January 23 2023 - Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children

 

Throughout the United States today, Catholics engage in prayer for the legal protection of the unborn. The orations for Mass today are those for justice. 

The right to life is a demand of justice.  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.  

Pope Francis 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 and do penance for the grave injustice of abortion occurring every minute of every day in this country and around the world. We do penance for those who willingly cooperate in this grave evil. And we commit ourselves to praying and working for authentic justice for the unborn.

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.”

The Holy Father was effectively echoing the Vatican II document Gaudium et Spes, which declared, “God, the Lord of life, has entrusted to men the noble mission of safeguarding life, and men must carry it out in a manner worthy of themselves. Life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of conception: abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes.”

With the overturning of Roe vs. Wade in this last year, legal protection for the unborn is needed on the level of the state. But moreover, in human hearts. The attitudes and errors which celebrate abortion require conversion, for the sake of their souls. For a soul which justifies the murder of the innocent is in terrible danger, and puts others in danger.

We pray that the truth of the Gospel of Life will take root in the hearts of every member of the human family, that it will dispel all darkness, and all hardness toward innocent human life—all unwillingness to respect life. 

May every life be cherished and held sacred for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

- - - - - 

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

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.

That Court decisions which permit the destruction of innocent life may be resisted and ultimately reversed, 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...

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 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.

3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time 2023 - What does faith offer you?

 Last week, for the candidates in our RCIA program, we celebrated at the 11am Mass, the Rite of Acceptance, where the candidates publicly declared their intent to prepare for the Sacraments of Initiation. In the very first words of the ritual, the priest asks the candidates: “Why are you here? What are you asking for from the Church?” And the answer they give is “faith”. I want faith. I want the Church to give me faith. 

What is faith?  We speak of the Christian faith, the light of faith, the unity of faith, the mystery of faith, a particular Catholic might have strong faith, weak faith, lukewarm faith, devout faith, improperly formed faith. What is faith?

Well, the next question in the rite of acceptance gives some insight.

“What are you asking from the Church” They answer “faith.” And then the priest asks them, “Why? Why do you want faith? What does faith offer you?” And the answer is “eternal life”. 

Throughout the RCIA program, the candidates study the catechism, and participate in the Church’s liturgy, and begin to engage in service and the life of the parish because through the Christian faith they are led to eternal life. 

That’s why the Church exists. We’re not a social club, a place to go on Sundays because you have nothing better to do. The Church exists to proclaim, to grow in faith, to spread the faith, to celebrate the faith. Because faith enables us to obtain something that nothing else in the world can provide. Eternal life. 

Written in bold letters above our sanctuary, what does it say? He who believes in the Son of God, in other words, he who has faith that Jesus is the Son of God, has, eternal life. 

Faith is part of God’s remedy for our mortality.  “Unless you believe that I am, you will die in your sins,” says the Lord Himself in John’s Gospel.  Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life. 

The importance of faith is evident by the Lord’s own teaching. Because that act of the will to believe leads us to conform our lives with the author of Truth who is life itself. I am the way, the truth, and the life. So believe it, follow it, live it. 

Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, shall live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

The answer to that question certainly has consequences doesn’t it? Through faith we turn toward the Lord and seek to walk in his ways. The righteous shall live by faith, and walk by faith.

Last week I shared how during Ordinary Time, we seek to grow in the ordinary dimensions of the Christian life. How might we grow in faith?

Well, the same way our catechumens in the RCIA will grow in faith as they prepare for Easter. Study, scripture, prayer, liturgical worship, service, and repentance from Sin.

How Study help you to grow in faith? Memorizing the 10 commandments, studying what the catechism says about them, can certainly help you to walk by them. How can you follow them if you don’t know them? But also, study can help you explain the faith to non-believers with greater clarity. Non-believers are often seeking understanding. Why do you Catholics believe what you believe? And study helps us explain with knowledge and understanding rooted in the Word of God.  

Scripture grows faith. We need something going in our eyes and ears and hearts besides the garbage on television and the internet. We need the light of God to illuminate our lives. Scripture is God’s Word given to us, for us. It’s meant to be read, understood, taught, and lived. How can you live it, if you don’t read it?

Prayer builds faith. Prayer is not an option if you want faith. Life without prayer is a sad, dry weary endless desert. Without prayer we grow exhausted and happy. The Lord says faith in him causes a fountain of refreshment to bubble up from within us. Prayer is to go to that well-spring and drink. 

Liturgical worship builds faith. In Lent this year, our new auxiliary Bishop Michael Woost will be offering a retreat here at St. Ignatius, on Saturday March 18.  Bishop Woost is a trained liturgist, and a liturgical and sacramental theologian. No doubt the Bishop will help us to enter more deeply into the mystery of God through the liturgy of the Church. 

Prayer is like breathing. Personal prayer is like inhaling, liturgical, corporate prayer is like exhaling. We need both if we hope to breath, and we need to breath if we want to live. But prayer also sustains us through our trials, helping us to keep our eyes focused on Christ and to know God’s presence with us. Whether you are going through an illness or a family drama or an economic crisis or a temptation that you thought you overcame many years ago, prayer is needed to keep your eyes fixed on Christ.

Service builds faith. Faith without works is dead, st. james’ letter says bluntly. To grow in faith is to grow in our willingness to engage in works, charitable works, self-less works, sacrificial works. Have you ever been disappointed when you engaged in a selfless act? No. 

And finally, repentance of sins is indispensable for faith. Over and over, the scriptures show the enemies of Jesus, the pharisees, scribes, and saducees, as faithless due to their unwillingness to acknowledge and repent of their sins.

Moment of honesty here folks. I sat in the confessional for an hour last saturday with zero confessions. I don’t know what’s going on here? I don’t know if you don’t believe in the power of the Sacrament? I don’t know if someone told you that confession is not important and a vital dimension of the Catholic faith? If we need to change the confessional schedule or hire another priest to come in for confessions, we can do that, if it will help.

But, Faith cannot grow if there are unacknowledged, unrepented sins. Unrepentance is a terrible terrible thing that can exclude us from eternal life. Have faith that Jesus is waiting for you, as Pope Francis has said, waiting for you in the confessional. Go to confession at least three or four times a year, or as soon as possible, if a mortal sin has been committed.

Faith. It is the source of our unity. It transforms us into fishers of men. It is a light that guides us in darkness. It leads us to the font of God’s everlasting mercy. It’s leads to eternal life. In the words of the Apostles in St. Luke’s Gospel, “Lord, increase our faith” for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

2nd Week of Ordinary Time 2023 - Friday - Keep your heart fixed on Christ

 Over the past two weeks, our weekday readings have made their way through just over half of the Letter to the Hebrews.

Remember, the letter was written first to those jewish converts to Christianity. For accepting Christ, they were kicked out of their synagogues, they were persecuted by the Romans, and their gentile brothers and sisters in Christ were probably a bit skeptical of them at times too. 

So the author to the letter to the Hebrews writes to these dear ones and reminds them to hold fast to their Christian faith, don’t fall back to the old way of life, but throughout all of your troubles, everything that you are going through, your rejection by former friends and family, the hostility from the Romans, the very slow acceptance of gentile Christians, throughout all that, keep your heart and mind focused on Christ.

And the same is true for us: going through an illness, keep your heart focused on Christ; a family drama—keep your heart focused on Christ; an economic crisis, a temptation of an addiction you thought you had long-ago overcome? Experiencing paralyzing anxiety? Keep your heart focused on Christ. Imagine him. Imagine his face. Imagine him nailed to the cross for you. With real effort of will, fix your heart on Him.

This mid-section of the letter to the Hebrews is highly Christocentric. Chapters five, six, seven develop a rich theology of Christ’s priestly sacrifice. He is the eternal high priest. He is the fulfillment of the both the priesthood of Melchizedek and the priesthood of the Levites. He himself is the sacrifice, offering himself to his Father out of love for us.

Today, from chapter 8 we hear how the Lord having died and risen, has ascended to the right hand of His Father in heaven, into the heavenly sanctuary. The perfect sacrifice has risen to the heavenly sanctuary itself. The self-sacrifice of the obedient Son is now in heaven and is a guarantee of the promises of salvation—a guarantee of the new and everlasting covenant.

This explains the Letter to the Hebrew’s emphasis on keeping your heart fixed on Christ. For the Father Himself in the heavenly sanctuary fixes his eyes and heart on his crucified-and-risen Son. To keep your heart fixed on Christ is a divine thing. It’s a foretaste of heaven that can carry you through the most difficult moments of life. It’s the act of the will that can be justified at every moment of every day, Keep your heart fixed on Christ, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

- - - - - 

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

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

For the peoples of the world, that the Lord may establish and preserve harmony among us.

For all who are oppressed by any kind of need, that the Lord may grant them relief and move Christians to come to the aid of the suffering.

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.

2nd Week of Ordinary Time 2023 - Wednesday - Melchizedek

 

On Monday, our reading from the letter to the Hebrews referenced Melchizedek. Melchizedek is referenced again by Hebrews today and also by the psalm, psalm 110.

Who is this Melchizedek fellow?  

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

The priest-king Melchizedek appears kind of mysteriously in the book of Genesis, after a battle in which Abraham, with a band of only 318 men, defeated a coalition of four pagan kings and rescued his nephew Lot from captivity. Melchizedek leads Abraham to acknowledge that his victory came not on his own doing, but from God. And so Melchizedek then leads Abraham in offering a thanksgiving sacrifice to God—a sacrifice of bread and wine.

The encounter with Melchizedek is a humbling encounter; as is right and just; a reminder to Abraham and all people that God’s authority must rule our lives. 

“You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek”. Imagine this psalm being sung in the royal court of king David. The psalmist reminds David that David must live in obedience and thanksgiving to the One True God of Israel.

Royalty needs to be a reminded that they are not gods, but so do all of us; all that we have, and all that we are comes from God. We owe thanksgiving to God, and we get in a lot of trouble spiritually when we let the trappings of the world go to our heads as if we deserved them.

“You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek” is perfectly fulfilled of course by Christ, who lives in perfect obedience and thanksgiving to His Father—and combines the sacrifice of his flesh and blood on the cross with the sacrifice of bread and wine in the Eucharist. 

But it also refers to all Christians. We are to live in perpetual obedience and thanksgiving to the Father, and by doing so, we become effective Melchizedeks for the Abrahams and Davids of the world, pointing them to submit their own lives and victories, to the One True God, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

 

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

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

For the peoples of the world, that the Lord may establish and preserve harmony among us.

For all who are oppressed by any kind of need, that the Lord may grant them relief and move Christians to come to the aid of the suffering.

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.

 

January 17 2023 - St. Anthony Abbot - Armor of God vs. the Devil's Tactics

 Around the age of 19, a young man named Anthony, the son of two wealthy Egyptian parents, was attending Mass one day. He heard the Gospel of the Lord telling the rich young man, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor.  You will then have treasure in heaven.” Anthony felt as if the Lord were speaking these words directly to him.

His parents, having recently died, Anthony gave away some of the family estate to his neighbors, sold the remaining property, donated the funds to the poor, placed his sister with a group of Christian virgins for her education, and became the disciple of a local hermit in the desert, and devoted himself to God.   This first period in the desert lasted around 13 years.  Though he had not sought it, a group of hermits grew around him, and he became their spiritual father, or an “abbot”, thus beginning monasticism as it is known today.

He went to the desert because it is a place without material attachments and earthly pleasures. And yet, like Christ, in the desert, Anthony also encountered the devil. The devil would send Anthony great temptations which took great effort and prayer to overcome. The devil would also physically assault Anthony, and beat him to the point of unconsciousness.  

But another scripture passage that Anthony took quite seriously was our epistle this morning: “Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the Devil.”

The Devil hates when any soul endeavors to grow in holiness. The Devil likes us complacent and sleepy; he likes us attached to modern conveniences. He likes us soft and vulnerable and ill-equipped. 

One of the weapons that Anthony and the desert hermits would wield is the Word of God. They would memorize the Gospels and memorize the Psalms so that when the devil came with his temptations, they had the guidance necessary to see through his lies. The Lord himself utilized this tactic. Remember, when the devil said, “turn these stones into bread”, the Lord retorted with a line from scripture, “man does not live on bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.”

Due to his holiness and wisdom, many souls would seek out the advice of the Desert Abbot St. Anthony. St. Athanasius, Anthony’s biographer, even writes how the emperor Constantine, sought out Anthony’s advice on the administration of an empire that was now officially Christian.

Anthony wrote back to Constantine, advising him “not to think much of the present, but rather to remember the judgment that is coming, and to know that Christ alone was the true and Eternal King.”

May Anthony Abbot through his heavenly intercession and holy example assist us in detaching from the things of the world, seeking the perfection of Christ, putting on the Armor of God against the wiles of the Devil, and living in expectation of our own judgment in hopes of living eternally with Christ the King, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

- - - - -  

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

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

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

For all who are oppressed by any kind of need, that the Lord may grant them relief and move Christians to come to the aid of the suffering.

For an increase in vocations to the priesthood and consecrated religious life, for all monastics and hermits, and that all Christians may seek the perfection for which they were made.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

O God, our refuge and our strength, hear the prayers of your Church, for you yourself are the source of all devotion, and grant, we pray, that what we ask in faith we may truly obtain. Through Christ our Lord.

2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time 2023 - Extraordinary Time

 

The Christmas season has ended, and we’ve returned to the observance of Ordinary Time. Each of the seasons of the Church year certainly has its own spirituality and themes—a rhythm that is to mark our lives.

During Advent, the church prepares for the coming of Christ and during Advent we are to become quieter, more reflective, meditative like a mother anticipating the birth of her child, like Blessed Mary anticipating the birth of her son. During Christmas of course we celebrate Christ’s birth with hymns of praise. We give gifts, we gather with family and friends in a spirit of cheer and generosity, always with an eye to the needs of the poor whose condition Christ shared—born into the straw poverty of the Bethlehem stable. 

Lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday, February 22nd this year, is a season of intensified prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and concrete acts of penance; we unite ourselves to Jesus in the desert, his Passion and suffering on the cross, and we meditate on his great love for us throughout all that he suffered.

Then during Easter, of course we celebrate the Resurrection; we focus on courageously proclaiming that Christ is risen, alleluia, and breaking the bonds of all that keeps us from proclaiming and living Christ’s victory over sin and death.

But now we find ourselves once again in Ordinary Time. And during ordinary time we focus on the ordinary life of the Christian. But that’s not boring or unnoteworthy. There is holiness to be found and practiced in the ordinary dimensions of life. There is holiness to be found in cooking and cleaning and conversations and working and resting and family life and visits to the grocery and hardware stores and the doctor’s office and civic life, in aches and pains, and successes and failures. There is holiness to be found and practiced in everyday life, in ordinary day-to-day life. 

Our Christian faith makes the life of the ordinary Christian extraordinary in a number of ways.

Firstly, unlike those without faith, Christians live conscious of God of with us throughout all of life. We celebrated at Christmas—that Christ is Emmanuel—God-with-us. And He is. He is with us in our trials, in our sufferings, in our poverty, in our fears, in failures, and in the ordinary. That gives us extraordinary and supernatural consolation, comfort, strength, and guidance.

And we live not just conscious of God. But the Christian lives with God truly present in his soul. The Christian becomes a walking tabernacle, a divine temple. This is extraordinary. For the Christian is not simply flesh and blood, but the baptized Christian, with God dwelling in his soul brings God into everything he does. Our lives become extensions of the dominion of God, prisms for the light of God to shine from within, antenna to receive and transmit the Word of God in the world. God is made known, his divine life and power become detectable through us. 

Secondly, unlike the rest of the world, the Christian lives grounded in the Truth of God’s moral law. The Christian seeks to rid themselves of what humans shouldn’t be doing and to do what humans should be doing. Christians restrain ourselves from what is forbidden and do what is commanded by God himself. Christians observes all the “thou shalt nots”—observing the moral law—and also seek the perfection of virtue and the cultivation of the fruits and gifts of the holy spirit. 

And this is extraordinary. For the ordinary state is just to follow our feelings. Just do what everybody else is doing, accept the mainstream values, tolerate the breaking-down of society.  That’s normal, that’s expected, that’s how to fit in. But the Christian is called to do the opposite of the ordinary. Not to imitate the world, but to imitate Christ. Not to fall into the depravity and corruption of the mainstream, but to resist it; not to tolerate evil, but to be a force of Good, to draw souls away from evil and toward God. 

The Christian vocation is anything but ordinary. Nothing is more unexpected than the Christian authentically living the faith. When you observe a Christian making use of a spiritual gift you recognize that something extraordinary is happening. When a Christian speaks in a prophetic way, or engages in selfless works of charity, or organizes people to accomplish something for God that they could not accomplish on their own, that is extraordinary. And we’re called to do these things every day, to live extraordinarily every day. I can’t think of anything more a pastor would rather see than parishioners bringing forth their gifts in service to the mission of the parish in extraordinary ways. 

A final way Christians are extraordinary is the way by which we suffer. All people suffer. All people get sick, age, and experience the effects of mortality. Suffering is ordinary. But Christians can suffer in an extraordinary way when we unite our sufferings with Christ, in what is called redemptive suffering or reparative suffering, by what is called “offering up” our sufferings.  

When Christians consciously, intentionally unite our ordinary sufferings to Christ, accepting the share in the cross of Christ, we are able do something that is eminently extraordinary. We are able to be a conduit of healing and grace for the world. We can say, “Lord, let my suffering be for some good” and that prayer is heard by God. Through redemptive suffering we can make amends for sins against God, remitting the time we would spend in purgatory, doing penance for others, and winning grace for the conversion of hardened hearts. 

Ordinary Time: it might seem boring to some, but if you are conscious of your mission, your identity, and the opportunities for holiness, it won’t be anything less than extraordinary. For the glory of God and salvation of souls.