20080806 Congrès C de C

Transfiguration of Our Lord
Supreme Convention of the Knights of Columbus in Québec City

Wednesday, August 6. 2008

My dear friends,

I am very happy to be with you today as part of this Supreme Convention. Your theme begins with the expression «Building a civilization of love». This is a desire that bursts forth from the human heart - to live in a society patterned on love. We live in an age of globalisation, where every idea and every point of view can now be easily spread and shared. In the midst of all these voices, how can we discover a sure path for progress? The other part of your theme begins to provide the answer: «through Charity, Unity and Fraternity». These express key attitudes and methods needed to achieve this goal. I see behind these words the hard-working, practical, «can-do» spirit of the Knights of Columbus. But the fact that we are gathered for the Eucharist, and that we take the time to listen to these words of the Bible, expresses an even deeper reality: we are people of faith, and it is our faith that encourages us to bring hope and love to the world.

Your own Supreme Knight, Mr. Carl Anderson, recently published a book on the subject of the civilization of love. In it, he reminded his readers of an important reality that is still true today: «grace builds on nature», or as we say in French, «la grâce ne détruit pas la nature». Our human nature pushes us to desire a civilization of love, but in our weakness we never seem to be able to attain it on our own. This does not mean that people have not tried, but in trying to make the world a better place for humanity they often seemed to forget the actual human beings who live in it. Yes, human reason seeks the means for a civilization of love, but then brings us to point where faith takes over. While this reflection may seem a bit abstract for some of us, I believe we see this dual reality in action in the feast we celebrate today. Today is the feast of the Transfiguration. Jesus takes some of his closest friends with him on a mountaintop, and he begins to shine with glory. His face is as dazzling as the sun. But it is still his human face. Who he is, as a human being, is still present. His human nature is still intact. His divine nature is powerfully revealed – but only by gazing on his human face. It is a face we see today in our brothers and sisters, and in particular the poor and helpless. To build the civilization of love means to seek the face of Jesus in others.

The genuine Christian knows that God and humanity are not in competition. God calls us into communion with him, and all we need to leave behind is our sin. Moses, the great Law-giver, talks with Jesus during the transfiguration. It is a sign for us: our pursuit of a civilization of love does have certain limits it cannot cross. We must never do evil, even if it seems to be for a greater good. To do so would be to destroy human nature, rather than to let God build on it with his grace. But the genuine Christian also knows that building the civilization of love means that other false standards must be challenged. People, especially those more fortunate, often live in patterns of comfortable injustice. Elijah also talks with Jesus, reminding us that we must live as prophets in our world: prophets by the way we speak and work, prophets by the way we love our spouse, prophets by the way we parent our children, prophets by the way we spend and invest and give, prophets by the way we vote, prophets by the way we defend human life and dignity.

I really like the scene in this gospel where Peter offers to make three tents upon the mountain. It is like when the Jewish people were in the wilderness, and they had a special tent for the presence of God. In the Old Testament story, the glory of God would descend upon that tent in the form of a cloud. But in the Transfiguration, this same cloud descends on the disciples themselves. The Church is the real tent, the new Temple of God. When the disciples hear God’s voice, they fall to the ground, terrified. They were in the presence of the glory of God, and it is too much for them. Following the ancient belief about being in the presence of God, they probably thought they would die. So the vision suddenly ends, and Jesus touches them. They look up, it is Jesus telling them to not be afraid. Seeing his face, they live. At this point, the Transfiguration of Jesus has ended, but the transfiguration of the disciples has just begun. The experience of the transfiguration was one of powerful grace, but it did not destroy them. And then Jesus gives them a strange command: «Tell no one of the vision». Does he honestly expect them to not share this wonderful experience with others? To be sure, the world probably seemed even more ordinary to the disciples after this amazing event, but let us not forget that Jesus did not stay on that mountain. He descended from that place of glory to stay with his friends.

It must have been tough to keep this secret, but it would have taught these disciples an important lesson: while extraordinary experiences are good, the living «ordinary» presence of Christ is just as important. It is not grace OR nature. It is not Jesus OR the world. Yes, we must learn to live in an ordinary world, but as a beginning, not an end. The reassuring presence of Jesus in our midst, particularly in the Eucharist, is rarely accompanied by visions and talking clouds. But is it all the same Jesus. Our lives – even the practice of our faith – can seem mundane at times. We may even live in times of personal or communal darkness. But this does not mean that Jesus in not there. He is.

May the glory of God may come to rest upon this Supreme Convention in as powerful a way as it rested upon Peter, James and John. My first prayer is for this Supreme Convention to be a moment of transfiguration for all of you. There are times when we need to make that journey to the mountaintop, to get away from it all in order to focus on the Lord. But this convention cannot be an end: it must be a new beginning. As extraordinary as I hope this convention will be for all of you, my other prayer is for your journey home. Yes, you must eventually come down from the mountain and return to an «ordinary» world, to perhaps a very «ordinary» life. It may seem even more ordinary after this wonderful convention. Yet as it was for Peter, James and John, once transfiguration begins it becomes a process that renews itself each day.

My friends, many people are afraid of faith and even oppose the idea of God. It is because they think these will require them to deny the ordinary goodness of this life. It because they do not know our secret: that the face of God is found reflected in the face of our neighbour. This is the secret that makes the civilization of love possible. The civilization of love is not about getting rid of ordinary life, but about living it in an extraordinary way. In a transfigured way. And in a way that invites others to see the face of Jesus and be transfigured too.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. AMEN

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11 août 2008

Transfiguration of Our Lord
Supreme Convention of the Knights of Columbus in Québec City

Wednesday, August 6. 2008

I am very happy to be with you today as part of this Supreme Convention. Your theme begins with the expression «Building a civilization of love». This is a desire that bursts forth from the human heart - to live in a society patterned on love. We live in an age of globalisation, where every idea and every point of view can now be easily spread and shared. In the midst of all these voices, how can we discover a sure path for progress? The other part of your theme begins to provide the answer: «through Charity, Unity and Fraternity». These express key attitudes and methods needed to achieve this goal. I see behind these words the hard-working, practical, «can-do» spirit of the Knights of Columbus. But the fact that we are gathered for the Eucharist, and that we take the time to listen to these words of the Bible, expresses an even deeper reality: we are people of faith, and it is our faith that encourages us to bring hope and love to the world.

Your own Supreme Knight, Mr. Carl Anderson, recently published a book on the subject of the civilization of love. In it, he reminded his readers of an important reality that is still true today: «grace builds on nature», or as we say in French, «la grâce ne détruit pas la nature». Our human nature pushes us to desire a civilization of love, but in our weakness we never seem to be able to attain it on our own. This does not mean that people have not tried, but in trying to make the world a better place for humanity they often seemed to forget the actual human beings who live in it. Yes, human reason seeks the means for a civilization of love, but then brings us to point where faith takes over. While this reflection may seem a bit abstract for some of us, I believe we see this dual reality in action in the feast we celebrate today. Today is the feast of the Transfiguration. Jesus takes some of his closest friends with him on a mountaintop, and he begins to shine with glory. His face is as dazzling as the sun. But it is still his human face. Who he is, as a human being, is still present. His human nature is still intact. His divine nature is powerfully revealed – but only by gazing on his human face. It is a face we see today in our brothers and sisters, and in particular the poor and helpless. To build the civilization of love means to seek the face of Jesus in others.

The genuine Christian knows that God and humanity are not in competition. God calls us into communion with him, and all we need to leave behind is our sin. Moses, the great Law-giver, talks with Jesus during the transfiguration. It is a sign for us: our pursuit of a civilization of love does have certain limits it cannot cross. We must never do evil, even if it seems to be for a greater good. To do so would be to destroy human nature, rather than to let God build on it with his grace. But the genuine Christian also knows that building the civilization of love means that other false standards must be challenged. People, especially those more fortunate, often live in patterns of comfortable injustice. Elijah also talks with Jesus, reminding us that we must live as prophets in our world: prophets by the way we speak and work, prophets by the way we love our spouse, prophets by the way we parent our children, prophets by the way we spend and invest and give, prophets by the way we vote, prophets by the way we defend human life and dignity.

I really like the scene in this gospel where Peter offers to make three tents upon the mountain. It is like when the Jewish people were in the wilderness, and they had a special tent for the presence of God. In the Old Testament story, the glory of God would descend upon that tent in the form of a cloud. But in the Transfiguration, this same cloud descends on the disciples themselves. The Church is the real tent, the new Temple of God. When the disciples hear God’s voice, they fall to the ground, terrified. They were in the presence of the glory of God, and it is too much for them. Following the ancient belief about being in the presence of God, they probably thought they would die. So the vision suddenly ends, and Jesus touches them. They look up, it is Jesus telling them to not be afraid. Seeing his face, they live. At this point, the Transfiguration of Jesus has ended, but the transfiguration of the disciples has just begun. The experience of the transfiguration was one of powerful grace, but it did not destroy them. And then Jesus gives them a strange command: «Tell no one of the vision». Does he honestly expect them to not share this wonderful experience with others? To be sure, the world probably seemed even more ordinary to the disciples after this amazing event, but let us not forget that Jesus did not stay on that mountain. He descended from that place of glory to stay with his friends.

It must have been tough to keep this secret, but it would have taught these disciples an important lesson: while extraordinary experiences are good, the living «ordinary» presence of Christ is just as important. It is not grace OR nature. It is not Jesus OR the world. Yes, we must learn to live in an ordinary world, but as a beginning, not an end. The reassuring presence of Jesus in our midst, particularly in the Eucharist, is rarely accompanied by visions and talking clouds. But is it all the same Jesus. Our lives – even the practice of our faith – can seem mundane at times. We may even live in times of personal or communal darkness. But this does not mean that Jesus in not there. He is.

May the glory of God may come to rest upon this Supreme Convention in as powerful a way as it rested upon Peter, James and John. My first prayer is for this Supreme Convention to be a moment of transfiguration for all of you. There are times when we need to make that journey to the mountaintop, to get away from it all in order to focus on the Lord. But this convention cannot be an end: it must be a new beginning. As extraordinary as I hope this convention will be for all of you, my other prayer is for your journey home. Yes, you must eventually come down from the mountain and return to an «ordinary» world, to perhaps a very «ordinary» life. It may seem even more ordinary after this wonderful convention. Yet as it was for Peter, James and John, once transfiguration begins it becomes a process that renews itself each day.

My friends, many people are afraid of faith and even oppose the idea of God. It is because they think these will require them to deny the ordinary goodness of this life. It because they do not know our secret: that the face of God is found reflected in the face of our neighbour. This is the secret that makes the civilization of love possible. The civilization of love is not about getting rid of ordinary life, but about living it in an extraordinary way. In a transfigured way. And in a way that invites others to see the face of Jesus and be transfigured too.