Ordinary Time 2 - Wedding Feast

 

Homily for Ordinary Time 2

The Wedding Feast of Cana

January 12, 2025

 

            This is such an amazing Gospel to unpack, so open up your missalettes and let’s discover the riches in this short story from John’s Gospel!

            The scene is a wedding feast – which should ring some bells for those who know the Old Testament! In Isaiah, the coming of the Kingdom of God is inaugurated at a Wedding Feast; in Hosea and other prophets, the relationship between God and His People is described as a sacred wedding. It was not random chance that Jesus picked this particular setting for His first miracle – yes, a bride and groom were getting married, but moreso, Christ the Bridegroom has come for His Bride, the Church.

            Wedding feasts in ancient times lasted seven days, with specific times for drinking and toasting. It would be a complete embarrassment to run out of wine, so there is a practical problem that needed attending to. Mary notices and seeks a solution – a beautiful symbol of Our Lady’s intercession in our life – She notices even the small problems of our life and brings them to Our Lord’s attention.

            There has been a growing devotion in our Church to one of Mary’s more unique titles – Our Lady, Undoer of Knots. Back in 1700, there was a wealthy young man from Germany who was very devoted to Our Lady. However, his family was in trouble – the grandfather had planned to divorce his grandmother, causing a huge rift in the family. The young man went to a priest for advice about how to help his grandparents, and the priest and the young man together went in front of an image of Our Lady and prayed, “Mary, untie the knots in this family situation and smooth it out!” Within a short time and completely unexpectedly, the grandparents had reconciled, and in gratitude the young man commissioned a painting of Our Lady the Undoer of Knots, which has since spread to the entire Church. A beautiful testimony, on display in today’s Gospel!

            But Jesus’ words seem to be a rebuke. First, He calls her “woman”. Is this disrespectful? Of course not – it’s theological! Who else is called “woman” in the Bible? Back in the beginning, Eve was called woman – so Jesus is saying that Mary is the New Eve, whose obedience undoes Eve’s disobedience. But there is another “woman” – in the Book of Revelation, John has a vision of a woman clothed with the sun, the moon under her feet, and a crown of twelve stars. She has no name, but is known only by “woman”. So Jesus is saying, “Not only are you the New Eve, you are also the one who will be crowned as queen of Heaven and Earth!”

            Then Jesus says, “What concern of that is it to Me? My hour has not yet come.” In John’s Gospel, “Jesus’ hour” always refers to His Passion. So in essence, Jesus is saying, “Don’t worry about it, Mary. I can do all things, since it is not yet time for my Passion.” It’s not a rebuke – Jesus is sharing with Mary His willingness to do this miracle!

            Which engenders Mary’s response – “Do whatever He tells you.” Notice that it is only after the miracle that the disciples believe in Jesus, but it is before the miracle that Mary believes in Jesus. Do you believe in Jesus before He works in your life, or do you have to see to believe?

            These are actually the last recorded words of Mary in history: “Do whatever He tells you.” Like any “famous last words”, they carry immense weight – Mary is not just telling the waiters to follow His instructions, She is also telling us, the disciples from every time and place, to do anything the Lord asks. This is Her final parting wisdom – and it sums up the entirety of the Christian life!

            The Gospel writer then goes on to note that there were six stone water jars for ceremonial washings. This is so dense to unpack! These jars were huge – we’re talking a total of 150 gallons of wine – showing the superabundance of God’s blessings upon humanity. But it was kind of gross for Jesus to use those water jars. They had been used for a ritual hand-washing, so they were dirty – why can’t Jesus just use the empty wine jars to make the new wine?

            Because He’s making a huge point about what He has come to accomplish. These jars had been used to fulfill the old Jewish law, which was very specific about many aspects of daily life, such as washing. But Jesus came to fulfill and supersede the Old Law. The jars had an important purpose, but in Christ, it is no longer necessary to follow the Old Law with its specific commands about diet and clothing and sanitation. We no longer follow the Jewish Law, but the Lawgiver.

            This is also symbolized in the number of jars. In Scripture, the number seven is the number of perfection, completion, and covenant. So it is significant that there were six jars – symbolizing that the Old Covenant is imperfect, incomplete.

            Even the headmaster recognizes Jesus’ superiority over the Old Testament. While most people serve good wine first, now the best wine is saved for last. Likewise, God gave the Jewish Faith a glimpse of His truth and love, but now in Jesus we have the fullness of that truth and love.

            John ends by saying that this was the first of the “signs” – notice he does not call them miracles but “signs”. A sign points to a deeper, often invisible reality. So these miracles are not ends in themselves – Jesus didn’t just do it because He likes a good party. Rather, Jesus wanted to reveal a bit more about Who He Is – the incarnate God Who can change literal matter with merely a word.

            Finally, there is a whole Eucharistic undertone for this scene. Jesus is giving us food and drink, but a food and drink that started as one thing, and then with just a word transformed into something else. If Jesus can turn water into wine, can He not turn wine into His Blood?

            My friends, this rich story reveals a great deal about who Jesus is and who Mary is. Jesus is the great Bridegroom preparing to initiate the Kingdom with this Wedding Feast, and Mary is the perfect Christian Who brings her needs before Him, waits and trusts in faith, and sees His glory. May we all be like Her and entrust our lives to Him!

Baptism of Our Lord - Live Your Vocation (Jan 12, 2025)

 

Homily for January 12, 2025

Baptism of Our Lord

Call to Holiness by Living Our Vocation

 

            Many saint stories feature miracles and marvels, but there are some saints whose lives are just plain ordinary. St. Isidore the Farmer is one such saint. A twelfth-century man from Madrid, Spain, he was an ordinary farmhand who worked for a wealthy landowner. Despite his poverty, he was always generous and would share what little he had with the poor. He was married, and by all accounts, was an exemplary husband and father. He made sure that Christ was the center of his day – he began with daily Mass, and would frequently interrupt his farm chores for prayer. One time, a fellow worker, who was jealous of how well Isidore was respected, told the landowner that Isidore only went to Mass because he was lazy and wanted to shirk his duties. The next day, out of curiosity, the landowner went out to the field during the time of the Mass, and found that angels were plowing his field until Isidore returned from his prayer. Okay, well, I guess even an ordinary saint had at least a few miracles…

            But I start with the story of an ordinary saint, because that is precisely what we are all called to be – ordinary saints. As Mother Teresa said, “Holiness is not the luxury of a few, but the simple duty of you and me.” We reflect on baptism this weekend – not only Jesus’ baptism, but ours too. And baptism laid upon us a duty – the duty to strive for holiness.

            This calling is universal – for everyone, in every state of life. A priest one time had been inviting a certain parishioner to a bible study, but the man kept pushing him off: “No, no, I’m too busy, I can’t make it,” and all sorts of excuses. Finally, frustrated that the priest was persistent, the man exclaimed, “Look, Father, I’m just not that into this whole faith thing.” Perhaps that’s where some of you are – just “not all into” this whole following Jesus thing.

            But I am here to tell you that the days of lukewarm Catholicism are over. No longer is it enough to just go to church and say a few prayers – we must strive for holiness. In fact, it was the Second Vatican Council who articulated most clearly the “universal call to holiness”. Listen to this quote from one of its documents: “All the faithful of Christ of whatever rank or status, are called to the fullness of the Christian life and to the perfection of charity.” (LG 5) And again: “The forms and tasks of life are many but [the call to] holiness is one—that sanctity which is cultivated by all who act under God's Spirit and… follow Christ, poor, humble and cross-bearing, that they may deserve to be partakers of his glory.” (LG 41) If you’ve been baptized, you are supposed to become a saint!

            Holiness is simply the perfection of charity: loving God above all things, and loving our neighbor as Christ loves them. It is Christ who makes holiness abide within us – we love God because He loved us first and adopted us to be His sons and daughters; we love our neighbors because Christ, living in us, gives us the grace to do so.

            We find this holiness by living out our vocations. We heard about John the Baptist today, but do you remember back in Advent another Gospel regarding him? On the Third Sunday of Advent, we heard about tax collectors and soldiers coming to John the Baptist. They ask him, “What should we do?” Does John the Baptist tell them to run away to the desert and become hermits? Does he tell them to pray all day? No. He tells them to fulfill their vocation perfectly. To the tax collectors he said, “Don’t take more than what is required.” To the soldiers he said, “Do not extort anyone, and be satisfied with your wages.” In other words, be who you are, but be it for God – and you will become holy.

            Your vocation gives a direction to love. If you are married, you must first love your spouse and kids above all else. I am called to love the people of St. Jude’s above all else (and forgive me for the times I have fallen short!). If you are single, your vocation is to use your time to serve – the poor, your community, your family. It is not holiness to have misdirected love. About ten years ago I made a long walking pilgrimage across northern Spain called El Camino di Santiago de Compostela. It was thirty-three days of traipsing across the Pyrenees and deserts of Spain to reach the bones of St. James the Apostle at Santiago di Compostela. One of the best parts was meeting people from across the world and hearing their stories. For the final ten days of the trek, we walked with a man from Italy named Michele (Michael) who had an amazing story. His three-year-old son was sick with a deadly disease of the liver, and he needed a transplant. He prayed and prayed, and things weren’t looking good, but right at the last minute a donor came through and his son was saved. In thanksgiving to God for this miracle, he decided to undertake this pilgrimage – but he walked all the way from Italy, just out his front door and over the Alps! He had been on the trail for almost six months! It was tremendously inspiring to see his devotion to God and his love for his son.

            However, when we reached Santiago di Compostela, after resting for a couple days, we were about to catch a flight home – and Michele told us that he was going to walk back to Italy! Another six months on the path. But we sat him down and had an honest conversation with him – “Michele, you now have to go home and be a father to your son. Do not walk back – take a train or a plane. Your son needs you. You are called to be his father – do not shirk this duty!” Reluctantly he agreed, and he returned to his son. As good as it is to make a pilgrimage for God, his first responsibility was to be there for his son, and that’s how he will find holiness.

            Holiness looks different for everyone. St. Cyril of Jerusalem uses the example of water and agriculture – water is the same everywhere, but it produces different fruit: grapes on the vine, apples on the tree, tomatoes on the plant. Likewise, the grace of Christ dwelling in the soul is holiness, but it looks different for everyone.

            For example, if you are a lawyer, truly care for your clients and do not be motivated by greed but by justice. If you are a teacher, love your students and do not speak badly of administration. If you are in business, care for your fellow employees and seek to serve customers, living honestly and uprightly. If you are parent, encourage holiness in your kids, sacrificing for them and speaking to them about Christ. If you are a young person still in school, study well for the glory of God, obey your parents and teachers, and treat your classmates as Christ would. Do all this with a deep prayer life, living in intimate union with God.

            It may not seem dramatic, it may seem ordinary – but that’s precisely how holiness becomes real. Most of us have seen the Christmas movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life”. One of my all-time favorites, in part because it gives a message completely opposite of most modern-day movies. Modern-day movies often say, “Follow your dreams! Live your best life! Find yourself!” The classic “It’s a Wonderful Life” preaches, “Do your duty, serve others, and in this you will find a truly wonderful life.” Don’t pursue your dreams – pursue your vocation, which is God’s dreams for you, and you will find happiness… and holiness.

Epiphany Homily - The Search

 

Homily for Epiphany

January 5, 2025

The Search

 

            What are you searching for? These are Jesus’ first words in John’s Gospel – what are you searching for? I think everyone’s looking for the same thing: happiness. But like children playing a maddened game of hide-and-seek, everyone’s looking for the same thing in different locations.

            The Magi and the Chief Priests and Scribes were all looking for the same thing: the Messiah. But they were looking in different locations. The chief priests and scribes were looking for a political messiah to ride in on a stately war-horse with an entourage of soldiers in battle array; the Magi were looking for a humble Baby with working-class parents. The Magi found Him; the Jewish leaders are still waiting for Him.

            I liken this to the fundamental human search: happiness. Everyone’s looking for it, but most people are searching in the wrong place. Perhaps some of us have found a certain amount of happiness in life. Maybe we’ve got a great family, a great career, enough money. That’s awesome – but all of that is a rather fragile foundation. In an instant, it could all be flipped upside down – and then where is our happiness?

            Chuck Colson was a lawyer in the Nixon Administration who had everything his career could offer: free access to the White House, tons of money, prestige and power. Even when he was at the height of his success, he felt restless. He put it this way: “I’d gotten to the top of the mountain, and I couldn’t think of any more mountains to climb.” But that mountaintop wouldn’t last long – he was implicated in the Watergate scandal and faced a jail sentence.

            Where was the happiness now? He would lose it all – what now? A friend of his sent him CS Lewis’ book “Mere Christianity” – desperate to find the inner peace he lacked now that everything else was being taken away, he opened to a random chapter, which happened to be the chapter on pride. All of a sudden his life came into focus – he had been worshipping himself as a god, believing he could provide all of his own happiness. He fell to his knees and invited Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior – and even though he was convicted and spent almost a year in jail, he found a peace he hadn’t known when he was at the top of the mountain.

            As St. John Vianney said, “The happiness of man on earth consists in praying and loving.” But let’s be honest – here we are, sitting in church on Sunday morning, and perhaps we can think of a hundred things that might make us happier. Eating a cookie, watching a movie, playing soccer. So how can I claim that Jesus Christ is our greatest happiness?

            Aristotle recognized that not all happiness is equal. He elucidated four different levels of happiness. The first is pleasure – it’s a quick happiness when you eat a hamburger, but it also lasts for a very short time. The second is achieving goals – we get that promotion, buy that car, get the A on the test. It feels very good, and the “high” lasts for a bit, but eventually it wears off and we’re back to square one. The third is enjoying family and friends – that is awesome, but eventually we have to go back to our room and be alone, and then what? If our happiness is based on something outside of ourselves, then we’re always going to be striving, searching, grasping at something else.

            So the key is to have happiness within – but being alone by ourselves is, actually, not happiness. In fact, Dante writes in his “Inferno” that Hell is not a party of evil people – rather, it’s the terrible loneliness of being unloved for eternity. We were created in the image and likeness of a God who is Trinity, so we are social beings who were made for a relationship of love. So how can we find happiness within us if it’s actually really terrible to be alone?

            The answer is to find it in a relationship with Someone who lives within us – the grace of Jesus Christ. Only in Him do we find Someone who loves us unconditionally, never abandons us, and dwells with us forever.

            But the Magi teach us an important lesson in our search for God – it is arduous, difficult, and we need to persevere. They came from Persia to Bethlehem, a journey of approximately 700 miles, over desert terrain, facing the burning sun of day and the freezing chill of night. It was not easy to seek the Lord – it cost them a great deal, including the cost of myrrh, which in Biblical times was approximately $4,000 per pound! So don’t let anyone tell you that searching for God is easy or convenient. There are sacrifices that must be made, comforts that must be abandoned, sins that must be repented of, and often it’s dry and difficult to pray or to motivate yourself to cultivate a relationship with Him.

            But isn’t that the case with everything that’s valuable in life? Nothing worth pursuing is ever easy. And if Christ is the pearl of great price, He is worth it all. I can testify with my own life – I began to pursue Christ seriously as a senior in high school, when I was taking classes at a local community college. I started hanging out with new people who were pretty shallow – their lives were all about the next paycheck, the next date with the girlfriend, the next party. There was no happiness or peace in their life, because they needed something outside of themselves to be happy. By contrast, I was getting involved in a Church youth group, and these people radiated a joy that came from deep within themselves. I realized that if I wanted joy, I needed Christ.

            So I began to go to Adoration weekly and pray the Rosary regularly. It was awesome, I felt so alive, so filled with the Spirit! Every time I read the Bible it spoke to me; I had such a hunger for the Eucharist.

            And then, about a year later, during my first year in college, all that came crashing down when I began to suffer from panic attacks, depression, and anxiety. It got so bad I could barely leave my dorm room – and my faith was shaken to the core. God, where is that joy You promised? I would go to pray and feel nothing but emptiness. Distraction, dryness, and doubts assailed me night and day. Some days it was all I could do to just barely hang on to the little scraps of faith I had.

            That lasted for about nine months, but when it ended, I felt joy restored – and more importantly, my faith had been deepened and strengthened through the trial. There would be many more times of darkness in my faith, but it was always temporary and there is an undercurrent of hope and joy even when my relationship with Jesus is difficult. So we must persevere in our search, confident that He Who promised us joy will be faithful to His word.

            So what are you searching for? Happiness. Where are you searching – in things outside of you, or in Jesus Christ Who desires to dwell within you? And will you persevere in pursuing Him, even if you find it difficult? The Magi persevered and found the object of their desire. In seeing and possessing Him, we find the happiness that we have always longed for. As St. Augustine said, “Faith is to believe in what you do not see, and the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.”

Christmas Homily - To Possess the Son is to Have Everything

 

Christmas Homily 2024

 

            Once there was a wealthy man who had an only son. Tragically the son died young, and in memory, the old man had a portrait of his son painted and hung in a prominent place in the mansion. After the old man had passed away, since he had no heirs, everything from his estate was put up for auction. And he had some tremendous things: yachts, sports cars, golf clubs, gold watches, and so much more.

            The auctioneer began the auction with the portrait of the wealthy man’s son. “Here we have this portrait of Mr. Smith’s son. Who will begin the bidding?”

            The room echoed with silence. No one came for a picture of someone they didn’t know, and the picture wasn’t particularly elegant or beautiful. No one raised their paddle.

            But the auctioneer urged, “Come now, look at it. It is filled with such great memories of a fine young man. Who will take it?”

            Still no one moved, and they were getting restless. Get to the good stuff! No more of this portrait that no one wanted!

            The auctioneer began to beg, “I cannot move on until this piece is sold. Who is willing to bid on it?”

            Finally, reluctantly, a man raised his paddle in the back and said, “Twenty dollars.”

            “Twenty dollars, going once,” – and the crowd was looking bored – “going twice, sold!” The auctioneer then began to pack up his things, and announced to the crowd, “This auction is now over. Mr. Smith’s will stipulated that whoever would take the son will inherit everything else – the mansion, the wealth, the riches.” Everyone was shocked – especially the man who had won billions of dollars with only a twenty-dollar bid!

            If you accept the Son, you will inherit everything. In Scripture it says that “no eye has seen, no ear has heard, nor has the mind of man ever conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him.” If we welcome the Son, we inherit everything.

            The early Church Fathers spoke about the two “comings of Christ”. Christ came two thousand years ago in a manger in Bethlehem. But He will also come again at the end of time, not as a baby but as a majestic King and Judge of the Living and the Dead. The reason why He came in Bethlehem was to bring us grace, and grace makes us ready for His Second Coming. But grace only dwells in a soul who has welcomed Christ into it.

            When I say that we must “welcome Christ”, it’s not an ambiguous idea. We can concretely know if we have welcomed Christ into our lives. We welcome Christ’s grace at our baptisms, we grow in His interior presence through the Eucharist and daily prayer, we lose His presence through serious sin, and we restore His presence through Confession. So we have not yet accepted Christ if we do not have a life of daily prayer, Sunday Mass, and are striving to live like Christ.

            Do not make His first coming in the manger of Bethlehem ineffective! He came down from Heaven to bring us the gift of grace – God’s divine life within us - so do not spurn such a gift when it comes to us in the Scriptures, in the Eucharist, in the Sacraments!

            In His first coming, the inn had no room for Him – does your schedule allow you to have room for Him in your week? In His first coming, He was a poor, shivering baby – do we see Christ in His distressing disguise of the poor? In His first coming, only the poor shepherds recognized Him – are we willing to humble ourselves, lay aside our egos, and recognize our desperate dependence upon Him? In His first coming, wise men traveled great distances and gave great gifts to the Lord – are we willing to offer Christ the gift of our whole life?

            We often sing that Christmas song, “I wish every day was like Christmas” – but while it would probably be odd to drink eggnog in July, the reason for Christmas – the gift of Christ’s grace – is entirely within reach every day of our lives. I close with a beautiful prayer of St. Theresa of Avila, who wrote this Christmas prayer of longing for Christ’s First Coming to help her prepare for His Second Coming:

            “I wish to prepare for Your coming with the burning desires of the prophets and the just who in the Old Testament sighed after You, the one Savior and Redeemer. ‘O Lord, send Him whom You are going to send… As you have promised, come and deliver us!’

            “I want a continual longing and waiting for this great Mystery wherein You, O Word became flesh to show me the abyss of your redeeming sanctifying mercy… Come, O Lord, come! I, too wish to run to You with love, but alas! My love is so limited, weak and imperfect! Make it strong and generous; enable me to overcome myself, so that I can give myself entirely to You… What a consolation it will be, O Lord, to think that we shall be judged by Him whom we have loved above all things! Then we can enter Your presence with confidence!”

            Only those who have Christ’s grace within them have reaped the benefits of Christmas, since he who has the Son has everything.

Advent 4 - Mary and the Incarnation

 

Homily for Advent 4

Mary and the Incarnation

December 22, 2024

 

            It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman, and such is the case with Jesus Christ and His Mother, Mary. We can’t speak about the Incarnation without bringing up her essential role in bringing the Word-Made-Flesh into space-and-time. In particular, God prepared Mary for this role in four major ways.

            First, she is called the theotokos – the Mother of God. But this title of Mary wasn’t without controversy. In the early 400s, a priest named Nestorius began to declare that Mary couldn’t be called Mother of God, because wouldn’t that seem to imply that she was greater than God? After all, God is outside of time and doesn’t need to be born – how can we call her the Mother of God?

            The Church met at the Council of Ephesus to discuss this question – can we call Mary the Mother of God, if God is not born? They had to make an important distinction about Jesus. Jesus has two natures, but is only one Person. Do mothers give birth to a nature or to a person? Clearly, it’s to a person. When a mom gives birth, the doctor doesn’t hold up the child and declare, “It’s a human being!” Of course it is! But who is it? Is it a boy or a girl, is it Johnny or Sally? So they declared that Mary gave birth to the person of Jesus, not just to His human nature. And the Person of Jesus is both God and Man. Therefore it is right to call her “Mother of God”. Interestingly, when news of this decision reached the ears of the people of Ephesus, they began to party in the streets, declaring again and again, “Mary Theotokos! Mary Theotokos!” The good Christians already knew – Mary is the mother of God.

            Second, God prepared Mary for this task through her Perpetual Virginity. She never shared her body with anyone – her womb was His alone. Even though it wasn’t officially declared until the seventh century, it was always believed, even from the earliest days of the Church.

            But wait! There are Bible passages that speak about Jesus’ brothers and sisters. How can that be? There are two possible explanations. First, there is no Greek word for cousins or other blood relatives that aren’t siblings. So, the Gospel writers may have meant that Jesus’ relatives, but not actual siblings, are referenced here. There is also an ancient tradition that St. Joseph was much older than Mary, and that he was a widower but had children from his first marriage. These children would have been half-brothers of Jesus. So regardless of how they are referenced, we know that Jesus was the only child of Mary, because the temple of her body was reserved for Him alone.

            Third, God prepared Mary by allowing her to be conceived without Original Sin, which we call the Immaculate Conception. Consider – if you could create your own parents, wouldn’t you create them perfect? Of course! How could Jesus dwell in a heart that was opposed to Him through sin? Thus, for Christ to dwell a few inches below the Immaculate Heart of Mary, He would need that heart and soul to be perfectly clean, without even the slightest stain of sin.

            In February of 1858, a young shepherd girl named Bernadette was gathering some sticks for her family’s fireplace, when a wind rustling the trees made her look up. To her surprise, hovering in a small cave a short distance away was a beautiful woman dressed in white. The girl asked this strange apparition, “Who are you?” The woman replied, “I am the Immaculate Conception.”

            News of this strange phenomenon began to spread, until the parish priest called her in for questioning. He demanded, “Who is it that you saw?” She replied, “I do not know who it was; she called herself ‘the Immaculate Conception’.” The priest asked, “Do you know what that means?” But Bernadette, being uneducated, had no idea what that meant. The priest was shocked that this uneducated girl had just called Mary by a title that she didn’t even understand! Clearly, she was truly seeing Our Lady, and to this day Lourdes, France is a popular pilgrimage destination where people honor Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception.

            Finally, Our Lord could not leave His mother’s body to suffer the anguish of the tomb, so we profess as Catholics that at the end of her earthly life, He took her body and soul to Heaven without death. This is called the Assumption. After Christ ascended into Heaven, Mary went to live with St. John who soon moved from Jerusalem to Ephesus. There she lived for about fifteen more years, and when the time came for her to end her earthly life, the Holy Spirit miraculously inspired all of the Apostles to gather in Ephesus to say goodbye to their spiritual mother. According to tradition, she fell asleep peacefully, and they bore her body to a tomb that they had prepared. But there was one Apostle who hadn’t made it there in time – St. Thomas, who was preaching the Gospel in India, which is quite a distance. So when he returned, she was already in the tomb. In great grief, he went by himself to the tomb and was surprised to see that the stone was off of it, and the body of the Blessed Virgin was being taken directly into Heaven. According to the tradition, Our Lady’s belt dropped down into his hands, so we still have it, and it is still venerated in India. How fitting that she who was not touched by Original Sin would not have to suffer death, which is a consequence of Original Sin!

            During Advent and Christmas, we often focus on Mary – as Elizabeth does in the Gospel today. But Mary’s entire being is to point the way to Jesus. Immediately after Elizabeth praises her in the Gospel, Mary launches into her Magnificat – a beautiful song of praise of God: “My soul magnifies the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” Everything good about Mary is for Jesus. This is why we can go to her as a mother, trusting that she will not distract us from her Son but lead us to Him. And this is why we can imitate how she completely yielded her life to Him – she only existed to bring Him into this world. And we, too, only exist to love and praise Him here and in eternity.

Advent 3 - Committed to Making Us Holy

 

Homily for Advent 3 – Incarnation Part 3

December 15, 2024

The Clean One

 

            If you are a baseball fan, you may have seen that Juan Soto just signed the largest contract in sports history – 15 years with the Mets for $765 million dollars. Not only is a lot of money, it’s a very long time – so this superstar is going to be with his new team through thick and thin, win or lose.

            He’s (hopefully) going to do everything in his power to make his team better, because he’s with them for the long-haul. That might mean that he has to challenge his team if they’re in a slump, and sacrifice everything for the win. Once you get committed to something for a long period of time, you will do everything in your power to make it the best it could be. That’s not just true for sports teams – it’s true in marriages and families, it’s true in parishes and communities, it’s true in businesses and schools – if you are committed to the group, you’ll do everything possible to make it shine.

            The Incarnation – God becoming man – means that God has “thrown His lot in” with us. He’s committed to the human race now, because He’s one of us. He can never get tired of humanity and say, “Eh, they’re all just too messed up and sinful, so I’m going to start over on some other planet.” No – now that He IS a human being, He’s committed to us, He’s not giving up on us, and from now until eternity He is going to strive to make us the best we can be.

            John the Baptist says some shocking things about Jesus in the Gospel. He will come to baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire? That He will gather wheat into the barn but burn the chaff? And then it says John preached good news to the people? On face value, it seems that repentance, purification, and judgment are NOT good news…but in reality, they are the best news we could ever receive.

            Cleaning things, whether it’s ourselves or our house or our car, can often be a difficult and arduous task – but don’t we feel so much better when we’re clean? After a week on the trail, a hot shower makes you feel like a new person. Washing your car makes you drive with a bit more pep. But it’s not always easy to wash and clean. It takes hard work. It’s an unpleasant task. It takes suffering.

            Hence, John baptizes with a baptism of “repentance”. Jesus’ first words, too, in the Gospels were “repent, the Kingdom of God is at hand.” In fact, the Name “Jesus” means “God Saves” – saves from what? From sin and eternal death! His whole mission is to make us holy as He is holy. Since He’s thrown in His lot with us for eternity, He will do anything to make us saints – including taking flesh and dying on a Cross.

            But it is HE who does it in us. This is why we rejoice this Third Sunday of Advent – because God’s sanctifying grace is available, just for the asking.

            Bishop James Walsh was an American missionary priest to China in the early twentieth century. He ministered in some small villages, saying Mass in tiny chapels in the wilderness. When the local pagans would visit these chapels out of curiosity, Bishop Walsh would show them around and give them a tour, explaining the church. There was one group of visitors who were fascinated by the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and when Bishop Walsh explained that she was the sinless Mother of Jesus, the pagan crowd was in awe. “She must be very special, to be without sin,” they exclaimed, in a hushed reverence. They then moved on to the Confessional, and Bishop Walsh explained that here, Christians could be forgiven of their sins through Confession, and they were even more amazed. “You mean we can become like this holy woman, Mary? We can be sinless like her?” Yes, that’s the radical nature of Christianity – that it is entirely possible to be forgiven. All it takes is repentance, Confession, and turning your life over to Christ.

            So let me ask – do you have anything you wish you could undo? Anything in your life you regret? The bad choices that hurt us and others, the bad habits that enslave us – this is what Jesus Christ has come to free you from.

            Today, right now, repent of all that stuff. Confess your sins, and experience His forgiveness and love. Commit, right here and right now, to following Jesus Christ.

            That’s good news indeed.

Advent 2 - A God With Skin On

 

Homily for Advent 2 – Incarnation Series, Part 2

December 8, 2024

Truly Human, Truly Divine

 

            A father went to help his four-year-old with his bedtime prayers, and after praying, he went to turn out the light. But the boy cried out, “No, don’t leave, I’m scared of the dark and I don’t want to be here alone!”

            The father reassured him, “Yes, but God is always with you, you have nothing to fear.”

            The boy quickly replied, “But I want someone with skin on!”

            The very cornerstone of our Catholic Faith is the Incarnation – that God took on skin, as it were. But did it really happen? Wasn’t that just one of many myths from the ancient world?

            Many ancient cultures had stories of a God-man. For example, Hercules was supposed to be a half-god, half-man. The ancient Arabs had a god named Theandrios, whose name literally means god-man (Theos is God in Greek, and Andros is man). Greek and Roman culture had their Dionysius or Bacchus, which were gods who descended to mankind to give them gifts (usually wine or fertility). There were even legends of several gods who died and then resurrected.

            But the Incarnation of Christ differed from these in several ways. First, most of the myths featured men and women who became gods, not God who became man. In fact, it was an ancient Roman custom to deify a famous or influential person, but they still made the distinction between a “deus” (a god) and a “divus” (a man who has been divinized). Interestingly, the female version of “divus” is “diva”, from which we get the English term for a self-centered female celebrity, who thinks themselves a god!

            Secondly, God-taking-flesh did not benefit Him in the least – it was entirely for our benefit. In all of the other myths, the gods take on flesh for their own benefit. They never do so out of gratuitous love. Maybe they wanted some worship or Adoration, but that was always to boost their own ego. God wants us to worship Him, not because He is an egomaniac, but because He knows it is our happiness to worship Him. He’s willing to take on flesh to allow us to access Him – He is a God with “skin on”.

            But what of all the old myths? Is Christianity just another one of those old mystery religions? CS Lewis had a great line; he said that “Christianity isn’t just God made man, it is also myth made fact.” His point is that all of the myths actually point to a real, historical event. Humans have always had an intuition that God would become man; hence the myths by which pagan cultures told the story. In Jesus, though, the myth has become reality. No longer do we need to wander in the mists of myth; we now have the hard evidence of a place, a time, a Person.

            Luke drives that home in his typical crystal-clear fashion. Most myths begin, “Once upon a time.” But Luke makes it clear that the Incarnation happened in a real historical context. Listen to his words again:

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar,

when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea,

and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee,

and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region

of Ituraea and Trachonitis,

and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene,

during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas,

the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert.

            Even the early Church struggled to understand the radical nature of the Incarnation. In the early 200s, there was a heresy floating around called Docetism. This heresy declared that Jesus didn’t really take flesh, but that He was an apparition. If the angels could appear to people with bodies, even though they don’t actually have them, then maybe Jesus could do the same – just appear to have lived in the flesh, when He was really just a mirage.

            But this doesn’t make any sense. It was necessary for Christ to be fully human, for two reasons. First, as St. Gregory of Nazianzen said, “What was not assumed was not redeemed.” In other words, if Jesus didn’t have real human flesh, He could not have redeemed real human flesh. If He didn’t have a human mind, human emotions, and a human will, then He would never have been able to redeem those things. He had to become fully human to redeem all humans.

            But, secondly, He had to become fully human so that we could have the depths of a real relationship with Him. It’s very hard to have a friendship with someone who is much higher than you. I love our Bishop, but when I am with him, I’m always conscious that he is the boss and I’m not. I definitely have to put my best foot forward, lest he assign me to Timbuktu! You may feel the same way with your boss – if he makes decisions on your life, can you really be totally relaxed with him?

            But God wanted to call us no longer servants but friends. Thus He had to lower Himself to our level so that we can truly share the depths of our hearts with Him. Now I can share with Him my joys and sorrows, my weaknesses and my hopes, because He knows what it is to experience human joy and sorrow. I know that He, too, was weak, and that He experienced human love and suffering.

            So, do you see Jesus as a close friend? He is indeed Lord, but He took on flesh so He could also be a friend. And with every good friend, He desperately wants to spend time with you. This Advent, amidst the hectic insanity, why not take some time to be with Him? Come to Adoration, pray the Rosary, spend time in daily prayer. He is not a distant God, but one Who has taken flesh in history, and continues to stay with us in the present through the Holy Eucharist.

            We all want to have a God “with skin on”. In the manger, on the Cross, in the Eucharist, we have found such a God.