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Homily The Deacon Joe

4th Sunday of Lent – Rejoice, O Jerusalem!

Posted on by Deacon Joe

2 Chron. 36:14-16, 19-23; Ps: 137:1-6; Eph. 2:4-10; Jn. 3:14-21

“Rejoice, O Jerusalem” “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.”  John 3:16 is printed in posters, cups, shirts, billboards and proclaimed by all Christian people. It stands as a foundation of faith in Jesus Christ and unity for his people and we rejoice in Laetare Sunday to be children of God.  In the darkness of sin comes the light of faith bring hope into the world. 

Faith and works unite as one when we act in faith and allow the works of God to be his love through us.  We live in it we rejoice in it and we fulfill the works of God in it.  It is in the ministry of the priesthood that accomplishes the works of God in the church.  It is the works of God seen in the service of the laity coming from our baptism and the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Faith and works are not to be divided any more than our soul is to be separated from our body for we are given both to serve as one in this world. 

John 3:16 is one of the most quoted verses of the bible by Christians of all denominations.  Human nature being what it is has in the same way created disunity among Christian people when it comes to salvation between those who profess “saved by faith alone and not by works” and Catholic faith in salvation by grace in unity with works.  James 2:26 reminds us “For just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead”. 

Today Ephesians makes a strong argument for faith, “For by grace you have been saved though faith, and this is not from you; it is a gift of God; it is not from works so no one may boast”.  Saved by grace and rich in mercy is our God who desires us to recognize how great is his love that he gave us his only Son to save us.  It is clear salvation is a gift of grace from God who is “rich in mercy.”  We may ask how one confession wipes away all my sins if not by the rich mercy of God.  How can any of our works be considered justification for salvation since we believe in John 3:16, Jesus died in atonement for our sins that we “might not perish”?  The simple answer is we don’t.  An act of faith opens the gates of salvation to receive the grace of mercy from God.  So where does “works” stand in salvation? 

“Works” are the visible signs of God’s work in us “so no one may boast” as their achievement but give God the glory who is at work to bring salvation to the world.  Salvation is a gift “though faith” visible in the works of the faithful.  Anyone who claims to have “faith” gives light to their faith in the visible works of God as we surrender to him.  Consider the works of Moses, Elijah, and all the great prophets and all that God accomplished through their faith and trust in God and became the “handiwork” of God “for the good works that God has prepared in advance” for them.  It is our turn now as a people of faith to be the handiwork of God for the works he has prepared in advance for us “that we should live in them”. 

If we live in God’s works prepared for us then we live in the light of salvation but if we turn to the “infidelity” of our own works then we live in darkness of a faith that is dead. “Infidelity to infidelity practicing all the abominations…until there was no remedy.”  Does this sound like ancient medieval times or modern times?  We live in a time of infidelity practicing all the abominations going from good to evil, from the sovereignty of human life to calling for the rights of abortion to end life, from made in the image of God to made in the image of genetic manipulation to create an alternative life, from God’s natural law of sexual identity to human law of identity preference, from the right to life until the end of life to the right to die at the time of my choice.  Works that stand for death stand against the fidelity to God as an abomination. 

Not only have we lost the commandment to keep holy the “Sabbaths” but all the other commandments are no longer the tradition of the public square.  They are being held captive to remain within the walls of the church not to be seen in public not even on the walls of anything considered a wall of the State lest we be canceled for infringement on the rights of the anti-commandment culture of death.  Where does freedom come from? Is it by authority of the State or by authority of God through his command of life? 

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”  (Jn. 1:1) We are reminded in the gospel of John that “all things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be.  What came to be through him was life”.  Our lifeline is God and without God we are already the walking dead “in our transgressions”. If the State by the authority granted unto itself chooses the darkness of death then let us stand apart as “the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it” (Jn. 1:5) Take courage in that our kingdom is not of this world as children of God. 

What is the remedy?  Perhaps the critical question is “what is the remedy God will bring upon this world?  Perhaps it has already begun as we see the hand of God amid all the crisis in the world “until the land has retrieved all its lost sabbaths.”  The remedy is Jesus Christ!  The remedy is a call to repentance and retrieve the “lost sabbaths” by returning to the commandments of God.  The remedy is a contrite heart in confession for the times we failed to answer the call to holiness and purity of heart.  The remedy is the courage to give witness to our faith in the works God desires to work through us.  The remedy is more than being “called” children of God, the remedy is to be children of God by the testimony we give every day in every way as the visible sign of his work in us.  As Catholics the remedy is the sacrifice of the Mass in atonement for our sins and the sins of the world. 

Salvation is a gift of grace “through faith”.  The gift is there but it requires action on our part and the first act is an act of faith to believe followed by the natural works that respond to our beliefs that give life to our faith and glory to God.  The mystery of faith is Jesus Christ and the works of faith are the children of God who radiate the light of faith in a world of darkness.  The works of faith, that is the children of God is the treasure he came to save and raise up from death into everlasting life and glory.  The train has left the station since over two thousand years ago and it is making its journey calling the faithful to come aboard.  The ticket to ride is an act of faith but there is work to do on the train of salvation to reach our journey’s end.  The one who does not work does not eat of the bread of life. 

We are reminded that the harvest is ready but the workers are few, not a good sign for this world.  The faithful are becoming the silent minority as less people return to the pews.  We are reminded that “Early and often did the Lord, the God of their faithers, send his messengers to them, for he had compassion on his people and his dwelling place.  But they mocked the messengers of God, despised his warnings, and scoffed at his prophets, until the anger of the Lord against his people was so inflamed that there was no remedy.”  Jesus is the messenger mocked, despised for his warnings, and scoffed as a prophet then and now when we dare to speak for the truth of God. 

It is not personal it is the universal battle between good and evil taking place in our times.  We are called to battle for our faith, we are called to be the remedy.  If not us then who?  Jesus has already come to give us life and to bring about his works through us.  If not now when?  Are we going to witness the enemy “burn the house of God”?  It is already happening in other parts of the world as Christian temples are destroyed.  The “walls of Jerusalem” the city of God is being torn down because those city walls are the walls of our heart that bind us to the heart of Jesus.  All “its precious objects” are the lives of the unborn, the sick, and the poor destroyed in a culture of death. 

“All the kingdoms of the earth” have been given to us as an inheritance and we are his people called to go up to the city of God.  Let us sing to the Lord a new song of love and devotion and give him our troubled hearts.  “Laetare Jerusalem” “Rejoice, O Jerusalem” and be glad while there is still time.  Mother church rejoices in the children of God and we rejoice in Mother Church to bring us the miracle of the body and blood of Jesus in the Eucharist.  The heavens rejoice with us united to our Blessed Mother Mary, St. Joseph and all the angels and saints.

Let us remember that the Church has declared this the year of St. Joseph to be with us as our intercessor.  He who was the defender of the Holy Family may have been silent in the scriptures but not in his fatherhood to Jesus and spouse of Mary.  Just this week in the news a Christian school is promoting that the children no longer refer to their parents as mother and father.  The attack against faith enters through the back door in the form of language to change behavior only to fall into the pit of abominations.  Destroy the family unity and you destroy faith. 

Today in Mass is our portion of the city of God and may our “tongue” never be silenced, may we never forget the giver of life, and may our God be with us all the days of our life until we too are lifted up into eternal life. The “verdict” is in for those who live the truth “so that his works may be clearly seen as done from God.”  Let us rejoice as family! 

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3rd Sunday of Lent – God commands “You shall not!”

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Ex. 20:1-17; Ps: 19:8-11; 1 Cor. 1:22-25; Jn. 2:13-25

“You shall not” is given eight times by the Lord in issuing the ten commandments with only twice speaking in the affirmative.  “You shall not” does not leave any discretionary judgment in following the Lord’s commandments.  The two affirmative statements include “keep holy the sabbath” and “Honor your father and mother”.  As clear and direct as these statements are, we see in the gospel of John “But Jesus would not trust himself to them (Jews or Gentiles) because he knew them all, and did not need anyone to testify about human nature.  He himself understood it well.”  What does Jesus understand well of human nature?  Could it be that human pride stands in the way of obedience with a humble heart?

Regardless of how clear the word of God is human nature looks for signs and wisdom to believe the word but the true sign of the power of God’s word is Jesus crucified, “a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles”.  In other words, human nature looks to itself to transform the word into its own wisdom when Jesus crucified is the call to a transformation of self by faith.  Let’s consider the wisdom of human nature.

God says, “You shall not have other gods besides me” but it is said the world revolves around money so that remains a priority and major concern of life so much that we value “climbing the financial ladder” more than climbing the spiritual ladder to the kingdom of God. 

God says, “You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God in vain” but it is said if I am upset and cry out in in frustration “Jesus Christ” at least my anger is misdirected at him and not at someone else, besides it is only a common expression many others say. Normalizing sin does not make it right.

God says, “Remember to keep holy the sabbath day” but it is said if it is between coming to church or sleeping in on Sunday as the only day of rest then God understands we need our rest, or does he?  It reminds me of scripture where two shall be in bed, one will be taken to heaven and the other not. 

God says, “Honor your father and your mother” but it is said I have a right to live my life first after all they lived their lives and made their choices, now I have to make mine.  It reminds of the Pharisees who were called “hypocrites” because they accepted money as atonement for the people not taking care of their parents, widows, and children.  Is there any justification for neglect of those who cared for us in our youth? 

God says, “You shall not kill” but it is said if the law allows it then it is acceptable after all it is my body, my choice to give birth or have an abortion or even to end my life when I determine my suffering I cannot bear. The gift of life comes from God and in rejecting his gift we reject him also.  In birth God’s gift of life is a treasure, what we do with this treasure is our gift back to him.  Killing is a rejection of his love. 

God says, “You shall not commit adultery” but it is said if someone was unfaithful to you then you have a right to move on with your life onto another relationship. How many husbands did Jesus claim the woman at the well had and the one she was with at the time was not her husband?  Breaking the bond of marriage opens the soul to a life of infidelity not just to the other but to oneself.  We can convince ourselves “this is the one” only to recognize we have lied to ourselves. 

God says, “You shall not steal” but it is said if it is for a good cause to follow the “Robinhood” rule, steal from the rich to give to the poor then it is right because it is wrong for the rich to be so rich. Remember the parable of the laborer who was hired early in the day and those who were hired later, they all received the same pay. To human nature it seems unfair but God is generous according to his purpose.

God says, “You shall not bear false witness” but it is said that if spoken as a “white” lie to protect yourself and others then there is a good cause.  It reminds me when Jesus claimed it is not what comes into the mouth that is defiled but what comes out of the mouth.  Silence is a virtue. 

God says, “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house” but it is said that it is only natural to have “healthy competition with the Jones’s” for being the best on the block.  Then again when we live beyond our means it does have a way of coming back to “bite” us. 

God says, “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife…nor anything else that belongs to him” but it is said a little jealousy cannot be helped.  But it is also said jealousy is a sign of unfaithfulness and without faith we die. 

But who says these things anyway?  Now it seems human nature is able to find qualifiers and disqualifiers to the commandments. There is always a loophole human wisdom can create to allow for what is being denied.  This comes from the “stubbornness” of the human heart not ready to follow the sign of Jesus crucified but wanting justification for the exception to the commandment rather than recognizing “The law of the Lord is perfect” and “the command of the Lord is clear”. 

When we create our own justification, we turn the temple of the Lord into a “den of thieves”.  The “temple” Jesus speaks of is his own body crucified on the cross which we carry in our lives and “destroy” when we sin.  If we accept the words of scripture “Zeal for your house will consume me” let us consider how Jesus is also consumed by his love for each of us knowing we allow sin into his house in our souls to destroy his temple in us.  He desires not one to be lost but all to be saved.  God has a “zeal” to bring us to salvation that we may celebrate the “feast of Passover” meaning the Passover of death into life eternal and into his glory this Easter by turning away from our sins, our justifications, our human understanding and returning to serving God as a people of faith.   

We return to him when we keep holy the “sabbath”.  This day for the Christian is represented as the day of the resurrection Easter Sunday and every Sunday we come to celebrate his passion, death, and resurrection in the Mass.  It is the Mass that is the pinnacle of worship as we bring our brokenness, our confession of sin, our offering of our charity represented by all we have done during our week and God receives it in atonement for our sins to wash us clean by his body and blood in the Eucharist. 

In a time when churches still remain with limited attendance, we see that even with the limits enforced there remains empty sitting where many of the faithful once attended.  Have they simply “lost faith”, remain in fear, or live in a world of qualifiers and disqualifiers that represent human nature?  The time of re-evangelization is now.

We honor God when we honor our father and mother.  Father and mother are the visible sign of our parents representing our heavenly Father and Mother Mary.  If we cannot honor the visible signs of our parents through who we receive our earthly body how can we honor our heavenly Father through who we receive our soul or our heavenly Mother who gave birth to the redeemer? 

“Yes, but” there are parents who abandon their children, abuse them, and neglect them of their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs so do they fall into the “disqualified” or do they?  We continue to honor them with an act of charity by praying for them even when a relationship cannot be sustained.  This is what bring us the peace we seek when we honor God this way. 

Then there is the question “why Mary, when we can go directly to the source in Jesus Christ?”  When we get married, we not only give honor to our spouse with our love but also by honoring the in-laws we demonstrate our commitment to our spouse.  We married into an earthly family thus in loving God we accept all the family in communion with the Holy Family, Jesus, Joseph, and Mary, the Holy Spirit, and all the extended family in the communion of saints and angels.  No one can be left out of our heavenly family, not even the souls in purgatory who we honor when we pray for them, these too give honor to God. And by the way don’t forget your guardian angel so often neglected in our prayers.

In the magisterium of the Church there are many Fathers and the Church is also our mother to be honored.  Our Holy Father Pope Francis has called for this year to be the year to honor Saint Joseph.  Many have made a consecration to our Blessed Mother Mary so does that mean we cannot consecrate ourselves to Saint Joseph?  The answer by now should be clear, we can love them both and need to love them all.  The Church is seeking the intervention into our world through Saint Joseph as there is a great need to have his witness to faithfulness in obedience as Saint Joseph gave testimony as earthly father to Jesus and husband to Mary.  His testimony was simple yet profound, he was the guardian of the treasure of the lives of Jesus and Mary and today we need to recognize the treasure we have been given in our homes, our families, and church, and ourselves.  Saint Joseph pray for us.   

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Homily The Deacon Joe

2nd Sunday of Lent – Here I am planning for heaven!

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Gen 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18; Ps: 116:10, 15-19; Rom. 8:31b-34; Mk. 9:2-10

“Here I am!”  This is the response of Abraham in obedience to God.  “Here I am” is also the response he gives to the Lord’s messenger and to his son Isaac on the way up the mountain.  These words come from the wisdom of a man who is a centenarian having lived past 100 years.  They represent an acceptance for the will of God and a readiness to follow God wherever he leads even at the cost of separation from his homeland and the pain of offering up his son Abraham he was ready.  Are we ready?

Yes, “Here I am” represents a surrender of life for a greater good beyond our understanding.  This is living our love and truth to the ultimate sacrifice and we shall find blessing as the Lord promised “all this because you obeyed my command”.  The day is coming when the Lord will call each of us by name to atone for our sins. Here I am facing all the times I looked the other way when Jesus came in the poor, the hungry, the suffering seeking a sign of mercy and peace.  This is the time to pray, “Here I am have mercy on me Lord.”  The day is coming when the only response acceptable is “Here I am” to the great “I AM”. 

In Genesis, the story of Abraham prefigures the coming of Jesus and the sacrifice of his passion and death.  Abraham in his “old age”, who is to become the father of nations through Sarah his wife a childless woman gave birth to their son Isaac.  When Abraham is put to the test it is Isaac who carries the wood on his back while Abraham carries the fire and knife.  Isaac was young and strong to carry the wood and when he realized his father planned to kill him as a “holocaust” offering Isaac could easily have resisted, perhaps thought “this is a crazy old man”.  Instead, he responded obediently allowing Abraham to bind him on top of the wood as the sacrifice to God.  In Abraham and Isaac, we see the love of a father willing to give up his son and a son willing to obey his father as God the Father allowed Jesus his son to carry the wood of the cross and die as the true holocaust offering in atonement for our sins and Jesus surrendered his life for ours. 

We cannot lose sight of the significance of the intent of a “holocaust” offering.  In Jewish law the sacrificial offering was to “burn completely on the altar” a sign of complete and mass destruction. In our times we think of a holocaust as the slaughter and mass murder of many lives. Thus, Jesus death on the cross is a complete offering for the destruction of all the sins of the world.  He is the holocaust of death for endless souls before, then, now and yet to come. One death for the sins many souls but each soul must enter into his passion, death and resurrection to share in his glory, to “walk before the Lord, in the land of the living”. 

When we live by faith in the spirit of “Here I am” then who can be against us?  We are living our test of faith with this pandemic, winter storms and record number of hurricanes this past year but it is God who is our strength and defender.  These are stressful times for families and emotions can be overwhelming with all the little things, no milk or bread, no gas to fill up or heat up, short on cash to make it till payday, and poor internet connection for the kids to get their school work done at home.  What’s next?  It is here that St. Theresa of Calcutta would say, “Not all can do great things, but we can do small things with great love.”  It is “Christ Jesus – who indeed intercedes for us.”  In his humanity he went without food, a place to rest his head, who faced charges of condemnation but also was “raised and is seated at the right hand of God”.  We are called to live in the land of the living by doing all things with great love regardless of what’s next. 

The gospel witnesses give testimony to Jesus transfiguration, his power to rise up and come down.  Transfigure comes from the Latin ‘trans’ meaning ‘across’ and ‘figura’ meaning ‘figure’.  Thus, the figure of Jesus came across the veil of humanity to reflect his divinity and leaves us that sure hope of the resurrection. It is our time to come across the bridge of mediocrity and go beyond the attitude of “I am only human” to reflect the figure of Jesus who through our baptism we invited to reside in us.  We are not only human we carry the divine light and our attitude is to be “Here I am”. 

The old adage is “people don’t plan to fail but fail to plan”.  What is our plan for heaven?  Better yet, have we asked God what is his plan for us to get to heaven?  That is the question we should be asking.  What is his will that we may follow?  Part of it is no mystery for he has already given us the commandments, the guidance of the Holy Spirit to reject sin and embrace love of God and neighbor.  He has also given us the Church to bind and loose as the moral compass on earth. 

But there is more than just rejecting sin.  There is the call to virtue.  Recall in Mathew 5:21, Jesus warns “If your virtue does not surpass that of the scribes and the Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven”.  2nd Peter 1:5-7 lays out the building blocks to heaven, “For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, virtue with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with devotion, devotion with mutual affection, mutual affection with love.  For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you.”  This is the journey of faith, proactive towards the good to bring us the riches of heaven.  The better way to approach Lent is not simply “what to give up” in Lent but what to embrace this Lent to enrich our faith for righteousness. 

If there is anything that destroys a relationship it is taking the other person for granted.  Most people are people of faith in a God but not all are invested in creating a personal relationship with God.  Some are simply in the weeds that call out to God only when the thorns of life draw pain and blood.  Others are in the sand as a sculpture to be admired as “good people” until the storms come and wash away the pretense of faith.  Still others seek to create a strong foundation of faith on solid ground by “working” their faith in a relationship with Christ to weather the storms of life, never alone, always in union with our God.  Our plan for heaven begins and ends with that relationship.  It is all about relationship and not just “God and I” as some claim but God in relationship with us as a community of faith. 

In our relationships if we just live the moment for our corporal needs then our moments may be stolen from us by everything that demands our attention.  When we incorporate into our corporal needs a spiritual plan of “God first” our eyes will open up to receive the blessing of the moment and serve as a blessing to others.  Our plan for heaven is to receive the graces from God and be transformed into his feet to follow where he leads, his hands to share the bread we eat, his heart to comfort the sick, his eyes to give vision to the lost, his mind to testify to the truth.  Our plan is not a reward system but a transformation system into the divine.  This is our time and our land to say “Here I am to be transformed according to your will Lord.”  Let me begin to live in the land of the living for heaven and not of the dead. 

The land of the dead is without hope, living in fear, and isolated in darkness.  It is not difficult to get lost in the land of the dead for the evil one is always alert to any weakness on our part to inflict pain and suffering.  The land of the dead promotes a culture of death in disguise of doing good and it happens every day, in fact every second of the day by institutions who govern by laws that protect the rights to bring death into the world.  It is the ultimate death of faith through abortion, euthanasia, and science that objectifies human life to the genetic degree until life itself is “canceled”. 

The land of the dead does not trust in God but in its own power to define life, truth, and justice.  This is not our land this is not our kingdom.  We rise up to defend life as sacred, truth as coming from God, and justice as God’s plan, his gateway to heaven.  We are a people who plan for heaven ready to say, “Here I am”.  Readiness gets our life in order through the sacraments of the church.  The church lays the foundation now it is up to us to build the kingdom of God up.  Are we ready? 

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1st Sunday of Lent – Repent and believe!

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Gen 9:8-15; Ps: 25:4-9; 1 Peter 3:18-22; Mk. 1:12-15

“Repent and believe in the gospel”.  What is the gospel of Jesus?  It is keeping the covenant of love and truth.  What is “love” and what is “truth”?  Love is not an ideology, an emotion, or a law.  Love is an act that shows sinners the way, guides the humble to justice, and teaches the humble his way.  Truth is love that suffers as “Christ suffered for sins once, the righteous for the sake of the unrighteous that he may lead you to God.” 

The first sign of love and truth is “humility”.  We must first humble ourselves in order to be open to receive God’s love and truth.  The proud seek love that begins with their needs and define truth by reason of their “thinking”.  The humble recognize love is a gift of giving that returns when love exists.  The humble recognize the more they know and understand how little they know of the mystery of God.  We are limited but God is infinite. 

Love is an act that shows sinners the way.   We are all sinners so let us begin with ourselves this lent in recognizing the “dirt” of sin we carry in all those ways we “look the other way” while God is looking directly at us.  Let us reflect on our attitude to sin in which we minimize, rationalize, and even deny what the word of God has revealed to us as an act of disobedience.  For those times in which we have “not put to death in the flesh” our temptations and make a “appeal for a clear conscience”.  This is a gift waiting for us in confession.

Love “teaches the humble his way” not ours.   Love is of giving of ourselves for the purpose of life we have been entrusted.  We receive the blessing of a spouse, children, work, family, and friends and this is the first call to “teach” within our homes “his way” when we give of ourselves in our domestic church.  We have also been entrusted with a community of faith serving a greater purpose as a church universal to bear fruit in showing sinners the way to “remove the dirt” of sin through baptism and reconciliation.  These are not archaic traditions but acts of obedience that fulfill the promises God made to Noah.  Water will no longer be a sign of destruction of the world but of cleansing of the world “in this time of fulfillment” in Jesus Christ. 

Love guides the humble to justice.  In a world that recognizes only winners and losers putting our sense of justice into an ideology instead of into a person is misguided justice.  That person is Jesus Christ, the source of justice who holds the keys of the kingdom and separates heaven and earth, the righteous from the unrighteous.  True justice is by way of love and truth and it lies within a person, our Lord and savior.  The way of love and truth comes to us this Lent as an invitation to receive mercy through prayer, fasting and almsgiving.  We are in the season of mercy but we must act out in love to open the gates of mercy.

Some will view justice as an act of strength in “standing for justice” but then view mercy as an act of weakness as “giving in” to an injustice.  Does Jesus give in to our sins by his mercy?  Consider the act of mercy he gave in his passion by way of the cross.  It was the greatest act of strength and courage he suffered in his mercy for the unrighteous that some may be saved.  Be merciful!  Love is merciful, slow to anger, patient and kind yet strong in truth.  Without truth love is weak and relative to the whims of a thousand voices in the wind blowing us in every direction. 

Truth is the way of Jesus.  When Pontius Pilate asks Jesus “what is truth” Jesus shows Pilate the way of truth in the silence of his suffering on the way of his passion and death for the sake of the unrighteous to lead us to God.  Are we living this “truth” willing to suffer for the sins of others in ways that guide them to justice or gives testimony of the way by virtue of how we live our own lives?  Today we have more than one pandemic in the world, we have a health pandemic and a sin pandemic born out of the sexual revolution that brought us an explosion of abortion, pornography, sexual abuse scandals, and the spread of addictions at younger ages.  These are not sin that our children will “grow out of” in time but will become lost in time in a Godless world.  Lent is calling us to stop “looking the other way” and begin offering our prayers of love and truth as sacrifice for the sins of this world that we may all be saved. 

Our best teaching of the truth comes from the visible signs of our faith in action.  It bears fruit not according to our expectations but in the working of the spirit as it is received in others who each are in their journey of faith and we have served as one more sign post on the way to salvation.  Who will be freed by offering a Mass intention, praying for the souls in purgatory?  It may be those we love the most who have gone before us waiting for this Easter to be set free if we only do an act of reparation for them.

It seems every era has had to live through a time of great suffering.  For the past generation it was a Great Depression filled with its share of pandemics such as polio and tuberculosis.  Many did not survive and others found themselves in institutional hospitals to separate the disease from the well.  This tribulation lasted for many years and the effects much longer.  We now have our tribulation of suffering in which we face a pandemic, economic losses, and death.  This is our moment of truth in which dare I say is a “coming to Jesus” moment.  In this moment we must return to the source of life, make our offering, and recognize our mortality coming from Genesis 3:19 “you are dust and to dust you will return”.  We have a choice to make in either dying to ourselves that we may receive life or living for ourselves in the way of sin that brings us sure death.  The choice is ours. 

Some may say this teaching is hard but Jesus laid a path for us that is the way of the cross.  It is not a teaching without hope.  It is a teaching of hope for suffering was given to us as a gift of hope to bring us into the reality of a promise much greater than any suffering.  It is a promise of the resurrection to begin living the true gift of life in spirit and truth regardless of any suffering.  It is the promise that gave courage to martyrs, hope to the sick, and freedom to the slave of sin.  It is time to claim our freedom and receive the bread of life coming from “every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.”  It is the word of love and truth. 

Jesus remained “in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan” yet he was not alone.  It was here that “the angels ministered to him”.  Lent is an opportunity to be ministered to in the spirit by returning to prayer, fasting and almsgiving.  No act of sacrifice goes unnoticed by the Lord and all our offerings build the capital of grace allowing us to face not only the temptation of Satan but to overcome the weakness of the flesh with a power greater than us, the power of his love and truth. 

Father Mitch Pacwa on EWTN reminds us that grain is crushed and mixed with water to make bread and grapes are crushed to make wine and both are raised up in the mystery of faith to become the body and blood of Jesus.  Today we may find ourselves having that moment of being “crushed” by our suffering.  Jesus allows suffering to transform us into his love and truth, a more perfect image of the divine to come. 

God works in mysterious ways and one thing this freeze across the nation is causing is for people to stay home enforcing our social distancing and hopefully contributing to the decline of the pandemic.  It is a reminder that God is in control of not just our life but our wellbeing. God used the waters of a flood to devastate the earth and brought about a cleansing of sin. God is allowing us to pass through this time of suffering to bring about a cleansing of souls and bring us back to the gospel of love and truth.  

As we make our decisions as to what act of love and truth, we want to do this Lent consider this.  Traditionally we look to pray perhaps in the form of a rosary, spend some time in spiritual reading, and then there is the traditional act of deciding what we “want to give up” that is in line with our weaknesses.  This is all good but let us also seek to respond to our challenges, suffering, and the “test” of faith, that moment of being “crushed” by seeking and waiting for the Lord to respond with his grace, how he uses every moment and situation to reveal to us his presence, his love, his truth. 

Let us have an encounter with Jesus this Lent that bring us to true conversion according to his will.  Repent and believe in the gospel of love and truth coming to us through the mercy of Jesus Christ.

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6th Sunday Ordinary Time – People pleaser, “Please!”

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Lev 13:1-2, 44-46; Ps: 32:1-2, 5, 11; 1 Cor. 10:31-11:1; Mk 1:40-45

People pleaser, “please!”  “Avoid giving offense…try to please everyone in every way”.  Really Paul, please!  Have you taken a look at the world lately with all of its demands and self-centered greed?  What is Paul speaking about in context? We read scripture in context both literal and historical, and spiritual, and allegorical, and poetical, and prophetic. Paul is instructing us on living our purpose of life to the greatest devotion of pleasing who? We please God through our service to others seeking to do good as “imitators” of Christ.  This is not a teaching on being the “doormat” for the demands of the world and those who carry malfeasance in their hearts.  If read only literally you might misinterpret the message. This is a calling to never grow weary of doing what is right, just, and honorable for the greater glory of God. 

It is right…to follow the commands of the Lord who first calls Moses and Aaron to separate the “leprous and unclean” for the protection of others until being made clean.  In the literal sense this made sense to control the spread of a disease that had no cure.  This was their pandemic, their sentence to death. Imagine treating COVID-19 this way. The government comes to take you out of your home to a camp never to see your family again. It happened in this world. In the same manner in the literal sense Jesus makes the leper clean and welcomes him back into the “camp” of the clean with the greater spiritual sense of the separation that must come for the sinner from his sins to be made clean and return to please God.  This is a reminder in the prophetic sense, the “unclean” sinner cannot enter into heaven until being made clean by the washing in the blood and water of the mercy of Jesus.  It is the water of baptism and the blood of the cross that pleases the Lord when we come to him with the words, “If you wish, you can make me clean.”  It pleases the Lord to make us clean in spirit and heal our brokenhearted souls.  It pleases everyone in heaven and earth, which is the church triumphant in heaven, church suffering in purgatory and church militant on earth to live what is right in the eyes of the Lord. Be righteous!

It is just…in the moral sense “to confess my faults to the Lord” who alone “took away the guilt of my sin” and returns us into the “camp” of the just not by our works but by the justification of his love and mercy.  If through the disobedience of mankind, we are separated from God then only through the obedience of his word can we be justified and made clean.  The Lord sees the leprosy of sin that lie within which in confession opens us up to receive his grace of forgiveness from a loving Father waiting for our honest return to his sacred heart.  It pleases everyone in heaven and earth within the three stages of the church to live what is just and holy in the eyes of the Lord. Everyone is for justice but not everyone’s eyes see justice the same way. People can be on opposite sides of an issue yet both claim justice. True justice comes from the Lord. Seek divine justice. Be just!

It is honorable…in the literal and spiritual sense “whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.”  Literally we are to live for the Lord and allow our every action be an offering to build up his kingdom beginning with how we care for his temple in our body.  What our bodies suffer our soul and spirit suffers and with it, Jesus who comes to make his abode in us suffers.  Spiritually we are to consume his word and literally feed on his body and blood that it may become incarnated into our being.  This gives honor to the Lord most especially in the celebration of the Mass.  Who do we honor by our actions? The world, money fame, pride, or our family, the poor, the suffering are being honored. Let our actions give glory to God in all things.  It pleases everyone in heaven and earth within the universal church to live in honor of the kingdom of God.  Be honorable!

When the leper was made clean by Jesus, he directed him to the “priest” to make an “offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed”.  Jesus in confession cleanses us of our sins and the priest gives us absolution with a penance as an “offer” of thanksgiving for the forgiveness of our sins.  Jesus came to make all things new not by doing away with the old but by revelation of the old in the new that fulfills the law and the prophets.  He is the judge of all that is right, just, and honorable to the Lord.  In “time of trouble” the Lord lifts up the brokenhearted and gives us the “joy of salvation”.  Be blessed! Blessing come to those who listen to the Lord, follow his commands, live to serve what is right, just, and honorable.

As we approach Ash Wednesday and follow the norms of the church for the following forty days, Jesus waits for us to be present to him as he is to us, that is vigilant in our readiness to respond to his calling with the true offering he seeks, the gift of ourselves that we may be made clean, renewed in spirit and truth to the wonders of his love.  Salvation is here.  Be present! 

What is love? God is love. God is all that is right, just honorable blessing those who follow his ways. God is the gift of himself who keeps on giving. Happy Valentines God for the gift of love and happy Valentines to all for the gift of sharing.

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5th Sunday Ordinary Time – Purpose of life!

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Job 7:1-4, 6-7; Ps: 95:1-2, 7-9; 1 Cor. 7:32-35; Mk 1:21-28

Purpose of life drives our spiritual wellbeing and our mental health when we are “free” in order to surrender as a “slave” for the cause.  “For this purpose, have I come” says Jesus.  Jesus had a clear vision of his purpose and all the worldly distractions including that “Everyone is looking for you” did not deter him from continuing his mission.  Do we have a clear vision of our purpose for living?    

Purpose of life is critical for spiritual health and wellbeing.  Let us look at the purpose of life through the eyes of Job and then through the eyes of Paul and consider are they opposite views or two sides reflecting a common purpose of life.  I will propose that both Job and Paul are living a common purpose, to serve God but are responding differently to their experience.  Job speaks of the purpose of life as a victim of the conditions of life and Paul as a free willing slave of life but in Jesus we have both, the victim and the free surrender as a slave for the purpose of our lives.

Is Job having a brokenhearted “pity-potty” feeling sorry for himself or is he speaking a reality of life?  Job claims “man’s life on earth a drudgery…He is a slave who longs for the shade”.   Job is trying to cope with things outside of his control thus feeling as a victim of life.  Job is addressing the very real human condition as we hire ourselves out to do the “work” someone is willing to pay us to do, that otherwise we might be tempted to say “take this job and shove it” or just not show up unless that work becomes a calling of life. 

We share Job’s “restlessness” with the anxieties of life whether our work is housework, homework, fieldwork, or hired work as we wait “for our wages” out of obligation in the form of appreciation, love, good grades, or a paycheck.  Job is brokenhearted at the swiftness of time and loss of hope waiting for happiness to return because of the many happenings outside of his control.  Job’s purpose of life seems lost in his “misery”.  When sickness, loss of a job, or even a tragedy happens in our lives we suddenly come to terms with the frailty of life and the uncertainty of the immediate future. 

When we find ourselves in our circumstances “brokenhearted” we often fail to consider how God allowed Job to pass through this darkness of his life with a purpose in itself.  We look at our struggles as keeping us away from “our” purpose as we want to define it.  We have goals, ambitions, and hopes for tomorrow and our suffering is in the way of getting on with fulfilling our wishes.  Let us simply stop and consider how our suffering also has purpose of life including a Godly purpose.  In suffering, God is with us helping us to grow spiritually, to separate us from a sin, to remind us of our mortality, to experience a taste of purgatory in purging us toward a saintly purity, and always to bring us closer to him on the cross as well as in looking forward to the resurrection. Our hearts are readied through suffering.

Pain is an alarm to warn us that something is affecting our homeostasis.  Our physical wellness has been invaded by a virus, bacteria, suffering a trauma, or is breaking down from abuse and neglect.  Our mental health wellness is suffering from a strained relationship at home or at work, from a genetic predisposition or circumstances outside of our control.  Our spiritual wellbeing is suffering from attachment to sin, from following false prophets of the world, from the omission of God in our daily lives.  So much suffering for what purpose?  This is Job’s search for meaning in suffering. 

Pain and suffering outside of our control have purpose in itself.  Suffering is a reminder of the “swiftness” of life and keeping God at the center of our purpose according to his will and not as a fairy God mother to help us with our wishes.  Suffering brings us closer to Jesus on the cross who reminds us to carry our cross as an offering as he accepted the cross for us.  “Us” is not a generalized us in the world, it is a personalized us in atonement for each of our sins.   Jesus suffers for you and me.  Suffering is a worthy grace when we lift it up to him in faith, hope, and love.  Pain is a warning of our decisions that may be leading us to greater pain if we don’t stop and take account of our lives.   God may also be leading away from pain to health and wellness including spiritual health of the soul.  We don’t romanticize pain we consider it a reality that has a purpose in God’s creation. 

Suffering is an opportunity to bring us closer to God, to change our ways into his ways, to listen to him and the voice that speaks to where we are in our spiritual life.  We recognize the role pain and suffering had in the life of our Blessed Mother Mary at the feet of Jesus on the cross as Simeon foretold “and you yourself a sword will pierce” for what purpose?  He said “so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed”, in other words a purpose greater than herself.  In the ordinary of life as the mother of Jesus, if we can conceive her life in some way as ordinary the extraordinary happened.  Her purpose in motherhood was extended to the disciple and to us all for all eternity. 

Let us also look at the beauty of living our purpose of life through the eyes of Paul.   Paul speaks that although he is “free” says “I have made myself a slave to all to win over as many as possible”, in other words a purpose greater than himself.  Paul recognizes in his conversion from Saul to Paul a purpose of life from God and for God.  He is called and willingly accepts the call to be a slave for Christ even though persecution will come to him just as he once persecuted the early Christians.  Paul reminds us that anything good, just, and holy worth doing is worth the sacrifice.  Paul also teaches us that not living our purpose in life has “woeful” consequences that in itself keep us from the joy of life and bring[JG1] s on pain.  Done willingly there is a “recompense” of love which is God himself present in our lives.  He is the gift we receive.  Done unwillingly there is a “stewardship” of obligation imposed with the pain of Job. 

We recognize that the saints have suffered great pain and many suffered martyrdom in acceptance of doing the will of God.  They did not wait for the reward to come after death from heaven.  They were already filled with the strength and holiness of God that gave them the joy and the courage to suffer for Christ by living out their purpose of life as the Holy Spirit was directing them.  In baptism we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit to guide us in our journey of faith but we must nourish the spirit within with prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and by bringing the gift of ourselves to the altar of the Mass to be fed by the Word of God and by his body and blood in the Eucharist. 

There was a religious sister who shared her testimony on EWTN in her call to religious life.  She was not raised as a church goer but one day as a young teen was invited to a retreat.  She went to it for the fun and left with the same mindset.  The next year she was invited again and agreed to go only for the fun of being together with other youth.  She had a spiritual encounter at the retreat and felt God directly calling her to religious life.  She dismissed the idea thinking she wanted to go out and enjoy life but going out did not give her the joy she wanted.  She wanted to date but dating did not give her the joy she wanted.  She thought marriage and children would give her purpose some day but it was not until she decided to try the convent life that she found the joy she was seeking.  Not all are called to religious life but all are called to a God given purpose.  We need to remain open to this revelation from God “lest we die” having missed our calling and purpose. 

Pain has a redemptive role in salvation in saving us from sin, error or evil.  Jesus pain on the cross for our sins redeemed us as a willing slave both victim of the hate and torture he received and by his free surrender to the will of the Father out of love for the Father, himself, the Holy Spirit and for all humanity.  When we serve our purpose of life and sacrifice for it then it too is an act of self love for the recompense of God.  The church recognizes the willingness to suffer as an offering to Christ, for the souls in purgatory, for atonement of our sins, for the grace of a greater good, for the God given purpose we are called to live.   

We come to Mass with a purpose and we should examine ourselves regarding the purpose of our actions.  Do we come as a matter of compliance to family pressure, compliance with church norms of obligation or just as part of the social and cultural fabric of our society?  We come to give thanks for our blessings, to worship God in the Eucharist, and to gather together as a community of faith in order to spread the gospel message beginning in our homes, our work place and in the public square.  At the end of Mass, we are called to “go forth” to serve our God given purpose.   

In life we all face circumstances outside of our control like the pandemic that has taken over the world and as Job be victims to it from sickness to death.  Within what we cannot control lies our freedom to respond with what we can control in taking care of ourselves whether by prevention measures or by treatment.  In Paul we recognize he understood that by accepting his calling he would face many challenges outside of his control including the risk of death yet he willingly surrenders himself to this purpose of life in the sacrifice of a “slave” because the cause was greater than his life.  He received the gift of life from God and he gave his life to God in return to fulfill a greater purpose than himself, a divine purpose, a legacy purpose that he left us in his writings by his own testimony as a slave for the Lord. Priesthood is a calling to be slaves for the Lord without the distractions of the world but as an offering of themselves to win over as many souls as possible.  

Many of us have heard the Serenity Prayer but only the first statement.   In closing, here is a complete version of this 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.  (Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971)  Let us go forth in the ordinary of life to discover the extraordinary calling to sainthood awaiting each of us as the doorway to heaven in living our God given purpose of life. 

 [JG1]

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4th Sunday Ordinary Time – “Lest we die”

Posted on by Deacon Joe

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

Listen to him “lest we die.”  The “Holy one of God” has come, he is Jesus of Nazareth, and his voice is proclaimed today in the scriptures.  To him we listen “lest we die”.  We shall listen to no other voice and the voice that falsely speaks in his name “or in the name of other gods, he shall die”.  Who are these voices of our times that use the name of the Lord in vain or speak for other gods?  When the politics of government calls for the genocide of babies in abortion, or for the marriage rights of homosexuality in the name of God’s justice we have a false prophet on the path to death.  When people go to a spiritualist “espiritualistas”, hand readers, or guide themselves with daily astrology and zodiac signs they follow other gods on the path to death.  What voices do we govern ourselves by? 

Have you ever taken care of a child that is not your own and you give it a command only to have the child respond, “You are not the boss of me”?  Children learn to listen to their parents but they also are cautioned to not to listen to the voice of a stranger.  Last week we heard how the great city of Nineveh listened to the prophet Jonah and repented and today we have something greater than Jonah and Moses, we have Jesus, “the Holy one of God”.  He is “of” God not sent “from” God.  Being of God, he carries the authority and power of God the Father as the Son in the Spirit as one.  Are we ready to allow him to be “the boss of us?” The “boss” has given us a command, to listen to the voice of Jesus inscribed in our hearts and in his word. 

Are we ready to be obedient to his command?   His is the voice that can remove any unclean spirits from our lives.  In the gospel today, Jesus enters the synagogue and there was “a man with unclean spirit”.  This man was not out trying to sin in the world.  He had come on the sabbath to the synagogue following the Jewish custom.  He may have appeared as any other ordinary citizen.  He could be any of us today following the church customs yet living in bondage with a spirit of sin that possess us.  The voice of the spirit speaking the words “Have you come to destroy us?  I know who you are–the Holy one of God!” does not come from the man himself but from the evil one that has taken possession of him.  When we think of exorcism, we envision something radical like the movie the “Exorcist”.  The first exorcism of a Christian is in baptism to remove our original sin and allow the Holy Spirit to enter as a new birth in Christ.  The voice of evil is disguised in the ordinary of life. 

The Holy one of God comes with the promise of a kingdom, a kingdom in the spirit of God to remove the spirit of evil that prowls about the world seeking souls to enter.  What spirit has us in bondage that needs to release us and set us free?  Do we feel persecuted sometimes with a restlessness within our minds, hearts, and souls knowing that those thoughts, feelings, and compulsions are not rational or based on our circumstances yet we find ourselves overwhelmed seeking to be set free from within?  We need to come to Jesus, we need prayer, and we need to receive a blessing from a priest.  We need to pray a rosary to Mary and call for her intercession for she has crushed the head of the serpent and can crush the spirit that invades us. 

We don’t like to think or consider that we are not in control of ourselves or that we may be struggling with something evil yet where does lust, gluttony, rage, obsessions or suicidality find itself lurking in the lives of people.  Many will battle in silence, in shame, justifying their struggle as simply a human weakness, a character flaw or even a mental illness before considering that something greater may be lying within.  When science fails to justify the darkness within something more powerful than the human condition may have taken possession of a soul.  This is not to be confused with mental health conditions that have an organic origin from a chemical imbalance or from years of brain damage through drugs, alcohol or trauma.  The church always looks to science to determine and rule-out the organic cause before considering the spiritual cause. 

Jesus came to set the sinners free and heal the sick for he reminds us that the well have no need for a physician.  In the same way, the evil one is not concerned with those he already possesses from their own free will.  He is after those who oppose him who he yet wishes to conquer those who follow and believe in one God creator of all.  The evil one seeks to destroy us from the inside where our souls are destined for eternity and he has many spiritual weapons.  Jesus calls us to be vigilant not just for his coming but against the enemy.  The enemy can appear as a gentle lamb, he can come into those we love and use them to attack us. 

Recall how Jesus told Peter, “Get away from me Satan”.  He can even impersonate the dead  and falsely misguide us.  We are the first line of defense in the spiritual battle for the souls of this world.  We can even find ourselves fooled by an evil spirit.  Yet we are not alone in the battle when we pray.  When we find ourselves in a spiritual battle, we must call on the blood of Jesus, on the Holy Spirit, on the legion of angels and army of saints and always on our Blessed Mother.  We can easily claim we live in a “land overshadowed by death” but the death will not overcome us nor destroy the kingdom of God already giving us his light. 

In our second reading from 1st Corinthians, it reveals the Lord’s ways are not our ways in this teaching to the “adherence to the Lord”.  One spouse can oppose the other when practicing their faith, coming to church, or spending time in prayer.  These “anxieties” in which a married man or woman is “anxious about the things of the world” and how he or she may please their spouse is part of the sound doctrine for the call to celibacy “for the sake of propriety and adherence to the Lord without distraction” in the life of a priest or religious sister.  The sacrament of marriage is not to divide us from the love of God but to unite us as one in the love of God with God as the center of both of our lives.  To many marriages end in divorce because they begin with God as the “window dressing” of the wedding day and never grow beyond it. 

Finally, we see in the gospel that the “people were astonished at his teaching” with authority, driving out unclean spirits.  This concern with a “new teaching” caused disruption in the status quo and some even accused him of demonic possession, blasphemy and false prophecy.  They plotted to destroy him for what Moses cautioned his people “lest we die” in listening to all the false prophets of the world.  Who is truly the false prophet speaking to our hearts?  Moses prophesied the coming of Jesus who we are to listen to against the status quo of worldly prophets whose gods are the rise up of ‘isms” to rule our lives as in Marxism, Socialism, Capitalism, and Communism that end up in narcissism.  As Jesus taught the Pharisees who accuse his disciples of “doing what is unlawful to do on the sabbath…For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath” (Mt. 12:1-8).  Let us continue to listen to him who desires “mercy not sacrifice” (Mt. 12:7).  Let us allow our hearts to discern the truth already given to us in our hearts through the gift of the Holy Spirit. 

In mercy, our hearts carry a gentle soul, joyfully worshiping in our faith, with childlike hope.  Our hearts cannot be hardened or governed by ideologies of the world.  We recall how Jesus observed the Jewish law of his inheritance yet he claimed, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.  I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.”  (Mt. 5:17).  We are called to fulfill his call for which we have been born and it comes through him who our Lord God called us to listen to him lest we die. 

We do not fear the storms of evil that bring pandemics, dictatorships, tragedies or even death.  We stand for mercy to defend life from conception to death.  This week was the 48th March for Life largely virtual with the theme “Together Strong: Life Unites!”  Our strength is from the Lord who made heaven and earth.  Life unites us to listen for his voice amid all the other voices in the world through prayer, through the celebration of the Mass, through the tenets of the Church, and in his teaching inscribed in our hearts and in his word.  The voice of God is for life and justice for all “lest we die”.    

We do not take God for granted thinking “I am baptized so let me go on with my life” lest we die.  We call out the evil one as Jesus did “Get away from me Satan”.  As a child there are good guys and bad guys and the good guys always win.  As we mature in our Christian faith, we recognize there is a battle between the saint and the sinner from within and the winner is?  Jesus, when we call out his name.  Jesus!

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3rd Sunday Ordinary Time – “Repent and believe…”

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Jonah 3:1-5, 10; Ps.:25:4-9; 1 Cor. 7:29-31; Mk 1:14-20

“Repent and believe in the Gospel” is the proclamation coming from the beginning of time and “In the beginning was Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (Jn 1:1-3)”.  What happened in the beginning to make this the central message from the beginning until now?  The disobedience of Adam and Eve happened and it remains the core of the sin of humanity.  Just as the city of Nineveh was called to repent by Jonah before 40 days have passed, the Church is called to enter into a period of repentance during our Lenten season for forty days.  The ashes we receive come with the proclamation “Repent and believe in the Gospel” as one of two proclamations.

As we recall, Jonah is a reluctant prophet who resists God initially.  For Jonah, Nineveh is not worth saving even though it is “an enormously large city”.  His message was one of repent and believe in God. Have you noticed that as cities grow larger the greater the “sin city” they become?  Why?  It is because the values of the population become as diverse as the people who live there and inclusion promotes a tolerance for all types of behavior.  Nineveh was no exception so for the people to listen to Jonah and believe in God is a great testimony to their underlying faith and the power of God’s mercy to work in their hearts and “proclaim a fast”.  “God saw their actions how they turned from their evil way”. 

Would Jonah succeed in today’s metroplex?  Jesus is the living word of proclamation coming through the Church, easily accessible through media platforms and yet the more interconnected we are as a global society the more suppression to silence the voice of the church, the people of God we encounter.  The messaging of today is that there is no place for “church” within the “state” and the state governs every aspect of civil society.  When the church is controlled by the state as it is in some nations then the messaging takes on the culture of the state and anything that opposes the voice of the state becomes the enemy of the state.  State culture rules as we begin to see authoritarian control with charges of intolerance, racism, xenophobia, homophobia and domestic terrorism. 

In today’s times Jonah would be accused of proselytizing interfering with the “safe space” of the state.  Jonah is a reminder that we are in this world but not of this world.  We hold to the tenets of the church and we pray “Teach me your ways, O Lord”.  We grow learning habits, some good and some not so good.  All habits become a part of our internalized identity but the Lord’s love is greater than allowing us to just be ourselves.  He desires us to give testimony to his presence in our lives by being the best he created us to be in his image.  The best comes through sacrifice, a will to change, and a desire to grow in the Lord.  “Teach me your ways, O Lord” is a good prayer for change in our thinking, our feeling, and our commitment to change our ways into God’s ways. 

Often when we sin, when we harm others, when we are called on our actions we want to say “I’m sorry” and let it be done with.  Where are our actions of repentance, what is the change to come?  This is where we need to humble ourselves and pray for the strength to make a change in our lives for the greater good.  St. Augustine reminds us that the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.  We have to will it in prayer and God is faithful to a repentant soul.  In order to make a change and “let go” we need to recognize that by letting go we create a void that the behavior was meeting and we must replace it with something.  That “something” is a different thought, a different behavior, a different spirit and a different purpose.  We can make a lasting change when we let go of sin and the “something” we hold onto becomes the person of Jesus who fills our void, and the change in spirit invites the Holy Spirit to take possession of our hearts.  When we learn to “act as of not” of this world we fill the vacuum with the kingdom of God already in our midst.   We come to fill ourselves with the love of God in the celebration of the Mass. 

One of the Lord’s teaching for today is “act as of not” having wives, not weeping, not rejoicing, not owning.  Now before us men get into trouble by “acting as of not” having wives or responsibilities or anything else we can image getting away with just remember there is a “dog house” in every home and it does not require you to have a dog.  The “dog house” comes from the avoidance of listening to the ways of the Lord.  One of my favorite saints is St. Dominic who formed the Dominican order.  The origin of the word Dominican is Dominicus meaning “Lordly” or “belonging to the Lord”. However, there is a play on the word in Latin as Domini canis, meaning “Dog of the Lord”.  So even the dog of the Lord receives scraps from his Master. Praise God that we can repent and believe in the gospel of mercy.

The Lord’s ways are the path of justice, mercy, goodness, and charity.  The Lord’s way is one of detachment for “the world in its present form is passing away”.  The harder we try to hold onto this world the more hopeless we become.  When we “act as of not” we are to practice temperance with all that we value in recognition that this is a temporal life.  Our marriage, our children, our home, our friends, our work and even our pets are a gift that is passing from this world.  Love ‘em all with a love for the eternal that is a recognition that all our gifts come from God and return to him as an act of our service to him. 

I had a widow share with me how guilty he felt for feeling he loved his wife even more than God, and misses her tremendously.  I reminded him his love for his wife was through his sacrificial giving of himself for her and by doing so he also loved God.  It is a unity of one through, with, and in God.  It is the fulfillment of the Great Commandment “to love thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” and “thy neighbor as thyself” (Mk 12:28-34). 

We are living in times of great distress as the pandemic continues to take the lives of many.  Families have to go and drop off their loved ones at the door of hospitals and cannot visit them.  When they die, they cannot receive their last rites, the funeral homes set limits in attendance and many cannot participate.  Gravesite services have replaced the Mass.  Our elderly is restricted to the home to avoid contact with others or risk being infected.  Vaccines do not guarantee that you will not get the virus but will help to limit the impact of the disease if contacted.  Act as of not carrying the cross can become overwhelming. Where is our hope?  Our hope is in the Lord who reigns in all that is seen and unseen.  We cannot always understand his ways but we can always trust in his mercy and love.  Our hope is in turning to each other and reaching out to the needs of others.  We cannot be overcome by fear but allow our concerns to turn to safe practices and to better health practices.  We are to be vigilant and prudent in the choices we make. 

Social media has already started raising the warning that the end of time is at hand raising fear that the final judgment could be now with all the violence, hate, natural disasters and pandemic that we see happening in this world.  Fear is not the appropriate response for people of faith when every day is a call for reconciliation with the Lord.  We await the Lord when we rise in the morning in hopes of his coming to us each day and when we go to sleep in thanksgiving for his presence with us in our daily journey for his kingdom is at hand since the day of his birth and remains with us until the end of time and the beginning of eternity.

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The Deacon Joe

2nd Sunday Ordinary Time – “Here I am.”

Posted on by Deacon Joe

1 Sam. 3:3b-10, 19; Ps.:40:2, 4, 7-10; 1 Cor. 6:13c-15a, 17-20; Jn 1:35-42

“Here I am” is music to the Lord.  The great “I Am” is calling us to be joined to him becoming one in Spirit. He called on Samuel but Samuel does not recognize the voice of the Lord for he had not revealed himself to Samuel.  How is the Lord revealing himself to us this day?  Even though Samuel does not initially recognize the voice of the Lord, he however is prepared to listen as a servant of the Lord and he respects the authority of Eli to guide him.  John guides “two of his disciples” to Jesus with the words “Behold, the Lamb of God.”  Andrew guides his brother Simon to Jesus with the words “We have found the Messiah.” Jesus invitation is that of a guide, “Come, and you will see.”  And see we must if we are to be his disciples.  From our baptism who guided us in our faith development and by our testimony who are we guiding to Jesus or back to him? 

The invitation to come is an invitation to enter into the covenant relationship with the Lord.  It is transformative as Jesus looks on Simon addressing him by name and giving him a new name “Cephas” translated Peter.  Is Simon just a random person living his life as a fisherman who crossed paths with Jesus or is there a greater plan in motion for Simon who has been living his life until this moment when he is called to come and see the greater glory of God?  Jesus addresses Simon by his formal name “Simon son of John” meaning he knew who he was speaking to though it was their first encounter.  Simon was already being guided to Jesus by the spirit at work as a faithful Jew.  Simon was living his life not knowing the greater plan God had waiting for him but he was ready at that moment the Messiah called him by name.

God has a plan for each and every one of us and we must remain vigilant of his calling by making it our prayer to say “Here I am, Lord”.  We must be prepared in our readiness for the moment we are called to respond by faith in our encounter with the Lord. In religious orders, a priest receives a new name, a spiritual name to identify with the charism of a saint.  The Pope gives himself a new name when he becomes “the chosen one” as head of the church.  The name is not a symbolic sign but a sign of unity in the call to carry forward the plan of salvation in the spirit of those who have come before. 

What name may God be giving us apart from our birth name to represent him as he reveals himself to us in our encounter with him?  Are we as Mary to remain at his side in Eucharistic Adoration?  Are we to be as Paul to testify to the Gentiles of our time that is those who are not of the Christian faith or follow no faith practice?  Are we to be a St. Francis working within the church to rebuild it as CCE teachers? Are we to be as St. Theresa of Calcutta caring for the sick as health care workers? Are we to be a St. Vincent de Paul feeding the hungry and caring for the poor?  The saints give us many examples to follow with a diversity of gifts coming from God’s grace.  All saints have one thing in common and that is they come to Jesus through a free act of the will to be in union with him.

It is an act of the will as it is an act of God’s call to be “joined to the Lord” becoming of one Spirit with him in his revelation to all that is truth, goodness, beauty, and unity.  If we have been “purchased at a price” the price of the cross to be the temple of the Lord then our purpose begins with the purity of the temple for us to “will it”.  He wills it when we remain open to his will with the readiness of our souls in the words “Here I am Lord”.  The spirit is willing but the will is weak so let us begin to build the will of fidelity through our baptism with the gift of the Holy Spirit to strengthen us.  Let us will it!    

Let us will to keep our body and soul undefiled as the temple of the Holy Spirit given to us at baptism. We are called to glorify God in our body by avoiding immorality.  Aristotle distinguishes from two types of immorality: wickedness and weakness.  Wickedness against the body includes the abuse from alcohol and drugs among other addictions.  Weakness of the body includes acts against the chastity of the body through lust, fornication, and adultery.  Gluttony is both a weakness that in time becomes an abuse as chronic conditions develop into long-term consequence coming to an early death.  In these times of the pandemic having comorbid health conditions is a high risk of death because of a compromised body.  In this age of indulgence, we not only weaken the body, but our mind, emotions, and will quickly succumb when we face the test of the cross.  This is the day to return to the Lord in holiness of chastity, morality, and virtue. 

“Let it begin with me” that is the universal “me” of each member of the body of Christ. It begins with the will of obedience.  Obedience is an act of humility to trust in the Lord who is beyond all our understanding.  Obedience is an act of faith in a Father of creation who desires the greatest good of his creation in his plan for our salvation.  Obedience is your BFF (Best Friend Forever) to guard you and guide you by the word of truth to righteousness.  In obedience we offer our cross to Jesus and he lifts it for us to carry us with it in our redemptive suffering. 

“Let it remain with me” through the perseverance of discipline in the spiritual exercises of our confirmation of faith.  Discipline is the workforce that makes obedience become natural to our identity as children of God.  Discipline transforms our obedience into who we were created to be in the image of Christ.  We discipline our mind to focus on the word of God.  We discipline our hearts to receive the love of God.  We discipline our will to listen to the will of God.  Thus, in discipline Christ is our true BFF always with us in our hope when we take up our cross and follow. 

Discipline builds spiritual muscle to defend us in battle against the attack of the enemy.  Discipline is our confirmation of faith in our call to be warriors in the works of salvation.  What are our spiritual exercises of discipline such as the rosary, a novena, an examination of conscience, a holy hour, the Divine Mercy chaplet? Perhaps personal prayers we say in the morning, before meals, and at bedtime. How about simply praying, “Jesus I trust in you” or “Here I am, Lord!” during the day. Any of these our practice? Hopefully more than one.

“Let it be willed by me” to unite ourselves to ” God’s plan of salvation.  Works of mercy both spiritual and corporal reveal God’s plan of salvation for us to enter into God’s kingdom.  Works of mercy are works of the Holy Spirit in the love of Christ.  Works of mercy are the visible sign of our response to the voice of God when we pray, “Here I am, Lord”.  God’s plan of salvation is both universal and particular to each of us born with a purpose in his plan. 

Let it be God’s will that we follow and not be misguided by false teaching, social norms in a culture of death, or wolves disguised in sheep’s skin.  The Lord promises to be with us until the end of time. He gives us a listening heart to recognize his voice, to know when he calls, to guide us to himself and protect us when we turn to him in all things.  We are never alone when we pray, “Let it be!  Let it be! Here I am Lord.” Let this be part of our New Year’s Resolutions.

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Homily The Deacon Joe

The Baptism of the Lord – Nature and Grace

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Is.55:1-11; Is.:12-6; 1 Jn. 5:1-9; Mk 1:7-11

Nature and grace have joined in the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ to testify to the one true God.  “So, there are three that testify, the Spirit, the water, and blood, and the three are of one accord.” They testify that God is with us.  This day marks the second aspect of Jesus epiphany that is his revelation to the world in the words of God himself, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”  In birth we are given the gift of life, what we do with our lives is our gift back to God.  When we come to the water of baptism our nature and God’s grace are united in the revelation of the Holy Spirit that now lives in us.  Come to the water!  This is the Lord’s invitation by his own baptism to sanctify us that we may receive the grace to testify to his loving presence in our lives.

In baptism we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, the gift of God himself, his mercy and love are with us through faith.  This is a mystery of faith.  Mystery at its root meaning includes “mythos” something transmitted by the word with a hidden meaning revealed by divine revelation.  God is revealing to us his Son and who is sent for our salvation.  He comes to testify to his real presence with us, in us and through us.  That is our epiphany the revelation of God who lives in our love.  How we live out our faith is the work of the Holy Spirit to testify by grace as children of God.  Thus, nature and grace have joined in the mystery of faith and revealed itself to the world.  In baptism it is not only I that lives but the Spirit of God at work in our surrender to him.  The question is “Am I willing to surrender to Him?”  “Let go and let God” is about our trust in Jesus and that is a battle of our will each and every day. 

The Spirit works as one accord in the Trinity, three persons one God thus, it is a work where two or three are gathered in the name of Jesus.  Recall when Jesus was rejected at Nazareth departing with the words, “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house” (Mk. 6: 4-5). He leaves his home town where he grew up “not able to perform any mighty deed there.  He was amazed at their lack of faith.”  Jesus the son of God works in communion with his people just as we must work in communion with our nature and grace and in union with each other to reveal the power of God in our lives.  Bottom line we cannot do this by ourselves.  To say “me and God alone” does not work.  We are called to be a community of faith by living our nature and grace in unity of love and mercy together. 

The works of grace are from the power of the Holy Spirit at work in us just as it is not the water itself with the power but the power through water and Spirit.  Also, it is not the blood alone of the flesh but the sacrifice of the blood as an offering that saves.  Thus, I dare to say to those who believe “faith alone saves” faith without works comes with sudden death when it is tested by the cross we bear.  In what ways do we offer our blood that is our sacrifice of ourselves for the good of others that opens the gates of heaven for us?  Our nature and grace have joined to give testimony to the love of God for his people.  Through baptism we are to be the image of God giving testimony of his mighty deeds at work through us. 

We celebrated the great Epiphany of Jesus manifestation in his birth last week and again today in his baptism but what about our epiphany of the Spirit at work coming to us today?  It is that moment in which we receive the desire to do a simple act of love.  It is the moment we receive the insight to act prudently in good judgment of right and wrong.  It is the moment we gain the awareness of our call to respond to a just cause.  It is the moment we are given the strength to be a voice for truth in the middle of a cancel culture that wishes to silence any voice that speaks of God.  The epiphany of our daily lives is at work in the Spirit we received through the water of baptism to respond to our natural gifts with the grace of divine revelation.  It is that moment we choose to say yes to the will of God that we receive the power of his grace. 

In some ways 2020 was the year of darkness with the pandemic causing fear, separation, isolation, sickness, loss of work and even death.  The evil one celebrated his test of the faithful with churches closed, the lingering scandals within the clergy, the rise of a cancel culture, and violence in the streets.  The new year has started where the old ended, a new mutation of the COVID virus, reinstituting restrictions on gatherings, more violence on the streets and a rebellion against democracy from both extremes of society. In 2021 what will be our response, our epiphany, our sacrifice for the greater good.  Must we kneel and pray?  Absolutely!  Must we do more as members of our society and defenders of our faith?  There is no doubt we are to see in John the Baptist the need for a voice crying out in the desert where secularism, cancel culture, and hate speech prevail the need for repentance, penance, and atonement. 

In philosophy they speak of the hero and the saint.  The hero lives for honor and self-satisfaction while the saint lives for love and self-giving.  The hero gets recognition from among the world while the saint builds treasures for the greater glory of heaven.  The hero is temporal, here today and stored in the archives of history to be read and admired.  The saint is for all eternity who remains with us, an intercessor in the present, to be called on able to do more from heaven than even during his days on earth. 

In baptism we are called to be great saints as the militant church on earth.  Our battle is to attack sin wherever it lies and let it begin with us, from within our souls, within our families, within our environment, and within a nation of nations.  The victory can only be won with the power of our nature and grace.  When Saint Francis of Assisi was called by God to rebuild his church, he started with himself by embracing with love the poor and the lepers, embracing with love other brothers and sisters in faith as followers, embracing with love the institution of the church, embracing with love the beauty of nature and love of animals. 

Steven Covey speaks of the four human dimensions of life.  They include to live, to love, to learn, and to leave a legacy.  In a life well lived by nature and grace we begin to live our true self when we enter into baptism called to be the best we were created to be in the image of God.  We begin to love when our actions reflect the generosity of God’s love.  We begin to learn the mystery of faith through prayer and study of the Word, the Word made flesh in Jesus.  We begin to leave our legacy when our nature and grace are transformed through the power of the Holy Spirit in water and blood, that is by love and sacrifice into the bride of Christ, his holy people. 

Let us live well our nature and grace, let us live a holy life in Jesus Christ, let us return to the water of our baptism in faith, hope, and love. 

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