NET Canada—Les Équipes NET—Missioning Mass—Notre Dame Cathedral Basilica, Ottawa

Anticipated 27^th Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year “B”)

Saturday, October 3, 2015

PREPARING CHASTELY FOR MARRIAGE

[Genesis 2.7ab, 8b, 18–24 [Psalm 128]; Hebrews 2.9–11; Mark 10.2–16]

 

Let’s talk about sex. Rarely do priests bring up this subject from the pulpit. But given how much ink it gets in the Bible, it’s an important subject to God, so it should be important to you how to do sex right.

We hear these scriptural readings on marriage and divorce as the eyes of the world turn toward the Vatican. There, tomorrow, Pope Francis will celebrate Mass with bishops from around the world to invoke God’s blessing on the Synod of Bishops on the family and evangelization.

The synod, which will run until October 25, has as its theme: “The vocation and mission of the family in the church and the modern world.” We know the issues well: separation and divorce among Catholic couples, breakdown in family life, new structures in child-rearing, blended families, and legislative changes worldwide in the definition of marriage to include “same-sex marriage” and adoption.

Jesus’ view on divorce is a widely-attested aspect of his teaching found in the New Testament (cf. Matthew 5.32; 19.6, 9; Mark 10.9; Luke 16.18; 1 Corinthians 7.11). However, Jesus’ teaching on marriage takes some study.

Jesus brought out the deeper sense of the Scriptures. Jesus pointed to God’s plan in creating man and woman, citing two texts from Genesis, 1.27 (“from the beginning of creation ‘God made them male and female’”) and 2.24 (“For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh”).

Jesus grounded his teaching about marriage on the order of creation, God’s intention in creating human beings. In marriage, man and woman are “no longer two, but one flesh.” Jesus’ concluding remark, “what God has joined together, let no one separate” serves as the conclusion to the debate with his adversaries.

The high percentage of couples living together before marriage is of great concern to priests who help Catholics preparing for marriage these days. Not long ago, cohabitation was uncommon and was frowned upon by society. Today, cohabitation by couples planning marriage and common-law marriages are much more frequent. And there is less social stigma attached.

The world tells us that there are good reasons for having sex before marriage and living together. It’s convenient. It will save money. It’s a trial run to see whether the relationship will work out. Unfortunately, these are grave deceptions.

Sex before marriage and cohabiting are contrary to the witness the Lord Jesus expects of his disciples. Also, they don’t make good sense for relationships.

Recent studies have shown that, contrary to popular belief, couples who live together before getting married have higher rates of divorce and domestic violence. When compared with those who did not cohabit, those who lived together before marriage scored significantly lower in both quality of marital communication and satisfaction in intimacy.

There is an even bigger picture than your happiness and your success as a couple. God certainly loves you as an individual, but His perspective spans generations and nations. What you decide today will have profound consequences in eternity.

Roman Catholic teaching sees in marriage a “covenant by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of their whole life and which of its own very nature is ordered to the well-being of the spouses and to the procreation and upbringing of children” (canon 1055).

Generosity, self-restraint, and good communication are needed for a good marriage and must be cultivated beforehand. Living chastely during one’s engagement teaches a couple many things about each other, can draw them closer together, and may even reveal to them that they are not ready for Christian marriage.

The sacrament of marriage places the couple under a seal, within the walls of God’s protection. Marriage vows give God permission to mature the couple, to place angels at the doors of their home, and to soften their hearts when there are conflicts. God can keep the temptation of infidelity at a distance. He can bless them with health and prosperity. As the two have become one flesh, Jesus’ salvific work now operates in and through the couple.

In contrast, the cohabiting or unchaste couple have said “no” to God’s plan, effectively refusing His Providence and His protection, opening themselves up to all kinds of spiritual attacks.

When the married couple conceives a child, that new life has God’s hedge of protection around him. The child is within the defences of his parent’s covenant with each other and with God.

In contrast, the child conceived outside of marriage is exposed to spiritual attack. God loves that child no less, but He will not provide the protection that comes from the sacrament of marriage when his parents have refused it.

You are here, I imagine, because you know that every Christian is called to be an evangelist. You have received the Good News that your sins have been forgiven by Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross in your place. You want to share that Good News with others, so that they, too, can follow Christ right into heaven. But you have probably heard the expression, “You may be the only Gospel some people will ever read.” If your life does not witness to the Gospel, your words will have no effect.

Starting with your children. In a few years, and they will come faster than you think! In a few years, you will want to tell your children to be chaste and not to cohabit before marriage. I’ll give you three guesses what they will ask. “Were you and Mom chaste?” “Did you and Dad cohabit?” Nothing you will say after that will carry the same weight as your answers to those two questions. Nieces, nephews, and neighbours will also emulate you.

Then will come your grandchildren. And their children. Your decision today will affect generations.

God frequently uses the marriage covenant as the model for us to understand his covenant with Him. The Church is the Bride of Christ. He is the bridegroom. It’s explicitly in Psalm 19, in Isaiah, in the synoptic Gospels and in the Book of Revelations. No wonder Satan despises this sacrament and seeks to despoil it. He does not want the nations to be evangelized by your marriage!

To accept Jesus’ teaching on divorce and marriage is counter-cultural today. To grasp that God’s plan is natural marriage, the blessed union of one man and one woman, is counter-cultural. It requires a conversion of heart, a rebirth, and continued compassion toward those with same-sex attraction, whom God loves no less.

Those struggling with the Church’s proclamation of Jesus’ teaching on marriage may take heart from the Epistle to the Hebrews. Its message tells those struggling to be good that “Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.”

Sex is a gift from God. It is so precious that He has even told us how to do it right.

Let us pray for people who struggle with sexual purity and those whose families are not under His Grace. Let us pray that even those in serious sin know they are precious in God’s eyes and the mercy of God is available to them. And let us pray that the Synod members will discern wise paths to assist the Church with all who seek the grace of God to live as Jesus would have us live.

Homily at the Funeral of Jean-André Potworowski [1947-2015]

Notre Dame Cathedral Basilica, Ottawa, ON—October 17, 2015 

[Texts: Wisdom 3.1-9 (Psalm 42); 1 Corinthians 15.51-57; John 14.1-6] 

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ: 

[Expressions de bienvenue, condoléances à la famille, aux amis et collègues d’André; expression of sympathy to the family on their loss, of welcome to colleagues, associates and friends.] 

Catholic Christians believe that the Mass is the supreme gift that we can give to a person when they die. When we greeted André’s body at the door, we said that we were surrounding him with the Church’s prayer and asking that the promise made to him in baptism—that he would one day inherit eternal life—might be fulfilled. We pray for André and those who loved him and now cherish his memory. 

We pray that our friend and brother in Christ will accept the great invitation from God to enter into the fullness of eternal life. 

We meditate, too, on the Scriptures we have just heard. Reflecting on the first reading from the book of Wisdom: we see that in the eyes of the unwise—those of unbelievers—the person we cherished appears to have died and that is the end of it; but we know in faith that it is not the end. We know, following the teaching of St. Paul’s first epistle to the Corinthians that death will be swallowed up in the victory of the Risen Lord Jesus.  As Paul says in his epistle to the Romans, in baptism we died with Christ and began to share in his risen, eternal life. We believe also, according to Jesus’ promise in the gospel, that in death He comes to take us to himself to share with us an eternal dwelling-place in heaven. 

Jean-André Potworoski was born in 1947 in Lyon, France. He immigrated to Canada with his family in 1953 where he attended first Loyola High School and then Loyola College. Having developed a love of science, he then went to the University of Toronto to do a PhD in physical chemistry. 

There were three children from his second marriage: Charles 23, Christian 18, and Clara 16. All three are now living with their mother Barbara. 

André was proud of his Polish heritage and faithful to his family’s cultural traditions. Through his mother he was the grand-nephew of Metropolitan Andryj Szeptycki of the Ukrainian Catholic Church and was equally proud of this lineage. During his doctoral studies, he stayed at the pretty exclusive Massey College. There, he was known for organizing bicycle races (he owned a small folding Raleigh bicycle); the circuit was the length of the basement maintenance corridors, which formed a complete loop underneath the college. These races were held at night, and the janitor wondered during the day about the provenance of the mysterious skid marks. He was also known for whistling Bach whenever he walked. The Master of the college, the author Robertson Davies, said of him “His Bach is worse than his bike.” 

Later, he went back to school and completed the MBA from Harvard. He continued this involvement with Harvard by reawakening and leading the Harvard Alumni’s Ottawa chapter. [When I arrived in Ottawa, André presented me with a Harvard Business School publication on “How to Manage Change” which to this day rests on my night-table not completely read.] 

From his early days in government service, his involvement in the Conserver Society, his friendship with Fr. Bill Ryan, he was an advocate of responsible management of resources and the protection of the environment. He was particularly excited at the publication of Laudato Si, the recent encyclical on the environment by Pope Francis. He even participated in a group discussion on the subject of the encyclical in his home less than a week before his death. His excitement at the Church’s involvement in this issue at the highest level was difficult to contain. 

In later life, he met the lay Catholic movement Communion and Liberation founded by Luigi Giussani. He was attracted by the lack of dualism there between faith and life and the absence of moralism. There was a small community here in Ottawa and he quickly saw it as his place of belonging in the Church. The summer vacations sponsored by CL were a favorite for him and his children. He helped to organize the yearly Way of the Cross through downtown Ottawa which drew close to a thousand people. Friends from CL were crucial for him in facing the greatest challenge of his life. 

In 2011, he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a form of terminal cancer. In a letter to his brother he explained how he saw things. During a retreat the previous year at St. Benoit-du-Lac, he prayed for greater clarity in discovering God’s will for his life. A year later, he saw his illness as the answer to that prayer. This is what was being asked of him. This is what was given to him; this was his vocation. There was of course much rebellion on his part, but it was clear that the illness was to be lived in a relationship with God. He had an acute awareness of the different graces that came with the illness. He found renewed strength to focus on the happiness of his children. This was translated in multiple trips with one or more children to visit family in Alberta, British Columbia, or with trips to Poland, Britain, or Rome. 

In addition, he was aware of the effect his illness had on members of the local CL community. In an almost detached way, he observed how his growing dependence provoked others to engage in charitable activity towards him. His illness allowed him to have conversations about matters of faith of a depth that he never imagined previously. Throughout these last years he remained profoundly at peace with this new vocation. 

To say André offered his suffering is misleading. It suggests a personal project or a moral strength as a basis for a spiritual activity. His illness and his suffering were indeed an offering, but out of dependence, out of an acceptance of what was given as an answer to his prayer. This peaceful acceptance of illness as gift gave his suffering vicarious value. Following the Letter on Suffering of Saint John Paul II, someone André greatly admired, such suffering bears fruit. We can only suppose that some of this fruit will become a blessing on the lives of his children and friends. 

Now, a word about André’s humour.  Soon after his diagnosis, André joined the Myeloma Support Group in Ottawa where he made many friends. He soon became co-chair of the group and assigned everyone some homework for the next meeting: everyone had to come back with at least one joke. His medical file at Ottawa General Hospital notes that every meeting with a specialist or a technician would inevitably end with the telling of a joke or the sharing of a New Yorker cartoon on his iPad. As Peter Stockland wrote in one his columns, André’s humour, whether corny or risqué, was a conscious strategy to reject a common reading of illness and suffering and to provoke a higher reading based on his newly discovered vocation. 

Dear friends, through this year we have been hearing at Sunday Mass selections from the Gospel of Mark, most recently with the teachings of Jesus on marriage, divorce, family life, children, the use of riches. On Sunday we will hear Jesus teach about true servant-leadership wherein those who wish to be great make themselves last of all and servants of all. We have heard Jesus’ radical teaching and a summons to embody it in our lives. 

As André did throughout his life, we struggle to learn it, to accept it and to live it. We know that we cannot go it alone if we are to become what Pope Francis challenges us to be: missionary-disciples of Jesus. That is why we need each other, why we need community, why André loved this parish community of Notre Dame Basilica and other churches he frequented. He relished being with fellow Christians who aspired to allow Christ to encounter and touch them with grace so as to be able to invite still others into fellowship with Christ and his followers. 

Dear brothers and sisters, the gift we offer André today is also a gift to ourselves because we are reminded that one day each of us will stand before God and be held accountable for what we have done and not done. Did we give good example? Did we reach out to the lost, lonely and needy; did we speak up for those who had no voice? Have we prayed, worshipped God, attended to our life of faith? Our words and actions have consequences. 

At a Catholic Christian funeral we remember that every one of our days and our deeds has eternal consequences. Someday we too will enter the great mystery of death. Someday our body will be carried into church so friends and family will offer us this great gift. This isn’t meant to frighten us but to challenge us to be the best version of ourselves we can be. André wasn’t perfect, but he struggled to be faithful to his encounter with Christ in baptism. 

The life of a baptized Christian is not meant to be like a shooting star that lights up the world for a few minutes. We are to let our light shine every day, caring for our children, getting up and going to work, caring for the needy that God sets on our path, by sharing our means, our meals, our lives and our love. 

We will now offer the Eucharist for André’s soul. We join with his children, brothers, friends and acquaintances, and with the angels and saints in heaven, as we pray for André: Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. 

May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Death of Oblate Bishop Peter Sutton and Funeral Details

Many, particularly among the First Nations communties, mourn the passing of Archbishop Peter Sutton, O.M.I., who passed away at the Oblate infirmary at Richelieu (QC) on Sunday, September 5, a month short of his 81st birthday.

He had been Bishop of Labrador City-Schefferville from 1974 to 1986, then Archbishop of Keewatin-Le Pas (MB) from 1986 until his retirement in 2006.

Following prayers this evening in Richelieu and a funeral Mass there at 2 PM on September 11, his remains will be transferred to Ottawa for a Vigil service on September 20 at 7 PM and a funeral Mass the next day, Monday, September 21 at 11AM--both celebrations at Canadian Martyrs Church, 100 Main Street, Ottawa,

Burial will take place at the Oblate St, Theresa Cemetery in Arnprior (ON).

Archbishop Sutton was a very kind man, giving me encouragement from the time of my episcopal ordination.  The photograph above was taken at a visit to him at meal time at the infirmary during the Christmas season 2014.

May God grant him a merciful judgment and the reward of his labours. 

R.I.P.

* * * * * 

Monseigneur Peter Sutton, O.M.I., archevêque émérite de Keewatin-Le Pas, est décédé le samedi  le 5 septembre 2015 à l’âge de 80.

 

Il a été ordonné évêque de Labrador City-Schefferville le 18 juillet 1974.  Le 6 février 1986, il fut nommé archevêque coadjuteur de Keewatin-Le Pas, au Manitoba, et le 19 novembre 1986, a succédé comme archevêque. 

Il sera exposé en chapelle ardente à la Résidence Notre-Dame, au 460, 1^re Rue, Richelieu, Québec, le jeudi 10 septembre. Une prière communautaire se tiendra à 19 h 30.  Le vendredi 11 septembre, les visites se feront à partir de 12 h 30 suivies d’une messe à 14 h, présidée par Monseigneur Sylvain Lavoie, O.M.I., lui aussi archevêque émérite de Keewatin-Le Pas.

Le dimanche 20 septembre,  sa dépouille sera amenée à l’église Canadian Martyrs, 100 rue Main, Ottawa à 17 heures pour un service de prière à 19 heures, présidé par le Père Ken Forster, O.M.I., provincial de la Province Oblate Lacombe au Canada.  

Le lundi 21 septembre, la messe des funérailles sera célébrée à 11 heures à l’église Canadian Martyrs et sera présidée par Monseigneur Douglas Crosby, O.M.I., son successeur comme évêque de Labrador City-Schefferville.

Le cortège funéraire se rendra au cimetière des Oblats St. Theresa, 398, rue John, Arnprior (ON),  à 13 heures. L’inhumation se tiendra près de sa tombe à 14 heures.

Que son âme repose en paix!

Mgr Raymond Poisson Évêque de Joliette – New Joliette Bishop

Aujourd’hui, Sa Sainteté le pape François a nommé S. E. Mgr. Raymond Poisson, présentement Évêque auxiliaire à Saint-Jérôme comme évêque de Joliette (Québec).

Né à Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Rouville, le 30 avril 1958, Mgr Poisson a fait un DEC en Sciences de l’administration (1976-1978) au Collège André-Grasset de Montréal. Il a par la suite complété un baccalauréat en Théologie et une Maîtrise ès arts (1983) à l’Université de Montréal puis un doctorat en théologie fondamentale (1987-1989), spécialité ecclésiologie, à l’Université Pontificales Grégorienne de Rome. 

Mgr Poisson a été ordonné diacre le 22 mai 1983 et prêtre en l’église Notre-Dame-du-Sacré-Cœur de Brossard, le 9 décembre 1983 par Mgr Bernard Hubert, évêque de Saint-Jean-Longueuil.

Au moment de sa nomination comme eveque en 2012, Mgr Poisson était recteur de la Basilique Sainte-Anne de Varennes et curé des paroisses Sainte-Anne, Saint-François-Xavier, Sainte-Trinité, Saint-Laurent et Sainte-Théodosie.  

Le nouvel évêque a été membre du comité d’étude de l’Assemblée des évêques catholiques du Québec sur l’avenir du patrimoine religieux au Québec. Il est actuellement chapelain de l’Association canadienne de l’Ordre de Malte. 

* * * * *

His Holiness Pope Francis today appointed Most Reverend Raymond Poisson, 57, Auxiliary Bishop of Saint-Jérôme since 2012, as Bishop of Joliette.

Bishop Poisson was born on April 30, 1958, in Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Rouville, Quebec. After completing his secondary studies at the Séminaire Très-Sainte-Trinité of Saint-Bruno, he pursued his collegial studies in administration at College André-Grasset and obtained a Bachelor’s degree in theology and then a Master’s degree from the University of Montreal. 

Ordained to the priesthood on December 9, 1983, for the Diocese of Saint-Jean-Longueuil by Bishop Bernard Hubert, he did graduate studies and holds a doctorate in fundamental theology from Rome's Pontifical Gregorian University, with a specialization in ecclesiology.

At the time of his appointment as Auxiliary of Saint-Jérôme, Bishop Poisson was serving as Rector of the Basilica Sainte-Anne of Varennes. He was also a member of a committee of the Assembly of Québec Catholic Bishops that studied future possibilities for Quebec’s heritage of religious art and architecture. Currently, he serves as chaplain of the Canadian Association of the Order of Malta.

Brother Alvin Voisin Served the Jesuit Mission in Humble Tasks

Jesuit Brother Alvin VOISIN died peacefully on July 19, 2015 at the Jesuit Infirmary in Pickering, ON; he was in his 99th year of life and had been a Jesuit brother for 74 years.

Alvin Voisin was born and grew up in St. Clements, ON, the son of Robert Voisin and Louisa Lunz; three of his siblings joined religious communities.

Brother Voisin began his Jesuit life in 1941. Over the years, he worked as a farmer, gardener and dairyman in Ontario: at Spanish, Oakville, Guelph and Pickering.

His first assignment after first vows was to Garnier School in Spanish, Ontario.  He faithfully worked as overseer of the property, gardener and did the usual household tasks that was the life of Jesuit brothers in that era.  After Garnier School closed in 1958, he moved to Loyola Retreat House in Oakville, Ontario to supervise care of its extensive grounds. 

In 1960, Brother Al began his long tenure at Guelph when he went there to work as custodian of the grounds and on the farm. This ended in the year 2000 when ill health brought about his transfer to the infirmary at Pickering.  There was an interruption in his 40-year posting at Guelph from 1979 to 1981, when he was appointed assistant to the minister, Br. Paul Robin, in Pickering because a great deal of renovation work was being done at Manresa Retreat House and his maintenance skills were called upon during those two years of steady work.

A good story-teller whose laughter would fill a room, he delighted in the music of the Greek chanteuse, Nana Mouskouri, managing to attend several of her concerts in North America, and he never failed in his many years of Jesuit life to join the brethren in following the “champagne music” of Lawrence Welk. 

Survived by his sister Mary Forwell of Waterloo, Brother Al will be missed by his friends and Jesuit companions.

Visitation will be at St. Ignatius Chapel, Manresa-Jesuit Spiritual Renewal Centre, 2325 Liverpool Road North, Pickering, ON, on Wednesday, July 22nd from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. (with wake service at 8:00 p.m.).

The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, July 23, 2015 at the St. Ignatius Chapel, Manresa-Jesuit Spiritual Renewal Centre. Interment will follow in the Jesuit Cemetery, Guelph, ON, at 2:30 p.m.

In memory of Brother Voisin, donations may be made to the Jesuit Development Office, 43 Queen's Park Crescent East, Toronto, ON M5S 2C3.

Installation of Fr Peter Tuan Bui, CSsR as Pastor Our Lady of LaVang Parish, Ottawa, ON, July 5, 2015

THE PASTOR’S SPIRIT AND PAUL'S THORN IN THE FLESH

[Ezekiel 2.2-5; [Psalm 123]; 2 Corinthians 12.7-10; Mark 6.1-6]

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

In a few moments I will formally install Father Peter Tuan Bui as your new pastor. In that ceremony, he will renew the promises he made at the time of his ordination. He will promise to live out his commitment for the next several years with you.  In turn, you are asked to assist him in leading this faith community. I hope that you will say “yes” to him with enthusiasm and joy.

Then, we will process around the church to the various places where he will exercise his priesthood (the baptismal font, the confessional, the pulpit, the altar) and I will remind him of the spirit that should guide him in his service to you. Pray for him that he may do this generously and well.

Father Bui is a Redemptorist priest whose spirituality focuses on the Crib, the Cross and the Sacrament. Redemptorists follow Christ in his incarnation, death and resurrection and believe that he is always with them. 

They hold the belief that there is always a graced encounter with Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. So their founder Saint Alphonsus wrote about visits to the Blessed Sacrament and devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Redemptorists proclaim the gospel in simple ways to ordinary people

           

Recently, Pope Francis asked bishops and priests not to be “pilots” but rather true pastors, “stewards, not owners, humble servants like our Lady, not princes.” The pope’s words are an invitation for each priest to know the joy of being a shepherd, “as we strive to light a fire in the heart of the world” (No. 271).

The pope offers the sleeping but vigilant St. Joseph, caring for Mary and the Child Jesus, as an image of the pastor keeping watch over his people.

You know that each priest, along with his strengths and abilities, will have weaknesses and St. Paul addresses that issue in today’s second reading.  There Paul speaks of something that troubled him, “a thorn in the flesh”.

Preachers have wondered about the meaning of this term. Some think that the “thorn in the flesh” was a bodily ailment (epilepsy, migraine, malaria, an eye disease, a speech impediment), others think it was something mental (bouts of depression, an experience of despair) or something spiritual (a temptation of some kind).

           

Whatever it was, the thorn in Paul's flesh seems to have begun around the time of his mystical experiences. Perhaps he needed to be brought down to earth after his heavenly “rapture”.  But Paul did not see it that way.  

So, three times he prayed to be relieved of what seemed to interfere with the effectiveness of his ministry.  The answer to Paul's prayer taught him that the same God who gave him the spiritual experience had also given him the thorn.

Paul's mystical journey came about entirely by God's grace. In reply to Paul's prayer, the Lord Jesus taught Paul a profound lesson. Christ said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness”.

Jesus asked Paul to look beyond himself and see God's power at work in the weakness of his human condition.

Because we do not know precisely what Paul's thorn in the flesh was, we Christians can identify with Paul's frustration and need of divine help as we face our own experience of a “thorn in the flesh”.  We are invited to make Paul's conclusion our own, “I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me”.  

God's grace enables us to agree with Paul and proclaim, “whenever I am weak, then I am strong”.

I pray today for all of you—priest and people—that you recognize your strengths and weaknesses as gifts from God, but, above all, that you let Christ’s grace and his strength be at work in you!

Festival de la Parole, Édition 2015

Paroisse Saint Joseph, Orléans, ON

Quatorzième dimanche du temps ordinaire (Année « B ») samedi 4 juillet 2015

L’écharde dans la chair de Paul

[Ézékiel 2, 2-5;(Psaume 122(123); 2 Corinthiens 12, 7-10; Marc 6, 1-6]

Aujourd’hui, nous avons porté notre regard sur le baptême. Nous avons vu comment notre baptême a fait de nous des fils et filles de Dieu, des disciples de Jésus, des envoyés de l’Esprit Saint. 

Prendre conscience de ces vérités, reconnaître cette vie nouvelle qui nous a été donnée alors que nous avons été plongés dans la mort et la résurrection du Christ, nous aide, certes, à mieux comprendre la vie, la mission et les enseignements de l’apôtre Paul.

Les enseignements de saint Paul sont à la fois très profond et très complexes. Saint Paul nous rappelle que c’est surtout la grâce de Dieu agissant en nous qui nous rend tels que nous sommes, qui nous rend capable de faire ce que nous faisons. Il y a toujours un risque, parmi les personnes dévotes, de chercher à s’attribuer à elles-mêmes ce que Dieu a accompli et continue d’accomplir dans leur vie. Voilà pourquoi les propos de Paul que nous venons d’entendre dans la seconde lecture sont si importants pour nous tous. Il est important de bien méditer ces paroles et de les faire nôtres.

Quel sens donner à cette souffrance qui afflige Paul, à cette souffrance dont parle saint Paul  vers la fin de sa deuxième épître aux Corinthiens ? Les chrétiens ont cherché réponse à cette question tout au long des siècles. En effet, après avoir parlé des nombreuses grâces que Dieu lui a accordées (un fidèle du Christ, voici quatorze ans, a été emporté jusqu’au troisième ciel)  saint Paul ajoute : pour m’empêcher de me surestimer, j’ai reçu dans ma chair une écharde, un envoyé de Satan qui est là pour me gifler.

Les exégètes - les spécialistes de la Bible- ont interprété les paroles de Paul de diverses façons. Certains ont vu dans l’expression de Paul ‘une écharde dans ma chair’ une référence à un mal corporel (l’épilepsie, la migraine, la malaria, l’ophtalmie ou bégaiement). D’autres ont suggéré qu’il s’agissait peut-être d’une maladie mentale (dépression, désespoir) ou  même spirituelle (une tentation quelconque). D’autres encore ont surtout mis l’accent  sur l’expression ‘envoyé de Satan’  et ont supposé que Paul évoquait ses persécuteurs ou les chrétiens qui le considéraient comme un hérétique.

Quoi qu’il en soit, saint Paul aurait ressenti cette écharde dans sa chair à peu près au moment où il a eu sa vision et a continué jusqu’au moment où il a écrit cette lettre. Peut-être qu’il avait besoin d’être ramené sur terre après son expérience mystique, après ‘son ravissement’. Mais Paul ne voyait pas les choses comme cela. Aussi, il a prié à plusieurs reprises d’être délivré de cette humiliation qui l’empêchait de mener à bien son ministère.  En réponse à sa prière Paul apprit que ce même Dieu qui lui a donné cette expérience spirituelle lui a aussi donné cette écharde.

Paul savait que de nombreux Corinthiens – comme beaucoup d’autres peuples de l’ancien monde et même certains peuples aujourd’hui – s’attendaient à ce que leurs chefs religieux aient des visions et des révélations, preuves de la bénédiction de Dieu. Avec une telle attente, les Corinthiens ne s’attendaient pas à ce que les visionnaires subissent l’humiliation, encore moins une expérience qui peut évoquer la honte de la Croix. 

Paul eut sa vision et sa révélation au troisième ou ciel le plus haut appelé parfois Paradis. Paul ne fit rien pour provoquer une telle expérience mystique. Elle lui fut plutôt donnée par Dieu. Paul ne se permit pas non plus de s’en vanter car il avait  ‘entendu des paroles ineffables, qu’un homme ne doit pas redire (2 Corinthiens 12, 4).

Cette expérience mystique de Paul lui a été donnée entièrement par la grâce de Dieu. L’écharde dans sa chair lui a apporté une autre révélation. En réponse à la prière de Paul, le Seigneur – on pense ici à Jésus – apprit à Paul une profonde leçon : ‘Ma grâce te suffit, car ma puissance donne toute sa mesure dans la faiblesse.’

Paul aurait pu tirer plusieurs leçons de sa souffrance. Si on endure la souffrance avec patience, on peut renforcer son caractère. On peut, en soi-même, trouver les forces qui nous permettent de faire face aux malheurs de la vie. Au lieu de cela, Paul fut invité à regarder au-delà de lui-même et y voir la puissance de Dieu à l’œuvre dans la faiblesse de sa condition humaine.

Ne sachant pas exactement ce qu’était l’écharde dans la chair de Paul, les chrétiens de chaque époque – et chacun de nous – peuvent s’identifier à la misère de Paul  et reconnaître la nécessité du soutien divin lorsqu’ils ont à affronter leur propre expérience d’une ‘écharde dans la chair’ dans leur vie. Ainsi les disciples sont invités à faire leur la parole de Paul : ‘je mettrai plutôt ma fierté dans mes faiblesses, afin que la puissance du Christ fasse en moi sa demeure.’ À tous les âges, la grâce de Dieu nous permet de dire avec Paul : ‘Car, lorsque je suis faible, c’est alors que je suis fort.’

Dans la même veine, l’Évangile de ce jour nous dépeint un Jésus qui se trouvait dans l’impossibilité d’accomplir aucun miracle dans sa propre ville de Nazareth ‘si ce n’est qu’il posa les mains sur quelques malades et les guérit et il s’étonnait du manque de foi des gens de sa ville.’

Jésus déclara que cette expérience a toujours et partout été celle du prophète. ‘Un prophète est estimé partout, excepté dans sa ville natale, sa parenté et sa famille’.

Pour conclure notre Festival de la Parole, demandons la grâce de devenir toujours plus ce que le pape François nous demande d’être des ‘disciples-missionnaires’, des personnes qui apprennent chaque jour de Jésus les vérités du Royaume de Dieu et la nouvelle vie donnée par la résurrection que nous partageons depuis notre baptême. Soyons fiers de répandre cette Bonne Nouvelle autour de nous.

Puisse cette expérience de Paul que nous avons méditée aujourd’hui, nous amener à nous réjouir dans notre faiblesse, et puisse la grâce du Christ nous garder dans la paix et dans la joie ! C’est ce que je vous souhaite à tous et toutes. Amen.