Deacon Phúc's Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Lent (Year A - 3/19/2023)

Good morning. The theme of Fr. Charlie’s homily series this Lent is the Catholic Church’s teachings on the corporal works of mercy. The corporal works of mercy are important to the mission of the Church because we must show people Jesus who loves them if we hope to talk to them about Jesus who loves them. This week, we focus on visiting the sick. I believe that there is not a more humbling way to show others Jesus who loves them than to visit and accompany those who are sick and homebound.

Back in high school, my mom worked at a nursing home close to our house. On Saturday mornings, I volunteered at the same nursing home. I had the fun job of helping the residents play BINGO. Some Saturdays, I got to pass out the prizes or pull the BINGO balls or call out the letter-number combinations. Most of the time, though, I helped the residents put coins on their BINGO cards and read out the winning letter-number combinations when one of them yelled out excitedly: “BINGO!” Over the years, my mom got to know some of the residents at the nursing home and she introduced me to them. On several occasions, I visited with them after the BINGO games. Unfortunately, I also witnessed a lot of loneliness among many of the residents who did not have any visitors - neither family members nor friends. I oftentimes saw them curled up under their blankets or lying in bed and staring blankly at the T.V. screen. It was as though they had lost that spark in their eyes and merely existed while wasting away all alone. It was witnessing those moments that I vowed to myself that I would never put my parents in a nursing home nor abandon them to the dark abyss of loneliness in their old age.

Now, let me tell you about Lillian Butler, a long-time friend of my wife’s family. I first met Lillian the summer of 2003 when Theresa and I visited Little Rock, AR for a week and she graciously invited us to stay at her house. She was in her late 70’s then and lived by herself after her husband, George, passed away. During our visit, Lillian was “southern hospitality” personified. I kid you not. Every morning, she got up early and cooked us a huge country breakfast - with eggs, bacon, sausages, biscuits, grits, muffins, and coffee poured from one of those vintage coffee makers. Everything was so delicious! I think I put on 10 pounds that week! We had fun watching movies, playing card games, learning to loom knit, and talking about all sorts of things, including her Charley horses and how they kept her up at night. We went to Mass on Sunday. We even convinced Lillian to go with us to visit the state capital with us, but she declined our invitation to go with us to Hot Springs.

After that fun-filled week, we did not see Lillian again until almost 4 years later but this time, under very different circumstances. You see, she had cancer. When we visited her, she was still able to sit up in her bed and had bursts of energy to receive visitors. We chatted about all sorts of things, including my becoming a Catholic. We laughed, but we also shed tears because we all knew in our hearts that it was the last time we would see Lillian. During our time with her, I could not help but notice the overwhelming sense of peace about her. And while we could tell that she was in pain, she exuded so much joy in her suffering. With her gentle smile, she witnessed to us the hope that comes from faith in God through the love of his Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. A few weeks after our visit, Lillian went to be with George in heaven. I felt blessed for the chance to say good-bye to this “angel” who helped me feel the love of Christ in my heart before I knew of the love that Christ has for me.

Many years later, my time spent at the nursing home back in high school and the blessed opportunity to visit and accompany Lillian stirred in my heart the desire to minister to those who are sick and homebound. When I started Diaconal Formation, my wife and I decided to volunteer and spend time with the residents at The Conservatory, a senior living residence not too far from Saint Albert the Great. Before the pandemic, they even invited us to join them for lunch on many occasions. The fellowship was wonderful! They had so many wonderful stories to share and tremendous wisdom to impart on me. And, although I was there to minister to them, they helped me through five years of Diaconal Formation with their friendship and prayers. I will never forget how much their prayers strengthened me spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and physically when I accompanied and ministered to a friend whose husband was very ill and spent months in the ICU in San Antonio. After I was ordained a permanent deacon, my wife and I decided to continue with this ministry because we loved serving the residents at The Conservatory so much. 

My sisters and brothers in Christ, I am truly blessed for the opportunity to share the love of our Lord Jesus Christ with those who are sick and homebound through the Ministry of Care ministry, here at the parish. You can, too! I invite you to learn more about how you can visit with and accompany those who are sick and homebound in nursing homes and senior living residences. I encourage you to visit with Chaplain Debbie George and the Ministry of Care volunteers after Mass, or come talk to me after Mass. I would love to chat with you. We need you all, faithful Catholics who, for love of God and neighbor, desire to visit the sick and homebound in our parish community and take care of their needs as our Lord tells us to do for these least brothers and sisters of ours, we do for him (Matthew 25). Ask yourselves this question: “Will I answer my Lord’s call and help his church at Saint Albert the Great fill this need? To visit and accompany my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ who are sick and homebound so that they may know Christ’s love for them through my love and care for them?”

I know that some of you are thinking to yourself that you are not qualified or that you are not worthy to serve God’s people in such a special way. Well, the Prophet Samuel has this to say to you, in today's first reading: “Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance but the LORD looks into the heart.” Discern with your heart, not with your mind. In today’s Gospel, Jesus heals the blind man and the man can see again. More importantly, though, I think Jesus heals the blind man spiritually, emotionally, and mentally, because Christ shows the blind man that he is not alone in his affliction but that God is present and cares for him deeply. Christ invites each of us to join his ministry of healing and asks for our “Yes.” May the light of Christ guide and help us to trust that his Spirit will provide us with everything that we need. May we have the courage to give Jesus our “Yes,” and find that, by the grace of God, we do have what it takes to share the love of God with another, particularly with those who are sick and homebound.

I leave you all with this final thought. Today is Laetare Sunday, and we wear rose vestments to remind us that the season of preparation is coming to a close and the great feast of Easter is swiftly approaching. Pope Francis wrote in “The Joy of the Gospel”: “There are Christians whose lives seem like Lent without Easter. I realize of course that joy is not expressed the same way at all times in life, especially at moments of great difficulty. Joy adapts and changes, but it always endures, even as a flicker of light born of our personal certainty that, when everything is said and done, we are infinitely loved. I understand the grief of people who have to endure great suffering, yet slowly but surely we all have to let the joy of faith slowly revive as a quiet yet firm trust, even amid the greatest distress.” My sisters and brothers in Christ, we have a tremendous opportunity to help those who are sick and homebound in our parish community experience the joy of the coming Easter season and beyond, knowing that they matter and that we have not forgotten about them. Please visit the Ministry of Care table after Mass and be the person who shares Jesus’ love with them with your loving presence in their lives.