Catholic Schools Week

Today we begin to celebrate Catholic Schools Week. On this first day we have clergy appreciation day. I am thankful for this portrait of myself drawn by a 4th grader at the parish school. Even drew me in a cassock. Pray for Catholic Schools this week especially for Saint Mary's School in Oak Ridge.

3rd Sun of OT Year C Homily

The Church is something that transcends St. Mary's parish in Oak Ridge, TN. Our parish does not exist outside the realm of a higher authority from which it has been joined to. We are bound together with other believers who are joined together by one faith. We are joined at the reality that we have Sacraments and priests who are able to make these Sacraments manifest within the community of believers. If we ever separate ourselves from this reality we must say that we have separated ourselves from the Church that is the Body of Christ. Under this banner that is known as the Church we find hierarchy and authority that binds us together as believers. To disconnect ourselves from this authority and tradition that has been past down by Christ would cause a part of the body to fall away from the whole. As a Catholic parish we belong to the authority of a bishop and exist within the jurisdiction of a diocese that is aligned with the authority of the pope of Rome. Therefore we must be concerned with the well being of the diocese as much as we are concerned with the well being of our parish.

As many of you know our bishop's appeal will be made next week. I know and thank you for the sacrifices and contributions that each of you continue to give to this parish community. Your contributions help to build up the Kingdom of God at the parish level. With them we are able to not only keep our lights on and doors open, but are able to assist with the various ministries that we give to the community. With these contributions we are able to keep open our parish school, accomplish empowering our youth through the use of youth ministry, offer faith formation classes for adults, serve the needy with the food pantry, along with many unmentioned items that are so immense that they cannot be named. I must also thank you for your prayers and time that has been bestowed by you upon this parish community. The use of volunteers helps many tasks to be easily accomplished and your prayers help to build up this parish community.

I have heard it said that I support my parish and that should be enough. We must realize in conjunction with our obligation to support our parish that we must support our diocese. In many unseen ways our diocese helps this parish community and helps to spread the Catholic faith throughout the whole territory of this diocese. The contributions that are made to the diocese aid with seminarian education and the formation of our deacons. These are important to our parish because these are the future priests and deacons who will come to serve this parish community and bring the sacraments of the Church into the life of the faithful. A percentage of the money that will be collected will also go to aid Catholic Charities with the many good works that they offer throughout our diocese. At times families of our own parish may partake of the counseling services that they offer or be in need of the aid that can be given through Catholic Charities. Other areas where this money will be allotted will also aid this diocese in its mission of evangelization with efforts of justice and peace, Christian formation, and campus ministry.

In giving to our diocese our money may not be kept locally, but we are able to express our belief that our Church is universal and not just local. When we proclaim the Creed we state that we " believe in one holy, catholic, and apostolic church." In this theological statement we are able to agree with Saint Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians where he was acknowledging our need to be united to the whole Body of Christ. In being united to the whole body we are not able to cut ourselves off from the body because that would lead us astray from Christ. Instead we must remain connected to the whole because only this way are we able to live out the true faith that has been founded upon the apostles. Without the universal Church that is our diocese we are unable to exist as a parish and therefore any aid that we can offer our diocese be it money, prayers, or your own talents are to contribute to the well being of not piece, but of the whole.

St. Paul invites us today to become and remain a part of the whole body that is the Church. Our faith does not teach us that we should do what serves our own needs, but that we may live our lives totally in accord with God's teachings. When we follow after our own desires without being informed by faith we begin to build up our own church that has been constructed in our own image. This self constructed entity has become disconnected from the fullness of the body that is concerned not with the well being of one, but of the whole. No matter if our disagreement has to do with birth control, abortion, the sanctity of marriage, the priority of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, the Holy Eucharist as being truly the Body and Blood of Christ, the authority of the pope of Rome as being the head of the Church, priests being the successors of the apostles, the need to attend the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass each Sunday, or any other disagreement; we must still believe and allow ourselves to be educated in the faith and not by popular opinion. In doing such we can remain connected to the living body that is the Church.

We are all blest to find ourselves inside of the living body that is the Diocese of Knoxville as it prepares to celebrate its 25th anniversary. May we take the time necessary to pray concerning the bishop's appeal and what we can give to our diocese. In making our contribution we show that we desire to not only serve the local area that is our parish, but show that we desire to serve the Church as a whole as well. May this also be a time of inspiration for each of us that will aid us in reflecting upon our faith and questioning if we allow ourselves to remain totally connected to the body that is the Church. If we for any reason hold any of the truths of the Church to be untrue we have begun to separate ourselves from this body. May we not allow ourselves to grow comfortable in working on our own accord, but may we see the beauty that lies in the body that works as a whole. In the Eucharist we are bound together in our faith because our "amen" expresses that we believe in the Church and her teachings and the reality of the universal Church of which we live.

2nd Sun of OT Year C Homily

We cannot separate the reality of the cross from that of the Resurrection. Anytime in scripture where a warning is made concerning the cross we are quickly given a glimpse into the light that will come with the Resurrection of the body. From all the suffering that comes into our lives we can trust inside the spiritual freedom which will follow it. Joy and sorrow are two emotions which are opposites of each other, but yet are closely connected together. If I feel pain it would only make sense to say that I would be joyful when the pain comes to pass. When We feel joyful we can quickly find ourselves in the midst of a situation that leads us into sorrow. In the wedding feast of Cana both of these emotions can be found. There is joy due to the celebration of the wedding feast and sorrow that comes with the lack of wine that is present for the guests. The joy of the Resurrection is found in this story despite the sorrow that is cast from the shadow of the cross.

Our Blessed Mother was present at this celebration and was joined by her son and His disciples who were called following his baptism within the waters of the Jordan. This celebration was one of great joy because a wedding was to be celebrated. For anyone who has ever had to assist with a wedding celebration you know that there is a lot of work that must be done. We find the planning of one day to be overbearing enough, but imagine if you had to plan that event to last a whole week if not two. That was the event that was being celebrated that day. The joy of this celebration commenced until the wine ran out as then there gave rise to sorrow. On a perfect day such as this something as embarrassing as a lack of preparation would put an end to this occasion of great joy. The bride, the groom, nor the family brought this intention to our Lord, but it was our Blessed Mother who took notice. She took this sorrow to her heart and brought it to her Son who she knew could restore the joy that was once found.

His response to His mother would change her life forever. "My hour has not yet come." Here he is speaking about the hour when he would suffer upon the wood of the cross. Repeatedly throughout the Gospel of Saint John he would speak about this "hour" which was always used to foreshadow his death upon the cross. He was able to bring joy back to this celebration by turning water into wine, but the shadow of the cross remained. This one miracle would set the stage for his approaching death and the joy that would come with the Resurrection of the body. The creation of this perfect wine was the event where Christ's divinity would publicly become known. From the command of Mary and the working of this miracle she was destined to become the Lady of Sorrows. From the many sorrows that she would endure through the suffering of her Son would come the joy of the empty tomb. Mary is the reminder that sorrow does not have the last word in our lives. In the words of Blessed Mother Theresa of Calcutta: "Never let anything cause you so much sorrow that you forget the joy of Christ risen."

In the words of Isaiah even those who are "forsaken" can be known as "my delight." In some way all of us here have felt as if we are forsaken and thus left with sorrow. Trivial things like grades in school, speeding tickets, and misplacing your phone or keys can bring sorrow. Hopefully in time these issues will be resolved and you will feel as if nothing has ever happened. Others must endure the suffering of one they love or even suffer themselves. Despite the veil of sorrow that has entered into our lives may we find the redemption that can be found through this suffering. In these moments we join with the cross of Christ and await becoming the "delight" of The Lord through the triumphant Resurrection of the body. This week we also look sorrow in the eye through the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade from which innocent life is continuously destroyed through abortion. Sorrow is found within all these moments, but from them is found the joy of everlasting life. Sorrow was found when wine ran dry, but joy was returned with the miracle that was worked.

Mary was the advocate who brought sorrow into joy. From the barren reality of a lack of wine to the life giving miracle that was worked at her request; Mary was taking the needs of all these people and delivering them to her Son. Mary is able to give comfort to all those who find themselves in sorrow and bring the joy that can only be found with her Son. May we allow our Blessed Mother to intercede for us so that our sorrows may be comforted. May we allow ourselves to hand over all of our needs to her, so that these needs may become known by her Son. In this age we need to trust in the great prayer of the Holy Rosary because through each of these mysteries we endure joy, sorrow, and the return to joy. We celebrate at the birth of Christ, mourn with his suffering and death, and then from our sorrow are given reason for joy through Christ's Resurrection. In the Rosary Mary walks with us through these emotions as we bring all our needs along for this journey.

My brothers and sisters in Christ may each of us trust today in the joy of Christ Resurrected. Even among the many sorrows that we must endure may we realize that joy is still to be found. The same joy that was found with the transformation of the water into wine can be known within our own lives if we place our trust in Christ and His Blessed Mother. Christ directs us to the cross and the reality that despite sorrow can come great joy. Mary takes each of our needs and intercedes on our behalf, so that our sorrows can become known by the heart of her Son. From the heart of her Son transformation can take place within our lives where we are able to find joy even from among the terror of sorrow. May we gather the many sorrows within our lives and within the world and bring them to be left with Mary and her Son. They will be gathered together and the hope of joy can finally be felt within our lives.

Baptism of the Lord Year C Homily

Merry Christmas! With the conclusion of this Mass we come to the conclusion of our celebration of the Christmas season. We began our season of Christmas with Christ's birth into the world where the word was made flesh. Today we conclude this season with Christ entering into the waters of baptism. For all of us this event should seem odd and without a purpose. After all we have been rejoicing since the 25th of December at the reality that God desired to enter into the world to dwell with us. We know from our own experience of faith that we have been washed clean inside of the waters of baptism because we have inherited the effects of original sin upon our souls. Of course with Christ we have a being who is both fully human and fully divine. Here is found God Himself coming to dwell within the world and thus at the same time being free of the state of sin. With baptism we have a means to become clean, but Christ was not in need of reaching salvation through this means.

The Baptism of Christ is an event where Christ takes a step closer to our human experience. Inside of His baptism He was able to journey towards emptying Himself, being humiliated, and the reality of the Incarnation. The waters of baptism where a way for Christ to become poor because inside of these waters he would conform to our poverty. In these waters we are being shown our need to be purged from sin not by mere words, but by an example that has been shown to us. Christ appears inside the passage to be a sinner because He enters into the waters of baptism with sinners. Upon the wood of the cross He was also condemned as a sinner and would be left to hang until His death. From the death of Christ comes the Resurrection of the Body that brings great faith and hope into our lives. Baptism is this foreshadowing because Christ descended into these waters and walked out of them prepared to enter into His public ministry that would be brought into the world.

This day we call to mind our own baptisms and how through this event we were brought into the very life of the Church. We came to these waters feeling the effects that had been left behind through original sin and walked away from them transformed into a new person. As Saint Paul said to Titus: "we have been saved through the baptism of rebirth." The waters of our baptism have taken us away from the poverty of our own sinfulness and have aligned us to the hope that can be found within Christ's infinite mercy. Our act of baptism is not something that exists in the past, but is something that continues to effect us to this present moment. In sin is found the death of ourselves, but inside of baptism we are forever changed towards new life. The cross is the instrument through which all of our sinfulness had been sacrificed and from it came the hope of the Resurrection of the body that would triumph over death. Our own baptisms are a share inside of this reality.

According to an inscription that is found on a fourth century baptismal font we are told "that the waters received an old man, but brought forth a new man." Saint Augustine referred to the Sacrament of Baptism as being greater then the creation of the world itself. This is true because within these waters an infant is able to be cleansed of original sin and an adult is able to be cleansed of both original and personal sin. The effects that are brought into our lives through this sacrament allow us to return to the state that was lost through original sin. In baptism we are able to return to God and remain connected with Him. We are able to return to our relationship with God and enter into the spiritual life of the Church. Inside of the spiritual life of the Church flows each of the Sacraments into our lives where God desires that we will continually turn ourselves towards His love. With ourselves placed within the love of Christ we can find a way to triumph over the death of sin and arise anew within the light of Christ.

For each of us who are assembled here today that are united together through the reality of our baptism we must realize that we have entered into a gateway that leads us into the Christian life. Our primary goal within life should not be based upon racing after the many things of the world, but should be about finding a way to grow each day closer to Christ. We get caught up in our desire to make lots of money, to become successful in the eyes of the world, and following after all the pleasures of the world that are marketed to our senses. Through our baptism we are called to chase after holiness within our everyday lives instead of chasing after the pleasures of the world. The pursuit of holiness in not limited to priests, monks, and sisters, but is an invitation that has been brought into our lives through baptism. Baptism challenges us to come to understand and follow each of the ten commandments and the precepts of the Church. Learning and following after these things can truly liberate us from the many things that hold us captive and bring to the love that is found within God.

And so my dear brothers and sisters in Christ may we be renewed in the commitment that was made on the day of our baptisms. For on this day we joined Christ within these waters and arose from them with eyes opened from the state of sin and death. May we continue to follow this path that was begun in our lives by turning away from sin and towards Christ. May we allow ourselves to join with the poverty that was found with Christ within these waters because from them we are given the riches of everlasting life. May we depart from here not as mere spectators, but as individuals whose lives have been transformed and therefore forever challenging ourselves each day to live out this reality and to draw other people to it by our example.

Epiphany Homily

Merry Christmas and happy New Year to all of you. As we continue our journey within the Christmas season we celebrate the Epiphany which is the day on which the wise men arrived at the manger bearing gifts. They brought with them the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh that would be presented to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords who laid inside of the crib of the manger. Venerable Fulton Sheen stated: "But although Christ was denied room in the Inn the shepherds and wise men found Him and the angels sang His glory. Be happy, therefore, in Christ. Rejoice! And spread the knowledge and love of Christ in a persecuting world by bringing your gifts to our Lord. Whether it be the gold of money, the frankincense of your prayers, or the myrrh of your sufferings. Offer them to Christ through His Holy Catholic Church."
This statement should make us take a look into our own lives and examine our dedication to surrendering everything that we have to Christ through the Church.

The first of these three wise men according to Saint Bede was named "Melchior who was old and had a white-colored beard; he was the descendant of Sam who brought gold to Jesus" In this offering of gold he was bringing the riches that were worthy of a great king. As he journeyed towards this child he was unsure of who or what he would encounter, but upon meeting Christ he along with his traveling companions was compelled to prostrate himself before this king. As we continue this season of Christmas we should see this gift of gold and how it was drawn towards Christ. Often our own offerings of gold keep us from moving forward towards Christ. We get caught up in our money and worldly pleasures at the risk of making idols out of them. If we make idols out of our worldly possessions we can never begin to let go and acknowledge that Christ should be front and center within our lives. We should not journey after material goods because the greatest good is found inside of the manger and from here all our riches should flow.

Secondly, we have Casper who is traditionally described as being "young, beardless and the descendant of Ham who brought frankincense to the Child Christ." This gift pointed towards the great divinity that is found within Christ. In the temple offerings of frankincense would be burned to God and likewise the gift that was worthy to God was bestowed upon the Christ child. Psalm 141 instructs " Let my prayer rise before you like burning incense O Lord." The Church compliments this Psalm through the use of incense during the sacred liturgy. Instead of a sea of coughs we should in vision in the rising smoke our prayers that should be rising up to God. This gift of frankincense should make us aware of our need to pray unceasingly. It becomes easy to pray when we find ourselves in need of something, but should recall our continual need to join with the Divine Messiah through prayer. The Messiah is present even at those moments when we feel completed and so may we each find a way to draw towards Christ through our gift of prayer.

Finally, there was "Balthasar who was a bearded, black descendant of Japheth, in the prime of his life, who brought myrrh." In myrrh we find the reality of suffering and death because it was the ointment that was used to prepare the body for burial. For all of us the themes of suffering and death are scary, but we cannot run from them because eventually they will catch up to us. We know that we can look to the cross and glance at the great suffering and death that would bring the victory over sin into all of our lives. Myrrh should be our gift to Christ because we cannot separate ourselves from this reality. We should at each moment offer the suffering that arises in our life for good by offering them up to God and behalf of all the souls of Purgatory. Little mortifications inside of our life can separate us from our passions and return us to the greatest love that can be found with Christ our Lord. Each time that we give something up or offer our sufferings to a greater good we are drawing towards the manger with our gift of myrrh.

On this day the wise men bring their gifts before the Messiah and they leave us with the challenge to do the same. We are all called to conversion out of our everyday life to be able to see the light of Christ. The star shun brightly upon these men in their lives, but through this journey and encounter they gave everything that they had. They traveled to this manger as ordinary individuals, but left transformed from their former selves to a sense of conversion. If we bring the gifts that have been bestowed upon us to Christ we to can come to understand the conversion of heart that was felt by the wise men. If we take our gifts of gold and offer them to the Lord we can feel liberation from our worldly possessions. If we can take our gifts of frankincense and truly offer them unceasingly we can begin to truly dwell with God through prayer. If we take our gifts of myrrh and leave them with Christ true meaning can be brought to suffering and death that will always draw us to the redeeming reality of the cross of Christ. And so my brothers and sisters we must ask ourselves what we are holding back from Christ. Instead of holding anything back we are called to make our journey towards Christ leaving behind our former selves as we present ourselves totally through our gifts of love to Christ. May each of us join with the wise men on their journey of conversion as we continue each day to adore The Lord.

Epiphany Proclamation

Know, dear brethren,
that, as we have rejoiced
at the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ,
so by leave of God's mercy
we announce to you also,
the joy of his Resurrection,
who is our Saviour.
On the 13th day of February will fall Ash Wednesday, and the beginning of the fast
of the most sacred Lenten season.
On the 31st day of March
you will celebrate with joy Easter Day,
and the Paschal feast of our Lord Jesus Christ.
On the 12th day of May
will be the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ.
On the 19th day of May,
the feast of Pentecost
On the 2nd day of June,
the feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. On the 1st day of December,
the First Sunday of the Advent
of our Lord Jesus Christ,
to whom is honor and glory for ever and ever.
Amen.

Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God Homily

Merry Christmas and a happy New Year to all of you. Today we gather to conclude this Octave of Christmas with the celebration of Mary, the Mother of God. From today's Gospel we heard familiar words because we were told that "Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart." These should be familiar words because this past Sunday, the Feast of the Holy Family, Saint Luke's Gospel said "his mother kept all these things in her heart." We must therefore ask ourselves what it was that Mary was pondering within her own heart. We must ask ourselves what we need to ponder within our hearts to draw ourselves closer to the infant lying inside of the manger who is the word made flesh. As we enter into this new year we look ahead at what awaits us and should realize that the world is a very busy place that leaves little time for proper reflection. Despite that we should take the example of the Blessed Virgin Mary upon ourselves by accepting our faith and "reflecting on (it) in (our) heart."

Mary had experienced a lot within the first twelve years of her son's life and would continue to experience a lot as he headed into his public ministry and eventual death upon the cross. On the day of the Annunciation the angel Gabriel came to her and exclaimed "you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call him Jesus." Now with the birth of her son beginning to take place she is finally beginning to see the unfolding of all that the angel had proclaimed to her. From the words that were given to her from the shepherds who came to adore her Son she began to realize the unfolding of his divinity. As she brought her Son into the temple to be presented to The Lord she was again reminded of the reality of her Son and at this she "marveled" at all that was said about him. When her Son went missing and was found inside of the temple Christ quickly stated "did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" Here Christ was pointing towards his divinity and at this Mary had a lot to reflect upon in her heart.

The divinity of her Son was the very thing that she was continually holding within her heart. Each day the reality of her Son was further revealed to her and through her reflection in these matters she was able to grow in her faith. Her faith and her reflection helped her to understand her role within the life of her Son. She began to realize the totality of each statement that had slowly been revealed to her throughout time. Gabriel who said "the Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the most high will overshadow you." Elizabeth who exclaimed "blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!" Simeon whose words revealed that "a sword will pierce your own soul also, that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed." Through her ability to not just hear these words, but to take them to her heart she was able to show her true faith. Mary was able to take the divine truth that her Son was the Son of God and not only be receptive to this knowledge, but also continue to study and ponder it within her heart.

Concerning this verse Blessed John Henry Newman stated that "St. Mary is our pattern of Faith, both in the reception and in the study of Divine Truth. She does not think it enough to accept, she dwells upon it; not enough to possess, she uses it; not enough to assent, she develops it; not enough to submit to Reason, she reasons upon it; not indeed reasoning first, and believing afterwards, with Zechariah, yet first believing without reasoning, next from love and reverence, reasoning after believing." As we head into this new year we should take time to reflect upon this past year and ask ourselves what ways we have fallen short in our quest for faith. Analyzing the many areas of our lives where we have been caught up in the busyness of the world and failed to make time to ponder on the reality of our faith in our hearts. We must be like the Blessed Virgin Mary who was able to be receptive to truth and then continue to study and dwell with it.

In our world it can become easy to go against this model of the reception of faith that Mary gives to us and thus fall into doubt concerning matters of faith. The Catechism of the Catholic Church distinguishes between two types of doubt concerning faith, the voluntary and the involuntary. Voluntary doubt concerning faith "disregards or refuses to hold as true what God has revealed and the Church proposes for belief." Involuntary doubt concerning faith "refers to hesitation in believing, difficulty in overcoming objections connected with the faith, or also anxiety aroused by its obscurity. If deliberately cultivated doubt can lead to spiritual blindness." We are all human and at times doubt will arise within our lives especially at moments where we grow into adulthood, are tested in some way, and even face the reality of death. Doubt also arises in our lives when we fail to see the totality of Christ's teachings and desire to turn away from them to do as we wish. Mary gives the example to take what we receive and to follow it with our whole hearts. Once we receive our faith we must continue to ponder it within our hearts through study and prayer. Through our study and prayer amidst any doubt, struggle, or fear may our hearts keep us close to the divine Saviour of the World.

May each of us use this new year that lies before us to make time to ponder matters of faith within our hearts. Let us not rush through this new year without making the much needed time to draw ourselves closer to Christ through our faith. Rushing through another year following after sports, school, materialism, or our jobs as our primary focus is to push Christ to the side instead of allowing Him to be our primary focus. May Mary, the Mother of God come here this day and assist each of us to ponder in our hearts our faith and to draw ourselves closer to her Divine Son and away from everything which disorients us from this path of faith.