Anchored in Faith, Your Soul...Our Mission
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Fr. Billy's Homily - 50th Anniversary Mass
Anchored in Faith, Your Soul…Our Mission
St. Ann Church
Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time B
Fiftieth Anniversary Mass
November 7, 2021
I Kings 17:10-16 Hebrews 9:24-28 Mark
Anchored in Faith, and with a mission and task that began fifty years ago, we gather here today in St. Ann Church & Shrine to celebrate the nearness of God in word and sacrament, and to praise him in glad adoration …
Fifty years ago, … It was 1971 and Archbishop Aymond - you were just 21 years old with longer hair, sideburns, maybe bellbottoms and platform shoes. I was 13 years old with no thoughts whatever of priesthood in my mind, and Fr. Michael, our Parochial Vicar was negative 15 … Fifty years ago! Tempus Fugit! Time Flies!
It all began on March 1, 1971 with the establishment of St. Ambrose Parish. St. Ambrose was Bishop of Milan, a theologian, and an influential, significant, and powerful ecclesiastical figure of the 4th century. I take this time to share a leading quote of his. He said: “No duty is more urgent than that of returning thanks.” This returning thanks to God began with the first Mass celebrated by Fr. Charles Duke on Saturday, March 6, 1971 in Alice Birney Elementary School. Sunday Masses were celebrated at the same location. The weekday Masses at 6:30 AM were celebrated at Leitz-Egan Funeral Home. Baptisms, and at least one wedding was celebrated in the Chapel at the Daughters of St. Paul Bookstore.
On March 1, 1973 by decree of Archbishop Hannan, the parish was renamed St. Ann, adding that the parish would also be designated as the relocation site of the National Shrine. The current church and shrine were completed on October 9, 1976. The first permanent structure constructed in 1973 is home to First Grade, the School Library, and the STEM Lab. Ann Rotolo was the first principal of St. Ann School. With a request by Fr. Duke of the Salesian Provincial for nuns, Sr. Leonia became principal in 1976. She was accompanied and assisted by Sr. Mary Louise and Sr. Margaret Rose. Principalship continued with Sr. Judy, Sr. Gloria, and Sr. Kathy. Susan Kropog served as principal for 24 years, and our current principal and parishioner is Lindsay Guidry. The school mission is to educate, and enlighten the whole child by fostering lifelong moral integrity, Catholic faith and academic excellence. The school, home of the Mariners, strives to teach the young to Think! Reach! Shine! Fr. Nile Gross, who is with us today, graduated from St. Ann School …Mustard seed beginnings grew out of generosity … With faith the size of a mustard seed, and the ability to move mountains, St. Ann Parish grew to be home to about 3,000 registered households and has one of the two largest schools in the Archdiocese of New Orleans. Trusting in God, and with the generosity and courageous spirit of the two widows in today’s readings, Msgr. Charles Duke and Msgr. Joseph Bourgeois, now deceased, served as pastors … I take this time to thank Fr. Michael Schneller and Fr. Robert Cavalier who served as pastors, and are with us today. Thanks too to those who served as parochial vicars, especially those here today for this Fiftieth Anniversary Mass.
St. Ann Parish has not achieved greatness by a few great deeds but by a lot, a lot of little ones, and many people with the generosity of the poor widows continue to give till it helps … The diversity of ministries that go on behind the scenes on a daily basis truly amazes and astounds me as well as the generosity to the poor, and in times of despair to those who have suffered devastation from hurricanes. With the difficulties that COVID 19 has brought us, St. Ann parishioners and friends are always to the rescue in giving till it helps. Thank you!
Our readings today start out with Elijah, the great prophet of God, testing the generosity and faith of the widow of Zarephath. Like Oliver Twist of Charles Dickens’ 1838 popular novel, Elijah kept on asking for more in spite of the widow’s poverty. Yet, she gives … Fear of the future is one of the greatest enemies of generosity and prosperity. Elijah knew how afraid the widow was, given her circumstances, so he addressed that fear by telling her: “Do not be afraid …” Then he prophesied that her jar of flour would not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry. She was able to eat for a year, and he and her son as well - the jar of flour did not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry …
The Gospel reading is similar. Jesus sits opposite the treasury where the offerings were placed for temple upkeep. He is not alone. He sits with the scribes and here comes a poor widow who put in two small coins worth a few cents. They barely made any noise and jingle as they rolled down the neck of one of thirteen long horn shaped receptacles … You can almost see the temple leaders rolling their eyes hoping for better results with the next person. With that, Jesus says to his disciples that this poor widow has put in more than all the others for they have contributed from their surplus wealth, but she from her poverty, contributed all that she had. She gave from her scarcity, her poverty, and her nothingness - giving it all to God. She reminds me of the miracle of the five loaves and two fish story … It’s clear that the five loaves and two fish were plenty in the Master’s hands. We have to wonder at times what table Jesus is calling us to serve at mindful that we are extraordinary living beings with ordinary gifts … with just the five loaves and two fish of our lives and yet there is so much to do. St. Teresa of Calcutta shared these words: “If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.”
The Gospel story today dares us to give the meager and what seems like the insufficient “five loves and two fish” of our lives to the Master to be blessed and transformed so that we may produce thirty, sixty, and one hundred-fold.
Even though no one else noticed what the widow had done, Jesus noticed it and praised it. It’s nice to know that even such a small deed of love does not escape the attention of Jesus. We need to have a heart and mind like her - achieving great things through an array of little deeds - that’s St. Ann Parish!
I came across this short story about three bricklayers. A traveler came upon the three men working. He asked the first man what he was doing and the man said he was laying bricks. He asked the second man what he was doing and the man said he was putting up a wall. When he got to the third man and asked what he was doing, he said he was building a cathedral. They were all doing the same things. The first man had a job. The second man had a career. The third man had a calling. We may be laying bricks every day, but if we envision the cathedral and move through our days with intention and passion, we are living the best life. And, remember the best things in life aren’t things.
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Third Sunday Ordinal Time Year BJanuary 24, 2021
Jonah 3:1-5, 10 I Corinthians 7:29-31 Mark
World War I produced one of the most memorable images in American history with the United States Army recruiting poster depicting Uncle Sam pointing an accusing finger at the viewer urging young men to enlist in the war effort. It was painted by James Montgomery Flagg. The image was later adapted by the U.S. Army with the new unforgettable call to action: I WANT YOU …
I want you is the basis of the readings from last Sunday and again today. Hey Jonah, “Set out for Nineveh and tell the people to fast and pray or their city will be destroyed …” Hey Jeremiah: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you. Before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations, I appointed you …” Hey Francis, I want you to leave your wealthy and comfortable life in Assisi … Hey Teresa, you need to leave that fancy convent and help the poor ... Hey, Patrick I want you to be a bishop and go back to Ireland and evangelize them crazy Irish … Hey Michael, I want you to stop fooling around and playing in the mud for I want you to be a priest … Hey Sean, yes you, I want you to be a priest too … Hey, Billy I want you to go to New Orleans … I know it’s 5000 miles away … Hey, Drew, Sam, Josh, Dominic, Michael, Leander, Andrew, Paul, Jeffrey, Dan, yes you, I want you to be a priest too … Hey, Tom, Mary, Pauline, Sophia, Melanie, Tony, Patrick, yes you, I want you to be more involved in the ministry of the Church … I want you on the Pastoral Council, the Finance Committee, working with the poor, the Altar Society, the School Board … And before I go any further the excuses are clocking up like a bill.
Jonah tried to run away, Jeremiah complained saying he could not speak and he was too young … Excuses! Some of the baptized don’t even come to Sunday Mass with the excuse: “Well it’s the only day I can sleep in … I go shopping that day …” Make an effort, not an excuse. Be stronger than your excuses. Being a disciple of Jesus Christ means availability, a willing heart, and helping hands. The adventure of discipleship! St. Catherine of Siena said: “Be who God meant you to be and set the world on fire.”
Psychologist Abraham Maslow has an interesting response to the question of why so few people leave all to follow a dream, or pursue a noble cause. He says they are afraid to become what they are capable of being ... They thrill at the idea and possibility but they also shudder at it.
Scott Neeson was a Hollywood big shot and the president of 20th Century Fox back in 2003. He led a glamorous life - lived in a five bedroom home worth millions of dollars, drove Porsche’s and Ferrari’s and had a big boat. He was a man of means and luxuries who said: “I sort of enjoyed it, but I wasn’t particularly happy.” He took a backpacking trip to Cambodia that year, and what he saw changed the course of his very comfortable and luxurious life. He saw poverty like he had never seen before. He saw children picking food out of the trash just to survive. Every day he walked through the slums that surround a landfill outside the capital and largest city of Cambodia. Thousands live there amid the filth and stench of the landfill. So, Scott established programs to help feed and educate the children on a massive scale. One of his friends back in Hollywood thought that he wouldn’t last more than a few months. The friend said: “I thought he was having a midlife crisis. But Scott never returned to 20th Century Fox.” You see God has greater plans for us than we have for ourselves. What I am is God’s gift to me. What I become is my gift back to God.
Sometimes I imagine the story of Jonah as our story too because there is a tendency to try and hide from God because God tends to ask us to leave behind the comfortable nets of everyday life and enter the “Nineveh” of our lives that needs change so as to truly embrace the ways of God. So, we hide but deep down our hearts are restless … until they rest in God! I often think that we are like the prodigal son too who selfishly leaves home, not to mission and be God’s minister, but to recklessly go through life using up the talents given him by the father. It’s not until the prodigal son is at the bottom of the ladder that his mind and eyes are opened to the possibilities that he comes home to the Father.
On occasion I think of my own life as a Jonah and Whale Story, except that I was coughed out of the belly of an aircraft at New Orleans International Airport. You see God has greater plans for us than we have for ourselves. What I am is God’s gift to me. What I become is my gift back to God.
Jesus says to us: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the Gospel.” In about three weeks we will hear the priest and deacon call out on Ash Wednesday: Repent and believe in the Gospel.
The call of Jesus is directed to sinners in the first place, indeed to everyone, even the good people. Funnily enough it’s the people who humbly admit and confess their despair and sinfulness that are given entry into heaven - tax collectors and prostitutes, we are told … Many people today don’t recognize their sinfulness and others think they are beyond redemption. To be honest, I think most of us crucify ourselves between two thieves: the sins of the past and fear of the future. That said, we should find ourselves all the more ready to be “fishers of men” calling out to others to listen to that inner voice crying out to be nourished by the Body of Christ.
The Gospel is in between two phases, “Come and See” and “Go and Tell.”
You see God has greater plans for us than we have for ourselves. What I am is God’s gift to me. What I become is my gift back to God.