October 4 2022 - St. Francis of Assisi - Leper, Rebuilding, Stigmata

 St. Francis is one of the most well-known saints of history. Francis’ conversion from a soldier, troubadour, and spendthrift to saint captivates our hearts.

The first major turn in his life took place when he was riding his horse outside the city and met a leper who came out from a leper colony to beg him for alms. Francis dropped him something and sped away, not being able to stand the sight and smell of the leper and also phobic about catching the disease. But a short distance away he was pierced to the heart by his lack of genuine love. He turned around, sped to the leper, dismounted, and then embrace him and kiss the lands he wouldn’t touch earlier when dropping coins. It was a conversion to charity. 

“After 25 years of a mediocre life full of dreams, spent in the pursuit of worldly pleasures and success,” Pope Benedict described, Francis “opened himself to grace, came to his senses and gradually recognized Christ as the ideal of his life.”

From there, we know the famous story of Francis making pilgrimage to the crumbling Church of San Damiano. As Francis was praying in front of the Crucifix, Jesus spoke to him from the Cross and summoned him, “Francis, rebuild my Church which you can see is falling into ruin.” Francis, at first, took the Lord literally and, selling some of his father’s precious fabrics, with the proceeds began to reconstruct the dilapidated house of God. But the Lord had a far bigger building project in mind, bringing renewal to the Church, through his preaching and penance and poverty, making disciples for Christ one living stone at a time. 

Francis’ radical embrace of the Gospel very quickly attracted a band of his Franciscan brothers, and then the Poor Clares, and then the lay Franciscans, and so many hearts which were enkindled with faith and charity by witnessing a living saint.

May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world,” we heard in Paul’s words to the Galatians this morning. Francis, like Paul sought that perfect-identification with and identification with the crucified one who suffers for our salvation. And Like Paul, St. Francis would go on to bear the marks of Jesus on his body, signs of his union with Christ in his willingness to suffer for the Gospel.

“May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” we hear in the epistle today. Francis, like Paul sought that perfect-identification with the crucified one who suffers out of love for our salvation. And Like Paul, St. Francis would go on to bear the marks of Jesus on his body, the holy stigmata, which he received on the mountain top of La Verna. Pope Benedict said, that signs of his union with Christ in his willingness to suffer for the Gospel.

May we like Francis open our hearts to the lepers in our midst, may we attract souls to Christ through our penance and living out of the Gospel, willingly uniting our lives to the Crucified one, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For Holy Father Pope Francis on this his patronal feast, for the grace to bring renewal to those parts of the Church which are crumbling—especially, a renewal of true faith, where faith has diminished or been corrupted.

For blessings upon all members of the Franciscan Orders, for vocations and that their witness may bring renewal to the Church.

For hope for the despairing and all those who suffer.

For the grace of perfect charity to fill our hearts for those in need.

That all God’s Holy People will be filled with the wisdom and discernment needed to know and obey God’s Holy Will.

For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, for the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, for the deceased priests and religious and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.

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.

November 17 2021 - St. Elizabeth of Hungary - Christ disguised as a leper

 Today the Church celebrates St. Elizabeth of Hungary. Elizabeth was born in the year 1207, right about the time St. Francis of Assisi founded the Franciscans, and she too is one of church history’s great examples of charity. 

As daughter of the King of Hungary, and betrothed to the Noble Landgrave of Thuringia, Elizabeth had at her disposal substantial wealth, which she used to care for the poor.

During a severe famine, she exhausted the treasury and distributed her entire store of corn to the poor. She built a new hospital, tending to the sick, feeding them, often by hand—sometimes 900 patients every day. She provided for the welfare of orphans and helpless children. 

When many criticized her material benefactions as being excessive, her husband said that her charities would bring upon the whole realm divine blessings. But even he sort of reached his limits when she brought a leper into their castle to quarantine him from the rest of the populace. 

Interesting story though: as Elizabeth’s husband went to have the leper removed, he discovered that the leper had the holy stigmata, and that his saintly wife was truly taking care of Christ in the sick and poor. 

Through his wife, he learned how we Christians are called to take risks in revering and caring for Christ, seeing Him and loving Him, in our neighbor, including the most revolting. In the works of mercy, we care for Christ, and we also help others discover Christ disguised in the leper.

“What good is it if we only show charity to those who show charity to us” we hear in the Gospel today. Rather, as we see evidenced in the life of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Christians are to show charity to those who cannot repay us, the poor, the sick, and the dying. We are to “lend expecting nothing back” in giving of our time, talent, and treasure.

St. Elizabeth is revered as the patron saint of third order Franciscans, but no doubt, she has something to teach us all for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For blessings upon the Bishops gathered in Baltimore for their annual meeting this week, that their conversations, prayers, and deliberations for the good of the Church may be blessed. 

For our consecrated religious, and all third order Franciscans under the patronage of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, may they be strengthened in their works of charity and sustained in their witness to Christ’s saving Gospel.

That families experiencing division may know the peace and reconciliation that comes from Christ.

For all those struggling with addiction, mental illness, chronic sickness, unemployment, or ongoing trials of any kind, for those who grieve the loss of a loved one, or for those who will die today: that they will be fortified and blessed with God’s special favor and consolation.  

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased clergy and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.

O God, you 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.

May 10 2021 - St. Damien of Molokai - Leper with Lepers

 The Belgian Priest, Fr. Damien of Molokai spent sixteen years caring for the physical, spiritual, and emotional needs of those of the leper colony on the island of Molokai of Hawaii.  He died in 1889 at the age of 49 after contracting leprosy himself.  

St. Damien wrote, “I make myself a leper with lepers to gain all to Jesus Christ.”

This sort of total abandonment to service is incomprehensible to the world.  Father Damien was even criticized by fellow Christians for what seemed like carelessness.  And yet, when he himself contracted the disease, he did not flee into misery and shame.  He became a suffering servant, “a leper with lepers”.  During the last four years of his life, after contracting leprosy, Fr. Damien continued to build hospitals and physical, spiritual, and emotional care for the lepers.

Damien also taught the lepers to farm, raise animals, play musical instruments, and sing. Although the lepers were used to being patronized or bullied, Damien spread among them a new cheer and sense of worth. 

In the Homily for St. Damien’s canonization in 2009, Pope Benedict XVI urged the faithful to learn from “the luminous example of” the saints, men and women who “did not put themselves at the center but chose to go against the current and live according to the Gospel.”

What does Pope Benedict mean that the saints do not put themselves at the center? For many people, there egos do not allow themselves to even consider humble hidden service. If they are not going to be seen, if they aren’t going to be recognized, if they aren’t going to be rewarded...they are not interested.

The saint rather enters into the world of the forgotten and the outcast, in order to show them, that they are not forgotten by God. The saints become effective instruments of the life and love and power of God because of their willingness to do so in humility, to go wherever they are sent, without excuses. And they do not let the weight of their own cross, in the case of St. Damien, his leprosy, keep them from continuing to serve with abandon. Notice, too, how his leprosy, his cross enable him to draw even closer. 

How might the Lord be calling you to embody this spirit of hidden, humble service to the outcast and forgotten, to become an ever effective instrument of God’s mercy and love for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That all Christians may be deeply committed to the spread of Christ’s Gospel, and for the success of the Church’s missionary activity. Let us pray to the Lord.

For those in public office: may they govern with wisdom and compassion for the most vulnerable among us—especially unborn children, the elderly, the indigent, and persons with disabilities.  Let us pray to the Lord.

That the isolated and abandoned may know the love of God through the labors of the Church. Let us pray to the Lord.

For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, the deceased members of our families friends and parishes, for those who fought and died for our freedom, and for N. for whom this mass is offered.

Graciously grant our petitions, we beseech thee, O Lord; may your grace sustain us always in your service, through Christ Our Lord.

6th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2021 - Jesus touches the leper

 In seminary each year, each of the seminarians in our diocese are given an apostolate—we are sent outside the seminary walls—to engage in some form of holy work. Each week, the seminarians would go to different sites throughout the diocese to engage in ministry to the sick, hungry, lonely, or poor; we’d visit residents at the Catholic nursing homes or homes for the mentally or physically challenged, and hospital, we’d assist at the Ozanam Center of West Side Catholic Center, or Teaching RCIA or Adult Faith Formation in parishes, we might work with Parish Youth Groups. The holy work was of course good in itself, but it would also provide experience for our future priestly ministry.

Well, my first year of seminary, I was paired with another seminarian, who is now a very good friend of mine and brother priest, Father Jared Orndorff, pastor of St. Joe’s in Cuyahoga Fall, and we were assigned to minister to the inmates at the Cuyahoga County Jail under the supervision of Fr. Neil Walters and Deacon Tom Send. Each week we would answer requests the inmates made to the chaplain’s office for rosaries, bibles, and prayer books, we’d take note for Father for requests for the Sacraments, and we’d accompany Father Neil to the prison cell blocks and occasionally even sit down and talk with the prisoner.

It was sometimes a bit intimidating to walk free through the jail hallways. But in the short conversations we’d have with the inmates when handing them a bible or a rosary, or going to pray with them, we knew we were doing to the Lord’s good work—bringing a bit of the Lord’s goodness and love into the lives of others. “When I was in prison, you visited me.”

This weekend’s first reading reminded me of an occasion at the Jail, when we were accompanying Father Neil to the cell blocks, and as we were leaving an inmate calls out to Father, maybe a bit like the leper in today’s Gospel. He comes up to us, and says, “father, can you please take a look at this”, and he lifts up his pant leg to reveal a pretty nasty skin condition. Father took a glance at the sores and wounds, nodded, and laid hands on the inmate, blessed him, and we left.

What was that all about, we asked Fr. Neil. And he referenced today’s first reading. “If anyone has on his skin a scab or pustule or blotch, he shall be brought to the priest. The inmate must have been reading Leviticus”. In those ancient days, the Levitical priests had this responsibility of diagnosing leprosy. The priests, learned in the law, was tasked with this duty in order to preserve the health of the community. That there are these laws about public health in God’s inspired word, reminds of us God’s care for the health and integrity of his people.  Having diagnosed leprosy the leper was then required by the law to quarantine outside of the common dwelling areas, again to preserve public health. We understand this quite well, don’t we, due to the events of the past year?

Now, we, as Christians, are not bound by this precept of Levitical law to show your skin conditions to the priest. But this reading certainly contains some lessons and foreshadowing’s for the life of the Church. Firstly, we do not show our skin pustules and blotches to the ordained priests, but Church law certainly requires us to bring our mortal sins to the priest in the Sacrament of Confession.

Secondly, we’ve seen this last year Church leaders continue this practical care the physical health of the Church. Almost a year ago now, the bishops relieved us of our obligation to attend Sunday mass due to the virus, and after reopening the churches, the bishops continued to prescribe that those showing flu like symptoms should remain home out of care for others, and that masks be worn to stop the spread of the disease. As attendance at mass is deemed safer and safer by our Church leaders, it is likely we will soon see a reinstitution of the mass obligation. For example, the Archdiocese of Detroit has alraedy announced that the obligation will go back in effect for the faithful of Detroit on March 14.

I was deeply impressed with Detroit Archbishop Vigneron’s letter to the archdiocese because he balances pastoral sensitivity for people’s health with a real religious sense for the reasons why mass attendance is so important. He writes,  “God did not come to us virtually. He came to us—and continues to come to us—in the flesh. As Catholics, unmediated contact with the Real presence of the flesh and blood of Our Lord in offering [the Eucharistic sacrifice of the Mass] to the Father is irreplaceable and essential”. Again, he says, for anyone who needs to refrain from attending Mass for medical reasons, the obligation will not be binding, but for those who are able to attend Mass, the obligation will again be in effect.

I don’t know the future, but I think we’re likely to see a similar policy here in Cleveland in the next month or two, and for the same theologically sound reasons the Archbishop raises: Real encounter with the Lord Jesus in the Sacraments is an irreplaceable and essential element of our faith.

In the Gospel this weekend, we see the leper, approaching the Lord, and the Lord reaches out his hands to the leper and touches him. That Physical contact with the Lord Jesus, in the Gospel today, that real, not virtual, but real encounter with the Lord who pronounces the leper clean, is a foreshadowing of what happens in the confessional and what happens at holy mass, and in all the Sacraments of the Church.

While  livestreaming mass has made it possible for us to remember our connection to the prayer life of our parishes, there is an ontological difference between watching mass on television or internet and the real sacramental encounter. I know I’m preaching to the choir here, for so many of you have desired that real encounter, and came back to church as soon as possible, and many of you who are still unable to come to mass, have shared with me how much you miss it.

For we know, don’t we, that something happens here that doesn’t happen anywhere else. We gaze upon the Lord in his Holy sanctuary. We kneel before the Lord, acknowledging our sins and our challenges and crosses and difficulties, and he extends his hands to us and touches us, touches our lives, blesses us and strengthens us. He pronounces us in the confessional forgiven of our sins. And in the valid reception of the Eucharist he deems us in holy communion, in right relationship with God.

And that maskless, physical contact with others, it’s part of healthy normal human communication, and showing of affection, and comforting others. Shaking hands as a greeting, or agreement, or making peace with a brother. Serving a meal to a hungry stranger. These physical actions and connections are so important for the Gospel. For as members of the body of Christ we are to be that hand extended to the leper, the hand laid upon the leper.

But we’re not quite entirely back to normal yet, for as you may have read in last week’s bulletin, our practice for ash Wednesday this week will be a little bit different than in recent decades. As you come forward for ashes on ash Wednesday, the Bishops of the United States, following the instruction of the Pope in Rome, have mandated that instead of marking each forehead with a cross, the priest will sprinkle ashes on the head of each person without saying anything and avoiding physical contact. Though, this involves a change from longstanding tradition in the United States, the distribution by sprinkling rather than tracing the sign of the cross is a common practice in nearly every other country around the world.

We will however continue our Lenten tradition of offering stations of the cross each Friday at 7pm here in the Church, and I encourage you all to make a good Lenten confession sometime this season. In addition to the normal confession schedule of Saturdays from 3-4, Sundays from 10 to 10:45 and Mondays from 4:45 to 5:15, I will have three hours of confession the evening of March 24. This is in lieu of the diocesan evening of confession which has been cancelled. But I’ll be here for you, dear parishioners.

As we prepare for the holy season of Lent, let us consider how the Lord desires to draw near to us through our prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, and wishing to extend his hands to the lepers of our own day, through us for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Friday after Epiphany 2021 - Whoever possesses the Son has life

 We are situated this week between the last two great feasts of the Christmas season: the feast of the Epiphany, last Sunday, and the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, in just a few days.  

The early Church saw the Baptism of the Lord as a second Epiphany in the life of Our Lord.  

Where in the first Epiphany, Jesus was revealed as the Savior, not just for Israel, but for the entire world.  This Sunday, we will hear how, as Jesus is baptized in the Jordan, much like the Epiphany Star shines upon the babe at bethlehem, now the Holy Spirit descends in the form of a dove, revealing even more of who Jesus is. He is not just a human Messiah, he is the second person of the Trinity, the son of the Father. 

As we heard in our first reading, the Spirit testifies to who Jesus is. He is the Son of God.

If he were not, he would have no power to make us clean. The water and the blood would have no power, if he were just a man. 

Our Gospel reading also sheds light onto the Lord’s identity. The healing of the leper reveals that God does not recoil from our sins and diseases. Yes, he is the holy one of God, the most high, he is life itself, immaculate holiness and divinity. Yet, Jesus, the Son of God, God incarnate, reaches out and touches the leper. Holiness itself draws close to us who have lost original holiness due to heinous sin in order to make us whole and clean and full of life again and like himself.

The broken jar is able to be fixed, it is not irreparable; we are able to possess the life of God again. So much so, that John, in the first reading, says that “Whoever possesses the Son has life; whoever does not possess the Son of God does not have life.” God does not wish us to lifeless because of sin. He entered the world, in the poverty and cold of Christmas, so that he may enter more deeply into our very lifeless souls to be our life. 

Today, we like the leper in the Gospel, do well to fall prostrate before the Lord, and plead, Lord make me clean, in all ways, in every way, make me clean, restore me to life, fill me with your life, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For Pope Francis and all the clergy: that they will draw many to the mystery of baptism and inspire the faithful to live their baptismal promises with great devotion. 

For leaders of nations: that they will govern with virtue and integrity, helping to build society in conformity with the teachings of Christ.  

For non-believers and for those preparing for baptism: that they may be open to the grace of conversion and the joy of the followers of Christ.  

For the sick, suffering, persecuted, and underemployed, and all those facing hardships.  

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

12th Week of OT 2020 - Friday - Jesus' healing touch

Immediately following the Lord’s Sermon on the Mount in chapters 5 thru 7 of Matthew’s Gospel, the Lord comes down from the Mount of Beatitudes and performs a miraculous healing. It’s sort of divine stamp of authenticity, in a sense, to the teaching that the Lord just offered. Why should you believe him? Why should you follow his teaching? Why is his interpretation of God’s law different than the scribes and the Pharisees? Well, the fact that he is able to cure lepers with a touch is pretty good reason to take Jesus seriously, isn’t it?

Not only does the fact that he can perform miracles set him apart from the pharisees, but the manner he performs them. Because Jesus is fully God, fully Divine, he could have simply commanded this leper to be clean, he could have spoken a word, and the leper would have been healed. But, the Lord chose to touch him.

To the Pharisee, Jesus’ contact with the leper would have been unthinkable. The Pharisees believe that to be righteous was to separate yourself from anything unclean. So they could not eat with certain people, particularly tax-collectors and prostitutes, who were these sort of public sinners, and of course a Pharisee would have nothing to do with a leper. If you touched a leper you would be ritually unclean.

But Jesus, doesn’t distance himself from the unclean ones, he does not separate himself from the sinner, like the Pharisee. Rather, Jesus enters the world of sinners, to show us that God has not abandoned us, but calls us to life, and restores us to life.

Through this miracle, not only does he display that he is God, but what God is really like: God is so holy, and loves us so much that he enters into this fallen, diseased world, to draw near to us, and heal us, and make us clean.

And not only is following Jesus important by listening to and applying his teaching to our life, we need that contact with Him to be healed and to be reconciled to God to be cleansed of all the forms of our spiritual leprosy which is uncurable by any other means. This is done primarily through the sacraments of the Church, in our prayer lives, and by drawing near to others in the works of mercy.

We are meant to identify with the leper in this story, who has identified his disease, who places his faith in Jesus, and makes the effort to approach the Lord and ask for healing. But also, to remember that there are people in our families, our neighborhoods, who are hurting, physically and emotionally, who feel alienated from God like lepers, and we are to draw near to them, with Christ’s healing touch, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That the Holy Spirit may guide the selection of a new bishop for Cleveland, that he may be a man of  wisdom, of deep Christian faith, hope, and love.

That we may overcome our fears of reaching out to the spiritually and physically sick and the most vulnerable, that we may be instruments of mercy to them.

For the sick and afflicted, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, for victims of natural disaster,  those who suffer from war, violence, and terrorism, all victims of abuse, especially children, for the mentally ill, those with addictions, and the imprisoned, for the comfort of the dying and the consolation of their families.

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased priests and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom, for the members of the Legion of Mary, 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.

Friday after Epiphany 2019 - Jesus desires to make us clean

Situated between the last two great feasts of the Christmas season: the feast of the Epiphany, last Sunday, and the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, our Gospel reading today reveals something about the Lord, while at the same time prepares us for the feast of the baptism this Sunday.  What does the healing of the leper reveal about Jesus?

The healing of the leper reveals that God the Holy One, does not recoil from the sinner, but draws near, “he does wish to make us clean”. Jesus is the Word that brings salvation, that hand God extends even to the most grievous sinner. Lepers were treated as the most cursed of men, and Jesus embracing and healing the leper shows that the heart of God desires to free man from the curse that oppresses him. There is no sin so heinous that the Lord will not gladly forgive us, make us clean, when we come to him with a repentant heart.

People with leprosy were driven out of their community—alienated from their families—because of their contagious, disfiguring disease.  Jesus embraces the leper and enables him to be reconciled and rejoined to His family and community.

Today’s reading prepares us to celebrate the Lord’s Baptism this weekend, as the final feast of the Christmas season. The babe born in Bethlehem gives us new birth in the waters of Baptism. The cure for the leprosy of sin, the remedy for death itself, is found in those waters. In baptism, sinful man, alienated from God, is washed of sin, reconciled to God, and brought into the new communion of the Church.

As we come to the end of the Christmas season, celebrating the birth of our Savior, the Church urges us to consider our baptism, in which we received new life in Christ, that we may be ever more faithful to Him, and live out our baptismal call with renewed fervor and conviction for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For Pope Francis and all the clergy: that they will draw many to the mystery of baptism and inspire the faithful to live their baptismal promises with great devotion.

For leaders of nations: that they will govern with virtue and integrity, helping to build society in conformity with the teachings of Christ. 

For non-believers and for those preparing for baptism: that they may be open to the grace of conversion and the joy of the followers of Christ. 

For the sick, suffering, persecuted, and underemployed, and all those facing hardships. 

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

Thanksgiving Day 2018 - Harvest Feasts and Eucharistic Thanksgiving

Throughout the course of mankind's history, the Earth's bountiful harvest has been celebrated with ceremonies of giving thanks. The ancient pagans celebrated the fall harvest as particularly important because it was a matter of life and death; the fall harvest was essential for the survival of the cold and fruitless winter.

Each autumn, the ancient Greeks celebrated the three-day festival of Thesmosphoria to honor Demeter,  the goddess of grain, and to plead that springtime, characterized by Demeter’s daughter Persephone, would come quickly. The Romans celebrated their autumn festival with music, parades, games and sports and a thanksgiving feast—making our modern thanksgiving festivities closer to the Romans than the Pilgrims. Israel also celebrated an autumn harvest festival—the feast of tabernacles—Sukkoth, an eight-day festival of thanksgiving following Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement. Atonement proceeded thanksgiving, just like it does in the Holy Mass which begins with the penitential rite.

John’s Gospel records Our Blessed Lord traveling to Jerusalem for the festival of thanksgiving, as he must have done many times in his life. It was on the last day of the Jewish feast of thanksgiving, that the Lord utilized some feast-language and pronounced , “If anyone thirst, let him come to me and drink.”

For Christians, every time we gather at the altar, we gather first and foremost as an act of thanksgiving. The earliest Christians used the Greek word for thanksgiving—Eucharistia—to describe their gathering on the Lord’s Day—to give thanksgiving to God for the gift of salvation, which Jesus won for us on the cross. At the Eucharistic feast, the fruits of the earthly harvest, wheat and grapes, bread and wine, are transformed into the very saving body and blood of Jesus, the one, true Lord of the Harvest. In an ancient prayer the Church acclaims the mystery of the Eucharist: "O sacred banquet in which Christ is received as food, the memory of his Passion is renewed, the soul is filled with grace and a pledge of the life to come is given to us."

Gratitude, Eucharistia, is such a fundamental Christian attitude. Without gratitude, without Eucharist, we begin to take for granted the blessings of our life, we begin to forget about the author and giver of those blessings, we begin to forget about the sacrifice without which the gates of heaven would have remained closed. Without gratitude, without Eucharist, we begin to forget that we are to use the time we’ve been given, the blessings we’ve been given, for God’s will, not our own.

Many of our contemporaries gather today with barely a hint of the ancient or Christian impulse to return thanksgiving to God. Much like in the Gospel today, only one out of ten lepers who had received healing from Jesus returned giving thanks. Jesus praises his faith. Faith that acknowledges that blessing, healing, fruitfulness, life comes from God, is praised by Jesus. In fact, it was only that one whom Jesus pronounced saved, go forth, your faithful gratitude has saved you.

So we rightly gather today, for those with faith and those without, to give thanksgiving to God for the earthly harvest which sustains our physical lives, and the more important spiritual bounty which sustains our spiritual lives, the eucharist, a foretaste of the heavenly banquet to come.

May each of your family gatherings be blessed today, with a deep sense of gratitude to God, may they be free from turmoil, division, and discord, and deepen the bonds of charity between all with whom you gather. May we use the time we’ve been given, the blessings and freedoms we enjoy, to gather souls to Christ, that they may know his mercy, peace, and joy, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That the pilgrim Church on earth may shine as a light to the nations.  We pray to the Lord.

That all people of good will may work together against attacks on religious liberty and the Christian Faith.  We pray to the Lord.

For the protection of our armed forces, police, and firemen and all those who risk their lives to preserve the security of our country.  We pray to the Lord.

For the safety of travelers, the peaceful resolution of all family divisions and national hostilities, for protection from disease, and harmony amongst all those who gather together today.

For the poor, the hungry, the homeless, the sick, the aged, the lonely, the grieving, those who are out of work, those who are facing financial difficulties, those with addictions, and the imprisoned: that God will draw close to them, and bless them with grace and peace.

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased clergy and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom, and for Chester Trzcinski for whom this mass is offered.

O God, you 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.

Homily: 28th Sunday in OT 2016 - Father Damien and the lepers

You may remember, a few years ago, Pope Benedict canonized Father Damien of Molokai. Father Damien was a priest from Belgium who went to work with the lepers on the Hawaiian island of Molokai.  He spent sixteen years caring for the lepers’ physical, spiritual, and emotional needs at the leper colony

Leprosy was considered so dreadful, people were so afraid of lepers, that they were outcast, sent to live estranged from the rest of society. This heroic priest, Father Damien, went to minister to them. He was immersed into their lives, he embraced them, anointed them, baptized them, he sat with them when they were dying, he really became their pastor and shepherd.

Molokai was not a pretty place—the rotting flesh of the lepers gave off a smell like that of an open grave. Father Damien was criticized for his work—they called him careless. Father Damien also had no priestly assistant and no other priest to hear his confession. Once he rowed out to a passing ship which had another priest on board. He asked the priest to come down to hear his confession, and when this request was denied, Father Damien shouted up his confession, where anyone could hear.

Father Damien built churches and houses for the lepers. He sought funds from both Catholics and Protestants, distributed food and clothing to all. He dressed the lepers’ wounds, tried out new treatments, and built orphanages for the boys and girls. When people died, Father Damien not only offered the funeral rites, but often built their coffins himself.

Father was praying his breviary one day, when a leper had brought him a hot pot of tea. The leper tripped, and the scalding water was poured all over Father’s legs and feet, but the priest didn’t flinch. It was then, too, that he realized he had contracted the disease. From that day, when he would preach, he would say, “my fellow lepers”…

And yet, when he himself contracted the disease, he did not flee into misery and shame.  He became a suffering servant, “a leper with lepers”.  And during the last four years of his life he continued to build hospitals and ministered to his fellow lepers.

We heard in the Gospel, one of the many stories of Jesus healing the lepers of his day. St. Damien patterned his life after Jesus, in a way, because Jesus did not hesitate to reach out to those society considered “unclean”.

In a sense, Jesus amidst the lepers shows us something quite powerful about God’s love for us, and helps us to understand the purpose of the incarnation. God in his love for humanity, took on the flesh, dwelt among us, we who had become unclean due to sin.  God the Son, immersed himself in sinful humanity and embraced us—in our waywardness, in our corruption, our tendencies to selfishness and lust, and coldness toward one another.

Think about that. God himself, who created us to be full of life and love, did not abandon us when we contracted the disease of sin, the leprosy which causes parts of our souls to become rotting. He lived among us, forgiving us, teaching us how to be human again. God is not distant, but has placed himself smack-dab in the middle of the messiness of our lives.

We do well to remember that whenever we feel like lepers, estranged, lonely, lost, outcast. God is not only present in the beautiful, warm, tender moments.  God is able to be present when life becomes ugly, diseased, contaminated. We have a God who enters in, embraces us in our leprosy.

Yes, God is present in the joy of a wedding, but He is also present when a spouse is lost after 60 years of marriage, or when a child dies by a tragic accident or a rare disease. In the funeral services I always like to remind the grieving that even though there is so much grief and sadness when a loved one dies, we can still know God’s peace, because he does come into the dark times of life to bring comfort and mercy and an increase in faith.

I think of our poor brothers and sisters in Haiti. Nearly 1000 people have died in the wake of Hurricane Matthew. And yet, in this natural disaster, God draws close to the afflicted through his Church. Catholic Relief Services because of the charitable contributions of Catholics like us, are able to offer emergency shelter, clean water, food, living supplies for the displaced, funds for the rebuilding of destroyed homes. We aren’t having a special collection or anything, but consider donating a few dollars to Catholic Relief Services by visiting their website.

For as Christ comes to the afflicted, we are often called upon to be his hands, his feet, his mouth speaking words of comfort. As Christ reached out to the outcast, we are to reach out to the lonely. Perhaps, there is a widow on your street who could use a visit, or a home cooked meal. As the seasons get colder, perhaps you might consider becoming a Eucharistic minister, to bring Holy Communion to the homebound this winter.

We all suffer from our own afflictions, and are all busier than ever. But like Father Damien, who even after he contracted leprosy continued to minister. Our faith, the example of the Lord Jesus, impels us into the lives of others. We are not meant to live isolated from the needy, more concerned about fall sports than the lonely, poor and afflicted. Nor must we allow our own afflictions to keep us from serving the needs of our neighbor.

Where did Father Damien get the strength for this heroic ministry? From the same God who comes to us in this Mass, under the humble appearance of bread and wine. He comes to us, poor sinners that we are, to perfect us in charity, to urge us to work always for the glory of God and salvation of souls.