33rd Sunday Ordinary Time – Fear of the Lord

Posted on November 19, 2023November 19, 2023 by Deacon Joe

Prov. 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31; Ps. 128:1-5; 1 Thes. 5:1-6; Mt. 25:14-30

Fear of the Lord! Blessed are those who fear the Lord. Wisdom is given to them as children of the light. Fear of the Lord comes from receiving the Lord’s revelation of his truth and responding in love of God to his will. The Lord’s truth recognizes good and evil, mercy and justice, the blessings of obedience and accounting for sin. Fear of the Lord is a reality check when we realize our own mortality and God’s divinity, there is a God and we are not him.

In today’s time the world is filled with people who are led to believe they can be their own god. They can choose what sex they want to be, what child they want to give birth to or terminate, and what day they want to end their life. These choices come when there is no fear of the Lord. They are made in freedom but they do not set you free. The bondage of these choices come from the consequence of mortal sin against the love and the law of God. The day will come when faced with the truth of God and the understanding of “what have I done” that the soul can turn to God and his mercy and seek forgiveness but we must humble ourselves before God.

Fear of the Lord is what unites a worthy wife, brings prosperity to a man, makes for children of the light and comes with greater responsibilities in the kingdom of God. A worthy wife is the heart of the home in our domestic church who labors for the good of her family. The church is the worthy spouse of God who labors for the salvation of souls. The love of a wife is a compass in the mind of a man that brings prosperity to the home and together the children grow in faith, hope, and love. Together they face life challenges and serve the greater good. This is the kingdom of God with a call to greater responsibility.

Now who wants more responsibility? This is what God is seeking out of his people, to multiply the blessings that come from the call to love and serve the Lord. When we face a challenge, we can respond with “why me?” or “why not me!” Those who say “why me” seek to bury their “talent” that is the graces and gifts of the Spirit, and avoid the call from God. Those who say “why not me” are not fearful of the world but carry the fear of the Lord and courage to say “yes Lord”.

I retired five months ago from a career of 40 years and was looking forward to the idea of “slowing down”. In the first month there were so many funerals happening that I began to call myself the “deacon of the dead”. We all like predictability and before I could say my calendar dictated my day. Now my calendar can be completely open but by the end of the day I am completely tired because saying “yes Lord” is willing to die to oneself one good deed at a time. The word “retired” implies to become tired all over again. “Hello” that is not in the human plan for getting old but then God came calling on Abraham at a very old age. He calls on the young and old alike to serve in God’s time.

God does not want part of us, he created all of us for himself. This is where the parable of the “talents” is understood by the works we are too multiple from the gifts we receive. Here the parable a “talent” is unit of money equivalent to 6,000 denarii with one denarii equivalent to a day’s wages. In today’s terms that would equal 25 years of income for just one talent. Ten talents equal 250 years of wages to create from the gifts we receive from God. None of this is possible from human effort but then nothing is impossible when there is fear of the Lord willing to answer the call. After all, it is God who works through us.

God’s wealth is eternal and his gifts for us are to be multiplied to serve eternity. One good act of service to God for his people can have eternal blessings. The blessing we serve in one life can lead that one person to be a blessing to many others many times over. It is the multiplication of the loaves that keeps feeding everyone with plenty left for future generations to come. We will never know the good one act of charity can have in the transformation of many until we reach the glorified state and all things are revealed to us.

The parable emphasizes the great value that God is entrusting to us in our life. That value does not represent the wealth of this world but the importance of God’s gifts to his people. We are blessed! A blessing is the power of God and we are to exercise the power of God in our lives. From our baptism we are given the gifts of the Spirit and the power to reject sin, to make holy, and to bring others into his kingdom. When we were born, God gives us the gift of ourselves with a free will with his desire that our lives be lived as the gift of ourselves to him. Let us live the fear of the Lord without fear in our giving of ourselves for his greater glory. Amen.

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Homily

32nd Sunday Ordinary Time – Stay awake!

Posted on November 13, 2023November 13, 2023 by Deacon Joe

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

Stay awake and keep vigil for the Lord for he comes as wisdom “seeking those worthy…and graciously appears to them” when we thirst for the Lord and for his wisdom. Who and what do we thirst for? Do we thirst for the riches of the world or the riches of the spirit? At night do we ponder how we will succeed in all our desires of life or how we will be ready to receive the Lord this night? This is what separates the foolish from the wise.

We just celebrated All Souls Day on November 2^nd and I was asked to do a prayer service at Heavenly Grace funeral home. Before starting I walked among the people and one elderly lady said to me “that as soon as she walked into the funeral home, she felt nervous, not ready”. We don’t like thinking of our mortality. We go about our life as if that day will never come. We become the foolish virgins living our life hoping that at the end we will still get into the wedding banquet of heaven.

You may recall the story of the king who knew his hour of dying was approaching and so he got on his horse and rode all night long to escape the angel of death. When he finally stopped to rest out in the wilderness the angel of death appeared to him saying “I was told to wait here for you. Why would you pick this spot to come and die?” Why do we do some of the crazy things that steal away our days and choose to live as if we can escape the consequences of our actions?

When we choose to live to eat rather than eat to live; when a celebration of life becomes an excuse to abuse alcohol; when work is no longer to support our life but our reason to live; when the bond of our children is stronger with their friends than with their parents because that is who they see more of; we become the foolish virgins of the parable asleep to the things that matter most and get us to heaven. Do we stay awake to what we were created for or have we lost our focus?

There is a lifestyle exercise done in three steps. The first step is to list everything that is important in your lifestyle. Most people will write down family, friends, faith, work, sleep, social life, etc. Step two is then to prioritize what is most important first, and on down the list. This is the difficult part to acknowledge where God or faith is in our priority. Family is generally first or second in priority. The third step however is the most revealing. Now in a 24-hour day where does our waking time go? What time do we give our Lord in prayer, contemplation, and reflection on his Word each day? We believe family is very important but is our home a central station where everyone stops to eat and sleep before going on with their life? Is leisure time an opportunity to bond with those we love or time to escape into the world of social media, television, or gaming. The reality of the foolish and the wise is soon revealed.

We read today, “taking thought of wisdom is the perfection of prudence.” Prudence is making right judgment. Right judgment comes from an informed conscience. Many may say, “I follow my conscience” but an ill-informed conscience is the wisdom of the foolish virgins. The world is full of people who follow their conscience but there is no unity in the world. Each mind desires to create their own truth and the result is chaos. True wisdom comes from above, from the light of the Spirit of truth to enlighten the soul. There is but one truth and it does not come from the mind itself but from the mind that seeks God. If we thirst for truth then we thirst for God. Stay awake to the voice of truth which is the source of all wisdom.

“My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.”, says the psalm. To thirst implies a longing, a sense of need, an awareness that only God can satisfy us. The one who thirsts seeks, remains vigilant awaiting the arrival of our God. He comes in the silence of our prayer, he comes as a word of knowledge that speaks to our heart, he comes as a spirit of love to comfort a suffering soul, he comes as a neighbor who appears at our door just at the right moment when we needed God most.

The Lord does not delay for he is the God of the present closer to us than we can imagine. The Lord desires to remain with us and in us but our souls must be as the wise virgins, free of sin, having the light of the spirit, ready to receive him in body, blood, soul, and divinity. This is our call. For this he came into the world and for this we were created as a vessel of grace for the kingdom of God. Stay awake and don’t miss the coming of the Lord.

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Homily

“All things are possible”– 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Posted on October 9, 2021October 8, 2021 by Deacon Joe

Wis. 7:7-11; Ps. 90:12-17; Heb. 4:12-13; Mk. 10:17-30

“All things are possible for God” including meeting the precondition to be a follower of God. The man who ran up to Jesus was given a precondition for he was “lacking in one thing”, giving up all his possessions before coming to follow Jesus. He was attached to his possessions in a way that was holding him back from his desire for the “eternal life”. Nothing we have as our possession we take with us into the eternal life. Naked we came into the world and naked we will return. What is that one thing in the way keeping us from the eternal life?

We can be attached to people, places and things that hold us back from growing in our faith. We can be attached to our sins that we refuse to separate from. We can turn something natural into something abusive from food to entertainment from sex to work it can all become an attachment of sin. People, places, and things are not the end all but the means to come into relationship with our God. But “all things are possible with God” to transform our attachments from sin to service, from dependency to freedom.

Something good can become something that stands in the way of our call to love God above all things. God first! Who are our attachments that hold us back from coming to Jesus? We can be attached to people who we love so much that we lose sight of God. Recall when Jesus was told his mother and brothers had arrived to see him. He asked “who is my mother and who are my brothers?” Jesus’ love for his mother was not any less than a son to her but he understood his calling was greater than his love for his earthly family. He came to build up a heavenly family and that did not mean loving anyone less but being willing to love more by sacrifice for something greater. We are called to make a similar sacrifice when we decide we are ready to “cling” to a “suitable partner”.

Last week the theme of the readings was about leaving behind mother and father and clinging to your “suitable partner”. We don’t love our parents less we only grow in love as we come to appreciate even more what they did for us, their sacrifice, and the love so we could be ready to love even more in marriage and with our children. When we get married our focus is on our mission as a couple to help each other get to heaven.

Priests leave behind mother and father and cling to the mother Church with a sacrificial love for their calling to serve the poor, the neighbor, and the stranger. If a husband or wife decides they have no intention of coming to Church do we still come and fulfill our commitment to God first? Won’t our prayers for our family be more of a sacrifice by still coming to Church and serve as a reminder to your spouse that God comes first? St. Augustine’s mother St. Monica prayed and sacrificed for her son when he was living his life of sin and not only were her prayers answered but she became a saint through her sacrifice. Come and pray for their conversion for “all things are possible for God.”

We can be attached to places like our workplace. Work is a calling from God and scripture reminds that he who does not work should not eat. Work is especially fruitful when we make our work a place where we invite God into that he may multiply the blessings of our work. Work can also become an attachment for sin when we don’t work to live but live to work as workaholics. Workaholism is closely linked to the love of money. Otherwise, there is plenty of work to do at home, to volunteer at church if someone has the energy and time to give more and the payback can be even greater than any money will buy.

We can even be attached to things that represent our “silver and gold” like our cell phone. Can we try putting that cell phone down for just a day, or even just a meal to sit and face each other in conversation? Let us ask ourselves “how difficult is that?” Something that has made our life so convenient in communications can even turn to evil. Evil comes in the form of social media and cancel culture, stalking and bullying. Youth are more driven to suicide by social media than by going out and living life. The phone is the silver and gold of youth and can turn into the weapon of Satan if parents are not aware of what their children are viewing. The evil one can turn all things into possibilities for sin and destruction.

All things are possible for God”. Greater than silver and gold are the “countless riches” at the hands of wisdom that bring “all good things together”. “Nothing in comparison with her” not silver, gold or priceless gems compare to the countless riches coming from the spirit of wisdom in the kingdom of God. Search for the things from above and greater than any earthly riches will be given. The things from above work together to separate the darkness from the light and bring us the gift of wisdom.

It takes wisdom to see the hand of God in our presence and recognize in life not just what is but what is becoming of us for we are the unfinished work of God in search of his perfection. God’s work in us is to grow in holiness, to be made perfect in love, and to come and follow him in doing his will. Wisdom is the outcome of living the infused virtues coming from God through the gifts of the Holy Spirit put into practice in our human encounters with life in God’s presence.

“Then come, follow me” sets the precondition to being a follower of Jesus. Something needs to occur before we become followers of Jesus. What is our “then come” that is keeping us from entering into the eternal life? Is it our possessions or even something deeper like our pride? Do we need to come to the waters of baptism and accept Jesus as our savior? We need to come to Jesus in humility and accept his love and mercy. Jesus is waiting? As he said to a young Maria Faustyna Kowalksa in a vision, “How long will you keep me waiting?” It was the moment of conversion for St. Faustyna. For most of us, it is a moment by moment conversion until our last breath. Jesus does not push us away from him we keep pushing ourselves away from him still trying to live “our life”. Our life is a breath away from ending the moment the breath of Jesus stops breathing on us.

The disciples claim to have met the preconditions as Peter claims, “We have given up everything and followed you.” Jesus’ response is a promise to receive “a hundred times more…now in this present age…and eternal life in the age to come.” Jesus is preparing his disciples for the coming kingdom of his church on earth that comes with “houses” of worship, “brothers and sisters” in Christ, “mothers” from the Church and children from the followers and with “lands” from the four corners of the world as the gospel is proclaimed. It also has its sacrifice “with persecutions” as the early Church is persecuted but it’s reward “in the age to come”. After the resurrection of Jesus, the disciples received “a hundred times more…in the present age”, they received the power to heal, to cast out demons, to proclaim the gospel with authority and even to forgive sins in the name of Jesus for “all things are possible for God.”

We can count our blessings a hundred times but we also need to recognize our gifts coming from God in all the little and big ways he answers our prayers. God provides us the wisdom to raise our family, the justice to protect the innocent, the resources to feed the hungry, the fortitude to defend our faith, the temperance to balance our life, the prudence to judge rightly and the breath of life to live as true witnesses of the gospel message.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” When there is doubt between the word of God and our thoughts and feelings there is no doubt. The gift of prudence helps us accept the word of God in humility, to recognize what is lacking in us as poor in spirit comes in the fullness of God’s truth and we trust in him. “All things are possible for God” when we invite him into our lives. We come to him in the poverty of our humanity, with all our limitations, all our faults, all our needs and hopes. We ask for forgiveness in what we have done and failed to do and the most merciful God in his riches hears our prayers and answers.

Let us remember to pray the Rosary. It is a meditation on the life of Christ with the Blessed Mother Mary echoing our prayer to her son. With each mystery place yourself there and imagine witnessing the mystery and experiencing the joy, sorrow, glory, and the light. Soon we can come to enter into the mystery itself and receive the graces from God who makes all things possible.

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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

17th Sunday Ordinary Time

Posted on July 25, 2020July 24, 2020 by Deacon Joe

1 Kgs. 3:5, 7-12; Ps. 119:57, 72, 76-77, 127-130; Rom. 8:28-30; Mt. 13:44-52

The kingdom of heaven is not an entitlement we collect by simply claiming “I believe in God”. The kingdom of God is something we must seek and sacrifice for to be given the understanding of Solomon. We are to first be conformed to the image of his Son to enter the kingdom of God. In an age where we value acceptance of “our identity” as we claim it, we lose sight of identifying with the image of God’s son who is “other” than ourselves. We are “right” in seeking God’s image as our being and “wrong” in claiming our own as an entitlement.

Wisdom is from God to give an “understanding heart…to distinguish right from wrong” and respond with prudence in doing his will. In the gospel today, Jesus continues with his parables to the wise and prudent describing the significance of the kingdom of God to humanity as the eternal love and longing of our purpose of life. The wisdom of Solomon was judging rightly with what to ask for in service to God’s kingdom. Solomon’s love for God was in being the best he was created to be as the leader of his people. Our love for God then is in being our best in responding to our calling in life in service to others.

This is challenging and difficult if not impossible without the grace from God that comes by searching with the heart of understanding God’s will for our personal calling in life. In the worst of situations and in the best of situations “all things work for good for those who love God.” God is mercy when we seek our identity in him.

For some time, it was popular with the youth to carry bracelets with the letters WWJD meaning “what would Jesus do”. This is seeking out our identity in him, inviting him into our “space” and time which if we claim to belong to Jesus is his rightful space and seeking understanding through the Spirit to respond in his image in this moment of our being.

Now is the time to recapture that moment of truth “what Jesus will do through his servant of love”. Such great challenges have been conquered by the saints and souls who surrender to God actively seeking to do his will. Have we asked him today “what is your will for me this day Lord?”

Sometimes we compartmentalize life into steps, such as step one is to “pray” and step two is “go forth”, and step three is “action” as a cognitive process like learning to type where all the keys are and consciously thinking of all the keys. Learning to type is a cognitive process but typing is the unconscious process of being able to “just do it”. In the same way Christianity is taking all our prayers, devotions, and understanding to “just do it” in charity being the image of God through the Spirit that is with us. Let us give God the freedom to “just do it” in our being through an act of the will and the mystery of his kingdom will reign in us.

The evil one is “prowling about the world seeking the ruins of souls” when we see hatred, violence, and destruction justified a “right” and authority, order, and peace shamed as “wrong” in an effort to create a new “kingdom” not of God but of this world. It is a spiritual battle for the souls of the people fought not only on the streets but in every church and home. One day I was struggling with making a difficult decision as a child and I asked my mother for guidance in her “understanding”. I was totally surprised when she responded “you will have to decide”. In her wisdom the right answer needed to come from me through the Spirit given at baptism. She understood I would be the one who would live with the consequences of the decision.

This nation is facing a difficult decision and we each must decide where our Christian values are best represented and supported not simply in our inner being but in our outward expression in the public square. As Catholics we value the outward expression of our faith in statues, crosses, the arts, and even the sciences together with our right to assembly and worship. This cannot be governed, shamed, or silenced by an oppressive voice in the public domain. Today “you will have to decide” to who you surrender power to, either God and the kingdom of heaven or the evil one and the kingdom of hell. Blessed Mother Mary pray for us.

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Homily

The Presentation of the Lord

Posted on February 1, 2020January 29, 2020 by Deacon Joe

Malachi 3:1-4; Ps. 2:7-10; Heb. 2:14-18; Lk. 2:22-40

The Presentation of the Lord is a revelation to the world through Simeon a “righteous and devout” man who walks into the temple in the Spirit. Are we in the Spirit ready to receive Jesus our Lord? The manifestation of the Son of God is our calling in the Spirit. Jesus, flesh of my flesh and blood of my blood “he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every way, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest before God to expiate the sins of the people.”

Jesus is brought to the temple to be consecrated to the Lord by the high priest just as we are brought to church to be consecrated to the Lord in baptism. In baptism we now share in the one body and blood of Christ as brothers and sisters. For the next thirty years nothing is written about him except “The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.” God does not remove his favor from us unless we like the parable of the prodigal father and son separates ourselves from his favor because we choose to leave.

Now Anna has essentially spent her life in the temple after becoming a widow. She is a prophetess meaning she too is in the Spirit finding favor with God. Simeon makes the proclamation but it is Anna’s calling to begin the evangelization by spreading the good news of this child. The Holy Family returns to Nazareth but Anna plants the seeds in Jerusalem for his coming, the king of glory “it is the Lord.” Since she was a prophetess, she had gained the trust of the people to be believed filled with wisdom and the favor of God was upon her. The favor of God is upon us from our baptism and the path of wisdom is given to us if we remain in the Spirit by returning to the temple of the Lord to receive his body and blood in the Eucharist.

Both Simeon and Anna were presented with the test of faith, “is this the one?” Guided by the Spirit they were ready to respond. There is a daily test of faith we face. It is manifested in how we respond to life before us in all the moments of life, in all our encounters with other souls before us. If we respond in fear then our faith is in the power of the evil one but a response in love is faith in the presence of God to claim victory over all circumstances for a greater good.

There is also the test of suffering a universal condition of the flesh in body, mind, and spirit. The great saints speak to this darkness of the soul as wounded warriors. This is our test of the cross when we turn to Jesus on the cross and he is most present to us to be our help. Where one suffers, he suffers. We don’t keep him on the cross he accepts the cross for our sins and suffering reminding us of the sacrifice that brings the resurrection and the life. He bears our pain with us and we find the comfort of the Spirit at our side. What must we do to receive it?

Four guiding principles of wisdom. One, respond in faith to the test with love. God is love and love unites us to the power of his love and brings us healing. Two, recall our baptismal promises. This if the foundation of our faith and in proclaiming it we renew our faith and conviction rejecting all that is not of God. Three, claim by word and deed the truth from the wisdom received. Speak the word of truth in prayer and unite it to the souls of the living and the dead, to the angels and saints, to the powers and principalities, to the promises of God. Finally, claim your victory and go forth believing in the greater good which is God is with us.

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Homily

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Posted on October 19, 2019October 16, 2019 by Deacon Joe

Ex. 17:8-13; Ps. 121: 1-8; 2 Tim. 3:14-4:2; Lk. 18:1-8

“Proclaim the Word; be persistent whether convenient or inconvenient.” This is football season and the gesture a referee makes to signal a score is two arms raised up. It is a sign of victory that even as fans we join in making to celebrate with the team. “As long as Moses kept his hands raised up, Israel had the better of the fight”. Moses arms grew tired and without the help of Aaron and Hur supporting his hands they may have lost the battle. We have our own individual battles of life to conquer.

We too can become tired and call on God, “Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” To hold us up in victory God provided us the Liturgy of the Word on one side and the Liturgy of the Eucharist on the other.

In the Liturgy of the Word we not only proclaim the word in our celebration of the Mass, but we digest it into our being and go forth to live it “whether it is convenient or inconvenient” to the world. Simply by proclaiming it in the smallest of gestures like making the sign of the cross it announces who we are before a word is said as a “safe space” around our being Catholic before others. It calls on our Lord God as our help to be present in our battle. It also calls on the Holy Spirit to inspire us in what we are to say whether to “reprimand or encourage all done through patience and teaching.”

The other hand in battle is supported by the Liturgy of the Eucharist. The Mass is our constant prayer around the world with Jesus being lifted up in the bread and wine by the hands of the priest. The Church prays day and night and we come to receive him to sustain our faith in battle. Jesus asks, “But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” Do we come to receive him in faith, hope, and love of his real presence?

From the outside gestures we all stand, kneel, and respond in union but as the word of God is proclaimed and we respond it “discerns our reflections and thoughts of heart.” It speaks to us and our state of faith. We all are in a different place in our journey of faith and our covenant of love with God. This too however is revealed to us as we respond to the proclamation of the word in our hearts and our “Amen” to his body and blood in the Eucharist.

This week I witnessed a commercial on television from a self-proclaimed atheist soliciting funds on behalf of an organization to promote separation from church and state. In concluding his promotion, he states he is not afraid of going to “hell”. His proclamation ironically acknowledges a state of being in a place contrary to the faith of an atheist. Beneath his denial of a God his created being speaks a truth of faith as a creature of God which by his own words brings judgment to himself. We should pray for all atheist and agnostics while there is still time. Meanwhile we prepare for our battle of faith with both hands held high for the victory is ours.

Do we believe what we profess with hearts raised up or do we sit on our hands in silence? God is waiting “to serve the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night and will not be slow to answer.” The justice of the Lord comes “speedily” and the adversary will be defeated.

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Homily The Deacon Joe

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Posted on August 10, 2019August 9, 2019 by Deacon Joe

Wis. 18:6-9; Ps. 33:1, 12, 18-22; Heb. 11: 1-2, 8-19; Lk. 12:32-48

“Where is that in the bible?” Many non-Catholics question the church’s position on purgatory. They ask “where is that in the bible?” Purgatory is in the Old and the New Testament as a just judge comes to ensure the cleansing of our baptismal robes in our call to sanctity. Listen to these words, “That servant who did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will shall be beaten severely; and the servant who was ignorant of his master’s will but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating shall be beaten only lightly.” Who is God speaking to, the sinner who died without faith in hell or to the ones he says “All these died in faith”? Satan is the master of the fallen, Jesus is the Master of the redeemed. There is no doubt that justice belongs to God and he promises a time of atonement. Jesus died for our sins yet when was the last time we went to confession to seek forgiveness of our sin? If this night our life is demanded of us what then?

The Catechism teaches in #1030 “All who die in God’s grace and friendship but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.” The bible tells us in the book of Maccabees (2 Mac. 12:43-44) to atone for the dead through prayer “for if he were not expecting the fallen to rise again, it would have been useless and foolish to pray for them in death” yet even in the Old Testament we have Maccabeus talking a collection to send to Jerusalem for “an expiatory sacrifice” for the dead soldiers. We are reminded how important it is to offer Masses for the dead and pray for them in atonement of their sins. Yet how often in a funeral do we hear of purgatory? Focus is given to being in heaven as our hope which is the final destiny but not necessarily a straight ticket.

“Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more” reminds us of the one sin we often fail to recognize. It is the sin of omission. The ten commandments have a focus on what “you shall not” but Jesus comes to fulfill what we shall be called to do. There is a truth of accountability in God’s justice for all. When will it be demanded if not now? It comes at death in the purging of our sins in a state of purification called purgatory.

Just as the more we give the greater the reward the less we serve the greater the sin by God’s commandment. Charity is God’s call for justice and the sign of our love of God. Wisdom says, “Your people awaited the salvation of the just”. The just are the “holy children of the good” doing the will of the Father offering sacrifice of charity. Charity is a sign of faith a “realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen”. Faith is the awareness that our time is coming when we will be before God and he recognizes his own in the love we offered in obedience just as Abraham did. Our obedience is to respond to the call to serve. We are a people of faith and we know our Father’s will, are we preparing ourselves by acting according to his will or is purgatory our next stop?

Why settle for purgatory when we are called to be saints? The opportunity to be charitable is constantly around us? It begins in the home. Husbands and wives when we get upset, frustrated, or even disappointed with each other what do our children witness in our behavior? We can respond in outbursts, anger, criticism, blame or in charity express our concern, disappointment, and our desire for something greater of each other. When we see our children picking on each other using language we ourselves say is it simply kids misbehaving or are they already following down a path that justifies being uncharitable. Love is patient, kind, generous, charitable and at times a difficult challenge. Our heart cries out “If you only knew what I have to live with!” Our goal is to get each other to heaven so don’t simply live with it, make it better. It begins by working on ourselves and we will see the impact our life can have on others.

One thing is certain that a just God knows the degree of our sinfulness, our understanding, and our will to be just, loving, charitable, and merciful. Dante speaks of purgatory as the place we go to get our baptismal robes cleaned. The stains we carry are the stains we have not confessed. It is a sure sign of heaven coming, an inheritance delivering us from the death of sin we carry. Today that sin can be confessed and our sacrifice is to “avoid the near occasion” of sin yet when we fail, we have a loving Father ready to reconcile us back to him.

Finally, where is the “evidence of things not seen”? It is there on the cross and in the resurrection of Jesus. For all who give evidence by their testimony, Jesus is alive. “Stay awake and be ready!” The Son of Man is coming and it is in the bible, in the Mass, and in our hearts.

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Homily

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B

Posted on November 17, 2018November 18, 2018 by Deacon Joe

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

We are now coming to the end of the Church year and with it the readings focus on eschatology, the “last things or end times” to prepare us for the second coming of Jesus. Who is wise? Wise is the person who seeks knowledge to make perfect the judgement of reason. Wisdom is one of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit first given to us in baptism. A wise person is concerned with where they will spend eternity. This concern alone causes a wise person to seek knowledge to make perfect in judgement the path of life they are following to be ready.

Death is a clear sign of the end in this world as we know it for the person who dies. To speak of the end of the world as we know it in a cosmic sense or to use the word “eschatology” or “last things” is rarely preached in part because it lies in a veil of mystery. Death can seem surreal until we experience it in the loss of someone and we are reminded of our mortality. Jesus lets his disciples know that even he does not know only the Father knows when the consummation of the divine plan of salvation will happen but that is not a reason not to reflect on his coming. What we do know is that the beginning of the end times began with the birth of Christ and continues to unfold until the second coming. In the interim we “are to be vigilant at all times” knowing our own particular death and particular judgment can happen at any time.

The plan of salvation is our daily call to repentance, to prayer for God’s mercy, and to celebrate life for the passing from this life is a sign of victory over death and a promise of eternal life. That day will bring us a general resurrection of the body, general judgment, heaven or hell. This divine event hangs over the world. He warns that in those days the “sun will be darkened and the moon will not give light”. This is the darkness of horror and disgrace from sin whether in the persecution of the early church or in our times. How many souls are being lost due to a darkened consciousness that gives no light to the world? They live without the light of the Holy Spirit and their souls are darkened from the sight of God. God is known by the light of reason, by the wonder of the natural law all around, by the coming of the Holy Spirit but so many fail to seek, fail to call to the one waiting to come into our lives. We fail the test of wisdom when we fail to seek Jesus who is our inheritance.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church #675 states in part “Before Christ’s second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers. The persecution…will unveil the ‘mystery of iniquity’ in the form of religious deception at the price of apostasy from the truth. The supreme religious deception is that of the Antichrist, a pseudo-messianism by which man glorifies himself in place of God…” When clergy glorify themselves within the Catholic Church with iniquity in the abuse of others it shakes the faith of many believers and is an apostasy to the grace given in baptism and ordination. The mystery of iniquity is the gross injustice by the abuse of authority and power within the Church. Fear not, Christ is faithful to his promise. Persevere in truth Christ does not abandon his bride. Jesus message is of a God who is patient, loving and merciful, waiting “until his enemies are made his footstool”. His enemies are those who promote a culture of death in pseudo-messianism.

In the book of Daniel we are reminded “Michael, the great prince, guardian of your people” is here to “defend us in the battle, be our protection against the snares of the devil” that we may not fall into an “everlasting horror and disgrace”. This week the US Catholic Conference of Bishops met to confront the crisis of horror and disgrace facing the church for failing to protect the most vulnerable. It is the crisis of our times in the church. First we must define the “crisis” to respond in good judgment. It is a crisis of trust by those choosing to betray the trust given them in abusing others and in danger of “an everlasting horror and disgrace”. It is a crisis of leadership in failing to respond with action and act wisely to protect the flock once the horror is revealed. Finally it is a crisis of faith when our mother church is harmed by a shepherd shaking the faith of believers.

It is in these days of tribulation we are to “Learn a lesson from the fig tree.” The fig tree is itself a sign of hope in the tree of life and the cycle of life. Generations come and pass but his word is everlasting to the present moment. The “branch becomes tender and sprouts new leaves” meaning new life in the spirit during times of persecution and “unsurpassed in distress”. This is the time when great saints come forward to testify to the truth and bring conversion to the poor in spirit. If not now when? If not us who? The Lord has set aside our “allotted portion and my cup” and he “holds fast my lot”. It is like a treasure we hold but if we lack the wisdom to act in good judgment for the good it is intended we are like the foolish bridesmaids unprepared for the coming savior. The history of the church is marked by great saints and faithful clergy yet we are always to pray for them, for faithfulness, wisdom, and leadership.

There are many “stars” of sanctity “who lead the many to justice” in the church and as we pray for them let us pray for ourselves as we discern together to make perfect in judgment the path to follow. We also are called to be stars of sanctity and “shine brightly like the splendor of the firmament” that is the heavens. It challenges us to question “where do we want to spend eternity”? He provides each of us “the path to life”. If we desire the “fullness of joys (in his) presence, the delights…forever” we cannot be lukewarm followers or lukewarm clergy. Lukewarm by the faithful is living up to traditions in the church but our hearts are far from Jesus. Lukewarm by clergy is clericalism to fulfill the duties of the church and not the calling to be an imitation of Christ. From the wood of the tree Jesus was crucified on the cross as the single offering of his life for our sins. Our offering we bring to him now in the sacrifice of the Mass is the gift of love we have given him this week by loving others, especially the stranger.

The readings also are a word of great hope. Our names to be found written in the book of life are the promise of our inheritance and we rejoice in confidence because Christ is with us prepared to show us the path to life when we seek him. Jesus Word will last forever spreading to the four corners of the world. When Jesus says “Amen, I say to you this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place” it leads his disciples to think the second coming will be in their lifetime. They lived through the destruction of the temple in 70 AD, their own persecution, and the end to the old covenant of animal sacrifices and the beginning of the new covenant. Many who had fallen asleep were awaken as Jesus descends to the dead after his death bringing salvation for everlasting life or everlasting horror and disgrace. That generation was given the fullness of the gospel message as every generation since then as earthly kingdoms rise and fall.

What about us, our generation? The world as we know it will come to an end as all previous generations before have. We see signs of the soul in darkness, horror, and disgrace in this world in many forms. We see the clouds of darkness of our world. We have the cloud of “euthanasia” under the veil of “quality of life” who sees no value in redemptive suffering but offers the choice to “die with dignity” wanting to preserve the ego without thought of eternity. There is the cloud of “my right to choose” by giving life or denying life to the unborn. There is the cloud of “cloning” to breed new life as preserving life but can there truly be another “you” without God? There is the cloud of “moral relativism” to deny any truth but that of the individual thus denying there is a God at all. There is the cloud of “gender identity” under the option of “questioning who I choose to be” denying who God created us to be. The list continues to bring the clouds of darkness into the world and giving rise to our own times of great distress.

The tree of life in the church is being pruned of the dead branches that bring disease and steal the rich soil of its nutrients that is its’ faithful followers. In visiting Israel and going to the Garden of Gethsemane there were trees thousands of years old wide at the base but quickly they became thin with new branches and leaves sprouting out. These trees are visible signs of the foundation of the church for thousands of years and we are the new branch as the Church in our community of St. Francis Xavier here in La Feria, Texas giving new leaves of life to make perfect in judgment our path of life.

The tree of life is Jesus who knows all these things will pass and has prepared a place for those who remain vigilant. Shine like a star in heaven together with the saints and our Blessed Mother for the Son is at the right hand of the Father. Faith and reason will lead us to the truth; Jesus is the truth where wisdom is found.

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Homily

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Posted on October 14, 2018October 12, 2018 by Deacon Joe

1 Wis. 7: 7-11; Ps 90: 12-17; Heb. 4: 12-13; Mk 10: 17-30

Wisdom is naked truth! “Perfection is not when there is no more to add, but no more to take away” wrote Antonine De Saint-Exupery. We have all grown up with “dichos” those sayings with one liners of wisdom that capture the essence of a teaching. They are easy to remember but serve to penetrate our minds and hearts “sharper than a two-edged sword” cutting “down to the bone” as we say and to our souls.

When Solomon prayed in the first reading prudence was given to him. Prudence as in having the ability to discern with right judgment was his reward. He could have prayed for victory over his enemies, his health and his wealth. He recognized the one priority as “wisdom greater than any priceless gem, silver or gold.” When Solomon set his priorities according to God’s order “all good things together came…and countless riches at her hand…” He was given the treasure of wisdom but also the earthly treasures of his kingdom with honor.

The Word of God cuts judicially “both ways”. One side cuts through to the prime rewards of obedience to God’s commands. We see this in the Gospel when the young man “with many possessions” testified to his obedience to the commandments Jesus presented to him saying, “Teacher, all these things I have observed from my youth.” His life has been blessed with many material possessions. It also cuts from the other edge where sin and reckless behavior gives rise to adversity and sorrow. Having entered my 60’s already I realize the sins of my youth have already started to be revealed in my aging problems. I have quite a bunch of friends. I wake up with Buddy Aches, spend the day with Arthritis, eat with Tummy Hurts, and go to bed with Ben Gay. These are the good guys to help me face my enemies. We pick our lifetime friends by the choices and lifestyle we live and they are very loyal in sickness and in health.

Hebrews however gives us God’s wisdom in his order to judicial process. In the world we normally have an inquiry that leads to judgment and ends with verdict for execution. In Hebrews we see the execution has already been set by the Word of God “living and effective”. Those who “follow me” receive the retribution of reward or suffering from the judgment of naked truth as our minds and hearts are revealed. At the end comes the inquiry “to render an account” no one escapes in the final opening of the seal revealing our life story. This revelation is the judgment set to be executed though our life journey “living and effective” in our days and the account will come beginning at the moment of death into our afterlife and the naked truth is revealed. It is said freedom is the right to choose what I want, when I want it, and how I want it. Sounds good until we recognize it comes like a two edge sword with the consequences of our choices. Wisdom recognizes freedom as the right to take responsibility for ourselves. Which way is cutting is in our hands.

In Mark’s gospel the young man calls Jesus “Good teacher”. His title for Jesus limits his view of Jesus as a prophet, a man of wisdom. Jesus wisdom is to pose a question and without waiting gives the answer. Indirectly the question is asking him ‘who do you say that I am?’ He cuts to his heart by responding “no one is good but God alone”. Hint, hint! The young man is to discern the divine nature of Jesus but apparently doesn’t get it since he continues to call him “teacher”. Jesus presents six commandments to follow to which the young man affirms “Teacher, all these I have observed from my youth.” Jesus looks at him with love to penetrate his heart like a two edged sword. It is always easy to look at an infant with love. Not so easy to look at our enemies, our friends, or sometimes even our family with love. It makes us vulnerable. Do it and people will question you, “What’s wrong or what do you want?” We don’t know how to accept love as easily.

Jesus is calling him to love God as the first priority noted in the top three commandments not stated but implied by the action he calls him to follow. He gives him two directives to fulfill his call to perfection. The first is the perfection of letting go to the degree there is “no more to take away”, no more to hinder his journey of faith to God. William of Ocam says, “It is vain to do with more what can be done with less.” We accumulate our “stuff” all with special meaning, stuffing our closets, garages, and even get a storage shed unwilling to let go. Every now and then we shuffle through it, forget how most of it ended up with us and then reorganize our stuff again.

The second directive was “follow me”. The message for us is “who is Jesus in my life?” If he is my Lord then our first priority is to follow him in our daily lives fulfilling the top three commandments. We then order our lives according to our relationships with others. Material treasure is not to hinder our priorities to God and neighbor. Jesus sets the record straight at the end regarding “wealth”. He does not condemn wealth it is a part of creation. We build wealth out of God’s creation. Jesus raises our awareness with wisdom to the truth wealth can have when we allow it to possess us and keep us from a right relationship with God. The drive for wealth can come at the expense and injustice to the poor when we don’t pay a living wage. It may promote greed not generosity, false witness not truth, stealing not integrity, adultery not chastity, and even murder not life. We allow it to become an obstacle to a right relationship with God.

Wisdom is personified as a woman while the commandments come from a Father. The wisdom of God comes to us through a woman who gave birth to a son, Jesus and his truth is given in the proclamation of the Word made flesh. Mary’s wisdom was her fiat entering into the universal plan of salvation. Her riches and glory came in raising her son, loving her husband, and being obedient. In Mary the execution was set for her life but she had to consent and live the judgment of the Lord’s passion. Mary followed the plan receiving the judgment awaiting her reward for her account on earth and now in heaven as Queen of Heaven and Earth.

The book of Wisdom* written by sages of the time we would consider as our contemporary prophets and theologians. Sages recognized a great truth in the order of the universe. The God of all creation has established natural laws of the universe. In this New Age movement some identify with these natural laws and try to tap into them with meditation, aroma therapies, mineral therapies, yoga meditation, and other Zen like approaches seeking peace, harmony, and well-being. They focus on the universal principles of the cosmos without recognizing the source of creation, the prime mover, the God of the universe. The problem is they stop short of making this connection to the source of life itself. These sages of the past in observing the world recognized each component in this world has a place in the overall plan of God’s design.

Today we would make comparisons of cause and effect, food chain, evolution of nature, and each person in life makes a difference in the larger plan of God. It is not just about you, it is about your contribution to the greater good and for the faithful our contribution to salvation history. Sages also believed if we disregard our calling we will bring about our own hardships. The dynamic of life is in constant motion like riding the rapids in a canoe, sometimes calm and other times fast, rough and rushing. Proverbs says, “Fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom” (Prov. 9:10) Fear of the Lord is the realization of the two edge sword created by the awesome creation of the natural law we are members of and of the consequences that come by rebelling away from our call to “follow” his plan for us.

We are headed into the holiday season secular and Christian. Some celebrate Halloween, or the Day of the Dead, All Souls Day and we get sugar overload. Then Thanksgiving comes with all kinds of carbs and dressings followed by Christmas and juicy fat tamales by the dozen, ending in New Year’s drinks, nachos, and guacamole. We indulge and rush to get more stuff we call our treasures in toys, shoes, electronic gadgets and there is always the next best phone or 4-D mega screen TV and more. We wake up and discover we just gained another 20 pounds of bondage in our “freedom”.

The knife cuts both ways as we can celebrate in fellowship with church festivals, Posadas, Holy Days of obligation, processions, adoration, rosaries, family reunions and yes some treats in moderation. Freedom is taking responsibility to the naked truth. Advent is coming and it is a good time to move in the direction of having no more to let go of. In Spanish we say, “el que mucho abarca poco aprieta” meaning “the more we try to squeeze into our life the less we gain”. Gain more with less and we will be on our way to perfection.

*The Paulist Biblical Commentary; “Wisdom Literature”; Paulist Press, New York/Mahwah, NJ, 2018. Pg. 423-425.

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