4th Week in Ordinary Time 2022 - Friday - Jesus gives Courage, Perseverance, and Refreshment

 If you were reading Mark’s Gospel from beginning to end, this long passage of John the Baptist’s martyrdom comes as a sort of unexpected interlude.  

But the interlude is not unrelated or thrown in their randomly. In the previous verses, The Lord sent out the Twelve apostles on a special mission to teach, and perform miracles, and cure the sick and drive out demons.  

And before we hear of their return and find out if they were successful or not, we get this lengthy account of dark powers conspiring against John. 

And by placing this story in the context of the disciples being sent out, to share in the Lord’s preaching of the Gospel, it is like Saint Mark saying, take courage Christians, do not be surprised when this happens to you.  It happened to John, it happened to Jesus, it will happen to the apostles, and every Christian.

Ordinary Time, is a call to make sure that we have the ordinary practices that will sustain our faith in times of persecution. When we face the Herods of the world in the course of our Gospel mission, we will need strong prayer lives, strong moral compasses, strong understanding of the faith. You’ll need to build up that sense of love for God and neighbor that will sustain you when things are the darkest.

For the daily mass reading for tomorrow, the disciples do return from their mission, and immediately the Lord tells them, “come away and rest awhile.” They’ll need to recharge from ministry. They’ll need to reflect on the lessons, the successes and failures. They’ll need to learn from their mistakes and build upon what worked well.

The mission of the Church is not for the faint of heart. We, missionary disciples, are hated even before we begin. But we are also loved by God. We face resistance from the Herod’s of the world, not to mention the fury of the devil and the weaknesses of our flesh. But we are sustained by the spirit. We grow weary in our work, but refreshed in the quiet of the Lord's presence.

May the Lord give us courage in our mission, perseverance and endurance when facing difficulties, and refreshment in those needed times of rest, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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

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

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

For all those who share in the sufferings of Christ—the sick, the sorrowful, and those who are afflicted or burdened in any way, especially those effected by hurricanes and storms.  Let us pray to the Lord.

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

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

6th Week in OT 2019 - Be on guard against leaven

Throughout Mark’s Gospel, the disciples are consistently misunderstanding Jesus’ teachings, they are slow to understand who He is, and the implications of His presence with them.

St. Mark records the disciples failure to understand Jesus’ parable of the sower. After Jesus calms the storm on the sea of Galilee, they question “Who is this guy, who even commands storms”? They were completely baffled by Jesus when he later walks toward them on the water. And Jesus lumps the disciples in with the Pharisees who do not understand his teaching about purity and the tradition of the elders.

Today, Jesus is aware of their anxiety over only having one loaf of bread. Jesus then warns them to guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod. The Pharisees consistently are filled with doubt, hardheartedness, failure to fully believe in Jesus. All these things, Jesus warns will cause you to be spiritually blind, like the Pharisees, to His true identity, to His mission, to His power. And Herod? We heard of Herod’s adultery, his ego, and permission to murder John the Baptist. The leaven of Herod is the moral cowardice, the violation of the moral law which blinds us to the truth of Jesus’ law of Love.

Jesus says we must guard against these things. We must guard against the things that cause us doubt and hard-heartedness toward the Gospel, and also the breaking of the moral law. Popular culture bombards the senses with error and examples of moral error. Whenever we turn on the television or go on the internet we must guard ourselves from anything that will cause hardness in us toward the Gospel. Whenever we have conversations with non-believers or Christians of weak or compromised faith, we need to be on guard toward error.

How many Catholics live together before marriage because that’s what the culture expects? How many don’t go to Mass because of the culture’s attitude toward religion? How many young Catholic college students lose their faith because of the errors and morals of the college campus? How many parents fail to teach their children to pray, to confess their sins because of prevailing culture attitudes?

Be on guard! We guard our minds and hearts from the leaven of the Pharisees and Herod by studying the faith, studying the word of God, studying what the Church teaches and why she teaches it. And by coming to Mass and recommitting to Jesus that our faith may be strong, that we may be courageous in the face of hostility and temptation, that we may keep the word of the Lord in all things, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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

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

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

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

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

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

4th Week in OT 2019 - Friday - Unafraid to preach the Truth

If you were reading Mark’s Gospel from beginning to end, this long passage of John the Baptist’s martyrdom comes as an unexpected interlude.  In the previous verses, Jesus sends out the Twelve apostles on a special mission to teach and cure the sick and drive out demons.  But before their return, St. Mark relates this lengthy account of the execution of John the Baptist.

St. Mark uses the life and arrest and death of John the Baptist to foreshadow what will happen to Jesus. Jesus will be arrested and condemned to death on pretty shady charges built on lies and selfishness. But the fate of John the Baptist is also a lesson for all of us. For taking up the Gospel mission, we too might have to face the hostility of the world.

Why did Herodias want John dead? She harbored a grudge against him and wanted to kill him because he dared to call out their public and flagrant sin. John had incurred the wrath of the ruling family by publicly denouncing their adulterous conduct. And this leads to another question: why did John bother with the Herods?

Likely John knew that the behavior of political leaders has a powerful impact on the moral environment of the country at large. The Herodian scandal had the potential of normalizing adultery, dulling the consciences of the people and putting obstacles in their hearts rather than preparing the way for the Lord.  And like the prophets of old, John was willing to risk his life for the message of God.

St. Mark connects the fate of John with the sending out of the apostles. For the apostles have the mission of calling sinful humanity to conversion. And Mark makes no secret that Christians will likely garner the hatred of the world for preaching the Gospel. St. Mark later records this sentiment from the lips of Jesus himself who says, “You will be hated by all because of my name.”

In a world of spineless jellyfish afraid to preach the Gospel, be a John the Baptist. For the Lord also said, “there is no one born of woman” greater than he. May we each be faithful to the Gospel commission to preach the Gospel fully and with courage for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
 
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That the bishops of the Church will act as true prophets through their faithful teaching, their courageous witness, and their self-sacrificing love. We pray to the Lord.
That government leaders around the world may carry out their duties with justice, honesty, and respect for freedom and the dignity of human life.  We pray to the Lord.
For the grace to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, to love our neighbors and enemies and those who persecute us, and to share the truth of the Gospel with all.  We pray to the Lord.
For all those who share in the sufferings of Christ—the sick, the sorrowful, and those who are afflicted or burdened in any way, especially those effected by hurricanes and storms.  We pray to the Lord.
For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, for the deceased clergy and religious of the diocese of Cleveland, for the poor souls in purgatory, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom. We pray to the Lord.
O God, who know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the prayers of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our Lord.

December 28 2017 - Feast of the Holy Innocents

Historically, Herod was well known for his cruelty. He was believed to have engineered the death of a rival prince. Fearing the schemes of his own sons who Herod believed to be planning to usurp the throne, he had them executed as well. Caesar Augustus, who was no stranger himself to murder and intrigue, was said to have commented that, “I would rather be Herod’s dog than his son.”

Knowing his paranoia and cruelty, it is not surprising that Herod felt threatened by the rumor of the birth of the promised Messiah in Bethlehem. If these rumors were true, such a revelation meant the end of Herod and his dynasty. When he was unable to discover the identity of this child, we heard today how Herod ordered all the young children in the region around Bethlehem to be killed.

Herod’s extreme brutality and grasp for power at the threat of the loss of his throne reminds us of the many “Herods” throughout history—those who stop at nothing to safeguard their own personal kingdoms. 

Cruel King Herod represents all the powers that stand against Christ. Yet, when we are honest with ourselves we must admit that hostility to Christ exists not just out in the world, they lurk within us all. There are parts of ourselves that want nothing to do with Christ: they are the parts of us that resist conversion.

Yet this feast is not focused on the hostility of Herod, but on the witness of the innocents. The Lord Jesus, who was born in order to die for others, begins his life with others dying because of him. Those young children slaughtered by Herod are counted amongst the ranks of the glorious martyrs, whose blood is shed in witness to the Lordship of Christ.

The sacrifice of the Holy Innocents was not in vain. From heaven, no doubt they pray for us now. They pray for the conversion of the Herod’s of our modern day, who put innocent life to death. And, they pray for our conversion as well, especially those parts of us that resemble Herod’s hostility to holiness. They pray that our “Herodness” may be changed into holy innocence, that the darkness in our world may be converted to light, that error may converted to truth, and cruelty be converted to compassion, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That the witness of the Church may help all nations come to believe in the Lordship of Jesus.

That our president and all civil servants will carry out their duties with justice and honesty, and for the reversal of any law which permits or leads to the destruction of innocent human life, and that God may protect all unborn babies, and keep them safe from the scourge of abortion, we pray to the Lord.
For an increase in vocations to the priesthood and religious life and a strengthening of all marriages in holiness.

For those oppressed by hunger, sickness, addiction, or loneliness, that through the mystery of the Nativity of Christ, they may find relief in both mind and body.

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

Homily: Thursday - 25th Week of OT 2016 - Vanity of Vanities

Early in Luke’s Gospel we hear how the Tetrarch Herod had John the Baptist executed. John had spoken the Word of God clearly: Herod’s marriage to his sister-in-law was illicit. John called Herod, as he had to so many, to repentance. But, instead of turning away from his sin, Herod killed John, hoping that the message would be buried with the messenger.

To Herod’s consternation, however, the message lived on—even more powerfully—in Jesus and his disciples. St. Luke tells us, “Herod was deeply perplexed” when he heard about Jesus preaching the same word as had John. Perhaps Herod did not understand how or why someone else would take up John’s mantle, so to speak, in proclaiming the call to repentance.

Jesus, we know appeared before Herod, after he is arrested. But, instead of learning from his experience, that God desires his conversion, Herod chose to be part of Jesus’ crucifixion. Imagine what Herod thought when news of Jesus’ resurrection reached him!

Sometimes, we, like Herod, don’t want to hear the Word of God. The world certainly does not want to hear the Word of God. God’s word challenges us, it calls out our illicit behaviors, it calls us to repentance, and sometimes we don’t want to give up our sins. So we run away from the Gospel. The world seeks to have the Gospel silenced. 

Christianity is labeled as bigoted, intolerant of certain lifestyles. Think of the great hostility the Church faces in calling for the protection of the unborn and end to abortion! Abortion and contraception enable illicit sex on demand. And so the Church is hated because she teaches the Gospel of Life, even though the Gospel is the only road to heaven.

She is hated because, like Qoheleth in the reading from Ecclesiastes, she reminds us that all of our foolish, selfish, sinful pursuits, are “vanity of vanities”. Qoheleth, in his wisdom, looks back on all of his vain, earthly pursuits, and recognizes that they did not profit his soul.

St. Paul tells us, “put to death, the parts of you that are earthly”… put to death: “immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and the greed that is idolatry.” Why? Because these things, instead of giving us life, take it from us, instead of leading us to God, lead us away from Him.

God desires that we come to share in his very life. He want to make us like himself, full of generous self-giving and limitless charity, to glorify him in seeking and living out His will.

With the help of the Holy Spirit, may we continue to seek to put to death all of our vain pursuits, engage in only those endeavors which profit our souls, seeking the spiritual life God wants for each one of us, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.