Nov 04 2020 - St. Charles Borromeo - Adversity creates stronger faith

One of my favorite churches in Rome is the minor basilica of Sant’Ambrogio e Carlo – the basilica of Saint Ambrose and Charles, both natives of Milan. The semester I studied in Rome, over and over I kept returning to that basilica. There is a little hidden niche there, behind the main altar and it was nice quiet place on my way to or from classes. And there in that niche is a reliquary containing the heart of Saint Charles Borromeo, today’s saint. 

As a seminarian, studying for the priesthood, to pray before the heart of Saint Charles was very special, for he’s the patron saint of seminarians, and the patron saint of our own diocesan seminary here in Cleveland. So praying there gave me a connection to home, while at the same time, directed me to the future. Our patron saints have a wonderful way of doing that; they help us with the duties and challenges of our life, while orienting us to the future.

I asked St. Charles for a quote this morning, that might help us amidst all chaos in our country right now, and to help us brace for whatever the future has in store, and I came across the following quote. St. Charles said, “Such is the nature of faith, that the greater are the obstacles it encounters, the more ardent it becomes.”

And St. Charles knew what he was talking about here: as Archbishop of Milan, he faced tremendous hostility from the Milanese Senate, hostility from the local priests when he tried to bring reform to Milan, and he even survived an assassination attempt, by a priest! Yet it is through this adversity, that St. Charles’ faith was tested and made strong.

If things are about to get more difficult for Christians in this country, it is so our faith may become stronger, and our witness will grow brighter. 

Paul makes a similar point in our reading from his letter to the Philippians: “in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, we are to shine like lights in the world.”

So we mustn’t lose hope when things don’t go our way in the world, for the world is the place where faith is tried and made stronger.

Whatever we face, we face with the great help of God, and the great help of the saints, that through our faith, Christ may draw all men to himself, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That through the intercession of the Bishop St. Charles Borromeo, bishops and church leaders will be models of inspiration and holiness for the Church.

That God will raise up many priestly vocations in our diocese and that the young people of our parish may strive after holiness and God’s will in their lives.

For all seminarians from our diocese, that as they prepare for priesthood, they may be formed into credible and holy witnesses of the Gospel, and given generous hearts for service of the Church.

For the renewal of the clergy and reparation for their sins.

That Christ the Good Shepherd will draw close to all who suffer, the sick, the needy, victims of injustice, and the dying.

We pray in a special way during this month of November for all the faithful departed, for those whose names are written in our parish book of the names of the dead, all deceased members of St. Ignatius of Antioch Parish, and our deceased family members and friends, deceased clergy and religious, those who fought and died for our freedom and for X. for whom this mass is offered.

Hear our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and through the intercession of St. Charles Borromeo grant us renewal and the increase in charity, wisdom, and grace. Through Christ Our Lord.

31st Week in OT 2020 - Tuesday - The invitation to the great feast

We heard Matthew’s version of the Parable of the Great Feast a few weeks ago at Sunday Mass in which the king gives a wedding feast for his son. The king sends out invitations—but the first round of guests give excuses for not attending the wedding feast—“I have to take care of my cattle”, “I have business matters to attend to”, some simply ignored the invitation and went about their lives.

The guests in Luke’s version offer similar excuses: “I have to take care of my field”, “I have to go see about this stuff I just bought”, “I just got married”.

Maybe it’s because I’m Italian, and I love good food, but, who in their right mind who would give such excuses for turning down a great banquet, especially if you are invited to a banquet by a king! There’s going to be some very good food there! Where are your priorities? The cattle will still be there, the field will still be there, the wife will still be there, well, hopefully!

And that’s sort of the point of this parable, isn’t it? To cause us to examine our priorities. Every time we choose sin over virtue, we are settling for something less. Every time we are given by God an opportunity to serve the kingdom, and we make some excuse, we are settling for something less. We are refusing the invitation to the great feast—to fulfillment.

The parable is certainly addressing those who were refusing to believe in Jesus, and the invitation to follow him, they are giving excuses for rejecting the invitation to discipleship—to Christian conversion. But it also addresses all of us, who make excuses for rejecting deeper conversion, deeper holiness. 

May the holy Spirit help us to see our excuses for what they are, may He help us to identify those areas where the King is inviting us to something more, and may he help us to be like that servant whom the king sends out into the highways and hedgerows, to invite the poor, the hungry, and the lost to the wedding feast of the lamb, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

 

That all hearts might be opened to the invitations our good God makes to them—to repent, to believe, and to love. Let us pray to the Lord.

On this election day, that the Gospel of Life might guide the decisions of all voters, for civility and peace to prevail over all violence, and for special protection for those who work the polls, and our police, military and first responders, and the safety of innocents. Let us pray to the Lord.

For the healing of all those afflicted with physical, mental, emotional illness, for those in hospitals, nursing homes, hospice care, those struggling with addictions, for those who grieve the loss of a loved one, and those who will die today. Let us pray to the Lord.

For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, for all of the poor souls in purgatory for whom we pray in a special way during the month of November, and for N. for whom this Mass is offered. Let us pray to the Lord.

Heavenly Father, hear our prayers. May the grace of Christ Your Son, the Divine Physician, bring healing of our sinfulness, and make us worthy of the kingdom of heaven, through the same Christ our Lord.

All Souls 2020 - Mourning and Praying for the Dead

A few years ago, All Souls Day fell on the first Friday of November, and so I was visiting and bringing Holy Communion to homebound parishioners. My first stop was to a woman named Josephine, and elderly woman with a thick polish accent, to whom I had been bringing Communion for several years.  

I asked her if she had any particular intentions she would like to offer as she received Holy Communion, and she said, since today is the Feast of All Souls she would like to pray for her husband and her father who were arrested and killed in the Concentration Camp at Aushwitz during World War II.  After we prayed, and she received Holy Communion, she asked if I would like to see a picture of her father.  I said I would.

She went into the bedroom and brought out a rectangular photograph of very thin man, dressed in a prison outfit, in three poses: a profile looking to the right, one where he was looking up and to the left, and the middle one, he was looking directly at the camera with a haunted expression.

I thought of the horrors he witnessed—they seemed reflected in his eyes--and I had to sit down.  

Josephine then said, Father, I try to think of good memories, but so often I am overwhelmed with sadness.  Why do we always remember the hurtful things?

After a moment, I said, I think it’s important not to forget our loved ones, as hurtful as their memories are, so that we can pray for them, and to pray that terrible things like war and genocide never happen again.

She said, “All Souls Day is always a very sad day for me, but it is also the anniversary of our coming to this country and escaping those horrors.”  How fitting, I thought because that’s what All Souls is all about. Today we pray that our loved ones arrive at their heavenly homeland. 

Today can be a sad day, it might be a sad month, for the whole month is dedicated to praying for the souls of the dead—remembering the faithful departed whom we loved in this life can evoke strong emotions. And that’s not bad. For the Lord promises comfort to those who mourn: blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. We are comforted by the knowledge that our prayers truly help our departed loved ones. Every moment of sorrow, is a moment to turn to the Lord, and to know the comfort that can only come through Him.

When are overwhelmed with grief for our loved ones the best thing to do is to turn to God in prayer for their souls and to renew our hope in the resurrection. As Saint Thomas Aquinas said that the greatest act of love we can perform on behalf of the dead is to pray for them.  

And yet, we simply don’t pray, today and this month, for those who were good, we pray for all souls. No matter who they were in life, how they acted, who they loved or hurt, we pray for all of the souls in purgatory, that they may be open to all of the purification they need in order to enter eternal life with God. If there is a soul, who may have hurt us or hurt a family member, that we cannot bring ourselves to pray for, we should work on that today, and this month. Praying for our enemies, truly praying for their greatest good, their conversion to Christ, shows that we are not bound by malice or hate for them, but are concerned for all souls.

The scripture readings for this holy day speak of a time when the dead, when all souls shall be gathered before Christ, to be judged, but in the meantime, we continue to pray for all, to work for the good of all, the conversion of all, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That Christ, Son of the Living God, who raised up Lazarus from the dead, will raise up to life all the dead who have been redeemed by his precious blood.  We pray to the Lord.

That Christ, consoler of all who mourn, who dried the tears of the family of Lazarus, the widow’s son, and the daughter of Jairus, will bring comfort to all those who mourn for the dead.  We pray to the Lord.

That Christ, our Savior, will destroy the reign of sin in our earthly bodies, and grant us eternal life.  We pray to the Lord.

That Christ, our Redeemer, will look on all those who have no hope because they do not know him, and bring them to faith in the resurrection and in the life of the world to come.  We pray to the Lord.

For all those who have died. For our beloved dead who we pray for in a special way today, this All Souls day and during the month of November, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, for those who have fought and died for our country’s freedom, and for N. for whom this Mass is offered. Let us pray to the Lord.

All Saints 2020 - Who we are, where we're going, how to get there

At the tail end of Vatican II, Pope Paul VI promulgated a document called Gaudium et Spes, the pastoral constitution on the Church in the Modern World. It’s purpose was to help the Church understand her position and role and mission in the changing modern world with all of its advancements and strengths and foolishness and errors. For it’s important for the Church to reflect upon the “signs of the times”—a phrase which came from this document—to understand better the concrete details in which we are to live out our Christian mission and identity.

While explaining the need for Christians to bring our faith and live our faith in the many different levels of society in which we find ourselves, Gaudium et Spes is also very realistic in speaking about monumental struggle against the powers of evil and darkness.  History is not just the story of human progress, right? We are opposed by satan, the father of lies, who seeks to corrupt souls and bring ruin to nations and families and the Church. 

Last week, when we celebrated Priesthood Sunday, I asked for and thanked you for your prayers for priests—because there is a real battle involved in working for the good of souls. And if the devil can bring ruin to priests, well, that’s going to have an impact on parishes and families, isn’t it? 

But it’s not just priests, Vatican II says, all Christians are involved in this struggle, this battle. Facing such hostility and wickedness and personal demons, we recognize we need God. We need the Sacraments. We need prayer. We need the guidance of good solid Catholic teaching from our Pope and Bishops. If we are going to survive the battle with our souls intact, we need to make sure that we are drawing as much strength and protection and light from our faith as possible. 

And, this weekend, on this solemn feast, we look to the holy souls, the saints, the men and women and children, from every age, and place, and profession, who “survived the time of great distress," as St John calls this life on earth in our First Reading. The survivors, the spiritual war heroes, those who are glorified by God in eternity because of their Christian faith, hope, and love.

Contemplating these brothers and sisters in Christ encourages us: for if they can do it, so can we. I propose three short lessons on how the saints can be our teachers and guides. 

The first lesson is that the saints live with the destination in mind—they know what is at stake—that there is more to life than this earthly life. In the first reading, we get a glimpse of those saintly victors standing, robed in white in the heavenly throne room. In the presence of God stand this great multitude—people of every nation, race, and tongue, who have put on the wedding garment of Christ, who have been baptized, and have kept their faith amidst all the temptations and persecutions in this life—again, knowing what was at stake: in the end they would stand victorious in the heavenly throne room, or be banished from it for all eternity.

Why do we resist those terrible onslaughts of temptation? Why do we pray to remain faithful in the midst of persecution? Because heaven is at stake. Not only does sin diminish us—weaking our will and clouding our mind—it puts our souls at risk of hell. 

This first lesson is so important—because if we aren’t living with the destination in mind, we are likely to veer off the path—perhaps even forget there is path. There are many souls living this way--as if this earthly life was all that is—eat drink and be merry for tomorrow we shall die, and that’s it. And their souls are in danger. Because if you don’t live as if heaven exists in this life—why would anything be different in eternity?

So the saints remind us to live with the destination always on our minds. 

Secondly, it’s not enough to know the destination—you have to know where you are starting from—where you are, right now, spiritually, and who you are. If you can’t pinpoint yourself on the map—how do you know the direction in which you are to walk? 

And this is the second lesson: the saints understand who they are: they understand that they are human beings, with fallen natures due to sin in need of salvation. They know they need Christ. They know they need the Sacraments. They know they need prayer. 

And, they know that through baptism they have become Children of God. We read in our second reading: "See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are." Children of God. Members of God's family. God’s love for us is so profound—we are gathered into his family through the blood of Christ. And the saints are animated by this profound self-knowledge. In whatever hostilities we face, whatever temptations: we do so as Children of God. 

The saints know that they were made for love, by the one who is love. Love animates us, love guides us, love fills us, love protects us. The saints recognize because they are loved they need to become love--loving God and neighbor in the concrete details of their life. 

And that’s the third Lesson. it is not enough just to know who we are and where we are supposed to be going, but we also need to know how to get there. In order to cross a lake, you need a boat. In order to cross a mountain, you need mountain gear. In order to get to heaven, the home of the saints, you need to practice saintliness, blessedness.

This is what today's Gospel passage reminds us of: the Beatitudes are the practices and attitudes that you and I must cultivate if we wish to join the saints. 

We must practice poverty of spirit—recognizing our fundamental need for God in all things. We must mourn for our sins—those lost opportunities to live for God. We must be meek—treating each other with gentleness. We must hunger and thirst for righteousness—seeking to justly give God what belongs to God and to treat our neighbor and the poor with the respect and fairness due to every living human person. We must not just be just but merciful—going beyond what is merely fair and just—but practicing true mercy to become a blessing for others. We must be clean of heart—turning away from anything impure, corrupt, perverted, vile, or selfish, in order to seek God through prayer and worship and divine contemplation. And we must keep the faith amidst persecution—in fact, if we are not living our faith in such away that the world hates us, we might not be really living the faith.

Live with the destination in mind, live with the humble knowledge that you are a sinner, reborn in baptism as a child of God, now called to strive to live the beatitudes in this life, that we may join the ranks of the blessed in eternity.

May the saints help us and preserve us for this our destiny, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

30th Week in OT 2020 - Monday - Healing our crippled natures

 

The miraculous healing of the crippled woman in the synagogue is a passage only found in Luke’s Gospel. While teaching in the synagogue, the Lord notices this woman, hunched over, unable to stand upright. St. Luke tells us that she was afflicted by an unclean spirit for 18 years. Her affliction was not just physical, but spiritual as well. Some spiritual evil was keeping her from the uprightness God desires for us all. Her physical affliction is certainly symbolic of the moral and spiritual state of sinful humanity. We are crippled by sin. Sin cripples our minds, our bodies, and our souls.

Well, the Lord, notices the crippled woman, goes to her, and sets her free from her infirmity. Through this miracle she is immediately able to stand erect and immediately glorifies God. 

This healing, again, is symbolic of the Lord’s entire mission. God has compassion for the waywardness that is ours, humanity’s fallen state. We are crippled by sin, unable to walk in the freedom for which we were created—our intellect is darkened, our wills are weakened. And Through Christ we are liberated, healed, set free, able to walk upright again, and worship God in spirit and in truth. 

St. Paul understands this and explains to the ephesians how what God has done for us in Christ has changed everything. We have been set free, we have been liberated, and so we must strive to be imitators of God, as beloved children, living in love. Jesus did not die for us just so we can return to being hunched over and crippled again by impurity and immorality. We are liberated from sin so that we can be imitators of God. Like the woman in the Gospel, our response to being healed by God is to make our lives a sacrificial offering to God; patterned after the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, we are to become a fragrant aroma to God, offering to God all of our time, talent, and treasure in self-giving love. 

We are to strive for holiness—uprightness—in our conduct, not simply out of fear that we will be punished for breaking divine commandments, but because we know and understand that we have been changed, recreated through Christ. Our natures—our bodies and souls have been remade, so much so  that we are now more like God than we were before the fall—we participate more fully in the communion of life and love and joy of the Blessed Trinity, even now, while still on earth. We don’t wait until we die to go to heaven—heaven, in a sense, begins now, for Christians.

May we, who were once in darkness, as St. Paul says, live in the light of the Lord, today and all days, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That the effects of sin may continue to be healed in us, that we may walk in the moral uprightness God desires for his children. 

For the healing of all the wounds of division afflicting the Church, for an end to heresy and schism, for turning away from all doctrinal error and hardness of heart, we pray to the Lord.

For spiritual healing and mercy upon all those who have fallen away from the Church, those who have fallen to mortal sin, for those who blaspheme, for the conversion of atheists and non-believers, we pray to the Lord.

For the healing of all those afflicted with physical, mental, emotional illness, for those in hospitals, nursing homes, hospice care, those struggling with addictions, for those who grieve the loss of a loved one, and those who will die today.

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 deceased clergy and religious, for those who have fought and died for our freedom, we pray to the Lord.

Heavenly Father, hear our prayers. May the grace of Christ Your Son, the Divine Physician, bring healing of our sinfulness, and make us worthy of the kingdom of heaven, through the same Christ our Lord.

Priesthood Sunday 2020 - Defend us in battle

 In my eleven and a half years of priesthood, I’ve had the honor of living and serving with almost a dozen priests. One was a former Certified Public Accountant, one was called to the priesthood later in life after having children and being left a widower; one had taken a year off of seminary to work to support his mother after the death of his father, another liked to begin every homily with a joke. One priest has since left the priesthood to get married, and another was a former Franciscan monk. One priest was among our diocese’s most talented organists, another likes hunting wild boar; one liked to dine on fine white tablecloths, another has visited more hospitalized, sick, and dying Catholics than the rest combined. 

I’ve been inspired by my brother priests, frustrated by my brother priests, have laughed with and cried with my brother priests, have nitpicked the latest star wars movie and attended opera, gone on pilgrimage and debated theology into the night with my brother priests.

Since 2003, in the United States, the last Sunday of October for us Catholics is known as Priesthood Sunday. 

On this priesthood Sunday, we pray for priests. Because we need priests. Priests to baptize, priests to absolve our sins, priests to celebrate the Eucharist, priests to help hardened sinners return to Christ, priests to help families live the Gospel faithfully.  We will need priests until the end of time, to carry out the ordained ministry according to Christ’s plan for his Church.  

Priests to visit the dying, priests to shepherd parishes, and to help ordinary Catholics know that they are part of something bigger than what they see, a universal church by bishops and popes, an ancient tradition where latin and Greek were spoken in catacombs, where Christians prepared for martyrdom at the hands of hostile governments. 

We need priests to help families help raise and catechize their children to be the next generation of Catholics who bring their faith out into the world, as Catholic professionals and workers—to practice their professions in a manner consistent with the Gospel of Christ. 

I have posted on the bulletin board this year’s vocation poster, which contains the 66 men who are studying at our diocesan seminary for the priesthood. Men, striving to love the Lord with their whole heart, mind, soul, and strength, as we heard our lord command in the Gospel today. For each of these seminarians, loving the Lord means having the courage to ask God if God is calling them to the priesthood. 

This is a habit that all of us do well to form, to ask on a regular basis, from the time we are very young, “God, what are you calling me to do with my life?” My father wants me to take over the family business, but, my God, what do you want me to be? Society tells me to hide my religion, Lord what do you want from me? To love God, is to seek the will of God, to put the will of God into practice in our lives. 

Each year, the vocation poster has a theme, and this year the poster has a picture of a statue St. Michael the Archangel, a statue which stands on our seminary grounds, and above it are the words, “St. Michael, Defend Us”. This is of course in reference to the St. Michael prayer which asks the Archangels protection and defense against the wickedness and snares of the devil.

All of us should turn to St. Michael each day to pray for protection. But especially so for priests. I’m not going to say the Christian life is harder for priests, or that our temptations are more numerous or more intense. But I will say that the devil hates priests and conspires to ruin priests. The devil makes special effort to tempt priests away from their ministry which is so vital to the Church. The devil certainly does not want these 66 men to be ordained to the priesthood.

Which again, is why, it is so good and important for us to pray for priests, to set aside special times throughout the week and throughout the year, to pray for priests. Personally, I  offer the fourth decade of my rosary for the priests of the diocese, and pray for priests especially on Thursdays, the day of the last supper on which the Lord Jesus instituted the priesthood, and I encourage all of you to do the same.

For the devil knows how much damage he can do to the church, to a parish, when he corrupts a priest, or when he wears away at a priest’s fortitude or patience. The devil knows the damage that can be done when a priest becomes discouraged in his vocation. 

And the devil knows just how much damage a good priest can do to the kingdom of evil. For priests are tasked with helping the Church battle back the powers of darkness, they help to liberate souls entangled by grave spiritual evils.

The devil once admitted to St. John Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests, that if there were three more priests like him in the world, the kingdom of Satan would be finished. So the devil will do everything he can to discourage priests, to tempt priests into not praying as they should, or obey their bishop as they should, to drink more than they should, or cultivate unhealthy relationships.

When priests live in a manner worthy of their calling—they become powerful instruments of God—conduits of grace into the lives of the Christian faithful. And we all know this. We have all been impacted by good priests, and we know the devastation, division, and scandal when priests fall. 

So, for priests who have caused scandal, we pray for healing. For priests who have lost their faith, we pray for renewal. For priests who have preached heresy, we pray that they may be corrected. For priests who are in mortal sin, we pray for their repentance. 

And for good priests who have touched our lives, who have brought us the comfort and consolation of the Sacraments, inspiration in their preaching, who have been icons of the Lord Jesus for us—icons of the love of God for us, we pray in thanksgiving. We pray that good priests may have the courage to preach and lead God’s people as we face the wickedness and snares of the devil and the hostilities of the worldly. And we pray for the sanctification of all priests, that they may be a blessing to the Church, that they may deepen in the gifts they need for ministry and become ever-more effective instruments of the Lord. 

On behalf of the priests of the Church—both living and deceased—I thank all of you for your prayers and fasting. We are supported, encouraged, protected, and fortified by your prayers in ways you cannot imagine. 

May each of us do our part in fostering healthy, holy priestly vocations. We pray that the young men of our parish and diocese may have the courage to answer that call with generous hearts. We pray for our seminarians. And for all priests, that in their battle against the powers of evil and darkness for the good of souls, they might be defended by the holy angels; that when they grow weary, may our priests be renewed and strengthened for the carrying out and preaching of the Gospel—that the good work God has begun in them, might be brought to fulfillment—for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

October 2020 - Holy Hour for Priests - The devil hates holy priests

 

While St. Paul was certainly urging all Christians to live in a manner worthy of their calling, those words are certainly on our mind today and this evening as we pray and fast for priests. We pray and fast that they may live in a manner worthy of their calling.

St. Paul makes this urgent plea, because living in a manner worthy of one’s calling is not necessarily easy. It requires real effort for every Christian to practice humility, gentleness, and patience. It requires real effort to resist the temptations to indulge the ego, to lash out in harshness, to make excuses to speak and act impatiently. 

And since this is true for every Christian, it is true for priests. I’m not going to say the Christian life is harder for priests, or that our temptations are more numerous or more intense. But I will say that the devil hates priests and conspires to ruin priests. The devil makes special effort to tempt priests away from their ministry which is so vital to the Church.

Which again, is why, it is so good and important for us to pray for priests, to set aside special times throughout the week and throughout the year, to pray for priests. 

For the devil knows how much damage he can do to the church, to a parish, when he corrupts a priest, or when he wears away at a priest’s fortitude or patience. The devil knows the damage that can be done when a priest becomes discouraged in his vocation. 

And the devil knows just how much damage a good priest can do to the kingdom of evil. The devil once admitted to St. John Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests, that if there were three more priests like him in the world, the kingdom of Satan would be finished. So the devil will do everything he can to discourage priests, to tempt priests into not praying as they should, or obey their bishop as they should.

When priests live in a manner worthy of their calling—they become powerful instruments of God—conduits of grace into the lives of the Christian faithful. When they fail to live up to their calling—they can bring devastation, division, and great scandal.

On behalf of the priests of the Church—both living and deceased—I thank all of you for your prayers and fasting. We are supported, encouraged, protected, and fortified by your prayers in ways you cannot imagine. 

For priests who have caused scandal, we pray for healing. For priests who have lost their faith, we pray for renewal. For priests who have preached heresy, we pray that they may be corrected. For priests who are in mortal sin, we pray for their repentance. And for good priests that have touched our lives, who have brought us the comfort and consolation of the Sacraments, inspiration in their preaching, who have been icons of the Lord Jesus for us, we give thanks. We pray for the sanctification of all priests, that they may be a blessing to the Church, that they may deepen in the gifts they need for ministry and become ever-more effective instruments, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.