Homily: Monday in the 17th Week in Ordinary Time - Parables of Growth

In today’s Gospel, Jesus uses two parables to describe the growth of the kingdom.  The parable of the mustard seed shows that at first the kingdom of God appears very small, but from this tiny seed a great bush emerges.  Jesus describes this bush becoming so big that birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.  

Ezekiel  foretold how Israel would gather the nations like a mighty cedar gathers birds; and now Jesus uses this image to show that the Church, despite its small beginnings, will fulfill Israel’s mission—all nations, all peoples will gather in the tree of the New Israel.

The second parable continues this theme of unimpressive beginnings yielding tremendous growth.  The kingdom of heaven is likened to yeast mixed with a batch of dough.  The small amount of yeast causing the dough to expand and rise points to the way the kingdom will grow despite its inconspicuous beginnings and with a hidden dynamism like yeast in dough. 

Over the centuries the Church has experienced tremendous growth, starting out with a small number of Apostles in Jerusalem, and growing to exist in nearly every corner of the globe.  Yet, in our own day, the western world has seen a great falling away, and hearts seem unresponsive to the Gospel call. 

Pope Benedict warned Catholics to resist what he called “the temptation of impatience”, that is the temptation to insist on “immediately finding great success” in “large numbers” of converts.  “For the Kingdom of God and for evangelization, the parable of the grain of mustard seed is always valid.”  He goes on to say that this new modern phase of the Church’s evangelization mission to the secular world will not be “immediately attracting the large masses that have distanced themselves from the Church”, rather, we need “to dare, once again and with the humility of the mustard seed, to leave up to God the when and how it will grow”. 

The conversion of hearts is primarily God’s work; but that does not excuse us from going out and being his instrument.  Christians need to act as the yeast in society.  Just as the faith needs to permeate every dimension of our lives, faithful Christians need to permeate every dimension of society, bringing the Gospel into every corner of civic and family life, so that it can be transformed from within. 

So we mustn’t lose heart, because God is at work in us and in the world.  May we cooperate always with his grace, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time - The Kingdom of Heaven & St. Francis

The phrase “the kingdom of heaven” occurs over thirty times in Matthew’s Gospel.   The first time is from the lips of John the Baptist who preaches, “Repent, the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”  After his baptism and time in the desert, Jesus begins his own preaching ministry with this same words, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”  It is the subject of his most important sermon, his sermon on the mount .  

And when he commissions the Twelve Apostles, he instructs them to seek out the lost sheep, proclaiming: “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.”  In one teaching Jesus offers those chilling words that not everyone who calls him Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of his Father: the kingdom of heaven is about more than paying lip service to God.  After calling Peter, the Rock, he says that he will give him the keys of the kingdom of heaven.

In chapter 13 of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus offers several parables explaining what the kingdom of heaven is like. 

First, he says the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field which a person finds and hides again so that he can go and sell all that he has in order to buy the field.  Notice, the Lord doesn’t say that the kingdom is the buried treasure, but the kingdom is selling everything you have in order to obtain the buried treasure.  Yes, the kingdom is more precious than silver and gold, but it involves willingness to give all of the silver and gold in the world to be a part of it.  The kingdom involves completely reorienting all of our priorities so that we may be in right relationship and communion with God. 

Secondly, Jesus says the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for the pearl of great price.  Again, he doesn’t say that the kingdom is the pearl, but like a merchant searching for a pearl and then selling all he has to obtain it.  A sign of the kingdom reigning in our hearts is that we are like that merchant, spending a lifetime, looking, searching, seeking. 

Being a Christian is a lifelong effort.  We are to never stop searching and seeking for ways to grow in Christian holiness.  There is no retirement from the vocation of holiness.  We just don’t stop praying or being charitable when we reach a certain age, nor do we allow our children to be sinful and selfish just because they are young.  There are no plateaus in the spiritual life, we are either ascending the mountain of God or falling down the mountain.  The sin of Pride is so dangerous because it can lead us to think we are ascending, when really we are descending.  It can lead us to think we are searching for the pearl of great price, when we are really wasting our time on a counterfeit.

Thirdly, Jesus says that the kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea.  While the net is dragged through the sea it picks up everything, not just plump healthy fish, but debris, seaweed, and anything else that might be in its way.  And when you get back to shore, you have to separate what is good from what is bad.  Like the weeds that will be thrown into the fire, the bad fish are going to be separated from the good fish.  

And Jesus is saying the kingdom of God is like that. 

Here Jesus teaches about the judgment at the end of time, when he returns, he will judge whether you or I will belong in his eternal kingdom or not, period. 

“Thus it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous
and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.”

There is a prevailing attitude in our culture which says that it doesn’t really matter how you act or believe, everybody goes to heaven.  That attitude is very dangerous; It’s not the teaching of Jesus   Christ.  St. James writes, “there is but one lawgiver and judge.”  That means I don’t get to decide what is good or evil, a majority of voters doesn’t get to decide what is true or not.  Jesus is saying there will be a judgment, and where we spend eternity will depend on if we have embraced his truth or not. 

When I think of these three short parables, I can’t help but think of St. Francis of Assisi. 

He was like the man who sold everything he had to buy the field with the hidden treasure.  Francis was the son of a very wealthy merchant, Pietro Bernadone.  Francis would dress in the finest clothes and associate with the young noblemen of his day.  His father gave him a hefty allowance which he spent carelessly, attending wild parties.  Chasing after worldly fame and wealth, he joined the local militia, dreaming of being a wealthy knight.  But he was arrested and spent a year in prison until his father bailed him out.

It was not until Francis fell terribly ill that he began to examine his priorities.  He began to pray, and heard the Lord speak to him, “Francis, serve the Master rather than man.”  He began to seek the Lord’s will, he began to sell his possessions to rebuild the Church of San Damiano.  He had found the kingdom, serving the Lord. 

He was like the man who searched for the pearl of great price.  In the town square of Assisi, he stripped himself of all of his possessions and his inheritance, in order to devote himself entirely to work of the Lord.  

He embraced poverty and chastity, prayer and penance in order to conform himself to the Lord Jesus.  He became so united to the Lord in suffering for the sake of others that he was given the gift of the holy stigmata, bearing the marks of Jesus’ crucifixion in his own flesh.

Francis also took that third parable very seriously: belief in the judgment. 

There is a story after Francis’ conversion where he was being tempted so strongly that he knew he had to do something drastic in order to avoid sin.  So he stripped himself down and threw himself into a ditch full of snow in order to shock himself out of this deadly sin which could lead to his damnation.

Francis himself said, “Nothing should upset the servant of God…except sin.”  Even St. Francis was tempted, but he shows us that all Christians must actively fight against our selfish, sinful habits in order to enter fully into friendship with Jesus, the only treasure that will fill us with everlasting joy.

We are challenged by the Word of God and example of the Saints to examine our priorities, to renew our efforts in avoiding sin and seeking holiness.

Jesus invites us not a mediocre passive faith, but to a rich, active, dynamic faith, seeking his will daily, fighting against temptation with his help.  As he shares His Body and Blood with us in the Eucharist today, let us renew our commitment to seek first the kingdom of heaven, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: July 25 - St. James the Greater, Apostle

Today we honor St. James the Apostle, son of Zebedee and the brother of another apostle, St. John the Evangelist.  This St. James is traditionally given the title, “the Greater” to distinguish him from another Apostle, St. James, Son of Alpheus, who is called “the lesser”.  The titles “greater” and “lesser” are not intended to measure their level of holiness, but simply describe how frequent they are mentioned in the New Testament. 

James was called by the Lord while working as a fisherman.  He and his brother John were docked on the shore of the Sea of Galilee and they were mending their nets.  The Lord beckoned and they followed, changing their lives forever. 

Scripture paints James and John as zealous and enthusiastic followers of Jesus.  They were called “the Sons of Thunder” by Jesus himself. 

In the 12^th Chapter of the Book of Acts, we hear how St. James was beheaded by King Herod Agrippa making him the first apostle to be martyred. 

Before his martyrdom, he went on an evangelizing mission quite far from the Sea of Galilee, all the way to Spain, by foot,  where his relics were brought after his death. That’s about a 7000 miles round trip!

Over the last 2000 years, thousands and thousands of Catholics have made pilgrimage to venerate St. James’ relics in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Spain. You may have heard of the famous pilgrimage route called the Via de Compostela, the famous way of Saint James.  There was a movie starring Martin Sheen that was pretty well done.

Art and stained glass windows often depict St. James with the pilgrim’s walking stick and a seashell, which is both a symbol of baptism and pilgrimage. 

Making pilgrimage to a shrine reminds us that the entire Christian life is much like a pilgrimage.  And the joys and sufferings of the pilgrimage remind us that striving to be like Jesus in our service to God, is full of both joys and sufferings. Making a pilgrimage can be a way of reigniting our zeal for living and spreading the Gospel.

We are inspired by the Apostles and their zeal for doing the Lord’s work.  Christian zeal is that burning desire to please God and to advance his kingdom in every possible way, which should be the motivating force for all of us.  It impels us to make any sacrifice, to go through any trouble, to deny ourselves anything, to work, to spend ourselves, and even to die in order to please God and honor Christ.

St. James reminds us that the Gospel is meant to be taken out of the comfortable confines of the familiar, into unknown territory and foreign land.  Where will you take the Gospel today?  For the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: July 21 - St. Lawrence of Brindisi, "Apostolic Doctor"

St. Lawrence was born on July 22, and died exactly 60 years later on his birthday in 1619.  A saint’s feast day is normally on the day of their death, but tomorrow, July 22 is the Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene, so Lawrence’s feast was transferred to today, the 21^st. 

Lawrence entered the Capuchin Franciscans at the age of 16 and was ordained at the age of 23.  He had an outstanding gift of languages.  In addition to his native Italian, he had a complete reading and speaking ability in Latin, Hebrew, Greek, German, Bohemian, Spanish and French.  He would go on to use his linguistic skills preaching throughout Europe and bringing many to conversion.

He was a saint who accomplished so many different kinds of duties in his sixty years of life that there is simply no other in the same category. Army chaplain, diplomat & peacemaker, miracle-worker, exorcist, theologian, biblical scholar, linguist, confessor, mystic, and leader of the Counter-Reformation, doctor of the Church.  As vicar general for the Capuchins he combined his brilliance, his great administrative skill, and his great sensitivity and human compassion.   He was a learned student of Scripture, a powerful preacher, and also a writer. He also founded many friaries, in Prague, Vienna, Bohemia, Madrid, and Austria.

A contemporary of his, the Cardinal theologian Cajetan, said that St. Lawrence was “an incarnation of the old apostles, who, speaking to all nations, were understood by all.  He is a living Pentecost.” Saint Pope John XXIII honored this gifted son of St. Francis by proclaiming him a Doctor of the Universal Church with the title “Apostolic Doctor”. 

His effectiveness as a preacher derived from an intense interior life—particularly his great love for the Mass and the Blessed Virgin to whom he attributed his vocation. He would sometimes be so caught up in ecstasy during the celebration of the Eucharistic Sacrifice that he would be weeping with love and adoration.

His constant devotion to Scripture, the Mass, the Blessed Virgin, coupled with great sensitivity to the needs of others, present a lifestyle which appeals to us today—a life of learning, constant charity, and powerful intimacy with God. 

We are stirred by the example of St. Lawrence to seek that intimacy and love of God as well as that fervor in putting our whole life in the service of spreading the Gospel. 

Many of us may be a little late in life to learn a new language or 7 like St. Lawrence for the preaching of the Gospel, but the Holy Spirit will always bring new life, new opportunities for glorifying God if we are open to them.

We pray that we may be filled with the same zeal, and courage, and  develop our gifts for the building up of the Church, for the work of God, for his Glory, and the salvation of souls.

Homily: 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Weeds or Wheat: "Who am I to judge?"

This week on Friday, July 17, we celebrated the Feast of St. Camillus de Lellis. 

Many of the Saints were extremely holy throughout their lives: St. Bernadette was a very holy and humble young girl, St. Maria Goretti was courageously protected her chastity out of love for Jesus Christ and was martyred at the age of twelve, the polish Jesuit novice St. Stanislaws Kostka was deeply pious and humble.  Not so with St. Camillus.  He gave his parents nothing but trouble.  He got into fights with neighborhood boys, he skipped school, he learned, but wouldn’t say his prayers; he was so quick to unleash his violent temper that his mother was actually afraid of him.

At the age of seventeen, Camillus joined his father as a mercenary soldier, and he quickly picked up a lot of the vices of the military camps—swearing, gambling, drinking, and visiting prostitutes.  He and his father, Giovanni, even teamed up as father and son con artists, swindling their fellow soldiers.  They went from camp to camp when Camillus’ father fell seriously ill. 

To Camillus’ surprise, Giovanni sent him to fetch a priest, and after Giovanni made a good confession, repenting from all his sins and crimes, he received Holy Communion for the last time and died.

This was a turning point in Camillus’ life…sort of. He was deeply touched by his father’s deathbed conversion.  If his father, a life-long gambler and conartist could have faith, then so could Camillus.  One of his uncles was a Franciscan, so Camillus thought he might give religious life a try.  But that didn’t last long; he soon fell into gambling again. And this time his luck really ran out—he lost everything and became homeless.

God’s grace broke into his life when a local business owner gave him a job doing menial construction work.  Here Camillus began to acquire two virtues he had never cultivated before: self-discipline and responsibility.  Through work he realized his dignity. 

When his construction job was done he set out for Rome to work at the famous Hospital of San Giacomo.  There, he found great joy and his vocation in nursing the sick and giving the desperately ill a clean, comfortable place to die.  He was ordained a priest and spent the last thirty years of his life dedicated to the sick.

What a conversion!  At many points in his life, it seemed unlikely that Camillus would come to such great holiness.  Perhaps, there are some of us here, who like Camillus, were on the wrong path; maybe like him, we even started off that way.  Maybe, there are members of our family who seem now trapped in an endless cycle of poor decisions.

The life of Camillus and our Gospel this weekend remind us that we must be patient.  Everyone we meet might be one act of kindness away from getting back on the right road toward God. 

Our Lord tells us that weeds and wheat often grow in the same field.  Even expert farmers have a difficult time telling the difference between the two while they are still growing.  It is only at harvest time when the two can be distinguished.

So we must be patient with everyone who is struggling to find the right path, and not write them off. 

And like the wealthy man who gave St. Camillus the job which was the turning point in his life, we too are called to be instruments of God’s grace in the lives of others. 

A few months ago, there was a media storm around a comment Pope Francis made…imagine that.  He dared to utter those dangerous words, “Who am I to judge?”

In his comment, the Holy Father was basically quoting scripture.  “There is only one lawgiver and judge,” writes St. James in his Epistle.  “He is the one able to save and destroy.  So, who are you to judge your neighbor?” 

Neither the Pope, nor any Christian, can point to anyone and say, that person is definitely going to Hell because of their sins.  Such a judgment is reserved only to God.  Pope Francis isn’t telling us to throw away the Catechism and ignore the Scriptures because all roads lead to heaven. He’s just saying, he’s not the one who makes the rules and none of us are either.

Our Gospel this weekend is very clear that there are eternal consequences for rejecting God’s law.  There will be, a separation at the end of time, weed from wheat, sheep from goats, the saved from the damned, those who accepted God’s grace and those who rejected it, the righteous from the evil doers.

Though Pope Francis does not claim to be the judge of souls, he still teaches us how to form right judgment.  We need rightly formed minds and hearts so that we can discern the good from the evil, the path that leads to heaven from the path that leads to hell.  Sometimes it’s not so easy to tell the difference.  Sometimes our minds and hearts want to go one way, and our bodies want to go the other.

Right judgment is called by St. Paul one of the fruits of the spirit.  But good fruit only comes from healthy plants.   That the fruit of fruit judgment may grow we need to remaining rooted in Christ’s truth; and cultivate our faith by reading the scripture, studying the catechism, daily prayer, fasting, and avoiding the poisonous and corrupting elements of our culture.

In his letter to the Romans St. Paul writes, “Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.”  If we are conformed to this behaviors and attitudes of our culture, we will not be able to discern God’s will.  We don’t learn right from wrong by imitating the morally defunct souls on MTV.

No doubt, we must be very careful about what we hear and see on television and the internet.  As our Lord teaches in the Gospel, there is an enemy sowing weeds out there.   There is a powerful force which reviles the Church, mocks her moral teachings, invents lies about her history, and distorts her doctrines.  The world labels the Church as intolerant because she resists caving to the world’s corruption.

Christians believe that we do have a moral and spiritual responsibility to conform our lives to God’s law, which is unchanging and not determined by a majority vote. 

It is not up to us to judge people as weeds or wheat, but we must certainly avoid those behaviors and attitudes which transgress the moral law and lead to the corruption of our souls. 

Fed by the Eucharist this day, may God’s good fruit continue to flourish in our souls, that we may live lives that are good, and pleasing, and perfect, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: July 18 - St. Camillus - Con-man turned Saint

As a child, Camillus gave his parents nothing but trouble.  He got into fights with neighborhood boys, he skipped school, he learned, but wouldn’t say his prayers, he was so quick to unleash his violent temper that his mother was actually afraid of him.

At the age of seventeen, Camillus joined his father as a mercenary soldier, and he quickly picked up a lot of the vices of the military camp—swearing, drinking, visiting prostitutes.  He and his father, Giovanni, even teamed up as a father and son con artists, swindling their fellow soldiers.  They went from war to war when Camillus’ father fell seriously ill.  Giovanni sent his son to fetch a priest, and after Giovanni made a good confession, repenting from all his sins and crimes, he received Holy Communion for the last time and died.

This was a turning point in Camillus’ life…sort of.  He had heard of deathbed conversions, but never thought his father, a life time gambler and conman, would ever call for a priest in order to die in a state of grace.  He decided to join up with the Franciscans, but that didn’t last long, he soon fell into gambling again.   However, this time, his luck ran out, he lost everything and became destitute. 

A wealthy gentleman gave him a job doing menial construction work.  But, Camillus began to acquire two virtues he had never tried to cultivate before: self-discipline and responsibility.  When his construction job was done he set out for Rome to work at the famous Hospital of San Giacomo. 

While in Rome, Camillus founded a religious order and was ordained a priest.  The last thirty years of his life, Camillus spent nursing the sick.

As he lay dying, he became anxious that his old sins might outweigh his good works.  He told a Carmellite friar who visited him, “please pray for me, for I have been a great sinner, a gambler, and a man of bad life.”  Yet, in his final hour, Camillus’ made a beautiful act of confidence in God’s mercy.  He stretched his arms out so his body took the form of a cross, and giving thanks for the Blood of Christ that had washed away his sins, he died.

St. Camillus de Lellis lies buried in the little Church of Santa Maria Maddalena in Rome.  And in 1886 Pope Leo XII named him patron saint of nurses.

At many points in his life, it seemed unlikely that Camillus would come to such great holiness.  So we must be patient with the people in our lives who are struggling to find the right path, and become God’s instruments to help them come to grace, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: Thursday of the 15th Week in Ordinary Time - Rest & Restlessness

“Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine” Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord.  Those words are prayed three times in the funeral rites of the Church, first at the wake, in the vigil prayers, secondly, as the entrance antiphon of the funeral Mass, the requiem Mass, finally, they are among the final prayers at the cemetery, when the remains are laid to rest.

It is one of the most beautiful and powerful of the Church’s funeral prayers, and finds its roots in the words of Jesus, which we heard in the Gospel today, “Come to me…and I will give you rest.” 

For a Jew, entering into God’s "rest" meant finally coming to the peace of the promised land, the fulfillment of the Jewish people's greatest aspirations.  Jesus promises this ultimate fulfillment to all who come to him and learn from him. 

Yet, the invitation to a personal relationship with Jesus is more than a promise of everlasting repose in the life to come.  It is also a promise of inner peace in this life.   Knowing, loving, following Jesus brings peace that the world cannot give, peace that quiets the mind and heart.  Of course, the followers of Jesus will continue to experience frustrations, trials, and sufferings, but these burdens become lighter and more bearable with the Lord’s help.

Yet, as St. Augustine said: “Our hearts are restless, O Lord until they rest in Thee.”  When we try to satisfy our deepest longings in worldly things, we will end up increasingly frustrated and exhausted.  Purely worldly pursuits, though they may bring some temporary stimulation, result in weariness and fatigue of spirit.    

Sometimes, life becomes so busy that we claim that we don’t have enough time for prayer and meditation and contemplation.  Yet that is precisely when we need it the most.  Many times throughout the day, particularly in busy and frustrating times, we need to come to him in prayer, to unite our pursuits to Him.

True peace never comes in evading the Lord, ignoring prayer, avoiding our Christian duties.  As the Psalmist says, “Only in you is my soul at rest”.

Amidst the difficulties of life, we have a fountain of life and rest which never runs dry.  May the Lord use us today, to bring the weary and burdened to Him for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: July 15 - St. Bonaventure - 4 practices for a holy life

The Church observes today the Feast of St. Bonaventure.  When we celebrate the saints, we reflect on the lessons from their lives on how to be a more faithful follower of Jesus Christ.

St. Bonaventure met St. Francis of Assisi as a young boy, in fact, it is said that St. Francis miraculously cured Bonaventure of a serious disease.  As a young man, Bonaventure joined the Franciscans, and it was immediately evident that he was a genius, he is one of the great intellects of the middle ages.  He wrote the official biography of St. Francis’ life and you can still read it today, it’s a powerful and moving description of St. Francis’ life.



St. Bonaventure has been given a great honor in the Church; he is known as a Doctor of the Church.  His great insight into the spiritual life and into theology really shapes the way we understand what it means to be a follower of Jesus.

St. Bonaventure wrote, “Whoever wishes to ascend to God must first avoid sin, which deforms our nature; he must pray to receive restoring grace; he must lead a good life, to receive purifying justice; he must meditate, to receive illuminating knowledge; he must practice contemplation, to receive perfecting wisdom.”

4 practices for a holy life.

1) Avoid Sin. To be a follower of Jesus Christ we must strive to be free from sin; from transgressions of the laws of God.  Bonaventure said, sin deforms our nature.  When we give ourselves over to sin, we abuse that gift of freedom God gave us.  Anytime we are selfish, or impatient, or gluttonous, or slothful, or lustful we allow sin to cloud our intellect and weaken our wills.

2) Pray to receive restoring grace.  Where sin deforms our nature; God’s grace restores our humanity.  We pray that we can be open to all the way God wishes to bestow his grace upon us; especially reception of the Sacraments.  So when we come to Mass, we should be prayerful that God uses this time to purify and restore us.

3) Meditate to receive illuminating knowledge.  To meditate is to think about our faith.  Read the Scriptures think about what they mean.  Think about the life of Jesus Christ.  Think of what he teaches us by his own suffering.  Each of us needs a period of meditation every day.

4) Practice contemplation.  Contemplation means not so much thinking about God but focusing your heart and mind on God himself.  This is the prayer of quiet that we need every day as well; to simply lift our attention to Him; and allow him to fill our heart with faith, hope, and love.

Through his holy life, he fed others through the example and fruits of his study, teaching, and prayers.  He will do the same for us when we earnestly implore his heavenly assistance and intercession.
As we prayed in the opening prayer, that as we “celebrate the heavenly birthday of the Bishop Saint Bonaventure, we may benefit from his great learning and constantly imitate the ardor of his charity” for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: July 14 - St. Kateri Tekakwitha, Lily of the Mohawks

Kateri Tekakwitha is the first Native American to be canonized a Saint.  She was born at Auriesville, New York in 1656, near the place where the Jesuits St. Isaac Jogues and John de Brebeuf had been martyred—tomahawked by Iroquois warriors just nine years before.

Kateri’s mother was an Algonquin who had been baptized, but she was taken captive by the Iroquois and given as a wife to the chief of the Mohawk clan.   Kateri was adopted by her uncle who became the new chief when her parents and brother died in a smallpox epidemic when she was four years old, though her face was permanently disfigured and her eyesight impaired because of the disease. 

Her uncle, the new chief, hated the coming presence of the new Jesuit missionaries, but could do nothing to them because a peace treaty with the French allowed their presence in villages with Christian captives.  Kateri however desired began to study the catechism with the Jesuits.  She was baptized on Easter Sunday at the age of 19.

When she was 23, she took a vow of virginity, consecrating herself to the Lord, but a celibate life was not held in high regard among the Mohawks, and being the only devout Christian in her lodge, Kateri was subject to constant abuse and insults.  Because she refused to work on Sundays, she was branded as lazy and the Indians made fun of her Rosary.

On the advice of a priest, she fled the abuse and walked two hundred miles to an Indian Mission village near Montreal.  There she devoted herself to prayer and works of charity and penance; dedicated to the Lord in all things, her sanctity blossomed.  She is known as the Lily of the Mohawks. 

Kateri herself said: “I am not my own; I have given myself to Jesus.  He must be my only love.”  Her last words were, “Jesus, I love you.”

She was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1980 and canonized by Pope Benedict XVI at Saint Peter's Basilica on October 21, 2012.

At her canonization, Pope Benedict said, “Her greatest wish was to know and to do what pleased God. She lived a life radiant with faith and purity.  Kateri impresses us by the action of grace in her life in spite of the absence of external help…”

She is a model for all those who are rejected by their own or are persecuted because of their fidelity to Jesus Christ.  Despite this difficult cross,, God’s grace thrived all the more in her.

We turn to her intercession seeking renewal for our country and all the nations of North America, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.  St. Kateri Tekakwitha pray for us.

Homily: Sunday of the 15th Week in Ordinary Time - Fertile and fruitful Domestic Church

July 11 was the feast day of one of the most important saints in church history: St. Benedict.  Benedict was born into a rich Italian family in the year 480 and went to complete his studies in Rome.  But, disturbed by the material and moral dangers of city life, Benedict, around the age of 20, became a hermit; he went to live in a cave for three years in Subiaco, Italy. 

Because of his sanctity, he quickly attracted many followers, who like him wished to withdraw from the world in order to strive after holiness through a life of work and prayer.  To house his company, Benedict built twelve monasteries, and around the year 550, he left Subiaco to start the monastery at Montecassino.  It is there that he wrote his famous Rule, “The Rule of St. Benedict” . 

St. Benedict is also an important figure in world history; his monasteries helped to save western civilization from total collapse.   Bloody wars and barbarian hordes were sweeping across Europe, tearing down the civilization of the classical world.  European culture was crumbling, yet the Benedictine Monastery was this stable place of study and prayer.  Those monasteries provided light—the light of learning and faith—as Europe suffered great darkness.

They became beacons of hope for the people of Europe, reminding them of God’s presence and the importance of living a holy Christian life.  And they became a very potent force in rebuilding Europe.  The very first universities sprung up from the monastic schools.  So, if you went to college, or benefited in some way by someone that did, you can thank St. Benedict. 

Fast forward 1400 years to the 1950s.  The Bishops of the Second Vatican Council saw danger looming on the horizon again: a new modern barbarism spreading throughout the world, a godlessness threatening the very foundations of civilization.

In the documents of Vatican II, the holy fathers stressed that not only monks and priests and nuns and bishops are called to strive for holiness, but all Christians develop a vibrant prayers lives and to be generous in service.  They also stressed the importance of every Christian family to be like those Benedictine monasteries.  They called the family, the domestic church, the church of the home.  It is in the home where we first learn to pray to God and prayerfully seek his will for us.

The family is really the basic unit of the Church.  If someone asks me, “Father, what does it mean to be a Catholic?”  The idea of domestic church means, I should be able to point to families in the parish, and say, go and live with them for a week, that’s what it means.  See how they pray together, how they are patient with one another, see their generosity towards one another, how they forgive one another when they have wronged, how they encourage each other in times of difficulty, care for each other in illness, how the Christian faith permeates their lives.

And every family is to be that fertile ground for faithful Christians to sprout.  In that beautiful first reading from the prophet Isaiah how God’s word is meant to make our souls fertile and fruit bearing.  God’s word is to permeate our family, so that Christian families can make our neighborhoods and cities fertile.

In order for God’s word to permeate your family life,  Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, must be at the center of your family life.  The domestic church can only be built up when Jesus is included in everything: in chores and vacations and business decisions and civic responsibilities.  We must not practice spiritual contraception by keeping Christ and his teachings out of any part of our lives.

The motto of the Benedictine order is Ora et Labora, work and prayer.  We know how families work to provide for each other.  So what about prayer?

St. Benedict is often depicted in art with a finger pressed to his lips because he so valued silence.  Silence was such an important part of his rule because in silence we learn how to listen to the quiet voice of God.

The Christian Philosopher Svoren Kierkegaard said if he were a doctor he would prescribe as a remedy for all the world’s disorders, “silence”.  St. Benedict would no doubt agree.

Our culture abhors silence; it is addicted to stimulation.  We have to constantly have the television or internet going.   The constant stimulation and busyness bring not cheerfulness, but exhaustion and emptiness.  One of the spiritual dangers of having cell phones that can access the internet anywhere, anytime, is that one never learns how to sit in silence.

The cell phones and televisions in every room of the house is a great threat to health and holiness of the family.  I know of many families who therefore have a very healthy rule, that between certain times, all electronics are turned off.  Perhaps between 5:30 and 8pm: no tv, no video games, no cell phones, especially at the dinner table.  Study and conversation build up the family in ways that all of the electronic gadgets cannot possibly.  Perhaps a family rosary must be prayed before the television is even allowed to be turned on.

In his life, St. Benedict is said to have conquered three great temptations: the temptation to put himself at the center rather than Christ, the temptation to find inordinate pleasure from the senses, in other words, temptations of the flesh, and finally, he overcame the temptations to hold on to grudges and seek revenge. 

We find these temptations abounding in our modern culture.  Again, the remedy is the same for us as it was for St. Benedict, prayerful silence and mindfulness of God, allowing the word of God to seep back into our bones, and back into our culture.  Benedict wrote, “your way of acting should be different from the world’s way; the love of Christ must come before all else.”

Parents, if you want your children to be happy, make your family as fertile in faith as possible; don’t teach or pressure our children to have empty lives, but above all to seek to put their gifts and talents in the service of God.  Encourage them to at least consider a vocation to the priesthood or consecrated religious life.

Our seminary here in Cleveland will have over 80 young men studying for the priesthood; that’s more seminarians than some European countries.  And our diocese also has many young women seeking to enter religious life.  Our young people no doubt see the emptiness the world offers and wants something more. 

Through word and sacrament may each of us be strengthened in holiness and strive ever more for the building up of the Church for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: July 11 - St. Benedict - Prefer nothing to the love of Christ

St. Benedict lived in a time when the classical world was breaking apart—bloody wars were tearing down the civilization of the Greco-Roman world.  Barbarians were sweeping through Europe.  European culture was crumbling, yet within the Benedictine Monastery a different culture of work and prayer and learning and love of God prevailed.  The monasteries became beacons of hope for the people of Europe, like lighthouses pointing the way to the safe harbor of heaven.

St. Benedicts monks, and the many religious communities he inspired, remind all Christians and all peoples to strive after holiness, to store up not treasure on earth, but treasure in heaven.  Benedict wrote: Nihil amori Christi praeponere—Prefer nothing to the love of Christ.  Holiness consists of this, preferring nothing to the love of Christ.

We live in an age that prefers anything but Christ, and culture is once again deteriorating.  The fabric of society is being torn a shred at its most basic levels, the dignity of human life and Christian marriage. Consciousness of these many threats is one reason why Pope Benedict chose the name Benedict. 

Many young people, also, conscious of the empty promises of the world are entering monasteries and religious life as powerful witnesses to the world: that amidst all the temptations of pleasure and power, there is another way!

Every Christian is to be a witness that despite all the empty promises of the world, joy can be found through faith in Jesus Christ, in preferring nothing to the love of Him! 

We heard in our reading this morning, “Return, O Israel, to the LORD, your God; you have collapsed through your guilt.”  The Lord sent Hosea to speak this prophetic word to those who had forsaken the ways of the Lord. 

In the Gospel, the Lord tells his followers how he sends us out as sheep amidst wolves.  Prophetic witness will inevitably draw criticism from the world. 

The world laughed at him, mocked him, thought he was naïve, thought he was blasphemous, and they do the same to us.  They worked to prevent him from spreading His Gospel, they do the same to us.  We are not to be surprised or give up hope when we are hated for teaching in His name, in fact, we should expect it.

Yet, along with this warning, the Lord gives a promise.  “Do not worry,” he says, “the Spirit of your Father will speak through you.”  All that we do for the Lord will not go in vain.  All that we suffer for him does in the end matter.  All the prayers, and rosaries, and hours of service, in the end do touch people’s lives.

Inspired by the life of St. Benedict, and assisted by his heavenly intercession, may we be found worthy of the name Christian today, in bearing witness to Christ and preferring nothing to love of him for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: Thursday of the 14th Week in Ordinary Time - "The Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand"

"As you go, make this proclamation: 'The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.'

 The phrase “kingdom of heaven” recurs over thirty times in Matthew’s Gospel.  We hear John the Baptist prefiguring Christ’s coming by preaching, “Repent, the kingdom of heaven is at hand”.  Jesus begins his own ministry preaching, “repent the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”  And today we hear he sends out his disciples, he gives instructions to his Church telling them to preach the same thing as he: “the kingdom of God is at hand”

Think about that phrase for a moment.  If I said, “Washington D.C. is at hand” many of us would run for cover, because it would mean that the authority, and power, and jurisdiction of the government was here to make its will known.

And this is how “the kingdom of heaven” is used in Mathew’s Gospel.  Jesus was announcing that God in his power and authority and divinity was present in their midst—the establishment of God’s eternal kingdom of justice and peace in this world gone wrong, begins now.  So change the direction of your lives that you might embrace it.

Jesus preached the kingdom not only through words, but signs: the curing of the sick, and lepers, the exorcism of the demon possessed, even the raising of the dead.  And in today’s Gospel, Jesus gives the authority to do these things, to make the presence of the kingdom of heaven known through words and actions.

This is the mission and task of the Church through the ages until Christ’s return: to call sinners to repentance and make the kingdom known through words and deeds. 

Pope Benedict wrote, “It is necessary to make the living God present in our own lives; only in this way do our lives become true, authentically human”.   In other words, this is work that truly fulfills us, this is the work that we long to do, to point to God, to bring others to God.

So much of our unhappiness comes from lives which point only to ourselves.  Yet, joy is discovered by those who pour themselves out in proclaiming the kingdom. 

Before leaving from Mass today, we would do well to pray for the Holy Spirit’s guidance; that we may be open to proclaiming the Gospel to those who need to hear it this day, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: Monday of the 14th Week in Ordinary Time - Led into the desert

The Christian Philosopher Svoren Kierkegaard said if he were a doctor he would prescribe as a remedy for all the world’s disorders, “silence”. 

Our culture abhors silence; it is addicted to stimulation.  It has to have the television or internet going all the time; one of the spiritual dangers of having cell phones that can access the internet anywhere, anytime, is that one never learns how to sit in silence.  And that is a great obstacle to knowing ourselves and listening to God.  The constant stimulation and busyness bring not cheerfulness, but exhaustion and emptiness.

Through his prophet Hosea, God says, I will lead Israel into the desert, and speak to her heart.”  It is in the silence where God wishes to refresh us, renew us, deepen our love for Him. 

At the beginning of Lent, we read about Jesus going out into the desert; in fact, the Gospel said he was led by the Holy Spirit into the desert. 

We have many accounts of early Christians going off to live in the desert.  The first Christian monks were those who went into the desert like our Lord for a life of solitude and prayer.

The desert is a place of testing; we are likely to encounter our inner demons there.  It is also a place of purification; where we strip ourselves from what is unnecessary, particularly for our spiritual lives.  Yet, the desert is also a place of profound encounter with God. 

I will espouse you to me forever: I will espouse you in right and in justice, in love and in mercy; I will espouse you in fidelity, and you shall know the LORD.  Espousal, can there be anything more profound?

During Ordinary Time, as we focus on the ordinary elements of the Christian life, we realize the desert experience isn’t just for Lent.  We need to go to the desert every day. 

My spiritual director in the seminary encouraged us to go to the desert for one hour per day, one day per week, one week per year.  An hour a day set aside for quiet silent prayer either in the chapel or walking in nature; one full day per week, where we turn off the electronics and dedicate the day to growing in the Lord, and one full week per year, in a quiet or silent retreat experience. 

May we allow the Holy Spirit to lead us into the desert, that we may encounter more deeply, the profound love of God; for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Come to me, and I will give you rest

Since the Monday after Pentecost we’ve been observing the liturgical season of Ordinary Time.  However, this is the first Sunday since Pentecost that the priest has worn the liturgical color green.

We call it ordinary time, but not because this liturgical season is boring or unremarkable. The english word orindary comes from the latin word ordo meaning ordered, orderly, regimented, steady, and consistent.  So during  ordinary time, we focus on the what it means to be a steady consistent disciple of Jesus Christ: consistency in our daily prayer, regimented in our generosity and kindness, steady in our daily imitation of Jesus, and continuous in letting the Lord change us, and form us.

The liturgical color of Ordinary Time is not the penitential purple of Lent and Advent, or the Resurrection White of Easter, or the blood red of Good Friday, but green, the color of springtime and summer when plants and crops are growing.  So, the green of ordinary time reminds us that God, like a good gardener, wants to bring about new growth in our souls that they bear good fruit.  During this season, therefore we focus on what it means to grow in the works of charity, growing in prayer, and growing  in the virtues.

Traditionally, the color green is the color of hope.  Whenever the theological virtue hope was depicted in paintings with her sisters faith and charity, hope could easily be identified because she would be the lady in the green garments.  We wear green during Ordinary Time because we hope that what we do in the ordinary course of our lives will lead to heaven.

Yet, spiritual growth is not automatic.  If you don’t want to grow in faith, hope, and love, you won’t.  If you don’t want to grow in your prayer life, you won’t.  If you don’t want to become more virtuous or more charitable; you won’t.  If you don’t want to become a more faithful and enthusiastic disciple of Jesus Christ, you won’t.

Purely biological life, like trees and tomatoes don’t get a choice whether they will grow or not.  But humans are not merely physical beings, we are flesh and blood and spirit.  “You are not in the flesh,” St. Paul in our second reading, “on the contrary, you are in the spirit”.  And what is of the spirit gets a choice.  Will you cooperate with God or not; will you choose God, or not.  And that choice has a consequence, says St. Paul.  “For if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”

Our readings this week give us an important key to growing in holiness.  The first reading for this Sunday should sound familiar; we hear it every year on Palm Sunday.  The prophet Zechariah writing about 300 years before the birth of Christ, foretells that the Messiah will ride into Jerusalem, not on a royal chariot, but on a donkey.  And we know that Jesus did just that, on Palm Sunday, he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey.  What an act of humility for the God of the Universe, the Lord of Lord and King of Kings to ride on a beast of burden.  This points to the Gospel this weekend, where the Lord says, “learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart.” 

Humility is an important Christian virtue by which we imitate Jesus who came not to do his own will, but the will of His Father.  One of my least favorite songs is from my most favorite singers, Frank Sinatra is “I did it my way.”  “ I've lived a life that's full, I traveled each and ev'ry highway, And more, much more than this, I did it my way.”  As catchy as the tune is, Old blue eyes offers a recipe here for disaster, yet a philosophy adopted, sadly, by so many. A full life, a fulfilled life, is not found in indulging every impulse and feeding every desire or rebelling against God’s laws and doing things are own way.  Fullness of life, comes rather, from imitating the Lord in all things. 

The world tells us that we cannot be happy unless we obey the yearnings of our flesh; our faith teaches us the joy that comes in practicing self-discipline and resisting temptation.  The world teaches how to get other people to serve us; the Lord teaches how to find joy in serving others. 

Our secular culture offers a million and one alternatives to Jesus.  But Jesus says, come to ME.  Don’t turn to overindulging in food, in drink, don’t go to sexual perversion, or take out your frustrations and anger against your family or neighbor, don’t turn to those million and one empty promises; rather come to ME, Jesus says.  Come to me, learn from me. 

Instead of fleeing the cross, taking drugs or drink to numb the pain of the cross, Jesus teaches us how follow him in embracing the cross. He teaches us to make that conscious choice to seek holiness and eternal life rather than fleeting moments of gratification.  The yoke, the cross, is unavoidable.  But the Lord teaches us that how to find peace and grace and even joy amidst the crosses. 

The saints are those who learn how to rejoice because of crosses, for they knew that through the cross, they became like Jesus Christ. 

Before St. Peter was bishop of Rome, he was the first bishop of a place called Antioch, which became one of the great Christian centers of the ancient world.  Antioch’s second bishop was a man named Ignatius of Antioch. 

During the persecution of the emperor Trajan, Bishop Ignatius was arrested and sentenced to death in Rome.  As he marched on foot from Antioch which is in modern day Turkey to Rome, he would write letters to the different Christian communities, much like St. Paul.  In fact, those letters would often be read at the celebration of the Eucharist on Sundays, along with the Scriptures, so venerated were his words. 

As he marched to his martyrdom in Rome to be fed to the wild beasts in the coliseum, he pleaded to his fellow Christians not to rescue him.  He wrote, “I write to the Churches, and impress on them all, that I shall willingly die for God… Allow me to become food for the wild beasts…I am the wheat of God, and let me be ground by the teeth of the wild beasts, that I may be found the pure bread of Christ… It is better for me to die on behalf of Jesus Christ, than to reign over all the ends of the earth. For what shall a man be profited, if he gain the whole world, but lose his own soul? Him I seek, who died for us: Him I desire, who rose again for our sake...nearness to the sword is nearness to God; to be among the wild beasts is to be in the arms of God; only let it be in the name of Jesus Christ. I endure all things that I may suffer together with him”

Ignatius, an ordinary man, who made an extraordinary choice: to seek not wealth or power or pleasure, but to humbly conform himself to Christ.  Ignatius has given immense hope and courage to all those who faced persecution and martyrdom over these many centuries, and we pray that same hope fill our hearts and animate our souls, as we seek to conform ourselves to Christ for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: July 4 - Freedom for the oppressed

On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence to declare to the world that the thirteen American colonies regarded themselves as sovereign states independent from the rule of the British Empire.

In response to this historic event, John Adams, one of only two of the Founding Fathers to go on to become president, wrote to his wife Abigail:

“…This day ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God almighty.  It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of the continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.”

How fitting that as Catholics we begin this day of pomp and circumstance with the greatest of all celebrations: the celebration of Holy Mass for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

When I was preparing for today’s Mass, I re-read the Declaration of Independence, and I encourage all of you to read it as well.  Despite the Declaration’s name and purpose, its proclamation of independence, it actually begins with an acknowledgment of profound dependence: dependence above all on God as the basis of rights as well as duties.

In the Declaration, Jefferson wrote “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”  A recent poll, by the way, showed that 50% of college students could not identify the origin of that quote; some even thought that it was from the Communist Manifesto.

The signers of the Declaration of Independence were not the secular humanists the media often makes them out to be.  26 of the 58 signers held theological degrees.  They knew the importance of religion and knowing and following the commandments of God, of being grounded in the truth.

Benjamin Franklin was adamant that our nation could not survive—our liberty could not be kept secure, unless we took religion and moral living very seriously.  He said, “Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters."

George Washington himself held that without religion liberty could not be maintained.  "Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable.... And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion."

Freedom is a great thing, and we do well to celebrate it on the 4th of July.  That being said, authentic freedom must be rooted in truth, and apart from the truth there can be no real authentic freedom.  Freedom is only authentic when it is a force for our growth in truth and goodness.

To many people in our modern day, the notion of freedom means the ability to do whatever you want.  One even sometimes hears children claim, “I can’t wait until I grow up, then, I can do whatever I want.”  But, freedom does not mean doing what we want, but doing what we ought.  We are not free if immoral actions and beliefs rule or lives.

The inevitable consequence of abusing freedom is loosing freedom.  Bad habits which start out as cobwebs can end up as chains.  Our Lord himself says, the man who sins is the slave of sin.
We must live in truth and act in truth if we are to remain free.

The motto of the United States Army Special Forces is: De oppresso liber, to free the oppressed.  And isn’t that the job of every Christian.  For indeed, Jesus came to set captives free, to bring the light of truth to those in the darkness of ignorance, and we are to continue his work.

We thank God today for the gift of our national liberty, for those who fought and died for our freedom.  But, we also recall our duty to preserve that freedom, by seeking to live rightly in communion with God.
May the Lord use us as his instruments for authentic liberty and peace for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Please stand for our petitions.  Our petitions this morning are those composed for the inauguration of President George Washington by Archbishop John Carroll, First Roman Catholic bishop in our country whose brother Charles Carroll was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.

We pray Thee, O God of might, wisdom, and justice! Through Whom authority is rightly administered, laws are enacted, and judgment decreed, assist with Thy holy spirit of counsel and fortitude the President of the United States, that his administration may be conducted in righteousness, and be eminently useful to Thy people over whom he presides; by encouraging due respect for virtue and religion; by a faithful execution of the laws in justice and mercy; and by restraining vice and immorality. We pray to the Lord.
Let the light of Thy divine wisdom direct the deliberations of Congress, and shine forth in all the proceedings and laws framed for our rule and government, so that they may tend to the preservation of peace, the promotion of national happiness, the increase of industry, sobriety, and useful knowledge; and may perpetuate to us the blessing of equal liberty.

We pray for all judges, magistrates, and other officers who are appointed to guard our political welfare, that they maybe enabled, by Thy powerful protection, to discharge the duties of their respective stations with honesty and ability.

We recommend likewise, to Thy unbounded mercy, all our brethren and fellow citizens throughout the United States, that they may be blessed in the knowledge and sanctified in the observance of Thy most holy law; that they may be preserved in union, and in that peace which the world cannot give; and after enjoying the blessings of this life, be admitted to those which are eternal.
And we pray especially for all of our countrymen who have gone before us in faith, for all those who have fought and died for our country’s freedom, for all the of the deceased members of our family and friends, and for N., for whom this Mass is offered.