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Homily The Deacon Joe

Twelfth Sunday Ordinary Time – A new creation

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Jb. 38:1, 8-11; Ps. 107:23-26, 28-31; 2 Cor. 5:14-17; Mk. 4:35-41

“So, whoever is in Christ is a new creation”.  The one who died for all is Christ that we may no longer live for ourselves but for him.  As he died in the flesh, we too are to must put to death the “flesh”.   This does not mean we deprive ourselves of food, water, or neglect our health.  To put to death the flesh is to separate ourselves from the sins of the flesh we call the seven capital sins, that is anger, envy, gluttony, greed, lust, pride and sloth.  As Jesus died and rose again, we too can die to ourselves and rise as a new creation each time we come to receive a sacrament.  We take the step to die to ourselves and Jesus is the one who brings us to new life. 

Jesus died once for all, but we must die endlessly while we live in the flesh.  Each time we deny ourselves a pleasure, offer a sacrifice for a greater good, refuse to retaliate for an offense we die to ourselves and the God who makes all things new gives us the greater graces and blessing.  The expression we know very well is “easier said than done”.  We are weak and as soon as we deny ourselves one pleasure, we are tempted with another.  If we say to ourselves “I refuse to get angry” it seems that is when someone upsets us the most.  The test will come and it is never easy to deny ourselves. 

God knows but he is not waiting for us to fail the test but to turn to him for the power to overcome the test.  He has already demonstrated his power throughout salvation history and yet who do we turn to first and last?  First, we turn to our pride to say “I am going to do this” only to see ourselves giving up because we never gave it to God that he may be glorified in us.  We are reminded of the words of Jesus, “Do you not yet have faith?”  When we make it about us, we already took a step in the wrong direction.  Our faith must be to trust God.  We can never become the new creation without surrendering to our God. 

Our God is the one who makes all things possible.  He reveals himself in Jesus “whom even the wind and sea obey”.  He revealed himself to Job with the same power to make still the “proud waves”.  Jesus is Lord of the seen and unseen.  If we believe he is the God of all creation then nothing is outside his power.  What is more marvelous is that he wants to reveal his power through us.  This is the reality that all the saints came not only to believe but to desire.  As Saint Teresa of Calcutta said her desire was to be a pencil in God’s hand.  God does great things with those who trust in him.  One of those great acts he does is to take a sinful person and transform them into a new creation, a great saint. 

Saintliness is not reserved for the few who the Church may recognize.  Saintliness is the call for all the people of God.  In our own state in this world, we can live a saintly life.  In fact, God is not about giving people the recognition of being a saint in this world.  He is about doing his work in the poor in spirit, in the suffering, in the humble, in the least thought about.  God works in the simplicity of the heart who just want to love him and serve him.  Those that the world is quick to reject are his greatest treasure. 

It is not where we start out in life but where we end up being.  We start out seeking glory and we end up giving God the glory.  We start out building up our own little kingdom of treasures and we end up giving away what we have that has lost its meaning.  We start out living for ourselves and end up living for others.  We start out fearing death and end up welcoming the freedom that comes with the death of the flesh.  We start out seeking meaning of life in who we are and we end up finding meaning of life in who God is.  We start out as creatures of God’s creation and end up being a new creation as a child of God.  The beginning has happened and where we end up being is for all eternity.  Never be fooled that “it” does not matter because whatever “it” is know that for God it all matters. 

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Homily The Deacon Joe

4th Sunday Ordinary Time What is this?

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Dt. 18:15-20; Ps. 95:1-2, 7-9; 1 Cor. 7:32-35; Mk. 1:21-28

“What is this?  A new teaching with authority?”  This is the Word made flesh who has come into the world, the anointed one, Jesus of Nazareth.  This is the prophet like Moses when he said “the Lord, your God (will) raise up from among your own kin; to him you shall listen.”  This is the time for repentance, conversion, and to hear his voice in our lives calling us into his kingdom. 

Today Jesus is with us and we hear his voice in the proclamation of the Word, in the magisterium of the Church for “who hears you hears me” Jesus tells his disciples.  What is this but the coming of the Kingdom of God among us ready to welcome the sinner, the poor, the suffering, the sick in body and soul.  What is this but the power of God to bring healing, hope, joy, mercy, and salvation.  This is the kingdom come that we pray for and is already in our midst. 

What is this?  It is more than a teaching it is the authority itself that commands and it is done.  Jesus commands the unclean spirit to come out of a man and it is done.  Even the unclean spirit recognizes “the Holy One of God”.  It is the authority he gives his apostles to go and make disciples to the ends of the world.  When we come to receive Jesus in the sacraments of the Church, we become not only heirs to the kingdom but also participants in his redemptive mission for the salvation of souls.  This is a responsibility we carry to give witness and proclaim the gospel in the way we live, we love, and we worship the Lord. 

Today, St. Paul in his letter to the Corinthians tries to give us some practical advice to decrease our anxiety. It is to live the celibate life.  Marriage creates the stress of supporting a family in the world while being single allows for worries of only pleasing God.  This practical advice was taken to heart by the Catholic Church in the call to the priesthood so that priestly vocation is a consecration to God without the stress of marriage.  The same is true for women who enter religious vocation.  It can also be true for single men who become deacons they no longer can marry.   A layperson can choose to become a monk or friar and remain celibate as can a layperson who desires to serve God through their professional vocation. 

Marriage is also a gift and calling to build up the kingdom of God in the domestic church of a home.  It is a call to holiness in the sacramental vows of a man and a woman.  Marriage is the blessing of the union as designed by God thus civil unions are not valid “marriages” for the church whether between a man and a woman or as in today’s environment between same sex couples.  Those who choose to separate themselves from this teaching are not listening to the Word of God and the voice of Jesus.  Many to stand by the Word of God are being persecuted by the will of the State, in courts, and by a culture of death.  This is a time of trial and we are to prepare for the battle growing in our culture and even within the Church. 

Who is this that speaks with authority and even the unclean spirits obey?  This is our redeemer and our judge.  How we choose to respond to his authority in obedience or by following our own way will determine how we come to face the king of glory on the day judgment in exultation or in misery.  Now is the time of atonement for the hour is near and our days are numbered.  Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy. 

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Homily The Deacon Joe

19th Sunday Ordinary Time – Tiny whispering sound

Posted on by Deacon Joe

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

The Lord came to Elijah in “a tiny whispering sound”.  We live in a time with great focus on “climate change” and preserving the environment.  For centuries people have been waiting for the final coming of the Lord and the “end times” also called Eschatology “the study of the last things to come”.  When major tragedies of events happen in the world many question “could this be the end times?”  Today we hear of records being broken for high temperatures, major fires from Canada, the melting icebergs, record flooding in some areas while others have major droughts and again many ask “could this be the end times?”    Elijah the great prophet teaches us today that the Lord is not in the crushing wind, or the earthquake, or the fire but in the tiny whispering sound. 

The Lord speaks to us in the silence but we must be very still to hear his whispering in our hearts.  There is a retreat center not far from us along the King Ranch area called Leb Shomea where the rule of the center is “silence”.  You arrive in silence and you leave in silence and you determine how long you wish to stay.  The goal is captured in the Greek word “Prautes” meaning “with a still heart”.  If we really desire to prepare ourselves for the coming of the Lord then we must find time to be still and silent to hear his tiny whispering sound speak to us and enlighten us to his presence already with us.  The Lord comes to those who wait upon the Lord having prepared themselves for his coming.  Are we prepared today that he would come to us this day and reveal to us his love, his mercy, his presence through the Holy Spirit?  Have we prepared to receive him body, blood, soul and divinity in the Eucharist, with prayer, sacrifice, charity, and love?

The end times comes every day, sometimes suddenly and unexpected to the individual who takes his last breath of mortal life and passes on to his day of judgment.  The end times has come to every civilization that has existed in the past most having only a few centuries of history before collapsing.  The end of an age has come from prehistoric, to ice age, Bronze age, Middle Ages and so on all coming to an end and passing on to a “new world order”.  For the world it is about the existence of the planet and the people who inhabit it.  For God it is about the Kingdom of God that has come to those who call upon the Lord to receive it.  When we pray “thy Kingdom come” we pray not for the end times to come but for the present kingdom of God that is with us.  We pray to be in his kingdom this day guided by the Holy Spirit, received by the Father and brothers in Christ Jesus. 

We pray to let thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.  It does not come in the thunder of the world but in the silence of the heart as a whispering sound.  We pray “let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation” this day from every evil and temptation we face.  Save us from the snares of the devil, save us from sin of the flesh, and save us from the pride of the heart. The Lord saves us in the whispering sound of his truth that speaks to our hearts, in his justice looking down from heaven that convicts us when we stray from the truth, and in the blessings that increase when we walk before him in the “way of his steps”.  God has given us his footsteps to follow.  It is in his word, in his sacrifice on the cross, in his food we receive in the Eucharist, and in his mercy and kindness we experience from his love.  That is why we say “the kingdom of heaven is at hand” because it is here, if only we open our hearts and listen for his voice in the whispering sound. 

In the gospel today, Jesus goes up on the mountain to pray by himself, seeking silence to listen to his own heart and be in union with the Father.  The disciples however are “a few miles offshore” on a boat when Jesus appears to them walking on the sea towards them.  These are grown men yet they cry out in fear like little children.  Jesus reassures them to “take courage, it is I; do not be afraid”.  Peter’s courage is short lived at first asking to go to Jesus on the water and then as soon as he does fear and doubt take over and he begins to sink calling out “Lord, save me!”  When the Lord call on us, he desires us to get out of our comfort zone, to walk in faith with courage called to make a leap of faith.  Most people are like the disciples who would not even think of trying to walk on water.  Peter dared to ask and was granted this blessing but like the seed that fell on rock soil his faith soon died and he sank into the water.  The Lord said to Peter as he says to us “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 

This reading came to my mind a few years ago when I was at a conference.  One of the conference evening activities included the opportunity to do the “fire walk”.  They laid out burning wood creating a path of about ten yards and people who wanted to experience the fire walk were invited to participate.  The instructor first gave us the demonstration and slowly some chose to walk on fire and others not.  This reminded me of Peter who climbed out of the boat and discovered he could walk on water.  As I saw other people do it, I realized fear was the only thing stopping me and so I decided that even though I did not know how it was possible, my eyes saw that it was possible and so I did it.  What is God calling us to step out of the boat and onto the water for him?  What is the fire that makes us fearful and avoid becoming even a stronger person of faith?

I just read a short book by Mathew Kelly called “Everybody Evangelizes About Something”.  When we become excited about something we almost can’t keep it to ourselves.  If we get excited about something new, we bought, we tell others how we are enjoying it.  This is not only free marketing but a form of evangelizing a product.  If we are excited about a sports team, we love talking about it and promoting the team.  The question then is why do we fear evangelizing about our faith in God, as Catholic Christians?  Letting others know our identity as a Catholic Christian is an open invitation to dialogue about our faith.  Perhaps the next time someone asks, “what do you do?” instead of answering with what work you do consider first responding with “I practice my Catholic faith in order to serve God first.  I try to do it in everything I do”.   How is that for a segway to evangelization. 

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Homily The Deacon Joe

1st Sunday of Lent – Get away, Satan! 

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Gen. 2:7-9, 3:1-7; Ps. 51:3-6, 12-14, 17; Rom. 5:12-19; Mt.4:1-11

Get away, Satan!  The world denies the existence of Satan and he rejoices because he is free to do his works of temptation, celebrate our sins and bring down the fall of humanity.  The problem for Satan is that the victory has been won for humanity through Christ on the cross for those who claim the cross of salvation.  Thus, Christ died for all but not all have received him.  Satan still prowls about the world seeking the ruin of souls.  Satan is the fallen angel from heaven whose domain is the world for now. That is why Jesus who came into the world had to face Satan and call out to him “Get away, Satan!” 

Satan has lost but he can still bring misery when we open ourselves up to his snares and web of evil.  In our struggles with temptation, with living the commandments of God do we recognize the evil one at work and call out to him, “Get away, Satan” or do we fall into the illusion that Satan is a myth, an invention to scare people, or even if he does exist, he is not in the world.  Satan is in the world, and we see that in the bible when Jesus calls demons out of people, even his most chosen disciple Peter. Jesus turns away from Peter and says to him, “Get behind me, Satan! (Mt. 16:23, Mk 8:33) after Peter tried to rebuke Jesus for his teaching on the Passion to come. 

Satan is the king of lies.  He lied to the woman “you certainly will not die!” and death entered the world.  He lied to Jesus “All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me” and Jesus replied, “Get away, Satan!”  Satan lies to us daily with the temptation to sacrifice ourselves to the world and the world will reward us with power, fame, and riches, only to discover for the world we will be a fading memory soon to be forgotten.  Satan makes the same false promise “all these I shall give you” in this earthly kingdom whose destiny is death.  Life in the glory of God comes when we turn to Jesus and offer ourselves and all we do, and all our love to worship God alone.  The more we dedicate ourselves to God the more our minds, hearts, and soul say, “Get away, Satan!” 

The more we open ourselves to the temptation of the world the more fire from hell we encounter.  What is this fire?  It is the fire from the temptation to “be like gods” who define for themselves what is good and what is evil.  “The woman saw that the tree was good for food, pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom” and ignored the command of God.  The temptation of evil is that if it feels good do it and keep doing it only to discover the pleasure turns into the fire of pain as it dominates the flesh.  The temptation pleasing to the eyes says if you like it take it, take the goods, the property, the person and objectify it turning a blessing into the fire of a curse.  “Be like gods” gaining your own wisdom and creating your own reality until the day comes when the true reality is revealed by the fire of death. 

Are we ready to risk eternity for the short lifespan of being like gods?  Death is the product of sin so let us begin to enter into eternity by overcoming our sin.  The source of falling into sin is Satan so overcoming our sin cannot be our doing alone but “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” says Philippians 4:13. The “one righteous act” of Jesus on the cross gives us “acquittal and life”.  Have we made that commitment to holiness?  This is the purpose of this Lenten journey to “be made righteous” by coming to the cross in obedience to the commandments and love of Jesus.  It comes through prayer,  penance and almsgiving.  Pray for the strength to overcome our weakness, do penance for our sins, and receive mercy by the mercy of charity to others.  This is the formula the church gives us “and the Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.” 

We are to pray, “Be merciful, O Lord for we have sinned” but mercy requires commitment to avoid sin and seek holiness.  Mercy is a call to change, to be transformed from sinful to holy, and to be transfigured by the light of Christ.  If mercy we seek what is going to change in our lives this Lenten season and beyond.  Jesus forty days in the desert, fasting and being tempted was in preparation for his commitment to his eternal call, to still suffer this day for your sins and mine.  We are given an eternal call from God to serve him with all our heart, mind and soul and Lent is the test and training ground to discover are we ready to respond to the call. 

The response to the call comes from our freedom to love, to obey, and to follow.  We are no longer slaves unless we choose to enter into the slavery of sin.  Freedom is not the choice to do as we please but to decide our way or God’s way.  In freedom we recognize the limits God has commanded from us and by our choice we accept to live according to those limits.  This choice by act of the free will reveals then to us the blessings, beauty, and joy of God’s way.  Lent is this opportunity to walk the walk with Jesus, to pick up the cross and invite him to transform us.  We can live the discipline of Lent or we can comply with the discipline of Lent.  One is transformative and the other simply following a tradition for another season while nothing changes from within. 

The goal of Lent is transformation.  What are we willing to leave behind to come closer to God and be perfect by holy?  Some may say why give up candy, food, alcohol, viewing television if at the end we plan to return to the same pleasures.  To deny ourselves a pleasure has merit in gaining the discipline of the flesh.  If we can begin to deny ourselves small things, we can build greater spiritual muscle to face greater challenges.  So, when the day comes and the doctor says you have diabetes and need to change your food habits you know that yes you can do it.  When you come to realize certain habits are not good for your mental, physical and spiritual good you can have the discipline to change for the better. 

We were created body and soul and receive the breath of life from God and the gift of the Holy Spirit.  It is good to begin with the discipline of the flesh to grow in our spiritual life.  The discipline of the flesh opens up our soul to receive graces from God and ascend to the discipline of the spirit.  The discipline of the spirit is rooted in prayer.  Without the discipline of a prayer life God simply waits and watches our feeble efforts at life while the fruit of the spirit cannot mature to give greater bread from heaven.  The bread of heaven is Jesus, and we are called to bring Jesus to others.  We are called to bring “the gracious gift of the one man, Jesus Christ (to) overflow for the many”.  It is not about where we’ve been but where God is leading us.  Get away, Satan, we belong to God and the gates of hell belong to you. 

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The Deacon Joe

7th Sunday Ordinary Time – Be perfect, be holy!

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Liv. 19:1-2, 17-18; Ps. 103:1-4, 8, 10, 12-13; 1 Cor. 3:16-23; Mt.5:38-48

Be perfect, be holy as our heavenly father is perfect and holy.  This is our call in every state of life for if we have come and surrendered ourselves to him we become the temple of God and all our response to life good or evil, just or unjust is the love of a merciful God.  Today, Jesus delivers the roadmap to “be perfect, be holy” which is to allow him to reside in us as his temple that he may manifest himself through us to the world. 

We recall the once very popular letters “WWJD” meaning “what would Jesus do”.  Today he is saying “if you love me do as I have revealed to you to do, do that!”  Immediately we recognize if we are honest to ourselves our weakness to “do that!”.  It also raises some important questions such as “are we to ignore evil?” or “are we to accept injustice?” or “or are we to let others take advantage of us?”  What did Jesus do?  In some situations, Jesus did this by remaining silent, in other situations he walked away, he also turned the tables on tax collectors, and in many situations, Jesus spoke up and delivered the truth.  To be perfect, be holy is to discern the will of God and allow him to work through us to deliver God’s message of salvation. 

The words “God works in mysterious ways” is to carry a missionary spirit knowing that in God there is no hate for he is love and his love is perfect and holy.  The missionary spirit accepts that to be perfect be holy is going to constantly be tested by a world that lives for itself and rejects God.  God works to turn the tables on the world through the sacrifice of his sons and daughters as he did in Jesus.  In this world we may not know the good of our sacrifice but the day is coming when the reward will be revealed to us and the impact of our sacrifice. 

There are many battles in the war against sin and not all are our calling but every day there is a battle before us in which we are being asked to be perfect in our response and bring God’s holiness into the moment by declaring our love of God by our love response to others.  In this we will know God is with us until the end of the world. 

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The Deacon Joe

6th Sunday Ordinary Time – If you choose!

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Sir. 15:15-20; Ps. 119:1-2, 4-5, 17-18, 33-34; 1 Cor. 2:6-10; Mt.5:17-37

“If you choose!”  If you choose heaven is waiting but it comes with a call to obedience, not my will but your Lord.  Created in the freedom to choose to obey or not, to choose good or evil, we either follow the law of God or choose to deny him.  When we follow the law of the Lord, we discover true freedom from the fire of hell and come to the waters of salvation.  The God of love “does not command to act unjustly” or “give a license to sin” thus we cannot come to God and say “the devil made me do it” as Adam and Eve tried to pass on the blame.   It didn’t work for Adam and Eve and it won’t work for us.  God “understands man’s every deed” meaning he knows our deepest motivation from the mind and heart that is leading us to commit our deeds by our choice.  Where is the mercy of God?  If you choose you can be free from sin and enter the kingdom of God.

Before we are tempted to ask as the disciples did “who then can enter the kingdom of God?” and judge that we are simply “all sinners and fall short of the glory of God” by our choice let us recall our God is a loving God full of mercy and forgiveness.  The mercy of God sees beyond the act of sin to the source of sin.  A misguided heart from childhood can undergo many trials in life that create a pattern and precondition to sin.  Consider the child who undergoes abuse, how is he to learn to trust in a God after his trust in others was betrayed; or how is a poorly developed conscience that is formed to believe it is a “dog eat dog world” with winners and losers so whatever it takes to win is justified. 

God does not abandon his own creation but will provide for that moment of conversion whereby if you choose mercy and redemption is given to the repentant thief, even at the hour of death.  The choice from God’s love is ours, choose wisely for the hour is coming when we are put to the test.  The test is to choose to “keep the commandments, they will save you.” 

The obedience to God also comes through the church as Jesus declared “whoever listens to you listens to me.  Whoever rejects you rejects me.  And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”  What a tremendous responsibility and trust he is placing on his disciples who are to be the foundation of his church.  The takeaway for us is we cannot say, “I believe in God but not in his church”.  This is not one of the choices.  If we have a problem with the church then come and discover where does this teaching, doctrine, and church law has it’s basis otherwise we either get over it or we find ourselves stretching out hand out to the fire or the water. 

Even less is the choice to say “I follow my conscience.”  A conscience can be very well intentioned and very poorly informed.  All we have to do is look to the world and how everyone feels entitled to their truth in choices of life, death, identity, and to deny the existence of sin.  This hand is reaching for the fire. 

If you choose to follow the law of the Lord then “your way is blameless” because Jesus Christ has taken up our sins on the cross.  We are now followers of the way of truth, goodness, justice, and charity.  In the waters of baptism, he comes through the Holy Spirit into the deepest recesses of our hearts and will give us wisdom to discern the will of God.  We are to pray “Incline my heart according to your will, O God”, then go forth and trust in the Lord.  The mind of humanity will never capture the fullness of the Lord but it can receive his love in the fullness of our capacity to love him.  St. Thomas Aquinas after years as a priest, after thousands of pages of writing and deep thought had a vision of the Lord that caused him such an impact he never had another word written down.  We don’t have to be the smartest mind.  We need to be the humblest of creatures. 

Having grown up with parents who only had a first-grade education their reading and writing was very limited and yet what filled them with the wisdom of God came “through the Spirit” baptized in the faith there was a maturity of faith by choosing to follow the law of the Lord.  It gave them the gifts of the Spirit not only faith, hope and love but also the virtues of justice, prudence, strength and temperance.   This is the blessing of the Spirit to enter into the deepest recesses of our heart and guide a well-formed conscience.  They simply choose to follow the law of the Lord, keep it simple and the Spirit came with divine teaching to guide them on the way to salvation. 

If you choose to follow in the way of the Lord the Spirit comes to light the way.  We often do not speak of the Spirit enough.  Our hearts center on God the Father and Jesus the Son and miss out on the power of the Spirit.  It is the Spirit that “scrutinizes everything, even the depths of God”.  If the Spirit scrutinizes everything then it reveals the whole truth of our being.  It is given to us to be our advocate to the Father for it is the Spirit that is the indwelling gift within us and knows our very essence for what we choose to be and to act.  We are to always pray “come Holy Spirit take possession of my heart and strengthen me by your grace”. 

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Homily The Deacon Joe

First Sunday of Advent – “Therefore, stay awake!”

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Is. 2:1-5; Ps. 122:1-9; Rom. 13:11-14; Mt. 24:37-44

“Therefore, stay awake!  And so it begins, the first Sunday of Advent, the anticipation of the coming of the Lord, and our preparation for his coming.  So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”  Advent is the start of a new year of preparation for the coming of the Lord “For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed”.  Each day of life is one day closer to the end for all of us and if prepared for it then we go rejoicing to enter into the eternal house of the Lord. 

Success in life is no accident but a continuous effort at being prepared for what is next.  We prepare for the next step in a process, the next opportunity to come, and the readiness to respond when it is here.  It only makes sense when we think of being successful in this world why would be different in terms of readiness for the eternal world?  Those who do not remain in their slumber, asleep to the heavenly reality.  The Lords calls us to be ready at any moment, to live each day as if it was the last in our preparation for heaven. 

What does this preparation for heaven involve as a Christian?  The Church is here to prepare us by living the sacramental life.  The Word of God is here to be incarnated into our being calling us to go forth and live the Word.  The Spirit comes with infused virtues to strengthen our resolve and discern the will of God for what is next.  Jesus gives himself up to us in body, blood, soul and divinity to give us his holiness and be holy. 

Therefore, to stay awake is to remain in the Lord even as we prepare for him.  We “put on the Lord Jesus Christ” by living our works of light and no space is given to the darkness of the flesh.  As the militant Church on earth our call is to do the next right thing before the Lord, one righteous act followed by another, one truth to follow another, one act of charity, forgiveness, compassion, and love followed by another.  It is the call to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect.  The evil one whispers to us that it cannot be done, reminding us of our past record showing our failure, weakness, and temptations.  We respond with truth, “we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us”.  When we put our trust in Jesus Christ and take that first right step towards him, he comes and brings us our salvation. 

Therefore, stay awake and let us allow the peace of Christ to be within us.  Isiah foretold “In the days to come, the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest mountain”.  The day has come through and in Jesus and he established the new Jerusalem is his church.  Every day we come to Mass we climb the highest mountain on earth, the pinnacle of salvation at the altar to receive Jesus in the Eucharist and with him his mother, brothers and sisters in the holy of holies.  Today we climb the mountain of the Lord and “throw off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light” as true warriors of Christ.  The battle is against the principalities of darkness that rise up in the temptation of the flesh.  The battle for the kingdom is within and we must fight the good fight.  Win this battle and we have nothing to fear of this world. 

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Homily The Deacon Joe

The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King

Posted on by Deacon Joe

2 Sm. 5:1-3; Ps. 122:1-5; Col. 1:12-20; Lk. 23:35-43

Christ the King, “the chosen one”.  Christ the King is not only “the chosen one, the Christ of God” but God in the flesh as the second person of the Trinity.  This makes him above all not only “This is the King of the Jews” but the king of all in the heavens and earth, our king.  In Christ the King “all the fullness was pleased to dwell”, the fullness of God himself, the fullness of love, mercy, and sacrifice for our sins that as unworthy sinners we may all be reconciled to him “by the blood of his cross”.   

This is the day of rejoicing for the sinner is redeemed, the unfit made fit, the broken made whole, and the poor in spirit made rich in grace.  This is our rejoicing that from the darkness of this world we now share in “the inheritance of the holy ones in light”.  What are we doing with our inheritance to spread this light into our world?  Christ on the cross is the victory over death with the mandate to “go forth” and multiply our inheritance as witnesses of the light. 

When our children look up to us do they see the light of love coming to them or the grumpiness of our struggles for the day?  Is it about us this day or about rejoicing in thanksgiving for the light of God’s love is with, in and through us?   This is our celebration today that we live in this light and are blessed to receive our Lord and King, Jesus Christ.  The Lord’s kingship then makes us his servants to follow in the truth the king has revealed of himself and his kingdom.  The kingship is not a democracy but an authority out of love for God’s creation.  In his kingship there is not “my truth” as my own “god” but the truth for eternal salvation. 

Christ the King established his authority in the Word, in the Spirit and in the flesh.  The Word was given to the disciples to go and teach the Word with the authority of the King.  Jesus says to his disciples “I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.  Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Mt. 16:19) This is his church speaking for the King we call today the magisterium, the chosen ones to follow in his kingship with authority, trusted with the keys to multiply the kingdom of God. 

Christ the King also promised us the advocate, coming in the Spirit with authority to pour out his graces upon the elect with power to change the world.  In baptism we receive the Holy Spirit to be holy bringing the light into the darkness.  The Spirit comes with fire to fire us up with the Lord’s passion to move mountains.  It does not leave us idle, doubtful, and insecure living in fear of evil, death, or harm.  The Spirit is active, powerful, and committed to something greater than ourselves, something inspired by heaven itself.  When we find it, we will know it is for us to serve our calling, our source of love, our road to salvation. 

Christ the King comes in the flesh even this day body, blood, soul and divinity in the Eucharist as a continued sacrifice of himself for us.  His coming in the flesh is to transform us incarnated in our flesh as one body, Christ in us and we in him.  If he is in us there is no doubt but joy and the fullness of his love for us.  We come as we are into his embrace with our own fiat to be done with us according to his will and we will be purified, healed, and made whole for all eternity.  No sickness of the flesh or death can destroy the body waiting to rise in us.  It is the promise of the resurrection made visible in Jesus himself.  Now is the time for us to rise again to new life even was we live in this flesh. 

Christ the King comes to rule with fire that all may be purified by the fire of his love.  Fire cleanses the impurities of our soul giving off the light and reflection of God’s image upon us.  This image is to go forth and set our world on fire.  Christianity came into the world not to be assimilated into the world but to transform the world.  The world allows Christianity to coexist in the world as long as it remains within the confines of its walls and out of the public square.  Once it becomes a voice for conversion of the world it is scourged into silence and threatened into compliance.  What are we to do?  Do we remain silent, lukewarm, and remain culturally acceptable or do we fear not and go forth? 

The Lord cautions the lukewarm “so because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth” (Rev:3:16) The chosen one calls the elect to fear not and go forth to claim the kingdom waiting to rise up in victory.  The fearful remain silent assimilated into the mainstream of cultural tradition waiting for the end to come.  The choice is now for us to make while there is still time.  Christ the King is waiting for us to respond with our fiat, he will take us the rest of the way for he is faithful and will never depart from us. 

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The Deacon Joe

33rd Sunday Ordinary Time – The Lord comes!

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Mal. 3:19-20a; Ps. 98:5-9; 2 Thes. 3:7-12; Lk. 21:5-19

“The Lord comes to rule the earth with justice.”  In a world where we witness so much injustice in the form of crime, abuse of life, inequalities and inequities one may question, “where is the Lord?”  Must we wait for the final judgement to come and keep asking “Teacher, when will this happen?”  History if full of nations rising against nations, wars, natural disasters, and awesome sights such as man on the moon.  History is full of persecutions of people by race, ethnicity, and nation.   Christian persecution from the time of the early church and death to so many and yet the Lord says, “not a hair on your head will be destroyed”. 

Generation upon generation evildoers have risen up against others only to fall “leaving them neither root nor branch, set on fire and coming to an end.  “But for you who fear my name, there will arise the sun of justice with its healing rays”.  Many martyrs and lived and died with this hope of what is coming and waiting for us knowing this life is a short pilgrimage compared to eternity.  Our purpose is to be sanctified by the cross of Jesus however that cross may come to be. 

The Lord’s justice resides in the soul of a person who by our perseverance we will secure our lives.  This body will decay but we preserve the soul from the decay of sin by our perseverance in the faith.  Perseverance of the faith is the work we are to never grow weary of.  In this the Lord is to rule our hearts and justice is ours for even in mortal death there is a greater glory ready to capture us and lift us out of our suffering. 

The challenge for us is the obedience of walking in his justice.  Jesus laid out a plan for us to follow in his footsteps.  It is a plan of calling for love and mercy for all.  It is a plan of work for the kingdom of God.  We are to work the plan with focused attention and not conduct ourselves in a “disorderly way”.  All we do we are to do for the glory of God.  When we walk in his justice the gates of heaven are opened up for us.  Let us not be disturbed by the noise this world creates but be still and hear the voice of God coming to us in the stillness of our hearts.  The Lord comes to us this day, let us rejoice at his coming. 

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Homily The Deacon Joe

32nd Sunday Ordinary Time – All are alive!

Posted on by Deacon Joe

32nd Sunday Ordinary Time – All are alive!

All are alive!  The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection and even the Pharisees who did believe considered the resurrection to come in the future.  Jesus reveals today our God “is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.”  We just celebrated All Saints Day and All Souls Day to affirm “all are alive” in Jesus.  There are some Christian denominations who believe after death a soul remains “at rest” in its body until the day of the resurrection except that the body decays so that cannot be.  The day of the resurrection came into the world with the resurrection of Jesus.  Jesus went into the netherworld and freed the souls in purgatory and is ready to free us from the grip of death.  If anything, the souls are in a state of purgatory not in the ground. 

Today we have the witness of the seven brothers and their mother to remain faithful to God in the midst of their persecution.  Are we as ready as the seven brothers and their mother to die for the Lord?  The Church teaches upon death there is an immediate particular judgment so we pass from mortal life to eternal life.  There is also a general judgement when we will regain our bodies but until then our souls exist to love and serve the Lord of the living together will all the saints and souls in purgatory.  This was the essence of the hope of the seven brothers and their mother as one says “with the hope God gives of being raised up by him”.  These seven brothers and their mother are an arch type of perfect love represented by the number seven and the mother of our Blessed Mother at their side facing the evil of this world who desires to impose their will upon them. 

In the Sadducees we are reminded that even among those who believe in God there are some who do not accept there is a day of judgment that will come swiftly and we must prepare ourselves each day for his coming.  Some claim there is no hell and we are all headed to heaven.  Others believe the body and soul cannot separate so the souls of the dead remain in the ground by their decomposed bodies asleep until the day of the resurrection.  From here comes the Halloween stories of ghosts at cemeteries but if we recall the angels appearing at the tomb claiming “Why are you looking for the living One among the dead? (Lk. 24:5)” He is alive and so are those who have died in Christ. 

There are those who represent the power of this world who in their own way desire to force the faithful to “eat the pork” of their values, laws, and decrees even when they are in opposition to our own faith and commandments.  It is our turn now to undergo the test.  Do we stand for the right to life or accept the right to end life in abortion, euthanasia, or a sentence to die?  Do we stand for religious freedom or quietly become silenced by a cancel culture in the public square?  The disciples were commanded to stop speaking in the name of Jesus.  They were persecuted and even killed but their joy was complete to stand as the seven brothers did knowing something greater awaited them.  Perfect love of God does not compromise his commands.  It does not go along to get along.  The Lord’s commands are a “red line” “to the endurance of Christ” which is unto death for the sake of the gospel. 

We are not to fear but to trust in the Lord who “will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one” for there are “perverse and wicked people, for not all have faith.”  What are we to do?  Keep the faith and wait upon the Lord’s coming for he will not delay at the hour of justice.  Jesus says to the Sadducees “those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead…They can no longer die…they are the children of God because they are the ones who will rise”.  What does this say about the ones who are not deemed worthy, who crossed the red line into the perverse world?  It is called hell, the place for the souls of the damned.   

In the mystery of life every day we die and every day we are reborn into new life.  Science proves it and our eyes witness it.  A child is born an infant but their infancy quickly passes into being a baby, and then a child, an adolescent, and an adult. Science reveals that every five year our cells completely die and are replaced by new cells so that the person we were five years ago has ended and yet you are and are not the same person.  There a new body, the voice may change, facial features change, and even attitudes change, and with God there is even a transformation of our very being and yet the soul remains being who God created us to be.  This is the day we die with Christ because we desire to come to new life in him.  So, if we have died with him, we will also rise with him. 

We are fall familiar with the old Christian child’s prayer for bedtime that says, “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my Soul to keep; If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my Soul to take.”  It has been changed up with various endings to not instill fear in children such as the one that says, “Angels watch me through the night, and wake me with the morning light.”  Both versions have significant meaning for us.  The original one is a reminder of the reality of death not to scare us but to give us hope and anticipation of what is still waiting for us which the psalm proclaims, “Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full.”  The revised versions represent the Lord’s protection beginning with our guardian angel for even in our sleep the evil one comes to disrupt our peace unless we cover ourselves with prayer. 

Prayer, fasting, almsgiving are our weapons against evil.  They not only protect us but purify us and strengthen us so when a shred of doubt comes there is no doubt how we will respond to the enemy.  I recently heard a different explanation of the “Footprints in the sand” story.   What we are familiar with is that when the trouble comes and we only see one set of footprints, it is then that he carried us.  The other interpretation is that when the troubles come, and we only see one set of footprints “it is then that we were walking in his steps”.  When we walk in his steps, we still have to carry our cross and live the “endurance of Christ” in this world but in his steps, we walk in the assurance of victory and in the promise of what is to come. Let us continue to pray for all are alive who have died in Christ even as we walk in his footsteps this day.

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