1st Sunday of Advent Year A Homily

Today we celebrate the 1st Sunday of Advent. 

The season of Advent is a time for waiting. Waiting is something that we often dread to do. Be it that line that you have been standing in for some time that never seems to move, that package that should of already arrived in the mail, or that food that you have ordered through Doordash which is running late. If only everything were as easy as pushing a button on a phone and getting what you desire at a moment’s notice.

As Saint Augustine stated concerning the agony of waiting, “If God seems slow in responding it is because He is preparing a better gift. He will not deny us. God withholds what you are not yet ready for. He wants you to have a lively desire for His greatest gifts. All of which is to say, pray always and do not lose heart.”

Therefore, waiting does not have to be something that we dread. As Christians we must rediscover the understanding that is the importance of suffering. Our waiting can become a form of suffering which leads us back to God and aids us in growing in the pursuit of virtue. Let us be willing to unite all of our sufferings to that of Christ. In the end we must come to realize that God is the one who is in control. Waiting is difficult, but it brings forth virtue.

During this season of Advent the one that we now wait for is Christ. We prepare and wait for He who will come again at the end of time, we prepare and wait for He is the one who comes among us in the Most Holy Eucharist, and we prepare and wait for He is the Word made Flesh who comes to dwell among us at Christmas.

Hopefully we will not be too hasty in our preparation for Christmas. Christmas does not arrive until December 25th and thus we are given a whole season in order to prepare for this coming. Week by week we will come to this church and see a new candle of the Advent Wreath lit that will remind us of the quickness of this coming. Let us be found willing to be found expectantly waiting for His coming.

As we were told in the Gospel of Saint Matthew, “So too, you must be prepared, for at an hour your do not expect, the Son of Man will come.” Indeed He will come, so let us be found joyfully waiting for Him. During this season of Advent the Lord calls us to make room for Him to enter in and to dwell with us. If we are to be found ready for such a reality what must we rid from our life in order to make more room for Christ?

Let us continue to welcome Him into our midst through our joyful waiting for His coming.

Last Sunday After Pentecost Homily

On this Last Sunday After Pentecost we further approach the end of the liturgical year and with it we consider our need to be found prepared. Next Sunday we will celebrate the 1st Sunday in Advent which further prepares us for the coming of Christ. He is the one who will come as Word Made Flesh on Christmas morning, He is the one who will come again at the end of time, and He is the one who comes among us in the Eucharist. Let us be prepared for this encounter with the coming of Christ.

Our Gospel instructs us concerning the certainty of that coming. At that point in time when He comes again there will be a trumpet blast and His elect will be gathered together. A little later in the Gospel of Saint Matthew we will hear, “watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” These words spring true because we ought to love God with our whole heart and mind and be found prepared for that unknown hour of His coming.

At the time of the Lord’s second coming there will be a time of judgment which is also a time for justice. With this in mind we must realize not only the mercy of God, but also the justice of God. From the cross we are able to see the depths of the Lord’s mercy for us. He gave His life upon the wood of the cross in order that we may be redeemed. The cross is a true expression of love that invites us in for through it we are able to live love itself.

As we approach the end of this liturgical year and draw ever closer to the Lord’s second coming let us open our heart onto the Lord. Let us realize that our life will end in the blinking of an eye. We must be found prepared for the Lord’s coming for His mercy will be just. This is something that we cannot continue to push off until an unknown hour for that hour will catch up with us. May the season of Advent be helpful in forming your heart to better be found receptive of this coming among us.

Today as we reopen our adoration chapel we are given the reminder to set our sight upon Him. There will be a Eucharistic Procession at 3:30pm where we will process to our adoration chapel which has been closed since the time of COVID. If you haven’t already done so I invite you to sign up for a time of adoration. You can do so by calling Tricia Klug, the parish office, or following Mass at the open house of the chapel.

There is no greater way to prepare ourself for the Lord’s coming than to draw close to Him in the Eucharist. Let us not pass by this opportunity to dwell with Him for everything that we do should point towards Him and not detract from Him.

As we finish this liturgical year let us be found prepared for the Lord’s coming among us.

23rd Sunday After Pentecost Homily

Our Gospel acknowledges the healing effects of faith when it pertains to this woman with the hemorrhage who reached out in order to grasp the hem of His garment.

The hem of this garment is important, but we dress differently then those did at the time of Jesus. If we were to touch the hem of a garment it would not hold much significance for us, but that is not the case with what is being taught in our Gospel. To reach out and touch the hem of a garment gives an image to our modern mind  that is different then what is actually taking place inside of the Gospel.

Jesus was a Jew and therefore He would dress like a Jew. The hem of the garment that she grabs onto holds great significance. This hem is known as the tzitzit which were the fringes tied onto the four corners of the garment worn. They would remind the wearer of the garment of the Law of which they were obliged to follow.

As is instructed in the Book of Numbers, “Speak to the Israelite people and instruct them to make for themselves fringes on the corners of their garments…Look at it and recall all the commandments of the Lord and observe them…Thus you shall be reminded to observe all My commandments and to be holy to your God.”

Therefore, this woman is grasping onto the Law which had condemned her. How was she condemned?

From the Book of Leviticus we are told, “When a woman has a discharge of blood for many days at at a time other than her monthly period or has a discharge that continues beyond her period, she will be unclean as long as she has the discharge.”

We are told this woman had this discharge of blood for a period of twelve years. This means that she was declared to be unclean by the Law for these twelve years. Nevertless, she reaches out in faith and touches the symbol of the Law that had condemned her. It was through her encounter with Christ that she came to be healed and thus made clean.

There are many ways in which we to reach out and touch Jesus in order that we may be healed. Sin continues to seep into our life, but through Christ we have liberated. It is He who heals us of all of our ills. In the sacrament of confession we have the opportunity to reach out and touch Him in order that we may be healed by His mercy. In Holy Communion we have the opportunity to invite Him to dwell under our roof. 

Let us come to place our faith in Him as this woman in our Gospel was able to do. In faith she came to Him and thus Him faith let us place our trust in Him always.

22nd Sunday After Pentecost Homily

The Lord responded to the Pharisees and to the Herodians, “Render to Caesar things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.” This response is given to the Herodians for they pay their taxes with a coin which carried upon it the name and image of Caesar. To the Pharisees He is pointing out that they bear upon themself the name and image of another.

The people of Israel would wear a a four cornered garment with a blue cord. It is the purpose of this cord to remind the wearer that they are “Holy to the Lord.” The people of Israel were set apart to be a chosen people who had been claimed by Him. They were not just living as a good examples to others because God desired that they would be His treasured possession.

Instead of remembering that they were the treasured possession of God they began to live for the world. The Lord’s response points the way back to the garment that they were wearing and what it reminded them of. The very fact that they were the treasured possession of God. We must also be reminded of this lesson. We are something more to God then the money and possessions that we have. We are called upon to be in the world, but not of the world. As the Book of Romans instructs, “Do not conform yourselves to this age.”

The Church does not teach us that we cannot have any interaction with the world. Instead as people of faith we are called upon to practice and perfect that virtue of temperance. It is temperance which provides balance in the use of all created things. When we practice the virtue of temperance we remember that we are called upon to give to God what is God’s in order that we may not be overcome with worldly attachment.

As people of faith we should strive for the “middle way.” We are called towards moderation in order that we will not let created goods damage our relationship to God and to others. When one constantly builds up the amassment of worldly luxuries they forget that they are called upon to be a treasured possession of God because they live for that luxury over relationship with Him.

How are we being called upon to better practice the virtue of temperance? Let us remember that we are a valued possession of God and thus allow our life on this earth to be a reflection of such. By entering into this relationship we are sent forth in a true spirit of charity where we care not only for the luxuries of this earth, but for God and love of one another as a reflection of this love.

Let us “Render to Caesar things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.”

All Souls Day Homily

Today we celebrate the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed also known to us as All Souls Day.

When it pertains to the souls in Purgatory, as well as indulgences, there is a lot of misconceptions. Neither of these counteract our time on this earth and what we do with the time that has been entrusted to us. Purgatory is not a second chance at Heaven nor are indulgences a way to earn one’s way into Heaven. When a person dies they are judged either to Heaven or Hell. Indulgences only befit those who have been judged as worthy of Heaven and Purgatory is only for those who have been judged as worthy of Heaven.

We must remember that Christ already paid for our debt with His Blood upon the cross. The gates to Paradise were opened by His suffering and death. The souls who died in God’s grace have been found worthy of Heaven. Those in Purgatory, for whom we now pray, must first sufficiently atone for the temporal consequences due to sin that remain after death.

Sacred Scripture tells us of gold that has been tested in fire. It is this gold which comes to be purified by taking imperfections out of it. The only way to get an imperfection out of gold is by passing it through fire. Likewise, Purgatory exists in order to remove these imperfections for the soul in order that the soul may be prepared for Heaven. As the Book of Revelation attests, “Nothing that is impure will enter it.”

Let us entrust ourself to praying for these souls in Purgatory. Throughout this month of November we have the opportunity to receive indulgences on their behalf. For example all that one needs to do is go to a cemetery a pray for the souls of the deceased as well as receiving Holy Communion, making a confession, and remembering to pray for the intention of the Holy Father. 

May all the angels and saints escort these souls to Heaven this day.

Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.

May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, Rest In Peace. Amen.

All Saints Homily

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints.

All of us are called upon to strive to be saints and to live as such during our time on this earth. The saints have gone before us into life eternal and they have been found worthy of Heaven. Through their entry into Heaven they have entered into the Beatific Vision. They now pray for us in order that we may join with them for all eternity in their perfect worship of God.

The saints show us the many twists and turns that life takes and they always show us that victory is something which is possible. Each saint teaches us a different lesson, but each of them reaches the same reward. Some of them seemingly lived a life of sanctity from the start while others began to pursue God at a much later date. No matter the path that their life had taken the end result was the same in all cases. They lived a life of sanctity, they died in the state of grace, and they are now with God in Heaven.

The saints are not just some characters in a fiction book, but are are real people like you and me. They had their imperfections, but they lived for Christ. They show us that such a path towards sanctity is possible for us if we so desire it. In our modern society we so often are concerned what celebrities are doing. We are more attuned to the ongoing activities of athletes and tv stars then the lives of these holy people who have gone before us. The more that we concern ourself with their lives and take up devotion to them the more we will love God. Devotion to the saints does not end at the saint, but transcends towards God. It is this devotion and love for God which will lead us towards a life a sanctity to where we will be found worthy of Heaven.

Are we concerned with this call to be a saint? What is holding us back from reaching this calling that has been extended to us? Are we willing to cut away what might be holding us back from God or would we rather latch onto it at the peril of our own soul? Let us be sent forth from here to live as saints who desire to share Eternal Life with God for all eternity.

May all the angels and saints of Heaven, pray for us!