Homily: October 31 - All Hallow's Eve

Romans 8:31-39 View Readings

Psalm 109:21-22, 26-27, 30-31

We have reached once again the end of another month of the calendar year—October, the month dedicated to the rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  Tomorrow, we shall celebrate, with great solemnity All Saints Day.  The saints are the holy ones, the ones made holy by God, the hallowed ones.  Therefore today, is “All Hallow’s Eve” from which we derive the word “Halloween”. 

I don’t think the ghoulish masks and the focus on the macabre needs to necessarily be a turn-off for Catholics.  Every great Catholic cathedral had stone gargoyles atop its buttresses.  Illuminated manuscripts, like the Book of Kells created by such saints as Saint Columbkille were also full of little ghouls drawn into the margins. 

We began dressing up like skeletons and witches and vampires, not because we want to emulate these powers of evil, but to show that we are not afraid of them.  Because the grace of God dwells in the faithful Catholic, the light of faith shines for us, even in the scariest of basements, we know that Christ has conquered the death and the devil.

We rejoice as we say, along with Saint Paul in the reading from Romans today, “If God is for us who can be against us…neither death, nor angels, nor powers, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Yes, the enemy continues to tempt us and seek the ruin of souls; he distracts us in prayer, he urges us to focus on the faults of others, he incite us to laziness, and lust, and greed, and to entitlement, sometimes he comes as an angel of light tempting us with pursuits which appear good and holy in the beginning, but which provoke our pride. 

The enemy tries to convince us that we are unloved and unlovable, but Paul insists today that our sins are never too great for God to forgive, that God has spared nothing in proving his love for us, in sending His Son to shed his blood for us to cleanse us from everything that keeps us from loving and serving God.

And that amidst every hardship, distress, persecution, famine, peril, Christ’s love is greater and stronger.  

Nothing can separate us from his love.  Indeed, it is often in times of hardship and peril, that we come to experience God’s love most deeply for in those times we see our need for him most clearly.

May we use our human freedom to serve the God who loves us today to becomes the saints he made us to be for His glory and the salvation of souls.

Homily: 30th Week in Ordinary Time - Tuesday - Groaning in labor pains

Romans 8:18-25 View Readings	Psalm 126:1-6	Luke 13:18-21 Similar Reflections

At about the halfway point of Saint Paul’s Letter to the Romans we have one of the most beautiful and descriptive passages from this epistle this morning.

In today’s reading, Paul explains that all of creation is “groaning with labor pains” for the return of Christ.  For Paul, the pain and sufferings that we endure in this life are real—the long days of toil, the illnesses, tragedies of seeing loved ones die, the suffering of the cross we must all endure is very real, yet Paul says here, all these sufferings cannot compare to the coming glory for those who have faith in Jesus Christ.

He saw all these sufferings like those of a woman in childbirth.  She experiences pain—but with the expectancy of life.  Her pain is couched in hope, and she has confidence that her great suffering will at last bring about that for which she has waited for such a long time.

Saint Theresa of Avila, whose feast we celebrated at the beginning of this month, said, ““In light of heaven, the worst suffering on earth will be seen to be no more serious than a night in an uncomfortable hotel room.” 

Suffering does not get the last word for Christians.  That is the good news of Easter, the faith which Paul poured out his life. 

Though we have tasted so much of the freedom that comes through the grace of adoption, we still await in sometimes agonizing yearning for the full freedom of the children of God in heaven.  So we mustn’t lose hope, and just as a pregnant woman must wait patiently for the child, so must we, bearing our sufferings patiently, trusting that God is with us, that he prepares us by our sufferings for full and eternal glory. 

On Friday, we will celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints.  They saints teach us how to life, they teach us how to suffer, they teach us how to love of God. 

Saint Faustina, “suffering is a great grace; through suffering the soul becomes like a Savior; in suffering love becomes crystallized; the greater the suffering, the purer the love.”  That is a hard saying, we might not have the spiritual awareness yet to see our suffering as a great grace, but we ask the Holy Spirit to teach us how to suffer, that our love for Christ might be purified and our joy might be complete for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: October 28 - Saints Simon & Jude, Apostles

It is not entirely clear why we celebrate Simon and Jude together, perhaps because both of them for a time preached the Gospel throughout Persia.  Most biographers tell us that we do not know much about the apostles Simon and Jude.  Only God knows the complete details about their lives.  Yet, we know all we need to know about them, don’t we?  By the simple fact that we celebrate their feast as Saints, we know that they loved God above all things and were faithful to their mission as Apostles.

They were chosen by our Lord as apostles to establish the Church throughout the world.  They both were zealous in preaching the Gospel in a pagan land.

In this Gospels, Simon is called the Zealot.  So it is very likely that Simon was among that political group of Jesus’ time wanting to overthrow the Roman occupying force.  It is striking to think that among the twelve apostles, you had a number of fishermen, a tax collecter (Matthew) who worked for the Romans, and a Zealot (Simon) who wanted to overthrow the Romans.  

Some biographers claim that St. Jude, a cousin of the Lord Jesus, was neither a fisherman, tax-collector, or zealot, but a farmer.  In fact, according to an ancient source, Nicephorus Callistus, this apostle was the bridegroom at the wedding feast of Cana.  This Jude is the apostle who authored the New Testament Letter of Jude, and it truly is a farmers letter.  It is a very short book, only 25 verses.  It is blunt, bold, and powerful, like a good farmer. 

Both of these Apostles were courageous in their preaching of the Gospel.  The legend of their death states that they were in the city of Suanir in the Persian Empire, as they had been preaching there for thirteen years, having won thousands of converts.  Upon entering the city, they were told they must offer a pagan sacrifice in the temple of the sun and the moon.  They explained that the sun and the moon were only creations of the one true God, whom they preached.  They drove demons out of the pagan temple, and two black, hideous evil spirits, began howling and blaspheming.  The Persians assailed the two apostles.  And Jude said to Simon, “I see my Lord Jesus Christ calls us.”  And they were killed by the angry group.

We rejoice today at the courage of these men, and ask them to draw us ever deeper ourselves into the service of the Lord and his Holy Gospel, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: 29th Week in Ordinary Time - Friday - Jesus sets captives free

Romans 7:18-25 View Readings

Psalm 119:66, 68, 76-77, 93-94

Luke 12:54-59

Each of us has struggled with what Paul describes in his letter today: how come when I know what is right and resolve to do what is good, I find myself again and again doing just the opposite?  We know what Paul is talking about when he says, “For I do not do the good I want, but I do the evil I do not want.”

Each of the Saints all suffered with this same tendency—this war between the flesh and the spirit.  It’s as if two natures are fighting within each of us, isn’t it?—the true and the false, the good and the evil, the deadly and the vivifying. 

Even though we are redeemed by Christ—washed clean in the saving waters of Baptism—we still wrestle and struggle with a part of our fallen nature that still wants to turn away from God.  Tradition calls that tendency concupiscence.  It’s one of the consequences of sin that we will never be free of on this side of eternity.  Concupiscence, is the tendency that each one of us still has to reject grace, to backslide into sinful choices, sinful attitudes, sinful behaviors—that tendency to withdraw from communion. 

But as Christians, we just don’t throw up our hands and surrender to concupiscence—because God gives us grace to fight and to remain faithful.  Even though it feels like we are prisoners to our emotions, to our week wills, and to the cravings of our bodies, Jesus shows us that we can find freedom by clinging to God.  Jesus came to set captives free.

The Catechism teaches: "The way of perfection passes by way of the cross. There is no holiness without renunciation and spiritual battle.  Spiritual progress entails the self-denial and mortification that gradually lead to living in the peace and joy of the Beatitudes."

The spiritual disciplines of Lent, prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, can be practiced all year round to build up our spiritual muscles against concupiscence.  Holding back a cutting remark, resisting the urge to share that juicy piece of gossip, lead to greater custody of the tongue, and helps us to use our words in ways that consistently glorify God. Persevering in prayer despite a time of dryness can prepare us for greater spiritual challenges in the future.

Today, amidst the great civil war which battles within each of us, may we know the freedom and strength which comes from Christ, that we may be faithful to the promises of our Christian Baptism, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: 29th Week in Ordinary Time - Thursday - Setting Hearts on Fire

Romans 6:19-23 View Readings

Psalm 1:1-4, 6

Luke 12:49-53

Very often the words of Jesus Christ calm us, comfort us, help us to know the loving nearness of God.  Yet, today’s Gospel shakes us up a little.  We hear Our Lord speak with great passion that he has come to set the world on fire, and how he wishes it were already burning!  There is an urgency here.  Jesus is on a mission to enflame hearts with fiery love for God.

Our Parish Retreat has concluded, hopefully it has helped to reignite and renew the flame of faith in our parish. 

On the road to Emmaus, the disciples who encountered the risen Lord, proclaimed “Were not our hearts burning inside us as He talked to us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?"

It was not mere words about Jesus that caught their hearts on fire, but it was the encounter with the risen Lord himself.  They encountered Him.  I think the effectiveness of our parish retreat can be measured to the extent that it helps people encounter Christ, and that it helps us decrease and Christ increase.  Its purpose was not to entertain, but to help us encounter Christ once again, and to learn to encounter him in our daily difficulties—in the carrying of our crosses. 

We are to be the torch God uses to set other hearts on fire.  And that’s why there is an urgency in the Gospel today, because he wants our lives on fire, not mediocre and lukewarm, but on fire, that we can spread that fire throughout the world.

We pray today that those whom we encounter on the road will encounter the fire of Christ alive in our hearts.  That they can meet Christ in us today as we seek to share and heal and preach and serve, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

  

October 22 - Blessed John Paul II - Apostle of Mercy

It was only back in April of 2011 that this optional memorial of Blessed John Paul II was added to the Liturgical Calendar.  And today is the last time we will ever celebrate it because Pope Francis has set the date for the canonization of Saint John Paul II to be the 2^nd Sunday of Easter 2014, Divine Mercy Sunday.

Divine Mercy Sunday is but one of the many gifts left to us by Pope John Paul II.  The message of God’s mercy to the fallen, to the heartbroken, to the sinner, is of course not a new concept.  We are loved even when we are unlovable because of our sins—now matter how sinful, we are called to be forgiven by God. 

Divine Mercy Sunday was instituted only back in the year 2000 by Pope John Paul II, inspired greatly by the life and Diary of Saint Faustina Kowalska, the little polish nun who wrote so tenderly of God’s mercy, who received that vision of Our Lord who appeared to her at told her to make known the devotion to his mercy, and to pray for the conversion of sinners by praying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy.

Last year, on this date, I was honored to celebrate Mass for the workers of Bethesda House of Mercy, an organization here in the Diocese of Cleveland, who minister to those wounded after having an abortion.  That wonderful organization witnesses to the dignity of human life and also to the power of Christ’s mercy by caring for those who suffer.

Blessed Pope John Paul’s pontificate was rich in announcing God’s mercy—announcing that God’s mercy can be known, experienced, and received through the Church.  In one of his most important encyclical letters, Evangelium Vitae, The Gospel of Life, he wrote:

"I would like to say a special word to women who have had an abortion. The Church is aware of the many factors which may have influenced your decision, and she does not doubt that in many cases it was a painful and even shattering decision. The wound in your heart may not yet have healed. Certainly what happened was and remains terribly wrong. But do not give in to discouragement and do not lose hope. Try rather to understand what happened and face it honestly." 

"If you have not already done so, give yourselves over with humility and trust to repentance. The Father of mercies is ready to give you his forgiveness and his peace in the Sacrament of Reconciliation”

Powerful words for all of us.  That God never abandons us, but that God embraces all those who come to the fount of his mercy.

We thank God for the wonderful Pope, who was and continues to be an apostle of mercy for us, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: October 19 - St. Isaac Jogues and companion martyrs

 

Today is the Feast Day of Saint Isaac Jogues, St. John de Brebeuf and 6 french Jesuit companions, the first martyrs of North America to be canonized by the Church.  In1636 the Jesuit Priest Isaac Jogues traveled to Quebec to preach the Gospel to the Huron Indians.  The Hurons were a pretty peaceful group, and many Hurons were converted to Christianity through the preaching and charity of Isaac, John, and their companions.  However, the Hurons were constantly attacked by the Iroquois.  During one attack, Father Isaac was captured by the Iroquois and imprisoned for 13 months.  He and his companions were led from village to village, beaten, tortured, and forced to watch as the Huron converts were mangled and killed by the Iroquois.

Fr. Isaac was able to escape from imprisonment and he returned to France.  He had to receive special permission from the Pope to continue to celebrate Mass because several of his fingers had been cut, chewed, or burnt off.  Many people, including the Pope, were inspired by Fr. Isaac, because they saw his willingness to suffer and die for the faith. 

Fr. Isaac could have stayed in Europe, live safely, and die peacefully.  But, in 1646, the Iroquois signed a peace treaty with the Hurons, and Fr. Isaac thought it a good opportunity to begin preaching to the Iroquois.  However, on his way to evangelize the Iroquois he was captured by a war party of Mohawk Indians, and on October 18, 1646, Father Isaac was tomahawked and beheaded.  His companion was killed the next day.

Many Iroquois saw his courageous faith as proof of the authenticity and power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Many Iroquois converted to Christianity and welcomed missionaries with open arms.  Moreover, the faith began to grow amongst the Mohawks as well.  We say the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church, and from the Mohawks came another figure of holiness—Saint Kateri Tekakwitha—known as the Lily of the Mohawks for her purity and devotion to the will of God.

St. Isaac wrote a letter before his death.  He wrote: “Our single endeavor should be to give ourselves to the work of the spread of the Gospel and faithfulness to God, and to not let our own desires get in the way of doing God’s work.”

For the Saints, the work of spreading the Gospel is not to sit idly by, cross their fingers and hope for the best.  They actively pursue the salvation of souls—they actively strive to bring others to Christ, so that they may know Jesus in this life and in the life to come. 

May the courage of our own North American Martyrs fill us with fervor in continuing to work for the spread of the Gospel in our land and around the world for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: October 18 - St. Luke, evangelist - "Our beloved Physician"

St. Luke’s Gospel was written between 70 and 85 A.D.  Tradition holds him to be a native of Antioch, where the Saint we honored yesterday, Ignatius of Antioch, was Bishop. 

Luke was not one of the twelve apostles or one of Jesus’ disciples; for Luke was a Gentile convert.  So, he is probably the only non-Jewish writer of the entire Bible.  Each of the Gospel writers has a particular insight into the personality of Jesus, and Luke presents Jesus as the Great Physician, healer of bodies and souls.  This emphasis was natural to him because Luke himself was a doctor, and is the patron saint of medical doctors.  In his letter to the Colossians St. Paul even refers to Luke as “Our Beloved Physician”. 

Our parish celebrates annually a Mass for the Anointing of the Sick near the feast of St. Luke.  And today, with the school children we will celebrate a White Mass, for doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals. 

Luke relates over a dozen healing miracles of Jesus: he heals the blind, the hemorrhaging woman, the centurion’s servant, he casts out demons, we heard last Sunday Luke’s account of Jesus cleansing 10 lepers.  Luke stresses Jesus’ compassion and patience with sinners and the suffering, and that Jesus died for Jews and Gentiles alike. 

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that it is Luke, the doctor, who stresses that salvation is offered to all.  The word salvation comes from the word salve—a healing ointment, which St. Luke, a doctor would have been familiar.  Through Luke’s writings, you can even imagine this healing balm being poured out from heaven beginning with the saving Passion, Death, and Resurrection in Jerusalem and spreading to the ends of the earth in the Acts of the Apostles, which he also wrote.  In the Acts of the Apostles we see the Church continuing God’s saving mission bringing the most important healing—the forgiveness of sins—and bringing wholeness to divided humanity.

We honor St. Luke, our beloved Physicians, and ask him to pray for us and to obtain from God for us healing for our wounded spirits, healing for our physical burdens, healing of our spiritual blindnesses and leprosies, that we may know the full power of the healing and grace that flows from Christ and his Cross for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: October 17 - St. Ignatius of Antioch - "Doctor of Unity"

In the year 70, just 35 years or so after the death and Resurrection of our Savior, Ignatius was made the third bishop of Antioch which today is located in Turkey.  Antioch, as we know from the Acts of the Apostles, was a flourishing Christian community.  Its first Bishop was the Apostle Peter, before he was Bishop of Rome, and it was there that the disciples were “for the first time called Christians”. 

After serving in Antioch for over 35 years, Ignatius was arrested during the persecution of Trajan and sentenced to death in Rome.

The Church historian Eusebius of Caesarea wrote that “Ignatius was sent from Syria to Rome and became food for wild beasts on account of his testimony to Christ.  And as he made the journey through Asia under the strictest military surveillance, he fortified the parishes in the various cities where he delivered homilies and exhortations and warned them above all to be especially on guard against the heresies that were then beginning to prevail and exhorted them to hold fast to the tradition of the Apostles.” 

I love reading the letters of Ignatius.  His letters used to be read during the Mass alongside of the Scriptures.  No Church Father has expressed the longing for union with Christ and for life in him with the intensity of Ignatius.  In his letters he implored the Christians not to try and free him from captivity and prevent his martyrdom because he so desired to imitate the Lord.  Ignatius wrote to the Romans: “It is better for me to die on behalf of Jesus Christ than to reign over all the ends of the earth…Him I seek, who died for us: him I desire, who rose again for our sake…Permit me to be an imitator of the Passion of my God!”

Pope Benedict called Ignatius a “Doctor of Unity” for Ignatius also urged the Churches to find unity under the direction of the Bishop.  He extolled the priests in Ephesus for being fitted to their Bishop as the strings are to the harp.  He urged priests and Deacons and all people to Labor together with their Bishop; strive in company together; run together; suffer together; wake together as the stewards and associates and servants of God.

As Doctor of Unity Ignatius teaches us to seek union with God through union with Christ through Union with his Holy Church.  May Saint Ignatius’ prayers and example help us to attain such unity and to purified by our love for God and charity towards all for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: October 15 - St. Teresa of Jesus - "All things are passing away"

Today the Church honors a great Carmelite mystic, Theresa of Avila, who started a reform of the Carmelite sisters and friars in the 16^th century.

When she was 20, she entered the convent, and what she found there saddened her; for the convent was not too different from her life in the world.  She felt called to recover the true contemplative spirit of the Carmelites, and so she initiated a reform of both the female, and with the help of St. John of the Cross, the male Carmelites.  Because she lived in strict poverty in contrast to their more worldly peers, they were known as discalced, or shoeless Carmelites. 

Both Theresa of the Little Flower and Blessed Mother Theresa of Calcutta are named after this holy woman. 

Theresa of Avila left us many wonderful spiritual writings, which led Pope Paul VI to declare her a doctor of the Church in 1970.  Her book, The Interior Castle describes the soul’s growth in holiness as it grows in contemplative prayer, but I’d like to share with you a passage that Teresa wrote on a bookmark that she used.

Let nothing disturb you,
Let nothing frighten you,
All things are passing away:
God never changes.
Patience obtains all things
Whoever has God lacks nothing;
God alone suffices.

So simple, yet, like many simple things, so profound. 

It is a reminder that everything in this life including our own physical life will change, that ultimately, we will surrender everything, our possessions, our health, will all slip away.  So nothing need disturb us as long as we are clinging to God.

We waste so much time worrying about things we cannot change.  Our peace of mind comes from realizing that God alone matters.  Therefore, time devoted to prayer in which we seek the face of God is not wasted.  Time worrying, and fretting however is.  In prayer, we surrender our life, and learn to love God as the path of life unfolds. 

St. Teresa teaches us that the true reformer first reforms themselves, and to seek God ardently by detaching ourselves from luxury and material possession, through simplicity, penance, and prayer. 

May St. Teresa help us to love and imitate Christ in all things, and to strive for Christian perfection for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: 28th Week in Ordinary Time - Monday - Romans: "The most profound book in existence"

Romans 1:1-7 View Readings

Psalm 98:1-4

Luke 11:29-3

Until almost the middle of November, we will be reading from St. Paul’s letter to the Romans for our First Reading at weekday Mass.  Samual Taylor Coleridge called Romans “the most profound book in existence.”  It has also been called “the cathedral of the Christian faith.”  It is placed first among the epistles not only because it is the longest, but also because of its tremendous import. It was not however the first of Paul’s epistles to be written. 

Paul writes to the Christians in Rome, the center of the entire world, the greatest city in the world in power and population, but a city that had fallen to decadence, slavery, political corruption, and extremes of wealth and poverty. 

Essentially, the main point of the letter to the Romans, and of the entire Bible, and of Christianity, and of life itself, is Christ. 

We heard today who Paul was called by God to be an apostle—one who would carry the message of Christ and proclaim the Good News beyond Jerusalem into the far reaches of the Roman world. 

The Christians in Rome were being told by the Jews that salvation comes through the law of Moses.  Paul writes to confirm that salvation is through Christ.

In a similar way, our culture tells us that we don’t need Christ.  That following Jesus is secondary to pursuing our own goals.  “This generation is an evil generation” Jesus says in the Gospel.    In my favorite passage from the letter to the Romans, Paul writes, “conform yourselves not to this generation, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.” 

We aren’t called to conform ourself to this age, to fit in by acting the way those who do not follow Christ act.  Rather, Paul tells the Romans today, “you are called to belong to Jesus Christ…you are called to be holy”.  Paul refers to himself as a slave of Christ Jesus—his whole life totally devoted to spreading the Gospel—and he tells us to do the same.

We are called by God to be Christian above all else.  This is our identity and the meaning of our lives.  So we must live lives worthy of our calling, by turning away from worldly pursuits and worldly ways of thinking, and be clinging to Christ in prayer, study of scripture, acts of charity, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Gratitude and Faith

2 Kings 5:14-17 2 Timothy 2:8-13 View Readings

Psalm 98:1-4 Luke 17:11-19

In both today’s first reading and the Gospel, God heals the sick.  Through his prophet Elisha, God healed Naaman, the Syrian, a foreigner, and in the Gospel Jesus healed the 10 lepers.  In each case, there is an experience of deep and profound gratitude on behalf of the one healed, at least on the part of the Samaritan leper who returned to thank Jesus. 

Naaman’s story is really one of the fascinating stories of the Old Testament.  Naaman was a successful military leader from Assyria who was afflicted with leprosy—a very serious skin disease.  His leprosy was not only shameful to him, but it also compromised his ability to fulfill his duties.

The Assyrians were the enemies of the Jews.  And on one of his military raids they captured a young Jewish girl who became the servant of Naaman.  This young Jewish girl, taking pity on Naaman because of his leprosy, told Naaman that there was a prophet in Israel who could work miracles cure him of his leprosy. 

So Naaman comes to Israel, with loads of silver, and gold, and fine garments as payment for the healing, and arrives at Elisha’s home.  Elisha doesn’t see him, but sent a servant to tell Naaman that to be healed he had to go to the Jordan river and wash himself seven times.  Now if you’ve ever been to Israel, you know that the Jordan River isn’t that impressive, it’s more of a little stream at places.  So, Naaman, the great general, who came all this way, who brought all these fine gifts, was a little put off. 

He took one look at the Jordan and said basically, “I’m not going to wash myself in that muddy creek, we have much better rivers back in Assyria!”  But his servants talk him into following Elisha’s orders, and that’s where today’s reading begins.

Naaman followed Elisha’s orders, washed seven times, and emerged clean and free from his leprosy.  His flesh became like the flesh of a little child, smooth and clean. 

A great story! Notice how God works through the little people in this story: the servants.  The little Jewish slave girl who most people who typically ignore, also not the famous prophet Elisha, but his unknown servant, even the great general was ready to go home, when it was his servants who talked him into it. 

I think this teaches us that we shouldn’t discount the simple wisdom of people that God puts in our lives.  And also, to become like the little people, to not discount the value of our own witness, of simply inviting people to come to Church, encouraging a family member to go to confession.  A letter from grandma reminding the grandchildren to go to Mass and the importance of following our Catholic faith.  So important.  God works through those little moments, as we heard in the first reading.

Having experienced this miracle of healing, the general returned to Elisha wanting to reward him with silver and gold, but Elisha refused the gifts because the prophet wanted Namaan to know that he, Elisha didn’t cause the miracle, rather, it was God.  In response to that, Namaan asked for two loads of dirt from Israel, to take back home to Assyria, where he could worship the God of Israel.  Back then there was the idea that the God of a particular nation was tied to the land. 

But the important thing was that he had come to faith in the one, true, God.  His gratitude led him to faith.  And that’s another important lesson for us: there is an important connection between thankfulness and faith.  One recent spiritual writer put it, gratitude is at the heart of faith.

The word Eucharist comes from the Greek word, Eucharistia which means, thankfulness.  When we come to Mass, we come to give God thanks, first and foremost for the immeasurable gift of our salvation.  We thank God for the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, whose blood opened up the gates of heaven for us, without which there would be no hope for any of us to go to heaven.  We thank God and praise God for our salvation.

Secondly, we come to Mass thankful for all of the blessings of our life.  It is good when we come to mass to be very conscious of the good things god has blessed us with this week.  For the gift of life, for the health that we do have, for the time we’ve been given to serve him in this life.  For the good food we’ve eaten, for our homes and families.  It is a very to acknowledge that it is God from whom all blessings flow. 

There was a recent study that showed gratefulness to be linked with joy.  This scientific study asked people how happy they were in life.  They then asked them to list the things and people for which they were grateful.  Guess what.  The people who could identify reasons in their life to be grateful were also the happiest. 

What’s the opposite of gratefulness?  Ungratefulness of course.  Someone who thinks they are entitled to everything.  An entitlement mentality is very dangerous to the spiritual life.  The ungrateful are never really happy, and are often a source of unhappiness for others. 

Being grateful just doesn’t mean feeling good about things: hearing the bird chirping, the sun shining, good food, good company even people that don’t believe in God enjoy these things.  Rather, gratitude acknowledges that these good things come from God, and we seek to make a return for his goodness through worship and acts of charity towards our neighbor.  And we recall again the importance of those little acts of charity which God can use to bring others to faith.

In the Gospel, we see many of the same elements from the first reading.  10 lepers cry out to Jesus for healing.  “Jesus, Master, have pity on us”.  Perhaps we have cried out to the Lord in our need at times in our life.  Jesus have pity on me in my illness, Lord Jesus, have pity on me in my sadness, Lord Jesus have pity on me in my unemployment, in my addiction, in my fear.  

Jesus told the 10 lepers to go show themselves to the priest.  And on their way to the priest, they were
cleansed.  One of them, a Samaritan, realized this and returned to Jesus to give thanks.  Upon returning, Jesus asked, “10 were cleansed were they not, where are they?”  It’s an interesting question.  They had probably returned to their families, to the people whom they loved who they hadn’t seen for a long time because their leprosy forced them to live on the outskirts of the community.  It’s not like they were selfish, self-centered people, they were probably very happy that they could be with their families again and enjoy good health. 

But it is the 1 leper who returned to Jesus whom Jesus praised, saying “stand up, your faith has saved you.”  The other 9 were healed, they were cleansed.  But the Samaritan was saved.  Gratitude and faith lead to salvation.

And that’s what this is all about.  Salvation.  The leprosy of original sin was washed away when we were plunged into the waters of baptism.  The plunging of Naaman into the Jordan was a prefigurement of our being plunged into the waters of baptism.  And now cleansed of original sin we return to the Eucharist to give thanks to God, for our salvation.  Vatican II even said, the Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith.  The most important thing we can do as Catholics is to come here to give thanks and to receive the gift of Jesus’ Body and Blood in gratefulness, the food that nourishes our souls and prepares and strengthens us for our Christian mission.

To the grateful soul, the sacraments bring nourishment and unleash peace and joy that the world cannot give.  Through them the Lord heals us of our many leprosies, and prepares us for eternal life, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: 27th Week in Ordinary Time - Friday - Calm in the storm

Joel 1:13-15; 2:1-2 View Readings

Psalm 9:2-3, 6, 16, 8-9

Luke 11:15-26

For just two days, today and tomorrow we hear from the very short book of Joel.  The Book of Joel is only four chapters long.  Joel prophesied in Judah, in Jerusalem around the year 500, after the return from the Babylonian exile.

We heard Joel calling the people to repentance for the day of the Lord’s judgment is coming soon.  Though they had just returned from exile, he tells the people, don’t get too comfortable; getting too comfortable, to complacent, too familiar with worldly ways is how we got in trouble in the first place.  So, he calls for fasting and penance and all-night prayer vigils, he calls for the people to come together in prayer.  Sound the alarm; blow the trumpets because time is running out!  Joel goes on to described the calamities and natural disasters which are only a foreshadowing of the eternal suffering that awaits those who fail to repent, and exclude God from their lives.

Even the Gospel has an ominous tone, as Jesus speaks of exorcism, unclean spirits and the kingdom of Satan. 

Interestingly, it is the Psalm this morning, that which is like the eye of the hurricane.  The nations are sinking into the pit they have made for themselves, God sits ready to judge with justice, yet the faithful soul is still found giving thanks to God, declaring his wondrous deeds, rejoicing and exalting in God, and singing his praise.

That’s the faithful Christian whose soul is prepared; the faithful Christian who conscious of his sins, has repented, whose conscience is clean, who has spent his life in service to God.  Even as the world seems to fall apart, bent on self-destruction, the faithful soul is free from fear, and is able to thank God for his many blessings. 

Jesus comes to save us from the chaotic powers of evil, and the judgment of the wicked described in the first reading.  And through faith we receive a peace the world cannot give.  Though the mountains may fall, and nations crumble, the Lord promises peace to his faithful ones.  Confident and trusting in the Lord amidst all the chaos of our lives, may we be found faithful today in his service for the GLory of God and salvation of souls.

27th Week of Ordinary Time - Thursday - Seeking God by the Light of Faith

Jesus offers today, some of the most hopeful words in the Gospels, “seek, and you will find”. 

No matter how dark life has become, no matter how confusing or despairing, no matter how lost I feel, we have on Jesus’ own authority, then when we turn to God and seek him, he will lead us, guide us, we will find him. 

In his new Encyclical on Faith, Pope Francis talks about the search for God. 

“Religious man strives to see signs of God in the daily experiences of life, in the cycle of the seasons, in the fruitfulness of the earth and in the movement of the cosmos. God is light and he can be found also by those who seek him with a sincere heart.

An image of this seeking can be seen in the Magi, who were led to Bethlehem by the star (cf. Mt 2:1-12). For them God’s light appeared as a journey to be undertaken, a star which led them on a path of discovery. The star is a sign of God’s patience with our eyes which need to grow accustomed to his brightness. (LF 35)”

Sometimes God is hard to see.  For many modern day atheists and fallen away Catholics, God is particularly hard to see.  Some people don’t see God and can’t find God because they don’t want to see him, and don’t want to find him.  Sometimes, as the Holy Father says, Our eyes are not accustomed to seeing God, because we’ve spent so much time in the world and not enough time in prayer.

Sometimes it is hard even for life-long Catholics to find God.  Particularly with the proliferation of war, so much violence and perversion, so many Catholics, our family members, falling away from the faith, , it’s hard to find God amidst all that. 

But for those who are willing to undertake the journey to seek God ardently, Jesus promises that God will be found. 

Pope Francis concluded his encyclical with a beautiful prayer to Mary, Mother of the Church and Mother of our faith.

Mother, help our faith!  Open our ears to hear God’s word and to recognize his voice and call. Awaken in us a desire to follow in his footsteps, to go forth from our own land and to receive his promise. Help us to be touched by his love, that we may touch him in faith. Help us to entrust ourselves fully to him and to believe in his love, especially at times of trial, beneath the shadow of the cross, when our faith is called to mature. Sow in our faith the joy of the Risen One. Remind us that those who believe are never alone. Teach us to see all things with the eyes of Jesus, that he may be light for our path. And may this light of faith always increase in us, until the dawn of that undying day which is Christ himself, your Son, our Lord!

Homily: 27th Week in Ordinary Time - Tuesday - Lent in October?

Jonah 3:1-10 View Readings

Psalm 130:1-4, 7-8

Luke 10:38-42

Every year we hear this passage from the prophet Jonah on the first week of Lent, 7 days after Ash Wednesday.  It’s one of the most dramatic responses to the call to repentance in the entire old testament: a city of about 120,000 people all come to repent the nobility, the peasantry, show signs of their repentance by fasting, covering themselves with sackcloth, and sitting in ashes.

We begin Lent on Ash Wednesday doing the exact same thing—with fasting and the imposition of ashes on our foreheads.  And throughout Lent we undertake practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving—visible and external signs of our internal sorrow for our sins.

Repentance is a pre-requisite for new spiritual life.  Repentance seeks to end the cycle of sin by acknowledging it with heartfelt sorrow and firmly resolving to sin no more.  Repentance ends the illusion that we buy into when we sin—the illusion that independence from God and his commandments brings the fulfillment we long for.

There was an order of monks who take as one of their mottoes: “Semper Quadragesima”—which means, “Always Lent”.  They seek to live, all year round, in that penitential Lenten Spirit because it is so effective in disposing us to the new spiritual life God wants to  bring forth in us.  And there is some wisdom to that idea of “Semper Quadragesima” because if we are not actively seeking to be free from selfishness and to grow in generosity and charity, then we are in trouble.

Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, are taken up, particularly during Lent, but they are meant to be part of our normal spiritual growth. 

In the Gospel, Jesus rebuked Martha for being anxious about many things and not focusing on the one thing that really matter, namely, Himself, his presence in her life.  Selfishness and self-centeredness are always enemies in the spiritual life.  Lent is always wonderful for helping us to focus on the truly essential, which should really be a spiritual practice all year round.

Semper Quadragesima—always Lent.  Today, it would be quite fitting to consider the sort of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, we might be called to all year round, to help our hearts be ever more centered on Christ. 

May we be generous in surrendering all the different parts of our life to God’s transforming mercy, and allow God to reform, reshape, and renew us today and everyday, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: October 7 - Our Lady of the Rosary - The ponderings of her heart

"One day through the Rosary and the Scapular I will save the world" These were the words spoken to Saint Dominic by the Blessed Virgin Mary in the year 1208.

This Feast in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary was instituted in gratitude for victory in the 1571 Battle of Lepanto, a fight between Turkish and Christian navies for the freedom to sail in the Mediterranean seas.  While the battle raged, Christians in Italy prayed the rosary.

Pope Benedict XVI gathered in the Basilica of St. Mary Major to pray the rosary with the faithful.  He said: Today, together we confirm that the Holy Rosary is not a pious practice banished to the past, like prayers of other times thought of with nostalgia.. Without a doubt, this is one of the most eloquent signs of love…for Jesus and his Mother, Mary. In the current world, so dispersive, this prayer helps to put Christ at the center, as the Virgin did, who meditated within all that was said about her Son, and also what he did and said. When reciting the Rosary, the important and meaningful moments of salvation history are relived. The various steps of Christ's mission are traced. With Mary the heart is oriented toward the mystery of Jesus. Christ is put at the center of our life, of our time, of our city, through the contemplation and meditation of his holy mysteries of joy, light, sorrow and glory…The Rosary, when it is prayed in an authentic way, not mechanical and superficial but profoundly, it brings, in fact, peace and reconciliation.”

All Catholics should know how to pray the rosary, and to pray it often.

At Lourdes and at Fatima, Our Lady urged the Church to pray the rosary, for the conversion of sinners and for the sake of our world so bent on self-destruction.

By praying the rosary we enter into the ponderings of Mary’s heart upon the life of her son.  May she help us to keep Christ at the center of our life, and help us to remain faithful in God’s service, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time - "Increase our Faith"

Habakkuk 1:2-3; 2:2-4 2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14 View Readings

Psalm 95:1-2, 6-9 Luke 17:5-10

When Pope Benedict XVI inaugurated the Year of Faith, he was inviting the whole Church, every Catholic to turn to the Lord and ask make the same request as the Apostles made to Our Lord in the Gospel reading today, “Lord, increase our faith!”

Here was an invitation for each of us to ask ourselves, what does it mean to believe and profess the Catholic Faith?  What difference does faith make in my life?  How can I witness to the Faith and spread that Faith in the particular circumstances of my own life?  What does it mean for me to grow in my faith?

One of the reasons Pope Benedict inaugurated the Year of Faith was because in parts of the world the light of Faith seems to be growing dim, that once again, worldly powers seek to stifle the message of faith, and that in light of so much darkness, and scandal, many Catholics face real doubt about the faith. 

The Holy Father therefore invited us, as St. Paul did in the second reading, to “stir into flame” that gift of faith, that it can once again shed light upon our own existence, upon the meaning of our life and our purpose in this world, to guide us through the darkness, and help us reach out to others who are searching for God and for meaning.

The challenges we face today are much like those of the Christians in the first and second centuries.  And it’s really amazing to think how the faith not only grew but flourished when faced with so many challenges: particularly, the official government-sponsored persecution of Christians led by the Roman Emperors.  It’s so amazing to think how a movement which began with a motley crew of nice Jewish boys led by the foster son of a carpenter, became within 300 years of that carpenters death the dominant religion in the Roman Empire. 

How did that happen?  It seems to defy logic.  What made Christianity so attractive?  What made people want to join this community with all its strange rituals and belief in resurrection?

One reason was a particular way that Christians were counter-cultural.  Tertullian a historian from the third century reported how the Romans would look at the way Christians were living and they would explain, “look at how they love one another.”  Christians were devoted to works of love—works of charity, and this was not common in the Roman Empire.

The Christians would take care of the widows, and the orphans, and the dying, and the sick, and the poor.  That may sound like ordinary human decency to us , but giving from what little you had to care for another in need, really was seen as extraordinary in the Roman Empire, and that Christians found joy in giving of themselves was really attractive.

Another reason that Christianity spread, which is rather counter-intuitive was the fact that these Christians were willing to die for their faith.

Faith that Jesus Christ rose from the dead to forgive our sins and extends the promise of everlasting life to those who believe in him and follow him led the apostles to carry that message to the ends of the earth and witness to the truth of that faith with their lives.  Martyrs like those listed in the first Eucharistic Prayer: John the Baptist, Stephen, Matthias Barnabas, Ignatius, Alexander, Marcellinus, Peter, Felicity, Perpetua, Agatha, Lucy, Agnes, Cecilia, and Anastasia—their faith, their conviction really spoke to people about the authenticity of the faith.

At the end of June, Pope Francis issued the first encyclical of his Pontificate, titled, “Lumen Fidei”- the “Light of Faith.”   He wrote, “The Church never takes faith for granted, but knows that this gift of God needs to be nourished and reinforced so that it can continue to guide her pilgrim way.”

As I read the Holy Father’s encyclical I copied my 25 favorite passages, and posted them on my blog, if you’d like a summary of the encyclical.  But I recommend, if you haven’t yet, to read through it; it’s beautiful and clear and challenging and inspiring.  Email me your favorite passage, I’d love to hear from you.

On Friday, Pope Francis visited the Italian town of Assisi, the home of his namesake and Patron, St. Francis of Assisi that great man of faith who continues to speak to us and teach us what it means to be faithful to Jesus 800 years after his death.

Pope Francis on Friday warned us of what he called “a Bakery Christianity” in which everything is beautiful and sweet like a cake.  That is not real Christianity,” Pope Francis said.  True Christianity embraces the cross, because it is the way of Christ. 

Caring for the widow, the orphan, the needy, the sick, the dying involves the cross.  Witnessing to the faith, publically, defending the faith when it is attacked, involves the cross.  Allowing the faith to shape and guide our choices, our plans for the future, our relationships, our politics, our economics, involves the cross.

We don’t become or remain Christian because the we believe that the more faithful we are God will take away our crosses.  We become and remain Christian because we believe that God will sustain us when we do have crosses, and that those crosses, when carried with love, lead to eternal life.

In one of my favorite passages from the encyclical on faith, Pope Francis wrote, “Faith is not a light which scatters all our darkness, but a lamp which guides our steps in the night and suffices for the journey. To those who suffer, God does not provide arguments which explain everything; rather, his response is that of an accompanying presence, a history of goodness which touches every story of suffering and opens up a ray of light. In Christ, God himself wishes to share this path with us and to offer us his gaze so that we might see the light within it. Christ is the one who, having endured suffering, is "the pioneer and perfecter of our faith" (Heb12:2).”

Faith is difficult. That is why the disciples in today’s gospel ask Jesus, “Increase our faith.”  The disciples made this request immediately after Jesus taught them that if a brother sins seven times in one day, you must forgive him seven times.  It is difficult to believe in the power of forgiveness.  It is difficult to believe how little acts of kindness can have immense impact in people’s lives.  It is difficult to believe how the cross leads to everlasting life.

But as we read in the letter to the Hebrews: “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen”  We must trust God that when he calls us to forgive, that will help to bring peace and healing to an open wound.  We must trust God that the little, hidden act of love, can truly make a difference.  We must trust that the faith of the Catholic Church is worth dying for because it leads to everlasting life.

Make the lord in crease our faith and help our unbelief, that we may profess our faith with courage and conviction for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: October 4 - St. Francis of Assisi - "Francis, rebuild my Church"

It didn't take long after Francis renounced his possessions and adopted radical Gospel poverty that he attracted a small brotherhood who wished to emulate his way of life.

In 1209, Francis traveled to Rome with this group, to meet the newly elected Pope Innocent III and receive the Church's approval for this group of friars.

At the time, there were many heretical groups in Italy, particularly  dangerous were the Cathari, who were very hostile towards the institutional Church.  So initially, Pope Innocent was hesitant to approve this group of itinerant preachers calling themselves the Friars Minor.

The night after meeting Francis, Pope Innocent had a dream.  Pope Innocent dreamt he stood looking out over the Lateran Church and watched with fear as the proud and ancient building shook, the tower swung, and the walls began to crack, it was in danger of collapsing in on itself. Suddenly, a small common looking man came towards the Lateran. He was dressed in peasant garb, was barefoot, and wore a rope around his waist for a belt. Rushing to the falling Church, he set his shoulder in under the wall and with a mighty push straightened the whole falling church, so that it again stood aright. The pope then recognized the man as Francis of Assisi.

The Pope interpreted his dream to mean that St. Francis would been instrumental in reforming and strengthening the Catholic Church.

This story is very interesting, especially in light of the story where St. Francis knelt in prayer in the crumbling San Damiano chapel.  As Francis knelt and prayed in front of the crucifix, Jesus began to speak to him, saying, “Francis, rebuild my Church.”




Francis, initially took this literally, but Francis shows us that the Church is truly renewed by the Saints who devote themselves to Christ and live and preach the Gospel.

The Church of Francis' time was beset by heresy and also luxurious and opulent living amongst the clergy.  By preaching and living the Gospel Francis worked for true reform, simply by living the Gospel and preaching the Truth.

I don't know if these stories were in the Holy Father's mind when he chose the name Francis.  But we pray for Pope Francis today on the feast day of his namesake.  That he, and along with all bishop, clergy, Church leaders, and all Christians, will work for authentic renewal in the Church through faithfulness to the Gospel.

We are not all called to the radical poverty of St. Francis, but we are surely called to a spiritual detachment from our possessions, that all we have might be put in service to the Gospel of the Lord Jesus for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: 26th Week of Ordinary Time - Thursday - Tremble at the Word

Nehemiah 8:1-12 View Readings

Psalm 19:8-11

Luke 10:1-12

Remember last week, how we heard from the book of Ezra.  How Ezra the priest was tasked with rebuilding the religious identity of the Jews he returned to Jerusalem from Babylon.  The walls of the city had been knocked down, the great temple destroyed.

We heard a very moving account from the book of Nehemiah this morning.  Remember, not only the City and the Temple was in ruins, but this was a whole generation who had grown up without knowing really, or practicing their faith.  They might have heard bits and pieces from the grandparents. 

So Ezra gathered the men, and women, and children, and read to them from the Torah.  He stood, on a raised platform in the rebuilt Temple, and from morning until midday read the Torah, from beginning to end:  Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Levitcus, and Deuteronomy.  Hours and hours the men, women, and children listened to their story, their family history, the laws which God had given them; they discovered who there were. They raised their hands in the air, and proclaimed, “Amen, Amen”. And they wept for joy.

Why?  Why were they so moved?  Why did they tremble at the Word so? Finally, they understood who they were, who God had called them to be.  They encountered for the first time, first-hand, the promises God had made to Abraham, and the commandments which were to guide their lives.

 

They knew, by clinging to the Word of God proclaimed to them, they could have another chance at freedom and living as God wished them to live.

The Word of God is meant to be read, respected, praised, studied, shared, obey in humility, revered, and cherished.  It is more valuable than gold.  How can we be filled with hope unless we meditate on its promises?  How can we be filled with wisdom if we do not meditate on its teachings?

God comes in Word and Sacrament to strengthen us in holiness. The Lord Jesus made the deaf hear and the dumb speak. May he soon touch your ears to receive his word, and your mouth to proclaim his faith, to the praise and glory of God the Father.

Homilies: October 1 - St. Therese of the Child Jesus - The Little Way

Therese was the 9^th child of very saintly parents, in fact, her parents were both beatified by Pope Benedict in 2008.  4 of their children died at a very young age and the other 5 all entered religious life: 1 to the Visitation order and the other 4 to the Carmelites. 

At the age of 15, having received the blessing of faith and virtue from her parents, she was given permission to enter the Carmelite convent where her two older sisters had already entered.  She lived 11 years as a Carmelite nun before dying at the young age of 26 from tuberculosis. 

Before her death, her superior ordered Therese to write her autobiography.  When St. Therese died there were only about 50 people in the world that knew of her.  Thanks to her autobiography, her sanctity and her spirituality are known to the entire world. 

This obscure little nun in the corner of France is now honored as a doctor of the Church and the Patron Saint of Missionary Work. 

The Opening Prayer referred to “the Little Way of St. Therese” whereby she poured herself out in love in the little, everyday tasks of her life.  The Opening Prayer asked God to lead us to follow trustingly the little way.  We can trust that we can become the saints God made us to by, by loving and caring for the people he brings into our life.  Holiness of life is in reach of ordinary people like you and me.  Doing small things, washing dishes, making meals, giving drink to the thirsty, when done with great love is to serve God in simplicity and love. 

St. Therese knew that she was not capable of great sacrifices, or of performing great and mighty works.  Rather, she chose to remain as a child in they eyes of God, performing all of her duties with love and obedience, no matter how small and insignificant they were.

Catholics would do well to imitate St. Therese's Little Way if they want to be happy in this life, as well as happy in the next.  That "Little Way" consists of simplicity in life, prayer from the heart to Jesus, total trust in God as our Loving Fathe, seeking God's will in our everyday activities, doing everything for the love of Jesus with humility, being kind to people we can't stand, and a sincere desire to be with Jesus forever rather than to be in this world.  It does NOT consist of trying to be a millionaire, gossiping about people, cheating at work to get the promotion, obsessing about the new iPhone and electronic toy. 

In her autobiography, St. Therese wrote, “I applied myself above all to practice quite hidden little acts of virtue; thus I liked to fold the mantles forgotten by the Sisters, and sought a thousand opportunities of rendering them service.”

She is a doctor of the Church because she has so much to teach us in the way of holiness.  May we, like St. Therese, be dedicated to humble and loving service for the glory of God and salvation of souls.