16th Sunday Ordinary Time – “The Lord our justice”

Posted on July 19, 2024July 20, 2024 by Deacon Joe

Jer. 23:1-6; Ps. 23:1-6; Eph. 2:13-18; Mk. 6:30-34

“The Lord our justice”. The Lord’s justice is not based on a conditional agreement but on a covenant of love. It is the giving of oneself for the other as the Lord sacrificed himself for our mercy. We are called to give ourselves to God in love. Works are the fruit of love not the conditional measuring stick of salvation. Our justice is the Lord, his sacrifice, his love, and his mercy. He shepherds his own out of this love. Where there is love then justice and peace meet.

The Lord our justice comes to us in Jesus Christ, “a righteous shoot of David”. He is a shepherd to guide our paths in the dark valley of a sinful world. He is not only at our side but he resides within to govern our soul with gentle love and holy inspiration. The Lord’s generosity is boundless and yet we are the ones who set boundaries and limit his generosity. How foolish our humanity that prides itself more on its limitedness that on God’s boundless love. Through the cross there is an ocean of mercy and yet how few come to receive it in the sacrament of confession. We are so near to him and yet stop short of receiving his boundless love.

In his flesh on the cross he abolished the “law” based on the external compliance of hundreds of rules that burdened the people of Israel. He created the “law” of love of the heart that becomes evident by the visible signs of the invisible grace of God that lies within. Where there is love there is active participation in that love. Where there is love there is sacrifice, giving of oneself for those we love. Where there is love there is the Lord our justice who bring us his peace.

The Lord Jesus came to bring his peace to the “near” and “far” meaning to the people of Israel and to the Gentiles bringing both together as a shepherd to all. No one is denied “access in one spirit to the Father”. No one that is except the one who denies it to himself by denying God. It would be tempting to claim that as a believer we do not deny our God but then when put to the test are we really surrendering to him our mind, heart and will and responding to our encounters of life putting God first? The spirit is wanting but the soul is weak, holding on to its control when it is being called to let go and let God.

The Lord knows us better than we know ourselves. His voice speaks to our hearts when we follow him in his Word, in his sacraments, and through his apostles in the Church. He is our high priest who left us the priesthood to continue his apostolic mission to the world. We are not alone and we were not meant to be alone in this world. To isolate our faith to our own will is to deprive ourselves of the riches that come from the graces of coming together as one body in Christ. It is in the unity of the body of his people that he breaks himself into bread in the Mass to become the bread of life. The eucharist is the highest form of unity to God in the Trinity.

People who believe they can isolate their faith solely between them and God are not only limiting themselves from the communion of faith but from God himself who comes to us through all of creation. It is not God’s way to create silos of faith as the way to come to him. This is our attempt to make God conform to our will not his. Silos of faith are no more than making of ourselves our own God with our own individual theology, and our own standards of practice. This is the deception of the evil one who conquers through division.

The Lord our justice has given us the blueprint for a strong foundation. It is the foundation of love, sacrificial love, unconditional love, the mercy of love poured out of the heart of Jesus. Justice is the Lord’s and we are the more blessed by it.

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Homily

Third Sunday of Advent – My soul rejoices!

Posted on December 16, 2023December 15, 2023 by Deacon Joe

Is. 61:1-2A, 10-11; Ps. Lk1:46-50, 53-54; 1 Thes. 5:16-24; Jn. 1:6-8, 19-28

“My soul rejoices in my God…because the spirit of the Lord is upon me”. Today we rejoice because despite the sinfulness of our humanity his mercy has covered us “with a robe of salvation” through the waters of baptism. In baptism we are given a divine purpose to know ourselves by, to live our divine image, and to be called sons and daughters of our God.

“Who are you?” is the question posed to John the Baptist. His response was first to be sure to clarify that he was not the Christ adding, “whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie”. He then identifies himself with scripture from Isaiah as “the voice crying out in the desert.” When we enter the waters of baptism, we become a new creation with a divine purpose coming God. How would we answer the question “who are you?” In our human understanding we likely would answer the question by our birth name and some may even identify themselves as the son or daughter of our parent’s name.

The Pharisees were seeking a name, a divine name from John. John gave them a purpose for his being. When we discover our purpose our path in life become clear in our call to serve God. God provides the power to serve through the channel of his grace. When we look to our blessed Mother Mary, she is often identified by many titles in the many ways she serves God. The same is said of St. Joseph in the litany to St. Joseph. Consider for a moment what stands out in our life in the many ways we serve our Lord. What litany can be said of us?

The other way to look at this is to ask ourselves “where does our passion lie and what does our soul rejoice in?” If our passion and soul rejoice only in what serves our interests and needs then we remain apart from God, we “quench the Spirit” and God is still waiting for us return to him. This is the struggle of the flesh and our own spirit. The spirit is to discipline the flesh. This is the primary test we face that we may be ready for what the world will bring us without fear.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon us and we give witness to our faith by our acts of service bringing God’s love, mercy, and justice. Our life becomes adorned with the light of Christ and my soul rejoices. We rejoice in the Lord’s coming even while we may endure hardship, suffering, pain, or persecution. There is one among us who the world does not recognize but we recognize as Christ. He has come into the world and continues to come to the souls who know how to cry out to him. Christ is our battle cry who goes before us, with us, behind us, above us and lifts us up to the heavens.

Amen.

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Homily The Deacon Joe

24th Sunday Ordinary Time – God be merciful!

Posted on September 11, 2022September 11, 2022 by Deacon Joe

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[JG1]

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Homily The Deacon Joe

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

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Posted on October 26, 2019October 25, 2019 by Deacon Joe

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

“The Lord hears the cry of the poor”. We are justified by God’s mercy. The one who exalted himself in his own righteousness denies their sinfulness and thus by doing so denies God. God is truth and the tax collector recognized God’s truth as he “beat his breast and prayed ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.”

We live in dark times where the denial of absolute truth is common practice. One way to justify “our truth” is by faith in our conscience thinking. If our conscience says, “I see no harm (fill in the blank) with abortion, euthanasia, same sex marriage, unlimited gender identity, etc. because my conscience sees no harm after all who can deny a person’s individual rights?” Our conscience has determined our individual rights are ours alone, total entitlement without responsibility to “other”. God is other and we cannot say we belong to God without being responsible and accountable to the God who set limits on our rights and calls us to obedience.

Genesis 1:27 says, “So God created human beings in his own image…male and female he created them.” Today some want to identify as “they” with the freedom to change their identity tomorrow if their conscience determines this is who they “feel they are” and societal norms must approve their truth. Conscience is not a feeling. Conscience is an informed thought process supported by natural law, the gifts of the Holy Spirit and by God himself in the Word made flesh. It requires faith, reason and trust to achieve truth.

In the gospel today, the tax collector turns to God for mercy and trusted in him. The Pharisee trusted in himself, his conscience to be self-justified and in his pride “will be humbled”. In the 2^nd Letter to Timothy, Paul makes a bold statement based on both his humanity meaning his conscience and through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit when he says, “From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me; which the Lord, the just judge will award to me on that day…”. How is Paul so bold as to make this claim and sound like the Pharisee? The difference is the Pharisee is a minimalist doing what on the outside appears compliant to the law to be self-justified. Paul is a “libation” for Christ meaning he has made of himself an offering totally living for the glory of God.

If we ask ourselves where am I on the spectrum between the Pharisee on one end of minimalism and Paul on the other end as a “libation” in our daily worship, sacrifice, obedience, and love of God? In our honest conscience appraisal, we find ourselves somewhere between the two. Confirmation is a sacrament to propel us forward as warriors for Christ, to compete well and run the race of faith to the end being the best God created us to be not the least. Paul’s “departure is at hand” his days are numbered and his is looking back now and in faith proclaims God “will bring me safe to his heavenly kingdom.” Most of us look forward to a long life not so much back at our race or how well we have competed in our faith. If we did, we might be headed to confession beating our breast in prayer, “O God, be merciful to me a sinner.”

The Lord “knows no favorites…not unduly partial toward the weak yet he hears the cry of the oppressed.” As we look around at the world scene there are many oppressed who suffer in ways some have never experienced in this country from war, terrorism, extreme hunger, disease and genocide. Still even here we have the poor, homeless, unemployed, widow, orphan, and the sick. The Lord hears the cry of the “one who serves God willingly…his petitions reaches to heavens.” Not all the suffering serves God willingly. It is the prayer of the humbled who is exalted with no sense of entitlement. In the heart there is no claim “I deserve better”. It is the “prayer of the lowly…it does not rest till it reaches its goal…judges justly and affirms the right, and the Lord will not delay.”

Paul lived an informed conscience by the Holy Spirit. Looking back the race was finished and the hour had come to receive the crown of righteousness from the just judge. What will be our prayer at the last hour if we are blessed to recognize our hour has come? What is the perfect prayer Jesus gives us? The first thought might be the Lord’s Prayer he gave the disciples. Others may simply say all of Jesus prayers are perfect prayers. One prayer however stands out as Jesus recognizes his hour had come. It is called the “high priestly prayer” or “The Prayer of Jesus” in John 17:1-26. Paul’s prayer mirrors this high priestly prayer as a libation of surrender to God.

Reflect on just a few of these words from the heart of Jesus in this priestly prayer, “When Jesus had said this, he raised his eyes to heaven and said, ‘Father, the hour has come. Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you…I glorified you on earth by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do. Now glorify me, Father, with you,…I have revealed your name to those who you gave me…Now they know that everything you gave me is from you…I pray for them…because they are yours and everything of mine is yours…But now I am coming to you…I pray…so that they may all be one, as you Father, are in me and I in you.” Could this be our prayer?

Today we receive the word and the body and blood of Jesus to be incarnated in us. In this we run our race to the end and persevere as an offering of ourselves not just in all we do but in who we are. It will rescue us “from the lion’s mouth”. Claim our crown in righteousness of love poured out for God.

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Homily The Deacon Joe

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Posted on September 14, 2019September 13, 2019 by Deacon Joe

Ex.32:7-11, 13-14; Ps. 51:3-4, 12-13, 17, 19; 1 Tim. 1:12-17; Lk. 15:1-32

Come to Jesus! The Lord “will make of you a great nation” of saints for Christ apart from those who “have become depraved…”. Has God prodigally given his love on his people…see how stiff-necked this people is”. Depravity is the moral corruption of the soul that does not reflect the light of truth but the darkness of sin. Apart from Jesus and the Blessed Mother immaculate without sin the rest of humanity has passed through the darkness and fall of Adam. “Sinners who were not under the law will also perish outside of the law; sinners subject to the law will be judged in accordance with it…All have sinned and are deprived of God’s glory” (Rom. 2:12, 3:23). This we refer to in social sciences as the baseline of the human condition. There is a chant that says, “we fall down…we get up…we fall down…we get up”. The history of salvation is the fall and rise of nations of God. It begins with the fall of Adam and Eve meaning we pass through our own personal falls into sin and rise in mercy.

I recall the story of a confessor telling the penitent, “as soon as you walk out of the confessional you will sin”. Thank God, the Church and the Holy Spirit are given to us to recognize all sin is not equal between mortal sin and venial sin. God is a just judge who sees the mind, will, and heart that govern the intent of the soul and offers us mercy. “I will rise and go to my father…Have mercy on me O God; my sacrifice O God is a contrite spirit”. A contrite spirit often comes after the fall from pride and a return to humility. A contrite spirit recognizes our sinfulness, weakness, and in humility calls out to God the Father for mercy. The God of mercy “relents in the punishment” our sin merits and a contrite heart responds with “I am grateful to him who has strengthened me” as Paul says in the letter to Timothy.

The Lord not only forgives he strengthens us and transforms the sinner into a saint. Paul gives testimony of his transformation from a “blasphemer…persecutor and arrogant…acted out of ignorance” in his unbelief. Paul uses himself as an example of the love of Christ Jesus and his “patience as an example for those who would come to believe in him for everlasting life”. Christ is patient, kind, slow to anger and he is ready to moment we turn to him to receive us. It is a tragedy when someone says they cannot come to Christ for forgiveness because they have not forgiven themselves. It is a trap of the evil one to keep a soul in bondage for the depravity of their sin. Come to Jesus!

The Gospel is a reflection of three parables, the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. The focus is not the sense of loss but on “Rejoice”. “Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep…Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost…rejoice because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found”. Who found the brother, did he not come “to his senses” and return on his own? Jesus never stops seeking us in his patience, kindness and mercy. It is up to us to repent, receive sanctifying grace and return to the nation of saints. It is not a nation of race, territory, or geopolitical ideology. Those barriers foster moral depravity when they become “a molten calf and worshiping it”. This we see in our world when violence is justified as a means to an end, when dialogue is silenced with threats, and the Word of truth becomes relative. What do we do then? Come to Jesus!

The word “prodigal” has two concepts. One is a person who spends money recklessly as in the son who squanders his inheritance. He suffers the fall from pride to humility and is left with a “reality check” to return to the father. The second concept of prodigal is a person overly generous and giving an abundance. The father in the story is overly generous in giving what was his to one son and telling the other “everything I have is yours”. This is God the Father’s love for us in abundance ready to forgive and receive us back. In birth God gives us ourselves, the gift of life with a desire we give ourselves back to him. In baptism God gives us himself generously ready to pour out an abundance of grace for our inheritance. Our fall is squandering our grace in a world of depravity. God’s generosity is mercy.

In moments of solitude and prayer I get these inspirations, I believe we all receive and I considered it “God speaks”. This one came to me in one of those moments and I will close with it.

ORIGINALE VERBUM

Once was a “word”, a friend able to carry meaning sent forth to generate life and come to rest in understanding.

A life of relationship and unity of purpose to reveal truth and true meaning was defined in the word.

The word’s flight ascended higher above and descended deeper within creating a bond between other words as soul mates on a journey of understanding.

Then the enemy comes who undefined any meaning by redefining a flight of meanings through individuation, isolation, and rationalization in a complexity of contextual uses ever changing.

The intent of the enemy is an essence of purposeless subject and purposeful objects for power to be gained in one instant and discarded the next for a new intent ever fleeting.

The “new” word wills to cannibalize Sophia into prostitution; with image distorting mirrors of vanity for the kingdom of One…hell.

The original Word filled with grace and beauty allowed Sophia to unite faith and reason to ascend to heaven.

The “new” word is weaponized with self-defined technical innuendos to distort meaning in flight through reflective colored lenses for a disordered reality. The enemy hears himself alone while others are silenced.

Our hope is in the hollowed Word made flesh and not the flesh filled words that seek to disarm truth.

The original Word descends and breaks into consciousness the lost meaning. The word revealed in its’ full splendor is the original Word incarnate.

Come to Jesus in prayer, come to Jesus in song, come to Jesus in the Eucharist and receive the abundance of his love.

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Homily

Ash Wednesday

Posted on March 6, 2019March 6, 2019 by Deacon Joe

Jl. 2: 12-18; Ps. 51: 3-6ab, 14, 17; 2 Cor. 5:20-6:2; Mt 6: 1-6, 16-18

“In an acceptable time I heard you, and on the day of salvation I helped you.” This is the acceptable time for a soul to face the sin of their life. If we deny our sin we reject God’s mercy. If we say we have no sin what need is there for mercy from the cross. Jesus died for sinners. Denying sin is another fall from grace into the trap of the evil one.

The evil one wants us to believe in the relative truth of each person. The lie of the evil one is what is “right and just” is self-defined. If each person identifies their truth then there is no sin, no need for forgiveness and no redemption from God. We must recall sin is the disobedience of God’s law and this includes the commandments and natural law of his creation. We recognize a supreme authority as creator and our dependence as creation to follow for the greater good in the law of God’s love.

Sin comes from our separation from God seeking our self-centric desires. It is based on our awareness of wrong-doing, our consent and disregard of God’s law. This is the age of mercy and the day of salvation. What action can we take as a sign of our return to Him? Often Lent represents a denial of self, in other words “what are you giving up this Lent?” Consider what is the “act” that fosters sin in our life? Often it is the act of indulgence from a lack of moderation of the human passion and desires. Other times the act itself is sinful by denying God, committing murder, adultery, stealing or other acts against humanity.

The first step to reconciliation is to target the “act” that separates us from the love of God. This “act” is a step in purging ourselves that leads to purification of spirit and soul. It is a first step in awakening us to our mortality, dying to self. Fasting is limiting our self in our intake while abstinence is the spirit of “giving up something”. We are asked to abstain from meat (and meat products) on Ash Wednesday and Fridays of Lent including Good Friday. This is our “penitential” sacrifice. In this act we acknowledge our weakness and need for God who is the bread of life.

There is a second step and it is what fosters God’s grace. The Gospel reminds us to give alms, meaning serve the poor in their needs with acts of charity. It calls us to a deeper prayer life spending time with God alone. These two are acts fulfill the commandments of love of God and neighbor. In this we serve the call to build God’s kingdom.

By our baptism we are children of the law and receive our calling. It can be neglected without the discipline to integrate our daily routine as a gift to God for his greater glory. All that we are and all that we have is a blessing from God. Let us offer it up this Lent to God with simple acts of awareness in our day and witness the miracle of multiplication of graces that come by it. Feast on God, “He who comes to me will never be hungry; he who believes in me will never thirst” (Jn. 6:35)

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Homily

Seventh Sunday Ordinary Time

Posted on February 23, 2019February 21, 2019 by Deacon Joe

1 Sm 26: 2, 7-9, 12-13, 22-23; Ps. 103: 1-4, 8,10, 12-13; 1 Cor. 15: 45-49; Lk. 6: 27-38

“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful”. Mercy is love and love is God. “We have borne the image of the earthly one (first man, Adam, became a living being) we shall also bear the image of the heavenly one”. The image of the heavenly one is borne in the earthly life by the fruits of their love. The first man was tempted into taking the fruit to be like God and received mercy and judgment in the same act of fallen nature. Mercy and love from the “last Adam” Jesus Christ redeems us with the image of the “life giving spirit”. The fall of the first Adam came from disobedience. The second call for obedience is for mercy. “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful”.

“God has delivered your enemy into your grasp this day” David was told. It was the moment of decision for David. Saul had been tracking him down with the intent of killing David. David was filled with the life giving spirit to proclaim, “Do not harm him, for who can lay hands on the Lord’s anointed and remain unpunished?” Had David chosen to kill Saul at the moment he had the opportunity it is possible the other soldiers would have woken and obtained revenge. The “deep slumber” the soldiers were in as “a good measure” of a gift in return for the mercy of David. David’s mercy leads to Saul’s conversion of heart and a new brotherhood. David’s mercy brings about the future overflowing gifts inheriting the earthly kingdom of God.

We ask ourselves do we have that trust in God to love our enemies and do good to those who hate us or even bless those who curse us? Perhaps we may pray for those who mistreat us but how far does our mercy extend? We live in times where the vitriol in the public square calls for “hate” and “death”. It is hate to those who stand for values that are in opposition of one societal group over another. It calls for death of any ideology that is not in line with the secular views intent to leave God out of the public square. As Christians we are not outside the public square, we are members who participate and contribute to its growth. Christianity is lived in the public square.

Those who reject us find fault in Christianity for taking a stand on moral principles, values and God’s commandments. The charge is we are not inclusive, not tolerant, and not open to alternative views or life-styles. Ultimately, we are condemned as hypocrites for not “loving”. It is not enough to love the sinner if we cannot accept the sin. Who are we to judge is the claim? The image of Christ brought condemnation to the sin not the sinner. The image of Christ brought the call to conversion for the sinner not tolerance for the sin. The image of Christ brought the call to a unity of truth not inclusiveness to a diversity of truth. In the end we believe in one Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.

In times of hate, death, cursing and the festering of evil it can tempt a good soul to fall once again into “an eye for an eye” judgment. If this remains the standard then “For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you” and we bring judgment upon ourselves. This is the last attempt of the evil one to grab souls for itself before to final coming of Christ, the Parousia. Our Father is merciful, may this be our prayer, “Lord in your mercy give me the grace to be merciful”.

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Homily

Friday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time

Posted on May 25, 2018May 26, 2018 by Deacon Joe

1 Jas. 5: 9-12; Mk. 10: 1-12

The readings and responsorial for this day link three themes: perseverance, mercy, and truth in marriage. “Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No”. It reminds me of another common saying “say what you mean and mean what you say”. The God of truth isn’t interested in excuses, his word is truth and he who seeks truth is consecrated to Him. The issue of marriage and divorce is a “hot” debate in the church under Pope Francis. Pope Francis has encouraged the church in mercy to review applications for annulment with greater efficiency and expediency so couples can receive the sacraments. In the last few years there is the debate of whether a divorced person remarried can receive communion. The church recognizes today’s gospel as a sign of “No”. It is an adulterous relationship.

Why do Pharisees in the gospel event ask the question? They know the laws of the temple and Jesus lets them answer their own question, it is “Yes”. They were testing Jesus in defense of all their laws to accuse him if he dared to claim otherwise. “Because of the hardness of your hearts” God allows Moses to make for special circumstances. The fact they ask the question indicates the possibility this allowance was abused, a simple way out of marriage for convenience, a sin before God. Jesus provides the perfect truth.

Recall the story in scripture of the woman who marries seven brothers and each dies on their wedding night. Whose wife will she be is asked of Jesus. His response is that in heaven there is no marriage, our joy will be God. We live in times where divorce is more common that fidelity to a marriage and perseverance to our commitment is not a virtue of value but an inconvenience. A divorce person however can still receive the sacraments. The sin is in remarriage without annulment of the first marriage. Annulment recognizes that the first marriage is invalid opening the door to remarriage in view of the circumstances.

Pope Francis in “Amoris Laetitia” opened the dialogue for remarried couples to receive communion reaffirming the Catholic teaching on the “primacy of conscience”. The CCC 1790 states “individuals are obligated to follow their conscience” but the church recognizes it must be an informed conscience by church teaching or risk falling into moral relativism. Recently in a letter to the Argentine bishops in Buenos Aires he declared his letter as “authentic magisterium” which means “official teaching” of the church. In the letter he provides “guidelines” on handling divorce and remarried Catholics. In the guidelines he asserts “that in certain circumstances, a person who is divorced and remarried and is living in an active sexual partnership might not be responsible or culpable for the mortal sin of adultery. The guidelines add that “Amoris Laetitia” opens up the possibility of access to the sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist.” The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium states the faithful are instructed to give a “religious submission of mind and will” to teachings that are authentic magisterium though the teaching may not be an infallible “declaration on faith and morals” (National Review, Tyler Arnold, 12.12.17, 5:00 p.m.) Thus the debate in need of truth and reconciliation.

Jesus says to the disciples after the resurrection “Whose sins you forgive are forgiven and whose sins you retain are retained” (Jn. 20:23). The church is given great authority for right judgement of truth but also for mercy. The Holy Father who stresses dialogue has begun a very important one in an age of high divorce rates. Why is it so high? There is no one answer. One thing I have seen in my years as a counselor is that couples don’t know their spouse. The reason is not always a lack of attention, especially in the beginning when everything is done “together”. To know the other, the other must know themselves and share who they are as a person, not just justify their behavior as “this is who I am”. Confusion and misunderstanding comes from a lack of deeper sense of awareness of who God created us to be and living it out. If we now ourselves as a child of God we grow in maturity, secure in who we are and able to be open about our inner self. The reality is we are in continuous growth and development in every stage of life and every stage has its unique challenges of life.

In conclusion I share a story of my parents. One day while visiting my mother she shared she did not know what else to do with my father. He had become so difficult to live with and her tolerance had reached a climax. Knowing some of what she was referring to understanding the circumstances of their situation, and the power to change rested in him not her. I said simply, “Mother that is your cross to bear.” She would often remind me of what I had said to her that day and it seemed that it allowed her to place it in perspective of a spiritual sacrifice she could bear finding meaning in her struggle in marriage. Our first reading reminds us of the need for perseverance, “In good times and in bad” all for the glory of God.

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Homily

Lenten Season

Posted on February 16, 2018February 16, 2018 by Deacon Joe

Is. 58: 1-9a; Mt. 9:14-15

Ash Wednesday began our Lenten journey with the words “repent and believe in the gospel” or “from dust you are and to dust you shall return”. Like John the Baptist in the desert we enter into a desert experience to “cry out full-throated and unsparingly”…REPENT!!

We are ambassadors for Christ. As ambassadors we represent Christ by living the Christian ideal. To live the Christian ideal is an encounter with Christ. Traditionally many see Lent as a time to “give up” something while we “carry out your own pursuits” says scripture “going about the day as any other day” the business of life. “A day acceptable to the Lord” asks of us to “take up” an action for justice. How do we set free the “oppressed”, begin by forgiving someone and seeking reconciliation with an act of love. Take up an act of love for the hungry, the homeless, the naked shamed by a world that offers them pity by cleaning out your closet, your pantry, or your garage and giving them to organizations that serve the hungry and the homeless like a St. Vincent de Paul center. Since the Depression in this country it seems we have not only “saved for a rainy day” but become hoarders of everything. We collect so much “stuff” that we have overflowing storage and more than one of everything we claim to “need”. There even exists a professional organizing industry to help us hold onto everything. Simple tip for this Lent is “let go and let God”, give of ourselves and what we have and trust in God.

The Christian ideal for Lent is fasting, prayer, and almsgiving. The ideal for fasting and abstinence is beyond giving up something for a time it is a form of repentance. We have our food addictions to coffee, alcohol, cokes, and sweets the most common thing we tend to give up because we consciously know we are harming ourselves with the excess of consumption. At a training I attended, I recall a college student saying she could not go long without eating Cheetos every day or she would get anxious just thinking about going to buy a bag. We can also repent from too many hours of television hooked on reality shows, sports, or news events. We can repent from becoming social media junkies or bingo and “maquinita” (game) junkies.

The ideal prayer begins with “Lord, teach me to pray.” The Church offers so many forms of prayer but how is Jesus calling us to encounter him in our prayer life. If we pray the traditional rosary in 15 minutes flat perhaps we can take time to recite a scriptural rosary meditating on each bead with a scripture verse the life of Jesus. Today there are so many prayer apps we can download and pray with during the day like the Litany of the Hours which unites us to the daily prayers of the Church. Perhaps God wants us to encounter him in scripture by praying the form of Lectio Divina allowing us to meditate on scripture. Perhaps he wants us to simply spend time with him in silence before the Blessed Sacrament in adoration, waiting and longing for the bridegroom.

The ideal of almsgiving is giving of self by “taking up” a cause for the need of others with works of mercy. In mercy we encounter Christ. At the beginning of the New Year my resolution was to seek “joy in Christ”. Since childhood, I had the habit of worrying. Habits lead to character development and being a “worrier” is bad for your health eventually it catches us to us especially as we age. I need the joy of Christ to change my character. I ask myself, “What gives God joy?” The answer is a repentant sinner with a merciful heart seeking to encounter him in God’s sons and daughters. The heavens celebrate when a sinner repents. In our youth we may fail to see our collection of venial sins thinking “I’m not that bad…I stay out of trouble.” As we age and look back at the things we said and did we begin to see ourselves with the eyes of God who opens our eyes and hearts to our true self and calls us back to his mercy.

Let the discipline of this Lent gush forth mercy from the heart of our God and savior. We can offer up as reparation for our sins acts of mercy. We can also offer our acts of mercy and discipline this Lent for the sins of others, souls in purgatory, our deceased family members, or simply for God’s divine purpose. Who is the prodigal son in our home and family who we can offer our acts of mercy for a conversion in their lives. The joy of Lent is being immersed in God’s merciful Heart.

One of my favorite stories from years ago in the 1980s while leading a youth group to Garner State Park, we were returning home and stopped in San Antonio with a van load of youth. I only had cash for gas (no credit cards then) and was down to my last $10.00. Stopping to go to the bathroom our son entered a stall and said “hey Dad, I found a penny.” Looking down from the next stall I said “hey son, I found $100”. There on the flood lay a black wallet with no identity and only a $100 bill. As we returned to join the group sitting by the Alamo we were in a crowd of people when I noticed an old man with a beard in old scrubby clothes walking directly to me. He stood in front of me and reached out his hand without saying a word. I reached for my wallet and gave him the $10.00 feeling awed by the moment. The man accepted the money and simply turned and disappeared in the crowd. God had heard my prayer and I encountered God in this man seeking alms. Have you encountered Jesus today?

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