MERCI BEAUCOUP
INTRODUCTION
The title of my homily for this Opening Mass for this
2015-16 St. Mary’s High School year is, “Merci Beaucoup”.
That’s French for “Many thanks.”
If you’re in Paris or in a French restaurant say, “Merci beaucoup”
to the waiter if it’s a great meal - and he or she will say, “Merci beaucoup!”
if you leave a good tip.
When we were growing up my brother Billy was studying
French in high school and he loved to yell French phrases at me. When I’d come
into our bedroom he loved to say, “Ferme la porte.” Translation: “Shut the
door.” As a result of that I understood
the French command, “Ferme la bouche”. Translation: “Shut your mouth.”
To this day I still remember that shut the door command
when I walk into rooms - especially when it’s expected of me to close the door.
If this sermon works, I would hope some of you will find
yourself this week, next week, and for the rest of your lives opening your
mouth and saying to others when you feel grateful, “Merci beaucoup.”
THE MEANING OF
MERCY
The French word, “merci” means thanks.
It also means, “Mercy!”
The English word, “mercy” means pardon, help me, show
some compassion, bear with me, be kind to me, give me a break, please understand my situation, be lenient, be tolerant….
However, its background is much wider and deeper and has
many more meanings.
The Latin word, “Mercedes” means wages, rewards, pay me,
ransom me, ….
It goes back to coming up for a word for “paying for
someone” - “rescuing another”. In a
restaurant, the meal is over, who’s taking the check? Someone takes the bill
and pays for all - and all say, “Merci!”
In our parish and in our high school and grammar school,
the theme for this year is, “Be Witnesses of Mercy.” This year’s theme comes
from the writings and thought of Pope Francis.
Show mercy. That we be merciful
towards those we need to forgive. That we be merciful to those who are stuck.
That we give the coins of our pocket or some cash out of our wallet to those
who are begging on our streets.
And hopeful the other says, “Merci beaucoup” or “Thanks”
or “Gracias.”
Another word for what we doing this morning is,
“Eucharist” - which means thanks to God.
As I said the other night at the high school Athletes’
Mass, “We see athletes on TV after a great play - raising their index finger
and pointing to God. Give God the glory.”
Well a Mass, this Mass, is our way of pointing to God and
giving God the glory.
It’s a way of saying to God, “Merci beaucoup.”
THEME FOR THIS
YEAR
You can see signs on our lawn - outside of school -
outside our churches - that the theme for this year is to be a witness of God’s
mercy.
That means this year we forgive each other. That means
this year we are grateful for each other. That means this year we show mercy to
others.
So this year say, “Merci beaucoup” to our maintenance
people, to people who wait on us, to people who hand us a movie ticket, to
those who referee our games, to those who teach us, to our parents.
This year is a year to witness the gifts of God
surrounding us.
Here we are in this green setting. Here we are by the
water. Here we are together on a beautiful September morning.
Let’s give God a shout out: “Merci beaucoup.”
PICTURE OF A
KID
As you know there is a major crisis going on right now in
Europe and the Middle East. People are escaping Syria and all kinds of other
places - besides all the people from Latin America who are trying to get into
our country.
On the evening news last night and in our papers today
there is this picture [show picture] of this 2 year old boy, being picked up by
a Turkish soldier on a beach. His father and his mother and his brother and he
had gotten into a smuggler’s small fiberglass boat that held about 12 people.
They wanted to to try to get to the island of Kos in Greece and then make their
way to Vancouver in Canada or Sweden.
The small raft overturned and the small boy Aylan Kurdi and his brother,
Galip, and their mother, Rehen, drowned. Only their father, Abdullah Kurdi lived
- but he is in despair.
Hopefully this picture and the scenes of thousands and
thousands and millions of people on the move around the globe will turn the
hearts of people to show mercy to these families and folks trying to find a new
life.
Obviously that’s what mercy means.
We’re told in today’s gospel to turn the other cheek, to
go the extra mile, to give the shirt off our back.
The call of God is that we be people of mercy - not just
to opening and closing doors for others - but to open and not close our eyes
and our wallets and our countries and our hearts to others.
And others in turn will not only say, “Merci beaucoup”
but they too will open up their lives to others and on and on and on.
CONCLUSION
This year let’s show mercy and compassion to each other.
This year, let’s show gratitude to each other.
This year, let’s do things that will get others to say, “Merci Beaucoup.”
