5th Sunday of Easter – The Mystery of Faith

Posted on May 2, 2026April 27, 2026 by Deacon Joe

Acts 6:1-7; Ps. 33:1-2, 4-5, 18-19; 1Peter 2:4-9; Jn. 14:1-12

What is the mystery of faith? We say it in every Mass after the consecration. It is the real presence of Christ in the bread and wine as Christ’s body and blood, a reality accepted in faith more than by reason. Many do not believe even among some Catholics that the Eucharist is the real presence of Christ because it sounds too cannibalistic. It is seen with only human understanding, reduced to mere symbolism.

Easter is the revelation of Jesus resurrected yet maintaining the capacity of being in body and blood. It is the divine body and blood that we are now receiving in the Eucharist. How can this be? In the same way that he reveals to us that to see him is to see the Father, he is in the Father and the Father is in him adding to the mystery of faith. Not only that but to complete the mystery of faith, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are one God.

To add to the mystery of faith, Jesus does not “cancel” the priesthood so that we may all be led by a good pastor of the sheep. This is what the reformation tried to do in separating itself from the Catholic church. It claimed by our baptism we are all priests, prophets and kings so no need for as priest. In doing so however no more consecration of bread and wine so it had to be a mere symbolism. The first reading tells us that “even a large number of priests” became obedient not by giving up their priesthood but by joining the priesthood of Jesus.

The first Apostles are revealing to us today in the scripture the priesthood of Jesus. The community was growing and they found themselves having to ensure that the community was being taken care of for basic needs. They saw this as “neglect” of the word of God and of the priestly role to “serve at table”. This was their first obligation to proclaim the word and consecrate the bread and wine into the daily Eucharist. The solution was to appoint “seven reputable men, filled with the Spirit and wisdom” who they laid hands on them to assist in the care of the church and thus was created the first deacons.

The origins for the call to the diaconate was to serve the needs of the people. In being “reputable”, they were trusted with the resources of the church and not prone to scandal. In being filled with the Spirit and wisdom they served as a channel of grace to minister to the needs of the people as the hands of the church. Deacons are called apart out from the people but not to the priesthood become the bridge living “in the world but not of the world” uniting church and people as a visible Christ. The diaconate is to go forth as a voice for our times in our homes, work places, and in the community.

Jesus is our cornerstone “the way the truth and the life”. This is our invitation today, just as the Father dwells in Jesus and Jesus in him, we are invited to dwell in Jesus and “offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ”. The complaint we hear from people is that they come to church to “get something” by being here. Jesus is here waiting to receive what we are ready to offer him, our worship and praise, our fruits even our very selves. It is in giving that we receive. If we come to church with the idea of “Jesus show me what you got, show me the Father” not ready to empty ourselves to his love and mercy then we leave just as we came in.

In our times it is often repeated “the church is the people” who share in the one priesthood by baptism. This focus on the people is meaningful and part of Vatican II’s effort for the people to be more engaged in the church. It is not meant to deny Jesus his institution of a church to lead the people in his divine plan of salvation.

The mystery of faith is also the church. The church is born in the one priesthood of Jesus Christ! Ecclesiology is the study of the nature of the “church” and traditionally Pentecost celebrates the descent of the Holy Spirit on the disciples of Jesus after his Ascension as the birth of the church. These are the priests set apart to lead the people. Pope Leo last Sunday, also called the Good Shepherd Sunday ordained a group of men to the priesthood in which he told them “You are a channel, not a filter.” The good shepherd leads people to Christ with an open gate to add to a “holy nation, a people of his own” with love and mercy as we place our trust in him.

The mystery of faith rises and descends from the Eucharist as the source and summit of the church. Can there be church without the Eucharist or the Eucharist without a priest? Let us continue to pray for the priesthood and the call for vocations as the cornerstone that Jesus left us as his way to remain with us.

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Homily

Third Sunday of Easter – Faith and Hope

Posted on April 18, 2026April 17, 2026 by Deacon Joe

Acts 2:14, 22-33; Ps. 16: 1-2, 5, 7-10, 11; 1 Peter 1: 17-21; Lk. 24: 13-35

Easter time is our reminder that “Your faith and hope are in God”. This is our “final time” in which he reveals himself to us as human and divine, in the sacrifice of the lamb, and in the breaking of the bread. He is true God and true man that we may come to believe and live in the faith and hope of our salvation and eternal life. This is the time of our “sojourning to live our works of faith and hope that we may pass this final test and come into his glory.

A house divided cannot stand so in times of crisis, war, and the cry of the suffering the first crisis is of faith to stand the test of faith amid the fears and to never lose hope. This Sunday’s readings reveal the disciples’ crisis of faith at the death of Jesus and the continuation of Jesus’ formation of church in his real presence, “the breaking of bread”.

Three areas of “church” division among Christianity in our times are addressed in our reading summarized as “sola scriptura”, church “authority”, and salvation by “faith alone”. Jesus opens the scriptures to us but it is in the breaking of the bread that he is made known to us. How often have we read scripture or listened to the same passage and yet our spirit seems dormant. Then one day it speaks to our heart and our eyes are opened to how it speaks to our life.

On the road to Emmaus the eyes of the two disciples were prevented from recognizing him. The word becomes revealed to their life situation, it “burn(s)” in their hearts and they come to believe in the risen one as their eyes are opened to recognize him the breaking of the bread. Jesus vanishes but now their faith is strengthened and their hope is renewed as they come to realize the significance of the breaking of bread in which Jesus remains burning from within their soul.

“Sola Scriptura” meaning the “Bible alone” is a main source of division between Catholic and Protestant faith. Today many Christian denominations follow “Sola Scriptura” as the only infallible source of authority for Christians. The “breaking of the bread” is seen as the revelation of the word of God to open the eyes of the disciples but not his real presence. Jesus revelation to the disciples on the road to Emmaus came first as a revelation of scripture and then as he breaks the bread to his real presence before them to remain with them body, blood, soul and divinity in the bread.

Today in the Catholic church we celebrate both in the Mass with its two parts called the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. This journey of faith on the Road to Emmaus is our journey of faith “on the first day of the week”, resurrection Sunday. It is the confirmation of the “Last Supper” to be continued in Tradition. The Eucharist is the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Christ’s revelation to this very day. Jesus remains with us in the Eucharist to strengthen our faith and hope in his mercy and love despite our weakness for sin.

Church “authority” closely follows in a “house divided among itself” for Christianity. “Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed: ‘You…indeed all of you…Let this be known to you, and listen to my words.’ Peter is given the keys to the kingdom by Jesus after Peter denied him during the Passion. The primacy of Peter is the “authority” to follow in Jesus’ self-sacrifice as a “Holy Father”. The word without the authority of the church to bring unity is a house divided among itself. Left to our own authority we divide into our “denominations” with what interpretation of scripture we identify with as our “truth”.

The disciples on the road to Emmaus knew the scriptures as faithful Jews but it is the person of Jesus who “interpreted to them what referred to him in all the Scriptures”. This gift of interpretation is passed on to his disciples to build the Kingdom of God in one holy, catholic, and apostolic church. Today it is the “Chair of Peter” passed on to each Pope to carry forth into generations to come.

Salvation by “faith alone” is the third major pillar of division among the Christian “house” filled with rooms called denominations. Peter proclaims, “If you invoke as Father him who judges impartially according to each one’s works…as of a spotless unblemished lamb”. Powerful authority to declare not by “faith alone” does the Father judge impartially but “according to each one’s works”. Faith is the seed of salvation and works the fruit of salvation. The seed without works dies but the works produced by the seed are the works of God through us, not our own. The principal argument made against “works” is the conception that they are “our works” to merit heaven as if there is a scale that tips the works in our favor earning our justification. Far from it for to be Christian is to surrender ourselves to the works of God as instruments of his grace working in us for the salvation of souls. It is God’s grace, his gift of love, mercy, faith, and hope to be witnesses and bring forth the good news. These are the works of God that bring salvation who the Father judges how we fulfilled them.

It is believed that Martin Luther could not reconcile personal sin because of his own scrupulosity and thus came up with the theory of salvation by “faith alone”. He lost hope of the human capacity to fulfill the call to be “perfect” as God is perfect. Our hope is in the mercy of God to be washed clean of our sins with God’s perfect love. Our works reflect our cooperation with God’s grace as we participate in God’s salvific work.

Finally, the goal of the Christian is to come before the Lord as a “spotless unblemished lamb” that is without sin. Who then will be saved? This past week we recall the Lord’s promise of mercy to the whole world in Divine Mercy Sunday. In confession and the breaking of the bread we receive atonement for our sins when we come to Jesus. This is our redemptive gift but we must respond or carry our sin with us into the fire of purification, our purgatory in this life or in the next. Let our eyes be opened to his revelation from the foundation of the Church. The pandemic of death is not a virus but a house divided among itself in a crisis of faith. I believe in one God and in one Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.

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Homily

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Ask and receive

Posted on July 26, 2025July 23, 2025 by Deacon Joe

Gen. 18:20-32; Ps. 138:1-3, 6-8; Col. 2:12-14; Lk. 11:1-13

“And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find” says the Lord. Abraham pleaded with God for mercy on his people. Great was the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah for their grave sin worthy of death but great was the prayer for mercy from Abraham to save the innocent among the guilty. Today we live the great sins Sodom and Gomorrah around the world worthy of the Lord’s justice but great is also the prayer of the Church for mercy and forgiveness. The weeds remain among the crops till the day of harvesting. Jesus reminds us in the gospel, God’s love is a father’s love who desires what is good for his people but we have to come to him, ask, seek, knock and persist through prayer and he will answer.

The outcry for justice versus the outcry for mercy is heard in the heavens. Unfortunately, not enough souls are praying for mercy because there is the forgotten truth of “sin”. Pontious Pilate asked Jesus “what is truth?” and today the world questions “what is sin?” Morality is seen as an individual choice defined by each individual so that one person’s claim of sin is another person’s claim of righteousness. From the global intifada call for “death to Israel” to the legal claim to the death penalty and the abortion of a child, it is all seen as justice for some without sin. The lost don’t seek their own mercy from a loving father because there is no connection to the truth of sin. There is no asking for forgiveness or receiving of mercy for failure to acknowledge God’s truth.

The modern-day perversion of the human body is beyond the sins of the past through relationships in adultery, prostitution, and homosexuality. The human body has become the object of self-mutilation through attempts to transition into the opposite gender beginning in early childhood promoting our children to question their own sexuality and gender identity. The body is now a billboard for identity within groups or simply for self-expression. Lost is the awareness that the body is in union with the soul and as we dehumanize the body the soul is injured from its true identity created in the image of God. We become unrecognizable to who God created us to be. Morality is not a personal choice but a command from God. Failure to live by his commands is sin.

Hope is not lost as St. Paul reminds us “even when you were dead in transgression…he brought you to life…having forgiven us all our transgressions” for having asked we receive his mercy and forgiveness. The legal claims against us for our sins is “obliterated” as he nails it to the cross. This is the good news and we should come and be reconciled with our God through the sacrament of reconciliation. All this for those who turn to him in recognition of our sin but if we fail to recognize our sin, fail to ask and seek, believe in our own self-righteousness then we remain lost captured by the snares of the devil.

Ask and receive says the Lord. Many will say that they prayed and “nothing happened”. My first roommate in college as a freshman said to me one day after he found out I was a Christian, he prayed and asked if there was a God to show him. He said nothing happened so he claimed to be an atheist. When we approach God asking on our own terms, we will be disappointed and likely nothing will happen. We are to ask in humility, seek God’s will, and approach God with love fulfilling the first commandment. Jesus taught his disciples to begin prayer by recognizing the holiness of God that includes his love, mercy, and justice. We pray for his kingdom to enter our hearts through forgiveness and reconciliation. We receive “our daily bread” not only when we come to communion in the eucharist but in communion with each other united by the Holy Spirit. We are obligated to forgive as we are forgiven and plead that we will not undergo the “final test”.

What is the “final test”? In Jewish apocalyptic writing it is a period of severe trial before the end of the age. In historical terms we know all the disciples died and the world has continued for thousands of years but we still await the “end of the age” which is to be a severe time in history. We currently are living in an age of mercy but as the world falls into greater sins the outcry to heaven is for the end of time to come.

Our time, that is the lifetime of our human condition is short and we too must pass through a final test in the battle for our soul with the evil one. We must fight the good fight and remain faithful and persevere to the end because every day counts and every moment is a test of where we stand. The final test is also the test of the eucharist. Do we believe in his body and blood soul and divinity coming to us in the bread and wine we receive and do we ask and receive in a state of grace our daily bread? This is the test we are faced with to stand with God as our Lord and savior in the sacrifice of the eucharist where our sins are obliterated. God is our hope and our glory.

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Homily

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Perfect in Christ

Posted on July 19, 2025July 17, 2025 by Deacon Joe

Gen. 18:1-10a; Ps. 15:2-5; Col. 1:24-28; Lk. 10:38-42

“He who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord” having been perfect in Christ. Abraham is perfect in Christ in his justice and generosity to the “’three men” being a servant to their needs. He is rewarded with the promise of a son with his wife Sarah. Martha likewise is being a servant to Christ without a just heart as she complains to Jesus about her sister Mary. Abraham makes an offering of his resources while Martha makes a complaint of her service. Mary however makes an offering of her heart “the better part and it will not be taken from her”. Every day we are called to be of service to our family, friends, work, neighbor and even to a stranger and justice is served when it comes from the heart. The unjust find fault and complain “why me” instead of “why not me”.

St. Paul rejoices in his suffering because he makes of an offering of it to serve “what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ”. What could possibly be lacking in Christ who is God with us? What is lacking is this unity of our suffering with his for our sins and those of the whole world. What is lacking is our response to his sacrificial love in meeting the first and greatest commandment. The love of God with all our heart, mind and soul is lacking when we remain attached to an attitude of “me first”, far from being perfect in Christ. What is lacking is our desire to be one with Christ because it requires our surrender to his will not ours to be perfect in Christ.

Perfection is both an act and a process. The perfect act of perfection is Godly love. Christ’s perfect act of perfection was his surrender to the cross for the salvation of souls. Each day we are given an opportunity to make an act of perfection in our charity, suffering, offering of ourselves and worship of our God. Be perfect as God is perfect is one act of perfection at a time It is how we respond to the test of life with the right attitude of mind, right love of heart, and right desire of will.

Perfection is also a process that requires perseverance, patience, humility and desire. Too often the human condition falls into the trap of justifying oneself by rationalizing “I am not perfect”. I can only imagine God responding with “And what are you doing about it?” This should not be an excuse for our state of life but a realization of what separates us from God. It should lead us to an examination of conscience for what needs to change in our lives. To recognize our imperfection is the first step towards spiritual growth. In supplication we are to seek God’s grace to be made perfect in Christ. The process comes through our daily life as God sends us his messengers like he sent Abraham those three angels as men.

Perfection is also an act of justice. Jesus death on the cross was the justice paid in atonement for the sins of the world. Purgatory is the Lord’s justice in atonement for the sins we have committed to be made perfect in Christ. Many assume that Christ’s death on the cross for our sins implies a direct path to heaven for us but the imperfect soul must be cleansed for only the perfect can see the face of God and live. We are reminded of this in the book of Wisdom “as gold in the furnace he proved them” (Wis. 3: 1:6). The fire of purification brings us to be perfect in Christ. Justice is perfect love and I for one remain in the process of seeking that perfect love.

Abraham provides for a meal to the three men who arrive and Martha is busy about preparing a meal for Jesus, both indicative of the perfect meal to come through Jesus. The perfect meal began with the last supper and culminated with the final cup to drink on the cross. Jesus is the perfect meal that bring us closer to his perfect love. Today we celebrate that perfect meal in the Eucharist that we may be made perfect in Christ.

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Homily

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

Posted on June 21, 2025June 18, 2025 by Deacon Joe

Gen. 14:18-20; Ps. 110:1-4; 1 Cor. 11:23-26; Jn. 16:12-15

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ is a celebration of the “living bread that came down from heaven” as a sacrifice to offer us life eternal. The power of Jesus to transform five loaves and two fish into food to feed thousands is the miracle to understand the power to transform bread and wine into his own body and blood that we may believe and receive him so he may transform our lives. This miracle was foreshadowed from the days of Melchizedek in the coming of Jesus, as Melchizedek blesses Abram, we the people are now blessed by Jesus our high priest as God Most High.

It is the belief of Jesus in the Eucharist that separates Catholicism from other Christian denominations. How is it that Christians can accept and believe all the miracles Jesus did as well as his claim that he who sees him sees God but deny him when he says “this is my body, this is my blood” in the bread and wine. Some even claim Catholics preach cannibalism just as in the times of Jesus when many followers also left him as we read in the gospel of John 6:66 “many of his disciples drew back and no longer walked with him”. For those in search of the “mark of the beast” in the numbers 666, what could be a greater mark than to deny Jesus in the Eucharist. It was “a hard saying, who can believe it” (Jn. 6:60) then and remains so even for many who claim to be Christian.

Carlo Acutis, the teenage boy who used his computer skills to document many of the Eucharistic miracles prior to his death made this his life mission, the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist. Eucharistic miracles like in Lanciano (8^th Century), Santarem (13^th Century), and Buenos Aires (1990s) and show consistently blood type AB positive including the Shroud of Turin is believed to be AB blood. They also show to come from cardiac tissue which spiritually unites our hearts to the heart of Jesus. In these miracles Jesus reveals himself as present to us today as he was when he walked this earth. What we also have in these miracles in an example of how science is not inconsistent with faith. Carlo’s canonization as a saint is now set to take place September 7, 2025 having lived and died in his service to God at a young age.

This leaves us still on this earth seeking that perfect sanctity, a work in progress, uniting our faith with reason but ultimately no one can save us with their faith. It is up to us to believe and by believing to allow Jesus into a more perfect union with our own hearts. Believe and let God be God for who nothing is impossible. It is only impossible by our lack of faith as he created us with our own soul to act by free will and to accept or deny him. We cannot accept him on our terms but as he has revealed himself to humanity, as he claims to be and in the way he has decided to reveal himself. The decision is ours but eternity depends on the faith we choose to live.

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Homily

20th Sunday Ordinary Time – The catch

Posted on August 16, 2024August 13, 2024 by Deacon Joe

1 Kgs. 19:4-8; Ps. 34:2-9; Eph. 4:30—5:2; Jn. 6:41-51

Jesus is both the fisherman and the catch. Jesus has been telling the people that he is “the living bread that came down from heaven.” As a good fisherman he is reeling in the people with his word providing wisdom for the ages by revealing who he is. He is not only the Son of God who came down from heaven but the food we are to eat in order to have eternal life. This is the catch for those who believe, caught in the net of salvation. Jesus goes from being the fisherman of our souls to becoming the catch that we will eat in order to live.

This is the mystery of faith is how the fisherman becomes the catch. Many refused this teaching then and even to this day. Even now for many the question remains, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat? The answer is because he is God the Son who took on human flesh in order to be the sacrificial lamb of atonement for our sins. More deeply is because he is love, the beginning and the end of the eternal who desires to transform us with his own body and blood becoming united as one in a spirit of love. Love is the purpose, journey, and the catch.

Are we caught up in the net of God’s love tasting and seeing the goodness of the Lord? The heart of love gives thanks always and for everything, for everything is a gift from God when we remain in him, he promises to remain in us. How good it is to be caught up in the net of Jesus. It is the net of freedom, the promise of salvation and way of justice. How is it that in a world of information technology makes access to the revelation from God so available so few seek and find the way? Being part of the catch of coming to Jesus also has a “catch”.

The catch of coming to Jesus has a “catch” in all of the history of salvation. From the time of Moses and the giving of the Commandments to the teaching of Jesus “faith alone” does not fulfill the requirement. Faith is a movement in which we act, love, and live beyond simply a belief. Many can say “I believe’ but not live the faith that is given to us by the Father, by Jesus and by the Spirit. Faith is a movement, we are moved by faith to give of ourself in a way in which we empty ourselves of “self” in order to serve a greater good, a higher purpose, a divine calling. The catch is an obedience to the faith and this is where we stray away to our own misery. The well-known expression is “Jesus cannot save us without us.”

Everyone is not going to heaven and it is not Jesus’ fault. He gives us his own body and blood to eat and drink every time we come to Mass that we may live and so many value it so little. This is the bread to live forever. So, I invite everyone this day with the question “what is holding you back from receiving this bread?” “I am not Catholic.” There is a way to become Catholic. “I am not married in the church”. There is a process of convalidating a marriage. “I was married before this marriage.” There is a juridical process to examine the validity of a marriage and resolve the issue. “I haven’t gone to confession in years.” There are confessions every week or you can schedule an appointment with a priest. There is a way and God provides the way through his church. Come to the way and enjoy the catch!

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Homily

19th Sunday Ordinary Time – The living bread

Posted on August 10, 2024August 7, 2024 by Deacon Joe

1 Kgs. 19:4-8; Ps. 34:2-9; Eph. 4:30—5:2; Jn. 6:41-51

Jesus confirms today he is the living bread from heaven. The past few weeks the gospel readings are building up to understand Jesus’ teaching on who he is. We have heard him say “I am the bread of life”. While many Christian denominations take his teaching to imply that scripture is the word that is the bread of life, today he makes it clear that he is the living bread he gives and it is his “flesh for the life of the world”. He gave his flesh on the cross of cavalry to save us and he does it today in the Holy sacrifice of the Mass. This flesh we can only receive by coming to receive him in the Eucharist. End of story or should we say the beginning of eternal life.

Jesus reminds us about the manna the Israelites ate in the desert like “flakes” and they died but the living bread today we receive is a host that resembles a flake “so that one may eat it and not die.” Not only does Jesus offer us himself as the living bread but he also fulfills the prophesy “They shall all be taught by God” because he is God the Son of the Father in heaven. The people see only “Jesus the son of Joseph” and they are filled with “bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling the son of God. They see with the eyes of humanity without faith and cannot believe.

Unless we come to Jesus, the living bread for healing of our sins, our weaknesses, our concupiscence, and our attachments to this world we cannot “taste and see the goodness of the Lord”. In the words of an old cliché “oil and water don’t mix”. In the freedom to choose we cannot have both the desires of the flesh and the goodness of the Lord. This is not to say we cannot have good things in this world. Good things are a blessing to serve our needs that we may fulfill a higher purpose in our lives. They are a means to climbing our own mountain of Horeb as we see in Elijah.

After only one day’s journey into the desert, Elijah was ready to quit praying “This is enough, O Lord!”. Without God he would have never made it but he prayed and God answered him. So often we encounter our own hardship in life and in our weakness want to give up or we do give up without calling on God’s help and mercy. Elijah was beyond his human capacity to live and ready to die until an angel touched him. Death was not God’s purpose for Elijah who we also encounter in the Transfiguration of the Lord next to Jesus. By trusting in God, Elijah fulfilled his destiny. Elijah surrendered to God and there began his victory over death. Have we surrendered to the will of God in our lives?

Elijah was rescued by the angel of God who provided for him the food and drink to strengthen his resolve and continue on his journey to serve God’s purpose. There used to be a very popular television series called “Touched by an Angel” in the 1990’s. The core of each episode was to bring “guidance and messages from God to various people who are at a crossroads in their lives” (Wikipedia). In the television world this was a genre of fantasy and drama but in God’s world Elijah was touched by a real angel and messenger from God. We also can be touched by an angel who watches over us. We belong by our baptism to the communion of saints and angels when we choose God in our lives and live for a higher purpose.

God is calling us each by name and he has a mountain for us to climb. We were born for a greater purpose just like the many lives we read in the scriptures who lived and died not knowing how their lives added to the history of salvation. It is our turn now to do our part, to answer the call.

What is our mountain today? It may be to be a voice and bring comfort to the suffering or a word of Godly truth to someone who needs to her it and is on the wrong path; it may be at act of charity to feed his sheep or persevering during difficult times as God fashions us to be more into his image. It may be a steady stream of challenges or one huge event that transforms our lives. To each God provides both the call and the living bread. Jesus gives himself to us today. Are we ready to give ourselves to him?

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Homily

18th Sunday Ordinary Time – The work of God!

Posted on August 4, 2024August 4, 2024 by Deacon Joe

Ex. 16:2-4, 12-15; Ps. 78:3-4, 23-25, 54; Eph. 4:17, 20-24; Jn. 6:24-35

The work of God is believing in Jesus. Jesus is the I am who gives us the bread of life. Our readings are a continuation from last week as the bread of life in which all things point to Jesus.

Jesus captures the human condition when he says, “you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled.” We see it in the grumbling of the Israelites who hunger for food that is perishable and forget the God who set them free. The lesson from Jesus is simple, to hunger first for righteousness and God will provide all that we need.

Imagine taking Maslow’s pyramid of hierarchy of needs and turning it upside down. Instead of the primary need being our physiological needs, our primary need is our self-actualization as a child of God, coming to know ourselves as God created us to be. Our esteem comes from being in the image of God, putting on the mind of God, the passion of God, and the will of God. In his image we can follow the way of the Lord by loving and belonging in relationship of giving of ourselves as we have received from the Lord. The Lord provides us our safety knowing we are protected by our guardian angel and all the angels and saints. Finally, our hunger and thirst is satisfied not with more for the bodily needs but with more food for the spirit.

The Israelites asked “What is this? It is described as “fine flakes” which Moses claims is the bread that the Lord has provided for them to eat. The host we receive in the Eucharist also resemble fine flakes made with unleavened bread. It is our food for the spirit coming as the body and blood of Jesus. We have the blessing of being able to look back at salvation history and connect the story across time in a way the Israelites of the Old Testament and in Jesus’ time could not. We can worship Jesus in the Eucharist and receive him as the bread of life. This is our time to fulfill the work of God by believing and allowing him to transform our lives.

Jesus is ready to do the work of God in us and through us if we allow him. Be open to the will of God and he will reveal himself in our lives by the work that we are called to accomplish in his name. This is the testimony we see as Jesus’ disciples are transformed into apostles with the power of the word in their hearts and minds. This same word is given to us each time we come to Mass to not only transform us but to call us to the work of God by believing and trusting in his love to lead us in the more perfect way.

Jesus came from heaven to give life to a world that is dying in secularism and agnosticism rejecting the one true God for a personalized ideological god. Paul in his letter to the Ephesians calls the faithful to “no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds”. He is also speaking to us today in a world that considers the “mind” as the ultimate reality unto itself. Whatever the mind can reimagine itself to be is a reality others must accept. The mind has the capacity to be delusional, paranoid, fearful, exaggerated, of living in fantasy while being seriously sincere yet seriously wrong. The mind is a gift for the purpose of living in search of the truth. The truth lies outside of the mind. The truth lies in God.

God is the source of all creation and all creation serves the creator. Anything that comes between this link is a lie from the evil one who is here to cause division and confusion. The world is filled with division and confusion. It is our turn now to be the light of truth, not my truth or your truth but God’s truth. It is the truth that sets us free and gives us our joy and peace. Let us live it and we will be doing the work of God.

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Homily

17th Sunday Ordinary Time – The bread of life

Posted on July 28, 2024July 28, 2024 by Deacon Joe

2 Kgs. 4:42-44; Ps. 145:10-11, 15-18; Eph. 4:1-;6; Jn. 6:1-15

Jesus is the bread of life. He comes to give himself to us in the Eucharist. As bread he is broken, dividing himself to feed the many that we may gather to celebrate his body and blood as our Lord, in one faith, through one baptism for our “one God and Father of all”. In Jesus it all comes together to be in all.

Growing up I recall the expression “where two can eat so can three”. Even when there was little to eat there was always enough to share with others. It was an act of faith knowing that God provides and we should be generous with what we have received. Each day brings us the Lord’s blessing to be multiplied as the bread of love, joy, peace and life. Tomorrow will bring its own challenges but also another opportunity for God to demonstrate his love in the miracle of the ordinary. Recently I heard on the catholic radio station someone say that what others call “being lucky” is God choosing to be anonymous in his love for us.

Today we see an act of faith demonstrated by Elisha who trusts in God connecting the present to the future and greater miracle to come. Jesus comes and in the same manner takes from the little that there is to feed the multitude preparing the soul to be fed the truth of God. The miracle opens the minds and hearts of the people to receive the word of God and believe. The multiplication of bread is not the great miracle but only a visible sign of the invisible grace we receive today in the greater miracle of the Eucharist.

It is tempting to say that today in our world we need a miracle to open the minds and hearts of people to see, taste, and believe. The truth is that the miracle is already with us daily and we fail to see it. It is the miracle of the Eucharist, body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus present today to nourish our souls and give us the bread of life from heaven.

The reading from today comes from the gospel of John chapter 6 just before Jesus declares his body as the food for eternal life. Jesus demonstrates his power over the natural world so that we can believe in his supernatural power to transform himself into the bread of life and yet so many cannot accept this teaching.

In the Christian world non-Catholics claim that the word of God is the bread of life. The gospel of the word has the supernatural power to transform lives. The question is which gospel? The interpreted by who? Each denomination takes its own version of the gospel to make claims on the truth. Even the church of Satan has its own gospel claiming to profess the truth and has transformed many into believers of its lies. Today we need the miracle of the Eucharist more than ever but if we Catholics fail to acknowledge the sacredness of Jesus in the Eucharist how can the world come to see and believe.

There is a reason the Church is seeking a Eucharistic revival in our times. Too many have fallen into the practice of being cultural Catholics, cafeteria Catholics, non-practicing Catholics when we need worshiping Catholics. We need a revival of the soul and the bread for the soul is the Eucharist. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord when we become his temple and carry him within our souls. He who receives him in the Eucharist receives the Father and the Holy Spirit. The Eucharist is sacred and we are to be well disposed in receiving it by having made a good confession. We must confess with out lips in order for our lips to receive the Lord.

The church has a history of Eucharistic miracles well documented and validated but it is up to us to us to come and believe.

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Homily

Eleventh Sunday Ordinary Time – The Seed

Posted on June 15, 2024June 12, 2024 by Deacon Joe

Ez. 17:22-24; Ps. 92:2-3, 13-16; 2 Cor. 5:6-10; Mk. 4:26-34

The seed we receive today is the word of God. Each time we come to Mass we receive the seed in the liturgy of the Word. We are the ground in which it is to rise up and give fruit to the world. This is our calling to receive the word and to give testimony to the life of faith we have received. The seed needs to be attended to in order for it to grow. Prayer and reflection help fertilize the ground so it can take root but the lifegiving water is the Eucharist that allows it to grow and spread throughout the soul of a person.

The essence of the soul is in the unseen but it reveals itself to the mind that we may unite our thoughts to the mind of God, in our love for God is love who speaks to the heart of love, and in our will that we may seek to do the will of God. The seed gives us the eyes of faith to transcend what is seen and believe what God has revealed.

While we are in the body “we walk by faith not by sight”. Does this mean that we are not to trust our own eyes? To walk by faith is to trust in the unseen. Our eyes only allow us to see what is outside of the body, a person’s actions, the words they speak and what they fail to speak and do. We see the world and all its creation and by faith realize this does not exist from random selection but by a prime mover that gives the world all its beauty.

Faith transcends the external world to “see” with the eyes of faith what is revealed that lies inside the heart of a person. It allows us to become united by faith with a common understanding, similar hopes, and right intentions. It is the faith that seeks understanding, to understand the will of God in our lives in each and every moment in order to take right action. It gives us the courage to go forth even when we cannot see what lies ahead. Without faith two people could never come to trust the other with their love and enter into sacred matrimony. In faith we bring a child to the waters of baptism to become children of God.

The seed is planted in baptism before the child can even speak because it comes as a gift of God himself through the Holy Spirit to overcome the weakness of the flesh. Recall that in the beginning was the Word and the Word became flesh so that in baptism now the Word is united to our very being to become incarnated in us. This is why we bring a child to be baptized to receive this gift and grow from the seed of faith to the maturity of a majestic cedar that draws others to it. The world will also see but falsely claim that the person has good “Karma” because they refuse to give God the glory. Today we are reminded it is the Lord that brings low and lifts high, withers up and makes the cedar bloom.

Baptism of a child places the responsibility on the parents to bring up this child in the faith it has received. Just like the seed on the ground still requires the farmers attention, the child requires the constant attention not only to the physical and emotion needs but also to its spiritual needs. The child of God never outgrows this need no matter the age thus we are that child of God. We need God and he comes to us in the sacramental life of the church to keep feeding us in Word and his body and blood. Where are we in this journey of faith?

Do we walk by fear or by faith? If we don’t have that connection with God, listen for his voice, and realize the guidance of the Holy Spirit then we will walk by the fear of our own limited capacity. In the words of many who claim to be “lucky or unlucky”, the world will seem to be no more than random probability. In the eyes of faith, we recognize the hand of God, his divine providence, and our God given purpose in this world. The seed has been planted in us so how are we doing as farmers caring for it? It can be seen by the fruit that comes from this gift.

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