May 31 2021 - Memorial Day Visitation

 Memorial Day coincides this year with the Feast of the Visitation, when Our Lady, upon hearing of the pregnancy of her kinswoman Elizabeth, went in haste to the visit her.

Visitation is certainly at the heart of our Faith. We are to visit the Blessed Sacrament. We are to visit the sick and imprisoned. We are to visit the graves of loved ones. We are to visit the lonely and afflicted to bring them comfort. Though Mary was undergoing her own trials—unwed, pregnant, chosen by God, she left the comfort of her home in Nazareth, in haste. She detected a need, and she acted without fearful hesitation. 

And Elizabeth wasn’t just a drive across town.  She lived in the hill country of Judea—about 60 miles from Nazareth—through bandit infested hill country.  A difficult journey for anyone, especially for a teenage mother traveling by herself.

But anxiety did not hinder the blessed Mother from making the charitable visitation. Mary was concerned that Elizabeth’s pregnancy would be difficult for she was advanced in years.  So, prompted by love and charity, she put Elizabeth’s needs ahead of her own.

There’s always an excuse not to make visitation—to visit the lonely, to visit the blessed sacrament. But Our Lady shows us the generous spirit that should animate us, the self-forgetfulness. 

Memorial Day is certainly a day for Visitation. It is common today to visit the graves of our servicemen and women who died defending our freedom. I know in my hometown, a parade will process from the veteran’s memorial in the town square to the cemetery to honor and pray for our beloved soldiers. My grandfather, a world war II veteran took part in the parade every year, to remember his fallen comrades. In fact, my mother and nieces are keeping the family tradition alive and taking part in the parade this morning.

It is important to visit the memories of our beloved heroes. To remember to pray for their souls. And to remember the values for which they died. 

It was on Memorial Day last year, that we were able to return to the public celebration of Mass after the long period of quarantine. With a spirit of profound gratitude for all who made it possible for us to be here today, we pray for our beloved war dead, and pray that we may, like them, hunger and thirst and work for justice and peace, for the spread of God’s kingdom, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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Let us pray to our Heavenly Father, confident that He is generous to those who call upon Him with faith.

That Our Lady’s example of generous charity may inspire us to engage more fervently in the works of mercy and the preaching of the Gospel. Let us pray to the Lord.

For our President and all elected government representatives, may the Holy Spirit grant them wisdom and guide them to promote authentic and lasting peace in the world, an end to terrorism, respect for religious freedom, and a greater reverence for the sanctity of Human Life. Let us pray to the Lord.

On this Memorial Day, we pray that our nation may live with ever-greater gratitude for the sacrifice of those who fought and died for our freedom. Let us pray to the Lord.

For the protection of all those who serve in our nation’s military, and for all wounded servicemen and women, for all those widowed and orphaned because of war. Let us pray to the Lord.

For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, for the deceased members of our family, friends, and parish, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom, and for N… Let us pray to the Lord.

We pray, O Lord our God, that the Virgin Mary, who merited to bear God and man in her chaste womb, may commend the prayers of your faithful in your sight. Through Christ Our Lord.

4th Sunday of Advent 2018 - Mary Traveled in Haste

Two short weeks ago, on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, we heard the story of the Annunciation, when the Angel Gabriel came to the virgin of Nazareth, and announced God’s will for her to be the mother of the Savior. The angel Gabriel also announced to Mary the good news that her kinswoman, Elizabeth, had conceived a child.

Mary immediately set out to visit her kinswoman, and thus we have the beautiful, powerful story of the Visitation, the final Sunday Gospel before Our Christmas festivities. And I propose four short lessons for preparing for Christmas from the story of the Visitation.

First, upon hearing that her elderly cousin had conceived in her old age, how did Mary respond? Mary left “in haste” to help. Even though Mary just had a life changing experience, God was intervening in her life in an unprecedented way, Mary left the comfort of her home in Nazareth, in haste.  She detected a need, and she acted without fearful hesitation.

There’s lesson number one: when we detect a need, we are to act in haste.  Whether it’s a change we need to make in our own life, or if we hear how a neighbor needs our help, we are to act in haste.  We don’t put off for tomorrow, what should be done today. 

Someone once said, the devil’s favorite day is “tomorrow” because he tells us, “you can always change, tomorrow. You can always quit drinking tomorrow. You can always visit your lonely neighbor tomorrow.” And what happens? When we say we are going to change, tomorrow, the change rarely comes. The fire of inspiration starts to die away.  Procrastination rarely serves God. So Advent lesson number one: if something needs to change in our life, we need to make that change, in haste.

Secondly, think of what the journey from Nazareth to Judea meant for Mary.  Elizabeth and Zechariah weren’t just a drive across town.  They lived in the hill country of Judea—about 60 miles from Nazareth—through bandit infested hill country.  A difficult journey for anyone, especially for a teenage mother traveling by herself.

But anxiety did not hinder the blessed Mother from making the journey of love. Mary was concerned that Elizabeth’s pregnancy would be difficult for she was advanced in years.  So, prompted by love and charity, she put Elizabeth’s needs ahead of her own.

Again, Mary had her own problems: she was with child, she was betrothed to Joseph but carrying a child that was not his.  She could have stayed home and figured about how she was going to explain her pregnancy to her parents, let alone her fiancé. How was she going to provide for her child if Joseph divorced her, as was his right?  She could have stayed at home feeling sorry for herself.  At least Elizabeth had a husband, and a home. 

Here’s lesson number two: Mary teaches us to look beyond our own problems and worries to the needs of others. If I’m overly concerned about myself, I might miss out on those opportunities God gives me to help others. Mary had a number of reasons to justify staying home, but true charity pierces through the excuses.  Mary’s journey teaches us that charity isn’t always easy, nor does charity stop just because I have my own problems. So lesson number two: stop making excuses not to engage in charity.

Next, as Mary traveled those 60 miles from Nazareth to the Judean hill country, she was only newly pregnant.  Jesus would still only have been the tiniest of human embryos, well before a tiny infant would develop feet to kick within her womb. Not having the physical signs of pregnancy, Mary knew of her pregnancy only through faith. And no doubt, as she traveled, she meditated upon the words of the Archangel, and how all the prophecies of the Old Testament were converging in her. 

As we travel through Advent, we like Mary traveling to Elizabeth are meant to be meditating on the promises of Holy Scripture. Every day of Advent we should be meditating on the Scriptures, particularly the prophets.  For it was through the prophets that God communicated his promise of a savior.  So, if we can’t get to daily Mass to hear the words of the prophets, we should be doing some sort of personal daily meditation in order to deepen our understanding and appreciation of Jesus’ saving birth. St. John Chrysostom said, “the Holy Scriptures were not given to us that we should merely enclose them in books, but that we should engrave them upon our hearts.” 

So there is our third lesson: as she traveled, Mary meditated upon the Scriptures that she had engraved into her heart. And so as we travel through Advent, ensure that you are meditating on some scripture every day.

Finally, upon reaching her destination, we see how Mary brought incredible joy to her cousin. Having left in haste, having put the needs of another before her own, having meditated on the word of God, Mary must have been bursting with joy over the good news that the long awaited for Messiah, the Savior, was to be born. 

The lesson?  We are meant to follow Mary’s example of spreading Good News joyfully. We are to be excited about Jesus and excited about our faith.  The cause of our joy this Christmas are not the gifts that Santa brings, but the gift that God has already given in Jesus Christ.  He is the cause of our joy.
“Joy,” Mother Theresa said, “is the net by which you catch souls.” There are souls out there, neighbors, family members, people who have left the Church, that can only be brought to God by witnessing our joy.

“A joyful heart, Mother Theresa explained, “is the inevitable result of a heart burning with love for God and for neighbor.” So our final advent lesson today: Mary shows us that during Advent we are meant to prepare our hearts in such a way that we discover new joy through our faith.  Daily prayer, daily self-sacrificing charity, daily meditation: these things cause our hearts to catch fire with love and joy.

I think of that wonderful Christmas song, “Joy to the World, the Lord has come…Let every heart prepare him room.”  Why are we not as joyful as we should be, why are we not bursting with joy in the Lord, why are we as not as effective evangelists as we should be…we all too often have not prepared our hearts and made room in our hearts as fully as we should for the Lord. 

So, in these final Advent days, may Mary continue to teach us how to prepare our hearts for the Lord, that following her example of faith, we may share her joy this Christmas, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

December 19 2018 - Already and not yet

The third week of Advent is characterized by joy. We began the week, lighting the 3rd candle of the Advent wreath, donning the rose colored vestments, and singing, “Gaudete in Domino Semper, Rejoice in the Lord Always, For the Lord is near.”

Our joy is similar to that of Manoah and his wife. Not only did the angel announce that Manoah’s wife would bear a son after years and years of barrenness, but that child, Samson, would be especially consecrated to the Lord, and would begin the deliverance of Israel from the power of the Philistines.

Our joy is similar to the sentiment of the psalmist: trusts that the Lord is a rock of refuge, who knows that God will give him strength to fulfill his life’s purpose.

And our joy is similar to that of Elizabeth and Zechariah. God intervened in their lives as well to bring an end to decades of barrenness, decades of shame. To an even greater degree than Samson in the first reading, their son, John, would be especially consecrated to God, and be filled with the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of fathers toward children and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous. What could bring greater joy to these parents?

And yet, our joy is greater still, because of the nearness of God. The Eucharistic Preface since Sunday and up until Christmas proclaims that “already we rejoice at the mystery of His Nativity”. Christ has already been born into history, and for this we “already rejoice”, yet we reflect upon these wonderful Advent scripture passages, that our understanding of the miracle, the impact of the incarnation, may deepen. And as our understanding and wonder and awe deepen, so too does our joy.

The O Antiphon for December 19 speaks of Jesus as the “Root of Jesse” who is a sign for people, before whom kings are silent, and to whom the nations make their supplications: “come to deliver us, and tarry not”.

We pray that we may know times of Advent silence, we may be fervent in our Advent supplications, and pray that the Lord will deliver us from all that keeps us from knowing him, loving him, and following him, and experiencing the joy of his presence in our minds and hearts, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.


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

That God may bring the faithless to believe in His Son and increase the faith of those struggling to believe.

For all expectant mothers and for those who struggle with barrenness and infertility, that God may grant them strength and grace.

That children and young people may seek to be consecrated to the Lord in word and deed and become instruments of Christ’s Truth and Love.

That Christ may banish disease, drive out hunger, ward off every affliction, and strengthen all who suffer persecution for the sake of the Gospel.

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

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

June 24 2018 - The Nativity of John the Baptist - Birthdays, Bridges, and Boldness

When the Church celebrates the feast day of a saint, we are usually celebrating the day of the saint’s death. For example the feast of Aloysius Ganzaga earlier this week was on June 21, because June 21 is the anniversary of the saint’s death: June 21, 1591. 

But the Church also celebrates the birthdays of three people:  Jesus, of course, on the feast we call Christmas; the Blessed Virgin Mary, on September 8th, and today, June 24, the birthday of Saint John the Baptist. 

3 months ago, on the feast of the Annunciation, March 25, as the Christ child became incarnate in the womb of the Virgin Mary, the Archangel Gabriel announced that Elizabeth, who had been barren throughout her long life, had through the grace of God become pregnant, six months prior. After the annunciation, Mary would travel in haste to the hill country to assist Elizabeth in her pregnancy, and we know the story well, of John the Baptist leaping for joy in his mother’s womb as Mary approached.

In some traditions, John’s conception is celebrated nine months prior to today. Just as Mary’s conception, the Immaculate Conception is celebrated nine months prior to her birthday and Jesus’ conception, March 25, is celebrated nine months prior to his birthday on Christmas.

The Church’s commemoration of John’s birth is ancient--today’s solemnity going all the way back to the 4th century.  But the exaltation of the birth of John goes back even farther, to the lips of Jesus himself, who says “I tell you, among those born of women, no one is greater than John.” We exalt John’s birth because Our Lord exalted John’s birth.

The Virgin Mary too, must have rejoiced over John’s birth. We know that Mary was present for the delivery of John. She was there to care for Elizabeth, to help her, in her old age, to safely deliver John, and she no doubt rejoiced with Elizabeth and Zechariah over the baptist’s birth.

So it’s good for us to celebrate as well, so good, in fact, that as you’ve noticed, if this feast day falls on a Sunday, it replaces our normally scheduled Ordinary Time Sunday mass—Ordinary Time Green is replaced by Festive White (and gold, perhaps).

St. Augustine wrote to the Church about this feast in the 5th century. He wrote: “The Church observes the birth of John as a hallowed event. We have no such commemoration (for anyone else besides Mary and Jesus)…so, it’s significant that we celebrate the birthday…of John. This day cannot be passed by. And even if my explanation does not match the dignity of the feast, you may still meditate on it with great depth and profit.” So even if my homily today is less than exceptional, each of us should still meditate on its lessons.

John’s great vocation was to point to Jesus, to proclaim, “Behold the Lamb of God.” Augustine, saw John pointing to Jesus even in the events surrounding his birth. Listen to how Augustine holds the birth of John and the birth of Jesus side-by-side: “John is born of a woman too old for childbirth; Christ was born of a youthful virgin. The news of John’s birth was met with incredulity, and his father was struck dumb. Christ’s birth was believed (by Mary, by shepherds, by the magi…and was heralded by angels.)…John was a voice that lasted only for a time; Christ, the Word in the beginning, is eternal.”

Christians have a special devotion to John, as I mentioned because Jesus himself exalted John, but also because John reminds us of our Christian vocation to point to Jesus with our lives. So I’d like to draw out a few short lessons for us to ponder.

Elizabeth conceived John after a long period, a lifetime, of barrenness. Most everyone thought, as Augustine mentioned, she was “too old” for childbirth. But this miraculous event reminds us we are never too old for God to bring new life in us. Biological age is not a hindrance to the work of God. God is not limited by our old age, only by our refusal to allow Him to work, our failure to cooperate with His grace. Places of barrenness, spiritual barrenness, creative barrenness, even physical barrenness can be brought to life when they are brought to God. So today’s feast reminds us that God always wants to work in the barren parts, to bring about new life for his purposes.

Secondly, as we heard in today’s Gospel there was some incredulity concerning John’s birth, even John’s father, Zechariah was slow to believe. But John the Baptist was proof that God was still at work, his plan, his promises were coming to fulfillment.

We live in a time of incredulity. Our culture treats the Holy Scriptures, the commandments, our Catholic faith as irrelevant, outdated, and therefore valueless.

But just as John was proof that God was at work, so we need to be proof.  John was bridge who helped people cross from unbelief to belief. So, too, we must become bridges to help people cross from unbelief in God to communion with Him. We do this by sharing our faith generously and clearly.

We do well to share the stories and lessons of our faith with children and grandchildren, share with them what being Catholic means, why it’s important. Don’t be afraid to share with them the stories of the scriptures and the saints. Tell them about Padre Pio, tell them about Francis of Assisi, tell them about Mother Theresa and Theresa of the Child Jesus. Teach them about the foolishness of Adam and Eve in the garden and to be weary of the cunning serpent who makes false and empty promises. Don’t be struck dumb and silent like Zechariah, but loosen your tongues.

John, we know grows up to be the great herald of Christ, crowds were coming to him to be baptized. But he didn’t start surrounded by crowds of people all flocking to listen to him. He started off in the wilderness. A solitary voice crying out in the wilderness. So we too mustn’t be afraid to proclaim Christ when it seems like no one is listening. If John can proclaim Christ in the wilderness, then so can we.

Finally, John’s personal motto must become our own. He says, I must decrease, that Christ may increase. Each of us have a lot of decreasing to do, and I’m not simply talking about waistlines. Our egos need to decrease, our notions of self-importance and entitlement, our ambitions for doing our own will over doing the will of God. Lot’s of decreasing to do.

Today let us renew our faith in the ability of God to bring new life to barren places and barren souls, let us commit to being bridges for the incredulous to come to believe in Christ even when it seems like we are proclaiming Christ in a wilderness or to a brick wall, and let us commit to the penance and prayer that will enable our egos to decrease that the goodness of Christ and the presence of Christ may increase in us and in the world, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.