4th Sunday of OT Year B Homily

The annual bishop’s appeal will take place next Sunday. It should be no secret that at this point in time we continue to prepare the way to receive a new bishop for this Diocese of Knoxville. At the conclusion of each Mass we pray for this intention in the life of the local Church of East Tennessee. It is important for us to understand that this appeal does not go to support the bishop whoever he may be. Instead this appeal is important for it provides for the needs of the many ministries which make up the Diocese of Knoxville.

Through support of this appeal we are able to provide for the formation of our priests and deacons as well as the seminarians of this diocese including our parish’s own Gerald Stults (may we continue to pray for him and support vocations). Support of this appeal assists with Catholic education by supporting young adult faith formation and college campus ministries such as Johnson City’s ETSU Catholic Center. This appeal helps to provide care and counseling to those who are in need by providing for Catholic Charities. This appeal assists with Saint Mary’s Mobile Clinic which goes to areas of this diocese that are in need of medical assistance and cannot afford it. Finally, this appeal works with parishes, such as our own, to enliven faith formation programs.

Our refrain from our Responsorial Psalm instructed us, “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” The Lord is constantly calling each of us to Him. It is easy for us to fail to look outward in a spirit of charity and thus our heart grows hardened. The Lord always calls us to love. We see this love displayed for us from the wood of the cross as He came to lay down His life out of love for us.

The virtue of charity so often goes misunderstood. This word is love in its highest form. Through charity we give of ourself to another, out of love, and expect nothing in return. The Lord invites us to enter into such charity. Whenever we encounter Him we encounter love. As we depart from here we are to treat others with the love that comes to us from Christ. How we look upon another and how we treat one another must be based upon this reality.

As we continue to say “yes” to the needs of our local parish we must also say “yes” to the needs of the diocese to which we belong. I invite you to pray concerning your participation in this year’s bishop’s appeal for ministries. These ministries provide for the needs of so many people. Through these ministries people are able to be treated and know of the love of Christ. Let us continue to enter into this love and be willing to share it with those whom we encounter.

Let our hearts not grow hardened, but always remain open to the voice of Christ that calls each of us by name.

3rd Sunday After Epiphany Homily

The Lord states to the Centurion, “Amen I say to you, I have not found so great faith in Israel.”

Faith is a gift that comes to us from God. Through faith we open our intellect to truth which comes to us from the one who is above. The gift of faith comes to us from grace which is bestowed on us by God, but we must also do something with this gift that has been given to us. We thus must remain open to the movement of God in our life and be willing to respond to that call that has been extended to us.

The centurion displays such an outpouring of faith. He cries out from the depths of his faith, “Lord, I am not worthy that Thou should enter under my roof: but only say the word and my servant shall be healed.” In this response the centurion points towards his unworthiness to receive such a gift. He professes trust that the Lord is able to heal at only uttering a word. He therefore had absolute confidence in the Lord’s power, he had humility, and he recognized the true dignity of the Lord. This was a true display of faith.

Our Gospel pointed out that Israel was lacking in such faith. These people had seen and heard of many great works and yet they still chose not to believe. They heard His word from His lips and yet they were found unwilling to change. Christ called them to something greater and yet they wanted to remain at a distance. Concerning them there was no humility found for they were caught up in what they were doing.

Our world is filled with many who act like those of Israel. They choose to push the Lord away from their midst in order that they may pursue a life that they think is best for them. This life if disconnected from Divine Truth will always be lacking for it is lacking relationship with God. The further that we and our society wonder away from God the more that our faith will be found lacking. Faith is not magic and we are not the dispensers of such faith.

Instead we must desire to have faith like the centurion who was mentioned in our Gospel. In such manner we must realize that faith is a gift that is given to us by God. Therefore, we must remain humble in our acceptance of it. Where our life seems to be off kilter we must place our trust in the Lord for He is the one who calms the many storms that beat us about in this life. We must realize and believe that He is God who has taken on our human flesh and dwelt among us. Let us build this relationship with Him out of love.

In the words of Saint Josemaria Escriva: “Everything is possible for one who has faith. The words are Christ’s. How is it that you don’t say to him with the apostles: Increase my faith?” Let us be like this centurion and have an increase of faith especially are we state prior to the reception of Holy Communion, “Lord,  I am not worthy that you may enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.” Lord, increase my faith!

3rd Sunday of OT Year B Homily

Recently we transitioned from the season of Christmas into Ordinary Time. It is hard to believe that we are now under a month away from Ash Wednesday and the start of the Lenten season which this year will be Saint Valentine’s Day. The season of Lent prepares us for the coming of Easter where we will rejoice with our risen Lord.

In our Gospel we were instructed, “Repent, and believe in the Gospel.” These are timely words for they are one of the options that the minister may say as they trace ashes upon your head in the form of a cross. The other option, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” The reception of ashes is a penitential practice that reminds us of our own mortality and that we are sinners who are in need of God’s mercy.

To “repent, and believe in the Gospel” requires us to give a response. The Lord has died upon the cross and through this action we have been set free from sin and death. We must now choose to do something with that gift that has been extended to us. The question that often comes our way from people of other faith traditions is: Are you saved?

Yes we are saved because of the cross, but we must choose to do something with this gift. To “repent, and believe in the Gospel” reminds us of what must take place day by day. It is not good enough to be passive in our practice of faith because the Lord has already done all the work. We cannot think that we have been baptized and therefore we are owed Heaven. Instead we must heed those words spoken in the Gospel of Saint Mark, “Repent, and believe in the Gospel.”

This active practice of faith was found in Simon, Andrew, James, and John as they were casting their nets into the sea. The Lord called to them and we are told that “they left their father Zebedee in the boat along with the hired men and followed him.” Here they were not passive at this call that came to them and instead surrendered everything unto the Lord when they heard this call.

As Saint Paul teaches in his Letter to the Romans, “so that the righteous decree of the law might be fulfilled in us, who live not according to the flesh but according to the spirit.” This is precisely  what we are challenged to do each day in our walk with the Lord. This should make us reflect on those ways in which we have allowed ourself to wonder away from Him and thus live according to the flesh and not the spirit.

May we allow such active conversion of heart to take place within us in order that we may truly be found prepared to encounter the Lord. In the words of Saint John Paul II, “Attentive listening to God’s Word, constant prayer, interior and exterior fasting, works of charity that concretely express our solidarity with our brothers and sisters: these matters cannot be avoided by those who, reborn to new life in Baptism, no longer intend to live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

Let our desire for such repentance not be mere words, but put into action. Let us “Repent, and believe in the Gospel.”

Solemnity of the Epiphany Homily

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord.

This celebration calls to mind a great light which has come to dispel darkness from our midst thus proclaiming a great hope throughout the whole world. This great light is Christ who is God made Flesh who has made His dwelling among us in the second Person of the Most Holy Trinity. It would be problematic for us to stress His humanity at the loss of His divinity for He is fully God and fully human.

This word “Epiphany” comes from the Greek meaning revelation from above. In the ancient Church this celebration of the Epiphany included calling to mind the visit of the magi, the baptism of the Lord in the Jordan, and the wedding feast of Cana where water was turned into wine. Through all of these events in the life of the Lord revelation of Christ’s divinity was being made to the world thus bringing forth this great light to the nations.

Now we place our focus upon those magi who traveled by the light of a star to come and give homage to the Lord. They brought with them gifts of frankincense, gold, and myrrh. It is Saint Irenaeus who states that gold is a symbol of His royalty, frankincense to show His Divinity, and myrrh which represents His humanity which includes His passion and death. These magi allowed the Lord to bring His light into their life in order that they may be forever transformed.

We too must desire to behold this light of the Lord. If Christ were only human and not divine nothing would be special about today, Christmas, and Easter. It is because of the Incarnation that we are given every reason to celebrate for now a light has been brought to the nations which were in need of such light. We like those who have gone before us need to continue to draw close to this light in order that our life and world may come to be illumined in His midst.

In 1 John we are told, “he walks in darkness and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.” There are many who have allowed such darkness to blind them. Instead we must realize that “the true light is already shining.” This light is Christ who brings purpose and liberation to our life. Let us come to adore Him like the magi and let our life be transformed like the lives of the magi.

Where do we remain in the darkness? How must be allow Christ to enter in so that His light may illumine us? There is no reason for despair because Christ brings forth the virtue of hope which causes us realize that such a reality may be made so within us. Let us dare to be illumined by the Lord in order that we may come to be transformed in His midst.

Octave of the Nativity (Feast of the Circumcision) Homily (Extraordinary Form)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Today we celebrate the Octave of the Nativity which has also be called the Feast of the Circumcision of the Lord and is now celebrated as the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God in the Ordinary Form.

It was on the eighth day that circumcision was to take place. As is stated in the Book of Leviticus, “On the eighth day, the flesh of the boy’s foreskin shall be circumcised.” It for this reason that this feast falls on the eighth and final day of the Octave of Christmas.

This is done to carry out what was required by God for Abraham and His chosen people in the Book of Genesis, “This is the covenant between me and you and your descendants after you that you must keep: every male among you shall be circumcised. Circumcise the flesh of your foreskin. That will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. Throughout the ages, every male among you, when he is eight days old, shall be circumcised.”

Through Christ the purpose of the act of circumcision came to be fulfilled. In the words of Saint Paul to the Colossians, “In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not administered by hand, by stripping off the carnal body, with the circumcision of Christ. You were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.”

Here emphasis is placed upon our baptism and being claimed for Christ Jesus in these waters. Through our baptism original sin was washed away and we were incorporated into the life of Christ and His Church on this earth. It is important that this sacrament is not a mere ritual, but one that becomes a way of life for us.

Circumcision was an outward physical sign of the eternal covenant between God and the Jewish people. This action was important for the Jew as baptism is important for each of us. Through these waters as well as through the sacramental life of the Church we are to continue to live for Christ instead of the ways of this world. 

It was at the circumcision of the Lord that blood came to be spilled as a foreshadowing of that blood spilled at His sorrowful passion. Similarly such blood has been spilled by the martyrs who have died in protection of the faith. We also cannot take our faith lightly for it always leads us back to the cross and that salvation that was won for us and the world.

As we embark upon this new year let us live for Christ in all that we do. Under the intercession of His Mother, Mary, may our heart always be turned towards His. For the fruit of her womb is Jesus who is God made Flesh. Let our heart continue to dwell with Him and may we never turn away from Him.