This past week’s readings for the daily Mass recall the two stories of creation from the Book of Genesis. These stories have great meaning and purpose for us as Christians. Two important truths about God our Creator are, first, we are made in God’s image and likeness and we are made good; and second, we are given free will to choose how we live in relationship with our Creator. Both of these truths are wonderful statements about the great love God has for each one of us.
Today’s readings remind us in special way of this second point – of the freedom God gives us. We were not made as machines or robots that simply follow orders or commands; rather, out of love, God gives us free will to choose whether to be in relationship with Him. The Book of Sirach tells us that we have choices to make and our choices have consequences. God places before us “life and death,” “good and evil” and if we choose God and place our trust in Him, we will be saved and have life.
Last week, Deacon Matthew reminded us of Jesus’ challenge to be the light and salt to the world and the unique and important role each of us has in this mission. Jesus continues his Sermon on the Mount in today’s Gospel by giving us very specific and practical ways that we can be the light and salt to the world. In each of Jesus’ examples in today’s Gospel we are reminded that we have a choice – a choice to love or not. We have the choice for anger or peace; for lust or discipline and respect; to divorce or to up hold the sanctity of marriage AND of our husband or wife; and the choice to make our words honor God or not.
For many of us, these are hard words to hear and are even harder words to follow. It is often not easy to love as we are called to love because we may have never loved that way before or because we may have never been loved by another in that way before. This is also hard, because Jesus is calling us to do more than just the minimum – he is calling us to greatness. And this is the point of Jesus’ Sermon and his statement that he has come to fulfill the law. He wants us to know that God’s commandments are more than just a set of rules. He wants us to know that they are given to us so that we might know God’s love for us and so that we might in turn share that love with others.
You may be like me when you hear this Gospel proclaimed and think that I have certainly failed to love as Jesus calls us to love. Well, don’t be discouraged – there is hope. God in his great love is ready to forgive and to help you and me to do better, so that we can experience the love, the joy, the peace God offers us now and eternally.
To be the Christian men and women we are called to be, St. Paul states us in today’s second reading that we must know and trust in God’s wisdom, not the wisdom of this world. God’s wisdom has been made known to us through the Holy Spirit and we must follow this wisdom. AND we must not be misled or fooled into following what popular culture say is good or right, which may conflict with what God commands of us. For example, such wisdom of the day holds that marriage is a matter of convenience that we can simply ditch when things become difficult; or that the dignity and sanctity of life is not absolute and it is okay abort, execute, and euthanize life. We are called to a higher standard, we are called to follow God’s wisdom, to follow God’s command to love.
Our Christian lives require great humility and trust in Jesus Christ. It is Paul who readily acknowledges in his letter to the Corinthians of his weaknesses and limitations in his ministry to the Corinthians and who is grounded in the truth of God’s love, which motivates him, strengthens him, and frees him to be the man he is called to be. In the same way, we must seek greater humility, be quick to acknowledge our weaknesses and be ready to place our trust in God, and in doing so be empowered by God to be the great Christian we are called to be.
We have a choice. We can chose to respond to the challenge to love presented to us in today’s readings in basically one of two ways. We can say: “I feel overwhelmed and full of doubt, I am weak, I can never respond as God wants me to, I am just not capable of doing this.” OR, we can say: “I trust you God, and with your help because I am not capable of doing this alone, I can and will do this – I will love you and others as you have commanded me to love.”
And, here is the good news: you can do this, and I invite and encourage you to do it! I say this for two reasons. First, this is what God wants! This is what God made us to know and do. And, second, because this is God’s will, God generously gives His grace to help us achieve this. He gives us his grace in the Sacraments, especially in the Eucharist that we will receive in just a couple of minutes, and in countless other ways so that we can experience his incredible outpouring of love for each one of us.
Jesus promises us in today’s Gospel that “whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” With God’s help, let us chose to love as Jesus commands us, so that we too may be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Monday, January 10, 2011
HOMILY - Baptism of the Lord (Year A)
Wouldn’t be great if all of our really big or difficult questions in life had a clear and unambiguous answer like what Jesus receives in today’s Gospel? The heavens were opened for him. He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
Jesus must have known at that very moment with certainly and confidence who he was and what he was called to do. That he is the one anticipated in today’s First Reading when God says: Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased, upon whom I have put my spirit; he shall bring forth justice to the nations. God’s anointing establishes Jesus’ authority and inaugurates his public ministry to be the servant-leader who is not interested in fame or power, but peace and justice and love – God’s love for each of us.
Celebrating Jesus’ Baptism is an opportunity for each of us to recall our own Baptism. Like Christ, at our Baptism, we were also called by God, filled with his Holy Spirit, and given the grace to live lives of holiness - to live in the right relationship with God and with others. Today’s First Reading is speaking of Jesus, and also speaking directly to each of us and our Baptismal calling: I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice, I have grasped you by the hand; I formed you, and set you as a covenant of the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness. We are called and anointed to live great Christian lives – I love to stress this with my boys, when I talk with the students at school, and with the players I coach. We are all each called to be great and holy men and women.
Among many other things, being holy means acknowledging and protecting the human dignity of all people, especially those who are the most vulnerable in our society – the poor, the weak and sick, the abused child, the drug addict, the dementia patient, the victim of crime and war, and especially the unborn.
The Catholic Church is a Pro-Life Church. The Church teaches us that we are called to promote and protect the dignity of life, at every stage of life. While we must always love, forgive and show great compassion and care for the sinner, it is never morally acceptable and we must always be opposed to any act that offends the sanctity life.
Catholics are pro-life because our Christian tradition is pro-life. As Pope John Paul II once said, Christians believe that “All human life is sacred, for it is created in the image and likeness of God.” The deliberate killing or disrespect of a human being destroys a unique creation, which God has called specially into existence.
Christian teaching also obliges us to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, with whom we are united in our Baptism, and who spoke and acted strongly and compassionately in favor of the most despised and vulnerable persons in society. Jesus touched lepers, spoke with prostitutes, and showed special mercy and tenderness to the sick, the poor, and children. Our society today has many vulnerable persons and we have a responsibility to speak and act in defense of these persons – and to show care and compassion for those hurting and in need.
I urge you to answer your Baptismal call to holiness and seek to protect all life, including the most vulnerable and especially the unborn, and to care for and support those discerning an abortion or who have had an abortion. And there are certainly many things you can do.
If you know someone who is pregnant, give them as much support and encouragement as you can. Let them know that they are loved and their child is loved AND that there IS support and help for them and for their child.
If you know someone who has had an abortion, let them know that they too are loved and encourage them to seek the support, the forgiveness and peace they now need AND which is available to them.
I also invite you to join us tomorrow/this evening in the Gathering Space to hear the powerful story of by Ruth Yorston, Executive Director of the Greater Columbus Right to Life, and her journey from working in the abortion industry to now serving as a leading advocate for pro-life issues in our community.
I also encourage you to learn more about the issue of abortion and other pro-life issues, the Church’s teachings on these issues, and ways to get involved in the pro-life movement. There are also several excellent pro-life CDs on display in the Gathering Space. You can also find many excellent pro-life resources and upcoming events online at the Diocese’s website.
If nothing else, please pray. Pray for a culture of life, not death. Pray for an end to abortion. Pray for the lives lost to abortion – and take some comfort in knowing that their souls are with God in Heaven. Pray for the women who have had an abortion, and for the fathers of those babies, that they may know God’s love, seek forgiveness and be at peace. Pray for women considering abortion, and again for the fathers of those babies, that they find the hope, the courage, the love to seek alternatives to abortion and choose life. Pray for the doctors and staff of abortion clinics that they may see clearly what they are doing and stop. And, finally, pray for all those who work in the pro-life community, that may never tire or compromise in their efforts to end abortion. And I will continue to pray for each of you. May God bless you.
Jesus must have known at that very moment with certainly and confidence who he was and what he was called to do. That he is the one anticipated in today’s First Reading when God says: Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased, upon whom I have put my spirit; he shall bring forth justice to the nations. God’s anointing establishes Jesus’ authority and inaugurates his public ministry to be the servant-leader who is not interested in fame or power, but peace and justice and love – God’s love for each of us.
Celebrating Jesus’ Baptism is an opportunity for each of us to recall our own Baptism. Like Christ, at our Baptism, we were also called by God, filled with his Holy Spirit, and given the grace to live lives of holiness - to live in the right relationship with God and with others. Today’s First Reading is speaking of Jesus, and also speaking directly to each of us and our Baptismal calling: I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice, I have grasped you by the hand; I formed you, and set you as a covenant of the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness. We are called and anointed to live great Christian lives – I love to stress this with my boys, when I talk with the students at school, and with the players I coach. We are all each called to be great and holy men and women.
Among many other things, being holy means acknowledging and protecting the human dignity of all people, especially those who are the most vulnerable in our society – the poor, the weak and sick, the abused child, the drug addict, the dementia patient, the victim of crime and war, and especially the unborn.
The Catholic Church is a Pro-Life Church. The Church teaches us that we are called to promote and protect the dignity of life, at every stage of life. While we must always love, forgive and show great compassion and care for the sinner, it is never morally acceptable and we must always be opposed to any act that offends the sanctity life.
Catholics are pro-life because our Christian tradition is pro-life. As Pope John Paul II once said, Christians believe that “All human life is sacred, for it is created in the image and likeness of God.” The deliberate killing or disrespect of a human being destroys a unique creation, which God has called specially into existence.
Christian teaching also obliges us to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, with whom we are united in our Baptism, and who spoke and acted strongly and compassionately in favor of the most despised and vulnerable persons in society. Jesus touched lepers, spoke with prostitutes, and showed special mercy and tenderness to the sick, the poor, and children. Our society today has many vulnerable persons and we have a responsibility to speak and act in defense of these persons – and to show care and compassion for those hurting and in need.
I urge you to answer your Baptismal call to holiness and seek to protect all life, including the most vulnerable and especially the unborn, and to care for and support those discerning an abortion or who have had an abortion. And there are certainly many things you can do.
If you know someone who is pregnant, give them as much support and encouragement as you can. Let them know that they are loved and their child is loved AND that there IS support and help for them and for their child.
If you know someone who has had an abortion, let them know that they too are loved and encourage them to seek the support, the forgiveness and peace they now need AND which is available to them.
I also invite you to join us tomorrow/this evening in the Gathering Space to hear the powerful story of by Ruth Yorston, Executive Director of the Greater Columbus Right to Life, and her journey from working in the abortion industry to now serving as a leading advocate for pro-life issues in our community.
I also encourage you to learn more about the issue of abortion and other pro-life issues, the Church’s teachings on these issues, and ways to get involved in the pro-life movement. There are also several excellent pro-life CDs on display in the Gathering Space. You can also find many excellent pro-life resources and upcoming events online at the Diocese’s website.
If nothing else, please pray. Pray for a culture of life, not death. Pray for an end to abortion. Pray for the lives lost to abortion – and take some comfort in knowing that their souls are with God in Heaven. Pray for the women who have had an abortion, and for the fathers of those babies, that they may know God’s love, seek forgiveness and be at peace. Pray for women considering abortion, and again for the fathers of those babies, that they find the hope, the courage, the love to seek alternatives to abortion and choose life. Pray for the doctors and staff of abortion clinics that they may see clearly what they are doing and stop. And, finally, pray for all those who work in the pro-life community, that may never tire or compromise in their efforts to end abortion. And I will continue to pray for each of you. May God bless you.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
HOMILY – Tony Albarano Funeral Mass
On behalf of the Our Lady of Peace Parish, I want to first extend, to Michelle, Vince and the rest of Tony’s family and friends, our great sadness and sorrow at the sudden loss of Tony. He was a very good man and will be missed greatly.
At the Christmas Vigil Mass, the opening prayer invites us to “pray that Christmas morning will find us at peace.” I suspect for many in this Church, Christmas morning was not a time of peace – with Tony’s death occurring just days before. However, it is through our Catholic faith that peace can be found even in the midst of such pain and sadness.
It is our hope that Tony now rests in eternal peace. We recall in today’s First Reading that “the souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them.” This is my hope for the soul of Tony, who was a good and just man – that he is in the hand of God and that no torment shall ever touch him again! It is my hope and prayer that on this past Christmas morning – and every morning - Tony is at peace. I pray that Tony now “abides with God in love.”
Michelle, I know that this Christmas morning you were not at peace, and really not on any morning since Tony passed away – or really not even since before Thanksgiving Day. And it may be a long while before you find peace again. For now, take comfort and find peace in recalling that short amount of time a week ago you had alone together with Tony. I know that in the midst of great sadness and chaos, during that time together both Tony and you were able to be peace just before he passed away. I know that you will cherish that. Know that the peace and love both Tony and you felt at that moment was real, true and pure – a gift from God in the midst of such great anxiety and pain.
Know also that that moment was also the product of your marriage together, which had as its goal to make Tony and you better persons – and to ultimately get each other to Heaven. I believe that the peace Tony now knows is because of you and your marriage. I also believe that your marriage to Tony and his love and care for you made you a better woman – a woman who has the strength to endure and in time will find lasting peace in the midst of this tragedy.
In the meantime, know, as we sung in today’s Responsorial Psalm, that the Lord is your shepherd – that anything you might want or need, God will provide. He will provide you comfort and protection, he will guide you and protect you; he will give you courage and nourishment. Pray and God will provide.
Vince, I suspect for you too that Christmas morning did not find you at peace. Your dad loved you and you loved him, too. For now, allow the love that you shared with your father to give you some peace. Today’s Second Reading is something of a pep talk – reminding us of God’s great love for us in the midst of struggle and discouragement. So, take some comfort and find some peace in knowing that you are also loved by God, as a father loves his son.
Vince, your dad was a great man – a caring and loving man, who worked very hard, had a great sense of humor, was brave and self-LESS, and did many wonderful things. Erin, Ryan, Colin and you were blessed to have such a wonderful example of what it means to be a man. I urge each of you to follow his example of being such a caring and generous man, who took serious his role and responsibility to provide for his family – even to the point of being on his death bed and still wanting to go to work (maybe it was the medications or out of habit, but I want to believe that it was also out of a great sense of loyalty to work and out of responsibility to provide for his family that he wanted to go to work on the day he died). What a wonderful example for each of you young men.
Finally, for the many friends and family of Tony gathered here, I suspect that Christmas morning may not have been a time of peace for you either. However, embrace Jesus’ word’s in today’s Gospel and “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” Our Catholic faith professes that by Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension into Heaven, he has made it possible for us to know eternal peace – to have one of the many rooms Jesus describes in today’s Gospel that awaits us in his Father’s house. This is the gift God offered Tony – and we pray that Tony is now at peace (I will let you image how Tony has deck-out his room) – and this is a gift God offers to each one of us. Let this be a source of hope and encouragement and peace for you.
As we, the community gathered here to remember Tony, continue with this celebration of the Mass, let us all take some comfort and find some peace in what we say and do next.
At the Christmas Vigil Mass, the opening prayer invites us to “pray that Christmas morning will find us at peace.” I suspect for many in this Church, Christmas morning was not a time of peace – with Tony’s death occurring just days before. However, it is through our Catholic faith that peace can be found even in the midst of such pain and sadness.
It is our hope that Tony now rests in eternal peace. We recall in today’s First Reading that “the souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them.” This is my hope for the soul of Tony, who was a good and just man – that he is in the hand of God and that no torment shall ever touch him again! It is my hope and prayer that on this past Christmas morning – and every morning - Tony is at peace. I pray that Tony now “abides with God in love.”
Michelle, I know that this Christmas morning you were not at peace, and really not on any morning since Tony passed away – or really not even since before Thanksgiving Day. And it may be a long while before you find peace again. For now, take comfort and find peace in recalling that short amount of time a week ago you had alone together with Tony. I know that in the midst of great sadness and chaos, during that time together both Tony and you were able to be peace just before he passed away. I know that you will cherish that. Know that the peace and love both Tony and you felt at that moment was real, true and pure – a gift from God in the midst of such great anxiety and pain.
Know also that that moment was also the product of your marriage together, which had as its goal to make Tony and you better persons – and to ultimately get each other to Heaven. I believe that the peace Tony now knows is because of you and your marriage. I also believe that your marriage to Tony and his love and care for you made you a better woman – a woman who has the strength to endure and in time will find lasting peace in the midst of this tragedy.
In the meantime, know, as we sung in today’s Responsorial Psalm, that the Lord is your shepherd – that anything you might want or need, God will provide. He will provide you comfort and protection, he will guide you and protect you; he will give you courage and nourishment. Pray and God will provide.
Vince, I suspect for you too that Christmas morning did not find you at peace. Your dad loved you and you loved him, too. For now, allow the love that you shared with your father to give you some peace. Today’s Second Reading is something of a pep talk – reminding us of God’s great love for us in the midst of struggle and discouragement. So, take some comfort and find some peace in knowing that you are also loved by God, as a father loves his son.
Vince, your dad was a great man – a caring and loving man, who worked very hard, had a great sense of humor, was brave and self-LESS, and did many wonderful things. Erin, Ryan, Colin and you were blessed to have such a wonderful example of what it means to be a man. I urge each of you to follow his example of being such a caring and generous man, who took serious his role and responsibility to provide for his family – even to the point of being on his death bed and still wanting to go to work (maybe it was the medications or out of habit, but I want to believe that it was also out of a great sense of loyalty to work and out of responsibility to provide for his family that he wanted to go to work on the day he died). What a wonderful example for each of you young men.
Finally, for the many friends and family of Tony gathered here, I suspect that Christmas morning may not have been a time of peace for you either. However, embrace Jesus’ word’s in today’s Gospel and “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” Our Catholic faith professes that by Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension into Heaven, he has made it possible for us to know eternal peace – to have one of the many rooms Jesus describes in today’s Gospel that awaits us in his Father’s house. This is the gift God offered Tony – and we pray that Tony is now at peace (I will let you image how Tony has deck-out his room) – and this is a gift God offers to each one of us. Let this be a source of hope and encouragement and peace for you.
As we, the community gathered here to remember Tony, continue with this celebration of the Mass, let us all take some comfort and find some peace in what we say and do next.
Monday, December 27, 2010
HOMILY - Feast of the Holy Family (Year A)
Today, as we celebrate this Mass/Liturgy, we remember and honor families – especially the Holy Family (Jesus, Mary and Joseph) and also our own families. This Feast of the Holy Family started over 100 years ago, as an effort to counter society’s movement away from the Christian virtues and importance of the family, which is as true and important today as it was 100 years ago.
For Catholics, the household or family is the basic unit of the Church and so we call it the domestic Church. It is in THIS church – in the love between husband and wife and the love between parent and child – that we first form our faith in God; where we learn to know, love and serve God; and in which we receive our first glimpse or taste of the great joy God offers us. We can say with confidence that the joy we can experience in family life is just the tip of the iceberg for the joy God offers us in Heaven.
It is also in family life that we help others to accomplish this goal of our faith. Husbands and wives have as the goal of their marriage to help their spouse live a holy life and to get their spouse to Heaven. Parents are the first and best teachers of our faith to their children and make a promise at their child’s Baptism to do well in raising them Catholic so that their child will join them in Heaven some day.
Because of the value and importance of family in our faith life (not mention the social structure and stability of our communities and society), God blesses family life. This is God’s promise to us in today’s First Reading for those who live out the virtues of family life: atonement for sins and preservation from sin; that out prayers will be heard; stored up riches; will be gladdened with children; will live a long life; and will bring comfort.
But, as we know from our own families, family life is at times messy and complicated, a source of pain, hurt, difficulty and embarrassment. Family life is often NOT the Norman Rockwell picture of joy and happiness. In fact, we know from today’s Gospel that even the Holy Family had their challenges: the non-typical birth of their child, the dramatic flight into a foreign land, and living in fear.
So, as we live out our family lives and help others to do so, even in the midst of pain or fear, we must remember Paul’s words to us in today’s Second Reading: We are God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved. And so, we are called to live extra-ordinary lives; lives full of: heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another. We are called to put on love, that is, the bond of perfection; to let the peace of Christ control your hearts, And be thankful.
This is how we are called to live as Christian men and women. This is how we know God’s love for us and how we are to love God and others in return.
We learn, experience and share these virtues in family. In family, we practice and perfect these virtues. In doing so, we can then take these virtues to our places of work, our community, and to those in need. In doing so, we perfect our relationship with God which allows us to accomplish our goal: Heaven.
May God bless your family and you.
For Catholics, the household or family is the basic unit of the Church and so we call it the domestic Church. It is in THIS church – in the love between husband and wife and the love between parent and child – that we first form our faith in God; where we learn to know, love and serve God; and in which we receive our first glimpse or taste of the great joy God offers us. We can say with confidence that the joy we can experience in family life is just the tip of the iceberg for the joy God offers us in Heaven.
It is also in family life that we help others to accomplish this goal of our faith. Husbands and wives have as the goal of their marriage to help their spouse live a holy life and to get their spouse to Heaven. Parents are the first and best teachers of our faith to their children and make a promise at their child’s Baptism to do well in raising them Catholic so that their child will join them in Heaven some day.
Because of the value and importance of family in our faith life (not mention the social structure and stability of our communities and society), God blesses family life. This is God’s promise to us in today’s First Reading for those who live out the virtues of family life: atonement for sins and preservation from sin; that out prayers will be heard; stored up riches; will be gladdened with children; will live a long life; and will bring comfort.
But, as we know from our own families, family life is at times messy and complicated, a source of pain, hurt, difficulty and embarrassment. Family life is often NOT the Norman Rockwell picture of joy and happiness. In fact, we know from today’s Gospel that even the Holy Family had their challenges: the non-typical birth of their child, the dramatic flight into a foreign land, and living in fear.
So, as we live out our family lives and help others to do so, even in the midst of pain or fear, we must remember Paul’s words to us in today’s Second Reading: We are God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved. And so, we are called to live extra-ordinary lives; lives full of: heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another. We are called to put on love, that is, the bond of perfection; to let the peace of Christ control your hearts, And be thankful.
This is how we are called to live as Christian men and women. This is how we know God’s love for us and how we are to love God and others in return.
We learn, experience and share these virtues in family. In family, we practice and perfect these virtues. In doing so, we can then take these virtues to our places of work, our community, and to those in need. In doing so, we perfect our relationship with God which allows us to accomplish our goal: Heaven.
May God bless your family and you.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
HOMILY - Third Sunday of Advent (Year A)
Earlier this week, Pope Benedict XVI recalled God’s plan of love and life on the occasion of the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, in which we celebrate that Mary was conceived and remained always “full of grace.” He stated that “In the midst of life's trials…Mary, the Mother of Christ, tells us that Grace is greater than sin…and that Grace is able to transform evil into goodness.” It was Mary, full of grace, who said “yes” to God without hesitation or conditions and who remained sinless and faithful even in the face of great fear and tragedy in her life. Each of us are called to follow her example and live lives of love, service and holiness - strengthened and encouraged by God’s grace.
We celebrate with joy in this Liturgy on the Third Sunday of Advent Jesus Christ’s birth, passion, death and resurrection, which happened so that we might know fully God’s love. And, we eagerly await now his second coming in which he will, at the end of time as we know it, defeat sin and death forever. Today, we rejoice and give thanks for Jesus Christ who, as we read in today’s Gospel, gives sight to the blind, helps the lame walk, cleanses the leaper, gives hearing to the deaf, raises the dead, and proclaims the good news to the poor. Jesus’ words and actions fulfill both what Isaiah prophesied in today’s First Reading – that God has not abandoned us, but is with us - AND fulfills what was hoped for in the Responsorial Psalm: that the Lord will come and save us.
I believe that John the Baptist knew this. He knew that Jesus was the Messiah – the fulfillment of everything that the Jewish people had long awaited. It was John who leapt in his mother’s womb when he heard Mary’s voice; it was John who Baptized Jesus in the Jordan; it was John who prepared the way for Jesus; and it was John who suffered in prison for speaking God’s truth to Herod. Jesus says of John in today’s Gospel: “among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist.”
However, maybe John, in a moment of human weakness, sat in prison and was discouraged and doubting who Jesus was, realizing that Jesus was maybe not exactly who he thought Jesus was or who he wanted Jesus to be. So, maybe, that is why he sent his disciples to Jesus. I can just image that Jesus’ words and actions, which were reported back to John, must have been a source of great comfort and encouragement.
It occurs to me however, that maybe, just maybe, John, filled with God’s grace, did not question or doubt who Jesus truly was. Maybe in the humility and simplicity of a prison cell – not distracted by the temptations and pressures of the world – John was clear and confident in who Jesus was. Maybe in that prison cell John was liberated from his own personal wants and expectations and saw perfectly God’s plan for him and us.
And, so, maybe John, who truly makes clear the way for the Lord, asks his question not for his own benefit, but for the benefit of his own disciples. Maybe they were the ones disheartened and feeling abandoned and in need Jesus’ encouragement. And, maybe John’s question was for our benefit, too. That is, John may have asked this question so that we too might know Jesus and be encouraged by what we read in the Gospels AND from what we ‘hear and see’ now living and in action in Christ’s Body: the Church. That through the proclamation of Sacred Scripture, reception of the Sacraments, and in service to those in need – in experiencing Christ in each of these ways - we may know that Jesus is the ‘one’ and share this good news with others. It is in what we now ‘hear and see’ that we have the courage, the wisdom, the faith to reject sin in our lives and grow stronger in our love and service to God and each other. It is in what we now ‘hear and see’ that we might be more holy men and women and in doing so, experience a great joy God offers us now and eternally. This is a source of great joy – a reason to rejoice.
So our challenge this Advent is to be more like Mary the Mother of Jesus and John the Baptist in our relation to Christ. First, we must liberate ourselves from sin that keeps us from seeing clearly who God is and what God is calling us to do. A great first step is to participate in our parish’s penance service tomorrow/this evening at 5:00 pm. I invite you to participate in the Sacrament of Reconciliation and to experience the joy that comes from seeing clearly who God is and what God is calling us to do. Second, we must ensure that we are following God’s plan of love. While I am not recommending a stay in prison, I do suggest that we make time everyday for prayer to discern God’s call – to slow down our busy lives for just a couple of minutes and focus our attention, our thoughts, our actions on Christ coming into our lives and the pure joy that we experience when we follow God’s will for us. Matthew Kelly in his CD, A Call to Joy, which just so happens to be available in the Gathering Space, suggests that we start with just 10 minutes a day in prayer. If you set aside 10 minutes everyday in quite prayer, doing so patiently and without complaint (as James instructs in the Second Reading), I promise you, you will find greater peace and joy in your life.
This Advent challenge is not easy – facing our selfishness and reordering our lives away from our own wants to what God has planned for us is difficult. So, as Isaiah urges us to do, let us strengthen our feeble hands, make firm our weak knees; be strong, fear not! Trust that with God’s grace, any sin or evil in our life will be transformed into goodness. For this reason, my friends, I say to you: Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say, rejoice.
We celebrate with joy in this Liturgy on the Third Sunday of Advent Jesus Christ’s birth, passion, death and resurrection, which happened so that we might know fully God’s love. And, we eagerly await now his second coming in which he will, at the end of time as we know it, defeat sin and death forever. Today, we rejoice and give thanks for Jesus Christ who, as we read in today’s Gospel, gives sight to the blind, helps the lame walk, cleanses the leaper, gives hearing to the deaf, raises the dead, and proclaims the good news to the poor. Jesus’ words and actions fulfill both what Isaiah prophesied in today’s First Reading – that God has not abandoned us, but is with us - AND fulfills what was hoped for in the Responsorial Psalm: that the Lord will come and save us.
I believe that John the Baptist knew this. He knew that Jesus was the Messiah – the fulfillment of everything that the Jewish people had long awaited. It was John who leapt in his mother’s womb when he heard Mary’s voice; it was John who Baptized Jesus in the Jordan; it was John who prepared the way for Jesus; and it was John who suffered in prison for speaking God’s truth to Herod. Jesus says of John in today’s Gospel: “among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist.”
However, maybe John, in a moment of human weakness, sat in prison and was discouraged and doubting who Jesus was, realizing that Jesus was maybe not exactly who he thought Jesus was or who he wanted Jesus to be. So, maybe, that is why he sent his disciples to Jesus. I can just image that Jesus’ words and actions, which were reported back to John, must have been a source of great comfort and encouragement.
It occurs to me however, that maybe, just maybe, John, filled with God’s grace, did not question or doubt who Jesus truly was. Maybe in the humility and simplicity of a prison cell – not distracted by the temptations and pressures of the world – John was clear and confident in who Jesus was. Maybe in that prison cell John was liberated from his own personal wants and expectations and saw perfectly God’s plan for him and us.
And, so, maybe John, who truly makes clear the way for the Lord, asks his question not for his own benefit, but for the benefit of his own disciples. Maybe they were the ones disheartened and feeling abandoned and in need Jesus’ encouragement. And, maybe John’s question was for our benefit, too. That is, John may have asked this question so that we too might know Jesus and be encouraged by what we read in the Gospels AND from what we ‘hear and see’ now living and in action in Christ’s Body: the Church. That through the proclamation of Sacred Scripture, reception of the Sacraments, and in service to those in need – in experiencing Christ in each of these ways - we may know that Jesus is the ‘one’ and share this good news with others. It is in what we now ‘hear and see’ that we have the courage, the wisdom, the faith to reject sin in our lives and grow stronger in our love and service to God and each other. It is in what we now ‘hear and see’ that we might be more holy men and women and in doing so, experience a great joy God offers us now and eternally. This is a source of great joy – a reason to rejoice.
So our challenge this Advent is to be more like Mary the Mother of Jesus and John the Baptist in our relation to Christ. First, we must liberate ourselves from sin that keeps us from seeing clearly who God is and what God is calling us to do. A great first step is to participate in our parish’s penance service tomorrow/this evening at 5:00 pm. I invite you to participate in the Sacrament of Reconciliation and to experience the joy that comes from seeing clearly who God is and what God is calling us to do. Second, we must ensure that we are following God’s plan of love. While I am not recommending a stay in prison, I do suggest that we make time everyday for prayer to discern God’s call – to slow down our busy lives for just a couple of minutes and focus our attention, our thoughts, our actions on Christ coming into our lives and the pure joy that we experience when we follow God’s will for us. Matthew Kelly in his CD, A Call to Joy, which just so happens to be available in the Gathering Space, suggests that we start with just 10 minutes a day in prayer. If you set aside 10 minutes everyday in quite prayer, doing so patiently and without complaint (as James instructs in the Second Reading), I promise you, you will find greater peace and joy in your life.
This Advent challenge is not easy – facing our selfishness and reordering our lives away from our own wants to what God has planned for us is difficult. So, as Isaiah urges us to do, let us strengthen our feeble hands, make firm our weak knees; be strong, fear not! Trust that with God’s grace, any sin or evil in our life will be transformed into goodness. For this reason, my friends, I say to you: Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say, rejoice.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Homily - Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
There are times that I do procrastinate or avoid doing something. Maybe out of embarrassment, fear or to avoid conflict, I will delay doing or saying something that I know that I need to do. I suspect that each of us experience this in our life. A more dramatic example of this might be: do I continue to enable a loved one who is an alcoholic or who is depressed? OR do I make the intervention – however difficult and painful that might be for everyone – with the hope that the person will address their addiction or mental health issue and the get help they need. This may play out in more or less dramatic ways in our daily lives, like: confronting a spouse about a problem affecting your marriage; or ‘blowing the whistle’ at work regarding an illegal or unethical practice of your company; or standing up to a bully at school or work.
At some point in these situations, we will have to make a decision – what is better – to keep procrastinating and the consequences that follow by not doing what I need to do OR to experience the temporary embarrassment or conflict that I am trying to avoid in the short-term with the sure knowledge that there is a better outcome awaiting us in the future.
In a way, this is what today’s readings set up for us. As we approach the end of the liturgical year, the readings focus our attention on the reality of our lives here on earth and our goal for eternal happiness. Our Catholic Faith teaches us that:
• Immediately after death, each person comes before God and is judged individually by how they have lived their life and then enter either heaven (perfect joy with God), Purgatory (a state of purification before entrance into Heaven), or hell (eternal separation from God).
• We believe in the resurrection of the dead – that our bodies will rise to new life, just Jesus did, and will be united with our soul.
• We believe that at the end of time Christ will return in glory over sin and death - this is the profession of faith we will make in a just a couple of minutes: “[Jesus] will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end” and we will repeat when we pray in the Our Father: “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.”
• And we believe that there will be a final judgment when all are assembled before God to receive eternal life or punishment – we must seek eternal life and avoid eternal punishment.
We are reminded of these truths by the strong, even harsh words, in today’s readings:
• We read in the First Reading that: “Lo, the day is coming, blazing like an oven, when all the proud and all evildoers will be stubble, and the day that is coming will set them on fire, leaving them neither root nor branch, says the LORD of hosts.”
• In today's Gospel, we are told of the signs of the end: the appearance of false messiahs and false calculators of time and place; wars and international conflicts; and natural disasters with cosmic terror. And as Christians, we will be persecuted. Hatred, betrayal by relatives and friends, and even death awaits us.
However, and more important, today’s readings also remind us that our God is a God full of love and mercy – a God who “comes to rule the earth with justice,” as we just sung in the Responsorial Psalm. Our God wants nothing more than to share his love and mercy with us and to give us what ever we need to experience this love and mercy. In fact, it is God’s Son, Jesus Christ, who promises us in today’s Gospel that if we enter into this relationship, he “shall give [us] a wisdom in speaking that all [our] adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute” and “not a hair on [our] head will be destroyed. By [our] perseverance [we] will secure [our] lives.” God does not want to destroy us but to save us, protect us and restore us in relationship with him – now and eternally!
So, we have a choice: do we persevere or not. Do we persevere in the face of challenge and difficulty in being a Catholic today as we await Jesus’ second coming or not? Do we continually give thanks and praise to God or not? Do we work hard to provide for our family and self (as St. Paul urges in today’s Second reading) or not? Do we uphold the life and dignity of every person or not? And do we protect and serve all people, especially the weak and the poor, or not? Jesus warns us in today’s Gospel that it will not be easy. But this is what we are called to do, made to do, and is required of us to obtain Heaven.
And so, I do believe and trust in exactly what Father Kavanagh preached last weekend – that is, in the virtue of Hope. It is with the virtue of Hope that we can persevere “to the end” in the face of great adversity AND obtain the joy of heaven. It is hope for the happiness, the joy, the peace of eternal life that sustains in times of abandonment, keeps us from discouragement, and focuses our actions and words away from selfishness and sin and towards loving and serving God.
Hope is a gift from God, through the Grace of the Holy Spirit. To be open to this gift we must root ourselves in the presence of God – in God’s love: by experiencing the sacraments, reading scripture, in fellowship and community with the Church. We have to continually grow deeper in our relationship with God. One wonderful and new way to do this in our parish is through the Lighthouse Catholic Media kiosk in the Gathering Space. The kiosk contains CDs and brochures on topics of meaning and relevance to our daily faith lives. Take time to visit the kiosk or visit the parish website and join the CD of the month club. If not this, then find something or someone else to help you grow in your relationship with God – to strengthen your Hope in eternal life with Him.
Today’s first reading concludes with these words: “But for you who fear my name, there will arise the sun of justice with its healing rays.” My friends, fear God’s awesome power, which will destroy all evil and fear eternal separation from God. But love our God in whom alone we can have life and happiness! Experience the healing rays of God’s love and mercy now and eternally. Have hope!
May God bless you.
At some point in these situations, we will have to make a decision – what is better – to keep procrastinating and the consequences that follow by not doing what I need to do OR to experience the temporary embarrassment or conflict that I am trying to avoid in the short-term with the sure knowledge that there is a better outcome awaiting us in the future.
In a way, this is what today’s readings set up for us. As we approach the end of the liturgical year, the readings focus our attention on the reality of our lives here on earth and our goal for eternal happiness. Our Catholic Faith teaches us that:
• Immediately after death, each person comes before God and is judged individually by how they have lived their life and then enter either heaven (perfect joy with God), Purgatory (a state of purification before entrance into Heaven), or hell (eternal separation from God).
• We believe in the resurrection of the dead – that our bodies will rise to new life, just Jesus did, and will be united with our soul.
• We believe that at the end of time Christ will return in glory over sin and death - this is the profession of faith we will make in a just a couple of minutes: “[Jesus] will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end” and we will repeat when we pray in the Our Father: “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.”
• And we believe that there will be a final judgment when all are assembled before God to receive eternal life or punishment – we must seek eternal life and avoid eternal punishment.
We are reminded of these truths by the strong, even harsh words, in today’s readings:
• We read in the First Reading that: “Lo, the day is coming, blazing like an oven, when all the proud and all evildoers will be stubble, and the day that is coming will set them on fire, leaving them neither root nor branch, says the LORD of hosts.”
• In today's Gospel, we are told of the signs of the end: the appearance of false messiahs and false calculators of time and place; wars and international conflicts; and natural disasters with cosmic terror. And as Christians, we will be persecuted. Hatred, betrayal by relatives and friends, and even death awaits us.
However, and more important, today’s readings also remind us that our God is a God full of love and mercy – a God who “comes to rule the earth with justice,” as we just sung in the Responsorial Psalm. Our God wants nothing more than to share his love and mercy with us and to give us what ever we need to experience this love and mercy. In fact, it is God’s Son, Jesus Christ, who promises us in today’s Gospel that if we enter into this relationship, he “shall give [us] a wisdom in speaking that all [our] adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute” and “not a hair on [our] head will be destroyed. By [our] perseverance [we] will secure [our] lives.” God does not want to destroy us but to save us, protect us and restore us in relationship with him – now and eternally!
So, we have a choice: do we persevere or not. Do we persevere in the face of challenge and difficulty in being a Catholic today as we await Jesus’ second coming or not? Do we continually give thanks and praise to God or not? Do we work hard to provide for our family and self (as St. Paul urges in today’s Second reading) or not? Do we uphold the life and dignity of every person or not? And do we protect and serve all people, especially the weak and the poor, or not? Jesus warns us in today’s Gospel that it will not be easy. But this is what we are called to do, made to do, and is required of us to obtain Heaven.
And so, I do believe and trust in exactly what Father Kavanagh preached last weekend – that is, in the virtue of Hope. It is with the virtue of Hope that we can persevere “to the end” in the face of great adversity AND obtain the joy of heaven. It is hope for the happiness, the joy, the peace of eternal life that sustains in times of abandonment, keeps us from discouragement, and focuses our actions and words away from selfishness and sin and towards loving and serving God.
Hope is a gift from God, through the Grace of the Holy Spirit. To be open to this gift we must root ourselves in the presence of God – in God’s love: by experiencing the sacraments, reading scripture, in fellowship and community with the Church. We have to continually grow deeper in our relationship with God. One wonderful and new way to do this in our parish is through the Lighthouse Catholic Media kiosk in the Gathering Space. The kiosk contains CDs and brochures on topics of meaning and relevance to our daily faith lives. Take time to visit the kiosk or visit the parish website and join the CD of the month club. If not this, then find something or someone else to help you grow in your relationship with God – to strengthen your Hope in eternal life with Him.
Today’s first reading concludes with these words: “But for you who fear my name, there will arise the sun of justice with its healing rays.” My friends, fear God’s awesome power, which will destroy all evil and fear eternal separation from God. But love our God in whom alone we can have life and happiness! Experience the healing rays of God’s love and mercy now and eternally. Have hope!
May God bless you.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Homily - Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
As a former athlete and now coaching my son’s fifth grade football team, I can appreciate a good pep talk. I know first-hand the power that a few select words can have on the mind and spirit to help focus and motivate one into action on the field of play. And certainly movies and T.V. shows have perfected the drama and emotion of a good pre-game, locker room pep talk. A fiery talk by the coach, a thrown hat or chair, the cheer of the players, and then the storming onto the field filled with cheerleaders and the marching band, surrounded by bleachers packed with cheering fans.
However, maybe some of the best pep talks have been one-to-one: player-to-coach, teacher-to-student, friend-to-friend, spouse-to-spouse, parent-to-child, and sibling-to-sibling. It is the words of a loved one that can best offer comfort in a time of sadness, hope in a time of despair, encouragement in a time of doubt, focus in a time of disarray, and confidence in a time of fear. And this is what we hear about in today’s readings. God speaking to the prophet Habakkuk, Paul writing to his friend Timothy, and Jesus speaking to his beloved Apostles. These are all essentially pep talks geared to a target audience AND to us - focusing us, encouraging us, challenging us to be the holy men and women we are called to be, to love and serve as God commands us.
In today’s Gospel, the Apostles ask Jesus to “Increase their faith.” They are asking for help. They are physically tired from their journey with Jesus up to Jerusalem and mentally and emotionally exhausted trying to comprehend all that Jesus has said and done AND what they are being asked to do: to love and forgive as they have never done before! The Apostles are also reacting to Jesus’ warning that immediately proceeds today’s Gospel passage, in which Jesus says: “woe to the person through whom sin occurs; it would be better for him if a millstone were put around his neck and he be thrown into the sea.” The Apostles knew their human weaknesses and were worried that they did not have enough faith to live as they were called to live.
Jesus’ reply is simple and direct – even with the smallest amount of faith you can do great things. He was not being critical or comical, but rather he was offering hope and encouragement. The mustard seed is one of the smallest seeds, while the mulberry tree has a deep and extensive root system and thus extremely difficult to uproot. But with even the smallest of faith, Jesus is telling us that we can do great things, things beyond imagination, like uprooting a tree and throwing it into the sea.
Then, in today’s first reading, God offers encouragement to the prophet Habakkuk. The prophet is frustrated for two reasons. First, he sees the world around him in collapse (violence, ruin, destruction, misery, strife and discord); and second, God is silent in the midst of it all. When God responds, he offers reassurance to the prophet and to us – that God will fulfill his promise of salvation, but now is not the time and so we need to be patient for it will surely come and we will not be disappointed. It is also significant that God asks the prophet to write this down. We are a visual people and so it helps our faith and the faith of others to see and remain focused on what God promises.
I suspect the written letters from Paul to Timothy had the same effect. In today’s second reading Paul writes with authority – not by virtue of title or position, but by the experience of having endured hardship and pain, including being in jail from where he writes this letter, as well as the peace and love he experiences in God. It is with this authority that he can both encourage his audience “to stir into flame the gift of God” – a gift of power, love, and self-control – AND to challenge them to bear hardship with the strength that comes from God. Paul is essentially saying that each one of us: be confident, you can endure any problem because God dwells in you, by your Baptism in Christ, God has given you all that you need. How true and how wonderful this is!
Jesus’ pep talk continues with his second parable in today’s Gospel. He reminds us that our relationship with God calls us to make ordinary in our lives what society views as extra-ordinary (to love and serve generously and without reservation and to seek forgiveness and be merciful toward others). Juese is telling us that we can never be excessive in self-LESS-ly loving and forgiving others. This is the point of Jesus’ second parable. If we do what we are called to do, what we are made to do, if we do all that we are suppose to do as Christians, than we are unprofitable servants- we are ‘without need’ of anything else. We are in need of nothing more.
Next Sunday evening, Jerry Freewalt from the Diocese’s office of social concerns will be speaking to us about how we can live out Christian lives of service to others, especially those in greatest need. To live lives as unprofitable servants. I invite you to pray Evening Prayer with us before his presentation and then attend the presentation and learn how the diocese serves those in need and how you can help.
Yes, to be a Christian is difficult and requires hard work – God knows this. Don't harden your hearts, but take courage from today’s readings (from these mini-pep talks) and know that God does provide all that you need – God has given you the gift of faith. Like the Apostles, ask for more faith and God will provide!
However, maybe some of the best pep talks have been one-to-one: player-to-coach, teacher-to-student, friend-to-friend, spouse-to-spouse, parent-to-child, and sibling-to-sibling. It is the words of a loved one that can best offer comfort in a time of sadness, hope in a time of despair, encouragement in a time of doubt, focus in a time of disarray, and confidence in a time of fear. And this is what we hear about in today’s readings. God speaking to the prophet Habakkuk, Paul writing to his friend Timothy, and Jesus speaking to his beloved Apostles. These are all essentially pep talks geared to a target audience AND to us - focusing us, encouraging us, challenging us to be the holy men and women we are called to be, to love and serve as God commands us.
In today’s Gospel, the Apostles ask Jesus to “Increase their faith.” They are asking for help. They are physically tired from their journey with Jesus up to Jerusalem and mentally and emotionally exhausted trying to comprehend all that Jesus has said and done AND what they are being asked to do: to love and forgive as they have never done before! The Apostles are also reacting to Jesus’ warning that immediately proceeds today’s Gospel passage, in which Jesus says: “woe to the person through whom sin occurs; it would be better for him if a millstone were put around his neck and he be thrown into the sea.” The Apostles knew their human weaknesses and were worried that they did not have enough faith to live as they were called to live.
Jesus’ reply is simple and direct – even with the smallest amount of faith you can do great things. He was not being critical or comical, but rather he was offering hope and encouragement. The mustard seed is one of the smallest seeds, while the mulberry tree has a deep and extensive root system and thus extremely difficult to uproot. But with even the smallest of faith, Jesus is telling us that we can do great things, things beyond imagination, like uprooting a tree and throwing it into the sea.
Then, in today’s first reading, God offers encouragement to the prophet Habakkuk. The prophet is frustrated for two reasons. First, he sees the world around him in collapse (violence, ruin, destruction, misery, strife and discord); and second, God is silent in the midst of it all. When God responds, he offers reassurance to the prophet and to us – that God will fulfill his promise of salvation, but now is not the time and so we need to be patient for it will surely come and we will not be disappointed. It is also significant that God asks the prophet to write this down. We are a visual people and so it helps our faith and the faith of others to see and remain focused on what God promises.
I suspect the written letters from Paul to Timothy had the same effect. In today’s second reading Paul writes with authority – not by virtue of title or position, but by the experience of having endured hardship and pain, including being in jail from where he writes this letter, as well as the peace and love he experiences in God. It is with this authority that he can both encourage his audience “to stir into flame the gift of God” – a gift of power, love, and self-control – AND to challenge them to bear hardship with the strength that comes from God. Paul is essentially saying that each one of us: be confident, you can endure any problem because God dwells in you, by your Baptism in Christ, God has given you all that you need. How true and how wonderful this is!
Jesus’ pep talk continues with his second parable in today’s Gospel. He reminds us that our relationship with God calls us to make ordinary in our lives what society views as extra-ordinary (to love and serve generously and without reservation and to seek forgiveness and be merciful toward others). Juese is telling us that we can never be excessive in self-LESS-ly loving and forgiving others. This is the point of Jesus’ second parable. If we do what we are called to do, what we are made to do, if we do all that we are suppose to do as Christians, than we are unprofitable servants- we are ‘without need’ of anything else. We are in need of nothing more.
Next Sunday evening, Jerry Freewalt from the Diocese’s office of social concerns will be speaking to us about how we can live out Christian lives of service to others, especially those in greatest need. To live lives as unprofitable servants. I invite you to pray Evening Prayer with us before his presentation and then attend the presentation and learn how the diocese serves those in need and how you can help.
Yes, to be a Christian is difficult and requires hard work – God knows this. Don't harden your hearts, but take courage from today’s readings (from these mini-pep talks) and know that God does provide all that you need – God has given you the gift of faith. Like the Apostles, ask for more faith and God will provide!
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