Homily Palm Sunday 2010

Some sections ad libitum.

The earthly life of Jesus begins and ends in strikingly similar fashion: in darkness.

The marvelous exchange of the incarnation…
in which the Son of God humbles Himself to take on human flesh
that we might become sharers in His divine life…
occurs in the silence and darkness of a winter’s night.

In the fullness of time
the Lord’s earthly ministry reaches its fulfillment in the Paschal Mystery.
His saving occurs as well in darkness
as the sun is eclipsed in the middle of a hot Jerusalem afternoon.

From noon until three darkness covered the earth.
This cosmic sign recorded by Saint Luke in his account of the Passion
tells us that all the earth is anguished.

Creation itself is suffering with the suffering Christ and in mourning for her Lord.
Tombs are spilt open, rocks are rent asunder, and the mountains are shaken.

The whole world is paralyzed with fear, is covered in darkness,
as all humanity, nature itself, and the fullness of all that dwell therein
behold its savior dying on a cross.

Darkness.
Every human person who has experienced loss or tragedy…
the of a beloved, the loss of a job, a disintegrating relationship
knows personally the feeling of being covered in darkness.

The Church is experiencing…first in America…now in Ireland and Germany…
the dark cloud of clerical scandal
and the sins committed by my brother priests in their weak humanity.

Our nation is experiencing the darkness of the culture of
and government policies which do not respect the dignity of life
and the freedom of conscience…
as the U.S. Bishops have pointed out to us.

Darkness seems to cover the earth.
Yet we know that in Christ, who knows darkness and who is with us dark times,
darkness does not have power over us…it need not hold us paralyzed in fear.

The of our loved ones is not the final word
for Christ is victorious over and promises life to His faithful ones.

God’s love is more powerful than any human struggle.

As we allow God to lead us from our disappointments and dashed expectations
into the fullness of His divine plan
we discover what it truly means to know joy and peace.

Though every priest is a sinner, the priesthood is not defined only by scandal.
Indeed, the Church must root out sinful patterns of behavior.
At the same time, the Church is so much more than this scandal.
She is alive in many ways,
and her priests continue to bring the word and presence of Christ to the world.

Disdain for life is not the defining reality our society.
The voice of Christ speaks through His people as they defend the dignity of life.
Statistics show that America is pro-life.
The younger generation is turning away from the folly of their leaders
and embracing for themselves a culture of life.

As we begin to celebrate the holiest week in all of human history,
we behold Christ dying on the Cross and the earth covered in darkness.
We look forward to week’s end,
when we shall rejoice in His resurrection from the .

As we behold the darkness in our Church, our world, and our individual lives
we look forward with hope, trusting that God has a remarkable plan for us
even as we now see how He is alive in our midst
bringing light to our darkness.