Tuesday, October 31, 2017

October 31 2017 - All Hallow's Eve

It is All Hallow’s Eve—the vigil of the Feast of the Hallowed Ones, the Saints—the Church’s answer to the festivals of the ancient pagans who believed that about halfway between the autumn equinox and the winter solstice, the veil between the living and the dead was thinned and the spirits could walk freely in our world.  It is not hard to understand why they thought this: with the changing of the seasons, it looks like nature is dying, and the creepy images flickering in the shadows of autumn bonfires.

The pagans would wear costumes to disguise themselves and even frighten off the spirits. But, the souls we prepare to celebrate on All Saints’ Day tomorrow, of course, are not spirits of mischief, spirits that we flee from, but rather, we flee too. We look to their example and seek their prayers.

The saints are like the mustard seeds and the leaven Jesus describes in our Gospel parables today. They are often small, ordinary people who transform a culture from the inside like yeast within dough. The tiny yeast slowly, imperceptibly, yet effectively causes a massive amount of dough to rise. Similarly, the saints. They touch lives with their goodness. They build up the Church around them. They are active agents of the grace of God.

I think particularly of the Saint whom we began the month of October celebrating: the Little Flower, St. Therese of Lisieux. She led a radically hidden, small life. This obscure little nun from the corner of France is now honored as a doctor of the Church and the Patron Saint of Missionary Work.  Her spirituality, her teaching, permeates Catholic Christianity, helping ordinary Catholics to realize that they too can grow in holiness by doing small things with great love.

Sometimes we can become discouraged by the slow progress of the kingdom of God, the slow working of grace in our world and our family. So we continue to look to the Saints, to show us how ordinary people can bring about extraordinary goodness, when surrendered to the grace of God.
Small acts of kindness and compassion do matter in the eyes of God, and do have a tremendous power to transform hearts and families and nations. As we prepare for the great Feast of the Saints, may we be aided by their examples and prayers in making God’s grace and mercy visible in the ordinary circumstances of our lives for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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

That our young people may take seriously the missionary call of Christ, that they will turn away from the godlessness of our culture to spread the good news of Christ’s eternal kingdom.

For the healing of all those afflicted with physical, mental, emotional illness, for those in hospitals, nursing homes, hospice care, those struggling with addictions, for those who grieve the loss of a loved one, and those who will die today.

For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, for the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, for deceased clergy and religious, for those who have fought and died for our freedom, we pray to the Lord.

Heavenly Father, hear our prayers. May the grace of Christ Your Son, the Divine Physician, bring healing of our sinfulness, and make us worthy of the kingdom of heaven, through the same Christ our Lord.

Monday, October 30, 2017

Monday - 30th Week in OT 2017 - Healing and Freedom

There is clear testimony in the Gospels that Jesus practiced healing. Wherever he went he ministered to hurting, alienated people. Though there are only forty-one distinct instances of physical or mental healing recorded in the four Gospels, the texts record innumerable cures that took place during his 3½ year ministry. Many of the references summarize the healing of large numbers of people, speaking of ‘multitudes’ who were healed by Jesus.

Nearly one-fifth of the Gospels are account of Jesus’ healing ministry, describing the circumstances, the methods He used, the responses of those he healed, and the reactions of onlookers.

The healing from today’s passage is unique to the Gospel of Luke. There was a woman who had been demonically afflicted with a spinal problem for 18 years. While teaching in the synagogue, Jesus notices her, goes to her, Jesus proclaims that she has been “set free from her infirmity” and heals her, and she is immediately able to stand erect.

Her response was to begin to worship God for her healing, but not all shared her gratitude. The synagogue leader, instead of leading those gathered to share in her gratitude to God, condemns Jesus for doing something unlawful on the Sabbath.  He totally misses the point. 

Here, Jesus shows that God’s love is not limited to one day a week or six days a week.  Every minute of every hour, God is inviting us, calling out to us, to love Him, to be freed by Him. Whether they are the chains of addiction, or the depression that comes from setbacks, attitudes of self-righteousness like that of the synagogue leader, or bitterness toward people who betrayed our trust, or fear that keeps us from becoming devoted to the works of charity, God wishes to bring us freedom from the things that infirm us.

This might mean the total elimination of these oppressive forces, an immediate healing miracle, but it certainly means bringing us freedom of spirit, which allows us to live faithfully to Him amidst our infirmities and hardships. St. Paul exhorts us "remember that you have been called to live in freedom".

May we turn to Jesus with our infirmities, and ask him to bring healing, and most importantly freedom, that they never keep us from Gospel fidelity, that like the woman healed of her affliction, we may worship God ever more gratefully and devoutly for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For a healing of all the wounds of division afflicting the Church, for an end to heresy and schism, for turning away from all doctrinal error and hardness of heart, we pray to the Lord.

For spiritual healing and mercy upon all those who have fallen away from the Church, those who have fallen to mortal sin, for those who blaspheme, for the conversion of atheists and non-believers, we pray to the Lord.

For the healing of all those afflicted with physical, mental, emotional illness, for those in hospitals, nursing homes, hospice care, those struggling with addictions, for those who grieve the loss of a loved one, and those who will die today.

For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, for the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, for deceased clergy and religious, for those who have fought and died for our freedom, we pray to the Lord.

Heavenly Father, hear our prayers. May the grace of Christ Your Son, the Divine Physician, bring healing of our sinfulness, and make us worthy of the kingdom of heaven, through the same Christ our Lord.

Sunday, October 29, 2017

30th Sunday in OT 2017 - Priesthood Sunday - Priests are servants of the heart of God



Since 2003, in the United States, the last Sunday of October for us Catholics is known as Priesthood Sunday.  In his divine plan for the salvation of souls, Our Lord Jesus Christ instituted the ordained priesthood for the teaching, leading, and guiding of His people. Priests to baptize, priests to absolve, priests to celebrate the Eucharist, priests to help hardened sinners return to Christ, priests to help families live the Gospel, priests to help us “to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” as Jesus teaches us we must, if we wish to inherit eternal life.

St. John writes, “We are called to love God because he has loved us first.” The realization that God loves you, even with all of your imperfections, and all of your past mistakes, is a foundation stone, for the Christian life. It is also the beginning of many priestly vocations, It was certainly the beginning of mine: the young man realizing that he is a beloved Son of God, not simply in an intellectual knowledge, but an experiential knowledge.

The encounter with God’s love and mercy changes everything. When you know God's love to the depth of your being it changes everything. The saints abandon earthly riches, power, and pleasures, to embark on the journey into the heart of God. I think most priests begin their journey to the priesthood desiring to help people discover how much they are loved by God. Priests are servants of the heart of God.

An example from a day in the life of your parish priest: the other day, I brought my cassock and a few pairs of pants to the tailors; surprise, surprise, these three and a half years at St. Clare’s have required a pair of pants or two to be let out a little bit.  Well, I had been to this tailor before and I was wearing my Roman Collar, so the tailor new I was a priest. After taking care of business, the tailor says to me if she could ask me a personal question. I love personal questions, so I said, “Of course.” She says that she was raised without any faith, and that she comes from a land very hostile toward religion. And she would like to know why a young man such as myself would want to be a priest. Now, I’ve told my vocation story many times before, but not often to an atheist. So, I knew my answer had to be a little nuanced.

After a moment’s reflection, I said, “I think both you and I know how much evil is in the world, yes? Well, I believe much of that evil comes from people not knowing about God’s love—from turning away from God; and I want to help people turn toward God.” She got a little teary-eyed, and she then began to explain how the Stalinists, the Atheistic Communists, caused so much destruction and suffering in her country, and of course, outlawed religion. But, now that Stalin has been replaced, and religion has been allowed again, many of the people who worked for Stalin were now Churchgoers, and they still seem to be oppressing the people. They exchanged the hammer and sickle for the cross, but they did not change their hearts, and now used the cross to control people. So the tailor sees Christians as largely hypocritical.

What do you say to that? Well, having preached on the hypocrisy of the Pharisees the last few weeks, I told her that God is not fooled by actors. God sees to the heart. And we will be judged by our true intentions and actions in this life.

She said she did not believe in an eternal judgment, but that people need to be held accountable now, in this life. And I told her that there will always be evil in the world, and though, yes, we need to work for justice, there is also eternal justice, God’s justice. And those who hunger and thirst for justice in this life shall have it in eternity.

She then asked why God allows all of the evil in the world, if he is good and just. God wants us to work for goodness and justice, that he doesn’t simply wave a magic wand and all the evil in the world disappears. He works in human hearts, and calls each of us to personal responsibility.

Finally, she asks, what proof do you have that God exists. I said, we do not have absolute proof of God, we are called to have faith, but I believe I have seen miracles, and, I have seen God’s hand working in people’s lives, like the people of St. Clare parish. “I’ve witnessed restored relationships, authentic holiness, and the freedom that comes through faith, and that is proof enough for me. And I hope you discover that, too. I hope you discover you are loved by God.”

So that’s certainly one thing I love about the priesthood. Wearing the collar, you get to have conversations like that. And I believe God works through those conversations. The priest is an outward sign that Christ is with His Church and often he’s an instrument of Christ. There is something wonderful in that if you see a priest, you can approach him for a blessing or a confession or a prayer for healing, whether you are at the airport, gas station, hospital, funeral home, or supermarket parking lot.

The priesthood is also the greatest fraternity on earth. Last night, even though I was tempted to stay at home and binge-watch a new Netflix show, I got together on a Friday night, for prayer, fellowship, and scripture study, with some brother priests.

Sometimes people think that celibacy is a lonely life, but I’ve met married people who were much lonelier than most priests I know.  Marriage shouldn’t simply be a cure for loneliness, but the desire to lay down your life for your beloved. And the same is for the priesthood. Priests are not ordained to be bachelor kings, but they find their fulfillment in laying down their life for the Church.

Discerning priesthood should be a normal part of every single young man’s life. The call may come in the form of rumble in the soul, an impulse, the suggestion of a family member, or simply the desire to help people know about God. At the Church entrances, on the bulletin boards, you’ll see a poster with over 70 men studying for the priesthood. These are all men studying here in the Diocese of Cleveland. All these men, I know, love the Church, and believe that the Catholic faith is the remedy for the sickness in the world. These men deserve our prayers, and any young man who shows the smallest sign of a possible vocation deserves our complete support and encouragement.

For their call comes not from selfishness, the desire for earthly riches or fame, but from Christ, who calls them to take up a very unique cross, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Friday, October 27, 2017

Friday - 29th Week of OT 2017 - Signs of the Times

One of the very strong features of our Catholic faith is that we take signs and symbols seriously. Liturgically: art, music, gesture, beauty lift our minds to the worship of God, and help to express religious truths which cannot be expressed in words. In his 1999 “Letter to artists” Pope St. John Paul wrote, “In order to communicate the message entrusted to her by Christ, the Church needs art. Art must make perceptible, and as far as possible attractive, the world of the spirit, of the invisible, of God”

This is really the Sacramental Principle at work, so permeating Catholic Christianity: the visible sacrament communicates the invisible, the physical can communicate something of the spiritual.
In the Gospel today, Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem when he must have come across a crowd of unbelievers, for he rebukes their unbelief. He points out how they so easily and forecast the weather by reading the signs, but they were missing something more important than weather, which was happening in their midst. The signs of the time were all around them: loaves being multiplied, the lame walking, hardened sinners repenting, and the good news spreading. But with all these signs many refused to believe.

Similarly today, even amidst all the tragedy, natural disaster, war, and sickness in the world, we see miracles, healings, restored relationships, Christian joy, fellowship, all which come through Christ. Catholics pouring out their lives in teaching the young, feeding the hungry in soup kitchens, clothing the naked, so much evidence if we take time to look and listen for the work of God.  The darker the world becomes, the more reasons for unbelief, the brighter we need to shine, with reasons for belief.

The more things change, the more things stay the same, for Christians, meaning, as the world changes, the Christian message, and the vocation of the Church remains the same. We are called to be proof of God’s love to the world. And that is done in very physical ways: gathering for prayer, gathering for works of charity, gathering for teaching, and manifesting the spiritual gifts God has given us for the upbuilding of the Church.

To go back to the idea of art, there is nothing more beautiful, no masterwork of art greater than a soul which has surrendered herself to God. We are called to be the works of art, through which the invisible hand of God, the artist, is made visible, in which His beauty, His truth, and His goodness are made manifest, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That our Church leaders may be instilled with genuine Faith, Hope, and Charity and help all people of the world to grow in those virtues.

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

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

For all whose lives are marked by suffering, may they come to know the healing and peace of Christ.

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased clergy and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.

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

Thursday, October 26, 2017

Thursday - 29th Week of OT 2017 - Missionary disciples with burning hearts

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

It is the nature of fire to enkindle the things that are nearest to it. On the road to Emmaus, the disciples who encountered the risen Lord, proclaimed “Were not our hearts burning inside us as He talked to us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?"

If our hearts are to be set on fire, we must draw near to the Lord, his words, and his own heart. Distance from the Lord only causes coldness toward him and toward his mission. We all know many people, even members of our own family, who have grown cold toward the Lord and toward his Church. They fall away from mass, they fall away from prayer. They are busy, busier than ever, about many worldly things, but something is seriously lacking, isn’t there?

Last night, at the special district Mass, the Bishop spoke about missionary discipleship: how God wants to use us to set the world on fire. We often think of missionaries as merely a special class of disciples, who go out to places like india to spread the Gospel to those of other religions. But Bishop Perez, echoing Pope Francis and the Popes of the 20th century, wants to help us realize that we are all called to be missionary disciples, and that the Diocese of Cleveland, our neighborhoods and families, are missionary territory and we must be the missionaries.

This is a share in the mission of Jesus himself. And that’s why there is an urgency in the Gospel today, because he wants our lives on fire, not mediocre and lukewarm, but on fire, that we can spread that fire throughout the world, that we can meet people where they are with the truth of the Gospel.

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

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That all Church leaders may help us to spread the flame of faith and love in all our endeavors.
For an increase in vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life, and a sanctification of all marriages and single Catholics.

“That our parishes, animated by a missionary spirit, may be places where faith is communicated and charity is seen.”

For those who have fallen into error, for Catholics who have grown lukewarm in their faith, for those who have left the Church, for their conversion and the conversion of all hearts.

For all those struggling with addiction, mental illness, chronic sickness, unemployment, or ongoing trials of any kind: that they will be fortified and blessed with God’s special love, favor, and peace.  We pray to the Lord.

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased clergy and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.

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




Tuesday, October 24, 2017

October 24 2017 - St. Anthony Mary Claret - Gird up your loins

Readiness is a constant theme in the preaching of Jesus. The disciples of Jesus are to be ready for action, ready for service, ready for the master’s return, ready to preach the Gospel, and ready in season and out of season, Paul writes to Timothy.

"Gird your loins and light your lamps” the Lord says today. To gird one’s loins was to fasten your robe at your belt so that you had freedom of action to move about with greater agility. The one whose “sleeves are rolled up” is ready to work, the one whose loins are girded is also ready for battle.

In First Peter we read that we are to "Gird up the loins of your mind..."; our minds are to be prepared for action; we are to be ready to explain our faith when we are asked to do so; “always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have,” Peter writes.

Readiness certainly assumes a level of preparedness. In order to share our faith we must know our faith and have studied our faith. We show ourselves to be ready for the Master’s return by confessing our sins. We are to keep our minds and hearts awake for Him through daily prayer and meditation.

We honor today St. Anthony Mary Claret who certainly had his loins girded for action. He was a missionary bishop, originally from Spain, and founder of the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, known also as the Claretians, after him, their founder.

Upon becoming bishop in Cuba, he began a systematic reconstruction of his Diocese by personally conducting retreats for the clergy, preaching missions for the faithful, devising a system for religious education, establishing cooperative farms, parish credit unions, and institutions for disenfranchised youth.

Since he defended the rights of the working folk, the wealthy landowners launched bitter attacks upon the Holy Bishop, even banishing him from the country. But since his soul was prepared, he bore all in union with the Cross of Christ.

Each of us know doubt has some girding to do, some rolling up of the sleeves, some preparations to make for the work God has for us, for opening our hearts more and more to the life of charity and grace. With the help of the Saints, especially the Immaculate Heart of Mary, to whom St. Anthony Mary Claret was particularly devoted, may we ready ourselves generously and faithfully for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That all Church leaders may help us to spread the flame of faith and love in all our endeavors.
That we might not be daunted by difficulty in working for the spread of the Gospel.

For an increase in vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life, and a sanctification of all marriages and single Catholics.

For Pope Francis’ prayer intention for the month of October: That all workers may receive respect and protection of their rights, and that the unemployed may receive the opportunity to contribute to the common good.

For all those struggling with addiction, mental illness, chronic sickness, unemployment, or ongoing trials of any kind: that they will be fortified and blessed with God’s special love, favor, and peace.  We pray to the Lord.

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased clergy and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.

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

Monday, October 23, 2017

October 23 2017 - When our possessions possess us

A constant theme in the writings of one of my favorite authors, the Catholic writer J.R.R. Tolkien, is that of the corrupting nature of greed and hoarding. He writes of Dragons with insatiable hungers for hoarding treasure, dwarven kings who bring ruin to their kingdoms over an obsession for jewels, entire wars fought over the possession of a single ring.

Writing in the early 20th century, Tolkien saw the growing Industrialization and materialism of Europe and America as a corrupting influence in Western Culture. And his stories serve as cautionary tales. Much like the Gospels.

Today we hear of the man who hoards, who stores up more and more for himself that he may “eat, drink, and be merry” without a care in the world. Yet, at the time of his judgment, God calls him a fool, for neglecting his spiritual duties for the sake of his earthly well-being.

As Christians called to live “in the world, but not of the world” our relationship with the material goods of the earth is delicate. We must certainly provide for our own basic needs, the needs of our family, and help our neighbor as we can, but we must also not allow the pursuit of creature comforts, luxuries, or worry about the future preoccupy us.

Fr. Klasinski has reminded us often that there is nothing wrong with having possessions, as long as our possessions do not begin to possess us.  Our possessions can begin to have a demonic influence in our life, when used improperly, instead of being used properly and bringing us closer to God, they are used improperly and lead us away from God.

I think of another literary character who speaks of his alcoholic father. He says that every time father would take a drink from the bottle, it was as if the bottle were taking a drink out of him. Greed, the improper use of material things, is rather vampiric. As we thirst for more and more things, we become less and less human.

Rather, we are called to a proper stewardship of the goods of the earth, appropriating property for our needs, those of our family, and the care for the poor. But always keeping in mind that the excessive accumulation of earthly goods can lead us to be very poor in the riches of heaven.

The Saints, like St. John Capestrano, teach us what being rich in spiritual things looks like, how to order our lives rightly, and to remove the filth and corruption of greed and vice.

As we draw near to the table of the Lord today, may we do so with gratitude for the blessings which fill our lives, with the desire to be good stewards of earthly goods, to right the wrongs in our life, and to seek first the kingdom of heaven for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That we Christian stewards may continue to grow in gratitude to God for all that we have received, and use our time, talent, and treasure for the good of all.

That all those who take part in political and social life will promote evangelization, will work for the true common good, defend religious liberty, and protect the unborn and innocent.  We pray to the Lord.

For Pope Francis’ prayer intention for the month of October: That all workers may receive respect and protection of their rights, and that the unemployed may receive the opportunity to contribute to the common good.

For all those struggling with addiction, mental illness, chronic sickness, unemployment, or ongoing trials of any kind: that they will be fortified and blessed with God’s special love, favor, and peace.  We pray to the Lord.

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased clergy and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.

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

Friday, October 20, 2017

October 20 2017 - Taking off our masks and facing the cross



Jesus often condemned the Pharisees for their hypocrisy.  A hypocrite is someone who says one thing and does another—claims to be something on the outside, but on the inside is something else. 
On the outside, the Pharisees were claiming to be religious leaders, they were supposed to be leading God’s people to the truth needed for salvation, helping God’s people to grow in authentic holiness and righteousness. In the context of 1st century Judaea, they should have been helping the people to recognize the authenticity of Jesus’ message, helping the people to believe that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Jesus condemns them for doing the opposite of what they should have been doing. They were leading the people to be more worried about outward appearance than on interior holiness.  Appearing to be holy was almost a social game, a status symbol to the Pharisees.  And Jesus condemns them for playing at a game, being false religious leaders, of being hypocrites.

The Pharisees were so busy playing this game, build-up their false selves, so busy lying, they actually started to believe the lie, like play actors, or Hollywood actors, who put on the mask for the stage, and start to actually believe they are the fictional character.

Jesus teaches very rightly in the Gospel today, that God sees through our hypocrisy, to the heart of the matter. He sees through all human pretenses, all play acting, all ruses: the true intensions of man will be made known, and we will be judged for them.

Many people today get caught up in social games similar to the Pharisees. They seek to appear to be more successful, they signal that they are more virtuous or concerned about the poor, and therefore better than everyone else. But much of it is a ruse.

Rather the saints take off the mask, they humble themselves before God, they repent of their sins, they seek the reformation of their hearts. Today’s Saint, Paul of the Cross, was the founder of the Passionists. Like so many saints, he urges Christians to meditate frequently on the crucifixion.

Meditation on the cross is a remedy for our self-conceit because we cannot deny that the reason Jesus is on the cross is because of MY sins. Facing the cross requires humility because it means facing the truth about ourselves, but also the truth about God. Today’s saint called the cross is “the most holy school” in which we learn what true love, holiness and righteousness looks like.

 With the help of the saints may we be stripped of our own pharisaic attitudes and come humbly and penitentially before the cross of Christ for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For spiritual growth for all of God’s people, that we may be lead in the ways of authentic truth, justice, and charity.

For those who have fallen into error, for Catholics who have grown lukewarm in their faith, for those who have left the Church, for their conversion and the conversion of all hearts.

For Pope Francis’ prayer intention for the month of October: That all workers may receive respect and protection of their rights, and that the unemployed may receive the opportunity to contribute to the common good.

That the love of Christ, the divine physician, may bring healing to the sick and comfort to all the suffering.

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased priests and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.

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

Thursday, October 19, 2017

October 19 2017 - St. Isaac Jogues and Companions - First Martyrs of North America



Saint Isaac Jogues, St. John de Brebeuf and their 6 french Jesuit companions were the first martyrs of North America to be canonized.  In 1636 the Jesuit Priest Isaac Jogues traveled to Quebec to preach the Gospel to the Huron Indians.  The Hurons were a pretty peaceful group, and many Hurons converted to Christianity through Father Isaac and companions missionary activity.  However, the Hurons were constantly attacked by the Iroquois, and during one attack, Father Isaac and his companions were captured by the Iroquois and imprisoned for 13 months.  They were led from village to village, beaten, tortured, and forced to watch as the Huron Christian converts were mangled and killed by the Iroquois.

Fr. Isaac was able to escape from imprisonment and returned to France. And, he had to receive special permission from the Pope to continue to celebrate Mass because several of his fingers had been cut, chewed, or burnt off. 

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

Many Iroquois saw his courageous faith as proof of the authenticity and power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Many Iroquois converted to Christianity and welcomed missionaries with open arms.  Moreover, the faith began to grow amongst the Mohawks as well.  Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, the Lily of the Mohawks, could trace her faith to the preaching of Isaac Jogues.

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

Have we given ourselves to the work of the spread of the Gospel? For the Saints, spreading the Gospel was not to sit idly by, hoping that people approached them with questions.

Remember, last month, Pope Francis’ prayer was that parishes be animated by the missionary spirit. The missionary is sent out, they go out actively pursuing the salvation of souls, actively striving to bring others to Christ. May the courage of our own North American Martyrs fill us with zeal in spreading the Gospel for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That religious indifference in our country and around the world may be transformed to radical commitment to the Gospel of Christ.

For the transformation of all attitudes which lead to war, violence, racial hatred, and religious persecution.

For the conversion of Atheists, hardened sinners, the religiously indifferent, lapsed Catholics, and the conversion of all hearts.

“That our parishes, animated by a missionary spirit, may be places where faith is communicated and charity is seen.”

That the love of Christ, the divine physician, may bring healing to the sick and comfort to all the suffering.

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased clergy and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.

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


Tuesday, October 17, 2017

October 17 2017 - St. Ignatius of Antioch - A link to Jesus and the Apostles

In seminary one year, I remember hearing about how the early Church had such a tremendous esteem for Ignatius, that his letters would often be read allowed during the Mass alongside the Scriptures. So, I decided to read through his letters myself, and they are a fascinating glimpse into the mind of a very holy and courageous bishop. Like Paul, Ignatius wrote letters to Christian communities like the Ephesians and Romans. And as Paul wrote to Timothy, who had become Bishop of Ephesus, Ignatius wrote to St. Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna. Ignatius even seemed to model his writings after Paul, Peter, and John, and quoted from their works freely.

In the preface to the little book of letters I found, one legend claimed that when Jesus called forward the little child to bless him in the Gospels, Ignatius was that little child. Whether that is true or not, only heaven knows, but Ignatius an important link in the chain of Church history going back to Jesus and the Apostles.

Tradition identifies Ignatius as a disciple of John the Apostle, and later in life, Ignatius was named Bishop of Antioch, where the Apostle Peter had served as Bishop before journeying to Rome. There in Antioch, he is arrested and marched to Rome, where he, like Peter and Paul would face his martyrdom. And it is in his famous Letter to the Romans, which is always read on his feast day in the Office of Readings, that he pleads with the Church not to rescue him, but that he gladly goes to his martyrdom. He says, “Let me be food for the wild beasts, for they are my way to God. I am God’s wheat and shall be ground by their teeth so that I may become Christ’s pure bread.”

If you are so inclined I encourage you to read his letters. For in them we find eloquent teachings on the Eucharist, the primacy of the Bishop of Rome, the role of bishops, general in their local church, and the priesthood. In one of my favorite images, Ignatius urges the early church to strive for unity of faith, and explains how priests should be tuned to their bishops like strings to a harp.

His love for the Church and love for Christ shines through his letters. It is that love that no doubt gave him the fortitude to witness to the True Faith with his blood. May our love for Christ and His Bride the Church ever increase, and spurn us on in our Christian witness, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For Pope Francis, Bishop Perez, and all ordained ministers, that their ministry may unify the Church with the unity Our Lord prayed for at the Last Supper.

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

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

For all whose lives are marked by suffering, may they come to know the healing and peace of Christ.
For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased clergy and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.

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

Monday, October 16, 2017

October 16 2017 - St. Margaret Mary - The vision of His Burning Heart

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

St. Francis famously had a vision of Jesus speaking to him from the cross in the chapel of San Damiano telling him to rebuild his Church. St. Catherine of Siena’s life was filled with visions. Even our parish patron, St. Clare, was given visions of the Holy Mass when she was bed-ridden due to infirmity.

In 1677, Jesus appeared to St. Margaret Mary. a Visitation nun in France. She writes in her diary how she plainly see His heart, pierced and bleeding, yet there were flames, too, coming from it and a crown of thorns around it. He told me to behold His heart which so loved humanity. Then He seemed to take my very heart from me and place it there in His heart. In return He gave me back part of His flaming heart.”

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

The message of the Sacred Heart is powerful, it is the message of the Gospel. The Sacred Heart burns with love for sinners, and calls sinners to repent, and turn away from sin, that their hearts might be set afire like His.

The devotion addresses two errors of the spiritual life. On one hand, there is the temptation to see oneself as a hopeless sinner unworthy of God’s love, to see God as a task master who demands the rigid observance of the law or else he will send you to the eternal hell-fires. On the other hand, there is the temptation to explain away sin, to claim that since God’s mercy is so great, we really don’t have to put in that much effort to reform our lives: that it doesn’t really matter what we believe or what we do.

Rather, the devotion to the Sacred Heart shows us that we are loved intensely by God, his love for us is a fiery furnace, and because we are loved, we respond by seeking purification of all that is unlovable in us, the selfishness, impurity, pride, error, and hardheartedness.

May all of our sins and sinfulness be burned away and purified by the fire of God’s love in this life, that we may see come to the beatific vision of God in heaven for the glory of God and the Salvation of souls.

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

For an increase in faith, hope, and love for all Christians, we pray to the Lord.

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

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

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

For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, for the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, for the deceased priests and religious of the diocese of Cleveland, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.

Sunday, October 15, 2017

28th Sunday in OT 2017 - Mystical Marriage and the Wedding Feast

On Tuesday evenings, we’ve been offering the video series titled “The Pivotal Players”. The series beautifully presents the lives of men and women who deeply impacted Church history. We’ve studied St. Francis of Assisi who brought important reform to the Church of the Middle Ages by calling men and women back to Gospel simplicity in a time when Christians were beginning to become enamored with the luxuries of their day.

We learned from St. Thomas Aquinas, the priest, scholar, and theologian whose writings and systematic thinking about God and the Church continue to be of inestimable value.

Last week, we studied the life and impact of different sort of theologian, the mystic St. Catherine of Siena who is pivotal in helping the Church to contemplate the mystery of God’s love. Listen to her words: “You are a mystery as deep as the sea;” she says, “the more I search, the more I find, and the more I find, the more I search for you.  But I can never be satisfied; what I receive will ever leave me desiring more.  When you fill my soul, I have an even greater hunger, and I grow more famished for your light.”

Catherine’s deep yearning for God was also accompanied by extraordinary mystical phenomena such as visions and revelations, raptures, the stigmata. Catherine, lived many years eating nothing except the body and blood of Christ in the Eucharist.  And often, her prayer was so intense, she would begin to levitate.

Catherine was named by Pope Paul VI as a Doctor of the Church, which is surprising because she was illiterate. As a Doctor of the Church Catherine teaches the Church of all ages essential lessons about the Christian Life. And Catherine is very clear that the purpose of the Christian life is to grow in union with God through prayer, fervent meditation on the suffering of Christ, fasting, cultivation of the virtues, purification from sin, reliance on the Sacraments of the Church, and total abandonment to the Holy Will of God.


Union with God was a theme of her writings and reflections. At the age of 19, having already attained tremendous sanctity, St. Catherine had a vision, in which Jesus gave her a wedding ring, symbolic of her union with Christ the Bridegroom of the Church. Theologians call this the Mystical Marriage, a foreshadowing of the eternal union the blessed obtain in heaven. This is the point of the Christian life, to grow in this union here on earth, that we may share in this union in heaven.

This image of mystical marriage with God isn’t just the fanciful imagining of medieval mystics. Jesus himself uses this image in the Gospel parable we heard today: A king had thrown a wedding feast for his son and sent out servants to invite the guests.  Some guests ignored the invitation.  Others abducted the king’s servants, mistreated them, and killed them. One guest was found unworthy or at least unprepared for the feast.

Who is the king in this parable? Who is the son? Who is his unnamed Bride? Who are the servants? Who are the guests?

Well, of course, the King is God the Father, who celebrates the Marriage of Christ, His Son to  the Church. The Marriage was accomplished on the cross. Jesus himself announces this on the cross, when he says, “Consummatum est”—it is consummated. The servants are the apostles and all those God has sent out into the world to invite sinners to repent and become members of the Church. The guests are those who are given a choice: will you join the wedding feast or not?

At the end of the parable, there is a guest who is thrown out because he is not wearing the wedding garment. Perhaps, this is a Christians, who had lost his wedding garment through sin. Perhaps here is a Christian-in-name-only who went through life simply going through the motions, but never actually sought the intimate union that God wants to establish with us.

In baptism we do receive a wedding garment. But it is up to us to keep that wedding garment unstained and intact. And if it becomes stained or tattered or lost by sin, it must be cleansed and repaired through the Sacraments, particularly the Sacrament of Confession.

The wedding feast of the parable is certainly an allegory for heaven. And yet, we cannot help but see a parallel to what we are doing here, right now.

Since the earliest days of the Church, the Mass, celebrated each Sunday and every day for almost two thousand years, has been called “the Wedding Feast of the Lamb.” Here at Holy Mass, we are the wedding guests who have responded to the invitation of the King. Here at Holy Mass, those who are prepared through Sacramental Confession, are able to feed on the richest food and choicest wine of all, the Body and Blood of Jesus. Here we are able to receive a foretaste of the Communion the blessed enjoy at the eternal wedding feast of heaven.

Over the last few decades, millions of Catholics have fallen away from the Catholic Church.  BUT, the number one reason why Catholics return to the Church is because of their hunger for the Eucharist.  People return to the Church, because here and only here does Christ give us his true flesh and blood.

Many Catholics come to Mass every day because of this deep hunger for Him. To paraphrase Catherine of Siena, the more we eat, the more we hunger. The desire to know God, to be with God, to be close to God is very good, it’s our deepest longing. But it’s up to us to pursue it, to pursue the God who wants to see us flourish in holiness, who wants to see us become saints.

As I mentioned St. Catherine subsisted for years only on the Eucharist. This was possible because the Eucharist is the supersubstantial food of heaven, it is the very life and presence of God. St. Catherine would often see blazing fire in the consecrated host, for rightly so, the Eucharist is the ardent fire of God’s love for us. The Eucharist is the source and summit of the Church’s life, for from it we receive the grace to live out our union with Christ in the world.

May each of us like Saint Catherine be set aflame with divine love, be united to the Lord in his sufferings, and be devoted to the building up and serving of his Holy Church for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Friday, October 13, 2017

October 13 2017 - The Day of the Lord is Coming (Miracle of the Sun at Fatima - 100th Anniversary)



100 Years ago, today, somewhere between thirty-thousand and one hundred thousand people witnessed the great miracle of the sun in Fatima, Portugal.  Thousands of witnesses saw the sun leave its place in the sky, begin to spin like a top, “spinning like a ring of fireworks”, one account said and come barreling toward the earth. And then, just as quickly as it came toward the earth, it returned to its spot in the sky and stopped spinning.

The miracle occurred eight months after Our Lady began appearing to the three shepherd children. She introduced herself as “the Lady of the Rosary” and stressed the importance of praying the rosary for world peace, for the end of World War I, for the conversion of Russia, and to pray especially for sinners in danger of hell.

The miracle of the sun was a sign from heaven, a stamp of confirmation on the message of Our Lady: there is a great need of repentance and a need to have faith is Jesus Christ.

I saw an article this morning that claimed the Miracle of the Sun was a turning point in Portugal’s history. Anti-Catholicism and Atheism, which proliferated in the 18th century, leading to the seizing of many catholic churches and schools by the government, maltreatment of clergy, the outlawing of church bells, the banning of religious festivals. Between 1911 & 1916, nearly 2000 priests, monks and nuns were killed by anti-Christian groups. But the “day the sun danced” was a turning point. The Atheist regime was soon replaced, and a flourishing of faith ensued.

The message of Fatima is as relevant today as ever: the need for repentance and conversion and prayer is a perpetual necessity; and that there can be no real lasting peace in the world, unless the peace of Jesus Christ fills our hearts.

The readings today are all ominous, but in their own way they each resonate with the Fatima message. The power of Christ can cast out demons from a soul and from a nation, and repentance and observance of God’s commands are perpetually needed for the day of judgment is coming, “the day of the Lord is coming” the prophet Joel says; “The Lord will judge the world with justice” we proclaimed in the Psalm.

“Say the Rosary every day… People must amend their lives and ask pardon for their sins.” May we heed Our Lady’s message, praying for ourselves and for those who do not yet know the importance of prayer. Confident and trusting in the Lord and His Mother amidst all the chaos of our lives, may we be found faithful today in his service for the Glory of God and salvation of souls. Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us.

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That our Church Leaders may always help us prepare rightly for the day of Judgment.

For those who have fallen into error, for Catholics who have grown lukewarm in their faith, for those who have left the Church, for their conversion and the conversion of all hearts.

For an increase in devotion to Our Lady’s Holy Rosary, and that we may all come to more fully imitate Our Lady’s faith and purity.

That the love of Christ, the divine physician, may bring healing to the sick and comfort to all the suffering.

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased priests and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.

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


Thursday, October 12, 2017

Thursday - 27th Week of OT 2017 - The promise of finding God

About four years ago, Pope Francis promulgated his first encyclical, Lumen Fidei, “The Light of Faith.”  This encyclical completes the series of Papal teaching begun by Pope Benedict, who had written on the two other theological virtues of Charity and Hope. Lumen Fidei is called the encyclical “written by four hands,” as it is clear that Pope Benedict wrote much of Lumen Fidei before his resignation.

The encyclical takes up the topic of man’s search for God and learning to live by the light of faith—and how faith can help and unite the people of the world. “Religious man strives to see signs of God in the daily experiences of life, in the cycle of the seasons, in the fruitfulness of the earth and in the movement of the cosmos. God is light and he can be found also by those who seek him with a sincere heart.”

The encyclical echoes what Jesus teaches in the Gospel today, “seek and you will find.”

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

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

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

People of faith also have a responsibility of helping people without faith on their journey. Encourage them, challenge them, challenge their complacency, and even possibly their arrogant assumptions. The church year is full of celebrations of saints who were once godless and faithless. Remind them that God himself has promised that he can be found by those who seek him sincerely.

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

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That our Church leaders may be instilled with genuine Faith, Hope, and Charity and help all people of the world to grow in those virtues.

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

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

For all whose lives are marked by suffering, may they come to know the healing and peace of Christ.

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased clergy and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.

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

Tuesday, October 10, 2017

Tuesday - 27th Week of OT 2017 - Anxiety keeps us from encountering Christ



October began with the feast of the Little Flower, St. Therese. St. Therese teaches us that power of doing little things with great love—doing the ordinary, day-to-day chores and responsibility mindful of God’s presence with us, embracing the little inconveniences with greater and greater patience.
In the little, ordinary events of the day, there are opportunities to grow in grace and focus on God, but that means there is also the temptation to turn away from him. If you can become a saint through these small events, why aren’t we all saints?

So often, it is our anxious thoughts and our impatience which keep us from knowing the peace of God. Like Martha in the Gospel today, who misses the whole point of Jesus’ visit, we miss out on opportunities to grow in grace because we are consumed with the spirit of busyness, worldliness. You just know that Martha was cursing Mary the whole time she was doing her chores, “why is she just sitting there, doesn’t she know how much work there is to do?”

Psalm 139 says that God searches us and knows our hearts, he tests us and knows our anxious thoughts. And Jesus shows himself to be keenly aware that Martha was not doing her work with peace in her heart. Jesus in this Gospel isn’t condemning housework, but he is certainly teaching that we must let go of our anxieties, worrying what everybody else is doing all the time, if it keeps us from being at peace.

Proverbs says, “Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down”, it causes us to sink from grace to bitterness.

Yesterday, we heard how Jonah was anxious and worried about how he would be treated by the Ninevites, to whom God was calling him to preach repentance. His anxiety and fear had disastrous results, storms, shipwreck, lives were put in danger because he anxiously resisted God’s will.

But today, we get the second part of the story: Jonah surrenders to the plan of God in his life, he preaches repentance, and he witnesses one of the most dramatic responses to the call to repentance in the entire old testament: a city of about 120,000 people all come to repent—the nobility, the peasantry, show signs of their repentance by fasting, covering themselves with sackcloth, and sitting in ashes.

Amazing things happen when we relinquish our fears and anxieties and trust in God. Jonah was no doubt able to rejoice with the words of Psalm 94: “When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul.”

May we relinquish our misguided thoughts and anxious attitudes, and surrender and trust in the Lord’s Holy Will for our lives for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That hearing the call to repentance preached by the Church, all men may turn away from their sins to the mercy of Christ.

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

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

For all whose lives are marked by suffering, may they come to know the healing and peace of Christ.
For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased clergy and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.

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

Monday, October 9, 2017

Columbus Day 2017 - Claiming new lands for Christ

Today we celebrate Columbus Day, remembering when Christopher Columbus landed in the Americas on October 12, 1492. It is fitting that on this day, we celebrate a Mass for the Evangelization of Peoples, that the true faith may be spread across the earth and embraced by all.

For Columbus, his voyage of discovery was a work of evangelization. On board his ships were missionaries; his first act upon landing in the New World was to plant the cross, claim the new lands for Christ and His Church, and ask the missionaries to offer Mass. In fact, upon first sighting land, he and his crew prayed together the Salve Regina.

It is rather a humorous irony that our reading today is the story of Jonah being shipwrecked. Jonah had been chosen by God to preach repentance, the conversion of hearts, to the Ninevites. The story detailed these strange events due to Jonah resisting the vocation God had for him.

Columbus on the other hand, plunged willingly into the unknown in order to spread the saving faith. He willingly endured the violent storms of the Atlantic, as St. Paul and the Apostles did, in fidelity to Christ’s great commission, to spread salvation to the ends of the earth.

We are of course challenged to ask ourselves if we are doing everything in our power for the same purpose. Columbus used his Italian genius, daring, excitement, energy, to bravely venture into the unknown to fulfill the will of God. His piety, his love for Christ spurned him on.

Columbus is celebrated not simply because of his great navigational feat, with its geographical, economic and political implications, which continue to effect history. He is celebrated for his faith, an act flowing from what he believed to be the purpose of life, the purpose of all life, to make God known, to make God’s mercy known through Jesus Christ.

It is likely that this is the reason modern history is so jaded and biased toward Columbus: he was a Catholic Christian who desired to spread Catholic Christianity, and he was motivated not by greed or violence, but by faith.

On what fantastic voyage of discovery, faith, and evangelization does God wish to lead us? In what ways like Jonah are we resisting God? Into what unknown waters is God calling us to explore, what unknown lands is he calling us to claim for Christ and his Bride the Church, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That Catholics around the world will be ever more zealous in their preaching of the Gospel.

That young people be inspired to respond generously to God’s call to sanctity, and for vocations to the priesthood and religious life.

For those whose love for Christ has grown cold, for those who have fallen away from the Church, for those with unrepentant hearts, for their conversion and the deeper conversion of all people.

For the Knights of Columbus and all who look to the inspiration of Christopher Columbus, may they continue in good works and be examples of virtue and faith.

For the sick and the suffering, and all persecuted Christians, that they may come to experience Christ’s healing and peace amidst their illnesses and needs.

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased clergy and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.

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

Sunday, October 8, 2017

27th Sunday of OT 2017 - The Art of Christianity



Yesterday, I had a funeral for a long time parishioner, Lenny Giuliani. Lenny was a winemaker.  Making wine wasn’t his profession, but it wasn’t simply a hobby either. His family called him the “Einstein of Wines” because he was extremely scientific in perfecting his wines. His daughters brought me a few bottles of their father’s wine and suggested that I try them before the funeral. Their father loved constructive criticism, and they said they’d love to hear my honest opinion.

And so I opened his bottle of red, a blend of several different grapes noted on the label, and I’m no connoisseur, but I could tell that I was drinking something special, the culmination of a life’s work, a work of art. It made me think of Pope St. John Paul II. You might be a Catholic nerd if a glass of wine makes you think of a Pope! For, back in 1999, Pope St. John Paul wrote a letter to artists, to all who passionately dedicate themselves to beauty and creativity. The Pope reflected upon how the creative work of artists, often comes painstakingly, but their beauty is a gift to the world. Maybe it’s because I’m half Italian, but I believe good food and good wine are works of art. And Lenny’s wine was certainly artfully made. He developed these wines, painstakingly, and shared the fruits of his labors with the family and friends, and for that, the world was blessed.

I thought I’d share that with you not simply because wine, vineyards, grapes, and winepresses, flow throughout our readings this weekend, but I think Lenny’s dedication to his art also speaks to the lessons of these readings.

For our readings focus on how we use our time, how we spend our life. Self-absorption or self-donation.

In today’s First Reading Isaiah explains how the Lord had prepared Israel like a fine vineyard. God had given Israel the Law, the Torah, he had taken them out of the slavery of Egypt, and sent them prophets to help them be his holy people. And yet, what did they do with that freedom, what did they do to the prophets?

Rather than yielding the lush, juicy grapes of faithfulness, justice and peace, Israel had produced the wild sour grapes of infidelity, false worship, ignorance of the scriptures, injustice toward the poor.
Isaiah’s prophetic warning urges us to examine the vineyard of our own souls. When we examine our life, do we find the good fruit of peace, justice, faithfulness, and joy or do we find the sour fruit of turbulence, selfishness, ignorance, and crankiness? Are you yielding lush spiritual fruit or sour worldly fruit?

The crankiness, bitterness, selfishness, are typically signs of self-absorption rather than self-donation. They are signs of the need to hand our souls over to God in a fuller way, by devoting more time to prayer, fasting, spiritual reading, meditation on the scriptures, and engaging in the works of mercy. They are signs of our need to turn away from the things that do not give us life: the works of selfishness and slothfulness.

The Gospel Parable of the Tenants also highlights the twisted logic of sin by which we reject God’s plan for his vineyard, God’s plan for our souls.

In the parable, who is the vineyard owner, who is his servant, who is his son, who are the tenants? Well, of course the vineyard owner is God, who has set us upon the earth to love and serve him. The vineyard owner’s servants are the prophets God has sent to call us to be faithful to God. The vineyard owner’s son, killed by the wicked tenants, is Jesus, who is rejected by sinful man, and dies on the cross.

Sadly, we are the wicked tenants in that story. The one’s who do the rejecting. We are placed in the vineyard of the Lord, and instead of using our time to serve the Lord alone, we hijack the vineyard, and use it to pursue our own selfish ends.

But the stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone. God is greater than our sins. He has given us another chance through Jesus Christ. The sinful tenant can repent and enter into a restored relationship with God, and bear the fruit we were supposed to bear from the beginning.

So the parable is ultimately one of Good News, it is an invitation to repent and believe in and follow the Son who is greater than our sins.

Living in a fallen world, we often get used to sin. I know, I was shocked by the mass shooting this week in Las Vegas. I was shocked, but sadly, not surprised. Not surprised because as a nation, we seem to be falling farther and farther from God. And the farther and farther we fall, the more common these tragedies become.

The lesson from Scripture is clear, Isaiah warns Israel because it had become infested with sin and was bearing rotten, sour fruit. Our nation, any nation, will also bear similar rotten, ghastly horrors, as long as faithlessness, godlessness, perversion, and disrespect for human life persist.

Our duty and our salvation as Catholic Christians is to continue to gather as God’s people as we are doing now, at the altar, at the foot of the cross, to plead God’s mercy for our national and personal sinfulness, and to receive the strength we need to spread the Gospel, to convert hearts, to purify perversions, and to enlighten darkened minds and hearts.

Catholic Christianity is the remedy because it is the way of Jesus Christ, the way of self-donation in fidelity to the will of the Father.

“Keep on doing what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me,” Paul tells the Philippians. “Then the God of peace will be with you.” St. Paul of course was pointing to his own tireless labors in the vineyard of the Lord for the spread of the Gospel. The saints are always our teachers, they show us how ordinary people can become extraordinary blessings for the world. In just a few weeks, we'll be celebrating the great Solemnity of All Saints. I encourage you to choose a saint and learn everything you can about them, that they can inspire you in the Christian life. The saints are the true geniuses, the true artists of history.

Ordinary things, small acts of love, truly can transform the world. So become artists, in the words of Pope St. John Paul, “become passionately dedicated to the search for new “epiphanies” of beauty” and make your art a gift to the world. Your art might be music, or winemaking, or teaching or healing or writing or works of mercy. Become artists of prayer, hospitality, scripture. Become artists of self-donation, become artists of Catholicism, lights in the darkness, and make the world beautiful for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Friday, October 6, 2017

October 6 2017 - St. Bruno - Silence: A simple and joyful rest, full of God



The Christian Philosopher Svoren Kierkegaard said if he were a doctor he would prescribe as a remedy for all the world’s disorders, “silence”. St. Bruno, who we honor today would certainly agree.
St. Bruno said, “In the solitude and silence...God gives his athletes the reward they desire: a peace that the world does not know and joy in the Holy Spirit." Saint Bruno was the founder of the Carthusians.  Since its founding by St. Bruno, the Carthusian way of life has gone unchanged, following Bruno’s ideal of penance and prayer for almost 950 years.

950 years ago, St. Bruno was urging Christians to withdraw from the noise of the world. What would he say about the noise of our age? He would certainly see it as a danger spiritual growth, as we all know well…it is!

The contemplative seeks out silence, because silence is the excellent means to deep union with God. About 400 years before Bruno, St. John Climacus wrote that “the lover of silence draws close to God. He talks to him in secret and God enlightens him.” “Intelligent silence is the mother of prayer, freedom from bondage, custodian of zeal, a guard on our thoughts, a watch on our enemies, a prison of mourning, a friend of tears, a sure recollection of death, a painter of penance, a concern with judgment, a servant of anguish, a foe of license, a companion of stillness, the opponent of dogmatism, a growth of knowledge, a hand to shape contemplation, hidden progress, the secret journey upward.”

Each of us would do well to discern what we could do to carve out more space for silence in our lives. Through silence the Lord wishes to bring us a peace that the world does not know and joy in the Holy Spirit.

In silent contemplation, God wishes to speak important, life-giving words to us. But that means we need to incline our ear to Him, by turning away from the noise makers.

Bruno said “the ambience of solitude, the absence of any disturbing noise and of worldly desires and images, the quiet and calm attention of the mind to God, helped by prayer and leisurely reading, flow into that rest of the soul in God. A simple and joyful rest, full of God, that leads the monk to feel, in some way, the beauty of eternal life.”

May we cultivate the prayer, the spiritual reading, the solitude, the silence, which helps our souls rest in God for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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

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

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

For all whose lives are marked by suffering may come to know the healing and peace of Christ.
For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased clergy and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.

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



Thursday, October 5, 2017

October 5 2017 - Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos - Laborer for his harvest

Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos was beatified during the Jubilee Year of 2000 by Pope St. John Paul II. He was a native of Bavaria who ministered to German Speaking immigrants here in the United States after joining the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, also known as the Redemptorists. He ministered alongside his confrere, St. John Neumann in Pittsburgh.

His availability and innate kindness in understanding and responding to the needs of the faithful, quickly made him well known as an expert confessor and spiritual director, so much so that people came to him even from neighboring towns. Faithful to the Redemptorist charism, he practiced a simple lifestyle and a simple manner of expressing himself. It is said that his preaching, rich in biblical content, was appreciated and understood by all, regardless of education, culture, or background. A constant endeavor in this pastoral activity was instructing the little children in the faith. He not only favored this ministry, he held it as fundamental for the growth of the Christian community in the parish.

In 1860 he was proposed as a candidate for the office of Bishop of Pittsburgh. But he asked Pope Pius IX to excuse him of this responsibility so that he could dedicate himself to the life of an itinerant missionary. He preached in the states in New England and as far west as Ohio and Michigan. It would be interesting to see if he preached at some of our older parishes here in the diocese of Cleveland.
He died visiting and caring for victims of yellow fever in New Orleans on October 4, 1867 at the age of 48.

Our Lord, in the Gospel, told us to pray for the master to send out workers in the vineyard. Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos was truly a zealous worker in the vineyard of the Lord.  He taught, he preached, he brought comfort to the afflicted, he wrote of his desire to offer every moment and every endeavor as a sacrifice to God, how we waste everything we do not offer to God.

Assisted by the example and heavenly intercession of Blessed Xavier Seelos, may we answer the Lord’s call to work in his vineyard, to proclaim the mysteries of redemption with our words and deeds, to labor zealously for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For an increase in vocations to the priesthood and consecrated religious life, especially among our young people, and that all Christians may take up their vocation to labor for the spread of the Gospel.

For Pope Francis’ prayer intention for the month of October: That all workers may receive respect and protection of their rights, and that the unemployed may receive the opportunity to contribute to the common good.

For all who are oppressed by any kind of need, illness or affliction, that the Lord may graciously grant them relief.

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased clergy and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom. We pray.

O God, our refuge and our strength, hear the prayers of your Church, for you yourself are the source of all devotion, and grant, we pray, that what we ask in faith we may truly obtain.

Tuesday, October 3, 2017

Tuesday - 26th Week of OT 2017 - Divine love shining through perfect humanity

Luke is the favorite gospel of many people. In fact, it has been called "the most beautiful book ever written". In elegant and articulate style, Luke gives the reader a powerful and emotional picture of  Christ. St. Luke presents Jesus as the Great Physician, healer of body and souls. More than any other Gospel writer, Luke calls Jesus “the Son of Man”, and not so much deemphasizes Jesus’ divinity, rather, shows Jesus’ divine love shining through his perfect humanity. Luke repeatedly shows Jesus’ compassion for the poor, the needy, the sick, the sorrowing, the sinful women rejected by society, the despised Samaritans, tax collectors, beggars, lepers, and even the dying thief, crucified at his side.

In the early infancy narratives, Luke sets the tone for much of the Gospel: Jesus’ birth is met by thanksgiving, rejoicing, and prayer by some, yet there is also clear foreshadowing, that Jesus will be rejected and will suffer.

After the infancy narratives, after years of the hidden quiet life in Nazareth, Jesus embarks on his public ministry, announcing the coming of the kingdom of heaven, which is marked by miracles of healing and powerful preaching. Today’s short passage is the turning point in the Gospel. From his public ministry through Galilee, Jesus resolutely turns to journey to Jerusalem, he sets his face to journey to suffering and death.

For the rest of the Gospel, much of what Jesus says and does is in reference to what will happen when he gets to Jerusalem, the meaning and importance of what he does there.

And, there in Jerusalem, Jesus fulfills the prophecy we heard in the first reading from the prophet Zechariah: “Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem”. That prophecy is fulfilled in the celebration of the Mass, where men and women of every race and tongue stream to Jerusalem, to the foot of the cross, where the love of God and the goodness of God are made manifest. The divine physician brings healing at the Eucharist, “the Son of Man’s” divinity shines through his perfect humanity in his self-giving on the cross and in the Eucharist.

It is at the Eucharist that compassion is shown to the poor, those rejected by society are gathered in, the repentant sinner is shown mercy. The celebration of Holy Mass is the gathering of all nations on that Holy Mountain, at which the Lord wipes away tears from all faces, who gathers and mends all of broken humanity, and feeds the hungry with the richest of foods.

Let us turn resolutely to the Lord who goes to the cross for us, who embraces suffering and death for us, who feeds us with his body and blood, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For the holy Church of God, that the Lord may graciously watch over her and care for her.

For the peoples of all the world, that the Lord may graciously preserve harmony among them.

For all who are oppressed by any kind of need, that the Lord may graciously grant them relief, especially the victims of the mass shooting in Las Vegas and their families.

For Pope Francis’ prayer intention for the month of October: That all workers may receive respect and protection of their rights, and that the unemployed may receive the opportunity to contribute to the common good.

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased clergy and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom. We pray.

O God, our refuge and our strength, hear the prayers of your Church, for you yourself are the source of all devotion, and grant, we pray, that what we ask in faith we may truly obtain.