4th Sunday of Lent Year A Homily

On this 4th Sunday of Lent, also known to us as Laetare Sunday, we come to celebrate the 2nd scrutiny. It is the purpose of the scrutinies to further prepare those to be baptized for their baptism.

In our Gospel we encounter the man born blind. The physical healing that is brought about within this man is equal to that spiritual healing that the Lord desires to bring about within each of us. It was through his encounter with the Lord that he was able to see, so to through our encounter with the Lord is our blindness corrected.

These individuals who will receive this scrutiny will be baptized at the Easter vigil. So too for us who have been baptized should remain attentive to this lesson. For through baptism we were made children of God. It was through these waters that our eyes were opened wide to the Lord as sin and death came to be washed away.

Despite this life giving encounter with the Lord we still need to constantly awaken our spiritual vision. Through our baptism we receive the outpouring of God’s grace which awakens within us our supernatural destiny of Heaven. It is through our consent to temptation that we enter into sin and move away from God. In return we become blind to the divine truths of faith.

It is Christ who heals these vision problems that have been brought about through sin. Through the sacraments we continue to encounter Him and He continues to reach out in order to heal us. Where sin has cast us into this state of blindness it is Christ in the Sacrament of Confession who opens our eyes. Where we struggle with the mundane of everyday life it is Christ present with us in the Eucharist who opens our eyes.

During this Lenten journey I suggest that you begin to develop the practice of making a daily examination of conscience. Here you take the time to reflect upon your day and the ways in which you have turned away from the Lord and make an Act of Contrition. This practice assists us in making a better sacramental confession and attunes our heart to constantly seak out the infinite mercy of God which heals us.

Let us come to further bring sight unto our eyes. Not through our own merit, but through Christ and the abundant mercy which He brings into our life. Let us come to further cultivate our faith and be willing to enter further into God’s abundant love. It is through our encounter with Jesus in the sacraments that this healing is made so. Let us come to place our trust in Him in order that sight may be brought to our eyes.

Bulletin Article: March 20

Our second collection this weekend was for refugees from Ukraine. With all that is taking place within Ukraine and the world let us continue to pray for peace. At Fatima our Blessed Mother left a timeless message with three shepherd children. She asked (1) that we stop offending God and be moved towards repentance, conversion, and reparation, (2) that we pray the rosary daily, (3) entrust ourself to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. 

Stations of the Cross continue each Friday at 6pm (English) and 7pm (Spanish). Our Knights of Columbus provide a wonderful fish story each Friday from 5pm to 7pm. This is a perfect opportunity for fellowship.

In Christ,

Fr. Dustin Collins

3rd Sunday of Lent Homily (Extraordinary Form)

Our Epistle left us with the contrast that exists between darkness and light.

Easter is a celebration of this light that triumphs over the darkness. We especially see this played out at the Easter Vigil Mass. This Mass begins in complete darkness for we have been thrust into it through the Lord’s Crucifixion and have been lifted out of it through His Resurrection. Therefore, from the darkness of night comes forth a flame which dispels the darkness from our midst. This flame spreads throughout the Church as we come to welcome the Resurrected Lord into our life.

Saint John’s Gospel testifies to this, “I have come as light into the world, that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.” As Saint Paul also states in 2nd Corinthians, “God who said ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts.”

Lent is time of preparation in order that we may always be found prepared to encounter this great light. Through baptism the light of faith begins to shine brightly for sin has been washed away, we have been claimed for Christ, and have been incorporated into the life of the Church. Where temptation and sin creep into our life we must look outward towards the grace and mercy of God in order that we may turn away from it’s grasp.

Satan is indeed powerful , but he is nothing more then a creature. God alone is the Creator and cannot create. Therefore, in our Gospel we see Christ who casts him out. It is always light which dispels the darkness. So too when we elevate our sight towards this great light the darkness can and will be dispelled from our midst. Satan and the powers of darkness attempt extinguish the presence of God from our life, but instead we cannot allow fear and sin to turn us away from the light. No matter the temptation or struggle that we endure we must remember that the light of Christ always remains for those who so desire it.

Let us reflect today upon the ways in which we can invite this light to enter into our life. This light enters into our life through the sacraments, through the study of Sacred Scripture, through the study of the faith, and through prayer. Hopefully we are allowing Lent to assist us in this task for very soon we will rejoice at the Good News of the Lord’s Resurrection. May we be found prepared for such a wondrous event.

The Lord our God truly dispels the darkness from our midst. Let us come to know, trust, and stay in the light of the Lord. 

3rd Sunday of Lent Year C Homily

Let us be reminded of the words of the Psalmist, “The Lord is kind and merciful.” We see this mercy played out through the image of the fig tree. Instead of cutting it down it is shown mercy and given time to produce fruit. The fig tree serves as an image from the Old Testament that represents Israel. As the Lord commanded of them earlier in this Gospel, “Bear fruit that befit repentance.”

This Gospel serves as a reminder that at any moment we may parish and in return we will have to atone for our sins. We are thus being called towards an encounter with repentance. Repentance is not a one time change of heart, but is a life long process. It can be easy to regress once we come to know Christ to our old ways of life, but we must continue to move forward with the confidence of faith.

The Israelites were given so much when they were liberated from their slavery, but they still cried out against God that it would be better to turn back towards their old way of life. So too do we often stumble about and fear to let go. God’s grace is always sufficient if only we would place our trust in Him and realize that this were so. There is always the temptation that we need something more in order to be holy, but in all actuality all that we need is God and His grace.

Let us remember that “the Lord is kind and merciful” and thus use the time of this Lenten season to cultivate our life towards Him. It is Christ who we must allow to cultivate our heart by allowing Him to uproot everything that gets in the way of us following after Him. In other words we must trust in the Lord and realize that there is nothing which is impossible with Him on our side. As our Pslamist had stated, “He pardons all your iniquities, heals all your ills.”

For your reflection I encourage you to reflect upon the ways in which you are in need of the healing touch of the Lord. With this knowledge placed before your sight realize that hope is always found if we place our trust in the Lord and realize that He is “kind and merciful.” The last thing that we should do is remain passive because time will pass and we will never hand our life over entirely to Christ. As Cardinal Newman has stated, “to live is to change, and to be perfect means to have changed often.”

If good fruit is to be found upon this fig tree we must realize this urgency and need to hand over our life to Christ. Day by day we should be reminded of what was begun within us at our baptism and strive to return towards that glorious day by how we order our life on this earth. Victory over sin and death was won for us upon the cross and so may we trust that “the Lord is kind and merciful” as we are lead towards the interior conversion of the Gospel. This is indeed the lesson of the fig tree.

3rd Sunday of Lent Year A Homily

Water is a critical resource for life. Without water we would not be able to survive. The importance of water especially becomes apparent in the midst of the baroness of the desert. For within the confines of the desert one quickly realizes the heat of the day and the lack of this important element which is needed to survive.

Our Gospel presents us with the symbol of “living water.” Water is something that comes from outside of ourself from another source. In the midst of a drought the need for water quickly becomes known as we pray for an increase of rain. This “living water” in our Gospel is a source for life which will never dry up. No matter the drought or desert that we may find ourself within this living water always remains.

This living water is that which Christ alone is able to give. This water is not to simply be collected and stored, but is to flow over abundantly as a flowing fountain. This is the very love of God Himself who gives in abundance out His of love. The love of God is a love which is so perfect that is is given mutually and flowing over. Upon the cross we see the great love that Christ has for us as He comes to lay down His life for us.

As we journey throughout the course of this Lenten season may we too desire to enter more fully into this living water. The Samaritan woman prepared for this same infusion with God’s grace by coming to acknowledge and repent of her sins. In such manner she opened her heart wide to allow this living water to penetrate into the very depths of her heart.

Lent assists us in coming to acknowledge our sinfulness and reach out to this same font of mercy that this Samaritan woman encountered. If we are unwilling to allow our heart to be opened in such a way how can we be led to believe that we will be found receptive of such an important gift?

Today we have in our midst those who long for this living water in a special way. They are those individuals who will enter into the living waters of baptism at the Easter Vigil. Today they will encounter the first scrutiny along this path where they are reminded to turn away from sin and the allures of evil in order to follow after Christ. 

Let us join with them in coming to desire this same living water by ordering our life towards Christ. The world is filled with so much, but it is Christ for whom our heart longs. He is the living water who sustains us. Let us be prepared to encounter Him with great joy as we continue the journey of this Lenten season.