Presence of the Absent

Every year, Fr. Giovanni Giampietro, PIME, visits our parish to promote his production. Today, he came again to promote his latest brainchild --- "The Ricci Road" DVD. Last year, he led a team of 30 young people and spent 11 days to re-trace the trek of Fr. Matteo Ricci, SJ, from Macau to Beijing. This time, it was our privilege to have him celebrated the 9:30 a.m. mass with us too. He was still witty and charismatic despite signs of aging. Today, we celebrated the Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord. I could see that he enjoyed the enthusiasm of the Tuen Muen parishioners very much. Twice in the course of the liturgy, he praised the congregation of their participation and the performance of the altar boys and choir (Fr. Giampietro was one of the early advocates of the Vatican II liturgical reforms in Hong Kong). Unfortunately, he had left the readers out in his praises!

Fr. Giampietro's homily has always been impressive. He picks up a key concept from the readings and elaborates around it. At the end of his sermon, I am sure all of us will be able to remember the teachings of Jesus very clearly. This morning, he began with a pun --- "the absence of the present" and "the presence of the absent". This line sums up perfectly the theme of the ascension narrative recorded in the gospel today.
Many people are present physically. Their bodies are here but not their souls. They daydream and pay no attention to their surroundings. Probably the speaker is too boring. Of course, this does not apply to Fr. Giampietro today. Some people are absent. They are not physically here but everybody cares and thinks of them. Fr. Giampietro quoted the case of the family dinner gathering. Of course, we all knew that he was referring to the presence of Christ here and now even though he was not physically present among us. (Theologically speaking, Jesus is the Word of God. He is already present from the beginning of the Mass, and not just after the consecration of the Eucharist.)
and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age (Matthew 28:20b).
Jesus made this promise which forms the last verse of the gospel of Matthew. Yet, this is not the key concept today.

The key concept which Fr. Giampietro wanted to inculcate in us is that of the power and authority which Jesus gave us. Whenever possible, he repeated this in his sermon.
In the first reading, Jesus told the disciples to remain in Jerusalem to wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit who would give them power to bear witness for him.
But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth (Acts 1:8). In the second reading, St. Paul reassures the Ephesians of God's great power in us who believe.
and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power in us who believe (Ephesians 1:19a).
In the Gospel reading, Jesus commissioned the disciples to preach the Good News, to baptize and to teach his commands. Of course, to empower them to discharge their duties, Jesus gave them the appropriate authority.
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you (Matthew 28:19-20a).

Fr. Giampietro is a persuasive speaker. He is able to make up typical situations to illustrate his point. Catholics are known to be timid in evangelization. They do not know much about what they are believing. They do not know much about the Bible. When they go to Sunday masses, they think that they are already very good. If they recite the Rosary everyday, they deem themselves even holy. So, Fr. Giampietro made a caricature of them. "When somebody approaches a Catholic and asks him about his faith, the Catholic would 'humbly' admit his ignorance. He would say, "Ask the priest. Ask the catechumen instructor or the pastoral nun. They are professional. I would say the Rosary for you." No! This is not how you should make use of the power and authority Christ gave you in your Baptism and is empowering you again at this moment!
Fr. Giampietro is a liturgy expert. At appropriate moments in the course of the liturgy, he would chip in with a few sentences about how Jesus empowers us in the liturgy. His homily literally spans across the whole Mass! He is such an adorable old chap! God, I thank and praise you for this Italian missionary.

Dear Lord, may Your Spirit continue to empower us to bear witness for You in this fast changing world. Amen.

Acknowledgment: The picture of Fr. Giampietro was retrieved from 齊家運動 , 2011年齊家日