4th Week in Ordinary Time 2026 - Wednesday (School Mass) - David Trusts in God's Mercy

 

Today’s readings tell us two stories that might seem very different—a story about King David sinning against God and a story about Jesus being rejected by the people of his home town. But these stories are really about the same problem—the same choice.

In the first reading, we heard about King David. David was a good king. He loved God. But one day, he made a mistake. He told his army to count how many soldiers he had. That doesn’t sound very bad—until we understand why he did it. For a moment, David trusted numbers and power more than he trusted God.

Thankfully, it didn’t take long for David to realize his sin. And notice, he didn’t make excuses. He didn’t blame anyone else. He said: “I have sinned. I have been very foolish.”

Then God gave David a choice about what would happen next—and David said something very important: “Let us fall by the hand of God, for he is most merciful.” In other words, David was saying: “If something bad has to happen, I would rather put myself in God’s hands—because God is kind, and God knows when to stop.”

David remembered something very important: God is always more merciful than we expect.

Now let’s look at the Gospel. Jesus goes back to his hometown—the place where everyone knew him growing up. He teaches in the synagogue, and the people are amazed… but instead of trusting God, they start to doubt. They say: “Isn’t this just the carpenter?” “Isn’t this Mary’s son?” “Who does he think he is?” And the Gospel says: “They took offense at him.”

In other words, they rejected Jesus—not because he did something wrong, but because they thought they already knew him. They trusted their assumptions instead of trusting what God was doing right in front of them. And because of their lack of faith, they were unable to witness the miracles of Jesus.

Here’s the connection between the two readings: both are stories about how we fail to trust God. Like David, we trust in our own strength, thinking we can overcome life’s obstacles by our own power, or military might. Like the people of Nazareth, we fail to take the time to know Jesus.

But David shows us what we must do when we fail to trust God: run back to God as soon as you can. Sometimes, like David, we mess up. But the good news—the very good news—is this: God is merciful. When we admit we’re wrong…When we say we’re sorry…When we trust God again…God always wants to forgive, to heal, and to begin again.

So today, let’s remember: Don’t be afraid to trust God, even when it’s hard. And when we fall, let us trust in God’s mercy—because, like David said, “The Lord is most merciful.” For the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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Trusting in the mercy of God, who is always faithful even when we struggle to trust Him, let us bring our prayers before the Lord.

 For the Church throughout the world: that she may always trust in God’s mercy and help all people turn back to the Lord when they fall away.

For our Holy Father, bishops, priests, and teachers: that they may humbly serve God’s people and help others recognize Christ.

For all students in our school: that we may grow in faith, learning to trust God more than our own fears, assumptions, or doubts.

For those who struggle to believe or who have turned away from God: that they may encounter His mercy and be given the grace to trust Him again.

For those who are sick, sad, or in need of healing: that they may be comforted by God’s loving care and feel His mercy close to them.

For those who have died, that they may rest in the peace and mercy of God forever.

 Merciful Father, you are slow to anger and rich in compassion. Hear the prayers we offer today with trust in your love, through Christ our Lord.

2nd Week of Lent 2025 - Friday - Repenting of our rejection of God

Throughout Lent so far, many of our scripture readings have dealt with the need to do penance and to observe the bodily disciplines of Lent—to seek that inner renewal and transformation that God wants for us in this sacred season.

Today, our Lenten readings shift in focus. In both first reading and Gospel today, we read stories of rejection.  In the first reading Joseph’s brothers rejected him and plotted to kill him.  In the Gospel, in the parable of the wicked tenants tells of the tenant farmers who reject , seize and kill, not only the vineyard owners servants but also his son.

These readings foreshadow the events of Holy Week, which is still a few weeks off, in which Jesus the Lord would be seized and killed by those who reject him.

This foreshadowing of the rejection Jesus will face in his Passion puts our Lenten journey into perspective. We do penance—we pray, fast, and give alms precisely because we have rejected Christ through sin. 

The tale of rejection goes back to the beginning when Adam and Eve rejected God’s command, thereby rejecting His plan for them and for mankind.  By rejecting God they forfeited paradise. So too, the Lord explains that for those who reject Him, “the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit.”

Personal Sin, for which we do penance during the Lenten season, involves the humble admission that we rejected God’s truth, God’s plan, and the life God’s desires for us. 

Sometimes Christ’s teachings & the teachings of the Church are found difficult, so we reject them. The Lenten call to pray, fast, and give alms is difficult and so it is rejected. The invitation to make a good Lenten confession is difficult, so it is rejected. 

Though we have often participated in rejecting God, Lent reminds us that Christ willingly accepted rejection and suffering so that we might be redeemed. His response to our rejection was not condemnation, but mercy; not abandonment, but forgiveness. The rejected Son becomes the cornerstone of our salvation.

Today, let us recommit ourselves to this Lenten journey, determined not to reject the Son but to welcome Him wholeheartedly. Let us pray that any rejection, hardheartedness, or spiritual laziness may be transformed by Christ’s redemptive love. By confronting and repenting of our own rejections of Jesus, we prepare our hearts to truly celebrate the joy of Easter.

May our Lenten practices continue to lead us closer to Christ, who redeems our rejection with His boundless love and mercy, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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Trusting in the Father’s merciful love, we now lift up our prayers, asking for the grace to reject sin and welcome Christ wholeheartedly into our lives.

For the Church throughout the world, that during this Lenten season, Christians everywhere may turn from sin and welcome Christ’s redemptive love more deeply.

For all who suffer rejection or abandonment, especially those who feel unloved or unwanted, that they may experience the healing presence and compassion of Jesus.

For families experiencing division and broken relationships, that the grace of reconciliation may overcome resentment and rejection, bringing healing and peace

For all who are burdened by illness, suffering, or despair, that they may draw strength from God who draws close to them and embraces them in their need.

For all who have died, that they may now find eternal acceptance and peace in the heavenly kingdom. 

Loving Father, hear these prayers we offer in humility and trust, through Christ our Lord.

3rd Week of Lent 2023 - Monday - Trust God, Be Washed, Accept Persecution

 

Naaman, the Syrian army commander, had the worst disease imaginable, leprosy.  So her fervently sought a cure, convincing his King to sacrifice an enormous amount of wealth for a cure.  He even traveled to Jerusalem, to Elisha the prophet of a God that he did not claim to be his own.  And Naaman felt that Elisha's remedy insulted his intelligence: wash seven times in the dirty Jordan river, when there were so many other rivers with cleaner water back home in Syria.  

But notice how God convinced Naaman to relent to this remedy. A group of humble servants convinced him: “If the prophet would have instructed you to do something HARD, would you have done it?”  “Of course,” said Naaman.  Then why won't you do what the prophet asked?”  We know the rest of the story, Naaman went, and washed, and his leprosy was cured.

What a quintessential Lenten scripture reading! God wants to heal us. We need to trust God that, yes, through ordinary practices like prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, God can bring healing to our leprous souls. We need to trust God. Trust the Church. Trust the Saints: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving work!

The story also contains a foreshadowing of the sacrament of Christian baptism—the easter waters. Ordinary waters are transformed into the saving waters in which people of every nation are called to trust God and be cleansed and saved. 

Naaman’s story also contains a foreshadowing of our Easter mission. We are called to be that group of humble servants that convince the doubtful to trust in the One True God and to be baptized. 

And yet, our Gospel contains another lesson. Yes, those waters bring cleansing. Yes, we are sent to all people to invite them to bathe in those waters. Will all people accept that invitation? No. In fact, in the same manner as the people of Nazareth were enraged by Jesus for speaking the truth to them, and drove him to the edge of the cliff to kill him, so they shall do the same with us.

When we say Lent prepares us for Easter, that also includes toughening us up to accept the persecution that comes from being faith to the Lord. Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving bring us purification, but also fortitude, for the work God has in store for us. May we use this time wisely, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For Holy Father, Pope Francis on the 10th anniversary of his pontificate, that the Holy Spirit may continue to guide and bless his pontificate, his leadership, and sustain him in his trials. 

That our Lenten prayer, fasting, and almsgiving may humble our earthly pride and bring about conversion and renewal within the Church.

For all those preparing to enter into Christ through the saving waters of Baptism and those preparing for full initiation this Easter, may these final Lenten weeks bring about purification from sin and enlightenment in the ways of holiness.

For souls in our neighborhood to accept the invitation to baptism and faith.

For those experiencing any kind of hardship or sorrow, isolation, addiction, or illness: may they experience the healing graces of Christ.

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, for the repose of the soul of the poor 7 year old boy who was shot and killed on Cleveland’s west side this weekend, for the consolation of his family 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.

22nd Week in Ordinary Time 2022 - Tuesday - A tale of two Galilean towns

 For the first nine weeks of Ordinary Time, the weekday Gospel readings are taken from the Gospel of Mark. And then for about 12 more weeks, the Gospels are taken from Matthew. From now until the end of the liturgical year, we read from the Gospel of Luke. 

Notice though, that we didn’t begin with Luke Chapter 1, we’ve skipped already to chapter 4, and that’s because those first four chapters of Luke are the infancy narratives and we read through those chapters throughout advent and Christmas. 

Our Ordinary Time reading of Luke begins with the beginning of the Lord’s public ministry.

Had we not celebrated the memorial of The Passion of St. John the Baptist, yesterday, we would have heard how the Lord’s public ministry began with rejection. He comes out of the desert, having fasted for 40 days, filled with the spirit, he goes to Nazareth, opens the scroll, begins to read how the prophecies of old are now being fulfilled in their midst, and he is driven out of town by his townsfolk, and they attempt to hurl him over a cliff.

So, today, we hear that the Lord decided to take his ministry to Capernaum—a distance of about 25 miles, the distance from downtown Cleveland to Akron or Madison. . Perhaps a week had passed since Nazareth. For the rejection at Nazareth took place in a synagogue on a sabbath, and today’s passage, which immediately follows, takes place, again, in a synagogue, on a sabbath. And the reaction to his teaching couldn’t have been more drastic.

Instead of rejection, like there was in Nazareth, in Capernaum there is astonishment, miracles, healings, and exorcisms. He is not driven to the edge of town, he is welcomed into a home in the heart of town, to the home of Simon, who will be later named Peter. A tale of two cities, a tale of two responses to Jesus—to his Gospel.

The reader of the Gospel is presented with an immediate choice: do I want to be like the people of Nazareth or the people of Capernaum. Do I drive Jesus from my midst through my sins and hard-heartedness, or do I welcome him and his Truth and become open to the healings and miracles and deliverance that he brings.

The people of Nazareth claimed to know him but really did not. Their familiarity had led them to contempt. People of faith, even life long Catholics, however, know a secret, that we can constantly rediscover Jesus anew, if we are honest in our spiritual lives, and welcome him deeper into the recesses of our lives and hearts.

Throughout the remainder of Ordinary Time, reading through St. Luke’s beautiful Gospel, may we allow the Lord to challenge us, teach us, heal us, and deliver us for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For the flourishing of spiritual gifts in the universal Church and our parish, for the sanctification of our parishioners, the conversion of the faithless, and the grace to be not just hearers of the word but doers of the word. 

For an end to indifference to the Gospel, to God and human dignity in our government & educational institutions, businesses, and personal attitudes.

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, for the mentally ill, those with addictions, and the imprisoned, for those who struggle to practice 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. 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.

4th Sunday of Ordinary Time 2022 - Murderous Intent or Rejoicing with Truth

 How did the people of Nazareth, in the Gospel today, go from amazement and hope in Jesus’ announcement that he was the Messiah, to murderous fury? That’s certainly the big question, isn’t it? What happened? Was it something that Jesus said? Hope do you explain hope and amazement transforming into doubt and then hatred?

I thought to myself, is there anything that I could say, that could elicit such a response? If I told a bad joke, there would likely be a few groans. Like, how much does a pirate pay for corn? A buccaneer. If I gave my prediction about who will win the superbowl, there might be a few scoffs, but you wouldn’t run me out of Church. If, instead of preaching on a theological topic, I simply talked about my favorite movies from the last year and sit down, you might stare at me quizzically, but you wouldn’t come at me with murderous intent.

Things might get a little bit more heated if I, say, spent the homily sharing my incredibly niche and polarizing political opinions. I don’t know how this parish reacted, but I remember in my first assignment, when the bishop had us read his statement on the HHS mandate which was to force Catholic institutions to pay for medical procedures contrary to Church teaching, we had a few mass goers walk out during the bishop’s message.

I came across a very telling article this week, that sited a study regarding the relationship between people’s political and religious beliefs. It claimed, that for a majority people, their political opinions take a higher priority than their religious ones, and that the Church they attend coincides more with their political beliefs than if that Church is purporting to preach the truth. 

So, again, if during the homily, I got too political, well, that might elicit a response of sorts.

But what if I started preaching heresy? I starting making claims about the Nature of God, the efficacy of the Sacraments that were contrary to the ancient tradition of the Church. What if I belittled beloved devotions. Well, you should get angry, shouldn’t you. That should elicit jeers, letters to the bishop, calls for my removal as pastor. You don’t come to church to be lied to, to have the faith demeaned and disparaged. I should be removed, if I did that. 

But it wasn’t a lie that caused the people of Nazareth to drive him to the edge of town to murder him. He wasn’t simply offering a bad joke or a divisive political opinion, though some may have interpreted his words in that way. Jesus was stating the truth. He was the Messiah. 

And when his townsmen began to contemplate the implications of that truth, amazement turned to doubt and doubt turned to murderous hatred.

When we are presented with truth, truth about God, truth about ourselves, we have some choices to make, don’t we? For example, if I’m in the habit of stealing from supermarkets, and I am confronted with the truth that stealing is evil, as taught by our faith, I have a choice to make. Reject the truth outright, that I know better than the Church, I try to rationalize my sin, saying it’s not really stealing if I want it really bad, or quit stealing and confess my sin to God.

Another example, if I was under the impression that Eucharist was only a symbol of the Lord’s Body and Blood, but then I’m confronted with the unchanging truth about the Eucharist rooted in scriptures and evident in the church fathers including our own St. Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, I have a choice to make. Reject the truth, thinking I know better than 2000 years of consistent church teaching, I try to minimize the importance of the doctrine, saying to myself, it doesn’t really matter, does God really care if believe this or not?” Or, recognize I was wrong, the Church was right, Lord, help my unbelief, in the words of the man in Mark’s Gospel, wanting to believe that Jesus could cast the demon out of his possessed son.

There are a lot of reaction to Jesus in the Gospels. And those reactions are the consequences of choices, choices to believe in the truth about who Jesus says he is, or not. 

The townsfolk of Nazareth, they discredit Jesus’ claim. He’s just the son of a carpenter. He can’t be the Messiah. They allowed their personal prejudices to hinder their ability to believe. 

Then, when Jesus explains how their choice to discredit him was akin to the hardness of heart and lack of faith described in the old testament stories about Elijah and Elisha. Well, they had another choice. Recognize the pattern of their unbelief and the veracity of Jesus’ claim, or, silence him, drive him out, murder him. Rejection of the truth leads to violence. 

Why is our culture so polarized, so ready to erupt into violence? In many places, in many homes, even in many so-called Christian communities, it is no longer rooted in the Truth. But Truth leads to love and peace. “Augustine says, nothing conquers but truth, and the victory of the truth is love.”

When we are rooted in truth, we are able to truly love. Love that is patient, kind, not jealous, not pompous, not inflated, not rude, not seeking its own interests, not quick-tempered, not brooding over injury, not rejoicing over wrongdoing but rejoicing with the truth., as St. Paul explains in our second reading today. 

The townsfolk of Nazareth certainly did not rejoice with the truth, but Christians, we must. For, truth is the only firm foundation for culture. We understand this. We hate fake news because it’s the dissemination of lies. Pope Francis, this week spoke about how spreading “disinformation” about COVID-19 is a violation of human rights. He said access to accurate information, based on scientific data, is a human right that must be especially guaranteed for those who are less equipped to separate out the morass of misinformation and commentary masquerading as fact that is available online.

At the same time, Francis asked for a merciful, missionary approach to those who fall prey to such distortions so they are helped to understand the truth.

"Fake news has to be refuted, but individual persons must always be respected, for they believe it often without full awareness or responsibility," he said. "Reality is always more complex than we think and we must respect the doubts, the concerns and the questions that people raise, seeking to accompany them without ever dismissing them."

The Holy Father’s approach is consistent quite enlightened compared to the anger and vitriol you see from people on “both sides of the issue” . Seek the truth, don’t lie to people, don’t minimize people’s concerns, but also don’t overinflate your claims, don’t violate people’s consciences, but patiently help people identify misinformation. 

Not one person in Nazareth stopped and said, “let’s listen to what he has to say, let’s entertain this possibility. If he is in error or a madman or a charlatan, the truth will be revealed.” No one was calm, rational, careful, or discerning. They jumped to discredit, and when they were challenged, they defended their prejudices with murderous intent. 

May the Lord deliver us from our prejudices, those which keep us from loving God, loving our neighbor, loving the stranger, and loving ourselves, those which keep us from rejoicing always with the truth, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.