Sunday, August 26, 2018

21st Sunday of OT Year B Homily

This Sunday we are brought to the conclusion of the sixth chapter of Saint John’s Gospel which we have spent about a month with. Here those present were brought to a crossroad where they had to accept Christ or abandon Him. We are told that there were those who “returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him” and those who were “convinced that (He is) the Holy One of God.”

Our life is filled with this same crossroad. We are constantly being given the invitation to choose Christ or to deny Him. Thankfully we are fed by the Most Holy Eucharist which binds us together as believers and strengthens us in the midst of temptation. If we allow the Eucharist to be the central point of our life then we will never abandon Christ, but will always remain “convinced that (He is) the Holy One of God.”

We must each answer if we truly want to follow after Him or do we want to leave in order to pursue the ways of the world. It is easy to want to leave in order to become a slave to our passions. It is easy to want to leave because we don’t believe ourself to be holy enough to be a disciple of the Lord. It is easy to want to leave because we are scandalized and have grown frustrated. It is easy to want to leave because our life is difficult.

No matter the temptation, the hardship, the cross, or the scandal that might give rise we must stand with Saint Peter in the confidence of faith and come to profess: “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.” If we are to make such a statement of faith we must foster devotion to the Eucharist. There is nothing more comforting then walking into an empty church and realizing in the midst of its silence the presence of Christ who dwells there. What a peaceful place to retreat from the busyness and noise of the world to enter into prayer in order that our heart and mind may be raised upwards towards the divine presence of God.

Throughout the month of September our parish’s perpetual adoration committee will highlight the importance of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. Devotion to the Blessed Sacrament is something that all of us must consider for devotion to the Blessed Sacrament is devotion to Christ. Christ saw the multitude in the complexity of their needs and He fed them. Christ sees us in the complexity of our needs and He feeds us. We are fed by the Most Holy Eucharist and thus we are sent forth strengthened to face the many twists and turns that our life may take.

Let humbly present ourself at the Altar God to receive our Blessed Lord. Let us not take this great gift for granted, but rather make use of the sacrament of confession to prepare our soul for such a wondrous encounter. Throughout our life we will encounter many crossroads which will attempt to pull us one way or the other. Through the Eucharist we are strengthened to take the right path which leads us towards an encounter with Christ. Let us fear not in placing Christ ,present with us in the Eucharist, front and center, so that He may always be our guide as we come upon life’s many crossroads.

Sunday, August 19, 2018

20th Sunday in OT Year B Homily

The four marks of the Church are “one, holy, catholic, and apostolic.” What does it mean to call the Church holy? To state that the Church is holy does not imply that its members including its deacons, its priests, its bishops, and its pope are free from sin. The Catechism states: “All members of the Church, including her ministers, must acknowledge that they are sinners.” When we speak of the Church as being holy we must remember the words of Christ given to Peter: “Upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.” To state that the Church is holy is to acknowledge the power of the Holy Spirit which comes down upon her and guides her into all truth in order that we may strive for sanctity in our everyday life.

The Catechism again testifies to this truth: “The Church is therefore holy, though having sinners in her midst, because she herself has no other life but the life of grace. If they live her life, her members are sanctified; if they move away from her life, they fall into sins and disorders that prevent the radiation of her sanctity.”

This takes me to Saint Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians where he stated that “the days are evil.” Unfortunately I don’t think that we have to work too hard in order to imagine how “the days are evil.” In this world so many injustices are allowed to exist and it seems that we have completely lost our moral compass. Truly “the days are evil,” but with the Lord there is always hope.

This takes me to the reason that I felt compelled to give this homily for I believe that this same issue may be on many of your minds. This issue at hand in the abuse of power as seen by some priests and bishops. Through their sinfulness we see an issue which all of us have the right to be angry at. I cannot give an answer to how we move forward except through transparency and prayer. In your pew you will find a pastoral letter written by our bishop on this matter at hand. I believe that he does a beautiful job at outlining the many ways in which the Church in America as well as this diocese has taken steps to ensure the safety of our youth and vulnerable adults.

Despite the evil of our days or scandals of our time we must see the necessity for Christ and His Church. Truly the Church is holy and yet she is made up of those who are sinful. There is no excuse for these travesties which were allowed to exist in Pennsylvania or elsewhere. Thus let us set our sight upon Christ who is present with us in the Eucharist. Through true devotion to Him may we bring about healing in the midst of sorrow, be brought to faith when it is tested, and find strength for ourself when we are tempted.

In our Gospel Christ states: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.” This is the beauty of the Church for it is the Eucharist which must become central in our life. Without the Eucharist there is no reason to believe and stick around, but through the Eucharist our every need is filled. Let us pray for all victims that healing may be brought to them and let us fast and pray in reparation of these evils that they may truly pass away and the light of Christ may begin to shine brightly for the world to see.

Wednesday, August 15, 2018

Assumption Homily

On November 1, 1950 Pope Pius XII infallibly declared: “that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory.” It was not 1950, some 68 years ago, that the Church came to profess this reality. Rather, this is something which the Church has always professed from the time of the apostles moving forward into the present age.

Some claim that Assumption of Mary into Heaven contradicts Sacred Scripture, but this is not the case. Sacred Scripture may not mention Mary being taken into Heaven, but it does account for Enoch and Elijah who were taken up. If this is true of them, then what makes it so hard to believe that the same can be said of Mary? After all we must remember that the Assumption is not the Ascension. We cannot confuse these two with one another. It was Christ who ascended to Heaven, how, but by His own infinite power. In the case of Mary or Enoch or Elijah we can say that they were assumed, how, but by God’s infinite power, not their own power.

Mary, on the other hand, is set apart from Enoch and Elijah. She is set apart from all the prophets and saints for scripture says of her through the lips of an angel: “Hail, full of grace.” Grace is such an important word and yet in the modern world this word seems to be so hard for us to grasp. I have even been told that you should never mention the word grace in a homily because nobody will know what you are talking about. Well that statement is absurd because we must come to understand the importance that grace plays in our life.

So what is grace? From the Catechism: “grace is favor, the free and undeserved help that God gives us to respond to his call to become children of God, adoptive sons, partakers of the divine nature and of eternal life.” In the words of Pope Benedict XVI: “grace is a relational term: it does not predicate something about an I, but something about a connection between I and Thou, between God and man.” Therefore to receive grace is to be found in relationship with God. In the case of Mary she was found to be “full of grace” which shows that she had perfectly come to open herself up to the reception of God’s grace. This relationship was not tarnished by the stain sin, but rather she lived as a perfect receiver of the gift of God’s grace. No wonder then that it is so fitting that she is taken body and soul before us into Heavenly glory.

As we come to celebrate this Solemnity of our Blessed Mother may we come to invoke her intercession that we too may strive to be open to receiving the outpouring of God’s grace. If we are to receive such an outpouring we must frequent the Sacraments which means that we are in need of the Sacrament of Confession which leads us to Christ who is present with us in the Most Holy Eucharist and assists in being receptive of God’s grace. Today we celebrate the fact that Mary was taken up body and soul into Heaven. May we foster true devotion to her in order that we too may persevere to the end and one day come to join with her in Heaven. If this is to be true then we are in need of God’s grace for without it we cannot get to Heaven. We can nothing apart from God and His grace. May we now dare to go where she has gone before and thus strive for the Kingdom of Heaven above all things.

Sunday, August 12, 2018

19th Sunday of OT Year B Homily

Elijah is found on a pilgrimage towards the mountain of God known as Horeb. We are instructed that the period of time for his pilgrimage lasted a total of forty days and forty nights. This mountain is symbolic of Heaven and this period of forty days and forty nights is symbolic of one’s journey through life. It was understood that this journey would be most difficult for Elijah and therefore he was instructed to get up and eat in order that he may be strengthened for this journey that he had to undergo.

I hope that each of us realize that we too share in this same journey. That we too are given a period of forty days and forty nights to accomplish this journey for this number is symbolic of the totality of our life. Be our life short or long it doesn’t matter because we find ourself on this same path. Our goal should be the same because our goal should be this mountain known as Heaven. For here we will be joined with all the angels and saints for all time in our adoration of the Triune God.

Just as Elijah’s journey was tough, so too is our journey through life. If Elijah did not receive sustenance from the angel he never would of accomplished his goal. His life would have come and gone and yet he would of never reached this mountain of God known as Horeb. When it comes to our ultimate end some never consider that Hell is indeed a possibility. We cannot presume our salvation, but rather we should invoke our Lord who is merciful.

It is for this reason that we should frequent the sacraments such as confession because through this sacrament we encounter the mercy of God. We are not trying to earn our salvation by what we do, but rather we are participating in the life of faith that is required of us from the very moment of our baptism. In this participation we also participate with God in our acceptance of His mercy which is constantly being poured out upon each of us.

Just as Elijah needed food for his journey we too are in need of such sustenance and thus we are  fed by the Most Holy Eucharist. The Eucharist must become our food for our journey towards eternal life. As Christ came to exclaim in our Gospel: “I am the living bread that came down from Heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” Viaticum is the Latin word used for receiving communion prior to one’s death. This means “food for the journey.”

The Eucharist must become the food for our journey throughout life. Some see the feeding of the multitude and only see it as the physical feeding of hunger, but in all reality our Blessed Lord was also concerned with feeding them spiritually. Through the worthy reception of Holy Communion we are being fed spiritually. Let us not be led to the death of our soul, but rather towards Heaven. Let us thus foster proper Eucharistic devotion and take not for granted the gift which is Christ present with us in the Most Holy Eucharist.

Sunday, August 5, 2018

18th Sunday of OT Year B Homily

V: You have given them Bread from Heaven.
R: Having all sweetness within it.

This is the exchange of words made between the minister and the people during Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. These words are reflective of what was heard in Exodus concerning the manna, the miracle of the feeding of the multitude, and the Last Supper when Christ institutes the Eucharist.

To put this into perspective there were people who grumbled because they were hungry and perceived life to be a lot easier under the slavery of Pharaoh. God heard their grumbles and poured out bread from Heaven upon them so they would have their fill. The people collected this bread for it would only last one day except in the case of the Sabbath in which enough bread would be collected to last for two days.

Some claim that the Eucharist is simply bread and wine which is symbolic of Jesus’ Body and Blood. This is not the Church’s understanding concerning the Eucharist. What takes place here through the words of consecration is the taking of bread and wine and having it become the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ our Lord. 

This manna was often referred to as being the “bread of angels” as is referenced in Psalm 78:25. If the Eucharist is symbolic then what we have through Christ would be lesser then this bread which was found in the desert. As Christ reminds in our Gospel: “Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life.” Those who claim the Eucharist to be symbolic fail to see the importance that this manna played in the life of the Jewish people and how this claim lowers Christ’s gift to us to be lesser then this Heavenly bread.

Some of this manna was collected into a golden pot and was placed within the Ark of the Covenant along with the commandments and the rod of Aaron. To be in the presence of the Ark of the Covenant was to be in the presence of God. God continues to dwell here as He dwelt among the Israelites. He dwells with us in the dwelling place known as the Tabernacle in the Eucharist which is the fulfillment of all that has taken place. To be in the presence of Christ in the Eucharist is not a symbolic statement, but instead is a reality for Jesus is truly present with us here.

Let us not grumble like the Israelites who were in the desert, but instead let us become thankful of the Eucharist. If the Israelites held this Heavenly bread in such high esteem then we should do the same with the Eucharist. This is why Eucharistic devotion is so important in the life of the faithful. Therefore pray before the Blessed Sacrament be it in our Blessed Sacrament Chapel or here in the silence of the Church. Throughout the course of your day let your mind be taken here to dwell with our Lord. Let us be placed before Him for this is the Bread that has been given to us by Heaven and it has all sweetness found within it.