Christ the King Homily

Last us take a moment to go back to our baptism or one that we have assisted with by our presence. Following the baptism there is an anointing upon the forehead during which the priest prays: “Just as Jesus was anointed priest, prophet, and king, so may you live always as a member of his body sharing everlasting life."

Our role as priest and prophet is most important in our Christian life, but today we should focus upon what it means for us to be declared a king. This is important for today we come to celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King which brings about the conclusion of the liturgical year. This celebration assists us in seeing Christ’s role within our modern world.

We can imagine what a king is. We know that they are one who is in command. They thus lead others and are responsible for the wellbeing of their kingdom. Thus we must share with Christ as King because in doing so we have the opportunity to lead others towards God. Depending upon one’s state in life we are given many areas of kingship. For example a parent thus assists their children with their education in the faith and inspires them to live out the virtues. To be anointed as “king” is not a private matter, but it is very much so a public one.

We live in the midst of a secular world which desires to silence the voice of religion. We cannot allow this voice to be silenced. Rather, we must take it so seriously that it becomes embedded into who we are as a human person. Our faith is not a private affair because it is so serious that it must be integrated into everything that we do. Today’s Solemnity of Christ the King was instituted by Pope Pius XI for this very reason. From the aftermath of World War I he observed a world which was in need of peace and thus in need of Christ. At the same time he observed a world which had grown secular in nature and thus desired to silence the voice of Christ from the public sphere.

Pope Pius XI desired that this Feast of Christ the King would impact the life of the laity. He made the following statements in his encyclical letter given on the matter:

-He must reign in our mind.

-He must reign in our will.

-He must reign in our heart.

-He must reign in our body.

Truly I hope that each of you see the importance of this celebration in your daily life. Truly I hope that each of you sees the importance of sharing in the Kingship of Christ and how this cannot be a private matter. Today we come to recognize Christ the King especially through the gift of the Eucharist. The Eucharist is Jesus present with us Body, Soul, and Divinity. We do not come here to receive Christ into our life in order to be sent into the world unchanged. Rather, we receive Christ into our life in order that we may be sent into the world to the share and live what we have received with all those whom we encounter.

Let us thus be transformed through our encounter with the Christ the King. Through our baptism we thus share in this kingship may we thus be willing to live it in the midst of this world.

Long live Christ the King!

33rd Sunday of OT Year A Homily

In our Epistle we were instructed that the Lord will come “like a thief in the night.” Truly the liturgical year is coming to its conclusion. Next week we will celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King and thus bringing about its conclusion. We will then enter into the season of Advent thus beginning a new year as we set our sight upon the birth of Christ. As this year reaches its conclusion we are reminded that in time death will come for us and therefore we must be prepared to encounter it.

If we are to be found ready for our encounter with death we must set our sight upon Heaven and do everything which we can in order to get there. Thus in our Gospel we encounter this man who was to set out upon a journey who entrusted others with talents which is a form of currency. Each of them was given a different allotment of money, but each were called to do something with the gift that had been given to them.

We are the servants found within this parable. The talents given by the master are our many qualities which God has bestowed upon us. The return of the master reminds us of the words of Saint Paul that the Lord will come “like a thief in the night” thus bringing about our death. There will come a time when we must settle with the master what we have done with our talents at the time of the judgement. Finally, we must realize that we should live a life which is oriented towards the banquet for this is the Kingdom of Heaven.

Therefore we must ask ourself what we do with the many gifts that God has allotted unto us. Do we use them to glorify His Most Holy Name or to tear it down? Do we use them to lead to souls to Heaven or to distract them from this destination?

Our gifts have a lot more to do then simply referring to money. This also includes our time and talents and asking how we can give these back. This also refers to our body and senses and thus how we use these to properly glorify God. Let us not live under the illusion that we are under possession of these talents, but rather may we come to realize that these are gifts that God has given unto us. Gifts that He has given unto us in order that we may live freely instead of being enslaved to our passions.

As we come to the conclusion of the liturgical year may we heed the teaching which lies behind this Gospel. May we thus enter into the Sacramental life of the Church and come to know Christ for ourself. Such a relationship will prepare us for the Lord who come “like a thief in the night” and at the moment we will be called to judgement. Let us thus strive for the banquet which is the Kingdom of Heaven.

32nd Sunday of OT Year A

Today we celebrate the 32nd Sunday of Ordinary Time and thus what is known as the liturgical year is quickly coming to its conclusion. The liturgical year ends in two weeks with our celebration of the Solemnity of Christ the King. Thus these readings bring about the urgency that exists with the end of time. In other words, there will come a time of our death and at that time we will be judged. Also, there will come a time when Christ comes again and then the dead will rise with Him in Heavenly glory.

With the conclusion of the liturgical year springs forth the arrival of a new cycle. Thus we begin the season of Advent. Advent derived from the Latin word Adventus which means “the coming.” In other words we are preparing for the coming of the Messiah. He is the one who is to come. There is urgency in our life to prepare for this arrival and to be found prepared like the virgins in our Gospel. To encounter Christ at Christmas is a big deal, but we so often forget about the importance of Advent leading the way towards this coming in order that our heart and soul may be prepared to greet Him.

In our Gospel we encountered ten virgins who lie in wait of the bridegroom. The bridegroom who can arrive at any moment. It was a custom for an elaborate ceremony to take place to transfer the betrothed from the home of her parents to the home of her spouse. Her close friends would greet her on her way and they would join with her in this procession. It was upon arriving at the home of the spouse that the wedding ceremony would finally take place and the festivities would begin. Upon this beginning the gate would be locked and nobody would be able to enter.

Therefore these ten virgins had to be prepared. If they were not prepared they would miss the arrival of the bridegroom and then the gate would be locked and there would be no hope for them to enter into the Wedding Feast. Now let us realize that Christ is the bridegroom and we are the ten virgins who lie in wait. We must set our sight upon the arrival of Christ and thus be prepared to meet Him.

We do not want to arrive at the Wedding Feast and find that the door has been locked. Rather, we want to greet Christ and process with Him into Heavenly glory. If this be true of us and our desires then we must work at remaining attentive to His arrival. We do this through prayer and entering into the Sacramental life of the Church. Go to confession and allow your heart to be made clean. Receive the Eucharist in the state of grace and thus be given food for the journey of life which leads towards Heaven. Fast in order that the longings of our heart may be joined to our Lord’s coming. Truly we do not want to find the doors of Heaven locked to us because of the pride of believing this to be an impossibility.

Christ is the bridegroom who is coming; are we prepared to meet Him?

31st Sunday of OT Year A Homily

God is merciful with us, but do we allow ourself to accept this mercy into our life?

From our Gospel: “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

In order for us to be open to receiving the loving mercy of God we need to be humbled. Thus we must lower ourself and let go of our pride and realize our dependence upon God. Our Blessed Mother gave us this example at the Annunciation when she humbled herself in the presence of God and cried out: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.”

We often live our life as if we are dependent upon nothing. We enjoy being self sufficient, but at the heart of our Gospel message we are being instructed that we are in need of God. That without God we can accomplish nothing. Despite the self sufficiency that we enjoy today we do not know if this will be the case for us at some point down the road.

The scribes and Pharisees whom we encounter in our Gospel forgot this fact. The Law to which they so strictly adhered to should of brought them into an encounter with God and His mercy. Rather, through their pride this was not so. The scribes and Pharisees needed to humble themselves in God’s presence and thus realize their true dependence upon Him and His mercy.

The response to our Responsorial Psalm gets to the heart of this issue: “In you, Lord, I have found my peace.” We thus will not find our peace until we discover that it is found within God alone. Every longing to which we have will and is fulfilled through our encounter with God.

Let us thus reflect within our heart of the many ways in which we fail to humble ourself in God’s presence and thus fail to find our peace within Him. Some say that they no longer attend Church because what they discover here a bunch of hypocrites who despite what they say and profess don’t properly reflect those words and actions which are found within the Gospel.

Truly we must realize that the Church is a refuge for the sinful. That none of us are perfect and without sin. If we are to make this profession with our lips then we need to be truthful with ourself and thus humble ourself in the presence of God. Despite the Church being a refuge for sinners we must also understand that we are being called to humble ourself thus prevailing ourself to God’s mercy and thus turning away from sin and back towards God. This is a process to which we must commit ourself throughout the course of whole life on this earth.

Thus be not prideful, but humble yourself in the Sacrament of Confession. Thus be not prideful, but realize your need to be humbled in the presence of God as we attend Mass. Thus be not prideful, but truly turn yourself towards the mercy of the Father.

All Soul’s Day Homily

The Church is made up of three realities. There is the Church militant which is each of us here on this earth who now take up our daily struggle towards Heaven. There is the Church Triumphant which is those who have now been called home to Heaven. It was only yesterday that we celebrated All Saint’s Day and thus each and everyone who is now in Heaven. Finally, there is the Church Suffering. This is the Church which unfortunately is often forgotten. The Church Suffering is the souls who now find themselves in Purgatory and thus are very much so in need of our prayers and sacrifices.

We live in the midst of a culture which rejects death and yet death is the one thing that we can be sure of which will eventually catch up with each of us. Not only do we reject death, but when we are faced with its reality we get uncomfortable and don’t know what to say or think. Nevertheless, as Christians we must understand and trust that death has no power of us. Death is not the end of life, but rather for those faithful souls in the incorporation into Heaven and thus the ability to see God face to face.

The souls who find themselves now in Purgatory will one day see God face to face. These faithful souls will eventually find their way into Heaven and thus when that time comes they will pray for us for they will be numbered among the saints and thus venerated on All Saint’s Day. Nevertheless, they are not there yet and thus we cannot forget about the Church Suffering. We cannot forget about the souls in Purgatory.

Often at death we forget about this Church and thus pass it by with our proclamation that these souls are now in Heaven and thus now numbered among the Church Triumphant. With such a proclamation we do a great injustice to our beloved dead. We thus forget to have Mass offered for them, we thus forget to offer our prayers on their behalf, and we thus forget that we need to offer sacrifice for them.

To live in denial of Purgatory is to do a grave injustice to the souls of the deceased. Scripture itself instructs us that nothing which is unclean will enter into Heaven. Be this true then all of us would be in trouble. Who here among us is without sin, please raise your hand. Who here judges not their neighbor? Who here lusts not in their heart for another? Who here doesn’t stretch the truth? Who here is perfectly content with God and doesn’t have longings that they sometimes place before Him? Yes, nothing which is unclean will enter Heaven and thus none of us would be numbered among the Church in Heaven if Purgatory were not true. We are not the second coming of the Immaculate Conception, but rather very much so in need of the mercy of God.

Let us not continue to deny or forget about the Church Suffering, the Church which is now in Purgatory. Let us heed the instruction found within the 2 Maccabees and thus offer prayer and sacrifice for their behalf. Truly souls are in need of our assistance. Let us forget or deny this task.

Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon them.

May the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

All Saint’s Day Homily

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints.

This day is very important for us for on it we call to mind each and every saint who has now gone before us into their Heavenly glory and thus now pray for us and for the whole world.

The saints inspire our mind to greater things then this worldly life can offer because they elevate our mind towards Heaven and thus towards an encounter with God.

It would be a grave error for us to live out our life as if there exists a disconnect between them and us. There is not a disconnect with the saints, but rather they point us towards Heaven and thus towards holiness of life. We must realize that sanctity is something which is possible for each of us and thus strive to achieve the reality towards which they now profess, Heaven.

From the 2nd Vatican document, Lumen Gentium, we hear: “All the faithful of Christ of whatever rank or status, are called to the fullness of the Christian life and to the perfection of charity; They must follow in His footsteps and conform themselves to His image seeking the will of the Father in all things. They must devote themselves with all their being to the glory of God and the service of their neighbor.”

Keeping this in mind we must realize that we are called to be like the saints and thus to pursue holiness in our everyday life. Holiness is not something which is vague, but something which is finite. The thought of holiness and thus sanctity may be terrifying for the mind to grasp, but we must realize that it is achievable. 

We cannot get caught up in the fear that my past sins are too great to be forgiven. We cannot get caught up in the excuse that I am not holy now, so there is no hope for me. We cannot get caught up in the lie that God likes me for who I am and thus sin is a relative matter. We cannot forget that the path towards holiness is a process through which we undergo and thus it cannot be achieved over night.

Truly the saints of Heaven have now gone before us and they show us that Heaven is a possibility. May we allow all the saints of Heaven to intercede on our behalf that we may strive for holiness in our everyday life for truly we desire in time to be numbered among the many saints of Heaven.