3rd Sun of OT Year A Homily

This past Wednesday was the 41st anniversary of the Supreme Court decision of Roe vs. Wade where abortion was legalized inside of this country. Due to this Supreme Court decision many people flock each year to Washington DC to march for the sanctity of human life. Of course January 22nd is not the most promising of times due to weather, any of the pilgrims who attended the March for Life this year would especially agree to this if you asked them. Despite snow and cold this is such an important matter that each of them knows that they must preach the Gospel to the world and must also join themselves together in this cause through their prayers and sacrifices. These many people who attend this march each year are a reminder for us that the Gospel and its teachings are not something that should be locked up inside of a church, but instead are something that must be brought out into the world and lived; no matter the response that may await us on the outside.

I am told time and time again by people that "I am pro life, but don't think it is right to tell others what to believe." This response of relativism can be attributed to any other moral teaching of the Church which we might accept, but don't want to teach, don't want to pray for, don't want to sacrifice for, and thus don't allow ourselves to become a true example of. Maybe this same relativism has seeped into our own lives to the point where we can only accept the Church and thus the teachings of Christ through a sense of partiality instead of through its totality. Whenever we come forward to receive our Lord present in the Body and Blood of Christ we do so accepting Christ in His totality through our response of "amen" which means "I believe." Communion is not about entering into partiality, but instead it is what binds us together in the totality of the Church and her teachings as was handed down to us by Christ our Lord. From the abundance that we receive in Holy Communion we are forever prepared to be disciples not of relativism, but of the truth.

Our Gospel from Matthew serves as a reminder of the importance of becoming both a preacher and one who lives out the truth no matter what the response we receive may be. From Isaiah we are told that He went to the Galilee of the Gentiles and thus these people who have been in darkness have finally received the great light that they had been longing for. To put this into context, starting in the time of King Solomon, Galilee was split into two kingdoms, one made up of Jewish people and the other was made up of people mixed of many different faiths especially an influx of Gentiles was found here. Naturally, the Galilee of the Gentiles would be looked down upon due to the reality of the darkness that comes through not being made up of God's chosen people. Nevertheless, Christ gives a great example of evangelization to us when He goes to this place to preach and lead people towards the light of faith because He is showing that the message of the Gospel is for all people. We to must come to this conclusion as we enter into the world to bring the light of faith to all those whom we encounter.

Matthew's Gospel again gives us a great reminder of the hardship that this evangelization can bring into our lives by saying: "he went to live in Capernaum by the sea." For anyone who has ever been to a beach we know how brutal that waves can be to the shore. A beach is not a calm place because of the waves and thus the fact Christ went to live by a sea shows the brutality that can arise as we attempt to live out our faith inside of the world. We are beaten upon through temptations that want us to cave in to these lies. We are beaten upon by the despair of hardship that attempts to force us to lose hope. We are beaten upon through the tide of relativism which separates us from Christ and His Church. We are beaten upon by fear which causes us to run instead of proclaiming our faith by our lives. We are beaten upon by laziness which causes us to never feel compelled to pray or to offer sacrifice in our lives. Despite all this that beats upon us each day, Christ came to live by the sea, to preach and to give hope that we can abandon all this for love of Him & thus usher in the light of faith amidst the darkness that is found within our life.

Despite the fear that came into the lives of each of the apostles Christ called them to true serenity. They abandoned all that they had to follow after Him who had come to bring light into their lives. Despite abandoning all to Him they continued to find themselves placed by the brutality of the sea, but with Christ they were given hope. Christ has called each of us here to follow after Him and thus to face the brutality of the sea not by giving in to it, but through overcoming it with His help. For each pilgrim that was found in Washington this past Wednesday  this was the origin of their hope that this unjust law will be overturned and that all hearts may be opened to the value of human life. For this hope each hardship that they had to endure was well worth bringing the Gospel message into the world. May we to desire to bring the Gospel into the world, so that we can bring all hearts to the light of Christ and to His Church. May there be no divisions found among us as we confront the sea of temptation, relativism, despair, laziness, and fear to bring the Gospel, not in its partiality, but in its totality to the world.

2nd Sun after Epiphany Homily (Extraordinary Form)

"They have no wine." These are four of the most embarrassing words that could ever be uttered at a wedding celebration for this time period. The reality of these words show a couple's lack of ability to be hospitable to their guests. A celebration of this magnitude after all was far different then what we understand a wedding celebration to be this day. This is so because the celebration does not last for one day as we may understand it to be, but instead lasted for up to seven days. It is no wonder then that it was exclaimed following this miracle: "Every man at first sets forth good wine, and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse, but you have kept the good wine until now." In this exclamation that was made we join with our own wonder and awe because we realize that this was indeed a long celebration and yet this was the best wine that was offered for this wondrous occasion. In this first miracle that was was worked by our Lord we are shown the true fruit of our prayers and labors. What is lacking will indeed be given great meaning through Christ!

Surely we can think of the many ways where our world is trying to find this meaning. It is constantly being shouted out in some way: "They have no wine." Every time when we are afraid of what the future has in store for us; this is what we are shouting out. Every time when we feel the grasp of sin upon us in this life; this is what we are shouting out. Every time when we see an injustice inside of the world; this is what we are shouting out. "They have no wine" are four words that are always able to sympathize with us and with the world that we live within. Indeed like the wedding feast, the time that is set before us can be long and grueling, but when we are in need or fall astray our Lord remains to work His miracles in our life and thus to give us the proper meaning amidst our prayers and labors. Only here will we be able to truly be given the wine of grace when this wine has run dry inside of our life.

Since January 22, 1973 our own country is able to say that "the wine has run dry." On this day forty-one years ago a decision was made by the Supreme Court of this nation that allowed abortion to made legal. We to this day continue to feel the effects of this ruling because every day close to to 4,000 babies are brutally murdered inside of this country. With the great travesty of these statistics it is easy to lose hope because sometimes it seems like we are getting nowhere. Nevertheless, we must remember that at the wedding feast of Cana a great miracle was worked. Therefore from the despair that was found when it was revealed that the wine had ran dry; hope was given through the miracle that was worked by Christ. For this same reason we must continue to pray and to offer sacrifice not only for the injustice of abortion, but for any injustice in our world or also those that we have created in our own lives through sin. On this Wednesday may we remember in a special way to pray, fast, and offer sacrifice that Roe vs. Wade may indeed be overturned and thus that human life will be allowed to flourish in our nation.

Beyond the grasp of our nation and world we must also look internally upon ourselves and ask ourselves in what ways have we allowed the wine to run dry in our own life. The plague of dryness comes about anytime when we avoid prayer in our daily lives. It comes about at those moments when we make an excuse to why we are to busy to attend the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. It comes about when we consent to our temptation and thus fall into sin. It comes about in our sorrow when will fall into despair over the situation that we find ourselves within. No matter the struggle that we find ourselves within we must remember the great miracle that was worked at this wedding feast because through it we know that Christ always sees our needs and gives us in return an abundance of grace. We cannot stand around idly, but instead must submit ourselves to the work that is set before us which will allow the water to be transformed into wine.

With the mystery of this wedding feast we can also not forget that "they have no wine" was the plea of our Blessed Mother. We must remember that she always hears and sees our needs and is willing to bring them to the attention of her Son. In the midst of the many moments where our world or ourselves are able to proclaim that we have no wine; devotion to Mary will always help the much needed water to be turned into wine inside of our lives. For this very reason she is forever heralded under titles such as protectress of unborn children, model of motherhood, Mother most pure, help of Christians, refuge of sinners, throne of wisdom, vessel of selfless devotion, or any other title that may be found inside of the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In our weakness she will bring our needs to her Son and He will allow the water of our brokenness to be transformed into the wine of our joy. Let us not continuously live out the embarrassment of the words "they have no wine," but instead may we truly come to trust in Christ and the reality that through our relationship with Him we will be transformed.

Baptism of the Lord Year A Homily

For one last time: Merry Christmas to all of you. With today's celebration of the Baptism of the Lord we come to the conclusion of the Christmas season. This feast is the perfect hinge to move away from this season because with Christ's baptism in the Jordan He was sent forth into His public ministry which would culminate with His eventual death and Resurrection. With our own knowledge of the Sacrament of Baptism this feast should seem rather odd to us. We know that this sacrament washes away any sin that is present upon the soul especially that of original sin. The confusion, therefore, should come about because Christ never fell into sin nor did He inherit original sin upon his soul. Therefore, today we should stand in shock with Saint John the Baptist who exclaimed in our Gospel: "I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?" Despite this shock Saint John the Baptist allowed Him to be baptized in order "to fulfill all righteousness."

Thorough Christ's baptism in the Jordan we are being led towards the wood of the cross. In the waters of baptism Christ did not take on sin so that it could be washed away, but instead shows His solidarity with the sinful. He joined us to the point where He would eventually become the sacrificial lamb who would be offered upon the wood of the cross in atonement for our sins. Through His baptism we are being shown that we must also be baptized and that once we enter into this wonderful exchange we must continue to embrace the cross to purge ourselves of sin and to truly begin to long for the Kingdom of Heaven. With the cross removed from our lives we will always be led into the slavery of self instead of the true freedom that springs forth when we allow ourselves to truly begin to love as is modeled to us by Christ. Christ prevails Himself to the mercy of Saint the John the Baptist that He be admitted to the waters of baptism. We to should prevail ourselves to the mercy of Christ with a spirit of conversion that we may return to the innocence of that wonderful day when we entered into these life giving waters.

In the words of Saint Augustine: "There are three ways in which sins are forgiven: in baptism, in prayer, and in the greater humility of penance; yet God does not forgive sins except to the baptized." With these words we can see that baptism is important to our life of faith. If we are the parents or guardians of a child we must take care that they are baptized as quickly as possible. This Sacrament is not some mere family ritual, but instead is a life changing reality for all those who have entered into its waters. It is the parents of a child who accepts the weight of the obligation to raise them inside of the faith. It is the godparents, usually chosen due to family or ties of friendship, who also agree to raise the child in the faith by the example of their life. This does not mean, therefore, that a parent or godparent can easily enter into this obligation because they have pledged themselves to almighty God to raise their child in the faith which is the Catholic faith as was handed down to us by the apostles as expressed in its fullness.

Through the humility that we encounter at Christ's baptism we receive the message that we to must always humble ourselves to Christ's infinite mercy by putting our sin to death. Going back to Saint Augustine we must trust in prayer and penance if we are to truly have this desire to humble ourselves to the mercy of Christ and thus to put our sin to death. Without an authentic relationship with God through prayer we will always remain lost as we wonder about the world. Through prayer we will develop an authentic relationship with God which will strengthen us against our temptation towards sin and will also allow us to be made open to Christ's mercy to the point where our venial sins are forgiven. For those moments where we fail to prevail ourselves to the love of God and submit to the weight of mortal sin we as Catholics must remember the need to humble ourselves to God through the Sacrament of Confession. These two realities are not something that is optional, but are necessary for all of us to return to the innocence of the moment of our baptisms.

Christ humbled himself inside of these life giving waters as he would humble Himself upon the cross. We to should return to this baptism of repentance to find our own need to humble ourselves to God's infinite mercy. As we conclude this Christmas season and move into Ordinary Time Christ leaves the manger behind, is revealed to us as God at His baptism, and sets off into His public ministry. We to should leave the comforts of our life behind, especially that of sin, and respond to our baptism by our life. This is played out each day in our relationships with our brothers and sisters in Christ and our ability to see Christ who dwells within them and to in return respond to this reality with our lives. As we celebrate the Baptism of our Lord on this day may we continue to strive to live up to what was begun in us through our baptism.

Rosary for Life Reminder

Please remember that the Diocese of Knoxville's 4th Annual "Rosary for Life" will be this Saturday, January 11, at 10am. This year the location for the rosary will be at the Planned Parenthood in Knoxville which is located at 710 North Cherry Street Knoxville, TN 37914. This rosary will be led by Justin Cardinal Rigali.

If we remember back to the past three times this event was held we will remember that it was done at the abortion facility in Knoxville. That facility has since been closed which shows the importance of our prayer. If you are unable to attend this event please remember that you can still pray a rosary from the comfort of your own home for this cause.

Holy Name of Jesus Homily (Extraordinary Form)

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Holy name of Jesus. We join with the blessed Mother during this feast on the eighth day when a child is brought into the temple and is given his name. The wondrous name that was given to this child was Jesus. As we would see at the nativity many people would flock towards the manger to give this child proper adoration. This list includes the shepherds, Anna the prophetess, and the magi as is celebrated on tomorrow for the Epiphany. All of these figures would give proper adoration to Christ and would follow Sacred Scripture in the reality that "God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." According to Saint Bernard of Clairvaux: "the sweet Name of Jesus produces in us holy thoughts, fills the soul with noble sentiments, strengthens virtue, begets good works, and nourishes pure affections."

Concerning the Holy Name of Jesus many pious traditions have developed throughout the Church. One of these traditions is the bowing of one's head at the name of Jesus. Also, when the Holy Name is blasphemed it is a traditional response to pray: "Sit nomen Dómini benedíctum!" ("Blessed be the Name of the Lord"), to which the reply, if overheard, is "Ex hoc nunc, et usque in sæculum!" ("Now and forever!"). Another tradition is the use of the monogram of "IHS" which points towards the devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus. To see "IHS" written upon a vestment, in Church art, or other locations should always bring our minds to this Most Holy Name which is being venerated this day. Devotion to any of these three traditions would help us, our own families, and the society that we live within to rediscover the importance of this Holy Name.

In society we have lost the value of having honor for holy names. We see this so easily played out in the course of the day through people who blaspheme the name of God, Mary, Joseph, or Jesus so carelessly. These names are taken in vain due to being upset, shocked, or simply because it is funny. The recent influx of texting has led many to so quickly be able to use the letters "OMG" without offering a thought to what they are committing. When I attend a movie it is normal to see these letters be used to show how it is disrespectful to text inside of a theater. I agree completely with this action as being disrespectful to those around us, but want us to know how disrespectful it is to take such a beautiful name as that of God, Jesus, or one of the saints in vain. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church we are told: "Blasphemy is contrary to the respect due God and his holy name. It is in itself a grave sin." We must therefore be aware of our words and if need be realize the importance of showing due respect to the Holy Name.

Instead of the carelessness of falling into the use of blasphemy we should heed those words that were heard earlier from Saint Bernard of Clairvaux. The use of the Holy Name should make us reflect always upon holy thoughts. If we are on the verge of falling into sin we should use the Holy Name as a reminder of the true virtue that we are in search of. If we struggle with the loss of hope we should turn towards the Holy Name to be given what we are currently lacking. If we are afraid let us turn towards the Holy Name to discover comfort. Devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus will always lead us towards the light of Christ and put to rest each fear, sin, or struggle that we will ever face inside of this life. "Blessed be the name of the Lord. Now and forever!"

Epiphany Homily

Merry Christmas and happy New Year to all of you. Christmas is a season that is filled with many great traditions. In each of our homes we can probably think of some of these traditions that we have developed or have inherited from our own families. Maybe these traditions deal with when gifts are to be unwrapped, a certain food item that will be appear on the menu, a show that must be watched, attending Midnight Mass, or something else. Many Slavic nations have the tradition on this day to have the priest come and bless their home and then to write CMB along with the year over their doorpost with chalk. CMB is the first letter of each name of the three magi (Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar) and also means Christ bless this house in Latin (Christus Mansionem Benedicat). Some of our traditions are very apparent while others may be quite confusing if someone walked in upon them without a proper explanation to help them delve into the true meaning that is being revealed. Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Epiphany which is also filled with a lot of great symbolism.

 

The complexity of this solemnity is shown from the very start through its name. Epiphany comes from a Greek verb which means "to reveal." Indeed through the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh being bestowed upon Christ by these magi, who were lead forth by a star, there is a lot that is being revealed to us. On Christmas it was revealed that God loved us so much that He was willing to take on human flesh to come and to dwell among us. And on this Epiphany Sunday we are having a revealing of all that will and has taken place through God's willingness to enter into the world, through the reality of the Incarnation. As with family traditions or even things that take place within the Church there is often a lot that is being revealed, but we can miss these things very simply, because we get stuck with what we see or do instead of seeing what is being revealed. The Epiphany is about more then magi, a star, gold, frankincense, and myrrh because this solemnity is revealing a great truth into our lives.

Hidden behind these different objects we have a great truth that is being reveled to the world. This little child, named Jesus, is more than any simple child. On the occasion of the Epiphany we find many symbols which explain Christ's mission on this earth including His eventual death upon the cross. The gift of gold was bestowed upon Him to show His true kingship. With this gift we can see that Christ is worthy of all our praise and that He rules this world as the King of Heaven. Secondly, frankincense was offered to remind us of the divinity of Christ. It was incense that was fitting to be offered in the worship of the temple and so it was also fitting to offer this gift to point towards the reality of Christ's divinity. Finally, the gift of myrrh was brought to this child which reminds us of his own humanity and eventual death upon the cross. It would be myrrh that would be used to prepare a body for its burial. These magi bearing these gifts were drawn to this manger by the light of a star, which is the light of Christ, which brought them to this place to reveal such wondrous truths about this child's life.

I hope that when we hear the story of these magi that we will remember the complexity of their message. Their message was not just about the giving of gifts, but was about the meaning that lied behind the gifts that were offered. In our Catholic tradition we have so many sights which bear wondrous meaning if only we would begin to prevail ourselves to them. Today, for example, I proclaimed the announcement of moveable feasts prior to this homily. Within it we heard many dates, but in reality we should realize that it is Easter and thus the Resurrection of Christ's Body that is central to this message because these dates rely upon this event. Our Mass is filled with many mysterious symbols that can open our hearts wide to the mystery of Christ if only we will not rush through them, but instead allow them to prevail ourselves to these mysteries through our attention and study. May we this day open ourselves up, ever-the-more, to have these mysteries of the faith extended into our lives, so that we may better be able to proclaim the reality of the Incarnation to the world by our lives.

Announcement of Moveable Feasts

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 5th day of March will fall Ash Wednesday, 

and the beginning of the fast of the most sacred Lenten season.

On the 20th day of April

you will celebrate with joy Easter Day,

and the Paschal feast of our Lord Jesus Christ.

On the 29th day of May

will be the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ.

On the 8th day of June,

the feast of Pentecost

On the 22nd day of June,

the feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. 

On the 30th day of November,

the First Sunday of the Advent

of our Lord Jesus Christ,

to whom is honor and glory for ever and ever.

Amen.

Mary, Mother of God Homily

Merry Christmas and happy New Year to all of you. Today we close our octave of Christmas with our attention placed upon the same mystery that was celebrated on Christmas Day. On December the 25th we celebrated the reality that God chose to take on human flesh and thus came to dwell among us. On this day, January the 1st, we again remember the reality of the Incarnation through the Blessed Virgin Mary. The whole octave of Christmas is about the continuation of our celebration of Christmas Day and therefore nothing should be any different with the day that is being celebrated this morning. Today we gather for this celebration of the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God where our attention is not ultimately turned towards Mary, but instead to the manger where God chose to come and dwell among us through the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary. As we flock towards our Lord we cannot help, but to come through the intercession of our Blessed Mother.

Many fundamentalists are shocked when they hear this title attributed to our Blessed Mother. Maybe even a few of us are confused upon the meaning of a title that is so rich with theology. There should be no shock found here because this title stresses the very mystery of the Incarnation that we dwell upon during the season of Christmas. This title does not mean that Mary actually gave birth to the first person of the Holy Trinity, but instead that she gave birth to the second person of the Holy Trinity who is both fully divine and fully human. This great honor of being the mother of God was not one bestowed upon her by the Church, but instead was an honor that was given to her by God Himself at the Annunciation. From this celebration we should realize that our devotion to Mary is always leading us into a deeper relationship with her Son. Therefore this day that we celebrate takes us to the very mystery of the Incarnation through the motherhood of Mary.

Saint Paul points the reality of this motherhood out to us when he says that "God sent his son, born of a woman." This event that he is pointing out to us through the Blessed Virgin Mary is the reality of the Incarnation when God came to dwell among us. It was through this reality that we were all destined to be freed from the slavery of our sin. Mary gave her unending "yes" to God at the Annunciation which allowed her to become the "theotokos" which in English means the "God-bearer." Through her "yes" she brought God into the world to bring about the reality of salvation for each of us. If she is not truly the "God-bearer" then Christ is not God, but only merely human. And if Christ is merely human then we have nothing to celebrate on Christmas because none of us would of been redeemed from our sin. But instead we are able to triumphantly proclaim this day that Mary is indeed the Mother of God because her Son is indeed the second person of the Holy Trinity and thus we have been redeemed.

And so as we enter into this new year we have so many dreams and hopes for new opportunities. As we enter into this new year in pursuit of these may we not forget about the reality of the Incarnation that is being opened wide for us today by our Blessed Mother. All of our dreams and the new opportunities that face us in this new year should be discovered through the manger of Christ that she brings us towards. From this place we truly have so much to discover. In our gospel Mary reminds us of this through the reality that she reflected upon all these things in her heart. May we join with her in reflecting upon these same mysteries in our own hearts. When we join ourselves with our Heavenly Mother our hearts will always be opened wide to Christ. With the beads of our rosaries held triumphantly in our hands we will join with our Mother as she opens wide the mysteries of the life of her Son into our lives. 

From these mysteries that have been brought about from the reality of the Incarnation we will always come to encounter the face of Christ in our lives. It is through Mary that we will always be brought deeper into the heart of these mysteries for she was truly the one that was chosen by God to be the "God-bearer." With our hopes and desires for the year ahead may we always be joined with her and in return find ourselves laying at the floor of Christ's manger for the comfort that we are in search of. It was in 431 at the Council of Ephesus that Mary as the "theotokos" was affirmed by the Church and from the joy of this affirmation came a sea of people shouting from the streets: "Praised be the Theotokos!" As we enter into this new year with our own hopes and fears may we to come to shout: "Praised be the Theotokos!"