PREACH  THE  GOSPEL  

BRAND  NEW!

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “Preach the Gospel  Brand New!”

That’s something that St. Clement Hofbauer - whose feast we celebrate today - said. Preach - Make - the gospel as new.

TWO GREAT FOUNDERS

The Redemptorists had two great founders - one on each side of the Alps.

For the sake of transparency we are Redemptorists here at St. Mary’s

The two men never met  - but they could have.  Alphonsus’ dates are 1696-1787 and Clement’s dates are 1751 - 1820.  Clement became a Redemptorist in Rome in 1784. At the time Alphonsus was an old man in a wheelchair down in Pagani in the Kingdom of Naples.

Clement then went over the Alps - to Warsaw and then Vienna - from which we Redemptorists here in Annapolis came from.

WHAT THEY HAVE IN COMMON: MAKING THE GOSPEL VISIBLE

The title of my homily is, “Preach the Gospel Brand New.”

Both men tried to make the gospel visible…. Brand new - freshly baked bread.

I can say that because that’s how they saw Christ. That’s how they saw God - that God became visible in Jesus Christ - beginning as a baby - then a teenager - then a young man - who walked our streets and talked our words - and tried to make them flesh.

Both Alphonsus and Clement preached in images and stories and words that people got.

Both realized that the people of Europe were hungry for God.

What greater reality for hunger is bread - the desire for fresh bread….

Give us this day our daily bread.

It’s funny Alphonsus came from the mid upper class and Clement came from the lower classes. Upper crust and bottom crust.

Alphonsus ended up working big time for the poor - in the hills - the goatherders who were migrants - as well as small town and village people whom nobody in the church was rushing to minister to. Clement worked with the poor - the orphans - but somehow connected big time with the intellectuals.

Clement was a baker - who served the Eucharist to Warsaw and Vienna and rounded up men to be Redemptorists to feed Europe in Vienna and Warsaw and other places with Christ the Bread of Life - and also real bread. Alphonsus was big - big on stressing the presence of Christ in the Bread - the Eucharist.

Both showed Christ on the cross and in Mary. Christmas and Good Friday were big time Christ Presence Moments.

CONCLUSION

Today - we Redemptorists hopefully carry on that tradition - preaching and making the gospel brand new - freshly baked bread.

Just take last night.

I’m standing there in the vestibule here at St. Mary’s - and I’m watching our St. Vincent de Paul workers - our parishioners serving the poor - with money and food - gifts from the great generosity of this parish.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And just outside the corridor door I see people coming in and out - making their holy hour in our Eucharistic chapel. Amen.