As I was preparing my homily my mind kept wandering back to the word CHASM.

One thought was of a Golf Hole on some golf course, somewhere in AZ that I played that was named THE CHASM – you had to hit your ball over it – a distance of a little more than a football field. No problem for these guys on TV – a little more intimidating for the likes of me.

From what I observed the Chasm devoured golf balls with voracity.

A second thought was the meaning of the word Chasm – any dictionary will offer a number of definitions e.g.

Gorge, Abyss, Canyon, Ravine, as in nature OR

Division, Gulf, Separation, Schism, Disunion, Breach, as in human nature, personal relationships, religion or politics.

So what about this GREAT CHASM that Christ talked about in His parable.

It divided Heaven and Hell – the netherworld ?

So clearly quite a bit wider than the Golf hole in AZ or indeed any Gorge or Canyon on Earth.

But the Rich Man, from his very tormented position could communicate and see Abraham in Heaven with Lazarus.

So this CHASM that Our Lord refers to in this parable is neither measured in distance nor in Human relationship terms BUT in the Spiritual Vacuum that separates-
those who live this life for their own self gratification – From those who live it for others.

Moreover – We have three Chasms in the One Parable:

1) The Chasm between Heaven and the netherworld.
2) The Chasm between the Rich and Poor
3) The Chasm between those who believe in Christ and act accordingly and those that don’t.

Let me return to the Chasm between Heaven and hell later because first I’d like to address the Second Chasm between the Rich man and Lazasrus:

The truly awful aspect of the Rich man’s behaviour is:
Not that he is lavishly dressed or
Is Gluttonous or indeed
That he lives in opulence – like those in Zion in the first reading who led on beds of ivory, ate and drank excessively – No the thing that Christ draws our attention to, is this.

The Rich man actually knows the starving, sore ridden, beggar who was at his door BY NAME – LAZARUS
From his tormented situation in the netherworld he cries out to Abraham – “send Lazarus….”
We can assume therefore that he has passed him by on many occasions and ignored him.

Knowing another’s name is an important aspect of any relationship, it offers a chance for intimacy / conversation – even a relationship.

But for the Rich man such knowledge was irrelevant – Lazarus was a beggar and he, the Rich man was too busy is his own self pursuit of hedonistic pleasures to bother with him

He violated Lazarus’s personal dignity in a cruel fashion !!!
UNTIL he dies and finds himself tormented in hell and he sees him with Abraham.

Now the Rich man begs for some relief – but its not forthcoming – The Chasm cannot be crossed!!

Then he asks Abraham to send Lazarus as Christs messenger to warn his family of what awaits them if they live as he did and do not repent.

And Abraham’s response :They have Moses and the Prophets, let them listen to them!!”

But the Rich man persists “… but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent”

And how does Abraham reply “If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead” REPEAT THIS!!

Not only is Jesus foretelling His own destiny but he refers also to the fact that he raised from the dead – the widow’s son at Nain, Jairus’s daughter and of course

Mary and Martha’s brother – also called Lazarus -incidentally the name Lazarus is derived from the Hebrew Eleazar – meaning “God has helped.”

Which brings me to the Chasm between the Believers in the Risen Christ and those who don’t.

When I conduct baptisms I note how the Parents, Godparents and family are given the responsibility to raise the baptised infants in Our Faith – And faith means believing what we do not, cannot, have not personally experienced – UNLIKE the men and women who lived and travelled with Jesus two thousand years ago.

Most of us here today have a blessed and privileged life compared to the vast majority around the world – The average median annual income, globally, is around $10.000 –

How we use our good fortune – to reach out to the poor, disadvantaged, sick, imprisoned etc. – or not – determines on which side of the eternal Chasm we will find ourselves.

In our lives Lazarus maybe the guys who cut your grass, or cleans your car, picks the produce you buy, avail themselves of our food pantry, picks up your trash, puts a new roof on your home, etc. etc.

Do we reach out to them?
Do we make an effort to find out their names? If so what do we do then?

How we act to those in need will be the criterion by which we are judged, not by merely attending mass and receiving Jesus.

However it is the very act of receiving Christ – “The Real Presence” that should conform us in the manner in which we treat the Lazarus’s we encounter in our lives.

So let me conclude by reviewing the three Chasms

1) The Chasm between those who believe in the Risen Christ and act as He taught us and those that don’t.

Believing means more than mass attendance – At the end of mass a Deacon has four options to dismiss yourselves.

Most often I will use the Words
Go in peace Glorifying the Lord by your life

Which brings me to the second Chasm

2) The Chasm between the Rich and Poor

We are to accept the blessings God has graciously bestowed upon us and reach across this chasm, and use these gifts to help the Lazarus’s of this world. It is what Christ calls us to do, it is our faith, it is our duty.

And of course the third chasm within Christ’s parable:

3) The Chasm between Heaven and Hell – the netherworld.

If we live our earthly lives on the right side of the first Chasm, accept our good fortune to be on the affluent side of the second and act accordingly – then – we will indeed live our eternal life on the Heavenly side of the greatest Chasm.

And as the Choir sings at our funeral masses

“May Choirs of angels welcome you and lead you to the bosom of Abraham: and where Lazarus is poor no longer, may you find eternal rest!”

Multiple sewer and drainage repairs were recently required due to the failure of aging sewer systems.  This was an unanticipated and non-budgeted expense.

Our parking lot is also in need of repair, with areas in dire need of attention.  We also expect to crack seal and seal coat the entire parking lot of 85,790 square feet.  These repairs will also require us to seal and stripe a year ahead of our usual schedule.

Combined, the parish is looking at a cost of $73,000 of unforeseen and unbudgeted expenses.  Fr. Bob will be speaking at Masses on October 5 and 6 to further update.  A second collection will be taken October 5/6 and October 12/13 to help pay for these required expenses.  We appreciate any help you can provide.

Each year at the Archdiocese Diaconate Convocation the wife or widow of a deacon receives the St Priscilla award for “Outstanding Service to the Church and the Diaconate”

This year the awardee was Marlene for her service and dedication to the Kolbe House Jail Ministry and the ladies she ministers too.

She was nominated by Deacon Dave Brencic whose final line in his nomination was “Marlene Heyes is a beautiful role model for all of us and someone who has taken the Corporal Works of Mercy to heart and lives them.”

Her husband, Deacon Stuart, is extremely proud of her and her ministry to the incarcerated.

Congratulations Marlene from the Clergy, Staff and parishioners of St Cletus parish.

Pictured below is Marlene receiving the award from Deacon Dave Brencic’s wife Jane.

In his Notes last week Fr Bob referring to writings in the Acts of the Apostles – wrote about how the early disciples were conflicted about what they should do in the face of misunderstanding and even hostility AND what their identity should be.

Should they more open and spread the good news or close ranks, and keep the good news to themselves  – a much safer option.

Should they go outside their own communities and if so how should they interact.

Well this week in the first reading we hear their decision and the initial response from the gentile communities of Antioch Syria and Cilicia. They didn’t like Mosaic law being forced upon them, especially the requirement for circumcision.

As a result the disciples compromised for the church’s sake, prescribed a few laws which were acceptable and as we are here to testify the Christian church in the gentile world continued to grow for 2 millenia.

Not without its trials and tribulations, schisms, reformation, scandals etc.

So it has continued to grow as it adapted, the last major adaptation was Vatican 2 – an initiative to reflect the changing times and values, particularly post WW2 with the world having won the battle over the evil of fascism.

What came with that was  prosperity, and greater opportunities for the working and middle classes in the areas of Education, Healthcare, Housing, travel and personal freedom and lifestyle choices.

The baby boomer generation were out to change the the world they inherited – with their clothes, music, relationships etc

Those who met to craft Vatican 2 less than a decade earlier could not have imagined how the 70’s would unfold.

How Traditional religions would be discarded by vast numbers of subsequent generations.

Why have all these people defected from traditional religions and more particularly from our Church?

Because they no longer  share our values and beliefs.

Values – One of the non negotiables for the disciples was that the gentiles could not offer sacrifices to false gods- sadly today in the western world many worship wealth, status, power and position – false gods.

Beliefs – They have no tolerance for our beliefs:

For example forcing the Little sisters of the poor to provide birth control for their employees

Or the baker in Colorado to make a wedding cake for a gay couple.

Or forcing doctors and nurses to attend at abortions against their beliefs.

Or victimizing Karen Pence for wanting to teach Art at a Christian school.

Its a NO TOLERANCE policy in an intolerant society.

Free Speech !!   only if you speak freely in line with those who dismiss our traditional Christian values.

While I was pondering all this and today’s scripture readings I read “Chicago Flashback” in last weeks Sunday Tribune. –

The headline was “The Crash of Flight 191”  at O’Hare airport – 40 years ago this weekend when 272 people died in what was and still is the deadliest accident in US aviation history.

What is striking about this – the darkest day in US Aviation history is that from the ashes arose an understanding that the industry needed better protocols and oversight for building and maintaining aircraft and training pilots.

The safety record since is due to the enactment of such protocols.

The learning from this the darkest of days resulted in an incredibly safe and successful industry. – notwithstanding the recent tragedies with the Boeing 737 max .

In  2018  – 4 billion passengers traveled by air worldwide.

The reason I mention this is that it kinda feels like the darkest day for our church in the modern era, certainly since Vatican 2.

To rebuild, renew, revitalize our church we need to listen to the voices of reason who in the best interests of the church propose :

Married Priests,

ordain women as permanent deacons,

allow the remarried and divorced Catholics to receive communion.

And a recent study showed that  about 50% of US Catholics believe we should welcome Gay Catholics into our communities.

I ask you this – What would Christ want for his church today ?

He guided his disciples with the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, He still is guiding us and as a church we should listen to this Spirit.

Speaking of welcoming – A few weeks ago Marlene & I attended Parkview Christian Church in Tinley Park for the experience, – it was not an unpleasant or uncomfortable experience and the preacher was surprisingly fair and well balanced  in his comments about our church.

It’s a very large church, often more than 75 % filled at all of the 5 weekend masses AND of the registered parishioners more than 80% are lapsed Catholics FURTHER the majority are are in age range 20 – 50

Why is that? I asked the pastor after introducing myself .

He said “So many of these Catholics don’t go to mass any more because of our exclusivity – they feel unwelcome!!!”

That’s because they are – they are divorced, or remarried or gay or lesbian or enjoy contemporary music and singing.

And because of this often their parents, siblings  and friends also leave our church and join them.

We are so unlike the early church who addressed differences and became inclusive – following the model of Christ himself with tax collectors, prostitutes, lepers, adulterers etc.

Sadly I suspect I won’t see any of these changes i mentioned before  in my lifetime but we must adapt to a changing world as we did in the 1960’s with Vatican 2.

Is it time for Vatican 3 Pope Francis?

In the Gospel we heard Jesus offer his “Peace”  to all, not the enforced peace over the defeated seen after a victorious  war

BUT the genuine  peace of tolerance –

religious tolerance, lifestyle tolerance, political tolerance.

How far we as a society have moved from that model!!

God has never abandoned his church and he will not now BUT he expects us to do our part.

Unlike the early Christians we’re sure of our identity but like them we still face misunderstanding and hostility – as does the global Christian community as we saw as recently as Easter Sunday in Sri Lanka.

Offer Christ’s peace to all, be tolerant of all – even as they are not of you, be a force for change within our church.

Discussing Married priests, women deacons and inviting back to the table of Our Lord those who have been disinvited or even feel so,  isn’t heresy  – it’s a healthy debate that needs to happen  – just as did  the early Christians – The reading from Acts says:

“…there arose no little dissension and debate..”

Such is what needs to happen as The  Lord calls us to adapt to circumstances to continue to Build His church.

A Challenge – for sure

Necessary – Absolutely

May the Lord’s Peace be with us all as we commit to moving  Our Church through these dark days.

St Cletus is starting a new ministry, to pray for healing in the church – healing from the wounds resulting from the sexual abuse scandal.

The ministry is open to all, and all are encouraged to join. There will be no meetings, no committee. There is no commitment, other than a desire to offer prayer to the Lord for healing in His church – for wisdom, guidance and grace to be bestowed upon our church leaders at all levels.

You will receive an email once or twice a month, encouraging you to prayer. Each email will contain a suitable prayer for those of us who find words harder to come by.

Please join us ! We are the church, Christ is our King ! The church needs to heal, and healing will come from within – from the everyday folk sat in the pews. Christ said He would never abandon us – it is time to trust in that and ask that He walk with us now and bring healing, forgiveness and dignity to His church.

Complete the Online Form to join.

Are you interested in joining one of the parish ministries?  Not sure what’s available?

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