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Homily

Ascension of the Lord

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Acts 1:1-11; Ps. 47:2-3, 6-9; Eph. 1:17-23; Mk. 16:15-20

Ascension of the Lord, now what?  Now the Apostles wait upon the Lord in prayer for his return.  Now the Novena has begun in the upper room for the coming of the Advocate.  Now they wait for “the promise of the Father”, to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit coming with gifts of the Spirit.  Now comes the gift of wisdom and revelation to have knowledge of God.  Now comes the gift of enlightenment to receive the hope and “riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones”.  Now we receive the “surpassing greatness of his power” which “he put all things beneath his feet and gave him (Jesus) as head over all things to the church which is his body”.  Yes, to the church something to reflect on how well we follow the precepts of the church.  

God the Father is giving us Jesus the Son and making it his body in the Holy Spirit, his body in the Eucharist, his body in the Magisterium of the church with authority and power and calling us his people to be his body in spirit and in truth.  The question we may ask is “why is this the way God chose to return to us after the Ascension of the Lord?”  God is making himself present in us, with us and through us in all things to remain a visible presence to the world.  He makes of himself a continued sacrifice to give himself to us with “surpassing greatness of his power” trusting in humanity his plan of salvation. Are we ready for this?   Are we up to receiving the body of Christ called to be his body as he comes “to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ”?  By our fruits we will have answered to God our readiness or not. 

Today in our times many are asking “Lord are you at this time going to restore the kingdom of Israel?”  We see war, violence, tragedy, death to the unborn, and the threat of nuclear annihilation and as in every generation the question is asked “will it happen in our time?”  The Lord’s response has not changed “It is not for you to know the times or the seasons that the Father has established by his own authority.”  “Punto final!”, final point!   What we do know is the power given to us in the Holy Spirit to be his witnesses of faith, hope, and love to every soul we encounter beginning at home and spreading to our neighbor, friend, and stranger.  This we do know, what we do with ourselves has eternal consequences.  So, people of Christian faith “why are you standing there looking at the sky?” Keep marching forward doing the will of the Father until he comes to take us up to himself at the moment of our death or at the end of time. 

“Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned.”  Do we believe in God enough to trust him with our pain, sorrow, and suffering or do we turn from him complaining like the Israelites in the desert?   Do we believe in God when tragedy comes to the innocent in this world and we lose a child, a spouse, or a friend in a tragedy or do we cry out for vengeance?  Do we believe when we pray and pray and God is silent or do we give up and choose to go our way? 

“These signs will accompany those who believe, in my name they will drive out demons…”  In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit in baptism original sin through exorcism is driven out.  When we make the sign of the cross with Holy Water, we drive out the evil one.  When we call out to God proclaiming “Jesus is Lord” the demons rush away.  When we honor our Blessed Mother Mary demons tremble in fear.  This is the power given to us and the weapons of spiritual warfare. 

“They will speak new languages” says the Lord.  The Spirit comes with the language of truth, love, and mercy planted into our hearts.  We proclaim the Word of God as the language of authority to be our light and salvation.   

“They will pick up serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them”.  We lift up in our hands the poisonous serpents in a culture of death threatened if we do not comply and accept what this world calls its freedom to choose against the moral conscience of the church.  We will not be harmed with the deadly drink of secular ideologies fed to us and forced upon us through the powers of godless institutions. 

“Conscience” meaning in Latin “con – with” and “scire – know”; with whose knowledge do we associate with?  Is it with the knowledge of God through the church or with the thinking of the world?  Our individual thinking will make an alliance of conscience in support or against the authority of the Church and as for me and my house we stand with Papa and Mother church. 

“They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”  When we place our hands in the hands of God it is he who heals relationships, raises up the spiritually dying, and restores faith, hope, and love to the sick.  We are but instruments in his hands.  The world is in need of recovery from the sickness of narcissistic thinking, from the passions of self-indulgence, and from the lies from a culture of indoctrination that wants to take our children and raise them up to believe they are a creation of their own mind and not of God.  So many false teachings with information overload that our children are left asking “what is truth?” 

We need more of God to blare the trumpets.  We need the Lord Jesus who in the Ascension “was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God” to work with us and through us to confirm the word with signs of his presence.  We need a conversion of souls and he is with us calling us to be the one to make a difference. 

The trumpets are blaring!  We are blessed that this day we can sing hymns of praise to the Lord because he already reigns over us though we are in this world we belong to him.  He reigns “far above every principality, authority, power and dominion and every name that is named not only in this age but also in the one to come.”  Are we listed in the book of names?  By our baptism we have been named but we must also remain in him….and that is the work we are being called to accomplish this day.  Amen.

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Homily

6th Sunday of Easter – The Advocate

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Acts 15:1-2, 22-29; Ps. 67:2-3, 5,6,8; Rev. 21:10-14, 22-23; Jn. 14:23-29

“The Advocate, the Holy Spirit…will teach you everything”.  The Advocate is here to remind us that the Word made flesh in Jesus is to incarnate in us as the temple of the Holy Spirit.  Just as in Revelation, John sees no temple in the holy city of Jerusalem “for its temple is the Lord God almighty and the Lamb” is Jesus.  The word incarnate in us gives us the peace of Jesus “not as the world gives” peace but through the Holy Spirit as he comes to dwell in us.  Do we invoke the Holy Spirit regularly to be our Advocate in prayer?  The Holy Spirit is the gift received at baptism through who we receive the graces and virtues to know and understand the will of God in our lives.

Until the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost the disciples were sheep still failing to understand all that Jesus was instructing them.  Then came the Advocate and they became as one in the Spirit guided to make the right decision as apostles and shepherds to the Gentiles and to all the followers to come after the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus.  Pontius Pilate asked Jesus “what is truth?”  Jesus says to his disciples at the Last Supper discourse “I am the way and the truth and the life.”  Jesus is the truth being revealed to us through the Advocate in our daily encounter with life.  If we were to consider Jesus is the truth of theology then the Holy Spirit is the applied theology as the Advocate that makes all thing work for the greater good. 

In the first reading there is a dilemma as the early church is still struggling with the applied theology and some leaders were calling upon the Gentiles to be circumcised following the Jewish tradition and law going as far as to say, “Unless you are circumcised according to the Mosaic practice, you cannot be saved.”  By what authority were these leaders relying on?  It was the historical authority and practices of the people of God.  Everything that Jesus instructed had not been written down and in what is written down Jesus says nothing about circumcision.  To have unity authority matters.  The final human authority rested on the apostles whom Jesus appointed and called Peter to be the “rock” to build his church.  The divine authority as spoken by the apostles and elders “It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities”. 

What a great gift given to the apostles and to us to receive the Holy Spirit as the Advocate in discerning “doing what is right”.  We cannot lose sight in recognizing that as we all share in the gift of the Holy Spirit there remains the wisdom of God in providing the church an authority for the applied theology that we may all be one in faith and practice.  We cannot be a church unto ourselves and each simply believe they are doing what is their “right” when it goes against the church authority, something to reflect on.  Through the centuries many have tried and failed from Arianism, the belief that Jesus was not fully divine one with the Father to Luther’s Reformation and the revolt into Protestantism, the church has prevailed by remaining faithful to the authority and working of the Holy Spirit. 

In our times, Protestantism is failing because it continues to divide itself into more and more denominations and they break from each other because there is not one authority in the applied theology of what is “right”.  Still, we cannot cast stones within the Catholic church for we share a history of schisms when some choose to break from authority.  In the past it was Luther and today the church in Germany is at risk of doing the same with what it is calling the “synodal way” to reintroduce ideas that church authority has already addressed like female priesthood and acceptance of homosexuality.    

Have a dilemma pray to God the Father to receive his glory, pray to Jesus to be our lamp and light the way and pray to the Holy Spirit to reveal the word of truth and understanding for the answer we need to receive.  Try to remember a moment when faced with a dilemma where a difficult decision needed to be made and finding ourselves unsure how to discern the right or best decision.  Who do we turn to our parents, a spouse, our friends, or even a priest?  Do we take it to prayer and do we call upon the Advocate? 

One day as a young adolescent, I had a dilemma and needed to make what was to me a major decision at the time.  The dilemma was whether to play football or take band in school since at the time you could not take both.  I wanted both but it was not allowed and could not make the choice.  I asked my mother for guidance expecting her to help me decide.  I was quite surprised when she quickly and simply said, “You will have to decide.”  Did not see that coming.  It was not the response I expected and only later came to understand that I had to take ownership of the decision that would impact my life for the next several years and longer.  So, I prayed and asked God that I was making the right choice and was at peace with my decision.  This is the working of the Holy Spirit.  God was going to use whatever decision to help me grow as a person and in my faith.  God works through our free will when we call upon the Advocate to remain with us and lead us to the will of the Father. 

Are we ready to trust God with our life choices?  When we offer our decisions up to the Father for his glory, trust in Jesus to open the way for us, and call upon the Advocate to give us the wisdom to be at peace we are truly entering into the providential life of the Spirit.  In the Trinity God works for those who love him.  The Advocate is coming and is already here from the day of our baptism if we only turn to call upon the Holy Spirit and pray then we will hear his voice and know God is with us. 

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Homily

5th Sunday of Easter – Love one another!

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Acts 14:21-27; Ps. 145:8-13; Rev. 21:1-5a; Jn. 13:31-33a, 34-35

“Love one another as I have loved you.”  Just ponder the significance of this commandment.  We are more ready to say “yes, but” than simply “yes, Lord”.  “Jesus, you loved us unto death itself and yes but I am not perfect as you are perfect.”  Do we turn away from this commandment and settle for some other teaching like “just be good” or “no one is perfect so try your best, God knows”.  God does know and recognizes a lukewarm heart with no passion for living his love.  As he loved us, he died for us.  Who are we willing to die for?  Who are we willing to sacrifice for?  Let’s begin here for in sacrifice we die to ourselves for something outside of ourselves.  Unfortunately, we sacrifice more for the dollar that for the “dolor de amor” the pain of love. 

Jesus loves us that he suffered and died for us giving us his perfect love.  Love is not a movement of emotion it is a movement to act.  We are moved to action even knowing that the cost may be our very self.  We act out of the spirit of generosity, kindness, sacrifice, and commitment for the good of the other.  This is the love we receive from Jesus, the witness he left us to follow.  Jesus’ love is transformative and we are to transform others through our love as we are being transformed by his love for us.  When love works, it works for the good of the other and it results in an interior change in us.  We recognize, “It changed me!”  Are we a changed person because we dare to love one another as God loves us? 

If our love is not growing then it is gradually slipping away.  The world is very good at keeping us so busy with a movement to act not out of love but out of pride.  It is the false pride that worries more of our own reflection than reflecting the love of God for one another.  We can drive ourselves to burnout, working longer, doing more, expecting more from ourselves and others not out of love but out of pride.  Driven to succeed we fail to love.  As the song “Cats in the Cradle” says, “When are you coming home dad?  I don’t know when but we’ll get together then, you know we’ll have a good time then.”  Then never came!  We are left to regret the lack of love that makes life meaningful and the kingdom of God is still waiting for our love. 

We want our children to succeed but in ways that reflect success in the world not success to be the best God created them to be.  We are created to know, love, and serve God with the gifts he has given us.  This is greater than any title, position, or status in this world.  Growing in love with God fulfills the promise, “Behold, I make all things new” in us.  We are then both the same person and not the same person, changed by love.  Are we still holding on to the old self remembering how it use to be when we were younger trying to hold on to the past illusion of vanities?  Those good old days when we eat, drink, stay out late and indulged in our passions thinking we are “it”.  It is time to awaken from the slumber and recognize it is not about “me”, never was yet how long will we keep trying to make God in our image than to be transformed into his? 

Love is a transformation into the image of God.  Love is a reflection of God himself.  The highest form of expression of love is self-sacrifice coming to us in the sacrifice of Jesus to save us.  This is love described in Christianity as “agape” which represents unconditional love not just coming from God to us but being offered by us to God.  Is our love for God unconditional yet?  Each day we are to die more to ourselves to love God the greater and it comes when we love one another for God dwells in one another thus what we do to the least we do to God himself says the word of God.   

Jesus in his humanity demonstrated “philia” that is brotherly love to his disciples teaching them in all things. Jesus in his divinity demonstrated “agape” the unconditional love of his sacrifice for us on the cross.  By our baptism we enter into the divine life called to this unconditional agape love.  There are many good people in this world who share in brotherly love for others willing to offer support when they recognize a need for help and in this we have a common bond of humanity.  Even people of no faith can act out of the goodness of humanity but are we prepared to go beyond our humanity and enter into the divinity Christ opened up for us on the cross?  Are we willing to make it a sacrifice and grow in divine love?

We are born for “philautia” that is self-love but true self-love is a calling to love God in self by guarding ourselves from sin, taking care of our mind, body, and spirit from the temptations of the evil one.  We honor God beginning with how we guard ourselves, guard our dignity and respect our own life for we are his creation.  He has given us ourselves but what we do with ourselves is how we honor God as a gift of ourselves to him.  Temperance is an infused virtue to be in right balance with our physical, psychological, and spiritual needs.  In our mortality and as the temples of the Holy Spirit we are to govern ourselves first before we can be a true witness of God in our love for one another.  How we eat, sleep, work, play and pray all signs of philautia, a true self-love. 

We can then ascend to share with others in “philia” that is as brothers and sisters in Christ being in fellowship, sharing in the one faith and in the care of each other.  Many people will claim “I am a good person” meaning that is good enough.  That is not where God is calling us in the love for one another.  He is calling us to see in Jesus the higher good of divine love through his sacrifice.  Have we gone there yet?  The Lord is calling us to do his divine works in the corporal and spiritual works of mercy.  We are living in the age of mercy.  When there is great evil rising in the world, God comes with great mercy.  Jesus recognized that God was being glorified in him.  God desires to be glorified in us.  When we turn from our sin to God, he will glorify himself in us “at once” for is love is perfect.   

What are the Lord’s works that give him thanks?  We are the works of the Lord when we invite him that we may be instruments of his love.  He works through us to fulfill his works.  God dwells with us and works in us through the indwelling gift of the Holy Spirit.  He comes to us as we approach the table of the Lord and receive him in the Eucharist.  God’s word never ends, always at work, seeking souls to work through.  Will we receive him this day as he has loved us? 

 [JG1]And

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Homily

4th Sunday of Easter Voice of God; Happy Mother’s Day!

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Acts 13:14, 43-52; Ps. 100:1-2, 3, 5; Rev. 7:9, 14b-17; Jn. 10:27-30

The voice of God is always present, do we hear it?  Happy Mother’s Day to all the women who gave life to a child either by birth or by upbringing.  As moms you accepted to give of yourself so that a child could also receive the gift of love and hear the voice of God through you and all of God’s creation.  As mothers you also bring the love of our Blessed Mother Mary to her son in your faith to accept this awesome calling to serve God as moms.  Blessed are you for your fiat to serve as the voice of God to a child. 

The voice of God is to flow through Mothers both with the authority of God but also through the sensibilities of tenderness, patience, and mercy.  Ask a little child, “who’s the boss of you?”  They will most likely identify their mothers as being in charge.  Women hold onto your motherhood and don’t be deceived by the currents of politically correct culture who try to simply label women as “birthing persons” as if women are asexual and only different because they have a womb.  Women are much more than a body part; you are gifted to be mothers. 

“We are his people” who hear his voice says the Lord.  In times of distress, we may question God “Does God hear our prayers?”  The question for us however needs to be “Do we hear his voice?”  The voice of God is always present to us when we turn to the scriptures as the “gold standard” of knowledge and the “diamond” of wisdom.  The voice of God comes to us through his appointed ministers guided by the Holy Spirit to shepherd his people.  The voice of God comes to us in prayer when we become still in silence and wait upon the Lord. 

If we desire to hear the Lord, we are to open up the scriptures and spend time with the Lord reflecting on his word.  If we desire to hear the Lord, we come to receive the sacraments through the hands of the priesthood and the indwelling spirit will speak to us.  If we desire to hear the Lord, prayer is our daily constant in all its forms, the prayer of the Mass, the prayer before the blessed sacrament in adoration, the prayer of the family, and the silent prayer of the heart that calls out to God as we invite him into the moment of our day.  

We are to ask ourselves, “Is our desire to hear the Lord?”  A quick examination of conscience gives us the answer to the extent we study the scriptures, celebrate the sacraments and pray.  How long will we keep the Lord waiting for us to come to him, desire his presence, be in dialogue with him?  Last Sunday, Jesus asks Simon Peter “Do you love me?”.  We say we love God and yet how much is he a part of our day? 

We say we love our family but if we only see them in the morning before we all leave home and at night to check in on them then how strong is that love that will stand united when troubles come?  Time together is the bond of love that strengthens all relationships and God desires a relationship not simply an act of worship.  If today we hear his voice, it is because our love for the Lord brings us here to celebrate his presence in our life, our relationship with him.  Otherwise, we are simply living by tradition, a ritual of life on top of all the other rituals and habits that may have lost their meaning. 

The voice of the Lord makes our hearts burn within us as he speaks to us and opens the scriptures to us.  If you recall the movie “City Slickers” the three men went out to find that “one” thing in life they needed.  The one thing we need is to hear the voice of the Lord to give us peace, consolation, hope, mercy, all wrapped together in his love.  The voice of the Lord is the key that opens up the mystery of faith in tangible ways for us to follow.  This one thing makes everything else come to order in our priorities.  If we are not hearing the voice of the Lord then are we going in the wrong direction?  

The Lord comes to us in his body and blood in communion, in fellowship, and in sacrifice.  Today we see in the first reading Paul and Barnabas coming into the synagogue on the sabbath as Jews that those gathered may hear the voice of the Lord in the word of God revealed by the apostles.  This is their evangelization to bridge the old with the new.  Then on Sundays they gathered as believers to break bread as followers of Christ, that is as Christians.  The early church was attempting to bring about a reformation of the Jewish tradition and have Gentiles follow Jewish law but the more the Jews rejected and persecuted the Christians the more they recognized the voice of the Lord was making all things new for the Church and guided them in a new direction.  Not our will but thy will be done Lord. 

Paul and Barnabas were happy “they shook the dust from their feet in protest”, a sign they accepted it was not their fight to convert anyone.  They spoke “boldly” but only to urge them “to remain faithful to the grace of God.”  The lesson from Paul and Barnabas is that no one condemns us but those who reject the word of God “condemn yourselves as unworthy of eternal life”. 

Oh, how we desire to convert the world to the truth of the gospel but sometimes we struggle to convert our own household.  We have fallen away siblings, children, even parents.  It is not our fight it belongs to the Lord.  We are to pray for conversion to begin with us to witness to the truth by the testimony of how we live our lives and pray “Jesus I trust in you” for others to seek you and hear your voice.  The closer we get to holiness the greater the voice of God will resonate through us to others.  We worry and have anxiety about so many things and people but this only resonates fear and control to others and nobody is drawn to fear and control.  The voice of fear and control keeps the voice of God silent next to ours.  Let us resonate the voice of God through love and mercy. 

The world remains in a time of great distress in the voices of war, death, violence, and persecution in order to gain power over others.  We wash our robes white with the blood of the lamb.  This blood comes to us by remaining faithful to the voice of the Lord and in the body and blood of Christ who we join with in the suffering for our sins and those of this world.  Revelation does not say we will not have tears in this world but “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes” and lead us “to springs of life-giving water.”  Marian apparitions call us to “pray for the conversion of sinners”.  The power of prayer is not our power but the power of the one sent to us.  In the name of Jesus, the apostles demonstrated his power to heal, bring about conversion and other miracles.

If today you hear his voice know that you belong to the Lord.  If we cannot hear his voice then we are to turn back to the path he provided for us to follow and we will know the “good shepherd” is with us and no one can take us out of his hands. 

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