31st Sunday of OT Year C Homily

There are constantly obstacles which stand in our way.

Some get caught up in these obstacles and thus allow their self get lost, some allow these obstacles to tower over them thus losing hope that they will ever see again, but others find a way to tower over these obstacles and thus overcome them.

Zacchaeus was found to be short in stature and thus there were many obstacles which lied in his way. Due to his stature he was unable to see Christ. Yet he did not allow this reality to take control over him. Rather he used a tree as the means which would assist him in coming to see Christ.

Thus this crowd represents to us the many obstacles which stand in our way of seeing Christ. Hopefully we do not allow ourself to remain content at these obstacles that stand in our way. Hopefully we are like Zacchaeus and thus allow our sight to be placed upon Christ in order that we may be healed.

If we are to overcome these obstacles then we must be truthful with ourself and thus be truthful with the Lord. It does no good to live in rejection of the reality of sin because in doing so we are showing that we are content with the crowd which towers before us and thus blocks out our ability to behold Christ. If we take our faith seriously why would we ever be content of losing the sight of Christ?

So what are these obstacles that stand in our way? What are these obstacles that we have grown content with? What are these obstacles that we explain away as being truth that has been reveled to us through the deposit of faith that has been handed down to us from the apostles through the authority granted unto them by Christ?

Thus we must be truthful and if we see that something causes us to sin we must cut it off. If we find ourself struggling with sin we must not allow ourself to lose hope, but we must realize that Christ has given us all that we will ever need to overcome it through the gift which is the Church. If we can come to trust in such a way then we can tower of the many obstacles which have been seemingly set before us.

Our Gospel states that "the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost." Therefore, whatever "crowd" seems to tower over us we must have faith such as Zacchaeus. With faith such as his we will come to trust in Christ and thus we will allow Him to heal us. Christ is constantly in search for us and thus He continues to call us towards Him.

May we be like Zaccheus and thus come to trust in this healing reality. May we be willing to go to any height in order to obtain it. We do not have to remain content with the crowd which towers over us because Christ desires that we set our sight upon Him.

30th Sunday of OT Year C Homily

Father Shelton and I make classroom visits throughout the week in our parish school. This usually leads to to us taking questions or picking up one the teacher's lessons. Recently I was asked a very serious question from one of our students; a question so serious that it is worth our own meditation.

I was asked what is God's favorite sport. Thankfully there was a sister in the room to supply some of her wisdom. Her answer was not to the negative, but rather that God's favorite sport is the race towards Heaven. It should be our desire to be numbered as one of the saints of Heaven. This is a very wise response indeed because God wants all of us to be holy and to follow after Him.

In Saint Paul's Letter to Timothy we were instructed: "I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith." Indeed God's favorite sport is not football, basketball, nor soccer; rather it is to compete well, to finish the race, and to have kept the faith. In other words God's favorite sport is endurance upon the journey which leads us towards Heaven.

On November 1st we will celebrate All Saint's Day which will give us the opportunity to direct our sight towards all of the saint's of Heaven. Those who are known by name as well as those who are unknown by name. Those found Heaven have competed well, finished the race, and have kept the faith. They serve as our inspiration to do the same. The saints are not some far off concept who are kept at a distance, but rather they have set their sight upon God and continued to move forward towards Him.

If we are to compete well, finish the race, keep the faith, and thus be like the saints we must continue to entrust ourself to prayer. The Book of Sirach reminds us that our prayers pierce the clouds and they do not rest until they have reached their goal. Our goal is Heaven and thus we must continue to bombard Heaven with our prayers. We must bombard Heaven with our prayers concerning the sick, dying, and deceased. We must bombard Heaven with our prayers out of thanksgiving, petition, and out of adoration. We must bombard Heaven as a family who have come together in a spirit of prayer thus teaching children that they too are called to become saints.

Not only must we pray, but we must also be sorry for our sins. In our Gospel there was a man who was sorry and out of penance he struck his breastplate in sorrow. We too strike our breastplate when we cry out "through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault." This is why the doors to the confessional are extended wide for you; because we are all sinners who are in need of the mercy of God. The saints did not live in denial of their sin, but rather their love for God led them towards sorrow and thus their love for God led them to encounter God's mercy.

Therefore, may we be willing to partake in God's favorite sport. May we be willing to compete well, finish the race, and keep the faith. May we strive to be numbered as the saints who now stand victorious in the Kingdom of Heaven.

29th Sunday of OT Year C Homily

We are a people who like to see results and we don't like to wait in order to see them begin to take effect.

If we feel sick we desire a doctor to heal us as quickly as possible. If we want to lose weight we go the gym and begin to go to work at bettering our health. If we believe that we should receive more pay we begin to plea to with one's boss that we may receive our just reward.

We know the results that we want, but with each of these scenarios we must also remember that all things take time. Getting well may take awhile longer then we had originally hoped. Losing weight takes persistent work. Receiving more pay might mean the need to work hard at one's profession to show that such a request is just.

We place so much of our trust in instant results, but so often allow the importance of prayer to go by the wayside. Prayer is important because it joins us to God and thus it aids us in responding to His will. This parable encourages us to be persistent in our prayer.

The woman of the parable was persistent in her pleas to the judge. Eventually her persistence paid off. We too must be persistent with our prayer. Prayer is not a practice of magic where we say the proper words of incantation and thus magically get what we desire. If instant results are the goal of our prayers then we will so often fail to see its importance. We would fail to be like the woman in the parable and thus we would no longer persistently go to the judge asking to be pardoned.

It is the goal of this parable to make us see the importance of persistence. We must continue to be persistent with our prayers. Prayer allows us to direct our attention away from ourself and thus towards God. Prayer allows us to be united with Him who loves each of us so dearly. Prayer is important because it assists in following after God rather then following after our own self serving desires.

The persistence of the widow had effect over the heart of the judge. The judge who was pointed out as being corrupt and unjust and even his heart was moved to pity through her persistence. God is the opposite of this judge because he is not corrupt and unjust, but rather is all good. Therefore when we persistently unite ourself to Him in prayer God hears what is spoken and truly grants us what we need in order to unite ourself unto Him more fully.

Let us be like this widow and thus continue to persistently come before God in prayer. There may be days when we are tired and don't want to, but let us to do so anyway. Let us harvest within our homes the spirit of prayer among members of the family. Let us find ways to nurture within ourself this great desire to serve the Lord by our life.

Jesus states: "will such faith be found when the son of man comes?" It is easy for us to lose heart and to move onto something else, but we must allow ourself to remain persistent in our prayer.

28th Sunday of OT Year C Homily

Leprosy represents uncleanliness. To be a leper means that one must be placed at a distance from the community. According to the Law a leper could not approach a Jew, a leper could not enter into the Temple, and a leper was not allowed to touch anyone. If you were to be touched by a leper then you, in return, would be considered by the Law to be unclean.

With all of this in mind we hear concerning the lepers that they were found to be "far off." Their uncleanliness kept them from coming into contact with the Jews and their uncleanliness kept them from coming into contact with God within the Temple.

So from a distance they cried out that Christ may have mercy upon them. Due to this desire for mercy they were instructed to go to the priests and be cleansed. What Christ commands of them is found to be in accordance with the Jewish law which demands that a leper is to be cleansed in this manner. 

One problem here is that these ten were still stricken with leprosy, they were not yet healed from it, yet they did what they were instructed to do in order that they would be healed from their burden. In other words, they were found in obedience unto Christ and unto His words concerning them. At His command they went with haste and did what they were instructed to do in order that they may be healed of their infirmity.

Of these ten who were sent out in order to be healed only one returned to give glory to God for the miracle that had taken place within their life. The other nine were given a great gift and upon its reception they had already forgot to whose honor it was owed.

As we glance inwardly upon ourself we must be truthful and realize that we are a sinner who is in need of God's abundant mercy. Through our sin we have been placed at a distance from Christ, but thankfully we do not have to grow accustomed to this reality. Christ's looks upon each of us in His infinite mercy and assures us that we can be healed of our burdens. We are not to be kept at a distance, but we are called to be reconciled and thus be brought into the community of faith where we come to encounter God and communion with one another.

We must also be willing to look outward towards those who are found to be “far off.” We must be willing to invite them to come in and to have their life changed by an encounter with Christ. Our faith calls us to conversion, but we must take the first step in order to invite people to encounter Christ in order that their life may be transformed. Christ looked out upon those who were excluded and had compassion for them no matter what their ailment was. The Church looks out upon all of us and shares this same compassion with us through an authentic encounter with Christ’s mercy which leads towards conversion.

As we are set free from our unhealthy desires may we always remember to return to God in order to give thanks for Him who has set us free from our burden. We must rejoice for we are not to be kept at a distance, but rather we are invited to go and be set free from that which leaves us enslaved. May we also take it upon ourself to extend this same mercy with those who are often found on the outside. Only one leper was thankful for this gift of liberation. May we join with him in giving thanks to God for His mercy which endures forever.

27th Sunday in OT Year C Homily

It is right that we petition to receive an increase of faith. Nevertheless, we must also trust that faith is being set forth to do what we have been obliged to do.

It is easy for us to get caught up in the need for our faith to be increased, but it is easy to forget that Christ has already bestowed an abundance of grace upon us that this petition may be made into a reality.

From the 2nd letter of Saint Timothy we are told about the laying on of hands. In other words we are being instructed about the institution of the priesthood and how one receives it through the laying on of hands thus calling down the gift of the Holy Spirit upon that individual. Through the reception of this sacrament one is given an outpouring of grace that will always be at work within their ministry.

We too have the opportunity to come into contact with the sacraments. Each of which bestow the gift of grace upon us. Grace is a gift which we cannot give to ourself and it is thus a gift in which God alone can bestow. If we truly desire faith and thus the ability to do what we are obliged to do we must therefore trust in the healing power of grace.

The world in which we live is filled with many struggles. Within the world there are those who are poor, alone, and afraid. Nevertheless, God continues to look upon all of us as equals and thus continues to touch us with His healing hand. He gives us, no matter the state in our life, all the grace that is necessary for us to do what we are obliged.

Therefore doing what we are obliged to do is possible if we trust ourself to the outpouring of grace that God bestows upon us. The Catechism of the Catholic Church instructs in paragraph 2010: “Prayer attends to the grace that we need for meritorious actions.”

This word, “merit,” does not mean something that we earn nor is it making something up due to something which was lacking from Christ’s offering of self upon the cross. We cannot earn our salvation nor was anything lacking when Christ died upon the cross. Rather, this word means that we allow ourself to be opened up to grace and thus allow ourself to participate in the process of salvation which conforms us to be more like Christ.

Saint Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians instructs us: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Christ states in the Gospel of Saint John: “He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

Therefore, may we truly desire an increase of faith in our life. May we be willing to undergo this path of grace which leads us towards becoming more Christ like. The more that we allow ourself to stay close to Him the more that we will be able to do what we are obliged to do. For without Christ we can do nothing, but with Christ nothing is impossible.