Bishop's Appeal 2016

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Septuagesima Sunday Homily (Extraordinary Form)

Over the course of the next three Sundays we enter into a period of preparation for the coming Lenten season. It is for this reason that the Gloria and alleluia have been suppressed and I wear violet vestments. These all serve as subtle reminders of our need to be prepared for what is to come.

We so often live in the current moment and thus we fail to allow ourself to look ahead at what is to come. Maybe it for this reason that people must storm to the store at a minute’s notice of snow because we are so often found to be unprepared what the unknown which lies in wait. Let us not be fooled into being found unprepared for the Lenten season for through this most sacred season we draw close to Christ who dies upon the cross and on the third day rises again in fulfillment of the scriptures.

Through our Gospel we are given an invitation to be sent out into the abundant Harvest of the Lord and not to be found idle in our practice of faith. It is easy to grow idle and to lose concern, but we cannot allow this temptation to take ahold of us. The idle will not be found prepared because they have lost sight of that which is important. This season calls us to wake up from our slumber and thus to begin to concern ourself for that which lies ahead.

Next Sunday we will have our annual Bishop’s Appeal which has been entitled: “Make me an instrument of your peace.” This title is a quotation which comes to us from the Prayer of Saint Francis. It serves as a reminder that we are to be formed into an instrument of our Lord’s peace. The landowner sent his workers into the harvest to continue to give growth to his work. Another quotation from that same prayer reminds us: “It is in giving that we receive.”

Therefore I hope that each of you may understand the importance of our bishop’s appeal. We are a parish community and yet to be Church commands us to be concerned not only with those around us here, but with all those whom we encounter. It is for this reason that we cannot simply sustain this community, but we must also be concerned to head out into the Lord’s harvest and thus call others to partake within this community.

Support of the bishop’s appeal ensures that this diocese will be able to take care of its needs. We must have concern for priests, religious, and the providing of an education to our seminarians. Hopefully in our midst, maybe even a few of our servers, are men who are called to serve the Lord as a priest. We must have concern for the poor and vulnerable and we do this through our support for Catholic Charities. This past Friday our country remembered the horror which was the Supreme Court decision of Roe vs. Wade, but support of this appeal advocates for a contrary message which supports the Gospel of Life through efforts of justice and peace. As a parish you should know the value of a Catholic education because of your support of Saint Joseph’s School. Support of this appeal assists Catholic schools such as yours and ensures the spread of the Gospel message to our youth.

As we prepare for the coming of the Lenten season through this three week period may we also be willing to be generous in our support of the annual bishop’s appeal for through this appeal we are able to prepare the diocese for the upcoming your to ensure that the message of the Gospel may continue to be spread.

3rd Sunday of OT Year C Homily

Our second reading from 1st Corinthians reminds us: “A body is one though it has many parts.”

This is an important lesson for us to remember because our faith is one through the Most Holy Eucharist. As a parish we are on the verge of entering into the HOME Campaign and next week we will have our annual bishop’s appeal. These collections as well as what we offer to this parish display the unity that must exist within our faith.

We are not just a parish separated from the body, but instead we are a parish found in the local Church of the Diocese of Knoxville which is united to the body which is the Church universal.

The HOME campaign will assist us in assuring that the future needs of our parish and diocese will be met, so that we will be found prepared with our future needs. This year’s bishop’s appeal has been entitled: “Make me an Instrument of your Peace.” This title comes to us from the prayer of Saint Francis which we are probably familiar with.

In our Gospel Christ instructs us to be concerned with the sick and poor. In giving service to the sick and poor we make the words of this prayer manifest from within the world in which we live. The bishop’s appeal takes these words to heart because we should be concerned with the current needs of our diocese. There are many who need the healing hand of Christ brought into their life and support of this appeal ensures that this is made a reality.

So what are these needs and how do they correlate with the Gospel message?

1. Clergy & Seminarian Formation: This is very important for us and the spread of the Gospel. If we desire the Eucharist we in return are in need of priests. There might even be a few among us who are called to this vocation of service.
2. Catholic Charities: Serves the poor and the vulnerable ensuring that their basic human needs are met and that they are always looked upon as one who is created in the image and the likeness of God the Father.
3. Christian Formation: Gives support to RCIA programs such as ours where adults are formed to enter into the Church at the Easter Vigil. May we remember to pray for those from our parish who are in this program. Also, this assists Catholic schools which we should be fond of because we have our own Catholic school. Many here received a Catholic education and thus we should know the value of supporting Catholic schools.
4. St Mary’s Mobile Medical Clinic: Which goes to those who are in need and makes sure that their medical needs are met.
5. Justice & Peace: Which ensures that the Gospel of Life is always defended. On Friday our country remembered the anniversary of horror against life which was the supreme support decision of Roe vs. Wade which allowed the sin of abortion to be legal in this country. Support in this area promotes the value of life from conception to a natural death.
6. Youth, Young Adult, & Campus Ministry: Which supports programs at our universities and our youth in order that they may continue to nourished in their life of faith.

As Christians may we desire to grow in our concern for the sick, poor, and vulnerable. May we see the unity which is exists within our faith as is expressed by Christ who is present in the Most Holy Eucharist. “Make me an instrument of your peace. It is in giving that we receive.”

2nd Sunday After Pentecost Homily

The Wedding Feast of Cana delivers Christ’s first miracle to us. This miracle is most miraculous in nature because it was exclaimed “why have you kept the good wine until now.” To understand the importance of this statement we must understand that wedding parties in ancient times ran for many days and thus keeping wine on hand for the entirety of the celebration was seen as a necessity. It was common to give the good wine first and the cheaper wine last because people remember that which they received at first and as they keep drinking they begin to care less about the taste. This statement says that the miracle in which Jesus had enacted was pretty amazing because He had given them a wine which was truly good and thus better then anything that they had received prior to this.

We must remember that everything falls short of God and His abundant love for us. We often get caught up in the busyness of the world and lose sight of this reality. The Wedding Feast of Cana serves as a reminder that nothing is mundane with God. Even if we feel nothing when we pray or come to the Mass, may we not lose sight of the abundance of God’s love for us. The totality of God’s relationship with us serves as a reminder of God’s abundant love which compared to everything else we endure good or bad that this love will never pass away.

As we trudge through this life and the many trials which may come our way may we fear not in turning towards the Blessed Mother’s intercession. In our Gospel the needs of the people were brought to Mary and she in return brought them before her Son. Through her intercession the prayers and petitions of the people were answered. When we feel like out faith is at a standstill and there is no hope for us may we remember her love and concern. She desires to intercede for us because she desires to bring us to know her Son in order that we can come to love Him more and more with each passing day. Through Mary’s intercession we come to see that the works of God are truly wonderful because they are filled with love.

From this miracle Christ manifests Himself to the world as God made man. From this miracle we see a foreshadowing of the Eucharist. In the Eucharist Christ pours Himself out for us in the gift which is His Body and Blood. This Heavenly Food of which we partake at the Mass is a food which will never pass away; because what we are receiving is the greatest food in which one can receive for it is the very Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ. We make so many things of this world a priority, but it should be the Eucharist which is made our priority.

We are instructed at the conclusion of the Mass: “Go forth, the Mass is ended.” This is not to say that we can leave and forget about what we have received. Instead we are being sent out into the world to live a life of faith, a life which is fueled by Christ, a life which places the Eucharist at the center.

There is no greater gift which we can discover. May we therefore discover Christ who has come to dwell among us. May all the angels and Saints of Heaven, especially the Blessed Mother, assist us in making this a reality. At the Wedding Feast of Cana the wine which Christ had left was the greatest wine which was received; and thus a life which is built on Christ and obedience to His commandments will always reveal this life giving reality.

Baptism of the Lord Year C Homily

Merry Christmas!

With the conclusion of today’s celebration of the Baptism of the Lord we are brought to the conclusion of the Christmas season.

This celebration can be a bit confusing for us because we know that Christ was born free of all sin including that of original sin. Therefore we should ask why Christ was baptized in the baptism of John the Baptist and what exactly are the effects of baptism for us.

Christ was lead into the waters of baptism, not to be freed from the stain of sin, but instead to lead us by the example of what we must do in order to be cleansed of our sin and thus to be incorporated into the life of the Church. The Baptism of Saint John the Baptist is different from the baptism in which the Christian receives. The Baptism of John ultimately prepares the receiver to straighten the path of their life in order that they may be prepared to follow after the Messiah.

We now participate in baptism because through its waters we have been prepared to follow after the Messiah who is Christ. In baptism the child is welcomed outside of the doors of the Church and is thus received into the Church. Through baptism the child has been incorporated into the life of Christ and thus they are anointed with the Sacred Chrism for they now share with Christ as priest, king, and prophet. We must remember these three traits of baptism and thus always be found ready to live them out in our everyday life.

We share with Christ as priest because we are able to partake in the Sacraments of the Church. This means that when in danger of death from sickness or old age one has the rite to receive Anointing of the Sick and thus receive assistance on the possible journey from life into death. This means that we are able to flock towards the Sacrament of our Lord’s mercy, which is the Sacrament of Confession. The Sacrament of Confession is necessary for how can we invite Christ into our life if we are found to be vile on the inside? How can we be a shining light which brings Christ into this world touched by sin if don't in return entrust ourself to the Lord’s mercy? This also means that we may come forward to share in the Eucharist where Christ continues to nourish us through His Body and Blood.

We share with Christ as king for through the Sacrament of Baptism the doors of the Heavenly Kingdom have been opened to us. We must stay awake in order that our advisory, the devil, may not prevail over us. It is for this reason that we flock towards the Sacraments and thus intrust ourself to the Lord’s mercy. It is for this reason that we heed the words of Saint John the Baptist and thus set straight the path for the coming of the Messiah. For through this effort we come to know God who is love.

Finally, we are able to participate with Christ as prophet. It is the role of a prophet to be sent out and to draw others to God. Through baptism we too have been sent forth to incorporate our faith into our daily life. It is up to us to draw other souls to encounter the love of Christ and thus assist them in desiring this same relationship for themselves. What we have on our side is the authenticity of truth, a truth which is contained within the Gospels and guarded over by our bishops who are the successors to the apostles. Why would we not want to share this truth with others and thus invite other souls to fill these pews and to partake of the Sacred Mysteries of Our Lord’s Passion, Resurrection, and Ascension into Heaven which unfold before our sight?

May we continue to be found willing to follow after Christ. He heads into the waters of baptism and thus extends an invitation to come and follow after Him. May we always renew in ourself what was begun at the moment of our baptism and thus continue to follow after Christ as we participate in the life of His Church, as we strive for the Kingdom of Heaven, and as we assist other souls in joining us there at the end of time. May we truly be willing to follow after Christ who always leads us in the path of truth.

Most Holy Name of Jesus Homily (Extraordinary Form)

Today we celebrate the Most Holy Name of Jesus. 

Throughout scripture God gives a name to different individuals which reveals to us the importance that they will play in the course of salvation history.

Adam = man of the earth

Eve = mother of all the living

Abraham = father of many nations

Peter = the rock

The name Jesus means "savior." We see this name given through the Angel Gabriel to both Mary and Joseph.

To Mary in the Gospel of Saint Luke: "Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus."

To Joseph in the Gospel of Saint Matthew: "She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

Finally this revelation from the angel is brought to its completion through the naming of this child in Saint Luke's Gospel: "When eight days were completed for his circumcision, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel before he was conceived in the womb."

Philippians instructs us to how we are to respond to such a Holy Name as that of Jesus: "Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those 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.”

For the Jew the name of God is to always be held in high esteem. We too join in giving God this proper glory each and every time that we come to recite the "Our Father" for it is here that we proclaim "hallowed by thy name."

Within the Roman liturgy instruction has been given to the priest to bow his head each and every single time that the name of "Jesus" is proclaimed within the Mass. The bowing of one's head at the proclamation of such a wondrous name allows us to bow in humility towards the one who would came to humble Himself upon the cross.

Through the name of  "Jesus" we come to acknowledge the savior who has come to dwell among us. This savior is the Incarnate Son of God who came to dwell among us. During the Christmas season we proclaim this great reality as we come to give proper adoration and homage to such a Holy Name as that of "Jesus."

In the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite the Solemnity of the Epiphany is celebrated today. In this celebration we acknowledge the Magi who traveled to proclaim Christ as Prophet, King, and priest to the world. They traveled and where able to give reverence to such a wondrous name as that of "Jesus."

The saints have also come to proclaim Christ in such a way for they have humbled themselves to this most wondrous of names. Through our acknowledgment of the name of "Jesus" we humble ourself before our savior. 

May the name of "Jesus" come to truly penetrate into our heart and soul and thus lead us onwards towards the Heavenly Kingdom for this child who has been born unto the world is God among us.

Epiphany Homily

Merry Christmas!

This season is about the peace of Christ and how we should allow this same peace to enter into our life and transform us. Epiphany is the celebration of the magi and their travel to do homage to the Christ child. In the context of their trip they came to acknowledge the peace of Christ and thus brought this same peace back with them when they returned to their place of origin. From their encounter with Christ they were left transformed as we to ought to be transformed when we come to encounter Christ.

The magi brought with them three gifts. That of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. To these gifts is attributed many different meanings. Most popular of these theories attributes: Gold as a gift that was made in order to acknowledge that this child was truly a King. Frankincense which was offered in order to acknowledge that this child was God for it was incense which was burned in the presence of God within the temple. Finally, the gift of myrrh which was brought in order to symbolize death for this was used in preparing a body following death.

Marco Pollo writes a legend concerning these magi which is found in the diary of his travels. In it he writes that each of these gifts were brought in order to see if this child was a king, God, or a physician. Whichever gift the child took would prove to them which He was, but to their astonishment He took all three gifts as a proclamation to the world that He is God, a King, and a physician. Once He took these three gifts He then handed them a box which they would later open to reveal a stone. This stone was symbolic of the fact that their faith should be found as firm as a rock. Not understanding the meaning of this gift they flung it into a well from which a flame blazed up which proclaimed the light of Christ which must be brought into the world.

Some countries hold onto the tradition of having their home blessed during the Epiphany season. Above the door to their home is written 20+C+M+B+16 with chalk. The CMB is symbolic of the names of the magi (Casper, Melchoir, and Balthazar). Also, Christus Benedicat Mansionem, Christ bless this house. Thus whenever anyone walks through the door of the house they receive the blessing of Christ and are to live the peace of Christ within their own home and to take it with them whenever they head out into the world. This is the same discovery which was made by the magi for from their encounter with Christ they were forever left changed as they came to acknowledge Christ as king, God, and physician of souls.

As we come to this same revelation may we be changed by what we come to encounter through Christ. Our faith must be firm because it has been placed upon the firm foundation that is Christ. This is a foundation which will not falter no matter how tough the path which lies ahead may seem to be. From Christ springs up a great flame which brings light into the darkness that exists within this world. May we not only encounter and trust in this great light, but may we also be willing to take this light with us in order that others may be drawn to Christ and the peace which He brings into this world.

May we be sent forth from here to proclaim this reality in which the magi came to discover when they encountered Christ. It is here where we will come to encounter Christ who comes to dwell with us in the Eucharist; may we be willing to bring what we encounter here into the world in order that the message of Christ may be made manifest.

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 Savior.

On the 10th day of February will fall Ash Wednesday,

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

On the 27th day of March you will celebrate with joy Easter Day,

the Paschal feast of our Lord Jesus Christ.

On the 8th day of May will be the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ.

On the 15th day of May the feast of Pentecost.

On the 29th day of May, the feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ.

On the 27th 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!

On this day we celebrate many different realities. We celebrate the beginning of a new calendar year. We celebrate the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God. We celebrate the fact that this celebration brings to a close the eight day Christmas octave. In the Extraordinary Form we celebrate our Lord's circumcision for it was on the eighth day following His birth when He was brought into the temple to be circumcised and thus was given the name of Jesus.

What we celebrate today is the same reality that was celebrated only eight days ago. For it was here that we acknowledged the reality that God's love was so great that He came to dwell among us. By calling Mary the Mother of God we are professing that Jesus is God in the second Person of the Holy Trinity. This is to say that there was never a time in which Christ failed to be God. It would be an error to say that Mary gave birth to Jesus as a human person alone for this would profess that there was a time in which Jesus failed to be God, but we hear in John's Gospel: "In the Beginning was the Word and the Word was with God." Thus when Christ would offer Himself upon the cross it was God who offered Himself for us in order to redeem us from our sin. Through the Lord's circumcision foreshadows our redemption for here drops of blood where brought forth which lead us towards the complete shedding of blood in which He would come to offer upon the cross.

Mary has always been held in high esteem within the Church for she has always remained close to her Son who is the Redeemer. She remained close to Him at the moment when He offered Himself upon the cross. From the very beginning of time she was prepared to be the God Bearer as we can see from the Immaculate Conception. Through the Annunciation we can say that the answer is "yes" Mary did know all that would unfold for her concerning who her Son is. It is her desire that we not be led to her, but that through her motherly care we will be joined entirely in thought and deed to her Son. Mary is a perfect reflection of God's love for us because through her we see a heart which pours out with love for her Son. As we embark upon this new calendar year may we entrust ourself to her loving care. 

With the arrival of each new year it is the norm to make resolutions which try to better us within the upcoming year. All matters are trivial if we are not attempting to grow in holiness and love for God. In this new year may it become our desire to allow God to be made more manifest within our life. Wherever vice is found may we surrender ourself to our merciful Lord who desires that we be reconciled with Him. The world is in need of peace and so as we embark upon this new year may we remember that it is Christ who brings peace into this world.

May the Blessed Mother intercede for us and thus through her motherly protection may we become missionaries who are sent out to bring the peace of Christ into this world.