5th Week of Lent 2026 - Tuesday - Remedy for the serpent's poison

 

For forty years, God had provided for his people as they wandered the desert, giving them manna from heaven. God had fed them, God had sustained them. And yet, as we heard in the reading from the book of numbers today, “the people complained against God and Moses: We are disgusted with this wretched food!”

With their hearts hardened against God, the Israelites became subject to the deadly poison of serpents.

There is a bit of a parallel to Adam and Eve in the garden. God had provided food aplenty for Adam and Eve. But they were discontented with the food God provided, and looked to the fruit of the forbidden tree. They too became subject to the deadly poison of the serpent at the forbidden tree. They were poisoned by the serpent’s bite, and that poison brought death, not only for them, but for the entire human race.

The story from the Book of Numbers looks back to Adam and Eve and the consequences of sin, but it also foreshadows the victory of the New Adam in the Gospel.

The bronze serpent, mounted on a pole, becoming a source of life for the poisoned Israelites, foreshadows the saving death of Jesus Christ, mounted on the cross, which becomes a source of eternal life for all who believe in Him.

The drama of Adam and Eve, the drama of sin, the drama of the Israelites in the desert, plays over and over again in our lives.  We allow trust, love, and gratitude to God to die in our hearts whenever we turn to sin. We allow ourselves to grow discontent with the good food God has provided for us and seek to satisfy our hunger for God in so many artificial substitutes. We allow the serpent to whisper to us, that we should grasp for more than what God has provided. The story warns us of the folly of turning our hearts from God and the consequences that inevitably ensue.

For us and for all people, Jesus is the remedy for this cycle of sin and death. Lifted up on the Cross, He becomes the healing we could never provide for ourselves. To break the cycle, we must turn our ears away from the poisonous words of the serpent, but to turn our eyes to Christ with faith.

Lent teaches us to recognize the poison of sin in our lives and to turn again to the Crucified One. If we look to Him with repentance and trust, He will heal what sin has wounded and lead us from death to life for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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Trusting in the mercy of God, and turning our eyes to Christ lifted up for our salvation, let us bring before the Father our prayers and petitions.

For the Church, that she may faithfully proclaim Christ crucified as the true remedy for sin and death, and lead many souls to repentance and healing.

For the defense of our nation from all threats foreign and domestic; for a quick and peaceful resolution to all violent conflict and safety for all first responders.

For those preparing to receive the Easter Sacraments, that by God’s grace they may be protected from evil and drawn ever more deeply into the saving mystery of Christ’s Cross and Resurrection.

For those whose hearts have grown hardened through sin, complaint, or ingratitude, that the Lord may soften their hearts and restore in them trust, love, and gratitude, let us pray to the Lord. Lord hear our prayer.

For the sick, the suffering, and those burdened by illness of body, mind, or spirit, that the healing power of Christ may strengthen them and give them peace, let us pray to the Lord. Lord hear our prayer.

For the faithful departed, that having looked to Christ in faith during this life, they may now behold Him face to face in the glory of heaven, let us pray to the Lord. Lord hear our prayer.

Heavenly Father, you sent your Son into the world to heal us from the poison of sin and lead us from death to life. Hear the prayers we place before you, and grant them according to your holy will. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

 

1st Sunday of Lent 2026 - Three Temptations

 

Each year, on the 1^st Sunday of Lent, we hear the powerful Gospel passage of Our Blessed Lord facing temptation in the Judaean desert. The mere fact that we even know about this story is significant: none of the four evangelists were with Jesus in the desert. So, the details of this story must have come from the lips of Jesus himself. He wanted his disciples to know about this profound experience: “Yes, even I was tempted, just like you.”

The Letter to the Hebrews explains the Lord’s solidarity with us poor sinners, saying: “because he Himself suffered and had been tempted, he is able to help all those who are tempted.” “For we have not a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sinning.”

Why do we read from this Gospel of the Lord’s temptations each year, at the beginning of Lent? During Lent, as we are confronting our demons and temptations, it is good to hear the Lord’s faithfulness to His Father amidst his own temptations. This strengthens us as we face our own temptations: If he was faithful, and he dwells in us, then we can be faithful too.

Let’s consider each of the three temptations of the Lord, in hope that it will help us.

Firstly, Jesus is tempted, “if you are the son of God, turn these stones into bread.”  Our Lord was certainly hungry after forty days of fasting. He was likely in physical pain as his body, having used up fat reserves, was beginning to break down his muscle tissue to stay alive. Freshly baked bread would sound very good to a starving man. And so the devil tempted the Lord in his hunger, to use his divine powers to spare himself the suffering of the human condition.

Here, the devil is tempting Jesus to abandon the road of the cross. Spare yourself the suffering. This is a temptation each one of us faces. Spare yourself the suffering of your Lenten penances. Spare yourself the suffering that will come when you take the Gospel seriously. You had a hard day, you don’t have time for prayer. You had a hard day, you deserve that extra drink. You had a hard day, you deserve to indulge the lusts of the flesh.

In his faithfulness to this father, the Lord quotes the Psalm: “One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God” helping us trust that by following the will of God, even when that entails suffering, we find life. When we follow the will of God—even when, and maybe especially when, that means turning away from the cravings and weaknesses of the flesh, we will know a peace and joy that nothing in the world can give.

Secondly, Jesus was tempted “throw yourself down from the temple and let the angels catch you.” Here the Lord is tempted to use his divine powers for fame. Using his divine power to have angels float him down from the temple would make his identity undeniable.

This temptation of fame permeates our society today doesn’t it. Society even seems to be structured around social media presence, followers, likes, and views, viral moments; influencer culture and celebrity worship. We are subtly trained to believe, “if it isn’t seen, it doesn’t matter. If it isn’t applauded, it isn’t real. If it doesn’t go viral, it isn’t valuable.” We literally have people throwing themselves off of buildings for internet celebrity.

This temptation of fame strongly effects those whose identity is insecure. If I am uncertain who I am, I will try to prove it—even in illogical, sinful ways. If I do not know I am loved by God, I will try to derive my worth by the applause of men. But, living for fame is a distortion of the way of Christ. For, Christians derive our worth, not from public recognition and adulation, but from our identity as beloved sons and daughters of God.

At the Lord’s baptism, the voice of the Father, declared “you are my beloved Son”. Because Jesus is secure in his identity, he overcomes this temptation. So, too, for us. When we have taken to heart our identity as beloved son, beloved daughter, we will overcome temptations to find our worth in sin.

Lastly, the devil tempts Jesus, showing him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence, as if the good that Jesus as come to do could be accomplished with money and power.

And yet, don’t so many of us make this mistake: we allow money and power to dictate our decisions and our worth. How many Christians fear poverty more than they fear sin?

Christians need to remember that our aim isn’t to become rich and powerful in the eyes of the world, but to become rich in the things of heaven: wisdom, generosity, self-control.

Now we often play a game here: when I have accumulated enough wealth, then I’ll become generous. But we are called to generosity now. In whatever state of life, whatever the size of our bank account right now, we are called to be generous with our time, talent, and treasure in service of the mission of the Church.

Jesus goes to the cross and achieves our salvation in poverty, owning nothing, stripped even of his clothing. We do not need a certain amount of wealth to be effective of instruments of God. In fact, our poorest saints, francis, clare and so many others, show us the exact opposite.

The point of this Gospel story isn’t just to teach us that the devil is real. We see the effects of sin on the daily news and the divisions in our families.  This story shows us that the devil doesn’t get the last word.  Temptation can be overcome when we cling to the Word of God.  St. Peter says, resist the devil and he will take flight.  So often, we fall into sin because we put up no resistance and fail to trust in the Lord.

We do well to imitate Jesus in those moments of temptation, to look at the temptation right in the eyes, to look the serpent right in the eyes and so, “No, I will not sin because I am a Christian.” 

This Lent, we practice fasting, almsgiving, and prayer in order to strengthen our resolve for doing God’s will, of turning our hearts a way from earthly pleasure, power, and glory, and to recall that our true happiness is found in communion with Jesus Christ and humbly following God’s plan for our lives for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

3rd Week of Lent 2025 - Friday - Rediscover divine love in the desert

On Ash Wednesday, we heard God’s powerful invitation through the prophet Joel to all of us: “return to me, with all your heart.”  The heart, in biblical language, symbolizes the center of the person, the whole person.  So that Ash Wednesday call to return to God with your whole heart sets a tone for the whole season of Lent. That Lent is about returning to God fully, wholly, and entirely.

Return from where? From our sins of course, from our wandering, from our cavorting with empty promises and false Gods. Sin always involves venturing into territory we should not enter.

In the reading today from the prophet Hosea, we hear again that call to return to God: “Return, O Israel, to the LORD, your God; you have collapsed through your guilt. Take with you words ,and return to the LORD”

Hosea is the story of Israel, called to be God’s bride. Yet, instead of clinging to God her husband, she has been like an unfaithful adulteress; she allowed herself to fall into forbidden relationships with the false gods of the surrounding Canaanite culture.

So God said, “I will lead her into the desert and speak to her heart.” In order to free Israel from her adulterous relationships, God would bring her into the desert. He would lead her away from those sinful attachments, that she might realize the importance of that fundamental relationship with God—that she might fall in love with God again, and allow God to love her as he wishes.

So, too, for all of us. Lent is the call to allow God to lead us into the desert—that place free from distractions and sinful attachments. There are no tv’s, no iphones, no gossiping, no casinos, no bars out in the desert.  It is the place where we are free to hear God beckoning us back into a relationship of love and trust. It is the place where we are most free to return to God with all our heart.

But we have to make use of this time, by allowing God to lead us deep, to that place where we are free to hear him. So many fail to allow God to lead them away from their distractions, they fail to enter the desert. They are like the addict who cannot imagine himself happy without his drug.

But when we trust God and let go of our attachments we come to experience such healing and peace in his presence.

In the Gospel, Jesus repeats that language, and takes it even further: “love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength.”

To love God with everything, to love God with total self-abandonment, to love God utterly, completely, wholeheartedly: this is the point of Lent.  All of our Lenten penances, all of our prayer has the aim of freeing us from all that keeps us from the pure love of God.

May we accept the Lord’s invitation, that, we may be constantly drawn away from our disordered and unruly desires, that we may come to know God’s purifying love, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

 

 Trusting in God's merciful love, let us humbly present our prayers and petitions.

For the Church throughout the world, that this Lenten season may draw all her members closer to God, freeing them from distractions and sin to experience His purifying love. Let us pray to the Lord.

For those in positions of authority and leadership, that God may guide them in wisdom, justice, and integrity, leading nations away from conflict and toward peace. Let us pray to the Lord.

For all who struggle to break free from sinful attachments and addictions, that during this Lent they may courageously enter the spiritual desert, finding healing and peace in God's loving presence. Let us pray to the Lord.

For the success of our parish Lenten mission this weekend, and for blessings upon our mission leader Fr. Laniaskas.

For the sick, the suffering, and the lonely, that they may experience God's comforting presence and be strengthened by His grace to persevere in faith and hope. Let us pray to the Lord.

For all who have died, especially our family members and parishioners, that they may rejoice eternally in God's merciful embrace. Let us pray to the Lord.

Heavenly Father, lead us away from all that distracts us from your love. Hear our prayers and help us return to you wholeheartedly, through Christ our Lord.

January 17 2025 - St. Anthony of the Desert - "If you wish to be perfect..."

 “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.”

At first glance, this can seem like a simple command regarding material detachment. But in Catholic spirituality, these words hold a much deeper meaning related to Christian Perfection and the call to complete love of God and neighbor. Jesus’ invitation involves more than the external act of selling possessions; it is an invitation to radical interior freedom and total surrender to God.

All Christians—whether lay, consecrated, or ordained—are called to strive for perfection. Vatican II powerfully re-emphasized this in its document Lumen Gentium (Chapter 5, “The Universal Call to Holiness”), reminding us that holiness is not reserved for a select few but is a vocation for everyone.

Lumen Gentium states, “The Lord Jesus, the divine Teacher and Model of all perfection, preached holiness of life to each and every one of His disciples of every condition. He Himself stands as the author and consumator of this holiness of life [teaching] "Be you therefore perfect, even as your heavenly Father is perfect" Indeed He sent the Holy Spirit upon all men that He might move them inwardly to love God with their whole heart and their whole soul, with all their mind and all their strength and that they might love each other as Christ loves them.”

This is what Christian perfection consists of, growth in charity—growth in love. All of the virtues find their fulfillment in the virtue of charity. And this growth in charity changes us, transforms us, unites us more closely to God who is love.

St. Anthony, whom we honor today, at the age of 19, heard the Lord’s call to Christian perfection, and sought it in the solitude of the desert. He went to the desert because it is a place without material attachments and earthly pleasures that could distract him from the ultimate pursuit.

Like St. Anthong, all Christians are called to pursue perfection through Interior Detachment from material things, deepening in our life of prayer, practicing virtues like fortitude, temperance, patience, and humility, learning to rely ever-more wholly on God’s grace, and striving daily to be faithful to God in all things and loving our neighbor with Christ-like love. 

May St. Anthony be a constant reminder to strive for that Christian perfection for which we were made, the perfection which brings us the joy and fulfillment we most deeply long for, perfection for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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For the Church: that all the faithful, inspired by the universal call to holiness proclaimed by Vatican II, may strive for Christian perfection by growing in love of God and neighbor.

For the poor and the marginalized: That our acts of charity, grounded in the virtue of love, may bring them hope and remind us that true holiness includes concrete service to our brothers and sisters in need. 

For an increase in vocations to the priesthood and consecrated religious life, the sanctification of all marriages, and a deeper devotion to charitable service amongst all people.

For those oppressed by hunger, sickness or loneliness, that through the Holy Spirit’s manifold graces, they may find relief in both mind and body, and rejuvenation in spirit. 

For all who have died: that they may now share in the eternal joy of heaven, beholding the fullness of God’s love and perfection.

Heavenly Father, You call each of us to holiness. Hear these prayers we offer in faith. Through the example of Saint Anthony and by the power of Your Holy Spirit, lead us further along the path of Christian perfection. We make these prayers through Christ our Lord. Amen.

14th Week in Ordinary Time 2024 - Monday - God, the Divine Lover

 Last week, our first readings were taken exclusively from the prophet Amos. Remember, Amos, born in the south, was called by God up to the northern kingdom of Israel, to preach during the reign of Jeroboam II, a time of prosperity, for some. The rich were getting richer by exploiting the poor. Idol worship also was prevalent during this time.

Today we began reading from the prophet Hosea. Now Hosea was a native of the north during this period of exploitation and social injustice and idolatry. Hosea’s ministry overlapped with the tail end of Amos’ prophetic campaign. 

And Hosea will pick up right where Amos left off: condemning injustice and religious deviance. Like Amos, Hosea called for repentance and a return to true worship of God and warned of impending judgment if the people didn't change their ways. 

While their message was similar, Hosea would adopt a different approach—his approach was much more emotional. Hosea described God and Israel as lovers, but Israel had turned her back on God her faithful husband and began an adulterous affair with the idols of the world. 

And although  he has been betrayed, Hosea portrays God as loving, faithful, longsuffering, who, while deeply betrayed by Israel's unfaithfulness, God pursues reconciliation.

So, in our reading today, we hear how God describes his plan to lead Israel into the desert that place where he provided for Israel during the exodus and He will appeal to her heart—he will remind Israel of the tender, personal communication, they once shared—he will make a heartfelt plea for Israel to return to the loving and forgiving arms of her husband. God hopes that the love that they had in the beginning would be rekindled—the early days of Israel in which Israel was faithful and zealous for God.

This passage shows that God continues to pursue a relationship with us even when we've been unfaithful. God is always ready to welcome us back when we’ve sinned. So too, God desires a personal, deeply felt relationship with us—he desires to speak to our hearts in prayer every day. A genuine relationship with God involves a deep, experiential knowledge of Him. This includes intellectual understanding of his ways, but a personal, lived experience of God in the concrete details of our life.

It's never too late to start anew in our relationship with God, rekindling the passion and commitment we may have lost. We do well to examine our personal relationship with God from time to time, and ensure that we are striving for a deep connection with God based on love. A healthy relationship with God affects all aspects of our lives - our moral choices, our emotions, our leisure activities, our involvement in our parish and politics. Everything. 

May we know God’s deep abiding presence with us by turning away from our sins and living in the embrace of his love for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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For the Church, that we may always be open to God's loving pursuit and respond with faithfulness and zeal. Let us pray to the Lord.

For those who feel distant from God, that they may experience His tender call and find the courage to turn to His embrace. Let us pray to the Lord.

For our society, that we may recognize and address the exploitation of the poor and vulnerable, fostering justice and compassion and that our world, often torn by conflict and division, may experience God's reconciling love and work together for peace and unity. Let us pray to the Lord

For all believers, that we may deepen our personal relationship with God through sincere prayer and lived experience of His presence and for those struggling with idolatry in various forms, that they may turn away from false gods and find true fulfillment in God's love. Let us pray to the Lord.

For the sick, the impoverished, the lonely, those suffering from mental illness, those most in need, and those near death: may God, through the loving mercy of the Precious Blood of Jesus, be close to them in their trials.

And that all those redeemed by the Precious Blood of Jesus may come to the glory of heaven, especially X for whom this mass is offered.

Loving and faithful God, you pursue us with unending love, even when we stray from Your paths. Grant us what we truly need to remain in right relationship with you and to be faithful in serving your Holy Will. Through Christ our Lord. 

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.

January 17 2024 - St. Anthony of the desert - Retreat in order to be filled

Last night, I attended an event hosted by the Young Adult Ministry of the diocese called, “Theology on Tap”. It meets monthly at a local bar, and a priest or lay person offers a presentation on some theological topic. Last night, Fr. Mike McCandless, former vocation director for the diocese and current administrator of Holy Family parish in Stowe, offered a powerful presentation on retreats: why we should make a regular retreat. 

Catholic priests are required by canon law to make an annual retreat. We took retreats once or twice a year during seminary, and a week long silent retreat leading up to our ordination to the diaconate and to the priesthood. It was on an 8 day silent retreat that I was confirmed in my decision to enter the seminary.

A retreat is exactly that, a withdrawal from the distraction of the world in order to encounter God. Our spiritual director in the seminary would often say that the retreat is closer to heaven than anything else we would experience in seminary. For on retreat, one rests and seeks to be refreshed and enlightened by God’s presence in an intentional and focused way. We become immersed in silence and adoration and meditation on the Word of God and contemplation of God’s presence. 

And even more than simply encountering God, we engage in retreat  to be filled with God’s very life. St Bernard said that we are to be not simply canals in which the Word of God goes in one ear and out the other, but reservoirs, to be filled with the very life of God.

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Anthony of the desert, who himself retreated from the world in order to encounter God. Anthony retreated to the desert because the desert is the place devoid of material attachments and earthly pleasures—those distractions which keep us from seeking God. And there in the desert, Anthony did encounter God.

And yet, like Christ, who himself made a 40 day silent retreat in the desert, Anthony also encountered the devil. The devil would send Anthony great temptations which took great effort and prayer to overcome. The devil would also physically assault Anthony, and beat him to the point of unconsciousness.  

But through that spiritual battle, learning to rely on the Word of God to be his armor, to be his light, Anthony grew in holiness to a tremendous degree. Many souls would seek out the advice of the Desert Abbot St. Anthony. St. Athanasius, Anthony’s biographer, even writes how the emperor Constantine, sought out Anthony’s advice on the administration of the Roman Empire.

Anthony wrote back to Constantine, advising him “not to think much of the present, but rather to remember the judgment that is coming, and to know that Christ alone was the true and Eternal King.”

Our seminary spiritual director would often tell us: each of us needs a regular retreat to encounter God—one hour per day, one day per week, one week per year. We ignore this advice to our own peril and the peril of those we are called to serve.

May we take the time we need to focus our minds and hearts on God, to seek that encounter with Christ in the desert, where he is waiting to meet us, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

 

To God the Father Almighty we direct the prayers of our heart for the needs and salvation of humanity and the good of His faithful ones.

For the holy Church of God, that the Lord may graciously watch over her and care for her.

For the peoples of the world, that the Lord may preserve harmony among us.

For all who are oppressed by any kind of need, that the Lord may grant them relief and move Christians to come to the aid of the suffering.

For an increase in vocations to the priesthood and consecrated religious life, for all monastics and hermits, and that all Christians may seek the perfection for which they were made.

For our beloved dead, for the poor souls in purgatory, and for X, for whom this Mass is offered.

O God, our refuge and our strength, hear the prayers of your Church, for you yourself are the source of all devotion, and grant, we pray, that what we ask in faith we may truly obtain. Through Christ our Lord.

January 17 2023 - St. Anthony Abbot - Armor of God vs. the Devil's Tactics

 Around the age of 19, a young man named Anthony, the son of two wealthy Egyptian parents, was attending Mass one day. He heard the Gospel of the Lord telling the rich young man, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor.  You will then have treasure in heaven.” Anthony felt as if the Lord were speaking these words directly to him.

His parents, having recently died, Anthony gave away some of the family estate to his neighbors, sold the remaining property, donated the funds to the poor, placed his sister with a group of Christian virgins for her education, and became the disciple of a local hermit in the desert, and devoted himself to God.   This first period in the desert lasted around 13 years.  Though he had not sought it, a group of hermits grew around him, and he became their spiritual father, or an “abbot”, thus beginning monasticism as it is known today.

He went to the desert because it is a place without material attachments and earthly pleasures. And yet, like Christ, in the desert, Anthony also encountered the devil. The devil would send Anthony great temptations which took great effort and prayer to overcome. The devil would also physically assault Anthony, and beat him to the point of unconsciousness.  

But another scripture passage that Anthony took quite seriously was our epistle this morning: “Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the Devil.”

The Devil hates when any soul endeavors to grow in holiness. The Devil likes us complacent and sleepy; he likes us attached to modern conveniences. He likes us soft and vulnerable and ill-equipped. 

One of the weapons that Anthony and the desert hermits would wield is the Word of God. They would memorize the Gospels and memorize the Psalms so that when the devil came with his temptations, they had the guidance necessary to see through his lies. The Lord himself utilized this tactic. Remember, when the devil said, “turn these stones into bread”, the Lord retorted with a line from scripture, “man does not live on bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.”

Due to his holiness and wisdom, many souls would seek out the advice of the Desert Abbot St. Anthony. St. Athanasius, Anthony’s biographer, even writes how the emperor Constantine, sought out Anthony’s advice on the administration of an empire that was now officially Christian.

Anthony wrote back to Constantine, advising him “not to think much of the present, but rather to remember the judgment that is coming, and to know that Christ alone was the true and Eternal King.”

May Anthony Abbot through his heavenly intercession and holy example assist us in detaching from the things of the world, seeking the perfection of Christ, putting on the Armor of God against the wiles of the Devil, and living in expectation of our own judgment in hopes of living eternally with Christ the King, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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To God the Father Almighty we direct the prayers of our heart for the needs and salvation of humanity and the good of His faithful ones.

For the holy Church of God, that the Lord may graciously watch over her and care for her.

For the peoples of the world, that the Lord may preserve harmony among us.

For all who are oppressed by any kind of need, that the Lord may grant them relief and move Christians to come to the aid of the suffering.

For an increase in vocations to the priesthood and consecrated religious life, for all monastics and hermits, and that all Christians may seek the perfection for which they were made.

For our beloved dead, for the poor souls in purgatory, and for X, for whom this Mass is offered.

O God, our refuge and our strength, hear the prayers of your Church, for you yourself are the source of all devotion, and grant, we pray, that what we ask in faith we may truly obtain. Through Christ our Lord.

1st Sunday of Lent 2022 - Desert Temptations and the Road to the Cross

 Each year on the 1st Sunday of Lent, we hear the powerful Gospel passage of Our Blessed Lord facing temptation in the Judaean desert. The mere fact that we even know about this story is significant. For remember, the four Gospels were based on eye witness accounts. Matthew and John were two of Lord’s twelve apostles: they heard him preach and teach, so we know where they got their material. Mark likely received most of his details from St. Peter, and Luke, as he tells us at the beginning of his Gospel, thoroughly investigated the events of the life of Jesus as accurately as possible. 

But, none of the four evangelists were with Jesus in the desert, so the details of this story must have come from the lips of Jesus himself. He wanted us to know about this profound experience. “Yes, even I was tempted, just like you.” 

The Letter to the Hebrews explains the Lord’s solidarity with us poor sinners, saying: “because he Himself suffered and had been tempted, he is able to help all those who are tempted.” “For we have not a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sinning.”

We hear this Gospel each year, at the beginning of Lent, firstly, because during Lent, we are to be confronting our demons, our temptations. Lent is a time of honesty, acknowledging sin and temptation, going to confession, seeking conversion, and learning to trust in the Lord in times of trial. 

We hear this account of our Lord remaining faithful to God in the midst of temptations, to help us finally come to the conviction that He is with us even in our temptations. The faithful high priest lives in the hearts of all of the baptized. His faithfulness can conquer the devil in our lives, so much so that we can say, “I do have the power to say no to temptation because He lives in me. I can remain faithful to God in my trials because Christ lives in me.”

But this reading plays such a central role each Lent because something else is going. While there are many important events in the life of Jesus prior to his desert temptations, this reading is pivotal for his mission. The events of his infancy and childhood, his activity in the Temple at the age of 12, even his Baptism in the Jordan, serve as a sort of prelude to this event. Those early stories point to Jesus’ identity as the Son of God, God incarnate. But it’s this event, which in a sense, is the beginning of his way to the Cross. For his spiritual battle with the devil shows him rejecting the way of earthly power and glory and accepting the way of suffering and the cross. Let’s examine how.

Firstly, the Lord rejects the temptation to turn stones into bread. Why? After 40 days of fasting, “he was hungry” as St. Luke tells us. And since Jesus is God, he could surely transform the limestone rocks of the Judaean wilderness into food for himself. But, the deeper temptation: His divine power could be used to feed others. He could feed the starving of the world. That would benefit the Gospel mission. In a sense, the Devil here is tempting Jesus, not just to feed Himself, but to win people over with material things. “If you want people to follow you, use your wonderful powers to fill their bellies. They’ll follow you if you feed them.

But Jesus rightly says, I’ve not come just to feed their bodies, but to feed their souls with the truth, with the Word of God. And so the task of the Church is not to create some utopia on earth. The task of Christianity is to bring people to faith, that they may live in such a way as to live forever—to be reconciled with God through Christ, that they may live forever.

In the second temptation, the devil tempts Jesus: “I will give you everything you want, if you worship me.” Now again, Jesus knew his mission was the salvation of our souls. And the devil was saying, I can do that for you. I can release souls from hell without all that suffering, without the cross. I can do anything you want, just give me the praise, honor and glory due to your Father. I’ll give you everything you want, all you have to do is compromise the first and greatest of the commandments. And Jesus was tempted by this. 

This temptation isn’t unlike the first temptation of Adam and Eve…I’ll give you everything you want, you’ll be like gods; only don’t listen to God, listen to me. The devil is always offering us this empty promise, tempting us to compromise our faith to obtain some apparent good without paying the price, the cross. But it profits a man nothing to gain the whole world and lose his soul. So too, in our lives, in order to achieve some good, we must never compromise the commandments. 

The third temptation Jesus faced was to use his divine powers in such a way that no one could deny who he was: to jump off the roof of the temple like Superman and survive, that would prove to everyone once and for all that he was who he said he was. And the Lord could have done this if he wished; this and more. He could have continued his earthly life for two thousand years and healed everyone who ever entered a hospital without medicine or surgery. He could have performed a miracle a day, inviting the skeptical scientists to investigate them. He could have performed undeniable miracles, just as God could appear to everyone right now—everyone on earth at the same time—and give us undeniable proof of His existence. 

But the Lord resists this temptation. For, it is part of the mysterious plan of God, that God wants us to cultivate faith. He doesn’t want to force us to believe in Him by making his existence as undeniably as the sun undeniably shines in the sky. Rather, God desires that we have Faith, for Faith can move mountains. 

Rejecting these temptations, St. Luke tells us that the tempter departed from Jesus for a time. The Lord would be tempted again before facing the cross, just as each of us is tempted to turn away from our own crosses. 

During the desert of Lent, the devil will no doubt appear to each of us. Likely, he already has. Maybe you’ve already been tempted to reject the call to do penance, to skip out on prayer, to eat meat on Ash Wednesday and Friday, to just go ahead and do what you’ve always done. And what shame if you’ve given in. But, Lent is just beginning. And it’s not too late to recognize the game the devil is playing: trying to keep us complacent and satisfied with mediocrity, trying to get us to harden our hearts toward God little by little. 

But it’s not too late to recognize that we do not live by bread alone, that we owe God worship from the depths of hearts, that God invites us to trust in Him in times of trouble, to repent and believe in the Gospel, for the glory of God and salvation of souls. 

3rd Sunday of Lent 2021 - Water in the desert to quench our thirst for God

 Our scripture readings for this third Sunday of Lent may sound somewhat familiar. They were the last readings we heard prior to the lockdown last year due to the coronavirus. 

Leading upon to the third Sunday of Lent last year, we began to see news reports of this mysterious virus from an overseas laboratory beginning to hit our shores. And stories of stores being ransacked for basic necessities, especially toilet paper, as we with our fellow countrymen began to brace ourselves for the unknown. How much of the activity of this past year was governed by healthy caution and safety, or irrational fear, it will be hard to tell for some time. 

But amidst the chaos and confusion, what has remained throughout it all, has been the human thirst for God. Whether in good times or in bad, in poverty or wealth, in sickness or in health, whether you’re a republican, democrat, atheist, Christian, Muslim, or Jew, man thirsts for God. 

We all experience many types of thirst. 

Daily our bodies thirst.  We of course desire actual water to quench parched lips and dry throats.  Our bodies need water; it’s part of our bodily nature.  Without water, our bodies die. In the first reading, the Israelites who had been wandering in the desert begin to fear that they might die of real actual physical thirst. It is clear they didn't quite trust God yet, which is why they are described as grumbling, complaining to Moses about this god who would lead them out into the desert. But their fear, and their thirst, was real. 

One summer I visited the African Island Country of Madagascar with Catholic Relief Services.  I remember visiting villages where regular access to clean drinking water was a real problem, as it is in many third world countries. And one of the tasks of Catholic Relief Services was to help people develop reliable access to clean drinking water. Certainly, one of our duties toward the Lord is to give drink to the thirsty--"for I was thirsty, and you gave me drink"

Beyond physical thirst, we also experience many different types of emotional thirst. A thirst for companionship; after months of isolation, thirst for human touch and social interaction, to see people’s faces and smiles. At points in our lives we thirst for fun and excitement, perhaps adventure; at other times we thirst for a stable job and a sturdy roof over our head. We thirst for knowledge and beauty and goodness and justice. Our human nature thirsts for these very good things.

And then of course, the deepest thirst of all, a thirst that nothing, no earthly relationship or earthly pursuit can quench: the thirst, only God himself can satisfy. This deepest thirst is not for some THING, but for some ONE.  For God.  God IS the living water, of whom St. Augustine said, “my heart is restless until it rests in you, my God.”  

Remember that beautiful Psalm 63: “O God, you are my God, for you I long, for you my soul is thirsting. My body pines for you like a dry, weary land without water”  And Psalm 42, “As the deer longs for streams of water, so my soul longs for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, the living God.”

Our bodies need H2O and food, our minds need companionship and knowledge, and our souls need God—our souls need intimate, personal contact with Him.

As the Catechism puts it: "Man is made to live in communion with God, in whom he finds happiness" (#45).  God has created the human person to be in Communion with Himself.  We will never find true joy outside of His will.  

Finite things cannot quench the thirst for the infinite living God, and yet, and yet sinful man attempts to quench the thirst for God with so many artificial substitutes. The addict, the drug-addict, the sex or porn-addict, the gambling-addict, the tv-addict or video-game addict, the food or shopping-addicts, seeking God in so many artificial substitutes bring such sadness to themselves and their families. Their addiction cannot satisfy and leaves them hollow. To paraphrase Ken Kesey, every time they take a drink from the bottle, the bottle takes a drink from them. 

When some false God becomes the center of our life—the pursuit of pleasure, power, or the good-life, we are left exhausted and unhappy—because we end up drinking sand—and sand does not quench. The neglect of prayer and right religion leaves us literally dying of spiritual thirst while refusing to acknowledge that God could save us if we but humbly turned to Him. 

In the beatitudes, the Lord promises blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. Our deepest hungers and thirsts can be satisfied by God. And not just ultimately in heaven, either. Our spiritual thirst for God begins to be satisfied as we enter into the mystery of God in this earthly life through the sacraments and the life of faith, through prayer and works of charity.

Jesus says, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink.” Jesus wants to give us this living water of His very Life with us, but he will not force us to drink.  

During Lent, we acknowledge those times in which we have been misguided in our search for God, when we have turned to sin, instead of turning to him.  And we do penance—we pray, fast, and give alms, not just for ourselves, but for the conversion of the lost souls out there. Those who cannot bring themselves to humbly admit how much they need God. We undertake penances, praying that their pride, their egos, will be softened, that they may hear the voice of Christ calling them to the waters of everlasting life—the living water of God. 

[Tomorrow ]/[This morning] we celebrate a special ritual, the first of three rituals called the Lenten scrutinies, for those preparing for the easter sacraments. Angela and Bruce will stand before the congregation, acknowledging their thirst for Christ, their desire to drink deeply of the waters of the Christian life and the sacraments.  They are reminders to all of us, to seek to be free from all that keeps us from drinking deeply from the waters Christ gives.

In Lenten prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, we strip away the non-essentials of our lives, and make our lives into a sort of desert, and yet, it’s in the Lenten desert, that those with faith drink deeply of the living water of God flows abundantly in prayer, fasting, and self-giving.

Again, if you haven’t gone to confession this Lenten season, it is so important to acknowledge those times when we’ve have turned away from the living waters. Without confession, we begin to settle for less, we begin to settle for sand, and are left dying of thirst. 

I offer confessions on Saturday afternoons and Sunday mornings, on Monday nights, and will offer an evening of confessions for three hours, 5 to 8pm on Wednesday march 24. .

“Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink” for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

January 17 2020 - St. Anthony of the Desert - "Do you wish to be perfect?"

Most of what is known about the life of Anthony is from his biography written by St. Athanasius. Anthony was born in the year 251 in upper Egypt to wealthy parents.  Attending Mass one day he heard the words of the Gospel, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor.  You will then have treasure in heaven” Anthony told his disciples in later years, that it was as though Christ had spoken the words directly to him.  For he was inspired to take these words quite literally.

Anthony gave away some of the family estate to his neighbors, sold the remaining property, donated the funds to the poor, placed his sister with a group of Christian virgins for her education, and became the disciple of a local hermit in the desert, and devoted himself to God.   Though he had not sought it, a group of hermits grew around him, and he became their spiritual father, or an “abbot”, thus beginning monasticism as it is known today.

“Do you wish to be perfect?” That’s a question which reaches down to the root of our existence, doesn’t it? It’s a question every human person is faced with. Do I wish to be perfect and will I do what needs to be done in order to achieve perfection. For some people the answer is no. They don’t care perfect, they don’t want anyone telling them their not already perfect. They don’t want to give up their moral imperfections because of the effort involved, they don’t want to exert themselves to grow in virtue or to nurture spiritual gifts.

For Christians however, the answer must always be yes. I do wish to be perfect, Jesus show me the way. For many Christians, the way of perfection lies in putting our faith into practice in our private life, in our family life, and in our social life. We practice patience at work, and forgiveness, and even learn to embrace our sufferings in union with the Lord.

For some Christians, the way of perfection leads them to the desert, or to the monastery. Perfection leads them to an intense prayer and mortification and detachment from earthly pleasures—what the world considers important.

Not all of us can or should go out to the physical desert, but there certainly needs to be something of that openness to the desert in each of us, that detachment, even mistrust of material comforts, and the willingness to overcome all weakness of the flesh by learning strength of the spirit in deep communion with God.

May St. Anthony inspire us and aid us with his heavenly intercession in seeking the perfection for which we were made, in uniting our lives ever more fully to Christ for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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To God the Father Almighty we direct the prayers of our heart for the needs and salvation of humanity and the good of His faithful ones.

For the holy Church of God, that the Lord may graciously watch over her and care for her.

For the peoples of the world, that the Lord may preserve harmony among us.

For all who are oppressed by any kind of need, that the Lord may grant them relief and move Christians to come to the aid of the suffering.

For an increase in vocations to the priesthood and consecrated religious life, for all monastics and hermits, and that all Christians may seek the perfection for which they were made.

For our beloved dead, for the poor souls in purgatory, and for X, for whom this Mass is offered.
O God, our refuge and our strength, hear the prayers of your Church, for you yourself are the source of all devotion, and grant, we pray, that what we ask in faith we may truly obtain. Through Christ our Lord.

Baptism of the Lord 2020 - Healing those oppressed by the devil

For Catholics, the Christmas Season is marked by three great Feasts.  The Feast of the Lord’s Nativity, the Feast of Epiphany, and today’s feast of the Lord’s Baptism.

On Christmas, we journeyed with the humble shepherds to the manger in Bethlehem.  The poor shepherds give testimony: God draws near to the poor and the lowly.  The Most High God doesn’t simply love us from a distance, he comes into the grime and the muck of humanity—into poverty, filth, obscurity, and suffering to be among us, to save us from our sins, and to show us the way to true peace and freedom

At Epiphany, we journeyed with wise men from the east bringing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  The gold testified that he was a king, the frankincense testified that was God, , and the myrrh testified that he would die for us.  To be wise is to seek Him out, to kneel before him, to place our lives in his service.

On this Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, fast forward 30 years from Bethlehem. Jesus goes down to the Jordan to be baptized by John. As water is poured, the Holy Spirit descends like a Dove and the voice from heaven speaks.  So, at Christmas, we had shepherds testifying to Jesus’ identify, on Epiphany we had the wise men testifying who Jesus is, now at his Baptism, not only is John the Baptist testifying to Jesus’ Identity, but God the Father and God the Holy Spirit show up as well, to testify that Jesus is the Son of God.

Jesus is not just a wise philosopher like Socrates, he’s not just a moral teacher or spiritual guru .  He’s not a peace activist or political figure working for some earthly utopia. He is God, the second person of the Holy Trinity. His teachings are not just opinions; they are not amalgamations of human wisdom.

Nor has he come simply to teach us theological formulations or inspiring aphorisms. St. Peter explaining to a small group in the house of Cornelius says in our second reading, that Jesus came to heal those oppressed by the devil. St. John in his first new testament letter echoes this point. John writes, “This is why the Son of God was revealed, to destroy the works of the devil.” Sin is so abominable in the sight of God that its various forms are said to be "the works of the devil." And Jesus has come to heal the effects of sin, to overthrow the kingdom of Satan. He came to wage war with the devil, and his baptism marks the beginning of this great and cosmic battle. As soldiers were anointed with oil before battle, Jesus, at his Baptism, is anointed by the Holy Spirit and blessed by his Father for this battle.

If we were to read on in Matthew's Gospel, following the passage we just heard, the Lord is immediately driven out into the desert by the Spirit where he fasts and is tempted by the devil. The Lord wins that first desert skirmish, a foreshadowing of his ultimate victory on the cross. But the Lord came not simply to resist the devil but to overthrow him. The victory, the coup, would occur on Calvary.

The Feast of the Baptism not only calls to mind the Lord’s baptism, but reminds us of our own. We who have been baptized, have been baptized into his saving death, as St. paul says. When we are baptized, the devil’s hold on us in unraveled, the effects of his malice upon us begin to be healed. We are given the strength to withstand the devil’s temptations, like our Lord in the desert.

But again, just as the Lord came not simply to withstand, but to destroy the works of the devil, so are we, by baptism, empowered for that same mission. We are empowered to be forces for good in the world, instruments of God, members of the fighting force against which the gates of hell shall not prevail, in winning back souls from the devil’s grasp, lifting the oppression of sin, and error, and confusion, and shame which comes from sin. Baptism reopens a conduit to heaven that had been closed by sin, a blockage which delighted the enemy. But because the life of Christ flows into the souls of the baptized, united with Him, we are empowered to bring the Lord’s power and love into hopeless, desperate situations, to work for peace and reconciliation, to bring the most hardened souls back to God. Baptism enables us to become with Christ, in the words of Isaiah in our first reading “a light for the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.”

I am fond of recalling on this feast the catechism lesson Pope Saint Leo the Great would give to the newly baptized of Rome. He would instruct them, "Christian, recognize your dignity and, now that you share in God's own nature, do not return to your former base condition by sinning. Remember who is your head and of whose body you are a member. Never forget that you have been rescued from the power of darkness and brought into the light of the Kingdom of God."

What powerful words that we should never forget. Recalling that we are baptized should bring us joy when we are sad, fortification to work against injustice, and strength when we are tempted, A powerful way to fight off temptation is to recall our baptism.  To say to ourselves, “wait, I’m a Christian, I’m not supposed to do that; I’m not supposed to talk like that. I’m supposed to act like Christ. I'm not supposed to ignore the needs of my brother. Christ, sustain me. Christ, heal me. Christ, you are my life and my love.”

Baptism is more than just a symbolic ceremony where we express our faith. Baptism is the greatest of the Christmas gifts—the gift of salvation, the gift which heals the oppression of the devil and unravels his works, the gift of God’s divine life within us, a share in his kingdom, power, and glory.
May the grace of our baptism be renewed and flourish within us, strengthening us in our mission to “go and make disciples of all nations, teaching them all that Christ commands and baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

3rd Week of Advent 2019 - Monday - A star shall advance from Jacob

During the first two advent weeks, we read predominately from Isaiah, the prophet of the Babylonian exile, and his promises to captive Israel of the coming Messiah. Well, our old testament readings over the next week will include a smattering of prophecies from the Old Testament, for Isaiah was neither the first nor the last of the prophets to foretell the Messiah’s coming.

We read today from one of the most ancient books of the old testament, from the penteauch book of numbers, one of the five books of moses. Numbers describes the wilderness experience of the Israelites as they wandered 40 years in the desert after departing Mt. Sinai. After wandering for many years, the Israelites come to the plains of moab, on the east bank of the Jordan river. And there a group of Israelite elders encounter a Moabite prophet named Balaam, son of Beor. And it is through Balaam, this non-Israelite, that the God of Israel issues one of the very first prophecies of the Messiah in the Old Testament.

Balaam prophecies of a king who will rule, who will defeat the enemies of Israel, who will know the thoughts of God, whose wells shall be over-flowing.

Then, Balaam speaks of the king’s birth: “A star shall advance from Jacob, and a staff shall rise from Israel.” In ancient times, stars were considered to be gods and goddesses. Little did Balaam or the Israelites know that this was one of the early references in their history to the coming of the God-man. This star, prophecied about in the time of Moses, was the one Magi from the east would follow to Bethlehem well over a thousand years later. A star which would lead them to the presence of the one true God-made-flesh, the king of kings that would defeat the most ancient foes of Israel—sin and death.

In the Gospel, his audience at the temple asks Jesus by what authority he speaks. He had no need to answer their question, for Balaam had already answered it hundreds of years before. He speaks with the authority of the King of Kings, the authority of God.

Like the Israelites in the wilderness, there are many who continue to wander through this world, looking for God. There are many who seek the one of whose authority they can base their lives. May we be stars for them, pointing them to Jesus, the Messiah, who will cause a spring of the water of eternal life to over-flow within them, if they will but place their faith in him, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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We raise up our prayers of petition, as we await with longing the Advent of Christ the Lord.
That the Holy Father, all bishops and priests, religious and laity may shine with the Light of Christ’s love for the lost and despairing, and that non-believers and fallen away Catholics will look to the light of Christ emanating from his Church, and place their faith in Jesus the Messiah.

That world leaders may look upon the Son of God, believe in him, and seek the peace and justice that only he can bring.

That our young people will turn away from the evils of our culture to spread the good news of Christ’s eternal kingdom.

For those experiencing any kind of hardship or sorrow, isolation, addiction, or illness: may they experience the healing graces of Christ.

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 brings 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 2019 - Tuesday - Gentle Rain in the Lenten Desert

With the Gospel of Jesus going out into the desert to pray and fast for forty days this Sunday, I reflected upon Lent as the Desert season of the Church year. We enter the desert, free of the distractions of modern civilization, in order to listen to the voice of God who desires to speak to our hearts, to enter into conversation with God that we miss out on when we are busy about the things of the world.

The paradox is, there is water out here in the desert, there is a gentle rain that will nourish our thirsty souls if we let it. Not a single moment of Lenten prayer is wasted time, listening to God's voice is never wasted, for God’s word, as we heard in our first reading, comes down from heaven and does not return to God void, “it does God’s will achieving the end for which he sent it”.

There is a joy in this penitential Lenten season, joy in simply soaking up the word of God in silent prayer, Lenten prayer brings joyful refreshment and new life. The watering of our souls through prayer in this desert season will make our souls fertile ground to produce good fruit for the next season of our life, but for now, it is good, simply to be watered.

Our Gospel helps us to recall the prayer that Jesus teaches us to pray, the Lord’s prayer. A powerful Lenten practice is to meditate upon the Lord’s prayer very slowly. Take the Lord’s prayer, line by line, word by word, and ponder over its meaning: the meaning the Lord wants you to understand at this point in your life, in the concrete details of your life.

What does it mean that you share in the relationship with Jesus that enables us to call upon God as “Our Father”? What does it mean that he gives you “daily bread” in all of your needs? “What does it mean that he wishes to deliver you from evil”?

We are to return to the Lord’s prayer over and over, for it is a never-ending stream of water flowing from the very heart of Jesus, and the Lord wants us to drink deeply of this water.

In your Lenten prayer, do not simply babble, like the pagans, but allow Jesus to teach you to pray, to lead you into the conversation He is having eternally with the Father, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That the season of Lent may bring the most hardened hearts to repentance and bring purification from sin and selfishness to all people.

For those preparing for baptism and the Easter sacraments, that they may continue to conform themselves to Christ through fervent prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

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.

2nd Sunday of Advent 2018 - Prepare the Way through Sacramental Confession

At my first parish assignment at St. Columbkille in Parma, concluding Mass every Christmas, the choir would break into a full-voiced, exultant rendition of the Halleluiah chorus—a song praising Christ as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The well-known Halleluiah chorus is just one movement of George Frideric Handel’s Messiah oratorio—which begins, not with loud jubilation, but rather softly—with single voices, singing verses from the prophet Isaiah. Music lovers and aficionado’s would probably tell you that you can barely begin to really appreciate the Halleluiah chorus, only when you’ve allowed those soft melodies to lead you to that point.

Similarly, with Christmas as a whole. Advent is very subtle and soft season, only with hints of Christmas jubilation. Primarily next week, the third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday is rather jubilant, but most of Advent is quiet and reflective. In fact, those eight days before Christmas, beginning December 17, are especially solemn and quiet. We call those days late Advent or deep Advent, like the deep of night during which Christ was born.

Advent beckons to us to seek Christ in the quiet, to listen to the voice crying out in the desert, as we heard in the Gospel today. Many of our contemporaries seek to “get in the Christmas spirit” by listening to Christmas music piped over department store speakers, but Christians prepare for Christmas best, not by way of the bombardment of the senses, but with the contemplation of messages nearly drowned out by modern noise—the promise of God’s desire to come to souls who wait in expectant longing.

What was the message of the voice crying out in the solitude and quiet of the wilderness, in the Gospel today? It was a message of repentance, the call to conversion, to seek the Lord’s help in straightening the crooked parts of our life.

St. John the Baptist preached a message of repentance. The Greek word for repentance, you’ve probably heard before is Metanoia. Metanoia involves a change of heart, a change of mind, a willingness to change one’s life, a willingness to hand over to God the coldness, the impatience, the lust, the self-centeredness that always seeks to take root in us.

Jesus wants to live in you and reign in you.  What’s the obstacle to that?  Us, our sin and our selfishness. How do we open the pathways of our life best to Christ? Through the Sacrament, Christ himself has given us. In the Sacrament of Confession we seek that Metanoia, that change, that encounter with Christ that changes us forever.

As you will read in my bulletin column this week, I will be increasing the availability of the Sacrament of Confession for this season and for the indefinite future. Confessions will be available for a whole hour on Saturdays, from 3:30 to 4:30, and also in between the Sunday morning masses. Additionally, our area’s annual communal penance service will be on Tuesday, December 11 at 7pm at St. Mel’s.

If it’s been more than a few months since your last confession, it’s time! Make a good thorough examination of your conscience, an examination of your life in light of the 10 commandments and all the teachings of Christ and the Church. Allow the Holy Spirit to help you identify some of those crooked parts of your life, that parts God desires to convert and transform.

Envy, callousness, pride, all these things threaten God’s life in us—these attitudes drive out the life of God in us, and confession prepares our hearts for God to once again dwell and live and reign. Confession banishes darkness and reignites the light of Christ in our souls dimmed through venial sin or extinguished through mortal sin.

God is so eager to wash us and purify us in the Sacrament.  And Advent is the time the Church eagerly runs toward encounters with God. Our Collect for this 2nd Sunday put it well, asking God to not allow any earthly undertaking to hinder us in setting out in haste to meet God’s Son. What an important prayer, as so many people are running toward Christ but, in all honesty, running away from him.

In the confessional, we receive a comfort that nothing in the world can possibly provide. The comfort, the consolation and the joy of hearing from the priest that our sins are absolved. We cannot absolve ourselves, though many try. But, unabsolved guilt will always eat at us until it is absolved, through the means Christ instituted. So, the sooner we go to confession the better. The fear, perhaps, of confessing an embarrassing sin cannot compare to the relief we receive when that sin is confessed.
To hear those quiet, subtle words, I absolve you from your sins…your sins are forgiven…are probably the most consoling words we can hear this side of eternity. For they are a true sign of God’s love for us and his mercy. I don’t know about you, but I’ve often emerged from confession wanting to sing the Halleluiah chorus myself. The angels are certainly rejoicing, for as the Lord himself taught, there is more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents, than over ninety-nine who do not repent.

We willingly undergo acts of repentance, we seek to make straight the paths of our lives so that not only we can walk in the ways of righteousness, but so Christ, the Righteous One may walk the corridors of our lives. He desires to seek out the lost through us, to challenge the complacent and comfort the afflicted through us. And the absolved soul is eminently more hospitable to Christ than the one who does not think he is in need of confession.

I may be belaboring this point, only because I know the Lord wishes to meet many of you in the confessional this Advent. And I hope you respond to his invitation.

For there is no greater way to prepare our hearts, minds, and souls for Christmas, than by taking seriously the call to Advent conversion, metanoia. that in the words of our second reading today: “you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God” and the salvation of souls.

2nd Sunday of Lent 2018 - Desert & Mountaintop

Last week, the Lenten liturgy presented us with the Gospel of Jesus' temptations in the desert; we reflect this week on the extraordinary event of the Transfiguration. Pope Benedict once commented, that these two episodes serve as “pillars on which to build the entire structure of Lent until Easter, and indeed, the entire structure of Christian life.”

On one hand, Jesus’ struggle in the desert, shows us how Jesus shares in our humanity, even in our human temptations. He hungered as we hungered, he thirsted as we thirst, and he was tempted, as we are tempted.

Now, his temptations were on a bit different scale than ours. We are not tempted to turn stones into bread, or to use divine power to become a sort of world ruler, like Jesus. But we are tempted according to our situation in life. A 5 year old is tempted to do what he knows is wrong, stealing the toy from his sibling, obstinately refusing the wishes of his parents. A 15 year-old is tempted with 15-year old sins. Spouses and parents are tempted with sins against the patience and kindness and faithfulness for spouse and children which should rule over their hearts. Politicians are tempted to misuse their power and influence for selfish reasons.

But the Lord’s temptations were real, just like ours: to misuse the power, the time, the goods, we have for selfish means. And this struggle against temptation is the great struggle of the Christian life.
But the Lord was prepared for his desert temptations because, over those 40 days, he had fasted and prayed. And so the Lord sets the model for us, his human brothers and sisters, he sets the pattern for our own Lenten journey. We too are to fast from earthly pleasures—snacks, desserts, entertainment, rich food and drink—in order to remember that “man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.”

Some people think that they don’t have to fast during Lent, they’ll just perform extra acts of charity. But that is not consistent with our Catholic Tradition, the scriptures, the prayers, the writings of the saints and the Popes, or the example of Our Lord Himself, who Himself fasted, and taught that his disciples would have to fast, as well. Lenten fasting helps us to deepen our hunger for the “true food”, which is doing the will of God.

The first sin of the human race involved food and grasping for power that didn’t belong to us. And so, If Adam disobeyed the Lord’s command, that he should not eat the forbidden fruit, the believer, through Lenten fasting, submits himself humbly to God. And that humility is a bedrock basic attitude for the Christian life.

So, the Lord going out into the desert, to fast and pray and face his temptations serves as the first pillar of Lent.

The second pillar is the Transfiguration atop Mt. Tabor, which we read every year on the Second Sunday of Lent.

The Mountain Top in scripture is always the place of divine encounter. It is where faithfulness is exercised and God is revealed. On Mount Moriah, Abraham showed his faith, and God revealed that he did not desire human sacrifice, he desires something greater, the total surrender of our hearts. Abraham was to be the father of the holy nation of Israel, a people who offered their whole hearts in surrender to God’s will, God’s plan.

So too, Moses encounters God on Mount Sinai. Moses, who faithfully led the Israelites in their exodus from Egyptian slavery to the promised land, encounters God, who reveals his law, his commandments, that his people may refrain from evil and sin, which are another form of slavery. God desires that his people be free not just from physical slavery, but spiritual slavery as well.

Elijah, too, with whom Jesus converses during His Transfiguration also encountered God on a mountain. On Mt. Carmel, the faithful prophet Elijah confronted the priests of the false Canaanite god Baal, who did demand child-sacrifice by the way. Through faithful Elijah, God reveals he is the One True God, and the futility of the false religions.

So, now Jesus and his closest disciples ascend Mount Tabor. And we see that same pattern again. Jesus, shows himself to be the faithful Son of his Father, willing to undergo suffering, crucifixion, and death. Then God’s glory is revealed. Jesus becomes transfigured, the dazzling glory of his divinity shines forth, and the voice of the Father speaks from heaven, “This is my beloved Son.”

If in the Desert Jesus showed his share in our humanity, on Mount Tabor he shows that through Him, Humanity will share in His divinity. That the cross is not the defeat of God, but rather the royal road of heaven for man; that our sufferings and the fortitude we exert in resisting temptation, when united to Christ leads to life.

So, the Lord’s white garment on Tabor prefigures the robe of his glorious resurrection, as well as the white garment of the baptized. For through baptism, we receive the white garment of the saved; we are united to Christ in his saving death, and are promised that we will rise with Him, in glorious resurrection.

Two pillars of the Lenten season: Desert and Mountaintop. In Lent, we are to be desert travelers with Jesus, fasting with him, turning away from creature comforts and earthly pleasures, to strip away the non-essentials that we may trust all the more in God. And in Lent, we are to be fellow mountain climbers with Christ, seeking the face of God and the will of God in our Lenten prayer, strengthening our Hope in Christ’s promise of resurrection and an eternal Easter.

So every day, we must climb the mountain of prayer. As we heard on Ash Wedneday, each day we are to go to a secluded place, shut the door, and listening to the Word of God. Our prayer will sustain us as we carry our crosses and encounter our hardships and face our temptations, our prayer will bring us the sweetness of God in the bitter times of life, the refreshment of God in the arid times of life, the peace of God in the chaotic times of life. Pope St. Leo the Great said, “when it comes to obeying the commandments or enduring adversity, the words uttered by the Father should always echo in our ears: This is my Son, the beloved, in whom I am well pleased; listen to Him.”

After facing temptation once again in the Garden of Gethsemene, on Good Friday, Jesus, the faithful son, climbs the final mountain, mount Calvary. God’s divine love, God’s love for us sinners, is fully revealed on that mountain, the mount of the cross. May His Divine Life, that radical aversion to sin, that burning desire to do the will of the Father, fill our hearts and lives as well, for the glory of god and salvation of souls.

1st Sunday of Lent 2018 - Noah's Ark and the Lenten Desert

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.

But it gets even more interesting. St. Paul calls the Church, the Body of Christ. And St. Augustine noted how even the very ratio of the dimensions of the ark to each other suggest a human body, the Body of Christ. The dimensions of the ark were 300 by 50 by 30 cubits. St. Augustine writes, “For even its very dimensions, in length, breadth, and height, represent the human body in which the Lord came… For the length of the human body, from the crown of the head to the sole of the foot, is six times its breadth from side to side, and ten times its depth or thickness, measuring from back to front.” So the ark is a vessel with the dimensions of the human body which saved a family from destruction, and the Church, the Body of Christ, which saves us from eternal destruction.

The wood of the ark foreshadows the wood of the cross, and the waters of the flood foreshadow the waters of baptism.

Here at St. Clare, our baptismal font is three-sided, to represent the three divine persons of the Holy Trinity. From the early Church to this day, it was also 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 even heard in our second reading how Scripture itself sees the eight persons of Noah’s family being saved through the waters of the flood as a prefigurement of baptism.
So why do we begin the season of Lent with these scriptures talking about baptism? Again, from the early Church, Lent was a time of preparation for those preparing for baptism. The prayer, fasting, and almsgiving of Lent, are important spiritual practices especially for those preparing for baptism, to help them conform themselves to Christ, who fasted, and prayed, and gave his life for our salvation.

Those already baptized pray, fast, and give to the poor, as a way of supporting and offering good example for those to be baptized, as well as a way of spiritual preparation to renew our own baptismal promises at Easter

Here at St. Clare, we have three candidates who will be received into full communion with the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil. Following the homily, 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 Perez and all the other catechumens and candidates from throughout the diocese.
Though the candidates we send to the bishop are already baptized, we are certainly conscious of the need to pray for and set good example for them, and to pray and sacrifice for the thousands of people who will be baptized and will receive Confirmation and First Eucharist at Easter.

And so, on this first Sunday of the season of Lent, we get a glimpse at our destination: the saving waters of baptism through which we die to sin and rise to new life in Christ. 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 have with God, fasting to remind us of the self-sacrifice of Christ which is to be the model of our own self-discipline and self-sacrifice, and almsgiving, to remind us of the charity which should mark every day of our life as Christians.

With our destination in mind, our Gospel reading reminds us that as Christ went into the desert and was tempted by Satan, so too we are in a constant spiritual battle. The powers of Satan are at work against us, to separate us from God through sin, to seduce us into ways of worldliness.
Before we can reach the springs of new life, often we must travel through the desert. And in the desert we face challenge and temptation, but also purification, enlightenment, and deep communion with God.

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.

After being delivered through the waters of the flood, we read today how God placed a bow in the sky as a covenantal sign, of his divine protection. So too, Christ spoke of his body and blood, as a covenantal sign, the sign of the new and everlasting covenant. The Eucharist, which is lifted up for us to see at every Mass is the sign that God is with us, in all of our hardships, in all of the dry-desert moments of life; in the Eucharist God strengthens us and nourishes us throughout our desert journey.

If at all possible, please try to attend daily mass throughout the week as much as possible throughout Lent. As we engage in the spiritual practices and penances of Lent, the enemy rolls up his sleeves as well. If he can tempt Jesus in the desert, he can tempt us as well. So please avail yourselves of the Eucharist as often as possible, that you may not fall under temptation, and that you might make use of all of the grace God has in store for you, for the purification and transformation of your minds and souls.

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.