Homily: Annunciation 2016 - Combating Spiritual Amnesia

The Feast of the Annunciation celebrates one of the most important events in human history: the Incarnation of Our Savior in the womb of the Virgin Mary. Had Christ not taken on our flesh, our flesh could not be saved.

The Church's celebration of the Annunciation is believed to date to the early 5th century, possibly originating at about the time of the Council of Ephesus (c 431). Earlier names for the Feast were Festum Incarnationis—The Feast of the Incarnation, and Conceptio Christi—the Conception of Christ.  In the Eastern Churches, the Annunciation is a feast of Christ, but in the Latin Church it is a feast of Mary. The Annunciation has always been celebrated on March 25, exactly nine months before Christmas Day, except when it is displaced by the Sacred Triduum or the Octave of Easter, as it was this year.

One of the great spiritual maladies that afflicts us, even devout Christians, is spiritual amnesia, we forget, we fail to keep in mind, what God has done for us.  The fact that the Eternal Word has become flesh for our salvation should fill us with such constant joy, and yet, we forget this fact, and allow worldly concerns take away our joy.

Well, one way that Catholics have attempted to keep in mind the great mysteries—to combat this spiritual amnesia, is through the development of devotions.  For example, devotions like Eucharistic adoration help us to keep in mind the Lord’s Eucharistic presence with the Church, a daily examination of conscience help us to keep in mind our need for God’s mercy. The praying of the rosary helps us to remember our Mother Mary’s great care for us.

A millennia-old devotion which helps us keep in mind the great mystery of the incarnation, which we celebrate today, is of course the praying of the Angelus. Traditionally, prayed at morning, noon, and night, the Angelus helps us to remember this most important event in our salvation history, the incarnation of the savior through the virgin’s acceptance of God’s will.

At my first parish assignment, the school children one year, committed to praying the Angelus every day at noon.  Our Church bells here at St. Clare chime every day at noon and at six pm, echoing throughout the surrounding neighborhood, reminding us to pray the Angelus.

When we keep the divine mysteries before our eyes and hearts, their power to shape our lives becomes unleashed, and we endeavor all the more to seek heavenly things rather than becoming distracted by earthly things.

May the celebration of these great mysteries of faith, confirm us and strengthen us in obedience to the Divine Will of God and trust in his saving mercy for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: Divine Mercy Sunday 2016 - Pope Francis & Mercy Incarnate

If Pope Francis is remembered by historians for anything, likely, he will be remembered for his emphasis on the mercy of God.  As we all know, Pope Francis, now three years into his pontificate opened for us and the whole world, this Jubilee Year of Mercy. Yet, really, he was speaking about Mercy from very early on in his pontificate.

Pope for just about a month, he celebrated today’s special feast, the feast of Divine Mercy, back in 2013.  He spoke at that time of how "true peace ... comes from the experience of God's mercy," of Jesus Christ revealing Himself to us as "Mercy Incarnate," and of our call to boldly "proclaim Christ the Risen Lord" by "trusting in the mercy of the Lord forever." And I’d like to talk today about those three points: that peace comes from experiencing God’s mercy, that Jesus is Mercy incarnate, and that God calls upon all us to proclaim that mercy.

So, first, let’s talk about peace. Pope Francis explains that the words of Jesus heard in the Gospel today, “Peace be with you!” is not a simple greeting. Jesus offers peace that the world cannot give.  Peace is a precious gift truly offered by God through Jesus Christ.  The Pope said, “Peace is the fruit of the victory of God over evil, it is the fruit of forgiveness. And so it is: true peace, profound peace, comes from the experience of God's mercy.” Over the last two weeks we’ve celebrated the Passion, death, and resurrection of Christ.  All that he suffered on Good Friday, the scourging, the mockery, the torture, the exhaustion, the pain, he suffered that we may know peace—that peace that comes from experiencing the forgiveness of God.

This time of year, priests often spend a lot of time celebrating the sacrament of confession.  In confession, the Christian soul which has fallen from grace through sin, experiences peace in hearing those words “your sins are forgiven.” Whenever we make a good confession, we emerge from the confessional full of peace and joy, knowing that we are truly forgiven by God. And this time of year, in confession, I often give as a penance some sort of reflection or meditation on the suffering and death of Jesus, because it is his suffering and death which makes the confession possible. So if you want to know God’s peace more fully in your life, celebrate frequently the sacrament of confession, and meditate on his saving Passion and death.

Secondly, Pope Francis called Jesus “Mercy Incarnate”.  Here Pope Francis echoed the teaching of his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI who said, “Jesus Christ is divine mercy in person: Encountering Christ means encountering the mercy of God.  Jesus willingly gave himself up to death so that we might be saved and pass from death to life.  Mercy has a name, mercy has a face, mercy has a heart.”
Mercy is not just an abstract teaching.  Mercy can be touched, mercy can be seen.  In the Gospel today, Jesus invited Thomas to look at his wounds, to touch them. Mercy can be seen and touched. Jesus is the face and heart of Mercy. And each of us, like Thomas, are called to have a personal relationship with Him.

Jesus said: "Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed." And who were those who believed without seeing? We are.  We see and touch Jesus through faith.  Pope Francis is saying that the key to our personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ is our faith and trust in Him, as we are called to live by faith and not by sight. Through the eyes of faith, we are invited to a personal encounter with Him as Mercy Incarnate.
If deeper relationship comes through deeper faith, we must nurture our faith.  And we do that by daily prayer, reading of Scripture, studying the faith, reading the lives of the saints, reception of the Sacraments. We are also to avoiding everything that wounds our faith: sins of the flesh, worship of the false gods of power, prestige, prosperity, pleasure, neglect of the poor.

Each of us do well to consider the ways that we are nurturing our faith.  When is the last time you picked up a rosary? When is the last time you read through the Gospels? When is the last time you engaged in any voluntary charitable work? When’s the last time you went to confession? Daily devotions like the rosary, the chaplet of divine mercy, daily Mass, stations of the cross, the scapular, lectio divina, are powerful ways to help us encounter “Mercy Incarnate”.

Finally, Pope Francis says God calls us to boldly witness to our faith in God’s Divine Mercy. Each of us has a story tell how our relationship with Christ has changed our life.  How has trusting in God changed your life? What were the dark times in your life, when having faith mattered? How does the faith continue to shape your life now? This story is meant to be shared.  Jesus himself in his sermon on the mount tells us not to hide the light of faith under a bushel basket.

Friday, at daily Mass, I talked about how the Easter season always means a renewal in our commitment to spreading our faith. We, as Pope Francis says are to boldly witness to our faith.  So, each of us does well to get consider to whom does God want me to share my faith.  Who will be this fall’s RCIA class? Each of us needs to set a soul or two in our sights: focus your prayers, your fasting, your preaching on one or two souls, and over the next couple months, reach out to them, invite them, minister to them, share with them words of challenge and words of comfort, treat them as your spiritual children requiring strict attention. They could be unbaptized adults, never having stepped foot in a church, they could be adult children who spent 12 years in Catholic school but who have fallen away from the faith, they could be someone struggling with addiction, or some serious sin; walk with them, share with them your story of how faith has changed you, instruct them, lead them to a deeper encounter of Mercy Incarnate.

“... the Spirit of the Risen Christ” Pope Francis says, “casts out fear from the hearts of the apostles and pushes them out of the Upper Room, to bring the Gospel. We also must have more courage to witness to faith in the Risen Christ! Let us not be afraid to be Christian and live as Christians! We must have the courage to go out and proclaim Christ the Risen Lord, for he is our peace. "Trusting in the mercy of the Lord forever, because he is waiting for us, he loves us."

May each of us come to a deeper knowledge and experience of the peace that comes through the Mercy of Christ and recommit our lives to sharing and spreading that peace and mercy for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: Easter Friday 2016 - Children, have you caught anything?

At the last supper, Jesus referred to his apostles as “friends”, other times in St. John’s Gospel, he called them disciples—students. In the many “I AM” statements of John’s Gospel, Jesus said, I AM the vine, you are the branches, I am the good shepherd, you are the sheep.  In this morning’s Gospel, he doesn’t call them friends, disciples, apostles, or sheep, he calls them, “children”: “Children, have you caught anything to eat?” The greek word, Jesus uses is paidia—little boys, boys who are still learning how to be men. One greek dictionary says: a child requiring training through strict oversight, emphasizing their ongoing development necessary to reach their highest destiny.

Perhaps, Jesus called them little boys because they had run away from mature Christian living, mature faith. After all, this was the third time Jesus had appeared to them and they still didn’t recognize him initially; they had been tasked with being fishers of men, and they had gone back to regular fishing—they still hadn’t embraced their new identity. They had been made priests, bishops, witnesses of the resurrection, exorcists, healers, and they go back to their old way of life..oh, they still required training, learning. And so do we. 

“Children, have you caught anything?” That question is directed to all of us, tasked with the spread of the Gospel.  Have you caught anything? Have you brought any souls into the boat of the Church? Have you shared the good news of the resurrection with anyone?

Peter, James, and John were first called to follow Jesus while fishing on the Sea of Galilee, and, as we heard this morning, after the resurrection, Jesus calls them once again. Easter time is always a time of renewal for the whole Church, where we refocus on our task of spreading the good news. Jesus wants to make a miraculous catch of souls through us.  Who will be this fall’s RCIA class? Each of us do well to get some souls in our sights, focus your prayers, your fasting, your preaching on one or two souls, and over the next couple months, reach out to them, invite them, minister to them, share with them words of challenge and words of comfort, treat them as your spiritual children requiring strict attention. They could be unbaptized adults, never having stepped foot in a church, they could be adult children who spent 12 years in Catholic school but who have fallen away from the faith, they could be someone struggling with addiction, or some serious sin; walk with them, share with them, instruct them.

 May these Easter days fill us with new inspiration and new fervor for the spread of the Gospel, a maturing of Christian faith and freedom from fear, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: Easter Thursday 2016 - Recounting our encounter with Christ

The gospel readings during the week after Easter unpack the tremendous event of Jesus’ resurrection particularly from the perspective of how the disciples experienced that event.  What must it have been like for the disciples to encounter the Jesus after his cruel death on the cross?

Today’s reading follows immediately after the encounter with Jesus by the two disciples on their way to Emmaus. Jesus came to them in their sorrow, walked with them, and made himself known to them. Remember, on the road to Emmaus, they recognized Jesus “in the breaking of the bread” and then Jesus he showed them how the Scriptures, beginning with Moses and the prophets pointed to Him.

Jesus being made known in the “breaking of bread” and reading and interpreting of Scriptures—sounds a lot like what we do at Mass, doesn’t it? We encounter Jesus and recognize Jesus in Word and Sacrament.

Now, they’ve returned to Jerusalem to share these experiences with the other disciples, and Jesus becomes present in their midst. 

One of the practices engaged in by the neophytes during the Easter Season is called mystagogy.  Those newly initiated into the Church at Easter recount how they experienced Jesus in the celebration of Word and Sacrament at the Easter Vigil.  They recount how the powerful symbols of the Easter Vigil—the fire, the singing, the water, the oil, the rituals, helped them to experience the presence of Jesus, and what that means for them.  This practice of mystagogy help them to more deeply grasp what happened to them at Easter, what God is doing with them and in them now. This strengthens them as they begin to walk in the newness of life of the Christian faith, and also witnesses to the rest of the Church.

As the disciples recounted their experience of the risen Lord Jesus on the road to Emmaus to the disciples of Jerusalem, he again became present, and helped to deepen their faith, remove their fears, and prepare them for spreading the Good News.

Sharing our faith is not meant to be limited to what we do here in the Church.  What we do here in the Church, celebrating Word and Sacrament, is meant to prepare us for sharing the Gospel out in the world: with unbelievers and those struggling in their faith.

We, like the disciples of old, are meant to share our faith with great joy with others, and when that happens, Jesus can become present to them, and can set them on the road to deepening their faith, removing their fears, leading them away from sin.

The best way to grow in faith, is to share the faith; when we read the scriptures we are meant to discuss them with others, and when that happens our minds are made more fully open to them. When we receive a sacrament, that experience is meant to be shared with others, and when we do that, our hearts are made more fully open to how God is working.  Even as we encounter Jesus in the ordinary events of our lives, that is meant to be shared with joy. 

May each of us, leave Mass today with a greater sense of mission and conviction for spreading the good news of our encounter with the Lord Jesus in Word and Sacrament for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: Easter Tuesday 2016 - Believing is seeing

Throughout John’s Gospel, there are many reactions to Jesus’ words and works.  Some hear his words and believe in him because of his authority, some find his words too challenging and walk away, some conspire to kill him. But really, there are only two reactions to Jesus: belief and unbelief. 

And in John’s Gospel, belief isn’t something you have, believing is something you do, you choose to do.  Believing in Jesus means entrusting yourself to Him, knowing him, receiving him, coming to him, abiding with him, and remaining with him.

And Jesus even teaches the implications for believing: if you believe, you will have peace, he says, you will become children of God, you will not perish, you will not be condemned, you will know the Father, you will never be hungry, you will see the glory of God and be children of light, you will come to do the works that Jesus does and even greater works, and you will have life in his name.

Even after his resurrection, in John’s Gospel, there is this interplay between belief and unbelief.  This weekend we will hear how Thomas claims that you will not believe without seeing.  But Jesus shows that he has it backwards, you will not see, unless you believe.

This morning, we hear how Mary, because of her weeping, because of her grief did not recognize Jesus.  She saw, but did not know him.

Many modern atheists make the claim that they would believe in Jesus if he but appeared to them.  But that’s not how it works does it? We must believe in order to see.  But when we make that choice, when we entrust ourselves to Him, that makes all the difference doesn’t it.  When we choose to believe, we are able to detect his voice in the reading of scripture, we are able to see his presence in the service of the needy, we are able to experience his saving grace in the sacraments, especially knowing his real presence in the Blessed Sacrament, the Eucharist.

After finally recognizing Jesus in the Gospel this morning, Jesus tells Mary to go and tell the disciples about Jesus’ resurrection.  Perhaps one of the greatest ways to strengthen our faith is to spread the faith.  Helping others open their eyes to Jesus’ opens our own eyes even further. 

As Jesus called Mary by name to spread his Gospel, if you listen to his voice, you can hear him calling your own name: Go and tell others, that you have seen the Risen Lord. They may look at you like you are insane, but they might listen attentively, because God has been preparing them to receive the message.

May each of us be strengthened in faith by sharing the faith, and lead those in unbelief, to the new life of faith through the Risen Christ for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: Easter Monday 2016 - Fearful, yet overjoyed

When Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to the place where Jesus was buried, their first encounter was with an empty tomb.  Jesus’ body laid to rest on Good Friday was missing.  Unlike, the eleven apostles had fled from their master’s passion in fear, these two women had watched Jesus die in agony, and witnessed his interment in the tomb: they had followed Jesus to the bitter end.

What brought them to the tomb on Easter morning? St. Mark says that they came with spices to complete the burial rites left unfinished by Joseph of Arimathea. St. Matthew omits this detail, 

perhaps to intimate, that what really brought them to the tomb was Hope.  Hope that Jesus’ words and his promises would be fulfilled.  Hope, that he had risen, just as he said he would. 

Their first encounter was with an empty tomb, their second encounter that morning was with an angel heralded by a great earthquake—and he truly had some earth-shattering news: Jesus has risen!

The last time we met the angel of the Lord in Matthew’s Gospel, Joseph was being told not to fear taking the pregnant Virgin Mary as his wife, now the angel offers that same greeting to the women at the tomb, “Do not be afraid!” Why would these courageous women be afraid, especially if hope had brought them to the tomb? In Scripture, fear is a common experience in the face of some powerful work of God—and the resurrection, though promised by Jesus is still beyond our imagining…or perhaps, the angel wanted to reassure these women that Jesus’ body had not been stolen. And they left the angel “fearful, yet overjoyed” as they carried this message of the resurrection.

 “Fearful, yet overjoyed” is a great description for all of us tasked with the message of spreading the Gospel. We are fearful, because we are all in unfamiliar territory.  We will not know how the message will be received. We are not entirely sure how we will reach out to those who appear to have hard hearts.  Yet, we are overjoyed in being tasked with this mission.

I think of the newly baptized on Easter.  How overjoyed they must be in receiving the new life of grace, yet also a little fearful—how will they maintain that joy, and maintain this new relationship with the risen Lord? Certainly with our help, yes?

The most important encounter the two Mary’s had that morning, wasn’t with an empty tomb, not even with the angel.  The third encounter they had was with the Risen Lord Jesus himself.

In earlier years, it was customary for the newly baptized to attend Mass throughout the entire octave of easter, so they could encounter the Lord as they encountered him in the easter sacraments, once again in the reading of scripture and the celebration of Eucharist.

And all of us need that constant encounter with the Lord: in our communal worship, in the scriptures, in the study of our faith, in service to the needy, and of course, in the blessed sacrament.

We are blessed to have that great honor this morning. May the Lord, give us courage in our fearful mission of spreading his Gospel, and fill us with joy at knowing his constant presence with us, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: Easter Sunday 2016 - He is Risen!

During Lent, a wonderful movie was released about the resurrection of Jesus Christ seen from the eyes of a Roman military official.  The movie was called ‘Risen’.

The movie begins much like our Gospel reading today: with an empty tomb.  And this Roman military official, who witnessed the execution of Jesus on Good Friday, is ordered by the governor Pontius Pilate to investigate what happened to Jesus’ body.

It is a fascinating film.  It as if you are transported to first century Jerusalem: the palace of Pontius Pilate, mount Calvary where Jesus was crucified, the tomb belonging to Joseph of Arimathea where Jesus was laid. 

And it is also interesting to watch this film from the perspective of this Roman military officer. He had not before heard of Jesus and his band of apostles.  He himself prayed to one of the Roman gods, Mars, the god of war.  And his entire world is shaken when he begins to meet with those who claim that Jesus had risen from the dead. 

His investigations led him to seek out the testimony of Mary Magdalene and the Apostles.  What struck him was how these people who had been filled with so much grief on Good Friday were now, after Easter, filled with peace and joy and fearlessness and conviction.

One of the Apostles, Bartholomew could barely contain his excitement.  Jesus had risen! He had appeared to them! He won! The kingdom of peace and joy that Jesus promised was being established! The old kingdom of sin and death and violence and hatred and perversion was itself passing away to make way for the new kingdom that would last forever.

Brothers and sisters, on this easter morn, we are called to consider our reaction to the resurrection of Jesus.  Are we like the Roman Military official, not quite sure if this really happened? Or, are we like the apostles? Filled with joy and excitement and conviction that He is Truly Risen?

From time to time, I meet fellow Christians who claim that their faith would be so much stronger if they had lived back then: if they had been one of the apostles or heard and seen Jesus preach and perform miracles.  But brothers and sisters, God did not choose us to live back then, God chose us to witnesses to the Resurrection of Jesus here and now—to live and proclaim our Easter Faith in this 21^st Christian century: He is Risen, he is truly risen.

And if you believe that, it changes everything.  No longer are we to live as part of the old fallen regime.  We no longer take part in its fallen sinful practices. No longer are we to imbibe in its glamours and false promises.   No longer are we to fear the powers of this world which seek to silence the message of Christ.

We are to joyfully and fearlessly witness to the doubters, the lost souls, the souls trapped in cycles of addiction and sin, that freedom and new life is possible through Christ because he is victorious over sin and death—sin has no power over those who are filled with the resurrected life of Jesus Christ.

On one level, we have a pretty easy time making the transition from Lent to Easter. We naturally prefer feasting to fasting, rejoicing to sacrificing. We prefer singing Alleluia to doing penance.  For those of you who took Lenten penance seriously, we are glad that Lent is over.  Yet, on another level, the transition from Lent to Easter is life challenging—this is when the real work begins—the work of spreading Christian joy, the work of fearlessly standing up for our faith, the work of witnessing to unbelievers.

St. Paul said to us in the second reading, “If you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above.” Lent was supposed to help us put earthly things behind us. Are you ready to put earthly things behind you? Are you ready to leave earthly pursuits in the past, so you can seek the things that are above: truth, goodness, beauty, patience, peace, joy.

When Jesus rose from the dead on Easter Sunday morning nearly 2000 years ago, he rose WITH HIS SCARS! In the resurrection, in glory, Jesus STILL BEARS THESE GLORIOUS WOUNDS of his crucifixion. So too with us. The sacrifices and penances of Lent have prepared us for Easter living.  During Lent, we tilled the soil of our souls, that the new life of Easter might be planted, and bear fruit of fearlessness, joy, perseverance in good works, patience, and generous charity. 

In just a moment, we will renew the promises of our Baptism. We will promise once again to put behind us the old life of sin, to walk with Christ in newness of life, to make our souls places where the risen Christ may dwell and bear fruit and draw sinners to himself through us. 

How will you ensure Christ’s victory will continue in you? As you renew the promises of baptism, renew your commitment to Sunday Mass, daily prayer, regular reading of Scripture, generous charity, patience with one another—for authentic Christian joy is impossible without them.  Easter is not simply meant to be celebrated once a year, but daily, as easter faith is lived out in the lives of the Christian people, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.