August 28 2026 - St. Augustine, bishop & doctor - Light for those wandering in darkness

 

For decades of his life, St. Augustine wandered in the darkness. He sought happiness in the pleasures of the flesh. He sought happiness in worldly philosophers. He sought happiness in strange sects. But they failed to satisfy and left him restless. But upon finding the Truth, the pearl of great price, the Truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Augustine gave his life entirely to Christ.

There are countless stories like Augustine’s up and down the centuries. Men and women who sought happiness, sought truth in a hundred thousand ways, but came to discover truth and goodness here in the Catholic Church.

In many cases, it was the witness of Ordinary Catholics that led them home. The faithful witness of Catholics at prayer, engaging in works of charity, of helping them when they needed help, helped them to open their hearts to the possibility that, herein lies goodness. That despite what the world says about God and the Church, there might be something to this Catholic stuff.

For Augustine, there appear to be two people that influenced him most. His mother, St. Monica, who prayed and wept and did penance for his conversion for decades. And the Bishop St. Ambrose, whose preaching captivated him.

St. Augustine’s mind and heart and soul longed for God and knowledge of Christ Jesus. And for him, it took a while for him to find his heart’s longing.

So we should be patient with those who seem to be wandering through life, for those outside of the Church, even those who left the Church. God has placed a longing in their hearts that can only be satisfied by God.

And yet, we should also be diligent in praying and working for their conversion. St. Augustine was converted because St. Ambrose was doing what he was supposed to be doing, and St. Monica was doing what she was supposed to be doing.

We need to be patient and diligent in praying and laboring for the conversion of souls. Including our own. It was because Ambrose and Monica had cultivated their own holiness, that God was able to work so effectively through them. Augustine was able to encounter Christ through Ambrose and Monica, because Ambrose and Monica and made a home for Christ in their own souls, and adorned that home richly—Augustine’s blindness was dispelled because of the light shining in Christ’s Holy Church.

St. Augustine is a great saint for our own day—who himself prays no doubt, for those addicted to sin, those fleeing the Church and the Truth of the Gospel, and for all of us, that we may be effective instruments for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

 

That the preaching of holy bishops and priests may attract those seeking for Truth to the Truth of the Gospels.

That Christian parents may be diligent in their prayer and good example for the forming their families in faith.

That our young people may be kept safe from the evils and errors of our culture. That they may seek and find Christ in the witness of the Church.

For those who have fallen into error or serious sin, those whose pride keeps them from knowing God’s mercy, and for those who have fallen away from the Church or do not know Christ, for their conversion and the conversion of all hearts.

That the love of Christ, the divine physician, may bring healing to the sick and comfort to all the suffering.

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased priests and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.

O God, you know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the prayers of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our Lord.

 

August 27 2025 - St. Monica - Tears of a grief-stricken parent

“Do not weep” the Lord said to the mournful mother. For any grief-stricken parent, those are challenging words. How does a parent hold back their tears at the death of a child?

The grief of a parent who loses a child is unlike any other kind of sorrow. There is shock and disbelief. Even if the death is expected through illness, the reality of loss often feels incomprehensible.

It is a grief that brings with it fatigue and body ache. A parent feels as if their identity is shattered—are they really a parent if their child is gone? Even when the loss is beyond their control, there is a sense of failure.

The Lord drew near to the grief-stricken mother with compassion, and as members of the Church, we are to do the same. We have a special obligation to the grief-stricken—those who have lost their children or spouses or family physically. Our bereavement ministry is one type of outreach, but we do well to pray often for the grief-stricken.

This reading has been especially chosen by the Church for the memorial of St. Monica, who wept for her son, Augustine, as he engaged in a life of mortal sin.

Augustine was not unlike many modern Catholic young people. After moving out their Catholic home, they stop going to church, they engage in licentiousness, they adopt behaviors and ideas that are totally inconsistent with the path of life. Monica wept for her son, who had a child out of wedlock and became involved in strange cults. I know many parents who are filled with similar grief.

St. Ambrose, who was instrumental in Augustine’s conversion, wrote how the whole Church weeps for the fallen away. He wrote, “Let the Mother of the Church weep for you, she who intercedes for all as a widowed mother for only sons, for she suffers with the spiritual grief…when she perceives her children urged on to death by mortal sins”.

For that is why Monica wept: she dreaded that her son would die in mortal seen and be separated from the Lord of Life in eternity. But Monica did not just weep or dread. As a woman of faith, she prayed and entrusted her Son to the Lord day after day. She brought the intention of Augustine’s conversion to the altar as she attended mass.

Years later, in his spiritual autobiography, Augustine writes about how his mother was instrumental in his conversion: “Lord, while she constantly wept over me in your sight as a over a dead man, it was over one who though dead could still be raised to life again; she offered me to you upon the bier of her medication, begging you to say to this widow’s son, ‘Young man, arise, I tell you,’ that he might live again and begin to speak, so that you could restore him to his mother.”

St. Monica trusted that Augustine, though apparently dead, could be raised. St. Monica is a model of patience, persistence, prayer, faith and trust in the Lord of Life. May she assist all those who grieve, and pray for all those for whom we grieve, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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With confidence in God who hears the cry of the sorrowful and answers the prayers of the faithful, let us place our petitions before Him.

For the holy Church of God: that, like St. Monica, she may persevere in prayer for all her children, especially those who have wandered from the faith.

For parents who grieve the loss of a child: that they may find comfort in the Lord who draws near to the brokenhearted.

For those experiencing any kind of hardship or sorrow, isolation, addiction, or disease: may they know God’s strength and peace and the assistance of the Christian people.

For all our beloved dead, that they may be raised up in Christ to the joy of eternal life.

God of mercy and compassion, you heard the tears and prayers of St. Monica and brought about the conversion of her son Augustine. Hear our prayers this day, console those who grieve, and bring back the lost to your Church, through Christ our Lord.

 

5th Sunday of Lent 2025 - (Third Scrutiny) - Raising of Lazarus

 

Two weeks ago, we heard the story of the woman at the well.  She encountered the Lord Jesus, who said to her, “I will give you living water, which alone can satisfy”.  She represents all of us, all thirsting for God. Jesus invites all people of all time to drink deeply of the living waters of God through Him.

Last week we heard of the man born blind.  Again, he is all of us, born in the blindness of sin.  We desire to do good and avoid evil, but it’s not always easy to see clearly. Sometimes our egos and our sinful attachments are so great, they blind us to seeing how God wants us to live rightly. Jesus says to the man born blind and to all of us, “I am the light of the world.”  If you want to see rightly, let the light of Christ and His teachings enlighten you.

These stories in John’s Gospel move toward a sort of crescendo. I am living water which quenches thirst. I am the light by which you see. And today Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life.” He’s not just water, He’s not just light. He is Life itself. And he desire that His life might animate us in this life, that it might sustain us through death, and animate us in all eternity, including the resurrection.

One of my favorite quotations from the early Church fathers is from St. Ireneus of Lyons, who said, Gloria Dei Homo Vivens, “the glory of God is Man fully alive.”  Jesus himself said, I came that they might have life, and have it to abundance. Christ died, that we may live, free from sin, full of divine life.  God’s glory, what gives God happiness, is that we are fully alive.  Conversely, what saddens the heart of God is when we allow death to reign in us at any level: physically, emotionally, or spiritually.  Sin diminishes us, God restores life.

Next, week, on Palm Sunday, we’ll come to understand the price the Lord pays to defeat the powers of death in us. But on this fifth Sunday of Lent, we’re invited to consider how the Lord commands us to live.

Today, our three catechumens present themselves for the last of the three scrutinies. They do so because they want to live and they recognize that Jesus is the resurrection and the life. So, you’ll notice in the scrutiny prayers many references to life, being restored to life and raised to life, like Lazarus in our Gospel today.

We heard in our first reading about God’s desire to free us from the powers of the grave: “I will open your graves and have you rise from them…I will put my spirit in you that you may live, and I will settle you upon your land” we heard in our first reading.

Our three Catechumens will receive the gift of new life in Baptism this Easter Vigil. They have heard that same promise that God made to Israel all those centuries ago, the promise of life, and through prayer and fasting and study have opened themselves to the fulfillment of that promise in them. Thanks be to God. They have heard the Lord calling them to come out of their tombs, like Lazarus. Thanks be to God.

Why follow Jesus Christ? Why seek baptism and faithfulness to him? The promise of being raised from the dead is a pretty good reason. Living forever in God’s kingdom of peace is a pretty good reason. And it’s not just an empty promise--the promise of some delusional California cult leader.

Resurrection: it’s really the ultimate argument against anyone who says all religions are the same. No. They aren’t. Show me a member of another religion who not only raised the dead but also rose from the dead.

“I will open your graves and have you rise from them. Here the Lord is not just speaking of the promise of rising from our graves on the last day, when he returns. The grave is also wherever the powers of sin and evil and death reign in us still: an addiction, a habitual sin, an inability or unwillingness to forgive, anger and bitterness, perversion, fear of leaving behind the comfortable to follow Christ more devoutly, lack of fervor for the spiritual life…the grave is whatever limits the life of God in you. Think of laying in a grave, there is no place to move, you are constricted, unable to move, tied up, and God says, from your graves, I will have you rise up.” 

In the Gospels, we have not one story, but three stories of Jesus raising the dead. We just heard the story of Lazarus; can you think of the other two? The first one is the daughter of Jairus. Remember the little girl who died in her home when Jesus was on the way to heal her?  The second is the son of the widow of Naim.  Jesus sees the widow weeping as they brought out the body of her son, and Jesus is moved to raise him from the dead.

St. Augustine offered a spiritual reading of these three encounters with the dead.

Because Jairus’ daughter dies inside her house, St. Augustine says that her death symbolizes the sort of spiritual death that remains locked up in us—the sort of sins that poisons us from the inside: the resentments, the old grudges.  They aren’t necessarily expressed in words or actions, they just sort of fester within us, poisoning our thoughts, and our wills, and our imagination.  These are the sins we do in private—though no sin is private to God, of course. Jesus raises this little girl, just as he wants to heal us from all of our interior sinful attitudes.

Secondly, the son of the widow of Naim.  He had died and was being carried outside the house to the cemetery. St. Augustine says, he symbolizes the sins that have begun to express themselves in action.  When the interior anger and resentment, selfishness and lust bubble over in words of actions. But Jesus forgives these too.

The third person Jesus raises from the dead, his friend Lazarus.  Lazarus had been carried out of the house and placed in a tomb.  By the time Jesus gets there, Lazarus has been in the tomb for four days.  His sister, famously says, when Jesus instructs them to roll away the stone that blocks the tomb, “but Lord, surely, there will be a stench.”

St. Augustine says that Lazarus in his grave, symbolizes that evil, that spiritual death, that not only has come out of the heart in words and actions, but has established itself as a habitual.  Now, the anger, the hatred, the violence, the lust, have taken root, and have become such a part of my life and my activity, that, like Lazarus in the tomb, there is a stench, and it’s affecting the people around me.  That anger, addiction, selfishness or lust now affects the well-being of the family. Neighbors begin to avoid us because of our stench.

Jesus is of course able to heal those sins too, but like the others, there must be confession, there must be acknowledgement that these sins exist in me, and that I need a savior.

May we have the humility and honesty to recognize the need to be raised by Jesus, healed by Jesus, that we may truly live with him for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

17th Sunday of Ordinary Time 2023 - The Pearl of Great Price and the Conversion of St. Augustine

 

Last week, we considered the wisdom of the parable of the weeds and the wheat and how many of the saints throughout history, if you would had met them in their teenage years, didn’t always resemble the wheat for Christ that they would later become. Many of them looked like weeds. Some of them were thieves, murders, persecutors of the Church, and even devil worshippers. 

But thanks be to God’s grace, they experienced the desire for conversion and sought out Christ, the pearl of great price. God’s grace helped them to see that they were pursuing nothingness, they were pursuing emptiness, lifeless idols, and beckoned them along a new path—the path of life. 

One of the great conversion stories of Christian history, one who spent many many years looking for that pearl of great price in all the wrong places, is that of St. Augustine. Augustine was born in a rural town in modern day Algeria in North Africa, the land of the Berbers. His mother, Monica, was a Berber Catholic and His father, Patricius, was a landowner, a Roman citizen, and a pagan, though he did not object to his wife raising their children as Catholics. 

However, at the time, baptism was delayed to later in life. Catholics would put off the sacrament often until their deathbeds, when they could receive the forgiveness of the sins of their whole life. So, Augustine was not baptized in his infancy or youth. 

But, even in his youth, Augustine’s restless hunger for truth was apparent. Like many young people, he foolishly disregarded the faith of his mother. And his search for truth led him to the worldly philosophers of his day, but their worldly wisdom did not satisfy him. 

At the age of 17, the same year his father died, Augustine went to Carthage to attend the great university there. He had barely arrived when, he began to look for the pearl of happiness in carnel sins; he took a mistress and they moved in together. A year later, a child was born out of wedlock. His search for Truth led Augustine to join a cult called the Manicheans who regarded themselves as the spiritually elite of the world. And he even tried to convince his mother to join the cult. His widowed mother wept for her wayward son, so much that a kindly bishop told her, “Do not worry. It is not possible that the son of so many tears should be lost forever.”

As a member of the Gnostic Manichean cult, Augustine adopted the belief that the universe was ruled by two warring cosmic powers—a demigod of Good who ruled over the realm of the spirit, and a demigod of evil, who ruled over the physical world and the flesh. So Augustine would have denied that Jesus was God in the Flesh who had conquered sin and death.

At the age of 29, Augustine decided to go to Rome to look for a position teaching philosophy. But unsuccessful there, he went on to Milan, and he took his mother. And it was there in Milan that Augustine encountered the great bishop, St. Ambrose. Augustine had heard how the bishop courageously refused to give in to the political pressures of the Emperor and give over his churches to the Arian heretics. Impressed by the bishop’s courage, Augustine began accompanying his mother to Mass to hear Bishop Ambrose preach. And what a beautiful stroke of providence, for God had led Augustine, this intellectually hungry soul to a bishop who would later be known as a Doctor of the Church. Augustine was beginning to realize that he had been searching for God in all the wrong places. 

Sitting in a courtyard one day, Augustine heard the voice of a child saying, “Tolle et lege. Pick up and Read”. Now open to the possibility that God might be trying to get his attention, his mind and heart went to the Holy Scriptures. He picked up and began to read the first passage he came to, from Romans chapter 13 verses 13 and 14: “Not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual excess and lust, not in quarreling and jealousy. Rather, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh.”

Reading this scripture, Augustine felt as if his heart were flooded with light. He sought instruction in the faith from the bishop Ambrose, and was baptized during the Easter Vigil on April 24, 387, along with his son. Later in life, reflecting on this whole experience, Augustine wrote, “You have made us for yourself, Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”

For decades Augustine wandered in the darkness. He sought happiness in the pleasures of the flesh. He sought happiness in worldly philosophers. He sought happiness in strange sects. But they failed to satisfy and left him restless. But upon finding the Truth, the pearl of great price, the Truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Augustine gave his life entirely to Christ. 

There are countless stories like Augustine’s up and down the centuries. Men and women who sought happiness, sought truth in a hundred thousand ways, but came to discover truth and goodness here in the Catholic Church. One of the great joys of my priestly ministry is working in the RCIA, with such men and women, some of them who began life with no faith, or impartial faith, or even hostility toward the Catholic faith.

In many cases, it was the witness of Ordinary Catholics that led them home. “Look at how we love one another.” Our faithful witness helped them open their hearts to the possibility that herein lies goodness. 

For some, conversion comes after a similar tolle et lege experience. They picked up the Bible, they picked up the writings of the early church fathers like St. Ignatius, St. Justin, St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, and found them not simply eloquent, but in possession of Truth. 

For some, their conversion came at the simple question: Have you ever thought of becoming Catholic? One women, here in Cleveland, said that she had been looking and looking and looking for God for years and years. “Why did you never become Catholic?” she was asked by a priest. To which she responded, “because no one ever asked me.”

Folks, you know people who aren’t Catholic. Please ask them. Promise them, they’ll be happier. And to anyone here who is not Catholic, I’m asking, “Why have you never become Catholic?” Come and talk to me about it. I’m no St. Ambrose, but maybe there are some things we can clear up. 

In our world today there are a lot of people who haven’t even considered the fact that they would be happier, their lives would be more fulfilled, they would have guidance in their confusion, and strength in their challenges. There’s more to life than the world has to offer. And we have to be the Monica’s and Ambrose’s the world needs right now. 

But also, we need to seek our continued conversion, our growth in holiness, with the same zeal as the one who sells all that he has to obtain that pearl. Christ is the pearl, the life God wants for us is the pearl, active membership in the church is the treasure worth everything to obtain because it offers the perfection of our souls, and if you aren’t pursuing that, it’s time to start…for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time 2022 - The virtue of Humility and the purification from Pride

 This month, many of my bulletin columns and homilies have been about the virtue of humility. If you remember, we began the month of August with the feast of doctor of the Church, St. Alphonsus Liguori. And that great teacher of the faith recommends that each month we intentionally focus on developing and practicing a particular virtue. If we are going to grow in holiness and grow in virtue, we need to be intentional about it. And the virtue for the month of August, St. Alphonsus recommends practicing is the virtue of humility.

One of the most important laws in Christ's Kingdom is the law of humility. This law says that "everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and everyone who humbles himself will be exalted".

In other words, greatness in his Kingdom comes not from trying to prove that you are more important than other people, lording power over others, or garnering or amassing more worldly attention than other people. 

Greatness in God's eyes comes from serving others, elevating others, helping others advance in holiness.

In his great sermon on the Mount, the Lord reiterates the law of humility: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven." We are before God like beggars—poor in spirit, recognizing our need of God for life—for everything. To be poor in spirit is the first step in obtaining beatitude—blessedness. There can be no growth in holiness, no progress toward the kingdom without humility; for if our actions are not motivated by humility, we are motivated by its enemy, pride.

The law of humility is stated directly in (in the book of Sirach): "conduct your affairs with humility, and you will be loved... Humble yourself... and you will find favor with God."

The first sin of Adam and Eve was a sin against humility, refusing to submit to the instruction of God, not trusting that God would provide for them. Because sinful pride is so ingrained in us, the Lord Jesus taught us to practice humility not simply by his words, but by his example, living out humility to the extreme: through his passion and death.

Jesus, the Lord of heaven, was born in a stable. He lived in obscurity—as the son of a manual laborer. Even during his public ministry, He allowed his reputation to be dragged through the mud by the lies and corruption of his enemies. He allowed himself to be stripped of every honor, to be condemned as a criminal, and freely took on the most humiliating form of death - crucifixion. But humbled so thoroughly, he is now glorified so magnificently.

We are to imitate the humility of Christ in all of our relationships and endeavors. The Christian must first of all be humble. No remember, humility does not mean that we think less of ourselves than we should. TO be humble is to live in the truth that we are children of God, and that is something to celebrate. We are children of God, dependent on God, dependent on the Father’s providence for all we truly need. We are also sinners in need of conversion. And called to be servants—to serve God, and God alone, in the master’s vineyard. 

St. Augustine, whose feast is August 28 said, “If you should ask me what are the three most important virtues, I would tell you they are humility, humility, and humility…if humility does not precede all that we do, our efforts are meaningless.”

Such humility is the foundation for the life of holiness and for all the virtues. St. John Vianney said: “humility is to the various virtues what the chain is to a rosary. Take away the chain and the beads are scattered; remove humility, and all the virtues vanish.”

As I’ve also mentioned in the past, this summer I’m reading Dante’s Divine Comedy as part of my daily spiritual reading. In the second book of the Divine Comedy, Dante begins to climb the mountain of purgatory. There he meets those souls who have repented of their sins, but who still require purification. In life, if are attached to sin, even if we repent, we will still require some purification after death. The saints teach that it is far easier to work on the virtues in this earthly life, than in purgatory. So we do well, as St. Alphonsus says, to be very intentional in growing in the virtues.

But for those requiring purification, the mountain of purgatory, in Dante, is divided into seven terraces, seven levels, in which souls are purified of their attachments to the seven deadly sins: pride, envy, wrath, sloth, greed, gluttony, and lust. 

Many people think lust or wrath are the worst sins we can commit on earth. But for Dante, it’s pride. Because, again, pride keeps us from obtaining all the other virtues: it keeps us from faith, hope, and love. 

So the very first terrace of purgatory is for the purification of pride. And the souls for their purification from pride are carrying this great weight on their backs and shoulders, the weight of their pride. The greater your pride the more purification you need. And for many of those souls, their going to be carrying that weight around for a while, as in purgatory, the purification at attainment from virtue is a slow process.

Interestingly, at the beginning of each terrace of purgatory, Dante finds these marble sculptures—these marble depictions of the virtue the souls will need to require. Much like how are stained glass windows depict so many of the saints and biblical figures exhibiting faith and charity, those marble sculptures were a visual aid for the poor souls. 

Also interestingly, on each terrace, Dante encounters a marble statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary, for she is the model of all virtues, the perfect disciple of Christ, the example for all Christians to contemplate. At the base of that first terrace, Dante sees this marble depiction of the annunciation: in which the Archangel Gabriel announces God’s will to Mary, and she humbly declares herself to be the Ancilla Domini, the handmaiden of the Lord. She then offers the prayer of humble surrender: fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum. Let it be done to be according to thy word.

That is certainly a prayer we do well to begin each day with: Lord help me to be your servant today. Help me to serve you at every moment, in every encounter and interaction, in all of my words and deeds. Help me to hold back, restrain, and discipline my pride. Help me to keep the image of the Blessed Mother first and foremost in my mind and heart, that I may imitate her humility. Our Lady of Humility, pray for me, that I may become worthy of the promises of Christ.

In addition to starting the day off on the right foot, with some good humble prayer, ensure that at some point in the day you are picking up that Bible. Reading and taking to heart the Word of God is one way God wants to help us grow in holiness. If you say, “I don’t need to read the Bible. I don’t need to take to heart God’s word. I know everything I need to know. I have more important things to do.” Is that Christian humility? 

I’ve said it before as well, but if you are able, try to attend mass throughout the week. For at Mass, we encounter the humility of Jesus Himself, who gives himself to us in the humble appearance of bread and wine. 

In the words of St. Augustine, at Mass we become what we receive—through the humble reception of the Eucharist, we receive the one who was obedient to the Father’s will unto death. At Mass, we humbly recognize that before God we are beggars, we are the blind and the lame, the crippled and poor, mentioned in the Gospel, whom the Lord has welcomed into his banquet, because he desires our company, and desires to nourish us and strengthen us for the humble work of the Gospel. May we seek to practice humility in all of our duties, responsibilities, relationships and endeavors; humble in our earthly life, that we may be exalted in eternal life, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

December 7 2021 - St. Ambrose - Honey-tongued Orator and Courageous Bishop

Prior to his conversion to Christianity, Ambrose was of the Roman nobility, trained in the classics, a poet, and a noted orator and governor of Milan, Italy.  In the year 370, while Ambrose was the Roman governor of Milan, the bishop died, and a heated argument erupted over who would be the next bishop.  Ambrose tried to resolve this dispute, and his communication skills were so excellent that someone shouted out, “Ambrose for bishop”.  The orator was speechless, for he had no intention of being a priest or bishop. He wasn’t even baptized, for he was still a catechumen preparing for baptism. 

 He resisted, claiming that he was unworthy, but the people continued to acclaim, “Ambrose for bishop”.  The people prevailed, mostly because Ambrose wanted to preserve peace.  So on December 7 of that year, he was baptized, and was consecrated a bishop, a week later.  He immediately divested himself of his earthly possessions, giving away his wealth to the Church.

 He is known as the “honey-tongued doctor” of the Church, his iconography often having bees and beehives, symbolizing his sweet and smooth oratory and his wisdom. He therefore Patron Saint of Bees and Beekeepers, if you were wondering. Put a drop of honey in your tea in honor of St. Ambrose!

“Care must be taken that our speech proceed not from evil passions,” writes Ambrose. “For in guarding his mouth, and restraining his tongue, and in not speaking before examining, pondering, and weighing his words… he certainly is practicing modesty, gentleness, patience. So he will not burst out into speech through displeasure or anger, nor give sign of any passion in his words, nor proclaim that the flames of lust are burning in his language, or that the incentives of wrath are present in what he says.”

 Ambrose, echoes the epistle of St. James, in the need to bridle our tongue, to control our words. James writes, “If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, his religion is vain.” To bridle our tongue is to practice self-control, examining, pondering, weighing our words…thinking before we speak.

 

 Ambrose’s bridled and honey-tongued speech won over the young St. Augustine to the Christian faith, inspiring Augustine to renounce his heresies and wild living and embrace Christ.

Ambrose was certainly given the grace to preach, as St. Paul says in the epistle today, and also a boldness of speech and confidence. In 390, a riot erupted in Thessalonica and a Roman Governor was killed. In retaliation, the Roman Emperor Theodosius brutally massacred 7000 Thessalonians. For this heinous act, Bishop Ambrose excommunicated the emperor, who claimed to be a Catholic. Theodosius, before he could be readmitted to the Sacraments was to do public penance for condoning the murderous act.

 To justify the use of this spiritual authority over the emperor, Ambrose explained, “the emperor is in the church not over it.”  That’s a good reminder to all of us today—that bishops have an important role to play in the lives of the faithful, even those who are political leaders.

 One of his biographers wrote that, “At the last judgment people would still be divided between those who admired Ambrose, and those who thoroughly disliked him.”  Better disliked and in heaven, then admired and in hell.

 So let’s pray today for our bishops, and for all Christians that they may have the gifts of preaching and courage had by Saint Ambrose, bishop, and doctor of the Church.

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We raise up our prayers of petitions, as we await with longing the Advent of Christ the Lord.

That the teaching and preaching of the Pope and all bishops and clergy will be founded firmly upon the full truth of the Word of God.

That all those who wander in error, far from the Gospel of Christ, may be led through the preaching and example of the Christian people to the fullness of faith.

That our president and all civil servants will carry out their duties with justice, honesty, and respect for the dignity of every human life. 

That Christ may banish disease, drive out hunger, and ward off every affliction.

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Almighty ever-living God, who bring salvation to all and desire that no one should perish, hear the prayers of your people and grant that the course of our world may be directed by your peaceful rule and your Church rejoice in tranquility and devotion. Through Christ our Lord.

 

 

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time 2021 - Alone and the Interior Life

 

Thanks for everyone’s prayers these last two weeks. I had a very restful time away. A few priest friends of mine and I rented a little house down in southern Kentucky. The main purpose of trip was to get refreshed for the upcoming months of ministry, and so every day we celebrated mass, offered the liturgy of the hours for our parishes. We also tried to have some sort of adventure each day, so we went hiking most days through various Appalachian trails, we went kayaking one day. After the day’s adventure, we’d return home for dinner and watch one of our favorite shows these past few years, a show on the history channel that’s been running for about 8 seasons, a show called “Alone”.

10 contestants have the opportunity to win half a million dollars by trying to survive out in the wilderness for as long as they can.  They have to forage and hunt for food, build shelters, fend off bears and wild cats, with very few supplies.  They have no communication with the outside world except for periodic medical checks and to radio in the call when they are ready to give up. 

Each season, there are typically a few contestants that don’t last a week, unable to overcome the physical obstacles, the weather, and finding food. Those lasting past that initial hurdle have to deal with quite another difficulty: themselves, their own hearts and the psychological strain of loneliness. Many contestants describe how memories and mistakes from the past bubble up out of their unconsconcious; their regrets, their woundedness, painful memories from childhood.  Many of the contestants tap out because they simply cannot not handle being Alone with themselves when they don’t have Netflix and iphones to distract them from their inner struggles.

In the Church’s history, there have been men and women who have intentionally gone out into the wilderness, out into the desert in order to be alone with God.  We call them the Desert Fathers and Mothers: like St. Anthony of the Desert.  Modern day Hermits like Thomas Merton follow in that tradition.  Many times throughout the Gospels, the Lord Jesus goes out into the wilderness. Immediately, after his baptism, what does he do? He goes out into the desert--the place of Trial, the place of Temptation, where he comes face to face with his own temptations. 

So too the Desert Fathers and Mothers, go into the desert for Spiritual Combat, in order to confront their inner demons, to seek detachment from earthly things and purification from their vices, to learn how to rely on the will of providence of the Father, and to allow the Word of God to truly take root in them.

In the Gospel this weekend, the Lord seeks to teach his disciples a lesson, one of the most important lessons of the Christian life, that Christianity isn’t simply about appearances, but interior conversion.

The Pharisees were obsessed with cleanliness and appearances. Cleanliness is next to Godliness sure, but it’s not the same. Christians aren’t simply to be physically clean, but interiorly clean, clean in mind, clean of heart. Blessed are the clean of heart, the pure of heart, he says, in the beatitudes, for they shall see God. 

Of course, Christians will have to suffer through a lot of things beyond our control. Earthquakes, floods, disease, pandemics, persecutions, inept and corrupt governments. But those things, ultimately cannot keep us from seeing God. “From within people, from their hearts, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly. All these evils come from within and they defile.”

One of the reasons I love watching that show Alone is that it’s a reminder, strip away everything from modern life, all the distractions, and I still have to deal with what’s in here. And not all of it is good. We take our selfishness and lust and fear with us, wherever we go—whether it’s the wilderness or the supermarket. And Christianity is wonderfully honest about that. Because when we humbly acknowledge our sins and our woundedness, these things can be healed. When we expose the darkness in our hearts to the light of Christ, and allow the Lord to forgive us and heal us, we become the people God made us to be, we see God working in our life, leading us to eternal life.

This week we celebrated the feast of the great Bishop, St. Augustine.  St. Augustine is known for writing what is basically the first autobiography in Western Civilization, called the Confessions.  St. Augustine, a Bishop in his 60s, writes this autobiography reflecting on his journey toward Christ, he wasn’t always a Catholic. In this writings he confesses an adolescence misspent in serious sin, the works of the flesh: lust, promiscuity, pride, theft. He confesses an early adulthood flirting with heresy and erroneous philosophies. But then he confesses the wonderful account of grace, hearing the preaching of St. Ambrose, he confesses the great healing of his soul when he allowed his pride and error and hardness of heart to be converted into belief in Christ—when he made the choice, to serve the Master.

St. Augustine is often artistically depicted holding a flaming human heart, a heart, set on fire with the love of God, because he allowed the Gospel call to conversion to penetrate his inmost being, to allow the word of God, the power of God, the light of God to ignite his heart with love and truth.

To heed the Gospel call, to cooperate with Grace, we do well to make a daily confession in a sense, a daily examination of our conscience.  What evil in my heart did I fail to bring to God today, what selfishness did I indulge, what uncleanness did I fail to bring to God to be washed of. 

If we’ve committed a serious evil, of course, we need to bring that to the Sacrament of Confession, as soon as possible. For venial sin, we repent of it on the spot, ask the Lord’s mercy and healing, with the intention of amending our life, of doing better tomorrow.

Now, of course, if we’re just passing out in front of the television or iphone, it’s difficult to make quiet time for the daily examination. So we need to make that effort, At the end of the day before sleep, to ask yourself and ask God: how did I treat people today? How did I treat my spouse, my children, my coworker.  Why was I so harsh to that waitress, that cashier? Why was I in such a hurry or inconsiderate in traffic? Why was I so consumed by that immodest image or fantasy? Was I grateful today? Did I go out of my way to help anyone today or did I demand that everyone bow down to my way?  Did I take the time to encourage the doubtful, to visit the lonely? What were my sins today? What were my virtues?

St. Augustine writes, “Urged to reflect upon myself, I entered under your guidance into the inmost depth of my soul,” Every day, have the courage to allow God to lead you into the depths of your soul to be alone with God and allow him to help you look within at your heart, at your choices, your vices, your wounds, your unused gifts and talents. “Entering into myself I saw…your immutable light” says Augustine. Having the courage to be alone with God, you will find, God waiting for you there, even in our woundnedness, with his healing light. For the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Trinity Sunday 2021 - Mysterious Love

 

We have come again to the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity.  I don’t know who dreads this Sunday more, the priests who have to attempt to explain this most mysterious of all Catholic Dogmas in a short homily, or the people, who have to listen to it.  

I think many priests on Trinity Sunday, like Saint Patrick depicted in our stained glass window with the three-leaf clover, try to explain the nature of the Trinity with some analogy: the trinity is like three burning candles twisted together to have one flame, or like a three-stranded piece of rope.  Or the Trinity is like an egg, and the three persons are like the egg shell, an egg white and an egg yolk.  Some have said the Trinity is like Water which can come in three modes: ice, liquid, or steam, or a tree that has branches, leaves, and roots.

The problem with each of these analogies is that they are ultimately wrong, yes, even Saint Patrick’s use of the three-leaf clover.  To say that the Trinity is like some created thing will never fully explain the Trinity.  The three divine persons of the One Supreme Godhead –Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, are not three modes of God, three parts, three divisions, or three different masks that God wears. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not three separate entities, like three separate Gods. In a sense, it’s easier to say what the Trinity is not, than what the Trinity is.

In the end, all analogies fail. God is greater than our human comprehension. And I think that’s one of the reasons we celebrate Trinity Sunday: to acknowledge that God is greater than my human comprehension, and I’m okay with it. 

Saint Augustine, who is one of the most profound reflectors on the Trinity said, “Si comprehendis, non est Deus” which means, “If you understand, it’s not God.”  The minute you say, yes, I got it now: that’s not God, says Augustine.  The Trinity is greater than human understanding. 

And that’s a wonderful thing. God is bigger than us. He’s greater than us. He resists being limited by our human categories and prejudices. 

We all know the famous story of the Israelites, after crossing the red sea, they come to mt. sinai. And they fashion for themselves an idol to worship. A hunk of metal. Though their action was way off the mark, and yet, it’s somewhat relatable. It’s a perennial temptation to fashion for ourselves gods which are less mysterious, less demanding, gods that we can see and touch and obtain. Why do people worship money and the accumulation of material things? Because they are right there! Why do people make idols out of athletes and politicians? Because they are right there. Listen to them talk—they’re so charming; they tell me what I want to hear. Watch them play—they’re so talented! It makes me happy.

But we are made for so much more than the happiness offered by the false idols of our own making. We're made for the eternal blessedness of communion with the One True God.

So on one hand, God is mysterious—beyond the comprehension of any created intellect. On the other hand, we were created in order to love God.  And an old proverb says, "You cannot love what you do not know."  God’s nature might be ultimately unknowable, but God has revealed something about Himself--He loves us. 

Catholics don’t believe in some generic faceless nameless divinity like the unitarians because God is not generic—He is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Catholic don’t worship some uncaring divine force—but a communion of love whose goodness overflows for us. The Father has a plan for his creation, His Son is sent to enact that plan: to suffer and die for it, the Holy Spirit enflames our hearts and incorporates us into that plan.

While mysterious, the Holy Trinity desires that we seek to know Him, love Him, and serve Him in this life, that we may be happy with Him in the next. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your mind, and all your strength, the Lord tells us. Okay. How?

Just as you get to know someone by spending time with them and doing work with them, so too, we come to know Father, Son, and Holy Spirit spending time with them in prayer, by reading what the Scriptures reveal about Them, what the great Church Fathers have written about them, and by spending time in their service.

Why do a growing number of people in this country claim to have no relationship with God? Because they do none of these things. Instead of prayer, they seek the superficial status of social media. Instead of reading the Scriptures, they turn their minds to the perverse entertainments of our day. Instead of engaging in the holy works of mercy, they seek to build up for themselves treasures on earth.

Many people today blame God for their troubles, instead of recognizing God’s desires to help them in their troubles. They say, there is evil in the world, there is evil in my life, therefore God does not exist. In this case, they’ve fashioned such a small, impotent God. Rather, Catholics know, that God is doing something about the evil in the world, he has done something about the evil in the world. The Father has sent the Son to conquer evil and sin and death. And he is victorious. And we can share in that victory by belief in Him, by handing our lives over to Him, by bearing our crosses in union with Him, with the sure and certain Hope, that discipleship leads to resurrection and eternal life.

The Holy Trinity is mysterious, but as we encounter Him in our liturgical worship in our daily prayer, and in our charitable service, we begin to know with our minds and fix in our hearts that the Lord is God. 

In the celebration of Mass, particularly, the Holy Trinity is acting now in history: Father, Son, and Spirit, breathing new life into the Church, nourishing us with the Eucharist, enkindling our hearts for the work of the Gospel. As we continue this sacred celebration and as you go forth from here into the world, let us open our minds, hearts, and souls to the goodness and providence of the Trinity. Let us trust Him, and seek to know Him ever more intimately, and serve Him always and everywhere for the Glory of God and salvation of souls.

5th Week of Lent 2021 (EF) - Monday - Sin is turned in on itself (incurvatus in se)

 The epistle today contains one of the most dramatic responses to the call to repentance in the entire old testament—the entire a city of Nineveh—about 120,000 people—the nobility, the peasantry, even the cattle and sheep—all repented when God sent Jonah to preach to them. 

Contrast the response of the Ninevites to the response of the Pharisees in the Gospel. They have not responded to the Lord with signs of repentance—quite the opposite. They have sent out their own agents to silence the Word of God—to arrest and murder Him.

Where the Ninevites show by their actions how they have turned from evil, the Pharisees have shown how they remain turned toward evil.

St. Augustine coined a phrase to describe this unwillingness to turn toward God. He called it, “incurvatus in se”. Sin is turned in on itself, curved in on itself. Instead of using our gifts and our time for the glory of God, sin has us curved in on ourselves, concerned more for the fulfillment of earthly appetites, than pursuing heavenly goods. 

You will find this same idea in tomorrow’s epistle, in the great story of Susanna from the book of Daniel. You likely know the story well. The two elders lust after Susanna and conspire to have their way with her. Scripture says that as they began to lust for her, “they suppressed their consciences; they would not allow their eyes to look to heaven.” Sin always involves a failure to turn one’s eyes to heaven, the suppression of our consciences, the silencing of the Word that has been preached to us. 

In times of temptation, rather, we are invited by the Lord to turn to him and recognize that He offers the waters that truly satisfy. In times of temptation, we must turn to the Lord for help, for strength, for fortitude. God is never displeased when we lift our eyes to heaven for help, especially when we are being assailed by assaults from the flesh, the enemy, or the world.

In less than two weeks we will celebrate the Great Sacred Triduum. In the Lenten days we have left, let us like the Ninevites show by our actions, our Lenten penances our desire to turn definitively from all sin, to allow the Word of God to echo in our lives, to drink deeply of the life giving waters, that the spring of living water may rise up within us, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

December 7 2020 - St. Ambrose - Drinking deeply of the Word

 

Ambrose was of the Roman nobility, trained in the classics, a poet, and a noted orator made governor of the northern Italian city of Milan.  And in the year 370, while Ambrose was the Roman governor of Milan, the bishop died, and a heated argument erupted over who would be the next bishop.  Ambrose tried to resolve this dispute, and his oratory struck such a chord with the people that someone shouted out, “Ambrose for bishop”.  The orator was speechless, for he had no intention of being bishop, let alone a priest, he wasn’t ordained…he wasn’t even baptized, for he was still a catechumen preparing for baptism.  

He resisted, claiming that he was unworthy, but the people continued to acclaim, “Ambrose for bishop”.  The people prevailed, mostly because Ambrose wanted to preserve peace.  So on December 7 of that year, he was baptized, and was consecrated a bishop, a week later.  He immediately gave away his wealth to the Church.  

In his autobiography, the Confessions, St. Augustine talks about the impact of St. Ambrose upon his life. For years, Augustine had searching for the Truth, but not no avail. He wandered from one strange philosophy to another, even into the strange Gnostic cults like the Manicheas. 

The great turning point in Augustine’s life was during his stay in Milan. There he heard the preaching and teaching of the holy bishop St. Ambrose. Ambrose, by living an exemplary life worthy of Augustine’s admiration, was able to attract Augustine to the truth and goodness of the Christian Gospel.

In order to share the truth we must be grounded in the Word of God. St. Ambrose, as bishop, urged his priests to dedicate their free time to reading and studying the scriptures. Listen to Ambrose’s advice to his priests: “Drink, then, from Christ, so that your voice may be heard….He who reads much and understands much receives his fill.  He who is full, refreshes others.”

Having drunk deeply from the Word of God, St. Ambrose’s life was full of the life and truth of God, who through him, was able to touch the life of a searcher, like Augustine. 

What a perfect Advent saint and model for all of us. Like Our Lady, Ambrose said yes to God in a major moment in his life. And like Our Lady, Ambrose continued to say yes to God daily, sitting down with the scriptures in his lap, drinking deeply from the word of God.

May our lives and the Church be governed by the courage and wisdom which governed and filled the heart of St. Ambrose, doctor of the Church, that through us, Christ the Lord might draw others to himself for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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We raise up our prayers of petitions, as we await with longing the Advent of Christ the Lord.

That the teaching and preaching of the Pope and all bishops and clergy will be founded firmly upon the full truth of the Word of God. 

That all those who wander in error, far from the Gospel of Christ, may be led through the preaching and example of the Christian people to the fullness of faith. 

That our president and all civil servants will carry out their duties with justice, honesty, and respect for the dignity of every human life.  That Christ may banish disease, drive out hunger, and ward off every affliction.

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Almighty ever-living God, who bring salvation to all and desire that no one should perish, hear the prayers of your people and grant that the course of our world may be directed by your peaceful rule and your Church rejoice in tranquility and devotion. Through Christ our Lord.

2nd Week of Advent 2018 - Monday - Advent Love

As I mentioned last week, the four candles of the Advent wreath traditionally represent the four Advent themes of hope, love, joy, and peace. The second candle symbolizing Christian Charity has now has been lit. So, this week we meditate on the love infusing this beautiful season—the love of God which transforms us to love others.

In the fourth century, Saint Augustine wrote, “What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men.”

In the Gospel, we see Christian love beautifully illustrated in the companions of the paralyzed man. Aware of their friend’s misery, they use their hands and feet to overcome obstacles to bring their friend to the Lord.

To grow in Advent charity, our eyes, ears, hands, and feet are to be placed in greater service of God, greater service of those in need. We are to become that 2nd Advent candle, shining with good works, works of charity. As the Lord teaches, "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

Pope Benedict XVI wrote his first encyclical on Love. Love, which is not a sentiment, not an emotion, but an action which seeks the healing and the wholeness of others. My favorite line from any papal encyclical in the past 20 years, and probably the only line from a papal document I can quote from memory comes is this: “Love is the light—and in the end, the only light—that can always illuminate a world grown dim.”

Whose dark world will you make brighter today? Whose paralysis will you bring to the Lord? How will you be a true loving friend today, by bringing someone to Jesus in your words and deeds? Who needs the use of your hands, feet, eyes, and ears?

May our love increase, and may the light of Christ’s love be evident in us, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
 
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We raise up our prayers of petitions, as we await with longing the Advent of Christ the Lord.

For an increase in charity among the Christian people, that we may be cleansed of every vain and selfish desire in order to become instruments of the love of God.

That our president and all civil servants will carry out their duties with justice, honesty, and respect for the dignity of every human life.

For all the sick and suffering, the homeless, the unemployed, those suffering from addictions, and anyone in any kind of distress.

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

O God, you know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the prayers of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our Lord.

December 07 2018 - St. Ambrose, bishop and doctor - God works through intermediaries

Throughout Advent, we are confronted with quite an interesting dimension of God’s plan for human redemption: God works so often through intermediaries. He works through angels, angels who bring the announcement of his will. He works through Zechariah and Elizabeth, and John the Baptist proclaiming the coming of Christ. He works through Isaiah the prophet preparing the minds and hearts of God’s people to ready themselves, to put their trust and confidence in the goodness of God and his care for the poor in spirit. God works through a sinless virgin, literally coming into the world through her.

Again, we celebrate another wonderful Advent saint, who himself was an intermediary through whom God worked to bring souls to himself. For it was through the preaching and teaching and personal holiness and integrity of life of St. Ambrose, bishop of Milan, that God worked to bring the fallen soul of St. Augustine back to himself. Augustine wrote in his Confessions how he had fallen into the foulest and most wicked of lifestyles, his mind corrupted with worldly error and vice.

Augustine describes anguish, in fact, hearing the words of Ambrose—anguish because Augustine began to recognize the errors of his ways, his arrogance. Through Ambrose, Augustine claims that God pierced his heart with his love. Powerful. Ambrose we know wasn’t the only intermediary in Augustine’s life. Augustine’s mother, St. Monica, shed a lifetime of tears and countless prayers for her wayward son.

Each one of us here today is able to profess the Catholic faith because that faith was shared with us by others. For many of us, it was our parents who gave us the gift of faith. Priests and religious sisters and catechists, too, strengthening our faith. Brother and sister Christians, through their own lives of holiness, inspiring us to be more selfless and humble. We all have a part to play in sharing the faith, and we must never underestimate the value of solid preaching and teaching and good Christian example.

It was because that Ambrose had cooperated with the grace of God in his own life, forming his mind through study of Latin, Greek, rhetoric, philosophy, literature, and of course sacred scripture, that he was able to be such an effective intermediary, a powerful instrument of evangelization.

Advent challenges us to prepare the way of the Lord in our minds and hearts, making straight the paths of our own life, that Christ may travel them, to brings souls to himself for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
 
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We raise up our prayers of petitions, as we await with longing the Advent of Christ the Lord.

That the teaching and preaching of the Pope and all bishops and clergy will be founded firmly upon the full truth of the Word of God.

That all those who wander in error, far from the Gospel of Christ, may be led through the preaching and example of the Christian people to the fullness of faith.

That our president and all civil servants will carry out their duties with justice, honesty, and respect for the dignity of every human life.

 That Christ may banish disease, drive out hunger, and ward off every affliction.

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Almighty ever-living God, who bring salvation to all and desire that no one should perish, hear the prayers of your people and grant that the course of our world may be directed by your peaceful rule and your Church rejoice in tranquility and devotion. Through Christ our Lord.

1st Week of Lent 2018 - Friday - Repentance is a matter of Life and Death

Lent is a powerful call to repentance, and repentance is a matter of life and death. As we heard from the prophet Ezekiel this morning: "If the wicked man turns away from all the sins he committed, if he keeps all my statutes and does what is right and just, he shall surely live, he shall not die."

Recalling the story of Adam and Eve, we recognize the spiritual death, the separation of God, which sin brings between God and man. Sin, which says, I’m going to choose another path, a path separate from the ways of God.

We certainly offer up our Lenten penances, our sacrifices—we pray for the conversion of those trapped in cycles of mortal sin, those who have so corrupted their moral compass that the course of their life is leading them to eternal separation from God.

But notice, Ezekiel says, that the wicked man must turn from “all” the sins he committed. Each of us has an obligation to strive to be free from “all” of our sins: mortal and venial sins. We should not be content with habitual or sporadic venial sins in our life.

St. Augustine remarks that those who want to walk in the love of God and in his mercy cannot be content with ridding themselves simply of grave and mortal sins. “Even less grave sins” Augustine said, “if they are ignored, proliferate and produce death.”

The good news is, the Lord is ready to forgive us. The Lord does not grow as tired of forgiving us our venial sins as we do of confessing them. It’s when we stop confessing them, when we stop seeking to overcome them through God’s grace, that they will fester and “proliferate” as Augustine says.

“Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven.” This sounds like an impossibly high standard. And it is, humanly impossible. But it is not impossible for God to lead us in the ways of surpassing holiness. It is up to us, with the help of grace, to identity those sin, to repent of them, and to surrender to the grace that gives us strength to amend our life.

Lent is a desert experience in which we separate ourselves from the things that hinder our growth in grace, and it is also a time of new spiritual life, as we open ourselves to God’s mercy and life-giving grace, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For the whole Christian people, that in this sacred Lenten season, they may be more abundantly nourished by every word that comes from the mouth of God.

For the whole world, that in lasting tranquility and peace our days may truly become the acceptable time of grace and salvation.

For sinners and those who neglect right religion, that in this time of reconciliation they may return wholeheartedly to Christ.

For ourselves, that God may at last stir up in our hearts aversion for our sins and conviction for the Gospel.

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Grant, we pray, O Lord, that your people may turn to you with all their heart, so that whatever they dare to ask in fitting prayer they may receive by your mercy.

Monday - 2nd Week of Advent 2017 - What does love look like?

Inside our school entrance is a lovely advent wreath, and written on the wall behind the Advent wreath are the words: “Advent is a time for hope, love, joy, and peace”. Hope, love, joy, and peace, as I mentioned last week are the four Advent themes symbolized by the four advent candles.

The candle for love now has been lit as we have entered the second week of Advent. So, this week we meditate on the love infusing this beautiful season—the love of God which transforms us to love others.

The scriptures, songs, and prayers of Advent aid us in recognizing God’s love. How does the old Advent hymn go?  “O Come, O Come Emmanuel to ransom captive Israel.” God comes in the flesh to set us free from the captivity of sin because he loves us.

From love we were made, by love we were made, for love we were made, and Advent helps us to open our hearts to a God who longs to set us free from sin and selfishness.

God wants to see the deserts and parched lands of our souls bloom and flourish, as we heard from the prophet Isaiah. He wants “the eyes of the blind opened, the ears of the deaf cleared; the lame leaping like a stag, the tongues of the mute singing.” In the Gospel, Jesus causes a paralyzed man to walk and pronounces his sins forgiven. Jesus is born in Bethlehem to put an end to the reign of paralysis, the imprisonment of sin. Why? Because he loves us, and made us, not for the misery and paralysis and imprisonment of sin, but for the freedom and fullness of selfless love.

Recognizing God’s love, we in turn are compelled to spread that love. As St. John writes, “since God loved us, we ought to love one another.”

In the fourth century, Saint Augustine wrote, “What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men.”

May our Advent devotions open our hearts ever more deeply to the love of God that we may love others in return for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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We raise up our prayers of petitions, as we await with longing the Advent of Christ the Lord.

For an increase in charity among the Christian people, that we may be cleansed of every vain and selfish desire, in order to become instruments of the love of God.

That our president and all civil servants will carry out their duties with justice, honesty, and respect for the dignity of every human life.  We pray to the Lord.

That Christ may banish disease, drive out hunger, and ward off every affliction.

For Pope Francis prayer intention for the month of December, “That the elderly, sustained by families and Christian communities, may apply their wisdom and experience to spreading the faith and forming the new generations.”

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Almighty ever-living God, who bring salvation to all and desire that no one should perish, hear the prayers of your people and grant tha the course of our world may be directed by your peaceful rule and your Church rejoice in tranquility and devotion. Through Christ our Lord.

December 7 2017 - St. Ambrose - Drinking deeply of the Word of God

In his biography, the Confessions, St. Augustine details his conversion from heresy to orthodoxy, from vice to virtue. For years Augustine wandered from one strange philosophy to another, even into strange Gnostic cults like the Manichaeists.

The great turning point in Augustine’s life was during his stay in the northern Italian city of Milan. There he heard the preaching and teaching of the holy bishop St. Ambrose. Ambrose, by living an exemplary life worthy of Augustine’s admiration, was able to attract Augustine to the truth and goodness of the Christian Gospel.

Each one of us here today is able to profess the Catholic faith because that faith was shared with us by others. For many of us, it was our parents who gave us the gift of faith. Augustine came to the faith through the many tears shed and prayers offered by his mother Monica and being exposed to the truth in the preaching and life of a holy bishop. We all have a part to play in sharing the faith, and we must never underestimate the value of solid preaching and teaching and good Christian example.

In order to share the truth we must be grounded in the Word of God. St. Ambrose, as bishop, urged his priests to dedicate their free time to reading and studying the scriptures. Listen to Ambrose’s advice to his priests: “Drink, then, from Christ, so that your voice may be heard….He who reads much and understands much receives his fill.  He who is full, refreshes others.”

Advent is truly a time for all of us to drink deeply from Christ. For all of us are called to refresh others, to bring others to Christ in our own way. But we cannot give what we do not have. Unless we have drunk deeply, we will draw from an empty well.

Sit with the scriptures open upon your lap in a quiet place every day. "Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock” the Lord teaches in our Gospel today.  To reflect upon the prophets and the words of Our Lord is to open our minds, and hearts, and our souls more deeply to Christ, who longs to come to us and make his home in us with His Father, that we may share his light, his love, and his truth for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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We raise up our prayers of petitions, as we await with longing the Advent of Christ the Lord.

That the teaching and preaching of the Pope and all bishops and clergy will be founded firmly upon the full truth of the Word of God.

That all those who wander in error, far from the Gospel of Christ, may be led through the preaching and example of the Christian people to the fullness of faith.

That our president and all civil servants will carry out their duties with justice, honesty, and respect for the dignity of every human life.  That Christ may banish disease, drive out hunger, and ward off every affliction.

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Almighty ever-living God, who bring salvation to all and desire that no one should perish, hear the prayers of your people and grant tha the course of our world may be directed by your peaceful rule and your Church rejoice in tranquility and devotion. Through Christ our Lord.

August 28 2017 - St. Augustine & the Quest for Truth

Pope Benedict XVI wrote about St. Augustine, “A civilization has seldom encountered such a great spirit who was able to assimilate Christianity’s values and exalt its intrinsic wealth, inventing ideas and forms that were to nourish future generations.”

And yet, when we reflect on the life and works of Augustine, it’s not the story of a sinless human being. In his great work, his autobiography, the Confessions, Augustine writes with stunning honesty about his sinful youth, his practical atheism, his lustful indulgences, his adoption of heresy.

Fulton Sheen said that there are two ways of knowing God, knowing him through innocence, and then knowing him as a reconciled sinner through His mercy. Augustine certainly came to know God through the latter path.

The Gospel for the Feast of Augustine speaks of the need to humble ourselves. Augustine’s conversion, like any conversion, certainly came through humility. He was among the intellectual elite. Like so many of today’s academicians he thought he knew better than the ancient faith. But Augustine, continued seeking the truth.

In his Confessions, Augustine details his intellectual conversion away from the Manichaeist heresy, especially due to the preaching of the holy bishop of Milan, St. Ambrose.  He had the humility to listen to wisdom of the saints. He had the humility to open the Scriptures to learn from the Word of God.

Augustine wrote: “What does the soul desire more ardently than truth?  The truth is known by love.” Augustine realized that true wisdom is not found in the philosophies of the age, and that without the love of God the intellect is darkened.  Without humility and love, the quest for Truth is in vain.
Augustine was a genius, but genius without humility, faith, hope, and love, is nothing. However, surrendering his genius to God, responding in humility to the grace of God enabled him to become as Pope Benedict called him, “the greatest Father of the Latin Church. The man of passion and faith, of the highest intelligence and tireless in his pastoral care, a great saint and Doctor of the Church.”

Augustine is a great patron Saint for our own day, for our youth, for the arrogant university intelligentsia, for those addicted to sin, for those who flee from the Church and from the Truth of the Gospels.

May we come to understand and experience that same conversion of mind and heart, so we too, like St. Augustine may say: “Late have I loved you, O beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I love you!  You were within me, but I was outside, and It was there that I searched for you.  In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things you created.  You were with me, but I was not with you.  Created things kept me from you; yet if they had not been in you they would have not been at all.  You called, you shouted, you broke through my defenses.  You flashed, you shone, and you dispelled my blindness.  You breathed your fragrance on me; I drew in breath and now I pant for you.  I have tasted you, now I hunger and thirst for more.  You touched me, and I burned for your peace.” For the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That the preaching of holy bishops and priests may attract those seeking for Truth to Truth of the Gospels.

That our young people may be kept safe from the evils and errors of our culture, and seek to conform themselves to Christ in all things.

For those who have fallen into error or serious sin, those whose pride keeps them from knowing God’s mercy, and for those who have fallen away from the Church or do not know Christ, for their conversion and the conversion of all hearts.

That the love of Christ, the divine physician, may bring healing to the sick and comfort to all the suffering.

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased priests and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.

O God, you know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the prayers of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our Lord.