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My First Ever NON-Practice Homily
By Fr. Dennis | November 14, 2007
When we have Exposition of the Most Blessed Sacrament and Benediction apart from Mass here at St. Meinrad, we follow the guidelines of holy mother Church. From “Holy Communion and Worship of the Eucharist Outside Mass,” by the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship, #95:
95. During the exposition there should be prayers, songs, and readings to direct the attention of the faithful to the worship of Christ the Lord.
To encourage a prayerful spirit, there should be readings from scripture with a homily or brief exhortations to develop a better understanding of the eucharistic mystery. It is also desireable for the people to respond to the word of God by singing and to spend some periods of time in religious silence.
Basically, we have a Holy Hour that includes a short liturgy of the Word, followed by silence, followed by Benediction. Since only an ordained person may bless with the monstrance, last night was my first time to preside at our Holy Hour. Yes, I held up the monstrance as our Sacramental Lord blessed everyone in the chapel.
I also preached my first official public homily. I chose as our Scripture text the reading from Genesis 2:18-25. My homily follows:
Before he fell asleep, Adam must have been painfully aware of his original solitude, his profound loneliness, for none of the creatures of God’s creation were suitable for him. Not the cattle, not the birds of the air, not the beasts of the field. He was with God, and he had a nice garden, and he had lots of creatures around him, but there was no one like himself. And God saw that it was not good for him to be alone.
Did he experience loneliness and alienation the way we do? Probably not, but who can say? They had not yet eaten what was bad for them, and in fact, his dinner date for that occasion had not even arrived yet. They would have a great Fall, which no amount of king’s horses and king’s men could repair, such that the king himself would have to do it. But it had not happened yet. So his solitude must have been different from what we experience when we feel alone and unloved. Still, there was something not quite right, not quite complete about his place in creation.
And when he awoke, there she was. His expression of love says it all: “This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh!” Love had made her. She was made for love. She was made to love and be loved. Like the sleeping beauty who had slept for so long only to be awakened by true love, Adam was awakened from his loneliness by Eve, and he loved her.
Wide awake now, Adam had been asleep. It had been a deep sleep. So deep, in fact, that if you found someone as asleep as Adam had been that day, you’d probably think he was dead. It must have been a very deep sleep indeed for God to perform surgery on him, remove a part of him, without him even noticing. And it was a radical rib-ectomy, at that. Yes, God caused a deep sleep to come upon him, and while he lay sleeping, sleeping a sleep that was like a little death, a miracle happened.
Consider then another one who had fallen asleep. In loneliness, in desolation, crushed and beaten, forsaken and forlorn. On the cross he fell asleep. It was not a sleep that was like death. It was death itself.
Yet it was not for loneliness that he fell asleep, but for love. It was love that consumed him. Love that compelled him. Love that impaled him.
No mere man sleeping on the ground, but God himself, suspended on a tree. And though in Eden it was God who cut open the man, at Golgotha it was a man who cut into the God-man and tore open his side, and it was not a rib that was cut out, but rather it was love itself that poured forth from his side.
The ancient Fathers tell us the Church was born that day, springing as blood and water from the side of Jesus. The Church, the Bride of Christ, coming forth from the side of the God-man, made by love, born out of love, made for love, made to love and be loved.
And when he awoke, he awoke forever, never to die, not falling with us in our great Fall, but raising us up with him. And his expression of love says it all: “This is my body, this is my blood.”
In this great communion, we are joined to him forever. In this Blessed Sacrament, at last, we become one flesh, one spirit in Christ. Made out of love. Made for love. Made to love and be loved.
At last!
Topics: Eucharist, Homilies, Seminary Life |
November 14th, 2007 at 8:55 am
You are such a romantic!!
: )
Good job, Dennis, well done.
November 14th, 2007 at 6:30 pm
That sermon sings.
November 14th, 2007 at 6:52 pm
WOW!!! I am sooooooo impressed! Good work.
November 14th, 2007 at 8:52 pm
short and to the point…quite a mental picture was painted for those attending this ‘Holy Hour”… An instant understanding of the Blessed Sacrament, of the love of Christ for mankind, a love available for us to be a part of, a love for us to share. Good Homily, Dennis. I get it!
November 15th, 2007 at 8:19 am
I liked your homily. Would have liked to have heard it delivered.
November 15th, 2007 at 12:00 pm
Romantic indeed. And couldn’t we all use a little more holy romance in each of us, united to Our Lord’s precious Body and Blood, becoming one with Him. Jesus is the Sacrament of Love.
Thank you for a beautiful homily and reflection. Being the TOB junkie that I am, your homily was a beautiful blending of TOB and the Holy Eucharist, which is ultimately one in the same. Well done!
Mary Alice Newnam
Creed on Campus Advisor
BGSU
November 15th, 2007 at 4:05 pm
wow, Awesome
November 18th, 2007 at 9:49 pm
Very nice! Good imagery, good catechesis, good theology, good delivery, and also good comments in the school from those who were in attendance. I wish I could have heard it live. Keep up the good preaching and you will serve God and His people well!
November 26th, 2007 at 3:31 pm
As a convert, I have always had trouble trying to relate to Jesus as the new Adam. Your homily completely crystalized it for me. Thank you and God Bless!