Christ the King Homily

Today we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King. Traditionally this feast is celebrated on the final Sunday of October while in the new calendar it is celebrated on the final Sunday of the liturgical year. This feast was established by Pope Pius XI is his encyclical Quas Primas, In the First. This encyclical reminded Christians that the sovereignty of Christ encompasses all the aspects of our life: personal, political, temporal, and eternal.

Here Pope Pius XI had stated, that many people had “thrust Jesus Christ and his holy law our of their lives.” Sadly, we can see how this reality is currently manifest in our modern day society. Instead of us looking outward towards God we so often look inward towards ourself. The laws of our land as well as the way in which we live and order our life should be modeled after Christ our King.

We must remember that none of us are citizens of the here and now, but rather we are called to be citizens of the eternal and perfect Kingdom of Heaven. We cannot align ourself with a political idealogoy which contradicts God and His commands for us. There is not a law, political party, or a nation which can be placed before God. Sadly, there are those who push God to the side when making laws, when electing officials, and when practicing national patriotism.

We must realize that each of us are called upon to be witnesses to a higher Kingdom then what many orient their life towards in the here and now. In the words of Pope Pius XI, “When once men recognize, both in private and in public life, that Christ is King, society will at last receive the great blessing of real liberty, well-ordered discipline, peace and harmony.”

This is a reality that we are called to make manifest. This reality must be begun within our homes for it is the start. If we cannot order our life towards Christ the King within the home it will be difficult to do so within society. It is true that many hearts have wondered away from God, but we cannot lose the virtue of hope. We instead must reform our life in order that we may become true witnesses of Christ’s coming Kingdom.

When we begin to lose the virtue of hope when it pertains to all that is going on around us we must come to be reminded of this coming Kingdom. If we can come to proclaim Christ as King there will always be a glimmer of hope for us. May we come to place out trust in Christ the King by ordering our life and our families around Him. It is Christ alone who can bring solace to the word for the Kingdom that He brings is a Kingdom which will never pass away.

Long live Christ the King!

31st Sunday of OT Year B Homily

The Lord instructs us that we are to “love the Lord (our) God with all (our) heart, with all (our) soul, with all (our) mind, and with all (our) strength.” We are also called upon to “love our neighbor as (ourself).”

This passage puts a lot of emphasis on love. Love is something which we so easily take for granted. When preparing a young couple for marriage I ask why do you want to enter into marriage with one another. The answer that I expect to hear is because we love one another, but what does love really mean?

Therefore, we must come to believe that Jesus is love incarnate. When we reflect upon Sacred Scripture we will clearly come to see that every word which He spoke was that of love. For example when Jesus encountered the Samaritan woman it was love which He spoke to her. So too in this day and age the Lord continues to speak love to us and invites us to enter more fully into it.

If we look to the cross we will see the message of love proclaimed to us. It was from Calvary that we came to be redeemed and from this reality of sacrifice we are shown what it means to love. Most beautifully in the Marriage Exhortation from the Extraordinary Form we are told: “Henceforth you will belong entirely to each other; you will be one in mind, one in heart, and one in affections. And whatever sacrifices you may hereafter be required to make to preserve this mutual life, always make them generously. Sacrifice is usually difficult and irksome. Only love can make it easy, and perfect love can make it a joy. We are willing to give in proportion as we love. And when love is perfect, the sacrifice is complete.”

This statement brings us back to the cross and reminds that it is a place of love which we are to enter more fully into. The more that we are willing to enter into the cross the more that we will be able to give of ourself out of love. The Lord witheld nothing upon the cross, but gave of Himself entirely out of love. This is the same love that we should have for those around us.

Sadly, sacrifice is something which is foreign to our ears. Therefore, it is easy for everything to be about us and our desires. It is love which is constantly calling us towards something greater. When we are able to love we look upon another and no longer see them as a means to obtain something, but an opportunity through which we can share what God has given to us. Let us come to more fully love God in order that we may love our neighbor.

Bulletin Article: October 24

Please pray for the priests of the Diocese of Knoxville while they are away on their annual retreat. In case of sacramental emergency please contact the parish office. I look forward to our Trunk or Treat which will be from 6pm-8pm on Friday. I thank those who plan on attending with a decorated trunk or have brought candy for this event. This is just one example of many ways that our parishioners give in the spirit of stewardship.

In Christ,

Fr. Dustin Collins

22nd Sunday After Pentecost Homily

Our Gospel states to us: “Render therefore to Caesar,” says our Lord, “the things that are Caesar’s”, and then He adds: “And to God the things that are God’s.” This statement reminds us that we are created in the image of God and thus all of our faculties should return to Him.

Saint Augustine stated that we “are the coins of God stamped with His image, and God demands the return of His coins as Caesar did the return of his.” Saint Jerome adds to this: “Let us give to Caesar the money which bears his inscription, since we cannot do otherwise, but let us give ourselves freely and of our own accord to God, for what our soul bears is the glorious imprint of the face of a God and not the more or less majestic head of an emperor.”

This all ties into our Epistle which stated: “He who hath begun a good work in you, will perfect it unto the day of Christ Jesus.” Therefore, we should be able to think of the many ways in which God has begun something great within us. We have been created in the image and likeness of God and have been given so many gifts that we are able to share with the Church and others.

It is impossible for us to claim to love God if at the same time we ignore the needs of others. This is something more than saying that we love someone because there must also be actions to what we say. We can say that we are Catholic all that we want, but at the same time we should backup who we are by our actions. We should not only live the faith in word, but also in action.

Just because we pride our country on the separation of Church and state does not mean that we can separate our faith from our public witness. There are some who claim to be Catholic, but give a public witness which attacks the sanctity of human life and marriage. This is an impossible way to live and order one’s life if they desire to order everything that they do towards God.

This Gospel is challenging us towards something deeper. We must always remember that God has given us everything that we have and therefore everything that we have we owe unto Him. Our Christian witness is not one of separation and complacency, but rather should be one which is fully integrated into the teaching authority of the Church. We are called not to complacently live our life, but instead to actively order our life towards Christ.

As Saint Augustine put it, “Our hearts are made for you, O Lord, and in you only can it find rest.” In thus manner let us find our rest in the Lord and “render therefore to Caesar, the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

30th Sunday of OT Year B Homily

Sacraments are central to our faith and they have been given to the Church by Christ. St. Augustine defines a sacrament as “an outward and visible sign of an inward and invisible grace.” This word sacrament comes from the Greek word, mysterion, and the Latin word, sacramentum. Mysterion means something which is hidden or secret, this is where we get the word mystery.

Sacraments depend upon signs and symbols which signify a sacred reality. For example we have the symbol of bread which points towards the reality of the sign which is Christ being present with us in the Eucharist. With all of the signs and symbols which surround us inside of the Church it is easy to fail to go deeper.

Despite going deeper and learning more about the sacraments we must also come to trust in grace. So often we fail to put God first in our life. Sometimes people even approach the sacraments without putting God first. A baptism is an important time to celebrate, but this celebration should not overshadow the effect of the sacrament. Confirmation is not dependent upon the knowledge of the receiver, but rather the gift that God gives within the sacrament.

How we approach the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass can also be reflective of this same reality. We so easily allow ourself to lose the transcendent nature of the Mass. Instead of approaching the Mass from the direction of drawing us closer to God we so often get caught up by placing ourself at the center. Our priority then becomes the music, the preaching, and the entertainment that we receive. We instead must learn to place our trust in the Lord who incorporates our lives into the worship of the Father. Let us be willing to delve further than what we see with our sight, but allow the Lord to transform our lives through this encounter.

In our Gospel we encounter this man who was blind. Despite his lack of sight he desired to see what was concealed from his eyes. With faith he cried out to the Lord and exclaimed, “Son of David, have pity on me.” Through his exclamation he exhibited his faith in an unseen reality which was present. Through his persistence and faith the Lord came to heal him and he was finally able to see what had been concealed from his sight.

So too through all that is taking place around us in the sacraments and liturgy have a profound effect upon us. So often we focus on us instead of God who is present in each of these realities. Let us come to encounter these realities with faith and the desire to see just like Bartimaeus. Sight will never come if everything is turned inwardly upon ourself, but with our attention placed outwardly upon God we will allow the Lord to be at work within us and to bring sight to our eyes.