26th Sunday of OT 2018 - Severing what keeps us from God

You may remember from a few years back the story of a man named Aron Ralston.  Aron Ralston was a vigorous and adventurous outdoorsman who was given to rock climbing, hiking and exploring.  In 2003, he was exploring the canyons of Eastern Utah, and while lowering himself into a rocky crevasse, he stirred some rocks loose and fell to the ground and an 800 pound boulder crushed his hand and pinned him to the canyon wall.  He lay there in agony for two days, trying desperately to free himself from the boulder to no avail.  Finally, in his desperation, convinced he would die otherwise, he took his small pocket-knife, and began to cut off his own arm.  Despite unspeakable pain, he completed his task.

Aron Ralston then tied a crude tourniquet around the stump of his arm, so he would not bleed to death, and wandered through the desert until he came to a road and flagged down a car.

Some months after this incredible ordeal, Aron Ralston appeared on the David Letterman show.  And he told his story.  The audience was of course spellbound.  And when he finished, the normally lighthearted and sarcastic David Letterman became unusually serious.  Looking at his guest intently, Letterman said with great admiration, “You know something about life that I don’t.”

In the Gospel, Jesus speaks with incredible bluntness about cutting off one’s hand, cutting off one’s foot, plucking out one’s eyes, if these things have become an obstacle to your salvation. “Better enter eternal life maimed, then to go to Gahenna, with all your limbs and members.” Hard words, no? Very stark, blunt, hard words. 

You’ve probably heard numerous homilies on this reading, probably saying that we should just interpret Jesus’ words as exaggeration, hyperbole, to prove a point.  Perhaps. But we shouldn’t be so quick to pass over this teaching because it is difficult. 

Perhaps, we can understand this teaching in light of Aron Ralston’s amazing story.  Aron Ralston found himself in mortal danger.  So desperate was his situation that he needed to do something very painful, very extreme, to save his life.  He knew something drastic had to be done, and he was willing, despite the pain, to do it.

Sure we might do something extreme to save our physical life, but Jesus teaches, we must be willing to go to extremes for the sake of our spiritual life.  We must protect our souls from spiritual death by abhorring sin, and keeping ourselves out of danger of sin.  For a soul, in a state of mortal sin, is bound not toward heaven, but toward hell. 

Now, of course, I’m not urging anyone to cut off their hands and feet or pluck out their eyes.  But each of us does have a serious responsibility, to make changes in our life, if we are not living the Gospel as we should.

Jesus mentions our hands, our feet, and our eyes. And we should reflect on what each of these means in the spiritual life.  Sometimes our hands are used to grasp at things our egos want, but which God forbids: inordinate amounts of money, sex, power, material possessions.  All the way back in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve’s sin was grasping at the forbidden fruit, grasping at a life God had not intended for them.  We must be willing to sever our grasping at things which are sinful and poisonous.

Jesus, secondly mentions our feet.  The foot is the organ by which we walk.  We are meant, as disciples of Jesus, to walk towards God, along paths of righteousness.  God is the goal of our life.  Thomas Aquinas said, you want to find Joy? Then walk the path that leads to God alone.  What do most of us do, though? We walk down so many errant paths which instead of bringing us joy, takes it from us.  So many of our paths keep us isolated from real life-giving communion with God and with each other.

Finally, Jesus mentions the eye, the organ of vision.  Aquinas teaches that man is destined for the beatific vision, the sight of God face-to-face in heaven, but so often we find ourselves turning our gazes away from God.  The entire spiritual life is a constant process of looking to the things of God, of purifying our hearts, that we may see God. But again, what do most of us do? We spend most of our lives looking for happiness in all the wrong places: the Glamour, illusion, sparkly, shiny things of worldliness, which keep us from prayer and service and knowledge of God.  How much time do you spend looking at a screen instead of looking to the cross, or seeking the face of God in quiet prayer?

If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off, if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off, if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.  Jesus teaches to consider our spiritual life with great urgency.  St. Paul says, the athlete is willing to sacrifice all sorts of things to train and win an earthly prize; we must be willing to eliminate things which keep us from Godliness, in order to win that heavenly prize.

Not an easy Gospel today, not an easy message, but it’s a necessary one if we want to experience the fullness of life Jesus wants for us. A good daily prayer is to ask your guardian angel, your patron saint, and the Holy Spirit to help you identify the tendencies, the habits, the vices that we need to turn over to God, that he may transform for his glory.

I don’t know about you, but I think it is always very clear when we meet a saint, who has taken this Gospel seriously, who has striven to excise sin and selfishness from his life, you get that sense, like David Letterman had towards Aron Ralston, “You know something about life that I don’t.” May our renunciations, sacrifices, and acts of charity lead us to experience that joy of God’s kingdom, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Sept 28 2018 - St. Wenceslaus, martyr - Holding Fast to Christ with all your heart

A hundred years before the birth of Christ, hope in the immanent coming of God’s Messiah was renewed in Israel. The Jews longed for the Messiah to restore Israel, to overthrow their enemies, and bring about an era of peace and righteousness. And yet, among the hundreds and thousands of people Jesus taught, healed, and challenged, it was Simon, the fisherman who confessed that Jesus was the Messiah. Many thought he was a prophet, yes, but the crowds failed to make the leap of faith, to believe that he was the Christ they longed for.

“Why do you say that I am?” is a question Jesus asks each of us every day. It is a question we cannot ignore because our eternal salvation depends on how we respond. Likely, our answer will be at odds with the crowds of the world. The crowds who say he’s simply a pious teacher, a philosopher whose insights can be incorporated into one’s own world view selectively. There are many modern crowds who claim Jesus was a story teller, a mythical figure who really shouldn’t be taken too seriously. There comes a point where the Christian must separate himself from popular opinion and answer with Peter’s confession.

Today’s saint, St. Wenceslaus King of Bohemia also made a choice, one that made him very unpopular with the crowds, and even his own family. Wenceslaus lived his faith in a time of great political upheaval.  He sought to unify his countrymen under the banner of the Christian faith. And even though he knew that many conspired against him, he ruled humbly and fairly, with a clear vision of  rule of what a Christian leader should be.

King Wenceslaus attended Mass every day. He ground the wheat and crushed the grapes for the bread and wine used at Mass.  He also provided food for the poor, bringing them provisions by night so they would be spared any public shame because of their poverty. 

One day after Mass, on the feast of Cosmas and Damian, He was assassinated by his brother, who had allied himself with the anti-Christian factions.

Wenceslaus likely could have avoided martyrdom by giving in to the military might of the anti-Christian factions, but as the collect this morning said, he placed the heavenly kingdom before the earthly one, he showed with his life that following Christ is not just giving lip-service to God, he held fast to Christ. Who do you say that I am? Will you serve Christ, or serve yourself? Will your trust in the ways of the Lord or the ways of the world?

Through the example and intercession of St. Wenceslaus and all the martyrs, may we hold fast to Christ with all our hearts, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sept 27 2018 - St. Vincent de Paul - Heart for the Poor

St. Vincent was the son of a poor, but pious farmer in southwestern France in 1581. Even though it meant a great sacrifice for his family, his father, knowing of the boy’s intellectual gifts and believing him to have a vocation to the priesthood, payed for his studies and encouraged his vocation. Vincent was ordained at the incredibly young age of 20. He was a genius and mastered his philosophical and theological training.

As a charming young priest, Vincent made many wealthy friends; he became chaplain to a queen and moved navigated the comfortable and luxurious aristocratic spheres of society. His life took a dramatic turn, when travelling home from Marseilles to collect a substantial donation, he was captured by Turkish pirates and sold into slavery by Muslim slavers. He escaped prison after two years, with his slave master, who eventually converted to Catholicism.

Returning to Paris, everywhere he looked he saw the hungry, the homeless, war refugees, neglected elderly men, women, and children, and those who had been spiritually abandoned. He followed God’s call to devote his life to their care. He set up many houses for the poor, crippled and sick and personally cared for the patients who had the most contagious diseases. He would dress their wounds and nurse them back to health

St. Vincent writes, “It is our duty to prefer the service of the poor to everything else and to offer such service as quickly as possible…Do not become upset or feel guilty even if your prayers are interrupted to serve the poor.”

A wealthy friend helped Vincent form the Vincentians—a congregation of priests who took vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience and devoted themselves to work among the poor. Over time, Vincent established many confraternities of charity for the spiritual and physical relief of the poor and sick.  Out of these groups grew the Vincentian nuns or Daughters of Charity who have served in our own diocese since 1865. 

He also invited the wealthy women of Paris to fund his missionary projects.  He founded several hospitals, collected relief funds for victims of war, and even ransomed slaves from North Africa.
He gave retreats to his fellow priests to help combat the spirit of worldliness which had made some of them lax in their spiritual lives.

Pope Leo XIII named him patron of all charitable societies.  This includes of course, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul founded in 1833, almost 200 years after his death, which was founded by his admirer and devotee, Frederic Ozanam. St. Vincent’s bones and heart are perfectly incorrupt, and can be visited in the Church of St. Vincent de Paul in Paris.

His apostolate can be summarized in his saying: “It is not sufficient for me to love God if I do not love my neighbor…I belong to God and to the poor.”   

We pray that we may respond generously to those in need for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
 
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That all Christians may grow in charitable attentiveness to the needs of the poor in our midst.

That all those searching and longing for Christ may find him through the witness of His Holy Church.

That the work and ministry of all Vincentian organizations and charitable institutions may bear fruit for the spread of the Gospel.

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

25th Week in OT 2018 - Tuesday - Family of Jesus (PSR Opening Mass)

Dear children, you probably don’t remember this, because most of you were just a few months old, but on the day that you were baptized, the day that you were made followers of Jesus, your parents made a very important promise to God. They made a sacred promise.

They promised God not simply to feed you, to house you, to clothe you, to care for you when you are sick. Their promise to God has to do with why you are here this evening. At your baptism, they promised God that they would educate you in the practice of the Christian faith, they promised God to bring you up to keep God’s commandments as Jesus teaches us, by loving God and our neighbor.
Dear children, that is why you attend PSR even after a long day at school, even when there might still be homework to do, even though there might be friends waiting to connect with you on social media. You are here to learn the faith, To learn about different aspects of our faith like the Sacraments, the Holy Scriptures, the lives of the Saints. And you learn to keep God’s commandments: Commandments like love God with your whole heart, keep Holy the Lord’s Day.

What you do here at PSR is very important, but of course it’s not the whole story, is it? Learning about the faith and about God’s commandments really takes place at home. You really learn to love God with your whole heart by praying to Him with your family, you learn about keeping holy the Sabbath Day, by coming to Church with your family every Sunday and on Holy Days. You learn about the Sacraments by receiving them along-side your family, reading the scriptures with your family, learning about the saints, with your family.

In the Gospel today, Jesus speaks a bit about family. As he was going through Galilee preaching and teaching the Gospel, doing the will of His Heavenly Father, his relatives came to retrieve him, to bring him home, they thought he was out of his mind, and his life was in danger. In his day, his was expected to obey his older relatives, his older brothers and sisters. But then he spoke about his disciples. He pointed to his disciples, and said here are my brothers and sisters and mother. My true family is made up of those who do the will of God, who believe, who seek to follow the commandments.

We are to love our families, but Jesus is saying our church family is of the greatest importance. It is more important to be a practicing member of the Church than to be a practicing member of a sports team, a political group, a social group, a group of video gamers.

We come to PSR and to church because we seek to be good members of the family of Jesus. And so we begin this PSR school year asking God’s blessing on our students and our teachers, and we pray, pray, pray, that the faith you learn about here, may spread and by practiced into your family homes, that every Catholic family home will be a place where the faith is practiced, prayer is valued, charity is modeled, and God’s commandments are followed, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

25th Week of OT 2018 - Monday - Lumen Fidei - Light of Faith (Nursing Home Mass)

In the Gospel, Jesus stresses the importance of allowing the light he gives us to shine forth for others to see.

The idea that God’s word light is found throughout Scripture.  Psalm 119 says, “God’s word is a lamp to our feet and a light to my path.”  Light, pushes back the darkness so we can see.  As young children, many of us had night lights in our room.  There’s something very comforting about a little light shining in the darkness.

Pope Francis’ first encyclical back in June of 2013 was called Lumen Fidei, on the light of Faith.  Its opening line, “The light of Faith: this is how the Church’s tradition speaks of the great gift brought by Jesus.” 

The light of faith helps us to avoid the dark errors of sin and to walk the path of righteousness.  But also, by the light of Faith we come to know about God and we come to know about ourselves. 
The Pope writes, “The light of faith is unique, since it is capable of illuminating every aspect of human existence.” Faith helps us to understand the confusing matters of our life, by helping us see from the perspective of God. Even our human suffering is made comprehensible by faith.

Sadly, our modern culture seeks to remove faith from every conversation. Faith in God is treated as a relic from the past, young people are not being formed in the faith, and so the darkness of sin begins to corrupt every human institution: healthcare, politics, the educational system.

 Therefore, as the Pope writes “There is an urgent need,” “to see once again that faith is a light, for once the flame of faith dies out, all other lights begin to dim.”  “An urgent need” he says, like Jesus, to not hide the light of faith under a bushel, living by faith, gathering to practice our faith, spreading our faith in word and deed.

May we walk always as children of light, and bear the light of faith for all to see, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
 
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That Pope Francis and all Bishops and Clergy may humbly and faithfully pass on the Gospel of Christ in all its fullness.
That young people may be kept safe from the poisonous attitudes of the world and that they and their families may be kept in close friendship with the Lord Jesus and his Church.
For the conversion of hardened sinners, those who have fallen away from the Church, and for an increase in virtue for all peoples.
For the sick and afflicted, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, for victims of natural disaster and inclement weather, those who suffer from war, violence, and terrorism, for the mentally ill, those with addictions, the imprisoned, the unchaste, for the comfort of the dying and the consolation of their families.
For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased priests and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom and for Tony & Betty Kuhel for whom this Mass is offered. We pray.
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.

25th Sunday in OT 2018 - Me-Monsters vs. Humble Servants

“Beware of the Me-Monster”. This is advice from one of my favorite comedians, Brian Regan, in one of his classic stand-up comedy acts. “Beware the Me-Monster.” In this act, Regan tells a story of his experience at a dinner party where one of the guests dominated the entire meal talking about himself. When Brian Regan began to tell a story about a time when he had two wisdom teeth pulled at the dentist, this Me-Monster was quick to tell everyone, “yeah, well I had four wisdom teeth pulled, and they were impacted.” The "Me-Monster" always has to assert his or her supposed superiority.

The “Me-Monster” can be found everywhere, attempting to prove that they are better, smarter, richer, superior than everyone else. You’ll often see young kids exhibiting this behavior on the play ground, “well, my dad makes more money than your dad”, “my dad is stronger than your dad”. Adults maintain this juvenile behavior by showing off their wealth, insisting on buying the nicer car, the bigger tv. The internet has become a platform for “Me-Monsters” to grasp at superiority by signaling to others that they are smarter, more politically insightful, more compassionate toward victims of natural disasters, more protective of the environment.

In the Gospel today, the disciples were acting like a bunch of “Me-Monsters”. While returning from Caeserea Philipi, the disciples begin arguing about who is the greatest. Imagine, Andrew, perhaps saying, “Yeah, well, I’m the greatest because I saw Jesus first.” Peter saying, “Yeah, well, I’m the greatest, because I figured out that he is the Messiah.” James and John saying, “Yeah, well, we’re the greatest, because we gave up a lucrative fishing business to follow him.” Or Matthew saying, “Yeah, well I gave up more wealth than that, I was a tax collector.” Judas, butting in, putting Matthew down for obtaining his wealth by extorting his fellow Jews, while at the same time stealing money from the money purse. “I’m the greatest, I’m the holiest, the Lord likes me best.”  What a bunch of “Me-Monsters”.

“Me-monsters” can be found in virtually every corner of society, and sadly, in the Church as well. History is filled with tyrants who brought ruin to their nations because of their ambition, friendships and families destroyed out of jealousy, men and women who would lie, cheat, and steal to get ahead or for fifteen minutes of fame. This behavior is truly monstrous for it wrecks lives and wrecks the peace and unity in which we were made to live.

St. James, writing as bishop of Jerusalem after the Lord’s ascension, warned his flock about the dangers of ambition and jealousy. “Where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every foul practice.” James knew what he was talking about, after all, he was there when the Lord corrected the apostles, as we heard in the Gospel today.

The Lord corrected the ambitious apostles by teaching them, “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” In the world, greatness is determined by wealth, fame, power, athletic prowess, physical beauty. But in the eyes of God, greatness is determined through service, self-sacrificial service. One way of “bewaring of becoming Me-monsters” is to making frequent examinations of conscience, and frequent confessions, examining if and how jealousy, ambition, and pride affect our choices, behaviors and attitudes. Do I insist on control my spouse? Do I insist on dominating conversations. Is proving I am right more important than patience? Do I insist on being served rather than serving others.

I don’t think that it is a coincidence that St. Mark places this little exchange immediately after the Lord’s second passion prediction. Because it will be in His Passion, while hanging on the cross, that Jesus teaches the ultimate lesson in greatness, it is on the cross that He shows Himself to be the greatest, because there he performs the greatest act of self-sacrificial service that there ever was and will ever be. Jesus, the suffering servant of the Father, accomplishes our redemption, by being wounded for our transgressions. In the eyes of the world he is despised and rejected, he is obnoxious the world, as we heard in our first reading today. But, through embrace of the cross, he is the true victor, his be the glory and honor and power forever and ever. 

This lesson, that true worth is found in the embrace of the cross, was not immediately grasped by the apostles. After all, when it came time to follow the master to the cross, they abandoned Him, they ran away, they denied Him.

We must beware of
becoming the me-monster, of seeking to become great in the eyes of the world. But we must also be patient and set good example for the me-monsters around us. For, each one of the apostles, save Judas, who ran away from the cross the first time, each one of them, eventually faced their fear, faced their crosses. Each one went on to suffer greatly for the Gospel. Peter and Andrew were crucified, Matthew was impaled with spears and beheaded, Bartholomew was flayed alive, and so on. And they did so, that the Lord’s Gospel might be known, that the invitation to eternal life through belief and imitation of the Lord Jesus may be offered to all. If they can have a change of heart, so can we, and so can the me-monsters around us.

This week, may we have the grace to really examine our lives, and to root out with God’s help all of those attitudes and ideas in our lives that are not in conformity with the Gospel: the constant desire to be praised, to be chosen, to be preferred by others, the fear of being ridiculed for the sake of the truth. And may we have the grace to pour ourselves out in self-sacrificial service in imitation of Our Lord for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Sept 20 2018 - St. Andrew Kim and companions - Making known the message of Mercy

Saint Andrew Kim was the first native-born Korean priest, and he was beheaded for the faith. He, and St. Paul Chong Hasang with their 111 companions were martyred over the course of many years, but were canonized together by Saint John Paul II in 1984.

For centuries, Catholicism was seen as a threat to Korean customs and traditions, so Christianity took root in Korea only after much struggle and effort. But when it did begin to take root, those roots were strong.

St. Andrew Kim risked his life smuggling missionaries into Korea, so that his native countrymen might have the Word of God preached to them. For this he was arrested, tortured and killed. What gave St. Andrew and his martyr companions such courage, such willingness to suffer for the Gospel? Their love and care for souls comes no doubt from their love of Christ.

It is the same love that is on display in the sinful woman, from our Gospel today, who falls to the feet of Jesus, who bathes his feet with her tears. Though she had lived a life of ill-repute, she recognized that Jesus could give her the forgiveness she longed for. Her life would no doubt be forever changed by this encounter with mercy that began with recognizing herself as a sinner in need of mercy.

So too, each of the courageous martyrs was once a sinner who recognized Jesus to be the salvation of their souls, and once encountering that mercy, their lives were changed forever. They knew that the good news of his mercy needed to be proclaimed to everyone, even at the cost of their own lives.

Whenever we come to the sacraments, especially the sacraments of Confession and Eucharist, we are coming to the Lord, like the sinful, yet repentant woman. We lavish the Lord with our gratitude and adoration, and receive something which cannot be obtained anywhere else in this world: the knowledge of being forgiven, and the courage to make that forgiveness known to others, even at the cost of everything else, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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Our Savior’s faithfulness is mirrored in the fidelity of his witnesses who shed their blood for the Word of God. Let us praise Him in remembrance of them:

The martyrs professed their faith by shedding their blood, may we have a faith that is constant and pure.

The martyrs followed in Christ’s footsteps by carrying the cross, may we endure courageously our earthly trials and all the misfortunes of life.

The martyrs washed their garments in the blood of the Lamb, may we be helped by their prayers to avoid the weaknesses of the flesh and all worldly allurements.

That all Christian missionaries may have courage and strength in their witness to the Gospel, for an increase in priestly and religious vocations, and for increased willingness among Christians to answer the missionary call.

That anyone who suffers any type of affliction, illness, or suffering, may know the comfort of the mercy of Christ.

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

Holy Hour of Reparation - Healing from Scandal and Grief

In response to the sexual abuse crisis engulfing the Church, the Holy Father, Pope Francis has asked the faithful and the clergy, “the entire holy faithful People of God to a penitential exercise of prayer and fasting, following the Lord’s command.”

“This can awaken our conscience and arouse our solidarity and commitment to a culture of care that says ‘never again’ to every form of abuse,” he said. “Every one of the baptized should feel involved in the ecclesial and social change that we so greatly need.”

To be honest, my first emotions in response to the news of these recent revelations were those of anger and sadness. Anger and sadness over brother priests, consecrated to the Lord, who disgraced their sacred orders; anger at the injustice of bishops and cardinals covering-up the crimes of the abusers; sadness for the pain caused to the victims and the scandal caused to them, how their image of the priesthood and of the Church and perhaps of God has been damaged, how their trust in their priests has been undermined.

Emotions of anger and sadness must always be brought to the Lord to be healed, lest they fester and become poisonous. Likely, I am not alone, here tonight, in bringing my anger and my sorrow to the Lord to be healed.

I came across a quote, just yesterday, from a letter written by the irish playright Oscar Wilde. Wilde writes from prison, this letter which he titled “De Profundis”, out of the depths, the first words of Psalm 130. Wilde writes from the depths of prison, a place of helplessness, despair, anger and sadness. A short sentence near the letter’s beginning resonated with he. He wrote, “where there is sorrow, there is holy ground.” “where there is sorrow, there is holy ground.”

His words reminded me of the second beatitude, “Blessed are the sorrowful, for they shall be comforted.” A time of sorrow can become holy when that sorrow is brought to the Lord. Whether we are grieving the loss of a loved one, a broken relationship, the loss of property, or we are sorrowful for the sins of fellow Christians, like during this time of scandal, grieving can be a holy activity, when our grief is brought to God to be healed.

I think our grief is so great, because grief is a consequence of wounded love.

We grieve the sins of the clergy because we love the clergy, we love our bishops and priests, and it grieves us when they fail, when their sins are so great. We grieve the wounds of the victims, because we love them, especially our young people who put their trust in the Lord and those he has ordained to serve the Church. We grieve their sense of betrayal.

But I truly believe that in coming here is holy, acknowledging our anger and grief before our Eucharistic Lord. This is holy ground because we come to the Lord for healing, healing our wounds, and those of the Church.

We pray that the Lord will hear the prayers of the grieving and bring healing to all the victims of abuse, those who are scandalized by the sins of trusted clergy, and that the Lord will give us strength to continue to work for the spread of the Gospel, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Sept 13 2018 - St. John Chyrsostom and loving one's enemies

St. John Chrysostom was born in Antioch in the 4th century.  It is unclear whether his parents were Christian or pagan, but we do know that he was baptized around the age of 18. While studying civil law, he felt the call to enter monastic life, but discerning it wasn’t quite his calling, he was ordained a deacon and then a priest for the Church of Antioch.

The young priest soon garnered a reputation for his eloquent preaching. He was as Blessed John Henry Newman said, “a bright, cheerful, gentle soul; a sensitive heart,” who helped the people apply the Scriptures to their daily lives. About 600 hundred of his sermons and commentaries on scripture have been preserved, as well as many treatises on the moral and spiritual life, and a very famous book on the priesthood.

John's influence on our Christian life continues to be evident; he is cited by our current Catechism in eighteen sections, particularly his teachings on Christian prayer.

Commenting on today’s Gospel, in which the Lord teaches us to love, to show charity, to our enemies, St. John Chrysostom comments:

“Let us “be merciful,” not simply so, but “as our heavenly Father is.” (Lc 6,36). He feeds even adulterers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and what shall I say? Those having every kind of wickedness. For in so large a world there must needs be many such. But nevertheless He feeds all; He clothes all. No one ever perished of hunger, unless one did so of his own choice. So let us be merciful. If one be in want and in necessity, help him. (Homily XI)”

The Lord’s command to love one’s enemies has been one of his most difficult teachings for 2000 years. It seems counter-intuitive that Christians are to feed, clothe, protect, heal those outside the Church, those who persecute us, those who undermine the work of the Gospel, those whose politics we disagree with, those who may have hurt us in the past.

St. John Chysrostom helps us to understand and be faithful to this challenging teaching: that Christians are to reflect the love of God, who sent His Son to die for us all, by showing charity to all, no matter what. We cannot withhold charity because we are angry with someone, even disgusted by someone or their lifestyle.

“The measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you." If we expect God to be merciful toward us, we must be merciful toward others. May St. John Chyrsostom by his faithful teaching and eloquent preaching continue to help us to be faithful to all the Lord commands for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That the bishops of the Church will act as true prophets through their faithful teaching, their courageous witness, and their self-sacrificing love. We pray to the Lord.

That government leaders around the world may carry out their duties with justice, honesty, and respect for freedom and the dignity of human life.  We pray to the Lord.

For the grace to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, to love our neighbors and enemies and those who persecute us, and to share the truth of the Gospel with all.  We pray to the Lord.

For all those who share in the sufferings of Christ—the sick, the sorrowful, and those who are afflicted or burdened in any way, especially those effected by hurricanes and storms.  We pray to the Lord.

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

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

Sept 10 2018 - Grandparents Day, Peace and Justice, Beatitude (School Mass)

As was mentioned in our introduction before Mass this morning, today we have a few events being commemorated today. We are celebrating the important role our grandparents play in our lives. We also remember the victims of the September 11th terrorist attacks, those who lost their lives because of hate and violence. We offer special prayers for justice and peace, that the justice and peace of Jesus Christ might fill our world and our hearts. And just like we do at every Mass, we gather to offer thanksgiving to God for the gift of our salvation.

Our Gospel reading is very fitting to have read today. We heard the famous beginning of Our Lord’s great Sermon on the Mount, these opening lines to his great sermon are known as the beatitudes. And we should be pretty familiar with the beatitudes. Our third graders, I believe, study them line by line when they learn about Jesus’ ministry. We do well to memorize the beatitudes, so that we always have them with us. And in the liturgical life of the Church, the beatitudes are read at baptisms, weddings, funerals, and throughout the Church year. We read them so often, and in so many different settings because they are the attitudes and dispositions we are meant to cultivate throughout all of life whether we are grieving at a funeral, or rejoicing at a wedding, or coming to a deeper understanding of what it means to be a Christian.

The beatitudes help us to practice the blessedness, the holiness, that God wants for all of us. Not all of us are designed by God to be great athletes, great musicians, great public speakers, greater writers or scientists, we all can’t be all those things. But God has designed all of us to be holy. Each one of us can become deeply holy, and we are to do so by practicing the beatitudes.

By practicing the beatitudes we begin to value heavenly things over earthly things; humility over pride, repentance over hard-heartedness, gentleness over harshness, justice and peace over violence and selfishness; courage over fear; purity over perversion.

The beatitudes teach us that True Success in this life isn’t measured by the size of our house or bank account, the number of athletic trophies or academic rewards we accumulate but by allowing the Christian faith to permeate every dimension of our life; by using our time, talent, and treasure for God’s Will, not our own.

We thank God today for our grandparents, who are so often models of holiness, and blessedness, and Christian faith for us. For many years, every Sunday, week after week, year after year, my grandparents would bring me to Sunday mass when my own parents would not. I would not be here today, a would not be a priest without my grandparents faith and generosity. Grandparents never underestimate your role in these young people’s lives.

We also pray today that each of us may put into practice the lessons the Lord teaches us, that grave evil, like the September 11th terrorist attacks may never happen again. We pray t who allow hatred and evil to fill their hearts, may come to know the love and peace of Jesus Christ, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

23rd Sunday in OT 2018 - Christ's Healing Activity Then and Now

As you may have seen in the bulletin, this month I’ll be hosting a bible study of the Gospel of Mark. Though we hear the Scriptures proclaimed at Holy Mass, to take them time to study them opens us to more deeply understand God’s Word. Like the deaf and the dumb man in the Gospel today, the Lord wishes to open our ears to understand the Word more deeply and loosen our tongues to proclaim the Word with greater courage, conviction, and faithfulness. So consider participating in our upcoming Scripture study on Monday nights in the chapel.

St. Mark’s Gospel is such an interesting Gospel to study. Compared to the Gospels of St. John, St. Luke, and St. Matthew, which relate to us many of the Lord’s sermons and longer teachings, St. Mark’s Gospel is very action-oriented. We see in Mark’s Gospel the Lord’s power, dominating the forces of evil and sickness, his strength of will in accomplishing the mission preordained by his Heavenly Father. St. Mark details how The Savior of the World working: healing the wounds of our sinfulness, casting out demons, opening eyes, ears, lips, minds, and hearts to God’s grace.

This weekend, our Gospel reading contains one of these wonderful detailed accounts from Mark’s Gospel of the Lord healing man who is deaf and dumb. To accomplish this miraculous healing the Lord could have simply willed the man to be healed, he could have snapped his finger or waved his hand and this man would be healed. But instead, we read of this multi-stepped ritual. The Lord first receives this man, then the Lord then takes him aside and he puts his fingers into the deaf man’s ears, and he spits and he rubs his spittle on the deaf man’s ears and tongue.   And then the Lord looks up to heaven, and he groans, and then he yells out, “Ephphatha, be opened.”  Why this ritual?  Why all these gestures, these signs, these actions? 

The Lord of course not only wanted to heal this man, but as usual, to teach us a lesson.  Namely, that he prefers to work through words, and gestures, and touch, and actions, and signs and intermediaries.  That’s how he healed so many during his earthly ministry, back then, and that’s how he wishes to bring healing to us, now, and all the ages of the Church.

This ritual healing, these gestures and signs in the Gospel today, teach us that the Lord heals through the gestures, signs, and rituals of his holy Church, primarily the Seven Sacraments. In washing our bodies in the waters of baptism, he brings cleansing of our sinful nature. In anointing our heads with chrism in the sacrament of confirmation, he brings strength for the work of the Gospel. In feeding us, under the appearance of bread and wine, in the Eucharist, he nourishes our deepest hunger for God, so that we turn less to be satiated by sin. Through the ritual words of absolution in the sacrament of confession, he brings the reconciliation with God that we cannot achieve on our own. In the exchange of vows in holy matrimony, he joins man and woman to become instruments of God’s fruitful love. Through the anointing of the Sick, the Lord gives powerful grace to endure bodily sickness and the final trial of physical death.

In recent years, there has been a real decline in the number of people coming to the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the forgiveness of their grave sins.  One of the reasons one often hears is that, “I don’t need to go to a priest, I just pray to God directly.”  But that’s not Christianity. The Lord works through his ministers, and through the words, gestures, and rituals of the Church. Offering our contrition to God in the privacy of our homes is good, for our sins truly offend God.  And we should offer our sorrow as soon as we recognize our sin.  BUT, God has made known exactly how He desires to forgive sins. We cannot insist that God forgive our sins on our own conditions.   That  forgiveness, that healing of sin, comes through the words and gestures of the sacrament—through the confession of our particular sins to a priest and the penitent’s expression of contrition, and the priest’s prayer of absolution.

The healing power of the Lord is not limited to the Sacraments, of course. He is present, when two or three are gathered in his name. The healing ritual in today’s gospel begins when the deaf man was brought to the Lord by other people. The Lord loves to work through other people, through parents and priests, neighbors and strangers, through support groups and best-friends-forever. He heals through doctors and medicine and nurses and caregivers, people who have dedicated their lives to healing. He helps those with emotional and psychological wounds through therapists and psychologists, by helping people confront wounds accumulated from childhood or trauma.  He teaches through catechists and clergy. Through Christians like you and me, the Lord desires to bring food to the hungry, clothing to the naked, consolation to the grieving, friendship to the lonely. He wants to use us, each and every one of us, to bring the healing the world so desperately needs.

What is the healing each of us needs? The Lord wishes to heal each one of us, to heal our wounded sense of right and wrong, our disordered attractions, to fix our broken moral compasses, to embolden our fear of speaking truth and being generous to the poor. Because of Original Sin we desire too much of what we don’t need and too little of what we do need. We desire too much social media, gossip, shopping, dessert, selfish exaltation, noise and entertainment, and too little prayer, study, charity, self-discipline, penance, fasting, mortification, silence and meditation. We do well to identify those parts of our lives which need healing, and bring them to the Lord.

That so many Catholics have fallen away from the Church in recent years is such a tragedy, because our brothers and sisters have fallen away from the ways that Jesus wants to work miracles in their lives, the ways the Lord wants to bring them healing and wholeness.

In the news these days, we’ve heard a lot about bishops and priests falling short of their sacred duties. It is a true scandal when ordained clerics undermine the spread of the Gospel through their grave sins. And yet, Christ has not abandoned us. He wants to bring healing to our Church now, and he will continue to do that through the Sacraments, through good holy priests and religious and lay faithful committed to the Gospel. Scandal, in a sense, is always a wake up call to the Church, the hierarchy and the lay faithful, and even to non-Catholics, that counterfeit and watered-down Christianity isn’t good for anybody. May we work and pray for the healing needed in the Church, our families, our community, by turning to the Lord in prayer and penance and the works of charity.

The Lord wishes to speak that powerful word, “Ephphatha” in each of our lives, that we might be ever-more open to his light and healing grace, by bringing our wounds to Him, by trusting in Him, by sharing our faith in Him for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

22nd Week in OT 2018 - Friday - Fasting is a weapon against evil

Friday, is the traditional day of fasting for Christians. And so how appropriate that our Gospel, this Friday morning speaks of fasting. Jesus said that after His Ascension His followers would surely fast

As we’ve done for centuries, each Lent we engage in fasting in imitation of Jesus' forty-day fast in the desert. But Fasting is not just for Lent. Fasting is to be a sign of our repentance for sin and our desire to find our joy in God alone all-year round.

Before Vatican II, Roman Catholics were to abstain from meat on Fridays, and many fasted also on Wednesdays.  After Vatican II, the Church's laws regarding Friday abstinence and fasting were changed.  Some people thought that the Church was de-emphasizing fasting.  But this is not so, Church law (canon 1250 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law) still requires us to do some sort of penance on Friday, which may include fasting and abstaining from eating meat.

St. John Paul II spoke of the importance of fasting. He stated: "Jesus Himself has shown us by His own example that prayer and fasting are the first and most effective weapons against the forces of evil.”  If we struggle with a particular temptation: gluttony, lust, pride, fasting helps us to overcome these evils. In these dark days of scandal, fasting is no doubt one of the ways the Lord desires to bring light and healing to our wounded Church.

Through fasting we show that the pleasures of this world are not what make us whole and truly fulfilled. It is not cookies and snacking and desserts and television and internet and whiskey and wine in which man is to seek fulfillment.

By fasting we unite ourselves to the heart of Jesus, we share in his cross and win graces for souls, and we share in his love for his Father, to whose Holy Will we are to be totally dedicated. Voluntary fasting from food help us acquire mastery over our impulsiveness, and creates in us a greater openness to God's Spirit and deepens our compassion for those who are forced to go without food. When our souls begin to resemble Old Wine Skins because of our sinful attachments, fasting helps to make them new, to receive the new wine of the spirit.

Whatever our Friday penance, we do well to offer up our voluntary penance for those who suffer involuntarily, for the purification of the Church for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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For willingness to do penance in reparation for sin, for the spread of the Gospel and sanctification of souls.

That our young people may be kept safe from the errors and poison of the world, so to grow in the ways of righteousness and truth.

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

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

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.

22nd Week in OT 2018 - Thursday - Foolishness and Wisdom

The Old Testament takes up, quite often, the error of foolishness or folly.

 “Folly”, says the book of Proverbs, “brings joy to one who has no sense, but whoever has understanding keeps a straight course.” The fool says in his heart “there is no God”, he acts as if God didn’t exist, as if God did not reveal how we are to live. This sort of foolishness is an epidemic in our modern day. The writer of Ecclesiastes acknowledges, “I saw that wisdom is better than folly, just as light is better than darkness.” Foolishness is often associated with sin and sinfulness. Psalm 38 speaks of the wound that festers because of our sinful folly. Folly is opposed to wisdom, self-discipline, righteousness, truth, discernment and prudence.

So, St. Paul’s words to the Corinthians this morning, are quite strange, for he claims that we, Christians, are to become fools. He quickly clarifies though, we are to be foolish, not in the ways of God, but in the ways of the world. The way of the world is to seek pleasure and riches, indulge in any form of immorality, to ignore the calls of the poor, to simply eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we shall die. The way, the true way of Jesus Christ, calls us to be foolish of these attitudes, to “cast out into deep waters” as the Lord encourages us in the Gospel, to seek first the kingdom of God.

St. Theresa of Calcutta, whose feast we celebrated, just yesterday, echoed the sentiments of St. Paul, when she spoke about the life of poverty and service that she and her missionary sisters engage in. She said, “To the world, we are wasting precious life and burying our talents…We have nothing to live on, yet we live splendidly; nothing to walk on, yet we walk fearlessly; nothing to lean on, but yet we lean on God confidently; for w are his own and he is our provident Father.”

How can we grow in the wisdom of God, which recognizes the error of the world and the truth of the Gospel? An old proverb states that the only way to knowledge is to confess our ignorance, the only way to become wise is to confess our foolishness. This resonates with the Christian attitude that we must be humble enough to confess that we’ve been all too foolish in the ways of God, we are to humble ourselves so that we may be taught by God.

We do well to make a regular thorough examination of our lives in light of the entire Word of God. We do well to compare ourselves and our pursuits to the saints and their pursuits. Saints who spent their time in service, study, preaching, penance, and prayer show the folly of our self-centered pursuits. We do well to ask our Guardian Angels to make us aware of our foolish attitudes and behaviors, after all, they have to put up with our foolishness more than anybody.

Our commitment to Christ, our sacrifices for Him and His Gospel, our carrying of the cross is foolishness in the eyes of the world, but His, and His alone, is the way that leads to eternal life, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That all Christians may seek to grow in the wisdom of God through study, prayer, penance, and charity.
That our young people may be kept safe from the errors and poison of the world, so to grow in the ways of righteousness and truth.
For all the needs of the sick and the suffering, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, the underemployed and unemployed, victims of natural disaster, war, abuse, and terrorism, for the sanctification of the clergy, for all those who grieve the loss of a loved one, and those who will die today, for their comfort, and the consolation of their families.
For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, for the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, for the deceased priests, deacons and religious of the diocese of Cleveland, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.
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.