14 Sun of OT Year B Homily

1st Reading: Ez 2:2-5

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 123:1-4

2nd Reading: 2 Cor 12:7-10

Gospel: Mk 6:1-6

This past Wednesday the night sky was filled with many beautiful colors as our nation celebrated it's Independence. No matter where you found yourself you could hear the never ending boom that came with each firework that was shot into the air. When you think about the noise and the blast that happens when you shoot these into the night sky it is quite remarkable. It is remarkable that from a small object, such as a firework, that all of this can come about. Of course if you take a bottle rocket and hold it inside the palm of your hand nothing will happen. In order to get any results you have to light a match and place it to the wick in order to ignite the gunpowder that is found inside. Only after following these steps can anyone expect anything to come about when using fireworks. If any of these steps were to be left out the result would be nothing because you put nothing into it and thus you can get nothing out of it. Our faith can accomplish many things if we allow ourselves to put something into it.

Today's Gospel from Saint Mark gives us a glimpse into the lives of people who do not have the time nor the energy to place any work into their faith. Each of these people who were present inside of this passage had so much room for opportunity to take place within their lives and yet they did not take advantage of it. Jesus Christ was even present before them and yet they did not allow Him to work within their lives. It was not through the fault of Christ that miracles were not able to be performed, but it was due to the lack of faith that was present inside of the people. Only if these people had a little bit of faith great miracles would of been performed within their lives. They did not realize that they needed to put work into something if they expected to get anything out of it. Jesus was amazed at their lack faith because He knew the potential that existed for each of them that was being wasted. It was His desire for these people to use their potential to its fullest in order to bring these people to unfailing trust in Him.

Each of us present here today should have the same desire to have our faith set aflame by the Heart of Christ. We should not just sit back and relax and expect great things to happen to us while we put no work into the process. Going to Mass for an hour on Sunday is a great start for us, but we must do more. Christ is present within each of our lives and He is inviting us to do more then just come to Church for an hour on Sunday. He is inviting us to enter into a relationship with Him, so that our faith can ever be multiplied. To think how much we can accomplish if we can begin to trust in the healing mercy of Christ. If we can begin to trust in this manner we will be able to set a flame to the wick of our faith and allow it to grow to new heights that the world will begin to recognize. When we get caught up in the motion of the world and realize that nothing has developed in our journey of faith we have nobody to blame, but ourselves. Instead we must fix our eyes upon the Lord and allow Him to work within our lives.

We should join with Saint Paul who allowed the Lord to work within his weaknesses, so that he could feel the power of the Lord. No matter how many times Saint Paul was tempted to turn against the power of the Lord he continued to endure and to allow it to work within his life. This power that was felt by Saint Paul can be felt within our own lives if we allow the Lord to work within our lives. The grace that is given to us by the Lord is sufficient for each of us if we allow that grace to work within our lives. We must allow the Lord to work within us through all the hardships and constraints that we might experience, so that our faith may ever be strengthened within Him. Spending time as a family in prayer, praying before the Blessed Sacrament, taking advantage of opportunities to learn more about scripture and the faith that we profess are all ways to invite Christ to enter into more and more into our lives. Through these experiences we can draw closer to Him in an authentic relationship.

Our first reading from the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel tells of the world's rejection of prophets. The experience that this prophet was sharing with the world is no different then our own relationship with the Lord. There are days when we desire the Lord to enter into all that we do and then there are days when we leave Him out of the picture. Instead of casting the Lord out of our lives we should desire to grow closer to Him each day as we invite Him to truly change our lives into something greater then we currently know. We should not remain a rebellious house who casts Christ out of our midst, but we should be a house that welcomes Christ to enter in and continue to dwell with us. Each time that we authentically gather for prayer we are drawing our strength from Christ and thus are getting we what receive from an authentic source of mercy. We are drawing upon this source of grace and are placing all of our desires and needs upon Him, so that we are able to work in union with His divine will.

Therefore my brothers and sisters in Christ if we believe in the importance of a relationship built upon the Lord we will allow ourselves to draw closer to Him and allow Christ to work within our lives. We will do all in our power to draw closer to Christ by giving nourishment to our relationship with Him. In doing this we will not be standing by while nothing takes place due to our lack of faith, but will become a beacon that draws the love of Christ into our homes. Only by being this beacon can we actually state that we have done anything with the faith that we have been given. By being this beacon we will draw upon Christ as our strength instead of having Him remain on the sidelines as our lives pass Him by. Through this profound relationship we will allow ourselves to have our eyes fixed intently upon the Lord who is the source and strength of our faith.

Fri of the 13th Week of OT

1st Reading: Am 8:4-6,9-12

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 119:2,10,20,30,40,131

Gospel: Mt 9:9-13

Jesus does not discriminate against anyone. We have seen Gospel passages in the past where Jesus gave all the attention in the world to children because of their innocence. We recently heard from passages of scripture where Christ was concerned for those who were sick and in need of healing. Today we hear that Christ is even present to sinners and despite their sinful past has called them to come and follow Him. This command is so radical, that the Pharisees are scandalized by Jesus' choice of dinner mates. Despite their lack of understanding Christ reminded each of them of how He had come into the world to bring healing to the sinful.

Each of us must remember that Christ is calling each of us to follow after Him. We must realize that mercy has been extended within our lives and all that we have to do is accept it. No matter the sinful past Christ welcomes us to confess our sins and to join Him at the table. There is nobody here or in the world that has committed such serious sin that an opportunity for forgiveness does not exist. Often people can realize that mercy exists inside the lives of other people, but fear that same mercy cannot be extended to them due to sin that existed in the past. Christ's example in this passage shows His concern for each of us no matter our state in life.

May we trust in that healing today as we celebrate the first Friday of the month where we remember the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Through this devotion Jesus continues to show His love for the sinner as He calls out to each of us to come and follow Him and thus grow closer to the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar. According to the writings of Saint Margaret Mary we have all been given the excessive mercy of the Heart of Jesus and through its all-powerful love will be granted the grace of final repentance at the hour of death to those who trust in the healing power of this devotion to Christ. May each of us, though sinful, trust in the healing power of Christ and thus follow after Him, so that He can begin to transform our lives.

Feast of St. Thomas Homily

1st Reading: Eph 2:19-22

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 117:1-2

Gospel: Jn 20:24-29

Today we gather to celebrate the feast of the apostle, Saint Thomas. Saint Thomas, of course, is often referred to as "Doubting Thomas" due to his lack of ability to realize that this was Christ who was standing before him. This title of course takes away from our ability to realize that Thomas was able to reach out and touch a man and realize that he was something more. Saint Thomas reached out and touched the wounds of Christ and was able to express the divinity of Christ that was found inside of this man. Through his expression of faith he was professing that Jesus was both fully human and fully divine.

He responded "My Lord and my God!" when he came to this profound realization. Today we come to this Mass to respond in the same manner as we present ourselves to receive Christ in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar. We come here to present ourselves before our Lord and to allow Him to enter into our lives in this most profound manner. Our expression is the same because we realize that Christ was both human and divine and continues to bring this reality into our lives. No matter how much doubt that may exist in our lives; the truth remains the same that Christ was fully human and divine and comes to dwell with us here in the Blessed Sacrament.

According to the now Venerable Fulton Sheen, Saint Thomas " who was the last to believe, was the first to make the full confession of the Divinity of the Savior... some gratitude must always be credited to Thomas, who touched Christ as a man, but believed in him as a God." Each of us can learn a lot from Saint Thomas because he experienced the doubt that we all experience in our lives, but he was also able to reach out in faith and express that this man whom he touched was truly God. Through his intercession may we reach out in faith and grow closer to coming to understand that this is God who we desire to grow closer to in our lives.

Mon 13th Week of OT Homily

1st Reading: Am 2:6-10,13-16

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 50:16-23

Gospel: Mt 8:18-22

"For Greater Glory" made its debut a few weeks ago and does a good job to sum up what struggles the Church in Mexico had to endure for freedom of religion. This movie picks up following the signing of the 1917 Constitution of Mexico where religious freedom came under persecution. The movie opens to depict the carnage that took place for the Catholic faithful where Churches were set on fire, priests were murdered, and the Catholic faithful had to endure much harassment and the possibility of death. Through the Catholic Church staying strong under these circumstances great changes were able to come for the people of Mexico.

Today's Gospel from Saint Matthew informs us that deciding to become a follower of Christ will not be easy. We can see from the history of the Church how hard it has been to be a follower of Christ. From the start of the Church people would be put to death because they believed in Christianity and desired to follow it fully. "For Greater Glory" shows that even less then 100 years ago being a follower of Christ came at great costs because your life was on the line. We here today live in a different world, but it is still difficult to be a follower of Christ and in some parts of the world people are still put to death due to the faith that they profess.

Today we continue Fortnight for Freedom where we pray for continued religious freedom for our country. Being a Catholic Christian in this day in age may be tough because so many people do not want to listen to the truth that is found in the Church, but we must continue to endure in expressing it to all people. Expressing this truth may be difficult at times, but we must continue to endure as the faithful who have gone before us have given us the example to do. May we continue to pray for our nation and take advantage of the power of prayer as we continue to followers of Christ.

13th Sun of OT Year B Homily

1st Reading: Wis 1:13-15,2:23-24

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 30:2,4-6,11-13

2nd Reading: 2 Cor 8:7,9,13-15

Gospel: Mk 5:21-43

Four years ago Saint Mary's in Oak Ridge became my first assignment as a seminarian, and now Saint Mary's in Oak Ridge becomes my first assignment as a priest. I look forward to serving this parish as the associate pastor and look forward to serving each of you in your needs.

I was ordained a priest on June 2nd and sense have been pulled around the diocese to celebrate Mass and speak for various meetings. One thing that I wanted to do prior to this assignment was to get away for a few days with my family. This family trip finally came about this past weekend when we got the opportunity to go to Pigeon Forge. One thing that I wanted to do was to go to Dollywood because it had been about three years since my last visit and also because I wanted to ride their newest ride, the Wild Eagle. The forecast for that Friday was rain with a chance of thunderstorms and I figured that due to this less people would be in the park and that the weather would be cooler thanks to the clouds in the sky. When it came to getting in line I was able to walk right past the sign that said "45 minutes at this point" and to walk right past the sign that said "15 minutes at this point." Finally I would get behind a few people as I waited to get on the ride. Despite so easily moving up the line I was more consumed with the desire to get on the ride and get the wait over with then to be thankful for my quick wait.

In today's Gospel everyone wants a piece of Jesus. From the moment that Jesus arrives on the land people are shouting and making requests of Him. One man who is present asks Jesus to come with Him and heal his daughter before she dies. I can only imagine that this man wanted Jesus to move quickly because there was the life of a loved one hanging in the balance. While in route to this location more people wanted Jesus to act for them including a woman who had been suffering for years. After healing her of her health problem Jesus takes time out of His journey to speak to her. I can only imagine that the man who wanted Jesus to move quickly grew impatient at the site of Jesus stopping to speak with this woman while his daughter's life was in jeopardy. Finally Jesus arrived on the scene and the news was grim because the girl he had come to save was dead. I am sure this man thought back to Jesus stopping on the streets to help other people out in their need and quickly lost His faith due to Christ's response not coming quick enough. Then he is surprised because his prayers had been answered and his daughter was not only healed, but brought back to life.

No matter how much we have before us to be thankful for we each get caught up in desiring instant gratification. Whenever we have a prayer or need; we desire God to follow our orders and to act instantly instead of working in union with His Divine Will. Sometimes what we desire is not what is actually best for us. Sometimes unknown graces can come out of being forced to wait for results. To have faith is an act of being persistent and being able to endure even when we do not understand what is going on. We cannot approach faith from the same angle that we approach our everyday life where we have been taught that getting things instantly is the only option. Faith is not turning on a computer, exchanging your credit card number, and getting an instant download that comes at the moment that we desire it. Faith is the life long process where we continue to believe and walk with Christ even when we do not get what we want at the moment that we begin to desire it. To posses faith is to allow God to be at the center of our lives and to allow God to walk with us every step of the way.

Saint Paul pointed out in his second letter to the Corinthians that it was written that: "Whoever had much did not have more, and whoever had little did not have less." This is a reality for us in all matters of faith because when we hand ourselves over in faith what we currently have will be multiplied. When we continue to endure daily in our faith we will begin to grow in many ways which will show the reality of our growth to the world. When we are forced to wait in order to receive the answer that we are in search of we will begin to grow in many areas as we continue to endure inside of our faith. In the Book of Wisdom we were told about the great love that God has for each of us. We were told that the love of God is so great that humanity was made in the image of His own nature. Through this reality God continues to look over us even when we do not feel His presence during our lives. God continues to love each of us and through this great love invites us to open up our hearts and souls to Him through faith. Faith is the key for each us of us today because through it we will be firmly rooted in relationship with the Lord.

Therefore my brothers and sisters in Christ I pray that each of us will continue to grow fervent in our faith. May each of us continue to praise the name of the Lord who has come to rescue us from the power of death. When we go into the world today and allow anxiety to raise up within ourselves when we have to wait to get a seat at a restaurant, wait in the check line at Wal-Mart or the local grocery store, or even sitting in front of a red light that seems like it will never change may we allow our hearts and souls to ponder the glorious mystery of Christ. May these moments plant a seed within us that sees our need to trust in the enduring reality of faith. If we can forever trust in this reality we can come to a true relationship with Christ where we are dependent upon Christ and His love for us alone. It is only through our ability to trust in Christ that we will ever grow free to grow in our faith. May we take it upon ourselves today to encounter all matters of faith like the girl in the Gospel who was told: "Little girl, I say arise!" and then she trusted and arose.