2nd Week of Lent 2018 - Tuesday - Imitating the Lord's humility

When St. Augustine was asked to name the three most important virtues, he gave an interesting answer. The first he said is “humility”, the second he said is “humility”, and third he said is “humility”

Our Lord stressed humility, telling us that we must become humble like little children or we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. After exposing the pride of the Pharisees, in the Gospel today, he teaches, “Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, but whoever humbles himself shall be exalted."

The Lord didn’t simply teach humility, he lived humility. The divine Word, emptied Himself and was born a human babe in a poor stable at Bethlehem. As a baby, he was a Refugee in Egypt. He lived in the obscure village of Nazareth. He had the menial job of a carpenter. During His public ministry, Jesus had nowhere to lay His head. Paul writes to the Philippians, “He humbled Himself even to death on a cross, the death of a slave.”

St. Francis of Assisi said: “Every day, Jesus humbles Himself just as He did when He came from His heavenly throne into the Virgin's womb; everyday He comes to us and lets us see Him in abjection, when He descends from the bosom of the Father into the hands of the priest at the altar. He shows Himself to us in this sacred bread just as He once appeared to His apostles in real flesh.”

The Lenten journey is one of humility.  We began Lent sprinkling our foreheads with ashes while hearing the words, “Remember man, you are dust, and to dust you will return.”  If our Lenten observances of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are to help conform us to Christ, they certainly will help us grow in humility.

We are to give alms without the blowing of trumpets, pray behind closed doors, and fast without show. We are to shun the spotlight, turn away from seats of honor, and take up the washbasin to wash the dirty feet of our neighbor, and to do so without hope of earthly repayment or notoriety. We are to broken, shared, and poured out like ordinary bread and ordinary wine.

As the Lenten Eucharistic preface states: the Father wills that our self-denial should give Him thanks, humble our earthly pride, contribute to the feeding of the poor, and so help us imitate Him in his kindness.”

May this Lent help us grow in humility, by decreasing our instincts of self-aggrandizement and self-promotion, that we might truly learn to love and serve others for their own sake, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That our Lenten prayer, fasting, and almsgiving may humble our earthly pride and bring about conversion and renewal within the Church.

For all those preparing to enter into Christ through the saving waters of Baptism and those preparing for full initiation this Easter, may these final Lenten weeks bring about purification from sin and enlightenment in the ways of holiness.

For those who have fallen away from the Church, who have become separated through error and sin, for those who reject the teachings of Christ, for their conversion and the conversion of all hearts.

For those experiencing any kind of hardship or sorrow, isolation, addiction, or illness: may they experience the healing graces of Christ.

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Grant, we pray, O Lord, that your people may turn to you with all their heart, so that whatever they dare to ask in fitting prayer they may receive by your mercy.

2nd Week of Lent 2018 - Monday - Lent is a season of Hope

Over in the Academy last week, I was talking about the theological and cardinal virtues. Alongside the western wall here at St. Clare, the theological virtues, faith hope and love, and the cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude, are depicted symbolically in our stained glass windows.

I’d like to speak this morning about the virtue of hope. Hope is depicted so often in Christian symbology as an anchor, as it is here, on one of our stained glass windows. The anchor was an early Christian symbol commonly found in the Roman catacombs as a symbol of the hope we have in the promises of Christ. Imagine you are a first century Christian taking refuge in the catacombs: three of your close friends have just been thrown to the lions or burned at the stake, or crucified and set ablaze as torches at one of Emperor Nero's garden parties. The anchor is a symbol that amidst the storms and uncertainties and suffering, Christ is our anchor, Christ is our hope.

Letter to the Hebrews speaks of hope as an anchor: "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure."

Hope helps us to remain anchored in the truth, anchored in reality. Lent is a season of Hope. The ashes of Ash Wednesday remind us of the all too real reality of suffering and death, the result of sin, but it is a day of hope, the ashes are placed on the head in the sign of the cross, an expression of our hope to be saved from sin and purified from sin through Lent.

Yesterday’s Gospel, for the second Sunday of Lent, is filled with hope. Jesus’ glory was revealed in dazzling display on the Mount of Transfiguration. This was to give his disciples hope, that though he would suffer and die, the cross was not the defeat of God, but God’s defeat of sin and death.
I thought of this image of the anchor of hope today, in light of our readings today, in which we find Daniel confessing his sins and the sins of Israel to the Father in the first reading, and which speak of the Father’s forgiveness and our need to forgive in the Gospel.

The Virtue of Hope is discovered between two vices: the vice of despair and the vice of presumption. Despair claims that my sin is so great, God will never forgive me. Presumption claims that it doesn’t matter what I do, I am assured of salvation, so I don’t have to make any attempt to amend my life.

True Christian Hope is rooted in the truth, that Yes, God is full of grace, mercy and forgiveness for the sinner, but as sinners, like Daniel, we are called to confess our sins, and show mercy and forgiveness, as the Lord teaches in the Gospel. “For if you do not forgive, the Father will not forgive you.”

May our Lenten practices help us to grow in authentic Christian hope which leads us to acknowledge and confess our sins, amend our life, forgive others and lead others to the fountain of God’s mercy, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That those despairing of God’s mercy and those presumptuous of God’s mercy may come to know and practice authentic Christian Hope.

That those preparing for baptism and full Christian initiation at Easter may be strengthened in Faith, Hope, and Love through the Church’s prayer and witness.

For the Holy Father’s prayer intention for the month of February, that those who have material, political or spiritual power may resist any lure of corruption. We pray to the Lord.

That we may generously respond to all those in need: the sick, the suffering, the homeless, the imprisoned, and victims of violence.

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Grant, we pray, O Lord, that your people may turn to you with all their heart, so that whatever they dare to ask in fitting prayer they may receive by your mercy.

2nd Sunday of Lent 2018 - Desert & Mountaintop

Last week, the Lenten liturgy presented us with the Gospel of Jesus' temptations in the desert; we reflect this week on the extraordinary event of the Transfiguration. Pope Benedict once commented, that these two episodes serve as “pillars on which to build the entire structure of Lent until Easter, and indeed, the entire structure of Christian life.”

On one hand, Jesus’ struggle in the desert, shows us how Jesus shares in our humanity, even in our human temptations. He hungered as we hungered, he thirsted as we thirst, and he was tempted, as we are tempted.

Now, his temptations were on a bit different scale than ours. We are not tempted to turn stones into bread, or to use divine power to become a sort of world ruler, like Jesus. But we are tempted according to our situation in life. A 5 year old is tempted to do what he knows is wrong, stealing the toy from his sibling, obstinately refusing the wishes of his parents. A 15 year-old is tempted with 15-year old sins. Spouses and parents are tempted with sins against the patience and kindness and faithfulness for spouse and children which should rule over their hearts. Politicians are tempted to misuse their power and influence for selfish reasons.

But the Lord’s temptations were real, just like ours: to misuse the power, the time, the goods, we have for selfish means. And this struggle against temptation is the great struggle of the Christian life.
But the Lord was prepared for his desert temptations because, over those 40 days, he had fasted and prayed. And so the Lord sets the model for us, his human brothers and sisters, he sets the pattern for our own Lenten journey. We too are to fast from earthly pleasures—snacks, desserts, entertainment, rich food and drink—in order to remember that “man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.”

Some people think that they don’t have to fast during Lent, they’ll just perform extra acts of charity. But that is not consistent with our Catholic Tradition, the scriptures, the prayers, the writings of the saints and the Popes, or the example of Our Lord Himself, who Himself fasted, and taught that his disciples would have to fast, as well. Lenten fasting helps us to deepen our hunger for the “true food”, which is doing the will of God.

The first sin of the human race involved food and grasping for power that didn’t belong to us. And so, If Adam disobeyed the Lord’s command, that he should not eat the forbidden fruit, the believer, through Lenten fasting, submits himself humbly to God. And that humility is a bedrock basic attitude for the Christian life.

So, the Lord going out into the desert, to fast and pray and face his temptations serves as the first pillar of Lent.

The second pillar is the Transfiguration atop Mt. Tabor, which we read every year on the Second Sunday of Lent.

The Mountain Top in scripture is always the place of divine encounter. It is where faithfulness is exercised and God is revealed. On Mount Moriah, Abraham showed his faith, and God revealed that he did not desire human sacrifice, he desires something greater, the total surrender of our hearts. Abraham was to be the father of the holy nation of Israel, a people who offered their whole hearts in surrender to God’s will, God’s plan.

So too, Moses encounters God on Mount Sinai. Moses, who faithfully led the Israelites in their exodus from Egyptian slavery to the promised land, encounters God, who reveals his law, his commandments, that his people may refrain from evil and sin, which are another form of slavery. God desires that his people be free not just from physical slavery, but spiritual slavery as well.

Elijah, too, with whom Jesus converses during His Transfiguration also encountered God on a mountain. On Mt. Carmel, the faithful prophet Elijah confronted the priests of the false Canaanite god Baal, who did demand child-sacrifice by the way. Through faithful Elijah, God reveals he is the One True God, and the futility of the false religions.

So, now Jesus and his closest disciples ascend Mount Tabor. And we see that same pattern again. Jesus, shows himself to be the faithful Son of his Father, willing to undergo suffering, crucifixion, and death. Then God’s glory is revealed. Jesus becomes transfigured, the dazzling glory of his divinity shines forth, and the voice of the Father speaks from heaven, “This is my beloved Son.”

If in the Desert Jesus showed his share in our humanity, on Mount Tabor he shows that through Him, Humanity will share in His divinity. That the cross is not the defeat of God, but rather the royal road of heaven for man; that our sufferings and the fortitude we exert in resisting temptation, when united to Christ leads to life.

So, the Lord’s white garment on Tabor prefigures the robe of his glorious resurrection, as well as the white garment of the baptized. For through baptism, we receive the white garment of the saved; we are united to Christ in his saving death, and are promised that we will rise with Him, in glorious resurrection.

Two pillars of the Lenten season: Desert and Mountaintop. In Lent, we are to be desert travelers with Jesus, fasting with him, turning away from creature comforts and earthly pleasures, to strip away the non-essentials that we may trust all the more in God. And in Lent, we are to be fellow mountain climbers with Christ, seeking the face of God and the will of God in our Lenten prayer, strengthening our Hope in Christ’s promise of resurrection and an eternal Easter.

So every day, we must climb the mountain of prayer. As we heard on Ash Wedneday, each day we are to go to a secluded place, shut the door, and listening to the Word of God. Our prayer will sustain us as we carry our crosses and encounter our hardships and face our temptations, our prayer will bring us the sweetness of God in the bitter times of life, the refreshment of God in the arid times of life, the peace of God in the chaotic times of life. Pope St. Leo the Great said, “when it comes to obeying the commandments or enduring adversity, the words uttered by the Father should always echo in our ears: This is my Son, the beloved, in whom I am well pleased; listen to Him.”

After facing temptation once again in the Garden of Gethsemene, on Good Friday, Jesus, the faithful son, climbs the final mountain, mount Calvary. God’s divine love, God’s love for us sinners, is fully revealed on that mountain, the mount of the cross. May His Divine Life, that radical aversion to sin, that burning desire to do the will of the Father, fill our hearts and lives as well, for the glory of god and salvation of souls.

1st Week of Lent 2018 - Friday - Repentance is a matter of Life and Death

Lent is a powerful call to repentance, and repentance is a matter of life and death. As we heard from the prophet Ezekiel this morning: "If the wicked man turns away from all the sins he committed, if he keeps all my statutes and does what is right and just, he shall surely live, he shall not die."

Recalling the story of Adam and Eve, we recognize the spiritual death, the separation of God, which sin brings between God and man. Sin, which says, I’m going to choose another path, a path separate from the ways of God.

We certainly offer up our Lenten penances, our sacrifices—we pray for the conversion of those trapped in cycles of mortal sin, those who have so corrupted their moral compass that the course of their life is leading them to eternal separation from God.

But notice, Ezekiel says, that the wicked man must turn from “all” the sins he committed. Each of us has an obligation to strive to be free from “all” of our sins: mortal and venial sins. We should not be content with habitual or sporadic venial sins in our life.

St. Augustine remarks that those who want to walk in the love of God and in his mercy cannot be content with ridding themselves simply of grave and mortal sins. “Even less grave sins” Augustine said, “if they are ignored, proliferate and produce death.”

The good news is, the Lord is ready to forgive us. The Lord does not grow as tired of forgiving us our venial sins as we do of confessing them. It’s when we stop confessing them, when we stop seeking to overcome them through God’s grace, that they will fester and “proliferate” as Augustine says.

“Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven.” This sounds like an impossibly high standard. And it is, humanly impossible. But it is not impossible for God to lead us in the ways of surpassing holiness. It is up to us, with the help of grace, to identity those sin, to repent of them, and to surrender to the grace that gives us strength to amend our life.

Lent is a desert experience in which we separate ourselves from the things that hinder our growth in grace, and it is also a time of new spiritual life, as we open ourselves to God’s mercy and life-giving grace, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For the whole Christian people, that in this sacred Lenten season, they may be more abundantly nourished by every word that comes from the mouth of God.

For the whole world, that in lasting tranquility and peace our days may truly become the acceptable time of grace and salvation.

For sinners and those who neglect right religion, that in this time of reconciliation they may return wholeheartedly to Christ.

For ourselves, that God may at last stir up in our hearts aversion for our sins and conviction for the Gospel.

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Grant, we pray, O Lord, that your people may turn to you with all their heart, so that whatever they dare to ask in fitting prayer they may receive by your mercy.

February 22 2018 - Chair of Peter - Unity and Peace and Enkindling the Fire of Charity

Just over a week into the Lenten of season, white vestments are donned, the Gloria is sung, as we celebrate the Feast of the Chair of Peter. Since its earliest days, the Roman Church has especially commemorated the authority of the Petrine office—that the successor of St. Peter continues a ministry of the utmost importance to the Church of Christ.

The Opening Prayer spoke of how God protects us from the tempests, the storms of the world, by founding the Church on the rock of Peter’s confession of faith. The successors of Peter, the Popes, throughout the century have helped the Church maintain faithfulness to the authentic Gospel, through heresies, schisms, the rise of false religions, atheistic ideologies. The faithfulness of the Pope to the Word of God will enable the Church to outlast every earthly enemy—individual, nation, or rival religion. In fact, he leads to the Church in driving back the darkness, driving back the errors, beating back and knocking down the gates and ramparts of hell.

This feast falling during the season of Lent is significant. Much of our attention throughout Lent is interior: am I fasting enough, am I praying enough, am I giving enough. Yet a universal feast, such as this, causes us to look for help outside ourselves. We have had some of the holiest Popes in Church history just this last century.

We do well to reflect on the words and example of St. Pius X, Venerable Pius XII, St. John XXIII, Blessed Paul VI, St. John Paul II. Personally, this Lent I am reading through a series of meditation from the writings of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI who always offers such a clear and penetrating insight for me.

The current Holy Father, Pope Francis, offered a beautiful reflection for the beginning of Lent. He reflected upon the great Poet Dante’s depiction of the lowest ring of hell, with Satan and Judas Iscariot encased in the coldest ice, in frozen and loveless isolation. Pope Francis invites the Church to consider how, this Lent, we might rekindle the fire of charity that has perhaps grown cold in us, how we may become more aware of the signs that love for God, love for the Church, love for the poor, love for family, has perhaps begun to cool.

The teaching of Peter, the structure and doctrine of the Church, the sacraments, exist that we may know unity and peace with God and with one another.

May our Lenten observances and our celebration of this great feast help us to experience the unity and peace, the freedom from sin, the fire of charity that our good and gracious God desires for each one of us, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For the Successor of St. Peter, our Holy Father, that he be strong in his mission and strengthen the whole Church in faith.

For all bishops, that they grow in union with Peter, share the zeal of Paul, and lead us by the grace of the Holy Spirit.

For those preparing for baptism and the Easter sacraments, that they may continue to conform themselves to Christ through Faith taught by St. Peter and his successors.

For the conversion of all people to Christ, for those who reject the Faith, for those who have fallen away from the Church, for those who mock and persecute Christians, for hardened and unrepentant sinners, we pray to the Lord.

For the sick and the dying, the poor and the oppressed, and all victims of war, violence, and the selfishness of their fellow man, that they may experience the peace and presence of Christ, we pray to the Lord.

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Father, We rejoice in the call to belong to the Church, to believe in the Gospel, and to be united with the successors of your Apostles. Answer our prayers and increase our fidelity to the Gospel. Through Christ our Lord.

1st Week of Lent 2018 - Tuesday - Interiorizing the Word

When tempted by the devil to forego his desert fasting, Our Lord responded, “It is written, 'man does not live on bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God'".
And really, the temptation wasn’t simply to break his fast. The devil was tempting Jesus to turn away from the difficult road that the Father willed for His Son.

Here Jesus reminds us of one of the Christian life’s most important lessons: that God’s priorities are more important than our own, that our physical needs are not our greatest needs. The Word of God is more essential than bread.

Our Lenten fasting, fasting from chocolate, or video games, or social media, or snacking certainly helps us to build up self-discipline towards these earthly pleasures. Yet, more essential our fasting reminds us that we don’t need these things to survive, and we certainly don’t need them to thrive spiritually.

Jesus responded to the devil’s temptation by quoting a passage from Deuteronomy. Throughout the Gospels Jesus quotes directly from the Old Testament about 80 times, and the logic of the former scriptures permeates his teachings. Jesus overcame temptation by drawing upon the truth, the words of the Scriptures.

And as we prayed on the first Sunday of Lent, his “forty long days” in the desert set “the pattern of our own Lenten observance.” The word of God is meant to permeate our Lent, and our life. Pope Benedict wrote, “In the trials of life and in every temptation, the secret of victory lies in listening to the word of truth and rejecting with determination falsehood and evil.”

Our reading from Isaiah, speaks of how God’s word is meant to permeate us like the rain permeates the soil and makes the soil fertile.

So, if we are to be able to draw on the word of God in times of temptation, if the word of God is meant to fertilize our souls to bear new life, we must expose ourselves to it, we must meditate on it, we must take it into our hearts and let it live there. Many people can quote baseball statistics, movie lines, or a catchy new song, but barely a line from scripture.

Daily throughout Lent, we do well to sit down with the scriptures open upon our laps, to speak the words allowed, to allow them to echo in our minds and hearts.

Again to quote Pope Benedict, “It is therefore urgently necessary in these forty days to listen anew to the gospel, the word of the Lord, the word of truth, so that in every Christian, in every one of us, the understanding of the truth given to him…may be strengthened, so that we may live it and witness to it. Lent encourages us to let the word of God penetrate our life and thus to know the fundamental truth: who we are, where we come from, where we must go, which road to take in life.”

May our Lenten fasting clear out and make room for the prayerful encounter and interiorization of the word of God in us, that we might live it out in lives of Christian purity and charity, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That the season of Lent may bring the most hardened hearts to repentance and bring purification from sin and selfishness to all people.

For those preparing for baptism and the Easter sacraments, that they may continue to conform themselves to Christ through fervent prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

That we may generously respond to all those in need: the sick, the suffering, the homeless, the imprisoned, and victims of violence.

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Grant, we pray, O Lord, that your people may turn to you with all their heart, so that whatever they dare to ask in fitting prayer they may receive by your mercy.

1st Week of Lent 2018 - Monday - Compunction and Conversion

After receiving our Ashes on Ash Wednesday, and after receiving Holy Communion, the priest extended his hands over the congregation and prayed, “Pour out a spirit of compunction, O God, on those who bow before your majesty…” The readings and prayers of the first half of Lent are aimed at arousing in us the spirit--the disposition of compunction. What is compunction?

Compunction is a knowledge of our sinfulness, sorrow for our sins, repentance, the desire for God’s mercy, the desire for deeper conversion.

Compunction comes from the latin “compungere”, to severely prick, as with a needle or a thorn. So the readings, the prayers, the time spent in prayerful reflection, during Lent “severely prick” our consciences, to lead us to repentance and amendment of our lives.

The Old Testament reading today was from the book of Leviticus. From the base of Mt. Sinai, Moses expands upon the 10 commandments with hundreds of laws that were to help Israel to become the chosen race, the royal priesthood, the holy nation set apart, who would live righteously, charitably, and in right worship.

The Levitical law spells out how Israel was to relate to God and how the people of God should relate to one another. Reading through these laws should bring us to compunction: “Have I stolen, have I defrauded another, have I acted dishonestly in rendering judgment.”  If, I have, it is a good thing to be brought to sorrow for failing to be as holy as God calls us to be.

Likewise, the reading from Matthew’s Gospel should help us examine our conscience.  In the parable of the Great Judgment, the Lord teaches that what we fail to do for the least of his people, the poorest, the most downtrodden, we fail to do for him. And there are eternal consequences for our failure to be charitable and merciful.

So we take very seriously this call to examine our lives—have I cared for those in need—the hungry, the naked, those in prison, the stranger, as I should?

If we are honest, the answer is probably no.  Many of us have never visited a prisoner or given more than a token offering to the starving. Even the sick we've visited have been relatives and friends and not the least of the brethren. And that should prick our consciences a bit, a lead us to consider ways the Lord is calling us to grow in charity

Compunction leads to conversion. And conversion, as Pope Benedict wrote, “opens the heart to God’s infinite goodness.”

May our Lenten journey continue to bring us purification from our sins, enlightenment in the ways of goodness, and conformity to the self-sacrifice of Christ for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
 
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That the season of Lent may bring the most hardened hearts to repentance and bring purification from sin and selfishness to all people.
For those preparing for baptism and the Easter sacraments, that they may continue to conform themselves to Christ through fervent prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.
That we may generously respond to all those in need: the sick, the suffering, the homeless, the imprisoned, and victims of violence.
For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.
Grant, we pray, O Lord, that your people may turn to you with all their heart, so that whatever they dare to ask in fitting prayer they may receive by your mercy.

1st Sunday of Lent 2018 - Noah's Ark and the Lenten Desert

Since the times of the Early Church Fathers, Noah’s ark has been seen as a prefigurement, a foreshadowing, of the Church. Just as the ark was the means by which Noah and his family were spared destruction, so also the Church is the instrument by which Christians are saved from eternal damnation.

The ark housed a male and female of every kind of animal, and the Church houses men and women from every nation, language, and background. God saved Noah and his family, not by a fleet of ships, but by one ark. Similarly, Christ founded not many Churches, but one Church. The ark of Noah sheltered his family from the storm, and it is in the Church that we take refuge from the storms and floods of life.

But it gets even more interesting. St. Paul calls the Church, the Body of Christ. And St. Augustine noted how even the very ratio of the dimensions of the ark to each other suggest a human body, the Body of Christ. The dimensions of the ark were 300 by 50 by 30 cubits. St. Augustine writes, “For even its very dimensions, in length, breadth, and height, represent the human body in which the Lord came… For the length of the human body, from the crown of the head to the sole of the foot, is six times its breadth from side to side, and ten times its depth or thickness, measuring from back to front.” So the ark is a vessel with the dimensions of the human body which saved a family from destruction, and the Church, the Body of Christ, which saves us from eternal destruction.

The wood of the ark foreshadows the wood of the cross, and the waters of the flood foreshadow the waters of baptism.

Here at St. Clare, our baptismal font is three-sided, to represent the three divine persons of the Holy Trinity. From the early Church to this day, it was also common to construct baptismal fonts with eight sides, to symbolize the eight people on the ark: Noah and his wife, and his sons, Ham, Shem, and Japeth, and their wives.  We even heard in our second reading how Scripture itself sees the eight persons of Noah’s family being saved through the waters of the flood as a prefigurement of baptism.
So why do we begin the season of Lent with these scriptures talking about baptism? Again, from the early Church, Lent was a time of preparation for those preparing for baptism. The prayer, fasting, and almsgiving of Lent, are important spiritual practices especially for those preparing for baptism, to help them conform themselves to Christ, who fasted, and prayed, and gave his life for our salvation.

Those already baptized pray, fast, and give to the poor, as a way of supporting and offering good example for those to be baptized, as well as a way of spiritual preparation to renew our own baptismal promises at Easter

Here at St. Clare, we have three candidates who will be received into full communion with the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil. Following the homily, there will be a short ritual called the rite of sending, in which we will pray for these candidates, who will be sent this evening to the Cathedral, to gather with Bishop Perez and all the other catechumens and candidates from throughout the diocese.
Though the candidates we send to the bishop are already baptized, we are certainly conscious of the need to pray for and set good example for them, and to pray and sacrifice for the thousands of people who will be baptized and will receive Confirmation and First Eucharist at Easter.

And so, on this first Sunday of the season of Lent, we get a glimpse at our destination: the saving waters of baptism through which we die to sin and rise to new life in Christ. We pray, fast, and give alms to help us get back to the basics of baptism: prayer, to remind us of the spiritual intimacy we have with God, fasting to remind us of the self-sacrifice of Christ which is to be the model of our own self-discipline and self-sacrifice, and almsgiving, to remind us of the charity which should mark every day of our life as Christians.

With our destination in mind, our Gospel reading reminds us that as Christ went into the desert and was tempted by Satan, so too we are in a constant spiritual battle. The powers of Satan are at work against us, to separate us from God through sin, to seduce us into ways of worldliness.
Before we can reach the springs of new life, often we must travel through the desert. And in the desert we face challenge and temptation, but also purification, enlightenment, and deep communion with God.

How will we emerge victorious from the desert? By uniting ourselves to Christ, the faithful Son of the Father, and allowing Him to live in us.

After being delivered through the waters of the flood, we read today how God placed a bow in the sky as a covenantal sign, of his divine protection. So too, Christ spoke of his body and blood, as a covenantal sign, the sign of the new and everlasting covenant. The Eucharist, which is lifted up for us to see at every Mass is the sign that God is with us, in all of our hardships, in all of the dry-desert moments of life; in the Eucharist God strengthens us and nourishes us throughout our desert journey.

If at all possible, please try to attend daily mass throughout the week as much as possible throughout Lent. As we engage in the spiritual practices and penances of Lent, the enemy rolls up his sleeves as well. If he can tempt Jesus in the desert, he can tempt us as well. So please avail yourselves of the Eucharist as often as possible, that you may not fall under temptation, and that you might make use of all of the grace God has in store for you, for the purification and transformation of your minds and souls.

Throughout Lent, together we make this journey of faith, that we may prepare ourselves well to experience, after the mystery of the cross, the joy of Easter, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Friday after Ash Wednesday 2018 - Fasting is pleasing to God

“The days are coming when my disciples will fast”, well, here they are. Before the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, the entire season of Lent was a time of rigorous fasting for all adult Catholics: no eating between meals, and two smaller meals not adding up to the main meal of the day.   And throughout the whole year, Catholics were to abstain from eating meat on Fridays.

After Vatican II, these disciplines changed.  The abstaining from meat on Fridays throughout the year may now be substituted with some other penitential practice, though Fridays during Lent are still days of abstinence from meat.  And we have only two mandated fast days to observe: Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

The practice of fasting goes far back into our biblical roots.  The Old Testament shows people fasting as a sign of repentance and desire for conversion. .  The New Testament also recommends the practice.  Jesus says, “when you fast” not “IF you fast”.  And the long history of the Catholic Church has preserved fasting as a practice important for our spiritual lives.

The saints speak of fasting, along with prayer and charitable giving, of course, as a means to grow in Christian perfection. St. John Climacus, was a sort of "Master Faster", and he wrote, “fasting ends lust, roots out bad thoughts, frees one from evil dreams. Fasting makes for purity of prayer, an enlightened soul, a watchful mind, a deliverance from spiritual blindness. Fasting is the door of compunction, humble sighing, joyful contrition, and end to chatter, an occasion for silence, a custodian of obedience, a lightening of sleep, health of the body, an agent of dispassion, a remission of sins, the gate, indeed, the delight of paradise.”  So, you could say, he encouraged people to fast.

Josemaria Escriva said simply, “A strict fast is a penance most pleasing to God.”

Fasting for Christians isn’t just a sort of religious weight loss program.  We don’t fast simply for the purpose of reducing our waist size, though that is always a pleasant result of this spiritual practice.

Fasting is a spiritual self-discipline that makes us conscious of our dependence on God.  We voluntarily experience physical hunger in order to become aware of our true spiritual hunger.  That the deepest hunger of the human soul comes for the peace and joy and life that can only be satisfied by communion with God.

Another reason we fast is to subdue our passions and self-will.  If we cannot control our stomach, how can we control our urges for pleasure, money, and power?  Conscious of the many evils of our culture, we remember that Jesus taught us that some demons can only be cast out by prayer and FASTING.

Fasting opens our heart to charity.  Listen again to the Prophet Isaiah this morning: “This, rather, is the fasting, that I wish: releasing those bound unjustly, untying the throngs of the yoke; setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke; sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless; clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own.”

May we take seriously the call to fasting this Lent, that our minds and hearts may be conformed ever more deeply to Christ, and be made ready for the feast of Eternal Easter, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For the whole Christian people, that in this sacred Lenten season, they may be more abundantly nourished by every word that comes from the mouth of God.

For the whole world, that in lasting tranquility and peace our days may truly become the acceptable time of grace and salvation.

For sinners and those who neglect right religion, that in this time of reconciliation they may return wholeheartedly to Christ.

For ourselves, that God may at last stir up in our hearts aversion for our sins and conviction for the Gospel.

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Grant, we pray, O Lord, that your people may turn to you with all their heart, so that whatever they dare to ask in fitting prayer they may receive by your mercy.

Thursday after Ash Wednesday 2018 - Threshold Moments

I don’t know if it’s still common today, but it used to be a tradition for a groom to carry his bride over the threshold of the honeymoon suite or their new home. Crossing the threshold marked a transition from one way of life to another.

Some of my favorite scenes in stories and movies are when the protagonist stands at a threshold with an important choice to make: Neo, from “The Matrix” choosing the red pill or the blue pill; Bilbo the Hobbit, literally standing at the threshold of his safe, comfortable home, choosing whether or not he will go on the adventure of a lifetime.

Certainly, a threshold moment in my life, was the day, as a young college student, I chose to visit the seminary for the first time.

We all have threshold moments –times when we are invited to move from one way of living to another. These moments are challenging; change and venturing into the unknown are never easy. So we often pause on the threshold itself, to reflect on what we want out of life, on who we are, one where we want to go, on the principles we must follow if we want to truly live.

Moses, in the first reading, has led the Israelites to the threshold of the promised land. And they have a choice to make, as they enter this new land, will they return to the comfortable life of sin, or will they embark on the new way of fidelity. Fidelity will be difficult. They will have to resist being led estray by the attractive paganism of the land’s current inhabitants. They will have to resist their strange gods, their voluptuous women. They will have to struggle to keep the commandments, statues, and decrees of God.

One way leads to life and prosperity, one to death and doom: “choose life”, Moses says, “heeding the voice of the Lord.”

On this threshold of Lent, we are given a choice, as well. Will we return to the comfortable, or will we embark on a journey which will change us, and convert us.

The Lord invites us to follow him into the desert, to fast and to pray with him, to learn how to surrender ourselves to God like Him, he invites us to deny ourselves and follow Him.

It is a great paradox, but true nonetheless, that the way of the cross is the way that leads to life.
Freely and wholeheartedly, may we embrace our Lenten observances of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, that the life of Christ may well up, spring up in us, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
 
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For the whole Christian people, that in this sacred Lenten season, they may be more abundantly nourished by every word that comes from the mouth of God.

For the whole world, that in lasting tranquility and peace our days may truly become the acceptable time of grace and salvation.

For sinners and those who neglect right religion, that in this time of reconciliation they may return wholeheartedly to Christ.

For ourselves, that God may at last stir up in our hearts aversion for our sins and conviction for the Gospel.

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Grant, we pray, O Lord, that your people may turn to you with all their heart, so that whatever they dare to ask in fitting prayer they may receive by your mercy.

Ash Wednesday 2018 - The loss of the sense of sin

What is the greatest sin? Murder? Adultery? Sacrilege? Genocide? Back in 1946, speaking to a group of Catholic teachers, the Pope at the time, Pope Pius XII, said, “Perhaps the greatest sin in the world today is that men have begun to lose the sense of sin.”

“To lose the sense of sin.” What did the Pope mean by that?

The sense of sin is the awareness of the difference between right and wrong, it’s the consciousness that it’s wrong to violate God’s commandments, it certainly involves a consciousness that God has given us commandments in the first place.

Consider Adam and Eve in the garden. They knew that God had commanded them to not eat the forbidden fruit. But the more the dialogued with the serpent, the less they considered the wrongness of the act and the consequences of their sin.

Similarly, the loss of the sense of sin in our own life is the result of a continual and repeated lie one makes to oneself. When one tells oneself that “sin isn’t that bad.”

We lie to ourselves and we begin to believe the lie. “It doesn’t matter if I skip mass”, “it doesn’t matter if I cheat off my classmate or steal from my employer”, “it doesn’t matter If I visit the perverted internet website”, “it doesn’t matter if I gossip about my neighbor, or I’ll just make an exception this time”.

As we lose the sense of sin, sin takes root in our life. Soon, we don’t think twice about skipping mass, gossiping, contracepting, striking a sibling or a spouse. And when will the cycle end?

Today, Ash Wednesday, is such an important day because today is a day that we acknowledge that sin is real, that sin has a real effect in our life, that our sins keep us from being the people God made us to be, they keep us from living in harmony with our neighbor, and the joy of the Gospel.

Today we are marked with ashes, ashes which symbolize the spiritual death which occurs when we disobey God’s commandments. To be marked with ashes is to mark oneself as a sinner, but a sinner with hope. We are marked as sinners who desire God to intervene in our life to save us from our sins. As Pope St. John Paul taught, “Sin is an integral part of the truth about the human person. To recognize oneself as a sinner is the first and essential step in returning to the healing love of God,”

The Gospel warns us of marking our faces simply to appear to be fasting. Receiving ashes can be done vainly, wanting people to notice you simply for having gone to Church. We receive ashes rightly when we do so humbly, desiring with our whole hearts that with God’s help we will put an end to sin in our life.

The 40 days of Lent remind us that Jesus goes out into the desert for 40 days. He fasts and prays and does spiritual battle with the devil. We mark ourselves with ashes today, that we may be united with Jesus, in our fasting, in our prayer, in our own spiritual battle to remove sin and selfishness from our life.

May this great devotion which marks the beginning of Lent, also mark the end of the reign of sin in us, that we may know the life, the peace, the healing, and the joy that comes from faithfulness to God for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

6th Week in OT 2018 - Tuesday - Works in progress

Yesterday’s Gospel concluded with Jesus letting out a deep sigh and lamenting over the Pharisees demands for signs and wonders, and even when he produced them, like when he fed the five thousand, they were still unconvinced of his identity.

Today’s Gospel picks up immediately with the disciples also not quite getting it. They had been with Jesus now for some time, they had seen miraculous healings and feedings, and Jesus still detected some blindness, some doubt in them.

Now notice how Jesus hasn’t given up on the disciples. The mere fact that they were still with him, showed their openness to his teaching. They were “unfinished products” and that’s okay. And the fact that Jesus is still teaching them shows his commitment to helping them become free from their inner resistances.

So, too, with us. None of us are “finished products”, we are all “works in progress”; we come to the altar with some blindness, some lack of trust in God, some selfishness. And that we are here is such a good sign of our willingness to be healed, to be taught, to be led by God. God sees the tremendous potential each one of us has, and he provides the teaching and the spiritual nourishment and the boundless mercy, that we can become the people he made us to be.

Here is also a reminder to be extremely patient with each other. When I humbly acknowledge that I’m not the person I’m meant to be, I’m able to be much more patient with my brother, who also speaks and acts out of ignorance, at times. If a brother needs to be rebuked or corrected, we do so very gently, very patiently, to help them grow.

Many look at the Catholic Church with great criticism. They say, “look at all the corruption, look at all the moral failures of her members, the mediocre preaching.”  But still, millions of people join the Catholic Church despite the faults of individual members who fail to live up to what they profess.
Good, thoughtful people join the Church every year because they acknowledge that it is HERE that we find the truth we need to live in right relationship with God. Good, thoughtful people join the Church because they recognize that the only fair way to judge any institution is according to its principles and the example of those who DO live in accord with them.

Jesus saves through His Church! And His Church does produce Saints. Where else than the Church do we find women like Catherine of Siena, Teresa of Avila, Therese of Lisieux, and Elizabeth Ann Seton, or men to compare with Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, St. Ignatius of Loyola, Francis, John of the Cross, Thomas More, John Vianney.  No where but here!

Today, may we be open to the ways the Lord wishes to cure us from our spiritual blindness, teach us in our ignorance, feed us in our hunger, and lead us in the ways of sanctity for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For the Holy Father’s prayer intention for the month of February, that those who have material, political or spiritual power may resist any lure of corruption.

For those preparing for baptism and entrance into full communion with the Catholic Church this Easter, for their continual conversion to Christ and that of the whole Church.

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

6th Week in OT 2018 - Monday - Facing trials joyfully

While still a young abbot, St. Bernard of Clairvaux said, “There are more people converted from mortal sin to grace than there are religious converted from good to better.” What St. Bernard noted among the monks of his community, could be noted of nearly every Catholic parish in the world. Many people in our pews have turned away from the great mortal sins of our world, many attend Mass regularly, yet deep spiritual maturity is never gained. Jesus’ call to radical holiness is brushed off by so many as too lofty or unrealistic, so it is never attempted.

St. James in his New Testament epistle insists that the Lord desires great sanctity for all of his followers, and so the epistle writer explains that deep conversion flows from repentance and humility. His is certainly a message we do well to reflect upon as we prepare for the beginning of Great Lent beginning this week.

James invites us to make an honest interior examination to see where we have not submitted our minds and hearts to Lord, where we are seeking our happiness in earthly things instead of heavenly ones.

Before an athletic event, athletes will psych themselves up for the game, they’ll push aside their worldly cares; in their minds, they’ll review the plays of the game, they’ll muster the energy they’ll need to persevere through the game’s most difficult moments; they’ll contemplate how they will outsmart their opponent, and recount the games’ basic maneuvers.

Well, we may not be physical athletes, but we are certainly called to be spiritual athletes. And reading through and reflecting upon the Letter of St. James is a wonderful way to do our “pre-gaming”, pre-Lenten preparations.

We hear James say today, “consider it all joy when encountering trials.” We are certainly about the encounter the great trial of the Church year, the Lenten season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, and we are to consider it a joy. That word “consider” means to adopt a certain frame of mind, an attitude.

Adopting the correct attitude toward our Lenten trials will help us to confront the major trials of life with the right Christian attitude. From St. James, we learn that the Christian faith means more than simply believing in God, but living out the duties and trials of life, faithful to all Jesus’ teaches and commands; faith demands an interior commitment to God that is expressed in concrete behavior.

May St. James assist us to seek the deep conversion and radical holiness to which we are all called for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For the Holy Father’s prayer intention for the month of February, that those who have material, political or spiritual power may resist any lure of corruption.

For those preparing for baptism and entrance into full communion with the Catholic Church this Easter, for their continual conversion to Christ and that of the whole Church.

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

5th Week in OT 2018 - Friday - Healing divided kingdoms and divided hearts

Scripture portrays Solomon's reign as the high point of Jewish political and economic history. King Solomon’s riches and wisdom surpassed all the kings of the earth. His kingdom was so formidable that for years he never even had to fight a war.

In a prophetic gesture, Ahijah the prophet ripped his coat into 12 pieces to show how Solomon's seemingly invincible kingdom would be torn to pieces. Ahijah's shocking prophecy soon proved true when civil war divided the country after Solomon's death.

Jesus teaches that “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste.” President Lincoln quoted this verse when speaking about our divided nation during the civil war. The most established, endowed, seemingly impregnable, and developed organizations and systems will quickly collapse if the hearts of people are not entirely with the Lord. Sin has a terrifying power to bring division in any human endeavor--in governments, dioceses, parishes, families, and marriages. 

In less than a week we begin the season of Lent. The devil fears Lent because it can be a time of great spiritual healing, where the causes of division in our organizations and in our hearts are uprooted and mended by our Lenten prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

Throughout the Gospels Jesus healed people physically as a sign of the deeper spiritual healing he came to bring to all mankind. He opened the ears of the deaf and freed the tongues of the dumb and speech-impaired as a sign that He would open our ears so that we can have a greater faith and open our mouths to proclaim that faith.

The Lord will heal the wounds of sin and division, he will heal our spiritual deafness, dumbness, blindness, our spiritual paralysis, he will make our families and parishes endure, if we let him, if we allow him to reign over our hearts.

We can open ourselves to receive deep spiritual healing and transformation by engaging rigorously in the Lenten practices, by repenting of sin, and committing to living and sharing the Gospel for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For the Holy Father’s prayer intention for the month of February, that those who have material, political or spiritual power may resist any lure of corruption.

For those who have fallen away from the Church, for those who have fallen into serious sin, for those who have lost faith in God, for those who reject Church authority, for all troubled marriages, for the healing of all sin and division.

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

February 8 2018 - St. Jerome Emiliani - Solomon's folly and the wisdom of the Saints

Although he had faithfully completed the construction of the Temple, and led the solemn procession of the Ark into the Holy of Holies, with which the Lord was well pleased, and although he was known internationally for his wisdom, we hear today how King Solomon turned his heart to strange Gods, a violation of the first commandment of the Sinai covenant.

We hear how, instead of following the plan of God established from the beginning, that a man shall have only one wife, Solomon had many foreign wives, 700 of them, and he funds to the building of temples to their pagan gods by overtaxing God’s people.

Solomon’s idolatry, and his lust for women and power is going to have terrible consequences for Israel. The twelve tribes, united under the one kingship, are going to be divided into northern and southern kingdoms, leaving Israel vulnerable to foreign enemies. The 10 tribes of the Northern Kingdom will be carried off into exile by the Assyrians and will completely lose their religious and cultural identity. Later, the last two tribes will be exiled in Babylon, the holy city will be ransacked, the temple will be destroyed. God’s chosen people will enter the darkest time of their history basically because of Solomon.

Solomon, the wisest man in the world, became a fool, when he blatantly disregarded the commandments of God.

Contrast the foolishness and resultant devastation of Solomon with the wisdom and the lasting legacy of one of the saints honored by the universal church today, St. Jerome Emiliani.

Jerome was born into a wealthy noble family of Venice. After a bit of a misspent youth, as a young man, he entered military service, still very worldly, irreligious, and pleasure-seeking.  While defending the city-state of Venice, he was captured and chained in a dungeon.  In prison Jerome had a lot of time to think, and he gradually learned how to pray.  He was able to escape imprisonment, and he claimed to have been freed through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  He made a vow to dedicate himself to her service.

After being ordained a priest, a plague and famine swept through northern Italy.  Jerome began caring for the sick and feeding the hungry at his own expense.  While serving the sick and the poor, he resolved to devote himself entirely to others, particularly to abandoned children.  He founded three orphanages, a shelter for repentant prostitutes and a hospital.

He founded the Clerks Regular of Somasca who to this day continue the holy work of their founder: the care of orphans, the disadvantaged and the poor, the treatment of at-risk youth, and the rehabilitation of drug addicts in Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas.

Two ways, the way of death and the way of life are presented to us today. By God’s grace may we choose the right path, faithful to his commands, generous with the gifts he gives for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For the Holy Father’s prayer intention for the month of February, that those who have material, political or spiritual power may resist any lure of corruption.

For the grace to discern the will of God in our own lives, how to serve him faithfully and generously.

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

February 6 2018 - St. Paul Miki - Hands stretched forth toward heaven

When invited to pray, many modern people close their eyes, bow their head, and fold their hands. We find this posture helps us to speak words of the heart to God. Another common posture of prayer, was to kneel down in worship of God, as the Psalmist says, “Let us worship and bow down, let us kneel down before the Lord our Maker.”

Another very common posture of prayer described in the Old Testament, was to spread out the hands toward heaven in a gesture of surrender and openness. The priest adopts this gesture—of hands extended toward heaven—throughout the mass, particularly when he is praying on behalf of the whole Church.

This posture is adopted by Solomon: with the Temple complete, Solomon, stood on the steps of the Temple, and offered a very priestly prayer, with hands extended to heaven, he prayed that the Temple be a place where heaven and earth would meet: a place where God was honored, a place where God would hear the petitions offered by his people.

In the Gospel, Our Lord condemns a certain posture of prayer, one that was taken by the Pharisees. And this was an internal posture, of honoring God with their lips, while their hearts are far from Him. The Pharisees adopted grand gestures, but their hearts were hardened.

On the cross, Jesus unites word, gesture, and heart: with arms and hands outstretched in perfect surrender to the will of the Father, Jesus prays and offers his life for us. We adopt the gesture of kneeling, bowing, stretching our arms to heaven in prayer, that our whole lives might become a prayer of surrender to God, like Christ’s.

The martyrs of the Church, like St. Paul Miki and his companions honored today, imitate our Lord in his self-sacrificial prayerful offering. They assume, in their martyrdom, the posture of surrender, offering their lives, in union with Jesus, for souls and the good of the Church.

Paul Miki and his companions were marched, processed to the hill of execution at Nagasaki, Japan. And there, they were hung on crosses. With arms outstretched, St. Paul Miki prayed for his persecutors. He said, “The only reason for my being killed”, he said, “is that I have taught the doctrine of Christ… I thank God it is for this reason I die… After Christ’s example I forgive my persecutors. I do not hate them. I ask God to have pity on all, and I hope my blood will fall on my fellow men as a fruitful rain.”

May our prayer today, our Eucharistic celebration, enable us to offer out lives in complete and humble offering for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For the Holy Father’s prayer intention for the month of February, that those who have material, political or spiritual power may resist any lure of corruption. We pray to the Lord.

For Christians who are persecuted throughout the world, especially those who face martyrdom, that they may have a faith that is constant and pure.

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

February 5 2018 - St. Agatha, virgin-martyr - Reverencing the Temple (of the Body)

The Ark of the Covenant being brought into the newly constructed Temple was a momentous occasion for Israel. It marked that God was now being rightly worshipped by Israel, and that would bring tremendous favor upon his chosen people. And so the ark was processed in quite the majestic and solemn way. Countless sheep and oxen were sacrificed, trumpets were blown, the king marched along with the priests and his people. And it seemed God was quite pleased, for the cloud of God’s glory filled the Temple.

If you’ve ever attended the Easter Vigil, you might experience some similarities. We of course do not sacrifice sheep and oxen, for Christ has provided the worthy sacrifice of himself. But, there are processions, and clouds of incense, and trumpets on Easter, to celebrate the presence of the Risen Christ with His Church.

At the Great Vigil we also celebrate new Christians becoming Temples of God through the Sacrament of Baptism. And, all of us who are baptized are taught to reverence our bodies as Temples of the Spirit.

The dedication of Solomon's Temple was one of the great events in history. However, Jesus is greater than Solomon. And we who are baptized are greater than Solomon’s Temple.

So we need to have great reverence for our bodies, adorning them with virtue, using them to glorify God in all things. St. Paul urges the Romans, “brothers and sisters…offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God…Do not conform yourself to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.”

When we understand the reverence we are to have for ourselves, we begin to understand why people like St. Agnes, St. Anastasia, Susanna, St. Agatha, who we honor today, St. Lucy, St. Maria Goretti, they died to preserve their purity, their chastity, their consecrated virginity.

For resisting the advances of a degenerate civil official, for her faith, St. Agatha was arrested. To punish her for wishing to protect her chastity, she was sent to a brothel, a house of prostitution. When she persevered in protecting her chastity, her breasts were cut off, and she was sent to her martyrdom.

We do well to invoke St. Agatha and the virgin martyrs to help our culture reclaim the value of chastity and modesty and purity. May we all resist, especially our young people, conforming ourselves to this increasingly perverse and degenerate age, and come to reverence our bodies once again as Temples of God, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
 
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For the Holy Father’s prayer intention for the month of February, that those who have material, political or spiritual power may resist any lure of corruption. We pray to the Lord.

Through the intercession of St. Agatha and the holy virgin-martyrs, for an increase of reverence for the virtues of chastity, purity, and modesty and for greater respect for the dignity of the human body and all human 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

5th Sunday in OT 2018 - Life is worth living

Have you ever been deeply-broken hearted that you felt you couldn’t go on? Have you ever felt, like Job, in our first reading: Is not man's life on earth a drudgery? In other words, have you felt that life is just one series of a miserable circumstances after the next? Have you ever had an existential crisis, a moment in your life where you wonder “what is the point of it all?”

Such experiences are not uncommon. The whole branch of existential philosophy was developed to grapple and wrestle with the universal human experience of questioning the purpose of it all. The existential Philosopher Albert Camus even claimed, that “Deciding whether or not life is worth living” is “the fundamental question in philosophy. All other questions follow from that.”

We Christians take that question seriously. Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen even launched a radio show and later what became the most popular television show at its time, called “Life is Worth Living.” The book of Job grapples with this question: if life is filled with so much drudgery and suffering, is life worth living?

In ancient times, suffering was understood to be caused by sin. If you suffered, it must be your fault, or the fault of somebody down your family line. But, this was not the case for Job, Job was a just and honest man, and yet he still suffered. So how does the virtuous and faithful Job understand his suffering?

The Book of Job ultimately concludes that the man of faith is called to trust in God whether he suffers or not, “the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” “Bless the Lord at all times” as the Psalmist says. That’s a faith and trust that we all need to aspire to. And Job shows us that sort of faith isn’t always easy. How did Job reach this level of spiritual maturity? How did he go from existential crisis to deep faith, from seeing his life has monotonous and meaningless to seeing the hand of God in his life?

Job’s spiritual awakening certainly came after a lot of questioning. Maybe you’ve asked these questions too. “Why?”, “why me?”, “why is this happening to me?” But Job has a breakthrough when he shifts his focus, he changes the type of questions. He stops asking “why must I suffer?” and starts asking God “what do I do about my suffering?” Life IS worth living, no matter the suffering, so how do I deal, how do I cope with the things that are causing my unhappiness, these circumstances threatening my peace and well-being. What is the way forward?

Self-examination is a powerful tool for spiritual growth. If we are unhappy we do well to question the cause of it. Why am I unhappy and depressed? Well it might be because my drinking has increased, or I’ve not forgiven my spouse, or haven’t prayed with any real depth in a few days, or I’m really angry at my boss, or I haven’t been helping anyone but myself lately. Unhappiness is often a sign of unresolved anger, resentment, envy, gluttony, lust, sloth, self-centeredness. There is great unhappiness when one is isolated by selfishness, when one lives only for oneself. Taking a moral inventory is quite necessary from time to time.

But the road to happiness doesn’t end with the self-examination, it needs to lead to action: cutting back on the drinking, Netflix, and video games; standing up to the boss who’s been taking advantage of you, making a spiritual retreat, or maybe going to couples’ therapy if there are deep unresolved issues with your spouse; or getting involved in volunteer service if you’ve been living selfishly lately.
Life IS worth living, and even when there is suffering, even when life feels like monotonous, meaningless drudgery, we have some choices to make. And those choices will determine if we remain stuck in unhappiness or we discover God’s presence with us.

Now, one of the great miseries of life, which Job experienced as well, is the death of a loved one: a parent, a child, a spouse, a dear friend. When a loved one dies there’s often a whole host of feelings: numbness, confusion, anger. Sometimes the pain is so great it feel like you can’t go on living either, such broken-heartedness can be devastating. We ask God some of those Job-like questions: why, why did this happen, why was my loved one taken from me.

And so often, the road to healing involves that shift: from “why was my loved one taken from me” to “now what can I do to heal, to find peace”

That’s not always an easy question to ask. It’s hard to trust that healing and peace CAN be discovered again, to allow yourself to go on living, to allow God to bring you healing. As we recited in the Psalm today: “the Lord, heals the brokenhearted…Great is our Lord and mighty in power; to his wisdom there is no limit.”

To cry out to God with a broken heart is better than not crying out to Him at all. And I think that was Job’s great shift towards deep faith: learning how to turn to God and trust God amidst the suffering.
In today’s Gospel, people came from all places to be healed by Jesus—to be freed of their earthly miseries and bodily pains and their demons. And the Lord certainly, certainly wishes to bring us wholeness and peace and healing, just like he did for the citizens of Capernaum.

But I’d say most often that healing looks a little different than what we first thought. Healing and peace typically don’t come by a wave of the magic wand, but like Job, they involve learning to see things from God’s perspective, learning to trust God amidst the suffering, trusting that life is worth living, and adopting healthy ways of reflecting that faith.

The poet Stephen Vincent Benet put it: “Life is not lost by dying; Life is lost minute by minute, day by dragging day, in all the thousand uncaring ways.” So let us care deeply, love deeply, give of ourselves deeply, that we may discover the healing and life Jesus died to obtain for us for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Feb 2 2018 - Feast of the Presentation - The Light of Truth, Beauty, and Goodness

Many of you know that I was able to live and complete my college studies in Rome. One of the first things I did when I got to Rome was to visit St. Peter’s Basilica. And if you’ve never been there, it is difficult to convey the grandeur and the beauty of that magnificent edifice.

A few days after I arrived in Rome, it was on this day, the feast of the Presentation, that I was able to attend my first papal liturgy at St. Peter’s. And that too is quite the experience. For on the Feast of the Presentation, the consecrated religious of Rome go to St. Peter’s to renew their vows in front of the Pope. So as we made our way to the basilica the streets and buses were filled with nuns and monks and religious brothers and sisters in their habits.

And as we entered St. Peter’s I got to witness that “mostly controlled chaos” that the Italians are so well known for. But then, the music of the liturgy started and chaos was brought into order. And then to my great surprise, the lights of the basilica, that I didn’t even know existed, came on to full blast. And all the art, and ornamentation, and colors of the marble, were all illuminated, and it was quite breathtaking.

And I remember thinking how not many years before that, the light of Christ was quite hard for me to see, in the angst of my teenage years. And now, there I was standing in St. Peter’s Basilica filled with light and truth and beauty, amidst all of these good religious men and women who were offering their lives to God, so grateful that the light of the Catholic faith was shining in my life.

I think today is a good day for reflecting on the many ways the light of Christ shines in your life, like Simeon thanking God for the Christ Child. Thank God today for the truth, the beauty, the goodness you’ve experienced. Thank God for the people, parents, grandparents, teachers, priests and religious, who shared the light of faith with you, and pray for them, especially those who’ve passed into eternity. Also, today ask God to help you see ways he might be calling you to share his light with others, with the next generation, with people in whose life the light of God has grown dim, with non-believers.

For the light that we are given, as Christ teaches in his sermon on the mount, is not meant to be hidden, but is to shine brightly before others, shared with others.

In 1997, St. John Paul II designated the feast of the presentation as world day of prayer for those in consecrated religious life. So we will offer prayers for the consecrated religious who are such a great light in the Church. May we join them in responding more devoutly today to the Lord’s invitation to turn away from the darkness of error and sin toward the light of Christ, to bear that light courageously and generously for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For those consecrated to God by the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience that they may seek to live their baptismal promises more intensely and have the grace to persevere in their commitment to the Lord and serve with open hearts and willing spirits. We pray to the Lord…

In gratitude for the consecrated religious who have served this parish and our diocese, for an increase in vocations to the consecrated life. We pray to the Lord…

During this Catholic Schools week, for all young people, for their teachers and catechists and parents who are the first teachers of the faith, and that the truth of the faith may be learned, cherished, and practiced in every Catholic school and Christian home.

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 of OT 2018 - Thursday - David's Deathbed: Success depends on obedience to God

In the first and second books of Samuel, we read the story of Israel’s formation as a kingdom, and how that formation is riddled with problems: enemy attacks and corrupt political leaders.
We saw the people of Israel calling for a king, not because they wanted to be nearer to God, but because they wanted to be like the rest of the nations. Time and time again in the scripture, Israel suffers when she forgets who she is called to be, a people set apart.

Because of her secularization, prosperity and peace are more the exception than the rule.  This hearkens back to Adam and Eve being expelled from the garden of Eden. You can’t have the peace of Eden, when disobedience reigns.

Particularly, we saw how the personal sins of the leaders produce terrible national tragedy, the sins of the leaders, their negligence, ignorance or hard-heartedness toward the law of God have devastating consequences for the nation.

So, on his death bed, King David turns to his son Solomon, and reminds him of the importance of keeping the divine law. The success of the rule of the Davidic kings depends on their obedience to the law of God, so Solomon must focus not simply on earthly matters, but on his moral and spiritual responsibilities to Israel. You’ll notice the Pope’s prayer intention for the month of February focuses on the need for those with power to resist the lure of corruption.

In these next two weeks before Lent, we’ll read in the first book of Kings how it started off so well. Following David’s death, Israel experienced a sort of Golden Age. The Temple will be constructed and Solomon’s wisdom becomes known throughout the world.

And these are great readings to prepare us for Lent, because we’ll see what happens when sin begins to creep in again: how sin almost undetectable at first, trickles in through the cracks, and how it soon becomes a devastating flood. Lent certainly helps us become aware and patch some of those cracks.
Trusting God, obeying God is also at the heart of the mission the Lord gives to the Twelve in the Gospel today.

In our own exercise of power, as parents or grandparents or employers or religious examples, may we remember the words of David to Solomon, that success depends on obedience to God, that we are to trust God, even when he sends us into unknown territory, and use the time, talent, and treasure we have been given for God’s will over our own, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
 
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For the Holy Father’s prayer intention for the month of February, that those who have material, political or spiritual power may resist any lure of corruption.

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