Mon 34th Week of OT Homily

It is good to see all of you here again. It feels as if it has been a million years since the last time we have had the opportunity for Mass. I say this because of the long Thanksgiving break that we have had and the many days that have gone by since any of our students have been able to join us for daily Mass. Of course when I say that it has been a million years since the last time we have gathered you know that I am speaking figuratively and am not speaking literally.

In our reading today we are told about the 144,000 who are seen with the Lamb. We can take this number literally and say that only 144,000 people will be invited to enter into the Heavenly Kingdom, but that number seems to be such a small amount of people. If that is the case chances are that we are doomed. We can also look at this number figuratively and attempt to see what is trying to be expressed by its use. If we were to take 12 ,which is a very figurative number within scripture, and multiply it by 12 we would end up with 144. These 144 people make up the 12 tribes of Israel which is to say that they have come from all people. Of course 144 seems like a small number, so multiplying again by 1,000 expresses the great multitude who will be present. We now come to the 144,000 people who are seen in Revelation and see that they are a great multitude of people. We are not being excluded from this great multitude, but are being invited each day to strive to enter into their ranks at the time of our death.

The woman in our Gospel gave all that she had because she understood what was required of her. She did not do it to shame God into giving her anything, but gave because she got it. She knew that because of her faith she had to empty herself out fully. May we take her example upon ourselves as we strive to join with the multitude of people who dwell in Heaven one day.

Christ the King Year B Homily

Our world is a very busy and fast paced place. From within it we can find many things that are at war to grab our attention. The average intention span can only be held for a few minutes before we are left searching for something else. We are left searching from within our own restlessness for the next big thing that will come along and fill us up. We can see this played out each year as the Black Friday sales continue to be pushed forward into Thanksgiving day. Giant televisions, laptops, clothing, and other items drop in price, so that the fight of the masses can take place in hope that you will walk away as the victor. As our liturgical year comes to a close we celebrate this day where we acknowledge Christ as our king. On this day we flock to Christ and place Him at the center of our attention and worship. This solemnity is the perfect way for us to end this liturgical year with focused minds as we enter into the season of Advent and begin to prepare ourselves for Christmas Day.

In our world we build up our own kingdoms surrounded by the many needs that we have. In building up each of these individual kingdoms we store up many worldly treasures for ourselves without always allowing ourselves to see Christ at the center of our lives. The days following Thanksgiving and leading up to Christmas are days filled with this materialistic mentality. Advent is a voice far different then this because we are not being called to enter into the machine of materialism, but are being called to prepare ourselves for the arrival of Christ. Our needs and our wants should be brought on Christmas Day to Christ born inside of the manager. In the lowliness of this place we encounter the great king of the universe. We encounter the king who would suffer and die upon the cross for all of our sins. Despite this lowliness He would endure and now reigns in Heaven in hope to lead each of us away from all sin and fear, so that we can one day share in the glory of His Heavenly Kingdom.

This solemnity that is being celebrated today was instituted by Pope Pius XI in 1925 in hope to draw people's hearts and souls towards Christ. In his encyclical letter Quas Primas translated into English as In the First he made reference to the importance of this great solemnity. Pope Pius XI saw the problem that comes with growing nationalism and secularism and reminds the faithful inside of this letter of the importance of Christ being seen as the king who stands at the center of the world. The world cannot cut Christ off from its midst as it continues to grow and change, but instead we all need Christ all the more. This great concern that Pope Pius XI was speaking to inside of this letter is still being felt within our world today. The more that we grow and change it seems that we continue to make the excuse to banish Christ from our midst. This solemnity has been placed upon the liturgical calendar as reminder that this is not a possible option because Christ is the king who reigns in our midst each day.

From the dialogue between Christ and Pilate that is found inside of Saint John's Gospel we can gather three things about Christ as king. Firstly, we are told that Christ is a king, secondly we hear about the nature of His Kingdom, and finally we are told about all those who He reigns over. Pilate asks if Christ is a king, but Christ does not want to give a direct answer because he is not a king in the worldly sense that Pilate would understand. He also did not deny it because He was a king in a spiritual sense as King of Kings. The nature of His kingdom is being given with His response of "for this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth." From this statement we can gather that all the faithful have been called to follow after Christ who gathers each of the faithful inside of His Kingdom. He finally closes by saying "everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice." Christ reigns as King over each of the faithful who are able to listen to His voice.

On this solemnity of Christ the King may we allow ourselves to listen to the voice of Christ. We must ask ourselves what things cling to our hearts and ears and helps to continually pull us away from this kingdom. Christ desires that we can all share within this kingdom one day, but if we are unable and unwilling to open up to his voice of love how can we ever hope to accomplish this task? If we continue to be fed by the longing of materialism how can we ever hope to be filled by Christ who desires that we will listen to His voice? May we use this day and the whole season of Advent to separate ourselves from this sense of loss and finally commit ourselves fully to the voice of Christ which comforts all of our needs. No matter what these needs may be for us may we understand that Christ is prepared to receive each of them and give us guidance in our time of need. Gathering each of these longings together Christ gives hope to each of us that one day we can dwell with Him in the Kingdom of God.

This Kingdom that we have been invited to share is a Kingdom of truth and justice. It is a Kingdom of peace and joy. It is a Kingdom where love, holiness, life, and grace reigns at all times. With all of the fears and needs that we might have may we allow this Kingdom to become our primary goal within our lives. May we look to Christ our triumphant King with great hope and joy because His Kingdom is everlasting. All majesty and splendor is His because without Christ we are left with nothing. May we no longer allow ourselves to be filled by passing desires, but may we allow our attention to be placed upon Christ the King. Through this King this great Kingdom is shown to us where we can receive every longing that we might have. The Lord is great and is clothed in majesty as He reaches out to us with love. May we reciprocate with this love that is being shown to us in order to draw ourselves closer to Christ's Kingdom.

33rd Sun in OT Year B Homily

For anyone who has even grown up glancing at the many tabloids that surround us when we checkout at a grocery store we are constantly being reminded that the end of time is drawing near. These tabloids have made many predictions, but despite all of them we still find ourselves here this day. The most pressing prediction comes 33 days from now when the Mian calendar comes to a close. A small percentage of people are convinced that this will be the prediction that will finally come true. In our readings today we also hear this very grim announcement that time will come to an end. All of us know that this is true because even if we are not here for the end of the world there will come a time when we will meet our own death. It is something that we cannot avoid. For all of us here inside of this Church we only have to look ahead a few weeks to see that our liturgical year is quickly coming to an end. With the end of this liturgical year we are promised to enter into a new one and from here be able to continue to experience the mysteries of Christ's birth, death, and Resurrection.

The perfect tabloid headline should read: "But of that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in Heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." If we are to take these words to heart we should do something with them. We should do something that can put these words into practice, so that we can go into the world and be transformed from the darkness that can be found within. As the small percentage of people that are convinced that the Mian calendar's end is a sign to follow and therefore become prepared with a countless amount of supplies that might be necessary for survival. May we take this example in our own spiritual lives as we prepare ourselves each day to come into complete union with God. If we allow ourselves to be cunning enough to wait for the last minute to be brought into conversion we will find that we were nothing more then fools.

Let us not be foolish and pass by this headline as we have passed by the many absurd tabloids and their claims. The claim that is being made within today's Gospel is very true and is something that we will never be able to escape. Let us therefore hear these words and not quickly banish them from our minds, but allow them to truly soak into our very being. As these words begin to soak into our hearts and souls we should ask ourselves what is standing in the way of allowing ourselves to be drawn to Christ out of love. What are the sinful inclinations that are keeping us from "shining brightly" and thus keeping us in the darkness of night? No matter where we find ourselves spiritually we must ask ourselves what ways we will continue to challenge ourselves each day to hear the voice of Christ that is constantly calling out to us out of love. This great love is most perfectly expressed in our second reading when we heard that Christ was crucified upon the cross for each of our sins, and from this great gift comes the hope that we can be transformed like the wise who shall shine brightly.

And so my brothers and sisters in Christ as this liturgical year begins to draw to a close and from it we know that a new one will spring up and take its place. As we know that we are not immortal here on this earth and therefore a day will come when we will meet death. Let us begin to evaluate the ways that we can begin to follow after Christ fully. Let us evaluate the ways that we can be aided in not being surprised by this reality, but instead finding ourselves fully prepared for what is to come. May we no longer allow ourselves to pass by this headline without ceasing to question ourselves of how prepared are we actually, and how much do we only try to fool ourselves into thinking that we are fine and have nothing more that we need to give to Christ and His Church. We must not be foolish because as the end of the liturgical year is only the beginning of a new one; the end of life is the promise of life eternal.

May we heed this headline this day as we prepare ourselves to spend the rest of our lives sharing in the beatific vision of Heaven. May we do everyone that is possible to not be lazy and idle, but to fully hand ourselves over to Christ. Handing ourselves over in all of our fears, needs, and desires with the great great hope that our needs will be heard and provided for. May we take it upon ourselves to enter more and more each day into the life of the Church. Allowing ourselves to be nourished by the word of God and the teachings of the Church. Allowing ourselves to trust in the healing realities of the Sacraments especially the Body and Blood of Christ that will enter into our lives at this sacrifice of the Mass. May we also trust in that forgotten Sacrament of Reconciliation and come forward acknowledging that we are sinners who are in need of healing. Also from the busy world we must make time for quiet and thus make time for prayer. If we allow the presence of God to escape from our lives how can we ever hope to enter into this relationship with Him and finally hand ourselves over to conversion? May we heed this headline this day and not continue to take it for granted as if we have as much time as we need. Christ is our portion and cup and is ready for us to not delay, but to come to Him now so that we can receive the inheritance that He desires to bring into our lives.

32nd Sun of OT Year B Homily

Our nation has been blessed by giving us many freedoms. On Tuesday we were able to practice our freedom to vote for our president and for other elected officials. Compared to other countries we have many opportunities and an endless amount of options. No matter how tough the economic situation has become for our families we can still pride ourselves on the fact that we are far from being in the situation that many find themselves within poorer nations. Our zeal as a people to take from our own resources to give to those who are in need is indeed a great attribute of our society. We have most recently seen this played out following the outcome of Hurricane Sandy a few weeks ago. Despite all the good that we do our nation has become very individualistic. We pride ourselves on our individual rights and thus at the end of the day become concerned with our own needs instead of the needs of the whole. This same individualism flows into our understanding of religion and our understanding of God and the doctrine of the Church.

As Catholics we are not able to step into the cafeteria line and choose the things that appeal to us the most while leaving other items off of the menu. With Catholicism we must take the whole and apply it to our lives in hope that we can grow closer to God. When we walk forth inside of the communion line to receive our Lord inside of the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar and confidently respond "Amen" we are saying that we don't want to be a mere individual. With our "amen" we are showing our desire to enter into the community of faith and are agreeing that we believe as the Church professes. We believe because we realize that we are more then a mere individual and therefore need the Church, the Sacraments, the people of God who surround us this day, and Christ. When we can place all of our trust in the Church and in Christ we will receive many graces into our lives as we move along to praise The Lord with our whole soul and mind.

Whenever sin creeps into our human experience we are allowing ourselves to turn inwardly upon ourselves and our own needs instead of being able to see the needs of the whole. Sin causes us to be stuck within our own needs and our own self pride instead of allowing us to open ourselves up to the love that is bestowed upon us by God. No matter how much we fall into these sinful attitudes hope remains that this bond can be broken. Hope remains that we can turn away from these desires and place ourselves upon a path where we hand ourselves over entirely towards God. To hand ourselves over to God entirely is a scary response because it can require a lot from us. This response requires more then one hour on Sunday, but to allow it to enter into every second of our lives. This response requires us to trust in the Church and all of the teachings that she hands on to us because they are the teachings of Christ Himself. May we allow Christ to take everything that we have and assist us in this process.

The woman who is found in today's Gospel is a perfect example for all of us to follow Christ. She did not decide to give a percentage, be it small or large, but gave everything that she had. With the offering that she gave inside of the temple she had nothing left to give. It would of been so easy for her to be like the many people who brought their offerings to the temple holding something back. Of all these people only this woman was able to give and hold nothing back from God. In the time that it took her to draw close to the temple she had a lot of time to prepare her mind for what she was about to do. I am sure that during this journey she had some doubts, but she still was able to overcome them and endure until the end. Her faith was so great because in giving she knew that she would receive so much more from God if she could only place her trust in Him. This day each of us desires to take up her example as we desire not to be mere individuals, but to trust in Christ and in the Church so much more each day.

With out trust placed here we will hear the voice of Elijah that says "do not be afraid." We must not be afraid because Christ is here in our midst and desires us to join with Him this day. Joined to Christ we will see the beauty that can only be found when we leave our individualistic desires behind. The faith is not about serving our own needs and wants, but is about handing ourselves over entirely to God. With ourselves handed over in this manner we will receive more grace then we could ever desire or need. We become like the widow who in the first reading whose jar never went empty and whose oil never went dry when we are able to hand ourselves over to Christ in this way. It is Christ who brings strength and joy into our lives if we will only allow Him to enter in instead of molding Him into our own image. We must trust as the author of Hebrews trusted in our second reading when it was said that salvation will be brought to those who await Christ.

And so for all of us here who await Christ this day we must ask ourselves how we can begin to give more to Christ and His Church. We must ask ourselves what sins that we grasp onto and are too afraid to hand over to Christ. We must ask ourselves where we fail to believe in the teachings of the Church. We must ask ourselves why we stay stuck in our own individualism and cannot begin to fight for the good of the community as a whole. We must ask ourselves how we can grow more in faith during this upcoming year. May we place all of our trust in Christ and His Church as we begin to hand over everything that we have in emulation of the two women that were found in today's readings. They are perfect examples for all of us no matter where we find ourselves spiritually today because we can always be challenged to something more. May we continue to allow our souls to praise The Lord as we draw ourselves closer to Him each day of our lives.

32nd Sun of OT Year B: Rite of Enrollment Homily

Today we gather together with our confirmation class in our midst. On this day they present themselves before us in this public manner to present themselves to the Church as individuals who plan on taking the next step in their sacramental life of the Church. Today they will sign their names and make their promises known before each of us who are here today. They will also make their promises known to God the Most High on this day. This dedication that is given by each of them requires a lot of time and effort in our world that tells us that we have no time to commit ourselves to religion. Despite this echoing voice that persists from our world we are called to commit ourselves entirely. We cannot only commit ourselves when we have time or agree with the doctrine of the Church, but must apply ourselves fully. We cannot only give a little bit of our time or follow our own desires because in doing so we will be holding something back from God.

The woman who is found in today's Gospel is a perfect example for all of us to follow Christ. She did not decide to give a percentage, be it small or large, but gave everything that she had. With the offering that she gave inside of the temple she had nothing left to give. It would of been so easy for her to be like the many people who brought their offerings to the temple holding something back. Of all these people only this woman was able to give and hold nothing back from God. In the time that it took her to draw close to the temple she had a lot of time to prepare her mind for what she was about to do. I am sure that during this journey she had some doubts, but she still was able to overcome them and endure until the end. Her faith was so great because in giving she knew that she would receive so much more from God if she could only place her trust in Him. This day each of us desires to take up her example especially those who are about to commit themselves to continue their study towards the Sacrament of Confirmation.

And so my dear young people I thank you for the commitment that you make this day. As the book that will be placed upon the Altar of Sacrifice will be signed by each of you; please keep in mind the commitment that you make this day. Realize that in approaching this book you are coming forth like the woman found in today's Gospel. You bring your fears and needs, and do not turn back out of fear. Instead you move forward bringing all that you have to this place by handing it over to God through your commitment to study the faith and with the grace of God to be Confirmed this upcoming year. I know that this world can be hostile to the faith and send many contrary messages to each of our minds. We are often given the false advice to do as we please because in the end we are all that is important. Your commitment today shows that this message is not true and that there truly is something valuable to be found inside of the faith. May each you continue to grow in this understanding as you give of yourselves entirely to the faith.

And so to each of us here today we are given great hope for the future. We have great hope placed in our youth who today commit themselves to continue on their path towards Confirmation. We have great hope in the parents and sponsors who join with them today to not lead them along by mere words, but by the commitment of their own hearts and deeds. We have great hope because we look to our teachers who devote so much of their time to help hand on the faith ,entirely and without biases due to personal feelings, along to this class. We have great hope because all of us are able to witness this take place within the context of this Mass. May each of be inspired this day with great hope to give entirely of ourselves to Christ and to His Church. May we hold nothing back as each of us who are gathered here this day continues our journey of faith. As we continue along this path may we continue to allow our souls to praise The Lord who calls us to hand over everything entirely to Him.