June 29 2022 - Sts. Peter and Paul - Teachings, Examples, Mission, Martyrdom

Before the reform of calendar, Saints Peter and Paul were celebrated over the course of three days here at the end of June with the Vigil of Peter and Paul on June 28, the Feast of Peter and Paul on June 29, and the Commemoration of St. Paul on June 30. A fitting tribute, as Peter and Paul are two of the greatest men to have ever lived.

The prayers and readings of those three days are now consolidated into one feast, today’s, in which we celebrate their teachings, their examples, their mission, their martyrdom, and their heavenly intercession.

The Collect asked God to help us follow their teachings, may the Church, in all things follow the teachings of those through whom she received the beginnings of right religion. The Christian Church is forever shaped by the teachings of these two saints. 

In the first reading, we heard of Peter, having willingly suffered imprisonment for the Gospel, being set free by God’s angel. From there we know, the prince of the Apostles would travel to Rome to proclaim the Gospel and minister to the Roman Christians. I remember visiting the church of San Pietro in Vincoli in Rome, the Church of St. Peter in Chains, and seeing the chains that bound Peter and were broken by the angel.

In the second reading, we heard of Paul writing to Timothy from his prison cell in Rome. Paul, no doubt having heard of Peter’s rescue from prison, speaks of how the Lord will rescue him too, only not by breaking his physical chains, but by raising him from the dead and delivering him to the eternal kingdom of heaven in the resurrection. Paul’s hope in resurrection is fill our hearts daily.

In the powerful Eucharistic Preface for this day, we proclaim God’s providence which fills us with joy at the celebration of Peter and Paul: “Peter, foremost in confessing the faith, Paul its outstanding preaching, Peter, who established the early Church from the remnant of Israel, Paul, master and teacher of the Gentiles…and so, each in a different way gathered together the one family of Christ; and revered together throughout the world, they share one Martyr’s crown.”

These two saints are examplars of missionary zeal. Their lives became centered on gathering souls to Christ. Not storing up treasures on earth, not gaining earthly fame, not living the comfortable life, not simply allowing life to pass them by as they awaited death. They went out to gather souls out of love for Christ. And that love was confirmed by their willingness to suffer a martyrs death for Christ.

May the love and zeal of Peter and Paul always animate us; may we know their heavenly assistance in being faithful to our share of the Church’s mission, in gathering souls to Christ for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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The Lord Jesus built his Church on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. In faith let us pray.

The Lord prayed that the faith of Peter would not fail, may the Lord strengthen the faith of His Church and protect her from all dangers.

The Lord appeared to Peter after his resurrection and appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus, may he make us steadfast proclaimers of his resurrection.

The Lord called Peter, a fisherman, to be a fisher of men, may he raise up new vocations to the priesthood and consecrated religious life. 

The Lord mercifully forgave Peter’s denials, may he have mercy upon all sinners, and all those who suffer illness or any other need.

The Lord gave Peter the keys of the kingdom, may the gates of that kingdom be open to all who trusted in Christ’s mercy while still on earth, especially…

Heavenly Father, graciously hear the prayers of your pilgrim Church on this great Solemnity and grant our prayers of petition through Christ, Our Lord. 

June 28 2022 - St. Irenaeus - Doctor of Unity

 On January 21 of this year, Holy Father Pope Francis issued a decree declaring St. Irenaeus as a Doctor of the Church. St. Irenaeus is the first Doctor of the Church believed to have been a martyr, and, having died around 202, he holds the distinction of being the most ancient of the Church’s now-37 Doctors of the Church. 

As Bishop of Lyon, in addition to his administrative duties, Irenaeus took up the project of addressing the heresies that were threatening the unity of the Church. This is why Pope Francis called declared Irenaeus, the Doctor of Unity.

And the heresy that was most prevalent at the time was Gnosticism. The Gnostics claimed to have secret knowledge of God that was superior to the faith taught by the Apostles and they looked down on anyone who did not believe or act the way they did.  In other words, they thought they knew better than the Church.  

Bishop Irenaeus preached and taught and wrote against the gnostics of his day, but that old heresy has shown its face in every age of the Church.  How many times have you heard the following:  “Jesus doesn’t really care if I go to Church every week.”  “I don’t need to confess my sins to a priest.”  “Jesus doesn’t mind if I live with my girlfriend or we use contraception, we’ve prayed about it.”

Christianity is not a personal creation, or secret knowledge, or private revelation. It’s not something for intellectual to recreate every century that allows us to deviate from Apostolic Tradition due to changing societal mores. 

The true Gospel is the one received in an uninterrupted line from the Apostles. Irenaeus himself was a student of St. Polycarp, who was a student of the Apostle John, who himself laid his head at the heart of the Savior. 

One characteristic of these Gnostic groups is that with all of their supposed special knowledge of God, they quickly became fragmented and divided, always breaking off from one another, as has happened in all of the protestant denominations and even in some Catholic parishes.  Unity and peace in the Church and unity and peace with God do not come from knowing better than the Church, but receiving the whole Truth, in obedience to Apostolic Tradition.  

In the Gospel for the feast of Irenaeus, we read of the Lord praying at the last supper, that his followers may be one, as He and the Father are one. May St. Irenaeus help us to be faithful to fostering authentic Christian unity on earth that we may come to communion with God in heaven for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

 

That our bishops and clergy may be zealous in preaching and teaching the truth of the Gospel, and for a healing of division in the Church. 

For an increase in vocations to the priesthood and consecrated religious life, for the sanctification of marriages, and for increased commitment on behalf of all the faithful to the works of mercy and the evangelizing mission.

For all the needs of the sick and the suffering, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, the underemployed and unemployed, victims of natural disaster, war, 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 the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, for the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, for the deceased priests and religious of the diocese of Cleveland, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.

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.

13th Week in Ordinary Time 2022 - Monday - Follow Him Wherever, However, Whenever

 The Gospel this morning should sound familiar. Our Gospel reading yesterday, for the 13th Sunday in ordinary time contained St. Luke’s account of a few of responses to follow Him after the Lord resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem

This morning we heard St. Matthew’s account of a few of these responses.

For Luke, the half-hearted, misguided responses to the invitation to discipleship were in reaction to setting his face toward the cross. “I will follow you wherever you go” would have to include the cross. 

In Matthew’s version, this morning, the responses were in reaction to the Lord preparing to get in a boat and crossing to the other side of the shore of the Sea of Galilee. And this is significant. He was not setting his face to Jerusalem so much as he was setting his face to the Decapolis, a largely Gentile settlement. This crossing of the sea here would separate the boys from the men, in a sense, dividing the only nominally interested crowd from the true disciples who were willing to leave their homes and follow Jesus into foreign lands. 

This incident is certainly a foreshadowing of the Great Commission in which the Lord sends his apostles to the all the ends of the earth to preach and teach and baptize. True disciples will have to go much farther into Gentile territory than just the other side of the sea of Galilee!

In today’s passage two men express their desire to go with Jesus, but one exhibits naïve enthusiasm and the other procrastination.

The first says he will follow the Lord wherever he goes, but Jesus warns that true discipleship entails a radical change in lifestyle. To follow the master is to imitate his total willingness to go wherever his Father sends—and so the disciple may be called to an austere itinerate ministry just like Jesus. Are you willing to truly go wherever you are sent by God? The answer must be yes.

The second man in response to the invitation to discipleship offers an excuse—he points to his familial obligations—a son’s responsibility at home to care for his aging father, the son’s duty in the Jewish burial custom of reburying his father’s bones one year after his father’s death. But the Lord says, “let the dead bury the dead”—true discipleship transcends familial obligations. Discipleship is the higher priority. Don’t put off discipleship because of attachments or earthly responsibilities—even good ones like family. 

This Gospel certainly causes us to examine our priorities, our attachments, and our excuses. Am I open and willing to follow the Lord wherever, whenever, however, he may call me? Out of my comfort zone? Am I willing to have my priorities readjusted by God? May the Holy Spirit continue to shape and form us in our Christian Discipleship for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For the flourishing of spiritual gifts in the universal Church and our parish, for the sanctification of our parishioners, the conversion of the faithless, and the grace to be instruments of unwavering hope, mercy, love and compassion for all people. {Cantor will sing}

May Immaculate Mary, Mother of the Church, graciously help us to build a culture of life and a civilization of love, together with all people of good will, to the praise and glory of God, the Creator and Lover of Life. {Cantor will sing}

For an increase in vocations to the priesthood and consecrated religious life, for a strengthening of all marriages, and for single Catholics’ devotion to good works for the kingdom of God. {Cantor will sing}

For those experiencing any kind of hardship or sorrow, isolation, addiction, or disease: may they know God’s strength and peace and the assistance of the Christian people. {Cantor will sing}

That those who have died may share the eternal life that Jesus promised to those who believe in Him; for the deceased members of our family and friends, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, and for…

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2022 - The journey of Dante and Jesus

 This summer I have begun a bit of a journey—a literary journey. I’m taking a journey with the Poet Dante Alighieri—through his Divina Commedia---his Divine Comedy. I took the journey once before, back in undergrad, through the three books of La Commedia—Dante’s Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso—Dante’s Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven.

My guide through Dante that first time around was John Carrol professor, Dr. Thomas Nevin, who could brilliantly lecture to the very small group of us as if he were addressing a full auditorium. Dr. Nevin was also my latin professor who taught us the ancient language with great love and excitement.

This time through Dante’s Commedia, I have a small set of companion books, titled “Spiritual Direction from Dante” written by the Oratorian Priest Father Paul Pearson. And I’m really finding his commentary quite insightful and helpful. For the journey through the Commedia is complex, and steep, and confusing, and sometimes a bit horrific…just like life.

And that’s how the poem opens: with Dante, himself the main character in his epic poem, lost in a dark, bewildering forest. Life is sometimes like a dark, bewildering forest. And, it’s not always clear how we become lost or overwhelmed by life, is it? For Dante it was unclear to him if it was because he was having a midlife crisis, or that he had strayed off the path that God had wanted for him. And that can happen to any of us, you stray a little bit off God’s path; maybe you stop saying your daily prayers, stop coming to mass every week, maybe you allow a bad habit to get out of control, and you find yourself in a place that is wholly unfamiliar and confusing. 

So there is Dante, in the middle of his life, in this dark forest, and for a moment, he thinks he can find his way back on his own, so he makes his confused way through the forest, but soon comes across a pack of wild beasts—symbolizing the sins of his life—blocking his way. His struggle with his sins and his guilt keep him from finding his way.

But right when Dante sees this wolf of lust ready to pounce upon him, he detects someone in the distance, and desperately calls out for help: “Miserere di me…Mercy upon me, mercy”. 

With him in the dark woods was one of the poets of old, the Roman poet Virgil, who he had studied in his youth. Sometimes we need to remember the lessons of our youth, don’t we? Come to discover, Virgil had been sent to help Dante by the Blessed Virgin Mary. And Virgil was tasked with leading Dante on a journey:  a journey that would take him through the bowels of hell to witness the punishment of the damned, up the steep mountain of purgatory to witness the purification of the poor souls, and through the celestial realm of heaven to witness the reward of the saints basking in the glory of God. 

For Dante had become complacent about his sins. And so he needed to make the journey into hell to finally come to the understanding of the destructive power of sin. And to witness the glory of the blessed that he would forsake, if he allowed himself to be consumed by his sins. He needed to see how sin wounds the human mind, the human heart, and the human soul. We, too, often minimize the effects of sin. We say, “Sin isn’t that bad. It doesn’t hurt anybody.” False. We need to see sin from God’s perspective. Allowing sin to take root in one’s life leads to the sort of terrifying places dante will visit in the first stage of his journey. 

I bring up Dante’s journey, again, partially to tell you a bit about my summer spiritual reading, feel free to join me by the way, but also because of the opening line of today’s Gospel, on this 13th Sunday of Ordinary Time: “When the days for Jesus’ being taken up were fulfilled, he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem”

This line from late in Luke chapter 9 is the spiritual midpoint of St. Luke’s Gospel. Up until this point, Luke has told us of the miraculous events leading up to our Lord’s infancy, his glorious birth, and the infancy of his public ministry, the calling of the first apostles, his early teachings about holiness and discipleship, parables about the kingdom of God, and miraculous healings, like that of the Gerasene Demoniac. 

But today’s Gospel is the turning point in which the Lord “resolutely determines to journey to Jerusalem”. And the Lord is very well aware of what that journey will entail, the hostility he will face from his enemies—and how that journey will end—with betrayal, suffering, and death.

The reason Dante resolves to make the journey through Hell and Purgatory is not unlike the reason Our Lord resolves to make his journey to the cross. It is God’s will. And it will bring about salvation. Dante makes his journey to face and overcome the sins in his own life, that he may come to the reward of the Blessed. The Lord makes his journey, not for his own sake, but for ours: Jesus journeys to the cross to die for our sins and to win for us that grace to help us overcome the attachments to sin remaining in us which seek to reclaim us.

The english translation of today’s gospel says that the Lord “resolutely determines to journey to jerusalem”, though literally St. Luke’s Greek says, “he set his face to jerusalem” recalling the verse from the servant song of Isaiah that we hear on Ash Wednesday every year, “I have set my face like flint, that I shall not be put to shame.” Jesus, God’s chosen servant, made the conscious decision to make the uncomfortable journey---a  journey that would require courage, fortitude, perseverance, and longsuffering, fruits of the spirit that are to fill our lives as well.

Are you resolutely determined to journey to God? Is your set face like flint against the many resistances Christians inevitably face in the spiritual life? Will you do what you need  to do in order to make the journey? Will you have the courage to face your own sins honestly? to overcome the sins God wants you to overcome? Will you leave what is comfortable to obtain the sanctification God wants for you?

Dante was overwhelmed by that question. He almost fled in fear back into the forest and allowed himself to be devoured by the wild beasts. So Virgil, his guide, reasons with him, helping him to trust that God wants him to make the journey, that he needs to trust God, he needs to trust the Blessed Virgin who knows the state of Dante’s soul, his doubts, his confusion, and his longings.

You see, Dante had forgotten that God and the Blessed Virgin and the saints are on our side. They desire our salvation more than we do. They are on our side before we are, like the shepherd in search of the lost sheep before the sheep either knows it is lost or wants to be found. They want to help us face our sins, and to allow God to deliver us from them. 

“Follow me” the Lord beckons to each of us, as he did in the Gospel. Make the journey. For freedom’s sake, allow Christ to set you free, as St. Paul says in our second reading, free from our secret fears and our sins which keep us from being the people God made us to be, free to be zealous in doing good works and spreading the Gospel.

Guided by the Spirit, may we live by the Spirit, confident that God desires what is best for us, and through Mother Church teaches us to live by his commands and by his grace, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

June 22 2022 - St. Thomas More - A Man for All Seasons

 One of my favorite films of all times is “A Man for All Seasons” the historical drama about St. Thomas More who is honored today along with the English martyr, bishop John Fisher. The film does an amazing job presenting the political and religious tension in England when King Henry VIII declared himself head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and amazingly captures the wit, intelligence, courage, and holiness of St. Thomas More, played by Paul Scolfield, who also portrayed the saint in the original stage version by Robert Bolt.

If you have a few free hours, check out “A Man for All Seasons”. And the title of the film and play raises an interesting question? Why does the author refer to St. Thomas More as “a man for all seasons”? Thomas More despite tremendous pressure from his friends, from his family, probably from a number of clergy, from the king of england, not to mention the threat of torture and martyrdom, remained true to his principals and Catholic religious convictions throughout all the seasons of his life. 

Whenever I watch the film adaptation, I am so deeply impressed by Thomas More’s spiritual leadership in his family and community. He is a loving husband, a provident father, a fair employer, a lawyer who does not bend to corruption and bribes, a sound counselor, a learned man who saw through the empty philosophies of his day, whose convictions informed his decisions. He is depicted as “man fully alive” as Irenaeus would say, a man whose mind has been strengthened by reason and the Gospel, a man whose moral compass is firmly set on Christ, a man who stands for Truth even when bishops and priests cower in fear. And it happened. It’s not just a fiction. He was that great.

But that’s what also makes him a man, not just for 16th century England, but a man for all seasons of history. His virtues are for every age. His stance for Truth is needed in every age. We need Thomas More’s in every season. We need Thomas More’s now. We need Catholics who will remain true to their faith despite the pressures of the world, their families, their peers. Catholics of rightly formed conscience.

And when you watch it, you think, that’s the sort of man I want to be, in every circumstance, making him truly, a man for all seasons.

May St. Thomas More inspire us by his life and assist us with his prayers, especially when it is our time to stand for Truth, for the glory of God and salvation of souls. 

That our bishops and clergy may be zealous in preaching and teaching the truth of the Gospel.

That through the intercession of Saints John Fisher and Thomas More, people of faith may remain vigilant in defending religious liberty and preaching the Gospel courageously.

That our young people on summer vacation may be kept safe from the poisonous errors of our culture, and that their families may be places where the faith is practiced and cherished.

For all the needs of the sick and the suffering, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, the underemployed and unemployed, victims of natural disaster, war, 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 the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, for the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, and for X for whom this Mass is offered.

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

12th Week in Ordinary Time 2022 - Tuesday - Do not give to dogs what is holy

 In my fifth year of seminary, we took a class on the synoptic Gospels, the Gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke. There was a separate class on the Gospel and letters of John. And, for the final term paper we were to choose a single passage from one of the Synoptic Gospels and write a 12-15 page paper on that passage. I thought I’d challenge myself and pick a single verse. And the verse I chose was the first verse of today’s Gospel: “Do not give what is holy to dogs, or throw your pearls before swine”

It's a perplexing teaching. What is our Lord talking about? Evangelization? Eucharist? Or is it a broad principle to be applied to a variety of situations? Obviously he’s not saying that we should refrain from preaching the holy Gospel to the unevangelized. That’s definitely our mission as Christians: go and make disciples of all nations. 

This line would be interpreted by the Church fathers in the early church to refer to the prohibition of admitting to holy communion those in a state of mortal sin. Do not give to dogs what is holy. The holy referring to the Eucharist, and the dogs referring to those who have given into their bestial nature and have fallen into sin without repentance. 

But, what makes this enigmatic teaching more perplexing is that in the preceding passage, as we heard yesterday, the Lord tells us not to judge. So, on one hand he is telling us to stop judging, on the other hand, he tells us that we are to use our judgement, in order to refrain from throwing pearls to the swine.

I tend to believe that the passage does contain a lesson for our efforts in evangelization. There comes a point where your audience, at least for a time, shows itself to be closed to the gospel message. And it’s time to stop wasting your energy and move on to another group of people. There comes a point, as the Lord himself teaches, that the evangelist has to shake the dust from his sandals, and move on. In Matthew 10 he says, “And if anyone will not welcome you or heed your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town.” That’s not giving in to defeat, that’s just being wise with your time.

But, just because the Gospel is rejected in one place, by one person, doesn’t mean you give up altogether. That’s where as Christians, sometimes, we give up too easily. We run into a little bit of difficulty in our Gospel mission, and throw our hands in the air and give up entirely.

The saints show us what such perseverance looks like. At age 11, St. Aloysius was teaching the catechism to poor children and fasting three days a week and often woke in the middle of the night to pray.  He joined the Jesuits despite great resistance from his family. And when the plague struck Rome in 1591, he nursed the sick, washed them, made their beds, continuing to care for the plague victims even when he himself caught the disease.

St. Aloysius shows us that Christians are to be filled with youthful-enthusiasm in the works of mercy, and perseverance when we face our own crosses.

May St. Aloysius aid us in our share of the Gospel mission for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That Pope Francis and all the clergy may witness to the truth of the Gospel faithfully, courageously, and compassionately. 

Through the intercession of St Aloysius Gonzaga, patron of young people, that the young may be blessed with true faith, the desire to serve the Lord above seeking the pleasures of the world, and for an increase in vocations to the priesthood and consecrated religious life.

For the conversion of the unbelievers, for the return of Catholics who have left the Church, and for success in our Gospel mission.

For the sick and afflicted, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, for victims of natural disaster,  those who suffer from war, violence, and terrorism, all victims of abuse, especially children, for the mentally ill, those with addictions, and the imprisoned, for those who struggle to live the call of Christian chastity, for the comfort of the dying and the consolation of their families. 

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

Corpus Christi 2022 - Why Eucharist?

 During my eighth year of seminary, we devoted an entire semester simply to study the Sacrament which is at the heart of today’s feast: the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, the Eucharist. We studied how the scriptures, like St. Luke's feeding of the multitude, as we heard today, influenced the early Christians. We studied some of the ancient Eucharistic Prayers. We studied the medieval Theologians, especially Thomas Aquinas, who composed the prayers and hymns for today’s feast.

And at the end of the term, after hours and hours and hours of reading ancient texts and obscure theologians and the church’s most recent documents, our professor, Fr. Michael Woost—now Bishop-Elect Michael Woost tells us that the best way to prepare for the exam is to “study everything”, as the exam would be comprehensive of all the material we’ve covered since class one.

So I studied the 9th century Eucharistic Controversies, Thomas Aquinas, Pope John Paul II, and what cutting-edge theologians were writing about. Exam-day arrived and I was ready! So we get to the classroom and Fr. Woost passed out the blank exam booklets which we’d use to answer the exam questions. But, he then explained that the exam only had one question. He then handed us a small piece of paper with the exam’s only question, which consisted of two words and a question mark.  The big exam question was “Why Eucharist?” 

Fr. Woost said, “you have two hours, I suggest you use it wisely.”  I see my classmates open their exam book and start writing. And I just sort of sat there stunned for a moment. What do you mean, “Why Eucharist?” I’ve studied Hugh of St. Victor, St. Fulgentius of Ruspe, Blessed Sacrament Priest Eugene LaVerdie, Cardinal Ratzinger, I memorized the third Eucharistic Prayer, and most of the first and second ones. And this simple question just stunned me.

My first thought was to write, “Why Eucharist? Why Not!” and hand that in. But if I did that, I probably would not have been ordained. So, as my classmates were writing and writing and writing, I’m just sort of sitting there. I had no idea where to start.  How can you answer that question?  “Why Eucharist” is like asking, “Why did God give us the Eucharist?” and it seemed pretty arrogant to presume we can even come close to answering that. We don’t call it the “Mystery of Faith” for nothing. 

So, I sat there for what seemed like 15-20 minutes before writing a word.  I felt stupid.  And it probably took me a little too long to pray for inspiration. But when I did, I got an image. The image of kneeling in the chapel, in front of the monstrance, just prior to benediction. This is something that I had experienced hundreds of times. And I thought of the words of the priest, right after the Tantum Ergo. “Lord Jesus Christ, you gave us the Eucharist as the memorial of your suffering and death. May our worship of this sacrament of your body and blood, help us to experience the salvation you won for us and the peace of the kingdom, where you live with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.” That is the prayer, prior to benediction, written by St. Thomas Aquinas…for today’s feast.

So when those words popped into my head, I thought, Thanks be to God, thank you St. Thomas. Because that prayer answers the question, “Why Eucharist?” So, you can tell I didn’t fail the exam, because…well, here I am.

So  hoes does today’s feast answer the question “Why Eucharist?” The Collect says it all. “Lord Jesus, you gave us the Eucharist as a memorial of your suffering and death” The Eucharist is given to us as a “memorial”. We are not angels, we have imperfect memories, we forget things, we need reminders. And the Eucharist is to help us remember that Jesus gave his Body and Blood for us on the cross.  Without that great labor of love, there would be no hope of heaven for any of us. 

When we celebrate Mass, we are transported to the Mount of Calvary; we kneel on the Mount of the cross, that we may be sprinkled with his cleansing blood. The Eucharist is the memorial of the Cross that Church has celebrated every week for 2000 years. For without this weekly reminder, Christians begin to drift away from the Church, we drift away from the power of the Cross; the power of His blood begins to dry up in our lives. “Do this in memory of me” the Lord says. And faithful to his command at the last supper, we come to mass every week for the Eucharist.

“Why Eucharist” The second part of that beautiful prayer, continues to answer that question “May our worship of this sacrament of your body and blood, help us to experience the salvation you won for us and the peace of the kingdom.” 

The Eucharist is not an empty exercise. This act of worship has more power than anything else on earth to bring us grace and peace if we are open to it. When we come to Mass, and are open to it, we can experience deliverance from our sinful ways, help to face temptations, and the peace of the kingdom. We come to mass with the anxieties of uncertain futures and past sins, we bring our strained relationships, new loves, old hatreds and resentments, we bring our successes or distressing failures, our promotions at work and job losses, happy marriages, broken marriages, good health and impending deaths, our feelings of closeness with God, our feelings of His absence. 

Whatever is going on in our lives, we come here to the altar to worship, to experience grace and Christ’s closeness, that the power of the cross may flow into all those relationships, all those successes, failures, challenges, and temptations, that they might be transformed like the bread and wine. 

Why Eucharist? The Body and Blood of Jesus is the food of truth and spiritual life that sustains us on our earthly journey and mission. Without the Eucharist we will never overcome our sins, we will never love each other as we should, we will never spread the Gospel as we are tasked. “Unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood you do not have my life within you.”

Thanks be to God for this great gift, left to us that we may never, never forget, and always, always know the fruits of his saving sacrifice for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

11th Week of Ordinary Time 2022 - Friday - The sin of consumerism

A few years ago, the Arts & Entertainment channel began airing a show called, “Hoarders”.  The show chronicles people whose accumulation and hoarding of material stuff has become so excessive that it is has become difficult to move through the house; sometimes whole rooms are inaccessible becomes they are filled with material stuff that has begun to decay.  In many cases the houses become so unsanitary that children are forced into foster care, or the house is condemned.  

There are no doubt many psychological factors involved in compulsive hoarding, but often the show challenges the viewer to examine our own attachments to material things.

When Jesus says “do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth” he is not imposing a ban on all possessions, of course; it is not a sin for us to own things. The Catechism speaks of a right to private property. Nor is Jesus forbidding us to “stock up” and save for times of famine.  The book of proverbs tells us to look to the example of the ant that stores up in the summer for what it will need in the winter and calls foolish those who make no provisions for their families or the future.

But, St. Thomas Aquinas would say that concern for earthly things becomes sinful when we treat material things as ends in themselves; we fall into sin when we become so preoccupied with material things that we neglect our duties toward God and our neighbor.

Now, most of us are not compulsive hoarders. But, we live in a very materialistic consumeristic culture where it is easy to overvalue THINGS. The culture promotes preoccupation with earthly things, earthly concerns to the detriment of spiritual matters. Because "money makes the world go round", right? 

But consumerism is deadly because at its root it says my happiness can come from something other than God. It says, “You have stuff and if you are unhappy, you just haven’t found the right stuff, the right thing. So keep buying, keep hoarding, eventually you’ll find it.” And that is radically contrary to the Gospel. To quote St. John Paul II, Consumerism leads to “attitudes and life styles… which are objectively improper and damaging to physical and spiritual health”.

So we need to be on guard against the prevailing consumeristic headwinds, and teach our young people especially, to value spiritual matters, by our own good example.

Every day, we need to be intentional in turning away from the pursuit of happiness-through-consumerism by seeking heavenly treasures through prayer and charitable service. 

When our lives are focused merely on the material, the earthly, we become unhappy and exhausted.  Rather, the spiritual life brings us into right relationship with God—the peace and joy that the world cannot give.  May we spend this day in God’s service, properly ordered, seeking spiritual things over earthly things, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That all Christians will guard themselves against the evils of the world through study and prayer, and cultivate the life of the spirit for the good of all.

For greater generosity for the needs of the poor, the hungry, the homeless, those who are sick, unemployed, or suffering from addiction, mental, or physical illness, and those most in need: that the Lord in his goodness will be close to them in their trials.  

That the Lord will rescue all those who live at a distance from Him because of self-absorption or sin.  

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

Mercifully hear, O Lord, the prayers of your Church and turn with compassion to the hearts that bow before you, that those you make sharers in your divine mystery may always benefit from your assistance.

11th Week of Ordinary Time 2022 - Wednesday - The importance of regular penance

 

Today’s Gospel Reading should sound familiar to us; we heard it on a Wednesday earlier this liturgical year: on Ash Wednesday at the beginning of Lent. 

This section of the Lord’s Sermon on the Mount sets the tone for Lenten season—giving the Church her marching orders for the forty days. And what does those marching orders consist of? Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, that is, the importance of doing penance, and the manner in which it is to be done, not for outward show, but with a genuine spirit—out of love and worship for God.

We fittingly reflect upon the Lord’s precept to pray, fast, and give alms not just at the beginning of Lent, but also, now, during Ordinary Time, because these penitential practices are to be part of the ordinary life of the Christian.

Doing penance for sins is an importance dimension of the Christian life. Our Lady of Fatima repeatedly called for penance – penance for our own sins and for the sins of others—especially for blasphemies against her Son. “Penance, Penance, Penance” the Angel told the three shepherd children at Fatima. 

By penance we make atonement for offenses against God. Additionally, Penance is medicine for the wounds caused by sin: wounds in our human relationships, wounds in our minds and souls, wounds in our relationship with God. Penance brings about personal and interior conversion.

Pope Francis echoed the ancient call to prayer and penance saying, “penance and prayer will help us to open our eyes and our hearts to other people’s sufferings and to overcome the thirst for power and possessions that are so often the root of those evils.”

Penance also strengthens our fortitude, our ability to suffer for the sake of goodness. Willingly undertaking penance out of love for God strengthens us against temptation and strengthens us for the mission of the Church.

So many Christians are pushovers against temptation, they fall to the slightest temptations, especially temptations of the flesh, because they have not mortified their senses, appetites, and passions through penance. And many Christians recoil at expending any effort for the spread of the Gospel, again, because they have no fortitude built up from intentional acts of penance.

The Lord doesn’t say, “if you pray…if you fast…if you give alms”, but “when you pray, when you fast, when you give alms” implying that these penitential practices are to be part of the ordinary life of the Christian.

Today is a good day for examining our attitude toward penance and mortification, and asking the Holy Spirit to guide us to all truth concerning the penances that should be part of our every day life, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That all Christians will commit to fervent prayer so as to grow in greater love and holiness.  

For the faithfulness to fasting and to all the ways that the Lord wishes to sanctify us.  

For greater generosity for the needs of the poor, the hungry, the homeless, those who are sick, unemployed, or suffering from addiction, mental, or physical illness, and those most in need: that the Lord in his goodness will be close to them in their trials.  

That the Lord will rescue all those who live at a distance from Him because of self-absorption or sin.  

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

Mercifully hear, O Lord, the prayers of your Church and turn with compassion to the hearts that bow before you, that those you make sharers in your divine mystery may always benefit from your assistance.

11th Week of Ordinary Time 2022 - Tuesday - Love Your Enemies

Early on in his Sermon on the Mount, the Lord explains that the righteousness of his followers is to surpass that of the Scribes and Pharisees. 

Now the Scribes and Pharisees prided themselves on their observances of the ritual laws of the Torah and keeping the 10 commandments: they practiced ritual cleanliness, they avoided contact with unclean things and “unclean people” like Gentiles and prostitutes. 

But Christians are to strive for true righteousness: to be righteous and God is righteous, to be filled with the life and justice and peace and beauty and love of God.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus describes for us the way God the Father loves. As God the Father forgives and loves those who have made themselves his enemy through sin and serving other gods, so the way of Jesus demands that we love and pardon our enemies.

Not only are we to love our neighbor, but our enemies as well: those who persecute you, those who sin against you, those with whom your country is at war, those who cut you off in traffic, those who may have bullied you a half a century ago in grade school, those who misuse their power and authority. Love them.  

Love them, forgive them, be patient with them, feed them, clothe them, teach them, serve them, hold no grudges toward them, visit them, pray for them, seek what is best for them. Love them even when it feels like they are scourging you at a pillar, even when they are forcing you to march to your crucifixion.

We see the Lord doing everything he can to solicit the conversion of those who persecute him throughout the course of his ministry, he prays for them even as he is suffering and dying on the cross. And we are called to do the same. That is love. Remaining patient with ones enemies, seeking their conversion, and even praying for them if they nail you to a cross.

This is the way of perfection, because this is what the perfect God did. And the Lord teaches today that we will not really become children of God until we start behaving like God—God who is Love—God who loves everyone, forgives everyone, desires the good of everyone.

Many people in our highly-offendable culture walk around just waiting to attack those who offend them, to verbally assault those who inconvenience them. They are just looking to mark someone as their enemy so they can pummel them with their pent up frustrations, to make them into a scapegoat for all of their problems. 

Christians, rather than being at the ready to pounce on our enemies, must be ready to forgive them, to love them.

May the Lord bring about that change of heart in each of us, to readily love with Christ-like love, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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

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

For the Church’s missions amongst the poor and unevangelized throughout the world, that the work of Christ may be carried out with truth and love. Let us pray to the Lord.

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

For all those who share in the sufferings of Christ—the sick, the sorrowful, and those who are afflicted or burdened in any way.  Let us pray to the Lord.

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

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

 

June 14 2022 - St. Anthony of Padua - Patron of Lost Things

 Saint Anthony of Padua has been honored since the 11th century by Catholics around the world. Anthony belonged to that first generation of the followers of St. Francis of Assisi known as the Friars Minor. 

In 2010, Holy Father Benedict XVI gave a beautiful summary of Saint Anthony’s life and spirituality.  He said, “Anthony, in the school of Francis, always put Christ at the center of his life and thinking, of his action and of his preaching.”

Franciscan, doctor, preacher, priest. Yet, St. Anthony is of course widely invoked as the patron saint of lost things. The little jingle goes like this: "St. Anthony, please look around; something is lost and must be found." This attribution comes from an incident from Anthony’s life.

As the story goes, Anthony had a book of psalms that was very important to him. Besides the value of any book before the invention of the printing-press, the psalter had the notes and comments he had made to use in teaching students in his Franciscan Order.

Upon realizing his psalter was missing, Anthony prayed it would be found or returned to him. A novice who had decided to leave religious life had stolen the psalter. But after Anthony’s prayer, the thieving novice was moved to repentance. He returned the psalter to Anthony and returned to the Order, which accepted him back.

St. Anthony is invoked as patron of lost things, however more importantly is a patron of lost souls— those who have fallen to mortal sin, have abandoned the Church and have grown apathetic to the practice of the faith. And for this we should invoke him more often than we lose our car keys! When your heart is grieved over family members who have left the Church, pray to St. Anthony! For those young people who seem to be lost in a sea of sin, pray to St. Anthony! For those who are angry at the Church or preach a false Gospel, pray to St. Anthony!

Maybe some of you here were at one point lost—apathetic or hostile to religion, dabbling in the new age, or diving head over heals into sin. The Church was praying for you, the saints were praying for you. And thanks be to God, what was lost, has now been found. Stay that way!

In a sermon, Anthony said, “If you preach Jesus, he will melt hardened hearts; if you invoke him, he will soften harsh temptations; if you think of him, he will enlighten your mind; if you read of him, he will satisfy your intellect.”

May Saint Anthony always help us to find Christ: in the poor, in one another, in our Sacred Worship, in our prayer, that we may know God’s help in every trial and faithfully follow the teachings of Christ, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Trinity Sunday 2022 - God revealed in Creation, Cross, & Church

 Throughout the Church year, the feasts and solemnities of the liturgical calendar celebrate different dimensions of our Catholic faith. We celebrate events from the life of Jesus: like his joyous birth at Christmas, his salvific death on Good Friday, his glorious Resurrection on Easter Sunday. We also celebrate the feast days of the saints, typically on the anniversaries of their martyrdoms or natural deaths – like the feast of St. Ignatius of Antioch on October 17.

But today, on this solemnity of the Holy Trinity, we don’t celebrate an event from the life of Jesus or one of his holy saints, we celebrate the nature of God, who God is, and what God has done.

And as a way of gently handling this most august and mysterious of topics, I’d like to reflect on three C’s. Three C’s. Creation, Crucifixion, and Church.

In the first reading, we heard of the glories of Creation: mountains, hills, fountains, fields, earth and dirt, the heavens and skies, sea and water. God Created all these things and therefore must have pre-existed all of these things. God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—has existed from all eternity—and the three divine persons, working together, have brought all aspects of creation into being. 

What is the most beautiful place you’ve ever visited? A mountain top, the grand canyon, the ocean, a lush forest, a secluded lake? I’ve been blessed to have been able to travel to a lot of different locals. I remember vacationing in Canada one year, up in the Kawartha Lakes of Northern Ontario and waking up one early morn and seeing the first glimmers of sunlight on the glassy lake, the morning mist just gently hovering over the waters, the calm ever-green forest lining the shores of the lake, just being moved to tears at how grateful I was to take in the beauty of Creation.

Creation is beautiful-- because God—the Creator—is infinitely beautiful—and He has made creation very good. Pope Pius XII back in 1955 reflected upon how finite Creation hints at God’s infinite beauty. He said, Creation, “which offers itself to the inspection of the attentive observer, reveals an inexhaustible wealth of goodness and beauty, reflecting back with transparent sincerity the infinite superabundance of the perfection and beauty of nature's Creator.”

“Sometimes one is enchanted and overcome by the majesty of towering mountains, at other times by the irresistible fury of the ocean tempest, the solitude of polar glaciers, the vast stretch of virgin forests, the melancholy of the desert sands, the loveliness of flowers, the limpid quality of water, the violent rush of waterfalls, the distinctive beauty of the Northern Lights... Greater astonishment and wealth of knowledge are offered by... the secrets of the animal kingdom... in forests and in inhospitable deserts, on rivers and in the depths of the sea. What a testimony to the richness and manifold variety of nature... to soothe, recreate and refresh the spirit."

So, on this Trinity Sunday, reflect, perhaps on the beauty of nature, tell someone about the most beautiful place you’ve ever visited. Thank God for his beautiful creation. And endeavor to be a good steward of that creation.

The first C—Creation. The Second C--The Cross. The Cross too reveals something about God to us, it reveals God’s love. On the Cross we see the love of God made visible. The Father so loved the world, that he sent his Son to suffer and die to redeem us. God is love, and there is no greater love than one who lays down his life for others. Creation was a labor of love, well, so was the cross, the greatest labor of love: the labor that saved us from the grasp of hell. 

And through the Cross, through the Crucifixion, the Holy Trinity has transformed the ugliness of suffering into an instrument of human sanctification and redemption. Suffering now has meaning and redemptive power, so much so that we can say with St. Paul in our second reading: “we are able, now to boast of our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope, and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.”

On this Trinity Sunday, turn to a crucifix, contemplate the love of God for you, in suffering for you, dying for you, you a sinner, loved with love beyond all telling. Ask the Father to help you to love as much as he does, Ask the Son to help you to love as much as he does, as the Holy Spirit to help you love as much as He does.

Creation, Cross, and finally, Church. The Church also reveals something about God—she reveals that God is still at work. The Church’s very existence is willed by God, she is sustained by God, animated by God, taught by God, directed toward God, protected by God, ordered by God, sent out by God. The Church reveals that God involves us in His work—to save souls. 

Also, St. Basil the Great, the fourth century doctor of the Church, taught that the Church has the duty to reflect God’s nature. The world is to know that God is a Trinity—a Communion of Love—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—through the way we worship and treat each other.

The Trinitarian nature of God is certainly seen in the way we worship. In the celebration of Mass, we unite ourselves to the Son, who offers Himself to the Father, that the grace of salvation may redeem the human race through the power of the Holy Spirit. Our sacred hymns today especially invoke, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We baptized in the name of the Father Son and Holy Spirit. Sins are absolved in Sacramental Confession in the name of the Father Son and Holy Spirit. The dying are comforted and the sick are brought healing and strength in the name of the Father Son and Holy Spirit.

But the nature of the Triune God is not just revealed by the Church’s worship and sacramental life, but the Church acts in his name out in the world. We seek to be faithful to the Commands of the Father, as Christ was obedient. We seek to imitate Christ’s goodness, his self-sacrifice, his self-donation, his endurance, his love for sinners. And we seek to be animated by the gifts of the holy spirit and the fruits of the holy spirit for the building up of the church and the mission of spreading the Gospel. Just like the beauty of God can be detected in creation, just like the love of God was revealed on the cross, the truth, goodness, and beauty of the living God—Father, Son, and Spirit, are to be manifest in the life of the Church.

So, on this great Solemnity consider how your life is called to mirror, reflect, make manifest, make known the Triune God—His Truth, Goodness, Beauty, and Love for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

10th Week in Ordinary Time 2022 - Friday - Inner Transformation

 Since the beginning of the week we’ve been reading from Jesus’ most famous sermon, his sermon on the mount. He has taught his followers to be salt and light, not to lose our saltiness and not to hide our light, and of keeping God’s commandments, the smallest letter, the smallest part of the letter of the law of God.

Today the Lord singles out two of the commandments of the law of Moses regarding adultery and divorce, and by doing so, illustrates a grander point.

Not only are Christians to refrain from activities prohibited by God’s laws—for example adultery and divorce—Christians are to root out the attitudes that lead to sin. 

True external conformity to the laws of God is only possible when we have also sought internal conformity to the heart of God.

Two people are standing in the same line waiting for the cashier at the grocery store. One stands quietly, one angrily complains. One approaches the cashier with gentleness, the other rudely belittles the cashier. 

We must root out—or at least control—those internal dispositions to rudeness, anger, complaint, adultery, divorce, and so on, and desire to remain patient in the face of inconvenience, to remain chaste in the face of all lust.

When the Lord says, “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away” he is speaking hyperbolically. In other words, if you possess some license within yourself, that in some circumstance it is okay to belittle a cashier, get rid of it. If you possess some license within yourself, that in some circumstance it would be okay to commit adultery or some other sexual sin get rid of it, tear out, throw it away.

And if that’s not possible, develop, nurture and grow the ability to practice “self-control” in all circumstances. 

Well, I’m just a little hot-headed sometimes, I’m only human. No. Grace wants to transform those parts of us that are fallen, and bring them under the dominion of God. And the failure to cooperate with transforming grace is our own fault, our own most grievous fault. 

May we seek to cooperate with God’s manifold grace with as much effort as we can possibly muster, for the healing and transformation that God wants for us, God who love us despite our faults, but who seeks our redemption and conversion from sin, and so come to the Beatitude God has planned for us for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That the preaching and teaching and charitable works of the Church will inspire all people to seek to radical holiness and obedience to the commands of God.

That those in public office may govern with wisdom, put an end to all political corruption, and work for a society of authentic justice and peace with special care for the most vulnerable.

For an end to oppression, racism, hatred, addiction and injustice. For the healing of all the sick. 

For an increase in vocations to the priesthood and consecrated religious life, for a strengthening of marriages, for all single people who strive to follow Christ, and for the grace to utilize our spiritual gifts for the building up of the Church.

That those who have died may share in the joy of life-everlasting; for our deceased family members, friends, and fellow parishioners, for all the poor souls in purgatory…

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.

 

Monday after Pentecost 2022 - Mary, Mother of the Church and the fruits of the Holy Spirit

 

Though Our Lady has been referred to as the mother of Christians and as the mother of the Church since ancient times, the Memorial of Mary, Mother of the Church, celebrated on the monday following Pentecost Sunday, is the most recent addition to the liturgical calendar, instituted by Pope Francis in 2018 in his decree Beatae Mariæ Virginis, Ecclesiæ Matris.

The idea of Mary as Mother of Christians is found in the writings of St. Augustine, who explains that Mary is the mother of the members of Christ, because with charity she cooperates in the rebirth of the faithful into the Church. St. Leo the Great, Pope just about a decade after the death of Augustine says that the birth of the Head is also the birth of the body. Mary is Mother of Christ, the Son of God, and also mother of the members of his Mystical Body, the Church. 

“Mother, behold your son” we hear in the Gospel for today’s memorial. Holy Father Pope Francis explains, “Indeed, the Mother standing beneath the cross (cf. Jn 19:25), accepted her Son’s testament of love and welcomed all people in the person of the beloved disciple as sons and daughters to be reborn unto life eternal. She thus became the tender Mother of the Church which Christ begot on the cross handing on the Spirit. Christ, in turn, in the beloved disciple, chose all disciples as ministers of his love towards his Mother, entrusting her to them so that they might welcome her with filial affection.”

“As a caring guide to the emerging Church Mary had already begun her mission in the Upper Room, praying with the Apostles while awaiting the coming of the Holy Spirit (as we heard in our first reading today).”

This connection with Pentecost is surely why the Holy Father placed this memorial on the Monday after Pentecost. Mother Mary prayed with the Apostles, teaching them to be open to the Holy Spirit, as she was at her annunciation, where the Holy Spirit overshadowed her, and through whom she conceived the Christ. 

When we pray, Mother Mary is always praying with us, she is praying for us, even before we have the inspiration to pray. She is praying that we may be open to the Holy Spirit’s gifts. She is praying that the fruits of the Holy Spirit may grow in us like the Christ-child grew in her holy womb: gentleness, patience, self-control, chastity, and joy. 

Let us honor her with this tender title, Mary, Mother of the Church, today and always, that all Christians may be open to the new life of the Holy Spirit, as the Apostles on Pentecost, for the mission of the Gospel, and have the strength to remain faithful to the commands of Christ as we carry our crosses, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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To the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, we recommend ourselves and the entire Body of Christ.

Mary, Mother of the Church: Guide and assist our Holy Father and our Bishops in their apostolic mission, and aid all who help them in their work.

Mary, Mother of the Church: Enlighten the People of God along the paths of faith, hope and love! You were given to us as a mother by your Divine Son at the moment of his redeeming death.

Mary, Mother of the Church: Remember us your children, support our prayers to God. Preserve our Faith, strengthen our Hope, increase our Charity.

Mary, Mother of the Church and Immaculate Heart: Help us to conquer the menace of evil, which so easily takes root in the hearts of the people of today.

Mary, Mother of the Church: From nuclear war, from incalculable self-destruction, and from every kind of war, deliver us. From sins against human life from its very beginning, deliver us. From every kind of injustice in the life of society, deliver us.

Mary, Mother of the Church: From readiness to trample on the commandments of God, deliver us. From attempts to stifle the very truth of God, deliver us. From the loss of awareness of good and evil deliver us. From sins against the Holy Spirit, deliver us.

Mary, Mother of the Church: That those who have died may share in the joy of life-everlasting; for our deceased family members, friends, and fellow parishioners, for the repose of the soul of Mr. Joseph Malesic, 104-year old father of Bishop Edward Malesic, who died this week for all the poor souls in purgatory and for N.

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.

Pentecost 2022 - Unity

 

On Friday, the Holy Father, met with a delegation of young priests and monks from the Eastern Orthodox Churches—so the Greek Orthodox, Ukrainian Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox and so on. And that is quite the feat, as the Orthodox Churches, historically have not always had the most cordial of relationships with Rome nor with each other. So to get everyone in a room together, in Rome, is already a Pentecost miracle. But then the Holy Father took the opportunity to speak to this disparate group, about one of the important themes of Pentecost: unity. “Strive to preserve the unity of the spirit” St. Paul writes to the Ephesians. The Lord himself prayed for the church’s unity at the Last supper, “I pray Father, that they may be one, as you and I are one.”

The Holy Father offered four insights about what Pentecost teaches us about unity. 

Firstly, the Holy Father said unity is a “gift…a fire from on high”. Unity is a gift from God. With all of our divisions in the human family and even in the Church, the Holy Father says, yes, we need to take great efforts to work for unity: prayer, dialogue, disposing ourselves to what God wants for us, but unity, says Pope Francis, is primarily “not a fruit of earth, but of heaven. It is not primarily the result of our commitment, OUR efforts and OUR agreements,” he says, “but of the working of the Holy Spirit, to whom we need to open our hearts in trust, so that he can guide us along the path to full communion. Unity is a grace, a gift.”

So, yes, we need to do our part, but in the end, all human efforts fail, they are insufficient, for the unification of divided humanity is ultimately the work of God. Jesus came to reconcile us to one another and to the Father, something that we could not and cannot do on our own. No amount of secular human progress will create unity. We need God if we hope to live in unity.

A second lesson that Pentecost teaches us is that unity God wants for us is not necessarily uniformity,” he said, “much less the fruit of compromise or fragile diplomatic balances of power. Unity is harmony in the diversity of the charisms bestowed by the Spirit. For the Holy Spirit loves to awaken both multiplicity and unity, as at Pentecost, where different languages were not reduced to one alone, but were taken up in all their variety. Harmony is the way of the Spirit, for, as Saint Basil the Great says, the Spirit is harmony.”

One of the things I love about St. Ignatius is our harmonious  and diverse unity. On any given Sunday we have folks from the neighborhood, folks who’ve moved away, life-long parishioners, and neophytes, catholics from various ethnic backgrounds, economic strata, and professions. Parishioners with so many different gifts. And we offer two forms of the holy mass, the ordinary form in English, and the old rite, both in harmony, hopefully mutually enriching each other, teaching each other, both bringing about a diversity of charisms from the Holy Spirit. 

A third lesson of Pentecost, the Holy Father explains,  is that unity is a journey. “Unity is attained along the way” he says, “it grows by sharing each step of the journey, by facing its joys and struggles, and experiencing its unexpected surprises. As Saint Paul told the Galatians, we are called to walk by the Spirit. In the words of Saint Irenaeus, whom the Holy Father named as the Doctor of Unity, the Church is tõn adelphõn synodía, in the Greek, “a caravan of brothers”. In this caravan, unity grows and matures: a unity that – in God’s quiet way – does not suddenly appear as an overwhelming miracle, but quietly emerges in the patient and persevering progress of a journey made together.” What a beautiful image. A caravan wherein each of the members are seeking growth in our unique virtues, but growing in holiness, together.

Are we here at St. Ignatius, or in the Diocese of Cleveland, “perfectly one”, as the Lord, prayed for at the Last Supper? Not quite. Are we “of the same mind, with the same love, united in heart, thinking one thing” as St. Paul taught the Philippians. Not quite. But Paul said, strive to be of the same mind, meaning, it is an effort, a journey, as the Holy Father says.. As I preached about last week, our unity comes from our personal assent to the truths, the dogmas of the faith, and our worship of the one true God. But we have some ways to go, don’t we.

Lastly, the Holy Father explains that unity “is closely tied to the fruitfulness of the Christian proclamation: unity is for mission.  Jesus prayed for his disciples that they “may all be one… so that the world may believe” (Jn 17:21). At Pentecost, the Church was born as a missionary Church. Today too, the world is waiting…to hear the Gospel message of charity, freedom and peace. It is a message that we are called to bear witness to with one another, not against one another or apart from one another.”

Unity is for mission. St. Ignatius of Antioch has a mission to the neighborhood, to the fallen away Catholics, and angry or hurt Catholics, the unchurched, the drug-addled, the freemasons, the protestants, the muslims. It’s not just my mission folks. It’s our mission. Our communal mission from God. And I pray that the Holy Spirit will continue to send us insight into how to fulfill that mission, and strength for that mission. 

Please pray for your parish throughout the week. If you cannot come to daily mass throughout the week, make sure you lift your parish up to God, and your pastor. These are complex times aren’t they? Confusing times. But God chose us to be here now, in 2022, for the work of the Gospel. May we be one in our mission.

The Holy Father concluded his thoughts, “Dear brothers, may the cross of Christ be the compass that directs us on our journey towards full unity. For on that cross Christ, our peace, reconciled us and gathered us into one people” 

May we draw close to the cross of Christ every day, to be set alight with spiritual fire, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

June 03 2022 - St. Charles Lwanga - Love of Chastity

 o many of us, the name of the Ugandan Martyr St. Charles Lwanga is unfamiliar.  But, he is well-known and revered in much of tropical Africa and is honored throughout the universal Church as a patron saint of young people and chastity. 

Evangelization of Uganda only began in the mid-1800s by the Society of Missionaries of Africa (known as the White Fathers because of the white cassock they wore). At that time Uganda had a very vicious, lustful king named Mwanga who forced himself on the young boys and young men of his court.  Charles Lwanga, who had become a Catechist for the Christian community, encouraged the young boys to preserve their chastity. For opposing the King’s lusts, Charles was arrested and burned to death on June 3.

St. Charles Lwanga’s witness reminds us that chastity is part of God’s plan for all people, but the culture is not always receptive to that message. Especially as “National Pride Month” is celebrated by many in our land, Christ’s call to chastity needs to joyfully resound in his Church.

Chastity involves self-mastery, self-control, self-knowledge, developing the virtue of temperance, and learning to rely on God’s grace in times of temptation. Chastity brings freedom from our baser, fallen, and disordered impulses, and the joy of bringing one’s life more under the dominion of the Holy Spirit. Chastity is largely a personal journey, though Christian parents certainly have a pivotal role in protecting the innocence of their children from the perversions of the culture. Indeed, the Church has a role in promoting chastity in the larger culture. 

The proliferation of pornography, the confused gender ideologies which are pushed in public schools and in the media, the cultural-acceptance of sex before marriage, are certainly signs that we have a lot of work to do in this area. 

In the Gospel for today’s feast of St. Charles we heard the Lord’s beatitudes, in which he proclaims, “blessed are the pure of heart.” The “pure of heart,” according to the Catechism, “refers to those who have attuned their intellects and wills to the demands of God’s holiness, chiefly in three areas: charity; chastity or sexual rectitude; love of truth and orthodoxy of faith."

Through the intercession of St. Charles Lwanga and his martyred companions, may we seek that purity of intellect and will, that chastity, and the love of the truth that St. Charles lived and died for, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That the witness, sufferings, and death of the  martyrs may bring about rebirth of Christianity and civilization, in those places where faith and morals have diminished.

Through the intercession of St. Charles Lwanga, patron of youth, may our young people be protected from the perversion of our culture and be infused with virtue.

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

For all the needs of the sick and the suffering, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, the underemployed and unemployed, victims of natural disaster, war, 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 the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, for the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, for those who have fought and died for our freedom, and…

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.

June 01 2022 - St. Justin Martyr - Seeking Truth and Holiness

 

The story of St. Justin’s conversion is well known.  

Justin was born around the year 100 in the Holy Land, and was the son of pagan nobles, so he was not raised in the faith.  But he was very well educated, studying poetry, history and science, and he was deeply schooled in the ancient Greek philosophers, but the Truth of God eluded him. 

One day, Justin was walking by the sea near Caesarea and there he met an old man.  And they began to walk and talk together about philosophy and truth. When the man revealed himself to be a Christian, Justin argued vehemently against Christianity. But finally the old man curtly cut him off, saying "You are a mere dealer in words, but no lover of action and truth; your aim is not to be a practiser of good, but a clever arguer, a cunning sophist." And when finally Justin put the question to the old man: "Where then is truth?" the old man replied, "Search the Scriptures and pray that the gates of light may be opened to you, for none can perceive and comprehend these things except God and His Christ grant them understanding."

Justin writes about what happened when he took up thr old man’s challenge: “A fire was suddenly kindled in my soul.  I fell in love with the prophets and those who loved Christ.  I reflected on all their words and found this philosophy alone was true and profitable.”

The old man, a simple Christian, was able to point this young person, Justin, with his superior education, to the Truth---to not love just words, words, words, but action, truth, goodness, and beauty.

Saints are not just born saints. They encounter Truth and goodness and beauty in the witness of the Church first. You don’t have to have a doctorate in theology to win converts, you just have to practice the good and tell the truth when it is your turn to tell it.

That old man set Justin on the path of holiness. And yes, Justin would certainly go on to use his tremendous intellectual gifts in service of the Church. Justin was one of the greatest apologists of his time: defending the faith against its enemies and explaining the faith for believers. 

In Rome, he was arrested for practicing Christianity.  Before the judge, Justin was asked, "Do you think that by dying you will enter heaven and be rewarded?" "I don't just think so," the saint answered. "I am sure of it!"  He was given the opportunity to renounce the faith and save his life; instead he defended the faith and clearly explained it, with his dying breaths.  He was put to death as a martyr by beheading along with six of his students, five men and one woman, in the year 166.

There are times when each of us will be called upon by God to defend our faith and clearly explain the faith.  In the early days of the Church, God chose Justin to spread the truth of the faith. He fearlessly defended the gospel of Christ before the powers and principalities and rulers of the day.  Through his prayers may we be bearers and defenders of the Christian faith to all we meet, witnessing to the saving power of Christ for the glory of God and salvation of souls. 

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For openness to the Holy Spirits gifts, that we may be always bold and clear in spreading and defending the Gospel.

That the faith of the martyrs may give us courage in times of persecution.

For our young people beginning summer vacation, that they may be kept close to the truth and heart of Jesus.

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

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

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.