Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)

Is anyone still without power? (If so, please see me after Mass to see how we can help you) For those with power, how many were out for 2 or less days? For 3 or more days? Did any of you boast most gladly in being without power? Since the loss of power to our homes and places of work can have a crippling effect on us physically, mentally and emotionally – and even financially – I suspect that no one was celebrating or boasting that they were without power this past week. In today’s second reading, the Apostle Paul boasts most gladly of his “thorn in the flesh.” It has been debated since Paul first wrote these words what his thorn in the flesh might have been - maybe a physical or mental condition, or it may have been an individual or group of individuals that persecuted him – it certainly was not the lack of electricity. What we do know is that Paul accepted and even took joy in this weakness of his. He writes to the Corinthians: I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me. Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong. For Paul, there is strength, even power, when he is at his weakest and most vulnerable. Paul believed that he was given this thorn in the flesh to keep him in check, to bring balance to his life, so that his mystical knowledge of Jesus would not overwhelm him or give him too big of an ego. It was this weakness then that gives him clarity of thought and integrity in action to love and serve God. The power outage may have given us a similar opportunity to bring some balance and focus in our lives. Without power, notwithstanding the miserable heat, we had the time away from the noise of TV, radio, email and the Internet, to think and pray; time to slow down from our busy lives and appreciate what is truly important, what we truly value. Certainly the more dramatic and difficult experiences in our life, such as the loss of a loved one, the loss of a job or our home, or a battle with a serious illness, also provide the opportunity to reflect on what is important and to seek greater balance in our life. Like Paul, these are also opportunities to grow closer to Christ – opportunities for the power of Christ to dwell within us. In our moments of weakness, we have the power of Christ to surrender our ego and pride, our vanity and greed, and to place all our trust and hope in Jesus Christ – in who he was and is, in what he taught and did, and the grace he offers us now. In our moments of weakness, we can seek the grace of God – the wisdom, the courage, the strength – whatever we need now - to better hear and follow God’s will for us. In our weakness, we can grow in faith. In today’s Gospel, Jesus is amazed at the lack of faith in him by the people of his hometown. They did not believe in Jesus because they could not accept that a prophet, let alone the Messiah, could come from the poverty and simplicity of their rural community. They could not accept God working in their midst and in their life. There is a second account in the Gospels in which Jesus expresses his amazement at a person’s faith. In Matthew’s Gospel, a Roman centurion asks Jesus to cure his paralyzed servant. When Jesus agrees to come and cure him, the centurion responds: “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed…When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Let us amaze Jesus with our faith! In just a couple of minutes we will echo the words of the Roman centurion, just before we receive the Body and Blood of Christ. We pray: Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed. In our weakness, let us pray these words with great humility. In our weakness, let us pray these words with a sincere desire for God’s mercy and love. In our weakness, let us pray these words with confidence that through the reception of the Eucharist, the power of Christ may dwell within us and heal us. Let us pray that in receiving Christ, we may find peace and even joy in our weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints – whatever our thorn may be. Let us amaze Jesus with our faith!

HOMILY - Sixth Sunday in Easter (Year B)

I just finish a six-week stint as a substitute teacher at Watterson, teaching 187 juniors moral theology while their teacher was on medical leave. I met many very smart, energetic, passionate, and faith-filled students, including several from our parish – and I have to say, I am very optimistic that they will be great leaders in our community AND that they will be great servants to Christ and his Church. This experience has also reinforced the great challenge that they face in knowing God’s great love for them – in the midst of so many false images of love in music and TV, peer pressure and competition, family life and friendships that are so fragile. In reality, this is true of each of us, just not juniors in high school, right? Today’s readings offer us a strong reminder of what love truly is. As the evangelist John reminds us in today’s second reading: it is God who first loved us. He is the initiator and creator. He made us in his image and likeness, he made us good, he made us out of love, to love. As the evangelist further reminds us: The Father loves us so much that he sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him; that the Son might suffer and die on a cross so that we might be restored in the love relationship with God, broken by our sin. In today’s Gospel, we are reminded that it is Jesus who is inviting us into this intimate, personal, love relationship with God. He has chosen us and calls us as friends to enter into this love relationship. Not as a slave, who is forced to do something, but rather as a close friend we are invited to freely enter into this relationship. And just like a true friend, it is Jesus shares his joy with us, so that we too might experience the great joy of God’s love. Because of the love our God has for us, the only true response is to love God in return and extend this love to others. And this is the command Jesus gives us in today’s Gospel: love one another. It is Jesus’ obedient and humble death on the cross that is the example for us of how to love others. Jesus says “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends.” The self-giving, self-donation to a spouse in a Catholic marriage exemplifies such love for another – putting aside ego and personal want out of love for your spouse. It is also in motherhood that we find a wonderful example of such self-giving love – putting your own wants and needs, aches and pains second to the love and care of your family. So, on this Mother’s Day weekend, thank you to all the mothers and wives who give so generously and selflessly and provide us with wonderful examples of how to love. Today’s first reading also gives us several reminders not only of God’s great love but also how we are to love. In today’s first reading, we hear portions of a larger story of the Apostle Peter’s interaction with a non-Jew, Roman solider - Cornelius. It was this episode in the early Church that opened the door for all – Jew and non-Jew alike – to be members of the Church. So, most importantly, this story reminds us that God’s love extends to all without limit! As Peter states: “In truth, I see that God shows no partiality. Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him.” This story reminds us also that the love we must have for others must be free of our own personal prejudice and bias. The reader of the entire story of Cornelius and Peter knows that Cornelius was devout and God-fearing along with his whole household, who used to give alms generously to the Jewish people and pray to God constantly. However, for Peter, not knowing this and believing what he did, it was a big obstacle for him to extend love to a non-Jew, who was also a Roman solider. To love as God calls us to love, we much be able to see past the surface of what we know (or we think we know) about others and to see the good in each person. When Peter was able to do this, he was able to love his brother in Christ. Loving others also requires, at times, great humility. The story of Cornelius and Peter remind us of this. Cornelius, the strong and powerful solider, humbly, out of great respect, bows before Peter – while under any other circumstance of that time the roles would be reversed. It is also Peter who shows humility. As an Apostle, and really as the Apostle, he had rock-star status. But, instead of relishing or gloating over the Roman soldier, Peter acknowledges his human weakness and begs Cornelius to get up. Pride was the cause of Original Sin in Adam and Eve, choosing to disobey God, and it is pride that too often leads us to sin. Humility helps us to be selfless and to think of others first. It helps us to love as we are called to love. One final observation on the story of Peter and Cornelius. What finally conveniences Peter of the necessity to extend love to Jew and non-Jew alike is the presence of the Holy Spirit in the non-Jews, who were speaking in tongues and glorifying God. This reminds me that we can not hesitate to ask the Holy Spirit for the grace to love as we are commanded to love. Whatever it is that we need to love better, God will provide. This is the promise Jesus gives us in today’s Gospel: whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you. So whatever you need to love more or better – courage, wisdom, patience, humility, whatever – pray to Jesus and you will receive it! May God bless you.

Homily – Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)

This is a very popular YouTube video by Jefferson Bethke. He is a 22-year-old whose video, entitled “Why I hate religion, but love Jesus,” has been viewed by over 18 million viewers. In the video, he raps of his great love for and faith in Jesus, and his detest for organized religion and the Church.
One of his main arguments is that Jesus came to abolish religion. However, as the Gospel of Matthew reminds us Jesus did not come to abolish the law or the prophets but to fulfill it. Jesus states: “Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place.” In fact, Jesus came to uphold and fulfill the very best of the Mosaic law, which was intended to draw people closer in relationship to God – a God full of mercy, love, and great compassion especially for the weak, the poor, and the sick. It was this great love and compassion with which Jesus, the Son of God, acts in healing the leper in today’s Gospel.
We can also look to Scared Scripture to find that Jesus preached a religious doctrine, prescribed rituals for his disciples, worshipped in the Temple, AND knew and followed the Mosaic law – as we see from today’s readings. Today’s first reading from the Book of Leviticus states the law and the Gospel reports of Jesus’ command to the leper to adhere to the law by “[showing himself] to the priest and offer for [his] cleansing what Moses prescribed.”
Bethke also claims that Jesus hated religion. It is true that Jesus was very critical of the religious leaders of his day – the scribes and Pharisees, who too often followed only the letter but not spirit of the law. Scholars will even point to today’s Gospel as evidence of Jesus’ distain for such religious leaders who victimized its weakest members and may have e even denied Jesus’ healing of the leper. In the Greek rendering of this passage, there is a sense of angry emotion by Jesus in his instruction to the leper to return “again” to the priests for their purification.
If religion is so great, Bethke argues, then why does it build huge Churches while so many go hungry and homeless. We build churches to honor and praise our God – and our recent improvements here are a testament to this. And we, the Church, are also the largest provider in the world of food, shelter and clothing to those in need. Including the work here at Our Lady of Peace - our parish is very generous in giving to the poor – even just last Thursday we served our monthly meal to the homeless downtown.
Bethke also argues that religion is man-made, not God-made. Just the opposite is true: at the end of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus states: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” Earlier in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus says to Peter: “And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Jesus not only instituted the Church, but remains with her. Father Robert Barron, who is an wonderful and articulate defender of our faith and author and producer of an excellent DVD series entitled Catholicism, reminds us, too, that we can’t separate Jesus from the mystical body of Christ, the Church – that the Word became Flesh, in person Jesus Christ, and who now remains in the Church in the liturgy, Sacraments, and acts of charity. In fact, we can even find in Scripture Jesus instituting the Mass we celebrate now and each of the Seven Sacraments.
It is not my intention to demonize Jefferson Bethke because it is said that when he was presented with these counter-arguments he was humble, earnest and gracious and ultimately reversed his position. I also would not want to be too hard on him because it is his sincere and strong love for and faith in Jesus, like the leper in today’s Gospel, that is the source of his passionate and joy-filled proclamation of the Good News. In fact, we too, having experienced Christ in Sacred Scripture, in the Eucharist, and in this faith community, should leave this Mass on fire to share God’s great love, mercy and peace with others. This is what the final words of this Mass command.
Not all of us feel competent or comfortable to evangelize, as we are called to do – and I would include myself, at times, in this group. So, I invite you to join me in following the direction of our bishops, who urge prayer, fasting, and study when faced with a challenge. I urge you to make time to pray every day, throughout the day to bring us closer in relationship with God. Fasting too offers us self-discipline and clarity when we can resist instant gratification that too often food provides and in turn makes it easier for us to justify other sins. And I encourage you to take time to learn what our Church teaches us, so that you can share and defend our faith.
As we approach Lent, make this season a time of greater prayer, commit to one day of the week for fasting and abstinence, and choose one issue and learn what the Church teaches and why. Set as a goal at the end of Lent, to be more in love with our God, to have a stronger faith in him, and to be empowered by a deeper understanding of God’s truths to share and defend our faith with others.

HOMILY - Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)

As my wife will be quick to share: I am a pretty sound sleeper and there is not much that keeps me up at night. However, I do sometimes wake up in the middle of the night – now more often with a new born crying for something to eat (thankfully my wife has been great taking the late shift feeding our son, Owen) or I am anxious about a problem or project at work, worried about the family budget, thinking about a loved one who is sick or hurting, or what to say when it is my turn to preach. Often in these moments in the middle of the night, I am able to calm myself with the words in today’s Psalm: “Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.” In fact, I try to start every day with these words. I find these words ground me in my faith and lead me into an even deeper relationship with God.
When I say these words, “Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will,” I acknowledge that Jesus is my Lord, who I am called to listen to, obey and follow what he has commanded, which is to love and serve God and others –not to be selfish and self-serving. Over the holidays I finished a book by Curtis Martin called “Made for More” - this book will be in the Lighthouse kiosks in the near future. In his book, Curtis shares that in his return to the Catholic Church he made a big step in his faith journey when he accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior, and lived by this motto: “If Jesus is not Lord of all, he is not Lord at all.” In other words, he (and each of us) need to follow Jesus wherever he leads us and in whatever we are called to do and at all times. When we say: “Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will,” we seek to follow the example of Christ himself, whose entire life was in obedience to and in love with his Father. Jesus’ birth, life, Passion, death, resurrection, and sending of the Spirit provide the perfect example for us of obedience and love that we are called to have.
When I do this, when I listen to and am obedient to God’s will, there is an incredible freedom that I experience, because I am no longer swimming against the current, I am no longer trying to fit a round peg in a square hole, I am no longer fighting against God’s will, but I am living the life I was made to live, I am allowing God’s will and desire to move me and guide. Saint Paul makes this point in today’s second reading – encouraging the Corinthians to avoid immorality and be obedient to God’s will and glorify God in your body. I found greater clarity in my calling through my participation in the parish’s That Man Is You program. We started our second semester this morning, and I invite and encourage the men gathered here to join us next Saturday – you will not regret it!
When I say these words: “Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will,” I also place a great trust and hope in the promise of eternal peace and life made possible by Jesus’ death and resurrection. You may have heard about a young professional football player by the name of Tim Tebow (just kidding)…when you get beyond the media buzz and hype of this player, one of his favorite verses has great meaning and purpose for us as Catholics. The now infamous Bible verse John 3:16, which is associated with Tim Tebow – it was written under his eyes last year and just so happened to be the number of yards he passed and the average number of yards per completion in his game last week – also has this important promise for us: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” I suspect that this is what John the Baptist, his disciples and the Apostles were looking for in today’s Gospel and what they found in Jesus. The promise of eternal life is what motivates my faith in Jesus Christ, too. I believe, so that I might have eternal life. I say “Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will” as a reminder to myself everyday that my belief in and my obedience to God is for a reason.
God is calling each of us. Like Samuel in today’s first reading, God is calling us personally, by name, to be in relationship with him. How wonderful is Samuel’s response: “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” And like Samuel, God is not calling us from a distance, but is coming directly to us and is present even now – in this faith community, in Sacred Scripture, and in the Eucharist we are about to share – drawing us closer to him. Our response must be: Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.” Our response must be in obedience to Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Blessed Pope John XXIII (23rd) once said: “True peace is born of doing the will of God, and bearing with patience the sufferings of this life, and does not come from following one’s own whim or selfish desire, for this always brings, not peace and serenity, but disorder and discontent.” I want true peace now and eternally and this is what I want for each of you.
So I start my day and calm myself in moments of anxiety or selfishness with these words: “Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.” Make this your prayer too. When you feel stressed, when you are suffering, when you feel alone, when you are exhausted, pray: “Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.”

HOMILY - Third Sunday in Advent (Year B)

This Advent, I found myself returning to the writings and homilies of Father Alfred Delp for spiritual inspiration. Fr. Delp was a German Jesuit priest who was imprisoned and martyred in a Nazi death camp in 1945. At the time of his arrest, he was the Rector of St. George Church in Munich and had a reputation for being a gripping and dynamic preacher. He was also an outspoken critic of the Nazi regime and a leader in the Resistance movement.
I like to read Father Delp’s writings because he was a great Christian man, filled with a deep faith and was fearless in his calling as a priest, even in the face of great chaos, fear and hostility.
He has wonderful insights for this season of Advent. Father Delp speaks of Advent, especially, as a time in which we journey towards an encounter with the Ultimate, with the Almighty, with the Lord God. Father Delp writes that to be face-to-face with the Ultimate and Almighty that we must be “in a state of being shaken, with an alert, awakened heart that does not freeze up, does not become weary, or cramped, or deadened, but sees things as they are.” These words are echoed in the passages from the last several Sunday’s readings: to stay alert and sober.
Father Delp also speaks of Advent as a time for us to make a confession. In one sense, his use of confession means to acknowledge and seek forgiveness for sin in our life as we await Christ’s second coming. And so, I do invite and encourage you to join us at our Advent Parish Penance Service tomorrow/this evening, in which we will pray Evening Prayer together and will have the opportunity for the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Father Delp also speaks of confession in the sense of making a public declaration or affirmation. He states that each of us are asked daily, just as John the Baptist was asked in today’s Gospel, “Who are you.” Our response, like John’s is two-fold: who we are not and who we are. In response to the question: “Who are you?,” John responded, “I am not the Christ or Elijah or the Prophet,” but I am the voice of one crying out in the desert, 'make straight the way of the Lord,'" as Isaiah the prophet said;” AND “I baptize with water; but there is one among you whom you do not recognize, the one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.”

John’s confession comes from a wonderful clarity of thought and integrity of action – these are beautiful qualities that we speak of in our Saturday morning men’s initiative as qualities of authentic male leadership. It is this clarity and integrity that makes John focused and determined in his love and service to God.
This is true also of Paul in his letter to the Thessalonians, in our Second Reading; Mary’s Magnificat, which was today’s Responsorial Psalm; and of the prophet Isaiah in today’s First Reading. Each in their own way possess great clarity and integrity in who they are and what they are called to do. Paul’s joy-filled pastoral letter to the Thessalonians show his great love for and service to this community. Mary’s hymn of praise comes immediately after being told the impossible – that she was to conceive a child – and expresses her openness and joy to God’s calling. And Isaiah, who rejoices heartily in the LORD, is clear in his call to bring glad tidings to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners, to announce a year of favor from the LORD and a day of vindication by our God.
It is not always clear what we are called to do or what brings us joy. Yet, it is from an encounter with the Lord that has come and a Lord that is yet to come that we find clarity of thought, integrity in action AND joy in who we are.
Like Father Delp, John the Baptist, Saint Paul, the prophet Isaiah, and Mary, let us be grounded in who we are through our relationship with Jesus Christ, who taught us how to be in relationship with God and others; and who suffered and died so that we might be in this relationship eternally.
This Advent we rejoice that God became man, in Jesus Christ, and we eagerly await his second coming.
And, when asked: “Who are you?;” rejoice in the comfort and assurance of knowing who you are and what you are calling is.

HOMILY - Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

Last Sunday, my wife and I watch the movie, The Pursuit of Happyness. The movie is based on a true story about a man named Christopher Gardner. Gardner, played by Will Smith, is smart salesman and family man who invested the family’s savings in a business opportunity. The business opportunity proves to be not a success and he loses everything - his house, his bank account, credit cards, and his wife – and he is left to raise his son alone. Forced to live out in the streets with his son, Gardner is now desperate to find a steady job; he takes on a job as a stockbroker, but before he can receive his first paycheck, he needs to go through 6 months of unpaid training. In the meantime, they are homeless, living off pennies. I won’t tell you how it ends, because it is a good movie for your family and you to watch, which I hope you do.
This movie had me thinking all week about two things: 1) what do I fear; and 2) what am I willing to sacrifice or risk for what I believe. For the father in the movie, he feared losing his son and was willing to risk everything to provide for him day-to-day and into the future. Like him, and I suspect like each of you, I fear losing a job or my house, not having money to provide for my family, a broken marriage or the loss of a loved one, or loss of the respect, trust or love from another. And, I suspect, that you like me, fear also the pain, hurt, failure and embarrassment that results when things like this happen.
This movie also challenged me to ask myself what am I willing to sacrifice or risk for what I believe. Am I willing to sacrifice my ego, pride, possessions to gain or protect something I value even more – such as my family or my faith. I would like to think that like the father in the movie, that I have the discipline and focus to persevere even under the most difficult situations – I pray that you and I do if ever faced with such a challenge.
Coincidentally, this is exactly what we have been talking about in our That Man Is You initiative on Saturday mornings. In fact, just this morning we were ask if we are willing to “pay the price” for what we believe.
We need to ask the same questions not just in our families and places of work but also in our faith life: 1) what do I fear; and 2) what am I willing to sacrifice or risk for what I believe. For us as Christians, our ultimate fear is being separated from God’s love eternally – “thrown into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth,” which was the fate of the third servant in the Gospel.

Although I don’t always understand or appreciate God’s love, I do know the great joy and peace I experience in God’s presence as I interact with each of you, assist at this liturgy, hear and proclaim Sacred Scripture, receive the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist, receive God’s mercy in Reconciliation, and serve those in need. And I am motivated to never lose this joy and peace - to not be separated from this great love.
And it is in our faith, that we hold that through the grace of God, that we are willing to make great sacrifices and take great risks so that we will know and experience God’s great love now and eternally – and that we share this great love with others.
(Pause) We are at that point in the liturgical year in which we are called to reflect on the end of time, final judgment, and Christ’s second coming. We are reminded that we are called by God to risk everything for His kingdom and not to play it safe or rest in the security of the status quo.
We are challenged by Jesus in today’s Gospel to not hid or shrink from our responsibilities, but to abandon fear and be industrious, reliable and creative in doing God’s will! We have work to do as Christians – to do God’s will in this world, which is to share God’s love with others. And so we must act out of love, not fear. As we await what is to come, we can see our family life and places of work as opportunities to risk, to grow, in our faith and love in God and to in turn love and serve others.
For me this week, I have asked these questions of myself in my place of work (my day job) and as a result I have challenged myself to change some bad habits that I have found myself doing in order that I am focused on what I need to do at work, and that I can say that I am doing God’s will in all that I do.
As many of you know, my wife is pregnant and due any day/week. The pain of labor, which Paul refers to in today’s second reading, will soon be upon her “suddenly” – but not soon enough she is ready!
I don’t wish for any of you to be caught off-guard when our Lord does come. So do not rest – stay alert and ready! Fear being separated from God’s love and be willing to take any risk, make any sacrifice so that you can stand before God, and for Him to say to you “well done, my good and faithful servant…come and share your master’s joy.”

HOMILY - Twenty Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

As some of you know, I am coaching our parish’s 6th grade football team. A couple of weeks ago as the team was warming up for a game against St. Brigid, one of my player’s shoe fell off. I admittedly got frustrated with that happening – certainly not at the player, who is great. It was not the first and probably not the last time it will happen - they often put on and off their cleats like slippers or flip-flops. My frustration was that I want my players to be prepared – focused and ready for the immediate game, and I also want them to approach everything with a bigger purpose in mind. So, little things like not tying their shoes tightly to play a game do matter. Sure they will remember 6th grade football by wins and losses and that is okay. But I really want them to see 6th grade football as a time that they matured as Christian young men and that through this time playing they obtained the skills they need for the rest of their life – things like: humility, responding well to adversity, obedience, helping others, teamwork, sacrifice, endurance, and controlled emotion. All of these are great virtues that they will need as they mature into manhood – as husbands, fathers, and even as priests and deacons.

I share this story – not to talk about football – but because it mirrors the point made in today’s Gospel: that God is inviting us to know and experience something even bigger and better than what we know now - the kingdom of God: this wonderful peace and joy that we are invited to know and experience now and eternally. The kingdom of God is like the wedding feast presented to us in the First Reading and Gospel. A celebration filled with great company, much happiness and joy, and the best of food and drink.

While our loving and merciful God is persistent in extending his invitation to join this celebration, just as the father in today’s Gospel – offering again and again an invitation to all, we too often do respond properly or at all to the invitation. We are often like the people in the parable who refuse the invitation, ignore it completely, make excuses why we can’t attend, and might even be hostile to the messengers of the invitation. We do this in big and small ways every day – by our sinful thoughts, words and deeds against ourselves, others, and God. More often, however, we are like the rejected guest who comes under-dressed – who has accepted the invitation but failed to respond appropriately to God’s invitation. In other words, like him, we say “yes” this is what we want, but we do not respond with acts of kindness, justice, humility, love and compassion to others. All words and no action. We must live out our faith by our actions - our believe must be evidenced by our actions.

I know too well that is hard at times to respond as we should. Going back to my football team, I challenge them to persist and endure through aches, pains, even loss because that is what they will do as men. I get that for a 6th grade boy the trials and tribulations of a grown man are as remote as the man on the moon. However, I still want them to begin to understand that they need to move beyond themselves – their own wants – to be part of something even greater. I want them to respond properly and well to God's invitation. The same is true for each of us. This is what God wants and challenges us to do. We must move beyond our own wants and respond with acts of kindness, justice, humility, love and compassion towards others. This is what it means to accept the invitation to live in the kingdom of God. And this is the only way that we truly and fully experience all that the kingdom of God offers.

This point is reinforced by Paul in today’s Second Reading. Writing from jail, Paul is consumed with Christ – eliminating his earthly concerns, but never his desire for Christ. It is Paul who recognizes that he is part of something much bigger and that he is called to something even greater. He has a single purpose in mind. We see this not only in his words, but by his actions – selfLESSly thinking of and acting for others. It is in Christ that Paul finds the strength to do this and it is in Christ that he is filled with great joy and thanksgiving for God and those who have supported him in his times of need.

And this is a good starting point for each of us as we try respond to God’s call. Let us also find strength Christ, just as Paul did. Let us find strength in the Eucharist, the Real Presence of Christ, we are about to receive. Let us find strength in Christ’s example of love and obedience to God. Let us find strength in Christ’s out pouring of grace to help us respond as we are called to respond.
It is in Christ that we like Paul can trust that: “God will fully supply whatever we need, in accord with his glorious riches.” It is in Christ that we can also say with confidence and thanksgiving “To our God and Father, glory forever and ever. Amen.” And it is in Christ that we have the strength and courage to respond to God’s invitation.
My friends, we are called to live in the kingdom of God. I pray that we have the courage to say yes to God invitation to join this celebration and the strength to respond with great acts of kindness, justice, humility, love and compassion.