December 13 2024 - St. Lucy - The light of the consecrated virgin martyr

 

The Church has honored Saint Lucy for almost fifteen hundred years.  Her name, Lucy, Lucia, comes from the latin word “Lux” which means, light of course, and her light continues to shine for us in many ways.

There are a few different legends about St. Lucy’s martyrdom. maladies. In one story, Lucy, arrested for her Christian faith, had her eyes gouged out by soldiers prior to her death. In another story, it was Lucy herself who removed her own eyes, as a way to protect her virginity which she had consecrated to Christ. No matter which version of her martyrdom is accurate, it is not hard to difficult to understand why St. Lucy is the patron saint of eye maladies and blindness.

Like St. Cecilia, St. Agnes, and St. Agatha, we honor St. Lucy as a consecrated virgin.  

As a consecrated virgin, Lucy gave her life entirely to God, consecrating her heart and body to Him. Her purity was not simply an avoidance of sin but an active, joyful embrace of a life wholly directed toward God’s will. In Advent, we, too, are called to purity—not only in body but in mind, heart, and intention. This purity allows us to see God more clearly and reflect His light to the world.

The light of St. Lucy’s martyrdom reminds us, too, that true discipleship often requires sacrifice. Her willingness to endure suffering for the sake of the faith shows us that the light of Christ shines most brightly in acts of self-giving love. According to legend, St. Lucy brought food and aid to Christians hiding in the Roman catacombs, wearing a candle-lit wreath on her head to light her way and leave her hands free to carry as much food as possible. During Advent, we are called to shine with the light of charity in acts of selflessness in our daily lives.

In a world often marked by spiritual blindness and moral confusion, St. Lucy radiating with the light of Christ shines in our present darkness. 

Purity, discipleship, courage, self-sacrifice, self-giving are the lights our world desperately needs. May her example inspire us to live as children of the light, preparing our hearts to welcome Christ, the true Light of the World, this Christmas, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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Trusting in God’s light, let us bring our prayers before the Lord.

For the Church, that she may be a radiant beacon of Christ’s light in the world, guiding all people toward truth and salvation.

That our president and all civil servants will carry out their duties guided by the light of truth, justice, and respect for the dignity of every human life.  

For all who suffer for their faith, that they may find strength in the courage of the martyrs and remain steadfast in their love for Christ.

For those struggling with physical or spiritual blindness, that through the intercession of St. Lucy, they may be healed and come to see the light of Christ more clearly.

For consecrated virgins and all who have dedicated their lives to God, that they may be strengthened in their vocation and shine as witnesses to His love and purity.

For those experiencing darkness or despair, illness, or affliction, that they may be comforted by the hope of Advent and the promise of Christ’s coming.

For our departed loved ones, especially those who have lived lives of faith and service, that they may rejoice forever in the light of God’s presence. 

Heavenly Father, You are the source of all light and life. Through the intercession of St. Lucy, hear and answer our prayers, that we may walk always in Your light and prepare our hearts to welcome Your Son. Through the same Christ Our Lord.

4th Sunday of Advent 2022 - A virgin shall conceive

 
We’ve come to the final Sunday of Advent. All four candles of the Advent wreath are lit; we are on the threshold of Christmas. We have been preparing our hearts through prayer, good works, music, decorations. Signs. Signs that God is close. Christmas is near.

In our first reading, King Ahaz was given a sign. A sign that God was near.

For King Ahaz was facing a dilemma: a dreadful one. On one hand, His enemies in northern Israel were attempting to coerce him to join them in a coalition—a collation against the Assyrian superpower. The assyrians were sweeping through the region, conquering everyone with whom they came in contact. And so King the Arameans and the King of Northern Israel thought they’d band together and get Ahaz to join them.

On the other hand, Ahaz has a bit of political cunning. He knows, there’s no way this coalition is going to stand against the Assyrian superpower. So he he’s being tempted to bow down and worship the gods of the Assyrians. 

What is he to do? He’s facing this Giant—Assyria. Reminding us of his great great great grandfather David, who also faced a Giant—named Goliath. Well, the God sends his prophet, Isaiah, to the king. And Isaiah tells Ahaz to have faith in God, like David facing Goliath. God is your protector. And Isaiah, knowing that, Ahaz’s faith is sort of weak at moment says, you want to know God is with you, ask for a sign, any sign, as high as the heavens and deep as the netherworld, a sign that will show you that God is with you. And Ahaz, in a moment of false piety, says, oh no, I couldn’t possibly do that. 

And Isaiah says, fine, God will give you this sign, a sign that you couldn’t come up with on your own:  “The virgin will conceive and bear a son and she shall call him Emmanuel.

It is impossible to say exactly what the fulfillment of this prophecy meant to King Ahaz. Who was the virgin in his day whose child was to signal that God was with him and his people? We do not know who she was. And sadly, chose not to believe. 

Ahaz trusted not in the power of God, but in the power of man. He entered into a protection treaty with Assyria, which on the one hand guaranteed him security and saved his country from destruction, but on the other hand demanded a price: the worship of the protecting power’s national gods. Idolatry. And after Ahaz had concluded the treaty with Assyria, despite Isaiah’s warnings, an altar was built for the worship of the Assyrian gods in the very Temple of Jerusalem. This violated the covenant with God. And it wouldn’t be long before Jerusalem was conquered by Babylon a few decades later. 

The Church gives us this powerful passage—a virgin will conceive and bear a son. We like Ahaz are being urged by God to trust him. Will you heed the warnings of the prophets and turn away from sin. Will you heed the invitation of the prophet to trust in God and his promises? Will you stand firm in the face of worldly pressures or bow to earthly gods? 

Sadly we see swaths of people abandoning faith, when faith is needed now more than ever. We are seeing the political consequences of faithlessness play out in our very day. Pagan idols bring us neither protection nor joy. 

Ahaz chose not to believe. So God gave all of humanity the same choice as Ahaz. That the virgin of Ahaz’s day was neither named nor identified points to the fact that the promise reached far beyond the historical moment of King Ahaz. It was a promise that reached far beyond that hour, and continued to shine for Israel as a star of hope pointing to an unknown future.

But that star comes into view again centuries later, when the veil is finally lifted, and the virgin’s identity and the identity of her son are made known. The Virgin who conceives by the power of the Holy Spirit and gives birth to the Son of God—Emmanuel, as we heard in the Gospel today. 

And even though Jesus is not actually named Emmanuel, Jesus “IS Emmanuel, as the entire history of the Gospel demonstrates. He is true man and at the same time God, God’s true Son, with us.”

“The virginal conception of Jesus is a divine work that surpasses all human understanding and possibility.” This is precisely what Ahaz resisted. He was not open to mystery, he was not open to faith, or the divine work that surpasses understanding and possibility.

God invites all of humanity to trust in the sign. The sign of signs. Will you trust? Two weeks ago, I reflected on how If you were to pick up the bible, and turn to nearly any page of the holy book, God is inviting humanity to trust Him. Sometimes the bible gives us models of trust, and then sometimes we see the consequences of what happens when we don’t trust God.

Adam and Eve are told to trust God. He would feed them, he would take care of them. Don’t eat of the forbidden tree, just trust me. And we know how that worked out. 

Abraham, is called our father in faith, He trusted God to leave his homeland and follow the path that God was showing to Him. Proverbs says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.” Isaiah speaks of his own trust in God when he says in chapter 28: “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.” Jeremiah, the grumpier prophet says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord.”

The Lord Jesus in the Gospels teach us to trust when he says: “do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?”

Over and over, the injunction to trust God, to trust in his promises, and over and over in Scripture illustrations of the blessings that come in trusting in God, the tragic consequences when we don’t. 

King Ahaz failed to trust in God. And that had tragic consequences for the nation which he ruled. Even though Isaiah pointed out signs that God was with him, he chose not to trust. And, it’s easy to condemn Ahaz, but this is a sin of which we’re all guilty. 

Catechism 397 explains the first sin and every sin, as a failure to trust God. It says, “Man, tempted by the devil, let his trust in his Creator die in his heart and, abusing his freedom, disobeyed God's command. This is what man's first sin consisted of. All subsequent sin would be disobedience toward God and lack of trust in his goodness.”

And so Advent is needed. We need Advent to help us renew our trust in the promises of God and to resist the inroads the enemy has made in our lives and to repent of our failures to trust.

But then consider, that the sign of the Virgin conceiving and giving birth becomes the very model of trust for us. The Virgin is the perfect example of the "obedience of faith" mentioned by Paul in the second reading.

Lumen Gentium says, “the Blessed Virgin stands out among the poor and humble of the Lord, who confidently hope for and receive salvation from Him.” Failure to trust was the origin of sin, but the exercise of trust became the origin of salvation. 

“To celebrate Advent means: to become Marian, said Pope Benedict XVI, “to enter into that communion with Mary’s ‘Yes,’ which, ever anew, is room for God’s birth, for the ‘fullness of time,’” In the final Advent days ahead, renew your trust that the Savior is indeed born of the virgin, point out his saving birth for all to see, for the glory of God and salvation of souls. 

December 20 2021 - An Advent Paradox

We hear the annunciation story three or four times throughout Advent each year: once on the Immaculate Conception, again on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, depending on the year we might hear it on the 4th Sunday of Advent, and now, in late Advent every year on December 20th. 

The Church celebrated the feast of the Annunciation nine months ago; nine months, the term of a pregnancy. That Holy pregnancy is coming to term in just five days.

Many times throughout Advent we hear in our first reading a prophecy of the Messiah, and then in the Gospel, we hear how that prophecy is fulfilled. Well, today our first reading contained one of the greatest well-known prophecies, that the virgin shall conceive and bear a son. 

How could this be? This paradox. For a virgin to conceive, she wouldn’t be a virgin any more, right? Well…in our Gospel this paradox is unlocked, the mystery is illuminated. By the power of the Holy Spirit, the virgin of Nazareth conceives, and not just any child, but one whose human nature is hypostatically united to his divine nature—so that he can truly be called Emmanuel, which means God-with-us. God in the flesh—God in the midst of mankind—God making his dwelling among us. And his first dwelling, is the most pure virgin womb.

As we approach Christmas, on one hand, we have this powerful reminder of God’s activity. Apart from God’s action, the miraculous conception could not have occurred. God initiated this encounter, he intervened in history to bring about our salvation. God desires our salvation. He works for our salvation. He arranges the events of history to bring about our salvation. He enters into this harsh reality and will suffer for our salvation.

On the other hand, we have the virgin’s beautiful response to God’s invitation. She submits—she trustingly puts her life in the hands of God—I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me according to thy word. God is at work for our salvation, but he calls us to cooperate with Him, to trust Him.

We contemplate God’s marvelous action, his love, his ability to do what previously seemed impossible, and we contemplate the virgin’s response, her trust, her humility.

Return to these scripture readings sometime today. Enter into the quiet and drink deeply of these power scriptures, the working of God and the cooperation of the Virgin. When you do, no doubt, something will be unlocked in your heart, for the glory of God and salvation of souls. 

  We raise up our prayers of petitions, as we await with longing the Advent of Christ the Lord.

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

That our president and all civil servants will carry out their duties with justice, honesty, and respect for the dignity of every human life.  

That Christ may banish disease, drive out hunger, ward off every affliction, and strengthen all who suffer persecution for the sake of the Gospel.

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.

August 23 2019 - St. Rose of Lima - A life of penance

St. Rose of Lima was a third order Dominican, the patroness of South America, the first canonized saint of that continent. She is also one of the patron saint of gardeners. Born in Lima, Peru in 1586 she worked even as a child to help support her family, growing flowers and doing embroidery and other needlework.

She was physically very beautiful, but consistently refused offers to marry, for she took a vow of virginity, and at the age of 20 became a third order Dominican and undertook serious penances and mortifications, modeling her spirituality after the extraordinary third order Dominican, St. Catherine of Siena. Rose lived a mostly secluded life, but also labored often amongst the poor and sick natives and slaves. She died at the young age of 31.

She has been given the title St. Rose of Penance, and wrote on the importance of penance for all Christians, saying “Without the burden of afflictions, it is impossible to reach the height of grace. The gift of grace increases as the struggle increases.”

To do penance and to labor for the Gospel even when those labors bring suffering upon ourselves, is to enter into the divine life, for Jesus himself embraced suffering on the cross for the salvation on our souls.

And When we hear in the Gospel today the command from the lips of Our Lord to love God and love neighbor, remember, love is not just a sentimental feeling. Love is the embrace of hard work for the good of others, it is the willingness to suffer for the one you love. So we should not shy away from the difficulties of living and spreading the Gospel, the difficulties of the works of charity, the self-sacrifice, the discipline, the fasting and penance, for they are opportunities to show our love and grow in love, as we are commanded to do.

St. Rose said, “No one would complain about his cross or about troubles that may happen to him if he could come to know the scales on which they are weighed” by God, the graces obtained when we embrace our cross with faith.

Listen again to the powerful collect for the st. rose today: “O God, you set St. Rose of Lima on fire with your love, so that, secluded from the world in the austerity of a life of penance, she might give herself to you alone; grant, we pray, that through her intercession, we may trad the paths of life on earth and drink at the stream of your delights in heaven.” For the glory of God and salvation of souls.
 
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For an increase in vocations to the consecrated religious life, and that our consecrated religious may continue to be a shining and burning light in the Church.
That the carrying of our crosses and penances may bring about deep conversion for ourselves and others.
That the young students of our school beginning classes this week may know the love of Christ in their families, that each school family may seek to practice right religion to the honor of God.
For mercy and peace for all those who suffer: for the sick and diseased, for those undergoing surgery this week, for the destitute and despairing, for all victims of war, violence, and abuse, and for those who will die today and the consolation of their families.
For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, and for N., for whom this mass is offered.
O God, who know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the prayers of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our Lord.

4th Sunday in OT 2018 - Practical Sanctity and Belonging fully to Christ

 This last Wednesday was the feast of one of my favorite saints, one of the great Doctors of the Church, St. Francis de Sales.

Francis de Sales was a bishop in France in the turbulent decades following the Protestant Reformation. At the age of 35, he was installed as bishop of Geneva, Switzerland, the epi-center of Protestant Calvinism. Through his persuasive preaching he saved many souls from the errors of Calvinism, winning many converts to the Catholic Church; yet at the same time his life was often threatened by hostile Calvinists.

To serve his flock, as Bishop, St. Francis de Sales became a prolific writer—his writings comprise 26 volumes.  Two of his books have become spiritual classics and continue to be published and read to this day: The Introduction to the Devout Life, and The Treatise on the Love of God, both books offering practical advice for Catholics living in the midst of the world who wish to pursue a life of sanctity. Either one would be perfect spiritual reading for Lent, which is approaching very quickly.

Also, ordinary folk would often write to Bishop Francis for spiritual guidance. Once, a young mother asked him, “Bishop I’m trying very hard to live a good life, to be holy. I’d like to get to Mass every day, but I can’t because I have these seven children who are driving me crazy.”  Francis de Sales wrote back to her and said “Madam, it’s not necessary that you go to Church every day; you become a Saint by being the best mother you can be.” 

I thought of Francis de Sales, one, because his feast was last week, but also, after hearing St. Paul’s words to the Corinthians this week: “An unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord. But a married man is anxious about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, and he is divided. An unmarried woman or a virgin is anxious about the things of the Lord, so that she may be holy in both body and spirit. A married woman, on the other hand, is anxious about the things of the world, how she may please her husband.”

St. Paul is in no way denigrating marriage here. He even says so. He says, “I tell you this not to impose a restraint”, in other words, I’m not telling you this so you don’t get married, but so that married and unmarried alike may seek to serve the Lord according to their own vocation. I think, St. Paul would very much agree with the advice St. Francis de Sales gave to that young mother. Madam, you are to become a saint…and your road to sanctity involves being the best wife and mother you can be.

St. Paul is showing the dual value of marriage and celibacy. Some members of the Church are called to celibacy “for the sake of the kingdom”, to be about the work of the Church with undivided devotion. I know so many priests and nuns and religious brothers whose lives are filled with joy and profound love for the Lord. They are not unhappy because they aren’t married. Celibate service to the Church is not an unhappy, lonely existence. It’s a profound immersion into the charitable life of the Church, and I think every young Catholic needs to discern if God might be calling you to some form of celibate service.

Celibate priests and religious serve as a sign to the whole Church that the Lord calls all of us to offer offer up the whole of our lives to God. I celebrated a wedding a few years ago on the Feast of St. Agnes, which is on January 21, another good January saint. And so for part of the wedding homily I told the story of saint agnes, who was a virgin martyr of Rome.

When Agnes was about thirteen years old, the son of the Roman governor became infatuated with her.  He asked for Agnes’ hand in marriage, but already at that young age, Agnes had given her heart to Christ—and consecrated herself to the Lord’s service.

The governor’s son became bitter and angry, he tempted her with priceless jewels, but she resisted.  He then threatened her, and told her that he would accuse her of being a Christian.  This meant that she would face death if she did not give in, since it was against the law to be a Christian. But, with her heart belonging to Christ, she boldly resisted him.  So, he accused her of practicing the Christian faith, and she was beheaded.

Pope Benedict, in a reflection on Saint Agnes, said, “Her martyrdom illustrates “the beauty of belonging to Christ without hesitation.” And here’s the lesson for young married couples and old married couples. For each of us, no matter our vocation, are called to belong to Christ without hesitation.

St. Paul, writing about these married and unmarried people recognizes that marriage is often a very difficult Christian vocation. So many of you here no doubt could relate. How hard it is to balance your faith obligations with your obligations to family. How hard it is to balance prayer with laundry and yard-work and changing diapers and teaching your children reading, writing, and arithmetic, and getting them to sports practice.

So again, St. Paul isn’t denigrating marriage here. The Church needs happy, healthy, holy marriages, where parents set good religious example for their children, teaching them to balance faith and worldly obligation. But it’s certainly an admonition isn’t it, a reminder, that amidst all the busy-ness of your temporal affairs, you need to ensure that you keep Christ at the center of it all. That you as spouse and parent seek to belong to Christ without hesitation.

To keep Christ at the center, he needs to be at the beginning and at the end. So, it’s important to begin your day with prayer and end your day with prayer, begin and end meals with prayer, begin and end car trips, and yardwork and housework.

Listen to this simple, practical prayer, composed by St. Francis de Sales. A wonderful prayer that you might consider beginning your day with: “My God, I give you this day. I offer you, now, all of the good that I shall do and I promise to accept, for love of you, all of the difficulty that I shall meet. Help me to conduct myself during this day in a manner pleasing to you. Amen.”

To offer God all the good that we shall do, means to remember God when you are driving to work so you can provide for your family, in folding the laundry, in putting the kids to bed, taking care of a sick spouse. It doesn’t necessarily mean going to mass every day, though, if you can, you should. But it certainly means belonging to Christ in whatever you do, thinking with his mind, loving with his heart, becoming the best mother, the best father, the best spouse, the best student, the best nun, the best priest you can be, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: Dec 13 2016 - St. Lucy - Beholding things eternal

The Church has honored Saint Lucy as a virgin martyr for almost fifteen hundred years. 

Like St. Cecilia, St. Agnes, and St. Agatha, we honor St. Lucy as a consecrated virgin.  Consecrated virginity was a counter-cultural sign in the Roman Empire when she lived, and it continues to be this way today. 

The virgins remind us that we are not to live for this world alone, and that all of us, whether priests, married, single are to dedicate our entire selves to God.  All of our gifts, physical, mental, spiritual, time , talent, and treasure, are to be given back to God for the building up of his kingdom.

Where our culture worships promiscuity—the virgins teach us of the great joy of purity and chastity, and remind us that happiness is found in embracing Christ. 

Where our culture worships physical beauty, the virgins teach us that physical beauty is inferior to spiritual beauty.  And that the human soul is made beautiful by imitating Christ, who himself was a virgin consecrated to His Father’s Will.

Our Catholic History is full of extraordinarily courageous women like St. Lucy, who teach us by their grace, their strength, and their love of Christ.  Her name, Lucy, in Latin, means "Light" and is regarded as the patron saint of the blind.  

The collect prayer for her feast asks for her help so that we may “behold things eternal.” We are so often distracted by temporal, passing things. Instead of nurturing our souls, growing in charity, we become enamored with the trivial and spiritually blind to that which matters most.

Perhaps we do well to identify this things and activities which vie for our attention, which distract us, which all too often draw our gaze away from Christ. Perhaps we would do well to fast from these things for the rest of Advent.

St. Lucy is another wonderful Advent saint, who helps us prepare to gaze upon the loveliness of Christ by focusing more intently upon Him.  May St. Lucy truly help us turn more deeply to behold things eternal for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: Nov 25 2016 - St. Catherine of Alexandria - Virgin & Martyr

St. Catherine was one of the most revered saints of the early Church.  She lived at the end of the third century in the city of Alexandria in Egypt.  She was so beautiful and wise that she attracted the attention of the Emperor Maximian.  She however, would not marry the emperor because she had consecrated herself to Jesus.

The Emperor sent his 50 wisest philosophers to convince Saint Catherine to change her mind, but they proved no match for Catherine’s superior intellect; they were so impressed with her, and her explanation of the Gospel, that all 50 became Christian.

The Emperor had Catherine imprisoned; yet while imprisoned she converted the empress, the leader of the armed forces, over 200 soldiers, and other members of the emperor’s family,

The Emperor, infuriated that Catherine would not give up her faith and marry Him, ordered her to be tied to wheel affixed with sharp knives and spikes and tortured. From her lacerated body prayers ascended to heaven, and the wheel however was struck by ‘fire from heaven’ and was shattered.  This angered the emperor even more, so he had her beheaded. 

Neither political pressure, imprisonment, torture, or death could cause this great saint to compromise her faith.  Through her reception of the Eucharist, through prayer and study, Catherine was filled with tremendous faith and love of God which transformed the lives of others even as she suffered.

Yesterday, families gathered for the great thanksgiving meal.  It is a good and holy thing for families to put aside the worldly occupations in order to share a good meal with each other.  Yet, God calls us to gather as a family of faith every week, for the Eucharist.  Many would never dream of skipping thanksgiving dinner, but have no problem skipping Sunday Mass. 

Saint Catherine and so many thousands of martyrs, by their witness show us that the practicing our faith is more important than anything else; they reveal the urgency to form our minds and hearts through word and sacrament, study and charity; that we may be equipped for the building up of the kingdom.

Over the centuries Saint Catherine has been invoked as patron saint of Apologists; craftsmen who work with a wheel (potters; knife sharpeners, millers); archivists; attorneys; barristers; dying people; educators; girls; jurists; lawyers; librarians; libraries; maidens; mechanics; nurses; old maids; philosophers; potters; preachers; scholars; schoolchildren; scribes; secretaries; spinners; spinsters; stenographers; students; tanners; teachers; theologians; tire-repairmen; unmarried girls; wheel-makers.

Through her intercession and holy example may Saint Catherine help us to be strengthened in faith and constancy and spend ourselves without reserve for the unity of the Church, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.