Today marks the very first time that parishioners in Elliot Lake are marking the liturgical Memorial of our patron saint. To mark the day, we celebrated Mass and live streamed the celebration so that others could participate.
The first eight days of the Easter season, beginning with Easter Sunday and ending with the following Sunday - which we refer to as Divine Mercy Sunday - is known as the Easter Octave. During this time, the gospel accounts are all taken from various moments that took place on the day of Jesus' resurrection. It is as though, for this entire week, we are celebrating one day.
The gospel passage that we have heard today took place in the evening hours of that day. Having returned from the village of Emmaus, the two disciples told the eleven and their companions what had happened on the road ... and how Jesus had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread (Lk 24: 35). That would certainly have been a lively discussion. Perhaps Mary Magdalene was also there, as were Peter and John. They would have told their own stories of the empty tomb and the encounter with the angel who had told them that Jesus was no longer there, that he had risen ... and then these other two disciples arrived. We can easily imagine the excitement in their voices as they burst upon the scene, eager to tell the others about their meeting: about how they had met this man on the road, about all that he had told them, about the fact that they had invited him to stay with them, and about how they had recognized him when he had broken bread with them (cf Lk 24: 31).
While they were talking about all this, Jesus himself stood among them ... (Lk 24: 36). While they were still talking about their encounters, Jesus appeared to them. How wonderful it must have been for them to see their beloved friend again! Jesus knew that they had doubts about whether his promise of resurrection would really come true. They were human, just as we are human, and human beings always have doubts about things we have not experienced for ourselves. This is the reason why he invited them to look at his hands and his feet: to see and the marks of the nails, to touch him so that they could believe that it he was really present among them. Jesus encouraged their faith that day, and he helped them to understand more fully the reasons why he had to suffer, but he also helped them to see for themselves that his death was not the end of the story, that the Messiah was destined to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day (Lk 24: 46).
The joy of that moment with Jesus is still shared with his disciples even today. That joy remained in the hearts of the first disciples. With that joy and conviction, Peter and John were able to cure the lame man they encountered later on in the temple, and emboldened by their conviction, they were able to speak to those they met, explaining the reason for their joy (cf Acts 3: 11-26). The same joy has warmed the hearts of other disciples throughout the centuries that have come and gone.
Today, we celebrate the great joy of the Lord's resurrection, but we also remember and celebrate the example and virtue of the patroness of our parish. Bernadette Soubirous also encountered the joy that the disciples knew in the celestial visions that were granted to her. Like them, she was strengthened by her encounters with the lady who she eventually learned was the Immaculate Conception.
Jesus gave a mission to his disciples after he had been raised from the dead. The Immaculate Conception asked Bernadette to pray and to do penance. It is always this way. When Jesus grants such encouragement for the hearts of his disciples, there is always a mission entrusted to us as well. After the visions stopped, Bernadette eventually moved from her hometown in Lourdes to the city of Nevers, to the convent of the Sisters of Charity, where she lived for the remainder of her life. She died on the 16th of April 1879. It was the Wednesday after Easter. To the end of her earthly life, she continued to accept her mission to pray and to do penance.
From heaven, may she look down upon us today and inspire within us a renewed appreciation for the joy that is the gift of the risen Lord. Like her, may we too continue to be faithful disciples of the risen Jesus, sharing the gifts of gospel joy with all those we meet.
Homily for the Mass celebrated
to mark the liturgical Memorial
of Saint Bernadette Soubirous
The first eight days of the Easter season, beginning with Easter Sunday and ending with the following Sunday - which we refer to as Divine Mercy Sunday - is known as the Easter Octave. During this time, the gospel accounts are all taken from various moments that took place on the day of Jesus' resurrection. It is as though, for this entire week, we are celebrating one day.
The gospel passage that we have heard today took place in the evening hours of that day. Having returned from the village of Emmaus, the two disciples told the eleven and their companions what had happened on the road ... and how Jesus had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread (Lk 24: 35). That would certainly have been a lively discussion. Perhaps Mary Magdalene was also there, as were Peter and John. They would have told their own stories of the empty tomb and the encounter with the angel who had told them that Jesus was no longer there, that he had risen ... and then these other two disciples arrived. We can easily imagine the excitement in their voices as they burst upon the scene, eager to tell the others about their meeting: about how they had met this man on the road, about all that he had told them, about the fact that they had invited him to stay with them, and about how they had recognized him when he had broken bread with them (cf Lk 24: 31).
While they were talking about all this, Jesus himself stood among them ... (Lk 24: 36). While they were still talking about their encounters, Jesus appeared to them. How wonderful it must have been for them to see their beloved friend again! Jesus knew that they had doubts about whether his promise of resurrection would really come true. They were human, just as we are human, and human beings always have doubts about things we have not experienced for ourselves. This is the reason why he invited them to look at his hands and his feet: to see and the marks of the nails, to touch him so that they could believe that it he was really present among them. Jesus encouraged their faith that day, and he helped them to understand more fully the reasons why he had to suffer, but he also helped them to see for themselves that his death was not the end of the story, that the Messiah was destined to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day (Lk 24: 46).
The joy of that moment with Jesus is still shared with his disciples even today. That joy remained in the hearts of the first disciples. With that joy and conviction, Peter and John were able to cure the lame man they encountered later on in the temple, and emboldened by their conviction, they were able to speak to those they met, explaining the reason for their joy (cf Acts 3: 11-26). The same joy has warmed the hearts of other disciples throughout the centuries that have come and gone.
Today, we celebrate the great joy of the Lord's resurrection, but we also remember and celebrate the example and virtue of the patroness of our parish. Bernadette Soubirous also encountered the joy that the disciples knew in the celestial visions that were granted to her. Like them, she was strengthened by her encounters with the lady who she eventually learned was the Immaculate Conception.
Jesus gave a mission to his disciples after he had been raised from the dead. The Immaculate Conception asked Bernadette to pray and to do penance. It is always this way. When Jesus grants such encouragement for the hearts of his disciples, there is always a mission entrusted to us as well. After the visions stopped, Bernadette eventually moved from her hometown in Lourdes to the city of Nevers, to the convent of the Sisters of Charity, where she lived for the remainder of her life. She died on the 16th of April 1879. It was the Wednesday after Easter. To the end of her earthly life, she continued to accept her mission to pray and to do penance.
From heaven, may she look down upon us today and inspire within us a renewed appreciation for the joy that is the gift of the risen Lord. Like her, may we too continue to be faithful disciples of the risen Jesus, sharing the gifts of gospel joy with all those we meet.
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