13th Sunday Ordinary Time

Posted on June 30, 2019June 30, 2019 by Deacon Joe

1Kgs. 19: 16b, 19-21; Ps. 16: 1-2, 5, 7-11; Gal. 5: 1, 13-18; Lk. 9: 51-62

Go back! When God created humanity, he gave us a gift. I asked a Quincianera (15th Birthday celebration) what she thought was the gift from God when she was born. She responded, with one word “freedom”. A wise young lady because the gift we receive is the gift of ourselves. Freedom is the gift of free will to choose. Choose wisely.

“Go back! Have I done anything to you?” Elisha is being called to serve God out of his freedom. By our baptism you and I are being called to serve God out of our freedom. When we are baptized, we receive another gift from God. What is the gift? It the gift of God himself in the Holy Spirit he comes. “You are my inheritance, O Lord.”

“For freedom Christ set us free…do not use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh.” Using Freudian language, we can understand our humanity of the flesh. Freud speaks of the “Id” as the drives of passion in the words “I want it now”. The church speaks of the same drives of passion as the seven Corporal sins. They are pride, envy, lust, anger, gluttony, greed, and sloth. Freud speaks of the “ego” as the intellect that considers its options in the words, “I need to do a bit of planning, to get it”. The church speaks of the intellect in terms of the gifts of virtues to choose wisely through justice, prudence, fortitude, and temperance. The intellect is guided by the Holy Spirit to the greater good whether convenient or inconvenient. Freud speaks of the “superego” as a moral compass in the words, “You can’t have it. It’s not right.” The church speaks of the moral compass as the great commandment to love God with all our heart and our neighbor as ourselves. It is beyond the greater good, it is morally the only answer God seeks for us. Do we have the spiritual muscle to respond in freedom to God’s call?

“Live by the Spirit and you will certainly not gratify the desires of the flesh.” Choose wisely for the world also seeks to make us a slave to itself apart from our God. “If you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” The Old Testament begins the history of salvation by the giving of the law and the call to obedience. A child learns through obedience but a child also hungers to learn more than obedience.

Jesus comes to feed us more than obedience to the law. His commandment is one of love, sacrificial, persevering, and divine love. Jesus feeds us himself and by his grace we can do all things through him who strengthens us “with his glorious riches” as stated in Philippians 4:19. God is rich in mercy and love so why don’t we ask? We fail to see the gift waiting for us. We focus on the pain of giving away something of ourselves. That something is our attachment to the passions of our humanity directed inward. God’s passion directs us outward in relationship to others.

Jesus makes clear the message “Follow me” with these strong words “No one who sets a hand on the plow and looks to what is left behind is fit for the kingdom of God.” We cannot keep a hand on our sins which we indulge in and say I will follow and be fit for the calling. This week was the global movement to pray one billion Hail Mary’s for the priesthood around the world. This is the age of mercy and mercy comes with the need for purification within the church. Pray for our priests who receive the call yet struggle in their humanity.

No one who wishes to follow in the footsteps of Jesus and looks with regret at what they could have had is ready to be his disciple. St Augustine prayed, “God make me chaste but not yet.” His confessions are a witness to our humanity in the desire of the flesh. The way of perfection is by facing our imperfections by the light of truth. Yet it is more common to hear the excuse, “No one is perfect” as reason to keep doing what we do. We cannot proclaim, “Here I am Lord” for one hour on Sunday and then choose to do as we please.

St. Augustine also said, “It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes man as angels”. Too often we confuse humility with “turning the other cheek”. Humility is the courage to face the truth. Truth can be a painful reality to see ourselves in our imperfection. Truth can also be a liberating reality to see ourselves in the love of God. God will reveal to us the “path to life” if the child we are to him seeks this truth. We pray, “Here I am Lord, humbly I seek your grace to say yes in the perpetual moment of this day.” Every moment is an opportunity for the “fullness of joy” in the Lord’s presence. Do we go forth or do we go back?

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Homily

Solemnity the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

Posted on June 22, 2019June 21, 2019 by Deacon Joe

Gen: 14: 18-20; Ps. 110: 1-4; 1 Cor. 11: 23-26; Lk. 9: 11b-17

“Give us this day our daily bread”. Melchizedek, both king and priest uses bread and wine to offer a blessing and Abram gives his “a tenth of everything”. Imagine before all the history of animal sacrifices there is this event that prefigures Jesus sacrifice on the altar with bread and wine. That is why all of salvation history either point forward to Jesus or back to him, “You are a priest forever, in the line of Melchizedek”. He is the eternal sacrifice poured out for us on the altar today in the Eucharist. How important was that blessing to Abram that he gives a tenth of everything to Melchizedek? The importance of a blessing by God will “deliver your foes into your hands.” When we receive Christ in the Eucharist, we receive power over evil and sin in the spiritual warfare of this life. Do we bless our children before they walk out of the house to go out into the world to face “the wickedness and the snares of the devil”? When we go to confession what is the first thing we say? “Bless me Father for I have sinned.” We ask for a blessing to be forgiven and healed from the wounds of sin.

A blessing is not giving “best wishes”, it is affirming favor with God and calling on his protection. A child says, “Mom/Dad I’m leaving”. How do we often respond? “Ok, take care, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, stay out trouble.” How about, “May God bless you and keep you, may his face shine upon you.” A blessing fulfills the song, “In the morning when I rise, give me Jesus”. “Do this in remembrance of me.”

“Do this” is to make Jesus alive in the Eucharist, to receive him and proclaim his sacrifice and death until he comes. Jesus coming is always a present event for he comes in the Most Holy Body and Blood in the Eucharist. Having just visited many holy shrines in Italy, one place we visited was Lanciano, Italy. Here is the “Miracle of Lanciano” where the sacred host changed into flesh and blood. Able to stand within feet of the reliquary which holds to this day the flesh and blood you see the fleshy host and below it five globules of blood intact. Within the miracle itself scientist weighed each of the five separate parts and found that each part weighs the same as all five together. They also determine that the fleshy host is human cardiac tissue of type AB blood and they can point exactly what spot of the heart muscle tissue it comes from. This is consistent with all other Eucharistic miracles in the church. What are we to believe? More importantly do we believe Jesus is “the living bread” in the Eucharist “that came down from heaven” and the source of eternal life when we “eat this bread”? This is our celebration today!

We celebrate the kingdom of God already present able to heal us and strengthen us when the priest raises the host and multiplies the heart of Jesus that we may receive our equal amount of blessing. In the gospel, Jesus blesses the five loaves and two fish and it is multiplied to feed the five thousand plus. God is the creator of natural law thus his power is outside of the natural law. We are bound by natural law but he is not bound b y the object of his creation.

Years back we went on a pilgrimage to Israel. Our guide was a very well educated older Jewish man with a sense of humor. He was also in much better physical shape than a lot of us younger people. During daily Mass he always sat in the back but remained in church. He had a good understanding of Christian history and was a very good guide. When discussing the faith of the church in transubstantiation, the changing of the bread and wine into the body and blood of Jesus in the Eucharist, it was a stumbling block for him. His response was “it cannot be that easy”. It is that easy if it is the will of God. What happens the next day after the multiplication of the loaves? The people want a sign from heaven to believe in him. Jesus responds by saying, “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day” and again repeats “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him”. (Jn. 6: 54, 56) How did many of his disciples respond?” They said, “This saying is hard; who can accept it?” Many left and “returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him.” (Jn. 6:66) How do we respond to the invitation today? Do we follow the teaching of Jesus or do we go through the “cafeteria line” and pick and choose only what we can accept?

Today this teaching is a stumbling block for many other Christian denominations. Some take crackers and grape juice to reflect communion as a symbolism skipping over Jesus teaching. The literal meaning is too hard to accept. Some say the Word of the gospel is the body of Christ as we consume his word to transform us. We receive both in the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist for the fullness of truth. Do we believe what we profess every day in all the tabernacles of the world? The miracle is present for us today. Believe and receive, but go to confession first for the blessing of forgiveness. “Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses…”

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Homily

Pentecost Sunday

Posted on June 8, 2019June 7, 2019 by Deacon Joe

Acts 2: 1-11; 1Cor. 12: 3b-7, 12-13; Jn 20: 19-23

Can you say “Jesus is Lord”? I was listening to a program on ETWN with Dr. Ray. He had a guest who had been a prison guard at a maximum security prison in California. His shift was at night and finding little to do he requested to review the files of the prisoners. He noticed that many of the prisoners had histories of “Satanism”. When he went home and told his mother she warned him to be careful and said one thing they cannot repeat is “Jesus is Lord”. Given his curiosity he decided to put his mom’s statement to the test. At night he went up to a prisoner and offered him a nice meal if he would say three words. Incredulously the prisoner agreed. When he told him all he needed to do was say “Jesus is Lord” the prisoner started to attempt the words and he became possessed making evil sounds. The guard quickly closed the solid door in front of the rails that secured the prisoner. The next night he tried again with another of the prisoner and the same thing happened. Soon he found out that all these prisoners with satanic history could not mutter the words “Jesus is Lord”. “Only through the spirit can one say ‘Jesus is Lord’”.

One tragedy of this story is that one of these prisoners is the serial killer who killed one of our youth from this parish. This community has dedicated a school after and she is our goddaughter in heaven. Evil is real and we are in the battle against the “wickedness and the snares of the devil” but we have been given the greatest power to overcome evil. Where does this power lie? It is in the unity of the one body when we come together and receive of the different gifts. Jesus appears to the disciples who are gathered together and “breathed on them and said to them “Receive the Holy Spirit”. When we gather together in prayer and call upon the Holy Spirit, we are given the power to go forth and face our battles with courage transformed to witness our faith in action and we will “renew the face of the earth”.

In the Old Testament you may recall how the people gathered together to build the tower of Babel. They wanted to reach the heavens by their own power. God sent them tongues of confusion that kept them from understanding each other and they were dispersed because of their pride. God is now sending down his Spirit with tongues of fire to bring back the dispersed into unity with God through his Son and the Holy Spirit that we may be one in him. They are “different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit…all baptized into the one body”.

For those who say “I believe in God but I go my own way” listen to this. Our own way is the way of pride and confusion and the evil one knows our weakness to bring us down. In an article in the National Catholic Register (NCR 06/09/2019, by P.J. Smith) it reports a growing trend of “Nones”, that is persons who claim to have no religious affiliation. The percentage is 23.1% of Americans but among Gen-Z, those between 18 and 22 years old it is 40.4% as “Nones” with 16.2% Catholic and 14.4% as evangelical. This separation from faith begins with our youth as they move away to college and find themselves apart from the unity of a church community. Gradually these believers are challenged in their faith. They stop going to church and separated from any affiliation with a group of faithful Christians the evil one finds their weakness. Slowly they move from practicing their faith, to non-practicing and end up as “Nones”.

Our power lies in unity within a community of faith that shares in the different kinds of gifts for the good of the one body of Christ we all belong to. No one person can bear all the gifts except the one from who they come but we can all share in them and in our charity and love draw from them for the greater good. Will there be martyrs along the way who will be singled out for their faith? Yes, history remind us well of all those who gave their life for their faith. They are dressed in white robes to be reminders of the one true sacrifice we all share in. God prepares a special place for them as the book of Revelations makes clear.

Having returned from Italy where thousands were sacrificed as followers of Christ, one place we celebrated Mass was at a cave in the catacombs. There are miles of tunnels and within the walls are carved out spaces where the dead were laid to rest. Within the smell of the dying the early Christians gathered to celebrate life in the breaking of the bread for they had witnessed the resurrection of Christ and believed. Along one of these walls is a mosaic dating back to the first centuries with the image of Peter and Paul. Peter husky with a big head of white hair and beard and Paul slender dark skin and long pointed dark beard. The keys of the kingdom and the spread of the gospel is given to the church in these two men and we are the inheritance of this treasure. Let us remain faithful that is a people of faith, hope, and love. “Come, Holy Spirit, come!”

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Homily

Ascension of the Lord

Posted on June 2, 2019June 3, 2019 by Deacon Joe

Acts 1:1-11; Ps 47:2-3, 6-9; Eph. 1:17-23; Lk. 24:46-53

Today our Easter time joins Jesus passion, death and resurrection to his ascension. First, “shouts of joy” to the pilgrimage group from EWTN led by Father Miguel as we visited the shrines of Italy in May. It was a blessing to celebrate Mass daily whether in large basilicas or down in caves and catacombs where Christians were buried. One of these places we visited was the Shrine of the Holy Face of Jesus in Manoppello. Divine providence allowed us to be present as the community was celebrating Mass on the day the Holy Face of Jesus was being exposed for veneration by the community.

Here we learned about the studies that have been done on Veronica’s veil, the Shroud of Turin and the Holy Face of Jesus burial cloth. Jesus in his love and mercy has left us these signs to increase our faith. Science has determined that these three cloths overlap each other perfectly representing the same person who suffered, died, and was coming to life.

They are a sign of his passion, death, and resurrection. In Veronica’s veil we recall Jesus scourging and bloody mouth which Veronica wiped away. In the Shroud of Turin we recall Jesus death as he lay in the womb three days. In the Holy Face of Jesus we have the hood that covered the face representing the moment of the resurrection as he came to life. Together they represent our Easter time.

“This Jesus who has been taken up…will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.” “Only the one who came from the Father can return to the Father: Christ Jesus” (CCC 661). Christ now opens the gates of heaven to share in his glorified life, not by our own power but through his coming for us. What is this glorified life we are promised?

After the resurrection for forty days Jesus appeared to the disciples and revealed his glorified state in which we are all to share. The church speaks of four properties of a glorified resurrected body. They include: impassability, subtlety, agility and clarity. Reflecting on each is seen in the resurrected body of Jesus who leaves us his witness of the glorified state.

Impassability is the promise that we will no longer pass through suffering, physical sickness or death for the body “shall rise in incorruption” (1 Cr. 15:42) There is no reincarnation or return to “try again” at a more perfect state of life from our past sins. Even science demonstrates the world is in perpetual motion forward and no second chance. We pass from mortality to immortality.

Subtlety is the spiritualized nature of the body with the ability to pass through the material. Jesus appeared to the disciples as he passed through the doors. It is important to remember that the body and soul is one nature of humanity thus our spiritualized resurrected body will be of one nature in its subtlety. Just as a hand runs through running water the spiritualized nature will remain as one.

Agility is the glorified body’s ability to obey the soul and be transported at the speed of thought (1 Cor. 15:43). This was seen in Jesus appearance and disappearance on the walk to Emmaus to the two men. We also have seen testimony of this in saint’s ability to bilocate, is to have appeared in other places.

Clarity indicates the glorified body will be free from any deformity, filled with beauty and radiance (Math: 13:43/Wis. 3:7). This is the healing Jesus provides us when he heals the blind, and paralytic. You may ask then why did Jesus’ resurrected state remain with his wounds, a sign of imperfection. In a homily by Father Wade Menezes (EWTN homily 05/29/19) he expressed the need for perfection of charity. That is to the degree we demonstrate our charity we are perfected. Jesus wounds remain as a sign of our imperfect love which he so desires of us.

It is important to clarify that the glorified state is a grace obedient to the will. When someone we love dies in their humanity they are alive in Christ. Saints often expressed their intent to do more for us in dying than in their humanity. This can only be by our will to pray and ask of them, of our Blessed Mother Mary, and of God in the Trinity. The glorified state honors the will of the other thus Jesus stands at the door of our hearts but we must invite him in.

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13th Sunday Ordinary Time

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The Deacon

Solemnity the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

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Pentecost Sunday

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Ascension of the Lord

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