3rd Sunday of Easter 2017 - Word and Sacrament on the Road to Emmaus

In a homily on the Emmaus story a few years ago, the holy Father, Pope Benedict, spoke about conversion.

“The Gospel of the Third Sunday of Easter — which we have just heard — presents the episode of the disciples of Emmaus, an account that never ceases to astonish and move us,” the Holy Father said. 

“This episode shows the effects that the Risen Jesus works in two disciples: conversion from despair to hope; conversion from sorrow to joy; and also conversion to community life.”

Conversion. There is an important word in the Christian life. Generally, conversion means any sort of change. Converting dollars to pesos, metric to standard. In the religious sense, we can speak of converting from one religion to another. St. Paul, for example, converts from being an unbeliever and persecutor of Christianity to one of the greatest and most heroic evangelizers of history. At Easter this year, here at St. Clare, 5 people from different faith traditions: Baptist, United Church of Christ, Methodist, and Presbyterian converted to Roman Catholicism.

In mathematics, converting from one type of unit to another is simple, if you know the formula. Moral conversion and religious conversion are not so easy, and rely heavily on the grace of God. Our 5 converts spent months undergoing formal training in the faith, and many of them would speak of how their journey to the faith took many different twists and turns throughout their lives.  Moral conversion requires more than intellectual training, converting from selfishness to generosity is not so easy. We have to break habits of the mind, renounce selfish ways, and make real effort to be more generous.

And Pope Benedict is saying that the story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus is the story of conversion. In their conversion they came to a deeper understanding and joy in the risen Christ and love for him.  This is a conversion that the Lord wants for each one of us. To deepen our understanding, to deepen our faith, and to deepen our love.

For the life of the Christian isn’t simply about a one-time conversion at baptism, and then we are guaranteed of heaven. The life of the Christian is a journey of continued conversion: not just from unbelief to belief, not just from evil to good, but from good to better. Hopefully Easter 2017 finds you holier, more prayerful, walking more reverently, utilizing the gifts of the Holy Spirit more than you did a year ago. If not, what happened?

Well, whatever happened, Our Lord extends today the invitation to begin to walk again in the way of daily conversion.

Pope Benedict continued his homily, explaining what is necessary for the daily conversion of the Christian life. He says, “It is thus necessary for each and every one of us to let ourselves be taught by Jesus, as the two disciples of Emmaus were: first of all by listening to and loving the word of God read in the light of the Paschal Mystery, so that it may warm our hearts and illumine our minds helping us to interpret the events of life and give them meaning. Then it is necessary to sit at table with the Lord, to share the banquet with him, so that his humble presence in the Sacrament of his Body and Blood may restore to us the gaze of faith, in order to see everything and everyone with God’s eyes, in the light of his love. Staying with Jesus who has stayed with us, assimilating his lifestyle, choosing with him the logic of communion with each other, of solidarity and of sharing. The Eucharist is the maximum expression of the gift which Jesus makes of himself and is a constant invitation to live our lives in the Eucharistic logic, as a gift to God and to others.”

Did you catch the two necessary practices for ongoing conversion? Listening to and loving the word of God, and valuing more deeply the gift of the Eucharist.

A little less than a year ago, we were reflecting on the story of Martha and Mary, how Mary sat at the Master’s feet and listened to him and cherished him. And I think it was at this Mass, in which I presented a challenge…a 10-minute-a-day challenge. Not turning on the television, not doing the household chores, until you’ve spent 10 minutes reading and reflecting upon the Scriptures. I wonder if anyone took me up on that.

The scriptures help our hearts to be “warmed and illumined” as Pope Benedict said.  They help us “interpret the events of our life”. Have you ever been reading the Scriptures and discovered that it was as if they were written just for you? I hope so. If not, I encourage you to do a little more reading.

So the first necessary practice is listening and loving the word of God, the second is cherishing the Eucharist more deeply, allowing its power to becoming unleashed in your life. The Pope used a really neat phrase, he said when we accept the gift Jesus makes to us in the Eucharist, our lives begin to take on a “Eucharistic Logic”.

In the Eucharist, Jesus is offered to the Father, broken, shared, and poured out. And when we allow the Eucharist to convert us, our lives begin to take on the same logic, the same pattern: we allow ourselves to be broken, poured out, and shared for others. Our life becomes a “living sacrifice to the Father”.

When we truly begin to take seriously this call to listen and love the Word of God and to cherish the Eucharist we begin to experience profound conversion: conversion from despair to hope; conversion from sorrow to joy; and also conversion to become more involved in service in the life of the community, such as the ways being presented in today’s Ministry fair down in the gym.

May we accept the invitation the Lord makes to us today, to grow in grace, to allow him to shape and transform our lives through Word and Sacrament for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

April 28 2017 - St. Louis de Montfort - A more Marian Easter

The Easter Season feast of Louis Marie de Montfort provides a wonderful opportunity to reflect upon the need for a strong devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary if we truly wish to experience the fullness of Christian life.

Mary was intimately united with her divine Son, Jesus Christ, during his suffering and death. Scripture tells of Mary standing under the cross. Her unwavering love comes to a sort of fulfillment at the foot of the cross, when her crucified Son pronounces Mary to be the mother of his disciples, Mother of the Church.

Our Lord gave Mary as our Mother, so we do well to give ourselves to her. Totus tuus, I am completely yours Mary, was Louis's personal motto; centuries later Karol Wojtyla, who would become Pope John Paul II chose it as his episcopal motto, when he was first made the auxiliary bishop of Krakow in Poland.

"Totus tuus ego sum, et omnia mea tua sunt. Accipio te in mea omnia. Praebe mihi cor tuum, Maria." ("I am completely yours, and all that I have is yours. I take you for my all. O Mary, give me your heart")

We each do well to take “Totus tuus” as our own personal Easter Motto. She who was united to Christ her Son in his death, was also united to Him in his Resurrection. And she helps us to do the same. There is a tradition affirmed by Ambrose of Milan, Ignatius of Loyola, and, most recently, by Hans urs von Balthasar that Mary encountered and rejoices over the Risen Christ.

During the liturgies of the Easter Season, Mary is referred to as one who is filled with joy because of the resurrection of her divine Son. The Marian antiphon sung during the Easter season, Regina Coeli, also celebrates her joy: "O Queen of Heaven, rejoice, alleluia! For he whom you did merit to bear, alleluia! Has risen as he said, alleluia!"

A strong Marian devotion will help us experience the joy of this season and grow in the graces of this season.

In his book “True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin”, which John Paul II carried with him and read often, Saint Louis wrote, “Mary is the fruitful Virgin, and in all the souls in which she comes to dwell she causes to flourish purity of heart and body, rightness of intention and abundance of good works. Do not imagine that Mary, the most fruitful of creatures who gave birth to a God, remains barren in a faithful soul. It will be she who makes the soul live incessantly for Jesus Christ, and will make Jesus live in the soul”.

May we continue to discover her maternal presence with us throughout our Easter celebrations, that we may know her joy and respond to God with her perfect faith for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
 
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For deeper Marian devotion amongst all Christians, that the Church may more deeply share in Mary’s Easter joy over the Resurrection of her Son.

For all mothers, that they may find in Mary the example and strength to carry out their vocation of love, and that all sorrowful mothers may know the consolation and peace of God.

That through Immaculate Mary, Queen of Peace, hatred, violence, and cruelty will cease in the world.
That from the moment of conception all children will be preserved from bodily harm; for the overturning of unjust laws permitting the destruction of innocent life; and that the minds of all may be enlightened to know the dignity of every human life.

That the sick may draw strength, consolation, and healing by turning to Mary, who intercedes for us from her place in heaven

Thursday - 2nd Week of Easter 2017 - The source of evangelization

In seven verses, our Gospel today gives seven statements about Jesus’ true nature and his mission.

One, he comes from heaven, he is divine. Two, his testimony will be rejected. Three, He speaks God’s own words. Four, He is filled with God’s Spirit without limit. Five, He is God’s Son. Six, whoever believe in Him has eternal life. And seven, anyone who does not believe in Christ has no life.
During Easter we reflect upon our own need to spread the Gospel, to share our beliefs with others. Well, what exactly are we to share with others? There is so much about our faith, it can be overwhelming to choose what exactly to share with others.

The seven verses here at the end of chapter 3 give us seven key truths about Jesus Christ: who he is, why it is important to believe in him. Not a bad seven verses to memorize so that we can draw upon them in our conversations with others.

For remember, we study our faith, we read the Scriptures, not simply for our own edification, but that it might be shared and taught. We will never regret the time we spend studying and memorizing the Scriptures. For remember, as St. Jerome says, “Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.” We learn the Scriptures, and study them, so that we can learn Christ and share Him with others.

Listen to the beautiful and challenging words of Vatican II concerning the role the Scriptures should play in our lives: The sacred synod also earnestly and especially urges all the Christian faithful, especially Religious, to learn by frequent reading of the divine Scriptures the "excellent knowledge of Jesus Christ". "For ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ." Therefore, they should gladly put themselves in touch with the sacred text itself, whether it be through the liturgy, rich in the divine word, or through devotional reading, or through suitable instruction…”

Pope Francis said, “The sacred Scriptures are the very source of evangelization…The study of the sacred Scriptures must be a door opened to every believer. It is essential that the revealed word radically enrich our catechesis and all our efforts to pass on the faith….Let us receive the sublime treasure of the revealed word.”

May each of us continue to be enriched and challenged by the Word of God this Easter Season that the Word of God may lead us to deeper faith, integrity of life, Christian virtue, and courage in its proclamation for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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Let us pray.
Through the resurrection, Christ confirmed the faith of his disciples and sent them out into the world, may all bishops and priests faithful preachers of the Gospel.
Through the resurrection, Christ became our peace and reconciliation, may all of the baptized be united in the perfect communion of faith and love.
For deeper commitment to studying and sharing the Word of God.
May the Lord look upon all of the sick and suffering and reveal in them the power of his glory.
Through the resurrection, Christ became the firstborn from the dead, may all the faithful departed be granted a share in Christ’s glory, especially…

April 25 2017 - St. Mark the Evangelist - Bishop of Alexandria and Martyr

St. Mark was a Jew converted by the Apostles after the death and resurrection of Christ. As we heard in the first reading, he was a spiritual son of St. Peter—Peter, who refers to himself as “the chosen one at Babylon”, referring to Rome.

So St. Mark was with Peter in Rome, and it is here that St. Mark is asked to put into writing what they were being taught orally by St. Peter. And that is exactly what this evangelist did.

Around the year 49 AD St. Peter sends Mark to be the Bishop of Alexandria in Egypt. Alexandria was known for its superstition, old Egyptian gods and pagan practices looming large. Mark preached the Gospel there in Alexandria and worked many miracles: faithful to what we heard in his Gospel today: that the apostles preached and signs accompanied their preaching—the Lord confirmed their words through signs.

For this reason, many people converted to the faith, but his preaching also brought about his martyrdom. But the fruits of his preaching and the testimony of his martyrdom caused Alexandria to become one of the great centers of early Christianity. It is around Alexandria that Christian monasticism begins with Anthony of the Desert and Paul the Hermit. St. Mark changed the world and changed history through his faithfulness to the preaching mission.

And, what a wonderful saint to celebrate during the Easter season, when we are being reminded of the importance of faithfully preaching the Gospel, giving witness to the truth that Jesus is risen, and by backing up our words with accompanying works.

St. Mark continues to have an effect in the life of every Christian in the world. We unite ourselves to St. Mark’s efforts, that through his prayer, the Lord may continue to bring about many conversions in this hostile land where a new paganism, an atheistic paganism is taking root. Just as the Lord transformed Alexandria, he can transform this place through our faithfulness.

We certainly remember the people of Alexandria and their families. It was here at the Coptic Cathedral of St. Mark in Alexandria that a bomb exploded on Palm Sunday just three weeks ago: 45 Christians attending Palm Sunday Mass were killed by Islamic terrorists. May the martyrdom of St. Mark, and these new martyrs bring about a flourishing of Christian faith and Christian peace in that land.

May St. Mark’s preaching and witness give us courage to be faithful to Christ in this age and in this place for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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(Petitions adapted from Evening Prayer)
Let us pray:

The Father raised Christ his Son, Our Good Shepherd from the dead, may we be his faithful witnesses to the ends of the earth.

The Father sent his Son into the world to bring good news to the poor, may we have courage to bring that good news to all peoples.

The Father sent his Son to sow the word of life, may God help us to sow his word and to reap its harvest with joy.

The Father send his Son to make the world one through his blood, may we all work together for this unity.

The Father set his Son at his right hand in the heavens, may the gates of God’s kingdom be opened to all those who have died...

Monday - 2nd Week of Easter 2017 - Nicodemus and Baptism

Last week, throughout the Easter Octave, we read from each of the four Gospel writers, their accounts of Jesus' resurrection, and Jesus' post-resurrection appearances to his disciples.

For the rest of the Easter Season, we will be reading from the Gospel of John—the discussion with Nicodemus this week from chapter 3, and onto chapter 6—the miracle of the multiplication and the great Bread of Life discourse next week.

It seems a bit strange to read these stories from early in John’s Gospel—from early in the earthly ministry of Jesus—in this season in which celebrate his resurrection. We do so, for one, because we have kind of exhausted the gospel passages of the resurrection accounts.

This too seems kind of strange. After all, as we heard at the end of yesterday’s Gospel, Jesus did many others signs and wonders after his resurrection that were not written down. Why didn’t John write them down? John says, “If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.”

Why else in this post-resurrection season do we read pre-resurrection stories and teachings? Likely, it’s because now that we are reborn in baptism we are meant to go back and reflect and unpack the teachings in light of the resurrection event.

In today’s Gospel, Nicodemus could not understand what it meant to be “born again”, in light of Easter, it’s now obvious. Being “born again by water and the spirit” is of course baptism.

Easter begins with renewing our baptismal promises. We are meant to reflect over and over during this season on our baptism. To reconnect with it, to renew our commitment to it. To allow the power of its efficacy to continue to unfold in us.

Baptism isn’t something that just happened in the past and now we are over and done with it. Baptism continues to have an effect throughout our whole life as we are faithful to the promises of baptism.

St. Vincent Ferrer said “Every baptized person should consider that it is in the womb of the Church where he is transformed from a child of Adam to a child of God.” So we have some considering to do? If I have been changed in baptism, if I have been transformed, how do I continue to act like a son of Adam instead of a son of God? How do I continue to act like unfaithful Adam instead of the faithful Christ?

To enter more deeply into understanding your baptism, you might consider rereading the Catechism’s mighty chapter on baptism, the doorway of our salvation. But certainly, allow these Easter weeks to bring you back to the fervor of a newly baptized soul, fervor for doing the will of God, living the life of grace, and spreading the saving Gospel for the glory of God and salvation of souls.


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(Petitions adapted from Morning Prayer)
 
God the Father was glorified in the death and resurrection of his Son. Let us pray to him with confidence.

God the Father bathed the world in splendor when Christ rose again in glory, may our minds be filled with the light of faith.

Through the resurrection of His Son, the Father opened for us the way to eternal life, may we be sustained today in our work with the hope of glory.

Through His risen Son, the Father sent the Holy Spirit into the world, may our hearts be set on fire with spiritual love.

May Jesus Christ, who was crucified to set us free, be the salvation of all those who suffer, particularly those who suffer from physical or mental illness, addiction, and grief.

Divine Mercy Sunday 2017: The Facebook Killer and Mercy

As you may know, last Sunday, Cleveland became the center of national news again. Sadly, a 74-year old man, Robert Godwin Sr, was shot and killed while walking on a sidewalk in the Glenville neighborhood. His murderer posted a cellphone video of the shooting on his Facebook account, leading many media outlets, to dub him the "Facebook killer".

Well, this week, Mr. Godwin’s family appeared on television. And in front of the entire nation, they forgave the murderer. Speaking for the family, his daughter Tonya said, “Each one of us forgives the killer… I forgive you and love you, but most importantly,” she said, “God loves you. God can heal your mind and save your soul.” She says, We want the killer to know, “that God loves him, we love him. Yes we’re hurt, but we have to forgive him because the Bible says if we don’t then the heavenly father won’t forgive us.” Of course she is referring to Matthew chapter 6 verse 15 which says “But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”

Mercy, forgiveness, healing. This is what we celebrate today on this Feast of Divine Mercy. And the Godwin family proclaimed this truth, lived this truth so beautifully this week.

God loves us. God can heal our minds and save our souls. God calls us to forgive, and by that act of forgiveness, we ourselves are forgiven.

Mr. Godwin's son, Robert Jr, echoed the sentiment shared by his sister. He said,  “One thing I do want to say [to the killer] is I forgive him. Because we are all sinners…I’m not happy with what you did, but I forgive you.”

Here is a family, devastated by the senseless death of a dear loved one, but filled with the mercy of God.

This is our vocation as Christians: to be filled with the Mercy of God. Mercy was at the heart of Good Friday, Mercy was at the Heart of Easter Sunday. Today’s Feast celebrates the mercy lavishly poured out upon us by God and the mercy we are in turn to pour out for others.

Today’s feast of Divine Mercy stems from a series of private revelations given by our Lord in the 1930’s to a simple Polish nun by the name of Sister Maria Faustina Kowalska. Now canonized, St. Faustina recorded these private revelations in a diary of about 600 pages detailing a whole program of devotion to the mercy of Jesus Christ. Consider the Lord’s timing in appearing to St. Faustina! The 1930s was the beginning of an era of unparalleled cruelty of man toward his brother, it saw the rise of totalitarian atheistic governments and rampant materialism, and the trampling of basic human freedoms like the right to life.

So, Our Lord himself gave to the Church this special and important gift, right when we needed it, to help us survive an era of darkness—an era which continues still.

In the pages of St. Faustina’s diary we learn of the Image of Divine Mercy. The Lord explained how this image is to help us remember God’s mercy and the need to show mercy. I encourage you to place the image of Divine Mercy somewhere in your homes.

In the Diary, we hear about the Divine Mercy Chaplet, which the faithful should pray with great devotion: asking God to show mercy upon our troubled world. The Lord said to St. Faustina, “Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy.” So, we do well to pray the Chaplet. If you don’t know how to pray the Chaplet, I’ve just given you homework. Learn it and pray it. Don’t turn on a television until you’ve done your homework!

Also in the diary St. Faustina writes about the Hour of Mercy, how our Lord desires that every day at three o’clock, his death on the Cross—the supreme sign and source of God’s mercy—be recalled in prayer and devotion. Every day we should stop at 3pm, and thank God for the gift of our salvation.

St. Faustina records in numerous places in her diary Jesus’ desire that a liturgical feast be instituted in honor of his mercy on the second Sunday of Easter. Thanks to St. John Paul II who instituted this feast, we honor our Lord’s wishes today.

Finally, Jesus told St Faustina, "I demand from you deeds of mercy... You are to show deeds of mercy to your neighbors always and everywhere."

Always and everywhere. To terrorists, show mercy. To murdering facebook killers, show mercy. To annoying neighbors and inconsiderate drivers, show mercy.  To people who you disagree with 

politically, show mercy and patience. To people who betray your trust, show mercy. To rude shoppers at the grocery store, show mercy. To God’s poor ones who reach out to you for help, show mercy. For souls trapped in cycles of sin and souls in danger of hell, pray for mercy.  For bishops, priests, and religious who so often fail in our solemn duties, pray for mercy. For children whose parents do not raise them in the faith, pray for mercy. “Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy.” You and I will not have peace until we become people of mercy for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Easter Friday 2017 - Fish transformed into Fishermen

The sailing ship or fisherman’s boat was an ancient Christian symbol for the Church. The Barque of Peter sailing on a wind-tossed sea of worldliness, disbelief, persecution carrying her cargo of human souls.

The symbol draws some of its imagery from Noah’s Ark, which protected Noah’s family during the flood. Jesus too protects Peter’s boat and the apostles on the storm Sea of Galilee.

Saint Anselm said that the Bark of the Church may be Swept by the Waves of the world, but she can never sink, because Christ is with us. When the Church is in Greatest Need, Christ comes to her help through miracles, or by raising up Saintly Men to strengthen and purify her. She is the Bark of Peter; when the Storm threatens to Sink her, the Lord awakens from His Sleep, and Commands the Winds and Waters into Calm: “Peace; be still!”

Many Church buildings even are built to resemble a ship: the main nave contains the faithful gathered like in the galley of a ship. In fact, the word nave, comes from the Latin “Navis” which means, ship.  The ribbing of the church rafters even resemble the ribs of a ship.

In today’s Gospel, the risen Lord commands Peter to cast the net over the right side of the boat and brings in a large catch. This has always been the Church’s mission.

Under the guidance of the successor of St. Peter, the Pope: we fish for souls, that those souls may come to safe harbor, the port of Heaven. One of the earliest symbols for the Christian was a fish: the icthus. Once safely in the boat, fish are transformed into fisherman and are put to work to cast out into deep waters.

The net cast at the command of Christ symbolizes our Evangelizing Mission. The Quantity of fish netted, One Hundred and Fifty-Three (153), is the total number of Species of Fish known by the Greek Civilization at that particular time in History. Therefore, this Number represents all of mankind to which the saving Gospel is to be preached.

After being pulled into the safety of the Barque of Peter, the disciples then go to shore in order to eat a meal with the Lord: a beautiful symbol of the celebration of Eucharist. We go out into the stormy world with all of its errors and vices, seeking to make a catch of souls, and then come back to the presence of the Lord for the celebration of Eucharist—in thanksgiving for keeping our own souls safe from evil and seeking strength to be more faithful and effective in our mission.

May our celebration of the Eucharist today and throughout the Easter season continue to strengthen us for the evangelizing mission, to spread the Gospel to all people, that no soul may be lost to the watery chaos, including our own, but may be brought to the glory of our eternal homeland, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
 
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Filled with paschal joy, let us pray more earnestly to God that he, who graciously listened to the prayers and supplications of his beloved Son, may now be pleased to look upon us in our lowliness.
1. For the shepherds of our souls, that they may have the strength to govern wisely, the flock entrusted to them by the Good Shepherd.
2. For the whole world, that it may truly know the peace given by Christ.
3. For our brothers and sisters who suffer, that their sorrow may be turned to gladness which no one can take from them.
4. For our own community, that it may bear witness with great confidence to the Resurrection of Christ.
O God, who know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the desires of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ Our Lord.

Easter Thursday 2017: He opened their minds to understand

Even though the disciples had the testimony of Mary, the testimony of Peter and John, the testimony of the disciples who had met the risen Jesus on the road to Emmaus, even though their very topic of conversation had been the resurrection, when the risen Jesus appears in the Gospel today, the disciples are panicked, fear-stricken, and confused.

Why? Because they did not understand. So, Jesus offers them peace, he meets them in their ignorance, and then helps them understand what has happened by opening the scriptures for them.
Here is a perfect model for evangelization. We are to go out into the very confused world, a world which denies Christ, which is really afraid of embracing Christ, offering peace to them, and helping them to understand.

It is one of the Act of Mercy to instruct the ignorant. Not only are we to proclaim THAT Jesus rose from the dead, but we must help them understand it, help them realize how that changes everything.
Instructing the ignorant is listed as first among the spiritual acts of mercy. We see Jesus instructing his disciples throughout the Gospels, and he even commands the apostles very clearly: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”

While much of the world has heard about Jesus Christ, most are ignorant of what Jesus actually taught, the truths which are passed on faithfully and taught clearly by the Holy Catholic Church.
To Communicate the truth of our faith is certainly more than memorizing a lecture and entries from the catechism. We are to witness to the resurrection in our way of life: what we buy, when and where we work, how we talk, how we dress, why types of entertainment we engage in, are engagement in politics and volunteer work, all this must point to the our belief that Jesus is risen.

But still, to be able to communicate clearly the Catholic faith, to be able to open the scriptures and help people understand, we must prepare ourselves for this work through study—the constant “renewal of our minds” as St. Paul says. To not only explain what we believe but why we believe it.
Many people know that the Church teaches that abortion, contraception, homosexual activity, IVF, are sinful, but not really why she teaches these things—the biblical foundations and also the natural law and the science behind them.

The Spiritual gift of understanding is given to every Catholic in their baptism—He’s “opened our minds to understand” and we are to cultivate that gift to the best of our ability, through prayer and study, that we may give ever clearer and faithful witness to the resurrection of Christ for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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Filled with paschal joy, let us pray more earnestly to God that he, who graciously listened to the prayers and supplications of his beloved Son, may now be pleased to look upon us in our lowliness.
1. For the shepherds of our souls, that they may have the strength to govern wisely, the flock entrusted to them by the Good Shepherd.
2. For the whole world, that it may truly know the peace given by Christ.
3. For our brothers and sisters who suffer, that their sorrow may be turned to gladness which no one can take from them.
4. For our own community, that it may bear witness with great confidence to the Resurrection of Christ.
O God, who know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the desires of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ Our Lord.

Easter Tuesday 2017 - Letting Go and Letting God

Two mysteries arise from the Gospel reading today.  First, why does Mary Magdalene have difficulty recognizing the risen Lord? And, second, why does Jesus tell Mary not to cling to him?

Some scholars have suggested that Mary doesn’t immediately recognize the Lord because her tears and grief have clouded her vision. Perhaps, she confuses him with the gardener because of a connection to the Adam who failed as the "tender" of the Garden of Eden. The first Adam allowed the powers of evil and death to creep into the garden, which claimed his soul and the soul of his bride. Now the risen Christ is the New Adam, who gave his life so that his Bride might be free from sin, breaking Satan’s power over man and creation.

Perhaps, Mary does not recognize him because the resurrection has transformed him. The Risen Christ physical body has been eternalized, recreated, beaming with life. We know he is able to walk through locked doors, and appear and disappear.

And perhaps, Mary does not recognize him for the same reason the disciples on the road to Emmaus do not recognize him. He remains veiled until they are ready to see him. Well, it doesn’t take Mary quite as long to recognize Him, she sees clearly when he speaks her name. The faithful flock know the voice of the Good Shepherd.

This certainly challenges us to ensure that we are accustoming our minds and hearts to the sound of his voice through prayer and service.

Secondly, why does he tell her not to cling to him? Many scholars indicate there seems to be no satisfactory answer in light of the fact that a week later Jesus will invite Thomas to place his hands on Jesus' very wounds. St. John Chrysostom suggests that, having known the human Jesus He is now asking her to show more respect for His glorified body. Perhaps, He is simply urging her not to waste time clinging to Him but He has given her the mission to run quickly to the Apostles with the news that she has seen Him. Or perhaps, her desire is to cling to Him is to keep Him bound to earth, or to cling to the past, how things were, before the arrest.

The relationship to Christ is meant to grow. Our faith in Christ, our hope in Christ, our love for Christ should be greater than it was last Easter. We should be growing in using our spiritual gifts for the service for others. Easter is about new life, not simply celebrating the new life we received in baptism, but the new life Christ wants for us, today. What do we still have to let go off, in order to let God’s life flourish?

May we continue to accustom ourselves to the voice of the Risen Christ, who sends us out with the message of Good News, and allow the new life of the Spirit to flourish in our souls in his service for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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Filled with paschal joy, let us pray more earnestly to God that he, who graciously listened to the prayers and supplications of his beloved Son, may now be pleased to look upon us in our lowliness.

1. For the shepherds of our souls, that they may have the strength to govern wisely, the flock entrusted to them by the Good Shepherd.
2. For the whole world, that it may truly know the peace given by Christ.
3. For our brothers and sisters who suffer, that their sorrow may be turned to gladness which no one can take from them.
4. For our own community, that it may bear witness with great confidence to the Resurrection of Christ.

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

Easter Monday 2017 - Fearlessly sharing the good news

“Do not be afraid!” Easier said than done! The women left the tomb, half overjoyed, half fearful. They had come face to face with the angel of the Lord and experienced a violent earthquake. Anyone in their right mind WOULD be afraid. The romans had crucified their Lord, the Jewish leaders couldn’t be trusted, capable of insidious plotting and conspiracy. The only way you wouldn’t be, if you were commanded by God…as they were, and as have we.

“Do not be afraid!” the Lord commands us. His Word strikes down our fears when we trust Him.
This Easter week is all about preaching, preaching the good news of the resurrection, spreading it among non-believers, those who have still not allowed the Gospel to take root in their hearts. We are not to allow fear to keep us from this mission, the divine mandate: to preach, to proclaim, to spread.
The two Mary’s in today’s Gospel are tasked with bringing the good news to the apostles, those who should have known better. Sadness, fear, depression had begun to grow in them, their lives seemed ruined, they were crushed—their leader, their master and teacher arrested and killed. Even after the Lord had told them repeatedly he would rise, they just couldn’t see past their sorrow.

So the two Mary’s are sent to them: to rekindle hope, to deliver the message of good news.

Likely, there are people in our own lives: neighbors and family who suffer from similar sadness, fear, depression, those who think they are trapped in a cycle of bad luck, or face illness or unemployment. Perhaps the Lord wants to send us on a mission: to go to them to say, “the Lord will give you strength because he is risen…when life gets me down I find it important to go to the blessed Sacrament chapel…or a particular passage of scripture…or I pray a rosary every day in order to bring my troubles to God…or I make sure I gather together with other Christian families to know that I’m not alone”

Christ is alive, he is risen, and we can receive his life, his peace, his strength, his wisdom, when we unite ourselves to him and trust him.

May we be free from fear and faithful in proclaiming the good news this day and all days for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

- - - - - - - -
Filled with paschal joy, let us pray more earnestly to God that he, who graciously listened to the prayers and supplications of his beloved Son, may now be pleased to look upon us in our lowliness.
1. For the shepherds of our souls, that they may have the strength to govern wisely, the flock entrusted to them by the Good Shepherd.
2. For the whole world, that it may truly know the peace given by Christ.
3. For our brothers and sisters who suffer, that their sorrow may be turned to gladness which no one can take from them.
4. For our own community, that it may bear witness with great confidence to the Resurrection of Christ.
O God, who know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the desires of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ Our Lord.

Easter Sunday 2017 - Transforming the Tomb

Yesterday morning, I spent some time watching April, the most famous giraffe in the world, give birth to her new calf. For weeks, millions have watched tuned in to gaze into this little zoo enclosure to see one of God’s spectacular creatures bring new life into the world. Million watched and waited on April’s womb. And now her womb is empty because it has brought forth new life: a healthy little baby giraffe, who’s already walking around and smiling with that goofy giraffe grin.

Today, on this Easter Sunday we celebrate not an empty womb, but an empty tomb, the first empty tomb since the fall of Adam and Eve. For remember, from the time of the sin of Adam and Eve, the tomb had claimed every human soul. The tomb was the place of captivity and darkness. The tomb was the place where death reigned supreme. It was the place of stench, decay, and utter sadness.

But on Easter Sunday morning, a little less than 2000 years ago, God did something completely new in the history of the world. He defeated the tomb; the powers of death, which dragged every human soul since Adam into hell, were defeated. Through Christ’s resurrection, death lost its grip over human souls.

Utter defeat has been transformed into irreversible victory. As C.S. Lewis said, “The door which had always been locked had for the very first time been forced open.” Evil had its way with God's anointed. Death had sway over mankind.  But now, no more. Christ is risen, he is truly risen!
The tomb, in a sense, is transformed into a womb. The place of death is transformed into a place of life. From this lifeless tomb burst forth new life. As St. Paul says, Jesus Christ is “the first-born of the dead.”

Jesus Christ’s resurrection, his bursting forth from the tomb, is the stamp of guarantee on all of his teachings and promises. He rose, just as he said he would. Resurrexit sicut dixit. And so all of his promises can be trusted, we can put our faith in Him. We can believe that those follow him as he taught us, those who have been reborn in baptism as he taught us, those who eat his flesh and drink his blood as he taught us, those who carry their crosses faithfully to the end as he taught us, will be raised with him as he taught us. No believer, no one who believes in Christ and follows him, will be subject to the tomb. No tomb shall ever hold Christ’s faithful ones again.

Yes, we may still face physical death. But physical death, we Christians know is not the end of the story anymore. The tomb through Christ is transformed into a womb, whose darkness and constriction are now simply a place of preparation for new and eternal life. Those who buried simply rest and wait to be raised.

In the Creed, every Sunday, we profess this belief in the resurrection of our bodies. Just as Christ is risen and lives forever, so all of his faithful ones us will be raised on the last day and live forever.
Jesus himself teaches this John’s Gospel; he says, “The hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and will come out, those who have done good deeds to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked deeds to the resurrection of condemnation.”
This truly is Good News, the best of news.

Chesterton writes: “‘God raised Jesus from the dead!’  This was the fundamental and unalterable testimony of those who had physically seen Jesus dead and then alive again.  The historical fact of Jesus resurrection is the ground and basis of all true love, hope, and joy; for if Jesus is still in the grave then all of humanity will remain in the grave too.  But he is not in the grave, and this makes all the difference.  Now those who put their hope in Jesus may find their way into a fullness of joy: partially in this world; fully in the next.”

A baby in his mother’s womb cannot comprehend the beauty and splendor of life outside the womb; he’s not even begun to experience the joy God has in store for him. Similarly, the life of the Christian faith opens us to great vistas of truth and beauty and goodness and joy that can be found no where else.

Is your life full of Christian joy? Are you surprised by the unexpected joy of encountering God in your prayer life, through acts of Christian service? Are you surprised by the joy of studying the faith and reading and studying the Scriptures? Are you surprised by the joy of experiencing the gifts of the Holy Spirit manifesting in your life and in your family? If not, let this Easter be an invitation to enter more deeply into life.

Lack of Christian joy is often a sign of infantile faith. Lack of joy is often a sign that we are still allowing the powers of death and sin to reign in us, that we are not allowing faith in the Risen Christ to flourish in us. If you aren’t experiencing true Christian joy, if you haven’t been living your faith as you should, if you haven’t been praying and studying and serving and coming to mass and going to confession as should, let today be a new beginning. Let it be a new beginning of living the faith, encountering Christ, spreading his Gospel. For true Joy and new life can only be discovered through Jesus Christ.

In just a moment, we will renew the promises of our Baptism. Many of us, baptized as infants, did not get the opportunity to make our own baptismal profession. It was made for us by our parents and godparents. But every Easter, Mother Church gives us the opportunity to renew our baptismal promises. We will promise once again to put behind us the old life of sin, to walk with Christ in newness of life, to make our souls places where the risen Christ may dwell and bear fruit and draw sinners to himself through us.

Listen to this beautiful invitation expressed by Pope Francis at Easter a few years ago, Pope Francis; he said: “Let the risen Jesus enter your life, welcome him as a friend, with trust: he is life! If up till now you have kept him at a distance, step forward. He will receive you with open arms. If you have been indifferent, take a risk: you won’t be disappointed. If following him seems difficult, don’t be afraid, trust him, be confident that he is close to you, he is with you and he will give you the peace you are looking for and the strength to live as he would have you do.”
Jesus is Risen, indeed he is Risen, let us rejoice and be glad.  Alleluia, Alleluia.

Holy Saturday 2017 - Morning Prayer Reflection - "He descended into hell"

The ancient homily on Holy Saturday states: “there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. God has died in the flesh and hell trembles with fear.”

In the Apostle’s Creed we profess that after Christ was crucified, died and buried, “He descended into Hell” He was not condemned to Hell, like the rest of humanity. Rather he descended, he went willingly and with purpose.

From the time of Adam, all who died, whether evil or righteous were deprived of the vision of God. And Christ went to those who souls who awaited their Savior. Jesus did not descend into hell to deliver the damned, nor to destroy the hell of damnation, but to free the souls who awaited his coming.

The Catechism says, “Christ went down into the depths of death so that "the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live."

The ancient homily says, “he has gone to free from sorrow the captives Adam and Eve…the Lord approached them bearing the cross, the weapon that had won him the victory.”

We do well to observe the silence today, we who have quieted our willful souls by Lenten and Holy Week penances. If we grow silent enough, and listen well, we will hear hell trembling, and the voice of the Lord, victorious through the cross, proclaiming a word of life, as we await his Easter resurrection for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Good Friday 2017 - Morning Prayer Reflection: The Penitential Psalms

Every Friday morning, the Church in her morning prayer recites Psalm 51, one of the seven Penitential Psalms, called such because they beseech God’s mercy for the forgiveness of sins. The Church prays Psalm 51 every Friday, to remind us of THIS Friday, Good Friday.

Prayerfully reciting the penitential psalms helps us to recognize our sinfulness, express our sorrow and ask for God’s forgiveness.

In Psalm 51, King David, guilty of adultery tearfully turns to God for mercy. King David is a symbol of all mankind guilty of sinning before God, but also a symbol of faithful Israel who turns to God for mercy. From the Psalm’s first line: David, isn’t making excuses for his sin, he isn’t bringing to mind his own past deeds to exonerate himself, he isn’t trying to weasel out of his guilt due to any extenuating circumstances. He is guilty, he admits it, and he knows only God’s mercy can save him.

We do well to pray with the Penitential Psalms today, particularly Psalm 51. Do so meditatively and earnestly: pleading to God for the purifying and washing that only he can accomplish. Perhaps pray one Psalm per hour until we meet again at 3pm at the hour of mercy.

Today also begins The Divine Mercy Novena, which is prayed from Good Friday until Divine Mercy Saturday.

Today is a powerful day for pleading God’s mercy, for ourselves, for all mankind, for priests and religious, for those who reject God, for those who seem to be stuck in cycles of sin, for those who have become lukewarm, for little children and for those who near death, and the souls in purgatory.

Good Friday is the source of all mercy. In union with faithful Israel, with believers through the centuries we cry out: have mercy on us, O God, in your kindness. In your compassion blot out our offense.



The Seven Penitential Psalms can be found here.

Psalm 51

1
For the leader. A psalm of David,
2
when Nathan the prophet came to him after he had gone in to Bathsheba.a

I
3
Have mercy on me, God, in accord with your merciful love;
in your abundant compassion blot out my transgressions.
4
Thoroughly wash away my guilt;
and from my sin cleanse me.
5
For I know my transgressions;
my sin is always before me.b
6
Against you, you alone have I sinned;
I have done what is evil in your eyes
So that you are just in your word,
and without reproach in your judgment.c
7
Behold, I was born in guilt,
in sin my mother conceived me.*d
8
Behold, you desire true sincerity;
and secretly you teach me wisdom.
9
Cleanse me with hyssop,* that I may be pure;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.e
10
You will let me hear gladness and joy;
the bones you have crushed will rejoice.
II
11
Turn away your face from my sins;
blot out all my iniquities.
12
A clean heart create for me, God;
renew within me a steadfast spirit.f
13
Do not drive me from before your face,
nor take from me your holy spirit.g
14
Restore to me the gladness of your salvation;
uphold me with a willing spirit.
15
I will teach the wicked your ways,
that sinners may return to you.
16
Rescue me from violent bloodshed, God, my saving God,
and my tongue will sing joyfully of your justice.h
17
Lord, you will open my lips;
and my mouth will proclaim your praise.
18
For you do not desire sacrifice* or I would give it;
a burnt offering you would not accept.i
19
My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;
a contrite, humbled heart, O God, you will not scorn.
III
20
*Treat Zion kindly according to your good will;
build up the walls of Jerusalem.j
21
Then you will desire the sacrifices of the just,
burnt offering and whole offerings;
then they will offer up young bulls on your altar.

Homily: Tuesday of Holy Week 2017 - The sin of Judas Iscariot

Holy Week is a sacred time for us to truly draw close to Our Lord as we reflect upon His profound love for us sinners. He goes to the cross to defeat sin and restore life. Today’s Gospel reveals something quite important about the nature of sin.

Before Judas betrays Jesus in the garden, we read today how Judas had already betrayed the Lord in his heart. We read how the Spirit of Satan entered Judas already at the Last Supper.
Jesus detects Judas’ interior betrayal, so Jesus said to him, "What you are going to do, do quickly."… and Judas took the morsel and left at once. And it was night.

Judas leaves the meal before its conclusion. Judas breaks his communion with Jesus, his communion with the Apostles gathered around Him. Sin and division leads Judas out of communion with Jesus and the Twelve, and this was sin which took place in Judas’ heart.

John also points out earlier that Judas had already begun accustoming himself to sinful thoughts, like greed. Unrepented sins from the past open us to graver future sins.

We then read how Judas goes off into the night. It is always darkness, it is always night when we forsake the Lord. Sin is always a turning away from his light—the light of his truth, the light of his moral goodness. Like Judas, even our interior sins, can be real and serious and mortal when we reject truth and goodness in our minds and hearts.

In the proceeding passage, which we’ll hear on Holy Thursday, Jesus washed the feet of his Apostles, even Judas’. Jesus had been reaching out beyond Judas' treachery to wash his feet right up to the final moment when Judas closes his heart to Christ and opens it to the devil. Even as we contemplate sin, Jesus is reaching out in love and compassion, urging us to turn away from our dark thoughts and plotting.

And the Good News of Good Friday is that even after the betrayal of sin, the Lord does not abandon us. He goes to the cross for us. He invites us to come out of the night back into his light, and to allow Him to banish Satan from our minds and hearts, to rejoin Him at the table, back in the light of Communion.

Our prayers for sinners who have abandoned Christ for the night are powerful this week. As we fast and pray with the Lord, we do well to bring to Him all those who choose to not bring themselves to Him. We pray that before it’s too late they will reject sin, reject Satan, reject faithlessness, error, heresy, and hear the Lord calling them home.

We do well to pray also for ourselves, to take ever more seriously the call to turn away from all sin, even our venial sins, to allow the Lord to fill us with his light and life for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That our Holy Week observances may bring renewal in faith, hope, and love throughout the Church.
That civil leaders will use their authority to protect the dignity of human life and the well-being of the poor, especially the unborn.  We pray to the Lord.
For deliverance from all evil and all temptation: for those under the influence of drug abuse, addiction, insanity, occultism, atheism, sexual perversion, greed, and any spiritual evils which degrade the human person.
For those preparing to enter the Church at Easter, that these weeks of Lent may bring them purification and enlightenment in the ways of Christ.  We pray to the Lord.
For those experiencing any kind of hardship or sorrow, isolation or illness: that the tenderness of the Father’s love will comfort them.  We pray to the Lord.

Homily: Monday of Holy Week 2017 - Actions speak louder than words

painting by DANIEL F. GERHARTZ

What did Mary know? What did she understand? What was in her heart when she poured this anointment over Christ? What did she grasp about his identity, that she perform this very strange and costly action?

In the Old Testament, prophets are of course known for their preaching, calling people to repentance, inviting people back to intimate union with God. But they are also known for their actions. They would often perform strange actions which carried deep symbolic meaning.

Think of Elisha commanding Naaman the Syrian to go and wash himself in the Jordan. Isaiah strips off his clothing, shames himself, to expose the shame of Israel’s enemies. Hosea marries a prostitute to show how Israel had given herself over to false gods.

Jesus, too, uses prophetic gestures to show deeper meaning: he changes water into an abundance of wine, to show the abundance of God’s blessing, he puts clay on the blind man’s eyes showing that he restores us to an Eden-like state.

What is Mary, sister of Lazarus doing with this costly oil? Perhaps, she is simply thanking the Lord for raising her brother from the dead. It certainly shows her profound love for Him, a love we all do well to emulate. But, perhaps she did grasp something, the fruit of contemplating the face of Jesus as Martha her sister was busy at work around her. The anointing with oil certainly shows that Jesus is the anointed one, the one chosen by God to save us from our sins. The costliness of the oil shows the preciousness of his own sacrifice.

In scripture, so often, actions speak louder than words. And so to in our own lives. During this Holy Week, we do well to open the jars of costly anointment for the Lord—bringing Him our best, giving our best for Him.

I cannot help but thinking of the nearly 50 people who were killed by Islamic terrorists in Egypt yesterday on Palm Sunday. They gave their lives for Him. And we are called to do the same.
In our gestures of love for the needy, in our prayer, in our fasting, in our observance of the Holy Week liturgies, in preparing our homes and hearts for the Easter festivities.

During this Holy Week, our love and affection for Jesus should fill the room like the fragrance of ointment.  It should be detectable by those we meet. That they too perhaps can be drawn into the relationship of divine love for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: Thursday - 5th Week of Lent 2017 - "Whoever keeps my word will never see death"

Jesus assures us that those who keep his word will never see death. What a promise! Those who follow Christ will be preserved from the spiritual death which comes through disobeying God. Remember, in the Garden, God desired to preserve Adam and Eve from death, he warned them to avoid the forbidden fruit or else they would die. The devil, contradicting God, claimed, “You will not die.” But they did. Spiritual death came through sin. As St. Paul says, the wages of sin is death.

Through Jesus Christ, fallen man is reconciled to God, lost life is restored, and Christians are to remain connected to God through Christ as a branch to a vine. But, Many people today attempt to have a relationship with God without Jesus Christ. They attempt to be “spiritual”, engaging in esoteric practices like reiki, yoga, westerners flirt with buddhist or transcendental meditation, or once in a while they turn to God in great emergencies, but when the emergency ends, so does their prayer.

Jesus does not promise happiness, peace, salvation or life through these so-called “spiritual, but not religious practices”. They might bring some temporary results, but so did forbidden fruit.

In his exhortation “Evangelii Gaudium” Pope Francis gives expression to this dimension of our faith. He writes “The joy of the Gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus. Those who accept his offer of salvation are set free from sin, sorrow, inner emptiness and loneliness. Whist Christ, joy is constantly born anew.” Only through Christ do we receive the life God wants for us.

Or some claim to have some sort of special deal worked out with God, where they claim to believe in Jesus but have nothing to do with His Church. But Pope Francis also said rightly, a few years ago: “It is not possible to find Jesus outside the Church…it is 'an absurd dichotomy' to want to live with Jesus without the Church, to follow Jesus outside the Church, to love Jesus without the Church.”

Jesus founded a Catholic church…meaning everything we need for salvation and for sanctification, joy and peace, can be found within the Church…the Holy Scriptures entrusted to her, the Sacraments, Sacred Tradition which rightly guides our lives and moral decisions, the saints who teach us how to pray and how to love.

Lent should deepen our conviction for spreading the saving truths of Christ, and continues to challenge us personally and spiritually. Which of the Lord’s teachings do we do well to take to heart? Which word have we been ignoring or glossing over? The call to forgive? The call to purity? The call to selflessness? The call to trust God in our trials?

May we continue to incline our ears to our Savior, and if today we hear his word, may we not harden our hearts, but receive his life giving word with trust and obedience for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

- - - - - - - 

That the Church will experience the graces of profound renewal during this season of Lent.  That we may grow in our eagerness in spreading the Gospel of Christ.

For those who have fallen away from the Church, who have fallen into serious sin, those who have lost their faith, or whose faith has been poisoned by error or heresy, for their reconciliation with God and the conversion of all minds and hearts.

For those preparing to enter the Church at Easter: that they will be profoundly blessed in their preparation for full initiation into the Body of Christ.  We pray to the Lord.

For the needs of the poor, the hungry, the homeless, those who are sick, unemployed, or suffering from addiction, mental, or physical illness, imprisoned, for victims of terrorism, those affected by severe weather, and those most in need: that the Lord in his goodness will be close to them in their trials.  We pray to the Lord.

Homily: Tuesday - 5th Week of Lent 2017 - The most important choice

In the Gospel, we have a continuation of the scene from yesterday, where Pharisees brought to Jesus the woman caught in adultery. After offering God’s mercy to the adulterous woman, one might think to ask, who is this guy? Who does he think he is? As the scribes proclaim in Mark’s Gospel, “Who alone but God can forgive sins”.

Well, Jesus identifies himself today. Twice he calls himself, “I AM”. “I AM” was of course the name of God given to moses at the burning bush. Moses asked, who is this sending me on this mission to deliver the Israelite slaves? And the Lord said, tell them, “I AM sent you.”
Jesus identifies himself today as, “I AM” come to do the saving himself, salvation which could only come through Him.

“For if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins." This is a choice the Jesus poses to every human soul in every generation. To believe in Him or not. To follow Him or to follow the world.

As Christians, we have been given the gift of faith to know that Jesus Christ is God and our only savior, and yet, we still struggle between these two attractions. The world is seductive. It offers immediate gratification: the saucy television show, internet sight, the juicy piece of gossip. The way the world is set up one is often rewarded for walking in the ways of selfishness.

. It’s hard to be in the world, but not of the world. Likely, this is why we find Lenten fasting so difficult: we like our worldly attachments. And in the age of social media, there are some social pressures not to appear to be “too Christian”—to not be “one of those Christians”. Many young parents struggle with this choice: bring their kids to sports practice or to church? We have a lot of parents who want to raise the next Lebron James instead of raising the next Saint James.

Each of us struggle in our own way with this duplicity. Many Christians go to the grave without ever really seeking to put God first, without really living the consecration of baptism, to put faith first, to make the choice of God or the world.

To be Christian is radical choice, it is to go down to the root of our being. If we truly believe that he is God, then we have to dedicate ourselves to Him—not simply in occasional thoughts in our moments of religious fervor, but in a concrete decision to follow him always, which puts us in contradiction with the ways of the world.

May we have the faith and strength and perseverance to make that choice day after day, moment to moment, for it is the choice that brings true life and brings it to abundance for the glory of God and salvation.
 
- - - - - - - - - -

That the Church will experience the graces of profound renewal during this season of Lent.  That we may grow in our eagerness in spreading the Gospel of Christ.

That all Christian families will recommit themselves to putting Christ at the center of their family life, so as to grow in faith, hope, and love.  We pray to the Lord.

For an end to abortion and for the reverence and protection of human life.  We pray to the Lord.
For the young people of our Church. May they be strengthened to be witnesses to the Gospel of mercy and work for a future that embodies a genuine culture of life.

For those preparing to enter the Church at Easter: that they will be profoundly blessed in their preparation for full initiation into the Body of Christ.  We pray to the Lord.

For the needs of the poor, the hungry, the homeless, those who are sick, unemployed, or suffering from addiction, mental, or physical illness, imprisoned, and those most in need: that the Lord in his goodness will be close to them in their trials.  We pray to the Lord.

Homily: Monday - 5th Week of Lent 2017 - Deliverance from Evil

In our readings who heard of two women: one who was being framed by evil men, and one who was genuinely guilty of the sin of adultery.  Both were tempted to sin, pressured; but one was resisted sin, the other gave in. And in both stories, God is shown as the great deliverer.

Did you notice where Susanna temptation occurred? She was approached by wicked men, in a garden. This reminds us of course, of the temptation of Eve in the garden. But Susanna shows herself to be more like the New Eve, than the old, in her faithfulness to God, her desire for purity. She cries out to God who comes to her aid and delivers her from the wicked through the instrumentality of Daniel, who is a type of Christ.

The woman in the Gospel was truly guilty of adultery. And in this case, our Lord shows us the face of God’s mercy. Though she was guilty of sin, God did not abandon her, but invited her to repent, and to begin a new way of living: “go and sin no more” Jesus says.

In the first story, God delivers the innocent, by coming to their aid. In the second, God delivers the sinner, the guilty, through mercy—calling the sinner to repentance and offering mercy.

We are called to be innocent like Susanna. When we are being pressured to sin, coerced, threatened by the wicked, we are to turn to God to deliver us from evil. And we are called to be like the woman caught in adultery, guilty of sin, we turn to God to deliver us from evil, our own evil, the evil we have caused, and we have committed.

Blessed Duns Scotus taught that there are two types of redemption: preservative redemption and liberative redemption. God preserves us when we turn to him in temptation, and he liberates us when we’ve fallen.

The key is that we turn to God whatever our state, whatever our trial. We certainly pray for those who neither turn to God for preservation or liberation, those without faith. And we seek for ourselves, a deeper faith this Lent, that we can come to trust less in ourselves, and more in Christ.

For we celebrate in just two weeks, the source of our deliverance and redemption, the Cross and Resurrection of Christ. May the Lord deliver us from all sin, all temptation, all evil for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

- - - - - - - -

For greater devotion in our Lenten prayer, greater self-restraint in our Lenten fasting, and greater selflessness in our Lenten almsgiving.
That civil leaders will use their authority to protect the dignity of human life and the well-being of the poor, especially the unborn.  We pray to the Lord.
For deliverance from all evil and all temptation: for those under the influence of drug abuse, addiction, insanity, occultism, atheism, sexual perversion, and any spiritual evils which degrade the human person.
For those preparing to enter the Church at Easter, that these weeks of Lent may bring them purification and enlightenment in the ways of Christ.  We pray to the Lord.
For those experiencing any kind of hardship or sorrow, isolation or illness: that the tenderness of the Father’s love will comfort them.  We pray to the Lord.

Homily: 5th Sunday of Lent 2017 - Rotting souls raised to life

 On this fifth Sunday of Lent we hear another of these magnificent stories from the Gospel of John.  Two weeks ago we heard the story of the woman at the well.  Caught up in a rhythm of sin and thirsting for God , she encountered the Lord Jesus, who said to her, “I will give you living water, which alone can satisfy”.  She represents all of us, all thirsting for God, but all to often trying to quench that thirst in all the wrong places.

Last week we heard of the man born blind.  Again, he is all of us, born in the blindness of sin.  Our minds so often clouded and confused, even in our attempts to live righteously.  Jesus says to him and to all of us, “I am the light of the world.”  If you want to see rightly, be grafted on to me.
 
As we near the end of Lent, these stories in John’s Gospel move toward a sort of crescendo.  He is living water, he says, “I am the light”.  And today Jesus speaks the greatest of the “I am” statements.  He says, “I am the resurrection and the life.”

What is our God interested in?  Life!  One of my favorite quotations from the early Church fathers is from St. Ireneus of Lyons, who said, Gloria Dei Homo Vivens, “the glory of God is the human being fully alive.”  Jesus himself said, I came that they might have life, and have it to abundance.
Christ died, that we may live, free from sin, full of divine life.

God’s glory, what gives God happiness, is that we are fully alive.  Conversely, what saddens the heart of God is when we continue to allow death to reign in us at any level, physically, emotionally, spiritually.

We heard in our first reading about God’s desire to free us from the powers of the grave: “I will open your graves and have you rise from them.”  Of course, this can refer to the resurrection of our bodies when Christ returns. But he’s not just speaking of our final resting place here. The grave also wherever the powers of sin and evil and death reign in us: an addiction, a habitual sin, an inability or unwillingness to forgive, anger and bitterness, perversion, fear of leaving behind the comfortable to follow Christ more devoutly, lack of fervor for the spiritual life…the grave is whatever limits the life of God in you. Think of laying in a grave, there is no place to move, you are constricted, unable to move, tied up, and God says, from your graves, I will have you rise up.”

God’s desire to raise us to new life, can be seen in our wonderful Gospel story of the raising of Lazarus. But, Lazarus is not the only story of Jesus raising the dead in the Gospels. There are three raisings. Can you think of the other two?  The first one is the daughter of Jairus. Remember the little girl who died in her home when Jesus was on the way to heal her?  The second is the son of the widow of Naim.  Jesus sees the widow weeping as they brought out the body of her son, and Jesus is moved to raise him from the dead.  The third is of course, Lazarus.

St. Augustine offered a spiritual reading of these three encounters with the dead.

Because Jairus’ daughter dies in her house, St. Augustine says that her death symbolizes the sort of spiritual death that remains locked up in us, the sort of sins that poisons us from the inside: the resentments, the old grudges.  They aren’t necessarily expressed in words or actions, they just sort of fester within us, poisoning our thoughts, and our wills, and our imagination.  These are the sins we do in private—though no sin is private to God, of course. Jesus raises this little girl, just as he wants to heal us from all of our interior sinful attitudes.

Secondly, the son of the widow of Naim.  He had died and was being carried outside the house to the cemetery. St. Augustine says, he symbolizes the sins, that have begun to express themselves in action.  When the interior anger and resentment, selfishness and lust bubble over in words of actions. But Jesus forgives these too.

The third person Jesus raises from the dead, his friend Lazarus.  Lazarus had been carried out of the house and placed in a tomb.  By the time Jesus gets there, Lazarus has been in the tomb for four days.  His sister, famously says, when Jesus instructs them to roll away the stone that blocks the tomb, “but Lord, surely, there will be a stench.”

St. Augustine says that Lazarus in his grave, symbolizes that evil, that spiritual death, that not only has come out of the heart in words and actions, but has established itself as a habitual.  Now, the anger, the hatred, the violence, the lust, have taken root, and have become such a part of my life and my activity, that, like Lazarus in the tomb, there is a stench, and it’s affecting the people around me.  That anger, addiction, selfishness or lust now affects the well-being of the family. Neighbors begin to avoid us because of our stench.

There was a saint, Saint Christina would become nauseated when in the presence of someone who had an unrepented mortal sin. She could sense that their souls were dead and rotting.

So we have these three types of sin, the interior, the exterior, and that…well…stinkiest, ugliest sorts of sin.  But, at the heart of today’s Gospel, is the message that though our sins are foul, Jesus draws near to us, to bring life. Jesus goes to the smelliest, ugliest soul and invites them back to life.

From time to time, a priest hears someone say, “Father, believe me, what I’ve done is so bad, even God can’t forgive me.” But, our Gospel today says, “false, wrong!”  Nobody, not even those who are entrenched in evil are beyond the reach of the forgiving power of Christ.  He goes into those deepest darkest places, to bring us out of the disgusting muck of sin.

Jesus wept for Lazarus, under the sway of the powers of death.  It breaks God’s heart when we aren’t fully alive.  He doesn’t weep out of anger with us; he weeps when sin and death take his friends.

This Thursday, we will have a penance service. Through Sacramental Confession new life is available to the most hardened sinner. Every Catholic should go to Confession during the Lenten season. If you’ve already confessed, thanks be to God. If you haven’t come and allow Jesus to raise you out of the grave of sin and dysfunction, to release you from the constrictions of the grave, and to the new and flourishing life of grace, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.