By Archbishop Thomas Wenski - The Archdiocese of Miami
Archbishop Thomas Wenski preached this homily at the Mass with Neophytes — those Catholics who were newly baptized at the Easter Vigil. The Mass was celebrated Sunday, April 19 at St. Mary Cathedral.
Today we welcome back to St. Mary’s Cathedral a number of those who were baptized in their home parishes this past Holy Saturday. These “neophytes,” as the newly baptized are sometimes called, were here last on the first Sunday of Lent as catechumens for the Rite of Election. They now are fully initiated Catholic Christians — baptized, confirmed and sharing in the Body and Blood of Christ in Holy Communion. (Let us give them our congratulations with some warm applause.)
Today’s Gospel begins with the disciples of Emmaus returning to Jerusalem and the upper room where the apostles are gathered. They tell the others how they met Jesus along the road and how they finally recognized him “in the breaking of the bread.” And then — even though the doors were locked — Jesus suddenly appears to them. Jesus finds them “troubled,” their hearts full of “questions.” Luke tells us that they were “terrified and thought they had seen a ghost.” Jesus had to spend some time proving that it was really him. He allowed them to touch him; and he ate with them.
We can see perhaps how much those disciples were just like us; or perhaps how much we are just like them. They were slow to believe — and for many of us, our journey to faith was a slow one as well. Like those disciples we too perhaps failed to recognize Jesus; like them, we too were “troubled” and had hearts “full of questions.” But like them, we moved from utter incomprehension to greater comprehension, from despairing disbelief to trusting faith. To have found Jesus — or rather that Jesus has found us — is a great gift, a gift that brings us both peace and joy. “Peace be with you,” Jesus told those frightened and forlorn disciples on that first Easter morning and “peace” is Jesus’ Easter gift to each one of us — for through baptism our sins are forgiven and we are made heirs of the Kingdom of God whose children we now are.
As Christians we don’t just say that we know about Jesus — like we might say we know something about George Washington or Abraham Lincoln or any other person from a distant past. As Christians, we say that we know Jesus — and this Jesus is with us even today, he is closer to us than we are to ourselves. And though Jesus may not appear to us as he did to those disciples today, he is as much with us as he was with them, for like them we “recognize him in the breaking of the bread.” In the life of the Catholic community, in his Word, in his sacraments, in prayer, we meet the Living Lord who continues to give us his peace.
True knowledge is not just about facts, information and data — true knowledge sees the reality of things through the lens of wisdom and understanding. Religious knowledge is a way of seeing reality with the aid of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, his gifts of wisdom, understanding and knowledge. The disciples only came to understand what Jesus was about — and that he had to die and rise again to fulfill the Scriptures — only when he sent them the Holy Spirit.
As our Neophytes continue their life’s journey, now as baptized members of the Church of Jesus Christ, their understanding and knowledge of Jesus will grow — as should be true for each one of us, in the measure we seek to embrace the gifts of the Holy Spirit we have received and allow those gifts to produce their fruits in our lives.
We all walk together with the Lord in that fellowship of his disciples we call the Catholic Church. As you might have already noticed this Church is a big Church — she is made of many people — different languages, different cultures, different life experiences but we share one Lord, one faith, one baptism. And despite all our diversity and possible differences we all have one thing in common: We are all sinners saved by the blood of Christ shed for us on Calvary. As I once saw on a bumper sticker, “Christians are not perfect just forgiven.”
St. John tells us in today’s second reading, “The way we may be sure to know him is to keep his commandments.” Sometimes, we call ourselves “practicing Catholics” — and that’s because this life is our one time chance to “practice” at being Catholic until we get it right. And, following the Lord, being a good Catholic does require a lot of practice. You don’t master a new language until you learn the rules of grammar and practice, practice, practice. You don’t become good at a sport or at a trade or profession without lots of practice. And the Christian life is no different. So don’t be discouraged and keep at it. Virtue is only acquired by practice — because what is virtue but good habits learned and bad habits unlearned.
Again, we welcome the Neophytes, our newly baptized and confirmed Catholics, to the Mother Church of the Archdiocese of Miami. May you always feel at home in the church – and in whatever Catholic Church in any place of the world you may visit. Remember, to be a Christian is not a burden but a gift. To have encountered the Living Lord is the best thing that has ever happened to each of us. To share him with others is our greatest joy.
