Sign of Peace during Blessed Daswa feast day Mass

 

Homily Blessed Daswa Pilgrimage 2024 by Archbishop Dabula Mpako

 As we celebrate this feast of Blessed Benedict Daswa, we are still at the beginning of a new year. For many people, the beginning of a new year is a time to make resolutions about how they intend to live their lives in the coming year. When followed through, this is a good practice for it contributes to conscious and purposeful living, something that is required for a meaningful human and Christian life.

Now as we position ourselves spiritually to enter fully into this new year, we have today put before us the shining example of Blessed Benedict Daswa, to inspire us and to influence our Christian living in our daily lives.

His story is well known: He was a person of deep faith and a committed Christian. He took a particular interest in sharing this faith with others, especially the younger members of his community, as a Catechist. A committed schoolteacher and a community builder with a keen interest in promoting the common good of all and who, as a result, enjoyed respect in his community. A generous man who gave freely to the poor. Above all, he was known for his absolute honesty, truthfulness, and integrity. Even in dying, Blessed Benedict Daswa continued to give a wonderful testimony of faith in God. He did not hold the sins of those who killed him against them. The prayer said to have been on his lips as he was being killed was of abandoning his life to God: ‘Father, into your hands I commend my life…’

The readings chosen for this feast raise up three very important things about Christian living, things which Blessed Benedict Daswa exemplified beautifully in his life.

The first reading from the book of Wisdom reminds us that an important aspect of our calling as Christians is to be PROPHETS, prophets of God in the world. This is a responsibility that is not easy to embrace because it is unsettling. We hear in the reading how people are plotting against the righteous person whom, because of his righteous behaviour, they experience as a reproach to their sinful ways. “Let us test him with insult and torture,” they say, “so that we may find out how gentle he is and make trial of his forbearance. Let us condemn him to a shameful death, for, according to what he says, he will be protected.”

But what does it mean to be a prophet? We ordinarily associate prophecy with the prediction or foretelling of things to come. But, in the Bible prophecy is most fundamentally about the present, about pointing out where God is in the present and what God is calling us to be and to do in the present. Prophecy is about the demands of God in the present.

For this reason, prophecy often takes the form of critiquing the status quo or the present situation which often falls short of what God desires. Hence to be a prophet often translates into being a critical voice and a critical presence. And we are reminded that faithfulness to the calling to be a prophet is something that inevitably goes with suffering: the suffering of being rejected, labelled, misrepresented, persecuted and, at times, killed. Blessed Benedict Daswa was a prophet. He faithfully stood for what his faith proclaimed and would not give in to any other beliefs that were opposed to what he believed as a Catholic Christian.

The second reading from the letter of St Paul to the Ephesians remind us of the spiritual qualities required for us to faithfully carry out our calling to be prophets of God in the world. We see these qualities displayed in a shining way in the life example of Blessed Benedict Daswa.

•A deep and strong faith: “Above all take the shield of faith, with which you can quench all the flaming darts of the Evil One.”

•Truthfulness and integrity: “Stand therefore, having fastened the belt of truth around your waist, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness.”

•Faithfulness to the Word of God: “Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

•Being an instrument of peace: “Shod your feet with the equipment of the gospel of peace.”

The Gospel chosen for this celebration provides the most fundamental spiritual quality required in us if we are to faithfully carry out the calling of being prophets of God in the world. We must be ready to die to our little selves and to allow God, and God’s plans and purposes, to take the central place in our lives. We must be ready to empty ourselves as Jesus did. Like the grain of wheat which must fall into the earth and die in order to bear much fruit, we must give up the desire to put ourselves at the centre and instead put God at the centre and fully surrender to God and to God’s will. It is thus that our lives become fruitful. We contribute to the establishment of the New Reign of God in the world. This is what Blessed Benedict Daswa did to the point of offering his life in witnessing to the New Reign of God.

Through this message, God is speaking to each one of us this morning as we contemplate the shining example of Blessed Benedict Daswa. We are taught about the spiritual qualities that should inform and shape the way we live our daily lives as Christian believers. And so, this celebration of the feast of Blessed Benedict Daswa ought not to be just about admiring and honouring him. Rather, the most meaningful way to honour him is to imitate him and to take him as a model for our faith living. And so,

•When tempted (in the course of this year) to give in to the desire for people’s approval and to compromise what we know to be true and right, and compromise ourselves in the process, may we remember Benedict Daswa and imitate his honesty, truthfulness, and integrity.

•When our faith in God grows weak and we become lukewarm in our faith living and lose interest in participating in the life of our church communities, may we remember Benedict Daswa and be inspired by his strong and unwavering faith and commitment.

•When we are tempted to act in selfish ways that do not promote the common good of all, be it in our places of work, or where we live, or even where we worship, let us remember Benedict Daswa and be inspired by his unselfishness and generosity and by his commitment to always promote the good of the community.

•When we are tempted to take revenge on those who have wronged us in one way or another, or when we find our hearts hardening up, refusing to forgive, and, instead, holding on to anger and bitterness, may we please remember Blessed Benedict Daswa who did not hold the sins of those who killed him against them, but instead offered everything to God.

Therefore, this pilgrimage must be for us not only a time to celebrate Blessed Benedict Daswa and to pray to God through his intercession. Rather, it should be for us a time of reflection and renewal in our own personal lives. It must be a time for us to examine ourselves and see where we stand at the present moment regarding our calling to be prophets of God in the world in which we live.

Therefore, may our participation in this pilgrimage mark an important deepening in our worship and service of God. May it bring us to a point in our lives where we worship God in spirit and in truth by being fully open to carry out His will for us and for the world, as Blessed Benedict Daswa did.

May Blessed Benedict Daswa continue to be a shining star which guides us on our way so that we may ever grow in becoming true and faithful disciples of Jesus Christ, who upon coming into the world said, “Here am I, Lord, I come to do your will.”

Blessed Benedict Daswa, pray for us!

Blessed Benedict Daswa, pray for us!

Blessed Benedict Daswa, pray for us!

Amen.

The Good News of Salvation announced by the Angels of God

 The beginning of the new year is a joyful period which focuses on the birth of the Lord Jesus and on his early life. The main message is that Jesus, the Son of God, was born of the Virgin Mary so that humanity could be saved from sin so that the plan of God for humanity to enjoy eternal life forever at the end of time could be fulfilled.

But who were the first messengers of this Good News? They were not human messengers but angels of God, spiritual beings, created by God. They were given the task to be messengers of this Good News to humanity.

Let us look at the passage from Luke 1, 30 -32 which states that the messenger is Gabriel (Luke 1,26) the angel sent by God to Nazareth where Mary lived:

Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.

When Blessed Mary heard the message from the angel of God, she responded in humble faith and she conceived Jesus, the Son of God in her virgin womb.

At that time, Joseph, who was engaged to the Blessed Virgin Mary, decided to separate from Mary when he realised that Mary was with child. Now let us look at the passage from Matthew 1, 20-21

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” 

It was not a human person that told Joseph about the identity of the Child but an angel of God and thus with humble faith he changed his mind and took Mary home as his wife.

After the Blessed Virgin Mary had given birth to the Lord Jesus in Bethlehem, it was an angel that appeared to the shepherds and announced to them the birth of the Lord. We read about this in Luke 2, 9-11:

An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.

These angels, spiritual messengers of God, are not limited by space and time like us human beings. There are no material barriers which can prevent angels from doing what they are sent to do in this world. God makes sure that the Good News of Jesus Christ is announced to the world and no human power can prevent the angels from fulfilling this task.

After the crucifixion and burial when the Lord Jesus rose from the dead, we read in Luke 24, 2 - 5

 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, ³ but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴ While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. ⁵ In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?

Again it was the angels who announced that Jesus is risen from the dead. God did not depend on human messengers to make the first announcement of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

 

This reflection is important for us who struggle in our Christian faith because of the many human voices that are continually sending out messages which stifle the Good News and often undermine Christ’s saving powerful love. This is particularly true today in this age of deliberate misleading social media influencers and the technological manipulation of artificial intelligence in creating fake news. And in addition to this worldly confusion, there is the problem of the silence of many good people who feel powerless. So many good people feel overwhelmed by the direction that the world is taking in removing Christian faith from public discourse and even by punishing and marginalising people who follow the moral teachings of the Lord Jesus in their work- places. 

But we must take courage and not allow the worldly powers to undermine what we know to be true and eternal in the revelation of Jesus Christ. We must not allow the noise of the worldly and the silence of the good people to rob us of the greatest message and blessing made known to humanity, made known to us through the angels of God.

During this new year of 2024, let us listen anew to the message of salvation being announced to us from God through the angels, the heavenly hosts, which no worldly or human power can hide or silence. God makes sure that the Good News of Jesus Christ is announced to the world and no human power can prevent this message from reaching us. This encourages us never to give up on our faith and witness of life in the Spirit of Christ. It is a divine message which we have received and no worldly power, no matter how great, can silence it.

Let us listen to the song of the angelic hosts and the response of the shepherds in Luke 2,14-15:

“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests.”  

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

 

May the Lord confirm this divine message in your life, wipe away your sins and bless you with the peace of the Lord Jesus who is risen from the dead, now and forever.

Bishop Joao Rodrigues