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Homily

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Is. 53: 10-11; Ps. 33: 4-5, 18-19, 20, 22; Heb. 4: 14-16; Mk 10: 35-45

“The Lord was pleased to crush him in infirmity.” Really God, it pleases you to crush someone when their down?  With friends like that who needs enemies.  Have you ever questioned God?  Many a saint has because sometimes our understanding and our ways are not God’s ways.  A saint questions not from doubt but from trust in the Lord, seeking, searching, hoping and surrendering to God’s will.  In sanctity we have a personal relationship with Christ, and he answers us in unexpected ways.  Our understanding is egocentric not other focused and at times outside of the context of the “big picture”, what God allows in his salvific plan. 

Isiah is prophesizing the one coming who will be crushed for our sins, Jesus Christ in whom the Lord is pleased for giving his life as an offering so that the world might be saved.  The will of the Lord is that we may all come to him and through him in the Son it is accomplished.  We often refer to God as a God of mercy, love, justice and/or faithful.  God said to Moses, “I AM” and he cannot deny himself.  Adam and Eve ate of the fruit that represented disobedience and God did not deny himself with the two-edged sword of love and justice.  When we eat the fruit of obedience we receive mercy, love, justice, and faithfulness to his promise.  It is all ours because he is who is there for us.  “For we do not have a high priest, who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way yet without sin.”  It is up to us to “confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy” and every other gift of grace with “timely help”.  He is our Glorified Christ “trustworthy” and “merciful”. 

How do I a sinner approach God in confidence?  It comes from holding onto our confession.  As the body of Christ we the church, confess in the Confiteor “I confess to almighty God…” and in the Creed “I believe in one God…”  We profess it together to receive from the one body and blood of Christ.  We also confess other claims to God with faithfulness in our acclamations to him.   “Jesus I trust in you.” “I claim in the name of Jesus, mercy, healing, victory, and all our supplications.”  “Let thy will be done not my will.”  “Come Holy Spirit strengthen me by your grace.”  “I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:19).  For Schoenstatt devotion, “Mother Thrice Admirable Queen and Victorious of Schoenstatt pray for us and bless our families”.  There are so many powerful confessions we can hold onto.  Which are yours? 

The evil one wants us to confess fear, doubt, and self-righteousness.  Do these sound familiar?  “Oh! my God!”  “I can’t believe it.”  “It’s not right…”  Focusing on our weakness instead of our strengths we lose confidence even in God.  What about simply confessing gratitude?  “Thank you Jesus.  Thank you my Lord and my God.”  God will not deny himself in our confessions. 

There is one confession we generally do not like to claim.  It is to please the Lord in our infirmity.  We pray to have the cross removed.  Jesus came to witness to the truth and show us the way as servant of God.  The offering of our suffering can be joined to Jesus redemptive suffering and we can serve other souls in our families, this world, and souls in purgatory.  Waste not a sacrifice!  Let it not go by without making an offering of it and you will find grace for timely help.  The earth is full of his kindness when we place our hope in him. 

Have you ever had a child come up to you and say, “Mom, Dad, or grandma, grandpa I want to ask you something but I don’t want you to say no, please.”  That is the way in today’s gospel James and John sound like, children desiring for one to be at Jesus right hand and the other at the left in his glory.  In truth they are and so are we children of the most high.  Just the question implies they know better but can’t help themselves.  Jesus asks them, “Can you drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?”  They said to him, “We can.”  Careful what you ask for.  The cup of salvation was the call to be the servant and “slave of all” and the baptism will be the giving of their life “as a ransom for many” in martyrdom.  The calling is for leadership by service in imitation of Christ.  Jesus makes known the way of the rulers among the Gentiles is through their authority but our authority is marked by humility in service.  Jesus is fulfilling his mission on earth.  We too have been called to fulfill our mission of service.  Jesus pays the price for redeeming us from the slavery of sin.  

Before you doubt and say, “I don’t think I can” consider that our grace has already been given to us through our baptism to say “yes”.  Yes, I can be a lector, Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist, sing in the choir, help with C.C.E. or have a rosary group that makes rosaries and prays the mysteries for the church.  The opportunities are waiting.  The opportunity to drink from the cup has come and will continue to come awaiting our response with love, divine, love, sacrificial love.  It begins in the home the foundation of faith in practice.  It goes forth into the world to witness to God’s “I Am” as servants of mercy, love, justice, and faithfulness.  In baptism we also die to ourselves, death by 70 X 7 sacrifices in life.  Love the sacrifice, waste not the opportunity to make it an offering.  If it was easy it would not be called a sacrifice.  When we approach it with love it becomes a powerful gift of grace and transformation. 

God is present in our lives closer to us than we are to him.  We all can receive our own private revelations in life.  A few years ago I had one of those unexpected answers to prayer in a personal revelation.  I was going through some health problems and in a moment of despair I cried out to God, “God what do you ask of me?”  The response was quick and direct.  As I was praying, I heard a voice of a man strong and with authority say, “I ask nothing of you.”  My first response was fear and then a sense of rejection.  For a few days I was troubled pondering both the power of the voice and the words spoken so clearly in my ear.  Finally it came to me the awareness of naked truth.  God does not need me, I need him.  God is giving me the opportunity to serve him in sickness and in health, to make of myself an offering and if it is 1000 deaths or 1000 victories let it be all for his glory.  “Jesus I trust in you”. 

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Homily

Friday, 28th Week in Ordinary Time

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Eph. 1: 11-14; Ps. 33: 1-2, 4-5, 12-13; Lk 12: 1-7

Today we celebrate the Memorial of Saints John de Brebeuf and Isaac Jogues, Priests and Companions Martyrs of North America.  They were “chosen destined in accord with the purpose of the One.”  They were strengthened to accomplish the will of the Father “sealed with the promised Holy Spirit”.  The “first installment” of their inheritance was to answer the call “chosen to be his own” ministering to the Iroquois Indians of the Huron tribe.  They learned to live Iroquois life, “smell like the natives” working alongside them, learning their language, practicing works of mercy bringing conversion to Christianity.  This love and sacrifice was met with death.  It was a death they did not fear, the death of the flesh only.  Europeans who also immigrated brought sickness, like small pox around 1640 and the priests in “black robes” were associated with messengers of death to be feared (M. Mattingly, Creighton University’ Campus Ministry; 2018).  In some ways that image remains today. 

We have the sacrament of the sick to assist us in sickness but at times is seen more as the sacrament of the dying.  Someone can be seriously sick, in the hospital, possibly about to undergo a major surgery and you ask “should I call a priest?”  The fear response is “no, I’m not dying yet”.  The gospel reminds us “do not be afraid of those who kill the body…Be afraid of the one who after killing has the power to cast in Gehenna.”  We fear death more than the consequences of death.  Death is not the end but the beginning of the rest of our inheritance. 

This is the day the Lord has made to determine our inheritance, Gehenna or the glory of the kingdom.  We are reminded “There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed.”  God know us, our thoughts, feelings, and intentions.  This day we can receive him in the sacrament of his body and blood, his forgiveness, his love and mercy.  We are given the “white robe” of baptism to be messengers of hope. 

We live in a time where “fear” is a weapon against the opposing ideology.  Statements like “They are going to throw grandma over the cliff” denying her healthcare or “They want open borders letting in killers and rapists” make fear a weapon of division.  The weapon turns to violence and attempted murder.  The hypocrisy of the Pharisees in the gospel remains today as in those days, it is the fear of loss of power and control of the natives.  The leaven of fear turns the natives to destroy each other so each side can claim victory and power.  They plot in secret, behind closed doors and in darkness, and who will be sacrificed.  The people have a voice, it is the witness and testimony of our faith in action, to proclaim it, and live it.  Our redemption and our inheritance are at hand. 

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Homily

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Posted on by Deacon Joe

1 Wis. 7: 7-11; Ps 90: 12-17; Heb. 4: 12-13; Mk 10: 17-30

Wisdom is naked truth!  “Perfection is not when there is no more to add, but no more to take away” wrote Antonine De Saint-Exupery.  We have all grown up with “dichos” those sayings with one liners of wisdom that capture the essence of a teaching.  They are easy to remember but serve to penetrate our minds and hearts “sharper than a two-edged sword” cutting “down to the bone” as we say and to our souls.

When Solomon prayed in the first reading prudence was given to him.  Prudence as in having the ability to discern with right judgment was his reward.  He could have prayed for victory over his enemies, his health and his wealth.  He recognized the one priority as “wisdom greater than any priceless gem, silver or gold.”  When Solomon set his priorities according to God’s order “all good things together came…and countless riches at her hand…”  He was given the treasure of wisdom but also the earthly treasures of his kingdom with honor.

The Word of God cuts judicially “both ways”.  One side cuts through to the prime rewards of obedience to God’s commands.  We see this in the Gospel when the young man “with many possessions” testified to his obedience to the commandments Jesus presented to him saying, “Teacher, all these things I have observed from my youth.”  His life has been blessed with many material possessions.  It also cuts from the other edge where sin and reckless behavior gives rise to adversity and sorrow.  Having entered my 60’s already I realize the sins of my youth have already started to be revealed in my aging problems.  I have quite a bunch of friends.  I wake up with Buddy Aches, spend the day with Arthritis, eat with Tummy Hurts, and go to bed with Ben Gay.  These are the good guys to help me face my enemies.  We pick our lifetime friends by the choices and lifestyle we live and they are very loyal in sickness and in health.

Hebrews however gives us God’s wisdom in his order to judicial process.  In the world we normally have an inquiry that leads to judgment and ends with verdict for execution.  In Hebrews we see the execution has already been set by the Word of God “living and effective”.  Those who “follow me” receive the retribution of reward or suffering from the judgment of naked truth as our minds and hearts are revealed.  At the end comes the inquiry “to render an account” no one escapes in the final opening of the seal revealing our life story.  This revelation is the judgment set to be executed though our life journey “living and effective” in our days and the account will come beginning at the moment of death into our afterlife and the naked truth is revealed.  It is said freedom is the right to choose what I want, when I want it, and how I want it.  Sounds good until we recognize it comes like a two edge sword with the consequences of our choices.  Wisdom recognizes freedom as the right to take responsibility for ourselves.  Which way is cutting is in our hands.

In Mark’s gospel the young man calls Jesus “Good teacher”.  His title for Jesus limits his view of Jesus as a prophet, a man of wisdom.  Jesus wisdom is to pose a question and without waiting gives the answer.  Indirectly the question is asking him ‘who do you say that I am?’  He cuts to his heart by responding “no one is good but God alone”.  Hint, hint!  The young man is to discern the divine nature of Jesus but apparently doesn’t get it since he continues to call him “teacher”.  Jesus presents six commandments to follow to which the young man affirms “Teacher, all these I have observed from my youth.”  Jesus looks at him with love to penetrate his heart like a two edged sword.  It is always easy to look at an infant with love.  Not so easy to look at our enemies, our friends, or sometimes even our family with love.  It makes us vulnerable.  Do it and people will question you, “What’s wrong or what do you want?”  We don’t know how to accept love as easily.

Jesus is calling him to love God as the first priority noted in the top three commandments not stated but implied by the action he calls him to follow.  He gives him two directives to fulfill his call to perfection.  The first is the perfection of letting go to the degree there is “no more to take away”, no more to hinder his journey of faith to God.  William of Ocam says, “It is vain to do with more what can be done with less.”  We accumulate our “stuff” all with special meaning, stuffing our closets, garages, and even get a storage shed unwilling to let go.  Every now and then we shuffle through it, forget how most of it ended up with us and then reorganize our stuff again.

The second directive was “follow me”.  The message for us is “who is Jesus in my life?”  If he is my Lord then our first priority is to follow him in our daily lives fulfilling the top three commandments.  We then order our lives according to our relationships with others.  Material treasure is not to hinder our priorities to God and neighbor.  Jesus sets the record straight at the end regarding “wealth”.  He does not condemn wealth it is a part of creation.  We build wealth out of God’s creation.  Jesus raises our awareness with wisdom to the truth wealth can have when we allow it to possess us and keep us from a right relationship with God.  The drive for wealth can come at the expense and injustice to the poor when we don’t pay a living wage.  It may promote greed not generosity, false witness not truth, stealing not integrity, adultery not chastity, and even murder not life.  We allow it to become an obstacle to a right relationship with God.

Wisdom is personified as a woman while the commandments come from a Father.  The wisdom of God comes to us through a woman who gave birth to a son, Jesus and his truth is given in the proclamation of the Word made flesh.  Mary’s wisdom was her fiat entering into the universal plan of salvation.  Her riches and glory came in raising her son, loving her husband, and being obedient.  In Mary the execution was set for her life but she had to consent and live the judgment of the Lord’s passion.  Mary followed the plan receiving the judgment awaiting her reward for her account on earth and now in heaven as Queen of Heaven and Earth.

The book of Wisdom* written by sages of the time we would consider as our contemporary prophets and theologians.  Sages recognized a great truth in the order of the universe.  The God of all creation has established natural laws of the universe.  In this New Age movement some identify with these natural laws and try to tap into them with meditation, aroma therapies, mineral therapies, yoga meditation, and other Zen like approaches seeking peace, harmony, and well-being.  They focus on the universal principles of the cosmos without recognizing the source of creation, the prime mover, the God of the universe.  The problem is they stop short of making this connection to the source of life itself.  These sages of the past in observing the world recognized each component in this world has a place in the overall plan of God’s design.

Today we would make comparisons of cause and effect, food chain, evolution of nature, and each person in life makes a difference in the larger plan of God.  It is not just about you, it is about your contribution to the greater good and for the faithful our contribution to salvation history.  Sages also believed if we disregard our calling we will bring about our own hardships.  The dynamic of life is in constant motion like riding the rapids in a canoe, sometimes calm and other times fast, rough and rushing.  Proverbs says, “Fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom” (Prov. 9:10) Fear of the Lord is the realization of the two edge sword created by the awesome creation of the natural law we are members of and of the consequences that come by rebelling away from our call to “follow” his plan for us.

We are headed into the holiday season secular and Christian.  Some celebrate Halloween, or the Day of the Dead, All Souls Day and we get sugar overload.  Then Thanksgiving comes with all kinds of carbs and dressings followed by Christmas and juicy fat tamales by the dozen, ending in New Year’s drinks, nachos, and guacamole.  We indulge and rush to get more stuff we call our treasures in toys, shoes, electronic gadgets and there is always the next best phone or 4-D mega screen TV and more.  We wake up and discover we just gained another 20 pounds of bondage in our “freedom”.

The knife cuts both ways as we can celebrate in fellowship with church festivals, Posadas, Holy Days of obligation, processions, adoration, rosaries, family reunions and yes some treats in moderation.  Freedom is taking responsibility to the naked truth.  Advent is coming and it is a good time to move in the direction of having no more to let go of.  In Spanish we say, “el que mucho abarca poco aprieta” meaning “the more we try to squeeze into our life the less we gain”.  Gain more with less and we will be on our way to perfection.

 

*The Paulist Biblical Commentary; “Wisdom Literature”; Paulist Press, New York/Mahwah, NJ, 2018. Pg. 423-425.

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Homily

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Gn.2: 18-24; Ps. 128; 1-2, 3, 4-5,6; Heb. 2: 9-11; Mk. 10: 2-16

Tradition today is talked about as old school.  Progressiveness is considered modernity.  Tradition represented commitment to God, family, work and community.  Progressiveness today is acceptability and tolerance meaning for some anything goes.

Today in the readings we celebrate the sacred door of matrimony.  We also see “bringing many children to glory” through him and to him.  In an age when over 50% of marriages end in divorce, the institution of the family is being broken and the most affected “are the little ones”.  United States divorces rank 10th in the world at 53% and from #9 France at 55% to #1 Belgium at 71%” with the highest rate (www.trendrr.net/8004/countries-with-highest-divorce-rates) you see a rise in secularism and liberalism.  Belgium is considered the “European symbol of Modernity” *.  The symbol of the most modern society is also a symbol of least stability for matrimony.  In the U.S. every 1 in 6 seconds a divorce happens*, so if you have weathered that storm you are not alone.  The more countries progress away from religious and cultural heritage towards “acceptability and tolerance” the less tolerant to commitment and acceptable lifelong marriage becomes.  What was the norm is now abnormal.  Say you have been married over 25 years to the same person and you are considered an anomaly.

“When attendance at church drops divorce rates rise.  Spain has a law entitled ‘Divorcio director’ requiring a couple to be married for at least three months to assert for the divorce”*.  How quickly the honeymoon is over that you have to endure 3 month before submitting for a divorce.  Here perhaps sheds some insight to the rise in divorces and to some extent why annulments, meaning a valid marriage are declared never to have been so in the first place and are being facilitated by the church.  These are what the church calls “impediments” to the capacity of making a lasting commitment and include seriously debilitating factors like drug and alcohol abuse, physical and sexual abuse, parental divorce, serial marriage, and other mental and emotional factors.  Notice that the capacity of making a lasting commitment includes beside the individual and their relationship conditions also the history of parental divorce.  Divorce impacts the children’s ability to grow in commitment to a lasting relationship.  God’s plan was to bring his children to glory and it begins with the commitment in their parent’s marriage.

There is also St. Augustine’s famous line, “I was not in love as yet, yet I loved to love.”  Love is a hunger of humanity, a need for someone who “at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh” but is this the “one” woman or woooo-man, take your time don’t rush until the love for love puts some flesh on those bones.  God is one and he joins man and woman to be one as the Lord of marriage.  That flesh is a deeper understanding into the mind and heart of a person.  A person recently shared with me how she fell in love with how her future husband was always dressed neatly with clothes pressed.  Now married she discovers he likes to bathe 2 or 3 times a day and each time changes into clean pressed clothes.  He somehow never finds the dirty clothes hamper and continues to dress real sharp but who gets the job of laundering?   It’s not his mom anymore.

I suspect in general most young couples getting married have always lacked some maturity which impacts a commitment but after years when someone is still wondering when the other is going to “grow up” there may be some serious debilitating factors in a person’s commitment.  What helps develop maturity is parenting a child to have lived experiences of commitment.  You cannot give what you have not learned to live.  Commitment starts young in life with responsibilities for completing chores, caring for a pet, turning in school assignments on time, contributing to the work at home, and keeping promises.  A common mistake, “We want them to focus on their education”.  Translation is they come home and have no responsibility to the family, the home, the church, or even the community.  They can do it all when they are young.  The get bored easily so you give them an IPad or a phone to entertain themselves.  The underlying message, “it’s all about themselves” until they enter into that other world of a shared responsibility with and to someone else.   For some it is jumping in the water without knowing how to swim or a life jacket and quickly deciding they want out.

One of the fastest growing businesses today is drive thru restaurants that have easy, cheap, and quick meals.  Does anybody care to cook tonight?  That is part of the early struggles of marriage that teaches us humility when we burn the beans but ooh so good a lesson we didn’t burn the house down…making progress.  You cannot give what was not expected of you growing up.  It is an impediment to the readiness of marriage.  Commitment starts at home and develops in maturity with lived experiences of commitment, not only to education but many small and large responsibilities.  Why do divorce rates drop when attendance to church increases?  It is a commitment to growing our faith and fellowship, love of God and love of neighbor.  Faith as in living a prayer life, studying scripture, reflecting on moral issues of the world and discussing what the church says to guide our faith.  Fellowship is lived at home with family activities and extending that fellowship by coming to church and giving of oneself as a volunteer to the church and community.

The new tradition of acceptability and tolerance seems to grow in less acceptability and tolerance because we all want to be accepted and tolerated but we are not as willing to accept and tolerate even those who we say we love.  Tradition of the past was commitment to a lasting marriage and we need to renew that tradition in our culture before we will see the beauty of lasting fidelity.  Last weekend I had the fun and honor of celebrating a 50th wedding anniversary.  I asked the congregation who had seen the musical “Fiddler on the Roof”.  Surprisingly only about 5 hands came up.  I did a monologue of one of the scenes from the musical reminding us of that lasting fidelity to marriage.  I find it appropriate to close with it for you.  In the scene Tyve, the husband has just given approval to a young man to be engaged to his daughter without talking it over with his wife, Golde.  Big mistake!   In marriage the saying “two heads are better than one” is not optional it is part of the requirement.

*(www.trendrr.net/8004/countries-with-highest-divorce-rates)

“Fiddler on the Roof” Musical from YouTube “Golde do you love me?”

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Homily

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Nm. 11: 25-29; Ps 19:8, 10, 12-12, 14; Jas. 5: 1-6; Mk. 9:38-43, 45, 47-48

I say, “The long and winding road” and you say “that leads to your door, will never disappear” (Beatles, June 1970) in God’s love for our human dignity.  Of course those lyrics are from the Beatles release 1970.  Moses led the Israelites through the long and winding road to the promise land.  The journey was a test of faith and not all survived the test.  Scriptures highlight more the rebellion against God than the faithfulness of the people.  Today’s first reading however is about the gift of the spirit upon Elders.  The gift is given to those seventy Elders present and to two who were absent yet faithful.  A similar event occurs with Jesus as the faithful use his name to drive out demons even though they did not belong to the group.  Jesus response, “For whoever is not against us is for us.”

There is a program on Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) called “The Journey Home” with the host Marcus Grodi, a convert to Catholicism.  It focuses on the journey people have taken that brought them into the Catholic Church and the sacrifice their journey cost them.  Some left promising ministries in other denominations, some had to struggle with marriages because it impacted the faith and happiness of their spouse and children.  It was truly a long and winding road home to the Catholic faith.  The journey does not negate the blessing and truth received by the Holy Spirit in the past it brings the faithful into the fullness of the Truth.  The truth is God rewards faithfulness to “anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink.”  The cup of water is any act of kindness, generosity, sacrifice and/or mercy.  The love of God is bountiful.

The love of God is also just.  It forewarns us that our acts of injustice will result in “weep and wail over your impending miseries” we bring upon ourselves.  The Lord hears the cry of the poor and suffering who are victims of our sins and justice is his.  This is what makes the sins within the church grievous for the sinner whose abuse and crime affect not only the victims but in doing so the body of Christ.  They bring scandal and injury to the Church and together we all suffer.  Much has been done in “Protecting God’s Children” as the program is titled within the Church.  Anyone who works with children in the Church goes through the program which provides guidance in our responsibility for promoting appropriate behavior among adults and children.  This is a beginning but guidelines don’t impact culture, values, or social mores.  This is the heavy lifting work we are all responsible for in bringing alive a culture of life.

A culture of life promotes human dignity as spoken about in Humanae Vitae by Pope Paul VI.  It teaches the young to value and protect their own dignity against the snares of evil that prowl around the world seeking indulgence, seeking to take advantage while being the cause of sin in the lives “of these little ones”.  We love our children and we want them to be children but there is a reason we are called the Militant Church on earth.  We are to be prepared to battle evil and the attacks may come like a thief in the night to steal the innocence of these little ones so let us also prepare them for these challenges beginning in the home with honest discussions of prevention against these attacks to their human dignity.

It is a long and winding road to raise a child but we are not alone, God is with us in our baptismal infused virtues of faith, hope, and love and our moral virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance.  Prudence to teach our children to discern right judgment in their decisions; justice to act fairly and not tolerate unfairness; fortitude to show strength to resist temptation and say yes to righteousness; and temperance to find balance in life when too much of a good thing can become bad.  If we spend so much time working to give our children all the good things but don’t take time to talk and share stories of life with them we leave them vulnerable.

It is also a truth that we cannot give what we do not have.  As adults we give testimony by our actions of prudence when we take time to teach our children to understand “why” they say no or yes in their lives.  As adults we give testimony of our justice when our discipline is consistent and fair.  As adults we give testimony of our fortitude when we are faithful to our commitments and resist the “easy road”.  As adults we give testimony of our temperance when our priorities are in order of God, family, work, and play.  It is our responsibility as parents, godparents, and faithful community to strengthen the fire of the Holy Spirit in the child’s journey of life.  We are the wind behind their sails of faith, hope, and love to avoid the hurricanes of danger and arrive safely into adult life.

When we look to scripture what makes us vulnerable, what made the road longer and more difficult from the Israelites?  It was a desire for the easy road.  God’s teaching offers us “the road less traveled”, the narrow way.  When I was growing up I heard adult relatives make excuses for their children or grandchildren, “their just children, let them play” they would say to justify negative behavior.  Some of those “just children” ended in drugs, pregnant out of wedlock, dropping out of school, prison and some grew up and escaped their poverty but not without suffering that may have been avoided.  In listening, seeing, and learning it guided me to the road less traveled.  It provided the most protection against the dangers around me.  Call it self-protection, self-command, self-control, self-governance, self-discipline or call it obedience to God, obedience to parents, obedience to the natural law and obedience to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  I call it listening for the voice of God and responding to his calling.

The long and winding road can have us going in circles repeating our mistakes, dying in the desert or finding ourselves lost in despair.  The road less traveled is God’s way, his plan for us and the purpose we are here today in memorial of his sacrifice for you and me as we celebrate the Mass together.  The invitation is given to follow the road less traveled that leads to God’s door.  It will never disappear or disappoint for the heart that seeks but we must enter through the narrow gate.

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Homily

Friday 25th Week in Ordinary Time

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Eccl 3: 1-11; Ps 144; 1b; 2abc, 3-4; Lk. 9: 18-22

Who do you say that I am for you is the question of Jesus for each of us today.  There is a book titled, “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff…and It’s all Small Stuff”.  Today’s first reading is a reminder “There is an appointed time for everything,” don’t sweat the small stuff it is in God’s hands.  Why do we sweat the small stuff?  We don’t know how to “let go and let God”.  There is this underlying fear that “Man is like a breath; his days, like a passing shadow” and we have to take control to be masters of our world before we perish into obscurity.  Does God take notice?  Who am I that God takes notice of all the small stuff in my life surely there are bigger problems in the world than mine. 

Our sinfulness is in denying God access to putting “timeless” into our hearts where we may abide in his love as “my Rock”.  Jesus is the “Christ of God” who came into the world to be our rock, our mercy, our fortress our stronghold, our deliverer and our shield but we must trust.  Here lies the battle of egocentricity against the gift of his sacrifice.  We are the work which God has done and yet we cannot discover from beginning to end ourselves.  There is a test that measures your telomeres.  Telomeres are a determinant in your longevity and can predict when you will die.  How would our daily life change if we knew that timeclock?  Do our priorities in life change, our attention to others, our temperance in how we manage our health, work, family, and free time only to die in an accident tomorrow.  How foolish to believe we can take control of time.  Time is not ours we cooperate with God’s appointed time in his plan of salvation for each of us. 

We are to trust in the appointed time for the revelation from birth to death of who we are as children of the Most High.  “He has made everything appropriate to its time” including our being into existence at this time.  We have a purpose for our time and we are to embrace the purpose not the time.  The purpose is to contribute to the salvific plan of the Son of Man.  He suffered greatly, was rejected and killed thus we embrace the plan when it requires our suffering our denial of self even our martyrdom.  Each day we live and we put that day to rest.  If we suffer in any small way for living our faith then we can offer our suffering of a thousand deaths for the Lord until he calls us to himself.  Our faith, hope and love are in the Lord who rose on the third day as we await the time of our resurrection. 

The work which God has done in us is to experience planting, uprooting, killing, healing, tearing down, building up, weeping, laughing, mourning, dancing, and every other gift from above.  Don’t sweat the small stuff rejoice in the gift of discovery where he may lead.  This week I had a frustrating day at work and as frustrating as it was while I was dealing with some difficult individuals and situations I was also asking myself, “I wonder what purpose God has intended for this to happen?”  It was not a time to be silent but a time to speak but I was allowing myself to sweat the small stuff of dealing with difficult people.  It is easier said than done in our imperfection.  In the moment of time it was happening I was asking, “Jesus what is the outcome you desire from this?”  In that moment I say Jesus was my deliverer and my shield, the Rock in whom I trust.   Who do you say that Jesus is for you today? 

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Homily

Twenty-fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Is. 50:5-9a; Jas. 2:14-18; Mk. 8:27-35

Last week we focused on the need for solidarity among the poor, rich, employee, employer, nations and people.  Today Jesus calls for solidarity of faithful followers.  His word is spoken boldly, “my face I did not shield…I have set my face like flint.”  He invites confrontation, “if anyone wishes to oppose me let us appear together…Let that man confront me.” 

Generally, we don’t like confrontation and most of us were not taught the art of debate.  Think back to your childhood and arguments among your siblings how you were heard.  Were you all cordial to each other or did everybody simply yell louder to each other from room to room or face to face.  The idea of debate in our time as seen through media is like a rowdy group of siblings yelling to drown out the other person.  Everyone needs to be heard but isn’t willing to listen.  Today colleges promote “safe spaces” to avoid any debate or dialogue from opposing views. 

In the gospel, Jesus has just finished naming Peter the “rock” for claiming “You are the Christ” and he places him as the head of the early church.  He then begins explaining the coming Passion he will undergo.  Peter’s response, not wanting to confront Jesus in public takes him aside to “rebuke him” quietly.  Peter takes his new authority seriously.  I picture Peter taking Jesus aside and whispering, “There is no way you are going to let them do that to you and I will not allow it.”  Jesus turns to the disciples and makes a public rebuke, “Get behind me Satan”.  In your face Peter so that all know clearly where Jesus stands.  One moment Peter is having this high spirit of elation, the next he is deflated into shame.  But there is more, Jesus also lets them know how to stand with him in solidarity or against him with Satan.

Solidarity of the faithful with Jesus is to “deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.”  These three principles in unison are the works of the faithful.  The first principle, denial is self is the first work that we must do.  To assist us in this work is not to focus on self but on Jesus, what is pleasing to him, what is acceptable in his eyes and as the youth would say WWJD, “what would Jesus do?”  If the eyes of the soul are focused on him we realize, it is not about me, it is all about Him who I choose to abide in that we may be one as he is in the Father and in the Spirit.  We seek the Lord God who “opens my ear that I may hear; and I have not rebelled, have not turned back” This is the first of our faith at work that is pleasing to him.

The second principle is to take up our cross.  When we abide in him we take up our cross not with a sense of sorrow in our spirit because we feel denied of worldly pleasures but with a sense of joy to do his will for our life is in his will and “how good it is”.  The cross we bear is to feed the hungry, shelter the poor, cover the naked.  Solidarity is seen in the works of the faithful, doing the will of the Father.  Unfortunately the call for solidarity is confused with the call for salvation by some separated Christian faithful.  The argument is that we are saved by faith alone not by works.  The intent of the argument implies that we cannot earn our salvation by merits it comes by faith in Jesus Christ.  There is no meter reading to count our works and determine if we have been good enough or if our good works offset our bad works. 

The Catholic Church would agree we cannot earn our salvation by works of merit but that is not the position of the church as some misinterpret.  The church stands behind today’s reading, stresses the important relationship between faith and works.  They go hand-in-hand as two sides of the same coin, “faith of itself, if it does not have works is dead.”  Nowhere in scripture does it say that faith “alone” brings salvation.  Scripture also says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 7:21); “For I will render to every man according to his works…” (Rom. 2:6); “For if we sin deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful prospect of judgments…?”(Heb. 10:26-27); and finally, “You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone” (Jam. 2:24).  That is as clear an apologetic “rebuke” without being politically incorrect or pride fully “in your face” because it is the word of God. 

The third principle to “follow me” calls upon our baptismal vows as priest, prophet, and king.  Solidarity of the faithful is to stand behind the church as one body in Christ.  The Mass is the summit of that solidarity in the Eucharist.  To reach the summit we journey in life in the light provided by the sacraments to purify our lives and abide in holiness.  We all receive the guidance of the Holy Spirit when we search the deep things of God.  In the Mass “I confess” my sin, “I believe” in the Trinity in our personal confession of faith; then we celebrate, go forth and follow as one body in Christ. 

 When one part of the body of Christ suffers we all suffer and woe to those who desecrate the altar by their sin and cause scandal.  That is the seriousness and the sorrow of the crisis within the church today.  Failure of denial of self by priests breaking their vows of obedience and chastity willingly is a grave sin against God and in some cases a crime against humanity.  “Follow me” in rebuking those responsible that the body of Christ in the church will know clearly the will of God.  “Follow me” in purifying the church when it identifies those responsible who choose not to deny themselves and are no longer fit for the ministry of leading the faithful.  “Follow me” in solidarity with prayer, penance, and good works in atonement calling for healing and mercy.  The crisis in the church is beyond the sin of those responsible, it is a crisis of trust in the shepherd.  The works of Satan in the church do not represent the voice of God, yet God remains faithful to his bride and will purify her but not without suffering denial of self, the cross, and works of purification.  Faith without works is dead. 

There is no fear in God in confrontation and we must fear not the confrontation with evil regardless of the source, at home, work, school, public square and in the church.  We do not rebel against the church or turn back away from it we confront the evil with truth and seek mercy.  The Lord is our help and we are not disgraced.  We are also not alone in this battle.  We have the Church Penitent and the Church Triumphant.  The Church Penitent can be a source of penance for the sins of this world and the Church Triumphant can be a source of holiness for our purification.  “Do not forget the works of the Lord”.  When we abide in him we are the works of the Lord.  He did not come to condemn the world but the world must remain faithful to the covenant and it begins with me abiding in the body of Christ.  We hold a great treasure to be guarded, stay alert, keep watch, the hour is upon us and the redeemer comes in glory. 

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Homily

Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Nm. 21:4b-9; Phil. 2:6-11; Jn. 3:13-17

We know from Jesus himself in the gospel the correlation between the serpent in the desert of the first reading and Jesus being lifted up for salvation.  The serpent being the source of death goes back to Adam and Eve’s temptation by the serpent.  The punishment of the serpent is to drag itself on earth.  The serpent lifted up on a pole becomes the source of salvation from the Lord when he directs Moses to create this image and have the people look at it.  At first to place a serpent, the image of evil in the same mold as Jesus seems contrary to faith.  The serpent is the source of sin and Jesus the source of salvation.  The first step of conversion is to face our sin.  The serpent represents their sins and if we desire salvation we must face the truth about our sin.  Jesus takes the form of our sins that we may gaze upon salvation.

This however is a “seraph” serpent which is the singular form of Seraphim, the highest rank of angels in heaven.  “Seraph” means “the burning one”.  Imagine burning snakes from heaven bringing the poison of death for the sin of the people. 

In Isiah 6: 2-7 the Seraphim were stationed and one cried out, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of host!  At the sound of the cry, the frame of the door shook and the house was filled with smoke.  Then I said, “Woe is me, I am doomed!  For I am a man of unclean lips…Then one of the seraphim flew to me, holding an ember which he had taken with tongs from the altar.  He touched my mouth with it.  “See,” he said, “now that this has touched your lips your wickedness is removed, your sin purged.” 

Jesus takes the form of the sinful slave to purge the sin of the world exalted on the pole in the form of a cross.  Jesus brings the fire of salvation.  The cross should be at the door of our homes to shake the serpents of sin from entering our home. 

Salvation comes through Jesus “obedience to death, even death on a cross” It does not say that salvation comes without fire to purge us of our sins.  Early Christians experienced the great fire of martyrdom for their obedience to their faith.  Then there is the fire of being purged of our sins for what comes out of our mouth defiles and an ember of truth comes to purify us.  What about the fire of justice when we “do not forget the works of the Lord” and seek holy lives.  That too is a fire of obedience and humility to carry the cross and empty ourselves for the Lord. 

Jesus sends us the fire of the Holy Spirit to sustain us in our purity of faith.  He did not come to condemn the world but the world must remain faithful to the covenant.  The exaltation of the cross is the fire still burning for our sins.  The exaltation of the cross is mercy incarnate waiting to be loved.  The exaltation of the cross is a memorial of the cry for conversion of souls.  The works of the Lord is to bring others to the cross.  The cross is redemptive suffering if we accept it as our gift and fear not.  Mary remains at the side of Jesus on the cross so she too is our Mother of Sorrows calling us from her tender heart to repent and undergo the sacrifice of our lives for our salvation and the salvation of the world. 

The Church is under crisis and the Seraphim angels are bringing the fire to purge it from the serpent’s death.  Note that Jesus response to the cry of the suffering did not remove the poisonous serpents.  The serpents of sin remain in the world.  People continue to die from their sin, spiritually and mortally.  Our vision on the exaltation of the cross is victory over death.  We shall not die into the eternal fire of death but be raised with Christ in the Exaltation of the cross.  Jesus empties himself in the form of a slave.  Is he simply a slave to the human condition?  He is a slave to obedience, to truth, to his divine purpose.  May we follow our call to obedience and truth wherever it may lead us.  Guard ourselves against sin, we are his works called to holiness for a divine purpose.  “Do not forget the works of the Lord” and let it begin with me. 

 

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Homily The Deacon Joe

Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary time

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Is. 35: 4-7a; Jas. 2: 1-5; Mk. 7: 31-37

Ephphatha!  “Be opened”.  Isaiah’s prophesy in the first reading, “Here is your God, he comes with vindication; with divine recompense he comes to save you” is fulfilled in Jesus.  The healing of the deaf mute is one of many miracles performed by Jesus.  Keep in mind to a deaf mute you cannot explain things so he alone with Jesus must be open to trust Jesus even if his heart is frightened he accepts what Jesus is doing to him.   The crowd responds with “He has done all things well.”  Scholars believe that while he was in a region with primarily Gentiles there were also Jews who knew the scriptures and recognized by this statement an awareness of the connection to Isaiah and the coming era of salvation.  The miracle is a sign of the dawning of the messiah and this could be the One.

Historically, St. James letter comes after the gospel life of Jesus so we move forward from the coming of the messiah to the beginning of the early church.  The early church was what we would refer to as an unsegregated group of Jews, Gentiles, rich and poor.  The communities they were coming from however were very segregated in that Jews and Gentiles kept apart so the early church was faced not only with a concern for integration of two cultures but also the rich, poor, and slaves as one body in Christ to be truly Christian.  Sociologist might say a social experiment in integration for the purpose of salvation with divine intervention.

The Jesus prayer to the Father for his disciples before his arrest is “Father keep them in your name…so that they may be one just as we are” (Jn. 17: 11).  How united is our world, our country, our Church?  The world never ceases in war, a country founded as “one nation under God” is battling to take God out of the nation, and a Church founded by Christ is in crisis failing to guard against the sin from within.  Desegregation has come through changes in law not changes in hearts.  Jesus prays for solidarity, that we may all be one.

St. James addresses in part one of these concerns with the human tendency to give deference to the wealthy and allow them to become “judges” over other Christians of less stature.  He reminds them and all of us not to make these distinctions.  We are all sinners in need of salvation.

The church addresses this concern in the call for solidarity: “solidarity of the poor among themselves, between rich and poor, of workers among themselves, between employers and employees in a business, solidarity among nations and peoples” (CCC 1941).

Solidarity among the poor themselves reminds me growing up in poor neighborhoods from the barrios of Houston to the colonias of the Rio Grande Valley.  When we ran out of food such as eggs, potatoes, lard the kids were sent to the neighbor to ask if they could spare a little.  It was repaid with the same kind offering when someone came knocking on your door.  The man in the fruit truck would stop to sell his produce at the house and he always offered to keep a tab until payday.  The poor look after each other.  I remember the first time living in a middle class neighborhood around eight years old and nobody ever talked to their neighbors, everybody stayed indoors or in wood fenced backyards.

Solidarity between the rich and poor meant the landlord accepted partial payment for rent until payday and you could always buy on layaway without paying interest.  The rich farmer provided shelter for the migrant workers and if necessary gave an advance to help in times of unforeseen circumstances.  Now the poor turn to pawn shops and loan sharks in every poor neighborhood not to mention high interest rate credit cards.

Solidarity among workers themselves meant you learned from your peers as mentors to master a trade.  The more skilled worker was the “Maestro” who may not necessarily be the “Jefe” boss man.  It was the on the job school passing down a trade.  Now we go to trade schools and often start in debt, get a license, and insurance before we earn a buck to pay it all back.

Solidarity between employers and employees means earning a living wage.  The vision of the “American Dream” has changed over generations from opportunity to choice.  Originally it was work that provided an opportunity to have a career, raise a family, own a home and serve your duty for pleasure.  Over generations it has evolved to freedom of choice, upward mobility, doing better than your parents, and experiential “good life”, we all like the good life.  However we define the American Dream success requires solidarity between the worker and the business community.

Finally, solidarity is needed between nations and peoples.  For this we must give some credit to the Millennials generation, also called Gen Y.  Gen Y defines the American Dream as “Living in an open society in which everyone has equal chance.”  Their vision is family-centric with global peers.  You can take an on-line course, buy merchandise, do business, and skype with family from anywhere in the world feeling connected, present, and responsible to others world-wide with a greater vision for world peace.

This is not saying the “Dream” is a return to the “good old days”.  There is good, evil, and struggle in every generation from Adam and Eve on, just read the Bible.  Only God is good all the time.  We are a work in progress.  The poor are as resourceful as the rich and the poor can be as wasteful as the rich.  Solidarity is a shared responsibility for the resources God gives us to be blessed and be multiplied.

Wealth is a blessing but it can also lead to “evil designs” in the heart.  As we were reminded in last Sunday’s gospel, “Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile.”  We lose the purity of heart to be servants of the Lord.  Of the twelve Disciples who would have been the wealthiest?  Mathew was a Jew and a tax collector who by profession was known for their oppression of the poor in their collections.  God chose “those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith” not for their material poverty but for their humility and dependent faith on God.

In baptism is the “Ephphetha” prayer over the ears and mouth with these words, “The Lord Jesus made the deaf hear and the dumb speak.  May he soon touch your ears to receive his word, and your mouth to proclaim his faith, to the praise and glory of God the Father.”  We have been given a spiritual treasure from our baptism and we are to be in solidarity between the Church Militant on earth, the Church Penitent in purgatory, and the Church Triumphant in heaven.  We are warriors for Christ and our solidarity is with our Blessed Mother, the Angels, and Saints in the call to holiness.  Be opened to the work of the Holy Spirit that we may do all things well for the glory of God with us, in us, and through us that we may all be one.

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Homily

Friday, Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time

Posted on by Deacon Joe

1 Cor. 4: 1-5; Lk. 5: 33-39

1 Cor. 4: 1-5; Lk. 5: 33-39

The gospel today reminds us of Jesus’ proclamation, “I have come to make all things new.”  The reading however brings to light our human struggle in accepting the new with the words, “The old is good.”  We have a tendency to not like change.  Change can be disruptive, it produces uncertainties.  In the old there is familiarity, even if we know it has problems we are familiar and have adapted to those problems.  We judge “the old is good” enough why change.

When a new priest is assigned to a parish the first concern is what will he change, “the old is good we are happy with status quo”.  The change comes and the complaints start.  Just when the new becomes old a change of priest is made and we start over again.  The responsorial reminds us, “commit in the Lord your way; trust in him, and he will act”.  If we trust in him then we withhold judgment.  If we trust in him we become what is new to mold us and fashion us in the potters hands.  If you take putty the more you mold it in your hands the softer it becomes.  If you let it sit for a long time it becomes hard, dry, and brittle.  God needs servants who he can mold to serve the diversity of people in the world.  The message of salvation is the same.   How we come to the realization and revelation of the message is by being molded in Jesus’ hands as servants for the new evangelization.  We have many opportunities to evangelize from birth to death such as in baptisms, weddings, funerals, visiting the sick, feeding the poor, and raising a holy family.  The gifts to serve and evangelize are from God when we surrender into his hands. 

St. Paul however reminds us in the first reading of the obvious for the church to function as one body.   “Now it is of course required of stewards that they be found trustworthy.”  Today all are speaking of the crisis in the church which at the heart of the crisis is a breach of trust.  The community receives a new priest into the church to be a pastor.  The priesthood is a call from God bestowed by the church.  Being a pastor comes from the relationship between the priest and the people.  It is a relationship not based on blind faith but found trustworthy as “stewards of the mysteries of God” by the good works.  Faith and works make for true discipleship, builds trust, and builds God’s kingdom on a strong foundation. 

Sadly and tragically we have had wolves in sheep’s clothing using the cover of the church violating the trust of the people.  That in itself is a crime and a tragedy.  The mishandling of the crime by the church is double jeopardy.  The culture of our times trusts transparency not secrecy.  Secrecy created a shadow of doubt and division.  St. Paul reminds us, “do not make any judgment before the appointed time, until the Lord comes, he will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will manifest the motives of our hearts.”  The Lords has come bringing to light what was hidden and the time for penance, reparation, healing, and renewal is upon us.  “He will make justice dawn for you like the light; bright as the noonday shall be your vindication.”  For the victims the Lord, “is their refuge in times of distress…he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him.”  Today we pray for deliverance and renewal within the church, “For the Lord loves what is right, and forsakes not his faithful ones.  Deliverance and renewal will come but first there must be purification.  Purification will be painful for it includes accountability and change.  “Change” that word again to which there is resistance.  We must all contribute as change agents through penance, prayer and trust in the Lord for he is faithful.  The Lord will not abandon his bride the Church.  In silence we pray and in justice we speak for change to be God’s will, “he will act”. 

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