Trinity Sunday Year B Homily

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

As we come to celebrate the Most Holy Trinity may we remember that through the Trinity we celebrate community itself. Through the Trinity we profess the oneness of God as is expressed in Three Divine Persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The beauty of the Trinity is the foundation of love itself for God is love and love is seen through the relation of each Person to one another.

What we encounter through the Trinity is a perfect outpouring of love. This love is not pointed inward towards an individual nor is it simply shared between two individuals who are stuck in infatuation with one another. Rather the love of the Trinity is given freely and there is nothing which is asked in return. From the love that God the Father has for God the Son another proceeds forth. This is not to say that there was a time when the Holy Spirit was not for the Holy Spirit, with God the Son, and God the Father have always been. There was not a moment when there was not the Most Holy Trinity.

Through the Trinity we see the importance of community and the importance of true love which is given freely and asks for nothing in return. We must come to desire to emulate this love which is found within the Persons of the Most Holy Trinity. Unfortunately, we so often allow ourself to fall away from this glimpse of love which is displayed to us by these three Divine Persons. In this manner love becomes abused and twisted to the point of perversion. 

We cannot turn inwardly upon ourself and become infatuated with one another at the exclusion of others for this is not love. To the young couple who wants to enter into marriage I will often ask why do you want to enter into marriage. To this they will usually respond because we love one another, but to this I ask what is love. From the words of Christ found in John 15:13 “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

Love is something which must be worked at if it is to be preserved. The cross of Christ did come easily, but from His total surrender of self sprung forth an abundant font of love from His pierced side. It is easy to get caught up in self and live a life where we expect everyone to give us attention and to give us what we want. This attitude cannot prevail because this is not love. Two cannot join together in the bonds of matrimony and place a barrier in the way of their love. Love is mutual and overflowing and thus love by its very nature becomes creative and thus another is begotten. If couples want marriage to come easily it is no wonder why it might fail. If love is to become true love then it must be worked at. It can only be worked at if one strives each day to emulate that love which is found within the Trinity.

Truly my dearest brethren may we come to emulate this love which is discovered within the Most Holy Trinity. If we want to be assured of God’s love we will discover it here. If we want to grow in our ability to love and give of ourself we will discover it here. From God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit we come to discover the true meaning of love itself.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Pentecost Year B Homily

At the heart of Pentecost is an encounter with the Holy Spirit, but we cannot forget about the apostles who made themselves present to receiving such a gift. It is important for us to join with them in placing emphasis upon the Holy Spirt in our own life and thus being made open to receiving such a wondrous gift.

Instead we often place emphasis upon ourself and our own talents instead of acknowledging our dependance upon God. Some have even lost sight of the importance of the Sacrament of Confirmation because they believe it to be an adult acceptance of the faith. Confirmation has nothing to do with making an adult acceptance of the faith, but it does place God central in our life as do all the sacraments.

Through Confirmation God is central for He sends forth grace upon the receiver. This grace is to receive the fruits and gifts of the Holy Spirit. Thus inviting the Holy Spirit to enter into our life and to be placed at work within us. Nevertheless, we so often do not make ourself present to being receptive to such a gift. The apostles did not just walk into Pentecost and receive this gift, but rather they prepared themselves to receive such a gift. From the point of our Lord’s Ascension ten days ago they entered into prayer in order that they would be found open to such a gift.

We must take their example upon ourself for the gift of the Holy Spirit is most important, but we so often get distracted from the promptings of the Spirit. As our readings attest the Holy Spirt leads us towards an encounter with truth and unity. If we remain open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit we will be led towards an encounter with truth and will be preserved in the unity of our faith.

As the apostles entered into Pentecost through the use of prayer, so should we. Before we set down to study scripture or the faith we should invoke the Holy Spirit in order that we may be enlightened. In the Book of Acts we were instructed that the Holy Spirit came down upon the apostles as “a strong driving wind” and so we cannot act as if our faith is a sluggish action. Rather, this “strong driving wind” shows that the faith is active and alive. Therefore, we must open our heart to hearing the many promptings of the Holy Spirt and respond to such promptings. If we are entrenched in sin we must seek out the Sacrament of Confession in order that we may better be able to hear and respond to the Holy Spirit.

Let us remember that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are wisdom, knowledge, understanding, counsel, fortitude, piety, and fear of the Lord. According to Saint Thomas Aquinas these gifts perfect our intellect and will so that we can know God more clearly and love Him more ardently. On this Pentecost Sunday may we allow the Holy Spirit to always remain central in our life and may we always allow ourself to be found receptive to receiving such a gift.

Ascension Year B Homily

Today we celebrate the Ascension of our Lord into Heaven.

To understand the importance of this day we must understand the importance of the Incarnation. As we say in the Nicene Creed: “He came down from heaven, and by the power of the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man.” This means that from the very beginning Christ as second Person of the Most Holy Trinity existed, but despite this existence had yet to take on our human flesh. The Incarnation is most important because through it God becomes man.

Therefore, we can conclude that prior to the Ascension God as man had yet to dwell in Heaven. Let us remember that at the point of the crucifixion He was not yet taken up to Heaven, but rather in the words of the Apostle’s Creed, He “descended into hell.” This is not the hell of the damned, but the place where the dead went because they could not yet enter into Heaven because our Lord’s Sacrifice had yet come to its competition.

The Ascension is an important moment in our faith because it was not the second death of our Lord. Instead He was taken up not only in His Divinity, but also in His humanity. He was taken up body and soul into Heavenly glory. As often depicted in art concerning this mystery of our faith we see the apostles looking upward at a pair of feet as our Lord in lifted Body and Soul into Heaven.

In the words of Saint Leo the Great: “Today we are not only made possessors of Paradise but with Christ we have ascended, mystically but also really, to the highest Heavens and have won through Christ a grace more wonderful than the one we had lost.”

We must join with the apostles in looking upward. We must realize that this celebration serves as a foreshadowing of what awaits us in the life to come. Unfortunately, so many lose sight of where we are headed. Where our Lord has now gone we should hope to follow. To celebrate the Ascension is to say that I desire above all things to get to Heaven and thus will open my life up to God and His grace.

Instead of looking upward we are found looking down. We see the trials and fears which come with this life and we allow them to overcome us. We caught up in life’s passions and become enslaved to them through our lack of setting our sight upon what is truly important. Dearest brethren we must now look up and realize we are not living a fantasy, but rather that our Blessed Lord has now gone before us into Heaven.

Let us realize that through doing so we receive the invitation to one day join with Him in this Heavenly Kingdom. Do we truly desire to elevate our sight to such a task or have we grown content at glancing downward at this earth below?

5th Sunday After Easter Homily (Extraordinary Form)

In our Epistle Saint James reminds us that we must not only hear the word, but we must also be doers of the word. Therefore we can conclude that it is not enough to carry around a checkoff list and go through the proper outward motions of faith. Rather, we must allow what our faith teaches us to be integrated into both our outward and inward motions.

Some come to Mass each Sunday and Holy Day of Obligation. They have fulfilled their obligation to assist at Mass. Here they have come to be nourished at our Lord’s altar by Christ’s Body and Blood. Despite this great gift that has been extended unto them they go back into the world as if unchanged. They do not allow their hearts to become open to grace and the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

Again it is not enough to only hear the word, but we must also become doers of the word. The promptings of the Holy Spirit send us into the world to live out our faith. From the nourishment that we receive from the Eucharist we are sent into the world to live out the beatitudes. Some reflect that they know of nothing that they need to confess in the Sacrament of Confession. Maybe they should reflect upon their sins of omission and thus the ways in which they have failed to live out the beatitudes.

Very soon our Lord will ascend to His Father in Heaven. The apostles will then go onto gather in prayer and the Holy Spirit will descend upon them. From this gift they take what they heard from the lips of Christ and begin to become doers of the word. The apostles extend this same invitation to us to follow after them and to become true heralds of the Gospel. Not only in word, but also in deed.

So many fear this invitation for they worry that they have not the strength to become a herald of the Gospel. We must remember that not only did the Holy Spirt descend down upon the apostles, but the Holy Spirit came down upon us when we received the Sacrament of Confirmation. Through the reception of this sacrament we were infused with grace and received the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit.

These gifts and fruits assist us in living out our Catholic faith in the midst of a hostile world. From these gifts and fruits we are given strength to become faithful heralds of the Gospel. From these gifts and fruits we are given the courage to stand against sin and to remain close to Christ. Let us not just look holy, but let us become holy. In this manner we will not only hear the word, but we will also become doers of the word.

6th Sunday of Easter Year B Homily

As the school year quickly comes to its conclusion we set this Sunday aside in order to celebrate our parish school and thus the fruits which spring forth from a Catholic education. 

This parish community is made up of many different ministries. There is no way that a single person can be involved in every single ministry. Nevertheless, we are called to be invested in the totality of our parish life. We should pray for the good of the parish which includes everything which is taking place throughout the many ministries which make up our parish.

One of the important fruits of our parish is that of our parish school. Out of those here today there are current students of our school, there are teachers of our school, there are those who are alumni of our school, and there are those who have felt the benefit of a Catholic education in their life. Even those who have no affiliation with our parish school benefit from its presence.

The statistics show that those who attend Catholic school are more likely to practice their faith in their adulthood versus those who do not attend one. Catholic education provides children with the attendance of Mass, participation in the Sacrament of Confession, as well as prayer, and being in an environment which is conducive to learning and growing in virtue. I have heard it said of those who attend our school that our children are truly prepared for not only for high school, but also living out their Catholic faith.

In our Gospel Christ gives us the commandment to love one another. If we are to love one another then we must come to know Christ. Our parish school helps our children to come and to know Christ. From this relationship they are prepared to follow this commandment. May all of us come to know Christ in order that we may share this love with all those whom we encounter.

We must remember that the first school is that of the home. In the home it is up to parents to teach their children about Christ and thus how to fall in love with Him. From this relationship they are also preparing their children to love one another. No matter if the child is sent to our school, another school, or are homeschooled this relationship must become a reality.

To parents in our midst we invite you to enroll your children in our parish school. To all those who are present we invite you to spread the good news of our parish school to your family and friends. Sometimes people from outside this parish community do not realize that our school is a possibility for their children. We can change this misunderstanding through our heartfelt invitation to them. To all may we get involved in the ministry that is our parish school even if all that we can do is offer our prayers. We are very much so in need of prayer.

Let us celebrate Catholic schools this day and do what we can in order to support the wellbeing of our parish school that we may continue to form children to love and serve the Lord.