Transferred Feast of Sacred Heart Homily

Today we observe the transferred Feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. 

From the autobiography of Saint Margret Mary we are told: “Behold this Heart which so loved men that it held nothing back, exhausting itself, consuming itself in order to show them its love. And in exchange, I receive from the many only ingratitude, through their irreverence and sacrilege, through their coldness and the contempt they have for me in this Sacrament of love.”

Saint Peter Julian Eymard further sums up our lack of love towards our Blessed Lord: “In the Blessed Sacrament, he could not be more loving! He is not even known, not even by a great many of those who are his own. He has some good apostolic servants, a few pious adorers in his service. But how few spouses he has! How few friends even! Who visit him out of affection! Who converse from the heart, who are devoted purely to him!”

The Second Vatican Council states that “the Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life.” From the Eucharist we see the love that Christ pours out for His bride who is the Church. To think of the many parish churches throughout the world which contain the great gift which is the Eucharist. That in each of these tabernacles dwells Christ who is present with us Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. Despite this reality how many rush in and rush out of Mass without preparation? How many want nothing to do with the Sacrament of Confession? How many fail to keep the church a place of prayer because they have lost sight of Christ who dwells with us here?

Of all the parishes gathered throughout the world there is a lot of traffic. There are so many cars and people that rush past this place each day. Only if they knew the great love which is contained within these walls. Each person rushing past this place has so many longings; all of which can be fulfilled here in the church in the presence of the Most Holy Eucharist. 

As we come to celebrate this Feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus we must come to understand His immense love for each of us. His Heart beats with great love for each of us; we only have to look to the cross if we want to see this reality displayed to us in greater detail. Despite this immense outpouring of love so many, including us, want nothing to do with this love. We favor sin, we are in a rush, we are indifferent to the great gifts which God has poured out for each of us.

Upon the image of the Sacred Heart we notice the thorns which wrap the heart of Christ. These thorns are this sinfulness and ingratitude. Nevertheless, we must remember that our Lord is merciful with each of us. The mercy of the Lord endures forever.

Let us thus turn our heart towards that of our Blessed Lord. May we allow Him to wrap us in His mercy. May we spread the message of the mercy to all those whom we encounter in order that they may realize the merciful heart of Christ. Let homes become beacons of this love through our enthronement of them to the Sacred Heart.

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.

13th Sunday of OT Year C Homily

If we are to set our hands upon a plow it would be a mistake for us to look back. It is necessary to look forward because in doing so we look ahead and are able to make sure that the line which is made remains straight.

Saint John the Baptist is the precursor to Christ. He is famous in saying: “Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight his path.” Hopefully, we too desire to make straight the way for the Lord’s coming. If we are to make straight the way for the Lord we need to orient our sight towards our final destination which is Heaven.

So many have entered into the life giving waters of Baptism and later fail to cooperate with God’s grace. To be baptized is not a one and done, but is instead a life long journey. To be baptized does not mean that our life will be found without hardship, but to be baptized does mean that we have been claimed by Christ Jesus. If we have been claimed by Christ Jesus in the waters of baptism why would we want to glance back at our former ways of life?

The devil makes this state of life look so glamorious that souls are pulled away from this relationship with God. In the Garden of Eden we are told that everything was found to be good and yet Adam and Eve ushered in an era of sin and death through the Fall. Here Adam and Eve took that which was created to be good and twisted it in order that it could no longer meet its God given purpose. Likewise, the devil is unable to create anything which is new. Rather, he twists that which is created as good in order that it may no longer reach its God given purpose.

No matter what we are led to believe by popular opinion we must realize that the truth is found through Christ and through the teaching authority of the Church. If we study and follow the teaching of the church we will not become slaves, but rather be set free to live as God has attended for us to live.

The Israelites were set free from their slavery in Egypt and yet they looked back and began to grumble against God. They claimed that they were hungry, thirsty, and tired and thus it were better for them when they were slaves in Egypt. From this encounter God poured down bread from Heaven in order that they may have their fill and continue their journey towards the Promised Land.

Thus too here at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass God pours down bread from Heaven in the form of the Eucharist which is far greater then the gift the Israelites received in the desert. If we are to move forward towards Heaven we are in need of God’s grace. If we allow ourself to participate in this great gift we will never look back despite the greatest of temptations or hardships. Rather, we will continue to look forward and run the race towards the Kingdom of Heaven.

Corpus Christi Year C Homily

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Corpus Christi which is the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ.

In the 700s a priest was celebrating Mass in Lanciano, Italy. This priest held doubts in his heart concerning the reality of transubstatiation which is to state that the bread and wine becomes the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ our Lord. As this priest said the words of consecration change took place in the bread and wine to it physically becoming flesh and blood. To this day many pilgrims come to Lanciano to behold this Eucharistic miracle.

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI stated: “The way people often simply receive the Holy Sacrament in communion as a matter of course shows that many see communion as a purely ceremonial gesture.”

It was accounted to me that a group of high school youth once had the opportunity to attend the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. Here the only option of reception of Holy Communion is kneeling and on the tongue. Following the Mass they exclaimed that they did not like it because it was as if we were treating the host as being God because people knelt in its presence and received it with such reverence.

From my perspective it would seem that Benedict XVI’s words ring true and maybe we don’t allow ourself to comprehend that we are not receiving a mere symbol in communion, but rather the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ our Lord. And so what do I often see: I see those who come at me with the pinchers of a crab trying to pinch our Lord out of my hand, I see those who make a trap door with their hands (hopefully in return our Lord does not fall to the ground), I see those who reach out with one hand as if something else is as important, I see those who attempt to take the host themself as if they were a priest concelebrating the Mass, I see those who come forward chomping on gum, and I see those who walk away with our Blessed Lord without ever putting the host in their mouth.

How do we go from having such reverence for the Eucharist to where we find ourself in this modern age? We need to rediscover reverence for the Eucharist because the reception of our Lord in Holy Communion is not a purely ceremonial gesture. Cardinal Sarah stated: “The most insidious diabolical attack consists in trying to extinguish faith in the Eucharist, sowing errors and favouring an unsuitable manner of receiving it.”

In the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite the norm for reception of Holy Communion remains on the tongue. Certain areas such as this one has received an indult allowing the reception of communion on the hand. If one must receive on the hand please make sure that you use both hands, your dominant hand goes below the other. Then when the host is placed in your hand take it and quickly place it in your mouth. Keep mind that every fragment of the host contains the totatality of our Lord.

Let us have an increase in our Eucharistic devotion. Hopefully, if we can become convinced that what we receive is the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ our Lord we will treat what we receive accordingly and allow what we receive to transform our life. 

Let us worthily come to the Altar of God and let us worthily receive Him in the Most Holy Eucharist. Surely, if we understand this to be God made Flesh we would not receive Him without first going to confession if we reflect that we are in the state of mortal sin. From this worthy encounter with Him may we desire to take what we receive into the world and live it as today we receive this reminder through our Eucharistic Procession. Here we will take our Lord outside the doors of this Church into the world. Let us come to foster true devotion to the Eucharist for what we behold here is God made Flesh.

OLOF Men’s Evening of Recollection Sermon V: Sacred Heart of Jesus

We now find ourself a little over halfway through the month of June. The month of June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In the words of St. Josemaria Escriva: “enter through our Lord's open side until you find sure refuge there in his wounded Heart.”

Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus found its populazation through St. Margret Mary Alacoque. She received various apparitions from our Blessed Lord stretching from 1673 until 1675. Here our Lord expressed His desire that we remember His Most Sacred Heart. That we offer our prayers and penances for those who could care less for what our Lord has done for us.

Devotion to the Sacred Heart is very much so about love. Our Blessed Lord loves us dearly, we can see that expressed to us upon the cross, but how much do we actually love Him? In the words of St. Josemaria Escriva: “God our Father has seen fit to grant us, in the heart of his Son, “infinite treasures of love,” mercy and affection.” 

In the words of Christ to St. Margret Mary Alacoque: “Behold this Heart which has so loved men that it has spared nothing, even to exhausting and consuming itself, in order to testify its love. In return, I receive from the greater part only ingratitude, by their irreverence and sacrileges, and by the coldness and contempt they have for me in this sacrament of love…. I come into the heart I have given you in order that through your fervor you may atone for the offenses which I have received from lukewarm and slothful hearts that dishonor me in the Blessed Sacrament.”

Truly, we must begin to see this invitation to love our Lord. When we have the opportunity to look upon the Eucharist we have the opportunity to look upon Christ. For so many much is placed over this reality, but for us we must flock to this infinite font of love.

This day as we pray before the Blessed Sacrament may we come to find “refuge there in his wounded heart.” Through His wounded heart we discover “infinite treasures of love, mercy, and affection.” Hopefully, through devotion placed upon the Sacred Heart of Jesus we may grow in the virtue of love. Love for God and love for one another.

The more we abandon the heart of Jesus the more we fail to grow in this virtue of love. If we are to love we must grow close to Christ for from this relationship we have more to give to others. Through the offering up of our penances and prayers may we grow in this virtue by coming to abandon all at the heart of Christ. 

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us

Pentecost Homily

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Pentecost which brings about the conclusion of the season of Easter. Pentecost means the “fiftieth day” for it falls on the fiftieth day since our celebration of the Resurrection. This celebration of Pentecost is also a Jewish feast for on this day they celebrate the giving of the Law to Moses on Mount Sinai.

In our account taken from the Acts of the Apostles we are instructed that “there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them.” Before we get to this handing on of the Holy Spirit we were told that “suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were.”

Throughout the Old Testament the presence of God is marked by powerful forces such as this be it an earthquake, burning bush, or something else which denotes the Divine Presence. The strong driving wind is the Divine Presence of God. This strong driving wind becomes the very source of these tongues of fire which come down upon the apostles. From this exchange we can say that the apostles become one through their encounter with the Holy Spirit for what they encounter is the oneness of this strong driving wind.

If we go back to the Transfiguration of our Lord we will remember Saint Peter. Here he was caught up in this glimpse into the Heavenly reality of Christ and exclaimed: “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” The issue with this response is that Saint Peter wanted this encounter to continue and did not want to go back down the mountain back into the world which was in need of the Gospel message.

I bring this account up for our encounter with God especially through the handing on of the Holy Spirit stirs us up and sends us forth into the world to live and proclaim our faith. There has been a lot of talk within the Church about the new evangelization throughout the years. The new evangelization really isn’t anything new, but instead is to bring us back to what was found alive within the confines of the early church.

We as the Pilgrim Church of Earth must realize the necessity of being stirred up by the promptings of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is never shown to us throughout the course of scripture as being a stagnant entity. Yet, so many, in their practice of faith have grown stagnant and have closed themself off from the promptings of the Holy Spirit. On this Pentecost Sunday it is my fervent hope that each of us will never impede upon the Holy Spirit, but instead will allow the Holy Spirit to animate you in your practice of faith.

In this manner we will be sent forth from here as the apostles were sent forth to proclaim the faith and to lead others in discover the truths of the Gospel. This must be a fervent community of faith which draws other souls into a encounter with the Lord, the Sacraments, and the beauty of the Gospel message. May we who receive our Blessed Lord ,in the state of grace this day, be sent forth from here under the influence of the Holy Spirit to make the New Evangelization manifest in the world in which we exist.