Saints Peter and Paul Homily

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles.

This solemnity is always observed on the 29th day of June which means that we do not always get to celebrate it on a Sunday. This celebration is so important that is trumps the Sunday in Ordinary Time in order to be celebrated throughout the whole world.

The liturgical color of the day is red which symbolizes that blood of the martyrs. The martyrs were so convinced of the importance of the Gospel that they were willing to lay down their lives in defense of it. Saint Peter and Paul are both martyrs who laid down their life in similar fashion. Saint Peter upside down upon the cross and Saint Paul beheaded.

In this day and age those of here in the United States do not have to fear the death of a martyr. Nevertheless, the faith that has been handed onto us from Christ is most important. We do not always live our life as if it were. We are thus so willing to compromise our life of faith for worldly pursuits which end up putting our eternal salvation in jeopardy.

It might be easy to use the excuse that we are not yet holy enough and there will be time for such pursuits later in life. No, there is time now and the grace that God pours forth is sufficient for us who place our trust in Him. Saints Peter and Paul were not perfect and yet they were still chosen for such a task. Saint Peter would deny Christ on three occasions and Paul then known as Saul would put Christians to death and yet God had called them both and they had embraced His call.

So too does God call each of us by name, but we are so often closed off to this voice because we do not make time for prayer. Prayer is important because it places us in the presence of God and opens the way to His will which is being made manifest for us. Let us dare to make such time a priority in our life in order that we may come to be strengthen like Saints Peter and Paul.

Saints Peter and Paul were sent into the world to spread the faith. This was difficult especially when it came to martyrdom and yet they endured. So too is there nothing which will prove to be too great for us. We can and must endure to the end. Let us choose to order our life after Christ, giving no room for the excuse of sin, that we may be sent forth from His midst to bring the message of the Gospel into the world by how we choose to order our life on this earth.

Saints Peter and Paul, pray for us.

Corpus Christi Homily

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ also known to us as Corpus Christi.

The Eucharist is central to our belief because the Eucharist is not just a representation of Christ, but is the very presence of Christ made manifest among us under the appearances of bread and wine. Through the words of consecration the bread and wine truly becomes the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ.

Such a statement should make us consider how we react when it pertains to the Eucharist. To be in the presence of the Eucharist is to be in the presence of Christ. To receive the Eucharist is to receive Christ. There ought to be attentionality when it pertains to us and our relationship to Christ and His presence made manifest among us.

If I were to drop a consecrated host or even a particle of it to the ground there are some who would not flinch and care. If I were to drop a baby that I was holding there all of a sudden would be a lot of concern at what has transpired and rightfully so. We must have such concern when it pertains to the Eucharist and our reception of it. What we are receiving is truly most serious.

Saint Paul instructs of such seriousness by stating “Whoever, therefore, eats the breads or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself, and so eat the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself.”

Therefore, if it has been a long time since your last confession make use of this sacrament of the Father’s mercy for it goes hand in hand with our reception of Holy Communion. As the Catechism states, “Communion with the Body and Blood of Christ increases the communicants union with the Lord, forgives his venial sins, and preserves him from grave sins.”

What we receive strengthens us in the midst of our daily life as we are sent into the abundant harvest of the Lord. To think of the great gift that we receive when we receive Holy Communion. At this moment we have allowed the Lord to enter in under our roof. What an intimate statement that is more important then a celebrity, a sporting event, or a television show. This is Jesus who has communed with us!

At the Last Supper we should notice that it was Judas who was the first to leave. Why are we sometimes in such a hurry to leave Mass after the reception of Holy Communion that we fail to make time for a prayer of thanksgiving and fail to receive the blessing of Christ which sends us forth from the midst of this place? I agree that it might be convenient to beat the rush out of here, but I promise that making time for Christ is much greater.

As Gandhi stated, “I would like to believe what you Catholics believe about Jesus in the Eucharist. But I am unable to do so, because I don’t think you Catholics really believe what you say you believe; because if I really believed that my Lord and my God were truly present in the tabernacle as you say He is, I would crawl on my belly to church every day and worship Him.”

Trinity Sunday Homily

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity.

The Trinity is central to our Christian belief. It is the proclamation of one God in three persons. It is a mystery which is difficult for the mind to grasp and thus has often been explained through the use of various analogies which always fall short and more often then not fall into some type of heresy.

Nevertheless, the Trinity is a proclamation of love. There is a lot that we “love” be it a sport’s team, a type of food, a television program, or an individual. In English we are lacking of a proper expression of love. When I speak of the love that exists within the Trinity I am speaking of a love which is much deeper then what one has for the Volunteers or pizza.

In other languages we have different words which negate the type of love that is being mentioned. In Latin the greatest form of love is “caritas.” It is from this word “caritas” that we get the word charity. Such a love is mutual, perfect, and flowing over. This type of love gives entirely of itself and asks for nothing in return.

The Trinity is the greatest expression of such a love. Through the three Persons that make up the Trinity we have a love which is perfect, mutual, and flowing over. The Father’s love for the Son is so great a love that from it is begotten another, the Holy Spirit. These three Persons of the one Godhead have existed for all time and remain important for us in this day and age.

Marriages should strive to be modeled after such an outpouring of love. Through marriage one is entering into something much deeper then a love that can be thrown away when it no longer seems important. Through marriage the couple strive to enter into this love of the Trinity growing in such love day by day through the gift of God’s grace.

The Most Holy Trinity assists us no matter where we may be because the Trinity is the hallmark of how we ought to live as a community. We must strive to enter into such a manifest outpouring of love and share what we receive with others. It is impossible for us to give from that which we do not yet possess and so we must be willing to enter into the love of the Trinity.

Let the Most Holy Trinity of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit be the guide upon which we build our faith and grow in our commitment to true love which is given entirely of self asking for nothing in return. It is the lack of such love present in our world that we see the many issues that surround us. The love of the Trinity becomes the beacon to which we must place our sight.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirt, as it was in the beginning is now, and ever shall be world without end. Amen.

Pentecost Homily

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Pentecost.

Pentecost is celebrated each year 50 days after the celebration of Easter. It was here that the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles as they were gathered together in prayer. Through this interaction with the Holy Spirit they were empowered in being sent forth throughout the world to spread the message of the Gospel.

This celebration of Pentecost brings to fulfillment that which was instituted by God in the Old Testament through Moses. Therefore, 50 days following the observance of Passover Jews would observe the Feast of Weeks. Seeing that this falls on the fiftieth day this celebration is known as Pentecost in Greek.

Pentecost was a time of joy and celebration for those of the Jewish faith. What was being celebrated was the giving of the of the Law to Israel through the use of Moses. During this time of prayer they would gather the first fruits of the harvest in order that they may be offered unto God.

Christ becomes this first fruit for us as for the Jew this first fruit was what was offered at the Passover. It is He who died upon the cross and through His glorious Resurrection we have been set free. From 1st Corinthians we are told, “But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.”

Through our celebration of Pentecost we are reminded that we have received a wondrous gift in the form of the Holy Spirit. We must do something with the gifts that have been extended to us by God. What has taken place is not the completion of the harvest because we must first remain good and faithful servants of the Lord.

The celebration of Pentecost was a glorious day, but the apostles could not stay locked up inside of a room. They instead received such a wondrous gift which brought them out into the world to bring forth the faith to all of its corners. This task would not always come easily as can be seen especially in the reality of the martyrs who shed their blood out of love for Christ.

Through the receiving of such a gift we are to be reminded that the Holy Spirit is our advocate and there nothing that impossible for us for the the Lord has laid down His life upon the cross, Has risen on the third day, and now the Holy Spirit has gone down upon us like a strong driving wind.

May this celebration of Pentecost be fruitful for us in stirring us out of our slumber and into the abundant harvest of the Lord. Send forth your Spirit O Lord and you shall renew the face of the earth.

Ascension Homily

Today we celebrate the External Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord.

This celebration marks the completion of Jesus’ mission. He came, taking on our human flesh, and in the midst of His public ministry would teach and heal. Later, He came to suffer as He died upon the cross and on the third day rose again. Following His resurrection He returned to His Father in Heaven which signals that His saving work has been done.

Through His returning to Heaven He came to open that way in order that we may come to follow after Him. As He stated in the Gospel of Saint John, “I am going to prepare a place for you.” Through elevating our sight to where He has now gone before we are able to see that the hope of eternal life is possible for us.

Even though His saving work has been accomplished and a dwelling place has been made ready for us in Heaven the Mission continues. After all the apostles were told, “to go and make disciples of all nations.” They could not just sit idly by as if there was nothing else which needed to be done.

Following the Ascension the apostles would gather in prayer in preparation for the gift that would come upon them at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit. Through the receiving of such a gift they were strengthened on this mission in order that they may live the faith extended to them and to spread it throughout the world no matter the temptation or hardship that was set before them.

We too must come look towards such a reality of hope. Through such a glimpse we are given all that we are needed to endure until the end from Christ. He has already triumphed upon the wood of the cross in order that we may be redeemed. There is nothing that we can add to this saving act that has been offered.

Nevertheless, we cannot just sit idly by as if there is nothing for us to now do with this gift that has been given unto us. We must be willing to look towards Heaven and everything that we do should be done as by someone who strives to get there with the assistance of God’s grace. How often do we lose sight of such a goal in order to get caught up in worldly pursuits?

Living such a life a sanctity might seem to be difficult, but we must remember that is possible. Through prayer and the sacramental life of the Church we are strengthened in this race towards the Heavenly Kingdom. Let us not take our sight off of the Pearl of Great Price, but dare to continue to look to where the Lord has now gone before.

The Lord has now gone to Heaven and He will come again. Let us be found ready to encounter Him with joy at His coming.

5th Sunday After Easter Homily (Extraordinary Form)

If we would of keep reading the next verses of this Gospel we would of heard, “I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.”

These words put into perspective the many difficulties of this world in which we live. There is always something more for us to fear. Be it something taking place in the world or in our own life. There are those struggles with temptation which seem as if they will never be conquered along with everything else that constantly beats upon us in this life.

The apostles will soon come to that moment in time when the Lord will no longer be with them physically. His words to them are important because they are perfecting them to be found ready for that which will soon await them. In the days which lie ahead they will come to be tested and will come to Lord for the peace that the Lord alone can bring to them.

Throughout the Easter season the Lord is recorded coming to them stating, “Peace be with you.” These words of comfort were so needed because their hardships were great. After His Ascension and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost their life would not be any easier and yet they endured in proclaiming the Gospel to the nations, even when their own life was asked of them.

We must long for this peace that is brought to us by Christ alone. Without being found receptive of such peace we will always be on the edge for this world can never fulfill us. We will always be left longing for something else to fulfill, but will never find what we are after unless we find it in Christ.

For this reason we must continue to come to the Lord in prayer. Here we come to place our trust upon Him not just through a proper use of words or actions, but our being has faith in Him. Such faith changes who we are as a human person and allows us to live freely as disciple of the Lord our God.

Such faith ushers peace and joy into our life. Even when we are in the midst of the cross all hope is not lost because such hope continues to spring forth through the reality of the empty tomb and the fact that the Lord has risen. May we have such faith in these sacred mysteries which have come to redeem the world of sin and death.

Through our encounter we all that Lord has done we will come know peace despite world which continues to proclaim trouble.

4th Sunday After Easter Homily (Extraordinary Form)

June 8th will be the Solemnity of Pentecost. It is on this Sunday that we acknowledge the fact that the Holy Spirit came upon the Church as a strong driving wind. In our Gospel Christ was preparing His apostles for this eventual encounter with the one who was to come.

We cannot fall into the error of thinking that the Holy Spirit was created at Pentecost. At the Lord’s baptism the Holy Spirit came down upon Him. In the Nicene Creed we profess, “I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son.”

The Holy Spirit has always been present for the Holy Spirit exists eternally from the Father and Son who have existed for all eternity. Even at the moment of creation we are told of the Holy Spirit present as “a mighty wind sweeping over the waters.”

Acknowledging the importance of the Holy Spirit might raise the question of why the Holy Spirit was withheld from the Lord’s disciples until Pentecost. Such a separation points to the fact that they were not yet perfected in the love needed to receive such a gift and that they were currently with the Christ who was present with them physically in the midst of their tribulations.

In our Gospel the name Paraclete is given in relation to the Holy Spirit. This word “Paraclete” means “Advocate.” An advocate is a word used to refer to a lawyer or attorney. The Holy Spirit works in such a way in our life for the Holy Spirit helps us to win in the midst of all that is going against us.

As was mentioned in my homily from two weeks ago the woman caught in adultery was told to “go and sin no more.” On her own merit she would never be able to accomplish such a task. She had spent her time filling her life with something other then God. It is the Holy Spirit which comes to bring forth the love of God into our heart in order that we may embrace Him by our life.

Let us always remain open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit which are being made manifest within us. Give not into despair, but place your trust in the Holy Spirit which sanctifies our heart. Even when it seems as if we have been left alone we must remember that is not the case for the Holy Spirit is our advocate who is always with us.

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send for your Spirit and they shall be created, and you shall renew the face of the earth. Amen.

5th Sunday of Easter Year C Homily

In late July 1941 Saint Maximilian Kolbe heroically chose to take the place of a prisoner who would be put to death. After surviving starvation he was finally put to death by lethal injection on August 14th, the vigil of the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary into Heaven. He was later canonized on October 10, 1982 as a martyr of charity.

The actions of Saint Maximilian Kolbe make Jesus’ words from our gospel manifest, “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you should love one another.” The culmination of this love is displayed to us from the cross. It was here that His love was so great that He will willing to endure the pains of the cross without reservation in order that we may redeemed.

In the words which would be later spoken in Saint John’s Gospel, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” This points towards the cross and the life which springs forth from its midst. In the midst of every suffering, temptation, and joy let us dare to look to the cross for from it we see displayed love which knows no end.

The word “charity” comes to us from the Latin word “caritas.” “Caritas” is a form of love. Not just any love, but a love which is perfect, mutual, and flowing over. This love is best displayed to us in the Most Holy Trinity as well as from the cross. Here we are able to see that love which is found to be perfect, mutual, and flowing over.

We so often fail to have such a sacrificial understanding of love. Love is lowered to something mundane that can be cut off at any moment when it no longer fulfills us. Love can never be abusive. Love is not to exalt me in my pleasures and desires. Love is to look outward to the other and to give entirely of our self unto them seeking nothing in return.

This commandment given to us by Christ is most revolutionary and difficult. It is revolutionary because it demands that we think about love in a different way then what the world usually understands it to be. It is difficult because it challenges us to transform the way in which we look upon others.

In our prayer must ask how we are being called to enter into such love. Look upon the crucifix and from this glimpse of perfect love be challenged to expand in your love for others.

We are probably not being asked to lay down our life in such a heroic manner as Saint Maximilian Kolbe. Nevertheless, his ability to love came from his trust in the Lord and what was portrayed to him from the cross. Likewise, the cross must be the source of our love for the cross challenges us give freely of our self to the point that our love in flowing over and seeking nothing in return.

Saint Maximilian Kolbe, pray for us.

3rd Sunday After Easter Homily (Extraordinary Form)

To put our Gospel passage into its’ proper context, it proceeds the passion, death, and resurrection of the Lord. Here His disciples were told, “A little while and you shall not see Me: and again a little while, and you shall see Me.”

As the disciples were undergoing these events in the life of our Lord I am sure that these moments felt far from “a little while.” Having to watch the Lord endure His Passion and death had to of felt like an eternity. The sorrow which filled them as He was placed into the tomb had to be great and those three days had to of felt long.

In our own life the sufferings that we endure can feel like they take forever instead of just “a little while.” In these moments we can be led to believe that we are going through these things all alone. It is so easy to lose hope when all that we know is sorrow and loss and are unable to see anything greater which comes from it.

Nevertheless, as a Church we continue to be in the season of Easter. Through this season we are able to see that death was not the end. As mention was made in our Gospel to this woman in labor, so too can we proclaim that Christ is the “firstborn among the dead” and through Him God has “loosed the birth pangs of death.”

In the midst of our own crosses, temptations, and sufferings we must come to place our faith in His cross and Resurrection. Through these two realities we are able to discover hope in the midst of all that we are called to endure in the life. No matter how great the weight is let us always remember that we do not have to endure this alone.

On May 29th the Church will observe Ascension Thursday. On this day we remember that He was taken up to Heaven. In this separation it would seem that the disciples again were left all alone, but they were promised that the Holy Spirit would come just prior to where our Gospel picked up.

As a Church we know this to be the Solemnity of Pentecost and as is seen within the sacrament of confirmation. Likewise, the Holy Spirit continues to come down upon us so that we may enter into the abundant harvest of the Lord with the assistance of God’s grace.

Let us place our trust in such assistance for we are not alone on this path which leads towards Everlasting Life. No matter what we endure in this life our hope is found in the Lord for His mercy endures forever.

4th Sunday of Easter Year C Homily

On this Fourth Sunday of Easter also known to us as Good Shepherd Sunday we are able to proclaim: Hebemus papam! We have a pope!

It was only a little over a year ago, May 7th, that this diocese came to receive the news that we finally have a new bishop.

We never know who the next pope, bishop, or pastor will be. Each them come with their own outlook on the world and interests. Each them come with their own strengths and weaknesses. Nevertheless, they have been given to us by God in order that they may be good shepherds of Christ’s flock.

I rejoice for the gift of Pope Leo and Bishop Mark. No matter what comes in years ahead, even when another pope or bishop is eventually named, I trust in those words that our Lord spoke to Saint Peter, “And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.”

Let us continue to pray for Leo our pope, Mark our bishop, and all clergy of the Church including myself that we may remain Good Shepherds molded after God’s heart.

Not only are we the clergy called to follow after God’s heart, but the universal call to holiness is extended to all be they a member of the clergy or of the laity. Be they married, single, or part of a religious order; all of us are called to holiness.

We can only pursue holiness if we are willing to hear Christ’s voice and to follow wherever that voice leads. Prayer must be a priority for our life because this world is filled with so much noise that is hard to hear such a voice unless we work at it and nurture it.

At times it can seem that this world has been thrust down into a period of darkness, but we must remember that it is Christ who has lifted us out of such darkness. If we hear and follow His voice we will have nothing to fear for we will be brought to the light of eternal life.

In the words of Pope Leo XIV, “For we are the people whom God has chosen as his own, so that we may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called us out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

Let us pray for Leo, our Pope. May the Lord preserve him, and give him life, and make him blessed upon the earth, and deliver him not up to the will of his enemies.