Homily: Sept 26 2016 - Sts. Cosmas and Damian - Suffering Servants

The next few days we will be hearing from the book of Job. We’ll hear how Job is afflicted with tremendous suffering; he loses everything precious to him: he bears the grief of seven dead sons and three dead daughters.  He becomes repulsive to his wife, loathsome to his brothers, he loses his land and property.  He’ll lay in unrelieved misery for months with open sores all over his body.  At first, he’ll bear these calamities with amazing trust in God and faith, but as his misery continues over many months his faith begins to waver. 

Perhaps some of us can relate. Extended periods of suffering, the loss of that which we hold dear, can really be a trial for our faith.

Today we honor two saints, who patiently endured their trial, and did so with tremendous grace, and an outpouring of Christian service.

Cosmas and Damien were twin brothers born at the end of the third century in Syria.  They were physicians and were known as “the moneyless ones”, because they didn’t charge their patients.  They were actually the first surgeons to successfully perform a limb transplant, and this was in the early fourth century. They could have become world famous and wealthy, but they chose faith over fame, and like Christ became sufferings servants of those in need.

Christians who openly professed their faith, in the early fourth century during the persecution of Diocletian, did so at great risk.  For openly practicing their faith, for living and seeking to pass on the Gospel of Christ, Cosmas and Damien were arrested, tortured and beheaded.

Cosmas and Damien are examples for us of what Christianity is all about: sacrificing ourselves for others., living generously for others, pouring ourselves out in service, witnessing to the love of God, and the truth of the Holy Gospel, even with our lives.

And though each of us are afflicted in our own way, like Job, we are still to look outside of ourselves, to look for opportunities to serve, to help, to uplift, even when this would bring upon us the scorn of the world.

May the grace of the Eucharist today bring about in us an increase of charity for those in need, fervor for the spread of the Gospel, and courage to face our trials for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: Sept 23 2016 - Padre Pio - Mystical Phenomena & Humility

Padre Pio is certainly recognized for the incredible phenomena associated with him…the holy stigmata, he bore the marks of Jesus’ crucifixion on his hands for 50 years, the fact that he could read people’s souls, people would come to him in confession, and he would know their sins before they confessed them; he was capable of bilocating—on several instances he appeared in the United States while he was also still in Italy.

When Pope Paul VI visited Padre Pio’s tomb about five months after he died, he said the greatness of Padre Pio is not in these extraordinary mystical phenomena. The greatness of Padre Pio was in the fact that he was a humble friar, who humbly celebrated Mass, heard confessions from dawn to dusk; he was a man of suffering and prayer.

It would take him 3 hours to celebrate the Mass, as he was so mentally and spiritually engaged in these sacred mysteries. When Mass would begin at 4:30am, people would line up outside just to celebrate Mass with him. And he didn’t even preach, he simply celebrated Mass with ineffable humility. Padre Pio is said to have experienced very deeply the events of Calvary as he celebrated, and through his humble celebration, he would bring the fruits of the cross to the people. So great was his participation in the cross, that he literally shared Christ’s wounds.

He was, as Paul VI said, a man of suffering and a man of prayer. When asked if the wounds of his holy stigmata caused him suffering, he said, “well, the Lord didn’t give them to me for decoration.” But he also suffered the calumnies of those who were jealous of his relationship with the Lord. In their jealousy, some of his superiors placed unjust disciplines upon him, which he bore, humbly and quietly.

I believe like Padre Pio we are called to more devoutly enter into the Mass, to prepare our hearts for Mass, to truly lift up our hearts to heaven during the celebration of the Mass, to unite ourselves the suffering Christ during the Mass, to put the Mass truly as the source and summit of everything we do, and thank God deeply for the graces we receive from the Mass.

Also, as Padre Pio was so deeply devoted to the Sacrament of Confession, he heard confession often for 12 hours a day, we do well to invite those who have fallen away from Confession to return. Not only those who have fallen away from the Church, but there are many who receive Holy Communion sacrilegiously, coming to Communion though they are guilty of serious sins. So many who struggle with habitual venial sins would find great advancement in the spiritual life from more frequent confession.

We also do well to learn from him how to bear wrongs patiently and without complaint. There is also great spiritual growth to be had if when we just learned to stop complaining about little things and talking about the small wrongs done to us by others—family members or strangers.