HOMILY – Pentecost (Year C) (2016)

I want to challenge you to share with someone this week that you are for life. I don’t want you to do this to be political – either endorsing a candidate, a party or an issue; and I don’t want you to do this to be provocative, argumentative, or confrontational. Rather, I want you to do this as a wonderful expression of your faith; your Catholic faith in our triune God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who made us to be in an personal, wonderful love relationship and does everything possible to keep us in this relationship. To say you are pro-life, will immediately – in today’s society and culture – become a political statement (right?), but it is – or at least should be – a statement of faith, hope, trust in the gift of life God has give us so that we may know His love, peace, joy now and eternally. As I have often said from this ambo, our God is a god of life, not death. And our Creed, which we will stand together in just a couple of minutes to profess, says it all! First and foremost, we believe in the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. And most especially, we believe that God made US, he made us in his image and likeness. He made us to be in relationship with Him. Life is a wonderful gift from God. A gift that we should cherish above all other things. It is also this gift of life is good, valuable, meaningful, dignified and even sacred. We believe, and profess, in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who he came down from heaven and became man. As Fr. John recently reminded me, we are an Incarnation Church! God became man not only to show us His great love for us and to restore his in the love relationship we were made to live in, but also his Incarnation shows us that there is great dignity in life – the same life God entered into and shares with us. And Jesus, by his very life – by what he said and did – provides us with so many wonderful examples and affirms over-and-over the dignity and value of life. And we know, by his care and attention especially for the weak, the sick, the alienated, that all life has value and worth! Even in Jesus’ suffering and death we can find meaning – certainly that life is fragile and must be protected, but also that by Jesus’ death he restored us in the one relationship that matters more than anything else: our relationship, our life with God. Jesus’ resurrection, which we also profess, is a reminder that truly our God is a god of life, that Jesus has conquered death - death no longer has a hold on us, it is nothing to fear! And it is in the Ascension, which we celebrated last week, that we are reminded, among many things, that 1) Jesus proceeds us and leads us to our goal: eternal life, and 2) that the body matters – Jesus ascended soul AND body as a reminder that our life, our bodies, have value and dignity. We continue our profession of faith by saying that we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life. It is the Holy Spirit that gives us life; the Holy Spirit lives in us and transforms us – guiding us and giving us the help to move from despair to hope, from darkness to light, from anxiety to peace, sadness to joy, selfishness to service, death to life. It is this gift that we recall and celebrate in a special way today – the Feast of the Pentecost. Jumping to the end of the Creed, we profess that we look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. We believe that at the end of the world the bodies of all the dead will rise from the earth and be united again to their souls eternally. Our bodies are not shells or snake skins that we shed to never use again – just the opposite. Our lives are eternal - body and soul. Our prayer is that we may know – body and soul – eternal peace and joy! Through such faith, we can say that life is good, life matters, it has dignity and value and must be protected at all times. So it makes perfect sense that, as Bishop Campbell says, the vocation of life is primary – even before a vocation to holiness or any particular state of life – we are called to be in relationship, to know and understand this great gift of life from God, and to then protect and defend it from all harm or any threat. It is also through such faith, that we also have a foundation – a source of truth – in other words, a filter or lens to see and understand all things. Certainly this includes the hot-button life issues (abortion, euthanasia, death penalty, just war, immigration), but also includes the day-to-day experiences and encounters of our life. Through the eyes of faith, we can see that there is a dignity and value in every person we encounter – even a stranger or enemy. Through the eyes of faith, we can see that there is a dignity and value in every person: from conception to natural death; whether they are fully-independent or differently-able by disease, injury or age; and regardless of how they look, what they do or say. Yes, all life matters, it is good, it is full of dignity and value! Jesus said in today’s Gospel: “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” So, again, I invite you – really I challenge you – to share this week with someone that you are pro-life. Maybe practice with your spouse, your parent or child (heck, practice with me on your way out of the Church after Mass); and then work up the courage or confidence to share with a co-worker, a non-Catholic friend, or even a stranger that you are pro-life. Remember this is not a political statement, but a statement of faith - faith in our God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – who gives us this wonderful gift of life that we are called to know, share, promote, and defend. Too often we are intimidate, bullied, even persecute for our faith, which includes the value we place on life. But do not be deterred, discouraged or frightened. Share with someone this week that you are pro-life. You just need to say: I am for life, I am pro-life, I am pro-choice and I choose life, life matters – that is all you need to say! Simple and sweet. See, in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus said: “When they take you before synagogues and before rulers and authorities, do not worry about how or what your defense will be or about what you are to say. For the holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say.” This passage was intended to encourage the early Church in the face of persecution, and to remind them/us that it is the Holy Spirit that will be our source of courage in the face of persecution. My friends, announce with confidence, strengthened by the Holy Spirit, that you are pro-life. May God bless you.

HOMILY Third Sunday of Easter (Year C) (2016)

Two months ago now, I shared in my homily that our mission as Catholics is two-fold: 1) to be in relationship with God (now and eternally); and 2) to share with others the great joy, peace, and freedom of being in relationship with God and to then invite them into this relationship. When I preached last month, I then expanded on what it means to be IN relationship with God by explaining how we might experience God in relationship (in the Sacraments, in the liturgy, whenever two or more are gathered in his name, in nature and all things created by God, in Sacred Scripture, and certainly in prayer); and also by explaining who we are in relationship with (This is our Creed: the statement of what we believe, really in WHOM we believe: Father, Son and Holy Spirit); and then by explaining what is happening in this relationship with God (It is God who is taking the initiative: creating us, drawing us into relationship, and giving us the tools and the help to be in relationship with Him combined with his great love and mercy for us and towards us – and then it is our response to God – our surrender, our trust, our faith, our love - that brings us into full relationship with him, which allows us to experience the joy, peace, and freedom of being IN relationship). Today’s readings present then (for me at least) the real challenge of being IN relationship with God. It is not so much the mystery that I struggle with or even the pain or suffering or loss that we might experience despite being in relationship with God. It is really the ebbs and flows of our faith journey. How we can be so excited one moment and then lost and confused the next. How we can be so overwhelmed by his love and mercy and then in the next breath reject or forget this same love and mercy. I want to be on fire for God all the time like the Apostles in today’s First Reading. I want to be confident and certain and fearless and zealous. I want this in my job, in my marriage and other relationships, and I want this also in my faith life. I want to be like the Apostles who spoke with such authority and confidence, even willing to take great risk without hesitation. I want to be able to surrender completely to God, to trust him unconditionally, to never doubt; I want to be always so focused on God and others, rather than on my own wants and needs. But too often, however, I am (we are) more like the Apostles in today’s Gospel. Before saying more about this, I want to emphasize the most important point of today’s Gospel, today’s readings, arguably the entire Bible: The Lord Has Risen! The passage I just read was likely a later addition to the Gospel intended to leave no doubt or question that Jesus Christ, crucified and died, rose from the dead. The risen Jesus was more than mire vision or dream, not a ghost or spirit, but a real person. The tomb was empty, the burial cloths remained; it was Jesus who was fully present – flesh and blood; physically present to walk, eat and drink with, to be touched and have conversations with. It was the risen Jesus who was seen and encountered by the Apostles and thousands of others and of whom not only the Gospels were written, but other non-Christian authors wrote about. Jesus conquered death by his resurrection. Our God is a God of life – not death. Jesus’ resurrection is not only a sign of his great power – his divine power - but also that life has meaning, significance, value and dignity – all life AND especially a life lived fully in relationship with God! The Resurrection is not only a real event in history, it is a source of hope and joy for us. And, it was the encounter with the Risen Lord, combined with the gift of the Holy Spirit and the events and experiences that followed, that convicted the Apostles to act as they did in today’s First Reading. So now back today’s Gospel… Like most things, our life is not going to always be an extreme high (even if our society wants us to believe that!). More than likely, it is going to be lots of highs and lows, with hopefully most of our life somewhere in a healthy middle. This is especially true in our faith life. So I can appreciate the fact that the Apostles are found fishing in today’s Gospel – they return to what is familiar. We do this all the time – we go to what or where we find comfort and security in times of confusion or even chaos. We have our comfort foods or clothes or spaces, right? So, arguably at the/a low point for the Apostles, the returned to what is safe and familiar to them. And it is also not surprising that the Apostles did not immediately recognize Jesus. I read somewhere that it was because Jesus was wearing some type of hat on the beach (sun tan from a warm, three day vacation) – no, I am just kidding, that is not true. What is true is that we will easy miss or not recognize someone who we barely or remotely know. We will recognize our spouse, our parent or child – whom we love - if they speak to us or stand near us – right? So, it is no surprise that the disciple “who loved” Jesus, as we just read, was the one to recognize Jesus first. How often do we miss Jesus standing right in front of us, speaking directly to us?! It is Jesus who wants nothing more than for us to be in this love relationship with God – even to the point of suffering and dying so that we might be restored in relationship! And this is what is so wonderful about the fact that Jesus tests Peter as he did today’s Gospel. It is in part an opportunity for Jesus to show the unconditional and limitless love and mercy of God for us (despite rejection and even denial by those whom Jesus loved) – and equally an opportunity for Peter to show that his previously weak and failed love (denying Christ three times) is now strong and focused, and that as humans we can come back from sin. Each of us face this dual reality everyday: God’s unconditional and limitless love and mercy AND the opportunity to demonstrate by our words and actions our strong and focused loved for God. So what keeps us from such a love? What causes us to retreat to what is familiar and safe? What causes us to fail in recognizing too often the greatest love in our life? I would say it is fear. Fear of embarrassment, rejection, pain, loss, being alone, of failing, of death. But, my friends, we have no reason to fear! Remember: Jesus rose from the dead. He defeated embarrassment, rejection, pain, loss, alienation, failure, and yes, even death. These things no longer matter, they no longer have a hold on us, they have no control over us! This is the joy, freedom, peace, the life that awaits us when we are IN relationship with God. So, go and share this Good News with others.

Homily – Fifth Sunday in Lent Year C Readings (2016)

When I preached last month, I shared that our mission as Catholics is two-fold: 1) to be in relationship with God (now and eternally); and 2) to share with others the great joy, peace, and freedom of being in relationship with God. A parishioner shared me after one of the Masses that he understands this mission and even buys into it, but that he does not really understand what it means to BE in relationship with God. I suspect that some, maybe many, Catholics, if they are honest, might say the same thing. Truth be told, I find myself struggling with that question at times, too. One way to answer the question of: what it means to BE in relationship with God is by explaining how we might experience God in relationship. Just as we might say that to be in a relationship with our spouse or another loved one, we would list certain, specific things that we do together that define our relationship. The same is true for our relationship with God. We experience God – we are in relationship with God – in the Sacraments, in the liturgy, whenever two or more are gathered in his name, in nature and all things created by God, in Sacred Scripture, and certainly in prayer – when we talk and listen to God. This is true and wonderful, but the risk is that we might go through the motions of these actions, but still not BE in relationship with God, right? We can go to Mass, say a Rosary, kneel before the Lord in Adoration, whatever it is and still not BE in relationship with God. So how then do we be in relationship with God? Another way to answer the question of: what it means to BE in relationship with God is by explaining who we are in relationship with – or at least with whom we desire to be in relationship. This is our Creed. This is the statement of what we believe, really in WHOM we believe: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It is the statement of faith that we will profess in a couple of minutes. It is also the gift we will give this weekend to our catechumen – those adults to be Baptized at the Easter Vigil – as they conclude their preparation efforts to be initiated in the Catholic Church. Just as I might describe my wife – and all her wonderful qualities and all that I know to be true about her, we do the same about our God when we profess our faith – when we recite the Creed. This certainly works on one level, but again the risk is that it can be formulaic and possibly even disconnected from relationship – as if I were simply reading a recipe or an instruction manual. Apart from the flavorful dish, the recipe has no meaning; apart from the incredible model toy we want to build, the instructions have no value or significance; the same is true of our relationship with God: apart from being IN relationship with God, these words have no value, meaning or significance. So how then do we be in relationship with God? I think/I believe that we grow IN relationship with God by understanding what is happening in this relationship with God and responding to that. It is God who is taking the initiative: creating us, drawing us into relationship, and giving us the gifts, the tools, the help to be in relationship with Him. And then it is our response that brings us ever closer to what God is doing in and for us and in our lives and leads us to the joy, peace, and freedom of being in relationship. So it is important then to understand what God is doing. In a beautiful way, today’s readings show us in what ways God is acting in us and in our lives. The prophet Ezekiel reminds us, even when we have physically, emotionally and spiritually exiled ourselves from God, he opens our graves – he opens the hole we have dug for ourselves by our sin, by our rejection of God’s love, by our rejection of his will for us, and the emptiness and darkness we experience as a result - and he will have us rise from our graves…he will put his spirit in us that we may live! This is God’s promise to you and me. And, as we just sung, truly With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption. To BE in relationship with God means to be in relationship with someone who loves us despite our offenses, despite our pride, despite our arrogance; someone who loves us with such great mercy – treating us better (far better) than we deserve; someone who wants nothing more than to be back in relationship with us. Jesus in today’s Gospel gives us further insight into what our God gives us, what he brings to this relationship, what he offers us in being in relationship with him. Jesus is in control and fully present, he is full of emotion and love for others and is not afraid to share it – he is not some passive, distant or unattached God – he wants to be in relationship with us. He encounters us where ever we are emotionally, spiritually, physically – just as he did with Martha and Mary. Jesus also affirms that our God is a God of life – not death. Jesus’ raising of Lazarus is not only a sign of his great power, but also that life has meaning, significance, value and dignity – all life AND especially a life lived fully in relationship with God! Such an out pouring of love and mercy by God should invoke, really demand, a response from us. This is the good news of today’s second reading: while we are still bound by our human bodies and all the weakness and desires and failings of being human that cause us to struggle in our relationship with God, we are not without hope. The Holy Spirit can still reside in us to help us respond to God’s great love and mercy. The challenge is to make room for the Holy Spirit. We can make more room for the Holy Spirit by freeing ourselves - emptying ourselves from those things that keep us from being in relationship fully with God. We can make room by surrendering to God’s will (not our own), to God’s love (not to those things that may bring as instant gratification, but quickly fade), and to God’s mercy (by acknowledging our faults and seeking forgiveness). We know this from our own experiences. We can’t be in a marriage or be a parent or a priest or religious or really any state of life, unless we are willing to die to self for another – to let go of our own wants (even needs) for the sake of another. This is what God has done for us and what we are called to do in return. This is what it means to be IN relationship with God! We can start now by making a great confession to God. Go to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Own your faults and failings, seek forgiveness, be filled by the Holy Spirit, receive the grace to be able to move on and be open and free to live in the relationship God desires for you. I invite you to our Parish’s Penance service on Monday and bring a friend or family member. Before you arrive – make a good examination of conscience – and if you need any help doing so, go online to St. Gabriel Radio and listen to Fr. Larry Richard’s talk from this year’s Men’s Conference. Be honest with yourself and remember – God already knows you and your sins, he just wants to be reconciled with you and be restored in relationship with you. My friends, make room for God - make room in your heart and in your mind, in every encounter you have, in every thought, in every desire, and in every word you speak so that you may be filled with the joy, freedom, peace, mercy, life that awaits you when you are IN relationship with God and then…go and share this Good News with others.

HOMILY - Second Sunday in Lent (Year C)

I recently returned to a particular email from work. It is from my employer's interim President and CEO and he was writing to organizational leaders about leadership. He highlights a couple of messages that a leader should communicate during times of uncertainty. Two stand out for me: 1. Clarity of Mission 2. Flexibility with our plans. Yes, these are textbook principles of leadership and business, AND they are also, I think, equally, if not more applicable to our faith lives. First, as Catholics, our mission is clear: it is about being in relationship with our God. Last Saturday, I had the honor to assist Bishop Campbell during the Confirmation Mass at Immaculate Conception. One of the questions he always asks the Confirmandi is: Why did God make you? I was quick to raise my hand as did about every student – because they were well-prepared for this question. Bishop Campbell did not call on me, but the student whom he did call upon answered correctly (as I suspect most of you would have responded): God made us to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him for ever in heaven. This is our mission and purpose as Catholics, right?! Our mission as Catholics is actually two-fold; and so we can say that not only are we called to be in relationship now and eternally with God, but to also invite others to be in this relationship too. "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." (Mt 28:19-20) Second, as Catholics, we also need to be flexible with our plans. There are certain truths that are NOT bendable or optional, right? This is one of the beautiful aspects of creation and nature, also of our faith and our Church. And certainly our mission does not change – it has not changed for the past 2,000 years and won't in the future. However, how we pursue this mission has and will change, right? Think about the impact of technology in our faith – the access to Sacred Scripture and the teachings of the Church, and how we can communicate this information to others through the use of technology. As another example, the role of the parish must be flexible – we at Our Lady of Peace are slowly transforming from maintenance mode to an amazing, dynamic parish that is driven to form disciples equipped and empowered to evangelize (again, part of our mission). This Sunday's readings reinforce these principles in our faith life. The covenant relationship between God and Abraham, highlighted in today's first reading, is certainly the goal of our human existence. The measure of our success in achieving this goal is the profound experience of God – to experience his love, his mercy, his care generosity for us that comes when we freely and fully enter into relationship with him. The scholar Lawrence Boadt describes it as the overwhelming, personal experience of God's presence that affects the entire direction and quality of our life. The covenant relationship with God transforms Abraham. Similarly, the Transfiguration experience of Jesus by Peter, John and James was both equally wonderful and mysterious, joyful and enlightening. In fact, this is my hope for each of you: that you may be transformed by an experience with God that radically and wonderfully brings you great joy and peace. And ultimately, our mission is to get to Heaven, where we experience this joy, peace, freedom of being in relationship with God eternally – this is truly our heart’s desire: to be citizens of Heaven, as St. Paul reminds in today’s second reading. St. Paul's admonition in today's second reading exemplifies the second principle: the importance of being flexible. He is warning his brothers and sisters – whom he loves and longs for, his joy and crown – to not be fooled by others who demand adherence to circumcision and dietary laws of old in order to be a Christian. To be clear, Paul is not saying to follow "Paul's rules," but rather to be an imitator of him, who stands firm in Christ. It is Jesus Christ who teaches us by his example of love and obedience to God the Father of what it means to be in relationship with to God. We don’t achieve our mission by blindly following a set of rules. Not to say that rules are not important – they are: they are the guardrails that can keep us focused on what is most important. However, it is about relationship, not rules; it is about following Christ's example of love and obedience to God's will for us, God's plan for us, God's desire for us to be in relationship with him now and eternally. I will add then that Peter's desire to set up a tent in today's Gospel is an example of NOT being flexible. I agree with scholars who say that the offer to set up a tent is Peter's expression of reverence in this Transfiguration event – it would have been an incredible, awe-inspiring experience. Heck, I don't blame Peter for wanting to stay in that moment. However, it can be also point to an inability to change, to grow, to mature – to want to stay put rather than grow in relationship with God, including experiencing the uncertainty and difficulty that may await in the future. The truth is that the Transfiguration is for the disciples benefit, not Jesus'. It is a moment to strengthen and encourage the disciples for what awaits them next: Jesus' passion and death. And similarly, we need to be open and flexible to such experiences with God to strengthen us for what awaits us in the future. I will conclude with one more principal from my boss’s, boss’s, interim boss, and that is: Over Communicate what you are sure of. With so many distractionS in our world and uncertainly about what the future holds, we will always benefit from over-communicating what we know to be true: that God loves us, that he has an unlimited love, mercy and care for us, so much so that he was even willing to have his own son suffer and die so that we might be restored in relationship with him. Over-communicating what is true is certainly what St. Paul did so effectively, as well as the Gospel writers. So it is good to read these writings often as well as to take advantage of resources like Catholic Radio and our Lighthouse Media resources at the doors of the Church. In the midst of pain or loneliness, frustration or hurt, anger or loss, or anxiety about what the future holds, take a moment to remind yourself of what, through faith, we can be sure of: God’s love for you! You can even use today’s Responsorial Psalm as the phrase of week, if you will, to over-communicate what you are sure of: The Lord is my light and my salvation. Maybe as you start or end the day, maybe at a particularly stressful moment of the day, or if you wake up in the middle of the night in a panic, you can over-communicate the truth that: the Lord is my light and my salvation. Singing it is optional, but finding comfort and strength in what we are sure of is certain! May God bless you.

Homily - Baptism of the Lord (Year C) (2015)

A couple of weeks ago, just after Christmas, a parishioner mentioned that I should read the periscope in the missallette for the Feast of the Holy Family. She said that since we both have teenage sons, I would appreciate the reflection. And, I am glad that did. In recalling the story of Jesus being “lost” and then found in the Temple, the reflection reminds us that Jesus matured from a boy, to a tween, to a teen, and then to a man; and that Jesus gradually became aware of his Father’s call. The reflection goes on to state that: “this is what every parent raises their child to do: to listen for God’s call in their lives…and that we are called to be holy – not [necessarily] perfect.” A wonderful set of reminders! Knowing that I was preaching in a couple of weeks, I then flipped a few pages and read the periscope for this Sunday: The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. I was reminded that Luke’s account of Jesus’ Baptism is unique from the other Gospel accounts in that there is this delay between the time when he emerges from the water and when the Holy Spirit comes upon him and the voice of the Father says: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” Luke regularly presents Jesus at prayer at important points in his ministry: here at his baptism; at the choice of the Twelve (Lk 6:12); before Peter’s confession (Lk 9:18); at the transfiguration (Lk 9:28); when he teaches his disciples to pray (Lk 11:1); at the Last Supper (Lk 22:32); on the Mount of Olives (Lk 22:41); on the cross (Lk 23:46). (http://www.usccb.org/bible/luke/3:15#5) So, it is no surprise that the evangelist would have this pause before of one of the mini-epiphanies or revelations of God that we celebrate during the Christmas season: the birth of Jesus, the visit by the magi, Jesus’ baptism (recalled today), and the miracle at the wedding at Cana. So this prayer-pause (if you will) not only reinforces the importance of prayer in our lives – just as it was for Jesus – but it also reinforces that God’s actions in our lives, and our response, is not random or mere coincidence, luck or fate. God is always acting in our lives – drawing us closer to him, so that we may know his love and mercy, and ultimately his joy and peace. Even if we don’t know it (or want it) God is present – that is the love of God, our Father. And in certain, powerful ways, such as our own Baptism, God’s love and mercy floods us – but more often it is in the everyday interactions, tasks, struggles, even pain and frustrations in which we encounter God and his unconditional and overwhelming love and mercy for us. And like any relationship, it can’t be just one-sided, right? God’s love and mercy demands a response – this is what Fr. John challenged us to consider last week. If we are honest and sincere in our desire to find peace and joy in our lives – even if at this very moment we don’t know where that could possibly be found – then let me offer this challenge: Consider the words spoken by the voice from heaven in today’s Gospel: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” Consider what these words mean to you. Do your actions and words invoke such a response from God? From others? Maybe, if this is hard to contemplate for a relationship with a God who may seem distant or uncaring or even the opposite of loving, then consider your relationship with a family member, a friend, or loved one. Do your actions and words towards them invoke a response that says: you are loved by me like a parent for a child with such a tender, caring love, and even more you bring me great pleasure, joy, peace from being in relationship with you. If not, then why? Truthfully, to be in relationship with another should invoke such a response and cause such a response in return. And we know from our human experiences the great joy and peace that we experience when we are in such a relationship, right? This is just the tip of the iceberg for the joy and peace we will find in relationship with God. So, now consider this again in relation to God. It is God who made us – out of pure love, to be loved and to love. It is God, as we heard in the second reading, who, not because of anything we did to deserve it, but because of his mercy, kindness and generous love, saved us through the bath of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he richly poured out on us through Jesus Christ our savior, so that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life. And it is God, who gives us his help – his grace – as the Second Reading continues, by training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age, as we await the blessed hope, the appearance of the glory of our great God and savior Jesus Christ. God gives us the tools, the example, and the help to be in relationship with him, in which we will find the joy and peace our hearts and minds long for. So here is the challenge for you: each night this week, as you fall asleep, ask yourself: did my words and actions today towards God and others invoke a heavenly voice saying: “You are my beloved son or daughter, parent or child, sibling, friend, co-worker, stranger or even enemy; with you I am well pleased.” Remember that periscope from a couple of weeks ago: we are called to be holy – not perfect. So, we may not always be perfect in our relationships, but we are called to strive to love as we are loved by God, to forgive as God forgives us, to show mercy as God is merciful toward us, and to promote joy and peace as God gives us joy and peace. My friends, we are given the tools, the example, and the help to experience the joy and peace that awaits us as beloved children of God, with whom our God is well pleased. This week, allow time to prayerfully reflect on and grow in this relationship. May God bless you.

HOMILY – 4th Sunday in Advent (Year C) 2015

I took to heart Fr. John’s words at the beginning of this Advent, but too quickly I found myself too often grumpy, stressed and overwhelmed with the lead-up to Christmas – I became the “bah hambag” Fr. John warned against. While not quite 100% Ebinizer Scrooge, the season of busyness quickly left me not eagerly, vigilantly focused on the coming of our Lord. So, I am already planning for next year – I am thinking maybe a full, four week sabbatical for Advent will keep that from the same thing happening next year. Fr. John is hearing this for the first time, so I will wait to receive his blessing after Mass; and I have not yet run this by my wife, who may have some “reservations” with a four week sabbatical in December! Truth be told, I think that I would probably end up as stressed and overstretched regardless of where I was or what I did. Nonetheless, my prayer this Advent has led me to be maybe a little less grumpy, a little less stressed, and a little less anxious this Advent than prior years. And I attribute this to a growing/greater trust in God: a trust in God’s plan for me; a trust in God’s help; a trust in God’s care for me; a trust in God’s love. When I have found that I can place my trust in God more, I truly experience God’s help – his grace, and his care, his love. This is not to say that all my worries go away, that things will instantly be simple, easy or neat – there will still be challenge, difficulty and confusion and uncertainty at times. But when I put my trust in God I am less anxious, less stressed and less grumpy. Today’s readings exemplify and even inspire such trust. Certainly, the two women in today’s Gospel – Elizabeth and Mary – faced great challenges and showed incredible faith and trust in God. Elizabeth - advanced in years, with no children, thought to be barren, was pregnant. She trusted in God. She trust in his plan for her, which included some hardship – as a mother of advanced years – and God flooded her with his love and care for her and her family, like sending a cousin to help her. Which brings us to Mary – engaged to Joseph, but not married and now pregnant. She was asked to assume a great risk; she could have been rejected by Joseph, by her family, and her community – and she also faced great embarrassment and shame. She nonetheless believed and trusted in God and God cared for her by ensuring that she would have the support of her family and husband to do the extra-ordinary. Today’s first reading serves in one sense to foreshadow Christ being born in Bethlehem; it is Jesus Christ who as we read “shall stand firm and shepherd his flock by the strength of the LORD…his greatness shall reach to the ends of the earth; he shall be peace.” This is who we celebrate being born on Christmas Day and who we eagerly await his return to defeat evil and sin in the world and to restore all thing to God the Father once and for all. This Christmas, we celebrate our Creator, who so loves us, that he sent his Son to teach us how to love and restore us in the love relationship we were made to know and enjoy eternally. We celebrate Jesus born on Christmas Day whose love for us is modeled in his obedience to – doing the will of (as the Second Reading reminds us) – the Father. Truly reason to rejoice and worthy of waiting for. It is also the message of the prophet Micah in today’s first reading that should inspire trust in God. While there is some scholarly debate whether Micah lived during the period of the Assyrian threat to Judah or during the Babylonian exile – both were difficult and trying times for the Israelites – and so his message was one of hope: hope that can only come when one has trust in God’s plan; a trust in God’s help; a trust in God’s care; a trust in God’s love. Today’s Psalm Response is then a wonderful Advent prayer: Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved. We do need to be saved from our sin that leaves us bah hambag. We need Christ. We need to turn to Christ, with his help, and see and experience his love, his mercy, his peace. We need to know his love so that we can grow deeper in trust with him. We know this from our own human experiences and it also true in our relationship with God. Going back to the Gospel – there is great power in a greeting, right? As we read in the Gospel: “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” As you prepare for Christmas – just a couple of days away - consider how you greet others and the effect that your greeting has on them. Is your greeting towards loved ones and even strangers kind and charitable, one that would invoke joy in others (and even cause infants to leap in their mother’s wombs)? Is your greeting one that someone would immediately recognize that your are blessed by God for your trust in him? Even if you are burdened with stress or worry or pain, is greeting to those you meet filled with a joy that comes only from a trust and confidence in our God who will care for you, will love you, and will do whatever you need to be in relationship with him – even to send his only Son to be born of a woman in Bethlehem and to suffer and die so that we might have joy and peace. May God bless you this Christmas and may your greeting to others be full of hope, joy and peace that comes from a great trust in God.

HOMILY - Solemnity of All Saints (Year B) 2015

This Sunday we celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints. We honor and celebrate the lives of the saints: the great men and women who have gone before us and lived extra-ordinary Christian lives. We remember that we are in communion with these individuals – they stand ready and willing to intercede for us to our Heavenly Father. And, we remember that we are called to be saints, ourselves. Today’s readings give us a glimpse of what it means to be a saint. These readings remind us that our pursuit of a saintly life is what we were made to do, what will bring us the greatest joy, and yet much of it remains still a great mystery to us. Nonetheless, today we are reminded and hopefully inspired to live lives focused on things greater than possessions and stuff, our pain and frustrations, or the blink of time that consists of our time on this earth. (P) Today’s Gospel passage of the Beatitudes is the Gospel reading proclaimed at my marriage. I am reminded by these words, that as much as I am called to be a saint, by my marriage, I am also called to help my wife to be a saint. Hopefully like all couples, we want much from marriage: we want to be accepted unconditionally by each other, we want to be filled with love and happiness; we want a family. Ultimately, our purpose, our goal – what we want from marriage – is to help our spouse live a saintly life and to get our spouse into Heaven! So, the Beatitudes offer a wonderful examination of conscience for married couples on how they are doing on this goal. (And really this is for everyone, as we are all called to be saints and to a life of service towards others – some by marriage, others by a vocation to priestly or religious, some a single person in service to family, friends, strangers). So I invite you this week to get a copy of the Beatitudes and reflect over these words. • Jesus says: Blessed are the poor in spirit: o Not be consumed by possessions and wealth o But to have our life order to:  Have a need for God & Loving and serving others • Jesus says: Blessed are the meek: o Instead of being consumed by pride and selfishness; be selfLESS, giving of self with great humility completely and totally • Jesus says: Blessed are they who mourn: o Care and empathy for spouse o Allow others to mourn for you and to be comforted • Jesus says: Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: o Not so much a physical hunger and thirst, o But desire to love and be loved, our whole being is focused on the dignity and justice of others • Jesus says: Blessed are the merciful: o Mercy: to treat others better than they deserve; showing mercy towards • Jesus says: Blessed are the clean of heart: o Purity and chastity in marriage union and towards spouse • Jesus says: Blessed are the peacemakers: o Bring peace to the marriage and family; just not violence by also chaos, anxiety • Jesus says: Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice' sake o Not that marriage should be a persecution, but that sometimes, even marriage we will need to stand up for what is right and just and true, even if that causes division o Even better that we can endure hardship and persecution together Remember Jesus’ promise for those who desire these beatitudes: comfort, satisfaction, mercy; we will be called children of God and the Kingdom of Heaven shall be ours! My friends, be inspired by this Feast to become the saints you are called be AND Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.