22nd Sunday Ordinary Time “to deny himself”

Posted on August 29, 2020August 28, 2020 by Deacon Joe

Jer. 20:7-9; Ps. 63:2-6, 8-9; Rom.1-2; Mt. 16:21-27

To deny himself the “call” or his humanity, that is the question. “You duped me, O LORD, and I let myself be duped” in order to “know what is the hope that belongs to our call.” Jerimiah’s interior crisis is a sign of Jesus’ coming as he becomes the object of laughter, mocking, violence and outrage but Jerimiah tries to deny himself and cannot just as Jesus cannot deny the Lord for he would be denying himself his divinity, the “call” for which he came to fulfill and so Jesus lets himself be “duped” as a lamb for slaughter to fulfill his divinity, his “call”.

In the gospel, Jesus rebukes Peter for appealing to his own humanity and the humanity of Jesus. “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.” Jesus immediately recognizes this seduction from Peter calling out “Get behind me Satan! Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me” If we wish to come after Jesus in search of him then the first obstacle is our humanity, the interior crisis of our comfort opposed to the cross of self-denial, sacrifice, and following Jesus in responding to the divine call. Jesus comes to renew our fallen nature not to succumb to it.

Our thoughts carry a fallen nature for pleasure, profit, power, and prestige. We seek pleasure and avoid pain yet sacrifice for the good is worthy of pain as an offering to the “call”. We seek the security of profit beyond our needs yet in gaining “the whole world” we forfeit life itself in a premature death to our call. We seek power for a false sense of control what we claim as our entitlement only to see death quickly steal away our entitlement in exchange for life. We seek prestige as a place of honor at the table of our accomplishments yet if “getting to the top” only leaves us looking back at the brokenness of our past have we lost our place at the table of the Lord? This is the internal crisis we face to deny our very self is to gain ourselves the glory of God.

“Then the Son of Man will come…and then he will repay all according to his conduct.” He does not promise a reward according to our faith alone but to our conduct which is the true sign of responding in faith to our calling. What have we gained? We satisfy the thirst of our soul seeking to break the chains of our humanity and set us free to be in the presence of the Lord in his divinity. The “coming” is both now and forever. Now he comes to the aid of our transformation beginning with “the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.” This is “the hope that belongs to our call” both now and forever to be in the presence of the Lord.

The “call” is responding in the moment to the will of God in order to remain in communion that is in relationship with him discerning truth, beauty, goodness, and unity in perfect love. To be in perfect love or not to be, that is the choice and the call of the cross. In this moment what does thy will declare of us?

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Homily The Deacon Joe

21st Sunday Ordinary Time

Posted on August 22, 2020August 21, 2020 by Deacon Joe

Is. 22:19-23; Ps. 138:1-3, 6, 8; Rom.11:33-36; Mt. 16:13-20

Jesus the key to heaven! “I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus speaks to Peter these words which have since been a “key” and the cross of division not unity for the Christian people. For Catholicism “you” represents a person, Peter, the Vicar of Christ and his successors and to Protestantism represents the church self-governed by the people. Where the truth lies holds the key to authority and the cross in responding to the resistance.

In the first reading, the Lord’s servant Eliakim is given the “robe” of authority by the Lord, the “key to the House of David”. The “key” has the power to “open and shut” and Eliakim is “fixed…like a peg in a sure spot, to be a place of honor for his family”. Here we see a person not only given the “key” but a sign of the “key” to come in Jesus. Old Testament history from Abraham to Jesus is a succession of leadership for the people of God who hold the place of honor, responsibility and accountability that is the cross in serving our God the Father.

Jesus is the “key” to heaven. He entrusts Peter with himself to remain with us in the Eucharist, body, soul, and divinity and in the priesthood in “persona Christi”. Peter and his successors are the “rock” to sustain the church where the key lies. We pray, “do not forsake the work of your hands”. The work is the church with Jesus as the cornerstone of this foundation of faith. The fruit of this work is the people of God for the harvest is plentiful but laborers are few as scripture reminds us. In this we recognize the call to the priesthood is not being heard while the population continues to increase.

We are also reminded, “For who has known the mind of the Lord…”, only what comes “from him and through him and for him are all things” revealed. The church then is the deposit of faith coming from Jesus and through him to all the Fathers, Doctors, saints, and people of our God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus divinity is working through our humanity when we call upon him, invite him into our presence, and respond in acceptance of his will in our lives. The mind of the Lord speaks to our mind, his love to our hearts, and his will to our will for courage to proclaim our faith in him and come and follow.

Jesus, the key to heaven is the way, the truth, and the power “and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it”. The power to “bind and loose” comes from Jesus through the church and not apart from it. We all share through our baptism a role as priest, prophet, and king in the church of God. In this role we share the cross to serve under authority in the body of Christ. Our obedience in the church is to Christ himself and woe to those who would open the gates of the netherworld inside the church to sin and bring judgment upon themselves. Even if the attempt happened, we have the power of exorcism to reject Satan and renew the church in times of crisis.

These are times of crisis as we witness scandals in the church and in the world seeking to divide the people of God as wolves in sheep’s clothing. While professing inclusiveness, tolerance, and diversity we witness an attack on tradition, symbols of faith, and violence for restitution of past sins in the world. How did we get here and how do we recover from this?

It began with an attack on the family. Divorce and abortion were the first divide to bring division in the covenant of love facilitating disposable relationships. Children were the next divide superseding the values of home with the values of the institutions of learning to plant the seeds of agnosticism. The new harvest of individuation murdered the belief of a universal truth for the logic of separatism in identity, no longer male or female, good or bad, right or wrong, only self-justified. Once self-justified the next step of attacking other political, economic and civil institutions out of self-righteousness falls into the world of acceptable tolerance. What remains is to bring down the institutions of faith and that has already begun. This is the culture of death and many are being lost and few are responding to this attack.

We recover from a culture of death by returning to the source of all life and unity, God in the Trinity. Jesus holds the keys to the kingdom in all Christianity. The Church is the bride of Jesus as a mother to “bind and to loosen” with the authority of Jesus guided by the Spirit in the Vicar of Christ. The God of love is also the God of the laws of heaven and we are to follow the source of all truth as we profess, “Jesus saves!”

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Homily The Deacon Joe

20th Sunday Ordinary Time

Posted on August 17, 2020August 17, 2020 by Deacon Joe

Is. 56:1, 6-7; Ps. 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8; Rom.11:13-15; Mt. 15:21-28

Jesus’ house of prayer! In the eyes of the world according to today’s gospel Jesus would be labeled racist, sexist, and misogynist. He denies the woman pleading for her daughter three times, first he ignores her “does not say a word in answer to her”, sexist, then he claims “he was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel”, racist, and finally he directly rejects her “It is not right to take food of the children and throw it to the dogs”, misogynist. Do not be surprised if in our times the world will take these stories and use them to reject religion and faith in God. There is a greater truth revealed in this story that Jesus is about to demonstrate as the faith of the woman is tested. The greater truth is revealed in both a personal response to the woman and in a universal response to humanity.

In the personal response, Jesus says to the woman’s pleading “great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” The perseverance of this woman overcame the test of faith. How quickly are we to give up on prayer when God is silent to our pleading. The question in our minds is “where is God?” Jesus denies her three times, just like he asks Peter “Do you love me?” three times. This is the mystery of faith to respond to the Trinity. Do you love me in the Father? Do you love me in the Son? Do you love me in the Spirit? Who do we pray to, the Father, the Son, or to the Holy Spirit? Jesus heard Peter’s response the first time just as he heard the woman’s request but the totality of faith and love must be complete in Jesus’ house of prayer.

In the universal response, we often speak of scripture in the “context” of salvation history. In Jesus “time” meaning in historical time for all time is “Jesus time”, the Jewish community did not view the gentile people in salvation history. Jesus is taking this Canaanite woman’s pleading to demonstrate to the Jewish followers who he was “sent” to recognizing the historical significance of “the people of God”. We see in the second reading St. Paul speaking as the “apostle to the Gentiles” to make his race “jealous” for having rejected Jesus but through the mercy God is giving to the Gentiles he may “save some of them”. Here we see the prophecy of Isaiah manifested as “The foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, ministering to him, loving the name of the LORD, and becoming his servants…keep the sabbath…hold to my covenant…them I will bring to the holy mountain and make joyful in my house of prayer”. This is fulfilled in the Gentiles who will be his servants in his house of prayer.

In listening to Christian radio on the way to home from work the person said in a study only 37% of Christian’s believe in salvation through faith only. She then claimed to find in scripture many passages that supported the doctrine of faith only. In our first reading we see how faith is revealed in action and while faith is the first step of conversion it is not the “only” step in salvation.

Returning to the beginning of this homily, we see in our time a revolutionary movement to reject faith in God. While hundreds can gather to protest social injustice, church gatherings are treated as pandemic spreaders. The real intent is to prevent the spread of the gospel, threaten civil penalties for church gatherings, and force institutions of faith to adopt practices contrary to their faith or bring injunctions until they submit or are bankrupt. The revolution against faith institutions is spreading in the cultural war and we are a target. Jesus will again become the target by attacking the head of the church the body will disperse. Will we deny him or will we defend him by our proclamation of faith in action and enter into his house of prayer?

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Homily The Deacon Joe

19th Sunday Ordinary Time

Posted on August 12, 2020August 12, 2020 by Deacon Joe

1 Kings 19:9a, 11-13a; Ps. 85:9-14; Rom. 9:1-5; Mt. 14:22-33

We live what our faith proclaims! In today’s gospel reading, Peter proclaims faith in Jesus saying “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” As long as his faith was in Jesus he walked with courage on the water. When his faith focused on nature, his humanity, the waves “how strong the strength of wind was” he began to sink in fear calling out to Jesus to be saved. Jesus response, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

Jesus answers Peter with one word, “Come.” With all the sound of the wind, waves, and a rocking wooden boat Peter heard Jesus’ one word to come. Elijah is also listening for the Lord in the first reading but he does not hear him in the wind, the earthquake, or the fire. The Lord comes to Elijah in the “tiny whispering sound”. Jesus himself “went up on the mountain by himself to pray”. If our faith is to respond to the voice of the Lord, we must silence our hearts and minds and open our souls to hears in the quiet the command of Jesus.

One of my favorite places for retreat is Lebh Shomea in Sarita Texas. By its name Lebh Shomea means a “listening heart”. We arrive in silence, remain in silence and leave in silence among the natural wildlife as we come to pray. The estate was bequeathed to the Order of Oblates and became a House of Prayer. One of the rules of Lebh Shomea is “silence” in all areas, at meals, in the Library, outside, and even when going as a couple we are to walk apart and keep the rule of silence, that is to maintain a listening heart.

One of my first experiences going to Lebh Shomea was seeing all the natural wildlife. As I walked about the property the deer would simply move to keep their distance from me. It seemed natural for each to respect our space. It also seemed the animals sensed my own restlessness before I was able to quiet my mind and heart beginning to enter into a more contemplative state of prayer.

After being there for a few days, I was walking praying the rosary when I noticed the deer no longer reacted to my presence and I had become part of the environment. As I prayed the rosary, one doe began moving towards me. At first, I was surprised and as it approached me, I just stood still waiting to see what would happen next. It came right up to me and looked at me and then at my rosary, turned and walked away. I realized then that the sound of the rosary in this quiet environment attracted it to me. In the silence I had become an accepted member of their environment.

It is in the quiet that we become united to the Lord able to listen for his voice. Our faith proclaims what we receive in our “listening heart”. Like Peter we often are attentive to the world around us and find ourselves proclaiming what the world proclaims, fear, injustice, sickness, lust, self-righteousness. Jesus is the just one who we are to listen for and respond to his invitation to “Come.” Come and proclaim our faith by our acts of virtue. Focus on Jesus and fear not the invitation to proclaim the power of the Lord in our lives. We live what we allow into our faith, this will always come out in our actions. Whether we walk on the spiritual water or sink in the ocean of life it is an act of what we proclaim by faith. Live the Godly faith and we will enter into the spiritual waters of faith, hope, and love with Prautes (Greek meaning “a still heart”).

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Homily

18th Sunday Ordinary Time

Posted on August 1, 2020July 31, 2020 by Deacon Joe

Is. 55:1-3; Ps. 145:8-9, 15-18; Rom. 8:35, 37-39; Mt. 14:13-21

“What will separate us from the love of Christ?” Will anguish over a virus, or distress over a hurricane, or persecution by a political structure, or nakedness of our sin, or peril from unemployment, or the sword of death? Even death brings us to the love of Christ “to all who call upon him in truth”.

Truth is the path of love and to love God with all our heart and soul is the first truth of life. To “heed” him in truth is the sign of our love. Love is an active obedience to the will of God. How are we to “listen, that you may have life”? We must first receive him in order to listen to him. The Lord is inviting us to “come to the water!” The first act of love and truth is through the water of baptism. “Without cost” we are invited to receive him the true bread of life who does “satisfy” and we become members of the renewal “the everlasting covenant, the benefits of David.”

Having received him in water we can now listen to him in spirit as he speaks to us through his Word, the bread that satisfies in the Eucharist, in all the sacraments and through the church meaning the magisterium of the church and the people of the church. “The Lord is near to all who call upon him in truth.”

Five loaves and two fish feed five thousand plus. Really! Yes, really for “Heed me, and you shall eat well” says the Lord who is near. “Why spend your money…for what fails to satisfy?” says the Lord. In a highly commercialized world where everything becomes a “need” to satisfy nothing lasts except a continued “need”. Truth is God satisfies! He is our peace as we heed his voice and follow his truth.

What separates us from the love of Christ is when we fail to heed him, we separate ourselves denying him as we deny his word and fail to listen in Spirit and truth. Consider how many times God was ready to respond with his love if only we followed his command, “Come to me heedfully, listen, that you may have life”. The “I” of our ego kept us from him and the pride of our heart wanted to do it “our way” as he waited for us to call upon him, we denied him once again.

Come and be satisfied at the waters of life, at the bread of salvation in the Eucharist, with the Word of truth in scripture and remain in his presence. The goodness of the Lord is everlasting and today he invites us to receive what satisfies the longing of our hearts and the needs of our being.

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Homily

17th Sunday Ordinary Time

Posted on July 25, 2020July 24, 2020 by Deacon Joe

1 Kgs. 3:5, 7-12; Ps. 119:57, 72, 76-77, 127-130; Rom. 8:28-30; Mt. 13:44-52

The kingdom of heaven is not an entitlement we collect by simply claiming “I believe in God”. The kingdom of God is something we must seek and sacrifice for to be given the understanding of Solomon. We are to first be conformed to the image of his Son to enter the kingdom of God. In an age where we value acceptance of “our identity” as we claim it, we lose sight of identifying with the image of God’s son who is “other” than ourselves. We are “right” in seeking God’s image as our being and “wrong” in claiming our own as an entitlement.

Wisdom is from God to give an “understanding heart…to distinguish right from wrong” and respond with prudence in doing his will. In the gospel today, Jesus continues with his parables to the wise and prudent describing the significance of the kingdom of God to humanity as the eternal love and longing of our purpose of life. The wisdom of Solomon was judging rightly with what to ask for in service to God’s kingdom. Solomon’s love for God was in being the best he was created to be as the leader of his people. Our love for God then is in being our best in responding to our calling in life in service to others.

This is challenging and difficult if not impossible without the grace from God that comes by searching with the heart of understanding God’s will for our personal calling in life. In the worst of situations and in the best of situations “all things work for good for those who love God.” God is mercy when we seek our identity in him.

For some time, it was popular with the youth to carry bracelets with the letters WWJD meaning “what would Jesus do”. This is seeking out our identity in him, inviting him into our “space” and time which if we claim to belong to Jesus is his rightful space and seeking understanding through the Spirit to respond in his image in this moment of our being.

Now is the time to recapture that moment of truth “what Jesus will do through his servant of love”. Such great challenges have been conquered by the saints and souls who surrender to God actively seeking to do his will. Have we asked him today “what is your will for me this day Lord?”

Sometimes we compartmentalize life into steps, such as step one is to “pray” and step two is “go forth”, and step three is “action” as a cognitive process like learning to type where all the keys are and consciously thinking of all the keys. Learning to type is a cognitive process but typing is the unconscious process of being able to “just do it”. In the same way Christianity is taking all our prayers, devotions, and understanding to “just do it” in charity being the image of God through the Spirit that is with us. Let us give God the freedom to “just do it” in our being through an act of the will and the mystery of his kingdom will reign in us.

The evil one is “prowling about the world seeking the ruins of souls” when we see hatred, violence, and destruction justified a “right” and authority, order, and peace shamed as “wrong” in an effort to create a new “kingdom” not of God but of this world. It is a spiritual battle for the souls of the people fought not only on the streets but in every church and home. One day I was struggling with making a difficult decision as a child and I asked my mother for guidance in her “understanding”. I was totally surprised when she responded “you will have to decide”. In her wisdom the right answer needed to come from me through the Spirit given at baptism. She understood I would be the one who would live with the consequences of the decision.

This nation is facing a difficult decision and we each must decide where our Christian values are best represented and supported not simply in our inner being but in our outward expression in the public square. As Catholics we value the outward expression of our faith in statues, crosses, the arts, and even the sciences together with our right to assembly and worship. This cannot be governed, shamed, or silenced by an oppressive voice in the public domain. Today “you will have to decide” to who you surrender power to, either God and the kingdom of heaven or the evil one and the kingdom of hell. Blessed Mother Mary pray for us.

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Homily The Deacon Joe

16th Sunday Ordinary Time

Posted on July 18, 2020July 17, 2020 by Deacon Joe

Wis.12:13, 16-19; Ps. 86:5-6, 9-10, 15-16; Rom. 8:26-27; Mt. 13:24-43

Today we kneel for a culture of life to pray always for our victory. St. John Paul II called it a “culture of death” and today the secular culture see it spread under the title “cancel culture” until the children of the “good seed” take action for a culture of life. The children of “good seed” must kneel in prayer against the children of the “weeds” who stand for a “cancel culture” against authority, tradition, and faith in God. In “The good seed (of) the children of the kingdom” God “rebuke(s) temerity” and “The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness.” God’s “power” governs his children with “leniency” who in turn “must be kind”. Faith is power, the power to love with justice and kindness. It is the faith to call on the Spirit “to the aid of our weakness” to intercede for us and to bring about God’s will on our lives and in this world for a culture of life.

Often, we ask others to pray for us, a good act of uniting others in prayer with us. We also turn to others when our faith is shaken and doubt weakens our spirit through difficulty or suffering. Asking for prayer is good, but minimizing our own faith is not. We are to look to the parable of the mustard seed to recognize the God of mercy is waiting for us to exercise our faith no matter how small we perceive it in order to do his will in our lives. Pray always with authority not our own but coming through God to rebuke evil and confront the “weeds” seeking to “cancel” the kingdom of God.

The world is surrounded by the “weeds” of doubt and despair from lack of faith in God. When tragedy hits the “weeds” of the world don’t want to hear of prayer but a call to justice. Justice is to be guided by the Spirit through prayer least it become the action of the evil one who sows division and destruction. The evil one is spreading his hate in our times through this “cancel culture” seeking to destroy what is good, beauty, truth, and unity. The children of God must unite in prayer and we will overcome this attack from the evil one towards God and his children. It is an attack against God himself.

This year the children of the weeds have spread wildly seeking a “cancel culture” to destroy the symbols of history, tradition, and faith. It views the past through the filter of oppression not opportunity. It seeks not to build up with reform but to tear down through structural change. We must ask, “what is this new identity for structural change?” Hidden beneath the three robes of justice, equality and inclusion is not the nirvana of peace but a ravaged hunger for power and vengeance with the murder of past traditions, the boycotts of speech labeled “hate”, burning of institutions of authority and takeover of streets against law and order. Our power is in God to reject the sins of the world and call down for God’s justice and power as in the days of old and God will not disappoint.

We have received the “good seed” of faith in baptism and grown in the fertile soil of the Church sacraments. The weeds of sin surround us but we must exercise the seed of faith and claim our power of good over evil. One day St. Alphonsus Liguori was being tested by demons when he made the Sign of the Cross and commanded the demons to adore this sign with the words, “At the name of Jesus ,every knee should bow, of those in heaven, on earth and under the earth (Phil. 2:10)”.* It was enough to cause the demons to flee. We often forget to call on the gift of the Word, the gift of the Holy Spirit and/or on the angels of God for the Spirit “comes to the aid of our weakness” and intercedes for us.

Padre Pio called the rosary his weapon. We are given many weapons to fight the good fight, from Holy Water and other sacramentals, to prayers, devotions, scripture, and “inexpressible groanings”. Most of all we are given his body and blood in the Eucharist. “There is no god besides you who have the care of all.” This is not a time for timidity but for exercise of God’s authority over his dominion. Pray always and the muscle of prayer will defeat the enemy “prowling about the world seeking the ruin of souls.” Today we kneel against the forces of evil for a culture of life to pray always for our victory.

*Thigpen, Paul, Manual for Spiritual Warfare; Tan Books, 2019; pg. 195.

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Homily The Deacon Joe

15th Sunday Ordinary Time

Posted on July 11, 2020July 8, 2020 by Deacon Joe

Is.55:10-11; Ps. 65:10-14; Rom. 8:18-23; Mt. 13:31-23

The Quantum Zeno Effect (QZE) of Christianity is the “seed sown on rich soil”. What is the QZE of a Christian? It is the “mental act of focusing attention…on your mental experience, whether a thought, an insight, a picture in your mind’s eye*” of the presence of God despite the distraction of “worldly anxiety” or “the lure of riches” to do the will of God. Saint John Paul II proclaimed “faith and science are two wings of a bird”, they must work in harmony to fly. The world focuses on science while church leaders focus on faith but in our times we need a language that freely integrates both to rise in the splendor of God’s creation.

In QZE is said “attention density shapes identity”. This “identity” comes from the willingness to deepen our focus and keep our eyes centered on God who is always present in order to “hear and understand”. It can be said that the density of our focused attention brings us out of darkness into the light of wisdom as evidenced by all the great saints and mystics. This identity is shaped in the image of God in his creation by the gifts of the Spirit.

Must we all drape ourselves as monastic hermits seeking to isolate ourselves to benefit from QZE? No, QZE is a discipline practiced by anyone who exercises faith to be great arts, culture, business, love, and sanctity. As Mother Angelica often said on her EWTN program “we are all called to be great saints” and QZE is the discipline of faith through prayer to open up our souls and rise to the grace and greatness God is calling us to be.

QZE is how we approach our daily life with “God First” at the center of our focused attention in the present moment of our experiences. St. Theresa of Lisieux “The Little Flower” understood this simply as “Remember nothing is small in the eyes of God. Do all that you do with love”. It all matters so it is worthy of our focused attention to see God’s work before us and through us. Today God is working in each of us to be the greatest he created us to be.

A child is born with focused attention to the wonderment of the world before him, learning with focused attention to speak the language of his parents, to ride a bike and to listen, learn, and understand the gifts that they are blessed with in order to grow in the joy and love of God. QZE is a natural gift of childhood that is either nurtured or lost by overstimulation, constant media messaging, and a loss of learning skills for problem-solving and synthesis of ideas when we try to serve a child with all the answers “on a silver platter”. Allow the child to wonder and create on their own their version of “Lego” ideas rather than simply following a pattern of numbered parts to represent the picture-perfect box display is critical thinking QZE best practices. The is the meaning of “think outside the box”.

What if we would pray outside the box! Make a holy hour in adoration before the blessed sacrament with focused attention on Jesus and you begin to pray outside the box. In an age where every self-help author has their list of seven, ten, or twelve steps to a better “whatever”, we are convinced that it only takes this formula to get to our desired “whatever”. All answers are personal to our state in life. For a Christian there is simply the first step of faith which is prayer and let God be God in our lives for what follows. Prayer is focused attention to God who is the way, the truth, and the life we seek as our center of being. In God all things are possible as Philippians 4:19 reminds us “we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us”, strengthens our focused attention to God’s purpose for our being and the action that must follow.

The “seed sown on rich soil” is the one who hears, understands, and does the will of God. Christianity is based on hearing the Word of God, receiving understanding by grace and responding with courage to live the Word despite “worldly anxiety” or the “lure of riches”. Quantum Zeno Effect is the seed to bear fruit.

Let us look to our Blessed Mother Mary who kept her eyes on Jesus with focused attention in the density of her loving heart as a great witness of the QZE in her earthly life with the rewards of her ascension into heaven. Today we receive the rich soil of the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist with focused attention in the density of the Spirit of God to go out and bear fruit. As Saint Padre Pio often said, “Pray, hope and don’t worry”. It is all about God, we are invited to come, take, and learn how to follow.

* Article (The Neuroscience of Leadership, David Rock and Jeffrey Schwartz; Eight Great Ideas Organizations, March 2010)

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Homily The Deacon Joe

14th Sunday Ordinary Time

Posted on July 4, 2020July 3, 2020 by Deacon Joe

Zech. 9:9-10; Ps. 145:1-2, 8-11, 13-14; Rom. 8:9, 11-13; Mt. 11:25-30

Jesus says, “Come to me…Take my yoke and learn from me”. Come, take, learn is the process of discipleship. All baptized are called to come, take, and learn as his disciples. First “come” is an invitation, a choice of the free will to come and believe, come and take the “yoke” of the cross and learn how to follow in his steps. Jesus provides the way for us to come and follow.

Coming also means leaving behind what is in the “flesh”. In the flesh is sin, passion for indulgence, and works for self-gratification. Coming is coming into the Spirit of truth in the Trinity, meaning “God First”. Passion is not evil, misdirected passion is sin. Did not Jesus suffer his own passion for love of the Father in carrying the cross and a redemptive passion for love of humanity? Passion is ordered to the greater good to be the best we were created to be for God. Passion for indulgence is toxic to the Spirit and creates debt to the flesh until both body and spirit is dead.

“Take my yoke” is the yoke of obedience to the will of God the Father as Jesus did. It is accepting the authority given to the Church as an instrument of God’s mercy in our world. It is the yoke of sacrifice for a purpose of greater good that ourselves. The yoke is not punishment it unites us to his cross as a witness of our love to bear not as an end to itself but as grace for salvation.

Learn what we are called to be as sons and daughters of Christ. Learn what God desires for our greater good in serving him by our daily life. Learn the meaning of life in Christ. Learn to follow the path of salvation through faith and works as two sides of the same coin. Unit our works for the purpose of salvation as an offering to God “and you will find rest for yourselves” and the peace of Christ.

Come, take, and learn what God desires to reveal to each of us in our pilgrimage through this world. The works of the Lord are holy and we are to become the work of the Lord, holy in all our being, in the flesh and in the spirit be holy.

The world speaks of global warming, hurricanes, and viruses that can create fear of crisis and even death. The tribulations of the world are disruptive and a threat to humanity. They stand as a reminder of our mortality in the world and question our purpose of existence. Purpose cannot be found in what the world offers that is transitory. Purpose is God given and until we turn to God we remain lost wandering in the desert of the soul. Seek first the kingdom of God and pray for the grace to come, take and learn what God is calling of us.

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Homily The Deacon Joe

13th Sunday Ordinary Time

Posted on June 27, 2020June 25, 2020 by Deacon Joe

2 Kg. 4:8-11, 1“4-16a; Ps. 89:2-3, 16-19; Rom. 6:3-14, 8-11; Mt. 10:37-42

God First!” This is true discipleship and the rest is defined by God. We live in the “trophy” age of rewards. Recognition is given to the person who “wins” down to the person who participated for their effort. In today’s gospel a similar degree of recognition is given from “Whoever receives a prophet…will receive a prophet’s reward…whoever receives a righteous man…will receive a righteous man’s reward” all the way to “whoever gives only a cup of cold water…will surely not lose his reward”. The God of all who is in all brings justice to all “because the little one is a disciple”.

All baptized are called into discipleship which in the early church a disciple prepared the way for the coming of Christ. John the Baptist prepared the way for the coming of Christ through his sacrifice being the lone voice in the desert. Jesus sends his disciples out in pairs to spread the word. First and foremost, we prepare the way by the testimony of our lives, the sacrifice of faith, and the witness of love. All “achievers” recognize their rewards come through sacrifice. God blesses the great and small beyond our understanding.

This we see in the first reading when Elisha asks the servant “Can something be done for her?” in appreciation for her sacrifice to provide Elisha with a place to stay overnight. The answer by the servant was “Yes” because she had no son. Elisha promises her “This time next year you will be fondling a baby son.” The woman’s generosity was a free gift of kindness but the prophet promises a greater gift of love for this woman. This is testimony to God’s response to our acts of generosity and sacrifice. With God nothing is impossible when we respond with love to his son, his disciple, and his “little ones”.

All baptized are “Baptized into his death?” Yes, this “death” is the death of sin to live in holiness. Holiness is defined as “God First!” Godly love for mother, father, and children cannot be separated from the love of God and the love of God from the Word of God. Our daily call is to live the Word in our relationships with family and all humanity. It is not negotiable or compromising but authoritative and final. This is the final test of faith, to stand for obedience to the Word first before others even those we love dearly. Born of free will this is the most challenging of all relationships, to be united under “The Word” and keep God first. Death to self is a separation from worldly values and conformity.

“God First” is unity to the Trinity not to worldly values of “inclusiveness” by conformity or “tolerance”. Jesus clearly defines to his apostles the choice of “God First” brings division and consequences. We see this most clearly in our decision for the “Right to life” versus the “Right to choose” movements for the unborn and for euthanasia as “mercy killing”. “God First” is mercy to live and allow God to be the one who calls us away from this life. When God is first even suffering is an offering of redemptive suffering and a transformation of self into his image.

It often seems human (Christian) behavior perceives Jesus on the cross as suffering so that we may not suffer and go on with our lives. This is far from the truth when Jesus calls us to take up our cross and follow him. “God First” as transformation of self into his image is sacrificial first in faith and belief in the greatest of rewards to come according to his will for our greater good as he meets the desires of our hearts aligned to his sacred heart beyond what we can imagine.

The will of God takes our suffering as we let go to God our unborn, the “little ones”, our closest family, and even our own lives always for something greater, the reward he desires to give us. The world cannot accept this but we can accept this because God is already present to us and he cannot be denied.

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