September 2020 Youth Group Events

 

Youth Group Activities in September! Before youth group "officially" starts, please join us for three pre-youth-group activities this September! Two are for families, and one is for older kids only!

Saturday, September 5 - Youth Group Family Hike - Please join us for a day in nature! All families are invited to join us as we go to Topstone Park in Redding. Meet at 9am at the Park & Ride on High Ridge Road by the Merritt Parkway to carpool (or meet us at 10am at Topstone Park in Redding if that's more convenient. All families are welcome! No drop-offs, please - a parent must attend! Please RSVP if you're coming.

Saturday, September 19 - Saint Movie Night (For Grades 8-12) - All young people in grades 8-12 are invited to join us as we watch "For Greater Glory" about the Mexican Martyrs. Pizza will be served! It'll be at Holy Spirit Church from 6-9pm on September 19. We will eat outside (weather permitting), and masks will be required when we go in for the movie. Please RSVP so we have enough food, and bring a snack to share.

Friday, September 25 - Family Backyard Adoration - Our final Family Backyard Adoration will take place at the Sturhahn's house (74 Valley View Drive, Stamford) from 7-9pm. Come and join us; bring lawn chairs and food to share!
God bless you!
~fr joseph

Homily for Ordinary Time 22 - August 30, 2020

 

Homily for August 30, 2020

Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time

Living Sacrifice

 

            A British World War II fighter pilot named Vivian Rosewarne, having successfully flown many missions, was still always amazed at the grandeur of the earth and sky as he would maneuver his plane – and also conscious that he could die at any moment on these dangerous missions. He was tragically shot down at the young age of 23, but as his commanders were going through his possessions, they came upon a letter that he wrote to his mother but never sent. One line from this letter has always stood out to me. This fighter pilot writes: “The universe is so vast and so ageless that the life of one man can only be justified by the measure of his sacrifice.”

            This echoes the powerful words of Pope John Paul II: “Man can only find himself in a sincere gift of himself.”

            Do you ever feel like your life is routine, mundane, boring? Do you feel like you’re just going through the motions? Getting up, going to work or school, watching TV…kind of an empty existence? What is the point of it all – to get another paycheck, get another “A” on a test, and then do it all over again the next day? Doesn’t it just seem hollow?

            When the first Lord of the Rings movie came out in theaters, my sister and I went to see it together. After the movie, we were driving home in silence, still drinking it all in. Looking off into the setting sun, my sister sighed and said, “I wish life could be like that! An epic quest, a thrilling battle, an adventure to live!” It is written deep in the human heart: a desire for our lives to have meaning in a story bigger than us and our mundane existence.

            And we can! We are part of an epic story – God is bringing about the healing and restoration of the human race, and we have an irreplaceable role to play in that mission! We are living in a battlefield between good and evil, between God and Satan - and souls are being lost and won because of our words and deeds!

So if we are living in something more than just a mundane, humdrum, ordinary world, then the measure of our lives and our existence is in what we are willing to sacrifice for. St. Paul tells us to “make of our bodies a living sacrifice.” Our everyday, commonplace life can be a living sacrifice of love for God. Nothing is wasted when it is given to Him – doing the dishes, walking the dog, working out – all of these things gain eternal consequences when we make ourselves a living sacrifice. The crosses we endure – whether they be small like a traffic jam or large like a cancer diagnosis – these sufferings, when made into a “living sacrifice”, become torrents of grace for our souls and for the healing of the world.

            One beautiful way to do that is to make a “Morning Offering”. This is a prayer that we pray at the beginning of the day to offer our day to God. A classic one goes like this: “O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer You my prayers, works, joys and sufferings of this day for all the intentions of Your Sacred Heart, in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, in reparation for my sins, for the intentions of all my relatives and friends, and in particular for the intentions of the Holy Father.” Thus, your whole day and everything in it becomes an act of love.

            The other way to make yourself a “living sacrifice” is to offer up everything to God. When you suffer, when you study, when you play sports, when you work, when you sleep – a ten-second prayer beforehand to say, “God, I give this to You, help me to do this for Your glory and in a way that pleases You” will elevate those actions from ordinary to momentous. They are no longer insignificant, because they are given over to the Lord, who uses our offering to sanctify ourselves and change the world.

            Too many people are miserable because their life is meaningless, because it is all about themselves. Your life only matters when you live it for something greater than you. Want to make a difference in this world and in eternity? Offer your life as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God.

Homily for Ordinary Time 21 - August 23, 2020

 

Homily for August 23, 2020

Twenty-First Sunday of Ordinary Time

The Powers of Hell Will Not Prevail

 

            I know a priest from Savannah, Georgia, who told me that one day, two ladies showed up at his parish, asking him to come bless their house. They explained that they thought their house was possessed. He went with them to the house, and they told him about all of the strange noises, cold winds, and a sinister presence. The ladies thought that the devil was involved in such creepy occurrences.

            After he blessed the house, he asked them what parish they attended, since he didn’t recognize the ladies. They responded, “Oh, Father, we’re Baptists!”

            Shocked, he replied, “Then why did you come to a Catholic priest, and not your Baptist preacher?”

            They replied, “Oh, don’t you Catholics deal with this kind of stuff?”

            He had to laugh, because it was true – we Catholics DO deal with Satan and evil head-on, because the Church has been given the authority to do so by Christ Himself.

            In reading this Gospel, what stood out to me is the line, “The gates of Hell will not prevail” against the Church. Often, we interpret that to mean that the Church will exist until the end of time – which is true. But it also means that the gates of Hell are going to try with all their might to prevail! We live in a spiritual battle, one with eternal consequences – and the gates of Hell, the powers of Satan, are trying to conquer the Church, your family, and your immortal soul.

            Satan tries to attack the Church through errors, heresy, scandal, and division. He likewise attacks the family through division, through family strife, or through sins like alcoholism or abuse or adultery. We have all experienced Satan’s power in our everyday lives through strong temptation, fear, confusion, and self-hatred.

            But thankfully God has given authority over Satan to the Church and to every baptized Christian. I want to look at three types of spiritual authority that God has given to us: in the Church, in the family, and as an individual Christian.

            The Church (through Peter) was given great authority. In the first century, not everyone had keys – the only person who had keys was the master of the house, the one with authority. And they would use those keys to lock the doors to keep out evildoers at night or when they were away on a journey.

            In the same way, the Church has been given the “keys of Heaven”, with authority over good and evil. Fr. Gabriel Amorth, the Vatican’s top exorcist who performed over 10,000 exorcisms in his lifetime, said that the two best weapons the Church has against Satan are…Confession and the Eucharist. If we stay close to these two Sacraments, we never need to fear the Evil One.

            But the Church also has other weapons. For example, its teachings are powerful weapons. Two of the tactics of the Evil One is ignorance and rebellion – so knowing our Church’s teachings and humbly obeying them will guarantee victory in the spiritual battle. The treasury of devotions in the Church such as the Rosary, Adoration, and Stations of the Cross are powerful means of grace, which is that supernatural power that conquers Satan. The Scriptures are also a powerful weapon (St. Paul calls it a “two-edged sword”), and the Church is the custodian of the Bible.

            Some people focus on things such as statues, blessings, and Holy Water in their fight against the Evil One. Yes, these are helpful, but only if you are serious about personally following the Lord and having a solid prayer life. One time a woman at another parish came to me with a five-gallon bucket, asking for Holy Water. I didn’t recognize her, so I asked her what she planned to do with the Holy Water. She said she wanted to give her children baths in it. I then asked if she attended Mass and she said no. So I refused her request and said, “Oh, my dear, going to Mass will do far more for your children’s soul than bathing them in holy water!” These sacramentals are meant to augment and not replace our living faith in Jesus.

            The Kingdom of Hell is not just trying to attack the Church, though – it is also trying to attack the “domestic Church” – which is what the Catechism calls the family! Satan hates families, because they are such a beautiful reflection of the Trinity – a life-giving community of love. But if the family is the Domestic Church, then parents are the priests of the domestic church, and they have authority to protect their children from evil and lead them on the path to holiness.

            In a particular way, you fathers and grandfathers are given a unique authority in the spiritual realm. A few years back I had the privilege of helping with an exorcism. It was a boy who had been adopted by Catholic parents who was struggling with full-blown possession. One thing that struck me deeply is how much the devil had to obey the authority of the father in particular. If the demon was manifesting itself, the mother could say, “In the Name of Jesus Christ, be silent!” but the demon would continue screaming and writhing around. But if the father commanded, “In the Name of Jesus Christ, be silent!”, then the demon would quiet down. Demons know who has spiritual authority over them.

            Parents can exercise this authority by blessing their children, interceding for them, bringing them to the Sacraments, teaching them about the Lord, and keeping evil out of their homes (how many of you parents have put filters or restrictions on your children’s cell phones? You need to do that to prevent tremendous evils from influencing them!).

Finally, every Christian is also given a certain amount of authority over Satan, by virtue of their baptism. Did you know that when you were baptized, you became a priest, prophet, and king? You are granted a share in Christ’s kingship, which means authority over the devil in your own life.

            So, if you find yourself in a particularly strong temptation, rebuke it in the name of the Lord Jesus! Every baptized Christian can say, “In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I rebuke the evil spirit of lust…greed…anger…and I command you to leave me.” If you are overtaken by a powerful sense of fear, sadness, or shame, command it to leave in the Name of the Lord Jesus. When I was writing this homily, my computer froze up many times and came close to crashing – I invoked Jesus’ Name upon this document, and all went smoothly after that.

            My friends, it is true that the gates of Hell are trying desperately to destroy the Church, the world, our families, and our souls. But we have been given authority over these evil spirits. We only need to use that authority and the weapons provided to us by God, and the victory will be assured.

Homily for Ordinary Time 20 - August 16, 2020

 

Homily for August 16, 2020

Twentieth Sunday of Ordinary Time

God Who Embraces All Nations

 

            When I was a teen, I used to go on week-long retreats with my family to an amazing place that has a seriously embarrassing name: Catholic Familyland. Yes, that’s a real place, and things always got cringey when my friends asked where my family went for vacation…Catholic Familyland…but the place was actually really great, and I grew so much in my faith during those week-long vacation/retreats.

            For a few years, Cardinal Francis Arinze joined us there. One time, he led a question-and-answer session for all of us, both youth and parents. My brother spoke up and asked, “Being from Nigeria, did you ever experience racism within the Church?”

            The cardinal pondered for a moment and replied, “The Church is filled with human beings, who are sinners, and the sin of racism is certainly present in some members of the Church. But the Church is also universal and God’s love encompasses all nations.”

            Our readings today speak about a hot-button issue that is as contemporary as today’s headlines – racism and welcoming other cultures. Jesus has a powerful encounter with a Canaanite woman – a woman of another race, culture, and religion – whose faith in Him is strong. Is Jesus being racist by refusing her request? Of course not – rather, the Lord is trying to show His disciples that having Jewish heritage is not as important as genuine faith – which is open to people of all backgrounds. Jesus challenges the woman to show the strength of her faith, and she persists in acknowledging that Jesus is “the Master” – a contrast to the frequent faithlessness of the disciples!

            Paul, too, writing to the Romans, addresses the racial divide present in the early Christian community. Again, it’s between Jews and non-Jews (Gentiles), but Paul says that in Christ, God has had mercy on all – every race and tribe and tongue and nation – so the Jews had no reason to boast of their special status before God.

            We are now seeing racism again in the news. But most of the solutions that are proposed today, such as with the Black Lives Matter movement, are utterly ineffective at solving the issue of racism (and in many cases, they lead to deeper division and animosity). This is because such secular organizations are not looking at the problem through a Christian understanding of race. I want to make three points about how Christians should look at racism.

            First, racism is a sin. That seems simple, but many modern people don’t want to use that word. It’s often called “institutional racism” or “systemic racism”. But that misses the point – racism is a sin found in the human heart and soul before it’s present in any institution or system. So if it’s a sin of the human soul, the antidote is the same for any other sin: repentance and Christian charity.

            Second, the reason why we should treat others with equality and love is because we are all made in God’s image and likeness. This fundamental fact has been completely overlooked by the totally-secular Black Lives Matter movement! Yet this was the reason for the success of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s – Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights leaders emphasized that we are equal before God since we were all created in His image. Without this fundamental principle, what unites us? All secular efforts to heal our nation’s divides will remain inadequate without a reference to God and our status as His beloved sons and daughters.

            Finally, what unites us most fully is our Catholic Faith. The word “Catholic” means universal, and truly this Church has the power to unite us! One summer, I hiked the Camino of Santiago de Compostella, the ancient pilgrimage route across northern Spain to the bones of St. James. Along those 498 miles, over 33 days, I attended Mass in six different languages (English, Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese…and Korean!) Truly a microcosm of the universal Church!

            Which is why it is unfortunate that some people have tried to destroy statues of Jesus or Mary, or St. Junipero Serra or St. Damien of Molokai, claiming that they were “too white” or symbols of white supremacy. Nothing could be further from the truth! Jesus came to unite all races into one Faith – the Catholic Church. Have you ever seen the Basilica of St. Peter’s in Rome? The colonnade, which is those pillars that surround the Basilica, were purposely designed by Bernini to look like arms, as the arms of the Church are embracing the entire world.

            When the Spanish conquistadores came to Mexico, they were accompanied by missionaries, who had very little success. After decades, only 10% of Mexico had converted to the Catholic Faith. But in 1531, one person visited Mexico and converted the whole nation – the Blessed Mother, who appeared as an Aztec maiden at Guadalupe. Within ten years, 90% of the country had converted to Catholicism. Since the Blessed Mother appeared as one of them, they realized that the Catholic Faith was not just a “white man’s religion”.  Rather, they too were welcome to become Catholic.

            Mary has often appeared in different cultures: In 1981, she appeared in Kibeho, Rwanda; in 1798 she appeared as an Oriental woman in La Vang, Vietnam. In 1973, she appeared in Akita, Japan, under the title of Our Lady of All Nations. I believe that Mary wants to tell her children that she is the mother of us all!

            My friends, it is tragic that racism is still present within our society. But it will not be healed through the secular, liberal Black Lives Matter movement. It will only be healed when we see it through a Christian lens: recognizing that racism is a sin that needs to be repented of, realizing that we are all created in the image and likeness of God, and encouraging all races to find their home within the Catholic Faith. God rejoices in the diversity that He has created, knowing that through Christ and His Church, we can be united in that diversity.