Christmas 2023 - Christmas is Christ's Mass

 

Homily for Christmas 2023

Christ’s Mass

 

            Back in the early 1800s, a small community of Catholics moved up to Goshen, NY, which at that time was quite the backwoods. They would see a priest only occasionally, as the priest would have to ride horseback amongst many hamlets in the Catskills, some of which were hundreds of miles away.

            However, they were thrilled to have the priest coming for Christmas Midnight Mass in 1847. Although a small congregation, they did the best they could to beautify the church with decorations, candles, and a small handmade manger scene. They all looked forward to the beauty of the Mass.

            But then…snow. A blizzard blew in from the north, covering the village. The people were heartbroken, knowing that the priest would be unable to come for Mass. Nevertheless they made the best of a bad situation and decided to gather in the church at midnight to pray and sing hymns as best as they could.

            The people gathered at a few minutes until midnight, when something quite surprising happened. The bell was rung, and all of a sudden from the sacristy (where the priest prepares for Mass), a priest that they didn’t recognize stepped forth and began the Mass. The people were overjoyed and poured their hearts out to God in gratitude. It was one of the most amazing, solemn, sacred Masses they had ever assisted at. When Mass was over, the priest went back into the sacristy to unvest, and the people waited for the priest to come back out, to thank him and greet him. But as they waited…and waited…and waited, no priest appeared. They went into the sacristy, but he wasn’t there. They then opened the back door – and there were no footprints in the snow. The people were in awe – the priest was clearly an angel of some sort. It was a true miracle, witnessed by dozens – and they were overjoyed that they got to celebrate Mass that Christmas.

            The word “Christmas” itself comes from the Old English for “Christ’s Mass”. It is a holiday that is primarily focused around the Mass and the Eucharist, not the department-store Santa and the fruitcake and the Bing Crosby songs. Consider the connections between Christmas and the Eucharist – Christ was born in the town of Bethlehem – a town whose name means “House of Bread”. He Who is the true Bread from Heaven was laid in a manger – a feeding trough. It is as if He was already making the point that He would be giving us His flesh to eat in the Holy Eucharist!

            Consider, further, the vulnerable love we see in both the Eucharist and the Divine Infant in the manger. In both cases, God purposely makes Himself small and defenseless. He wants so desperately to be near us that He is willing to hide His glory and place Himself at our mercy. His desire to be one of us led to Him taking flesh; His desire to be one with us leads to Him taking the appearance of bread, although it is truly His Body. Just as He was willing to risk rejection, loneliness, and suffering while living on earth, so He is willing to stay in our tabernacles night and day, alone and forgotten, because of His burning love to be close to His people.

            So as we look at this beautiful manger scene – and perhaps you have one in your home – never forget that the same Jesus Christ, God-made-man, is not just a figure constrained to history. No, He is truly alive today – not just in some distant heaven, but in every tabernacle in every Catholic Church in the world, and at every Mass in the Eucharist.

            Never has it been more fitting to sing that Christmas song: O Come, let us adore Him. Yes, the angels and the shepherds and the magi came to adore Him two thousand years ago in Bethlehem. But we have the privilege of adoring Him tonight, truly present in the Holy Eucharist - and not only tonight, but every time we come to Mass – Even when it’s not Christmas, it’s always Christ’s Mass.

Advent 3 - The Mission of the Messiah

 

Homily for Advent 3

December 17, 2023

The Mission of the Messiah

 

            Many people think that “Christ” is Jesus’ last name (“Hello, Mr. Christ!”). But it is not – Christ, Christos in Greek, means “The Anointed One” – it is the Greek translation of the Hebrew “Messiah”. In the Old Testament, three types of people were anointed with oil – priests, prophets, and kings. Christ was anointed, not with oil but with the Holy Spirit, into all three roles – He was the priest who offered His Own Body upon the Cross; He was the ultimate prophet in that He spoke on behalf of the Lord; and He is the King of the Universe.

            And our first reading tells us of Christ’s “mission statement”, as it were. Why did He come as man? What was His mission?

            First, to “bring glad tidings to the poor and heal the brokenhearted”. Notice His mission isn’t to make the poor rich, or to take away suffering. It was to give meaning and purpose to suffering by freely embracing it for our salvation.

            All of us are poor in one way or another. All of us have crosses, struggles, brokenness. I have yet to meet a single human being who is perfectly put together and doesn’t make mistakes. Oh, we fake it a lot and show the world our happy-face, but there is a deep poverty inside us – and this is good because it is a place where the Lord can enter. He doesn’t want to fill our poverty entirely, because then we lose our need for Him. So instead of taking it away, He brings glad tidings – the good news that suffering has value, that it can be united to His Cross, that it will all be redeemed.

            There was an ‘80s and ‘90s rock-and-roll star named Jim Carroll, whose band’s first album in 1980 was called “Catholic Boy”. Right after its release, he was interviewed on the old Tom Snyder show, and they asked him, “Why did you name your first album Catholic Boy?” He replied, “Because I’m Catholic.” He went on to explain, “Catholicism is the only religion to truly deal with suffering.” He told about how he had to accompany his friend who was dying of leukemia, and he felt totally helpless – much like Mary, at the foot of the Cross, had to helplessly watch Her Son broken and in pain. Catholicism isn’t afraid of suffering and death – it redeems and transforms it. So, Christ came to bring glad tidings to the poor – to tell us that our poverty is precious and valuable as it sanctifies us and unites us to Christ’s Cross for the salvation of souls.  

            Second, Christ came to “proclaim liberty to captives and release to prisoners”. Obviously this doesn’t mean to literally open jail doors – but rather to free those who are imprisoned by sin. Sin makes us slaves. Think about those sins that you wish you could be free of, but still find yourselves trapped in – a quick temper, a sharp tongue, a struggle with lust, the cycle of unforgiveness…we are not free if we are a slave to sin. But it was precisely for this freedom that Christ set us free!

            Back in the 1940s, a young Frenchman named Jacques Fesch was on a bad path. He got fired from successive jobs for laziness, abandoned his wife and daughter, and started to live a criminal lifestyle. At a certain point, he robbed a bank, and as he was getting chased by the police, shot and killed an officer. When he was finally arrested, the judge ordered the death penalty for him. At first, his prison term was filled with anger and vitriol – God must not exist if He would allow Him to fall into such sin and be locked in a prison!

            Initially, he refused to allow the chaplain to visit him. But the chaplain was persistent, and slowly he began to become friends with Jacques. The condemned man’s lawyer, too, was a devout Catholic, who prayed frequently for his client. Pretty soon, Jacques began to examine his life and consider how deep his sinful chains were. He experienced a gradual but deep conversion, as he began to beg God for mercy.

            Towards the end of his life, he began to read spiritual books, receive the Sacraments as often as he could, and keep a spiritual journal. He wrote, “This is not a prison cell – this is a monastery” – because he spent all day in prayer in his cell. He apologized to all those whom his actions had hurt, and was so prepared for his execution that he remarked to the chaplain, “Just think, in a few short hours I will be seeing Jesus!” He is now actually on the path to canonization! It took him his entire life, but he finally realized that true freedom wasn’t doing whatever you want, but submitting your life to the sweet Kingship of Christ. Four stone walls weren’t limiting his freedom – rather, he found freedom when the Lord had removed the chains of his sin. If your soul is trapped in the bonds of sin, run to Confession, and experience the freedom of His Mercy.

            Finally, to “proclaim a year of favor from the Lord and a day of vindication by our God.” The same word in Greek means both “favor” and “grace” – He comes to offer the saving grace that opens the gates of Heaven. Imagine Jesus Christ Himself as a leather purse full of the most precious commodity – grace. He descended from Heaven to distribute that grace to men and women. It was on the Cross, however, when His Sacred Heart was pierced, that grace flowed out – and now that the leather purse has burst, men and women have the opportunity to fill themselves with the endless sea of grace that continually pours out from the Heart of Christ. I hope this isn’t disrespectful, but I think of a pinata and how kids go crazy when it is burst asunder. Likewise, when the floodgates of grace were burst asunder on the Cross, we ought to have that same excitement and fervor in filling our souls with grace! The Sacraments, the Word of God, and daily prayer attach us to the many streams of grace that flow from the Heart of Christ. And when Satan wants to accuse us of our sins, we show Him the grace that we have received – and thus are “vindicated by our God” as the Prophet says. Past sins cannot condemn a man who has washed his soul clean in Confession and fed his soul with the Eucharistic Lord.

            And that is why this is Gaudete Sunday – the Sunday of joy and rejoicing. All of our readings have that theme – rejoicing! Not because we’re going to get presents in ten days…not even because the family is coming in from out-of-town. Rather, our joy must be supernatural – the joy that comes from knowing our lives are given worth and meaning, our ancient bondage to sin is finally ended, and the fountain of supernatural grace has been opened to us – all because Jesus Christ came to save us.

Advent 2 - The Second Coming of Christ, Part 2

 

Homily for December 10, 2023

Second Sunday of Advent

The Coming of Christ, Part 2

 

            Last week I spoke about the return of Christ. We know He is coming soon, but as St. Peter reminds us in the second reading, “Soon” does not necessarily mean within the year, or even within our lifetimes. But when He does come, what can we expect? We see three elements of Christ’s Return within the readings today.

            The first is called the Last Judgment, or General Judgment. At the end of time, every soul that has ever existed will gather in the presence of the Lord, and He will reveal every single consequence of every choice we have made, for good or for ill. The secret prayers, the hidden acts of charity, the private thoughts of judgment, the hidden sins will all be revealed, and we will be able to see how we fit into the beautiful, mysterious plan of God’s Providence.

            Occasionally here we receive a glimpse into such things. I went to seminary with a fellow classmate named Clinton, who complained about everything – the food, the teachers, the buildings – literally nothing was to his liking. His room was next to mine, and we frequently would spend time together, but it gets old being with such a downer all the time. One day we were hanging out and he was complaining, as usual, and I was so frustrated that I said, “Clinton, I’m fed up with listening to your complaints. I’m going to the chapel to pray.” He said in response, “Okay, please pray for me.” I shot back, “No, you go pray for yourself.” Later that day I felt bad about my snappy response, so I apologized, and it was all good. But fast-forward three years. He was preparing to be ordained a priest and he said to me, “I just wanted to thank you for saving my vocation.” I had no idea what he was talking about, so he explained, “Remember that time you told me to go and pray for myself? I took it seriously. I realized I was so miserable in seminary because I wasn’t developing a real personal relationship with Jesus; I hadn’t been seriously praying. So from that day forward I began to pray, and it saved my vocation.” I was amazed at how a comment, which was probably rude and unkind, ended up impacting the trajectory of his life! At the Last Judgment, all will be revealed – all of the consequences of our sins and good deeds. Nothing will be hidden on that day – which is a bit unnerving, and prompts us to live as men and women of integrity, knowing that even our inmost thoughts and secret actions will be known by all!

            Our Scriptures also reveal that this current, broken world will be destroyed, and in its place will be a new heaven and earth. It is not merely mankind who is broken – because we are called to “have dominion” on the earth, we see that it, too, is fallen due to our sin. This is where natural disasters, cancer, and all sorts of disorder springs forth. But at the end of time, God’s new creation will be the earth as it was meant to be, with order and beauty unimaginable.

            We sometimes see glimpses of this in the lives of the saints. For example, in a small town called Gubbio in Italy, there was a wolf that was terrorizing the people. He had attacked many of the townspeople at night and killed several. The people petitioned St. Francis, who was nearby, to help them somehow. St. Francis, after several hours of prayer, received an inspiration from the Holy Spirit of what to do. He went out to the wolf’s lair, and called out the wolf. The wolf came forth growling, and Francis made the sign of the Cross over it and knelt on the ground to speak to the creature eye-to-eye. “Brother Wolf, why must you strike fear in the hearts of these good townspeople, who are made in the Image of God? If they promise to feed you daily, will you live in peace with them?” According to eyewitnesses, the wolf placed its forepaw in the outstretched hand of St. Francis to seal the deal. Francis then preached a sermon to the people, saying, “If we have been filled with fear from the jaws of this beast, how much more ought we fear the eternal and fearsome jaws of Hell!”

            From that time on, the wolf became a welcome friend in the town. When the wolf died some years later, it was actually given a reverential burial in the town’s church. Recent archaeological excavations did find the skeleton of a large wolf beneath the floor of that church! This is such a beautiful example of the order returning to the natural world through the sanctity of a saint – and the entire universe will experience such peace at the end of time.

            A final reality that will occur with Christ’s coming will be the resurrection of the body, which we profess in our creed. It is in and through our bodies that we practice virtue or vice, that we do good works or sin. Hence, our bodies will be reunited with our souls to share in the glory of Heaven or the sufferings of Hell. This body, so broken and weak and frail right now, will someday be made new – to rejoice eternally or to suffer everlastingly. If we use our bodies for God’s glory here, we can expect a reward from Him in eternity. How beautiful it will be to see the Face of Christ with our eyes, to hear the songs of angels with our ears!

            For centuries, people eagerly anticipated the coming of the Messiah – the one who would finally break the ancient curse of sin. And, although it took a while, God remained faithful to His promise in a way we could never have expected – He would send, not a prophet, but His only Son to die for us! In the centuries since, we have eagerly awaited the second coming of Jesus Christ. We can have the same confidence that, no matter how long it takes, God will be faithful and finish His work, bringing all of creation to its exalted and redeemed state. With Christians throughout the ages, we cry out, “Marantha! Come Lord Jesus!”

Advent 1 - The Second Coming of Christ, Part 1

 

Homily for December 3, 2023

Advent 1

The Coming of Christ, Part 1

 

            During the Communist oppression of Russia, parents used to whisper into the ears of their children as they drifted off to sleep, “Do not be afraid, Christ is coming soon.” This did not cause them fear but comfort – amidst the absolute chaos and violence of the Revolution, they had the hope that Christ will win in the end.

            In these past few years, many people have lamented to me about “the craziness of everything that’s going on” – that seems to be a catch-all phrase for so much of the chaos we see in our modern world: war, broken families, addictions, mental illness, redefining everything that once was stable, economic chaos, pandemics…you name it. At a certain point we human beings have made such a mess that we need a Divine Intervention to set things right – which is why, for those who are on His side, Christ’s coming will be a joyous occasion, for all things will be made new when He returns!

            During Advent, we are not only waiting for Christmas, we are also waiting for the Second Coming of Christ. How fitting it is in this northern hemisphere that we await the shortest day of the year, knowing that afterward, the light will return. So as we see Western Civilization drifting into darkness, Christians are able to see it with the firm confidence that the Light will return when Christ comes again.

            Our readings today make it clear that every generation should be vigilant, because Christ may come again at any point. But I think in a particular way our generation is called to vigilance, for several reasons.

            First, if we consider that human history is a storybook telling the story of Salvation History, every story has a beginning, a middle, and an end. The beginning was Creation and the Fall. The climax was Christ’s death and resurrection, which began the process of bringing the world back to its original glory. The end of the book is when we all live “happily ever after” in the New Creation when Christ returns. We are already 2023 pages past the middle of the book…which means we must be getting towards the end! In fact, we are now about as many years removed from Christ as Abraham was – a ponderous thought!

            In addition, I think there are some elements of our modern world that make this time uniquely ripe for Christ’s return. For example, never before in human history has the a world been so interconnected – someone can post something in Australia and it will be read in Paris in a matter of seconds. While this has been used for great good, Popes Benedict and Francis have often decried what they called “ideological colonization” – the fact that we can now export the worst elements of modern culture around the globe. For example, through the influence of American media, we have exported our materialism into third world countries that at one time were content with their simple lives. Many lucrative grants are offered to third-world countries to provide food and clean water…but only if they promote and comply with first-world family planning (i.e. population control).

            Another element of our modern world that could signal Christ’s immanent return is the widespread atheism and apostasy that has never before been seen on such a large scale. People are leaving religion in droves – we have never before had a culture that is truly secular, as we do now. In fact the word “culture” comes from the Latin “cultus”, meaning worship – it was always some sort of faith that held a culture together (whether Christianity, Islam, Eastern religions, or just the ancient pagan religions that all tribes ascribed to). We now have a world where religion is passe. Since religion no longer binds us together (as the word “religion” comes from the Latin “re-ligare” which means to bind), then the result is relativism – the belief that there are no truths, we can all define our own. Never before in human history has relativism been the prevailing philosophy.

            Finally, although sin has always been there, the sheer magnitude of sin cries out for God’s redemption. On a daily basis, how many millions of people commit the sin of gossip through social media? Every year, over 930,000 unborn babies lose their lives to abortion in America alone – this is more than any war or barbaric society could even conceive of in the past. The amount of bad pictures and videos of sex and violence that a man can look up in an afternoon is more than the most decadent Roman emperor could see in his lifetime. The ease with which one can fall into sin, coupled with the abandonment of God, cries out for His intervention!

            And thus, I feel like we are like the Israelites of today’s passionate first reading: “Why do you let us wander, O LORD, from your ways, and harden our hearts so that we fear you not? Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, while you wrought awesome deeds we could not hope for!” As Christians our whole lives should be “Maranatha,” the ancient Christian cry meaning “Come, Lord Jesus!”

            Whenever it does come, let us be prepared – our lamps burning, our faith strong, our hearts expecting Him to come and bring about the healing that we cannot. The world will not be saved through politics, laws, or economics – it will only be saved when God radically breaks into human history to return triumphantly – not as an innocent baby, but as a mighty judge who will bring justice for His people who await His return.

            And so we watch and we pray, “Come quickly, O Lord!”

Ordinary Time 32 - Wisdom vs Knowledge

 

Homily for November 12, 2023

Ordinary Time 32

Wisdom vs Knowledge

 

            There was an old man praying the Rosary in a horse-drawn public carriage (which were like buses back in the olden days) when, at a certain stop, a young man got in. The young man, noticing the man devoutly praying the beads, replied, “Sir, do you still believe in that?”

            He nodded that he did, and the younger man launched into a long monologue. “Oh, but religion is over! We don’t need superstition like that any more. We have science, we have reason!” And he began to try to tell the older man about all of the scientific advances that were up-and-coming.

            The older man listened patiently, and they came to his stop. He said to the younger man, “This has been a very enlightening conversation, I would like to discuss this further with you. May I give you my address, and you can pay me a visit to tell me more about this science?” The young man agreed, so the old man wrote his address on a scrap of paper and departed.

            When the old man had disembarked, the young man glanced at the paper and was shocked. It read, “Blaise Paschal, Paris Academy of Sciences.” The young man had tried to explain science to one of the greatest scientists in history, one who also possessed a rich Catholic Faith. Both men had knowledge, but only one of them had wisdom.

            Our first reading is a panegyric to wisdom. Despite all of our advances in science, technology, and learning, our world is rather short on wisdom. What is wisdom? How does it differ from knowledge? How do we grow in wisdom? Let’s examine these questions!

            Knowledge is facts, wisdom is an understanding of how the facts fit into the whole, what it all means. We may know what type of tree that is, but wisdom tells us that the tree is beautiful. We may know how the human body works, but wisdom tells us what it means to be human and what the meaning of our lives is. Knowledge can tell us what the stars are made of, but wisdom stands in awe and wonder at the heavens.

            Knowledge is good, but can be very dangerous when divorced from wisdom. After all, the first sin was to desire the “tree of knowledge” – growing so much in knowledge of all things, both good and evil, so that we would become “like gods”. Even today we see a tremendous temptation to be “like gods” with our knowledge. For example, there is a movement in science called transhumanism which seeks to live forever by merging technology and the human body. The ultimate desire of transhumanism is to download our consciousness onto a hard drive so that our personality lives on a computer, which will never die – an attempt to be like gods, without God! It is also acting “like God” to create or manipulate human life in a laboratory, instead of seeing human life as a free gift from God that we receive with gratitude. It is acting “like God” to develop technologies that cause death and destruction – after Robert Oppenheimer created the nuclear bomb, he famously declared, “I have become Death, the destroyer of worlds” – almost proud of his quasi-godlike powers.

            Wisdom is the proper balance to knowledge. Knowledge asks, “Is it possible to do this?” while wisdom asks, “Is it prudent, just, or good to do this?” Wisdom helps us to see everything in this life in the light of eternity. For example, wisdom understands that money is not an idol; wisdom understands that suffering can be redeemed by love; wisdom sees every human being in light of their intrinsic dignity from God.

            So how do we grow in wisdom? How do we cultivate that understanding of the meaning of life, the proper understanding of all things in light of eternity? Three ways.

            First, study the wisdom of past ages. Every page of the Scriptures is full of rich wisdom of how best to live life. The lives and writings of the saints show us how wisdom is put into practice. Surround yourself with wise people, both those of the past and those alive now, and seek out their wisdom. It’s far easier to glean the wisdom of others than to try to discover it ourselves!

            Second, learn the lessons God is trying to teach us, particularly through suffering. We almost always seek to get out of suffering – be it physical, emotional, relational – but this is a priceless opportunity to gain a new, eternal perspective. What is God trying to teach you through your bad diagnosis? What is God trying to form in you through that difficult boss or challenging marriage? How will your perspective change because of the loneliness, struggle, or pain that you’re going through? Nothing is wasted – all can form wisdom within us.

            Finally, we can grow in wisdom through wonder. We don’t have much wonder in today’s world. We like to have everything under our control, with all knowledge literally in the palm of our hands. But we should also cultivate wonder, which is the antidote to the pride that knowledge can engender. Sit one evening and marvel at the stars. Listen to a beautiful piece of music without trying to critique it. Spend time in Adoration and listen to the Teacher. Wonder makes us realize our proper place in the cosmos – we do not, and will never, know all things, and that is good! As God revealed to St. Catherine of Siena, “I am He Who is, you are she who is not.” It’s good to feel small in the universe!

            Even the most learned scholars in history needed to cultivate wisdom. St. Thomas Aquinas, who was perhaps the most brilliant man to ever live, who wrote literally millions of words about every subject under the sun, stopped writing towards the end of his life, leaving his magnum opus unfinished. When his friends asked why, he told them that he had experienced a vision of Christ Crucified while he was celebrating Mass. He said that compared to seeing the greatness of God, everything he had written was “like straw”. A man of profound humility – and wisdom.

            Knowledge is good – very good. It has immeasurably improved human lives in our modern world. But I fear that we have lost wisdom – we do not understand where we’ve come from, where we’re going, or any meaning behind all this knowledge. But Christ, Who is Wisdom incarnate, wants to balance our knowledge with His wisdom – so that we can keep everything in its proper eternal perspective.

Ordinary Time 31 - What If It's All True?

 

Homily for November 5, 2023

Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time

What If It’s True?

 

            Mark Hart was a young teen when he was forced to go on his confirmation retreat. He dreaded it. Oh great, some super-boring weekend where I have to listen to lectures. And, indeed, the weekend turned out to be as bad as he expected…until Saturday night. The teens were all having Eucharistic Adoration, and he sat in the back, leaning against the wall, bored out of his mind. The band was playing a worship song, but he wanted none of it. He just wanted to be done and out of there.

            And then – the most random thought popped into his mind.

            What if it’s…true?

            What if that Eucharist is really…God?

            All of a sudden, he was consumed with hunger to know. Was it really true? Was the Eucharist really God? Was Jesus really who He said He was? Are Heaven and Hell real? Is the Catholic Church really the true Church?

            For the rest of that night, he spoke to the Lord and asked the questions – and then when he got back home, Mark investigated the answers, and came to the conclusion that yes, all of this is true. It was the beginning of his conversion. He’s now a professional Catholic speaker and teacher, an expert in the Bible.

            St. Paul rejoices that the Thessalonians accepted the Gospel, not as a human teaching, but as Divine Revelation. But it still boggles my mind that there are many – yes, many – churchgoing Catholics who don’t believe that Catholicism is true. Recently one of our parishioners, who teaches at St. Joseph’s High School, was telling me that the school chaplain had requested an exorcist to come into the school and give a solemn blessing to the place, because some weird and creepy stuff had been going on. This teacher was sitting with another teacher in the lounge, talking about the spiritual warfare they had been experiencing, when another teacher there – a Catholic – spoke up and said, “Wait, do you guys really believe that stuff about angels and demons?” Uh, yes, they do. Christianity isn’t just a nice myth or a comforting philosophy that makes us feel better about ourselves – I am here to make the claim that everything the Church teaches is true!

             How can we be sure? Well, it’s not something we can scientifically prove, true. I cannot prove that I have a soul, or that the Eucharist is Jesus, or that Heaven and Hell are real. But there are many things in life I cannot prove – I cannot scientifically prove that my mother loves me, or that Julius Caesar really existed. It would be impossible to personally verify everything I’ve ever been told or taught. Instead of proof, we look for the evidence.

            And what is the evidence for the truth of Catholicism? Let’s look at several pieces of evidence (and this is not a comprehensive list):

            First, the Bible is a historical document, telling real stories of real people who really encountered God. We have over 6,000 manuscripts – fragments and entire books – of the Bible from before the end of the first century. In contrast, there are only 49 manuscripts about Aristotle’s sayings. Archeology has consistently backed up the Scriptures – for example, researches have found chariot wheels at the bottom of the Red Sea, showing that the Egyptians really did chase the Israelites through the Red Sea upon their departure from Egypt.

            Throughout the past twenty centuries, fifty million people who shed their blood for the Catholic Faith, showing that this is not an empty myth but a Truth worth dying for. In fact, the witness of all the saints throughout history is evidence of the truth of Christianity: the martyrs, the priests and religious, the holy marriages, the works of mercy, the scientifically-unexplainable miracles that have happened – all of these help to bolster belief that this is all true.

            These pieces of evidence do not prove that Catholicism is true, but they are pieces of convincing evidence. And I’ve seen enough evidence that I’m convinced. Our faith is not blind – the Medieval scholastics had a saying, Fides Quarens Intellectum – faith seeking understanding. We believe, and we look for reasons to back up our belief.

            But faith is not merely an intellectual exercise. Once we believe that Christianity is actually true, the consequence is that we must live like it’s true. This was the issue Jesus had with the Pharisees in the Gospel – the Pharisees believed, but didn’t live like it’s true.

            For us Christians, there are real consequences to our intellectual faith. If we really believe that Heaven and Hell are realities, which one are we living for? If we believe that our soul lives forever, why do we not take more care of it? If we believe that God really hears our prayers, why do we not dedicate serious time to daily prayer? If we believe that the Bible is the Word of God, why do we not spend time reading it daily and letting it inform our life? If we really believe that the Eucharist is Jesus, we would never miss Mass or receive without regular Confession.

            I gotta be honest, I believe with my whole heart and soul that Catholicism is true. Some of us here may not be there yet – and that’s fine, but seek. I’m not asking you to believe blindly. I’m asking you to examine the evidence and see if all this is real. St. Augustine said, “Truth is like a lion – you don’t have to defend it, just let it loose and it will defend itself.”

            I want to live my life like all this is true. Do you?

Homily for All Saints Day - Joyful Paradox

 

Homily for All Saints Day

The Paradox

 

            Saint Francis was walking back to his monastery with Brother Leo on a bitterly cold, rainy day. They were discussing what it mean to be truly joyful. Brother Leo suggested several things that might be joyful: being in perfect health, having knowledge of all sciences and nature, having the ability to work miracles, converting souls to Christ. Yet every time Leo would mention one of these, St. Francis would shake his head and say, “No, no, that’s not true joy.”

            Finally, Brother Leo ran out of ideas, and in frustration, demanded of St. Francis, “Then what is true joy, really?”

            St. Francis replied, “When we have arrived at our monastery cold and shivering, exhausted and starving, and the doorkeeper looks at us and says, ‘You two are not really among our brothers,’ and he leaves us outside and begins to insult and abuse us – if we can accept all that as the will of God for us at that moment, that is pure joy.”

            Francis is quite right – and one could certainly consider him one of the happiest men to ever live.

            We all want to be happy. In fact, every decision we make is for our happiness. Why do we come to school? Because we think a good education will give us a good job someday, and that will make us happy. Why do we spend time with this friend or that friend? Because they make us happy. Why do we play this sport or that sport? Because we enjoy it – it makes us happy.

            And Jesus in the Gospels gives us eight guidelines for happiness! He begins each Beatitude with those words, “Blessed are you…” – in other words, you will be happy if you do these things!

            But notice what comes afterward. Blessed are you…who are poor in spirit. Wait, I thought the rich were happy? Nope, if you want true happiness, embrace the poverty of spirit that prefers nothing to Christ. Blessed are you…who are meek. Wait, the world tells me that I need to become famous and popular to be happy? Nope, if you want true happiness, choose the route of humility, being forgotten by the world and remembered in the Heart of God. Blessed are you…who are pure. Wait, the world tells me that happiness is having as much pleasure as I want? Nope, if you want true happiness, we deny our flesh so that our spirit will thrive. Blessed are you…when you are persecuted. Wait, the world tells me I have to be successful and have a good reputation? Nope, if you want true happiness, pursue God alone and don’t worry about what other people say or think or do.

            So the Beatitudes are a paradox. A paradox means that two things that are seemingly opposite are actually both true. On one hand, we have to deny ourselves – on the other hand, we find joy in God. Both are true!

            I think it’s important to make a distinction between two types of happiness. One type of happiness is based on our circumstances – when everything in our life is going well (we are healthy, we have lots of friends, we have money in our bank account), then we experience happiness. But the problem with this type of happiness is that it’s fickle – it can change in an instant when our circumstances change – we get sick, we lose a friend, we lose our job.

            A deeper kind of happiness – a true joy – is based on the unshakeable confidence that we are profoundly, personally, passionately loved by God, and that our life has meaning and purpose in glorifying Him here and enjoying Him forever in Heaven. This can never be taken away!

            And it is this deeper happiness that all the saints had. This is why St. Mother Theresa could smile while picking up a maggot-infested dying man from the gutter. This is why St. Cecilia could sing with joy when she was being martyred for her faith. This is why St. Francis could praise God in utter, abject poverty. This is why St. Thomas More could make a joke when about to be beheaded for his Catholic faith, saying to the executioner, “Please do not harm my beard, it did nothing wrong.”

            The saints knew that their happiness did not come from their circumstances, but rather from an unshakeable belief that they were loved and that their life was directed to Heaven. Paradoxically, their circumstances were opposite of what the world considers happiness – they were often poor, suffered a great deal, disciplined their desires, practiced virtue amidst difficult trials, and sometimes lost their lives for their Faith. And yet they are the happiest people I know – and I want that kind of deep, unshakeable joy.

            As Bl. Carlo Acutis said, “Sadness is looking at oneself; happiness is looking at God. Conversion is nothing but a movement of the eyes.”

            Want to be happy? Strive to be a saint.

St. Jude's Feast Day - October 28, 2023

 

Homily for the Feast of St. Jude

October 28, 2023

Everything Impossible

 

            St. Paul of the Cross, the founder of the Passionist religious order, traveled throughout Italy in the early part of the 1700s, preaching the Gospel to a society that had grown cold. Once, he entered a town and came to the town square to begin preaching. There was a cynical old soldier who sat on a large stone seat across the square, mocking and blaspheming as St. Paul went on. At the end of the sermon, Paul went up to him and encouraged him to convert and follow Christ.

            The soldier looked across the square and saw the butcher shop, and the butcher about to begin cutting up an ox that he had just killed. The soldier replied, “I’ll be converted as soon as that ox returns to life.” At that instant, the dead ox leapt to his feet and began charging at the soldier. Terrified, the soldier ran out of the way at the last second, and the ox crashed into the stone seat that he had been occupying, dropping dead a second time at the feet of the solider. Needless to say, the soldier was instantaneously converted!

            Our modern, rationalistic ears hear stories like that and think they are myths, fables, legends. They feel too impossible to be true. But is anything truly impossible to God? The lives of the saints are filled with events that really happened but are truly impossible by human efforts. And these miracles do not only happen in the past – just last week a parishioner showed me a recent photograph of the Eucharist in a monstrance from California – and clearly within the Eucharistic Host is an image of Our Lady, inexplicable except for a miracle from God.

            St. Jude, of course, is the patron saint of the impossible. He has gained this reputation because his name was so close to Judas that you’d have to be pretty desperate to pray to someone whose name is similar to the worst man in human history! But time and again, people can testify to the power of the intercession of St. Jude to accomplish the impossible.

            When we turn to God or a saint to ask them to do something impossible, however, we do not do so in a superstitious way, as if we are performing a magical incantation to get what we want. Sometimes devotion to St. Jude can fall into that category – periodically I find a stack of prayers left in our church which promise that all of our wishes will come true if we pray to St. Jude and leave 9 copies in church for 9 days. That’s a chain letter – that’s not devotion. Rather, when we ask for the impossible, we do so with a surrender that accepts the Lord’s answer – which could be yes, no, or not yet – and we trust that His answer is for our happiness.

            Because the greatest and most impossible thing in the entire universe is precisely what God wants to do – He wants to make you a saint. Ha!, you may be saying. That is truly impossible. And from a human level, yes. We are all so broken and weak – how can we do the great things the saints did? Not on our own – we can only do them by trusting in the God Who does the impossible. If He can rise from the dead, and make an ox come to life, can He not make your soul overflow with the divine life of grace so that you are radiant in holiness?

            Do we want Him to do that impossible task in us? I hope so – for holiness is the reason we are created, and holiness is the destiny of the blessed in Heaven. Most people want to settle for a mediocre decency, but God is looking for a few willing souls where He can do the impossible and make them saints. Will you be one of them?

            We pray through the intercession of St. Jude that God will do the impossible in us and make us the saints He has created us to be!

St. Jude Novena - By Grace Alone

 

Homily for Friday, October 27, 2023

St. Jude’s Novena

By Grace Alone

 

            St. John Bosco – whose relic is on display along with St. Jude up here – was a priest in Turin, Italy in the late 1800s who dedicated his life to young people, running a school for poor boys. Both he and his boys were known for their holiness…but every now and then there would be a student who was quite a character.

            Such was Michael Magone. When Don Bosco found the young lad, he was leading a gang of street boys…at the age of 13. All the boys, including the older ones, followed Michael, calling him “The General”. Don Bosco saw that he was a diamond-in-the-rough…he had tremendous leadership ability – if only he would use it for God! Bosco determined to invite him into his school.

            Michael accepted, mainly because it meant a roof over his head and food on the table. During his first few months at the school, he was in every way the troublemaker! He would get into fights, his language was salted with foul words, and he would complain and moan about going to the chapel for prayer. Every time he made trouble, he would be corrected, and he’d apologize and promise to do better. But his old street-habits seemed impossible to break.

            Finally one day it all snapped inside him. He was watching the other boys play sports, but as he looked at their happy faces, he realized – he didn’t belong here. He didn’t fit in. He was born a street rat, lived like a street rat, and would die a street rat. The sudden realization that he could never be as good, successful, well-behaved, or holy as them really struck Michael to the heart, and he struggled to hold back tears. He even said to a friend, “How can I find peace when I have a thousand devils in me!”

            Luckily St. John Bosco stepped in. He pulled Michael aside and said, “Michael, I have brought you here and given you food and clothing and safety for several months now. Would you do me a favor in repayment?”

            Michael agreed, grateful for all he had received from the priest.

            Bosco continued, “I notice that you haven’t made a good confession during your time here. Would you make a good Confession today?”

            The boy agreed – it was a last-ditch effort to try to find peace and happiness. He spent all day examining his conscience, and when evening came, poured out everything to Fr. Bosco. When he exited the Confessional, something deep had changed within him – there was a lightness, a radiance, a peace, and a joy that he had never experienced. In fact, that whole night, he couldn’t sleep because of his joy. Later on he told Fr. Bosco, “If only people knew the joy that comes with living in the state of grace!”

            He tried with his own efforts – but could do nothing until he invited Jesus to come in and take over his sinful, fallen brokenness – and Jesus made Michael Magone one of the holiest boys that St. John Bosco worked with, so holy that Fr. Bosco wrote Michael’s life story.

            Have you ever felt like St. Paul? “I do what I don’t want to do, and I don’t do what I want to do!” It can be frustrating because we know that it’s good to be humble, patient, kind, chaste, courageous…and so often we find ourselves the exact opposite!

            But that’s where the last line offers us so much hope: “Thanks be to God who has won the victory in the Lord Jesus Christ!” We are not meant to overcome sin and grow in holiness on our own efforts. Yes, we cooperate with God, but it is His grace alone that does it in us. His grace is often gradual, invisible – but sure, nonetheless. As long as we cooperate with that grace by avoiding temptations and frequenting the Sacraments and prayer, He can truly make us holy. You must believe that God desires your holiness – and that He can achieve it in us! As long as we want it too – really want it – He will make holiness spring forth in us.

            One final Michael Magone story – one time Fr. Bosco took all the boys out to a local field for games and sports. Halfway through the afternoon, Michael went missing. By this time he had gained a reputation for virtue, so when everyone returned home, Michael’s friends went straight to the chapel where they found him praying. His friend commented, “You’re so pious, you pray even when you don’t have to.”

            Michael responded, “You don’t need as much prayer as I do. I pray for strength not to fall back into my sinful habits.”

            He knew where the change came from – Jesus Christ. If you can’t change yourself, turn to Christ Who makes all things new – including you.

Ordinary Time 29 - Motley Crew

 

Homily for October 22, 2023

Twenty-Ninth Sunday of Ordinary Time – Special Mass for 70^th Anniversary of Diocese

Motley Crew

 

            Jesus came to earth, died to wipe away the sins of all of humanity, and then rose again to bring humanity to Heaven with Him. This message of hope and salvation was literally the most important message human beings have ever received…so who did Jesus choose to spread it? A communications expert? Someone skilled in logistics? The most courageous, holy, effective people He could find?

            Nope – He chose blue-collar workers. Fishermen. A public sinner like a tax collector. A man who doubted His resurrection, a man who denied him under pressure, and other men who ran away at the most critical moment. It was to this motley crew that He entrusted the monumental task of bringing the entire world to Heaven.

            Paradoxically, it is precisely the failings of the Church that prove its divine origin. As Catholic thinker Hillaire Belloc once said, “[The Church is] an institute run with such knavish imbecility that if it were not the work of God it would not last a fortnight.” The Catholic Church is not a social club, a charity, or even a community of faith. It is, rather, a divine institution. It was founded by Jesus Christ and animated by the Holy Spirit – and this is why I remain Catholic, even when its members are imperfect.

            Today we celebrate 70 years of the Diocese of Bridgeport. In those past 70 years, we have had some saints and some sinners – some tremendous blessings, and some big challenges. Even if we look around in this church today, we see a motley crew of saints and sinners, people with rock-solid faith and people who have one foot out the door. And we look a whole lot like that motley crew that Jesus assembled to live out and spread that Good News.

            At the end of the day, the imperfections of everyone in the Church – from Pope to priest to regular folks in the pew – can be a good thing because it forces us to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus Christ. I remain a Catholic because of Him – because He founded it, because it teaches His doctrine, because He is truly present in the Holy Eucharist.

            In fact, to be a Catholic is to belong to Him. St. Paul uses two beautiful images that bespeak of the Church: the Body of Christ and the Bride of Christ. We are the Body of Christ because we continue the life of Christ in the world today. In the powerful words of St. Theresa of Avila: “Christ has no body but yours, No hands, no feet on earth but yours, Yours are the eyes with which He looks with Compassion on this world, Yours are the feet with which He walks to do good, Yours are the hands, with which He blesses all the world.”

            The story is told of a Polish town in World War II that was badly damaged during the bombings. One of the bombs destroyed the Catholic Church at the center of town. When sorting through the rubble, the townspeople found the statue of Jesus which had been badly damaged. They asked a sculptor and artist to restore the statue, which he did, but the hands were so completely gone that he could do nothing with them. So the townspeople chose to display the damaged statue in the town square with the words underneath, “You are His Hands.”

            The Church is also the Bride of Christ. What does it mean to be the Bride of Christ? Like any good husband is loyal to his bride, so the Lord will never abandon us. He doesn’t take lightly to those who disrespect His Bride, as any man wouldn’t put up with insults on His wife. And the Lord, too, desires one-flesh union with us like a husband and wife have that union: our union is effected by receiving His Body in the Eucharist.

            But just as a bride looks more radiant on her wedding day than she does when she just rolls out of bed, so our Church is currently not looking as beautiful as she will. Our second reading from Revelation speaks of the glories of the purified Church descending from Heaven. We’re not there yet, but we’re on our way there – not because of us, but because of what Jesus is doing to sanctify His Bride.

            Have you ever wondered why, in the Creed we profess at every Mass, we don’t mention the Eucharist? That is because it was never doubted for the first thousand years of Christianity! However, around the year 1050 there was a French priest named Berengarius who was the first person to say, “The Eucharist is merely a symbol of God, not His true Body and Blood.” This led to a huge controversy in the Church about the Eucharist – what was It, really? A symbol, or the True Presence?

            About a century later, in a small Italian town of Bolsena, a priest was elevating the Eucharistic Host when all of a sudden a few drops of blood began to drip from the Host onto the corporal (the white cloth on the altar). Recognizing this as a miracle, the people spread the good news far and wide until Pope Urban IV heard about it. He investigated it personally, and, convinced that it was a true miracle, instituted the Feast of Corpus Christi, the feast which celebrates the Body and Blood of the Lord. Man had questioned the Truth – and God answered, bringing His Church to a deeper love and understanding of His greatness.

            So God has preserved the Church amidst many challenges. When the Church was tempted by wealth and riches, God raised up St. Francis as a witness of poverty. When the Church was threatened by the Protestant split, God raised up Catholic reforming saints like St. Charles Borromeo and St. Robert Bellarmine. When new worlds like America and Africa were opened up to Europe, God raised up St. Ignatius Loyola to found the Jesuits who would be missionaries to these far-off places. When the Church seems unrelatable to the youth of today, God has been raising up young saints like Bl. Carlo Acutis, who became holy in his fifteen years of life.    This gives me a great hope – the Church will always thrive, and “the gates of Hell will not prevail against it” – not because of anything we do or don’t do, but because it belongs to Jesus Christ Himself.

            Napoleon Bonaparte once taunted a Catholic cardinal by saying, “Your Eminence, do you not know that I have the power to destroy your Church?” The Cardinal responded, “Emperor, the clergy of the Catholic Church have been trying to destroy the Church for eighteen hundred years. We haven’t succeeded, and neither will you.” We’ve got that guarantee from Christ!

            So, be proud to be Catholic! Be proud to be a part of the Diocese of Bridgeport! God is still moving here, even in this motley crew assembled here in St. Jude’s Parish!

Ordinary Time 28 - Who Is Welcome?

 

Homily for October 15, 2023

Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Who Is Welcome?

 

            The Christian Roman emperor Theodosius had a large task on his hands. It wasn’t easy ruling the entire Roman Empire, stretching from Spain and England to north Africa. The Empire combined thousands of tribes and languages, and tensions were frequently high. So when the people of Thessalonica in Greece started to riot, Emperor Theodosius sent troops to quell the riot…but they ended up massacring the entire city.

            St. Ambrose, who was Theodosius’ bishop, wrote to him and told him that he needed to make a public display of penance for such an atrocity. The bishop refused to give the Emperor Holy Communion until he had atoned for this act. To his great credit, Theodosius did as he was told – he took off his royal robes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and walked barefoot to the cathedral in Milan where Ambrose met him at the door of the church – and refused him admittance. The Bishop told him that such an atrocity required more than a day’s penance. So every Sunday, the Emperor made the barefoot pilgrimage to stand outside of the church door, praying, until Christmas Day when the Bishop allowed him in and reconciled him to God.

            Was St. Ambrose being unwelcoming to the Emperor? No, he was waiting until the Emperor was ready to put on his “wedding garment” of repentance before entrance into the wedding feast. All are welcome in the Church, and all are called to repent.

            There are three groups of people in today’s Gospel. The first group is those who were invited but refused. Sadly we see that in today’s world – AP News last weekend ran an article about the “nones” (those who claim to have no religion), which now comprise about 30% of Americans, and 70% of “nones” were raised in a Christian household. These are the people who are invited into the abundant life of Christ through the Eucharist and the Sacraments, but who choose to abandon that, for a variety of reasons. I know that many “nones” say they still believe in God, but God has made it clear how to have a relationship with Him: through Jesus Christ. And Christ established the Catholic Church as His continuing work on earth, and the Eucharist as the most intimate encounter with Him. So to be a “none” is to eat from a dumpster while a wedding feast awaits – a person might become satiated but miss out on the abundant joy and life that God desires! I pray that none of us may become a “none”, and that those of our families who belong to no religion may experience the spiritual hunger that drives them into the arms of the Catholic Church.

            The second group of people are those who have accepted the invitation to the wedding. The very-imperfect Catholic writer James Joyce once said the definition of Catholicism is “here comes everybody.” It is indeed a motley crew that the Lord has assembled and invited to His feast – if you want a perfect Church, this isn’t the one for you – and what a blessing that is that the Catholic Church is messy, motley, imperfect. Let’s be honest, whose life isn’t messy, imperfect, crazy? As the Vatican II document Lumen Gentium states, “The Church is at the same time holy and always in need of being purified.” A good description of the members of the Church as well!

            Much ink (and pixels) has been spilled lately about making the Catholic Church a “welcoming” church. So who is welcome into the Church? Everybody! Every human being from every race, culture, and background is invited to come into the Church. No matter what you’re struggling with, no matter what you’ve done in the past, you are welcome here.

            But if one were to receive a wedding invitation, there are certain expectations: one must dress appropriately, one should bring a gift, etc. I know that my brother and sister-in-law don’t wear shoes in their house, so when they invite me over, I take my shoes off when entering. I wouldn’t go over someone’s house and light up a cigarette or rummage through their refrigerator. So while the invitation is offered to all, there is also an expectation for all. And our response to the invitation of Christ to come to His wedding feast is repentance.

            This brings us to the third group – or rather, person. The man who comes in without a wedding garment. This symbolizes the person who wants to be welcomed into the Church but refuses to give up their sin. The Church makes a distinction between sins of weakness and deliberate sins. All of us struggle daily with sins of weakness – a harsh word, an impure thought, laziness, telling a white lie. Those are struggles we do without thinking about it, based on the weakness of our nature.

            This is quite different from a deliberate sin. This is a sin that we purposely choose to enter into. Examples include purposely holding a grudge or planning revenge, living in an intimate relationship with someone without a Sacramental marriage or being closed off to life within marriage, intentionally choosing a sports game or recreation over Sunday Mass, cheating on our taxes, harboring racism in our thoughts, or other sins where our hearts purposely choose something against the commands of God. Many people in today’s world want to be welcomed into the Church while living in a state of sin, unwilling to repent. But Christ makes clear that all are welcome in the Church on His terms, not ours. To experience the joy of the banquet means to give up the counterfeit happiness of sin. Repentance is our ticket to the banquet!

            My friends, the question of who is welcome in the Church and its corollary who is welcome in Heaven is simple: everyone is invited, and everyone is called to put off the rags of their sin (through repentance) and embrace the wedding garment of holiness that Christ has already purchased for us. Let’s RSVP to that invitation quickly, for the banquet awaits!

Ordinary Time 27 - Custody of the Senses

 

Homily for October 8, 2023

Twenty-Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time

Custody of the Senses

 

            It’s very clear that the fruit that God comes looking for from His vineyard is the fruit of holiness. He wants our lives to be holy, after He has nourished us with the Sacraments and graces and the teachings of our Faith. And there are lots of elements that go into a holy life – daily prayer, spiritual reading, discipline, growing in virtue, self-sacrifice. But today I want to talk about a little-discussed way to grow in holiness, which St. Paul speaks of in the second reading: keeping custody of your senses.

            St. Paul instructs us to “guard out hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” If you have a garden here in Monroe, you will most likely have to put a fence around it, because the deer are always ready to ruin a good harvest. Likewise, for our soul to produce a harvest of holiness, we have to guard it from the Evil One, who wants to ruin the crop.

            How do we do so? By guarding our five senses. The outside world enters into our minds (our thoughts) and our hearts (our desires) through our five senses. St. Paul says the same thing: “Whatever is good, holy, or pure, brothers, think of these things.” If good, uplifting, holy, inspiring things enter our eyes and ears, then our thoughts and desires will be filled with good and holy things, and it will be easy to become a saint. If violence, sex, blasphemy, coarseness enters our eyes and ears, then our heart and mind will be sullied.

            There was a commercial a few years ago – I don’t remember what it was for – that featured a man in a coffeeshop. He was typing on his laptop when he happened to look up and see, across the café, a young couple who were kissing passionately. He grimaced in horror and disgust, and then, embarrassed, he put his head down and kept working. The tagline of the commercial was, “You can’t unsee things.” That’s a pretty good reminder in the spiritual life – we can’t unsee things. So what we put into our senses matters greatly.

            After all, what we see or hear becomes our thoughts, and our thoughts become our words and actions, and these become our habits, and our habits become our character, and our character becomes our destiny. So, as Christians, we must practice custody of our senses. Someday our eyes will look upon the Face of Jesus and Mary – someday our ears will hear the choirs of angels. So we keep our senses preserved from the filth of sin, because they are meant to participate in the glories of Heaven!

            Any time I bring this up, though, people tell me, “Oh, but it doesn’t affect me. I can listen to filthy music or dirty comedians or watch violent or lewd movies and it doesn’t affect me.” Ah, but it does – because we should naturally be ashamed and shocked by sin, and if it we’re not bothered by it, it means we’ve become desensitized, and that is definitely not a good thing! Our consciences should naturally flee from evil, not become comfortable with it.

            One time, St. Dominic Savio, who became a saint while still a schoolboy in Italy, happened upon some of his classmates looking at a dirty magazine. Always clever, he said to his friends, “Hey, what are you guys looking at? Can I see it?” They were surprised that he was interested, so they handed over the magazine – and Dominic immediately tore it to shreds. But the boys protested, “What did you do that for?” He replied, “Because one glance is enough to stain your souls!” The boys replied, “Oh, but it’s not a big deal, it doesn’t affect us.” He replied, “This is even worse – you have grown used to looking at filth!”

            So – I challenge you to examine what music you listen to, what TV shows and movies you watch, what internet sites you visit. Would Christ enjoy listening to that music with you? Would He enjoy that movie, or would He play that video game with you? Maybe instead of reading People magazine, we can read the Lives of the Saints. Instead of watching a movie with a bad scene in it, we can watch an older movie which was entertaining but innocent.

            The Lord will someday come to your vineyard, the garden of your life. Will you be able to say that you have preserved the sweetest, ripest fruits of holiness for Him? Or have you let wild animals into your vineyard, to trample the fruits of innocence and holiness, leaving Him with nothing but spoiled fruit?

            St. Dominic Savio once said, “The senses are like doors to the soul, and it’s up to us if we wish to admit a devil or an angel.”

            Whatever is good, holy, and pure, think of these things – and holiness will be easy.

Ordinary Time 26 - Leave It All On The Field

 

Homily for Ordinary Time 26

October 1, 2023

Kenosis

 

            Paul wrote his letter to the Philippians from prison, and appropriately so, since it contains some of the most treasonous and seditious words ever penned: Christos Kurios, Jesus Christ is Lord. Why is this treason? Because Kurios – Lord – was the title given to Caesar alone. In fact, after his death, the Roman Senate declared Julius Caesar to be “Dominus et Deus” – Lord and god. Caligula, who lived during Paul’s early ministry, insisted on being worshipped as a god and called Kurios by all. So to proclaim that Jesus Christ, a humble carpenter who was brutally executed, was truly Kurios, truly Dominus et Deus, would be nothing short of treason.

            But how different was Christ’s Lordship than the Roman Emperors! The emperors were constantly grasping, clinging to power. It was said of one of the ancient Roman leaders that “it was safer to be his pig than his son” since he often put his own sons to death in a vain attempt to hold on to all the power himself. Caligula himself smothered his own uncle so he could be emperor, and then would murder anyone he merely suspected of disloyalty. It was a desperate grasp for power and glory.

            But Paul says that “though He was in the form of God, He did not consider equality with God something to be grasped at.” Instead, as Dominus et Deus – Lord and God – Jesus did something quite surprising – He emptied Himself, and took the form of a slave.

            There is a word in Greek that captures this perfectly – Kenosis. Kenosis means self-emptying, pouring-out, humbling oneself, abasing oneself to the lowest place. This is the radical mystery of the Incarnation – that God would leave behind all the glory, all the perfection of His Heavenly Throne, to purposely choose to subject Himself to pain and cold and rejection when it was completely avoidable. He emptied Himself freely – for us and for our salvation.

            We lose a sense of this in our comfortable, egalitarian society, but imagine for a moment that you were living back in the first century. A king could enjoy a warm castle, sufficient food, fine clothes and a nice bed, adoring crowds, security, and the ability to do whatever he wanted. Imagine, then, that this king desired to dwell among his peasants. This meant leaving behind the food, warmth, comfort, security, and walking out into a world where dirt and disease, filth and discomfort would be the everyday lot of the common people.

            Even consider the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem – we tend to romanticize it, but it was probably pretty rough. It smelled awful, like sweaty animals and dung. Jesus was likely shivering in the cold, and I don’t know if you’ve ever slept in straw, but it is profoundly uncomfortable and ridden with bugs and filth. They probably rarely had enough to eat, and the Holy Family – like all the poor in those days – knew hunger as their constant companion. They had to live in fear every day – fear of being robbed, kidnapped, or murdered by roving bands of marauders. He left His heavenly throne…for that? And yet He would go further, entering into the depths of utter abandonment upon the Cross, where He gave up His freedom to be nailed to a tree, He gave up his possessions as He was stripped of His garments, He gave up His self-respect as He was mocked and spat upon, He gave up even His very life as He breathed His last.

            As we declare in the Easter Vigil, “To ransom a slave, You gave away Your Son.” This Kenosis was for us, to lift us out of our spiritual poverty and welcomed us into the Heavenly Mansion prepared for those who love Him. It was a loving condescension, not just to make us feel better about being poor fallen human beings, but to lift us up so that we might participate in His Divine Life in everlasting joy!

            Okay, that is all very beautiful, but how does it apply to us? Two ways – first, we owe Him an incredible debt of thanksgiving for such Kenosis, such self-emptying. Our entire lives must really be about thanksgiving. Ultimately that’s why we celebrate the Eucharist – which means “thanksgiving” – to give worship and thanks for Christ’s total gift of self. Jesus’ earthly life was His descent into our misery; the Eucharist is our ascent to His glory.

            Second, He has given us an example to imitate. As John Paul II said, “Christ reveals man to himself” – He is the exemplar and archetype of the human race. Just as Christ’s life was one of not-grasping but pouring-out, so we must practice that same kind of kenosis for Him and for our neighbor.

            I am reminded of the beautiful example of the Catholic monks in Algeria, in the Monastery of Our Lady of Atlas. Built in the 1940s, this monastery began in rather hostile Muslim territory. But the monks soon won over the people by providing education, food, and medical care to the local peasant population. In 1996, civil war struck Algeria, and on several occasion the monks were threatened by radical Islamic terrorists. They were told to leave – and even the head of their religious community back in France urged them to travel to safety. And they debated back and forth about whether or not to abandon their mission, but in the end the monks knew that their lives were meant to be poured out as a living sacrifice for the poor Muslims of Algeria. Resolutely, they stayed and continued providing essential services to the poor.

            One night, the terrorists broke into the monastery and captured seven of the monks and marched them into the desert, where they gave them one last chance to recant their faith in God. But the monks knew they had poured out their lives for the people – now they had a chance to pour out their lives for God. They stayed steadfast in their Faith and were martyred. Pope Francis made them a “blessed” (one step away from sainthood) in 2018.

            In sports, coaches will often say, “Leave it all out on the field” – meaning, give 100% to every play. That, perhaps, is a modern adaptation of kenosis – pour oneself out for the mission. In our case, the mission is for Jesus Christ and for our sanctification and the sanctification of the world. Where are we not bringing 100% to that mission? Are we praying 100%, sacrificing 100%, doing whatever is necessary to avoid sin and practice virtue? If Christos Kurios, if Jesus Christ is Lord, then He is worth pouring it all out for, because the more we pour out for Him, the more He lifts us up to share in His everlasting glory.

Ordinary Time 24 - The Number of Forgiveness

 

Homily for Ordinary Time 24

September 17, 2023

The Number of Forgiveness

 

            Unless you know the Scriptures well you will miss the important reference that Jesus is making in the number of times we have to forgive. He says seventy-seven…okay, so is he just giving a cute exponential of Peter’s request? No – much more than that.

            Way back in Genesis, we have the story of Cain and Abel. We know the story – Cain, in his jealousy, kills his brother, and then is forced to wander the earth with a mark on his forehead. Cain despairs, saying that people will know who he is and what he did, and they will kill him for it. But God remarks that no, Cain will not die – and if anyone tries to kill Cain, God will avenge him sevenfold.

            Cain had many sons and grandsons, and one great-grandson was a particularly wicked man named Lamech. He said to his wives, “If anyone harms me, I will avenge him – not sevenfold, but seventy-seven times.” Instead of allowing God to mete out justice, Lamech takes it into his own hand – and does so much more harshly than even God’s justice.

            So when Jesus tells Peter to forgive seventy-seven times, the Lord is referencing the story of Lamech and making an important point – it is not up to man to exact vengeance, like Lamech wanted to do. Rather, we forgive, because in the end it is God Who will judge justly and rightly, not us.

            But wait…there’s more. If you read a different translation of the Bible, Jesus doesn’t say “seventy-seven” times but “seven times seven times” – in other words, 490 times. The original Greek New Testament is actually very vague about which one is the accurate translation…and purposely so, because 490 is also hugely significant!

            Israel’s great sin in the Old Testament was idolatry. For centuries they worshipped the Canaanite god Ba’al and his female counterpart, Ashteroth. Even after God called them back to fidelity to the Covenant time and time again through prophets and chastisements, they still continued to stray. So to correct His wayward people and purge idolatry from their midst once and for all, God allowed them to be taken into exile in Babylon. They wanted to adopt the gods of the surrounding nations – so God allowed them to be taken into the surrounding nations to wake them up and make them realize that they were truly the Chosen People who are meant to have an exclusive relationship with the True God.

            And the exile in Babylon worked! The people cried out to God for mercy…but as the years dragged on, they wondered if they would ever make it back home. So the prophet Daniel asked the Lord for wisdom – when would this exile end? God spoke to Daniel and told him that seventy years would pass until they returned home…but the sin would not be purged until seventy times seven years. At that time, 490 years after the exile is over, God would send the Messiah to make reconciliation for sins – not just for the sins of Israel, but for the sins of the whole world. And, approximately 490 years later, Jesus was born.

            So when Jesus says we have to forgive seventy times seven, He’s referencing the prophesy of Daniel and saying that we have to forgive like God forgives, since God has had mercy on all of the sins of the world.

            And there’s the important point about today’s Gospel – and the whole of the Christian life – how much we have already been forgiven for. The entire purpose of Jesus’ life, ministry, death, and Resurrection was to forgive our sins and bring us into union with God. Modern-day Americans often don’t get this, in part because they think their sins aren’t a big deal. We’re generally don’t have drug dealers and gang members at St. Jude’s Church, true. But that doesn’t mean we’re blameless.

            In fact, God says through the prophet Isaiah that “all of our good deeds are like polluted rags.” It’s not so much what we do, but who we offend. Consider: if God is our all-holy Creator, the Lord of the Universe, the Maker and Lover of our souls, then in justice we owe Him our complete adoration, love, and obedience. Even small sins, small disobediences to His laws, violate what we owe Him as His creatures.

            One time St. Padre Pio was praying in the chapel late at night when he saw a Franciscan brother sweeping the church. He didn’t recognize the sweeping friar, so Padre Pio said, “Who are you? It’s late, you should be getting to bed.” The friar responded, “I used to be assigned to this monastery, and my task was to take care of the church. But I would frequently pass by the Tabernacle without genuflecting or any sign of reverence. For this reason, I am in Purgatory and I ask for your prayers.” With that, he vanished – and Padre Pio said Mass for that soul the following day, so that the soul could go to Heaven.

            God has a right to our complete love, adoration, and obedience. When we sin, we deprive Him of that right. When we sin – even small sins like gossip or gluttony or holding a grudge – we corrupt the Image of Christ that had been forged within our souls at Baptism. Jesus said in the Gospels that “we would have to give an account of every frivolous word that we have spoken.” So our sins have to be dealt with – but we could never repay the all-holy God with our paltry acts of repentance.

            So, we needed a Savior. We couldn’t pay back the debt we owed the Father – so Jesus paid it back on our behalf. We couldn’t offer God any act of perfect love, obedience, or worship – so Jesus offered, on the Cross, the perfect act of love, obedience, and worship, in the name of all of humanity. And as the Father accepted that perfect sacrifice, which reconciled God and humanity. We have already been judged and acquitted of our sins because Christ paid the penalty for them.

            When we consider the huge debt that we’ve been forgiven of, and how much it cost, then how can we withhold forgiveness from our neighbor? Jesus, the only Perfect One among all of history, could say, “Father, forgive them” to the men who were nailing His hands to the Cross – how could we not forgive our brothers and sisters who are doing far less to us? If you are struggling to forgive, I urge you to look at the Cross – you will see what price purchased your forgiveness – and it will help our hearts to realize that if He can forgive us for what we’ve done to Him, then we can forgive others for what they’ve done for us.

            In the 1300s a young Italian woman named Rita was forced into an arranged marriage with a Mafia boss, Paolo Mancini, from that region. Her mobster husband made many enemies, and their marriage was constantly tense as his family was locked in an unending feud with a rival mob family. Finally, one day, Paolo was murdered by rival mobsters, causing great grief to his family.

            But Rita, with heroic courage, publicly forgave the murderers at her husband’s funeral. Nevertheless, Rita’s two sons vowed to avenge their father’s death. Rita begged them to forgive, but they refused to listen. So Rita turned to the Lord and begged that Jesus would do anything necessary for them to avoid revenge. Just as the elder son was preparing to go off to exact revenge, he came down with a severe illness, which prevented him from leaving. The younger son, then, prepared to go…and he too was struck with severe illness. Both young men realized the error of their ways, and made good Confessions before they passed away from their illnesses. Rita, although saddened, was eternally grateful to the Lord for preserving her sons from revenge – and we know her as St. Rita of Cascia, whose mission to forgive cost a great deal, but brought peace to her entire family.

            If you struggle to forgive, look at the Cross. How could we remain unforgiving when He is the price of our forgiveness?