Homily: Monday of the 3rd Week of Lent 2016 - God's Ordinary Activity

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth by Jeff Watkins

Naaman, the Syrian army commander afflicted with leprosy, was appalled at the suggestion that to cure his leprosy all he had to do was to bathe in the Jordan River.  That river?  It’s so ordinary!

Jesus, after forty days in the desert, comes back to his home town and is rejected by its citizens.  They knew him as a young boy.  Perhaps they had heard some story about him being lost in Jerusalem for three days while Mary and Joseph looked for him.  They saw him working with Joseph in his carpenter’s shop, how could He be a prophet, how could God be at work in Him!  God couldn’t possibly be that close!

Naaman wanted healing on his terms.  The people of Jesus’ home town wanted God on their terms.

One of the great difficulties that the very earliest Christians had was convincing their neighbors, accustomed to great religious spectacles, that baptism—just being washed with water—really did bring with it the promise of living forever.  “Washing in water?  Just ordinary water?” 

Look at our sacraments: water, bread, wine, oil, confessing past faults, a man and a woman making promises to each other—ordinary things.  For, the power of the sacraments comes not from the water or the oil, but from God.  God is so powerful he can work with ordinary things.

Sometimes our faith seems so ordinary.  I’ve talked to self-proclaimed atheists who claimed that they’d believe in God if He appeared to them in some great supernatural vision.  But when I tell them, God has appeared in ordinary flesh and begun His Church, they laugh.

Many fallen away Catholics claim they don’t go to Mass because it’s boring and ordinary.  They don’t read the bible because, well, that’s so ordinary.  I’ve also talked to Catholics whose family members have fallen away from the Church and have fallen into to some pretty deadly sins.  They looked at me with surprise and doubt when I suggested they pray a rosary for their children.  A rosary, how ordinary! 

So they don’t do anything, they don’t change anything about themselves because they want some magic formula.

Come to Mass, receive the Eucharist, go to confession, read the bible, pray the rosary, spend time in adoration before the blessed sacrament, learn the faith so you can talk about it coherently with non-believers.  It sounds so ordinary, but God works most often in the ordinary.

At this point in Lent you may be starting to be disillusioned with your Lenten penances, they might seem so ordinary now.  But I urge you to persevere, God is working through those Lenten practices.  He will bring about great conversion including your own, if you let him.  For the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: 3rd Sunday of Lent 2016 - Living in the Present

If I asked you “where do you live?”: you might answer, Lyndhurst, or Mayfield Heights; you might say, off of Brainard, or if you are in a witty mood, you might say, the third planet from the sun, or if you are in a patriotic mood, you might say, the good old USA.  

If I asked you “when do you live?” that’s a different question.  Again with a variety of answers.  You might say, In the year 2016, in the second decade of the 21st Christian century.  Star Trek fans might say, “Star date  9-3-7-6-2 dot 6-3.” (Yes, that the accurate star date, by the way)

That question “when do we live” can also mean something a bit deeper—talking about a state of mind, or a state of soul.

For some of us, we are living in the present—we are focused on the here and now, with minds recollected for the worship of God.  Yet haven’t we all met others who seem to be living in the past—trapped in the past, unable to move on from something that happened to them in the past.  And haven’t we also met others who seemed to be consumed with the future—who are overly worried about the future, who are worried about what others will think of them, some time in the future. If you are more worried about what you will have for lunch, or what you will watch on television this afternoon: come and focus on the present.

Our Lenten readings today offered us to consider our relationship to past, present, and future—of past sins, of present struggles, and future concerns.  And at about this midpoint of Lent we encounter this very important spiritual principle: God is calling out to us to live in the present; to deal with the past—not to be suffocated by it, not to be enslaved by it; and to prepare for the future, not to be anxious about what might happen, not to put off for tomorrow what can be done today.

Looking at this First Reading today, it is a famous reading; you’ve heard it before in the past, you may have seen it depicted in movies.  It is one of those readings that if you are not careful you can miss some of the details because you think you are familiar with it.  Moses is in the wilderness and he is tending his father-in-law’s flock.  He sees an angel of the Lord within a burning bush calling out to Him.  Moses goes to examine the bush, and God calls out to him from the bush: “Moses! Moses!”

Listen how God reveals himself to Moses—he reveals himself in the present: “I am”. “I am”.  Not, I was the one who created everything.  Not, I was the one who was God to your ancestors.  No, “I am.”  God is active.  God is present, then and now.

Remember why Moses was in the wilderness at all.  Moses fled to the wilderness after he committed murder.  He fled.  He committed a grave sin.  And even though Moses had done this terrible, terrible thing, God is calling to this sinner, like God calls to all of us sinners, here, now. God is bigger than any past sin.

And then what do we hear in the second reading?  St. Paul recalls how God led the people of Israel out of slavery, through the waters of the sea, and in the desert God was feeding them with food from heaven.  But even though they were in the presence of God they were grumbling and desiring evil things.  They began living in the past, thinking that slavery in Egypt wasn’t so bad compared to this arduous journey God was leading them on.

St. Paul says that we need to learn from their mistakes.  When life’s journey gets difficult, we aren’t to turn back to our former sins, but persevere in faith—live faithfully in the present. They took their focus off of God and what God was doing in their midst—purifying them, preparing for the promised land.  So, too, we often, lose sight of God and we begin to grumble. And we begin to think, you know, sin isn’t that bad, it’s pleasurable.

Fainlly, in the Gospel Jesus’ parable of the fig tree.  This fig tree had not born any fruit for three seasons, the owner of the tree was ready to cut it down.  The gardener on the other hand, and isn’t God the Master Gardner, the gardener, argues to give this fig tree one more shot, he’s going to cultivate the ground and fertilize it.

Jesus gives us a very important insight into the heart of God.  Don’t be suffocated by your past.  Don’t live in the past.  You are baptized into God—your identity is in God and God is in “the now”  So live in the present.  Live in the light.  If you didn’t do great in the past, if you committed serious sin, if you didn’t bear fruit in the past, reconcile that to God.  Make a new beginning, and commit to living the faith as you are meant to.

A priest I know often says, the devil’s favorite day is tomorrow.  The Enemy works to distract us from fulfilling our Christian vocation today, so he tricks us into putting our faith in tomorrow.  Oh, I’ll start praying tomorrow, oh, I’ll start fasting tomorrow, oh, I’ll talk to my spouse about some of the problems in our marriage tomorrow, I’ll cook dinner and bring it to the homebound widow next door tomorrow, I’ll give up watching so much television tomorrow, I’ll start working on overcoming my addictions tomorrow.  To quote Meredith Wilson’s “The Music Man”: You pile up enough tomorrows, and you'll find you are left with nothing but a lot of empty yesterdays.

During Lent, we strip away our distractions: all the noise, all the diversions, all the material things and pursuits of pleasure, all the empty promises, and enter into the quiet desert so we may hear, and see, and experience what is going on NOW:  God working to build up the body of Christ now, God drawing me more deeply into his divine life NOW.

If you haven’t yet this Lent.  Make a good confession. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is a new beginning, it’s wiping the slate clean.  In the Sacrament we accuse ourselves of our past sins, we state our intention to do everything in our power to avoid these sins in the future, we receive God’s mercy, and his grace to remain strong in the face of temptation.  Much progress in the spiritual life is hindered by unrepented sins.  Those big sins that we’ve been hiding, those little sins that have been piling up, they hinder our growth, locking us into the past.

Come to Reconciliation, hand your sins over to God, start over, start anew. The Lord is kind and merciful, and all we have to do to understand and appreciate and experience that mercy is to fall on our knees and say, “that was the past, and that’s who I was, and I’m sorry, I want to live in the now, and want Jesus to be the Lord of my life NOW.”

Let us not be discouraged by our failures and weaknesses this day, but have confidence that the Lord is kind and merciful.  He calls us to repentance because he desires that we live with Him now, that we walk with Him now, not tomorrow, but today.  He frees us from the shackles of the past and the future, so that we may freely live in perfect love and perfect charity for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: Friday of the 2nd Week of Lent 2016 - Exposing the darkness

We can discern some very strong parallels between the Old Testament reading and the New Testament Reading this morning.  In the Old we read of how Joseph was betrayed by his brothers, in the New, Jesus gives us a parable of betrayal, the wicked tenants betray the landowner, and betray his son.

Why was Joseph betrayed by his brothers?  Envy is an obvious motive.  They were envious of the relationship Joseph had with his father, they were envious of the many gifts God had given him.  But Joseph was also a very virtuous man, and perhaps his virtue made them uncomfortable, as it pointed to their own lack of virtue.  The wicked do not like to be reminded of their sins and selfishness.

Jesus offered the parable of the wicked tenants to expose the motives of the Scribes and Pharisees who had already begun plotting to arrest and murder him. Why did the Scribes and Pharisees hate Jesus so? Why did they seek to silence him? Envy, perhaps.  Jesus had attracted quite a following of disciples.  People came to him to be healed, to be taught, and that was bad for business for the Scribes and Pharisees who prided themselves on being the religious experts—the teachers, the rabbis. 

 Perhaps the Scribes and Pharisees were envious of Jesus’ obvious wisdom, his purity, his goodness.  

Likely, the hated him most of all because Jesus exposed their wickedness, their hypocrisy. They were play-acting at wisdom. They claimed to be pure, while full of moral corruption; they declared themselves to be good, while turning away from the call to conversion.

Why betray Jesus? Why seek to arrest and murder goodness incarnate? Because darkness abhors the light. They killed him precisely because he was good. We killed him precisely because he was good.

These readings expose the darkness within us which abhors the light, those parts of us which reject the call of conversion.  We are called this Lent to prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, but there are parts of us which prefer banal entertainment and pleasures to praying, which prefer indulgence & drunkenness to fasting & self-control, and selfish accumulation to almsgiving.  

Those dark parts of us are precisely the parts which we must bring to the light of Christ this Lent to be converted. Let us respond to the call to conversion this Lent, not turning away from it, not thinking that it doesn’t apply to us, not exempting ourselves from it because of our many good deeds, but allowing the light of Christ to expose our inner darkness, that our selfishness may be transformed into service for the sake of the kingdom, for the glory of God and salvation of souls. 

Homily: Thursday of the 2nd Week of Lent - Where is your trust?

The prophets were always gifted at drawing the line in the sand, and Jeremiah does just that in the reading this morning.  Who do you trust?

Listen again to Jeremiah:

Cursed is the one who trusts in human beings,
who seeks his strength in flesh,
whose heart turns away from the LORD.

And on the other hand:

Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD,
whose hope is the LORD.

Much hinges on that little word trust: it means the difference between being cursed and being blessed.

Those who trust in themselves are barren.  Those who trust in the Lord are like a tree planted near nourishing water.  It fears not the drought and yields fruit even during the dry times.

Consider the Rich man in the Gospel today: where did his trust lie?  Look at the fruit of his life: the rich man is so selfish and arrogant that he isn’t even aware of the poor man who begged at his very gate.  He cared more about his dogs than human beings.

John Paul II said one Lent that the “excessive desire for possessions prevents human beings from being open to their Creator and to their brothers and sisters” The rich man was so focused on his earthly possessions, his pets, his wealth, furnishing his home, that he became closed to God and his neighbor.

Excessive desire for material things and for immediate gratification is a key indicator of a lack of trust in God.  Our very own country’s official motto is “In God We Trust”.  Yet, what is the evidence of that?  What’s the evidence in our own lives of our trust in God?

Our readings today speak to our Lenten practice of almsgiving—this Lent we are called to a deeper trust in God that is evidenced by God works—by the works of mercy.  Two full weeks into Lent we do well to examine: where have I put my trust? where have I sought detachment from earthly pleasures in order to seek freedom to give of myself in service? Let not our lack of self-examination be the cause of our neglect of Lazarus who lies sick and dying at our gate.

May the Holy Spirit open the eyes of our hearts to see how God is calling each of us to a greater selflessness this Lent, to a deeper trust in Him, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: Feb 23 2016 - St. Polycarp - Bearing 'much fruit' for the kingdom

We have many great saints whose feasts days fall within the Lenten season.  Today is the feast day of saint who was born just about 40 years after the death of Jesus. His name was Polycarp, and he was the bishop of a place called Smyrna, which is in the modern-day country of Turkey, not too far from Ephesus, where St. John took Mary to live after Jesus’ death and resurrection. In fact, Polycarp was a student of one of the disciples of St. John.

The name Polycarp means “much fruit”; reminding us that as Christians we are called to bear fruit for the Lord; our faithful to prayer and worship, our engagement in the works of charity, even our Lenten fasting is meant to bear fruit—to draw others to Christ, and to transform us into the people God made us to be.

Polycarp certainly bore much fruit. While the church was still young, St. Polycarp helped to form many holy disciples for the Lord; and because of his great faith, his courage and his brilliant mind, Polycarp was made bishop.

Yet, in speaking of bearing much fruit, we also recall the words of the Lord, who says, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single grain, but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Saint Polycarp died for Christ; he is one of the early Christian martyrs.

While he was bishop, at the age of 86, a violent persecution broke out in Smyrna against the Christians. Christians were being forced to give up their faith or face death. Because he was a bishop, Polycarp was arrested.  He was led directly to the roman judge, who ordered him make sacrifice to a pagan God and commit blasphemy.

Some of his Christian friends had urged him to make the sacrifice in order to save his life.  But, Polycarp responded, “for 86 years I have served Jesus Christ, and he has never abandoned me.  How could I curse my blessed king and savior.” So refusing to give up his faith, Polycarp was sentenced to be burned alive.

While tied to the stake, he prayed, “Almighty God, I give you praise, for you have counted me worthy to be among your martyrs, who drink the chalice of Christ’s sufferings.”  Eyewitnesses of his martyrdom tell us something very strange and miraculous happened when Polycarp was being burnt alive.  After he finished praying, the fire was lit, but the fire created a sort of dome around him, and instead of his flesh burning, his body was like bread baking in an oven, like gold a silver in a furnace, he began to radiate the light of God. And a sweat fragrance like burning incense filled the place.

Because he did not give up his faith, even when he was going to be put to death for it, he became a pleasing sacrifice to God, he would win the martyrs crown, and be with Christ in paradise, and his faith strengthens the faith of others, his faith strengthens us almost 2000 years later.

We are all called to be like Polycarp, strengthening others by our words and examples, never giving up the faith in face of temptation.  During Lent, we practice prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, we turn away from some of the earthly pleasure of life like videogames and desserts in order to show that Jesus is the most important person in our lives.  Through our Lenten sacrifices we can truly bear much fruit for the sake of God’s kingdom, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: February 22 2016 - Chair of St. Peter - Responsive to the Shepherd's Voice

In ancient Rome, families remembered their dead relatives and friends at a feast during the latter part of February in which an empty chair represented their deceased. Since the early Christians did not know the date of St. Peter’s death, they remembered him with a feast around his empty chair on February 22. Later, the Church would see the Chair of St. Peter as a symbol of his authority as the first bishop of Both Rome and of Antioch.

In the apse of St. Peter’s basilica in Rome there is a famous sculpture by Lorenzo Bernini, an ancient chair enclosed in sculpted bronze, with the holy spirit in the form of the dove hovering over the Chair.  Just below the chair, are four theologians, Ambrose and Augustine from the west, Athanasius and John Chrysostom from the west. To show how the great theologians from both the east and the west teach how Peter and his successors lead and guide the holy Church of Christ.

Sculpted into the very chair itself is the image of Jesus feeding the sheep. This is also significant to the role Peter and the Pope’s have in the Church.  Sitting in that chair, leading and guiding the Church, they are being faithful to the task Jesus himself gave to Peter, when he told him, “Peter, feed my sheep, feed my lambs.”

This is why, above the chair, along the apse is written "O Pastor Ecclesiae, tu omnes Christi pascis agnos et oves" (O pastor of the Church, you feed all Christ's lambs and sheep

In our first reading, St. Peter himself exhorted the bishops of the church to tend to the flock of God, not lording their authority over the sheep, but serving with love.  As Catholics we don’t resent the fact that we have popes and bishops in these leadership positions.  They serve us, by teaching us, helping us to be faithful to the Gospel of Jesus, correcting us when we step out of line, for the sake of our souls.

There are priests from our diocese who have lead entire groups of Catholics into schism, out of union with the Pope.  For them, today we pray. There are catholics, who may not be in formal schism, but who certainly act like it.  For them, we also pray.

We have been blessed during our lifetime, with very holy Popes.  One of my favorite images is that of the Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict, and Pope Francis, side by side, with the words hope, faith, and love underneath.  Pope John Paul taught us how to have hope in Christ when the world was filling with greed and violence.  Pope Benedict taught us how to have clear and solid faith, when the world was filling with the darkness of error. And now Pope Francis teaches us to have love, when the world is filling up with selfishness and self-concern.

Today we certainly pray for the Pope and his successors, that they may continue to feed Christ’s flock, and we pray for ourselves as well, that we may be responsive to the voice of the Good Shepherd who speaks through Peter, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: 2nd Sunday of Lent 2016 - "It is good for us to be here"

Brothers and sisters, on this 2nd Sunday of the great season of Lent, I say to you in the words of Saint Peter in the Gospel today, “it is good that we are here.” Now, St. Luke tells us that when he said, “it is good that we are here” St. Peter didn’t quite understand what he was saying. “It was good” that Peter, James, and John witnessed the Transfiguration of the Lord on Mount Tabor, so good in fact, that Peter wanted to prolong the experience by building tents for Moses and Elijah to stick around for a while.  It was good for them to be there, but St. Luke insinuates that Peter really didn’t know why it was good.

So, why was it good? Let’s look a little deeper.  Jesus led Peter, James and John on this grueling hike up an exceedingly high mountain — an exertion of at least several hours — in order to pray with them. They could have prayed anywhere, right? They could have prayed in Peter’s home, they could have prayed on the side of the road, in an open field, or down by the Jordan river.

But, mountains are special places of prayer and encounter with God throughout the Bible. Moses encountered the glory of God after climbing Mt. Sinai. God spoke to Elijah in a gentle whisper on Mt. Horeb. The Temple was built on the top of Mt. Zion in Jerusalem. At the top of a mountain we can breathe fresh air. We can gain a different perspective, seeing so much more than we can when we’re immersed in so many things on the ground.

Coming to Mass is a lot like climbing the mountain; we come to a special place—a church building—in order to offer our most sacred act of worship, the Eucharist. Sometimes non-practicing Catholics will tell me that they don’t need to go to Mass in order to pray: they can pray anywhere.  That’s true.  But, one, you can’t fulfill your Sunday obligation by just praying anywhere, and two, we see Jesus in the Gospel leading his disciples to special places to pray: a mountain, a secluded place, the upper room where he celebrated the last supper, and the cross—where he offered the most perfect sacrifice to the Father, himself.

Mass even begins a lot like the Gospel today.  The Gospel began with a procession up a mountain, Mass today began with a procession up towards the altar.

And like a mountain top experience, Mass is to help us encounter God, gain a new perspective in life and breathe a breath of the Spirit’s fresh air that we can’t get sitting on our living room couch.
It was good that they went up the mountain with Jesus, but that’s not the only reason. Why else was it good? Well, the old testament figures Moses and Elijah showed up speaking to Jesus about the exodus he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem. In the books of Moses and the prophets in the old testament we read about how God works to bring about the sanctification and salvation of his people. So Moses and Elijah’s appearance at the transfiguration shows that the work of God for the salvation of souls was now culminating in Jesus.

Here is another parallel with the Mass.  At Nearly the Old Testament appears right next to the New Testament, just like on the Mount of Transfiguration, to show how the promises of the Old are fulfilled in Christ.

Today we heard in our Old Testament reading, about God’s promises of a multitude of descendants to Abraham, and then Abraham performed a sacrifice.

Now look around this church. You are the fulfillment of that promise. You are the descendants, members of the Church, the body of Christ. And a sacrifice, the one sacrifice of Christ is perpetuated in our midst, which is the well-spring of our communion with God and with each other.
It was good for Peter to recognize Jesus as the fulfillment of the law and the prophets, but that’s not the only reason it was good for him to be there.

It was good for them to witness Jesus’ transfiguration, when his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white.  Peter, James, and John, got a glimpse of the glory of Christ that will fully be revealed in heaven.

Here is another parallel with the Mass.  Just as at the transfiguration, at every Mass there is a miraculous change.  Bread and wine are changed into the body of blood of Jesus Christ and they are lifted up on the altar for all to behold.

It was good for Peter, James, and John to hear the voice of the Father speaking.  Perhaps, at Mass, we too can hear the Father speak in the silence of our hearts, the voice telling us to listen to, to follow, the teachings and commands of Jesus.

It was good for Peter, James, and John to fall silent after God spoke; being silent was probably the smartest and best thing they did. So too at Mass, we have moments of silence, to allow the impact of our celebration to really sink in.

But again, it was not simply these things that made the experience of the transfiguration good.
To know why it was good, you need to know a little bit about the Gospel of Luke, the verses surrounding the transfiguration story.  Immediately prior to Saint Luke’s account of the transfiguration, we read about a very important conversation between Jesus and his disciples.

You know the conversation well: they were walking through the region of Cesarea Philippi, Jesus asks his disciples about do people say that the son of man is.  Peter makes the profound confession, “Jesus, you are the Messiah of God”. Then Jesus drops the big one: he says, I must greatly suffer and be killed, and if anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

There can be no real life without the cross. You can imagine when Jesus told his disciples they too must die if they want to truly follow him, this was a bit of a downer.  So in the very next passage in Luke’s Gospel, we climb the Mount of Transfiguration.  Jesus gives Peter, James, and John a glimpse of his transfigured glory to show them the life they will inherit if they take up the cross and follow him.

This is why the transfiguration was so good: it prepared the apostles to not lose faith when they saw their Messiah being crucified, and it prepared them to take up their own cross and proclaim the good news to the world.

And here is our final parallel with the Mass, perhaps the most important one.  It is good to gather together in this holy place, it is good to listen to the words of Scripture, it is good for us to behold the lamb of God who becomes present in our midst, who becomes our spiritual food. But it is good because it prepares us to go out and to carry our crosses.

In the 2nd reading today, St. Paul lamented the Christians who were conducting themselves as “enemies of the cross” as he called them: their stomachs, their appetites, their pleasures became more important to them than following Jesus.

Let it not be the same for us.  This Eucharistic celebration, this encounter with Jesus Christ, prepares us to face and carry our cross, to suffer for the sake of the Gospel.  That might mean sharing the Gospel with non-believers, that might mean turning away from the pleasures of the flesh, that might mean financial sacrifice, the sacrifice of our time, talent, and treasure, it might mean doing battle with demons, as Jesus does immediately upon descending from the mount of transfiguration.  It is good that we are here, because here we are prepared to carry our cross, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: Friday of the 1st week of Lent 2016 - Surpassing holiness

Today we hear of another important Lenten theme: that of growth in holiness. 

Unless your holiness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees you shall not enter the kingdom of God.

The scribes and Pharisees were admired for their zeal, concern for purity, their conformity to the law of Moses.  The very word Pharisee came comes from the word meaning “to separate”. The Pharisees sought to separate themselves from everything that was sinful. They would even avoid eating with sinners, hence, their consternation when Jesus would dine with tax collectors and prostitutes. 

How could our holiness possibly "surpass" that of the people of Jesus' day who obeyed every letter of the law?  It sounds as if Jesus has just set the highest standards in history. 

Jesus is of course not talking about external conformity to the law, but internal conformity as well, that the law and commandments of God be so interiorized that it penetrates to one’s heart and leads to living according to God’s ultimate intentions.

Jesus then gives this illustration of the surpassing righteousness that he is calling his disciples. “You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, you shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.  But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment.”  Jesus does not want us merely to avoid killing one another; he calls us to remove the attitude and actions that lead to killing, or the destruction of relationship—indeed, to remove every obstacle in our hearts to unconditional love.

If we are wounded by another, we are to turn away from even the slightest desire for vengeance.  If we detect an ounce of resentment or bitterness, we are to repent and seek conversion.

Jesus then says, if you are on your way to bring your gift to the altar and you recall that your brother has something against you, leave your gift, and go be reconciled with your brother.  Imagine: you live in Nazareth, and you are on your way to Jerusalem, that’s a 63 mile trek, on foot.  Say you get 63 miles and you are recall how you never apologized to your brother for your hurtful words.  Turn around, walk back 63 miles, and go reconcile before returning to the temple to complete your sacrifice.

This hyperbole accentuates the urgency to resolve any tensions in relationships rather than letting them fester. How many of our own families have these festering wounds that could be healed, if we but took the initiative to be reconciled. Each of us needs to do everything in our power to be free from the seeds of anger, bitterness, resentment, and make our souls fertile ground for God’s peace, and holiness, and love? We could apply this same teaching to each of the vices: lust, greed, envy, gluttony, pride, sloth, wrath...going to great lengths to rid these things from our lives.

We are to go to great lengths to reconciliation because God has gone to great lengths to reconcile us to himself; he has gone to the cross, and so must we, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: Thursday of the 1st Week of Lent 2016 - Prayer of Surrender

During Ordinary Time, our Gospel readings typically are taken in sequential order.  During Lent, our Gospel readings are organized more according to the different Lenten themes: fasting, conversion, liberation, penance, almsgiving.  Today’s Gospel from Matthew comes at the tail-end of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, and here, Jesus revisits the subject of prayer.

He encourages his disciples to ask, to seek, and to knock with the expectation that God will respond.  So here, we have a teaching about essential elements of authentic prayer: confidence and trust.
But, those are some pretty big promises today, aren’t they?  “Ask, and you will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”  It sounds as if the Father will give us virtually anything we ask for, regardless of what is best for us.

But we must consider the context of these promises.  The Sermon on the Mount is a teaching on the kingdom of heaven and the Holy Will of God.  So, in context, Jesus is saying that the Father wants to give all who will ask, seek, and knock, the blessings that enable His Will to be realized on earth as it is in heaven.

Notice, Jesus doesn’t say, “ask, and you will receive what you asked for”, “seek, and you’ll find the thing you were looking for”.  Rather, we ask, and God gives what we need in order to be faithful to His Holy Will.

Queen Esther, in the first reading today, she knows how to pray.  Her first act is complete submission—she lays prostrate all day, and her prayer is “ help me, who am alone and have no one but you,
O LORD, my God...save us from our enemies”.  That’s humility, surrender, trust, and that’s the essence of prayer.

Not controlling God and telling God that he has to do things “my way”, but rather, laying prostrate before God and humbly admitting that He alone has power to save us.

When we talk about Lenten prayer, how during Lent we are to intensify our prayer lives, we aren’t necessarily talking about increasing the amount of prayer, though for most of us, that’s probably a good idea.  Rather, Lenten prayer seeks to make our hearts more like the hearts of Jesus and His Blessed Mother, more trusting, more obedient, deeper and purer surrender and confidence in the will of God, for his glory, and the salvation of souls.

Homily: Tuesday of the 1st Week of Lent 2016 - Purifying our prayer life

Yesterday, the scripture readings gave us insight into the Lenten practice of almsgiving, today we hear all about prayer.

When Jesus warns his disciples not to pray like the hypocrites who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners, he is not condemning either praying while standing or praying in public.  Rather, Jesus is criticizing the motive the hypocrites bring to public prayer, his concern is about their hearts.

Instead of praying for the purpose of expressing their love for God, they pray in public for the purpose of being seen by others.  They seek the praise of men.  And Jesus says the attention they garner for themselves will be the only reward they will receive for their prayer.

Whether we are in public or private, we are to go to the inner room with recollected minds and hearts truly open to listening to the voice of the Father.  Mother Theresa said, “The first requirement for prayer is silence.  People of prayer are people of silence.”  

Secondly, Jesus condemns the babbling prayer of the pagans, who think they will be heard because of their many words.  Again, Jesus is not criticizing repetition in prayer, and certainly not persistence in prayer, both are pleasing to God.    

However, we don’t pray in order to change God’s mind.  God isn’t Santa Clause or a wish-granting genie of the lamp.  Nor, do not pray in order to negotiate with God. Our prayers are not magic spells that if perfectly performed or with obsessive persistence guarantee perfect results.

Mother Theresa also said, “Prayer is not asking.  Prayer is putting oneself in the hands of God, at his disposition, and listening to his voice in the depth of our hearts.”

When Jesus teaches his disciples how to pray, he uses the word, “Father” to denote that prayer is meant to be intimate.  Gregory Nyssa, explains this when he says that true prayer is “intimacy with God” and the purpose of prayer is union with God.

The solemn, quiet, reflective mood of Lent is to offer us an opportunity to allow the Holy Spirit to teach us to prayer and to purify our prayer life—to allow God’s Spirit to lead us into that deep intimacy with Him.  He knows our needs, and therefore invites us into a relationship of profound trust.

St. Francis de Sales wrote, “Do not worry about what may happen tomorrow. The same Eternal Father who takes care of you today will take care of you tomorrow, and every day of your life. Either He will shield you from suffering or He will give you unfailing strength to bear it. Be at peace then, and put aside all useless thoughts, all vain dreads and all anxious imaginations.”

Prayer is not listing off all the things we are worried about, but listening and surrendering and trusting.  May the Holy Spirit teach us to pray this Lent, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: Monday of the 1st Week of Lent 2016 - Lenten Mercy

At the election of a new Pope, the Cardinals of the Church gather in the Sistine Chapel whose walls and ceilings are adorned with some of the most beautiful frescos in the world—painted by the Italian Renaissance master Michelangelo in the late 1530s.  After serious prayer, the Cardinals walk towards the altar to cast their vote for the new Supreme Pontiff of the Holy Church of God. Above that altar is a depiction of the Second Coming of Christ and the final and eternal judgment by God of all humanity, the scene we just heard in the Gospel, “The Last Judgment”.

The Cardinals are reminded by that great biblical scene that their vote must not be motivated by selfishness or ambition, for they will face Christ as Judge on that final day, and will have to answer for the choices they made.

Holy Mother Church presents us with this scene on this Monday of the first full week of Lent.  How will we make use of the time we have been given? Will we repent? Are we motivated by laziness or authentic desire for conversion? Will we seek to become a saint this Lent, or be happy with remaining a sinner?

What separates the saints from the sinners in today’s Gospel? How each treated his fellow man while on earth. This of course makes us think of our Lenten observance of almsgiving.  Pope Francis seems to take this Gospel very seriously. He has called us during this Lent, and this Year of Mercy, to engage in the works of mercy listed by our Lord today as the requirements for entrance into heaven: feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the imprisoned, caring for the sick.

Rather than just looking out for ourselves, like the goats in the Gospel, we are to look to the needs of others and help them as we can. We intensify our almsgiving in Lent as a way of preparing for the rest of the year, as almsgiving is constitutive to the year-round Christian life.

For some of us Lenten almsgiving means putting a little extra into the envelope on Sunday, or writing an extra check each week to a charity of our choice. Better yet, it might mean giving up more of our time in caring for a poor widowed neighbor.  Whatever we give, though, should be something that costs us.  It should be a sacrifice, something that we would miss, to remind us of the great sacrifice Christ offered for us, the sacrifice of his body and blood on the cross, for our salvation, to prepare us for the self-giving which needs to characterize our entire life in Christ, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: 1st Sunday of Lent 2016 - Lenten Preparation for Easter

The two most important feasts of the Church year, Easter and Christmas, are both preceded by periods of preparation.  The season of Advent helps us to prepare for Jesus’ coming and the celebration of his birth at Christmas.  And the season of Lent helps us to prepare for the new life available to us through Jesus’ Passion Death and Resurrection celebrated at Easter. 

As Catholics we take preparation very seriously. In the life of the Catholic there are periods of preparation preceding the reception of the sacraments of initiation.  An adult preparing for baptism goes through a lengthy process of learning the Church’s doctrine, learning about the prayer life of the Church, learning about our moral teachings before they are made members of the Church in the sacrament of baptism. 

Hopefully, it isn’t too distant of a memory, but when you were preparing for your first holy communion, you learned about the Mass, you learned about how the Lord nourishes us with His body and blood in the eucharist. And as young people you also prepared for the sacrament of confirmation; you learned about the gifts of the holy spirit: wisdom, understanding, knowledge, piety, fortitude, which are strengthened in you in Confirmation.

The seminarian preparing for Holy Orders, prepares 8 or 9 years for the life of ministry as an ordained priest.  Christians preparing for the Sacrament of Marriage meet with a priest over several months: they discuss healthy communication and conflict resolution, raising children, they attend a pre-Cana day, and examine the scriptural foundations for Christian marriage and the Church’s doctrine.

Before every Mass, we are to come to Church a few minutes early in order to prepare: we kneel down in our pews, in silent prayer, to prepare for the great mystery we are about to celebrate.  Even better, is to prepare for Sunday Mass by reading and reflecting on the Scripture readings during the week.

We take preparation very seriously? Why? 

For one reason, I think, so we know what we are getting into.  The adult preparing for baptism needs to know what being a Christian entails.  He needs to know the demands that are going to be made of him, he needs to know that being a Christian involves sharing in the Lord’s cross.  We don’t hide the fact that Jesus promised that we would be persecuted for the faith; and that temptation continues after baptism, in fact, the temptations of the devil may be even greater for Christians trying to follow Jesus. Jesus, himself, as we heard in the Gospel was tempted, so we can certainly expect temptation in the Christian life.

The priest preparing for Holy Orders needs to be prepared for the challenges of ministry.  He needs to know his theology, he needs to gain some skill in ministering to the sick and the dying and the doubtful, he needs to be firm in his commitment to lifelong celibacy for the sake of the kingdom of God.

The couple engaged for marriage needs to be prepared for the challenges of being a married couple in the 21^st century.  They need to be realistic that marriage isn’t always smooth sailing, is it? There are still temptations after marriage: temptations to be selfish and impolite and impatient. There are temptations to set aside the faith when things get hectic. There’s the temptation to use contraception. The temptation even to call it quits when things get difficult.

Preparing helps us to be realistic. And, Lent helps us to live out our Easter faith all year round: and there are some serious demands, temptations, and challenges there. The Christian faith really isn’t for the lazy; or rather, it IS, to help the lazy person, the timid person, the person beset with temptation and sin, to become the person God made them to be.

So we prepare during Lent by getting back to basics: practicing prayer, fasting, and acts of charity, learning the Church’s teaching, and growing in awareness of the ways we are tempted. 

Secondly, I think we take preparing very seriously, so that we can come to a greater understanding of how God works through the Sacraments.

The adults I’ve worked with in preparing for baptism have told me that they have a profound encounter with God working in their life; God giving them something that they previously lacked. They’ve shared with me that through the Sacraments they had a life-changing encounter with the Lord Jesus forgiving their sins and infusing them with his divine life.

Even the 2^nd graders preparing for Holy Communion experience something very special in preparing for the Eucharist.  They grow in excitement as the day of their first Holy Communion comes, and many of them speak of profound moments of grace when they receive the Lord in the Sacrament of Holy Communion for the first time. Personally, I’ll never forgot that moment, and the closeness I felt to Jesus upon receiving him for the first time.

Nor will I ever forget laying down on the cold marble of the Cathedral, and kneeling before the bishop with my hands in his, swearing obedience to him and his successors, promising to remain celibate, to pray daily for the Church, when I was ordained a priest.  I will never forget celebrating Mass for the first time as a priest, and saying the words of institution: “this is my body, this is my blood”. 

Nor, do married couples ever forget their wedding vows.   The profound experience of being bound by God to another person in an indissoluble link.

Lent too can help us come to a new experience of God working in our life.  There are sins that God wants to free us from this Lent as we practice Lenten fasting.  There is a new level of intimacy into which God wants to bring us as we practice Lenten prayer. And there is a new level of selflessness and charity God wants to teach us as we practice Lenten almsgiving.

In the Gospel, Jesus prepared for his public ministry by going off into the desert; he prayed, and fasted and experienced temptation.  We journey with Him by going into the Lenten desert to pray and fast and combat our temptations.

If you haven’t already, spend today coming up with some concrete ways of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving this Lent.  Ask the Holy Spirit to help you discover not just want you want to do, but what God is calling you to do this Lent, that you may be open to receiving his gifts this Easter, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: Friday after Ash Wednesday 2016 - Joyful fasting

So…Why DID John’s disciples and the Pharisees fast so much, while Jesus’ disciples fasted so little?

In his somewhat enigmatic statement about the Bridegroom, Jesus tried to teach one of the most fundamental attitudes for a Christian: joy. When God is with us we are to rejoice. When God is with us and we are with God it should be much more like Easter Sunday than Good Friday.

The prevailing attitude of Jesus’ day was simply: the more you fast the holier you must be. The Pharisees derived their religious authority from how holy people thought they were. So they fasted, they wore wide phylacteries, they prided themselves on external precepts.  But Jesus, over and over exposed their hypocrisy.  Holiness isn’t just about fasting and the clothes you wear. Holiness isn’t about play-acting.  Holiness is from the inside-out. “Rend your hearts, not your garments” we heard on Ash Wednesday.

Jesus isn’t saying here that fasting is bad.  But, this Gospel today really helps us to understand the purpose of our Lenten fasting, and the proper motivation for it.

Why do we fast? After all, didn’t Jesus say at the end of Matthew’s Gospel, that he is with us always until the end of time? Isn’t Jesus truly present in all the tabernacles of the world? Isn’t he going to become present to us at this Holy Mass? So present, that we will touch his very flesh and blood?

 The reality of Lent is that even though Jesus is always with us, we are not always with Him.  We fast, not because Jesus is absent, but because foolishly withdraw from Him through our sins. Fasting is one of those means by which we begin to hunger for Him, to desire to be with Him always.  We fast in order to “rend our hearts”: to rekindle our longing to be with God, to live by his wisdom, and to abhor sin by which we withdraw from Him.

Through fasting we show that the pleasures of this world are not what make us whole and truly fulfilled. It is not cookies and snacking and desserts and television and internet and whiskey and wine in which we find our joy.  True Lenten fasting should open us to new vistas of joy.

This is why during Lent we also increase our prayer.  For it is through prayer that God feeds us. He feeds us through his Word, and so we spend more time reflecting on Scriptures, we make extra effort to attend weekday Mass, we meditate on how much he loved us when we attend the stations of the cross, we spend more time in quiet simply listening for his voice.

We fast in order to deepen our hunger for him, and we pray in order to be fed by him.  May our Lenten practices truly help us to rend our hearts, to turn away from Sin, and find our joy in Christ for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: Thursday after Ash Wednesday 2016 - The most important choice

On this second day of Lent, our readings present us with a choice that we are to make today and every day of this holy season: will I take up the cross or not?

In the first reading, Moses presents this choice to the Israelites.  After 40 years of wandering in the desert, they stood just on the other side of the promised land.  Before crossing the Jordan River into the land flowing with milk and honey, Moses presents them with the choice between two ways of life: one of life and one of death. “If you obey the commandments of the LORD…you will live…however,if you turn away your hearts and will not listen…you will not” Even in the promised land they would have to face temptation, they would have to face hardship.  So Moses explained to them what was at stake here: if you do not obey God, you’ll never make it.

Jesus in the Gospel presents the same choice: only this time, what is at stake is not simply earthly prosperity, but eternal life with God: failure to take up the cross will result in the loss of one’s soul. So what will you choose? To indulge every impulse, every fantasy, every ego trip, every fleshly desire? Or will you take up the cross of Christ: will you fast, will you sacrifice, will you obey God even when it’s hard, will you suffer for the truth?

The cross is the path of life, it is the Royal Road to the Kingdom of God and we are invited at the beginning of Lent to share the cross more deeply that the Lord may bring us to new life.

Even the Psalm this morning speaks of this choice: will you follow the counsel of the wicked or the law of the Lord? For those who delight in God’s law will be like a tree planted beside running water which will always bear fruit.

Today, February 11, in addition to being the second day of Lent, is of course the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes and since 1992 has been set aside as a World Day of Prayer for the Sick. Even here is the choice: the deepest healing, the most important healing we need is to come before the Lord as sinners, recognizing our need for mercy. Will you kneel, will you bow, will you repent?

We ask our Lady’s prayers today, and unite our own prayers with Our Lady’s, for all the sick, and to help us to choose life, to carry the cross, to follow Jesus, for the glory of God and salvation of souls. 

Homily: Ash Wednesday 2016 - A sign of repentance

Today we begin penitential season in the life of the Church known as Lent.  We bless ashes, have them imposed on our foreheads, and hear the words “remember, you are dust, and unto dust you shall return.”

You may have noticed that Mass started a little differently today.  I know it’s early, but hopefully you noticed.  We skipped an entire part of the Mass.  The penitential rite, where every day we acknowledge our sins and ask God for mercy.  That act of repentance takes place as we come forward to receive ashes that have been blessed to be a sign of our repentance for our sins throughout our entire life. 

Putting ashes one oneself is a sign throughout all of Sacred Scripture as a sign of repentance: the prophet Jeremiah told sinful Israel to repent by wearing ashes; King David after his very serious sin, repented with ashes; the widow Judith put ashes on her head asking God to deliver her from her enemies; Job, believing that he had sinned before God, repented in “dust and ashes.” When Jonah preached repentance to the wicked nation of Nineveh, the entire people covered themselves in ashes as a sign of repentance.

This biblical practice was followed by the early Christians, who would mark themselves as public sinner by wearing ashes. For Christians, we begin the great season of Lent, marking ourselves as sinners in need of God’s mercy.

We also heard in the Gospel, Jesus condemnation of hypocrites.  A hypocrite is someone who wears a mask pretending to be someone they aren’t.  Jesus condemned the Pharisees for being hypocrites. The Pharisees were acting as religious leaders but they were failing to lead God’s people to the truth of Jesus Christ. Jesus instructs his disciples not to be hypocrites, not to be actors.  Don’t just act like a Christian when other people are looking—truly be a Christian.

Today’s ashes can be a powerful act of repentance. However, there is also a danger of hypocrisy.  Don’t wear them if you don’t want to change your life. If you intend to act no differently today as you did yesterday, don’t receive the ashes.  For as a mark of repentance they are meant to mark our intention to put sin to death by handing over our lives to Jesus Christ.

Ashes mark our intention to do battle against the spiritual evils in our life, to turn away from the pleasures which are harmful to our souls, and our need to hand our lives over ever more fully to Jesus Christ, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: Tuesday of the 5th Week of OT 2016 - Mardi Gras Humility

There is a great humility in today’s first reading.  Everybody was praising Solomon for the incredible beauty of the new Jerusalem temple which he had just finished constructing.  Built of the Cedars of Lebanon, the Temple would inspire any who came to worship there, and much adulation was falling to Solomon, it’s builder. However, standing in the midst of the Temple, Solomon cried out to God: If the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain you, how much less this temple which I have built!”

As impressive as the New Temple was, it was so small compared to the grandeur and beauty of God Himself. Here is a humility we all do well to emulate to recognize that all of the great works of my life, never for a moment come close to the great work of God. 

Tomorrow begins the great season of Lent, which starts off with a great act of humility: dirt—ashes—being smeared on our foreheads, the words, “remember you are dust, and to dust you will return” spoken to each of us individually. An act of humility in order to combat our sinful pride.

In our sins we are often like the Scribes and Pharisees in today’s Gospel, who instead of being concerned with the true commandments of God, become obsessed with human traditions. Even life-long Christians can become “people who honor God with their lips, but their hearts are far from Him” as Jesus says in the Gospel.

For we were not made by God to simply seek our own will, to glorify ourselves. We were made by God to be Temples for Him.

More beautiful than any edifice made by human hands is the Christian soul united to God devoted to Charity. More beautiful than the Jerusalem Temple or even Saint Peter’s Basilica, is the Christian soul freed from selfishness. True humility is more beautiful than any Caravaggio Masterpiece.

We do well today to prepare ourselves for the great season of Lent; that Lent may be a time for beautification of our souls: that we may be worthy Temples of the Lord, purified from sinful habits and attitudes, glorifying God in our words and deeds, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: Thursday of the 4th Week of OT 2016 - Two by two

Today’s scripture readings seem to be about instructions, trust, obedience, and faith.

In the reading from 1 Kings, David, who we’ve been following since he was a ruddy youth, is dying and giving instructions for the building of the kingdom to his son Solomon, who will inherit the throne.

In the passage from the Gospel of Mark, Jesus, too gives the disciples very specific instructions, for the building of the kingdom.  He then sends them out into the world where they are to preach repentance, heal the sick, and drive out demons.

But the instructions are more detailed.  Jesus tells them to go two by two.  Why two-by-two?  I remember my first year in seminary.  Every seminarian is given an apostolate, sent out into the world to bring the good news: some seminarians went to hospitals, nursing homes, hospices, schools to teach.  My first year, I was sent, with another seminarian, two by two, to the Cuyahoga county jail.  We were to learn about and practice jail chaplaincy.  It would have been easy to get discouraged.  But having another seminarian along, we were able to challenge each other to do better, to encourage each other when things got scary, or strange, remind each other about the teaching of the Master, encourage each other to treat those whom we met with charity and patience, correct each other when we might be tempted to take the credit when something good or miraculous would happen. 

So Jesus sends them out two by two.  He also gives them instructions on what to take.  A stick and shoes.  There is freedom in simplicity.  When all you have is a walking stick and sandals, boy you learn about trust and obedience.  On that first apostolate, I learned, that when you are out in the field, you have nothing but your knowledge of the faith, your love of Jesus, your hope in the kingdom, and the help of God.  The apostolate really gave us seminarians motivation to study and pray.  If you didn’t know the faith, and if you didn’t know Jesus, if you weren’t motivated by true love, the people would see right through you. 

Jesus tells the disciples to preach repentance, heal the sick, and drive out demons.  It didn’t take many hours in the jail to realize that demons actually existed: demons named addiction, greed, violence, rape, cruelty, racism.  You also don’t have to go that far to realize that people are in need of tremendous healing: many criminals have been victimized in some way, by their parents, by their peers, and they have such a desire to learn that they are forgiven by God for their sins, if they but turn to him. 

There is hunger and need for the Gospel out there.  And Jesus sends us his disciples into the world.  It is not just the work of bishops, priests, and deacons.  Sometimes we need to stop and reflect on whether we are being faithful to the instructions we have been given, faithful to the mission we have promised to fulfill, and to remember that the Lord has given us abundant grace to complete his mission on earth, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: Monday of the 4th Week of OT 2016 - Deliverance from Demons

The episode from today’s Gospel describes Jesus’ first excursion into non-Jewish territory, and it begins in a similar way as his public ministry among the Jews: with an exorcism—the casting out of the unclean spirit. In fact, in Mark’s Gospel we often see Jesus confronting and emerging victorious over the powers of evil.  Just as the calming of the storm shows Jesus’ power over the forces of destruction in nature, so the exorcisms show his power over the forces of destruction within the human person.

Mark’s description of the Gerasene demoniac shows how demonic influence seeks to distort and destroy the image of God in us.  We see this man living away from his family, wild-eyed, shouting, bearing the marks of self-mutilation—he is crying out, bruising himself with stones.  In a sense, he is more a danger to himself than to anyone else. 

So too, when we are given over to the powers of addiction, lust, greed, wrath, when we allow ourselves to be possessed by the spirits of sin, our goodness becomes distorted, an ugly, unclean power begins to fill us. 

St. Mark even shows the futility of society’s efforts to deal with the demonic problem.  The most they can do is attempt to restrain the man physically, and even that is ineffective; the demon fills the man with a strength which breaks the shackles and chains.  Similarly, the world attempts to free man from his demons through silly pop psychology, self-help programs, pagan or esoteric spirituality, or techniques of the so-called “new age”, or they claim that science is the cure of all man’s ills. 

But Jesus shows, that in the end, it is only the power of the Most High which can free us from our demons.  For often the cause of the demonic relationship is a rupture of the relationship with God and family. 

This is why, after the exorcism, Jesus sends the man back to his family to announce the Lord’s mercy. “Go home to your family and announce to them all that the lord in his pity has done for you.” Jesus restores the relationship with God and heals the rifts of family division.

Today, begins the month of February, a month typically dedicated to the Holy Family, and seeking their intercession for our families. What a fitting Gospel to begin this month, as we pray for the Spirit of Christ to free our families from all evil, to deliver all members of families from demonic attitudes and behaviors, and to free us from our sins during the upcoming season of Lent, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.