Homily for the Second Sunday of Lent, Year A

This year we have five people in this parish who are preparing to receive the

sacraments at Easter, and we went together last Sunday to St Chad’s Cathedral

in Birmingham for something called the Rite of Election. This is a service, not

a Mass, with the Archbishop and other bishops of the diocese, in which people

who are preparing to become Catholics at Easter get to meet one of the bishops

and are then officially recognised as the “Elect”, hence the Rite of Election.

But this year, there was an important difference. I’ve been a priest for over

fifteen years now, and most years I have been to the Rite of Election, including

in 2020. This time, when we arrived, we were turned away at the door, because

the cathedral was full. But they had made provision for us to go to a large hall

called the Grimshaw Room, where they had the service livestreamed through to

us, and one of the auxiliary bishops was there to meet us all. When we arrived

at the Grimshaw Room, my group had to stand at the back, as all the seats were

taken. I estimate there were around 150-200 people there, including clergy,

parish catechists and sponsors. There is a write-up about it on the diocesan

website, and if you look at the photos, on the one you can see the Archbishop

processing into the cathedral, and if you look beyond the glass doors, you can

see me looking in, verifying that we couldn’t just squeeze in somewhere.

Meeting a bishop or an archbishop is not something most people do every day,

and I can understand people being a little nervous about it. But they are human

beings, and they even have a sense of humour. Bishop Timothy, whom we met

in the Grimshaw Room, was only ordained a bishop around a year or so ago.

When he was interviewed shortly before coming a bishop, he said that

someone, either a family member or a friend, had said to him, “I used to think

that bishops were really important. But now you’re going to be one.” Bishops

are the successors to the apostles, but there’s no one more important than the

Lord Himself. Today in the Gospel, three of the apostles, Peter, James and

John, are taken up a high mountain and they get to experience God in His

glory. You can imagine how nervous they must have felt, yet they also enjoyed

the experience as well and didn’t want to leave. When something like that

happens to you, you remember it for the rest of your life. And it was important

that it was etched on their minds, because they would have to face the scandal

of Christ being crucified. They had started and committed themselves to a way

of life that would change human history. Peter was not to die an obscure

fisherman by the Sea of Galilee, forgotten fifty years after his death. James and

John, too, were to have their place in Christian history, and together with Peter,

their writings would be incorporated into the Bible itself.

In the first reading, Abram also is beginning something with God that will

change human history. He has to leave behind his familiar way of life and

fulfil God’s plan: “The Lord said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your

kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. ... I will bless

you and make your name great.” This weekend, our four candidates for the

sacraments, who have already been baptised, will be called forward and prayed

for at Mass, what is referred to as a call to ongoing conversion. But that is

something we are all called to. Having already encountered Christ, already on

that journey with the Lord, we all need to examine our hearts, commit

ourselves to deeper conversion, and make a good confession. Nobody here is

perfect. You may remember the story about the writer Evelyn Waugh, how he

at a social occasion was once pulled up and asked along the lines of, “How can

you do that, and you a Catholic as well?”. His response was something like,

“Just think how awful I would be if I wasn’t!”

We can get sidetracked in life. But like the apostles, we also have in our being

the memory of those encounters with the Lord, and also the memories of

having experienced Him through others. And we have the grace of the seven

sacraments in the Church to help us along as well. This weekend, as we pray

for four of the people who are to receive the sacraments at Easter in our parish,

we re-commit ourselves to that call of the Lord, to leave aside all that hinders

us from following Him, and to be faithful, whatever the Lord’s plan might be

for us.

Curious about exploring things further?  If you would like to ask further questions about the topics raised in these homilies (or maybe think it wasn’t explained too well!), please feel free to e-mail Fr Michael at stjoseph.thame@rcaob.org.uk