Resumed 4th Sunday After Epiphany Homily

“O you of little faith.” In such manner the Lord rebuked His apostles for their lack of faith for they were filled with fear due to the storm that was taking place around them. In this moment of anguish they failed to realize and trust that the Lord was already in their midst. His thus came to calm these storms leading to an increase of faith on behalf of the apostles.

In such manner the Lord continues to rebuke each of us for our lack of faith. There are many storms which give rise in our life and it becomes so easy to get caught up in them to the point of taking our sight off of the Lord. Through faith placed in Him these storms can and will come to be calmed and yet we so easily fail to turn towards the Lord.

Whenever something is out of our control it is easy to get caught up in a never ending litany of what ifs. This pertains to our health, our relationships, our livelihood, the state of our nation, world, and church. Through pursuit of these many what ifs we allow more storms to give rise instead of turning these plights over to the Lord.

We must find comfort in the fact that this is not the first time that the disciples had heard these words from the Lord nor would it be the last time that they would hear them spoken. These words were spoken in the Gospel of Saint Matthew on one prior occasion and 3 occasions after. If only faith were so easy they would not have to be constantly reminded.

From the Book of Hebrews we are told, “Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.” So often we only have faith if we are able to see the end result. Faith is something that must be placed in the Lord and not be wavering with the wind brought about due to what we receive or not.

If there is to be faith we must have the virtue of hope. A person who is without hope is led into a spirit of despair. They are unable to look outward and see that anything good will eventually come from the situation that is at hand. From the Catechism we are told concerning it, “Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ’s promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit.”

Therefore, we must keep our sight placed firmly upon the Lord. It is He who is our hope and so no matter what takes place we must embrace this reality. The virtue of faith is something that we must all grow in, not only once, but always. There will continue to come points in our life where these storms will seem to be vast and there will be those moments when all is calm. Wherever it is that we find ourself today we must have faith.

All Souls Day Homily

Today we observe the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed also known to us as All Souls Day. On this day we call to mind that there is a necessity to pray for those in Purgatory. Purgatory is not a second chance at salvation for to be here is to already be judged as worthy of Heaven.

As we are told concerning those in Purgatory in the Catechism of the Catholic Church: “All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.”

Therefore, through our prayers we must continue to assist these souls who are still imperfectly purified. Likewise, we must set our attention upon Heaven without looking back. Not desiring to slip into Purgatory with the tip of our toe, but to be judged as worthy of Heaven like those now in Purgatory and numbered among the saints in Heaven.

Let us continue to pray for these holy souls who have now gone before us into Eternal Life. Let us come to order our life after the Kingdom of Heaven while we still have the opportunity. Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon them. May the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

All Saints Day Homily

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints.

For some the saints may seem to be a foreign entity which is held far away from us. Through this mindset they are kept at a distance and not seen as something that we should strive to be. The saints are not simple legends of individuals which teach us a nice lesson about morality nor are they dead and thus of no assistance to us.

The saints are those who have now been called home to Heaven. There are the saints whose names have been revealed to us by God through the Church and there are those saints now called home to God whose names we do not know. The saints were real individuals who lived a life of sanctity and thus died in the state of grace and were judged as worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Saints serve as intercessors for us. We do not pray to them as if they are God, but ask them to pray to God on our behalf. We must remember that they are now with God in Heaven and thus through the beatific vision to which they have been joined are able to hear our prayers. Unlike those whom we know in this life they are now with God and their prayers are very important.

The saints serve as models of holiness for us. Our culture has lifted up many models for us through music, television, movies, and sports. Through these glimpses we are not always afforded an image of what it means to be a Christian and thus a servant of the Lord. The saints give us such a glimpse for their lives ended up being lived for the Lord. Instead of exalting celebrities we should look towards the saints in order that we may come to model our life in similar fashion.

We too are called to be saints. This means that we are called to strive for the Kingdom of Heaven above all things. The saints are real for if they were not there we be no one in Heaven including us once our time on this earth expires. Through our devotion to these holy men, women, and angels may we persevere in running the race to Heaven. Let us “rejoice and be glad, for (our) reward will be great in heaven.”

All you holy saints of God, pray for us.

Christ the King Homily (Extraordinary Form)

Today we observe the Feast of Christ the King.

This past Sunday we were instructed in our Gospel, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” This proclamation exclaims that our faith is not something that can be divided up into various categories and thus not be integrated into who we are as a human person.

The Feast of Christ the King was established in order to proclaim that Christ still holds a place in our modern day society. He cannot be divorced from our interaction with the world as some would like to believe and do. He is the King who reigns victorious from the cross and thus He is the King to whom our world longs for we can find our fulfillment nowhere else.

As Pope Pius XI exclaimed in Quas Primas (In the First), “He must reign in our minds, which should assent with perfect submission and firm belief to revealed truths and to the doctrines of Christ. He must reign in our wills, which should obey the laws and precepts of God. He must reign in our hearts, which should spurn natural desires and love God above all things, and cleave to him alone. He must reign in our bodies and in our members, which should serve as instruments for the interior sanctification of our souls.”

As the Lord exclaimed in our Gospel, “Every one who is of the truth hears my voice.” It should be no secret that our modern day society has put so much in the way of hearing this voice. We cannot allow the noise of this world in all of its busyness to silence this voice that is being made manifest for us for this is the voice of truth.

Very soon our nation will enter into another election cycle. Some allow themself to take on a political party over the full teaching of the Church. In our discernment for this upcoming election we must do so under a spirit prayer that is done in unison with the entirety of the Church’s teachings kept in mind. Again we cannot live a faith that is not integrated entirely into who we are as a human person.

May this Feast of Christ the King further assist us in coming to realize the importance of Christ in our life and society. Christ is not just one of many ways to truth, but is truth itself. Our heart must remain open to this truth for He is the sovereign power over our bodies, our thoughts, our heart, and our will. In choosing Him we come to exalt Him as King over all of our life.

Long live Christ the King!

30th Sunday of OT Year B Homily

In our Gospel the blind man exclaimed on two occasions, “Son of David, have pity on me.” This exclamation along with a few others from scripture are associated with the Jesus Prayer. It is this prayer that is popular in the Orthodox Church where one simply recites, “Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.”

In 1st Thessalonians Saint Paul states, “pray without ceasing.” Such a command can seem to be impossible especially in the midst of a world which is as busy as ours. The Church is an important place for prayer to take place, but prayer must also be taken outside of these walls and integrated into who we are as a human person.

This means that our prayer is to be taken into the world and be lived. It is to take place while we are at work, at school, driving down the road, shopping at the store, when with family, when we are alone. Prayer must be an important part of our walk of faith. Without prayer we have no relationship with the Lord.

This blind man called out to the Lord on many occasions. He understood that He was the one for whom his heart longed. No matter the difficulty and set back of life he continued to cry out only the louder. We too must take his example upon us as we continue to cry out to the Lord in the midst of our own need.

The beauty of the Jesus Prayer is its simplicity. Despite its simplicity it is filled with so much meaning. It is to proclaim an understanding that Christ is God, that we are a sinner who is in need of His mercy, and lead us further into entering into communion with Him. We must be stirred out of our slumber and be placed into action that embraces a life of faith at all times.

Some can grow confused and think that they have nothing to grow in. God is an infinite reality and so is His love. Therefore, there is always something more that we are able to grow in. If we were to reach such a level of perfection then we would be God Himself and that would be a great impossibility for we are not God.

From the book The Way of the Pilgrim we are told: “Again, I started off on my wanderings. But now I did not walk along as before, filled with care. The invocation of the Name of Jesus gladdened my way. Everybody was kind to me. If anyone harms me I have only to think, ‘How sweet is the Prayer of Jesus!’ and the injury and the anger alike pass away and I forget it all.”

This is the prayer of the blind man, “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.” Likewise, this becomes our prayer, “Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.” Through these words ever placed upon our lips may we grow in love for God and our desire to serve His Gospel as the blind man came and “followed him on the way.”