Homily: 4th Sunday of Advent (C)

The Advent and Christmas seasons are always especially social seasons. Most of us are making an effort to connect with friends and family with whom we haven’t been in regular contact. We do so through Christmas Cards and phone calls but especially through parties and home visits. Whether we are attending a gathering or hosting one at our own home, the stress of the holiday rush can easily drive us off the rails as it were. We can get so caught up in the details of planning, cleaning, decorating, cooking, shopping, wrapping, etc. that we easily forget why we are going through all of this trouble in the first place. Our holiday visiting thus becomes a meaningless whirlwind of eggnog and ugly sweaters.  

We just heard from the Gospel of Luke about another visit that similarly took place in haste, but this was no mere frenzied family get-together. 

Mary travelled almost 100 miles to see her elderly cousin Elizabeth, and in those days, such a journey was by no means a day trip. Our Lady would have found a caravan and travelled with it to the South, past Jerusalem and to the rural home where Elizabeth and Zachariah had secluded themselves during Elizabeth’s pregnancy. No doubt, Mary was motivated by more than simple curiosity, or a desire to test out whether or not the words of the Angel were true. Rather, we hear that Mary travelled in haste to see Elizabeth. To care for her aged cousin who was with child. Mary is focused not on her own well-being, but on that of Elizabeth. Our Lady travelled without the full knowledge of who the babe in Elizabeth’s womb would grow to be, however she trusted in the Lord who’s humble instrument she had become. 

Similarly, the Prophet Micah had no knowledge of the deeper meaning of his words. He was writing in concern to the events of his own time: a corrupt kingdom and the need for a ruler to come from a simple and humble place like Bethlehem, in order to instill (for lack of a better term) “small-town” values into the People of Israel again. 

Both the Prophet and the Virgin Mother are filled with hope, and embrace their dependency on God. 

When Mary visited Elizabeth she not only brought herself to their home, but she filled the house with grace, honor, and glory. She brought with herself the Lord Incarnate in her womb, an encounter with whom cleansed John the Baptist from Original Sin and caused him to leap for joy. John was the first person to recognize the presence of our Lord in the world. So let’s take a cue from him. 

I challenge you: This year, along with your casseroles and Christmas cookies, bring Christ to your visits. I understand that each one of us has certain family members that we don’t exactly look forward to spending time with. However, we must like Mary and Micah, trust in God and know that there is indeed a reason for us being together, even if it is only once a year. So, allow the joy and the love of Our Lord shine through you. And if you are the host: treat those who come to you as you would Our Savior Himself.

We don’t often think of Christmas as planting season. However, we are provided with amazing opportunities for evangelization, opportunities to plant the seeds of faith. We all have family and friends that have not been here with us for a while and when we see them again we will have a choice to make. 

(1) Do we simply greet them as we always do, politely yet neutrally, 

(2) or do we exude charity and love, welcoming them home and witnessing through our own actions, the importance of our faith and open up the possibility of their own faith to grow in them. 

This is how we plant those seeds of faith. It is God who will water and fertilize them, and bring them to maturity. 

Always keep in mind, while we may look at our upcoming holiday visits with a certain degree of dread: often times, those whom we desire to spend time with the least, are in need of our love and the love of God, the most. 

Homily: 3rd Sunday of Advent (C)

As a child I was always really excited when I saw the priest wearing rose. It meant that either Christmas was close, or Lent was almost over and I could eat candy again. While that sort of reasoning may seem juvenile, it is actually pretty much what this Sunday is about. In the celebration of Mass prior to the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, an opening antiphon was recited by the priest and sometimes sung by the choir as the celebrant processed up the aisle. The antiphon for this Sunday comes from our second reading from Paul’s letter to the Philippians. In the Latin it is: Gaudete in Domino semper. Iterum dico: gaudete! which means: Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice! That’s why we call this Third Sunday of Advent Gaudete Sunday. 

It may seem strange to us though, that in a penitential season such as Advent, when we are to be turning from sin, converting our hearts and minds to Christ, and seeking forgiveness from God for our failings, it seems strange that the Church wants us to rejoice and be joyful. After all, isn't conversion and penance something that in a sense take the joy out of everything? Unfortunately, that’s what most of us think, whereas in reality, conversion/the turning away from our disordered sinful behavior actually does the complete opposite. Conversion allows us to be more human, to function more as God created us. 

When we consider being happy, or having a good time, it often results in us indulging in things that in themselves are not bad, however, we tend to indulge to excess, which is bad. Such an understanding of happiness and joy-filled behaviors denies our human dignity. It leads us to behave about the same as animals. 

When we make the effort to purify ourselves and our behaviors from the disorder of sin, we become more and more human, what we truly desire to be. By becoming such, we are filled with true joy and true happiness. 

I’ve used this analogy before, but I want to use it again. A table is made by a builder to be used as a table. While we can try to use it as a chair, it will not work very well. We can get by, but after awhile we will grow uncomfortable and in a sense, unhappy. Similarly, when we live a life attached to sin, we can survive, however we lack the true happiness and peace that a life focused on living the will of God can bring. 

That is why we rejoice today. Not only because our Lord is coming soon, but we should be rejoicing for the joy that fills our souls through our efforts to turn to the Lord during this Advent season. If we are a little behind in those efforts, there is no time like the present to move forward. It’s never too late to turn to Jesus, to be made new, to rejoice in His Salvation!

Homily: 2nd Sunday of Advent (C)

In today’s gospel we’re introduced to a familiar Advent character, known to us as John the Baptist, the earthly cousin of Jesus. Yet, John played a much greater role than simply being the next of kin to Our Lord. The last line of our Gospel passage is unique to the Gospel of Luke, “…and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” This one line brings up an important theme throughout Luke’s account of the life of Christ, essentially that the Salvation offered by the coming of the Messiah, Jesus the Christ, is open and available to all. John was stressing the fact that the Messiah would not come simply for the Jews but for all humanity. This includes us of course, however, we cannot merely accept the Salvation of Christ in a passive way. 

Let’s consider for a moment St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians. Unlike the community in Corinth to whom he wrote, Paul was always pleased with the Philippians and their spiritual progress. They were sort of the “Golden Children” of Paul’s missions. He speaks of the joy which he feels when even thinking about them. Nevertheless, Paul does not simply praise the community in Philippi, but encourages them to continue to grow in their love for God. 

Paul says: “I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.” So we must remember that our life of faith, just as that of the Philippians, is a complete and total gift from God. God creates us with an innate desire to know and love Him. He plants the seed. Any inkling that we have to turn toward God is a gift originating in Him. Its is God who has begun a good work in you.

Similarly, as St. Paul says, it is God who will bring it to completion. Any progress we make in our lives of holiness is due to the grace of God, nevertheless, there is one caveat. We must be both open to and willing to cooperate with the grace we receive from God. St. Augustine tells us: “God who created you without your cooperation will not save you without your cooperation.” 

As we enter more deeply into the season of Advent, anxiously awaiting the celebration of the Incarnation at Christmas, there is no better time to open ourselves to cooperate with the grace of God. Our primary focus must be prayer. St. John of the Cross says “He who avoids prayer is avoiding all that is good.” Without prayer, there is no growth in the life of holiness. 

So, what ought our prayer during Advent look like? Well, the answer to that will be different for each and every one of us. We are all on different parts of the journey. We all have different stumbling blocks. We all have different fears and burdens that we carry. Yet, there is certainly things that are universal about our prayer. 

First of all personal prayer need not be difficult or complicated. Simply reading a verse or two from Sacred Scripture and spending some time considering that verse’s meaning for your day our you life in general can bring about rich spiritual fruit. 

Second of all, all prayer should consist in meaningful conversation with our Creator. Sometimes the best prayer is when we come before our Lord informally and simply talk to Him. We talk about our day, our lives, our relationships, our struggles our joys. Similarly this type of prayer can be incredibly beneficial for us, as it helps us get to know God as it were, and become comfortable in His presence. 

Carlo Carretto, a spiritual writer of the 20th century, once likened prayer to the relationship we have with someone we love. I leave you with his words:

I said earlier that prayer is like love. Words pour at first. Then we are more silent and can communicate in monosyllables. In difficulties a gesture is enough, a word, or nothing at all—love is enough. Thus the time comes when words are superfluous and meditation is difficult, almost impossible. That is the time for the prayer of simplicity. The soul converses with God with a single loving glance…the soul finds itself at ease, almost cradled in God’s arms. 

Homily: Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

Today’s feast is about more than a simple festive close to the liturgical year. Pius XI instituted this feast day to remind believers of the need to trust in Christ as the true King of the World and Universe in a time when such belief among the peoples of the world, including Catholics was waning. The year was 1925. Hitler had just published his book, Mein Kampf. Mussolini declared Italy a dictatorship. Mount Rushmore was dedicated. Europe was continually tense and the roaring 20s were in full swing. Morality was going out the window and respect for any kind of authority or leader was at an all time low. 

So, the Church, in her wisdom does what any good leader does, She looks around, sees trouble, and says “Let’s party!” What a better way to remind folks of the truths of our faith than to celebrate them. So that’s exactly what we do today. The troubles of the 1920s may have resolved themselves in a sense, but we are plagued with the same difficulties today. While it seemed like Europe was falling apart in 1925, Europe once again seems to be under attack today. While here in the United States we were exulting former great leaders in monuments of stone, so too today our government leaders are often branded with a savior-like title. 

Thus, this feast where we are reminded of the universal reign of Jesus Christ, our true and only king, could not have arrived at a better time this year in particular. The recent terrorist attacks we witnessed in France are sobering reminder that there is a lot of evil and danger in our world. but what we recall today is that Christ has conquered the world. 

While the idea of a king may be disdainful to our ears because of the evils we have seen carried out by earthly kings, we must recall that Our Heavenly King, Jesus Christ, is the first and finest example of a king who rules through humility, meekness, and self-sacrificial love. That is why we ought to rejoice in his reign. It is not a reign of terror like those we have witnessed for centuries throughout the world, but rather a reign of love, a reign of justice, a reign of peace, a reign of security. 

Considering the dangerous waters we have entered in recent years concerning our own religious liberty in our country, we all the more ought to celebrate with joy and openness this feast. Declaring to the world that it is Christ who is in charge, God who rules all, not man. The ease with which we forget that truth is greatly alarming. Therefore, such a reminder as this great solemnity provides is crucial to our living of the Christian life. 

Albeit, in our Gospel today, we hear Pilate questioning Jesus, and being left utterly confused. Our Lord professes that his Kingdom is not of this world. However, this does not mean that he has nothing to do with this world or that the kingdoms of earth ought not be subject to him. Rather the contrary! His kingdom contains all that is in the heavens and on earth. All peoples, nations and lands are under his sovereignty. Therefore, we must remember that even in our great nation with our decrees of separation of Church and State, we must never understand this as a license for our rulers and legislators to see themselves as operating completely disconnected from, and not answerable to, the truth and the rule of Almighty God. 

Our marching orders should be taken from the encyclical of Pius XI, written on the institution of this feast. The Holy Father tells us: “While nations insult the beloved name of our Redeemer by suppressing all mention of it in their conferences and parliaments, we must all the more loudly proclaim his kingly dignity and power, all the more universally affirm his rights.” 

As the King of the Universe, EVERYTHING is under his care and under his dominion. this should bring us not only great joy and encouragement in the face of struggles, but this truth should serve to strengthen our resolve to live our lives as faithful followers of our true leader, Jesus Christ. 

Homily: 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)

  As the Church prepares for the end of the liturgical year, which is next week, the passages from scripture that we hear are more apocalyptic in nature than what we are used to. They focus primarily on what will happen at the end of the world as we know it. 

It’s really quite fitting however, because if we look around we can see all sorts of things coming to an end. With the arrival of cold weather we see a different scene outside. Trees have lost their leaves, plants are dying into the ground, the vibrant colors of pumpkins and fall mums are fading all around us. The sun doesn’t last as long in the day, and we are surrounded more and more in darkness and cold. The sunny joy of summer is ended. Instead we are about to enter into a different season, a season of preparation and anticipation of the coming of the Lord. 

Now, while we can all circle December 25 on the calendar and prepare as much as possible for the celebration of Christmas, the day when our Lord comes in glory for the final judgement of the earth cannot be determined. In the gospel that we heard, Jesus seems to understand that it will be rather soon. He says “this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place.” That would mean He had about 40 or so years to come back, so it would appear that Jesus’ math was a wee bit off. However, if we take his words more figuratively, we can understand that he is making a reference to the Temple and it’s destruction, which did in fact take place about 40 years later. 

However, the Lord urges us to watch for the signs of His coming. While we will not know the exact time or place of His return, much like the change of the seasons, we will be able to observe signs of his arrival. Now, we are not all supposed to go and build up and “end of the world survival kit” and become paranoid. However, we ought to remain vigilant. We must avoid becoming so engrossed in our daily lives and the medial and mundane tasks we must complete that we forget about the need to nurture our life in Christ and our relationship with the Almighty. 

While its easy to feel like Jesus is never going to come again, we must remember that sense of urgency contained in the Gospel passage today. To be a follower of Jesus and to be fully and truly prepared for His arrival requires deep and ongoing conversion. There is no place for the half-hearted disciple in the kingdom. Every journey begins with one step, so we all must take that step now. We must not wait or procrastinate when it comes to our life of faith and setting the proper course for our final destination. 

Faith, Hope, and Charity (or Love) are the virtues we must seek in this process of lifelong conversion. We can’t form those virtues ourselves, they require the grace of God in order to grow in us, but we must ask for that grace. “Ask and you shall receive” the Lord tells us, so ask for these things. 

(1) Lord, give me the gift of faith. 

(2) Lord, fill my heart with Hope. 

(3) Lord, help me to Love you more and love those to whom you send me.

God will always answer our requests. While it may be in His time, and in the manner He chooses, he does not forsake us, his beloved children. So remember that as we wrap up this year. Truly enter into Advent this year, preparing your hearts and souls for the coming of the Lord, but don’t that preparation end at Christmas. 

Allow what begins this Advent to continue for the rest of your life. Never stop preparing, never stop traveling toward Jesus. While we do not know the time nor the place of His return, we know with the most profound certainty that He has saved us, and He loves us. 

Now it’s our turn to accept that salvation and love, so that when he comes we may be with the wise to shine brightly like the splendor of the firmament and join Him in Heaven to shine like the stars forever.

Homily: 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)

     In our readings this week, we have two very good teachers presented to us, and they are not Elijah the Prophet and Jesus of Nazareth (though both are excellent teachers) but rather we can look to the two widows that they encountered from which to learn a valuable lesson.

     In our first reading, we hear of the Prophet Elijah arriving at Zarephath. This city was in the far northern region of the Northern Kingdom, where the peoples had turned to paganism, worshipping primarily the god Baal. Therefore, Elijah, a prophet of the God of Israel would not have been overly welcomed into that region. This was especially so since Elijah was the reason that whole area was suffering from a great draught. Nevertheless, this widow, who would have understood Elijah as her enemy, provides him with the water and food that he requests, even though she and her son are planning to die of starvation and dehydration. In response to her humility and trust in God, she, Elijah and her son were able to eat and drink for whole year!

     Our second widow appears in the gospel passage we read from Mark. During the Temple renovation project, there were set up six large trumpet shaped collection containers, each earmarked for a different part of the project. The great amounts of money deposited by the wealthiest of the Jews would have certainly made quite a bit of noise as it was poured into the metal pots and therefore would have drawn a great bit of attention. On the other hand, the widow’s two small coins would have been fairly unhelpful in the grand scheme of the project due to their miniscule value. However, it is her contribution that Jesus praises. What was it about this woman that pleased him so?

     Well, first of all, one must consider the plight of a widow in ancient Israel. Women did not work, they were supported by their male relatives, primarily their husband and sons. So, if a woman’s husband died, she had no property that she owned, no source of income, no status in society at all. Unless a son or close male relative took her under his roof, she was destined to die in poverty.

     This widow is indeed poor, however, she still gives TWO coins, she certainly could have kept one for herself, but she gives it all to God, trusting that the Lord would provide for her needs, as we heard in Psalm 146: The fatherless and the widow he sustains… This woman truly trusted in the care of God for his beloved children and therefore truly sacrificed by her gift.

     The point that these two poor women teach us, is that it is not the size of the gift we offer to God that matters, but rather the interior motivation for the giving of the gift. Do we make donations and so others may see our name on a plaque, or do we give out of love for others and out of love and gratitude to God?

     Throughout the course of our campaign we have received some large gifts, which is important because without large donations we cannot reach our goal, however, we have received many other smaller, though no less valuable gifts. Our motivation as good stewards is to offer not equal gifts but rather equal sacrifice in regard to those gifts. When I was in the seminary, during the seasons of Advent and Lent we would collect money for our sister seminary in the Philippines. Our rector always told us: don’t worry if you can only give a small amount, as long as it hurts a little, then you know it is truly a sacrifice.

     When the widows we heard about today gave, it certainly hurt. However, they trusted in the care and protection of God. We too must trust in the care of God. We read in Scripture that “he who loses his life will save it.” Therefore, we can’t let the worries and struggles of this life keep us from the fulfillment and joy of the next life. I leave you with these words of St. Gregory of Nazianzen:

     Give something, however small, to the one in need. For it is not small to one who has nothing. Neither is it small to God, if we have given what we could [out of love].

Homily: Solemnity of All Saints

     Today’s feast, that of All Saints, may seem somewhat redundant to us. After all, we celebrate the feast days of saints almost every day during the week, is it really necessary that we celebrate them now all together? Well, I remind you of the definition of a “saint,” A “Saint” is an individual who is currently spending eternity praising God in the Heavenly Kingdom, having lived a life of faith and virtue while here on earth. This is not simply those found on the roster of saints canonized by the Church, but includes all those blessed souls who are now in Heaven with God. For instance, our family and friends who have gone before us and witnessed to us a life of faith and are now united to God fully in Heaven. These are the saints we celebrate today. The unknown vast population that fills the halls of heaven. These were real people who lived real lives and faced real temptations, yet persevered and have been given their eternal reward.

     We celebrate these unnamed Saints and look to them as examples because we can so easily identify with them, and especially because God does not call us to live the faith in a vacuum. We are called into a community of faith, to not only have a relationship with God, but also with each other. This relationship does not end with the earthly death, but when one enters the kingdom of heaven, we are forevermore bound even closer to him/her because of our mutual sharing in the divine life of God through our Baptism. This Communion of Saints is our connection with the “great multitude” that John speaks of in our first reading from the Book of Revelation. Those who have been faithful to God and are now surrounding His throne.

     Our belief in the power of intercessory prayer, especially that of the saints in heaven, is often questioned by our Protestant brothers and sisters. Why would we pray to someone other than God, especially those who are dead? Doesn’t Scripture teach against this? Well, I offer you this: if I am in a difficult situation and I am in need of Divine assistance, would I not ask my friends to pray for me in regards to this particular need?…Of course I would, therefore why would I not ask those friends of mine now in heaven to also prayer for me? Furthermore, the saints are the farthest thing from dead. In the Old Testament we are warned against trying to communicate and conjure spirits of the dead, something that unfortunately many dabble in at this time of the year. While these activities are meant to be done simply in fun (for example through a  Parker Bros. “Ouija Board”) such things can be incredibly dangerous and ought to be avoided. However, communication with the Saints is communication with those who are more alive now than they ever were on earth, because they are now sharing in the eternal life of God.

     So the question for us is: How do we get to be saints? After all, that is our ultimate goal, to make it to heaven, right? Well, Our Lord lies out the way in the Gospel passage we just heard. This list of blessed character types is often simply referred to as “The Beatitudes.” Both the first and last on the list, “The poor in spirit,” and “Those persecuted for the sake of righteousness” have the reward of the Kingdom of Heaven, however, the verb is in the present tense “theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven,”, meaning they have a share of the Kingdom here and now. Every other characteristic on the list is almost like a benchmark or subset to these two, and the rewards for them will be fulfilled later, in the future, in the Kingdom of Heaven. Thus, we ought to seek to embody these characteristics: be meek, seek righteousness, be merciful, be pure of heart, seek to instill peace in the lives of others, mourn the existence of wickedness in the world. These are the characteristics of a Christian, of a Saint. These are the characteristics embodied by those whom we celebrate today. Those whom we call on for support and assistance, for they have traveled the road we are traveling and persevered. In answer to the prayers of All the Saints, may we too persevere in our life of faith and one day inherit the Kingdom of Heaven.