5th Week of Lent 2025 - Tuesday - Believing in Christ

 

Throughout John’s Gospel, Jesus speaks about the importance of believing. 

Concluding his conversion with Nicodemus in Chapter 3 of the Gospel, the Lord sums up all he has explained, with these words, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him.”

In the very last words of the 4th Gospel, St. John writes about the purpose he even wrote it: “these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

An interesting note, that in contrast to St. Paul and the other 3 Gospels, St. John never uses the noun “faith or belief”, instead, he uses the word “to believe”. Believing is always an active verb, not an object or thing that one possesses, it is an action, an ongoing relationship with the Truth revealed by God—the One who makes the truth known and the Truth himself. 

St. John even records different stages of believing in his Gospel. There are those who hear the teachings of Jesus or see his signs, yet refuse to believe. There are those who begin to believe, but don’t fully recognizing Jesus’ identity. There are those who come to believe in Jesus, but are evidently afraid to acknowledge their faith publicly. There are those who encounter Jesus and come to believe in him, and are recognized as his disciples. And there are those who will come to believe through the preaching of his disciples: “blessed are those who do not see, yet believe, the Lord announces to doubting Thomas. Do not be unbelieving, but believe.”

In today’s Gospel, the Lord teaches about what is at stake for believing in Him or not. He states to the Pharisees, “you will die in your sin. where I am going you cannot come.” Believing in the Lord or not has eternal consequences. Notice though, as he concludes his teaching today, many of those Jesus come to believe: “Because he spoke this way, many came to believe in him.”

Part of the Lent certainly doing penance for ourselves and our own sin, but we also pray, fast, and give alms for others. We lift up our catechumens who have begun to believe and will be baptized at Easter, but also we lift up those who fail or refuse to believe: that their hearts, and minds, and eyes might be opened. Every year on Good Friday, we offer up special prayers who do not believe in God and those who believe in Christ. 

And we commend ourselves to God—believing in Christ—we will continue to walk in his ways, and make him known in our words and actions—that others who have not seen may be believing, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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Trusting in the mercy and truth of God revealed in Christ, let us bring our prayers before the Father, who desires that all might come to believe and have life in Christ Jesus.

For the holy Church of God: that she may continue to proclaim Christ with clarity and conviction, inviting all people into a living and active belief in the Son of God. Let us pray to the Lord.

For all catechumens and candidates preparing for the Easter sacraments: that their journey of faith may deepen into a lasting relationship with Jesus, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Let us pray to the Lord.

For those who do not yet believe in Christ, and for those who once believed but have fallen away: that their minds and hearts may be opened by grace to the truth of the Gospel. Let us pray to the Lord.

For those who are afraid to profess their faith publicly: that the Holy Spirit may strengthen them with courage to witness to Christ in word and deed. R: Lord, hear our prayer.

For those who suffer or are persecuted because of their belief in Christ: that they may be sustained by the hope of eternal life and the prayers of the Church. Let us pray to the Lord.

For our parish: that we may not only profess belief with our lips, but live it actively in our thoughts, words, and actions each day. Let us pray to the Lord.

For the sick, the suffering, and those weighed down by sin: that they may encounter the mercy of Jesus and come to believe more fully in his healing love. Let us pray to the Lord.

For the faithful departed who believed in Christ: that they may now see him face to face and rejoice in his eternal presence. Let us pray to the Lord.

Heavenly Father, you sent your Son into the world that we might believe and have life through him. Hear the prayers we bring today, and strengthen our faith, that we may remain in your truth and lead others to believe. Through Christ our Lord.

7th Week of Easter 2024 - Friday - Do you love me?

 

On these last two weekdays of Easter, our Gospel reading comes from the very last chapter of John’s Gospel.  As I mentioned recently, Saint John’s Gospel has often been called, “the Gospel of Love.”  Naturally, the final story of the final chapter of John’s Gospel is a conversation about love.

“Do you love me?” Jesus asks. 

That question isn’t answered with a simple yes or no. That question is answered in the decisions we make today. It is answered in our faithfulness to our respective vocations as priest, spouses and parents, religious, single. It is answered in how we treat people, the time we offer them, the works of charity in which we engage in our community—feeding the hungry and instructing the ignorant—. It’s answered in our fervor in prayer, our willingness to do penance, our embrace of suffering for the good of others.

For Peter, loving Jesus meant “feeding his sheep”—a very specific, unique ministry within the Church. His love for Jesus would be proven if he was faithful in leading, shepherding, governing, teaching the flock of Christ, the Church. 

Similarly, our love for Jesus is proven in our faithfulness to shepherding those he has given us to shepherd, feeding those he has given us to feed, teaching those he has given us to teach. “Do you love me?” don’t just respond with your lips, respond with your choices, your faithfulness to responsibilities, your faithfulness to God in moments of temptation, your patient endurance and acceptance of the crosses God has given you.

We show our love for Jesus when we do the tasks we’ve been given without grumbling or arguing, with diligence and care. We show our love for Jesus when we seek him out in the poor and needy in order to clothe and console Him. 

When Jesus asks us, “do you love me”, he’s not looking for lip service, but actual service. May we show our love for Jesus in a million ways today, in our words and choices, with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength, 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.

That the ordained and all members of the Church throughout the world may be a more visible sign of the love of God for humanity, calling all people to new life and communion with Him; and that our parish may bear witness with great confidence to the Resurrection of Christ and his tender love for sinners and for the poor

For our President and all elected government representatives, may the Holy Spirit grant them wisdom and guide them to promote domestic tranquility, national unity, respect for religious freedom, and a greater reverence for the sanctity of Human Life. Let us pray to the Lord.

Like the apostles gathered with Our Lady in the Cenacle, may the Church grow in Marian devotion this month, especially in devotion to the Holy Rosary. Let us pray to the Lord.

For those experiencing any kind of hardship or sorrow, isolation, addiction, or disease: that they may know the peace and consolation of the Good Shepherd. 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, for those who have fought and died for our freedom, and for …for whom this mass is offered. 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.

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time 2021 - Active in Bringing Christ to the World

On Saturday I had the great honor of presiding over the diocesan celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Legion of Mary down at the Cathedral. We celebrated Mass and processed with the Eucharist throughout downtown.

For those of you not familiar with the purpose of the Legion of Mary, it is a lay apostolate founded by a Mr. Frank Duff in 1921 in Dublin Ireland. Members engage in works such as door-to-door evangelization, visitation of shut-ins and the homebound, prison ministry, distribution of Catholic literature and sacramentals in parishes and county fairs, encouraging fallen away Catholics to return to the Sacraments, driving the homebound to Mass and parish events, leading rosaries with the grieving at funeral parlors and cemeteries, organizing novenas. 

At my home parish, Legion of Mary members visited by grandmother as she lay dying, praying the rosary with her, and bringing her much consolation.

During COVID, Legionaries adapted to the difficult situation by hosting Virtual Events, continued contact with the sick and isolated, writing letters and sending cards. Auxiliary members, not able to engage in the active work, support the apostolate through their daily prayers and penances.

I recommend joining in this wonderful group of apostolic work which looks to the holy example and intercession and guidance of Our Lady for spreading the reign of Christ through Mary.

I bring up the Legion of Mary, not just because the events downtown today, but because they are a wonderful example of some of the lessons from our Scripture readings this weekend.

In the first reading, we hear of God telling Isaiah to proclaim to those whose hearts are frightened:  Be strong, fear not!

A lot of those works of the Legion—visiting the imprisoned, encouraging the fallen away to return to the Sacraments, praying with the dying, these are thing that intimidate many people. I remember in seminary the first time visiting the Cuyahoga county jail, it’s scary. Walking into the room of a dying person, brings you face to face with death. And so Isaiah, in a sense, is speaking to all of us facing fear, especially when doing the work of God—the works of charity. We are not to be afraid of doing good, good works, going to those intimidating place to bring God’s presence there.

The nice things about belonging to a group like the Legion of Mary, intentionally created for these works, is that having fellow legionaries at your side engaging in these intimidating activities, can embolden you. Again, this is why I encourage membership in this group, because membership can help you have the courage to do things you wouldn’t normally do on your own. The Lord sent his disciples out two by two, because doing these things alone can be intimidating, and so part of being a member of the Church is knowing that there are people who support you, you will walk with you into the darkness, so to speak, in order to bring the light of God. 

After telling them not to be afraid, Isaiah announces to the people that God is drawing near, God is going to be with His people in a way that he never was before, and that is source of our courage. When was I most afraid in my ministry? In my first assignment, I got a phone call, that a young boy had drowned in the swimming pool of his aunt and uncle. A terrible thing, only 3 or 4 years old. And I was asked to be there, as the parents were going to see their dead child for the first time. 

I wanted to run away, but I recalled that this was one of the reasons I had been ordained, to be at the side of the grieving. There was going to be terrible terrible grief in that hospital room, and I knew that I had to overcome my fear, and recall that I needed to bring Jesus into that room. If just by the presence of priest, standing quietly, offering words and prayers of consolation. It was fearful, but those times when the Lord had come close to me, in the confessional, forgiving my sins, in the sacrament of the Eucharist, in my ordination, I knew that he was giving me the courage I needed for ministry.

Isaiah foretells of the time when God will open the eyes of the blind, and clear the ears of the deaf enable the lame to leap and the mute to speak. And that time is now. God accomplishes these things through the Church.

The eyes of the blind are opened when Christians help non-believers are the lukewarm to understand the truths of our faith. The ears of the deaf are cleared when Christians patiently explain our faith to those who are resistant to the Gospel, who have stuffed the errors of the world into their ears.

The lame are able to leap when we help sinners develop virtue in their lives, but also when we help those crippled by grief and addiction and depression and unemployment, to get on their feat again. The mute are given the gift of speech, when Christian parents and catechists teach young people, the next generation of Christians, to boldly proclaim and explain the faith out in the world. 

One of the things I love about the Legion of Mary, is that its members recognize that the amazing works that they are called to engage in are only possible when there is a vibrant interior life and love and devotion of the Blessed Virgin. You want the courage to be the healing hands of Christ, you best draw near to Him and His mother in prayer. And Legion of Mary members know that when you are consecrated to Our Lady, when she is your mother, when you have recourse to her in all your works, she will help you do the works of her Son like no one else.

And that true for all Christians. Our Lady wants to help each of us spread the reign of her Son. She wants to draw Christians together in small groups like the Legion, or small groups of Christian families, or groups of widows, mothers, or small groups of men, to help us discern and make us of those diverse and varying gifts, to work together for the building up of the kingdom and spread of the Gospel in our neighborhood and families.

The Church surely isn’t built up, nor is the Gospel spread, by us doing nothing. 

In a few moments, the Lord will fulfill the prophesy of Isaiah in yet another way. He will become present under what appears to be simple bread and wine, but underneath those appearances will be our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ who comes to do all those things Isaiah promised he would do. 

He comes to us to heal our blindness to his goodness, our deafness to his word, our lameness to walking in virtue, and our muteness in preaching the Gospel. He comes once again to declare Ephphatha to each of us, that we may be opened once again to his divine life in our souls, in order to carry his presence out into the world, for the glory of God and salvation of souls. 

Monday - 14th Week of OT 2017 - Seeking out the Divine Physician

We often think of healing, healing from some physical trauma or emotional trauma, as a passive endeavor. We even have a saying that “time heals all wounds”. But the characters in the Gospel show us the importance of taking an active role in our own healing.

The royal official seeks Jesus out. The woman with the hemorrhages, as well. Jesus is passing through Capernaum and these people make extra effort to seek out the divine physician. The official comes and kneels down before the Lord, places his trust in his ability to bring life to his daughter. The woman with the hemorrhages reaches out, she pushes her way through a crowd just to be able to touch the tassel of his cloak.

Kneeling down, petitioning, trusting, grasping at the Lord, these postures the Christian faithful are to take throughout the spiritual life. When we are physically injured, suffering from illness, or even afflicted with deep emotional wounds, we are to actively seek the healing that comes from the Lord.
This doesn’t mean that we forego going to the doctor’s office, the hospital, to therapy, or support groups. God certainly works through our earthly physicians. But through our medical care or mental health care, we are to be reaching out for the healing that can only come from God.

There is of course a spiritual analogue to this. Man, wounded by sin is to actively seek out the Lord’s mercy. The soul without faith is to seek out the Lord in baptism. The Christian soul falling to sin after baptism must seek out the Lord’s mercy in the Sacrament of Confession.

We seek the Lord’s healing for ourselves, but also, like the royal official pleading for life on behalf of his daughter, we must plead for those who have become deadened to the life of faith. We “plead the blood” as the old preachers say—the blood of Christ, poured out on the Cross, which has become the fountain of all mercy.

Yes, the Lord is the source of all healing, but we must actively seek Him out. For the healing of all the wounds of sin and division, we turn all the more to the Lord, for ourselves and for those incapable or unwilling, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For a healing of all the wounds of division afflicting the Church, for an end to heresy and schism, for turning away from all doctrinal error and hardness of heart, we pray to the Lord.

For spiritual healing and mercy upon all those who have fallen away from the Church, those who have fallen to mortal sin, for those who blaspheme, for the conversion of atheists and non-believers, we pray to the Lord.

For the healing of all those afflicted with physical, mental, emotional illness, for those in hospitals, nursing homes, hospice care, those struggling with addictions, for those who grieve the loss of a loved one, and those who will die today, we 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 families, friends, and parish, for deceased priests and religious, for those who have fought and died for our freedom, we pray to the Lord.

Heavenly Father, hear our prayers. May the grace of Christ Your Son, the Divine Physician, bring healing of our sinfulness, and make us worthy of the kingdom of heaven, through the same Christ our Lord.