Homily for August 30

 Dear Fellow Pilgrims:

There is always excitement and some trepidation at the beginning of a new endeavor. Tomorrow we begin a new school year amid all the precautions and anxiety of an era of pandemic. Experience teaches us that there will always be surprises. Many years ago, I visited a priest who had been a mentor for me in my early years of ministry. He had just arrived at a new parish after having left an assignment where he had invested many years of loving energy. My friend was clearly unhappy at the surprises he discovered. His demeanor was like that of the prophet Jeremiah who in today’s first reading says to the Lord: “You duped me, O Lord, and I let myself be duped.” (Jeremiah 20:7) My friend obediently followed the Lord like Peter, whose profession of faith in Jesus as Messiah is the bedrock of our faith. The implications of being a follower of Jesus continue to be revealed to us throughout life. After having praised Peter for being the “rock” upon whose faith the Church was to be built, Jesus rebuked him for being an “obstacle” when he objected to Jesus’ first prediction of his passion. The sharp retort “Get behind me, Satan” literally means “follow in my footsteps.” Little did Peter realize how truly he would be called to emulate his master!

How did my priest-friend recover from the initial surprise of the new parish? Like Peter, his faith was based on a deeply personal relationship with Jesus and he had the support and friendship of other pilgrims on the journey. As a result of the pandemic, pastors have been delegated to confirm the youth of their parish. I am in the midst of that process at this time. As I anoint them with the oil of chrism, I call them by the name of a saint they have chosen to follow. I am impressed by their choices and their creativity. Many of the saints are familiar to me; but there is always at least one that I had not known. I remind the candidates in the homily that confirmation is the “gift” that keeps on giving – particularly when those surprises in life almost knock us off our feet. Each confirmation candidate chooses a sponsor – a living person whose witness of faith they find inspiring. The “communion of saints” (past and present) continues to form the community of faith that empowers the followers of Jesus to “get behind” him. At the beginning of a school year, all of us (even those who have been away from school for years) need the admonition of St. Paul from today’s second reading:

“Do not conform yourself to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.”
(Romans 12:2)

Yours in Christ,
Fr. Bill Foley