HOMILY - First Sunday of Lent Year C (2019)

This Sunday we celebrate the right of election for those unbaptized individuals seeking to join the Catholic Church. We also celebrate the call to continuing conversion for those who also seek to join the Catholic Church at Easter and who have been baptized in another Christian denomination. On one level this marks the final step or the homestretch in their journey to joining the Church. It also provides an opportunity for them to meet the bishop and to be introduced and welcomed to the larger church not just our parish community. And it’s also an opportunity for them to make public their decision to become Catholic. In the ancient church, the catechumens who wanted to be baptized that year would give their names to their pastor sometime before Lent. If the pastor thought they were ready, he would submit their names to the bishop. At the beginning of Lent, all those seeking baptism would go before the bishop who would question the catechumens and their godparents about the catechumens’ lifestyle. If the bishop discerned the catechumens were ready, their names were inscribed in a book or on a scroll. For those catechumens who the bishop thought needed more formation, he would send them away, telling them to amend their lives and return again next year. Fast forward to today and we make a similar discernment and ask a similar set of questions of both our candidates and catechumens. We ask their sponsors and those helping our catechumens to prepare for joining the church questions like: have they listened to God‘s word and responded to that word and began to walk in God‘s presence? Have they shared the company of the Christian brothers and sisters and join them in prayer? And do you consider these catechumen worthy to be admitted to baptism, confirmation and Eucharist? And for our candidates, who have already been baptized, we ask a similar set of questions of their sponsors and teachers: have they listened and reflected on the apostle’s instruction proclaimed by the church, joined their brothers and sisters in prayer, and advanced in a life of love and service? Have they come to a deeper appreciation of their baptism, in which they were joined to Christ and his church? And finally, do you consider these candidates ready to receive the sacraments of confirmation and the Eucharist? In short, it’s a question of whether they are ready to be a disciple of Jesus Christ - to follow him, imitate him in all things. See, it is a life in Jesus Christ to which we were baptized and they will be also initiated into! And so, knowing that God has chosen them and called them, we ask: are they ready? Today’s readings are rich in meaning and purpose for us as we begin our Lenten march toward Easter. Even more, these readings ready us - our catechumen, our candidates, and you and me - for the rigors of discipleship that each of us have been chosen by God for and called by Him to do. So I say that today’s readings then offer us the good, the bad, and the really good in our life as disciples. The good is that our God is in this relationship with us for the long run. God our Creator, who is loving, merciful, and patient has not left us alone. God is not some distant being or abstract thought, but a real, living presence in our complicated and often fragile human experience. God‘s existence and continual presence is revealed to us throughout history. This is the ancient creed that is recited in today’s first reading. The words and actions recalled in this ancient creed testify that our God cares about our suffering and desires to protect us and provide for us. So great is this love and care for us, that God entered into our humanity, God became man in the person of Jesus Christ. And further he gave his life to save us; and he now is living at our side every day to enlighten us, to strengthen us, and to free us! And even more, out of incredible love for us, God through his son Jesus Christ, instituted the Catholic Church – our One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church – to help us be the disciples that we have been chosen and called to be. So, thousands and thousands of years of a God who loves us and wants to be in relationship with us, and who continues to desire that for us today and including for our candidates and catechumens. How good is that?! However, here is the bad: the Devil is real. The catechism of the Catholic Church states that the Devil, Satan, acts in the world out of hatred for God and his kingdom. Unlike the angels we sang of in today’s responsorial Psalm, the church teaches that Satan is a fallen angel, and a seductive voice opposed to God. And further, because Satan would like to destroy our relationship with God, we must be on guard against his Temptations. If we don’t acknowledge Satan, then we won’t recognize his efforts to confuse us, to bind us, and to tempt us away from God‘s will, God’s love, God‘s mercy and all the joy and peace that comes from God alone. Even more, if the devil is not afraid of the son of God, as evidenced in today’s Gospel, he is certainly not afraid of us and especially not of our candidates and even more especially of our catechumen who don’t have the benefit of the gift of grace of baptism-yet! Which leads me to the really good news. God gives us his Spirit and Word - He gives us these gifts to help us. Just as they were a shield and sword to protect Jesus in today’s gospel, so will his Holy Spirit and his Word protect us in our greatest moments of need. God‘s Holy Spirit will give us whatever we need when we need it most-wisdom, courage, strength and patience. Whatever we need to be the disciple that we are chosen for and called to be - God will give us what we need. And God also gives us his word in sacred scripture. Just as Jesus used scripture to fight back against the Temptations of the devil, so two can we use God‘s word to give us truth. Truth to comfort us and to guide us, so that we might always know what is good, right, and just-and to reject any temptation by the Devil. This is certainly the effect Paul intends in today’s second reading. As he writes to his Christian brothers and sisters in Rome. He relies on scripture to guide them and encourage them. And so I too, echoing St Paul’s words and Psalm 91 we just sang together, turn to scripture to offer our candidates, our catechumen, and you my brothers and sisters in Christ, words of encouragement and guidance. Scripture says: No one believes in him will be put to shame… For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved - God clings to us, he delivers us from all our distress. This, my friends, is our calling; this is our faith; this is our hope; and it is our joy - now and eternally. May God bless you!

HOMILY - 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C (2019)

This past week, I have heard our new Apostolic Administrator Frederick Campbell twice on Catholic Radio. On both occasions, he was talking about our three vocations as Christians. The first is our vocation to life. He stressed that our first vocation is to the dignity, sancity and value of life - a point he stressed to our 8th graders just a couple of weeks ago at Confirmation. He also stressed that this vocation to life requires us to protect and defend life - from natural conception to natural death; a point that is a challenged as even more states advance laws to take life in the late terms of pregnancy, or even at the time of birth. As Catholics, we must be clear and united in our defense of all life. And this is why I am especially proud of our school and PSR students who have been collecting coins as part of an effort by our Knights of Columbus to support moms in crisis pregnancies. I could go on more about this vocation of life, but will shift to our second vocation as Christians: Holiness. Our wonderful leader of our parish’s men’s group, That Man Is You, is constantly reminding us that we need more holy men and women, we need more saints, especially in the midst of the crisis in our Church, in our communities and in our families. Pope Francis reminds us that the Lord has set the bar extremely high for you and me: "He wants us to be saints and not to settle for a bland and mediocre existence." And then there is the third vocation Bishop Campbell speaks of which is our state of life, in which we pursue life and holiness. That is, as a single person, or married, or as a religious or clergy. It is in today’s readings that we are guided in our pursuit of that second vocation: holiness. In Luke’s Gospel, just before the passage we read today, Jesus heals Simon-Peter’s mother-in-law. You would think that after having just experienced that miracle Peter would be all-in. Yes, Peter welcomes Jesus onto his boat, and yes, Peter followed Jesus’ command to lower the nets into the water but there still seems to be some doubt and uncertainty in Peter. And I don’t think it was because he didn’t like his mother-in-law and was mad at Jesus for making her well (just kidding). I certainly get it from Peter’s perspective. I too doubt, and fail to trust, and fail to always follow God’s commands - even after experiencing God’s grace in my life. I fail to seek his will for me, and I feel that I am too often questioning what His plan for me is. And even more, like Peter, my response is too often to want to depart from Jesus. Not that I’m rejecting him, certainly not, but more out of shame and embarrassment. I want my response to be like Isaiah who says: “here I am Lord.” Not because of guilt, or religious duty, or blind obedience. But I want my response to be just that because of love - in response to God‘s incredible love for me, and as an expression of the love fills my heart and my mind - and a love that I want to share with others. I want to believe, trust, follow, and to then bring others to know and believe in this incredible God of ours. In other words, I want to be HOLY. So today’s readings give me inspiration to do just that. First it is in today’s second reading that Paul reminds us that we are saved - truly saved - by the good news of Jesus Christ. Paul grounds us in the truth, the fact, the history that Christ suffered and died for US, he rose from the dead for US. And he appeared to so many has proof of the fact that he did all of this for US, out of love for US. Second is the miracles that happened in today’s readings: the filling of the nets with fish when there were no fish to be caught, and the opening of the mouth of Isaiah by the angel. These extraordinary, yet real and tangible experiences of God’s power and love are incredible gifts for us even today. I know even in just recently for me it was not mere coincidences but miracles that provided me the necessary encouragement and hope that I needed in my moments of discouragement and doubt and failure. I’m certain it was God working, just as he did for Peter and for Isaiah and even Paul, bringing them and me to know his love and will. Third, I love Paul’s point that by the grace of God, I am what I am and his grace to me has not been INeffective, in deed the grace of God is in me. In other words, we can not do this alone, we need God’s help, and the good news is that he is willing to give us all the help we need, especially in our failings and doubts, in our pursuit of our holiness. Finally, as we read in all three readings the main character is ready to let go of everything they hold onto and to believe and trust in God: Isaiah is ready to serve, Paul is willing to toil harder than all, and Peter is going to leave everything and follow. We too are called not to run away from obligations or ignore our responsibilities, but instead to let go of anything that keeps us from fully loving and trusting our God. Lent is just a month away and is a perfect time to focus on those things in our life that distract or hinder our pursuit of holiness - consider now how you can use that time to let go of those things that keep you from being the saint God is calling you to be (and the saint we need you to be). And if you want to jump start your pursuit of holiness now, consider attending the men’s or women’s Catholic conference. As I conclude, I will offer this final thought for him today’s first reading. In the first reading, we read of angels crying out to one another: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of host! All the earth is filled with his glory! We too will sing these words together in just a couple of minutes, as they have been sung from the earliest times of the Church. In the first reading, we skip over a verse from the book of Isaiah, which details Seraphim with three pairs of wings each used for a particular purpose as they sit before God. One pair to cover their faces in reverence for the God before them; one pair to cover their extremities in modesty; and the third pair extended in preparation for flight - ready to serve God. As we sing this song in just a couple of minutes, let this be our prayer and mindset before the Eucharist: reverence, modesty, and service before God. I can’t image a better prayer to guide us on the path to holiness: reverence, modesty, service. May God bless you.

Homily - Baptism of the Lord (Year C) (2019)

This weekend we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord, which officially marks the end of the Christmas season. You may recall Father John’s homily from Christmas Day, in which he instructed us to keep celebrating Christmas until mid-January. And here we are! I don’t know about you, but I’ve been celebrating, including resisting the temptation to improve my diet or to exercise more. But starting Monday, now that the celebrations are over, I’ll try to do better at all of those things I’m supposed to be doing - I will let you know how it goes. In addition to extending the Christmas season and the joy that we celebrate in our Creator God entering into our humanity, I like having today’s celebration on the liturgical calendar for a another reason. And that is that in the celebration of Jesus‘s baptism, we are reminded of our own baptism and the transformation that happened to us in that wonderful sacrament. After his Easter resurrection, Jesus gave his followers (His Apostles, those who followed them, and you and me today) these instructions: “Go into to all the world and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). This is often called “the Great Commission.” From this commission, we are Called to be baptized, and then to become his disciples to go and bring others to Christ through baptism and knowledge of God’s commands. The key is our calling to be a disciple. Dr. Edward Sri in his book Into His Likeness, which has been at the doors of the Church throughout the Advent and Christmas season (and I think there still a couple at the doors), says: The goal of a disciple in the first-century world of Jesus wasn’t nearly to master his rabbi‘s teachings, but imitate the way he lived: the way he prayed, worked, trusted in God‘s providence, helped the poor, lived friendships, and serve the people. Dr. Sri goes on to say: if we are going to be disciples of Jesus today, we must aim for a lot more than believing a set of doctrines and following the rules of our faith. We must go deeper and consider what is happening interiorly in our spiritual lives: are we moving closer to Christ, encountering him a new each day and becoming more like him? Being a disciple of Jesus, Dr. Sri continues, is not merely going through the motions with our faith: attending mass, saying some prayers, and avoiding bad things. Following Jesus as a disciple is a whole way of life - his way of life transforming us in an incredible love radiating through us. One additional point from Dr. Sri: our discipleship is a lifelong process of becoming ever more convinced of our littleness, learning to rely on God and cooperating with his grace as we are slowly being transformed into Christ likeness. The Fourth Century saint, St. Gregory, in speaking of the Jesus’ Baptism and of our own Baptism said that: God wants us (you and me) to become a living force for all mankind, lights shining in the world. We are to be radiant lights as we stand beside Christ, the great light, bathed in the glory of him who is the light of heaven. We are to enjoy more and more the pure and dazzling light of the Trinity, as now we have received (through Baptism) - though not in its fullness - a ray of its splendour, proceeding from the one God, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen. (A sermon by St Gregory Nazianzen, The Baptism of Christ) It is then God’s gift of Baptism that helps us to be the disciples we are called to be. The immersion in water and repeating the words of Jesus: to baptize “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,” accomplishes three things for us spiritually. First, we are freed of all Sin - Original Sin, and also any personal so that we may have in our lives. Second, we are joined to Christ and his Church - literally and spiritually. And third, we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit and all of the wonderful fruits that come from the outpouring of the love between God the Father and the Son that give us the help we need now: wisdom, courage, patience, whatever it is now that we need most. It is with, through, and in this gift that we become the disciples we are called to be. Immediately after the immersion in water at our baptism, there are a series of rites and blessings and prayers. One of my favorite is the anointing with oil. That oil, which has been blessed by the bishop, is placed on the crown of the head and this prayer follows: The God of power and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has freed you from sin, given you a new birth by water and the Holy Spirit, and welcomed you into his holy people. He now anoints you with the chrism of salvation. As Christ was anointed Priest, Prophet, and King, so may you live always as a member of his body, sharing everlasting life. Amen. In other words, we (you and me) are anointed priest, prophet and king. As a priest we are called to pray and to lead others in prayer. As a prophet, we are called to know the truth, to seek the truth, to share the truth, and even defend the truth, when necessary. And as kings, we are called to humbly serve others. And as Jesus’ disciples, we do this in imitation of Jesus Christ who was and is supreme Priest, Prophet, and King. To be his disciple, we imitate Christ: Priest, Prophet and King - praying, seeking and sharing the truth, and humbly serving others. The rite of baptism, whether it is for an infant or an adult, is a beautiful sacrament and liturgy. I invite you to join us on the last Sunday of any month after the 1130 mass when we celebrate our infant baptisms. And for our adults who are seeking to join the church, we will baptize them - and especially this year, our catechumen: Amanda - at our Easter vigil service. The rite of baptism, our baptism, has so much more to offer us as disciples. However, I will leave you with one final prayer from the rite of baptism that is offered for those children or adults that have just been baptized and who are our newest disciples in Christ. We pray: The Lord Jesus made the deaf hear and the dumb speak. May he soon touch your ears to receive his word, and your mouth to proclaim his faith, to the praise and glory of God the Father. Amen. And so my prayer for you is this: that today and every day that your ears maybe opened more and more to receive his word and your mouth to proclaim God‘s great love to others.

Homily - Second Sunday in Advent Year C 2018

I like that the author of the Gospel of Luke provides the details contained in today’s gospel passage. I personally like details, but even more, I appreciate the historical accuracy provided by the author. We know that Luke was a historian and a doctor, and thus the attention to detail and the precision about people and places. I also appreciate the fact that in this detail there is a contrast between the rulers of the day - those in power politically and religiously - and that of John the Baptist, which emphasizes that the Gospel - the Good News of Jesus Christ - is just not for the powerful and elite, but for all people. Scholar William Barclay further comments that these details emphasize the significance of John the Baptist in the history of the world - that the emergence of John was one of the “hinges” on which history turned and thus the Gospel writer’s use of multiple ways of dating John in history - a sort of bold, underline and capitalization effect. We could even argue: but for the faith and courage of John, these names would otherwise be lost to history. If we jump ahead 2000 years, we still see this focus on titles and roles and jobs in our world. We place a lot of our value and worth in what we do or what we have done. I know that I at times have placed a lot of my self-worth in what I do and what my job is. But as I was reminded on this morning/yesterday morning at our That Man Is You group, we need more men and women like John the Baptist today, amidst the scandals in our church and families and communities, we need more saints who seek God’s love first and are willing to humbly and selfLESSly willing to share this good news with others. I offer to you that today’s readings, and this season of Advent, challenge us today to think not just about what we do or the title we hold, but also to consider what we seek. In other words, what do we seek in our lives? In what, or from where or whom do we seek out that brings us meaning and purpose, joy in life, and peace? In what or from where or whom do we find motivation and even inspiration? And for Christians, the answer is God! Which leads me back to last week's gospel. If you remember, Jesus warns his disciples (and us today) to beware that our hearts do not become drowsy from the anxieties of daily life (among other things) - Fr. John spoke well of this point! This is true: we are consumed too often by the anxiety in our daily lives and cause us to be easily AND quickly distracted from what is most important. But the truth is that our hearts desire more than carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life. Our hearts desire God. Which leads me back to the Gospel reading from yesterday/Fridays lectionary, in which we read of two blind men who seek healing from Jesus. They asked for Jesus’ mercy and he grants them healing both physically and spiritually. Their faith combined with their pursuit of something more than their current state of life allowed them to not only encounter the powerful love of Jesus, but (really AND) also transformed in their lives, so much so that they could not contain their joy or their desire to share this joy with other (despite Jesus’ stern warning not to). This is what we are called to experience too! Going then to today’s Gospel, the litany of leaders had their own pursuits which were not out of love for God or others, and in stark contrast to John the Baptist who was strong, confident in his calling to love and serve God by proclaiming God’s love and urging others to return to that love. It is in today’s first reading that serves as the rallying cry for us to move closer to that love John proclaimed, to that which our hearts truly desire, to the one thing that we bring us true and lasting peace and joy: the incredible love relationship with God made possible through, in and with Jesus Christ. The first reading reminds us that we are to remove the anxiety, mourning and misery that too often consumes us and be transformed by the splendor of glory from God, which happens when we trust in God with sincere repentance. And then in the Responsorial Psalm, we are reminded of the promise and reward that awaits us when we do: joy and happiness. This week my brothers and sisters, I invite you to spend some time quietly in prayer reflecting on what it is that you seek most in your lives. If you’re like me it’s probably mostly consumed by work and paying bills and providing for family and loved ones. But, even for just a couple of minutes, put aside the anxiety and worry in daily lives to consider what it is our/your heart most desires. And then as you reflect on that, ask yourself also what it is that is keeping you from seeking this incredible gift God is offering us. As you find answers to these questions, I invite you to come to our Penance service next Monday (December 17) and, through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, to be free from those sins and receive the grace to sin no more and to more freely and fully seek the joy and love of our God. I’ll conclude by repeating a prayer found in today’s second reading. Saint Paul is writing from jail and he is writing to his beloved friends, the community he first found success in leading others to Christ, and so there is a very close and intimate love that he has for the people of Philippi. And so echoing the words of Saint Paul, I pray that in this Advent season, as you prepare to experience Christ, especially at Christmas: that your love may increase ever more and more in knowledge and every kind of perception, to discern what is of value, so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God. Amen!