2nd Week of Lent 2024 - Tuesday - Repentance and Inner Transformation

 

Throughout the season of Lent, the Church's liturgy resounds with God’s call for sinners to repent. And this morning we read from the powerful first chapter of the prophet Isaiah. 

Isaiah chapter 1 is set during a time of great turmoil and moral decay in the Kingdom of Judah. This period was marked by political instability, social injustice, and religious idolatry—some cultural similarities perhaps, to our own day.

The chapter begins with God's accusation against the people of Judah. They are described as rebellious children who have forsaken the Lord and turned away from Him, which has resulted in the moral decay and corruption of society.

Despite the harsh accusations, the chapter also contains the call to repentance. God invites the people to "wash and make themselves clean" and to turn away from their evil deeds. God is willing to forgive and restore his people, if they genuinely repent.

Another theme of that first chapter is to turn away from empty religious ritual to a true worship of God that is demonstrated through truly just and righteous works, such as defending the oppressed and caring for the widow and the orphan. 

This theme is continued in the Gospel today, where the Lord Jesus condemns the pharisees for their empty, hypocritical religious leadership. Their idea of religion was a bunch of empty show—lip service, fine garments, seats of power. But they neglected that God desires not empty show, but the transformation of hearts which is demonstrated in genuine care for people in need. 

In a sense, the Pharisees rejected our deepest need, our need for a savior, the need for inner transformation that can only come through humility. 

In order to not be condemned like the Pharisees, we must learn and practice humility before God. We must acknowledge our sins and our need for a savior, we must identify those parts of our lives where we have refused conformity to the heart of Christ, where we have resisted his truth and goodness.

God’s desire to save us must be met by our cooperation with his saving will—through humble repentance, right worship, detachment from sin and selfishness, and charity toward those we are able to help, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls. 

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For the whole Christian people, that in this sacred Lenten season, they may be more abundantly nourished by every word that comes from the mouth of God.

For the whole world, that in lasting tranquility and peace our days may truly become the acceptable time of grace and salvation.

For sinners and those who neglect right religion, that in this time of reconciliation they may return wholeheartedly to Christ. And that tomorrow's Evening of Confession may be a time of profound mercy and renewal for our parish and Diocese.

For ourselves, that God may at last stir up in our hearts aversion for our sins and conviction for the Gospel.

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. Through Christ Our Lord.

1st Week of Lent 2024 - Friday - Surpassing Righteousness (and St. Polycarp)

Unless your holiness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees you shall not enter the kingdom of God.

The scribes and Pharisees were renowned for their zeal, concern for purity, and their conformity to the law of Moses.  The very word Pharisee comes from the word meaning “to separate”. The Pharisees sought to separate themselves from everything that was sinful. They would even avoid eating with sinners, hence, their consternation when Jesus would dine with tax collectors and prostitutes.  They were meticulous in distancing themselves from sin. 

However, the Lord often criticizes the Pharisees for neglecting the deeper, internal aspects of righteousness, such as humility, mercy, and genuine love for God and others. 

Christians must do both. We must be meticulous in rooting out sin, while at the same time pursuing that internal transformation, that God wants for us. 

Christians are called to a righteousness that goes beyond external religious rituals and legalistic observance. That doesn’t mean that we prohibit religious rituals or legal observance. Like, well, I’m humble so I don’t need to follow the law. No. We need both. 

We follow legitimate authority, we follow liturgical law, we separate ourselves from sinful behavior, and root out our attachments to sin, but we also are to cultivate gentleness, patience, generosity, genuine care for people, and a burning love for God. 

This teaching of Jesus is important for us to keep in mind as we engage in our Lenten observances. Our prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are not mindless rituals. Fasting isn’t magic. Fasting alone is not enough to win entrance into heaven. Nor is the quantity of one’s fasting a measure of one’s righteousness. Rather, fasting is to be done a sign of sincere repentance and penance for sin which offends God and has damage our souls. Lenten fasting and detachment from worldly entertainments is to deepen our hunger, nor just for food, but for God. 

We fast and pray and give because Christ fast and prayed and gave, but also to become like him in ALL things. That our minds and hearts may become like His. 

Today on the liturgical calendar is one of the beloved saints and martyrs of the early church, St. Polycarp. The top middle stained glass window in the eastern narthex here depicts St. Polycarp being ordained a bishop of St. John the Apostle along with our parish patron St. Ignatius of Antioch. Like Ignatius, Polycarp also wrote letters, but we have only one surviving letter: St. Polycarp’s letter to the Philippians. 

In it, St. Polycarp takes up this idea of righteousness as following the example of Christ. Polycarp writes: “Let us then continually persevere in our hope and the security of our righteousness, which is Jesus Christ who bore our sins in his own body on the tree. He who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth), but who endured all things for us so that we might live in Him. Let us then be imitators of his patience. If we suffer for his name's sake, let us glorify him. For he has set us this example in himself, and we have believed that.”

Let us take up this great saint’s advice this Lent, in striving for true righteousness, which is Jesus Christ himself for the glory of God and the salvation of souls. 

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

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

For all who are oppressed by any kind of need, that the Lord may graciously grant them relief.

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. Through Christ our Lord.

1st Week of Lent 2024 - Tuesday - From empty babbling to genuine prayer

Already this Lent, we have read several scriptures where the Lord Jesus gives instruction about prayer.

On Ash Wednesday, he instructed us that when we pray we are “not to be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them.” There Lord here isn’t saying that we shouldn’t pray, or shouldn’t pray in public. Rather, the Lord is criticizing the motive of these hypocrites. They wanted to appear to be righteous. “Don’t pray with the motive of being seen by others.” Prayer isn’t play acting, it isn’t about appearances. That’s hypocrisy. Rather, prayer is about genuine communing with God.  “When you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret.”

Whether we are in public or private, we are to go to the inner room with recollected minds and hearts truly open to God in meaningful, transformative encounter.

In today’s Gospel, the Lord gives additional instruction. Here again, Jesus first criticizes fake prayer. “Do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words.” Again, Jesus isn’t criticizing repetition in prayer, he’s certainly not criticizing persistence in prayer. Rather, he’s criticizing babbling, offering words mindlessly. Mindless babble. Don’t just rattle off words of a prayer thinking that the fact that you are rattling it off is what is pleasing to God. Offer your prayer with intentionality. Jesus urges us to avoid all superficiality in prayer, and teaches us to seek a more authentic, heartfelt, mindful relationship with God.

It is not the sheer quantity of words that is pleasing to God.  It is not quantity but quality, which is needed for a genuine, living relationship with God. 

The Lord condemns the pharisees, over and over, for seeking to appear pious, while their hearts are far from God and genuine concern for neighbor. Genuine Christian piety is centered on building a real and personal relationship with God. It goes beyond mechanical practices and involves a deep connection of the heart with the Divine. This relationship is based on trust, love, and open communication. It is better to fold socks for your loved ones with a genuine spirit of prayer, than to spend ten hours babbling mindlessly in Church. 

The Lord’s condemnation of empty repetition reveals that true piety is not merely an external display but involves an inner transformation of the heart. It's about cultivating a genuine love for God and allowing that love to shape one's thoughts, actions, and prayers.

So when you pray, pray slowly, mindfully, sincerely, honestly, thinking about the meaning of the words, and what they entail for growing in personal relationship with God. St. Paul says, let your love be sincere. Well, if prayer is an expression of love for God, then prayer, if it is to be prayer, must be sincere.

May our Lenten prayer bring about true transformation of heart and a growth in faith, hope, and love, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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For the whole Christian people, that in this sacred Lenten season, they may be more abundantly nourished by every word that comes from the mouth of God.

For the whole world, that in lasting tranquility and peace our days may truly become the acceptable time of grace and salvation.

For sinners and those who neglect right religion, that in this time of reconciliation they may return wholeheartedly to Christ.

For ourselves, that God may at last stir up in our hearts aversion for our sins and conviction for the Gospel.

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. Through Christ Our Lord.

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2023 - Caesar, God, and Issue 1

 The Lord was born into a very contentious political situation 2000 years ago. Much like our own day there were several political factions in the kingdom of Israel.  One of the groups was known as the Zealots.  Today, if someone called you a zealot it would mean that they possess a great passion for some subject or issue.  Well, the Zealots of the 1st century were passionate about their national and religious identity. They wanted to overthrow the Roman occupying force; for the Zealots saw the Romans as idolatrous and immoral tyrants who needed to be run out of Israel, for God had given the holy land to the Jewish people, not to the Romans.

Politically opposite the Zealots were a group of Jews called the Herodians—the party of King Herod. Herod was part-jew and part-pagan. He wasn’t very religious, his court was filled with grave immoralities. Herod was in many ways the puppet of the roman emperor.  Rome said jump and Herod asked, “how high?” The Herodians would do anything to stay in power, even to betray their country, religion, and people.

A third group we hear about a lot in the Gospels were the Pharisees known for their strict, scrupulous observance of tradition. And it was the Pharisees who were really running the religious show in 1st century Judea. The Pharisees were willing to go along with whoever was in power as long as they retained the freedom to practice their religion as they saw it. For the majority of the Pharisees, religion was a façade. They wanted religious authority for the purpose of control and financial gain. 

In the Gospel today, we heard how the “Pharisees went off and plotted how they might entrap Jesus”. Why would they do such a thing? The Lord exposed their deception. The Pharisees wanted to appear to be these holy religious authorities, but Jesus exposed their lie—that they were more concerned about appearances than actual holiness.

So the Pharisees plotted and conspired with their political enemies, convincing the Herodians that Jesus was a threat to them as well. Do you see the irony? The pharisees who claimed to be concerned about holiness and religious purity join forces with this group of morally and religious lax Jews. 

So, these strange bedfellows approach Jesus, and they call him “Teacher”—brash hypocrisy, as they don’t really come to Jesus to learn from him, but to trap him. Then they say to him, “Tell us, then, what is your opinion: Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?" Now, there were a number of taxes Jews had to pay.  We hear elsewhere in the Gospel about the temple tax: the tax the people had to pay to support the temple and the priests of the temple.  And they had to pay the census tax: a tax most Jews resented paying, as it financed the roman occupying force. St. Matthew, remember, before he followed Christ, was a tax collector, a jew who collected the census tax on behalf of Rome.

So this question posed to Jesus about taxes was a real loaded question. It seemed that no matter how he answered the Lord was going to make a political enemy of one of these groups.

So, you can see the consequences of Jesus’ answer.  If he said no, the Herodians would report him to the Roman authorities for encouraging insurrection. If he said yes, the Zealots would condemn him for being an enemy of the nation of Israel, and the Pharisees would condemn him for a being an idolater. It appeared to be the perfect trap.

And then Jesus the teacher gives his answer.  And the Lord’s answer is how we Christians understand our relationship to whatever civic authority is over us. 

“Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God”.  It’s an amazing answer, demonstrating that religious truth runs deeper than political alliances. The Lord’s teaching here demands that each individual be honest about what we really owe to God and what we really owe to the government. You and I have a personal responsibility to live up to the demands of justice. 

Do we owe religious worship and unquestioning obedience to civil authorities or to politicians or political parties? No. What if they demand it? Double no. 

Christians are to be neither Zealots, Pharisees, or Herodians. We aren’t to overthrow the government and make the Pope king, as the Zealots might propose. We aren’t to compromise our faith for political expediency like the Herodians. Nor are we to withdraw totally from worldly affairs like the Pharisees, lest we wake up one day with our freedoms stolen by fascists and tyrants. 

Now, the Lord is not saying that God and Caesar are equal. As Christians, our first loyalty is to God. And as long as we don’t have to compromise that first loyalty, we are to justly give to Uncle Sam his due, as my grandfather used to say, for providing for our domestic security, paving the roads and whatnot. Justice demands obedience to Caesar as long as Caesar does not demand we violate objective morality or right religion.

We are also to participate in civic life as justice demands. Pope Francis said, “We need to participate (in civic life) for the common good.” He said, “Sometimes we hear: a good Catholic is not interested in politics. This is not true: good Catholics immerse themselves in politics by offering the best of themselves so that the leader can govern." 

Moreso, the nation needs our prayers and our example of holiness and virtue. Our first president George Washington held that without religion, liberty could not be maintained.  He said, "Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable.”  

We are being good Christians when we engage rightly in civic life. Sometimes that involves simply paying our taxes, and sometimes that involves demanding political accountability if those taxes are being misused or if government corruption is evident. Sometimes, our church leaders, even need to rally us, as our bishops are doing in regards to Issue 1, this November. In this case they offer very clear instruction that Catholics must vote No on issue 1 this November, in defense of the unborn, and to protect parents’ rights against the infringement of Caesar.  

This week, we received from the bishop some yard signs, regarding issue 1, which I've put around church property. Extra signs are available at the church exit. Feel free to put one up in your yard.

I’ve been asked about the legality of placing the signs on church property. While churches are prohibited by law from publicly supporting or opposing individual candidates for elected office, we are not prohibited from supporting or opposing political issues. So our yard-signs, provided by the diocesan bishop, who is well aware of the law, are not criminal; they are the least we can do to oppose this attack on life and liberty, especially in light of some of the propaganda out there which is serving to confuse voters. 

“Faithful citizenship”, promotes Gospel values in the public sphere, opposes unjust laws and policies which violate human dignity, opposes government corruption, and works to safeguard liberty against tyranny. 

In this holy Mass, we give to God what belongs to God, our prayers, petitions, praises, obedience, and divine worship, may what we do here overflow into every facet of our lives, that we may live in righteousness, justice, goodness, and peace, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time 2022 - Hope in the Resurrection and Courage

Throughout the Gospels we hear of the different religious and political factions of Jesus’ day. You had the scribes, the pharisees, the herodians, the saducees, the zealots, and the essenes. 

The Pharisees were the most influential religious leaders in our Lord’s day. They were the popular experts in theology and morality. If you had a religious or moral question—how to apply a particular scripture passage to your life or circumstance—you went to a pharisee for a religious answer.

Oftentimes the Pharisees interpretations were right on the money, consistent with revealed Truth, however they also got in trouble with imposing their own personal opinions—in a rigid manner. Hence the term, Pharisaical. However, the pharisees rightly taught that at the end of time, God would raise the dead—in the resurrection. 

Their teaching on the resurrection was drawn from the later books of the Old Testament—like second book of Maccabees, from which we read this weekend: “God will raise us up to live again forever." Rightly said!

The Pharisees believed this, and Jesus himself taught this: that the righteous will be raised to the resurrection of eternal life, and the wicked, those who reject God and his laws will be condemned to the resurrection of eternal damnation.

In the Gospel this weekend, we hear of the Sadducees. And the Sadducees rejected the later books of the old testament, like the second book of Maccabees, as do many Protestants by the way. And because the Sadducees didn’t find the doctrine of the resurrection in the first five books of the bible--in the Torah—they rejected belief in the resurrection. The Sadducees reject the resurrection which is why they were sad-you-see? 

The Sadducees were not only religious rivals but also political rivals to the Pharisees. For the Sadducees collaborated with the Romans, who the Pharisees and most of Israel saw as enemy occupants, a foreign power who had no business in Israel. But this political alliance was calculated, and for allying themselves with the Romans, the Sadducees enjoyed some political power and also wealth. 

And it kind of makes you wonder: did the Sadducees start living worldly, pleasure-centered politically motivated lives because they had lost faith in the Resurrection, or did they lose faith in the Resurrection because they started living worldly, pleasure-centered lives? There is an old proverb that says if we don't live according to what we believe, we will soon believe according to how we live. 

This is a danger for us in the Church today, because the prevailing values in our society are not Christian. The Church's moral teachings are laughed at and even violently opposed. Chesterton said: “These are the days when the Christian is expected to praise every creed except his own.” There are even some Catholics who, embarrassed at or opposed to Church teaching, seek to exert social, political, and financial pressure on Church leaders to change Church teaching, as if our moral teachings did not come directly from Christ. 

Anti-religious sentiment makes it difficult, doesn’t it, to even discuss our faith? No one likes to be laughed at, no one likes to be excluded from mainstream culture, criticized, labeled or hated. But in the face of these challenges, if we lose courage and deviate from Christ, we will end up like the Sadducees, losing the very faith that leads to eternal life—we will be sad-you-see?

Courage. C.S. Lewis says, "Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point.” When we pray for courage, we are praying, that in the moment when virtue is hardest, our trust in God will overcome the vice—and overcome fear.

We need Courage to overcome Gluttony: at that moment where we want more than we should, we need to have the courage to say, “I don’t need that. It’s not good for me” and to turn away from the excess. We need courage to overcome Lust: at the moment when our powerful bodily urges desire pleasure that is forbidden, we need to have the courage to say, “I don’t need that. It’s not good for me” and turn away from the perversion.

We need courage to practice real sacrificial kindness, too: in that moment where we second guess the inspiration to help someone, reaching out to a stranger, we need the courage to say: “of course kindness is better than walking away. I need to get out of my house and perform more acts of kindness.”

And we need courage when it comes time to share our faith: in that moment where we become fearful of sharing our faith, or fearful that someone might reactive negatively, we need the courage to tell ourselves: Jesus calls us to share our faith. Just do it.” Or when we are tempted to compromise our faith—we need courage to say, “this is what God has revealed, it must be right.”

Our first reading this weekend is such a powerful image of courage: a mother and her seven sons were arrested and tortured in attempt to force them to violate God's law. And one of the sons speaking for the whole family says, “We are ready to die rather than transgress the laws of God.” That’s courage. We need that form of courage, in facing our sins and working for the mission of the Church. I’d rather die than violate God’s law. Woe to me, if I don’t share the Gospel. 

So, if Courage is needed, where does Courage come from? It comes, of course, from God. When we praise the martyrs for the Courage, we are praising the God who gave them such Courage.

Courage comes from God, and so we need to go to God for courage, daily. This is why daily prayer is so vitally important. Daily we need to bring all the things that are testing your faith to God and pray for God to help us at those testing points—when faced with temptation. God give me courage to overcome my addiction. God give me courage to turn away from social media in order to study and pray. God give me courage to get more involved in volunteer work. God give me courage to keep my mouth shut when I feel insulted. God give me courage to hold back that snarky remark. God give me courage to share my faith with the faithless, to reach out to family members who have fallen away from the faith, to encourage them to come home. God give me courage to bring my embarrassing sins to Sacramental Confession.

I’m a priest and my faith is tested every day, my guess is yours is too; there are many testing points every day, and we all need to pray assiduously for courage. 

Also, the truths of our faith give us courage. When faced with torture and death, the family in the first reading recalls that remaining true and faithful to the laws of God will be rewarded in eternal life. We are to live for eternity—to live with eternity in mind. To turn our faces from God in this life, may result in the loss of the beatific vision for ever. 

Pope Francis said recently: “Courage is needed for the Kingdom of God to grow.” May we cultivate and exhibit real Christian courage, that the kingdom will grow in our midst, in our hearts, in our land. May we courageously turn away from sin and turn away from fear; and turn towards God and his kingdom in prayer, faith, and works of charity, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

5th Week of Lent 2022 - Wednesday - Pharisaical Idolatry

 The prohibition against idolatry was one of the first and most important laws God gave to the Jewish people. At Sinai, he tells them: “You shall have no other gods before Me.” Idolatry became an issue for Israel on numerous occasions. Coming out of the desert, they encountered the Caananite peoples with their many gods. And many fell into idolatry, especially when they intermarried. When they were conquered by the Assyrians, the Babylonians, and the Persians, many fell into idolatry, worshipping the gods of their conquerors.

In the first reading today, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were told they must worship an idol or be put to death. They are examples of courageous faith for Jews and for us as well. 

In the Gospel, the Lord addresses the idolatry of the Pharisees. The Pharisees claim to be children of Abraham and worshippers of the One True God of Abraham, but the Lord exposes their idolatry. They might not be offering burnt sacrifices to foreign Gods, they’re idolatry is more subtle, but far worse

Their hardness of hearts, their failure to show mercy, their failure to love the sinner are all evidence they don’t worship the one true God. For if they did, they would resemble the God they worship. The claim to be the religious experts, having an impeccable knowledge of scripture and theology. But they didn’t recognize the God revealed in the Scriptures when he appeared in the flesh before them. 

Worse still, they’ve subverted what religion was supposed to be all about. Right religion is about the right worship and love of God, of serving God, and seeking authentic holiness in this life. They were leading people not to seek authentic holiness, but to imitate their own errors and hardness of heart. 

Why did they hate Jesus? Because he exposed them, and sought to depose them. They put themselves in the place of God, and when he exposed their hypocrisy, they sought to kill him.

These readings certainly help us understand the animosity toward Jesus that led to his arrest and trumped up trials and Passion and Death in the upcoming week. Today’s readings also challenge us to examine our own idolatrous tendencies. Again, not that we are offering burnt offerings to pagan idols, but the idolatry of the self, of the ego, of the need to wrestle control away from God, the resistance toward obeying God and seeking to imitate God.

In the days ahead, may our hearts truly bow before the Lord in worship, as he goes to the cross for us, to save us from sin, to save us from ourselves; for in him we find true freedom, true peace, eternal life and joy, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That God may be pleased to increase faith and understanding in the catechumens and candidates who approach the sacraments of initiation in the coming Paschal Solemnity. 

That those in need may find assistance in the charity of faithful Christians and that peace and security may be firmly established in all places.

For strength to resist temptation, and the humility to sincerely repent of sin.

That through fasting and self-denial, we may be ever more conformed to Christ.

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

Mercifully hear, O Lord, the prayers of your Church and turn with compassion to the hearts that bow before you, that those you make sharers in your divine mystery may always benefit from your assistance.

1st Week of Lent 2022 - Friday - Turn away, turn toward, turn with

 

Conversion is often thought of as a three-fold process. The first stage is aversion, turning away from the things that are not of God. The second is adversion, turning toward the things of God. The third is conversion, turning with the Lord, living one’s life with the Lord.

When the Lord in the Gospel says that the righteousness that God wants for us must surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees, he was saying that more is necessary than that first stage. The pharisees focused on aversion, turning away, from the things that were considered unclean in the Law of Moses.

They turned away from unclean food, those rendered unclean through disease, and foreigners, considered unclean for being non-Jewish. 

So to, for Christians, we must follow that first stage of conversion, too. We must turn away from what our faith tells us is unclean. Unclean speech, unclean use of money, unclean use of our sexuality, unclean use of our eyes and ears. 

But Christian righteousness must surpass just that first stage of aversion to sin and uncleanness. We must turn toward the things of God. We learn about the teachings of Jesus. We read the Scriptures. We learn about the lives of the saints. We learn to distinguish between the foolishness and errors of the world, with the timeless wisdom of God. But still, this level keeps the things of God at a bit of a distance. Like going to Catholic School for 12 years, knowing what the Church teaches, but never integrating it. We mustn’t just learn about the things of God, we must integrate them into our lives. 

And that’s the third stage of true, authentic conversion: having turned away from sin, and toward the things of God, we integrate them into our lives. Not only do we turn toward the Church, we enter in. We engage in divine worship and authentic prayer, meditation, and contemplation. We don’t just learn about the commandments, we abide by them. We practice fasting willingly, recognizing it’s powerful spiritual value. We don’t just read the scriptures, we allow their wisdom to shape our lives, our behaviors, and attitudes. We don’t just learn about the saints, we begin practicing actual acts of sanctity. 

And the Lord says, “Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven.” The Kingdom of Heaven begins in this life. Walking with God, living with God, allowing the life of God to animate us, that begins now. And if heaven doesn’t begin for you in this earthly life, you won’t have a share in it once you shed this mortal coil.

600 years before the birth of Jesus, Ezekiel even foretells this in our first reading today: “If the wicked man turns away from all the sins he committed, if he keeps all my statutes and does what is right and just, he shall surely live, he shall not die.”

May Lent help us to turn away from sin, turn toward the things of God, help us to do what is right, what is of surpassing righteousness, the holiness of Christ in whom we are to live, and move, and have our being, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For “an immediate end to the hostilities in Ukraine, for a restoration of peace and for the safety of all Ukrainian citizens. And for the Ukrainian community in Northeast Ohio, that their friends and family members in their beloved homeland be kept out of harm’s way.”

During these 40 days for Life, we pray for the unborn and for a change in laws, policies, and attitudes which devalue the sanctity of life.

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

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. And for all victims of the coronavirus and their families. And for the Church in China and all places where the Gospel is silenced.

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. Through Christ our Lord.

2nd Week in Ordinary Time 2022 - Wednesday - Interacting with Pharisees (part two)

 
As I mentioned yesterday, chapter two and the beginning of chapter 3 of St. Mark’s Gospel contain a series of five vignettes in which Jesus performs a miracle or reveals something about his identity, and the pharisees, scribes, and onlookers react with disapproval, suspicion, and contention. 

Today’s healing of the man with the withered hand on the Sabbath is the last of these five vignettes, and following this Sabbath miracle, the pharisees begin to conspire with the Herodians to kill Jesus. 

What was their problem with Jesus’ miracle? They claimed he was once again violating the sabbath. But, Scripture is very clear that even on the sabbath when manual labor is forbidden, it is still lawful, in fact, laudatory, to help people. It’s even commanded. Deuteronomy says, “You shall not see your countryman’s donkey or his ox fallen down on the way, and pay no attention to them; you shall certainly help him to raise them up”. Mercy outweighs rigid adherence to the Law.

Because of their hardness of heart, the pharisees intellects had become darkened, their wills perverted. And, in reaction to Jesus’ good act, the Pharisees conspire to perform an evil act on the Sabbath, murdering Jesus. And so fierce is their wrath that they join forces with political opportunities whom they would normally avoid at all costs: the Herodians. 

The Pharisees are a prime example that the darkening of the intellect and the perverting of the will stem from self-righteousness and sin. We literally cannot think straight when sin has taken root in our hearts. The prideful will justify morally reprehensible acts, they will seek to silence truth, deface beauty, and punish goodness. Their twisted minds will often latch onto one apparent good, like the avoidance of work on the sabbath, 

 to the exclusion of greater goods, avoiding murder and worshipping the son of God. To those who have become accustomed to darkness, light become obnoxious to them, even painful and hateful. Those who surround themselves with worldly errors and indulge the deceits of sin grow further and further from God.

But just has God sent his son into the midst of the Pharisees, like God sent the youth David into battle with the Philistine giant, God sends us to perform mighty deeds, and hidden acts of charity, to speak powerful words of truth and whispers of compassion. Because as long as the modern pharisees and philistines  draw breath they can be reached, their souls are not beyond hope. We are sent to rescue the lost sheep, those who desire salvation and eternal life with God, even those who don’t recognize that yet—to bring the light of Christ into the darkest of places, the darkest of souls.

So may we be faithful in our God given task, in living out the Christian faith, and spreading the Gospel in this day and age, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For the holy Church of God, that the Lord may graciously watch over her, care for her, and give her strength and courage in her mission.

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.

2nd Week of OT 2021 - Monday - Christ the Bridegroom and High Priest

 

In the time of Jesus, Jewish law required fasting once a year, on the Day of Atonement, which we know as Yom Kippur, and a few other minor fast days. Above and beyond what the law prescribed, the Pharisees practiced fasting twice a week. Jewish rabbis and their followers would practice increased fasting as well. The disciples of John the Baptist, too, apparently imitated John’s ascetic lifestyle, fasting as a sign of repentance and in preparation for the coming of the Messiah. So there was a sort of religious attitude toward fasting in Jesus’ day that the more one fasted, the holier one must be. 

In contrast, Jesus and his disciples are seen not only feast with sinners but failing to observe the days of fasting prescribed by the law. 

In reply to those voicing criticism concerning his practices, the Lord takes the opportunity to reveal something about his identity. These meals that he has been sharing, these feasts, are no mere ordinary gatherings for physical sustenance. When he gathers with his associates, his friends, and with sinners, he is a bridegroom with his wedding guests. 

What is more important, in the course of his public ministry than fasting, is revealing that he is the long awaited for Messiah—who will fully restore the nuptial bond between God and his people lost by sin.

He is the High Priest, as we heard in the first reading from the letter to the Hebrews, who reconciles God and man, through his flesh, who becomes a “source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.”

So, this Gospel is much more about how often we should fast as followers of Jesus, for as he said, “the days will come when my disciples will fast.” This Gospel is about recognizing that Jesus was much more than a common rabbi, a pharisee, much more than even John the Baptist. 

And again, this is still just chapter 2 of Mark’s Gospel. So imagine you are reading this for the first time, and more and more of Jesus’ identity is being revealed. You’d be thinking, this keeps getting better and better! God is not just doing something of the same old thing, he’s doing something new.

And just as it was 2000 years ago, God wants to do something new in our lives—to bring about new gifts, a flourishing of new ways of showing his glory, new ways of reconciling sinners to himself, new ways of reaching the hardest of hearts, new ways of revealing the love of the Bridegroom for his Bride the Church. May we be attentive to the ways the Holy Spirit wishes to use in in new ways for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For a deeper openness to God’s will, readiness for service, attentiveness to those in need, and peace in our world and our hearts.  Let us pray to the Lord.

For all those preparing for baptism and full initiation: that they may be open to the grace of conversion and the joy of the followers of Christ.  Let us pray to the Lord.

For a new springtime of justice: that all people of good will may work together against the increasing threats to civility, religious liberty and human life.  Let us pray to the Lord.

For those who struggle because of addiction, discouragement, mental illness, chronic sickness, unemployment, or ongoing trials of any kind:  that the new wine of God’s grace through Christ will bring them consolation and peace.

For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, For the deceased members of our family, friends, and parish, for the souls in purgatory and for…N. 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.

28th Week in OT 2020 - Tuesday - Freedom from the slavery of sin and addiction

 

A few years ago, the Pontifical Academy of Sciences hosted a conference at the Vatican called “Narcotics: Problems and Solutions of this Global Issue”. For, if you remember, it was just a few years ago that we were experiencing what we were calling the Opioid Epidemic. Our part of the country was particularly impacted by a rise in deaths stemming from opioid use and addictions. Our Bishop Malesic wrote a pastoral letter to his former diocese, too on the subject.

Anyway, at this Vatican conference, the Holy Father described drug addiction as a “new form of slavery”, comparing addiction to slavery—noting how addiction, like slavery, can fiercely control a person’s life. The drug becomes a set of shackles, resulting in the loss of freedom to pursue what is good in life.

This sort of language is certainly reminiscent of St. Paul in his letter to the Galatians this morning. Paul speaks of the yoke of slavery to which the Galatians were falling back into. Christ had freed them, broken the chains, but the Galatians were putting the shackles back on their own wrists. 

For the Galatians this yoke of slavery was the belief that salvation came through the law—all they had to do to be was be circumcised and follow the old Jewish law and they could go to heaven. But Paul is saying, no, that’s not right: “neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything”, rather you need to have faith in Jesus Christ, and practice it. “Only faith working through love” matters.

These Galatians were guilty of exactly the same attitude the Lord condemns in the Gospel today in the house of the Pharisee. The Pharisee believed that the law was the path to righteousness. But the Lord explains that the law cannot bring internal purification, it cannot bring true freedom. Rather freedom comes through belief in him, discipleship of him, following him.

The yoke of slavery can come in many forms—when we choose something, some pursuit over Christ, we are falling back under the yoke of sin. It can be drugs, alcohol, pornography, shopping, video games, social media. For these things can consume so much time, energy, they keep us from pursuing the good things God wants for us. Or even this belief that we can find ultimate fulfillment and salvation outside of Christ, separate from God, through merely political, scientific, or secular means. 

But each of needs to identify personally what attitudes, pursuits, habits of body and mind, ideologies, keep us from the prayer and charitable works that constitute that “faith working through love” that Paul says is the only thing that matters. What keeps us from practicing our faith in saintly and heroic ways?

May the Holy Spirit help us to identify any shackles that keep us from that active faith and act love of Christ for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

 

That the ordained and lay faithful may give courageous witness through lives of active faith and virtue.

For all those chained by the slavery of addiction, that they may know the deliverance and liberation that can only come through Christ. 

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 may take seriously the call to holiness, and turn away from the evils of our culture to spread the good news of Christ’s eternal kingdom.

For all whose lives are marked by suffering may come to know the healing and peace of Christ.

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.

22nd Week in OT 2020 - Friday - Inviting Souls to the Feast

Already having gained a number of disciples early on in his public ministry, the Lord attended a dinner in the house of Levi, also known as St. Matthew, a tax collector. And while at dinner in the house of Levi, some Pharisees and scribes begin to murmur about Jesus’ unconventional behavior—of dining with tax collectors and sinners. The word St. Luke uses to describe the Pharisees’ murmuring is the same word found in the book of Numbers, when the rebellious Israelites murmur and complain about the leadership of Moses out in the desert. 

When the Scribes and Pharisees then question the Lord, Jesus compares what he is doing in the house of Levi, and in his ministry, to a wedding feast. The Scribes and Pharisees, quite versed in the traditions of Israel, would no doubt have picked up on the messianic undertones of the Lord’s comparison. The age of the Messiah, the long awaited for final stage of human history, when the Lord’s Messiah would usher in the definitive kingdom of God—is scripturally linked to the wedding feast. And this allusion would not be missed by the Scribes and Pharisees. They would not have missed, that this unconventional itinerant preacher essentially just claimed to be the Messiah.

They would also not have missed the point of his analogy of putting new wine into old wineskins. New wine was also a Messianic image. Through the work of the Messiah, the Lord God would provide for his people rich food and choice new wines—juicy rich food and pure choice wines. 

We are in this final stage of human history. We are in the end times, when the most important thing we can do, is put our faith in Jesus Christ—this is the work of the Church, the task of every Christian—to invite souls to the wedding feast—to invite souls to Faith in Christ.

Some of the scribes and Pharisees would accept this invitation—many would not. And the same will happen in our age. Some will believe, and some will not. But we must be faithful, faithful stewards of the mysteries of God, as Paul writes in our first reading today. We will be judged, St. Paul says, on how faithful we are to this task. 

So may we fulfill this task joyfully, with great conviction in the promises of Christ, looking for ways and opportunities to bring Christ to those we meet and to bring those we meet to Christ, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That Christians may take up the task of evangelization with renewed conviction, with generosity and creativity, to spread the saving Gospel of Christ.

For an end to indifference to God and human dignity in our government and educational institutions, businesses, and personal attitudes.

During this month of September, dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows, we pray for all those who grieve, and that we may grieve sufficiently for our sins.

That the love of Christ, the divine physician, may bring healing to the sick and comfort to all the suffering.

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. We pray.

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.

Friday after Ash Wednesday 2020 - Fasting with Sincerity

Throughout the Gospels the Lord is consistently criticizing the religious practices of the Pharisees. On Ash Wednesday, the Lord challenged the prayer, fasting, and almsgiving of the Pharisees. They love to pray in order get attention and appear to be pious, all the while their hearts are far from God. They take on a gloomy disposition that they may appear to be fasting. They make a big public spectacle about their almsgiving, that they may appear to be generous.

But the Lord criticizes this purely external and self-serving form of religion. Christians on the other hand are seek to please God in our prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, by not just completing these activities, but doing so with the right spirit, the right intention and motivations. We aren’t simply to seek the appearance of holiness, for God sees to the heart. We are to engage in prayer, fasting, and almsgiving out of true love for God and love of neighbor.

In his criticisms of Pharisaical religion, the Lord echoed the prophets, like Isaiah in our reading today. Isaiah denounced the Jews of his day who fasted but whose lack of love for God and neighbor could be evidenced in how they treated people: in their quarreling, fighting, mistreatment of servants, failure to heed the call of the starving.


We are called to fast, but fasting which flows from and increases our practice of justice, righteousness, loving-kindness, and attentiveness to the needs of the poor.

Lent aims to deepen our sense and practice of right worship, stripping away our selfish motives, purifying our hearts of indifference--as our Collect today prays, that our Lenten observances may be accomplished with sincerity.

“The days are coming when my disciples will fast” the Lord says in the Gospel. Yes, and the days are here. But our fasting must be done in the right spirit, or it’s no different from the Pharisees.
Each day during Lenten, we do well to ensure that our fasting, prayers, and almsgiving our being done with the right motivation, to please God, to increase our love and selflessness, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For the whole Christian people, that in this sacred Lenten season, they may be more abundantly nourished by every word that comes from the mouth of God.

For the whole world, that in lasting tranquility and peace our days may truly become the acceptable time of grace and salvation.

For sinners and those who neglect right religion, that in this time of reconciliation they may return wholeheartedly to Christ.

For ourselves, that God may at last stir up in our hearts aversion for our sins and conviction for the Gospel.

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. Through Christ Our Lord.

27th Week in OT 2019 - Friday - Irrational Opposition to Jesus

As Jesus’ mission progressed, the Lord began to face mounting opposition from his critics. His critics even began to criticize the good he was doing. When Jesus forgave the sins of the paralytic, the Jewish leaders accused him of blasphemy; when he allowed the sinful woman to anoint and honor Him, a Pharisee was upset that he allowed such a woman to touch him.  Jesus was constantly being ridiculed for reaching out and eating with tax collectors and prostitutes. And, we heard in the Gospel, how Pharisees accuse Jesus of using the power of the devil to cast out a demon.

In the present age, the good work of the Church is similarly criticized.  When she speaks about the dignity of marriage, she is criticized and called anti-Gay.  When she speaks about the evil of abortion, she is criticized as being anti-woman.  When she speaks about the importance of holding on to the timeless truth that comes from God she is called anti-progress. When Pope Benedict spoke out against certain violent tendencies in Islam, he was criticized for being anti-tolerance.  When Pope Francis spoke wrote about the dangers of unfettered capitalism, “the cult of money and the dictatorship” of an inhumane economy, he was lambasted and called ignorant. Priests who are faithful to their duty to obey Church law are labeled as rigid or unpastoral.

The Church has been labeled anti-freedom, anti-science, anti-human flourishing.  And yet, she is the greatest instrument of true progress, true freedom, and true joy.

Today’s Gospel reminds us that there will always be irrational resistance towards the Church, toward the Christian message.  But that doesn’t mean we stop working or compromise the Truth.  Resistance to the Gospel doesn’t mean that we have the authority to change it.  We might have to state it more clearly, with greater conviction.  We might simply have to suffer for it. 

We shouldn’t be surprised that working for the spread of the truth feels like a constant, uphill battle.  Christ continued his ministry despite the opposition.  And so must we. 

May we be faithful when we face opposition in our Gospel mission for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
 
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That Christians may be faithful to evangelization, especially in the face of opposition, and for Pope Francis’ prayer intention for the month of October, “that the breath of the Holy Spirit may engender a new missionary ‘spring’ in the Church.

For those who have fallen into error, for Catholics who have grown lukewarm in their faith, for those who have left the Church, for their conversion and the conversion of all hearts.

For an increase in devotion to Our Lady’s Holy Rosary, and that we may all come to more fully imitate Our Lady’s faith and purity.

That the love of Christ, the divine physician, may bring healing to the sick and comfort to all the suffering.

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.

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.

25th Sunday in OT 2019 - "You cannot serve both God and Mammon"

“You cannot serve both God and mammon." Last week, a parishioner, perhaps looking ahead to this week’s reading, asked me before Mass, “Father, what does the Bible mean when it refers to mammon?”

Just from the context of today’s Gospel, we can surmise that mammon has something to do with money or wealth or earthly possessions.  After all, this teaching about mammon follows a parable about steward who squandered his master’s property, certainly recalling from last week, the parable of the prodigal son who squandered his inheritance on his earthly appetites.

This dishonest steward, instead of serving his master’s interests, has squandered his office, and only after getting caught, does he scramble to make some amends. Instead of serving his master, he has served an idol, a false master, himself.

The word mammon comes from the Aramaic word for “trust”. So “mammon” is something, anything that you trust in, other than God. It could mean money, it could mean power, it could mean your own ego.

So, Jesus isn’t calling money, evil, here, per se. Most people use money for very good reasons, like providing for their family.  But some people sell out their family, their country, their integrity . . . for money.  Money becomes a false idol, money becomes mammon when it is pursued at the expense of one’s soul. But again, not just money can become mammon; I read an article this week in which a Hollywood actress was boasting that it was her multiple abortions which enabled her to grow in fame—she willingly sacrificed the lives of her children for personal fame and wealth. Mammon is a relentless unholy god that demands sacrifice for short-term gain at the expense of others.

Last week, the prodigal son, having squandered his inheritance, was symbolic of sinful humanity, guilty of a squandered relationship with God resulting in the spiritual death of sin. But the good news was that the father in the parable, was symbolic of God, who runs to embrace his repentant son in mercy. Each of us, falling into sin, over and over, is pursued by God who longs to embrace us in his mercy.

Well, the dishonest steward, this week is symbolic as well, but of who? Well, Jesus is certainly addressing the Pharisees, who have squandered their holy office, their sacred duty, for their own sordid gain. They were supposed to be true spiritual leaders in Israel, helping people to be faithful to God and helping people to recognize how God was working in their lives. Jesus equates the Pharisees with the unfaithful, dishonest, steward, for their failure to help people recognize Jesus as Son of God and follow Him.

But this parable is also addressed again, just like last week, to every Christian of every age, to all of us. The parable challenges us to ensure that we do not squander the time we have been given, the treasure with which we’ve been entrusted, and to be vigilant against becoming a slave to mammon, and to serve God in even the smallest of matters.

So, what does it mean to serve God? Our first reading defines this service as care for the poor, honesty in our business transactions. Speaking through the prophet Amos, the Lord God, has some pretty harsh words for those who would take advantage of the poor and whose priorities are not aligned with God’s. “Hear this, you who trample upon the needy and destroy the poor of the land.. Never will I forget a thing they have done!” Lest we think we are off the hook as long as we are not cheating the poor outright, the Lord condemns just as strongly those who are anxious for the Sabbath to be over in order to pursue the things of the earth.

Rather, we are to live for God all week, by placing Christ at the center of everything we do, and to remember our responsibility to the poor in our midst, the materially poor and spiritually poor, to ensure that we are setting good example for young people, to ensure that our time, talent, and treasure is entirely at the service of God.

Time, talent, and treasure. That’s a phrase this parish is pretty familiar with. Over the last five years, our former pastor Fr. Troha was very vigilant in calling the parish to commit their time, talent, and treasure to the Lord’s service. And though, we know longer will have the month long stewardship renewal, we do well to make an examination of our personal stewardship with questions like: am I reasonably supporting the Church and the work of the Church with my time, talent, and treasure? Am I setting aside time every day for some form of service to God? Am I setting aside a reasonable amount of treasure every week that will go to help someone else-- that will lift someone else’s burdens? What is an appropriate percentage of my income to give to God? 1% 5% 10%? Am I using my talents to make the world more beautiful, to glorify God so that strangers and neighbors and family may believe in Him? Could I get to daily mass during the week, or could I do spiritual reading, if I spent less time on social media, if I didn’t stay up so late watching television?

At the end of every day, we do well to make an examination of conscience—an account of how we have spent our time, talent, and treasure—to repent of our selfishness and to seek God’s help in being more generous the next day.

Just like last week, this week’s parable contains challenge, warning and promise. Yes, we are challenged to ensure we are honest and prudent before God, and we are warned, that we will, at the end of life, be required to give a full account of our stewardship before God. But we also hear God’s promise: those who are faithful shall be known as children of the light; a “tranquil life of devotion and dignity”, as St. Paul, describes in our second reading, “is pleasing to God.” And shall be rewarded in eternity.

For to the extent which we have given ourselves away in this life, in imitation and in union with Christ Our savior, we will be blessed in eternity. So may we be generous for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

July 29 2019 - St. Martha - Spiritual Growth is Possible

If we only read the Gospel story about Jesus’ first visit to the home of Martha and Mary in Bethany, we might wonder why the Church considers Martha a saint at all. After all, she comes into the room complaining and controlling. She seems to have missed the point of Jesus’ visit. Sure, she is busy with the demands of hospitality, but that doesn’t make someone a saint.

Well, today we get another part of the picture. We read today from St. John’s account of Martha’s encounter with Jesus. Mary and Martha had sent news to Jesus that Lazarus had died. Jesus announced to his disciples that he wished to return to Bethany, but his disciples object, due to the recent threats on Jesus’ life; nor do they understand why Jesus would want to go anyway.

Jesus insists on the visit, and upon meeting Martha we find her full of, not unbelief, but belief. Rather than staying at home like her sister Mary, Martha goes out to Jesus. She affirms her belief that Jesus is a messianic miracle worker, she knows that God is with him.  And when the Lord reveals that he “is the resurrection and the life” she affirms her belief in this as well.

The Gospels portray Martha open to spiritual growth, open to the revelation of Jesus’ deepest identity and mission. Unlike the Pharisees, closed, resistant, prideful, Martha is open, willing to be corrected, and she makes the leap of faith.

Here is a Saint who knows what it means to grow, to change, to deepen in faith, to serve, to welcome the unexpected guest, to make holy requests of Jesus, to trust in God at the death of a love one.
Many of us have family members and friends who are busy about worldly things, who like Martha in Luke’s Gospel, are missing out on the one necessary thing, the deep intimate communion with Jesus Christ which leads to eternal life. But, like St. Martha, spiritual growth is possible, conversion is possible, belief that Jesus is the “resurrection and the life” is possible for them as it was for her.

May St. Martha help all of us attain that spiritual growth God wants for us, may we, like her, run out to meet Jesus with our needs, may we acknowledge always and everywhere that Jesus is the resurrection and the life, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That all Christians may be open to constant growth in faith, hope, and love.
For the conversion of all who resist belief in Jesus, for the conversion of hardened sinners, atheists, and agnostics.
That those who grieve may find comfort and consolation in Christ.
For the needs of all the sick and suffering, all those undergoing surgery, and those who will die today.
For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, all of the souls of purgatory, and N. 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 the faithful. Through Christ Our Lord.

15th Week in OT 2019 - Friday - "I desire mercy not sacrifice"

“I desire mercy not sacrifice” This was the second time in Matthew’s Gospel that Jesus uttered those words: “I desire mercy not sacrifice”, words Our Lord quotes from chapter 6 verse 6 of Hosea the Prophet.

The Lord had spoken those words to the Pharisees a few chapters earlier when he sat at the table of St. Matthew. He told them to go and learn the meaning of those words.  ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’

Had the Pharisees gone and learned the meaning of these words, the Lord would not be repeating them now. For Our Lord clearly demonstrates, that He and his disciples, picking grain because they were hungry, were not violating the Sabbath. For their hunger, their human need trumped the Pharisees interpretation of the 3rd commandment. The Pharisees had forgotten, or missed the point, for the whole purpose of the commandments.

The Pharisees began to hunger not righteousness, just the appearance of it.  They hungered, not for God, they acted not for love, but for their own egos. Jesus teaches Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, and to be righteous, to be in right relationship with God—we seek to fulfill God’s commandments not simply out of blind legalism, but out of love, for Him and our neighbor. Our Lord isn’t saying that we should ignore the commandments of course, but to follow them for the right reasons, reasonably and with a pure heart.

Our Blessed Lord opens us to rediscover that the deepest meaning of life is found when we love God and neighbor attentive to our neighbors real human needs and the desire to obey God out of love. Love of God and neighbor is the road to our deepest human flourishing and to eternal life.

Charity is appropriate anytime, anywhere, for God is Love always and everywhere. When we engage in Charity—in the works of mercy—and follow God’s commandments out of love for Him, we enter into the life of God.

May we be attentive to the call to mercy and love in every dimension of life and become living reflections of God's love in the world for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That the members of the Body of Christ may manifest God’s love for the world by engaging in the works of mercy always and everywhere.

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 may be preserved from the evil and perversions of the world and seek to grow in holiness.

For all whose lives are marked by suffering, sickness, disease or debilitation, may they come to know the healing and peace of Christ.

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.

5th Week of Lent 2019 - Monday - Power Struggle

The Daily Scripture readings for the first half of Lent helped us to focus on our Lenten penances: the prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and repentance needed to help us prepare well for easter. Now in the second half of Lent, our scriptures focus on Jesus and the types of opposition he faced, and how we are to imitate Him in the Christian life.

In the first reading, innocent Susanna is unjustly condemned. Susanna, like Christ, is totally innocent, yet she is brought up on trumped up charges by those in positions of power. Susanna, like Jesus on the Cross, cries out to God, making an act of trust, she surrenders herself into the hands of God, much like Christ who says, “Father, into your hands, I commend my spirit.” 

In the Gospel, the Pharisees claim that Jesus lacks anyone to verify his divine identity. Yet, these same pharisees will conspire at Jesus’ trial, they will bring in false testimony in order to condemn Him to death.

There is a power struggle in both of these readings. Lustful men wish to use their earthly power to have their way with Susanna. The Pharisees lust for power will lead them to seek to silence the Eternal Word. Jesus exposes that the Pharisees’ lust for power is greater than their love for God. And so they engage in dark conspiracy to put Jesus to death.

Even when dark powers conspire against us, when we walk in the dark valley, as we recalled in the Psalm, our faith reminds us that God is with us. The vindication of Susanna, through the prophet Daniel, hints at Jesus’ own vindication at Easter. Though the dark powers conspire against him, even though it seems even to his disciples that darkness has won, light shall overcome.

In the Christian life, we will face dark opposition from the world, from the devil, and even from our own sinful inclinations, the disordered affections of our flesh. The powers of darkness conspire against us for the ruin of our souls, to silence us from speaking the truth, to discourage us from the work of God. But the light of Christ will overcome when we are faithful, when like Susanna we trust and call out to God, like the Psalmist who trusts that God is at his side in the darkest of hours.

May our Lenten penances continue to toughen us up for the battle, may the help us to be ever more attentive to God’s presence in our lives, that our lives may shine with the light of the victorious Christ for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
 
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For an increase in faith for the catechumens and candidates who approach the sacraments of initiation in the coming Paschal Solemnity.

That the Church might be delivered and protected from all spirits of error, heresy, schism, and unbelief and for faithful bishops, priests, and lay faithful who experience persecution because of their commitment to the Gospel.

For strength to resist temptation, and the humility to sincerely repent of sin.

That through fasting and self-denial, we may be ever more conformed to Christ.

That those in need may find assistance in the charity of faithful Christians and that peace and security may be firmly established in all places.

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

Mercifully hear, O Lord, the prayers of your Church and turn with compassion to the hearts that bow before you, that those you make sharers in your divine mystery may always benefit from your assistance.

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.