Fri 4th Week of Advent Homily

We have finally arrived to the end of the season of Advent. This will be the final time that a service will be held inside of this Church during this Advent season. We will soon begin to prepare the inside of this Church for the Christmas season. This Advent wreath and these purple banners will soon be taken down and in their place will be white banners and the manger scene. At the middle of the manger scene will be placed the Christ child and he will be surrounded by Mary and Joseph. Our whole attention will be placed upon Christ who is at the center of this image.

The readings for this past week have allowed us to journey with Mary as she prepares for the birth of her son. We were able to be present with her when the angel Gabriel arrived to announce to her that she would bear a son. We were with her as she journeyed to visit her cousin Elizabeth who was to bear a son in her old age. We were present with Mary as she humbly cried out in thanksgiving for all that was bestowed upon her through the use of the Magnificat. Mary has now journeyed back home and is preparing for the birth of her son. We are left with Elizabeth who has given birth to John the Baptist. This is the child who is to point the way towards Christ. He is the one to inform us that we need to be alert and awake because the Lord is coming soon. All things that John would do would help us to place Christ at the center of our lives.

May we join with John today and begin to place Christ at the center of our lives. Christmas is coming soon and at the heart of this season is Christ who lays inside of the manger. In order to be prepared to be with Christ around this manger scene may we continue to prepare our hearts and souls to dwell with Him.

Tues 4th Week of Advent Homily

This is the fourth time that we have heard this Gospel reading during the season of Advent! On December 8th we heard it for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. We heard it again on December 12th for the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.We heard it this past Sunday for the Fourth Sunday of Advent and finally we heard it again today. Seeing that this reading has appeared to us on four occasions now in only a matter of weeks this Gospel passage must be very important for us to hear and to understand.

Today's reading from the Prophet Isaiah goes perfectly with this Gospel passage and helps to shed some light upon it. In this reading we are told that "the virgin shall conceive a son and shall name him Emmanuel." The Book of the Prophet Isaiah is located inside of the Old Testament which means that it was written long before the events of the Annunciation. Despite being written prior to this great event it foretells what is to come. In this passage from the Gospel of Luke we see that what was proclaimed by the Prophet Isaiah came to it's fulfillment. Through the events of the Annunciation all that the prophets had proclaimed and pointed towards had come to it's fulfillment. Therefore we are not following some new movement, but something that has been pointed to since the beginning of time.

Mary was the woman who was being revered in Isaiah's passage. She was the one who was chosen by God to be the virgin that would bear a son. In the Gospel reading she humbly accepted what had been bestowed on her from God. This humble woman is the perfect example for us today because she will lead us closer to her son. May we allow Mary to extend her hand to us; as she accepted Gabriel's greeting. She will take us by the hand and will lead us to the peace and tranquility that Is found around the manger of her son.

4th Sunday of Advent Year B Homily

I always enjoyed getting to use the computers that were at school because somebody would always have some pretty interesting games loaded upon them. Sim City was a true find during middle school and the Sims was the game of choice during high school. Sim City allowed you to take control of building your own city and properly running it so that the residents would have enough cops, teachers, water, electricity, hospital workers, and more. The Sims was a lot of fun because it gave you the opportunity to build your own home and place the furniture that you want into it. Plugging in a simple code would give you unlimited money and you were ready to build to your heart's content. With unlimited money the house could be as huge as possible and could have the most elaborate of furniture.

During this Advent season we have been preparing our own hearts and souls for the coming of Christ. For the past three weeks we have been preparing to come into contact with the light of Christ and invite Him into the home of our souls. If we still find that work needs to be done and room needs to still be made we still have one week to work with. May we use the remainder of this week making an innovatory of our lives and ask ourselves what we need to clean away from our souls if Christ is to come to dwell with us. This Tuesday will be the perfect opportunity for ourselves to prepare ourselves because on this day we will hold our Penance Service. We will have six priests who will be with us that evening and will be prepared to hear our Confession and to aid us in the building up of virtue within our lives.

In today's first reading from the second book of Samuel we encounter David wanting to build a house for God. For David this seemed to be the perfect plan, but God saw things otherwise. Instead of the building up of a physical home it was the desire of God to build up a home for the people of Israel. The line of David will be made as numerous as the stars of Heaven and will await the coming of the Messiah. This episode between God and David is not different from our everyday encounters with God. We often believe that we have everything figured out for ourselves and thus don't need to allow God into our lives. It is only when things begin to go horrible that we realize that God is all that we have to call upon. This lesson is perfect to carry over into our everyday life because it makes us realize that we are nothing without God.

Today's Gospel reading gives us the perfect example of how we can be made available to the will of God. Mary is the perfect example for us because the Angel Gabriel came to greet this humble woman and invite her to bear the Messiah. She was a young woman and was filled with fear. She voiced her opinion concerning how this could be possible seeing that she has not had any relations with a man, but remained open to the will of God. Despite the fear and mixed emotions that she might of had she was open to this invitation and accepted to enter into it by working alongside divine will. She is the perfect example of humility for each and every one of us. May we be inspired by this same act of humility and be willing to allow God to enter into the deepest spaces of our hearts, so that we may be transformed.

On the day that Mary gave her yes to the the angel Gabriel a home was prepared which is far superior to any temple that can be built. It is the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary that becomes the greatest palace that was ever built. It was through this humble acceptance of the Christ child into her womb that the death that was caused by original sin started to be overcome. Mary would have been content living a quiet and unknown life, but she was willing to be transformed through the actions of the Annunciation. We act in similar ways because our own plans are fragile compared to the will of God. This season of Advent therefore is the perfect time to prepare ourselves to hear God calling out to us wanting to grow closer and closer into relationship which each of us. May we be able to hear His cries and make room within our homes, so that we will be receptive to His will.

All of us live in a world that presents us with many challenges. When we turn on the news or open the newspaper we are left scratching our heads concerning what is going on in the world around us. At any moment our life can change for the better or for the worse. The only thing that we can be sure of is the love that Christ has for each of us. At this moment we may be happy and excited, we may be angry at someone, or scared for our future, but even among these different emotions Christ is present. He desires to extend his hand to us as Gabriel extended his hand to Mary. If we accept this hand that is extended to us we will welcome Christ into our hearts and homes. He will transform them and make them objects of great beauty because we have cast the darkness of sin away and have accepted the light of Christ into our lives.

Therefore my brothers and sisters in Christ may we allow "God to strengthen us" through the remainder of this Advent Season. May we be prepared to open the doors of our souls ridding ourselves of all evil inclinations in order to make room for the Christ child in our hearts and homes. No matter what struggle or joy that we may find ourselves in today Christ is present and desires to enter into our lives if we are willing to allow Him. With our desire to enter deeper into relationship with God we will begin to resemble the beauty that can only be found through this relationship. Through this relationship every crevice of our hearts and souls will resemble the beauty that was found inside of the dwelling place of Christ while He was in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Let us therefore fashion all that goes on inside of us after this great example, so that we may be strengthened through the Gospel and through the proclamation of Jesus Christ.

Thur 3rd Week of Advent Homily

Today's reading from the Prophet Isaiah tells us about the great love of God. Isaiah says "My love will never leave you."

Yesterday evening I got the opportunity to sit in on our high school religious education classes. I joined our Confirmation class for the first 30 minutes and then joined the Freshmen for the final 30 minutes. When I walked into that room they were speaking about the Nicene Creed and attempting to go deeper into the theology that it presents. The Nicene Creed says: "We believe in the Holy Spirit, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son." This line of the Creed presents the love of God to us.

It is only through the Trinity that we can find perfect love. It is through the Trinity that we can see that it is possible to love unselfishly. The Father perfectly loves the Son and this love flows into the Son. What would happen if there were only two persons in the Trinity instead of three? If this were true their love would be exclusive and would not be so great that it is being freely given. This love that is present inside of the Trinity is shared with us daily. No matter where we find ourselves today may we trust inside of this great gift of love and trust that even among our struggles that it is still present and will never leave us.

It will only be a matter of moments before we will come before the Altar of God to receive the gift of love that is found inside of the Eucharist. It will be here that we will receive Christ's Soul and Divinity and thus share His never ended love with us. May we allow this great love to draw us closer into union with Him!

Wed 3rd Week of Advent Homily

Change is not something that happens easily. It is tough to change towns, schools, or work places. It is hard to face the change in life when you have to come to terms with the death of a loved one. I am sure that things were tough for Saint John the Baptist's disciples when they realized that the Messiah had finally arrived. We have a change of the guard going on, but these disciples had to trust inside of the change that was to take place within their lives.

Today we celebrate Saint John of the Cross who challenges each of us to trust in change. Through his writings he has left us poems which challenge us to accept change within our hearts, so that we may be more receptive of God's love.

Saint John of the Cross realized how tough the acceptance of change is first hand. He got together with Saint Teresa of Avila and began to reform the Carmelite Order that he was a part of. These monks did not accept this change and so they captured Saint John of the Cross, beat him, and threw him into prison. It was from the darkness of this small lonesome cell that he would come into contact with the light. From a small window light would come into his cell and he would write his spiritual poems. He began to draw closer and closer into this light until he had left the darkness behind and was in union with God.

May we allow Saint John of the Cross to intercede for us today, so that we may leave the darkness of sin behind and begin to accept the change needed in our life that will bring us into union with the light of God.

3rd Sunday of Advent Year B Homily

Two weeks ago I was home for Thanksgiving break and I knew that once I returned to school that I only had two weeks of school left in the semester. The rule for us is that we can leave for our break following our final test. Therefore I looked ahead at my schedule and I saw that I could leave on Tuesday instead of Friday if I made the proper preparations with my school work. The preparations that I made was well worth it in the end because I was able to get my three papers out of the way before Tuesday. As I got into my car that day following the community Mass I had a lot to rejoice about.

During the Christmas season we are constantly reminded of the preparations that we need to make if we will be ready for Christmas. You know that we are in the Holiday Season when you cannot sit down at a restaurant or shop in a store and not be reminded that they have gift cards that can be purchased. Only a few days ago I was eating at Applebees and it was one of the first things out of the waitress' mouth. With two weeks to go until Christmas commercials are reminding us of layaway deals and sales to remind us that we still have a lot to take care of before Christmas gets here. People are spending time feeling out Christmas cards and checking names off of their list as they prepare for December 25th. There is a lot of preparations that needs to be done as we get closer and closer to this day, but this preparation needs to also happen in our faith journey.

It is during the season of Advent that a voice calls out "Make straight the way of the Lord." Today we celebrate Gaudate Sunday which is Latin for the english word rejoice. Throughout these readings we are called to rejoice. The first word out of Saint Paul in today's second reading was to rejoice. The community in today's first reading from Isaiah were also instructed that they need to rejoice. Saint John the Baptist had reason to rejoice because he was sent to proclaim the coming of Christ and Christ had finally arrived. The Church rejoices today as we prepare for the coming of Christ on December 25th which is only two weeks away. Keeping in mind that we have only two weeks before the season of Advent comes to a close we must ask ourselves what preparations need to be taken care of in order for us to rejoice with Christ on Christmas Day because we were able to "make straight the way of the Lord."

Saint John the Baptist's voice cries out to us today from the desert. This voice comes to us instructing us that we need to do everything possible to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord. It is impossible to prepare for this coming if we do not take the time out of our day to enter into the desert. The desert is the place that the Israelites walked through as they headed towards the promised land and is where Christ spent 40 days prior to entering into his public ministry. The desert is a place to go for prayer and for preparation. Of course nobody has forty days to enter into nonstop prayer, but we cannot make the excuse that we do not have the time for prayer. Prayer is essential for our preparation for the coming of the Lord. If we fail to take time out of the day for prayer how can we hope to rejoice this day that Christ's birth inside of a manger is drawing closer each and every day?

We should make every preparation possible for the coming of the light of Christ. This light desires to come into our hearts and homes and to dwell with each of us. Are will willing to accept the light of Christ into our hearts and homes or are we content with where we find ourselves today? If we are ready to answer this challenge to prepare the way of the Lord we will be able to rejoice here today and more importantly to rejoice during this Christmas season that the Son of God came to dwell with each and every one of us. Through our preparation this light of joy will become familiar to each of us instead of us not knowing that it is currently here with us.

Let us each rejoice with the community of Isaiah. Let us rejoice that Christ has come into the world and conquered sin and death. May we join in the preparation of this Advent season, so that we may make peace and justice spring up inside of our lives and homes. Peace and justice will indeed spring up inside of our lives and homes if we allow the light of Christ to enter into our lives. No matter what struggle or heartache that we currently feel Christ is knocking on our doors wanting to enter into our lives.

The problem we have is that this world is a loud place that has a lot of things to do. We have work, we have to study, we have sports, we have Christmas parties, and Christmas shopping to do and each of these things can get in the way of our preparation. May we no longer neglect God in our lives and may we give religion more priority within our lives. We cannot have this happen over night, but we must make proper preparations, so that we will have room for Christ to enter through the doors of our lives. With Christ present here with us we have every reason in the world to rejoice.

Therefore my brothers and sisters in Christ may we rejoice at the coming of Christ. Through this rejoicing we will prepare our hearts and homes for this great gift. Through this preparation we will proclaim: "Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed." We should rejoice today because our souls will indeed be healed if we can trust in the light of Christ that desires to dwell with each and every one of us.

Immaculate Conception Homily

Yesterday many members of our parish gathered together to decorate for the Madrigal dinner. One of the requests that was made was to find eight boxes of white lights. Father Jim and I took this task upon ourselves and headed to Lowes, Wal-Mart, and Big Lots to look for these lights. Only if the request was to come back with colored lights because they were available in massive supply. After finding only 4 boxes out of these three stores we realized that accumulating eight boxes was hopeless.

Our society wants us to realize just that. Our society wants us to believe that all is hopeless. Look at the media and all that it has to share with us and we will begin to see that their is no hope. We are told about the importance of our individuality which only means that we cannot infringe upon someone else's beliefs. In order to fit into the order of society we need to blend in with the crowd and never express our own beliefs. In a world where there seems to be no right or wrong answer it seems like we have no hope. If we turned on the television, radio, or browsed the web this afternoon we probably heard about that the shootings that took place at the Virginia Tech campus. With sad news like this going on in the world around us it is easy to believe that we have no hope. In our own lives we can think of examples of sickness, death, losing a job, or other things which presents to our minds that we are hopeless.

It is through the Immaculate Conception that this hopelessness is overcome. No matter how great the sin of Adam and Eve was, Mary has come into the world free of sin. The Immaculate Conception is the white light of virtue shining brightly among the darkness of sin. This white light shines out among the individuality of the world and expresses the truth of Christ our Lord. This white light shines brightly during our saddest moments with the hope that one day we can again feel joy.

May we allow this great light to shine brightly within our own lives, so that our faith may be transformed into something greater. No matter what state of mind we find ourselves in today the Blessed Virgin Mary is present extending her hand to take. May we grasp upon it and allow her to take us to Christ. As this great exchange takes place she whispers into our ears that all is filled with hope if you can trust in me and my son.

In today's Gospel passage an angel appeared to Mary and told her that she was to bear a Son. This news came as shock to her ears, but she was willing to trust fully in God. She knew that accepting such a great honor would bring her much heartache, but she still accepted this invitation. She knew that by accepting this invitation people would begin to talk behind her back concerning who the father might be. Mary was young and filled with much fear, but she was willing to be humble of heart and lay everything down out of love for God.

Yes my brothers and sisters the world can seem to be hopeless. All can seem to be dark inside of this world. We do have a lot to fear! At the same time we have the Immaculate Conception where Mary has overcome the sin of Adam and Eve. We have this lady humble of heart who is ever present to intercede for us during our greatest needs. May we allow Mary to intercede in our lives today, so that we may ever grow closer into union with God.

Tuesday 2nd Week of Advent Homily

My mother handed me a twenty dollar bill and gave me the simple task of walking into a grocery store and purchasing a loaf of bread. The task was simple enough, but once I got to the bread isle I had realized that I had misplaced the twenty dollar bill. I was filled with so much fear at that moment because I knew that my mother would not be happy. All inside the world was blocked out for that brief moment as I franticly retraced my steps hoping to come across the money laying on the ground. Eventually I checked my pocket for what had to of been at least third time and the twenty dollar bill was miraculously there. Now that I had found what had been lost I was able to regain focus upon the world around me that I previously blocked out.

I am sure that each of us here have misplaced something and have followed the same pattern of events. When something important or dear to us gets misplaced we are filled with fear for that brief moment. The Shepard who lost one sheep had to of been filled with this same fear and concern. His concern was so great that he blocked out the fact that he had 99 other sheep and retraced his steps until he was able to find the one that had been lost. After finding this one sheep he was finally able to regain focus upon the world that was around him.

Each of us here today are preparing for the end of this academic semester. Some of us are overjoyed that the end is finally here, some of us fear a test or paper that lies on the horizon, and others are unsure of what life will hold for them after this year. May we who feel as if we are lost trust in the great Shepard who is Christ our Lord instead of trusting in the fear of the unknown that lies within our hearts. May we use the remainder of this 40 Hour Devotion to draw closer into union with Christ, so that we may be fed by this great Shepard. May our fears be calmed through the reception of this Eucharist, so that we may again set our focus upon the world around us and do so in connection to Christ our Lord.

1st Sunday of Advent Year B Homily

A few summers ago I traveled to Guatemala to begin to study Spanish. This country has many opportunities to get out of the city and to see some of the surrounding area. They have volcanoes, Mian ruins, beautiful lakes, and more within this country. A group of us decided that we wanted to travel up an active volcano and so we booked some tickets with a local travel agency. We ended up in central park that morning waiting for our bus to arrive. The tickets told us to be there 30 minutes early or 30 minutes late! We arrived a little over 30 minutes early and waited and waited. It was now 9am the time the bus was to leave and still nothing in site. We therefore waited some more. With each bus that passed by we thought that this might be us, but each time we came up empty handed. The bus was now 30 minutes late and still we decided to give it more time. After an hour passed we decided that it was never going to show up and decided that we needed to look for new options.

We have begun the season of Advent and each of us is called to be watchful and awake. We are awaiting the coming of Christ and therefore need to be watchful and awake. Thankfully we know that on December 25th the season of Advent will end and we will move into the Christmas season. The problem with knowing this fact is that we must do everything in our power to prepare our hearts and souls for this great event. We cannot just stand on the side of the road allowing the world to pass by while we wait, but each of us must get actively involved in the world around us.

Those in the reading from Isaiah were called to be awake because the Lord was returning soon. They were informed that the world was passing away like withered leaves and yet they were called to be fully ready to be molded by God the Father. May we remain awake also and realize the strengths and weaknesses that we have. Through this realization may we understand that no matter how sinful or holy that we may find ourselves that we still need to hand ourselves over to God and to allow Him to mold our lives. Last weekend I was in Indianapolis for the National Catholic Youth Conference and saw this played out in the lives of 23,000 people. On the final day of the conference I saw lines backed up as far as the eye could see to partake in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The lines got so huge they added more rooms and confessors and yet the lines would only grow. These teens were truly being watchful and awake and handed themselves over to God to be molded in holiness. During this season of Advent may we also be watchful and awake and partake of the Sacrament of Reconciliation to aid us in this same process.

If we can be inspired to use this great season of Advent to help us to remain watchful and awake we will be like the Christians who Saint Paul was addressing today in his First Letter to the Corinthians. We are told by him that God is faithful and by Him we have been called into fellowship with Jesus Christ His Son. Nothing in life can surpass this great union of love if we allow ourselves to grow more and more towards union with Christ. This world is truly passing and there is nothing besides union with Christ that can leave us filled. Black Friday is the perfect example of people who are in search of the BIG deal. People have studied the sales paper, know what their goal is, have arrived early, and are ready to pounce at the click of midnight. Yes they may get the item they desired, but there will always be something more that they will need. My brothers and sisters if we allow ourselves to enter into this season of Advent and remain watchful and awake we will draw closer to Christ. Our only desire in life will be to grow deeper and deeper towards Him and His dive love. May we use this season to study scripture, realize what virtue we need to grow in, and make a plan that can help us to accomplish this great task.

We have been created by God with the hope that we will remain watchful and awake. When we remain watchful and awake we are ever growing closer into union with God. Let us not waste this season of Advent, but may we partake of it fully. If we desire to enter into this union it will come if we are willing to work at it. We will not be left stranded awaiting some unforeseen object, but we will truly begin to be transformed more like Christ each and every day of our lives. If we sit by and decide that we want to sit back and relax the days will pass by and nothing will change within in us. Christmas will come and go as will our trees and decorations and we will remain the same stagnant person. Let us instead use this season of Advent to commit ourselves to growing more and more into union with Christ.

As my group waited on the side of the road we were harassed by many local travel agents. They promised us that our bus was never going to come and offered to take our group in their van. They had IDs on them showing that they were licensed with the country of Guatemala to give tours. When we realized that our bus was not going to arrive we gave in and allowed one of the travel guides to take us to the volcano. Despite failed plans with the bus we eventually reached our destination. May we also accept Christ's offer to stay "watchful and awake." May we use this season of Advent to aid us in reaching our destination of reaching closer union with Christ. May we accept any tools that the Church offers us to help us arrive at this destination. The Sacraments are here to help aid us in arriving here if we decide to partake of them. Today we will receive Christ in His Body and Blood and we will be given a glimpse into the Heavenly Kingdom that we have been promised. May we not waste this season of Advent, but may we use it to grow in grace, so that we may see the face of God and be saved.

Wednesday 34th Week OT Homily

Last Wednesday I was looking forward to Thanksgiving break. I knew that I had to first head to Indianapolis for NCYC and following that event that I would head home to be with my family. Therefore I wanted to get everything in order before making the trip. First I needed an oil change and then I decided it would be best to start the trip on a full tank of gas. Thus I pulled over turned off the engine and filled my car. The problem came when I attempted to turn my car back on and nothing happened.

We often try to get everything in working order, but despite our hard work everything starts to go crazy. I find it striking when this gospel passage says: "You are not to prepare your defense beforehand, for I myself shall give you wisdom in speaking."

No matter how prepared we may think that we are we must think of these verses. We have all been given many blessings and trials, but we must always remain grounded in Christ. No matter how prepared that we feel that we may be we must remain grounded in Christ. Our reading from Daniel showed a people who failed to remain grounded in Christ. May we not get so prepared that we remove Christ from our lives, but may we instead give glory and eternal praise to him all the days of our lives.

33rd Sunday OT Year A Homily

The Church is made up of people who share one common belief and yet we as people are so different. Differences exist in our working situation, educational background, family upbringing, health history, age, and yet we still sit here joined together through the faith. We have nurses, teachers, students, farmers, fast food workers, and more present today and yet we have joined together for the celebration of this Mass. We have babies, children, teens, adults, and yet we have joined here to worship our Lord. There are those who are highly interested and those who are tired and those who want to get out of here as soon as possible, but despite that we have come here receive Christ in His Body and Blood.

These same differences existed in the early Church. We see these same differences played out in today's Gospel reading. There were three servants and they were not treated equally. One received five talents, another only two, and the last one received a measly one. We can defiantly say that they were not treated equally. Despite not being treated equally they were called to do something greater with what they were given. They were called to take how much or little they were given and to risk it all out of love in order to make it into something greater.

Yes we can look into the actions of the world around us and see that the parable of the talents is played out daily. We have rich people in this world who have been caught up in their own riches and could care less about using what they have been given for the assistance of someone who is in need. We have farmers who work hard inside of their fields and when they see somebody who is hungry they believe that they have nothing to offer them. We have teachers who care only about the paycheck they will receive and do not realize the importance that their job plays in the handing on of education to the youth of out nation. Hospital workers as well have been have been given the opportunity to see life in it's many stages, and yet some still are unable to see the importance of life in the people who surround them. What have we been in trusted with? Are we doing something with this to make it greater or do we fall in the sin of the servant with one talent who decided that it would be best to do nothing with what was in trusted to him?

Young or old we must answer this question. We must realize that nobody here has been dealt the same hand from God. Each of our lives are so different and yet we are called to be present today inside of this Church to present ourselves to God. On the day of judgment I am sure that nobody here wants to end up as the servant with one talent. The question for us is how can we take advantage of our gifts and make them greater. How can we who are present today begin to allow risk in our lives like the first two servants who were awarded greatly?

I am sure that shock came to the minds of these servants when they received word that they were to appear before their master and present him with the knowledge of what they had done with what they had been given. I am sure that the first two servants were relieved with the way they were treated, but that final servant and his lack of risk and love had to of come as a shock. Let us not join in his shock as we live out our lives. These readings from today present us with the reality of the end of times.

The end of times are indeed drawing closer for each of us today. We as a Church are drawing closer to the end of the Church's liturgical year. Next Sunday we draw to the end of our current translation of the Roman Missal. No longer will we be able to gather and respond with the responses that have become so familiar for us. These readings were placed here today to remind us of the end that is ever approaching.

Thankfully with the end comes new life and new opportunity. Yes next week will be the end of the Church's liturgical year, but a new one will be brought to life. May we take advantage of this opportunity to enter into a new year especially as we enter into the season of Advent and prepare for the coming of Christmas. Yes the Mass that we have grown comfortable with will no longer be used at the start of Advent, but with it will come a new translation for us which will help inspire us to grow closer to the divine. May we fully embrace it and enter into it, so that these changes may help us to further come into contact with the divine. Yes our life here on earth will come to an end, but we are promised life everlasting. May we use this time given to us to take risks with what we have been given, so that we may give greater glory to God out of love.

May all of us who are present here today be willing to take risks for the good of humanity. May we be willing to take risks, so that we may better give service to our Lord out of love. It is out of love that we will always be able to draw back to the Father. The first reading from Proverbs showcases a woman who was a great wife and was filled with love. She loved her husband and he loved her back. She worked hard and was able to take from her surplus and give it to the poor and the needy. She truly understood the risk that she needed to take within her life. She was not concerned solely with her own needs, but out of love was able to see the whole of humanity. May this woman be a reminder for us of the importance of taking our talents and risking all out of love. It is only when we act out of love that we may enter into the light of God and escape the darkness that was mentioned in today's readings.

We cannot allow ourselves to enter into the darkness. These readings may seem to present God as an angry judge, but we cannot see God in this manner. God loves us as much as the woman from Proverbs loved her husband. His love is so great that we are freely allowed the choice to squander our talents or to do something with them. Those who are cast into "the outside darkness" have chosen to dwell there. They have no desire to turn towards the great love of God and thus desire to remain in the darkness. No matter where we find ourselves today may we desire to enter fully into the light.

Yes today's readings may seem to be dark and sad, but at the heart is love and new life. May we trust in this love and even at the moments when we fill like their is no hope may we trust in the love that is continually shown to us by God. May we trust in the beauty of the Sacraments of the Church to help form our hearts towards love. May we no matter what difference may lye between us be able to draw closer to God out of love. May we take our talents as great or small as they may be and risk them out of love to turn them into something more.

31st Sunday OT Year A Homily

Halloween is the one night of the year that a child allows their imagination to go to work. They can become anything that they want to be for one night only. The only limit that they face is the limit of their own imagination. Will they become a ghost, a character from a movie or cartoon that they adore, or will they create a new type of being all together? All of this is up to them, but no matter how much they try or how close they look to the real thing they will never truly become their costume. They will always remain what lies on the inside which is the child who was filled with the wonder and imagination that led them to choosing this costume.

Today's Gospel is concerned with what going inside of our hearts and souls. No matter how many times we want to place a costume over ourselves, so that nobody will know what is going inside, we are reminded how important it is to dwell here to evaluate why we do what we do. We live in a society which is concerned about number one. Who is myself; who is yourself. Our society wants to ignore the importance of those who are around us and desires us to become more and more of an individual. When this becomes our motivation we are concerned only with ourselves and want the world to see what we do so that we can receive it's praise.

In this Gospel passage from Matthew we see the scribes and Pharisees concerned about their outward appearance. They believed that the length of tassels or being seen at the head of a banquet table would make a person stop and exclaim that they must be a highly exalted individual. Christ turns the tables upon them because he was not concerned about these outward appearances, but only cared about what was going on in the inside of these people. He reminded them of the importance of these signs and how they lead them closer and closer into a relationship with God instead of these signs making them exalted in the eyes of their peers.

So my brothers and sisters "What is our motivation?" Are we motivated by the community that surrounds us right now or do we only care about ourselves and what we can get out of life? As a preacher I am asked to stand before this community and make the readings of the day come alive in the life of the Church. It can become easy for me to enjoy the power and authority that comes along with preaching and do it for the sake of fueling my own ego. It is nice to hear that I have done a good job, but this affirmation cannot be the sole purpose of my preaching. This same example carries over into all of our daily lives. We do many great things daily, but what is the driving force behind what we do? Are we tackling this because we are able to see the importance of the community or is the driving force behind us feeding our own ego and not caring for those who surround us? Do we want people to stop when they see us and exclaim that you must be an highly exalted individual?

When we place this costume of pride over our souls we are feeding the fuel of our individualism. The only answer to this comes at the end of the Gospel passage when we are instructed by Christ to act with humility. Humility is the only way that we can tear this costume away and begin to become an authentic person. In this manner we are present in all of our strengths and weaknesses. We will realize that there are other people who surround us and we desire to do what we do not only for ourselves, but also for them. We realize that in some places we are to weak to do this alone, and that we actually need the aid of another.

Our second reading shows the humility that even the apostles had. They acknowledged that they were not preaching the word of humans, but were instead preaching the word of God. May we to acknowledge that we are limited by our own humanity, and yet can be strengthened through the graces of God. In order to grow in humility we must trust in the grace of God instead of trusting in ourselves. We must understand how we are truly powerless without our connection with God. It is in the Lord alone that we will be able to find our peace.

If we look towards what is to come in this upcoming week we will see many examples of humility played out in the life of the Church. On November 1st we celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints. On this day we come together as a community to recall the lives of a countless amount of men and women who have laid down all the actions of their lives for the service of God. These men and women who we now call saints each had their own strengths and weaknesses, but used them for the greater glory of God the Father. These saints were not caught up in serving themselves and their own needs alone, but were concerned with the needs of the entire community. May these holy men and women continue to inspire us to grow in humility for through this virtue we may finally be exalted.

We can also look to November 2nd when we commemorate All Soul's Day. On this great day we pray for all who have died in hope that they may one day be welcomed into the Kingdom of Heaven. All Soul's Day gives us a reminder of our own mortality and that this life is fleeting. We cannot accept this knowledge with pride, but must do so with humility. If we can humbly accept this now we may be exalted on the day of our death, but if we do not heed this knowledge and live life to be exalted we will first need to be humbled.

Let us therefore become exalted through and ever growing strength in humility. Let us especially remember this as we approach the Altar of God to receive the Sacred Body and Blood of Christ. We do not come to receive Christ as an individual, but come to receive Him as piece of this community. Yes we have many areas where we acknowledge that we must grow, such as the virtue of humility, but we know that the grace will be given to us through the reception of this great Sacrament. As we leave this Church today and encounter the many trick or treaters of the world may we call to mind the costume that we place over our souls. May we realize that humility will be the only way that we can truly become exalted.

27th Sun OT Year A Homily

The seminary that I have attended for the past four years has chosen Saint Meinrad to be it's patron saint. Meinrad of course is an odd name and I am sure that many of you do not know his story. I believe that the story of his life sums up this Gospel reading well and will continue to challenge us along the spiritual path that we strive to live out in our everyday life.

Saint Meinrad was a hermit meaning that he went away into solitude to spend time drawing himself closer to God. As a hermit he lived a simple life that was always focused upon God. Word of this holy man spread throughout the surrounding area. People knew him as a man of God and they realized that he had a lot to offer them spiritually. They knew with great faith that spending time with this holy man would make their faith so much stronger. Eventually a couple of robbers heard of the riches that Meinrad owned. They did not realize that his riches were his connection to God, but thought about worldly treasures of gold instead. They made up their minds that this treasure would be their's and so they made the trip to his home with the desire to kill him and take the treasure that he owned and to keep it for themselves. That day in prayer an angel came to Saint Meinrad and informed him about the intentions of these men. He knew that he would die this day, but accepted it fully and decided that he would welcome them into his home and treat them like Christ. When they arrived and knocked on his door; as Christ is how he welcomed them. He fed them and spoke with them, but in the end their greed seemed to prevail and they put him to death to find the treasure that they were in search of.

Today's Gospel gives us a parable from the Gospel of Saint Matthew which forces us to examine the Kingdom of God and ask ourselves if we do enough work inside of the vineyard to bear enough fruit to be worthy of this kingdom. It seems like we have been given a rough story with a rough conclusion. In reality we need to examine the reality of these scriptures. God has placed us upon this earth as the landowner planted the vineyard, and many prophets have come who have proclaimed the Father, but were put to death just as the servants in this parable were treated. Eventually God sent his own Son to us and He to was put to death which parallels the death of the landowner's son. Despite how we continue to fall into sin and turn away from God we are still able to draw closer to the Kingdom of God. I with great joy rejoice because despite the sin that we have brought into the world we may still be forgiven. We must hold steadfast in our faith!

Saint Meinrad definitely held steadfast when he looked death in the eyes. He had resolved to spend his life being a representative of Christ's love to all people. And he did just this when despite his knowledge he continued to treat his guests as Christ. I am sure that he was filled with fear, but he did not allow this fear to win over him as he continued to bear much fruit for the Kingdom of God.

It will be a sad day when we can say that it is easy to be a Christian. Yes I am sure that most of us will not be put to death over our beliefs, but that still does not get us off the hook of living out the faith that we have committed ourselves to living out. Daily we need to commit ourselves to the Father resolving to turn away from the sins of our past and thus to follow after Him with a new found vigor. As soon as we walk outside the doors of our homes the reality of the size of the vineyard should hit us in the face. Despite the fact that we live in a highly Christian area we should realize that there is still work that needs to be done inside of the world and therefore we cannot fail to live up to our faith.

We need to be challenged to live out our Catholic faith beyond the hour that we put in on Sundays. Maybe some of the great work that needs to be done inside of the vineyard needs to be done within our own homes. As our world has gotten so busy it seems to be to much to conceive that the family can possibly come together to pray even if it is only before a meal. How many times do we allow our own jobs to compromise our own system of beliefs? As important as work may be our faith is so much greater. There truly is a lot of work that needs to be done inside of this vineyard and may we fear not to begin to work hard for the greater glory of the Kingdom of God.

Pulling up to the drive way of this Church today we were surrounded by the graphic symbol of the cross. The juniors and seniors of our parish placed 240 crosses to symbolize the abortions that happen each hour in our country. This small act was their way to bring about the fruit of the vineyard to the world around us. These crosses should serve as a reminder to us of the work that exists outside of our own homes. May we not continue to work as those inside of today's parable who failed to see the many blessings that were given to them and thus put them to death. May we not join with them and send Christ out from our own midst. May we embrace Christ now and forever and allow Him to work His grace within each of us.

We will be unable to do any work inside of the vineyard of the world if we do not allow the God of peace to dwell with each of us. The Sacraments that have been given to us by the Church can aid our souls in this quest. At this Mass we will receive Christ preset in His Body and Blood. The Eucharist is the way that we come together as one body and allow our souls to be nourished by this great gift of love. Even when we fail along this path we have the Sacrament of Reconciliation that we can turn towards with trust. We must remember that in this parable no matter how many times the tenents failed the lamdowner did not lose hope, but continued to reach out to them with his mercy. Through trusting in the sacraments may God guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Saint Meinrad, pray for us. Help us to go into the massive vineyard of the world and fear not as we bear great fruit from among it.

Memorial of St. Jerome Homily

How many reminders do we need of God's love for us? The joy of being present when life is brought into the world. A near death experience which shows us the importance of the life that we have been given. That no matter how bad things seem to get we are still blessed to have a roof over our heads and food on our tables. Yes we have a countless amount of experiences that have been given to us and remind us of our love for God, but our generation is not unlike those that have gone before us.

The scriptures for today's Mass document this struggle in the generations that have gone before us. The Jewish people were led into the desert by Moses. They were freed from their slavery and yet they continued to turn against God through their actions. The prophets came to the descendants of these people and still they would not reform their ways. Even in today's Gospel passage we can see that many people were able to see the miracles and signs of Christ and yet they were still not able to reform their ways and trust in Him.

Today we celebrate the memorial of Saint Jerome who like the saints came before us in generations past. He gives us the hope to one day be able to trust fully in Christ and in His miracles. He was baptized later in his life while studying in Rome. While in Rome he was faced with the life of the early Christian martyrs who were willing to sacrifice all including their own life to follow the example of Christ. The example of these martyrs inspired him to grow in his faith.

May we not fall into despair when we fail to live up to the example given to us by Christ. May we not lose hope when the reminders of our faith nolonger seem to inspire us along our spiritual journey. May Saint Jerome intercede for us this day to draw us closer to God the Father, especially as we are nourished at the altar of God by the Body and Blood of Christ.

Matthew 3: 13-16 Homily

This homily was presented to my formation house in the context of Night Prayer.

The House of Saint Matthew is filled with many strengths. As individuals we bring many strengths to this House and thus to this seminary. Some of us here are superior at an understanding of languages while others have excelled so much in writing papers that they have been asked to give assistance to those who are more in need. Some are wonderful leaders and thus use this strength to strengthen the community. No matter what our strength may be may we always allow Christ to enter into these strengths and be the one to make them so much greater. May we never begin to think that we know more then Christ.

John the Baptist was indeed a very strong individual. He was able to preach and prepare the way for the Lord and yet at the Baptism of Jesus he had to lower himself to Christ. I find it most interesting that out of the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke that this is the only gospel that places John in dialogue against Christ concerning the baptism. He had to realize that Christ knew better then he and therefore he gave in and baptized Him. No matter how strong and how much John the Baptist knew he still had to allow Christ to take lead in the ministry that he would have to give to the world.

Yes we are a strong House made up of many strong individuals, but may we never allow ourselves to become greater then Christ. May we always find the time to listen to Him when he calls out and realize that without Him we are nothing.

24th Sunday OT Year A Homily

10 years ago today this nation was changed forever.

Forever it would be enshrined within our minds where we were when the news reached our ears. For me I was in high school getting ready for the start of Spanish class. None of us knew on that day that our lives would be changed forever.

Despite the great travesty that happened on that day a nation was brought together. We lived in fear of the unknowing of the facts which I most vividly remember played out in the lines of people at the gas pumps who feared that this would be the last time to fill up their car. This fear helped us to evaluate what was important in our lives. Families who were once scattered and separated came together with their attention placed upon the importance of each other as they huddled around the television. Where hundreds of channels granted many different options usually where, but now all was unified with one option. People did not know where to turn, and so some tried to regain a relationship with God that they had not attempted in years. Through this event many people from many different cultures and backgrounds came together united in one cause. We became a community that was gathered together by one common theme that has not been seen since the attacks of that day.

As the days, weeks, months, and years passed by we continue to remember that day and to call it to our minds. Despite this we lose site of the commitments that we made on that day. Commitments made to family, friends, and God have been left behind and we have walked away to turn our attention to passing things of the world. Yes we still come together on this day as a nation unified, but we cannot do that every single day of our lives.

In today's Gospel we encounter a man who had many troubles. On his visit to the king he had to of been filled with shock because he no longer had anything to fear. He was given a life changing moment that would surely always be enshrined within his mind. It would of been hard to believe that he could forget anything about the events of that day. Surely he would be able to remember what he was wearing, the people present inside of the room, and the face of the king as he granted this great gift of mercy. Despite all that he had going for him he lost site of the joy that was brought into his life. Despite this moment being enshrined inside of his mind he encountered another man and did not share the mercy granted to him.

This servants actions show that for a small moment in time he forget the moment that had changed his life forever. In our journey of faith we have been given many moments that have changed our lives forever. Some here have stood before their bishop present for ordination. They were asked to promise many things to him that would transform their lives forever. Others can easily call to mind the time that they met with their Bishop or Vocation Director and were informed that they were accepted to pursue seminary formation. Surely these moments have been enshrined within our minds and will never be forgotten. Surely we will not allow the days, weeks, months, and years to pass by while we allow our great commitments to pass us by. Slowly passing by as we involve ourselves with worldly excuses that will attack our moments of commitment to the core.

Each of us has been cleansed with the waters of baptism and our sins where washed away. If we remember this moment due to receiving baptism at an older age or not each of us has been committed to a life long task that we can never turn away from. Possibly we find ourselves turning to the Sacrament of Reconciliation in hope that we can feel Christ's transforming mercy within our lives. By coming to this Sacrament we realize the horror of our sin and pledge are intention towards sinning no more. May we never forget this commitment that we have made before Christ because through it we have been set on the path towards holiness which is the path that each of us must find the strength to walk.

May we never allow ourselves to step away from these moments that have brought joy into our lives and into the life of the Church. When we struggle to live out our commitments we must call to mind the life giving moments that exist within our hearts and we must trust in the mercy that is being given to us by Jesus Christ. Even if we feel overwhelmed only two weeks into this semester we know that we have the tools at hand to stay on track if we allow them to work within our lives. Through these faith committing moments may we allow ourselves to be transformed to give better service to the God and the Church.

Here at this Mass we will be given one of the greatest tools which will nourish our commitment to the faith. Here we will receive Christ present in His Body and Blood and we will allow Him to dwell within our souls. Surely if we receive the Eucharist we will have the strength that will be needed to step into daily life and remain faithful to living out the commitments that we have made. May this life changing moment remain enshrined within our hearts and minds as we encounter everything that the world has in store for us.

Today may our commitments always remain important in our lives. Remembering how they have been enshrined inside of our minds as a reminder of the faith that we have committed ourselves to living. May we never allow ourselves to forget because if we allow that to happen we will slip farther and farther away in our journey of faith. We must always be ready to continue to respond to Christ who desires to shed His infinite mercy with us now and forever.

Tuesday 21 Week OT Year 1 Homily

As Catholics we have many outward practices which profess the faith that we believe. Each of these outward actions should draw us closer to the mystery of God and His great love for us.

We can take the Sacrifice of the Mass as an example of this. As we prepared for the Gospel to be proclaimed we all stood up because we were getting ready to hear to very words of Christ. Before the Gospel was proclaimed we all signed ourselves with the cross three times. Once over our forehead, then over our lips, and finally over our heart. By doing this we express our desire to have the Gospel to effect our lives fully, so that all that we do may make it manifest. Another example of outward practice which happens at the Mass is when we say "I Confess" and get to the part where we say "through my fault." when we get here we are asked to strike our breastplate as we confess that we have sinned against God.

There is nothing wrong with these outward practices, but we must also evaluate what us going on inside of us. We must allow these outward practices to take place in our hearts and souls drawing us ever closer to God the Father. We should not just rush into these actions and follow the crowd around us, but we should take the time to evaluate our inner disposition.

In a matter of moments we will receive Christ in His Body and Blood and through doing this we ask for the grace to take hold in our hearts that will transform all our outer practices to take effect within the deepest part of our hearts.

Car Accident Kills Priest & Seminarian

The Diocese of Tulsa and many Catholics around the world are sad to hear of the passing of a priest and a seminarian from a car accident that happened in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Father Jorge Gomez was a newly ordained priest who was just ordained last month the seminarian was in his third year of studies at Saint Meinrad seminary. I ask for your prayers for both of these men.

For more information on these men check out the Diocese of Tulsa website by clicking here.

20th Sun OT Year A Homily

I thank you for welcoming me into your parish these past three months. I will always have fond memories of my first assignment as a member of the clergy. I assure you of my continued prayers as I leave this parish and return to the seminary for my final year. I ask you to keep me in your prayers as I leave here and continue my preparation for the priesthood.

Today's Gospel gives us the perfect example of how we should pray. The Caanite woman is the perfect example of how we should tackle prayer with perseverance.

Last summer I worked as a chaplain at the University of Tennessee Medical Center. This job helped me to see the chain of different emotions that might appear in one's life. The joy of a new born child and the sorrow of the death of a loved one all are found within the walls of this place. I encountered one family there who were given the news that their loved one was going to die. It that situation it is hard to know what to say, but you must be present with them. I offered to pray, but the daughter wanted nothing to do with it. She had already turned to prayer and it got her no results. She was stuck in a state of hopelessness.

I am sure this Caanite woman also felt a bit of hopelessness when she came to Christ to offer her prayer for her daughter to Him. Christ heard the request and offered no response to her. This models our life of prayer because when we pray we hardly ever get the instant result that we desire. Despite it seeming like our prayers are not being answered we must continue to preserve in prayer and trust that the Heavely Father hears the prayers that we have to offer.

This woman did not lose hope, but called out all the more. She even turned towards the apostles and cried out to them. Again she was not given an answer, but this did not slow her down. Our Catholic faith holds great importance on the intercession of the saints. We trust that we can call out to them and ask them to give us strength. Just this past week we celebrated the lives of Saint Dominic on Monday, Saint Lawerence the deacon on Wednesday, and Saint Clare on Thursday. We asked them to hear our prayers and present them to God most high.

Despite receiving no answer this woman continued to humbly trust in Christ. She understood that God was the greatest of all beings. She understood that her prayer was important, but it also had to fit into the will of God. This is presented to us each time that we pray the "Our Father" when we get to the part where we say "thy will be done." When we pray we must trust in the will of the Father. Prayer is not an act of magic where you cast the perfect spell and get the results that you want to appear before you. Instead we must humbly come before the Father and join our prayers with Him allowing "thy will to be done." Our culture is obsessed with instant gratification, but we cannot allow the attitude to enter into our prayer lives. The Internet has helped to feed this attitude because we nolonger need to wait long enough to go to the store. With a click of the mouse we can instantly download a book in a matter of minutes. With prayer we must invest more time and persevere with it at all times.

Like the Caanite woman we must humbly come to the Father. At this Mass we will receive not mere bread and wine, but will receive the Body and Blood of Christ. Here our prayers come together and are joined as the are offered up to all the angels and the saints of Heaven. This is most beautifully shown to us when we chant "Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of power and might." With the upcoming English translatioof the Roman Missal we will begin to say "Holy, Holy, Holy Lord god of hosts." These hosts that we speak here are the angels who dwell over the altar of sacrifice and take our prayers and hand them over to the Father.

May we humbly presvere in prayer now and always. Allowing ourselves to trust fully the will of th Father. Being happy with the mere scraps which come from the table because even that will be enough to fill us if it comes from the Father. May we forever be given the grace necessary to continue to humbly persevere in prayer.

Homily on Memorial of St. Clare

It was only a few days ago when I was visiting an elderly woman of this parish. She told me of her desire to attend Mass, but due to her age she was unable to get out and do so. She mentioned how she just figured out that her cable had EWTN and how she could at least watch Mass daily on television. Saint Clare is the patron of television because when she was sick and unable to attend Mass daily she could hear and see the Mass celebrated from the wall of her room. This of course was well before the invention of the television.

Today's Gospel presents us with the message of compassion. Each of us has received so much, but it can be easy to forget that. Our lives should be centered upon Christ so much that we should never forget to treat others with the compassion that they deserve. If our actions tear apart our relation with Christ we need to reform them, so that our outward actions may reflect our spiritual life. Saint Clare had compassion when she began the order that would become known as the Poor Clares. The rule of this order would respect the spiritual life and would help each other to treat all as Christ.

From the Eucharist we receive we are given the strength to have compassion for our neighbor. We cannot receive Christ and not have concern for those who we will encounter. Saint Clare had great devotion to the Eucharist and is often depicted holding a pyx or a monstrance. This comes from an encounter with Frederick II and his army attacking the gates of the convent when she came out holding onto the Eucharist in deep prayer. "deliver not to beasts, O Lord, the souls of those who confess to thee."This caused the armies to flee showing to us today that Christ in the Eucharist gives great strength to our souls. The devil will never be able to prevail against us and we will have the grace needed to not hoard the gifts given to us, but instead be wiling to share them with the world.

Tuesday 21st Week of OT Year I Homily

Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross was born to Jewish parents, but would later abandon her faith in God to believe in nothing. Through her studies in philosophy and her understanding of the works of Saint Teresa of Avila she was drawn towards the Catholic faith. She would soon be baptized and returned to God as a humble child kneeling before him to be brought closer into union with God. Due to her Jewish decent she was captured and brought to die in a Nazi concentration camp.

Saint Teresa had to endure many trials for our Lord which ended in her own martyrdom. In our day and age we face many trials which interrupt our spiritual lives? Be it not finding time to pray as we ought, temptation, fear of future possibilities. No matter what lies in wait we must accept these trials by being brave and steadfast. Through being brave and steadfast may we finally see that the Lord marches with each of us. When we struggle to act upon these two gifts may we draw upon the grace given to us in the Eucharist so that we may be able to endure all spiritual struggles for the sake the kingdom.

We come to Mass daily to receive our Lord in the Eucharist, but each time that we receive Christ we should come prepared to receive a gift so great as this. We will soon humbly kneel before the altar of sacrifice as we prepare to receive such a gift. No matter what struggle or joy we bring here today we join together to receive this wonderful gift which will bring strength and nourishment to our souls, so that our spiritual life may be forever strengthened.

Memorial of St. John Vianney Homily

Do we always trust Christ fully or do we instead rebuke Him? Many times we have rebuked the Savior of the World through sin and despite all of this Christ freely died upon the cross to bring salvation to each of us. No matter how many times that we sin against God we cannot lose sight of the cross for it is here that we are able to find our joy among darkness. Crosses present themselves daily in our lives and yet we must embrace them instead of giving in or complaining about them. Through our trust in the cross we can draw ourselves closer to the Sacrament of Reconciliation if it is needed within our lives.

Today we remember the memorial of a great confessor in Saint John Vianney. He was known for his faithfulness to our Crucified Lord. He never took his eyes off from the reality of the cross and thus was moved to become a great confessor and preacher. In the summertime he would spend at least 16 hours in the confessional which I imagine to have taken a great feat due to how hot the confessionals here at Saint John Neumann get only after being inside for 5 minutes to put on my vestments! For these hours inside people would remain lined up to come and lay their sinfulness before the reality of the cross.

Vianney is also know for the mortification that he lived during his life. I am sure that these different practices were not easy, but well worth it for him because they would draw him closer to the reality of the cross. In our lives we often have to endure many little crosses, but how better would they be if we accept them and offer them up to Our Lord in prayer?

Today may each of us draw closer into the reality of the cross and never forget the great gift that was freely given upon it. No matter where we find ourselves today we must embrace the crosses in our life instead of rebuking them. If we find ourselves lost and astray it is here that we can find our way back home. May we always trust in the cross!

18th Sunday OT Year A Homily

One of the biggest revelations of a seminarian is why am I still here? It is a normal question to ask when you see a fellow classmate decide that this is no longer for him. Knowing that this person seemed to be the total package when it came to being a future priest really makes you start to evaluate yourself. This person seemed to know scripture well and had a great understanding of theology! This person decently had a great relationship to Our Lord in prayer. Despite these thoughts I still find myself here in all of my lowliness. As of June 11, 2011 I find myself here before you preaching and administering the Sacraments and yet I am still lowly and in need of growth. Never in the ministry that I have been asked to give the Church can I forget this fact.

In today's Gospel the disciples looked out upon the crowd and realized that they did not have what it took to feed all the people who were gathered before them. How in the world could they feed so many people when all they possessed where some bread and fish. On there own they never would of been able to feed these people, but they turned towards Christ for his assistance in the matter. They turned towards him, so that he could give them the strength needed to overcome their lowliness and begin to serve the crowd.

Each of us gathered here today are lowly and in need of assistance. There is nobody here today who can say that life is going completely grand and there is nothing that we are weak in. Not everyone gathered here could go onto American Idol or America's Got Talent and walk away with the first prize. It is doubtful that we have a football player here who will move onto the NFL to be the next Bret Farve. Our spiritual life also resembles this reality because we must get onto the path towards sainthood and it is a hard path to walk.

In our spiritual life many things jump out to attack us, so that we may never gain strength, but instead remain lowly. It therefore becomes easy to make excuses to why we are limited in our spiritual growth. We might admire the lives of the saints, but remain scared that we are currently to lowly to give this path a try. It is true that things often seem like they will be easier in the future, but the future never seems to come! In our weakness Christ is calling out to us and has the desire to feed us. Despite this great invitation we get caught up in the world around us and push this voice aside.

In our lowliness Christ calls out: "Come all you who are thirsty." Only if we are able to respond back to this call by turning towards Christ. Christ will take what little we have and He will multiply it to make it so much more. If he was able to do this to the masses some 2,000 years ago surely He can do it to us now. By having the faith to fully hand ourselves over to Him may we pray that we will be given the graces needed to make up for our lowliness. No matter how weak and in need that we may find ourselves Christ is truly there to embrace us and to give us the strength to walk the path that the saints once trod.

The crowds of the Gospel gathered around the disciples and were ready to be fed. Christ was able to show to them the important need of handing over all that we do to the Lord. These people gathered were each filled with their own lowliness and yet they were called to partake of this meal. Here at each and every Mass we come together in our lowliness to receive Christ in His Body and Blood. With great faith we know that through this meal we will have the strength to encounter our lowliness and overcome it with the help of Christ. The disciples lacked so much and were given beyond belief when they dared to come to Christ with their problem. May we take our struggles and lowliness and place them into the chalice, so that we may ever be strengthened by God. If we can begin to invest ourselves fully in this offering there will be nothing which can separate us from this great love.

Sin may seem so powerful, and yet the Church gives us the Sacraments of Reconciliation were the shackles of sin can be broken. Each Saturday evening when I enter this Church I see the huge line of people who have come in lowliness to be strengthened. Now with two priests at this parish we will be blessed with the Sacrament being offered not only on Saturdays from 5pm to 5:50pm, but also on Wednesdays from 3pm to 4:20pm. With this addition to the schedule we will have more opportunity to come to our Lord to be strengthened in our weakness.

Yes seminarians, priests, and deacons are all lowly just like everyone here. Let us never second guess ourselves, but instead come to Christ so that we may be filled. No matter where we have stumbled and fallen Christ is present with arms wide open giving us the invitation to come to Him. Are we prepared to react to this invitation or would we rather stumble about lost with little to eat? No matter what little we have to hand over to Christ it will be taken and made so much greater.

May we not fear to present ourselves to Him at this Mass and within our daily lives for here we can draw our strength!

Memorial of St. Martha Homily

It easy to forget why we are here and begin to lose focus upon our goal. The most trivial of things seem to be blown up hundred percent, but in reality our attitude is making things out to be worse then they really are.

I believe that both Martha and Mary had full knowledge of all the work that had to be done on that day. It therefore would seem like Mary was being lazy, but in reality she never lost focus of Christ and His wisdom. Martha on the other hand quickly got caught up in the work of the world and lost the focus of Christ in her life. Martha was indeed frustrated, but the voice of Christ called out to her to keep her focus upon Him.

We will leave this Church today and for each of us there will be a lot of work to be done. Some events that we encounter will come easy and without struggle while others will make us angry beyond belief. No matter what we encounter we must do "all things through Christ." By letting Christ into our daily work we will indeed have all that we need.

Wed 27th Week OT Year I Homily

My Scout Troop was very competitive and would always set out to receive first place in every competition that we entered. There was no better treasure out there then a first place ribbon and a trophy for best over all troop. No matter what obstacle we would face we would come together as a troop to overcome it, so that we could always be named the best overall troop. Knot tying, first aid, fire building, orienteering, and other activities were a few things that we had to master in order to journey towards our treasure of first place.

Our religious experience should send us on a journey to get closer and closer to the divine. Upon this journey obstacles will arise and try to send us on a detour, so that we may become lost and never find the treasure that lies in wait for us.

No matter where we find ourselves today God is calling out for us to stay on the path and one day reach the treasure that we are in search of. Each time that we receive a Sacrament of the Church in a proper state the needle of the compass points us towards this wonderful treasure that is lying in wait for our arrival. As we draw closer and closer to our goal our appearance will indeed change because we have drawn closer and closer to God. The people in today's first reading could not glance at Moses due to how radiant his skin had become due to his relationship with the divine.

Today we dare to draw closer to God to receive Christ in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar and in doing so may our appearance change to be in union with God and may it give us the strength to continue our journey towards the Kingdom of Heaven which is the treasure that we are in search of.

Memorial of Saint Joachim and Saint Anne Homily

Sunday was always a special day for my family. We would travel 30 minutes to get to the closest Church to attend Mass. My grandparents would always meet us and we would attend the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass together. Following the Mass we would gather at their home to eat and spend the day enjoying each others company as a family. I with great gratitude give thanks to my parents and grandparents for the time that we spent together on the Holy day because it instilled in me the importance of Church in my life.

Today we gather together as a family for the memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne. We remember not only the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary, but the grandparents of our Lord, Jesus Christ. These saints had great effect upon their daughter, Mary, because they raised her in a household which reflected moral values and respected the Jewish faith. I am sure that they had relations with her Son and helped to teach him as they did his mother.

Tradition states that Saint Anne was unable to bear a child and many interpreted this as divine displeasure towards her family. Due to this Saint Joachim would travel off to the desert to fast and do penance for 40 days. Eventually an angel came to the couple and they were promised a child. Even prior to the birth of Mary we can see the tradition that this family had great faith and trust in God that would be worth wild to be handed down to their child.

On this wonderful memorial may we call to mind our parents and grandparents and all that they have handed onto us. In a special way we join our prayers especially during this liturgy for them. For parents and grandparents here today we call to mind our great responsibility that we have been in trusted with in handing on the faith to others. May Saints Joachim and Anne walk with us today to help us to always draw others to the greater glory of God.

16th Sunday OT Year A Homily

I have been in this parish for about a month and the biggest complaint that I am informed of is the inability to hear. Each of us has a desire to hear what is going on within the walls of this Church. Hopefully once all is said and done with this current sound system update we will be able to hear clearly. I remember one of my first daily Masses at this parish when Father Garrity was preaching and turned to me during his homily. Speaking to me I only heard the word "green." He wanted me to get something green, but what I had no idea? I walked into the vesting sacristy where he pointed and went in search of something green. The only thing that I saw was the green vestment that he wears, but why would he want that? I grabbed that green garment and walked back into the Church with it. Father Garrity then looked as confused as I was. It turned out that he was wanting a green battery. Only if I could of heard better!

In today's Gospel Christ has a desire for us to clearly hear this parable. He tells us the parable once and then we are given it a second time, so that we may better hear what we have been told for "whoever has ears ought to hear."

In our spiritual life we want to overcome false messages which get in the way of Christ's love. Adam and Eve committed sin in the garden and thus their ability to hear God clearly was blurred. Through the waters of baptism we were allowed to hear Christ clearly, but sin continues to come into the world and call out to us in a roaring manner. Messages have been sent out from the evil one which strike our beliefs to the core. You are tired, so do not go to Mass today! Everyone else is doing it, so can it really be so bad! Once can not hurt, so try it! Is it really wrong if nobody was around to see it? These demands come to us everyday and their sole mission is for us to give in and stop hearing the voice of comfort which is sent to us by Christ our Lord. The devil is yelling out to us, so that we can resemble the weeds mentioned in the parable proclaimed in the Gospel. May we never allow ourselves to enter into this state, but tune our ears towards Christ's infinite mercy.

With our ears turned towards God most high we can truly hear the call of His voice. We will finally be able to transcend the calls of evil because our ears will be tuned to a different voice. As we continue to trudge along the path towards holiness the voice of the evil one will no longer be heard because we could think of nothing more beautiful then the voice of God. Trusting in this voice will not cause us to end up resembling useless weeds which need to be plucked up and destroyed, but instead a good seed will be sown.

As nice as this may sound we know that it can be hard to listen to God when His voice is bouncing off of the walls and you can not make out anything that is being spoken. It is the desire of God that his voice may clearly come to each and everyone of us. We must continue to allow ourselves to be nourished by the word of God and by all the Sacraments that the Church has to offer. Sin clouds our ability to hear God, but the Church has been given the gift of the Sacrament of Confession which can help us to enter back into this spoken relationship. When we feel weak and as if we have had enough because we are unable to hear this beautiful voice may we join with Saint Paul in his letter to the Romans by allowing the Holy Spirit to come into our lives and help to lead us down the path that we must encounter. This path may be hard, but may we truly be able to hope to continue to hear your voice within our lives O Lord for by doing this we will finally be able to have the comfort that we are in search of.

Christ is calling out to us and he wants us to hear him clearly. At the same moment the devil does not want us to hear Christ and wants to put things in our way that will buffer him out from our ears. Every time that we renew the vows of our baptism we are asked if we "reject Satan and all of his works." We cry out "I do!" In our lives we must remember this cry to the ears of Our Lord and reject the things which will make us hear Christ less and less.

If the attitude of this Church resembles our spiritual life it is our goal to overcome our inability to hear and to finally be able to come in contact with the Word of God that is continually being spoken to each one of us.

Thursday 14th Week OT Year I Homily

I had just ordered my food at a Japanese restaurant and was waiting for my food to arrive when I decided to pray Daytime Prayer. A man walked by my table and glanced at what I was doing and asked if I was praying the Bible. I said I was praying the Psalms which were found in the Bible and that I was studying to be a priest. The man smiled and said he had something in his car that I would like. He came back with a newspaper which explained why the pope was the Antichrist.

We have a faith which is worth sharing with the world. It can be easy to get caught up in the importance of the faith and desire to run into the world and share it with everybody that we meet. This excitement that we might want to share is fine, but we must also remember that we will not always be accepted. Christ understood that people would come into the world who would not follow along with his teachings, but instead of getting caught up we must wipe the dirt off of our shoes and move onto the next city. When people challenge our beliefs or want to press you to turn away from what you believe we must take this passage to heart and remember that not everyone will be converted at that moment.

When we enter back into the world what experiences will look us into the eyes. I never would of figured that I would of been challenged while eating Japanese food, but it happened. It would of been pointless for me to allow this moment to hurt me because I needed to get up from that table and continue to go into the world and live out my Christian mission. May we go out from here and bring Christ into the world and fear not when we are not accepted because we have so much work to do we must continue to bring Christ into the world even if we are not accepted.

Sacred Heart Adoration Homily

We have gathered here today in adoration of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar to call to mind the merciful heart of Jesus. Jesus is present here with us and is calling out to us that we need to humbly kneel before Him, so that we can be drawn back towards His love for us.

From the beginning of time man has sinned against God. Adam and Eve were created free from sin, but due to their sin man has inherited original sin. Moses showed the faithfulness of God for the Israelites and yet they ended up complaining and turning away from that mercy that was shown for them. Christ came into the world and died to save sinners and give us the ability to turn back to our original state of innocence. Despite this great love we continue to be ungrateful and continue to give offense against Our Lord. Despite our sin we must remember that we have not been cast out, but that Christ is present with a merciful heart and desires us to return to his mercy.

In the message of the Sacred Heart we are promised that Christ has mercy that He desires to share with us. The Sacred Heart of Jesus desires that our world will be transformed from it's state of sin and return to Him. Promises were given to St. Margret Mary from the Sacred Heart which speaks to each person gathered here today.

There is no greater place for us to come then here in devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. The Sacred Heart of Jesus is present here and it pouring his infinite mercy out upon each of us. May we pray that our families will be transformed, so that all we do will be in union with the Sacred Heart. May we pray that our parish will be transformed through the Sacred Heart that those far away from the Church may return to Her and those active within the Church may grow in their mission of holiness ever growing closer to Christ and His Sacred Heart. Let us pray for those in the world who are sick and on their deathbed that they may trust in the Sacred Heart at the moment of death. Through this Holy Hour may we encounter the Sacred Heart and transform our lives to new heights.

Nativity of John the Baptist Homily

Some of the worst moments in our lives are when our ability to speak for ourselves has been taken away. It can be hard to endure this useless banter against us and our good names. Not being able to speak up against those who have a problem with us and our deeds. Zechariah's use of voice was taken away from him. He was unable to speak up against those who questioned his child being named John. "Why would Elizabeth want her child to be named John. Has she gone mad because nobody in her family has been named thus. This family will be the laughing stock of this town for such a name." Zechariah heard these remarks and he was unable to cry out in defense of his wife. It had to be difficult to sick back and endure what was going on around him.

These people then approached Zechariah to question him for this name. He could tell what they wanted of him, but he knew what he had to endure for God. Unable to speak up in his defense he grabbed a tablet and simple wrote: "John is his name!" Finally Zechariah's voice returned, but instead of lashing out to these people he proclaimed words which blessed God. In this silent moment's of pain he was defenseless against his arbitrators, but this allowed him the time to spend in silence with God.

Let us fear not in serving our Lord. Let us fear not when we are attacked for the service that we give. Fearing not if we are able to speak up in order to save our name. Let us understand that these horrible moments give way to spending time with God in prayer. Through prayer we will fearlessly be led forward to prepare the way for the Lord. We will be like John the Baptist who was born in order to prepare the way for the coming of Christ. He did not always have it easy, but this was his mission. Let us fear not those who question our deeds unjustly, but only place our trust in the Eucharist that we will soon receive for it will lead us in our mission of preparing the way of the Lord to the world around us.

Saints John Fisher and Thomas More Homily

Saints John Fisher and Thomas More like many saints of the Church are remembered for the good fruit that they have bore to the world. Both of these men wanted to live up to the truth of the Church even if it brought them death for it. King Henry desired that both of these men would abandon the authority of the pope and recognize him as the new head of the Church. Both of these holy men knew that people would come into the world that would want to rip the Church apart from the inside. Instead of trusting in mere men they realized the importance of trusting in the wisdom of the Church. This attitude led to them to being beheaded, but like the beheading of Saint John the Baptist this would lead many faithful people to be inspired to live out the life of the Church.

These men will forever be known for fearing nothing over the importance of the Church. This was the good fruit that they bore to the world that can still be felt today. We must ask ourselves what good fruit we want to be remembered for once we have left this world. There are many false prophets out there who want to led us astray, but we can not allow them to take ahold of us by transforming our fruit into something that is rotten and no good for society.

It can be hard to stand up against society, but this is something that we must do if we are to be called Christian. By the fact that we have received Christ inside of the Eucharist will give us the strength to encounter these situations and help to keep our fruit fresh and pure. Worthily receiving Christ in the Eucharist will help us in any battles with false prophets that we run into once we depart from this place. May we fear not when we bring Christ into every place of the world! Because we know that the Eucharist is driving us forward and is helping us to bear good fruit within our daily lives.

Trinity Sunday Year A Homily

Today we gather together to celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity which is the perfect challenge for us to love in a charitable way.

I am reminded of a experience that I had while I was a senior in college seminary. Our class spent the weekend to go into the streets of Kansas City, Missouri to work with a local organization which brought food and clothes to the homeless of the city. I was most touched that night while we were under a bridge and speaking with a man who owned much of nothing. It was a cold winter night and he was in need of a blanket. He realized that we only had one blanket in our possession. After finding this out he decided that he could make it until next time. He said he owned one blanket and it would be best to keep it and give it to somebody who needs it more then he. That was an AWESOME response to hear because it would of been so easy to think of himself and fail to see the other people inside of the city that needed more then he.

This was a true glimpse into charitable love which lacked an abusive mentality, but realized the humanity of another person in the world. This man was acting out in mercy and graciousness towards his fellow brother and sister in Christ like the Trinity works within our lives.

At times we are a stiff necked people who have a misconception of love. We allow our "love" to cloud our relationship with God and with each other. It is normal to see a newly engaged couple that is filled with love for each other. To them this love can never be challenged, but as the wedding relationship takes shape the couple starts to truly learn the meaning of love. The media would want us to think that love circles around feelings. When love only revolves around feelings it becomes abusive. We begin to see another person as an object which can help us to become happy. In this abusive struggle we start to fail to see the person in their humanity. It is an everyday struggle for us to work with others be they family, friends, or people who do know. It is a challenge to always respect them through their humanity. When the check out at the grocery store is going slow it is easy to grow impatient and thus fail to see the humanity that dwells in the worker. Following a hard day's work it can be a struggle to be patient with the family. It can be hard to wake up day by day beside the same person with nothing in life ever changing.

The Trinity, on the other hand, is a perfect glimpse into love. There can be no abuse found inside of this relationship because it always respects each of the three persons. The Father completely pours out love to the Son. The Son receives this love and does not squander it, but gives it to the Holy Spirit. The Spirit then returns all of this love to the Father and this pattern continues for all of eternity. God desired that this love would flow into humanity and that we would take part within it. God saw the horror of man touched with sin and sent His Son into the world, so that we may be set free from that horror. We can indeed say that God is love from the very beginning of time and that this God is merciful and gracious. From the start the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit where sharing with each other in this relationship of love. Never would we be able to say that any of these three persons grew tired or began to take advantage of the other for their own pleasure. This relationship is completely given through charitable love.

May we allow ourselves to enter fully in this relationship of the Trinity. May we see how much our lives can be enhanced if we strive to model our relationships after the love that is found inside of the Trinity. Inside of this way of life we can begin to see all of humanity as created inside the image of God. When we begin to see humanity in this manner we will be able to take our relationships to new heights. We can see that we are important because we are loved by the Trinity. We can see that the stranger that we have never met is important because they are loved by the Trinity. Our homes can be transformed because we will be able to see God that dwells with in each other and stop using them to meet our own need for pleasure. When we can join with the Trinity in this manner we will be able to feel the "God of love and peace with us always" and we will be able to share in the mercy and graciousness that is poured out to each of us. May we model Moses from the first reading who wanted the Lord to come along with his company and guide them. May the Lord indeed walk along in our company and help us to be inspired to live out the love the Trinity in all areas of life that we may encounter.

The world is indeed filled with many examples of how love has been misused, but the world is also filled with examples of love being used in it's correct form. The example of the homeless man and his concern for another proved that this happens in our daily life. The person who received that blanket probably never realized the sacrifice that was placed into what they received.

Today we are blessd to celebrate this day of charitable love on Father's Day. We owe the fathers in our life a thank you for the charitable love that they have shown us and continue to show us. May all fathers present along with all the faithful gathered here today continue to grow in charitable love, so that we can grow closer to the love that is shared inside of the Trinity.

Thursday 11th Week OT Year I Homily

How does it feel when we have to lower ourselves to somebody else? It can be tough to realize that somebody else out there might have more talent then we do.

Humility is at the heart of today's readings. Paul was humble when he addressed the Corinthians because he pointed out weaknesses which were present in his ministry. Then in the Gospel we were taught humility through the use of the Our Father.

In this prayer we quickly humble ourselves by referring to God as Our Father. We are acknowledging here that God is our creator and we therefore should give God the respect that He deserves. When we kneel before Him in prayer we are showing our lowliness.
Despite how great the prayers we hold are we proclaim: "Thy will be done." Even something as important as moving into the rectory must wait until the time is right! Everything must be done through the will of God. We cry out in this prayer that we have sinned and come to the realization that we must forgive those who have sinned against us.

It is with humility that we should come to Mass. Who are we that Christ will come to us in the form of bread and wine? How can we dare to receive this Sacrament when you take into account the sins of our past? Humbly we are able to join into this great mystery and draw closer to God. If we lack humility it would be impossible for us to ever draw closer to God.

Let us reflect upon our lives and how we can be challenged to grow in humility, so that we may better be able to go into the world to serve Our Lord.