Christ the King Homily (Extraordinary Form)

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King. It is Christ who instructs us, “My Kingdom is not of this world.” So often we attempt to build up an earthly kingdom for ourself. It is this kingdom which will pass away with the passing of time. Christ assures us of something greater which we ought to apply ourself towards. We must desire that Christ the King reign in our midst not only at the end of time, but each and every moment of our life on this earth.

We are instructed at the end of Mass, “Go forth the Mass is ended.” We say “thanks be to God” not because the Mass is over, but because we have been sent forth to live what we have received in Word and in Sacrament. We have received Christ the King of Kings and Lord of Lords into our heart and thus we are to be sent into the world in order to bring Him with us into all of life’s moments.

Pope Pius XI established this feast in order that we may be reminded that Christ belongs at the very center of public life. There have been many voices that have sprung up throughout the world’s history which have attempted to silence Christ. Each and every one of these voices has failed to silence such a wondrous Name such as that of Christ Jesus. We cannot allow such a mentality to creep into our own life.

How we approach the world around us should be informed by Christ. If this is to be so then we need to make sure that we know Christ. We cannot be sent forth to spread the love of Christ if we fail to enter into this love that has been expressed to us from the throne of the cross. It was here that Christ shows His love for us as He came to lay down His life for us as an outpouring of love that has been extended to us and to the whole world.

One assumption that we cannot make is that everyone already knows Christ. There are some, even here in the south, who know nothing about Him. When we are sent forth from here we have an opportunity to bring Him to these individuals through our words and actions. There is nothing that we can do if we do it exempt from Christ and there is nothing that we cannot do if we do it in Christ’s Name.

We should not look upon the world and see a negative picture. It is true that sin and vice exist. Nevertheless, I look upon the world and know that no matter how bad things may look that Christ has triumphed. I know that He has entered into this world in order that we would be redeemed. I know that the Kingdom that He establishes is a Kingdom which will never pass away.

Let us be people of faith and hope who model their life as a reflection of this Kingdom. Through your interactions in life you are making this reality so. Our families must be based upon this loving God who has come to redeem us. Let us always make time for Him especially within our homes. Our home should be a place where we allow Christ the King to reign victorious.

Long live Christ the King!

31st Sunday of OT Year C Homily

Elevating the host at Mass the priest invites, “Behold the Lamb of God, behold Him who takes away the sins of the world.” To this we respond, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should come under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.” At this intimate moment we have the opportunity to look upon the Lord as we prepare to receive Him in Holy Communion.

As we look upon the Lord there are always the distractions of life which get in our way and keep us from seeing Him clearly. As sin creeps into our life, so too does our ability to have clear vision of Him demminish. As we look upon the Lord and state these words at Mass we should realize our unworthiness as we prepare to receive God made Flesh into our life.

Our Gospel points out that Zaccheus was found to be short in stature and thus there was a lot which blocked his sight from being able to see the Lord. Instead of giving into despair when it pertained to what seemed to be impossible he climbed the sycamore tree. From this tree he lifted himself above these distractions and gave himself clear sight of the Lord.

As Zaccheus climbed this sycamore tree, so too should we desire to have clear vision of Jesus. We must join with him in climbing this tree in order that we may obtain such vision of the Lord. It was from these heights that the Lord called out to him, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.”

Our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Whenever we allow Him to enter into our life through the reception of Holy Communion we allow Him to enter under the roof of this temple. He enters into this house as He did that of the house of Zaccheus and comes to dwell with us. This should be a very humbling thought for us to ponder and hold dear as we come to state those words at Mass as we prepare to receive Him in Holy Communion.

Like Zaccheus we must realize that we are found to be short in stature and thus need to climb the sycamore tree in order that we may come to see more clearly. It is from those heights that we will come to hear the call of the Lord that will change our life forever just as this call came to change the life of Zaccheus forever.

Where is the Lord calling us to be active in clearing out the distractions of life in order that we may come to see Him more clearly? What is it that we are holding onto that keeps us from climbing such heights in order that we may hear His voice call out to our ears? The Lord desires nothing more than that we look upon Him with an open heart for what we look upon when we see Him clearly is the fulfillment of all that we could ever desire in this life.

Let us open our heart up to this call and be willing to respond to that voice that calls out to us. Let us realize that we set our sight upon Him in Holy Communion and thus come to receive Him with true devotion and longing for He is the fulfillment of all that we desire in this life.

30th Sunday of OT Year C Homily

Two went to the temple area in order to pray. The Pharisee looked upon himself with great pride while the tax collector cried out in humility, “O God, be merciful to me a sinner.” It was the Pharisee who looked upon all the good that he had done and thought that something was owed to him while the tax collector simply beat his breast and prayed.

As Christian disciples we are called upon to give of ourself in a spirit of charity. The Pharisee could remark concerning all the good that he had done, but to what benefit? We know nothing of this tax collector except for the fact that he humbly came to God to accept His mercy into his life. The tax collector serves as an example of taking what we have been given and not allowing it to consume us like it did the Pharisee.

Next weekend will be our parish stewardship weekend. So often the term “stewardship” has a negative connotation in people’s minds. This is so because for some stewardship is only the giving of money and nothing more. Stewardship transcends the giving of money because stewardship is a way of life. Stewardship is to take the many gifts that have been entrusted to us and to do something with them as a Christian disciple.

Stewardship is the giving of one’s time, talent, and treasure for the benefit of the church and propagation of the Gospel message. Stewardship is not a list of things that we do in order to earn something because stewardship is our free gift that is given out of love. The Pharisee looked at all that he had done and expected certain treatment due to it, but this was not the case with the tax collector. He simply realized that he was a sinner who was in need of the mercy of God.

This week all registered members of our parish will receive a stewardship letter and form from the parish. I ask your family to pray upon your commitment to stewardship for this parish. This form will ask how you can financially give to the parish in the upcoming year, but also challenges you to become an active member of this parish who gives of their time and talent back to the parish. Please return it with you next Sunday and leave it in the collection which will be specially taken up concerning this commitment.

Our parish is blessed with so many who selflessly give back to this parish. All those who partake in liturgical ministry have taken up the challenge to live a life of stewardship. Those who participate in various parish committees take up a life of stewardship through their desire to assit in the life of this parish. People who selflessly prepare food for parish functions, people who work to keep our facilities in the best shape possible, and the list of people’s stewardship contributions go on and on.

Let us not sit back and remain uncommitted to a life of stewardship. Instead let us freely give of ourself from our time, talent, and treasure. We do this not to be exalted, but because we are true humble servants of the Lord who have taken up their call to be His disciple.

29th Sunday of OT Year C Homily

Today we observe the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time. This also serves as the feast day of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque. She prompted devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus in this modern age. This is important for us because on the evenings of November 13, 14, and 15 we will have a parish mission which will propagate the enthroning of one’s home to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Saint Mary Margaret Alacoque received many private revelations concerning the Sacred Heart starting in December of 1673. Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus would promote the reception of Holy Communion of the first Friday of each month, participating in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament on Thursdays, and the celebration of the Feast of the Sacred Heart.

Pope Pius XI would remark of her in his encyclical letter “Miserentissimus Redemptor,” that Jesus “promised her that all those who rendered this honor to His Heart would be endowed with an abundance of graces.”

As she would state, “And He showed me that it was His great desire of being loved by men and withdrawing them from the path of ruin that made Him want to manifest His Heart to men, with all the treasures of love, of mercy, of grace, of sanctification and salvation which it contains, in order that those who desire to render Him and procure Him all the honor and love possible might themselves be abundantly enriched with those divine treasures of which His Heart is the source.”

It was from the Book of Psalms that we were instructed to “lift up (our) eyes toward the mountains.” Likewise, people came to elevate their sight towards Moses as he lifted up his arm with rod in hand. We too look up towards Calvary and there see our Lord as He lays down His life for us with arms outstretched. It is through prayer that we remain persistent in coming to know of His love for us despite the trial, temptation, and joy of our life.

It is Devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus that allows us to look upon Him with love. Truly His heart pours forth out of love for us infinitely. So often our families are fragmented from this reality and our homes are not a place of prayer. Enthronement of one’s home to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus enkindles that relationship with Christ which ought to be present. As Saint Margaret Mary had stated, “I will bless every place in which an image of my Heart is exposed and honored.”

It is my invitation to you to participate in this parish mission which will take place in November. It will be a time of renewal for our families and parish community. The graces that the Lord desires to give are abundant if only we desire to prevail ourself to them. Let us elevate our sight towards Him and place our faith in Him.

Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, pray for us.

Most Sacred of Jesus, have mercy on us.

18th Sunday After Pentecost Homily

“The Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive sins.” 

It should be no shock that Lord has the power on earth to forgive sins. For from the first chapter of this Gospel we are told, “she will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

Despite what was stated of Jesus from the start of the Gospel of Matthew to this Gospel passage there was never a time where Christ spoke of His ability to forgive sin. He would heal those who had fevers and cast out demons from those who were sick. Nevertheless, sin was never mentioned until this paralytic who was brought before Him.

The word for sin that is used here is literally translated as “to miss the mark.” Whenever we sin this is what we do. The mark has been set before us, but through sin we shoot all the way around it without hitting it. The mark of our life is God and entering into communion with Him. Sin is not to make a mistake or to break a rule, but is to fail to live up to our purpose. As the Baltimore Catechism attests to why God made us, “God made me to know him, to love him, and to serve him in this world and to be happy with him forever in the next.”

If this ultimate goal is to be made manifest within us than we must come to acknowledge Christ as our Lord and Savior. Those who were with Him were used to His healings, but up to this moment had not understood His ability to forgive sin. Some looked upon this situation and exclaimed that “He blasphemeth.” They did this because He went above and beyond what they had expected to take place.

When the Lord looked upon this man He saw his need to be healed not only bodily, but spiritually. Therefore, He forgave his sins. The man was then instructed to “arise, take up thy bed, and go into thy house.”

In such manner we are sinners who are in need of the infinite mercy of the Lord. He desires to look upon us in order that we may receive the forgiveness of sins. Whenever we have the opportunity to participate in the Sacrament of Confession we do this. We come before the Lord who breathed upon His apostles instructing, “Who’s sins you forgive are forgiven and who’s sins you retained are retained.”

Let each of us be willing to encounter the mercy of God day in and day out. May we be sent forth not to miss the mark, but reach our ultimate purpose. We can only do this if we allow the Lord to enter into our life in order that healing may be brought about. Let us never impede the mercy of God, but be found receptive of this healing mercy always.

External Solemnity of Our Lady of the Rosary Homily

Today we celebrate the External Solemnity of the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

It was on October 7th, 1571 that a battle was won by Christian forces at Lepanto. Pope Pius V invoked the Blessed Mother with his rosary in hand and had asked the Christian faithful to do the same. It was the rosary which was attributed to this victory at Lepanto.

The Most Holy Rosary serves as a weapon against all spiritual enemies especially Satan who attempts to tempt us towards the plight of sin and death. Just as Mary crushed the head of the cursed serpent so too does the Most Holy Rosary crush his head as we hold it in our hand and pray our Aves.

The rosary serves as a way for us to mediate upon those principal events which exist in the history of salvation. Therefore, we have the opportunity to mediate upon the birth, death, and resurrection of our Blessed Lord. Through the rosary we enter not into repitious babbling, but into authentic prayer which brings us to our Lord through Mary.

At the heart of each prayer of the rosary is always the Lord. Jesus was the fruit of her womb and thus Jesus is at the heart of this prayer. As Saint John Paul II stated of it, “With the rosary, the Christian people sits at the school of Mary and is led to contemplate the beauty on the face of Christ and to experience the depths of his love.”

The world in which we live is in great need of experiencing the depths of Christ’s love. Through the praying and promotion of the rosary we make this reality known. The Battle of Lepanto came to be won through the rosary and so too many spiritual battles come to be conquered each day through its use.

As we come to celebrate this solemnity let us be concerned with the rosary. Let a day not pass by where we do not take it up in a spirit of prayer. The rosary should be that which joins the family together in prayer and centers their gaze upon Christ. Everything that we do on this earth should have its gaze centered upon Christ. With rosary in hand we place our gaze upon Him. Let us take it up in faith and promote it in the midst of this world which needs the presence of Christ in its midst.

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us.