Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Homily

1st Reading: Rom 12:9-16

Responsorial Psalm: Is 22:2-6

Gospel: Luke 1:39-56

Yesterday following morning Mass I was given a prayer blanket from the Saint Catherine's guild of this parish. It is very moving to think that these women, this daily Mass community, and countless numbers of other people keep me in their prayers as the day of my ordination to the priesthood quickly approaches. Prayer is indeed a very powerful thing and through symbols such as this blanket we show our faith in it and our desire to spread our love with other people who we are keeping in our prayers.

Today we celebrate the Visitation where Mary went with haste to be with Elizabeth. Each time that we enter into prayer we go with haste to be with those who we are keeping in prayer. It is through the power of prayer that we bring the concern that Mary had for Elizabeth into the world. Through Mary's humble concern she brought her son, Jesus Christ, into contact with the man that would prepare the way of the Lord in John the Baptist. Upon Christ's approach this child leaped with joy within the womb of his mother, Elizabeth. We to join with John the Baptist's joy as we enter into this deep relationship with Christ when we draw closer and closer to Him in prayer.

Mary, Elizabeth, and John the Baptist are all great examples of how we can persevere in prayer. Mary is the humble mother who accepted the will of God into her life and bore the Christ child to the world. In her Magnificat she never called herself deserving of this great gift. Elizabeth, though barren, was given the miracle of a child as her prayers were answered. She understood and believed that the child within the womb of Mary was indeed the savior of the world. John the Baptist, only a child, revealed that this was the man whom everyone must come to believe in. From these three figures from this Gospel passage we see how everyone is pointing towards the Messiah that has come into the world. Our prayers should draw us closer to this same Messiah. Glancing upon this blanket I know that the hands that made it wanted me to see the Messiah always present in the ministry that I will give to the Church. I pray that when we join along the path of the Visitation that we will always reveal the reality of Christ into our lives and that of those in the whole world.

Tues 8th Week of OT Homily

1st Reading: 1 Pt 1:10-16

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 98:1-4

Gospel: Mk 10:28-31

"But many that are first will be last, and the last will be first." This quote from our Gospel would defiantly be hard to hear for any team that are heading towards a championship within their respective sport's organization. The NHL begins the Stanley Cup Finals tomorrow and the NBA is currently in its eastern and western finals and each of these teams are playing to be known as first. I don't think that Kobe Bryant would understand this verse after being eliminated from the last round of the playoffs because it is contrary to our desire to be first in all things that we do.

Each of us gathered here today have made sacrifices in our lives that follow after this verse. We do many things which place other people before us because we do so out of love. It is wonderful to bring food to those who are in need because this act is bringing Christ to other people. It is truly wonderful that people go to visit the elderly and the sick because through these acts we are bringing Christ into the lives of these people who are in need of a relationship with other people. It is truly a gift to this Church to take time out of the day to mow the grass of these Church grounds because this little act builds up the Kingdom of God for this parish community. It is also a blessing to us that people take care of watering flowers that can be found at this parish because this little act also shows how we are placing the needs of others before our own.

Saint Therese of Lisieux had her own way of bringing this verse alive within the world. Through what was known as the Little Way she would make various small acts of kindness to others which helped to build up the Kingdom of God. These sacrifices sometimes were so small that they went unnoticed, but they were still very profound in how they worked at the heart of the community. Each of the gifts that we place into this community help us to join in Saint Therese's Little Way because through them we are going against our culture's desire to always be first and are desiring to do what is necessary for God's Kingdom to be built up here on earth.

Fri 6th Week of Easter Homily

1st Reading: Acts 18:9-18

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 47:2-7

Gospel: Jn 16:20-23

Graduation season is upon us. It was only last week that I was graduating from Saint Meinrad and in the upcoming days schools will hold their graduation ceremonies. At this Sunday's 11am Mass this parish will have our graduates with us to celebrate this great milestone within their lives. Thinking about my time in school makes me think of all the teachers that I have had through the years. I especially think of those that I had during high school and how hard it was for them to control their classes at times. The teachers had prepared their lesson plans and were ready to teach, but there were times when the class was too rowdy to accomplish anything that they had set their sights upon. No matter how difficult it was for them they would continue on and do their best to teach the class.

Saint Paul had a lot to teach concerning Jesus Christ, but his missionary work did not always come easily. After all that he had endured with his missionary work the Lord came to him in a dream and reminded him to not be afraid and not to be silent because He will always be with Him. Despite all the people who would meet Saint Paul and deny his message and despise him he continued to preach the faith without fear. He was able to do this because the Lord continually dwelled with Him.

All of us here are called to be missionaries. We are called to bring the Lord into the world and to be an example of the faith that we profess. We will encounter many false voices as we follow along this path, but we can only trust in the voice that comes to us from the Lord. There will be people who will not want to hear our message, but we must continue to bring Christ into their lives. Each of us here are called to follow this path that was begun by Saint Paul; may we take up his example as we bring Christ into the world. May we not be afraid and never be silent as we preach Christ to the world through our actions and deeds.

Wed 6th Week of Easter Homily

1st Reading: Acts 17:15,22-18:1

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 148:1-2,11-14

Gospel: Jn 16:12-15

We live in a world that is afraid of truth. People want to claim that there is no truth and that everything goes as long as you respect their own desires and pleasures. In this disordered world it can be hard to represent the truth that never changes no matter how upset people may get over it.

In this world we have many mixed messages that are continuously coming to us and it can be hard to decipher what is really the truth. In the era of the internet, blogs exist which represent the truth as the author sees it. Through the use of blogs anyone can write whatever they want for the world to see no matter if it orients to far to the left or the right. These mixed messages can confuse us greatly when we are in search of the truth and can lead us astray in our understanding of the faith that we confess.

Thankfully the Spirit of Truth dwells within the Church. No matter how much the Church has been rocked by the media for the sex scandal we can still trust inside of the Church that was begun by Christ. The Holy Spirit dwells within the Church to this day and it can always be trusted in leading us towards the truth. Thanks to the Holy Spirit we know that the Church's teachings can always be trusted because they have not been placed here by man and his desire to make himself comfortable. Therefore my brothers and sisters in Christ may we trust in the authority of the Holy Spirit as we live out our faith. May we allow the Holy Spirit to come and dwell with us, so that we may be strengthened in bringing the truth of the Gospel to the world.

3rd Sunday of Easter Year B

1st Reading: Acts 3:13-15,17-19

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 4:2,4,7-9

2nd Reading: 1 Jn 2:1-5a

Gospel: Lk 25:35-48

I only have three weeks left in my final semester of school. It is hard to believe that after eight years of seminary and 21 years total of school that it is finally coming to an end. As this year comes to a close I will also be leaving this parish behind in order to go and serve the Diocese of Knoxville as a priest. I thank each of you for your continued prayers as I approach ordination and also thank you for inviting me into this parish these past two years. As my life ever continues to change I am constantly reminded that life will go on. Just last weekend Saint Meinrad Seminary held its ordination to the diaconate. It was here that two men, one being John Kamwendo who is also assigned here, dedicated their lives to the ministry of Jesus Christ. Despite my class leaving Saint Meinrad for good these new men have committed themselves to this profound ministry. It is true that we will be leaving at the end of this year, but new men will spring up to take our places. Come June 2nd I will be the most recently ordained man of the Knoxville diocese and God willing that title will be taken from me the next summer when somebody else is ordained a priest.

I believe that the disciples of Jesus did not realize that life would go on for them. From the moment that these men were called to follow Christ they walked with Him and He prepared them for His ultimate destiny. Despite this we were informed during Easter Sunday's Gospel that "They did not yet understand the Scripture that He had to rise from the dead." For them the crucifixion came and Christ died and they knew not what to do with themselves. Thankfully in today's Gospel we were told that "He opened their minds to understand the scriptures." They had finally realized that despite everything going on in their lives that life would go on. They realized that Christ had died and now they knew and believed that He had risen from the dead. They understood that it was their mission to teach others about Christ and to prepare others to take over and become future ministers of the Church.

I hope that each of us gathered here can come to trust in the risen Christ. As we experience various changes and new beginnings within our lives may we reach out to our risen Savior and allow Him to work within our lives. We experience change for both the good and the bad, but no matter which type of change that we face the hope of Christ risen gives all of us great joy. We experience the joy of the risen Christ in those good moments through the fact that He gives us the strength to try out new things. The risen Christ is present in bad moments because it is here that we find new hope. Death and illness is not the end of life, but through the risen Christ we know that life continues. Without this great understanding of the risen Christ we will always remain lost and will never be able to advance in our life towards new beginnings. May our minds and hearts be opened up to the scriptures as the apostles were in today's Gospel, so that we may experience Christ resurrected working within our lives.

Today's reading of the Acts of the Apostles acknowledges the reality of the death of Christ on the cross and reminds all who hear these words that He has risen from the dead. Due to the resurrection taking place we are informed that we will be inspired to live a new life. This new life will be a life of repentance and conversion and thus our sins will be wiped away. No longer can we dwell in the misery that was felt when Christ was crucified upon the cross, but now we must trust in it's healing power. From this power we will know no end, but will finally be able to enjoy the new life that has been given to us. This new life continues to move us forward throughout this season because we can now trust that there is more to life than what meet's the eye.

We cannot proclaim that "we know Him" if we do not trust in the resurrection of the body. To trust in the risen Christ is to acknowledge that life goes on after our death. Therefore we should spend all the days of our lives drawing closer to getting to know God and what it means to share in life everlasting with Him. We must remember that Christ is the advocate with the Father who is always willing to help us out when we are in need of His divine love. The divine love of the Father is so great that He is willing to forgive the contrite heart of all of our sinfulness. With this in mind we can see that new life is given to everyone who is willing to accept this great gift from God. May we be inspired ourselves in living out this message as we encounter all the new beginnings which are unavoidable within our lives. When we are able to do this we will be able to join with the community that was being spoken to inside of our second reading in proclaiming that "we know Him."

Therefore my brothers and sisters in Christ I thank you for having me at this parish for these past two years. I ask that you will continue to pray for me as I start my new beginning towards priesthood. I promise to continue to pray for this parish community as I depart from here. I especially pray that you will be able to trust in the hope that is found inside of the risen Christ as each of you encounter the new beginnings which will happen inside of your lives. The light of the Lord is continually shining upon us and hopefully we will each open ourselves up to encounter what the Lord has in store for us inside of our lives. When we do this we will not walk around without hope as the apostles did, but instead we open ourselves up to come to know Him and thus we will be given great hope as we encounter each new beginning that rises up within our lives.