3^rd Sunday of Easter Homily

April 13-14, 2024

Gospel:  Luke 24: 35-48

Ramon Antonio Gerard Estevez, a Latino actor, was having great difficulty finding work.  Fearing that it might be due to a bias against Latinos, he decided to take on a new name as an actor.  Out of respect for Archbishop Fulton Sheen, a popular television figure at the time, he chose the name Sheen and thus the origin of the name Martin Sheen.  His son, Emilio Estevez, released a film a few years back entitled, The Way, in which Martin plays the leading role.  The film tells the story of a man making a pilgrimage, walking 500 miles to the burial place of St. James the Apostle at a basilica near the Atlantic coast of Spain.  For the devout of heart, it is an inward journey, a pilgrimage.  Spiritual leaders write of life as a journey, a path.

Martin Sheen speaks of his own journey of change.  He began to get in touch with himself when he, an alcoholic, began the filming of Apocalypse Now in 1979 (45 years ago).  The pilgrimage is a physical journey to begin with.  It invites you to leave your comfort zone.  You have to endure some uncomfortable situations.  Then something else begins to happen, which is far more important and far more the reality of a pilgrimage. And that is the transcendence, the inner journey.  That is where we are forced to listen to our footbeat and heartbeat, the inner voice, and we become attentive to who we really are. 

As we begin to shed the material stuff that we’ve been carrying – our guilt, our false judgments, our resentments – and we begin to release people from the dungeon of our hearts, we begin to forgive others and to forgive ourselves.  The real pilgrimage is the inward journey.  We come to our true selves.  Pilgrims say that you cannot ask anyone to carry your bag and no one can walk in your shoes.  You have to do that yourself.  Yes, at the same time, you cannot walk that path alone.  You cannot do it without community.  God did not make us to walk alone.  We need friends along the way.

One such friend for Sheen was a man who became a great anchor.  Martin goes on to say, “The last book my friend gave me to read transformed my spirit.  When I finished reading it I put it down and literally got up and walked to St. Joseph Church (the English speaking parish in Paris).  It was May Day and I banged on the rectory door and the resident said, “What’s going on?”  I told him, “I have been away from the church for a long time, and I need to go to confession.”

Martin says that the focus of life-journey-transcendence lines up with the three most important steps of Alcoholics Anonymous.  They are to make a fearless inventory (which for us means the examination of conscience), tell one person (confession) and make amends (penance and restitution). 

There are two themes in today’s readings: repentance and bearing witness to the risen Christ.  In order to bear a more authentic witness to Christ in our lives, we must re-think the way we live from day to day.  Rethink how we celebrate our relationship with God, our awareness of The Holy.  Do we take time to keep God in focus, to thank and praise God for the opportunities presented to us daily?  Rethink our relationships with others; with family, with friends, with those with whom we disagree.  Rethink our budgeting of time and resources; do we give quality time to our spouse or partner, our children, our parents? 

In a word, do we contribute to The Common Good?

In today’s Gospel, Jesus says, “thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance of sins, would be preached in His name to all the nations… you are witnesses to these things.”  Peter and Paul both repented and witnessed to Christ in their lives leading them to Rome, the center of the known world.  And John said, “The way we may be sure that we know Him is to keep His commands.”  Ergo, we witness to the risen Christ when we love God above all and love neighbor.  This is our primary work as a Catholic and as a Christian… and we respond wholeheartedly: 

                            “Thy will be done…” 

Indeed.

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ATTENTION HIGH-SCHOOL SENIORS– Don’t miss out on the opportunity to apply for the $2,500 Pat French Scholarship. This scholarship was established in honor of Patricia K. French to be awarded to a high-school senior who is a member of St. Francis Xavier Church. This person should be service-oriented and a person of high Christian moral values. In addition, this person should be a dedicated student, demonstrating a good work ethic. The recipient may use this one-time, non-renewable award to pursue any program of studies at any accredited college or vocational school. Complete the application below and return to the SFX Parish Office Attn: Wende Aubrey, no later than March 15, 2024.
Applications, reference letters and transcripts may also be emailed directly to wende.aubrey@sfxmw.com .

Applicants who are chosen to interview for the scholarship will be contacted by the parish office. Interviews will be conducted on Monday, April 8th.

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AARP will once again offer tax filing assistance on the SFX campus. Call the phone number below to schedule an appointment.
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For your review, below is the Annual Accountability Report for July 1, 2022-June 30, 2023.

Dear Parishioners and Friends of SFX Parish,

As we commemorate the birth of Jesus, I wish to express blessings and good wishes to all of you in this holy season.  What a treasure it is to be with those we love and how blest we are to have the opportunity to do so.  There are many of our sisters and brothers, especially in the Commonwealth, who are finding this year most difficult because of the loss of life, home and work at the hand of Mother Nature.  We must bond with those who hurt so as to keep Christ’s Light of Hope within sight.  Emmanuel is timeless and lives within everyone through ‘good times and bad’.  A weary world needs to remember that God sent His best effort, His Son, to all generations so that we can move from despair to trust.  He knows how tough it is to do… that is why he sends us Grace so we can move one foot in front of the other.

As pastor, I thank you all for your wonderful support and stewardship of time, talent and treasure that you live every day.  Our ancestors-in-faith see and know what you do in their memory.  How can they not?  They know all things because they now know God as God is.  God does not disappoint… ever.

In Christ the Cornerstone,

Father Dale

Enjoy these reflections during this season of Advent.