5th Week of Easter 2018 - Monday - Commandment Keepers

In this Gospel passage from the Last Supper, Jesus teaches the importance of “keeping” the commandments. And that Greek word Jesus uses for “keeping”, “tereo” is another interesting word with several meanings.

First, the obvious meaning: to “keep” a commandment we are to observe it, obey it. The word is used with the same connotation in Matthew’s Gospel, when Jesus teaches “If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments." In that instance Jesus explains that not only are we to keep, obey the commandments of the decalogue, he even commands the young scribe to sell all that he has, give it to the poor, and store up treasure in heaven.

In today’s passage, the commandment all of His disciples must keep is to love one another as the Lord loves us, humbling ourselves in self-service, washing feet, laying down our lives, as Christ lays it down on the cross.

Another meaning of “tereo” is to keep the commandments as you keep food in your pantry. We are to reserve the words of Christ within our minds and hearts, so we can call upon them when we need them: in moments of temptation, in moments of despair, in moments of fear. So, we do well to study the scriptures, so we have them “up here” and “in here” when we need them.

A third meaning of “tereo” is a task particular to the Apostles: to keep the commandments as a guard keeps a room full of treasure. The apostles and their successors, the Holy Father and the bishops, have the duty of keeping the Word of God free from error, that it may be passed on faithfully to future generations. The world pressures the Church to change her teachings, to change her doctrines to fit modern sensibilities.

I think particularly of the Church’s teaching on contraception, the definition of marriage, and the moral teachings, particularly involving sexual morality, the obligation to attend Sunday Mass, to confess serious sins. Members of the Christian Church are to keep these commandments by “adhering to them with religious assent” no matter how unpopular they are.

The Lord teaches that to those who “keep” the commandments will be a dwelling place of the Holy Trinity—a Temple in which God is glorified, where His presence is known and felt by those we encounter.

May our Easter celebrations help us in “keeping” the commandments of Christ, observing them, obeying them, reserving them in our minds and hearts, and guarding them from error, for the building up of the Church, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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God the Father was glorified in the death and resurrection of his Son. Let us pray to him with confidence.

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

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

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

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

That all of our beloved dead and all the souls in purgatory may come to the glory of the Resurrection.

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

5th Sunday of Easter 2018 - "Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit"

Last Week, Fr. Klasinski shared how some of the most ancient sacred images of Jesus we have, are not of the crucifixion, but of Jesus, as a young, strapping shepherd. These images of Jesus the Good Shepherd are found throughout the catacombs of Rome.

Once we came out from the underground, with the legalization of Christianity in 313 by the Roman Emperor Constantine, we started building beautiful basilicas in honor of the Lord. One such basilica, built over an ancient pagan temple to the roman god Mithras is the basilica of San Clemente—named after the first century Pope, Pope St. Clement I who was martyred around the year 99 during the persecution of the Emperor Trajan and who is mentioned in the first Eucharistic prayer.

I’ll never forget visiting the Basilica of San Clemente, for it contains one of the most beautiful mosaics in the world, and it depicts our Gospel today. I recommend you search the web for an image of this amazing mosaic when you get home; for now you will just have to imagine. At the center of the mosaic is Jesus on the cross, and out of the foot of the cross grows this green leafy vine. “I am the true vine”, Jesus says in the Gospel today.

Above Jesus crucified is a hand, the hand of God the Father, the vine grower, the one who blesses the sacrifice of his son and the growth of the Church, as Jesus says “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower.”

Now picture, growing out of the foot of the cross is this multitude of curling branches, filling this whole mosaic. And in the midst of all these undulating, curling branches, are birds and deer and fruit and flowers, poor peasants, pious religious, and Doctors of the Church. And these represent us, the rich diversity of the Church. As Jesus says, “I am the vine, you are the branches.”

Now picture on the branches closest to Jesus on the cross are his blessed mother on one side and the beloved disciple St. John on the other, with his head inclined toward Jesus, like he did at the last supper. Mary and John are for us two great examples of how to remain close to Jesus, as he teaches us “Remain in me, as I remain in you.” We are each to follow the example of the Blessed Mother, imitating her humility and her courage. And we are to follow the example of St. John who inclines his ear to the heart of Jesus. To remain with Jesus we, like Mary and St. John, need to follow Jesus to the cross, meditate upon his sufferings, and love Him with the heart of a mother and the heart of an apostle.

Now picture, on the wood of the cross, surrounding Jesus’ body are twelve white doves. The dove makes us think of the holy spirit, and the number 12 makes us think of the 12 apostles. So these white doves are the apostles, filled with the Holy Spirit, ready to fly around the world to spread the peace of the Gospel. They also symbolize the twelve fruits of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, patience, kindness, gentleness, modesty, chastity, self-control, and the like. These fruits are to be evident in the life of the Church, for as the Lord teaches: “Whoever remains in me, and I in him will bear much fruit.” Only when we remain connected to Jesus will we be as patient as we need to be, as gentle and kind and courageous as God made us to be.

I’ll post an image of this mosaic on my blog and facebook page, along with a copy of this homily, as I do every week. So you can see for yourselves this tremendous image. And you’ll notice all those branches growing from the cross are not growing in a haphazard, random way. They fit perfectly together, in an orderly fashion, as if they have been pruned and cared for by the vine grower. As the Lord teaches, “He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and every one that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit.”

The Father prunes us. The Father seeks to remove all those attitudes and behaviors which are unbecoming of His children, for He wants those spiritual fruits to flourish in our lives. So often, we resist spiritual growth by speaking violent resentful words instead of forgiving upbuilding words, by letting others do the hard work of the Church instead of taking it up ourselves, by giving into temptations of the flesh instead of the deep urgings of the spirit. So, through the trials, challenges, and, yes, the suffering of our life, the Father prunes us, to teach us, to humble us, to help us sever our unhealthy relationships and behaviors, so that we can bear healthy spiritual fruit.

In the mosaic there are no dead branches, just as Jesus says, those that do not bear good fruit “will be thrown”, gathered, thrown into a fire, and burned.  Jesus here speaks quite apocalyptically, speaking of the eternal consequences for those who do not remain in communion with Him through lives of faith, hope, and love.

Thanks be to God, that if and when we have severed ourselves from God through serious sin, through mortal sin, we can be grafted back upon the vine through the Sacrament of Confession. For as the Catechism teaches, “The whole power of the sacrament of Penance consists in restoring us to God's grace and joining us with him in an intimate friendship.”

So, as you’ve been imagining this mosaic from San Clemente, imagine now the moment in the Mass, where you come forward to receive Holy Communion. Imagine from this altar, vines curling out to you, to bring spiritual nourishment and God’s very life. The life that flows from the self-giving of Jesus on the cross is to flow into your life so that your life might bear the same fruit that Jesus’ life bore.

But that vine isn’t detached as you leave Mass, let it not be severed as you walk out of Church. You are to remain connected to the altar, to the cross, to the Lord, in your family interactions, your business relationships, your political associations, your treatment of strangers, your sensitivity to the needs of the poor.

The final detail from the mosaic is the type of vine the artist chose to depict. He chose to use the ancient symbol of the acanthus plant. From Greek antiquity, the acanthus has been used for medicinal purposes. So, too the Christian in the world, united to Christ through prayer and through the Sacraments, is to have a medicinal effect in the world. We are to bring healing to broken relationships, peace to violent conflicts, purification to corrupt governments, cleansing of perverted cultural norms.

“By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples." Throughout the eek may you remain to the Lord, bear fruit for the Lord, bring healing to the world for the Lord, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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Before the Creed I would like to share with you some news. This week, I received a letter from Bishop Perez.  After four years here at St. Clare, my assignment has come to an end. And so on the 12th of June, I will be the new parochial vicar of Holy Family Parish in Parma, Ohio. I have treasured my time here at St. Clare, but  "we must go where we are sent" by God...and the Bishop. I’m so glad I was sent here to St. Clare, but the bishop, also like the good vine grower, tends the vine, and sends me back to the west side.

But listen to the beautiful words of the Bishop from my appointment letter from Bishop Perez describing the work of the Parochial vicar: "Continually fortified by the grace of ordination, you have the task and the privilege of reverently leading the faithful in prayer, especially in the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. You are empowered by God's call and by his grace to know and love the people you serve, to care for the poor and needy, to teach the youth, and to attend the sick and dying with the compassion of Christ."

So, please pray for me, that I may be faithful in this new ministerial assignment. Fr. Klasinksi will share news about your new parochial vicar after communion today. So if you are in the habit of immediately leaving Mass after receiving Holy Communion…shame on you…you should stay and finish mass anyway, but today you’ll hear some news affecting your parish.

4th Week of Easter 2018 - Friday - The One and Only Way

On Tuesday, we read from the Acts of the Apostles, that it was in Antioch that the followers of Jesus were first called ‘Christians’. And that was about nine or ten years after the death of Jesus. For that first decade, Jesus’ disciples referred to themselves as followers of “The Way”

Jesus refers to himself as “The Way” in today’s Gospel. The Greek word he uses here in John chapter 14 is “hodos”. The word had many meanings, as it does today. A “hodos” was a path used for traveling from one place to another: a road or a highway. It was also a course of behavior, as in the “way to build a house” or “the way bake a cake”. Also, it was used to describe a moral or spiritual viewpoint, a set of teachings, the doctrine of a philosophical school.

Jesus gathers all those meanings into one, and adds something brand new to it. Jesus teaches the way from one place to another, from earth to heaven. Jesus offers a course of behavior, a way to a fulfilled life, a life in which our deepest yearnings are fulfilled. Jesus instructs us with a set of teachings by which we are to direct our life.

And yet, “the way” is not a some-thing, but a some-body. “The Way” is a person. Jesus says “I AM the way”, he claims to be that which no one had ever dared to claim before. He’s not a signpost, he’s the destination. The point of life, the reason for our existence, IS HIM, to be in right relationship to Him, to become united to Him, to enter into communion with Him, to conform our minds, our hearts, our lives to Him.

Throughout history, we’ve had spiritual thinkers like Krishna, Muhammed, Buddha, even Moses, each of them offering teachings to help point people to the “right way” of living, the right way to achieve the end or goal of human flourishing. In a sense, each of them point away from themselves.

The point of Islam isn’t to be in right relationship with Muhammed. The point of Moses’ teaching in the Torah isn’t to enter into a mystical and intimate relationship with Moses. So, to those who say that all religions are the same, we say, “no”. Jesus’ claim is unique among the world religions, it’s different.

Jesus Himself is making the claim that there aren’t multiple roads to human fulfillment, nor are all roads imperfect attempts at perfection. He IS the road, He IS the perfect way, who all of humanity is called to follow.

May our easter celebrations deepen our conviction of this truth, and help us to enter more deeply, and walk more faithfully, and to proclaim more boldly, the way of the Lord Jesus, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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God the Father was glorified in the death and resurrection of his Son. Let us pray to him with confidence.

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

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

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

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

That all of our beloved dead and all the souls in purgatory may come to the glory of the Resurrection.

For the 9 men who will be ordained transitional deacons this evening at the Cathedral, that their road to ordination may bring them to encounter more deeply the life and heart of Christ the Good Shepherd.

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

4th Week of Easter 2018 - Thursday - Go where you've been SENT

On the evening of Easter Sunday, the risen Jesus said to us: "As the Father has sent Me, so I send you" (Jn 20:21), echoing the words He spoke after washing the disciples feet at the last supper, as we just heard in our Gospel, “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send, receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.”

Jesus is the “sent one”, come not to do His own will, but the will of the one who sent Him. So, too Christians, are “sent ones”, following the model of Jesus the master.

The Father sent the Son to reveal His love for the world. In the same way, we are sent to reveal the Father's love.

The Father sent the Son to preach the good news of liberation and restoration to the poor. We likewise, are sent to preach the freedom and wholeness found in Jesus Christ.

The Father sent Jesus to destroy the devil's works. We too are sent to attack the gates of hell and to crush Satan and his empty works under our feet.

The Father sent Jesus to do good works and heal the sick. We, whose lives have been healed, by Christ, our sent out to bring that same healing to the soul-sick.

The Father sent the Son to die and rise; we are sent to die to ourselves, take up our cross daily, and share in Jesus' resurrection.

Christians don't do their own thing or go their own way, this would be selfish. We go where we are sent. We go to the highways and byways and even to the ends of the earth. We are sent out of comfortable complacency into hardship and challenge. We are sent to do the dirty jobs no one else wants to do. We go to the sickest, the poorest, the most repulsive, even to those who do not appreciate us, even to those who hate us on account of Him, as bearers of the mercy of Christ, because to them we have been sent, and we are to do so cheerfully, joyfully, patiently, gently, without grumbling, without resentment, without fear. And when we do go, we find, Christ has arrived before us, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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God the Father was glorified in the death and resurrection of his Son. Let us pray to him with confidence.

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

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

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

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

That all of our beloved dead and all the souls in purgatory may come to the glory of the Resurrection.
O God, you know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the desires of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our lord.

April 28 2018 - St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen - Disgust with the world's corruption

Have you ever become so fed up with the corruption in the world, that you just wanted to leave everything to become a monk? Well, that’s kind of what our saint today did.

His birth name was Mark, like the evangelist, whom we celebrate tomorrow, and he was born in the southern German town of Sigmaringen. Mark studied law and philosophy at the University of Freiburg, earning his Doctorate in Law. During his time at university, he was already known for his modesty, meekness, sobriety, chastity, and for wearing a hair-shirt a
s a penance.

After achieving his law degree, he traveled throughout Europe, where his piety became more evident. He visited the hospitals and churches, he spent hours in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, and was generous to the poor, even giving away the clothes his was wearing.

At the end of six years of travel, he came to Alsace, France, where he came to be known as the ‘poor man’s lawyer’. But he became so disenchanted with the evils associated with his profession that he became determined to enter the religious life. I think many good pious young people today, experience a similar disgust with our modern culture, and find in the priesthood or religious life the fulfillment they long for.

He entered the Capuchin Franciscans where he was given the religious name, Fidelis, which in Latin means, “faithful one”. He was ordained a priest, and in addition to his Sacramental work, he cared much for the weak and needy.

A bishop in Switzerland invited the Capuchins to come preach to the people who had abandoned Catholicism for Protestantism. Father Fidelis was asked to head this dangerous mission—dangerous, because religious tensions were high.

Initially, Fidelis and the other preachers were met with success, which the people attributed the prayers and penances of Fidelis.

In the spring of 1622, Father Fidelis was approached by a group of Calvinists. They called for him to renounce Catholicism to which he responded: "I am the one who made every effort to fight against your errors; I am he who has proclaimed to you the Catholic faith, to which I adhere with utter conviction and affection, I have come to you to root your sad heresies, but not to adopt them myself; see to it that you will not regret this act." The Calvinists then stabbed and bludgeoned the holy friar to death.

What a model of Easter faith for us! Devotion to charity, evangelization, and courage. He was truly Fidelis, faithful unto death. May his heroic faith and heavenly intercession increase our faith, hope, and love for the building up of the body of Christ, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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God the Father was glorified in the death and resurrection of his Son. Let us pray to him with confidence.

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

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

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

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

That all of our beloved dead and all the souls in purgatory may come to the glory of the Resurrection.
O God, you know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the desires of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our lord.

April 23 2018 - St. Adalbert - Good Shepherd, Bishop-missionary and martyr

1000 years after the martyrdom of the bishop-missionary St. Adalbert, Pope St. John Paul went to his tomb in Poland. Listen to these challenging words by our beloved St. John Paul: “the witness of St Adalbert is ever present in the Church and constantly bearing fruit. We need to take up with fresh vigor his work of evangelization. Let us help those who have forgotten Christ and his teaching to discover him anew. This will happen when ranks of faithful witnesses to the Gospel begin once more to traverse our continent; when works of architecture, literature and art show in a convincing way to the people of our time the One who is "the same yesterday and today and forever"; when in the Church's celebration of the liturgy people see how beautiful it is to give glory to God; when they discern in our lives a witness of Christian mercy, heroic love and holiness.”

Though the Pope spoke these words to the people of eastern Europe, they are true for Christians everywhere. Though we are not necessarily all called to be a bishop and martyr like St. Adalbert, each of us are called, in our own way, to evangelize, to build up the Church in our own way. Particularly, I love the Pope’s calling to us to build beautiful architecture, write powerful literature, make beautiful sacred art, and to celebrate liturgy in a noble and reverent fashion, to convince people of Christ’s goodness, truth, and beauty.

Yet, don’t we also show the truth, goodness, and beauty of Christ when we teach little children about Jesus, or when we honor the dignity of the poor by becoming truly sensitive to their needs.

Jesus in the Gospel, calls himself the Good Shepherd. St. Adalbert, like the apostles, left the comfort of his native bohemia, what is now the Czech republic, to shepherd the pagan people of Hungary into the one flock of Christ.. Due to his conviction, the pagan priests of Prussia conspired to have him murdered. He is a patron saint of Poland, Bohemia, the Czech Republic, and Prussia, inspiring each of us to listen to the call of the Lord to go beyond our comfort zones to spread his Gospel, to be good shepherds for his flock, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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God the Father was glorified in the death and resurrection of his Son. Let us pray to him with confidence.

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

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

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

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

That all of our beloved dead and all the souls in purgatory may come to the glory of the Resurrection.
O God, you know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the desires of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our lord.

4th Sunday of Easter 2018 - Do Atheists go to heaven?

We know well the story of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit filling the upper room with a mighty wind, descending as tongues of fire upon the apostles, and sending them out into the streets to preach. We heard last week, Peter’s sermon on that first Pentecost: calling the people of Jerusalem to repent and believe in the risen Christ. About three thousand people converted on that day.

3000 new Christian converts, and reports of miraculous healings in the name of Jesus Christ, began to create quite a stir, especially amongst the Sanhedrin. So we hear today, how Peter is brought before the Sanhedrin, and questioned.

And I’d like to focus on two points from Peter’s speech today. First, Peter says, Jesus who you crucified, God has raised from the dead. He is the stone rejected by the builders who has become the cornerstone. Why does Peter call Jesus the cornerstone?

Peter perhaps remembered the time Jesus referred to himself as the cornerstone after he had cleansed the Temple. Isaiah foretold of how the Messiah was the foundation stone, the cornerstone in God’s plan of salvation. But in Psalm 118, which we sang today, that foundation stone, that cornerstone is rejected by the supposed builders of Israel.

The building of edifices included the placing of a cornerstone as the foundation and standard for its construction. Once in place, the rest of the building would conform to the angles and size of the cornerstone. In addition, if removed, the entire structure could collapse.

The chief priests and the Sanhedrin were involved in a building project, they oversaw the renovation of the Jerusalem Temple, but in a spiritual sense they were supposed to be “building up” God’s kingdom. They didn’t take it too well, when Jesus accused them of hindering God’s work. So, they rejected Him.

So, Peter in explaining his preaching, his ability to perform healing miracles, he points to Jesus. Jesus Christ, risen from the dead is the cornerstone for this work, for this mission. It was only through Jesus that Peter was able to perform the miracle for this crippled man, and it is only through Jesus that our lives are held together.

He’s what holds together the mission of the Church, the structure of the Church. Without Jesus we are just a bunch of people, each with our own ideas of how the world should work, our own goals, but Jesus unites us.

The Easter season helps us, each year, to ask ourselves Is Jesus really the cornerstone of my life? Is he holding my life together, or am I trying to do it on my own? Is He your constant strength throughout the challenges of your life? Is he the cornerstone of your family? Is he the cornerstone of your marriage? Is he the cornerstone of your professional life, your social relationships, your political associations?

How am I called to serve God today in the name of Jesus should be the first thought when we wake up in the morning, every day. What can I do to build up the kingdom of God today? And at the end of the day we should examine, did I build up or did I reject and tear down today?

So that’s the first point. The second is this. Peter then preaches the most absolute and universal statement in Scripture that Salvation is found in Jesus Christ alone. Peter says, “There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are saved."

Here, Peter sets an example for Christians throughout the ages not to be afraid to present the Christian claim to those who do not yet believe. It was controversial then, and controversial now.
For our culture says, and even some Christian denominations will say that, “well, there are really many ways to salvation, Christianity is just one way among many. Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, paganism, secular humanism, these are just different ways up the mountain. You can have your way, I can have my way, but in the end, we all end up in the same place.”

This is not, nor ever has been the teaching of the Catholic Church. This is not the teaching of Scripture. This is not the teaching of Jesus, Himself, who says “I am THE way, THE truth, THE life, no one comes to the Father, except through me.”

Now, we can HOPE that those who do not believe will be placed among the saved. We shouldn’t wish damnation on even our worst enemy. But If a Jew, a Muslim, or a Hindu makes it to heaven, it is because of Jesus Christ. Jesus died for all. The Good Shepherd laid down his life for all. All were in need of salvation. No one comes to the Father except through Him. And we preach that, proudly and patiently, even in this politically correct age.

Pope Francis echoed this teaching earlier this week. There was a young boy with tears in his eyes, who approached the Pope and whispered a question into the Holy Father’s ears. The boy explained that his father, who had recently died, was an atheist. The boy said that his father was a good man, he had all his children baptized, but the child despaired for his father’s soul. And so the boy asked, “Is my Dad in heaven?”

The Pope explained the perennial Church teaching, “The one who determines who goes to heaven is God….We are all children of God, the Pope said. The non-baptized, the members of other religions, those who worship idols, even the Mafiosi who terrorize  neighborhoods are children of God, though they prefer to behave like children of the devil. And so your Father, who had much good in Him, who had his children baptized even when he did not himself believe. There is hope for him, for he was a child of God.”

Now, Pope Francis isn’t saying, all atheists, all non-baptized, all Mafiosi automatically go to heaven. He’s not saying anyone automatically goes to heaven, even Christians. Baptism isn’t an automatic guarantee. But he is saying, God the Father of All, sent his Son to die for all. And because of this, there is hope for all. There is hope for the fallen-away Catholic, the atheist who seeks truth and goodness the best he can.

Pope Francis is echoing Catechism number 1260, which states:  “Every man who is ignorant of the Gospel of Christ and of his Church, but seeks the truth and does the will of God in accordance with his understanding of it, can be saved.”

Now we may think, oh good, there is hope for everyone, so why go to all the trouble of preaching and dying for the Gospel?

That an atheist or a hindu might be judged worthy of heaven doesn’t change our mission, nor does it alleviate our individual responsibility of following all of the teachings of the Church, all of the commands of the Lord. For as the Lord teaches, “from those who have, more will be expected.”

Catholics possess the fullness of Truth, and therefore, our responsibility to be faithful to that Truth is greatest. And just as the Atheist, Muslim, or Buddhist will be judged on the criteria of his life, we will be judged on the criteria of our own, of whether we have made Christ the cornerstone of our life, or not.

May we be generous in making Christ the cornerstone of our life, and preaching always that salvation is found alone in Him, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

3rd Week of Easter 2018 - Friday - Hail, True Flesh

There is a short Eucharistic hymn from the 14th century, composed by an unknown author, possibly Pope Innocent VI, the fifth of the Avignon Popes. The hymn is called Ave Verum Corpus. It was sung often during benediction, when the host would be elevated in the monstrance for our adoration. While gazing upon, what appears to be ordinary bread, in the ornate golden monstrance, the choir would sing Ave Verum Corpus— Hail true flesh born of the Virgin Mary who having truly suffered, was sacrificed on the cross for mankind, whose pierced side flowed with water and blood: Be for us a foretaste of the Heavenly banquet in the trial of death. 

St. Thomas Aquinas maintained that believing that bread is transformed—trans-substantiated—into the flesh of the Savior is a difficult doctrine. The Eucharist does not look like Christ, nor his flesh; thus it tests our faith—the doctrine requires faith.  But we believe it because this teaching comes from the Lord himself.

"The bread I will give is my flesh, for the life of the world"

The flesh and blood offered on the cross for our salvation becomes present on the altar under the appearance of bread and wine. And as the Lord purchased our salvation—our eternal life—with his pierced flesh and outpoured blood, that same flesh and blood continues to be the life of the Church.
Every Christian is called to imitate Christ’s outpoured love, his self-sacrifice for the life of the world. Therefore, the Eucharist is the necessary food for our Easter mission: to proclaim, courageously Christ’s love, in all of our day-to-day encounters.

As Pope Benedict writes, “The Eucharist, since it embraces the concrete, everyday existence of the believer, makes possible, day by day, the progressive transfiguration of all those called by grace to reflect the image of the Son of God. There is nothing authentically human – our thoughts and affections, our words and deeds – that does not find in the sacrament of the Eucharist the form it needs to be lived to the full. (Sacramentum Caritatis, 72).”

May our thoughts and affections, words and deeds, our bodies and souls, continue to be transformed by this saving Sacrament, the True Flesh given for the life of the world, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That the Church will deepen in her devotion to the Eucharistic sacrifice which is the source and summit of our Christian life.  We pray to the Lord.

That the redemptive power of Christ’s Eucharistic sacrifice will extend to the hearts and minds of all those who govern peoples and nations.  We pray to the Lord.

That the Eucharist will be for priests the source of their joy and their deeper configuration to Jesus Christ.  We pray to the Lord.

That the Christ’s Eucharistic Self-Sacrifice will be experienced in all marriages, in all business relations, in all daily encounters, among friends, strangers, and enemies.  We pray to the Lord.

For those who live in want: that Jesus the Bread of Life will be their sustenance, and that Christians may bring the justice and mercy of Christ to all those in need.  We pray to the Lord.

For all those who have died, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, for all who have fought and died for our country’s freedom, and for [intention below], 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.

3rd Week of Easter 2018 - Thursday - Pledge of Eternal Life

In his Bread of Life discourse, Jesus promised food that would bring eternal life. Natural bread feeds our bodies, it sustains our physical life. But the super-substantial bread given to us by Jesus Christ, enables our souls to live forever.

The Sacrament of the Altar has many names, and each of those names signify a different dimension of the sacrament.

The Sacrament is called Eucharist: Eucharist, coming from the Greek word, Eucharistia, which means thanksgiving. At the Eucharist the Church gathers first and foremost to give our thanksgiving to God for the gift of our salvation won for us through the self-sacrifice of His Son on the cross for us.

The Sacrament is called Holy Communion: for through it, souls are brought into communion with our Holy God, made sharers in his divine life, and the holy bond between Christians is strengthened.

The Sacrament is called the Body and Blood of Christ: for as Jesus teaches, this bread is His true flesh. And as Thomas Aquinas poetically summarized: Verbum caro, panem verum Verbo carnem éfficit: Fitque sanguis Christi merum,” The word made flesh, makes bread, by his word, flesh, and wine into the blood of Christ.

The Sacrament is called the Most Blessed Sacrament: for though in the other sacraments Christ performs a holy action, baptizing, confirming, absolving, marrying, this Sacrament IS Jesus.

And one of my favorite titles for this Sacrament: it is called The Pledge of Eternal Life. For as Jesus promises in the Gospel today, “whoever eats this bread will live forever.” A divine pledge, a divine promise is given to those who partake of this Sacrament.

There are many reasons to become Catholic, or to return to the active practice of the Catholic faith: but this one ranks pretty high: eternal life promised by God.

Through the Eucharist our mortal natures become incorruptible, as St. Ireneus taught, in the 2nd century.

This truth was echoed for centuries in the Old Rite of Mass. as one knelt down to receive holy communion, the priest would bless the communicant with the host and say the words: Corpus Domini nostri Jesu Christi custodiat animam tuam in vitam aeternam: May the Body of Christ preserve your soul unto everlasting life.

May our Easter celebration continue to open us to the joy of the risen Christ, and his presence in the Church particularly in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar, the Eucharist, His Body and Blood, and our pledge of eternal life, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That the Church will deepen in her devotion to the Eucharistic sacrifice which is the source and summit of our Christian life.  We pray to the Lord.

That the redemptive power of Christ’s Eucharistic sacrifice will extend to the hearts and minds of all those who govern peoples and nations.  We pray to the Lord.

That the Eucharist will be for priests the source of their joy and their deeper configuration to Jesus Christ.  We pray to the Lord.

That the Real Presence of Jesus will be experienced in all marriages, in all business relations, in all daily encounters, and in our friendships.  We pray to the Lord.

For those who live in want: that Jesus the Bread of Life will be their sustenance, and that Christians may bring the justice and mercy of Christ to all those in need.  We pray to the Lord.

For all those who have died, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, for all who have fought and died for our country’s freedom, and for [intention below], 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.

3rd Week of Easter 2018 - Wednesday - Hard times are good times

It seems strange that during this joyous easter season, we have these readings from the book of Acts about how the Church was being persecuted. Last week, we heard of how the apostles were thrown into jail for their Christian faith. Yesterday, the reading recounted the death of the first martyr, the deacon Stephen. Today’s reading picks up right where yesterday’s left off. With the death of Stephen a severe persecution broke out in Jerusalem, and Christians were scattered to the country side.
Why do we focus on imprisonment, suffering, martyrdom during this season of joy?

What we pay particular attention to this season is how the Christians joyfully endure these things. And the good God brings about through the perseverance and faith of the early Church.

Just as God brought about the greatest victory in history through the suffering and death of His Son, so too does God bring about great victory through the suffering and martyrdoms of His adopted sons and daughters, the early Christians.

You may have heard the saying, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Well, that’s exactly what Christians do in the face of persecution.

For what did we read about them doing today when the persecution scattered the Christians to the countryside? Though they were scattered, the Christians continued to work for the building up of the Church. Though the world tried to silence them, the Christians continued to preach. Though the world tried to cast them out, Christians continue to cast out unclean spirits. Though the world tries to wound them, Christians continue to heal the sick. Though the world tries to put them to death, Christians continue to bring souls to new, spiritual life through Jesus Christ.

Hard times are good times for Christians. Because God brings about goodness when we persevere in faith during those hard times. We show just how powerful our faith is when in the face of persecution we continue to preach and worship and praise God, that’s attractive, that’s something that souls open to Truth are drawn to.

So, we don’t lose hope when the world hates. We don’t compromise our faith because the world disagrees us with. Rather, we remain solid in our faith, trusting, as the Lord Jesus teaches in the Gospel today, that those who believe in Jesus and follow him will have eternal life and be raised on the last day, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

3rd Week of Easter 2018 - Tuesday - God's answer to human longing

In asking the question, “What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you?” the crowd shows that they are hungry not just for physical food, but for truth. They want answers, they want meaning, they want truth. The crowd represents all of humanity, asking God to give us a sign that we might believe.

So, the Lord begins to teach about God’s answer to this human longing. And he teaches that He is the answer, he is the truth, he is the bread that they long for. Deep down we don’t want a trick, we don’t want some thing, we want God himself. And Catholics believe that God gives Himself to us, in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar, the Eucharist.

Pope Benedict wrote, “The Eucharist means God has answered:  The Eucharist is God as an answer, as an answering presence.”

At the Eucharistic table, the Holy Father writes, “we no longer stand before an imagined God but before the God who has truly given himself to us; before the God who has become for us Communion and who thus frees us and draws us from the margin into communion and leads us on to Resurrection.”

The Eucharist is God’s answer to man’s question “where can I see him, now, and believe in him”.
So many of our contemporaries are starving for truth; they go from one unsatisfying event to another, searching for God. All the while, he is here, present on the altar, present in the tabernacle, present in the eucharist chapel.

Each one of us, does well, to ask ourselves, who in my life, is God asking me, to lead here, to this place, to belief in his Eucharistic presence?

Let us ask the Lord to reawaken and deepen in us joy and reverence for his Eucharistic presence, that we may lead those who hunger for the bread of life, to Him, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That the Church will deepen in her devotion to the Eucharistic sacrifice which is the source and summit of our Christian life.  We pray to the Lord.

That the redemptive power of Christ’s Eucharistic sacrifice will extend to the hearts and minds of all those who govern peoples and nations.  We pray to the Lord.

That the Eucharist will be for priests the source of their joy and their deeper configuration to Jesus Christ.  We pray to the Lord.

That the Real Presence of Jesus will be experienced in all marriages, in all business relations, in all daily encounters, and in our friendships.  We pray to the Lord.

For those who live in want: that Jesus the Bread of Life will be their sustenance, and that Christians may bring the justice and mercy of Christ to all those in need.  We pray to the Lord.

For all those who have died, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, for all who have fought and died for our country’s freedom, and for [intention below], 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.

3rd Week of Easter 2018 - Monday - Working for Spiritual Food

Last week we read the portion of John chapter 6 in which Jesus feeds five thousand through a miracle of multiplying the loaves and fishes. Today, the Gospel sets the stage for Jesus’ great Bread of Life discourse.

Those that had been fed by Jesus cross the sea are looking for him. Why? They are hungry again and they want more bread and fish! Jesus, the great teacher is going to use their physical hunger to talk about a deeper hunger, a spiritual hunger.

They are coming to Jesus because he gave them bread and fish. Jesus will reveal that He is the source of this spiritual bread that only God can satisfy, and that bread is his flesh: the Eucharist. We’ll hear about that later this week.

But in this little prologue, Jesus talks about work: we spend a lot of time working for the physical food our bodies need, and little time working for the spiritual food our souls need. We feed the body, while neglecting the spirit.

The crowd, like many people today, believe the most important thing in life is to keep alive, to be healthy, strong and economically sufficient. Jesus is speaking of a deeper purpose here.

The purpose of life isn’t simply to satisfy our physical desires. There is a human hunger, a restlessness, for more, a spiritual hunger for doing the will of God. Man does not live on bread alone, but by following the divine vocation, the call to holiness.

In his new, apostolic exhortation, Pope Francis speaks of these dual hungers:  “Hunger and thirst are intense experiences, since they involve basic needs and our instinct for survival.” But there is a deeper hunger, the Holy Father, says, one, which Jesus praises in his beatitudes when he says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled”…the deeper hunger, is for true justice and holiness.

This includes seeking to be faithful to God’s will in every aspect of our life and also seeking justice for those who are most vulnerable, as Isaiah teaches: “Seek justice, correct oppression; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow.”

Jesus feeds us with his body and blood, that we, like Him, might become abandoned to the will of the Father, to work for justice, for the glory of God, and the salvation of souls.

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That the Church will deepen in her devotion to the Eucharistic sacrifice which is the source and summit of our Christian life.  We pray to the Lord.

That the redemptive power of Christ’s Eucharistic sacrifice will extend to the hearts and minds of all those who govern peoples and nations.  We pray to the Lord.

That the Eucharist will be for priests the source of their joy and their deeper configuration to Jesus Christ.  We pray to the Lord.

That the Real Presence of Jesus will be experienced in all marriages, in all business relations, in all daily encounters, and in our friendships.  We pray to the Lord.

For those who live in want: that Jesus the Bread of Life will be their sustenance, and that Christians may bring the justice and mercy of Christ to all those in need.  We pray to the Lord.

For all those who have died, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, for all who have fought and died for our country’s freedom, and for [intention below], 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.

3rd Sunday of Easter 2018 - Instruments of Hope

In today’s First Reading from the Book of Acts, St. Peter courageously preaches the Gospel to the same Jewish leaders and residents of Jerusalem—the very same group of people who had conspired to condemn Jesus to death by crucifixion. Peter doesn’t sugar-coat his message; bluntly he says, “You have put to death, the author of life.”

But he doesn’t dwell on this fact for long, he moves on from their sin and weakness and ignorance to the more important truth. He tells them that God has brought forth something inestimably good from Christ’s suffering and death.  God has turned the death of the Messiah into the definitive victory over death, evil, and suffering. “God raised him from the dead; of this we are witnesses” Peter says.  “We are witnesses”.  Certainly he was thinking about those times, as we heard in today’s Gospel, where the disciples witness the Risen Christ, appearing to them, eating with them, letting them see and touch his wounds, proving the he was not a ghost or illusion.

Christ has risen, and this changes everything. It is a new beginning for the human race. Whether you were one of the people who were calling for his crucifixion, or like Peter, you denied him. A new beginning has come.

And the same goes for us: if there were times in our life when we disregarded certain commandments or in our weakness found them too difficult to follow, if there were times when we didn’t stand up for the faith as we should have, if there were times, perhaps, when we struggled with atheism, or perhaps we committed a really shameful sin, like abortion or helping someone procure an abortion, Easter is a new beginning. The Resurrection means a new beginning in which we can truly leave behind the chains of sin and selfishness in all their forms. The Resurrection puts all good things within reach: wisdom, patience, joy, fortitude, self-control—in short, it makes holiness and lasting happiness possible for each of us.

That is what Peter is telling the crowds, and that is what the Church is telling us: let Easter be a new beginning, do not despair, hope in Christ, leave everything aside to follow him, and he will work wonders in your life.

Archbishop Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, tells a story about his visit to a prison to celebrate Mass for the prisoners there. While he was being escorted by the prison warden into the room where they were going to gather for the celebration of Mass, the Archbishop thanked the warden for allowing him the opportunity.

And the warden said, “No, Archbishop, thank you.  We are glad when chaplains come.  The most dangerous man in the prison is a desperate man.”  And that word ‘desperate’ was carefully chosen.  The word desperate comes from the Latin – de, spes –without hope.

“The most dangerous person in jail is a desperate man—a man without hope—that man will do anything.  But if a prisoner has hope, and it might just be a natural hope to get out, or to have certain privileges restored, or it might be a noble hope, to discover his inner dignity—to discover the image of God deep down and to make his peace with the Lord.  Once a prisoner has hope, that prisoner comes alive, that prisoner can be reformed, that prisoner becomes a blessing to our community.  We can do a lot of things in jail, but we cannot give hope.  It is good that you men of faith come, because our men need hope.”

It is our Easter Task to proclaim that no matter your past, no matter your sins, there is hope! The task isn’t just for prison chaplains, it’s the task of every Christian!

How can we better embody the hope that comes from the Resurrection of Christ? I’d like to focus on three points.

First, as St Peter stressed in the First Reading, we must "repent, and be converted."

If we are constantly fighting with our siblings, or engaging in physical relations outside of marriage, or if we are a constant source of negativity, gossip, sarcasm, or resentment. We have some repenting to do, some conversion is needed, to open ourselves to be people of mercy.

A nightly examination of conscience before bed can help us identify attitudes, habits, and behaviors that need to be converted. Repentance is where transformation begins. Failing to repent is like trying to inflate a tire with a hole in it, or putting water in a broken cup.

So, if there are any serious sins that we have not repented of, we need to bring them to the sacrament of confession. For only those who have encountered mercy can be instruments of mercy.

Secondly, as today’s Psalm reminds us, we must turn to God in prayer: "Know that the LORD does wonders for his faithful one; the LORD will hear me when I call upon him." Daily "calling upon the Lord" is not just for Lent. Lent was to help us put into practice disciplines we should practice all year round.

Developing a deep prayer life means learning to spend quality time with the Lord in silence, encountering him in the daily reading of scripture, the writings of the saints.

This week, Pope Francis issued a wonderful new apostolic exhortation called: “Gaudete et Exsultate: “Rejoice and Be Glad: On the Call to Holiness in the Contemporary World.” Our own Bishop, Bishop Perez has recommended that we all read and reflect upon this new exhortation.

In addition to the second lesson, the need to pray, the Holy Father says, “we shouldn’t “think that holiness is only for those who can withdraw from ordinary affairs to spend much time in prayer... We are all called to be holy by living our lives with love and by bearing witness in everything we do, wherever we find ourselves. Are you called to the consecrated life? Be holy by living out your commitment with joy. Are you married? Be holy by loving and caring for your husband or wife, as Christ does for the Church. Do you work for a living? Be holy by labouring with integrity and skill in the service of your brothers and sisters. Are you a parent or grandparent? Be holy by patiently teaching the little ones how to follow Jesus. Are you in a position of authority? Be holy by working for the common good and renouncing personal gain”

So the third Lesson, is to strive to witness in our day to day activities by practicing Gospel values always. And that becomes all the more possible when we’ve rightly repented of sins, and encountered the Risen Lord in prayer, in word and sacrament.

Repent, pray, bring Christ into your day-to-day activities. By this may we continue to open ourselves, this easter season, to the transforming hope that comes from the Resurrection, that we may be transformed into instruments of hope for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

2nd Week of Easter 2018 - Friday - Hungry for God

Having read through the entirety of Jesus' discourse with Nicodemus from chapter 3 of St. John's Gospel over the past four days, we now begin a week long reading of John Chapter 6.  St. John's sixth chapter is comprised of two miracle stories—the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and Jesus walking on the water—and the great Bread of Life discourse.  I encourage you to read and reflect upon the entire chapter to get a sense of what's coming over the next 8 days.

With Nicodemus, Jesus spoke of the waters of spiritual rebirth. Those who are immersed into the waters of baptism are immersed into the saving death and resurrection of the Lord. St. Paul explains this in his letter to the Colossians:  "You were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead"

Well, if the first set of Scripture readings after the Easter Octave point to the importance of the Sacrament of Baptism, this second set of readings, from John 6, is going to point to the Sacrament of Christ’s Body and Blood, the Eucharist.

The Catechism explains: “The miracle of the multiplication of the loaves, when the Lord says the blessing, breaks and distributes the loaves through his disciples to feed the multitude, prefigures the superabundance of [the] unique bread of his Eucharist.” This connection was clear, even to the early Church. In second-century catacombs, we find artistic representations of the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves to symbolize the Eucharist.

Part of our Easter faith and our Easter journey every year is to deepen our appreciation, love, and gratitude for the new life we receive through Christ: new life begun in baptism, new life strengthened in confirmation, and new life sustained in the Eucharist.

Just as the Lord fed the hungry crowd, the Lord feeds man’s deepest hunger with the Eucharist. All of us hunger for truth, justice, love, peace, and beauty. In a word, we are hungry for God. And that hunger is satisfied, here at the table of the altar.

Sadly many Christians, like ill-natured children, refuse to eat what they are served, many refuse to sit at the table and sup. But here at the altar, we are sent out to them, to draw them back here, to Christ.

May the Eucharist, our food, our life, our joy, continue to sustain us for the work of the Church, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
 
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Filled with Paschal joy, let us turn earnestly to God, to graciously hear our prayers and supplications
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For the shepherds of our souls, that they may have the strength to govern wisely the flock entrusted to them by the Good Shepherd.

For the whole world, that it may truly know the peace of the Risen Christ.

For our own community, that it may bear witness with great confidence to the Resurrection of Christ, and that the newly initiated hold fast to the faith they have received.

For our brothers and sisters who suffer, that their sorrow may be turned to gladness through the Christian faith.

That all of our beloved dead and all the souls in purgatory may come to the glory of the Resurrection.

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

2nd Week of Easter 2018 - Thursday - Life and the call to holiness

In John’s Gospel, Jesus speaks about “life” 41 times: nearly as many times as Matthew, Mark, and Luke combined. Jesus says to the Samaritan woman, “the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life”.  We will hear next week Jesus say “I am the bread of life”.  And later, after raising Lazarus, he says, “I am the resurrection and the life.” And he speaks to Nicodemus about the importance of believing in HIM that we may have eternal life.

Through sin, we had lost the gift of eternal life; we were “dead in our transgressions” as Paul says.  We were alienated from God who Himself is the only source of life.

St. John Cantius spoke of how the world is busy indulging in its own madness. It is wearing itself out. It cannot endure. It passes like a shadow. It’s growing old and decrepit

Jesus by his life, death and resurrection shows that his mission from the Father is to restore us to life: “I have come that they might have life, and have it in abundance.” He has come to save us from the powers of death and selfishness, greed and lust, which are so evident in the world.

The saints, who have turned away from the world are so attractive to us because the life of Christ is flourishing within them. They have become purified of the ugliness of worldliness, and therefore magnify the beauty of the life of Christ.

Through their lives of prayer, fasting, charity, penance, they show us how to nurture, fertilize, and protect the spiritual life that comes from God.

In his new apostolic exhortation Pope Francis emphasizes how even the great saints who were drawn more to contemplation, mental prayer, silence, and meditation upon scripture were also passionately committed to the love of neighbor. Authentic spiritual life becomes evident and life giving for others.
The Holy Father echoes our Lord at the last supper who teaches how “Eternal life” consists in knowing the Father, knowing the Son, loving them, and allowing that love to lead us to the washing of feet, to self-sacrifice on the cross, to laying down your life for a friend.

May we zealously seek out Jesus, the fount of life, drink of his waters, that the fruits of his life may be evident in our own life, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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God the Father was glorified in the death and resurrection of his Son. Let us pray to him with confidence.

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

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

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

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

That all of our beloved dead and all the souls in purgatory may come to the glory of the Resurrection.
O God, you know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the desires of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our lord.

2nd Week of Easter 2018 - Tuesday - Easter Illumination

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

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

In his first visit to Jerusalem during his public ministry, Jesus encounters the Pharisee Nicodemus. This encounter is quite different from the later encounters with the Pharisees, especially those of Holy Week. Nicodemus, though he is a “teacher of Israel” as Jesus calls him, takes the position of the student. Nicodemus is unlike the other Pharisees who are blinded by pride, rather Nicodemus seeks to understand who Jesus is and why he has come.

Nicodemus approaches Jesus at night time, symbolic of Nicodemus’ ignorance. But, again, it is an ignorance that is open to illumination, the light of the truth of the Gospel.

Jesus explains, in the Gospel passage today, the need for spiritual rebirth which is made possible through his death. The whole easter season, in a sense, involves a constant reflection on this great mystery: the healing, the rebirth, the illumination that comes from Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection, and how Christians enter into this mystery through baptism and the sacraments.

Yesterday, the Holy Father, Pope Francis, issued a new apostolic exhortation titled, “Gaudete et Exsultate”, Rejoice and be Glad, on the universal call to holiness. He opens the exhortation with these words: “The Lord asks everything of us, and in return he offers us true life, the happiness for which we were created. He wants us to be saints and not to settle for a bland and mediocre existence.”

Easter is an opportunity for us, like Nicodemus, to learn about the new life, the true life, God wants for us, for us not to settle for mediocre faith, but the sanctity for which we were made.

I encourage you to read through the Holy Father’s new exhortation: reflect upon it, ask the Lord what it means for your life.

To quote the Holy Father: May you come to realize what that word is, the message of Jesus that God wants to speak to the world by your life. Let yourself be transformed. Let yourself be renewed by the Spirit, so that this can happen, lest you fail in your precious mission. The Lord will bring it to fulfillment despite your mistakes and missteps, provided that you do not abandon the path of love but remain ever open to his supernatural grace, which purifies and enlightens. (Gaudete et Exsultate, 24)” for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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God the Father was glorified in the death and resurrection of his Son. Let us pray to him with confidence.

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

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

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

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

That all of our beloved dead and all the souls in purgatory may come to the glory of the Resurrection.
O God, you know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the desires of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our lord.

Annunciation 2018 - Mary, Co-Redemptrix

The Feast of the Annunciation is one of the most ancient feasts of the Church. Earlier names for the Feast were Festum Incarnationis—The Feast of the Incarnation, and Conceptio Christi—the Conception of Christ. Though the name has varied, the date of the Feast is is placed exactly nine months before Christmas: nine months, the term of a pregnancy, except when it is displaced by Holy Week or the Octave of Easter, as it was this year.

We just celebrated Easter, and this feast gets us thinking about Christmas already. But this feast is so important, because without the Annunciation there wouldn’t have been an easter, without Mary’s yes, there would be no incarnation, and with no incarnation, there would be no saving sacrifice, no resurrection, no hope.

This is why Mary is often given the title of “Co-Redemptrix”. Mary participates in the redemption of man through her fiat. She cooperates with God’s plan for human redemption when she humbly accepts the Will of God, saying “Be it done unto me according to your word.” She accepts the labor and sufferings that the will of God entails. The devotion of the Seven Sorrows of Mary help us to contemplate all she suffered in union with Christ her Son to bring about—to deliver—our salvation.

Since Jesus Christ is the Mercy of God incarnate, Mary can rightly be called the “Mother of Mercy”, as she is in the Salve Regina. Since Jesus Christ is the salvation of the world, Mary can rightly be called the “Cause of our Salvation”, cause, in the Aristotelian sense, as she was called by St. Irenaeus in the 3rd century. Since Christ is Our Joy, Mary is rightly called the “Cause of our Joy”

Mary’s role in our salvation is not to be overvalued—as many protestants claim we do, nor is it to be undervalued, as most protestants end up doing. The Catholic position is not too hot, not too cold, but just right. To rightly love the Son, we rightly love the mother who brought him into the world through a consent of the will so humble it made the angels rejoice.

May we rightly enshrine Mary in our hearts by imitating her humility, by humbly submitting our minds, our wills, our whole lives to the Lord. May the Blessed Mother bring about in us a flowering, a new birth, of God’s grace within each of us, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That through the teaching, preaching, and pastoral care of the Church all Christians will grow in their devotion to and imitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  We pray to the Lord.

That through Immaculate Mary, Queen of Peace, hatred, violence, and cruelty will cease in the world.  We pray to the Lord.

For those trapped in the downward spiral of sin, that the hope offered through the Incarnation of Christ in the womb of the Blessed Virgin will bring them new life in the Spirit.  We pray to the Lord.

That Mary’s maternal care and heavenly intercession will raise us to the moral greatness befitting true children of God.  We pray to the Lord.

For blessings on all expectant mothers, newborn infants, and young families.  We pray to the Lord.
That from the moment of conception all children will be preserved from bodily harm; for the overturning of unjust laws that permit the destruction of innocent life; and that the minds of all may be enlightened to know the dignity of every human life.  We pray to the Lord.

For all those who have died, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, for all who have fought and died for our country’s freedom, and for [intention below], for whom this Mass is offered.  We pray to the Lord.

We pray, O Lord our God, that the Virgin Mary, who merited to bear God and man in her chaste womb, may commend the prayers of your faithful in your sight. Through Christ our Lord.

2nd Sunday of Easter 2018 - "Men do not die for things they doubt.”

Happy Easter! He is Risen! Indeed, He is Risen! For much of the world, Easter is over. For Catholics, we are just warming up. Easter is celebrated over the course of a whole season of 50 days: from Easter Sunday to Pentecost Sunday. We celebrated with particular solemnity over the first 8 days of the easter season, called the easter octave. So, if you attended weekday Mass this past week, we were singing the Gloria every day, and our scripture readings related some amazing events that took place after Jesus resurrected: His appearance to Mary Magdalene, Having breakfast with his apostles on the shore of the sea of Galilee, his appearance to his disciples on the road to Emmaus.

Why do we dwell upon the “Easter-event” for so long? For the same reason Jesus appeared over and over to his disciples before ascending to the Father: to strengthen their faith, their conviction, that he is truly risen. And it took a while for the apostles to really get it. Those first few appearances Jesus has to convince them that he’s not just a hallucination, he’s not a ghost. He’s really there in the flesh—resurrected flesh. He eats fish and bread with them on the seashore, he invites Thomas, as we heard in the Gospel today, to put his hand in Jesus’ side.

He does this so they would stop doubting and truly believe.

I know some of you have seen the new movie about the Apostle Paul out in theaters. It’s very good, I highly recommend it—a perfect way to spend a…snowy easter Sunday. It tells the story of the Apostle Paul in the last weeks of his life. He is imprisoned in Rome, awaiting his martyrdom. The emperor Nero has blamed the Christians for setting fire to the city, and so the small Christian community is facing persecution. Christians are forced into hiding, and those they capture are being put to death. They are covered in pitch and burned alive in the streets, they are arrested and sent to be torn apart by wild beasts in the Coliseum.

One of my favorite scenes, and this shouldn’t give too much away for those who haven’t seen it, is when this Roman prison guard is questioning Paul about his Christian faith. This Roman guard challenges Paul about the truth of the resurrection. Paul answers, “If Christ had not risen from the dead, then our preaching is useless, and so is our faith.” The Roman Guard responds, “So you have no doubts at all?” And with a steeled look, forged by the terrible suffering he has already endured for the Gospel, Paul answers, “Men do not die for things they doubt.” “Men do not die for things they doubt.”

St. Thomas in the Gospel today, for his moment of doubt, has for two thousand years been known as “Doubting Thomas.” But the Apostle Thomas is really a testament of the power of faith to transform doubt to apostolic zeal.

For, after this scene from the Gospel today, after he places his hands in the side of the Risen Lord Jesus, Thomas is transformed.

The scriptures record no further accounts of the apostle Thomas, but accounts from the early Church tell of Thomas’ apostolic and missionary activity in modern day Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan, sadly, places where Christianity has been virtually eliminated in recent years. Finally, Thomas brought the faith to western and Southern India where he was martyred.

“Men do not die for things they doubt.” Through God’s divine mercy, the encounter with the risen Lord transformed Thomas’ doubt into a blazing faith.

Blazing faith, apostolic zeal, is not just “up here”, it’s not something we profess for an hour on Sunday and forget by the time we hit the church parking lot.

St. John reminds us that “For the love of God is this, that we keep his commandments.” The commandments of the moral law, and the commandments of the new law, like the one Jesus issued on Holy Thursday: love one another, as I love you, and the mandate Jesus issues before his Ascension: go therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Yes, each of us is inspired to say along with Thomas, Jesus, “you are my Lord and my God”, but like Thomas we must leave the upper room, to spread the faith, and to live that faith in our day-to-day lives.

St. Thomas the Apostle is a perfect example of this. Thomas, as we’ve said, carried the good news thousands of miles, to the middle east, and eventually to India. A pagan Indian King, upon meeting the apostle, was so impressed with his conviction and holiness that the King made Thomas a trusted advisor and his royal architect.  This is why Thomas the Apostle is the patron saint of architects.
Anyway, the king put at Thomas’ disposal the great wealth of his treasury for planning and building a new royal palace.  But Thomas donated the entire sum to the poor, telling the King, that this way he builds a greater palace in heaven.  For this Thomas was forgiven when the king’s dead brother appeared to the king and testified to the reality and glory of the heavenly palace.

Thomas was martyred, however, when he converted the king’s many wives to Christ and they insisted that marriage is between one man and one woman.

 “Men do not die for things they doubt.” St Thomas and the apostles, and countless martyrs whose names we will only discover in heaven, found the courage and willingness to follow Jesus anywhere, to speak Christian truth in front of kings and judges. They model the faith for us, showing us how the encounter with the Risen Christ changes us, and emboldens us for courageously living the moral life, generously engaging in Christian service, and zealously laying down our lives for the spread of the Truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our Easter celebrations, our to deepen our conviction that Christ the Lord is Risen, that this truth may permeate every dimension of our life for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Easter Octave 2018 - Friday - "Come Have Breakfast"

When the angel appeared to the women at the empty tomb, the angel told them to tell the disciples to go to Galilee, and there they shall see the Lord. Well, today, we hear how they have gone to Galilee—the Sea of Tiberius is another name for the Sea of Galilee—and there they see the Lord. Why they decided to go fishing is questionable, shouldn’t they have been focusing on looking for Jesus instead of retreating back to their comfort zones?

Well, they might not having been looking for Jesus, but Jesus was looking for them. And making their way to shore, Jesus says to them, “come, have breakfast”.  There is something special about breakfast. It’s not a royal banquet, it’s a simple, yet intimate meal, typically shared with family. It’s informal, everybody might still be a bit disheveled, not everyone is washed. The disciples, after a night of working, certainly fit this description.

And Jesus is the one here who makes breakfast for the group. Like a parent for children, still groggy from sleep. In fact, Jesus calls the disciples “children” here, doesn’t he. And just like groggy children, the disciples didn’t seem quite awake when they first saw the Lord.

This is also going to be a moment of reconciliation and a sharing of love, just like the family table is meant to be. For it was beside a charcoal fire that Peter denied Jesus, and now beside a charcoal fire, Peter will express his sorrow and his love for Jesus.

Jesus knew the disciples would be hungry after a night of fishing, but no doubt they were hungrier for the truth: that Jesus was with them, that he had indeed risen from the dead, that their first two encounters with him weren’t hallucinations, he wasn’t a ghost, and that he was continuing to prepare them for the great mission of spreading the good news, making disciples, teaching all nations that salvation is found in Him.

We are like the disciples here, groggy, a bit distracted, disheveled from all of our worldly business. And Jesus, calls out to us, often in a voice we don’t initially recognize, to come and to be renewed in faith, to be reconciled with Him, to deepen our love for Him. Jesus knew the disciples needed to be strengthened for their mission, so he feeds them, and he feeds us too, in intimate moments of prayer and with His Body and Blood in the Eucharist.

But he does so, that we may wake up, and shrug off our grogginess, and be ever more focused and intent on spreading the Gospel and building up His Body the Church, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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Filled with Paschal joy, let us turn earnestly to God, to graciously hear our prayers and supplications.

For the shepherds of our souls, that they may have the strength to govern wisely the flock entrusted to them by the Good Shepherd.

For the whole world, that it may truly know the peace of the Risen Christ.

For our own community, that it may bear witness with great confidence to the Resurrection of Christ, and that the newly initiated hold fast to the faith they have received.

For our brothers and sisters who suffer, that their sorrow may be turned to gladness through the Christian faith.

That all of our beloved dead and all the souls in purgatory may come to the glory of the Resurrection.

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

Easter Octave 2018 - Thursday - Recounting our Encounters with the Risen Christ

Yesterday, we heard how Jesus had appeared to the disciples on the road to Emmaus. Today, we hear how those disciples return to Jerusalem, and, as missionaries, they recount their experience of seeing, speaking, engaging, and eating with the Risen Christ.

There is a perfect model for our own missionary discipleship, to recount to others our experience of seeing, speaking, engaging, and eating with the Risen Christ.

Share with others how you have seen God work in the world. How have you seen God mending wounds, where have you seen God working miracles. The disciples met God—met Jesus—on the road to Emmaus, where have you met God? In your family home growing up? On a retreat? In the catechism classroom? Or on the streets? In the destitute?

Share with others your experience of speaking with God? How has God spoken to you in your prayer life? Through what Saints has God spoken to you? What books or spiritual writings? What scripture passages have spoken to you in your own times of sorrow and dark valleys? What Church teachings have made the most difference in your life?

Share with others your experience of Jesus moving you, engaging you, sending you out. How has Jesus moved you out of your comfort zone? How has he converted you from one way of thinking to another? What virtues, spiritual gifts, spiritual fruits has he caused to grow in you? Share with others the joy and peace that comes from making a good confession.

And share with others your experience of encountering Jesus in the breaking of the bread. Share with others the importance of coming to Mass, Sunday Mass, Daily Mass, and eating with Him. Share with others how attending Mass has changed your life? What caused you, perhaps, of being lukewarm about Mass, to zealous for it?

“The disciples of Jesus recounted what had taken place along the way.” Don’t be afraid to tell your story, to share, even in very simple terms, how you have encountered Jesus walking with you in your life’s journey. For right when the disciples shared their story, Jesus appeared in their midst, and continued to open their minds and hearts to the Scriptures, to the wisdom of God.

There are people in our lives who are longing to meet Jesus through these very means. Jesus wants to appear to the hard-hearted, the unbeliever, and the sorrowful. And he is waiting for us to share Him with them, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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Filled with Paschal joy, let us turn earnestly to God, to graciously hear our prayers and supplications.

For the shepherds of our souls, that they may have the strength to govern wisely the flock entrusted to them by the Good Shepherd.

For the whole world, that it may truly know the peace of the Risen Christ.

For our own community, that it may bear witness with great confidence to the Resurrection of Christ, and that the newly initiated hold fast to the faith they have received.

For our brothers and sisters who suffer, that their sorrow may be turned to gladness through the Christian faith.

That all of our beloved dead and all the souls in purgatory may come to the glory of the Resurrection.

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