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Homily

3rd Sunday of Lent – You shall not!

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Ex. 20:1-17; Ps. 19:8-11; 1 Cor. 1:22-25; Jn. 2:13-25

“You shall not!” says the Lord over and over again as he gives his commandments going into some detail to make sure we know how to live these commandments.  He goes into great effort to describe the behavior of the “children of those who love me” in the first commandment.  We get two more proactive commandments in “keep Holy the sabbath day” and “Honor your father and your mother”.  Three of which “you shall” and seven of which “you shall not!”  However, in avoiding the seven that “you shall not” we also demonstrate our love and commitment to God. 

We avoid what offends the relationship of those we love. This is why love of God is sacrificial love but not only love of God but true love between husband and wife, brothers and sisters, parents and children.  In true love we are willing to sacrifice for the other.  We value the other so much as not to offend the one we love.  Sadly, this is not the culture of our times where the “self” is before all else and the other becomes “cancelled” through marital divorce, legal persecution, abandonment of the elderly, abuse of children, and even claiming the right to die or to kill the unborn.  Yet before we assume we are living in the worst of times recall that all this was also in existence when Jesus entered the world and how he died for us. 

Divorce granted since the time of Moses, legal persecution is how the Jews brought charges against Jesus, abandonment of the elderly justified by giving alms to the synagogue, abuse of children in the massacre of the innocents trying to kill baby Jesus, right to end life at all stages is how people were conquered and power was won.  The world remains a den of thieves and we must separate ourselves from the culture of the world by remaining alive in the culture coming from the law of God which gives justice to true love, Godly love. 

“You shall not” is not about depriving us of freedom but of safeguarding us from the human condition of sin that leads to a loss of freedom and ultimately back to slavery.  What slavery one may ask?   The slavery of disordered attachment to the passions of the flesh, to the material world, and to the ego of pride to be our own god.  Disordered attachments are the cancer of the soul leading to death. 

A parent says to a child “you shall not” more often than giving permission to go forth and do their own will.  The wisdom of a parent knows the risk and harm that can come certain actions.  It is more than an act of love to watch over our children, it is a call of duty to raise up a kingdom for God in the law of love of God and neighbor.  The world has accepted the lie of the evil one to become your own god by “remaking” yourself into what sex you want to be, “reimagining” your world by the passions of the flesh that drive the imagination, and “cancelling” any who question or stand for a different set of values. 

Today it is not enough for a parent to simply say “you shall not” when there is so much pressure on our youth to follow in the world’s “alternative” lifestyles.  Today we must all stand and be a force to how we are to “go forth” together in the way of the Lord.  We must be able to instruct our youth in how to answer to the challenges they face and why do we believe what we profess.  The practice of apologetics, that is of defending the faith through reason and discourse must be taught at each stage of a child’s growth age appropriately.  What is a child to think when the teacher arrives to class in a dress and make up as a girl but yesterday was male?  Should they remain silent or be free to say “I know you’re a man dressed like a girl”?  This is our call of duty as a parent and a church to guide the faithful in the world we must all live in.   

The Lord asks us today where is your “zeal for your house”?  What matters in defending our faith?  The world preaches political correctness, let it be to each his own but the world is not satisfied with following its own way.  It wants to create a future generation of followers and keeps seeking to enter our homes and claim our children with greater rights decreed by law.  We don’t see Jesus becoming physically aggressive often but his actions were always aggressive against what was the sins he confronted.  He did not hold back in speaking the truth. 

The Lord’s truth is that no matter how much people and institutions try to conquer and control others, the force of his power is beyond any human authority.  He claimed it when he says, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.”  The Jews did not understand what they were about to do in bring Jesus to death “but Jesus was speaking of the temple of his body”.  In the same way no matter how much we see and must live through in the world, even death will not claim us because we believe in the resurrection of the dead and Jesus is our testimony.  Lent is our time to recall and live what matters most so that we shall not deny him.  We go forth united to the one God in three persons.  Let the world ponder that.  Jesus knows us all. 

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Homily

6th Sunday Ordinary Time – Be made clean!

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Lv. 13:1-2,44-46; Ps. 32:1-2, 5, 11; 1 Cor. 10:31—11:1; Mk. 1:40-45

Be made clean through the power of God’s love and mercy.  From the time of Moses to the coming of Jesus, leprosy was seen as a punishment from God, a progressive decay of the body, an “unclean” person in body and soul destined to live apart from the people of God.  We are all familiar with the expression “cleanliness is next to Godliness”.  For some this means keeping up an image on the outside of self-respect by the way we dress, keep the house clean, take care of our property.   Jesus however comes to bring about our cleansing inside out.  He comes to wash us clean of sin. 

Today we are to identify the leprosy of sin in our lives.  It is the visible sign of an impure heart.  It comes through the eyes of envy, jealousy, lust, anger, impatience.  It spills out of the mouth with criticism, sarcasm, threats, ridicule, and gossip.  It turns to vengeance in the hands through abuse, violence, punishment, and control.  The leprosy of sin is the seed planted in the mind, nurtured in the heart until it gains power of over the will and the act is committed.  It likens to a cancer that is dormant until triggered by our weakness and quickly becomes malignant causing death, death to our relationship with God, with others, and even with our true image as a child of God.  Who do we blame? 

We can’t say “the devil made me do it” because the devil has no power over us unless we invite him into our lives.  All the devil does is plant the seed of thought where he can find weakness in our soul.  We can’t blame others for our actions since it is how we choose to respond to them and not their demand on us.  Personal responsibility is how God responded to Adam and Eve and to the serpent, each according to their act of the will.  Personal responsibility is how God responds to us by the choice we make.  The God of love and mercy is also the God of justice.  The work of justice from God is not a punishment but a cleansing of the soul.  The work of justice is to transform the impure and make it pure.  Forgiveness and reconciliation are the beginning of the work of justice something to contemplate.

Too often and too many view the Lord’s forgiveness as a “get out of jail pass” and a freedom of consequence.  That is not the work of justice.  It does not even reflect the love of God in his mercy.  It is the start of his merciful love to begin to transform us, the change agent to cleanse us of our sins is the work yet to be done.  God’s love is not to leave us to be as we are a sinful people but as call to follow in his footsteps, to live in imitation of Christ, to allow the word of God to become incarnated into body and become a true temple of the Holy Spirit.  God is a change agent for nothing remains the same in his creation.  It is all a movement in the direction of the eternal waiting to be revealed.  Are we ready for the eternal?  God is ready for us. 

Today God says to us “I do will it.  Be made clean.”  God’s wills for all to come to salvation but he cannot save us without us, that is he cannot save us against our will.  We must come in faith to receive him.  When we receive him, we come in humility not pride, we come as a sinner in need of redemption, we come willing to trust him and put our faith in the work he has prepared for our calling.  In other word we come to do the will of the Father.  The will of the Father is the work of salvation that all may be made clean.  It is in serving that we grow in holiness and shed the scales of our sinfulness. 

When Jesus healed the leper, he told him to tell no one but the healed man could not contain the mercy of God within himself.  When we experience the mercy of God, we cannot contain the love that has entered our soul.  It is a light that cannot be kept hidden.  When we become the Lord’s servant doing the will of the Father then we become a light to the world and others will seek that light.  This is how we know we are living in his light when God sends us his poor, his hungry, his sick just like people kept coming to Jesus.  Who is God sending to us this day?   Let us be ready to receive him and to offer up to God an act of faith, hope, and charity.  Greater is the change from within coming from God from a single act of mercy than all the material world can create.  Greater the treasure in heaven than the riches of this world.  Be that person! 

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Homily

5th Sunday Ordinary Time – All things to all

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Jb. 7:1-4, 6-7; Ps. 147:1-6; 1 Cor. 9:16-19, 22-23; Mk. 1:29-39

St. Paul claims to be “all things to all” to save at least some.  St. Paul is acting “in persona Christi” for it is Christ who came into this world to be all things to heal the broken hearted.  We all share in the brokenness of humanity and are in need of healing.  Job is broken hearted in a state of restlessness and despair as he contemplates an end to his happiness.  St. Paul makes of himself “a slave to all to win over as many as possible” sharing in the weak, the poor, the suffering, the sick his own weakness.  As Jesus poured himself out on humanity, Paul takes up the cross and carries it for Jesus.  How then are we carrying our share of the cross by being all things to those who God has placed in our path?  We do this by living the gospel.   

Job is a reminder that no one gets through this life without a share of suffering.  Suffering removes all the distractions of this world.  We spend our time on creating wealth, spending our wealth, entertainment, travel, and all the external focus of our interests.  Suffering is a recentering on what really matters, our connectedness to God, family, and others.  Suffering is our wake-up call that our days are numbered and how are we fulfilling our purpose.  Suffering serves its own purpose to brings about an examination of conscience, a reconciliation with God and others and even a purging of our sinfulness.  We no longer desire to sin but to be saved.  Save us O’ Lord for we have sinned.  In suffering we become all things to all who share through their own suffering the cross of Jesus. 

St. Paul is a reminder that we are to live and be in imitation of Christ who came to serve and not be served.  St. Paul desires to walk in the footsteps of Jesus by walking in the footsteps of the suffering.  It is here that he encounters the presence and love of God.   In St. Paul we see our purpose as baptized Christians is to “win over as many as possible”, to be disciples as witnesses to the gospel, and to be holy.  If we look to the saints and why they were able to lead others to Christ we recognize it was not from their humanity as in their leadership skills, or intelligence, or persuasive speaking but from the divine call to be all things to all.  People were attracted to saints by their holiness seeking to share in becoming one in holiness. 

In the gospel we see Jesus entering the house of Simon and Andrew and curing Simon’s mother-in-law.  This act of healing is a reminder of Jesus addressing the most pressing need first before being concerned with preaching the gospel.  He gives us an example of subsidiarity addressing the most immediate needs of the people first before moving on to other villages that he may preach there also.  He cared for the pressing needs of the people before pursuing his purpose for coming into the world.  To be all things to all begins by caring for others and meeting them where they are at and not where we want them to be. 

We become all things to all by loving the present moment in giving of ourselves to the present needs.  A King knows he must first strengthen his warriors before going into battle or he will surely lose the fight.  Maslow’s hierarchy of needs recognizes in humanity the value of meeting the physiological needs before progressing up to a transcendent stage of development.  Jesus cured many of various diseases and drove out many demons in order to return a person their integrity as a child of God before the call to “follow” his teaching.  Charity to the human condition comes through the corporal works of mercy and the spiritual works of mercy.  This is our higher purpose that together we may transcend to higher ground and win as many as possible. 

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Homily The Deacon Joe

4th Sunday Ordinary Time What is this?

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Dt. 18:15-20; Ps. 95:1-2, 7-9; 1 Cor. 7:32-35; Mk. 1:21-28

“What is this?  A new teaching with authority?”  This is the Word made flesh who has come into the world, the anointed one, Jesus of Nazareth.  This is the prophet like Moses when he said “the Lord, your God (will) raise up from among your own kin; to him you shall listen.”  This is the time for repentance, conversion, and to hear his voice in our lives calling us into his kingdom. 

Today Jesus is with us and we hear his voice in the proclamation of the Word, in the magisterium of the Church for “who hears you hears me” Jesus tells his disciples.  What is this but the coming of the Kingdom of God among us ready to welcome the sinner, the poor, the suffering, the sick in body and soul.  What is this but the power of God to bring healing, hope, joy, mercy, and salvation.  This is the kingdom come that we pray for and is already in our midst. 

What is this?  It is more than a teaching it is the authority itself that commands and it is done.  Jesus commands the unclean spirit to come out of a man and it is done.  Even the unclean spirit recognizes “the Holy One of God”.  It is the authority he gives his apostles to go and make disciples to the ends of the world.  When we come to receive Jesus in the sacraments of the Church, we become not only heirs to the kingdom but also participants in his redemptive mission for the salvation of souls.  This is a responsibility we carry to give witness and proclaim the gospel in the way we live, we love, and we worship the Lord. 

Today, St. Paul in his letter to the Corinthians tries to give us some practical advice to decrease our anxiety. It is to live the celibate life.  Marriage creates the stress of supporting a family in the world while being single allows for worries of only pleasing God.  This practical advice was taken to heart by the Catholic Church in the call to the priesthood so that priestly vocation is a consecration to God without the stress of marriage.  The same is true for women who enter religious vocation.  It can also be true for single men who become deacons they no longer can marry.   A layperson can choose to become a monk or friar and remain celibate as can a layperson who desires to serve God through their professional vocation. 

Marriage is also a gift and calling to build up the kingdom of God in the domestic church of a home.  It is a call to holiness in the sacramental vows of a man and a woman.  Marriage is the blessing of the union as designed by God thus civil unions are not valid “marriages” for the church whether between a man and a woman or as in today’s environment between same sex couples.  Those who choose to separate themselves from this teaching are not listening to the Word of God and the voice of Jesus.  Many to stand by the Word of God are being persecuted by the will of the State, in courts, and by a culture of death.  This is a time of trial and we are to prepare for the battle growing in our culture and even within the Church. 

Who is this that speaks with authority and even the unclean spirits obey?  This is our redeemer and our judge.  How we choose to respond to his authority in obedience or by following our own way will determine how we come to face the king of glory on the day judgment in exultation or in misery.  Now is the time of atonement for the hour is near and our days are numbered.  Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy. 

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Homily

Fourth Sunday of Advent –     Forever song!

Posted on by Deacon Joe

2 Sm. 7:1-5,8b-12, 14a, 16; Ps. 89:2-5, 27, 29; Rom. 16:25-27; Lk. 1:26-38

The “forever song” reaches to the heavens, the sweetest melody we can sing to the Lord.  “Forever I will sing the goodness of the Lord!  What song do we sing to the Lord this day?  It is the song that springs from the heart, mind and soul of our daily journey of faith.  What we do sings louder than what we say.  We sign the goodness of the Lord by our good deeds that proclaim his goodness.  The forever song implies in good times and in bad we recall the Lord’s goodness that it may serve a greater purpose in God’s time.

The goodness of the Lord in king David’s time was a foundation for the greater kingdom to come. The throne of king David would become the kingdom of Christ the king.  King David wanted to “build a house” for the ark of the covenant but the Lord’s response was to ask “should you build me a house to dwell in?  It was I who took you from the pasture…”  Lesson learned for king David and for us is that it is the Lord who grants us not only what we have but our very breath. 

What can we do for the Lord cannot come out from the “I” of our pride, vanity, or egocentric vision.  What we can do for the Lord must come from his calling, our obedience, and our self-giving.  It is not about our song for him but his song for us.  He is giving us a song to sing for him to the world.  It is the “forever song”. 

Advent is the revelation of the coming of the “mystery kept secret for long ages” but becoming present to us in our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ.  This mystery was revealed not only in prophetic writings but through the life of God’s people.  Centuries have added their own chorus to the forever song becoming incarnated into his own people in obedience to his calling.  Their chorus foretold the coming of the Lord and while our lives continue to announce his coming, we also have the gift to announce his presence in our lives.  Rather than write an obituary of our life what if we wrote our chorus contributing to the forever song coming from Christ.  That chorus is being already written as we dedicate ourselves to the goodness of the Lord. 

The gospel is the beginning of Mary’s forever song to Christ.  It is about to be revealed to the world in her “Magnificat” as she begins with the words “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.  May it be done to me according to your word.”  There is no obituary for Mary but there is her forever song we continue to sing for her.   The gospel today reveals the announcement of the angel Gabriel to Mary where we get to see and understand not only the revelation from God but what is about to be his incarnation in Mary.  We see Mary’s humanity and her dedication to God’s divinity.  How is the Lord becoming incarnated in us, in our forever song this day? 

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Homily

Third Sunday of Advent – My soul rejoices!

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Is. 61:1-2A, 10-11; Ps. Lk1:46-50, 53-54; 1 Thes. 5:16-24; Jn. 1:6-8, 19-28

“My soul rejoices in my God…because the spirit of the Lord is upon me”.  Today we rejoice because despite the sinfulness of our humanity his mercy has covered us “with a robe of salvation” through the waters of baptism.  In baptism we are given a divine purpose to know ourselves by, to live our divine image, and to be called sons and daughters of our God. 

“Who are you?” is the question posed to John the Baptist.  His response was first to be sure to clarify that he was not the Christ adding, “whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie”. He then identifies himself with scripture from Isaiah as “the voice crying out in the desert.”  When we enter the waters of baptism, we become a new creation with a divine purpose coming God.  How would we answer the question “who are you?”  In our human understanding we likely would answer the question by our birth name and some may even identify themselves as the son or daughter of our parent’s name. 

The Pharisees were seeking a name, a divine name from John.  John gave them a purpose for his being.  When we discover our purpose our path in life become clear in our call to serve God.  God provides the power to serve through the channel of his grace.  When we look to our blessed Mother Mary, she is often identified by many titles in the many ways she serves God.  The same is said of St. Joseph in the litany to St. Joseph.  Consider for a moment what stands out in our life in the many ways we serve our Lord.  What litany can be said of us? 

The other way to look at this is to ask ourselves “where does our passion lie and what does our soul rejoice in?”  If our passion and soul rejoice only in what serves our interests and needs then we remain apart from God, we “quench the Spirit” and God is still waiting for us return to him.  This is the struggle of the flesh and our own spirit.  The spirit is to discipline the flesh.  This is the primary test we face that we may be ready for what the world will bring us without fear. 

The Spirit of the Lord is upon us and we give witness to our faith by our acts of service bringing God’s love, mercy, and justice.  Our life becomes adorned with the light of Christ and my soul rejoices.  We rejoice in the Lord’s coming even while we may endure hardship, suffering, pain, or persecution.  There is one among us who the world does not recognize but we recognize as Christ.  He has come into the world and continues to come to the souls who know how to cry out to him.  Christ is our battle cry who goes before us, with us, behind us, above us and lifts us up to the heavens. 

Amen. 

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Homily

Second Sunday of Advent – Prepare the way!

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Is. 40:1-5, 9-11; Ps. 85:9-14; 2 PT. 3:8-14; Mk. 1:1-8

Prepare the way of the Lord!  The Lord’s way is not our way so the Lord is calling us to more than just changing the way we live, he is seeking a transformation of mind, heart and soul, and a mastery of our flesh.  Prepare the way of the Lord in our very being beginning with an act of repentance.  The was the message of John the Baptist that the Lord’s way begins with repentance for our sins that is why he came before Jesus preparing the way for his coming.  Do we desire the Lord’s coming?  We hasten his coming by “conducting yourselves in holiness and devotion”. 

Isaih calls us to “Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God.”  The wasteland is all the sin and corruption of souls by a culture of death.  The “highway for our God” is the sacramental life he left us in his church.  The young Carlo Acutis who died at the age of 15 and was beatified in 2020 called the eucharist his “highway to heaven”.  He used his computer programming skills to promote devotion to the eucharist documenting Eucharistic miracles.  He took who he was, his skills, his youthfulness, his interests and he used them to proclaim there is a God and he is in the Eucharist.  He is a modern –day John the Baptist proclaiming in the wasteland of our times to prepare the way of the Lord. 

Preparing the way of the Lord begins from within and matures into a calling in the way we honor, serve and give glory to God.  From within we come to believe there is a God, we are his creation, and he is calling us to himself.  What is our response, “here I am Lord” or “not yet Lord”?  Once we know there is a God, we play with fire if we choose to ignore his call for our salvation.  Thinking back to the parables Jesus gave to the apostles and the people, they served as a warning as well as a call to something greater to come.   The Lord comes with power to reward his people and to separate the sheep from the goats. 

The power of the Lord is for this day, he “does not delay his promise”.  One day or a thousand, it is all a breath from the Lord.  The Lord is coming and the Lord has come.  The first coming we prepare to celebrate as our Christmas time, Jesus in the flesh, in a manger, walking the earth and preparing souls to receive the Holy Spirit.  The second coming we are reminded of when the “heavens will be dissolved in flames and the elements melted by fire”.  Do we imagine a literal fire or the fire of the power of God, the fire of his light, and the fire his purging of souls?  It is the fire of his promise that also brings about “a new heaven and a new earth”. 

When we say “water and oil don’t mix” we recognize that certain circumstances cannot exist together.  Heaven and hell have a great chasm in separation of each other.   Sin and sanctity, one carries the passion of the flesh and the other the passion of the spirit.  The same is true of us if we remain in sin then we cannot receive the Lord’s justice and peace, kindness and truth, and all the benefits the Lord is prepared for those who do love and serve him.   What our true heart’s desire is this day will determine what happens next in the presence of the Lord. 

Behavioral science will affirm we are creatures of habit.  When we develop good habits, it leads to right action in our next circumstance just as bad habits can project negative consequences from future actions.  We prepare the way of the Lord through our discipline of faith.  Prayer is not an occasional act that happens only in Mass or in times of desperation.  Prayer is a discipline of being in contact with God as we offer up ourselves throughout the day.  It is not how long a prayer is but how meaningful our thoughts and words are with exclamations such as “Jesus I trust in you” and “Let thy will be done”.  It is the discipline of the day that prepares the way of the Lord for his coming in all we do and offer to him.  Life is not an accident by chance, it is about how we have prepared today for our tomorrow to come.  Tomorrow does not delay, let us be prepared. 

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Homily

First Sunday of Advent – Be watchful! Be alert!

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Is. 63:16B-19B; 64: 2-7; Ps. 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19; 1 Cor. 1:3-9; Mk. 13:33-37

Be watchful!  Be alert! We begin our first Sunday of Advent with this reminder from the Lord.  We are watchful for his coming not just into the world but in our lives.  Advent is a season of longing for the Lord, for something greater to come into our lives.  It is the power of his love manifested in each and every way in which we turn and give him glory, in an answered prayer, in the beauty of his graces, and in the unity of souls.  Also, be alert to the signs of our times, to the dangers of the deceiver and be ready to recognize the Lord’s coming and to the fulfillment of his promises. 

The first reading asks the question “Why do you let us wander, O Lord, from your ways?”  It is the same sentiment we ask the Lord when we see so much evil in the world and wonder why the Lord permits this to be.  It seems that the culture of death continues to grow, polls say that less people attend church, and people identify more as spiritual in their own thinking than religious in worship of God.  We say things are getting worse than better in this world.  In the spirit of Advent, it is a way of longing for the Lord to come and put an end to evil and sin.  The patience of the Lord is for the conversion of sinners while there is still time. 

The Lord longs for our love but true love is a free gift of oneself from our freedom.  The Lord created us with the freedom of our will to give of ourselves in love.  It is reflected in the sacramental life when we give of ourselves in marriage, when a man gives himself up to be a priest, when a woman chooses to enter religious life and when we bring a child to the waters of baptism to become a child of God.  We not only give of ourselves in love but when we wander away in our own selfish desires it is the love that is missing in our lives that brings us back to God. 

When a child wanders away from the values and upbringing that they were raised by, a parent soon realizes there comes a point where there is nothing they can say or do to change the mind of the child.  They can only pray that they will return home to the values and practices of their faith in God.  A parent waits patiently and prays to God and God waits patiently and sends his messengers calling the child to come back to the faith by their own free will.  True love is a free gift from God that we can only give back to him in our freedom. 

To be watchful and alert is to mindfully be taking care of the Lord’s work that he “might meet us doing right”. We are to mindfully allow God to mold us in his own image as clay in the potter’s hands.  We pray to the Lord to “make us turn to you” because we recognize the weakness of our own flesh resistant in doing what is right in the eyes of the Lord.  Yet the Lord relies on the freedom of our own will so we pray for transformation of our will by his Spirit that we may not be “lacking in any spiritual gift”.  The Lord promises to reveal himself to us when we come to him searching, wanting, and in faith. 

“Show us Lord, your love; and grant us your salvation.”  Like a child, clings to his mother, we are to cling to the Lord.  All too often we recognize that as a society we have become “soft”, no longer believing in sacrifice, frustrated without our conveniences, intolerant to others who don’t think like we do, and calling for “safe spaces” and entitlements.  To sacrifice is not a value we desire.  It does not appeal to the flesh and our will is weak even when we recognize the value of sacrifice.  Work involves a sacrifice, raising children comes with sacrifice, and our faith reminds of the Lord’s sacrifice for us as we look to the crucifix.  With sacrifice comes great reward.  There is the expression, “where there is a will there is a way”.  When the way involves sacrifice, we quit before we ever get going and fail to reach the mountain top. 

This attitude has carried into our church whereby if the Mass time is not convenient, we don’t find a way to still go to church and we give ourselves a pass on Sunday.  God does not give passes to miss Sunday Mass.  Some complain the church is archaic and not progressive enough with the times while others that it is too liberal and needs to return to the “good old days”. 

We want the church to adapt to our views and ways when we have to recognize the church is the bride of Christ guided by the hand of God working through the Spirit in all it’s priesthood.  For every priest who is being obedient to his calling there are over 10,000 opinions who would want to change something within the church.  The church stands on faith and the word of God and we must join in and participate in faith trusting in God.  The Lord has left his servant in charge and his servant is the church.  We can see the face of God in his church and through his church we shall be saved. 

Be watchful!  Be alert to the working of the spirit that we may not be lacking in any spiritual gift as the Lord reveals himself to us this day in his church, in the Eucharist, in his Word and through the faithful and the stranger.  The Lord will show us his love when we cling to him as an infant to his mother and as a child holds onto the hand of his father.    

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Homily

The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ – King of the Universe

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Ez. 34:11-12, 15-17; Ps. 23:1-3, 5-6; 1 Cor. 15:20-26, 28; Mt. 25:31-46

Viva Christ the King!  We come to the end of the liturgical calendar year in celebration of the Lord’s victory over death and the coming of the kingdom of heaven.  It is a day of judgment, the separation of the sheep from the goat, the righteous from the accursed.  Our celebration is a reminder that we are to live with the end in mind.  We are to live our God given purpose for being called a son or daughter of the living God.  If in baptism we have died in Christ and today we are reminded to live in service of our baptismal promises? 

Last Sunday we were reminded of our responsibilities that come with all the gifts of the Lord in the parable of the “talents”.  Today we are reminded the end is coming and we are to be ready to receive the Lord.  Readiness requires action just as faith requires trust.  We can say “I have faith” but respond in fear.  When Peter called on Jesus so he could walk on the sea, he stepped out in faith but began to sink for lack of trust.  We often see faith as an act of the mind, to believe in something.  Believing is only the first step of faith, then comes to trust in the Lord.  Trusting is an act of the will, to step out on the waters of life and take the next right step is true faith. 

Just as there is an end of time to come there is also an end of our time as mortals for there is but one human death and then comes judgement.  So also, as there is a kingdom of God to come their is a kingdom of God that is already with us in Jesus Christ.  When we receive Jesus in the Eucharist we receive the kingdom of God to transform our lives.  What our mortal bodies cannot contain is yet to come in the glorified state of heaven.  We live and we love in anticipation of something greater that awaits those who live their faith in action. 

St. Augustine in a discourse preached we are all to sing to the Lord “not with our lips but with our lives.”   It is how we live our lives that makes the most beautiful music to the Lord.  The perfect song is sung by our love of God and neighbor.  We don’t all have the prefect pitch of voice or can play a musical instrument but we are all given the gift of silence to sing by our actions our faith and trust in God.  The Lord leads us today in the gospel where we are to walk in the Lord. 

The next right step of faith God calls us is to act in the care of those in need.  The love of God is seen in the love of neighbor.  Even among the faithful today we see in the reading that the Lord “will judge between one sheep and another”.  What does this mean?  The Lord’s judgment at death is immediate between the souls of the just all according to how we served the Lord.  We have this idea that heaven is this one place we all go to and some even believe there is no hell.  Wrong!  That is the first separation to come. 

We also see in the angels that there are different levels of angelic choirs.  Jesus tells us “In my Father’s house are many dwelling places” he is going to prepare for us.  Not all are the same place as we have not all lived the same virtuous life.  God promises a new body one where the flesh is no longer resistant to the spirit.  Today the spirit desires to come to church but the flesh wants to stay in bed and sleep.  The resurrected body will be one with the spirit giving glory to God. 

Christ’s victory over death was not for himself but for all humanity.  We recall that in the beginning was the Word and the Word was made flesh.  Jesus victory over death is also a victory over the cause of death which is sin.  It is a victory over the spiritual death of sin and the mortal death of the body to give us an eternal incorruptible body that desires the glorified state of heaven.  In the glorified state we will each shine with the light according to the virtues we lived on this earth.  There is nothing I shall want of this world when we give ourselves over to our King. 

Psalm 23 is one of the most read at funerals.  It reminds us that we are to live for the Lord.  It also reminds us that we don’t take anything of this world with us when we die.  Our desire is for the riches of heaven.  The riches come when we follow Christ our shepherd and king.  These are the spiritual riches that bring us joy, peace, and love. 

I sometimes share the story of the death of my mother who died December 12, 1997, the day of the apparition of the Virgen de Guadalupe.  I was working at the hospital when I got the call that she did not look well and to come home.  We had been taking care of her at home expecting these to be her final days.  When I arrived at home, she was awake and alert but in cold sweat and in agony.  Suddenly she sat up and pointed to the ceiling and said “look, look!”  I asked her what did she see but she only responded “look!”.  I asked again, do you see angels, Blessed Mary, Jesus?  She just said “Yes, look”.  Then she laid back in bed and died. 

As soon as she died snow started falling outside her window.  This was Harlingen Texas and we all know snow is rare for us.  The news reported that just for a few hours it had snowed in Harlingen before it melted away.  For Harlingen it was an anomaly, but for us it was a moment in which heaven touched earth and gave us a sign from heaven. 

“Ground Zero” is taken as a place where many innocent people died a tragic death.  It becomes a place that is memorialized for generations to come and remember.  Our “ground zero” is the Mass where we recall the death of Christ for all his people.  Here we memorialize the death of Christ and celebrate the victory over death through Christ.  Here we bring our humanity to die to self and rise to God’s divinity.  Here is our victory. 

Viva Christ the King. 

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Homily

33rd Sunday Ordinary Time – Fear of the Lord

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Prov. 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31; Ps. 128:1-5; 1 Thes. 5:1-6; Mt. 25:14-30

Fear of the Lord!  Blessed are those who fear the Lord.   Wisdom is given to them as children of the light.  Fear of the Lord comes from receiving the Lord’s revelation of his truth and responding in love of God to his will.  The Lord’s truth recognizes good and evil, mercy and justice, the blessings of obedience and accounting for sin.  Fear of the Lord is a reality check when we realize our own mortality and God’s divinity, there is a God and we are not him. 

In today’s time the world is filled with people who are led to believe they can be their own god.   They can choose what sex they want to be, what child they want to give birth to or terminate, and what day they want to end their life.  These choices come when there is no fear of the Lord.  They are made in freedom but they do not set you free.  The bondage of these choices come from the consequence of mortal sin against the love and the law of God.  The day will come when faced with the truth of God and the understanding of “what have I done” that the soul can turn to God and his mercy and seek forgiveness but we must humble ourselves before God. 

Fear of the Lord is what unites a worthy wife, brings prosperity to a man, makes for children of the light and comes with greater responsibilities in the kingdom of God.  A worthy wife is the heart of the home in our domestic church who labors for the good of her family.  The church is the worthy spouse of God who labors for the salvation of souls.  The love of a wife is a compass in the mind of a man that brings prosperity to the home and together the children grow in faith, hope, and love.  Together they face life challenges and serve the greater good.  This is the kingdom of God with a call to greater responsibility. 

Now who wants more responsibility?  This is what God is seeking out of his people, to multiply the blessings that come from the call to love and serve the Lord.  When we face a challenge, we can respond with “why me?” or “why not me!”  Those who say “why me” seek to bury their “talent” that is the graces and gifts of the Spirit, and avoid the call from God.  Those who say “why not me” are not fearful of the world but carry the fear of the Lord and courage to say “yes Lord”.

I retired five months ago from a career of 40 years and was looking forward to the idea of “slowing down”.  In the first month there were so many funerals happening that I began to call myself the “deacon of the dead”.  We all like predictability and before I could say my calendar dictated my day.  Now my calendar can be completely open but by the end of the day I am completely tired because saying “yes Lord” is willing to die to oneself one good deed at a time.  The word “retired” implies to become tired all over again.  “Hello” that is not in the human plan for getting old but then God came calling on Abraham at a very old age.  He calls on the young and old alike to serve in God’s time. 

God does not want part of us, he created all of us for himself.  This is where the parable of the “talents” is understood by the works we are too multiple from the gifts we receive.  Here the parable a “talent” is unit of money equivalent to 6,000 denarii with one denarii equivalent to a day’s wages.   In today’s terms that would equal 25 years of income for just one talent.  Ten talents equal 250 years of wages to create from the gifts we receive from God.  None of this is possible from human effort but then nothing is impossible when there is fear of the Lord willing to answer the call.  After all, it is God who works through us. 

God’s wealth is eternal and his gifts for us are to be multiplied to serve eternity.  One good act of service to God for his people can have eternal blessings.  The blessing we serve in one life can lead that one person to be a blessing to many others many times over.  It is the multiplication of the loaves that keeps feeding everyone with plenty left for future generations to come.  We will never know the good one act of charity can have in the transformation of many until we reach the glorified state and all things are revealed to us. 

The parable emphasizes the great value that God is entrusting to us in our life.  That value does not represent the wealth of this world but the importance of God’s gifts to his people.  We are blessed!  A blessing is the power of God and we are to exercise the power of God in our lives.  From our baptism we are given the gifts of the Spirit and the power to reject sin, to make holy, and to bring others into his kingdom.  When we were born, God gives us the gift of ourselves with a free will with his desire that our lives be lived as the gift of ourselves to him.  Let us live the fear of the Lord without fear in our giving of ourselves for his greater glory.  Amen.

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