6th Week in Ordinary Time 2025 - Tuesday - Are your hearts hardened?

 

Our scripture readings this morning highlight the importance of turning away from sin and trusting in the Lord.

In the account of Noah, we recall a moment in history when humanity’s wickedness had reached such a level that the Lord was “grieved” in His heart. Yet, among the corruption, Noah stood out for his faithfulness. He obeyed God’s command to build an ark, trusting that divine justice and mercy would prevail.

Our sin not only displeases God, it can lead to our ruin. But, like the purification God enacted through the waters of the flood, God desires to flood us with purification, that we may be free from our self-destructive ways, and live in a relationship of renewed trust. Like Noah, we need to trust that God desires to rescue us from sin, so that a new life of holiness might flourish.

In the Gospel passage, Jesus similarly warns His disciples to “guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” Leaven, or yeast, is a small ingredient, yet it permeates an entire batch of dough. Jesus uses it as a metaphor for the subtle power of sin and spiritual corruption. The Pharisees, with their hypocrisy and pride, and Herod, with his worldly ambitions and moral compromise, represent two faces of sin that can deteriorate and distort our relationship with God.

Both Noah’s story and the Lord’s  warning highlight the seriousness of sin and the need to do something about it. Much like Noah had to build and enter the ark to escape the destructive waters, we are called to take deliberate steps to rid ourselves of sin’s influence. This often requires self-examination, repentance, and vigilance. The Lord asks us, “Are your hearts hardened?”.

Signs of a hardened heart might include a failure to empathize with the suffering of others, a resistance to acknowledge one’s personal faults or accept guidance, holding on to grudges, bitterness about past hurts, unwillingness to reconcile, spiritual apathy, and habitual sin without remorse.

Ultimately, guarding ourselves against sin—against the “leaven” that corrupts—means living in humble obedience to God’s will. We examine our attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors, uprooting what leads us away from God and replacing it with virtue, prayer, and a heart open to grace and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Seriousness about uprooting sin and selfishness allows us to experience the fullness of life the Lord desires for us, a life marked by spiritual integrity, peace, and a deeper union with Him for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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With hearts open to God’s grace, let us offer our prayers for ourselves and for the world:

For the Church: That she may always guard against spiritual corruption, proclaiming the Gospel with humility and integrity, and guiding the faithful to turn away from sin and trust in the Lord’s mercy.

For leaders in our society and world: That they may resist the “leaven” of pride and ambition, serving the common good with honesty and compassion, and promoting justice for all people.

For those trapped by sin or harmful habits: That, they may respond to God’s call, trusting that He desires to rescue them from the flood of destruction and lead them to a life of holiness.

For the sick, the lonely, and those in need: that they may be open to the healing and strength that comes from a relationship of deep faith in God.

For all who have died: That they may receive the fullness of life promised by Christ, especially N.

Heavenly Father, you call us to trust in your saving power and turn away from whatever leads us from you. Hear our prayers, and grant us the grace to guard our hearts from sin, living in humble obedience and love. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

February 14 2023 - St. Cyril & Methodius & the Flood of God's Mercy

 In the book of Genesis, we read about the origin—the genesis—of creation, of mankind, of nations and civilizations. But we also read about the sad genesis of sin. How even our first set of parents allowed selfishness and pride to dominate.

Due to original sin, humans are afflicted with selfish, lustful, violent, urges. And every sin, has ripple effects which effect our own lives and the lives of others. 

Yesterday, we heard how the sin of Adam and Eve had an effect in the lives of their children. Adam’s son Cain allowed resentment to transform into hatred and violence toward his brother Abel. Sin which is not handed over to God is a cancer. 

Today, we fast forward about a thousand years to the time of Noah. The generations descending from Adam had become numerous upon the earth, but the cancer of sin had become so unchecked, so rampant, the earth so corrupt with wickedness, that God sent a flood to purify creation.

Here God foreshadowed the purifying waters of baptism which mark an end of sin and a new beginning of goodness. 

Unchecked, sin will always have devastating effects in our lives. We are living through a time when so many have fallen away from God, sin and corruption can be seen rampant in every level of government, in our schools, in the brokenness of families, in the antagonism of nations. We do live in a time of great iniquity.

And the solution to sin, is of course, the One who has unleashed a new flood, not a flood of destruction, but a flood of new birth through the waters of baptism. We have been tasked to preach the Gospel, to teach the nations, and to baptize, to lead all peoples to the waters of new life. That’s our mission, that’s our task. 

Today, the Church honors Cyril and Methodius, blood-brothers from Greece who were impelled by the love of Christ and for souls to leave their native land to bring the Gospel to the Slavic people. Cyril and Methodius were tireless in laboring for the Gospel, even developing an entirely new alphabet so that the Scriptures could be read by the Slavic people. 

May the Holy Spirit inspire us, in our own way to leave our homes to lead others to Christ, to the new flood of God’s mercy, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That all Christians may develop missionary hearts.

That amidst all the perversions and distractions of the world young people may be led to Christ.

For the hungry, sick, lonely, and heartbroken, for cures to disease and relief for the poor. 

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.

18th Week of OT 2020 - Friday - Purification, Restoration and St. Cajetan

 Two of the reoccurring themes of Scripture that sort of go hand in hand are purification and restoration—the purification of what has become corrupted by sin in order that it may be restored and begin to grow again. We are familiar with the story of the biblical flood—how the world had become so corrupted by sin, that God sends a purifying flood. Sometimes purification is difficult—like scrubbing out an infected wound is painful. But, following purification, God restores order by building humanity up again after the flood.

Immediately after the fall of Adam and Eve, God hints at the promise of a redeemer—one who will bring purification and restoration to the human race.

Nahum the prophet speaks about restoration in our first reading. Because of her sins, the southern kingdom of Judah had become vulnerable to attack and invasion. Babylon had sacked Jerusalem and carried off her citizens into exile. 

But Nahum the prophet speaks a word of promise, that after the purification, Judah and the holy city of Jerusalem, and her holy feasts will be restored. “The Lord will restore the vine of Jacob” he says. Again purification precedes restoration.

We see this divine logic in the Gospel as well. Jesus over and over heals the sick and then restores them to their families. He dies on the cross to purify humanity of its sinfulness in order that it may be restored to what God had intended it to be.

Today we honor a saint of restoration. St. Cajetan was a priest…well, he was a lawyer who then became a priest who was tasked to work in Rome—in the Roman Curia in the early 1500s.

He came to realize that the Church needed reform. He said the Church was “sick in her head and in her members.” The Church seemed to have lost her zeal, her commitment to authentic worship, her commitment to the evangelical counsels. Protestantism, which arose shortly in this time, was a sort of reaction to the Church’s sickness. But unlike his contemporary, Martin Luther, Cajetan believed that the Church could be reformed from the inside—through a return to what is truly good and holy. So Cajetan founded a religious order, the Theatines, who took the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience and working to reignite apostolic zeal amongst the clergy.

It is no secret that there are parts of the Church that are sick right now—parts of the world where faith has been decimated, watered down, corrupted by worldly values. So, we do well to invoke Saints like Cajetan, to help purify the Church from corruption—the corruption of authentic doctrine and religious practice and liturgical worship, to help us experience the restoration the Holy Spirit wishes to work in our own day.

But no doubt, purification and restoration begins in the individual human soul. Each one of us, lay, cleric, religious, priest, cardinal and Pope, has a duty to seek purification as difficult as that is from all that is prideful or selfish, that what is corrupt in us may be purified, that what is broken may be restored, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That Pope Francis and all bishops and clergy may lead the Church by example in witnessing to the truth of the Gospel with courage and living the Gospel with charity and perseverance. 

That politicians and government officials may protect religious freedom, promote virtue, and look to the law of Christ to guide their work for the good of nations and the human race, especially for the protection of the unborn.

That our young people on summer vacation may remain close to Jesus through prayer, attendance at Holy Mass with their families, repentance through Sacramental Confession, and faithfulness to all the teachings of Christ. We pray to the Lord.

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

For 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