Homily originally preached on September 6, 2020
by Monsignor Deering
Praying with and in the Church!
During each of the 12 years that I was Pastor of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church in Gardendale, my Youth Leaders, DRE’s, Parents and I would take our kids away twice each Spring on Friday, Saturday, Sunday Weekend Retreats east of B’ham
at World-Song Retreat Center a half-hour away in Cook Springs, Alabama.
We’d take some 40 kids, grades 8 through 12 in March and then we’d have them
go again in April, now as Group Leaders to some 30 5th, 6th and 7th Graders.
They were amazing times of deepening friendships and deepening their faith.
Each year we had the “Ask Father” Question Box available during the Retreat and the kids would drop in questions that I would attempt to answer on the last day.
Well, on one of the 5th, 6th and 7th Grade Retreats, this question showed up: “Where does the word Church come from?”
That’s a good question ... isn’t it?! Do you know? This 4th Grader was wondering.
You see, all during the Retreat that year, we talked about:
- the teachings of the Church,
- the Church Militant, the Church Purified, the Church Triumphant.
- the various Churches that people belong to,
- the need to go to Church
- who’s the head of the Church
- and what the Church has to say about a variety of issues.
So a 4th Grader asks the question, “Where does the word “Church” come from?”
The word Church ... comes from Jesus!
You see, He lived in a time where people were either Pagans or Jews.
Pagans worshiped at Shrines and Jews worshipped in Synagogues, esp. the Temple
So it’s very special for Jesus to come up with the new word ... Church.
In our Gospel two Sundays ago, Matthew 16:16, we heard of how
Jesus gave full power and authority to Peter.
After Peter declares Jesus to be the Christ, the Son of the living God ...
Jesus says, “You are Peter and on this rock I will build my church!”
And so we have this new word “Church” that Jesus used ... referring to ...
a unified body of followers ... based on the solid foundation of the man Peter.
So Jesus was not using the word “church” to describe the structure of a building ...
but rather the structure of a body of believers!
The structure was something new and different and Jesus called it … His Church!
Whereas in Matthew Chapter 16, Jesus was speaking specifically to Peter,
today, in Matthew Chapter 18, Jesus is speaking to all of his disciples ...
as He gives them power and authority ... guidelines and encouragement.
Jesus begins by guiding them on how correct others from their faults.
First Jesus tells them to meet with the offender one on one.
Then if necessary, take along two others to meet with the offender.
Next He says, “If he refuses to listen to them, tell the Church.”
And finally, Jesus says, “If he refuses to listen to even to the Church,
then treat him as you would a Gentile or a Tax Collector.”
So obviously, Jesus is positioning “the Church” as the highest Court of Appeals.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus gives the power to bind and loose to the Apostles,
thereby broadening the authority that he first gave solely to Peter.
he says to them:
“whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven
and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
That’s the highest power that could ever be … the power and authority of God,
that Jesus bestowed on the Apostles and on all subsequent Bishops of His Church.
This was Jesus’ design for His Church?
You see, in doing this, Jesus never made any reference to the design of the building
that would be set aside for worship of God that we call a church.
Rather, by Jesus’ design, He established a body of believers
who would be guided, governed and guarded by a Hierarchy of Ministers ...
bestowed with special grace through the Sacrament of Holy Orders ...
namely: Bishops, Priests and Deacons.
And this community of believers ...
made up of all the baptized … and guided by a hierarchy of Leaders ...
would be the Mystical Body of Christ on Earth.
They “The Church” would be ... the Worldwide Household of God!
Jesus wants all people to enter into the Church and remain safely in the Church.
Why? Because the Church that He established is the Sacrament of Salvation.
In other words, the Church is:
- the Guardian of the Deposit of the Faith, and
- the Dispenser of all the Graces necessary for Salvation.
Living inside the Church is good … living outside the Church is not good.
Some people are outside the Church because they have never entered in.
This includes all the un-baptized. It’s hard to believe that there are many adults walking around who have not been baptized.
And this goes on in spite of the fact that Jesus clearly stated that Baptism is
absolutely essential for one to enter Heaven!
In John 3:5, Jesus says, “Amen, amen, I say to you,
no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.”
God is in Heaven and to be with God you must be in His family...
and the way you enter into His family is by adoption ...
and the way you get adopted is by undergoing the waters of Baptism.
Jesus Himself was baptized and He went right out and showed the Apostles how to do it. In John 3:22 we read, “After this, Jesus and his disciples went into the region of Judea, where he spent some time with them baptizing.”
Why are some people outside the Church? They’ve never been baptized.
Each year we have several adults come into the Church through RCIA
who have never been baptized!
It’s a question all of you should ask of your family and friends. How many spouses don’t know if their mate is baptized! Kids don’t know if their parents are baptized.
Ask the question and guide them to get baptized, for you must be in the Church ...
you must be in the family of God ... to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
Some people are outside the Church because, while baptized,
they have separated themselves from the Church by falling into grave sin.
Some stop going to Mass or stop going to Confession.
Some begin cohabiting living together outside of Marriage.
Some get married outside the Church.
Some get divorced and remarried outside the Church.
These actions place people outside the Sacramental life of the Church and
they can no longer receive the sacraments of Confession, Communion, Anointing.
The constant call of Jesus is to come into ... or ... come back to … His Church.
When we see people involved in objective moral wrong doing, it’s our duty
to advise them of their actions and encourage them to come back to the Church!
This is not necessarily easy to do!
A woman called me very troubled about the state of her Dad’s soul
because he was in a sinful relationship.
Her Dad, who was not Catholic was divorced and remarried three times.
According to his Pastor, everything was fine. But this woman, who was a convert to the Catholic faith, knew that it was not fine, that he was guilty of the sin of Adultery.
She had just established a good relationship with her father
and she longed for the chance to call him to the truth.
And when she did ... he got up and walked out on her.
In tears, she called me asking what to do.
I commended her courage and I gave her some bible passages
that she used in a sweet note to her Dad.
Thankfully after three weeks they are back on talking terms!
And now maybe the truth that she shared ..
will percolate and move him to repent and change his ways.
No one likes confrontation … but all of us are called to confront sin!
In our First Reading from Ezekiel, God declares:
“If you do not speak out to dissuade the wicked from his way,
the wicked shall die for his guilt, but I will hold you responsible for his death.”
Jesus too calls us to confront sinners saying,
“If your brother sins … go and tell him his fault.”
The whole point is to win someone back into the Grace of God …
by bringing them back into ... the Church.
If you see someone involved with Drugs, Alcohol, Abuse, Pornography,
abortion, contraception, cohabitation, or living the gay lifestyle,
you are responsible for confronting them & calling them to turn away from their sin .
As Jesus said today: call in the counsel of others, or even bring them to the Church
Why does God call us to do this?
Because the salvation of a soul is the greatest “victory” imaginable!
So, where does the word Church come from?
It comes from Jesus; it refers to being safely in the worldwide household of God.
When we’re in the Church, we’re in ... the Family of God.
There we’re Brothers and Sisters with the Lord!
Not because we’re blood relatives; but because we’re united in the Blood of Christ!
The Church is the place where we find salvation; it is the Sacrament of Salvation!
The Church is the Guardian of the Deposit of the Faith
The Church is the Dispenser of the Grace of God.
All are invited!
We are accountable to the Lord to gather our Brothers and Sisters into the family.
Recall how early in Genesis, Adam & Eve’s son Cain asks God,
“Am I my brother’s keeper!
The answer is yes! We are our brother’s keeper.
If we see our brother or sister sinning ... we’re to take action to help them stop.
We are all called to confront sin … we confront it with Jesus ... who is the truth!
Let’s continue to build up the Church on Earth.
Pray for the courage to invite all to come into or come back into … the Church.
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