2nd Sunday of Easter C - Homily 1

Homily 1 - 2007

It looks as though for Thomas, “seeing is believing”. Yet that is not quite true: seeing is seeing. But after seeing, and occasioned by the seeing, Thomas went on to say: My Lord and my God. That was not seeing – that was believing... believing a reality beyond the power of eyes to see, an insight possible only through faith.

Thomas’ insight was more, though, than an insight – It was a relationship. It was trust. It was self-gift in trust. He exclaimed after all:  My Lord and my God! Jesus said to Thomas: You believe because you have seen: that is, we are interacting; we are experiencing a mutual encounter.

Then Jesus went on to say: Blessed are those who do not see and yet believe. But when you no longer see me, and continue to interact in trust and to experience a mutual encounter in love, that will be the fruit of faith.

We are capable of that – through faith to encounter, to relate, to engage and to grow in love with Jesus.

We don’t understand resurrection, but at least we know now that he is risen; and because he is risen, I can encounter him in love. You can encounter him in love. Anyone, anywhere in the world, can encounter him in love – and we can be totally present to each other.

Thomas’ faith was more than believing the fact that Jesus had risen or the divine reality of Jesus.  His faith opened him to relationship. His faith had become the sort of faith that John hoped his readers would find: These are recorded so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that, believing this, you may have life through his name. For faith to become life (as John hoped), it needs to be encounter, relationship and engagement in love.

Encountering Jesus in love is praying. But the word praying also covers a whole range of activities, some of which don’t take us far; and some of which open us up to ever deeper encounter.

For example, you can spend time every day talking to your neighbours without ever getting to know them better and certainly without ever growing in love. That can even happen between two spouses!

But you can also spend time every day talking to your spouse and come to an ever richer knowledge and an ever deepening love –  and, I would suspect, unless you communicate regularly with your spouse, that knowledge won’t grow richer or the love grow deeper. It all takes effort, and sometimes you may even need help.

Likewise with God; likewise with Jesus: Saying more prayers may not draw us more closely to each other - but without regular prayer, not much is likely to happen.

We can be helped to pray. The Church has a wonderful tradition of praying, a real bank of wisdom on how to pray – but for a variety of reasons, most Catholics, I find, are not aware of, or in touch with, that wisdom.

You will notice on the bulletin an invitation to take part is what is called "A Retreat in Daily Life." It is an invitation to three weeks of concentrated effort, a sort of training course in prayer. You are invited, in fact, to spend about 20 to 30 minutes each day in prayer alone. As with everything, you learn by doing - But experience, unreflected on, is usually useless.

In the Retreat in Daily Life, you will be given the opportunity to reflect on your prayer with an experienced director – whom you see for a personal discussion twice each week for the three weeks the Retreat lasts.

We have been fortunate to have the services of Fr Michal Gutkowski, a Jesuit priest from Poland, (who studied in both England and the United States, and so speaks English quite well) – and also of Sr Patsy Bourke, a Mercy sister, who at present lives in Edenhope. It is a wonderful opportunity to let down the sails, and to put out into the deep. I heartily recommend it.