By Most Rev. Richard W. Smith, Archbishop of Edmonton

Monday, May 29, 2017

Communicate Hope and Trust

That’s the heart of the message issued by Pope Francis for World Communications Day of 2017. This year the event falls on May 28th, which in the liturgical calendar is the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord. The two - hope and Ascension - are clearly linked, and touch the core of the reason why Christians have - and communicate - hope.

For a number of years now, on or near World Communications Day, our Archdiocesan Office of Communications has been hosting a media breakfast. This gives me a chance to sit down with local media professionals to discuss, first of all, the Pope’s message, as well as important local issues. Within the framework of the Pope’s message, we can understand the unparalleled opportunity that modern means of communications have to give a message of hope to our world. I see this played out particularly not only when a “good news” story is conveyed, but also when reporting sheds light on difficult and painful issues and thus provides the impetus for responsive action and positive change. In Alberta we need think only of the coverage one year ago of the Fort McMurray fire. Media both warned us of the danger and helped us to see the good that issued forth from the people as they hurried to help. From that unspeakable tragedy, the last word actually belonged to hope because of the way the story was covered by all media.

Yet the message of the Pope, even though it is directed in the first instance to media professionals, nevertheless has broad application to all of us. We know we are confronted daily by what the Holy Father strikingly refers to as a cycle of anxiety, to which we must put a stop. The antidote is hope. What opportunities do we have to offer hope to the people we encounter in our daily lives?

It is very important not to offer our response to suffering and anxiousness on the basis of some kind of naive optimism or a refusal to acknowledge the real evil that is at work in our world. As followers of Jesus Christ, we must look at our world situation squarely in the eye and offer a message of hope thoroughly imbued with realism. Only thus will it be received as credible.

The message offered by the Church throughout her existence has been - and always will be - that God’s loving purpose for humanity cannot be overcome by evil. The power of God’s mercy over sin and evil, even over death, was on full display in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. As we celebrate the Lord’s Ascension we see clearly the reason for which the Son of God became one of us and conquered death: to lead us to God. Life eternal with God is the destiny that God himself has bestowed upon us. That destiny is now a living and real hope because of what Jesus has done for us. As we pray in the liturgy, where Christ has gone we hope to follow by the power of his grace at work within us now, especially in those moments when evil and suffering appear to have the upper hand.

They never have the upper hand. The Lord’s departure to heaven does not translate into absence from this earth. As he himself promised, “… remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt 28:20). Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, Jesus remains with us, acting in the power of that same Spirit to bring to fulfillment in each of us the saving will of the Father. Therefore, have no fear; cast off anxiety. Jesus is with us. He is the reason for our hope.

Monday, May 22, 2017

Beware the Waterfall




I’m in Niagara Falls this week, leading a retreat for some of the priests of the Hamilton Diocese. I’ve been to these Falls a number of times, yet they never cease to take my breath away. Extraordinarily beautiful, awesome and … dangerous. One would not want to be carried away by the current and over the Falls!
 
One striking feature I’ve often noticed is the contrast between current and Falls; what seems to be a rather calm looking current upstream leads steadily and inexorably to the immense and life-threatening cascade. Unaware of the Falls ahead, one could easily allow oneself to be carried along by the flow of the river. Once aware of the lurking danger, however, a mighty effort of paddling upstream, against the current, would begin. At that point one would be instantly aware of just how powerful is that “gentle” stream.

As I ponder the majestic sight from this particular perspective, I find myself thinking of the questions I’ve been posing to candidates for the sacrament of Confirmation. Bishops are rather busy these days celebrating many of these liturgies. In the course of the ceremony, just prior to the anointing with sacred chrism, the candidates are invited to renew their baptismal promises. They are asked if they renounce Satan and believe in God. The questions get to the heart of our Christian life. By baptism, we are a people who give a resounding “No!” to the Evil One and to all that is contrary to God’s revelation and commandments. Motivating this “NO” is a powerful “Yes!!” to God and to all that he reveals about Himself and demands of us. Often, though, we get it backwards, and say “No” to God and to his teachings, and “Yes” to evil and to what is wrong. It is easy to happen, because the “No” to God can feel like floating gently along the stream of worldly logic, while our “Yes” to God can be experienced as a rowing against this powerful current of “everybody’s doing it” morality. Yet the flow of this “river” leads to danger. The boat needs to get turned around, and quickly.

How to do this? Well, we need to accept that this current leading to peril is too powerful to row against unaided. For this reason, God Himself gives us the help we need. He sends the Holy Spirit, identified by Jesus in Sunday’s Gospel as the Spirit of Truth (cf. John 14:15-21). By the light of the Spirit we discern what is truly right from what is really wrong, and are given the grace to remain in the truth. Furthermore, the Holy Spirit actually reverses the current of our lives by uniting us to Christ, who is the Way not to death but to the Father and eternal life.
 
The Church is preparing for the great celebration of Pentecost. Let’s prepare our hearts by closely examining the current along which our lives are presently flowing. Let’s not be deceived by appearances of ease and popularity. We might very well be headed toward danger. May the Holy Sprit renew our hearts and place us in the right direction by uniting us more deeply to Christ, the river Who leads to life.
 
 

Sunday, May 14, 2017

The Archbishop in Kindergarten


It’s a wonder I ever passed this grade. Who knew it could be so difficult?
 
I spent Wednesday of last week visiting a few schools in Red Deer. In one of them I was taken to meet the children of the kindergarten class. There they asked if I would read to the kids a book written to tell the Easter story.

“Sure! I’d be delighted!”

So, they gave me a chair and all the children sat on the floor around me. I read the story aloud to them, and they listened with rapt attention … or, so I thought.

As I neared the end of the not-so-lengthy tome, one of the children hollered out, “Hey! Aren’t you gonna show us the pictures??!!”

Oops. Forgot I was supposed to do that. Another indignant little voice then piped up: “Start over!”

I thought to myself, “How is it possible to mess up something like reading a story to a kindergarten class?”

But I did. Total failure.

The principal and teachers were stuffing their fists down their throats to stifle the guffaws. I can well imagine that copious salt was poured into this wound of embarrassment when the kids later told Mom and Dad that the Archbishop doesn’t even know how to tell the Easter story. Not one of my finer moments.
 
Tell the story and show the pictures. As I think about it, that’s a pretty good way to explain evangelization. It is not enough simply to tell what God has done for the world in Jesus Christ. That story, as astonishing and beautiful as it is, needs to be illustrated by the “pictures” of lives that have been transformed by God’s merciful love, and those pictures need to be shown to all who listen.
 
A rather extraordinary “picture” wound its way through the streets of Edmonton last Thursday. Thousands marched in the downtown area in the annual March for Life. When we tell the Easter story, we announce the Resurrection of one who self-identifies in the Gospel as “the Way, the Truth and the Life.” (cf. Sunday’s Gospel passage, Jn 12: 1-12) The Easter story we tell is about life!  On Thursday we illustrated this story by the picture of the March, born of our desire to celebrate life as God’s gift and our determination to speak out in defence of all human life at every stage and in each circumstance. We showed this picture to the city by taking to its streets. Now we pray that, by God’s grace, the telling and showing will bear fruit in the conversion of hearts and the establishment of a culture of life in our land.
 
Some food for thought: What picture is formed by the way I live my life? Is it consistent with the faith I profess as a Christian? Do Gospel story and living illustration mutually reinforce one another in the “book” which is my life? Serious business. I pray that God enable me to do a lot better in my daily living than I did last Wednesday on my visit to kindergarten class.

See more pictures of my visit here on Storify.
 

Monday, May 8, 2017

The Blue Mass


On Sunday I had the great joy of gathering at St Albert parish for their annual "Blue Mass", offered in thanksgiving to God for the first responders who protect us.

The timing was right. Just this past week we commemorated the first anniversary of the Fort McMurray fire. Looking back, we were reminded not only of the enormous danger faced by the residents of that city, but also of the heroism, professionalism, competence and selfless dedication of the first responders. It was a moment when the profound respect, admiration and gratitude of the citizens of this province for the men and women willing to stand in harm's way was on full display and expressed in a variety of ways.

What was experienced at the moment of the Fort McMurray crisis can give us important insight into the message of the Gospel proclaimed on Sunday (John 10:1-10). As I reflect on all that unfolded during that tragedy, what stands out is the importance of the voice of authority: the voice that alerted to danger, the voice that called people from their homes, the voice that gave direction, the voice that diverted people away from peril, the voice that showed the way to shelter, the voice that kept the population updated, and so on. In each case, the voice was listened to and followed, because the voice was trusted. The voice of authority was spoken by one in authority and therefore was trusted to speak only that which would lead away from harm and toward security.

The Gospel passage speaks precisely of a voice of authority that can be trusted with absolute confidence, and which is therefore the voice to be followed. It speaks of the voice of Jesus Christ. Using the familiar imagery of the Good Shepherd who loves and cares for his sheep, Jesus says that his sheep know and recognize his voice and follow his direction to pastures of safety, protected from the thieves and bandits who seek only to steal and destroy. At issue here is the pasture of eternal life and unending safety in the presence of God. In the course of our earthly lives we encounter many evil voices that attack not only the body but also the soul, seducing to spiritual danger. As we listen to the voices of our first responders who seek to protect us from bodily harm, we need also to be attentive to the voice of the One Good Shepherd, Jesus, whose voice leads us to spiritual security.

And why Jesus? Why his voice and not another? In the course of the Fort McMurray rescue, the voices of authority gave direction in accordance with an overarching plan that was formulated by those who could see the whole picture and assess the entire situation. The One who sees the whole picture of our lives, the One who, indeed, can assess the entire situation of world history, the One who sees clearly where danger lies, who knows the "escape routes" that lead away from peril, is Almighty God, who loves us beyond all imagining. He has fashioned a plan of escape for us, which in more theological language we call his plan of salvation. To carry out that plan, he has sent his well-beloved Son to be the voice of authority. So, when we listen to Jesus Christ, we can have full confidence that he is shepherding us in accord with the mysterious and loving plan of our Heavenly Father. His voice is worthy of our full trust, and in following it we find safety and peace.

One final thought about the Fort McMurray event. We were all particularly impressed by the bravery and skill of the firefighters. Yet, for many days they were forced to admit that the fire was beyond their control in spite of their best efforts. Often, we find things "out of control" in our own personal lives. Things "get away from us" in spite of everything we try to do to bring order and control. This can cause great stress and heartache and bring heavy pressure to bear on family and professional relationships. At times like these it is helpful to recall that there is one who is always in control and can turn all to the good if we but consciously surrender control of our lives to him. That is Jesus, our Good Shepherd, who loves us, speaks to us, and leads us to freedom. Let's listen to his voice and follow.

Monday, May 1, 2017

Where is Emmaus?


Slightly more than twenty years ago I made my first pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Like any pilgrim, I wanted to visit the holy sites. Among the places I wanted to see was Emmaus, on the road to which two disciples had encountered the Risen Lord Jesus (Sunday’s Gospel - Luke 24:13-35). What stands out in my memory is having been informed that there are actually three places today which tradition identifies as the possible site of that ancient locale. In other words, unlike with many of the other holy places, the precise location of Emmaus cannot be pinpointed with certainty.
 
This fact renders “the road to Emmaus" symbolically significant for the times in which we live. It now stands for a path to an unclear destination, and thus represents the life situation of many people today. With our attention drawn to an increasing variety of banal messaging and our time spread thin over myriad demands, little focus is trained upon life’s ultimate questions, such as: Where is my life headed? What is its true meaning? By what measure do I assess the rightness of my decisions? What is real and true? Or, what is my true destination? When the answer to this is unclear, then life loses any sense of confident direction. This is precisely the “road” on which many are walking today. It is a directionless path, which leads nowhere but to the confusion and unrest that bring with them the collateral effects of anxiety and frustration and hopelessness.
 
These are precisely the sentiments that inhabited the hearts of the two disciples on the road to ancient Emmaus. It is important to observe that their road did have a clearly known destination at the end of it. Yet, they were nevertheless downcast and without hope. They thought that Jesus was dead and forever absent from their lives. When he appeared to them, sadness gave way to joy and despair yielded to hope. From this we understand that clarity of destination is to be found not in a place but in a person. Our destination is Jesus. He who came from heaven to lead us to our Father in heaven is one with the Father (cf. John 10:30). In Jesus, our lives are given true direction and meaning. In him, our restless hearts find rest (St. Augustine) and we are at peace.
 

What is more, Jesus accompanies us on our pilgrim way as he leads us to himself. The reaction of those two disciples to the presence of the Lord with them on the road tells us clearly that there is no greater joy than that which arises from knowing he is near. I particularly love the image of the “hearts burning within” the disciples as Jesus explained to them everything in Sacred Scripture that pertained to himself and his place in the accomplishment of God’s saving plan for the world. That “burning” is the hope that arises from the clarity of God-given understanding of the divine purpose centered on and achieving fulfillment in Christ Jesus. It is the joy that issues from the awareness that the Risen Lord is with us at every moment of the journey, rendering himself particularly present in the sacraments of the Church, above all in “the breaking of the bread,” the Eucharist. The “burning” at the Lord’s presence leaves despair in ashes as it ignites within us an energy that impels us out of ourselves toward others to tell what we have experienced.
 
So, let’s put an end to time wasted on unnecessary searching for direction and meaning. These are given in Christ Jesus, who draws near to us as our companion and destination. Let’s open our hearts to him, that they, too, will burn with love for our Lord and the desire to announce his presence to others.
 
Join me on the next Holy Land pilgrimage in December. Visit here.