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Homily

11th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Walk by faith not by sight

Posted on by Deacon Joe

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

Walk by faith not by sight says the Lord.  It is the sign of a Christian who trusts in God the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit. The world would say have faith in yourself, look to the people and believe by sight in the science.  Can faith in ourselves give us the answer to the question, “why do I exist?”  Can people agree and tell me “what is truth?”  Can science answer the question “what comes first the chicken or the egg?”  Can faith in myself together with the people, and science tell us where we will spend eternity?  Jesus came to give us the answer and was rejected and crucified.  Jesus prays that we may all be one with the Father as he is one with the Father and the Holy Spirit calling us to be united as one Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church as the people of God. 

Jesus calls us to be one in faith, hope, and love.  Isn’t it interesting that Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables and “without parables he did not speak to them but to his own disciples he explained everything in private”?  If there is an argument to be made for the magisterium of the Church this statement reveals to us that Jesus was establishing a structure of leadership for the people to walk by faith in the teachings of the church through those he called to be his disciples and explained everything to them.  Thus, we are not to walk by the sight of our own interpretations of his word, create our own truth from our own conscience, follow the herd mentality, or expect science to be an end in itself. 

Where is the authority in the interpretation of the word of God?  We can all study scripture and when we do, we will come to understand more the teachings of the church but without the guidance of the church history, the writings of the Church Fathers and Tradition we can find ourselves spinning the wheel and going in the wrong direction.  Today there are many wheels on the road spinning scripture and using the Bible to create their own dogmas.  God’s call is to be one from the same seed and the same shoot of one faith. 

What about following our own conscience?  A child is born with the capacity to grow and learn.  It develops its conscience beginning with the moral responsibility of its parents to teach right from wrong, to believe in something greater than themselves, to reciprocate love given unconditionally.  A child is baptized to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit with all the gifts that the Spirit provides to grow in spirit and in truth with a well-formed conscience. 

A conscience does not just exist it is nurtured by love and commandments into maturity.  How many souls find no fear in harming others with a conscience that believes it is a dog-eat-dog world so take what you can while you can and too bad so sad for the other.  In a time of so many broken homes, unfaithfulness in relationships, and distrust of institutions where does a child get a well-formed conscience?  It begins in our domestic church at home teaching the faith that is being passed on to us from the church Jesus founded as we are to walk by faith. 

A well-formed conscience in the domestic church at home is supported by the greater faith community when we come in fellowship to receive Christ in the Eucharist where he remains with us.  Today Catholic schools are growing in numbers as families see the culture of death spreading in all the other institutions that seek to separate faith in God from the public square. These institutions will not prevail because ultimately the victory is won on the cross by Jesus but they will cause harm to our children who are seeking the truth and told to follow other ideologies against the teaching of the church. 

If we ask the question “who founded the doctrine of the church you go to?”  We can get answers like Augustine of Canterbury for the Church of England, Martin Luther for the Lutheran Church, or John Wesley for the Methodist Church, or John Calvin for Calvinism, or even “my neighbor who is Pastor of his own church”.  Catholicism is traced back in history through all the Popes to Jesus Christ with Peter as the first Pope.  We are living in a time where many are leaving religion behind becoming what is called “the None” to follow the science or their own spirituality

What about the truth of science?  There is a rebirth of science as the new god of truth.  Science is a medium of discovery to help us raise questions for every answer it proposes.  All answers lead to more questions and end in the mystery of faith.  What comes first the chicken or the egg?  Neither does! God comes first, the prime mover of all creation.  Even the mustard seed, by sight we see how it grows and we contribute to its growth with water, tilling, and fertilizing but its transformation is part of creation into what God has destined for its purpose.  The kingdom of God has a divine purpose for those who accept the seed of faith in the word of God.  If we trust in Jesus, we will live the transformation in our own lives and no science can explain it but we will know it. 

Some social scientists want schools to go beyond academics and be the authority to teach social justice.  Schools are being mandated to teach Critical Race Theory defining one race as oppressive above others and seeking retribution.  Is this the teaching of a well-informed conscience or the ideology of one group over another?  Does this follow the teaching of Jesus to be united as one or the teaching to divide one another by race and to distrust the other?  Critical Race Theory seeks to have some form of retribution that is punishment by having the present society pay for past history but two wrongs don’t make it right.  History proves that once you label a race as evil, evil comes from it and that is from the evil one. 

The Church teaches we should make reparation for the sins of the world not retribution.  Reparation is a voluntary act, retribution is a mandated act; reparation is an act of love for the other, retribution is an act of punishment to the other; reparation is through adoration, prayer, and sacrifice to bring the kingdom of God which is justice, peace and joy; but retribution is to follow the teaching of “an eye for an eye” for the sins of the past by your fathers, and your father’s father or there is no justice and no peace.  This is the new norm to create a herd mentality that our children are being indoctrinated into. When Jesus spread his arms on the cross he voluntarily accepted to make reparation for our sins and those of the whole world giving us his sacred heart wounded for our transgressions.

What about the herd mentality, is there truth in numbers?   One of the excuses parents hear from their children seeking approval is “everyone is doing it, has it, or believes it”.  We know from scripture that not all seed falls on good ground and so not everyone is on the path to heaven.  There are a large number of seeds that grow among the weeds and choke the plant before it can develop and give the fruit it was intended to produce.  There also is seed that falls on the rock of death coming through abortion, euthanasia, and genetic manipulation and never is given the opportunity to sprout.  The herd mentality is full of “rabbit holes” and death traps that claim to be truth and for a greater cause.  Some have come to believe that the end justifies the means but scripture reminds us “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Proverbs 14:12).  Jesus tells us by the fruit you shall know who is a child of God. 

Christ is the sower who can transform us when we live by faith in the word of God celebrated in the liturgy of the Mass.  The Mass has two main parts, the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist and together they are the revelation of God’s presence with us.  The transformation by faith leads to justification and justification to salvation through the works of faith.  “The just shall flourish…they shall bear fruit in old age” the fruit of salvation for the kingdom of God.  The fruit of salvation begins as a mustard seed in the waters of baptism.  How it sprouts and grows are the works of faith through the Holy Spirit.  We are reminded that “Jesus saves” but he cannot save us without us.  Jesus joined our humanity to raise us into his deity for a glorious eternity. 

We are a creation of God not science and God has a purpose for each of us, a divine purpose.  We should never grow tired of seeking our divine purpose for it does not come as a single act we check off as done.  Our divine purpose is a daily call to be the difference through Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit as our offering to God the Father.  Our divine purpose this day, this hour is to make an offering of ourselves in the sacrifice of the Mass in our worship joined in fellowship with a community of faith “For where two or three are gathered together in my name there am I in the midst of them.” (Mt. 18:20)

Our divine purpose carries a daily cross but also joy and peace because God is with us.  We are to trust more in God and fear less of the world.  We are to love more and worry less what the world fears.   We are to seek more the kingdom of God and seek less what the world wants to offer.  We are to pray more “thy will be done” and demand less to have it our way.  We are to wait more upon the Lord for the treasure from heaven than to go down every “rabbit hole” of worldly pleasure.  There is God’s way to heaven and then there are endless ways to hell.  The early Christians were known to follow “the way”.  Are we living “the way of Jesus”?

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Homily The Deacon Joe

Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Ex. 24:3-8; Ps. 116:12-13, 15-18; Heb. 9:11-15; Mk. 14:12-16, 22-26

The Passover lamb is the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ shed for many obtaining eternal redemption for those who come to believe.  The blood and sacrifice of young bulls from the old covenant with God is now the most perfect blood and sacrifice of Jesus for the new covenant of salvation.  Jesus the “more perfect tabernacle” and high priest by his body and blood is the mediator for deliverance from transgressions under the new covenant. 

The first covenant coming from the Father through Moses is the law of “word and ordinances” but Jesus comes with the more perfect covenant of love of God and neighbor in the second covenant.  The word and the law are now incarnate in the person of Jesus for the mercy and love of Abba Father.  In the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ the word and law are incarnated into who we are not simply what we do, we are children of the Most-High God living the word in the Trinity, with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 

When we take up the cup of salvation in Christ’s body and blood, we “bless the Lord God, and (we) ask him to make all your paths straight and to grant success to all your endeavors and plans” says Tobit 4:19.  Our God is a God engaged in our lives leading the way when we seek him, we will find him there with us.  Our souls proclaim the greatness of the Lord because we receive him body, blood, soul, and divinity in the Eucharist.  This is the promise he made to be with us until the end of time.  Praise be to God! 

When Jesus offers the Passover with his disciples in the large upper room instituting his body and blood as the new covenant, he is about to offer himself up “which will be shed for many” but there is one disciple, Judas who receives his body and blood in a spirit of unfaithfulness about to betray him.  Christ knows the heart of his disciples but allows it to happen in his sorrowful passion.  Judas then suffers the consequence of his betrayal as his conscience can no longer defend his own actions and death comes to the sinner. 

Today the church faces a similar dilemma about to be addressed by the USCCB (United States Catholic Conference of Bishops).  How is the church to respond to Catholics who openly stand against the teachings of the church in the public square but come to receive communion in the church?  The ethical and moral dilemma of receiving communion in a state of mortal sin has major consequences for the soul of the person who knowingly participates in communion in defiance of church teaching.  This dilemma extends into every Diocese and church. 

How is the church to respond is the question USCCB is about to address and there are arguments already being made by Bishops for and against denying communion to a person who openly stands against the teachings of the church.  In the early church beginnings, they faced many major dilemmas regarding the word and the law of the new covenant.  Decisions were needed regarding circumcision of the Gentiles, when someone committed a mortal sin, did they need to be rebaptized, and how to treat Christians who denied the faith in order to save their lives or agreed to worship other gods for the same reason.  These dilemmas were debated not with the spirit to punish but with the goal of sustaining a unified church. 

The Church has always come together to face these challenges as a unified voice recalling the Word “whose sins you forgive are forgiven and whose sins you retain are retained.”  We recall our confession of faith, the Church is one, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic church.  It carries the cross of Christ to bear fruit and shepherd it’s people.  Just as the people answered Moses, “We will do everything that the Lord has told us”, we are called to follow church teachings in the same spirit as coming from the Lord.  They did it through Moses the mediator for they did not hear the voice of God themselves but trusted in Moses speaking for God.  We are to look to the church for the answer to love and justice coming from God when receiving his body and blood in communion. 

We are living in a time of watered-down faith where many even within the church have lost the belief in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist.  According to Pew Research “Just 31% of U.S. Catholics believe that the bread and wine used in Communion become the body and blood of Christ (www.pewresearch.org).  The majority of Catholics see the Eucharist as “symbols” of the body and blood of Christ.  Of course, 100% of people who identify as Catholic don’t come to Mass every Sunday otherwise we would have to build megachurches to hold everyone.   We have too many who come only for Christmas, Easter, and Ash Wednesday to receive any foundation of teaching worthy of a well-informed conscience. 

Jesus says, “Take it; this is my body” and again “This is my blood of the covenant”.  The definition of “is” is not ambiguous but clear and direct.  There is nothing in his word that indicates it is a sign or symbol as many want to believe.  In fact, it is the reason many left him because they understood clearly what he had said and found it difficult to accept his teaching.  Saint Ambrose reminds us that if God can create something from nothing, he can surely take a substance and transform it into his human flesh or as we say today “transubstantiate” it.  We have only to look at the many Eucharistic miracles to believe. 

If the majority of Catholics treat the Eucharist as symbols then the Church has a greater dilemma that just a few persons who publicly receive communion and stand against the teachings of the Church.  It reflects the loss of “fear of the Lord”.  Fear of the Lord is the love of the Lord not wanting to grieve him by our sins of disobedience.  Jesus offers us his body and blood to unite us to the Holy Trinity in love of the Lord to fear causing grief to his sacrificial love.  In doing so we bring harm unto ourselves and to his body the church. 

Imagine who does harm to the love of a child, a spouse or a friend by actively and willingly causing them an act of abuse, neglect, or exploitation, and yet it happens. When it happens, there is an outcry by society and laws to protect the innocent.  When it happens within the church there is also Canon law to protect the body of the church.   It happens when we lose our fear of the Lord becoming our own god by creating our own rules and justifications according to our own conscience.  Our conscience can become grievously misinformed and misguided even by the majority view unless we trust in a higher authority. 

The “herd” mentality creates a shadow of false truth under which many are willing to follow just as Adam followed Eve in committing sin but his excuse did not spare him the consequence of his sin.  Let us recall 1 Timothy 4:2 “Through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared” many have fallen into sin with a herd mentality.  In the day of judgement there will be no herd to justify us but there will be a herd gathered “to be thrown into the hell of fire” (Matthew 18:9).

Moses was the mediator for the people to Abba Father.  Jesus is our mediator to Abba Father and the Holy Spirit is the mediator for the Church authority guiding the Church to bind and to loosen in heaven.  Without authority and left to our own conscience there is no church unity, no Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church to provide us the foundation of faith.  We become one sinful, divided and isolated church of one, a follower of self only. 

The Church has a long history of tradition in creating a well-informed conscience with guiding principles based on the Word of God and prayer through the Holy Spirit.  A key guiding principle is the salvation of souls.  When scripture tells us: “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” (James 4:17); “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23); “But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear” (Isaiah 59:2); “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Proverbs 14:12); “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8); and finally “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that  will he also reap” (Galatians 6:7), take that to the “bank”.  What will we reap if all we have to say on the day of judgement is “I followed my conscience”?  Let us pray it is not Mathew 24:51 “And will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites.  In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 

The Word calls us to an accountability with love as Galatians 6:1 says, “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness.  Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.”  What are we to be tempted by?  Could it be the temptation to appear more righteous in the law than in the love of God?  Whatever the USCCB decides one thing is certain, the spirit of God binds love with action.  To “look the other way” is to bear the sin of omission so we are to join in prayer for all souls who knowingly choose to ignore the teachings and precepts of the church and have an examination of conscience with an honest assessment of our own actions as well. 

We live in a culture where many identify as “spiritual” rather than religious where the spirituality of many claim “as long as my conscience is clear” such as “As long as my conscience is clear I can miss Mass, I can promote abortions, I can receive communion”.  The fallacy of this philosophy comes from 2 Corinthians 11:3 “But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ” his body and blood, soul and divinity.  Authority from Christ is what protects the Church from false teaching and guides his people in the way of truth.  There is not “my truth and your truth” as modern times promotes its relativism but the Truth handed down from the beginning of time.  The truth of his body and blood in the Eucharist is sacred.  Let us recall the words of prayer, “Lord I am not worthy but only say the Word and my soul shall be healed.”  We are on Holy ground, let us come and adore! 

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Homily The Deacon Joe

Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity “Abba, Father!”

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Deut. 4:32-34, 39-40; Ps. 34:4-6, 9, 18-20, 22; Rom. 8:14-17; Mat. 28:16-20

Abba, Father is in the Son and the great “I Am” together with the Son proclaim, “I am with you always, until the end of the age” through the Holy Spirit.  The unknowable mystery of the Holy Trinity, God in three persons is knowable by the incarnation of Jesus the visible sign of God and the invisible but knowable Spirit that moves within our souls as children of God and “heirs with Christ if only we suffer with him”.  “Did anything so great ever happen before?”  It is the greatness of Abba Father coming to us in the incarnation of Jesus Christ with the fire of the Holy Spirit. 

“Ask now” how are we to suffer with him?  Moses says to his people to “Ask now” and question themselves if “anything so great ever happen before” that they have seen or heard from God who has been their Abba Father giving them victory over the powers of other nations.  For what they witnessed “by signs and wonders, by war, with strong hand and outstretched arm and by great terrors” they are to “keep his statutes and commandments”.  This is how we are to suffering with him.   When we keep his statutes and commandments, we suffer with him living a virtuous life in the face of the enemy who is ready to devour us with the powers of evil.  Ask now for the grace to suffer with Christ “that we may also be glorified with him.”

Something greater than Moses has entered into the world and remains with us in Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity.  He remains with us through the Eucharist to suffer with us if only we suffer with him for our sins and the sins of the world.  He remains with us through the Holy Spirit with the gifts of the Holy Spirit to be our compass of peace and direction when the signs of fear come to threaten our joy and salvation. 

There is a time to suffer in silence and prayer as we wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit as the disciples waited in the upper room in prayer after the ascension of Jesus.  Once the Holy Spirit descended upon them came the time to suffer by the act of proclaiming one God in three persons.  The means to suffer in silence is through prayer while the means to suffer in act is through the commandments.  Love one another is not a choice but a commandment in good times and in bad.  We are to pick up the cross of love and carry it as Jesus did even as he was being rejected and crucified, he prayed to Abba Father to forgive them.  Forgiving our enemies is an act of love of God and obedience to the commandments. 

We live in a nation that seeks to claim its headship in three coequal branches of government.  In the headship of government is an independence of disunity with a multiplicity of shades of truth, goodness for some but not others, beauty found in power not love and serving the purpose of special interest groups and not all.  It is an imperfect relationship with limits of authority.  In the Trinity we have a unity of three persons reflecting the one truth, one goodness, one beauty, and one love for the one purpose of our salvation that has no bounds.  As in the time of old nation rises against nation, people against people, and the power to rule by division is the work of evil breaking all the commandments.  This is not a promotion for antigovernment but a call to the reality of a broken world in need of the unity under the one triune God. 

Separation of church and state in our times is seen as the power of the state to silence the voice of the church in the public square yet it was in the public square where the apostles went forth to proclaim the truth of the Trinity.  It was a threat to both the ruling church and state yet they suffered for the cross by their voice in the public square.  Perfect love comes to those who accept the cross to suffer with our triune God not in secret but as witnesses to faith. 

We can grieve each person of the Trinity.  We grieve Abba Father when we welcome sin and fear not to grieve him or seek his mercy.  We grieve Jesus as friend when we seek him not by not coming to receive him body, blood, soul and divinity in the Eucharist.  We grieve the Holy Spirit when we seek him not in the sacraments of the Church through which we invite the gifts of the Holy Spirit to come into our lives. 

Perfect love is the unity of the Trinity as one God in three Persons each reflecting the love of the other.  The Holy Spirit in us reflects the love of Jesus as our savior.  Jesus reflects the love of Abba Father as the Word became flesh to be the visible God with us.  God the Father reflects the glory of his perfect love in Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit.  Each give light to the other as we are called to give light to his love by our love.  There is the old expression “three is a company, four is a crowd”.  We are to live in communion as a “crowd” of believers in perfect love.  There cannot be simply “God and I” without the other who we are called to love. 

How we reflect the love of God and humanity in our personhood brings us closer to the perfect love we are called to live.  We behold the glory of God and enter into heaven according to the measure of our love.  What glory is there for as parent to wake up in the middle of the night to change a crying baby’s diaper unless the act comes out of love for the child.  In the same way what glory is there for spending one-third of the day at work investing in the success of the owner if the purpose is simply to receive a check.  Or what glory is there for the athlete to train for hours knowing the main prize will only go to the one who comes in first if not for the act of training itself being a reward to glory in.  Glory comes in the act of love the moment in which we recognize God is present and our act gives glory to him.  This is our unity and walk to heaven. 

Again, we behold the glory of God and enter into heaven according to the measure of our love.  In Abba Father’s house there are many mansions but not all reflect the same measure of love coming from us for God.  How we reflect our love of God in this world matters how we will view the glory of God in the next.  The treasure we build for God will transcend this world with the measure of glory to come.  All things matter for God and what we do for the least we are doing for Abba Father. 

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Homily The Deacon Joe

Pentecost – Solemnity “Jesus is Lord”

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Acts 2:1-11; Ps. 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34; 1 Cor. 12:3b-7,12-13; Jn. 20:19-23

“Jesus is Lord” is spoken by the believer as a confirmation of faith through the Holy Spirit with the grace to be proclaimed to the world.  Those possessed by evil cannot make this claim for it is an anathema to Satan.  “Jesus is Lord” is a proclamation of the Trinity as three persons in one God from the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit.  Just as we are to pray “In the name of Jesus” we are to proclaim “Jesus is Lord” as children of the highest God creator of all, there is no other.

Before Easter we enter into the time of Lent for forty days to fulfill the sacrifice that brings us Jesus our Lord through his passion, death, and resurrection.  Now is the time to fulfill the coming of Pentecost through the nine days after Jesus ascension and fifty days after Easter.  It is the coming of the Holy Spirit to give birth to the Church who is to forgive and retain sins.  The Church through the Holy Spirit works to discern the moral, ethical, and spiritual practices of the people of God as both an institution and through the body of Jesus our Lord.  Jesus is Lord of his bride the church and all who come to receive him in the Eucharist as one body in one Spirit though many parts. It is the same Spirit.

We see in the first reading the gift of the Holy Spirit as “tongues as of fire” coming to rest on now the apostles giving them the power to speak in different languages to all gathered in Jerusalem from the ends of the “world”.  This Spirit comes to us with “different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit…for some benefit.”  What is our gift and are we in service of our gift “for some benefit” of God’s greater good?  It is a treasure to do the labor of love. 

We are to reflect on the “benefit” coming from our gifts.  Who benefits?  Is our life lived for simply our benefit, our treasure, our glory or are we serving someone greater than ourselves?  That is the question where the answer will bring us to salvation where the only true answer is “Jesus is Lord” of my life.  If Jesus is Lord of my life then we offer up ourselves as a sacrifice for the benefit God wants to deliver through us in all our encounters this day.  It is in the encounter where the Lord makes his presence known beginning with the encounter in Mass and as we go forth to encounter the world. 

In a world of sin, we need the fire of the Holy Spirit to raise us up with the gifts of fortitude, justice, prudence, and temperance known as the Cardinal Virtues to go into battle as the militant church on earth.  After Jesus “breathes” on the disciples and ascends into heaven, they pray their “novena” that is their nine days in wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit to bring them the confirmation of their call to go forth as Apostles and proclaim the good news. 

In the Charismatic movement the gift of tongues is a spiritual gift of loving God with all our hearts, minds, and souls in worship often described as “slain in the spirit”.  It is the joy and fire coming to the poor in spirit who die to self to be raised in Jesus our Lord.  The poor in spirit are predisposed to receive the gift by virtue of their humility.  Humility is the gateway to all the spiritual gifts.  Just as Jesus is the cornerstone of salvation through the church the Holy Spirit is the cornerstone of the spiritual gifts through humility in dying to self that Jesus may rise in us. 

In the gospel Jesus appears to the disciples after the resurrection and breathes on them giving them the authority to forgive or retain sins through the gift of the Holy Spirit.  It is a ministerial gift set aside for the church priesthood.  It is not the gift of tongues but the same Spirit belonging to the one body of Christ.   In our confirmation within the Church the spirit comes to us giving us the gift that will serve God for some benefit.  Do we recognize our gift given to us for the benefit of a greater good?  Let the fruit of our gifts be multiplied by each act of service coming from the gifts. 

We are to discern the gifts of the Holy Spirit that lights our fire our joy and brings us peace.  It is our calling and we are not to set it aside or we will wander in the desert in search of the promise land already waiting for us.  Let us stay in the Spirit with Jesus our Lord and neither wonder nor wander but move in the Spirit for the benefit of our salvation and of the whole world.  “Peace be with you…and with your Spirit” who comes to us this day announcing “Jesus is Lord”. The time has come, now is the time to enter into the Spirit and take up our gift to Jesus our Lord. 

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Homily The Deacon Joe

Ascension of the Lord – The Father’s Promise!

Posted on by Deacon Joe

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

 The Father’s promise is “I will be with you through the baptism of the Holy Spirit”.  The Father’s promise is to be with us as he has through salvation history as we read in Genesis 26:3 “I will be with you and bless you”; Genesis 31:3 “Then the Lord said to Jacob: Return to the land of your ancestors, where you were born, and I will be with you”; Exodus 3:12 “God answered “I will be with you and this will be your sign”; Joshua 1:5 “As I was with Moses, I will be with you I will not leave not leave you or forsake you”; “Isaiah 43:2 “When you pass through waters, I will be with you through the rivers you shall not be swept away”.   The Father’s promise has a major “If” in 1 Kings 11:38 “If, then you heed all that I command you, walking in my ways, and do what is right in my eyes by keeping my statutes and my commandments like David my servant, I will be with you.”  The Father’s promise is for those who surrender to the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit he is with us. 

The Father’s promise is a Spirit of wisdom and revelation given to those who believe and are baptized to “go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel” while the Lord continues to work with us “through accompanying signs.”  Jesus appearance to the disciples for forty days after his resurrection and before his Ascension bringing about the transformation of his disciples into apostles to lead his church with the promise of the Holy Spirit.  The Father’s promise is one of a “surpassing greatness of his power” and protection in the name above all names that in the name of Jesus comes the authority to face the evil of our times. 

The evil of our times comes is a cultural war for the souls of people.  Just as the Lord continues to work with us and through us so does the evil one continues to work against us and through others in our battle for the souls of God’s people.  The signs of our time drive out demons through the waters of baptism and the Holy Spirit for those who believe the Word of God and follow his commandments.  Demonic spirits work though others to create chaos claiming evil in the streets is justified for injustice in the world, lies are justified for a cause while others who speak truth must be silenced, even death is claimed as justified for the right to choose self over others beginning with the unborn. 

In Jesus name we are to pick up these “serpents” of ideologues that prowl about the world for the souls of the innocent with our “hands” of the truth of the gospel and fear not.  The poison we are fed to drink are the ideologies that create division raising the power of the state over the rights of the church. These will not harm us when we hold to the truth of the gospel message.  Today many have fallen “sick” to the secular normalization to degenderize male and female, to separate church from state, to divide faith from science, and to raise one race above another as racist from birth.  All these poisons cannot stand when the people of God go forth to speak the truth of the gospel message.  It is a message of the love of God and a promise to be with us until the end of the world.

The Father’s promise is to be with us as he works through us in the fight for souls against the powers of darkness with the light of truth.  Today our children are being taught to see the world through the lens of racial bias simply based on the color of a person’s skin regardless of individual views and it falls under the title of “Critical Race Theory” which is no more than an attempt to gain power of one group over another.  Any attempt to voice opposition is quickly labeled “microaggression” for speaking out with an opposing view meant to silence dialogue not engage in dialogue but we are called to go out with the right to speak the gospel message trusting in the Father’s promise, united to Jesus’ Word and with the power of the Holy Spirit. 

The Father’s promise to be with us, to navigate our path does not promise the “easy road”.  Just by looking back to all the martyrs who suffered and died for the faith we know we must pick up our cross and follow the “road less traveled” of which many have chosen to fall away.  Who will remain standing with the Lord?  What other promise can we look for?  The promise of the evil one was “you will be like gods” proven to be the greatest lie and yet it is the path this world continues to seek to be your own god, have your own “truth”, identify yourself in whatever gender of choice, and live your life for yourself above others.  In the end it comes down to these two choices, the Father’s promise or the promise of the Evil one. 

The Father sent the Son who left us with these words, “My children, I will be with you only a little while longer.  You will look for me, and as I told the Jews, ‘Where I go you cannot come,’ so now I say it to you.  I give you a new commandment: love one another.  As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.  This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”  Jesus does not leave us with a critical race theory but with the commandment of love, truth, unity and goodness for one another.  This is the truth of inclusiveness that brings us the promise of the Father. 

The Father’s promise is not a theory of humanity but the essence of life coming from our creator, redeemer, and sanctifier.  Let us remain in him and in his promise this day until the day we will see him face to face.  Let us pray for the promise of the Father’s mercy for those who do not believe, do not accept, and do not follow the only promise that brings us salvation and heaven.

We celebrate the Ascension of the Lord after “He presented himself alive to them by many proofs…appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God”.  The biggest proof is he is alive!  Had he not presented himself alive the world would be reading about one more prophet still waiting for the messiah to come.  Instead, Jesus is the cornerstone of salvation and the promise has arrived for those who believe and accept God is with us. 

As the disciples were to be transformed into apostles with the coming of the Holy Spirit, they waited in Jerusalem for nine days in prayer.  Tradition now waits in prayer for nine days when we do a novena for the promise to come in answer to our prayers.  Let this day be the beginning of a novena for us in our homes and in our personal prayer life.  Let us pray for the Lord to come with the power of the Holy Spirit with the grace we need to go forth “to the ends of the earth” without fear. 

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Homily

6th Sunday of Easter – God is Love, Happy Mother’s Day!

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48; Ps. 98:1-4; 1 Jn. 4:07-10; Jn. 15:9-17

God is love and what a more perfect moment to recognize the great love of motherhood beginning with our Blessed Mother Mary who gave her fiat to bring us the child Jesus for the redemption of the world.  May is the month of Mary and Mother’s Day is in May uniting the motherhood of all moms to the Blessed Mother’s love for her son.  What an advocate for moms who share a special bond to Mary as a mother who carries her child in the womb knowing it is born out of love. 

Close to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem is a shrine called the Milk Grotto.  It is more of a cave where according to tradition Mary and Joseph stayed on their way to Egypt.  Mary nursed baby Jesus and a drop of Mary’s milk fell upon the stone and it turned white.  In our pilgrimage to Bethlehem on the West Bank we stopped at the Milk Grotto and saw the white walls of the cave listened to the stories of miracles attributed to the Mary at the Grotto especially for women who were having trouble to conceive and became pregnant. 

An iconic image of Mary breastfeeding Jesus is a reminder that from the breast of Mary’s milk Jesus fed dependent upon her humanity as an infant.  It is also a reminder of St. Joseph the protector guardian of the Holy Family.   Jesus continues to look to our humanity and his church to provide his people with the food of heaven in the Eucharist and the spirit of truth in his Word as a shield of protection against the gods of fear and deception in the cultural war against the values and practices of the faith.  This is love in action. 

In the first reading from Acts we see how the Word of God is love and those who receive the word receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  The Word is not a voice from heaven but the voice of his apostles as Peter says, “I myself am also a human being” who bring his Word to “every nation”.  In this reading we see how the Word alone has power to bring to the Gentiles the gift of the Holy Spirit before baptism that is why we speak of being baptized in the spirit already as children of God for the Spirit rests where love of God abounds. God is love and baptism is the new circumcision of our hearts to give us the sign of God’s love remaining with us. 

Love is the seed of God himself and when we nurture our love, we come closer to the truth that God exists to know him and love him.  God has come into the world through his Son Jesus “as expiation for our sins” that we may receive a greater love, a more perfect love for one another.   The gospel reading continues Jesus’ kerygma to remain in him by remaining in his love.  This is the “how to” remain in him that it comes through love and love come through keeping the commandments.  Thus, love is not an emotional sensation but a covenant with God the Father to stay true to his commandments as the visible sign of true love.

Jesus discourse now takes on a more perfect sign of the commandments from obedience to the law of the Father to the act of love for one another in serving each other as he loves us in coming to serve us.  Jesus gave testimony of his love by healing, teaching, expelling demons, sanctifying the waters for baptism, and suffering his passion of love for us in death to self with the power to rise again.  Are we ready to suffer for one another?  The Apostles did just that and many suffered martyrdom giving completely of themselves to bring the good news of Jesus to the world.  Jesus lets his disciples know “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” and in his divinity he joined our humanity to be one with us and calls us his “friends”.  In Jesus, love rises from the dead victorious. 

Jesus lets his disciples know he calls them friends because he has shared everything he has heard from the Father.  Then Jesus gives a formula to the disciples and for us to follow, “whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give to you”.  Jesus places himself as our intercessor to the Father so that when we pray, we are to pray “in the name of Jesus” so his sacrifice of redemption for our sins may also be united to our prayers and not have our sins stand in the way.  Thus, when we unite our imperfect love to Jesus’ perfect love we are transformed into the light of heaven with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 

Our prayers begin with the sign of the cross “In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit” calling upon the Trinity.  When our prayer becomes our “ask” let us do so by calling out “in the name of Jesus” for he calls us friends and carries our prayers to the Father.  Then we can turn to our Blessed Mother who reminds us “do whatever he (Jesus) tells you”.

Jesus calls us “friends” and we can then turn this word into an acronym, F.R.I.E.N.D.S. to recognize God is love in his friendship with us.

“F” is for “Faithful” and Jesus is faithful.  He is faithful to his promises and his covenant of love as he continues to suffer for our unfaithfulness when we choose sin over his love. A friend of others is a friend of Jesus as he calls us to love one another.  We live in a time when we have lost sight of our neighbor and we can even become strangers to each other in our home. 

“R” is for “Respect” and Jesus respects our free will.  In his gentleness Jesus waits for our response to his love respecting the choice we make will ultimately make us into his friend or a stranger.  Respect is a sign of love so children show respect to your parents but also parents show respect to your children given by God and belonging to God.  We live in a time of extreme child abuse beginning with abortion, child trafficking, and sex slave trade. 

“I” is for “Interested” and Jesus is interested in every thought and feeling and act we do.  He knows our every hair meaning he knows us even better than we know ourselves.  Jesus is interested in us spending time with him behind closed doors in silence, in prayer, in adoration.  He wants us to be interested in him and to look at him as he looks on us, to contemplate him on the cross for all of his suffering and in the Eucharist for all of his glory.  We live in a time of mass distraction beginning with the phone and the internet and silence is a lost art.  Jesus comes in the silence of the moment. 

“E” is for “Enjoy” and Jesus enjoys loving us as friends.  Friendship is a joy to share when we become open and vulnerable to another by sharing our hopes, fears, dreams and love.  In a world of finite time when we make time to enjoy our time together a moment becomes an infinite joy and memory to ponder.  We live in a time where the cultural war creates division fostering what divides us rather than what unites us stealing our joy in being one family, one nation, one world to enjoy under God. 

“N” is for “Nurture” and Jesus does nurture his friends with his love.  Just as a mother is instinctively nurturing to an infant, we have forgotten how to nurture each other.  Men can be a bit clumsy in their nurturing skills that is why it is said “a dog is man’s best friend” because it is hard to trust a man with a baby but we are getting better waiting for them to grow up and play rough.  Nurturing comes with touch and we live in a time where fear is avoiding touch and social distancing is becoming the norm.  Let us not be afraid that we were made for touch and let it begin with Jesus touching our hearts. 

“D” is for “Dialogue” and Jesus speaks to us in dialogue through prayer, through fellowship, through his Word in scripture and through the quieting of our souls.  It is tempting to say our prayers, rush through a rosary, and never stop to quiet our souls and listen for the voice of God to dialogue with us.  How do we know when it is God speaking and not our own deceiving thoughts?  Some will say God spoke to me and gave me a word of knowledge.  What does this mean?  It means that it we could not have arrived at it on our own but came through inspiration of the Holy Spirit as a confirmation of faith, hope, and love.  We live in a time when the discourse of “dialogue” has been replaced by shouting, monologues, constant interruptions and demands for “safe spaces” where only those who share common views may enter.  If we cannot listen to others how will we listen to Jesus? 

“S” is for “Sacrifice” and Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice of a friend to give up his life for our salvation. Mother’s begin to give life to a child through the sacrifice of their body beginning with the early signs of “Morning” sickness learning to understand the needs of their child before a word is spoken. The motherhood of a Mother is sacrifice and support. Jesus is there to support us when we turn to him and when we offer up our sacrifice of love for a greater good.  Often, we look for support everywhere or nowhere thinking we have to do it ourselves but have we allowed Jesus into our lives to be our support?  Jesus is there when we call upon him, when we pray to the Father in the name of Jesus, when we look to support each other we invite Jesus into our relationships. 

Now is the time to rise above a culture of death and bring back the culture of friendship through the love of Jesus.  Now is the time to be friends through the sacrifice of love. He calls us “friends” are we his friend?  Happy Mother’s Day Blessed Mother and to all Moms and grandmas!  Let us offer a prayer of love for our mothers who made many a sacrifice for us and are one of the reasons we are here in Mass in in this world today. Happy Blessed day to all of Jesus’ friends.

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Homily The Deacon Joe

5th Sunday of Easter – Remain in me

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Acts 9:26-31; Ps. 22:26-28, 30-32; 1 Jn. 3:18-24; Jn. 15:1-8

“Remain in me, as I remain in you.”  In Jesus we can do all things and bear fruit for whatever we ask.   Jesus reminds us, “because without me we can do nothing”.  This bears the question, “how much are we doing to bear fruit for the kingdom of God?”  Does it cross our mind or even a concern of ours that God has a purpose for us?  We did not come into the world to be our own God as the secular world leads us to believe.  It is not all about “Me” it is about “Him”.  Jesus did not come into the world to be served but to serve and be one with the Father.  This is how we remain in him when we allow him to be one with us.  Why would we not desire his oneness in us and in all who we love? 

The power of God’s grace is there for us to take up on the road to holiness.  Remaining in Jesus is an act of the will to keep his commandments, an act of faith to believe in the name of Jesus Christ, and an act of love for each other in our charity.  In Jesus we see the fruit of our every day blessings those we bring to each other when we remain in him.  Apart from him only darkness and sin remain with death as the companion. 

Spiritual formation calls for pruning the spirit to grow straight towards the “Son”.  The first pruning is in baptism for the removal of original sin.  It does not end there it is just beginning.  In the first reading Barnabas takes charge of Saul and brought him to the apostles because they feared him.  In life we don’t get to heaven “figuring it out” by ourselves.  Parents take charge of their children to bring them to the waters of baptism, to send them to catechesis and to bring them to Mass.  Parents who say let them grow up and “figure it out” if they want baptism or what faith to follow, are not taking charge of the faith of their children as stewards of their flock.  There is a reason for children to be called “kids” like goats because they need the pruning of discipline and guidance not just for behavior but for spiritual development. 

If we reflect back on our faith, we will recognize a “Barnabas” in our lives who took charge of bringing us to Jesus.  Often it is our parents who read us bible stories, shared their faith and taught us to come to church but not all.  Unfortunately, there are many stories by adults who grew up with no faith development and yet along the path a “Barnabas” came into their lives and invited them to church or shared their conversion story, or just by the fruit of their faith demonstrated a peace and joy that attracted others to seek that peace.  Who was “Barnabas” to you that has you here this day instead of “out there” trying to figure it out on your own? 

In my own story, I identify my mother as the “Barnabas” who took charge of me bringing me as an infant to be baptized to receive not only the gift of the Holy Spirit but for Jesus to remain in me as I struggled with my own faith growing up.  She taught me to seek him in scripture and made sure I prayed each morning before going to school and each evening kneeling down by my bed before going to sleep.  That alone remained with me during my wandering days as a youth and young adult.  We should say a prayer of thanksgiving for our “Barnabas”. 

Sometimes it is the one who brought us back to give the church an opportunity for hope and direction in our lives.  It can happen in a retreat, in a confession or even in the workplace.  It can be our spouse, a sponsor for our sacraments, our grandparents, or simply a friend but the miracle of conversion comes through relationship.  Saul’s conversion began with Jesus appearance speaking to him.  Jesus sent Ananias to open the eyes of Saul in his conversion after being blinded by Jesus appearance. Then Barnabas took charge of him to bring him to the apostles as the visible church of Christ.  In Saul’s conversion it was a series of people who took charge to fulfill on step in his journey.  We too can look back to how in each step of our faith development it may not have been just one person but a number of people that kept us going in the right direction. 

God not only puts others in our path of faith but he is also calling us to be instruments of his love in the faith of others.  Who do we claim to have served as an instrument of God in bringing them one step closer to their conversion?  Ultimately it is God who does the miracle but by remaining in Jesus we will “bear much fruit”.  In the end God will reveal to us the fruit we have produced and it may surprise us…all the lives we impacted for his glory.  He will also reveal the fruit we were to produce and did not and what we will bear in our purgatory for in the end justice belongs to God. 

God desires us to be difference makers, the one he calls to be the difference.  We can be as much of a difference for good and righteous as for evil and injustice.  In the end it will be one or the other.  Good and righteous does not just happen.  We take up our cross daily and prepare ourselves to respond one way or the other but nothing is neutral including the choice to not respond is an act of omission.  Better to try and do poorly than to avoid and fail completely.  If we say, I don’t want to try and fail then we have already failed by failing to try.  God rewards the effort and is in charge of the outcome. 

As Jesus remains in us, we are being pruned by our response to our daily struggles, joys, offerings and sacrifices.  In his divine providence no day goes without how we have responded to him down to even our thoughts and feelings.  Do we let go and let God work through us as we trust in him?  Problems don’t go away.  How we respond to them is what makes for holiness.  The best response begins with prayer and leads us to follow a path guided by the Holy
Spirit.  It helps when we also call upon God’s saints, our Blessed Mother Mary and our guardian angel to intercede for us.  In fact, this is the year of St. Joseph and recall St. Joseph is the terror of demons so we can make a consecration to him to be at our side as we overcome our trials and tribulations.  But nothing will happen with all the heavenly hosts unless we place our trust in God.  Here then is the stumbling block. 

How are we to learn to trust when our lives have already felt the sting of being hurt, betrayed, rejected, and even abandoned?  Jesus lived through all of this and more in his passion and death.  In the passion of Jesus, he remains in us to overcome our suffering with us.  He is the power to live through anything and everything when he remains in us and we remain in him.  In his death he surrenders to God his spirit and gives us his spirit to fear not.  In his victory over death, he makes all things new.  We can be made new in our faith, hope, and love through the resurrection of Jesus.  He lives and remains in us.  In the resurrection we learn to trust as we focus on the risen Lord, his power to rise up in the fullness of his divinity and humanity.   The light of new hope is Jesus resurrected.  This is our Easter time to celebrate Jesus rose from the dead to remain with us. 

At the end of the diaconate program there was a celebration with the Bishop and I was given the opportunity to speak on behalf of the candidates.  I gave the Bishop a gift.  The gift was pruning shears and asked him to be gentle as we move into our call as deacons.  Jesus is the gentle shepherd who does his shearing of us that our wool will serve to make great blessings in the lives of others and then as sheep we grow new wool that is even greater graces coming from God. 

Psychology teaches that our temperament is inherited at 60% and our character is learned at 40% and together that makes our personality.  That 40% that we learn in our character is the pruning we gain in our life experiences to grow straight as we allow God to remain in us.  In God we gain the wisdom to see his hand in our lives and take each moment to be the best we were created to be making it a God moment. 

Remaining in Jesus is placing our trust in him and this is where the pruning is a true sacrifice.  Let Jesus be our voice and the Holy Spirit our heart and the Father’s will our action.  That is grace at work. 

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Homily

4th Sunday of Easter – The Good Shepherd

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Acts 4:8-12; Ps. 118:1, 8-9, 21-23, 26,28-29; 1 Jn. 3:1-2; Jn. 10:11-18

The good shepherd is Jesus Christ who laid down his life for us his sheep “by which we are to be saved.”  The Catholic Church proclaims the primacy of Peter for the one Holy, Catholic and Apostolic church given to us by Jesus as the cornerstone of our faith.  Jesus the good shepherd is the one under who our salvation is to be revealed to be like him, that is to be holy, catholic and apostolic as shepherds of our flock.   We pray in faith “Jesus, I trust in you”.  We are also given God’s grace to be like him as shepherds of the flock he has trusted us to lead.  Will we stand with the courage to give of ourselves for our flock or will we be like the hired man who sees the danger of the “wolf” in today’s cultural war coming to attack and runs away, that is runs away with no ownership except for their own survival. 

In the reading from Acts, “Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit” declares Jesus the Nazorean is the only name that brings us salvation.  What about the souls who have not received the name of Jesus as their Lord and savior?  Jesus lets us know he has “other sheep that do not belong to this fold” who will hear his voice and be of the one flock under the one shepherd.  Jesus came to his own, that is “all the people of Israel” yet his voice was received by Jew and by the other sheep, the Gentile alike who were converted and came to believe in the Son of God.  His voice was to spread to the ends of the world to bring all to salvation.  Do we have any ownership to witness to these sheep, the unchurched and bring them into the flock?  God places others in our path, like today’s modern day “none” who claim no religious affiliation with an opportunity to share the gospel message of salvation as Catholics. 

In the history of the world there is repeatedly a rise of wolves promoting a “Great evil done in the name of a great good”.  The crucifixion was a great evil believing it was better for one to die in the name of a greater good to preserve the Jewish customs.  The Holocaust was a great evil believing it was a great good to exterminate what was proclaimed as an inferior people.  We have seen the great evil of abortion done in the name of a great good defending the “right to choose” life or death of a child.  The evil of the death of a child in the womb seen in the sonograms is validated by modern science to be the killing of a beating heart.  That is why the number of abortions continues to decline and a greater number of the young people stand for life.  As one evil slowly gets defeated there is a rise of another wolf to follow.  What is the new evil to rise up? 

Gender selection is the new evil promoted as a “greater good” to a child as “questioning” their identity.  A child before the age of mature cognitive development is promoted gender selection as a great good supported by the rise of medication assisted treatment to promote a gender change.  Once indoctrinated to choose a gender opposed to the natural law of their genetic makeup then the child is victim to a life-long process of dependency on a medical system of care to sustain the big lie against the natural law.  If any voice of contradiction should rise then it becomes imperative to be silenced by the “cancel culture”, which is the return of the past great evil that crucified Jesus Christ to silence him and his followers for speaking truth to power.  The power that saves!  These are the wolves of our time and will we stand to defend our sheep that is the children from being scattered by these wolves.

The rise of the great evil in “cancel culture” is to promote a belief in a greater good of inclusive language by canceling what is professed to be racist speech for any opposition raised to speak up for the natural law of creation.  Mandatory cultural sensitivity is the new norm for indoctrination into the accepted culture in the cultural war of the new systemic bias towards inclusivity defined as an acceptance to any identity regardless of natural law.  What is lost in the argument is that systemic bias is what is driving the cancel culture against the norms, values, and morals founded on religious beliefs and liberty. 

First God was taken out of schools in the dogma of separation of church and state.  It opened up the doors to secular rule as the only “truth” for all the sheep to hear.  Now comes a pandemic crisis calling for the closure of church gatherings as a greater good and our children to stay home not only from school but from church catechesis of the faith.  We hear of reaching herd immunity to a virus that kills by eliminating potential hosts when all have been vaccinated or survived the virus.  The cultural war is seeking to create herd immunity to religious values with mandatory cultural sensitivity training as the vaccine against church teaching.  Promoters of great evil always believe “never let a crisis go to waste”. 

Who will shepherd the faith of our children and their understanding of their creation in the image of God and the natural law of God?  Will we let them come back to the church and continue their journey of faith?  Are we ready to teach the faith as the domestic church at home which we are called to shepherd and protect?  Are we fulfilling our baptismal vows?  Questions each of us must answer and take ownership as shepherds of our flock. 

Where is God, faith, and traditional values and morals in this new cultural war?  God is present in his church and his church stands opposed to abortion, homosexuality, gender neutral identity, euthanasia, assisted suicide, and more thus it is an abomination to the “new imagining” and a threat to the cancel culture.  It is better to take refuge in the good shepherd rejected by the builders of this cancel culture than to trust in man or the princes who lead what is being called the “new imagining”.   Will the “new imagining” bring us truth, goodness, beauty and unity or a return to the original lie of the serpent “you shall be like gods” by evolving into your own creation?

We are reminded “The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.”  The cancel culture of the world is not a new phenomenon.  History proves that all the great evils done were done in the name of a great good.   The world will continue to reimagine itself into the culture of bringing about great evil for the purpose of the power that comes from it as a sheep in wolves clothing.  They hear not the voice of the Lord but their own voice of tyranny seeking to tear down in order to create a new world order.  When will the new imagining recognize there remains a heaven and hell that cannot be reimagined at the end of this life and all these visions being imagined failed to see beyond itself to the true greater good of the kingdom of God? 

The good shepherd says “I know my sheep, and mine know me.”  If we don’t have that knowledge of the good shepherd then we are invited to come to the sanctuary of salvation while there is still time.  “What we shall be has not yet been revealed” but it is not something we can reimagine.  To be “like him” is to persevere in the sacrifice of faith, hope and love for the one true good, that is for the good shepherd.  `

We are called to be one Holy, Catholic and Apostolic church.  Given the Holy Spirit at baptism we have entered into the kingdom of God to be like him, holy by seeking our identity in Jesus Christ the holy one, catholic by being united into the one body of Christ and apostolic by giving testimony of our faith by the witness of our lives.  Holiness is a gift of grace we seek in prayer to overcome the sin of our fallen nature.  It is not something we hope for after death but something we sacrifice for as disciples of the good shepherd.  We are Catholic in being united to the body of Christ when we come to receive his body and blood in the Eucharist.  Apostolic when we go forth transformed as sheep into shepherds in the image of Christ to spread to good news of Easter, Jesus is alive!  He lives in us and with us to spread the good news through us. 

Let us listen to the voice of the shepherd and be transformed into shepherds of the gifts and blessing we have been given and let us go forth to multiply the kingdom for the true greater good of salvation. 

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Homily

3rd Sunday of Easter – Jesus Christ, Advocate!

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Acts 3:13-15, 17-19; Ps. 4:2, 4, 7-9; 1 Jn. 2:1-5; Lk. 24:35-48

Jesus Christ, Advocate to the Father who is “expiation for our sins” that we may keep his word and “truly be perfected in him”.  We are perfected in him when we “keep his commandments”.  We are perfected in him when the Scriptures are opened to us to make our hearts “burn” in transformation to avoid the near temptation to sin.  We are perfected in him when Jesus is made known to us “in the breaking of bread” as we celebrate his coming in the Eucharist.  This is our Advocate who suffered, died, and rose again in victory. 

As Jesus appears once again to the disciples he asks “Have you anything here to eat?”.  Jesus not only rose from the dead but he has “flesh and bones” and an appetite.  The sting of death is transformed into the glory of the resurrected human body perfected in love.  The greatest hunger of the Lord is for souls to repent, to be converted and to return to holiness.  He is waiting for us to take that first step and seek that we should find our Advocate.  Why is it difficult for us to “ask” of him what he is waiting to give us?  Perhaps we know not how to ask.  Could it be that we ask for the wrong thing or that we simply cannot put aside our pride and have yet to repent? 

“Ask” for the Lord to reveal to us what we are to seek and to reveal if we ask wrongly.  We are to approach him with prayers and supplications. Jesus performed many miracles of healing to those who approached him in supplication.  If those who were lost knew to seek, find, and ask how much more has the path been opened to the believers to approach our Advocate to God the Father who cannot be denied.  It is time for us to rise up as believers and come to the table of the Lord in supplication for our needs and the needs of the world.  We come not with wishful thinking but with the faith to believe our Advocate can do all things in us and in the world for his glory. 

As baptized children of God we have received the gift of the Holy Spirit with the infusion of spiritual virtues of holiness to know to ask.  It begins with faith, hope, and love to unite us to the Advocate.  Ask our Advocate to increase our faith to believe in the mystery of our salvation, our hope to expect a revelation of truth, and our love to make an offering our ourselves.  “Ask” for an increase in the gift of the moral virtues of justice for right judgment, fortitude for the courage to act rightly, prudence to choose wisely and temperance to live in moderation and abstinence according to his commands of life with all its temptations.  The Lord is waiting for our “Ask”. 

Perhaps then in asking for our Advocate to reveal his will for us we discover we have yet to repent of our sin out of our pride.  We have judged incorrectly, having failed to respond courageously in the face of the attack from the enemy, and have to admit we have “acted out of ignorance” in our choices. We are now living the instability of our intemperance through the indulgence of our natural appetites and falling into the pit of darkness.  Why wait for the casualty of death to come because we have held on to our pride and denied the Lord his place as Advocate for our sins.  He stands at our side ready to give us forgiveness as he did to the thief on the cross by his side.

Jesus Christ, Advocate of mercy on the cross amends for our sins and
those of the whole world” if we but believe and repent.  “If” is the barrier between our sins and his mercy.  If first we “believe” what we profess that is that Jesus Christ is present to us and not a “ghost” of spiritualism.  He is physically present in the Eucharist!  This is a stumbling block to many, even those who profess to be believers of Christianity.  He is the food of salvation we are to hunger for as he hungers for us.  He multiplies himself to feed the world but the world does not accept him.  His mercy returns to him for it finds few places to make its dwelling place a home in the souls of the professed believers and nonbelievers also known as “None”.   Who are these who profess to be “None”? 

“None” is the modern-day identity of those who follow no religious affiliation.  They walk a journey of faith in themselves, as their own advocate of right and wrong professing their own righteousness.  Their righteousness stands while things remain in control but when a power greater than themselves shakes their foundation of faith in themselves, they crumble and fall in despair alone to suffer in their own body and soul the weakness of a godless existence.  There is “none” to advocate for them in their sins because they reach out to none.  If the “None” cannot accept our mother Church as the visible sign of Jesus Christ how can they welcome him in the invisible mystery of his presence? 

Jesus Christ, Advocate is a reminder we were created to be in unity and not in isolation.  We don’t reach out to none we reach out to Jesus Christ, King of glory.  We require the human touch to confirm our belief and strengthen our faith.  Our seven sacraments provide us the physical presence of the invisible grace being manifested in our lives.  Unity in physical presence is a “game changer” as it was when Jesus physically appeared to the disciples.  Imagine having only a vision of a loved one but without the ability to touch and experience the warmth and nature of another in our presence.  The sacramental life provides us a physical unity to be transformative.  Without touch, unity becomes an exercise of mental exchange short of perfection.

In baptism the child is touched with the sign of the cross by the priest, parents, and godparents.  The child is touched by the waters of baptism.  The child is touched in the Ephphetha on the ears to receive the word of God and on the lips to proclaim their faith as believers and they are to see in the light of the candle the light of Christ which they receive and is held before them.  The human touch is the sign and validation of unity. 

Jesus Christ, Advocate is present for our touch.  The world fears a pandemic from spreading by the closeness of our physical presence and our touch.  It seeks to create the isolation that is worse than the disease separated by clear barriers and virtual worlds.  Those who turn to the Advocate have the virtues to not fall prey to fears of the enemy under the guise of a “greater good” but moved by the spirit of the Advocate embrace each other with love and charity.  Just as a vaccine is created to protect against a virus so is the Advocate there to protect against the near occasion of sin. 

Recently having traveled into another diocese it was announced in Sunday Mass that the bishop of this diocese had earlier in the week issued a letter stating the Church of the Diocese would continue with maintaining the mask and social distancing mandates even if the State no longer was enforcing them.  Then later in the week a new letter was issued stating the Church of this Diocese would no long require any mandates and each person and family was free to determine what measures to take.  The only request was to respect the decisions of each parishioner.  The day is coming when each bishop will issue a similar letter to the faithful and we are to trust in our Advocate to guide us in spirit and truth. 

We live in times where “shaming” is a powerful weapon in the identified “cancel culture” which comes from the evil one.  It is time to rise from the dead of “cancel culture” to the truth of the “Resurrected Culture” of everlasting life.  It is time to fear not and determine personal risk factors with prudence in our decisions.  Jesus Christ, Advocate is the source of life in our “Resurrected Culture”.  There is a Spanish saying “El respeto al derercho ajeno es la paz” meaning the respect to others rights is the peace.  Jesus was, is and always will be the truth, the way, and the life to the peace he brings us as faithful servants. 

This is our Easter to rejoice and be glad.  We belong to him, we belong to the “Resurrected Culture” and it is time to rise again in faith, hope, and love and go forth to live in the kingdom of God! 

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Homily

2nd Sunday of Easter – Water and Blood!

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Acts 4:32-35; Ps. 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24; 1 Jn. 5:1-6; Jn. 20:19-31

Water and blood testified “Peace be with you” in the Spirit of truth. What did the disciples experience in the witness of the resurrected Christ?  They first experienced the calming of their fears in his greeting of peace at the shock of seeing the resurrected Christ.  They experienced Jesus physical presence marked by the wounds of his hands and side.  They experienced the breath of Jesus coming into them as the Holy Spirit with power.  They experience a command to go forth to forgive and retain sins in the same Spirit of truth as the moral compass in this world. 

The water from the side of Jesus Christ is baptizing in spirit and truth.  The blood from his side is the sacrifice of the lamb in atonement for our sins.  They work together to bring us salvation for those “who have not seen and have believed.”  The disciples saw “many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written”.  In Jesus, the disciples saw the glory of the resurrected body transcending the natural law, the glory to come for those who believe and die in the faith of Jesus Christ.

St. Tomas Aquinas wrote of the seven qualities of the resurrected body to come for those who believe.  These qualities the disciples saw in Jesus resurrected and are listed as “identity, integrity, quality, impassability, sotility, agility, and clarity.  This is our hope and God’s promise to those who believe. 

Beginning with “identity” they recognized Jesus though he was transfigured by the divine light in his identity yet coming in his divinity.  We are created with our original identity perfect yet stained by sin and humanity’s weaknesses.  When he breathed on his disciples with the gift of the Holy Spirit then their hearts, minds, and souls received his perfect identity to go forth and minister to this perfect love to the world.  These were the same disciples who in fear ran and denied Jesus now are given the power to stand and testify to the resurrection.  Alleluia!

To this identity we are given our “integrity” of body without any further decay and our senses with perfect vision, mobility, without handicap or disabilities.  No more suffering or sickness but the fullness of health in mind, body, and spirit.  Alleluia!

Perfect integrity comes with perfect “quality” of life.  What is this “prime” of quality of life in the resurrection?  It is not a number in sequence of aging in which we return to be 21 again or 33 again.  It is a state of life in the spiritual maturity to know God, love God, and serve God.  It is being the best God created us to be with the gifts of grace he pours into us.  Alleluia!

Having entered into the divine life there is an “impassability” of returning to a mortal state where disease, injury, or death return.  Death has been defeated by Jesus resurrection and with it the power of evil.  When the dead rise again, they receive the resurrected body with the impassability to return to a “reincarnation” of a fallen nature.  Alleluia! 

Jesus appears to the disciples “when the doors were locked” both times demonstrating his “sotility” to pass through material nature.  Jesus tells Thomas “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side” shows us Jesus presence in body not as a spiritual image but full in body yet not restricted by the material doors.  Before Star Track came up with “beam me up Scotty” came Jesus by his own sotility with the power to be both tangible and unrestricted.  Alleluia!

In his divinity with both body and spirit Jesus demonstrates his power of “agility” to move through space at the speed of thought as the soul obeys the will to be agile as a spark of light.  In a world where we take for granted the speed of communication in technology we remain in our humanity as slow as a turtle.  Jesus “agility” demonstrates we will receive this same agility in our resurrection to be present where the will desires.  Alleluia!

Finally, Jesus demonstrates his “clarity” free from imperfections to the degree of “charity” meaning no signs of the scourging he endured yet he remained with the perfect sign of his charity with the nail marks and scar on his side.  How is this perfect “clarity” if marked by the sign of his crucifixion?  Jesus wounds remained for Thomas to see and believe as the crucifix remains as a reminder of his suffering for our sins.  This clarity of charity is perfect love until the day of his return in glory.  Alleluia! 

Jesus was perfect in love, knowledge and understanding when he calls out Thomas “do not be unbelieving, but believe.”  Even though Jesus was not present when Thomas declared “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into into his side, I will not believe” Jesus had full knowledge of Thomas and in his love of Thomas welcomed him to believe as he invites us to believe and be blessed this Easter season.  Alleluia!  Alleluia! 

In a world with so much suffering, disease, anxiety, trauma, tragedy, and restlessness we long to receive the same peace given to the disciples and the breath of Jesus.  Jesus also longs to give us the same gift he gave to the disciples so where is the disconnect?  It begins with failing to live out the commandments even when the “are not burdensome”.  Love of God is faith in action!  We claim to have faith but our will is directed inward, not seeking the will of the Father.  Active love of God is constantly seeking “Lord what is your will?”  Resurrection comes with the death of the “old” self, opening up the soul to the inpouring of the Spirit to do the will of the Father.  This is a great step of faith.  Whoever is ready for this total surrender comes to the water and blood to rest in the peace of Christ.  The journey is a work in progress towards spiritual maturity and we all fall short along the path but Jesus remains present and waiting to lift us up and continue fighting the good fight.  Never give in to the spirit of defeat from the evil one.  In the darkest moments we will be made new again. 

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