Heaven or hell – 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Posted on November 13, 2021November 10, 2021 by Deacon Joe

Dan. 12:1-3; Ps. 16:5, 8-11; Heb. 10:11-14, 18; Mk. 13:24-32

Heaven or hell that is the question. As we come to the end of the church calendar year the readings have focused on the end times, the last four things to come; death, judgement, heaven or hell. The study of the last four things is called Eschatology. The time of tribulation is upon us. It began as soon as Jesus was lifted on the cross but now its our turn to pass through the tribulation of our times and answer the question for ourselves, heaven or hell. Will we rise or will we fall? Will we be found “written in the book” to live forever or fall into the everlasting horror of disgrace? One way to answer the question is whether we are we among those who “lead many to justice” or whether we contributed to the sin of others.

Often, we fail to ask ourselves if we have lead others to sin or to justice. Wisdom from Daniel today is asking us to examine our lives based on the impact we have made in the lives of others. It is not just about my responsibility to myself but also my responsibility to others and it begins in the home. For example, the moral compass we teach our children to follow. Does the commandment “you shall not kill” apply to the unborn? Does hate speech lead others to justice or to sin? Does “male and female he created them” allow someone to change their sexual identity? Have we led others to love God or to just love themselves without awareness of their creation in the image of God? Our action or inaction has a lasting consequence for the good of justice or for the sin of injustice. It is the ripple effect from generation to generation that keeps on giving or sinning.

We have a tendency to judge ourselves based on a simple attitude that “I am a good person”. Let us recall the words of Jesus, “Why do you call me good, only God is good.” We are sinners and we have a tendency to overlook our sins. We might assume that if we have not committed a grave sin we are headed straight to heaven. Thank God for purgatory for the sins we have overlooked. We may be surprised of all the sins of omission we committed in not responding to the call to serve God in every moment and opportunity we had to “go forth” and live the gospel.

The good news is that “by one offering he has made perfect forever those who are being consecrated”. The baptized are being consecrated to live the gospel. When we come seeking forgiveness “there is no longer offering for sin”, his sacrifice has atoned for our sin on the path to heaven and yet there is still a judgment day to come. Now then the question is “have we come seeking forgiveness” or are we in the delusion that being a good person there is no need to seek forgiveness and remain in our sin till the day of judgment. “But the wise shall shine brightly” for in their humility they have come seeking forgiveness as often as they fall and “rise like the stars”. Heaven not hell is the just reward for the penitent. “Lord have mercy on me a sinner.”

“But of that day or hour” be vigilant. Recently a servant of the Lord came knocking on my door. He had recently been baptized in his protestant faith and was sharing his views on the end times. He believed we were living the end times in our generation and the Lord would come soon. I could not agree with him more with the exception that he understood it would be in his lifetime. “There is no time with God: a thousand years, a single day, it is all one (2 Peter 3:8)”. Jesus says, “Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place”. The disciples heard this and believed it represented “the Son of Man coming in the clouds” in their lifetime. But in the absence of time with God the “day or hour” is simply the moment he has established for “all these things (to) have taken place”. God’s time is always in the present thus we are to look at the last four things as always happening in the current moment. Each day many come face to face with their last four things their death, their particular judgment, and heaven or hell. That moment could be our moment on any day.

Who is in hell? The Church is silent and we won’t know for sure till until we pass through the last four things but in Dante’s “Divine Comedy” (c.1320) there are nine circles of hell and he places three Popes there. We might have our own list of who we consider having gained the judgment of hell but as the sinner hung on the cross next to Jesus and asked to be remembered Jesus gave him the gift of mercy. Hell is real and Jesus proclaims it in Mathew 25:45-46 “He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of the least ones, you did not do for me.’ And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” “Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. (Mt. 25:41)” Eternal punishment is hell for there no more hope of salvation from this suffering. The path to heaven or hell is clearly laid out for us by Jesus.

The world is filled with many who are among the least who hunger, thirst, are a stranger, locked up within the cells of sinners and have no one to bring them the care from heaven. They are the golden path for us to bring them the kingdom of God we carry within us and minister to their needs. This is the path of righteousness Jesus is calling us to follow. If we claim to be “a good person” are we a good person to the least or just good to those we love? If God came calling this day and placed us in front of a mirror, what do we see? Do we simply see ourselves or do we see the image of Christ in us, or is the reflection darkened by our sins that we cannot make out the image in front of us? If we see the image of Christ then heaven not hell is waiting. If we simply see ourselves then the “good person” we believe we are may need to the path of purgatory to wash clean their baptismal robes. But, if we cannot see an image through the darkness of sin hell not heaven may be coming soon.

We are to learn to seek, go, and do. We are to seek daily the mercy of God, go to confession when we knowingly have committed mortal sin, and do acts of penance and reparation. Like children we want to be forgiven and the sin forgotten and let Jesus’ suffering once atone for our sins. Is there a need for us to do our reparation to atone for our sins? Repentance comes with doing an act of love for the wrong we have committed. Let us never ignore, forget, or discount the value of doing reparation for our sins. Just like those “small” sins add up so do our small acts of love to bring us the grace of God from heaven. To love God with all our heart, mind and soul is to join him in his suffering for our sins and the sins of the world with the love of atonement. The love of prayer is atonement, the love of the Mass is atonement, and the love of serving the least is also atonement. Heaven or hell waits but not for long.

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Homily

1st Sunday of Advent – Be watchful!

Posted on November 28, 2020November 28, 2020 by Deacon Joe

Is. 63:16-17, 19b, 64:2-7; Ps. 80: 2-3, 15-16, 18-19; 1 Cor. 1:3-9; Mk. 13:33-37

“Be watchful!” in mindfulness. We begin the new year in the Church this first Sunday of Advent mindful of a year overtaken by a pandemic and watchful of a continued virus threatening the world. The Lord also calls us to be both mindful of the Lord “in our ways” and watchful in this the year of the Lord for his coming.

“Mindfulness” is the current cultural trend in wellness as something new. We learn however from today’s first reading that mindfulness is as old as the book of Isaiah in the words “that we were mindful of you (Lord) in our ways”. In mindfulness the focus is remaining in the present awareness not only of your inner being but also of your “watchful” eye around you. This keen awareness allows for the eye of the soul to focus on what matters apart from the noise that steals our attention cluttered with worries, temptations, constant distractions, and mindless activity aimed at filling in for the silence and avoiding the presence of God.

We believe in the presence of God and we say “God is in control” but do we remain mindful of his presence in all “our ways”? We must recall “our ways” are not his ways and here lies the great divide between what we profess and “our ways”. Our ways focus on “self” according to pleasure, power, prestige, and profit. However, the gospel of Mark reminds us “For what would it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? (Mark 3:86)”. The higher purpose of “mindfulness” is to unite our “self” to God’s way. Our watchfulness is to see the hand of God at work in our ways and give glory and honor to our God.

God’s way is to remain mindful of him as “our father, our redeemer”. Mindful of God our father we recognize him as the “potter” and “we are the clay” seeking to form us in his loving hands into his image of love. As a loving father he molds us by grace with all the spiritual gifts to enter into “fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord”. Mindful of God our redeemer is awareness “we are sinful…and our guilt carries us away like the wind”. Mindfulness of God allows us to also recognize the evil one coming in fear, temptation, distraction and mindless activity to separate us from the love of God.

Mindfulness is to be watchful “as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ”. In mindfulness we remain watchful “for the Lord hears the cry of the poor” and our poverty lies in our separation from all that is truth, unity, good, and beauty. This is our separation from the love of God. Be watchful for the coming of the Lord to lead us along the path of righteousness, to answer our prayers, to give us the grace to respond in our trials with the power of his love. Be watchful as the Lord comes to destroy what is evil, to destroy the enemy of death, to purify the soul for the final coming to lead us home.

In mindfulness there is an awareness that all things matter in spirit and truth. This includes the awareness of sin. We don’t live by the rule “I did not kill anyone” as if avoiding mortal sin is all that matters. It recognizes if all things matter the smallest of venial sin matters in our awareness of having offended thee O’ Lord. The evil one tries to convince us “no harm done” if we lie a little, cheat a little, steal a little after all when we did it when we were little it was cute. Soon we believe no harm done in little things and become immune to bigger things.

When I was little, we were poor but I didn’t know it. Most of my toys were made up from my imagination until Christmas when Salvation Army came by to drop off a box with toys from stores. One day my mother went to visit one of her friends who had children. I saw all these toys in the house. When we got home my mother noticed I was acting different. She asked me, “what’s the matter?” in Spanish. I said “nada” meaning nothing and started walking backwards. I lead her to the bed where I had hidden a toy I took from the other children as I kept saying “nada”. She made me take it back and treated it as not so cute. Has your child ever taken a candy at the store and you made them take it back or was it just not worth it after all it is just a little thing?

Mindfulness is not obsessiveness. Bad politicians like to say “never let a crisis go to waste”. The devil could not have said it any better. In this pandemic we see mental health issues, a rise in depression, addictions, anxiety, and suicide. This is especially a time to be mindful of the evil ones’ opportunity to bring chaos into our relationships. The evil one will lead your mindfulness to obsession and neurosis. We are mindful of safety precautions with a virus and act prudently to protect ourselves but obsession creates such fear of germs as to become obsessed with washing of hands that it leads to neurosis.

As an introvert being intra-mindful is more natural than extra-mindful. An introvert is simple task oriented focused on going deeper in spiritual awareness at the risk of not losing awareness of the beauty around us. For an extravert it is more natural to be extra-mindful and better at multi-tasking to see the hand of God at work around us. Whether we are being intro or extra-verts, God is above us, beneath us, behind us, before us and remains within us for our awareness as we go about our ways.

Father Miguel Marie from the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal on EWTN whenever he celebrates mass says “as if this was the first time, the last time, the only time”. This is love. This is an awareness of the significance of the moment of the presence of God. Mass is an act of thanksgiving for the sacrifice of Jesus on the altar. Each moment of life comes once at this time and moves us closer to the eternal. Be watchful!

Until the hour of his coming we are to be mindful of our Lord in all our ways in order to be ready to receive him in all our heart, soul, and mind. Who can we turn to in as our reminder of true mindfulness more than Our Blessed Mother who did all things with her watchful eyes of love toward her son. Thus, be watchful of his coming and mindful of his presence that we may follow his way to the eternal glory of God.

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Homily

Solemnity of Christ the King – Viva Cristo Rey!

Posted on November 21, 2020November 20, 2020 by Deacon Joe

Ezek. 34:11-12, 15-17; Ps. 23: 1-3, 5-6; 1 Cor. 15:20-26, 28; Mt. 25:31-46

Christ the King reigns in our lives, Viva Cristo Rey! “For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” Christ the King reigns in our world and lives in battle with the enemies of this world. Who are these enemies? They are the legion of “evil spirits that prowl about this world seeking the ruin of souls”. The most sinister is pride among the seven capital sins that include its generals of greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony, and sloth leading the army of other deadly sins.

Christ the King has his own powerful army of angels led by St. Michael to instill in his people the weapons of virtue against each deadly spirit. The battle against greed is the virtuous weapon of charity, for wrath is patience, for envy is gratitude, for lust is chastity, for gluttony is temperance, for sloth is diligence, and for pride is the virtuous weapon of humility. The battlefield is in our souls and Christ the King is here to destroy the enemy. Christ has already won the battle against Satan that sought to destroy him now he comes after us and we are to prepare each day for the attack of temptations. Consider the week not only as a daily battle against the enemy but as a daily strategy of response to the attack.

Monday’s attack comes after the day of the Lord with the spirit of sloth bringing resistance to work. Diligence wins as we rise and accomplish our first task in making our beds ready. Beginning with the end in mind not only overcomes sloth but reminds us of the importance of being ready. Ready for a morning prayer to strengthen the soul we offer our work of the day in thanksgiving for the talents received to build up the kingdom of God.

Tuesday’s attack comes as a thief in the night with the surprise attack of wrath with the unexpected car that swerves in our way, delay in our plans, breakdown of communication and all the little things that matter. Patience wins when the enemy enters the heart in rejection of others claiming rights to justice in an unjust world. Wrath says “how dare you” but the spirit of patience comes to counter wrath with empathy in a search for understanding that dares to pray for our enemies.

Wednesday’s attack brings in focus the comparisons with others in envy as we get passed up on that promotion, recognition goes to someone else, see the rich get richer in the struggle to cover expenses. Envy is defeated when we view the hand of God at work to who much is given much is expected and we are grateful for our portion of expectations. Gratitude wins as we respond in appreciation for others gifts in support of their success, we unite to create a better world for the kingdom of God.

Thursday’s attack follows envy from behind with greed to forget others in a world seen as a “dog eat dog” world where only the strong survive and thrive while the weak are marginalized from society. Charity wins when begin to see Christ in the hungry, thirsty, naked, ill, imprisoned, and in the stranger. We resist greed when we recall the charity of Jesus with his words in the last supper on Holy Thursday as he breaks bread “do this in memory of me” as a self-sacrifice. Greed is the betrayal of Jesus who in charity offers up himself to God the Father and calls us to follow him in the same manner.

Friday’s attack looks to greed to permit the attack of lust with consent for entitlement to all the passions the mind can imagine having bought into the world’s doctrine of “my body my choice”. Chastity wins the battle as we recall the passion of Christ when the “good” of Good Friday was Jesus dying on the cross for the good of others in atonement for our sins. The power to say “no” to self and “yes” to the Lord conquers lust.

Saturday’s attack allows lust to open the door for gluttony once entitled there is no limit to the sins that follow to store up in our bellies and in our illusion of wealth. Gluttony is a slow death to the soul and must be met with an equal amount of daily temperance. Temperance wins in reminder of the Easter Vigil’s long wait for the coming of the Lord to keep all things in balance and be ready. Ready as the militant church on earth for the attack with the sword of Jesus’ word just as he spoke to Satan in his own temptations.

Sunday’s attack comes in for the kill with pride to be our own god, to be the beginning and the end of all our actions. Humility wins the against the final attack as we enter again into the resurrection day of Easter Sunday and claim victory for our souls in the resurrection of Christ. When we come in humility to receive Christ the King’s mercy in the Eucharist the battle is won where evil cannot exist in the souls of the just.

Our battle is won when faith takes action to counter evil and do good as Jesus promises “And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age”. Faith is an incarnation of Jesus to do his will recognizing his presence in the poor, hungry, thirsty, naked, ill, imprisoned, and in the stranger. Faith alone is a lost sheep ready for slaughter by the evil spirits. By taking action faith is an invitation to Jesus to come into our lives and fulfill his work and be recognized in our presence.

Faith in action separates the sheep from the goats. It creates our identity through self-sacrifice, love of others, and service to each other. Doers of the word come together as sheep while goats simply talk a good talk and scatter apart. Faith in action creates an identity such as the difference between people who play an instrument and musicians, people who like to sing and a vocalist, people who have children and a parent, or someone who is an ordained a priest and a pastor.

Action forms faith in thanksgiving, in reparation, in redemption, in mercy, in love, in justice, in fellowship, and in unity with the one true God. Action builds up faith as a connection with God in the works of mercy. Be merciful and see Christ the King our good shepherd for the battle is won. Claim your victory, Christ the King lives “Viva Cristo Rey”.

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Homily

32nd Sunday Ordinary Time – Stay awake and be ready!

Posted on November 7, 2020November 6, 2020 by Deacon Joe

Wis. 6:12-16; Ps. 63: 2-8; 1 Thes. 4:13-18; Mt. 25:1-13

“Stay awake and be ready!” Be ready for the last four things, death, judgement, heaven and hell by active participation in salvation. We live in times of slumber like the five “foolish virgins”. Are we ready to go to the game on Friday nights? You bet! Are we ready to go to Mass on Sunday mornings? Well, we sure like sleeping in. Even the extra hour of “Fall back” daylight savings time helps only for a short time before we fall back to our slumber. Stay awake and be ready is an act of prudence that comes from wisdom. Wisdom is a gift of grace from God as “she hastens to make herself known” but it is our act of good judgment that seeks out truth and receives wisdom.

Stay awake and be ready to receive a word of wisdom from God in prayer. Ready to sit still and watch some T.V.? You bet! Ready to sit still and do the rosary? By the time we get to the first decade, we are already yawning. “Behold, the bridegroom!” Jesus comes in wisdom and is sitting at our gate prepared to speak to our hearts and minds in prayer but our minds are active in our own thoughts drifting away rather than attentive to his desire to make himself known.

Stay awake and be ready to receive a spirit of wisdom in the sanctuary in our thirst for God. We cheer the team, “We have spirit, yes we do, we have spirit how about you?” How about us? Do we live by the Spirit of God who promises to be with us and come to us in spirit and in truth? We are to rise up in praise and worship and sing to the Lord. This is the day the Lord has made for us let us rejoice and be glad. Glad that God is with us in all our trials and he gives us the Consoler, the Spirit of courage and hope. Be not afraid! “Whoever watches for her at dawn shall not be disappointed”.

Stay awake and be ready for a word of knowledge as he makes himself known in scripture. The will of God makes himself known in scripture proclaimed for our discernment as it applies to us in our time, our home, our struggles and our blessings. It is not a word spoken only to the people of its time. It is alive and active for us to discernment how it applies to my life now. Let not our minds be dimmed in drowsiness as they drift during the homily and we lose sight of his revelation to our hearts. A homily helps us with the applied word in a form called exegesis. Exegesis from Greek means “to lead out”. It leads us out in a critical interpretation and understanding of scripture. It leads us out as the applied word to our lives.

Stay awake and be ready to receive his body and blood as he makes himself known in the breaking of the bread. We hunger for the good things of life. We are restless and at times bored looking for fulfillment. Our souls are restless until we come to rest in the truth, goodness, beauty and unity of Christ. We are to hunger for and not lose sight of his real presence in the Eucharist. The Eucharist is the summit of our faith, hope and love. We come as unworthy servants but only by his word are our souls healed of sin and purified by grace.

Stay awake in our actions. The Church is prudent by making us stand, sit, and kneel during the Mass so we can stay awake, be active participants in prayer and worship. Our body language speaks loudly of where we are in our relationship with God. Our souls need to reflect the light of Christ in our behavior and reject the darkness of evil. “Lifting up my hands, I will call upon your name” says the psalm. We lift up our hands to pray the prayer Jesus left us in the Our Father. Mass begins in word and act with the sign of the cross. It says, “I am a believer!” Who are we to respond as in this world? We respond as the “I AM” a believer!

Stay awake and be ready to confront the evil one seeking to ruin souls when we allow our passions to drive our priorities as “the foolish ones” while the passion of Christ suffers for our sins. “Then the door was locked” and he said in reply “Amen, I say to you, I do not know you”. Seems a harsh response for the lack of readiness and poor planning yet it reflects the message of keeping our priorities straight. God first! Some say “I am a good person” as if that is all that matters. Readiness is an active participation in the work of salvation for our souls and those of the whole world.

Be ready, “Behold the bridegroom!” Ready as the wise virgins ready with flasks of oil. The Church prepares us with the oils of salvation; the oil of catechumen, the oil of the sick, and the chrism oil keep the light of our soul shining ready for the bridegroom. At baptism the light is entrusted to our parents, godparents and the community to keep the light burning. As we grow the light becomes our responsibility to be the “wise ones”. No one else can save us or share their “oil of salvation”. It is the prudent who are prepared to respond to God’s calling. Every day is a calling to readiness as we do not know the hour or the day of his coming nor the hour or day of our departure from this world.

Be ready for the four last things! Death, judgment, heaven and hell we tend to avoid giving it as much thought as it deserves. We know our time is coming and we are reminded each time someone we know dies. Our psyche is shaken into this reality and we are encouraged just to move on with our lives. We are not to move on but be moved deeper into our readiness to face these four last things that lead to eternity. Do we really move on from having had a loving relationship with someone or do we carry our cross with love in reminder that we are to be prepared for we do not know the hour or day of its coming?

As early as I can remember as a child my mother would lie in bed and begin acting and saying in Spanish, “Ya me voy a morir!”, “I am now going to die!” Then she would close her eyes and lie motionless. At first, I would not believe her because she had done it so many times but the longer she laid there even though I knew it was a trick the more it scared me. Later in life I thought of it wondering why she would play that game on a little child. As she became chronically ill and into her eighties, I came to realize she understood she lived in poor health and wanted to prepare me for the day and in the event, she died while I was still young. Fortunately, God blessed her with a long life and she carried her cross of illness for a long time but the gift she left me was a reminder, Be ready, for the last four things to come.

November is the month in the church calendar when we come to the end of the liturgical year and so it is most appropriate to reflect on the four last things, to pray for the dead, to offer Masses for the souls in purgatory still waiting to be washed clean and purified in the fire of mercy. Let us show mercy by keeping them in our prayers.

Readiness is the prayer, “Here I am, Lord!” When the bridegroom comes at his hour will we be the Adam and Eve who hid themselves from the Lord or like a new Adam and Eve purified in the waters of baptism, washed clean in confession, filled with wisdom from obedience to his word and reflecting his image in the sacrifice of love in the Eucharist prepared for his coming? Be wise people of God, let us keep our light burning brightly ready to say, “Here I am, Lord!”

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Homily

5th Sunday of Lent

Posted on March 28, 2020March 27, 2020 by Deacon Joe

Ez. 37:12-14; Ps. 130:1-8; Jn. 11:1-45

“I will open your graves…I will put my spirit in you that you may love…” In the mercy and fullness of redemption “whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” O death where is your sting! The sting of the serpent is lost in the power of the resurrection for the just. Who are the just? The just believe in him, receive the spirit, live in the spirit and are righteous. Faith is the first act of salvation to believe by our free will we humble ourselves to the mystery of faith. “Living” our faith is the fruit of believing.

Lazarus is raised from the dead “so that you may believe” in the power of Jesus, in the resurrection and in the “glory of God”. Lazarus however remains in the flesh subject to a mortal death. Jesus resurrection is the victory over death itself. Only the foolish see death as an end but our hope is in immortality. You shall know the just by their love for God is love and our love unites us to God in immortality. Jesus provides us a window into the immortality to come in four visible signs.

The first sign of immortality is an “impassability” in which there is no more death, suffering and disease. The mortality of this body is all that perishes but the soul and spirit are alive for eternity. “He is not the God of the dead but of the living” (Mt. 22:32). The power of this impassability is seen in the transfiguration as Jesus in transfigured by the light of heaven seen next to Moses and Elijah. Moses and Elijah are the visible sign of life after a mortal death of the body.

The second sign of immortality is “sotility” meaning a freedom from the material world. The visible sign is Jesus appearance to the disciples through the doors after his resurrection. Physically present he asks his disciple Thomas to touch his wounds and believe. Even before his resurrection he already demonstrated his divinity and walked on water towards his disciples. This is also seen in documented cases where souls are permitted to appear after the death of the body to holy souls and ask for prayers, masses, and penance to end their purgatory.

The third sign of immortality is “agility” to move through space at the speed of thought for the soul obeys the will. The visible sign is Jesus appearance on the road to Emmaus, on the shores of the sea, and in the room where the disciples were. This was his freedom to be present wherever his will desired. The souls of the just receive this gift to be present to God and to us most especially at the celebration of the Mass. The Mass opens the gates of heaven for the sacrificial offering we celebrate for our salvation and the redemption of souls.

The fourth sign of immortality is “clarity” meaning free from imperfections by being in the light of love, mercy, truth and the beatific vision. The only death is the death to lies. The visible sign we share of this clarity is the Word of God as he gave to the disciples and becomes our reality when we believe and follow the word made flesh, Jesus Christ. The reality of the word is made present when we believe, receive the Spirit and become the temple of the Lord. We are called to be the visible sign of immortality. Do you believe this?

O death where is your sting! We can think of death as coming to destroy life but it is Christ who comes to save us from evil, sin, sickness and darkness. We can think of death as an ending to a life as we know it and this is a reality, for we cannot reenter this existence again; let us also think of the new beginning into the immortal promises of God, the beatific vision of love itself. We can think of death as losing a part of ourselves when a loved one passes on left with the memories and treasures in our hearts; let us also think of gaining an intercessor for us whose love remains at our side as a worker for Christ in heaven. We can think of saying “goodbye” with tears in our eyes as the last breath of our loved one nears or we approach our final breath; let us also think of the reunion in heaven welcoming the souls of the just into the light of love and immortality. We can think of a “going away”; let us also reflect on the welcoming home into heaven. Finally, we can think of death whispering “you must go now”; let us listen to the voice of God calling us “Child of mine, arise!”

This is our Easter we celebrate each year, each time mortal death arrives, each time a soul is saved in baptism we are a recreation into immortality. In fact, our own mortal body passes through a death throughout our years of life as our cells die away and new cells are created so that every five years we live in a new body. Have we not left behind the child for the adolescent, the adolescent for the young adult, the young adult for the middle-aged person, and finally arrived at the elderly stage? The gift of the spirit also takes our soul through a journey of faith when we die to the old attachments to sin and are recreated into the image of our creator in greater holiness.

We are called to perfection and we cannot live out our perfection in isolation. It is in unity and fellowship with the church we come into immortality. We do not save ourselves, Jesus saves! Jesus saves by following him, his word, and his church. This Lenten season is as time to conversion while mortal death surrounds us in this COVID-19 pandemic. We are being called to repentance and conversion as children of the faith. The world does not recognize him but the faithful recognize him and our trust is in Jesus. Let us continue to pray, fast, and be charitable. It is to the degree of charity that we gain our perfection for immortality. What we do now matters! We are called to holiness, an unconditional love, sacrificial love, and purposeful living in love. Do you believe this? Believe and be saved!

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Homily

Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time B

Posted on July 8, 2018 by Deacon Joe

Wis. 1: 13-15; 2: 23-24; 2 Cor. 8:7, 9, 13-15; Mk 5:21-43

Live with the end in mind. “God did not make death” thus to live by grace is not to die but to be transformed into the eternal life “for justice is undying”. Death belongs to the darkness of the evil one and they will experience it. What hope for the living! But wait! Will only the righteous experience immortality as a gift from God and the unrighteous cease to exist? In God’s image we are “imperishable” but then we must look at ourselves and see his image in us and in our actions. What is that image? We were given an intellect to put on the mind of God and receive knowledge, a will to follow God’s will for a purpose driven life, and the emotions to receive God’s love to fulfill “God’s justice”. Live the image of God with the end in mind.

Often emotions are seen as inferior to the intellect, you must be “strong minded” over being “touchy feely” or have an “unbending will” over “sensitive nature”. What about the emotional “EQ” to fulfill justice in the world? Why would a stranger run out into the street to save a small child who has wandered off on the street when a car is coming that will kill the child. Is that smart, or a weak will to risk his own life or is there a sense of love greater than self than seeks justice at the risk of their own poverty if they could also die or at least be severely injured. The child has no chance against a car and is innocent of the danger but the adult recognizes the impending harm and is moved to act. “Excel in every respect” with the end in mind. Where do we want to spend eternity?

“Brothers and sisters: As you excel in every respect” along the spiritual gifts from grace excel in your poverty. How do we excel in our poverty? Our trust is in the Lord who made heaven and earth. We trust in God’s divine providence for by Jesus’ poverty his coming into humanity we receive our riches prepared for us in heaven. In our poverty we recognize all that we have, all that we are is God’s and we share that in charity to supply the needs of others. In his image we become the best God created us to be by our spiritual works of mercy and our corporal works of mercy.

Those who fail to think about where they will spend eternity will find the darkness of the “easy road” that is wide. Historically kingdoms have risen and fallen but scripture reminds us that it was God who saw the sins of man and revealed the fall to come. Those sins were driven by the kings and temple priests who ruled the people. They included idolatrous priests, cult prostitutes living in the temple apartments, immolation of children sacrificed by fire in honor of other gods, and consultation with ghosts, and spirits. Is the world different now than then? The nations of the world are more secular and deny the existence of God to worship the State and fight for control of the government as their god. The sexual revolution has taken prostitutes from the outskirts of town “red zone” and given them a place of honor, even the key to the city in one infamous recent “Stormy” case. The sacrifice of children by fire to other gods has become the sacrifice of children by abortion to the god of self. Consultations to spirits is still consultation of spirits, some things never change. The darkness is in battle for spiritual control with palm readers, “curanderas”, spiritualist, etc. It is time to turn to the Lord with our whole heart, whole being, and whole strength or suffer the same fate.

There are some who see Jesus coming as a coming “new world order” of socialism and can point to a reading like today “Whoever had much did not have more, and whoever had little did not have less” as mantra for a redistribution of wealth. I was watching in the news a debate between what is recognized as a “conservative and a liberal” and the liberal was quoting scripture to justify their position. The conservative asked, if the liberal allowed the stranger into his home and had an open door policy to care for the poor. His response was he was not the “state”. Since when did Jesus say he came to establish a state run kingdom in the world? To the contrary he said his kingdom was not of this world. There can be no systemic justice without individual justice. It cannot be forced upon a free will, no more than we would want to becomes slaves to the state. God’s kingdom must live in the individual soul and some will choose the darkness of envy but others will choose the sacrifice of love, the “undying justice” of eternal life.

The work of salvation Jesus performed in miracles was relational. In the gospel Jesus cures the woman with hemorrhages and he raises the child to life. In the woman we see the power of faith because as the Apostles claimed the crowd was pressing upon him but it was the touch of faith that drew power out of Jesus. It was with the touch of the child’s hand that drew life back into her as he called out “Little girl, I say to you, arise!” The child was dead in her humanity but asleep in her righteousness as a child of God for she did not belong to the evil one. Jesus could have easily cured by the crowd full and saved himself much time but he chose to impact one life at a time. The riches of his grace come when we reach out in faith and touch someone with love. Today we will reach out and touch the heart of Jesus with our hands and/or our mouth but will we also touch him with our heart believing in faith in his presence.

The transubstantiation of the host into his body and blood is the daily miracle we receive today. Eucharistic miracles when studied are always identified as flesh from a heart and AB type blood. One recent Eucharistic miracle occurred on August 18, 1996 in the church of Santa Maria y Caballito Almagro in Buenos Aires Argentina under the auspices of Archbishop Jorge Bergoglio, our Pope Francis. (Mieczyslaw Piotrowski 2010 “Eucharistic Miracle in Buenos Aires in Love One Another “ A team of five scientists were assembled and concluded:

“The analyzed material is a fragment of the heart muscle found in the wall of the left ventricle close to the valves. This muscle is responsible for the contraction of the heart. It should be borne in mind that the left cardiac ventricle pumps blood to all parts of the body. The heart muscle is in an inflammatory condition and contains a large number of white blood cells. This indicates that the heart was alive at the time the sample was taken. It is my contention that the heart was alive, since white blood cells die outside a living organism. They require a living organism to sustain them. Thus, their presence indicates that the heart had been under severe stress, as if the owner had been beaten severely about the chest.

The scientists were not told that this human heart sample came from a host. Let us reflect on this one statement, “The heart was alive at the time the sample was taken.” It comes from a host. This is an indication of the living presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. This is also the tortured heart of Jesus that still bleeds for our sins and those of the whole world. From the Sacred Heart of Jesus comes the blood and water to wash away our sins in his divine mercy. Historical meaning of blood carried the life of animals and soul of humans. Science reveals the heart pumps the blood which carries the impurities of the body to be cleansed by the organs which in Jesus is a sign of our sins being washed away. Our riches rest in Jesus’ poverty, in the sacrifice of the Mass, and in the personal relationship for we are called by name. Jesus is calling, the Blessed Mother gave her fiat, let us be a child today in the touch from Jesus and say yes Lord I believe. Live with the end in mind with undying justice, heaven is waiting.

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Storytime

Stay Awake!!

Posted on September 11, 2017September 9, 2017 by Deacon Joe

Stay Awake! This is the alarm of our time. Life has a way of seducing us into the world concerned with itself and able to see beyond. I recall our travels to the Holy Land and entering the Garden of Gethsemane. It was quiet time for reflection. I grabbed a chair and sat to pray. Soon my eyes got heavy and I started to doze off. Like the disciples who Jesus admonished, “can’t you stay awake” one hour with me? My spirit was willing but my flesh was weak.

To be awake is not about sleep but our readiness to respond. People are already comparing the response in Texas to hurricane Harvey with the response to hurricane Katrina. Katrina had two disasters, the hurricane was the first but the lack of readiness to respond was the second. Texas has had equal if not greater devastation than Katrina but the response has been tremendous so far. We cannot control nature but we can prepare even for the unimaginable. We must pray not only for the lives lost and those who must begin the long journey of recovery, but also for those first responders many who are volunteers prepared to respond who have kept their candle burning to give the light of hope.

The gospel of Mathew on the ten Virgins (Mt 25:1-13) is often used for Quincianeras (15^th birthday celebration). An analogy can be made of this gospel in our readiness to respond. First there are 10 virgins and ten is a sign of totality. The Lord wants all to be saved and we are all created for Him. Only five are ready for the bridegroom five were foolish. To be asleep is to be unprepared. Jesus calls us to be the light of the world, to reflect his image that he may recognize in us his love. Our lamp is our soul that shines with the love of joy, peace, kindness, generosity, and many other graces. The bridegroom is Jesus, the way the truth, and the life we all seek. If the lamp is our soul then what is the oil? Oil is a source of fuel for cooking, it nourishes the body. Oil is also used in church for anointing, a visible sign of salvation. The oil in our lamps needed to give light is our good works. The foolish virgin had no oil of good works to offer Jesus as a visible sign of their faith, hope, and love. The wise virgins were prepared their good works were a light for Jesus to recognize. We have ten Commandments not to pick the five we want to obey but all of them reflect good works. The New Testament in James 2:26 says, “just as the body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.” Thus the law, faith and works all go together. “What good is it my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well’ but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it? So also faith of itself, if it does not have works is dead.” (Jam. 2:14-17)

In one week a healthy man who had given years of volunteer work at a hospital went home and choked on something and died. He was always ready to help and give of himself He was recognized for his works of charity, God recognized his faith. Then in the same week a woman in her 60s in the hospital is being taken off life support. Then there is a request for a memorial service for a 94 year old who passed away. It begs to ask the question we all need to ask. “Am I ready?” Death does not make appointments. Someone made the comment, “If you are not ready to die, then you have not been ready to live.” We are to live each day as if it is our first, our last, our only day to offer up to God.

Recently this all became very real to me personally. With the recent eclipse I began having severe headaches for two days the on the third day I was having lunch with my wife and a friend. I began to choke could not breath and my face started to change color (they tell me). Our friend started to do the Heimlich maneuver on me. Each of those experiences begged the question, “Am I ready?” Death is like a thief at night. It is a reminder to be the best that God created us to be. To live each day with passion as if it is the first, the last, the only day we have. That day may be this day and we want to be ready to be an offering of ourselves. Some things we cannot control but what we can we are to work to be perfect as God calls us to be and they will know that he is with us and we are in Him.

Little Jacinto, Saint Jacinto now was asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” He said “I want to die and go to heaven.” We can say he was born ready, but the Blessed Mother said he had to do many rosaries. Let us pray for readiness each moment of life.

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