4th Sunday of Ordinary Time 2022 - Murderous Intent or Rejoicing with Truth

 How did the people of Nazareth, in the Gospel today, go from amazement and hope in Jesus’ announcement that he was the Messiah, to murderous fury? That’s certainly the big question, isn’t it? What happened? Was it something that Jesus said? Hope do you explain hope and amazement transforming into doubt and then hatred?

I thought to myself, is there anything that I could say, that could elicit such a response? If I told a bad joke, there would likely be a few groans. Like, how much does a pirate pay for corn? A buccaneer. If I gave my prediction about who will win the superbowl, there might be a few scoffs, but you wouldn’t run me out of Church. If, instead of preaching on a theological topic, I simply talked about my favorite movies from the last year and sit down, you might stare at me quizzically, but you wouldn’t come at me with murderous intent.

Things might get a little bit more heated if I, say, spent the homily sharing my incredibly niche and polarizing political opinions. I don’t know how this parish reacted, but I remember in my first assignment, when the bishop had us read his statement on the HHS mandate which was to force Catholic institutions to pay for medical procedures contrary to Church teaching, we had a few mass goers walk out during the bishop’s message.

I came across a very telling article this week, that sited a study regarding the relationship between people’s political and religious beliefs. It claimed, that for a majority people, their political opinions take a higher priority than their religious ones, and that the Church they attend coincides more with their political beliefs than if that Church is purporting to preach the truth. 

So, again, if during the homily, I got too political, well, that might elicit a response of sorts.

But what if I started preaching heresy? I starting making claims about the Nature of God, the efficacy of the Sacraments that were contrary to the ancient tradition of the Church. What if I belittled beloved devotions. Well, you should get angry, shouldn’t you. That should elicit jeers, letters to the bishop, calls for my removal as pastor. You don’t come to church to be lied to, to have the faith demeaned and disparaged. I should be removed, if I did that. 

But it wasn’t a lie that caused the people of Nazareth to drive him to the edge of town to murder him. He wasn’t simply offering a bad joke or a divisive political opinion, though some may have interpreted his words in that way. Jesus was stating the truth. He was the Messiah. 

And when his townsmen began to contemplate the implications of that truth, amazement turned to doubt and doubt turned to murderous hatred.

When we are presented with truth, truth about God, truth about ourselves, we have some choices to make, don’t we? For example, if I’m in the habit of stealing from supermarkets, and I am confronted with the truth that stealing is evil, as taught by our faith, I have a choice to make. Reject the truth outright, that I know better than the Church, I try to rationalize my sin, saying it’s not really stealing if I want it really bad, or quit stealing and confess my sin to God.

Another example, if I was under the impression that Eucharist was only a symbol of the Lord’s Body and Blood, but then I’m confronted with the unchanging truth about the Eucharist rooted in scriptures and evident in the church fathers including our own St. Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, I have a choice to make. Reject the truth, thinking I know better than 2000 years of consistent church teaching, I try to minimize the importance of the doctrine, saying to myself, it doesn’t really matter, does God really care if believe this or not?” Or, recognize I was wrong, the Church was right, Lord, help my unbelief, in the words of the man in Mark’s Gospel, wanting to believe that Jesus could cast the demon out of his possessed son.

There are a lot of reaction to Jesus in the Gospels. And those reactions are the consequences of choices, choices to believe in the truth about who Jesus says he is, or not. 

The townsfolk of Nazareth, they discredit Jesus’ claim. He’s just the son of a carpenter. He can’t be the Messiah. They allowed their personal prejudices to hinder their ability to believe. 

Then, when Jesus explains how their choice to discredit him was akin to the hardness of heart and lack of faith described in the old testament stories about Elijah and Elisha. Well, they had another choice. Recognize the pattern of their unbelief and the veracity of Jesus’ claim, or, silence him, drive him out, murder him. Rejection of the truth leads to violence. 

Why is our culture so polarized, so ready to erupt into violence? In many places, in many homes, even in many so-called Christian communities, it is no longer rooted in the Truth. But Truth leads to love and peace. “Augustine says, nothing conquers but truth, and the victory of the truth is love.”

When we are rooted in truth, we are able to truly love. Love that is patient, kind, not jealous, not pompous, not inflated, not rude, not seeking its own interests, not quick-tempered, not brooding over injury, not rejoicing over wrongdoing but rejoicing with the truth., as St. Paul explains in our second reading today. 

The townsfolk of Nazareth certainly did not rejoice with the truth, but Christians, we must. For, truth is the only firm foundation for culture. We understand this. We hate fake news because it’s the dissemination of lies. Pope Francis, this week spoke about how spreading “disinformation” about COVID-19 is a violation of human rights. He said access to accurate information, based on scientific data, is a human right that must be especially guaranteed for those who are less equipped to separate out the morass of misinformation and commentary masquerading as fact that is available online.

At the same time, Francis asked for a merciful, missionary approach to those who fall prey to such distortions so they are helped to understand the truth.

"Fake news has to be refuted, but individual persons must always be respected, for they believe it often without full awareness or responsibility," he said. "Reality is always more complex than we think and we must respect the doubts, the concerns and the questions that people raise, seeking to accompany them without ever dismissing them."

The Holy Father’s approach is consistent quite enlightened compared to the anger and vitriol you see from people on “both sides of the issue” . Seek the truth, don’t lie to people, don’t minimize people’s concerns, but also don’t overinflate your claims, don’t violate people’s consciences, but patiently help people identify misinformation. 

Not one person in Nazareth stopped and said, “let’s listen to what he has to say, let’s entertain this possibility. If he is in error or a madman or a charlatan, the truth will be revealed.” No one was calm, rational, careful, or discerning. They jumped to discredit, and when they were challenged, they defended their prejudices with murderous intent. 

May the Lord deliver us from our prejudices, those which keep us from loving God, loving our neighbor, loving the stranger, and loving ourselves, those which keep us from rejoicing always with the truth, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

January 28 2022 - St. Thomas Aquinas - Learning how to think about God

 Prior to the second Vatican Council, men being trained for the priesthood were immersed in the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas more than any other philosopher and theologian. And this is partially because St. Thomas had the gift of presenting a clear and cohesive vision of reality in which God was at the center—a reality which is not only knowable by mankind, but also capable of being expressed by Word.

Why is this sort of study important for priestly formation. Our priests are tasked with helping us understand our lives with God at the center, and they need to be able to articulate this to kindergarteners, construction workers, phDs, stay at home moms and widows. And Thomas Aquinas’ thought is so clear and cohesive, that he helps you learn how to think and learn how to think about God.

If you want to learn how to think about God, read Thomas Aquinas, especially his Summa Theologica. I know many people who like to take a little daily dose of Thomas; like taking a knife to a whetstone, a little Thomas every day keeps the mind sharp.

And keeping the mind sharp is important for all of us. Prudence, wisdom, knowledge, understanding, these are gifts that God wants to give us, spiritual fruits that God wants to grow in us, but they just don’t appear magically. You have to drink from the font of wisdom in order to obtain wisdom, you have to read in order to obtain knowledge, if you have to exert effort into understanding the meaning of things, it just doesn’t happen. 

And when we grow in wisdom and knowledge and understanding of the truth, we grow in likeness of God, who is full of wisdom, knowledge, and understanding—the source.

Pope St. John XXII, speaking about St. Thomas, said before his canonization on July 18th, 1323 that “his life was saintly and his doctrine could only be miraculous … because he enlightened the church more than all the other doctors. By the use of his works a man could profit more in one year than if he studies the doctrine of others for his whole life.”

St. Thomas helps us to put our lives in perspective, to see the things of the world and the things of God as they are, he teaches us to seek first the kingdom of God, that the highest wisdom comes from sitting at the feat of God, kneeling in front of the presence of God for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That all Church leaders will faithfully proclaim Christ’s love and truth to the world.

That our parish families and the families of all of our school children will be places where the Christian faith is believed, followed, taught, and cherished. And for the students, teachers, staff, and alumni of St. Ignatius of Antioch School and all of our Catholic Schools.

For the grace to grow in wisdom, knowledge, prudence, and understanding, and put these gifts into practice in our daily lives.

For the sick and suffering among us, for those who care for them, and for all of our beloved dead, especially X, for whom this mass is offered.

January 26 2022 - Sts. Timothy & Titus - Coworkers in the Vineyard

 Following the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul yesterday, today we commemorate two of Paul’s close co-workers in the vineyard of the Lord: Timothy and Titus.  

Sometimes, when we think of St. Paul, we think of him single-handedly converting Asia Minor and Greece, but not so. Paul had friends, coworkers, companions. 

On his second missionary journey, Paul recruited young Timothy, from his native town of Lystra in Asia Minor. Timothy accompanied Paul, and was trained by him. Paul sent Timothy on two important missions of his own, one to Thessalonica, another to Corinth. Timothy stayed with Paul in prison. Paul also mentions Timothy as cosender of six of his letters: I & II Thessolonians, II Corinthians, Philippians, Philemon, and Colossians. 

When Paul writes to Timothy, he writes as a spiritual father to a spiritual son, yes, one having superior experience and wisdom, but also as a brother and collaborator in the vineyard of the Lord.

Titus was a gentile disciple and close friend of Paul, also accompanying and assisting Paul in his missionary activity.  Titus was with Paul at the Council of Jerusalem, and when Paul was having trouble with the community at Corinth because of community division, erroneous faith and rampant immorality, Paul sent Titus bearing his letter to the Corinthians, and Titus embraced them with the love of the true pastor’s heart.  This was probably one reason, why Paul felt so assured at naming Titus bishop of Crete, which was also riddled with error. He too would be martyred—he was beheaded by his adversaries on Crete in AD 97.

As they shared in the missionary activity of the Church, Timothy and Titus now share a feast day, reminding us all that we share our work in the vineyard of the Lord. Christians are so much more effective in spreading the Gospel when we are working together. 

For, by its very nature, the life of Christian holiness involves a dynamic openness and collaboration with others. The Church exists to give glory to God and to continue Christ’s work of salvation, and this is a communal effort. 

This is one reason why livestreaming Sunday Mass from our couches can never become the norm. Not only are we deprived of the Eucharist, but from gathering together with our brothers and sisters in Christ, who are our collaborators in the vineyard. St. John Paul writes, “communion and mission are profoundly connected with each  other, they interpenetrate and  mutually imply each other to the point that communion represents both the source and the  fruit of mission: communion gives rise to mission and mission is accomplished in communion.”

We should always be open and looking for opportunities to work together for God, bringing our unique gifts to complement the gifts of others. That’s what parish is supposed to be. A place of communal worship and communal mission.

Through the holy example and heavenly intercession of Saints Timothy and Titus and the whole communion of saints, may we be faithful in working together for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That our bishops in union with the Pope, may share a profound zeal for faithful preaching and teaching, stirring up the flame of faith in the life of the Church. Let us pray to the Lord.

That our parish may build up missionary disciples equipped for working together for the spread of the Gospel. Let us pray to the Lord.

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

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

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

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

January 26 2022 - Conversion of St. Paul - Deliverance from Self-Delusion

 Today we celebrate one of the most important events in the history of the world: the conversion of Paul of Tarsus. Accepting Christ changed his life and it marked a watershed moment in the Church history. Paul, the student of the Jewish Pharisee Gamaliel, had spent years seeking to silence the Gospel, stoning Christians to death. To Paul, the Gospel was heresy, it was a perversion of truth, it was an erosion of right religion, leading souls away from the covenant with God.

In a sense, Paul’s conversion was not so much a conversion for an immoral life to a moral life. He was a zealous follower of the Mosaic Law. He wasn’t a greedy cutthroat, or a lecherous carouser.  His mission was to stomp out a heretical sect that was dividing Judaism and blasphemously claiming that a carpenter from Nazareth not only was the Messiah, but the Son of God.

But Christ broke through Paul’s errors. We are not saved by our external conformity to the prescriptions of the Mosaic Law. Rather, we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. His conversion came when he experienced the resurrection. The resurrected Christ victorious over the grave appeared to him. The truth of the resurrection pierced through his hardness of heart and self-delusion. Paul’s conversion in a sense, was from a false notion of a holy life, to a true notion backed by the fact of the resurrection. 

Why do we believe what we believe? Because Christ has risen. He is risen, and therefore his teachings and promises can be believed. Ressurexit, sicut dixit. He has risen, just as he said he would, therefore, what else has he said, that needs to be believed? All of it.

Like Paul prior to his conversion, there are many people who believe they are living a good life. They believe they stand for justice and goodness. But we are not saved by good intentions. For good intentions, can lead to justification of murder, as it did for Paul. 

Rather, a good life is not simply based on opinion. It can’t be based on something as fickle and prone to error as that. A good life, eternal life, is obtained not by human reasoning or even human effort. The best human effort can do is build a tower to the heavens, like in the story of Babel. But the after effects of Babel are confusion and division, two of our culture’s defining attributes.

Rather, heaven is reached through the risen one. Eternal life is obtained through the Eternal Son of God who came down from heaven, taking on human flesh, who died and rose. He is the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through Him. And we are called to so much more than division, confusion, and self-delusion.

This is why Paul, following his conversion, spent the rest of his life, even to the point of death, witnessing to Christ. “Woe to me, if I do not preach Christ”, all else is rubbish, Paul says. And it’s true. 

Sometimes, I think the modern Church has forgotten what is most central in our mission—Preaching Christ crucified and risen from the dead and the conversion of life that necessitates from that truth.

May this feast of the great conversion of Paul, bring about great conversion in our world and in ourselves to Christ risen from the grave, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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

That our parish may build up missionary disciples equipped for the spreading of the Gospel. Let us pray to the Lord.

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

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

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

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

January 24 2022 (EF) - St. Timothy - Ecclesial Communion & Conviction for the Gospel

 In anticipation of the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul tomorrow, today we commemorate one of Paul’s dearest disciple and closest co-workers in the vineyard of the Lord: St. Timothy. Biologically, Timothy was the son of a jewish mother and a pagan father. St Paul, however, calls Timothy, my beloved child, devoted to him “like a son to his father.” Paul was directly instrumental in Timothy’s conversion.  

When Paul visited the city of Lystra, Timothy, about twenty years old, joined him and went on to assist Paul in the establishment of the major Christian communities. Timothy also stayed with Paul during his first Roman imprisonment. Timothy himself was later imprisoned for spreading the Gospel, and as bishop of Ephesus was martyred, clubbed to death by a mob for preaching against the orgiastic worship of the goddess Artemis in that city.

Paul wrote two letters to Timothy while he was Bishop of Ephesus. In the first letter, Paul offers Timothy personal encouragement and advice on how to administer the great responsibility of being a bishop, with all of its challenges: “Fight the good fight” as we heard today. 

In his second epistle Paul tells Timothy to be courageous in defending his flock from false teachers who were passing on doctrines which were not supported by the apostles. 

Paul gives us a glimpse into the vocation of bishop in the early church, a vocation remains the same today.  The bishop is a visible sign that we remain connected to the true Church of Christ, and he helps us to grow in fidelity and sanctity through his teaching and governance. This parish’s patron, the bishop, St. Ignatius of Antioch, writing early in the 2nd century enjoined priests and lay faithful to be in harmony with their bishop as strings to a harp.

In light of tomorrow’s major feast, the conversion of St. Paul, we consider how we like Timothy have received the Gospel due to the faithful preaching and teaching of the apostles. We in turn pray for our modern day apostles, the bishops that they may be courageous in stirring up the flame of faith and defending the Church from error. And also pray, that we, like Timothy, may be faithful in fighting our share of the good fight. Timothy trusted Paul, and willingly left father, mother, and his possessions, to labor for the Gospel in unknown lands. May we share that same conviction for the Gospel for the glory of God and salvation of souls. 

January 24 2022 - St. Francis de Sales & the Calvinists

 St. Francis de Sales was an outstanding and highly influential bishop, spiritual director, author, and preacher whose life spans the turbulent decades following the Protestant Reformation.  He was born at Savoy in France in 1567.  He studied with the Jesuits at Paris, and finally at Padua, Italy where he obtained doctorates in both civil and canon law.  It was hoped by his father, that he would become a lawyer and follow in his footsteps as a senator; instead, Francis desired to serve the Church.  

He was ordained a priest in 1593 and dedicated himself to the re-evangelization of the many Catholics who had fallen away to Calvinism.  Between 1595 and 1598 he won many converts to the Catholic Church by his persuasive preaching but at the same time he was often in danger of his life at the hands hostile Calvinists.  

At the young age of 32 Francis was ordained a bishop and made coadjutor of the Calvinist stronghold of Geneva, and was installed as ordinary 3 years later.  For 20 years he labored zealously for the conversion of the Calvinists. You may have come across his most famous books: The Introduction to the Devout Life and Treatise on the Love of God, written primarily for lay people who were in danger of being assimilated by the calvinist culture.

In the Treatise on the Love of God he writes: “In holy Church all is by love, in love, for love and of love.”  Meaning that God, who is love, is the source of all of the Church’s activity we do and all is directed to him. 

That Christians could grow in holiness and likeness of God because God desires our sanctification; that we can in fact become more and more filled with the life of God while still here on earth by cooperating with his grace and disciplining our vices were ideas that flew in the face of the Calvinist theology at the time. And they are still profound for us today. 

To advance in holiness is to advance in love.  We see this love embodied in Jesus who makes a complete gift of himself to his Father for our salvation.  “If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and remain in his love” We see this love in the saints, we seek to conform themselves to Jesus through grace, following his command at the end of the Gospel today: “This I command you, love one another”

May we take up this great adventure that St. Francis de sales, this great Doctor of the Church, the Doctor of Charity, as he is known, lays out for us.  Through the example and prayers of St. Frances de Sales may we progress in holiness and charity for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For the holy Church of God, that the Lord may graciously watch over her, care for her, and give her strength and courage in her mission.

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

For openness to the example and teachings of the holy saints.

For all who are oppressed by any kind of need, that the Lord may grant them relief and move Christians to come to the aid of the suffering.

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

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

3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time 2022 - Scripture in Public Worship and Private Prayer

 
Ezra the priest, from our first reading, was a descendent of those Israelites who had been carried away into exile by the Babylonians in 587 B.C.  For over a hundred years, Jews had lived and worked in Babylon, cut off from their traditions, their history, their rituals, their stories, and their worship.  A generation of Jews was growing up without knowing about God freeing their people from slavery in Egypt, they grew up without knowing the promises God made to Abraham, without the knowledge of the ten commandments or the promised land.  They grew up only knowing the gods and practices of Babylon-- a culture which practiced child sacrifice, polygamy, and other behaviors condemned by Jewish law.

Imagine if your children or grandchildren knew nothing about their family histories, knew nothing about their heritage, in fact, they had adopted practices which were exactly opposite of the truths of their faith.  In a way, not knowing their history, not knowing their faith, you would say, that they did not know themselves.  

While in captivity, some like Ezra the priest strove to keep alive knowledge of the Jewish faith and culture—but most of his fellow Jews had become assimilated by the surrounding culture. Then around the year 458, the Babylonian King Artaxerxes allowed Ezra and Nehemiah to return to Jerusalem and what they found broke their hearts.  They found Jerusalem, the once great capital, a wreck--her walls breached and knocked down, the great temple destroyed.  Priest and Prophet wept.

But inspired by God, they endeavored to rebuild the temple and rebuild their religion.  Nehemiah was tasked with the physical construction of the Temple, while Ezra the priest labored to reeducate the people who had grown ignorant of their history and traditions, their religious rituals and practices; he labored to teach the people who they were, give them a sense of identity as a nation set apart by God, and to teach them the laws of the faith which enabled them to be the people God had chosen them to be.

So as we heard, Ezra gathered the men, women, and children, and read to them from the Torah.  He stood on a raised platform in the rebuilt Temple, and from morning until midday read the Torah from beginning to end:  Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy.  For hours and hours the men, women, and children listened to their story, their family history, the laws which God had given them. They raised their hands in the air, and proclaimed, “Amen, Amen”.  And they bowed down to the ground and wept discovering who they were for the first time: they were not captives, they were not pagan Babylonians, they were the people chosen by God to manifest his greatness.

This is certainly a fitting reading to reflect upon on this Word of God Sunday. As you might remember, in 2019, Pope Francis declared the 3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time as Sunday of the Word of God, directing us to consider how, in the life of the Church, the Scriptures are to be celebrated, studied, and shared. 

The story of Ezra and the people of Israel reconnecting with the scriptures, is a wonderful image of what the Church does every time we gather for public worship and the role of the scriptures in our private lives and our families.

Every time Christians gather for worship, at every Mass and liturgy, scripture is read. As Vatican II’s document on the liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium explains: “Sacred  scripture  is  of  the  greatest  importance in  the  celebration  of  the  liturgy.  For  it  is from  it  that  lessons  are  read  and  explained in  the  homily,  and  psalms  are  sung.  It  is  from the  scriptures  that  the  prayers,  collects,  and hymns  draw  their  inspiration  and  their  force, and  that  actions  and  signs  derive  their  meaning.” 

The Scriptures help continue to form us in the bonds of unity and charity and guide our activity out in the world.  For example, as we proclaim Gospel passages of Jesus healing the sick, we consider how Jesus heals each of us individually, how he heals the wounds of division in the human family, and how he sends us out to be bring his healing Word to the world.

So in our public worship, the scripture aids our mission and identity and opens us up to the power of the Spirit. In our private prayer lives and in our families, Scripture is meant to nurture, guide, form, challenge, and inspire us as well. A day shouldn’t go by without reading or meditating on some line of the Bible. Your day is impoverished without scripture. 

Paul instructs Timothy, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” So we do well to study, meditate, seek to understand the scriptures as best we can so that we can be equipped for the work God has for us.

I recommend starting your day by reading the daily mass readings which can be emailed to you daily or freely read on the United States Bishops Website.  Scripture is not always easy to understand. Read it anyway. You’ll no doubt find a word or phrase that resonates with you, through which God wants to speak to you. I also recommend reading the weekend readings prior to coming to mass. Having read and reflected upon the readings yourselves, you will derive so much more, than, if you simply come to mass, cold, so to speak. 

Read through them and ask yourselves questions like: what does this scripture mean in the concrete details of my life? What does God want me to learn here? What does this passage say about God, about Jesus, about the Church, about the Christian life? God what are you inspiring me to do through this scripture? What wounds are you healing? What virtues are you strengthening? What sins are you converting? Speak, O Lord, your servant is listening.

Having meditated on the scriptures, you will discover how God will use that time of prayer to enrich your family life and your encounters with strangers—how the scriptures are fulfilled in your lives.

Joshua chapter 8 says, “Keep this Book always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words”, says the book of Revelation, “and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it.”

May we continue our worship today thanking God for the Word which is a lamp to our feet and a light unto our path, the word which is more valuable than silver or gold, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

January 21 2022 - Virgin Martyr St. Agnes - The weak to shame the strong

 “God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, the weak to shame the strong, those who are nothing to reduce those who are something.” On this feast of one of the great child martyrs of our faith, St. Agnes, we have this profound, paradoxical reading from St. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians.

By human standards, the Church of Corinth was not comprised of the worldly wise, powerful, wealthy, and influential members of society. While the Gospel appealed to some members of the nobility and aristocracy, the early church was poor and powerless, at least according to the measure of the world. 

This reminds us of how at Christmas, God took flesh and became a member of a poor unknown family from of the poor virtually unknown town of Nazareth. The Lord was born not in a palace but a stable. In the temple, the Christ child confounded the learned scribes and teachers. While certainly calling all men to believe in him, the Lord chose as his apostles not the mighty in society, but poor fisherman. And on the cross, he conquered not with a powerful army, but through the death of a slave, with arms outstretched on the cross. 

So too, we see this wonderful paradox in saints like dear St. Agnes honored today: a thirteen year old girl, considered foolish, poor, and powerless in the eyes of the world, who possesses more wisdom, riches, and power in the eyes of God than most men would ever possess. She possessed the pearl of great price, for she possessed the courage to die for Christ. 

We, like Agnes, are not to rely on worldly riches or political power to work for the mission of the Gospel. God has raised up the lowly in each one of us. We poor sinners are given the great dignity of baptism and the great mission of spreading the Gospel. We shouldn’t be waiting around for someone more wealthy or worldly powerful to lead us in the world of the Gospel. St. Agnes and the host of martyrs, that we the lowly are God’s chosen instruments. Perhaps, these weak ones shame us, a little too, for not relying on God's grace as we should. They certainly teach and remind us of the need, more than anything else to possess holiness, virtue, detachment from worldly goods in order to embrace Christ with conviction, to witness to him with courage to the elite, strong, and powerful of the world, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For the holy Church of God, that the Lord may graciously watch over her, care for her, and give her strength and courage in her mission.

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

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

For all who are oppressed by any kind of need, that the Lord may grant them relief and move Christians to come to the aid of the suffering.

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

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

  

2nd Week in Ordinary Time 2022 - Wednesday - Interacting with Pharisees (part two)

 
As I mentioned yesterday, chapter two and the beginning of chapter 3 of St. Mark’s Gospel contain a series of five vignettes in which Jesus performs a miracle or reveals something about his identity, and the pharisees, scribes, and onlookers react with disapproval, suspicion, and contention. 

Today’s healing of the man with the withered hand on the Sabbath is the last of these five vignettes, and following this Sabbath miracle, the pharisees begin to conspire with the Herodians to kill Jesus. 

What was their problem with Jesus’ miracle? They claimed he was once again violating the sabbath. But, Scripture is very clear that even on the sabbath when manual labor is forbidden, it is still lawful, in fact, laudatory, to help people. It’s even commanded. Deuteronomy says, “You shall not see your countryman’s donkey or his ox fallen down on the way, and pay no attention to them; you shall certainly help him to raise them up”. Mercy outweighs rigid adherence to the Law.

Because of their hardness of heart, the pharisees intellects had become darkened, their wills perverted. And, in reaction to Jesus’ good act, the Pharisees conspire to perform an evil act on the Sabbath, murdering Jesus. And so fierce is their wrath that they join forces with political opportunities whom they would normally avoid at all costs: the Herodians. 

The Pharisees are a prime example that the darkening of the intellect and the perverting of the will stem from self-righteousness and sin. We literally cannot think straight when sin has taken root in our hearts. The prideful will justify morally reprehensible acts, they will seek to silence truth, deface beauty, and punish goodness. Their twisted minds will often latch onto one apparent good, like the avoidance of work on the sabbath, 

 to the exclusion of greater goods, avoiding murder and worshipping the son of God. To those who have become accustomed to darkness, light become obnoxious to them, even painful and hateful. Those who surround themselves with worldly errors and indulge the deceits of sin grow further and further from God.

But just has God sent his son into the midst of the Pharisees, like God sent the youth David into battle with the Philistine giant, God sends us to perform mighty deeds, and hidden acts of charity, to speak powerful words of truth and whispers of compassion. Because as long as the modern pharisees and philistines  draw breath they can be reached, their souls are not beyond hope. We are sent to rescue the lost sheep, those who desire salvation and eternal life with God, even those who don’t recognize that yet—to bring the light of Christ into the darkest of places, the darkest of souls.

So may we be faithful in our God given task, in living out the Christian faith, and spreading the Gospel in this day and age, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For the holy Church of God, that the Lord may graciously watch over her, care for her, and give her strength and courage in her mission.

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

For all who are oppressed by any kind of need, that the Lord may grant them relief and move Christians to come to the aid of the suffering.

For an increase in vocations to the priesthood and consecrated religious life, for all monastics and hermits, and that all Christians may seek the perfection for which they were made.

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

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

2nd Week in Ordinary Time 2022 - Tuesday - Interacting with Pharisees

 
In Mark’s Gospel, the conflict with the Pharisees begins early on in the Gospel-- at the beginning of chapter 2. And throughout chapter 2 and the beginning passage of chapter 3 St. Mark details five controversies—five vignettes in which Jesus encounters opposition in the form of disapproval, suspicion, and contention on the part of the religious authorities and even some of the populace. But in each of these controversies, Jesus reveals something about his identity and mission, inviting his questioners to believe in him. 

When Jesus claims the power to heal the paralytic and forgive sins at the beginning of chapter 2, the pharisees calls him a blasphemer. When Jesus and his disciples eat at in the house of Levi, the scribes question his practice of eating with tax collectors and sinners. Next, the Lord’s piety is called into question because he does not fast like others claiming to be authoritative teachers. In today’s passage, the fourth controversy is much like the second and third, it involves food. 

The Lord and his disciples are passing through a field of grain, and while they passed through, they picked heads of grain to eat. The Pharisees condemn the Lord for doing, what in their estimation, appears to be unlawful—picking grain on the sabbath.

Notice, how the Lord neither affirms nor disputes the Pharisees’ interpretation of whether this is actually unlawful work. Rather, he gets to the heart of the matter, by redirecting the conversation to the Word of God—to the biblical story of King David and to the law that allows priests to do God’s holy work on the sabbath. Here, like in the other controversies, Jesus reveals something about himself--he equates himself with the anointed King and anointed Priest who are dispensed from the sabbath law because they are doing the work of the God of the sabbath. Jesus is the anointed Lord of the Sabbath. 

Because of their hardness of hearts, the Pharisees are going to reject this claim. They refuse to allow the possibility that what Jesus is saying is true. That cannot and will not acknowledge an authority greater than themselves. That’s what we mean when someone is acting Pharisaical. They will not acknowledge truth outside of themselves; they will refuse to listen to logical, biblically derived arguments, the wisdom of the ages, the Word of God.

We who have already acknowledged Jesus as Son of God and Lord of the Sabbath, always need to make sure, of course, that we aren’t allowing the attitude of the Pharisee to creep in—that we don’t hold onto opinions that are contrary to the word of God. But, also in our evangelizing mission, we are likely to come across a Pharisee or two. Like Jesus, we are to patiently and clearly explain the Church’s position. We might have to endure some self-righteous mockery from time to time, so be it. We might even come across those who claim to be Catholic, we have strayed from authentic Church teaching, who ridicule us for holding fast to clear Catholic teaching. Oftentimes these Pharisaical, hard-hearted Catholics are harder to convince than those growing up without faith. 

But again, like the Lord, in the face of religious controversy, ridicule, we patiently make recourse to the Word of God in Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition, and pray for their souls, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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

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

For all who are oppressed by any kind of need, that the Lord may grant them relief and move Christians to come to the aid of the suffering.

For an increase in vocations to the priesthood and consecrated religious life, for all monastics and hermits, and that all Christians may seek the perfection for which they were made.

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

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

2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time 2022 - Different kinds of spiritual gifts

 Having completed the sacred seasons of Advent and Christmas, we’ve entered, once again the liturgical season known as Ordinary Time. During ordinary time we focus, not so much on the extraordinary events in the life of Jesus—his birth, his passion and death and resurrection, like we do at Christmas and Easter, but on the ordinary life of the Church, our everyday life as followers of Christ.

What should ordinary life as a Christian look like?  Our Lady, the Blessed Virgin Mary in today’s Gospel gives us a very important first principal: “Do whatever he tells you.”  There’s the ordinary task of the Christian, there’s a summary of the work of the Church: “Do whatever he tells you.” Obey Christ.  Fulfill the mission he’s given.  Do his work.  Follow his will.  And when we do that, Jesus is able to transform ordinary water into extraordinary wine—he is able to transform the ordinary works and words of our life, into the rich, extraordinary works of God.  

The trouble is, of course, that we all too often obey our selfish impulses, our fears and anxieties, our preconceived notions about how the world should work, our prejudices, we listen to all of these voices, instead of the one voice that should matter, and so the ordinary water of our lives remains just water, the ordinary remains ordinary; the gifts go unused, the talents buried, the light hidden. 

“Doing whatever he tells you” means putting the gifts God has given us into practice. And in our second reading, St. Paul enumerates a number of those gifts which make our ordinary Christian life quite extraordinary.

“To each individual, the manifestation of the Spirit is given to some benefit.”  God gives every baptized member of the Church special gifts for the renewal and building up of the Church.  These gifts are not just for the Corinthians 2000 years ago, they are gifts not just for the clergy, not just for people involved in formal missionary activity in foreign lands, they are not just rare graces you might receive at charismatic prayer meetings.  But to you and me and every baptized member of the Church, God has given gifts that his Holy Spirit might be manifested NOW, in this neighborhood, in this parish, in our families, that souls might be brought more deeply into His divine life and the life of the Church.  

Saint Paul enumerates these gifts: wisdom, knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, mighty deeds, prophecy, discernment of spirits, varieties of tongues, interpretation of tongues: all meant for building-up the Church..  

Let’s look at some of these. First, Paul listed Wisdom. Saint Thomas Aquinas called wisdom, “the view from the hilltop”.  The wise person sees life from the high vantage point—that is, he puts in life in order in light of eternity. Wisdom means putting your life in order, getting your priorities straight. And all Christians are meant to do that. Wise Christians looks to the scriptures, looks to the saints, looks to our Church teachings to guide their lives, not the fleeting, fickle, foolish impulses of our emotions or sentiments or the foolish opinions and values and errors of the age. The Church needs wise Christians who are prudent, practical, rational, and judicious, who act as a guiding light for our culture.

Second, Paul lists the gift of “knowledge”.  The Catholic faith has produced the greatest and most knowledgeable thinkers of all time: Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Dante, John Henry Newman, not to mention great scientists like Louis Pasteur, Alexander Fleming inventor of Penicillin, Galileo, Copernicus, Marie Curie, Catholics invented Universities.  It was a Roman Catholic priest, George Lamaitre who first proposed the Big Bang Theory! These men and women remind us that our knowledge is meant to be at the service of the Church and the human race. 

Are you knowledgeable in science, math, history, philosophy, theology, sports?  Your knowledge has been given to you as a gift, not simply to make a lot of money or to show off—no to lord it over others, but to be put in the service of God. I met a gentleman the other day, with a background in mechanical engineering and pipe fitting.  He is now helping poor Hispanic communities bring their buildings up to code. How can you use your knowledge to help others—to build up the Church?

The next spiritual gift Paul mentions is “faith”. Now all of us here have faith, more or less. Paul here is speaking of faith that is contagious. Have you met someone with really contagious faith? You talk with them and they draw you deeper into the life of the Church, they speak about prayer and you want to go home and pray, they speak about their guardian angel, and you think, yeah, I need to become better friends with my guardian angel, or they speak about confession, and you think, yeah, I haven’t been to confession in a while. 

There are non-believers languishing outside of the Church because of our failure to exercise the gift of faith—to allow our faith to be contagious. Is your faith contagious? If not, why not?

Paul mentions next, “gifts of healing”.  All of the baptized are empowered to pray for healing.  Every Sunday we always have a petition for the sick and the suffering, and each of us instinctively turns to God when we are sick or have a sick family member.  I think there are a lot of people in the Church who have been given the gift of psychological healing: people who almost naturally bring calm and peace, who can sooth inner turmoil, who can calm troubled psyches and souls.  

The gift of healing particularly can become unlocked when we ourselves have received healing.  Those who have overcome an addiction often finds that they can help others still struggling.  If you have been healed, likely the Lord is calling you to help someone who needs healing, someone who is grieving, or suffering from an emotional trauma, or just needs someone to talk to.

Finally, the gift of discernment is very important.  You might not have the gift of healing, wisdom or knowledge, but discernment is meant to help others discover their gifts.  To discern the work of the Spirit in others is no small thing.  God uses those with the gift of discernment to help others identify their gifts. You detect someone who is suffering emotional turmoil and you lead them to the one with the gift of healing.  You detect someone who is doubting the faith, and you bring them to the one with the gift of faith or knowledge.  You detect a family situation that requires outside help, perhaps a troubled marriage, and you get that troubled marriage the help it needs.  You detect that a particular young person is being called to religious life or to the priesthood, or that a fellow parishioner should consider joining the choir or becoming a lector or Eucharistic minister or deacon or catechist, you help point them in the right direction, and that is invaluable.  The person with discernment helps me to see something about myself that I cannot see.

At the beginning of this new year, far better than a new year resolution to eat fewer potato chips or something, is to consider how God is calling you to develop and share your gifts this year, for the building up of the Church, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

1st Week of Ordinary Time 2022 - Friday - Good Christian Friendship

 On Wednesday, we read from St. Mark’s Gospel how the Lord healed Simon Peter’s mother-in-law. The whole town began to gather at his door, and he began to heal them and cast out demons. The Lord then embarked on a short tour around the towns and villages of Galilee doing the same. 

In today’s Gospel he has returned to his home base, in the fishing village of Capernaum, where he began to preach from the stoop of his doorway.  

While he preached, these men wanted to bring their paralyzed friend to Jesus to be healed.  Unable to get near Jesus because of the crowd, they climbed up onto Peter’s roof, opened up the roof above him, and lowered their paralyzed friend down through the hole in the roof.  Peter I’m sure let out a long sigh at that point…

The Lord reveals something profound about himself in this encounter. That not only does he have the power to cure paralysis, he has the power to look into a man’s heart and forgive his sins. Something, only God can do. He is God. And this healing miracle serves as a sort of Theophany—in which God reveals Himself. To those who are paying attention—Jesus reveals he is God incarnate in the midst of his people.

While this Gospel passage certainly reveals something about Jesus’ identity and mission, I’m always deeply impressed by the four men who climb Peter’s roof in order to bring their friend to Jesus.

These four men, in a sense, foreshadow the Church, who will have the mission of bringing souls to Christ. In my hometown, there is a Christian community called the Friends church, and they take very seriously this duty of bringing their neighbors to church with them. And they have been wildly successful, and have had to expand their church multiple times.

If only the Catholics in my hometown were as good of friends as the Friends.

The Christian has the duty of being like those four friends in the Gospel, working together. Notice it’s not just one person, a lone wolf, but four people, working together to bring their friend to Jesus.  We are to be good friends who go to serious lengths. When’s the last time you climbed a roof, done something kind of risky, in order to bring someone to Jesus. Christians are to take risks to help people encounter Jesus. 

We need to be good friends, and we need good friends. Not people who will keep us out too late on Saturday night so that we are too tired to go to Mass on Sunday. Or people who will introduce new vices into our lives. But friends who will encourage us in holiness. 

But we need to surround ourselves with the sort of friends that would go to the length that the four men did in the Gospel, to break through a roof in order to bring their friends to Christ.  True friends care about your eternal soul, not just having a good time or enabling your sinful habits. A good friend will tell you when you’ve been selfish and need to go to the Sacrament of Confession.  

May we be good Christian friends, may we know the help of good Christian friends, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That the preaching and teachings of the Pope, Bishops, and clergy may be a source of strength and guidance for the Holy Church and deliverance from the evils of the enemy. And that Christians may work together in bringing the spiritually paralyzed to Christ.

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

For an increase in vocations to the priesthood and consecrated religious life, and that married couples may be generous and faithful in raising children according to the law of Christ and his Church. 

For all the needs of the sick and the suffering, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, the underemployed and unemployed, those facing religious persecution, immigrants and refugees, 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.

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

1st Week of Ordinary Time 2022 - Wednesday - Marking our days with prayer

 

On Monday, we heard Jesus begin his public ministry with powerful words of preaching. Yesterday, we heard Jesus take on the powers of hell, casting out a demon from a possessed man in the Capernaum synagogue. Today, we heard of Jesus healing, not just an individual, but a whole town. We’ve had quite a display of Jesus divine power and authority. 

After his very busy first day in Capernaum, presumably Jesus goes to sleep, like any ordinary man. For Mark tells us that he rose, again, presumably, he rose from sleep, but what a beautiful foreshadowing of the resurrection. He battles the powers of evil, sleeps, and rises early in the dawn. Kind of like Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter, where Jesus definitively defeats the powers of evil on the cross, sleeps the deepest sleep of death in the tomb, the rises in the early morn on Easter Sunday.

Christians reading Mark’s Gospel, those who already know the end of the story, would pick up on this foreshadowing. But imagine you are hearing this story for the first time. Who is this man, who fishermen leave their livelihood immediately to go and follow, who demons claim to know as “The Son of God”, who can miraculously cure an entire village of people, before retiring for the night and then rising early to pray.

And why is he praying. If he is the Son of God, to whom is he praying? Given this stunning display of power, how humble he must be, to speak and act with divine authority, but then go and kneel down in a deserted place to pray to God in heaven. 

Mark’s Gospel will depict Jesus praying on several occasions. Prayerful communion with his heavenly Father will also mark his ministry. Though he is God, the second person of the Trinity, Jesus shows how he seeks—prayerfully seeks—to do the will of his heavenly Father. He is subject to the Father, he obeys the Father, he prayerfully agonizes over the father’s will in the garden of gethsemane, but he remains faithful to his Father, always.

By his example, he teaches us that prayer must mark our days and our deeds too. We, like him, to do well, beginning the day with prayer, rising at dawn, or whenever we awaken, and immediately turning our hearts and minds to heaven. We like him, need to seek quiet deserted places throughout the day to seek guidance and refreshment. In those moments of temptation, agonizing over difficult decisions, we must pray fervently. And on our crosses, in moments of suffering, we, like our Lord must pray, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That the preaching and teaching and governance of the Pope, Bishops, and clergy may be free from all error and imprudence, and be a source of constant strength and guidance for the Church.

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

That frequent prayer will mark the lives of every Christian, as we seek to do the will of the heavenly Father. 

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.

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

1st Week of Ordinary Time 2022 - Tuesday - The end of the devil's reign

 From now until the beginning of Lent on March 2, our weekday Gospel readings will be taken from the Gospel of Mark.  

Without skipping any passages we’ll make our way from chapter 1 through chapter 10—beginning with the commencement of the Lord’s public ministry, which we heard yesterday, through his transfiguration and the first predictions of his Passion.

I love Mark’s Gospel and once memorized and could recite the order of the stories of Mark. Mark, being the shortest Gospel, it can be read in a single sitting without too much effort. And often it was read in its entirety to the early Church. So if you’ve never read Mark from beginning to end these are good days for such a practice.

In today’s Gospel passage we see one of the major themes of the Gospel on display, Jesus in confrontation with the powers of hell. 

“Have you come to destroy us?” asks the demon. “Why yes, yes he has”. 

The Lord’s appearance, his public ministry, marks the beginning of the demise of the kingdom of satan established at the fall of adam and eve. Satan’s rebellion against God led man astray and into sin, causing man’s disfigurement by sin, a darkening of his intellect, a weakening of his will, and a diminished unity of body and soul, a worst of all, death. 

And not only does Jesus come and challenge the devil’s claim on mankind, he signals the end of the devil’s reign through a series of exorcisms and miracles that will culminate in the ultimate victory of the cross.

This powerful drama plays out on the pages of the Gospel of Mark, but it is also meant to play out in our own lives.

During Ordinary time, the Lord wishes to march again into our lives, as he marched into the synagogue in Capernaum, and muzzle and bind and cast out the devil’s that plague us. Ordinary Time is anything but ordinary, for the Lord  works powerful miracles of deliverance as we seek to conform our lives to his teaching and open the ordinary dimensions of our lives to his grace.

May we cooperate fully, for the glory of God and salvation of souls. 

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That the preaching and teachings of the Pope, Bishops, and clergy may be a source of strength and guidance for the Holy Church.

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

For the liberation of those bound by evil, those committed to sin an error, those oppressed or possessed by evil spirits, and for the conversion of the hardest hearts.

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.

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

Ferial Day in Epiphanytide 2022 (EF) - Bodily living and spiritual worship

On the feast of the Epiphany, we considered Magi from the East bringing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh in worship and adoration of the Christ child. These physical, earthly gifts very much foreshadowed the sacrifices that each Christian is to make to Christ, as described by St. Paul in the epistle for this Epiphany-tide ferial day.

“I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship.” Christians are called to serve the Lord in all circumstances, so that every action is a sacrifice that renders homage to God, and every thought is conformed to the knowledge of his will.

Paul’s vision of Christian living isn’t a head-trip or an intellectual pursuit. Rather as God truly took human flesh in the incarnation, the Christian life is incarnational—how we use our bodies, matters, the choices we make, how we treat people, how we treat our bodies and the bodies of others, matters. We are to glorify God with our bodies, engage in bodily--corporal--works of mercy, and put to death the works of the flesh.  Daily Christian sacrifice involves outward action that engages the whole person, body and spirit.

In these verses, Paul, too, links liturgy and life—bodily living and spiritual worship. Our Christian worship is bodily, incarnational, involving sights, and smells, and sounds, and bodily gestures, and vocalized prayers, and physical embraces, and the reception of the body and blood of Christ. All the bodily senses are involved in our spiritual worship, because all is to be conformed by our worship to Christ. We build beautiful churches, with beautiful stained glass windows, and beautiful art to aid us in worshiping the Beautiful One and becoming like Him.

Bodily existence, as we well know, offers its challenges and temptations. So Paul, challenges us to conform ourselves not to this age, but to Christ, the timeless one—the one whose goodness, truth, and beauty transcends, but also speaks to every age. We can’t just use our bodies in the same way as non-believers, we can’t worship the same things, and use our bodies to pursue the same ends. Rather, the Christian is always counter-cultural. 

Where the culture worships comfortable lies, physical pleasures, and selfish ends,  Christians worship and conform our lives to the one who is truth, goodness, and beauty incarnate.

So during this age, this new year, renew your minds through daily prayer, daily meditation on the Gospel and the timeless truths of our faith, bodily--corporal works of charity--that you may discern what is good, and pleasing, and perfect for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

- - - - 

 A reading from the epistle of St. Paul to the Romans

I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship. Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect. For by the grace given to me I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than one ought to think, but to think soberly, each according to the measure of faith that God has apportioned. For as in one body we have many parts, and all the parts do not have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ and individually parts of one another.

A continuation of the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke

Each year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, and when he was twelve years old, 

they went up according to festival custom. After they had completed its days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Thinking that he was in the caravan, they journeyed for a day and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances, 

but not finding him, they returned to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple,  sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions, and all who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.” And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he said to them. He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and favor before God and man.

1st Week of Ordinary Time 2022 - Monday - The time of fulfillment

 

The liturgical calendar revolves around the two major feasts of Christmas and Easter, each with a season of preparation, Advent and Lent, and each with a season to extend the celebration of those most holy of feast days. Yesterday, with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, we have concluded the Christmas season and have entered once again into the season of Ordinary Time.

If Christmas and Easter celebrate major events in the life of Christ—his incarnation and birth, his death and resurrection, Ordinary Time unpacks the teaching, preaching, and miraculous workings of his earthly ministry.

On this first day of Ordinary Time, we hear the first words uttered by Jesus in the Gospel of Mark, ““This is the time of fulfillment. The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel.”

“This is time of fulfillment” he announces. For thirty years, Jesus had lived a hidden life in the house of Nazareth with Mary and Joseph, during which he had learned and practiced the carpenters trade of St. Joseph. The sweat and toil of his labors in the carpenter’s shop foreshadowed, only in a hidden way, the blood he would shed for our salvation. So, during the greater part of his life, Jesus shared the condition of the vast majority of human beings: a daily life spent without evident greatness, a life of manual labor. 

And then, following his Baptism, he emerges from those waters, and begins his public ministry with these words, “this is the time of fulfillment.” He was born with a mission, and the time for that mission had come. He had come to fulfill his Heavenly Father’s plan for salvation, a plan begun from the time of the fall of Adam and Eve thousands and thousands of years ago, a plan which had unfolded obscurely in the life of the people of Israel—in the calling of Israel’s patriarchs, through the times of judges, and kings, and prophets, conquest of the holy land and exile, and post-exilic reconstruction.

Through Jesus, God is breaking into history to fulfill his promises and bring his whole plan to completion. It is a decisive moment, a turning point. This moment, fixed and determined long ago by God, marks the beginning of the definitive stage in salvation history.

During Ordinary Time we will hear and ponder the unfolding of this definitive stage 2000 years ago.  But as the Father has sent Him, so he sends us. During Ordinary Time, we are to cooperate with grace, conform to his teachings, deepen in virtue, grow in sanctity, have since recourse to prayer, and share with non-believers the truth that we have received, that God’s plan may be fulfilled in us and in our time, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

- - - - - - -  

That the preaching and teachings of the Pope, Bishops, and clergy may be a source of strength and guidance for the Holy Church.

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

For those preparing for baptism and to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church, that this time of instruction and prayer may be a time of fulfillment of God’s promises in their lives.

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.

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

 

Baptism of the Lord 2022 - Embraced by God

 
On the feast of the Lord’s Nativity—on Christmas—we celebrated how the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin in a stable in the midst of night in Bethlehem in the piercing cold. Part of the tenderness of Christmas, no, is to contemplate how on that cold night, Our Lady embraced the Christ child, and gazed into his eyes, and held him close, nursing him for the first time. Also St. Joseph embraced him, committing to guard him, protect him, labor for him. In addition to our Lady and St. Joseph, we consider too how the jewish shepherds left their flocks in order to come and embrace the newborn lamb of God.

Last Sunday, on the feast of the Epiphany, we celebrated the first gentiles, the first non-Jews, to embrace the Christ child. Magi from the East scoured the biblical prophecies and scoured the night sky, and sought him out, and brought him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. They embraced him through faith, and they embraced him with adoration.

Today, we celebrate the feast of the Lord’s Baptism.  If he was embraced by Mary and Joseph and the shepherds on Christmas, and if he was embraced by the Magi from the east on the Epiphany, in a sense we can say, that Christ is embraced at his baptism by God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. 

Where at Christmas, the mother caressed the tender baby on her lap at Christmas; at his baptism the Father enshrines his Son with his loving testimony: “this is my beloved son”. Where the mother held loft the child for the Magi to adore on the Epiphany; at the Baptism the Father reveals that his Son is to be obeyed by all the nations—“listen to Him” says the Father. Obey him. Where the stars at Christmas, pointed to the Son’s identity, at the Baptism the Holy Spirit anoints the Son for his mission—as Christ and Lord—to save us from our sins.

He is embraced by Mary and Joseph, he is embraced by shepherds, he is embraced by Magi, he is embraced by the Father and the Holy Spirit. If the feast of Christmas, and the Christmas feasts of Holy Family and Epiphany and today’s feast of the baptism teach us anything, is that Christ is to be embraced. Embrace—embrazzio—literally means to wrap your arms around him…but not just your arms, but your mind, your heart, and your life. Have you truly embraced him this Christmas?

The Feast of the Baptism is also cause for us to consider what happens when Christians celebrate the Sacrament of baptism. God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, embrace us. We are embraced by God and brought into new relationship with God. The word baptism, literally means, to immerse. When we were immersed in the waters of baptism, we were being embraced by God in an embrace of love and spiritual adoption. 

The entire Christian life can be said to be a response of being embraced by God. Our days and our deeds, our attitudes and our decisions, are to be constantly guided by this knowledge and experience of being lovingly embraced by God in our baptism. It’s certainly something that should get us out of bed in the morning and inspire and motivate us on to remain on the straight and narrow path.

Sadly, fallen human nature often rejects that embrace, don’t we. Like an obstinate child who refuses to sit still, the lie enters our heads that we will be happier if we break free, if we make our own way, if we follow our own impulses. We can fall so deeply into sin, that we forget altogether about God’s embrace.

Now you might say, “I don’t feel embraced by God, I don’t feel like God loves me,” this is certainly a sign that you need some time in quiet prayer, a good examination of our lives, probably a good confession, perhaps even a real spiritual retreat. When we allow television and internet and worldly anxieties to take the place of faith, it’s no surprise we feel disconnected from God. 

Tomorrow/Today, at the 11 o’clock mass, we will be celebrating two rites of the RCIA process, the rite of acceptance and the rite of welcoming. In the rite of acceptance, those who have never been baptized will state their intention in front of this community their desire to officially seek baptism and full initiation in the Church. To be embraced by God and the Church through the holy sacraments. In the rite of welcoming, those who have already been baptized outside of full communion with the Church, will state their intentions to officially seek full reception into the Catholic Church.

In these rites, the Church embraces these souls, promising to pray for them, to assist them in any way we can, as they seek full participation in the sacramental, ecclesial, and charitable life of the Catholic Church. We are to set good example for them, living not simply by the values of the world, but by the wisdom of God, and show them what it means to be Catholic—to embrace our beautiful Catholic traditions, devotions, sacraments, charitable endeavors, and living in peace with one another. 

This is a new year, and we are certainly being invited to embrace Christ, God, and the things of God in a deeper way. But if we are embracing worldly things—if our arms and lives are wrapped around worldly things—how can we embrace God? So there are some things we have to let go of. We have to let go of foolishness in order to embrace wisdom. We have to let go of comfortable lies in order to embrace truth, we have to let go of selfishness in order to embrace generosity, we have to let go of worldly vices in order to embrace the pursuit of sanctity. We need give up embracing the godless ways and worldly desires, as St. Paul writes to Titus, to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age, by embracing Christ.

May the Holy Spirit assist all of us to give up all that keeps us from embracing Christ with our minds, our hearts, and our lives, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

First Friday Holy Hour - January 2022 - Impelled by the Sacrament of Love

 At mass this morning for the feast of St. Raymond of Penyafort, I reflected upon how the love of Christ filled St. Raymond’s life. The “The love of Christ impelled” him, as St. Paul says in the epistle for today’s feast. 

The saints are animated by the love of Christ. The love we are to have for Christ impels us out into the world to share the Gospel, to work tirelessly for the spread of the kingdom, to make us ambarssadors fo Christ as Paul says, to seek reconciliation with God and conversion from our vices, to bear our crosses for the salvation of souls. But not just the love we have for Christ, but the love Christ has for us impels us.

When we recognize how deeply we are loved by Christ, that changes everything. Christ loved us so much that he died for our sake. But moreso, God wants you to know how much you are loved.

The Christmas season, which we conclude in a few days, is certainly a reflection of how deeply we are loved. the Son of God was born of a most pure Virgin at a stable at midnight in Bethlehem in the piercing cold for you and for me.

But also, the Eucharist, which we gaze upon and adore upon the altar during this holy hour is the Sacramentum Caritatis, the sacrament of love, the gift that Jesus makes of himself revealing his love for us. 

By the Eucharist, Jesus wants to show his love for us in the concrete situations of our present life. He wants you to know his love for you, on this cold January evening, with the challenges and sorrows of your life. He wants you to know his love for you with all the challenges the church is facing, all the challenges our country is facing, all the challenges are families are facing—his love is revealed in the Eucharist.

Here is Emmanuel—God-with-us, right here, in this 100 year old church, in this impoverished neighborhood, in a culture that is growing increasingly numb and ignorant to his presence. 

When we recognize his love for us, we are better equipped to share his love with us, to draw others to this font of love. May the time we spend in adoration, and the prayers we offer in holy devotion, impel us to great works of charity, and help us to know Christ’s love for us always, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

January 7 2022 - St. Raymond of Peñafort - Impelled by the love of Christ

 I have a fond affection for today’s saint, Raymond of Penyafort. He was always invoked by our seminary teachers of canon law, as he is the patron saint of canon lawyers. 

St. Raymond was a truly gifted Dominican priest, who lived about 800 years ago. He was born into the Spanish nobility and had an excellent education.  By age 20 he was teaching philosophy; by the age of 30 he had doctorates in both civil and church law. In his early 40s he joined the Dominicans about a year after the death of their founder, St. Dominic.  About a decade later, he was summoned to Rome by Pope Gregory IX to serve as the Pope’s personal confessor.  While in Rome, the Pope gave him the task of bringing together for the first time, in one volume, all of the laws and decrees of the popes and church councils.  For this, St. Raymond is known as the Father and Patron saint of Canon Law.

At age 60, Raymond was appointed an Archbishop, though he became sick and resigned in hopes of getting some peace.  But, peace in retirement Raymond would not receive.  At age 62, he was elected as head of the Dominicans.  Raymond worked hard, visited on foot all the Dominican Communities, and reorganized their constitutions.

In his last 35 years, (by the way, did I mention St. Raymond lived to be 100?), he promoted the study of Hebrew and Arabic, so that the Dominicans in Spain could preach the Gospel to Jews and Muslims.  He encouraged St. Thomas Aquinas, one of his contemporaries, to write an explanation of the faith to help missionaries in their work.

St. Raymond is a wonderful saint to honor and reflect upon in the Christmas season. “The love of Christ impels us” as St. Paul says in the epistle today, speaking of how charity transforms the lives of the saints, directs and animates them. Why would a man devote all those decades of his life to tireless service, if not for the love of Christ—the love he had for Christ, and more importantly the love Christ has for him.

When we recognize how deeply we are loved by Christ, that changes everything. One gets the impression, that many Catholics these days have not allowed the love of Christ to penetrate their inmost being. 

The Christmas season ends this Sunday, with the baptism of the Lord, but with the time left, let us ponder deeply the love of Christ present at Bethlehem, present in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, the love of Christ which is to fill our minds and spirits for the glory of God and salvation of souls. 

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For faithfulness to the laws of God and the precepts of Holy Church, and that through the intercession of St. Raymond, all civil lawyers and canon lawyers may practice law with integrity and for the good of souls.

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

For conviction and courage in our own role in the Church’s evangelization mission.

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

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

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

January 5 2022 - St. John Neumann - Christian education, brotherly love, evangelization

 We celebrate another wonderful Christmastide Saint today, St. John Neumann

Although he was born in Bohemia in 1811, in what is now the Czech Republic, John Neumann is celebrated as an American saint.  After studying in Prague, John Neumann came to New York at the age of 25 and was ordained a priest just three weeks later.  After several years of working among German speaking immigrants, he joined the Redemptorist community, the missionary community founded by St. Alphonsis Ligouri.  As a gifted linguist who spoke 8 languages, he was a popular preacher among the many immigrant communities, in Maryland, Virginia, even here in Ohio.

By age 41 he had become the fourth bishop of Philadelphia where he organized the parochial schools there into a diocesan system.  

Today’s opening prayer refers to three tasks accomplished by Saint John Neumann which we hope to accomplish by the help of his prayers.  1) To foster the Christian education of youth, 2) to strengthen the witness of brotherly love, and 3) to constantly increase the family of the Church.

Like Saint John Neumann, all of us are to foster the Christian education of youth.  Almost 50,000 children in this diocese attend Catholic schools, and at least that same number are educated in parish PSR programs.  But the number of children attending weekly Mass is abysmal.  We face a very difficult battle in winning the hearts of these children away from the culture, and that is the task of every Catholic. If there is a young person in one’s family not going to Church, each of us should ask ourselves, “what can I do to get them to the altar?”

Secondly, we must give “the witness of brotherly love” (the phrase brotherly love is a reference to Philadelphia, by the way, Phila-delphia, which means brotherly love in Greek). Catholics are to witness “brotherly love”.  Non-Catholics and weak-faithed Catholics should look at us and say in the words of Tertullian, “look how they love each other”.  The brotherly love we have for each other, the charity, the kindness, the patience we have for each other is to attract others to our way of life—the way of Christ.  

And the third task exemplified by John Neumann to increase the family of the Church.  Again not just the work of priests, not just the work of bishops, but the work of the entire church, to continue to draw souls to Christ.  And that is only possible, when WE have truly been drawn to Him, when we have allowed Christ to transform us by his grace, when the fruits of the Spirit are evidenced in our lives, when we are diligent about the spiritual welfare of others. 

May Bishop Neumann, “renowned for his charity and pastoral service” spurn us on to holiness through the service of the Gospel of Christ, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

 

That all Christians may grow in charitable attentiveness to the needs of the poor in our midst.

For the lukewarm and for all who are searching and longing for Christ, may they find him through the holy witness of His Church.

Through the intercession of St. John Neumann, for the success of our Catholic schools, that young Catholic families may be centered on Christ, and that all Catholics may be diligent in our evangelizing mission.

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 widows and widowers, 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