4th Week of OT 2018 - Tuesday - Loving your enemies

King David’s behavior, his grief is somewhat confusing. Absalom was a usurper. He killed his brother Amnon. He had stolen the loyalty of David’s army and countrymen. You would think that David would rejoice at the news of Absalom’s death, that he would heap praise upon the soldiers who killed this anti-king.

And yet, we see David cry out with grief, “My son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you.”

Intimations of Christ-like forgiveness are found in this story—Christ who chose to die for us when we were worthy of death.

We are Absalom, guilty of usurpation, seizing what did not belong to us; we are Adam and Eve grasping at the forbidden fruit, as if divinity could be gained through disobedience.  We are Cain, jealous of our brothers favor. We are Israel worshiping false idols even after it is clear that God had intervened in our history.

We made ourselves into the enemies of God by virtue of sin. How absolutely mind-blowing, ego-shattering to consider that God chose to become man to die, not for his friends, but for his enemies. Paul write to Rome, “Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person, though perhaps for a good person one might even find courage to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.”

So when, Our Lord teaches us that we must not hate, but love our enemies, he’s not just saying that we are simply to refrain from killing them, but that perhaps we would be willing to die for them, like David desired to die for his son Absalom, like Jesus desired to die for us.

This sort of Christ-like love for our enemies makes most of us quite unsettled. And it should, because most of us have a lot of converting still to do. But no doubt, true joy is found in the conversion of our hearts from hardness to Christ-like love.

We do well to ask the Lord to teach us the meaning of love, to give us the desire to love, not simply our friends, but our enemies, for the stranger, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
 
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That all members of the Church may live out their baptismal call with greater conviction and faithfulness, and turn to the Lord in their sins with sincere contrition.

During this Catholic Schools Week, we continue to pray for all students, for their openness to knowledge, wisdom, and understanding, and for their teachers ability to educate.

For parents, the first teachers of their children, and for a strengthening of all families in faith.  We pray to the Lord.

For all the needs of the sick and the suffering, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, the underemployed and unemployed, immigrants and refugees, 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 all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord

4th Week in OT 2018 - Monday - Haters gonna hate

In this age where everyone feels entitled to publicly express their negative opinions, there’s an expression the kids use these days to deal with cruel, ignorant, or hateful comments. They say, “Haters gonna hate”. In other words, there are always going to be people who criticize you, who love to see you fail.

Well King David encountered a so-called “Hater” at one of the low moments of his life, even lower than when he was being hunted down by Saul. David’s third son Absalom had mounted a rebellion against this aging father, and had murdered his brother, the crowned prince Amnon, David’s first born and inheritor of the throne of Israel.

David had been driven out of Jerusalem when he comes across this vicious hater, Shimei. Shimei curses David for mistreating Saul, claiming he brought ruin to the house of Saul. Now none of this was true. Remember, it was Saul who bitterly mistreated and hunted David; it was Saul who brought ruin to his own house.

Now, David’s soldiers were more than willing to kill Shimei for cursing their king. But what does David do? He doesn’t raise arms against Shimei, he doesn’t even defend himself.  He perhaps foreshadows the Lord's own teaching, that he who lives by the sword, shall die by the sword. He deals with the calumny with humility.

One, David recognizes that “haters gonna hate.” Some people, especially the ignorant, will revel in seeing you fail. So David, wisely chooses not to engage this buffoon.

Secondly, notice, David was willing to hear what God might be saying to him through this cursing critic. That’s pretty profound. David teaches us to see the hand of God in every circumstance—even when we are being calumniated.

Thirdly, David trusts that if he suffers injustice now, the unjust insults of Shimei, God who is just will vindicate him in God’s time.

David was able to defeat the giant Goliath through his humble trust in God, and that humility shines forth here, again. David’s humility kept him from engaging this giant fool, and thus he emerged the bigger man.

May true humility mark all of our conversations, disagreements, and endeavors, may it prevent us from foolishness, and strengthen us in following the will of God, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
 
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That all members of the Church may live out their baptismal call with greater conviction and faithfulness, and turn to the Lord in their sins with sincere contrition.

As we begin Catholic Schools Week, we pray for all students, that the Spirit of God may grant them the gifts of wisdom and understanding, and that teachers may share their knowledge with gentleness, patience, and competence.  We pray to the Lord.

For parents, the first teachers of their children, that by their faith and love, they may be blessings to their families, and for a strengthening of all families in faith.  We pray to the Lord.

For all the needs of the sick and the suffering, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, the underemployed and unemployed, immigrants and refugees, 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 all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord

4th Sunday in OT 2018 - Practical Sanctity and Belonging fully to Christ

 This last Wednesday was the feast of one of my favorite saints, one of the great Doctors of the Church, St. Francis de Sales.

Francis de Sales was a bishop in France in the turbulent decades following the Protestant Reformation. At the age of 35, he was installed as bishop of Geneva, Switzerland, the epi-center of Protestant Calvinism. Through his persuasive preaching he saved many souls from the errors of Calvinism, winning many converts to the Catholic Church; yet at the same time his life was often threatened by hostile Calvinists.

To serve his flock, as Bishop, St. Francis de Sales became a prolific writer—his writings comprise 26 volumes.  Two of his books have become spiritual classics and continue to be published and read to this day: The Introduction to the Devout Life, and The Treatise on the Love of God, both books offering practical advice for Catholics living in the midst of the world who wish to pursue a life of sanctity. Either one would be perfect spiritual reading for Lent, which is approaching very quickly.

Also, ordinary folk would often write to Bishop Francis for spiritual guidance. Once, a young mother asked him, “Bishop I’m trying very hard to live a good life, to be holy. I’d like to get to Mass every day, but I can’t because I have these seven children who are driving me crazy.”  Francis de Sales wrote back to her and said “Madam, it’s not necessary that you go to Church every day; you become a Saint by being the best mother you can be.” 

I thought of Francis de Sales, one, because his feast was last week, but also, after hearing St. Paul’s words to the Corinthians this week: “An unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord. But a married man is anxious about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, and he is divided. An unmarried woman or a virgin is anxious about the things of the Lord, so that she may be holy in both body and spirit. A married woman, on the other hand, is anxious about the things of the world, how she may please her husband.”

St. Paul is in no way denigrating marriage here. He even says so. He says, “I tell you this not to impose a restraint”, in other words, I’m not telling you this so you don’t get married, but so that married and unmarried alike may seek to serve the Lord according to their own vocation. I think, St. Paul would very much agree with the advice St. Francis de Sales gave to that young mother. Madam, you are to become a saint…and your road to sanctity involves being the best wife and mother you can be.

St. Paul is showing the dual value of marriage and celibacy. Some members of the Church are called to celibacy “for the sake of the kingdom”, to be about the work of the Church with undivided devotion. I know so many priests and nuns and religious brothers whose lives are filled with joy and profound love for the Lord. They are not unhappy because they aren’t married. Celibate service to the Church is not an unhappy, lonely existence. It’s a profound immersion into the charitable life of the Church, and I think every young Catholic needs to discern if God might be calling you to some form of celibate service.

Celibate priests and religious serve as a sign to the whole Church that the Lord calls all of us to offer offer up the whole of our lives to God. I celebrated a wedding a few years ago on the Feast of St. Agnes, which is on January 21, another good January saint. And so for part of the wedding homily I told the story of saint agnes, who was a virgin martyr of Rome.

When Agnes was about thirteen years old, the son of the Roman governor became infatuated with her.  He asked for Agnes’ hand in marriage, but already at that young age, Agnes had given her heart to Christ—and consecrated herself to the Lord’s service.

The governor’s son became bitter and angry, he tempted her with priceless jewels, but she resisted.  He then threatened her, and told her that he would accuse her of being a Christian.  This meant that she would face death if she did not give in, since it was against the law to be a Christian. But, with her heart belonging to Christ, she boldly resisted him.  So, he accused her of practicing the Christian faith, and she was beheaded.

Pope Benedict, in a reflection on Saint Agnes, said, “Her martyrdom illustrates “the beauty of belonging to Christ without hesitation.” And here’s the lesson for young married couples and old married couples. For each of us, no matter our vocation, are called to belong to Christ without hesitation.

St. Paul, writing about these married and unmarried people recognizes that marriage is often a very difficult Christian vocation. So many of you here no doubt could relate. How hard it is to balance your faith obligations with your obligations to family. How hard it is to balance prayer with laundry and yard-work and changing diapers and teaching your children reading, writing, and arithmetic, and getting them to sports practice.

So again, St. Paul isn’t denigrating marriage here. The Church needs happy, healthy, holy marriages, where parents set good religious example for their children, teaching them to balance faith and worldly obligation. But it’s certainly an admonition isn’t it, a reminder, that amidst all the busy-ness of your temporal affairs, you need to ensure that you keep Christ at the center of it all. That you as spouse and parent seek to belong to Christ without hesitation.

To keep Christ at the center, he needs to be at the beginning and at the end. So, it’s important to begin your day with prayer and end your day with prayer, begin and end meals with prayer, begin and end car trips, and yardwork and housework.

Listen to this simple, practical prayer, composed by St. Francis de Sales. A wonderful prayer that you might consider beginning your day with: “My God, I give you this day. I offer you, now, all of the good that I shall do and I promise to accept, for love of you, all of the difficulty that I shall meet. Help me to conduct myself during this day in a manner pleasing to you. Amen.”

To offer God all the good that we shall do, means to remember God when you are driving to work so you can provide for your family, in folding the laundry, in putting the kids to bed, taking care of a sick spouse. It doesn’t necessarily mean going to mass every day, though, if you can, you should. But it certainly means belonging to Christ in whatever you do, thinking with his mind, loving with his heart, becoming the best mother, the best father, the best spouse, the best student, the best nun, the best priest you can be, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

January 26 2018 - Sts. Timothy and Titus - Apostolic Succession in Scripture and Tradition

If you were a Christian in the 1st century or are a Christian in the 21st century, how can you be sure that you belong to the True Church of Jesus Christ?

The first Christians had no doubts about how to determine which was the true Church and which doctrines were the true teachings of Christ. The test was simple: can the community or the teaching be traced back to the Apostles or not?

In founding the Church, Our Lord Himself marked her with four characteristics, which reflect her essential features and mission. The four marks of the Church are listed in the Nicene Creed: the Church is One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic.

The doctrine of Apostolic Succession—the belief that the apostles handed on to others their authority to teach and govern the church in the name of Christ—is clearly biblical and also unanimously defended by the writings of the early Church Fathers.

Timothy and Titus were both appointed bishops by the apostle Paul. In their respective New Testament epistles, Paul directs Titus as bishop of Crete to go from town to town appointing presbyters, one of the tasks of bishops which continues to this day. He was also to appoint other bishops who would practice what they preached. Paul wrote two letters to Timothy, Bishop of Ephesus. In the first letter, Paul writes to offer personal encouragement and advice on how to administer the great responsibility of being a bishop. In the second Paul tells, Timothy to be courageous in defending his flock from false teachers who were passing on doctrines which were not supported by the apostles.

The bishop is a visible sign that we remain connected to the true Church of Christ, and he helps us to grow in fidelity and sanctity through his teaching and governance. The bishop, St. Ignatius of Antioch, writing early in the 2nd century enjoined priests and lay faithful to be in harmony with their bishop as strings to a harp.

We here in Cleveland are grateful for having been sent a new bishop, Bishop Perez, and are greatly looking forward to his leadership and teaching. We pray for him at every Mass in the Eucharistic prayer, and we do well to remember our bishop in our personal prayers, that he may be a source of Christian unity and sanctification for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
 
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That our bishops may be courageous in stirring up the flame of faith and defending the Church from error.We pray to the Lord.

That through the ministry of bishops, Our Lord will bring an end to division in his Church. We pray to the Lord.

That through our bishops and priests, Christ, the doctor of souls, may bring healing and mercy to sinners and to the brokenhearted. We pray to the Lord.

For all of the sick and suffering, especially victims of natural disaster, poverty, and addiction, may they be comforted and supported by God’s healing love. We pray to the Lord.

For our departed loved ones and all of the souls in purgatory, and for N. for whom this Mass is offered. We pray to the Lord.

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord

January 25 2018 - Conversion of St. Paul - Praying for your persecutors

The Apostles were simply obeying Christ’s command to “proclaim the Gospel to every creature” yet, for the well-educated, Saul of Tarsus, that doctrine was blasphemous. So Saul put all his intelligence, willpower, and connections at the service of wiping out this new religion, even to the point of having Christian men and women put to death. It’s impossible to imagine a greater enemy of Jesus Christ and his Church in the early part of the first Christian century.

But on the road to Damascus, in the middle of his fury, all that changed.  The Risen Christ appeared to Paul: Jesus spoke a word to his heart and let a ray of his divine light into the darkness of Paul’s mind.  “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting” And from then on, things were different.  From then on, Paul became an ambassador of God’s saving grace, a light of hope and mercy for the sinners of all nations and races, a faithful messenger of the invitation to repent and believe in the Gospel. From then on, all of Paul’s natural and God-given gifts were put to use in building up Christ’s everlasting Kingdom.

This is the power of God’s grace; this is the power of the Gospel; it really can transform lives, even the most unlikely ones.

How did Saul’s conversion come about? Early in Acts, we read that as he was being put to death, St. Stephen prayed for his persecutor.

St. Stephen prayed for Paul as he was being stoned to death. No doubt, other Christians whom Saul persecuted prayed for him. The early Christians took the teaching of our Lord seriously: “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

Many once persecutors of the Church have turned from hostility to serving the Gospel. And so too we ought to pray for sinners every day: for the pro-choice politicians and the intellectual elites who think they are the saviors of humanity, for the teenagers who think its hip or edgy to parrot back the anti-Catholic sentiments of our culture.  They may think Christianity is just a list of inconvenient rules; they may be at a stage in their life where they are turning to secular gurus, self-help techniques, esoteric pseudo-religions, or worse things.  But like Saul, they all long for Christ, and our job is to bring Christ to them, and to pray for their conversion. For the Lord wants them, and whatever passion, intellect, creativity, and drive is within them, the Lord wants for the building up of the Church.

May the prayers of St. Paul help us to always be at work for the building up of the kingdom and the conversion of sinners, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That our bishops may be graced with Saint Paul’s zeal in teaching the Word of God. We pray to the Lord.

That our parish may build up missionary disciples who will go and proclaim the Gospel. We pray to the Lord.

For the conversion of all hardened sinners and all persecutors of the faith, that the Lord may touch their hearts and remove the blindness from their eyes. We pray to the Lord.

For all who have suffered as a result of violence or abuse, all of the sick and suffering, especially victims of natural disaster, poverty, and addiction, may they be comforted and supported by God’s healing love. We pray to the Lord.

For our departed loved ones and all of the souls in purgatory, and for N. for whom this Mass is offered. We pray to the Lord.

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord

3rd Week in OT 2018 - Tuesday - Dancing with abandon

David the King was so full of joy at the ark being brought into Jerusalem that he danced with abandon. These days you might see that level of joy, perhaps at a really festive wedding. But ecstatic dancing is pretty rare. What was the ark, and why and how did it elicit such a powerful response in the King?

The ark of the covenant had been assembled at the base of Mt. Sinai at the instruction of God himself. It was a symbol of freedom from Egyptian slavery, and the presence of God with his people. Within the ark contained the tablets of the commandments, the rod of aaron, and the manna from the desert. It was a symbol of God’s care, his rule, his sovereignty. It was also the symbol around which the twelve tribes would be united.

But the ark had been held in dusty storage in Israel’s western borderland, almost forgotten for over forty years, ever since it had been captured by the Philistines.

Now, as David began his Kingship, the Ark was recovered, faith, in a sense was rediscovered, and the ark was processed into his city. David’s people would know that God was with them as they begun this new chapter in Israel’s history, fulfilling the promises God made to Abraham nearly a thousand years before. It couldn’t get any better than this, and so David danced, filled with passion and faith and hope and love.

David’s joyful dancing before the ark challenges us to consider our own religious sentiments. In every Catholic Church is something greater than the ark. What the ark merely symbolized is fulfilled, here, in the Eucharist. Where the ark pointed to the God who set free the captives from Egyptian slavery, here dwells the God of freedom. Where the ark was the symbol of unity for the twelve tribes of Israel, the Eucharist is the unity of all peoples of all time gathered into the unity of the Catholic Church. Within the ark contained the manna from the desert, but as our Lord himself taught, those who ate the manna stilled died, those who eat and drink his flesh and blood will live forever.

Catholics possess a treasure greater than the ark, in the Eucharist; not a mere representation of God, but God himself.

I don’t think it’s realistic to be in a sort of continual joyful ecstasy every time we come into Church, or at every moment of the Christian life, that’s something we’ll only experience in heaven. But joy should permeate our life, in our religious worship, in our prayer, and in our charitable service.

May the Holy Spirit teach each of us to dance joyfully before the Lord, that we may lead others to the joy and life that only comes through Him, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That Catholics may live out their baptismal call with ever greater conviction, faithfulness and joy.

That those in civic authority may submit their minds and hearts to the rule of Christ, the Prince of Peace and Hope of the nations.

For all the needs of the sick and the suffering, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, the underemployed and unemployed, immigrants and refugees, 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 all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord

January 22, 2018 - For the legal protection of the unborn

45 Years ago today, the Supreme Court made a decision which has led to the death of ten times more babies than the deaths of all U.S. soldiers in all of our nation’s wars including the Civil War, the World Wars, the Vietnam War, and the War on Terror.

So throughout the United States today, U.S. Catholics engage in prayer for the restored legal protection of the unborn.  This liturgy for life and justice calls for the wearing of purple vestments: purple, the color of grief and prayerful penance.  We grieve the abundance of sin and murder occurring on a daily basis for 45 years.  And we do penance even for those who do not repent.  And we commit ourselves to praying and working for authentic justice for the unborn.

Today we reaffirm our belief that abortion is wrong and that life is a gift from God, and we recognize the call of Catholics to be involved in political activity to work for the protection of the unborn: to work for the overturning of Roe v. Wade, to insist that our civil representatives work for pro-life legislation, and to work and create a world where every child is welcomed and cherished, where every life is sacred.

So, today, please keep the protection of the unborn in your constant prayers, and consider ways that you can contribute to the call.

The Gospel today speaks of the divided house of Satan. The Pro-choice, pro-abortion house is a divided house, because it treats one life as more important than another, it diminishes the value of life, it is a house built on a lie, built by the Father of Lies. Roe v. Wade will continue to cause division in our nation, as long as it exists, because Catholics and the other faith who recognize the truth of the sacredness of life will never give up, and we will never stop insisting that our civil representatives be pro-life.

The sooner life is protected in our nation, the sooner many of our other national wounds can begin to heal.

We hope and pray today, in the words of the Psalm, that “Justice" justice for the unborn, justice for all, "shall flourish in our time, and fullness of peace forever”.  For the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That the leaders and members of the Church may fulfill with joy their calling to proclaim, celebrate, and serve the Gospel of Life, we pray to the Lord…

That Court decisions which permit the destruction of innocent life may be resisted and ultimately reversed, we pray to the Lord…

That God may protect all unborn babies, and keep them safe from the scourge of abortion, we pray to the Lord...

That all women facing difficult or unplanned pregnancies may receive compassionate care and the support they need, let us pray to the Lord.

That all medical professionals involved in the practices of abortion, infanticide, and euthanasia, may experience conversion of mind and heart and cease these activities, we pray to the Lord…

For all women who have had abortions, that they may seek out and experience God’s tender mercy, we pray to the Lord.

In thanksgiving for the many children who have been saved from abortion through the efforts of the pro-life movement, we pray to the Lord…

3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time - "Time is on my side"...or is it?

There is a story about a couple of demons were having a conversation about the Devil's favorite day. One demon said, I think the devil's favorite day is Halloween, for the little children dress up like monsters and murderers, we get them to play cruel pranks, and revel in the darker aspects of reality, so Halloween is the devil's favorite day. Another demon said, no, I think the devil's favorite day is “Monday”, who likes mondays? Mondays cause people to curse God, it’s a return to hard labor after a nice rest. So Monday's are the devil's favorite days. A third demon said, the devil doesn't have a favorite day, he has two. His favorite days are yesterday and tomorrow.

With yesterday, the devil can draw you into dwelling on your past. He can get you to think of the people who have hurt you in the past, he can cause you deep regret over your past misdeeds, he can make you think that since you wandered far from God in your past, you'll never find God again.
Satan loves yesterday, but he also loves tomorrow, because he causes people to think that the important changes they need to make in their lives can be made tomorrow, the sins they need to repent of can be repented of tomorrow, the people they need to help can be helped tomorrow.
If the devil can get us to focus on yesterday and tomorrow, that will keep them from following Jesus today.

I tell this little tale because each of our readings this weekend have to do with how we use the time we have been given: each of the scriptures contain references to “time”. Jonah is to announce to the Ninevites that they have a short time in order to repent and convert from their wickedness. St. Paul writes to the Corinthians that their time is running out. And our Blessed Lord's very first words in the Gospel of Mark, his inaugural address is about Time, “This is the time of fulfillment...repent and believe in the Gospel.” There is a sense of urgency in our readings.

During Ordinary Time, the Church reflects upon how we use the ordinary moments of our day—how we are to reflect the virtues and love of Jesus in the ordinary events and circumstances and times of our lives.

Based on the story, it seems that the devil likes to tell us lies about our relationship to time. He likes when we are stuck in the past, focusing on past sins, past hurts. He likes to keep family members focused on actions from the past, that we should focus on sins of the past.

The devil urges us to keep mental lists of the ways people hurt us in the past. Sadly, I think spouses do this sometimes. Very unhealthy, get rid of those lists. If your spouse did something foolish or selfish in the past, have an adult conversation with them if it really felt like a betrayal. If there is an ongoing addiction or something, that's different. Help your spouse get the help they need. But past misdeeds, like forgetting a birthday, or doing something embarrassing in public, shouldn't be used as ammunition to one-up someone in an argument.

So the devil likes to tell us lies about the past, but he also tells us lies about the future. Since the devil particularly hates the time that we give to God, one very common lie is that “you are too busy to pray, you don't have time to pray.” He does everything he possibly can to prevent us from praying...he gets us to think about the groceries that need to be purchased, the lunches that need to be made for the kids, the home-improvement projects that you've been putting off for three years.

One of the devil's great victories on his campaign against prayer, is getting people overly attached, even addicted to their iDevices. Many people do have less and less time to pray because they are overly consumed with social media and video games. There certainly is less time in the day when you spend an hour checking your Facebook feed and the pictures of cats on Instagram.

The devil does everything he possibly can to prevent us from praying...but Jesus teaches us the opposite. In the Garden of Gethsemene, Jesus implores his disciples, “Rise and pray, that you should not enter into temptation.”

Another lie the Devil tells us about the future is that we have plenty of time to repent of our sins. He might tell us that our sins aren't that serious, that we don't need to go to confession, that we can get ourselves right with God some other time. He’ll tell a lie like, “You are too busy to go to confession.”
Jesus, in fact, teaches the opposite, “you know neither the day nor the hour” he says, that you will face your judgment, so repent now, go to confession now. If we are guilty of a serious sin, we have an obligation to go to confession as soon as possible. Back in the 1960s the famous rock band, the Rolling Stones, recorded the hit song, “Time is on my side, yes it is” Well, I think Jesus and St. Paul would certainly say, “no, it’s not.”

Another lie that the Devil tells us about time, and this is a big one, one that keeps us locked in very selfish modes of thinking and acting. The lie he gets us to tell ourselves is that “My time belongs to me.” He makes us feel that it is a grievous burden when people make demands on our time, that I'm to use my time in whatever way I want, “thank you very much”.

We heard St. Paul tell the Romans last week that their bodies, through baptism, become temples of the holy spirit. Our bodies as Christians do not belong to us; and by extension that means our time doesn't belong to us. We are given time by God to become as holy as we possibly can, to fulfill God's will to the best of the ability, to order our lives according to his wisdom and his Holy will. But Christians, our time does not belong to us. We're on the clock, we're on the job, and what we do with our time, determines how we will spend our eternity.

After announcing that the time of fulfillment is at hand, that we are to repent of our sins, what does our Lord do in the Gospel today? He puts the apostles to work. To be a member of the Church, whether you are 3 or 93, a priest, widow, married person, or child, means to use the time we have been given for the work of the Gospel, catching souls for Christ.

We accomplish this primarily through our good example: they shall know they are Christians by our love, as the old spiritual goes, and by generously sharing with others the stories and lessons and truths of our faith.

Our profession, our hobbies, our leisure activities, all of these things are secondary to our primary work of using our time for God's purposes not our own, working out our salvation by overcoming our sinful tendencies and helping others to do the same, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

2nd Week of OT 2018 - Friday - Insincere Repentance and Deepest Conversion

Yesterday, King Saul, jealous of the adulation of his people for young David, seemed to heed his son, Johnathan’s wisdom, that nothing is to gained by his hatred for David. Saul swears to God that David shall not be killed. So, it might have come as a surprise, that we read this morning, a few chapters later, that Saul and three thousand of his men are hunting down David.

We read how David had the perfect chance to kill his pursuer, literally catching Saul with his pants down, but when David spares Saul’s life, and gives an impassioned speech, again showing himself to be a friend of the king, Saul weeps and acknowledges David’s goodness.

Two chapters later in first Samuel, Saul forgets his contrition, and begins to hunt David again, and David again spares Saul’s life, yet even after that, we’ll find David fleeing Saul’s murderous plots.

Many mourn for their sins, but do not truly repent of them. Many will weep when they get caught in a misdeed and have to face the consequences of their actions, but they aren’t sorry for the action, they are sorry they got caught. I hear it in the confessional often, a child confesses getting in trouble for fighting with their sibling. They aren’t confessing the fighting, they are confessing getting caught.

Saul, was for a time ashamed of his envy and hatred of David, yet he did not rid himself of the deep bitterness in his heart, and so his hatred and treachery returned.

Insincere repentance might cause our sins to sleep for a bit, but likely they will return with greater force.

The Old Testament will chronicle, not just Saul, but Israel, exhibiting over and over again, half-hearted, insincere repentance, a failure to turn to the Lord completely.

Since, we are imbued with the Spirit of Christ, who himself completely surrenders to the will of the Father,  we, the Lord’s brothers and sisters, are able to practice the profound conversion. But we must desire, pray for and work for the deep personal conversion the Lord wants for us. We will always regret not handing over to God our selfishness and insecurities, but we will never regret allowing him to convert, change, and transform. us. For in complete surrender, we find perfect joy, for his glory and the salvation of souls.

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That all members of the Church may live out their baptismal call with greater conviction and faithfulness, and turn to the Lord in their sins with sincere contrition.
That those in civic authority may submit their minds and hearts to the rule of Christ, the Prince of Peace and Hope of the nations.
That the March for Life in Washington D.C. this Friday will help to transform our culture and inspire many to adhere to the Gospel of Life.
For all the needs of the sick and the suffering, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, the underemployed and unemployed, immigrants and refugees, 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 all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.
Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord

2nd Week of OT 2018 - Tuesday - Envy Kills

When David returned from slaying the giant Goliath, King Saul became jealous of his servant’s fame.  He allowed anger and resentment to shape his behavior, and he began to plot to kill David, the Lord’s anointed.  It’s not the first time we hear about envy in Scripture. In fact, it goes back to the very beginning.  Adam and Eve were envious of God, and so they ate of the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in disobedience to God, and committed the first sin which would mark the race of man for all generations.

Cain was envious of his brother Abel. He let that envy turn to rage, and committed the first homicide and fratricide—murdering his brother.

The Scribes and Pharisees seemed to envy Our Lord’s authority. They refused to put their jealousy to death, and instead, they put God to death after brutally torturing Him.

Envy is listed as one of the deadly sins. It was the motive for the first murder and the worst murder. Archbishop Sheen states that, What rust is to iron, what moths are to wool, what termites are to wood, that envy is to the soul - the assassination of brotherly love.

John Vianney said, “I do not believe there is a more ugly and dangerous sin than envy because it is hidden and often covered by the attractive mantle of virtue or friendship…people will employ a hundred and one devices to conceal their envy from others.”

Envy says that if I can’t have it, you shouldn’t have it either. Cain didn’t have God’s favor, so Abel shouldn’t have it either. Saul didn’t have God’s favor, or the adulation of the people, David shouldn’t either. St Paul places envy among the works of the flesh and declares that “those who do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God”

Envy often leads to explosions of rage, but I think it can just as easily lead to lives of quiet rage, and much misery. Envy has been called “the most joyless of the Seven Deadly Sins.” Envy causes us to be overly competitive and overly comparative. Achieving the object of our envy may bring a temporary pleasure, but that pleasure is fleeting and tainted and filled with regret.

In the first reading, it was the empathy of Johnathan which helped to asway the envy of Saul toward David. Johnathan, the true friend, stuck up for David, and it appeared to change Saul’s attitude. Calm, compassionate and rational thinking helps to cure the disease of envy. Generosity is especially the opposite of envy. Whereas envy brings only sorrow and pain, generosity is the seedbed of joy.

May we be delivered from all envious thoughts and pursuits, and may generosity and joy be spread among us, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That all members of the Church may live out their baptismal call with greater conviction and faithfulness.

That those in civic authority may submit their minds and hearts to the rule of Christ, the Prince of Peace and Hope of the nations.

That the March for Life in Washington D.C. this Friday will help to transform our culture and inspire many to adhere to the Gospel of Life.

For all the needs of the sick and the suffering, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, the underemployed and unemployed, immigrants and refugees, 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 all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord

2nd Week of OT 2018 - Tuesday - "Not as man sees does God see"

“Not as man sees does God see, because he sees the appearance but the LORD looks into the heart." In both of our readings today, God shows how he works in ways that are mysterious and surprising to us mortals.

In the first reading, Jesse of Bethlehem presents seven fine, strapping, capable sons for Samuel to anoint as the next king of Israel. The first son, Eliab, had “king” written all over his face—he was lofty and handsome. But the Lord, rejected him, and rejected each one of fine young men Jesse presented. Rather, God chose the most unlikely candidate: the eighth son, the child too young to take upon him the major responsibility of running a kingdom with this crazy, anti-king, Saul opposing him.

It’s challenging and comforting at the same time, isn’t it, that God isn’t preoccupied with outer images, with social conventions. How different our world would be if, like God, we valued inner character over outer appearance; the moral corruption of Hollywood elites would certainly have less effect in our culture.

Over and over in the Gospels, Jesus shows himself to be quite a different Messiah than people were expecting. When they looked at Jesus, they saw, “Joseph, the carpenter’s kid”, not the incarnate son of God. The Pharisees saw an upstart, a heretic, a fool; the Romans saw a nuisance.

Jesus, walking through the grain fields with his disciples, picking off the heads of grain to eat, appears to be violating the Sabbath law, but through his grasp of the truth of the Scriptures and the will of His Father, Jesus reveals himself to be Lord of the Sabbath. He reveals, too, that God is working in ways that man does not initially expect.

In Jesus, God’s power and might, are revealed, not in military victory, but in humble self-sacrifice and unrelenting mercy. Victory over death is accomplished through the embrace of the cross. What appears to the world as defeat, to God, is victory.

In a society where it seems everyone is out for themselves, Christians need to trust in the ways of God: preaching the truth unabashedly, reaching out to the needy unreservedly, practicing forgiveness unconditionally. We are to adorn ourselves and our lives not with the riches of the world, but knowing God looks to the heart, we are to adorn ourselves with the wisdom of God and with virtue, especially faith, hope, and charity, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That all members of the Church may live out their baptismal call with greater conviction and faithfulness.

That those in civic authority may submit their minds and hearts to the rule of Christ, the Prince of Peace and Hope of the nations.

That the March for Life in Washington D.C. this Friday will help to transform our culture and inspire many to adhere to the Gospel of Life.

For all the needs of the sick and the suffering, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, the underemployed and unemployed, immigrants and refugees, 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 all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord

Monday - 2nd Week of OT 2018 - Saul's unacceptable sacrifice

Very early on in his kingly career, Saul shows himself to be far from the ideal ruler. He is brash and impulsive and disobedient to God’s commandments. As the story progresses his becomes increasingly irrational, volatile and hostile to the commandments, he attempts to murder the Lord’s anointed, and becomes a practitioner of the occult.

In the conversation between Saul and Samuel this morning, we even see Saul adopting sort of a mocking tone. Saul claims to be doing the will of God: from his military conquests he even brought back all these animals to be sacrificed to God, even though this was contrary to the divine mandate.
Samuel reveals that Saul’s heart is far from surrender to the divine will of God: these supposed sacrifices were not pleasing to God because they were offered by a disobedient arrogant heart. Samuel equates these empty sacrifices with idolatry and sorcery, sins most contrary to right relationship with God.

We are reminded of how the sacrifice of Cain was found unacceptable to God for the same reason. The unacceptable sacrifice is a mockery; it pretends at being rightly ordered, like many Catholic politicians and leaders who claim to be Catholic all the while forwarding a morally corrupt political agenda.

But this is also a danger each of us must be on guard against, that we don’t go about play-acting at Catholicism, but that our intentions might be purely for God’s glory.

In every celebration of Mass the priest says, “pray brethren that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God, the almighty Father”, and the congregation responds praying that the sacrifice at the altar be found acceptable. These are prayers touching on the heart of the Christian life, that our sacrifice, our lives might be rightly ordered.

The Eucharist is the acceptable sacrifice because it is the sacrifice the Son obediently makes of himself to God. It is the sacrifice offered from the humblest heart.

May our days and deeds be rightly ordered to the humble heart, the self-sacrifice of Jesus Our Lord for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That all members of the Church may live out their baptismal call with greater conviction and faithfulness.

That those in civic authority may submit their minds and hearts to the rule of Christ, the Prince of Peace and Hope of the nations.

As our nation observes Martin Luther King Day, we pray for an end to racial prejudice and bigotry, for racial harmony and justice for all people.

That the March for Life in Washington D.C. this Friday will help to transform our culture and inspire many to adhere to the Gospel of Life.

For all the needs of the sick and the suffering, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, the underemployed and unemployed, immigrants and refugees, 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 all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord

2nd Sunday of OT 2018 - Awakening from Spiritual Slumber

The great theologian Origen of Alexandria said that every detail of the scriptures is meaningful and should be treasured and savored like you treasure and savor every morsel of the Blessed Sacrament. So, let’s savor and treasure some of the details of our first reading this weekend, for within it contains some tremendous insights into the spiritual life.

The story of the call of Samuel begins with Samuel asleep. Sleeping is a great biblical theme for spiritual inattentiveness. Here’s Samuel, in a holy place, in the temple, like us in a church, and what’s he doing? Is he praying, is he worshipping, is he devoting his attention to God? No. He’s sleeping.

We begin the spiritual life asleep, inattentive to the presence and will of God. We are here this morning because someone woke us up to the importance of faith, to the importance of religion, to the truth of Catholicism. It may have been the religious practice of your parents in your home growing up that helped to wake you up to the presence of God, it may have been the example of a fiancé or a spouse; perhaps a beautiful piece of sacred art or architecture helped you to realize that there is something greater than yourself.

You likely know people who are wide-awake to their career, to the statistics of their favorite athletes, to the intricacies of their favorite movie franchise, to the fluctuations of the stock market, but are sound-asleep to the things of God. When you are asleep to the spiritual realities, you are missing out on an entire dimension of human existence.

Contrast Samuel snoozing away in the Temple to the image of the Magi from Epiphany Sunday last week: the Magi, scanning the night sky, looking for signs of God’s will, leaving the comfort of their homes, traveling a vast distance to come to know God. The Magi are awake, “woke” as the kids say these days; Samuel is asleep, and needs to wake up.

Next, we read of God calling out to Samuel, but Samuel was convinced it was the voice of his teacher Eli and so he goes back to sleep. The second spiritual lesson is that God is calling out to us, over and over, and it often takes many attempts for us to wake up.

For those asleep to the spiritual realities, whose ears are unattuned to the voice of God, it takes a while to wake up and finally get it. When we are sharing our faith with non-believers, we need to be persistent; they might not get it the first time. Or family members who have fallen asleep to the obligation to attend Mass every week; it’s going to take a few attempts to wake them up again, and we shouldn’t lose heart at their spiritual grogginess. As faith permeates our culture less and less it’s going to take more effort, not less, to bring unbelievers and fallen-away Catholics to spiritual awakening.

How many times have you had to confess the same sin over and over in the Sacrament of Confession? Spiritual awakening takes effort, takes many attempts, takes perseverance, and that’s okay, as long as we continue to seek that awakening.

It becomes problematic when we stop going to confession and just surrender to our sinfulness. This is why it is Church teaching that we do not present ourselves to receive Holy Communion if we have not confessed our serious and mortal sins. For when we approach Holy Communion, we are not to be surrendered to sin, but surrendered to God.

 Notice, next in the story how Samuel, confused by the strange voice of God, Samuel turns to the wisdom of the priest Eli. As we begin to awaken to the spiritual realities, as we begin to attune our ears to the voice of God, turning to the spiritual masters becomes extremely important. We need spiritual supports if we are going to wake up and remain awake.

Coming to Mass every week is an obligation for Catholics because without it we begin to fall back asleep. But even when you do come to Mass, there is a further obligation to be as attentive as you can to the spiritual realities that take place here. Vatican II said that we need to strive for full, conscious, and active participation in the liturgical celebrations: that means to actively listen to the scriptures and prayers, to actively engage in the dialogues, to sing the psalms and hymns to the best of your ability. The hymns are not just religious background music, they integral parts of the Mass. Again contrast Vatican II’s full, conscious, active participation to Samuel snoozing in the Temple. Full, conscious, active participation isn’t easy because Mass is different than watching television or going to work, it requires the exercise of a different set of spiritual muscles.

We also need the spiritual support of a personal prayer life throughout the week: reading the writings of the spiritual masters, the saints, meditating on sacred scripture, meditating on the mysteries of the holy rosary, making frequent confession, are vital spiritual supports.

Finally, the last spiritual lesson from Samuel’s story, notice that after awakening to the reality of God,  Samuel hears God calling him by name and responds with the desire to serve God. It is a life-changing moment when we go from unbelief to actually experiencing God calling us by name.
God not only loves humanity in general, he loves us each uniquely. To experience his profound love for you personally, will change you forever. But you have to dispose yourself to this through the effort of the spiritual life.

Samuel responds to this encounter with God’s love for him, with the desire to serve, and that is the sign of spiritual awakening. In Scripture, God calling his servants by name: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Daniel, Elijah, Ezekiel, Amos, Peter, James, John, Paul. And the calling by name transforms these people into powerful instruments of his Divine Plan.

God’s call is persistent and personal. Pray, pray, pray that you may hear God calling you by name, and when you do, pray in the words of Samuel, “Speak, for your servant is listening” that you might become an instrument of spiritual awakening for others, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Friday - 1st Week of OT 2018 - The grace of unanswered prayer

Just a few days ago we were reading the story of Samuel’s birth. Samuel served as a judge of Israel, making a yearly circuit throughout the nation. Under Samuel’s guidance, Israel began to root out idolatry, many returned to the ways of righteousness, Israel prospered. But then the sad reality hit: the faithful and useful judge grows old and unfit for service.

And so the elders of Israel gather to petition Samuel to ask God to appoint a king to rule over them. Now that sounds like a reasonable request. After all, God had promised to Abraham that Israel would become a glorious and royal kingdom.

But, again, Israel has missed the mark. They wanted a king, not to help them become more faithful to God; they wanted a king because all the other nations had kings. They didn’t want to be more heavenly; they wanted to be more earthly. They were not concerned if it was God’s will that they have a king; they wanted things on their terms, on their time, not God’s.

So, God gave them what they wished for. And for the most part, the king’s of Israel were more curse than blessing. The kings are going to end up taking much more than they give. Under the Kings of Israel, we are going to see the people fall back into idolatry, worse than ever, we are going to see Israel conquered by Assyrians and Babylonians; we are going to see 10 of the 12 tribes of Israel wiped out forever.

God often does not answer our prayers exactly as we would like, at the time we would like, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. If the answer to a prayer would in the end bring us spiritual ruin, it’s a grace that the prayer goes unanswered. The Letter of St. James takes up this matter when it says, “You ask and you do not receive because you ask wrongly, with a view to squandering what you receive on your pleasures."

For Israel, it would have gone a lot better, if, at the time of Samuel’s retirement, Israel turned to God, and said, “Okay God, now what? What is your will for us? Send us a leader to help us to be holy.” And similarly for us, at the heart of the prayer the Lord Jesus teaches us are the words, “thy will be done.” The surrender to God’s will needs to undergird every petition we make, every decision we make, that not our will, but God’s will we done, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
 
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That all members of the Church may live out their baptismal call with greater conviction and faithfulness.

That those in civic authority may submit their minds and hearts to the rule of Christ, the Prince of Peace and Hope of the nations.

For all the needs of the sick and the suffering, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, the underemployed and unemployed, immigrants and refugees, 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 all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord

Thursday - 1st Week in OT 2018 - Why does God allow us to be defeated?

I saw a sign on the side of the road the other day and it said something like: “Everything happens for a reason, but sometimes the reason is that you don’t think things through and make bad decisions.”

In their campaign to claim the land of Canaan as their divine inheritance, Israel for the most part had driven out or made peace with the Canaanites. The Philistines however remained a formidable enemy. As we heard in the reading today, when it came time to face the Philistines in battle, Israel was surprised that they lost the battle.

They ask themselves, “Why did God let this happen to us? Why did he let us suffer defeat?” Maybe, we’ve asked similar question: in a time of national or family tragedy, a serious illness, an ongoing hardship, “why is this happening to me?”

But, Notice how the Israelites  didn’t ask God that question, they ask themselves. They ruminate about their suffering, their loss, instead of bringing their suffering to God. They keep God at a distance, as an abstraction.

And then the Israelite elders decided to do something very foolish. They decide to battle the Philistines again, but this time they will take the Ark of the Covenant with them. Now again, God is an afterthought, and instead of attempting to discern God’s will on this matter, they hijack the ark from the Priests, and they bring the ark into battle, not out of faith, but as a magical totem.

Now the Philistines were initially intimidated by the presence of the Ark. They had heard how the God of Israel had brought victory to His people in the past. But, the Philistines mustered themselves, and they defeated Israel seven times worse than in the first battle.

Why did God allow this to happen? Likely, to teach Israel to rely not on their own wits and strengths, but on Him. To discern His will and act upon it, always. At this point in history, too, Israel is steeped in sin and pride. Just, look at their irreverence and mistreatment of the Holy Ark.  If, as individuals, as a nation, or as a local Christian community, live in sin and foolishness and error, we will suffer the consequences, that our pride may be humbled.

Not a popular message, but an important one: to seek not our own will, to attempt, not to bribe or manipulate God for our own purposes, to not make God's will an afterthought, but to seek first the kingdom of God, to seek the cure for the leprosy of sin, as we heard about in the Gospel, that we may be redeemed by God’s mercy and walk in his ways of righteousness, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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To God the Father Almighty we direct the prayers of our heart for the needs and salvation of humanity and the good of His faithful ones.

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

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

For all who are oppressed by any kind of nee, that the Lord may graciously grant them relief.

For ourselves and our own community, that the Lord may graciously receive us as a sacrifice acceptable to himself.

For our beloved dead, for the poor souls in purgatory, and for X, for whom this Mass is offered.

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. Through Christ our Lord.

1st Week of OT 2018 - Tuesday - Spiritual Growth in Ordinary Time

As we begin the season of Ordinary time, it seems to be strange to be wearing the color green in the middle of winter. The green of the grass is covered by the snow, and the green leaves on the trees and plants will not begin to grow until spring. But liturgical green reminds us that the Christian soul is meant to grow in faith, hope, and love, prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance, throughout the whole year despite the earthly seasons.

Another strange facet of Ordinary Time is that of our scripture readings. For the Weekdays of Ordinary Time the Lectionary has a two year cycle of readings — Year I and Year II. The Gospel reading is common to both cycles; so no matter the year, we read from Mark chapter 1 verses 21 to 28 on Tuesday of the first week of Ordinary Time. It’s the First Reading and Psalm which are different.
And what seemed strange to me this morning, is why, oh why, do we begin Ordinary Time, Year II, reading from the first book of Samuel. I have no idea. The first and second books are part of the Old Testament known as the Nevi'im consisting of the narrative books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings, and also the latter prophets Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah and the minor prophets

This part of the Old Testament spans the time from Moses’ death to the time of the Maccabees 150 or so BC. So First Samuel is not even the first part of this narrative section of the Bible. Why would Ordinary Time start with this book? I really don’t know, but these are the things I think about at 7 o’clock in the morning.

But we’ll be reading from these books until Ash Wednesday, so we might want to think about them a bit.

First Samuel begins with the story of the barren woman Hannah, who after fervent prayer gives birth to a son, the prophet Samuel, the last of the so-called Judges, who will anoint the first king of Israel, Saul. It is the story of a new age emerging in the history of Israel, the time of a king uniting and ruling over a disparate people. So perhaps, it is fitting for the beginning of this new liturgical season.

We are going to be reading how this transition for Israel is also riddled with problems, much like our own life—many rebellions against the will of God, attacks from outside enemies, personal pride getting in the way of righteousness, but all the while, God is at work urging Israel to faithfulness to his commandments and trust in his providence.

So, not a bad way to start Ordinary Time. Spiritual growth certainly involves surrendering our rebellious wills to the grace of God. May our Ordinary Time be blessed with growth in a knowledge of God’s word and a faithfulness to it, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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To God the Father Almighty we direct the prayers of our heart for the needs and salvation of humanity and the good of His faithful ones.

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

For the peoples of 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.

For ourselves and our own community, that the Lord may graciously receive us as a sacrifice acceptable to himself.

For our beloved dead, for the poor souls in purgatory, and for X, for whom this Mass is offered.

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. Through Christ our Lord.

Baptism of the Lord 2018 - "Christians, recognize your dignity!"

The Christmas season concludes with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord.

It may seem strange to conclude this season in which we celebrate the Lord’s birth with an event taking place 30 years after Christmas, but this Feast commemorates a very important truth related to the reason we celebrate Christmas at all.

At Christmas, when Christ was born, we believe that God, who loves us so much, plunged himself into our world; the omnipotent God became one of us, sharing our humanity. 

At Christmas, God was plunged into humanity and shares our humanity; when we are baptized, we are plunged into the life of God; through the waters of baptism we became sharers in his divinity.
So the Lord’s Baptism is an important link in the chain between his saving birth and our new birth in the Sacrament of Baptism.

At the Lord’s Baptism, it was revealed by the voice of the Father speaking from heaven, and the manifestation of the Holy Spirit, that Jesus indeed was the incarnate Son of God. In our baptism, we receive adoption by God as “sons in the son” as St. Paul writes.

Pope Saint Leo the Great would give special catechism lessons to the newly baptized. He would instruct them, "Christian, recognize your dignity and, now that you share in God's own nature, do not return to your former base condition by sinning. Remember who is your head and of whose body you are a member. Never forget that you have been rescued from the power of darkness and brought into the light of the Kingdom of God." 

Never forget! Recalling that we are baptized should bring us joy when we are sad, and strength when we are tempted. A powerful way to fight off temptation is to recall our baptism.  To say to ourselves, “wait, I’m a Christian, I’m not supposed to do that; I’m not supposed to talk like that. I’m supposed to act like Christ.” 

For Baptism is more than just a symbolic ceremony where we express our faith; in Baptism, as he does in all the Sacraments, God does something for us, that we cannot do ourselves.  He gives us a sharing in his divine life, a share in the power and strength by which Christ overcame sin and death on the cross.

This is the greatest of the Christmas gifts, the gift of salvation, the gift which overcomes the power of darkness and evil and death, the gift of eternal life.

May the grace of our baptism be renewed and flourish within us, strengthening us in our mission to “go and make disciples of all nations, teaching them all that Christ commands and baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That all members of the Church may live out their baptismal call with greater conviction and faithfulness.

For all those to be baptized, especially those preparing for baptism at the Easter Vigil:  that they may be open to the grace of conversion and the joy of the followers of Christ.

For the conversion of all those who dwell in the darkness of sin and ignorance of God and His commandments: that the mercy of Jesus Christ will bring light to their minds and hearts.  We pray to the Lord.

For all the needs of the sick and the suffering, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, the underemployed and unemployed, immigrants and refugees, 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 all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord

Epiphany 2018 - The Wise still seek Him

On this beautiful Feast of the Epiphany, we reflect on the journey of the wise men—the magi—as they journey to the newborn king in Bethlehem.  The journey of the Magi stands for the journey that all of us must make to come to know Christ. 

But, who were the Magi anyway? To the east of Israel was Persia, Babylon, a periodic oppressor of the Jewish People. In the book of the prophet Daniel, we hear how the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar employed a host of magi as advisers to the throne. The magi engaged in the interpretation of omens and dreams and in astrology—making predictions about the future based on the movement and positions of the moon, stars, and planets.

It’s sort of surprising to even meet these characters in our Sacred Scriptures, as Astrology is expressly forbidden in the Old Testament. Jews and Christians are forbidden from consulting horoscopes, fortune tellers, and palm readers and the like, most of them being charlatans anyway.

It is also extremely strange that these Persian Astrologers had read the Old Testament Prophecies about a star heralding the birth of a Messiah. It must have been the Holy Spirit who inspired the Magi to look outside of their Pagan religion to the Jewish Prophets.

Throughout the Advent season we spoke of the great longing and anticipation of the Jewish people for the coming of the Messiah. But the Magi show us that this longing didn’t simply belong to the Jews. I’d venture to say that this longing for a Savior, for God to reveal himself in a human face is a universal human longing. So the Magi stand for all people of all time longing, searching, gazing upwards, waiting for God.

God built us, designed us, created us to look for Him. So this story of these non-Jewish astrologers from the east, teach us that God is working in the hearts and minds of the people on the outside: the family members not going to Church this weekend, the young people with their noses glued to the screens of their idevices. all those people who have grown up without religion, without faith, without spirituality, people worldwide who engage in false religions: this story reminds us that deep down they long for Christ. And we have a job of revealing Christ to them through the living of the one true faith, our charity, our conviction for the Gospel.

Many people refuse to believe that Jesus is found in the confines of the Catholic Church, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t looking. Most of them are looking for him in all the wrong places, but there is something inside of them, urging them to seek out and truth and goodness and beauty which is found most fully in Jesus Christ. That very same impulse found in the hearts of the magi, can be found in your next door neighbors.

What made the Magi of the Gospel wiser than most, is that realized the importance of this quest. They left their homes, they left their comfort, they left homeland to go searching.

One definition of wisdom I like very much is that wisdom is the ability to put your priorities in order. The wise man values what is truly valuable and eschews what is foolish. The Magi of the Gospel can rightly be called wise, in that they realize that the quest for finding Jesus Christ is the most important thing ever. Political gain, academic status, earthly wealth, fleshly pleasure, economic stability, all these desirable things are nothing if you do not find Jesus Christ and kneel down to adore Him.

Another lesson I’d like to focus upon today from the Magi was the opposition they faced in their journey. Following the Christmas star they make their way to Jerusalem and encounter King Herod. Likely, here too, the Holy Spirit assisted the Magi to detect Herod’s murderous intentions when he asked the Magi to tell him the location of the Christ Child.

The lesson here is that in the spiritual journey, in the spiritual life, we do well to expect opposition. Finding Jesus isn’t always easy, practicing Christianity isn’t always easy. Finding God’s presence in the midst of grief, in the midst of suffering, and in the midst of temptation isn’t always easy. But the Holy Spirit comes to our aid in the midst of difficulty.

A bacon double cheeseburger always sounds best on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. There’s always going to be a family member or neighbor who is going to test your patience. Persevering in a particular spiritual practice like daily meditation is going to be hard sometimes. Practicing chastity and purity and limitless forgiveness and boundless mercy is going to be difficult. But resistance isn’t proof that it isn’t the right path; in fact, quite the opposite: it’s often the path of least resistance that leads to damnation. “Broad is the way and wide is the gate that leadeth to perdition.”

Now, Herod’s opposition was subtle, and so we should expect that too. Sometimes temptation and evil even sound like good ideas. So we have to be wise, clever, knowledgeable of our faith, aware of the ruses and tricks of the enemy, to ensure our faithfulness.

The next lesson from the Magi is that upon leaving King Herod’s palace, the Magi follow the star, they come to Bethlehem, they see Mary and the King, what do they do?  They prostrate themselves, and then they bring him gifts—gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  Gold for the king, frankincense because he is God, and Myrrh because he will die for our sins.  They bring the finest things they can find, gifts worthy of a king. 

And here’s the next spiritual lesson.  When you’ve discerned the presence and the will of God, you’ve overcome hardship and resistance and now you’ve come to Christ, what should you do?  You give him your best.  The great danger in the spiritual life is to just give God the leftovers. We do well to begin the day on our knees, to begin every undertaking with the intention of glorifying God, and giving Him our best.

Finally, having come to Christ, giving him their gifts, they return to their home country, by a different route, having been warned to avoid Herod’s treachery. 

Archbishop Fulton Sheen said, “of course they go back a different route, you never come to Christ and go back the same way you came.”  The encounter with Christ changes you…if weren’t changed you didn’t truly encounter him.

Coming to Mass, offering God the best we have in worship, encountering him and receiving him in Holy Communion, should change us.  We are to go from this mass differently from when we came in.  I hope everyone here comes to Mass wanting, hoping, and expecting to be changed, to be sanctified, to see another dimension of Christ’s beautiful face.

Help us Lord to seek you, to find you, to give you our best, and to be changed by you, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

January 5 2018 - St. John Neumann - "Come and See!"

As the Christmas season draws to a close, our gospel readings over the past few days have had a similar theme. Wednesday, John the Baptist urged us to “"Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” Yesterday, John again points out Jesus to others, the apostle Andrew goes to his brother Simon Peter to tell him that he has found the Messiah, Jesus too makes the invitation, “Come and see.” Today, Philip goes to Bartholomew with that same invitation “Come and see”.

These readings help to prime us, to prepare us for the final feast of the Christmas season, the feast of the Epiphany, in which wise men travel from afar to seek out the Christ, to gave upon him, to adore him.

It is a good day for some quiet reflection, to reflect on the things we have seen throughout the Christmas season. What were the ways that I saw Jesus this season? Did I see him in a new light? What were the attitudes and behaviors that hindered me from seeing his face?

I saw an article this morning that discussed how more and more young people are describing themselves as joyless, useless, and depressed. The likely culprit is time spent in front of the screen. Time spent seeking out the face of Jesus is never wasted, but the constant pursuit of entertainment and superficial social communication brings a joylessness that even secular science is beginning to warn against.

The last of the saints of the Christmas season is bishop John Neumann. The Collect told us that Bishop Neumann was “renowned for his charity and pastoral service.” For his first few years as a priest he was devoted to working with German immigrants here in the States. After joining the Redemptorists, he was tirelessly devoted to preaching in parishes in the many immigrant communities throughout Maryland, Virginia, and here in Ohio. By age 41, he had become the fourth bishop of Philadelphia and was absolutely devoted to fostering education amongst the Catholic youth.

St. John Neumann also promoted the forty hours devotion, encouraging parishes to gather for the adoration of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. When we seek out Jesus like the wise men, like the apostles, like the blessed mother, we are able to behold his face, and he is able to fill us with peace and joy that nothing in the world can possibly give.

The Lord invites us to put away our worldly distractions and our anxieties to come and see him in charitable service and in eucharistic adoration, let us take him up on his invitation for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For a deeper devotion to the Eucharist among all Catholics, that our Eucharistic worship might inspire non-believers to seek and find the Lord.

That our Catholic schools and PSR programs may be places where the Lord Jesus is sought out and discovered, where faith is instilled and charity is inspired.

For an increase in vocations to the priesthood and consecrated religious life, that many young people may respond generously to the Lord’s call to ordained and consecrated service.

For all the needs of the sick and the suffering, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, the underemployed and unemployed, immigrants and refugees, 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 all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord

January 4 2018 - St. Elizabeth Ann Seton - "Behold the Lamb of God"

We hear John the Baptist calling out in the Gospel today “Behold the Lamb of God”. This is certainly a call that echoes throughout the Christmas season. Shepherds and Wise men travel to the manger to behold him; Simeon in the Temple expressed that he might die in peace now that he has gazed upon the Messiah.

Elizabeth Seton was born, not a Catholic, but was the daughter of a very wealthy Episcopalian family from Manhattan, New York.  She married a wealthy businessman at the age of 19, and raised 5 children in wealthy New
York social circles. Stress over bankruptcy and his ongoing tuberculosis led to her husband’s early death.

Widowed and destitute, Elizabeth was taken in by an Italian family. Their deep faith and charity impressed her, and despite stern opposition from her Episcopalian acquaintances, Elizabeth was received into the Church.

Here’s a woman who became Catholic and ultimately a saint because she was treated with great kindness by Catholics at a moment of great tragedy—by ordinary Catholics who were simply living their faith with deep devotion to the Eucharist.

The Opening Collect prayer referred to Saint Elizabeth’s “burning zeal to find God”. She found him, she was able to behold him, because she was shown him by ordinary Catholics. So we must never underestimate the power of our simple witness, caring for people when they fall on down times, sharing our faith with them. The dynamic of Christianity is that others show Jesus to us, that we may show him to others.

If St. Elizabeth can come to Behold the Lamb of God in the hardships of her life—widowhood, a destitute single-mother—we can surely come to Behold Christ too, in the chaos of our own lives. St. Elizabeth said with confidence: “Into whatsoever state of blindness or obscurity I may fall, in whatever ignorance of God’s ways I may chance to be, if I seek out God in the simplicity of my heart, I will surely find Him.”

St. Elizabeth found the face of the Savior, and continued to find God anew by devoting her life to a life of charity, particularly the education of immigrants.

“Behold the Lamb of God” is an invitation to look to Jesus amidst the chaos, amidst the hardship, amidst the temptation and sins of our life, and to find in Him our salvation, our freedom, and our peace, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That all Christians may grow in charitable attentiveness to the needs of the poor in our midst.
That all those searching and longing for Christ may find him through the witness of His Holy Church.
Through the intercession of Mother Seaton, that all teachers, may share their knowledge with gentleness, patience, and concern for their students. 
For all the needs of the sick and the suffering, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, the underemployed and unemployed, immigrants and refugees, 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 all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.
Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord