October 18 2024 - St. Luke - Convert, Evangelist, Painter

 

Unlike the other Gospel writers, Luke was not one of the twelve apostles, or even one of the Lord’s original disciples. He was a Gentile Convert. Tradition holds Luke to have been a native of Antioch, where Ignatius, our Patron, was Bishop.

Luke's earliest mention is in the Epistle to Philemon, chapter 1. He is also mentioned, as we heard this morning, in 2 Timothy, in Colossians, where St. Paul refers to Luke as “beloved Physician”.

Before his conversion to Christ, Luke, studied medicine. We don’t know the exact circumstances of St Luke’s conversion, but in the book of Acts, Luke himself writes about joining Paul in his second missionary journey through Asia Minor, to Corinth and Macedonia.

St. Luke wrote his Gospel after the death of Paul, making it a point to interview eyewitnesses of the Lord’s ministry, death, and resurrection, from which he also gained details for his second volume, the Acts of the Apostles.

It is likely not a coincidence that Luke, the doctor, includes so many accounts of the Lord’s healing miracles not found in any other Gospel. Only in Luke do we learn of the Lord raising the son of the widow of nain, the healing of the man with dropsy, the 10 men from leprosy, a malchus’ ear during the Passion.

The relationship with Mary is the other striking characteristic of St Luke’s Gospel. If he based his Gospel on account of eyewitnesses, then his inclusion of the Annunciation, the visitation of Mary to Elizabeth and the Magnificat, the details of the Presentation in the Temple and the finding of Jesus at the Temple, could have only come from Our Lady himself.

According to ancient tradition, St. Luke was not only a physician and evangelist but also a skilled artist. He is often credited with being the first to create an icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary, known as the Hodigitria, which means “She who shows the way.”. The icon believed to have been painted by Luke is said to be preserved in the Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome.

Today, perhaps, meditate on some of those wonderful Marian passages of Luke’s Gospel, thank God for this man’s faithfulness, for the grace of conversion that worked in his life, that has brought so many to a deeper knowledge and love of Christ, including our ourselves, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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That all Christians may be faithful to their vocation to spread the Gospel in word and deed.

During this month of October, dedicated to the Most Holy Rosary, Catholics may take up this devotion with renewed vigor and trust in Our Lady’s never-failing intercession.

That on this feast of St. Luke, that all doctors and painters and artists may utilize their skills and gifts to serve life and goodness, and for the conversion of all those who do not follow Christ.

For all the sick and suffering, and for all those in hospitals, nursing homes, and hospice care, for all those who will die today, for their consolation and that of their families.

For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, for the deceased members of our family, friends, and parish, for the deceased clergy and religious of our diocese, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.

God of mercy, hear our prayers, ease the sufferings and comfort the weakness of your servants, and bring us to eternal life, through Christ our Lord.

 

6th Week of Easter 2024 - Wednesday - Evangelizing lessons from St. Paul in Athens

 Paul's proclamation of the gospel in Athens contains lessons for our evangelizing today.

Normally, as he did in Philippi, it was Paul’s custom to go to the synagogues to preach to the Jews and God-fearing Gentiles there. But not in Athens.

In Athens, Paul, in the manner of the Greek Philosophers, goes to the public square. He does not wait for people to come to church, as we may be inclined to do, but rather goes out in search of the lost like the Good Shepherd. 

Convinced of the truth and necessity of the Gospel, Paul is not afraid or ashamed to engage strangers in matters of faith, despite the unfamiliarity and even strangeness of the Christian message to the people with whom he is talking. Instead he does his best to explain and defend his beliefs. 

Notice, when Paul is invited to speak, he finds something positive to say about the sincere religious striving of his audience. He looks for common ground. He meets them where they are with the truth of the Gospel, as Bishop Perez liked to say—even affirming something true in their religion that he can use as a starting point for sharing the gospel. That’s a great strategy. We can affirm what is true in Islam and Hinduism and Buddhism and the Protestant denominations. What’s true is true. And that can be a starting point.

So Paul tailors his approach to his Pagan audience. He acknowledges that they are deeply religious. They pray, they worship, they engage in devotional practices. They are mindful of the gods in their daily lives.

But then he introduces the truth that there are in fact not a multiplicity of gods, but a single All-powerful Creator God who has sent his son as Savior. 

Paul quotes the Pagan poets—again meeting people where they are—yet, he corrects his audiences mistaken ideas about divinity. 

He then explains the necessity of repentance and tells them the sober truth about future judgment. He boldly asserts Jesus Christ, though he surely knows that this assertion will cause many Greeks to scoff. Finally, he is not discouraged when only a few receive his message. With evangelical fortitude, he sets out for his next mission, in the city of Corinth

Important lessons no? Don’t be afraid to engage strangers. Meet them where they are. Seek to understand them and what they believe. So you can lead them from that place to the fullness of truth. Don’t be afraid to assert the need to seek the truth revealed by God in Christ—the need to repentance. After all, the very first word of the Lord’s own public preaching, was “repent and believe.”

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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 those who do not believe in God and for those who have fallen away from the Church.

For an increase in the gifts of the Holy Spirit among all Christians, and for all who are persecuted for the faith.

For the sick, the suffering, those in nursing homes, hospitals, and hospice care, for the underemployed and unemployed, for the imprisoned, those with addictions, for those who grieve the loss of a loved one, and those who will die today, that the Spirit of Consolation may comfort them.

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

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

6th Week of Easter 2024 - Monday - Preaching Jesus is indispensable

Having completed one missionary circuit through Asia minor with Barnabas, around the year 50 A.D., Paul set out a second time, this time joined by a young convert named Timothy.

And this second journey will take the Gospel beyond Asia minor into Europe. And the reading today contains the story of the first European convert: a business woman named Lydia. Lydia, was probably a widow who had taken over her husband's business selling luxurious purple-dyed cloth. She was a rarity in the 1st century: a business woman in a male dominated world.

The reading from Acts described her as among a group of women who had gathered for and a "worshiper of God". This suggests that she was a Gentile who had come to believe in the God of Israel.

Paul sits down with her, and finds her receptive to the Gospel. Paul attributes her receptiveness to the Lord Jesus himself, who opened her heart to what Paul was saying.

Sometimes we fear sharing the Gospel with others because we fear that we will not be able to convert them. But recall, Jesus is the one who wants to open their hearts. If we are sitting down with a prayerful seeker of truth, we can trust that grace has already preceded the conversation.

God is at work in the lives and minds and hearts of the people of this neighborhood, to make them receptive to the Gospel. But we like Paul have to go to them and sit down with them and share the reasons of our faith. We must preach the Gospel with deeds and words. Deeds are not enough. Words are not enough. We must use both. Like our Lord did. Like Paul.

In his great document on evangelizing the modern world, Pope Paul VI wrote, “It is by her conduct and by her life that the Church will evangelize the world, in other words, by her living witness of fidelity to the Lord Jesus—the witness of poverty and detachment, of freedom in the face of the powers of this world, in short, the witness of sanctity.”

But also, “it is not superfluous to emphasize the importance and necessity of preaching. "And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher?... So faith comes from what is heard and what is heard comes by the preaching of Christ." This law once laid down by the Apostle Paul maintains its full force today. Preaching, the verbal proclamation of a message, is indeed always indispensable.”

There are women like Lydia in this neighborhood, prayerful women, God fearing women, women with keen minds for business and the like. And the Lord Jesus wants to open their hearts to his Gospel, through us. May we be faithful to our call to witness, to testify, to preach for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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That all bishops, priests, catechists, and parents may be faithful in preaching and teaching the saving Gospel of Christ.

For those who do not believe in God and for those who have fallen away from the Church.

For an increase in the gifts of the Holy Spirit among all Christians, and for all who are persecuted for the faith.

For the sick, the suffering, those in nursing homes, hospitals, and hospice care, for the underemployed and unemployed, for the imprisoned, those with addictions, for those who grieve the loss of a loved one, and those who will die today, that the Spirit of Consolation may comfort them.

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

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

4th Week of Easter 2024 - Monday - Universal Love, Universal Mission

 During the Easter season we consider the Church’s call to spread the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth.

The Lord, in his first recorded post-resurrection appearance to his disciples in the Gospel of Matthew, mandates them to “go and teach and baptize and make disciples of all nations. 

We are sent to all nations and peoples because God loves all nations and all peoples. Our universal missionary mandate is grounded in the eternal and universal love of the Most Holy Trinity. God "desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" writes Paul to Timothy.

And even though this mandate was clearly enunciated by the Lord, it was certainly a challenge to the early Christians. Remember the earliest Christians including the apostles were Jews. The Jews were treated with suspicion and disdain even then, not to mention, they were a conquered people, non-Romans in a Roman controlled world—fisherman and farmers in a world controlled by military might. On top of that, their whole religion was about avoiding contact with the Gentiles, who were considered unclean for a variety of reasons.

Now, yes, there are many scriptural prophecies of how God would use the Jews to gather all nations, how the nations of the world would stream up to Jerusalem to glorify God. But Jesus’ commission wasn’t just to wait around in Jerusalem, waiting for the nations to magically appear—Jesus’ commission was to go out and gather, to put out into the deep. 

In the reading from the Acts of the Apostles, St Peter explains to the early Jewish converts in Jerusalem how he himself was initially hesitant to go out to the Gentiles, but God kept reminding him, like in the dream he described, not to call unclean what God has made clean. Not only was there a mission to the Gentiles, but through Christ, the Gentile is made clean, equally clean—a brother in the Lord.

Those of us of non-Jewish descent must be eternally thankful that Peter and Paul and the early Church overcame their fears and heeded the mandate. And as they did, so must we, in our own day, in our age, to all people in all places—not just waiting for others to come to us, but to go out and teach and share.

For, the Great Commission given by Jesus is not merely a suggestion but a mandate to actively go out and share the Good News with the entire world. Like those early Jewish converts we must allow the Holy Spirit to fill us with courage to reach across cultural barriers, prejudices, and the fear of rejection—to be motivated by authentic Trinitarian love for all people for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

 

That the love and goodness of the Good Shepherd may be evident in the charitable self-giving of Christians towards the poor; for unity among believers, protection from worldly errors and evils, and the gathering of scattered humanity into the one flock of Christ. 

For the whole world, that it may truly know the peace of the Risen Christ—especially in places afflicted with violence, corruption, injustice and oppression.

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

For those who suffer from physical or mental illness, addiction or grief; and for the consolation of all the afflicted. 

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

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

Easter Octave 2024 - Friday - Living the Resurrection with Courage

 Our readings from the book of Acts during this Octave week of Easter, serve to help us understand the significance and impact of the resurrection for the Church.

The apostles' boldness in proclaiming the risen Christ underlines the reality and transformative power of the resurrection. I’ve said it multiple times this week: Easter is not just a historical event in the past. But a living reality that shapes and animates our lives. 

The account of Peter and John’s fortitude in their arrest, imprisonment, and questioning before the Sanhedrin in the reading today shows us how the power of the resurrection enables us to face opposition and persecution with hope and courage—opposition and persecution much like our Lord experienced.

Consider the parallels between Peter and John’s experience, and what the Lord faced. 

Jesus is brought before the Jewish religious leaders who challenge Him and ultimately seek His death. And Peter and John are brought before a similar group of leaders, elders, and scribes, including the high priest. 

Jesus was arrested after being perceived as a threat to the religious and Roman authority due to His teachings, miracles, and the claim of being the Messiah. Peter and John are arrested for proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus, which continued to threaten their authority.

Jesus was questioned about His authority to teach, perform miracles, and His identity as the Son of God. Peter and John are questioned by what authority they performed the miraculous healing of the lame man at the temple gate.

Both Jesus' trial and the questioning of Peter and John highlight themes of faithfulness, witness, and the power of God working through individuals for His purpose. Jesus' trial culminates in His ultimate act of faithfulness—His crucifixion and resurrection—while Peter and John's encounter with the Sanhedrin becomes an opportunity to bear witness to the risen Christ.

The parallels between Jesus' trial and the questioning of Peter and John serve as a powerful reminder that we, as followers of Christ, are called to walk in His footsteps. But, just as the resurrection emboldened Peter and John to witness to the truth of Christ in the face of great adversity, so too are we called to embody that same courage and conviction in our daily lives. The challenges we face may not always be as dire as those of the apostles, but the opposition to truth, to goodness, and to the Christian way of life is ever-present in various forms in our world today.

As we continue to allow the living reality of Easter to shape our lives, may our lives truly reflect the transformative power of Christ's victory over death, so that through us, others may come to know the hope and joy and salvation of the Risen Lord, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

Easter Octave Tuesday - 2024 - To share in God's life is to share in His work.

The Easter Octave, the eight-day celebration beginning on Easter Sunday is a period deeply imbued with the joy and triumph of Christ's Resurrection. We read the various Gospel accounts of Easter Sunday, and our first readings are taken from the Acts of the Apostles, particularly from Pentecost Sunday.

Why do we read about Pentecost on Easter?

Reading from the Acts of the Apostles during the Easter Octave connects the celebration of Jesus’ Resurrection with the mission of the Church.  

The Lord’s resurrection is God’s victory over sin—the mission for which Jesus was sent, the salvation of souls, succeeded. And during Easter we consider how the Lord’s mission of salvation continues through us—who share in his life through baptism. 

The new life of Easter involves a new share in the work of God. You can’t share in the life of God without sharing in his work.  Christians are called not only to a personal relationship with God, but also a sacramental relationship, a communal relationship through his Church, and also a share in the missionary life of the Body of Christ. Christ came as a missionary to the human race, and his church continues that missionary mission.

And we read from the Acts of the Apostles, to show us what that missionary life looks like. 

Yesterday, we heard Peter declare, “Jesus the Nazorean was a man commended to you by God with mighty deeds, wonders, and signs… This man…you killed… But God raised him up.” Sharing in the life of Christ involves proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus—sharing the good news men need to hear.

And today, Peter’s speech not only proclaims Christ risen, but also invites those guilty of crucifying Him to repent and to enter into life. “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

All those guilty of crucifying Christ, that’s all of us—God wants baptized in order to bestow signs of that living relationship through the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

The call to repentance and baptismal faith that we hear in Peter's speech is not just a historical event 2000 years ago but an ongoing invitation to each of us. 

Baptism, which some of us received decades and decades ago, involves an openness to the unfolding and increase of God’s grace. Continuous dying to our old selves in order to rise to new life. Life can always be renewed, if we are 2 weeks old or a 102. There is always something to new, there is always new life, new gifts, God wishes to bestow for the sake of the mission. 

Like Mary in the Gospel, tears, shed over losing sight of Jesus, are meant to make way for proclamation. “Why are you weeping…Go and tell my brother…” Okay you found me, now get up and get to work. Don’t just stay here at the tomb, this is a place of death. Get up and prove that you are alive through action, through the work of the Church. 

May our easter celebrations continue to open us to the joy of the gospel, the joy that comes through active participation in the good work of the Church for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

3rd Week of Easter 2023 - Wednesday - Scattered, yet still preaching

 

Over the last two days, we’ve celebrated the feasts of martyrs: St. Fidelis, on Monday—the poor man’s lawyer turned capuchin Franciscan who was killed by Swiss Calvinists in the 1600s, And then, yesterday, St. Mark, the evangelist, who was killed in Egypt for preaching the Gospel to the pagan Egyptians. In both cases, the Gospel threatened an established religion.

For St. Fidelis, it was the Calvinists. For St. Mark, it was the pagan Egyptians, with their superstitions, sorcery, and polytheistic worship. The Gospel preached by the martyrs, was the truth. And just as Our Lord Himself was silenced for preaching truth, so is His Bride, the Church. 

In the acts of the Apostles, today, we heard how “There broke out a severe persecution of the Church in Jerusalem, and all were scattered.” For a few weeks now, those readings from Acts have included how the preaching of the Gospel threatened the established Jewish religion in Jerusalem. The Pharisees and Sadducees have the apostles arrested and beaten and threatened with death.

And it wasn’t just the apostles who were targeted, not just the bishops, but the people too. We heard today, “All were scattered throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria.” The men, women and children of Jerusalem, who came to believe that Jesus the Son of God had risen from the dead were expelled from their synagogues and had to flee their homes and families because of their faith in Christ.

And did you notice what they did while they were driven from their homes? Acts said, “Now those who had been scattered went about preaching the word.”

You drive us from our homes, we will just keep on preaching wherever we are driven. That’s Christianity. That’s evangelization. That’s Easter faith. That’s our mission. 

We cannot be afraid to preach the Gospel in its entirety because some of those aspects of the Gospel threaten worldly powers or established modes of thinking or established cultural values. Through our courageous witness God breaks down some these societal dysfunctions and deliver souls to Christ.

Sure you might lose friends over the Gospel, but through faith we make new friends and form deeper bonds with brothers and sisters in Christ, not to mention fellowship with the saints who come to our aid in times of distress. Will you be driven from your homes like the early Christians? Maybe not in this country. But in some countries right now, in 2023, there are Christians sacrificing their homes and family bonds for Christ. That sort of detachment and courage makes them powerful witnesses. And not only do they deserve our prayers, but also, our emulation of their example, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ascension 2022 - Dogma & Denial of Holy Communion

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

3rd Week of Easter 2022 - Wednesday - Easter Persecutions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pentecost 2021 - Wind and Flame

Today is the great Feast of Pentecost, the feast that ranks with Christmas and Easter as the greatest of the Church Year.  It is the Feast of the Holy Spirit who enlivens and animates the Church.

Listen again to the account of the first Pentecost nearly 2000 years ago from the Acts of the Apostles.

When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled,
they were all in one place together.
And suddenly there came from the sky
a noise like a strong driving wind,
and it filled the entire house in which they were.
Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire,
which parted and came to rest on each one of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.

Wind and fire are two symbols associated with the Holy Spirit, and they tell us a lot about how the Holy Spirit wishes acts in the Church and in our lives.

First, Wind is powerful. I’ve seen wind knock over trucks. Acts describes the Holy Spirit as a strong driving wind. Tornado winds can devastate villages and cities, and uproot trees, yet it can also turn gigantic turbines to produce power, and propel sailing ships across the sea. The Holy Spirit, propels the Church and grants her power and uproots the vices of her members.

Also, there is something unpredictable about the wind.  You don’t know quite where it comes from or when it will blow. Jesus himself in John’s Gospel says, The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going.”

That says something about the Holy Spirit, there is something elusive, unpredictable, and wonderfully so, about Him. He is unpredictable, a good of surprises. He surprises us with holy joyful moments and encounters and moments of prayer.

And yet, this also makes Him a little daunting. It’s daunting to surrender to something you can’t control. God might upset our applecart, and that’s scary. But he leads us sometimes where we do not want to go, in order to bring about his kingdom. Yes, it’s scary to surrender to God.  He might ask me to confront my prejudices, kneel down to the level of a homeless beggar, he might ask me to become a priest or a religious sister, speak hard truths to obstinate sinners. He might blow us out of our comfort zones. No doubt, as we return to Church after the long pandemic, he is blowing us into the lives of family and friends, to invite them back to the Sacraments—to remind the fallen-away of goodness and love of God waiting for them here.

On Pentecost, the Church is invited to unfurl her sails once again, to allow the Holy Spirit to propel her into the world for the mission of the Gospel, to uproot our vices, to blow away the dust that has settled through inactivity. 

Wind, fresh air, is needed continually for life itself.  If your faith life or prayer life feels stifled, strangled, or stagnate, make a novena to the Holy Spirit to breathe new life, new enthusiasm, new joy into your soul. 

The other great symbol of the Holy Spirit is Fire.  Fire, can be devastating and destructive.  Yet, it can also be cleansing.  The Holy Spirit is like a cleansing Fire.  

God wants to burn away the attitudes and behaviors which are inconsistent with the life of grace.  God wants to burn away our selfishness, so that not an ounce remains, God wants to burn away our envy, our resentments, our lusts.  If you are struggling with a particular temptation or sin, pray “Come Holy Spirit” burn this temptation away, burn this addiction away.

Fire brings purity. It also brings light. Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God. Those purified by the fire of the Spirit will have the light they need to see God. They will understand more deeply the things of God.  Do you want to come to a deeper understand of the Scriptures, of the Faith. Ask the Holy Spirit. Do you want to understand how to love your unlovable neighbors?  Ask Him! Do you want to understand God’s Will for your life, your vocation in life?  Ask Him!  

Fire also brings warmth of course. In those moments when we are experiencing the coldness, loneliness, isolation, grief. The Holy Spirit will help us to know the closeness and love of God, and the closeness and love of his angels and saints. We also do well of course, to intercede for others experiencing life’s coldness, and to recall our vocation to bring the warmth of God’s love to them, if we can.

Finally, fire symbolizes the passion and courage God wants us to have for the spreading of the Gospel.  After Jesus’ crucifixion, the Apostles hid in the upper room behind locked doors.  Jesus had sent them outwards, out into the world, but they hid.  They were more like Apostates, than Apostles.  But when the Holy Spirit descended upon them with tongues of flame, they burst through the locked doors, into the busiest part of town and courageously proclaimed Jesus risen from the dead.  3000 people converted on the spot.

We need this sort of courage! In an era where our modern culture wants Christians to privatize their faith, to hide behind locked doors and keep our faith to ourselves—we need Christians on fire. 

That is precisely our prayer for our four dear ones who will be confirmed this weekend—that they may filled with fire and wind—filled with the Spirit. Their Confirmation is a reminder to all of us, to dispose our souls, to open our minds, our wills, our hearts to the fire and wind of the Holy Spirit. 

May the Holy Spirit—wind and flame—sanctify us, comfort us, enflame us, uproot our vices and protect us.  Veni Sancte Spiritus, Come Holy Spirit, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

7th Week of Easter 2020 - Wednesday - Consecrated in the Truth

The final section of John’s Gospel right before the Passion is a prayer that Jesus offers to the Father.  Scholars call it “The High Priestly Prayer” of Jesus.

We heard the beginning of this prayer yesterday. Jesus prays for his disciples because just as he is going to suffer in his Passion, they are going to suffer in their mission to spread the Gospel.
In today’s Gospel passage, the Lord’s High Priestly Prayer continues; the Lord continues to pray for his disciples. And what does he pray for today? “Father, keep them in your name, that they may be one as we are one.” The Lord prays for their unity, their unity with God and their unity with each other. On the night before he died, Jesus was praying for us, for our unity. Our unity in the truth of the Gospel, the truth that comes from God: “Your word, father, is truth…consecrate them in the truth” he prays. To be consecrated, is to be set apart from the rest. To be consecrated in the truth, we are set apart from the rest of the world that is divided due to error and hard-heartedness and pride that thinks they know better than God.

When Jesus speaks of the coming of the Holy Spirit, he calls the Spirit, the Spirit of Truth. “When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth.” The Holy Spirit, whose descent upon the Church we celebrate in a few days, is the greater unifier of the Church, and He unifies us to believe the truth, live the truth, and profess the truth, of the Gospel.

The Holy Spirit will always help us to believe the truth, live the truth, and profess the truth. If we let Him.

You may have noticed that in the acts of the Apostles, St. Paul is giving a sort of farewell address as well. And in the passage from Acts today, St. Paul speaks about unity and truth, “I know that after my departure savage wolves will come among you, and they will not spare the flock. And from your own group, men will come forward perverting the truth to draw the disciples away after them.”

Nothing causes disunity like the perversion of truth. Nothing draws disciples away from the unity of the Church like the perversion of truth. St. Paul even recognizes that there are sometimes people within the Church who pervert the truth. “So be vigilant” he says. Hold fast to that which is good. Have the same mind as Jesus Christ.

Truth isn’t determined by a majority vote, it’s not determined by Twitter, Fox News or CNN. The truth of how we are to live, how we are to conduct ourselves, comes from God. “Your word, father, is truth.” So we read the Scriptures, and re-read them, and re-read them that we might conform to the truth found within them. We read and study our catechism, and re-read it, and re-read it, to more deeply understand the truth explained in it. Because the truth is the only hope we have, the Truth which sets us free from our self-destructive tendencies, the truth which illuminates our path in troubled times, confused times, and dark times. May we be consecrated in the truth, for the glory of God and 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.

For Pope Francis, and all the bishops: may they rightly lead the Body of Christ in the fullness of Christian truth. And that the Holy Spirit may guide the Holy Father in choosing a new bishop for the diocese of Cleveland, a bishop who is convicted of the Truth!

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.

That the power of Christ’s resurrection may overcome all oppression, prejudice, hatred, addiction and injustice. For those most profoundly impacted by the coronavirus, for the healing of all the sick. For those who selflessly labor for the good of others, for the safety of first responders and medical care workers, police and firefighters. 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.

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 Jason & Lucille Morely for whom this mass is offered.

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.

3rd Sunday of Easter 2019 - For the sake of the name

Each Sunday of the Easter season, our first reading is taken from the Acts of the Apostles, while our second reading is taken from the Book of Revelation. There is a beautiful connection between these two books of the New Testament, if you think about it. The Acts of the Apostles describes the first days of the Church in time and history, Revelation describes the Church that will last forever. Acts of the Apostles takes place in the earthly Jerusalem, Revelation takes place in the new and eternal Jerusalem. Acts of the Apostles describes the Church’s pilgrimage, with all of its difficulties and trials, Revelation reveals the Church having reached her destination—the reward for her faithful perseverance.

In Acts we read how the Apostles, having witnessed the Resurrection of Christ, and having been filled with the power of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, go out into the streets of Jerusalem, the very town where Jesus was arrested and crucified, and preach his Resurrection.  “Jesus, whom you killed, has been raised, just as he promised” Peter preached on that first Pentecost Sunday. For their preaching of Jesus’ Gospel, the Apostles quickly gain the attention of the Sanhedrin and other Jewish leaders, the same men who conspired against Jesus, to put the Savior to death.

Today’s passage from Acts sees Peter and the gang, having been imprisoned and brought before the Jewish high court. The Sanhedrin demand that Peter and the Apostles immediately cease and desist preaching about Jesus.  Peter says, you don’t understand, this task has been given to us by God himself, and “we must obey God rather than man.” 

Here stands Peter before these corrupt Jewish leaders, knowing that they have the power to totally ruin his lie, even to have him put to death, as they did to Jesus.  Peter had already been arrested and thrown into jail, and he knew there could be dire consequences for resisting their threats. No doubt, Peter would have thought about the scene from our Gospel today. Sitting before the Risen Lord on the seashore. Do you love me Peter? Feed my lambs, tend my sheep, preach the Gospel, build my Church. You will go where I have gone, you will do what I have done.

Peter then looks int Sanhedrin in the eye: and says, “Jesus, who you crucified, has been risen.” But after courageously proclaiming Christ, Peter and the Apostles, “left the presence of the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they had been found worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name.” Bleeding and wounded after having been whipped and humiliated, they left rejoicing. Would you or I be rejoicing after that? We find it hard enough to put up with morning traffic! To rejoice in suffering for the sake of Christ is a sign of Christian maturity.

When I was thinking of a modern day example of this form of mature Christian faith, I thought of the parents of Pope Benedict XVI.  Pope Benedict, Joseph Ratzinger, grew up in Germany as the National Socialist party was coming to power.  Joseph Ratzinger, Sr. the Pope’s father was a police officer in Bavaria.  The Ratzinger family experienced great hardships because they would not support the Nazis.  The pope's brother Georg said: "Our father was a bitter enemy of Nazism because he believed it was in conflict with our faith." The family knew first-hand how dangerous the Nazi philosophy was. In the late 1930s, the Nazis had implemented a euthanasia program for the handicapped. Pope Benedict had a cousin with Down’s Syndrome, and in 1941, the Pope’s cousin was taken by Nazi authorities for “therapy” as they called it.  Not long afterwards, the family received word that the cousin was dead, labeled as an “undesirable” by the Nazi party. Mr. Ratzinger spoke out publicly against the evils of Nazism, and for this, he faced demotions and the family had to move several times.

The example of Joseph Ratzinger’s parents, their willingness to suffer for the sake of the name, no doubt left a lasting imprint upon the young man, who would later become one of the greatest theologians of the last hundred years, not to mention, a good and holy Pope.

One of the goals of the Easter season is helping us to develop mature Christian faith. Where Immature faith flees from hardship, shirks demands for commitment, self-sacrifice, and selflessness and runs away from preaching the Gospel in fear, mature faith embraces hardship, accepts commitment, places the good of others before the good of the self, and preaches the truth with courage. Immature love seeks only the fulfillment of its selfish desires, mature Love, as St. Paul describes, is patient, kind, not jealous, not pompous, not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

In the second reading we are given a vision of heaven, the reward for those who are willing to suffer for the sake of the name.  On the throne of heaven is not some earthly king who never suffered a day in his life.  On the throne of heaven is a lamb who was brutally slain by his enemies.  And surrounding the lamb are those who suffer for him.  This is the fulfillment of Jesus promise in the beatitudes: “Blessed are those who are persecuted for my name, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

The Lord was very clear in his earthly ministry, that those who follow him faithfully will likely suffer on his account. We might suffer for reaching out to our fallen away family members, to speak to them of the importance of weekly Mass attendance.  We might suffer for standing up for the right to life, campaign to enact laws for the protection of the innocent unborn and the vulnerable.  We might suffer for refusing to engage in immoral business practices. We might suffer simply for holding fast to the moral teachings enunciated in the catechism.

Pope John Paul II calling to mind the teachings of the Second Vatican Council said, “The truth about ourselves and the world, revealed in the Gospel, is not always what the world wants to hear. Gospel truth often contradicts commonly accepted thinking, as we see so clearly today with regard to evils such as racism, contraception, abortion, and euthanasia - to name just a few.”

To proclaim Gospel truth, to teach Gospel truth, to live Gospel truth, this is the call of the mature Christian in 2019 and of every generation. This is a task that may bring persecution from the world, but faithfulness to the task, is to identify with the ever-faithful Son of God, Our Lord, and to receive the rewards he promised to the faithful.

Our own parish’s patron saint, Ignatius of Antioch, exemplified this truth. As bishop, Ignatius was arrested during the Roman persecution of Antioch. He was put in chains and marched to his martyrdom in Rome where he would be thrown to the wild beasts. En route to martyrdom he wrote to several congregations of Christians including those in Rome. In his letter to the Romans we find the same sentiment as Peter and the Apostles in the first reading. Ignatius writes, “I look forward with joy to the wild animals held in readiness for me… I am God’s wheat, and I am ground by the wild beasts that I may be the pure bread of Christ… come fire and cross and grapplings with wild beasts, wrenching of bones, hacking of limbs, crushings of my whole body; only be it mine to attain Jesus Christ.”

To attain Jesus Christ. This is the point of our faith. This is the point of enduring suffering for the sake of his name, persevering in faith amidst worldly pressures and satanic temptations. To attain Jesus Christ and to be counted among his blessed ones. For the glory of God and salvation of souls.

2nd Week of Easter 2019 - Tuesday - Unity of Believers

Early in the Easter season, our attention is drawn by our readings from the acts of the apostles to that early group of Christians, living in Jerusalem, just weeks and months after the resurrection of Jesus. We hear today about the profound unity of this group of Christians, unity which is to serve as a model for Christians of all ages.

Their unity could be seen in their concern for one another, their administration of their material goods, their evangelization efforts, their deference to the apostles, and their unity of belief. “They were of one heart and mind.”

Could we say the same here at St. Ignatius of Antioch? In the diocese of Cleveland?
In some ways, yes, I think. The communal charity of the early Church was seen in their willingness to sacrifice for each other, to use their own goods for the good of the other. This parish has a long history of profound charity. And our diocese, year after year, runs the largest Catholic Charities, not just in the country, but in the world.

And such charity does not come from being compelled. The Church is not Communist in the sense that her functions are compelled by a Communist Dictator. Rather, our Christian Charity here is born from love and freedom.

Unity in the community of Christians, is hard work, just like unity in a marriage. And we are always being challenged, aren’t we, to grow in unity. Are we of one heart, always, with the universal Church, with the Bishop, with the Pope, with the Magisterium? If not, why not? What needs to change in us?
The Lord Jesus in the Gospel today describes the Holy Spirit like a wind, that blows in particular directions, and those “born of the Spirit” through baptism, are to follow the Holy Spirit’s guidance. Are we of one heart in discerning and following the inspirations of the Holy Spirit within our parish and community? If not, what needs to change?

A community of believers of one mind and heart, certainly requires individuals who make every personal effort to work for that unity.  One of the things the Lord Jesus came to overcome through his death and resurrection are the divisions which hinder God’s people from following the Divine Will. May the power of the Lord’s Resurrection heal our wounds of sin and division, and lead us in the ways of the Spirit, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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Filled with Paschal joy, let us turn earnestly to God, to graciously hear our prayers and supplications.
For the shepherds of our souls, that they may have the strength to govern wisely the flock entrusted to them by the Good Shepherd.
For the whole world, that it may truly know the peace of the Risen Christ, especially for all victims of religious violence.
For our parish, that we may bear witness with great confidence to the Resurrection of Christ.
For our brothers and sisters who suffer, that their sorrow may be turned to gladness through the Christian faith.
That all of our beloved dead and all the souls in purgatory may come to the glory of the Resurrection.
O God, you know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the desires of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our lord.

Octave of Easter 2019 - Tuesday - Easter Conviction

Throughout the Easter season we hear the unfolding saga of the Acts of the Apostles. The Acts of the Apostles is Part Two of St. Luke’s Two Volume work on the Mission of the Messiah. In Part I, his Gospel, Luke details Jesus’ mission to establish the Kingdom of God and bring salvation to the mankind. Luke’s Gospel culminates in Jesus’ Passion, Death, and Resurrection.

The Book of Acts is Part II of the mission, God works through the Apostles to spread the Gospel, to make disciples, to make salvation known.

50 Days after Easter Sunday, on Pentecost, we read how Saint Peter emerges from the upper room with the other Apostles, filled with the Holy Spirit, and begins to preach.  His sermon was the first public proclamation of Jesus’ Resurrection: his audience, the citizens of Jerusalem.

He stands up, in front of these people, some of whom, may have been the very same who called “crucify him, crucify him” at Jesus’ trial before Pilate, they very same people who watched as Jesus carried the cross through the streets of Jerusalem, some may have heard the nails being pounded into Jesus’ hands and feet.  And now Peter, stands before all of these people, and says, “This man, Jesus the Nazarean, whose mighty deeds and wonders and signs pointed to the fact that he was sent by God…you killed, you crucified him.  But God raised him up…So now, “Let the whole house of Israel know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.””
So powerful was this speech, that Luke tells us today “it cut the audience to the heart”, and they turned to Peter and the Apostles and asked, “what they should do”?  Peter answered, “repent and be baptized”.  And about 3000 were baptized!

This is the same Peter, who denied Jesus out of fear.  He is now filled with courage and conviction.  Peter is a model for us. For we have received that same spirit and that same mission.

On the first page of the Catechism we read: “Those who with God's help have welcomed Christ's call and freely responded to it are urged on by love of Christ to proclaim the Good News everywhere in the world. This treasure, received from the apostles, has been faithfully guarded by their successors. All Christ's faithful are called to hand it on from generation to generation, by professing the faith, by living it in fraternal sharing, and by celebrating it in liturgy and prayer.”

We do well to pay great attention to these marvelous passages from the book of Acts, that we can be filled with that same conviction and courage as the Apostles, the same love of the Lord and concern for human salvation. May the Holy Apostles help us to be faithful to the mission of Christ here in our own town, in our own day, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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Filled with Paschal joy, let us turn earnestly to God, to graciously hear our prayers and supplications.
For the shepherds of our souls, that they may have the strength to govern wisely the flock entrusted to them by the Good Shepherd.

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

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

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

That all of our beloved dead and all the souls in purgatory may come to the glory of the Resurrection.
O God, you know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the desires of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our lord.

June 11 2018 - St. Barnabas - Words of Encouragement

Though he was not one of the twelve, the liturgy and tradition gives St. Barnabas the title of Apostle. Barbabas was a levite Jew born in Cyprus. His birth name was Joseph and was changed when he was given a share in the apostolic mission to “Barnabas”. The book of Acts tells us the name Barnabas means “the son of encouragement”

We heard in today’s reading how Barnabas was sent to Antioch and rejoiced and encouraged the Christians there to remain faithful to the Lord and he was filled with the Holy Spirit and faith, and through him a large number of people were added to the Lord. 

After Antioch, Barnabas met up with Paul and accompanied Paul on his first missionary journey, through very dangerous territories. After completing the missionary journey, Barnabas and Paul attended the Council of Jerusalem, after which, the scriptures are silent about him.

Some Church writers believe him to be the others of the letter to the Hebrews since he was a levite and the letter to the Hebrews often uses very priestly language. 

Tradition holds that he returned to Cyprus, and was stoned to death while preaching the Gospel on the steps of a Jewish synogogue in the ancient Cyprian city of Salamis. His body was recovered by his cousin St. Mark, and brought to Constantinople, where it is venerated to this day.

Barnabas, the “son of encouragement” is a model for all Christians. We are all to be about the business of encouragement. We are to encourage our fellow Christians to remain faithful to the Gospel, to live more fully for the Gospel. 

“But encourage one another daily…so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness,” those words from the letter to the Hebrews, as I mentioned, were perhaps written by the “son of encouragement”, St. Barnabas himself. Paul writes, “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up.”

Through the encouragement of Barnabas, the apostle Paul was first accepted by the church in Jerusalem (Acts 9:27). Through the encouragement of Barnabas, Mark was given a second chance after an abject failure (Acts 13:13; 15:39).

Mutual encouragement is essential to Gospel living, for as Jesus himself in the Gospels says, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” Being a Christian in this fallen world is difficult business. The world hates us, temptation seeks to overcome us, perseverance is difficult, and we are caught in the crosshairs of spiritual battle.

Whether you have the highest ecclesiastical office, newly baptized, a widow, spouse, or single person, we need encouragement, that we may remember that our sufferings for the Gospel are meaningful, that we are not abandoned by God when suffering seems to overwhelm us.

Encouragement helps us through times of discipline and testing (Hebrews 12:5). Encouragement nurtures patience and kindness (see 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 and Galatians 5:22-26). Encouragement makes it easier to sacrifice our own desires for the advancement of God’s kingdom.

To borrow from proverbs, Encouraging words are “a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing down to the bone”. May we be sensitive to all those in need of encouragement today, and respond generously to them for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
 
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For all the priests of our diocese who will be changing assignments this week, and for their parishes, that we may all be encouraged for the continuing work of the Gospel.

For those experiencing discouragement or despair, that they may know the goodness and closeness of God through the charity of faithful Christians.

For the unity of the Church, for the conversion of those in error, for those who deny God’s existence or despair of his mercy.

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

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

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

6th Sunday of Easter 2018 - No Greater Love

At the Last Supper, Jesus gave to the apostles the commandment to love. So during the Easter season, we read extensively from the Acts of the Apostles so many wonderful stories of the Apostles faithfulness to the Lord’s command to love, all of their efforts to spread the kingdom of Christ’s love—how they endured imprisonment and torture and the threat of death that we might be saved, that Christ’s saving Gospel might be spread.

It is always beneficial and fruitful to meditate on the example and the virtues of the apostles—their miraculous works and their sufferings; for they teach what loving Jesus looks like
On the third of May, this last week, the Church celebrated the feast of two apostles, Saints Philip and James. And on Thursday, I preached about these two apostles, but I wanted to go into a bit greater depth, today, particularly into the great example of the apostle Philip, who is such a marvelous example of fidelity to the commandment to love—his very name, in Greek means “the one who loves”

In the Gospels, we first meet Philip when he begins following the Lord. And it really is love at first sight for Philip. We read in John Chapter 1 how Jesus was in Galilee and the Lord simply says to Philip, “follow me”. No arguments, no proofs, no signs, Philip simply follows the Lord. And in the very next verse, Philip is joyfully running over to Nathanael, proclaiming, “we have found the Lord the one Moses had spoken about in the law and the prophets.” When you really love someone you are willing to tell others about them.

So we follow Philip’s example of loving, joyful witnessing. We are to share with others—relatives, friends, strangers—how loving Jesus Christ has changed our lives. Witnessing to the power of our Christian faith shouldn’t terrify us; it should be a common practice for us. For there is power in that sharing, sharing how being a Catholic, how the sacraments, how prayer, how being involved in acts of charity, has changed you. How your lives are different because of Jesus. One of the ways Jesus wants to draw people to himself, is through your joyful sharing of your encounters with Him.
We read about another encounter between the Lord and the apostle Philip at the last supper, in the passage immediately preceding today’s Gospel. Jesus utters those beautiful words, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

And Philip turns to Jesus and utters a request: “Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.” The Lord gently rebukes Philip here because Philip doesn’t seem to grasp entirely what Jesus is teaching. Jesus didn’t come to grant a heavenly vision, a miraculous sign that would once-and-for-all prove the Father’s existence. Because he loves Philip, the Lord corrects Him. To love the Lord, is to be willing to be corrected by Him, stretched by Him, challenged by Him, drawn out of your comfort zone by Him.

After the last Supper, the Scriptures are silent about Philip, except for telling us that he burst out of the Upper Room with the rest of the Apostles on Pentecost preaching the Good News. Ancient Christian legend, however, details how Philip preached and performed miracles in Galilee, then went to Greece, and finally to a city in Phrygia, in modern day Turkey, called Hieropolis.
Hieropolis was known for its temples to the pagan gods, particularly to a pagan snake-God. And upon Philip’s arrival in Hieropolis, the snakes filling this Temple began to go crazy, hissing wildly and biting people. This reminds us of the scripture that says, the devil is in a great fury for he knows his time on earth is short. Often the devil causes disturbances in families and parishes right when they are on the verge of growing in holiness or performing sacred works for the Lord because he knows he is about to lose some territory.

Anyway, Philip goes around town and begins healing people of these deadly poisonous snake bites. He then prays for the Lord to deliver the pagans from this false snake-god religion, and at the request of Philip’s prayers, God strikes down this large temple serpent. Many people converted to Christ through Philips preaching, including the wife of the governor. This angered the governor and the pagan priests. So they arrest Philip and crucified him on the steps of the temple.  But, during his crucifixion there was a terrible earthquake. From his cross Philip prayed for the salvation of those who crucified him. The temple was destroyed and the people were saved. And after his death, many came to believe in the one about whom Phillip preached, Jesus the Christ.

So a few lessons here. First, Philip gives a wonderful example of Christian charity. He went around healing people. In this story, he heals them before he even starts preaching.

The Christian is always to be about the works of charity. It doesn’t matter if they eventually come to convert or not. We are to be about the work of feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, healing the sick, because we are followers of Christ. In this way we are faithful to Christ’s command to love.
Secondly though, we must not be afraid to preach the truth even in the face of other competing religions and worldviews. Just because our culture is infatuated with promiscuity and perversion, doesn’t mean we stop preaching the truth about chastity, modesty, and purity. Just because our culture is infatuated with technology and instant gratification, doesn’t mean we stop preaching the truth about simplicity, self-discipline, silent prayer. We show our love by sharing the truth with them, lest souls continue down paths which lead to eternal separation from God.

Thirdly, Philip was willing to suffer and even to die so that others might know Christ. Christianity isn’t for wimps, or, maybe it is. Maybe it aims to give wimps like us courage, to be bold in our faith, fortitude to withstand the overwhelming temptation of the flesh, and the guts and the steel to make sacrifices so our saving faith might be spread.

May the Lord find us, like Philip, ready to follow Him to the ends of the earth, to use us as his instruments of charity and deliverance. And may Holy Mass today deepen our love for the Lord, and our conviction to proclaim and to live our faith boldly for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

3rd Week of Easter 2018 - Wednesday - Hard times are good times

It seems strange that during this joyous easter season, we have these readings from the book of Acts about how the Church was being persecuted. Last week, we heard of how the apostles were thrown into jail for their Christian faith. Yesterday, the reading recounted the death of the first martyr, the deacon Stephen. Today’s reading picks up right where yesterday’s left off. With the death of Stephen a severe persecution broke out in Jerusalem, and Christians were scattered to the country side.
Why do we focus on imprisonment, suffering, martyrdom during this season of joy?

What we pay particular attention to this season is how the Christians joyfully endure these things. And the good God brings about through the perseverance and faith of the early Church.

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

You may have heard the saying, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Well, that’s exactly what Christians do in the face of persecution.

For what did we read about them doing today when the persecution scattered the Christians to the countryside? Though they were scattered, the Christians continued to work for the building up of the Church. Though the world tried to silence them, the Christians continued to preach. Though the world tried to cast them out, Christians continue to cast out unclean spirits. Though the world tries to wound them, Christians continue to heal the sick. Though the world tries to put them to death, Christians continue to bring souls to new, spiritual life through Jesus Christ.

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

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