17th Sun of OT Year C Homily

The "Our Father" is one of the most used prayers within the world. Every single time that we gather together for the Mass it is a prayer that is uttered by our lips. As we move our fingers along the beads of our rosary it is the prayer which begins each new decade where we have the opportunity to mediate upon Christ's birth, death, and resurrection. It is a prayer that is offered within the silence of our hearts when we feel the pull of temptation upon our souls or struggle to forgive those who have transgressed against us. It is also a prayer that is able to connect us to people of other Christian faith traditions and thus is used often when people gather together to pray. We have heard this prayer offered a countless amount of times to where many us probably rush across these words without paying any attention to what we are saying. By the vast use of this prayer it seems as if it requires no preparation whatsoever to enter into. By paying attention to the words of the Mass we will hopefully realize that this reality is not so.

Prior to our recitation of the Lord's Prayer the priest says: "At the Savior's command and formed by divine teaching, we dare to say." Hopefully the use of the word "dare" makes us realize that we are praying something very profound instead of something that is a mere routine. In our recitation of the Lord's Prayer we come to confront boldly each word that we say because in uttering these words we are allowing ourselves to enter into the presence of God as humans who are limited by our sinfulness. Each word that we dare to offer to God has much weight assigned to it; as each word that Abraham dared to offer in the presence of God was given much weight. Inside of Genesis these words of intercession on behalf of the people were so great that God was willing to allow the people of Sodom and Gomorrah to be spared due to the righteousness of only ten people. Abraham's words towards God were always offered with a focused heart that was filled with humility as he dared to speak, may we also do the same.  

Saint Gregory of Nyssa spoke concerning our bravery to call upon the name "Father" at the beginning of the Lord's Prayer by saying: "See how great a preparation you need, to be able to say boldly to God, O Father, for if you have your eyes fixed on worldly things, or court the praise of men, or are a slave to your passions, and utter this prayer, I seem to hear God saying, ‘Whereas you that are of a corrupt life call the Author of the incorruptible your Father, you pollute with your defiled lips an incorruptible name. For He who commanded you to call Him Father, gave you not leave to utter lies. But the highest of all good things is to glorify God’s name in our lives." With this is mind we are daring to call upon the Father inside of our prayer and we therefore must include "hallowed by your name" because through this statement we are asking God that we may remain just and abstain ourselves from all forms of evil as we enter into the relationship of prayer with the Father.

Nothing that we encounter in the life of faith should be taken for granted. We should be able to think this concerning our prayer and also the reception of the sacraments. As Saint Paul instructed in his letter the bond against us has been obliterated through Christ's death upon the cross. This bond was brought about through the sin of Adam and Eve, but through our baptisms our original sin has been buried with Christ who restored us to life by His sacrifice. From this new life that we have experienced we cannot return to our old ways, but instead continue to endure in our living out of the Gospel. Therefore we cannot take for granted the many ways where we have the opportunity to come into relationship with the Father. To take these opportunities for granted would be allowing ourselves to deny the transformation that took place in our lives on the day of our baptisms. The disciples had this desire for transformation when they came to Christ with their desire to learn how to pray.

Let us not allow ourselves to refuse this transformation by our unwillingness to answer the door of faith due to our lack of persistence. This door always remains open to us if we are willing to trust in prayer and within the sacraments. If we take these experiences for granted due to repetition or a lack of concern is to allow the door of faith to remain closed. Let us not rush by the reception of Holy Communion where we don't give ourselves proper time for preparation or even following communion give no time to be thankful for Christ truly present in the Eucharist who has come into our lives by escaping out the door prior to the conclusion of the Mass. Let us not be so consumed with our own "so conceived" perfection that we are unable to admit that we are in need of the sacrament of reconciliation that will truly bring healing into our lives. Let us realize that in our prayers we call out to the name of the Father that is all holy and therefore let us not remain content with our sinfulness as we enter into the divine presence of God. We can remain persistent as we saw with Abraham when he dared to speak to God. His persistence brought about great transformation that can also be felt by each of us if we are willing to call on the name of the Lord for help.  

16th Sun OT Year C Homily

The fullness of truth is found with the Catholic faith because it is the Church that was given to the world by Christ. Therefore we cannot rush about the world doing all our work in separation of the Church. To rush about with concern for our own affairs, without the Church and Christ, would be to separate ourselves from the very thing that was given in order for us to reach the reward of the Heavenly Kingdom. We see within our world a countless amount of souls who wonder about endlessly with their concerns for the world. Without proper order inside of their lives they are constantly tormented in their pursuit to find happiness. Happiness can be found when they allow themselves to be connected to the sacramental life of the Church because this sacramental union always leads us into an intimate relationship with Christ. We are all servants of the truth and therefore should live our lives as such. In today's Gospel we learn this lesson through our experience with Martha and Mary.

Martha understood the importance of the active life. In the gospel she is presented as a woman who had great concern that everything would have its given order. She desired that everything would be perfect for this guest of honor to the point that she allowed herself to give into fear and doubt. Despite having Christ in her midst she missed the point. Her plea of fear to our Lord was answered by a response of great love. In the repetition of Christ's response: "Martha, Martha" He is reaching out to her with a profound sense of love that invites her to enter into communion with Him. The world indeed is quickly passing for each of us. We can all make our lists of our fears and our needs, but we must be reminded of the importance that exists for us to bring these needs to our Lord. We cannot allow ourselves to wonder about endlessly with all of our concerns because we have an invitation of love that has been extended into our lives. Our name is constantly being repeated by God giving us an invitation to not be content w. mediocrity.

Mary shows her desire to not be content because we see her sitting at the feet of Christ in search for wisdom. At the feet of Christ she leaves all of her needs and worries behind, and enters into the contemplative life. Through her posture she does not place herself above Christ or even at the same level, but instead at His feet she places herself humbly. It is only lowered in this manner that wisdom is able to flow down upon her. If she stood towering before Christ she would place herself above this great wisdom and if they were seated as equals she would of placed herself on the same level as God. It was at His feet that she listened and allowed His wisdom to penetrate into her soul. As we rush about this world may each of us come to the great understanding that Mary had concerning Christ. We cannot rush about as if we tower over Christ because we are truly dependent upon this relationship. Christ did become man, but we still are not equals, and therefore must always bring ourselves humbly before Christ instead of coming to Him with a nonchalant attitude.

In Genesis Abraham did not nonchalantly encounter the divine through his encounter with the three who were standing nearby. These three individuals were not of earthly origin, but were that of the great hosts of the angels in Heaven. In his encounter with them he humbly bowed to the ground to greet them exclaiming: "please do not go past your servant." In similar fashion we should not allow The Lord to go past each of us because of our inability to constantly dwell with Christ. As the Church instituted by Christ we were given the great sacrament of the Holy Eucharist which is truly the Body and Blood of Christ. None of us here are worthy of this great invitation to come into an intimate union with Christ, and yet out of love we are called. May we not rush by our Lord due to a lack of preparation, but instead prepare ourselves always to enter into this divine encounter with God.

In entering into this divine encounter may we model the example given to us by Mary. She placed herself at the feet of Christ allowing herself to be receptive to His wisdom. We to should humble ourselves in such a manner whenever we have the joy of encountering Christ. In the Holy Eucharist our Lord has come to dwell with us, and we therefore should find time to sit at the feet of Christ who is present within the Holy Eucharist. It is easy to get caught up in the many worries of the world and to allow the reality that Christ dwells with us to pass by with our many concerns. Instead may we listen to Christ calling our names constantly to return to Him and His love. 

In a matter of moments we will be invited to receive our Lord in Holy Communion. May we not use this moment to rush by as if nothing has taken place, but instead enter into this intimate union modeling Abraham ,who within his humility, realized that something profound was taking place. Through our encounter with our Lord may be changed each day and continue to humbly place ourselves at the feet of the Blessed Sacrament in prayer. May we do the same within our homes by allowing ourselves to take time away from our busy lives to reorder ourselves in prayer to Christ. May we continue to use this time given to us by God to continue to enter into the fullness of faith found within the Church where we will be challenged each day to "live in the presence of the Lord."

   

15th Sun in OT Year C Homily

Our Collect for Mass, also known as the Opening Prayer, often frames the orientation for our Liturgy. This week we hear: "O God, who show the light of your truth to those who go astray, so that they may return to the right path, give all who for the faith they profess are accounted Christians the grace to reject whatever is contrary to the name of Christ and to strive after all that gives it honor." Our Holy Father, Francis, recently released his first encyclical letter which is entitled "The Light of Faith" which speaks of faith being a light of truth that comes from the darkness. In the first chapter of this letter he speaks concerning idols and how they lead us down different paths which make us lost with all the twists and turns that we take along the way. With each idol that we choose to follow we go astray because we have removed ourselves from the correct path which always leads us towards Christ. With Christ always comes the hope that we can find that path towards the light that it extends into our lives.

Moses cried out to the people: "If only you would heed the voice of The Lord." This cry is brought into all of our lives when we begin to go astray and end up following down paths which lead us towards idols. The idol of money, sex, possessions, pride, selfishness, among others are paths that we put in priority over the path that leads towards Christ and we must ask ourselves why we are content with allowing ourselves to be beat down and left half-dead. This victim that we encounter inside of today's Gospel passage represents each of us. When he set out towards Jericho he picked a path that was dangerous and filled with many temptations. He allowed the fallen angels, in the form of robbers, to harass him along the way until his innocence was removed and he was left half dead in sin. We to join with this man in our pursuit for idols because they always leave us walking along a dangerous path where we are constantly harassed by fallen angels. Harassed that we may be beat down and left half-dead in our sin.

Fallen angels never desire us to be left well, but always follow after us with lies and temptations in order that we will follow after idols instead of Christ. With the original sin of Adam came many passing opportunities for conversion, but each of these opportunities had to pass by because they were leading towards the perfect offering upon the cross that would be offered by Christ once and for all. The priest had to pass by this traveler because he represents the Law that would be fulfilled with Christ. The Levite had to pass by this man because he represents the prophets who were pointing towards the coming of the Messiah. Finally the traveler encountered the fulfillment of the priest and the Levite with the coming of the Samaritan traveler. They had to pass by in order to make room for this Samaritan traveler who could actually bring life to this man who was left half-dead in sin. Through Christ's sacrifice upon the cross the words of Deuteronomy rings true: "It is something very near to you."

The correct path and the healing from sin is indeed very near to each of us because "Christ destroyed sin by His cross and fulfilled the law, and thus He took away the causes of discord." Christ came to "reconcile all things for him" in order that we can be reconciled and all things will be at peace for us. Despite each of our experiences with Christ we know that we continue to find ourselves down dangerous paths, but we must remember that we have not been left alone. This feeling of being alone is a lie that comes to us from the devil and his fallen angels because we must remember that the Samaritan traveler lifted this man up from his sin and brought him to an inn where he would be brought back to health. Christ took all of our sins to the cross and continually invites us to not lose hope, but instead to seek out the reality of conversion. To find conversion is to be prepared for the hour when Christ will come again. At the conclusion of our Gospel the Samaritan traveler promised the innkeeper that he would return.

As we prepare for Christ's return may we not react to this Gospel with the pride of the scholar. He brought his desire to test Christ with what it would take to inherit eternal life. The response that he received came tough to his ears and he was unable to admit that he needed to lower himself in service to his neighbor in order to truly love God. May each of us not follow in his footsteps by testing Christ with our hope for eternal life. May we instead enter fully into the inn that is the Church growing in our love of God through the sacraments. Allowing ourselves to be healed through confession and nourished through the Holy Eucharist. May these sacraments also challenge us to model Christ by our lives in our service to our neighbors. If we profess that we love God we must also profess that we love our neighbor. May we constantly open ourselves to this reality by looking for ways to not give service to ourselves, but to lower ourselves out of love for our neighbor.

If we allow ourselves to remain protected by the inn, that is the Church, we can all inherit eternal life. Within this inn we will be challenged to love God each day and to lower ourselves in humility to all those whom we encounter. We will be kept safe here from the many paths that chase endlessly after idols because through the Church we will always be called towards the light of Christ. When Christ returns to this earth may He find us within the inn of the Church serving faithfully and constantly reorienting ourselves towards His profound reconciliation.

14th Sun in OT Year C Homily

When we are faced with the temptation towards sin we must not allow ourselves to give into the cries of the devil, but instead should find our strength with Christ and His statement that: "I have given you the power to tread upon serpents." When we face moments when life does not go the way that we wish we should not allow ourselves to lose hope, but instead to find hope in Christ's statement that "nothing will harm you." As the twelve apostles were called by Christ to become the first heralds of the Gospel message we know that each of them was far from perfect. Despite their imperfections they nevertheless were called by Christ and responded to His message with their lives. In the seventy-two who were sent out in our Gospel passage we again encounter those who were far from perfect, but nevertheless were called to enter into the harvest to proclaim the Gospel message. Despite the hardships that they would have to encounter nothing would harm them as long as their faith remained steadfast in Christ. 

We to join with the seventy-two disciples who were sent out into the world to be heralds of the Gospel. The path that we have been called to follow is not an easy one, but it is possible as long as we are able to remain steadfast in Christ. When we are locked into the greatest of vices the hope remains that through our faith in Christ we will have "the power to tread upon serpents." When it seems as if our prayers have not been answered we must patiently trust that God hears our prayers and that truly nothing will be able to harm us. As Christians we will find rejection inside of this world, but with Christ we will always encounter love and mercy. It is at those moments, that can happen in a blink of an eye, were we lose the sight of Christ inside of our lives where we begin to allow serpents to tread upon us and allow ourselves to be harmed by our lack of faith.

For the past two weeks at daily Mass our first reading has come from the book of Genesis where we were told about Abraham who would become our Father in faith. One passage that we read concerned Abraham interceding on behalf of Sodom and Gomorrah in order that God in His just mercy would spare the righteous from destruction. In the sparing of destroying these cities on behalf of ten righteous people God is showing that He is just. At the same time He is offering all the sinful people of these cities an opportunity of turning towards His mercy. Eventually the righteous were removed and the justice of God was given to the people of Sodom and Gomorrah who were unwilling to open themselves to God's mercy. Christ states inside of today's Gospel that "it will more tolerable for Sodom on that day" then the town who did not listen to the message of the seventy-two. God's mercy is indeed just and may we therefore always turn ourselves towards it. Turning away from the serpents that we allow to tread upon us and away from our fear that we will be harmed.

On Friday our Holy Father, Pope Francis, released his first encyclical letter entitled "The Light of Faith." In this letter he writes: "Yet in the absence of light everything becomes confused; it is impossible to tell good from evil, or the road to our destination from other roads which take us in endless circles going nowhere." These words should speak to each of us as we are sent away from this Church to follow in the footsteps of the seventy-two. We must allow the light of Christ to enter into each of our lives to keep us away from the darkness of sin and the despair that comes with it. Trusting in Christ our lives will not become circles going nowhere, but instead will be given meaning. We will then be able to love the things of this world as they truly are because we will see the value that we are given through Christ who proclaims to each of us that "The Kingdom of God is at hand."

In the Book of Isaiah we are told that "the Lord's power shall be known to his servants." This power shall be known by each of us who are called to continuously "tread upon serpents" and trust "that nothing will harm us." This power will be known by all who listen to the Gospel message of Christ and allow themselves to return to His mercy. This power will be known by each of us who join in the mission of the seventy-two who went into the world to proclaim the Gospel message by their words and their lives. May we realize that in being sent out in this manner that we are not being left alone. Even the seventy-two were sent in pairs and so we are joined by the Church, the sacraments, and the saints especially the intercession of the Blessed Mother. If we go into this abundant harvest alone we will become lost, but as long as we remain grounded in the life of the Church we will be given the assistance necessary to remain on the correct path.

Each of us here are made up of our own imperfections, but Christ Has called each of us to Him as He called the twelve apostles and the seventy-two disciples despite their own imperfections. If we can remain steadfast in Christ we will be strengthen as these apostles and disciples were in their ability to "tread upon serpents" and in their faith that nothing would harm them. May we depart from this Church trusting inside of this knowledge as we place our trust within Christ's infinite mercy and bring the Gospel message into the world glorifying the Lord by our life.