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.

1st Sunday of Lent Year C Homily

Jesus was led into the desert by the spirit. This emphasized His cooperation with the will of God the Father. He was willing to go where He was being led instead of resisting the call that came His way.

The desert was a place of preparation for His coming public ministry. While here he prayed and fasted for a period of forty days and nights. The desert is a place of solitude and silence where one is able to withdraw from the noise of this world.

While here He came to be tempted by the assaults of the devil. Nevertheless, He held fast solid in faith and did not allow the devil to lead Him astray. To each lie that the devil threw His way He overcame with the truth of scripture.

We have now entered into this sacred season of Lent. Hopefully we see this season as an opportunity to grow in our life of faith. The allures of the devil are real, but despite them we can overcome these temptations through the assistance of the outpouring of God’s grace.

Through our prayer, fasting, and almsgiving we better orient our sight unto God. We allow that which has grown disordered in our life to be brought back to it’s proper purpose. These actions prepare us for an encounter with Christ, especially our encounter when Him arisen at Easter.

Therefore, we cannot just pass through this season as if we are in a slumber. Nor can we pass through our life as if we are asleep. The spiritual warfare that surrounds us is something which is most serious and therefore we must remain vigilant in our practice of faith.

The Israelites passed through the dessert for a period of forty years until they finally reached the promise land. This time is symbolic of our life’s journey towards Heaven. We must set our sight upon this pearl of great price and strive with the help of God’s grace to obtain it.

As was stated by Saint Anthony of the Desert, “The devil is afraid of us when we pray and make sacrifices. He is also afraid when we are humble and good. He is especially afraid when we love Jesus very much. He runs away when we make the Sign of the Cross.”

May this season be a time in which we are willing to be led by the Spirit into the desert. Through our prayer and sacrifices we choose to change our life in order that our time may be made for Christ and we may be transformed in His presence. 

This season of Lent will help us to undergo such a transformation if we allow it. Let us not be led away from here by the ways of this world, but by the Spirit. If we are found willing to cooperate with the Spirit we will be found ready for Easter and too the Kingdom of Heaven.

Ash Wednesday Homily

Today we enter into the season of Lent starting with this observance of Ash Wednesday. We fast and pray in order that we who have been touched by sin may come to be set free from such a burden through Christ. These ashes that we will soon dare to receive remind us that we are sinners who are in need of the mercy of God. As our Gospel instructed, “Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them.” This means that we must look inwardly upon self and dare to bring forth that conversion which is necessary if we are to be redeemed. May this Lenten season be fruitful for us by entering into it with such a disposition of mind in order that we may truly come to “repent and believe in the Gospel” “for we are dust and to dust we shall return.”

Quinquagesima Homily

The blind man cried out, “Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me.” After being rebuked he only cried out all the louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me.” At such persistence Jesus heard his cry and was moved to pity concerning him. Through this life giving encounter his sight came to be restored.

We must have the faith and persistence of this blind man in our gospel. His words were not just emptily spoken, but they were meant in the depths of his heart. When things did not go his way he did not allow himself to give up and stop. Rather, he continued to shout out to the Lord in the midst of his need for he had faith and hope.

At some point in time we all find ourself to be similar in nature to this blind man. We cry out and it may seem that our prayers are never heard. We say and do all the right things and yet it might seem that things never go our way. Some will use these moments to give into despair and to quit instead of persevering in their life of faith.

In the midst of such hardship we should keep our sight upon the Lord and His coming Passion. At the start of our gospel it was mentioned that the they shall “go up to Jerusalem.” From here His apostles were told, that he “shall be mocked and scourged and spit upon: and after they have scourged Him, they will put Him to death.”

These verses point towards the coming Passion and what we will soon come face to face with during the Lenten season. When our prayers seem to not be heard and when our life is difficult we can turn towards the sorrowful Passion of our Lord and choose to be joined unto Him by continuing to cry out to Him in faith.

As the Lord would state to His disciples in the Gospel of Saint Matthew, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” In Lent many will come together to pray the Stations of the Cross on Fridays. In doing so they are reminded of the sorrowful Passion of our Lord and how through His Passion we have come to be redeemed.

As we continue to prepare the way for Lent and thus Easter we ought to take to prayer the ways in which we lack such faith and hope in the Lord. Ways in which we rebuke His cross instead of allowing ourself to be joined unto it. May this season bring forth within the depths of hearts such faith and hope.

In faith let us continue to cry out, “Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me” for by His holy cross, we have come to be redeemed.

8th Sunday of OT Year C Homily

It is hard to believe that Wednesday is the start of Lent.

This gospel passage is very timely in light of the preparations that we now undertake for this sacred season. Here we were challenged to look inwardly upon self in order that we may remove “the wooden beam from (our) eye.”

It is interesting that it is only a splinter in our brother’s eye, but a wooden beam in our own eye. This is a huge difference. Nevertheless, we so often infatuate our self with that splinter instead of worrying about that which is taking place within our self.

What would your answer be if you were asked what is wrong with the world? Maybe your answer would be a president past or present. Maybe your answer would be a group of individuals that you do not agree with politically or morally. The list is endless.

When this question was asked to GK Chesterton his answer was simple, “I am what is wrong.” This answer relates perfectly to our gospel and the concern that must exist within us concerning the wooden beam in our eye.

We are in need of such inward recollection instead of avoided that which is uncomfortable. From this recollection we must challenge ourself to bring about change in order that we may be more like Christ and remove that wooden beam from our eye.

During the season of Lent we are especially challenged to fast, pray, and give alms. These practices should transcend a mere obligation and be done out of love for God and the desire to better conform our self unto His will.

Giving something up just to give something up leaves us changed in no way when Easter finally arrives. If our purpose is to mindlessly pass through Lent then what is the point? The point must be to be transformed that we may better embody Christ in the midst of our daily life.

My brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus let us dare to allow Lent to be fruitful. As we prepare for this sacred season let us look inwardly upon self and with the help of God’s grace undergo those practices which are necessary to remove the wooden beam from our eye.