ours seems to offer.  …  It grows through prayer and a willingness to look beyond ourselves to serve the people God places within our lives.

Indeed, God’s transforming grace brings us to a deeper sense of meaning, purpose and peace when we are wise enough and selfless enough to do the work of the gospel and to pattern our lives on the life of Jesus.  Saint John Paul II captured this reality best when he visited Ireland in 1979.  Listen to his words:

“For all that we learn from Saint Patrick, what I really want you to realize is this:  that God counts on you:  that he makes his plans, in a way, depend on your free collaboration  …  and on the generosity with which you follow the inspirations of the Holy Spirit.”  …  Pope Francis puts these sentiments in other words:  “To love God and neighbor is not something abstract, but profoundly concrete:  it means seeing in every person the face of the Lord and serving him concretely. And you, my friends, are the face of Jesus.”

My brothers and sisters, the words of Saint John Paul II, of Pope Francis, and of this prayerful celebration witness joyfully to the true legacy of Saint Patrick – a legacy that affirms nothing less than the strength, power and love of Christ at work in our lives.  …  In bringing that love concretely to every human heart in need and that longs to be treated with respect and dignity – far more than in the green that we wear or in the shamrocks that we carry this day – we discover the finest tribute that we can offer in gratitude for the blessing of Patrick, the great saint of Ireland.

Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, D.D., J.C.L.
HOMILY
Developmental Disabilities Mass – 2nd Sunday of Lent
February 25, 2018 

In today’s gospel story of the Transfiguration, Jesus took Peter, James and John up to the mountain to pray.  …  Do you recall when we meet this same trio going apart with Jesus?  Of course – in the garden of Gethsemane the before Jesus’ crucifixion.  …  They who beheld Jesus’ glory on the mountain peak would also witness his agony.  …  But why?  …  Because to endure the latter, they needed the former.

That makes sense, doesn’t it?  But it does raise a question.  What about us?  It is good and proper that the three apostles had a vision to sustain them in difficult times.  But what about us?  Where is our vision to hold?

The response is that we do in fact have our moments of transfiguration, but we simply fail to recognize them.  Through the birth of Jesus, God is in our world and active within our lives.  It is, however, a matter of how we carefully we look in order to see God’s power and presence at work among us.  For so many of us, we need to learn how to see differently in order to recognize God in our daily lives.

Let me share with you a story that I read years ago that not only speak to today’s gospel but particularly to the reality of how we learn to see ourselves, our world and the presence of God.

A woman by the name of Mary Ann Bird related this personal story.  “I grew up knowing I was different and I hated it.  I was born with a cleft palate at a time when corrective surgeries were simply not always possible or available.  When I started school, my classmates made it clear to me how I just look to others:  a little girl with a misshapen lip, crooked nose, lopsided teeth and garbles speech.  When my schoolmates would ask, ‘What happened to your lip?’ I’d tell them I’d fallen and cut it on a piece of glass.  Somehow, it seemed more acceptable to have suffered an accident than to have been born different.  I was convince that no one outside my family could love me.  There was, however, a teacher in the second grade that we all adored, Mrs. Leonard.  She was short, round, happy, a sparkling lady.  Annually, we would have a hearing test.  I was virtually deaf in one of my ears; when when I had taken the test in the past years, I discovered that if I did not press my hand as tightly upon my ears as I was instructed to do, I could pass the test.  Mrs. Leonard gave the test to everyone in the class, and finally it was my turn.  I knew from past years that as we stood against the door and covered on ear, the teacher sitting at her desk would whisper something and we would have to repeat it back, saying things like ‘The sky is blue’ or ‘Do you have new shoes?’  I waited there for those words which God must have put into her mouth – seven words which changed my life.  Mrs. Leonard said, in her whisper, ‘I wish you were my little girl.’”

Before Mrs. Leonard came into her life, Mary Ann saw herself as a malformed, different little girl who was not nearly as valuable as others.  …  After her encounter with Mrs. Leonard, she saw beauty and self-worth.  Those simple words of a second grade teacher, Mary Ann went on to say, remained a sustaining vision as she faced the ongoing challenges of life.  …  That simple experience early in her life became Mary Ann’s moment of transfiguration.  …  She saw life differently.

Today’s gospel of the transfiguration of Jesus – that moment in his life that provides for his disciples and for us a foreshadowing of his resurrection and glory – comes at a price.  Jesus’ glory is always linked to the cross and the selfless love that he poured forth from it.  Yet the cross, in turn, can never be understood apart from the resurrection and life that accompanied Jesus’ openness to his father’s will.  …  The two go hand in hand.  For the Christian, the cross always gives way to life.

We all have crosses to bear – burdens and struggles that demand so much of our time and energy – pain and suffering that can lead to desperation and despair.  But as the little girl in the story that I just shared points out, if we look carefully enough – if we learn to see our world in a different way – we will always have hope.  For like the cross of Jesus, our crosses are never the end of our stories.  Through the power and presence of God, they can become opportunities of hope, of healing and of life for ourselves and others.

Take a look once again at the image of the Transfiguration that hangs over our sanctuary.  This time, however, let your eyes drift below the image of the transfigured Jesus to the crowd below.  Here the artist depicts the scripture passage that immediately follows the actual transfiguration scene – that of a struggling boy surrounded by his family and neighbors.

Jesus comes down from his mountaintop experience only to embrace his cross yet again as he is asked to immerse himself into the midst of a suffering world.  Yet, the presence of this scene reminds us that through lives that are open to one another in faith and loving service, crosses give way to life.  …  Jesus’ cross is lightened by touching the life of a burdened child.  And a young boy’s cross of suffering is lifted through belief and trust in God.

As we gather in prayer today to celebrate the gifts that we are to our world through the grace of God at work in our lives, I am especially mindful of you, our brothers and sisters with developmental disabilities.  Each of you, in particular, challenges us to embrace the hope-filled message of today’s gospel more authentically in our lives.  Each of you – like the little girl I spoke about a moment ago – even and especially while facing your greatest struggle and carrying your heaviest cross – has beauty and value and worth and the ability to teach us powerful lessons about life and love and the presence of God.  Simply put, because of you, our world is brighter – the power of love is stronger – and our ability to see God at work in our world is far more possible than without you!

Pope Francis put it best when he spoke some time ago with a group of disabled children.  Here’s what he said to young people like so many of you who are gathered in our cathedral today.  “You have a treasure chest which must be shared with others.  If we keep it inside, it stays there inside,” the Holy Father said.  “When we share it with others, the treasure multiplies itself, for that treasure is for others.  …  Because of sharing, you receive from others and it multiplies.”

So, my sisters and brothers, may we pray for the grace to see the presence of God all around us, animating our hearts with his love and giving us – all of us – the strength that we need to witness to his resurrection and to bring hope and peace to our corner of God’s world.

Most Reverend Joseph C. Bambera, D.D., J.C.L
Bishop of Scranton
HOMILY
Rite of Election – February 18, 2018 

This coming Friday, February 23^rd, will be the eighth anniversary of my appointment by Pope Benedict to serve as the Bishop of Scranton. Permit me to reflect a bit upon my own journey of faith that I hope ultimately speaks to yours.

I was ordained for service to the Church of Scranton as a priest in 1983. While priestly ministry was not what I intended to do with my life from my earliest days, I eventually came to believe that I was being called by God to serve the Church in a unique way.

Following my ordination, I responded as best I could to that calling, relishing numerous assignments, first as an assistant pastor and then as pastor of several parishes. For as much as I felt called to parish ministry, on two different occasions, however, I was asked by the Bishop to serve in diocesan administration. Twice I fulfilled the responsibilities given to me – and twice, I eventually asked to return to parish ministry.

Perhaps, then, you can begin to imagine my reaction when I received the call to become the bishop of our local church. This wasn’t something that was in my game plan. Had it been, I would have never left the administrative jobs that had been entrusted to me. Besides, wasn’t it enough that I had already responded to one call from the Lord to serve as a priest? I was content to serve as the pastor of a wonderful parish community. I didn’t need – much less want – a challenge of this magnitude. Obviously, however, it soon became apparent to me that I was less in control of my life and its future than I had imagined.

For me – I’ve come to believe over the past eight years that for reasons still unknown to me, God’s fingerprints were all over that call. Despite my reluctance and my ongoing sense of wonder about how and why I would have been asked to assume such a role within the Church, I’ve come to believe that God’s plan for me was intimately woven into a very unexpected invitation – a call – to serve the People of God as a bishop.

My friends, in the same, unexpected and surprising way, God continues to call all of us to a deeper relationship with him. He continues to call us to set aside that which is known and comfortable to journey with him into the unknown – to forge with God a deeper and more intimate relationship of trust and love – and, in turn, to proclaim that relationship through the love and service of the lives that God entrusts to our care.

My sisters and brothers, and especially you, our catechumens and candidates, don’t discount for an instant the power of this moment in your lives. Jesus is speaking to you today, inviting you to a relationship with him – calling you by name to follow him. He is inviting you to walk a path that leads to a life of meaning, purpose and peace. He is saying, through his invitation, that your life – with all of its struggles and joys, with all of its blessings and challenges – has a unique place and role to play within his plan. … This day, as never before, hear the words of Jesus that come to us from Saint John’s Gospel on the very night before he died, “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain.”

It’s possible that you see logic in the events along your journey that have brought you to this place today. But it’s just as possible and perhaps even probable – like the personal experience that I shared a moment ago and like those that so many of us experience at various points along life’s journey – that you can’t quite understand why God called you to this moment. Yet, here you are!  … And in the midst of such thoughts and questions, we hear the words of Jesus again: “You have not chosen me. I have chosen you.”

Indeed the scriptures are filled with reminders of how God has worked in creation, always engaging a people, working in and through the events of their lives, never giving up on his creation – always faithful, ever present. Before the world began, the scriptures tell us, God first chose the people of Israel to be his own. Then, through Jesus and in love, God chose us all to have a share in his life, death and resurrection and so to engage his mission for the sake of our world.

Today, my friends, you are called by God. Your name will be spoken. Your name will be heard. And your name will be written in the Book of the Elect. My dear catechumens and candidates, as he has done since the beginning of creation, God places his hand on your shoulders today and chooses you to participate in his Kingdom. Through the touch of your godparents and through the affirmation of the Church gathered around you in this sacred cathedral, God calls you forth to walk with him in faith. The initiative is God’s. The response is yours.

In today’s Gospel passage from Saint Mark, we hear of Jesus’ temptation by Satan in the desert. Implicit in this brief Gospel passage is the story of Jesus’ own life determining choices. Jesus confronts the temptations posed – says “Yes” to call by his Father in Heaven – and immediately goes forth to proclaim the Kingdom of God.

The journey that you begin today will likewise have its challenges. Jesus faced temptations and so will you. The cost of discipleship can be great. Yet, one thing is certain. The journey will lead you to discover meaning, hope and life if you remain rooted in the life of the God – if you are selfless in your love – and if you serve generously, making the pattern of Jesus’ life your own.

My sisters and brothers who desire baptism – who seek full communion – we, the Church, pray with and for you and, above all, thank God for your presence among us. … Your “yes” to the Lord’s call this day reminds us that we are all called to lead lives rooted in the life and mission of Jesus.

Your presence here today is also a powerful reminder to the members of the Church and hopefully to you as well, of just how much we need each other. Yes, God is calling you, just as he called me. But he is calling us not to walk this journey of faith alone. He is calling us into the Church – the community of believers – his body on earth.

May each of us, in whatever place along the journey of faith we find ourselves, give thanks to God this day for the gift of Jesus and his saving grace. … May you, our candidates for full communion in the Church, open your hearts to the Holy Spirit and to the power of Jesus who will fill your life through the Eucharist. … And may you, the Elect in our midst, boldly proclaim your faith in Jesus as you inscribe your names in the Book of the Elect and take you place with all of your sisters and brothers – young and old – rich and poor – saints and sinners … who have been called by God and chosen as his own this day.

Most Reverend Joseph C. Bambera, D.D., J.C.L.
Bishop of Scranton
HOMILY
Ash Wednesday – February 14, 2018

Recall the first words of scripture proclaimed every year in the liturgy of Ash Wednesday. They are taken from the book of the Old Testament prophet Joel. “Even now, says the Lord, return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping and mourning. Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the Lord, your God.”

In his Lenten message to the Church this year, Pope Francis echoes the message of the prophet Joel. He acknowledges that “because of the increase of iniquity” in our world and in our lives, “the love of many will grow cold.” And so, with great hope, the Holy Father invites us to embrace the season of Lent as “a sacramental sign of our conversion:” “Brothers and sister, once again … Lent summons us, and enables us, to come back to the Lord wholeheartedly and in every aspect of our lives.”

The message of Ash Wednesday, proclaimed first by the prophet Joel, calls us to change our lives – to trust in God’s faithfulness – and to set aside all that keeps us from reflecting the life of God within our own lives. But Joel boldly challenges us to do so, not merely through gestures and religious practices – but by peering intensely into our hearts to insure that our spirit – the core of our being – is honest and pure and open to the transforming power and presence of God.

Saint Matthew, in today’s gospel, reinforces the words of the prophet and sets forth in practical terms the lifestyle that we are called to embrace as authentic disciples of the Lord Jesus. Pray, fast, and give alms in support of the poor. But do so certainly not because such behavior will make us appear to be righteous. Do so simply because such acts for a Christian are the consequence of faithful lives rooted in Jesus, who teaches us how best to live.

In the midst of the many challenges of life that can cause our hearts to grow cold and indifferent to the world in which we live – to the plight of our suffering brothers and sisters – and to the call to “walk humbly with our God,” Pope Francis bids us to reflect carefully upon the three-fold challenge of Jesus.

“By devoting more time to prayer, we enable our hearts to root out our secret lies and forms of self-deception, and then to find the consolation God offers. He is our Father and he wants us to live life well. … Almsgiving sets us free from greed and helps us to regard our neighbor as a brother or sister. … And fasting weakens our tendency to violence; it disarms us and becomes an important opportunity for growth. On the one hand, it allows us to experience what the destitute and the starving have to endure. On the other hand, it expresses our own spiritual hunger and thirst for life in God.”

Yet, for all that the season of Lent challenges us to embrace, it invites us to so within the context of our consideration of the sacrament of Baptism. On the First Sunday of Lent, we will welcome catechumens into the ranks of the elect; those from our midst who have begun the journey of conversion and who will soon experience the saving power of Jesus in the Easter mysteries of Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist. Their “yes” to the Lord’s call gives us hope and should encourage us to recommit ourselves to the vows that were made at our own baptisms. Their “yes” reminds us that we too are called to look beyond ourselves to something more in life.

In short, my brothers and sisters, our Lenten journey draws us to the very heart of what it means to be a Christian. We are baptized into the Lord Jesus – yes, for our life and salvation – but not solely for our own well-being. We are initiated into the life, death and resurrection of Jesus – which, in turn, equips us for mission – the proclamation of the “good news” of Jesus – and the service of our sisters and brothers.

And so, my friends, as we set forth on our Lenten journey, I return once again to the words of the prophet of Ash Wednesday, Joel. “Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the Lord, your God.” May we have the courage to confront the reality of our own broken and sinful hearts – to put aside whatever distracts us from our resolve to live authentically our relationship with God – to turn away from self-centeredness and fear – to selflessly serve the poor among us – and so, to open our lives to the love and grace of God, present in our midst.