26th Sunday of OT Year C Homily

This parable of the rich man and Lazarus shows our need to have concern for the well being of our neighbor. The lifestyle that the rich man chose to live prevented him from seeing Lazarus as his neighbor and thus left him closed to the voice of God.

The Vatican II document Gaudium et Spes, Joy and Hope, states concerning this reality: “Everyone must consider his every neighbor without exception as another self, taking into account first of all His life and the means necessary to living it with dignity, so as not to imitate the rich man who had no concern for the poor man Lazarus.”

“In our times a special obligation binds us to make ourselves the neighbor of every person without exception and of actively helping him when he comes across our path, whether he be an old person abandoned by all, a foreign laborer unjustly looked down upon, a refugee, a child born of an unlawful union and wrongly suffering for a sin he did not commit, or a hungry person who disturbs our conscience by recalling the voice of the Lord, “As long as you did it for one of these the least of my brethren, you did it for me.”

“Furthermore, whatever is opposed to life itself, such as any type of murder, genocide, abortion, euthanasia or willful self-destruction, whatever violates the integrity of the human person, such as mutilation, torments inflicted on body or mind, attempts to coerce the will itself; whatever insults human dignity, such as subhuman living conditions, arbitrary imprisonment, deportation, slavery, prostitution, the selling of women and children; as well as disgraceful working conditions, where men are treated as mere tools for profit, rather than as free and responsible persons; all these things and others of their like are infamies indeed. They poison human society, but they do more harm to those who practice them than those who suffer from the injury. Moreover, they are a supreme dishonor to the Creator.”

These words of Gaudium et Spes should make us reflect upon our own life and what we will allow to exist within our society. There are so many injustices which are allowed to exist in our world which go against the value and dignity of the human person who has been created in the image and the likeness of God the Father. This is an important message for us to reflect upon as we prepare for the upcoming election. A vote cannot be cast for an allegiance to a political party, but rather must be cast in reflection to the human person and the dignity that is owed unto them.

Within our Gospel both the rich man and Lazarus end up dying. The rich man who was caught up in his wealth at the expense of others did not receive the Heavenly reward. On the other hand, Lazarus, who was down trodden and placed at a distance from society received his Heavenly reward. From his poverty he truly inherited true riches which will never pass away.

We are not any different from these two. All of us are directed towards death. This is something that we cannot escape. Despite this reality we must kept our eyes placed upon Heaven. The more that we place our sight upon Heaven, the more that we will be able to love. The more we will come to respect the downtrodden and rejected of society and come to embrace them with the love of Christ. All human life, born and unborn, old and young, sick and well, rich and poor, has value because this value is found in their relationship to God the creator. May we truly come to embrace this reality and not turn ourself against this truth as the rich man did in our Gospel. Let us be challenged to grow in the virtue of charity and thus to truly respond to God's love by our life and by the way in which we see the needs of our neighbor and respond to those needs as an extension of God's love.

18th Sunday After Pentecost Homily (Extraordinary Form)

Who in our Gospel was effected by sin?

The paralytic was effected by sin. Of it Christ exclaimed: "Be of good heart for thy sins are forgiven thee."

The Pharisees were also effected by sin. They had the opportunity to be healed of it, but they desired not the healing mercy of Christ. To them Christ exclaimed: "Why do you think evil in your hearts?" 

None of us here are free from sin. We are not the second coming of the Immaculate Conception and thus none of us here are perfect and that is okay. It is okay in so far as we allow Christ to heal us and in so far as we continue to flock towards His infinite mercy.

We can think of the many illnesses and diseases which run rampant in our modern day society. It is common sense that when we are sick and not feeling well that we receive the assistance of a doctor. We trust that a doctor can heal our body of its many ailments.

In the same manner may we be concerned with the healing of our soul. Let us not be found in denial as the Pharisees were. They were infected by sin and yet they were not concerned with the need to heal it. The paralytic was infected by sin, but he realized the need to be healed and thus he came to entrust himself to the mercy of Christ.

Are we willing to listen to Christ and to thus allow ourself to be healed or are we so infected by pride that we silence this voice which desires our healing? Out of pride this voice was silenced by the Pharisees, but out of humility this voice was heeded by the paralytic. 

Thus may we too come to humbly heed the voice of our Lord and Savior. He wants not the loss of our soul, but rather He desires our wellbeing. With His grace and love which is constantly poured out upon us we are given all that we will ever need to be made clean.

We are given the gift of the sacraments and from these great gifts we are given the grace to be made clean and to live out good and holy lives. The problem is that we must let go of our pride and submit ourself to God's mercy. This means making use of the Sacrament of Confession. This means taking the Holy Eucharist seriously and thus not receiving it in the state of serious sin.

Therefore Christ calls out to us this day as He called out to the paralytic. He assures us that we may be of good heart for thy sins are forgiven thee. 

25th Sunday in OT Year C Homily

Our ultimate goal as a Christian is to share in everlasting life with God. The prudent steward inside of our Gospel was living a life which was contrary to this principle. Nevertheless, when he realized that his time as steward was coming to its conclusion he analyzed the situation that was placed before him and acted under the guidance of prudence. With prudence he looked towards everlasting life and did what was necessary to be welcomed into another’s house.

When we consider the virtue of prudence we might think of simply coming to use common sense. Prudence is far greater then the use of common sense. Rather, prudence is a complex and sophisticated matter. It calls one to learn about the situation that is placed before them and from it coming to make a judgement based upon what has been learned.

Aristotle remarks that prudence is fostered by teaching and that it is perfected over time by the use of experience. Therefore, if we can think back to a bad choice that we have made we will remember the outcome. Maybe it was doing something which led towards a punishment. Prudence would thus make the individual realize from a past experience to not repeat the choice which was made.

Aristotle points out that prudence assists an individual in moderating between extremes. It is prudence then that assists an individual in choosing between the many choices which have been set before them. Prudence leads an individual away from choosing that which harmful for the wellbeing of their soul because prudence always leads us towards the ultimate good which is God.

Prudence is not a virtue for the weak, but rather prudence is a virtue for the strong. It is incorrect to believe that prudence leads one towards weakness because in all reality prudence is leading us towards what is correct in the given situation. Prudence, according to Saint Thomas Aquinas always leads us towards making proper choices which in return yield good results.

Therefore, let us consider for ourselves the life of the saints. Within the life of saints we do not see weakness, but we see the use of prudence which led them towards Everlasting Life. There are those who are numbered among the saints who were even willing to offer their life up in sacrifice towards achieving this ultimate reality. They came to make this decision through the assistance of prudence.

If we are to excel at the moral life we too must grow in the virtue of prudence. Prudence assists us in areas of morality for it assists an individual in their ability to make the correct choice with the given question which is at hand.

Therefore may we come to emulate the prudent steward of our Gospel. He made many mistakes along the way; much like us. Nevertheless, he used prudence to be drawn towards the common good. May we continue to study our faith and to realize that we are called to be like the saints and thus to be drawn towards Heaven. May we allow the virtue of prudence to assist us along this path which leads us towards Everlasting Life.

24th Sunday in OT Year C Homily

Our Gospel has most beautifully proclaimed the reality of the Father’s mercy unto us. Until November 20, 2016 we as a Church will remain in what is known at the “Year of Mercy.” During this “Year of Mercy” may we allow ourself to discover the Father’s mercy and thus to surrender ourself onto it as the prodigal son came to do inside of our Gospel.

The logo for this “Year of Mercy” is summed up inside of today's Gospel passage. We are told of the love of the shepherd who always goes in search of the lost sheep. Upon finding them the shepherd leads his sheep back to the flock. The Father, in His abundant mercy, comes out in search of each of us and continues to invite us back into relationship with Him.

Therefore in this logo we see Christ who is known as the Good Shepherd who goes in search of His lost sheep. Placed upon His shoulders is the lost soul who has fallen away. This displays unto us the love of Christ which goes in search for the lost and brings them towards reconciliation with the mercy of the Father.

We must also remember that Christ has taken all of humanity upon Himself. He took on our human flesh through His incarnation and all of this reached its culmination through Christ’s death upon the cross. In this image we notice that the eye of Christ has now been merged with the eye of the man who is held upon His shoulders. And so we can now say that Christ sees with the eyes of Adam and Adam with the eyes of Christ. Christ through the liberation of the cross has now become the new Adam and thus He continues to lift us out of our sinfulness and assures us of the joys of the Heavenly Kingdom.

Placed around this image is an early Church symbol known as the mandorla which comes in the shape of an almond. The purpose of this is to proclaim a moment that has transcended time and space. Within this we notice three different layers of colors. As Christ moves forward He is bringing this man upon His shoulders out of the darkness and into the light. Christ too wants us to join Him upon this journey of liberation. Let us not be content with the darkness of sin, but may we desire the liberation of the Father’s mercy.

Christ is necessary if we are to be freed from the burden of sin. Conversion is something that must be active like this image. We must allow Christ to take ahold of us and to move us forward leading towards this progression within the spiritual life. The Year of Mercy is something which is most serious, but if we are to feel its effects we must be willing to let go of our pride in order that Christ may take us upon His shoulders and carry us towards safety.

There is none of us here who is not in need of the Father’s mercy. We may act like it is not necessary or important, but we are in need of it. We are in need of the grace which flows forth from the Sacrament of Confession, we are in need of the healing effects against temporal punishment which are brought about through indulgences, and we should also pray for the grace of final perseverance. 

May we allow the Father to be merciful with us by coming to accept Christ’s invitation to take us upon His shoulders and to lead us towards the healing of the Father’s mercy. The Father lies in wait for us as the father did for the prodigal son. Upon our arrival He rushes out to greet us with His mercy for he who has been lost has now been found. Through the mercy of God may we too desire to be found and thus be moved upon this path which leads us towards the forgiveness and healing of the Father's mercy.

23rd Sunday of OT Year C Homily

Early this morning, around 4:30am, was the canonization Mass of now Saint Teresa of Calcutta. We as a Church are given reason to celebrate because showed us how to embody this love for Christ without compromise which was addressed in our gospel. From her relationship with Christ she was able to see the face of Christ in all those who she served; be it the poor, the sick, the dying, or anyone whom she encountered.

Verse 26 of our Gospel sounds pretty harsh: “If any one comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.”

In the language of the Old Testament words such as “love” and “hate” simply mean to prefer one to the other. From Malachi 1:2-3, “I have loved Jacob but I have hated Esau.” This is to say that Jacob is the one who has been chosen by God.

In light of this we should see the need to put Christ first and thus allow Him to be the one who we commit ourself to. We cannot call ourself a Christian and at the same time be willing to compromise on our relationship with Christ. 

Saint Gregory the Great brings this passage into the light for us: “We should have charity towards all- towards relatives and towards strangers- but without separating ourselves from the love of God.” The Second Vatican Council adds to this: “(that Christians should strive) to please God rather than men, always ready to abandon everything for Christ.”

We must now consider for ourself how high of a priority that we make Christ in our life and thus question in what ways that we have allowed our relationship to Him to be compromised by actions which are contrary to the teachings found in the Gospels. Jesus is speaking to us in verse 26 of this Gospel because He is reminding us that we are not to compromise on Him.

Our Gospel concludes with two stories which are a contrast from one another. There is the failure of the man who set out to build, but was not able to finish the project. Then there is the king who is prudent and looks forward to see that he has no chance of victory and thus must settle for peace.

We too must look forward and thus we must look towards the Kingdom of Heaven. We must see that we are called to love God above all things and thus to lead others towards Him. When we chase after worldly affairs in the end we have chased after nothing except after that which will pass away. Rather, we must practice prudence and thus begin to follow after Christ with our whole heart. In this manner we prepare ourself and we prepare others for that joy which will never pass away in the Heavenly Kingdom.

The purpose of this Gospel is not for us to leave here hating our mother, father, wife, children, brothers, or sisters. Rather this Gospel is a reminder that we must never compromise on Christ. That we should pursue Him always thus prudently preparing a place for ourself within the Heavenly Kingdom. We are not called to hate those who surround us, but rather we are called to truly love them by leading them towards Christ.

May we set out from here to come to Christ and to prefer nothing to Him.