9th Week of Ordinary Time 2023 - Wednesday - Resurrected bodies and Consecrated Virginity

 Every Sunday, Catholics profess our faith in “the resurrection of the body”: We firmly believe, that, just as Christ is truly risen from the dead and lives forever, so after death the righteous will live forever with the risen Christ in a physical, bodily eternity. 

Since humans were created by God as bodily beings, the fullness of our redemption will also include a resurrected, glorified body. We will have bodies in eternity: hands, feet, mouths, eyes, and ears, just like Jesus did after his resurrection. This body will have the characteristics of Christ’s glorified body.

Perhaps inspired by his encounter with the risen Lord on the road to Damascus, St. Paul explains that our resurrected bodies will be radiant with divine glory. 

Thomas Aquinas reflects upon this further stating that the resurrected body will be incapable of suffering; we’ll be able to move without difficulty or labor. In the resurrection there will no longer be sickness, pain, or disability. 

But what will we do with our bodies? St. John affirms that in eternity we shall see God as he is. We will share in the very life of God, the eternal exchange of love within the Holy Trinity.

In today’s passage from the Gospel of Mark, the Lord teaches about life after the resurrection. He says, “When they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but they are like the angels in heaven.”

In an earlier passage, the Lord teaches that marriage is part of God’s plan “from the beginning” and is a sacred bond that no human is authorized to break. 

In today’s passage, the Lord affirms that marriage on earth is “until death do us part”. As good and necessary as marriage is for the present age, it will give way to something far greater, a union with God and all the saints that will infinitely surpass the earthly one-flesh union of husband and wife.

In Catholic tradition, the vocations to consecrated virginity and celibacy are especially valued as signs reminding us of this ultimate destiny. Consecrated virginity and celibacy remind us, that in this life, no matter our vocation, we are to aim at the divine, turning to God with our whole body, mind and soul; to want to please God in everything; as Paul writes in Romans: to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship. Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect” for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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To God the Father Almighty, may every prayer of our heart be directed, for it is His will that all humanity should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.

For the holy Church of God, that the Lord may graciously watch over her and care for her.

For the peoples of all the world, that the Lord may graciously preserve harmony among them, and deepen in them the virtues of justice and religion.

For the support of all of the churches consecrated virgins and celibates, and for an increase in vocations to the priesthood and consecrated religious life. 

For all who are oppressed by any kind of need, that the Lord may graciously grant them relief, especially for the sick and victims of war and terror and natural disaster.

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

O God, our refuge and our strength, hear the prayers of your Church, for you yourself are the source of all devotion, and grant, we pray, that what we ask in faith we may truly obtain. Through Christ our Lord.

3rd Sunday after Easter (EF) 2021 - Sorrow changed into joy

Since Easter, our scriptures are taken from the post-resurrection accounts. Today, though, Jubilate Sunday our thoughts begin to be directed toward the coming Ascension of the Lord. The Gospel is taken from the Last Supper Discourse—the Lord’s Farewell address where he prepares his disciples for the end of his earthly ministry culminating in his passion and death. And yet we are presented with the Lord’s farewell speech of the Lord, to help us anticipate his Glorious Ascension. 

No doubt, after his resurrection the apostles desired the Lord to stay among them, much like the way Peter begged the Lord to remain on the mount of transfiguration. But having accomplished His mission, the Lord must return to the Father who sent Him, that the next age of the Church might begin. 

40 days much have seemed like such a short time. The 3 years of his public ministry must have felt like such a short time. 7 times in the Gospel, the Lord uses the word “Modicum”—a little while. “In a little while you shall not see me,” he says. 

Compared to eternity, the time we spend on anything in this life is truly a short time. Our earthly pilgrimage takes place over the course of a modicum of time—just the smallest while—when compared to timeless eternity. For some that causes some trepidation—even sorrow. But we know what awaits us—glory.

Although our earthly pilgrimage is short compared with “the eternal weight of glory” which awaits us, the Lord knows that often our trials are overwhelming—our earthly sufferings seem like an eternity. “You shall lament and weep,” he says, “while the world rejoices”.  It’s not always easy to live with heaven in mind. Sadness and sorrow have a way of causing us to lose our focus, and it takes a real act of faith, to recall that, compared to eternity, our sufferings are fleeting. St. Theresa of Avila famously quipped that compared to eternity, the sufferings of our life are like spending a single evening in an uncomfortable hotel.  That uncomfortable night is seen as a minor inconvenience compared to glory.

It's not easy for the Christian to maintain this perspective, living in the world, after all. For we live among many who do not live with eternity in mind. We live among the worldly who immerse themselves in the passing pleasures of the earth. And sometimes we begin to envy them. And it seems unfair, and it takes constant effort to remind ourselves that those who settle for instant gratification are failing to store up for themselves treasure in heaven. Instead of sincere prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, they seek their reward now. 

The Christian however does not make the aim of our earthly pilgrimage the grasping at carnal pleasures or human attention. Rather, he practices humility, renunciation, and mortification, in order to secure heavenly and eternal happiness. “You shall be sorrowful” in this life, the Lord says, “but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.”

There was an order of monks whose motto was “semper Quadragesima”—always Lent, because they wanted to remain vigilant about putting into practice those Lenten practices all year round, knowing that they hold the key to perfection and joy--jubilation. Jubilation Sunday is a good day for us to consider the spiritual practices, like those we practiced during Lent, that we might need to resume, for joy’s sake.

In the Epistle, St. Peter exhorts us to live on earth with eternity in mind: “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, to refrain yourselves from carnal desires which war against the soul.” We are strangers in a strange land. We are to live in the world, but not be of the world. Constantly aware of the spiritual battle to remain faithful in temptation.

However, that is not to say that we can’t enjoy our time on earth. God made this world, and he made it very good. As a young seminarian, I would go out to breakfast after morning mass with an old retired priest who had residence at my home parish, Fr. Wilfred Smith. And after grace before the meal, he would always say, “thank God for tastebuds”. In this life, we CAN thank God for tastebuds. We CAN and SHOULD thank God for our ability to enjoy beautiful vistas, beautiful music, delicious aromas and foods, and human closeness. 

And when we approach these things with a spirit of gratitude, immediately thanking God for tastebuds, thanking God who is the giver of gifts, thanking God for our ability to partake in sight and sound and taste and touch, that can certainly help to protect us from living for these things, making false gods of sensible appetites—living for the creature without reference to the Creator, seeking to escape our inevitable sufferings by turning to the finite, instead of opening our souls to the infinite.

God is present in the joys of life, just as he is present in our sufferings.

Whether sorrowing or rejoicing, may we live with our hearts, minds, souls, and strength fixed on the Crucified-and-Risen One, the source of all goodness, mercy, and joy, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

34th Week in OT 2020 - Friday - Endless spiritual summer is at hand

 Just like the blossoming of the fig tree indicates the coming of summer, the Lord explains that there will be a series of signs that indicate the final stage in human history, and some of them are pretty frightening. The Lord foretells the destruction of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple, he tells of the awful calamities which will precede the end of the world and his second coming, and how his followers will be persecuted; Christians will be hated because of his name; and at the great tribulation there will be signs in the sky, people will even die of fright.

But the Lord insists that Christians must not lose hope, we must not lose faith during times of political turmoil or natural disaster, even Christian persecution. These are but the labor pains that will precede a new era of endless spiritual summer, that will last forever, when the Lord returns and the kingdom of God is fully manifested. To paraphrase St. Theresa of Avila, compared to the glory of eternity to come, all the sufferings of life shall be like an uncomfortable night in an inconvenient hotel. 

The devil is in a great fury for he knows his time on earth is short, as St. John says in the Apocalypse. The devil is going to do as much damage as he can, cause as much war and suffering as he can, draw as many souls away from God as he can. And in a sense, the Lord is saying in the Gospel today, this should not surprise us. These are the labor pains, these are the signs the devil’s reign is nearly at an end. These signs proceed the new heaven and the new earth, the endless era of the kingdom of God yet to come.

Our readings today certainly describe the state of the world, for indeed, the Church is experiencing these great labor pains prior to the return of our Lord. And yet, there is also an analogue to our own personal spiritual lives. Whenever we are on the verge of spiritual growth, of new spiritual birth, we can expect great resistance from the enemy. He doesn’t want to see the life of God within us flourish, he doesn’t want to see us bear new spiritual fruit. And so he will obstruct, and obfuscate, and complicate things, so that we will weaken in our cooperation with grace. 

So we mustn’t be surprised when things get difficult for us on a personal level too, when we are working for peace in our family, or working to pursue purity or some spiritual good, there is going to be elements of resistance, but these too are but the labor pains for new spiritual birth, the birth of heaven within our souls.

As we come to the end of the liturgical year and the beginning of Advent, may God’s Holy Spirit help us to always practice patience and perseverance throughout all of life’s difficulties whatever challenges the new year has in store. May we follow the Lord’s urging to “stand erect and raise our heads, for our redemption is at hand” for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That the members of the Church will practice great fortitude when resisted and opposed by the powers of darkness.

For the protection of our armed forces, police, and firemen and all those who risk their lives to preserve the security of our country.  We pray to the Lord.

For the safety of travelers, the peaceful resolution of all family divisions and national hostilities. 

For the poor, the hungry, the homeless, the sick, the aged, the lonely, the grieving, those who are out of work, those who are facing financial difficulties, those with addictions, and the imprisoned: that God will draw close to them, and bless them with grace and peace.

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased clergy and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our N., for whom this mass is offered. 

O God, you 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.

31st Week in OT 2020 - Friday - Imitate the holy ones

Paul’s exhortation might sound strange to our ears. “Be imitators of me”, he says. We are certainly reluctant to present ourselves as moral or religious examples for others. But in the ancient Greco-Roman world it was a common and acceptable practice for teachers to point to themselves as examples.

And really, it is human nature, to look for examples to imitate; and teachers know that their role inevitably makes them examples…for better or for worse.

Moreover, our own culture holds up examples all the time: a recovered alcoholic will tell their story to encourage other alcoholics toward sobriety. Exercise enthusiasts will speak of the new energy they’ve gained from a particular exercise program in order to prompt their sluggish friends to join a gym. Or upon finding a successful diet, we’re very quick to tell others about it.

Christians, like Paul, need to set good example for others and need to be enthusiastic about telling people about the difference believing in Christ means in our life. We don’t just tell people they need to go to Church, but why they need to go to Church, what we get out of going to Church. We don’t just tell people they need to pray the rosary, but why they should pray the rosary, what we’ve personally gotten out of praying the rosary. Why should we read the Bible? Because there are many misconceptions floating around in our culture about the Bible, and the Bible gives us deep insight into the mystery of God and how to conduct one’s life with wisdom and how to bear the fruits of the Spirit!

Having reminded the Philippian Christians whom they should take as their models, Paul warns them of those they should not imitate—do not imitate those who “conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ.” Our culture holds up some pretty vile people as role models—people who have made earthly fame, earthly power, earthly riches, the god of their lives. And we must be very careful, that we are not envying these people, or allowing our minds to become occupied with earthly things as they are. 

Because in the end, and Paul is very clear about this, earthly life will end in one of two ways: salvation or damnation. If we have spent our life pursuing earthly things, it will end in destruction. But modeling our lives after the saints, spending our lives seeking to be models of faith for others, we show that our eternal citizenship is in heaven. 

May we repent of all earthly thinking and earthly pursuit, and recommit to imitating the holy ones, conforming ourselves to Christ in this life, that we may be conformed to him forever in heaven, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That all Christians may grow in their imitation of the saints. Let us pray to the Lord.

That our young people may be blessed to be raised in faith filled homes, that they may be protected from the evils of our culture, and be granted a firm knowledge of their vocation to holiness. Let us pray to the Lord.

For our nation, beset with such vast corruption, might look to the Son of God, believe in him, and seek the life that only he can offer. Let us pray to the Lord. 

That Christ the Good Shepherd will draw close to all who suffer, the sick, the needy, victims of injustice, and the dying.

We pray in a special way during this month of November for all the faithful departed, all deceased members of St. Ignatius of Antioch Parish, our deceased family members and friends, deceased clergy and religious, those who fought and died for our freedom and for X. for whom this mass is offered.

O God, you 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.

12th Week of OT 2020 - Tuesday - The most important choice

Scripture often describes life as a choice between two ways. In Deuteronomy, Moses speaks of the way of life and the way of death. The very first Psalm speaks about the difference between the way of God which leads to life and the way of the wicked which leads to doom. The book of Proverbs, too, differentiates the path of wisdom, which leads to harmony with God, and the path of wickedness, which is one of greed, violence, foolishness, which leads to destruction.

Because we are endowed with free will, humans are able to choose their path: we might not be able to choose our race, our family, or the economic status in which we begin life. And we remain powerless over a great many things throughout life. But one choice is always available to us. We are always able to decide to follow God’s way or not.

We think of the first real moral choice in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve had to decide between the way of obedience and the way of disobedience. And we know that the choice of disobedience at the beginning of human history had terrible consequences.

The Lord takes up this motif of two ways in the Gospel today: a way that leads to life and a way that leads to destruction. And the Lord even describes these two ways: the way that leads to life is narrow, few are truly willing to conform themselves to walk this path, the way that leads to destruction is wide and broad; the Lord sees many souls walking this path, and so this teaching is a warning to a sinful selfish world, change your ways, change your path before it is too late.

Few verses in the Bible are as sobering as these. The Lord challenges us to look at our lives from the perspective of where we are headed. The stakes are extremely high—our eternity is determined by the choices we make in this life.

Now many of our contemporaries don’t like to think about eternity. They like to live under the delusion, either, that everyone automatically goes to heaven, or that this life is all that there is. But that is not the message of the Bible, that is not the message of Our Lord. Our choices matter. If everyone went to heaven, if heaven was guaranteed, then faithfulness, obedience, self-sacrifice, really wouldn’t matter.

We must not allow ourselves to be swept up by the attitudes and faithlessness of the world, but rather we must make the choice, daily to follow Christ down the narrow path, in the moment of temptation, we must exert real moral effort to remain obedient to God, and if we have turned our back on God, and begun to wander down that destructive path, we must repent, and turn around, for the direction we are facing at the end of life will determine our eternity.

With the help of God’s grace, may we choose, wisely…for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
 
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That the Holy Spirit may guide the selection of a new bishop for Cleveland, that he may be a man of  wisdom, of deep Christian faith, hope, and love.

For the protection of the unborn, and that people of goodwill will work together to enshrine the protection of the unborn in law and in the hearts of all.

For the conversion of those who do not believe in God, for Catholics who have left the Church, those guilty of heresy or schism, and for a return to the sacraments of those who have fallen into serious sin.

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

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

28th Sunday in OT 2018 - Joylessness and the Rich Young Man

This weekend, Pope Francis is celebrating in Rome the Canonization of six new saints. Three of them were founders of new religious orders, one of them was a humble diocesan priest, one is the great and courageous Archbishop Oscar Romero who denounced the violence of the civil war in El Salvador in 1980 and was assassinated offering mass in a hospital chapel. The sixth is Pope Paul VI, whose Papacy from 1963-1978 was marked by his deep sense of prayerfulness, as he led the Church to become a greater instrument for evangelization and conversion to the modern world.

The temperaments and lives of these new saints could not have been any different. Yet, their commonality, is certainly their love and obedience to Jesus Christ.

Like the young man in the Gospel today, they each approached the Lord, fell to their knees and asked the question: “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” For three of them it was founding a religious order for ordinary men and women like you and me to live a life of prayer and penance that points to God. For Archbishop Romero, it was standing up to a corrupt government. For Paul VI it was leading the Church in a time of social and cultural upheaval. But, “what must I do to find joy, to find eternal life?” That is probably the most important question anyone could ask.

One concern I know many priests and many of you have is that so many of our young people and so many of our family members do not consider this question important.  One of the symptoms of the secularism of our age is an indifference to eternity. Plenty of young men and women ask questions like, “what must I do to get into Harvard, what must I do to be a famous athlete, what must I do to make my first million by the age of 30, what must I do to have as much pleasure as I can?”  These are all valid questions if one is merely concerned with earthly happiness and temporal success.  But these are not concerns about ultimate reality.  So this young man in the Gospel is in a much better place than many of our contemporaries.

How did the Lord answer this young man’s questions? He first begins to list off the commandments of God’s law.

Rules are important. We have rules for good health—you can’t eat a bag of pork rinds every day if you want to be physically fit; we have rules for good finances—don’t spend more than you make. So, too, if you want to have good mental health, there are some rules—learn to let go of anger and grudges, read a book once and a while to keep your brain active, maintain supportive relationships, develop a sense of gratitude for life’s blessings.

Every relationship has rules; rules which prescribe what is good and prohibit what is bad. When a bride and groom stand up in front of the Church and their families and recite their wedding vows, they are agreeing to the rules of their covenant relationship: we are going to be faithful even when we are tempted to be unfaithful, we are going to care for each other in times of sickness, in times of economic hardship, when physical beauty fades, we are going to raise our children to be good Christians.

Families have rules which support the harmony and happiness of the family. Don’t talk back to mom and dad, don’t fight with your siblings. When I was growing up, we had a lot of rules about keeping the house tidy: make your bed, clean your room, dirty plates and dishes weren’t to be left lying around, they were to be placed not just in the kitchen sink, but the dishwasher, and they had to be rinsed off first.

The spiritual life has rules, too. If you want to spiritually fit, if you want your relationship with God to be healthy—if you want this earthly journey to lead to eternal life with God, we must follow spiritual rules. And the commandments of God are the basic rules for that end.

Now of course, we all fail to keep these commandments for a variety of reasons. And the Christian recognizes the necessity of repentance, of confessing the serious violations of our covenant relationship with God. We admit to God even our smaller, venial sins, as well as we can, so that they do not pave the way for graver violations.

The young man in the Gospel, seems like he was doing pretty well. "Teacher,” he says “all of these commandments I have observed from my youth." Okay, good. Jesus recognizes that in this young man, the fundamental are in place, the aspirations are right, but the Lord sensed a restlessness in the young man. “You are lacking in one thing”, the Lord said. What was he lacking?

Despite his fidelity to the law, the young man was unwilling to detach himself from his possessions and follow the Lord radically.

“Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." The Lord knew that the man’s possessions had become a stumbling block to his salvation, so he illuminated this fact, and showed him what he had to do. This does not mean every single one of us has to get rid of all of our earthly possessions to follow Christ, but it certainly means that we must be spiritually detatched from them and dedicate them to God's purpose rather than our own selfish ends.

At that statement we then hear one of the saddest lines in all of the Gospels. “his face fell, and he went away sad.” The encounter with the Lord is meant to bring us conversion, joy, and life, but the young man walked away from that which would have brought him joy and that is always a sad story.

Last week in our parish youth group, we talked about joy, how following the commands of God leads to joy, how prayer and service bring us a joy that nothing else in the world can possibly give. Joy, is very different from happiness. Happiness is satisfaction with temporary things. I’m happy when the browns win, I’m happy when my chicken wings are at the perfect level of crispiness, I’m happy when the traffic light turns green at just the right time.

Joy, however, comes from our relationship with the eternal things of God: Truth, Goodness, and Beauty. Our hearts are filled not just with happiness, but joy, when we learn the Truth that comes from God, when we engage in truly good acts, caring for the poor, caring for a sick family member, feeding the hungry, forgiving those who hurt us. And we are filled with joy at the sight of beauty, true beauty, beautiful and timeless Christian art and architecture, the beauty of God’s creation.

The young man turns his heart away from joy because he chooses to value passing, temporary, earthly things, his possessions, over the truth, and goodness, and beauty of Jesus Christ.

I guarantee, that each of the saints being canonized this weekend, knew this secret to joy. Now, that doesn’t mean their lives were easy. Each faced tremendous suffering, but that did not diminish their joy. Because authentic joy does not diminish in the face of suffering, but can intensify it, when that suffering is embraced for the good of the Church and the spread of the Gospel.

As we celebrate the Eucharist today, may the Holy Spirit help us identify those attitudes or habits that we need to turn away from in order to experience the joy and eternal life God wants for us, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Monday - 10th Week of OT 2017 - The roadmap to eternity

The Greek philosopher Aristotle taught that man’s highest goal, the motive behind all of his actions, is happiness.  The desire for happiness is the one goal that unites all of humanity.  He used the Greek word “eudaimonia” to describe “earthly happiness” that comes through living a virtuous life, a life where the passions are brought under control of the right reason, a life where one pursues the highest things.

There was another greek word, “makarios”—used to describe the blessedness and immortality of the gods. And at the very end of his Nicomachean Ethics, in which he spends so much time explaining what it takes to achieve eudaimonia, earthly happiness, he hints at the possibility of man seeking “makarios”, the blessedness of the gods.

Today’s gospel reading begins Jesus’ great sermon on the mount, from which we’ll be reading from for the next three weeks. And Jesus doesn’t just hint at the possibility of blessedness for his followers, the very first word of his sermon, is markarios, blessed are you, blessed will you be. Jesus speaks of our deepest longing, we are not made simply for a short earthly life. We are made for eternity, and Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is the roadmap to eternity, to blessedness.

Jesus will show that eudaimonia and makarios are linked: eternal blessedness will certainly involve earthly virtue. However, our deepest longing isn’t simply earthly happiness, our deepest longing is union with God. And Jesus promises that, too!

So often, we look for happiness and joy in all the wrong places, so Jesus in this Sermon is going to help lead us out of this spiritual slavery, this constant pursuit of looking for happiness where we shouldn’t. Jesus teaches us to seek first the kingdom of God, to build our houses on the solid rock foundation of his teaching, so that we may filled with true life.

Just as Moses gave the 10 Commandments of the Law upon a mountain, Jesus, on a mountain, gives a new Law, not simply an ethic, but a roadmap to union with God, to communion, to intimacy.

As I did last time these readings came up, I encourage you to read through chapters 5 through 7 of Matthew’s Gospel in one sitting. Jesus speaks these words to every age of the Church, to every person. May we receive his teaching with open minds and hearts, and strive to be faithful to all he taught, that we may achieve the end for which we are made, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For the holy Church of God, that the Lord may graciously watch over her, preserving her from error, helping her to rejoice in the Truth of the Gospel.

That the faith may be practiced in all Christian families, for strengthening in charity among spouses, that parents may be examples of faith to inspire their children that the young may learn and practice virtue and prayer.

For an increase in vocations to the priesthood and consecrated religious life.

For the healing of divisions caused by heresy, and moral and doctrinal error among Christians.

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

For all who are oppressed by any kind of need, that the Lord may graciously grant them relief, especially for the sick and victims of war and terror and natural disaster.

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

O God, our refuge and our strength, hear the prayers of your Church, for you yourself are the source of all devotion, and grant, we pray, that what we ask in faith we may truly obtain. Through Christ our Lord.

Homily: Monday - 4th Week of Lent 2017 - Faith amidst suffering

The fourth Sunday of Lent marks a threshold.  No longer will the weekday readings call for prayer, fasting, and forgiving.  Now they center on the life that Christ promises.  The gospel book changes as well.  For almost four weeks one of the Synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) was used.  For the rest of Lent, we will read predominately from the Gospel of John, which presents Jesus as “the resurrection and the life”

We read from the prophet Isaiah which proclaimed something new is being offered from God. “I am about to create new heavens and a new earth” where the sufferings and sadnesses of life shall not be remembered, where there shall always be “rejoicing and happiness”.

One of the saints said, compared to the joys of heaven, all of the sufferings of our earthly life will be like a night spent in an uncomfortable motel. And so there is certainly an element of the Christian life to enduring the earthly sufferings we cannot change—keeping Christian faith amidst the suffering leads to life.

“Seek good and not evil so that you may live” our Gospel acclamation proclaimed. Certainly we need to rid our lives of evil: selfish attitudes, perverse imaginings, constant social climbing. And we need to engage in works of charity.

But the greatest good is found in Jesus Christ. Jesus seems perturbed with the royal official when he says, “’Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.’”  He is wary of people’s faith that is based solely on the miraculous. For Jesus came not simply to satisfy our earthly desires or physical needs, but to grant eternal life.

During these last few weeks of Lent, we will read about Jesus’ great suffering: the depths of His love for us can be seen in his embrace of his Passion and Death. We are reminded by today’s reading that he suffers so that we may have eternal life. Without Jesus’ self-sacrifice on Good Friday, there would be no hope of the promises of happiness and eternal joy we read of today.

We do well though to intensify our Lenten penances now that we have crossed the threshold to the second half of Lent; yes, that we may continue restrain our earthly vices and grow in charity, but also that we may be filled with the very life Jesus won for us on the cross, for He is the only source of authentic rejoicing and gladness, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For Peace in those nations of the world most threatened by hatred, division, and violence, and for the protection of the men and women in our armed forces.  We pray to the Lord.

That all families will commit themselves to fervent prayer this Lent so as to grow in greater love and holiness.  We pray to the Lord.

That civil leaders will use their authority to protect the dignity of human life and the well-being of the poor, the marginalized, the oppressed, and those who suffer from discrimination.  We pray to the Lord.

For the physical, emotional, and spiritual healing of all people, especially the spiritually blind and hard of heart.  We pray to the Lord.

For all those who have died, for all the poor souls in purgatory, for those who have fought and died for our country’s freedom.  We pray to the Lord.