6th Week of OT 2020 - Tuesday - The remedy for every temptation

Yesterday, we heard from St. James that Christians must keep their faith throughout the inevitable trials of life. When we keep the faith when faced with hostility for the Gospel both from outside and within the Church, when we keep the faith in times of poverty, grief, and illness, God perfects us, James says.

Today James addresses a particular trial universal to all people of all places and times, a trial even faced by our Lord: the trial of temptation. Every trial tests our constancy, but temptation is a particular enticement to sin and to turn away from God, to choose evil rather than good.
“Blessed is he who perseveres in temptation, for when he has been proven he will receive the crown of life that he promised to those who love him.”

James declares that the reward for persevering temptation is blessedness—holiness in this life and the experience of beatitude in eternity. And he also gives us the key to perseverance. Love of God. We resist temptation by loving God more than the object of temptation to the point of suffering for what is good in order to resist the evil.

In the moment of temptation, we must be quick to make an act of love: “God help me to remain faithful to you, whom I love and should love above all things. God, you are more to me than the pleasures of my body, more important than my reputation among men, more important than my bank account, more important than obtaining the position of authority, more important than offering that cutting remark about someone who hurt me.”

Failure to love God was at the heart of original sin. Adam and Eve failed to love God, they failed to heed his command and to trust that God could provide all that they needed to be perfectly happy. So, they grasped at happiness for themselves, allowing their love and trust in God to die in their hearts.

So too, failure to love God is at the heart of every sin. This is why Jesus’ greatest commandment is to love God with your whole heart, mind, soul, and strength. Love, in this sense, is the remedy for every temptation.

“Whoever loves me will keep my word,”  saith the Lord, “and my Father will love him and we will come to him. ” Again, in the moment of Temptation, when we make that act of love and trust and surrender, the Lord comes to us with the strength we need to resist the strongest of temptations.

St. Alphonsus says “it is not necessary to acquire riches, nor to obtain dignities, nor to gain a great name. The only thing necessary is to love God.”

In every trial and temptation, may our minds, hearts, and wills turn to God in love, that we may obtain the crown of life, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That in every temptation we may love God with our whole hearts, minds, souls, and strength..

For Bishop Perez, as he is installed as Archbishop of Philadelphia tomorrow, for blessings upon his ministry, and for the Holy Spirit’s guidance to direct the appointment of a new Bishop for the Church of Cleveland.

That young people may seek Christ amidst all the perversions and distractions of the world, and for the protection of innocent human life from evil.

For healing for all those suffering disease, especially diseases without known cures, for the people of China and all people afflicted by the Coronavirus, and all who are oppressed by any kind of need, that the Lord may graciously grant them relief, and For the Holy Father’s prayer intentions for this month: that the needs of migrants and victims of human trafficking may be heard and acted upon.

For the dead, for all of the souls in purgatory, and for X, for whom this Holy mass is offered.
O God, our refuge and our strength, hear the prayers of your Church, for you are the source of all goodness, and grant, we pray, that what we ask in faith, we may truly obtain. Through Christ our Lord.

5th Week of Lent 2019 - Monday - Power Struggle

The Daily Scripture readings for the first half of Lent helped us to focus on our Lenten penances: the prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and repentance needed to help us prepare well for easter. Now in the second half of Lent, our scriptures focus on Jesus and the types of opposition he faced, and how we are to imitate Him in the Christian life.

In the first reading, innocent Susanna is unjustly condemned. Susanna, like Christ, is totally innocent, yet she is brought up on trumped up charges by those in positions of power. Susanna, like Jesus on the Cross, cries out to God, making an act of trust, she surrenders herself into the hands of God, much like Christ who says, “Father, into your hands, I commend my spirit.” 

In the Gospel, the Pharisees claim that Jesus lacks anyone to verify his divine identity. Yet, these same pharisees will conspire at Jesus’ trial, they will bring in false testimony in order to condemn Him to death.

There is a power struggle in both of these readings. Lustful men wish to use their earthly power to have their way with Susanna. The Pharisees lust for power will lead them to seek to silence the Eternal Word. Jesus exposes that the Pharisees’ lust for power is greater than their love for God. And so they engage in dark conspiracy to put Jesus to death.

Even when dark powers conspire against us, when we walk in the dark valley, as we recalled in the Psalm, our faith reminds us that God is with us. The vindication of Susanna, through the prophet Daniel, hints at Jesus’ own vindication at Easter. Though the dark powers conspire against him, even though it seems even to his disciples that darkness has won, light shall overcome.

In the Christian life, we will face dark opposition from the world, from the devil, and even from our own sinful inclinations, the disordered affections of our flesh. The powers of darkness conspire against us for the ruin of our souls, to silence us from speaking the truth, to discourage us from the work of God. But the light of Christ will overcome when we are faithful, when like Susanna we trust and call out to God, like the Psalmist who trusts that God is at his side in the darkest of hours.

May our Lenten penances continue to toughen us up for the battle, may the help us to be ever more attentive to God’s presence in our lives, that our lives may shine with the light of the victorious Christ for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
 
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For an increase in faith for the catechumens and candidates who approach the sacraments of initiation in the coming Paschal Solemnity.

That the Church might be delivered and protected from all spirits of error, heresy, schism, and unbelief and for faithful bishops, priests, and lay faithful who experience persecution because of their commitment to the Gospel.

For strength to resist temptation, and the humility to sincerely repent of sin.

That through fasting and self-denial, we may be ever more conformed to Christ.

That those in need may find assistance in the charity of faithful Christians and that peace and security may be firmly established in all places.

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

Mercifully hear, O Lord, the prayers of your Church and turn with compassion to the hearts that bow before you, that those you make sharers in your divine mystery may always benefit from your assistance.

6th Week in OT 2018 - Monday - Facing trials joyfully

While still a young abbot, St. Bernard of Clairvaux said, “There are more people converted from mortal sin to grace than there are religious converted from good to better.” What St. Bernard noted among the monks of his community, could be noted of nearly every Catholic parish in the world. Many people in our pews have turned away from the great mortal sins of our world, many attend Mass regularly, yet deep spiritual maturity is never gained. Jesus’ call to radical holiness is brushed off by so many as too lofty or unrealistic, so it is never attempted.

St. James in his New Testament epistle insists that the Lord desires great sanctity for all of his followers, and so the epistle writer explains that deep conversion flows from repentance and humility. His is certainly a message we do well to reflect upon as we prepare for the beginning of Great Lent beginning this week.

James invites us to make an honest interior examination to see where we have not submitted our minds and hearts to Lord, where we are seeking our happiness in earthly things instead of heavenly ones.

Before an athletic event, athletes will psych themselves up for the game, they’ll push aside their worldly cares; in their minds, they’ll review the plays of the game, they’ll muster the energy they’ll need to persevere through the game’s most difficult moments; they’ll contemplate how they will outsmart their opponent, and recount the games’ basic maneuvers.

Well, we may not be physical athletes, but we are certainly called to be spiritual athletes. And reading through and reflecting upon the Letter of St. James is a wonderful way to do our “pre-gaming”, pre-Lenten preparations.

We hear James say today, “consider it all joy when encountering trials.” We are certainly about the encounter the great trial of the Church year, the Lenten season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, and we are to consider it a joy. That word “consider” means to adopt a certain frame of mind, an attitude.

Adopting the correct attitude toward our Lenten trials will help us to confront the major trials of life with the right Christian attitude. From St. James, we learn that the Christian faith means more than simply believing in God, but living out the duties and trials of life, faithful to all Jesus’ teaches and commands; faith demands an interior commitment to God that is expressed in concrete behavior.

May St. James assist us to seek the deep conversion and radical holiness to which we are all called for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For the Holy Father’s prayer intention for the month of February, that those who have material, political or spiritual power may resist any lure of corruption.

For those preparing for baptism and entrance into full communion with the Catholic Church this Easter, for their continual conversion to Christ and that of the whole Church.

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

Homily: Friday - 4th Week of Lent 2017 - The hour is near

The "hour" of Jesus is a noticeably prominent theme in John’s Gospel. The word "hour" sometimes refers simply to a short period of chronological time (a 60-minute period during the day). More often and more importantly, however, "Jesus' hour" refers to the climactic event of his death and resurrection, which the Fourth Gospel also refers to as his "glorification".

Jesus says to his mother at Cana: “My hour has not yet come”. As Good Friday approaches, he rhetorically asks Andrew and Philip: “Should I ask my ‘Father to save me from this hour’? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour.”. And at the Last supper, Jesus lifts his eyes to heaven and prays, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you.”
In John’s Gospel, it is clear that Jesus is utterly aware of who he is and what he is about: he is the Son of the Father come to do the Father’s will. He prepares—he measures his time—for his hour, and he proceeds to this hour with confidence, trust in God, undistracted.

What about us? As we make this Lenten journey? Do we do so recollectedly, measuredly, cautiously, reverently of the hour. As we go through our day. are we conscious that “this is Lent”, this is the hour for me to glorify the Father through my Lenten penances? This is the hour for me to seek God’s mercy, the transformation of my heart, to become more like Christ who embraces suffering for the salvation of the world?

Or do continue to allow ourselves to be distracted by the noise around us and within us? The quiet of Lent, the silence that should mark our days, the putting away of non-essentials, these practices should help us quiet down, to focus on the hour.

One of the Saints even cautions us to “Beware of much speaking, for it banishes from the soul the holy thoughts and recollection with God.”

By nurturing this Lenten recollection, we unite ourselves to Christ in this hour, and prepare for the hour when we will be called upon by God to witness, to suffer, to endure the trial, to persevere in faith, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For greater devotion in our Lenten prayer, greater self-restraint in our Lenten fasting, and greater selflessness in our Lenten almsgiving.

That civil leaders will use their authority to protect the dignity of human life and the well-being of the poor, especially the unborn.  We pray to the Lord.

For young people, that they may be kept safe from the evil distractions of the world, and be brought up in faith-filled homes, that they may believe in the importance of loving and serving the Lord with their whole hearts.

For those preparing to enter the Church at Easter, that these weeks of Lent may bring them purification and enlightenment in the ways of Christ.  We pray to the Lord.

For those experiencing any kind of hardship or sorrow, isolation or illness: that the tenderness of the Father’s love will comfort them.  We pray to the Lord.

Homily: Jan 6 2017 - St. Andre Bessette - Faith and Spiritual Healing

Holy Cross Brother Andre Bessette was just canonized in 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI. Here is a wonderful Saint who shows us that we do not have to do big things in order to become holy, but that we are to make every moment of our life, every act, every deed of our day, an act of love for God. 

For forty years, Brother Andre was the doorkeeper, the porter, for Notre Dame College in Montreal run by the Community of the Holy cross.  He once joked, “When I joined this community my superiors showed me the door, and I stayed there for forty years.”  In that job he answered the phone and greeted the parents of the young people and all those who visited the college seeking material help.  Brother Andre made time for everyone and treated everyone as if they were the only person in the world, as if they were Jesus. 

At his canonization, Pope Benedict said, “Brother Andre showed boundless charity and did everything possible to soothe the despair of those who confided in him. With little instruction, he nevertheless understood what was essential to his faith. For him, to believe meant to submit freely and lovingly to Divine Will. Everything existed through the mystery of Jesus, he lived the beatitude of the pure of heart, that of personal rectitude. It is thanks to this simplicity, he showed many God.”

Brother Andre is remembered most for his great ministry of healing prayer. Many would experience emotional and physical healing through his intercession. 

Yet, whatever the trial, he urged people to pray with confidence and perseverance while remaining open to God’s will.

Openness to the will of God is the foundation for any healing, any change, any spiritual growth we should hope to experience. Yes, God hears our prayers for healing. As Brother Andre said, “There is so little distance between heaven and earth that God always hears us. Nothing but a thin veil separates us from God.” Yet, it is often a greater good that God gives us the grace and strength to bear our sufferings with trust and abandon to the Divine Will. 

“Do not try to have your trials taken away from you”, he said, “rather, ask for the grace to endure them well”.

Brother allowed himself to be fully present to the sadness of others while always retaining a joyful nature and good humor.  In the words of Pope Benedict,  “For him, everything spoke of God and His presence.”  Through his intercession may we receive the healing God wishes for us and follow his example of openness to the will of God for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

That the Church may be attentive to all those in need.

That all those in need of healing may be filled with new hope and strength.

That those dedicated to the care of the sick may be instruments of God’s healing.

In thanksgiving for all healing received through the mercy of God.

That those who suffer may experience the peace of Christ.

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