God’s Touch

We know the world through our senses. We know God through our senses.

In the severity and standoffishness that was Puritanism, the Protestants of the time wanted to "purify" the world of the evils of Catholicism, especially the pictures, the music, the statues, the incense, the feast days and even the prayers. In fact, they wanted to destroy everything that appealed to the senses.

But the God who made us wants us to see and feel and hear and experience Him through the wonder of His creation, and to use it, all of it, to praise Him and give Him glory.

Deacon Michael realized more and more the richness of his adopted faith through his experience of fully living a Catholic life. He saw the world through the grateful eyes of a convert.

In this sermon Michael once again personally addresses some of the members of the six-thirty crazies, who he loved so much, as he brings them into his sermon.

by Laura Weston, widow

IF YOU LIKE, READ ALONG AS YOU LISTEN:

Our reading, the first reading today, is very interesting.

One of the things that is prevalent in Protestant circles is that people can be filled with the Holy Spirit... many of them, I don't question their good faith at all; some of them I do... and decide that God has called them to set up their own church.

The church of Michael. Come to the church of Michael and I will preach to you, and I will make you feel good, and I will work with you for the salvation of your soul… but once a believer always a believer; you're going to go to heaven anyway. And we will talk about Heaven.

That is not the Catholic approach. And we see in the Acts of the Apostles today both apostolic succession and something else that's very important.

First we see Paul and Barnabas being commissioned to the preaching of the Word. By whom are they being commissioned? They are being chosen by the Holy Spirit, but ultimately they are being commissioned by the Church.

The Church itself is saying, "We are sending you out."

Now, the definition of what the Church was in the Acts of the Apostles, eh, there's a lot of discussion about that. But there is no question that they are being sent out by the Church.

Another thing that we see that... I'm not sure if I can do this, too, because I happen to be northern European... and this is a very non-northern European thing...

As an aside, because it is actually pertinent, I'm northern European. This conversation is a real conversation:

"Robert, do you ever tell your wife that you love her?" "Why should I, I married her didn't I?"

That is northern European. That comes from: we don't show emotion. And Fr. Franck has, because he didn't understand English very well when he first came, I wasn't able to explain to him properly,...I don't like hugging, anywhere other than my children and my wife! I love to hug them. Other people? Hugging makes me uncomfortable.

So what do we see in the Catholic Church? In the readings of the Acts of the Apostles, and this is something that Betty will appreciate… Betty probably more than the rest of us... Fr. Franck does this... I can’t do it with a woman… I don't want to do it with an old man... the laying on the hands! The Holy Spirit coming to us through the contact of people with people.

It's very important. That's what the laying on if hands is. That's what the apostles did. They laid on hands. That's what Jesus did. The Holy Spirit comes and there is a laying on of hands. Like I said, Fr. Franck, man… I go like this, and I do a little cross on Betty's forehead, and if I were doing it at Mass on Sunday, I'd be told not to do it.

Man, Fr. Franck, he grabs her head. Aaack! We don't do that as northern Europeans.

But, it is our loss. And that is one of the greatest tragedies of the sexual scandals of the Church right now, is you can't touch people.

But part of Jesus Christ is He is human. And I have said so many times, and this is a perfect example of it. Jesus made everything that we experience a means of coming closer to him and the promise of eternal life.

That includes touching people. And the very central part of becoming a priest, a deacon, a bishop, a pope, is the laying on of hands. Because in that there is the Holy Spirit participating as the Church with Paul and Barnabas, and conferring upon them through the touch, their duty to go out and preach.

We see this in the Confirmation that the young people have gone through recently, the touching. All of these things are central to our Faith. And what it comes down to is Jesus' command. He is wholly human, wholly divine and we need to understand what He is telling us is that through Him and the reality of who He is, human and divine, He gives us the promise of Eternal Life.

And if you will notice if you read it, and look at the circumstances, many times it says it, very seldom does Jesus ever deal with someone who is sick or who needs help, without touching.

And from our perspective, we northern Europeans especially, that's something that we have to understand. The totality of what it means to be a member of the Church of Christ. The totality of what it means to be a Catholic. It encompasses everything. And when it encompasses everything it brings in an enthusiasm that we... me... I, yep... as a northern European, feel uncomfortable with many times. But the problem is I'm blocking myself away from Christ.

If you every want to have fun, and I'd like to call and find out what weekend they do this, one Sunday a year, through a misunderstanding… a choir who are from Ghana comes to St. Monica and take over the choir for that one day. And you've seen it, haven't you! And the enthusiasm and love of Christ is so manifest. That's what we are called to be.

I remember… this is one of the greatest experiences of my life, I remember it so vividly... at San Juan Diego, they were in this really ugly building that was a warehouse basically, and they were going to be consecrated as a parish, as a church. And so the gringo was the only deacon there, so I was the deacon of the Mass. And I'm standing next to bishop Ferrell. The church holds 1000 people. There were probably 2000 people in the church and probably 4000 people outside. They had screens and stuff like that. And then they started singing. And they started singing outside. And apparently it a cemetery was across the street and they started singing in the cemetery. And, oh gosh, it brought to me what it means to be a follower of Christ.

Viva Cristo Rey! Now, that sounds plain, but if you ever hear it, when they're going, it is wonderful.

And again, it's the message I talk so many times about. In the totality of our experience, allow us to have the Holy Spirit to take hold of us. The Holy Spirit went upon Paul and Barnabas through the hands. There was music. There was preaching. There were smells and bells.

If you allow yourself to participate in this, you will come closer to God and our Lord Jesus Christ. And that is one of the wonders of our Catholic Church is that we are given the means to do that. With incense, the bells, the movement, all of that is designed to encompass all of our senses and bring us closer to Our Lord Jesus Christ. Given the opportunity, you, from northern European descent… and I know you are because you've got blond hair, you, too… allow yourself, allow yourself to be something other than "Well my husband knows I love him. I don't need to tell him that. I married him, didn't I?"

That's not what we are. We are a loving, embracing, all-encompassing Church that welcomes everybody, baby, everybody, with the love of Our Lord Jesus Christ. And that's what, to me, these readings that we have today are really about.

May 15, 2019 2