Holy Family Homily

This past Wednesday we celebrated with great joy the reality of a love so great that God was willing to take on human flesh in the second person of the Holy Trinity. Today we continue to dwell with this glimpse of love by directing our attention towards the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. These three individuals show to us the true meaning of responding to one's vocation in life and thus accepting it to its fullest. We have heard time and time again that we live in the midst of a vocation crisis. I want to echo this notion because it is true. Here I am not only speaking about vocations to the priesthood & religious life, but also about the sacrament of marriage and thus the living out of the family. For us to rediscover our vocation we must begin with God and His will in our life. We cannot solely base a vocation upon the passing untested feeling of "love." Once we respond to a vocation with our life we must all constantly reconnect ourselves not to the passing world, but to God. It is in God that we will discover true love.

In our world we see the breakdown of being able to commit ourselves to a vocation. Instead of a vocation, such as marriage, being an unending covenant between a man and a woman it has become something that can be entered into and out of at one's own will. Instead of being able to embrace pure conjugal love which truly connects a man and a woman to God our culture embraces passion as an end in itself. In recent years there has been a desire to redefine marriage because we see our vocation as a feeling and not as something that opens us up to the giving of life. Our world has become so busy with work and our own interests that we often forget about the importance of coming together as a family to enter into prayer. We get so caught up in the rush of the world that we forget about our vocation always leading us to Heaven. We also forget in this rush the many people whom we encounter through our vocation, be they a spouse or a child, and how we should also be leading them to Heaven.

And so with these many stumbling blocks placed in our way we look towards the Holy Family. In the Holy Family we see a response to a vocation made out of true love and we see how this plays itself out in the life of the family. We know that all three members of the Holy Family would give their "yes" to God time and time again. Mary gave her "yes" to an angel which allowed the second person of the Holy Trinity to enter into the world. Joseph gave his "yes" through his response of doing what the angel of the Lord had commanded him. Jesus would give His "yes" through entering into His public ministry and eventual passion, death, and resurrection. Their "yes" was not given out of obtaining wordily pleasure, but instead was given for the glory of God. The Holy Family leads us with the example of living out the virtues, that marriage is indeed a sacred and stable institution, that life is not something to be feared, that we must be connected to God in prayer, and that all us have a vocation to which we must respond to with our own unending "yes."

We can say that the Holy Family is the perfect place to begin to design the "domestic church" of our own homes. The "domestic church" goes hand in hand with the teachings of the Church and hands them on to all family members involved. This means attending the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass on every single Sunday because the Eucharist must be central to the family life. This means realizing that we are all sinful and thus coming to lineup in the confessional line as a family. This means taking time out of the busy schedule of the day to pray as a family, to study Sacred Scripture, and the teachings of the Church. This means being an example and enforcer of the virtues to our own family and all those whom we encounter. This means promoting the reality of the "yes" that we must all give to God to follow our vocation in life. 

If we truly want to pass on the faith to our children, to get one another to Heaven, or to reform society's understanding of marriage and thus the family life we must reestablish the "domestic church" as based upon the Holy Family. The following excerpt comes from Father Brett Brannen's "To save a Thousand Souls" and is written for the purpose of priesthood discernment. I believe this short story leaves us with the purpose of any vocation which of course should be exhibited within the family life. Let us also pay close attention to its closing statement because this is where any vocation should be leading us.: 

"John, what will you be doing when you grow up? " I replied, "Monsignor, I am still not certain but thinking about going into medicine. I would like to become a doctor." And the pastor replied, "Good. Good. And what will you do after that?" I said, "Well I suppose I will marry and have a family of my own." The priest said, "Good, and what after that?" Not sure exactly where he was going with this line of questioning, I replied, "I guess I will grow old, practicing medicine and eventually retire. And then I guess I will die and go to heaven." The pastor nodded his head knowingly, thoughtfully and he was quiet for a few seconds. Then he looked at me earnestly and said, "And who will you bring with you into heaven?"

Christmas Mass at Dawn Homily

Pope Francis stated in his apostolic exhortation that: "the joy of the gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus. With Christ joy is constantly born anew."

For all of us who are gathered here this morning these are important words for us to meditate upon as we enter into this Christmas season. It seems that every time that we turn around that something negative is being uttered against the Church or Christianity within the media. Despite this it seems that the media has always been enamored with the Church and the papacy especially when it comes to anything done by our current Holy Father, Francis. Under Francis we have a pope who is not saying anything new or going against traditional Church teachings, but instead has given us a glimpse into simplicity and a true concern for the human person especially the poor. Because of these charisms he has challenged many people to discover or to rediscover the Church. He is a reminder that when we encounter Jesus we in return will always be born anew. In other words our faith cannot be stale like an old piece of bread, but instead our relationship with Christ should be equal to any freshly baked bread. In this joyful encounter we are always born anew.

In our Gospel we find shepherds who encountered the joy of Christ's birth. Unlike the magi who came in their richness; they came from the lower rungs of society. These shepherds were caught going about the mundane tasks of everyday life, which as we can understand gets pretty boring. Nevertheless they had an amazing encounter with angels who led them towards the crib of the Messiah. The life of these shepherds through this divine encounter would always be born anew. They would always have the joy of this encounter moving them forward into their daily tasks. Due to this encounter nothing could possibly be boring again because they gained a true understanding for the meaning of life. They went away from the crib transformed in joy and thus they used every opportunity allotted to them to believe and to evangelize.

We to have been drawn to this crib on this morning for some reason. Maybe we have had this encounter that the shepherds have experienced and therefore we live out the faith each day with joy, maybe we are here solely out of the obligation of it being Christmas, maybe we are here out of obligation to our parents, or maybe we are here because we have a longing to find the truth that the shepherds were in search for. I firmly believe that all of us here are in search for that truth if we want to acknowledge it or not. We are all sick of the mundane and moving around in the boredom of everyday life. We all have a longing to feel complete and appreciated and only at the manger of our Lord will we find that purpose which will give joy to our lives. From the bedside of the crib our lives will be born anew and we will desire to model our life after the shepherds in their desire to grow in their belief and to go forth and evangelize.

And so what was it that they encountered that brought so much joy into their lives? What was it that they glimpsed that set them into the world born anew? What they found was a baby laying inside of a manger with Joseph and Mary. They came to find in this place that they had been led towards not just another human being, but instead found God Himself who had taken on human flesh and has come to dwell with us to bring about our salvation. From inside this manger they would see him laying upon a wooden crib that would foreshadow the wood of the cross which would bring salvation into the life of the world. From this encounter they were surrounded with peace and joy and realized that here in this place was the very thing that their hearts had always longed for. In the words of Benedict XVI: we have "the need to rediscover the journey of faith so as to shed ever clearer light on the joy and renewed enthusiasm of the encounter with Christ."

As we enter into this season of Christmas may we come to find our purpose and belonging with Christ. From this encounter with our Lord at this Mass and through the reception of Christ's Body and Blood may we be moved forward in rediscovering our faith. With our faith firmly grounded in Christ and His Church here on earth, we will always be born anew, and will find joy in the midst of the mundane or the sorrowful. The shepherds participated inside of this journey and show the fruit that will come forth from it to all of us. Our Holy Father, Francis, currently leads this journey for all of us and continually finds ways to remind us of the joys of the Gospel by the actions of his life. May we not pass over this Christmas as some secular event, but instead may we embrace the true meaning of this season which is the Incarnation when the Word became flesh. From this encounter our lives will always take on meaning, we will always discover joy, and will always be born anew.

Again, in the words of Francis: "the joy of the gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus. With Christ joy is constantly born anew."

Christmas Vigil Mass Homily

All of us come from somewhere. All of us have a background that can be traced throughout history. We know the names of our parents and of our grandparents, but even beyond the family members whose names that we know there are many names that are unknown to us. Each person who lies inside of our family tree has a great history behind them sometimes for the good and sometimes for the bad. Our Gospel this evening is a tough one because someone of course must pronounce these names and we must also listen to a never ending litany of these names of people who we don't know. Nevertheless this is a very important Gospel and thus it is fitting that it is read at this Mass. This family tree is showing that all of creation is pointing towards the coming of the Messiah. As all these names are being directed towards the coming of Christ, so it should be with all the generations that come after. Through God taking on human flesh, like you and like me, we have been transformed and forever directed towards salvation.

We know that Adam was the first man and yet we notice that his name does not appear at the start of this list. Instead our Gospel writer begins with Abraham who according to the Roman Canon of the Mass is our father in faith. Abraham is the perfect starting place because it was through him that it was promised that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars of the sky. With this Gospel we see the fruits of that promise begin to take hold throughout the reality of creation. Every name that appears upon this list, good or bad, leads themselves towards Christ which is only possible through the covenant with God that Abraham was willing to enter into. As we reflect upon Abraham, our father in faith, may we continue in our own desire to grow in faith. It is easy for our faith to become something that is stale and thus allow it to lose its glimmer inside of our lives. With Christmas comes the birth of Christ and the joy that is extended into our lives for each of us to recommit ourselves to our faith in Him.

As we move through the many generations from Abraham to Christ we of course come to encounter Joseph and the Blessed Virgin Mary. These two individuals are very important inside of the life of our faith. It was Mary who gave her "yes" to an angel and thus conceived Christ into her womb. It was Joseph who gave his "yes" to God and thus would accept to raise Christ in his childhood. The journey that we know these two individuals made to the manger was not easy and was filled with many set backs. After all there was no room found inside of the inn. Despite all of this they continued to move forward in their life of faith and in the lowliness of that manger he who is fully divine and fully human came to dwell among us. Each of us here can make our own list of the many ways that our life has not gone as we would wish. Maybe this is due to our marital situation, a poor grade that was made in school, a job that leaves us feeling empty, the loss of a loved one, or an argument that we had with a parent or friend.

No matter what these feelings may be like we should realize that God loves each of us dearly. For that reason our genealogy comes to its conclusion with the coming of the Christ. We notice a profound statement of truth because Joseph is not listed as being the father of Jesus. Instead we are told that he was born of Mary. In this verse we realize that this child who dwells inside of the manger is not only human, but is also God. This means that God knows each of our pains and realizes the brokenness that comes through our sin. Instead of allowing us to remain lost in our pains or in our sin He chose to take on human flesh and to come to this earth to dwell among us. It is for this reason that we join together on this Christmas evening as people have done since the birth of Christ. We gather like the shepherds or the wise men around the lowly manger and proclaim our faith that a great king dwells here in the same simplicity that many of us must endure inside of our lives.

All of our lives have a very complex past and future. No matter what our past has been there is always the hope of new life. As this genealogy of Jesus shows the complexity that led to the birth of Christ, so may we realize that our lives are equally drawn to this moment in history. The birth of Christ echoes for us a great joy that should not only be lived out one day a year, but instead for each moment of our lives. Our faith is a never ending commitment where we desire to strip away our sin and instead embrace the Lord's manger with our "yes" equal to that given by Mary at the Annunciation or by Joseph when he accepted to raise the Christ. At this Christmas Mass may we also embrace with humility our future with that "yes" which allows our life to be entirely drawn towards God. 

Very soon we will leave this Church behind and gifts will be opened (our many children present know that), but may we also always remember the greatest gift that was known to humanity was found in a manger and from this experience comes our own call to conversion. May we not allow our relationship with our Lord to rot away like some old Christmas tree, but instead may we continue to nourish our life of faith with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass where we receive He who is both fully human and fully divine into our lives through our reception of Christ's Body and Blood. May this Christmas season truly lead us to the manger of Christ where all generations were and will be led towards; only here will we find our joy.

Family Advent Mass Homily

Greetings to all of our parish parishioners, school families, teachers, and students on the occasion of this special Mass offered during our Advent season. For some time now we have all been anticipating the coming of the Word made flesh. We have signs that have been placed before our eyes; such as this Advent wreath which slowly gets filled with light. At times it may seem that reality will not come soon enough. For our children I am sure that presents have begun to be wrapped and placed under a tree for you. At times the anticipation of having to wait to open these can seem like too much to bare. For those of us who have offered continuous litanies of prayers and in return have not visibly received an answer can also attest to how hard it can be to persevere in our life of faith when we have so much anticipation for change. With Christmas set so closely before our eyes we continue to anticipate with great joy the coming of the Christ child and also continue to persevere in our movement towards that manger. This final week of Advent that has been placed before us can indeed help each of us to be strengthened in our faith and to truly make room in the inn of our hearts for the Messiah.

Elizabeth and Zechariah can easily attest to the anticipation that all of us have and will feel inside of our lives. They prayed and prayed, and yet it had to of seemed at times as if nothing would ever take place. As we all know from our experiences at a Doctor's office; that waiting can feel like an eternity. Despite how long they had to wait Elizabeth and Zechariah would endure in their faith, like the parents of Samson who have come before them, and in time were given the response of such a great honor as being the parents of Saint John the Baptist. Sometimes we allow our own anticipation to overcome us and due to that we miss the very thing that we had anticipated towards. In "The Great Divorce" by CS Lewis he takes the reader on a journey via a bus that leads from Hell into Heaven. The first image given inside of this book is a massive line at a bus station. It is observed here that so many people get restless or lose hope that they could possibly get onto the bus that they decide to leave the line and thus chose to so easily abandon their journey towards Heaven.

As we continue our own journey here on earth may we not allow the anticipation of our hearts to get the best of us. Instead may we realize the importance that lies behind perseverance, because through perseverance, we indeed will discover great rewards. As we look east towards the manger of Christ may we realize that in that little crib came the greatest gift that would ever be given to the world. Due to this great gift, we gather together in this Mass to enter into the sacrifice of Calvary where we give due worship towards God and very soon we will gather together in our school gym where our various classes will offer hymns of great joy towards the gift that is the Word made flesh. As we continue our own journey towards the manger in this Advent season may we not allow our anticipation to overcome us, but instead may each of us persevere in our preparation. In our life of faith may we not allow the anticipation of our needs to overcome us, but instead may we persevere with great joy. Through our perseverance we indeed will be able to sing the glory of God as we continue to make straight our path towards the Lord.

3rd Sun of Advent Year C Homily

Rejoice always for the Lord is near. We join with Saint John the Baptist in his great anticipation for the news that would await his ears. He had spent his whole life in preparing the way for the one who would come after him. Finally the news of the Messiah had arrived and he was given reason to rejoice. Throughout this great season of Advent we to have waited with great anticipation for the coming of the Word made flesh. During this time of anticipation we have felt the need to do away with the things present in our life that hold us back from our relationship with Christ. On this third Sunday of Advent, also known as Guadate Sunday, we begin to rejoice because we have come to the same understanding that Saint John the Baptist understood. We rejoice because we know that the Lord will be coming soon. With this understanding Guadate Sunday fills our senses with many reminders of this reality: rose colored vestments, the tone of the music changes, and even a small amount of flowers are allowed to decorate the Church.

As we begin to rejoice with Saint John the Baptist and his disciples we must be reminded of our need to remain patient and to make our hearts firm. For the first two weeks of Advent we were surrounded by purple colored vestments (the color of penance), music that is scaled back inside of its tone, and simple Church decorations. With this Sunday we begin to move closer to the great light that shines forth on Christmas morning. On that day we will join joyfully with all the angels of Heaven once again in singing "Glory to God in the highest." As we move along from the darkness into the light may we be reminded of our own need to cast away sin. If we truly desire to rejoice joyfully at the birth of the Messiah we must make sure that our life is in proper order. If we latch onto our sin we will not be prepared to properly join ourselves to the great celebration of Christmas. We instead will be left in the darkness of night with no room found inside of the inn of our hearts. May we instead remain patient and make our hearts firm that room may be found within this inn.

As we enter into our Gospel we find that Christ leaves three questions for the disciples of John to reflect upon. What did you come to see? "A reed swayed by the wind? Someone dressed in fine clothing? To see a prophet?" During this season of Advent we should apply these same three questions to our own life. If we truly desire to flock towards the manger of Christ we should reflect upon these questions ourselves and prevail ourselves humbly to their meaning. 

Has our life become equal to a reed that has been swayed by the wind? A reed of course is a long grass-like plant that can be found in wet places. Whenever a gust of wind comes along it is able to be blown about freely. This same scenario plays out inside of our own life concerning sin. We easily allow ourselves to be blown about like a reed swayed by the wind. Instead of realizing our need to fight against our temptations it is much easier to give into temptation and to run away from Christ who should be our firm foundation. The season of Advent is not about being swayed by the wind, but instead is a time to be strengthened by virtue.

Instead of allowing ourselves to be humbled do we instead expect someone dressed in fine clothing? Fine clothing, here, represents the pride of our own hearts. Even from the moment of His birth, Christ, took on a great since of humility. From within the manger he was surrounded not by riches, but by animals. When we run away from the poverty of humility we accept the richness of pride. All of us here should be able to acknowledge the reality that we are sinful and in need of the Lord's help. Instead of acknowledging this reality we cloth our minds with the pride that our sin is not really sinful or even that we are so holy that we don't need to prevail ourselves to the sacrament of confession. Instead of exalting ourselves in such a manner we should use this season of Advent to lower ourselves to Christ and His mercy. In Confession we will truly be able to encounter humility and strip away the fine clothing of our pride.

Instead in this season of Advent has it been our hope to see a prophet? If this has been our hope we will realize the great weight of our sin and be moved to ask for forgiveness. On this Guadate Sunday we rejoice as we move closer to the Nativity of Christ. We can only rejoice when we strip away all that is keeping us enslaved, because in doing so we will truly be able to behold the Messiah who will come. This Wednesday our parish community will have the perfect opportunity for all of us to truly desire to see a prophet through the stripping away of our sin. This Wednesday will be our parish penance service where a total of nine priests will be present to hear confessions and to absolve us of our sins. May we no longer allow ourselves to be equal to a reed swayed by the wind, but instead may we be willing to turn away from temptation and to be strengthened by Christ. May we not expect to find someone dressed in fine clothing, but instead realize our need to humble ourselves to Christ's infinite mercy. This penance service is the perfect way to truly be able to see a prophet and to make room in the inn of our hearts for him to dwell with us always.

Immaculate Conception Homily

The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception gives us the great hope that we can achieve holiness inside our daily life. We know that Eve was created without original sin, but in time she fell into the state of sin. God knew that Mary would remain faithful and that she would humbly accept the gift of Christ into her life. She was therefore chosen to become the new Eve through which sin would be triumphed over in Christ her Son. Unlike Eve Mary was able to remain spotless and pure because her life was totally dedicated to her Son. It is always the desire of our Blessed Mother to lead us closer to her Son. She never wants to lead us to herself because her love has always been poured out for her Son; especially when she was forced to see the pains of her Son upon the cross.

As we celebrate this great solemnity of the Church may each of us desire to grow closer to our Blessed Mother. May our devotion to her always lead us towards Christ which in return will lead us to holiness. Inside of this world we see the effects of sin, but in Mary we see the reality that sin can and has been triumphed over. When pride begins to rise inside of our hearts may we be reminded by her great humility in accepting the Christ child into her life. When we are tempted against sins of purity may we be reminded of the true beauty of our Blessed Mother. When we struggle in martial relationships may we be reminded of her true love for her husband, Joseph. When we fail to see the value in obedience to a boss, superior, teacher, or a parent may we be reminded always of the true obedience that Mary showed to the will of God by remaining spotless and thus becoming the new Eve. When we fail in our charity towards a classmate, the poor, or another person whom we encounter may we be reminded of the great charity that Mary showed in having her Son change water into wine. When we feel that we are to busy for prayer may we be reminded of this woman's true faith that had totally transformed her life.

It is through Mary that we will encounter the joys of discovering holiness inside of our lives. Whenever we hold the beads of the Holy Rosary in our hands and pray the words heard from the Angel Gabriel: "Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you." while we meditate upon Christ's life, death, and Resurrection we will grow in holiness. We will grow in casting away the stain of sin inside of our lives as our Blessed Mother continues to protect us with her loving mantle. With this solemnity we join our hearts together with great joy as we celebrate this woman chosen by God to be without the stain of sin and we trust that with our devotion placed upon her we will grow closer to Christ and in return to holiness.

2nd Sun of Advent Year A Homily

Each of us in this Church this morning have been gathered and placed upon the threshing floor spoken of in our Gospel. A threshing floor is a place where a farmer will bring his wheat in order to sort through it to separate the good from the bad. Through our baptism we have been gathered from the field of the world and placed upon this floor to receive the protection that is  necessary to be found worthy of the rewards of the Heavenly Kingdom. This floor that we find ourselves upon is that of the Church which throughout time has delivered so many souls to the Kingdom of Heaven. This is so because the sacraments are found here and each of them guides and protects a soul from sin in a most special way. The Church was given to the world by Christ, so that we would not be left alone in our journey of faith, but instead would have a place were we can be protected and guided towards God.

The problem for us is that we don't always want to lie comfortably upon the floor of the Church. Instead of finding our comfort here we leave ourselves open to even allowing the smallest gust of wind to blow us away. Even the smallest of winds is able to do so much damage to our lives; then we can only imagine the utter destruction that is brought about by a storm. The winnowing fan of our Gospel is a tool that is used to stir up the grain upon the floor thus separating the good from the bad. In each of our lives this fan has been stirred up and creates so many difficulties for us, but instead may we keep our way straight and be found faithful upon the floor of the Church at the end of time. Surely we can conceive in our minds the many reasons why people are blown away from this floor like chaff. Especially when we are willing to compromise our relationship with God and with each other through sin. In sin we find a true breakdown of relationships to the point where we have no other desire then to be cast away from others. What ways has the winnowing fan been stirred up inside our lives by our vices and how can we overcome these gusts of wind and remain faithful?

If we want to remain faithful to what Christ has left for us and desire to be placed inside of the barn that is Heaven we have a lot of work to do that cannot be done only once, but constantly. At times we may find that the Church's teachings don't reflect our own desires. At these moments we must embrace the cross of Christ, and find the meaning in a culture that gets everything when it wants the moment that it wants it, through sacrifice. Through the sacrifice of ourselves we are able to join with Christ upon His cross and then our physical or person struggle is able to take on meaning. We must also remember that our relationship with the Eucharist should reflect the relationship of the sun with the planets. Our life should rotate around the Eucharist as the earth rotates around the sun. With the Eucharist central in our life we will be able to turn away from sin and our own disordered opinions. Also, there are times when we all fall into sin, but instead of allowing ourselves to be blown away from the floor of the Church may we not fear the comfort of the Sacrament of Confession. If we can learn the value of sacrifice, of prayer, of the Holy Eucharist, and Confession we will be prepared for the moment when the winnowing fan begins to stir up doubt and temptation inside of our lives.

We must also remember the farmer who had to put so much labor inside of his crops. Without his constant care nothing would of been brought to the threshing floor that contained any value. Sometimes we want to lay comfortably without entering into this true labor that must be undertaken by all of us. We are not called to just rest comfortably upon the floor while we are in this building alone. Instead we should remember the words of our Holy Father, Francis, who reminded us that we should not be a Church of self preservation. Therefore we to must go into the world, like the farmer, and become missionaries of the faith who have been strengthened by our encounter with our Eucharistic Lord.

We are missionaries when we are school or at work. We are missionaries in those moments when we encounter the poor. We are missionaries when we engage in conversation at the checkout lane of a store. We become missionaries by the example of living out the faith to its fullest especially towards children who have fallen away from the comfort of the Church's floor. Our hour gathered inside of this place must extend into the world with the hope that we will gather more souls for the harvest of our Lord. In this way we join with the farmer in his collection of the harvest upon the threshing floor.

As we find ourselves in the midst of this advent season may we be concerned with the coming of Christ as the word made flesh. May we use this season that is set before us to do all that we can to remain upon the threshing floor, so that at the end of time we will be worthy for the Kingdom of Heaven. The winnowing fan of our passions will indeed spring up along our way, but instead of being blown away by them may we remain faithful always. Through sacrifice, prayer, confession, and the Eucharist we can and will be strengthen when the winnowing fan springs up in our life. May we also realize that our gift of faith is so important that it must transcend these walls and be brought into the world. May we use this season that has been set before us to prepare the way of the Lord by making our paths straight.

1st Sun of Advent Year A Homily

We are constantly preparing ourselves for something. The season of Advent is about preparing ourselves for the coming of the word made flesh. In this season we are called upon to prepare our hearts for the great joy that will come into the world on Christmas Day. In the days leading up to Christmas we sometimes forget this proper preparation for Christ's coming because we have already started to celebrate the season of Christmas early. We instead have prepared ourselves only through decorating the house, filling out Christmas cards (hopefully from the Knights of Columbus), organizing Christmas parties, and endless shopping for gifts (hopefully done with our school's gift cards). Despite this our Mass and liturgy during this period displays to us our true longing to prepare for Christ's coming. We see this through the decoration of our Church and within the tone of the music that we hear, especially that which we don't hear in the form of the Gloria. As the Church scales back these things we are reminded of our own need to be prepared for Christ's coming into the world.

For many the great solemnity of Black Friday was celebrated for some reason this year on Thursday instead of Friday. I guess this celebration has become so special that it now deserves its own vigil. I know that one is able to put a lot of preparation into this event; especially if they want to be successful. There are magazines to go through to discover the sales that interest you and then you can research maps of where your beloved items will be found within the store. Without proper preparation you might survive the floods of people alive, but with nothing in your possession. And if that was the case what would be the point? For some reason we are willing to put so much preparation and emphasis into such events, but are unwilling to do the same for our faith. Of course these events and possessions give us instant results that we can see while faith is something that must be worked at and cannot be seen and obtained in the same manner. All of us have a longing inside to find joy, we will not find it in possessions, but instead with Christ.

Our Holy Father, Francis, recently released his apostolic exhortation which is entitled Evangelii Guadium, the Joy of the Gospel. In the introduction he writes concerning our disordered preparation that we do at the cost of our relationship with Christ and with each other. In it he writes: "The great danger in today’s world, pervaded as it is by consumerism, is the desolation and anguish born of a complacent yet covetous heart, the feverish pursuit of frivolous pleasures, and a blunted conscience. Whenever our interior life becomes caught up in its own interests and concerns, there is no longer room for others, no place for the poor. God’s voice is no longer heard, the quiet joy of his love is no longer felt, and the desire to do good fades. This is a very real danger for believers too. Many fall prey to it, and end up resentful, angry and listless. That is no way to live a dignified and fulfilled life; it is not God’s will for us, nor is it the life in the Spirit which has its source in the heart of the risen Christ."

Throughout this exhortation, Francis, is showing his concern that all of us will find the joy of Christ in our life and in return will be willing to share this joy with the world by bringing forth the new evangelization. Advent is the perfect time to begin to make room for Christ in our hearts, so that when he arrives we will not be caught off guard, but instead allow room to be found within the inn of our own hearts. Our Gospel today reminds us of the importance of this preparation that we must always have in our hearts for Christ. From the start we are reminded of the great flood and how it was from an ark that people were given freedom from all the rough water that would ensue. For all of us we to have been extended our own protection from the flood of sin and fear in the form of the Church. Christ has given the Church to us as a gift that will constantly console us and in return lead us back to the joy of Christ. As long as we find ourselves upon this ark, that is the Church, we will be prepared for that hour we do not expect.

Our Gospel gives us the image that the rich and the poor will both have to answer for their lives. "One will be taken and one will be left." Instead of having to fear this just judgement we should follow after the words of the Prophet Isaiah in the reality that we should be drawn entirely towards Christ and towards His truth. Through the reality that we have been baptized we have put on our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore we must stay under the protection of the ark that is the Church and in return lead others to the joy that is found here. When we place ourselves under the protection of the passing world we will always be left exposed to the many trials and tribulations that can sweep us away from our relationship with Christ. As this Advent season commences may we allow ourselves to find ways to truly begin to prepare ourselves for God taking on human flesh. In taking this proper preparation we should find ways to be drawn closer to the Eucharist maybe through Eucharistic adoration, ways to be drawn closer to our Blessed Mother maybe through the praying of the Holy Rosary, ways to realize our own sin and to ask for forgiveness through Confession and a daily Examination of Conscience, ways to serve the poor in our community maybe through Saint Joseph's Food Bank, and ways to continue our own education inside of the faith maybe through a class or a good book concerning the faith.

No matter what we choose to do with this season of Advent may we not allow it to pass us by without proper preparation. Instead may we fully come to prepare ourselves for Christ's coming into the world; that we may rejoice in the house of the Lord for all time.

Christ the King Year C Homily

There are many kingdoms and rulers who have come and gone throughout the history of the world. With the rise of nations and rulers we get different ideologies that are put into motion which sometimes give honor to the human person and to God and sometimes do the complete opposite. In time a ruler will die and a new one will spring up in their place that can overturn everything either for the good or the bad. This Solemnity was placed onto our liturgical calendar at the conclusion of the First World War as a reminder of the world's need to place Christ central to our lives if we will ever hope to find peace and happiness among the nation's of the world and within our own life. With the Solemnity of Christ the King we embrace a ruler who is stable and unchanging and are able to see a true Kingdom that is based upon true love for the human person. If we are willing to flock towards the cross of Christ on this day we will experience the loving peace and forgiveness that was offered to the criminal who embraced conversion.

In 1925 Pope Pius XI established this solemnity that is celebrated by stating: the people "of that time –had thrust Jesus Christ and his holy law out of their lives. As long as individuals and states refuse to submit to the way of our savior, there will be no hopeful prospect of a lasting peace among nations.” This of course was not taken fully to heart because it was not long after this that the world would find itself in the midst of a Second World War. Now we far removed from these words cannot claim that we have fully embraced this. Nations still exist which do not reflect these values through their ability to not care for the poor, to overlook the life of the child found within the womb, to treat workers as objects instead of respecting their human dignity, along with many other injustices that continue to plague our world. We still live with the fear of war while in hearts we long for peace. This peace will never be found until the world is able to embrace Jesus Christ as it's king.

We cannot only blame nations and rulers for this lack of peace on earth, but also ourselves. If sin is present inside of our lives we cannot fool ourselves into believing that we have fully embraced Christ as our king. We have all been made fit to share in the inheritance of the holy ones, but instead have allowed ourselves to be pulled into the darkness of sin. Christ presents to us upon His cross, a great Kingdom, that all of us can find ourselves within if only we can trust in conversion. If we want to find lasting peace within our lives we must submit to the way of our savior. The way of our savior is defiantly counter cultural because it is a way that leads towards humility and love. We can only discover true humility and love by embracing Christ our King and casting off all that detracts us from this reality. From the throne of our Lord we will receive the grace necessary to rip ourselves away from the enslavement of sin and to in return be made at "peace by the blood of his cross."

As we search out this reality of conversion we must also learn to silence our lives. We live in a busy world that is constantly being filled with noise and we often find silence to be unbearable. We will never come to know the true peace of heart that can be discovered if we are unwilling to slow down and enter into silence. In silence we will learn to pray, to discern God's will inside of our lives, and be strengthened against sin. In silence we will slow down and learn to truly adore Christ our King who comes among us here at this Mass in the form of bread and wine. We are so used to receiving our Lord in Holy Communion, but have lost the true sense of wonder and adoration that is fitting for such a wonderful king. At the moment of the consecration we receive an invitation to enter into complete silence while we in the words of Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger "direct our eyes toward Christ, to look at him from within, in a gaze that is at once gratitude, adoration, and petition for our own transformation." 

It is through discovering this sense of awe at the wonder of the Blessed Sacrament that we will find never ending peace inside of our life. As our liturgical year draws to a close with this solemnity may we continue to grow in our faith especially within our love for the Holy Eucharist. Christ the King guides us towards the Heavenly Kingdom where we will find true peace. Anytime a nation or ruler wants to ignore this reality they will never be able to find the true peace that they are in search for. Any person who is stuck with the stain of sin upon their souls should return to the sacrament of Reconciliation where they can embrace the example of the criminal upon the cross and encounter true peace. Anytime that we allow silence to enter into our hearts and truly begin to pray we will encounter this peace. When we glance at the Holy Eucharist we experience the peace that the world feels through our Lord's loving embrace. This day may we rejoice with Christ our King, embracing an unchanging Kingdom, that will bring true peace into the world and into our life.

33rd Sun of OT Year C Homily

With these readings that we hear we are told of the urgency of the end of time because our liturgical year is coming to a close. We are told of awful sights that will take place that will rip our world apart. We should easily be able to picture the destruction that is being referenced by thinking of the awful tragedy that took place in the Philippines. In these pictures and videos we are shown how a society once complete and functioning like our own was ripped into disarray. This disarray is the same that all of us have been infected with through sin. In Christ we are complete and made perfect, but with our trust placed in sin we are left in shambles. The glamour of sin shines brightly to the world and makes us believe that it will make us complete and feel happy. In reality this light that shines is not glamorous, but vile. Allowing it to take control of our life will only leave us torn apart like any modern day tragedy that we can conceive in our minds. Instead of being torn apart we are constantly desiring inside to be made complete.

We are always trying to find something that will make our life feel complete. In this pursuit for happiness we don't want to always work for this completeness, but would rather have it quickly handed over to us. Commercials that we find on television testify to this because if we are able to obtain a certain product we are promised of life changing results that will ensue in return. It does not take long for something else to then come along and catch our attention and make us believe that this product will be the one to finally deliver the results that we are in pursuit of. We often approach our faith with this same attitude. Instead of allowing our faith to be tested and we in return remain obedient to the truth; we attempt to design our own religion based solely on how it makes us feel. This attitude always leaves us in shambles as we hope to be made complete.

Our Gospel from Saint Luke is presenting to us how from the shambles of our own sin we will be made complete again through Christ and His Heavenly liturgy. At the beginning of this Gospel Jesus is telling how the temple in Jerusalem will be destroyed. From a firm building that once was the center of sacrifice and worship for the Jewish people would soon be left in utter shambles. Despite the shambles that eventually came about Christ throughout the Gospels promised that the temple would be rebuilt within three days. Following Christ's death and resurrection this would take place. In the past we needed the temple for sacrifice, but through the cross we were given a sacrifice that would be offered once and for all. None of the animals that had been sacrificed inside the temple had the effect upon the world as the one perfect sacrifice of Christ the Lamb. From the temple that would lie in shambles would come he was both God and man that gave the perfect witness to the world that we are all called to be made whole.

In sin we will constantly be torn away from this wholeness. In our sin and lack of trust of God we will always be left longing for something greater and yet always falling short. Instead of devoting ourselves totally to the truth of the Gospel, like those who were persecuted for their faith, we allow ourselves to be torn apart inside like each natural disaster that has destroyed our land. Instead of being left in shambles as if all alone we must remember that the temple has been destroyed and with it Christ continues to invite us into perseverance with him. We are called to take each sin that plagues our soul and bring them to our Lord for healing. We are called upon to take each struggle that we encounter with our family or friends and offer them to Christ. Instead of feeling as if our life is inadequate we will find all we will ever need to become whole with Christ. When we experience a great joy Christ desires to be allowed in and when we are lost and looking for answers Christ will give us guidance.

For us here at this Heavenly Liturgy we take all of these prayers, fears, joys, and sacrifices and join them to Christ who is the Son of justice who pours his healing rays upon us. With all that we gather we come here to this Mass to be made whole. In this Church we desire to join ourselves to Christ who is the new temple as we attempt to find meaning to all the things of this world that have left us in shambles. May we not fear to continue to join with Christ at Calvary as we bring all the pains that have destroyed our life and ripped it apart. At this Mass we encounter Heaven on earth may we not take these mysteries lightly, but instead fully allow ourselves to join with the sacrifice that will unfold. The Church year is truly coming to a close and one day we know our own life will end, but Christ comforts us here through His sacrifice upon the cross. We have a longing that exists inside of our hearts to be made complete, but will only be able to find this completeness through our relationship with Christ. May we allow our lives to be secured through our perseverance in this sacred liturgy because only here can we be made complete and truly come to join ourselves to Christ.

32nd Sun of OT Year C Homily

Blessed John Paul II once said: "To die for the faith is a gift for some, to live the faith is a gift for all." Those who have actually spilled their blood for the faith are known as red martyrs. If it was not for these martyrs who realized the authenticity of Christ's Death, Resurrection, and Ascension into Heaven we probably would not have a Church today. If they were not so sure of the truth of the Gospel they never would of put their lives on the line in the name of Christ. Red martyrs come from all time periods of Christianity and receive representation from the apostles who knew Christ, early popes of the Church, and men and women from many nations where the faith was persecuted to the point of death. We see a glimpse into martyrdom in our reading from second Maccabees where these seven brothers and their mother were arrested and put to death for their Jewish faith. In captivity they suffered and were persecuted, but they knew with death they had the hope of everlasting life. All Christian martyrs shared in this same understanding.

Of course for us who find ourselves here today we probably will never be called to red martyrdom. Nor should we wander about trying to put ourself in the situation of being put to the death for the faith because this is spiritual pride. Despite this fact we are still called to become martyrs through what is referred to as white martyrdom. Martyrs of this category do not spill their blood for the faith, but instead are so convinced of the truth of the faith that they put to death each inclination inside of their lives that leads to the death of sin. Of course this complete surrender to Christ does not come easily and therefore is not something that can be taken lightly. If this is taken lightly we will never allow ourselves to undergo the death of white martyrdom and instead will remain slaves to this world in some way. In Saint Paul's letter to the Thessalonians we are told that our hearts will be encouraged and will be strengthened in every good deed and word. In our struggle with putting sin to death entirely we must remember this.

For both red martyrs and white martyrs their desire to die for the faith was based on the belief of the Resurrection of the Body. Without this key element to the faith there would of been no purpose for belief or for change in one' way of life. Without the resurrection Christ would only be purely human and his death would have caused nothing for our salvation. Yes his words gave plenty of good moral examples, but based on these alone there would be no reason for change especially the acceptance of death. Instead the resurrection signals that this man was God and that his death upon the cross was not done in vain, but was a sacrifice offered on behalf of all our sins. In our Gospel Jesus is pointing towards the importance of the resurrection of the body. His words address the Sadducees who did not believe in the resurrection and challenged them towards the true hope that would be found with this tenant of faith. May we allow ourselves to have faith and hope based upon the resurrection because here we will find the reason to die to self.

With our faith and hope based upon the resurrection we are able to see what all martyrs of the faith have died for. The red martyrs were willing to spill their blood with their hope placed here because the faith was truly important to die for. All white martyrs put their false selves to death through the faith that was placed here because they knew that they had something greater then the passing world to base their life upon. When we realize the importance of the resurrection we to should be inspired to put to death each disordered element inside of our life. We should desire to endure white martyrdom because through this action we will be making Heaven manifest while here on this earth. Each day we should not accept the disorder of sin, but instead be willing to accept the proper order which always orients us towards God. If this will ever be possible for us to achieve during this life we must place our trust in the resurrection like all the martyrs have done because here we will encounter true faith and hope.

If we can bring ourselves to realize that the cross is not the end we can always find hope within the resurrection. The brutal death of the martyrs was not their end, but instead was their welcoming to life everlasting. Despite how hard it was for the white martyrs to strip away all sin from their life, something more stable then the passing of pleasures would come with the resurrection. The resurrection shows us that the gift of faith is for all of us. It shows us that there is something more to this world then chasing after disordered pleasures and also promises us that something greater will come then the sickness, death, and rejection that we might feel on a daily basis. With the resurrection we can take a glimpse into Heaven and in return see the necessity to turn away from any sin that might be present inside of our lives. In Heaven there will be no room for sin, so may we endure a white martyrdom where we cast our sinfulness away totally through fasting, prayer, and trust placed inside of the sacraments especially confession and the Holy Eucharist. Strengthened by these in the light of the resurrection we will be able to endure the white martyrdom of the saints. 

32nd Sun of OT Year C Vigil Homily

At this Mass I would like to welcome all those who will soon be confirmed; I also welcome your sponsors, parents, and teachers. Today in the presence of all the people of God gathered in this Church you will sign your name to a book stating your intention to prayerfully continue your studies towards the sacrament of confirmation. This sacrament which you will soon receive is often misunderstood as being a sacrament of maturity. Instead this is a sacrament of initiation which is owed to all of you from the inheritance of your baptism. By the fact that each you have been baptized, you are already a member of the Church. According to the Rite of Confirmation we hear similar words from St. Paul's letter to the Thessalonians that was heard today: "by the sacrament of Confirmation, [the baptized] are more perfectly bound to the Church and are enriched with a special strength of the Holy Spirit. Hence they are, as true witnesses of Christ, more strictly obliged to spread and defend the faith by word and deed."

In your preparation for this sacrament do not take your faith lightly. Our faith is not a passing feeling, but instead is something that will always hold firm. If we need any example to this truth we can look towards the life of the Christian Martyrs. They understood how important the faith truly was and they were willing to spill their blood on behalf of this truth. They came to understand the truth of the resurrection that was being addressed in today's Gospel and realized that this truth was worth dying for. They followed in similar steps to the seven brothers and their mother who were put to death in our reading from second Maccabees. To all those in this Church who have been or will be confirmed we must remember always to spread and defend the faith by our word and deed. The martyrs were willing to defend this truth by their lives and we in like manner should put to death each disordered passion and fear in our life and be willing to defend the faith by our word and deed.

Being Catholic in eastern Tennessee is not always easy. Being Catholic while in high school is not always easy. These facts are true, but we must also remember that the martyrs willingness to die for the truth was not easy. It is my prayer for each of you today who will sign your name to this book upon the altar of sacrifice that you will truly enter into the study of the faith and do so through prayer. May you also follow in the footsteps of the martyrs in realizing how important that the faith truly is to live and defend. May your teachers, parents, and sponsors be true examples of the faith to you. May they teach the truth that the martyrs were willing to die for without bias and also teach by their example of how to live out the faith. This means the example of praying, being Christ like towards others, attending the Sacrifice of the Mass every Sunday, and the humble example of returning to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Also, may this community of faith who is drawn here today also be inspired by the martyrs and the sacrament of confirmation in seeing the importance of defending the faith by our word and deed. It is from the truth of the Resurrection of Christ's Body that showed that Jesus was both fully God and fully human, and from this truth the martyrs were willing to die, the faith was keep burning brightly for the world to see, and all of us are strengthened in every word and deed.

31st Sun of OT Year C Homily

Our time is running short! We no longer have the time to slowly move along without feeling the necessity of repentance. I say this because our liturgical year will end in a month's time and so for the rest of the month our Sunday readings will be pointing towards the end of time reaching there ultimate culmination on the Solemnity of Christ the King. With the end of this liturgical year in sight we are truly beginning to run out of time while here on earth. Our opening prayer to today's Mass describes the situation that we find ourselves in by saying: "grant, we pray, that we may hasten without stumbling." This prayer shows the urgency that we find ourselves within because we must hurry instead of move about slowly as if we have forever to catch up. This prayer also acknowledges for us the reality of sin that causes us to stumble along the way. Despite all the obstacles that we find in our path our Lord is indeed merciful and will help us to avoid these obstacles if we so desire.

In our Gospel we encounter Zacchaeus who leads us forth in the example of being in a hurry. Despite the many temptations that had attempted to cause him to stumble in his faith he would not allow them to do so. Instead he ran ahead, showing his urgency, and climbed the tree that set him above each stumbling block that was placed in his way. It was from this height that his faith ultimately encountered the mercy of Christ. If Zacchaeus took things without urgency he would have missed this opportunity for mercy. If he would of allowed his stature to get in his way he would of stumbled along the way and in return missed this opportunity for mercy. Instead his example to us is a reflection of the words of our opening prayer: "grant, we pray, that we may hasten without stumbling." In his encounter with Christ we are shown the true forgiveness of sins that can be shown to all of us and we also see that daily conversion from our sins is possible if we place our sights entirely upon Christ.

It is with our sights entirely placed upon Christ that we can echo the words of Wisdom in abandoning our wickedness and believing in the Lord. These past two days on the Church calendar have reminded us of how abandoning our wickedness is indeed possible with time. Friday was All Saints Day and we see through the saints a reminder that getting to Heaven is indeed possible and that we are all called to be saints. All Souls Day was yesterday and we were reminded of the urgency of the reality of death because it is always set before our eyes. With this knowledge we trust in conversion and also are compelled to offer our prayers for all the souls of purgatory that they may one day achieve the perfection of love that is found with the saints. The saints did not lead an easy life because each day they had to work hard at drawing closer to God's love. They had to remove from their path each stumbling block because only with these entirely removed could they truly come to understand the love of God.

If we will ever be able to accomplish avoiding stumbling blocks inside of our life we must begin with true trust in Christ and within His Sacraments. The Eucharist has to become the source and summit of our life because here is not contained a symbol, but is truly the Body and Blood of Christ. In those moments when we stumble from the path that the Eucharist challenges us to we are given the Sacrament of Reconciliation to be healed by returning us to God's love and mercy that we have turned against through our own desire. When we are sick and in danger of death we can find our comfort from fear in the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. Also we must strengthen the Sacrament of Marriage through the foundation of Christ instead of the foundation of wordily pleasure. When we can begin to trust in these many sacraments we will join with Zaccaeus on the height of the tree and here encounter Christ's love for what it truly is instead of distorting it into stumbling blocks along our path.

May we hasten this day because none of us knows how much longer that we have. Eventually our time on this earth will run out. Our time is running short! Despite the shortness of time we have all the help we will ever need to avoid each stumbling block along our way is given when we place our trust in Christ, in His Church, and within the sacraments. Through these elements we will be transformed like Zacchaeus because this is the only possibility when we allow ourselves to be entirely open to God's will and love inside of our life. May we not hide behind our excuses, but truly allow Christ to find us when we stumble along the way. Each time that we return to this abundant fount of mercy we will be embraced by Christ. May we not fear this embrace of love, but instead hurry ourselves towards it before time runs out. May our lives become an outpouring of trust placed upon the words of our opening prayer. "Grant, we pray, that we may hasten without stumbling."

All Souls Day Homily

As you will notice the Gospel that was used for this Mass is exactly the same as the one that was heard on All Saints Day. I purposely chose this Gospel for our Mass today because what we commemorate today is closely related to All Saints Day. It is on All Saints Day where we gather to venerate all of the saints that have already been called home to share in the beatific vision of Heaven. The Commemoration of all the faithful departed, on the other hand, is the day when we gather to hold in our prayers all of the souls who have gone before us because we know that the path they are currently upon leads to Heaven. They pass through Purgatory as they are cleansed to behold and live out for the rest of eternity the love of God. With All Saints Day we are shown this love that will be lived out for all eternity and are inspired to join in that hope, but with All Souls Day we are reminded of the sting of death and how it will ultimately catch up to us one day if we would like it or not. Faced with our own mortality we must begin to realize that we only have so long to turn away from sin and to trust in God's unending mercy.

The greatest service that we can give the deceased is not proclaiming them saints through our own merit, but instead is having the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass offered for them and remembering to pray for the repose of their souls. We should do this because they are oriented entirely towards God at this moment, but still as the Book of Wisdom puts it: "as gold in the furnace he proved them." No matter how holy the soul seems to be they will still need to be cleansed of those minor things which in this life has keep them from perfect union with God. Saint Catherine of Genoa believed that there is no happiness anywhere as great as the souls in Purgatory except of course as the souls already in Heaven. Purgatory is not a state of punishment, but is a state where one allows God to put back together all the brokenness of their life and thus over time to share more and more inside of the beatific vision of Heaven.

If we truly desire to join inside of this beatific vision one day we can look towards the beatitudes as a map of how this is possible. The beatitudes are a reminder for us of the separation that is necessary from the things of this world. Surely when we spend some time in meditation with the beatitudes we will realize that we have all probably many times failed to follow them or trust inside of the knowledge that they contain. Instead we have latched ourselves onto the wordily examples that were given by Christ instead of trusting in their opposite which leads to true liberation of self and the opening of one's heart entirely to God's love. As Saint Paul reminded us in his letter to the Romans: "we were baptized into Christ's death." This means that through baptism our journey towards God was begun and will of course reach its culmination at the point when we join inside of the beatific vision. To join in the beatific vision requires that we over time purge ourselves of everything that has enslaved us to the world and thus caused us into the distortion of our love.

As we commemorate all the faithful departed on this day may be comforted in the sorrow that we may feel because "death no longer has power over them." They have all been found worthy to become saints in Heaven and with each moment that passes they draw closer to that goal. May we never forget the importance that exists concerning our prayers for these souls because they are still upon a journey of shedding away everything that has kept them from loving God entirely. As we pray for them may we be faced with our own mortality and desire that at the end of our time on this earth that we will not be plagued by sin especially mortal sin, but instead will be living out the beatitudes faithfully. The Lord is indeed our shepherd who leads these souls to Heaven as He also leads us towards the daily conversion from our sin.

All Saints School Mass Homily

This past week I have seen many children dressed in costumes around our school. The first set of costumes that I witnessed was with the 3rd grade when they put on a presentation of a wax museum of many famous figures throughout United States history. These figures who have gone before us continually remind us of their important contributions to society through politics, the health care profession, magic, sports, scientific contributions, among others. Today we have another set of costumes that are placed before us. Our 4th grade class are wearing the costumes of their favorite saints. It is in honor of the saints that we gather this morning. Through the saints we see many positive reminders of how we are to truly begin to love God as we should. Through their lives we are shown that we must turn away from our sin and in return love God with all of our heart. May we not fear to ask these men and women to intercede on our behalf because they lived a life of great love shown towards God and in return always desire to draw others to God.

 

We must remember that our ultimate goal inside of this life is to make it to Heaven. If we make it to Heaven we will be unlike the many costumes that are worn for Halloween. A costume of a character from a television show or movie can easily be taken off at the end of the night, but this cannot be done with our call to sainthood. This means that we cannot give into the temptation of sin because it removes us from our call towards sainthood. This also means that when we do sin that we cannot take off God's mercy because it is necessary for the person striving towards sainthood. All of the saints who reign with God in Heaven did not remove themselves from the reality that they were baptized & therefore set apart in their ultimate goal of advancing in their love towards God. We have joined ourselves in this journey through our baptism where we were washed clean from original sin. Baptism was not just some vague rite of passage that could be removed when feel like it, but is a sacrament that has set us in motion toward perfect love of God

If we truly desire to become a saint which means make it to Heaven we need to listen closely to the words of Saint Matthew's Gospel. In this Gospel we were given the beatitudes which ultimately give us the tension between placing our love solely in the things of this world or totally upon God. In the way we treat others we can reflect either of these realities. We can become enslaved to being mean to others through our words or deeds, be drawn towards the love of money, over look the importance that Church plays in our life especially the attendance of Mass every Sunday, among many other possibilities that will always leave us serving the world. Instead of desiring to serve the world we should desire to serve God. It is only with service found here that we will be able to truly be happy and free from everything that enslaves us in this life. This is what the saints were able to accomplish in this life and now they for all time lay prostrate before the throne of God in a true adoration based upon love.

If we desire to truly grow in our love of God we must live out these beatitudes faithfully and when we mess up at doing so return to the abundant mercy of God found in the sacrament of confession. We must also allow God to guide us in our life towards our vocation and once we find that vocation to live it out faithfully. It is my understanding that later today the second grade class will have the opportunity to dress as one of the various vocations found inside of the Church. A vocation comes to us from God and always leads us back to his love. As a Church we are in dire need for holy marriages, priests, religious, and single people where their life is not in perversion of love, but instead based upon that which is seen in the Trinity. None of the saints were religious, priests, or married because they desired to follow their own will. Instead they were called, as all of us are in some way, and responded with their lives. May all of you here today remain open to praying each day about your own vocation in life that you may find it or be strengthened within it. If we can accomplish this we will be walking along the same path that brought the saints to sainthood.

On this All Saints Day may each of us be inspired through the true love that is found with the saints. May we allow them to guide us by their holy example and forever allow them to intercede in our lives. Their example and love for God was not a mere costume that was removed when nobody was around, but instead was who they authentically were. May we not allow ourselves to wear a false costume to impress God, but may we instead present ourselves in our sinfulness to God's mercy and be forever transformed. May we also present ourselves to God to be molded in our vocation and to respond to that call with humility as we grow in accomplishing and living out this vocation each day. When we are able to do this we will be preparing ourselves to join with the saints in Heaven where we in return will lay prostrate before God for all eternity. May we allow all the angels and saints of Heaven to intercede for us this day that we may one day be able to behold the face of God.

All Saints Homily

Every one of us should be able to point out at least a few of the saints that we have devotion towards. Maybe we have chosen this certain saint because they share the name that was given to us at birth, have experienced and triumphed over something that we in return struggle against, have a story that inspires us to walk along a path towards holiness, or are patrons towards something that is important to us. The saints are truly an army of believers who have given of themselves to the point where they were found worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven. Not only is this day about the countless amount of saints who are venerated inside of the Church, but this day is also to venerate each unknown saint that has been called to Heaven. Each soul that has passed from this life and has been counted worthy now for the rest of eternity will be following this true unending devotion of God that was found in Saint John's Book of Revelation. They truly prostrate themselves before God because here is found the fount of all holiness.

For us the saints should not feel as if they are far away. The saints are truly apart of our life because they inspire us and draw us towards love of God. Their life was such an outpouring of love towards God that it would only make sense that upon death they would continue to desire to draw souls not to themselves, but to the love of God. We are able to say that the saints pray for us in a very special way because through their shedding of self they have been called into perfect communion with God ,who is perfect love, that is constantly being poured out into our lives. If we find that we have a weak devotion towards the saints we should begin to study their lives and trust that through devotion to them we will indeed be brought into a closer communion with God. Devotion to the saints is fully in line with 1 Timothy 2:5 which states: "there is only one mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ." This is so because we as human turn towards them to pray to Jesus as we do for others whom we know in this life.

Through our devotion to the saints we should be led along our ultimate path inside of this life. Our ultimate path is the quest that each saint has had which is to achieve for ourselves sainthood. We are all called to be saints because God desires that we will cast away our sin and trust in his unending mercy. I hope that we realize that our ultimate goal should be to get to Heaven because this requires true love of God. If our goal is to get Heaven we must realize that we must be challenged to share in the love that the saints have for God. The saints did not just acknowledge their sin in their heart, but confessed it and challenged themselves each day to turn away from it completely. We must also find time to examine our own conscience so that we can be aware of our sin. No matter how well we can argue to ourself attempting to rationalize or sin or to throw away the wisdom of the Church; sin remains sin. Sin can never be rationalized because it always pulls us along perverting love to meet our own needs instead of allowing love to be an outpouring of self. This perfect love is that which over time led the saints to Heaven.

In the Gospel we are given the eight beatitudes which we have heard on many occasions. The beatitudes are truly a path that can be followed to led us to the perfect love for God that was found with the saints. In the first example that we are given we are shown ways in which people have become slaves to the world in some manner. We are then given the contrary example which allows a person to become liberated from enslavement and in return be transformed into truly being able to serve God out of love. The examples of loving the world are hard for us to break away from. Sin as awful as it is; is truly the easy path that is chosen. The opposite is a hard path to remain on, but is the most rewarding because it will not led us to enslavement towards our passions, but instead to the outpouring of self which is true love.

On this All Saints Day may each of us be inspired through the true love that is found with the saints. This true love of God that is found with the saints is not only for them that dwell with God in Heaven, but is also for all of us who dwell here on earth below. Our sights should not be placed upon becoming enslaved by the things of this world, but through the tension of the living out of the beatitudes we will find true interior peace and contentment that is a real glimpse into the rewards that we will enjoy in Heaven. These are the rewards that the saints have already received and through our devotion to them we hope that we will one day join with them in that great vision of the Heavenly Kingdom that was found in Revelation. It here that we will join with them in laying prostrate before God who is the fount of all holiness. It is only from this fount of love that we will learn to love and realize our need for God's mercy and our own daily conversion instead of acceptance of sin. May we allow all the angels and saints of Heaven to intercede for us this day that we may one day be able to behold the face of God.

30th Sun OT Year C Homily

We encounter a God of great mercy inside of today's Gospel. Despite the sinfulness of the tax collector's past he is forgiven through the mercy of God. He is forgiven because through his humility he realized his own sin and repented from it and with true faith placed his trust in God's never ending mercy. On the other hand we encounter the Pharisee who had every opportunity to encounter this same mercy from God. The Pharisee was stuck in his list of good works and following proper religious rules to the point that he missed what they were leading him towards. He was stuck inside of his pride and failed to see the limitations in himself that were struck by the stain of sin. This failure at self reflection and the acknowledgment of sin caused him to skip over the mercy of God that was always present in his life. This mercy never goes away, but is always present. The problem is that we are often like the Pharisee who through his lack of proper preparation wanted nothing to do with God's mercy.

We often reflect the values of this Pharisee inside of our own lives. We like to boast over the list of our accomplishments as if through these accomplishments alone we will reach God's mercy. In the carrying out of our good works we are not doing so to impress our Lord in any way, but are doing so because we must have this response out of obligation of calling ourselves Christian. To dismiss these opportunities to do good works through the service of our neighbor is failure to truly come to understand the ultimate charity that is displayed to the world by Christ crucified upon the cross. We also reflect the Pharisee when we are filled with pride and in return fail to see the importance of humbling ourselves to God's abundant mercy. If we are to truly be able to humble ourselves to this mercy we must begin to challenge ourselves to daily conversion from our sins. We cannot tap out to the submission of sin and allow it to continuously conquer our lives, but instead must realize that with God's mercy we are forgiven and can conquer it.

The tax collector realized this with his whole heart when he beat his breast in the realization of his sin and exclaimed: "O God, be merciful to me a sinner." At the beginning of each Mass we have the penitential rite that gives us the opportunity to stand with the tax collector in great humility. We stand with him as we call to mind our sins and prepare our hearts to receive our Lord in Holy Communion. We stand with him as we beat our breast crying our in the realization of our sin "through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault." May we not rush over this action inside of the Mass without giving it proper preparation because it is only with humility that we will be able to prevail ourselves to God's mercy. This rite should also extend into our homes through a daily examination of conscience. It is here that we can continue to realize the totality of our sin and in return receive the strength necessary to endure in our journey of faith through encountering Christ's divine mercy. This daily examine should also open our hearts in perfect preparation for the great action of humility that is required to prevail ourselves to the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

 

It is within this sacrament of God's love and mercy that we are able to join with Saint Paul in proclaiming "The Lord will rescue me from every evil threat." It is from this profound sacrament of mercy that we join with Sirach in trusting that God "hears the cry of the oppressed." When we begin to allow ourselves to trust in the mercy and the forgiveness of God with an acceptance of humility we join with the tax collector who did not allow his sin to control his life, but instead conquered it by embracing the mercy of God. May we embrace this same mercy by joining with this tax collector instead of running away from this mercy with the Pharisee. In pride we join with him in constantly running away instead of trusting that we can be rescued from every evil threat through our encounter with God's mercy.

In Saint Faustina's diary she writes concerning her encounter with Christ: "Write that I am more generous toward sinners than the just. It was for their sake that I came down from heaven; it was for their sake that my Blood was spilled. Let them not fear to approach Me; they are in most need of my mercy." If we are to respond to this invitation from Christ we must leave our pride behind and embrace this invitation for mercy in its totality. We can only embrace this invitation when we do so humbly by our realization that we are all in need of Christ's loving mercy daily. In humility we will examine our conscience and be driven back to God's mercy. In humility we will confess our sins and be strengthened in Christ's mercy. Through humility we will put our pride to death and in return move ourselves towards God's mercy. In the words of our Holy Father, Francis, "we are all sinners." This means me and you; it means all of us are in need of humbling ourselves to God's mercy that we may be liberated from every sin that enslaves us. The humble are the sinners who Christ came down from heaven for and the just are the sinners who are to prideful to accept Christ spilling his blood for them. May we accept our sinfulness in humility and in return embrace God's divine mercy.

29th Sun in OT Year C Homily

Jesus instructed his disciples to "pray always without becoming weary." It is from this verse that Saint Paul instructs those in his letter to the Thessalonians to "pray without ceasing." Our necessity to pray unceasingly is equal to the struggle that Moses had to endure in raising his hands above his head as war ensued. Prayer can indeed become a struggle when we glance at our life and see a lack of results that we have received or the reality of the length of the day and how tiresome it would be to pray a "Our Father" or "Hail Mary" nonstop for a twenty four hour period. In our prayer we must have faith because we may not always get the results that we want. Without faith unanswered prayers would show the lack of concern that God has for us. Joined with faith our prayer will find its true value because we will not be chasing after worldly rewards, but instead will be joining ourselves to God and overtime will find all our fears and needs answered by this joining of ourselves to the beatific vision.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church refers to prayer as "a vital and personal relationship with the living God." Countless amounts of saints have defined prayer through the use of their own words. For Saint Therese of Lisieux prayer is "a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned towards Heaven; it is a cry of recognition and love, embracing both trial and joy." Saint Jane Frances de Chantal stated "a good and perfect prayer requires that we forget self and be ready to sacrifice all that we are for God." Through the words of these saints we do not hear that the purpose of prayer is to gain rewards for ourself and for those whom we know. Instead we hear that prayer is important because it joins us to God and allows us to move past ourself towards another. Prayer gives us the opportunity to grow close to God while here on this earth and gives us the ability to receive strength and hope when we find ourself is the midst of trail and tribulation.

To join ourself to God through prayer does not mean that we must constantly repeat a prayer over and over again throughout the day. We of course must eat, sleep, work, and do other activities that require our attention. No matter how busy we find ourself we must take the time necessary to enter into prayer and to work towards praying unceasingly. Prayer is not only available for those who are experiencing great difficulties in life, but it is for everyone at all of life's stages. We should strive to be aware of the presence of God through all of life's various activities. It is possible to work, do sports, or even to watch television while being aware of God's presence in our life. The problem is that we have not worked very hard at harvesting this disposition inside of our life. In the process prayer has become segregated from all that takes place in our life. Instead of allowing this segregation to continue to build we must find ways in our life to be connected to God and learn to respond to Christ's command "to pray always without becoming weary."

As we progress in our understanding and willingness to enter into prayer we must make sure that we always remember Christ's question that comes at the conclusion of today's Gospel. "But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" This question sets up for us the true foundation that our prayer must be based upon. We must ask ourselves this same question because without faith prayer can quickly seem meaningless, but with true faith we will indeed be able to realize the true importance of prayer. With faith will find the value that truly exists in our liturgical prayers such as the Mass, community prayers such as the Stations of the Cross or the Rosary, or our own personal prayer that comes from the depth of our own hearts and joins us with God. With the foundation of faith we will not desire to behold the rewards of prayer in own image, but instead will allow our prayer to join us and our needs to God.

In Saint Paul's letter to Timothy we hear that one who belongs to God will be found competent and equipped for every good work. When we allow ourselves to enter into prayer we are truly allowing ourselves to belong to God. In this action we surrender all of our needs here and realize that in doing so that there is truly value to be found. Even if we have not received the results that we want may we realize that God still hears and answers our prayers. If we allow ourselves to remain persistent like Moses with his hands raised high or the widow in our Gospel we will be found competent and equipped for every good work. With faith as our standard may we find ways to enhance our liturgical prayers such as praying with the scriptures of the day, with faith as our standard may we enhance community prayer with the knowledge that value is found when joining with a group in prayer because we are not alone, and with faith as our standard may we challenge ourselves to learn to grow in personal prayer to where we can train ourselves "to pray always without becoming weary." This day may we open wide the doors of faith through our persistent prayers that join us to the beatific vision of God.

27th Sun of OT Year C Homily

The 11th of October will mark one year since the year of faith has begun. Throughout our readings from this week we constantly see a reflection of why it is important to have faith. The examples that we have been given throughout our readings should feel timely to the many issues that we continue to wrestle with to this day. The words of the apostles seem so simple, but in reality required a lot of work from them. For us to use the same command "increase our faith" requires us to move away from the desires of self and to eventually embrace God totally without reservation. As we have experienced within our lives we move from periods of great faith to periods where we have moved onto other things which seem more important. In light of these readings it would be good to evaluate how we have increased our faith during this past year. May they also serve as a reminder that we must continue to find ways to bring about an increase of faith within our lives, our families, and inside the world.

When the "Year of Faith" began a year ago we were given a letter from our bishop that was read in every parish of this diocese. In it he challenged us to four specific goals to work on throughout this "Year of Faith" that would help us in beginning to grow in the increase of faith that the apostles desired to obtain inside of our Gospel. He wanted us to: (1) Increase your daily prayer life to include the Profession of Faith that we pray in the form of the Nicene Creed. (2) Frequent the Sacrament of Confession.  As medicine is for the body, confession is health care of the soul.  Also, avail yourself of the special plenary indulgences that are offered during the Year of Faith, that help to better purify us for our heavenly reward. ( 3) Increase your involvement in your parish community with the gift of your time, prayer, and resources such as participating in Scriptural studies, making Holy Hours of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. (4) Take every opportunity to be the hands and face of Jesus to all you encounter.

If we have forgotten about these goals I encourage you to begin to work upon them. To work upon them not only as an individual, but to foster them from within the home. A family should be able to glance at these goals and see that they are reflected at home. To pray, to learn about the faith, to be healed by the sacrament of confession, and to treat others as Christ are important ways for an individual to allow their faith to increase. These are also good ways where the family can grow in faith together being led by the example of parents in the importance of prayer, of study of the faith, of the importance of going to confession to return to God's love and mercy, and the example of treating others as Christ. On November 24th the "Year of Faith" will come to a close, but we all know that the need to increase in faith is a life long journey. Hopefully we will or have allowed this "Year of Faith" to make faith faith more manifest inside of our lives.

In a recent homily Pope Francis encouraged the faithful to come to a knowledge of Christ through the use of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. In this "Year of Faith" I believe the Catechism is a good start for a person who wants to grow in their knowledge of faith. The Catechism is what the faith teaches and why and is a better place to go to understand what we believe then turning towards the interpretation of personal opinion or what we are told inside of the media. Personal opinion and the media will not and cannot change what is believed by the faith. If a person truly wants an interpretation of everything that Pope Francis has said since being elected I encourage that person to open the pages of the Catechism because their answers will be found there. To study the pages of this book along with Sacred Scripture will model what must be done not only in the mind, but also through our actions. Faith is not about knowledge alone, but is also about something that is alive and active.

The later half of our Gospel reminds us of the work that must done if we truly have the desire for this increase of faith. We should not immediately take our place at table, but instead should continue to labor as we foster our faith. Faith cannot be attained by a graduation ceremony and therefore it must continue to be fostered among family and friends. Faith will be missed if we never silence the many noises of our world to enter into prayer. Faith will become an afterthought if we allow our lives to grow dark with sin casting out our relationship with God. Faith is not based upon getting quick results for our needs, but is about total surrender to God. With faith we are not called to be isolated to ourself, but instead to expand ourself to becoming the hands and face of Christ to all whom we encounter. During this "Year of Faith" may our faith grow to the size of a mustard seed because with that alone we will be able surrender ourselves totally to God. May we be willing to say this day: "Increase our faith!"

25th Sun Year C Homily

In Dante's great work the "Purgatorio" the effects of each of the seven deadly sins are analyzed showing the perspective of the penitent in Purgatory. One of the seven deadly sins is "greed" which we hear reflected throughout the parable of the dishonest steward inside of today's Gospel reading from Luke. Dante shows the penance of those who suffer from greed by placing them face down upon rocky ground as they weep and pray while calling out examples of greed and there corresponding virtues. This posture reminds them of the words of Psalm 119:25 which states "my soul clings to the dust; revive me according to your word." In the life of these people they constantly chased after higher things to the point where they were raised in a worldly sense through all their wealth, talent, and possessions. In Dante's vision of Purgatory the lowering of oneself to the ground reminds them of the words of our Gospel: "You cannot serve both God and mammon." In this lowering of self they finally begin to understand that true charity requires the lowering of oneself to others especially to God who gives us life through His creative word.

Living in a society which has a fear of our economic future does not get us off the hook of having to worry about greed. We cannot allow excuses such as the uncertainty of our future to fuel our belief that we cannot be challenged to give of ourselves in anyway. We also look to our culture where we have become very busy with work, school, or sports. No matter how busy that we have become we must still realize that when we only chase after the raising of ourselves we are failing to lower ourselves to the needs of others who surround us not only in society, but also in our own homes. The home should be a place where a family shares time and resources with each other instead of a place where we are segregated to the loneliness of our possessions and needs without human contact or our relationship with God.  To be truly intrenched inside of the vice of greed completely cuts us away from these relationships and in return makes us slaves.

The dishonest steward definitely felt the tension of becoming a slave of two masters. On one hand he was reprimanded for squandering the property of the rich man and on the other hand he was commended for acting prudently. In his actions he was torn between the service of his own needs and the liberation that comes when one gives of their self. This dishonest steward was lifting himself from the lowliness of his greed when he began to give of his own commission. In his slow separation of self he was training his body that he could no longer serve both God and mammon. We have all separated ourselves from this reality at times. We have at times allowed ourselves to become transfixed upon our wealth, time, possessions, and talents. God has given us so much inside of our lives and yet we must remember that we have no rite to take complete ownership of our possessions. We are all travelers on a journey of life that at some unknown moment will come to an end and in return we will be forced into separation with our possessions, wealth, time, and fame. The dishonest steward realized the end that was quickly coming for him and he in return acted prudently.

Our Gospel challenges each of us to act prudently in all matters. From the dishonest steward we see the effects that greed brings into our lives. Greed destroys us because we are always left looking upwards away from the needs of others. No matter how firm a grasp that greed has upon us there is always hope that we can challenge ourselves each day to conquer this vice through the virtue of charity. From charity we take ourself away from the enslavement of the exaltation of self and deliver ourself towards the lowliness that allows us to see our brothers and sisters in Christ who are in need. In this lowliness we realize that our faith requires us to be good stewards of everything that we posses. In the giving of our wealth, possessions, talent, or time we are growing in the virtue of charity and doing away with the vice of greed.

If we will ever be able to escape the grasp of greed in our life we must replace it with the growth of charity. Charity begins with our love of God and from this love extends our love that is shown to our neighbors. Growing towards God through prayer and sacrifice we are able to continuously lower ourself and place what we posses into its proper order. With this proper order defined we are then able to continue to lower ourself towards the needs of all those whom we encounter. With true charity established inside of our life we will no longer be enslaved to mammon, but instead we will become totally devoted to God who is the creator of all that is good. With God our heart will finally find the comfort that it was in search for because with God we find fullness and with greed we find a never ending desire to accumulate more and more which always leaves us feeling empty. Charity is the driving force for true happiness and liberation because it allows us to truly love through our wealth, time, possessions, and talents.

Where have we allowed ourselves to become enslaved by mammon in our life and what can we do in return to feel the tension of charity instead?