Homily Notes for Our Lady of Mount Carmel - 2017
By Bishop Thomas Zinkula
Carmelite Monastery
Donna standing at the casket of her son … confused, bewildered, determined.
Mary standing guard at the cross of her Son … dangerous to be associated with a man
whom the Roman Government had chosen to crucify.
“Perfect love drives out fear” (1 Jn)
Like Donna, Mary no doubt was confused & bewildered…she perhaps did not understand what was going on – why her Son was being crucified – why God the Father had seemingly abandoned Jesus.
All she knew was that she needed to be with him … all she knew was that she should continue to love her Son … unconditional love.
Being present to & with her Son on the cross was the most natural thing in the world for a mother.
Mary was simply following in the footsteps of her Son, who even in the terrible agony he was experiencing on the cross, was present in a loving way to those around him… his suffering didn’t prevent him from recognizing the needs of others & ministering to them:
- Forgave soldiers who crucified him and struck him and took his clothes and mocked him…let them off the hook …“Father forgive them for they know not what they do”
- Forgave the good thief & took him with him to Paradise
- Very moving that Jesus in the agony of the cross, when the salvation of the world hung in the balance, thought of & was concerned about the loneliness of his mother & his beloved disciple in the days ahead…gave them into each other’s keeping
At the end of the day, even on the cross, Jesus was thinking more of the sorrows of others than of his own.
Message for us?
- That is who Jesus is…that is why we believe in him…that is why we love him…that is why we follow him…that is why we give our lives to & for him
- As followers of Jesus, we are called to imitate him- to be & do who & what he is & does…just like Mary did…we are called to be aware of the needs of others-to pray for them, to be present to them, to reach out to them, to forgive them, to love them
- We are called to be unwaveringly, unswervingly committed to our vocation…generally, to consecrated life, priesthood/episcopacy…specifically you, to your sisters here at Carmel of Eldridge, me to the people of Diocese of Davenport…even in the midst of chaos & confusion
- Jesus has given us each other for love & support…just as he gave his mother & his beloved disciple to each other for love & support…we are to help each other weather the storms of life, with Jesus & his mother Mary at our side.
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preface:
Bishop Zinkula explained that he was celebrating a funeral for a young man (13 years old) who was killed when he took a sharp turn and the tractor he was driving overturned. The country church was filled with people attending the service. Suddenly during the ceremony in the back of the church people began to move around and open the windows and then, they all left. Only the celebrant (who at that point had no idea why people were leaving), the servers and the mother standing by the casket with her husband were left in the front of the church. What had happened, was that someone had sprayed pepper spray in the church.
