HOMILY - First Sunday of Lent Year C (2019)

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

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

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

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

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

Homily - Second Sunday in Advent Year C 2018

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

HOMILY - Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) 2018

I want to invite you to our parish-school’s open house (tomorrow afternoon/this afternoon). Even if you don’t have school-age children or grandchildren, this is our parish-school and I want you to know our wonderful principal and the great teachers and families that are part of our parish-school community, especially because of your generous support - both financially as well as in your prayers for our school and our students. So please visit the school (tomorrow afternoon/this afternoon) and see the great things that are happening there. Well, earlier this week I received an email from a friend. It was one of those emails that you have likely received that has a story with some type of moral point to it. This email had great story that I want share with you - and even if you may have already heard it, worth hearing again. The story is about Charles Plumb who was a US Navy jet pilot in Vietnam. After 75 combat missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb ejected and parachuted into enemy hands. He was captured and spent 6 years in a communist Vietnamese prison. He survived the ordeal and now lectures on lessons learned from that experience. One day, when Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant, a man at another table came up and said, ' You're Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot down! 'How in the world did you know that?' asked Plumb. 'I packed your parachute,' the man replied. Plumb gasped in surprise and gratitude. The man pumped his hand and said, 'I guess it worked!' Plumb assured him, 'It sure did. If your chute hadn't worked, I wouldn't be here today.' What a great story! But, I share the story now for a couple reasons. First, I love that it tells the story of our veterans - those who did incredible feats and also those who supported them. So, on this Veteran’s Day (weekend), I thank the veterans here with us today (including my dad, a Navy veteran, who is with us at this mass) for their service - thank you. Second, I love how this story parallels our readings today and tells us really “how” we are to live as Christians. How we are called to humbly serve others and God; and how we can be inspired by others actions, and then how we can respond with gratitude for what others do. But before we get to the “how,” it is necessary to remember the “why” of our Christian lives. As I always say - and hopefully you’re not too tired of me saying it - the WHY is that we must remember that we are made to be in relationship; we were made to love and to be loved. This is what we do best, this is in what we find our truest and fullest meaning and purpose. It is in this relationship that we find our truest and fullest joy and peace. Because of this relationship our soul, our entire being, gives thanks and praises the Lord, as we just sung. But, because of sin we freely choose to fall out of relationship. By our thoughts and words, by what we’ve done and what we’ve failed to do - as we just confessed - we gradually or dramatically fall out of relationship with God. But my friends the good news is in today second reading. As we just heard: now once for all he [Jesus] has appeared at the end of the ages to take away sin by his sacrifice.” And the reading continues: [Jesus] will appear a second time not to take away sins but to bring salvation to those who are eagerly await him. So the question then is: restored in relationship how do we eagerly await Jesus’ return and our salvation? Today’s gospel gives us the “what to do” and the “what NOT to do.” To state the obvious (I hope), we want to be more like the poor widow, who from her poverty has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood. And we want to be less like the rich people who gave from their surplus wealth. (And to be clear, wealth is not bad - it is what we do with our wealth that matters.) Jesus makes the further point that we want to be even less like the scribes who accept greetings in the marketplaces, seats of honor in synagogues, and places of honor in the banquets, devouring the wealth of others, and much more - all for attention and self-profit. The scripture scholar William Barclay furthers this teaching by stressing two points. First, like the poor widow, our actions must be the sacrificial. It’s not about the amount or the size, but the sacrifice of your generosity - he says we must give until it hurts. Second, Barclay stresses that real giving has a certain recklessness in it. He makes the point that the poor widow could’ve kept something back for her own needs, but instead she gave everything she had. We can do this only when we are fully in love with God and trust in him. Which leads me to a wonderful promise contained in today’s readings. Our God cares for us just as he did for Elijah and the widow in today’s first reading (who by the way, also gave with sacrifice and even recklessness), and just as we sang in today’s responsorial Psalm - when we love and trust God, He sets us free, feeds us, cures us, protects us, and sustains us. It may not always be what we want (like that $1.6 billion lotto, which I did not win by the way) - but it will always be what we need! We just need trust God and ask for his help! I will conclude with one more insight from today’s Gospel. I love that Jesus knows the hearts and minds of the scribes, of the rich people, and the poor widow. He knows that she gave from her poverty, that she contributed all she had, that she gave her whole livelihood. And the same is true of us. In this intimate love relationship Jesus has for us, he knows us personally, he knows what motivates us, what pains us, and what causes us hurt and rejection and insecurity, and he knows what brings us peace and joy. And this my friends is a good thing. It is not something to fear or to run away from or to be embarrassed about. And, I love that Jesus pointed the Apostles to the poor widow in order to teach the Apostles, knowing their doubts and fears and insecurities, so that they know BOTH how to eagerly await AND how to be inspired by others. Going back to that email story of Charles Plumb, he goes on to state that sometimes in the daily challenges that life gives us, we may fail to say hello, please or thank you - just as he did countless times for the man who folded his parachute. And too often we do this especially for those in our lives who humbly and quietly care for us, who pack our necessary parachutes - our physical parachute, our mental parachute, our emotional parachute, and our spiritual parachute. And so I invited you, as you enter deeper in love with God, to be inspired by these individuals in your life who God has placed here and who love sacrificially and even recklessly. And then also I invite you to be grateful for those same individuals in your life. As you go through this week, I invite you to be inspired by and grateful for and thank these people in your life - your spouse, your children, your parents and grandparents, your friends and coworkers, and yes the stranger you cross paths with every day. May God bless them and you.

HOMILY - Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) (2018)

Soon after college, I worked for a political campaign - thinking that I might want to get into government or politics some day. I was working for George Voinovich’s campaign, and whatever you may think of him as a politician, what struck me was his deep Catholic faith. It was during a campaign event for him, in which I recall helping to celebrate our state motto that was being memorialized on the grounds of state capitol. Its our state motto, With God All Things Are Possible, that is from the Gospel of Matthew and parallels the passage in today’s Gospel: All things are possible for God. I will sometimes think about those days in my 20s and what I thought God was calling me to do, and then to fast forward to today, 20-25 years later, and still find myself wrestling with the same question: what do I want to be when I grow up, or maybe better, what is it that God is calling me to do. What is more clear today for me than it was in my 20s is: God‘s great love for me. Despite the challenges I may experience today, as a father, as a husband, and as a deacon, I am filled with joy in God‘s love, which I know and experience daily. And for this reason, I can say with confidence that I know God‘s love, that I know he has a plan for me, and that I trust in the plan he has for me - even if it seems impossible to me, even when I get discouraged and feel like I am failing. So today’s readings are wonderful boost in the arm. As we just sang in the Psalm: we pray for God to fill us with his love and then we will sing for joy. Simply put: In God’s love we find joy. In God‘s kindness, in his gracious care for us, and in his mercy, we experience joy despite any hardship, loss, pain, embarrassment, we can still experience joy in God’s love for us! Even more, this love is an incredibly intimate love, as today second reading reminds us. It is a love that is living and effective in the Word of God, Jesus Christ. As the letter to the Hebrews says: Jesus’ love for us is sharper than any two edged sword and this love penetrates between soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is a love, on one hand, that leaves us totally exposed and naked because it is close and personal, but also at the same time a love that allows us to freely choose to be in of this love relationship - how wonderful is that! And today’s Gospel tells us even more about this incredible, intimate love relationship God has for us. As we read in today’s gospel, Jesus knew what was on this man’s heart and mind, what was keeping him from truly entering into this love relationship, and what was keeping him from leaving everything to follow him – for him it was his wealth and money. In the same way, Jesus knows, intimately and personally, what keeps us from entering, fully and completely, into this love relationship with Him – while not all of us are called to leave everything and follow Jesus, we are all called to leave behind anything that will keep us from or hold us back from following Jesus. Our wonderful God know what that is, and out of true love, he does not force a decision from us, rather He allows us to freely choose – that is true love.   See, Jesus knows our wants and desires, he knows what uniquely fills us with joy and what motivates us; He also knows the pain in our hearts and our minds, our loneliness and our anger, and He knows our frustration and our pride, AND he knows what keeps us from loving him. I suspect that if we spend some time, anytime, we can quickly discern for ourselves, if we don’t know for already, what keeps us from fully entering into relationship with God, what is keeping us from following Jesus. But this is what is required of us to be in relationship: we must have the awareness of what prevents us from following Jesus. He wants us to be in this relationship, but He will not force or pressure us, he WILL give us the choice. So we can take confidence in the words from today’s second reading: the Word of God, Jesus, in his great love for us gives us the gift to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart – that is, to know what our heart desires (God) to know what it is that keeps us from loving him – whatever that may be for us. This is true now, two thousand years ago when the second reading was written, and true a thousand years before that when King Solomon lived and ruled. He was given the opportunity for anything, anything in the world, and King Solomon chose the gift of prudence – the gift of wisdom to know our true good and to choose the right means for achieving it. Our challenge is to every day use this gift of prudence given to us to know this great love before us and to better understand what is keeping us from the one thing that’ll bring us our greatest joy and our greatest peace now and eternally. Finally, if we are honest with ourselves, to love God will be hard – that was the case for the man in today’s Gospel and it is true for us today. It will require sacrifice, it will be radical and counter- cultural. And, just as Jesus for tells us in today’s gospel, it may require us to give up house and brother or sister or mother or father or children or lands. There will be times when we want to quit - just as the man did when he walked away from Jesus in today’s Gospel. There will be times when it will seem impossible to do. But here my brothers and sisters is the good news: Jesus promises us two things in today’s Gospel. First, as Jesus told his apostles, he says to us: for human beings it is impossible, but not for God, all things are possible for God! See, our God will give us what we need, when we need it – He, through his grace, makes it possible for us to do the everyday things we need to do as well as the extraordinary. We just need to be open to his love, to his plan for us – he will give us what we need! And remember his second promise in today’s gospel: even if we lose everything that we think is important here on earth, we will receive 100 times more; and even if we lose everything and even experience persecution, we will know eternal life. And that my brothers and sisters is our goal and our reward: eternal life - eternal love, eternal peace, eternal joy. May God bless you today and everyday as you seek to grow deeper in love with God.

Homily - 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) (2018)

Last Sunday afternoon, I attended an event hosted by the Diocese on Living as Missionary Disciples. The speaker reminded us that our primary purpose as Christians is to share the good news of Jesus Christ with others. For another day I will share more about what I learned – however, I am excited to say that what we’re doing in this parish is pretty remarkable to promote living as missionary disciples. Anyhow, as I sat through the presentation and reflected on it over the following days, I kept coming back to the first principle of living as missionary disciple: the need for a renewed encounter with Jesus Christ or at least an openness to such an encounter. And I’m convinced that this is the starting point, truly the foundation, for our response to the crisis facing our church today, as well as the crisis we experience in our families and our own personal lives. In the midst of the chaos, the anger, the frustration, the hurt, the disappointment, the embarrassment that we may feel in the wake of this recent crisis, my friends, there is HOPE. It is Jesus Christ who knows us and loves us personally and intimately. It is Jesus Christ who wants nothing more than for us to know God‘s great love, and the peace and joy that comes from being in this relationship. It is Jesus Christ who so much wants us to know and experience this love that he was willing to suffer and die for us. It is in this encounter with the person of Jesus Christ that brings us meaning and purpose, joy and peace, and yes hope in the midst of crisis. And you don’t have to take my word for it. Recall the exchange between Jesus and Peter in last week’s Gospel: as Jesus’ disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him, Jesus then said to the Twelve, "Do you also want to leave?" Simon Peter answered him, "Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God." Or the wonderful words of Saint Augustine of Hippo that Father John reference last week: “because you have made us and drawn us to yourself, our hearts are restless until they rest in you, O Lord.” And pulling from today’s second reading: God willed to give us birth by the word of truth that we may be a kind of first fruits of his creatures. Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls - Jesus Christ. And one last quote that I heard beautifully last Sunday at the workshop on evangelization - It is impossible to persevere in a fervent evangelization unless we are convinced from personal experience that is it not the same thing to have known Jesus as not to have known him, not the same thing to walk with him as to walk blindly, not the same thing to hear his word as not to know it, and not the same thing to contemplate him, to worship, him to find our peace in him, as not to. This encounter is more than simply following set of rules. Rules are good and important - and today’s first reading reminds us that God gives us rules out of love to help us. And Christ instituted the Church to further help us. But as Jesus reminds us in today’s gospel, the rules are not the end, but a means to the end - that end being this incredible love relationship with God.   And that is why Jesus‘ words spoken two thousand years ago, echoing words spoken many, many years before that, get to the heart of the crisis facing our Church, our families, and our personal lives. “Well did Isaiah prophesied about you hypocrites, as it is written: this people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me...“ As one of the Alpha testimonials shared last weekend: we must move Christ from our head to our heart – only then will we know what is right and true. See, when we experience and live in this loving and intimate encounter with Jesus Christ, we want nothing more and nothing less! So it is good that we are here to experience our living God in this faith community, and the Sacred Scripture that was just read, and in the Eucharist we are soon to share. And then, echoing the words of today’s second reading, we can leave our gathering today strengthened to be doers of the word and not hearers only, because as the author continues: Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world. If you are full of emotions and uncertainty about the crisis facing our Church, you are not alone. I believe that it is nothing less than Satan in the Church working to destroy its greatest threat: the Body of Christ, and things may get worse before they get better. I do pray that there will be justice for our shepherds of the church you have failed us, as well as reconciliation and peace for the victims and their families. And, in the meantime, I believe we can find hope, even peace, now in Jesus Christ. With that last point in mind, this week I invite you to do one additional thing to encounter Christ new or differently. Having celebrated Mass today, this coming week: Go to daily mass. Pray Lectio Divina - you can find it on our parish website. Go to adoration this Thursday - even for just a couple minutes. Go to confession and experience the grace and peace of the sacrament of reconciliation. Practice the corporal works of mercy: feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, cloth the naked, comfort the homeless, visit the imprisoned and the sick, and pray for the dead. Remember what we just sung together: The one who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord. My friends, take great comfort and strength and your personal encounter with our living God Jesus Christ today at this Mass and every day this week. May God bless you.

Homily – Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) (2018)

[4:00 PM – With us this afternoon is the Bishop Watterson’s men’s soccer team. I am grateful and appreciative of Head Coach Ed Mikula – a parishioner and strong Christian man – who works hard to keep faith in Catholic sports and who also sees sports as a means to build disciples – if they can train and compete on the field at the level that they do, then they can certain fearlessly and confidently share God’s love with others. Good luck in your season and God’s blessing on your lives as Christian men.] With this weekend’s readings, we continue our Lectionary detour, if you will. With Mark being the shortest of the three synoptic Gospels, we have this opportunity to pull from the Gospel of John to help fill-out the Sundays of Ordinary Time in Year B. And that’s where we have been for the past couple weeks and where we will be for the next couple of weeks. Specifically, we are reading Jesus’ discourse on the bread of life in Chapter 6 of the Gospel of John. It began with the Gospel’s author telling of the story of Jesus feeding 5,000 men, we moved then to Jesus’ discourse with his disciples and Jewish leaders about wisdom and truth and life, and then it will conclude with the topic of what we know now as the Eucharist. Father John has done wonderfully in walking us through this discourse over the past couple weeks. And just last weekend, he stressed Jesus’ point of caution of the futility of most earthly endeavors - a trap I too easily get consumed by! And then he left us with a great cliffhanger to ponder for this Sunday’s Gospel: because Jesus loves us, Father John stated, Jesus wants us to give our hearts to the right thing, and then he said next week you will learn more clearly what that right thing is. Father John had me hooked and I was eager to ponder that over the week and then hear what the right thing was, until I remembered that I was scheduled to preach this weekend and so I became the one murmuring just like we read of the Jews in today’s Gospel! Just kidding. While the cliffhanger that Father John left us with last weekend may not be quite that of the vote tally in the 12th District special election, Father John did leave us with a timeless question to ponder this week. And Jesus does give us that answer in today’s Gospel. Jesus wants us to give our hearts to God. And here is why: First, Jesus states in today’s Gospel that we cannot come to God unless the Father draws us to Him. The good news is that the Father does draw us to Him. In fact, He wants nothing more than for us to come to Him. And how do we know that? Because he made us, he made us his image and likeness, he made is good, and He sent his Son to lead us to him. Which brings me to the second take away from today’s Gospel. Jesus promises us that whoever believes in him will have eternal life. Jesus states that he is the bread of life and whoever eats this bread will live forever. It is by what Jesus taught and even more powerfully by what he did that we may know life. And, we believe that it is in and with and through Jesus that we may know and experience intimately and fully life now and eternally. This, my brothers and sisters, is what Jesus wants us to give our hearts to! I will pass the baton back to Father John to carry us, over the next couple of weeks, through the rest of this discourse by Jesus and to address (arguably) some of the most difficult words attributed to Jesus in the Gospels - how’s that for a cliffhanger! In the meantime, staying with today’s readings, there are several important insights about how we can give our hearts to the right thing, again using Father John’s words. First, we must be open to knowledge and truth. We can sense from Jesus his frustration and even a sadness toward those hearing his words but who are still closed to his message. I love his persistence despite those murmuring at his message and even attacking him personally, and as we will hear in the weeks to come that it was not only Jewish leaders who were murmuring but even his own disciples. But Jesus in his great love for us preservers – how wonderful is that for us! Further, Saint Paul in today's second reading challenges us to be imitators of God as beloved children and to live in love as Christ loved us. Following Christ’s example, truly this is what it means to give our hearts to God. See, God is calling us to do incredible things: to love as God loves, to forgive as God forgives. And as Paul reminds us, we have been given this great gift – the gift of the Holy Spirit – to help us to know where to give our heart; but too often it is something we grieve (using Paul’s words), or dread or even reject. So Paul rightly urges us to remove all bitterness and fury and anger and shouting and all malice from our heart and our mind and in turn to be kind to one another and compassionate, so that we can then be free to give our hearts to God. And it’s for this reason that I am so on fire with the work happening in our parish to build disciples. Whether it’s our Alpha program (and will hear more about that in the coming weeks), or That Man Is You supporting authentic Christian men in our parish, or the wonderful ministry of Walking With Purpose, which is building a strong community of passionate Catholic women who know God‘s love and are sharing that love with others, and through so many others activities and ministries in our parish, we are being equipped and empowered to set our hearts the right thing! And this leads me to my final point. In today’s First Reading, God provided Elijah with the food he needed to be able to have the strength to continue on his journey and his mission. And as we have heard in prior weeks, God gave to Elisha and to the Israelites in their moments of need the food that they needed - not only physical food but spiritual food - to give them the strength and the reassurance that they needed to continue. And how true is that for us now. God will provide for us in our moments of need. To be clear, it may not be what we want but it is what we need. Our God who desires nothing more than to draw us to him, Our God who is the bread of life that leads to eternal life will give us what we need to give our hearts to the right thing – to Him. He gives us the courage, the wisdom, the strength, the fortitude - or whatever it is that we need most, at this moment, at this time – in the midst of uncertainty, loss, pain, fear, doubt – God will give us what we need so that we, in turn, may give our hearts to the right thing. May God bless you.

HOMILY – 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) 2018

With the issue of immigration heavy on our hearts and minds (recent polls indicate that it is the most important issue today), I want to offer a quick overview of the church’s teaching on the matter, which I hope leads well into today’s readings. While our bishops have written much on current immigration trends, as well as policies and laws, here are two short paragraphs from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops worth repeating: The Catholic Catechism instructs the faithful that good government has two duties, both of which must be carried out and neither of which can be ignored. The first duty is to welcome the foreigner out of charity and respect for the human person. Persons have the right to immigrate and thus government must accommodate this right to the greatest extent possible, especially financially blessed nations: "The more prosperous nations are obliged, to the extent they are able, to welcome the foreigner in search of the security and the means of livelihood which he cannot find in his country of origin. Public authorities should see to it that the natural right is respected that places a guest under the protection of those who receive him." (2241) The second duty is to secure one’s border and enforce the law for the sake of the common good. Sovereign nations have the right to enforce their laws and all persons must respect the legitimate exercise of this right: "Political authorities, for the sake of the common good for which they are responsible may make the exercise of the right to immigrate subject to various juridical conditions, especially with regard to the immigrants' duties toward their country of adoption. Immigrants are obliged to respect with gratitude the material and spiritual heritage of the country that receives them, to obey its laws and to assist in carrying civic burdens." (2241) With this two-pronged - “both/and“ approach - to immigration in mind, I invite your continued reading, discernment, and discussion on the issue; and your prayers for our civic and religious leaders, that they may be guided by these principles; and for your continued prayers for all who are impacted by this issue - here in our country and throughout the world. Which brings me today’s Readings. I especially like this Gospel passage, which is found in all three synoptic Gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke. I like this passage for two reasons. First, in today’s gospel, we hear that Jesus experienced rejection (or at least a less than warm welcome) from those in his home town – in fact in Luke’s version of the story, Jesus is almost run off a cliff! In contrast, you have been incredibly kind and generous to me, a son of this parish. For this, I am sincerely grateful. Your support and encouragement for my ministry here at OLP has been overwhelming-regardless of and despite what you might say to me after Mass on the issue of immigration, which I do welcome! Anyhow, THANK YOU! The second reason I like this gospel passage so much is because we see the focus, passion, and persistence of Jesus despite the apparent rejection by those from his hometown. We read that even though he is rejected by family and friends, he continued to do the good work of healing those receptive to him. In addition to Jesus’ wonderful example of perseverance in today’s Gospel, we have the example of the Prophet Ezekiel in today’s first reading. As we just heard, the Lord sent Ezekiel to his own people, but a people who had rebelled against God, a people who were hard of face and obstinate of heart - certainly not a warm and welcoming group to Ezekiel, who nonetheless went to them at God’s command to bring them back into relationship with God. Going to today’s second reading, there is much debate about what Paul’s “thorn” might be - a sickness or a physical disability, it might be a temptation or other struggle in his personal life, or it might have been a person who posed a threat or challenge to Paul. Regardless, it makes sense what Paul is suggesting in his letter to the Corinthians: that with crisis or difficulty comes focus. For Paul, his thorn tempered the joy he experienced from private revelations he received from God, which might have otherwise distracted him from his ministry. For us, in a similar way, it might be an illness or loss of a job, or loss of a loved one that unexpectedly provides humility, clarity, and focus to what is right, true and important, as well as the ability, like Paul, to endure weakness, insults, hardships, persecutions and constraints. Truly, in these moments when we are weak, we are strong. As Catholics, we are called to share the good news. Yes, that means sharing the incredible love our God has for us. And to do so with persistence, even in the face of hostility, even in the face of hardship. And yes, it also means sharing how we live this love relationship in the midst of and responding to the hot button issues of our times, like life, marriage, sexuality and immigration. This is the grounding we receive from Alpha (yes, a shameless plug for our Alpha program) and the inspiration we find in today’s readings! Going back to immigration, we can benefit from the teachings of our bishops to understand the issue and how we can respond. The challenge for us modern Catholics is that we cannot live just in this space, but we must go back to our homes, places of work, public spaces, and online and engage with the world. And to engage not just with emotions, feelings and popular sentiment, but with facts, civility, and charity, and as today’s readings inspire us to do, with persistence, courage, humility, and to do so even in the face of hostility and hardship. And we must also, as we sang in today’s responsorial Psalm, always fix our eyes on the Lord, pleading for his mercy. And this my friends is the good news! Just as the Spirit of the Lord entered Ezekiel and set him on his feet, and just as our God filled St. Paul with grace, so will the Lord for us! God will give us, and has already given us, his grace to act and speak with humility, courage and wisdom to share the Good News. And quite possibly, he may give us a thorn in our side to keep us ever grounded in the reality of our life and our mission. Your response will be yours alone. Regardless of whether you enter both feet into the public debate on immigration (or other hot-button issue), actively observe on the sidelines, or take more contemplative response of prayer and discernment, know that the Lord is with you. May God bless you as you go and announce the good news of God’s great love!

BWHS Baccalaureate Homily (May 24 2018)

Today my father, Riley‘s Grandpa, is celebrating his birthday. My mom and dad are with us tonight. It’s a reminder to me of the multiple generations that make up the Watterson family, as well as the multiple generations of support that has brought Riley and you to this point in your education and in your lives. So I want to think the grandparents, the parents, the godparents, and friends and family that have supported these students on their journey to graduation. Thank you! I also want to thank the faculty and staff of Watterson for their instruction, their support, their discipline, their love, their example, their compassion for these students – you truly are wonderful. Thank you! It was 30 years ago that I was sitting at my graduation from Bishop Watterson. It was also my senior year in which we had a very tragic death of a junior student. While I did not know the student well, his death had a powerful impact on the entire student body, including myself. I recall at the funeral vigil that it was Deacon Iannarino (at the time he was not yet a deacon) who played on his guitar the song version of our First Reading. And these words have always been close to me ever since, as a reminder that God has a plan and purpose for us, although at times a great mystery. Nonetheless, I commend to you these words as a source of comfort, even hope, in the midst of the many highs and lows that you will experience after leaving Watterson, and as a reminder that your life has meaning and purpose and our loving God does have a plan for you. It was also in my senior year that I had another interesting event happen in my life. It was a Saturday night in May and I was set to go on a blind date which never happened – I got stood-up! Looking for something to do, I met up with 100 or so of my friends and classmates and we were off to have a conversation with a peer from St. Charles. Long story short, I was the only one arrested that night and ended up being charged with disorderly conduct. (There is of course a longer story that I will not bore you with now.) At the time, I was embarrassed and really devastated - I know my parents were too – and we were all thinking that was the end of the world, and certainly feeling like this event would define me and my years at Watterson and maybe even my future. Well I ended up moving on from that experience and fortunately not being limited by it. I share this story with you because you will have experiences in your life – and maybe already have – that will define you. In fact, you probably are leaving Watterson with some label or perception or rumor or misconception or event that has in some way defined you by yourself or by your family, classmates, friends or even strangers. Unfortunately, that is the society in which we live – it is a culture, as Bishop Campbell recently reminded us, that often defines our worth in terms of productive value and usefulness, by pleasure and entertainment, rather than by our inherent dignity. And in fact, that is exactly what Jesus experiences in today’s Gospel. In the passage just proclaimed, we hear that Jesus is very clear in his understanding of who he is and what he is called to do. And if we go on to read Luke’s Gospel, we will hear how people also had a very clear image of who they thought Jesus was and should be and they took great offense to him – so much so that they tried to chase him off a cliff. So I want to remind you who you are: you are made in the image and likeness of God; you made good – very good; you are made out of love, to love and be loved. And, most of you have heard these words from Bishop Campbell at the end of your Confirmation, however, they are worth repeating: never forget the great dignity and value you possess as a son or daughter of God – this is the source of your true happiness and peace! And, I will add, that because of this, you have nothing to be embarrassed about, nothing holding you back, nothing to fear – be confident and brave. Let me conclude with one more story. Like you, I ended my time at Watterson ready to move on to new challenges, new opportunities, new excitement – I hope that is the case for you. I went on and had a great first semester at college and then returned home for the winter break. While home, I was invited to the winter dance at Watterson. I said yes that I would like to go, but would need to call her back after I confirm. I remind you that this is before cell phones and caller ID. So I found her number in the school directory and called to say yes I can go, to which she responded: “thanks for inviting me to the dance, I would love to go with you.” I quickly realized that I called back a different person – it was quite embarrassing. The point of the story is while you may never come back for a dance after you graduate from Watterson, I hope that you always see Watterson as a home for you. I pray that it has been a place where you have grown intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually. And I hope it is also will always be a place where you feel welcomed to return – know that you will always be a part of this community, this loving and wonderful Watterson family. I would also extend that invitation to your parish church community. I pray that it too will always be a home for you - a place where you can find peace, comfort, and community; a place where you can go and receive the sacraments and be nourished and restored in your relationship with God. And, it is today’s second reading that reminds us of just how much God wants to be in relationship with us: God proves his love for us (St. Paul tells us) that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. And as Paul reminds us, it is this incredible love that God has for you and me that will bring us peace and will NOT leave us disappointed! There will be times when you stray from the Church (as I did), but like our loving God, the Church remains arms wide-open to welcome you back. So, I pray that you always feel welcomed in the Church – your home parish, the parish where you will go to college, or wherever life leads you – and that you will find there what your heart and mind longs for the most: to live in the relationship you were made to be in and to experience truth, beauty, peace, and joy - now and eternally. I am excited to watch you graduate on Saturday and even more excited to follow each of you do great things in the future. May you always know, whatever you do and wherever you go, God’s great love for you! May God bless you!

HOMILY - Feast of the Ascension (Year B) 2018

Last week, I was meeting with a parishioner and a friend of hers; and the parishioner introduced me as “the deacon at her parish” and then she went on to share in painfully-embarrassing detail how I poured sweat my first homily – great first impression, hun? She was telling the truth, and admittedly, there were many more homilies that I had to muscle my way through. To be clear, it was never about the message – I have always believed in the words I have spoken at this ambo – whether it was the Gospel words I proclaimed or the homily message I delivered. It has been more of a challenge to boldly proclaim the message – that’s not how I tend to be wired and certainly not how I was raised (not a slight to my parents (Happy Mother’s Day mom, I love you), they taught and modeled the faith well; however, we – my generation – were not trained or empowered to evangelize). So, I always love to study the early Church and pray over how the Apostles and other disciples of Jesus were transformed from hiding in the upper room to boldly proclaiming Christ and being His witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Certainly, we owe a large part of that transformation to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, which we will celebrate next week. It is the Holy Spirit that lives in us and transforms us, just as it did the Apostles – 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. I also believe that the Ascension event, which we celebrate this weekend/today, had a powerful impact on Jesus’ disciples – even though it can be overshadowed by the Resurrection and Pentecost. As we believe and will profess in just a couple of minutes: Christ ascended into heaven. This is the reason for joy! And here is why: The Ascension must have been a powerful event for the Apostles, just as it should for us now. Our celebration of the Ascension reminds us that: FIRST, Jesus proceeds us and leads us to our goal: eternal life in Heaven, SECOND, that the body matters, and THIRD, because of these two truths, we have nothing to fear. First, the Apostles were with Jesus for years and saw incredible things and they certainly heard Jesus countless times tell them that he is going to His Father in Heaven, but it may have taken His Ascension for them to comprehend this truth and that like Christ we are called to Eternal Life with our Father in Heaven. We/I can get so focused on the things of earth – many good and holy things, and many less so! So, having the focus on the goal of eternal life in our relationships, in our work, in everything we do, is good and necessary. The second truth of the Ascension is that the body matters. We believe that Jesus Ascended to Heaven – body and soul – and because of this our body, the same human body shared by the Incarnate God, has value and dignity. After our earthly death, which is the separation of the body and the soul, the body becomes corrupt while the soul, which is immortal, goes to meet the judgment of God and awaits its reunion with the body when it will rise transformed at the time of the return of the Lord. Our prayer then is that we may know – body and soul – eternal life, peace and joy! And it is also for this reason that we are called to give great attention to the body living and dead – promoting and defending the dignity and value in every person: from natural conception to natural death; and showing care and respect to the bodies of the dead. Finally, the third point on the Ascension: because our goal is eternity and our bodies matter, we have nothing to fear. Well, you may say that if this is true (if our goal is Heaven and our bodies matter), then I am going to hide my basement and avoid any risk or threat. However, we are called to do just the opposite. Unlike in the parable in which the steward buries in the ground the coin entrusted to him by his master, we are called to risk failure, risk harm, risk losing everything. We are called by Jesus in today’s Gospel to “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.” And, we are called to do so boldly and confidently knowing of Jesus’ promise: “in my name [you] will drive out demons, [you]will speak new languages. [you]will pick up serpents with their hands, and if [you]drink any deadly thing, it will not harm [you]. [You]will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” Each of us, through our own vocation and state of life (as St. Paul reminds us in today’s Second Reading) and with humility and gentleness, with patience, in unity and in love, and with the gift of grace, we are called to do incredible things in the name of Jesus Christ. As I have “matured” in my diaconal ministry, our parish’s Alpha program has helped me to better understand that we are called to be in relationship – an incredible love relationship – with God and that we are also called to share this good news with others. We are blessed to have our Catholic Church - with the Sacraments, its doctrine, our community – to guide us and support us in this mission work. It is also through Alpha that I have come to better understand and be empowered by the events of the Ascension: 1) that our goal is eternal life, 2) that our bodies matter, and 3) we have nothing to fear as we do the will of God. Our Alpha leadership team met earlier this week and we set a goal for 42 participants for our next Alpha session this Fall. While months away, I want to invite you to consider participating in Alpha – you will be transformed! I can promise you that. And, if you have already been through Alpha, consider being a host or helper. A meal, movie and conversation; 2 hours, one night a week of 10 weeks – not a big commitment and the return will be enormous and lasting. We will be talking more about Alpha, for now please be open to joining Alpha. May God bless you.

HOMILY - Second Sunday in Easter (Year B) (2018)

Last Saturday we received one person into the Church here at Our Lady of Peace. Greg Campbell is his name. If you have the chance to meet Greg, take the opportunity to do so. Not only are his wife Helen and him great people, but his Father John shared at the Easter Vigil: Greg's desire for the Eucharist has been strong and inspiring. And, he made quite an impression on me too! One thing that Greg shared with me (and I asked for his permission to share with you) was that the power of the devil, and evil, and darkness was so strongly pressuring him, really fighting him, in the weeks and days before the Easter vigil. He even shared in the minutes before the Vigil service was to start how much he felt the weight of the devil on him at that very moment - pressuring and fighting him to reject God, to reject God's great love and mercy, and to not trust in God's plan, God's will for him. And how true this is in our own lives now! I know I've certainly experienced doubt, a lack of trust, the devil-motivated desire to reject God's will and God's plan for me - and that's just today! And this is been true throughout history as we read the Old Testament and even the New Testament about the early church. And having a Star Wars obsessed home, I can say that if the Star Wars story line has any predictive value in this battle between good and evil, this battle will persist for years to come. And this makes sense: as long as we have free will - this wonderful gift God gives us to freely opt-in or opt-out of love with God (which is arguably is equal to the gift of allowing his son to suffer and die on the cross for us) - as long as there is free will and the devil is constantly provoking us, then there will always be this tension between good and evil in our lives. And even further, as long as there is gratification and pleasure - albeit superficial and quickly fleeting, then sin and evil and darkness will exist and even at times prevail. Right? We know this in our own lives. But my friends, there is still reason for hope and even joy. And today's readings ground us in this Good News! We read in the Gospel: Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them: “peace be with you.” He said that twice to them-and then again a week later as he returned to them. Father John will echo these words of Jesus in just a couple of minutes at the Sign of Peace. The words he will pray first relate back to an earlier section of John's Gospel during the Last Supper, as Jesus is trying to prepare his friends for what is to come and offer encouragement with a promise. Jesus says: Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. What a wonderful promise! Fr. John will then echo Jesus’ greeting to his Apostles in today’s Gospel with this blessing to us: “The peace of the Lord be with you always.” What was promised by Jesus at the Last Supper has been for filled by his Resurrection and it is something that we can readily experience here and now. Jesus Christ is before us now, in our midst: in the Words we read together, in the Eucharist we share, and in this community gathered together in His name. It is in Christ’s presence that we experience his peace. This peace is what the fearful apostles must have experienced in the risen Lord as he appeared to them and moved them into action in today's Gospel. It is the same peace that must have allowed the community of believers to put aside all that they previously thought was self-important and “to be of one heart and mind,” as we recall in today's first reading from the Acts of the Apostles. And it is this same peace that God wants to flood into our hearts and minds today and free us from all sin and evil and darkness in our life. For another day, but worth mentioning briefly now, is that today’s second reading gives us the “how” we can enter into and sustain this peace. It is first by believing in and entering into a relationship with God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - and then following God's commandments. And, again, more on this for another day. For today however, I want you to personally know God's peace and the great joy and freedom that comes to us when we accept this gift of peace in our lives. And I also want you to know that you are called to share with others this incredible gift God has for us. Going back to the Gospel, Jesus says to his Apostles: as the Father has sent me so I send you. Filled with the Holy Spirit, we are called to go and share this Good News of God's love, God's mercy, and God's peace with others. So here's my challenge for you: I know you know someone in your life who is not at peace, who does not know God’s peace. It may be a train-wreck or maybe someone who is just restless or feeling empty, but certainly not at peace. Maybe it's a spouse, maybe it's a parent, a child or grandchild, maybe it's a coworker or neighbor, or maybe a stranger who you see every day. It maybe someone who has left the Church for whatever reason, or someone who does not know the Church or even God. Maybe it is someone like the Apostles in today’s Gospel who is full of fear and doubt. Or maybe it is someone like the Apostle Thomas, who has fled the protection and support of family and friends at his/her time of greatest need. First and foremost, pray for that person. Pray that they may be open to the Holy Spirit already in their lives, that they may be open to this incredible gift God wants to share with them. Next consider inviting them to Mass here at Our Lady of Peace. Consider also inviting them to one of our incredible faith formation opportunities: Walking with Purpose, That Man Is You, our parish’s Lady Social (if room is available), our Alpha retreat on April 28 or a full Alpha session next Fall – and that is just to name a few opportunities. Consider inviting someone to explore joining the Church next Easter Vigil. Or just start with an invitation to coffee and donuts after this Mass to enjoy the fellowship of this loving community. Here's my goal: to have more than one person join the Catholic Church a year from now here at Our Lady of Peace. I'd love to have a large group of non-Catholics coming into the church a year from now and having you as their sponsors! I'd love to also have our faith formation opportunities packed with people, even a waiting list. The same for our service activities like our St. Vincent de Paul Society and the Knights. I'd love to have our parish school at capacity with a waiting list - and the same for our PSR program. I would love to have each weekend Mass packed – even standing room only. This can and will happen when we are at peace – in God's peace. And when people see that we are at peace, then they will seek that peace too and want to be a part of it in this community. I pray that you may know this peace now and eternally and that you may be willing to share this peace with others. I pray that the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus today, tomorrow and for eternity. (Saint Paul in his letter to the Philippians) May God bless you.

HOMILY - Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year B (2018)

I was having coffee with a close friend several weeks ago and we got into this great discussion. We were discussing whether it's easier to become a Christian and sustain that faith in wealth or in poverty, however you might measure that. We talked about the great boom in Christianity in Africa and Asia, where there arguably the greatest poverty in our world, as well as the fortitude of our Christian brothers and sisters in these same parts of the world, as well as the Middle East, where there is great persecution of Christians. We did not come to any definitive answer to the question, but it was a good conversation. Today's gospel presents a similar question for me: was it easier or harder for the leper to approach Jesus? Was it easier for the leper to approach Jesus, having really nothing to lose? He was already unclean physically and spiritually just as we heard prescribed in today's first reading from the Book of Leviticus. On the other hand, was it actually harder for the leper to approach, given the same situation of persecution, isolation, oppression, and then compounded by feelings of despair and rejection he most certainly was without hope and in despair. I can just imagine that he could be without any desire let alone the energy or courage to approach Jesus. But as we read in today's Gospel, we do know that he found the desire, energy, and courage and took the risk to approach Jesus, to kneel before him, and ask to be healed. Jesus responded with great compassion, right? And then as we read further in today's gospel, the leper was transformed: not only physically healed and spiritually renewed, but also empowered and energized to go and share the good news of God's love, God's healing, God's mercy – so much so did he share this good news “that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly.” As I reflect on this story, I wonder why, in my relative wealth, knowledge, security, and freedom, do I still struggle with my faith, I doubt, and fail to trust fully in God's plan for me. I wonder if I would have more faith or less faith if I had less wealth or security or freedom? This is the question posed in the Book of Job and it will be a reoccurring them in Mark’s Gospel as we will read throughout the coming year of those who are foreigners, outcasts, and the persecuted and who still approach Jesus was great hope and faith and trust that they will be healed. Well here is what I do know and I believe: I believe that God made us he made us in his image and likeness, he made us good, he made us out of love to love and be loved. I know and believe that God entered into our humanity to show us his love and teach us how to love, especially by showing such great acts of mercy and compassion as we read in today's gospel. And it is the same God who willing takes incredible risks and suffers greatly out of love for us even dying on the cross for the leper, for you and for me! I also know and believe that God gave us his Spirit, who as we will stand together in just a couple of minutes and profess: is the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, out of love, for love. Our Eighth graders were confirmed with this gift of the Spirit last week; and our second graders experienced this gift of the Spirit in the Sacrament of Reconciliation (yesterday/today), as they prepare for their First Communion. And it is the gift of the Holy Spirit in the Eucharist that we will receive today at this celebration that strengthens us and nourishes us to be and remain in this love relationship with God. [And it is the Holy Spirit who has helped sustain the marriages of those we celebrate today – those who celebrate a jubilee anniversary this calendar year; and as you will read in bulletin, many were married here – how wonderful.] And I believe it is the Holy Spirit who was working in the leper giving him the courage, the energy, the hope, the faith to approach Jesus and to ask him to heal him. It was also then the Holy Spirit that then empowered the healed-leper to go and proclaim the good news of his healing everywhere he could. It is that same spirit working in each one of us bringing us here, to bringing us back into relationship with God, despite whatever may keep us from trusting him fully, despite whatever may be keeping us from believing in him completely, despite whatever it may be keeping us from hoping in him. It is the Holy Spirit who help us to – as we just sung: turn to the Lord in our time of trouble and to be filled with the joy of salvation! AND it is the same Holy Spirit that gives us the grace – the gift - to be able to share the good news with others when we do experience God’s love. With all this in mind, I love what Saint Paul has to say to us in today’s second reading. He is reminding us that God gives us laws, they are important and serve as a kind of the guard rail in our lives. But simply following rules doesn't make us holy, it doesn't make us get to heaven. It is about our behavior especially our behavior towards God and others. Paul urges us to follow his example, which is really an imitation of Christ, so we must stay focused and not be distracted as we continue on our faith journey. And this means trusting in God, trusting his will and plan for us – and being open to the Holy Spirit to help us do this! So wherever you are in your faith journey, these readings remind us that: here is Jesus waiting for us, waiting to heal us, to restore us in relationship with him. Here is Jesus ready and willing to offer us the greatest joy, the greatest peace, the greatest happiness that we could ever imagine. Here is our God ready to give us, through his Holy Spirit, the help we need – the desire, the courage, the energy to approach Jesus. It for this reason we can have hope - hope despite our hardship or challenge – that we can approach Jesus and find peace and joy. Today's readings remind us and give us a reason to take a risk - just as the leper took a risk, we too must take a risk to move outside of our comfort zone, to move outside of our own challenges and hardships, to approach Jesus, to kneel before him, and to ask for his healing so that we might experience the joy and peace that awaits us now and eternally. May God bless you.

HOMILY - Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) (2018)

I had the joy and honor to pray with our eighth graders on Friday as they are preparing for their Confirmation next month. As Father John was hearing confessions, I was praying with them before the Blessed Sacrament (at St. Charles high school). As you may know or can imagine, it's tough to be a young adult in today's society. And so I ask for your prayers for them as they prepare for Confirmation. I pray that they may be open to the Holy Spirit everyday to receive the power and wisdom and courage or whatever else they may need to be the Catholic man and woman they are called to be. As I was in prayer, I was also reminded by how much they are bombarded by so many mixed messages about their meaning, purpose, value and worth in life – AND how their Catholic faith can be such a wonderful source of encouragement, hope, and direction. And, even more, how today’s readings offer for them and each of us great guidance. Despite all of the progress we have made in science and health and so many other areas of our life, we arguable are living in a culture of sin and death that is not too different from the one Saint Paul is writing to in today's second reading. This reading is one of these readings where we can easily get lost because of the translation of Saint Paul’s words in to these long and complex sentences and it just doesn't seem to be easily understood. However, what Paul is saying is so beautiful and so timely for us - just not our eighth graders but every one of us. As we read today’s Second reading, St. Paul reminds us that the body is not for immorality, despite what society tells us – in other words, the body is not for our self-gratification and pleasure, but it is for the Lord! Our bodies are made to serve the Lord and we do that by our acts of charity, by our acts of kindness, by our acts of selfLESSness, by our acts of service, by our total self giving of ourselves to the needs of others. Saint Paul then goes on to remind us that there is a profound dignity to our bodies - that we are made in the image and likeness of God, made good, made to love, made by God's love to know love and to be loved. And because of this, we can say, as Saint Paul does, that our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit and therefore we are to glorify God in our body – and I will add to also protect and defend the body from natural conception to natural death. And now for a shameless plug for Monday evening’s pro-life prayer service. We will have Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament starting at 7 pm, pray evening prayer together, and have quite time before the Lord. We just ended the season of Christmas – truly a season of life – let us carry this joy for life into our everyday lives by the dignity we uphold for our own bodies and the bodies of others, especially the most vulnerable. That will be my prayer on Monday. Going back to today's readings, they offer truly beautiful insights for us into who we are – our dignity and meaning, as St. Paul reminds us – and then what we are called to do. As Catholics we have a calling, really the responsibility and the challenge to share and teach God's love with others, which leads me to today’s Gospel and First Reading. Like our eighth graders, we are bombarded by so many different things and are pulled in some many different directions that it seems almost impossible that we could experience fully God’s love for us, let alone share that with others. In contrast, I think of Samuel in today's first reading. He is basically at birth given by his parents to be a servant of God and so from his very beginning he is on this path even though he doesn't know it at the time; and so he is in this prayfull place and there's no other distractions, presumably. And even the Apostles in today's gospel seem so quick to drop everything else and follow Jesus as if they had nothing else going on in their lives - no mortgages or tuition payments, or worry about retirement, or illness, or whatever else we have pressing on our hearts and our minds this very moment. So it doesn't seem fair or realistic to be able to compare ourselves to those we read in today's readings right? But really they are no different than we are - humans struggling with so many difficult decisions and choices and pressures and responsibilities. Like us, they were seeking truth, seeking life, seeking God. And like us, they may not know exactly where to go or what to do. And like us, they needed God’s mercy and his grace and his help to find him, to know him, and to love him. And like us, it is God who takes the initiative to invite them into his company, he does not wait for us to get his attention, instead he is there before us, waiting for us to say yes, waiting for us to say: “here am I, Lord, I come to do your will.” So how do we grow closer to God – to his love, his peace, his joy now and eternally? Like Samuel we can go to someone wiser and more mature and to help us, to guide us, to direct us, just as he had in Eli. Or like the Apostles, we can turn to friends and get their encouragement and support, as some did in John the Baptist. And certainly it is the company that we keep and seek – just like the Apostles - that will help us to continue in a life closer to God. And like the Apostles and Samuel, if we set our heart and mind first and foremost to God’s love then we will grow closer to the thing that we long for the most: God’s love. Finally, let me offer two more things we can do. Going back to my time with our eighth graders on Friday, first, we can pray: slowing down, clearing out all distractions – if just for a couple of minutes – to say: “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” God wants nothing more than for us to know his love and hear his words – we just have to listen! And then second is to invite the Holy Spirit into our lives and asking for God's help, God's grace, for God's mercy, God's wisdom in our lives. What we need, he will provide us. With God fully in our lives, we will certainly want to share that love with others! But first, we must be willing and able to hear God’s words and receive his help. May God bless you.

HOMILY - Second Sunday Advent Year B 2017

My wife, Tracey, has been on mission the past couple of weeks to find matching camel's hair shirts for our boys to wear this Advent, she found leather belts just needs the camel’s hair suit, so if you know where to find them, see me after mass. My family’s Advent fast of locusts and wild honey lasted about a half of a meal before there was a major revolt, so if anyone needs 40 pounds of freezed-dried locusts, please see me after mass. You know this but worth repeating… the season of Advent is a time for us to prepare for three things. First, we prepare to celebrate the anniversary of that historical event of Jesus' birth - God entering into our humanity. I am grateful for Father John’s periodic reminder throughout the year of this truth that we are an incarnation Church and people. Second, during Advent we also celebrate God entering into our lives daily through his grace, through his word in sacred scripture, and in the sacraments especially the Eucharist. And third, Advent is also a time to prepare for Jesus his second coming when, as today’s second reading reminds us, the heavens will be dissolved in flames and the elements melted by fire. But according to his promise we await new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Every year, this year being no exception, I recommit to doing a better job of preparing for these three truths of our faith. And I have to admit that this year I'm feeling a little better in my efforts. That's not to say that my life is any less stressful or easier than in the past - arguably just the opposite. But several things are different this year. For one, I have made a much greater, more consistent and conscious effort to place all my trust in God – trusting that he has a plan for me, for my family, for this parish, our country and our world. I can put my trust a God who can move mountains, fill-in valleys, as the prophet Isaiah proclaims in the first reading, and I can certainly put my trust in a God who has the power to create life, the power to enter in to our humanity, and the power to do so many more incredible things. I am also finding great encouragement from a book that is found at the doors of the church: Joy to the World by Scott Hahn. Admittedly, I am just about halfway through the book. However, the first several chapters have been quite inspiring to me as I've begun this advent season. One of the great insights or at least reminders for me is the truth that, as the author writes: The family is the key to Christmas. The family is the key to Christianity. I am blessed with a great family, and being a deacon has helped me be a better father and husband, I appreciate this point in the book. He goes on to quote: Pope Saint John Paul II who noted that “every good thing-history, humanity, salvation-passes by way of the family.” The author goes on to state that “the truth of Christmas begins with the family. The events turned historically on the decisions of a husband and a father, a wife and a mother.” AND, the author notes: “we know these events only because that mother pondered them in her heart and chose to share them with her son’s disciples.” Today we read not from one of the Infancy Narratives of Matthew’s or Luke’s Gospels that record these events, but from the Gospel of Mark. We will hear much from this Mark’s Gospel over the next several months as we read his Gospel during this lectionary year. But it is interesting that Mark, for many reasons as I hope to reflect on with you in the future, jumps over the infancy narrative's and gets us right into the public ministry of Jesus - 30 years later. I love that we have this Gospel reading today during the Advent Season. Specifically it is John the Baptist’s emphasis not only on repentance but on sharing the good news with others that should be our response to the events that we celebrate at Christmas and that should bring us purpose and meaning, as well as joy and peace. See, the purpose of Advent is to prepare our hearts and minds to enter more deeply into this love relationship God has for us and then to share this good news with others, just as Mary did with her Son’s disciples and just as John the Baptist did. We can accomplish by FIRST following the instruction in today’s second reading, which urges us to put aside our anxiety and worry and concern and be at peace, to conduct ourselves in holiness and devotion, filled with patience. Some may like John’s the Baptists more blunt proclamation of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Either way, we are called first to an interior conversion – preparing our own heart and mind to be deeper in relationship with God. SECOND, we must move beyond self to others by sharing with others God’s great love, power and the joy and peace that comes from being in relationship with Him. And we can do this most powerfully and wonderfully within the family God has given us. It may not be perfect and may not be the people we would choose to be with all of the time, but in God’s wisdom, He has brought us together as a family - a family by blood and by faith - and so we are presented with the opportunity to help each other to grow in our relationship with Christ. And so this Advent, I invite you to focus on how internally you are preparing for Christ, AND also externally how you are sharing with others, especially family, this good news of Christ entering our humanity, present with us now, and who will come again. Just as we would share a new job or an engagement or a new house with loved ones, why not share the greatest news of Christmas with those in our life? For me and my family, we are going to go Christmas caroling in our neighborhood. They don’t know that yet, but it checks all the boxes, right? Greater humility, family activity, and spreading the good news of Christmas. I will let you know what happens. The point is to start with self in preparing to grow deeper in love with God and then sharing the joy you WILL experience with others. I will conclude with another passage from Scott Hahn’s book. He writes: without Christ, the world was a joyless place; any place where he remains unknown and unaccepted is a joyless place. Everything has changed since Christ birth, yet everything remains to be changed, as people come to receive the child in faith. It is our challenge and opportunity to know this joy personally and to share this joy with others today, this Advent and Christmas, and everyday of our lives. May God bless us as you and your family as you go and announce this good news to others within and with your family!

Homily - Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A) 2017

Our parish school is hosting an open house (tomorrow/today). I invite you to visit, even if you don’t have school-age children. As our wonderful principal recently stated: “Our Lady of Peace School is a Catholic school operated by the Parish and the Diocese of Columbus … our primary focus is to offer a Catholic education for the children, first and foremost, of families who attend the parish.” This is our school and I thank you for the support you have provided it – I am personally grateful because this is where I attended grade school and where my older sons went and now my Kindergartener attends. Again, I invite you to visit and see all the great things happening at our school! Speaking of my sons, my boys and I have an ongoing conversation over the cases of bottled water I have stored in the basement, which I have purchased in the case of an emergency so that we have fresh water. I get very “energized” when I find them drinking those bottles of water from the basement when we have great tap water available to them whenever they want. My wife Tracey and I have a similar ongoing “conversation” about our grocery shopping habits - I tend to buy in bulk, while she is much more practical and getting just what we need for the week. She tends to do most of the shopping, but needless to say there have been times when my bulk purchases have come in handy. Which is a nice segue to today's Gospel. The point of today's gospel is about being prepared. Yes, on one level, it’s about having the right stuff and the right amount of stuff that you might need in any circumstance. But on another level, it is also about a readiness in one’s heart and mind. As the parable goes, the goal of all 10 virgins in today's gospel appears to be to get into the wedding feast - the party! It could be argued that the five virgins who ran out of oil were not really interested in going to the wedding at all – they were just going through the motions. Only 5 of them appeared – by their readiness to endure a delay in the groom’s arrival – to be really focused and committed to the goal of welcoming the groom and getting into the party. Yes, this is just a parable, and the lack of charity and hospitality of the 5 prepared virgins and the groom himself fails by Christian standards – but that is not the point. The point again is being spiritually prepared – ready in our hearts and minds to endure even delay, doubt, hardship and struggle to achieve our goal. For us the goal is to get to Heaven. This is not only our goal, but also our reward. Our goal and reward is to be with our God and to experience eternal peace, joy, and life with Him. And this is what we desire most! Today’s Responsorial Psalm expresses this reality beautifully: My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God. O God, you are my God whom I seek; for you, my flesh pines and my soul thirsts - like the earth, parched, lifeless and without water. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God. To achieve this goal that we truly desire and experience these rewards, we must be spiritually prepared – ready in our hearts and minds to endure delay, doubt, hardship and struggle. We can’t just go through the motions. We must "stay awake" as Jesus instructs in today's Gospel. Maybe not literally 24-7 awake, sleep is good, but nevertheless we must not be passive or inactive or empty in our time or words or actions. Think about those young girls in today’s Gospel – half were just going through the motions, the other half were “all in” - fully invested and committed and focused on achieving our goal. We must also be similarly prepared spiritually. And, yes, our readiness must include accumulating some stuff - we need to take care of our basic needs and provide for our family (even if it means sometimes buying in bulk and hording water bottles in the basement). But we also must be able to empty ourselves of all that we hold as self-important, all that prevents us or distracts us from surrendering to God’s will, God’s love – in that way we are completely focused on and open to God in our life to achieve the goal of eternal life with Him. So the obvious question then becomes how do I know if I'm ready – spiritually prepared - or maybe better asked how do I avoid Jesus saying to me: “Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.” Here is one test, of sorts, in the theme of preparedness. I was reminded of this a couple of weeks ago at our parish’s Alpha session. It is a passage from first Peter chapter 3, verse 15, where the author says to his audience: “always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who ask you for a reason for your hope." The author of First Peter is writing to a community who is struggling to live the Christian life in a hostile, secular society that holds different values from them and who are also subject to ridicule and opposition - sound familiar? As Catholics, HOPE is the virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness (as our goal), placing our trust in Christ's promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit. Saint Paul actually gives us a beautiful example of this in today’s second reading. As he writes to the Thessalonians, he gives his statement of hope to his audience. Despite adversity and doubt, it is his deep belief in the death and resurrection of Jesus that gives us new life and that for St. Paul is the reason for his hope. And it is today's first reading that reminds us that God will give us the grace - the wisdom - that we need at all times to be able to seek and find a reason for our hope. Consider the reason for your hope. What do you desire? What is your goal? What brings you here? What keeps you going despite pain, loss, hardship? What brings you the greatest joy and peace? The answer, I pray, is in part the desire for eternal life with God in Heaven. Your complete reason does not need to be some profound doctrinal statement (although it can) and it is okay if it is constantly in development. This is all part of being on a faith journey. The point is that we have working in our heart and mind this statement of hope – this reason for hope in our life. I get that this is hard. It's often not natural for us as Catholics to talk like this, right? We tend to be more comfortable in the liturgy, in private prayer and devotions. But we can do this - just as we talk with great passion about an issue that we care about or a person for whom we have great love, we are also capable of talking about the one thing that will bring us the greatest joy and peace – our God! And, if we can do this, then I have to believe that we are spiritually prepared to endure delay and hardship as we remain ever focused on God’s love and the great reward of eternal life. I have been working on my explanation and invite you to do the same. Pray over it, write it down, and even practice it with family and friends. I know that it sounds crazy, but if we can readily give such an explanation to anyone who asks us for a reason for our hope as a Christian, then in my humble opinion, we are well prepared spiritually to endure any challenge AND are worthy of a response from Jesus of “Amen, I say to you, I do know you – because you know me.” May God bless you.