Ordinary Time 2 - God's Glory Is Our Task

 

Homily for Ordinary Time 2

January 18, 2026

God’s Glory Is Our Task

 

            The famous Indian peace activist Gandhi was a big fan of Jesus. Apparently he read from the Gospels every day and really admired the Lord. But someone asked him why he never became a Christian, and he replied, “Because you Christians are so unlike your Christ.”

            Our readings today speak about Jesus’ mission to be the Light to the Nations – to introduce all nations into a right relationship with God. Once Christ ascended into Heaven, He passed that task on to His Body, the Church – not just priests and deacons, but every baptized and confirmed Catholic. It’s a tremendous thing – the eternal salvation of souls is now in our hands. And thus, we do have a mission, but how well are we doing at making God’s salvation known to the nations?

            Other created things glorify God just by being what they are. For example, a mountain tells us of God’s majesty, the complexity of a cell shows God’s magnificent precision and providence, a cute puppy might show the tenderness of God’s heart. But human beings are the only creatures who can choose whether or not to glorify God – when people look at you, do they see God’s love? His mercy? His faithfulness, His wisdom, His holiness? Or do they see something that looks very unlike God?

            St. Irenaeus once said, “The glory of God is man fully alive.” God receives the most praise when we are fully human – but what makes you fully alive? Sitting on a beach in the Bahamas? A deep conversation with a friend? All of these are elements, but to be fully human is to be like Jesus Christ. As Pope St. John Paul II said, “Christ reveals man to himself” – we only know what it means to be fully alive when we look upon the only Man to fully live – Jesus Christ. Jesus loved this world rightly – He enjoyed the company of others, He spent time with His Father in prayer, He had a clear and passionate mission in life, He knew how to love and sacrifice. This is how He was fully alive – this is how we can be fully alive, too.

            Our Catholic Faith gives us a clear blueprint to this abundant life that glorifies God – but it’s so crazy countercultural! In a couple weeks, we’ll be reading through Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, in which He calls the poor in spirit blessed; in which He says that if our hand causes us to sin cut it off; in which He says we must love our enemies.

            Just being “nice” isn’t being a light to the nations. No one will get to know God’s passionate, radical holiness just because we hold the door open for someone. No, it takes a much more countercultural discipleship to reveal God’s Heart to the world. People sit up and take notice when you forgive a painful hurt; they ask questions when you’re open to life and let God decide how many kids you have; they stare in wonder when you prioritize Sunday Mass over Sunday sports, or when you sacrifice some pleasure for the sake of Christ.

            There’s a great story of this from the life of St. Josemaria Escriva. He was an ordinary teenage boy growing up in Spain in the early 1900s, with dreams of a family and a career. But on one snowy day, he went out about the town when he was shocked to see that there were footprints in the snow, and he caught a quick glimpse of the clothing of a barefoot Carmelite priest – and he began to consider, “If that priest can walk barefoot in the snow for love of Christ, Jesus must be worth every sacrifice! How can I sacrifice my life for Him?” And Josemaria became a priest, the founder of Opus Dei, and a saint – all because one unknown Carmelite priest lived radically for Jesus.

            My friends, sometimes we think that as long as we save our souls, then we’ve done our job. But our Catholic faith is about more – it’s also about God’s Name being praised in us and through us. When people look at you, do they think, “Oh, there goes that believer in Christ – his life shows that He’s living for eternity.” Or would they be surprised to find out that you believed and say, “Really? You’re a Christian? I couldn’t tell from the way you live.” Is God glorified in you – or are you glorified in you?

            I close with a quote from a Christian writer named Brennan Manning, who said, “The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, and then walk out the door and get on with their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”

Baptism of the Lord 2026 - Matter Matters

 

Homily for Baptism of the Lord

January 11, 2026

Matter Matters

 

            In 2020, a priest from Detroit named Fr. Matthew Hood was watching the old VHS of his own baptism as an infant. He was surprised to see that the deacon who baptized him said the words, “We baptize you…” instead of “I baptize you.” One little word, but did it make a difference? He wrote to his bishop, who wrote to the Vatican, and the Vatican ruled that…yes it mattered, and because of that one erroneous word, Fr. Hood had not been validly baptized! He needed to be re-baptized, re-Confirmed, and re-ordained a priest – this, for a man who had already been acting as a priest for three years!

            Crazy, right? But the definition of a Sacrament is “an outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace”. The outward sign is important! It consists in two parts: the matter (which is the “stuff” of the Sacraments) and the form (the “words” used in a Sacrament). Both are essential for a Sacrament to be valid (which means that the Sacrament actually occurred). We can’t mess around with the “matter” – I can’t baptize with Coca-cola, I can’t celebrate Mass with Doritos – the Sacraments would be invalid. And we can’t mess around with the form – if you ever go to a Confession where a priest says, “I forgive you of your sins” or “God absolves you of your sins” – charitably but firmly correct him and ask him to give you the proper Absolution, which is “I absolve you of your sins…”. Otherwise, the Confession is not valid!

            Is the Church being picayune in such definitions? No – such precision is important for two reasons. First, because the Church has no power whatsoever to change what Christ has established – rather, the Church’s role is to faithfully hand on what He taught His Apostles. This is true in the moral realm (the Church can never redefine marriage, for example) and it is true in the sacramental realm as well. As much as the media may tell the Church to “get with the times”, it will never be possible to use raisin bread for the Eucharist or to ordain women to become priests. We must remain faithful to what Christ gave us – not come up with novelties on our own.

            But secondly, we must remember that while we are bound by the Sacraments, God is not bound by the Sacraments and can give His saving grace to whomever He wishes. There is a principle called ecclesia supplet – the Church supplies. This means that in case a Sacrament is accidentally done incorrectly, the person will still receive the grace as if the Sacrament had occurred. So in the case of Fr. Hood, even though he acted like a priest for three years and heard Confessions, his Confessions were not technically valid. But he didn’t know that and the penitents didn’t know that – so the sins really were forgiven because the Church supplied the grace. Or if you went to a Mass in the 1970s where the priest used corn bread – it wasn’t the valid Eucharist, but if you did not know this, then you received the grace you would have received as if the Eucharist were valid. So you don’t need to go panic about your own baptism – we can assume that it is valid unless you have video evidence to the contrary!

            I believe the Sacraments are uniquely important in our own day and age, when much of our world is digital and online. Jesus Christ established a fundamentally incarnational faith – where we experience God’s grace through visible, tangible realities. Our hearts yearn for a God Who is close enough to touch, see, and hear! Haven’t we all experienced the exhaustion and emptiness of living as a digital nomad? Why is it that Zoom calls, even if we can see and hear the person, seem so fake and wearying? There is a desire in our human hearts to live in the real world, not just the curated, algorhithmic dopamine-driven virtual world.

            A couple years ago at our parish’s annual chili cook-off, I came upon two young teens staring at their phones. So I told them, “Guys, put it away, we’re going to play cards.” Initially they were resistant, but soon warmed to the idea and we had a rousing game. At the end, one of the boys said to me, “Wow, it’s been a while since I felt so…human.” We need the real world to make us feel human.

            Which is why Christ established an incarnational faith – one that can be sensed and touched, one in which His invisible love comes through concrete Sacraments. We can taste His goodness in the Eucharistic Host placed on our tongue; we can hear the healing words “I Absolve You”, in our darkest hours we feel the olive oil on our heads in Anointing of the Sick and it brings us great comfort. We humans are both body and soul, and things only enter our soul by means of our bodies. Hence, invisible grace enters our soul by means of bodily actions – aka, the Sacraments.

            I believe that in our world and our Church is in great need of rediscovering the wisdom and value of these incarnational Sacraments. They are a perfect antidote to the soul-emptying digital gulag in which we are all enslaved. Let us hunger for and deeply appreciate all of our beautiful Sacraments, for with them we are made fully human…and filled with divine grace.

Epiphany Homily 2026 - The Search for Truth

 

Homily for Epiphany 2026

January 4, 2026

The Search for Truth

 

            About a thousand years before Christ, a Persian pagan priest (say that five times fast) named Zoroaster was officiating at the spring festival when he saw some sort of shining image on a river bank. This heavenly visitor began to teach him a new religion: one that had only one god, who was locked in a cosmic battle between good and evil. This good god would send a savior (called the Saoshayant) who would be born of a Virgin and would win the final victory over evil.

            Zoroastrianism began to catch on in Persia, where it still flourishes today (there are about 120,000 adherents to this religion). Their priests are called Magi (also still existing today). So in Jesus’ day, these Magi were very much on the watch for their version of a savior, the Saoshayant – which is why they were so eager to find this newborn baby, for they believed it fulfilled their prophecy as well as the Jewish predictions of the coming Savior.

            But these men did not return home as Zoroastrian priests. Notice that when they encounter the Christ Child, they performed acts of worship – they knelt down and worshipped Him. Having been led out of the shadows of their former faith, they returned home as believers in Christ, and according to tradition they were martyred for their new Christian Faith. They are now venerated as saints: St. Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar. Their relics are in the cathedral in Cologne, Germany.

            Their original faith of Zoroastrianism had hints of the truth – enough to set them on a search for the fullness of Truth in Jesus Christ. And this should be the natural progression of things: coming from the shadows into the bright light of truth.

            When considering Catholicism’s relationship to other religions, we must avoid two extremes. One extreme is seeing every other religion as categorically false and worthless. This would be an error. Our Catechism states that there are elements of truth and goodness in other religions, that are preparations for the Gospel. We see the elements in Zoroastrianism such as monotheism, the belief in a Savior. We see such elements in Islam – belief in one God, a respect for Abraham and Mary. We even see it in Buddhism and Eastern religions – a desire to do good and avoid evil. All of these good things in other religions are meant to point us to the fullness of Truth in the Catholic Faith.

            And thus we must also avoid the opposite error, which would be religious indifferentism, the belief that all religions are equal paths to God. This is also an error, since we believe that, as the Second Vatican Council states, “It is through Christ's Catholic Church alone, which is the universal help toward salvation, that the fullness of the means of salvation can be obtained.” We have a duty to seek the Truth in religious worship, and to adhere to it.

            Sadly I have met many people who have left the Catholic Church because they wanted a better community, or more upbeat music, or better preaching. But those are all external things – the question we should be asking is, did Jesus Christ establish a Church? Yes – He set it on the rock of St. Peter’s faith. Does this Church still teach everything Jesus taught? Yes – we have the same teachings that were handed on from the Apostles to the Church Fathers to us today. Does this Church have the fullness of the means of grace? Yes – we have the Eucharist, Confession, the Sacraments, the richest tradition of prayer and saints and art.

            Seeking the truth in religion is the most important question we will ever ask. It’s about more than your tastes and preferences – it’s about which one contains the clearest path to God. It often requires sacrifice to seek the truth. I mean, wouldn’t it have been easier for those Magi to stay home and say, “That’s a pretty long 700-mile journey, could be dangerous and exhausting, and Zoroastrianism is pretty fine and I’m happy here…might as well just stay home and enjoy my good job as a pagan priest.” Nope – they said, “There is something incomplete in my faith – I must seek the Truth, even if it costs me a great deal.”

            In the 1920s, there was a young German Jewish woman named Edith Stein who was unhappy with life. She had abandoned her Jewish faith, instead choosing the life of academia. She got a doctorate in philosophy and began to teach, under the direction of a famous philosopher named Edmund Husserl – who happened to be a devout Christian. He encouraged her to look at Christianity, which she began to investigate.

            But pretty soon a friend gave her the autobiography of another saint, St. Theresa of Avila. She began reading it – and literally read the entire thing in one night. Famously, she put the book down as the sun was rising and declared, “This is truth.” She knew that she had to answer the call of Christ – and sought baptism.

            But she feared telling her mother. Eventually, on holiday from the university, she told her Jewish mother that she was choosing Christ – and her mother walked out of the room and did not speak with her again that day. When the visit was over, Edith returned to university on the train, which passed by her parents’ house. Her mother was standing there in the picture window, waving at her – giving her as sign that their relationship could be salvaged.

            She continued teaching, but ten years later felt another restlessness – she sensed God was calling her to enter the convent and become a nun. On break, she told her mother this bit of news – and once again the mother refused to speak with her. That time, as her train passed by her house, her mother was not standing by the window – and Edith took that as a sign that she had lost her mother forever. Indeed, they would never speak again.

            Edith took the name Sr. Theresa Benedicta of the Cross and became a Carmelite nun – but this was right around the time that Hitler took power in German. Due to her Jewish heritage, she was arrested and taken to Auschwitz. Her last will and testament, written right before her arrest, said this: “I beg the Lord to take my life and my death as atonement for the unbelief of the Jewish People, and that the Lord will be received by his own [Jewish] people.” She is now St. Theresa Benedicta of the Cross – one who suffered greatly in searching for the Truth found in Jesus Christ.

            I stand before you with the claim that Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and that our Catholic Faith is the True Church founded by Christ with the fullness of truth and the clearest path to salvation. But don’t take my word for it. Go on a search like those Magi did. Search the Scriptures; read the Catechism and the Church Fathers; bring it to prayer. It may take sacrifice to look for the Truth, but I can’t think of any more important search we will ever embark upon.

Feast of the Holy Family - Dec 28, 2025 - Protect the Innocent

 

Homily for Feast of the Holy Family

December 28, 2025

Safe In Our Father’s House

 

            If you’re of my generation or older, you’ll remember all the dangerous stuff we did as kids. Most of my childhood was spent without seatbelts, and forget about airbags – we didn’t have any. I have fond memories of riding in the bed of my friend’s dad’s pickup truck (completely illegal today), and I doubt I wore a bike helmet before I was sixteen years old. Heck, we drank from garden hoses and never wore sunscreen…it’s a miracle that we’re still alive.

            But of course, these things were dangerous and parents pushed for more safety and security, which is why we have seatbelts and bike helmets. Every good parent wants to protect their children – St. Joseph was willing to sacrifice a great deal to protect his Son. To move to Egypt was a 200 mile journey, on foot or on a donkey, with a newborn infant and a mother still recovering from childbirth. He was going to a new land where he didn’t speak the language, didn’t know anybody, and had no job or house lined up. But it didn’t matter – all that mattered was that Jesus would be safe. In fact, most theologians believe that the reason Joseph died before Jesus began his public ministry is because Joseph would never have allowed his Son to suffer and die on a Cross – Joseph would have done anything to stop it! And any good parent would do the same. I know parents who have quit their jobs and moved to a new city so that their children could have a better school, or better health.

            But Jesus said, “Do not be afraid of those who can kill the body, but cannot harm the soul; rather, fear him who can destroy both body and soul in Hell.” More precious than our kids’ and grandkids’ physical health is their immortal souls – but how many families neglect this spiritual health! It is a spiritual minefield out there. There is an Enemy who wants nothing more than to corrupt the innocence of children and young people. So to raise a holy family is to be willing to go to any lengths to protect your children from sin and evil. How do we do this?

            First, it starts by making Jesus Christ the King of your family and home. I was reflecting recently upon Jesus’ parable in Matthew’s Gospel where He said, “Blessed is he who listens to my word and acts upon them – it is like a man who builds his house on rock – when the storms come, it will not be shaken.” It strikes me that it’s awfully hard to build a house during a hurricane – you want to build it when the weather is calm and pleasant and favorable. In the same way, some families turn to Christ when things get tough (“when we really need Him”, they will say), but the middle of the storm is probably the worst time to start a relationship with Christ. If He’s not already the center of your life and your family, then start now when life is calm (or, in most cases, calm-ish!).

            In the 1940s as the specter of Communism and the Cold War threatened America’s stability, an enterprising priest named Fr. Patrick Peyton found new ways to encourage peace. He began hosting huge “Rosary Rallies” where thousands of families would show up in sports stadiums and concert halls, all to pray the Rosary together, and many more would join him on that newfangled technology of radio. It was through the success of these Rosary Rallies that Fr. Peyton coined the famous phrase, “The family that prays together, stays together.” Indeed, praying together as a family is the cornerstone of making Jesus Christ the King of a family and home. Maybe it’s a weekly Rosary walk together; or sharing thanks out-loud at the end of a day; or making a quick visit to the Church while running an errand. Of course, weekly Mass and monthly Confession should be the non-negotiables of family life.

            But don’t just pray with your kids and grandkids, also pray fiercely for them. Our Protestant brethren have a saying, “We’re gonna pray a hedge of protection around you.” That has always conjured a funny mental image to me – what, does the devil look at it and say, “Oh no, they discovered my weakness: shrubbery!” But the idea is great – we can pray and fast a protective border around our kids, but we have to pray fiercely. I truly believe the reason why I didn’t go off the rails as a teen is because my father prayed the Rosary daily, on his own, for us kids. After all, parents and grandparents have genuine spiritual authority – their prayers and fasting have immense power before God. Parents also have the right to renounce, rebuke, and reject any evil spirits that are afflicting their home or their children – take that authority in hand, and say (even out-loud) things like, “By the power of the Holy Name of Jesus and His Precious Blood, I command that the Evil Spirit of X (depression, anxiety, rebelliousness, sickness, lust, greed, etc) which may be afflicting my child be banished forever, in Jesus’ Name and through the intercession of Mary.” Don’t abdicate your spiritual authority!

            Part of that spiritual authority is to make your home a sanctuary. Fill it with holy books, crucifixes, statues and images of saints. Do your kids have a crucifix in their room? Do your grandkids have a Bible? A surprising number of families do not have such things. Sacramentals (objects to help strengthen our faith) make Christ not just a Sunday-only thing. After all, St. John Vianney said, “Religion must be about us as the air we breathe.”

            Perhaps the most powerful way that the Evil One gets into our kids’ and grandkids’ lives is through technology. My friends, I cannot speak clearly enough – under no circumstances should a parent give a smartphone, tablet, or other internet-enabled device to a young person without a strong filter on it. I have had pre-teens crying in my Confessional because they have encountered things online that they shouldn’t see. No good parent would drop their kids off in the worst part of Bridgeport for a night of unsupervised fun – why would parents allow their kids a window into every evil thing in the world through their phones or devices? Parents, it is a moral obligation to put a filter on your kids phones – if they see something harmful through parental neglect, the sin is on the parents!

            But it is not only technology that can harm a young person’s innocence – bad friendships can do the same. In the 1200s, a young noblewoman named Margaret fell in with some friends who were bad influences, and at the age of 17 was convinced to run away with a knight. They lived without faith, outside of marriage, for nine sinful years together, until his untimely death made her reevaluate her life. She joined the Franciscans and is now St. Margaret of Cortona, but she almost missed her call to holiness due to the bad influence of her friends. How many young people could become great saints if they only had good friends to support them! We have a duty to help our kids and grandkids foster good friendships, and forbid them from friendships that harm their faith.

            In today’s world, though, we can’t live as hermits. So it is necessary to help young people to evaluate everything they encounter through the lens of the Gospel. My dad used to do this – we’d be watching a TV show and he’d always say, “Now, what do you think about this situation in the show? How does it relate to the Gospel?” As Christians we must view all things through the Word of God, but that requires training – so let us train our family to do the same.

            My friends, all good parents would do anything to protect their children. Certainly St Joseph went to great lengths to save the Christ Child. But we have an Enemy who wants to inflict worse harm than death – separation from God for eternity. Are we as dedicated to protect our kids’ and grandkids’ innocent souls, whom Jesus Christ purchased at so great a price?

Christmas Homily 2025 - A Little Monstrance

 

Christmas Homily 2025

The Monstrance Who Descends

 

            Every year I help at a Catholic summer camp called Camp Veritas. The highlight of the camp is a powerful time of Eucharistic Adoration – which is where the Eucharist, the true Body and Blood of the Lord, is placed in this golden vessel called a monstrance – and we spend time in Adoration. One evening, the priest will carry Our Lord in the monstrance to each one of the 200 teens who are kneeling, singing praises to God. It’s an immensely moving experience – and a little exhausting, after holding the monstrance aloft for two straight hours!

            But this year, as I was bringing the monstrance around, I noticed that some of the kids were short – seriously small – and that they wouldn’t be able to see our Eucharistic Jesus in the monstrance. So I got down on one knee and brought Jesus to their eye-level. It was such a beautiful time – bringing Our Lord so low that these small kids could see Him.

            And isn’t that exactly what Christmas is all about? As much as we may look up into the sky, none of us have a window into Heaven. None of us can see God’s face or get to know who He is. He’s far too high above us, and we are far too small. So He decided to come down to our level, descending so that we can gaze upon the Face of God when we look into the eyes of the newborn Baby in Bethlehem.

            The humility of our God! Could you imagine a King who, seeing an enemy sinking in the mud, would be willing to take off his royal robes of silk and gold, leave his majestic throne and beautiful palace, and dive into the mud to lift him out? I doubt we’d ever see that in a human kingdom, but this is precisely the self-emptying of God.

            While we were still His enemies, lost in sin, He was willing to be born in a filthy animal trough. While we were still ignoring and rejecting Him, He was born into shivering cold. While we filled our lives with sinful pleasures, He endured hunger and thirst for us. While we were still trying to make ourselves like God, He became like us in all things but sin.

            Only love would give up the glories of Heaven for the miseries of earth. A love so powerful that He lifts us up from our boring, ordinary, sometimes-miserable, often-enslaved lives to invite us to eternal life with Him.

            So now that God is small, not just in the manger but in the Eucharist, what is our response? Well, gaze upon this monstrance. It is very beautiful, but it is empty. Jesus in the Eucharist is not inside of it. So despite its beauty, it’s kinda pointless.

            Likewise, our lives may be very fine on the outside. Maybe we’ve got a great job, a nice house, a happy family. But are we missing the very centerpiece of Jesus Christ? If so, then the beauty of our lives is ultimately empty. We were made to be monstrances – to contain Christ at the heart of our lives, and to show Christ to the world.

             You are not here today by accident, or just out of a sentimental custom. You are here because you have been invited by Jesus Christ. He is bringing you here to invite you to begin practicing your Catholic Faith, or perhaps to renew its fervor. He is bringing you here because perhaps He wants you to have a living, personal relationship with Him for the first time. No matter why you think you’re here, you have been invited. And now He asks for your response to this invitation. I’d like to invite all here to bow their heads. If you feel a desire to invite Jesus Christ into your heart in a new way this day, I invite you to pray this prayer after me. You may pray it out-loud or silently, or not pray it at all. It’s up to you to respond to this invitation.

            Lord Jesus, I believe in You. I believe that You are the savior of the world. I believe that You died for my sins. And now I turn away from my sins. I ask You to be my Savior. I ask You to live in my soul. I dedicate my life to You. Amen.

            This monstrance puts Christ at the center so that the world may see and adore Him. May our lives do the same.

Advent 4 - The Virtues of St. Joseph (Dec 21, 2025)

 

Homily for Advent 4

December 21, 2025

Joseph the Just Man

 

            We read today about a character who is both central to the story of Jesus, but very little understood: Joseph, the foster-father of Jesus. But this Gospel reveals four virtues of this most powerful saint – so let’s unpack the Gospel to see how Joseph can be an example to all of us.

            First, though, some background. Joseph and Mary were betrothed but not married. But what does that mean? Betrothal in ancient times was more than an engagement. It was a semi-binding legal contract that involved a public promise to marry. The groom would give some payment (called “mohar”) to the bride’s family, often a gold ring (which is why engagement rings are a thing). Then the groom would return to his house and spend up to a year expanding it, making it comfortable, before he brings his bride there and they officially live as man-and-wife.

            So breaking this betrothal was a significant risk – not only was shame involved, it was also possible that the man would lose his “down payment” and all the work on his house would be pointless. But this was a unique case. The book of Deuteronomy specifically states that a woman caught in adultery during betrothal was subject to being stoned to death, but as the Jews were under Roman law and could not execute capital punishment, they had to settle for public shaming and public divorce.

            So we see the first of Joseph’s virtues – his mercy, as he wanted to preserve as much of Mary’s dignity as possible by divorcing her quietly. It says that he was a righteous man, which means that he kept the law scrupulously – but he chose mercy over the judgment that the law proscribed. Here is a man who realized that the highest law is love and mercy!

            Some doctors of the Church (these are the saints who left us a rich treasury of writings about God) – such as St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Bernard – have an interesting interpretation, which I like very much. They say that Joseph did not think Mary was an adulteress, but rather he felt unworthy to be the father of the Son of God, and this is why he wanted to divorce her quietly. I think this interpretation is accurate to who Joseph is – a man filled with reverence and awe at the mystery of God – a second virtue of this great man. Who is worthy to become the head of the Holy Family? Who could be found to be the fitting father to the very Son of God? Joseph was conscious of his own unworthiness – and thus tried to step back from this marriage.

            But notice how the angel addresses him in the dream – “Joseph, Son of David”! Remember what noble lineage you have, what kingly stock you descend from! He is urged to take up the mantle and the mission that he was destined for, since he descended from the most noble king in Israel’s history – King David, who was called “a man after God’s own heart.” Isn’t Joseph truly a man after God’s own heart? So we see this third great virtue of Joseph – his kingly nature, being called out by the angel.

            And the angel gave him two tasks. First, to take Mary and Jesus into his home – to be the head of the Holy Family, the leader and protector of the most perfect and sacred human beings on this earth. And then to give the baby the name “Jesus” – to name a child, in ancient times, was the prerogative of the father, and it was an act of spiritual authority. So Joseph was willing to accept the mantle of leadership on behalf of others – another great virtue of his!

            Finally, we see how quickly he carries out this command – upon waking, he wasted no time to “take Mary into his home.” He has the virtue of prompt obedience – not hesitating, waffling, or equivocating – he responded to the Lord with a prompt heart.

            These four virtues are equally as pertinent to the spiritual life of every Christian. First, mercy. Our Church is governed by a set of laws called the “Code of Canon Law”, which has  over 1700 laws. But the final law is the most important – it reads, “The supreme law in the Church is the salvation of souls.” We, too, should be governed by such a law: The supreme law is to love God above all things and to love our neighbor in His Name. Of course, to love means to obey the laws of God and the laws of the Church, but this obedience must be motivated by love. As Pope St. John XXIII wrote, “In essential [things], unity; in doubtful matters, liberty; in all things, charity.” Joseph had compassion on the unwed teenaged Mary – and because he did, he was blessed with one of the most privileged lives – to raise the Son of God!

            Second, we too ought to be filled with reverential awe. Did you know that St. Francis of Assisi never became a priest, but remained a deacon, because he had so much awe for the Eucharist that he considered himself unworthy to celebrate Mass. He once said, “If I saw an angel and a drunken priest walking down the road, I would kiss the hands of the priest first before greeting the angel.” Here was someone who understood the awe-inspiring realities of our Catholic Faith – do we feel that same awe as we approach our Eucharistic Lord? A Protestant was once arguing with a Catholic about the Eucharist and asking, “What is it you believe about the Eucharist?” The Catholic replied, “We believe it is the Body and Blood of the Lord.” The Protestant challenged, “No, you don’t believe that.” The Catholic replied, “Yes, we do.” The Protestant said, “No, you don’t, because if you believed that you would never leave the Church, and approach Him on your knees.” Joseph was in awe that God had become man in Jesus; are you in awe that God has become this Eucharistic Host?

            Third, we must accept our vocation and not shy away from its crosses. Joseph had a mission and, as the son of King David, the strength to live it out. You, too, have a mission – all of us are called to holiness first and foremost, to become saints! And this is lived out in your specific vocation: maybe it’s the kids we are called to raise as faithful Catholics; the elderly parent we’re called to care for; the neighborhood we are called to witness to; the difficult job we undertake because it serves others. This is your path to sanctity, and you too are sons and daughters of a Great King – so take up your mantle and become holy as He is holy!

            Finally, we too are called to prompt obedience. The Sisters of Life, which is a religious order of nuns dedicated to the protection of all life and serving women in crisis pregnancies, have a saying: “See the need, meet the need.” If they see the trash can overflowing, they don’t wait for the next person to take care of it. If they see a dirty pot in the sink, it’s their duty to clean it. This prompt obedience is for the duties of our state in life (don’t procrastinate on homework, don’t scroll social media when you really need to be talking to your teenager about dating), for inspirations of the Holy Spirit (maybe I should pray…oh no, let me rearrange my sock drawer instead), and for our vocations. I went to seminary with a professional soccer player named Chase Hilgenbrinck (now Fr. Chase). He played on the New England Revolution pro soccer team, but knew God was calling him to the priesthood. He kept putting it off, thinking that when his soccer career came to an end, then he would become a priest. But one day he was reading a spiritual book and came across the line: “delayed obedience is disobedience”. It hit him like a ton of bricks – he left the game of soccer and became a priest (and now uses his soccer talents to spread the Gospel!)

            It’s no wonder that Joseph is the patron of the Universal Church, called the Terror of Demons and the most powerful in Heaven besides Our Lord and Our Lady. His virtues are beautiful – mercy, reverence, embracing his vocation, prompt obedience. And his virtues can be imitated by all Christians!

Advent 3 - Feast of Feasts (Dec 14, 2025)

 

Homily for Advent 3

December 13, 2025

Feast of Feasts

 

            Both our opening prayer and our prayer after Communion speak about “feasts”. But what is a feast, and what makes it different from a party? I turned to The Google for the answer: feasts are elaborate, often-ritualized meals with special food that celebrates an occasion. For example, every Thanksgiving feast includes turkey, even if you’d rather have pizza (and do not try to put turkey on pizza. That would be an unspeakable abomination). By contrast, a party is a gathering for entertainment and socialization. It may have food but that’s not the main purpose, unlike a feast. And it can just be for fun – it doesn’t need to commemorate an event.

            In our Judeo-Christian tradition, there are three main Feasts we celebrate. The first is the Jewish feast of Passover. It’s a rough feast – the food is not anyone’s idea of delightful. We had a Passover Seder meal in class at CKA a few weeks back, and when it came time to eat the bitter herbs dipped in salt water, there were more than a few grimaces…and even some kids politely spitting it out! Of course, that food is richly symbolic of the bitterness of Israel’s slavery in Egypt and the tears they shed, since the feast commemorates when God led them from slavery to freedom.

            But that feast is fulfilled – we now have a newer, better Feast – the Holy Eucharist. We, too, take special food – not bread and wine, but the very Body and Blood of God! And it, too, commemorates an earth-shattering event – the death and Resurrection of Christ.

            But what we do here at Mass will not be the final feast. Heaven is referred to as the “Wedding Feast of the Lamb” – when God and the human race are finally united like bride and groom. Isaiah refers to this heavenly banquet in delicious terms: a feast of “juicy, rich food and pure, choice wine.” And this feast will commemorate the final victory of God over sin and death forever, as the entire universe is renewed in Him.

            So, to sum up, the first feast of Passover is no more – it does not need to be celebrated because God has done something greater in Redemption. We celebrate that second feast at every Mass, remembering what God did for us in His death and Resurrection, but we look forward to that third feast of the Banquet Feast of the Lamb in eternal life, for God’s greatest work has yet to be done – the final victory.

            Why do I bring this up during Advent? We often call Advent a “season of waiting” – but not just waiting for Christmas – it’s about waiting for that final victory, waiting for the final Feast of everlasting life. Listen to the prayers at today’s Mass – in a few short moments we will be praying, “Complete what was begun in us in sacred mystery (aka, in the Sacraments, which do effect a change in us that is real but invisible), and powerfully accomplish for us Your saving work (in other words, bring about that final victory over sin and death).” A bit later, in the Preface (the prayer which introduces the Eucharistic Prayer), we pray: “When He comes again in glory and majesty, and all is at last made manifest, we who watch for that day (aka, the day of His final triumph) may inherit the great promise in which we now dare to hope (eternal life)”.

            Advent prompts us to consider the connection between Christmas and this great Feast of the Eucharist. For example, Jesus was born in Bethlehem, a town which means “House of Bread”, and He was laid in a manger, a feeding trough for animals. Christmas celebrates the Incarnation, when God became man…the Eucharist continues the Incarnation, when God became bread. Even the name, “Christmas”, comes from “Christ’s Mass”!

            In 1263, a German priest was traveling through Italy and stopped in a small town called Orvieto to celebrate Mass. He was struggling to believe in Jesus’ True Presence in the Eucharist, but as he held up the Eucharist, it began to bleed all over the corporal (the cloth used on the altar). The Bishop was notified, who then told the Pope. The Pope, amazed at the Eucharistic miracle, decided to add a feast to the Church year – the feast of Corpus Christi, which we celebrate in June, honoring the Body and Blood of the Lord.

            For this new feast, the Pope asked two saints to compose hymns to the Eucharist: the Dominican priest St. Thomas Aquinas, and the Franciscan priest St. Bonaventure. The story goes that both of them came to the Pope with their hymns, and Aquinas went first. After reading his aloud, St. Bonaventure ripped his to shreds, realizing that he couldn’t come close to the genius of this Doctor of the Church.

            One of the hymns he wrote for the Feast Day of Corpus Christi is called “O Sacrum Convivium,” O Sacred Banquet. Here are the words:

            How holy this feast

            in which Christ Himself is our food;

            His passion is recalled;

            grace fills our hearts;

            and we receive a pledge of the glory to come.

            What we do here at this Mass is indeed a Feast to surpass all Feasts: we feast on God Himself…we recall His mightiest work of Redemption…and we receive grace. But even this Feast pales in comparison with the coming Wedding Feast of the Lamb in eternity, when all Sacraments will be taken away because we see Him face-to-face, when He completes His victorious work.

            And so, during Advent we wait…not just for Christmas, but for Heaven. And that’s why we’re joyful on this third Sunday of Advent – we’re going to a Banquet – where the lame are healed, the blind see, the despairing have hope, the spiritually dead will be raised to life.