Fr. Jean-Philippe's Homily, 2/18/24, 10:30 a.m. Mass at St. Nicholas

Due to technical difficulties during the livestream, the audio from much of the homily that Fr. Jean-Philippe gave at the Mass for the First Sunday of Lent at 10:30 a.m. at St. Nicholas Church (the RCIA Rite of Sending Mass) was cut off. At parishioner request, we have published below the exact text of the homily from which Fr. Jean-Philippe read.

“This is a time for fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the Gospel.” Mark 1: 15. This is the proclamation of Jesus in Galilee, and this is what Jesus is proclaiming to us today, we who have just started our 40 days spiritual journey of lent toward Easter. The greatest feast in our Christian life.

We who gather here in this church today, we have different spans of life. For Some it is a few days, or months or years or many years. We have seen and experienced many things in life: Good or bad. We have gone through many life experiences that gave us hope or made us lose hope. How does the word of Jesus “This is a time of fulfillment” make sense to us? I believe that each liturgical season is unique though we may use the same readings and prayers because our God is a God of covenant. He is faithful to his promise: “I will recall the covenant I have made between me and you and all living beings” said God in the book of Genesis.

Jesus is renewing this very covenant of God in our life, our time, here and now. That is why the proclamation of Jesus is meaningful to us today. It is not about the past, it is not about tomorrow, but it is about today, our here, and now. No matter different temptations we may go through, no matter the doubt and discouragement we may experience, no matter how disastrous our life may be. This is a time of God’s fulfillment because the one who is making it is Jesus the Son of God who “suffered for sins once, the righteous for the sake of the unrighteous, that he might lead you to God”. 1 Peter 3: 18. He had gone through temptation and doubt and yet he remained steadfast in his faith in the promise of his Father: “you are my beloved Son, with you I am well pleased”. Mark 1:11. In Jesus we are beloved Sons and daughters of God. With Jesus we conquered temptation that makes us doubt who we are in God. With Jesus we are heirs of the covenant: “I am your God, and you are my people”. Exodus 6:7

My dear friends in Christ, this is our acceptable time. Let us make our Lenten Journey, a moment to rediscover and relive once again the promise of God. I am your God, and you are my people. Lent is the time to experience the love of God, that is manifested through the pardon of our sins. Lent is once again a moment we experience the destruction of the world ruled by evil, and the beginning of a new world within us. The victory over sin began with Jesus who defeated evil during his life. By following him, the new Adam, we also can become a new people. That is why, this Lent is a time of fulfillment, the acceptable time. For Catechumens: Annabella Ocasio, Charlie Kouki Guan. Candidates: Rony Egidio Hernandez, Yordy Steven Mizhquiri-Cabrera, Stephanie Salgado, Mara Emily Case, this is your acceptable time as you will go through the rite of election this afternoon. We are with you and praying for you.

This Spiritual and maturation journey will not be easy, will not be smooth because it needs a dying and denying of oneself, our various temptations, our sins, our weaknesses, our doubts, our ego, and self-centeredness. It is a journey with ups and downs. We may find ourselves in the desert like Jesus, but we will not be in the desert forever. It is also a journey we are making as a parish St John 23, as one people of God, loved and redeemed by Christ. We fall, we bump into each other, we get angry at each other, we laugh and rejoice with each other, we criticize each other, and we encourage each other. It is a difficult and yet beautiful road we are traveling.

Couple of weeks ago, the Memorandum of how we celebrate Liturgy in our Parish St John 23 was released. It created anger, disappointment, discouragement, fear, and name calling especially addressed to me. I get that. I respect your feeling and I am sorry for the feeling it has created. I am in your midst as your servant, as a builder and not as a destroyer. I have made my commitment to God, to the Church and to you that I will serve you who are beloved children of God wholeheartedly even if I must shed my blood. This is my life here and now because I want to be at the service of the Lord when he comes to call me. You are my portion. You are the people I fall in love with. I want to serve you with all my beings. I am here to bring my little stone to build this beautiful church of God. This is what I think of every blessed day. So, we may have our moment as good lovers: We get mad at each other and yet we still love each other because what unites us is bigger than what divides us. This road will never be easy and yet beautiful to travel because I don’t believe he brought us this far just to live with us.

Song: Negro spiritual: I don’t feel no ways tired of Burleigh, H. T:
I don’t feel no ways tired.
I have come too far the way I started from.
Nobody told me that the road will be easy.
But I don’t believe he brought me this far to leave me.

Never doubt, never be discouraged from the bumping roads. We are all building something new and great here. History will tell us, and we will be proud of it. The greatest temptation is to give up. No, we will never give up. St John XXIII folks do not quit. Let us make our obstacle a standing stone on which we stand to fly higher like an Eagle. May God bless us. Amen.