3rd Sunday After Easter Homily (Extraordinary Form)

To put our Gospel passage into its’ proper context, it proceeds the passion, death, and resurrection of the Lord. Here His disciples were told, “A little while and you shall not see Me: and again a little while, and you shall see Me.”

As the disciples were undergoing these events in the life of our Lord I am sure that these moments felt far from “a little while.” Having to watch the Lord endure His Passion and death had to of felt like an eternity. The sorrow which filled them as He was placed into the tomb had to be great and those three days had to of felt long.

In our own life the sufferings that we endure can feel like they take forever instead of just “a little while.” In these moments we can be led to believe that we are going through these things all alone. It is so easy to lose hope when all that we know is sorrow and loss and are unable to see anything greater which comes from it.

Nevertheless, as a Church we continue to be in the season of Easter. Through this season we are able to see that death was not the end. As mention was made in our Gospel to this woman in labor, so too can we proclaim that Christ is the “firstborn among the dead” and through Him God has “loosed the birth pangs of death.”

In the midst of our own crosses, temptations, and sufferings we must come to place our faith in His cross and Resurrection. Through these two realities we are able to discover hope in the midst of all that we are called to endure in the life. No matter how great the weight is let us always remember that we do not have to endure this alone.

On May 29th the Church will observe Ascension Thursday. On this day we remember that He was taken up to Heaven. In this separation it would seem that the disciples again were left all alone, but they were promised that the Holy Spirit would come just prior to where our Gospel picked up.

As a Church we know this to be the Solemnity of Pentecost and as is seen within the sacrament of confirmation. Likewise, the Holy Spirit continues to come down upon us so that we may enter into the abundant harvest of the Lord with the assistance of God’s grace.

Let us place our trust in such assistance for we are not alone on this path which leads towards Everlasting Life. No matter what we endure in this life our hope is found in the Lord for His mercy endures forever.

4th Sunday of Easter Year C Homily

On this Fourth Sunday of Easter also known to us as Good Shepherd Sunday we are able to proclaim: Hebemus papam! We have a pope!

It was only a little over a year ago, May 7th, that this diocese came to receive the news that we finally have a new bishop.

We never know who the next pope, bishop, or pastor will be. Each them come with their own outlook on the world and interests. Each them come with their own strengths and weaknesses. Nevertheless, they have been given to us by God in order that they may be good shepherds of Christ’s flock.

I rejoice for the gift of Pope Leo and Bishop Mark. No matter what comes in years ahead, even when another pope or bishop is eventually named, I trust in those words that our Lord spoke to Saint Peter, “And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.”

Let us continue to pray for Leo our pope, Mark our bishop, and all clergy of the Church including myself that we may remain Good Shepherds molded after God’s heart.

Not only are we the clergy called to follow after God’s heart, but the universal call to holiness is extended to all be they a member of the clergy or of the laity. Be they married, single, or part of a religious order; all of us are called to holiness.

We can only pursue holiness if we are willing to hear Christ’s voice and to follow wherever that voice leads. Prayer must be a priority for our life because this world is filled with so much noise that is hard to hear such a voice unless we work at it and nurture it.

At times it can seem that this world has been thrust down into a period of darkness, but we must remember that it is Christ who has lifted us out of such darkness. If we hear and follow His voice we will have nothing to fear for we will be brought to the light of eternal life.

In the words of Pope Leo XIV, “For we are the people whom God has chosen as his own, so that we may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called us out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

Let us pray for Leo, our Pope. May the Lord preserve him, and give him life, and make him blessed upon the earth, and deliver him not up to the will of his enemies.

2nd Sunday After Easter Homily (Extraordinary Form)

On this 2nd Sunday After Easter we are reminded that Christ is the Good Shepherd.

In scripture it was the good shepherd who left the ninety-nine in order to go in search for the lost sheep. Upon finding the lost sheep he returned it to the flock with it placed upon his shoulders. This image is represented in the pectoral cross which was worn by Pope Francis during his papacy.

We receive here a reminder of the need for the Church to go in search for those who are lost in order that they may be returned to the graces which are present within the Church. This Good Shepherd Sunday reminds us of the compassion that the Lord has for each of us; that we too may remain in the confines of the sheepfold or return to it if we have wondered away.

As Psalm 23 states of the Lord who is our shepherd, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” Here we are reminded of that relationship that must exist with the Lord. Whenever we place our trust in Him we are given the assistance needed to endure in the midst of our sufferings, difficulties, temptations, and crises.

In the Gospel of Saint John we are told that we must hear, know, and follow the Lord. These three verbs negate a need to enter into relationship with the Good Shepherd. With so much that overwhelms on us in this life it becomes so easy to push this relationship off to the side and fill this void with something which can never fulfill.

If we are to hear, to known, and to follow after the Lord we must make this relationship a priority. In order to hear, we must stop despite the busyness of our life and dare to enter into the silence of prayer. In order to know, we must open our heart and mind to the deposit of faith. In order to follow, we must realize that we are being sent forth from the Lord’s midst in order to live the faith that has been handed onto us.

As the Lord states in the Gospel of Saint John, “They shall hear My voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd.” The keyword here is “one.” As we profess in the Nicene Creed, “I believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.” When the path gets difficult such as the need for an annulment, embracing conversion when it is difficult, or any other cross that comes our way we cannot go down the easy path because this leads us away from this unity and away from the Lord whom we should hear, know, and follow.

This Good Shepherd always goes in search for us, but as He told the woman caught in adultery, “Go and sin no more.” Let us come to know this Shepherd and remain united Him at all times for He is the Good Shepherd who provides for us in the midst of all of our needs.

3rd Sunday of Easter Year C Homily

The apostles had a difficult time catching fish until the Lord came in order to help them. Prior to His Resurrection we are told of a similar account when they were called to follow after Him. It was only after they were willing to listen to Him that they caught an abundant catch of fish.

Likewise, the Lord must be the refuge of our life. We so often attempt to find our refuge in a multitude of other areas. In doing so we are so quick to move the Lord far away from our midst as we place our trust in something else.

This evening the children of our parish have the opportunity to receive the Lord for the first time in Holy Communion. Hopefully this first communion will simply be the first of many times that you come to receive Him in the Eucharist.

No matter how many times we have come to receive Him we cannot act as if what we receive is just mundane food. The Eucharist is special not because we receive bread and wine, but through the reality that what we receive is truly Christ present with us Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity.

As was stated at the Second Vatican Council, “The Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life.” This is to say that we should live our life oriented towards Christ and His presence in the Eucharist.

Whenever we lose sight of the Eucharist we allow ourself to lose sight of the Lord. If we lose sight of Him we are like the apostles unable to catch any fish because our faith is found to be lacking. With our sight placed upon Christ we are able to catch abundantly because of Him.

For this reason we must frequent the sacrament of confession because it heals our relationship with the Lord broken down by sin. For this reason we must assist at Holy Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation because here we make time to be with the Lord. For this reason make time for prayer before the Blessed Sacrament because here we place our attention upon Christ. Parents must lead the way in living such an example and integrating it into the life of the family.

My dearest children we rejoice with you this day because of Christ and your willingness to receive Him. Continue to keep your sight upon Him and be willing to go wherever it is that He leads. The unknown can seem to be scary, but it is not scary if we place our trust in the Lord.

Through our “Amen” given at the reception of Holy Communion we come to place our trust in Him and His mercy which endures forever. May the Risen Lord continue to come to us in order that we may be sent forth to proclaim Him in thought, word, and deed.

Divine Mercy Sunday Homily

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

At the Easter Vigil the Pascal Candle is prepared for its use for the next year. In the ritual the priest traces the cross by stopping five times in representation of the five wounds of Christ to say, “By his holy and glorious wounds, may Christ the Lord guard us and protect us. Amen.”

These wounds assist the disciples in coming to see and believe that His Resurrection has taken place. The disciples came to rejoice at the sight of these wounds and Saint Thomas came to believe as he placed his finger into these same wounds.

Through the resurrection of the body that we profess we will be given a glorified body. Christ did not have to continue to bare these wounds in His Resurrection, but He chose to. These wounds serve as a reminder of His victory over sin and death and these wounds serve as a reminder of His love and sacrifice for humanity.

In the words of Pope Francis, “His wounds were inflicted for our sake, and by those wounds we have been healed. By kissing those wounds, we come to realize that there, in life’s most painful wounds, God awaits us with his infinite mercy. Because there, where we are most vulnerable, where we feel the most shame, he came to meet us.”

We can see how vulnerable the disciples where when the Lord came to them stating, “Peace be with you.” He also came to Saint Thomas in His own vulnerability with this same greeting and through these wounds He was brought peace.

Likewise, we must come to venerate these same wounds of the Lord in order that peace may be brought unto us. No matter where we find ourself to be these wounds serve as the answer and the hope in the midst of our sorrow and trial. We cannot just sit idly by doing nothing, but come to venerate and believe in these wounds which bring us peace.

From Saint Faustina’s diary we are told, “When it seems to you that your suffering exceeds your strength, contemplate My wounds.” On this Divine Mercy Sunday we are reminded of the mercy of God that springs forth for us from these wounds and how through them we are able to enter in and discover the peace which Christ can only bring.

Let entrust ourself to these glorious wounds, For the sake of His sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.