All Souls Day Homily

Today we celebrate the Commemoration of the Faithful Departed also known to us as All Souls Day.

One liturgy of the Church which is very important is the Funeral Mass. As time has passed by there are many who sadly forgo having any type of funeral liturgy offered be it during Mass or outside of Mass. This day serves as a type of funeral where we are reminded of the need to pray for the souls of the faithful departed who have now gone before us into eternal life. At the heart of the funeral liturgy is this understanding of the need to pray for the souls who have gone before us. Sadly, some have instead interrupted these rites to guarantee entry into Heaven no matter how sinful one chose to live their life.

When we speak of the souls in Purgatory we are not referring to a second chance at Heaven. There is only one opportunity that we get and thus we should do something with the time that has been allotted to us. Purgatory is for purification which must take place for according to the Book of Revelation nothing which is unclean will enter Heaven. Through our prayers we assist these holy souls in their preparation for Heaven and we mold ourselves into being true disciples of the Lord who live their life for Christ.

Let us continue to assist these souls by our prayers in order that all the angels and saints may escort them into Paradise this day. Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

All Saints Homily

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints.

There are three states which make up the Church: (1) Tomorrow we remember the Church Suffering which is made up of those souls in Purgatory who are need of our prayers, (2) Today we remember the Church Triumphant which is to say all those known and unknown by name who have been welcomed into Heavenly glory, and (3) The Church militant which is each of us here on earth who must strive for Heavenly glory.

We profess in the Apostles’ Creed, “I believe in…the communion of saints.” This statement is made in reference to the saints in Heaven, those in Purgatory, and those here on earth. It is together that we make up the body of Christ. Through this reality we receive the prayers of the saints, we assist those in Purgatory with our prayers, and we journey towards the Kingdom of Heaven by keeping our sight placed upon God.

As is stated in the Book of Hebrews, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us.” The saints are now in Heaven for they have won this race, the souls in Purgatory have been judged as worthy of Heaven for they have run this race, and we too must run this race that is now set before us like those saints who have now gone before us into Everlasting Life.

The prayers of the saints are important for each of us here on earth who strive to live good and holy lives. Sadly, there are some who see no importance in the prayers of the saints. They quote 1st Timothy, “There is one God, and one mediator of God and man, the man Christ Jesus.” This verse does not limit our ability to pray for one another nor does it limit the ability of the saints to pray for us. There is one mediator and that is Christ Jesus. All of these prayers are being offered onto Him

From Saint James we are told, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful.” What is true of the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the saints is that they have entered into the Beatific Vision. This means that they are now in Heaven with God. None of us are yet in Heaven and so the saints hear our prayers and bring them before God. They are close to Him because of the life that they lived on this earth.

Let us continue to strive for Heaven that we may be numbered among these holy men and women of God who we now venerate. They show us that this path is one which is possible if only we are found willing to open our heart to God and His mercy. Let us each strive to be saints for we have been called to pursue the Kingdom of God above all things.

May all the saints of Heaven, pray for us.

Feast of Christ the King Homily (Extraordinary Form)

Today we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King.

Our Blessed Lord stated, “For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”

Truth is something which is under attack in our modern day society. We have our truth and others have their truth. All that we need to do is respect one another and not push our truth upon another. This is a spirit of relativism which is not compatible with our faith.

From the Gospel of Saint Luke we are told, “Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.”

The source of this division is truth. We have many different opinions and interests, but at the end of the day Christ is the answer to all that we seek. As His states in Sacred Scripture, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” Therefore, we will not find truth if we live a life which keeps Christ far from our midst.

This Feast of Christ the King was established by Pope Pius XI in 1925 to remind the world of its continued need for Christ. As the first world war came to its end there grew a desire to establish a society that was free of the influence of religion over the state. It is this feast that reminds us that this is impossible and that we will always be in need of the truth that Christ alone can bring.

This feast reminds us that we need God at the center of society. We cannot continue to move away from Him for He must be the very basis of all that we do. If we continue to move away from God everything that we do has nothing to be based upon. It should be no secret that we are living in an age of atheism where we want a society which is free of the influence of religion. The state makes laws, but should do all things in union with God and His will for us. God cannot be divorced from our society.

It is this truth which is being proclaimed to us through the celebration of this Feast of Christ the King. He is the King that we must invite into our life in order that we may come to be transformed in His midst. Whenever we encounter Him we come to encounter the truth that sets us free from sin and death. Let us desire to encounter this truth at all times as we continue to order our life and society upon Him.

Long live Christ the King!

30th Sunday of OT Year A Homily

Our Gospel tells us that we are to “to love the Lord, your God.” These words seem easy enough for us to put into practice. A lot people say that they love God, but their actions might show a different reality. Love of God must be something far greater then mere words or a concept that is lightly held to.

Therefore, our Gospel says that we are not only to love, but “with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is a profound sense of love that ought to be held for God. If we were to love God with our whole heart, soul, and mind we would allow Him to be the one who forms us in all that we do.

How many of us truly love God in such a way? There is always something more for us to do, but the one thing that we cannot forget about is that love for God which should be present in our life. It this love which would transform our life, our nation, our culture, and our world. Nevertheless, we so easily live out a life which is divided from our faith or we simply do the religious when it is found to be convenient.

One of the precepts of the Church is that we assist at the Holy Mass every Sunday and Holy Day of Obligation. Speaking of which this Wednesday is November 1st and is the celebration of the Solemnity of All Saints which is a Holy Day of Obligation. 

Missing Mass for an unjust reason is a reason to partake in the sacrament of confession. It is at Mass that we come to be present with God who pours Himself forth out of love for us in the Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity from the wood of the cross. Everything that we do should be informed by this exchange with the gift of God’s grace.

Once love for God becomes entwined into who we are as a human person we have something that we can share with other people. This brings us to the second commandment, “you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” In this manner we should see our neighbor as one who has been created in the image and likeness of God the Father. So often we allow a thought or idea to creep into our mind which causes us to not love in such a way.

Through both of these commands we are not to simply talk about love, but instead this reality of love must be entwined into every facet of our life. We can do nothing through separation of love for God and neighbor. Let us grow in our love for God and neighbor by growing each day in the virtue of charity. It is this virtue which opens up our heart to love more perfectly as God loves. This is a love that is found to be infinite and without end. Therefore, we can never assume that we have no growing that is to be done when it pertains to this virtue.

Let us have the courage to live out this love for God and neighbor each day. We must come to love Him with our whole heart, our whole soul, and whole mind. What must we put to rest in order for this to be found true within us? Let us be willing to foster such change out of love for God and neighbor.

21st Sunday After Pentecost Homily

Spiritual battle is something that is real and cannot be forgotten. Cartoons have used this imagery  of spiritual battle through the use of a demon on one shoulder and an angel on the other. The demon moving an individual to enter into sin and the angel fighting to keep one from falling into its grasp.

It was once accounted that a man was given the ability to see demons for one day. He observed that those at the bar had grown tired and fat while those found at the monastery were active and full of energy. This is a glimpse into the reality of spiritual warfare. The closer that we get to God, such as those in a monastery, the harder the devil must work to get us to turn away from the Lord.

In the midst of this spiritual battle we cannot forget the assistance of the angels. On October 2nd the Church came to celebrate the Memorial of the Guardian Angels. In our modern world we forget not only about demons, but also about the angels. Each of us have been entrusted with a guardian angel. It is the role of the guardian angels to lead us to the kingdom of Heaven. It is this kingdom that we must set before our sight and strive with God’s help to enter.

The angels are not just some fairytale, but their important role has been sprinkled throughout Sacred Scripture. As is shown at the Annunciation through Saint Gabriel’s message to Mary of the Incarnation. At the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass we profess their presence among us as these Sacred Mysteries unfold. We cannot forget about the importance of the angels in our daily life for to do so would put us at a great disadvantage in the spiritual battle that has been set before us. As we were instructed in our Epistle concerning this spiritual battle, “For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places.”

We should take this spiritual battle seriously, but we should realize that God has already won. The devil holds no power over God. As we are told in the Book of Revelation, “Then war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels battle against the dragon. The dragon and its angels fought back, but they did not prevail and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. The huge dragon, the ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, who deceived the whole world, was thrown down to earth, and its angels were thrown down with it.”

Not only should we foster devotion to the angels, but also follow Saint Paul’s advice to this spiritual battle by taking on “the armor of God.” It is this armor which assists in battle as it would assist a solider in battle. This armor should take us back to the Book of Isaiah which tells us of six pieces of armor. (1) Gird your loins with the truth, (2) Put on the breastplate of righteousness, (3) Shod your feet in the Gospel of peace, (4) Take the shield of faith, (5) Take the helmet of salvation, and (6) Take the sword of the Spirit (the Word of God).

Let us stand firm in this spiritual battle and entrust ourself to the fullness of faith that we profess and may all the angels and saints come to our aid that we may faithfully run this race which leads towards Everlasting Life.