Homily for the First Mass of Fr. Ferry Galbert, May 21, 2023

 

Homily for Fr. Ferry Galbert’s First Mass

May 21, 2023

A Funeral For A Priest

 

            Today is a day of great sorrow. We gather here to remember and mourn, to grieve our loss. For we gather for the funeral of a man who was taken from us far too young. In the prime of his life, Ferry is no longer with us. We may question in our hearts how God could take a young man away from us, so suddenly, so tragically. We gather, then, to celebrate a life that has been lost, to remember in sadness the life that was his.

            Perhaps you think that I have lost my mind. You wouldn’t be the first people to think that of me. But no, this isn’t the wrong homily. We do gather for a funeral – because yesterday’s ordination is a death, as Ferry died to himself, and Jesus Christ now lives in and through him as Fr. Ferry Galbert.

            Truly, to become a priest is to die. To become a priest is to say with St. Paul, “For me life is Christ and death is gain. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” In what ways must a priest lay down his life?

            He must lay down his plans for his life, surrender control, and promise obedience to another. He must lay down his natural desire for marriage, and pledge his entire body, mind, and affections to Christ alone in celibacy. He must lay down the tendency to seek to amass possessions, and live a life of simplicity. He must commit himself, not to a life of ease, but to a life of mortification and prayer. As Bl. Fulton Sheen said, “A priest is not his own. As priests we offer Christ in the Mass, but as victims do we offer ourselves with Christ in the Mass?”

            This death is not an end in itself, though. It is but a necessary step to the ultimate goal of having Christ live through every priest. One time a Protestant man from Paris heard of the holiness of Fr. John Vianney, the great patron saint of parish priests. He made the long trek to visit with Fr. Vianney, and when he returned to Paris, his friends asked him what his impressions were. The man responded, “I have seen God in a man.” And this is the end and goal of the priesthood: to make Christ present in the world through a man, who must first die to himself, to his old nature, to his sinfulness, that every aspect of him – thoughts, words, deeds, affections, emotions – may truly be the life of Christ, lived in Fairfield County in 2023.

            One might look at the sacrifices required by the priesthood and think, “That seems impossible – inhuman – too many sacrifices!” But where there is love, sacrifice is easy. When a man’s entire being is oriented towards the Lord and His glory, then what does it matter if he is rich or poor, suffering or comfortable? What does it even matter if he sees any fruit from his ministry? The fruit is God’s job, which He will harvest in His time. The priest’s role is to make God present by being totally conformed to Him.

            We often think of a priest being an “altar Christus” (“another Christ”) when he is celebrating the Sacraments – after all, he says, “This is MY Body…and I absolve you from your sins.” And this is true – we stand in the person of Christ as we celebrate the Sacraments.

            But more than that, as the Scholastics used to say, “Actio sequitur esse” – “Action follows being.” A priest’s spiritual fruitfulness is directly proportional to how much he is himself personally conformed to Christ. A few years ago, a particularly holy diocesan priest from the Archdiocese of Washington named Fr. Martin Flum was making a huge impact in his parish. When the Covid lockdowns began, he opened his church for Eucharistic Adoration from 6am-9pm – and he himself would be there every single hour. 105 hours of prayer every week during the lockdown. Pretty soon people heard about it, and came from all around to join Fr. Flum in Adoration – and miracles began happening. Marriages reconciled. Vocations sparked. Addictions healed. People returned to the Church, others converted to Catholicism. His tiny parish became a spiritual dynamite.

            And then – he discerned God was calling him to live even more for Christ. In 2021, with permission of his bishop, he left his parish and took up residence in an 11x14 foot hermitage with no electricity, no running water, no heat. He will spend the rest of his life making sacrifices and intercession for his people.

            Even most in the Church would say, what a waste of a zealous, holy pastor! So much good fruit was coming from his ministry! But the good fruit wasn’t coming from his ministry alone, it was coming because he was living the life of Christ. He is now living a life even more conformed to Christ, and the supernatural fruit of that hidden soul is unthinkably tremendous, in ways that we will never know this side of eternity. Perhaps he is even praying for us today!

            Fr. Ferry, your preaching, your Confessions, your spiritual direction will only bear fruit if you yourself are a victim for Christ. No offense, but the world doesn’t need you. The world needs Christ. And the rest of your life, in a unique way, is meant to reveal Him to the world. Fr. Ferry, I pray that you live in such a way that Christ can live in and through you, for a world that is hungering and thirsting for Him alone.

Easter 7 - For the Greater Glory of God

 

Homily for Easter 7

May 21, 2023

The Glory of God

 

            The British journalist Malcom Muggeridge didn’t really care much about religion, which is why he thought it strange to receive the assignment to travel to India to do a cover story about some obscure Albanian nun – Mother Teresa. Reluctantly he went on assignment and ended up becoming friends with the future saint. After a couple of years of following her around, he wrote her biography…and converted to Catholicism.

            He once wrote of Mother Teresa, “She is, in herself, a living conversion; it is impossible to be with her, to listen to her, to observe what she is doing, without being converted.”

            That is a profound testimony about a woman who lived completely for God’s glory alone.

            We hear a lot about the glory of God in today’s Gospel. Jesus asks the Father to glorify Him…St. Peter tells us to glorify God when we suffer for His Name. But what is the glory of God? What does it mean?

            We usually think of “glory” as just “praise”, but it’s much more than that. Glory is the manifestation of greatness, splendor, and majesty. The best secular example I can think of is the recent coronation of King Charles of England. There was so much pomp and circumstance, fancy robes and gold and jewels – but why? It is to show the greatness, not just of a man, but of a man who embodies the entire country of England. They wanted to make it spectacular because they believe that their country is great, splendid, amazing.

            So when we talk about the glory of God, we are talking about how God manifests His majesty, splendor, and glory. So where do we see God’s glory?

            First, in nature. It is remarkable how everything fits so perfectly together in nature. Right now the earth is about 93 million miles away from the sun. If it were a million miles closer or further away, there would be no life on it. Earth is tilted at a 23 degree angle – if it was more or less, our seasons would be completely out of whack. All of this points to the wisdom of a designer – manifesting His mighty power, His Providence and care.

            But more than a planet or a tree, the human person is the highpoint of God’s creation. As St. Augustine said, “Men go abroad to wonder at the heights of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of the rivers, at the vastness of the ocean, at the circular motions of the stars, and they pass by themselves without wondering.” Not only our bodies, but moreso our souls – our intellect and free will, which set us apart from the animals as made in the image of God – shows forth the glory of God.

            But here’s the tricky thing about human beings – we can choose whether or not we are going to manifest the goodness of God. A fish can’t decide whether or not to glorify God – it simply glorifies God by being a fish, swimming in the ocean. But we can choose whether or not to live for God, to become the saints He created us to be. As St. Irenaeus said, “The glory of God is man fully alive” – He receives the greatest glory when we are living as we ought to live – truly alive for Him, in Him, through Him.

            Most people go through life asking themselves, “What makes me happy?” They get up in the morning and wonder how they can please themselves that day. They make decisions based on what boosts their ego, brings them delight, or is convenient and profitable for them. But a true Christian awakens to the thought of, “What will glorify God today?” They make decisions based on what would please the good God Whom they love more than everything.

            Malcom Muggeridge converted because he saw a woman given completely over to the glory of God. God’s love, compassion, and heroic strength was visible because Mother Teresa gave herself completely over to Him. Would people be able to see God manifest in you? And I’m not talking about just being a “nice guy” – Mother Teresa wasn’t “nice” (in fact, she could be quite sharp, like when she went right up to President Bill Clinton and criticized him for supporting abortion). But she was totally yielded to God – she lived the famous Jesuit motto – Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam – all for the greater glory of God. Everything in her life was for Him.

            What is preventing you from letting God’s glory be manifest in you? What is preventing you from living for His glory alone, and not for our own little plans, little pleasures, little egos? God wants to show the world Who He is – and He wants to use you to do it!

            Recently we received some relics (bones of saints) which will be placed into our altar when the Bishop comes in December. One of those relics is of St. Gabriel of Sorrowful Virgin, and he’s got quite a story of finally living for the glory of God. He was born in Italy in the mid-1800s and suffered much grief in his young life from the death of his mother and two sisters. This grief made him turn away from God – he figured that if life was short, he should make the most of it and live for all the pleasures the world could offer. As a teen, he was quite the ladies’ man – he got the nickname of “the dancer” because of his talents at parties, and would often have several girlfriends at once. It was said of him that he would often spend up to an hour combing his hair because he was so vain! Not an evil young man, but one who was living for his own glory and not for God’s.

            But God was trying to get him to live for him – when he was thirteen he got deathly ill, and while on his deathbed, he promised that he would turn his life around and live for God alone. When he recovered, he promptly forgot his promise. Another time he was hunting with his friends and a stray bullet barely missed hitting him – once again, he promised to become more faithful to God – but quickly forgot that promise as well.

            Finally, an epidemic struck his town. The town’s leaders led a procession through town with a statue of Our Lady, begging God for an end to the sickness. Gabriel was watching the procession pass by when a voice spoke to his heart: “Gabriel, how long will you live for yourself and not for Me?” Finally – finally! – God got his attention. He left the procession immediately and had a long conversation with a priest, who urged him to begin a prayer life, and to begin to live his life for Christ. He quickly advanced in the spiritual life, ended up joining a religious community, and died a faithful Catholic religious brother.

            So, if you feel like you’re ready to live for the glory of God, here are three things you can do to live it out. First – in your daily prayer, don’t ask God just to give you stuff, but tell the Lord that you are giving Him your life, without reservation. Second – when you are making a decision, ask what will please the Lord, not what would be most pleasing to you (sometimes the two are the same, but sometimes they’re not!). Third – consider how you use your time, your talents, and your treasures and begin to use all three in ways that please Him.

            My friends, God’s glory is manifest in all of His works, but it’s up to us if we will allow God’s glory to shine through us. May His glory and majesty, His love and truth, be manifest in our lives – that we may be a living witness of His glory.

Easter 6 - Love Your Mother

 

Homily for May 14, 2023

Sixth Sunday of Easter

Love Your Mother

 

            Today we celebrate our mothers – those women who gave birth to us and nurtured us from our youngest years. Yet did you know that we also have mothers for our souls? In particular, I am thinking of two: the Blessed Mother, and Holy Mother Church. On this Mother’s Day, I’d like to reflect on these two wonderful mothers, that we may honor them along with our actual mothers!

            First, Mary. We know she is the mother of Jesus, but why is she our mother too? Because Jesus gave Her to us! It is sometimes customary when someone is dying that they will give their most prized possessions to family members that they love most. Likewise, when Christ was dying on the Cross, He gave His most precious gift – His Mother – to us. He said to John, the Beloved Disciple, “Son, behold your mother.” In doing this, Jesus gave His mother to all disciples, including you and I! If we accept the gift, we honor the Giver, so accepting Mary into our hearts will give praise to Jesus.

            Some people wonder, though, if loving Mary means taking our attention off of Jesus. But, as St. Maximilian Kolbe said, “Never be afraid of loving the Blessed Virgin too much. You can never love her more than Jesus did.” By loving Mary, we are loving Jesus. After all, Mary said in the Gospels, “My soul magnifies the Lord.” To magnify is to take something small and hard-to-see and make it visible. God’s great works can sometimes be hidden and mysterious, but when we look at Mary, we see God’s greatest, most magnificent work – greater than the most majestic mountains or the vast ocean depths is the beautiful soul of Mary, because she alone in all of creation loved God perfectly.

            So how do we cultivate a relationship with our mother Mary? Certainly we can have statues and holy cards of our Blessed Mother in our homes. Next weekend, after the Saturday evening Mass, we will crown the statue of Our Lady with a crown of flowers, which is a sign of our love and devotion. We ought to turn to Mary frequently for graces and help in time of need, and take as our own the motto of Pope St. John Paul II – Totus Tuus Maria – Totally Yours, Jesus through Mary.

            Imagine if a poor person wanted to give a king a great gift but all he had was a few dandelions. He could take those dandelions to the queen, who would place them in a basket with roses and orchids and a rich bouquet of other flowers, and she could then present them to the king as coming from the poor man. This is what Mary does when we offer our lives to Jesus through her. In the grand scheme of this world, our lives aren’t much – sometimes damaged, definitely weak and poor – but Mary takes our lives, our sacrifices, our prayers, and surrounds them with her own perfect love to present to Jesus a beautiful bouquet, which gives Him great delight.

            Of course, perhaps the most famous way to honor Mary is through the Rosary. Did you know that the word “Rosary” means “Garden of Roses”? The story goes that a young man used to pick a bouquet of flowers for a statue of Our Lady every week. After some time, he discerned that God was calling him to enter a monastery, and he was enthusiastic to give his life to God, except for one thing: he would no longer have the freedom to bring the bouquet to Our Lady. On the night before he entered the monastery, Mary appeared to him in a dream and told him that to pray a Rosary is the same thing as bringing her the most beautiful roses. It is because of this true story that the prayer became known as the Rosary. I recommend praying it daily – I’ve been doing so for almost 25 years and it has absolutely changed my life for the better – greater peace, a closer relationship with Jesus through the eyes and Heart of Our Lady, freedom from sins…can’t go wrong with the beautiful, repetitive meditations in the Rosary!

            Mary is the perfect member of the Church, our other spiritual mother. How is the Church our mother? The Church does for our soul what our physical mothers do for our bodies. The Church gives birth to us through Baptism, feeds us in the Eucharist, teaches us through the Pope and Bishops, heals our wounds in Confession. We ought to love the Church, because Christ loves the Church and gave Himself up for Her purification.

            So how do we show honor to Holy Mother Church? First, defend the Church in conversation. Many people like to “throw shade” on the Church by bringing up the defects of its members, but no one talks smack about our mothers! We defend our earthly mothers from insults, and so we should defend the Church when others insult Her.

            Connected to that, we honor the Church by praying for Her and trying to build Her up by evangelization. The Church grows when we go out and invite others to experience Jesus. And finally, we help make the Church holy when we become holy. When we live out our vocation – whether as a priest or laity, married or single, a student or an employee or a retiree – when we live these vocations well, then the Church will become holy.

            St. Therese of Lisieux was a Carmelite nun of the nineteenth century who was having a crisis of vocation. She had a burning desire to become a martyr and shed her blood for Christ, but there weren’t too many chances of that in Catholicism-rich France. She desperately wanted to become a missionary, but her health prevented traveling overseas. So in turmoil, she turned to the Scriptures, and she noticed that St. Paul referred to the Church as the Body of Christ, and that the ear couldn’t be the hand, nor could the foot become the eye. She pondered this – yes, she had a unique calling to holiness, but what was it? She kept reading, and the next verse, from 1 Corinthians 13, began, “I shall show you a still more excellent way: love.” She realized that the Body of the Church needed a heart, and that heart was afire with love. Overjoyed that she found her vocation, she exclaimed, “In the heart of the Church, my mother, I will be love, and thus I will be all things.” Without love, martyrs would shed their blood no more – missionaries would never spread the Gospel to far-flung lands. So no matter what your vocation is, living it with a burning love for Christ and love for one’s neighbor will sanctify the Church, our Mother.

            My friends, on this Mother’s Day, when we honor those women who gave us life, we also consider how we honor the mothers of our soul – Mother Mary, and Holy Mother Church. How much love we ought to give them, not only today, but every day of our lives!

Easter 5 - The One and Only Jesus

 

Homily for Fifth Sunday of Easter

May 7, 2023

The One and Only Jesus

 

            Pope Benedict XVI starts out his magnificent book “Jesus of Nazareth” with a fundamental question - what did Jesus come to bring us? Did He come to bring us world peace? Did He come to end hunger or poverty? Did He come to be a great moral teacher?

            Well, we still see war and hunger and poverty…and although His moral teachings are very wise, they could have been given by the Dalai Lama or Socrates. So, Pope Benedict concludes that Jesus came to bring us…God. He came to reveal the Father to us. We would have no way to get to know God unless Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Trinity, would reveal Him to us.

            It’s always humorous that when I tell people I’m from Maryland, they sometimes say, “Oh, do you know John Smith?” Um, there are over six million people in Maryland…unless I’ve met John Smith, merely knowing that he is in Maryland doesn’t mean I have a relationship with him! Likewise, we may know that God is in Heaven, but we needed someone to bring God to us, so that we can get to know Him and have a relationship with Him.

            But here’s the audacious claim – Jesus says that He is the only way to the Father. He makes the claim that He is not “one path among many” to reach God. Rather, if we authentically want to know who God is, we look to Jesus, to His Words and deeds in Scripture, and to His Body, the Church.

            A few years ago I was watching a documentary about faith and the interviewer was asking a woman named Shawna what she believed. She said, “Well, I like the holidays of Christianity, but I also like how the Buddhists meditate, and I’ve been reading the Koran, and I’m really devoted to the environment…so a little bit of everything. I guess you could say that I believe in Shawna-ism.” A classic modern response: do-it-yourself, find “what works for you” and what “fits your lifestyle”. In other words, religious relativism – the belief that all religions are essentially equal. Yet, Jesus says something different! Jesus’ singular claim is that He is the one Savior of the human race, He reveals the fullness of the Truth about God, He is the only Way to Heaven, He is the only Life that we can find.

            This means a couple things. First, as Catholics we respect all that is good, true, and beautiful in other religions - while also acknowledging that Christ is the fullness of goodness, truth, and beauty. Anyone from another religion who is saved, is saved because of Jesus Christ and what He did on the Cross - not because of their other religion. Buddha cannot save us; Mohammed cannot save us; other spiritual traditions cannot save us. It is only Jesus Christ, and Him alone, who is the one unique Savior of the human race, the one and only pathway to God. This doesn’t mean that only Christians go to Heaven – the Church does not teach that. Rather, Vatican II teaches that Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, may achieve eternal salvation. But their salvation comes through Jesus and His grace, not through their own religion. Jesus is the only Savior of the human race!

            And Christ makes clear what our response is: faith. Faith is not some vague feeling or sentimentality - it is the commitment to take Jesus at His word, accept His claims, and apply them to our lives. For example, He reveals that He is divine - we then have a duty to worship Him. His death brings us life and mercy - faith requires us to live as new creations. Jesus preaches repentance and holiness - if we have faith, we will respond to His call and turn from our sins and seek to live in Him. Jesus reveals that eternity awaits us - so we take seriously the pursuit of Heaven. Jesus established His Church - so we stay faithful to Catholicism and pray for the spreading of the True Faith. Jesus remains with us in the Eucharist, so we become people whose lives are centered around the Mass. Faith in Christ means living like all of His claims are true, no matter what it costs us.

            A perfect example of this is the life of St. Abo of Tiflis. Never heard of him? Neither did I until two weeks ago, but he’s an amazing story. He grew up in Baghdad as a Muslim in the 700s, and his father taught him to be a master perfumer – someone who made and crafted perfumes. Back in the sweaty Middle East all those centuries ago, most people smelled pretty bad, so being a perfumer was an elite job. At the age of 17, he managed to get hired by a visiting prince, Prince Nerses, who took him into his retinue. After serving him for a while, the prince returned to his home country of Georgia (not the state, the country!) and there, for the first time, Abo encountered Christians. As a young, fervent Muslim, he began to debate the local Catholics and the priests of the town, but he knew that his arguments would be stronger if he knew the Bible so he could debunk it. So, he began to read the Bible…and there he encountered Jesus Christ. He was absolutely shocked that he didn’t just encounter a wise man or a prophet, but God Incarnate. The words of the Bible were a bridge to encounter Jesus, the Word of the Father. He immediately converted, knowing this was the Truth, but he also knew that as an ex-Muslim he could be killed if he practiced his faith outright, so for several years he lived as a “clandestine” Christian – praying to Jesus in secret. Finally, Prince Nerses had to move to another part of the country where there were more Christians, and Abo got baptized.

            But after a while, the prince had to move back to the majority-Muslim part of the country. He warned Abo to stay in the safe region, but Abo was on-fire with love for Christ and wanted to share the good news of Jesus to his own people. He went back with the prince to the Muslim part, and began preaching to everyone he knew that Jesus was the Savior. He was threatened and warned by the Muslim authorities, but his heart was ablaze – he couldn’t stay silent. Finally, he was arrested and sentenced to death for converting to Christianity. The judge offered him rewards and treasure if he would give up his new faith, but Abo knew that Jesus the Way, the Truth, and the Life was worth dying for. He gave up his life for Christ, and Christ the Life restored it to him a thousandfold.

            This day, we rededicate our hearts to following the only One Who created us, Who loved us unto death and beyond, and Who invites us to share in His eternal life: Jesus Christ, the Way, the Truth, and the Life.