7th Week of Easter 2024 - Wednesday - Unity through loving and joyful obedience

We have been reading for two weeks from Jesus’ Farewell Speech at the Last Supper, chapters 14-17 of the Gospel of John. 

Throughout the discourse, the Lord emphasizes the relationship between love and obedience. He repeatedly calls on his disciples to demonstrate their love for him by obediently keeping his commandments. 

We seek to faithfully observe the commandments of God out of love, for faithfulness is pleasing to God. And so we zealously seek to rid ourselves of infidelity, to muzzle our unfaithful tongues, discipline our willful spirits, and restrain our disordered appetites. And the Christian does so zealously, happily, and enthusiastically. Again because loving fidelity is pleasing to our Father. We show our love and practice love by keeping God’s commandments. 

A devotion to keeping God’s commandments—to following the rules of our Father’s household—is not pharisaical religion. Rather, it is a participation in the salvific sacrifice of Christ—who obediently accepted death, death on a cross—out of love for His Father.

In his rule, St. Benedict writes, “The first degree of humility is prompt obedience” To be poor in spirit like Christ, to hunger and thirst for righteousness, means to desire a practice obedience.

The great doctor St. Francis de Sales writes, “Obedience is a virtue of so excellent a nature, that Our Lord was pleased to mark its observance upon the whole course of His life; thus He often says, He did not come to do His own will, but that of His Heavenly Father.” 

Obedience is the means of aligning one's will with God's will, which is central to Christian discipleship. For we are to follow in the footsteps of the obedient Son of God. We are to surrender personal preferences and desires to fulfill a higher purpose—God’s Holy Will. “Not my will, but Thy will be done”. 

Obedience to God is the glue that unites Christians. At the conclusion of his Farewell speech, the Lord prays that his disciples be one, just as he is one with the Father—a oneness that is manifest in the Son’s obedience to the Father. 

Thomas Aquinas writes, “Obedience unites us so closely to God that in a way transforms us into Him, so that we have no other will but His. If obedience is lacking, even prayer cannot be pleasing to God.”

Faithfulness is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. If faithfulness is not evident in our decisions, our connection to the Holy Spirit is damaged and compromised. Joylessness in the Christian life is almost always a sign that disobedience has taken root. For sinful disobedience causes the other spiritual fruits, like joy, peace, patience, and self-control to wither.

May the Holy Spirit, whose descent upon the Church we prepare to celebrate at Pentecost, draw us into ever deeper unity with the Father and with one another, through a sharing in the loving obedience of the Son, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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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.

That during this month of May, all people may turn their hearts to the Blessed Virgin Mary, seeking her aid and imploring her intercession with increased and fervent devotion, imitating her example of Faith, Hope, and Love. 

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.

1st Week of Lent 2024 - Monday - Be Holy as God is Holy

 On weekdays throughout ordinary time, I typically use for the celebration of Mass the second Eucharistic prayer, inspired by the anaphora of St. Hippolytus from around the year 215. But during the season of lent, I use one of the newer prayers, what is called the First Eucharistic Prayer for Reconciliation. It is a very fitting eucharistic prayer for the season of Lent, as the prayer contains many Lenten themes—acknowledgement of human sinfulness and our desperate need for God, Christ’s hands being stretched forth on the food of the cross for us, which we call to mind particularly on Good Friday; the prayer speaks of the compassion of God for sinful humanity, and ends on a great eschatological note speaking of our hope of standing as Saints among the saints in the halls of heaven once our earthly pilgrimage has come to an end and the new heaven and new earth which will be free from the corruption of sin and death.

I bring this up today because the beginning of that first Eucharistic prayer for reconciliation is directly inspired by the beginning of our first reading this morning from the book of Leviticus. In the Leviticus reading God is speaking to Moses, God says “Speak to the whole assembly of the children of Israel and tell them: Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy.” 

God desires that we become holy, as he is holy. The command "Be holy, as I am holy”, echoed in that first eucharistic prayer for reconciliation, is given by God numerous times in scripture. 

God is inherently holy—there is no evil, selfishness, impurity, sin or error within him. He is pure, selfless, completely self-giving love. And God is constantly at work throughout history for the reconciliation of sinful humanity and our sanctification—work that culminates in the self-sacrifice of Christ. 

When God calls His people to be holy, He is calling us moral purity and righteousness. This involves avoiding sinful behaviors and actively pursuing a life in accordance with God's moral standards.

The call to holiness, as God is holy, means that our lives are to reflect God’s life. God is loving, just, merciful, and compassionate. Therefore, to be holy means to exhibit these qualities in our relationships, actions, and attitudes. It involves cultivating the divine virtues and striving to align our lives with God's nature. As we heard in the Gospel, our eternal souls will be judged by how we treat people in this life. 

During Lent we are to seek the moral purity, righteousness, and holiness that God is clear about that He wants for us. That means abiding by those divine guideposts that illuminate our journey—the commandments. It means seeking reconciliation with God when we have sinned. It means cultivating the virtue, generosity, and selfless self-giving that we see in the life of Our Blessed Lord and reflected in the saints. 

God desires holiness for his people, and the season of Lent calls us to seek that holiness wholeheartedly. May we respond with the utmost generosity to this call, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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For the whole Christian people, that in this sacred Lenten season, they may be more abundantly nourished by every word that comes from the mouth of God.

For the whole world, that in lasting tranquility and peace our days may truly become the acceptable time of grace and salvation.

For sinners and those who neglect right religion, that in this time of reconciliation they may return wholeheartedly to Christ.

For ourselves, that God may at last stir up in our hearts aversion for our sins and conviction for the Gospel.

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

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

Legion of Mary Eucharistic Procession 2020 - Worship, Imitation, Evangelization

The Legion of Mary Handbook states that “The Eucharist is the center and source of grace: therefore, it must be the very keystone of the legionary scheme. The most ardent activity will accomplish nothing of value if it forgets for a moment that its main object is to establish the reign of the Eucharist in all hearts."

Let us consider this. That the main objective of the Legion of Mary, says our founder Frank Duff, is to establish the reign of the Eucharist in all hearts. This is the reason we are here today. This is the reason for all those meetings, week after week, year after year, all that coordination of Legionary Activity, all the good works and the prayers: to establish the reign of the Eucharist in all hearts.

It’s why we process today, we take to the streets. Not to fulfill some political agenda. Not to signal our own virtue. Certainly not because there is some earthly reward for doing so. Not even to vent our frustrations with the failures of earthly leaders to bring about peace and justice in our time.

Rather, we process as a witness to the world and maybe even a reminder to our fellow Catholics, that Jesus Christ, the Son of the Virgin Mary, is true God, and that he wishes to establish his Eucharistic reign in the hearts of all peoples, in every place, in every time. His reign is established when we worship him rightly, reverently and devoutly, when we imitate him generously, and when we share our faith, hope, and love of Him with others. 

And these are certainly three dimensions of a Eucharistic Procession: worship, imitation, evangelization. A Eucharistic procession is an act of worship. By it, we seek to honor God and to extend the thanksgiving and glory we give to God at the Eucharistic sacrifice of the Mass out in the world. Our processing is a prayer, an act of worship.

Secondly, A procession is an act of imitation. As we walk through the streets of Cleveland today, we perhaps think of the Lord walking from town to town preaching the Gospel throughout Judaea and Galilee, walking the streets of Jerusalem, carrying his cross in the hot sun, parched and bleeding, on his way to offer the ultimate sacrifice on Calvary. We too imitate our Lady who presented Christ her Son to the world. Over and over we see in sacred statues and images, Our Lady holding the Christ Child aloft, presenting the Christ child, inviting souls to believe in him and love him. So, we imitate, too then, Our Lady, when we process the Eucharist, presenting him to the world to believe in him and to love him. Perhaps as we process, she will whisper to hearts, as she did at the wedding feast of Cana. “Do whatever he tells you”. 

And finally, a procession is in act of evangelization—a way of inviting others to Faith. How strange we will likely appear to unbelievers believers. Singing our hymns, carrying enshrined in gold, what looks to the world as a piece of bread. Why do they do this strange thing, they might ask. And that can be the beginning of God’s truth breaking into their lives.

In a time of political division and domestic chaos, we process to spread the Goodness, that there is a way to peace the world has not considered: a way not rooted in violence or political activism or the spreading around of wealth. The way to happiness the way to peace the way to eternal life is through union with God through Jesus Christ. 

Particularly through the Eucharistic reign of Christ. St. Mother Theresa, whose feast is today teaches that "The cure for all the ills in the Church and human society is Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament." The peace that protesters crave is found in him. The truth craved by the philosophers is found in him. The justice desired by those who work for the oppressed is found in him. The wholeness the broken so long for is found in him.

So, like our Lady, let us lift him aloft for all the world to see today. For to be to be true servants and children of Mary, is to bring souls to the Eucharist and bring the Eucharist to souls, to establish the reign of the Eucharist in all hearts, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

July 15 2020 - St. Bonaventure - To know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge

Knowledge is a wonderful thing. We are born into this world knowing nothing but our instincts. We know enough to cry when we are hungry, or uncomfortable, or lonely. And there is a joy, when a child begins to learn—how to walk, how to talk. I remember visiting the library as a very young child, but not knowing how to read, the books there were basically useless. But the joy of learning how to read gave me access to the contents of those countless books. Even children who have a rough time with formal education find a joy in grasping new concepts and facts in school.

And of course knowledge helps us to make our way in the world: we learn how to take care of ourselves, how to cook, clean, use money, it enables us to pursue really good things, and can help us alleviate the sufferings of others.

On these feast of the Franciscan Saint Bonaventure, great doctor of the Church, learned in the ways of God, who teaches us so much about God, we have a reading from St. paul’s letter to the ephesians, in which the Apostle speaks of the most important knowledge of all.

Of all the things that we will ever learn or ever know, there is one thing that rises in importance above every other thing: it is the knowledge of Christ and His love.

St. Paul prays that Christians “may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” Knowledge of the love of Christ fills us with the fullness of God.

The knowledge of an object or of a science is one thing, but knowledge of a person, the knowledge family members have of each other, the knowledge spouses have of each other. This brings great fulfillment. But higher still is knowledge of the love of Christ. Because it brings us a fulfillment that nothing else in the world can provide.

Knowledge of Christ’s love does not come simply through reading books. It comes experientially, spending time in his presence through prayer, following his example of charity and obedience to the will of the Father, and following in his footsteps by taking up our crosses. It comes sacramentally, for through the Sacraments we encounter Him, his mercy, his love, his strength. The Lord longs to share the knowledge of his love with us, but we must humble ourselves, and seek to love him more than our sins, more than the world, more than our very lives.

Having encountered this love, we seek to bring others who are outside of this knowledge, outside of this experience, into the Church, into relationship with God through Christ, that they may know it, too. For those outside of the Church are deprived of that which makes life worth living.

Bonaventure said, "If you learn everything except Christ, you learn nothing. If you learn nothing except Christ, you learn everything."

May we know the constant assistance of St. Bonaventure and the heavenly court in obtaining and sharing this surpassing knowledge which fills us with the fullness of God for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That all Christians may have a burning love for the Crucified-and-Risen Lord, and that love may be seen in the priorities of their life.

That the work and ministry of all Franciscan organizations and charitable institutions may bear fruit for the spread of the Gospel.

For the purification of our minds and hearts from the errors of the culture and from the lure of worldly attachments.

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

October 4 2019 - St. Francis of Assisi and the Crucifix

During the period of his life in which he experienced great spiritual awakening, St. Francis would go to the old ruined chapel of San Damiano to pray. In that dilapidated oratory still hung a Byzantine wooden crucifix, painted in red, gold, and black, depicting  not the tortured Christ of later art, not with the crown of thorns, but a glorious halo, and with the large, open, eyes of the Crucified gazing back upon the faithful, showing his wounds, perhaps as an invitation to imitate him in his Passion, that we too may experience his glory.

We know well the story of how Francis heard the voice of Jesus speaking to him from that crucifix, “Francis, Go repair my Church, which as you see is falling completely in ruin.” And how Francis first, took the words literally, but then went on to bring great renewal to the Church this his life of poverty, penance and evangelization.

Lesser known, perhaps, are the words that Francis spoke back to that crucifix, which contain a summation of his desire to serve the Lord, a prayerful petition for the grace he needed to be faithful to his calling: “Most High glorious God, bring light to the darkness of my heart. Give me right faith, certain hope, and perfect charity. Give me, Lord, wisdom and discernment, so I can always observe your truth and Holy Will.”

Francis experienced a profound out-pouring of God’s love when he gazed upon the crucifix, and desired to respond in kind, with a sacrificial love that embraced suffering for the good of the Church.
“May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world,” we heard in Paul’s words to the Galatians this morning. Francis, like Paul sought that perfect-identification with and imitation of the crucified one who suffers for our salvation. And Like Paul, St. Francis would go on to bear the marks of Jesus on his body, signs of his union with Christ in his willingness to suffer for the Gospel.

May Francis assist us in embracing the cross, in seeking the right faith, certain hope, and perfect charity of the Christian life, the wisdom and discernment to observe God truth and Holy Will for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For Pope Francis on this his patronal feast, for the grace to bring renewal to those parts of the Church which are crumbling—a renewal of true faith, where faith has diminished or been corrupted.
For blessings upon all members of the Franciscan Orders, for vocations and that their witness may bring renewal to the Church.
For hope for the despairing and all those who suffer.
For the grace of perfect charity to fill our hearts for those in need.
That all God’s Holy People will be filled with the wisdom and discernment needed to know and obey God’s Holy Will.
For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, for the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, for the deceased priests and religious and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.
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.

4th Week of Easter 2018 - Thursday - Go where you've been SENT

On the evening of Easter Sunday, the risen Jesus said to us: "As the Father has sent Me, so I send you" (Jn 20:21), echoing the words He spoke after washing the disciples feet at the last supper, as we just heard in our Gospel, “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send, receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.”

Jesus is the “sent one”, come not to do His own will, but the will of the one who sent Him. So, too Christians, are “sent ones”, following the model of Jesus the master.

The Father sent the Son to reveal His love for the world. In the same way, we are sent to reveal the Father's love.

The Father sent the Son to preach the good news of liberation and restoration to the poor. We likewise, are sent to preach the freedom and wholeness found in Jesus Christ.

The Father sent Jesus to destroy the devil's works. We too are sent to attack the gates of hell and to crush Satan and his empty works under our feet.

The Father sent Jesus to do good works and heal the sick. We, whose lives have been healed, by Christ, our sent out to bring that same healing to the soul-sick.

The Father sent the Son to die and rise; we are sent to die to ourselves, take up our cross daily, and share in Jesus' resurrection.

Christians don't do their own thing or go their own way, this would be selfish. We go where we are sent. We go to the highways and byways and even to the ends of the earth. We are sent out of comfortable complacency into hardship and challenge. We are sent to do the dirty jobs no one else wants to do. We go to the sickest, the poorest, the most repulsive, even to those who do not appreciate us, even to those who hate us on account of Him, as bearers of the mercy of Christ, because to them we have been sent, and we are to do so cheerfully, joyfully, patiently, gently, without grumbling, without resentment, without fear. And when we do go, we find, Christ has arrived before us, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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God the Father was glorified in the death and resurrection of his Son. Let us pray to him with confidence.

God the Father bathed the world in splendor when Christ rose again in glory, may our minds be filled with the light of faith.

Through the resurrection of His Son, the Father opened for us the way to eternal life, may we be sustained today in our work with the hope of glory.

Through His risen Son, the Father sent the Holy Spirit into the world, may our hearts be set on fire with spiritual love.

May Jesus Christ, who was crucified to set us free, be the salvation of all those who suffer, particularly those who suffer from physical or mental illness, addiction, and grief.

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.

Thursday - 15th Week of OT 2017 - "For I am meek and humble of heart"

Over the past few days, our first reading has been taken from the book of Exodus. We’ve heard how God hears the cries of his people, burdened by the suffering of Egyptian slavery, he hears their call for deliverance. God chooses Moses to deliver God’s people from the hand of Pharaoh, to lead the enslaved to the rest of the promised land. But before Moses takes up this mission, we heard today, how God revealed his name to Moses.

Jesus reveals Himself as the great deliverer, the one who can lead all mankind to the eternal rest of the promised land of heaven, whose name itself means savior, Jesus, God who saves us from our sins.

Jesus invites all mankind to turn to him for salvation, for rest. He’s not promising a good night’s sleep or the forgetfulness of our problems that comes from the bottle or the little pill. Nor does he promise that he will magically make all of our difficulties vanish. Jesus offers a rest, a peace that nothing in the world can possibly give. “Peace, not as the world gives, do I give” says the Lord. It is rest and peace that comes from his mercy. The forgiveness of the guilt of sin, the knowledge of being reconciled, and being in communion with God, brings life and rest and peace, that no substance, no political or social reform, not amount of amount of physical or mental therapy can provide. Peace of soul. Such peace is available through the Sacraments, through prayer and devotion.

Notice, how Jesus doesn’t promise to unburden us totally. As soon as he promises rest, he commands us to take up a new burden, to take up the yoke, which is an instrument of work, of labor. But his yoke is radically different from the burdens the world places on us, the burdens of our worldly responsibilities and earthly anxieties. The Christian is to take up the yoke of the Lord’s humility and his meekness.

For many of us, learning how to imitate Jesus’ humility and his meekness is hard work. Learning how to lay aside harshness, grumpiness, pride, willfulness, smugness, superiority, this change of mind and heart is taxing, it requires real work, real effort, the mortification of our attitudes and routines.

But it’s the harshness, willfulness and the pride, the spirit of the age, the spirit of disobedience, that causes us to be so unhappy and exhausted all the time. Humility, meekness, gentleness, the heart of Jesus is easy and light compared to the burden of worldliness.

May the Holy Spirit help us to identify what attitudes and behaviors need to be set aside, that we may take up the yoke of the mind and heart of the Lord, that we may know his peace in this life and his rest in eternity for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
 
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For Bishop Nelson Perez, the next shepherd of our diocese; for our Apostolic Administrator, Bishop Daniel Thomas; for Bishop-emeritus Richard Lennon; that the Holy Spirit will continue to enlighten and empower them with grace, confidence and hope.  We pray.
For our Holy Father’s prayer intention for the month of July: that our brothers and sisters who have strayed from the faith, through our prayer and witness to the Gospel, may rediscover the merciful closeness of the Lord and the beauty of the Christian life. We pray.
For deliverance from all disordered affections and attitudes, for detachment from earthly goods in order to value the goods of heaven. We pray.
That the love of Christ, the divine physician, may bring healing to the sick and comfort to all the suffering. We pray.
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. We pray.
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.