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Homily

32nd Sunday Ordinary Time – Stay awake!

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Wis. 6:12-16; Ps 63:2-8; 1 Thes. 4:13-18; Mt. 25:1-13

Stay awake and keep vigil for the Lord for he comes as wisdom “seeking those worthy…and graciously appears to them” when we thirst for the Lord and for his wisdom.  Who and what do we thirst for?  Do we thirst for the riches of the world or the riches of the spirit?  At night do we ponder how we will succeed in all our desires of life or how we will be ready to receive the Lord this night?  This is what separates the foolish from the wise. 

We just celebrated All Souls Day on November 2nd and I was asked to do a prayer service at Heavenly Grace funeral home.  Before starting I walked among the people and one elderly lady said to me “that as soon as she walked into the funeral home, she felt nervous, not ready”.  We don’t like thinking of our mortality.  We go about our life as if that day will never come.  We become the foolish virgins living our life hoping that at the end we will still get into the wedding banquet of heaven. 

You may recall the story of the king who knew his hour of dying was approaching and so he got on his horse and rode all night long to escape the angel of death.  When he finally stopped to rest out in the wilderness the angel of death appeared to him saying “I was told to wait here for you.  Why would you pick this spot to come and die?”  Why do we do some of the crazy things that steal away our days and choose to live as if we can escape the consequences of our actions? 

When we choose to live to eat rather than eat to live; when a celebration of life becomes an excuse to abuse alcohol; when work is no longer to support our life but our reason to live; when the bond of our children is stronger with their friends than with their parents because that is who they see more of; we become the foolish virgins of the parable asleep to the things that matter most and get us to heaven.   Do we stay awake to what we were created for or have we lost our focus? 

There is a lifestyle exercise done in three steps.  The first step is to list everything that is important in your lifestyle.  Most people will write down family, friends, faith, work, sleep, social life, etc.  Step two is then to prioritize what is most important first, and on down the list.  This is the difficult part to acknowledge where God or faith is in our priority.  Family is generally first or second in priority.  The third step however is the most revealing.  Now in a 24-hour day where does our waking time go?  What time do we give our Lord in prayer, contemplation, and reflection on his Word each day?  We believe family is very important but is our home a central station where everyone stops to eat and sleep before going on with their life?  Is leisure time an opportunity to bond with those we love or time to escape into the world of social media, television, or gaming.  The reality of the foolish and the wise is soon revealed. 

We read today, “taking thought of wisdom is the perfection of prudence.”  Prudence is making right judgment.  Right judgment comes from an informed conscience.  Many may say, “I follow my conscience” but an ill-informed conscience is the wisdom of the foolish virgins.  The world is full of people who follow their conscience but there is no unity in the world.  Each mind desires to create their own truth and the result is chaos.  True wisdom comes from above, from the light of the Spirit of truth to enlighten the soul.  There is but one truth and it does not come from the mind itself but from the mind that seeks God.  If we thirst for truth then we thirst for God.  Stay awake to the voice of truth which is the source of all wisdom. 

“My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.”, says the psalm.   To thirst implies a longing, a sense of need, an awareness that only God can satisfy us.  The one who thirsts seeks, remains vigilant awaiting the arrival of our God.  He comes in the silence of our prayer, he comes as a word of knowledge that speaks to our heart, he comes as a spirit of love to comfort a suffering soul, he comes as a neighbor who appears at our door just at the right moment when we needed God most. 

The Lord does not delay for he is the God of the present closer to us than we can imagine.  The Lord desires to remain with us and in us but our souls must be as the wise virgins, free of sin, having the light of the spirit, ready to receive him in body, blood, soul, and divinity.  This is our call.  For this he came into the world and for this we were created as a vessel of grace for the kingdom of God.  Stay awake and don’t miss the coming of the Lord. 

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Homily

31st Sunday Ordinary Time – One God and Father

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Mal. 1:14b-2:2b, 8-10; Ps 131:1, 2, 3; 1 Thes. 2:7b-9, 13; Mt. 23:1-12

One God and Father creator of all and one master, the Christ to who we give our glory.  All creation points to our God and we are to follow with all our being created in the image of God.  As we often hear it said, it is not about us, it’s all about our God.  When we are born our first gift of life is the gift of ourselves and what we do with ourselves is our gift back to God.  The greatest gift of ourselves we give our God is to grow in spirit and in truth as we die to ourselves for our salvation and that of this world.  God calls us into his hands to be his hands, feet, heart, and mind by doing his will.  This is the unity prayer of Jesus “that we may all be one” in our God and Father. 

The gospel today instructs us to call no one on earth “Rabbi”, “father”, or “Master” for we have but one God, one Father, and one Master.  Yet we call our priests “father” so as the expression goes “what’s up with this?”  Our separated brothers and sisters in Christ from other denominations like to point to this scripture and question “why do we call a priest father” yet even they refer to their earthly father by this title.  The scripture passage says “call no one” and yet we are born of a father and mother and all make at least this one exception so then “what’s up with this?” 

Recall that all things are to point to our God and the priesthood is a call to die to oneself to then be “in persona Christi” that is serving God in the person of Christ.  Our reference to the priesthood by the title “father” is a recognition of Christ himself who is the one who sanctifies and who we glorify.  The priest in the person of Christ makes Christ alive in the sacraments we receive through him.  The priesthood is to be God’s servant who dies to himself so that it is no longer him but Christ who works through him as St. Paul claims. 

The gospel today is a warning that no one is to be looked at as a god.  In Jesus’ time many kings and rulers wanted the people to bow down to them as a “god” and to have no other gods but them.  The price of disobedience was death.  This is one reason we have so many martyrs from the early church who refused to acknowledge a king as a god.  Jesus comes to teach us that he who wishes to be the greatest must be the servant of all and he laid down his life to give testimony of this.  The priest is the servant of God to give testimony in living a godly life. 

The question for us to consider is who may we be placing as our god above the one God and Father.  Does our politics become the god we serve above the church teachings.  We see how the state has by its policies created this division in which we must choose between “Ceasar” or God.  The state is not the only one seeking to be our god.  There is the god of addictions, the god of pornography, even the god of social media where people lay out their lives for attention seeking more “likes” and followers.  Does any of this give us the peace of life we seek or is this the cause of why we “break faith with one another”?

I was at a conference and the presenter asked the question “what makes you happy?”  The answer for me came quickly, “to be at peace”.  Being at peace makes every other experience a gift that adds to the happiness of life regardless if it is a joyful, sad, challenging, “sunny or rainy” day.  Being at peace helps us to “let go and let God” trusting in his divine providence so that all things work for his glory.  Why are we anxious, fearful, ruminating on all our worries?  Where is our peace?  It can only come from the God of peace in who we can rest in his peace.

It is the Lord who says, “my peace I give you” and so the psalm reminds us today “In you, Lord, I found my peace.”  We have but one God and Father from whom we receive the Son and the Holy Spirit to be the light of our salvation.  To God and God alone do we bend our knee in worship.  May the peace of the Lord be with us all this day.    

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Homily

30th Sunday Ordinary Time – Two great Commandments

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Ex. 22:20-26; Ps 18:2-4, 47, 51; 1 Thes. 5c-10; Mt. 22:34-40

The two great Commandments reflect both the law and the spirit of the law.  Today the Pharisees continue to test Jesus in an effort to trap him into error of the law.  For the Pharisees all the Commandments had equal value so to choose one would indicate less priority to the others and a way to trap Jesus.  Jesus takes the first three commandments in summary as the love of God and the rest in summary of love of neighbor capturing the spirit of all ten. 

In Exodus from the Old Testament law, we hear the words “You shall not” repeated often comprising of many specific laws of how to treat others.  They offer clarity to how we are to behave, how our hearts are to respond to certain situations as signs of both obedience to God and care of others.  This was a time when the people were governed by legislative authority as subjects to a king and responded to a God who ruled by the law.  For these people the word, “Whoever loves me will keep my word, says the Lord” meant keeping all the laws.  Jesus comes to transform all the law into two great Commandments because he is about to establish the law of God in the hearts of his people. 

We would think that with the coming of Jesus the transformation of the law would happen rapidly but for many even today God remains more as a distant, authoritative, and legalistic God than a personal, compassionate, loving Father.  It begs the question, how are these individuals in their authority as parents, bosses, judges, or in their priesthood or religious authority?  It can be easier to follow the rule of law than the spirit of the law in practice.  It is easier to say to a child “because I say so” than to have a teaching moment that builds trust.  If we cannot build trust within our home, how are we to raise a child to trust in God? 

Christ came to transform our hearts that by his mercy upon us we may to be a people of mercy and charity.  It leads us to a greater good in the true image of God.  Charity places the good of the other before our benefit because we trust in God to provide for our needs as we provide for others.  This is the law of reciprocity in which it is in giving that we receive.  We cannot outgive our God who multiplies our riches in Christ with his blessings.  It today we see the need let us be open to Christ’s transforming love in which our charity is both the love of God and neighbor. 

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Homily

28th Sunday Ordinary Time – Dressed for success!

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Is. 25:6-10a; Ps 23:1-6; Phil. 412-14, 19-20; Mt. 22:1-14

Dressed for success!  The Lord has prepared his wedding banquet for his people and we are being invited to the wedding feast but before we come, we must be prepared by being dressed for success.  In the gospel today the Lord offers us a parable in which he compares the kingdom of God to a wedding feast.  If the kingdom of God is already at hand, then the wedding feast is ready for us and it begins with the celebration of the Mass. 

Many have been invited of the house of Israel he tells the chief priests and elders but few are chosen.  Many of the invited guests have refused to come thus the invitation has gone out to others on “the main roads” which opens the invitation to all the Samaritans and Gentiles.  The invitation however requires that we come wearing the proper wedding garment, that we be dressed for success. 

Before we come to be received by the Lord, it requires us to be dressed for success with the garment of righteousness, the undergarment of purity, the headdress of humility, and the shoes of justice.  Otherwise, the Lord will ask of us, ““My friend, how is it that you came in here without a wedding garment?”  Dressed for success also requires of us to be washed clean of our sins.  It begins with a good confession and a commitment to avoid sin and all its near temptations.  We are not to come to receive the Lord in mortal sin or the Lord may pronounce those words we hear today in the gospel, “Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.”  Just because Jesus calls us “my friend” does not excuse of from the proper attire to enter the kingdom of God. 

The guest to the wedding feast must also bring the gifts that come from the fruit of charity.  Charity atones for many sins and helps purify the undergarments of our passions.  Without the gifts of charity, the other garments only appear as illusions of righteousness, humility, and justice.  To be dressed for success it takes time and cannot be rushed right before the wedding feast.  We work on our dress on Sunday as we are sent forth into the world to live a virtuous life and do the work of charity.  This work is carried out through every opportunity our Lord gives us to encounter him in the world.  It is how we respond to the calling of our God given purpose.  We multiply the fruit of our gifts for the Lord until we return to the wedding feast the next Sunday where he receives us once again having prepared the table of the Lord. 

This is why the Lord says, “many are invited, but few are chosen.”  Though we are all created by God with a God given purpose, our lives don’t center around our calling.  We approach the world in terms of how the world can satisfy us and all our needs and wants.  We don’t consider enough how we can serve our God in the blessings we receive from him.  We think in terms of what “I” can do before we even think of what God can do for us and through us.  If we approach life ego-centrically then our choice of garments turns into self-righteousness, pride of self, rationalization that always justifies our actions, and the impurity of our concupiscence taking over our hearts.  How can the Lord respond to us but with the words, “I do not know you.” 

The feast that the Lord prepares for his people is with “juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines.”  For those who have dressed for success death has already been destroyed forever having prepared to enter the kingdom of God as the soul separated from the body at the end of our mortal life and enters the glory of God penetrated by the light of holiness.  No one knows what the Lord has prepared for those who love and serve the Lord.  It is only a comparison to juicy rich food and wines.  

No one can go through mortal life without shedding tears.  Suffering came into the world by disobedience thus obedience opens the wardrobe to wear the proper wedding garment.  When God wipes away our tears, he brings about our healing and he will reveal to us his plan for salvation that we may participate as heirs to the kingdom.  What does this mean?  It means that God is a personal God who desires to make himself known to us.  In coming to know God we are guided to wear the appropriate garment for each event of life, knowing also how to respond to the test and challenge of life. 

Sometimes we must put on the garment of warrior for Christ while at other times we must wear the robe of silence and perseverance.  The wardrobe the Lord offers us may also be garment of sacrifice or the colorful dress of joy.  Knowing what to wear must meet with the appropriate circumstances and desires of the Lord.  This is why we must always seek the Lord first and remain attentive to his voice in our hearts, mind, and spirit. 

Today in order to “live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life” we begin by accepting Jesus into our hearts to be transformed into his temple.  The Lord desires that we be the temple of the Lord as we open ourselves to him then his house becomes one with us in being as we receive him in our souls.  Today this word is fulfilled in our hearing as we come to receive him, body, blood, soul, and divinity in the Eucharist.  The house that the Lord builds in us cannot be denied as we place our trust in him.  We walk in the dark valley of sin in this world but fear no evil.  We have been anointed with the oil of salvation and as we like to say, “Ain’t no party like a Catholic party, cause a Catholic party don’t end”.  It lasts forever, thanks be to God.

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Homily

27th Sunday Ordinary Time – Jesus the cornerstone!

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Is. 5:1-7; Ps 80:9, 12-16, 19-20; Phil. 4:6-9; Mt. 21:33-43

Jesus is the cornerstone of our life.  The psalm reveals that the house Israel is the vineyard of the Lord but Isaiah prophesizes that the Lord’s vineyard has produced wild grapes.  All his investment in the vineyard of the house of Israel has not given the fruit he desires.  He desired “judgment and justice” but these wild grapes have brought about the “bloodshed” and “outcry”, it is the bloodshed of Jesus and the outcry to crucify him.  It leads God to ask “What more was there to do for my vineyard that I had not done?”  Looking at the history of salvation is a sad commentary on humanity that repeatedly has rejected God but not all.

God has provided for kings, rulers, priests, and prophets and the people have “neither heeded the voice of the Lord, God, nor followed the precepts which the Lord set”.  Is the world any different today than in all history?  Jesus came and his word has spread to the ends of the earth.  It has spread because Jesus sent his disciples out with the power of his name, that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bend yet rebellion prevails in the hearts of many.  Sin remains the greatest pandemic that brings death and destruction. 

What was left to do by God for humanity was to send us his son who was rejected and crucified.  In all the history of salvation God has sent us his servants with the law of God in his priests and the warning of things to come through the prophets.  We are being called to repentance, conversion, and renewal in our commitment to God.  The house of Israel is no longer the chosen one.  The chosen one is the house of Jesus, the cornerstone of our life.  The new tenants of the house of the Lord come through faith, hope, and love of Jesus and without Jesus there is no salvation. 

If we belong to the house of God then as in all homes God has his standards and rules.  In God’s house it begins with the Commandments.  Part of the rules that Jesus called for was for his people to gather together as church to come and worship, receive the word, and receive his body and blood in the Eucharist.  Then he went farther knowing that just being part of an institution with rites had failed in the past.  He desired to make a home within our souls and bring a transformation from within the heart of a person.  We are to be the temple of the Lord. 

When friends or family come to visit over the weekend, one of our expectations is that they join us for Mass.  Sometimes it has been challenging to get compliance and resistance is quick to respond.  The most common resistance is stating they did not bring clothes for church.  Well, I have clothes in different sizes and somehow there is always something that fits the person.  Too many people want God to agree to their terms of living and the rationalization is endless.  “I don’t need to go to church, God is everywhere.”  “I want to receive communion but I don’t want to go to confession.”  One thing being said more often in our days is “I am spiritual but not religious.” 

Does anybody really believe that God is going to adjust his standards to ours?  Thank God that he is patient, slow to anger and abounding in mercy but he is not compromising his way to salvation so it bears warning to say “get with the program”.  This reminds me of the story of the priest who was being recognized at a celebration.  Over the stage was a banner that read “God is other people.”  When the priest got up to speak, he began by addressing the banner saying it was missing a grammar correction.  It should say “God is other, people” with a comma after “other”.  The comma makes all the difference. 

Somehow because we are made in the image of God too many believe that God is just like us in our way of thinking, feeling and free will.  In fact, we are told that when we see the poor, hungry, and suffering we are to see God in others.  God works through us but is not us and God’s way is not our way.  With God comes the “House Rules” not meant to chain us but to set us free from sin and evil.  Life in God’s house calls us to set our minds on what is positive and carry a mind of excellence.  This is not easy and it requires of us to have trust in God.  Do we trust God completely?

I was at what is called a low ropes training and one of the exercises required each person to stand on the bed of a truck and let themselves fall backwards to a group on the ground who would catch them before hitting the ground.  It is a trust exercise and though it was easy to do it also was not easy unless you felt you could trust others.  Not only is it difficult to trust other people, it is even more difficult to let go and let God trusting him with our life.  Yet God is calling us to do just that.  How can we learn to trust God more?  It comes through prayer and petition.  It come through setting our mind on what is pure, true, lovely and gracious.  In other words, focus on the good and when negativity enters the mind reject it as you would the devil himself with the words “get away from me Satan”.  

In the past few years, we have endured a pandemic where the world reacted with great fear instituting many demands and restrictions.  They called it the “new normal” meaning it was here to last and our lives would change forever.  The rules for the house of the world changed and it was justified to save lives and considered prudent action.  Any attempt to question the rules was severely mocked and people from all institutions including science were “canceled” in different ways for challenging the rules. 

The pandemic did not last but it did last long enough to cause many to become anxious and hypervigilant.  It caused children to become withdrawn and fearful of the unknown after all “what if…” and just complete the statement will all the possibilities.  The world turned inward to itself with the pandemic and God was never spoken of in the public square.  Those who belong to the house of God had our faith tested, our trust in God succeeded or failed depending on our practice of faith. 

Faith is an exercise that requires constant movement in the direction of God.   This is having a mind of excellence, where we recognize God is working for our salvation in all and through all and we are listening and responding to his call.  “Keep doing what you have learned and received” from God through prayer and petition and through his Church and his servants with thanksgiving for all you have received.  Let our hearts not be troubled.   When God is with us who can be against us?     

Finally, a famous quote by St. Francis of Assisi says, “Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”  The impossible comes from God who makes up for what we lack and makes all things possible.  Amen.

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Homily

26th Sunday Ordinary Time – Jesus Christ is Lord!

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Ez. 18:25-28; Ps 25:4-9; Phil. 2:1-11; Mt. 21:28-32

Jesus Christ is Lord!  He is Lord over life and death having emptied himself “God greatly exalted him” giving his name the honor of our worship.  There is power in the name of Jesus.  It is the power of God’s mercy when we turn from our sin and ask for forgiveness.  Today the Lord is responding to those who say “The LORD’s way is not fair!”.  This is a theme carried forth from last week when all the labor workers received the same daily wage regardless of the hours they worked.  Not only did they receive the same wage but Jesus responded “The last shall be first.”  “Not fair” we say but who among us has the mind of God to judge his ways or his will. 

The Lord asks “am I not free to do as I wish?”  We answer to God and he does not answer to us thanks be to God, otherwise who would be saved since we are all sinners.  God in his generosity is reminding us of how much he loves us by demonstrating his mercy upon those who turn from evil and sin to do “what is right and just”.  The error in our judgment is thinking that our negative behavior has no consequences with God.  We hear that God has atoned for our sins on the cross thus our sins will be forgiven in the end and we all get to go to heaven.  How foolish to think our mind is the mind of God. 

I am reminded of a picture I saw on Facebook of a little girl pointing her finger with a serious look.  The caption at the top of the picture reads “you don’t have to worry about dying, you will live forever”; then at the bottom the caption says, “worry about location, location, location”.  Location implies heaven, hell, and purgatory.  Hell is for the dammed who refused the mercy of God.  Heaven is for those who have reached the glorified state of holiness.  Purgatory is for those who turned from their evil ways and sins but by their imperfection upon death must suffer the pains of purification of the soul before entering heaven.  Thus, the Lord’s ways are both merciful and just according to his will.  The Lord desires for all to come into his glory but there is a road to travel that all must pass through that is fair and just. 

Our goal of life is to reach salvation by following the “paths” laid out for us by Jesus who desires us to come to “truth”.  The first right step in this journey is to come to him in humility with an open mind and heart to be fed from the table of salvation.  This table is God’s offering through the sacramental life of the church.  It is to be church where we become “of the same mind, with the same love, united in heart, thinking one thing” that we may empty ourselves out for him by our love of God and charity to neighbor. 

The gospel message reminds us that we are called to obedience even when our own will rebels in our humanity, even when we have refused in the past, even when we think God is not interested in our actions.  God knows our faults but is waiting for our obedience with his gift of mercy.  If we only give the illusion of being obedient externally for all to see we fool only ourselves before God.  This is the day to say “yes, Lord” and just do it, that is the obedient step towards God who is waiting for us with all his love.  

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25th Sunday Ordinary Time – Seek the Lord!

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Is. 55:6-9; Ps 145:2-3, 8-9, 17-18; Phil. 1:20c-24, 27a; Mt. 20:1-16a

“Seek the Lord while he may be found, call him while he is near” is both an invitation and a warning.  The invitation is to recognize God in his infinite love and mercy calling us back to him.  He is with us even as we live in the flesh that our labor may be fruitful.  God is a generous God to those who serve him in his kingdom.  The invitation also includes a warning that our day is passing quickly and soon this life will come to an end and with it our opportunity to seek the Lord while he may be found.  If we but call out to him he is near to us seeking us in our hearts. 

The hope of the gospel is that we can come to God whether it is the first hour of our life or the last hour of our life while in the flesh.  The story of the landowner who goes out to hire workers throughout the day giving each the same wage at the end of the day has a parallel to the story of the prodigal son.  The son who remained with the father working all his life felt cheated by his father who received his brother back with great love and mercy after his brother spent his share of the inheritance.  In both parables, the landowner and the father demonstrate a generous heart.  The love of God is the love of a Father.  

Recall what we tell our children when they are little, “I love to the moon and back.”  They grow up and realize we can now travel to the moon and back so compared to God’s love of “infinity and beyond”, no comparison.  It wasn’t that long ago when our kids couldn’t wait to move out of their parent’s house and be independent and we were “helicopter parents” trying to follow them.  Now many are in no rush to leave the nest and we can’t wait for them to go get a job and have their own life.  The moon is college and they went there and have come back home.  The Lord reminds us, “my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways”. 

Those who come into his kingdom and serve God all the days of our lives receive the promise of heaven.  Those who are to come later in life can also receive the promise of the Father.  Some are faithful from the cradle to the grave but many of us have veered through our life separating ourselves from God, Church, even from our family falling into sin.  The love of God is mercy and justice.  In mercy God desires all to enter heaven and in justice he provides the path of purification we call purgatory to “wash our baptismal robes” as Dante claims. 

Purgatory is the promise of heaven but not yet and can be the joy of suffering in redemption for our sins already forgiven.  We can liken this to going to receive the sacrament of reconciliation.  When we go to confession the priest gives us the absolution and our sins are forgiven.  He then gives us our penance which we are to joyfully fulfill in thanksgiving to God for his love and mercy.  Purgatory is the heavenly penance we owe our Lord for his justice in final preparation for heaven. 

God desires all to be saved and today he gives us all hope that it is never too late to seek the Lord, turn from our ways and follow his call to salvation. 

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24th Sunday Ordinary Time – Law of reciprocity!

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Sir. 27:30-28:7; Ps 103:1-4, 9-12; Rom. 14:7-9; Mt. 18:21-35

The law of reciprocity is based on the golden rule to treat others as you would wish to be treated.  Jesus is calling us to live by the law of reciprocity as Jesus lived and died for us, we are to live and die for him.  God forgives us infinitely of our sins but he also calls us to live by the law of reciprocity forgiving others infinitely their “debt” as he forgives us ours.  Jesus places himself at the center of forgiveness of sins between humanity. 

Generally, we think of the law of reciprocity as an “equal give-and-take”.  When we receive a gift, we feel obliged to offer something in return as a mutual exchange.  When we have gift exchanges during the holidays, we set a gift limit dollar amount to ensure equity in the gift exchange.  When someone commits a crime the justice system sets limits on the punishment phase as a just punishment for the crime.  We act out of a sense of fairness that underlies the law of reciprocity. 

When Peter asks Jesus “how often must I forgive”, he is thinking between human relationships.  Our world however is not just between us humans, it is between us and God.  Jesus binds the debt of forgiveness between humans to himself and his sacrifice for us.  We owe it to Jesus to forgive others as he has forgiven us infinitely.  In this we die to ourselves when we come to realize it is not about us but how we are called to serve him with all our heart, mind and soul.  Jesus gave himself completely on the cross for us and we are to respond to this sacrifice in like manner giving ourselves completely to him.

Often young couples go into marriage with the idea that marriage follows the law of reciprocity as an equal 50-50 give-and-take.  It does not take long to realize there is something wrong with that picture.  The first few years are a battle trying to get to 50/50 and it is not working.  They may even come to marriage counseling to get their spouse to live up to their expectations.  Find a couple that has been married for 50 years and the “secret” is you give without counting, you forgive without recalling, and you sacrifice from your heart.  Its not 50/50 but 100/100%.

One of the blessings of having children is the lesson of sacrificial love we learn from them.  A child comes into a couple’s life and now both are covered with a binding sacrificial love for the child that transforms their hearts not only for the child but for each other.  The mistake some will make however is placing the love of a child above the love of a spouse.  Sacrificial love does not minimize nor is divided between each other and each child that is born.  Sacrificial love multiples the gift of self with greater graces in that the more we give the more we receive in return. 

Love humanizes us to a greater degree.  Love does not imply we never get angry.  Do we have a right to be angry?  Yes, anger has a just purpose in life.  Anger is like a fever in that the problem is not the fever but what underlies the cause of the fever.  Anger is a symptom and we need to examine the cause on its merit.  It moves us to speak and right action.  Jesus became angry in the temple with the money exchangers.  He was moved to action. 

We learn that “The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in compassion.”  The Lord forgives us infinitely when we come to confession and seek his forgiveness but he calls us to go forth and do the same to our neighbor following the law of reciprocity what we owe to God for his mercy and forgiveness.  In imitation of Christ, we too are called to be “slow to anger” recalling the Lord’s mercy on us.  We are to pray, “Lord I forgive as you have forgiven me, please heal my injured heart.”  He will heal us and lead us to right action. 

Anger can become weaponized to turn the law of reciprocity as a right for revenge, an eye for an eye.  “You hurt me thus I have a right to hurt you back”.  Recall Jesus teaching, “So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgive your brother from your heart.”  When anger becomes wrath, it turns into poison that injures three, ourselves, the one we are angry at and our relationship with God.  When anger becomes wrath, it turns one sinner into two wounding the hearts not just of the two but of many affected by the two.  The injury is now carried by others who share the suffering. 

In the law of reciprocity, the forgiveness of one also becomes multiplied by the many allowing others to share in the healing and mercy given as a gift.  It spreads the love of God and his compassion helping us all become more faithful to God and his teaching.  This is the work of the Spirit in the kingdom of God we are all called to serve.  Justice and mercy are both acts of love of God and one remains united to the other.  The Lord suffers his justice for our sins to bring us also his mercy but it cannot be without us fulfilling his commandment “to love another as I have loved you.” 

 Today Jesus comes fulfilling his duty to warn us, we carry a debt to God for our sins.  This debt can be completely forgiven but it requires a transformation of our heart.  In the mercy of God heaven will still be waiting “until we should pay back the whole debt”, a sign of purgatory for our hardness of heart or we can begin to receive the freedom of forgiveness and the glory of his kingdom now and forever.  There is a choice, choose wisely. 

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Homily

23rd Sunday Ordinary Time – Love fulfills the law

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Ez. 33:7-9; Ps 95:1-2, 6-9; Rom. 13:8-10; Mt. 18:15-20

Love fulfills the law!  The law of love is the practice of truth, Godly truth.  Today we hear that the law of love also carries a responsibility not only for our actions but to address the actions of the one we love.  God says “I will hold you responsible” not for the sins of another but for having remained silent and not warned “the wicked from his ways”.  God did not come to be a god of convenience but went about speaking truth to power.  He backed up what he said with the power of his word. 

In God’s world there is no “safe space” to practice sin and we are all called to be a voice for righteousness.  It is our sacramental duty to speak up against sin, to evangelize for Godly truth, to be a witness of faith by our very actions and yes, there will be repercussions, rejection, attack, and persecutions of every kind “but you shall save yourself”.  The voice of Godly truth is spoken with and through love that fulfills the law without compromise to the truth.   

The practice of the law of love comes with the duty to warn and it begins in the home called to be a domestic church.  The duty to warn however also requires the duty to love.  We are to hold onto the principle that the means does not justify the ends.  We cannot yell, threaten, or impose unjust punishment to gain compliance against the will of the other.  The Lord invites us to come to him and receive from him what is good, pleasing and perfect in his kingdom.  To inherit the kingdom of God is not an entitlement where all get to go to heaven.  We should never assume or take for granted God’s love, his mercy, or ignore his justice.   To be a law there must be truth and justice that underlies all love of God. 

The duty to warn must also reflect Godly love as well as Godly truth.  How often do we come to church knowing one of the family remained at home with no interest in giving to God of themselves an act of thanksgiving, with no desire to receive God’s body and blood and gain his holiness, with no sense of guilt for having offended God by rejecting him in the sacramental life of the church?  What are we to do?  We love, we pray and we invite not once but always. 

Godly truth and Godly love are both one and the same reflection of God.  It is better to say, “I pray that you will join me in going to church” than to keep repeating “missing church is a sin” when the baptized Christian already knows the truth.  It is better to speak of how we can “love them both” when speaking of abortion than to argue about the legality of personhood where we are able to do something about the former and not simply debate the latter.  Godly love is an invitation to dialogue in Godly truth and not to turn Godly truth into a weapon against the sinner. 

The duty to warn is an act of love delivered with God’s love and mercy.  This is how we are to love others as we love ourselves with the same sensitivity as a child of God.  This is how we witness to others when we avoid sin in our own lives and humbly acknowledge when we have failed to love.  We want others to desire what we have “Oh that you would hear his voice” and “harden not your hearts”.  The sign of God’s love in us is joy and peace in the midst of hardship, still giving of ourselves from the goodness we have received.  The cheerful giver is not one without troubles but one whose troubles don’t define their state of being grateful to God. 

In the gospel today, Jesus is speaking to his disciples giving them instructions on how to be a servant leader.  Jesus describes a process of gradual intervention we often refer to as subsidiarity where matters are handled beginning at the lowest level before progressing to higher authority. 

The principle of subsidiarity is that individuals should have the courage to face each other and speak to the issue that divides them.  It is so tempting to avoid the person or the issue directly with the one involved and go to our friend, family, or neighbor to complain about them.  The excuse given is “I tried but they won’t listen” so we give up.  We never take the next step which is to seek support from someone else who sees what you see or maybe even experiences the same issues and can both speak to the problem.  Instead, we remain silent even feeling isolated with our own dilemma. 

Today, Jesus is reminding us “where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”  When we come together in prayer and deed the power of the word is granted by Jesus as he promised “there am I in the midst of them.”  If Jesus is with us who can be against us?    Jesus also comes to us through his church who has been given authority to “bind” and to “loosen”.  Jesus was entrusting his disciples to remain united as one Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. 

The Church is in the midst of a Synodal process coming together as a universal church around the world.  Its mission is to pray and listen to the call of God in the Son and through the Holy Spirit with the power to bind and to loosen.  Some are fearful that it may unleash a “pandora’s box” fearful of deviating from Catholic doctrine while others are hopeful for change within the church. 

Pope Francis keeps calling for “dialogue”.  When love fulfills the law, it stands for truth and justice not according to our will but to the will of God.  The law of love must then be attentive to the voice of God not with any new revelation but with the confirmation that love is an organic process that deepens us in God’s truth and does not contradict itself.  God is not a contradiction and neither is the law of love.

Jesus reminds us that love binds and loosens the spirit of the law as we discern what is good, pleasing, and prefect for the will of God.  God’s will is to fill us with his graces that we may be in his glory for all eternity.  The duty to warn is simply the opposite side of the same coin calling others into God’s loving hands.  Those we love we warn and we embrace with our prayers for even greater conversion for both them and us. 

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22nd Sunday Ordinary Time – God wants you!

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Jer. 20:7-9; Ps 63:2-6, 8-9; Rom. 12:1-2; Mt. 16:21-27

God wants you!  God knows you and calls you by name, but it is not the name of our childbirth.  God has a name for us.  Do you know your name?  God wants you and I, mind, heart, and body, our whole being to be the sacrifice we offer up to him.  God does not settle for less but for the best of ourselves that we can be for his glory.  God is ready for us to “be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect”.  Are we ready for God?  Are we ready to surrender to his will, his vision for us, the calling that belongs to us?  The Father of life creates life with a divine purpose and he is waiting for us to receive him that he may “enlighten the eyes of our hearts and we may know what is the hope that belongs to our call.” 

God’s call for you and I is a personal call, he knows us by name and he desires us to discover that name.  What is in a God given name?  It is not the name of our childbirth but a God given name that comes with a divine purpose.  We should pray to know God’s name for us that we may respond to the call that comes with that name.  Abram’s name meant “high father” but Abraham means “father of many”.  Jacob’s name means ‘deceiver” having deceived his twin brother as heir to the birthright but changed to Israel meaning “one who struggles with God” because he overcame his struggle with God and with humans and was transformed into God’s faithful servant. 

When we bring a child for baptism we are asked “what name do you give your child?”  We often don’t consider a spiritual meaning to our child’s name.  In the past children were often given a name for the saint of the day as one of two names and many girls carried the name Mary as one of their two names.  This tradition has been forgotten in our times but we see it still in religious orders and when the Popes give to themselves a new name.  In the secular world people have no problem renaming themselves but it has nothing to do with God’s call and more for self-glorification.  Yet Jesus reminds us “what profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?” 

In every human soul there is a warrior spirit to carry the fight.  This warrior spirit comes from God with a divine purpose to love, serve, and sacrifice.  What we love we will sacrifice for and it will serve a greater purpose than ourselves.  We sacrifice for our family out of love and serve each other that all may be united as one.  This is God’s call that we may all be one in him.  Jesus however calls us to love, serve, and sacrifice beyond our family to the degree of self-denial to “take up his cross and follow me”. 

Today, Jeremiah is suffering an interior crisis in accepting his call to be a prophet for the Lord.  He calls out to God, “You duped me, O Lord, and I let myself be duped.”  Recall when a child comes about to ask for something there is a different pitch in their voice and so is in a spouse.  You know something is coming yet out of love of the person we accept being “duped” because we cannot resist their love.  This is Jeremiah’s reaction to God.  Jeremiah could not deny the Lord his calling knowing he would be persecuted.  In his weakness he wanted to remain silent but he could not contain himself what he knew was the truth God had revealed to him.  Even in weakness he understood there was only one right choice in serving God.  Do we recognize the choice God is asking of us this day?  In prayer we “discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect” obedience to his call. 

Suffering and dying to oneself will bring us to a crossroads where we will experience an interior crisis of faith, hope and love.  It presents in the many faces of suffering through sickness, death of a loved one, betrayal, persecution, rejection, even abandonment being forgotten as we age.  In the dark night where can we go, who can we turn to who truly knows us as we are but the one true God who brought us into this world and will come to take us with him.  A crisis of faith is a calling out to God to rescue us from our very selves, to see ourselves as he sees us, his love, mercy, and passion that died for us and will never abandon us. The God we trust more than ourselves.  God now and forever. 

Jesus is calling us to follow in his footsteps by being a warrior for what is good, pleasing, and perfect love of God.  When Peter takes Jesus aside and tries to rebuke him, he speaks as “human beings do”.  This is the same Peter who just before spoke through the Holy Spirit that Jesus was the “Christ, the son of the living God.”  How quickly he has returned to his human way of thinking.  How quickly we can lose focus of God’s call and will for us and become immersed in our own world unless we remain constantly coming to receive him in word, sacrament, and in prayer.  Peter reminds us that Satan never rests from being a distraction in the least and on the attack at worst. 

The universal church is under attack around the world.  In some places public worship is not allowed and the attack is from outside the church.  Most recently we had the Little Sister of the Poor having to defend their faith and practices all the way to the Supreme Court.  Traditional church values have been targeted as “extremist” and compared to “terroristic threats”.  Attack from the outside however is nothing new if we think back to the persecution of the early church.  The more it was persecuted the stronger and greater it grew.  This mystery is the fruit of sacrifice that came from the cross and martyrdom.  This calling remains today.  We are to not fear Satan from the outside. 

We are to be vigilant of Satan coming from the inside under the shadow of progressiveness.  Change can be good but it also can be the work of evil.  Jesus reminds us “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; so be wise as serpents, and innocent as doves”.  Change that is self-serving is not the will of God.  The innocence of a warrior dove is that it delivers the “truth” as revealed by God and not by man.  A wise serpent recognizes the conduct of the evil serpent and is ready to be stand firm even at the cost of itself.  God wants you and I to stand firm and may our name be revealed with holy meaning that stands with and for Christ. 

God calls us by name so consider what God’s name for us is today.  God’s naming reflects his purpose and today he may be calling us “prayer warrior, voice of justice, fearless faith, comfort to the suffering, mercy to the unjust, hope in persecution”.  Most of all he calls us his own. 

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