Četrnaesta nedjelja kroz godinu
Propovijed Kardinala Blase Cupicha
Misa za hrvatsku zajednicu u St. Michael
07.07.2019.
Čitanja: Iz 66, 10-14c; Gal 6, 14-18; Lk 10, 1-12. 17-20
Najprije se želim zahvaliti fra Borisu i franjevcima u zajednici na pozivu da s vama slavim svetu misu. Kad god imam mogućnost susresti ljude iz Hrvatske, zemlje čiji sam i ja državljanin, rado to i činim.
Četvero mojih djedova i baka su emigrirali u SAD u vremenu oko prvog svjetskog rata iz sela Andrejevci u Slavoniji, Grede i Gornjeg Ladanja pokraj Varaždina i Žakanja pokraj Karlovca. Možda je i netko od vas iz tih krajeva. U svakom slučaju, lijepo je biti sa svima vama jer duboko osjećam kako je moja vjera njegovana preko hrvatske domovine i kulture.
Nedavno smo završili Vazmeno vrijeme i sad smo u Vremenu kroz godinu. Danas Isus govori nama, svojim učenicima, šaljući nas u svijet i to kao zajednicu. Poziva nas da svjedočimo njegovu prisutnost u svijetu u svakodnevnim trenucima i događanjima jer je to ono što će nam donijeti radost i utjehu.
Nama su radost i utjeha potrebni jer su životni izazovi prečesto takvi da se doživljavamo ograničenima, nepotpunima. Zapravo zbog velikih poteškoća i promašaja ponekad povjerujemo da su naši životi pred zidom, da više nema nade u boljitak.
Kad je moj otac imao 48 godina, dijagnosticirana mu je Parkinsonova bolest i više nije mogao raditi. To je izazvalo duboku krizu u našoj obitelji u kojoj je bilo devetoro djece. Otac je mislio da je njegovo život gotov. Ali vjera mu je pomogla vidjeti da Bog za njega otvara jedan drugi život. Nakon nekoliko terapija počeo je volontirati u Udruzi sv. Vinka paulskog u našoj župi. Posjećivao je bolesne po bolnicama i siromašne u njihovim domovima.
Primijetio je kako mnogi ljudi nemaju dovoljno hrane za preživjeti. Otišao je kod mjesnih vlasti i nagovarao ih da surađuju u nacionalnom projektu za pomoć pothranjenima Meals on wheels, Obroci na kotačima, koji je hranu donosio u domove potrebnih. Oni su to odbili riječima da se svatko treba brinuti za sebe.
Tako se moj otac odlučio kandidirati za lokalnu skupštinu i pobijedio je na izborima razlikom od samo nekoliko glasova. Služio je tri mandata i postao predsjednik mjesnog odbora i do dana današnjega Meals on Wheels se brinu za hranu siromašnih u našem gradu. Njegovo služenje mu je dalo novi smiso za život i živio je još 32 godine te preminuo u dobi od 80.
Mnogi su ljudi poput mog oca, koji se suočavaju sa teškim izazovima i umjesto da budu obeshrabreni, oni u svojoj vjeri znaju da je život putovanje u kojem i u trenutcima padova još se uvijek može ići naprijed. Oni vjeruju da život nije završen zato jer ih je Bog poslao u svijet da svjedoče za Krista u svakodnevnim događajima života pa čak i kad su ti životi u mnogočemu ograničeni.
Moj otac je uvijek mislio da ono što radi nije ništa posebno, već nešto sasvim normalno, a isto je tako znao da ga Bog nije otpisao zbog njegove dijagnoze, nego je baš tada započeo jedan novi život, kojeg nije mogao ni sanjati. A pomaganje drugima u njihovim životnim poteškoćama bila mu je velika utjeha.
Ovakvu vjeru Isus od nas traži. To je vjera koja nas nuka da nadiđemo samosažaljenja, razočaranja i obeshrabrivanja i prihvatimo darove utjehe i radosti koji proizlaze iz zajedničkog hoda, zajedničke obveze da nikoga ne smijemo ostaviti sama, marginalizirana ili zaboravljena.
Tješi me da nas je Bog danas okupio zajedno jer znam da se nalazim pred ljudima koji svakodnevno svjedoče i ispovijedaju istu vjeru koju je i moj otac ispovijedao, a koju je primio od svojih hrvatskih roditelja i hrvatske kulture.
Neka nam to bude izvor radosti dok sa jednom novom svježinom zajedno koračamo u vjeri u ovom običnom vremenu.
Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Homily of Cardinal Blase Cupich
Mass for the Croatian Community at St. Michaelskirche, Munich
July 7, 2019
Readings: Isaiah 66:10-14c; Galatians 6:14-18; Luke 10:1-12, 17-20
I want to first of all thank Fr. Boris Čarić and the Franciscan community here at St. Michael’s Church for their kind invitation to celebrate the Holy Mass today with the Croatian community. Whenever I have a chance to meet people from Croatia, a country that I also claim as a citizen, I gladly take the opportunity.
My four grandparents immigrated to the United States around the time of the First World War coming from the villages of Andrejevci in Slavonia, Greda and Gordje Ladanje near Varaždin and Žakanje near Karlovac. Perhaps there are people from those areas present here today. Regardless, it is good to be with all of you as I know so very well that my Catholic faith was nourished in a Croatian home and culture.
We recently completed the feasts of Easter, and now have begun what the church calls “ordinary time.” Today, Jesus speaks to us, his disciples, telling us that he has sent us into this world to take up a journey together. He is inviting us to witness to his presence in the world in the ordinary events of our lives, for that is what will bring us joy and consolation.
We need joy and consolation because the challenges of life too often make us think that our lives are so limited, incomplete. In fact, because of great hardships and failure sometimes we begin to believe that our lives are finished, that we have hit a dead-end and that there is no hope that things will be better.
When my father was 48 years old he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and could no longer work. This created a real crisis in our home, where there were nine children. My father thought his life was over. But, his faith helped him to see that God was opening a new life for him. After some therapy he began to do volunteer work with the St. Vincent de Paul Society in our parish. He visited the sick in hospitals and the poor in their homes.
He noticed that many people did not have good nourishment. He went to the local authorities and advocated that they cooperate with a national program to help the undernourished called Meals on Wheels, which delivered food to people in their homes. The elected officials refused, claiming that people should take care of themselves.
So my father ran for public office and won by just a few votes. He served three terms and became the chair of the local government and to this very day, Meals on Wheels provides food to the poor in city. His service gave him new life to the point that he lived 32 more years after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and died at the age of 80.
There are so many people like my father, who suffer challenges and may become discouraged, but instead they respond in faith, knowing their life is a journey and that even in moments of setbacks they can still take steps forward. Like my father, they believe that their lives are not over because God has send them into the world to witness to Christ through the ordinary events of their lives with all their limitations.
My father always considered what he did to be very ordinary and not extraordinary, but he also knew God was not finished with him when he was diagnosed with this illness and in fact he received a new life that he never expected. He was also consoled that he could help others in their journey of life.
This is the faith Jesus calls us to have as we go about the ordinary details of our lives. It is a faith that prompts us to leave behind self-pity, disappointment and discouragement and accept the gifts of consolation and joy that come in walking together, sharing a commitment that no one will be left behind, marginalized or forgotten.
I am consoled that God has brought us together because I know that I stand today before people who witness each day in the ordinary things of life to the same faith my father had and which he learned from his Croatian parents and Croatian culture.
Let that be our source of joy as together we take up with fresh energy the journey of faith in this ordinary time.
