May 31 2022 - Visitation of Blessed Virgin Mary - Pro-life Joy and Compassion

 

On the final day of this Marian Month of May, we celebrate the joyful feast of the Visitation, a celebration of life. 

For me, today’s Gospel is one of the great Pro-Life passages from scripture. We heard today, John dancing and leaping in the womb of Elizabeth like David joyfully dancing before the Ark of the Covenant when he first encounters his unborn cousin, Jesus, only days old in the womb of Mother Mary.

The infant John the Baptist in his mother’s womb is a powerful pro-life model for us, as John recognizes that Jesus was truly human from the moment of his conception and he leaps for joy over life. Some might claim that it is “above their paygrade” when human life exists. But both Scripture and modern science are clear that human life begins at conception. And we therefore have a duty to reverence it, to protect it, to rejoice over it. 

Mary, going in haste, to help the pregnant, elderly, Elizabeth, models for us that even overwhelmed with burdens of our own, we are all to have a special care for pregnant mothers, especially pregnant mothers in difficult circumstances. We are to devote to them our time, talent, and treasure in helping them nurture and bring-forth life.

Mary would also stay with Elizabeth until the birth her baby, accompanying her through childbirth, and through those difficult days as a first-time mother. Mary reminds us to have a special care for mothers and children throughout pregnancy and afterwards as well.

The Second Vatican Council, in its Decree on the Church in the Modem World, Gaudium et spes, reiterated the Church's ancient and consistent teaching that “from the first moment of conception life must be guarded with the greatest care while abortion and infanticide are unspeakable crimes” His Holiness, Pope Francis, in keeping with his predecessors, has likewise been quite clear and emphatic in teaching on the dignity of human life in the womb.

Compassion and joy fill those who embrace Church teaching on reverence for life, and who engage in what Pope Francis calls “self-forgetful service of our neighbor” and the needs of the poor in the works of mercy.

May the heavenly intercession of St. John, St. Elizabeth, and Holy Mary and the life and grace of Our Lord help restore reverence and care for human life and make us self-forgetful in charity, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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

That God may protect all unborn babies, and keep them safe from the scourge of abortion, and for the safety and welfare of all pregnant mothers, and that all mothers and fathers will know the assistance of the Christian Church in nurturing and raising their children. 

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

Ascension 2022 - Dogma & Denial of Holy Communion

 

40 Days after his Resurrection, Jesus Christ ascended, body and soul into heaven. We proclaim our belief in this truth every time we recite the Creed: “ He suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven”

There’s something striking about this dogma of faith isn’t there? Dogma, by the way, is another name for “what the Church believes”, a fundamental teaching of our Faith, required for all Catholics to believe, truth requiring belief.

I don’t know if you’ve figured this out about me after nearly 4 years as your pastor, but I love the Church’s Dogmas. I love the fact that we have explicit beliefs that define us. There is a lot of confusion and subjective opinion in the world, people disagree about all manner of things: what’s the best pizza place in Cleveland, who’s the more masterful classical composer Bach or Mozart, what’s the more enjoyable sport to watch baseball or football, these things are a matter of taste. And De gustibus non est disputandum—matters of taste are not worth arguing about. You like Athens Pizza, I like Angelo’s Pizza, great, wonderful, enjoy. Each to his own taste.

However, as Catholics, there are matters which are not up for debate, which are not a matter of subjective opinion or taste—dogmas that will not change, cannot change, they are part of the fabric of Christianity and part of what God himself as revealed to us. They are certainly not dependent on a majority vote. And that’s a very good thing. We can’t vote that Catholics no longer need to believe that Jesus Ascended. It happened. It’s not up for debate. And that’s good. Something to anchor your life to.

There are three different types of Dogmas. The first type are those clearly reported in Scripture. For example, in our first reading, the Acts of the Apostle contains an account of Jesus Christ’s Ascension into heaven: “As they were looking on, he was lifted up”. And then again in the Gospel this weekend, we read: “As he blessed them he parted from them and was taken up to heaven.” Clearly reported in scripture. Clearly enumerated in our Creed. Here’s a Dogma that if you want to be Catholic you need to learn it, believe it, profess it. 

And that is a gift from God. Again amidst all the chaos and bafflement in the world, Catholics profess truth. We might not know what the heck is going on in our country right now, or what’s going to happen with inflation, or war, with these horrific pockets of violence in schools erupting over the country, but we know Jesus Christ Ascended into Heaven, and that’s something to base your life on.

Dogma is not political theory, it is not philosophical speculation, it’s not wishful thinking. It’s real. It’s true. You can bet your life on it. You can bet your soul on it. And you should spend your life telling the world about it. 

So some of our Dogmas are directly stated in Scripture. Other Dogmas are not stated directly, but are clearly implied. For example, The Bible not once, ever, uses the word Trinity—yet it is clear from Scripture that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three divine persons of the Blessed Trinity.

A third type of Dogma, still carrying the same weight, are those truths which can be defended by Scripture, but cannot be found in scripture, but have been clearly taught from the time of the Apostles and professed by the early Church. For example, that Jesus instituted the seven Sacraments. Or that His Blessed Mother was Assumed into Heaven. These Dogmas aren’t professed weekly in our Creed, but we still believe them with unshaking Catholic belief. 

This is why it is a good idea for you to own and read the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The Catechism is a beautiful, thorough, systematic enumeration and explanation of the Dogmas of the Catholic Church. You want to know what the Church teaches about The Holy Trinity, the Sacraments, the Church, the Commandments. It’s all there. Read it. Belief it. Profess it. Live it.

And again, thank God for Dogma. Or else, I would be up here just making this stuff up. I’m not here to preach the Gospel according to Estabrook. That would be a ridiculous waste of time. My opinions are not Gospel, and the Gospels are not my opinions. And when I preach, thankfully, the Dogmas of the Church limit and direct my preaching. The Dogmas ensure I don’t stray into opinion-land and heresy. As St. peter says in his first reading “Whoever preaches, let it be with the words of God”.

The Catechism lists four sins against God, which violate the faith that we owe to God as a response to his Divine Revelation. Incredulity, Heresy, Apostasy, and Schism. All have to do with refusing to believe what the Church teaches. These sins are very very serious. To refuse to believe in what God has revealed, to repudiate the Christian faith, and to refuse to submit to legitimate authority in the Church are serious sins. “Those who reject you, reject me” the Lord said to the Apostles. But sadly, these sins are not rare.

You may have seen in the news, a certain Catholic California politician whose archbishop has legitimately declared that she is not to present herself for Holy Communion* until she publicly renounces her error regarding the dignity of innocent human life in the womb and her cooperation with the grave sin of abortion.

The politician has brought this penalty upon herself, and thanks be to God that this good archbishop is trying to help her come back to the fold, for her soul is at stake. Her actions and words have clearly demonstrated her break with Catholic teaching and practice, her rejection of her bishop’s legitimate teaching authority. From what I’ve read, the archbishop has tried—he’s pleaded with her, invited her to discuss her error, and she’s obstinately refused. 

So she is not to present herself for Holy Communion because to receive Holy Communion is to claim one’s desire to be in Communion—with God, with the Body of Christ the Church. 

It may be difficult to understand but excommunication is always medicinal penalty—it’s medicine—to help a soul who is sick to recognize that it is sick and to seek restoration with the Church. The invitation to return to the fold is always there. 

In a letter to his archdiocese, the archbishop writes, I “ask all of the faithful of the Archdiocese…to pray for all of our legislators, especially Catholic legislators [who have gone astray]…that with the help and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, they may undergo a conversion of heart in this most grave matter, and human life may be protected and fostered in every stage and condition of life.” 

This may be an uncomfortable topic for us, but as your pastor, I didn’t want this to go unaddressed. There have been a lot of conflicting news stories about this, and excommunication is a complicated issued. But it affects all of us. It reminds us of the importance of defending human life, of course, but also how error can lead us away from God and communion with the Church, and that we should always be open to correction. Where Christ has gone, we hope to Go, but that involves following him, obeying the Dogmatic teachings of the Church that he has established, and living it. We are to be not just hearers of the word, but doers of the word. 

As always, if you have any questions about this or any dimension of Catholic belief or practice, let’s sit down and talk.

May we firmly believe, profess, and live all  that our holy mother the Church teaches, so that where Christ the Head of the Church has gone in his Holy Ascension, we, the members of his Body may follow, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

*an earlier draft used the word "excommunication". The politician is not to be admitted to Holy Communion” as per the Code of Canon Law, can. 915

May 27 2022 - St. Augustine of Canterbury - Small Steps

 

On Wednesday, we celebrated the venerable Benedictine monk, St. Bede. Today we honor another Benedictine who lived about 100 years earlier, St. Augustine of Canterbury.

Bede put his impressive intellectual gifts in service of the Church, writing histories, biographies, martyrologies, works of science, numerous commentaries on the bible and sacred chant, from within the confines of his monastery, St. Augustine of Canterbury served the Lord in a different way. He didn't stay in his home monastery. Rather, he was a member of a delegation of missionaries to early Anglo-Saxon England.

Early missionary activity amongst the Anglo-Saxons of Brittainy were largely unsuccessful. The Gospel failed to take root in the British Isles initially, except among the small pockets of Celtic peoples. So around the year 595, Pope St. Gregory the Great sent a delegation of forty monks to Brittania, including the Italian Benedictine monk, Augustine.

Though Augustine and his band of monks heard stories about the ferocious Anglo-Saxons and the treacherous waters of the English Channel, they proceeded on their mission with the assurance of the Pope. They constructed a church and monastery at Canterbury, on the site where the famous Canterbury Cathedral now stands presently. Augustine was consecrated its first Bishop.  And by 597, thousands of people were coming to actively seek baptism.  

Most of us do not receive letters from the Pope telling us to go evangelize particular nations and regions, but all of us have received the commission of our Lord to go and make disciples of all nations, all of the baptized have the vocation of laboring for the spread of the Gospel.

We also live in a culture much like that which Augustine found upon his arrival to Britain, small pockets of Christian faith, mingled with pagan elements, with considerable opposition from the culture.

In a letter to Augustine, Pope Gregory the Great wrote: "He who would climb to a lofty height must go by steps, not leaps."  The task of evangelization might seem like a lofty mountain, but we can make great inroads through small steps: conversations with non-Catholics, small acts of charity towards strangers, imitating Christ in all of our attitudes and choices.

Through the prayerful intercession and holy example of St. Augustine of Canterbury may we be faithful to the small steps the Lord calls us to take in the spread of his kingdom for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That the Saints may inspire us and continue to help us put Christ at the center of our life. 

That the Saints may inspire us to works of charity and caring for the needy.

That the Saints may inspire us to confess our sins, strengthen in virtue, and be devoted to the spread of the Gospel.

That the Saints may inspire us to bear our sufferings in union with Christ, and may help the suffering to know the comforting presence of God, especially the sick, the elderly, those in nursing homes, hospitals, hospice care, addicts and those imprisoned, those who grieve the loss of a loved one, and those who will die today.

In the wake of the horrific school shooting in Texas this week, we pray for the victims of this shooting and their families, for all the public safety responders and for the southwest Texas communities stunned by this unthinkable incident.

For our beloved dead…

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.

May 25 2022 - St. Bede - Frequent Meditation on the Scriptures

 

The Collect prayer spoke of how God brings light to the Church through the learning of the Priest Saint Bede, also known as Bede the Venerable. 

St. Bede is a doctor of the Church born around 672 AD a time in history often called the dark ages. But St. Bede’s Benedictine monastery was anything but dark, it was infused with the light of learning. Bede was a historian who wrote biographies, martyrologies, works of science, numerous commentaries on the bible and sacred chant. 

As a historian, his Ecclesiastical History of the English People has remained one of the most authoritative historical sources of that time period, so he is even venerated by secular historians. But that is not the extent of his impact. He is credited for beginning the custom of marking the dates of history from the Incarnation with the term anno domini. So we mark the year as 2022 AD, anno domini, because of St. Bede. 

Here was an extremely active soul, who put his intellectual gifts and his learning in service of the Church, and that changed the world. And, he encouraged all souls to do same, encouraging Christians to avoid idleness. He said, “Because we cannot totally avoid idleness, we should put it to flight, as far as we can, by stirring up good thoughts, and especially by frequent meditation on the scriptures, according to the example of the psalmist who said, “Oh, how I have loved your Law, O Lord; it is my meditation all the day.” 

So to meditate on the scriptures throughout the day is a powerful way of sanctifying time, making Christ more and more the center of our life, but also stirring up inspiration. The scriptures bring us into contact with the fount of life, to meditate on them is to drink of life-giving waters, and those waters refresh us, they give us spiritual energy for doing God’s will. 

St. Bede exemplified the Benedictine principal of Ora et Labora—work and prayer. His prayer infused his work, gave him strength for his work, and his work glorified God and has left a lasting impact on the world. 

So throughout the day, sanctify the time you’ve been given by meditating on the scriptures, praying the liturgy of the hours. You will be inspired, refreshed, challenged out of complacency, awakened out of idleness, comforted in weariness, and united to Christ.

May we, like St. Bede, make Christ the center of our history by making him the center of every day, meditating on his words, imitating his love for the Father for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

 

That the Saints may inspire us and continue to help us put Christ at the center of our life. 

That the Saints may inspire us to works of charity and caring for the needy.

That the Saints may inspire us to confess our sins, strengthen in virtue, and be devoted to the spread of the Gospel.

That the Saints may inspire us to bear our sufferings in union with Christ, and may help the suffering to know the comforting presence of God, especially the sick, the elderly, those in nursing homes, hospitals, hospice care, addicts and those imprisoned, those who grieve the loss of a loved one, and those who will die today.

In the wake of the horrific school shooting yesterday, we pray for the victims of this shooting and their families, for all the public safety responders and for the southwest Texas communities stunned by this unthinkable incident.

For our beloved dead…

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.

6th Week of Easter 2022 - Tuesday - The Holy Spirit will convict the world

 Nearing the Feast of Pentecost, our Gospel readings continue to be taken from the Lord’s Farewell Discourse from John’s Gospel. In today’s passage, the Lord reveals that the Holy Spirit “will convict the world.” He will Convict. Here, the word “convict” is used in the legal sense: a criminal is convicted of a crime, meaning, his crimes are brought to light, it becomes clear that he is guilty of committing evil. So, the Holy Spirit will convict the world, bringing to light the evil in the world, the criminal errors and behaviors of the world. 

And the Lord mentions 3 particular areas in which the Holy Spirit will convict the world: in regard to sin, righteousness, and condemnation.

The Holy Spirit, through the preaching and teaching of the Church shows that the world is all wrong about sin. The world say “sin isn’t real. Right and wrong are simply subjective to the individual. What’s wrong for one person is right for another. God’s commandments are fabrications of the patriarchy for the purposes of controlling the vulnerable. It doesn’t matter what you believe in, how you act” FALSE.

Sin is real. Behaviors, decisions, choices, and attitudes contrary to the divine law are evil. And choices which are not in conformity with the goodness of God cause real harm to souls. Sin mutilates souls, darkens intellects, weakens will, deepens the attraction to graver evils. Sin begets sin. The deeper one falls into sin, the farther one falls away from God. The world is wrong about sin. 

It is also wrong about righteousness. We cannot make ourselves righteous by our own activity. For, righteousness comes from being in communion with God, allowing the life of the living God to fill one’s soul, to make choices in conformity with the Divine Will of God.  The world will always fail in its attempts to build a utopia because it divorces itself from God. There can be no secular utopia. We cannot hope to accomplish anything of lasting good value without God.

Rather, we are to “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.” Unless God is the builder of our lives, our families, our nations, our building is in vain. 

So the world is wrong about evil, the world is wrong about goodness, and finally it is wrong about condemnation. The world says all roads lead to heaven. This is false. All roads except the road of Jesus Christ lead to eternal condemnation. “No one comes to the Father except through me” Jesus says himself. In the end “There are two ways, one of life and one of death, and there is a great difference between the two.”  

As baptized members of the flock of Christ, we are sent into a hostile, unbelieving world. But unbelievers and even hostile anti-Catholics will be converted, will be attracted to the Truth when they see the truth evidenced in our lives—the truth that the life of Christ bears fruit that the world cannot produce—true lasting peace, joy, gentleness, chastity, patience—and leads to life everlasting.

You want to proof that Jesus Christ is truly God and Lord? Look at the evidence produced by the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church. Look at the courage of the martyrs; look at the saints he has produced, look at their miracles, their righteousness. Look at the unity he has brought among the disparate people of the world who accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Look at the patience and joy and understanding and knowledge he gives to ordinary people who pray.

The world is convicted by the Holy Spirit working in our lives. May we witness to the saving Gospel in every conversation and decision today and all days, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

6th Sunday of Easter 2022 - Prepare for Pentecost

 

It’s just two weeks until the conclusion of the Easter season and the celebration of the great feast of Pentecost, and our Gospel on this sixth Sunday after Easter contains the Lord’s announcement about the Holy Spirit, that the Son must return to the Father in order for the Holy Spirit to descend upon the Church. The Lord prepares his apostles for the reception of the Holy Spirit, and so we do well, prior to Pentecost to prepare and reflect upon our openness to the Spirit.

But first: Who is the Holy Spirit?

Each week in the creed we profess our belief in the Holy Spirit: “I believe in the Holy Spirit” Who is He? The Holy Spirit one of three Divine Persons of the Blessed Trinity. He is truly God—consubstantial with both the Father and the Son.  “Holy Spirit" is the proper name if the Third Divine Person. And we call him the Holy Spirit because Jesus himself called him the Holy Spirit, as we heard in today’s Gospel. 

In the Gospel today, the Jesus himself referred to the Holy Spirit as a Teacher. Docébit vos omnem veritátem—he will teach you all truth. The Holy Spirit desires to teach us always what is good, true, and necessary for the Christian life. If we wish to understand the faith, if we wish to live it, if we wish to pass it on, we must allow ourselves to be taught and led by the Holy Spirit. 

We heard in the first reading how St. Paul, Barnabas, and the Apostles were gathered by the Holy Spirit in Jerusalem to discuss some matters challenging the early church: did Christians need to be circumcised, could we eat food offered to idols, could we enter into unlawful marriages. And thanks be to God, the early church was open to the guidance of God on these matters, just as the Church of every age always needs to be attentive to the Holy Spirit’s guidance regarding how to live out the Gospel of Christ in the complexities of our current age.

The Holy Spirit is a teacher and guide to the Church as a whole, but also to us individually. St. Paul says in Romans that “God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." Do you love of God and know that God loves you? If so, it’s because the Holy Spirit opened your heart to that possibility. Have you ever repented of sin? If so, it’s because the Holy Spirit has moved you to repentance. Have you experienced love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness. If so, it’s because the Holy Spirit has produced those fruits within you. Do you have a passion for prayer, a love for the Eucharist, a desire to serve the needy, share the Gospel with those who do not know Jesus? It’s because the Holy Spirit has moved you, is moving you to these very very good things.

At World Youth Day in Australia in 2008, Pope Benedict said, “The Holy Spirit has been in some ways the neglected person of the Blessed Trinity,” and confessed that it was only as a young priest teaching theology that he began to recognize the importance of coming to know the Holy Spirit more intimately. He said to all of those young people gathered at World Youth Day that, “It is not enough to know that there is a Holy Spirit; we must welcome Him as the guide of our souls, as the ‘Teacher of the interior life’ who introduces us to the Mystery of the Trinity, because He alone can open us up to faith and allow us to live it each day to the full.” 

Pope Benedict calls the Holy Spirit the Teacher of the interior life. For God, the Holy Spirit, is given to us from the Father to be our constant guide and teacher in the spiritual life. St. Paul tells us, “The Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words.” I don’t know about you, but the most moving moments of prayer in my life, have been those times when my prayer seemed to bubble up as if from someone other than myself. That was the Holy Spirit leading my soul, guiding my soul in prayer. 

The Holy Spirit also helps us identify those attitudes and behaviors and choices which hinder our spiritual growth. He illuminates vices which we’ve turned a blind eye to, he pricks our consciences to get to confession. He inspires us to put our faith into practice. 

As we prepare for Pentecost we do well to dispose ourselves to be taught by the Spirit, and I recommend three ways.

First, prayer. Prayerfully ask the Holy Spirit to Help you to be open to the Truth God wants you to know. “Holy Spirit, help me to love you, to be open to your gifts, to be taught to pray. Teach me how to love, teach me the faith. Teach me to forgive. Teach me all things I need to know for my vocation, for the Christian life, for my struggle to overcome sin and develop the virtues and gifts you want for me.” Pray. Allow him to teach you what you need how to grow and make use of his seven-fold gifts of wisdom, knowledge, understanding, counsel, courage, piety, and holy reverence.

Secondly, study the faith. The Holy Spirit is the teacher, and he’s been teaching the Church for 2000 years now. But teachers expect their students to study. Do you study your faith. The Holy Spirit has spoken through the scriptures, he has spoken in the saints. Have you ever read the Church Fathers? Augustine, Athanasius, Aquinas, Cyril of Alexandria, Ignatius of Antioch, Irenenus? The Holy Spirit moved these men, taught the Church through these men. He continues to teach the Church through these men. Read Thomas Aquinas. Read the Church Fathers. Read Pope Benedict. Pope Benedict was one of the clearest teachers of the faith we’ve had in 100 years. And when you’ve done that. When you’ve read these guys. Start over. 

Catholics get into big trouble when we think we know it all, we know enough. We are disciples. And disciple means student. We are semper discipulus—always a student.

Thirdly, make devout use of the sacramentals. The sacramentals, holy water, blessed medals, statues, sacred images, crucifixes in our homes. The sacramentals open us, dispose us to the grace of the Holy Spirit. Feel free to fill up a little vial of holy water when you come to church on the weekends. Keep it on your bedstand. Bless yourself when you wake up in the morning as a reminder of your baptism. And teach others about the sacramentals. They can be used by non-Catholics. They are a great introduction to the Catholic faith for some non-believers.

St. Paul in his first letter to Thessalonians said, “Do not put out the fire of the Spirit!,” because in some sense they obviously were limiting his work in them. To the Ephesians he said something even more powerful, imploring them, “Do not grieve the Spirit of God.”  How often, we believers,  grieve the Holy Spirit by ignoring his inspirations. He inspires to repent, and we put it off. He inspires us to feed the hungry, and we put it off. He inspires us to pray, and we put it off. He inspires us to invite fallen away Catholics back to the Sacraments, and we put it off. How much richer our lives would be, how much effective we would be in our mission, how much stronger our parish would be, if we followed the guidance and inspirations of the Holy Spirit, cultivated daily our love of the Holy Spirit, openness to the Holy Spirit.

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

5th Week of Easter 2022 - Friday - Chosen and Sent

 In the readings today we have a lot of choosing and sending. Our Lord tells the apostles in the Gospel: “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain.” And in the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, “the Apostles and presbyters, in agreement with the whole Church, decided to choose representatives and to send them”

Tomorrow morning at the Cathedral, our own bishop will choose to ordain 3 new priests and send them out to different corners of the diocese for the work of the Gospel, to be both his representative and the representative of the Lord Jesus.

It’s not just bishops and priests who are chosen and sent. Every Catholic is chosen and sent. You have been chosen and sent. This is evidenced in our sacramental life.

In baptism, you were chosen, you were called by name, you were given the life of grace, you were given faith. No Catholic is Catholic by accident. God has chosen every member of the baptized. He knows you, he’s called you, you belong to Him, the sheep of his flock.

We can be sure we’ve been chosen because God continues to care for us.  He chooses us every time he feeds us with the bread of life—the body and blood of his son, who chose to suffer for each and every one of us. He chose to bear my sins, your sins. He chose to redeem us, when he didn’t have to.

He chose us. And he sends us. At every Mass we are reminded by this. Ite Missa Est. Go, you are sent. The Mass is ended Go into the world to announce the Gospel of the Lord. Go, glorify the Lord by your life. Go, multiply those talents. Go, bear fruit that will last. Go, strengthened by the Eucharist, to evangelize and suffer hardships for the kingdom, go and love your enemy and love your neighbor, go and make disciples teaching them all that I’ve commanded, go and baptize.

We get these reminders in the Church’s liturgy, some of us every day. So why do we act as if others are chosen, but not us? Others are sent, but not us? What more do we want, what more do we need to finally possess the conviction that God chose us and God sends us for the work of the Gospel for the Glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For Pope Francis and Bishop Malesic, that they may have the strength to govern wisely the flock entrusted to them by the Good Shepherd and for an increase in vocations to the ordained priesthood, and that our priests may serve the Church with the love and devotion of the Good Shepherd.

For the new priests being ordained this year, may they be ever faithful to their calling.

That our government leaders will use their authority to protect the dignity of human life and the well-being of the vulnerable, especially the unborn.  

That during this month of May, Christians may turn to Mary, Mother of the Church, seeking her aid and imploring her intercession with increased and fervent devotion, especially by praying the Holy Rosary. 

For deliverance from all evil and all temptation: for those under the influence of drug abuse, addiction, insanity, occultism, atheism, sexual perversion, and any spiritual evils which degrade the human person.

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

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.

May 18 2022 - Pope John the First - Kings and Emperors, Mercy and Martyrdom

 

Of all the Popes, the most popes with same name have been named John. There have been twenty-one legitimate popes named John, the numbering has reached John XXIII because of two errors that were introduced in the Middle Ages. 

First, antipope John XVI was kept in the numbering sequence instead of being removed. Then, the number XX was skipped because pope John XXI counted John XIV twice.

But today we celebrate the man who started it all, Pope John, the first of his name. He was the first Pope to take the name of one of the Apostles. In fact, John is the only one of the Twelve who has lent his name to the Popes.

Pope John the first was elected to the Papacy in the year 523 and died just three years later on this date, May 17 526. John was very frail when he was elected to the papacy. Despite his poor health, he was asked by the Ostrogoth King Theodoric the Great to travel from Rome to Constantinople to negotiate with the Emperor to restore the repentant arian heretics back to their positions in the church’s hierarchy. 

Consider that for a moment. The frail Pope went on a diplomatic mission to the middle east to plead to the emperor on behalf of sinners, heretics, schismatics who had repented and sought to take-up again the mission of the one, true, church. Talk about a Pope of mercy. 

So the frail Pope gets to Constantinople. The emperor receives the pontiff honorably, but refuses to grant the Pope’s request to restore the former Arian Bishops, Priests, and Deacons.

So the Pope returned to Rome. The Ostrogoth King, suspicious that the Pope had conspired with the Emperor, arrested the Pope, had his imprisoned in Ravenna, where he soon died from ill treatment and neglect. Pope John, first of his name, is honored as a martyr

I like that little story. The frail yet courageous Pope, embarking on a mission of mercy, suffers and dies for doing what was right, which at the time was controversial. Should heretic clergy be welcomed back into the fold if they repent? Can they be trusted? Many disagreed. 

In the acts of the Apostles, we see Paul, Barnabas, and the Apostles gathering in Jerusalem—for the first Church Council—the Council of Jerusalem—to deal with one of the first controversies in Church history—do gentiles need to be circumcised in order to be counted among God’s faithful ones? They debate, they discern, they pray, they seek to understand the Word of God—the teachings of Jesus— under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

The Church exists in a complex world—amidst Kings and Emperors vying for power with people’s lives, with complex moral and theological issues. Our job is to remain true to what we have received—the one true faith—to not just be hearers of the word, but doers of the word, like the frail Pope John traveling thousands of miles to plead for mercy.

“Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit” may we show by our actions, attitudes, how we treat people, and our conviction for the Gospel, that we remain in Christ and Christ remains in us, by bearing good fruit for the kingdom today and all days, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

5th Week of Easter 2022 - Tuesday - Facing fears for the kingdom

In second Corinthians, Paul says: “Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked”. The events in the acts of the apostles reading today, being stoned—almost to death-- while preaching in Lystra, is probably the stoning he was referring to. 

How easily we give up when we face resistance. We give up on a prayer commitment because we find ourselves more tired than we expected. We give in to temptation because it's just easier to give in than to fight it. Sometimes we don't get involved in a church endeavor because of the sacrifice it entails.

But, slander, rejection, physical assault, the threat of death did not stop the apostles. After being stoned almost to death, you might expect Paul to relax his mission. But Paul gets up, brushes himself off, and goes to preach in the next town. 

And then, amazingly, heroically, after preaching in Derbe, Paul returned to Lyrstra, probably still bruised and aching from the stoning—maybe with a broken rib, a split lip, not to mention the memory of the anger and hatred spewed at him. 

We avoid talking about our faith because it might create an awkward silence, Paul faced death over and over again for the Gospel.  

“It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God.” Some of us won’t bear a single hardship, let alone many. Lord have mercy on us.

Sorry Lord, too much work. I gotta watch my summer baseball. Lies, we tell ourselves to avoid hardships. But our lives our sadder for those lies, less joyful, because they keep us from the meaningful work God desires for us. 

What are the hardships I avoid? What are the lies I tell myself to avoid those hardships? What are the secret fears that I have failed to bring to the Lord which leads me to justify those lies?

“Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid,” the Lord says in the Gospel. Why is the Lord so concerned about our anxiety and fear? Because they keep us from life, they keep us from carrying our crosses and facing those hardships for the work God wants for us, and thus deprive us of the sanctity and joy God has in store for us. 

“Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid,” means doing our part to face those fears, to overcome those anxieties, and allowing grace to do the rest.

We place our hands confidently in the hands of the Lord today, trusting him to help us face our fears, to shed light upon our self-deceits, to give us courage and fortitude for the work of the Gospel, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

- - - - - -  

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

5th Sunday of Easter 2022 - What is Love?

Well, in the last five weeks we’ve had Easter Sunday, Divine mercy Sunday, Good Shepherd Sunday, Mother’s Day Sunday, and today, our Gospel reading gives us the chance to perhaps name today, Love Sunday. “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Earlier this afternoon, I was able to celebrate a wedding for a young bride and groom, Eddie and Anna. So, I’d like to reflect on Christian marriage, on this “Love Sunday”, drawing upon it lessons for all us us, whether you are married, single, widowed, a consecrated religious or a priest. 

Leading up to the wedding, I met with this young couple for about 10 months of marriage preparation. So for 10 months, off and on, we discussed many topics concerning healthy, holy, and happy marriage:  the need for open and honest communication, the need for patience, forgiveness, prayer, engagement in the life of the Church, being open to the children God desires to bring into their new family, and what it means that Marriage is one of the Sacraments of the Church instituted by Our Lord to confer grace.

But the reason for all the preparation, meeting with the priest, the pre-cana day, the prayer, all that effort, is because of our hope that the two of them will be able to share a life of happiness and holiness—a marriage filled with grace and love. 

That word, “love” is found all throughout the marriage liturgy. Will you love and honor each other for as long as you both shall live.

But, what is love? That was a question I pose to all of my couples in marriage preparation. What is love? The word is certainly used in a lot of different ways: I love cookie dough ice cream, I love violin music, I love my grandma, I love the Cleveland browns, which is kinda like saying I love suffering and tragedy.  

St. Paul writes about that word “love” in his first epistle to the Corinthians, and many couples choose this passage for their nuptial mass. Love. “Love is patient, love is kind, it bears all thing, endures all things, it is not rude, it is not pompous, it forgives all things.” Paul says. 

What is love? For Paul, and really throughout the Bible and Christian Theology, Love isn’t a just an emotion. Nor is love so mysterious that we can’t say anything about. St. Paul says plenty and so does our Lord.

For Paul, for Christians: Love is an action, it’s a choice, it’s pursuit that requires effort. Love is a choice to be patient when we feel the claws of impatience raking across our souls, love is choosing to be kind when selfishness rears its ugly face, love is enduring and persevering in doing what is right and just when we want to give up, love is being humble when we want to be pompous, love is forgiving when we want to brood over injury.  

In the Gospel, when the Lord Jesus says, “love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength” he’s not talking about making sure that we stir up some pious fleeting emotion toward God every once and a while, or for an hour on Saturday evening or Sunday. He’s saying that Christians need to put God at the center of our work, our decisions, how we treat people, our marriages, everything—every conversation, every interaction, our free time, everything.

It was love that led the Lord to the Cross-the choice to serve God for the greater good, out of the deepest, most profound care for good of our souls. The willingness to bear unfathomable suffering for our redemption. There is no greater love than to lay down your life for another. Talk about an action. The Lord shows us precisely what love looks like, when he lays down his life for his on the cross, to save us from hell. Love requires effort, selflessness, often sacrifice. 

And St. Paul goes so far to say that if you are going throughout life without this type of Christ-like love, then you are like a clashing cymbal, in other words, you are just going through life making a bunch of noise—our lives are sadder and emptier without love. 

And I hope that none of you here are just clashing cymbals—jumping from pursuit to pursuit, relationship to relationship without God’s love filling your soul. And if you are, I invite you to consider another way, a timeless way, the way of Christ, the way of true love.

This is the Love the world needs more of…not just fuzzy feelings, but Christians, doing what is best for each other and our neighbor. Setting good Christian example for one another, praying for one another, making sacrifices for one another and the mission of the Church. As the Lord says in the gospel today, this is how all will know that you are my disciple, that you love one another.

Love requires effort:  to pray when we have other things to do, to go to Sunday Mass when we’d rather sleep in, bringing your kids to church when it’s just easier for everyone to stay in their pajamas all day. It takes effort, right? to study the Bible when we could be sitting in front of the TV or playing the newest game on our smartphones, to strive to give up habitual sins when it’s just easier to justify our selfish actions, being honest in business when it’s easier and more profitable to cheat your client, it requires effort, love requires effort, looking past the faults of others to do what’s best for them, as I would do for myself. 

But this is why weddings are so joyful for the Church. It is so joyful for us to see Bride and Groom standing before God’s altar, in front of their family, and friends, and brothers and sisters in Christ, to say, this is the person I choose to lay down my life for, this is the person I hope will love me as Christ loved me.  This is the person I will sacrifice my life for like no other, who I will pray with and pray for like no other, who I will work with hand-in-hand to serve the needs of the poor and the needs of the Church like no other, who intend to work together to become instruments of God’s love in this dark, cruel, cold world. For as Pope Benedict would say, "love is the light, and in the end the only light that can illuminate a world grown dim."

This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. Love is a choice. And the more effort we pour into love the more rewarded we will be in, in this life, and the life to come.  May pour our time, talent, and treasure into this choice, to love every minute of every day for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

May 13 2022 - Our Lady of Fatima - Becoming like shepherd children

 

May 13 is the anniversary of the apparition of Our Lady to three shepherd children in the small village of Fatima in Portugal in 1917.  She appeared six times to Lucia, age 9, and her cousins Francisco, age 8, and his sister Jacinta, age 6, between May 13, 1917 and October 13, 1917.

Why did the queen of heaven appear to these young children, and not to the Pope, or to us?

Part of that answer is mysterious—God works in mysterious ways. But, likely, she appeared to children because children show us the enthusiastic acceptance of God’s Word that we are to have—unless you become like little children, says the Lord himself, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. In 1917, the world was on the verge of tremendous technological advancement, humans would be able to accomplish marvels that the ancients may never have dreamt of. And Our Lady appears, and tells the world to pray the rosary with the fervor of poor shepherd children kneeling in a field. 

She appeared to young children because many of us older children think of ourselves as too sophisticated to pray the rosary, too proud to go to confession, too learned to believe in hell and the devil, too cultivated to practice fasting.

After the apparitions began Francisco’s father discovered the boy sobbing in his room. When questioned why was he weeping, Francisco said, “I was thinking of Jesus who is so sad because of the sins that are committed against him.” Jacinta was so convinced by the vision of sinners falling to Hell that she began to pour herself into prayer and practice various corporal mortifications. “Pray, pray much and make sacrifices for sinners,” Mary had told her. “Many souls go to hell because they have no one to pray and make sacrifices for them.” Jacinta responded, as did her brother, by prostrating themselves in prayer for hours, kneeling with their heads humbly bowed to the ground.

 They made all types of physical sacrifices, wearing tight cords around their waist, scourging themselves with stinging nettles, abstaining from water on hot days and other penitential practices. When both caught the terrible 1918 flu that took the lives of tens of thousands, they offered all of their sufferings for sinners. 

Having been told by Our Lady that she would take him to heaven soon, Francisco declined hospital treatment, bearing enormous pain with a smile and without complaint. Our Lady appeared to Jacinta and asked if she wanted to stay on earth a little longer to convert more sinners. She said yes. So the little girl allowed herself to be dragged from clinic to clinic, to have two of her ribs removed without anesthesia, valiantly sacrificing herself as a victim for the conversion of sinners and for the Holy Father, whom she knew from the vision would suffer much. 

When Saint John Paul II beatified them in Fatima 22 years ago today, he lifted them up as an example to the whole world of what Christ-like and Marian love for the salvation of others looks like. He stressed that their lives demonstrate that children can be heroically virtuous and reach “the heights of perfection” at a very young age, and if they can so can all of us. 

Echoing the words of our Lady, the Pope reminded all children of God, however young, “Our Lady needs you all to console Jesus, who is sad because of the bad things done to him; he needs your prayers and your sacrifices for sinners.” 

May we accept the summons to pray, do penance and mortification, and accept sacrifices like the dear shepherd children of Fatima as our dear Blessed Mother has taught for the glory of God and salvation of souls. 

- - - - - - - - 

That the maternal care of Our Lady may bring protection to the shepherds of the Church and all who preach the Gospel.

That Our Lady’s devotion to the Divine Will of God will move government leaders to work to build a culture of life and peace to further the reign of Christ.

That through the penance and prayers of the Church, hardened sinners will return to God.

That the intercession of Our Lady will bring comfort and care to all who suffer disease, violence, and afflictions of any kind.

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

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

4th Week of Easter 2022 - Wednesday - The Holy Spirit Speaks

 

Yesterday, we heard how following the persecution of Christians in Jerusalem after the death of Stephen, Christians were scattered into the surrounding regions—like the seed scattered by the Sower in the Gospel. They escaped Jerusalem with their lives, but they didn’t wallow in misery over what was lost, they sought out the lost, and preached the Gospel in those places where the wind of the Holy Spirit had blown them.

And they came to a little place called Antioch. Now at that time, Antioch rivaled Rome in terms of population. There were about a million people in Antioch. And some of them converted. And yesterday, we heard how it was there in Antioch, where the disciples of Jesus were first called Christian.

Today we heard how the Christians of Antioch gathered together for prayer, they fasted together, they worshipped the Lord together, they sought the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Their example remains relevant for Christians of every age: we must pray together, fast together, worship together, and seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit together. 

Notice, how it was during their communal prayer, fasting, and worship, the Greek word there is leitourgeo, from which we get the word liturgy, which likely included the celebration of the Eucharist, it was from this experience of humbling themselves through fasting, raising their hearts to God through prayer, that the Holy Spirit spoke. In other words, the will of God, the will of the Holy Spirit became clear to them. 

It was in Antioch that Paul and Barnabas received clarity from the Holy Spirit that they were to embark on a missionary journey, the first of three, to spread the Gospel far and wide. This first missionary journey would take them 1000 miles through rapid rivers, steep mountains, malaria-plagued lowlands, and bandit-ridden passages. Their lives would be at risk countless times, and they knew it. But they trusted the Holy Spirit, and it changed everything.

How is our parish called to imitate these holy ones? In prayer, fasting, worship, discernment, and mission. May the Holy Spirit guide us, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

- - - - - - -  

That all Christians may be deeply committed to the spread of Christ’s Gospel, and for the success of the Church’s missionary activity. And our parish may be attentive and responsive to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

For those in public office: may they govern with wisdom and compassion for the most vulnerable among us—especially unborn children, the elderly, the indigent, and persons with disabilities.  Let us pray to the Lord.

That the isolated and abandoned may know the love of God through the labors of the Church. 

For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, the deceased members of our families friends and parishes, for those who fought and died for our freedom, and for N. for whom this mass is offered.

Graciously grant our petitions, we beseech thee, O Lord; may your grace sustain us always in your service, through Christ Our Lord.

May 10 2022 - St. Damien the leper - Our crosses open doors

 
For the first four weeks of the easter season, we’ve been reading from the book of Acts— how the Gospel was spread first in Jerusalem and then throughout Judea amongst the Jews.  But today, we hear of one of the great breakthroughs of human history.  

Last week, we heard how following the death of St. Stephen, Christians were scattered due to persecution. But the Christians took advantage of their scattering. They preached to the Jews, as we heard today, as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch.

As some of the new Christians were Greek-speakers, they began to share the good news with some of the Gentiles in Antioch.  This may seem very natural and inevitable to us now, but this really was a breakthrough—the first time the Church became truly faithful to the Lord’s command to make disciples of all nations…not just the Jews of the Holy Land—but all nations.

Each of us are called to work for converts by sharing the Good News. So, where do the breakthroughs need to occur in your own life for that to happen? What do you need from the Lord do be able to share the faith more confidently with strangers?

Jesus says in the Gospel today, “my sheep hears my voice”.  He wants to use us as his mouthpiece.  There are people who long to hear the voice of Jesus calling them into the flock of the Church. They are waiting for us to share what we know of Jesus, of Catholicism, but they have no one to talk to. The internet can’t do our job for us.

Today, the Church celebrates St. Damien of Molokai, the apostle to the lepers. He spent sixteen years tending the physical, spiritual, and emotional needs on the island leper colony of Molokai of Hawaii.  And when he contracted leprosy himself, he continued to preach the Gospel. 

We aren’t just to preach the Gospel from a top an ivory tower, we are to enter into the world of the forgotten and the outcast, in order to show them, that they are not forgotten by God. 

For the Christians in the book of Acts, the persecution led them to preach to an entirely new group of people. For St. Damian, his leprosy enabled him to draw closer to the other lepers, to preach even more effectively by entering their world.

Our own crosses are keys that open doors into the lives of others who suffer, who are longing to hear the voice of the Shepherd. May we embrace those crosses, and enter through those doors, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

 - - - - - - - 

That all Christians may be deeply committed to the spread of Christ’s Gospel, and for the success of the Church’s missionary activity. Let us pray to the Lord.

For those in public office: may they govern with wisdom and compassion for the most vulnerable among us—especially unborn children, the elderly, the indigent, and persons with disabilities.  Let us pray to the Lord.

That the isolated and abandoned may know the love of God through the labors of the Church. Let us pray to the Lord.

For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, the deceased members of our families friends and parishes, for those who fought and died for our freedom, and for N. for whom this mass is offered.

Graciously grant our petitions, we beseech thee, O Lord; may your grace sustain us always in your service, through Christ Our Lord.

4th Sunday of Easter 2022 - Holy Mother Church

 Last week after the 11am Mass, we celebrated our annual May Crowning. The statue of Our Lady, here on the side of the sanctuary, was crowned with flowers, to commemorate Blessed Mary as our Queen. She is the queen of the Church, she is the queen of heaven, she is queen of angels.  She is our spiritual queen and she is our spiritual mother. For Our Blessed Lord, at the crucifixion turned to his disciple and said, “behold your mother”. All Christians have Mary as our Spiritual Mother.

And on this Mother’s Day weekend, it is good for us to renew our love for both our biological mothers, the women who reared us and raised us, and also our spiritual mother given to us by Christ the Lord. Today is a perfect day for praying the rosary—offering the roses of our prayers to heaven for our mothers, in honor of our mothers, out of love and gratitude for our mothers.

Throughout the centuries, Christians have also referred to the Church as our Mother. Holy Mother Church. A few years ago, Pope Francis reflected on what that means. And I’m going to quote extensively from the Holy Father here, because his reflections are wonderful. He said, “Among the images that the Second Vatican Council chose to help us understand the nature of the Church better, is that of “mother”: the Church is our mother in faith, in supernatural life. It is one of the images most used by the Fathers of the Church in the first centuries…For me,” the Pope says, “it is one of the most beautiful images of the Church: Mother Church! In what sense and in what way is the Church mother? We start with the human reality of motherhood: what makes a mother?

“First of all,” the Pope says, “a mother generates life, she carries her child in her womb for 9 months and then delivers him to life, giving birth to him. The Church is like this: she bears us in the faith, through the work of the Holy Spirit who makes her fertile, like the Virgin Mary. The Church and the Virgin Mary are mothers, both of them; what is said of the Church can be said also of Our Lady and what is said of Our Lady can also be said of the Church! Certainly faith is a personal act: “I believe”, I personally respond to God who makes himself known and wants to enter into friendship with me . But the faith I receive from others, within a family, within a community that teaches me to say “I believe”, “we believe”. A Christian is not an island! We do not become Christians in a laboratory, we do not become Christians alone and by our own effort, since the faith is a gift, it is a gift from God given to us in the Church and through the Church. 

And the Church gives us the life of faith in Baptism: that is the moment in which she gives birth to us as children of God, the moment she gives us the life of God, she engenders us as a mother would. 

If you go to the Baptistery of St John Lateran, beside the Pope's Cathedral, inside it there is an inscription in Latin which reads more or less: “Here is born a people of divine lineage, generated by the Holy Spirit who makes these waters life-giving; Mother Church gives birth to her children within these waves”. This makes us understand something important: our taking part in the Church is not an exterior or formal fact, it is not filling out a form they give us; it is an interior and vital act; one does not belong to the Church as one belongs to a society, to a party or to any other organization. The bond is vital, like the bond you have with your mother, because, as St Augustine says, “The Church is truly the mother of Christians” Let us ask ourselves: how do I see the Church? As I am grateful to my parents for giving me life, am I grateful to the Church for generating me in the faith through Baptism? 

Do we love the Church as we love our mothers, also taking into account her defects? All mothers have defects, we all have defects, but when we speak of our mother's defects we gloss over them, we love her as she is. And the Church also has her defects: but we love her just as a mother. Do we help her to be more beautiful, more authentic, more in harmony with the Lord?” 

Then the Holy Father goes on to describe the second way the Church is mother. He says, “A mother does not stop at just giving life; with great care she helps her children grow, gives them milk, feeds them, teaches them the way of life, accompanies them always with her care, with her affection, with her love, even when they are grown up. And in this she also knows to correct them, to forgive them and understand them. She knows how to be close to them in sickness and in suffering. In a word, a good mother helps her children to come of themselves, and not to remain comfortably under her motherly wings, like a brood of chicks under the wings of the broody hen. The Church like a good mother does the same thing: she accompanies our development by transmitting to us the Word of God, which is a light that directs the path of Christian life; she administers the Sacraments. She nourishes us with the Eucharist, she brings us the forgiveness of God through the Sacrament of Penance, she helps us in moments of sickness with the Anointing of the sick. The Church accompanies us throughout our entire life of faith, throughout the whole of our Christian life. We can then ask ourselves other questions: what is my relationship with the Church? Do I feel like she is my mother who helps me grow as a Christian? Do I participate in the life of the Church, do I feel part of it? Is my relationship a formal or a vital relationship?”

So Mother Church, gives us spiritual birth, and she rears us, that we may become the people God made us to be. But for what? Well, our second reading this weekend from the book of Revelation answers that question. Why?

We heard in John’s vision, this weekend, Mother Church’s children having reached their eternal destination. The “great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue” stand before the throne of God. These are the souls who have been born by mother Church, who have been nurtured by mother Church, who have walked as faithful sons and daughters of Mother Church, and who now have reached the maturity, the end, for which they were created, reconciliation with God in eternity. As the Early Church Fathers would say, we cannot have God as Father without the Church as our mother.

May we love our Mother the Church, allow ourselves to be nurtured and taught by her always, for she is Mater et Magistra--Mother and Teacher. May we be the best of children of Our Holy Mother the Church, that we may receive the eternal life the Lord suffered and died to obtain for us, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

3rd Week of Easter 2022 - Friday - "My flesh is true food..."

 

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

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

“unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood you do not have life within you.”

The non-Catholic denominations of Christianity have to do some pretty strange intellectual gymnastics to support their claims which contradict what Catholics have held as true from the beginning of the Church. The flesh and blood offered on the cross for our salvation becomes present on the altar under the appearance of bread and wine, and is given to us to eat and drink.

Already around the year 150, St. Justin the Martyr explains what was already well-established teaching about the transformation of bread and wine into the true flesh and blood of Jesus. He said, “We do not consume the eucharistic bread and wine as if it were ordinary food and drink, for we have been taught that as Jesus Christ our Savior became a man of flesh and blood by the power of the Word of God, so also the food that our flesh and blood assimilates for its nourishment becomes the flesh and blood of the incarnate Jesus by the power of his own words contained in the prayer of thanksgiving”—that is the Eucharistic Prayer at Mass.

It is a terrible horrific tragedy that so many Catholics, who should know better, deprive themselves of the Flesh and Blood of Our Lord, choosing to skip Mass, and fill their lives with so much garbage that does not satisfy, that does not give life. So part of our Easter mission is to urge them to return to the sacraments, so that they might not be deprived of eternal life.

May we find our nourishment in the Eucharist, and be strengthened in our mission by the Eucharist, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

- - - - - - -  

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

That the outpouring of charity in Christ’s Eucharistic Self-Sacrifice will become manifest in all marriages, in all business relations, in all daily encounters, in our concern for the downtrodden and care for the most vulnerable, among friends, strangers, and enemies.  

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

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

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

 

 

3rd Week of Easter 2022 - Wednesday - Easter Persecutions

 It seems strange that during this joyous easter season, we have these readings from the book of Acts about how the Church was being persecuted. Last week, we heard of how the apostles were thrown into jail for their Christian faith. Today’s reading picks up right after the martyrdom of Stephen, deacon of the Church of Jerusalem. A severe persecution broke out in Jerusalem following Stephen’s death, and Christians were scattered to the country side. 

Why, during this season of joyful celebration of the resurrection of Jesus, do we focus on imprisonment, suffering, persecution and martyrdom?

Well, these readings from acts help us to understand the hostility we will experience when we are joyfully faithfully proclaiming Christ. 

While it is true that “joy is a net that catches souls” as Mother Theresa said. Christian joy will also attract some hostility from the world. 

As I tell the RCIA candidates after easter, now that you are Baptized, the enemy hates you more than ever. Because of sin, you belonged to him, and now you belong to God, and he hates you for it. Where he was cast out of heaven for his pride, you are now filled with the life of heaven inside you, and this causes the enemy to be furious. No doubt, he will tempt you in ways you’ve never tempted before. You may find that the worldly will be more impatient and rude toward you then you’ve ever experienced before. Certain doors will be shut to you because you are Christian. 

But, other doors will be open to you now, doors that God wants you to enter; doors into people’s homes and hearts. God will bring people into your life that he wants your help to convert.

And so, yes, you will experience hostility, but like the apostles, count it a blessing when you experience persecution for the sake of the name. God will use your sufferings to win souls. Opportunities for evangelization will be created, just like in the acts reading. Even when they were scattered due to persecution, God gave Philip opportunities to transform hearts and work miracles.

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

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

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

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

For the shepherds of our souls, the pope, bishops, and clergy, that they may govern wisely the flock entrusted to them by the Good Shepherd, leading the Church to embrace hardships for the sake of the Gospel.

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

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

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

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

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