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“Dying, as a FranCisCan” COnCluDing euCHaristiC HOmily1 miCHael F. CusatO, O.F.m. Some of us, like myself, on this sacred but rough-and-tumble journey of life – often because of the driven pace of our lives – are harder than others on our feet. And those of us who have this difficulty know the comfort truly blessed that comes when someone pours soothing oil or cream, like a healing balm, over one’s feet: slowly, patiently kneading that oil into our dry and damaged skin, deep down into those tired and aching muscles. Athletes, even more so, know this when their trainers massage those healing oils deep into those parts of the body that have been pulled and strained in the fray. In ancient cultures, oil was prized and considered precious precisely because of its ability, when applied to the body, to restore vitality and strength to an individual. And, because of its restorative, revitalizing properties, that oil came to be considered a kind of conduit of divine power and energy and thus came to be used as the primary element in the ritual of the anointing of kings and queens. For it was the function – the duty – of the sovereign to provide his or her people the protection and strength and healing of the deity when in need. There is thus a connection between divine power, the medium of oil and a therapeutic healing action. It is for this that they had been anointed. Our Scripture readings this evening are those of Sunday; but there are elements within them that can underscore some of the themes explored during our weekend. In the Gospel, we heard the famous confession of Peter in response to Jesus’ query: “But you, who do you say 1 Liturgical readings for the 12th Sunday of the Year are Zech 12:10-11; 13:1, Gal 3:26-29, Luke 9:18-24. Michael cusato 106 that I am?” And Peter’s response was, of course: “You are the Christ of God!” That’s a great translation! In other words: you are God’s Christ; you are God’s Anointed! Unfortunately, we sometimes miss the power of that term – Christos – as if “Christ” was the last name on the mailbox of “Joseph and Mary Christ”... But the name or title Christos means more than simply “You are God’s Appointed!” To be the “Anointed of God” means that you are God’s “chrism”; you are God’s healing balm for all of us who are his people. Thus, it is a powerful description of Jesus’ role in the world, on behalf of God, and for you and me! And if Christ’s role is to be a healing presence among us, so, too, is it the same role for those of us who bear the name of “Christian”: we are to be, for each other, a “chrismatic” people: healing balm for one another, binding up the wounds inflicted by life during this sacred journey. And do we ever need this balm for our journey! Because, as we are told further on in the Gospel: the road for the Christian will almost always, in some way, lead to the cross. Historically, of course, the cross began as a symbol of those evil forces in the world that conspired to definitively silence Jesus, whose bold message of love and justice and mercy threatened those supportive of, entrenched in, injustice. But over time, this same cross also came to embrace any and all forces we human beings contend with on a daily basis: the negative forces in human life – sickness and sadness, sin, reversal and failure, betrayal and hypocrisy, death. These are the daily forces that threaten to sap our energies and vitality and wear us down. And that is why we need from each other healing balm, the oil of gladness, the restorative touch of love and affection and care. But: for Francis in particular, this cross – the cross of Jesus of Nazareth – was also the cross of Jesus the Christ: Jesus the Anointed One. It was the cross of the chrism of God: meant not only as a sign of wickedness and the destructive forces in human life but also – and especially – the symbol of healing for the human race. Salvation, yes, but not merely in the sense that one gains heaven. Rather the cross is the symbol of the possibility of transformed, healed human existence, made whole, transformed by grace – a grace made real and present...

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