The Ascension: The Glorification of Jesus at God's Right Hand - Ordinations in Halifax, Toronto

The Solemnity of the Ascension (Year “B”)—May 20, 2012

[or Ascension Thursday, May 17, 2012]

THE ASCENSION AS END AND BEGINNING

[Texts: Acts 1.1-11 [Psalm 47]; Ephesians 4.1-13; Mark 16.15-20]

The last twelve verses of Mark's gospel (16.9-20) are known as the Longer, "Canonical" Ending. While these verses are recognized by the Church as illuminating Christian faith and remain normative for subsequent generations, Mark almost surely did not pen them.

The Greek word ‘kanon’ means a ‘measuring rod’ and suggests a ‘rule of faith’ when used of ‘normative’ writings chosen by Church authorities for inclusion in the New Testament. What is true of the Longer Ending of Mark applies also to a two-verse Shorter Ending printed at the close of the gospel.

Manuscript traditions show the Longer and Shorter Endings of Mark attempting to overcome the abrupt ending of Mark 16.8, whether the evangelist intended to end his gospel this way or a part of the original gospel was lost.

Close inspection of the verses in the Markan Longer Ending shows that they contain a pastiche of appearances by the Risen Jesus found in other gospel traditions.

Thus, the apparition to Mary Magdalene in Mark 16.9 echoes John 20.11-17 (with a possible allusion to Luke 8.2), while Mary's role as messenger in Mark 16.10 parallels what we find in John 20.18. The disciples' unbelief—Mark 16.11, 13—perhaps derives from Luke 24.11-41, whereas the appearance “in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country” (16.12) recalls the journey to Emmaus (cf. Luke 24.13-35).

Jesus' rebuke of the Eleven's unbelief while they were at table (Mark 16.14) evokes John 20.24-29, and the evangelising commission (Mark 16.15) may reflect Matthew 28.19 or Luke 24.47. The description of the Ascension (Mark 16.19) may allude to Luke 24.50-51 or suggest the theology of Jesus' presence at God's right hand found throughout the Epistle to the Hebrews (beginning with 1.3, 13).

Those parts of the Longer Ending not accounted for (Mark 16.16-18, 20) go beyond Jesus' Resurrection and Ascension to speak of the Church's missionary preaching activity. Mark 16.16 stresses that faith and baptism guarantee salvation, likely drawing on the Lord's command to baptize found in Matthew 28.19-20.

A virtual summary of the Acts of the Apostles is found in Mark 16:20: “and they went out and proclaimed the Good News everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that accompanied it”.

Mark 16.17-18 lists some ‘signs’ found in the Acts of the Apostles. An oddity is the reference to disciples surviving snake handling (possibly a reference to Paul's experience in Acts 28.3-6) and withstanding the effects of poisonous drinks as ongoing characteristics of Jesus' followers. The word for ‘snake’ is the same one found in the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint) in the account of the serpent's temptation (Genesis 3.1-15). Perhaps a metaphorical meaning should be inferred, that the curse of the serpent has been overcome in the age of salvation.

Mark 16.9-20 has a notable collection of words not found in the rest of the gospel, giving the Longer Ending a second-hand flavour. Indeed it departs notably from the lively style found elsewhere in Mark 1.1-16.8. Still the canonical conclusion serves as a sequel to Mark's ending by communicating the conviction that the promises made by Jesus in Mark 14.28 and 16.7—of his ongoing relationship with the disciples in Galilee and beyond—were realized in the life of the Church.

The secondary ending stresses the call to Jesus' disciples to pass from disbelief to belief about the resurrection. The witnesses who reproach their stubbornness of heart increase in number and authority: from Mary of Magdala, to the two travellers to Jesus Himself.

A later addition to Mark 16.14 shows that the early Church struggled with issues such as sin and temptation blaming its disobedience in part on the Devil: “And [the apostles] made excuse, saying, ‘The age of lawlessness and unbelief is under Satan who does not permit the truth and power of God to prevail over the unclean things of the spirits. Therefore, reveal your righteousness, now’”.

Jesus' reply to the disciples' struggle noted that, while Satan's authority had been exhausted and other terrible things approached, his death took place so that people might “return to the truth and sin no more, that they may inherit the spiritual and imperishable glory of righteousness that is in heaven”.

While the Longer Ending of Mark appears incongruous, it recalls that the church remains a believing, confessing and worshipping community, as it was from the beginning after Jesus' Ascension.

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PRIESTLY ORDINATIONS OF

CRAIG CAMERON

& GERARD RYAN, SJ

This is the season for priestly ordinations and I rejoice particularly in the ordinations of two men I have gotten to know over the years. The first is Father Craig Cameron, who will be ordained Saturday by Archbishop Anthony Mancini.

Father Craig Cameron will be ordained as the first priest
of the newly-amalgamated Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth
at St. Mary's Cathedral-Basilica, Halifax at 10 o'clock
on May 19, 2012

The second ordinand is a fellow Jesuit, Gerard Ryan, whom I will ordain at Toronto's Our Lady of Lourdes Church the same day.



Gerard Ryan, SJ (right), a native of Tipperary, Ireland, will be ordained for the Province of the Jesuits in English Canada on Saturday, May 19, 2012 at 10 o'clock.



Congratulations to them and to others being ordained to the priesthood in these days; may they have long and fruitful ministry in the Lord's vineyard!

Ad multos et faustissimos annos!

St. Isidore, Farmer - New Leader of Jesuits in English Canada

St. Isidore the Farmer's feast is observed in the United States but is not in the Canadian calendar of saints. 

There are two parishes in our Archdiocese dedicated to him: a francophone parish in the east (Saint Isidore-de-Prescott) and a parish in Kanata North-South March (which has just moved into a newly-constructed church of the site of earlier churches):


When he was barely old enough to wield a hoe, Isidore entered the service of John de Vergas, a wealthy landowner from Madrid, and worked faithfully on his estate outside the city for the rest of his life. He married a young woman as simple and upright as himself who also became a saint-Maria de la Cabeza. They had one son, who died as a child.

Isidore had deep religious instincts. He rose early in the morning to go to church and spent many a holiday devoutly visiting the churches of Madrid and surrounding areas. All day long, as he walked behind the plow, he communed with God. His devotion, one might say, became a problem, for his fellow workers sometimes complained that he often showed up late because of lingering in church too long.

He was known for his love of the poor, and there are accounts of Isidore's supplying them miraculously with food. He had a great concern for the proper treatment of animals.

He died May 15, 1130, and was declared a saint in 1622 with Ignatius of Loyola, Francis Xavier, Teresa of Avila and Philip Neri. Together, the group is known in Spain as "the five saints."

Patron: Farmers; farm workers; ranchers; rural communities; Madrid, Spain; death of children; for rain; livestock.

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NEW JESUIT PROVINCIAL

 

The Jesuits in English Canada were recently informed that Father Peter Bisson, 54 and a native of Edmunston, NB, has been named by the Very Reverend Adolfo Nicolas, Superior General of the Society of Jesus, to succeed Father James Webb as Provincial of the Jesuits in English Canada effective May 31. 

Father Bisson has been serving as the assistant to Father Webb, who is stepping down for reasons of health. Please keep both of these fine men in your prayers.

St. Matthias, Apostle - Photos from the 2012 March for Life in Ottawa

Matthias was one of the first to follow our Saviour; and he was an eye-witness of all His divine actions up to the very day of the Ascension. He was one of the seventy-two disciples; but our Lord had not conferred upon him the dignity of an apostle. And yet, he was to have this great glory, for it was of him that David spoke, when he prophesied that another should take the bishopric left vacant by the apostasy of Judas the traitor.

In the interval between Jesus' Ascension and the descent of the Holy Ghost, the apostolic college had to complete the mystic number fixed by our Lord Himself, so that there might be the twelve on that solemn day, when the Church, filled with the Holy Ghost, was to manifest herself to the Synagogue.

The lot fell on Matthias; he shared with his brother-apostles the persecution in Jerusalem, and, when the time came for the ambassadors of Christ to separate, he set out for the countries allotted to him. Tradition tells us that these were Cappadocia and the provinces bordering on the Caspian Sea.

The virtues, labour, and sufferings of St. Matthias have not been handed down to us: this explains the lack of proper lessons on his life, such as we have for the feasts of the rest of the apostles.

Clement of Alexandria records in his writings several sayings of our holy apostle. One of these is so very appropriate to the spirit of the present season, that we consider it a duty to quote it. “It behooves us to combat the flesh, and make use of it, without pampering it by unlawful gratifications. As to the soul, we must develop her power by faith and knowledge.” How profound is the teaching contained in these few words! [– Excerpted from Abbot Gueranger, O.S.B., The Liturgical Year]

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O God, who assigned Saint Matthias a place in the college of Apostles, grant us, through his intercession, that, rejoicing at how your love has been allotted to us, we may merit to be numbered among the elect. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

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FIVE YEARS IN OTTAWA

It was on this feast day five years ago, that I was named Archbishop of Ottawa.  It was also the occasion of my conversion from a life-long attachment to the Montreal Canadiens to an allegiance to the Ottawa Senators.  The fact that the Senators were making a run for the Stanley Cup that year helped assuage the pangs of separation and foster the new attachment, even though they lost in the finals.  Here's a memorable photo of that day.

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THE MARCH FOR LIFE

OTTAWA, MAY 10, 2012:

A PHOTO COLLAGE

Having returned on Saturday afternoon from a visit to the United States where I gave the Commencement Address at St. Vincent's Seminary in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, I am only now sorting through all of the photos Sarah Du Broy has made available to me from the Mass before the March for Life last Thursday, the speeches and activities on Parliament Hill, the March itself and the Rose Dinner that evening.  Here is a selection from those she made available:

The following is a new prayer for the child in the womb approved by the Bishops of the United States for us in their local churches:

God, author of all life, bless, we pray, these unborn children; give them constant protection and grant them a healthy birth that is the sign of our rebirth one day into the eternal rejoicing of heaven.

Lord, who have brought to these women the wondrous joy of motherhood, grant them comfort in all anxiety and make them determined to lead their children along the ways of salvation.

[For the fathers: Lord of the ages, who have singled out these men to know the grace and pride of fatherhood, grant them courage in this new responsibility, and make them examples of justice and truth for these children.]

[For the family: Lord, endow these families with sincere and enduring love as they prepare to welcome these children into their midst.]

Lord, you have put into the hearts of all men and women of good will a great awe and wonder at the gift of new life; fill this (parish) community with faithfulness to the teachings of the Gospel and new resolve to share in the spiritual formation of these children in Christ our Savior, who lives and reigns for ever and ever.

R. Amen.

 

The Council of Jerusalem - A Mother's Role in the Spiritual Life of Her Children

The Council of Jerusalem (today's first reading)  took place to address the issue of the Gentiles being admitted to the movement started by Jesus and continued by the Apostles without embracing circumcision and other traditions of Israel.  To explain the significance of this for the Church in every age, here is an excerpt from the wonderful blog of Msgr. Charles Pope OF Washington, DC (http://blog.adw.org/): 

Luke is a master of understatement and says “Because there arose no little dissension and debate….” (Acts 15:2) it was decided to ask the Apostles and elders in Jerusalem to gather and consider the matter. So the apostles and some presbyters (priests) with them meet and, of course, Peter is there as is James who was especially prominent in Jerusalem among the apostles and would later become bishop there.

Once again Luke rather humorously summarizes the matter by saying, “After much debate Peter arose” (Acts 15:7). In effect Peter arises to settle the matter since (it would seem) that the apostles themselves were divided. Had not Peter received this charge from the Lord? The Lord had prophesied: Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded to sift you all like wheat but I have prayed for you Peter, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers (Luke 22:31-32).

Now Peter fulfills this text as he will again and every Pope after him. Peter clearly dismisses any notion that the Gentiles should be made to take up the whole burden of Jewish customs. Paul and Barnabas rise to support this. Then James (who may have felt otherwise) rises to assent to the decision and asks that a letter be sent forth to all the Churches explaining the decision. He also asks for and obtains a few concessions.

So there it is, the First Council. And that Council like all the Church-wide Councils that would follow was a gathering of the bishops, in the presence of Peter who works to unite them. A decision is then made and a decree, binding on the whole Church, is sent out. Very Catholic actually. We have kept this Biblical model ever since. Our Protestant brethren have departed from it for they have no Pope to settle things when they dispute. They have split endlessly into tens of thousands of denominations and factions. When no one is pope every one is pope.

A final thought. Notice how the decree to the Churches is worded: It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us (Acts 15:28). In the end we trust the Holy Spirit to guide the Church in matters of faith and morals. We trust that decrees and doctrines that issue forth from Councils of the Bishops with the Pope are inspired by and authored by the Holy Spirit Himself. And there it is right in Scripture, the affirmation that when the Church speaks solemnly in this way it is not just some bishops and the Pope as men, it is the Holy Spirit who speaks with them.

* * * * * *

THEOLOGY IN 15 SECONDS

As today is Mother's Day, here is a lovely piece by John O'Brien, a Jesuit scholastic studying in Toronto, who wrote a testimony to his mother's influence in teaching him and his siblings how to pray and what prayer is:

When I was a young lad, my mother, good Christian woman that she was, instructed my siblings and me in a series of nighttime prayers, which she repeated each evening over the years.

I can still remember the routine. She would walk into the room, sit on the edge of my bed and we would say the lines together. It was almost always the same string of phrases, prayerful sound-bytes that contained powerful truths. Sometimes we would say them together. Other nights, when the sand in my eyes was drawing me too fast into slumber, she would say them for us both.

It’s been a good twenty-five years since the last time we prayed like this, but I can still hear her voice reciting our set-list of invocations:

Mother Mary, I belong to you. Keep me and guard me as your property and possession.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I give you my heart and my soul;
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, assist me in my last agony;
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, may I breathe forth my soul in peace with thee, amen.

I have loved you with an everlasting love – you are mine, says the Lord.

There were a few others like that.

To read more of this reflection, go to: http://iboetnonredibo.blogspot.ca/2012/03/theology-in-15-seconds.html

Optional Memorials: The Martyrs Nereus & Achilleus or Pancras

Today is a travel day, so here are brief descriptions of the martyr saints that we can observe as optional memorials in this Easter season:

Saints Nereus and Achilleus, Martyrs

Sts. Nereus and Achilleus are associated with St. Domitilla, as may be seen from this summary, taken from an article by Dom Gueranger:

It was under the persecution of Domitian, during which John the Evangelist was condemned to be burned alive in the cauldron of boiling oil, that Flavia Domitilla was honored with banishment and death for the sake of our Redeemer, whom she had chosen for her Spouse. She was of the imperial family, being a niece of Flavius Clemens, who adorned the consular dignity by martyrdom. She was one of the Christians belonging to the court of the Emperor Domitian, who show us how rapidly the religion of the poor and humble made its way to the highest classes of Roman life.

A few years previous to this, St Paul sent to the Christians of Philippi the greetings of the Christians of Nero's palace. There is still extant, not far from Rome, on the Ardeatine Way, the magnificent subterranean cemetery which Flavia Domitilla ordered to be dug on her praedium, and in which were buried the two martyrs, Nereus and Achilleus, whom the Church honors today together with the noble virgin who owes her crown to them. Nereus and Achilleus were in Domitilla's service. Hearing them one day speaking of the merit of virginity, she there and then bade farewell to all worldly pleasures, and aspired to the honor of being the Spouse of Christ. She received the veil of consecrated virgins from the hands of Pope St Clement: Nereus and Achilleus had been baptized by St Peter himself.


The bodies of these three Saints reposed, for several centuries, in the Basilica, called the Fasciola, on the Appian Way; and we have a Homily which St Gregory the Great preached in this Church on their feast. The holy Pontiff dwelt on the vanity of the earth's goods; he encouraged his audience to despise them by the example of the three martyrs whose relics lay under the very altar around which they were that day assembled. "These Saints," said he, "before whose tomb we are now standing, trampled with contempt of soul on the world and its flowers. Life was then long, health was uninterrupted, riches were abundant, parents were blessed with many children; and yet, though the world was so flourishing in itself, it had long been a withered thing in their hearts." [— Excerpted from Abbot Gueranger, O.S.B., The Liturgical Year.]

* * *

Grant, we pray, almighty God, that we who know how courageous the glorious Martyrs Nereus and Achilleus were in confessing you, may experience their loving intercession for us in your presence. Though our Lord.

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Saint Pancras, Martyr

Pancratius was the descendant of a noble Phrygian family. As a youth of fourteen, he came to Rome while Diocletian and Maximian were in power (about 304). He was baptized by the Pope and given instructions in the Christian religion. Arrested for his action, he steadfastly refused to sacrifice to the pagan gods and was condemned to death. With manly courage, he bared his neck for the sword and received the martyr's crown. During the night his body was removed by the pious matron Octavilla, anointed with sweet smelling balsam and interred on the Via Aurelia.

Pancratius is the patron saint of fidelity to oaths. The basilica that Pope Symmachus erected over his remains about the year 500 later became a station church (since 1798 his relics have been lost). On the first Sunday after Easter the saint exhorted the catechumens gathered at his station church to remain loyal to their baptismal vows. The saint warns us to proceed slowly and prudently before taking an oath or vow. But once our word is given we must remain true to our pledge, true unto death itself, whether it concerns baptismal vows, ordination vows, profession vows, or marriage vows. Excerpted from Pius Parsch, The Church's Year of Grace.

* * *

May your Church rejoice, O God, confident in the intercession of the Martyr Saint Pancras, and by his glorious prayers may she persevere in devotion to you and stand ever firm. Through our Lord.

"Walking in the Light of Christ": Catholic Education Week 2012

This week and last have been very busy with activities in the four Catholic School Boards located within the Archdiocese (though two of them in Eastern Ontario extend into other (arch)dioceses.

Last week, Abbe Daniel Berniquez and I attended a special session in Ecole Secondaire Catholique de Casselman on strengthening the relationship of parish, home and school. Many of the francophone priests from Ottawa and Alexandria-Cornwall served by le Conseil catholique de l'Est ontarien were in attendance with school board trustees and pedagogique staff. The session included a catered supper meal afterwards.

This week, I presided at the Catholic Education Week Mass for the Catholic School Board of Eastern Ontario held at gthe recently-refurbished Holy Cross Parish Church in Kemptville (Kingston Archdiocese). A dozen priests from the three dioceses served by the school board were in attendance, as were representatives of all the elementary and secondary schools of the board. Each entity was given a lantern to symbolize walking the light of Christ. The photos which follow were taken at this Mass and the reception afterwards.

On Wednesday morning, I took part in the treasure hunt for some 400-500 students of the Conseil Catholique du Centre-Est who were guided with a folder entitled, Decouvre ta cathedrale (Discover Your Cathedral), which introduces the children to the history and artistic treasures found in Notre Dame Cathedral Basilica.

That evening, I took part in the blessing of the 12-classroom addition to Saint Thomas Aquinas Catholic High School in Russell, part of the Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario. It's an extraordinary building; I'll have pictures of this sometime early next week.

Maronite Patriarch, His Beatitude Archbishop Rai, Visits Ottawa

On Monday and Tuesday, the Lebanese Catholic Community (joined by numerous Orthodox Christians and several Muslims) welcomed His Beatitude Mar Beschara Boutros El Rai to the National Capital Region. 

It was quite a celebration, at least the parts I was able to take part in: the Antiochene Syro-Maronite Divine Liturgy presided by Archbishop Rai at St. Charbel Church on Donald Street and a festive banquet at the Palais des Congres in Gatineau.

There were meals at the Antonine Sisters and at the Embassy of Lebanon and, in between, a chance for the Patriarch to meet Prime Minister Harper and take in a visit to the Senate. 

Here are a few photos taken with my camera:

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Sixth Sunday of Easter (Year “B”)

SHARING THE JOY OF FRIENDSHIP WITH JESUS

[Acts 10.25-26, 34-35, 44-48 [Psalm 98]; 1 John 4.7-10; John 15.9-17]

The "Council of Jerusalem" guided by the Apostles,
the Friends of Jesus

Today's gospel continues Jesus' exploration of the union between himself, the Vine and his disciples, the branches. Abiding in Jesus and reflecting on his words are defined as abiding in His love. Abiding in Jesus' love is equated with obeying his commandments, just as Jesus remained in his Father's love by keeping the Father's commands.

Modelled on Jesus' obedience to the Father, the Christian's adherence to Jesus' teaching is clearly not that of a servant or slave. Rather, its motivation is the example of love given by Jesus (“abide in my love ... love one another as I have loved you”).

There is no greater expression of love than the selfless love Jesus manifested for his disciples. This love, shown in his washing their feet, would come to perfection on the Cross. “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends”.

While the disciples rightly call Jesus Teacher and Lord (cf. John 13.13), Jesus suggests that even masters who love their servants do not share with them their inmost thoughts. This, however, he chooses to do, bestowing on them the title of friends: “I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father”.

When disciples obey God by following the teachings and example of Jesus, the result is an interior joy (“I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete”).

The joy that comes from abiding in friendship with Jesus is the fruit of the indwelling Holy Spirit. This joy—drawn from union with Jesus—is contagious and bears rich fruit in the lives of believers.

Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the joy and fruitfulness of intimacy with Jesus occasionally becomes manifest in unexpected ways. This may be noted over and over again in the Acts of the Apostles. Nowhere is this more strikingly so than in the case of the conversion of Cornelius.

As the extent of the early church's ministry broadened, a significant barrier had to be crossed: bringing the gospel directly to Gentiles. So important was the insight to do so—as illustrated by the story of the conversion of Cornelius and his entourage – that Luke devoted sixty-six verses to it (Acts 10.1-11.18) and dramatized the story with a set of interlocking visions shared by Peter and Cornelius.

There are several aspects of Cornelius' conversion that are emphasized in Luke's account. First, the evangelist noted that the early church resisted either directly evangelizing Gentiles or receiving them into Christian fellowship without associating them with Judaism (“the circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles”).

Secondly, it was God who introduced the Gentiles into the Church and miraculously showed approval of this step (“Then Peter said, ‘Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?’”).

Thirdly, even though Paul is heralded as the “Apostle to the Gentiles”, it was Peter who was God's instrument in opening the door to the Gentiles (“so [Peter] ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ”).

Finally, the Jerusalem church subsequently recognized that Gentile believers could accept Jesus as the Messiah without becoming Jews because God had so determined (“I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him”).

This initial conclusion (Acts 11.18) would later be formally ratified at what has become known as the Council of Jerusalem (15.1-29), the first of a series of church councils that stretches to the Second Vatican Council in our time (1962-65) and the Golden Jubilee of which the Church will celebrate in a 13-months Year of Faith (October 11, 2012-November 24, 2013).

The notion of God going ahead and preparing human hearts and the church to accept conversion or a new perspective has been designated as ‘prevenient grace’ in Christian theology. The First Epistle of John underlines this, observing “in this is love, not that we loved God but that he [first] loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins”.