28th Sunday Ordinary Time – On this Mountain

Posted on October 10, 2020October 8, 2020 by Deacon Joe

Is. 25:6-10; Ps. 23:1-6; Phil.4:12-14, 19-20; Mt. 22:1-14

On this mountain! A mountain of “juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines” makes for an irresistible banquet in Isaiah the prophet until we read in the gospel how the invitation by the king to the wedding banquet was rejected three times. Who would reject such a banquet and why? This seems unthinkable until we identify this “mountain” is Mount Calvary.

On this mountain is where the wedding feast unites humanity to divinity in the body of Jesus Christ. The rich food and choice wines come from his body and blood poured out for humanity. This is the wedding feast rejected by the “chief priests and elders” after the Lord God sent his servants the prophets and apostles to summon them.

Mount Calvary is not a huge “mountain”. The “mountain” on Mount Calvary is Jesus on the cross. He is the mountain of mercy, the wedding feast we attend on Sunday Mass and the food of salvation. This is the mountain in which he “will destroy the veil…he will destroy death forever”. Who can behold the man crucified on the cross and proclaim “Behold our God, to whom we looked to save us!”

“The feast is ready” but wait there is “a man there not dressed in a wedding garment.” Who is this person the king identifies as “My friend” and then orders to “Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth”? All are invited but not all are prepared for the feast.

We are all created in the image of God to be called “friend” but we are not all obedient to the call from God. The wedding garment we wear is the baptismal robe to enter into the wedding feast of the kingdom of God. The wedding garment reminds us that there are expectations in the kingdom to be met, expectations scripture gives as commandments and the church celebrates as sacraments. There are also daily “circumstances” whether “living in abundance and of being in need” in which we turn to God in faith, hope and love.

In all circumstance we are reminded “My God will fully supply whatever you need, in accord with his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” We often say “God only gives us what we can handle” in difficult times. We remind ourselves to turn to him in our time of need to carry us through the darkness, bear our cross and trust in his divine providence. The God who is beyond all understanding loves to love with his glorious riches.

This is the promise already present to “live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life”. Receive “Only goodness and kindness” in all circumstances when we hunger for righteousness in Christ Jesus. Remember, “Many are invited, but few are chosen.” The chosen come dressed for the feast bringing the fruits of their love fest.

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Homily

27th Sunday Ordinary Time: It’s vintage time!

Posted on October 3, 2020October 2, 2020 by Deacon Joe

It’s vintage time, the time to produce fruit in now. God’s time is the perfect time but God’s time is always the present moment for us to respond before becoming “wild grapes” in the world of sin. The Lord prepared the “fertile hillside” for us to grow in his word of wisdom and in the flesh of the word. He gave us the word made flesh in his son Jesus to yield a fruitful harvest.

The Lord asks the question “why…did it bring forth wild grapes? Without giving the answer he gives the consequence that comes to the “house of Israel and the people of Judah” which is the ruin of its land. Isaiah speaks of “bloodshed! For justice, but hark, the outcry!” Jesus is the bloodshed for justice the sacrificial lamb and the outcry is the call to crucify him, all still to come in God’s time. The vintage time for us to produce fruit is now, we must answer for ourselves, for our own wild grapes of sin we live. With each sin is the outcry “crucify him”.

It’s vintage time to produce “whatever is true” we must hold onto in a world of personal truth over universal Godly truth; whatever is honorable in a world that dishonors life in abortion and euthanasia; whatever is just in a world that justifies retribution for past sins with current violence; whatever is pure in chastity in a world of perversion; whatever is lovely in a world seeking to destroy a heritage and culture of faith “in God we trust”; and whatever is gracious in a “me to” world of victimization. Wild grapes are sown daily in the outcry to silence those who seek to produce the best we were created to be in God’s vintage time.

What are we to do? St. Paul reminds us to “keep on doing what you have learned and received and heard, and seen in me”. What we have learned, received and heard is Christ himself. Keep on doing the work of the Lord in all humility and perseverance bearing “fruit that will remain.” The fruit we bear is the legacy that remains by having followed the teaching of the Church which is the teaching of Christ, bringing our children to the waters of baptism, to the table of the Lord to receive Communion, to the altar of worship to give thanksgiving, and to the confession of our faith by “prayer and petition with thanksgiving make your requests known to God…Then the God of peace will be with you.”

The choice of our times is as divided as darkness is to light. Be strong, be faithful, and remain in our Lord Jesus Christ. It’s our time now…vintage time!

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Homily

26th Sunday Ordinary Time: Actions speak louder

Posted on September 26, 2020September 25, 2020 by Deacon Joe

Ezek. 18:25-28; Ps. 4-9; Phil.2:1-11; Mt. 21:28-32

“Actions speak louder than words.” This is a common expression we speak when we want to make it clear we want to see some conviction in the words we hear. In the gospel today, Jesus proclaims the right action of sinners speaks louder than the words of the chief priests and elders. The gospel speaks to obedience to the will of the Father. The priests and elders claim righteousness by their proclamations while their hearts are resistant to the revelation of Jesus. The actions of “tax collectors and prostitutes” to believe and accept the words of “John” (the Baptist) opened the kingdom of heaven to them.

St. Paul in his letter to the Philippians also speaks of right action being united in heart, mind and love by looking out for the other will complete his joy in being united to Christ. St. Paul speaks to a new commandment greater than obedience. It reveals a deeper obligation to allow the love of Christ to dwell in us. If Christ dwells in us then our words are confirmed by our actions. It is no longer we who live our lives but Christ who lives in us doing the will of the Father in offering his love to the other. What happened to our will, our identity, our freedom? It is transformed into the perfect being without sin and our joy will be complete.

In the secular world we speak of the “Golden Rule” by treating others as we would like to be treated. It is a rule of equity and fairness but St. Paul speaks of a different standard by stating “humbly regard others as more important than yourselves”. This is the standard of Christ on the cross, a sacrificial giving of ourselves so that Christ will be manifest in us and through us. This is being of the same mind and same love “in the Spirit” of compassion and mercy.

Ezekiel speaks to turning “from the wickedness he (sinner) has committed and does what is right and just…he shall surely live.” Death comes from “iniquity he committed” thus sin carries death to our doorstep. Sin carries the death of mind, body, and spirit. When we sin against the body through indulgence, passions, and/or self abuse the body dies “a thousand deaths” slowly until it is no more capable of sustaining mortal life. When we sin against the mind of God in our mind, we attach our thoughts to our psychological fears, obsessions, and pride to fall victim of our own thinking. When we sin against the Spirit of God our spirit becomes invaded by other spirits of darkness and it is no longer “I” who lives but the darkness that lives in me and God no longer recognizes us. How are we to overcome all these trials? It begins with proclaiming “Jesus Christ is Lord”. The word is made flesh in our being to be lived in right action.

Darkness turns to light when our tongues confess “Jesus Christ is Lord” with right action. There is power in the Word of God. It is the power to move us to right action. One day as a counselor of children of abuse under the care of the State, I had a young child of eight who was in a state of depression. She was separated from her home, her siblings, her school. Not only had she been repeatedly molested as a child but also had a history of heart problems.

After several meetings in which I did not see progress, I asked if she could say, “God loves me”? She could not repeat the words. I asked if she could say “I love myself”? Again, she would not say those words as her whole body language appeared sunken, doing poorly in school, and having a difficult time adjusting to foster care. Even with some coaching of positive affirmations she refused to say those statements. I then asked her simply to repeat the words slowly after me. It was a transformative moment. The next session her foster mother said she was doing so much better at home and playing like a normal child.

Words matter but actions speak louder and must reflect our words to be confirmed in the heart. In counseling people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. This is the beginning of unity. Actions do speak louder when united to “thinking one thing”, Jesus Christ is Lord! Amen.

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Homily

25th Sunday Ordinary Time – Not fair!

Posted on September 19, 2020September 18, 2020 by Deacon Joe

Isaiah 55:6-9; Ps. 145:2-3, 8-9, 17-18; Phil.1:20c-24, 27a; Mt. 20:1-16a

Not fair! How often have we heard those words from our children or felt in our hearts “life is not fair!” Our God says, “Let the scoundrel…turn to the Lord for mercy…who is generous in forgiving”. Not fair claim the self-righteous unless we happen to be the scoundrel then righteousness turns to gratitude. That is why the Lord says, “so high are my ways above your ways and my thoughts above your thoughts.”

Mercy is for all who call upon the Lord. The parable by Jesus in the gospel is more about the Lord’s generosity to confront our sense of entitlement. Each laborer received “the usual daily wage” even though all did not work the same hours. The laborers “grumbled” with a heart of injustice, “not fair”. Yet we know “The Lord is just in all his ways and holy in all his works”. What we fail to see is that this life of ours is the beginning of all things the Alpha of the Lord’s work in us, but the Omega is the eternal yet to come when all justice is revealed to us.

Not fair that we wait for justice! Give thanks that the Lord is generous with these days of ours to correct our sin and seek holiness while there is still time before we face the test of justice, the purgatory of life, the call to give an account of our own to the Master. Let us pray to be worthy works of his love as his servants.

Perhaps St. Paul gives us some understanding in his letter to the Philippians when he says, “For to me life is Christ and death is gain.” This complete surrender to God is a pearl in the ocean of fish. There are many fish in the ocean of humanity but few pearls willing to surrender completely to the Lord. There are many religious but few saints. There are many scoundrels but few repentant souls. That is why the Lord is near to all who call upon him in truth. In his goodness comes mercy as a Father of love.

St. Paul reminds us we are the “works” of the Lord, the works he is free to accomplish in us and through us as we surrender to him. St. Teresa of Calcutta prayed to be a “pencil” in the hand of the Lord. Her life was a storybook of surrender accomplishing the works of the Lord. We each have our state in life as single, married, widow, parent, religious, layperson, clergy with works waiting to be accomplished for the Lord. The beauty of serving the Lord’s works is the transformation of our being as a work of holiness in the hands of the Lord. Call upon the Lord in truth and be transformed as we put our trust in him.

Consider the heart of our Blessed Mother Mary alongside her son in his passion. He came into the world with all his works of love offering forgiveness, mercy, healing, compassion for the sick and poor, and teaching for the just and his reward by humanity was to crucify him. She held all things in her heart knowing she carried the divine child in her arms with the gift of seeing him again in the resurrection only to see him depart in the clouds. Her total surrender from the beginning claiming “I am the handmaid of the Lord” sustained her faith, hope and love beyond what this world could see. She did not seek fairness only offered up her love. This was her fiat for us to follow.

The heavens rejoice when we offer our self up in union with the sacrifice Jesus makes for us. Let us make an act of surrender this day in prayer: Lord of love and generosity, I consecrate myself to your sacred heart in surrender of my mind, will, and spirit to be transformed as a work of your presence in this world to accomplish the “works” your will for me in this day by the graces of your generosity in truth and obedience to your command. In my weakness come to my awareness your constant presence, your ways above my ways, and your thoughts above my thoughts that I may see your hand at work in me. Amen.

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Homily The Deacon Joe

24th Sunday Ordinary Time God is mercy

Posted on September 14, 2020September 14, 2020 by Deacon Joe

Sir. 27:30- 28:7; Ps. 103:1-4, 9-12; Rom.14:7-9; Mt. 18:21-35

God is mercy and mercy is forgiveness! “Remember your last days” before you proclaim “no justice no peace”. We are called to “forgive your neighbor’s injustice”. Why do we “hug them tight” our wrath and anger when they are the poison of death while others remain alive? In part, it is because we fail to see ourselves in the sinner. In the heart we give thanks we are not like them and justify our “’righteousness” for anger and vengeance.

False righteousness is like rejecting the leper for his visible disease while walking in ignorance of the invisible cancer growing inside. “Remember death and decay and cease to sin!” Jesus likened “the kingdom of heaven” to a king who “settles accounts with his servants” and whether “we live or die we are the Lord’s” with an account in need of justice.

Justice is the offering of Jesus for our sins to the merciful. It is conditional on our forgiveness of our brothers and sisters, neighbors and strangers “from the heart” for the injustice. Jesus speaks to the disciples that “heaven is likened…(to) his master (who) handed him over to the torturers until he should pay back the whole debt”. As servants of the Lord there is a place for those who fail to forgive for their debt which as a Catholic church we identify as purgatory. Purgatory is for the chosen who remain with the stain of sin of unforgiveness among others.

We live in times when the streets proclaim “no justice no peace” seeking reparation for a history of people who have long passed from the earth. Some believe you can be the victim of other’s history standing in for another’s suffering with expectation of compensation as an entitlement. They “hold them tight” wrath and anger for a historical identity as victims without personal sacrifice of suffering in the name of social justice. This is likened to blaming God for the sin of Adam and Eve for falling into a world of sin and suffering. It is a ludicrous philosophy of victimization for all creation.

Who do we need to forgive? It begins in the domestic church, husbands and wives must forgive each other from the heart; children forgive parents for imperfect parenting at best and abandonment or abuse at worse; forgive our friends and neighbors who we have stopped talking with. The root of forgiveness lies at the seed of love from the home. It begins with a decision to forgive and a prayer of petition to receive the grace of forgiveness in the heart. We don’t wait for a feeling to forgive to arrive before forgiving. We act on the command of God to forgive and trust God with our heart to bring us peace.

It is said by the grace of God many have not seen the inside of a prison. Among those who have been imprisoned some leave more vengeful than before to commit more crime while others are humbled to never return. One man appeared on AGT (America’s Got Talent) telling his story of being convicted of a crime against a woman who identified him as the perpetrator. He had three witnesses who testified he was home at the time of the crime but was convicted and served 37 years in prison before DNA proved his innocence. Singing kept him hopeful with courage to persevere. Released his dream to appear on AGT came true as a man of peace. He survived because his heart was not imprisoned by the walls of wrath and anger. Many more live outside the walls of prison but their hearts are imprisoned by wrath and anger while they hold tight the key of freedom, the choice of forgiveness. Choose forgiveness and receive mercy.

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Homily The Deacon Joe

23rd Sunday Ordinary Time: “There I am”

Posted on September 5, 2020September 4, 2020 by Deacon Joe

Ezk. 33:7-9; Ps. 95:1-2, 6-9; Rom.13:8-10; Mt. 18:15-20

“There I am in the midst of them”, the Great “I Am”. Those who gather in prayer to fulfill the law of love, I am there. I am there in your joys and sorrows; I am there in your conflict between each other; and I am there to heal the broken hearted. Let us pray then together as one body of Christ for the sick, sorrowing, the sinful and speak as commanded by the Spirit to their hearts that they may not be hardened. If God is love and love fulfills the law then the law of God makes him present in our love to speak with faith and courage and not be silent.

I have often in counseling others expressed to others “don’t love me the way you love yourself”. Our love of self is imperfect at best and dysfunctional at the worst. Imperfect love of self is conditional for pleasure, profit, power and prestige. When we satisfy these passions, we recognize a false pride that is only temporal. Dysfunctional love takes these same conditional passions to a greater degree of harm of self and others. It creates a dependency and/or an obsession spiraling into sickness and death of true self. Can anyone desire this type of love from “neighbor” or offer the love of Christ which is truth, beauty, goodness and unity? How can we then bring our brokenness into our relationships of conflict and find a peaceful resolution. Only with the one true mediator, Jesus Christ do we come into the presence of the Father who promises, “there I am”.

Jesus speaks to our hearts in the Holy Spirit that we may speak as “watchman” for the house that is “church” of God’s people. The devil has no trouble speaking out through others calling out “hypocrites” those sinners who dare to speak seeking to silence them Souls who are given a voice to speak truth, goodness, beauty, and unity become “cancelled” in the current culture of oppression. The devil lies ready to counter truth by calling out our hypocrisy, to counter goodness by calling out our sinfulness, to counter beauty by calling out our jealousy, and to counter unity by calling out our self-righteousness. Just as the devil used Peter to chastise Jesus and Jesus responded with “Get behind me Satan” the devil uses those we love to bring division to our relationships and prevent reconciliation.

In the same manner when Jesus asks “But who do you say that I am?” Peter responds with the inspired truth “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” The revelation to speak was revealed by the “heavenly Father” to Peter, a sinful man, a follower, a hypocrite who later denies Jesus three times, prideful and self-righteous but at that moment there was the heavenly Father revealing truth to the disciple. We cannot say “who am I to speak?” when our first grace to speak came at baptism with the gift of the Holy Spirit. To speak as “church” when two or three are gathered in his name is a command from God who warns “I will hold you responsible for his death” if we dare be silent. Our salvation depends on it!

Am I here for me or thee, that is the question? Until our faith is cemented in how we answer this question we risk our salvation and play with fire from hell. Often it is heard “where is God?” This is heard in the midst of suffering or tragedy and it begs the question where is the fulfillment of the law of God? Obedience is not the greatest of virtues aspired by humanity. We place conditional limits to our obedience just as we place conditional limits to our love returning to the question, “am I here for me or thee?” We don’t bring peace to conflict through conflict avoidance. We bring peace to conflict following the formula of subsidiarity given to us in scripture today, starting with the individuals who hold the power at the principle level of where the conflict lies, brother to brother and sister to sister before turning to authority to bring reconciliation.

Godly reconciliation is not a “compromise”, a fifty-fifty agreement, or a settlement of jurisprudence but reaching for a greater truth that brings salvation. This greater truth comes from the “Great I AM” who promised “there I am”. Speak now before this moment is forever gone. Speak now in the Holy Spirit of truth to bring the goodness of God the Father, through the beauty of Jesus love on the cross, to bring the unity of reconciliation in heaven. Speak now through prayer at the urging of the Spirit.

A voice of truth in our times is not to be silenced through the culture of “safe spaces”, political correctness, or threats of being “cancelled” through an overall attack on our very humanity. There is a cross to bear when God speaks through us. All the great saints were threatened to be “cancelled” for disrupting the norms of their times. Holiness is not for the weak. We are all called to be great saints for our times.

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Homily

22nd Sunday Ordinary Time “to deny himself”

Posted on August 29, 2020August 28, 2020 by Deacon Joe

Jer. 20:7-9; Ps. 63:2-6, 8-9; Rom.1-2; Mt. 16:21-27

To deny himself the “call” or his humanity, that is the question. “You duped me, O LORD, and I let myself be duped” in order to “know what is the hope that belongs to our call.” Jerimiah’s interior crisis is a sign of Jesus’ coming as he becomes the object of laughter, mocking, violence and outrage but Jerimiah tries to deny himself and cannot just as Jesus cannot deny the Lord for he would be denying himself his divinity, the “call” for which he came to fulfill and so Jesus lets himself be “duped” as a lamb for slaughter to fulfill his divinity, his “call”.

In the gospel, Jesus rebukes Peter for appealing to his own humanity and the humanity of Jesus. “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.” Jesus immediately recognizes this seduction from Peter calling out “Get behind me Satan! Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me” If we wish to come after Jesus in search of him then the first obstacle is our humanity, the interior crisis of our comfort opposed to the cross of self-denial, sacrifice, and following Jesus in responding to the divine call. Jesus comes to renew our fallen nature not to succumb to it.

Our thoughts carry a fallen nature for pleasure, profit, power, and prestige. We seek pleasure and avoid pain yet sacrifice for the good is worthy of pain as an offering to the “call”. We seek the security of profit beyond our needs yet in gaining “the whole world” we forfeit life itself in a premature death to our call. We seek power for a false sense of control what we claim as our entitlement only to see death quickly steal away our entitlement in exchange for life. We seek prestige as a place of honor at the table of our accomplishments yet if “getting to the top” only leaves us looking back at the brokenness of our past have we lost our place at the table of the Lord? This is the internal crisis we face to deny our very self is to gain ourselves the glory of God.

“Then the Son of Man will come…and then he will repay all according to his conduct.” He does not promise a reward according to our faith alone but to our conduct which is the true sign of responding in faith to our calling. What have we gained? We satisfy the thirst of our soul seeking to break the chains of our humanity and set us free to be in the presence of the Lord in his divinity. The “coming” is both now and forever. Now he comes to the aid of our transformation beginning with “the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.” This is “the hope that belongs to our call” both now and forever to be in the presence of the Lord.

The “call” is responding in the moment to the will of God in order to remain in communion that is in relationship with him discerning truth, beauty, goodness, and unity in perfect love. To be in perfect love or not to be, that is the choice and the call of the cross. In this moment what does thy will declare of us?

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Homily The Deacon Joe

21st Sunday Ordinary Time

Posted on August 22, 2020August 21, 2020 by Deacon Joe

Is. 22:19-23; Ps. 138:1-3, 6, 8; Rom.11:33-36; Mt. 16:13-20

Jesus the key to heaven! “I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus speaks to Peter these words which have since been a “key” and the cross of division not unity for the Christian people. For Catholicism “you” represents a person, Peter, the Vicar of Christ and his successors and to Protestantism represents the church self-governed by the people. Where the truth lies holds the key to authority and the cross in responding to the resistance.

In the first reading, the Lord’s servant Eliakim is given the “robe” of authority by the Lord, the “key to the House of David”. The “key” has the power to “open and shut” and Eliakim is “fixed…like a peg in a sure spot, to be a place of honor for his family”. Here we see a person not only given the “key” but a sign of the “key” to come in Jesus. Old Testament history from Abraham to Jesus is a succession of leadership for the people of God who hold the place of honor, responsibility and accountability that is the cross in serving our God the Father.

Jesus is the “key” to heaven. He entrusts Peter with himself to remain with us in the Eucharist, body, soul, and divinity and in the priesthood in “persona Christi”. Peter and his successors are the “rock” to sustain the church where the key lies. We pray, “do not forsake the work of your hands”. The work is the church with Jesus as the cornerstone of this foundation of faith. The fruit of this work is the people of God for the harvest is plentiful but laborers are few as scripture reminds us. In this we recognize the call to the priesthood is not being heard while the population continues to increase.

We are also reminded, “For who has known the mind of the Lord…”, only what comes “from him and through him and for him are all things” revealed. The church then is the deposit of faith coming from Jesus and through him to all the Fathers, Doctors, saints, and people of our God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus divinity is working through our humanity when we call upon him, invite him into our presence, and respond in acceptance of his will in our lives. The mind of the Lord speaks to our mind, his love to our hearts, and his will to our will for courage to proclaim our faith in him and come and follow.

Jesus, the key to heaven is the way, the truth, and the power “and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it”. The power to “bind and loose” comes from Jesus through the church and not apart from it. We all share through our baptism a role as priest, prophet, and king in the church of God. In this role we share the cross to serve under authority in the body of Christ. Our obedience in the church is to Christ himself and woe to those who would open the gates of the netherworld inside the church to sin and bring judgment upon themselves. Even if the attempt happened, we have the power of exorcism to reject Satan and renew the church in times of crisis.

These are times of crisis as we witness scandals in the church and in the world seeking to divide the people of God as wolves in sheep’s clothing. While professing inclusiveness, tolerance, and diversity we witness an attack on tradition, symbols of faith, and violence for restitution of past sins in the world. How did we get here and how do we recover from this?

It began with an attack on the family. Divorce and abortion were the first divide to bring division in the covenant of love facilitating disposable relationships. Children were the next divide superseding the values of home with the values of the institutions of learning to plant the seeds of agnosticism. The new harvest of individuation murdered the belief of a universal truth for the logic of separatism in identity, no longer male or female, good or bad, right or wrong, only self-justified. Once self-justified the next step of attacking other political, economic and civil institutions out of self-righteousness falls into the world of acceptable tolerance. What remains is to bring down the institutions of faith and that has already begun. This is the culture of death and many are being lost and few are responding to this attack.

We recover from a culture of death by returning to the source of all life and unity, God in the Trinity. Jesus holds the keys to the kingdom in all Christianity. The Church is the bride of Jesus as a mother to “bind and to loosen” with the authority of Jesus guided by the Spirit in the Vicar of Christ. The God of love is also the God of the laws of heaven and we are to follow the source of all truth as we profess, “Jesus saves!”

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Homily The Deacon Joe

20th Sunday Ordinary Time

Posted on August 17, 2020August 17, 2020 by Deacon Joe

Is. 56:1, 6-7; Ps. 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8; Rom.11:13-15; Mt. 15:21-28

Jesus’ house of prayer! In the eyes of the world according to today’s gospel Jesus would be labeled racist, sexist, and misogynist. He denies the woman pleading for her daughter three times, first he ignores her “does not say a word in answer to her”, sexist, then he claims “he was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel”, racist, and finally he directly rejects her “It is not right to take food of the children and throw it to the dogs”, misogynist. Do not be surprised if in our times the world will take these stories and use them to reject religion and faith in God. There is a greater truth revealed in this story that Jesus is about to demonstrate as the faith of the woman is tested. The greater truth is revealed in both a personal response to the woman and in a universal response to humanity.

In the personal response, Jesus says to the woman’s pleading “great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” The perseverance of this woman overcame the test of faith. How quickly are we to give up on prayer when God is silent to our pleading. The question in our minds is “where is God?” Jesus denies her three times, just like he asks Peter “Do you love me?” three times. This is the mystery of faith to respond to the Trinity. Do you love me in the Father? Do you love me in the Son? Do you love me in the Spirit? Who do we pray to, the Father, the Son, or to the Holy Spirit? Jesus heard Peter’s response the first time just as he heard the woman’s request but the totality of faith and love must be complete in Jesus’ house of prayer.

In the universal response, we often speak of scripture in the “context” of salvation history. In Jesus “time” meaning in historical time for all time is “Jesus time”, the Jewish community did not view the gentile people in salvation history. Jesus is taking this Canaanite woman’s pleading to demonstrate to the Jewish followers who he was “sent” to recognizing the historical significance of “the people of God”. We see in the second reading St. Paul speaking as the “apostle to the Gentiles” to make his race “jealous” for having rejected Jesus but through the mercy God is giving to the Gentiles he may “save some of them”. Here we see the prophecy of Isaiah manifested as “The foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, ministering to him, loving the name of the LORD, and becoming his servants…keep the sabbath…hold to my covenant…them I will bring to the holy mountain and make joyful in my house of prayer”. This is fulfilled in the Gentiles who will be his servants in his house of prayer.

In listening to Christian radio on the way to home from work the person said in a study only 37% of Christian’s believe in salvation through faith only. She then claimed to find in scripture many passages that supported the doctrine of faith only. In our first reading we see how faith is revealed in action and while faith is the first step of conversion it is not the “only” step in salvation.

Returning to the beginning of this homily, we see in our time a revolutionary movement to reject faith in God. While hundreds can gather to protest social injustice, church gatherings are treated as pandemic spreaders. The real intent is to prevent the spread of the gospel, threaten civil penalties for church gatherings, and force institutions of faith to adopt practices contrary to their faith or bring injunctions until they submit or are bankrupt. The revolution against faith institutions is spreading in the cultural war and we are a target. Jesus will again become the target by attacking the head of the church the body will disperse. Will we deny him or will we defend him by our proclamation of faith in action and enter into his house of prayer?

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Homily The Deacon Joe

19th Sunday Ordinary Time

Posted on August 12, 2020August 12, 2020 by Deacon Joe

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

We live what our faith proclaims! In today’s gospel reading, Peter proclaims faith in Jesus saying “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” As long as his faith was in Jesus he walked with courage on the water. When his faith focused on nature, his humanity, the waves “how strong the strength of wind was” he began to sink in fear calling out to Jesus to be saved. Jesus response, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

Jesus answers Peter with one word, “Come.” With all the sound of the wind, waves, and a rocking wooden boat Peter heard Jesus’ one word to come. Elijah is also listening for the Lord in the first reading but he does not hear him in the wind, the earthquake, or the fire. The Lord comes to Elijah in the “tiny whispering sound”. Jesus himself “went up on the mountain by himself to pray”. If our faith is to respond to the voice of the Lord, we must silence our hearts and minds and open our souls to hears in the quiet the command of Jesus.

One of my favorite places for retreat is Lebh Shomea in Sarita Texas. By its name Lebh Shomea means a “listening heart”. We arrive in silence, remain in silence and leave in silence among the natural wildlife as we come to pray. The estate was bequeathed to the Order of Oblates and became a House of Prayer. One of the rules of Lebh Shomea is “silence” in all areas, at meals, in the Library, outside, and even when going as a couple we are to walk apart and keep the rule of silence, that is to maintain a listening heart.

One of my first experiences going to Lebh Shomea was seeing all the natural wildlife. As I walked about the property the deer would simply move to keep their distance from me. It seemed natural for each to respect our space. It also seemed the animals sensed my own restlessness before I was able to quiet my mind and heart beginning to enter into a more contemplative state of prayer.

After being there for a few days, I was walking praying the rosary when I noticed the deer no longer reacted to my presence and I had become part of the environment. As I prayed the rosary, one doe began moving towards me. At first, I was surprised and as it approached me, I just stood still waiting to see what would happen next. It came right up to me and looked at me and then at my rosary, turned and walked away. I realized then that the sound of the rosary in this quiet environment attracted it to me. In the silence I had become an accepted member of their environment.

It is in the quiet that we become united to the Lord able to listen for his voice. Our faith proclaims what we receive in our “listening heart”. Like Peter we often are attentive to the world around us and find ourselves proclaiming what the world proclaims, fear, injustice, sickness, lust, self-righteousness. Jesus is the just one who we are to listen for and respond to his invitation to “Come.” Come and proclaim our faith by our acts of virtue. Focus on Jesus and fear not the invitation to proclaim the power of the Lord in our lives. We live what we allow into our faith, this will always come out in our actions. Whether we walk on the spiritual water or sink in the ocean of life it is an act of what we proclaim by faith. Live the Godly faith and we will enter into the spiritual waters of faith, hope, and love with Prautes (Greek meaning “a still heart”).

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