External Solemnity of the Rosary Homily

Today we celebrate the External Solemnity of the Most Holy Rosary. This celebration is great way to start this month of October because it reminds us that this month is dedicated to the rosary. Pope Leo has asked that the faithful throughout the world will join with him throughout this month to pray the rosary for peace.

This request is important to take seriously because our prayers are very important. This feast ended up being instituted by Pope Pius V to commemorate the victory that was won at the Battle of Lepanto. Pope Pius V had encouraged Christians throughout the world to pray the rosary for victory.

Our world truly needs such victory to be won. We are gravely in need of the peace that our Lord alone can bring. The news constantly reminds us of such turmoil that takes places locally, in our country, and in this world. There is constantly war, senseless violence such as attacks on schools or churches, and there has been the assassination of Charlie Kirk as well as the death of others.

Not only do we need peace in such areas as these, but our world also seems to move further and further away from the divine truths of faith. Children have wondered away from the faith, there increase in broken homes and a lack of a domestic church, sexuality is flaunted not accordance with divine law, and the sanctity of human life from conception until natural death is not respected.

Within the Church we have an attack on the unity of faith. There are some who have allowed their own opinions to rip them away from such unity and therefore we have so many denominations which reflect a splintered Christianity. Even in the Church there are some who allow personal opinions and preferences to become more important then the unity of faith.

Again the answer to this never ending litany of issues which our world faces is Christ the Prince of Peace. As our Blessed Mother appeared at Fatima and addressed herself as “The Lady of the Rosary.” She asked that the rosary be prayed in order “to obtain peace for the world and the end of the war.”

Some might claim that the rosary is a devotion that focuses to much on Mary. This claim is not founded in truth. The hinge to which all things point in the “Hail Mary” is Jesus. He is the fruit of the womb and through the rosary we are able to mediate on the mysteries of His life, death, and resurrection.

Through the rosary we place our faith in the Lord as we allow our heart to be drawn closer to Him through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Let us take up this powerful weapon in faith and pray that our life, our family, our world may come to obtain peace. We can only obtain peace if we place our trust in Jesus.

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us.

27th Sunday of OT Year C Homily

This Sunday has been designated as our stewardship Sunday. On this Sunday we reflect upon the importance of stewardship in the life of the faithful. Stewardship transcends the mere giving of money because through it one fully comes to recognize their mission as a Christian disciple. Through stewardship one freely gives of the many gifts that have been entrusted to our care by God.

Our response to our Responsorial Psalm proclaimed, “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” Such a statement points inward upon self and reminds that we are to hear the voice of God that is being made manifest to us. We can only hear such a voice if we are first found willing to pursue relationship with God.

Through such a relationship we learn to pray. Prayer not only liturgical in nature or devotional (as important as these may be), but so to through the use of silence. Here we discover that silent voice that calls out to us and through the nurturing of such a voice we come to be transformed in the Lord’s presence.

Through such transformation we are able to grow in our participation in God’s love. In such manner our hearts come to be liberated through this relationship and from all that holds us captive. Stewardship then becomes a participation is such love for through it we are giving a response as a disciple of the Lord to God’s unconditional love that is being made manifest for us.

At the conclusion of our Gospel it was proclaimed that “we are unprofitable servants; we have done what what we were obliged to do.” From Psalm 116 we ask, “How can I repay the Lord for all the good He has done for me? The answer to this question as well as how we are to be an unprofitable servant is found through our commitment to stewardship.

CS Lewis once stated, “A person whose hands are full of parcels cannot receive a gift.” Stewardship allows us to enter into such a conversion where we can grow in our love and our desire to give freely of self through the use of our time, talent, and treasure. Stewardship is a part of our response to discipleship.

In our parish we are already blessed with so many good stewards who freely give of their time, talent, and treasure. Through our vast list of ministries are found so many who humbly give of themselves out of love. Stewardship is an invitation for us to continue to commit ourself in such a way for through such action we are found to be unprofitable servants.

Sometime this week all register families will receive a mailing asking them to make a commitment of their stewardship to our parish community. Please pray prior to filling out this form and return it next weekend during the offertory. It is my hope that all households will come together to fill out this form and make a commitment to give of their time, talent, and treasure based upon their state in life for the Lord calls to be unprofitable servant of all that has been entrusted to our care.

16th Sunday After Pentecost Homily

We are called to pursue the virtue of humility in our daily life. It can be easy to desire to pursue the place of honor at the expense of others. Rather, we should remember that we are a disciple of the Lord and thus everything that we do should flow from our relationship with Him. When things are about us and not about Him we have caused disorder in our life.

When we come to participate in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass our disposition should not be about us and our own preferences, but about the Lord. Everyone has so many preferences to how we are to worship Him, but at the Mass we join with Him at Calvary where time continues to stands still and we are united as one. In the liturgy we are to direct our sight entirely to Him.

The liturgy is primarily the “work of God” because Christ, as High Priest, continues His redemptive work through the Church. Nevertheless, we are called upon to cooperate with such work through our full and active participation as God’s people known as the Church. Through a lack of humility we would rather the liturgy be about us instead of Christ.

Beyond the Church’s liturgy every aspect of our life should be informed by our relationship with Christ. We are so quick to exalt ourselves, but so slow to humble ourself in the Lord’s presence. When we interact with others, especially those who we do not agree with, we must treat them with charity and realize that we are nothing more then a disciple of the Lord.

As a disciple of the Lord everything that we do must flow from our relationship with Him. We can only make way for such a reality to be made manifest if we are found willing to enter into relationship with Him. The world is busy and filled with so much noise and thus we must choose to make prayer a priority. Through prayer we make way for the Lord to be in our midst.

The sacrament of confession assists us in making way for the Lord’s coming. Through sin we turn away from Him, but through the forgiveness of sins these wounds come to be healed. A confession of one’s sins is impossible if one is not first found willing to let go of their pride and be humbled by Christ’s mercy.

In a matter of moments we will invite the Lord to enter under our roof. This is a humble proclamation that is made due to the fact that Christ’s love for us is so great that He willing to prevail Himself to us under the appearances of bread and wine. Through the reception of this sacrament we must encounter Him with humility by letting go of our pride.

No matter what lies in wait for us from here let us remain united to the truth of faith. In the midst of all hardship and difficulty we must remember that all that we do is about Christ. Through humility we continue to make way for His coming among us and treat one another as an outpouring of such humility that He shows to us from the wood of the cross.

15th Sunday After Pentecost Homily

Many prophets have come and gone. There are four major prophets of the Old Testament Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. There are all of the minor prophets and the other prophets. The final prophet of the Old Covenant was Saint John the Baptist who prepared the way for the coming of the Messiah.

Prophets are sent to speak God’s will and designs to the people of the Old Covenant, forming them in the hope of salvation. Their role is to speak God’s truth and to remind those who would hear of their covenant with God and to call them back to that covenant through repentance. Though existing prior to the coming of Christ each of them pointed the way towards the one who would come.

Through the miracle that was worked in our Gospel "they glorified God, saying: A great prophet is risen up among us, and God has visited His people.” This profession gets to the heart of what we believe for Christ is the Son of God and is the Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity and is thus God Himself.

Jesus does not simply relay a message to us from God for He is the ultimate revelation of God for He is the Word who took on our human flesh and made His dwelling place here among us. He serves as the fulfillment of all prophecy for all of it pointed the way towards the one who would come, the Messiah.

From the Catechism we are told of our share in this prophetic office of Christ, “The holy People of God shares also in Christ's prophetic office," above all in the supernatural sense of faith that belongs to the whole People, lay and clergy, when it "unfailingly adheres to this faith . . . once for all delivered to the saints,” and when it deepens its understanding and becomes Christ's witness in the midst of this world.”

In other words as people of faith we must continue to bear witness to God’s truth daily. In order to accomplish this task we must live according to God’s design, we must show Jesus to others in the way in which we live and order our life, and we must help at building up the Kingdom of God here on earth through our actions.

So many act as passive spectators when it pertains to such a prophetic role. There is nothing which is passive about our faith because it is the proclamation of all that is true. Through it we are professing our salvation which should be of top importance to each of us. Let us boldly set out to profess Christ Jesus in our thoughts, words, and deeds.

“A great prophet is risen up among us, and God has visited His people.” This proclamation is of utter importance and thus we must continue to spread the Good News of this message.

25th Sunday of OT Year C Homily

From Saint Paul we were told, “For there is one God. There is also one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”

There are some of other faith traditions who improperly apply this verse against Catholicism. They claim that we place Mary and the saints over the power of Christ. They claim that priests, bishops, and even the pope take the place of Christ. They act as if we are able to go to Christ with our needs. They rightly claim that Christ is the one mediator between God and men (that is what scripture says after all), but improperly understand this verse in light of the Church.

From the 2nd Vatican Council document Lumen Gentium, “The one mediator, Christ, established and ever sustains here on earth his holy Church, the community of faith, hope, and charity, as a visible organization through which he communicates truth and grace to all men.”

And from the Council of Trent well before that, “If anyone asserts that this sin of Adam, which in its origin is one, and by propagation, not by imitation, transfused into all, which is in each one as something that is his own, is taken away either by the forces of human nature or by a remedy other than the merit of the one mediator, our Lord Jesus Christ . . . let him be anathema.”

As Catholics we understand the importance of the intercession of the saints. They are able to pray for us as we are able to pray for one another. They unlike us, have already been found worthy of Heaven and have thus been incorporated into the beatific vision. In no way do they take the place of Christ for even Saint Paul understood that “supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone”.

The title Mary Mediatrix of All Graces does not go against what was spoken of by Saint Paul concerning Christ. Mary’s role is not independent, but instead receives its power and authority from Christ. It was she who brought God into this world through her womb and thus she is able to connect humanity to God through her Son. She is solely a conduit through which God’s grace flows to us.

Priests have a unique role assigned to them. They pray for the faithful, they offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and they minister at the sacraments. Despite this unique role they are not mediators between man and God, that is Christ alone. At the heart of the Mass is Christ who lays down His life for us out of love upon the cross.

As Catholics we should pray directly to Jesus for He is the one mediator. At the same time let us continue to pray for one another and to ask the intercession of the angels and saints that we may come to live good and holy lives. And so let us ask the “blessed Mary ever-Virgin, all the Angels and Saints, and you, my brothers and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God. Amen.”

Exaltation of the Holy Cross Homily

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross where the cross is held high for all the world to see. This cross is, after all, the instrument from which our salvation has been won for us.

From the Book of Numbers we were told of Moses who lifted high the seraph which was mounted upon the pole. Those who looked at it, even if bitten, would live. So too we as Christians are able to look upon the cross and we thou touched by the reality of sin are able to live.

The crucifix is an image of Christ’s redemptive act. Whenever we look at such an image our mind should be taken to the total outpouring of love that Christ has for us. He was willing to lay down His life in order that we may be redeemed. Saint Pail spoke of this in our Epistle for “he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave.”

Saint Rose of Lima stated, “Apart from the cross there is no other ladder by which we may get to heaven.” This past Sunday we were invited from the Gospel of Saint Luke to take up this cross, “whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” 

Therefore, despite all the Lord has done for us we are given the option to rebuke this cross. In rebuking the cross we rebuke the Lord and the love that He has shown for us. By entering into our own interests at the cost of the cross we cannot find ourself in Heaven. For words of the Gospel of Saint Matthew, “Whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me.”

As we further celebrate the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross let us come to grow in our love for the cross. It is not just a simple pendant that is worn around one’s neck, but is a way of life. The more that we are found willing to enter into the mystery of the cross the more that we are able to grow in love.

The cross is truly something which is irksome, but through it we are given life. Let us hold high the cross and looking upon it dare to live as a Christian, instead of so easily compromising the life of faith to pursue the ways of this world. With every cross that we must endure we are able to look outward towards the hope of the Resurrection. This is the joy which we must pursue and it can only be made manifest if we are willing to embrace the cross which has been held high for us.

We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you, because by your Cross you have redeemed the world.

13th Sunday After Pentecost Homily

We must be grateful for all that God has given to us especially the gift of His grace.

The lepers were helpless for their situation placed them as outcasts of the community. They were unable to do anything for themself that would bring forth healing except to beg their situation to God. They thus cried out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” Of the ten who came to be healed only one returned into order to show gratitude for such a wondrous gift.

Like the lepers we are unable to be saved by our own merit. We needed Christ’s sacrifice upon the cross as well as the continued assistance of God’s grace in order to complete such a task. By accepting such a gift we must remember to be filled with such gratitude for what we have received.

There are some who unknowingly go about this life as if they are able to save themselves. They act as if no matter how they choose to order their life that they will be saved. Rather, we must realize our dependence upon God and the need for His mercy. In such a state we are able to cry out “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.”

Through such an act of faith these words lead us towards true repentance. With a contrite heart we come before God confessing our sins and receiving the grace of the sacrament of confession as we are absolved from these sins. We should be thankful for such a gift for without it we would be unable to be healed from those serious sins that have cut us off from the gift of God’s grace.

The ultimate proclamation of such thanksgiving is the Eucharist itself. The word “Eucharist” means “thanksgiving.” Thus through the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass we are not passive recipients, but active in our role of giving back to Him who has given all things unto us. Through the Mass we are able to enter into His sacrifice and give thanks to God for this gift through our worship.

In coming to commune with the Lord in Holy Communion we invite Him to enter in under our roof. Through such a reception we are strengthened to enter into the world not living as an enemy of Christ, but as one who has been sent forth to bring Christ out into the world. In such manner the leper was commanded, “Stand up and go; your faith has saved you.”

This command did not send him back into the world unchanged, but as one that had been changed by God’s healing power. Let us continue to call out to the infinite mercy of God and intrust ourselves to the gift of His grace. In doing so we must always remember to give thanks for all that God has done for us.

“Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.”

12th Sunday After Pentecost Homily

The lawyer posed a question in order to test Jesus. Jesus turns this around by responding to him with a question of His own. To this the lawyer responded, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, with thy whole soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind, and thy neighbor as thyself.”

It is one thing to say these words and it is another thing entirely to put these words into action. Knowing this the Lord responded to this man, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.”

The parable of the Good Samaritan unfolds from here and further expounds upon what was told to this lawyer. At the heart of the message we should not spend our time attempting to figure out who our neighbor is, but instead take care of all those whom we come across. One does not have to be of the same demographic in order to be shown such care.

Often times this Good Samaritan is seen as being Christ. He encounters this man who was left for dead and through His mercy restores Him to proper health, even entrusting him to the care of the inn which is the Church. It is from this same font of mercy that we are given health and set upon the straight path which leads towards the Kingdom of Heaven.

Like this lawyer we need to encounter the Lord and be sent forth by Him in a spirit of such charity. It can be easy to rationalize our lack of care for the needs of others. This was precisely what the Lord was making this lawyer to understand.

The Gospel challenges us to something more then using the proper set of words. Rather, it sends us forth to glorify the Lord by our life. Whenever we fail to love our neighbor we cannot claim to have love for God. Love God can only be made manifest if we are also willing to love our neighbor as self.

In our prayer we should reflect upon the ways in which we have failed to show such charity to others. This might entail thoughts that we hold in our mind concerning them, this might be the words which we speak against them, or even the actions that we put into motion which goes against their human dignity.

As Christians this gospel challenges us in a great way. If we are to grow in the practice of such charity towards our neighbor we must enter into the infinite love of God. By entering into this reality we are sent forth to share what we have received. Let us be willing to let go of ourself in order to grow in that love that expressed to us by Christ from the wood of the cross.

22nd Sunday of OT Year C Homily

Saint Augustine stated, “The way to Christ is first through humility, second through humility, third through humility.”

Saint Thomas Aquinas in the Summa perfectly defines this virtue, “Humility means seeing ourselves as God sees us: knowing every good we have comes from Him as pure gift.”

Humility’s opposite, pride, is seen as the root of all evil. Therefore, humility serves as the foundation from which all other virtues are able to take root. Without humility what would seem to be virtuous would only point back to our self importance.

From Saint John Chrysostom, “Humility is the root, mother, nurse, foundation, and bond of all virtue.”

Humility is no easy task. A simple reflection of the prayer known as the Litany of Humility would give rise to such feelings. Deliver me, Jesus from the desire of being esteemed, the desire of being loved, the desire of being extolled, the desire of being honored, the desire of being praised, the desire of being preferred to others, the desire of being consulted, the desire of being approved, the fear of being humiliated, the fear of being despised, the fear of suffering rebukes, the fear of being calumniated, the fear of being forgotten, the fear of being ridiculed, the fear of being wronged, and the fear of being suspected.

Dispositions such as these should make us see the difficultly of being humble. It is easy to want ourself to be exalted for all the wondrous things that we have done. We must live in proper balance where we don’t think too highly or too lowly of self. Through humility we realize who we are and that we are dependent on God’s grace and the love that Christ shares to us from the wood of the cross.

Saint Ignatius of Loyola makes reference to three modes of humility: humility for the sake of salvation, humility of a detached life, and humility for the Love of the poor Christ. To achieve this we must first acknowledge our need for humility by acknowledging our faults and sins. Then we can grow in our desire to follow the will of God instead of being caught up in our own desires, and then finally we are able to live as one who goes about things simply out of pure love for Jesus.

Let us desire to grow in such humility for without humility we would be unable to strive to be saints. Through such humility we will find our rest not in the ways of this world, but in Christ who invites us to abandon all things in order to come and follow after Him.

11th Sunday After Pentecost Homily

In the Rite of Baptism we are told at the Ephpeta, “May the Lord Jesus, who made the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak, grant that you may soon be able to receive His word and profess the faith to the praise and glory of God the Father.”

Baptism thus takes an individual who has inherited the stain of original sin and washes it away. Through our baptism we can proclaim with the Psalmist, “Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.”

Through our baptism we have been given sanctifying grace. It is important that we do not allow such a gift to lie dormant. Instead as those who have been baptized we must be sent forth in order to live a life of faith.

The Ephpeta makes two comments, “to receive His word” and to “profess the faith to the praise and glory of God the Father.”

The reception of something requires humility on our behalf. We must realize that we are in need of the gift of God’s grace that is being bestowed upon us. We cannot receive if we remain closed to such a reality for we will be unable to hear the voice of God which is being made manifest in our life.

To profess something requires that we be sent forth to share what we have received. As is said in Saint Matthew’s Gospel, “Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lamp stand, where it gives light to all the house.” Through profession of faith are making Christ a priority of our life that we radiate wherever we may go.

Profession of faith does not require that we write books on the topic, give lectures, or preach in the public square. Profession of faith does mean that we allow our whole life to rotate around Christ. That when we are with others we live as one who has been claimed for Christ. Are our words and actions lived in accordance with the gospel?

Baptism has been and will continue to be an important element of our life. Nevertheless, we must continue to nurture this gift given to us each day. Continue to enter into relationship with God through prayer and the sacramental life of the Church. Continue to invite God’s grace to enter into your life in order that you may remain an obedient disciple of the Lord.

From Saint Ignatius of Antioch, “Let none of you turn deserter. Let your baptism be your armor; your faith, your helmet; your love, your spear; your patient endurance, your panoply.” In such manner we will “receive His word and profess the faith to the praise and glory of God the Father.”