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.

3rd Sunday of Lent Year A Homily

The Israelites were liberated from their slavery by passing through the Red Sea. Now they were toiling about in the desert and were found not only uncomfortable, but dying. From this plight Moses come before God and he was instructed to “strike the rock.” From this rock flowed water which quenched their thirst.

Saint Paul would state that this “Rock was Christ.” It is for this reason that Christ is able to grant something greater than the simple quenching of thirst. The Lord is able to offer us the gifts of Sanctifying Grace. This gift allows us to participate in the very life of God. Through such an interaction with Him and the gift of the Spirit we move from being a consumer, always thirsty, to finding our fill in His Divine Life.

This transformation is realized within the Sacrament of Baptism. Not only are we being washed within these waters, but we are also being filled. We are sent forth from these waters not as if unchanged, but truly changed in Christ. We are sent forth from His midst living for Him and the joy that proceeds from this relationship.

On this 3rd Sunday of Lent we celebrate the First Scrutiny. Here we join our prayers for those who are now journeying towards the Easter sacraments especially the sacrament of baptism. We pray that any spirit of dryness may be cast out, so that the living water of baptism may flow freely.

We find ourselves like the Israelites who had such thirst. We thirst for so much through our grief, anxiety, and the pursuit of things that do not satisfy. The woman in our Gospel was caught up in such pursuits as she came to the well. Nevertheless, through a true encounter with Christ her thirst was forever quenched.

We too must allow the Lord to quench our thirst as He quenched the thirst of this woman. He sees us in our need and invites us to enter more fully into communion with Him. If we are to undergo such conversion and have our thirst quenched then we must allow Him to heal us of all that holds us captive.

The sacrament of confession heals us in such a way as we turn towards the infinite mercy of God. This Thursday our parish will hold its Lenten Penance Service at 6pm with a total of eight priests assisting with confessions. If you have been away from the sacrament for a long time use this opportunity to be reconciled with God and live.

We must ask ourselves if we are running towards wells which leave us empty (wealth, pleasure, power, honor) or do we turn our sight toward the Lord. It He who invites “Let anyone who thirsts come to me and drink.” What barrier do we continue to put in the way of such fulfillment and are we willing to remove it in order that may finally come to place our trust in the Lord?

2nd Sunday of Lent Year A Homily

Every year on the 2nd Sunday of Lent we always  hear concerning the Transfiguration of the Lord. The Greek word for Transfiguration is metamorphosis. Metamorphosis translates, "to be changed in form" or "to be transformed." The Greek metamorphosis used in this context describes a change in appearance and not a change in essence.

Such a transformation was true of our Lord on Mount Tabor. Here He did not change in nature, but a veil was pulled back to reveal who He had been all along. On this mount His humanity did not change into divinity, but His divinity which was hidden was allowed to shine through. Through such a glimpse His clothing became “white as light.”

Lent is the path which leads us towards Holy Week and the crucifixion. Through such a glimpse we are given a reminder of His divine glory which serves as the hope of the Resurrection in the midst of all the darkness that we must sustain. Through such a glimpse we are allotted courage to continue to move forward day by day just like the Apostles.

We are only in the second week of Lent, but maybe we are already growing weary when it pertains to our Lenten resolves which started out so passionately. Through such a glimpse into the Lord’s Divinity we should realize the purpose of why we do what we do and continue to do it with the Lord’s help.

As Saint Thomas Aquinas put it, “Christ enjoyed this splendor for a moment to encourage his disciples to endure the trials that were to come.” This is the divine foretaste necessary to continue to move forward. This is the hope that we must continue to enjoy in the midst of those trials that come our way because Christ has already won victory upon the cross and so we can endure.

Hopefully all the sacrifices that we have committed ourselves to during this Lenten season have a purpose. Hopefully they were not chosen just because of some perceived need to give something up, but because we realized the need to bring about a proper transformation within us. Through such a transformation we are able change our appearance to be more Christlike.

As Saint Paul puts it in his Letter to the Romans, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.” This is precisely what we ought to be setting out to do during this season of Lent. This season is here not in order that we may continue to trudge throughout life without a purpose, but that we may come to live for Christ.

Let us come to live for Christ as the Apostles would eventually come to live for Him. Through this glimpse into His Transfiguration they were given the hope to continue to move forward. Through such a glimpse may we continue to move forward each day placing our trust in the Lord and bringing about that transformation which is necessary for us.

1st Sunday of Lent Year A Homily

Today we commemorate the first Sunday in the season of Lent. Here we enter into the confines of the desert with Jesus and while there we are reminded of the importance of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Through this season we come to strip away the noise of this world in order that we may finally come to hear the voice of God that is being made manifest in our life.

Jesus’ time spent in the desert points towards what took place in the garden. Here we discover a parallel between the fall of Adam and the victory of Christ. Adam had everything that he would ever need in the garden and yet he fell while Christ had nothing in this desert and yet He held firm. Jesus is the “New Adam” because He undoes the knot of disobedience tied by the first Adam.

In the desert the devil comes in order to tempt Jesus, but He overcomes these assaults and lies which come His way. Adam was tempted in such manner inside of the garden, but he fell to the deceptions which were thrust upon him. The devil is unable to create and so he twists that which has been created to where it no longer meets its God given purpose.

The first temptation that we are presented with deals with bread and thus our physical hunger. Adam was tempted in such a way through the fruit of the tree. The devil wants us to believe that our way to happiness is through the fulfillment of earthly pleasures be they food, drink, sex, wealth, or anything else that has become disordered instead of meeting its God given purpose.

The second temptation suggests that Jesus throw Himself off the temple in order to force God’s hand. This is the sin of presumption, that same sin committed by Adam and Eve that they could determine that which is right or wrong for themselves. Through submitting to such a temptation we attempt to use God as a tool for own validation instead of submitting to Him with trust.

The third temptation deals with the desire for power and thus “being like gods.” Adam was led to believe that eating of the fruit would grant him divine autonomy. In the desert the devil offers Jesus all the kingdoms of the world in exchange for worship. This becomes the temptation to prioritize our own will over the humble service that God asks from us.

These forty days of Lent are an opportunity to reorient ourselves to God where such orientation is needed. By fasting we tell our body that we do not need such worldly pleasures in order to be fulfilled. By our almsgiving we reject the allure of power and wealth, and through our prayer we silence the voice of the tempter in order that God’s voice may be heard.

With courage let us look towards Christ who overcame the devil with scripture and obedience. We are not alone in our temptations for we are assisted with the grace that is given to us by God. Through such grace we can preserve until the end assuming we desire to strive to fight against such assaults. Let us remember that the “New Adam” has already won this battle and so there is hope for us we move towards Easter that we might rise with Him fully alive and transformed.

Ash Wednesday Homily

Today we receive a smudge of ash upon our foreheads as we are told, “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return.” This mark of ash is not a badge of honor, but a reminder that we are in need of a Savior. In our Gospel Jesus warned against “practicing our righteousness before others to be seen by them.” This mark of ash means nothing if we are not willing to go further and begin to go to work on what is found disordered within us. Actions such as prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are not done in order that we may be seen, but that true transformation may take place within us day by day. Through the reception of these ashes let us call out to the mercy of God who sees what is hidden and invites us to return to Him.

5th Sunday of Lent Homily (Extraordinary Form)

Next Sunday we will arrive at Holy Week through our observation of Palm Sunday. Throughout this week we journey with our Lord through His Passion leading towards the joys of His Resurrection at Easter. These most sacred of days assist us in growing in our love for what the Lord has done for us and our desire to live our life oriented towards Him.

In the final words of today’s gospel we were told, “They took up stones therefore to cast at Him: but Jesus hid Himself, and went out of the temple.” These words proclaim that it was not yet the time for His Passion, but very soon this event would come to its fulfillment. At His arrival in the holy city of Jerusalem the crowd will receive Him with joy, but so quickly demand that He be crucified.

When we look around the church we will see that the cross and other holy images have been veiled. Through there veiling they have been taken away from our sight. Hopefully there is currently a longing to be reunited with that which has been taken away from us. Through His cross and resurrection we come to be set free in order that we may see clearly again.

As the prophet Isaiah states, “as one from whom men hide their faces, He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.” Through our decision to enter into a life of sin we choose to reject Him by failing to hold Him to the respect that He is owed.

We like the crowd at Palm Sunday exclaim “Hosanna”, but we are so quickly willing to shout out all the louder, “crucify Him.” Whenever we choose to enter into a life of sin we add to the suffering of Christ. Our faith is something more then saying all the right words when people are looking on because it is also living a life committed to Him when no-one is around.

As this is summed up in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “When we deny him by our deeds, we in some way seem to lay violent hands on him. Nor did demons crucify him; it is you who have crucified him and crucify him still, when you delight in your vices and sins.”

Hopefully, we will allow these coming days of Holy Week to transform our relationship with Christ. Being a Christian is something most serious as can be seen by these days which will soon unfold before our sight. Let us enter fully into these most sacred of days in order that we come to love Christ and reject the allure of evil.

As Saint Alphonsus Liguori concludes each of his Stations of the Cross, “I love You, O my Jesus, with all my heart; I am sorry that I have offended You. May I never offend You again. Grant that I may love You always; and then do with me as You will."

4th Sunday of Lent Year A Homily

We have now arrived at the 4th Sunday of Lent which is often refereed to as Laetare Sunday. This name is taken from the first word of our Introit, rejoice. “Rejoice with Jerusalem; be glad for her, all you that love this city! Rejoice with her now, all you that have mourned her! You will enjoy her prosperity, like a child at its mother’s breast.”

With this celebration we should note that are we are now roughly halfway through the Lenten season. As we move into this next half of time it is easy to grow weary and to not remain alert. So too with the pilgrimage of life that we undergo it is so easy to grow weary and not keep our sight upon the Kingdom of Heaven.

Laetare Sunday is a day of great hope and joy. It is the realization that we are just about there and so we must continue to hold steadfast as we keep our sight upon the Kingdom of Heaven above all things. Very soon we will come to celebrate with joy our risen Lord and very soon we will be called home to Him through death with Heaven as our hope.

As Psalm 91 reminds in reference to this length of time set before us, “You shall not fear the terror of the night nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that roams in the darkness, nor the plague that ravages at noon.” This is what is often refereed to as the noonday devil also known as acedia which is a lack of care, apathy, boredom, or discouragement in spiritual matters.

To combat such acedia we need to make time for prayer and scripture, we must engage the work that is set before us, we must persevere throughout the course of the day striving to overcome temptation, and we must make use of the sacramental life of the Church especially the sacrament of confession.

We cannot give into this noonday devil and thus we must remember where we have been, the waters of baptism, and where we are headed, an encounter with our Risen Lord and the Kingdom of Heaven. There is a tradition on this 4th Sunday of Lent to make a pilgrimage to your church of baptism thus remembering where you have been. This is an interesting tradition which unites one to there baptism and what is still set before them in this life of faith.

Today we also hold the 2nd scrutiny for those who will soon find their church of baptism as this parish. Through the life giving waters of baptism your eyes will come to be opened as the blind man in our Gospel. As you rise from these waters you must always keep your sight upon Christ and continue to move towards Him with the confidence of faith each day. Let us keep them in our prayers.

May this day assist us in being able to rejoice as we continue to set our sight towards the coming of Easter and the life which is to come in the Kingdom of Heaven. Through such a glimpse we are given the hope and joy which is necessary to move forth from here as true disciples of the Lord instead of growing weary and being consumed by the noonday devil.

3rd Sunday of Lent Homily (Extraordinary Form)

At the Easter Vigil we will come to behold the Light of Christ which dispels the darkness of sin and death from our midst. At our baptism we were given such a light for through these life-giving waters we have come to be claimed for Christ and thus the darkness of sin has been washed away from our midst.

Our Epistle reminds us that we “were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of the light.” As we are told of such light in the Gospel of Saint Matthew, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where is gives light to all in the house.”

In other words we must embrace that faith that has been given to us to its fullest extent. We ought to come Mass each Sunday and Holy Day of Obligation, we ought to study Sacred Scripture and the faith, but we must also choose to do something with what we have been given. We must choose to live for Christ in all facets of our life that the Gospel may remain firmly on our mind, lips, and heart.

As our Lord exclaimed in our Gospel, “Rather, blessed are they who hear the word of God, and keep it.” Our faith demands that we take what we have been given and bring it into the world in order that it may be lived.

It is sin that seeps into our life and destroys that which ought to be made manifest. Sadly, there are many who see no issue with sin because the ugliness of its ways remains unseen by their sight. To remain in sin is to attempt to extinguish this light that ought to be left burning brightly. When the bridegroom comes in search for us we will not be found ready for our encounter with death.

The sacrament of confession heals that which has been left broken down by sin. Through the mercy of God and the grace outpoured we come to be forgiven and strengthened in order that we may head into the world and live as a disciple of Christ. To not frequent this sacrament would be to give into pride to the point that we are never healed and set straight.

This parish is filled with many opportunities to make use of the sacrament of confession. This Thursday we will hold our Lenten penance service where a total of nine priests will assist with the hearing of confessions. If it has been a long time since your last confession please make use of the opportunities which are constantly being set before you.

My brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus we must enter fully into this season of Lent in order that we may be found prepared for our encounter with Christ. Do not move backwards into the darkness of sin, but forward into the light of Christ which dispels such darkness from our midst. 

3rd Sunday of Lent Year A Homily

From the Book of Exodus we were instructed on how the Israelites had a thirst for water as they toiled about in the desert. In our Gospel we were told of the woman at the well who came in order to fill her jar with water. This need for water is an important element of our survival, but it  is Christ alone who is able to fill our need to the brim.

It was through the waters of baptism that we encountered such a reality. Through these life giving waters our sin came to be washed away as we were claimed for Christ Jesus. It is not enough to enter into these waters, but we must also rise out of them as a disciple of Christ in all that we say and do.

Very soon we will arrive at Easter where we will come to celebrate the Resurrection of the Lord and renew within ourself that commitment which was made at our baptism. So too there will be those who will soon enter into these same life giving waters at the Easter Vigil. For this reason we hold the first scrutiny for those in our Becoming Catholic class who will soon be baptized.

As we join our prayers with them as they continue to prepare themself for this encounter with the life giving waters of baptism and to proclaim Christ as Messiah we must evaluate our own life and ask what ways we have allowed ourself to be led astray from Christ and the life that springs forth for us from His love and mercy.

This Thursday we will hold our Lenten Penance Service at 6pm. There will be a total of nine priests who will assist with the hearing of confessions. If it has been a long time since your last confession I invite you to use this opportunity to renew that which has been left pushed to the side. None of us can be so prideful as to proclaim that we are not in need of Christ’s mercy and the forgiveness of sins that awaits us in the sacrament of confession.

Do we truly proclaim Him as “the savior of the world” or would we rather Him be lowered to the status of the world? To submit oneself to baptism is a huge statement because it is countercultural as being a Christian is countercultural for we are in the world, but not of the world.

Christ brought His mercy and forgiveness to this woman as He desires to bring His mercy and forgiveness to us. We are all in need of this mercy and forgiveness and so we are in need of having this encounter with Him in the sacrament of confession. Through our continued profession of Christ as Messiah may we allow ourself to be transformed in His mercy which has redeemed the world from sin and death.

2nd Sunday of Lent Year C Homily

The cross has become a central symbol to our Christian identity. We see our churches adorned with the crucifix, we have crucifixes on the walls of our home, and we wear them around our neck. What is being displayed here is an important reminder of God’s infinite love for us and how our salvation has been won.

Despite it’s centrality to our life the cross is something which is difficult to bear. The cross is not just an empty symbol, but one which calls to mind the totality of our commitment to the Lord which should spring forth in the midst of every trial and temptation. There is no trial or temptation that transcends the cross which has redeemed the world.

The Lord has stated to us, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” If all that we know is the cross which continuously beats us down there would be no opportunity for hope. There some maybe even here who live in such a sate of mind. Hope is a virtue which springs forth with the understanding that the cross and resurrection work in unison with one another.

Thoerefore, in the midst of the trails of the cross we are able to look towards the joy of the resurrection. Also, in the midst of the joys of the resurrection we have the cross to fall back upon when our life begins to get difficult. Together these work in order that the virtue of hope may continue to exist in the midst of everything that we must face in this life.

It is no accident that on this 2nd Sunday of Lent we are always told about the Transfiguration of the Lord. This is not to be confused with the Feast of the Transfiguration, that will come on August 6th. Instead this encounter is placed here because it brings forth hope to the apostles who will soon come to know the events of the Lord’s Passion.

In this encounter we are given a glimpse into Jesus’ divine glory which reminds us of the ultimate victory over death and suffering which awaits us through His resurrection. The Lord’s Transfiguration is a shining light which springs forth in the midst of hardship and sacrifice using in the virtue of hope.

As we continue this Lenten journey as well as the journey of our own life let us be filled with such consolation from the Lord. It can be easy to allow the cross to become a mere object without purpose. It can be easy to look past the cross that is present in our own life without joining it unto the Lord. Let hope be extended to our life for through these events which spring forth our salvation is being won for us and we can indeed triumph.

Let us continue this journey towards the Transfiguration which brings about our transformation in the midst of a world that has been touched by sin and death.