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Homily The Deacon Joe

31st Sunday Ordinary Time – Son of Man

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Wis. 11:22-12:2; Ps. 145:1-2, 8-11, 13, 14; 2 Thes. 1:11-2:2; Lk. 19:1-10

“Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost”.  What is it about Jesus that would have such a radical transformation on Zacchaeus as a sinner, tax collector, and extorter of the poor?  Zacchaeus knew himself a sinner in need of redemption and believed in the Son of Man.  Are we as clear-eyed of our own sinfulness and recognize our need for redemption from the Son of Man?  If the confessional participation or lack thereof is an indication, we may be living a false sense off holiness and righteousness. 

In his letter to the Thessalonians, St. Paul is seeking to keep the community from being “alarmed” or “shaken out of your minds suddenly” because of the preaching “that the day of the Lord is at hand.”  The community expected Jesus return in their lifetime and were driven by “fear of the Lord” as was Zacchaeus.  They were ready to give up their possessions and wait for his coming.  Keep in mind that hundreds had actually witnessed his appearance after his resurrection, no only the disciples.  The word was out that he is alive and coming back.  If Jesus appeared to us today and said “the day of the Lord is at hand” we would likely react in a similar way thinking, “This is it, the end is here”.  We would have a Zacchaeus moment of conversion. 

What is our motivation of faith?  As a child we are taught obedience by both fear and love as a means of gaining obedience.  A child is taught to fear fire, strangers, snakes, in other words the elements, other people, and creatures of nature for their protection.  At the same time a child is taught to love nature, people, and animals.  What is a child to fear and what is a child to trust?  A child does not fear the sandals on the feet but a “chancla” the sandal on the hand makes all the difference.  Does a child learn faith or simply obedience until the day the faith is tested and found lacking in strength.  The key to faith is relationship.  To believe, to trust, to have faith is to be in relationship with the other, the trusted one.  “Jesus, I trust in you” is a prayer of faith. 

The Old Testament reflects obedience from fear of the Lord.  The New Testament is centered on love of God.  For some this is two separate motives for obedience but the God who is all is one and the same God where the greater the love the greater the fear driven by love of offending the loved one.  This is the lesson of love and fear to grow in faith.   This is the basis of true relationship to love one another with fear of harm to our relationship.  The Lord is at hand to enter into relationship with us this day and our fear is to lack in our love of him.

Do you remember being asked as a child or as a parent asking your child “How much do you love me?”  The child extends his or her arms out to show you and you respond “I love you to the moon and back” to show how much greater love you have for them.  We want our child to capture how endless is our love.  The God of who is outside of time and space has endless love for us but we have to see how much greater our relationship can be with him if we but remove the barriers we create and allow him to enter into our very being with his love.    Jesus entered into this world for us to understand this love of God, this sacrifice for us, this calling to his mercy and into a deeper relationship with him and it begins here in the Mass. 

The Mass is the summit of receiving Jesus, coming to us in the Eucharist, his love, his sacrifice, his mercy.  When we receive the Eucharist, we are in full communion where his is present to us to open our hearts to him, our deepest thoughts and feelings, our fears and our love of the other.  God is ready to answer our prayer so let us not be distracted from receiving the grace he desires for us but let us allow him this time to not only to speak to our hearts but to change our hearts into his very image of love, peace, justice, and joy.  There should be a smile that Jesus has come to us today and we are thankful to be called a child of God loved all the way to eternity. 

We are told “not to be alarmed…that the day of the Lord is at hand” but in faith to pray “that our God may make you worthy of his calling”.  Every day is a day of the Lord called to be ready to receive him in this world and/or to be received by him in the next should we suddenly come to the end of this pilgrimage.  We are not to be alarmed of his coming but welcoming ready to receive him.  We want the Lord to come calling us excited to have an encounter with Jesus just as Zacchaeus desired to seek Jesus.  We want Jesus to stay at our house, not only to sanctify us and our family, but our home, our pets, and all our possessions so that the Lord’s spirit resides with us and shine its light upon us.  This is why the Son of Man came into the world to bring us his holiness and make us holy. 

Finally, there is something greater here that Jesus is revealing in calling himself the “Son of Man”.  Son of Man appears sixty-nine times throughout scripture.  Son of Man is Jesus’ claim on his divinity and authority.  He has come to judge as seen in the book of Daniel was “coming with the clouds of heaven”.  When Jesus asks his disciples “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” the disciples gave multiple answers but Peter reveals that by this title he is “the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (Mat. 16:16) This is the one before us on the cross, this is the risen one, and this is the Son of Man most present in the Eucharist, body, blood, soul, and divinity.  Are we ready for his judgment?

Today the Son of Man has come into this home, this sanctuary, calling us to open ourselves up to him, our very being and receive his power to forgive and to heal what is broken, injured, to make perfect what is imperfect. To receive Jesus is the call to be Jesus that others may come to see and believe.

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Homily The Deacon Joe

30th Sunday Ordinary Time – Finish the race!

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Sir. 35:12-14, 16-18; Ps. 34:2-3, 17-19, 23; 2 Tim. 4:6-8, 16-18; Lk. 18:9-14

Finish the race!  Through this ordinary time the Lord has been on his journey to Jerusalem persevering while being followed by both friend and foe, those who see him as a messiah and those who see him as a threat.  He is about to finish the race for salvation history to be consummated in his death and resurrection.  It is a race he embraces with love teaching us how to run our own race of life not in fear but in love of our final destiny.  Finish the race of love in spite of the trials, persecutions, and the unknown and unseen around the bend because we have the promise of what lies ahead at the end of our journey. 

St. Paul claims his “crown of righteousness” having “competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith”.  St. Paul ran the race not for himself but for the call he received that through him “the proclamation might be completed and all the Gentiles might hear it”.  St. Paul understood his call and lived it.  Do we recognize our call before the Lord and are we on the right track to finish our race?  The race we run is not to build up our material fortune, to leave a legacy of accomplishments, or to reach what Maslow calls the top of the hierarchy of needs, self-actualization, becoming the best of yourself.

 Material goods including money becomes devalued, yesterday’s dollar is today’s dime.  Accomplishments become faded memories as the world asks what have you done for me lately.  Self-actualization is a humanistic concept that it is all about “you”, the best of yourself, but “no man is an island” so what about everyone else, does it matter?  Where is God in our search for meaning and happiness?  We can finish the race of life in search of ourselves and lose the connection to our creator who was waiting to take us on a different race, the eternal one. 

The race we run is for the salvation of our soul.  It is a godly race in the image of Jesus Christ himself, self-giving, sacrificial, and by divine design.  What God has intended for us is the first step for our discernment.  This ability to judge well God’s call can only come through prayer that we may hear his voice in our reflection as we seek to know and understand “who I am in God’s image called to be”.  In other words, just to be myself is not our purpose.  Our purpose is to discover our divine call and run our race.  Then the God of our salvation will open up the gates of heaven and bring down his power and love, pouring out his graces on those who dare to say “here I am Lord, send me”. 

Jesus called fishermen, a tax collector, and even his own persecutor in Saul, to a different race leaving behind all that they knew and believed for something greater was before them.  Something greater is before us in the Eucharist through the celebration of the Mass.  Jesus himself, body, blood, soul and divinity is present to us and the Church in America is calling for a Eucharistic revival to recognize Jesus is here for our worship, for our healing, and for our salvation.  Jesus wants to take us in a new direction radically different from the world while yet still in the world as we fulfill our earthly pilgrimage.  When we eat his body and drink his blood there is a revival of our souls becoming one with God in the Trinity.  It is more than spiritual food for the race, it is a conversion of souls in the image of Christ himself.  This is what happened to the apostles after the resurrection and they devoted themselves to prayer, teaching and the breaking of bread. 

We break bread when we gather together in a shared faith at the dinner table, with our social circles sharing our faith, or as we work together for a common purpose, it is the bread of living our faith with others expressing in word and deed who we are as a child of God.  I confess I am not one with the gift to proselytize challenging others in their faith.  I am more on the side of making sure I am keeping the faith I have received being faithful to the call.  There is however a time to be silent and a time to speak.  When we encounter Christians of other denominations or people of no religious background who ask “why do you Catholics baptize children, pray to Mary and the saints, believe in purgatory” or any other act of faith they question, this is our opportunity to evangelize by offering a clear understanding of our faith.

Jesus promises us an Advocate, the Holy Spirit to be with us that we may also be advocates of our faith by word and deed.  Our advocacy begins with love and ends with mercy.  This is the race we are all called to run to follow the “God of justice, who knows no favorites” and recognizes Christ present in all.  I believe it was St. Teresa of Calcutta who said it is beautiful to love others until you meet the other.  If you look at a Tasmanian devil, they are cute, shy and no bigger than two feet but they are carnivorous with powerful jaws and can cause serious harm.  We meet the stranger and we are polite and respectful then we turn to each other ready to attack with powerful jaws when things don’t go our way.  That’s the challenge of keeping the faith, can we be good when it’s not easy, convenient, or going our way? 

“The Lord will rescue me from every evil threat” says St. Paul.  The Lord will rescue us if we but recognize evil and call out to him.  The world has become immune to evil seeking to call it “justice, social norms, equity, restitution”.  The killing of the unborn is intrinsically evil says the Church violating the commandment “thou shall not kill”.  It is the work of the evil one who seeks to separate us by race relations, to cancel a culture based on religious freedom, to silence prayer among students in schools or employees at work.  Will we go along to appease the evil around us or will we be a voice of faith and run our race with courage? 

“The Lord hears the cry of the poor” so let us recognize our poverty, our brokenness, our lowliness.  In the gospel we see the Pharisee who was convinced of his own righteousness comparing himself to the tax collector and “the rest of humanity” who he sees as sinful while he exalts himself.  So quick to judge is the person of pride separating themselves from others.  It is the humble who recognize if not by the grace of God we are the sinner, we share in the sins of this world, and we too need our redemption.  Jesus on the cross is our reconciliation when we come to him “O God, be merciful to me a sinner”.  It is only when we turn to the grace of God that we will finish the race and keep the faith. 

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Homily The Deacon Joe

29th Sunday Ordinary Time – Proclaim the Word!

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Ex. 17:8-13; Ps. 121:1-8; 2 Tim. 3:14-4:2; Lk. 18:1-8

“Proclaim the word; be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient”.  A man once told me he did not accept scripture as “the word of God”, it was written by men not God.  On the other side of this argument are those who say they follow scripture only “sola scriputura” as the only authority of God.  It is an interesting paradigm of how humanity can look at the same thing and come up with two very opposing conclusions regarding scripture.  Today we are told to “proclaim the word” but which interpretation represents the truth from God? 

Today we read “all scripture is inspired by God”.  God works through humanity to bring us his salvation.  It is the inspired word of God but what about human error, could that have entered into scripture?  Some will point to inconsistencies in scripture such as in the genealogy of Jesus.  Do we interpret it literally, poetically, allegorically, in the context of history, or perhaps all of the above depending on the intent God has for our understanding.  Ultimately “who decides?”.  Who decided which books of scripture were to be in the canon of scripture we call the “Bible” and which would be left out?  There must be an authority given by God himself to someone among us. 

In today’s first reading that someone was Moses through who God gave us the Ten Commandments.  The Catholic church in scripture sees Peter as the first Pope, the Holy Father, the Vicar of Christ, the one called to lead his church and bring us his teachings.   Jesus himself did not write anything so we rely on God working through humanity to bring us his truth.  Thus, for me and my household we follow the unbroken teaching from 2000 years of authority given to the church which determined which books would comprise the “word of God” and how to come to understand the meaning of the “word”.  Follow the social science of history from the first apostles to the early church Fathers writings, to the magisterium of the church and there is an infallibility, that is no error in the teaching of faith and morals. 

Then there is the other side of the argument “sola scriputura” is the sole infallible source of authority for Christian faith and practice.  Give the Bible to ten individuals at random and you will get as many different conclusions of their understanding of faith and practice and each will establish their own interpretation and group of followers, we call today denominations in their multiplicity.  Is this what God intended or have we simply found our own way to say there is a God and we have done our own creation of him and his teachings?  Scripture itself says, “I praise you for always…following the traditions that I have handed down to you.” (1 Cor. 11:2) But wait is this Paul speaking or is this God speaking through humanity as God’s authority? 

Before there was a Canon of scripture, before there were gospels and letters written there was the Old Testament writings which Jesus came to fulfill and the beginning of a new Tradition called “the way” guided by the Holy Spirit from those who were witnesses to Jesus and his teachings.  Scripture as the inspired word of God comes through the Tradition of the Church from the early Apostles handed down by authority through the laying of hands to those God has called to teach, to preach, and to lead the flock.  Scripture is yesterday’s salvation history for our salvation today and tomorrow’s final destiny.  It matters who we follow and trust.  As Catholic Christians we trust Jesus and Jesus put his trust in his disciples and in the Church handed down to us through Scripture and Tradition. 

In this context we are to “Remain faithful to what you have learned and believed, because you know from whom you learned it, and that from infancy you have known the sacred Scriptures”.  This “infancy” is not only our personal childhood but the infancy of the early church we can trace through scripture and the writings of the early Church Fathers.  If there any doubt about the Catholic Church, follow the writings of the early Church Fathers and there will be no doubt about the Church Jesus founded.  From the “infancy” of the early church there is an unbroken history in the Catholic church “from whom we have learned it” that came before any other denominations ever came to exist. 

“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness” and we are all to study the scripture to receive inspiration and wisdom from God.  Scripture as the word of God provides for personal revelation for our own spiritual development but woe to the one who would claim to lead others as an authority of scripture.  Let us trust the wisdom of the ages handed down to us and remain humble in our faith.

Thus, today in Exodus God is working through Moses giving us the teaching of perseverance in our battles of life.  In other words, “keep the faith” and “call out to him day and night…he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily.”  In God’s time is the perfect time.  We also see the humanity of Moses, “Moses’ hands, however grew tired” reminding us it is God working through Moses as he desires to work through our humanity and weakness.  Moses is no superhuman, he is old, weak, and needs others to support him but he is faithful.  He does what God commands and through him we see the power of God at work.  Gut check!

How is the power of God at work in us?  In how many ways do we proclaim the word of God?  It is done by simple expressions of faith in our normal discussion like “thanks be to God” or “God willing”.  It is done when we refer to the parables in scripture as an example being applied to our circumstances in life.  It is done when we encounter Christians of other denominations who ask “why do you Catholics baptize children, pray to Mary and the saints, believe in purgatory” or any other act of faith they question and we can give them a clear understanding of our faith.  We are to study scripture so we can proclaim the word when someone asks “where is that in the bible?” 

Just as importantly we are to proclaim the word in our works of faith, our acts of mercy, and our love of neighbor.  Finally, and not least of all we are to proclaim the word by our disposition.  Do we reflect the image of Christ as a person of peace, joy, patience, or tranquility, “There goes John, he seems to be so at peace; there goes Mary always with a smile and filled with joy”; or are we quick to be rude, angry, worrisome, complainers making a face not even a mother wants to look at?  Are we the person someone want to be around or is someone praying “go away, I have my own problems”? 

The greatest gift we can give another is ourselves, so we give ourselves to God but God also reminds us in scripture “what you did to the least you did unto me”.  Giving of ourselves to each other in the name of Christ brings him to us “where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there” he proclaims. 

So, if we find ourselves in weakness we are to call out to God “My help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth” and he will be beside us to guard us and lead us “both now and forever”.  This is our consolation while we endure and persevere, we are not alone.  From the mouth of Jesus to his disciples, and we too are his disciples, “pray always without becoming weary”. 

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The Deacon Joe

27th Sunday Ordinary Time – Spirit of power!

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Hab. 1:2-3, 2:2-4; Ps. 95:1-2, 6-9; 2 Tim. 1:6-8, 13-14; Lk. 17:5-10

Spirit of power is the promise of the Lord.  “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea’, and it would obey you.”  The spirit of power comes to the faithful to govern our lives, to not fear but persevere, and to “stir into flame the gift of God.” 

The spirit of power comes at our baptism through the Holy Spirit and the Lord dwells with us in power and truth.  The spirit is strengthened when we come to receive each of the sacraments that we may grow stronger in faith, hope and love.  The spirit of power is also diminished by sin as we separate from this power by our own free will seeking what is not of the Lord.  It is a power that responds by grace as we open ourselves up to him in prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.  We say to him “come Lord” by our actions and he responds by the size of our faith.  Now we ask ourselves what size is our faith?  Faith will hear the voice of the Lord and be confirmed to go forth trusting in the Lord. 

Must we be begged and pleaded “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts”?  It is us who are to beg the Lord and plead our cause for love and mercy.  “The rash one has no integrity” because of pride and arrogance of heart “but the just one, because of his faith, shall live”.  The just recognize there is a God, and we are not only not our god, but we are here to serve our God.  This is the vision we are to hold onto, God “will surely come” and not be delayed.  When God comes with the spirit of power it is no longer us who live but God who lives in us.  This is the power we cannot harness nor create but it comes as a gift from God’s will and remains with the faithful, the just, and the servant.  If we truly desire the spirit of power then turn back to a life of faithfulness to his word, righteousness to his people, and service to our king of heaven and earth. Come Lord, this day with your spirit of power, we believe, we pray, and we trust in you. May the flame burn brightly in our souls.

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Homily The Deacon Joe

25th Sunday Ordinary Time – God or mammon

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Am. 8:4-7; Ps. 113:1-2, 4-8; 1 Tim. 2:1-8; Lk. 16:1-13

God or mammon, the choice is ours.  So is the choice for honesty or dishonesty, truth or lies, generosity or covetousness but both cannot coexist as a reality of the heart.  Mammon is the “devil of covetousness”.  The readings draw for us this contrast that we may discern our true heart’s desire.  The desire for God is a heart of generosity.  Spinoza the philosopher says “if love is the goal, generosity is the road to it.”  God is love thus if we desire love we desire God and if we desire God then generosity is the road to him.  Mammon is the desire of the heart that says “me first” and “too bad so sad for you.” 

The one who holds onto the devil of covetousness is their own God and all others are objects in the way or a means from where to gain the riches the heart desires to possess.  It is the psychology of “winners and losers and all is fair in love and war”.  It makes for great drama in movies and theatre but for the reality of life it is all a tragedy.  To those who “fix our scales for cheating” the Lord says “Never will I forget a thing they have done!” 

Never means never!  So, what about when the Lords says, “I will never again remember their sins” in Jeremiah 31:34 and again in Hebrews 8:12?  In God there is no contradiction.  The difference is between those who choose God, confess and are forgiven and those who chose mammon where the Lord says, “When he is judged, let the verdict be ‘Guilty’, and when he prays, let the prayer turn to sin.” (Ps. 109) We like to say “Don’t mess with Texas”.  Today we hear “Don’t mess with God!” God or mammon is an eternal choice. 

The devil of covetousness is the father of lies and if we believe there are only winners and losers then the choice is to win at the cost of others unless of course you are a follower of the way of the cross, God’s way.  As Mathew 16:26 reminds us “What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?”  For mammon, if you want to be a winner you accept the premise that others must lose by default.  The “low hanging fruit” of losers to pick on are the poor, those who have the least authority, and those who are most “needy” of the scraps from the table of indulgence.  God or mammon, the choice here is clear.  When God is forgotten the devil wins our souls.  The prudent choice for eternity is God. 

Jesus poses a challenge to us this day to be spiritually prudent.  The account of the rich man and his steward demonstrates “For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than are the children of the light.”  The children of the light are the baptized children in the faith given the light to act prudently through the Holy Spirit.  Prudence is one of the four cardinal virtues to judge rightly the will of God in our lives.  The children of the world as in the steward figure out how to manipulate the situation for their benefit “dishonest in small matters is also dishonest in great ones” yet acting prudently for their own good.  How much more should the children of the light act prudently for their spiritual good?    

Can we say Jesus acted prudently when “Though our Lord Jesus Christ was rich, he became poor”?  To die to self for the other is love that we may all have the choice of God or mammon, heaven or hell, the Lord’s generosity or our own covetousness.  Are we worth that sacrifice?  The Lord said “yes” and is here to redeem us even if it is one sheep that is one soul at a time.  Why?  Because the Lord cannot deny himself who he is as our Father the creator, the Son the redeemer and the Holy Spirit the sanctifier, the one God in three persons. 

Prudence is living with the end in mind.  What we do matters for the moment and with a lasting consequence.  It is the house that is not built in one day but every day adds to the structure of what is to come.  Scripture reminds of having a house on a firm foundation of faith, hope and love.  The world reminds us that it is also possible to have a house of cards built by illusion, by meta technology and to easily become lost in it.  When the trials of life come there is no solid foundation and it all comes crashing down.  Once a moment of time is gone, we cannot go back and recover it and for some things there is no “reset button”. 

Living with the end in mind does not diminish nor deny the idea of living one day at a time, being in the present, or trusting in the Lord.  We don’t all of a sudden throw caution to the wind with the attitude of “se la vie”, that’s lifeor a “que sera sera” whatever will be will be.  We trust in God’s divine providence yet prudently act as if he has now placed his trust in us because he has.  God is trusting in us as a Father to do the right thing, to be his witness of love, to go into the world not to be immersed in worldly things but to be a voice of truth, Godly truth. 

There is a misconception that our actions have little consequence in this world compared to the great cosmos.  We make it all about our own little place, it is all about us so whatever we choose the attitude is “what difference does it make?”  It makes a great difference for God.  It made a great difference for our Blessed Mother to give her fiat to the Lord as a vessel of eternal grace that brought us Christ into the world.  It makes a great difference to the child who is not aborted but given life to make a contribution to this world that can last for generations.  It makes a great difference when a person accepts to carry their cross in redemptive suffering as an offering to God rather than end of life choices through suicide or euthanasia. 

Prudence is acting in right judgment for the whole picture of life, our God given purpose, our calling for this day that leads us to the greater glory of God.  Our choice matters greatly to God.  It unites us to him or separates us from him.  It is the choice of God or mammon, heaven or hell.  Choose wisely! 

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Homily The Deacon Joe

24th Sunday Ordinary Time – God be merciful! 

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Ex. 32:7-11; Lk. 15:18; 1 Tim. 1:12-17; Lk. 15:1-32

God be merciful to me a sinner!   We are a “stiff-necked” people who become “depraved” by our own free will creating our idol worship.  Our God of mercy seeks a “heart contrite and humbled” as the acceptable sacrifice for his love.  God be merciful as we empty ourselves of our pride and seek your mercy. 

What is our “molten calf” we worship above the love of God?  One way to answer this question is to recognize what “it” is that we search for in this life.  When we are young “it” may be the recognition from others that our name may be raised above every other name but this becomes the desire to be our own God.  It is the desire to be first not last, to be served and not to serve.  To love God above every other name is true worship to recognize there is a God and we are not it.  God be merciful!

When we reach the age of human maturity “it” may be the wealth we search to grow to be free of any dependency on others, but this becomes the desire to be even free from God.  Wealth becomes the golden calf creating a false sense of power but the power it offers is transitory and consumes the wealth creating a demand for more wealth.  Material wealth is an illusion that there can never be enough wealth to control everything in our lives and the golden calf demands more of us.  True maturity is the divine knowledge and wisdom that comes from recognizing even the breath we breathe depends on the God of our creation who pours out his riches and glory for his kingdom of heaven.  We don’t wait for his kingdom to come we pray to enter into it in the present moment we live.  God be merciful! 

If we are blessed to reach the age in the fullness of human longevity “it” may be that we continue to search to escape death itself becoming “stiff-necked” in our demands from others to save us from death rather than seeking the light of God’s divine providence and our salvation from hell.  In the midst of good science that extends life and adds to our quality of life there is the golden calf that wants to be preserved, frozen in time and genetically reincarnated.  The goal of life is not to extend it perpetually but to complete it fulfilling the purpose for which we came into this world, our God given purpose.  As Jesus says on the cross, “It is finished!”  God be merciful!

St. Paul places himself as a witness of the mercy of God once a “blasphemer and a persecutor and arrogant” against Jesus has been mercifully treated as he says “because I acted out of ignorance in my unbelief”.  In this world there are many living in ignorance in their unbelief and the mercy of God will deliver them according to his righteousness, some to heaven, some to purgatory and others to hell.   Not all will be saved for he knows the heart of the unbeliever and in what faith they lived.  St. Paul’s ignorance was as a non-Christian but we are Christians, either raised in the faith or converted into the faith so what can we say to God?  We say, “God be merciful today while there is still time. 

When we pray for mercy, we recall the words of Jesus prayer “forgive us our sins as we forgive those who have sinned against us”.  God desires mercy and reconciliation ready to forgive as we forgive others.  We should not wait until we are on deathbed to call our loved ones and ask for forgiveness for our offenses.  The church calls us to come to the sacrament of reconciliation at least once a year but as often as needed when we recognize our sin and desire God’s mercy.  What about those we live with, those we work with, those who are part of our social and business world?  How many others would be reconciled with us if we reached out to them with an act of mercy?  God be merciful as we show mercy. 

Jesus reminds us in the parable of the lost sheep of the importance of saving each and every soul with his mercy.  Yet there is a truth God gives us “he cannot save us without us”.  He cannot save us without our repentance.  For the unrepentant sinner, God’s mercy passes over them seeking to find the soul who repents.  Confession is not a “get out of jail pass” to keep doing what we want to do.  Confession is a realization of our sinfulness with a desire to make amends for our sins and bring conversion to our life.  The truth of our confession is in the fruit we bear, the change we make, the mercy we offer.  God be merciful.

Then there is the parable of what we traditionally call the “prodigal son”.  The word “prodigal” is defined as “spending money or resources freely and recklessly”.  It is the younger son who demands a share of the estate with a sense of entitlement saying “give me the share of your estate that should come to me.”  There is an expression “prodigal habits die hard”.  Prodigal habits become the golden calf we keep feeding on a life of dissipation.  This younger son already had the prodigal sin before he demanded more from his father.  What the father provided in his home was not enough and so “he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation.”  God be merciful! 

We have an inheritance given to us at baptism with the purpose of multiplying our riches in heaven as servants of the Lord.  When we lose focus of this purpose, we risk squandering our inheritance in heaven for the entitlements we demand on earth.  Some may question whether the younger son was truly repentant or just realized how much better he would have it if he simply returned to his father seeking reconciliation.  Who are we to judge the heart of another when God already knows what he has in his sons and daughters.  Let God be God and let us not judge another but examen our own heart and our desire for repentance.  God is merciful!

Then we see the older son’s angry reaction to the father’s joy for his younger son.  Jealousy is a powerful sin that leads to division.  Among family there is a temptation to question who is loved more the “favorite” we call it.  Who gets a piece of the pie, the last bite or as the older son said “even a young goat to feast on”.  The disciples questioned Jesus, who is the greatest in the kingdom of God.  This desire to be first can make even a false martyr of our actions.  The father’s response, “we must celebrate and rejoice because your brother was dead and has come to life again…”.  God is merciful.

The older son’s complaint to the father “Look, all these years I served you and not once did I disobey your order”.  This is a hard lesson for the son to understand, the greatest is the one whose heart is to be the servant of all, to do good for others not for the reward but for the just cause.  We are to do it because it is the right thing to do and as the father says, “everything I have is yours”.  There is so much God the Father desires for us including all of himself in Jesus and yet we wander in this world in search of something greater and the greater is already a gift waiting for us in God.  God is merciful.

 [JG1]

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Homily The Deacon Joe

22nd Sunday Ordinary Time – Humble of heart!

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Sir. 3:17-18, 20, 28-29; Ps. 68:4-7,10-11; Heb. 12:18-19, 22-24a; Lk. 14:1, 7-14

Humble of heart!  The Lord calls us to be humble of heart with the courage to take up his “yoke” and learn from him.  Humility raises the last to be first.  This is the guiding principle in the kingdom of God.  Humility of heart is the antidote to the sin of pride.  A humble heart is open to the truth greater than oneself beginning with there is a God and we are not him.  It is not about “my truth” but “the truth”.  We are living in a time when society no longer accepts there is an absolute truth but preaches finding your own way.  Being humble of heart is to return to the faith in one God, one truth, his way and to follow where it may lead us.  Today it leads us to take up the “yoke” and learn from the Lord to carry the grace of humility of heart. 

The meaning of the “yoke” is to become closely attached to each other such as the wooden crosspiece that unites two animals to work together in farming.  Baptism unites us to Jesus on the cross to live our faith with courage in the midst of sin and suffering and work together for salvation.  It takes courage to pick up the cross of Christ as Simon of Cyrene wrapped his arm across Jesus to help him lift up the cross and carry it.  They were yoked together as a sign of living the Christian dignity with humility of heart even unto death. 

The sin of pride is the desire to be first.  Jesus is first in the kingdom and we learn from him true humility by loving our neighbor as ourselves, desiring what is good for the other as a blessing to oneself.  Together we are yoked in one body that shares in unity both the joys and sufferings of life.  We are to celebrate together, work together, suffer together, offer ourselves up together and gather together to be one in the Lord this day in the celebration of the Mass.  The sin of pride looks to divide and determine who is the greatest in the kingdom.  Jesus’ lesson is “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” 

The grace of humility is a gift to pray for.  When was the last time we prayed, “Lord, give me the grace of humility”?  It will go a long way in fulfilling all the other virtues we ask for such as patience, perseverance, slow to anger, kindness and more.  Start with humility as a foundational virtue and many of the other virtues will come easier.  Prayer is for a conversion of self into the image and likeness of Christ.  We often turn to prayer to ask for a change in others, a change of events, a change outside of ourselves and forget to ask for the change the Lord wants to make in us for we lack humility of heart.  “Lord, change me!  Lord, give me a humble heart.” 

We can see in Jesus that humility does not deny the truth.  Jesus never denied himself as the Son of God, or his kingship.  With humility of heart, he dared to speak the truth and challenge the thinking of the Pharisees.  It was his love of other, love of our humanity, love for the purpose he came to serve that came through in humility.  What about us? 

There is the expression “the more I know the less I know”.  It expresses the humility of heart that comes with the maturity of time.  When were young we feel we have “it”, whatever “it” is that makes us confident and powerful.  Then we grow to realize how vast “it” is to come to the knowledge of the world and to understand “it” is all by the hand of God.  Scripture is filled with humility of heart; Genesis 43:28 “They bowed down in humility”; Leviticus 16:31 “spend your day in quiet humility’’; Psalm 18:35 “your humility exalts me”; Proverbs 11:2 “with humility comes wisdom”; Proverbs 22:4 “The reward of humility and the fear of the Lord is riches, honor, and life”; Proverbs 29:23 “Too much pride brings disgrace; humility leads to honor” and 1 Peter 3:8 “Let humility describe who you are”.  How are we doing on the path of humility?

I had just finished graduate school and was having my first professional interview for a job.  There were two people interviewing me one said, “you are very proud”.  It wasn’t a question but a statement.  It hit me like a slap on the face as I asked myself “Is this how I am coming across full of myself?”  When someone comes across as proud, they also can be called out as a “know it all”.  Not exactly the face of humility.  Does this ring familiar with anybody?  The culture for males is especially drawn to be heroes and warriors but it can be misguided to be “macho” as in arrogant and bully versus a true hero/warrior who is sacrificial and humble. 

As parents we lift up with pride our children, give them recognition for effort, teach them to keep their chin up, and place them on a pedestal and there are appropriate moments when they need this.   There is also a time for a healthy dose of humility where love means “no excuses”, saying “I’m sorry” or giving credit to others.  Whoever came up with the saying “love is never having to say you are sorry” is in a fantasy and not in God’s world.  In God’s world we go in humility of heart to confess “I am sorry for all my sins and having offended thee”.  Couples say “I’m sorry” more times in a day than “I love you”.  Maybe if we said “I love you” more often we would not need to say “I’m sorry”, something to ponder. 

What about “no excuses”?  In 3rd grade, I was the fastest runner in my class.  One day I lost my first race and somehow the teacher heard about it.  He brought it up in class and I said I was feeling sick.  He quickly responded “no excuses”.  All of a sudden, I felt humiliated in front of everyone, that is I was humbled by someone else and had to swallow my green beans, that is my pride.  I hate green beans.  Well, “hate” is a strong word so change that to “I love to give away my green beans”. 

Parents’ love is teaching our children to grow in virtue and preparing for the realities of life with a healthy dose of temperance.  It’s not all about them.  This reality hits home with the first major rejection in life and have we prepared them for it with healthy dose of humility?  Today suicide rates are up among the youth as they face social bullying, broken homes, access to drugs, and identity crisis in a world where anything goes.  For the world humility is not a virtue of value but a sign of weakness and everyone is to wear a happy face of pride but ultimately, we cannot deny ourselves.  We are dust and to dust we shall return but something greater is here and it is the love of God who created us for eternity and will raise us up to himself. 

Today the lesson is clear “conduct your affairs with humility and you will be loved more…(and) the greater you are”.  When we give the place of honor to others, we demonstrate we are living the greatest commandment.  Our love of God with all our heart, mind and soul is seen in the love we give our neighbor. Let us be humble of heart.

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The Deacon Joe

21st Sunday Ordinary Time – “Discipline of the Lord” 

Posted on by Deacon Joe

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

The discipline of the Lord is to be endured as a trial “for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines”.    Discipline comes through perseverance and perseverance through faith.  If we do not believe that the hand of the Lord is active in our discipline through life then we fall into the search for the path through least resistance.  What is the easy way instead of seeking the better way?  The Lord calls us to “Make straight paths for your feet” and follow the discipline of faith.  This discipline comes through the teaching of the Church, following the sacramental life, and living life as another Christ in this world.  That discipline is hard we say.  Jesus says, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate”. 

We live in a time in the church when rules, traditions, church law, even church doctrine is frowned on as too institutional, too rigid.  Notice how many Christian churches keep rising up under the banner of “just have faith” or “follow your conscience”, or forget the Old Testament writings and just follow the gospels.  Even in the Catholic church some characterize the requirements of the sacraments and its form and matter as too legalistic after all “Jesus understands”.  Jesus understands the call to discipline as good for the soul.  Today Jesus warns against those who assume because “we ate and drank in your company” we are saved.  The discipline of the Lord is for us to avoid being among those to who he will say, “I do not know where you are from.” 

To those who say “just have faith” risk the pit of destruction by minimizing sin as simply a human fault after all “no one is perfect”.  The theology here is “as long as we believe we are going to heaven.”  Consider the fact the devil believes in God and his sin caused him to fall from grace taking with him to this day all he can get to be deceived by this theology.  The discipline of the Lord is to separate us from sin not to normalize it.  The argument is made for “just have faith” as justified by faith alone but scripture argues that faith without works is dead.  The discipline of our works is the sign of faith we are to live.  In the discipline of the Lord we have works, we pick up our cross and follow him.  One is the visible sign of the invisible faith as the Lord says, “I know their works and their thoughts.” 

To those who say “follow your conscience” believe their thoughts and beliefs will always justify their actions.  Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth and the life” and our ways are not his ways.  A conscience is formed and a well-formed conscience comes through the discipline of the Lord with right teaching.  The word “conscience” implies our thought are “con” meaning “with” the thinking of someone.  Is our conscience united to the teaching of Jesus or with the world’s cafeteria options to choose from?  A well-formed conscience is rooted in the discipline of the Lord and whom a parent loves they discipline in the faith of Jesus Christ. 

The call of a parent to love a child comes with the obligation to discipline beyond behavioral or social norms as visible signs of good parenting.  The call of a parent comes with the obligation to provide the spiritual discipline for an increase of faith, hope, and love in God.  It begins in the discipline of faith to believe in one God, the Father almighty with all the mind of acceptance and in his only begotten Son Jesus Christ with all the heart of love and in the Holy Spirit with all the will of obedience and in his one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church with all the discipline of the sacramental life.  It is a covenant of love that unites us to God the Father, through the Son in the Holy Spirit in the sacramental life of the Church. 

Then there are those who say the bible is written by men so only what Jesus is quoted can be trusted recall that Jesus gave authority to the apostles to “go and make disciples of all nations”.  It is Jesus who first used the word “church” calling on his followers to gather together in the “house of the Lord” that is “ekklesia” in Greek meaning church.  The discipline of the Lord comes through his church in the unbroken authority given to the apostles we call today the magisterium of the church.  To dwell into the mind of Christ cannot come or be sustained in the mind of one person but in the unity of those he called and continues to call to the priesthood.  We trust in the outcome of this unity as guided by the Holy Spirit.  It is the wisdom of the ages still true today as from the beginning. 

It all begs the question if the world is given all this truth from God why is there a growing phenomenon of persons identified as “nones”?  These are the “unaffiliated” without any religion.  They include atheist, agnostics, and those who say “nothing in particular”.  According to pewrearch.org 60% question religious teaching, 49% have “opposition to the positions taken by churches on social and political issues”.  Below that 41% dislike religious organizations; 37% don’t believe in God, 36% consider religion irrelevant to them, and 34% dislike religious leaders.  What is missing in the “nones” is a personal encounter with the living Christ. 

This is a people who hold to their beliefs justified only by their thinking wandering in the desert of their mind for the living water and die believing there is nothing more and the promise land is a fable otherwise if God was real to them, they would want that connection to him and seek him even in church.  This is a people without hope for eternity and they only exist for this moment and the moment is quickly coming to an end because death is real and unavoidable.  The ”nones” is not something new just a new way of labeling a certain group of people who have always been there.  The reasons given are not new, it is how the world remains from age to age.  What is new perhaps is the number who have grown up in the faith and left the church to become “nones”. 

We as church need to question “what is happening” from within.  Have we become lukewarm, lost the discipline of the Lord, fallen into minimalism, and/or just holding on for the sake of tradition.  Where is the fire that burns from within?  What happened to our “come to Jesus” moment or have we not had that moment yet?  We should not wait for the 911 day in our life for God to rescue us.  God is good and the path opens up to us when we get back to the basic discipline of the Lord and follow the narrow path. 

The USCCB (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops) is calling for a National Eucharistic Revival in this country.  We need a transformation from within as a people of God and Jesus in the eucharist is the “source and summit of our faith”.  In the eucharist is the mystery of faith that is transformative.  Here he lies as the answer and we come in faith to be healed, renewed, and strengthened for this pilgrimage on earth. 

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Homily The Deacon Joe

20th Sunday Ordinary Time – “Fixed on Jesus”

Posted on by Deacon Joe

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

“Fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfector of faith” is faithful when we call out to him, “Lord come to my aid.”  This is our hope, in a world where humanity comes short of being a “faithful and prudent steward” as servant of the Lord, Jesus is ready to respond to our plea when we pray “Lord come to my aid!”  As a child or adult children of a dysfunctional world growing up with sin and suffering, abuse, broken homes, absent parents, drugs, alcohol, and all types of sinful “land mines” our hope is to remain fixed on Jesus.  Jesus is always ready for us even when we are not ready for him. 

Fixed on Jesus, “He drew me out of the pit of destruction” says the psalm.  Bad things happen and it happened to Jeremiah when the leaders turned against him for speaking up to the people what the Lord said was to come.  Take note that Jeremiah is silent other than speaking what the Lord was saying.  He is handed over to death but Jeremiah remained fixed on the Lord until he was rescued and spoke directly to the king. 

The Lord will rescue us if we trust in him.  He is the king we are to wait for who will direct our mind, heart, and soul with what to say to those who wish to destroy, persecute, or bring us to death for speaking up against the sins of this world.  Speaking against the sin of abortion, homosexual acts, gender transition, and the misuse of alcohol, drugs, food, money, and power is being the voice of Jeremiah, John the Baptist, the apostles, the martyrs and Jesus.  In all of them we are to recognize we are called to speak up for the Lord’s righteousness.

The Lord will “put a new song into my mouth” says the psalm.  It is a song of salvation to perfect our faith not by escaping this world but when we “persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus.”  Jesus gives us the witness of shedding blood on the cross for our sins.  Now he is calling us in our struggle against sin to resist sin “to the point of shedding blood.”  Think of the lives of the saints and their acts of mortification.  Think of the temptation to sin when being rejected, cursed, bullied, sexually harassed, or denied fair treatment and instead of responding with hate, retaliation, revenge, or vengeance we resist sin and offer it up to God.  This is the shedding the blood of his mercy. 

Saint Francis threw himself onto a bed of rose thorns and Saint Theresa of Avila who was seen on her knees with a cord whipping her back.  They were ordinary people who took extraordinary acts to shed blood for their sins.  We are all called to sainthood and we are all given through the church an opportunity to make a sacrifice for the Lord.  It comes during the season of Lent, it comes when we kneel before the Lord in adoration, it comes in Mass when we enter into the mystery of faith beginning with our confession.  In many little ways we can make an act of sacrifice, do reparation, and offer ourselves up with love, for love, to love itself.  This is our shedding of blood when we are fixed on Jesus. 

What is up with Jesus today?  Why does he say, “Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth?  No, I tell you, but rather division.”  What happened to peace, love, and unity?  If our eyes are fixed on Jesus something has changed in us.  It will make others uneasy, having to see themselves in the light of our reflection of Christ and they will do one of three things.  They can rebel and go on the attack with words such as “religiosity, weird, eccentric, boring.”  They can withdraw, avoid us and “quietly quit” from having a relationship with us.  They can also be drawn closer seeking to understand asking questions that allow us to evangelize.  Where does our faith fixed on Jesus become most disruptive?  In the home where we not all are on the same level of commitment or share the same desire for unity with Christ.  A simple test question is “Who is ready for Mass on Sunday?” 

Readiness includes a predisposition to love God with all our heart, mind, and soul in the Mass.  It comes with thanksgiving for all the blessings of the week.  It is being childlike in our petitions trusting God and believing “the Lord comes to our aid.”  It is offering up a sacrifice of praise that goes from the lips down deep in the heart.  Are we that ready or are we simply minimalist, conforming to tradition but our hearts are far from God?  Thank God he is love and mercy, slow to anger, and rich in kindness who knows our true self and is faithful to us as a work in progress. 

The Lord works in mysterious ways.  Last week, I had just finished working on my homily and closed my tablet.  When I went to open it up to print it would not boot up.  At first, I thought it might be low on battery so I plugged it in and waited with no result.  I thought if I do the homily I am going to go from memory and that is not a good thing. My prayer was “Jesus, I trust in you.  It is in your hands.”  The weekend came and on Saturday I went to Best Buy to have Geek Squad check it out.  At this point I thought regardless I am not getting it today.  As I was standing in line with one person in front of me, I accidently dropped the tablet to the floor.  My thought was this could get worse.  I picked it up and automatically pressed the power button.  It lit up.  I lit up with a big smile of gratitude. 

Rather than stress about it for days, I waited for the Lord with a new song of prayer fixed on Jesus and he answered me.  Even if I had not had the written copy to go by, I believed the Lord was going to be with me and I was waiting to see with the attitude “it is in God’s hands”.   God must have thought, “I don’t trust his memory.”  If it has to do with God, he is on it.  It all has to do with God.  Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.  He is the perfecter of faith and he is listening. 

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Homily The Deacon Joe

19th Sunday Ordinary Time – Ready by faith!

Posted on by Deacon Joe

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

Ready by faith!  Abraham was ready by faith to obey “when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance…not knowing where he was to go.”  By faith, Abraham a man “as good as dead” and Sarah “herself was sterile” were able to have a child, Isaac and by faith he was ready to offer his only son as a sacrifice.  Are we ready to live by faith in the sure hope of things not seen?  We were not there to see the resurrection of Jesus and yet by faith we believe not only in his resurrection but in ours to come.  Faith builds up our readiness when we act on our faith.  

Here lies our dilemma, we say we have faith but we act as if we trust only in ourselves.  Our readiness to respond to God depends on living our life, all our daily acts believing in him, having his presence active in our lives.  If we recognize him in our daily walk, caring for us, loving us, nudging us, or stopping us in our tracks even when we thought we knew what we wanted then we stand ready to hear his voice and respond by faith to his command.

 Ready by faith requires a willingness to surrender to God and live according to his will.  This does not mean we are to act as helpless humans in our dilemma, to the contrary we act in faith according to the teaching of Jesus.  Today Jesus gives us a teaching on who is a “faithful and prudent steward”.  Who is the “servant of the Master” in charge of his “servants”?  First of all, we are all God’s servants and we are all entrusted with the responsibility to care others.  As servants we walk with God taking the right next step.  Too many people say “I follow my conscience.”  The word “conscience” implies a “unity” as “con” means “with” and “science” means “thinking”.  Thus, who are we thinking with, God or the world?  United to God in the teachings of Jesus we are ready by faith to take the right next step. 

Parents are in charge of God’s children.  Parents are responsible “to distribute the food allowance at the proper time”.  This responsibility is not simply the meal on the table but the spiritual food in raising children according to the faith.  Unfortunately, there is an attitude of minimalism when it comes to our faith.  We send our children to school and to church but are we involved in what they are learning from others to shape their faith, their understanding of themselves and of this world.  If we don’t engage them others will and social media is like a snake in the wilderness of society full of poison.  In each stage of life there are Godly lessons to learn. 

The Church is responsible to “distribute the food allowance at the proper time” in the sacramental life of the people of God.  Today it is popular to say “I’m spiritual, I’m not religious”.  Unless your dead that statement is an oxymoron.  Spirituality is lived in the totality of our humanity, body, soul, and spirit.  How spiritual is someone who has diarrhea or diarrhea of the mouth?  It runs but has no substance of Godly value.  Humanity is ritualistic from the moment we get up to how we get to bed we establish order and purpose in our actions.  The Church has order and purpose guided by the Holy Spirit in its distribution of the sacraments.  You can also be spiritually demonic and even that has a religious practice.  Don’t be fooled by the promotion of humanism that tries to make everything about “you” as spiritual. 

Ready by faith is a practice of virtues guided by the Holy Spirit.  In baptism we receive the Cardinal virtues from the Holy Spirit to guide the soul of a child from the beginning of their earthly pilgrimage.  The virtues of prudence for right judgment, temperance for right balance, fortitude for right exercise of power, and justice for right action.  The more we live our virtues the more ready we are to gain even greater virtues in generosity, charity, humility, going deeper into the true spirit of faith in action.

Ready by faith is living according to the spiritual and corporal works of mercy.  It is Agape, the love of neighbor as yourself.  It is being Christ according to the gifts we have received as “servants of God” for the care of others.  As Christians by our baptism and the gift of the Holy Spirit we come to know our “master’s will” and those who fail to answer the call “shall be beaten severely”.  Only the ignorant of the master’s will “shall be beaten lightly” for failing respond to the will of his master.  This “beating” we can image in the context of purgatory as we are reminded in Malachi 3:2-3, “But who can endure the day of his coming?   He will be like a refiner’s fire.”

We are reminded that nothing impure can enter heaven.  The Lord will forgive our sins completely when we seek his forgiveness but the impurity of our human condition must also be cleansed of our imperfections and make atonement for unforgiven sins for failing to confess.  Today we can offer up our spiritual and corporal works of mercy in atonement for our sins and receive the grace of purification as we come to be the master’s good servant. 

Ready by faith is not dormant but actively leading us to truth, goodness, beauty, and unity.    Ready by faith begins with prayer, a daily walk and talk with God.  It includes the “sure knowledge of the oaths in which they put their faith”.  This knowledge can be summed up as salvation history and the “oaths” as the promise of God realized in the person of Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection to be with him in heaven.  We are blessed to be “the people the Lord has chosen to be his own”.  As a chosen people our humanity gets us through the desert of life with Jesus as our companion to see the promise land at a distance from this life.  Faith gets us across the bridge into the unseen glory waiting for those who believe. 

The Lord will deliver us from death and preserve us in spite of the “famine” of this world and all its suffering.  We hunger for truth, goodness, beauty and unity in our life, our family, our society but the world will never be the answer.  God is the answer to our hunger, the beginning and the end all of our search.  In faith we offer ourselves up and all our daily labor for what is hoped for and wait upon the Lord who provides the evidence of things not seen.  The evidence comes in answered prayer, it comes not by accident but by divine providence and it comes in the unseen realization that by the grace of God we are here, we exist and we have a divine purpose to live that will set us free.  We are reminded we are no longer slaves but heirs to the kingdom.  We are ready by faith! 

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