Sixth Sunday of Easter

Mass Celebrated by Archbishop Denis Hart
at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, Melbourne,
on Sunday, 1st May, 2005, at 11.00 am

Introduction

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

A very warm welcome to you on this Sunday when we acknowledge in Easter joy that Jesus is our Way, our Truth and our Life.

Many of those baptised or received into the Church at Easter have come from the parishes to be with us as a sign that our Church is one, holy, catholic and apostolic.

Recently we have elected a new Pope, the pinnacle of our unity in Christ and the head of the College of Bishops who are successors of the apostles.

In unity of faith with him as he begins his ministry, let us call to mind our sins and ask whether Jesus is our Way, our Truth, our Life and how we might allow him to guide us? Perhaps make a pact with him that Jesus will be in my mind, my words and deeds and my heart in believing.

Homily

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

When I went to Toronto with our young people I came to visit Niagara Falls and I remember the story of two friends who went from Lake Eyrie to the Falls and were filled with awe and admiration at the size and power of the Niagara River. They were impressed with the rapids just above the Falls and stopped to take in the view and they could see the massive cloud of mist that always seemed to hang overhead, as it did when I went out on the boat. One of the friends said, ‘Surely, this is the greatest power in the world!’ The other friend said, ‘No, not so. The greatest unused power is the power of the Holy Spirit.’

Today as we welcome those who have just received Baptism, we have a great impression of the power of the Holy Spirit to transform human lives. Particularly this week we see the new Pope preparing to begin his ministry after that remarkable outpouring of the Holy Spirit when the Cardinals gathered together and deliberated to elect a new Pope.

Whether we are new in coming to Baptism or whether we are renewed again by the celebration of Easter and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the election of a new Pope, we come with Thomas whom Jesus reassures, ‘You know the way to the place where I am going’. Then Thomas expressing doubt says, ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going, so how can we know the way?’ In words that we can understand because we have reached out to his person we hear Jesus say to us, ‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one can come to the Father, except through me.’

At Christmas we learned just how near God really is because we learned something of the person of Jesus. It is the same Jesus who comes to touch us, to speak to us, to challenge and encourage us through the teaching and words of our Holy Father. The Pope is the focus of unity of the Church. He presides over the College of Bishops, successors of the apostles, to whom Jesus said the words, ‘I am with you all days, even to the end of the world. Go and teach all nations.’

That mission has been fulfilled for two thousand years and now it is taken up by our Pope, reminding us that his link to Jesus Christ is one of him humbly giving himself to the power of Jesus who is the Way, the Truth and the Life in one holy, catholic and apostolic Church.

For him, for our neophytes, and for each of us, let us remember Jesus’ reassurance, ‘I am the Way’: If we walk in Jesus, then we need have no fear. He is the Good Shepherd. ‘I am the Truth’: The truths of Catholic faith propounded by the Popes, given by Jesus Christ, are adequate to our intellectual needs. ‘I am the Life’: Because Jesus loves the Father and through him we love the Father, he shows us how to live.

Whether we are thanking God for baptism, for the new Pope or for the new hope that Jesus gives us, let us take the last words of the Gospel warmly and confidently, “Whoever believes in me will perform the same works as I do myself. He will perform even greater works because I am going to the Father.” Jesus does not leave us alone. His assurance in baptism is that his presence will be constant and the light of his Holy Spirit is unfailing.

The power of Niagara Falls is largely untapped. However, the Church has to harness all its resources, to lay these at the feet of all in need. Jesus has promised us that whether people suffer in mind or body, whether they are doubt or certitude, whether they have never heard the name of Jesus, still there is given to his Church the power to proclaim that God became human, while remaining divine, lived as the greatest teacher ever, died to save us and rose again, to show that even in our twentieth century the hope that comes from God will never fail.

That is the promise of the Holy Spirit. To guide the Church in the days of our new Pope. To guide individuals in living in faith and prayer. To challenge us to focus all our energy on Jesus Christ, our Way, our Truth and our Life.

+ Denis J. Hart,
Archbishop of Melbourne.