July 15 2026 - St. Bonaventure - Marian Protection and Christian Perfection

 

The Church celebrates today the Feast of St. Bonaventure.  When we celebrate the saints, we reflect on the lessons from their lives on how to be a more faithful follower of Jesus Christ. 

St. Bonaventure met St. Francis of Assisi as a young boy, in fact, it is said that St. Francis miraculously cured Bonaventure of a serious disease.  As a young man, Bonaventure joined the Franciscans, and it was immediately evident that he was a genius. Bonaventure went on to be one of the great academics intellects of the middle ages along with St Thomas Aquinas, writing biblical commentaries and theological and philosophical treatises. Bonaventure wrote the official biography of St. Francis’ life, which is still read today, 750 years after his death.

St. Bonaventure was declared by Pope Sixtus V as a Doctor of the Church.  For Bonaventure’s great insight into the spiritual life and into theology really shapes the way we understand what it means to be a follower of Jesus. 

St. Bonaventure wrote, “Whoever wishes to ascend to God must first avoid sin, which deforms our nature; he must pray to receive restoring grace; he must lead a good life, to receive purifying justice; he must meditate, to receive illuminating knowledge; he must practice contemplation, to receive perfecting wisdom.” 

Avoid Sin. Pray to receive restoring grace. Meditate. Practice contemplation.

In the spiritual life, St. Bonaventure also taught praying for the protection of Our Lady against the temptations of the devil. St. Bonaventure writes, “Deliver me, O Lady, from all evil: and from the infernal enemy defend me. Against me he hath drawn his bow: and in his craftiness he hath laid snares for me. Restrain his evil power: and powerfully crush his craft. Turn back his iniquity on his own head: and let him speedily fall into the pit which he hath made. But we will rejoice in thy service: and we will glory in thy praise.”

Bonaventure writes, of course, about looking to the life and example of Jesus, our Lord. He writes, “In all your deeds and words you should look upon this Jesus as your model. Do so whether you are walking or keeping silence, or speaking, whether you are alone or with others. He is perfect, and thus you will be not only irreprehensible, but praiseworthy.”

May St. Bonaventure, help us indeed, to Avoid sin. Pray. Meditate. Contemplate. Seek Mary’s Protection. And Follow Jesus’ example, that we may obtain that perfection for which we were made, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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For Pope Leo, Bishop Malesic and all of the clergy: may their lives and ministry be marked by truth, holiness and zeal for souls. Let us pray to the Lord.

For all theologians, teachers, students, and scholars: that their studies may lead not to pride, but deeper union with God. Let us pray to the Lord.

For our parish community: that, following the example of Saint Bonaventure, we may avoid sin, pray fervently, meditate deeply, contemplate heavenly things, and imitate Jesus in all our words and deeds. Let us pray to the Lord.

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 faithful departed: that they may behold the Lord face to face and enter into the perfect wisdom and joy of heaven. Let us pray to the Lord.

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.

 

 

 

11th Week in Ordinary Time 2026 - Wednesday - The prayer, fasting, and almsgiving of God's priestly people

 

At Sunday Mass, this last weekend, we read from the book of Exodus how God has formed his people into a kingdom of priests—a royal priesthood. Being the people God made us to be involves a priestly dimension. All of us, all of the baptized have priestly duties.

In his recent catechesis on the documents of Vatican II, Pope Leo talks about this priestly dimension of our lives—he says, “we exercise our royal priesthood through prayer, asceticism and active charity, and by doing so, we bear witness to a life renewed by God’s grace.” Those three priestly activities should sound familiar, they are the three Lenten practices—prayer, fasting, and almsgiving—which we all strive to engage in more perfectly during the Lent season.

In our Gospel reading today, we read of Jesus teaching about these three priestly duties—a Gospel which we read on the first day of Lent every year—on Ash Wednesday. He says, “when you pray”, “when you fast”, “when you give alms”. His disciples are expected to engage in these activities not just during the season of Lent, but always. They are part of the ordinary priestly duties of the baptized.

The Lord doesn’t just tell explain THAT we are to engage in these duties, but HOW we are to engage in them: “when you pray, when you fast, when you give alms” don’t do so that others may see you, or to win the praise of others. Our intention for our priestly duties mustn’t be for worldly attention, rather, as Pope Leo explained, echoing the sentiments of Our Blessed Lord, “we exercise our royal priesthood through prayer, asceticism and active charity, and by doing so, we bear witness to a life renewed by God’s grace.”

Our intention must be to bear witness to God, to show others that the relationship with God transforms human life, renews us. Prayer directed to God, renews us, it is a sipping of the fountain of eternal life. Fasting renews us, for it is restraining the bodily appetites in order to focus on what truly matters—for man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. And almsgiving, charitable work, renews us, because it is a participation in the life of God who is love—and that participation transforms us like gold in a furnace.

The priestly dimension of our Christian life is not simply a sacrifice to detracts from us—giving of our time and effort in order to pray, in order to fast, in order to give alms enables us to share in the very life of God.

May we engage in them more fervently, more seriously, but also in great joy, bearing witness to God for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

 

As God’s royal priesthood, we intercede for the needs of the world and the needs of the Church.

For Pope Leo, our bishops, priests, and deacons: that their ministry may strengthen the faithful to live their baptismal dignity with renewed fervor and joy.

For all Christians: that we may pray not for human praise, but from a sincere desire for communion with God.

That through fasting and asceticism, we may discover the freedom of living by the word of God.

For the poor, the lonely, the sick, and all who depend upon the charity of others: that the almsgiving and active love of Christians may reveal to them the tenderness of God. Let us pray to the Lord.

For our young people on summer vacation and those attending our Vacation Bible School this week: that they may be blessed with faith-filled homes, and protected from all physical and spiritual harm.

For the faithful departed: that, purified of every sin, they may share forever in the life and love of God.

Heavenly Father, you have made us your holy people through Baptism and called us to bear witness to your grace in the world. Hear the prayers we offer today, and strengthen us to live our priestly calling with sincerity, humility, and joy. Through Christ our Lord.

Holy Week 2026 - Wednesday (School Mass) - Preparing for the Sacred Triduum

Tomorrow begins the three Sacred Days of the Church Year known as the Sacred Triduum: Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday.

All of our Lenten practices and penances are aimed at preparing us for what happens over the next three days.

Our Lenten prayer has been preparing us to remain close to Jesus. On Holy Thursday, the Lord says, “Stay with me. Remain with me”. We are to prayerfully accompany Jesus into the upper room for the Last Supper on Holy Thursday, we are to prayerfully accompany him as he sweats blood and is arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, and as he goes to the cross on Good Friday, and as his body is laid in the tomb on Holy Saturday.

Our Lenten fasting has been preparing us to take up our crosses as Jesus takes up his. Jesus does not cling to His own comfort, safety, or life. He empties Himself completely. Lenten fasting has enabled us to practice that same self-denial in a small but real way, and to appreciate the suffering Jesus undergoes for us.

Likewise, our Lenten almsgiving has been preparing us to give of ourselves in sacrificial love and generosity as Jesus did on the cross. 

Our Lenten repentance and confession of sin has been preparing us to see our sins honestly. For during the Triduum we see exactly what sin does. Sin is not just some small mistake or a private weakness. Turning away from God—separation from God has real consequences. And Lenten repentance helps us come to Holy Week with clearer eyes: not merely feeling sorry for Jesus, but recognizing that He suffers to save us from our sins.

Finally, Lent prepares us to renew our Christian identity at Easter. For at the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday, the Church celebrates baptism of those who have heard the Lord’s call to the waters of everlasting life. And on Easter Sunday, the Catholic Church collectively renews the promises made at our baptisms—to reject sin and live in the newness of life won for us by Jesus Christ.

In the Gospel today, the disciples approached Jesus and asked him how best they could prepare for the Passover. Each of us does well to do the same? Jesus, how can I best use these short hours we have left to best prepare for Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday? What prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and repentance can help me best be prepared to follow you to the cross, to grave, and to the resurrection, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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As we stand on the threshold of the Sacred Triduum, let us bring our prayers before the Father, asking for the grace to follow His Son more closely through His Passion, Death, and Resurrection.

That the prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and repentance of Lent may bear fruit in a deeper love for Jesus and a more generous readiness to remain with Him in the days ahead, let us pray to the Lord. Lord, hear our prayer.

For catechumens and candidates preparing to receive the Easter Sacraments, that the Lord may strengthen them, purify them, and fill them with joy as they approach the waters of new life, let us pray to the Lord. Lord, hear our prayer.

For God’s blessings upon Corpus Christi Academy students and faculty, and for safety over Easter break. Lord, hear our prayer.

For those who suffer in body, mind, or spirit, and for all who carry heavy crosses, that by uniting their sufferings to Christ they may find strength, peace, and consolation, let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, hear our prayer.

For the faithful departed, that having died with Christ, they may share forever in the glory of His Resurrection, let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, hear our prayer.

Heavenly Father, in your love you gave us your Son, who suffered, died, and rose again for our salvation. Hear the prayers we place before you, and prepare us to enter these sacred days with faith, gratitude, and love. Through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

 

5th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2026 - Salt

 

I remember as a kid, my dad telling stories about working in the salt mines under Lake Erie when he was a younger man.  Morton Salt has about 3 miles of salt mines 2000 feet underneath our great lake.  . This salt is an important source of revenue for the State of Ohio, and the salt is utilized in a number of ways: particularly as a seasoning for our food and on our roads during the winter. With 3 miles of salt mines, it kind of makes you wonder why we supposedly have a winter salt shortage this year. But I degress.

Immediately following the Lord’s teaching on the beatitudes, which we heard last Sunday, the Lord says that his disciples must become like salt. Talk about bringing us down to earth. In order to attain heaven, you must become like salt.

Salt was used in a number of ways in Jesus’ time, just as it is for us. And those different ways salt is used can certainly help us to understand what Our Lord meant when he told us to become like salt.

First salt is used as a seasoning. So, too, Christians are to be a sort of seasoning to an otherwise bland world.  There is nothing more interesting—no one more full of life than a true Christian saint filled with the life of Christ. The saints are the best season we can imagine, and we must become like them. Do you know the names of any famous athletes, actors, businessmen, or politicians from the 13^th century? But we certainly remember names like Francis, Clare, Dominic, Anthony of Padua, Elizabeth of Hungary, Hedwig, Bonaventure, Thomas Aquinas, Raymond of Penafort, Albert the Great. So why would we want to be like athletes and actors? Strive to be truly remembered for your holiness, for seasoning people’s lives with the goodness of God.

How else is salt used? Salt is necessary for life. Even the most stringent nutritionists have to admit that salt is a necessary component of the human diet. The ancients, too, understood, salt was necessary for good health.  Similarly, Christians need to be salt in this way. The health, the survival of a society depends on Christians—doing what Christians do, infusing societal life with the life and goodness and truth and beauty of God. Our mission isn’t just to come to Church and leave our faith at the door. Our mission is to infuse this neighborhood with the saltiness—the life—of Christ because without the life of Christ it will die.

Salt is also a Preservative: In the days before refrigeration, salt made preserving food. Salt keeps food from decay. So Christians, have the task of preserving our world from spiritual decay. Seeing many of the strong Christian values in our country begin to fade, Christians need to take up again this call to preserve. Christians must preserve our world—and protect our children—from spiritual rot.

Salt is also a Purifier: The salt in the oceans of the world act as a natural cleaning agent, and most water purification systems use salt as a "purifier." Christians are to be the world’s purifiers: opposing the corrupting powers of malice and perversion and greed. Each of us too needs to seek the constant purifying of our minds from the world’s corrupting influence. In his second New Testament Letter, St. Peter writes, “make every effort to be found without stain or defilement.” So, we must constantly purify our minds through study of God’s word, interiorizing the doctrines of our faith, imitating the example of the saints.

Salt also has a destructive power.  As a kid, I’d run to the kitchen to get a salt shaker when I found a slug in the garden.  In the ancient world, when an army would conquer their enemy, they’d knock down the walls, raise the city to the ground, then really to rub it in sometimes they would cast salt upon the earth so that nothing would ever grow there again. Are Christians to be a destructive power in society? In a sense we are! We are to be a an opposing force against the powers of evil and the manifestations of the Antichrist.

Satan is like that slug, a garden slug, and he is diminished when Christians really get salty with the life of Christ. We are meant to disrupt the work of the antichrist to deface the dignity of the human person. Satan seeks to pervert life, lead souls away from God, and we must get salty in this battle. We need to take back territory and claim it for Christ.

Another use for salt: as we know all too well, living here in Cleveland—Salt is used for the melting of ice. Salt makes things flow that are frozen.   The Church’s task is to loosen up a world frozen in its own self-regard, frozen in violence and selfishness, frozen in habits of “oppression, false accusation and malicious speech” to quote our first reading.  When we are faithful to Christ, we have a melting influence.  

Think of the power of one saint. Saints melt hearts frozen against Christ. Hardened atheists have come to Christ by finding about the goodness of Francis, the piety of Padre Pio, the selfless charity of Mother Theresa and Elizabeth Ann Seton. Many souls have been converted to Christ because they saw Christians selflessly engaged in acts of charity. When the Church is faithful, we have that melting influence to get cold hearts flowing in the right direction again.

Finally, just like it’s used on our roads, in ancient times salt was also used to prevent people from slipping on slippery paths.  Christians are called to help souls from slipping into damnation—promoting the teachings of Christ on a societal level which give stability to civilization, pointing out when fellow Christians begin down slippery paths away from God. We call them fallen Catholics because they have slipped. The reason why we are to take Catechesis and strong moral formation is to help people from slipping and falling

You and I are called to be salt. But the Lord warns that salt can lose its flavor. Perhaps maybe you have lost a bit of enthusiasm for the Christian life. Perhaps Christ is not the vital force in your marriage that he should be.  Maybe you don’t feel like you are having a positive influence on your neighbors, or the fallen away members of your family. 

The solution: Pray, pray, pray.  You cannot be salt without constant prayer.  A priest who does not pray is worthless, husbands and wives who do not pray will not have the strength and power to faithfully live out the Christian responsibilities of the marriage sacrament.  Young people who do not pray will not have the strength to withstand the nearly unending torrent of evil from our culture. 

Salt: an ordinary substance with tremendous potential, which is why the Lord tells us to be salt: ordinary people with tremendous potential, many uses, vital to life and civilization. We must become salt by bringing Christ into our workplaces, into our conversations, into our civic life, in our family life. Be salt, my friends, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

3rd Sunday of Advent 2025 - Joy in stillness

On the first Sunday of Advent, our Scripture readings urged us to be mindful of the need to prepare well during this holy season. On the Second Sunday, last week, we heard John the Baptist urge us to repent—to prepare for the Lord’s coming by turning away from our sins, detaching from worldly distractions, and making straight the pathways in our lives for God.

On this third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday—we are presented with images of joy—the joyful exultation of Israel as God’s promises are fulfilled, and the Lord pointing to the example of John the Baptist, who leapt for joy in his mother’s womb at the drawing near of the savior. Jesus sends John’s disciples to tell the good news to John, now in prison, that the signs of the Messiah’s coming were now being fulfilled by Jesus. Even in prison, this would have brough John joy.

Joy, it is the deep longing of the human heart. Each one of us longs for joy. No one ever complained about having too much joy in their lives. Rather, the opposite is true, we tire of the joyless, and often jump from one pursuit to the next looking for that elusive joy. 

The brilliant Christian author, C.S. Lewis well-known for his “Chronicles of Narnia” books like “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe,” also wrote a sort of spiritual autobiography, in which he details his conversion to Christianity from Atheism—a book titled “Surprised by Joy”. In it, Lewis describes how every human being who has ever existed desires joy—we crave it; each of us are on an eternal quest for lasting joy.  Yet, joy, Lewis admits, is the most elusive of the virtues: we are all searching for it, but few seem to find enduring joy.  The authentically and fully joyful person is rare.  

Lewis explains that joy is often so elusive and hard to find because so many people are looking for joy “out there”—as if joy can be acquired if I just obtain the right object, or the right amount of cash in my bank account, in some earthly thing or activity or set of circumstances 

This is why our culture always seems so exhausted once Christmas is over. Our consumeristic, materialistic culture is convinced that joy can be purchased and found in material things like playstations, iphones, televisions, new wardrobes, and the like.

Lewis writes, “No, “Joy does not come from out there,” Lewis says, rather “Joy comes from in here.”  Joy comes into the heart when we are in right relationship with God—joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit.  Only when the heart is firmly planted in Christ and doing the works of Christ, will the fruit of joy truly bloom.

Joy is most elusive, but there are a group of people who have discovered Joy. The saints! If you’ve ever met a truly holy person, they are filled with joy. The saints show us that joy is truly found in the Lord. They sing along with Psalm 16: “[Lord] you make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy.”

The saints also show us what is required to tend the soil of one’s heart so that joy may bloom. In the saints, we see that joy is cultivated primarily in two ways. 

Firstly, why are the saints so joyful? Because they have learned to live for others. They show us that joy is cultivated not through selfish accumulation, but by giving oneself away in service. Joy is not found in stuffing yourself to the gills day after day, but in feeding the hungry. Joy is not found with meticulously assembling the perfect wardrobe by keep up with the newest fashions, but by clothing the naked. Joy is not found in mindlessly doom scrolling on your phone and trying to convince people that you have the perfect life on social media, but disciplining and structuring your life around intentional generosity and self-sacrifice. They show us that the way of Christ—putting the teachings of Christ in practice, particularly those lessons of charity—is the pathway to joy.

So, firstly, the saints cultivate joy through self-sacrificial good works. Secondly, they show us the indispensability of prayer. And when I say prayer, I’m not just talking about rattling off an our father or hail mary once a day if you remember to do so, or saying grace before meals. Those prayers are important, however, the prayer of the saints is practice by quieting the mind and the soul, seeking God in the stillness of one’s soul. The saints practice prayer to such an extent that they learn to encounter the living God who makes His dwelling in the soul of the baptized. Prayer, for the saints becomes a living fountain of joy. 

This week in OCIA we talked about one of the great teachers of prayer, St. Theresa of Avila, the great Carmelite mystic and one of the four female doctors of the Church. Doctor, by the way, doesn’t mean that she was a medical doctor. The word ‘doctor’ means learned one—someone with something to teach. And the doctors of the Church are the ones learned in the faith and the spiritual life. St. Theresa of Avila is a doctor of the Church because what she has to teach us about prayer.

The doctor of prayer, St. Theresa wrote extensively on prayer and the spiritual life. Her masterpiece on prayer, called “The Interior Castle” was written for those who want to make serious progress in the spiritual life and the practice of prayer. Though it was written over 500 years ago, the language is easy to understand and quite accessible—you should check it out.

Throughout the chapters of her book, Theresa describes how the human soul is like a mansion. And as we enter deeper and deeper into the mansion of the soul, we come experience a purer and purer encounter with God. The journey through the inner mansion of the soul is transformative; we are changed as we grow nearer to God—we grow in joy, in purity of love and intension, detachment from sin, we grow in simplicity, and willingness to suffer for the sake of others. Growth in prayer, growth in holiness, brings growth in joy, as we grow nearer and nearer to God—the source of all joy.

The season of Advent, especially today, Gaudete Sunday, has this character, of seeking to enter more deeply into communion with God, seeking the joy and fullness of life that only He can bring, the joy that the soul longs for.

Throughout her writing, Theresa repeatedly emphasizes that it is not only we who long for God, but God who longs for us, and God desires union with each one of us. And that union doesn’t just begin when our earthly life comes to an end, Yes, we are meant for union with God in eternity, but that experience and growth in communion with God is to start now, in this earthly life—again through prayer, and the life of charity.

We will be happier, more joyful and fulfilled, when we make the inner journey, stripping away all that keeps us from that encounter with Christ, who draws near to us, and makes his dwelling among us, in our very souls. Gaudete in domino semper, rejoice in the Lord always. Dominus enim prope est. Indeed, the Lord is near. 

A week and a half now before Christmas, let us make good use of the time we have been given, to draw near to the Lord who has drawn near to us, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2025 - The Rosary and Persevering Prayer

 

During the 12th and 13th century, a dastardly heresy swept throughout Europe known as Albigensianism. The Albigensians struggled with the reality of evil in the world, like many of us. They believed in a good Creator God who wants our souls to flourish, but couldn’t understand how that a good God could allow evil and disease and war and suffering in the world. 

Instead of seeking the answer to this problem in the sound teachings of our Faith, the Albigensians adopted the heretical belief that because good and evil seem to coexist, there must exist two separate Gods—a God of Spirit and Light and then an equally powerful God of darkness and evil which governed the physical realm. 

The Albigensians then extended their error to explain that Jesus therefore couldn’t really be God, because the God of Spirit and Light couldn’t really take on flesh and suffer, because flesh and suffering were evil. And because according to the Albigensians flesh is evil, they forbade the eating of animals and milk, and they condemned marriage and procreation since they believed begetting children meant imprisoning a beautiful pure soul in a prison of flesh. They denied the sacraments of the Church, refusing to believe that the God of goodness could work through physical things like, oil, water, bread, and wine.

And you might wonder: who would join these people? But they actually became really popular. And many Catholics adopted the errors of the Albigensians and fell away from right religion.

To deliver souls from this error, God raised up a holy saint. In the early 13th century a young priest named Dominic Guzman was tasked by the Pope to preach against the Albigensians. He preached all through Europe. St. Dominic took up the mandate St. Paul gave to St. Timothy in our second reading today, "to be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient; convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching." And though he was persistant and faithful, St. Dominic, initially, wasn’t very successful in winning souls back to the Catholic faith.

So Dominic prayed and fasted and did penance. And one day in 1214, Dominic received a heavenly visit: Our Lady appeared to Him with some instructions from heaven. She said, “Dear Dominic, do you know what weapon the Most Holy Trinity wants to use to reform the world?...I want you to know that in this kind of warfare the ‘battering ram’ will be the Rosary. So, if you want to reach these hardened souls and win them to God, preach my Rosary!” 

And this campaign must have worked. For in my hands I hold a rosary…and have you met any Albigensians lately? Dominic taught the people to pray the Rosary and Europe was converted.

I tell this story because it is October, the month of the Rosary; we celebrated the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary on October 7. But, also because the praying of the rosary relates to our scripture readings today, on prayer and perseverance.

In the first reading from Exodus we heard how Moses had to persevere in keeping his hands raised during a battle with the Amalekites. As long as Moses kept his hands raised up, Israel was victorious in battle; but when he let his hands down, the Amalekites, Israel’s enemies got the upper hand. 

This is a great metaphor for the Christian life and the mission of the Church—when we keep our hands raised before God, persevering in prayer, engaging in the works of mercy, victory is won—our souls grow as they are meant to, the mission succeeds. When we grow lax, lukewarm, and disobedient, our souls diminish, the mission struggles. 

Similarly, in the Gospel, our Lord praises the widow who perseveres in petitioning the judge for justice. His hard is moved to acquiesce to her request when he recognizes her perseverance.

Perseverance is a required virtue for the Christian life. Daily, we must strive to keep the faith and do what is right, amidst temptations and errors and challenges. 

Often in the scriptures speak about perseverance. Jesus teaches about the need to carry our crosses daily; and gives us the example of his only perseverance in following his Father’s will unto death on a cross. St. Paul enjoins Timothy to persevere in right doctrine. Jesus teaches that amidst the evils of the world, “the one who endures to the end will be saved.”

How will we persevere amidst so many distractions and challenges? Daily prayer is so vital. St. Alphonsus Ligouri says, “if, then, we wish to persevere and to be saved—for no one cannot be saved without perseverance—we must pray continually. Our perseverance depends, not on one grace, but on a thousand helps which we hope to obtain from God during our whole lives, that we may be preserved in his grace.” 

While there are many helpful devotional prayers that can help sustain us in the Christian life. The Rosary is so powerful. Hardened souls are converted through the rosary, including our own. If you are struggling with a particular vice, a particular addition, a particular sin, take up the rosary daily for strength and the grace of conversion. If your family is going through a particularly turbulent time, pray the rosary together. If a loved one has fallen away from the Church and is engaging in a sinful lifestyle, pray the rosary for them. 

The rosary is not simply a relic from the past. As Our Lady told St. Dominic, it is a powerful spiritual weapon that the Holy Trinity wishes us to utilize to reform the world. And though the Albigensian heresy has been defeated, there is much reform needed in our present day--many errors and sins which separate souls from God.

So if you’ve never prayed the rosary, or don’t know how to pray the rosary, this is the month to take up this powerful devotion. A guide to the Rosary is available on our parish website.

Prayer is powerful. In can win miracles. It can convert hardened hearts. It can bring relief to the sorrowful and light to the confused. But perseverance is needed. Our Lady called the Rosary “a Battering Ram” because a battering ram is a large beam, sometimes a whole tree, handled by many people, used to open a large gate, or to make an opening in a wall.  It only works with the repetition of blows on the gate or the wall—with perseverance. 

And the Rosary is a battering ram, taking up by the many hands and hearts of the members of the Church, to knock down the walls which separate our minds and hearts from God. 

And if it’s not the rosary, it needs to be something. Each of us needs to discern well how God is calling each of us to persevere in the sort of prayer that will support the church and enable us to persevere in the Christian life, strengthened and supported in our weaknesses, and equipped, as St. Paul says, for every good work for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

October 15 2025 - St. Teresa of Avila - The pathway of prayer (school mass)

 Two weeks ago we celebrated the feast of the Carmelite nun, St. Therese of Lisieux. Recall how little Therese felt called by God to dedicate herself to a life of prayer and solitude—in the Carmelite monastery. Her day possessed a beautiful rhythm of prayer, meditation, quiet chores, meals, attendance at mass, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.

The order of her day, the rhythm of her day, the spirituality of her life can be traced back to the saint we celebrate on the calendar today, another Teresa, St. Teresa of Avila, Avila being here birthplace in Spain who lived about 350 years before.

Teresa of Avila had a profound impact on the Carmelite way of life, which continues to this day. But she didn’t just have an impact on the Carmelites. St. Teresa of Avila is so influential to how Catholics understand prayer, that she is known as a doctor of the Church.

You see, Catholics don’t just pray. We don’t just learn our prayers—memorizing prayers like the Our Father, the Hail Mary, and the act of contrition. Catholics love prayer so much that we study it. We write books about it so that we can do it better. We study the great mystics to understand how they prayed, so we can pray better and draw nearer to God—so that we can hear God better, and speak to God better, and experience God better.

And one of the most influential teacher of prayer, is today’s saint. If you want to become a master prayer—study St. Teresa of Avila. 

As a young nun, St. Teresa of Avila was rather lukewarm about prayer—meaning, she was neither hot, nor cold about prayer, she did it, but it wasn’t really that important to her. And, she had difficulties praying for any real period of time—especially when she had other things to do. 

But St. Teresa learned to quiet her mind, and quiet her heart, she began to connect with God on a profound level. In fact, she would become so absorbed in divine contemplation, her body would begin to levitate—she would float. And at times, she would become so filled with love for God in her prayer—that she felt that she would become swept away in the ocean of God’s love.

You see, St. Teresa didn’t just pray for things, like many of us. And that’s not a bad thing, we need to pray for the health of our families, and peace in our world. We need to pray for our loved ones who have died, and to grow in virtue and wisdom and the strength to carry our crosses. God hears and answers all those prayers in his own way.

But St. Teresa teaches us that God wants us to seek him in prayer. Quiet prayer, patient prayer, in which we come to understand and experience, that when we possess that profound relationship with God, you possess everything you need. For the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2025 - The Virtue of Justice toward God and Neighbor

 

One of my favorite features of any Catholic Church are often the stained-glass windows. Some Churches depict scenes from scripture, some depict the sacraments, some depict saints.

I remember when Pope Benedict XVI visited the United States for the first time. Upon visiting the marvelous St. Patrick Cathedral in New York City, he commented that stained glass windows illustrate the mystery of the Church. He said, You don’t really get to experience the beauty or message of stained-glass windows from the outside of the Church.  “It is only from the inside, from the experience of faith and ecclesial life, that we see the Church as she truly is: flooded with grace, resplendent in beauty, adorned by the manifold gifts of the Spirit.” One of our duties, as Christians, is to welcome people to come inside, so that they can learn and experience the presence of God, and behold the truth and goodness and beauty of the Church from the inside. 

Yet, even those of us who are inside of the Church, should take some time to consider the meaning of the art and symbols that surround us. 

The stained-glass windows here at St. Clare contain a variety of symbols. And they are not just randomly placed. The first seven windows are the seven gifts of the holy spirit: wisdom, understanding, knowledge, council, piety, fortitude, and fear of the Lord. Next, are the three theological virtues: faith, hope, and love. And then there are the four cardinal virtues: justice, prudence, temperance, and fortitude. 

I’d like to consider the symbol for one of those stained glass windows today, the symbol for justice: the scales. From ancient times, scales have been used in trade and business and engineering to ensure right measurement and fair transactions.  Scales utilize two flat plates or bowls hanging from a central beam. You put the item you want to weigh on one plate. Then, you add weight to the other plate until both sides are perfectly level. When they are level, it means the weight on each of the plates is the same.

The scale shows whether one side is heavier than the other, the “heavier” side symbolically represents a debt, something yet to be repaid, evened out. So scales are a symbol of justice because justice is all about what we owe to others and what we owe to God.

Our readings this weekend each speak of justice, in their own way. In fact, the first reading even contains mentions of scales. The prophet Amos describes how immoral, unjustice and wicked people of his day can’t wait for the Sabbath to be over so that they could get back to cheating their customers. Amos describes them fixing their scales for cheating. 

Their unbalanced relationship with God led to an unbalanced relationship with their neighbor. They were unjust toward God, and that was reflected in their unjust treatment of others. 

And so Amos had a stark message for them. God was well aware of their injustices. “Never will I forget a thing they have done!” In other words, there would be eternal consequences for injustice, if they did not change their ways.

The message is timeless—what we do in this life matters, how we treat people, what we give to God and what we withhold from God out of selfishness, has consequences, for both society and the individual. So many of Jesus’ teachings have to do with how we treat the poor and downtrodden—we owe them care and charity—the same care and charity we would want for ourselves if we were in their shoes.

In the second reading today, St. Paul writes to Timothy about another matter of Justice: one of our Christian obligations to our neighbor, especially our leaders is to pray for them. St. Paul writes, “First of all, I ask that supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone, for kings and for all in authority.”

If we want our government officials, our civil leaders, our bishops and priests to be righteous and good, we need to pray for them. We need to pray that they may have wisdom and prudence to govern well, and fortitude—because leadership is hard and affects many lives. There are temptations that our leaders face to tip the scales in their own favor. So we need to pray that they may be just in their duties. If justice demands they govern rightly, justice demands the governed pray for our leaders.

St. Paul goes on to explain the reason why it’s important to pray for our leaders: “that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all devotion and dignity.” When leaders govern wisely, families live in peace, society flourishes, the Church is able to worship God and spread the Gospel in peace. Injustice and poor leadership, on the other hand, spreads disorder and harm to many. 

No doubt, some of the leaders Paul had in mind (like Roman emperors) were hostile to Christians — yet Paul still insisted they be prayed for. Jesus told us to pray not only for friends but also for enemies—"love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” Justice before God means we pray for and seek the good of all people, even those who oppose us, especially those whose hearts are so misaligned that they would persecute the Body of Christ. 

In the Gospel, we have this strange parable where the Lord appears to endorse the practices of a dishonest steward. When the steward recognizes that he had neglected his duties, does something drastic and cunning to save his job. 

This too is a story of justice. The steward does what he can, he utilizes his unique position and authority— in order to make things as right as possible. He exercises cunning and takes drastic measures to make things right. 

The message to Christians is that we are to do the same. We have been given time, talent, earthly and spiritual treasures from God. We owe it to God to use these things for his purposes. Unlike the world, which uses people to gain things, we are to use our things to gain people for God.  Our possessions are not simply for our own comfort and pleasure. They are to be utilized for the mission of the Church. 

Now, sometimes we neglect or turn away from Justice because we believe that giving will make our lives emptier, but our faith shows us, over and over, that giving makes our lives not emptier, but more full.

The people that we most admire are those who are generous and self-sacrificial. “He would give the shirt off of his back to help someone” is one of the highest complements we could receive. The saints, the martyrs are those who give of themselves and so become filled with the life of God.

Justice is such a vital virtue for all of us to cultivate. In a sense it encapsulates all of the virtues and really the entire Christian life because it stands for everything that we owe to God. 

The Word of God and the lives of the saints show us that justice brings peace. Justice restrains deceit, it protects and cares for the helpless and most vulnerable. It ensures a good peaceful life. It leads us to pray as we should, give as we should, worship as we should, love as we should. Justice brings peace for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

16th Sunday of Ordinary Time 2025 - Misaligned or drawn deeper into the Divine

 Last week, from Luke’s Gospel we heard the parable of the Good Samaritan: an instruction from Our Lord to go beyond our comfort zones to help others.  Immediately following the parable of the Good Samaritan, Saint Luke gives the account of our Lord’s visit to Martha and Mary, which we heard today.

The two stories complement each other well. For on the one hand, we are taught in the Good Samaritan Story, how disciples of Jesus Christ are to go out into the highways, and pick up and care for the wounded and those in need.  

On the other hand, Martha and Mary teach us another indispensable dimension of discipleship. Martha was busy with all the details of hospitality and Mary was sitting at the feet of Our Lord, listening to his word.  Martha was tending to the physical needs of the Jesus—she was in a sense the good Samaritan caring for someone’s needs, and that’s good. But it is Mary who is praised by the Lord. The Lord said, “Mary has chosen the better part”.

Yes, we have to care for those in need, yes we have to lift up the wounded, yes we should tend to the physical needs of our guests. Faith needs to be seen in our works; faith without works is dead, after all.

But we cannot lose sight of the one most necessary thing: we must remain grounded in our relationship to God by sitting at the feet of Christ. We must nurture that close, personal, intimate relationship with God through prayer, meditation, and contemplation.

There’s a story from the Missionary Sisters of Charity, the order of consecrated religious sisters founded by St. Mother Theresa of Calcutta.  One of the charisms of the Missionary Sisters of Charity is to take care of the poorest of the poor.  They literally lift starving discarded people out of the gutter and give them food and shelter and comfort.  They are literally saving lives. Yet, every day, the Missionary Sisters of Charity make a holy hour: they pray for an hour every day, usually around 6am, in front of the blessed Sacrament.  

Well, one day, a young novice goes to Mother Theresa, and says how she thinks that the holy hour is a waste of time; there are people starving to death on the streets while the sisters are in the chapel praying.  “Sister, you seem very troubled” Mother said.  “I am, Mother, this holy hour is a waste of time.”  “Because you think this,” said mother Theresa to the young novice, “you need two hours.”

St. Francis de Sales, Doctor of the Church, remarked similarly, “"Everyone of us needs half an hour of prayer each day, except when we are busy—then we need an hour."

Francis de Sales and Mother Theresa understood the importance of work and charity, but also they knew how easy it is for us to become burnt out, misaligned, and disconnected from God without the daily prayer that sustains us.

Martha was no doubt doing good work in the Gospel today. But the Lord corrects her—reorients her. Why? For one, she comes into the room complaining. Never a good way to enter a room and begin a conversation. Complaining, as depicted in Scripture, is often associated with a lack of faith and trust in God's provision and sovereignty. I’ve met Christians who have complained to me before saying hello. 

Martha complains: Lord, don’t you care that my sister isn’t helping me? Jesus, don’t you care about the same things I care about? Already, we detect, a misalignment of Martha’s will and Jesus’ will. And this misalignment has brought her unhappiness and resentment, as is always the case when our hearts are misaligned. Martha then seeks to force her will, not only on her sister, but upon Jesus himself: “tell her to help me.” She demands that God must bow to her. Sadly, I’ve met a lot of people like that, too. I’ve no doubt acted like that at times. But that sour narrowminded willful ego-centrism is antithetical to the way of Christ. 

This is why Mary has chosen the better part. Before complaining, before acting, before demanding, she has knelt down to open her mind and heart to the mind and heart and life of Jesus. She has sought to align herself. Not my will, by Thy will be done.

Thinking that OUR earthly priorities, our earthly pursuits, are more important than spending time with Jesus is among the greatest mistakes we can make in the Christian life. For, it makes an idol of our work. Martha is preoccupied with the earthly and missing out on the heavenly.  Martha has her priorities backwards. And this is why she is unhappy and unexhausted. 

Now we might want to defend Martha here, “someone had to do the work. Someone had to serve the meal.” No. That is not the point of the story. We should not justify being busybodies. This story is to help us seek first the kingdom of God. Not my will. Not how I think things should get done. It’s not meant to enable us to justify impatience. If God is not the builder, the workers labor in vain. 

God has a lot of work for us here at our parish. I’m sure of it. Souls waiting to meet Christ in the Catholic Church if they could only meet Him in us. But narrowminded Marthas often do more harm than good. Men can be Martha’s too by the way, brothers. Because Men can fail to be rooted in prayer and can become just as controlling and filled with bitterness and self-centeredness instead of the Spirit of God.

But when we have opened ourselves up to God through prayer, the soil of our soul is watered by grace and illumined by God’s word, and real transformation occurs, so much so that the Lord Jesus can be detected in our decisions and words and activity. 

So begin the day with prayer. Begin on the right foot. Make time for real authentic meditation upon God’s Word throughout the day. Pray before you work, pray as you work. Include God in your meals, your chores, your leisure and rest. When we are directed to God through prayer, our lives become charged and changed by God’s presence: His peace calms us, his joy radiates from us, his wisdom guides us, and his love burns within us. Even our work, even our sufferings, can then become transformed into an encounter with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Every day we are faced with the choice to be more like Martha or more like Mary— misaligned or drawn deeper into the life and love of God.  Let us renew our commitment today to the daily prayer we need to seek the one thing that really matters, Jesus Christ Our Lord, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

11th Week in Ordinary Time 2025 - Wednesday - Whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully

 There is a spiritual truth that applies to our faith, and probably just about everything in life: “the more you put into something, the more you’ll get out of it”. The more you study, the more you’ll learn. The more you practice, the better you’ll become. The more you engage with joyful, motivated people, the more joyful and motivated you will be.

St. Paul describes this spiritual law in the first reading today: “Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” 

In reference to the spiritual life the more we engage in the life of prayer and good works, the more spiritual fruits will be born. It is not surprising that this is true also about our public prayer, our liturgical worship. The more fully, actively, and consciously we engage in the celebration of mass, the more spiritual fruit you will derive from it. Consider the difference between a Catholic who just shows up for Sunday mass, without having prayerfully prepared throughout the week. They roll out of bed, they show up 2 minutes after mass begins, they don’t pick up the hymnal, they are thinking about the activities they want to accomplish after mass is over. It’s no wonder such Catholics easily fall away from the obligation of Sunday Mass.

Now consider the Catholic who has reflected upon the Sunday scripture readings throughout the week leading up to Sunday. They have been praying for certain neighbors and family members throughout the week, and now on Sunday they lift their loved ones up to the altar with the Eucharist. They unite their mind and heart in the songs of the mass, and contemplate how what the priest is doing on the altar is what Jesus did on the cross. They’ve engaged in works of charity throughout the week and step forward to receive the Body and Blood of the Lord to be their strength for charitable works in the week ahead. They’ve examined their conscience each night, recognizing their sins, and now come to mass with the hope of being purified of selfishness.

The more you put into the mass, the more you’ll get out of it.

This principle is reflected in Jesus' teaching on the three great spiritual disciplines in the Gospel today: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. These are not meant to be shallow gestures or public performances, but acts of genuine self-giving to God.

And we find that the more generous we are with God, with the practices of the spiritual life, the more generous God is in filling our souls with his divine life, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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Trusting in the Lord who desires to fill us with His grace, let us offer our prayers with sincere hearts, seeking to grow in holiness through prayer, worship, and charity.

For the holy Church of God: That her members may sow bountifully in the life of prayer and good works, and thus reap an abundant harvest of holiness and grace.

For world leaders and those in positions of authority: That they may govern with wisdom, integrity, and a genuine commitment to justice and peace, promoting the dignity of every human life and working tirelessly for the common good.

For those whose faith has grown lukewarm or routine: That they may rediscover the joy of drawing near to God and engaging wholeheartedly in prayer and worship.

That those who suffer in body, mind, or spirit may find healing, comfort, and strength through the love of Christ and the compassionate care of His people.

For the faithful departed: That having sown in tears, they may reap the joy of eternal life with Christ.

Heavenly Father, hear these prayers we offer in faith. Help us to grow daily in holiness by cooperating generously with your Divine Will. Through Christ our Lord.

Memorial Day 2025 - Praying in the Catacombs

 

Today, there is a beautiful confluence of two calendars: our liturgical calendar and our civil calendar as Americans. On the liturgical calendar we celebrate today the Memorial of St. Philip Neri. Philip Neri was a priest in Rome in the 16th century. On the Civil calendar, we remember in a special way those who fought and died for our country’s freedom.

And we might think, what does this 16th century Italian saint have to do with an American holiday. Well, there really is a fascinating confluence.

Philip Niri was a holy priest, who was dedicated to those who were on the fringes: the youth, starving artists, struggling shopkeepers, people in trouble with the law. And he would try to impress upon them the truth, the beauty, and the importance of our Catholic faith.

To sustain him in his priestly ministry, Saint Philip Neri had the habit of going down into the catacombs of Rome to pray. It was there in the catacombs, his biographer tells us, that while he was praying, he would suddenly feel himself divinely filled with the power of the Spirit with such force that his heart began to palpitate within his body and he’d be inflamed with such love that he almost couldn’t stand it.

You see, Fr Philip would go to the places where the dead Christians were laid to rest, the heroes of our faith—the early Christians of Rome, who heroically practiced their faith in the face of persecution, and threat of arrest, torture, and death. And there he was inflamed to do what God called him to do.

Today, our nation, in a sense, goes to the catacombs for a similar purpose. We go to our version of the catacombs, today we go to our cemeteries, to honor our war dead. Americans go to the cemeteries that we might remember our civic heroes, those who laid down their life for us. But also, to be inflamed with civic pride to do what God calls us to do for our nation.

In my home town, on Memorial Day there is a grand parade concluding with a beautiful and powerful ceremony in proximity to a nearby memorial cemetery. And as the whole town, together gathers to honor our war dead, the heart just swells as we remember the cost of freedom and the sacrifice of our heroes. It is a sort of civic calibration, that seems more important these days than ever. 

I recommend making a trip to a cemetery today, to remember, to pray, and reflect, that our nation may be recalibrated to value what matters most—the laying down of our lives in service to God, family, and country for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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Let us pray to our Heavenly Father, confident that He is generous to those who call upon Him with faith.

On this Memorial Day, we pray that our nation may live with ever-greater gratitude for the sacrifice of those who fought and died for our freedom. Let us pray to the Lord.

For our President and all government workers, may the Holy Spirit grant them wisdom and guide them to promote authentic and lasting peace in the world, respect for religious freedom, and a greater reverence for the sanctity of Human Life. Let us pray to the Lord.

For the protection of all those who serve in our nation’s military, and for all wounded servicemen and women, for all those widowed and orphaned because of war. Let us pray to the Lord.

For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, for the deceased members of our family, friends, and parish, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom, and for N… Let us pray to the Lord.

Gracious Father, hear the prayers of your pilgrim Church, grant us your grace and lead us to the glory of your kingdom, through Christ Our Lord.

May 13 2025 - Our Lady of Fatima - Pray, do penance, seek conversion

 

Between May 13 and October 13, 1917, three Portuguese children received apparitions of Our Lady, near Fatima, a city 110 miles north of Lisbon.  The Blessed Virgin asked the children to pray the rosary for world peace, for the end of World War I, for sinners and for the conversion of atheistic Russia.  

Many have heard of the three secrets of Fatima which Our Lady imparted to the shepherd children, and those secrets have been interpreted in a variety of ways over the last century. Whatever the meaning of these three Fatima secrets, the central meaning of the message of Fatima is no different from what the Church has always taught: as Pope Benedict the XVI put it, the message of Fatima is “the exhortation to prayer as the path of “salvation for souls” and, likewise, the summons to penance and conversion.”

Prayer, penance, and conversion. During the Easter season we consider how each of us are called to engage in the mission of the Church, and no doubt the message of Fatima gives us some insight into what that personal engagement looks like. Prayer, penance, and conversion. We are to pray for the salvation of souls, particularly the rosary. We are to do penance for the salvation of souls—as we do during the season of Lent, all year round there needs to be some penance done by each of us. And conversion—each of us are to seek personal conversion of sin—for a holy soul is a magnetic soul, a soul which draws others to Christ.

Many have felt Fatima to be a sort of wake-up call from our Mother Mary, to recommit to the Gospel in order to avoid unnecessary evil and suffering. Sadly, we’ve seen Our Lady’s message ignored—atheism, hedonism, violence, ignorance of Christ have spread not just in Russia but in our corner of the world, in our neighborhood. 

And yet, we take solace in what is perhaps the most well-known utterance of Fatima, in which Our Lady promised that no matter what, in the end, her “Immaculate Heart will triumph”. Pope Benedict interpreted this utterance as follows: “The Heart open to God, purified by contemplation of God, is stronger than guns and weapons of every kind. The fiat of Mary, the word of her heart, has changed the history of the world, because it brought the Savior into the world—because, thanks to her Yes, God could become man in our world and remains so for all time. The Evil One has power in this world, as we see and experience continually; he has power because our freedom continually lets itself be led away from God. But since God himself took a human heart and has thus steered human freedom towards what is good, the freedom to choose evil no longer has the last word.”

With the help of Our Lady may we be faithful, as we prayed in the opening prayer, to persevere in penance and prayer for the salvation of the world, that we may further more effectively each day the reign of Christ.” For the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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Trusting in the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and inspired by her call to prayer, penance, and conversion, we bring our prayers before the Lord:

For the holy Church of God, that she may always heed Our Lady’s message of Fatima by proclaiming and living out the call to prayer, penance, and conversion with renewed fervor,

For peace in our world, that through the intercession of Our Lady of Fatima, hatred may give way to reconciliation, violence to justice, and war to enduring peace,

For the conversion of sinners and the renewal of faith in our world, especially in places darkened by atheism, hedonism, and indifference to Christ,

For those who suffer, especially the poor, the persecuted, and the forgotten, that they may know the comfort of Mary’s maternal heart and the strength of her Son’s redeeming love, 

For the dead, that they may be received into the glory of heaven where Mary reigns as Queen

O God, who chose the Blessed Virgin Mary to bring your Son into the world, hear our prayers and strengthen us in faith, hope, and charity, that we may one day share in the triumph of her Immaculate Heart. Through Christ our Lord.

2nd Sunday of Lent 2025 - More than a superficial faith

 There’s a story about a wealthy king who wanted to find a bride. And not just any bride, the king wished to marry a woman who would love him, not for his wealth and power, but for who he was as a man. He knew that if he rode through the streets in his royal robes, with trumpets announcing his intentions, his quest would be compromised. This would attract a superficial bride.

So, he set aside his crown and dressed as a simple peasant. He lived among his subjects, working alongside them, and shared in their struggles. And in time, he met a woman who loved him not for what he owned, but for who he was. Only then did he reveal his true identity.

In today’s Gospel, Peter, James, and John are given an extraordinary grace: they see Jesus transfigured in dazzling white, standing with Moses and Elijah. It is a revelation of His divine glory, a brief unveiling of who He truly is. And yet, Jesus does not remain in that state. He does not go back down the mountain glowing, proving to the crowds that He is the Son of God.

We might wonder: why not. If he wished to attract disciples, why didn’t Jesus appear like that all the time? Why doesn’t He display His full power to the whole world and remove all doubt?

While it seems logical that if Jesus displayed His divine glory all the time, people would believe, but the Scriptures repeatedly show that miracles and divine manifestations do not automatically lead to lasting faith, hope, or love.

The Israelites in the Wilderness saw the parting of the Red Sea, manna from heaven, and God's presence on Mount Sinai, yet they still doubted and turned to idolatry.

Many who witnessed Jesus healing the sick, feeding thousands, and even raising the dead still did not follow Him. In John chapter 11, the chief priests and Pharisees respond to the resurrection of Lazarus not with faith, but with a plot to kill both Jesus and Lazarus.

If people could witness these direct interventions of God and still reject Him, then even if Jesus appeared in transfigured glory to the whole world, many would still dismiss it as an illusion, exaggeration, or something that could be explained away.

God desires a relationship with each of us, not based on mere compulsion or overwhelming evidence, any way, but on our choice to believe, and hope, and love Him.  If God simply overpowered us with His glory, it might force knowledge of his existence, but we would lose our ability to have faith. "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe" Jesus says after his resurrection.

The Transfiguration was a moment of divine revelation, but it was not the ultimate proof of Jesus' deepest identity. For ultimately, He is the one sent by God not to overpower humanity through undeniable proof of God’s existence, but rather to show the depths of God’s love to those with eyes to see and ears to hear.

Jesus did not walk around permanently transfigured in dazzling light because that dazzling light would have veiled and obscured—his identity as incarnate love willing to undertake supreme suffering for his beloved. 

His identity is revealed most fully, not in the transfiguration, but in the crucifixion. His identity is love. God is love. And there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 

Notice that this was even the topic the Lord was discussing with Moses and Elijah while he was transfigured. He spoke of how he had to go to Jerusalem to suffer and die to deliver us from the slavery of sin and death. But he goes willingly because he loves us and wants to see us free.

If God’s goal was simply to make us believe in Him, he could have done so easily. Just like the king in the story could have easily found a bride through crown and treasury. But Jesus desired a bride who would love Him with true love. And he goes to the cross to show His love for us, his bride. 

And of course he goes to the cross to give us an example to follow—to in fact show us the road to heaven—the road we must follow. We must take up our cross and follow him in all things. 

To be Christian is not simply to walk around with the idea that God exists in our heads. Rather, to be Christian—to be heirs of the kingdom—is to conform ourselves in thought, word, deed, in obedience to God, to Jesus Christ—to love as he loves—to work for the good of others at cost to ourselves. True love is costly, as our Lord shows us. But we have been redeemed so that we may be transformed into love with Christ.

How are we to experience this transformation? Again, I stress the importance of our Lenten practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving during this season. Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving signal our openness to the transformation God wants for us.

Prayer: it’s not just about asking for things; it is about aligning our hearts with God’s will. Through prayer, we allow God to reveal Himself to us—not in overwhelming signs, but in the quiet of our hearts, where He gently calls us to trust Him.

Fasting: it’s not simply an act of self-denial or discipline; it is a concrete way of expressing our hunger for something greater than what the world offers. When we give up certain foods, comforts, or habits, we remind ourselves that our deepest satisfaction is found in God alone.

Almsgiving is not the cold fulfillment of a religious obligation, rather it shifts our focus from self to others. When we give to those in need—not just from our excess, but in a way that costs us something—we imitate Christ-like love. Our almsgiving signals that we are allowing Christ’s love to transform us into people who give of themselves as He did.

Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are not ends in themselves. They are signs of our willingness to be changed. Through them, we tell God: “I want to know You” “I want to be freed from what holds me back” “I want to love as You love”.

Again, it is not through some undeniable sight of Christ’s divinity that God transforms us. But choosing those actions to become like Jesus in his self-giving. By choosing to pray, fast, repent and engage in works of charity, our spiritual sight is made pure to know God’s presence with us in this life and to behold God’s glory in eternity for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

1st Week of Lent 2025 - Friday - Transformation of heart and behavior

Several times this first full week of Lent, we read from Jesus’ great Sermon on the Mount. 

On Tuesday, Jesus taught his disciples how to pray—that Christian prayer is much more than babbling, like the pagans. We are to prayerfully turn our hearts to the Father, seeking His Will, His sustenance, His forgiveness and ability to forgive, and his protection from evil. Our prayer is to be deepened and purified during this Lenten season.

Today, we hear that not only our prayer, but our hearts and minds are to be purified as well. Not only are we to avoid grave sins like murder: we are to be purified from the slightest hint of any attitude that leads to murder. We are to avoid anger toward our brother, we are to avoid calling him belittling names, and we are to seek to reconcile with him even before fulfilling some of our other religious duties.

Here is yet another teaching from the Sermon on the Mount that our conversion must be more than skin-deep, our conversion to Christ means more than just giving lip service to ideas like forgiveness and peacemaking. 

We are to be purified from inner attitudes that lead to sin, injustice, division, and malice. We are to seek to actively overcome our inhibitions towards working for peace. In fact, we are to actively cultivate those dispositions where we are ready to go out and make peace even when it costs us something. 

If you don’t, what does the Lord say, “you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.” If we are unwilling to purify our hearts and actively work for peace there is a sort of debt, there is something missing. And we will not be able to progress spiritually in this life or likely from purgatory into heaven in the next life until that purifying has taken place.

From what the saints say, it is more pleasant to work for that purification in this life, than in purgatory. So we should do it now. My guess is that this is issue is a major stumbling black in the spiritual life for a lot of Christians: the unwillingness to make peace with those who have offended us, with whom there is some sort of open wound.

I get it, it’s hard, it’s uncomfortable, it’s humbling. “Why should I have to be the one to make peace?” Because we are Christian and the Lord told us to.

Again our readings remind us, that Lent is not simply about performing exterior deeds of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, but is aimed at inner transformation, where we can think with the mind of Christ, and more importantly, love with his heart, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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We should pour forth prayers at all times dear brothers and sisters but above all in these days of lent we ought to watch more intently with Christ and direct our petitions more fervently to God.

For the Church, that this Lent may be a time of deep interior purification, leading each believer to more fully embrace the mind and heart of Christ.

For those struggling to forgive or reconcile with others, that they may find the courage, humility, and strength to actively seek peace

For those preparing for baptism and reception into the Church at Easter, that their hearts may grow pure and radiant through prayer, fasting, and acts of charity, we pray to the Lord.

For Holy Father Pope Francis, in this time of illness, and for all the sick, suffering, and those who carry heavy burdens, that they may experience the comforting presence of God, who draws near to those who earnestly seek Him, we pray to the Lord.

For the faithful departed, for the deceased members of our family, friends, and parish, for all the souls in purgatory, that through our prayers and sacrifices, they may swiftly enter the eternal peace of God’s presence.

Grant we pray our 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.

1st Week of Lent 2025 - Tuesday - Minds made radiant with yearning for God

 Listen again carefully to this morning’s Collect prayer, as it contains some profound lessons for our Lenten journey. 

“Look upon your family, Lord, that, through the chastening effects of bodily discipline, our minds may be radiant in your presence with the strength of our yearning for you.”

Through the bodily disciplines of Lent, our minds are made radiant with the strength of our yearning for God. This is some rich spiritual theology which helps us understand why we are undertaking this Lenten journey.

We might be tempted to think that our spiritual disciplines are simply ends in themselves—that the point of our fasting is just to fast because Jesus fasted, or that the point of prayer is just to pray just because Jesus prayed.

But this collect reveals that something deeper occurs when we engage in the Lenten practices. Our disciplined spiritual practices have a profound effect upon us. 

Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving deepen our yearning for God. We hunger for God, we have a deep desire to know, love, and serve God, and the Lenten practices deepen that desire. And this spiritual yearning isn’t weak sentimentality; this yearning for God reorients our lives more directly to God. It purifies our hearts so that we come to value God above all else.

Prayer fasting and almsgiving make our minds radiant—we receive illumination, clarity, purity as we draw closer to the fire of God. This is why the saints radiate God’s presence because they have drawn close to God through spiritual disciplines that we typically only dabble with. For the more intensely we desire God, the more we set aside lesser desires. When we deeply long for God, distractions fade away, our minds open up to divine illumination, and then that same divine illumination can be detected in our manner of life.

This is why in the Gospel the Lord teaches his disciples, when you pray, don’t just babble. Our prayer is so important, because through it we begin to desire the things that God desires, our wills grow in proximity to His most holy will.

Similarly, Isaiah in our first reading speaks about the word of God showering down upon the soul and making it fertile and fruitful. Our prayer, as well as our fasting and almsgiving are meant to change us, to convert us, and make us deeply yearn for God who alone satisfies the hungry heart.

May we respond generously to the call to the Lenten observances, that our minds may be radiant in God’s presence with the strength of our yearning for Him, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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We should pour forth prayers at all times dear brothers and sisters but above all in these days of lent we ought to watch more intently with Christ and direct our petitions more fervently to God.

For the Church, that through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, she may grow in holiness, reflecting God's radiant presence to the world, we pray to the Lord.

For those preparing for baptism and reception into the Church at Easter, that their hearts may grow pure and radiant through prayer, fasting, and acts of charity, we pray to the Lord.

For all Christians, that their prayer may be genuine and heartfelt, aligning their wills more closely with the holy will of God, we pray to the Lord.

For those struggling to sustain their Lenten commitments, that they might be strengthened by God’s grace and find renewed meaning and clarity in their spiritual practices, we pray to the Lord.

For all who have become lukewarm or indifferent in their faith, that this Lent they may rediscover the joy of longing for God above all things, we pray to the Lord.

For the sick, suffering, and those who carry heavy burdens, that they may experience the comforting presence of God, who draws near to those who earnestly seek Him, we pray to the Lord.

For the faithful departed, that their yearning for God may be fulfilled in eternal communion with Him in heaven, we pray to the Lord.

Grant we pray our 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.

1st Sunday of Lent 2025 - The devil hates Lent

In Old Testament times, soldiers and warriors would be anointed with oil before battle.  Today’s Gospel immediately follows Jesus' anointing by the Holy Spirit at his Baptism.  Like the soldiers and warriors of old, following his anointing, Jesus is led by the Spirit to do battle in the desert with Satan.

Why the desert? In scripture, the desert is not only a place of trial and challenge, but the dwelling of the evil spirits and desert predators.  Well, in the desert, Jesus encountered the greatest of predators—the Devil—of whom Saint Peter says “lurks like a prowling lion looking for souls to devour”.  This is the same predator that lurked in the garden of Eden under the form of a serpent.

Why did Jesus go to the desert? After all, it’s the very first thing he does after his baptism in the Jordan. He goes to the desert—into Satan's territory—deliberately—to show us that he has come to defeat evil. In his first New Testament letter, St. John says that Jesus has come to destroy the works of the devil. If his baptism marks the beginning of his public ministry, the Lord’s time in the desert shows us that he has embarked on a campaign against the powers of evil.

Now, you might say, well, what kind of fight is that anyway, Jesus who is God versus some fallen angel? There’s no challenge there.  The devil is not God's equal. “By the blast of God his enemies perish, and by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed,” and all that.  Of course Jesus is going to be come out victorious.  But Jesus doesn’t confront Satan with a blast of divine lightning, but with his frail human nature.  

St. Lawrence of Brindisi, a good Italian Franciscan saint from the 16th century comments: “Christ came into the world to do battle against Satan…He could have accomplished this by using the weapons of his divinity …but in order that his victory might be the more glorious, he willed to fight Satan in our weak flesh.  It is as if an unarmed man, right hand bound, were to fight with his left hand alone against a powerful army; if he emerged victorious, his victory would be regarded as all the more glorious.  So Christ conquered Satan with the right hand of his divinity bound and using against him only the left hand of his weak humanity.”

Weak humanity when coupled with divine life results in victory. And that’s the great lesson for us all. So often, we excuse sin as simply a result of human nature. Two friends become embroiled in gossip, “it’s only human nature”. Drinking too much and falling into drunkenness, “it’s only human nature”. Giving in to lust or greed or gluttony, “it’s only human nature”. But no, our relationship with Christ changes us. Christians are not slaves to fallen human nature. In the desert, Jesus shows that weak, frail human nature can emerge victorious even in a battle with Satan himself, if we rely on faith and the grace of God. 

Christian tradition has always recognized the spiritual battle as a dimension of the Christian life.   Just as Jesus was tempted and tested, so are his disciples.  Just as Christ was opposed by the hostile powers of evil, so are his disciples.  But, just as Christ was victorious over the powers of sin and death, so, shall his disciples be, when we are in union with Christ. 

One of the reasons the devil hates the season of Lent, is because it is during this season that the Church takes up powerful weapons against evil: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving—the very same weapons as Jesus wielded in his spiritual battle.

The prayers on Ash Wednesday alluded to this battle: the opening prayer said, “grant, O Lord, that we may begin with holy fasting this campaign of Christian service, so that, as we take up battle against spiritual evils, we may be armed with weapons of self-restraint”. 

Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are powerful spiritual weapons, and the devil hates them. 

Why does the devil hate prayer? Prayer cultivates a personal relationship with God, making us more receptive to God’s  grace. The devil—whose aim is to separate us from God—detests seeing us  grow closer to God, for that intimacy dispels the isolation and despair that evil tries to sow in our hearts.

In prayer, we encounter the truth of who God is and who we are before Him—beloved children. This awareness counters the enemy’s tactic of distracting us from our Christian identity and mission. When we pray—especially in times of temptation or hardship—we open ourselves to receive divine help. Jesus calls His disciples to “watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation” (Mark 14:38). Prayer thus becomes a shield, thwarting the enemy’s attacks by keeping us spiritually alert.

The devil hates prayer, and The devil hates fasting. Fasting confronts one of the devil’s primary strategies: to keep us enslaved to appetite, comfort, and immediate gratification. By voluntarily limiting ourselves—be it from food, certain forms of entertainment, or other attachments—we exercise self-denial and grow in freedom. This freedom terrifies the devil because an “unencumbered” soul can focus more wholeheartedly on God and charity.

Fasting disciplines the body and strengthens the will. A disciplined Christian is less easily manipulated by sudden urges or passions, making temptations lose their grip.

By temporarily giving up what sustains us physically, we learn a deeper trust in God as our ultimate sustainer. The devil wants us to think we must rely on ourselves alone. Fasting teaches us that “man does not live by bread alone” (Matthew 4:4). We rediscover that God’s grace is our true strength, loosening the enemy’s hold on our fears.

And certainly, the devil hates almsgiving. Almsgiving—the practice of giving time, resources, or material help to those in need—is directly opposed to the selfishness, greed, and indifference the devil wishes to sow in our lives. Charity expands our hearts in compassion and generosity.

When we give alms, we participate in God’s love for the poor and vulnerable. Concrete works of mercy bring the presence of God into the lives of others. The devil hates actions that strengthen solidarity and unity among people, because that unity reflects God’s own communion of love (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).

And of course, the devil hates almsgiving because it is a reflection, and manifestation of Christ’s total gift of himself on the cross which destroyed the devil’s stronghold on humanity.

Ultimately, the devil hates prayer, fasting, and almsgiving because they draw us into deeper communion with God, free us from the tyranny of disordered desires, and cultivate a spirit of generous love toward others. 

So again, take these Lenten practices seriously. Every day of Lent is an opportunity to take up the weapons of the Lord so that the kingdom of evil may be defeated ever more definitively in our own lives and in the world for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

 

8th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2025 - Preparing for Lent

 Before the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, the three sundays before Lent would already have the priest garbed in Lenten Penitential Purple. 

There was an old tradition that on the third Sunday before Lent, the parish priest would take a scroll with the word “Alleluia” written on it and bury it in the church yard, as Alleluia is not said or sung during Lent until our Easter Celebration of Jesus rising from the tomb. 

These purple garbed sundays before Lent and the burying of the Alleluia served as reminders to prepare well for the upcoming Lenten season which begins this wednesday with the solemn imposition of Ashes on our foreheads.

Before Wednesday it is important to prepare well for Lent—to devise a Lenten plan for yourself and for your family—to consider what will your Lenten prayer consist of, what will your Lenten fasting consist of, what will your lenten almsgiving consist of. For those three Lenten practices are of great importance; by them, the Holy Spirit prepares us for the new life of Easter—but we need to make some intentional choices. 

It is important to prepare well for Lent, so that Lent may prepare you well for Easter. If you don’t spend any time really reflecting upon what God is calling you to this Lent, you’ll likely not get out of Lent what God wants you to get out of it.

And what might that be? Well, sanctification of course. Growth in virtue, growth in charity, depth of prayer, mastery over disordered passions, and learning to more deeply unite yourself to Jesus Christ—to die with him, that you might live with him for fully.

The word Lent comes from the Anglo-Saxon word Lencten, which is the lengthening of days as we approach springtime, the season of new Growth. And any good gardener knows that before the spring planting and growing season can begin, you first need to clear away the clutter, the dead weeds.  Or how our houses need spring cleaning as dust and dirt and grime and clutter have accumulated over these last months, and spring cleaning is a bit of work, but it’s undergone so that we can live more happily and blessedly. Cleanliness is next to godliness physically and spiritually. 

So, before Wednesday, make a list of your Lenten obligations: stations of the cross, confession, daily spiritual reading, holy week events. 

Bug again, those three practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are so important because they help us to become more like Jesus, which is the goal of the entire Christian life. We hear in the Gospel today, “No disciple is superior to the teacher; but when fully trained, every disciple will be like his teacher.” The entire Christian life trains us to be more like our Master, and Lent is a particularly intense, focused, and intentional part of that training. 

Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving conform us to Christ because these are activities that the Master himself undertook, We pray because he prayed. We fast because he fasted. We gave because he gave. And by them we adopt his own heart and mind: complete trust in the Father, self-sacrificial love, and humble service of others.

We see in the Gospels how often Jesus withdrew to pray—He communed with the Father constantly. So, too, in prayer, we learn to place God first, just as Jesus did. Prayer reminds us that we can do nothing apart from God. It fosters the humility and dependence on the Lord which is to mark each of our days and interactions. By seeking His will in silence, we gradually align our desires with His.

Jesus fasted. He fasted in the desert for forty days, resisting temptation and preparing for His ministry. So, too, fasting teaches us detachment from worldly goods and helps us gain mastery over our appetites. By denying ourselves some legitimate comfort (like a favorite food), we train in the self-control that is so vital to the Christian life.

How many of our sins have been failures of self-control. Most of them, right? So many sins are failures to control our words, failures to control our bodies, failures to control our impulses and appetites, failures to control our tempers. Practicing self-control is incredibly hard due to our fallen natures. Our gratification-centered culture sure doesn’t help things out, either. So fasting, training in fasting, is so important. 

And so too is Almsgiving. The Lord was constantly giving of Himself—healing, feeding, teaching, and ultimately laying down His life for us. Almsgiving challenges us to look beyond ourselves. So too we become more like Christ by caring concretely for our neighbor’s needs. Generosity combats self-centeredness and fosters compassion, reflecting the heart of Jesus who is “rich in mercy”.

St. Peter Chyrsologus, about 1600 years ago wrote of the importance of the three Lenten practices: He wrote: “Prayer, mercy and fasting: These three are one, and they give life to each other. Fasting is the soul of prayer; mercy is the lifeblood of fasting. Let no one try to separate them; they cannot be separated. If you have only one of them or not all together, you have nothing.”

So again, prepare well for Lent this week by considering how you are being led by the Holy Spirit to take these practices seriously. That this season of spiritual growth may be fruitful. That it may truly be a period of purification and enlightenment in the ways of the Lord—and unite us more fully to Him for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.