27th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2022 - "Increase our Faith"

 

If you could ask Jesus for anything—if you had one request—what would you ask for? In the Gospel today, the apostles made a simple, but profound request. Did you catch it? They didn’t ask the Lord for riches or material security; nor did they ask for health or a long life. They asked him for something they had discovered was far more important than all of these things combined. They begged him, “Increase our FAITH!” They asked for faith.

The very first encyclical Pope Francis issued back in June of 2013 dealt with Faith.  It was called “Lumen Fidei” – The Light of Faith. He wrote, “The Church never takes faith for granted, but knows that this gift of God needs to be nourished and reinforced so that it can continue to guide her pilgrim way.” Like the apostles we members of the Church on earth need to turn to the Lord and ask him to increase our faith. And we have to do our part in making sure that our faith is as strong as it should be.

But what is Faith?

In one of my favorite passages from his encyclical on faith, Pope Francis wrote, “Faith is not a light which scatters all our darkness, but a lamp which guides our steps in the night and suffices for the journey. To those who suffer, God does not provide arguments which explain everything; rather, his response is that of an accompanying presence, a history of goodness which touches every story of suffering and opens up a ray of light.”

Do you get what he is saying here? What is faith? Faith isn’t some sort of magical power that forces God to remove our obstacles. Nor does faith eliminate the darkness in our life. Rather, faith enables us to walk rightly in the midst of difficulty because it involves the experience of God’s abiding presence with us. 

So professing the Catholic faith, being a person of faith, doesn’t mean that at any point we should expect God to remove all our difficulties and sufferings. Rather, to be a person of faith is to trust that God will provide enough light for us to make way through the darkness, enough strength to bear the weight of our sufferings; the fortitude to withstand the powers of evil that assail us.

What caused the apostles to make this request of the Lord to increase their faith in the Gospel today? Well, in the preceding passage, the Lord had given his famous teaching on scandal: “It would be better for him if a millstone were put around his neck and he be thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.” And so, the apostles hear this warning, and immediately ask for faith. Why? Well, this is an instance of the apostles showing some real humility. They knew how easy it is for us to cause scandal and so they pray for all the trust and faith and guidance they need to avoid this terrible sin Jesus is warning them against. 

Think about it. Non-believers are to come to faith by the way we conduct ourselves. Young people, new Catholics are to learn what it means to be disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ by our example—by the way we speak, by the way we treat people. Jesus’ Lordship is to be seen in our self-control, our charity, our chastity, our patience. People are watching us, and so need God’s help if we are to be successful in drawing them to God and not driving them away.

The apostles, as the first bishops, knew that people would be looking to them especially. Anyone in a position of authority, including parents, should conduct themselves with fear and trembling, knowing that people are looking to them. A misstep, a public sin, a moment of weakness on their part, could lead a non-believer, or the weak of faith, to discount Jesus’ Lordship.

So yeah, the request, “increase our faith” so that we may not lead anyone astray, is a good petition. It’s a good petition for any of us, “Lord increase my faith, that by my conduct, I may not lead anyone away from you, today.”

I think of how the abuse scandals, 20 years ago already, had such devastating effects on the Church’s mission. I was in my first year of seminary when the abuse scandal hit the news. It was shocking. It was disgraceful. It was terribly heartrending, right? And yet, thanks be to God, somehow, I was blessed with a faith, that helped me to remember, that the sins of priests and bishops or any other Catholic does not prove that Christianity is flawed. The members of the Church are flawed. And their sins can cause great scandal. But Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. And the Church is Our Mother. 

And God chose us to be Christians now, in 2002, in 2022; with that terrible wound in the background—to be part of the solution. And It’s our task to be people of great faith, now; that the light of Christ may shine brighter than the darkness caused by our sins. 

But if we’re going to be people of great faith, we certainly need to stir into flame, as St. Paul says in the second reading, the gift of faith given to us. We have a mountainous task before us, to evangelize this confused, fallen world in 2022, but, faith, the size of a mustard seed can move mountains. I hope you trust in this saying to the depth of your being—faith can move mountains. We are capable of doing great things when we trust God—when our faith is strong. And the more we nurture our faith—the more faith grows in us—the more faith is stirred into flame—the more room God will have to do truly wonderful things in us and through us.

You may have heard the old aphorism: “pray as if everything depends on God, act as if everything depends on you.” So we completely surrender to God in our prayer to increase our faith, but we most also identify what effort is necessary on our part to grow in faith. 

Growing in faith requires daily effort. We must read the bible daily. Study Catholic doctrine. Engage in daily devotions which nurture our faith like the rosary, the chaplet of divine mercy, the liturgy of the hours, praying of litanies. We must confess our sins—those times when we have neglected, ignored, or violated our Catholic faith in order to pursue selfish ends. We must make time for silent listening to God, for meditation and contemplation. 

If you can, come to daily mass throughout the week. At daily Mass, I love preaching on the lives of the saints, for the saints are our heroes and great exemplars of the faith. If you can’t make it to mass, read about the life of the saint every day. 

In the first reading, from the prophet Habakkuk, we heard, “the just one, because of his faith, shall live.” Faith is the light we need as not to stumble, the armor we need to withstand the attacks of the enemy and the hatred of the world, the wisdom we need to avoid causing scandal and to draw souls to Christ, and the lever we need to move the mountains God wants us to move.

May the Lord increase our faith, and may the Eucharist we celebrate, nourish us, and unleash the power of faith in our lives and our families and world, for the Glory of God and salvation of souls.

2nd Sunday of Lent 2021 - Tests of Faith

 
From the moment we are introduced to the character of Abraham in the book of Genesis, his faith is constantly being tested by God.  

The very first time in Scripture God speaks to Abraham, God gives Abraham a test, and a serious one.  God tells Abraham: Go forth from the land of your kinsfolk and your father's house to a land that I will show you. “Leave your home, leave your father and kinsfolk, leave everything you have ever known…trust me, I’ll let you know where you are going when you get there.”

That would test anyone’s faith. But I think it’s a pretty relatable one. Because each one of us are asked by God to go to strange people in unknown places. It’s that feeling or sense we get that there is something we should do that is outside of our comfort zone. My neighbor just lost her husband, should I go and comfort her, should I shovel her driveway, volunteer to get her groceries? Or…for the season of Lent…well I allow God to take me deeper this Lent in prayer? Will I go to stations of the cross? Will I go to confession? Will I go to weekday Mass? Will I open up the bible more often or pickup the rosary beads? 

Authentic spiritual growth always involves a test of faith, trusting God to lead us to unknown places. I know that when I’ve failed to trust God, I’ve always been a little sadder for it.

Another test came when Abraham was traveling through the countryside with his nephew, Lot.  The two men were shepherds. And over time their flocks grew larger and larger.  It became clear that the land could not support both flocks of Abraham and Lot. So, Abraham gave Lot a choice.  The whole countryside is open to you. Take your choice of any section of the land you want. If you want the land to the left, then I’ll take the land on the right. If you prefer the land on the right, then I’ll go to the left.

Lot took a long look at the fertile plains of the Jordan Valley. The whole area was well watered, it was ideal for raising a flock.  So, Lot chose for himself the fertile plans of the Jordan leaving to Abraham the land to the west, the rocky, hard, land of Canaan. Canaan was clearly less desirable, especially since, at the time, it was filled with wicked people who would likely terrorize Abraham and steal his sheep.  

This was a test, too.  Would Abraham trust God, even when it seemed like he was receiving an unfair settlement.  It's hard to trust God normally, even harder when there might be some suffering involved or when we have a temptation to tip the scale in our own favor. 

There are about twelve such tests of Abraham in the book of Genesis—the most popular and most difficult test we heard today.  God had promised Abraham numerous posterity—God said that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars, and now he commands Abraham to sacrifice his only son, Isaac.  

Why did God test Abraham’s faith, anyway? Didn’t God know the outcome? Didn’t he know Abraham’s heart? Well, yes, of course. God knows all things. God doesn’t test us to make sure that we really love Him. He tests us because it is by that test, that our faith is fortified and strengthened. God tested Abraham’s faith to increase his faith, that he might become the father of a nation of faithful people.

So, too with us, a Christian who trusts God in small matters—who passes those small tests—is able to be used as God’s instrument in great matters. For example, St. Theresa the Little Flower trusted God in the small obediences of her life—she was obedient to her parents, she was obedient to her religious superiors, she undertook small sufferings and small acts of love for the good of souls, and because of it, she became a doctor of the Church to which millions of people look for guidance in their spiritual lives. 

A good priest friend of mine would often say, “everything prepares us for something else.”  Our little sufferings, those little tests of faith, prepare us, to help others in their trials and sufferings. Again, I think of our Lenten penances. We make these spiritual commitments, we undergo these little spiritual tests, and when we are faithful to them—there is spiritual growth--- something good comes out of our faithfulness to these commitments. We are strengthened in fortitude, we build up our spiritual muscles against the powers of temptation and fear. I am less afraid of suffering for the Gospel because I know what suffering is like, I’ve willingly undergone suffering for the kingdom. 

In the Gospel, we see Peter, James, and John, undergoing a little test of faith—they need to follow the Lord up the mountain. Because they trusted the Lord, they are given this glimpse of the Lord in his transfigured glory. And this prepares them for a bigger test of faith. No?

Soon after witnessing his glorious transfiguration, Peter, James, and John would see Our Lord arrested, beaten, mocked, scourged, crucified, and killed.  They would need to remember the glory of the transfiguration when they witnessed the horror of the cross. 

God uses those transfiguration moments of our lives to prepare us for when His glory is hard to see. St. Ignatius of Loyola called these transfiguration moments, “consolations in the spiritual life.” Hopefully, everyone here has had transfiguration moments in their lives, spiritual consolations: maybe at a beautiful mass, or your wedding, or on a really good retreat or Lenten mission, or kneeling in gratitude after a really good confession, or praying with other prayer warriors: in this powerful moments, like at the transfiguration, God’s goodness is palpable and undeniable. In those mountain top experiences of God, we might even respond like St. Peter today, bursting out “Lord it is good that we are here!”  These powerful experience of God’s closeness, inflame our hearts with love. 

But just like with the apostles, those transfiguration times prepare us for future trials, what St. Ignatius of Loyola called the times of desolation, the desert times, when God’s goodness and presence is hard or impossible to detect. In those times, faith is tested—the crucifixion is encountered—the prospect of suffering—the reality of evil is encountered,  but again, in order that we may grow spiritually and be prepared for God’s work out in the world.

Personally, I think I’m in a mountain top period right now: my Lenten spiritual reading and prayer is nourishing my soul, the burden of my Lenten penances is not particularly onerous, I made a good confession right before lent, I’ve been surprised at how moving praying our stations of the cross has been the last two weeks. 

When we are in the period of consolation, we saver it, we thank God for it—it’s a foretaste of heavenly glory, but always with the knowledge that the consolation is likely going to proceed a period of trial. 

In this trial times—those desolate times—we recall the consolations of the past to give us some strength, we recall that the Lord is testing our faith that it may grow, that we may become more effective instruments of his goodness. 

If you haven’t really gotten serious about Lenten prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, it’s not too late to make some good spiritual commitments. For our God is so good that the transfiguration can be experienced even in times, maybe, particularly in times of penance.

If you’ve already found yourself failing in these matters, it’s not to late to recommit to them. And there’s an experience of God’s goodness, too—in his mercy and his patience.

Through our Lenten observances, may the Lord continue to lead us deeper into the Paschal Mystery for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

O God, you know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the prayers of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our Lord.

27th Week of OT 2020 - Friday - Seven demons worse than the first

The Gospels contain many instances of Jesus performing exorcisms—casting out evil spirits. These many instances of exorcism indicate that a primary aspect of Jesus’ ministry is to deliver us from bondage to evil. Why? Because evil dehumanizes us—it defaces our human dignity. The human mind and heart were not made to be dominated by forces like Lust, Pride, Envy, Greed, Wrath, Addiction. 

This is why we often see in the gospels the demon possessed displaying inhuman characteristics. Think of the Garasene demoniac bound in chains like an animal, screaming and gashing himself with stones. Or the possessed boy unable to speak—speech being one of the human faculties which differentiates us from the beasts.

The Lord Jesus, over and over in the Gospels, casts out evil spirits which dehumanize us; He has come to liberate us from the powers of sin and evil which keep us from living in the freedom of the children of God.

Yet, today’s Gospel provides a lesson of paramount importance regarding our liberation through Christ. What do we do once we have been freed from evil. What do we do once we’ve encountered Christ? Once we’ve been baptized? Once we’ve been liberated by Christ in the Sacrament of Confession?

The Lord teaches about a certain danger inherent in the spiritual life. If you do nothing, following your deliverance, it is likely you will be worse off than before your deliverance. It’s like a gardener who pulls up all the weeds from his garden, but then doesn't plant any crops. The weeds grow right back and in great numbers. 

This is why we see so many fallen away Catholics engaging in terrible behavior. Yes, they were freed from evil through baptism. They might have even gone to Catholic School for a while. But falling away from the faith, falling away from the Sacraments, their hearts turn hostile to God, and the begin to justify one sin after another. They stop hungering and thirsting for righteousness, and end up settling for so much less. Even priests, bishops, consecrated religious, can end up in terrible spiritual states because they begin to justify sin. It's usually through the cracks of pride--that these new demons enter our lives.

Rather, we need to always be pressing forward in the spiritual life—seeking growth, cultivating and making use of the spiritual gifts, as St. Peter writes, growing in grace and the knowledge of Our Lord. There are no plateau’s in the spiritual life, we are either pushing forward, climbing the mountain, growing in holiness, or we are falling back into old sinful habits or forming new ones. And those new ones might be worse than the old ones. 

The Lord wishes to produce abundant life in us, to perfect his love in us, to complete his joy in us. But we must cooperate daily, repent daily, humble ourselves daily, exert effort daily to grow in grace for the glory of God and salvation of souls. 

 

That the clergy and the lay faithful may be vigilant against the tactics of the enemy to corrupt and destroy the Church, for a purification from all corruption within the Body of Christ. Let us pray to the Lord.

That world leaders may look upon the Son of God, believe in him, and seek the peace and justice that only he can bring.

That our young people may take seriously the missionary call of Christ, that they will turn away from the evils of our culture to spread the good news of Christ’s eternal kingdom.

For all whose lives are marked by suffering may come to know the healing and peace of Christ.

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

O God, you know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the prayers of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our Lord.

October 15 2019 - St. Teresa in Ecstasy

One of my favorite works of art is located in the corner chapel of the Church of Santa Maria della Vittoria in Rome. I remember walking miles through the rain the first time I visited Rome to see this sculpture of St. Teresa in Ecstasy in carved white marble by the famous Italian artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The sculpture depicts Theresa, garbed in her flowing Carmelite habit, reclined on a cloud. Over her, a joy-filled angel holds a golden arrow ready to pierce her heart with Divine Love.

Bernini drew his inspiration for this sculpture from the amazing life of this saint.

For many years, Teresa had difficulty sitting through her prayers. It was after meditating deeply upon an image of the Passion of Jesus scourged, bound, and crowned with thorns standing before a hostile crowd that she resolved to dedicate herself seriously to the practice of prayer.

As she grew in prayer, her love for the Lord deepened. She would become absorbed in deep contemplation and would become so filled with divine love that her body would spontaneously levitate—hence Bernini depicting Teresa floating on a cloud. She would feel overwhelmed by love and the experience of the illuminating grace of God washing through her soul.

Her profound book, The Interior Castle, describes the Christian souls journey to union with God.

Forty years after her death, she was Canonized by Pope Gregory XV.  And, in 1970, Pope Paul VI bestowed upon her the title “Doctor of the Church” along with Saint Catherine of Siena making them the first women to receive this distinction. She well deserves the title the Doctor of Prayer, as she describes how the Lord invites each of us to abandonment to the Divine Will through prayer.

Fr. Thomas Dubay wrote a wonderful account of Teresa’s contributions to our understanding of prayer, called The Fire Within.  He writes, “Genuine prayer, does not happen without effort.  Depth of communion with the indwelling Trinity occurs only in a person intent on living the Gospel totally, one who is humble and patient, temperate and obedient, pure and kind, free of selfish clinging.  It is not accidental that our very best explanations of contemplative prayer have their origin in men and women of marvelous sanctity.”

Let us allow this great Doctor of the Church to teach us how to pray, how to open ourselves to the love God has for each of us, to contemplate the indwelling presence of the Trinity, that we may be united to God in all of our activities and relationships for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That all Christians may seek to grow in holiness through prayer and penance.

For an increase in vocations, and for the spiritual welfare of the Carmelite Order.

For those who have fallen into error, for Catholics who have grown lukewarm in their faith, for those who have left the Church, for their conversion and the conversion of all hearts.

For Pope Francis’ prayer intention for the month of October, “that the breath of the Holy Spirit may engender a new missionary ‘spring’ in the Church.

That the love of Christ, the divine physician, may bring healing to the sick and comfort to all the suffering.

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.

O God, you know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the prayers of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our Lord.

27th Week in OT 2019 - Tuesday - Ordinary Spiritual Growth

Every year we hear this passage from the prophet Jonah on the first week of Lent, 7 days after Ash Wednesday.  It’s one of the most dramatic responses to the call to repentance in the entire old testament: a city of about 120,000 people all come to repent the nobility, the peasantry, show signs of their repentance by fasting, covering themselves with sackcloth, and sitting in ashes.

We begin Lent on Ash Wednesday doing the exact same thing—with fasting and the imposition of ashes on our foreheads.  And throughout Lent we undertake practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving—visible and external signs of our internal sorrow for our sins.

Repentance is a pre-requisite for new spiritual life.  Repentance seeks to end the cycle of sin by acknowledging it with heartfelt sorrow and firmly resolving to sin no more.  Repentance ends the illusion that independence from God and his commandments brings the fulfillment we long for.

I’ve spoken before of the order of monks who take as their motto: “Semper Quadragesima”— “Always Lent”.  They seek to live, all year round, in that penitential Lenten Spirit because it is so effective in disposing us to the new spiritual life God wants to bring forth in us. If we are not actively seeking to be free from selfishness and to grow in generosity and charity, then we are in trouble.

Penitential Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, are taken up, particularly during Lent, but they are meant to be part of our normal spiritual growth—our Ordinary Time spiritual growth.

In the Gospel, Jesus rebuked Martha for being anxious about many things and not focusing on the one thing that really matters, namely, Himself, his presence in her life.  So what are the modes of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving that perhaps we need to commit to or recommit to, in order to be more centered on Christ, more serious about becoming liberated from selfishness.

Semper Quadragesima—always Lent.  May we be generous in surrendering all the different parts of our life to God’s transforming mercy, and allow God to reform, reshape, and renew us today and every day, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That hearing the call to repentance preached by the Church, all men may turn away from their sins to the mercy of Christ.

That world leaders may look upon the Son of God, believe in him, and seek the peace and justice that only he can bring.

That our young people may take seriously the missionary call of Christ, that they will turn away from the evils of our culture to spread the good news of Christ’s eternal kingdom.

For all whose lives are marked by suffering, may they come to know the healing and peace of Christ.
For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased clergy and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.

O God, you know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the prayers of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our Lord.

July 29 2019 - St. Martha - Spiritual Growth is Possible

If we only read the Gospel story about Jesus’ first visit to the home of Martha and Mary in Bethany, we might wonder why the Church considers Martha a saint at all. After all, she comes into the room complaining and controlling. She seems to have missed the point of Jesus’ visit. Sure, she is busy with the demands of hospitality, but that doesn’t make someone a saint.

Well, today we get another part of the picture. We read today from St. John’s account of Martha’s encounter with Jesus. Mary and Martha had sent news to Jesus that Lazarus had died. Jesus announced to his disciples that he wished to return to Bethany, but his disciples object, due to the recent threats on Jesus’ life; nor do they understand why Jesus would want to go anyway.

Jesus insists on the visit, and upon meeting Martha we find her full of, not unbelief, but belief. Rather than staying at home like her sister Mary, Martha goes out to Jesus. She affirms her belief that Jesus is a messianic miracle worker, she knows that God is with him.  And when the Lord reveals that he “is the resurrection and the life” she affirms her belief in this as well.

The Gospels portray Martha open to spiritual growth, open to the revelation of Jesus’ deepest identity and mission. Unlike the Pharisees, closed, resistant, prideful, Martha is open, willing to be corrected, and she makes the leap of faith.

Here is a Saint who knows what it means to grow, to change, to deepen in faith, to serve, to welcome the unexpected guest, to make holy requests of Jesus, to trust in God at the death of a love one.
Many of us have family members and friends who are busy about worldly things, who like Martha in Luke’s Gospel, are missing out on the one necessary thing, the deep intimate communion with Jesus Christ which leads to eternal life. But, like St. Martha, spiritual growth is possible, conversion is possible, belief that Jesus is the “resurrection and the life” is possible for them as it was for her.

May St. Martha help all of us attain that spiritual growth God wants for us, may we, like her, run out to meet Jesus with our needs, may we acknowledge always and everywhere that Jesus is the resurrection and the life, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That all Christians may be open to constant growth in faith, hope, and love.
For the conversion of all who resist belief in Jesus, for the conversion of hardened sinners, atheists, and agnostics.
That those who grieve may find comfort and consolation in Christ.
For the needs of all the sick and suffering, all those undergoing surgery, and those who will die today.
For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, all of the souls of purgatory, and N. 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 the faithful. Through Christ Our Lord.

9th Week of OT 2018 - Tuesday - Growth in grace and knowledge of Christ

(Today, June 5, is also the Memorial of St. Boniface)

The second letter of St. Peter has a few major themes: to remind its readers of the truth of God’s Word, to warn Christians against false teachers who would lead them astray, and to rouse them to await Christ’s return by living a holy life.

Those three themes are evident in our passage today, which comprise second Peter’s final verses. These three themes also coincide with three themes of our liturgical season, of ordinary time.

During Ordinary Time, we turn to God’s word for constant reminders of who God is and who God calls us to be. Every Christian should have some exposure to the Word of God every day. The truth of the Gospels is easily forgotten, especially in times of stress, times of grief, times of temptation. Moral and theological errors bombard television and the internet, the university classrooms and social media. So when views contrary to the Gospel are actively propagated, as they are in our culture, we need to be reminded often of God’s word.

Secondly, second Peter teaches Christians to be on their guard against false teachers who introduce what he calls “destructive heresies”. In our passage today, Peter writes, “be on your guard not to be led into the error of the unprincipled and to fall from your own stability.” Peter recognizes that even Christians who are pretty stable in the faith, in the truth, need to be on guard. How easy it is to follow the bad example of the unprincipled!

Thirdly, Peter calls Christians to live in constant anticipation of the Lord’s return by always actively pursuing a holy way of life. “Grow in grace and knowledge” of Christ, he says today. The priest wears green during Ordinary Time, the longest season of the Church year, to remind us that we are to be always seeking to grow in grace.

We do well to ask the Holy Spirit to help us identify those virtues and gifts in which he wants to help us grow. Is he calling us to grow in patience, in gentleness and generosity, and as we heard yesterday, in self-control, devotion, mutual affection, and charity.

Peter helps us to "render to God what belongs to God", as the Lord teaches in the Gospel. So Let us, as Peter tells us, “to make every effort” to grow, to be on guard, to be reminded of Christ’s presence with the Church and his imminent return, and to be a reminder to others, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That Pope Francis and all bishops and clergy will help defend the Church against error, and lead her always in the pathways of truth, righteousness, and charity.

For the conversion of all those who perpetuate error or set bad Christian example for young people and those of weak faith, and that social media may be used responsibly and for the spread of the Gospel.

For “growth in grace and knowledge of Christ” for all people.

For all the needs of the sick and the suffering, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, the underemployed and unemployed, immigrants and refugees, victims of natural disaster, war, and terrorism, for all those who grieve the loss of a loved one, and those who will die today, for their comfort, and the consolation of their families.

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

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord

1st Week of OT 2018 - Tuesday - Spiritual Growth in Ordinary Time

As we begin the season of Ordinary time, it seems to be strange to be wearing the color green in the middle of winter. The green of the grass is covered by the snow, and the green leaves on the trees and plants will not begin to grow until spring. But liturgical green reminds us that the Christian soul is meant to grow in faith, hope, and love, prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance, throughout the whole year despite the earthly seasons.

Another strange facet of Ordinary Time is that of our scripture readings. For the Weekdays of Ordinary Time the Lectionary has a two year cycle of readings — Year I and Year II. The Gospel reading is common to both cycles; so no matter the year, we read from Mark chapter 1 verses 21 to 28 on Tuesday of the first week of Ordinary Time. It’s the First Reading and Psalm which are different.
And what seemed strange to me this morning, is why, oh why, do we begin Ordinary Time, Year II, reading from the first book of Samuel. I have no idea. The first and second books are part of the Old Testament known as the Nevi'im consisting of the narrative books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings, and also the latter prophets Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah and the minor prophets

This part of the Old Testament spans the time from Moses’ death to the time of the Maccabees 150 or so BC. So First Samuel is not even the first part of this narrative section of the Bible. Why would Ordinary Time start with this book? I really don’t know, but these are the things I think about at 7 o’clock in the morning.

But we’ll be reading from these books until Ash Wednesday, so we might want to think about them a bit.

First Samuel begins with the story of the barren woman Hannah, who after fervent prayer gives birth to a son, the prophet Samuel, the last of the so-called Judges, who will anoint the first king of Israel, Saul. It is the story of a new age emerging in the history of Israel, the time of a king uniting and ruling over a disparate people. So perhaps, it is fitting for the beginning of this new liturgical season.

We are going to be reading how this transition for Israel is also riddled with problems, much like our own life—many rebellions against the will of God, attacks from outside enemies, personal pride getting in the way of righteousness, but all the while, God is at work urging Israel to faithfulness to his commandments and trust in his providence.

So, not a bad way to start Ordinary Time. Spiritual growth certainly involves surrendering our rebellious wills to the grace of God. May our Ordinary Time be blessed with growth in a knowledge of God’s word and a faithfulness to it, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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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.

13th Sunday in OT 2017 - To die to sin and live for God

Last weekend was the first Sunday the liturgical color was green since last February. We had the purple of lent, the white of easter, the red of Pentecost. And remember, after Pentecost we had the two great solemnities of Trinity Sunday and Corpus Christi Sunday.

I was leading a support group the other night, and as an icebreaker question, each person was asked their favorite color. A few of the people said blue, finding blue to be peaceful and calm. But, I said, green--dark hunter green. For one, it was the color of my first car, a hunter green 1992 firebird. But, green is also the color of my childhood: I grew up running through the forests and fields out in my hometown of Madison, which is much more rural than here in Lyndhurst. Also, in high school and college, during the summers I would work in the nurseries, taking clippings from the different plants, grafting branches. One summer, for 8 hours a day, I simply watered plants and trees. So I associate that color green with new life. And liturgically, too, green is the color of new life, not simply of plants and trees, but the new life and growth which is to occur in our souls during this season after Pentecost.

In fact, though we Roman Catholics wear red on Pentecost, many Eastern Catholics wear green, not the fire of the Holy Spirit, but the new life He brings to the Church and to the Christian soul.

Spiritual growth is one of the foci of Ordinary Time. In spiritual life we are either growing or fading, ascending or descending, flourishing or stagnating. There are no plateaus in the spiritual life: we are either growing in our prayer life or falling away from vital practice, growing in a spirit of self-sacrifice or tending towards selfishness, becoming more patient or less patient, increasing in virtue or leaning toward vice.

God wants His children always growing, always learning, always becoming the people he made us to be. And in our Second Reading, St Paul provides us with two laws of spiritual growth.
The first law of spiritual growth is that we must die to sin: “You too must think of yourselves as dead to sin,” St. Paul says.

The second law is that we must live for God. Paul writes, “you too must think of yourselves… as living for God in Christ Jesus.”

What does "dying to sin" mean?

We are called to put to death our self-centered tendencies, all of them, our transgression of the laws of God, all of them. For not only do our sins hinder the life of God within us, they cause destruction in our lives, our families, and our society.

Flirting with sin, making little compromises with the commandments, or simply giving up and giving in to sinful inclinations and habits, these things suffocate the life of Christ in our souls.

And instead of living with interior peace, joy, meaning, wisdom, and courage, we end up exhausted, depressed, frustrated, with our relationships burdened with these attitudes and behaviors that should not exist.

Dying to sin is hard - because temptation is tempting. But God is on our side, and if we ask for his help, he will give it to us!

There is a story of from the life of St. Francis of Assisi. The great saint was being overwhelmed with temptations to break his vow of chastity. He would pray, but the temptations just got worse. He knew something had to be done to wake himself out of this cycle of temptation. So on a particularly cold winter’s day, he stripped down naked and threw himself into a ditch full of snow. It was a shock to his system, and it was a way of showing the devil that he is willing to suffer in order to remain faithful to God.

Sometimes we only think of St. Francis as having this unique relationship with animals. But, the man was hardcore, he was serious about rooting out sin from his life. He knew that sin and the life of God were totally incompatible.

Yes, Our Blessed Lord is merciful to the most hardened sinner who repents, but he also calls us to purity, chastity, moral fortitude, obedience to the commandments. So, if there is a particular sin which keeps lingering, we do well to make frequent use of the sacrament of confession, but also to practice some mortification, some fasting, some act of self-sacrifice to put those temptations in their place.
The second law of spiritual growth is living for God. Dying to sin, resisting our self-centered tendencies, is necessary but not enough, if we wish to become the people God made us to be. We also need to do something positive. Christ calls us to action, he calls us to love. "Love one another," Jesus commanded us at the Last Supper, "as I have loved you".

Jesus isn’t simply talking about love as an emotion. He’s not saying that we need to walk around with dreamy eyes toward each other. Love is an action. It is doing what is best for a person. We are grow in our capacity to love as Christ loved by forgiving others when they offend or hurt us, by reaching out to those in need, and, as we reflected upon last week, by being bold in sharing with others the meaning and purpose that comes from knowing, loving, and following Jesus Christ—spreading the Gospel.

I could give countless examples from the lives of the saints of what imitating Christ’s charity looks like. July 1 is the feast of St. Junipero Serra. When Pope Francis visited the United States last year, he canonized Junipero Serra, at the first canonization to be celebrated on U.S. soil.

During the time when our founding Fathers were fighting for our nation’s independence, the Franciscan Priest Father Junipero Serra traveled up the coast of present-day California, establishing missions, laboring for the spread of the Gospel.

Father Junipero was originally a university professor in Spain and a very learned man. But he heard the Holy Spirit urging him, not simply to share the knowledge of academia, but the knowledge of Christ. So he gave up his university career to come to California to teach the Native Americans about the Lord Jesus. He devoted himself to building churches and schools for the poor and the native people, catechizing those in his care and raising up dedicated priests to continue the Lord’s work.

During that time, when the civil authorities were violating the humanity and rights of the indigenous people, Padre Serra was devoted to improving their spiritual and material well-being—boldly fighting against their mistreatment.

For his work in raising up priests from the native population, Junipero Serra is a great patron Saint for vocation promotion.  There is even an international group for the promotion and support of vocations who look to his patronage called Serra International who have a chapter here in Cleveland and meet regularly to pray for vocations.

When his body was exhumed for the purpose of the canonization, it was shown that he had cancer of the legs, making the long hard journeys up the coast of California even more difficult.  Yet, he did so, out of love for God’s people, fueled by fervor for the spread of the Gospel.

Pope Francis called Junipero Serra one of the founding fathers of the United States and praised his willingness to abandon the comforts and privileges of his native Spain to spread the Christian message in the new World.

We might not be called to travel halfway across the globe to engage in missionary work, but each of us are called to help others know Christ, to die to sin and to live, not just for ourselves, but for Him who died and rose again for us, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: Tuesday - 1st Week of Advent 2016 - A shoot shall sprout from the stump

Even though we read extensively from the book of the prophet Isaiah during Advent, since it is such a long book, 66 chapters, the longest of the prophetic books, we really only get to read bits and pieces at Mass.

After several chapters prophesying the defeat and judgment of Israel’s enemies, we hear one of the most beautiful passages of the book—beautiful because of its prose, but also its subject matter, and its promises. We hear today, so early in Advent, of the promise of the Redeemer, a Messiah, where he’ll come from, and some of his characteristics.

At the time of Isaiah’s writing, the house of david was in shambles, though God had promised David that his heir would be the king of kings, the Davidic line appeared more like a rotting stump than a flourishing royal tree. But Isaiah prophesied that from this stump shall arise a shoot; the line will continue, the Messiah will come.

And this Messiah-King will be graced with the Holy Spirit of God—the Spirit that breathed on the waters of creation, the spirit that breathed life into Adam, the Spirit that was given to Moses then portioned out to the elders, the Spirit that fell upon David when anointed by Samuel.

From the earliest years of the Church, the Church Fathers have taught that Jesus is the promised Davidic Messiah Isaiah wrote about in this passage. God the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus at His baptism (Mt 3:16). The "gifts of the spirit" that are His are transferred to baptized and confirmed Christians as His heirs. St. Paul wrote: For all who are let by the Spirit of God are sons of God...if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ (Rom 8:14, 17).

And the Catechism teaches: "The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are wisdom, understand, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. They belong in their fullness to Christ, Son of David. They complete and perfect the virtues of those who receive them. They make the faithful docile in readily obeying divine inspirations" (CCC 1831).

The Catechism goes on to teach that "The fruits of the Spirit are perfections that the Holy Spirit forms in us as the first fruits of eternal glory. The tradition of the Church lists twelve of them: charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, chastity'" (CCC 1832; quoting Gal 5:22-23).

This Advent ought to be a fruitful time for each of us in which we nurture the spiritual gifts. You might consider using the list of spiritual gifts as a sort of examination of conscience; which is your weakest, which is your strongest, which do you think God is calling you to practice more devoutly? Some of these gifts might appear to be more like old stumps than flourishing trees, but new growth is possible.

We recognize that we prepare best this Advent for the coming of the Messiah by seeking to become more like Him, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.