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Homily

13th Sunday Ordinary Time – The Lord speaks!

Posted on by Deacon Joe

1Kgs. 19:16b, 19-21; Ps. 16:1-2, 5, 7-11; Gal. 5:1, 13-18; Lk. 9:51-62

The Lord speaks!  The Lords speaks the words “Follow me” to each of us this day.  Elisha is anointed by Elijah and immediately Elisha recognizes the call by Elijah to follow him “as his attendant” his understudy “as a prophet to succeed you (Elijah)”.  In the same way in today’s gospel, the Lord Jesus speaks calling some to follow him but like Elisha they desire to attend to their personal and family needs before accepting the call.  Jesus words are definitive “let the dead bury their dead” and “no one who…looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God.”   The Lord speaks clearly to be his follower is a call to sacrifice for the greater kingdom. 

We are all called to the kingdom of God, but some receive a higher calling, to leave everything behind and “go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”  The church has discerned that the Lord speaks of this calling as special grace given to the priesthood and religious life. They leave behind not only the family of birth but the hope of marriage and personal family for the kingdom of God.  Perhaps this is why we dare not ask the Lord “Speak, Lord your servant is listening”.  The Lord speaks of a complete surrender to him something we fear and would respond to with the same desire to say “yes, but…let me take care of what is in my heart first”.  When the Lord speaks it is for us to place him in our hearts before all else. 

We too are baptized priest, prophet and king called to leave behind a life of sin in a world that seeks its own kingdom. We are called to sacrifice in union with the heart of Jesus.  This month is celebrated the Sacred Heart of Jesus with the church recognizing in June the Friday after the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, (last Sunday) as the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.  The heart is a symbol of love and the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus surrounded by the crown of thorns reminds us of his passion and death “for the ungodly” as proof of his love for us.  Even now as baptized and reconciled to him he gives us his promises to join our hearts of flesh with his most sacred heart when we come to him.  So, what do we fear? 

We fear surrender of our will, we fear what the Lord may ask of us, we fear the unknown.  We hold onto what we know and our desire for control and our illusion to live this life for ourselves as the center of our universe.  We don’t know how to detach, to let go and let God. To surrender to God is to gain everything while to hold on is to lose even ourselves for we are dust and to dust we shall return but to those united to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is to gain what is eternal. 

We pray prayers, we pray what is in our mind, but do we call out to God to say “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening”?  Are we listening?  Jesus is not speaking in the wind, he is not speaking in the fire, or the constant noise around us.  He said he would put his law of love in our hearts.  We have to search our hearts before we hear his voice and “the words of everlasting life”.  An examination of our heart brings us to Jesus and his Sacred Heart, to the truth of the gospel, and to where we are to go and follow him.  Dare we go there?  The real question to ask is “dare we not go there?”  Eternity depends on it. 

The Lord speaks of being called for “freedom”, a freedom from the flesh, a freedom from being focused on oneself, a freedom to “love your neighbor as yourself”.  The flesh is driven by the senses “what feels good” as the pleasure principle that no matter how much we try to satisfy the senses there remains a hunger for more.   The focus on self is driven by the mind to build oneself up, to be first among others, to create an image of false pride as if we did it “our way” and God was simply a spectator.  How foolish!   For the Christians, God is always active in our lives.  The freedom to love your neighbor as yourself is driven by the will that we may be one in union with God called to be one in the Trinity, in the communion of saints and in this world with your “neighbor”. 

The senses of the flesh are for us to taste, see, touch, hear and smell the goodness of the Lord in his creation.  They lift our spirit up to God.  Taken wrongly they become the purpose and not the means to a greater good.  We have all heard the expression of someone who “lives to eat” rather than “eat to live”.  This is indicative of misguided passions.  The mind is our connection to the truth of God set free to discern his presence in our life as a listening servant to do his will.  The mind can fool itself into thinking what it believes is the only truth that matters to claim for itself.  The freedom to love the other as yourself is an act of the will to do God’s will even when the other is unwilling to love.  It is the freedom to love that can protect us from sin and by not doing to others what we would not want for ourselves. 

Do we welcome Jesus into our heart and into our home?  Imagine Jesus walking into our home what he would see, feel, say and receive.  Would he see his peace and unity given to us as his followers or would he see individual battles being fought to gain control?  Would he feel the love of his sacred heart pouring out for the good of each other or would he feel the hurt, bitterness, anger of being offended by the insensitivity of others?  Would he say I recognize my own and my own recognize me or would he say “I do not know you” and would we even recognize him?  And what would he receive from us, our love, a place of rest to lay his head, a place at the table to break bread as a family or our complaints?  Consider and let us ask ourselves are we more prone to rejoice in what others do and celebrate life or to complain for what we want them to do? 

This week marks a major victory for the defense of life for the unborn child against the claim of individual rights to choose and privacy as a “constitutional right”.  There are limits to our freedom and privacy in many of the laws for a better society.  The right to choose and privacy does not exist when an adult commits the crime of child abuse and molestation within the privacy of their home.    The state recognizes the need for defense of the most vulnerable in our society.  That defense is now possible to extend to the unborn child in the womb.  While the battle will continue, we now recognize in science what was not known before in terms of the potential for viability and humanity of the unborn.  It is a child with the full potential to live in this world as a gift of life from God.  The Lord speaks for the unborn as his sacred heart calls out “let the children come to me and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” (Lk. 18:16)

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Homily

2nd Sunday of Lent

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Genesis 12:1-4a; Ps. 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22; 2 Tim. 1:8b-10; Mat. 17:1-9

Am I a believer?  Then “Rise, and do not be afraid.”  Abram was not afraid to leave behind a life he had created for himself and his family to go to the promise land of “a great nation”.  Jesus “touched them” that is Peter, James, and John calling them to rise and not be afraid of the voice of God calling them to recognize “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”  St. Paul in his letter to Timothy is calling him to “Bear your share of hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God.”  There is a plan for us “according to his own design…before time began”.  Are we a believer? 

The believer is in search of their destiny in the plan of God.  The transfiguration in today’s gospel is the metamorphoses in Christ Jesus “who destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light”.  It is a revelation of the light of Christ and we are to “listen to him”.  Jesus is the voice of God and is God who we prostrate our hearts to.  A believer listens to the voice of God in the gospel unafraid to follow in abandonment of self.  This is our Lenten journey to fear less the call for abandonment of self, “listen to him”, and believe in the gospel.  The believer will climb of mountain of faith, become transformed into the light of courage and be guided into the plan of God destined for his glory. 

Abram, Peter, James, John and Paul all heard the voice of God and their transformation was instant, complete, and unafraid.  This is the power of our baptism, the power of the Holy Spirit and the power of the Word made flesh when we come to receive as a believer.  Here also lies the fault when our will to believe is weakened by our will to follow our own ways.  If only we would stop and “listen to him”, “seek and you shall find” what is God asking of us in the moment we face.  There is a local expression made famous by President Ronald Reagan who said “trust but verify”.  We are to trust ourselves with the gift of the Holy Spirit and the graces poured out for us to believe and go forth but we are to also take time to listen for the voice of God and verify we are following the will of God.  This is the covenant to walk in unity with God in three persons and with “our neighbor”. 

This unity is a unity with the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  We see this unity in the Sacred Heart of Mary crowned as Queen of Heaven.  We see this unity in the heart of the saints whose sacrifice was in unity with the will of God.  We see this unity in our church when we gather together to offer our sacrifice of the Mass with penance, praise, and worship.  We also see this unity when we gather to pray as a family in our home uniting our hearts to be one with God, one in understanding, hope, and love.  This is the fruit of the believer.  There is no longer two, three or more but of one heart, voice, and mind.  I am a believer. 

The plan of God is perfect.  In the transfiguration is Moses a sign of the Law of God, Elijah a sign of the Word of God in the prophets, and Jesus the fulfillment of both.  Lent is our call to follow the law of God given in the word of God and perfected in the son of God as priest, prophet, and king to become flesh in our being, that is of one body, soul, and divinity with Jesus.  This is receiving communion as we come to the Eucharist to receive Christ himself and be transformed as bone of our bones and flesh of our flesh, one in the Trinity of God with all the angels and saints. 

A prayer for the believer in the Great “I AM”:

God is good and deserving of all my love; thus, “I Am” good made in his image

“I Am” perfect as called to be, in the perfection of this moment.

“I Am” master all that has been given to me; much have I received

“I Am” of perseverance in good times and in bad; in the joys and sorrows of life, God is present

“I Am” of prayer for God’s mercy, seek his love, trust in this divine providence

“I Am” a believer, “I Am” of prayer, “I Am” of trust, and “I Am” called to go forth. 

“I Am” in the one body, soul, and divinity

The Great “I AM” 

Am I a believer?  I am to “Rise, and do not be afraid.”  I am to “Listen to him” and fear not to go to the promise land destined for the believer.

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Homily

22nd Sunday Ordinary Time Christian Perfection

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Sir. 3: 17, 18, 20, 28-29; Ps. 68: 4-7, 10-11; Heb. 12: 18-19, 22-24a; Lk 14: 1, 7-14

Inward humility manifests itself in outward charity for Christian perfection.  The Lord speaks to our sense of justice and our call to Christian perfection in two statements.  First is “God in your goodness, you have made a home for the poor” and then he says “Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you”.  First, we recognize God is good and in his “goodness” he cares for the “poor” and we all share in being among the poor.  Second in our poverty of humanity we are to demonstrate our humility by charity to the poor that is among ourselves for Christian perfection.  When we do good we feel good because the goodness of Christ lives in us. 

God’s home for the poor is the tabernacle in the sacred heart of Jesus.  He is “the mediator of a new covenant” we receive in the Eucharist, “the sprinkled blood that speaks more eloquently” to live is us that we may be at home in our being in Christ.  The poor is not a class system of disparities between the “haves and have nots”.  We all share a poverty we bring to Christ as an offering and let his will be done.

The word of God was often spoken in parables to be understood by the spirit of God at various levels of understanding for “The mind of a sage appreciates proverbs”.  There are for example the poor who suffer economic stress having to choose between buying food or buying their medications.  There are the poor of health suffering from chronic illness, trauma, or genetic conditions.  There are the poor in spirit who suffer from anxiety, depression, obsessions, and/or abandonment.  There are also the poor in grace who suffer from separation from God crippled by sin, blind from God’s presence. 

The Lord’s response to all the poor is, “you have approached Mount Zion and the city of the living God…and God the judge of all, and the spirits of the just made perfect, and Jesus the mediator of a new covenant…”.  In our poverty spiritual and corporal, we come to Jesus the just judge to be transformed into the “just made perfect”.  How are we made perfect given our own weakness, sinfulness, poverty and brokenness?  When we do good, we feel good because the goodness of Christ lives in us to be made perfect in Christ.  Christ says, “My child, conduct your affairs with humility, and you will be loved more…the greater you are, and you will find favor with God.”  When we recognize our own poverty before God, we give life to our spirit of humility and our actions are transformed into charity for a greater good. 

Our call is to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect and it begins in humility and leads to charity.  Jesus says, “Learn from me, for I a meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for your souls” (Mt. 11:29)  For this perfection we cultivate a temperance among all virtues, love without selfishness is not about what’s in it for me; obedience without servility is about what is good for both not one over the other; patience without weakness is standing firm in our faith, firmness without pride is honesty, courage without recklessness is prudence, and authority without haughtiness is justice with a heart of love. 

Finally, I want to do a “shout out” for the souls in purgatory with the reminder that “alms atone for sins.”  The souls in purgatory suffering in the “flames of fire” hunger for atonement of their sins.  They thirst for water that quenches their suffering and our prayers, Masses, offerings of charity in remembrance of them is water that quenches.  I just finished the book titled Hungry Souls on the apparitions of the souls in purgatory to many people.  What all these souls have in common is they seek some form of atonement by the person they appear to while in purgatory to shorten their suffering and time in purgatory on their path to heaven.  This is perfect charity to make atonement for the souls in purgatory “because of their inability to repay you.  For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” 

I say again, “When we do good we feel good because the goodness of Christ lives in us.”  We just may be shortening our time in purgatory in atonement of our own sins in perfect charity.  We are all called to be saints and heaven is waiting to receive saints.  Purgatory is waiting to purify the souls who died short of Christ’s perfect call.  Let us pray to receive the grace to follow the call to perfection while there is time. 

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The Deacon Joe

Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Hos 11:1, 3-4, 8c-9; Eph. 3:8-12, 14-19; Jn. 19:31-37
“An eye witness has testified, and his testimony is true…so that you also may come to believe”. The eye witness standing at the side of Jesus was “his mother and the disciple there whom he loved” John. Believe what? Believe in death, no that we already accept. Believe in him who died for us that we may have life everlasting. Believe in the love of his sacred heart joined to our Blessed Mother’s Immaculate Heart. The mystery of love is not one heart but one body in Christ who suffered and died united to the hearts of many. Israel is a child and a nation he has “called my son”. God stooped to feed a nation of Israel and Jesus stoops to feed his people in the Eucharist. 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.

Christ brings to “light for all what is the plan of the mystery…so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church…according to the eternal purpose. “As Eve was formed from the sleeping Adam’s side, so the church was born from the pierced heart of Christ hanging dead on the cross” (CCC 766). The eternal purpose is salvation through Jesus Christ. The Eucharist is his coming through the church for our times. The church is the living organism in the Mystical body of Christ. The body is made up of millions of cells that organizes into a living organism with a soul for a divine purpose. The baptized are a cell in the body of Christ through the Holy Spirit born into a spiritual organism with Christ as the invisible head and the Vicar of Christ, our Holy Father who direct the church on earth.

In our times we have many who call themselves Christians but who do not see a need for church. They identify themselves as having a personal relationship with God, many pray, some may offer penance, others just call on God in time of need. Why go to church? Can a branch separated from the vine survive if not united to the source of life? When the test of faith comes as it is destined to happen, will the branch wither and die from lack of grace to persevere in trial? It is in the unity of the body, the church suffering, the church militant, and the church triumphant together we receive the springs of salvation.

In contrast those who “draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation” receive “the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner self…” In the inner self we encounter Christ in the Eucharist, his most Sacred Heart “that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones” the love of Christ which surpasses all knowledge. The heart of Jesus is humble, overwhelmed with love and stirred with pity for the lost, the broken, the sorrowful, the sinful, for you and me. His mercy endures forever. The heart of Jesus raises the heart of the humble as an “infant to his cheeks” for the kiss of life.

The Immaculate Heart of Mary remains next to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  Her heart is pierced and she weeps for her children.  The love of a Father who offered up his Son for our salvation is comforted by the love of a mother who carried him in the womb, kissed his cheeks, presented him at the temple and stood by him at the cross.  Love unconditional is perfect love and we are created in his image to receive that love and to go forth and love one another.

 

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