22nd Sunday of OT Year C Homily

Jesus leaves us with wisdom concerning the importance of humility, “The last will be first.” Concerning humility Saint Augustine states, “Humility is the foundation of all the other virtues hence, in the soul in which this virtue does not exist, there cannot be any other virtue except in mere appearance.” As Saint Bernard of Clairvaux stresses, “The three most important virtues are: humility, humility, and humility.”

Humility is an important virtue which counteracts the vice of pride. So often humility goes misunderstood to the point that one begins to think that through humility we are being asked to look down upon ourself. Humility does not require us to look down upon self, but to be realistic with our presentation of self.

To be found humble of heart is to fully accept who we are as one who is created in the image and likeness of God the Father. The humble of heart realize their strengths and are willing to use them for the benefit of others. The humble of heart accept their limitations and realize their dependence upon others. The humble of heart are not threatened by the accomplishments of others and thus are willing to embrace them. The humble of heart acknowledge their own sinfulness and prevail themself to the infinite mercy of God.

Taking the last place of honor at a table does not call us towards thinking ill of self. Taking this last place of honor does cause us to realize that others exist and that we should be preoccupied with taking care of their needs. Through pride we elevate ourself while casting all those who are around us downward. We are called to walk humbly with God which means that we are called to follow where He has gone before and all that He has handed down to us.

It is through our giving and receiving that we act humbly. It is through these gestures that we allow ourself to enter into the very life of the Most Holy Trinity. Within the Trinity we see this profound expression of love where each person of the Trinity pours themself out to another while asking for nothing in return. The Trinity is an expression of God’s love which grounds us in humility as we enter into this mystery and move outward from it in order to live it.

Humility was found at the cross when Jesus laid down His life for us. Humility is found in the Most Holy Eucharist for God continues to dwell among us here in order that we may commune with Him. We are each invited to this wedding banquet which is taking place now. Let us come to fully embrace our nothingness and weakness as something which perfects our humility. 

How are we called to grow in humility this day by letting go of self and uplifting those who are around us? As Sirach states, “Humble yourself the more, the greater you are, and you will find favor with God.” Let us desire to achieve this favor with God through our faithful practice of humility in our daily life.

11th Sunday After Pentecost Homily

Jesus brings hearing unto this man’s ears and speech unto this man’s lips. Prior to this account this man would be cut off from the community because of his lack of ability to hear and speak. It is only through the Lord’s compassion that He says, “Be opened.” It was upon this action that this man was made whole and sent forth from Him to live a life of faith that was rooted in Christ and thus a life which has turned away from sin.

From the Book of Psalms we hear, “They have ears, and hear not; they have a mouth, and speak not.” This is made in reference to sinners who have closed themselves off from God and His mercy. The way of the sinner is a fatal path which leads us away from God and closes us off to the gift of His grace. Instead of turning our senses away from God we must use them to give glory to God in thought, word, and deed.

As we are told in the Gospel of Luke, “He that hears you, hears Me; and he that despises you, despises Me.” It is through sin that we rebel against God. Rather, we must attune our ears in order that they may hear. It is for this reason that prayer is pivotal for us. Prayer holds in communion with God in order that we may know Him. Through prayer we are consoled in the midst of sorrow, through prayer we are given strength in the midst of temptation, and through prayer we come to know God.

In our Gospel the Lord took this man away from the crowd. This gesture removed him from the distractions of everyday life. So too we must learn to go off by ourself in order to pray. The world is filled with so many distractions which keep us from God and keep us from placing our trust in Him. At times there may seem to be so much which comes against us which attempts to pull us away from God. Instead of giving into these distractions let us turn towards God in a spirit of prayer.

We must also entrust ourself to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. So often the Holy Spirit goes forgotten in our practice of faith. Nevertheless, the Lord “put His fingers into his ears, and spitting, He touched his tongue.” As we are told in the Gospel of Saint Matthew, “If I by the Spirit of God cast out devils, then is the kingdom of God upon you.” It is the Spirit of God which we must allow to enter into our life in order that we may come to be enlightened in all that is true.

Let us never relapse into a former way of life that we may of known before coming to know Christ. He touches us in our misery in order that healing may be brought into our life and that we may be sent forth from here in order to sin no more. Let us be strengthened by the gift of the Holy Spirit and place our trust in God in a spirit of prayer. Make use of the sacrament of confession and be absolved of all of your sins. Truly, allow the Lord to say upon you, “Ephpeta that is, Be thou opened.”

21st Sunday of OT Year C Homily

The population of the world is currently close to 8 billion. That is a lot of people. Beyond that number more impressive are the countless amount of souls which have existed throughout the world’s history. Some estimate that this number is close to 109 billion. That number is huge!

A question posed in our Gospel is, “Will only a few people be saved?” The answer to this is, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate.”

The Book of Revelation states, “I heard the number of those who had been marked with the seal, one hundred and forty-four thousand marked from every tribe of the Israelites.” There are some who take this number literally and say that only 144,000 will be among God’s anointed. With roughly 109 billion living in the world’s history and more being added each day that would be a lot of people who would miss the mark.

Vereable Bede states, this “is a finite number that ought to be understood as infinite.” 144,000 is a perfect number with 12 representing the 12 tribes of Israel. This number is multiplied by itself and the 1,000 is added onto it to add emphasis. This 144,000 then become symbolic of the heavenly Jerusalem. Throughout the course of time there have been a few souls who have been revealed by God to the Church to become saints. That number is close to 10,000. Opposed to 109 billion that is not very many. Despite this a limitation has not been put onto Heaven because each of us are called to be saints. Just because a relative has not been named a saint in the Church does not mean that they are not in Heaven. As Saint Paul writes in his letter to Timothy, “This is good and pleasing to God our savior, who wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth.”

Seeing that we are called to live as saints, to become saints, to join with God in this Heavenly Jerusalem we must be concerned with this “narrow gate.” If we like the answer or not it is the answer that the Lord has given to us on how many will be saved. We must “strive to enter through the narrow gate.” There is no way that we can avoid this “narrow gate.”

Pope Benedict XVI stated of this “narrow gate,” “The passage to eternal life is open to all, but is ‘narrow’ because it is demanding: it requires commitment, self-denial and the mortification of one’s selfishness.” As the Lord mentions in the Gospel of Saint Matthew, “Many are invited, but few are chosen.”

May we dare to enter through this “narrow gate.” Let us come to realize that we are each invited to enter into Heaven, but what will we chose to do with that invitation? What must we sacrifice if we are to enter through this “narrow gate?” How can we better commit our time unto the Lord for us to enter through this “narrow gate? Let us not attempt to enter through another means (this is impossible), but through the narrow gate that the Lord has given to us.

Assumption of Mary Homily

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary into Heaven.

Mary lived the course of her earthly life in faithful service to God. She never desired to be exalted, but to do all things for His greater glory. At the Annunciation she received the great gift of God made Flesh in her womb. She accepted this gift from God with a true spirit of humility.

Throughout the course of her earthly life she remained obedient to God. She constantly allowed God to be the one who would direct her life and thus she was found constantly listening to Him in a spirit of prayer. She was present at the cross and had to watch her Son suffer for the sins of the world. Her life was always a reflection of Him and thus all those who practice devotion to her are drawn closer into union with Him.

She is taken up to Heaven because she has lived her life on this earth in accord with God’s will. She was taken up because the stain of sin was not found on her soul and she never gave into Satan’s grasp. She was the one who stood upon the cursed serpent as the effects that it brought into the world through Adam and Eve were undone.  

This day is truly a celebration for each of us that we may take up devotion to her and to dare to go where she has now gone before. As she humbly came to exclaim in the Magnificat, “All generations shall call me blessed, because he who is mighty has done great things in me.” May our life be a reflection of living for God through Mary. In such a way we will be welcomed into Paradise.

10 Sunday After Pentecost Homily

From the Book of Psalms we are told, “A humble and contrite heart, thou, O God, will not despise.” 

This is exactly what is taking place within the depths of the heart of the publican. He acknowledges his sinfulness and prevails himself to God’s mercy. He was found to be humble of heart.

On the other hand we have the pharisee who is the complete opposite. As the Book of Revelation instructs, “You say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing; not knowing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.” Through the pride of the pharisee he was unable to be truthful with himself thus acknowledging his sinfulness and prevailing himself to God’s mercy. He was found to be be prideful of heart.

It was from the cross that a criminal called out, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” The Lord then responded to him, “This day you will be with me in paradise.” And so from humility this thief came to acknowledge his sinfulness and prevail himself to God’s mercy. Through his humility and God’s mercy he was able to be with Him in paradise. He serves as a perfect example to of the wretchedness of our sin and the power of God’s mercy.

We cannot deny that we are sick with sin. Despite our sinfulness we should acknowledge the fact that we can be made whole and find healing. All that we need to do in order to obtain this reality is to be found humble of heart and to be moved towards a spirit of repentance. The publican showed us the path that we must take in order to obtain it while the pharisee shows us the easy path that we can take in order to reject it.

It is easy to look outward towards those giant glaring example of sinners instead of looking inwardly upon self. Thus not only is the sinner the thief, the murderer, the prostitute, but also each of us. Sacred Scripture does instruct, “Though the just fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble from only one mishap.”

Again we are all in need of God’s healing and forgiveness. Through our practice of humility we acknowledge this sinfulness and are able to rise again with Christ. We must overcome all pride and be found humble of heart in such a profession. There is nothing that we should keep from God’s infinite mercy for His infinite mercy will truly bring healing to our soul. Let us thus join with this publican in his humility and cry out, “God, be merciful to me a sinner!”

20th Sunday of OT Year C Homily

Our Gospel has instructed us, “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!” Likewise the Letter to the Hebrews tells us, “Our God is a consuming fire.” It is the Catechism of the Catholic Church which states, “As fire transforms into itself everything it touches, so the Holy Spirit transforms into the divine life whatever is subjected to his power.”

One of the symbols for the Holy Spirit is fire. At Pentecost the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles as fire. Fire is something that is powerful. It is able to take control to the point that everything it touches is consumed by this fire. It is said that the Holy Spirit is the Fire of Divine Love.

As the prayer to the Holy Spirit states, “Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And you shall renew the face of the earth. Amen.”

This word, kindle, means too “start a fire.” This flame is that of the Holy Spirit and the love that is sent forth upon us. The love of the Spirit is a love which is found to be both unconditional and generous beyond measure. This is the love that we are being invited to enter into. This is the love that we are being invited to bring into the world and live.

We must be open to the gift of the Holy Spirit and allow this gift to kindle such a love within us. We must allow the Holy Spirit to enter into our life in order that this love may be set on fire for us. Once this love has been kindled it will grow rapidly and it will set the world on fire in a transformative way.

Therefore, we must find ways for the Holy Spirit to enter into our life, our families, and our parish community in order that this spark that made may set the whole earth blazing. In our reflection we should ask what obstacles do we place in the way of this transformative love. We must reflect how we can better be kindled in order that we may be found receptive of God’s love.

Remember that the fire of the Holy Spirit is blazing. So to ought our life, our family, and our parish community should be found blazing for the Lord. Let us be that spark which kindles this love to spread throughout the world. 

“Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love.”

9th Sunday After Pentecost Homily

There are two instances in which we are told that Jesus wept. The first of these was at the death of Lazarus and the other was given to us in today’s Gospel. As we were told when it pertained to Lazarus, “And Jesus wept.” And as we were told here, “When Jesus drew near to Jerusalem, seeing the city, He wept over it.”

This is what we call to mind when we celebrate Palm Sunday. It was here that Jesus joyfully entered into the holy city of Jerusalem were the crowds received Him as a king. Despite all the joy that surrounded this occasion He stops and weeps. In the city of Jerusalem there is a church which is built called “Dominus Flevit” “The Lord Wept.” It was here that Jesus stopped to weep and thus it is built in the shape of a teardrop.

Jesus is found weeping over the city of Jerusalem because of His divine knowledge and the fact that He knows that He will be rejected by the people of this city. These people had received their opportunity for salvation and they would reject it. He wept in order that these people would accept Him as being the Son of God.

There are many ways in which our modern world currently rejects Christ as being the Son of God. To all of these accounts that come to mind we can assume that Christ continues to weep with the desire that they may return to Him and His mercy. We should desire to stay close to Him and to move away from sin which always separates us from Him. We should be concerned with those who have moved far from the Lord and pray that they may come to know Him by how they come to live and order their life on this earth.

As we are told concerning the tears of our Lord in the Book of Hebrews, “In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard for his godly fear.”

Therefore, the Lord desires that we turn towards Him in order that we may be saved from death. As we pray in the Act of Reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, “For your loving tears we will console you, O Lord.” Let us remain with the Lord always for He weeps for us in order that we may turn away from sin and stay close to Him always.

19th Sunday of OT Year C Homily

“Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.”

These words given by Saint Paul to the Hebrews accounts the reality of a promise which invites us to believe.

Abraham was given a promise that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars of the sky and as countless as the sands on the seashore. Through this promise he was invited to believe in God and journey towards Him day by day. Abraham and his descendants came to be lifted out of darkness and were moved towards the light of faith.

Jesus also gives us a promise inside of our Gospel which invites us to enter into further belief. Therefore, we were told: “Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival… The master will put the servant in charge of all his property.”

This verse promises eternal life to us. All that we have to do is remain viligant and faithful to Him. We are being invited to have faith such as Abraham had faith in God’s healing words. Do we have such faith? 

We must each remember that none of us knows the day nor the hour of our death. There are some who get caught up in end time prophecy and forget about what is really important. The reality is there will come a time when we will die. This thought may be shocking and fill our heart with despair.

As people of faith it shouldn’t be this way. The Preface for a Funeral Mass instructs us, “Life has changed, but not ended.” This is a beautiful thought because it is a reality. In other words, Jesus has promised this reality to those who remain faithful to Him. If one is to remain faithful they must remain on guard.

Therefore, “faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.” Heaven is something that each of us should hope for and yet Heaven is something that none of us have seen. Our hope must be in Christ and His words reveal only that which is true to us. 

Let us be sent forth from here in order to elevate our sight upwards towards Him with the true desire to have belief based upon all that God has given to us. This “is realization of what is hoped for” and the “evidence of things not seen.”

Bulletin Article: July 31

The first day of the new academic year for Saint Mary School is August 5th. Please pray the families, students, and teachers of our school as the begin this new year. Will the return of school our 8:30am Mass will return to the church on Monday, August 1st. The Mass at 7am will remain in the chapel.

August 15th is the Solemnity of the Assumption. Due to this being a Monday this will not be a Holy Day of Obligation. There will be three opportunities for Mass for those who wish to attend: 8:30am, 6pm (Latin), and 7:30pm (Spanish).

I officially welcome Mary Klug to our parish staff as our new youth minister. Mary will start August on 15th. I look forward to working with her and releasing more information on our youth program soon. Please pray for Mary and the youth of our parish during this time of transition.

In Christ,

Fr. Dustin Collins