Holy Week 2026 - Wednesday (School Mass) - Preparing for the Sacred Triduum

Tomorrow begins the three Sacred Days of the Church Year known as the Sacred Triduum: Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday.

All of our Lenten practices and penances are aimed at preparing us for what happens over the next three days.

Our Lenten prayer has been preparing us to remain close to Jesus. On Holy Thursday, the Lord says, “Stay with me. Remain with me”. We are to prayerfully accompany Jesus into the upper room for the Last Supper on Holy Thursday, we are to prayerfully accompany him as he sweats blood and is arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, and as he goes to the cross on Good Friday, and as his body is laid in the tomb on Holy Saturday.

Our Lenten fasting has been preparing us to take up our crosses as Jesus takes up his. Jesus does not cling to His own comfort, safety, or life. He empties Himself completely. Lenten fasting has enabled us to practice that same self-denial in a small but real way, and to appreciate the suffering Jesus undergoes for us.

Likewise, our Lenten almsgiving has been preparing us to give of ourselves in sacrificial love and generosity as Jesus did on the cross. 

Our Lenten repentance and confession of sin has been preparing us to see our sins honestly. For during the Triduum we see exactly what sin does. Sin is not just some small mistake or a private weakness. Turning away from God—separation from God has real consequences. And Lenten repentance helps us come to Holy Week with clearer eyes: not merely feeling sorry for Jesus, but recognizing that He suffers to save us from our sins.

Finally, Lent prepares us to renew our Christian identity at Easter. For at the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday, the Church celebrates baptism of those who have heard the Lord’s call to the waters of everlasting life. And on Easter Sunday, the Catholic Church collectively renews the promises made at our baptisms—to reject sin and live in the newness of life won for us by Jesus Christ.

In the Gospel today, the disciples approached Jesus and asked him how best they could prepare for the Passover. Each of us does well to do the same? Jesus, how can I best use these short hours we have left to best prepare for Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday? What prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and repentance can help me best be prepared to follow you to the cross, to grave, and to the resurrection, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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As we stand on the threshold of the Sacred Triduum, let us bring our prayers before the Father, asking for the grace to follow His Son more closely through His Passion, Death, and Resurrection.

That the prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and repentance of Lent may bear fruit in a deeper love for Jesus and a more generous readiness to remain with Him in the days ahead, let us pray to the Lord. Lord, hear our prayer.

For catechumens and candidates preparing to receive the Easter Sacraments, that the Lord may strengthen them, purify them, and fill them with joy as they approach the waters of new life, let us pray to the Lord. Lord, hear our prayer.

For God’s blessings upon Corpus Christi Academy students and faculty, and for safety over Easter break. Lord, hear our prayer.

For those who suffer in body, mind, or spirit, and for all who carry heavy crosses, that by uniting their sufferings to Christ they may find strength, peace, and consolation, let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, hear our prayer.

For the faithful departed, that having died with Christ, they may share forever in the glory of His Resurrection, let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, hear our prayer.

Heavenly Father, in your love you gave us your Son, who suffered, died, and rose again for our salvation. Hear the prayers we place before you, and prepare us to enter these sacred days with faith, gratitude, and love. Through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

 

11th Week in Ordinary Time 2025 - Wednesday - Whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully

 There is a spiritual truth that applies to our faith, and probably just about everything in life: “the more you put into something, the more you’ll get out of it”. The more you study, the more you’ll learn. The more you practice, the better you’ll become. The more you engage with joyful, motivated people, the more joyful and motivated you will be.

St. Paul describes this spiritual law in the first reading today: “Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” 

In reference to the spiritual life the more we engage in the life of prayer and good works, the more spiritual fruits will be born. It is not surprising that this is true also about our public prayer, our liturgical worship. The more fully, actively, and consciously we engage in the celebration of mass, the more spiritual fruit you will derive from it. Consider the difference between a Catholic who just shows up for Sunday mass, without having prayerfully prepared throughout the week. They roll out of bed, they show up 2 minutes after mass begins, they don’t pick up the hymnal, they are thinking about the activities they want to accomplish after mass is over. It’s no wonder such Catholics easily fall away from the obligation of Sunday Mass.

Now consider the Catholic who has reflected upon the Sunday scripture readings throughout the week leading up to Sunday. They have been praying for certain neighbors and family members throughout the week, and now on Sunday they lift their loved ones up to the altar with the Eucharist. They unite their mind and heart in the songs of the mass, and contemplate how what the priest is doing on the altar is what Jesus did on the cross. They’ve engaged in works of charity throughout the week and step forward to receive the Body and Blood of the Lord to be their strength for charitable works in the week ahead. They’ve examined their conscience each night, recognizing their sins, and now come to mass with the hope of being purified of selfishness.

The more you put into the mass, the more you’ll get out of it.

This principle is reflected in Jesus' teaching on the three great spiritual disciplines in the Gospel today: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. These are not meant to be shallow gestures or public performances, but acts of genuine self-giving to God.

And we find that the more generous we are with God, with the practices of the spiritual life, the more generous God is in filling our souls with his divine life, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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Trusting in the Lord who desires to fill us with His grace, let us offer our prayers with sincere hearts, seeking to grow in holiness through prayer, worship, and charity.

For the holy Church of God: That her members may sow bountifully in the life of prayer and good works, and thus reap an abundant harvest of holiness and grace.

For world leaders and those in positions of authority: That they may govern with wisdom, integrity, and a genuine commitment to justice and peace, promoting the dignity of every human life and working tirelessly for the common good.

For those whose faith has grown lukewarm or routine: That they may rediscover the joy of drawing near to God and engaging wholeheartedly in prayer and worship.

That those who suffer in body, mind, or spirit may find healing, comfort, and strength through the love of Christ and the compassionate care of His people.

For the faithful departed: That having sown in tears, they may reap the joy of eternal life with Christ.

Heavenly Father, hear these prayers we offer in faith. Help us to grow daily in holiness by cooperating generously with your Divine Will. Through Christ our Lord.

2nd Sunday of Lent 2025 - More than a superficial faith

 There’s a story about a wealthy king who wanted to find a bride. And not just any bride, the king wished to marry a woman who would love him, not for his wealth and power, but for who he was as a man. He knew that if he rode through the streets in his royal robes, with trumpets announcing his intentions, his quest would be compromised. This would attract a superficial bride.

So, he set aside his crown and dressed as a simple peasant. He lived among his subjects, working alongside them, and shared in their struggles. And in time, he met a woman who loved him not for what he owned, but for who he was. Only then did he reveal his true identity.

In today’s Gospel, Peter, James, and John are given an extraordinary grace: they see Jesus transfigured in dazzling white, standing with Moses and Elijah. It is a revelation of His divine glory, a brief unveiling of who He truly is. And yet, Jesus does not remain in that state. He does not go back down the mountain glowing, proving to the crowds that He is the Son of God.

We might wonder: why not. If he wished to attract disciples, why didn’t Jesus appear like that all the time? Why doesn’t He display His full power to the whole world and remove all doubt?

While it seems logical that if Jesus displayed His divine glory all the time, people would believe, but the Scriptures repeatedly show that miracles and divine manifestations do not automatically lead to lasting faith, hope, or love.

The Israelites in the Wilderness saw the parting of the Red Sea, manna from heaven, and God's presence on Mount Sinai, yet they still doubted and turned to idolatry.

Many who witnessed Jesus healing the sick, feeding thousands, and even raising the dead still did not follow Him. In John chapter 11, the chief priests and Pharisees respond to the resurrection of Lazarus not with faith, but with a plot to kill both Jesus and Lazarus.

If people could witness these direct interventions of God and still reject Him, then even if Jesus appeared in transfigured glory to the whole world, many would still dismiss it as an illusion, exaggeration, or something that could be explained away.

God desires a relationship with each of us, not based on mere compulsion or overwhelming evidence, any way, but on our choice to believe, and hope, and love Him.  If God simply overpowered us with His glory, it might force knowledge of his existence, but we would lose our ability to have faith. "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe" Jesus says after his resurrection.

The Transfiguration was a moment of divine revelation, but it was not the ultimate proof of Jesus' deepest identity. For ultimately, He is the one sent by God not to overpower humanity through undeniable proof of God’s existence, but rather to show the depths of God’s love to those with eyes to see and ears to hear.

Jesus did not walk around permanently transfigured in dazzling light because that dazzling light would have veiled and obscured—his identity as incarnate love willing to undertake supreme suffering for his beloved. 

His identity is revealed most fully, not in the transfiguration, but in the crucifixion. His identity is love. God is love. And there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 

Notice that this was even the topic the Lord was discussing with Moses and Elijah while he was transfigured. He spoke of how he had to go to Jerusalem to suffer and die to deliver us from the slavery of sin and death. But he goes willingly because he loves us and wants to see us free.

If God’s goal was simply to make us believe in Him, he could have done so easily. Just like the king in the story could have easily found a bride through crown and treasury. But Jesus desired a bride who would love Him with true love. And he goes to the cross to show His love for us, his bride. 

And of course he goes to the cross to give us an example to follow—to in fact show us the road to heaven—the road we must follow. We must take up our cross and follow him in all things. 

To be Christian is not simply to walk around with the idea that God exists in our heads. Rather, to be Christian—to be heirs of the kingdom—is to conform ourselves in thought, word, deed, in obedience to God, to Jesus Christ—to love as he loves—to work for the good of others at cost to ourselves. True love is costly, as our Lord shows us. But we have been redeemed so that we may be transformed into love with Christ.

How are we to experience this transformation? Again, I stress the importance of our Lenten practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving during this season. Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving signal our openness to the transformation God wants for us.

Prayer: it’s not just about asking for things; it is about aligning our hearts with God’s will. Through prayer, we allow God to reveal Himself to us—not in overwhelming signs, but in the quiet of our hearts, where He gently calls us to trust Him.

Fasting: it’s not simply an act of self-denial or discipline; it is a concrete way of expressing our hunger for something greater than what the world offers. When we give up certain foods, comforts, or habits, we remind ourselves that our deepest satisfaction is found in God alone.

Almsgiving is not the cold fulfillment of a religious obligation, rather it shifts our focus from self to others. When we give to those in need—not just from our excess, but in a way that costs us something—we imitate Christ-like love. Our almsgiving signals that we are allowing Christ’s love to transform us into people who give of themselves as He did.

Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are not ends in themselves. They are signs of our willingness to be changed. Through them, we tell God: “I want to know You” “I want to be freed from what holds me back” “I want to love as You love”.

Again, it is not through some undeniable sight of Christ’s divinity that God transforms us. But choosing those actions to become like Jesus in his self-giving. By choosing to pray, fast, repent and engage in works of charity, our spiritual sight is made pure to know God’s presence with us in this life and to behold God’s glory in eternity for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

1st Week of Lent 2025 - Monday - Almsgiving and our Eternal Judgment

 

At the election of a new Pope, the Cardinals of the Church gather in the Sistine Chapel whose walls and ceilings are adorned with some of the most beautiful frescos in the world—painted by the Italian Renaissance master Michelangelo in the late 1530s.  After serious prayer, the Cardinals walk towards the altar to cast their vote for the new Supreme Pontiff of the Holy Church of God. Above that altar is a depiction of the Second Coming of Christ and the final and eternal judgment by God of all humanity, the scene we just heard in the Gospel, “The Last Judgment”.

The Cardinals are reminded by that great biblical scene that their vote must not be motivated by selfishness or ambition, for they will face Christ as Judge on that final day, and will have to answer for the choices they made.

Holy Mother Church presents us with this scene on this Monday of the first full week of Lent, as we just read the Lord’s own teaching on our judgment. And he does not simply announce the fact that we will be judged by God, he is clear about the criteria: when I was hungry you fed me, when I was naked you clothed me.

Lent is a time for examining our conduct, our lifestyle, and our motivations. And the criteria for that examination must include the criteria set by the Lord himself. How do you treat people? How do you treat the poor?

We prayed in our collect prayer this morning, “convert us, O God our savior.” A vital dimension of the conversion the Lord wants for us is for each of us to seek to serve God more faithfully by serving those in need.

We are to seek conversion from avarice and greed that clings to possessions and wealth in order to share our goods more freely. Sometimes we hesitate to give because we worry we won’t have enough for ourselves, but we are to seek conversion from this form of anxiety and fear. We are certainly to seek conversion from any indifference which blinds us to the real needs and sufferings of others. We are to seek conversion from our pride which views ourselves as more deserving of material goods than others.

And with the Gospel in mind, we are to seek conversion from those attitudes and vices because they are detrimental to our immortal souls. Unwillingness to give alms, to participate in the works of mercy speaks volumes about the state of one’s soul.

So may we cultivate the generosity and concern for the poor praised by Christ Our Lord and Judge for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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Confident in God’s desire to dispense mercy, let us offer our prayers and petitions for the Church and for the world.

 

That all Christians may dedicate themselves this Lent to deeper prayer and practical works of mercy, so that our witness may bring hope and compassion to those who suffer.

For Genuine Conversion of Heart for all people: That we may turn from the vices of greed, indifference, and pride, and instead cultivate generosity, trust in God’s providence, and heartfelt concern for our brothers and sisters in need.

For the Poor and Vulnerable That those who are hungry, homeless, or struggling in any way may find compassionate assistance among the faithful, and that they may experience the love of Christ through our concrete acts of mercy.

That all who have died, trusting in God’s mercy, may come to behold the face of Christ the Eternal Judge and receive the reward of eternal life, especially N…

Merciful God, You call us to ongoing conversion and to recognize Christ in the poor and needy. Hear our prayers, and grant that, guided by Your Spirit, we may grow in compassion and generosity, so that on the day of judgment, we may be found among those who have loved and served Him in our brothers and sisters.

1st Sunday of Lent 2025 - The devil hates Lent

In Old Testament times, soldiers and warriors would be anointed with oil before battle.  Today’s Gospel immediately follows Jesus' anointing by the Holy Spirit at his Baptism.  Like the soldiers and warriors of old, following his anointing, Jesus is led by the Spirit to do battle in the desert with Satan.

Why the desert? In scripture, the desert is not only a place of trial and challenge, but the dwelling of the evil spirits and desert predators.  Well, in the desert, Jesus encountered the greatest of predators—the Devil—of whom Saint Peter says “lurks like a prowling lion looking for souls to devour”.  This is the same predator that lurked in the garden of Eden under the form of a serpent.

Why did Jesus go to the desert? After all, it’s the very first thing he does after his baptism in the Jordan. He goes to the desert—into Satan's territory—deliberately—to show us that he has come to defeat evil. In his first New Testament letter, St. John says that Jesus has come to destroy the works of the devil. If his baptism marks the beginning of his public ministry, the Lord’s time in the desert shows us that he has embarked on a campaign against the powers of evil.

Now, you might say, well, what kind of fight is that anyway, Jesus who is God versus some fallen angel? There’s no challenge there.  The devil is not God's equal. “By the blast of God his enemies perish, and by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed,” and all that.  Of course Jesus is going to be come out victorious.  But Jesus doesn’t confront Satan with a blast of divine lightning, but with his frail human nature.  

St. Lawrence of Brindisi, a good Italian Franciscan saint from the 16th century comments: “Christ came into the world to do battle against Satan…He could have accomplished this by using the weapons of his divinity …but in order that his victory might be the more glorious, he willed to fight Satan in our weak flesh.  It is as if an unarmed man, right hand bound, were to fight with his left hand alone against a powerful army; if he emerged victorious, his victory would be regarded as all the more glorious.  So Christ conquered Satan with the right hand of his divinity bound and using against him only the left hand of his weak humanity.”

Weak humanity when coupled with divine life results in victory. And that’s the great lesson for us all. So often, we excuse sin as simply a result of human nature. Two friends become embroiled in gossip, “it’s only human nature”. Drinking too much and falling into drunkenness, “it’s only human nature”. Giving in to lust or greed or gluttony, “it’s only human nature”. But no, our relationship with Christ changes us. Christians are not slaves to fallen human nature. In the desert, Jesus shows that weak, frail human nature can emerge victorious even in a battle with Satan himself, if we rely on faith and the grace of God. 

Christian tradition has always recognized the spiritual battle as a dimension of the Christian life.   Just as Jesus was tempted and tested, so are his disciples.  Just as Christ was opposed by the hostile powers of evil, so are his disciples.  But, just as Christ was victorious over the powers of sin and death, so, shall his disciples be, when we are in union with Christ. 

One of the reasons the devil hates the season of Lent, is because it is during this season that the Church takes up powerful weapons against evil: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving—the very same weapons as Jesus wielded in his spiritual battle.

The prayers on Ash Wednesday alluded to this battle: the opening prayer said, “grant, O Lord, that we may begin with holy fasting this campaign of Christian service, so that, as we take up battle against spiritual evils, we may be armed with weapons of self-restraint”. 

Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are powerful spiritual weapons, and the devil hates them. 

Why does the devil hate prayer? Prayer cultivates a personal relationship with God, making us more receptive to God’s  grace. The devil—whose aim is to separate us from God—detests seeing us  grow closer to God, for that intimacy dispels the isolation and despair that evil tries to sow in our hearts.

In prayer, we encounter the truth of who God is and who we are before Him—beloved children. This awareness counters the enemy’s tactic of distracting us from our Christian identity and mission. When we pray—especially in times of temptation or hardship—we open ourselves to receive divine help. Jesus calls His disciples to “watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation” (Mark 14:38). Prayer thus becomes a shield, thwarting the enemy’s attacks by keeping us spiritually alert.

The devil hates prayer, and The devil hates fasting. Fasting confronts one of the devil’s primary strategies: to keep us enslaved to appetite, comfort, and immediate gratification. By voluntarily limiting ourselves—be it from food, certain forms of entertainment, or other attachments—we exercise self-denial and grow in freedom. This freedom terrifies the devil because an “unencumbered” soul can focus more wholeheartedly on God and charity.

Fasting disciplines the body and strengthens the will. A disciplined Christian is less easily manipulated by sudden urges or passions, making temptations lose their grip.

By temporarily giving up what sustains us physically, we learn a deeper trust in God as our ultimate sustainer. The devil wants us to think we must rely on ourselves alone. Fasting teaches us that “man does not live by bread alone” (Matthew 4:4). We rediscover that God’s grace is our true strength, loosening the enemy’s hold on our fears.

And certainly, the devil hates almsgiving. Almsgiving—the practice of giving time, resources, or material help to those in need—is directly opposed to the selfishness, greed, and indifference the devil wishes to sow in our lives. Charity expands our hearts in compassion and generosity.

When we give alms, we participate in God’s love for the poor and vulnerable. Concrete works of mercy bring the presence of God into the lives of others. The devil hates actions that strengthen solidarity and unity among people, because that unity reflects God’s own communion of love (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).

And of course, the devil hates almsgiving because it is a reflection, and manifestation of Christ’s total gift of himself on the cross which destroyed the devil’s stronghold on humanity.

Ultimately, the devil hates prayer, fasting, and almsgiving because they draw us into deeper communion with God, free us from the tyranny of disordered desires, and cultivate a spirit of generous love toward others. 

So again, take these Lenten practices seriously. Every day of Lent is an opportunity to take up the weapons of the Lord so that the kingdom of evil may be defeated ever more definitively in our own lives and in the world for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

 

8th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2025 - Preparing for Lent

 Before the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, the three sundays before Lent would already have the priest garbed in Lenten Penitential Purple. 

There was an old tradition that on the third Sunday before Lent, the parish priest would take a scroll with the word “Alleluia” written on it and bury it in the church yard, as Alleluia is not said or sung during Lent until our Easter Celebration of Jesus rising from the tomb. 

These purple garbed sundays before Lent and the burying of the Alleluia served as reminders to prepare well for the upcoming Lenten season which begins this wednesday with the solemn imposition of Ashes on our foreheads.

Before Wednesday it is important to prepare well for Lent—to devise a Lenten plan for yourself and for your family—to consider what will your Lenten prayer consist of, what will your Lenten fasting consist of, what will your lenten almsgiving consist of. For those three Lenten practices are of great importance; by them, the Holy Spirit prepares us for the new life of Easter—but we need to make some intentional choices. 

It is important to prepare well for Lent, so that Lent may prepare you well for Easter. If you don’t spend any time really reflecting upon what God is calling you to this Lent, you’ll likely not get out of Lent what God wants you to get out of it.

And what might that be? Well, sanctification of course. Growth in virtue, growth in charity, depth of prayer, mastery over disordered passions, and learning to more deeply unite yourself to Jesus Christ—to die with him, that you might live with him for fully.

The word Lent comes from the Anglo-Saxon word Lencten, which is the lengthening of days as we approach springtime, the season of new Growth. And any good gardener knows that before the spring planting and growing season can begin, you first need to clear away the clutter, the dead weeds.  Or how our houses need spring cleaning as dust and dirt and grime and clutter have accumulated over these last months, and spring cleaning is a bit of work, but it’s undergone so that we can live more happily and blessedly. Cleanliness is next to godliness physically and spiritually. 

So, before Wednesday, make a list of your Lenten obligations: stations of the cross, confession, daily spiritual reading, holy week events. 

Bug again, those three practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are so important because they help us to become more like Jesus, which is the goal of the entire Christian life. We hear in the Gospel today, “No disciple is superior to the teacher; but when fully trained, every disciple will be like his teacher.” The entire Christian life trains us to be more like our Master, and Lent is a particularly intense, focused, and intentional part of that training. 

Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving conform us to Christ because these are activities that the Master himself undertook, We pray because he prayed. We fast because he fasted. We gave because he gave. And by them we adopt his own heart and mind: complete trust in the Father, self-sacrificial love, and humble service of others.

We see in the Gospels how often Jesus withdrew to pray—He communed with the Father constantly. So, too, in prayer, we learn to place God first, just as Jesus did. Prayer reminds us that we can do nothing apart from God. It fosters the humility and dependence on the Lord which is to mark each of our days and interactions. By seeking His will in silence, we gradually align our desires with His.

Jesus fasted. He fasted in the desert for forty days, resisting temptation and preparing for His ministry. So, too, fasting teaches us detachment from worldly goods and helps us gain mastery over our appetites. By denying ourselves some legitimate comfort (like a favorite food), we train in the self-control that is so vital to the Christian life.

How many of our sins have been failures of self-control. Most of them, right? So many sins are failures to control our words, failures to control our bodies, failures to control our impulses and appetites, failures to control our tempers. Practicing self-control is incredibly hard due to our fallen natures. Our gratification-centered culture sure doesn’t help things out, either. So fasting, training in fasting, is so important. 

And so too is Almsgiving. The Lord was constantly giving of Himself—healing, feeding, teaching, and ultimately laying down His life for us. Almsgiving challenges us to look beyond ourselves. So too we become more like Christ by caring concretely for our neighbor’s needs. Generosity combats self-centeredness and fosters compassion, reflecting the heart of Jesus who is “rich in mercy”.

St. Peter Chyrsologus, about 1600 years ago wrote of the importance of the three Lenten practices: He wrote: “Prayer, mercy and fasting: These three are one, and they give life to each other. Fasting is the soul of prayer; mercy is the lifeblood of fasting. Let no one try to separate them; they cannot be separated. If you have only one of them or not all together, you have nothing.”

So again, prepare well for Lent this week by considering how you are being led by the Holy Spirit to take these practices seriously. That this season of spiritual growth may be fruitful. That it may truly be a period of purification and enlightenment in the ways of the Lord—and unite us more fully to Him for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

1st Sunday of Lent 2024 - Noah's Ark and Desert Temptations

 Since the times of the Early Church Fathers, Noah’s ark has been seen as a prefigurement, a foreshadowing, of the Church. Just as the ark was the means by which Noah and his family were spared destruction, so also the Church is the instrument by which Christians are saved from eternal damnation.

The ark housed a male and female of every kind of animal, and the Church houses men and women from every nation, language, and background. God saved Noah and his family, not by a fleet of ships, but by one ark. Similarly, Christ founded not many Churches, but one Church. The ark of Noah sheltered his family from the storm, and it is in the Church that we take refuge from the storms and floods of life. 

The Ark prefigures the church and our salvation in Christ. The salvific wood of the ark foreshadows the salvific wood of the cross. After the flood, God made a covenant with Noah, promising never again to destroy the earth in the same way. This covenant is seen as a precursor to the new covenant established through Jesus Christ.

In our second reading, Scripture itself sees the eight persons of Noah’s family being saved through the waters of the flood as a prefigurement of baptism. And by the way, from the early Church to this day, it is common to construct baptismal fonts with eight sides, to symbolize the eight people on the ark: Noah and his wife, and his sons, Ham, Shem, and Japeth, and their wives.  

We begin the season of Lent with this image of the ark and the waters of the flood because right from the beginning of Lent we are meant to be thinking about salvation and baptism. From the early Church, Lent was a time of preparing for baptism. Those seeking Christ, seeking baptism, would prepare for baptism at easter throughout this Lenten season through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Lenten prayer, fasting, and almsgiving aid the catechumens—those seeking baptism—to conform themselves to Christ, who fasted, and prayed, and gave his life for our salvation.

But it’s not just the catechumens who pray, fasting, and give to the poor…all of us are to pray, fast, and a give alms during Lent, as a way of offering spiritual support and good example for those to be baptized, as well as a way of spiritual preparation for the renewal of our own baptismal promises at Easter.

We pray, fast, and give alms to help us get back to the basics of baptism: prayer, to remind us of the spiritual intimacy we must constantly nurture with God, fasting to remind us of the self-sacrifice of Christ which is to be the model of our own constant self-discipline and self-sacrifice, and almsgiving, to remind us of the charity which should mark every day of our life as Christians. 

Here at St. Ignatius, we have two candidates for full initiation this year: David & Tyler who will be received into full communion with the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil. This morning, there will be a short ritual called the rite of sending, in which we will pray for these candidates, who will be sent this evening to the Cathedral, to gather with Bishop Malesic and all the other catechumens and candidates from throughout the diocese.

Now David and Tyler are already baptized, and are seeking full initiation, but we still pray and fast for them, and for the thousands of people this year who will be baptized and will receive Confirmation and First Eucharist at Easter—about 150,000 adults each year in the United States—who are getting on board the ark of Holy Mother Church.

So, on this first Sunday of the season of Lent, we have the image of the ark and baptism—we have a glimpse of the destination. But, sort of paradoxically, not only do we have this image of water, but this image of the desert. Christ going into the desert, where he is tempted by Satan. 

This story is a powerful reminder that Lent, and really the whole Christian life, constitute a spiritual battle. The powers of Satan are at work to seduce us away from God—to separate us from God through sin. Just as Satan tempted the Lord, the devil utilizes temptation against us. He makes sin sound like a good idea, he makes self-centeredness and disobedience to God seem reasonable, he emphasizes the pleasures of sin while minimizing the physical, emotional, and spiritual cost of sin. 

One reason that Mother Church gives us this reading of Christ’s temptations each year on the first Sunday of lent is because she wants us to be aware that in reaching our destination there is going to be some resistance. Whether that destination is baptism, or individual sanctification, or heaven—there is going to be some resistance, some spiritual resistance by a being who does not want us to reach that destination. He does not want us taking up those weapons of self-restraint, as the Ash Wednesday liturgy called them—prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. He wants us weaponless. He wants to disarm us and create obstacles to faithfulness through temptation. Temptation is real. 

I couldn’t stop thinking about cheeseburgers on ash Wednesday. I swear I am hungrier on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday than I have any right to be. Temptation is real. And as we engage in the Lenten observances, the devil redoubles his efforts to discourage us. 

The devil loves to make evil seem reasonable, and goodness seem unreasonable. He introduces strange thoughts into our heads to convince us to give up on the spiritual disciplines. Fast? Why would you want to fast? You’ll be too weak for work. You’ll starve. You’ll be so weak you won’t be able to think and you’ll embarrass yourself. Pray? You’re too busy to pray. After all you pray just enough as it is. You have other things to do. You don’t want to get behind on your programs after all. God forbid, you miss an episode of Wheel of Fortune. Those TV characters make you feel good about yourself. And Almsgiving? You already give plenty. You’re too poor to give any more than you already do. What about your needs, your wants, your security. Give too much away and you’ll find yourself homeless if you give any more than you are giving.

See, he tells us lies that are just plausible enough to discourage us from what can truly help us to be sanctified. So be aware, you will be lied to this Lent, lied to by the devil who hates you, who hates God, and wants nothing more than to separate you from Him. 

How will we emerge victorious from the desert? By uniting ourselves to Christ, the faithful Son of the Father, and allowing Him to live in us—to be victorious over Satan within us. 

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, please try to attend daily mass throughout the week as much as possible throughout Lent. Here at Church, Christ feeds us with his body and blood which is the greatest protection against the seductions of the enemy. For when we receive Christ in the Eucharist, we receive the one whose truth pierces the lies of satan—we share in his victory. God allows the devil to tempt us, because those temptations are opportunities to allow Christ to punch the devil in the nose—transforming us weak selfish creatures into the image of the faithful Son of God.

So please avail yourselves of the Eucharist as often as possible, eat his flesh and drink his blood, that you may not fall for the lies and empty promises of the devil, and that you might make use of all the opportunities to grow in grace that God desires for you. 

Throughout Lent, together we make this journey of faith, that we may prepare ourselves well to experience, after the mystery of the cross, the joy of Easter, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

1st Week of Lent 2023 - Monday - Getting serious about charity

 At the election of a new Pope, the Cardinals of the Church gather in the Sistine Chapel whose walls and ceilings are adorned with some of the most beautiful frescos in the world—painted by the Italian Renaissance master Michelangelo in the late 1530s.  After serious prayer, the Cardinals make procession the altar to cast their vote for the new Supreme Pontiff of the Holy Church of God. Above that altar is the scene we just heard in the Gospel—a depiction of the Second Coming of Christ and the final and eternal judgment by God of all humanity, Michelangelo’s “The Last Judgment”.

That biblical image certainly adds to the solemnity and seriousness of their responsibility--and that their vote must not be motivated by selfishness or ambition, for they will face Christ as Judge on that final day, and will have to answer for the choices they made.

Holy Mother Church presents us with this scene of the Last Judgment on this Monday of the first full week of Lent.  

We, in a sense, as we are making our procession through Lent, do well to keep that image in mind. The choices in the life matter and we will be judged for them. How we use the time given to us in Lent matters and will effect the choices for which we will be judged. 

How will we make use of the time we have been given? Will we repent? Are we motivated by laziness or authentic desire for conversion? Will we seek to become a saint this Lent, or be happy with remaining a sinner?

What separates the saints from the sinners in today’s Gospel? How each treated his fellow man while on earth. Rather than just looking out for ourselves, like the goats in the Gospel, we are to look to the needs of others and help them as we can. 

Mother Theresa said it succinctly: “At the end of life we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made, how many great things we have done. We will be judged by "I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless, and you took me in.”

“What the Christian should be doing at all times should be done now [during the season of Lent] with greater care and devotion.” May we be generous, intentional, and serious this Lent in our works of charity, giving of our time, talent, and treasure for those in need of it for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For the needs of the poor, the hungry, the homeless, those who are sick, unemployed, or suffering from addiction, mental, or physical illness, imprisoned, and those most in need: that the Lord in his goodness will be close to them in their trials.  We pray to the Lord.

For mercy for the most vulnerable of our human family, the unborn; that their mothers may choose life and be supported by a culture of life. 

For the young people of our Church. May they be strengthened to be witnesses to the Gospel of mercy and work for a future that embodies a genuine culture of mercy.

For those preparing to enter the Church at Easter: that they will be profoundly blessed in their preparation for full initiation into the Body of Christ.  We pray to the Lord.

For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, for all the poor souls in purgatory, and N. 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. Through Christ Our Lord.

11th Week of Ordinary Time 2022 - Wednesday - The importance of regular penance

 

Today’s Gospel Reading should sound familiar to us; we heard it on a Wednesday earlier this liturgical year: on Ash Wednesday at the beginning of Lent. 

This section of the Lord’s Sermon on the Mount sets the tone for Lenten season—giving the Church her marching orders for the forty days. And what does those marching orders consist of? Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, that is, the importance of doing penance, and the manner in which it is to be done, not for outward show, but with a genuine spirit—out of love and worship for God.

We fittingly reflect upon the Lord’s precept to pray, fast, and give alms not just at the beginning of Lent, but also, now, during Ordinary Time, because these penitential practices are to be part of the ordinary life of the Christian.

Doing penance for sins is an importance dimension of the Christian life. Our Lady of Fatima repeatedly called for penance – penance for our own sins and for the sins of others—especially for blasphemies against her Son. “Penance, Penance, Penance” the Angel told the three shepherd children at Fatima. 

By penance we make atonement for offenses against God. Additionally, Penance is medicine for the wounds caused by sin: wounds in our human relationships, wounds in our minds and souls, wounds in our relationship with God. Penance brings about personal and interior conversion.

Pope Francis echoed the ancient call to prayer and penance saying, “penance and prayer will help us to open our eyes and our hearts to other people’s sufferings and to overcome the thirst for power and possessions that are so often the root of those evils.”

Penance also strengthens our fortitude, our ability to suffer for the sake of goodness. Willingly undertaking penance out of love for God strengthens us against temptation and strengthens us for the mission of the Church.

So many Christians are pushovers against temptation, they fall to the slightest temptations, especially temptations of the flesh, because they have not mortified their senses, appetites, and passions through penance. And many Christians recoil at expending any effort for the spread of the Gospel, again, because they have no fortitude built up from intentional acts of penance.

The Lord doesn’t say, “if you pray…if you fast…if you give alms”, but “when you pray, when you fast, when you give alms” implying that these penitential practices are to be part of the ordinary life of the Christian.

Today is a good day for examining our attitude toward penance and mortification, and asking the Holy Spirit to guide us to all truth concerning the penances that should be part of our every day life, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That all Christians will commit to fervent prayer so as to grow in greater love and holiness.  

For the faithfulness to fasting and to all the ways that the Lord wishes to sanctify us.  

For greater generosity for the needs of the poor, the hungry, the homeless, those who are sick, unemployed, or suffering from addiction, mental, or physical illness, and those most in need: that the Lord in his goodness will be close to them in their trials.  

That the Lord will rescue all those who live at a distance from Him because of self-absorption or sin.  

For all those who have died, for all the poor souls in purgatory, for those who have fought and died for our country’s freedom, and for [intention below], for whom this Mass is offered.  

Mercifully hear, O Lord, the prayers of your Church and turn with compassion to the hearts that bow before you, that those you make sharers in your divine mystery may always benefit from your assistance.

11th Week of Ordinary Time 2021 - Wednesday - Year-round Prayer, Fasting, Almsgiving

 Today’s Gospel Reading should be familiar to us; we hear it at least twice a year, most notably on Ash Wednesday, at the beginning of the penitential season of Lent.

In this section of the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord teaches his disciples about some important practices that are to mark their spiritual lives: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. These penitential practices are to be part of the ordinary life of the Christian. We aren’t to pray, fast, and give alms just during Lent, but all year round. 

Why? Why does the Lord introduce these practices in his great Sermon? His mention of these practices immediately follows his teaching on holiness. Remember, the holiness of his disciples is to surpass that of the scribes and the pharisees. His disciples aren’t merely to avoid the sins that are prohibited by the 10 commandments: even the scribes and pharisees did that. Rather, his disciples are to seek an inner transformation of mind and heart so that the very life of God fills us and flows from us.

Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are the prescribed medicines to bring about this transformation, they are the exercise routine, they are the activities which will open up the floodgates of grace within us. 

Certainly, the Scribes and Pharisees also engaged in prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, so even the way Christians do these things are going to be different too. The Lord does simply teach THAT we are to do them, but HOW we are to do them.  Our prayer, fasting, and almsgiving is to be marked by humility, not for show, but in a hidden way—humbly trusting that they are pleasing to God. Humility, poverty of spirit, like that prescribed by the first beatitude at the beginning of his sermon, will bring about the inner transformation.

I know a lot of people who don’t like lent. They don’t like the extra effort demanded by the penitential practices. Yet, consider the call to the penitential practices in light of the words of St. Paul today: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each must do as already determined, without sadness or compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

We are to engage in these practices cheerfully, eagerly, trusting that what we give to God change us for the better. The person who fasts sparingly will gain little. But the person who fasts cheerfully, eagerly, generously, will reap a bounty in their spiritual life and for the good of the church. There is a spiritual economy at work, to which we can only benefit when we contribute generously.

As part of your ordinary time, ordinary spiritual retinue, ensure you’ve factored in these penitential practices prescribed by the Lord for the transformation of your hearts, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That the bishops of the Church will act as true prophets through their faithful teaching, their courageous witness, and their self-sacrificing love. We pray to the Lord.

That government leaders around the world may carry out their duties with justice, honesty, and respect for freedom and the dignity of human life.  We pray to the Lord.

For the Church’s missions amongst the poor and unevangelized throughout the world, that the work of Christ may be carried out with truth and love. We pray to the Lord.

For the grace to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, to love our neighbors and enemies and those who persecute us, and to share the truth of the Gospel with all.  We pray to the Lord.

For all those who share in the sufferings of Christ—the sick, the sorrowful, and those who are afflicted or burdened in any way.  We pray to the Lord.

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, for the deceased priests and religious of the diocese of Cleveland, for the poor souls in purgatory, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom. We pray to the Lord.

O God, who 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.

1st Week of Lent 2020 - Monday - "You did it for me"

On Ash Wednesday, our Gospel reading from the Sermon on the Mount every year, calls us to the Lenten Observances of Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving. Our Gospel today, certainly touches upon the third of the Lenten practices—Almsgiving—and emphasizes not only are we to give to the poor, but we are to recognize something about the poor. In some mysterious way, when we give to the poor—the hungry, naked, thirsty, and alienated, we give to Jesus Himself: “That which you did for the least of my brethren, you did for me.”

The Lord identifies with every human person who suffers and is in need of compassion—regardless of age, sex, nationality, or creed. Being their creator, his image is pressed upon every living person. Our love for God and love for neighbor are intrinsically bound. Our love for God impels us to care for those created in his image.

It is not easy to see Jesus in the unwashed, addicted, homeless. It is not easy to see Him in the lonely, hardened, bitter widower or widow. But our Lenten practices help us to see Jesus in all. Our Lenten prayer, if it is genuine, opens the eyes of our hearts not just to God, but to the needs of those created in his image. Our Lenten fasting, frees us from our attachments to food and other created things, that we might more freely give of ourselves in service to the Gospel and to the poor.

For those who have difficulty finding God in prayer, yes they should persevere in prayer, but they should also seek the Lord in service.

Mother Teresa often called the poor “Jesus in disguise.” Consider her powerful words references our Gospel passage today: “In order to help us deserve heaven, Christ set a condition: that at the moment of our death you and I, whoever we might have been and wherever we have lived, Christians and non-Christians alike, every human being was has been created by the loving hand of God in his own image shall stand in his presence and be judged according to what we have been for the poor, what we have done for them…”
 
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For the needs of the poor, the hungry, the homeless, those who are sick, unemployed, or suffering from addiction, mental, or physical illness, imprisoned, and those most in need: that the Lord in his goodness will be close to them in their trials.  We pray to the Lord.
For mercy for the most vulnerable of our human family, the unborn; that their mothers may choose life and be supported by a culture of life.
For the young people of our Church. May they be strengthened to be witnesses to the Gospel of mercy and work for a future that embodies a genuine culture of mercy.
For those preparing to enter the Church at Easter: that they will be profoundly blessed in their preparation for full initiation into the Body of Christ.  We pray to the Lord.
For the Holy Spirit’s guidance in the selection of Cleveland’s next bishop, and that our next Bishop may be a man of true faith and conviction for the Gospel.
For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, for all the poor souls in purgatory, and N. 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. Through Christ Our Lord.

11th Week in OT 2019 - Wednesday - Always Lent

Today’s Gospel Reading should be familiar to us; we hear it at least twice a year, most notably on Ash Wednesday, at the beginning of the penitential season of Lent.

We reflect upon this precept to pray, fast, and give alms, not just at the beginning of Lent, but also during Ordinary Time, because these penitential practices are to be part of the ordinary life of the Christian. We aren’t to pray, fast, and give alms just during Lent, but all year round.

There was an order of monks who lived by the phrase: “Semper Quadragesima”, which means, Always Lent.  They tried always live in that penitential Lenten Spirit always. Because remember, during Lent we strip away the non-essentials to get back to the basics of Christianity, the fundamental Christian practices which nourish the spiritual life. And prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are among those essentials: we will never experience true spiritual growth without them.

Well, in this passage from the Lord’s great Sermon on the Mount, Our Lord teaches us, not just that we are to pray, fast, and give alms, but how we are to pray, fast, and give alms. His concern is not just that we perform them, but the motive and manner in which they do them. 

And His overarching warning is not to do them in order to be noticed by others. To do them in a humble, hidden manner. Yes, we come together to pray publicly, at mass, rosary, novena. But that hidden prayer is so vital. Our generosity to the public almsgiving during the Sunday Offertory is important, but the little hidden acts of giving are powerful and needed.

So if today were the first day of Lent again, what would be some behaviors or activities or pleasures that I endeavor to fast from? What kind of fasting should I be doing all the time—year-round? Is there at least one moment in my day set aside to turn to the Lord in quiet prayer? And what can I do to give of more of my time, talent, and treasure to the needy and in service to the Church.

May our year-round prayer, fasting, and almsgiving be always done with a pure heart out of love for God, the pure motive of helping those in need without being noticed, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That all Christians will commit to fervent prayer so as to grow in greater love and holiness.  We pray to the Lord.

For the faithfulness to fasting and to all the ways that the Lord wishes to sanctify us.  We pray to the Lord.

For greater generosity for the needs of the poor, the hungry, the homeless, those who are sick, unemployed, or suffering from addiction, mental, or physical illness, and those most in need: that the Lord in his goodness will be close to them in their trials.  We pray to the Lord.

That the Lord will rescue all those who live at a distance from Him because of self-absorption or sin.  We pray to the Lord.

For all those who have died, for all the poor souls in purgatory, for those who have fought and died for our country’s freedom.

Mercifully hear, O Lord, the prayers of your Church and turn with compassion to the hearts that bow before you, that those you make sharers in your divine mystery may always benefit from your assistance.

2nd Week of Lent 2019 - Monday - Be Merciful as God is Merciful

During Lent, Our Lord calls us to pray, to fast, and to give alms, that is, to practice mercy. “Be merciful as your Father in heaven is merciful,” as the Lord instructs us in the Gospel today. Notice, Jesus didn't say, “be merciful....once in while.” “Be merciful, only to the people whom you like.”  “Be merciful, only to people who will be able to pay you back.”  No, he says, “be merciful as your Father in heaven is merciful” and his mercy is available to all people at all times.

The call to be merciful is a perennial commandment in Holy Scripture. The covenant people of Israel were to be known for their mercy to widows, orphans, and resident aliens. Israel was often warned about oppressing the poor; the psalms and prophets reminded Israel to show mercy to the poor as they were shown mercy by God who saved them from slavery and captivity.

Because we have such a difficult job imitating God's mercy, God showed us exactly what mercy looks like.  Pope Benedict said, “Mercy has a name, mercy has a face, mercy has a heart...Jesus Christ is divine mercy in person: Encountering Christ means encountering the mercy of God.”

In Christ we realize that God does not stay at a distance judging us, nor is He is not indifferent to our trials.  He enters into our life to show us what it means to be fully human and what it means to be like God. He shows us how to love. So much of our Christian pilgrimage here on earth, is learning to imitate Christ who gives of himself on the cross for our freedom from the slavery and captivity of sin.  He shows us and teaches us how to empty ourselves of our selfishness and self-concern. Sometimes we are not as generous as we should be because we are overly self-concerned—overly concerned about our own security.

Lent helps us, rather, to identify more and more with the Lord in his own self-giving, and to be free from all that keeps us from giving with His spirit and His heart. Are we indifferent to the needs of others? If we want God to be lavish in his gifts and mercy toward us, may we be lavish in sharing our gifts, in our mercy toward our neighbor, toward our brother.

In Christ may we discover ever more deeply the rich mercy of God and thereby come to discover who we are meant to be, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That those despairing of God’s mercy may come to see the face of God’s love in the charity of the Christian people.

That those preparing for baptism and full Christian initiation at Easter may be strengthened in Faith, Hope, and Love.

For an end to all violence in the name of religion, race, nationality, and all oppression of the weak, and for the protection of the unborn.

That we may generously respond to all those in need: the sick, the suffering, the homeless, the imprisoned, and victims of violence, and natural disaster.

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.

2nd Week in Lent 2018 - Thursday - The Rich Man's Lack of Trust in God

In the parable of the Rich man and Lazarus, Our Lord is clearly teaching the importance of caring for those in need—materially, emotionally, spiritually. The Rich Man is condemned for ignoring the poor man—the dying man at his gate. The Rich Man couldn’t claim he didn’t know the poor man was there; for from his conversation with Abraham, the Rich Man appears to have even known the poor man’s name.

So the Lord condemns the hardheartedness for the poor, the selfishness and worldliness which leads to the neglect of the poor in our midst.

But then the Lord takes the teaching one step deeper, exposing the reason for the Rich Man’s failure: he failed to head the way of righteousness laid out by Moses and the prophets. Within the Torah and the Prophetic Writings, care for the poor, the dying, the widow, the orphaned is clear.

Jesus is certainly condemning the Pharisees of his day. They loved the spotlight. Trumpets would be blown when the condescended to give alms. They were like our modern-day career politicians who exploit the poor for their own ends. Sure, they’ll feed the poor when the cameras are filming, they’ll talk a big game in order to get elected, but their disdain for the poor can be seen in their policies which essentially abandon the poor and increase impoverishment.

The Pharisees claimed to be experts of the Law and Prophets, yet their lifestyle did not reflect those teachings. They preached but they did not practice. And Jesus teaches, for this, they would experience eternal separation from God if they did not repent.

Following the Lord requires more than simply having the head knowledge, knowing the teachings, even teaching the teachings. We must practice what we preach. St. James says, “Faith without works is dead.” And dead faith in life, will yield death in eternity.

The Lord claims that the Pharisees failed to trust Moses and the prophets. Sometimes we fail to care for the poor because we lack trust. Psalm 62 says, “Trust in Him at all times, O my people! Pour out your hearts before Him.” Our failure to pour out our hearts, pour out our lives in service, exposes a lack of trust.

How can we increase our trust? Psalm 37 says, “trust in the Lord and do good works”.  By giving—by giving of our time, talent, and treasure—our trust increases. Our Lenten almsgiving truly helps the needy and also increases our trust in God.

May the Lord increase our trust and help our unbelief. May our Lenten observances help us to truly practice God’s Word in this earthly life, that we may come to experience eternal life with Him, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
 
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That those despairing of God’s mercy and those presumptuous of God’s mercy may come to know and practice authentic Christian Hope.

That those preparing for baptism and full Christian initiation at Easter may be strengthened in Faith, Hope, and Love through the Church’s prayer and witness.

That we may generously respond to all those in need: the sick, the suffering, the homeless, the imprisoned, and victims of violence.

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.

June 21, 2017 - St. Aloysius Gonzaga - Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving bring purity of heart

The Gospel Reading is familiar to us; we hear it at least twice a year, most notably on Ash Wednesday, at the beginning of the penitential season of Lent.

And we hear in this Gospel about the three penitential practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. To the Jews of Jesus’ day, prayer, fasting, and almsgiving were very important spiritual practices.  In this teaching, Jesus is clear that his disciples are to continue to engage in these practices. These practices help us to detached from the things of the world, in order to focus on the one thing that really matters.
There was an order of monks who lived by the phrase: “Semper Quadragesima”, which means,
Always Lent.  They tried always to live in that penitential Lenten Spirit because it is so effective at guiding us away from selfishness to become truly generous and full of God's spirit.

These practices help us to obtain that purity of heart, which Jesus calls for in the beatitudes.
St. Francis of Assisi says, “A man is truly pure of heart when he has no time for the things of this world, but is always searching for the things of heaven”

The Saint we honor today, Aloysius Gonzaga, was especially noted for his purity of heart. By age 11 he was teaching catechism to poor children and fasting three day a week and practicing great austerities. After reading a book about Jesuit missionaries in India, Aloysius announced his desire to be a priest in the Society of Jesus, though it took four years for him to obtain permission from his father, who had more worldly dreams for his son.

And upon entering the Jesuits, his sanctity was truly evident, and he would enter into ecstatic prayer not only in chapel, but sometimes at meals and recreation periods. His love for God prompted him, also to serve the sick and needy. He sought the face of the Lord always. And that is the great promise Jesus makes in the beatitudes: blessed are the pure of heart for they shall see God.

Prayer, fasting, giving alms are so powerful, they purify us from earthly cares, they open a window into heaven.

Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, have been taken up as concrete spiritual disciples since the beginning of the Church. And the saints remind us that through them we can achieve the sanctity God desires for each of us.

May our year-round prayer, fasting, and almsgiving bring us great purity of heart that we may radiate the light and love of Jesus for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That all Christians will recommit themselves to fervent prayer as to grow in greater love and holiness.

That we may fast often from the things of the world, in order to seek and value the things of heaven.

That the Church may commit to almsgiving and acts of charity in order to care for the needs of the poor and store up treasure in heaven.

Through the intercession of St Aloysius Gonzaga, patron of young people, that the young may be blessed with true faith, the desire to serve the Lord above seeking the pleasures of the world, and for an increase in vocations to the priesthood and consecrated religious life.

For all the needs of the sick and the suffering, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, the underemployed and unemployed, 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 repose of the souls of our beloved dead, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, for the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, for the deceased priests and religious of the diocese of Cleveland, especially Fr. John Jenkins, who died this week, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.

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. Through Christ our Lord.

Homily: Monday - 2nd Week of Lent 2017 - The measure of mercy

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus gives very clear instruction to his disciples in his great Sermon on the Mount. In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus gives an exhortation to his followers in what is called the Sermon on the Plain. And today’s passage from the Sermon on the Plain is really the climax of the Sermon, making the theme of mercy the pinnacle of his instruction. If you take anything away from this Sermon, remember mercy.

In the Old Testament, the merciful person was one who identified with the needs of others and worked to alleviate their suffering. For the Jewish people, the model of mercy was God himself. “Praise the LORD, for he is good; for his mercy endures forever; Praise the God of gods; for his mercy endures forever; Praise the Lord of lords; for his mercy endures forever” Psalm 136 repeats this proclamation of God’s everlasting mercy 26 times. He is the one who gives bread to all flesh, frees his people from their foes, remembers them in their lowliness, gives land to his people as a heritage.

Jesus instructs us that we are to be imitators of the Father’s mercy—if we imitate the Father’s mercy, we will receive mercy beyond all measure: we will escape condemnation, and will know forgiveness, we will experience God’s abundant generosity in our lives.

“For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you”. To an honest person, that’s kind of terrifying! God is going to treat me with the amount of mercy that I show to those in need: the people that came to me for help, the people that I walked past that I should have helped, the person who needed a kind word of encouragement, the person who needed to be corrected, the person who needed to be consoled, the person who needed to be fed and clothed and cared for.
We can’t help everyone, we can’t save everybody. That’s true. But did you help someone, did you try to save anybody?

Yesterday, I reflected on the beautiful example of St. Veronica, who simply wiped the face of Jesus with her veil. “She did not let herself be deterred by the brutality of the soldiers or the fear that gripped the disciples. (BXVI)” But she responded to the invitation to show mercy, despite her fears and hesitations, and thereby came to see through Jesus’ bloodied and bruised face, the face of God and his goodness.

Jesus’ instruction here should certainly cause us to commit deeply to Lenten almsgiving. May we grow in our attentiveness to those in need, and respond as we can to those needs, and thereby become instruments of God’s mercy for the Glory of God and salvation of souls.

For greater devotion in our Lenten prayer, greater self-restraint in our Lenten fasting, and greater selflessness in our Lenten almsgiving.

For the married, the engaged, the single; for consecrated religious; for our bishops, priests, and deacons.

For the widowed, the separated, the divorced; for anyone in vocational crisis.

For the protection of the unborn, the abused, and every defenseless human being.

For the reverent use and sharing of the world’s resources;  for those in search of employment, in need of healthcare, education, or housing.

For the victims of disasters and of violence; for the sick and their care-givers.

Homily: Thursday - 1st Week of Lent 2017 - Harmony of Prayer and Service

The short Gospel passage taken near the end of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount contains an interesting combination of teachings.

On one hand, it seems Jesus is teaching us about prayer. We are to turn to God confidently in our prayer life, to develop a habit of coming before the Lord with our needs, the needs of our family, the needs of the Church, and the needs of the world. Our daily prayer should certainly include petitions for the needs of ourselves and others.

On the other hand, the Gospel passage also includes a summation of Jesus’ moral teaching: do to others whatever you would have them do to you; the obligation to treat others with charity.
On one hand, Jesus is teaching about praying; on the other, he is teaching about doing. On one hand, He is teaches us to seek the charity of God; on the other, to show the charity of God.

Here we see the harmony and interconnectedness of prayer and service. We will never grow in service without prayer, and we will never grow in prayer without service.

Pope Benedict XVI took up this principle in his first encyclical, Deus Caritas Est. “A living relationship with Christ [through prayer] is decisive if we are to keep on the right path”. “Prayer, as a means of drawing ever new strength from Christ, is concretely and urgently needed.” He pointed to the example of Mother Theresa as “a clear illustration of the fact that time devoted to God in prayer not only does not detract from effective and loving service to our neighbour but is in fact the inexhaustible source of that service.”

“It is time to reaffirm the importance of prayer,” he said, “in the face of the activism and the growing secularism of many Christians engaged in charitable work…A personal relationship with God and an abandonment to his will can prevent man from being demeaned and save him from falling prey to the teaching of fanaticism and terrorism.”

Without prayer, we begin to build a world without God, and without service, we fall into a sort of spiritual inertia.

Lenten prayer and almsgiving help us to feed the fire of the Christian life, to encounter God who is the source of mercy and to become instruments of that mercy for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
 
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For greater devotion in our Lenten prayer, greater self-restraint in our Lenten fasting, and greater selflessness in our Lenten almsgiving.

That civil leaders will use their authority to protect the dignity of human life and the well-being of the poor, the marginalized, the oppressed, those who suffer from discrimination, and the unborn.  We pray to the Lord.

For those preparing to enter the Church at Easter, that these weeks of Lent may bring them purification and enlightenment in the ways of Christ.  We pray to the Lord.

For those experiencing any kind of hardship or sorrow, isolation or illness: that the tenderness of the Father’s love will comfort them.  We pray to the Lord.

Homily: Monday - 1st Week of Lent 2017 - Almsgiving and Works of Mercy

Few people have given themselves to the poor and forgotten like Mother Theresa.  Mother Teresa often called the poor “Jesus in disguise.”

Consider her powerful words referencing our Gospel passage today: “In order to help us deserve heaven, Christ set a condition: that at the moment of our death you and I, whoever we might have been and wherever we have lived, Christians and non-Christians alike, every human being who has been created by the loving hand of God in his own image shall stand in his presence and be judged according to what we have been for the poor, what we have done for them…”

Lent is a season of preparation. Just like the season of Advent prepares our minds and hearts for Christmas, the season of Lent prepares our minds and hearts for Easter. But what we do during this Lent also has eternal ramifications. Lent helps us prepare, not just for Easter 2017. Our reading today, reminds us that Lent helps us prepare for judgment, helps us to prepare for meeting the Christ the Judge.

Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are not only important for Lent, but for the entire Christian life; they are probably the most three important activities in the life of the Christian. Everything boils down to these three activities.

And particularly almsgiving. The life of charity, the life of mercy, are fundamental to the Christian way of life. The Catechism even says, “The works of mercy are not optional but are absolutely essential to living the Christian life of holiness and goodness.”

In opening the year of Mercy, Pope Francis echoed this teaching. He said, “It is absolutely essential for the Church and for the credibility of her message that she herself live and testify to mercy. Her language and her gestures must transmit mercy, so as to touch the hearts of all people and inspire them once more to find the road that leads to the Father.”

Let us consider how the Lord is calling us to engage more deeply in Lenten almsgiving, by reflecting once more on the words of the Holy Father: We cannot escape the Lord’s words to us, and they will serve as the criteria upon which we will be judged: whether we have fed the hungry and given drink to the thirsty, welcomed the stranger and clothed the naked, or spent time with the sick and those in prison (cf. Mt 25:31-45). Moreover, we will be asked if we have helped others to escape the doubt that causes them to fall into despair and which is often a source of loneliness; if we have helped to overcome the ignorance in which millions of people live, especially children deprived of the necessary means to free them from the bonds of poverty; if we have been close to the lonely and afflicted; if we have forgiven those who have offended us and have rejected all forms of anger and hate that lead to violence; if we have had the kind of patience God shows, who is so patient with us; and if we have commended our brothers and sisters to the Lord in prayer.”

May we respond generously to the call to Lenten almsgiving, to the works of mercy, for the glory of God and salvation of souls

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For the needs of the poor, the hungry, the homeless, those who are sick, unemployed, or suffering from addiction, mental, or physical illness, imprisoned, and those most in need: that the Lord in his goodness will be close to them in their trials.

For mercy for the most vulnerable of our human family, the unborn; that their mothers may choose life and be supported by a culture of life.

For the young people of our Church. May they be strengthened to be witnesses to the Gospel of mercy and work for a future that embodies a genuine culture of mercy.

For those preparing to enter the Church at Easter: that they will be profoundly blessed in their preparation for full initiation into the Body of Christ.  We pray to the Lord.

For the engaged couples attending our parish’s Pre-Cana Day this weekend, that the Lord will increase in them His gifts of love to prepare them rightly and chastely for the sacrament of marriage, and for a strengthening of all marriages. We pray to the Lord.

Homily: Monday - 8th Week in OT 2017 - Possessed by possessions?

A few years ago, the Arts & Entertainment channel began airing a show called, “Hoarders”.  The show chronicles people whose accumulation and hoarding of material stuff has become so excessive that it is has become difficult to move through the house; whole rooms of their house have become inaccessible due to this behavior.  In many cases the houses become so unsanitary that children are forced into foster care, or the house is condemned.

There are no doubt many psychological factors involved in compulsive hoarding, but often the show challenges the viewer to examine his own life.  For we can all develop a disordered attachment to material things.

Jesus confronts such a person in the Gospel today, one who has developed a disordered attachment to this things, he has begun to be possessed by his possessions. The rich young man wasn’t an evil person, it seems he kept many of the commandments, but when Jesus invited Him to a deeper relationship with God, the rich young man rejected the invitation, he failed to see Jesus’ invitation as the pearl of great price worth selling everything you have to obtain.

Most of us are not compulsive hoarders, and most of us are following the 10 commandments pretty well. However, each of us are at risk of allowing the preoccupation with earthly concerns to lead us away from our concern for our souls.

When our lives are overly focused on the material, the earthly, we become unhappy and exhausted.  Like the rich young man in the Gospel today, we leave saddened. Likely, so much of the sadness we carry around with us, is because in fact, we have turned away from opportunities to trust in Jesus, to follow him for deeply.

With Lent beginning this week, Our Lord invites us once again to trust in him by engaging seriously in the practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. We will never walk away sad, when we are sincere in our prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

We are reminded once again today that our true joy is not found in the accumulation of earthly things, earthly successes, earthly honors or distinctions, but in abandonment to Jesus, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That the upcoming season of Lent may be a source of renewal and spiritual growth for the entire Christian Church.

That we may guard our hearts from all kinds of greed, be free from everything which keeps us from loving and following Christ with undivided hearts.

For deliverance from any form of avarice which has crept into the hearts of Church or government leaders.

That we may be wise stewards of earthly things in sharing the goods of the earth which come from the rich mercy of God to all those in need.

Homily: 8th Sunday in OT 2017 - Seeking God brings peace

“The Lord has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me”.  Have you ever uttered those or similar words to those found in the first reading from the prophet Isaiah today?  Have things ever gotten so bad that you’ve felt as if God weren’t listening, that God had forgotten you?

A loved one who dies without any warning, a child is afflicted with a severe illness, the loss of a job, a severe natural disaster or national tragedy. Good Christians continue to be persecuted and slaughtered in this supposedly civilized age. Such events can cause us to wonder if we’ve been forsaken or forgotten.

Isaiah wrote at a time when the entire nation of Israel was crying out to God in near despair. Israel had been conquered, captured, and forced into exile by Babylon, the world superpower six centuries before Christ.  The exiled Israelites were little better than slaves.  They were a nation on the verge of annihilation.  They had no king, no leader, no army—from a natural, human point of view, there was no hope of deliverance or redemption.

And in their hopelessness they cried out, “the Lord has forsaken us, the Lord has forgotten us.”  But God sent his prophet Isaiah to remind the exiles to look at their plight from a supernatural point of view.  God says to them through, Isaiah: “Can a mother forget her infant, can she be without tenderness for the child of her womb?”  He uses this image of the most powerful natural bond in human experience, a mother’s love for her child, and says, “my love and care for you is greater.”
This is an image that demands some reflection! Every one of us spent our first years of life defenseless and completely dependent on our mother. A child’s later development depends on the physical contact with his mother. And Isaiah is saying that God’s love goes beyond the physical, beyond the natural, God’s care for us is supernatural and abundant.

Think of the many ways a mother cares for her infant child. We have all witnessed a loving mother trying to comfort a crying baby.  A mother comforts her child who is hungry, by feeding Him.

Well, we children of God hunger and long for Him, to know his closeness, to know that there is more to life than tragedy and sadness and loss. So God feeds us with his own body and blood.  No matter the trial or the sadness or suffering in our life, we are able to come to the altar to be fed by God with “the true food” of heaven. We beings, who are both physical body and eternal soul, receive the life of God under the appearance of bread and wine. God satisfies the thirsty soul, and the hungry soul he fills with what is good, namely, Himself.

A mother comforts a child who is afraid by assuring the child of her presence. A mother’s presence is limited by physical distance, while God is “unseen yet ever near”. Through Baptism the Holy Trinity comes to dwell within the Christian soul. So the Christian is never alone. Fear so often overcomes us, not because God has forgotten us, but so often because we forget God is so close—not because God has gone silent, but because we often fail to incline our ear to His voice. We go through our daily activities never really being attentive to how close God actually is. You want to be free from fear? Often throughout the day, meditate on God’s closeness. Incline your ear to His voice in the Holy Scriptures.

A mother comforts a child who is physically sick by nursing the child to health. Our God brings us to health when we are spiritually sick, when our souls grow sick and are poisoned through sin, God, the Father of mercy, in the sacrament of confession, restores our sick souls to health. And in our severe physical illnesses, Jesus brings the light of grace through the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick.

God calls us to look beyond the material, to the more important spiritual realities. In the Gospel, Jesus teaches us to stop worrying about worldly things, what he calls "mammon." "Mammon" comes from a Greek word meaning material goods and possessions - things that money can buy. He tells us not to be overly anxious about bank accounts, mortgages, work, career, reputation, achievements, worldly successes because these things cannot satisfy our hearts, and that if we care too much about them, they will separate us from God and from the peace of mind that comes only from a strong friendship with Christ.

Rather, he says "Seek first the Kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these other things will be given you as well." The Greek word translated "seek" (zeteo) is a rich verb. It means to want eagerly, to look for actively, to strive for, to set one's heart on.

All of us here already believe in Jesus Christ. But today Jesus is asking us how deeply do we seek Him. How actively are we seeking to know, love and follow Jesus Christ? How firmly is our heart set on his Kingdom? How eagerly and energetically are we striving to achieve righteousness, which is success in God's eyes, as opposed to success in the world's eyes?

Wednesday, begins the great season of Lent. Through our Lenten prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, we get back to basics, we return to those practices which help us to focus on Christ, to seek first God’s kingdom.

In the next few days, it is important for each of us to come up with a Lenten plan. What will your Lenten prayer consist of? Will you add an extra rosary to your daily routine? Will you attend Stations of the Cross on Friday nights? Will you come to Mass a few times during the week? You might sign up to have the daily scripture readings emailed to you, so you can begin your day inclining your ear to God’s voice.

What will your Lenten fasting consist of? Of course, we are obligated to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, and to abstain from eating meat on the Fridays of Lent. But that’s just the bare minimum. We do well to fast from desserts, sweets, snacks, and junk food. If you play a lot of video games or watch a lot of Netflix, perhaps give these things up for Lent, in order to focus on what really matters. Perhaps you have an unhealthy habit or addiction that you’ve been delaying giving up, Lent is the time to finally let go and let God.

And what will your Lenten almsgiving look like? A little extra in the offertory? Maybe instead of spending money on a five dollar coffee at starbucks, you forgo the luxury, and set aside the money for the homeless. Or…get to know your neighbors. Introduce yourself, invite them to the fish fry or stations of the cross, even if they aren’t Catholic. Or offer to bring back some delicious fried fish or pierogi for an elderly neighbor.

I guarantee that if you pour yourselves into the Lenten practices, the worldly anxiety will dissipate, trust in God and your experience of God’s presence will flourish.

Jesus’ teaching today is pretty clear: put God unambiguously first in your life.  That doesn’t mean that you’ll never experience feelings of anxiety, or even great suffering.  But it does mean that you’ll know what to do with them.  You’ll know how to deal with them, and you’ll see them with the divine perspective. When we seek God first, then we will be filled with the inner peace of knowing life’s true purpose.

Seek first the kingdom of God, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.