Holy Thursday 2024 - Three Indispensable Gifts

 Knowing that within hours his passion would soon begin, Jesus celebrated the Last Supper with his disciples.  Within hours, he would be sweating blood in the garden of gethsemane, and his disciples would abandon him. Within hours, he would be arrested, falsely accused, tortured and mocked, and before long he would be carrying his cross up the hill of Calvary where he would hang in anguish, and die.

Jesus, at his last supper knew he was about to die, and yet,  in the face of indescribable suffering, the Lord in his goodness bestowed upon His Church three precious gifts: the gift of the Eucharist, the Gift of the Priesthood, and the Commandment of Charity. 

These gifts were not arbitrary; they were given with profound purpose—that his mission would continue—the mission of the Church might succeed through the centuries. Together, these three gifts embody the Church's sacramental, hierarchical, and moral dimensions, guiding our mission to evangelize, sanctify, and serve in the name of Christ.

Let’s reflect upon these three gifts. First, the Eucharist. The Eucharist is the Lord’s gift of his body and blood—through which the Lord remains with his Church really and sacramentally until his glorious return. Through the Eucharist, Jesus transforms our altars into Calvary from which the blood of salvation flows throughout the whole earth.

The Eucharist is indispensable to the life of the Church. It would be easier for the earth to survive without the sun, than for the Church to survive without the Eucharist. It is indispensable to our identity, our mission, and our spiritual life. Without the Eucharist, the Church would lose its most profound connection to Christ, the source of our unity, and its sanctifying power in the world. On Holy Thursday, we thank God for the gift of his body and blood in the Eucharist.

Secondly, at the Last Supper, the Lord gave us the gift of the priesthood. And the sacramental priesthood is indispensable to the Catholic Church. 

Priests are the only ones who through sacramental orders are capable of consecrating bread and wine so that they may become the Body and Blood of Christ. Similarly, only priests can absolve sins in the name of Christ through the Sacrament of Confession. Priests have also been tasked by the Lord to ensure that the liturgy is celebrated properly and reverently, fostering the active participation of the faithful and enabling them to encounter God in the sacraments.

Priests, too, have the divine mandate to teach the faith. Through the preaching, teaching, and pastoral guidance of priests, the Lord Jesus helps his flock understand the Gospel and the Church's teachings, and to live out the Gospel in daily life. When priests are lax in their duties, the mission, identity, worship, and sanctification of the church suffers.

So on Holy Thursday, the we thank God for the gift of the priesthood, and we pray for our priests.

Thirdly, at the Last Supper, the Lord gave us the commandment of Charity. "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another" And of course, the commandment of Charity is indispensable for the Church. 

The commandment of charity encapsulates the essence of being a follower of Christ. It defines the Christian identity not by doctrines or rituals alone but by love—a love that is sacrificial, unconditional, and mirrors the love of Christ for humanity. This love is a visible mark of Christian discipleship, as Jesus Himself said, "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another"

Charity, as commanded by Christ, is the foundation upon which Christian community is built. It fosters unity, mutual care, and the sharing of goods and burdens within the Church. This love is not merely an ideal but a lived reality that is witnessed in the acts of service, kindness, and generosity among the members of the Church.

The commandment of charity is indispensable to the Church's mission in the world. The witness of love is perhaps the most powerful evangelizing tool, as it reflects the very nature of God, who is Love (1 John 4:8). Through acts of love, especially towards the "least of these" (Matthew 25:40), the Church makes visible the Kingdom of God and draws people towards Christ.

Tthe Lord's commandment of charity is indispensable to the Catholic Church because it animates our life, directs our mission, shapes our community, and witnesses to the reality of God's love for the world. Without this commandment, the Church would lose her distinctive character as the community of love that reflects the very heart of the Gospel.

As we reflect on these gifts, we are called to respond to them and cherish them. To receive the Eucharist is to welcome Jesus into our hearts and to be transformed by His love. To honor the Priesthood is to recognize Christ's presence among us, guiding, sanctifying, and teaching through His ordained ministers. To live the commandment of love is to see Christ in every person and to serve Him in them, especially the least of our brothers and sisters.

Tonight, as we commemorate the Last Supper, let us deepen our appreciation for these divine gifts. Let us pray for the grace to live them out more fully, so that, united with Christ in His sacrifice, we may share in the glory of His Resurrection.

As the Lord rose from supper and began to wash the feet of his disciples as an example to follow, I now invite those who have been chosen to come forward for the washing of their feet. In this beautiful ritual ponder the presence of the Lord in the gifts he has left the Church, in the Eucharist, in the priesthood, and in the command to love one another for the glory of God and the salvation of souls. 

Holy Thursday 2023 - Order and Meaning of the Sacred Triduum

 “In the Sacred Triduum, the Church solemnly celebrates the greatest mysteries of our redemption, keeping by means of special celebrations the memorial of her lord, crucified, buried, and risen.

Pastors are given special instruction on their responsibilities during these holy days. The instruction in the Roman missal itself says, “Pastors should not fail to explain to the Christian faithful, as best they can, the meaning and order of the celebrations and to prepare them for active and fruitful participation”

So, let’s take a small overview of the present and future liturgies of the triduum.

This evening we celebrate what is called the Mass of the Lord’s Supper. As normal, this mass includes the liturgy of the word, from which we read from the sacred scriptures, and also the liturgy of the Eucharist, which contains special orations unique to this day, particularly about the Lord’s institution of the Holy Eucharist and the Ordained Priesthood at the Last Supper. Between the two liturgies is a special ritual of the Washing of the Feet, more on that later. After the distribution of Holy Communion, the Eucharistic fragments will be processed through the Church to the altar of repose.

We are encouraged to spend time in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, and so the Church will remain open until 10pm this evening.

Tomorrow morning we will celebrate the Church’s official Morning Prayer at 9am tomorrow. Followed by the Good Friday Passion Liturgy at 3pm. It is a particularly solemn liturgy, beginning with the priest laying prostrate in the bare sanctuary. After readings from Isaiah and the letter to the Hebrews, the entirety of St. John’s Passion will be proclaimed. Special solemn intercessions are offered before we have the beautiful once a year ritual of the veneration of the cross. Holy Communion which is confected this even will be distributed tomorrow, and we then depart in silence.

That’s the order of things for Holy Thursday and Good Friday. The Easter Vigil, the Mother of all Vigils, will be celebrated at 8:30pm, and that Liturgy, well, you just have to experience for yourself. 

So that is the Order of the main liturgies. I am also instructed to share your responsibilities. Tomorrow is a day of fasting for all Catholics aged 18-59, so only one major meal tomorrow. Good Friday is also a day of abstinence from meat for all Catholics aged 14 and over. We fast, so that we may feast with great joy with hearts focused on the reason for our feasting.

These are also days of profound prayer. I recommend coming to morning prayer tomorrow and Saturday as a way of formally praying with the Church and sanctifying the day. But make sure you make time for private prayer. Consider praying the seven penitential psalms throughout the day tomorrow leading up to the good Friday service. Shut off electronic distractions especially from noon to three in honor of our Lord’s sacrifice. Pray the sorrowful mysteries of the rosary. Read through the two other Passion narratives, or spend time contemplating the crucifix and the wounds of Our Lord tomorrow.

The instructions make special mention of singing during these sacred days and liturgies. The Lord sang hymns on his way to the Garden of Gethsemane. We have one of the best music programs in the diocese, so join them in song. Song gives expression to faith and is part of active participation.  

Because tomorrow is a particularly penitential day, consider prayerfully the parts of your lives you need to bring to the cross of Jesus to forgive. Consider the sins you have committed over the last year, since last good Friday, and bring them to the cross of Jesus. As I mentioned last Sunday, bring your enemies to the cross, those who have hurt you. Bring to the cross your family members who have fallen away from the Church, who may not even be considering coming to Mass on Easter this year.

Okay. Now that’s what we are doing over the next few days. Now WHY are we doing it?

It’s a good question. The Fathers of the Second Vatican Council reminded us of the extraordinary significance of the Triduum. They wrote: "Christ redeemed us all and gave perfect glory to God principally through his paschal mystery: dying he destroyed our death and rising he restored our life. Therefore the Easter Triduum of the passion and resurrection of Christ is the culmination of the entire liturgical year."

These three days are the origin of the most important elements of our faith. Why do we gather week after week, year after year for the celebration of Mass? Why do we hang crucifixes in our homes, and wear them around our necks, and make the sign over our bodies. Why do we seek to serve our follow man in humble service? Why do we forgive our persecutors and enemies and speak truth to kings and emperors and presidents at the risk of our lives? 

“Do this in memory of me”. Three times we heard it already. Twice in St. Paul’s description of what the Lord said at the last supper in our second reading. And thirdly in the Gospel, when the Lord says that we must remember what he has done for us, and do it for others. And during the Triduum, we remember how he washed feet. We remember how he took bread and wine. We remember how he took up the cross. We remember how he spoke words of forgiveness. We remember how he gave his blessed mother to be the mother of all disciples. We remember how he gave up his life as a sacrifice. 

We are here because he told us to. We celebrate and remember because he told us to. We eat his flesh and drink his blood because he told us to. We keep watch in prayer because he told us to. 

In the first reading, we heard how the Lord commanded the Jewish people through Moses to keep the memorial feast of Passover every year, as a way to remember and celebrate what God did for them in delivering from slavery in Egypt. And now we too remember God’s deliverance over a three day period, by gathering in prayer, reading the scriptures, singing hymns, processing, venerating, prostrating. And like the Jews, we keep these days by remembering the blood of the Lamb. Blood, however, which isn’t wiped on the lintels of our homes, but is poured into us through the Sacrament of the Eucharist, the Lamb of God broken and shared for us.

The Psalm this evening also focused on remembering. The people of God are told to take up the cup of salvation—we are to eat and drink together to thank the Lord for all the good he has done for us, which is precisely what we do in the Mass.

We do this in memory of the Lord, and we do so joyfully. 

Personally, these are my favorite days of the year. I love being a Catholic because of these Sacred Three days. And I love being a priest because of these Sacred Three Days. For as a priest, not only do I get to speak such beautiful prayers in the name of the Church, I get to witness your faith and devotion as you have your feet washed, and as you venerate the cross, sometimes with tears in your eyes, and to witness your joyful fire on the easter vigil, and the sense of renewal on Easter Sunday. 

Holy Thursday in particular is a special night for priests. For we trace back our priesthood to the Last Supper as well, it is the origin of our mandate to serve the Church, to put the needs of the Church before our own, to life up the worries of the Church and the struggles of the Church in prayer. Please offer special prayer for priests tonight, and me, that we may continue to put service to God and the Church first in our life, always.

And as a beautiful reminder of how priests must always be men of humble service, I now call forward those who have been chosen for the washing of the feet. May they be a reminder for us all, of the need to allow the Lord to wash every part of our lives, our bodies, our minds, our souls, of the filth of sin, and to pour ourselves out in humble service to the Lord always, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

2nd Week of Ordinary Time 2023 - Monday - Christ the High Priest

 One of the reoccurring subjects of the Letter to the Hebrews is the priesthood of Jesus Christ. 

Last week, in Hebrews chapter 2, we heard that “Christ had to become like his brothers in every way, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest before God to expiate the sins of the people.”

In chapter 3, there is another reference to Christ’s priesthood: “That is why all of you who are holy brothers and share the same heavenly call should turn your minds to Jesus, the apostle and the high priest of our profession of faith.” The author of Hebrews says “turn your minds” to Christ’s priesthood—as if to say, Christ’s priesthood is something that Christians should ponder and meditate upon.

Today’s reading from Hebrews chapters 5 continues this subject: “Every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.” What is a priest? One who is a representative of God who offers gifts and sacrifices to God.

And all throughout the Old Testament we find people undertaking the priestly duty. Cain and Abel offer sacrifices—though only Abel’s sacrifice was found pleasing to God. Noah offered sacrifices, as did Abraham, who even showed willingness to offer his most beloved son Isaac, if it were God’s will. Prior to the tribe of Levi becoming the official priestly class of Israel, every father of a family and his sons undertook this priestly role, offering bloody animal sacrifices on behalf of the family. 

A high priest, Kohen Gadol in the Hebrew, would be chosen from those Levites who could trace their lineage back to Aaron, the brother of Moses, who would enter the holy of holies in the tabernacle and later in the temple, and offer sacrifice for the expiation of the sins of the entire nation. 

Yet, Hebrews speaks of another order of priests, the order of Melchizedek, whose name means “righteous king”. St. Jerome and other church fathers says that Melchizedek is likely Noah’s son Shem. Abraham came to Melchizedek, who offered not a bloody animal sacrifice, but the sacrifice of bread and wine.

The Catechism says, “Everything that the priesthood of the Old Covenant prefigured finds its fulfillment in Christ Jesus, the "one mediator between God and men." He is the high priest who offers himself for the expiation of sins on the cross, and gives his flesh and blood to us, under the appearance of bread and wine, the eucharistic sacrifice of the altar which blesses, unites, and gives life to his brothers and sisters.

Ordained priests, like myself, continue the perpetuation of the sacrifice of the altar under sacramental signs, but in Baptism, all Christians have a share in Christ’s priesthood. All Christians are called to offer gifts and sacrifices to the honor and glory of God, “to offer ourselves as living sacrifices” as St. Paul says, and to labor to lead others out of sin. May we be faithful to this priestly vocation of ours in union with Christ the High Priest, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

 

To God the Father Almighty we direct the prayers of our heart for the needs and salvation of humanity and the good of His faithful ones.

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

For the peoples of the world, that the Lord may graciously preserve harmony among them.

For all who are oppressed by any kind of need, that the Lord may graciously grant them relief.

For ourselves and our own community, that the Lord may graciously receive us as a sacrifice acceptable to himself.

For our beloved dead, for the poor souls in purgatory, and for X, for whom this Mass is offered.

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.

Priesthood Sunday 2022 - Calling imperfect men

 About 6 or 7 times in my priesthood, I’ve taken my annual retreat at Trinity Retreat Center in Larchmont, New York, about 25 minutes outside of the city. Franciscan Priest Fr. Benedict Groeschel, after his retirement, came to reside there, and I heard him speak on a few occasions, and was edified by his practice wisdom and holiness. But another priest, Fr. Gene Fulton, of the Archdiocese of New York, ran the retreat center. And Fr. Gene had an interesting story: earlier in his priesthood, he had spent time with the Russian mystic, the Baronness Catherine Doherty, at her home for troubled priests up at Madonna House in Ontario. 

Baronness Catherine had a deep love for priests going back to her childhood. She told the story of how, as a young girl growing up in Russia, she and her mother were walking down the street one day and they found their parish priest lying in the gutter drunk. The mother got the priest back to his rectory and returning home the mother spoke to her daughter, “Catherine take the flowers out of the ornate vase on the dining room table and put them in the toilet.” Catherine thought her mother’s command to be strange, but she did it. She took the flowers and put them in the toilet.

And then her mother asked her, “Catherine, are the flowers any less beautiful in the toilet than they were in the vase?” “No mother” Catherine said, “the flowers are no less beautiful” To which her mother responded, “remember that about priests, Catherine. No matter who the man is or what he has done, his priesthood is always beautiful.” And like I said, Catherine went on to devote her life to helping troubled priests whose priesthoods were in the toilet. 

On this priesthood Sunday, we can admit that some priests are ornate vases of beautiful flowers…and some priests are not. But their priesthood is always beautiful because their priesthood is the priesthood of Jesus Christ.

When Jesus called the twelve apostles to himself, he didn’t call perfect guys. He called the most unlikely characters you could imagine: gruff fishermen and conniving corrupt tax collectors. Guys who had some serious issues like the political zealot, Simon, whose feast day was yesterday, and guy who stole from his friends, a thief, Judas Iscariot. He called not the perfect, but he called them nonetheless, and at the last supper ordained them the first priests. And those first priests would become the avenues by which the Gospel would be spread, the Church would be led, and the sacraments would be celebrated. 

Every priest, no matter how sinful, has the ability to raise his hands and call down heaven, spiritual fire, upon the Church, and not because of the priest’s intellect, his wisdom, or his sparkling personality, but because he has been ordained, configured to Christ through the Sacrament of Holy Orders. 

One of the things about the priesthood that attracted me to begin discerning my calling is that priests enter people’s lives and are present to them at very critical moments: times of great happiness, like a baptism or wedding, times of sickness, times of sadness. I’ve been called into a hospital room where parents grieve a dead child. And the priest helps souls to know that God is with them, and that God invites them to holiness no matter what they are going through.

The priest announces the Gospel in these critical moments, and the priest celebrates sacraments in these critical moments, sacraments which are signs of God’s presence and grace entering into the concrete and often gory details of our lives.

When I entered seminary in 2001, the church was months away from being scandalized. News would soon be hitting every major newspaper that there were some priests who had failed to live up to their calling in grievous grievous ways, and some bishops had also failed to protect their flocks. 

And when the news hit of the terrible scandals: every seminarian at that time had some questions to ask himself: do I stick with this? Is this the sort of priest this seminary produces? Should I be here? 

And when I went to grapple with these questions, the call remained. Just because there were men who ended up as bad priests, doesn’t mean I wasn’t being called to be a good priest, or at least to try to be a good priest with God’s help. 

I think that realization was a great grace—it’s helped me to remain focused on the work and on God in the midst of some very sad moments, even some very bizarre and occasionally anti-Christian behavior from my brother priests. Strangely, remembering that priests are imperfect men, has helped me to remain focused on being a better priest. 

And I share this, on this priesthood Sunday, in the year 2022 of Our Lord, because things are still pretty chaotic out there, aren’t they, for Catholics. Liturgy wars are still being fought. We are having internal disputes over how to minister to the divorced and those with same-sex attraction and the trans-gendered, and over what it means to be pro-life. 

The Church needs young men now to answer the call to the priesthood, even in these chaotic times, because the Church will always need young men to answer the call to the priesthood. For this is how Jesus Christ designed his Church.  Some Christians don’t like the hierarchical constitution of Mother Church. Some even form splinter communities without priests, at their own peril, by the way.

But the Church will always need priests to help the faithful know and follow Christ’s teachings, to provide for the poor, to bury the dead, to pray with and pray for the Church, to lead in silence without a lot of support, to care for those who others have forgotten. 

This isn’t a call for everyone, but it’s a call for some. And Priesthood Sunday, it’s not for Catholics to congratulate priests. Priesthood Sunday is not for me. Priesthood Sunday is for the Church, to recognize that we all have work to do to help young men respond to God's call to discern the priestly calling--to make a visit to the seminary.

Our seminary in Cleveland isn’t perfect. It is very good, but not perfect. The presbyterate of Cleveland isn’t perfect. There have been some flowers in toilets in these parts. But that doesn’t mean that God isn’t calling young men to the priesthood (maybe someone here). Priests aren’t perfect, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t needed, or joyful, and fulfilled like no other profession on the planet. We are. Surveys continue to show this.

Dear people of God, pray for priests; pray that young men may hear and answer God’s call despite all the chaos and scandal in the world and in the Church, pray that priests with lukewarm hearts may catch fire, pray for priests whose priesthood is in the toilet, pray that priests who suffer unjustly may be sustained in their ministry, pray for these imperfect men, that our Good God will continue to grant his divine assistance through these imperfect hands and lips, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Priesthood Sunday 2020 - Defend us in battle

 In my eleven and a half years of priesthood, I’ve had the honor of living and serving with almost a dozen priests. One was a former Certified Public Accountant, one was called to the priesthood later in life after having children and being left a widower; one had taken a year off of seminary to work to support his mother after the death of his father, another liked to begin every homily with a joke. One priest has since left the priesthood to get married, and another was a former Franciscan monk. One priest was among our diocese’s most talented organists, another likes hunting wild boar; one liked to dine on fine white tablecloths, another has visited more hospitalized, sick, and dying Catholics than the rest combined. 

I’ve been inspired by my brother priests, frustrated by my brother priests, have laughed with and cried with my brother priests, have nitpicked the latest star wars movie and attended opera, gone on pilgrimage and debated theology into the night with my brother priests.

Since 2003, in the United States, the last Sunday of October for us Catholics is known as Priesthood Sunday. 

On this priesthood Sunday, we pray for priests. Because we need priests. Priests to baptize, priests to absolve our sins, priests to celebrate the Eucharist, priests to help hardened sinners return to Christ, priests to help families live the Gospel faithfully.  We will need priests until the end of time, to carry out the ordained ministry according to Christ’s plan for his Church.  

Priests to visit the dying, priests to shepherd parishes, and to help ordinary Catholics know that they are part of something bigger than what they see, a universal church by bishops and popes, an ancient tradition where latin and Greek were spoken in catacombs, where Christians prepared for martyrdom at the hands of hostile governments. 

We need priests to help families help raise and catechize their children to be the next generation of Catholics who bring their faith out into the world, as Catholic professionals and workers—to practice their professions in a manner consistent with the Gospel of Christ. 

I have posted on the bulletin board this year’s vocation poster, which contains the 66 men who are studying at our diocesan seminary for the priesthood. Men, striving to love the Lord with their whole heart, mind, soul, and strength, as we heard our lord command in the Gospel today. For each of these seminarians, loving the Lord means having the courage to ask God if God is calling them to the priesthood. 

This is a habit that all of us do well to form, to ask on a regular basis, from the time we are very young, “God, what are you calling me to do with my life?” My father wants me to take over the family business, but, my God, what do you want me to be? Society tells me to hide my religion, Lord what do you want from me? To love God, is to seek the will of God, to put the will of God into practice in our lives. 

Each year, the vocation poster has a theme, and this year the poster has a picture of a statue St. Michael the Archangel, a statue which stands on our seminary grounds, and above it are the words, “St. Michael, Defend Us”. This is of course in reference to the St. Michael prayer which asks the Archangels protection and defense against the wickedness and snares of the devil.

All of us should turn to St. Michael each day to pray for protection. But especially so for priests. I’m not going to say the Christian life is harder for priests, or that our temptations are more numerous or more intense. But I will say that the devil hates priests and conspires to ruin priests. The devil makes special effort to tempt priests away from their ministry which is so vital to the Church. The devil certainly does not want these 66 men to be ordained to the priesthood.

Which again, is why, it is so good and important for us to pray for priests, to set aside special times throughout the week and throughout the year, to pray for priests. Personally, I  offer the fourth decade of my rosary for the priests of the diocese, and pray for priests especially on Thursdays, the day of the last supper on which the Lord Jesus instituted the priesthood, and I encourage all of you to do the same.

For the devil knows how much damage he can do to the church, to a parish, when he corrupts a priest, or when he wears away at a priest’s fortitude or patience. The devil knows the damage that can be done when a priest becomes discouraged in his vocation. 

And the devil knows just how much damage a good priest can do to the kingdom of evil. For priests are tasked with helping the Church battle back the powers of darkness, they help to liberate souls entangled by grave spiritual evils.

The devil once admitted to St. John Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests, that if there were three more priests like him in the world, the kingdom of Satan would be finished. So the devil will do everything he can to discourage priests, to tempt priests into not praying as they should, or obey their bishop as they should, to drink more than they should, or cultivate unhealthy relationships.

When priests live in a manner worthy of their calling—they become powerful instruments of God—conduits of grace into the lives of the Christian faithful. And we all know this. We have all been impacted by good priests, and we know the devastation, division, and scandal when priests fall. 

So, for priests who have caused scandal, we pray for healing. For priests who have lost their faith, we pray for renewal. For priests who have preached heresy, we pray that they may be corrected. For priests who are in mortal sin, we pray for their repentance. 

And for good priests who have touched our lives, who have brought us the comfort and consolation of the Sacraments, inspiration in their preaching, who have been icons of the Lord Jesus for us—icons of the love of God for us, we pray in thanksgiving. We pray that good priests may have the courage to preach and lead God’s people as we face the wickedness and snares of the devil and the hostilities of the worldly. And we pray for the sanctification of all priests, that they may be a blessing to the Church, that they may deepen in the gifts they need for ministry and become ever-more effective instruments of the Lord. 

On behalf of the priests of the Church—both living and deceased—I thank all of you for your prayers and fasting. We are supported, encouraged, protected, and fortified by your prayers in ways you cannot imagine. 

May each of us do our part in fostering healthy, holy priestly vocations. We pray that the young men of our parish and diocese may have the courage to answer that call with generous hearts. We pray for our seminarians. And for all priests, that in their battle against the powers of evil and darkness for the good of souls, they might be defended by the holy angels; that when they grow weary, may our priests be renewed and strengthened for the carrying out and preaching of the Gospel—that the good work God has begun in them, might be brought to fulfillment—for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

October 2020 - Holy Hour for Priests - The devil hates holy priests

 

While St. Paul was certainly urging all Christians to live in a manner worthy of their calling, those words are certainly on our mind today and this evening as we pray and fast for priests. We pray and fast that they may live in a manner worthy of their calling.

St. Paul makes this urgent plea, because living in a manner worthy of one’s calling is not necessarily easy. It requires real effort for every Christian to practice humility, gentleness, and patience. It requires real effort to resist the temptations to indulge the ego, to lash out in harshness, to make excuses to speak and act impatiently. 

And since this is true for every Christian, it is true for priests. I’m not going to say the Christian life is harder for priests, or that our temptations are more numerous or more intense. But I will say that the devil hates priests and conspires to ruin priests. The devil makes special effort to tempt priests away from their ministry which is so vital to the Church.

Which again, is why, it is so good and important for us to pray for priests, to set aside special times throughout the week and throughout the year, to pray for priests. 

For the devil knows how much damage he can do to the church, to a parish, when he corrupts a priest, or when he wears away at a priest’s fortitude or patience. The devil knows the damage that can be done when a priest becomes discouraged in his vocation. 

And the devil knows just how much damage a good priest can do to the kingdom of evil. The devil once admitted to St. John Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests, that if there were three more priests like him in the world, the kingdom of Satan would be finished. So the devil will do everything he can to discourage priests, to tempt priests into not praying as they should, or obey their bishop as they should.

When priests live in a manner worthy of their calling—they become powerful instruments of God—conduits of grace into the lives of the Christian faithful. When they fail to live up to their calling—they can bring devastation, division, and great scandal.

On behalf of the priests of the Church—both living and deceased—I thank all of you for your prayers and fasting. We are supported, encouraged, protected, and fortified by your prayers in ways you cannot imagine. 

For priests who have caused scandal, we pray for healing. For priests who have lost their faith, we pray for renewal. For priests who have preached heresy, we pray that they may be corrected. For priests who are in mortal sin, we pray for their repentance. And for good priests that have touched our lives, who have brought us the comfort and consolation of the Sacraments, inspiration in their preaching, who have been icons of the Lord Jesus for us, we give thanks. We pray for the sanctification of all priests, that they may be a blessing to the Church, that they may deepen in the gifts they need for ministry and become ever-more effective instruments, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

November 4 2019 - St. Charles Borromeo - National Vocations Awareness Week

Yesterday began, in the United States, National Vocation Awareness Week. We’ve observed National Vocation Awareness Week since 1976, but it’s only been since 2014 that National Vocation Awareness Week has been moved to the first full week of November. And this is quite fitting, as this week of prayer will now contain today’s feast of St. Charles Borromeo, who is the patron saint of seminarians, those discerning and being formed for the priestly vocation.

We do well to pray for the particular young people in our lives this week, that they may discover their vocation.

Our diocesan college seminary here in Cleveland is under the patronage of St. Charles Borromeo. During the Council of Trent, St. Charles,  was instrumental in developing the modern seminary system, and he also developed the Catechism of the Council of Trent which was used by parish priests for centuries for teaching the faith to their people, laying the foundations of faith in young people, and preparing non-Catholics for initiation into the Catholic faith.

It is simply unfathomable how many people have been impacted by the life and labors of St. Charles Borromeo. Not simply how many priests have been well-formed to serve the Church because of him, but how many souls have been touched and inspired and nurtured and brought back from sin because their priests were well-formed. Like Jesus, the Good Shepherd, how many souls have been shepherded to God because this man said yes to his vocation to holiness?

As a nephew to a Medici Pope, St. Charles could have become just another corrupt Renaissance Bishop. But he became a driving force of reform within the Church, who has impacted countless souls. May we be filled with that same spirit, and strive to live according to God’s plan for our lives, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That through the intercession of the Bishop St. Charles Borromeo, bishops and church leaders will be models of inspiration and holiness for the Church.

That God will raise up many priestly vocations in our diocese and that the young people of our parish may strive after holiness and God’s will in their lives.

For all seminarians from our diocese, that as they prepare for priesthood, they may be formed into credible and holy witnesses of the Gospel, and given generous hearts for service of the Church.
For the renewal of the clergy and reparation for their sins.

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, for those whose names are written in our parish book of the names of the dead, all deceased members of St. Ignatius of Antioch Parish, and 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.

Hear our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and through the intercession of St. Charles Borromeo grant us renewal and the increase in charity, wisdom, and grace. Through Christ Our Lord.

Holy Thursday 2019 - School Prayer Service - Lessons from the Last Supper

We’ve come now to the final hours of Lent. And in just a few hours the Church will gather for the Evening mass of the Lord’s Supper, where Jesus washed the feet of his disciples, where he turned bread and wine into his body and blood, where he made his apostles the first priests of the Church, and where Jesus prays, for his disciples.
Jesus,  at his last supper knew he was about to die.  Like a man on his deathbed, he will speak the words that he wants his disciples to remember, the lessons, he wants them to learn.  We hear and see at the Last Supper what is most important to him, what he values most—the priorities of his entire life.  And what are they?  I submit to you, they are three.

First of all, he is going to show us the priority of humility and loving service.  This was just proclaimed in the Gospel.  Consider what happens when Jesus washes feet. God, the creator of the universe, washed the dirty, smelly feet of the disciples who walked on those dusty, muddy, manure-ridden streets of Jerusalem.  God washes feet.

And Jesus says, “I have given you a model to follow”.  Jesus mandates that that we are to serve God and our fellow man in all humility.  Not shunning those dirty, hard, humiliating tasks, but performing them out of duty and love.   Here God shows us how we are to live. Not to trample your neighbor, not to hate your neighbor, but to kneel down before him in service.  So lesson number one: loving, humble service.

The second: At the Last Supper, Jesus gives us the eucharist. Jesus knows he is going to die, and so he turns bread and wine into his body and blood. And he makes his apostles priests, so that they can continue to make the Eucharist available for all of time.

Jesus doesn’t want us to simply remember what happened all those 2000 years ago. He wants to be with us now. This is why when we come into a Catholic church we bend the knee to the tabernacle. To acknowledge that we believe that Jesus is here now. And anytime we want. We can come to Church and know that Jesus is here. We can speak to him, we can kneel in his presence and pray to him. We can know that God loves us and cares for us and wants to be part of our lives. He wants to nourish our souls like food nourishes our bodies so that we can become the people he made us to be.

Finally, at the last supper Jesus prayed. Chapter 17 of St. John’s Gospel contains the longest prayer of Jesus to be recorded in Scripture. The prayer he prayed at the Last supper. In this prayer, he lifts his eyes to heaven, as he will hours later on the cross. And he prays: “Father, the hour has come: glorify your Son so that your Son may glorify you since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent”. Jesus’ mission is to help us know God and believe in God, that we may have eternal life.

He then prays: Father, I am giving up my life, that they may be one, that they may be one. Humans have many reasons to be divided. Different color skin, different parents, our families are from different countries, we have different ideas about how the world should work. But Jesus prayed that we may be one. Unity through him, peace through him, eternal life through Him.

May we use the time we have been given to think about how God is calling each of us to grow in those three lessons of Jesus: how we can grow in humble service, how we can open our hearts to the ways God wishes to feed our souls, and how we are called to be one, to work together to bring about God’s kingdom…for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

2nd Week in OT 2019 - Wednesday - Melchizedek and the Priesthood of the Baptized

“You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek” (Hebrews 7:17)

Who is this Melchizedek fellow? 

Melchizedek was encountered by Abraham back in the book of Genesis.  He was a strange figure: a king and a priest. He was no idol-worshiping pagan priest, but a priest of God Most High, the one true God of Israel, the creator of heaven and earth.

Melchizedek appears kind of mysteriously after a battle in which Abraham, with a band of only 318 men, defeated a coalition of four pagan kings and rescued his nephew Lot from captivity. Melchizedek leads Abraham in offering a thanksgiving sacrifice to God—a sacrifice of bread and wine.

“You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek” certainly refers to Jesus. Melchizedek is certainly a foreshadowing of our blessed Lord who is priest and king—who by his own sacrifice on the cross has defeated the powers of man’s captivity—through whom we offer God the Eucharistic sacrifice for our salvation.

“You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek” certainly refers to the ordained priesthood, who share in Christ’s priesthood to offer the Eucharistic sacrifice.

“You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek” also refers to all of the baptized. By our Baptism, every Christian shares in the priesthood of Christ.

These words were deeply consoling to the original audience of the letter to the Hebrews. These Christians were being persecuted and martyred by the Roman government. They "endured mockery, scourging, chains and imprisonment” and death, like Christ. And this letter encouraged them, and encourages us, that what we suffer for Christ has meaning, has power, for the salvation of souls. And so we are to offer ourselves, our sufferings, our time, talent, and treasure, our lives in union with Him.

St. Paul emphasizes this very teaching in his letter to the Romans, when he writes: “I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, 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.

May we truly be pleasing and perfect sacrifices to the Father, not conformed to this age, but with minds and hearts renewed by Word and Sacrament, offer our lives in union with the One saving sacrifice of Christ Our Lord for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For an end to the divisions among Christians: that we may be united in proclaiming the Gospel and announcing the freedom, healing, reconciliation and peace that comes through Christ.

That those in civic authority may submit their minds and hearts to the rule of Christ, the Prince of Peace and Hope of the nations.

For the temporal and spiritual needs of our parish, for the conversion of non-believers in our neighborhood and families, for protection from all evil.

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 the grace to unite our suffering with our Savior’s cross.

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

Priesthood Sunday 2018 - Master, I want to See

In my nine and a half years of priesthood, I’ve had the honor of living and serving with almost a dozen priests. One was a former Certified Public Accountant, one was called to the priesthood later in life after having children and being left a widower; one had taken a year off of seminary to work to support his mother after the death of his father, another liked to begin every homily with a joke. One priest was among our diocese’s most talented organists, another likes hunting wild boar; one liked to dine on fine white tablecloths, another has visited more hospitalized, sick, and dying Catholics than the rest combined.

I’ve been inspired by my brother priests, frustrated by my brother priests, have laughed with and cried with my brother priests, played video games, and attended opera, gone on pilgrimage and debated theology into the night with my brother priests.

Since 2003, in the United States, the last Sunday of October for us Catholics is known as Priesthood Sunday.

On this priesthood Sunday, we pray for priests. Because we need priests. Priests to baptize, priests to absolve our sins, priests to celebrate the Eucharist, priests to help hardened sinners return to Christ, priests to help families live the Gospel faithfully.  We will need priests until the end of time, to carry out the ordained ministry according to Christ’s plan for his Church.

A parish like this has many young men with so much potential. Men who could be doctors, lawyers, engineers, teachers, men who could have a pretty successful college sports career.  Young men who could be successful in the world of business or politics, and we hope many will be.  Because we need men of strong faith in the world. And we need men who will be strong leaders of faith in their families, strong faithful catholic husbands and fathers.

But the Church also needs men who will visit the dying, who will go where the bishop sends them to celebrate the sacraments, who will listen to sins of God’s people and tell them that they are forgiven. We need priests who will shepherd parishes with the heart of Christ the Good Shepherd and remind parishes that they are part of something bigger, a church that is led by bishops and popes, some of them saints, all of them sinners. We need priests to teach us that we are part of something ancient, a tradition where latin and Greek were spoken in catacombs, where Christians prepared for martyrdom at the hands of hostile governments. We need priests to help those doctors and lawyers and professionals to practice their professions in a manner consistent with the Gospel of Christ, and to assist, in fresh, new ways, our younger generations to encounter Christ--priests to help us see the goodness of God and the goodness in ourselves.


There are over 90 men in this diocese currently studying at our seminary here in Cleveland.  Men, who, like blind Bartimaeus in the Gospel today, have cried out to the Lord Jesus, “Master, I want to see.” I want to see how you are calling me to serve you. I want to see the places where you will lead me. I want to see how the priesthood can transform the world.

No doubt, each of us does well to make that same request to the Lord: “Master, I want to see” I want to see how you are at work in my life. I want to see how, even in the tragedies of life and the chaos of the world, you are there, bringing peace and order and justice. I want to see your light pierce through my darkness. Master, I want to see what I can do to follow you more faithfully, as a parent, as a single person, as a priest or religious.

[Holy Angels: In light of Fr. Ruggeri’s leave of absence and Fr. Bang’s reassignment, there’s need, isn’t there to the Lord to bring light to this particular period of darkness. “Master, I want to see” how you are preparing this parish for the next stage of its mission. I encourage you to pray for each other every day, to lift up each other’s needs to the Lord and to pray for Fr. Ruggeri, Fr. Bang, and for the bishop, that the Lord’s healing power may visit this place. For if the Lord can heal an old blind man, he can certainly bring healing to this place which is so full of life.]

We are reminded by our second reading from the letter to the Hebrews that priests aren’t perfect, they aren’t chosen from some special group of spiritual supermen. The Letter to the Hebrews says, the “priest is taken from among men” and made a representative before God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal patiently with the ignorant and erring, for he himself is beset by weakness.” The Lord calls ordinary men to do extraordinary things. Ordinary men who are beset with weakness and temptation like any of us..

Now, certainly the holier the priest is the better. A priest dedicated to prayer, serving the Lord in humility and gentleness and patience and courage is to be preferred to a priest who doesn’t pray, who is arrogant and harsh and morally compromised. Yet, we commit to praying for all priests, that the Lord may use them, despite their weaknesses, to build up the Church, with patience, gentleness, humility, and courage.

May each of us do our part in fostering healthy, holy priestly vocations. We pray that our young men may have the courage to answer that call with generous hearts, that all of us will be generous in our support for such young men—and that all priests might be renewed and strengthened in holiness for the carrying out and preaching of the Gospel—that the good work God has begun in them, might be brought to fulfillment—for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

30th Sunday in OT 2017 - Priesthood Sunday - Priests are servants of the heart of God

Since 2003, in the United States, the last Sunday of October for us Catholics is known as Priesthood Sunday.  In his divine plan for the salvation of souls, Our Lord Jesus Christ instituted the ordained priesthood for the teaching, leading, and guiding of His people. Priests to baptize, priests to absolve, priests to celebrate the Eucharist, priests to help hardened sinners return to Christ, priests to help families live the Gospel, priests to help us “to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” as Jesus teaches us we must, if we wish to inherit eternal life.

St. John writes, “We are called to love God because he has loved us first.” The realization that God loves you, even with all of your imperfections, and all of your past mistakes, is a foundation stone, for the Christian life. It is also the beginning of many priestly vocations, It was certainly the beginning of mine: the young man realizing that he is a beloved Son of God, not simply in an intellectual knowledge, but an experiential knowledge.

The encounter with God’s love and mercy changes everything. When you know God's love to the depth of your being it changes everything. The saints abandon earthly riches, power, and pleasures, to embark on the journey into the heart of God. I think most priests begin their journey to the priesthood desiring to help people discover how much they are loved by God. Priests are servants of the heart of God.

An example from a day in the life of your parish priest: the other day, I brought my cassock and a few pairs of pants to the tailors; surprise, surprise, these three and a half years at St. Clare’s have required a pair of pants or two to be let out a little bit.  Well, I had been to this tailor before and I was wearing my Roman Collar, so the tailor new I was a priest. After taking care of business, the tailor says to me if she could ask me a personal question. I love personal questions, so I said, “Of course.” She says that she was raised without any faith, and that she comes from a land very hostile toward religion. And she would like to know why a young man such as myself would want to be a priest. Now, I’ve told my vocation story many times before, but not often to an atheist. So, I knew my answer had to be a little nuanced.

After a moment’s reflection, I said, “I think both you and I know how much evil is in the world, yes? Well, I believe much of that evil comes from people not knowing about God’s love—from turning away from God; and I want to help people turn toward God.” She got a little teary-eyed, and she then began to explain how the Stalinists, the Atheistic Communists, caused so much destruction and suffering in her country, and of course, outlawed religion. But, now that Stalin has been replaced, and religion has been allowed again, many of the people who worked for Stalin were now Churchgoers, and they still seem to be oppressing the people. They exchanged the hammer and sickle for the cross, but they did not change their hearts, and now used the cross to control people. So the tailor sees Christians as largely hypocritical.

What do you say to that? Well, having preached on the hypocrisy of the Pharisees the last few weeks, I told her that God is not fooled by actors. God sees to the heart. And we will be judged by our true intentions and actions in this life.

She said she did not believe in an eternal judgment, but that people need to be held accountable now, in this life. And I told her that there will always be evil in the world, and though, yes, we need to work for justice, there is also eternal justice, God’s justice. And those who hunger and thirst for justice in this life shall have it in eternity.

She then asked why God allows all of the evil in the world, if he is good and just. God wants us to work for goodness and justice, that he doesn’t simply wave a magic wand and all the evil in the world disappears. He works in human hearts, and calls each of us to personal responsibility.

Finally, she asks, what proof do you have that God exists. I said, we do not have absolute proof of God, we are called to have faith, but I believe I have seen miracles, and, I have seen God’s hand working in people’s lives, like the people of St. Clare parish. “I’ve witnessed restored relationships, authentic holiness, and the freedom that comes through faith, and that is proof enough for me. And I hope you discover that, too. I hope you discover you are loved by God.”

So that’s certainly one thing I love about the priesthood. Wearing the collar, you get to have conversations like that. And I believe God works through those conversations. The priest is an outward sign that Christ is with His Church and often he’s an instrument of Christ. There is something wonderful in that if you see a priest, you can approach him for a blessing or a confession or a prayer for healing, whether you are at the airport, gas station, hospital, funeral home, or supermarket parking lot.

The priesthood is also the greatest fraternity on earth. Last night, even though I was tempted to stay at home and binge-watch a new Netflix show, I got together on a Friday night, for prayer, fellowship, and scripture study, with some brother priests.

Sometimes people think that celibacy is a lonely life, but I’ve met married people who were much lonelier than most priests I know.  Marriage shouldn’t simply be a cure for loneliness, but the desire to lay down your life for your beloved. And the same is for the priesthood. Priests are not ordained to be bachelor kings, but they find their fulfillment in laying down their life for the Church.

Discerning priesthood should be a normal part of every single young man’s life. The call may come in the form of rumble in the soul, an impulse, the suggestion of a family member, or simply the desire to help people know about God. At the Church entrances, on the bulletin boards, you’ll see a poster with over 70 men studying for the priesthood. These are all men studying here in the Diocese of Cleveland. All these men, I know, love the Church, and believe that the Catholic faith is the remedy for the sickness in the world. These men deserve our prayers, and any young man who shows the smallest sign of a possible vocation deserves our complete support and encouragement.

For their call comes not from selfishness, the desire for earthly riches or fame, but from Christ, who calls them to take up a very unique cross, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: Jan 20 2017 - Sts. Sebastian & Fabian - Jesus the High Priest & His martyrs

One of the overarching themes of the letter to the Hebrews is the priesthood of Jesus Christ. In a Jewish context, “priest” meant something very specific: a descendant of Aaron who offered animal sacrifices in the Jerusalem temple in accord with the Mosaic law. So to call Jesus a priest is strange because Jesus fits none of those characteristics.

Yet, Hebrews shows how Jesus is indeed High Priest in a way that fulfills and infinitely surpasses the old priesthood of the Mosaic law. He is the priest who uniquely offers himself in sacrifice—he is both the offer-er and the offering, the priest and victim.

In today’s reading, Hebrews shows that this new priesthood was foretold in the Old Testament. And it does so by quoting the prophet Jeremiah, this quotation actually being the longest Old Testament quotation in the entire New Testament. This should tell us something about how important this concept is.

The reading began with explaining how Jesus the High Priest forms a new covenant. We speak of the “new and everlasting covenant” at every Mass. If a new covenant was needed, what was wrong with the first covenant? Hebrews clarifies that the problem was not in the covenant itself, but with the people who were unfaithful to it.

So the High Priest does for us, what we could not do for ourselves. We could not free ourselves from sin, we could not open the doors to heaven. Jesus the High Priest offers himself for us and for our salvation because we could not save ourselves.

Today, the Church honors two martyrs, Saint Sebastian the former soldier who called out the Emperor Diocletian for his persecution of the Church, and Pope Saint Fabian who suffered torture and death at the hands of Emperor Decius.

Two martyrs who offered themselves in union with Jesus the High Priest for the good of the Church. They suffered for the truth of the Gospel; they suffered that the Word of God would not be stifled, that the promise of salvation through Christ would be made known to the ends of the earth.

Today on this Inauguration Day, we certainly pray for the president-elect. Some of our citizens are overjoyed at his election, some are in deep despair. We recall today, that our salvation is not in an earthly prince, but in the High Priest. We recall that whoever takes the high office of earthly leader, does not change the job of each one of us, to witness faithfully to Christ, to offer our lives in service to Him. We render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and unto God what is God’s for the glory of God and salvation of souls.





Our petitions this morning are those composed for the inauguration of President George Washington by Archbishop John Carroll, First Roman Catholic bishop in our country whose brother Charles Carroll was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.

We pray Thee, O God of might, wisdom, and justice! Through Whom authority is rightly administered, laws are enacted, and judgment decreed, assist with Thy holy spirit of counsel and fortitude the President of the United States, that his administration may be conducted in righteousness, and be eminently useful to Thy people over whom he presides; by encouraging due respect for virtue and religion; by a faithful execution of the laws in justice and mercy; and by restraining vice and immorality. We pray to the Lord.

Let the light of Thy divine wisdom direct the deliberations of Congress, and shine forth in all the proceedings and laws framed for our rule and government, so that they may tend to the preservation of peace, the promotion of national happiness, the increase of industry, sobriety, and useful knowledge; and may perpetuate to us the blessing of equal liberty.

We pray for all judges, magistrates, and other officers who are appointed to guard our political welfare, that they maybe enabled, by Thy powerful protection, to discharge the duties of their respective stations with honesty and ability.

We recommend likewise, to Thy unbounded mercy, all our brethren and fellow citizens throughout the United States, that they may be blessed in the knowledge and sanctified in the observance of Thy most holy law; that they may be preserved in union, and in that peace which the world cannot give; and after enjoying the blessings of this life, be admitted to those which are eternal.

And we pray especially for all of our countrymen who have gone before us in faith, for all those who have fought and died for our country’s freedom, for all the of the deceased members of our family and friends, and for N., for whom this Mass is offered.

Homily: 31st Sunday in OT 2016 - "To seek out and to save"

A priest I know tells the story of a young man who was dying of cancer—who was just 24 years old.  In the final stages of his illness, the priest went to see the young man, and the young man said: “Father, you once told us something that has made it easier for me to accept my death.  You said: ‘There are only two potential tragedies in life, and dying young isn’t one of them.  You said the first tragedy is If you go through life and don’t know that you are loved, and the second is if you go through life and you don’t tell those whom you love that you love them. When the doctors told me that my cancer was terminal, my family has stood by my side, I realized how much I’ve been loved, and I’ve been given this time to tell my family and others how much they mean to me.  People ask me: ‘What’s it like being 24 years old and dying?’  I tell them, ‘It’s not so bad.  It beats being 50 years old and living without values and faith and knowledge that I’m loved by God and my family.”

Faith prepares us for death.  Faith helps us to love and to know we are loved.

I thought of this story for several reasons. For one, it is priesthood Sunday. We thank God for our priests and pray for our priests. Priests who baptize, priests who absolve, priests who celebrate the Eucharist, priests who help hardened sinners return to Christ, priests who help families live the Gospel, priests who help us prepare for the end of our earthly life.  The Catholic Church will need priests until the end of time, to carry out the ordained ministry according to God’s plan.  And each of us has a role to help young men hear God’s call to the priesthood—help them to truly believe that to be a priest is a wonderful vocation and in invaluable one.

This may sound a bit morbid or strange, but as I began to discern my own priestly vocation, one of the aspects of priestly ministry that really spoke to me was the priest’s serenity in the face of death. Priests are called to visit the beds of the dying. The priest is summoned to the beds dying strangers and longtime parishioners, both lukewarm and devout souls; and he is called upon to administer the Church’s final rites, to help the soul prepare to meet God.

Death—which most men fear and spend their lives fleeing from and distracting themselves from, priests, put aside this fear, perhaps even conquer it, to bring peace to others. What a blessed vocation!
Another reason I thought of the story is because today is our annual Bereavement Mass. Joining us today are family members of those who have died in the last year. We grieve for those who have died. Grieve because life is different without them, their absence is felt so deeply. And so it’s important for us to gather together in our grief to pray for each other—to turn to God who is the source of our consolation, and to thank God for the opportunities he gave us to love them.

That love, no doubt continues, even years after their passing as we pray for the departed, remembering them at the altar, lifting their souls to God.

This Wednesday, November 2 is the feast of All Souls—a day set aside in the Church year simply to pray for the repose of our loved ones. Though Tuesday is the feast of All Saints, a Holy Day of Obligation, where all Catholics are obligated to attend Mass, I also urge you to consider attending Mass on Wednesday, to pray for our beloved dead.

One of the most devastating and tragic effects of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century, was that Protestants stopped praying for the poor souls.  And they really lost something essential to the Christian life. Praying for the dead is part of being Christian. It’s a practice found in Scripture, taught by Sacred Tradition, encouraged in the words and writings of the Saints.

Why do we pray for the dead? It’s an act of mercy! It’s an act of mercy to help those in need. And the souls in purgatory are in need of our prayers. Those who die with even the smallest amount of earthly selfishness, with attachment to the things and ways of the world, are in need of purification before they can enter heaven.

Understandably, many Catholics do not like to pray for our departed loved ones.  We like to imagine our loved ones who did display so much love and affection throughout their lives to have entered immediately into heaven. It can be painful to think of them still awaiting entrance into the heavenly kingdom.  But to be honest, most souls need such purification. The only members of the faithful departed we know with absolute certainty to be in heaven are those definitively declared by the Church to be canonized Saints.  Until a soul is declared a Saint by the church we do not err in praying for their eternal repose.

Many of the saints, St. Padre Pio, St. Catherine of Genoa, had strong devotion to praying for the poor souls.  It is an act of love to pray for our loved ones. So continue to show your love for them by praying for them constantly, offering rosaries and novenas for them, having Masses celebrated for them. Just as we can offer comfort to our loved ones by hold their hands as they lay dying, so too we can bring them comfort and aid through our prayers.

If you haven’t had a Mass celebrated for loved ones recently, go to the parish office this week and schedule a Mass. For, the Mass is the greatest and most powerful prayer we can offer on behalf of those who have died.

Christ's whole life on earth was dedicated to bringing people back into friendship with God, helping them to be free from sin, as he says in the Gospel today: "The Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost."

All of us have been given a share in this mission: to seek and to save what was lost.

By praying for the dead we help souls complete the journey, by sharing our faith with unbelievers we may help souls begin the journey. We thank God this weekend for our priests, and pray that we may always have good faithful priests to assist us on the journey, and pray for and thank God for the gift of our loved ones who have walked with us, laughed with us, cried with us, and embraced us throughout the journey.

May the Lord Jesus, through the Word and Sacrament we celebrate today, make us ever more faithful in the mission for the glory of God and salvation of souls.