Ascension Homily

Today we observe the External Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord. In being taken up, it would seem that the Lord was giving His final goodbye to His apostles. In reality, by being taken up to Heaven, He is not giving a final goodbye nor making a departure, but is becoming more accessible to them—and thus to us.

As Saint Augustine stated, Christ “did not leave heaven when He came down to us, nor did He withdraw from us when He went up again into Heaven.” By ascending, He transitioned from being beside His followers to being among them in a universal way. If He had stayed on this earth, He could only be present in one place at a time; but now, He is universally present.

Through the Ascension, Christ is glorified and thus no longer bound by space and time. We especially see this in the Eucharist, where Christ is present with us—Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. In the tabernacle is truly God’s presence among us, physically and not merely symbolically. This is possible because He has been taken up to Heaven and has not left us abandoned.

Now, with our sight set upon Him, we are able to be led to where He has gone. He is the forerunner, which means that His goodbye is not final. Instead, He is simply the first to walk through the door, which He now holds open for everyone else. Will we place our trust in Him and allow Him to lead us into Paradise, or will we instead attempt (though it is impossible) to enter by another gate?

As we recite in the Nicene Creed, “He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead.” This time between the Ascension and the Second Coming is not an absence, but a vigil. In ancient marriage customs, the groom would leave his bride to go to his father’s house to prepare a place. In going up, He prepares such a place for us—but will we be found watchful and awake?

We must remain in constant readiness, for “no one knows the day nor the hour.” A vigil requires a state of constant readiness so that we may be found prepared. Frequent confession and a daily examination of conscience assist us in being ready to meet the Lord at any moment—be it today, tomorrow, a week, a month, or years from now.

We are not just waiting for time to pass us by; we are entering into something that should be purgative. By remaining attentive to our spiritual lives, we grow in holiness each day as we continue to choose to follow Him. Living our lives as such a vigil allows us to take the Lord’s Ascension seriously, for through it the world has not been left empty, but expectant.

We must remain expectant, for this is not a "goodbye," but a "see you soon." Let us take this promise seriously and strive, with the assistance of God’s grace, toward where He has been taken up: the Kingdom of Heaven.

6th Sunday of Easter Year A Homily

The Lord makes a promise to His disciples: “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always.” The placement of this passage serves as a bridge for the coming Solemnity of Pentecost. It was at Pentecost that the disciples would receive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit when gathered together in the Upper Room.

Traditionally, we celebrate the Ascension of the Lord on this Thursday, 40 days after Easter. In our diocese, this solemnity is transferred to the following Sunday. The time that stretches between the Ascension and Pentecost is nine days. For these nine days, the disciples heeded the words of the Lord; thus, they went to Jerusalem and “devoted themselves with one accord to prayer.”

This period of nine days was not just a passive wait, but a time of intense spiritual preparation. Here, tradition states that they underwent a period of asceticism which would detach them from the world in order to make room for the divine gift which would come. The physical Jesus had returned to His Father, and they intensely prepared for the coming of this Advocate.

We, too, should prepare for the coming of such an Advocate. It is so easy to allow the days of the liturgical year to pass by without entering fully into them. Undergoing such a novena allows us to enter into a series of prayers so that we may remain open to the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit (wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord).

The Sacrament of Confession would serve us well during this period of days. Through such a confession, we examine our lives in light of the Lord’s command to love and seek out the grace that we may live such love in the midst of this world. This allows us to be a suitable dwelling place for the Holy Spirit to enter in and dwell with us.

The gift of the Holy Spirit is very important for us. Without the Holy Spirit, the commandments would seem to be a heavy burden of rules that cannot be followed. The Holy Spirit assists us in knowing all that is true and gives us the strength to act upon it despite its difficulty. Through the Holy Spirit, our fear becomes courage and our confusion becomes a clear witness to the Gospel.

We cannot be content to stay as we are, but must allow the fire of God’s love to renew us. The world may not see or know Him, but through our prayerful waiting, we are inviting the fire of God’s love to renew us. It is He who empowers us to go forth from this church and participate in the ongoing mission of renewing the face of the earth.

In the days ahead—especially from the Friday following the Ascension to the Saturday nine days later—let us have such expectant faith. Let our hearts remain open to the Seven Gifts which give us the strength to live as true disciples of the Lord. Let us prepare with true faith as we say, Veni, Sancte Spiritus (Come, Holy Spirit).

5th Sunday of Easter Year A Homily

“In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.” This verse provides the ultimate hope that our life is a journey toward a specific place that has been prepared for us. Just as the Israelites journeyed toward the Promised Land, we as people of faith journey toward the Promised Land that is the Kingdom of Heaven.

This verse is not a rejection of the importance of the visible Church; it actually reinforces the necessity of the Church. These “dwelling places” are not private islands but are joined together as one into a single family home. For this reason, we must remain united to the Church, for we discover our unity through her.

In the ancient world, a house was not just a building. Rather, it was a family unit where one’s whole family resided. When a son would get married, he would add a “dwelling place” onto his father’s existing home. Over time, this would lead to many dwelling places united together in a permanent community.

Despite the “many rooms” that are represented, they remain united within the one house. This symbolizes the unity of the Church. Here, people from every nation and culture are able to reside together under one roof. They have endured the assaults of the enemy and have now been called home to God.

Jesus proclaims, “I go to prepare a place for you.” He does this through His Passion, Death, and Resurrection. The Church is the vehicle that has been established for us so that we may be prepared for such a dwelling place. He left us the sacraments—such as Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist, and Confession—in order that we may be given the grace needed to run the race.

If we were to remove the Church from this situation, we would be left without a structure to which these many rooms could be joined. Without the Church, we would be left as isolated individuals wandering around and doing as we please. The Church provides us with the structure of this home through the Creed, its hierarchy, Sacred Scripture, and tradition.

As Christians, we need to remain united to such a life of faith. There is always the allure of abandoning such confines. In doing so, we chase after something other than the unity that should exist and become individuals who have placed themselves at the center of life. We cannot start our own church based on what we want to believe, but must follow what has been handed down to us as truth.

As we look toward those eternal rooms, let us not see the Church as a set of restrictive walls, but as the very foundation that makes our homecoming possible. We must remain rooted in the life of the Church. Let us persevere in faith by keeping our sight set upon Christ and the Church He has left behind to care for our souls.

4th Sunday of Easter Year A Homily

On this Good Shepherd Sunday we are reminded that Christ as Shepherd is the gate that we must enter into. There are those who will attempt to enter it via some other avenue, but that is an impossibility. We can only enter the Kingdom of Heaven through Him and so no matter how difficult something may be in our life we must come to place our trust in Him.

In our lives we are often tempted to find another way to enter because in the midst of hardship it is always easier to desire to discover a shortcut. Such paths allow us to avoid discomfort, confrontation, or the cost of doing what is right. Through such an attitude we want the safety of the sheepfold, but we do not want the struggle that goes with getting there.

The thief and the robber are reminders of those voices within us that make us desire to prioritize self over what is true. It is much easier to lie to avoid trouble, to remain silent in the face of injustice, or to simply give into the temptations that plagues our mind. To act in such a way is to claim to be a follower of Christ without following the path that He has given us.

In our Epistle Saint Peter stated, “If you are patient when you suffer for doing what is good, this is a grace before God.” Such words remind us of the redemptive nature of suffering. Christ did not bypass human suffering, instead He embraced it fully upon the wood of the cross. None of us can climb over the Cross to get to the Resurrection. To follow Him we must embrace the cross.

Through taking up the cross and following after Him we are entering into relationship with Him. Because of this God is not absent in the midst of our suffering and hardships. Rather, He is offering us a share in His own life. Through the cross we are being led towards virtue and the transformation that takes place within us for embracing it.

We can see that the Shepherd always leads by example. It is He who goes before His sheep and they are able to follow His voice. This voice does not lead us to the goal of worldly power or earthly success, but one that leads us towards the ultimate surrender of the Cross. From Calvary we are able to see the love that Christ pours out for each of us.

In our modern world we see such suffering as a sign of failure. This is not the case for through such suffering we have come to be redeemed and from it we have the hope that shines forth through the Resurrection. It is this hope which allows us to continue upon path which leads towards Eternal Life by no other gate than Christ, and thus through all that He has asked of us.

A true sheep is willing to stay within the confines of the sheepfold. Through such a perspective they have come to know and listen to the voice of the Shepherd. Let us listen to His voice and in the midst of all hardship come to place our trust in Him instead of entrusting ourselves to the easier path which never leads unto the Lord and Everlasting Life.

4th Sunday of Easter Year A (1st Communion) Homily

On this Good Shepherd Sunday, we come to celebrate our parish First Communion Mass. Therefore, my prayers are with all of the children of our parish who will soon receive their First Communion. Through the witnessing of such an act, may each of us also come to rekindle our relationship with Christ, present with us in the Most Holy Eucharist.

Baptism, Confirmation, and First Communion are all huge steps in our life of faith. These sacraments are not solely a rite of passage, but a font to which we flock in order to be given an abundance of grace so that we may live good and holy lives. As our Gospel promised, “I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.”

Through the Eucharist, we are being invited toward such an abundance of life. In the early Church, we are told that Christians “devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers.” This reality places Christ, present in the Eucharist, at the center of our life of faith.

Throughout this past year, the children of our parish have been prepared for such an encounter with Him. In their hearts is found a longing to receive our Lord who has made Himself present with us in the Eucharist. Through such readiness, they come to “know his voice,” for He “calls his own sheep by name.”

This calling requires a relationship with Christ to continue to be nurtured. We must be people of faith who desire to know Him. If we desire to know Him, we will make the time to come to know Him through prayer, and we will live lives that relate to the One for whom we have been claimed in the life-giving waters of Baptism.

Whenever life is difficult, let us remember that He is to be the rock of our life. He is the Good Shepherd who leads us toward restful waters and verdant pastures, and whose cup overflows. Many attempt to find fulfillment in areas that will never satisfy. It is Christ for whom our heart truly longs.

My dearest children, let Christ be the one for whom your heart always longs. To your parents: please continue to assist your children in the life of faith. Teach them to pray and to know Christ. Bring them to Mass every Sunday—not only when it is convenient—in order that they may know Christ. Allow your homes to be a place where Christ is made manifest.

Now together, let all of us look to the altar of sacrifice. From here, we will be invited to “Behold the Lamb of God.” Let us behold Him with our sight and our hearts. From this verdant pasture we will be nourished, and from this overflowing cup we will find our strength. This invitation leads us toward an abundance of life that can only be encountered in Christ Jesus.

Divine Mercy Sunday Homily

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

On this 2nd Sunday of Easter and final day of the Octave of Easter we come to celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday. Here we are able to look upon the wounds of our Blessed Lord and see that we have been healed from sin and death by them. God’s mercy continues to meet us throughout the daily encounters of our life.

Last week our Gospel told us of John who entered the tomb seeing the discarded burial clothes and being able to see and believe. Today we are told of Thomas and how he, filled with doubt, came to demand to see the nail marks and put his hand into the side of Christ. Through this act of intimacy with the Lord he too came to see and believe as he exclaimed, “My Lord and my God.”

John was able to believe through the absence of a body while Thomas came to believe through the presence of the wounds of our Lord. Therefore, mercy is a quiet light as it was for John, but also is a hand that reaches out to steady a trembling heart as it was for Thomas. As we come unto the Lord in such a way we are encountering a “fountain of Mercy” in the words of St. Faustina.

When we look upon the Divine Mercy image we are being reminded of such a reality. Within the image we see the red and pale rays flowing from Christ’s heart. These represent the blood and water that Thomas was invited to approach. Through this glimpse we are being invited to have faith by entering into these wounds in order that we may see and believe.

As the Lord stated unto Thomas, “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” Here we are being invited to have the spiritual sight which John came to possess. The signs of the sacraments which draw us closer to such a Divine truth. Also, like Thomas we are given the permission to bring our doubts and struggles unto the altar that we too may be healed.

Divine Mercy is not a static concept, but a living encounter that seeks us in our isolation. Here we encounter the Lord who speaks to us from the depths of His mercy, “Peace be with you.” Through these words we are being invited to enter in and find our refuge for this is indeed the font of all mercy.

Let us come to place our trust in Him who has now conquered over the grave. Let our hearts be made new by the blood and water that continues to gush forth for us. In the midst of every doubt let us reach out to Him like Thomas and in those moments of peace let us see with the eyes of John. That in all things we may enter into the depths of His mercy and allow Him to heal us of all that holds us captive in order that we too may exclaim, “My Lord and my God.”

For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

Easter Homily

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

Today we celebrate the great hope the springs forth throughout the whole world through the reality of the Lord’s Resurrection. In our gospel passage we would seemingly notice nothing out of the ordinary. There were no angels to announce what had taken place, no earthquakes, nor was our Lord present to show Himself alive. Nevertheless we are told, that John “saw and believed.”

What exactly did he see that caused him to believe? If someone would of stolen this body they would of done so in a hurry. They would not of taken the time needed in order take off let alone fold these garments. This gospel is even careful to note that the cloth that covered His head was not with the others cloths, but “rolled up in a separate place.”

Fulton Sheen as well as some Church fathers saw this seeing and believing caused by a shroud that was empty but still draped in the shape of a body. He had not sat up and unwrapped Himself, but passed through the matter of the linens entirely. The Greek text would suggest that these clothes were flat or collapsed for in Jewish burial they would of hardened into a stiff casing. He looked upon a hardened shell that had not been disturbed, but the body was gone.

This account is far different then what takes place with the resurrection of Lazarus. Lazarus had to be untied by others for He was still a prisoner of death. Jesus is the New Adam and so He was able to pass through these garments. John was able to see the tidiness of this tomb in order to see that sin and death had been reversed by such an act from the Savior of the World.

Therefore this was not a crime scene, but a sanctuary. From this sanctuary a great hope was present for all those who had been touched by sin and death that Christ was alive. That He had truly risen from the dead. This is the same hope that springs forth for us as we come to celebrate the Resurrection of the Lord on this Easter Sunday.

Yet, in our modern world we live in an age that demands a photograph, a recording, or a physical touch to validate truth. John’s faith lies in his ability to see that the Resurrection was a physical reality that left its mark on the world. Let us have such faith in our Risen Lord and allow Him to bring us to such solace in the midst of the chaos of this world.

The tomb has been permanently vacated through the Lord’s Resurrection. The stone is gone, the shroud is empty, and the New Adam has gone forth to make all things new. This glimpse brings light unto our life that sin and death cannot destroy. Let us be sent forth from the Lord with such confidence that we too may be like Saint John and see and believe.

Easter Vigil Homily

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! ¡Cristo ha resucitado! ¡En verdad ha resucitado!

Tonight’s liturgy began under absolute darkness. This serves as a reflection of that silence that fell over the world on Holy Saturday. It was here that the death of our Lord had taken place and the stone was rolled into place. Scatted into our own life is such feelings of waiting, uncertainty, and deep loss. Such darkness can lead us into despair.

Nevertheless, a great hope has progressed throughout the whole world. This is symbolized by the Pascal candle which reminds us of the risen Christ. It is He who dispels such darkness from our midst and was seen when this candle entered this church. Let us forever be reminded that no matter what is taking place in us (those dark nights) that the light of Christ always prevails.

This reality was seen throughout our Liturgy of the Word. Despite the brokenness of our humanity we are being reminded that we are being led to the waters of rebirth. Through these waters we come to be buried with Christ in order that we may rise with Him as a new creation. Today we have those among us who will enter into these life giving waters.

As the women at the tomb exclaimed, “He is not here; for he has risen, as he said.” The tomb is now empty and so our life ought to be filled with hope. As we are sent forth from this sacred space we are to carry the light of Christ into our daily life in order that it may dispel the darkness. Death has lost is sting, and Christ is risen indeed.

5th Sunday of Lent Year A Homily

Martha’s heart was filled with grief pertaining to the death of Lazarus. She cried out to the Lord from the depths of such grief, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” In the midst of our own grief we must join with her in the tension that exists between what we have lost and the belief that God has the power to heal us.

Martha does not remain lost in her sorrow. Instead she turns towards the Lord and places her trust in Him, “But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.” She does not ignore the pain that was present in her life, but faces it be joining it to God. We too in the midst of our own grief cannot ignore what we feel, but must turn towards the Lord in faith.

Jesus’ response to her should bring faith unto our hearts, “I am the resurrection and the life.” Through such a statement Martha is being directed unto Him and the hope of what will spring forth through such an encounter. The Lord continues to join with us in our grief in order that we may move forth infused with the virtue of hope.

The belief that Jesus is the Resurrection is not a rejection of physical death, but the hope that life continues. From the First Preface for the Dead, “Life has changed, but not ended.” Our spirit does not cease with our death and so we as Christians must live as one who is oriented towards such a reality.

As the Lord asks, “Do you believe this?” This is a invitation that is made in order that we may enter into relationship with Him. Faith is not something that is to be passive, but is to be a conscious act of the will. It is a “yes” that allows God’s grace to enter in and transform us into living a life modeled after His.

Martha’s response was “Yes, Lord.” At the Easter Vigil we will have the opportunity to make a renewal of our baptismal vows. Through such a renewal we are not just giving the right answer to the question asked, but are consciously proclaiming our desire to live as one who has been marked for Christ Jesus through the life giving waters of baptism.

And so today we celebrate the third scrutiny with the Elect. Just Jesus commanded the stone to be rolled away from the tomb of Lazarus does He call our elect and too each of us to freed to from the sin and fear that keeps us from the fullness of life. In such a way we freely come to state “Yes, Lord” as we journey towards the Easter sacraments and strive to live as children of God.

Just like Martha we have our own fears, regrets, and sorrows as symbolized by the tomb. Nevertheless, the Lord continues to invite us out of the darkness and into the light of His presence. It is this light that we continue to prepare to behold as we approach Easter and that fact that the darkness of sin and death has been removed from our midst. 

4th Sunday of Lent Year A Homily

Saint Augustine stated, “That blind man is the human race; for this blindness had place in the first man, through sin, from whom we all draw our origin… every man is born mentally blind.”

The act of mixing saliva with dust in order to create clay takes us back to the Book of Genesis. From Genesis we are told, “Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being.”

The Hebrew word Adam is related to adamah, meaning “ground” or “earth.” The Hebrew word used for “formed” is the same used for a potter who shapes clay. We have been deliberately shaped by God, formed in His image. To breathe into one’s nostrils represents the soul given to us by God.

In our Gospel Jesus is forming the blind man’s sight from the earth just as God had formed the first man from the earth. In other words it is being suggested that Jesus is the “New Adam” who uses the elements of creation in order to finish the work of creation in this man as well as us. It was through the Fall that humanity returned to the dust of sin, but Christ is the “New Adam” who has lifted us back up.

As we continue this Lenten journey, we must look ahead toward the Lord and place our trust in Him. It is so easy to set our sights on trivial matters of worldly allure; instead, we must allow Him to lift us up. Through the grace given especially in the sacramental life of the Church, we are formed into true disciples of the Lord.

Wit this in mind today is the second of three Scrutinies for those among us preparing to enter the life-giving waters of Baptism. The anointing you have already received is the beginning of faith—much like the clay applied to the blind man. The washing the blind man underwent represents the baptism you will soon receives which washes away Original Sin. Just as the blind man was given sight, we are enlightened so that we may no longer live in the darkness of sin.

On this Laetare Sunday, let us rejoice in all that the Lord has done for us. We were once blind to the truth of God through sin, but we are constantly being invited to wash away that sin through Christ’s mercy, that we may see the world through the lens of the Gospel. Let this transformation be brought about within us as we continue to prepare the way to celebrate the Easter mysteries.