November 12 2021 - St. Josaphat, martyr - Unity with God, Church, and Neighbor

 At the last supper, the Lord prayed for his followers—he prayed for the Apostles present with him in the upper room, and he prayed for the Church—that through the ages she would remain united in faith and love. "Holy Father, I pray not only for these, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may be one.” While his death was looming, the most terrible of sufferings anyone had ever or would ever suffer, he was thinking of us and praying for us, for our unity in the truth of the Gospel, ““Your word, father, is truth…consecrate them in the truth”

The unity of the Church is always threatened by sin and error. And so we find the holy saints throughout history seeking unity with God through mortification, unity in the Church through right teaching, and unity with neighbor through charity. There can be no sanctity without mortification, right teaching, and works of charity.

St. Paul, of course, often wrote to the fledgling communities about avoiding anything that led to division. “With diligence preserve unity” he writes to the Ephesians, for “there is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”

St. Josephat spent his life laboring for the unity of the Church and was a martyr for Church unity because he died trying to bring part of the Orthodox Church into union with Rome.  He’s known as the apostle of union because he gave us life working for the unity of the Church. 

He was born into an orthodox family in 1580, but as an adult he joined one of the eastern churches that had recently returned to full communion with the Roman Catholic Church. Through education, reform of the clergy and personal example, Josephat succeeded in winning over the majority of the Orthodox in his diocese to full communion with Rome.  But those who opposed Church unity and communion with Rome plotted his death, and he was martyred in 1623. With furious cries of “Kill the Papist!”, He was struck on the head and shot and thrown into the river— killed by a mob who opposed his efforts.  

Like his Lord, Josephat died for unity. For the Lord indeed died that our unity with God destroyed by sin might be restored, and that the wounds of sin and division in the human family might be healed. As we know there are great divisions in our nation, there are many family members estranged from one another, there are many who have set themselves at odds with God through sin. Division caused by sin and pride always brings unneeded suffering, sadness and diminishment.

Through the intercession of St. Josephat and all the saints, seek that unity God desires for us, unity with Himself, unity with the Church, unity with neighbor for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For the healing of the wounds of all Christian division and for success in the work of evangelization.

For perseverance in carrying our crosses in fidelity to the Lord Jesus.

For safety for travelers and for the homeless and destitute affected by cold and inclement weather.

That we may be attentive to the needs of the sick, the poor, and the despairing in our midst.

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, for those who fought and died for our freedom and for N. for whom this mass is offered.

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.

November 10 2021 - Pope St. Leo the Great - Truth, Peace, and Barbarians Inside and Out

 Constant barbarian invasions and the gradual disintegration of the Roman Empire, certainly made the papacy of Pope Leo the First a challenging one. And yet, his papacy was so effective, and his holiness so evident, that he is the first Pope to be given the title, “The Great”. Leo Magnus, Leo the Great.

I shared this last year, but it is such a great story.

In 452, Attila the Hung was laying siege to northeastern Italy. They vanquished city after city and reports were circulating that Attila was setting his sights on the rest of Italy.  

So Pope Leo himself, 52 years old at the time, rode on horseback to meet the barbarian leader and pleaded with him to spare Italy. The leader of the Huns, impressed by the Pope, left Italy.  Unfortunately, a few years later, another barbarian horde, the Vandals, attacked and sacked Rome. Again, the Pope, defenseless and surrounded by his clergy, went forth to meet the invader to implore him to desist. The Vandal leader promised to spare the great Basilicas of St Peter, St Paul and St John, whose dedication we celebrated yesterday, in which the terrified population of Rome sought refuge and were spared.  

The Collect for today’s feast asks God to grant the Church, through the intercession of Pope St. Leo, that we may stand firm in truth and know the protection of lasting peace.

Truth and peace. These are no doubt always to goals of any papacy. And aims of the Christian life.

Pope Leo worked hard to control the heresies prominent in his day and to call their followers back to true Christian belief. And he worked to promote peace and protection against the barbarians when the government failed to protect its people. Barbarians inside the Church are combatted with Truth. Barbarians outside of the Church are dealt with courage, diplomacy, and concern for their souls, and with prayers of protection for God’s people.

Pope Saint Leo was indeed a great Pope, a man boundless in his energy, compassionate, and clear in his sense of duty as Peter’s successor.  He is an example for all of us, for he was focused entirely on Christ, fulfilling the vocation to which Christ called him.

When things get difficult, and cloudy, and confusing, when barbarians are on the move, we are to focus on the Truth of Christ and recommit to the life to which he calls us: a barbarian or two might even be converted in the process. For it is the Freedom and Joy that comes from the Truth of Christ that the world longs for, that even the barbarians long for, that will ultimately bring deliverance from the darkness of the age and the darkness of evil. 

May Pope St. Leo assist us in loving the truth, living the truth, and working for the peace of Christ in our time for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For the purification of Holy Church, and for all Bishops and clergy, that they may always lead us in fidelity to the saving Gospel of Christ.

That the Christian faithful may continue to nurture and discover their spiritual gifts for the building up of the Church.

For those who have left the Church, for those who have grown lukewarm, for those in mortal sin, for their conversion and the conversion of all hearts.

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

O God, you know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the prayers of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our Lord.

November 9 2021 - Dedication of St. John Lateran Basilica - Focal Point of Faith

 The feast of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. John Lateran is always a special feast for us here at St. Ignatius, because it is also the anniversary of the dedication of our Church. 91 years ago today, Bishop Joseph Schrembs, the fifth bishop of the diocese of Cleveland, consecrated this building as a Temple dedicated to the worship of God.

Bishop Schrembs no doubt chose this date to coincide with the feast of the dedication of John Lateran, the major basilica of Rome which is known as “the mother and head of all the churches in Rome and around the world.” 

During the first three hundred years, Christianity suffered wave after wave of violent persecution, because Christians refused to worship the false pagan gods of the Roman Empire.  As a result, throughout the empire, Christians were arrested, imprisoned, interrogated, tortured, and killed.  Because of the persecutions, Christians couldn’t risk building permanent church buildings. They would celebrate Mass in private homes or in the catacombs. 

Things changed only when Emperor Constantine, the son of St Helen, issued the Edict of Milan in 313, legalizing Christianity and bringing the age of state sponsored persecution to a close.

The first church built in this new era of Christianity was St. John Lateran.  It’s the oldest church building in the world.

After Christianity was legalized in 313, St. John Lateran was the domicile of the Pope for a 1000 years--the place from which he taught and guided the Church for a millennia. 

Throughout the centuries, St John Lateran has survived fires, earthquakes, barbarian invasions, and world wars; she is the oldest church in Europe, and in a sense is symbolic of the universal Church, who has survived schisms, heresies, corruption, and government persecution—the storms and chaos of nearly two thousand years.

We know, deep down that the Church is bigger than our buildings. After all, the Church worshiped underground for our first three hundred years, and the Church has been forced back underground in many places around the world over the centuries. We don’t need church buildings.

But they are a focal point. They symbolize our highest aspirations and God’s desire to gather his flock together. Just as this building is important for us and this neighborhood, St. John Lateran is important for the whole Church.

The Lateran Basilica stands as a reminder, of how the tiny, poor, non-military religion of Christianity withstood the force of the great Roman Empire; it reminds us of the heroic virtues of the martyrs and the grace of God that sustained them in their sufferings; that the Church will withstand all of the attacks of hell until the end of time.

And this feast reminds of us the need to continue to work for the flourishing of the faith in our own day, that to keep this building going, souls need to come here, be baptized here, encounter the Lord here. This building was constructed by hands other than ours, parishioners who would come and carve stone and wood after working 8 hours, families who mortgaged their homes to finance its construction, but now our hands, time, talent, and treasure, are required for its continued existence.

May we be faithful to all the Lord asks of us in our own day for the building up of the Church, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For the purification of Holy Church, and for all Bishops and clergy, that they may always lead us in fidelity to the saving Gospel of Christ.

For the parish of St. Ignatius of Antioch on this anniversary of its dedication, for continued blessing upon the people of the parish in continuing our Gospel mission.

That the Christian faithful may continue to nurture and discover their spiritual gifts for the building up of the Church.

For those who have left the Church, for those who have grown lukewarm, for those in mortal sin, for their conversion and the conversion of all hearts.

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.

In a special way during this month of November we pray For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased priests and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.

O God, you know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the prayers of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our Lord.

32nd Week in Ordinary Time 2021 - Monday - Scandal, Forgiveness, Living Faith

Scandal, forgiveness, and faith. As Lord was making his final journey toward Jerusalem, he taught his disciples what it meant to follow him, and gave brief teachings on these three topics: scandal, forgiveness, and faith.

When we hear the word scandal, we often think of some grievous act, usually by a public official, that causes outrage, a misuse of a position of power.

But the word ‘skandelon’ means a stumbling block. It’s not mere coincidence that the Lord gives this teaching about stumbling blocks as he journeys to Jerusalem. By his journey of the cross in obedience to the will of the Father, the Lord he teaches all Christians to journey to the cross in obedience to the Father. 

Scandal does the exact opposite. What makes a leader’s sins so scandalous is that they set bad example for everyone else. Scandal leads others away from God. 

The sins of a church leader are scandalous because the church leader is meant to be leading us to God, teaching us, not just by words, but by a holy way of life. Parents, too, have a particularly vital role in the faith lives of their children. And when a parent fails to set good Christian example, that is scandalous, it teaches a little one that faith can be set aside. So the Lord teaches all Christians to avoid causing scandal—to be very careful about our speech, attitude, and actions that might lead others away from God.

Secondly, he teaches about forgiveness. This is almost the other side of the coin. We should avoid scandal, but when sin occurs, we must be quick to forgive. This doesn’t mean we fail to rebuke. The Lord says we are to offer fraternal correction when a brother sins. But, when a brother repents, we are to extend mercy.

Avoid scandal. Offer fraternal correction. And forgive without limit? The apostles find these teachings so difficult that they plead for the Lord to increase their faith. That’s an excellent request. These teachings are hard. And we need real, living faith to abide by them.

There’s no way we’ll avoid causing scandal without vibrant faith in the Son of God. There’s no way we’ll be able to effectively offer fraternal correction without faith, and without faith, we’ll never be able to truly forgive.

Increase our faith Lord: through prayer, study of your word and teachings, the development of authentic virtue, increase our faith, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That all Christians may be people of forgiveness and mercy, endeavoring to live out the Lord’s teachings in their families, friendships, and encounters with strangers. Let us pray to the Lord.

That our young people may be blessed to be raised in faith filled homes, that they may be protected from the evils of our culture, and be granted a firm knowledge of their vocation to holiness. Let us pray to the Lord.

That Christ the Good Shepherd will draw close to all who suffer, the sick, the needy, victims of injustice, and the dying. For those who suffer from exhaustion, burn-out, and depression especially from overwork or work-related stress. Let us pray to the Lord.

We pray in a special way during this month of November for all the faithful departed, all deceased members of St. Ignatius of Antioch Parish, 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.

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.

 

32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time 2021 - The sacrifices of widows and soldiers

 On November 11, 1919, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed an Armistice Day to be observed annually, to honor the armistice ending World War I—with major hostilities formally ending at the 11th hour of the 11th day of  the 11th month of 1918.  After WWII, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed into law, that November 11 would be a day to honor all veterans, and so our country celebrates Veterans Day, which will be observed this week. 

My father, uncles, and godfather are veterans of Vietnam. Both my grandfathers were proud veterans of World War II, and my great grandfather was honored as the oldest veteran of world war I in his hometown when he died.  

Providence would have it that November 11 is also the liturgical feast day of a veteran, one of our Church’s well known and beloved soldier Saints, Saint Martin of Tours, who is patron Saint of soldiers along with St. Michael, St. George, St. Ignatius of Loyola, and St. Joan of Arc.  

St. Martin of Tours was the son of a veteran, a soldier and officer in the Roman army. Martin was actually forced to serve in the army against his will at the age of 15. But, while serving in the army, he came to understand sacrifice, honor, loyalty as many soldier do. It was as a young soldier that Martin was exposed to Christianity—newly legalized after 300 years of persecution. Soon Martin began to desire baptism and was enrolled as a catechumen.

There is the famous story when on a bitterly cold day, the young soldier met a poor man, almost naked, trembling in the cold and begging at the city gate.  Martin had nothing but his weapons and his clothes.  So he drew his sword, cut his cloak into two pieces, and gave one piece to the beggar.  Some of the bystanders laughed at Martin’s foolish act of charity. But that night Martin had a vision of Jesus dressed in the cloak he had given to the beggar. The Lord said, “Martin, still a catechumen, has covered me with his garment.”

That which you did for the of my brethren you did for me. Martin, in sacrificing his cloak for a beggar, clothed Jesus. This beautiful scene is depicted in a stained glass window here at St. Ignatius in the east trancept. 

Martin’s act of charity toward that beggar, sacrificing the little he had to offer, was no doubt inspired by today’s Gospel, in which the poor widow gives, not from her surplus, but her livelihood. 

Remember, that widows had no inheritance rights in ancient Israel. They had to rely on their children, male relatives, or the charity of the community for survival. You could definitely say they had a fixed income. 

So, on this very fixed income, this widow makes pilgrimage to the Temple to worship her God. And in an act of love and devotion she takes two coins, representing a serious portion of her livelihood, and deposited them in the temple coffers to honor God and to provide charity for those who may have been worse off than she. Jesus notices this and praises her sacrifice, holding her up as a model for his disciples.

To most people, the scribes, the chief elders, the pharisees, and King Herod, these were the real pillars of the community. But, Jesus points out that the truly holy—those who are worthy of praise and emulation—are those who are beautiful and wealthy not on the outside, but on the inside.

Those truly worthy of praise are those whose generosity flows from their love of God, not the desire to be noticed by others. How often does Jesus condemns the scribes and pharisees for making a show of faith on the outside, while being far from God on the inside. He condemns them for the grievous corruption of what religious faith is supposed to be—not outward show, but inner union with the heart of God. 

The widow, the saints, like St. Martin, so many of our veterans who leave family and country to serve freedom, show us what the heart of God looks like: Self-sacrifice, trust in God, boundless generosity, willingness to mocked for charity’s sake, like Martin was mocked by his fellow soldiers, like the widow would have been mocked by her countrymen.

While visiting Cuba a few years ago, Pope Francis spoke of how the spirit of the world differs from the Spirit of Christ. He said, “The spirit of the world does not love the way of the Son of God, who emptied himself and became poor. He became nothing — he humiliated himself in order to be one of us.”  The world mocks the way of Christ. Self-sacrifice, faith, trust, these characteristics are not valued by modern society.

But the way that leads to life is the way of Christ—of self-emptying generosity. The saints who we began the month celebrating on All Saints day, over and over give us these powerful beautiful models of what holiness looks like. That when we give ourselves away like Christ we become rich in the things of God. 

So, please, sometime today or this week: think back to the example of the widow. How is God calling you to that sort of trust and generosity? On Thursday, think of the veterans, think of St. Martin, how are you called to give part of your cloak to the poor, in service of country, and church. 

On the day of our judgment, those things, those earthly treasures, the time we gave to God, will testify on our behalf. So may we be deeply and profoundly generous with God, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

First Friday Holy Hour - November - Eucharistic Lessons from the Dishonest Steward

 As you know, for our first Friday Holy Hours, I like to draw some sort of Eucharist Lesson or insight from the readings or saint of the day. As, I mentioned this morning at Mass, today’s Gospel is very strange.

The Lord tells this parable about a dishonest steward who had been embezzling from his master’s business. The steward goes to the master’s debtors, who had been delinquent in paying their rent to the master, because the master, was an absentee landlord. The steward then falsifies entries in the books of accounts so that the debtors would be grateful to him, but also complicit in his fraud. Perhaps he would blackmail them later. And when the master discovers all this underhanded business, he’s actually impressed and praises the criminal mastermind for his shrewdness.

What Eucharistic lesson could we possible derive from this?

On one hand the lesson of the parables seems to be that Jesus wants his followers, like the steward in the parable, to employ cleverness, creativity, gumption, cunning, and ingenuity in and fulfilling our Gospel mandate.

On the other hand, Christians are not likely to be as cunning and shrewd as the “children of the world” as the Lord calls them, in dealing with worldly matters. We will not likely be as proficient with computers as criminal computer hackers or as sly and cutthroat as a corrupt politician. And that’s okay. We have other matters to do attend to: heavenly matters, spiritual matters. 

And that’s why we are hear tonight. We give up a Friday tonight, to pray, to kneel before the Lord, recognizing the priority of faith, strengthening and exercising faith, over all other earthly matters. We come to the Lord to be strengthened in what matters most, so that we can make inroads into the world, so that we can reach the minds and the hearts of the children of the world in bringing them to Christ.

We come here so that we can go out into the world in order to reach the criminal computer hacker, the corrupt politician, the drug addict, the pimp, and lead them to Christ. These people are not our enemy, they are our mission. 

And we kneel in front of the Lord recognizing our weakness, our lack of cleverness and capability, and facility with speaking, and timidity, and ask him to bless us, strengthen us, and embolden us to do the work he has for us, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

31st Week in Ordinary Time 2021 - Cunning as Rogues

 

What a strange parable the Lord employs to teach his lesson in today’s Gospel.

This dishonest steward had been embezzling from his master’s business. He goes to the master’s debtors, who had been delinquent in paying their rent the master, because the master, after all, was an absentee landlord. The steward then falsifies entries in the books so that the debtors would be grateful to him, but also complicit in his fraud. Perhaps he would blackmail them later. And when the master discovers all this underhanded business, he’s actually impressed and praises the criminal mastermind for his shrewdness.

The lesson? The disciples of Jesus are to employ similar cleverness in working for God. Not committing crimes of course in furthering the kingdom, but certainly exercising ingenuity, creativity, and cunning in fulfilling our Gospel mandate.

If people of faith were as motivated and cunning as these strange figures in the parable, how different the world would be.

So we need to be more clever in organizing charitable activity than head coaches in organizing victory for their franchises. We need to be more diligent in disciplining our minds and hearts than professional athletes in training their bodies. We need to be more clever than Wall Street bankers, in storing up treasure, not on earth, but in heaven.

Over and over again people will expend twenty times the amount of time and money and effort on pleasure, hobbies, gardening, sports, and leisure, than they do on their church. And our parish suffers for it, the church suffers for it.

How have we squandered the time we have been given? ? How many wasted hours in front of a television? Or a computer screen? In pursuing mindless entertainment or social media status? How many wasted opportunities for visiting the sick, feeding the hungry, visiting the lonely? How many God-given gifts, have gone unused because we didn’t want to leave our comfort zone?

Isn’t God saying to us, what the rich man said to the steward in the Gospel, “What is this I hear about you? Squandering the gifts I have given you?”

What would my life look like, what would my soul look like, if I planned and plotted with my fellow parishioners, like the steward and the debtors in the gospel today, planned and plotted in doing the works of God?

Let us take serious accounting, and by God’s grace, seek a transformation, a reorientation of values and practices, that our whole lives may be at His service for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That all Christians may endeavor to put their time, talent, treasure, creativity and energy into serving the mission of the Church. Let us pray to the Lord.

That our young people may be blessed to be raised in faith filled homes, that they may be protected from the evils of our culture, and be granted a firm knowledge of their vocation to holiness. Let us pray to the Lord.

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, all deceased members of St. Ignatius of Antioch Parish, 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.

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.