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Homily The Deacon Joe

18th Sunday Ordinary Time – Vanity of vanities! 

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Ecc. 1:2, 2:21-23; Ps. 90:3-6, 12-14, 17; Col. 3:1-5, 9-11; Lk. 12:13-21

“Vanity of vanities!   All things are vanity!”  We are reminded that we worry about many things, how to protect all our earthly possessions and treasures, all our “toil and labor”, either for what we have or for what we lack there is “anxiety of heart” and all is vanity.  By our baptism we are and continue to be renewed in the image of our creator as “Christ is all and in all”.  All else is vanity.  “If today you hear his voice” calling us out for having our priorities focused on the wrong treasures don’t wait to be called “You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?”  Death gives rise to entitlements as earthly treasures are divided yet who is concerned about their final destination when death comes calling? 

Jesus responds to “someone in the crowd” who is seeking a share in an inheritance from his brother.  Families often will become divided over an inheritance asserting rights and fairness and even going to a “judge and arbitrator” seeking entitlements “and yet it was another who labored over it who has left their property.  “This also is vanity and a great misfortune.”  The misfortune is placing so much value on earthly property that is destined to deteriorate, be spent, or discarded for lack of need.  Even the memory eventually fades and all things are forgotten as each person seeks to claim their own life to live and build their own treasure.  Eventually, “you turn man back to dust.”  Where is the treasure that lasts for eternity? 

Heavenly treasure is the gift that keeps on giving, multiplied by the impact of what is true, good, beautiful, and binding in love.  The gift of unity that makes us one body in Christ.  The higher good that places other at our side.  The truth that remains as valid yesterday as today.  The beauty of creation living out its purpose without fear for it rests in its creator.  This makes all creation binding in love. 

This treasure is seen in an infant coming to life in the womb and nurtured from same body and blood of the mother; received into the world expecting only goodness and love.  This is the path into this world that the child Jesus came to us for our salvation to represent all that is of God and from God.  For even while in the womb Jesus reached out to the womb of Elizabeth and John leaped for joy. Heavenly treasure is uniting our hearts to Jesus’ sacred heart so that the graces may flow from him to us doing his will in the mystery of faith. 

The mystery of faith is God’s presence in us and through us as we respond to the Spirit according to his will.  It is what gives us the writings of the bible by many authors and makes it all the “Word of God”.  It is an inspiration, receiving the breath of God and transformed into his image so we may say “it is not I that lives but Christ who lives in me.”  Anything else is our vanity of vanities. 

Lord, “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain wisdom of heart.”  God first, God center, God always in our heart until the day you call us back.  This is life and the flesh is put to death.  Living with God is allowing him to guide our daily journey, explore the mystery of faith as he makes himself present in all our encounters in the world.  Ask, seek, and knock for God’s revelation is waiting for us to call to him.  Instead, we forget, we lose our focus, and begin to wander away into our vanities while he waits for us to turn back to him. 

Vanity of vanities appears in the sin of “immorality, passion, evil desire and the greed that is idolatry”, the false gods of our desire.  No one is greater than the other and the illusion that someone is also is vanity.  Ask someone to answer “who are you?” and they will tell you what they do, what their titles are, how they identify with an activity but “who they are” they have not identified. 

Our true identity is in God as three persons in whose image we were created.  Do we recognize ourselves this way?  I am a mortal in the flesh with an eternal soul created in the image of God sharing in the divine life of grace.  I am called by name for a purpose in this world and that shall not be denied to me from the evil one.  I am a child of God and in his image, I live a life of virtue.  This I am and was brought into this world for a little while but my destination is to get to heaven. 

Focus and “seek what is above”.  Listen for the voice of the Lord.  God speaks in all his creation and he speaks from within our souls but we must be still to listen.  We are not very good at being still.  We are always seeking “what’s next” as doers even when there is “free time” we look to fill it with something to do.  We are Martha doing and complaining and avoiding the opportunity to be Mary taking time for the better part.  In order to seek what is above we must focus and be still so God can fill the space in our lives uniting us to what is above, putting to death “the parts of you that are earthly” and giving us “the new self”. 

When we seek what is above, we quickly come to know the poverty of our being and are “Blessed” in the poverty of our spirit to receive the gifts of the kingdom of heaven.  We cannot be both “full of ourselves” and full of the spirit of God.  We must first empty ourselves in order to receive our inheritance from the treasure of heaven.  If we say “Lord, forgive me for I have sinned against you” then the next right step is to go to the sacrament of confession and receive the gift of absolution from a priest who acts in the person of Christ to “bind or loose in heaven”.  It is the body of Christ in the Church that sets us free. 

There is a perpetual sacrifice Christ suffers for our sins and he thirsts to set us free.  Jesus is asking us for water as he did the woman at the well.  He desires to free us but he cannot free us without us coming to him.  If today you hear his voice, then come to him “as is”.  We will never be ready if we waiting for the right moment in our life.  Jesus sees “the will to come” and comes to meet us where we are.  He is gracious in mercy and love, “slow to anger and rich in kindness” but he knows better than us that our “clock” of time is quickly passing and we have yet to seek him.  Let us not let our vanity of vanities keep us from hearing his voice this day. 

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Homily The Deacon Joe

17th Sunday Ordinary Time – Ask, Seek, and Knock!

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Gen. 18:20-32; Ps. 138:1-3, 6-8; Col. 2:12-14; Lk. 11:1-13

Ask, seek, and knock!  “You were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith” born again from the womb of his love.  We have now “received a Spirit of adoption through which we cry, Abba, Father.”  In him we are to ask, seek, and knock and he will answer us.  Abraham “dared to speak” and was persistent in his asking God for mercy and justice for all for the sake of a few innocent people.  Abraham’s name begins with “Ab” meaning “father” in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek as a father figure on earth speaking up for God’s people.  Abraham is leading us to recognize there is one who is coming who is truly innocent and for the sake of this innocent one nailed to the cross all of humanity can be saved through faith in him.

“Lord, teach us to pray” to “Abba” our Father who is in heaven.  Lord, teach us to recognize “hollowed be your name” which is the power of your name, how sacred it is and how careless we are when we treat your name in vain as just another expression of our self-centeredness in frustration or surprise, as in “O.M.G.” or calling out “Jesus” when angry.  When we treat your name in vain, we make of ourself a “god” and of you a servant and forget we are mortal creatures of dust and you are pure spirit of love eternal.  We forget you created us and yet when we use your name in vain, we try to create of you an object of our needs.  This is not how to ask, seek or knock on your heart in truth and holiness. 

Abba, Father “forgive us our sins” our vanity and false pride that leads us to fall once again.  Just as Abraham sought mercy for his people be merciful to us where sin abounds in the heart wash us clean through the sacraments of the church you instituted through your son.  Let us seek your mercy as you teach us to pray truly meaning what we say and saying what we hold deep in our souls, the naked truth of our being.  A sinner was I born but a saint I am being transformed. 

We are like “gods” only in the sense of when we come and follow you that you allow “your kingdom come” into our lives to live out your glory.  It is only then that we taste and see your goodness and the light of your glory.  Your kingdom is to be lived in the heart of your love “as we ourselves forgive everyone” from the heart even as the mind does not always understand we turn to you and trust in you, “your will be done”.  “Abba, Father” save us from the final test and the snares of the evil one who by the power of your name is defeated.  This we ask of you, seek your will, and knock upon the door of your heart.    

“Abba, Father” we ask that you “give us each day our daily bread”.  Father, you have given the bread of life to the church to feed us the body and blood of Jesus in the Eucharist.  Teach us to love you in this sacrifice of love you offer us as a daily bread from heaven.  Father, you told Moses to remove the sandals from his feet as he stood on holy ground.  You are the holy of holies in the sanctuary of the church remove the blinders from our eyes that we may see and give you the reverence and worship of our love for you. 

Abba, you have left us your daily bread in your word where we can seek you and you reveal yourself to us.  The incarnation of your word is a guiding light in the darkness of a world that tries to deny you, denies the truth of salvation in you and through you.  In the beginning was the Word and the Word was made flesh in Jesus who was and is calling us to ask, seek and knock on the door of your Word that we may join you in becoming the word to others.  Your word is our defense and protection against the culture of death that seeks to redefine “truth” as a relative term. 

Abba, Father “do not subject us to the final test” without your presence to sustain us for we are weak and you are strong.  It is enough to pass through the test of each day without falling into temptation.  It is difficult to persevere during the test of suffering hoping and waiting for some consolation.  Let us not despair from asking in faith, seeking in hope, and knocking with love on the door of your heart while we wait upon you.  This is our prayer to remain in you and you in us through all the days of our life “for we can do all things in Christ who strengthens us” (Phil. 4:19). 

To ask is an act of humility as we recognize our powerlessness without God.  We are humbled from our youthful pride as bones become brittle, our flesh weak, and our mind forgetful.  Our time in this world is passing quickly and we wonder have we prepared ourselves for the final test as our day of judgment approaches.  The test of love with all our heart, mind and soul and our others as ourselves.  We dare to ask of ourselves by doing all things with love to the Father of love. 

To seek is an act of faith believing in someone greater than ourselves, someone beyond our understanding, someone eternal, our creator who comes to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  We seek forgiveness from the God of mercy for having failed to love with godly love.  We seek what is lacking in us, the grace and power of holiness to do what is right, just, and merciful.  We seek to be in the image of God our Father that the world may believe. 

To knock is to first open the door of our heart, to trust in the Father’s plan for our salvation.  It is a plan tailored for each of us we wear as the perfect suit for our lives wrapped in his love.  We knock on the gate of heaven by living the sacramental life of the Church.  It is the gateway given to the disciples to become apostles of salvation.  We knock on the door of the Church to be received into the holy of holies from the fountain of love in baptism, confession, confirmation, the Eucharist, healing, and for those called to matrimony or Holy Orders.  These doors are opened to us as a channel of his grace. 

Abraham was an advocate for the people to the Father and the Lord heard his cry for mercy.  We are reminded of his persistence also in the parable of the “Friend” today by Jesus.  The Lord answers our cry for help and in the spirit of adoption we have received our advocate in the Holy Spirit.  We have a “Friend” in Jesus who lived our humanity and desires a stronger bond of love with us.  We also have our “Abba” Father ready to pour out on us his grace, his gifts of the Holy Spirit, and his promise of everlasting life. 

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Homily The Deacon Joe

16th Sunday Ordinary Time – Do everything with love!

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Gen. 18:1-10a; Ps. 15:2-5; Col. 1:24-28; Lk. 10:38-42

Do everything with love and let this be our sacrifice. “Martha, Martha you are anxious and worried about many things.  There is need of only one thing.”  “Martha, Martha” is Jesus’ way of emphasizing the important of what he is about to say and wants Martha and us to listen well and understand the meaning of his word.  Are we good listeners to Jesus, to his word, to his teaching in its application to us?  The disciples often heard what Jesus said but did not understand his meaning.  We often hear but only understand at the concrete level without seeking the greater message which is how am I a part of this teaching?  Jesus is asking us to listen with our hearts and discern the truth at it applies to us, to transform our hearts to do everything with love. 

Martha is the host who “welcomed him” and takes responsibility to “serve” Jesus.  Jesus calls us all to be servants of the Lord and every task can be offered “with love” in serving Jesus.  Martha’s “mistake” is often our mistake by comparing ourselves with others as she compares her role with that of her sister Mary who Jesus says “has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”  It was a “choice” we make every day to serve God, to “do everything with love” in all we do as well as to stop and be still and listen to him.  Jesus loves both Martha and Mary but he cares that their actions come from the heart of love. 

Could Jesus have said to Martha, “you have chosen the better part”?  Possibly yes, if Martha’s attention to service was do everything with love for Jesus.  Then her hospitality becomes an act of love while Mary may simply care only to avoid work and was paying no attention to Jesus.  Do everything with love and it is transformed into an offering.  When we compare, we often judge others in a condescending attitude.  What underlies Martha’s attitude was fear of being judged by attempting to look good, being right, being a people pleaser, and trying to “fix” the problem she created in her own mind (“Four leaches”, Julian Treasure, How to speak).  Now we ask ourselves “does this attitude of fear show itself in us?”  Probably every day to some degree when our focus is on us and not on Jesus, we lose an opportunity to be transformative in our service. 

Looking good is the sin of pride when the focus is on being better than others as if we were in competition.  Martha’s sin of pride is to question Jesus “Lord, do you not care…?”  Martha, Martha are you making yourself to be the judge and jury better than Jesus?  In Martha’s view Mary by not helping is making her look bad.  Jesus’ response, “Mary has chosen the better part” is understood that he can see her heart is ready to listen to him. 

Martha is concerned with “being right” meaning Mary is wrong for sitting to listen to Jesus.  When we make an issue of being right, we again make ourselves better than the other and bring division to our relationships.  We make it about us rather than validating what others have to contribute.  When we become the “people pleaser” we reveal our underlying insecurity, seeking acceptance from others where acceptance begins from within.  The consequence of disordered thinking becomes disordered behavior as we try to “fix” what may not be broken, and we made a crisis for ourselves and others.   Stop and choose the better part.

The better part is instead of attempting to look good recall it is not about us but about him as Mary demonstrated.  Make it about the good of the other without complaining and ask for what you need by lifting up the other with a little kindness and recognition.  Martha could have said, “Mary, you are so good at setting the table, please assist me for a moment.”  Direct to the need maintains the unity without complaining or judging.  Say it with genuine love for that is what we are called to do. 

The better part instead of sounding off as “being right” or justified and judging others as wrong is to first seek to validate the other.  What if Martha had said, “Mary you have chosen the better part by listening to Jesus but I need you for a moment please”.  Validating first does not make anybody “wrong or right” just different in their behavior.  Validating a person does not mean that the behavior cannot be changed, improved, or when needed stopped.  It allows the person to look at themselves, their behavior and come to value other behavior as meaningful and appropriate and even called for in certain circumstances. 

“People pleasers” lose themselves in others becoming the chameleon that changes color to fit in, seeking to be accepted while in the process sacrificing their own values.  If you ask a people pleaser “who are you?”, they have no answer left wondering what the right answer is.  Being more concerned with being right the answer comes back “it depends”.  “It depends on who I am with” is what they are saying.  We all have different roles in life, but we do not have to wear different masks to “fit in” with the crowd.  Let us recall, I am a child of God created in his image and thus I am a person of faith, hope, and love. 

Martha wanted to please Jesus as a good hostess to receive her recognition rather than simply to do it with love of him.  Abraham was not seeking any recognition when the Lord appeared to him.  He recognized in the three men a “God-sent” and looked to please the Lord with his hospitality.  The focus was not on himself but on God’s messengers.  God’s reward is something Abraham could never have imagined that he would have a child with Sarah by the next year. 

“Fixers” perceive a problem where there may not be one to fix.  Fixers fall into the trap of being “worried and anxious about many things.”  Fixers follow the mantra “what if” and then act as if it was already happening.  Fixers can also fall into the trap of living two lives, theirs and the one for who they are trying to “fix” the problem. 

Jesus reminds Martha and us we are to choose “the better part”.  The better part is to do everything with love, and it will be transformative.  The better part is to silence the thinking and be listening for the voice of God working in us and through those we encounter as a “God-sent”.  The better part is when we pray “Jesus I trust in you” and go forth believing in faith, hope, and love.  Let us live the better part of the gift of life and grace coming from the Father, in the Son, through the Holy Spirit. “There is need of only one thing.”

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Homily The Deacon Joe

15th Sunday Ordinary Time – “Go and do likewise”

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Deut. 30:10-14; Ps. 69:14, 17, 30-31, 33-34, 6,37; Col. 1:15-20; Lk. 10:25-37

“Go and do likewise” as Jesus did “and you will live”.  This was the command Jesus gave to his disciples and to his “appointed seventy-two” he sent forth from last week’s readings.  “Go and do likewise” curing the sick, proclaiming the word, “to tread upon serpents’ and scorpions and upon the full force of the enemy and nothing will harm you”.  “Go and do likewise” in loving God with all your heart, being, strength and mind and “your neighbor as yourself” by the acts of charity caring for the needs of others “and you will live”.  “Go and do likewise” as Jesus continues to do in our lives, he is “near to you, already in your mouths and in your hearts; you have only to carry it out.” Are we ready to carry it out for eternity?

Do we believe in eternity?  Eternity begins now in the flesh as Jesus came in the flesh to show us how to live for eternity.  He came in the flesh and in his divinity to take our flesh, wipe away our sins and open the gates of heaven to begin to live in the spirit, in the divine spirit, in the law of the Lord, love itself.  If we believe in eternity, then it all starts in the here and now.  We see it in the lives of the saints who lived and died in the flesh but were already experiencing the glory of God on earth.  We see it in the mystery of faith through the sacramental life of the church carrying out the mission of Christ to the world.  We also see it in ourselves in our answered prayers where miracles happen every day and we are moved to give thanks and give all the glory to God.

“Go and do likewise” as a sign of our love of God to be his image to the world.  Love of God is a constant movement to act out of our love for him.  It is not a fleeting thought that crosses our mind when we come to church but a constant reminder of his presence in our life.  It is not a fickle emotion that inspires us one minute and then fades as we go on living what we call “our” life. Without his breath of life, we have no life.

Our faith calls us to belong to God, so we no longer live for ourselves, but as slaves of his love for it is then that we are free.  Our heart is then united to his sacred heart.  Love of God is not to be strong but, in our weakness to see his strength active in us to “go and do likewise”.  Otherwise, we are an empty shell of shiny mirrors without substance.  All our being is a gift, and it can all be lived for the divine purpose to “walk the walk and talk the talk” that comes from him “and you shall live”.

Are we alive in Christ?  Life is difficult and we pray to God to be with us, to help us discern his will and to be prudent in making good decisions.  Now what?  Now we walk in faith so God may open the gates of heaven as we “do likewise” being Christ in this world.  The mission of the church is to proclaim the gospels as it nurtures our minds with his word and feed us his body and blood that we may carry him in our being and then to send us forth at the end of Mass to proclaim the gospel in word and deed, and in Spirit and truth trusting in him.  Here is the human dilemma, do we trust in God?  Being alive in Christ is trusting in him. 

“Jesus, I trust in you” is easier said than practiced.  To trust in Jesus sometimes requires us to “go forth” taking the right next step and sometimes it requires us to wait upon the Lord in God’s time to answer our prayers.  The best discernment comes through prayer when to act and when to wait.  There is the old expression “reading the tea leaves”.  It is being observant, keeping watch, listening for the movement of the Spirit around us and in us.  Trust is a letting go and letting God be the driver as we follow and look at the signs for direction.  “Direct us O’ Lord according to your will.”  Trusting in God is living the Serenity Prayer:

“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.  Living one day at a time; enjoying one moment at a time; accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; taking, as he did this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; trusting that he will make all things right if I surrender to his Will; that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him forever in the next.  Amen.” 

The works of the Spirit brings unity as it works in and through us as well as in and through others.  The mystery of faith comes through unity, the unity of the Trinity, the unity of the church, and the unity of the people of God.  It is a welcoming, inviting and calling spirit where two or three are gathered in his name.  If we do not discern this spirit of unity then it may be time to dust off our feet and move on trusting in God where he may lead us. 

Are we ready to “carry out” the will of God in our lives?  The will of God is to love others, “your neighbor as yourself”.   We assume we know how to love ourselves well and from our goodness we know how to love others.  This small word “as” implies knowledge of true love, Godly love, perfect love.  As we love ourselves poorly, we in turn will love others poorly.  This poverty of love is controlling, demanding, objectifying, failing to respect the dignity and worth of others.  It does not try to meet others where they are at but judges them based on where they are not.  Can anyone be saved if God judged us based on where we are not?  God meets us with his mercy as we are and calls us to something greater that he desires for us thus “go and do likewise”. 

To love ourselves well is to recognize ourselves as a creation of God according to his image.  Created in his image we then look to him to perfect us in love through the gifts of the Spirit, through his mercy, and through the power of his sacraments he left us in the Church.  To love ourselves well begins with Him and ends with Him and as we think in between “He is!”  He is the creator, the lover, the sanctifier, the consoler, the savior.  He is and always will be the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, so let it be Him the acting source in our lives and our love will grow in perfection fulfilling his word, “So be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”  (Mt. 5:48) 

“Be perfect” is a command.  When we raise our thoughts, hearts, and will to God we enter into his perfection.  We are to “let perseverance be perfect, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (Jam. 1:4-6) Let us unlock the significance of the command “be perfect”.  It does not say “try to be perfect” for this implies something less than perfect is all that is needed.  We accept the idea “I try to be good” as if that is enough. We turn to the excuse “no one is perfect” and settle for less than the command.  Let our prayer be “I will be perfect as called to be in the perfection of this moment by the will of God”.  We are calling our being to “be perfect” and on God to raise us up to his perfect will at this moment. His promise will be fulfilled for we are asking God to be perfect in us as we “go and do likewise”.  God answers the call when we call upon Him which is his desire all along that we turn to Him, and he is there.  In your perfection Lord, guide us to your perfect will. Amen. 

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Homily The Deacon Joe

14th Sunday Ordinary Time – The Kingdom of God

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Is. 66:10-14c; Ps. 66:1-3, 4-7, 16, 20; Gal. 6:14-18; Lk. 10:1-12, 17-20

“The Kingdom of God is at hand for you.”  This promise given by Jesus is to those who welcome him and his “appointed seventy-two” into their home.  Do we welcome his “appointed” servants, through the one Catholic and Apostolic Church into our home and do we rejoice in the heavenly Jerusalem?  The Church is the heavenly Jerusalem on earth who provides us the “milk of her comfort that we may nurse with delight at her abundant breasts!”  We nurse from the sacramental life of the Church as a mother to its people.  As we welcome the church Christ is present in his body, blood, soul, and divinity. 

The Kingdom of God is opened up to those who welcome the church into their hearts.  How tremendous are the deeds of God in the church making of us a new creation through baptism, forgiving sins in reconciliation, curing the sick with anointing, exorcising demons, and confirming the faith to all who call upon the Lord.  If we belong to Christ then we all share in his body called to be one in union with him and in his body.  This is not some “spiritual thing” we feel but something tangible in the word of God, in the sacraments, in the Eucharist, and in the people.  Jesus’ resurrection was a tangible body, not a spirit of illusion.  He ate and drank and was touched.  Let us welcome the kingdom of God in body, soul, and spirit.  Are we not called to make of our bodies the temple of the Lord? 

“The harvest is abundant” in our times as many leave the church and pews become empty.  Others are simply raised not to believe but in themselves only.  In an age of mass communication there are many competing voices making “connections” with the world around us and yet people find themselves more isolated, more in search of a purpose, and more confused on what to believe.  They lack the one connection that matters most, God.  Here is the dilemma, God works through others, through the church, through his messengers so we cannot be disconnected from others if we desire to get closer to him.

God works through a husband to his wife and through the wife to her husband.  He works through parents for their children and through children to ponder the love of God when we gaze upon a child with love.  God works through the stranger who is charitable to us and through us in our charity towards others.  The kingdom of God is not a hardwired single line to heaven but even greater than an algorithm created by God to unite his kingdom from age to age, across generations, and when two or three are gathered together in his name. 

“The laborers are few” as less respond to the call to the priesthood or religious life and the lay people simply say “I have no time…it is not for me to evangelize…it is not my business…I don’t feel comfortable”.  If not us who?  We all have a call to speak for the kingdom of God each according to the state of life we have chosen.  It begins in our being, by being who we are that determines what we do.   Our being is an authentic Christian centered faith, practitioners of what we believe, and a “naturalist” of the law of God.  Our being is a manifestation of love for God.  God is love and in his being we reside through the love of charity by giving of ourselves not just from what we have but from who we are.  We are a child of God who is calling us to live in his love. 

 In each sacrifice of ourselves we bring God into the world.  It is the testimony that Jesus left us on the cross.  As he lived and died for us, we also live and die for love of God and others.  This is the significance of this weekend for this country.  It honors those who lived and died for freedom, the freedom we get to live this day.  This is the significance of the lives of the saints who lived and died for Christ in serving others.  This is the significance of bringing a child into this world who we live and sacrifice for because love makes the sacrifice meaningful. 

The Kingdom of God brings us the “peace of Christ” as it takes possession of our hearts.  This “peace” is the love of God who enters our hearts and dwells in us.    Its control over our hearts is through the virtues we receive to strengthen our resolve to do good, to love our neighbor, and to labor in the kingdom of God not as “busy-bodies” but with a God-given purpose to “never grow weary of doing what is right” (2Thes. 3:13).  Do all things with love and the kingdom is open to us this day.

When Jesus sent out the seventy-two to proclaim the kingdom of God they were to announce, “the kingdom of God is at hand”.  He knew not all would welcome his messengers for he said, “I am sending you like lambs among wolves.”  Evil exists in this world free to bring suffering, anger, jealousy, ridicule, and even death to the lambs of God but even death does not have the final word.  It is in dying to ourselves that we are born into eternal life so fear not the evil that this world will bring upon us.  God in his infinite mercy tells his disciples not to rejoice “because the spirits are subject to you but rejoice because your names are written in heaven.” 

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Homily The Deacon Joe

4th Sunday Ordinary Time – Love is it!

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Jer. 1:4-5, 17-19; Ps. 71:1-6, 15, 17; 1 Cor. 12:31—13:13; Lk. 4:21-30

Love is it! It is “a still more excellent way” to truth, knowledge, prophesy, and all the mysteries of the greatest spiritual gifts.  “If I give everything I own and if I hand my body over so that I may boast” that is pride not love, and “I gain nothing”.   Love is it, “when the perfect comes”.  If all is lost and all that remains is love, we will live on with our faith and hope in something greater than ourselves and renew the spirit.  If we have everything of our desires but do not have love we will surely live with death at our side. 

Love it is!  It “bring(s) glad tidings to the poor to proclaim liberty to the captives.”  When Jesus enters the synagogue and reads from the book of Isaiah the Jews understood this reading as speaking of them as the “suffering servant of God” receiving liberty during the Exile and were poor, captive by the Babylonians, and even blind in need of healing.  Jesus changes their meaning of this prophesy to indicate the “poor” who had “no grace” lacking in union with God, “captive” to sin and not the Roman empire, and blind from the “truth” and without the light of God. 

We are all poor that is lacking the fullness of love and held captive by our sins.  The question is often asked, “Do you see the cup half full or half empty?”  To see the cup half empty is to deny the love of God that is present and can lead to despair and “why try for more”.  To see the cup half full can lead to hopefulness but can also lead to complacency as “good enough” and “why try for more”.  Either way there is risk of settling for less that God’s plan for us.  Love calls for more from each other and of each other in relationship.  There is something greater here than this.  God’s love is greater than our circumstances, greater than our comforts, greater than our struggles, greater than us.  Love is it and God is love.  Deal with it and be set free.  Until then we continue to live the proverb, “Physician, cure yourself.” 

When Jesus quoted the proverb “Physician, cure yourself”, he pointed to the day when those of little faith would see him on the cross and question how he could cure others but he could not come off the cross.   He also pointed to them though they “were amazed at his gracious words” they quickly became “filled with fury” and drove him out because the reflection he gave of them was of little faith and doubt for lack of love.  Without love there is this doubt, fear, jealousy, and anger directed at Jesus as they became “fully known” by the revelation of Jesus.  We become fully known by the measure of our love recognized as a son or daughter of God or a child of the world. 

At present we not only know partially but are partially known in the darkness of our sins.  The day is coming when we “shall know fully” and we will be “fully known” in judgment coming “face to face” with the light of truth something to be grasped.  Our mercy will be fully known by our love for what we have done and failed to do.  Are we ready for the light of truth to shine on us and fully reveal our lives before God?  If not, what are we doing about it?  Love is it and now is the time for greater love in our world, the love of charity, the love of mercy, the love of sacrifice, the love of God.  Love and be set free!  God is always ready to give of his love, are we ready to receive?  

Love is it!  It never fails to reveal to us the goodness, beauty, truth and unity of God.  If “we see indistinctly, as in a mirror” our vision is clouded with our own interests leading to our impatience, rudeness, quick-tempered reactions, and jealousy.  Love is not about us but of the other who we love.  When we were but a child, it was about us thinking as a child what we wanted and reasoning as a child our privileged entitlement talking as a child asking “why not?”  This is the culture of death of our times to remain as a child sacrificing the other for our own self interests in abortion, euthanasia, genetic programming, embryonic stem cell research, and denial of procreation.  For the world it is all about “us” and what about God?  God is being denied because God is about the “other” in our lives.  God is the “other” that makes all things possible.

The culture of death even proposes that we remain as a child and allow governance to determine our sustenance even now by proposing that some get paid to stay at home.  If we accept these “childish things” we surrender to remain a child to those in power and not a child of God who calls us to go forth with a greater purpose than ourselves.  Love is it and it comes with sacrifice.  If there is sacrifice love is present strengthening our perseverance with faith and hope in something greater. 

The author Gary Chapman became well known for his book on the “5 Love Languages”.  They include “words of affirmation, physical touch, quality time, acts of service, and receiving gifts”.  This interpretation of love is identified by the behavioral aspect of demonstrating love.  The Greeks identify up to twelve types of love more than behavioral but in the essence of love.  C.S. Lewis describes four of these types in Agape, Eros, Philia, and Storge from a Christian perspective. 

Agape being the unconditional “God” love regardless of circumstances is selfless in charity centered on the other in its perfection to give rather than to receive.  Eros for Lewis is the sense of “being in love” not as an emotion but as rational being in a bond of love as in matrimony each giving of oneself to the other.  It may also be Eros of passion whereby we gaze upon God his majesty and he gazes upon us his creation.  Do we have passion for our God or is he simply treated as an acquaintance? 

Philia being the “friendship” coming from shared values, interests, and activities that create a freely chosen bond as Christ called his disciples “friends” to be of one mind, heart, and soul.  Storge is the “dependency-based love” of a child to their parent with the need for affection to thrive and without which it would withdraw and die.  It is both need-based and gift-giving.  In God the Father we recognize our need for God and his gift giving graces to overcome sin and thrive in holiness. 

There are three other types of love identified by the Greeks to include for the perfect number of seven.  These are Ludus, Philautia, and Pragma.  Ludus is translated as “play” the natural desire seen in all species of animals.  In the child play is the beginning of exploration at the wonderment of life and as we age play is keeping a sense of humor that lifts our spirit in the comedy of life to be challenging without fear of harm.  What a beautiful thing, we begin with play and we return to play as we see that God is it.  Play is an expression of love that is why sports play can be very unifying in spirit. 

Philautia is “self-love” the love of self-respect for our own dignity created in the image of God guarding our mind, heart, soul, and body from the danger of the evil one prowling about the world seeking the ruin of souls.  Self-love avoids the near temptation and consequence of sin that damage our soul and relationship to God.  

The last is Pragma the love of commitment as God’s covenant love for his people.  It is beyond any mere legalistic agreement.  It is the love coming from a sacramental bond of love in each of the seven sacraments.  It is God’s love committed for our salvation as he has ordained it and we freely receive and by our fiat we enter into it.  Let us always and in every moment say “yes, Lord” to this invitation. 

What do all these various forms of love have in common?  They all are based on relationship for even “self-love” requires of us to have self-awareness of the other to have meaning otherwise it is simply narcissistic sickness.  Relationship gives meaning to existence and purpose for being in Pragma that is in a committed love willing to sacrifice in the image of Christ our savior.  Love is it with the many faces of love but the same source of love which is God himself. 

There is a story of a child who went to his mother and asked “If God is real, why don’t we see him?”  The mother quickly said “Go ask your dad.”  The child went to his dad and asked “Dad, if God is real why don’t we see him?”  The dad quickly said, “Go ask your mom.”  The child felt ignored and began to question “Is God real?”  That weekend, his grandfather took him fishing out on his boat.  As they sat quietly waiting for the “bite” the boy turned and asked one more time “Grandpa, if God is real why don’t we see him?”  The grandpa sat quietly looking at the water and said nothing.  The body felt again ignored and discouraged wondering if there was a God.  Then the grandpa turned to him and said, “Son, at my age God is all I see.”  It is time for us to think, see, and be the adult who can see God and share the love that is God. 

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3rd Sunday Ordinary Time – “You are Christ’s body”

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Neh. 8:2-6, 8-10; Ps. 19:8-10, 15; 1 Cor. 12:12-30; Lk. 1:1-4; 4:14-21

“You are Christ’s body and individually parts of it” through the power of the Spirit.  Which part have we been given so that “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing”?  I have often felt and said that I am a “jack of all trades, master of none” and I suspect others have similar feelings.  St Augustine reminds us “we are restless until we rest in him” from whom we gain our identity in his body. 

We are called to “wear many hats” in our home, work and service to our community.  We have to administer our home, teach our children, nurse our family when they are sick, and may even work miracles to see our children graduate or go to college and that is just what is needed at home.  At work we are to be part of a bigger body with a mission of service and have to interpret the dynamics of human relationships to work together for a common purpose.  Is this the identity in Christ’s body?  Our identity is not what we do but who we are from the gift we receive.    

God’s desires are not of asking but offering us a gift.  It begins with the gift of himself to us at baptism.  But he comes with many other gifts through the power of the Spirit and it is designed to be “honored” that all the “parts (in the body of Christ) share its joy.” It is that gift that brings blessing to others in the body of Christ.  It creates our identity in Christ to be his body.  Do we recognize the gift in which “you are Christ’s body”?  It is not like a “hat” you put on and take off or a switch you turn on and off at will.  It is a transformational gift.

The transformational gift we live in our being and cannot be hidden but reveals itself in who we were created to be in the image of God.  It is a gift that reveals itself no matter what life choices we make because it represents our identity in Christ.  Until we honor this gift, we remain restless in search of the “other” means of happiness while the gift is the maiden in waiting for our response.  Once we begin to live the gift all the other parts of the body of Christ come together with meaning and purpose. 

How do we discern this gift coming from God?  “Your words Lord, are Spirit and life” says the responsorial psalm.  In baptism the Ephphatha prayer is said with the sign of the cross over the ears of the child and the mouth so that the ears may be opened to receive the word and the mouth to proclaim it.  The gift is revealed in the words of the Lord which we see Ezra reading from the “book of the law” and the reverence of the people answering “Amen, Amen!”  The people are prostrated in fear of the Lord but Ezra declares that it is a holy day “for rejoicing in the Lord must be your strength.”  The Lord comes in his word for our understanding and in his Spirit for guidance that our mind may be opened to the knowledge of God and our hearts be ready to respond to the will of God for our lives.  Ephphatha meaning “Be Opened” to the word and to the Spirit that we may discern rightly what God has prepared for us in becoming “you are Christ’s body”. 

Just as the body has many parts it remains one body with each part in service to the whole body.  The body is also made of millions of cells that generate for a time and pass away but the body remains until the day it passes until the day that it will rise again for all eternity but the soul does not pass something to be pondered.  We were created in the image of God to remain for ever in his one body.  Just as the angels are not all the same and have different gifts to serve the Lord, we have our gift that transcends time, is the joy of the Lord, and is our path to the kingdom of God.  Are we ready to claim it? 

The gift will place us in a position “God has designated in the church to be” of service as “apostles, prophets, teachers, work might deeds, bring healing, provide assistance, administer and receive a variety of tongues” to speak from the testimony of our language of faith, hope, and love of God.  Jesus instituted the church that we may all be one in his body to share the good news and build up the kingdom.  “Today (is our time) this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing” to be anointed in the Spirit of the Lord for you are Christ’s body. 

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Homily The Deacon Joe

2nd Sunday Ordinary Time – “Proclaim his marvelous deeds”

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Is. 62:1-5; Ps. 96:1-3, 7-10; 1 Cor. 12:4-11; Jn. 2:1-11

“Proclaim his marvelous deeds to all the nations” and do it by the “different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit” we have received.  The glory of Jesus is once again revealed after the baptism of the Lord in the wedding at Cana transforming water into wine.  The epiphany of this day is that God is revealing himself in Jesus by the transforming of water into wine for yet the greater transformation to come from wine into his blood.  What marvelous deeds are to come from Jesus not to end in him but to continue in us as God is with us in the visible spiritual gifts we receive and put to use for the greater good. 

God also desires to reveal himself through us in the working of the Holy Spirit by the spiritual gifts we receive to proclaim the glory of the Lord each according to our spiritual gifts.  These gifts by their design are for the purpose of coming together in unity to share and build up the kingdom of God in his one body the church.  Where there is God there is unity, communion, and grace abounds.  Grace indicating “gratis” from Latin, a free gift of “God’s unmerited favor”.  The power of this gift comes from coming together to build up the kingdom of God and “you shall be called by a new name pronounced by the mouth of the Lord.” 

Who is “you”?  Who does the Lord “rejoice” in and where is this “land” no longer “forsaken” or “desolate” but the “delight of God spoken of by Isaiah?  For some it is still to come but for those who have accepted Jesus Christ the “Builder” has arrived and “you” the church coming together to build up the kingdom in the heavenly Jerusalem is “Espoused” as the bride of Christ.  There cannot be a church of “one” between God and “I”.  “For where two or three are gathered in my name there am I” (Mt. 18:20) is where God is. 

God is in our home when we gather to pray, to give thanks for our meal, to offer a Rosary he joins us and rejoices in calling us his own.  He is in our church in the freedom to gather and to worship in sharing our faith we serve as a channel of grace that brings joy, comfort, healing, and peace to our hearts.  We cannot make ourselves “happy” by ourselves.  It is not how we are wired even in our DNA one synapse has to transfer to another synapse the information needed to live.   God’s creation is for unity.  We have to be linked together to bring all the spiritual graces to form a stronger body in Christ. 

In the same way our soul is not disconnected from our body.  How we treat our body lifts our soul up to God or can injure our soul and our faith.  All the evils that injure our body can separate us from God, drugs, abortion, prostitution, gluttony, and any other form of bodily abuse.  It is often easy to ask “where is God?” when life spirals into despair.  We would never think of asking ourselves “What have I done to God with myself?”  A good examination of conscience and act of contrition can reveal to us more of ourselves and God’s love and mercy.  “O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended You…”  When we were born God gave us a gift.  It was the gift of ourselves.  When we were baptized, we received another gift.  It was the gift of God himself.  What we do with ourselves is our gift back to God.  When we injure ourselves with sin, we injure God who is with us.  The enemy works as much from within as through others. 

 We should guard against the enemy who has eroded God in the public square, from schools and seeks to “cancel” or “transform” what the church does in its schools, hospitals, and charity programs.  To be clear the enemy is not government.  It is not government against the church for that in itself is divisive and not the unity God desires.  Every civil society has a means of governance including the church.  The enemy is the spirit of evil that is working in the souls of those who seek to be the gods of this world.  They hunger for their own power willing to sacrifice truth, goodness, beauty, and unity that is all that God is to be their gods at the cost of others. 

We are not to be silent but to proclaim his marvelous deeds in recognizing and giving praise to God for the gifts we receive, how God is working in us and the truth of the gospel alive in us.  Have we been blessed today?  Have we expressed to each other the blessings we have received this day?  How easy is it to express what is wrong in our day than what is right and to give thanks for what this day has provided for us?  A conversion is a transformation of the heart to the mystery of God allowing us to see with the eyes of faith.  So how does this work in the “real” world? 

You may be familiar with the warning “children should not play with scissors they can poke their eyes out.”  Accidents happen every day or we would not call them an accident.  This week I accidently poked my eyeball with the tip of the scissors I was using to trim my eyebrow.  My eye immediately started bleeding like a gory movie scene.  I needed urgent care to examine and treat it. In the past the mind would have immediately indulged in negative thinking, “I could go blind”, “why God?”, “how this disrupts my day”, “what did I do to deserve this?”, all the standard reactions.  That is not the mind of a believer. 

As my wife came to pick me up to take me to the get medical care, she shared how there had been an accident on the expressway and had to avoid passing by it.  My thought was how I may have been on the road at that moment where the accident occurred and my accident kept me it.  I also took the day in which all my planning changed to be at rest and consider what I needed to do differently for my own well-being because of my monovision, I don’t see close up with my right eye.  “Speak Lord your servant is listening”.  It was also a time to give thanks that I did not injure myself permanently.  God works in the world beyond our reality but he invites us to seek him, trust him and love him.  Perhaps in sharing this story the lessons learned can serve others. 

Since we all receive different gifts in order to be one in Christ we are called to come together and allow our gifts to be of service to each other.  I am always amazed by persons who receive the gift of faith in abundance and don’t question God.  It is a love without question.  This faith leads to joyful trust in the Lord.  I am always looking for understanding the mystery of faith knowing I am but this small limited brain.   I benefit much from just being around someone “full of faith” as we all do.  The same Spirit is living and acting in each of us and we are to proclaim God through our works of the Spirit.  This same Spirit is calling us to “do whatever he tells you”. 

God wishes to reveal himself through Christ in us in the gifts given to us.  Now is not the time to be doubtful and wait for another gift or moment, or revelation to come or something spectacular to happen in our lives before we proclaim the goodness of the Lord.  The spectacular is that we alive filled with someone greater than us and his name is Jesus. 

We are it, the ones called to proclaim his marvelous deeds.  In the domestic home we are it, to lift each other up.  In the local parish, we are it, to have fellowship welcoming the stranger to our faith.  In our neighborhood and community, we are it evangelizing by the service to our neighbor and the stranger.  Does everyone need to walk the streets?  No unless that is your particular gift.  Some are very good speaking to the youth and others working with the elderly, some have a voice to sing on the mountain top and others only in the shower.  We get it, now let’s go about doing it.  Do whatever he tells you and proclaim it to the world then the “you” becomes the “we” in body of Christ and his church. 

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The Baptism of the Lord – “justified by his grace”

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Is. 40:1-5, 9-11; Ps. 104:1b-4, 24-25, 27-30; Titus 2:11-14; 3:4-7; Lk. 3:15-16, 21-22

“Justified by his grace” is both present and not yet.  Justified by grace is present by the coming of Jesus and not yet for the unbaptized, the unrepentant sinner, the untrained soul in the ways of the Lord for not all have responded to receive this gift.  Even the baptized repented soul has its work to do in the vineyard of the Lord for salvation comes by God’s grace of mercy and our response by faith through works.  It is in the doing that grace abounds. If we say we believe, then the evidence is in the fruit we produce.  God’s love and mercy cannot save us without us as a precondition of our free will.  The power of the word is given to us to live out as a well-trained soul “filled with expectation”. 

Our expectation is to know God, love God and serve God “eager to do what is good”.  After the “cleansing” through baptism comes the justification by grace so that our expectation is to grow in the Lord guided by the Holy Spirit.  Is this our expectation to grow in the Lord or are we still seeking to live out our own expectation?  The Lord can unite our hopes and dreams with his call to serve him in all we do but it begins with turning our expectation over to him to do with us according to his will.  In this we will be confirmed, to know God is with us producing the good fruit of our labor as heirs to the kingdom. 

We “become heirs in hope of eternal life” something to be thankful, hopeful, and dedicated to the Lord’s “training (of) us to reject godless ways and worldly desires”.  We are thankful, Jesus has arrived, but we remain a work in progress awaiting our day of judgment.  In the endless argument among faithful Christians, we are not justified by faith “alone” nor by “any righteous deeds we had done but because of his mercy” we are invited to enter in the Lord’s vineyard and fulfill our call through works of love and mercy. 

Faith leads us to the waters of baptism and baptism opens the gate of heaven to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit that we may be confirmed that is strengthened to do the will of God in our participation of our salvation by living “temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age”.  The false edict “once saved always saved” is the devil’s temptation to fall into the prideful sin of making the greatest false assumption “our actions will not determine our judgment”.  It is foolish to believe baptism is our “get out of jail pass” and entry ticket to heaven regardless of our sins.  Called to sin no more is the ideal but humanity remains in a state of sin, and we must seek constant reconciliation. 

Salvation arrived in the birth of Jesus to be “justified by grace” and in his love we are now in the age of mercy to live by this same grace “eager to do what is good.”  We are a “hopeful” people, and our work of salvation remains our “hope for eternal life” as “heirs” who must put on the armor of our work and go forth to do what is good and avoid what is evil by the training we receive from the word of God, the body and blood of Jesus, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.   “Hope” implies the reality of an expectation that has yet to come yet it comes to us daily in the Eucharist, in our acts of love and mercy leading us to that particular day, the final day even as judgment comes daily in the manner we choose to respond to the Lord’s call.  It is both here and not yet. 

“Justified by grace…he saved us through the bath of rebirth and renewal in the Holy Spirit”.  The Lord was faithful to his call for which he was born and in the baptism of the Lord he cleansed the water so we may join him by faith, water, and service.  Are we faithful to our call for the purpose we have received as “heirs” not to squander our inheritance on worldly desires but to multiply it by the same grace in which we were justified?  This “grace” is to love and be merciful in an unjust world.  We are given a light of truth to shine on the darkness around us.  It is a light that cannot be denied and a flame that is to be kept burning and not die from neglect. 

We are “justified by grace” when we go to confession as a repentant sinner called to be perfect but not yet.  Confession is our renewal of our baptismal promises as much as the forgiveness of our sins.  We are to daily rededicate ourselves to receive and to serve by grace the will of God in all we do for nothing is insignificant to the Lord, not our thoughts, not our feelings, or our actions.  We are not only “justified by grace” but being trained by grace to overcome what is evil and seek what is good.  This world is our “bootcamp” in which our struggles, suffering, and pain is to be offered up to the Lord so we may claim our victory in this life and celebrate in the eternal one to come.  This is our call to “live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age.”  How is it going so far?  Are we there yet and keeping our priorities in order with the call to know, love, and serve God?  We are “justified by grace” to enter into the battlefield where the evil one prowls about seeking the ruin of souls. 

The battlefield is waged in the mind, heart and will of the believer to render the enemy powerless from any attack from the outside world.  That is why we must nourish our minds with the word of God, nourish our hearts with love of God and be trained in the will of God. In the baptism of the Lord, he established the channel of grace that we may receive him as our greatest defender over the powers of evil.  We are not alone we are never alone with Christ for us no one can defeat us. 

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Homily The Deacon Joe

Christmas is here! “Your God is King!”

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Is. 52:7-10; Ps. 98:1-6; Heb. 1:1-6; Jn. 1:1-18

“Your God is King…sing joyfully to the Lord!”  Sing joyfully to be born of God.  For God in sending his only begotten Son, “full of grace and truth” and he opened the gates of heaven.  “From his fullness we have all received, grace in place of grace”.  What is this grace that replaces grace?  It is Jesus himself who not only gave himself up to the Father but who in his fullness of grace gives of himself to us as we come to receive him body and blood in the Eucharist celebration of the Mass this day.  To receive Jesus is the fullness of grace that bring together the law and the prophets into his one body as love incarnate that we may be saved.  We sing joyfully to the Lord to be incarnated into his grace. 

“Your God is King” from the grace of obedience to the grace of love.  The grace of obedience to the law is the visible sign of being called to salvation.  The grace of love is the invisible sign of being called “children of God”.  As children his grace is transformative to be perfect as God is perfect by shedding the scales of sin from our humanity and rising up to his divinity.  Pray that what we confess in our words we may not deny him in our actions.  This is the day the Lord has made to sing joyfully for our salvation comes and “Your God is King” of salvation through Jesus Christ.  Emmanuel, he is with us. 

How good it is to know “Your God is King” to rule by love our lives.  He rules with the staff of mercy that we may come to know his love by forgiveness of our sins.  Who dares to deny him this gift of mercy is to deny God himself at our own peril choosing the unforgiveable sin of rejecting forgiveness out of self pride.  This pride says, “God cannot forgive me when I do not forgive myself” causing our own damnation.   “Your God is King” of perfect love in the act of mercy.  We are then to be merciful in our lives with each other, slow to anger and quick to reconcile. 

If “Your God is King” then why is there such suffering in life?  Suffering is the grace to join Christ on the cross and hear him speak those words to us, “Today you will be with me in Paradise.”  (Lk. 23:43) Suffering unites us to Christ and his love for us on the cross.  It confirms our love and acceptance of his will for us.  He is king of suffering and invites us to share the cross that we may overcome the test and remain faithful to our proclamation of faith.  Job understood well the cross of suffering and perseverance trusting that by acceptance a greater good would be revealed. It was revealed in Jesus Christ. 

Today our God is King, he has come to us in Jesus Christ and we share in his kingdom when we come to receive him body and blood, soul, and divinity in the Eucharist.  Let us celebrate our king and the joy of fellowship with all our kinsmen who have entered the kingdom through the waters of baptism.  No earthly suffering can conquer his kingship and our victory over death as we walk in the light of truth and justice.  Believe and be saved that your God and my God is king of our lives.  Merry Christmas and more of Christ. 

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