29th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2026 - Give to God what belongs to God

 

The Lord was born into a very contentious political situation 2000 years ago. Much like our own day Israel was not politically unified--there were several political factions in our Lord’s day with whom he interacted.  One of the groups was known as the Zealots.  Today, if someone called you a zealot it would mean that they possess a great passion for some subject or issue.  Well, the Zealots of the 1^st century were passionate about their national and religious identity. They wanted to overthrow the Roman occupying force; for the Zealots saw the Romans as idolatrous and immoral tyrants who needed to be run out of Israel, for God had given the holy land to the Jewish people, not to the Romans. There are a few modern Jewish political parties who feel the same—that non-Jews have no place in Israel.

Politically opposite the Zealots, were a group of Jews called the Herodians—the party of King Herod. Herod was part-jew and part-pagan. He wasn’t very religious, and in many ways, he was the puppet of the roman emperor.  Rome said jump and Herod asked, “how high?” The Herodians would do anything to stay in power, even to betray their religion and people.

A third group we hear a lot about in the Gospels were the Pharisees known for their strict, scrupulous observances. It was the Pharisees who were really running the religious show in 1^st century Judea. Politically, the Pharisees were willing to go along with whoever was in power as long as they retained the freedom to practice their religion as they saw it. For many of the Pharisees, religion was a façade. They wanted religious authority for the purpose of control and financial gain.

In the Gospel today, we heard of two of these groups teaming up against Jesus—how the Pharisees went off and plotted with the Herodians how they might entrap Jesus. Certainly, a strange alliance—the Pharisees, the religious purists, joining up with the morally and religious compromised Herodians. Why would they do such a thing?

Well, it is clear from the Gospels why. The Pharisees saw Jesus as a threat: he exposed their lies and undermined their power. Jesus demonstrated that the Pharisees were more concerned with appearances and power than actual holiness and righteous leadership. The Lord publicly accused the Pharisees of misleading God’s people and lording religious authority by imposing heavy religious burdens foreign, even antithetical, to God’s commands.

Today’s Gospel is one such instance of Jesus exposing their hypocrisy. Even, the first word out of their mouth is hypocritical. They call him Teacher. The intention of being taught. They didn’t come to him to learn, but to trap. And their trap involved what they thought was a trick question. “Tell us, what is your opinion: Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?"

Now, there were a number of taxes Jews had to pay.  There was the temple tax for the support of the temple and the priests of the temple. There was the census tax: a tax most Jews resented paying, as it financed the roman occupying force. St. Matthew, remember, before he followed Christ, was a tax collector, a jew who collected the census tax on behalf of Rome.

So, you can see the consequences of Jesus’ answer.  If he said no, don’t pay the tax, the Herodians would report him to the Roman authorities for encouraging insurrection. If he said yes, pay the tax with the roman coin, the Zealots would condemn him for being an enemy of the nation of Israel, and the Pharisees would condemn him for a being an idolater, for Caesar claimed to be an incarnate deity. It appeared to be the perfect trap.

But, then Jesus the teacher gives his answer.  And the Lord’s answer is how we Christians understand our relationship to whatever civic authority is over us.

“Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God”.  It’s an amazing answer, demonstrating that religious truth runs deeper than political alliances. The Lord’s teaching here demands that each individual be honest about what we really owe to God and what we really owe to the state.

Do we owe religious worship and unquestioning obedience to civil authorities or to politicians or political parties? No. Christians are to be neither Zealots, Pharisees, or Herodians. We aren’t to overthrow the government and make the Pope king, as the Zealots might propose. We aren’t to compromise our faith for political expediency like the Herodians. Nor are we to withdraw totally from worldly affairs like the Pharisees, lest we wake up one day with our freedoms revoked by fascists and tyrants.

Give to the state what it deserves, and give to God what God deserves. Give to Uncle Sam his due, as my grandfather used to say, for providing for our domestic security, paving the roads and other authentic civil needs. If we are going to benefit from society, we need to contribute to society. Give to Caesar as long as Caesar does not demand we violate objective morality or right religion. We even have a duty to keep Uncle Sam accountable for the legitimate common good, and limiting government which has the tendency to overreach it’s legitimate purview.

Pope Francis said it well: “We need to participate (in civic life) for the common good…Sometimes we hear: a good Catholic is not interested in politics. This is not true: good Catholics immerse themselves in politics by offering the best of themselves."

In a few weeks, we will again be tasked with our civic duty to vote. In voting, as in all things, we are to be guided by our Catholic faith. Most of the time, no one politician embodies all of our Catholic values, and so we have to do our best to vote for candidates and issues most in line with supporting the moral teachings of our Catholic faith.  May God help us and bless our civic life.

Today’s Gospel is not just about politics though, or understanding the forces which conspired to put our Lord to death. The Gospel urges us in our individual duty to seek to give God the best that we possibly can in all dimensions of our life. We are to give God faithfulness in our civic life, yes, but also in cultivating our minds, our intellect, our creativity. We are to give God our best effort in growing in prayer and holiness, and in understanding our Catholic faith. We are to give God our best effort in welcoming the stranger, feeding the hungry, instructing the ignorant, bridling our bodily passions and fighting against temptation.

“Give to God what belongs to God” are challenging words leading us to ask ourselves, “Am I giving to God everything God deserves and asks for? Am I forgiving as God asks of me, am I patient as God asks of me, am I self-controlled, generous, gentle, disciplined, attentive to the needs of my family, the poor, my parish.”

God has asked that we love him with all of our heart, mind, soul and strength, and to humbly admit and confess when we fail to do so? How’s that going? The Lord certainly challenged the Pharisees, but he also challenges each of us. His words cut through our illusions and delusions. He desires hearts, not compromised with worldly interests and alliances, but hearts on fire with holiness and love for God and neighbor.

May the Holy Spirit help each of us to “to give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to give to God what belongs to God” that our land and our families might flourish, that our souls might flourish unto eternity, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

October 16 2026 - St. Margaret Mary - Love of the Sacred Heart

 

Throughout the ages, some of the Saints have been gifted by God with visions or visitations from heaven. St. Paul is of course had a vision of Jesus on the road to Damascus. Legend has it the Lord also appeared to St. Peter before his own martyrdom. The book of Acts says that St. Stephen the Deacon had a vision of Jesus right before his martyrdom, and St. John the Evangelist of course, writes of his many visions in the Book of Revelation.

St. Francis famously had a vision of Jesus speaking to him from the cross in the chapel of San Damiano telling him to rebuild his Church. St. Clare, was given visions of the Holy Mass when she was bed-ridden due to infirmity.

In 1677, St. Margaret Mary, a Visitation nun in France, had a vision of the Lord revealing to her, His Sacred Heart. In her diary, she wrote “I could plainly see His heart, pierced and bleeding, yet there were flames, too, coming from it and a crown of thorns around it. He told me to behold His heart which so loved humanity. Then He seemed to take my very heart from me and place it there in His heart. In return He gave me back part of His flaming heart.”

Our Lord charged St. Margaret Mary with making known the powerful devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which today has spread throughout the world.

This parish of the Sacred Heart of Jesus has a special connection to St. Margaret Mary. This parish was formed from a merger of two former parishes, St. Gregory the Great, and the parish of St. Margaret Mary. Many, former St. Margaret Mary parishioners now have membership in Sacred Heart. Each Friday, we pray the Sacred Heart Devotion, calling to mind, the vision, the message, and also the promises made to St. Margaret Mary.

“Behold this Heart which has so loved men that it has spared nothing, even to exhausting and consuming itself, in order to testify its love.”

The Sacred Heart is a symbol of God’s love for us and a model for how we are called to love God in return and to love our neighbor.

Consider the love revealed in his Heart: a love that gives generously, perseveres through rejection, and pours itself out even for those who offer nothing in return. This is how Jesus loves us, and this is how he teaches us to love.

We love God in return by giving him our time and attention, obeying his commandments, and seeking his will even when it requires sacrifice. We are to love our neighbor by allowing Christ’s love to shape our response to the people he places before us—with patience, mercy, and generosity.

For a parish bearing his name, this is our daily calling: to make the love of the Sacred Heart visible through our worship, our service, our evangelization, and our care for one another.

Through St. Margaret Mary’s intercession, may we receive his love gratefully, return it faithfully, and share it generously. Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make our hearts like unto thine for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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In reparation to the Sacred Heart for all sin and all blasphemy, let us pray to the Lord.

For an increase in faith, hope, and love for all Christians.

That our children and young people may be kept safe from the poisonous errors of our culture, and that their families may be places where the faith is practiced and cherished.

For all those whose love for God has grown cold, who have fallen into moral laxity or despair of the mercy of God, for all souls in danger of hell, for their conversion and the conversion of all hearts.

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

For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, for the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, for the deceased priests and religious of the diocese of Cleveland, for all of the deceased parishioners of former St. Margaret Mary parish.

Gracious Father, hear our prayers, and through the infinite mercy of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, grant us what we truly need, through the same Christ our Lord.

 

 

October 15 2026 - St. Teresa of Avila - Praying with determination

 

One of my favorite works of art is located in the corner chapel of the Church of Santa Maria della Vittoria in Rome. I remember walking miles through the rain the first time I visited Rome to see this sculpture of St. Teresa in Ecstasy by the famous Italian artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The sculpture carved of white marble, depicts St. Teresa of Avila, garbed in her Carmelite habit, reclined on a cloud. Over her, a joy-filled angel holds a golden arrow ready to pierce her heart with Divine Love.

 

Bernini drew his inspiration for this sculpture from the amazing life of this saint. For many years, Teresa had difficulty sitting through her prayers, perhaps she thought she had something better to do. But, one day, she began meditating upon an image of the Passion of Jesus—scourged, bound, and crowned with thorns and standing before a hostile crowd, that she resolved to dedicate herself as seriously as she could to the prayer, meditation, and contemplation.

 

With that determination to grow in prayer, her love for the Lord deepened. She would become absorbed in deep contemplation and would become so filled with divine love that, miraculously her body would levitate—hence Bernini depicting Teresa floating on a cloud. At the same time, she would feel deeply overwhelmed by love that it felt like her heart was being pierced—hence the angel holding that golden arrow in the sculpture.

 

St. Teresa didn’t just keep her insights into prayer to herself. She wrote a book called The Interior Castle, which describes the Christian soul’s journey to union with God. The book is a spiritual classic and still very accessible to the modern reader.

 

Her holiness was so deeply evident that she was canonized within forty years of her death. And, in 1970, Pope St. Paul VI bestowed upon her the title “Doctor of the Church” for her insights into the spiritual life, teaching us to take up the Lord’s invitation to the Divine Will through prayer.

 

In seminary, we read a wonderful book by Fr. Thomas Dubay called The Fire Within, which I highly recommend to those wanting to grow in prayer. Fr. Dubay summarizing Teresa’s spirituality writes, “Genuine prayer, does not happen without effort.  Depth of communion with the indwelling Trinity occurs only in a person intent on living the Gospel totally, one who is humble and patient, temperate and obedient, pure and kind, free of selfish clinging.  It is not accidental that our very best explanations of contemplative prayer have their origin in men and women of marvelous sanctity.”

 

May St. Teresa, this great Doctor of the Church continue to teach us how to pray, and the determination we need for the growth in prayer that God desires for us, that we may more deeply be drawn into the love God has for each of us, contemplate his indwelling presence in our souls, and be united to God in all of our activities and relationships for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

- - - - - 

 

For Pope Leo, especially for his recovery from surgery, and in his cancer diagnosis.

 

On this feast of St. Teresa, we pray for the Carmelites and all religious orders and communities, that they may remain faithful to their charisms and be beacons of God's love in the world. Let us pray to the Lord.

 

For all who feel spiritually dry or distant from God, that they may persevere in prayer and experience the transforming power of divine love. Let us pray to the Lord.

 

For all of us gathered here, that we may learn to detach ourselves from worldly concerns and trust more fully in God's providence. Let us pray to the Lord.

 

For those burdened by anxiety and fear, and for all those suffering from mental illness, addiction, or any type of illness: that the grace of Christ may console and strengthen them. Let us pray to the Lord.

 

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased clergy 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.

 

October 14, 2026 - Pope St. Callistus I - God lifts up the lowly

 

Often times, the Collect Prayers for the saints reflect something of their lives.  Today’s collect contained a prayer asking God to rescue us from the “slavery of corruption.”

The saint we honor today, Pope Callistus I was originally born a slave in Rome, in the late 2^nd century.  Seeing natural intelligence in him, his Master appointed him to oversee a bank, but after a while the bank failed; Callistus fearing for his life, fled Rome.  He was caught and sentenced to hard labor as punishment in the mines of Sardinia. But, as providence would have it, Callistus wasn’t in Sardinia long, thanks to the Pope, who bargained with the emperor to free many of the prisoners.

After his release, Callistus studied theology and became a deacon.  10 years later, Pope Zephyrinus , who had very little theological training, summoned Callistus, to serve as his theological advisor.   Callistus soon became a powerful force in the Church, and was elected Pope in 217. In 223, an anti-Christian riot swept through Rome, and Pope Callistus was martyred.

During his pontificate Callistus dealt with a controversial topic: the early Church had very strict rules about readmitting back to Holy Communion public sinners and those who were guilty of adultery, fornication, murder and schism—those who renounced Christ during times of persecution.

Pope Callistus ruled that excommunicants could be received back into communion of the Church after they had performed public penance.

Callistus, the one who was shown mercy, freedom from slavery and imprisonment, directed the Church to be lavish in her mercy to the penitent.

And you’d think this would edify the whole church, but sadly, the Callistus’ merciful ruling enraged his opponents, and even caused a group of Christians to splinter off and elect their own-anti Pope, Hippolytus who was eventually reconciled to the Church and named a saint himself.

From slave to merciful Pope and glorious martyr. I don’t know about you, but I find stories like that of Pope Callistus deeply inspiring. If God can transform the life of an uneducated slave in such a way, what could he do with us, if we but surrendered more deeply to His grace, if we do all that we could to cooperate with that grace in serving His kingdom.

I think God really likes to do such things, after all, the Blessed Mother sang, “He casts down the mighty from their thrones and raises up the lowly.” And St. Paul says, “He chooses the weak and makes them strong in bearing witness to Christ.”

God transforms the lives of ordinary people to do extraordinary things, when we surrender to Him, so let us surrender wholeheartedly, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

- - - - 

 

That each member of the Church may manifest the mercy of Christ in their lives, and for the health of the Holy Father, Pope Leo recovering from surgery and diagnosed with lung cancer.

For wisdom and mercy to guide the life of the Church, the decisions of government leaders, and the ordering of our personal lives.

For our young people, that they may be raised in homes where the Word of God is studied, cherished, and practiced.

During this month of October, dedicated to the Most Holy Rosary, may Catholics take up this devotion with renewed vigor and trust in Our Lady’s never-failing intercession.

For all victims of war, and for those experiencing any kind of hardship or sorrow, isolation, addiction, or disease: that they may know God’s sustaining grace.

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish; for all of the poor souls in purgatory and for N.

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.

 

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2026 - Blessed Fulton Sheen's Daily Holy Hour

 

“Everything is ready; come to the feast.”

This invitation from today’s Gospel expresses what we celebrate every time we come to Mass [but also what we celebrate particularly this weekend during our weekend of Eucharistic devotions.] God has prepared a banquet for his people, the wedding feast of the Lamb, in which we are fed with the greatest of all foods—Christ Himself.

I was at a parish closing of Forty Hours recently, and the homilist told a wonderful story about newly beatified Blessed Fulton Sheen. I had read the story before, maybe you have too, but I’d like to share it with you today, as it is a good reminder of what we celebrate in the great gift of the Eucharist

In his autobiography Treasure in Clay, Archbishop Sheen about a resolutions he made on the day of his priestly ordination.

He writes, “I resolved to spend a continuous Holy Hour every day in the presence of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.” It was a resolution that Blessed Fulton Sheet kept throughout his priesthood, and he testified that it was a major source of grace and spiritual power in his ministry. He was once asked what inspired him to make the resolution to make that daily holy hour, and so he shared the story of an eleven-year-old Chinese girl.

He said: When the Communists took over China, they imprisoned a priest in his rectory nearby the church. One day, he watched the Communists enter the Church, and break into the tabernacle, and they took out the ciborium containing the precious Body of Christ, and threw the ciborium on to the floor. He saw the consecrated hosts spill out on to the floor, and he knew the exact number of hosts, now scattered on the floor: there were thirty-two of them.

While this desecration was taking place, a little girl was praying in the back of the church, a young Chinese girl of 11 years. She also watched this desecration take place in silence and sorrow. Later that night, the girl returned to church, sneaking past the guard.

She knelt down before the spilled hosts and made a holy hour: an act of love to make up for the act of hatred. After her hour of prayer she bent over one of the hosts, and with her tongue received Jesus in Holy Communion, for at the time it was not permissible for the laity to touch the Sacred Host with their hands as they are now.

Every night, the little girl snuck into church and made a holy hour and received Jesus in Holy Communion on her tongue. On the thirty-second night, after she had consumed the last and thirty-second host, she accidentally made a noise which alerted the Communist guard. The guard chased her down and beat her to death with the butt of his rifle. The priest helplessly watched this incident from his confinement.

That little girl, whose name is unknown, died a martyr for the faith. This was the story which inspired Blessed Fulton Sheen to make that promise of a daily Hour Hour.

Again this story inspired Blessed Fulton Sheet to make that promise of the daily Holy Hour. If she could risk her life, out of love for Jesus, he could at least spend an hour.

Why did she do so? For one, because she recognize those sacred hosts to be Jesus Himself. This is what happens at mass—bread and wine are truly transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ. She recognized this gift that Jesus has made to the Church. She recognized her God spilled on the floor by those filled with hate. And so she sought to replace hatred with love, disbelief with faith.

That is the faith we renew [this weekend] every time we come to Mass, every time we kneel in adoration before the Blessed Sacrament. Beneath the appearances of bread and wine, Christ is truly present. The same Jesus who healed the sick, offered himself on Calvary, and rose from the dead gives himself to us as food. God invites us in the same words of the Gospel, “Everything is ready; come to the feast.”

In our first reading, Isaiah foretells God’s promise of a feast in which all the people of the earth would be gathered. This is the feast. And at that banquet, God would wipe away every tear from our eyes and destroy death forever.

At the Eucharist, we are comforted in all of our sorrows, that we are not abandoned by God. Jesus is with us in this vale of tears. And he feeds us with what St. Ignatius of Antioch called “the remedy for our mortality”, the antidote to death. For as Jesus taught, “he who eats my flesh shall live forever. Him I will raise up on the last day.”

Our love for Jesus in this sacrament brings a sort of fearlessness, toward death and every thing else. Our psalm expresses this confidence and fearlessness: “Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side.” The Eucharist is Jesus at the side of his Church. Or rather, the Eucharist is the Church at the side of Jesus—from which blood and water flowed.

That eleven year old Chinese girl understood this. Why would she risk death, sneaking into the Church, night after night for thirty-two nights? Because she knew, like so many of the martyrs, knew, that death is not the end, for those who have faith in Christ. Her love was greater than the threats surrounding her. She belonged to Jesus.

The Eucharist cultivates that same holy fearlessness in us. We still might experience anxiety, suffering, grief, and temptation, but because of the Eucharist, these things do not control our lives. The Eucharist frees us from fear. For Christ feeds us with the life that death cannot destroy.

The Eucharist especially frees us from fear for the mission of the Church. We are called, not just to sneak past Communists, so that we may worship in secret, but to convert them, and work for all who deny Christ and hate his Church. We are to love our enemy enough that we find ways to share the Gospel with them. The Eucharist expands our hearts to embrace, even our enemy. Again, as the Psalmist says, “a table has been set before us in the sight of our foes.”

In the Gospel, there were several different types of responses to the invitation to the wedding feast. There were those who outright refused to come—for reasons unknown and unspoken—they simply refused. You and I, probably know people who fall into that category. There were those who made excuses—we’re too busy—we have our farms and businesses. You and I probably know some of them as well.

The third response was this person who showed up without the wedding garment, who was consequently ejected from the banquet. The wedding garment is symbolic of the Christian life open to being more deeply converted to Christ. This is the person who shows up to mass without the desire or intention of being more deeply converted, falling more deeply in love with Christ, being truly strengthened and inspired for the mission.

The Gospel challenges us to ensure that we always come to mass with the openness to transformation and conversion that God wants for us. To become like that little Chinese girl—with a love for Him in the Eucharist so deep that it animates our life—a love that casts out fear—so that we may live more fully for him.

Perhaps the Lord inviting you to make a holy hour each week in our eucharistic chapel, or to come to weekday mass. Perhaps, he is urging you to become a Eucharistic minister, so that you can bring Him to the sick and homebound, who would be here if they could. No doubt the Lord wants to feed them, and be with them in their dark valley, but he needs our parishioners to take up this ministry. No doubt the Lord is inviting each of us to consider how and we can be more fearless in our loving service of the mission of the Church.

May this Holy Mass [and our Eucharistic devotions] bring renewal to each of us and to our parish, and an increase in faith, hope, and love, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

 

October 6 2026 - St. Bruno - Christian Maturity and the Cross

 

Nearly 950 years ago, St. Bruno, whom we honor today, founded the Carthusians. The Carthusian way of life combines the prayerful solitude of the hermetical life with the mutual support of communal monasticism. Carthusians withdraw from the world in order to seek the face of Christ in intense prayer, fasting, and cultivation of virtue.

The Carthusians have the distinction of have a rule of life that has gone virtually unchanged for those 950 years. While the cultures of the world have changed, their strict way of life has not. And this is very much in keeping with the motto set by St. Bruno: Stat crux dum volvitur orbis.  “While the world changes, the cross stands firm.” The ways of the world, its values, ideals and priorities, are constantly in flux, but the cross remains the way to salvation and the road to perfection.

That road is meant for every one of us. Jesus calls every disciple to take up his cross and follow him. Through the cross, we learn to surrender whatever keeps us from loving God with our whole heart.

St. Paul expresses that surrender in our first reading: “I consider everything as loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” Paul had discovered that knowing Christ was worth more than everything he once prized. He desired to share Christ’s sufferings and become conformed to his death, trusting that this road leads to resurrection.

We entered that same mystery at baptism. The Christian life unfolds as we allow Christ to put our sins to death and bring his love to maturity within us.

For St. Bruno, this meant leaving behind worldly honors and comforts for a life of intense prayer and penance. For us, it means what? Examining what we cling to and asking whether those attachments draw us toward God or away from him. Learning to trust God that we are called, like Christ, to give of ourselves—there is no greater love than he who lays down his life for another.

The cross is the road of perfection. Now, St. Paul admits at the time of writing to the Philippians that he had not attained perfect Christian maturity, he was still a work in progress, but he says, “I continue my pursuit in hope that I may possess it”. Again, St. Bruno sought Christian maturity in the walls of the monastery.

All of us struggle with sin and vice, but we must not give up hope of possessing Christian maturity. But Christian maturity involves intentionality and discipline. Overcoming vice, practicing self-sacrifice are not easy. But the cross is the road to life. Each of us are called to seek union with Christ as best as we can in whatever our vocation or circumstances, following where God leads us.

Through St. Bruno’s intercession, may we follow the crucified Lord with undivided hearts, trusting that everything surrendered for his sake opens us more fully to his life, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

- - - - 

That the contemplative religious orders of the Church may inspire all Christians to seek God in moments of prayer, silence, and solitude.

That world leaders may look upon the Son of God, believe in him, and seek the peace and justice that only he can bring.

That our young people may take seriously the call of Christ to turn away from the evils of our culture to spread the good news of Christ’s eternal kingdom.

That those whose lives are marked by suffering may come to know the healing and peace of Christ.

For the bishop and priests gathering for the Priest Convocation this week: that their time together in prayer, work, and fraternity may bear good fruit for the mission of the Church in our Diocese.

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased clergy 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.

 

27th Sunday of Ordinary Time - The Einstein of Wines

 

About 10 years ago, I had a funeral for a long-time parishioner of St. Clare. His name was Lenny Giuliani, and when I met with the family to plan the funeral, I learned that Lenny had been a winemaker. Making wine wasn’t his profession, but a hobby that he took very seriously; his family called him the “Einstein of Wines” because he was extremely scientific in perfecting his wines. His daughters brought me a few bottles of Lenny’s wine and suggested that I try them, and let them know my honest opinion, because their father loved constructive criticism.

So, a few days after the funeral, I opened his bottle of red, a blend of several different grapes noted on the label, with the precise percentage of each noted. And I’m no connoisseur, but I could tell that I was drinking something special, the culmination of a life’s work, a work of art.

Good food and good wine can certainly rise to the level of art. And Lenny’s wine was certainly artfully made. He developed these wines, painstakingly, and shared the fruits of his labors with family and friends. And for that, the world was blessed. In this digital age, when we are tempted to spend our waking hours, and our so-called “free time” in front of screens, we probably need to be a bit more like Lenny. To produce something with our hands, with our minds, that can be given away to bring some joy in this increasingly joyless world.

Idle hands are the devil’s workshop as proverbs says. And so a hobby, a craft, done artfully and carefully can be a excellent means of avoiding the near occasion of sin of laziness, and can bring something good into the world. 

I thought of Lenny’s wine this weekend, for one because we hear of vineyards and grapes in our scripture readings, also because it’s the anniversary of Lenny’s funeral this week. But also because our Scripture readings really do urge us to consider how we use our time, how we spend our life—how we use the time we’ve been given…to be a blessing to others…or not.

In today’s First Reading Isaiah describes God’s displeasure with Israel. The Lord had prepared Israel to be a fine vineyard—a vineyard of holy souls that should have yielded the highest quality grapes.  God had given Israel the Law, the Torah, he had delivered the Israelites out of the slavery of Egypt, and placed them in the promised Land, he had sent them prophets to help them be his holy people. And yet, what did they do with those blessings? what did they do to the prophets?

Rather than yielding the lush, juicy grapes of faithfulness, justice and peace, Israel had produced wild sour grapes of infidelity, false worship, ignorance of the scriptures, and injustice toward the poor.

Shame on Israel, right? Well, the pattern of Israel’s sin, is of course, ours as well. God has given us all we need to be saints. The Scriptures, the Holy Tradition of the Apostles, the Sacraments, the constant guidance of the Holy Spirit.

And of course, many of us have seen tremendously good fruit in our lives and among our fellow Catholics: the joy that comes from serving and caring for others, the peace that comes from mending broken relationships, the development of virtues. And yet, the rotten fruit of infidelity can still be detected: selfishness, hatred, souls given over to lust, greed, wrath, pride, envy, gluttony, and sloth. Chronic crankiness and bitterness, stinginess, are usually signs that we’ve let self-absorption take the place of Christian self-donation.

The Word of God challenges us to ensure that we are doing what we can to weed out the bad and nurture the good—to tend the field of our soul—to uproot the rotten vines lest they takeover the vineyards of our lives. For the Lord has chosen us “to go and bear fruit that will remain.”

The Gospel Parable of the Tenants today also challenges us to consider what lessons from God that we have rejected. In the parable, we read of the wicked tenants who rejected the vineyard owner’s servant and then rejected and killed the vineyard owner’s son.

The Lord Jesus issued this parable to the chief priests and elders of Israel. Jesus was helping them understand that they were like those wicked tenants—not only had they rejected the message of the prophets, they were also rejecting the vineyard owner’s son—the Son of God—in the rejection of his teachings.

Shame on the chief priests and elders, right? Well, again: how about us? We see baptized Catholics forsaking the faith, and acting like they might catch on fire if they stepped into Church. Amongst the Protestants, heresy has spread like wild-fire—they’ve lost the eucharist, the priesthood, confession, sacramental anointing and some of them don’t even practice baptism anymore, not to mention the moral teachings they have rejected. And many Catholics aren’t much better, picking and choosing which teachings they’ll adhere to like choices in a buffet line.

Rather, this Gospel calls us to ensure that we reject nothing of what comes from God, particularly the teachings of the Son of God. To repent of sin and bear fruit that will last. And as we accept and apply the teachings of Christ, we experience more deeply his peace. As St. Paul says, “the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

The world doesn’t understand how practicing self-control, and self-constraint in the face of temptation brings peace, but it does. How practicing obedience to Church teaching and self-sacrifice, giving of our time talent and treasure can bring us peace, but it does. We have the saints, and every Christian who takes this stuff seriously to prove it. Peace and joy.

This week, we began again the month of October. October is traditionally dedicated to the Holy Rosary, as the Feast of the Holy Rosary, is celebrated on October 7. I encourage you to take up the rosary this month, especially if you are not in the habit of doing so, to pray the rosary for the good of our parish, the needs of the world, especially those who reject Christ and do not know his peace.

Ask for Our Lady’s help in putting the teachings of Christ into practice in your life, in discovering new ways the Lord is calling you to serve his kingdom, perhaps simply like Lenny, to perfect some art that can bring joy to others, or some ministry that needs to be strengthened in our parish, or to help you be more attentive to those whom God has given you gifts to serve, to assist and help. Or maybe, you need Our Lady’s help to lift you out of a place of discouragement or habitual sin. The rosary is a powerful way of seeking God’s help to overcome these things.

Avail yourself to the help of heaven in overcoming sin and pursuing the sanctity for which you were made, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.