11th Week in Ordinary Time 2025 - Tuesday - The Call to Christian Perfection

In today’s Gospel, Jesus gives us a command that may feel overwhelming: “Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” At first glance, it may seem impossible. How can we, limited and sinful as we are, ever hope to be perfect like God?

This command to be perfect comes at the climax of a chapter where Jesus has redefined righteousness—not as merely following rules, but as a transformation of the heart. He tells us not just to avoid murder, but to let go of anger. Not just to avoid adultery, but to purify our thoughts. Not just to love our neighbor, but to love even our enemies. These are the marks of Christian perfection: a heart conformed to the heart of God.

Perfection is not something we accomplish by our own efforts. It is a grace, a work that God accomplishes in us if we cooperate with Him. As St. Thomas Aquinas taught, the perfection of the Christian life consists chiefly in charity—in loving God with our whole heart and loving our neighbor with God’s own love.

So, the command to “be perfect as the heavenly Father is perfect” is a calling to the perfection of love, to grow into the fullness of charity that is a greater and greater share in the love of the Father Himself.

That means that Christian perfection does not happen overnight; it is a lifelong journey. It happens through prayer, the sacraments, self-denial, forgiveness, and service. It happens when we resist the urge to retaliate, when we speak the truth in love, when we are generous with our time and patient with the people who challenge us.

Again, we do not grow in perfection on our own; it requires effort to cooperate with the grace of God. Perfection is the result of grace and free will. You can’t have perfection without both.

To strive for Christian perfection is not to aim at being morally superior or scrupulously correct—it is to aim at becoming a living image of Christ, who reveals to us the perfect love of the Father.

So today, as we come to this altar, let us ask the Lord for the grace to grow in holiness. May our lives be built more and more on the foundation of Christ’s love, until we are made perfect—not by our efforts alone, but through our cooperation with His, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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With confidence in God’s mercy, let us offer our prayers to the Father, who calls us to perfection through His Son.

 That she may continue to proclaim the call to holiness and help all the faithful grow in love through the sacraments, prayer, and acts of charity.

For all leaders in the world: That they may govern with wisdom and justice.

For our parish: That we may cooperate daily with God’s grace, growing in holiness through prayer, self-denial, and acts of service.

For the poor, the sick, and those who suffer:  That they may be comforted by the love of Christ and supported by the generosity and compassion of His disciples.

For our beloved dead:  That, having sought to conform their hearts to Christ, they may now behold the perfection of God’s glory in heaven.

Heavenly Father, you call us to be holy as you are holy. Strengthen us to follow your Son with sincere hearts, cooperating with your grace, that we may one day be perfected in your love. Through Christ our Lord.

11th Week in Ordinary Time 2025 - Monday - Reform begins with yourself

 

For the rest of the month of June, our ordinary time weekday Mass Gospel passages will be taken from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount from chapters 5 through 7 of Matthew’s Gospel. 

From the very beginning of his Sermon, the Lord is clear that his disciples are to live differently from the rest of the world.

Today’s gospel includes a number of these counter-cultural teachings: “When someone slaps you on the right cheek, turn the other one to him as well.”  The world would say that when someone slaps you on the right cheek, slap them back, harder, get them back, teach them a lesson so they never think to slap you again.  Rather than responding with vengeance, Christians are to respond to violence as Christ did. During his Passion, as he was beaten and mocked by Roman Soldiers, he offered his sufferings to the Father for our salvation, he prayed from the cross that sinners be forgiven.

Instead of returning “evil for evil”, we are to return “good for evil”. This not only stops the cycle of violence, but allows God to reverse and transform it.  The Christian bearing an evil patiently instead of reacting mindlessly or calling for vengeance becomes a source of mercy in the world. 

St. Paul touches upon this in his letter to the Corinthians. Aware of their trials he tells them that they are to react to “afflictions, hardships, constraints, beatings, imprisonments, and riots” not by inflicting these evils on others, rather with “purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, unfeigned love, and truthful speech.”

Yesterday, Pope Leo addressed a group of young people gathered in Chicago to celebrate his pontificate. I recommend watching the entire message, which I posted on the parish facebook page, but a line of his message stands out in light of today’s Gospel, from the thought of St. Augustine. Pope Leo said, “Saint Augustine says to us that if we want the world to be a better place, we have to begin with ourselves. We have to begin with our own lives, our own hearts.”

Do you see the connection with today’s Gospel? If we simply respond to the evil in the world with more evil, then we are just part of the evil. Rather, we are to respond to evil as the Lord Jesus himself, with godliness, holiness, patient endurance, prayer. 

If we seek to see peace in the world, if we wish to see purity, kindness, and truth, we must cultivate these things in our hearts. May God help us, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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Mindful of the Lord’s call to live differently from the world and to overcome evil with good, let us offer our prayers to the Father who is rich in mercy.

For the Church throughout the world: That she may faithfully proclaim the radical call of the Gospel, urging all people to holiness, forgiveness, and peace.

For all civil leaders and those in authority: That they may seek peace and justice not through revenge or oppression, but through mercy, dialogue, and the common good.

For those who struggle with anger, resentment, or the desire for revenge: That God may soften their hearts and fill them with the peace that comes from Christ.

For young people: That they may be inspired by the Gospel and the witness of the saints to live lives of virtue, courage, and love.

For the sick, the suffering, poor and afflicted: That they may be comforted by the patience and mercy of Christ and supported by the Christian community.

For our beloved dead: That having endured the trials of this life, they may rejoice forever in the peace of heaven.

Father of mercy, you sent your Son not to condemn the world but to save it through love. Strengthen us to follow his way of peace and patience, that we may reflect your holiness in our daily lives. Through Christ our Lord.

The Most Holy Trinity 2025 - The Central Mystery that shapes our lives

 In seminary, we spent an entire semester considering the theological writings on the Holy Trinity. We studied the scriptural foundations of the Doctrine of the Trinity, and the writings of the early church fathers from the east and the west, the medieval theologians, especially the summa theologica of st. Thomas Aquinas, modern theologians like Karl Rahner, papal documents and saintly reflections.

About three quarters into the semester, I remember one of the permanent deacons taking the class raising his hand and asking, “when is any of this going to be applicable to parish life and preaching?” In other words, “how are the Trinitarian reflections of the Cappadocian Fathers like St. Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzan, or the intricate arguments of Thomas Aquinas, or the run-on sentences of Karl Rahner going to actually help us in parish ministry or even the Christian life?”

I can’t remember how the professor answered, but the deacon’s question has stuck with me all these years. Why is seeking to understand the Trinity important? How is this supposed to affect my life? And I think that’s the point. As God’s faithful ones we ought to see understanding of the subject of our Love—God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—and to allow that understanding to shape our life. 

Who. Is. God. The answer to that question will shape your life.

It even shapes the lives of Atheists. Atheists treat God as a man-made myth, a lie that believers tell themselves in order to give explanation to the unexplainable. And so they develop an ambivalence toward religion and often a hatred us. 

The question, “who is God” shapes the lives of those who believe in God, but don’t want anything to do with Him. They go from one unsatisfying pursuit of pleasure to the next, because they do not acknowledge that God can be found.

But Christians believe that God not only exists, not only can He be found, not only has He communicated with us and revealed himself to us, but we possess an understanding that God wants us to know him and love him and have our life shaped by our relationship with Him and the truths he has revealed.

Who God is and what God has done is meant to shape our lives. 

Today, on Trinity Sunday, we consider that God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, a communion of love. In creating the human family, God looked at his own inner life to find the design for humanity. God’s inner life is a loving, life-giving community: the Father and Son love one another, and from their love proceeds the Holy Spirit. If God is communion of love, than humans are made for love and communion and harmony and relationship and peace.

This truth is right there on the first page of the Bible, in chapter 1 of the Book of Genesis: God says, “Let us make man in our image”. A plurality of persons, a community of persons, sharing a nature, says let us make man to be like us. 

God is the source of life, God is love, God is a unity of holiness, and so that means we are made to seek life and love and unity through holiness. 

“Let us make man in our image” also points to the gift of will. God chose to make us—to give us life. And so too, we are able to make choices—to exercise free will, to pursue our highest good, or not. We can choose life or death—goodness or sin—love or selfishness—our highest good or depravity.

Now, the abuse of that free will has gotten us into trouble. Adam and Eve’s choice to separate themselves from the communion of love and obedience has caused ripple effects in every human life and mind and soul.

But even when we abuse our free will, in original sin or every other subsequent sin, God reaches out to reconcile because God desires communion with us. God so loved the world, that he sent the Son, to reconcile us to himself and to each other, and so that means we are to be people who like him, seek to heal wounds, and invite, and reconcile. 

So that students’ question: When will any of this matter?—the answer is: “always” in everything we do. Every sacrament we celebrate flows from who God is, what God desires for us, because he desires life and holiness and communion for us. Every teaching of the Church, every commandment is Scripture, every moment that we are given in this earthly life—all of it is shaped by who God is. 

When we know who God is, we come to know who we are, and how we are meant to live. As the Catechism puts it, “The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of Christian faith and life. It is the mystery of God in himself. It is therefore the source of all the other mysteries of faith, the light that enlightens them. It is the most fundamental and essential teaching in the 'hierarchy of the truths of faith'.  The whole history of salvation is identical with the history of the way and the means by which the one true God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, reveals himself to men 'and reconciles and unites with himself those who turn away from sin'.

God is Trinity, and we are meant to live Trinitarianly—always. We are to live Trinitarianly on earth, so that we may come to share in the Trinitarian life of God in heaven, in eternal glory. 

This is why we begin each prayer in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and end every prayer in the same way because it acknowledges that everything we are doing flows from Him, is to be guided by Him, is to be done in union with Him, and directed back toward Him. 

This is why the task of the Church is Evangelization because we recognize that all people are called to share in the divine life. God made us for life and sends us into the world to invite others to communion with Him.

And so, brothers and sisters, we don’t study the Trinity merely to pass a theology exam or fill a homily with lofty ideas. We contemplate the Trinity so we can live in communion with God in this life more fully, and become what we behold—a people of unity, holiness, and self-giving love.

May our homes mirror the unity of the Trinity. May our parish reflect the life of the Trinity. May our lives be filled with the love of the Holy Trinity To Him be glory and praise, now and forever, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

June 13 2025 - St. Anthony of Padua - Preaching to fish and seeking the lost

 In the early 1200s a group of Franciscans left Assisi to preach the Gospel to the Muslims in Morocco. The Franciscans led by St. Berard were bold in their preaching, but their efforts were resisted. They were arrested, tortured, and beheaded.

Not long after, their relics were brought to Portugal, and there a young Augustinian friar named Anthony was deeply moved by the courage of those evangelizing Franciscan martyrs. He felt a profound calling to emulate their zeal and their way of life, and so he received permission to leave the Augustinians and join the Friars Minor. He immediately traveled to Morocco to continue that preaching mission of those martyrs, but fell ill and had to return to Italy.

And there he continued to became well known for his powerful preaching rooted in God’s word and sound Catholic theology. There is a famous story where St. Anthony traveled to Rimini in Northern Italy where there were a number of heretics. He started to preach, but they did not want to listen to him, and they even mocked him. In a dramatic gesture, Anthony went to the seashore, saying, “Because you show yourself unworthy of God’s word, behold, I turn to the fishes so that your unbelief may be shown up more clearly”. As he spoke of God’s care for those creatures that live in the waters, a shoal of fish swam near to the bank, partly thrusting themselves out of the water and appearing to listen carefully. At the end of his sermon, the Saint blessed them and they swam away. In the meantime, so deep was the impression made upon the onlookers that many hurried back to the city imploring their friends to come and see the miracle, while others burst into tears asking forgiveness. Soon after a great multitude gathered around the Saint, who exhorted them to turn back to God. So through St. Anthony’s sermon to the fishes, the city of Rimini was purged of heresy.

While he is lovingly and effectively invoked as the Patron of Lost objects, his main mission was to help find lost souls. We should invoke St. Anthony not just when we’ve lost our car keys, but to find the right words to speak to those who have left the faith and those who do not know Christ. 

May St. Anthony help us to go and seek out those who are lost, that they may find Christ. May St. Anthony’s zeal and courage fill us for the glory of God and the salvation of souls. 

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With trust in God's providence and inspired by the zeal and courage of St. Anthony of Padua, let us bring our prayers before the Lord:

For the Church throughout the world, that she may boldly proclaim the Gospel in season and out of season, drawing all people to Christ, 

For all preachers, catechists, and evangelists, that like St. Anthony, they may be rooted in God’s Word and fearless in proclaiming the truth with love and clarity, and that our parish, attentive to the needs of others, may courageously share the faith with those around us.

For those who have fallen away from the faith, that through the prayers and witness of the Church—and the intercession of St. Anthony—they may return to the sacraments and to Christ.

For the poor, the forgotten, and the spiritually lost, that we may seek them out with the love of Christ.

For the faithful departed, especially those who sought Christ in this life, that they may now rejoice in the presence of the Lord forever. 

Father of mercy, you raised up St. Anthony to preach your Word and seek the lost. Through his intercession, help us to live our faith boldly and bring others to the joy of your Kingdom. We ask this through Christ our Lord.

June 11 2025 - St. Barnabas, apostle - Holy Encouragement

 After Stephen, the first Christian martyr, was stoned to death, Christian believers faced intense persecution in Jerusalem. Many fled Jerusalem and sought refuge in other cities. One of those cities was Antioch, one of the largest cities in the first-century Roman world, accommodating a population in between 100,000 and 300,000. .The persecuted Christians from Jerusalem preached the Gospel among the Jews in Antioch and made many converts.

In our first reading, we heard how a man named Barnabas was sent by the apostles to Antioch to help organize the Church there. And when he arrived he rejoiced to find the faith alive and well. 

He encouraged the Christians there to remain faithful to the Lord and he was filled with the Holy Spirit and faith, and through him a large number of people were added to the Lord.  

Who was this man named Barnabas, and why was he sent? Barnabas was a levite Jew originally from Cyprus.  He had settled in Jerusalem and was one of the first to embrace Christianity there after the Lord’s Resurrection.  The book of Acts tells us that Barnabas sold his field and gave the money to the Apostles for the Church’s needs.  

He is numbered among the apostles, because he was sent to organize and oversee—a ministry continued by our present day bishops.

From Antioch, Barnabas and Paul embarked on a missionary journey, Paul’s first of three. Barnabas completed the missionary journey with Paul and was present at the Council of Jerusalem, but after around the year 49 we lose track of him.

Nevertheless, Barnabas allowed the grace of God to transform him into a great, holy, and effective laborer for the Gospel

The name Barnabas means “son of encouragement” . Many souls came to follow Jesus through Barnabas’ encouragement.  We are all called to be a Barnabas aren’t we?  Every one of us is called to encourage—to encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ io remain faithful to the Lord in times of doubt, to encourage the ignorant to learn their faith more deeply, to encourage the fallen away back to the Lord.

Encouragement changes lives—encouragement to go to confession, to become more active in a parish group or to attend daily mass, the encouragement to pray the rosary, or to consider a religious vocation, to trust in the Lord when their crosses become heavy. Do not be afraid to give encouragement. For through it we work for the glory of God and the salvation of souls. 

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As we honor St. Barnabas, let us present our prayers to the Father, asking for the grace to be faithful and encouraging disciples of Christ.

For the Church, especially her bishops and pastors: That, like St. Barnabas, they may be filled with the Holy Spirit and faith, joyfully strengthening the people of God and guiding them in truth.

For all who preach the Gospel, especially missionaries: That they may be courageous and effective in their proclamation of the Good News, bearing much fruit for the Kingdom.

For vocations to the priesthood and religious life: That many may be inspired by encouragement to follow the call of Christ wholeheartedly.

For the sick and the suffering, the poor and afflicted, and those who are discouraged, doubting, or spiritually weary: That they may be uplifted by the grace of God and by the support of loving Christian companions.

For the faithful departed, especially those who labored for the Gospel: That they may rejoice forever in the presence of the Lord.

Father, you raised up St. Barnabas to strengthen your Church and encourage the hearts of your people. Hear our prayers and help us, by your grace, to build up the Body of Christ in our time. Through Christ our Lord.

10th Week in Ordinary Time 2025 - Tuesday - Holy Saltiness

 

Well, after 40 days of Lent, and Holy Week, and the Paschal Triduum, and 50 days of easter, almost exactly 25% of the liturgical year, we’ve returned once again to Ordinary Time.

The green of Ordinary time reminds us of the growth for which we are to strive, the growth in holiness, and virtue, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Green is also the color associated with the theological virtue of hope. We hope that what we do in the ordinary course of the Christian life will lead to heaven.

Our Gospel readings during Ordinary Time focus mostly on the teachings and works of Jesus throughout the course of his public ministry, from after his baptism in the Jordan before he reaches Jerusalem.

Ordinary Time is like a slow pilgrimage, during which we are pondering each day, with each step, the truths of our Lord, and how to incorporate them into the concrete details of our life.

Today Jesus teaches that his followers are to be the salt of the earth. In the ancient world, salt had a number of uses. So, too, Christians have a number of jobs.

The first job for salt most of us think of is seasoning. Salt makes food tasty. So, too, Christians are to be a sort of seasoning to an otherwise bland world.  There is nothing more interesting, no one more full of life, than a Christian saint filled with the life of Christ—something each of us are to aspire to.

Salt is also a Preservative: In the days before refrigeration, salt made preserving food possible for times of famine. Christians have the job of preserving what is good and holy in creation, and fighting off spiritual decay.

Salt is also a Purifier: most water purification systems use salt as a "purifier." Christians are to be the world’s purifiers: opposing the corrupting powers of malice and perversion and greed, purifying the mind and heart of society by preaching the word and calling to conversion.

Salt is used to melt ice. Christians are called to melt the coldness of the icy hearts of the world, particularly through our charity. There is nothing more heartwarming than when we act in selfless Christian charity.

Finally, salt is used to prevent people from slipping on slippery paths.  Christians are called to help souls from slipping into damnation—again by preaching the Gospel, instructing the ignorant, and correcting the sinner.

During this Ordinary Time, consider how you are called in the concrete details of your life to add some holy saltiness—purification, sanctity, warmth, and stability—to the people and relationships around you for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

 

As we journey through Ordinary Time, trusting in the Lord’s grace at work in our daily lives, let us offer our prayers for the Church and for the world:

For the holy Church of God: That through her preaching, teaching, and sacramental life, she may bring the seasoning of joy, the warmth of charity, and the light of hope to a world grown cold with indifference.

For all who are called to positions of leadership and influence: That they may uphold what is true and just, and help preserve what is good in society.

For our parish community: That we may grow each day in holiness and virtue, becoming instruments of God’s grace in our families, our workplaces, and our neighborhoods.

For the sick, the poor, those who struggle with spiritual dryness or despair, and those in need: that God’s grace may bring healing to their wounds and warmth to their hearts.

For the faithful departed: That, having followed Christ in this life, they may now rejoice in the eternal banquet of heaven.

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord

Monday after Pentecost 2025 - Mary Mother of the Church

 This morning we read again that passage from the Acts of the Apostles read yesterday on the Great Solemnity of Pentecost, how the apostles gathered in the Upper Room with a number of women and other members of the brethren and with one accord devoted themselves to prayer, together Mary, the Mother of Jesus.

Tradition has found in this scene a sign of our Lady’s maternal role for the entire Church. Wishing to draw our attention to the importance of this relationship, Pope Francis, in 2018 instituted today’s memorial of Mary Mother of the Church to be celebrated the Monday after Pentecost.

A mother’s life is centered on her child right from the womb. She has the responsibility to watch over the gift God has given her. A newborn infant continues to have great need for her protection; and as the child grows up she helps him take his first steps in life. 

The Gospels show us some of the care our Lady lavished on Jesus. And in the Acts of the Apostles we see the same concern for the nascent Church, with Mary watching over the apostles and the first Christians. It was a time of “gestation,” amid persecutions and difficulties, when we especially needed her help. 

She was with the Church at the beginning, and following her Assumption, our Lady continues to be with the Church in every place and in every age until the Lord’s return. Mother Mary accompanies the pilgrim Church with a mother’s love and watches in kindness over the Church in our pilgrimage to our heavenly homeland.

Mother Mary assists us with her prayers, as she did the apostles, and she is the perfect model for us. Pope St. John Paul II, reflected on Our Lady’s Maternal Role in the Church in his Marian Encyclical Redemptoris Mater, writing, “in her new motherhood in the Spirit, Mary embraces each and every one in the Church, and embraces each and every one through the Church. In this sense Mary, Mother of the Church, is also the Church’s model.” 

Pope Francis taught “Our Lady wants to bring the great gift of Jesus to us, to us all; and with him she brings us his love, his peace, and his joy. In this, the Church is like Mary; she has to lead everyone to Christ and his Gospel.” This is the goal of the Church’s life and of that of each Christian: to bring the love of Jesus to all men and women. May Mother Mary always be with us with her aid in this great task for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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United in prayer with Mary, the Mother of the Church, let us offer our prayers to the Father with confidence:

For the holy Church of God throughout the world, that through Mary’s maternal intercession, she may grow in holiness, unity, and zeal for the mission of Christ.

For all mothers, especially those who are struggling or suffering, that they may be strengthened by the example and prayers of Mary, Mother of the Church.

For our parish community, that under Mary’s guidance and protection, we may become more devoted to prayer, more generous in charity, and more faithful in spreading the Gospel.

That the poor and afflicted may always know the prayers and heavenly aid of the Blessed Mother and concrete acts of charity of the Church.

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, and for all of the souls in purgatory that they may be welcomed into the eternal joy of heaven, especially…

Heavenly Father, you gave us the Blessed Virgin Mary to be our Mother in the order of grace. Through her loving intercession, strengthen your Church and guide us on our earthly pilgrimage until we reach our heavenly homeland. Through Christ our Lord.

Pentecost 2025 - 7 Gifts of the Spirit

 Last week, on the feast of the Ascension, in our scripture readings, we heard Jesus instructing his disciples to wait for the Holy Spirit, the promise of the Father. Well, the waiting is over, we celebrate now the promise fulfilled: the sending of the Holy Spirit upon the Church 50 days after the Lord’s resurrection 

The Holy Spirit, as we proclaim in our creed each week, is the Lord, the giver of life. Through the power of the Holy Spirit souls are brought to new life in the Sacrament of baptism; they are strengthened in confirmation, healed in the sacraments of reconciliation and anointing of the sick, nourished in the Sacrament of Holy Communion, and empowered with special graces for unique vocations in the sacraments of marriage and Holy Orders.

The Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life, helps us to truly live by bestowing upon us special gifts, you may have memorized the list of them as you prepared for your Confirmation. The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. The Catechism says, these gifts belong in their fullness to Jesus Christ. Meaning if you wanted to see what wisdom looks like, sounds like, and acts like, look at Jesus. If you want to know the highest form of counsel, piety, and fear of the Lord, look to Jesus. 

So let’s consider each of the gifts. How was Jesus’ life filled with wisdom? Well, what is wisdom? Wisdom seeks what is of the highest importance. To be wise is to recognize that our highest priority in this life  isn’t career or wealth, pleasure or power, but getting our souls to heaven and becoming the person God made us to be: saints.

Jesus taught us not only to be wise, teaching us to “seek first the kingdom of God”,  but his wisdom was evident. He embraced the greatest suffering imaginable the weight of our sins as he hung upon the Cross, in order to achieve the highest good, our salvation. We are fully alive when we, wisely, we embrace the cross with Christ in order to obtain our highest good.

The second gift is understanding. The gift of Understanding enables us to penetrate the mysteries of God and see the deeper meaning of God’s plan. Jesus’ understanding is manifest in his ministry. He explains the deeper meaning of the Scriptures, helping others understand God’s plan of salvation. 

With Understanding comes patience and gratitude. Think of how understanding has changed your experience of Mass. As a young person you may have been restless and impatient for mass to be over, but recognizing what is really going on here, understanding that the Eucharist is truly Jesus Christ, that changes things. That understanding enables us to more fully engage in the Mass and appreciate the great gift Jesus has left us, and to encourage others to join us here.

The third gift of the Spirit is Counsel . Counsel means knowing and choosing what is right in difficult situations. Jesus always chooses the Father’s will, even when he was tempted. In the desert, He rebuffs Satan’s temptations with clarity. We are fully alive when we follow not the counsel of the world or the devil, but the counsel of God. 

Like all the gifts, counsel is for ourselves, but also for others. For example, a friend confides in you that they are considering making a terrible decision, like abortion. The Gift of Counsel enables you to speak with compassion, truth, and hope—encouraging them to choose life and offering concrete support.

The fourth gift is fortitude. Fortitude is the courage and strength to  do good and endure difficulty for the sake of what is right. Jesus endured opposition, rejection, betrayal, scourging, and crucifixion without faltering in His mission. He exhibited courage in confronting hypocrisy and injustice, even when it meant risking His life. In His Passion, He reveals fortitude in its purest form—persevering in love to the end.

Fortitude enables us to work for justice despite opposition, to witness to the faith in the face of mockery or persecution, or to persevere doing what is right despite hardship—like taking care of an elderly parent despite their complaints. To be fully alive is to be full of Courage and Strength for doing what is right when it is hard.

The fifth gift of the Holy Spirit is knowledge – Knowing the things of God and how to remain in right relationship to God. Jesus helps people to know the presence of God in their midst. 

This gift helps us to know what is good or bad for our soul and to discern God’s will. Think of a young person discerning that her social media habits are fueling vanity and envy. So, she chooses to limit her use to protect her spiritual health. Or any of us for that matter, when facing temptation, calling to mind the teaching of Jesus and the teaching of the Church. We are fully alive when we have that ability to rightly discern between good and evil.

The sixth gift is piety--filial reverence and trust in God as a loving Father. Jesus refers to God as Abba, Father, and teaches His disciples to do the same. Jesus is faithful in prayer, obedient to the Father’s will, and models loving trust even amid suffering. His entire life is an offering of reverent love for the Father. We exercise piety when we cultivate heartful devotion for God and the things of God.

For example, a family gathering together once a week to pray the Rosary, not out of obligation but from a desire to honor and love God together. Or coming to church on Saturday to spend time in adoration, simply to spend time in the presence of the Lord manifests piety. We are fully alive when we desire God and what to live lives pleasing to God.

And lastly, fear of the Lord—we are fully alive when we allow the Spirit to teach us to hate sin and to become humble in God’s presence. Jesus, taught us to hate sin, to seek conversion and drive out corruption from our lives. In the Temple, He drives out the money changers, zealous for the holiness of God’s Temple. 

The Holy Spirit helps us to hate gossip and lying, not simply because they are socially rude, but because they offend God. He teaches us to guard ourselves from perverted images on the internet, lest you fall into sin, manifests fear of the Lord. This gift makes us fully alive by hating what is evil, rightly protecting ourselves from what corrupts us and others.

Dear ones, the Holy Spirit was not poured out on the Church merely so we could decorate our altars with red once a year. The Holy Spirit was poured out so that we might become fully alive—with the very life of Christ.

As I quoted last week, St. Irenaeus wrote, "The glory of God is man fully alive." But not just biologically alive. Not just scrolling and surviving and chasing the next comfort or pleasure. Fully alive means burning with the fire of the Spirit—filled with wisdom, courage, purity, purpose, and joy. Fully alive means no longer being ruled by fear, sin, or confusion, but walking in step with the Spirit, living in truth and love.

It should be a common occurrence for us to ask the Holy Spirit: Which gift do I need to grow in most? What part of me is still half-asleep, half-committed, half-alive? And then pray: Come, Holy Spirit. Awaken me. Fill me. Make me fully alive in Christ— for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

June 6 2025 - St. Norbert - Renouncing the world to gain life

“Renouncing your possessions, hating your father and mother, carrying your cross.” The Gospel today speaks of the need to put God first and putting the things of the world, even your ties with family second. To die to self, in order to live for Christ.

The saint we honor today, St. Norbert did just that.

Norbert was born into nobility. He was not the first born son, so, as was common in those days, in the high middle ages, the second son entered the church. Now again, he was of the high nobility, so he was basically guaranteed a high position in the Church. 

As a young cleric he was named personal chaplain to the Holy Roman Emperor Henry V. Though he was put in charge of dispensing alms to the poor, Norbert began to take on a lot of bad habits of the wealthy elite of the emperor’s court. As he grew in worldliness, his faith began to diminish.

A close brush with death, however, caused Norbert to reexamine his priorities. He decided to give up his position in the imperial court and dedicate his life to the contemplation of Christ.  

He was ordained a priest later that year. He renounced all of his worldly possessions and formed a religious order of like-minded men now known as the Norbertines.

He put wealth and a position of influence and luxury and the expectations of family and worldly comfort behind him, and finally began to live. Norbert and saints like francis and clare and so many others saints remind us of the need to put Christ first. 

We might not be called like Norbert, Francis, and Clare to take religious vows of poverty, but every Christian is to live in the world without allowing wealth and possessions to distract us from our Christian mission. Once in a while, when given an opportunity for luxury, we should turn it down. We must keep that tendency of ours of running away from difficulty and suffering in check, lest we miss an opportunity to bring about some good for the sake of the kingdom.

Even as a cleric, Norbert’s faith began to diminish, because he allowed the world to fill his heart. And in God’s mysterious way, a brush with death, he woke up, thanks be to God, and sought renewal of purpose. 

May each of us constantly seek that renewal of intention and purpose in service of the Lord, in which is found fulfilment, joy, and eternal life for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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Inspired by the saints  who renounced the world to follow Christ with greater fervor, let us offer our prayers with hearts open to the will of God.

For the Church, that she may remain faithful to her mission of proclaiming the Gospel with courage, even when it requires sacrifice and detachment.

For bishops, priests, and all in consecrated life, that like St. Norbert, they may be renewed in zeal and holiness, placing Christ above all worldly gain

For those who have grown lukewarm in faith, that through moments of grace or trial, they may rediscover their purpose in Christ and return to Him with a renewed heart.

For young people discerning their vocation, that they may be open to the call of Christ, willing to renounce worldly ambition for the sake of the Kingdom.

For the success of our parish retreat tomorrow, that it may new our parish in putting our gifts in service of the Church’s mission.

That the sick, suffering, poor and afflicted may know that constant help of God’s grace.

For the faithful departed, especially those who sought the Lord with sincerity and humility, that they may now rejoice in His eternal presence, we pray to the Lord.

Heavenly Father, you raised up St. Norbert to be a witness to the power of conversion and the joy of discipleship. Through his intercession, may we too be strengthened to carry our cross and follow Christ more faithfully, for the glory of your Name. Through Christ our Lord.

7th Week of Ordinary Time 2025 - Wednesday - Unity

 

The final section of John’s Gospel right before the beginning of the Passion of the Lord is a prayer that Jesus offers to the Father.  Scholars call it “The High Priestly Prayer” of Jesus.

In that prayer, as we heard today, Jesus prays for unity—that the unity he has with the Father, might be shared by his followers.  “that they may be one just as we are one…”

Unity. Unity has been attacked from the beginning of creation. The fallen angels, who were created to serve the will of God rebelled, breaking their unity with the Trinity, and were cast out of heaven. Adam and Eve created to live in harmony and obedience to God, turned away from God’s will, marring our human nature and were cast out of the earthly paradise. From that time, the peoples of the earth have been afflicted with disunity that has brought murder—brother against brother, tribe against tribe, nation against nation.

One might say, the mission of the Son of God, was one of unity—the Son came to teach us how to live in unity, and died to reconcile us to one another and to the Father. 

The Church was established as that new union—Christians are united to God and one another through the Son and the Power of the Holy Spirit. Unity is a common theme of Jesus’ teaching, and Scriptures.

Psalm 133:1, which states, "How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!" and Ephesians 4:3, which encourages making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. “Make my joy complete” writes St. paul to the Philippians, “by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind”. To the Corinthians, Paul writes, “Mend your ways, encourage one another, agree with one another, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you.”

The teaching authority of the Church, the Pope and the Bishops—the Magisterium—certainly helps us preserve the unity intended by Jesus. Doctrinal truths and moral truths. Doctrinal truths help us have unity of belief. Moral truths enable us to have unity of action. 

Our unity enables us to be faithful to the mission of the Gospel. To quote Pope St. John Paul, “[The Church] is sent to the world to announce and witness, to make present and spread the mystery of communion which is essential to her, and to gather all people and all things into Christ, so as to be for all an 'inseparable sacrament of unity'”

Christ called us to unity and prayed for our unity, so that his joy might be in us, and our joy might be complete. May we be vigilant on all sinful attacks on unity, including our own selfishness, and faithful to all that unity requires of us for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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As Jesus prayed that we might be one, as He and the Father are one, let us lift our voices in prayer for the unity of the Church and the world.

For the Church, that she may be a living sign of unity in a divided world, and faithfully proclaim the Gospel of reconciliation and peace.

For the Pope, bishops, and all entrusted with the teaching office of the Church, that they may guide the faithful in truth and charity, preserving the unity of faith and morals entrusted to the apostles.

For all Christians, that we may overcome division and grow in mutual understanding, love, and shared witness to the Risen Christ.

For unity in our families, parishes, and communities, that the Holy Spirit may heal wounds caused by conflict, pride, or selfishness, and help us to live in peace and harmony

For all the needs of the sick and the suffering, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, the underemployed and unemployed, immigrants and refugees, victims of natural disaster, war, and terrorism, for all those who grieve the loss of a loved one, and those who will die today, for their comfort, and the consolation of their families.

For the faithful departed, that they may be gathered into the eternal unity of the Kingdom of Heaven, rejoicing in the presence of the God of love and peace

Heavenly Father, you sent your Son to gather your scattered children into one. Hear the prayers we offer in His name, and by the power of your Holy Spirit, make us faithful instruments of unity and peace. Through Christ our Lord.

June 3 2025 - St. Charles Lwanga and companions - Courage of the Ugandan Martyrs

 To many of us the name of the Ugandan Martyr Charles Lwanga is unfamiliar.  But, he is well-known and revered in much of tropical Africa as a patron saint of young people. 

Uganda only began to be evangelized in the early to mid-1800s by the Society of Missionaries of Africa, known as the White Fathers because of the white cassock they wore. The earliest converts were soon preaching the Gospel in places inaccessible to the White Fathers. Charles Lwanga one of the early converts, was a servant in the royal court of the Ugandan king, King Mwanga, who ruled in the south eastern part of the country. 

Mwanga was a violent ruler and a pedophile who forced himself on the young boys and young men who served him. Many of the boys converted to Christianity and began refusing the advances of the King. This made the King suspicious, believing that if his subjects continued to convert, he would eventually lose his throne to the Christians.

So, he gathered up the Christian, and demanded that they renounce Christ. When they refused he had them killed. King Mwanga thought that killing Christians would break our resolve. But the faith was strengthened. 

Charles Lwanga was installed as director of the king’s boy-servants, but little did the King know that Charles, inspired by those already martyred, had been baptized. Charles preached the Gospel within the king’s court and continued to make more converts. Realizing how the faith had continued to spread, the king arrested Charles and the other Christians and sentenced them to death. This time, he wanted their death to be excruciating in an attempt to warn others against converting. Charles and his companions were marched two days, starved and beaten, then stripped, bound, and burnt to death on the 3rd day of June, 1886.

As he burned, St. Charles preached to his killers, saying, “It is as if you have thrown water on me. Please repent, and be a Christian like me.”

Charles’ death shook the country, and instead of throwing other Christians into panic, in inspired many unconverted Ugandans to become Christian. 

The martyrs remind us of our calling to witness to Christ even in the face of the hatred of the world. Some will continue to hate us, but others will convert, like Charles himself. Today, Catholics make up about 37% of the population of Uganda: 17 million Catholics who can trace their faith back to the courageous witness of the St. Charles Lwanga and his martyred companions.

Their witness certainly challenges us to consider how we use our time, whether or not we have been shirking our responsibility to witness to Christ, whether we have fearfully sealed our lips when we were meant to speak, if we have hidden in the comfort of our homes, when we were meant to be in the world preaching, or at least supporting the evangelizing mission with our prayers and talents.

May St. Charles Lwanga and his martyred companions pray for us and teach us how to live our Christian vocation well and with Courage for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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 Trusting in the God who strengthens his people to witness to Christ, let us bring our petitions before the Lord.

For the Church throughout the world—that, inspired by the courage of the martyrs, she may proclaim the Gospel with clarity and charity even when it is costly.

For missionaries and catechists, especially in places where the faith is newly planted or faces opposition—that the Spirit will confirm them in hope and draw many hearts to Christ through their witness. Let us pray to the Lord.

For young people and all entrusted to the care of mentors and educators—that, under the patronage of Saint Charles Lwanga, they may grow in purity, integrity, and a joyful readiness to follow Christ. Let us pray to the Lord.

For children, adolescents, and vulnerable adults suffering exploitation, abuse, or trafficking—that God deliver them from harm, heal their wounds, and convert the hearts of those who abuse power. Let us pray to the Lord.

For our parish—that we reject complacency, use our gifts for evangelization, and support missionary efforts through prayer, sacrifice, and action. Let us pray to the Lord.

For the sick, the poor, the imprisoned, and those weighed down by fear or sorrow—that Christ, who walked the road of suffering, may raise them up with healing and hope. Let us pray to the Lord.

For our departed brothers and sisters—especially those who died for their fidelity to Christ—may they rejoice forever in the company of the martyrs before God’s throne. Let us pray to the Lord.

God of all nations, You kindled an unshakable faith in Saint Charles Lwanga and his companions. Hear the prayers of Your people, and grant that we, like them, may bear fearless witness to Your Son, who lives and reigns for ever and ever. 

Ascension 2025 - Promise of the Father

 For the past 40 days of the Easter season, we’ve reveled in and celebrated, contemplated and hopefully lived out and proclaimed the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. 

Throughout the Easter Season, our Sunday readings have led us to consider what it means to live in the peace of the Risen Christ, what it means for us to feed the lambs and tend the sheep of the Risen Christ. We’ve considered what it means for us, as members of the Risen Christ’s flock, to continue to listen to the Shepherd’s voice, and what it means to love one another so as to glorify the Risen Christ.

Hopefully, during these 40 days you have seen and witnessed in your own life and in the lives of one another the effects of Christ’s resurrection: greater peace and joy and courage and charity.

Today’s feast of the Ascension marks the final phase of the Easter Season which will culminate in the Feast of Pentecost next Sunday. Our Scripture readings today look forward to Pentecost, too. We heard in both our First Reading and the Gospel about “the promise of the Father” and “in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

During those days between the Lord’s Ascension and Pentecost, the apostles gathered together to pray with the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Cenacle. So, imitating how the earliest Christians prepared for Pentecost, in invited you, over this next week, to consider adding to your daily prayer routine special prayers for the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Especially as our parish prepares for a retreat next Saturday on the discernment of our spiritual gifts, please pray for each other and for yourselves, that Pentecost can be for you and our fellow parishioners a new openness to the promises of the Father. 

That’s an interesting phrase, the Lord uses in the Gospel, isn’t it? “The Promise of the Father”. The phrase “promise of the Father” is rich in theological meaning and ties together the Old and New Testaments.  Throughout the Old Testament, God makes promises to His people—not only of land and descendants, but of new life and interior renewal:

In the prophet Ezekiel we read: “I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you”. In the prophet Joel we read, ““I will pour out my spirit on all flesh”. Again in Ezekiel we read, “I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live”

In using this phrase, “the promise of the Father” Jesus is drawing attention to the fact that these ancient promises are not abstract—they are now being fulfilled in the Church. The Father has promised His very Spirit, and Pentecost will mean an outpouring of the Spirit on the Church.

Calling the Holy Spirit “the promise of the Father” reminds us that the Spirit is not just a force or an impersonal gift—He is the personal bond of love between the Father and the Son. And Christians brought into that very communion. In calling the Spirit “the promise of the Father” Jesus is saying, “My Father has been longing for you to be brought into full Communion with the Trinity. And that plan of the Father is now being fulfilled.” 

God is faithful to his promises. The Father is not like the world, which makes and breaks promises. What God promises, He brings to fulfillment. Just as He fulfilled the promise of the Messiah in Jesus’ coming, so now He fulfills the promise of divine indwelling in the sending of the Spirit.

In speaking of the promise of the Father, the Lord Jesus invited his apostles to continue just a little while longer to wait with trust, and Jesus invites us into that same posture: expectant, receptive, persevering. For, the promise of the Father was not just for the apostles. It is for us, here and now—in this age of the Church. The Father wants life for us. As St. Ireneus said, the glory of God is man fully alive. And the Spirit enables us to abound with the life of God.

Particularly, the Spirit is given to restore us to life due to our sins. It is through the Holy Spirit that the redemptive grace of Christ’s Paschal Mystery is applied to us through Baptism. And it is through the Holy Spirit that sins that we commit after baptism might be absolved.  The absolution prayer in the Sacrament of Confession echoes this. After the penitent makes the act of contrition in the Sacrament of Confession, the priest prays: “God the Father of Mercies, through the death and resurrection of His Son, has reconciled the world to himself and sent the Holy Spirit for the forgiveness of sins.”

The forgiveness of sins is truly a restoration of life. What is dead in us is brought to life through the power of the Holy Spirit. 

But the Holy Spirit also causes spiritual gifts to sprout from seed form, to grow, flourish, and bear fruit. In baptism, each of us the gifts of God are given in seed form: knowledge, wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, piety, and fear of the Lord. And as we cooperate with the Spirit in the course of our lives, and receive the Sacraments, we increase in these gifts.

The Gifts of the Spirit are gifts God has given to each of us to be active and alive and effective in our Christian mission. But there are also unique gifts, charisms, given to me that he hasn’t given to you, and gifts that he has given to you that he hasn’t given to me. And we are to seek to discern and cultivate those as well.

Again, our retreat next Saturday will help us to discern those gifts and how they can be put to use in God’s service.

None of God’s gifts are to be hidden under a bushel basket. We are fully alive when we have allowed promises of the Father to be fulfilled in us, when we have allowed the Holy Spirit to animate us—our words, actions, and decisions.

So again, this week, in preparation for the Feast of Pentecost: pray for greater openness to the Promise of the Father. Take some time this week to ask the Holy Spirit to help you identify gifts that have gone dormant, gifts that need strengthening, and the courage to put those gifts into action. Lord, what gift right now, do I need to cultivate more than others? What gift have I fearfully or lazily hidden away? 

And please pray for your fellow parishioners who will be attending next week’s retreat. If the glory of God is man fully alive, fully utilizing his gifts, then God is certainly glorified when brothers and sisters in Christ come together in seeking to put their gifts in service to God collectively as a parish.

May God’s promises and gifts become ever more manifest in each of our lives and families and relationships for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

June 2 2025 - Sts. Marcellinus and Peter - Martyrs of the Roman Canon

 In the celebration of the Mass, one of the reasons that I like to use the Roman Canon, the first Eucharistic prayer, is because it contains those two lists of saints. Following the invocation of the Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph, the priest lists of the apostles, then the first popes of rome, then a number of the Roman martyrs including a martyred deacon, a lay catechist, and two sets of martyred siblings.

After the consecration, there is another set of martyrs beginning with those whose names we find in the scriptures: John the Baptist, Stephen, Matthias, and Barnabas. Then our own patron, Ignatius of Antioch, martyred in Rome, followed by another Pope, Alexander the first, fifth Pope of Rome, and then the two saints we honor today: Saints Marcellinus and Peter.

As you know, for the first three hundred years of our faith, our faith was persecuted throughout the Roman Empire. Some of those persecutions were fiercer than others. Well, around the year 284, the most severe of the persecutions was led by the Emperor Diocletian--known as the Great Persecution. Around 3,000−3,500 Christians were executed under the authority of Imperial edicts.

Around 303, the Great Persecution reached its fiercest point. And it was then that the two saints honored today were killed. The first was Peter. Peter had been instituted in the minor Order of Exorcist. And while in prison, Peter performed an exorcism on the daughter of the prison-keeper. This demonstration of Christ's power over demons is said to have brought about the conversion of the daughter, the prison-keeper, his wife, and the entire household--all of whom were baptized by the second saint honored today, the Roman priest Marcellinus.

And the conversions continued. The pair were so successful in converting their fellow prisoners, that the Roman authorities didn’t want to risk a public execution, lest their deaths inspire even more conversions. So Marcellinus and Peter were taken to a forest in the middle of the night, forced to dig their own graves, and beheaded.

I don’t usually use the first Eucharistic prayer on weekdays. But I will today, in honor of these two heroes of the faith, whose courage inspires us to spread the Gospel, to witness to the Lord, to become instruments of God, whether in prison, or in whatever circumstances we find ourselves. Saints Marcellinus and Peter, pray for us. That we may become worthy of the promises of Christ.

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Trusting in the Lord who strengthened Saints Marcellinus and Peter in time of trial, let us offer our prayers for the needs of the Church and the world.

For the holy Church of God—that, inspired by the martyrs, she may hold fast to the apostolic faith and proclaim Christ with confidence even amid opposition. 

For civil leaders and those in authority—that they protect religious freedom and uphold the dignity of every person, and for all who are persecuted for their Christian witness today, may they be defended by God’s grace and become shining signs of hope.

For those entrusted with the ministry of exorcism, may they serve as courageous instruments of God’s deliverance of the oppressed, and for the conversion of sinners and the strengthening of the lukewarm—that the witness of the martyrs may rouse hearts to repentance, baptismal renewal, and zeal for evangelization. 

For those imprisoned, forgotten, or isolated, for the sick, the suffering, and all the afflicted—that Christ, who conquered sin and death, may grant them strength, healing, and peace.

For our beloved dead—may they be welcomed into the company of the saints and behold God face-to-face. 

God of strength and mercy, You sustained Your martyrs Marcellinus and Peter in the hour of trial; hear our prayers and grant that, like them, we may remain faithful witnesses to Your Son, who lives and reigns for ever and ever.