Be open! (Sunday homily)

 Today we celebrate a special occasion just for St. Henry.

That’s why the readings and the Mass prayers were different.

Today we recall when this church was consecrated

by Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk on October 3, 1982.

Some of us are under the illusion that that wasn’t so long ago,

but it’s been 41 years!

A couple of days ago, I was looking through the program

created for that occasion,

as well as other historical records for St. Henry.

I noticed several names that are still active in the parish,

but sadly, many who have been called to eternity.

It was striking to see the way this part of Dayton was described then,

and the expectations reflected in the comments of Monsignor Gilligan,

the pastor at that time, and many others who were quoted.

There was a great deal of change at work in our Catholic Church.

This church, at the time, was an expression of modernist architecture,

and the hope was that it would reflect openness.

And even though this church is only 41 years old,

it has been modified since then.

The baptismal font didn’t use to be here, near the altar,

but back near the main entrance.

The pictures I saw did not show any image of our Lord above the altar.

And at one time, the tabernacle was located to one side.

Many here will remember that the first Mass for this parish,

when it was founded in 1960, was in a public high grade school.

Then the school was built, and part of it was used for the first church,

and Father Franer, the first pastor here, lived in the school as well.

Now, many times we want to look back at the “good old days,”

and we regret the turmoil and change of our own times.

But the truth is, we are remembering selectively.

There certainly are wonderful things to remember;

but there were other things, about the 1960s and 1980s,

that weren’t so wonderful.

May I suggest that we take a lesson from Monsignor Gilligan,

and from the design of this church, and continue to seek to be open?

And let me pause and say: during the past 15 months of change,

as St. Henry becomes part of a family

bringing Our Lady of Good Hope and St. Mary together,

you have been open.

All the parishes of the Archdiocese are going through this change,

and let me tell you, in many places, there are lots of frustrations.

We all say we know that change isn’t easy, but even when we know that,

you and I can still end up being surprised at how we stumble over it.

God’s grace, working through all of us, has made things go well,

and like this building, positions us to be more open

both to our community, and our future.

In the first reading, Ezekiel sees a temple.

This was not the temple that existed, but a vision of the ideal temple.

The actual temple in Jerusalem had been desecrated and destroyed.

God’s People were driven out of their own land.

Their hopes were shipwrecked.

That’s when God gives Ezekiel this vision.

It’s beautiful and perfect – but notice,

God does not bring Ezekiel inside the temple,

but inspires him to focus on what flows out from the temple.

The water starts as a trickle, but becomes a river with abundant life.

And the trees bear fruit that is “medicine” for the world.

That description of those trees is exactly the same

as the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden (the Book of Revelation).

And you and I know that the true Tree of Life is the Cross!

The food that brings healing is Jesus himself, the Eucharist.

And in the Gospel, he reveals that he, himself, is the true Temple –

the flood of life that flows out to the world, comes from him.

Every Catholic church is meant to be a representation

in some way of this reality.

A place where we can find Jesus, receive his healing

and then go from this place, taking him to the world.

Today we look back with gratitude

at what the faith of our fathers and mothers made happen here.

But now it’s our task to imitate their confidence and openness.

They guessed about what the future would bring,

and often guessed wrong; we do the same.

But you and I don’t have to guess about what we have been given,

which is what we have to give:

Jesus Christ, the source of all life,

the hope of the world, the healing of the nations.