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Homily The Deacon Joe

Eleventh Week Ordinary Time Wed 2018

Posted on by Deacon Joe

2 Kgs 2:1, 6-14; Mt 6: 1-6, 16-18

Having stood by the river Jordan during a pilgrimage, it is not a large or deep river but to Elijah and Elisha to both use the mantle of Elijah to strike the water and divide it to cross over on dry land is a miracle of God’s divine power and the spirit of God on these men.  Elisha calls Elijah “My Father” is a religious title accorded prophetic leaders and thus Elijah is the spiritual father of Elisha.  He is also about to be taken up to heaven in a “flaming chariot and flaming horses”.  As is the human tradition of those times giving the firstborn son a double portion of his fathers’ property as an inheritance, Elisha now asks for an a double portion of a spiritual inheritance.  Elijah seems surprised by the request, “that is not easy”.  “Still” Elijah places the request up to the test, “if you see me taken up from you, your wish will be granted; otherwise not”. 

As a parent our desire is to leave our children in a better position in life than we lived, ideally an inheritance of “double portion”.  We work hard, save, and invest for the future, a future for our children.  We write our wills and divide up our wealth and plan for the day we will be taken up to the Lord.  What is our spiritual inheritance for them, is it even a passing thought?  My parents were fairly illiterate with hardly a first grade education.  My mother was able to self-educate enough to read the bible.  Education was an important inheritance in my life in a time when many poor families valued children being part of the work force more than graduating or seeking higher education.  Education was not the only inheritance it was how I used my education young in life reading books of bible stories and as I grew older the bible.  It was an inheritance that valued church and prayer.  As early as I can remember I was expected to pray in the morning and before going to sleep.  Sometimes we prayed together often on my own but I recall getting on my knees next to my bed to pray. 

I remember one day my mother was ill and we were staying at the home of one of my aunts and on Sunday she said I needed to go to church so she told me to go find a church.  I was only 8 or 9 years old so I started walking down the streets until I saw a church.  I walked into this church I did not know what faith it was or anyone there.  I sat in the back and then someone escorted me to the back of the church into a separate room where there were other children.  We had bible study and then were brought back to the main assembly.  I walked back home at the end and shared my story with her.  Even though she had her disability she did not want me to be limited by her limitations even if I had to venture on my own very early in life.  These life experiences gave me my spiritual inheritance.  God was important and it has brought me to this altar as a deacon. 

The gospel is a reminder that the Christian idea of reward is not what the world has to offer but the gifts that come from God.  If we look to the world the rewards of the world will offer an “eye for an eye” and we will have been repaid but God offers us double or more of his gifts as our inheritance. 

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The Deacon Joe

Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Hos 11:1, 3-4, 8c-9; Eph. 3:8-12, 14-19; Jn. 19:31-37
“An eye witness has testified, and his testimony is true…so that you also may come to believe”. The eye witness standing at the side of Jesus was “his mother and the disciple there whom he loved” John. Believe what? Believe in death, no that we already accept. Believe in him who died for us that we may have life everlasting. Believe in the love of his sacred heart joined to our Blessed Mother’s Immaculate Heart. The mystery of love is not one heart but one body in Christ who suffered and died united to the hearts of many. Israel is a child and a nation he has “called my son”. God stooped to feed a nation of Israel and Jesus stoops to feed his people in the Eucharist. The transubstantiation of the host into his body and blood is the daily miracle we receive today.

Eucharistic miracles when studied are always identified as flesh from a heart and AB type blood. One recent Eucharistic miracle occurred on August 18, 1996 in the church of Santa Maria y Caballito Almagro in Buenos Aires Argentina under the auspices of Archbishop Jorge Bergoglio, our Pope Francis. (Mieczyslaw Piotrowski 2010 “Eucharistic Miracle in Buenos Aires in Love One Another “ A team of five scientists were assembled and concluded:

“The analyzed material is a fragment of the heart muscle found in the wall of the left ventricle close to the valves. This muscle is responsible for the contraction of the heart. It should be borne in mind that the left cardiac ventricle pumps blood to all parts of the body. The heart muscle is in an inflammatory condition and contains a large number of white blood cells. This indicates that the heart was alive at the time the sample was taken. It is my contention that the heart was alive, since white blood cells die outside a living organism. They require a living organism to sustain them. Thus, their presence indicates that the heart had been under severe stress, as if the owner had been beaten severely about the chest.

The scientists were not told that this human heart sample came from a host. Let us reflect on this one statement, “The heart was alive at the time the sample was taken.” It comes from a host. This is an indication of the living presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. This is also the tortured heart of Jesus that still bleeds for our sins and those of the whole world. From the Sacred Heart of Jesus comes the blood and water to wash away our sins in his divine mercy. Historical meaning of blood carried the life of animals and soul of humans. Science reveals the heart pumps the blood which carries the impurities of the body to be cleansed by the organs which in Jesus is a sign of our sins being washed away.

Christ brings to “light for all what is the plan of the mystery…so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church…according to the eternal purpose. “As Eve was formed from the sleeping Adam’s side, so the church was born from the pierced heart of Christ hanging dead on the cross” (CCC 766). The eternal purpose is salvation through Jesus Christ. The Eucharist is his coming through the church for our times. The church is the living organism in the Mystical body of Christ. The body is made up of millions of cells that organizes into a living organism with a soul for a divine purpose. The baptized are a cell in the body of Christ through the Holy Spirit born into a spiritual organism with Christ as the invisible head and the Vicar of Christ, our Holy Father who direct the church on earth.

In our times we have many who call themselves Christians but who do not see a need for church. They identify themselves as having a personal relationship with God, many pray, some may offer penance, others just call on God in time of need. Why go to church? Can a branch separated from the vine survive if not united to the source of life? When the test of faith comes as it is destined to happen, will the branch wither and die from lack of grace to persevere in trial? It is in the unity of the body, the church suffering, the church militant, and the church triumphant together we receive the springs of salvation.

In contrast those who “draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation” receive “the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner self…” In the inner self we encounter Christ in the Eucharist, his most Sacred Heart “that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones” the love of Christ which surpasses all knowledge. The heart of Jesus is humble, overwhelmed with love and stirred with pity for the lost, the broken, the sorrowful, the sinful, for you and me. His mercy endures forever. The heart of Jesus raises the heart of the humble as an “infant to his cheeks” for the kiss of life.

The Immaculate Heart of Mary remains next to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  Her heart is pierced and she weeps for her children.  The love of a Father who offered up his Son for our salvation is comforted by the love of a mother who carried him in the womb, kissed his cheeks, presented him at the temple and stood by him at the cross.  Love unconditional is perfect love and we are created in his image to receive that love and to go forth and love one another.

 

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Homily

Wednesday 9th Week in Ordinary Time II 2018

Posted on by Deacon Joe

2 Tm 1: 1-3, 6-12; Mark 12: 18-27

Our first reading is about our calling from God the Father.  Paul is “in persona Cristi” as father to Timothy calling him “my dear child”.  That is the love of God the Father for us all.  Through the imposition of the hands it is about the call to the priesthood and for us now deacons also.  It is a gift of “power, and love and self-control…to a holy life not according to our works but according to his own design.”  God has designed a mission and purpose for each of us.  It is a gift, what gift?  The gift of salvation, “he saved us” through baptism we are saved from our sins with the power to overcome sin with love and self-control.

Salvation leads to service, “the calling”.  In baptism we all share and receive the calling as priest, prophet and king.  “A calling is something you live and are willing to die for.  That is the essence of the sacrament of marriage.  In marriage preparation a good question to ask a couple who claims they are ready to get married is, “So this is the person you’re willing to live and die for?”  That is the level of commitment in a covenant.  The bride of a priest is the church “entrusted to me” says Paul and by extension the priesthood “until that day”.  That day is the day of immortality approaching us and is already here for our loved ones who have passed from death to light immortal.

Paul is “appointed preacher and Apostle and teacher”.  We are appointed father, mother, teacher nurse, doctor, farmer, coach, business owner, administrator and more but also to preach by our witness of faith, apostles to evangelize beginning at home and to teach in raising our families in the faith.  At the end of Mass we say “Go forth” meaning go forth to fulfill your mission.  Mathew Kelly in his book Perfectly Yourself says “mission is a meeting between self and service”.  We receive the gift of grace to be formed in his image to respond to his call.  Paul reminds us it is not about us, “our works but according to his design.”  Fulfilling our mission has a place in the salvation of the world.  We have been called by name and today we have an opportunity to give our fiat as the Blessed mother surrenders complete faith and trust.  Let us also say, “yes Lord I have come to do your will, teach me, guide, and give me your grace to walk boldly in faith, hope and love.”

In the gospel, the Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection.  One would think that is a good hope to have.  It appears they were more interested in their earthly inheritance and building up their earthly treasures.  In fact the Sadducees were part of the priestly class in power to rule over the people.  To believe in the resurrection meant to believe in judgment for their actions.  To deny the resurrection meant no eternal consequences.  Jesus however responds with the same scripture Book of Moses with the quote from God, “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?  He is not God of the dead but of the living.”  This they cannot deny.  The God of the living has that day also marked a the day of judgment.

None of us have reached the resurrection so we only have a sense of this mystery from Jesus and scripture, “they are like the angels in heaven”, “We shall be like Him as he is” (1 Jn. 3:2), “Never again shall they know hunger or thirst, nor shall the sun or its heat beat down on them for the Lamb on the throne will shepherd them.  He will lead them to springs of live-giving water, and God will wipe every tear from their eyes” (Rv. 7:15-17).  In heaven, “They will look upon his face, and his name will be on their forehead.  Night will be no more, nor will they need light from lamp or sun, for the Lord God shall give them light, and they shall reign forever and ever” (Rev. 22:4-5).  This is our faith, this is our hope, and this is why there is a crucifix reminding us of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, his covenant with us.   We share invited to share the cross on the journey to get to heaven.  It is our gift for purification.

This reminds me of my early childhood when families looked to children as an inheritance that provided more workers in the fields and everyone turned over their pay to the father to manage the household.  Big farming families or big migrant families the bottom line was more is better.  In the past it was common to lose a child from any number of diseases something we have come a long way in preventing.  Today the world preaches less children is better and more makes for more poverty.  Today children are still being born in large numbers but lost in conception through an ideology of less is better with contraception, abortion, genetic manipulation, in vetro fertilization and end of life decisions on health care with no fear of eternal consequences.  In heaven there is no marriage because there is no more reproduction but love remains.

God keeps his promise.  Let us not be “greatly misled”.  We are his children of the faith.

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Homily

Friday 8th Week of Ordinary Time 2018

Posted on by Deacon Joe

1 Pt. 4:7-13; Mk 11: 11-26

“Each one has received a gift, use it…use it with an intensity of love…love covers a multitude of sins.”  From the gospel we can add, “Pray with an intensity of love and it will be done for you.” 

The fig tree is a symbol of God’s temple.  Jesus our Lord “comes to judge the earth” and protect his temple.  Before the fig tree incident Jesus goes into Bethany to the temple and “looks around at everything” checking it out; after the incident he goes to the Jerusalem temple to check it out and finds it “a den of thieves”.  After Jerusalem he returns to the fig tree and it has withered away, the judgment of the Lord.  

In the gospel we see a hungry Jesus by the fig tree and an angry Jesus at the temple.  We are the temple of the Holy Spirit where is our fruit of the spirit?  Jesus is hungry today awaiting the fruit from the gift we have received.  Let us feed him with the intensity of our love bearing fruit.  Our church of St. Francis Xavier is the temple of the Eucharist and Jesus is hungry for our communion with him.  Let us feed him with the intensity of our prayer in adoration, contrition, thanksgiving, and supplication.  Jesus is in search of his “house of prayer for all peoples”.  Are we a welcoming temple in our hearts and as church community or do we live for ourselves and forget the other? 

Jesus is in search of disciples with a pure heart.  The purity of love is sacrificial love; it is what Dietrich Bonhoffer called “the cost of discipleship”.  Sacrificial love purifies the soul and spirit.  The self is always in search of a good for itself.  Recall how James and John expressed this human desire to be at the right and at the left of Jesus without considering the path of love on the cross.  Recall also the rich young man seeking a good for himself—heaven.  It is a worthy desire but the path Jesus offered was to sacrifice his riches and he went away sad.  Do not be surprised that the path of discipleship is a “trial by fire” says the Lord, a “share in the sufferings of Christ. 

Consider three principles to arrive at purity of heart.  The first principle is seen in the story of the rich young man.  It is a detachment from worldly riches. I saw a short clip in the news this week of an evangelist who had four private planes and was asking his followers for millions to buy another luxury plane.  When is “enough” enough and less is better?  Simple detachment is the first principle of discipleship. 

The second principle is Jesus’ call to “follow me”.  Let go and let God be the center of our search for happiness and he will fulfill the good of self, better than we could ever imagine.  Follow Jesus through the trail by fire and rejoice in the gift of sacrificial love, it purifies the soul and spirit.  Let go of self through surrender to God and fulfill the second principle of discipleship. 

The third principle of discipleship is “transformation”.  Be transformed to share in the sufferings of Christ.  Be transformed in the likeness of Christ by the use of our gifts for his glory.  Be transformed in our hospitality in our words, and in our service so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.  Do not be surprised by the trials of this day.  They are transformative. 

The angry Jesus disrupts the temple status quo, an attack on those in control and so they seek “a way to put him to death”.  The intensity of prayer leads to action in defense of love itself.  God is love who we are called to defend as a militant church on earth.  In Pope Francis, his words, writings and his actions are disrupting the status quo.  The movie on Pope Francis titled “Pope Francis a Man of his Word” is a documentary not of his life but of his faith, hope, and love.  I hope you make or made time to see it.  It is a love story of his relationship with Christ by responding to his call to be a Holy Father to others and to the world.  It is a man in search of purity of love and love covers a multitude of sins.  There are those who support his positions and those who oppose them with the same intensity of belief.  He is not a perfect man, Jesus is.  He is a man seeking perfection in Jesus.  Let us all follow the path, the Jesus way. 

Finally, the documentary ends with his prayer from St. Thomas Moore, “Lord give me a good digestion today and something good to digest.”  Food for the soul is the best meal we receive today, Jesus in the Eucharist.  Jesus came to tear down the walls of the heart in his temple and build up the body of Christ.  He did not come to establish a new world order in the political economy among nations as some seek to create.  We are not a people in search of an earthly king as the Jewish people hoped for.  We are a liberated people of the heart with a king in Jesus Christ.     Amen, Amen, be transformed. 

 

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