Friday of Week 4 OT Homily

Very soon we will embark upon the season of Lent. During this season we will draw close to the cross of our Blessed Lord.

In our Gospel we encounter the murder of Saint John the Baptist. Here I see an interesting parallel to the Passion of the Lord which will be proclaimed on Palm Sunday as well as Good Friday.

With that we were told: “the king was exceedingly sorry; but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her.” From the Passion we hear: “When Pilate saw that he was not succeeding at all, but that a riot was breaking out instead, he took water and washed his hands in the sight of the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood. Look to it yourselves.”

Here we see the unwillingness to do something that one sees as wrong and yet despite this unwillingness they make the choice to do it anyway. So too with sin we must stay on guard in order that we rebuke it despite its effect upon us. To rebuke sin may keep us from being popular, following after the group, or being comfortable. We know that to embrace Christ can even bring about death as is seen through the witness of the martyrs. May we become convinced of this reality and thus proclaim Christ and Him crucified no matter the cost.

Thursday of Week 4 in OT Homily

The twelve were sent out by our Blessed Lord and “they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.” This brings us to one of the sacraments of the Church known as Anointing of the Sick. 

We receive further instruction concerning it in the Book of James. Here we hear: “Are there people sick among you? Let them send for the priests of the Church, and let the priests pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick persons, and the Lord will raise them up. If they have committed any sins, their sins will be forgiven them.”

To receive this sacrament one must be in danger of death from sickness or old age. This sacrament aids one in their sufferings by conforming them to the cross of Christ. It gives faith and trust in the Lord as one faces the possibility of their death. If it is conductive for one’s salvation it can bring about healing. The sacrament also forgives sins, but one should still prevail themself to the sacrament of confession in so far as they are able.

Let us pray for those who are sick and facing the reality of death. May we also be aware of the importance of this sacrament and make sure to notify a member of the clergy when we find ourself or one whom we love in a situation which would warrant the reception of this sacrament.

Mon 4th Week of Lent Homily

We find ourselves in a very interesting time in the life of the Church. Beginning tomorrow at 11:45am the College of Cardinals will gather to elect a successor to the seat of Saint Peter. We also know that we are near the fiftieth anniversary of the Second Vatican Council and even the twenty-fifth anniversary of this diocese. With these many new chapters of life that we head into we know that there will be a constant demand for renewal. In the life of the man in our Gospel there was a need for renewal as he faced the reality of a sick son. In our world we to are in need of this renewal and with that in mind His Holiness Benedict XVI gave us the "Year of Faith." Had his papacy continued onward he would of released an encyclical letter concerning faith. Despite this not taking place he did leave some hints with us in his letter "Porta Fidei" "Door of Faith" which kicked off the "Year of Faith."

It was his hope that during this year we would find a renewal of faith. We live in a time where there is a crisis of faith because it has been separated from our daily life. It has been segmented away from our social life, our culture, and the way that we look at politics. As Christians we must have renewal in order to have faith placed at the center of all the stages and activities of our life. We must allow ourselves to draw near the well of faith like the Samaritan woman because here we will find Christ. Through faith we will arrive at the food that never perishes and all of our needs will be comforted with the hope of salvation. The "Year of Faith" is a renewed conversion to The Lord who is the Saviour of the whole world.

May this "Year of Faith" transform the way that we look at the Creed and the Liturgy. These are not just words and actions that we rush through, but they should instead be words and actions that we enter into allowing transformation to begin to take place. This transformation requires an understanding of the Gospels and the wealth of teachings found inside of the Catechism. In order to grow in this love and appreciation we must take time for prayer and mediation upon the words found within. To have knowledge of our faith is to a open a door which we can behold the fullness of the saving mystery that is revealed by God. Through faith we see the example that has been extended into our lives through the many martyrs and saints of the Church who give hope that we can walk this same path triumphantly.

With a rediscovery of our faith we will be able to join with Isaiah in the understanding of the new Heaven and earth that we have given ourselves over to. Faith is not something that we can allow to become idle and content with, but is something that we must continue to nourish each day. As we enter into this new chapter of the Church where we continue to build up and understand the Second Vatican Council upon its fiftieth anniversary and enter into this joyous occasion of the anniversary of our diocese may we do so through faith. As the College of Cardinals begin to gather tomorrow in Rome may we in faith pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit to be upon them. May we use this year that lies ahead to continue to journey towards to Christ through a renewed understanding of the faith that we share.

Mon 3rd Week of Lent Homily

Today we celebrate this memorial of Saint Casimir who embodies the concept of charity based upon truth. Despite being of royal descent he was moved to not follow after riches, but simplicity. He had a true concern to bring service into the lives of the poor and truly embodied the concept of charity. His charity was not moved through giving service to himself, but was moved by the charitable love that is found inside the Trinity that we are all called towards.

This Monday evening our focus turns to the final encyclical letter of Pope Benedict XVI. This final encyclical letter is entitled: "Caritas in Veritate" "Charity in Truth" and is the only encyclical of Pope Benedict to be concerned with social justice issues. As Christians we are called to serve the common good and therefore we must be moved by love in doing so. We must guard ourselves from allowing this love to become a mere empty shell and therefore must remain grounded in truth. When charity is linked to truth we are not serving our own personal interests or the pursuit for power, but are instead giving service to the common good.

He continues the discussion from Pope Paul VI's encyclical letter concerning poverty. Poverty displays the lack of will that people have concerning the brotherhood among individuals and people. For all those who have a concern to assist the needs of others must be grounded in their own vocation. This calling is rooted in scripture and from the life of Christ. It is the fraternity that is found inside of the Holy Trinity that sends us forth to work in charity. In our current age we see the many effects of globalism which have both positive and negative effects. With the rise of globalism many poverty stricken nations have been able to emerge from their poverty. Globalism on the other hand has created many new problems because of a lack of people who are grounded in charity and truth. The pursuit of profit is a means to do good instead of being caught up in our own power and wealth as an end. In order to discover the answer to the many issues that we face we must be balanced in an understanding of love and the desire for knowledge.

The rights that we have should be connected to our duty. If our only focus is upon our own rights we will remain stuck in the concept that we owe nothing to anyone, but ourselves. Governments must not only maximize profits, but must look after the common good. We as individuals are also called to work in communion with each other. We should avoid falling into isolation and through charity should be drawn towards solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Christ. When we are truly aware of the love that exists in God we are moved with courage to continue to seek and work towards the benefit of all no matter what difficulties that we may face.

May all of us allow ourselves to be modeled after this concept of charity, so that we can truly be liberated from our isolation from others and instead be drawn towards giving of ourselves based upon the love that is found inside of the Trinity. In our Gospel Christ came to these people, but they would reject him due to their own wants and desires. Through charity we are called to accept Christ into our lives and thus bestow charity onto those who are in need.

Mon 2nd Week of Lent Homily

The second encyclical letter written by Pope Benedict XVI is "Spes Salvi" "Saved in Hope. Taken from Romans 8:22 "In hope we were saved" The Christian life requires a change in the way that we look at the world. From our Christian life we cannot move through life's motions without having a purpose. If we have no purpose to set our glance upon we are lost without hope. Hope has been extended into our lives through the cross and the reality of the Resurrection of the body. It is through the resurrection that the Christian is given hope.

Our world reflects the lack of direction that is found in society because we have no goal to look towards. With all the tragedy of the world we can say that we have a glimpse into the life of those who lack hope. In the continuing advancement of society it seems that we have moved further and further away from hope because we have lost the sight of the resurrection and the Heavenly Kingdom and have become mere individuals. Individuals, who are never content, but are constantly trying to find that contentment in objects that will always leave us empty.

This same individualism cannot be brought into our life of faith. Our faith does not exist to serve us alone, but to bring service to all. In doing so we are looking towards the love that is found with Christ's sacrificial offering upon the cross. We should feel moved by Christ's love that is being poured out and desire to allow that love to flow into the lives of all that we encounter. We are instructed in today's Gospel that "the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you." Often our experience of life results from doing things to serve our own needs or to build up pleasure within our life. If all the service that we give to others and prayers that we offer is built to serve ourselves then we can say that we have measured out nothing because we have only had concern for ourselves.

The hope that is found within our life will give true meaning to our lives. Our own suffering will be given meaning because from it will come greater glory. With hope we will realize that we are not building up perishing kingdoms for ourselves, but instead are looking towards the Kingdom that will never perish. For those who have lost hope the realization of hell exists because they have removed themselves from their relationship with God. In this state people have chosen to live where their whole life has become a lie where hatred has totally conquered over love. Despite all the sin that we have entered into the hope of Heaven remains inside of our life if we are open to mercy. At death none of us will equal the perfection of the divine, but hope remains because we will pass through Purgatory and be prepared to encounter our divine Lord. May we grow inside of this Lenten season in realizing the hope that is being extended into our lives that can conquer over all of our despair.

Mon 1st Week of Lent Homily

In order for us to be able to discover and live out the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity we must return to the love that is shown to us by God. In his first of what would of been four encyclical letters Pope Benedict XVI would give the Church "Deus Caritas Est" "God is Love" before moving further to explain the theological virtues of hope, charity, and what would of been faith. In our society we have a very harmful view of God because we hold God as a judge instead of being able to see the love that God continually pours out upon us. From the fourth chapter of the 1st Letter of Saint John we are told: "God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him."

There are three types of love that can be found. These are agape, eros, and philia which move ourselves forward in our quest of love. Agape is a love which is descending and in which we give love to another. Eros is a love that is ascending and is the love that we receive from another. Philia is the love which is mutual. In our world we see over and over again the failure to love in an ordered fashion. Love is not to meet our needs alone for the sake of pleasure, but must also be returned for the sake of the person that we love. Upon the wood of the cross we can look to see the love that is being poured out into our lives hopefully moving us to love of ourself and our neighbor.

As we continue this journey into this sacred season of Lent may we rekindle our relationship to God through prayer. May we allow prayer to help us to enter more and more into the love that is found inside of the Trinity. This love in return will help us to respond to the message that comes to us in today's Gospel. That is the message of being concerned for our neighbor. We cannot say that we love God, but do not love our neighbor and we cannot say that we love our neighbor without in return loving God. When we love our neighbor we are loving the unseen God who we are drawn to through our faith. May we within this season rediscover our love for God and be moved from this outpouring of love to true concern and giving of ourselves to those whom we encounter in this life.

Feast of the Holy Innocents Homily

Merry Christmas. Today we find ourselves on this fourth day of the Octave of Christmas where we celebrate this Feast of the Holy Innocents. This day is unlike the Feast of Saint Stephen which was celebrated on Wednesday. Saint Stephen was able to face martyrdom through his acceptance of the Christian faith. The Holy Innocents were mere children and thus unable to accept the faith for themselves. Despite this fact they were put to death due to Christ's coming into the world.

This feast should make us think of all the innocent lives that are lost and are abused. The life that is lost through the sin of abortion. The life that was lost a few weeks ago in Sandy Hook, Connecticut through the tragic shooting. The many children who are abused within the world. Even ourselves in the times that we have been treated unfairly or have treated others unfairly. May we allow the Holy Innocents to guide us in our prayer for all of these souls and to help us along our path towards the Christ child.

Christ was also an innocent child who came into the world and was eventually led to the wood of the cross to die for each of us. May we continue in this Christmas season to draw our lives towards the Christ child in all that we do.

Mon 34th Week of OT Homily

It is good to see all of you here again. It feels as if it has been a million years since the last time we have had the opportunity for Mass. I say this because of the long Thanksgiving break that we have had and the many days that have gone by since any of our students have been able to join us for daily Mass. Of course when I say that it has been a million years since the last time we have gathered you know that I am speaking figuratively and am not speaking literally.

In our reading today we are told about the 144,000 who are seen with the Lamb. We can take this number literally and say that only 144,000 people will be invited to enter into the Heavenly Kingdom, but that number seems to be such a small amount of people. If that is the case chances are that we are doomed. We can also look at this number figuratively and attempt to see what is trying to be expressed by its use. If we were to take 12 ,which is a very figurative number within scripture, and multiply it by 12 we would end up with 144. These 144 people make up the 12 tribes of Israel which is to say that they have come from all people. Of course 144 seems like a small number, so multiplying again by 1,000 expresses the great multitude who will be present. We now come to the 144,000 people who are seen in Revelation and see that they are a great multitude of people. We are not being excluded from this great multitude, but are being invited each day to strive to enter into their ranks at the time of our death.

The woman in our Gospel gave all that she had because she understood what was required of her. She did not do it to shame God into giving her anything, but gave because she got it. She knew that because of her faith she had to empty herself out fully. May we take her example upon ourselves as we strive to join with the multitude of people who dwell in Heaven one day.