Homily: Jan 22 2016 - Mass for Legal Protection of Unborn Children

Today, January 22, 2016, marks the 43rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion nationwide. Since then 1.2 million abortions have taken place in our country every year.  Nearly one hundred times more babies have been killed by abortion than all the deaths of U.S. soldiers in all the wars our nation has fought including the Civil War, the World Wars, the Vietnam War, and the War on Terror.

So throughout the United States today, U.S. Catholics are engaged in prayer for the restored legal protection of the unborn.  Many brave people have traveled to our nation’s capital, in the middle of a blizzard expecting 18 to 24 inches of snow, to witness to and pray for life.  We certainly support them in our prayers and celebrate today a Mass for justice.

Justice demands the right to life.  From the moment of conception, a human being has a God given right to life no matter the attitude of his mother or father or the state.  We pray that soon “a people who walk in darkness will see a great light,” as we read in our first reading.  Darkness covers this land, the darkness of error, of selfishness, and the devaluation of human life.

Pope Francis recently said, “All too often, as we know from experience, people do not choose life, they do not accept the ‘Gospel of Life’ but let themselves be led by ideologies and ways of thinking that block life, that do not respect life, because they are dictated by selfishness, self-interest, profit, power and pleasure, and not by love, by concern for the good of others.”

This liturgy for life and justice calls for the wearing of purple vestments: purple, the color of grief and prayerful penance.  We grieve the abundance of sin and murder occurring on a daily basis for 43 years.  And we do penance even for those who do not repent.  And we commit ourselves to praying and working for authentic justice for the unborn. For we trust in the Lord's words from our Gospel today, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied."

Pope Francis, speaking of the defense of life said, “Defend the Unborn against abortion even if they persecute you calumniate you set traps for you take you to court or kill you.”  For, “The right to life” he wrote, “is the first human right. Abortion is killing someone that cannot defend him or herself.”
We also know, that the Holy Father has taken special measures during this year of Mercy, to announce God’s forgiveness to all those who have procured abortion.  For though our sins be abhorrent, often vile, God’s mercy is greater.

We hope and pray today, in the words of our Psalm, that “Justice shall flourish in our time, and fullness of peace forever”.  For the glory of God and salvation of souls.

---Petitions---

That the leaders and members of the Church may fulfill with joy their calling to proclaim, celebrate, and serve the Gospel of Life, we pray to the Lord…

That the Church, the People of Life, may bear joyful witness that each human life comes from God, belongs to God, and is meant to return to God, we pray to the Lord.

That Court decisions which permit the destruction of innocent life may be resisted and ultimately reversed, we pray to the Lord…

In thanksgiving for the many children who have been saved from abortion through the efforts of the pro-life movement, we pray to the Lord…

That God may protect all unborn babies, and keep them safe from the scourge of abortion, we pray to the Lord...

That all medical professionals involved in the practices of abortion, infanticide, and euthanasia, may experience conversion of mind and heart and cease these activities, we pray to the Lord…

For all women who have had abortions, that they may seek out and experience God’s tender mercy, we pray to the Lord.

Homily: Jan 21 2016 - St. Agnes, Virgin Martyr - Uncompromising Faith

Of all the virgin martyrs of Rome, none was held in such high honor by the early church as Saint Agnes.  She has been honored since the 4th century.  Her name appears in the first Eucharistic prayer.  Yet, Almost nothing is known of St. Agnes of Rome expect that she was very young, just 12 or 13, when she was martyred in the last half of the 3rd century, when Christianity could still not be practiced in public.

When she was about thirteen years old, the son the Roman governor fell in love with her.  He asked her parents’ permission to marry her, but they respected Agnes’ wishes and asked for a delay.  The man persisted, but Agnes answered that she had already given her heart to Christ.  “Such is Christ’s beauty,” she said, “that his brightness excels all the brightness of the sun and the stars; the heavens are ravished with his glory.  He is so powerful that all the forces of heaven and earth cannot conquer him.  I love him more than my soul and life and am willing to die for him.”

The governor’s son became bitter and angry; he tried to persuade Agnes to compromise her purity, promising her wealth and priceless jewels.  She resisted the temptation.  He then threatened her, and told her that he would accuse her of being a Christian.  This meant that she would face death, if she did not give in, since it was against the law to be a Christian.

When he told her what he intended to do, Agnes boldly answered, "Never will I consent to offend my God by sin, and joyfully will I suffer the loss of all things rather than lose my soul.”  She was eventually beheaded.

Our soul is that pearl which is beyond all price. Like Agnes we should be willing to suffer, rather than stain our souls by sin.  For no sin is worth the loss of our soul and the loss of eternal salvation.
Because the name Agnes is similar to Agnus, the latin word for lamb, she is often depicted in art holding an innocent lamb.  Also, on this day in Rome, lambs are solemnly blessed, and their wool is taken to make special vestments for the pope and certain archbishops called the pallium.  The special vestment is to remind the pope and the archbishops that the care of the lambs and sheep of Christ—that’s us—has been entrusted to their care, and they need to be good shepherds—that they need to walk in the footsteps of the One Good Shepherd—Jesus—protecting us from evil and guiding us to safe pastures.

Agnes is a reminder that holiness does not depend on length of years.  Children understand, often better than adults, that following Jesus means to follow him with our whole hearts and minds and soul.  With the help of the prayers and example of St. Agnes, may we come to see Christ’s glory in the eternal kingdom of heaven by witnessing to his love without hesitation in this life, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: Monday of the 2nd Week of OT 2016 - New wine of the Spirit

In yesterday’s Sunday Gospel, we heard of the great miracle of Jesus transforming water into wine at the wedding at Cana. 

Today we hear again of those two images of weddings and wine. Jesus first compares his presence with his disciples to a wedding celebration.  Just as a wedding is filled with joyful celebration, so too, Jesus’ public ministry is a time of great joy for his disciples.  And so too, as Jesus is our companion throughout our own lives, there is a joy that cannot be taken away by any earthly misfortune.  Things can never become so dark that we cannot call upon Jesus as Lord.  No matter how severe our suffering, it can always be united to Him.

Second, Jesus says, “no one pours new wine into old wineskins.”  Since leather wineskins would become dry and brittle with age, the new wine, still in the process of fermenting would burst the old wineskins. 

Before baptism, before discipleship, we had an old nature, an old wineskin.  But when we were baptized and truly made the commitment to follow Christ, we set aside the old nature, and acquired a fresh new nature. For many of us, baptism was very long ago, and those fresh, new wineskins, if they are not constantly renewed can start to grow brittle again, resistant to change, resistant to the new wine of the spirit.

Many of us know Christians, even members of our families, who dabbled in Christianity, practiced it for a while, even 12 years of Catholic school, but now they’ve seemed to have lost their taste for the things of God.  Evening mentioning the faith leads to a heated argument.  The wineskin has burst.  For Christianity requires not just learning about the faith, but openness to being changed by it. And when we start to resist the change, we become resistant to the faith. 

St. Paul says in Romans, “I urge your brothers and sisters, do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”  For when we conform to the ways of the world, our natures begin to resemble that old wineskin again.

Rather, we come to Mass, we practice the faith in order to acquire that new way of thinking, a new way of acting and loving our neighbor. Every time we come to Mass, we should really be saying, okay Lord, transform me, change me, fill me, renew me.   

May each of us know the joy of knowing Jesus’ companionship with us always, and the openness of being renewed by Him and filled with the new wine of Spirit for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: 2nd Sunday of OT 2016 - One Spirit, Many Gifts

This is homily is a revision of a homily I gave in 2013.

This Sunday we enter once again into Ordinary Time.  We completed the sacred seasons of Advent and Christmas; and we are still a few weeks away from Lent and Easter; and so, during ordinary time we focus on the ordinary life of the Church, our everyday life as followers of Christ.

As a Christian, what should ordinary life as Christians look like?  Mary, in today’s Gospel puts it very clearly: “Do whatever he tells you.”  There’s the ordinary task of the Christian, there’s a summary of the work of the Church: “Do whatever he tells you.” Obey Christ.  Fulfill the mission he’s given.  Do his work.  Follow his will. 

And when we do that, Jesus is able to transform water into wine—he is able to transform the ordinary works and words of our life, into the rich, extraordinary works of God. 

The trouble is, of course, that we all too often obey our own desires, do our own work, follow our own will, and the water remains water, the ordinary remains ordinary.  Sometimes we don’t recognize the gifts that God has given us.

Saint Paul enumerates in our second reading these many spiritual gifts God has given which make our ordinary Christian life quite extraordinary.

“To each individual, the manifestation of the Spirit is given to some benefit.”  God gives every baptized member of the Church special gifts to make them fit and ready to undertake the renewal and building up of the Church.  These gifts are not just for the clergy, not just for people formally involved in missionary activity, not just rare graces you might receive at charismatic prayer meetings.  But to you and me and every baptized member of the Church, gifts for bringing others more deeply into His divine life and the life of the Church. 

Saint Paul enumerates these gifts: wisdom, knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, mighty deeds, prophecy, discernment of spirits, varieties of tongues, interpretation of tongues: all meant for building-up the Church.. 

First, Paul listed Wisdom. Saint Thomas Aquinas called wisdom, “the view from the hilltop”.  The wise person sees life from the high vantage point.  He’s put his life in order, his priorities are straight, and helps us do the same.  When there’s a conflict, or confusion, we do well to seek the counsel of the wise person to help us make the changes we need in our life that they might better reflect the Gospel.  We should pray every day that our bishops and those in authority will be prudent, practical, rational, sensitive, judicious, and wise.

Second, Paul lists the gift of “knowledge”.  Are you knowledgeable in science, math, history, philosophy, theology, sports?  If you are, share that knowledge!  Your knowledge has been given to you as a gift.  Not simply to make a lot of money or to show off?  Not to lord it over others? No.  Knowledge is meant for service.   

The Catholic faith has produced the greatest thinkers of all time: Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Dante, John Henry Newman, not to mention great scientists like Louis Pasteur, Alexander Fleming inventor of Penicillin, Galileo, Copernicus, Marie Curie, not to mention that Catholicism produced the first Universities.  It was a Roman Catholic priest, George Lamaitre who first proposed the Big Bang Theory! These men and women remind us that our knowledge is meant to be at the service of the Church and the human race.

I met a gentleman the other day, with a background in mechanical engineering and pipe fitting.  He is now helping poor Hispanic communities bring their buildings up to code. So each of us must reflect upon whether we are using our knowledge for ourselves or for others. 

The next spiritual gift Paul mentions is “faith”. All of us here have faith; we’ll all stand and profess the Creed after the homily.  So, when Paul lists faith as a unique charismatic gift, I think of that person who is gifted with that sort of contagious faith; you talk with them and they draw you deeper into the life of the Church, they speak about prayer and you want to go home and pray, they speak about their guardian angel, and you think, yeah, I need to become better friends with my guardian angel, or they speak about confession, and you think, yeah, it’s been a while.  If you have this gift of faith, the Church needs you to share it, to draw others to the Church, to Christ. 

There non-believers languishing outside of the Church because of our failure to exercise the gift of faith. So we must become more open and more practiced in exercising faith, that the power of this gift may be unleashed for building up of the Church. 

Paul mentions next, “gifts of healing”.  All of the baptized are empowered to pray for healing.  Every Sunday we always have a petition for the sick and the suffering, and each of us instinctively turns to God when we are sick or have a sick family member.  Yet, throughout the centuries God has given some the gift of miraculous healing—like Christ in the Gospels. 

The Spirit might wish to work miraculous spiritual healing through someone here in this parish.  I think there are a lot of people in the Church who have been given the gift of psychological healing: people who almost naturally bring calm and peace, who can sooth inner turmoil, who can calm troubled psyches and souls.  The Lord might be calling you to help someone who is grieving, or suffering from an emotional trauma, or to help someone who suffers from an addiction.  If you have this gift, you are meant to share it.

The gift of healing particularly can become unlocked when we ourselves have received healing.  The person who has overcome an addiction often finds that he can help others still struggling.  The gift is meant to be shared.

Finally, the gift of discernment is very important.  You might not have the gift of healing, wisdom, knowledge, but discernment is meant to help others discover their gifts.  To discern the work of the Spirit in others is no small thing.  You are the one God wants to use to help others identify their gifts and put them into practice. 

The one with discernment is also able to act like a bridge.  You detect someone who is suffering emotional turmoil and you lead them to the one with the gift of healing.  You detect someone who is doubting the faith, and you bring them to the one with the gift of faith or knowledge.  You detect a family situation that requires outside help, perhaps a troubled marriage, and you get that troubled marriage the help it needs.  You detect that a particular young person is being called to religious life or to the priesthood, or that a fellow parishioner should consider joining the choir or becoming a lector or Eucharistic minister or deacon or catechist, you help point them in the right direction, and that is invaluable.  The person with discernment helps me to see something about myself that I cannot see.

Each of us do well, to go home today and reflect upon the gifts God has given me that are going unutilized, and to ask the Holy Spirit to help us put those gifts into practice. May the Spirit who bestows us with so many gifts help us to discover them, grow in them, and utilize them for the building up of the Church, the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: Thursday of the 1st Week of OT 2016 - Humility's victory

The readings this morning both continue from the first book of Samuel and the Gospel of Mark which we’ve been hearing all week.

From the book of Samuel, we peer back into the history of Israel, hearing how Israel had come under the oppression of the Philistines. We read how Israel had sought to throw off their oppressors, and entered into battle with Philistines, but Israel was defeated. Only afterwards do they realize that they should have sought the Lord’s help in this matter. And instead of sincere repentance and prayer, Israel took-up the ark of the covenant into battle—treating the holy relic like some sort of magic weapon.  Though the Philistines were initially intimidated by Israel’s mighty religious artifact, a second battle resulted in an even more disastrous defeat for Israel—not only were seven times more Israelites killed than last time, the Philistines stole the ark.

In contrast, in the Gospel, we heard of a man afflicted with leprosy.  Life, in a sense had defeated him.  Few afflictions in biblical times were more hideous and terrifying than leprosy.  To be diagnosed with leprosy was a virtual death sentence. Yet, the leper, shows more faith than all of the Israelites in the first story, he kneels before the Lord, begs for healing, begs for victory, begs for God’s will to be done. In his request there is an echo of the Lord’s prayer: “if it is thy will, make me clean.”

See the difference? Israel said, “my will be done”. The leper said, “thy will be done.”  Israel sought to control God.  The leper made himself humble before God. In a sense, the leper’s humility was more valuable than the physical healing he sought.  The homage and submission he showed to Christ was a sign that the leprosy had not disfigured his heart.

Often like Israel in today’s reading, we want power and victory without love and humility. But, when we are faced with defeat, or the torrential storms of life—loss of a loved one, loss of employment, loss of peace in our country and virtuous leaders, we must come before God like the leper, in homage and humble submission, confessing, “thy will be done.”

For God often allows the humiliation, he allows the defeat, the affliction, in order to bring about something greater, the purification of faith, hope, and love. It’s a lesson most of us don’t think we need; but when we kneel low before him, we will be touched by Christ’s healing hand, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: Monday of the 1st Week of OT 2016 - Something New

Once again we enter into Ordinary Time, the ordered time of the Church year in which we are called follow Christ, allowing him to change us, transform us, and perfect us. The same Lord who spoke to Peter, Andrew, James, and John on the sea of Galilee speaks to us, today, saying “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men”

This call to leave the comfortable habits we have formed, in order to follow him more closely, is in contrast to the spiritual inertia which can so easily set in.  Doesn’t each of us have the tendency to become complacent in the spiritual life?

Thomas Aquinas spoke of a sadness that comes from our unwillingness to tackle the difficulties involved in attaining our greatest good; he called it acedia—a sort of depression that sets in when we aren’t attending to our spiritual lives as we should.

Imagine the excitement Peter, James, Andrew, and John experienced when the Lord said, “Come after me. I will make you fishers of men.” God was doing something new in their lives, he was giving them a new vocation, and would bring about new spiritual joys of following him in this new way.  Similarly, the Lord calls us to something new, during this new liturgical season.

It may be a new spiritual devotion, a new way of service, a new way of offering up our sufferings.  But even in these short weeks before the season of Lent begins, the Lord wants to stretch us, change us, transform us, and fill us with the new wine of the spirit.

If there is a certain joylessness in your life right now, or a sadness you can’t explain; or perhaps you know that you should be engaging in a new spiritual practice, “this is the time of fulfillment.  The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel.” The greek word St. Mark uses for the word repent, is of course, metanoia.  Metanoia, change your mind, change your heart, change your thinking, change your attitude, by following the Lord more deeply in some new area of your life.  

Don’t make the excuses, “I’m too old, too sick; I already give the Lord so much, what else could he possibly want from me”. Often, it’s from our excuses where our spiritual sadnesses come from.  Ask the Holy Spirit to help you discover how to follow Christ more deeply today, that he may make you fishers of men for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: Baptism of the Lord 2016 - Seasons end that others may begin

Throughout the Christmas season we’ve celebrated liturgically several events from the early life of Christ: we’ve celebrated his saving birth, of course, on Christmas Day; the adoration of the Christ child by magi from the east, we celebrated on the feast of the epiphany; on January 1^st, 8 days after the birth of Christ, the Christ was brought to the temple for his circumcision; after his circumcision, we know that St. Joseph took the Holy Family to Egypt, where he kept them safe from the murderous plot of King Herod. On Holy Family Sunday we heard how during the early years of Jesus’ life, his family would make the pious pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and how the boy Jesus was found teaching in the Jerusalem temple, his Father’s house.  Today’s feast celebrates an event roughly 20 years later. 

For 20 years, Jesus lived a life of simple faith, obedience to Mary and Joseph in the house of Nazareth.  He learned the carpenter’s trade, he worked with his hands, he worshipped at synagogue, he continued to make pilgrimages to Jerusalem and celebrate the Jewish Feasts, he lived a life of virtue.  As we do not read about St. Joseph in the later parts of any of the Gospels, likely, Jesus witnessed Joseph’s passing.  During these Hidden Years, Jesus prepared for his great mission of preaching the Gospel and dying for the atonement of our sins.

Around the age of 30, Jesus had heard that his cousin, John, the son of Elizabeth and Zechariah was preaching a baptism of repentance down at the Jordan River, at the very spot where Israel had come into the promised land after 40 years in the desert, the very spot where Elijah was taken up into heaven on a flaming chariot.  In fact, John was dressed quite a bit like Elijah of old, and proclaiming the prophet’s warning: “repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.”

Jesus knew, “it was time”—the season of hiddenness was coming to an end, and the season of his public ministry was about to begin—a time of miracles, and healings, where the power of God’s kingdom would be manifest. “It was time” to do battle with the forces of evil and the prince of darkness.  “It was time” to fulfill his Father’s will, no matter how much suffering he would have to endure.

Every season ends that it might give way to something new. And this was true, even in the life of Jesus Christ. His baptism in the Jordan marked an end of hiddenness, and a beginning of public ministry.

Baptism marks the beginning of a new way of life for Christians.  And, today at St. Clare, we have two people, Sarah and Joseph, publically declaring their desire for Baptism.  That have completed the period of the precatechumenate, a period of investigation into the truths and way of life of the Christian faith.  They are publically declaring their desire to put to an end an old way of life, and to begin the new life of Christianity.

For this reason, Sarah and Joseph are embraced by the Church as our own; they are now part of the household of Christ, as they seek full initiation in the Church through Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist.  I will ask them to remain after Mass today, so that you may embrace them, welcome them; for they are soon to be called your brothers and sisters in Christ.  They are coming to the end of one season of their life, and beginning a new one that will last for eternity; so, encourage them, pray for them, set good example for them.

For they declare today along with all of us, their faith in Him, their willingness to live with Christ as the Lord of their lives, their willingness to suffer for Him and even to die for Him, for they believe that is through Him, through Christ the Lord and Him alone, that man is free from sin and restored to eternal life. They declare today their promise to follow Christ’s commandments, including the injunction to keep the Lord’s Day every week for the rest of their lives. 

Every season ends that it may give way to something new.

Today, the Christmas season ends, and the season of Ordinary Time begins, a season where each of us are to focus on putting the teachings of Christ into practice in our ordinary day-to-day lives. Each of us do well to consider, what vices are we being called to put an end to, that we may more faithfully live out our baptismal discipleship. Laziness and sloth are to be put to an end, that new spiritual practices may begin: daily scripture reading, visits to the adoration chapel, a daily rosary perhaps, in order to obtain graces of conversion for ourselves and others. Put lust to an end, in order to begin a new life of purity. Put resentment and bitterness to an end, that it might give way to a new season of peace and gentleness.

In a few moments we will each personally recite the Profession of Faith.  It is the creed of the baptized.  As we profess our faith, let us recommit ourselves as children of God that we may be Christ’s disciples in name and in fact.  Let us reject Satan and cling ever more to Christ, that we may reflect the glory of his kingdom and come to share in his eternal inheritance, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.