August 12 2026 - St. Frances de Chantal - Radiant through different walks of life

 

St. Jane Frances de Chantal was wife, mother, nun and founder of a religious community.  This 16^th Century saint had an amazing array of life experiences, many of which, however, involved the cross.

 Jane’s mother died when she was but 18 months old. Her father, who was head of the French parliament saw to her development as a woman of beauty and refinement.  She was married at age 21 to Baron de Chantal. They had six children, but three died in infancy. At their castle, she restored the custom of daily Mass, and was deeply engaged in various charitable works.

Jane’s husband was killed in a hunting accident after seven years of marriage, leaving her a widow at 28 with four children, and broken-hearted.

A few years later, her father invited her to come to Dijon to hear the Lenten sermons of the holy bishop of Geneva Switzerland, St. Francis de Sales. Which certainly changed her life. The saint became her spiritual director, and under his direction, she grew in sanctity and discerned a religious vocation. So, at age 45, she joined the Visitation Nuns, the cloistered community founded her spiritual director. Their charism was to seek to exemplify the humility and meekness exemplified by Our Lady at the Visitation.

Life’s challenges however continued.  Her son was killed, and a plague ravaged France.  In response to the plague, she persuaded local authorities to respond to the plague victims and she put all the resources of her convent at the disposal of the sick.

Additionally, Religious life did not shield Jane Frances de Chantal from great trials of the spirit, temptations, darkness, and spiritual dryness, but her strong faith enabled her to carry these crosses. St. Vincent de Paul, who knew her personally, said: “for all that suffering, her face never lost its serenity, nor did she once relax in the fidelity God asked of her.” 

It may surprise us that a saint should be subject to such great suffering, spiritual dryness, darkness.  But that’s how saints are made. Saints are those who persevere through the darkness. At the heart of the saint is a trust and faith in God that is deeper than any darkness—that no matter what one is feeling, no matter what tragedy or chaos life throws at you, we rely on God’s grace, we seek to be faithful to God in season and out of season. Just because we are having a bad day, a bad week, a bad decade, we are not excused from the commandment to love.

Jane Frances de Chantal went to her heavenly reward in 1641 at the age of 69 after many sorrows and joys. She is invoked as a patron saint of widows, people with problems with their in-laws…we didn’t even get into those…and parents who are separated from their children.

A soul made beautiful and holy through God’s grace, through the crucible of suffering, imitation of the Blessed Virgin, and the help of other saints along the way. May we benefit from her prayers and holy example, and like her become radiant through the many different walks of our own life for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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That we like St. Frances de Chantal, we may respond to life's challenges with faith, perseverance, and love, and that we may grow in our trust in God amidst life's turmoil.

For those facing trials of the spirit, temptations, or spiritual dryness, those experiencing grief,  depression, broken-heartedness, for widows, for parents who have lost children, for those with problems with their in-laws, and for those experiencing any kind of darkness in their lives, that they may find hope in the examples of saints who persevered through similar struggles.

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.

Loving and merciful God, as we celebrate the saints, hear our prayers, that we like them may face life’s challenges with unwavering faith, persevering hope, and generous charity. Through Christ our Lord.

11th Week in Ordinary Time 2025 - Friday - What do I treasure?

 Today’s scripture readings challenge us to ask ourselves, “What do I treasure?” “What do I value most?” “Do I treasure the things of this world or do I treasure the things of God?” “Which do I treasure most?”

In the first reading, it is very evident where St. Paul’s treasure lies.  

St. Paul enumerates his sufferings for the spread of the Gospel: dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from fellow Jews, dangers from Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers at sea, dangers instigated by false Christians; in toil and hardship, through many sleepless nights, hunger and thirst, frequent fasting, cold and exposure, daily pressures, all for the sake of the Gospel. 

St. Paul suffered not to build an impressive resume.  When he’s listing off all that he suffered, he’s not complaining.  Rather, he embraced all of these sufferings  because he treasured the Gospel above all else, and desired to share that treasure with others.

 ‘What do I treasure?’ St. Paul highlights an important connection. What we treasure can be equated to what am I willing to suffering for? What will I go out of my way for to obtain? 

St. Paul reminds us that heaven is obtained not by sitting idly, but by embracing the cross. Broad is the way and wide is the gate that leads to destruction. Meaning, we attain heaven and eternal life, not simply by doing what is easy all the time. Oftentimes we will need to fight against our fallen nature, our slothful nature, the part of us that just wants to relax and self-indulgent. Jesus says we need to “strive to enter the narrow gate”. 

Effort is needed to pray, to fast, to do penance, to engage in the works of charity, and spread the Gospel. 

St. Paul, then, is a great model for us, a model most necessary for us at every age, lest we excuse ourselves from the necessary work of the Gospel, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls. 

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Let us place our needs and the needs of the world before our heavenly Father.

For the Church: That all the baptized may treasure the Gospel above every worldly good and, like Saint Paul, willingly embrace the sacrifices needed to proclaim Christ to every nation.

For the nations and their leaders: That those entrusted with authority may govern justly, defend human dignity from conception to natural death, and foster lasting peace among peoples.

For the grace to treasure the things of God: That we may resist the lure of worldly comforts, strive each day to enter through the narrow gate, and devote ourselves generously to prayer, penance, works of charity, and the spread of the Gospel.

For the sick, the suffering, the poor, and the afflicted: That all who bear heavy crosses may unite their trials to Christ’s Passion, receive comfort and healing, and be supported by the charity of the Christian community.

For the faithful departed: That those who have died in Christ may inherit the eternal treasure of heaven and rejoice forever in the presence of God.

O God, source of all true riches, hear the prayers we bring before You, and grant that, treasuring Your kingdom above all, we may share its everlasting joy. Through Christ our Lord.

R. Amen.

August 12 2024 - St. Jane Frances de Chantal - Charity refined in the crucible of suffering

 

St. Jane Frances de Chantal was wife, mother, nun and founder of a religious community.  This 16th Century saint had an amazing array of life experiences, many of which, however, involved the cross.

 Jane’s mother died when she was but 18 months old. However, her father, who was head of parliament at Dijon, France, saw to her development as a woman of beauty and refinement, lively and cheerful in temperament.  She was married at age 21 to Baron de Chantal. The had six children, but three died in infancy. At their castle, she restored the custom of daily Mass, and was deeply engaged in various charitable works.

Jane’s husband was killed after seven years of marriage, and she sank into deep depression.  

When she was 32, she met St. Francis de Sales, who became her spiritual director.  

At age 45, she and two other women, joined the Visitation Nuns, the cloistered community founded her spiritual director.  The Visitation Nuns were primarily intended to exemplify the virtues of Mary at the Visitation: humility and meekness.  Life’s challenges however continued.  Her son was killed, and a plague ravaged France.  In response to the plague, she persuaded local authorities to respond to the plague victims and she put all the resources of her convent at the disposal of the sick.

Religious life did not shield Jane Frances de Chantal from great trials of the spirit, temptations, darkness, spiritual dryness, but because of her faith, she was deeply filled with God’s peace.  St. Vincent de Paul, a contemporary said of her: “for all that suffering, her face never lost its serenity, nor did she once relax in the fidelity God asked of her.”  

It may strike us that a saint should be subject to such great suffering, spiritual dryness, darkness.  But that’s how saints are made. Saints are those who persevere through the darkness. At the heart of the saint is a trust and faith in God that is deeper than any darkness—that no matter what one is feeling, no matter what tragedy or chaos life throws at you, we must heed the great commandment to love God with our whole heart, mind and soul, and love our neighbor as ourselves.  Just because we are having a bad day, a bad week, a bad decade, we are not excused from the commandment to love.

So when we experience the crucible of human suffering, may we, like Saint Frances de Chantal be found faithful to the Gospel of Christ, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That we like St. Frances de Chantal, we may respond to life's challenges with faith, perseverance, and love, and that we may grow in our trust in God, allowing His peace to fill us even amidst life's turmoil.

For all who serve the sick and suffering, that they may be inspired by St. Frances' example of charity and selflessness, and for religious communities, that they may continue to exemplify the virtues in their service to the Church. 

For those facing trials of the spirit, temptations, or spiritual dryness, those experiencing grief and depression, for parents who have lost children, and for those experiencing any kind of darkness in their lives, that they may find hope in the examples of saints who persevered through similar struggles

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.

Loving and merciful God, as we celebrate the saints, hear our prayers, that we like them may face life’s challenges with unwavering faith, persevering hope, and generous charity. Through Christ our Lord.

5th Sunday of Ordinary Time 2024 - Life is worth living

Have you ever been deeply brokenhearted and felt you couldn’t go on? Have you ever felt that life is just one series of miserable occurrences after the next? Have you ever had an existential crisis, a moment in your life where you wonder “what is the point of it all?”

Such experiences are not uncommon. Job in our first reading this weekend is at a real low point in his life. He says to himself, “Is not man's life on earth a drudgery? Isn’t life just endless servitude where you are just waiting to die? Kind of dark. But also reassuring that scripture is honest about the miseries we face. That sometimes you begin to question, what is up with all this suffering?

And this is an important question. There is a whole branch of philosophy called existentialism which grapples and wrestles with the universal human experience of figuring out the meaning of life and enduring suffering with purpose. The existential philosopher Albert Camus claimed, that “Deciding whether or not life is worth living” is “the fundamental question in philosophy. All other questions follow from that.”

Now, Albert Camus was pretty critical of religion most of the time, but he’s certainly on to something. Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen launched a radio show back in the 1950s and television show, called “Life is Worth Living.” And that television show was on primetime, on a major network, and had the highest rating of any show at the time. 

Now Job really grappled with this question. And Job really knew what it meant to suffer. Job, initially, was a wealthy man with a large family, significant livestock, and many servants. In a series of calamities, he lost his possessions and wealth, including his livestock and property. Tragically, Job suffered the loss of his ten children when a great wind collapsed the house where they were gathered, leading to their deaths. Job experienced a debilitating illness: painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. His physical suffering was intense. Job faced additional hardships in the form of isolation and rejection. His friends, who came to comfort him, suggested that his suffering was his own fault. 

But Job was a man of deep faith, and ultimately concludes that the man of faith is called to trust in God always: “the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” And that life is worth living even when we suffer tragedy. 

The book of Job, read the whole thing some time. It’ll help you grow in spiritual maturity. 

“Life is worth living”. How can we say that?

When Christians say that life is worth living, this belief is grounded in scripture, theology and reason.

Scripture in its earliest pages reveals that humans are created in the image of God. God is good, therefore human life is good. Human life is good and sacred, therefore every human life has dignity and worth, and our dignity is not dependent on external factors such as achievements, status, wealth or abilities but is intrinsic to being a human being. 

Life is worth living because every life has a purpose. Often people begin to question whether their life is worth living because they see no purpose to their life. This is why deep mature faith in God is so important to the human experience, for living a life aligned with divine principles and guided by faith helps us experience the purpose for which we were made—to know our purpose even as we suffer. With faith, Our challenges and sufferings, even our setbacks and sins, become opportunities for growth and transformation, the cultivation of virtue and the sanctification of our eternal souls.

Life is worth living because the time we have been given in this earthly life is for the purpose of preparing for eternity. 

Now, again, most of us, at some point, have moments, even perhaps long periods of life, where we feel like Job in our first reading. And so it is important to fight these negative feelings with Truth. We must remind ourselves of our worth as human beings. We have a responsibility to preserve and nurture life and that includes our own physical, mental, and spiritual health. We need to eat right and avoid activities and substances that bring us depression and meaninglessness, and strengthen our faith when it is wavering.

I can’t remember who said it, but it’s great advice. Whenever you are feeling down or lost, look at the crucifix. Remind yourself, that the one nailed to the cross embraced that cross for you out of love for you. No matter your sins, no matter your past. He loves you. Your life is worth living because God loves you. He loved you into existence, knowing what your sins would be, knowing the suffering you would have to endure. And he gives you the knowledge that he loves you so that you do not despair. 

In today’s Gospel, people came from throughout capernaum to be healed by Jesus—to be delivered from their earthly miseries and bodily pains and their demons. And the Lord certainly, certainly wishes to bring us wholeness and peace and healing, just like he did for the citizens of Capernaum. But you must go to him with the desire to be healed. When you come to mass, have you identified what needs healing? Have you identified the broken parts of your life that need wholeness? The stagnate part of your lives that could use transformation.

To those who say, I don’t need to come to church, I can approach God at own home. How’s that working out ? We don’t have a lot of Gospel stories of people being healed just by sitting at home. Even with the case of Peter’s mother-in-law, Jesus is welcomed and brought into the home, by the sons of Zebedee and Alphaeus, and the healing comes through the actual encounter.

We need to come to mass, sometimes more than just once a week, when we are downtrodden. You know every week we have holy hour, when the Eucharist is placed in the monstrance for you to come and kneel and pray. Every first Friday as well. Jesus waits for us to visit him in the monstrances and tabernacles and confessionals. 

We can be pretty foolish about the spiritual life, sometimes, thinking that our problems will just go away in time, without any real effort on our part, without putting in the work, and bringing our sufferings to Jesus with persistence. And the unwillingness to do the work, the unwillingness to confess our sins is the cause of immeasurable misery. Faith involves doing the work, approaching Jesus, laying our life bare to him for healing.

Job suffered, but in the end, he kept the faith. And doing so resulted in a powerful experience of God. Keeping the faith, in the end, will result in the eternal experience of God’s goodness in heaven. So when our crosses grow heavy, we must go to Jesus, and learn to rely on Jesus to be our strength. If you haven’t received the strength you need, you need to keep going back to Jesus. 

May the Lord sustain us in our works and in our sufferings, reveal to us our purpose, and deliver us from our sins for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

September 15 2023 - Our Lady of Sorrows - A heart united to Christ in love and suffering

Yesterday, on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, the Church turned her heart to the Passion of Christ and the wood of the cross upon which our Lord conquered death.  Today the Church turns her heart to the suffering his His Mother—the heart of His mother which shared in her son’s great suffering. 

In the Collect prayer beginning today’s Mass we prayed, O God, who willed that, when your Son was lifted high on the Cross, his Mother should stand close by and share his suffering.

Love unites the mother with her children. She shares their joys, their excitements, their sorrows and sufferings. The heart of the mother aches in every of her child’s bruises, broken bones, or illnesses.

Our Lady’s heart because of it’s purity, selflessness, devotion to the will of God, and faith loved more deeply and therefore suffered more deeply than any mother in history. Because of her love her heart was pierced with swords of sorrow so intense that one might say she only survived the sufferings of her son through special graces from God. 

Today we turn our hearts to her, that she might teach us how to love and how to suffer with grace. And also to know that because her love for each of us is great, she also knows and shares our sufferings too. For since her heart is united to Christ in love and suffering, she loves what he loves...that includes us.

Pope St. John Paul II wrote: “Turn your eyes incessantly to the Blessed Virgin; she, who is the Mother of Sorrows and also the Mother of Consolation, can understand you completely and help you. Looking to her, praying to her, you will obtain that your tedium will become serenity, your anguish change into hope, and your grief into love.”

It is sad to think of how many Christians do not really grasp the motherhood of Mary, the role that God wants her to have in our lives. For God himself, from the cross, told us, “Behold your mother.”

So we who love her have a duty to help those who do not to come to understand this dimension of the Good News of Christ—the Gospel. For it is part of the Gospel that Mary is our Mother—and comes to our aid in our suffering. 

Older Catholics especially can help younger family members to love Mary. When the grandkids or nieces and nephews come over to visit, pray the rosary with them, teach them of the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady, for the younger generations who do not know Mary are in danger of have stilted, colder hearts, as we all are when we fail to love Our Mother as we should.

During the remainder of the day, let us reflect upon the sufferings of the Mother of God. May the tears of Mary give us more compassionate hearts, and keep us faithful to her Son, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For the Church in every place; that, by calling to mind the sorrow of the Blessed Virgin Mary upon hearing the prophecy of Simeon, she may offer comfort to all who advance in this life

along a path of obscurity and suffering. 

For the leaders of nations; that, by remembering the sorrow of the Holy Family’s flight into Egypt,

they may be moved to care for refugees and for all who are obliged to flee from war and persecution. 

For parents anguishing over their children; that, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary

and of Saint Joseph who were anguished by the disappearance of Jesus for three days, they may come to deeper trust and confidence in the providence of the Heavenly Father.

For all who bear the cross of suffering; that, like Jesus bearing His cross, they may encounter the Mother of Sorrows on the way, and be sustained by her compassion.

For widows mourning the death of a beloved spouse; that, by turning to Our Lady, the Virgin Widow of Saint Joseph, they may be comforted in their solitude and inspired to go forward with courage and trust in God.

For all priests; that in the daily offering of the Holy Sacrifice, they may discover the nearness of the Mother of Sorrows and, like Saint John, take her into their homes.

For ourselves; that, by remembering the sorrow of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the entombment of her Son, we may be strengthened in hope and learn from her to wait in silence for the light of the resurrection, and for N. for whom this mass is offered. 

May we be aided at your Mercy Seat, Lord Jesus Christ, now and at the hour of our death, by the pleading of the Blessed Virgin Mary, your Mother, whose most holy soul was pierced, in the hour of your sufferings, by a sword of sorrow. Who live and reign forever and ever.

23rd Week in Ordinary Time 2023 - 9/11, Suffering, and the need for Christ

 In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, congress passed a bill requesting that the President designate September 11 of each year as Patriot Day. The U.S. flag is flown at half-staff at the White House and on all U.S. government buildings and establishments throughout the world; flags are also encouraged to be displayed on individual American homes. Additionally, a moment of silence is observed to correspond with the attacks, beginning at 8:46 a.m., the time the first plane, American Airlines Flight 11, struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

This terrorist attack was a great source of suffering for our nation, not to mention the victims and their families. I remember exactly where I was when I heard about the first plane striking the North Tower. I was on my way to class with a group of seminarians—a philosophy class called the philosophy of the human person, in which we were examining man’s intellect, soul, mind, body, and free will. And certainly that day, we received a terrible lesson of man’s capacity for evil, his ability to inflict suffering on his fellow man.

St. Paul wrote about suffering in our reading from his letter to the Colossians today. Paul suffered prison, shipwreck, beatings, starvation, and exhaustion, and ultimately death for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And Paul doesn’t curse God for his sufferings, or even complain about them, rather he writes boldly, “I rejoice in my sufferings” and goes on to explain that he saw his sufferings for the sake of the Church as gifts from God because they enabled him to understand more deeply the love of Christ.

Fulton Sheen was fond of saying that, the great tragedy in life is not suffering, but suffering that goes wasted, suffering that we do not allow to bring us closer to God.

Following the September 11 attacks the churches were packed. Our nation rightly responded to evil by falling to our knees, not simply praying to God to alleviate suffering, but to help us to learn, so that evil may not be repeated. “Never forget” was the motto in the months to follow. Let us never forget what evil can do.

And yet the lesson of suffering was only headed by some. Instead of drawing closer to God, repenting of sin, uniting to Christ through his Church, many dug in their heels to building a culture of death. Instead of stretching out the withered hand to Christ, they clutched all the tighter at perversion, greed, and power. But such is the pattern of sinful man, when he refuses to grow in wisdom—if he doesn’t fall for one empty promise, he’ll fall for another until he lives for Christ. 

And so the Church’s task in 2023, is the same as St. Paul’s and that of every age, to preach Christ and him crucified, for He is our only salvation and hope, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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That through Our Lady, Queen of Peace, terrorism and war, and the cheapening of human life may be brought to an end.

That our civil representatives may use their authority to lead and build our nation in godly ways.

For all those who harden their hearts toward God, for those who have left the Church, for all those in serious sin, for their conversion and the conversion of all hearts.

For the sick and afflicted, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, for victims of natural disaster and inclement weather, those who suffer from war, violence, and terrorism, for the mentally ill, those with addictions, the imprisoned, the unchaste, 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. We pray.

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.

August 1 2023 - St. Alphonsus Ligouri - Divine Love and Suffering

 In 1731, a very holy nun, Sr. Maria Celeste, who has been recently beatified by Pope Francis, had a vision of our Lord with St. Francis on His right hand and a priest on His left. A voice told her, “This is he whom I have chosen to be head of My Institute, the Prefect General of a new Congregation of men who shall work for My glory.” This priest had spent his early priesthood as a missionary, preaching in parishes, seeking to renew the faith in a society where the faith was languishing, the priest was Fr. Alphonsus Ligouri, who, a year later in 1732, began the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, known now as the Redemptorists, a preaching order who endure to this day.

I remember a Redemptorist priest coming to my home parish in Madison when I was a young boy for a preaching mission, and it really was one of the first stirring homilies I remember.

St. Alphonsus was a tremendously popular preacher. His clear and organized sermons had universal appeal. And he was successful in his mission, the renewal of hearts, the renewal of faith.

And no doubt the devil hated him. After the founding of his order, St. Alphonsus had a life rife with persecutions and betrayals. His companions began to abandon him as they did not want to live under the strict Redemptorist Rule, and the Congregation was rife with division. He suffered lifelong persecution from the Prime Minister of Naples.  After being made Bishop he suffered assassination attempts.

Troubled with ill health, by the time the saint was 85, he was crippled, mostly blind, and deaf. He suffered from a raw wound on his chest made from the constant rubbing of his chin upon it due to his badly bent neck from rheumatic disease. He additionally suffered the “dark night” of his soul, replete with many interior struggles and trials.

Despite his own sufferings, he penned many moral, dogmatic, and devotional works to aid his flock and the Church. His famous work “Visits to the Most Blessed Sacrament” saw 40 editions in his own lifetime and greatly influenced the practice of Eucharistic Adoration. His “Glories of Mary” is one of the most widely used devotionals to the Blessed Mother. These and his many other writings were instrumental in his being named a Doctor of the Church.

His willingness to suffer for God and for the Church, and his patience in doing so were sure signs of his love for God, and perhaps a source of his efficacy. Alphonsus writes about suffering, “The brightest ornaments in the crown of the blessed in heaven are the sufferings which they have borne patiently on earth”—”the sufferings endured for God are the greatest proof of our love for Him”—" By the law of nature, there is no pleasure in suffering; but divine love, when it reigns in a heart, makes it take delight in its sufferings” in other words, love of God transforms suffering for God into a delight. 

Many Christians, likely most of us at times, neglect the work God wants them to do because they run away from suffering, from doing anything difficult, habituated to seeking only comfort. But St. Alphonsus reminds us that when we bear our crosses with love like Christ, the cross is transformed into the most powerful instrument for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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For the grace to accept sufferings for the work of the Gospel. 

For an increase in vocations to the priesthood and religious life, for the Redemptorist Order, founded by St. Alphonsus, and for the sanctification of all marriages. 

For the sick and afflicted, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, for victims of natural disaster, war, violence, and terrorism, 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. 

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.

1st Week of Ordinary Time 2023 - Tuesday - All things are subject to Him

 

Until the beginning of February, the first readings on normal weekdays will be taken from the Letter to the Hebrews.  The Church does not know who wrote the letter to the Hebrews, for many years, a certain verse of chapter 13 seemed to point to Saint Paul, but the jury is still out.

This Letter seems to be addressed to Jewish Christians who were undergoing persecution for their new belief in Christ. The letter itself states how these converts to Christ "endured mockery, scourging, even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, sawed in two, put to death at sword's point".

And so, the sacred author of this letter wrote to encourage them—to persevere in their faith even unto death because Christ is victorious. He is Lord. He is the True High Priest. He is the perfection that was promised, who established a new covenant in his blood. All things are subject to Him.

But today, just in chapter 2 of the letter, read a verse that is brutally honest: “at present we do not see all things subject to him.” Ain’t that the truth! The Church proclaims Christ is victorious. Well, to those who are experiencing persecution, or anyone whose eyes are open, it sure doesn’t look that way, at least not initially.

If all things are subject to Christ, why were the powers of the world still holding such sway. Why were the Romans so bloody efficient at putting Christians to death? Why were there still imposter kings imposing their godless wills. The Messiah was supposed to usher in the eternal kingdom of justice and peace. So where was the justice, where was the peace? Why are the wicked still in control? 

And why should those who are being persecuted, keep the faith, if this promise of peace and justice has not been fulfilled? 

This letter is grappling with some serious questions. It’s the same question that Job grappled with. The problem of evil. If God is omnipotent, why is does evil persist? If the claim is that Christ is victorious, why doesn’t it look that way? 

The answer probably has to do with the cross, doesn’t it? The victory came through the perfect one’s suffering and death. And to share in his victory will also require us to share in his cross. And the evil in the world, the persecution, is in a sense, our cross. “Endure your trials,” Hebrews says.  As you are experiencing them, “they seem a cause not for joy but for pain, yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who are trained” by them.

During this season called Ordinary Time, we are to learn from our Lord, how to endure our trials patiently, with endurance and faith, that they may produce the fruits of righteousness, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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To God the Father Almighty we direct the prayers of our heart for the needs and salvation of humanity and the good of His faithful ones.

For the holy Church of God, that the Lord may graciously watch over her and care for her.

For the peoples of the world, that the Lord may graciously preserve harmony among them.

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

For ourselves and our own community, that the Lord may graciously receive us as a sacrifice acceptable to himself.

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.

July 22 2020 - St. Mary Magdalene - Ardent love for Christ

It can be argued, that Mary Magdalene is the second-most important woman in the New Testament. Throughout the four Gospels, she is named 14 times, more than most of the apostles.  Yet, there is a lot of confusion about some of Mary Magdalene’s biographical information.

There is no scriptural evidence that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute.  Nor is she the woman to have washed the feet of Jesus, that was Mary of Bethany in John’s Gospel; St. Mark and Luke do tell us that the Lord had cast out of her “seven demons”.

Movies like The Last Temptation of Christ and Jesus Christ Superstar portray Mary of Magdala as young, beautiful and as having…romantic interest…in Jesus, and we won’t even go into what Dan Brown, author of The Davinci Code has to say about her.

Mary Magdalene was a woman of deep faith and ardent love for the Lord. Everything we know about her speaks of her love for Jesus. St. Luke tells us that she helped provide for the needs of Jesus and His apostles out of her resources (Lk 8:3).

She, unlike many of the apostles, followed the Lord all the way to Calvary, and stood at the foot of the cross with Jesus (Jn 19:25). On Easter Sunday, she went to the tomb, found it empty and began to weep, believing the Lord's body to have been stolen.  But the Lord had risen, as he said he would, and spoke her name, "Mary".  Faith and Love then impelled her to bring the news of the resurrection to the apostles.

That is the last we read of her in the Scriptures.

Though we can’t take everything in pious legend as historical fact, there is something of her spirituality that we do well to consider. There is a legend that Mary Magdalene who was present at the crucifixion meditated on the Lord’s sufferings every day for the rest of her life. Faith and love for her meant contemplating the depths of the Lord’s sufferings, his wounds, his “stripes by which we are healed” as Isaiah says.

Why did she do this? So that she might not take his suffering for granted. To love a person is to value what they suffer, especially what they suffer on our behalf. This is one of the most important lessons in all of Christianity. We cannot overvalue the sufferings of Our Lord—what he suffered for us poor sinners who did not deserve salvation. Love itself suffered immeasurably for the unlovable.

By coming to deeper appreciation for what he suffered, we seek to conform our lives to his, that our lives may reflect the gratitude his sufferings deserve for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That all Christians may seek to imitate the examples of the saints and grow in the virtues of faith, hope, and love.

For the demon-possessed and those hardened in sin, that they, through the intercession of St. Mary Magdalene, may know true deliverance and that young people  may be preserved from evil, and discover the great joy of loving and being loved by Christ.

That Christians may imitate the generosity of Mary Magdalene in providing for the needs of the mission of the Church.

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

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

Hear Our Prayers, O Lord, and through the intercession of St. Mary Magdalene, free us from all that keeps us from the love of Christ. Through the same Christ Our Lord.

12th Sunday of OT 2020 - The sin of Adam and the Grace of Christ

After many months, Lent, Easter, and the Feasts of Pentecost, Holy Trinity, and Corpus Christi, we have returned again to the Sundays of Ordinary Time, called such, for we focus not on any Extraordinary, major event from the life of Christ or major dogma contained in our creed, but on how the grace of God is meant to animate the ordinary aspects of our life.

For the remainder of Ordinary Time, all the way until the end of November we will read extensively from the Gospel of Matthew, and until mid-September we’ll read from St. Paul’s letter to the Romans. Matthew and Paul will be our spiritual directors, helping us to open our minds and heart to the grace of God in the ordinary circumstances of our lives.

And since we’ll be spending so much time with them, I’d like to say a word about Paul’s letter to the Romans. Paul’s letter to the Romans is a great masterpiece of theology, a clear, thorough, and systematic presentation of the Christian faith. Profound enough for an ordinary Roman to be intrigued by the Christian faith, and clear and systematic enough that an ordinary Roman could understand it. The Letter doesn’t tell a story, like the Gospels, which follow a narrative structure. Rather it unpacks the theological implications of Our Lord’s incarnation, saving death, and glorious resurrection. What does it mean for the Church, for saints and sinners like us, that Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.

If you’ve never read Paul’s letter to the Romans from beginning to end, this is a perfect time. Reading the letter in its entirety will help you internalize Paul’s message and teaching. Every Christian at least once in our lives should read the Bible in its entirety, not necessarily straight through from Genesis to Revelation, but at least each book of the Bible in its entirety, some time in your life. Speaking of the ordinary life of the Christian, reading the Bible should be part of our Ordinary Lives, our every day lives.

A day shouldn’t go by, where we don’t read something of God’s Word. Even if it’s just a single paragraph that you read and ponder throughout the day, God’s Word will ground you, and enlighten your path in these chaotic times. God’s word helps us to understand our reality and understand ourselves. It helps us to put our priorities in order. It guides our actions, and helps us to have a rightly ordered mind and heart, and it increases our hunger and thirst for the righteousness described in its pages.

In today’s second reading, Paul seeks to explain one of the most important questions ever, a question that philosophers and theologians, mystics and poets and ordinary folk have grappled with, since the moment we gained the ability to ask such questions: why is there suffering in the world? Why do we suffer? Why do people die in earthquakes and plagues, and through famine. Why do families, and nations become divided and go to war? Why do innocent babies suffer. Why do children seem to turn on their parents, why do parents neglect their duties to their children. Why are peoples subjugated and enslaved to satiate the greed and lusts and pride of those in power?

The different world religions all attempt to answer that question. St. Paul, once the student of the great Jewish Rabbi Gamaliel, and now a convert to Christ, a believer that Christ Jesus is risen from the dead, seeks to answer that question in his letter to the Romans: why is there suffering? And he does so, drawing upon his Jewish roots and his new-found Christian faith. He traces the suffering of the world all the way back to Adam and Eve and he shows that the solution to the suffering, salvation from suffering, comes through the New Adam and His Church, the New Eve, the new Mother of the saved.

Where did suffering come from? According to Genesis, there was a time before suffering, when Adam and Eve lived in a state of friendship with God. In the garden of Paradise, Adam and Eve walked in harmony with God in the cool of the evening in easy fellowship. Their minds and wills were effortlessly attuned to God’s mind and will, the way friends are naturally attuned to one another. Adam and Eve’s physical, emotional, and spiritual needs were met through their friendship with God; they were without suffering.

But then, as St. Paul explains in our reading today, “Through one man sin entered the world, and through sin, death.” Prior to sin, our inner life and outer life were ordered according to the will and mind of God. But turning our will against God through sin, nearly everything about us became disordered. We desire too much of what we don’t need: money, power, and pleasure; and too little of what we do need: prayer, good works, obedience, patience and peace. Human life, which was meant for immortality and grace, becomes disordered toward mortality and selfishness. From that disorder arises all the suffering and war  of the human race.

St. Paul having identified sufferings origins, then identifies sufferings remedy. Though death reigned throughout the generations of Adam because of the sin of the one man, through the gracious gift of another man, Jesus Christ, death is defeated, humanity is reordered to God and we are saved of suffering and death.

Yes, death and disorder continue to wreak havoc in the lives of the members of our human family. Just turn on the news, right? But what the news does not often report, the most miraculous and marvelous activity in our world today: how Jesus Christ continues to transform lives, how the grace of God overflows into the members of the Christian family, the body of Christ, the Church. The news, for the most part does not report how faith in Jesus Christ transforms the lives of ordinary people, enabling us to overcome what is fallen in us, what is perverted in us, what is selfish in us.

Turn on the news, you will find one story after another of division along political, racial, national and international lines—the effects of fragmentation in the human family, to effects of death and greed and corruption. You want proof of original sin, turn on the news. But open the bible, read St. Paul, study the lives of the saints and you’ll find a different story. Had we spent more time cultivating the grace of Jesus Christ, how different the nightly news would be.

So, if the 24-hour news cycle won’t report it, our task, is clear, Our Lord is clear in the Gospel today: shout the Good News from the rooftops. Christian grace can overcome all transgression. You want to build a society of peace, turn to Christ. You want to overcome the division in your family? Turn to Christ. You want to overcome your fallen tendencies—your lust, your pride, your selfishness? Turn to Christ. Shout it from the rooftops.  Because the news won’t report it and our politicians won’t acknowledge it.

On this Father’s Day weekend, many of us our so grateful of the faith of our Fathers, our Fathers who have been instrumental in our reception of the faith. And yet, perhaps too we think of all those fathers in the world today, maybe the fathers of our grandchildren or nephews or neighbors who want little or nothing to do with the saving faith—who have forgot their most important job, to help their children become righteous.

Ordinary Time is a wonderful time to pray and fast for those fathers, and to look for opportunities to call them to action—to take up, once again, the mantle of being a leader—a faith leader--for the sake of their families and for the future of our society. For only a house built on the solid foundation of Christ, can ever hope to withstand the intense and destructive winds of the world. If you truly care about these Fathers, call them back to the Faith, back to church.

Where will you find the words to say? Ponder the Scriptures. This week, turn to God’s word and ponder it every day. Ask God to enlighten you. Ask God how His holy word can help you in the concrete, ordinary circumstances of your life, with your ordinary sins, and your serious sins, with the ordinary drama and trials of your family, and the serious ones. If he is quiet, ask him all the more, in the words of the psalm today, “Lord, in your great love, answer me.” Revive my heart, enlighten my mind, transform me by your grace, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

7th Week of Easter 2020 - Tuesday - Tears and Trials for the kingdom

We know well that on the night before he died, Our Lord gathered with his disciples in the upper room to celebrate the last supper and to give his disciples an example of charity in the washing of the feat. After the departure of Judas the betrayer from their company, Our Lord engaged in what scholars call his “Farewell Discourse” which is recorded over several chapters in St. John’s Gospel.

These are some of the most mystical passages in the Gospel where Our Lord speaks about his unity with the Father, his going to the right hand of his Father in heavenly glory, and following his departure from the midst of his disciples, he and the Father will send the Holy Spirit upon the Church. The Lord foretells then his Ascension, his going to the Father, and then the sending of the Holy Spirit, Pentecost.

And so its fitting for us to read from this section of John’s Gospel during this short period of the liturgical calendar between the Feast of the Ascension last week and the Feast of Pentecost this upcoming Sunday. I highly recommend reading John chapters 13 to 17 in one sitting sometime this week, to get a sense of the whole Farewell Discourse.

But today we read perhaps the most lofty section of the discourse, the opening lines of what is called the Lord’s High Priestly Prayer where the Lord takes on the language of a priestly intercessor and mediator on behalf of his disciples. He prays for his disciples. “I pray for them” he says today, “because as I’m coming to you, departing from this world…they are staying in the world” and have some work to do. They are going to face mockery, and suffering, and torture, “tears and trials” as St. Paul describes in our first reading.

It is comforting to know that the Lord has foreseen our “tears and trials”; that on the night before he died, he was thinking of us, and praying for us, that what we suffer for being his disciples will bring us a share in the glory of God, that what we do on earth will glorify God. This prayer must have given St. Paul so much courage and conviction as he preached to Jews and Gentiles and endured imprisonment and beatings. And it is meant to fill us with courage and conviction as well, to willingly embrace “tears and trials” for the sake of the kingdom, knowing that God sees and will reward what we endure for him.

Whether you are an ordained priest,  a homeless beggar, a widow, a farmer or seamstress, king or slave, we are called to a life which makes God known to others, which does not shrink away from tears and trials for the sake of the kingdom, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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

For Pope Francis, and all the bishops: may they rightly lead the Body of Christ in faithfulness to all the Lord teaches and commands. And that the Holy Spirit may guide the Holy Father in choosing a new bishop and shepherd for the diocese of Cleveland.

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

That the power of Christ’s resurrection may overcome all oppression, prejudice, hatred, addiction and injustice. For those most profoundly impacted by the coronavirus, for the healing of all the sick. For those who selflessly labor for the good of others, for the safety of first responders and medical care workers, police and firefighters. For the protection of all those who serve in our nation’s military, and for all wounded servicemen and women, for all those widowed and orphaned because of war.

For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, for the deceased members of our family, friends, and parish, for those who have fought and died for our freedom, and for Margaret Gorczyca for whom this mass is offered.

Gracious Father, hear the prayers of your pilgrim Church, grant us your grace and lead us to the glory of your kingdom, through Christ Our Lord.

6th Week of OT 2020 - Tuesday - The remedy for every temptation

Yesterday, we heard from St. James that Christians must keep their faith throughout the inevitable trials of life. When we keep the faith when faced with hostility for the Gospel both from outside and within the Church, when we keep the faith in times of poverty, grief, and illness, God perfects us, James says.

Today James addresses a particular trial universal to all people of all places and times, a trial even faced by our Lord: the trial of temptation. Every trial tests our constancy, but temptation is a particular enticement to sin and to turn away from God, to choose evil rather than good.
“Blessed is he who perseveres in temptation, for when he has been proven he will receive the crown of life that he promised to those who love him.”

James declares that the reward for persevering temptation is blessedness—holiness in this life and the experience of beatitude in eternity. And he also gives us the key to perseverance. Love of God. We resist temptation by loving God more than the object of temptation to the point of suffering for what is good in order to resist the evil.

In the moment of temptation, we must be quick to make an act of love: “God help me to remain faithful to you, whom I love and should love above all things. God, you are more to me than the pleasures of my body, more important than my reputation among men, more important than my bank account, more important than obtaining the position of authority, more important than offering that cutting remark about someone who hurt me.”

Failure to love God was at the heart of original sin. Adam and Eve failed to love God, they failed to heed his command and to trust that God could provide all that they needed to be perfectly happy. So, they grasped at happiness for themselves, allowing their love and trust in God to die in their hearts.

So too, failure to love God is at the heart of every sin. This is why Jesus’ greatest commandment is to love God with your whole heart, mind, soul, and strength. Love, in this sense, is the remedy for every temptation.

“Whoever loves me will keep my word,”  saith the Lord, “and my Father will love him and we will come to him. ” Again, in the moment of Temptation, when we make that act of love and trust and surrender, the Lord comes to us with the strength we need to resist the strongest of temptations.

St. Alphonsus says “it is not necessary to acquire riches, nor to obtain dignities, nor to gain a great name. The only thing necessary is to love God.”

In every trial and temptation, may our minds, hearts, and wills turn to God in love, that we may obtain the crown of life, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That in every temptation we may love God with our whole hearts, minds, souls, and strength..

For Bishop Perez, as he is installed as Archbishop of Philadelphia tomorrow, for blessings upon his ministry, and for the Holy Spirit’s guidance to direct the appointment of a new Bishop for the Church of Cleveland.

That young people may seek Christ amidst all the perversions and distractions of the world, and for the protection of innocent human life from evil.

For healing for all those suffering disease, especially diseases without known cures, for the people of China and all people afflicted by the Coronavirus, and all who are oppressed by any kind of need, that the Lord may graciously grant them relief, and For the Holy Father’s prayer intentions for this month: that the needs of migrants and victims of human trafficking may be heard and acted upon.

For the dead, for all of the souls in purgatory, and for X, for whom this Holy mass is offered.
O God, our refuge and our strength, hear the prayers of your Church, for you are the source of all goodness, and grant, we pray, that what we ask in faith, we may truly obtain. Through Christ our Lord.

6th week of OT 2020 - Monday - Undergoing trials joyfully

Up until Ash Wednesday, our weekday readings will be taken from the Letter of St. James. As indicated by its opening verses, which we heard today, James is writing to a group of Christians undergoing trials in the faith—various trials. Some of those trials for James’ original audience included persecution from outsiders—from non-Christians, but James also addresses some strong tensions within the Christian community—gossip, favoritism, and factions were creating internal strife.

“Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you encounter various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” James’ words here are universally applicable to every Christian. For trial—suffering—is an inevitable part of life. Sickness, poverty, abandonment, grief, temptation, pressure from family or neighbor to hide our faith, just to name a few.

“Consider it joy” James says, when you face these things. Take the view that these things can strengthen you. View these things in light of God’s plan for your soul. That’s not always easy. We aren’t always thinking about God when we are suffering, but we should, says James. We need to adopt the perspective of viewing all things in light of God’s plan, and see the good that God can bring out of the evils we suffer.

For James, faith means more than belief in God; faith means a life lived in fidelity, commitment, and truth; an interior commitment to God expressed in concrete behaviors. We are to consider it joy when we face trials because here is an opportunity to commit to God, and that commitment brings perfection, wisdom, the ability to withstand greater trials in the future.

We do well to identify, in what areas of our life do we need greater faith? What sufferings, what trials, do we need to undergo with greater faith—greater trust? Where have failed to see the hand of God working in my life? How can I undergo my sufferings more joyfully—for the glory of God and salvation of souls?
 
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That Christians undergoing any sort of trial, may joyfully unite their sufferings to Christ and persevere in faith.

For Bishop Perez, as he is installed as Archbishop of Philadelphia tomorrow, for blessings upon his ministry, and for the Holy Spirit’s guidance to direct the appointment of a new Bishop for the Church of Cleveland.

That young people may seek Christ amidst all the perversions and distractions of the world, and for the protection of innocent human life from evil.

For healing for all those suffering disease, especially diseases without known cures, for the people of China and all people afflicted by the Coronavirus, and all who are oppressed by any kind of need, that the Lord may graciously grant them relief, and For the Holy Father’s prayer intentions for this month: that the needs of migrants and victims of human trafficking may be heard and acted upon.

For the dead, for all of the souls in purgatory, and for X, for whom this Holy mass is offered.
O God, our refuge and our strength, hear the prayers of your Church, for you are the source of all goodness, and grant, we pray, that what we ask in faith, we may truly obtain. Through Christ our Lord.

30th Week in OT 2019 - Tuesday - Suffering and the Hope of Glory

In the course of her decades of self-sacrificial service, Mother Theresa, St. Theresa of Calcutta, witnessed tremendous suffering. She encountered the abjectly impoverished, the abandoned and forgotten. She saw the agonies of Jesus in the orphans and homeless and victims of war discarded by society. She was keenly aware of the suffering caused by disease and violence and the suffering we cause to each other through neglect and greed. And yet, this woman, this saint, was not discouraged, nor did she lose faith in a good and loving God. She kept her gaze fixed firmly on heaven, and so allowed heaven to permeate her life.

She knew that in light of heaven, suffering was temporary, and helped the suffering to have hope. She said, “In light of heaven, the worst suffering on earth, a life full of the most atrocious tortures on earth, will be seen to be no more serious than one night in an inconvenient hotel.”

Mother Theresa echoes the sentiment of Saint Paul in the passage from Romans 8 today, “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us.” Paul, too, knew what it meant to suffer. He suffered greatly for the Gospel. And he knew his audience knew what it meant to suffer. They suffered persecution for the Gospel as well, not to mention the ordinary sufferings of life.

But Paul dares to speak of our terrible earthly sufferings as “nothing” because his Christian hope was supreme. He says something similar to the Corinthians: “this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure.”

Suffering when faced with Christian faith and hope, transforms into the blossoming of the Kingdom of God—like the blooming of a mustard seed into the largest of trees.

Benedict XVI wrote in his second encyclical on hope:  ”We can try to limit suffering, to fight against it, but we cannot eliminate it. It is when we attempt to avoid suffering by withdrawing from anything that might involve hurt, when we try to spare ourselves the effort and pain of pursuing truth, love, and goodness, that we drift into a life of emptiness, in which there may be almost no pain, but the dark sensation of meaninglessness and abandonment is all the greater. It is not by sidestepping or fleeing from suffering that we are healed, but rather by our capacity for accepting it, maturing through it and finding meaning through union with Christ, who suffered with infinite love.”

May we see our crosses today in light of eternity, and not flee from those opportunities to grow in truth, love, and goodness, despite the suffering that growth entails, and thereby witness to the power of the Christian faith for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For perseverance in holiness, especially for our Pope, Bishops, and Priests, and that the faith of Christians may lead unbelievers to Christ.

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

That young people be inspired to respond generously to God’s call to sanctity, and for vocations to the priesthood and religious life.

For all the sick and suffering, and for all those in hospitals, nursing homes, and hospice care, for all those who will die today, for their consolation and that of their families.

For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, for the deceased members of our family, friends, and parish, for the deceased clergy and religious of our diocese, 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.

September 27 2019 - St. Vincent de Paul - "His heart was moved with pity"

“His heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned like sheep without a shepherd”. St Matthew gives us a glimpse into the heart of Our Blessed Lord, into the heart of God.

Our Lord, Man and God, sees the crowds coming to him; lost, broken, hurting, and crying out for their shepherd, and his heart is moved to “pity” over their existential loneliness.

There suffering is compounded because they do not know how close God is to them, they do not know that God draws close to those who suffer, who himself identifies with those who suffer throughout human history by becoming one who suffers, the one, in fact, who suffered most.

The vocation of the Christian, my task and yours, is to imitate the Lord in drawing close to those who suffer, and through compassion, to remind them, to reveal to them that God is close to them.

The saints, like St. Vincent de Paul, are so revered and honored by the Church, because they remind us of that great vocation, for they have so decreased their egos and their selfishness, through prayer, charitable works, and self-forgetfulness, that they become great instruments of God’s compassion.

In Paris, St. Vincent de Paul ministered to the homeless, war refugees, neglected elderly men, women, and children, and those who had been spiritually abandoned. He set up many houses for the poor, crippled and sick and personally cared for the patients who had the most contagious diseases. He would dress their wounds and nurse them back to health.

St. Vincent explained, “It is not sufficient for me to love God if I do not love my neighbor…I belong to God and to the poor.” 

We pray that we may respond generously to those in need for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
 
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That all Christians may grow in charitable attentiveness to the needs of the poor in our midst.

That all those searching and longing for Christ may find him through the witness of His Holy Church.

That the work and ministry of all Vincentian organizations and charitable institutions may bear fruit for the spread of the Gospel.

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

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

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

22nd Week in OT 2019 - Friday - Weddings and Wineskins

In the Gospel of John, Jesus’ first miracle takes place at a wedding, the wedding at Cana, where water is turned into an abundance of wine. It was there that Jesus ushered in something radically new. He wasn’t just a teacher, he wasn’t just a commentator on scriptures, he wasn’t just a do-gooder: that first miracle at the wedding, with the wine, signaled something new in God’s plan of salvation for sinful humanity.

Today’s from Luke’s Gospel, we encounter those two images again of weddings and wine. Jesus first compares his presence with his disciples to a wedding celebration.  Just as a wedding is filled with joyful celebration, so too, Jesus’ public ministry is a time of great joy for his disciples.  And so too, as Jesus is our companion throughout our own lives, there is a joy that cannot be taken away by any earthly misfortune.  Things can never become so dark that we cannot call upon Jesus as Lord.  No matter how severe our suffering, it can always be united to Him.

Second, Jesus says, “no one pours new wine into old wineskins.”  Since leather wineskins would become dry and brittle with age, the new wine, still in the process of fermenting would burst the old wineskins. 

Before baptism, before discipleship, we had an old nature, an old wineskin.  But when we were baptized and truly made the commitment to follow Christ, we set aside the old nature, and acquired a fresh new nature. For many of us, baptism was very long ago, and those fresh, new wineskins, if they are not constantly renewed can start to grow brittle again, resistant to change, resistant to the new wine of the spirit.

Many of us know Christians, even members of our families, who dabbled in Christianity, practiced it for a while, even 12 years of Catholic school, but now they seemed to have lost their taste for the things of God; even mentioning the faith leads to a heated argument.  The wineskin has burst.

They have allowed their souls to resemble the old nature, prior to baptism, without Christ as Lord.
In the first reading, we heard the great Christological hymn from the letter to the Colossians, proclaiming Christ the first born, the head of the Body, all creation is to be subject to Him, His Lordship. In order to keep the winskins of our souls pliant and fresh, in order to know the joy of the bridegroom in our every suffering, we must subject Ourselves to the Lordship of Christ in all things, in our every endeavor, every relationship, in our every need.

Rejoice for the bridegroom is with us, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That all Christians may experience the profound renewal of Spirit needed for spreading the Gospel in our modern world.
For the return of all Christians who have fallen away of the Church and into serious sin, for their conversion, and the conversion of all hearts.
That our young people may be kept safe from the errors and poison of the world, so to grow in the ways of righteousness and truth.
For all the needs of the sick and the suffering, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, the underemployed and unemployed, victims of natural disaster, war, abuse, and terrorism, for the sanctification of the clergy, for all those who grieve the loss of a loved one, and those who will die today, for their comfort, and the consolation of their families.
For 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, deacons and religious of the diocese of Cleveland, 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.

August 9 2019 - St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross - Chosen for the cross

Today we celebrate Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross.  She was born—Edith Stein— the 11th child of a large family of orthodox jews in Germany in 1891.  Her life came to an end 50 years later in a gas chamber at Auschwitz.  By then she was a Carmelite nun who had converted to Catholicism.  Though the Jews were the principle victims of the Nazi’s in World War II, millions of Catholics, including bishops, priests, and nuns were murdered in the concentration camps.

While attending university, the young jewish girl, Edith Stein began to develop a strong interest in Catholic belief and thinkers. After reading the autobiography of St. Theresa of Avila, she asked to be baptized.

10 years later she imitated Theresa of Avila by entering the Carmelite convent and took the name Sister Teresa Benedicta of the Cross.  It was 1933, Adolf Hitler was Chancellor of Germany.
In 1942, the Nazi’s arrested Sister Teresa.  She and her sister Rosa, also a Catholic, were transported to Auschwitz in Poland by boxcar.  One week later, Sister Teresa died in a gas chamber.

Perhaps St. Teresa Benedicta had today’s Gospel in mind when she wrote, “One cannot desire freedom from the cross when one is especially chosen for the cross.” As Christians we have been chosen for the cross. Our Lord says, each of us must “take up his cross, and follow” him to the cross.

Jesus demands a commitment of faith that is ready to embrace the will of God wherever it leads, even unto death. We in 2019 Cleveland were chosen for the difficult task of spreading the Gospel in an increasingly secular culture. We were chosen to endure sufferings for the Gospel—for the difficult conversations, for speaking truth in the face of relativism.

Those who seek happiness in life only by pursuing their own interests will never be fulfilled. Only by giving one’s self to God and others do we experience the lasting fulfillment God wants for us, only by embracing the cross will we find salvation for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For all those who wander in atheism, agnosticism, those who are cynical towards Catholicism, for moral relativists, and those who reject the Faith, and all lapsed Catholics, that the Holy Spirit will help them discover the Truth of Christ.
That the Holy Father, the Bishops and all Clergy and Religious will be shining examples of fidelity to the Truth.
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.

5th Week of Lent 2019 - Wednesday - Imitators of the Passion

When told they must worship an idol or be put to death, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, chose to remain faithful to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  They exhibited tremendous and courageous faith in the face of suffering and death.

The early Christians often faced this same trial.  “Offer sacrifice to the roman emperor and live, refuse, and die.”  Great martyrs like Perpetua and Felicity, Popes like Sixtus and Cornelius, apologists like Justin, refused to offer the pagan sacrifice and were put to death.

The Saints do not compromise their faith for the sake of worldly success.  Jesus asks, “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul?” The saints show us that authentic faith means remaining true to Jesus Christ in the face of temptation, difficulty and trial.  Our own parish patron St. Ignatius of Antioch on his way to martyrdom wrote to the Romans: “It is better for me to die on behalf of Jesus Christ than to reign over all the ends of the earth…Him I seek, who died for us: him I desire, who rose again for our sake…Permit me to be an imitator of the Passion of my God!”

The prospect of suffering for the Gospel terrifies us. Most of us don’t want to be bothered or distracted from pursuing or own goals, what we think will make us happy. Prayer is considered a waste of time, charity a waste of money, fasting a waste of pleasure. And aren’t those the idols of our own day: my time, my money, my pursuit of pleasure?

Many people reject Catholic Christianity not because they have a distaste for ornate churches, beautiful vestments, or they reject the hierarchical constitution of the Church. It’s that they detect that Catholicism calls them away from the worship of idols to the worship and imitation of Christ, who embraces the cross, who reveals the cross as the royal road to heaven.

The account of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace foreshadows a powerful truth of our Christian faith. In the furnace, the three faith boys were not alone, they were joined by one with the “appearance of a son of God.” So too in our suffering we are never alone. Christ is with us, transforming the fire of our suffering into the light of glory.

As Holy Week draws near, let us draw near to Jesus as he suffers for us, let us draw near to Him to console Him who consoles us. May these final days of Lent help us to have courage in the face of suffering and temptation, to know Jesus’ presence with us as we imitate Him in his Passion for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
 
That the Church will experience the graces of profound renewal during this season of Lent.  That we may grow in our eagerness in spreading the Gospel of Christ.
That all Christian families will recommit themselves to putting Christ at the center of their family life, so as to grow in faith, hope, and love.  We pray to the Lord.
For an end to abortion and for the reverence and protection of human life.  We pray to the Lord.
For the young people of our Church. May they be strengthened to be witnesses to the Gospel of mercy and work for a future that embodies a genuine culture of life.
For those preparing to enter the Church at Easter: that they will be profoundly blessed in their preparation for full initiation into the Body of Christ.  We pray to the Lord.
For the needs of the poor, the hungry, the homeless, those who are sick, unemployed, or suffering from addiction, mental, or physical illness, imprisoned, and those most in need: that the Lord in his goodness will be close to them in their trials.  We pray to the Lord.
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.

December 26 2018 - St. Stephen, martyr - Christmas Gold and Christmas Crimson

Yesterday, we were solemnly celebrating Christ’s Birth.  Today we commemorate the birth into Heaven of the first martyr of the Church, the Deacon Stephen.  In the atmosphere of Christmas joy, this reference to martyrdom might seems out of place.  Just yesterday after all we were wearing Christmas Gold, and now gold is traded for Christmas Crimson, the color of the blood. Yet, the juxtaposition of glorious birth and gruesome martyrdom is not totally unintelligible. The Christmas story contained it’s fair share of suffering. The long journey of the Holy Family in the final stage of Mary’s pregnancy, their being turned away from the inn, the birth of Jesus in the uncomfortable, dirty stable. Even, the Cross and Christ’s own death is foreshadowed by the wood of the manger. And orders for the slaughter of the Holy Innocents have already been issued by King Herod.

So, the commemoration of the Church’s first martyr is not so strange, the day after Christmas. Christmas and the feast of St. Stephen are certainly linked.  “Yesterday, the Lord was born on earth, in order that Stephen might be born in heaven.” Christ was born to be our Savior, and that salvation is won on the cross.

As we contemplate the divine Child in Mary’s arms, we know his destiny. He will grow to be the man who says in the Gospel today, “You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved”. St. Stephen was hated because of Christ. We heard in the first reading how he infuriated the Jewish leaders, just as Jesus had, because he preached that salvation is found through Jesus Christ, “and Him Crucified.”

You might think, can’t we just have a few days without the cross? And I think the Church answers, no, not really. Even at Easter, when we celebrate Christ’s victory over the cross and tomb, we begin to hear how the apostles willingly undergo suffering and persecution for the sake of the name. The lesson I think is to not let our guard down too much, even at Christmas. The world still hates us because it hates him. The devil will continue to tempt us, even in such a holy season. The flesh will continue to rebel against the spirit, until it is fully surrendered to God.

So, we echo the words of Stephen, the words of the psalm, the words of Christ Crucified, “into your hands Father, I commend my spirit” unto the cross, unto martyrdom, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
 
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We bring forth now our prayers of petitions.

That all Christians who joyfully celebrated Christ’s birth may be strengthened in Christian charity toward all.

That through the intercession of St. Stephen, all ordained deacons, may be strengthened in faith, hope, and love.

For Christians who are persecuted throughout the world, especially those who face martyrdom, that they may have a faith that is constant and pure.

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

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

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

6th Week of Easter 2018 - Friday - Childbirth and New Spiritual Life

Jesus explained to the Apostles that their experience of his absence will sometimes feel like the sufferings of childbirth.

Now, none of the Apostles had ever experienced the pains of childbirth, themselves; but no doubt, they knew it to be one of the most intensely painful human experiences.

So when Jesus says, following me will bring you intense pain and grief, you wonder why the apostles stuck around! Well, yes, as the Lord taught, there would be pain and grief and suffering, but all that would seem like nothing, like a distant memory, compared to the joy to follow.

The Apostles would truly experience great suffering. They would see their Lord and Master crucified, in what appeared to be ultimate defeat. Then they would experience the feeling of abandonment following the Lord’s Ascension. And then in their work for the spread of the Gospel around the world, we know they would undergo terrible sufferings for the sake of the Gospel. They would face persecution in nearly every corner of the earth.

Jesus’ words at the Last Supper give the Church hope. That our sufferings for the sake of the Gospel meaning something—that the suffering indeed furthers the Gospel and brings salvation to souls lost in error and sin.

The example of a woman in labor was a common biblical image for the end of days. Just as a woman is in anguish as she gives birth, so also the Church experiences anguish throughout history. But once the baby is born, the mother no longer remembers the pain but is filled with joy. Similarly, the Church’s grief will pass away, and be transformed into joy over the new life experienced through Christ.

As is often the case in pregnancy, our work for the Gospel may be marked by great stress. Under these circumstances, we will be pressured to terminate the new life the Holy Spirit wishes to create in us. We will be tempted to seek escape from the hard work through various pleasurable distractions.

Today begins the annual Pentecost Novena. Nine days of prayer perhaps corresponding to the nine months of pregnancy, itself symbolic of the whole of the Christian life. Let us pray fervently these nine days, turning to God in times of stress, nurturing the new spiritual life God wishes to bring to birth in us, knowing that all we suffer for His sake will be transformed into joy for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That through the preaching and teaching of the Church and all that she suffers, all people will come to recognize Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

That those charged with civil authority will show Christian compassion to the poor and marginalized, particularly for the safety and defense of the unborn.

For all Christian families: that the mercy, purity, and peace of Jesus will reign in their hearts and homes.

That the Church may cooperate with God’s grace for a flowering of new spiritual life during this Pentecost Novena.

For the sick, the suffering, those in nursing homes, hospitals, and hospice care, for the underemployed and unemployed, for the imprisoned, those with addictions, for those who grieve the loss of a loved one, and those who will die today, that the Spirit of Consolation may comfort them.

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

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.