bg-image

Homily

21st Sunday of Ordinary Time

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Is. 66: 18-21; Ps. 117:1, 2; Heb. 12:5-7, 11-13; Lk 13: 22-30

In Quincianeras (15th year Celebrations) I enjoy playing the “Knock-knock” game with the quincianera. The game starts like this:

“Knock-knock” (Q: “Who’s there?) “God is” (Q: “God is who?”) “God is your Father who is in heaven calling you to be the best he created you to be”

“Knock-knock” (Q: “Who’s there?”) “The big O” (Q: “The big O who?”) “The big O of Obedience who is your BFF, best friend forever”.  Called to obedience in God’s greatest commandment is in our DNA search for happiness.  We come to know who God is in obedience as he reveals who we are in his image.  Not who we are in general as a people of God but who we are individually as a unique being with a given purpose and meaning in this life and time.  Obedience to the natural law as God created it is for the greater good even science cannot deny it.  Obedience to God’s command is the “narrow gate” many will “attempt to enter but will not be strong enough”.  All are invited to enter the “narrow gate” but are we strong enough to resist the sin in our lives that draws us away? 

“Knock-knock” (Q: “Who’s there?”) “The big D” (Q: “The big D who?”) “The big D of Discipline to “endure your trials as ‘discipline’…For what ‘son’ is there whom his father does not discipline?”   With discipline we stand for our faith or we may fall for the sin that is pleasing at the moment.  Discipline is the workforce that makes obedience come easy.  Parents love is based on discipline to mature in truth for learning freedom is not free it is a sacrifice out of discipline.  Discipline “later brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who are trained by it”.  Discipline begins by doing the next right thing in obedience to the law already in our hearts from our baptism.  Parents teach and reinforce this law by their testimony of love through discipline.  “Endure your trials as discipline”, is it not as punishment.  When we suffer we have an opportunity to purify our souls, wash clean our baptismal robes, unite ourselves to Christ in his passion for our sins and make an offering of ourselves. 

“Knock-knock” (Q: “Who’s there?”)  “The big W” (Q: “The big W who?”) “The big W is the work plan that comes through Jesus.  Scripture says, “I am the way, the truth and the life, says the Lord; no one comes to the Father, except through me”, through his love embodied in discipline.  The work plan is to spread the Good News we have been given.  The plan of salvation is an invitation to all the people of all the nations and “they shall come and see my glory” says the Lord.  Salvation is not an accident waiting to happen, it is a calling and we are free to respond yet not all have.  That is why we are reminded in the gospel there will be those outside the “door…(with) wailing and grinding of teeth”.  Lesson learned is we take so much in life for granted until it is gone.  

There was a program on EWTN with Father Mitch Pacwa interviewing a doctor of philosophy named Dr. Frey (first name not captured).  She was invited to Yale University to debate with a doctor of psychology on the topic of happiness.  She proposed the question that if there was a box in which the person was guaranteed to always be stimulated to feel happiness would they enter and be left there.  The psychology doctor said yes.  Others however saw the logic of being trapped in a box with reservation.  The “box” represents a place of isolation and happiness comes from being outside yourself in relation to God and others.  She stated 25% of college students suffer from anxiety, depression, and isolation.  This is the lie of Satan mentioned last week to live each day thinking only of yourself a little more until you find yourself in this box of artificial stimulation and emptiness.  One of the main tools becoming an addiction is social media.  The box is the phone to create an altered reality filled with artificial and narcissistic grandiosity of happiness because the world that is waiting outside the phone is too intimidating. 

The Good News is happiness comes from the unconditional love offering of giving of ourselves to God and others.  Follow the way of Jesus giving of himself out of love in the freedom of a world created for us to give good fruit.  “So strengthen your drooping hands and your weak knees.  Make straight your paths for your feet, that what is lame may not be disjointed but healed”.  Let us live outside the box of sin.  There will be trials through the “narrow gate” but also great consolation as we enter into his presence, healed by his love and at peace.  The discipline is a life of virtues all serving the greater good for ourselves and others. 

Tags
Shared this
Views

374 views


The Deacon

Accompanied by ..
Copyright by TagleStar 2016
Powered by TagleStar Website Development

bg-image

Homily

20th Sunday Ordinary Time

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Jer. 38:4-6, 8-10; Ps. 40:2-4, 18; Heb. 12:1-4; Lk. 12:49-53

“I have come to set the earth on fire.”  If our faith on fire or simply lukewarm?  Jesus speaks of a baptism to come though he was already baptized by water in the Jordan river by John the Baptist.  His great “anguish until it is accomplished” is his passion and death on the cross.  Christ teaching was a two-edge sword of division. 

For the institutions of this time there was the Jewish tradition with governance by its law and the other was the Roman political structure in control of the territory or as we would refer to in our time as church and state.  Jesus word would cut through both ways dividing long held Jewish beliefs and traditions for families and threatening the status quo for the state.  Who is the identified enemy?  For many it became the messenger, Christ and his followers.  For Christ it was peoples’ sin the “struggle…you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood.” 

St. Francis of Assisi threw himself on thorn bushes to mortify his body against the temptation of sin.  Other saints have used flagellation to mortify their bodies and some have done simple acts of mortification such as placing a pebble in their shoe to feel the constant reminder for holiness in every step of discomfort. Even modern psychology in behavior therapy will use the example of having a rubber band on your wrist to pop yourself every time you are tempted to do a negative behavior like biting your nails to break the habit.  As a church we have the Lenten season to deny ourselves with fasting and abstinence to mortify our bodies.  For the world a voice against the normalization of sin must be silenced. 

Jerimiah was a voice against sin in his time.  He prefigures Christ the King.  King Zedekiah hands him over to the people for his crime.  What is his crime?  He is “speaking” and teaching the people against sin and this is judged as “not interested in the welfare of our people but in their ruin.”  When evil held as good and good is attacked as evil kingdoms fall to ruin.  The voice of Jeremiah, the voice of Christ is counterculture.

Before, during and after Christ until the present to challenge the institutional norms is treated as a crime worthy of death.  We have only to look at our own world history in the making to see the same culture of death as Jerimiah and Christ faced.  Speak of sin and you will quickly make enemies and there is no end to the labels that are thrown out ending in “phobic” to silence anyone willing to speak up.  It is not a phobia to speak of the natural law of marriage between male and female, or beliefs and lifestyles contrary to the natural law.  It is simply defending God’s creation through his Word and his Word is the foundation of his creation in natural law.  It is the source of life not for his good but or our greater good. 

I was listening to a homily on EWTN where the priest shared a story of another priest who approached a group promoting the Church of Satan.  He asked them what they believed.  They said they practiced being “friends of Satan”.  The taught their followers to practice thinking of themselves a little more each day. If everyone follows this logic to the end then every person will create an island within themselves to exist in isolation from others.  To have a friend is to think of the other before yourself.  The great lie is Satan has no friends, it is all about him and his followers are simply puppets of this lie.  Place a person in solitary confinement and deny them all human contact and they are more likely to become depressed and suicidal than to grow in happiness and peace.  Hell is a deprivation of love. 

“Lord, come to my aid!”  The pit of destruction is to live thinking of ourselves more and more until we become abandoned in the mud of sin and swamp of evil.  Jeremiah preached against sin and was thrown into the pit by many but it took only one person to intercede for him with a voice for justice.  We must be that voice of justice in this world.  We can go to Christ our King to hear our cry for our own family, our church, and all the sins of the world.  We can offer our sacrifices coming to Mass, in Adoration, in sharing our faith.  When we make an offering of ourselves Christ will give us what we are to speak and how we are to serve.  Be open to this grace and trust in the Lord. 

The earth is on fire as Jesus foretold and from this fire some will journey down to the fire of hell.  Others will pass through the fire of purgatory that purifies on the way to heaven.  One path has no end to pain and the other is a flame of love to enter into God’s friendship.  This is the fire of love that calls the sinner to repentance and divides the righteous from the unrighteous.  If our faith is on fire, we are a voice for righteousness ready to love the sinner not the sin.  Let us pray for those who identify more with the sin that with the creator while there is still time.  The fire of faith is a flame of love from the Sacred Heart of Jesus. 

Tags
Shared this
Views

338 views


The Deacon

Accompanied by ..
Copyright by TagleStar 2016
Powered by TagleStar Website Development

bg-image

Reflection

The Assumption the Blessed Virgin Mary

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Who is the greatest apostle for Jesus?  Is it from among the twelve Apostles whom Jesus called?  They questioned among themselves who was the greatest and Jesus called them to humble themselves.  It is the one who says “my soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord” by her purity, fiat, and her lowliness.  Mary is the one who did not taste death but in sleep was assumed body and soul into heaven. 

Consider all the relics of the bodies of the apostles who died and were immediately venerated and given their final burial place.  Mary was placed in the care of John the apostle by Jesus at the cross.  There is no body, no remains, and no burial place for Mary.  The ascension of Jesus was witnessed by many and written about.  No word is mentioned of Mary.  Perhaps no explanation could be given for her assumption as she vanishes without a trace.  Death has that impact in that one moment we are here and the next we are face to face before the judgment seat with Jesus but our bodies remain behind as a consolation to others.  Mary’s body and soul remained with the breath of God in unity, immortal, uncoruptible, and blessed. 

Mary is the one who returns in her apparitions sent to us for the conversion of sinners and is called to holiness.  Mary is the one by her son in life and death and the mighty one continues to do great things for her.  Her soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord for it is united to his rejoicing to be the beloved full of grace the one “Blessed by God”. 

Our blessings come from God and Mary is there to present our prayers before him.  Where two hearts are thus united by love a transformation of the world comes for the salvation of souls.  We cannot receive in our hearts Jesus without receiving Mary and we cannot receive Mary without receiving Jesus.  We belong to a communion of saints called to be one with the Father, in the Son, through the Holy Spirit. 

Tags
Shared this
Views

392 views


The Deacon

Accompanied by ..
Copyright by TagleStar 2016
Powered by TagleStar Website Development

bg-image

Homily The Deacon Joe

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Wis. 18:6-9; Ps. 33:1, 12, 18-22; Heb. 11: 1-2, 8-19; Lk. 12:32-48

“Where is that in the bible?”  Many non-Catholics question the church’s position on purgatory.  They ask “where is that in the bible?”  Purgatory is in the Old and the New Testament as a just judge comes to ensure the cleansing of our baptismal robes in our call to sanctity. Listen to these words, “That servant who did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will shall be beaten severely; and the servant who was ignorant of his master’s will but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating shall be beaten only lightly.”  Who is God speaking to, the sinner who died without faith in hell or to the ones he says “All these died in faith”?  Satan is the master of the fallen, Jesus is the Master of the redeemed. There is no doubt that justice belongs to God and he promises a time of atonement.  Jesus died for our sins yet when was the last time we went to confession to seek forgiveness of our sin?  If this night our life is demanded of us what then? 

The Catechism teaches in #1030 “All who die in God’s grace and friendship but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.”  The bible tells us in the book of Maccabees (2 Mac. 12:43-44) to atone for the dead through prayer “for if he were not expecting the fallen to rise again, it would have been useless and foolish to pray for them in death” yet even in the Old Testament we have Maccabeus talking a collection to send to Jerusalem for “an expiatory sacrifice” for the dead soldiers.  We are reminded how important it is to offer Masses for the dead and pray for them in atonement of their sins.  Yet how often in a funeral do we hear of purgatory?  Focus is given to being in heaven as our hope which is the final destiny but not necessarily a straight ticket. 

“Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more” reminds us of the one sin we often fail to recognize.  It is the sin of omission.  The ten commandments have a focus on what “you shall not” but Jesus comes to fulfill what we shall be called to do.  There is a truth of accountability in God’s justice for all.  When will it be demanded if not now?   It comes at death in the purging of our sins in a state of purification called purgatory. 

Just as the more we give the greater the reward the less we serve the greater the sin by God’s commandment.  Charity is God’s call for justice and the sign of our love of God.  Wisdom says, “Your people awaited the salvation of the just”.  The just are the “holy children of the good” doing the will of the Father offering sacrifice of charity.  Charity is a sign of faith a “realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen”.  Faith is the awareness that our time is coming when we will be before God and he recognizes his own in the love we offered in obedience just as Abraham did.  Our obedience is to respond to the call to serve.  We are a people of faith and we know our Father’s will, are we preparing ourselves by acting according to his will or is purgatory our next stop?

Why settle for purgatory when we are called to be saints? The opportunity to be charitable is constantly around us?  It begins in the home.  Husbands and wives when we get upset, frustrated, or even disappointed with each other what do our children witness in our behavior?  We can respond in outbursts, anger, criticism, blame or in charity express our concern, disappointment, and our desire for something greater of each other.  When we see our children picking on each other using language we ourselves say is it simply kids misbehaving or are they already following down a path that justifies being uncharitable.  Love is patient, kind, generous, charitable and at times a difficult challenge.  Our heart cries out “If you only knew what I have to live with!”  Our goal is to get each other to heaven so don’t simply live with it, make it better.  It begins by working on ourselves and we will see the impact our life can have on others. 

One thing is certain that a just God knows the degree of our sinfulness, our understanding, and our will to be just, loving, charitable, and merciful.  Dante speaks of purgatory as the place we go to get our baptismal robes cleaned.  The stains we carry are the stains we have not confessed.  It is a sure sign of heaven coming, an inheritance delivering us from the death of sin we carry.  Today that sin can be confessed and our sacrifice is to “avoid the near occasion” of sin yet when we fail, we have a loving Father ready to reconcile us back to him. 

Finally, where is the “evidence of things not seen”?  It is there on the cross and in the resurrection of Jesus.  For all who give evidence by their testimony, Jesus is alive.  “Stay awake and be ready!”  The Son of Man is coming and it is in the bible, in the Mass, and in our hearts.

Tags
Shared this
Views

243 views


The Deacon

Accompanied by ..
Copyright by TagleStar 2016
Powered by TagleStar Website Development

bg-image

Homily The Deacon Joe

18th Sunday Ordinary Time

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Eccl 1:2; 2:21-23; Ps 90:3-6, 12-13; Col 3:1-5, 9-11; Lk 12:13-21

“Vanity of vanities…all things are vanity!  If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.”  I took a personality profile and my profile was defined as a “strategist” which is a combination of Introverted, Intuitive, Thinker, and Judging.  This represents only 1.5% of all personality types in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.  At times I toil with anxiety of heart and at night my mind is restless as I strategize for the next day or how to resolve a problem.  “This also is vanity.” 

God you created me and now I carry this cross.  Still the Lord will “prosper the work of our hands!”  A strategist is also a gift but first we must learn to surrender our gift to Him for his greater glory.  What is the desire of our hearts, greed or service?  Greed leads to lying and deception and the psychology is that it is a “dog eat dog world” of winners and losers.  “This also is vanity”.  In service we are open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit to use our gifts for a greater good. 

If there is anything that causes family feuds it is inheritance.  It is driven by greed and/or a sense of entitlement.  The heart cries out “I was there for them you were never there” or “You have more than I and I need it more than you.”  The riches that matter to God is how we give of ourselves to benefit others which includes the use of our resources.  Our heavenly treasure is the giving of ourselves to family, friends, neighbors, and strangers.  The earthly treasure one builds up in a lifetime becomes the surplus of disposable goods another receives as inheritance to spend at pleasure.  “This also is vanity.”

Others plan for that retirement day when we can rest, eat, drink and enjoy our wealth.  Meanwhile we ignore our health, the growing up years of our children, the purpose of our marriage and the greatest commandment is compromised for the mighty dollar.  Profit, prestige, power, and pleasure go up in smoke in an instant with one major illness, a divorce, a loss of work, or a tragedy.  We sacrifice for the mighty dollar but our sacrifice for the heavenly glory is put aside for another day.  “You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you” says the Lord.  We turn back to dust in a short lifespan but did we “number our days aright” says the Lord.

Are we to ignore our responsibilities?  Absolutely not, we are to offer our responsibilities to God to bless them and guide us.  The recovery community of addiction follows what is known as the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions.  The first step in recovery to bring about change is “we admitted we were powerless over (fill in the blank our obsession with money, work, gambling, food, sex, etc.) that our lives had become unmanageable”  If today you hear his voice and life is unmanageable take the first step of honesty and truth.  Nothing changes until we make a decision for change.

Step 2 says, “Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.”  The insanity is that we all are given the truth in our hearts of our sins and we keep doing the same thing.  The time for change is always now!  This is our time to “gain wisdom of heart”.  We can spend a lifetime building up anxiety about anything and everything or we can surrender ourselves to God, trust in Him and be set free. 

Step 3 says, “Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understand Him” so that “the gracious care of our God be ours”.  Our faith and reason are “challenged” by many doctrines and by our own concepts as we have turned away from the truth to false teachings.  Turn back to God while there is time that we may not be found asleep in our sinfulness when he comes. 

The Twelve Step tradition is a simple process of faith, hope and love with a long-lived history of success for those who follow it.  Our challenge is to not be tempted by all things of vanity which number our days as sorrow, grief, or anxiety.  Renew the decision to trust in God each day “that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days”. 

God’s mercy comes to seek the sinner who turns their will and life to the care of God and he will open the minds, hearts and souls to the truth and freedom of his love.  What do you get when you put two strategists together?  Silence!  In the silence of our hearts we hear God’s voice, “harden not your hearts” let us trust in Him. 

Tags
Shared this
Views

201 views


The Deacon

Accompanied by ..
Copyright by TagleStar 2016
Powered by TagleStar Website Development

bg-image

Homily

17th Sunday Ordinary Time

Posted on by Deacon Joe

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

“Will you sweep away the innocent with the guilty?”  “For the sake of those ten (innocent), I will not destroy it.”  Thus history has proven the great mercy of God.  Generation after generation each lives with the corruption of its time.  Where is God, we ask?  He is attentive to the outcry against the sins of this world that rise up to him and has sent us his son to spread his mercy.  Jesus Christ comes to nail our sins to his cross that we be raised with him in glory.  His mercy however must be won one soul at a time.  The good harvest must remain among the weeds for now.  Abraham of old spoke for the innocent as Jesus now speaks for those who turn to him.

The Lord is attentive to those who cry out to him for help but often we look to take things into our own hands before seeking the Lord’s justice and guidance in spirit and truth.  We can be following our own truth and be truthfully in error.  Turn to any news channel and you hear opposite positions from individual recognized for their knowledge and each holds to be true.  Colossians reminds us we can be living a life of death in our transgressions and he will bring us back to life in him if we first recognize our sinfulness and in contrition turn back to him with a resolution to avoid the sin in our lives.  As long as we hold onto our truth and not ask, seek, or knock on the door of God’s mercy we remain at risk of the grave sins of Sodom and Gomorrah.  A godless nation cannot survive but its destruction will come from its own doing not God. 

How are we to turn back to him?   We are to say the prayer he gave us and then live it and proclaim it.  Live the holiness of God’s name by seeking holy lives.  Alone it cannot happen.  It happens when we are in communion with God.  We remain in communion when we come to Mass, we pray, we ask, seek, and knock in search of God’s will in our lives. 

Call on the kingdom of righteousness to be lived in our actions.  Being in the kingdom does not offer an easy road.  The kingdom is a place of love and peace where we come to rest knowing we are not alone in this world.  The world remains a Sodom and Gomorrah and evil brings about tragedy in the living dead who are far from the glory of God.  God is with us in every moment we seek him, not simply because we are Christian but because we are Christ centered.  The kingdom is a spiritual compass pointing the way to God. 

Receive the daily bread in the Eucharist, in the Word of God, and in the Holy Spirit.  Pray for forgiveness of our sins to the God of mercy with a contrite heart.  Hope that we may overcome the daily test of battle for our souls from the evil one so that the final test at the hour of our death to a mortal life will have long been won in dying to ourselves and rising to Christ in our daily living.  The victory will have been won as we pass into the eternal kingdom.  Who desires not a peaceful death after a long journey of life?  Those prepared will express the confidence of readiness to enter into life beyond this world.  Can we say if death came like a thief in the night this day I am at peace and ready to meet my creator? 

Finally, pray for the grace of perseverance.  Persist in prayer and let prayer guide your perseverance along the way of the Lord.  The Father is ready to give us the gift of the Holy Spirit in abundance to a soul well prepared to receive it.  Are we prepared?  Do we rise to prayer and does our prayer lead to right judgment in doing the will of God?  Words are not enough.  A well prepared soul has nailed their sins to the cross and is a new creation. 

Tags
Shared this
Views

279 views


The Deacon

Accompanied by ..
Copyright by TagleStar 2016
Powered by TagleStar Website Development

bg-image

Homily The Deacon Joe

16th Sunday Ordinary Time

Posted on by Deacon Joe

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

“It is Christ in you, the hope for glory.”  Christ is our blessing but we must do justice and persevere “with a generous heart” to live in his presence.  The world demands “what have you done for me lately?”  Our response is “Christ’s justice” not as the world demands but in his glory. 

We live in an age of constant stimuli demanding our attention.  We look at it as a challenge to be good at multitasking and take pride in doing more at once and in less time.  The expectation is that we will have greater productivity and more outcome of success.  If this is true then there should be more time in our day for silence, contemplation, prayer, and God.  The balance and rebalance of our lifestyle should produce a harvest of time between our commitments to family, work, church, and to our personal growth in Christ.  Does it?  Temperance is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit to be in balance with our humanity and spirituality living in Christ and serving in justice for his glory.

“He who does justice” must “think the truth in his heart”.  Where is this truth to be found?   In the movie the “Passion” Pontius Pilate seemed lost in asking what was “truth” as he is pressured to do “justice” before those who called for Jesus death and the truth in his heart knowing the innocence of Jesus.  His choice was to crucify the holy one for his own self-preservation in maintaining control of the crowd.  The truth was in his presence and he failed to do justice.  As Christians the truth has been placed in our hearts, we have either to respond in the presence of Christ in justice or once again crucify him in our hearts. 

Today’s readings we have a contrast between Abraham, Martha and Mary.  Abraham was so ready to serve the Lord who appeared to him by offering the three men water to bathe their feet, food to be refreshed giving of his fine flour, choice steer, curds and milk and waited on them as a favor.  This is a generous heart in action out of love of God and neighbor and it yields a harvest.  The desire to serve others brought Abraham a blessing from God when the men promised him that Sarah “will have a son.”   The Lord’s presence moves the hearts of the believers into acts of love and the rewards are greater than we can imagine. 

Martha is “burdened” thus her heart is not in her “serving” Jesus it is in her self-preservation.  It is all about her.  Jesus reminds Martha who is “anxious and worried about many things” taking time to listen to Jesus is “the better part and it will not be taken from” Mary.  In fairness to Martha she acted in many ways as Abraham in responding to having a guest show up in the home.  The difference was she did not recognize the Lord in her presence acting out of her burden not her love. 

Mary is moved in her heart to be still before the presence of Jesus.  She is attentive to the truth she witnessing acting out of prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance.  These are the gifts of the Holy Spirit she was experiencing in the presence of Jesus.  Prudence because she made a conscious choice to respond to the “need of only one thing…the better part” as Jesus states.  Justice because the spirit called her to be a witness to Jesus teaching.  Fortitude because she knew her sister wanted her help yet there are times when we must choose between several options of which there is no wrong but one is the better part and it takes courage to make that choice.  Finally, temperance is finding that right balance in our lives to be still for God and to be active for God.  The active contemplative seeks to do both by being mindful of God in all things for a greater good. 

The lesson from Abraham is service is an opportunity to receive God’s blessing when we are generous in our giving of ourselves.  From Martha we learn when we make service all about ourselves, we suffer our own burden and little is gained.  In Mary we recognize the “better part” begins by being attentive to the Lord in our presence.  We are all familiar with the expression “work is never done”.  God’s work is never done either so whose work are we attentive to ours, the world’s or where God is calling us to serve? 

I remember as a child visiting at my grandmother’s house in Mexico.  She had dirt floors and in the winter season they used a tin basin to burn wood to keep warm.  The morning routine was to water down the dirt floor to keep the dust down and pack the dirt.  Today you buy a floor sweeper to run around the rooms.  No sooner has it swept that dust begins to settle on the floor.  The convenience of technology is not simplifying our lives unless we make a conscious decision to focus on our priorities.  God is a priority in which we can be active through him, with him and in him. 

Most of us live active if not overcommitted lives and the world is ready to push information overload and steal any time left.  Even our vacations may be planned to fill every hour of the day and the downtime is for social media posting, likes, and following other peoples lives. In other words, we are continuously tempted to fill our minds and time with activities with little lasting value.  The expression “what difference does it make?” is an important thought to ask ourselves.  A better way to reframe the question is “what difference can I make in Christ?” 

Christ will make a great difference in us if we allow him into our lives at every moment to be an instrument of his love, peace, justice, and wisdom.  We will make a lasting difference for ourselves in heaven and an immediate difference in the lives of others.  Christ in us is the difference for true justice.  Invite him and you will be the difference he desires for this world. 

Tags
Shared this
Views

272 views


The Deacon

Accompanied by ..
Copyright by TagleStar 2016
Powered by TagleStar Website Development

bg-image

Homily The Deacon Joe

15th Sunday Ordinary Time

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Dt. 30: 10-14; Ps. 69: 14, 17, 30-31, 33-34, 36-37; Col. 1: 15-20; Lk. 10: 25-37

“…written in the book of the law”–The word “law” sets to mind a set of rules commanded and enforced by a controlling authority.  It is the first of several definitions but the most common understanding of the word.  Christ Jesus is the word of authority made flesh.  He is the antithesis of a controlling authority set by law to enforce rules.  The law is commanded by “being” a creation of God, a natural law “already in your mouths and in your hearts; you have only to carry it out”.  The controlling authority is our free will responding to the law within.  When we were born God gave us a gift.  It is the gift of self.  We fulfill the law through our free will. 

The “firstborn of all creation” came to rule by love, “the image of the invisible God.”  Jesus is God with us.  The bracelets that were popular for a while had the letters “WWJD” What Would Jesus Do.  We follow as Christians the will of God through Jesus.  We are called to be a visible image of the invisible God. 

The natural law of love is in our hearts, we have only to carry it out.  If love is in our nature one would think we are all great lovers of God and neighbor.  We have only to look at the world to see something went wrong.  Why is there so much evil then?  We can also ask ourselves “where is the peace and love in my life?”  What is missing?  Missing is uniting our will to the will of God.  The natural law of love is given at birth then the enemy of love comes.

Love is visible in an infant ready to respond to an act of love.  An infant is totally dependent on love to thrive.  Food and water alone are not sufficient nurturing for a child to thrive.  A child responds to two hearts of love beating in the womb, the child’s and its mother’s heart.  You are a child of God.  The heart of Jesus unites to our hearts in the Eucharist.  We are all the child in need of the mercy of God’s love. 

We are the victim on the street stripped of love.  We have been robbed of our innocence and purity when we are exposed to all the sins of the world seeking our weakness to cause our own fall from grace.  Who can resist the lure of the wolf in sheep’s clothing dressed in white and gentle to the touch?  Inside ready to be poured out is the trauma of a tragedy ready to happen. If we only understood the natural law of “consequence” we would seek first the will of God. 

Every act will have a just reward or punishment by consequence of natural law.  It may not only impact the person but generations to come.  The aborted child, the child raised by adoption, the sinner who turns their life around and uses that past to help others in the future has consequence.  One decision impacts a world of people.  The unknown is whether we will respond with “yes” to God or not. 

Love begets love and evil begets greater evil.  Those intoxicated with evil in any of its form sins against their own flesh and the outcome is but certain death.  It is death to self, to our identity as a child of God, to natural beauty and goodness.  In the end it is death to love, the essence of life left on the street of abandonment. 

Before we judge “not me, I have what I need” let us ask ourself “how well am I at loving?”  Am I one to show mercy when I am offended and hurt or when I see the less fortunate?  Is my love connected to them or only for myself and my select few?  Our capacity to love is our capacity to experience God and his mercy.  Our incapacity to love is our sense of abandonment from God’s mercy and love.  God is present yet without mercy we are isolated on “skid row” with poverty from love.  Life becomes a poverty without peace.

The command “Go and do likewise” is the assertion of truth.  It is not imposed on humanity it is what makes for humanity in God’s image.  This is what holds us together, the unity of the church with Jesus as our head to be Christian.  By nature, I am an introvert.  Introverts make the minority of the population 1:3 ratio introverts to extraverts.  Give me a book and a comfortable chair and I am detached from the world.  I would drive my mother crazy growing up because I buried my head in a book and people I avoided.  She would say, “I just want to hear you talk.”  If she could see me now standing before you preaching, maybe she is (after death).  God works miracles and has a sense of humor at it. 

Love is about attachment.  “Go and do likewise” is not easy and I must work at creating attachment, especially with the stranger.  There are some people who “never met a stranger” in the sense their interests in people moved them to reach out to others.  God bless them.  You may be like me or more of an extrovert yet both are commanded by love to reach out.  Love is transformative and it will change you as much as you allow to be that change agent in others. 

Christ is “the firstborn of the dead”.  He did not rise as a spirit but in body and spirit.  St. Thomas felt with his hands the wounds of Jesus and the disciples ate fish with him on the seashore.  He made himself present in the body.  We are to prepare our bodies for the resurrection.  Jesus carried the scars of the sins of others hate but we will carry the scars of our own sin as a sign of our redemption in Christ.  Now is the time to heal those scars before death and regain the purity of our bodies and souls. 

Before death as in after death our bodies and souls are our nature to live out in the image of the first born of creation, Jesus Christ!  “Go and do likewise”. 

Tags
Shared this
Views

235 views


The Deacon

Accompanied by ..
Copyright by TagleStar 2016
Powered by TagleStar Website Development

bg-image

Homily The Deacon Joe

14th Sunday Ordinary Time

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Is. 66: 10-14c; Ps. 66: 1-7, 16, 20; Gal. 6: 14-18; Lk. 10: 1-12, 17-20

“Peace be with you!”  Sealed by the Holy Spirit, let us bear the marks of Jesus.  “…for I bear the marks of Jesus on my body” says St. Paul.  The Greek word for marks is “stigmata” which is understood to reference Jesus’ five wounds.  It is possible St. Paul bore the stigmata literally but this is not known through tradition.  It is believed St. Paul is speaking in reference to the suffering and persecution he endured for Christ “through which the world has been crucified to me” he states.  These marks came from his persecutors who wanted to continue the Jewish law of circumcision for Christians.  St. Paul’s challenge to them as it is to us is to bear the sign of the cross as a “new creation”.  This sign we accept by faith at our baptism. 

Recall the rite of baptism begins with the priest making the sign of the cross on the child claiming the child for Christ.  He then invites the parents and godparents to do the same.  Together the Church, parents, and godparents have a responsibility to raise the child in the faith.  We are a new creation to be conformed to Christ by living our sacramental life “be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit”. 

Sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit comes with a cross.  Our faith will not only be challenged, it will be attacked.  Early in the Christian church many were persecuted and martyred.  Among them was St. Perpetua and St. Felicity in the year 203 not only for claiming to be Christian but refusing to deny their faith.  “Two days before the scheduled execution, Felicity went into labor delivering a baby girl.  The guards made fun of her, insulting her by saying, “If you think you suffer now, how will you stand it when you face the wild beasts?  Felicity answered them calmly, ‘Now I’m the one who is suffering, but in the arena, another will be in me suffering for me because I will suffer for him’.  She gave birth to a healthy girl who was adopted and raised by one of the Christian women of Carthage.”  (www.catholic.org)

Saints Perpetua and Felicity carried peace of Christ to their death.  The seventy-two who were sent were to offer “peace” to the household.  “If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him.”  We offer each other a sign of peace in our Latin rite with the words, “Peace be with you” and the response “and also with you”.  This peace can only rest on a “peaceful person”.  Are we at peace in Christ?  The world is ready to disrupt our peace if we dare speak of our faith in the public square and even when we dare not it intrudes on our peace. 

We live in times when it is tolerated or even accepted by the mainstream culture to have public cursing, hate speech, and militant groups who riot to promote hate through the veil of freedom of speech and to organize.  In contrast through the same veil we have peaceful marches to rally for “Life” and the protection of the unborn.  The irony of the story of St. Felicity is that for the persecutors to “kill a child in the womb was shedding innocent and sacred blood” (www.catholic.org) In the midst of hate in the killing of Christians the unborn was held as sacred.  Today the unborn is seen as a commodity of “choice” to be terminated even at the moment of birth.  The godly choice is to love them both. 

Peaceful people are not silent people no more that St. Paul was not silent in the midst of persecution.  His desire was to evangelize and “let no one make troubles for me”.  In Paul we see our normal humanity, no one wants trouble for themselves but they can also not deny themselves.  The early Christian martyrs refused to deny themselves.  St Perpetua said it best when her father frantically wanted her to deny her faith and prevent her death.  She said to him “Pointing to a water jug ‘See that pot lying there?  Can you call it by any other name than what it is?’ Her father answered, ‘Of course not.’ Perpetua responded, “Neither can I call myself by any other name that what I am—a Christian.”  It takes courage to stand up for our faith.  It takes the “grace of our Lord Jesus Christ” as a peaceful person.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is the power given to the seventy-two to subject even demons at the name of Jesus.  The world needs the peace of Jesus but as the song says, “let it begin with me”.  We must first subject the demons of sin in our lives if we hope to bring peace into the world.  It begins with us and it is nurtured in our home. Husbands and wives, when your spouse calls you what is your response?  “Si mi amor” with words of endearment or “What do you want?”  Siblings, if your brother or sister takes something of yours how do you ask for it back?  “Please return it to me” or “You better give it back!”  

“Let the peace of Christ control your hearts; let the word of Christ dwell in you richly”.  This peace in our hearts comes by bearing the marks of Jesus.  The seal in our bodies is renewed in the Eucharist.  The world of Christ is the guiding light for the soul to dwell in.  The fullness of Christ “source and summit” is our celebration in the Mass.  Each of us is given a harvest to work.  Where you are is a harvest waiting for you and you will not know the impact of your harvest until we reach heaven.  You may also not know until the impact God was waiting for you make by saying “yes” and was missed and lost.  It can extend as far as we are willing to go.  We have the “power to ‘tread on serpents’ and scorpions and upon the full force of the enemy and nothing will harm you.” 

I have a 1984 Mercedes sports car.  I was asked how fast have I driven it?  I responded the “speed limit”.  Most vehicles come with greater power than we will ever utilize out of prudence.  We treat the power of the Holy Spirit in the same way.  It is a gift underutilized.  We are a people of faith, hope, and love.  Let us challenge ourselves in the arena of life to call on the power of this gift and “another will be in us with his power because we will be in him”.  Peace be with you. 

Tags
Shared this
Views

249 views


The Deacon

Accompanied by ..
Copyright by TagleStar 2016
Powered by TagleStar Website Development

bg-image

Homily

13th Sunday Ordinary Time

Posted on 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? 

Tags
Shared this
Views

327 views


The Deacon

Accompanied by ..
Copyright by TagleStar 2016
Powered by TagleStar Website Development