Homily for Trinity Sunday 2025 - It's A Mystery

 

Homily for Trinity Sunday

June 15, 2025

It’s A Mystery

 

            One day St. Augustine was trying to understand the Trinity – how could it be that there are three Persons but only one Divine Being? How can we explain that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all fully God, but God is not divided? Augustine was walking along the seashore pondering this mystery, when he came upon a boy taking buckets of water from the ocean and pouring it into a hole that he dug in the sand. The great bishop asked the lad, “What are you doing?” The boy replied, “I’m trying to fit the ocean in this hole.” “That’s impossible,” Augustine replied. “The hole is far too small.” The boy looked at him and replied, “It is easier for me to pour the ocean in this hole than for you to understand the Trinity.” – and then the boy disappeared! Augustine realized he had seen an angel.

            Mystery is essential in faith. There are many things we will never understand in our Catholic Faith. How does bread become the very Body and Blood of Jesus Christ? God knows everything we will ever do, but we are truly free and not predetermined? How is it that the death of one Man on an obscure hill in Israel has redeemed the entire universe? Why do bad things happen to good people? Much of our faith is built upon mystery.

            But some people think that “mystery” is a cop-out – perhaps they think that “mystery” means “just stop asking questions.” But mystery is absolutely essential to faith, because we believe in a God Who is infinite and unlimited, and we are finite and limited. If we understood everything about God and His ways, then we would be gods. I only want to worship Someone greater than myself – so it is fitting that my small mind couldn’t contain the fullness of who He is and what He does!

            Mystery does not mean that something is unknowable, but that it is infinitely knowable – just as we can drink from a stream again and again without ever exhausting the water, we can ponder the Trinity, or the Eucharist, or the life of Christ, forever while still discovering new riches.

            We have to remember, though, that mystery is present in every aspect of human life. Even human relationships have mystery – can I scientifically prove that someone loves me? Can we ever fully know another human being, even our spouse? Of course not – these things must remain a mystery – and that is good because mysteries are exciting, alluring! These mysteries are not a mathematical equation to be solved; they are meant for us to contemplate in love. Mystery draws us in and makes us excited about an encounter – even movies know this – notice how Jaws doesn’t show the shark until the very end of the movie? How boring that movie would be if you saw it at the beginning and if you knew how it would end! How boring would be our relationship with God – or even with others – if we knew everything about them!

            Of course, mystery does NOT mean that we should stop trying to understand our Faith. On the contrary, the Medieval Scholastics had a wonderful phrase, Fides Quaerens Intellectum – faith seeking understanding. We believe, so that we might understand more – not the other way around, as some people say, “I have to understand first, before I believe.” No, faith is primary, and then we seek to understand the Faith – and the whole world around us. The Church has always encouraged learning more about the mysteries of faith and the mysteries of the physical world – in fact, in 1079, Pope Gregory VII decreed that every diocese needed to have at least one Catholic school – this was rather revolutionary considering how rare education was in those days! These Catholic schools became the foundation of the university system – the first universities were Catholic schools connected to Cathedrals, such as the University of Paris, Oxford, or Bologna. Our Faith is not afraid of being questioned – we just have to realize that it is larger than our capacity to understand, and we have to be content with not being able to explain everything.

            But even science has mysteries that science cannot answer: why is there something rather than nothing? How did life originate from non-life? What happens after we die? Science will not be able to answer these questions – rather, we turn to our faith – based upon God’s revelation – to inform us.

            The Church teaches that God’s public revelation stopped at the death of the last Apostle – apparitions like Fatima or Lourdes, mystics and saints, do not add to the revelation but rather unpack it and explain it a clearer way, but God’s Truth remains unchanged. If one were to plant an acorn, an oak tree would grow – the acorn would, in a sense, become more of what it was meant to be. But if it started growing pears, we would say that something went haywire! Likewise, Jesus left the entirety of His revelation to the Apostles, but it has unfolded and developed over the last two thousand years. But it has to remain faithful to what He has taught. I sometimes drive by Protestant churches who have signs out front that say, “God is still speaking.” Well, yes, He still speaks to us in prayer and in our hearts, but they often mean that God is revealing new (and sometimes contradictory) things, redefining human life and marriage and gender and all sorts of fluid things. But God cannot contradict Himself – He cannot say something in 2025 that contradicts what He said in 1250. Rather, we can unpack what He revealed in Jesus Christ, which is what we will be doing for all eternity! As it says in Deuteronomy, “Secret things belong to the Lord our God, but things He has revealed belong to us and our children forever.” Our faith is based upon these things He has revealed, such as the Trinity!

            I want to close with the story of an inspiring saint who sought to uncover mysteries of the natural world – and ended up falling in love with the mystery of God. Blessed Nicholas Steno was from Denmark in the mid-1600s. He was a brilliant student and started studying medicine at the young age of 19 at the University of Copenhagen. Science as we know it was still in a young stage, and Nicholas started to question some of the prevailing theories of the day. For example, scientists believed that tears came from the brain – so Nicholas studied it and realized that they came from the eyes, not the brain – he was so influential that a part of human anatomy is named after him, Stensen’s Duct. He then turned his sights to geology – at the time, people thought that fossils just grow randomly in the ground. He was the first to prove that fossils were actually the remains of animals. In fact, he is considered the father of geology.

            His questioning mind eventually turned to religious topics – he began to question his Lutheran upbringing. After years of searching, he began to realize that the Catholic Faith had the answers he was looking for – and even its mysteries invited him to love God more. He converted to Catholicism, and continued his studies of the natural world while studying for the priesthood. He ended up becoming a bishop and lived a very simple and pious life, selling his gold ring and his cross so he could give money to the poor. But he never stopped his inquiry into the natural world – even as a bishop he would do scientific studies on the brain and on geology.

            One time, Bl. Nicholas Steno was asked how he could be a religious man and a scientist. He replied so well, “Beautiful is what we see, more beautiful is what we understand, but most beautiful is what is still veiled.”

            Do not be unafraid of mysteries in our faith. It does not mean that our faith is not true, but that it is far greater than we could ever conceive. We will spend eternity uncovering the mysteries of the greatness of God!

Homily for Easter 7 - Come, Lord Jesus!

 

Homily for Easter 7

June 1, 2025

Come Lord Jesus!

 

            Since the beginning of time, evil has been oppressing the good. Ever since Cain killed Abel, injustice seems to win the day. Today we see myriad examples of the suffering of the innocent: the unjustified invasion of Ukraine, the genocide of Palestine, where 80% of those killed in the war are civilians, the extreme poverty of 770 million people in the world who make less than $2 per day, the sixty million unborn babies in America who are unable to see the light of day due to a woman’s choice, the people addicted to drugs and lust to fill corrupt wallets. These injustices should break our hearts, as I’m sure it breaks the heart of God.

            Such injustices cry out for justice – will the evil always triumph? Why do the wicked prosper while the good suffer? Is God silent in the light of such tragedies? We ought to do our part to end these injustices, but we live in a world where there will always be more injustice, more evil to fight. It can get depressing just to read the morning news!

            Which is why the Church has cried out for all time, “Maranatha! Come Lord Jesus!” We need a definitive answer to human evil – a definitive judge to set right all that humans have messed up – and Jesus Christ is the answer to human evil and the suffering of the innocent!

            In today’s first reading we see one such injustice: the martyrdom of St. Stephen. He was the first one to shed his blood for Christ, but only the first of many – there have been about fifty million people who have been faithful to Christ until death, and the persecution of Christians continues today. For example, this past Tuesday, Islamic radicals attacked two Christian villages in Nigeria, taking the lives of over 40 Christians, solely for the “crime” of believing in Jesus Christ. In 2019, Xi Jinping in China ordered Catholic churches to stop displaying the 10 Commandments in their churches, and instead to display quotes from President Jinping himself - closing any churches that do not obey. In May of 2023, a two-year-old in North Korea was sentenced to life in prison because his parents were caught with a Bible. In that country, over 70,000 Christians suffer in prison camps due to their faith – and many more in the middle East, sub-Saharan Africa, and Asian countries. Persecution is, sadly, quite prevalent in much of the world.

            This should break our hearts, and move us to cry out to God for all the innocent who suffer, particularly among His people. Our hope, then, is in Jesus Christ, Who promised to end all injustice when He returns. Our second reading is full of this hope – come, Lord Jesus! Come to bring justice to the innocent!

            In our Catholic tradition, there are four sins that have been called “sins that cry to God for vengeance” – all of which are sins of injustice. They are: oppressing the poor and widows and orphans, killing the innocent, unnatural sins of impurity, and cheating the poor out of their money. Just this past Sunday, my friend Colleen was telling me how she fell for scammers. They had hacked the email of their pastor and she got an email she thought was from him, asking her to buy a bunch of Amazon gift cards. She ended up buying $500 worth, and then the next email came in telling her to send the PIN numbers. This made her suspicious, so she called up the pastor, who was (understandably) confused and told her that he didn’t need any gift cards. She felt incredibly foolish – having spent a large chunk of her family’s money on this scam!

            But then she did something surprising – she wrote back to the scammer, “I want you to know that I forgive you for your lies and evil. You must have had some real problems in your life to lead you to do this – please know that I will pray for you.” And to her surprise, the scammer wrote back, “Please do pray for me.”

            So what do we do when injustice hits close to home? Perhaps some of us have been seriously wronged – abused, maltreated, unjustly accused, lied to. Our role is to forgive them, love them, and leave the justice up to God. It says in Scripture, “Vengeance is mine, says the Lord.” And trust that God really will bring justice – the guilty will not go unpunished – this is good news because evil needs a real answer!

            Of course, we do not want any soul, no matter how wicked, to be lost for eternity. We want all to be saved, but not without repentance. Consider that the young man Saul, from the first reading, consented to the stoning of Stephen…and then converted to Jesus Christ, was re-named Paul, and wrote most of the New Testament. How beautiful that both St. Stephen and St. Paul rejoice together in Heaven! Although I’d imagine their first meeting in Heaven may have been a little awkward… “Hey, Paul, remember that little incident with the rocks?” It is Christ’s desire that all be saved, but evildoers must first turn from their evil ways – Scripture also says, “God is not mocked”. Our second reading actually omits a line from the Book of Revelation – after Jesus says, “Blessed are they who wash their robes so as to have the right to the tree of life and enter the city through its gates,” He then says, “Outside are the sorcerers, the unchaste, the murderers, the idol-worshipers, and all who love and practice deceit.” Only the repentant receive mercy.

            This may seem a bit dark, but ultimately it is good news that wickedness will not win. Christ is the triumphant victor – so even if we suffer from injustice, God will bring about our redemption.

            I close with a powerful story of a saint who endured a great deal of injustice – but found vindication in the Lord: the first Black priest in the United States, Venerable Augustus Tolton. Augustus was born a slave in Missouri before the Civil War, but his whole family escaped when he was a young boy. They settled in Illinois, which was a Union state. His family was Catholic, but uneducated. However, the local parish priest saw great intelligence in the ten-year-old Augustus, and offered him a full scholarship to his Catholic school. This was unheard-of – even the Catholic schools were segregated in those days. But Fr. McGurr was adamant that Augustine be treated well. Despite great racism, the lad received a great education, and even graduated as valedictorian for his class.

            But entering seminary was another matter. He was rejected by every American seminary due to his skin color. But Fr. McGurr was persistent – and kept writing letters on behalf of young Augustine. Finally, it was decided that he would study in Rome, where racism wasn’t such an issue. He was finally ordained a priest in Rome, and, realizing that America wasn’t ready for a Black priest, prepared himself to do mission work in Africa, and asked the Cardinal in charge of the missions where he should be sent. To his shock, the Cardinal famously replied, “America has been called the most enlightened nation. We will see if it deserves the honor. If America has never seen a Black priest, it will see one now." He was sent back to Illinois to minister – and what a job he did! He was such a good preacher and singer that many white people began to attend his Black church. He was known as “Good Father Gus” – and is now known as Venerable Augustus Tolton, on the path to sainthood. Here was one who endured injustice – but forgave, persevered, and trusted that God was going to bring justice in the end.

            When faced with injustice – either in the world, or in our own lives – we must do the same. Forgive, persevere, and cry out with the Church in every age: “Come, Lord Jesus!”

The World Needs What You Are

 

Homily for CKA Baccalaureate Mass

May 30, 2025

The World Needs Who You Are

 

            What is success? What does it look like? We have had many towering scholars in the history of the church – Aquinas, Anselm, Bonaventure, Augustine. We have had many saints who have built enduring movements – St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. We have had many saints whose lives impacted thousands – St. Francis Xavier, Mother Teresa. And perhaps some of us are called to change history, to impact the world. Perhaps some of us will be remembered long after our death for our contributions, the memorials we have built, the mighty deeds we accomplished, the brilliant words we have spoken.

            But I would hazard to guess that the vast majority of Christians are called to live a hidden life, unfamous and unknown. Most of us will not have a Wikipedia page written about us – most of us will not be remembered apart from a tombstone with our names inscribed in stone.

            Which is why the greatest thing you could ever do, the most important work of your entire life, is to become holy. Not necessarily a canonized saint, but a small outpost of the love of God here in this world. As Archbishop Charles Chaput once said, “The only people to really change the world are saints.”

            It was St. Theresa Benedicta of the Cross who said (and I paraphrase), “The world does not need what you have or what you do – the world needs who you are.” The greatest work you ever do will be primarily interior – yielding your heart and soul more and more to Christ, that you may decrease and He may increase. The world doesn’t need your gifts and talents – the world needs Christ living through your gifts and talents. Your gifts and talents weren’t given to glorify you, they were given to glorify God. What good is it to build skyscrapers and pass laws and make money and win championships if the only thing that is eternal – your soul – is left abandoned, dark and empty?

            We live in a world where there are a lot of action, but very little stillness. There is lots of noise, but very little silence. There are lots of opinions but very little wisdom. When our new Holy Father was elected a few weeks ago, I was shocked at how many people asked me for my comments – why do I, or any of us, need to comment about every event that occurs in the world? Sometimes, it’s better to be still, silent, and pray.

            As you graduate, you will be encouraged to go change the world, make the world a better place, seize the day. But the world already has a Savior, and it’s not you. I don’t mean this to discount all the good you have done, and will continue to do, but we have to keep in mind that “making the world a better place” is only possible with the one Savior of the human race. We need to make the world a better place because it’s been wounded by sin…which means that the antidote is grace and love, not more humanistic solutions.

            So, as you go forth to conquer college, high school, and the rest of the world, remember that the most enduring and important thing you can do is not what you do in the world, but what you allow Christ to do in your soul. When you are transformed into Christ through grace, this is what the world needs. For the world needs, not what you do or what you have, but who you are.

            I want to close with a saint story, of one who realized that the interior life is what changes the world. In the early 1900s in rural Portugal, a young girl named Alexandra was living a simple, humble life. She was uneducated, and toiled on her family’s farm. But she had a devout faith, and would often pick flowers to adorn Mary’s altar, loving the Rosary and keeping herself holy. When she was fourteen, she was on the upper floor of her family’s house when robbers broke in. Afraid for her life, she jumped out the window – and broke her spine on the fall. From that time on, she was painfully crippled. At first she could drag herself to Mass, hunched over, but pretty soon she became paralyzed and bedridden. She prayed for a cure, but more than that – she prayed to offer her life to Christ as a living sacrifice for the salvation of souls.

            For thirty years she did nothing earth-shattering. She smiled constantly, prayed without ceasing, and continually offered all her suffering for Christ and for souls. Even her prayer was suffering – she rarely experienced Christ’s presence, but persevered nonetheless. For the final thirteen years of her life, she only consumed the Eucharist and no other food – a fact verified by a team of medical doctors who observed her around-the-clock. When she died in the 1950s, she had the following words written on her tombstone: Sinners, if the dust of my body can be of help to save you, come close, walk over it, kick it around until it disappears. But never sin again: do not offend Jesus anymore! Sinners, how much I want to tell you.... Do not risk losing Jesus for all eternity, for he is so good. Enough with sin. Love Jesus, love him!

            She is now Blessed Alexandra da Costa, a mystic and victim soul. In the eyes of the world, a nothing-person. She literally could do nothing, being paralyzed – but only in eternity will we see how this poor woman changed the history of the world, not because of what she did, but because of who she was when she let Christ reign in her heart.

            This is your mission, too. Not to seek after great deeds, fame, or success as the world views it – but to fulfill God’s will for your life. If He lives in you, then whether you be the President or garbage-man, your life will change the world, because the world doesn’t need what you do – the world needs who you are, if you are Christ’s.

Homily for Easter 6 - A Wholeness The World Cannot Give

 

Homily for Easter 6

May 25, 2025

A Wholeness the World Cannot Give

 

            The first words spoken by our Holy Father as he addressed the world: “Peace be with you!” And boy, does our world ever need peace!

            The word that Jesus used for “peace” is shalom. Shalom means more than just an absence of conflict – rather, it implies wholeness and delight, fulfillment and flourishing. As one theologian put it, “Shalom is the way things out to be” – putting right all the chaos in the world and in our lives.

            And God wants our shalom! Sometimes we think that God doesn’t want us to be happy – that He’s constantly testing us and wants to take away our happiness. Recently I asked a friend, “What is making you happy these days?” He told me about the kayak he had just bought, how he loved to take it out and enjoy nature. But then he said, “But I just feel like God is opposed to it.” That struck me as odd. I asked him why, and he said, “I don’t know, it’s just hard to believe that God wants anything good for me.”

            Do you ever feel that way? Pope Benedict addressed this feeling when he said, “Are we not perhaps all afraid in some way? If we let Christ enter fully into our lives, if we open ourselves totally to him, are we not afraid that He might take something away from us? No! If we let Christ into our lives, we lose nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing of what makes life free, beautiful and great. No! Only in this friendship are the doors of life opened wide.” God desperately desires your “shalom” – He said, “I came that you might have life, and have it abundantly.” God wants your shalom – not in a worldly sense of success, riches, constant good health – but a richer, deeper peace, joy, and purpose for our life.

            So how do we obtain this shalom? First, we live in right relationship with Him. In the Gospel, Jesus defines Himself by His relationship to His Father. He says, “The words you hear are not Mine, but my Father’s…rejoice that I am going to the Father…the Father is greater than I.” Everything about His being is related to God. A lesson for us – if we want shalom, we make sure we are in right relationship to God: giving God glory for our blessings, offering to Him our sufferings, spending time with Him in prayer, receiving the Sacraments regularly.

            The Carthusians are a group of hard-core Catholic monks, mostly hermits, whose motto has always stuck with me: Stat crux, dum volvitur orbis – the cross stands while the world turns. The only stability, the only peace can be found in the unchanging foundation of our lives: God Himself. Twenty-five years ago, British sociologist Zygmunt Bauman wrote a book called “Liquid Modernity”, claiming that the world is changing at such an epic speed that it kinda messes up our inner peace because we weren’t made to react to such drastic changes so quickly. For most of human history, if a person saw two new inventions in their lifetime, that would be remarkable – now we get new inventions weekly. So we need something to keep us grounded – and the only thing that has been there since the beginning, and will be around until the end, is God. If you’re feeling tossed about by the chaos of the modern world, perhaps we’re missing our anchor – the unchanging God.

            Jesus then connects loving God with keeping His commandments. And His commandments are also for our shalom! I’m a big fan of Calvin and Hobbes, and one of the recurring storylines is Calvin playing Calvinball, a game he invented – but the problem is that the rules literally change every play, every time. Sometimes the score is Q to 16. But that wouldn’t be a very fun game in real life, would it? We need guidelines to understand how we are to flourish. If I want to play a piece on a piano, I have to follow the rules of music – putting my fingers on the right keys, playing them at the right time. Otherwise it is not music, only noise.

            Likewise, shalom cannot exist in chaos. We need order to understand the path to fulfillment. We see this in the first reading – there was chaos in the early Church because some were saying you had to follow the Jewish law as a Christian, while others said that it wasn’t necessary. This chaos led the Apostles to gather for the Council of Jerusalem in 50AD. Jesus promised in the Gospel that the Spirit would lead them into all truth, and the Spirit led the Apostles to conclude that the Jewish Law was unnecessary, but that they still had to avoid idolatry or illicit marriages. It wasn’t that they had no commands to follow, but the Apostles offered commandments that were in accord with shalom – with human happiness.

            And so it is with the commandments of God – they lead to shalom. We forgive others, because that leads to a peaceful society. We are honest, because that leads to trust. We are generous to the poor, because it puts love into action, and love fulfills both the giver and the receiver. We practice chastity and purity, because we desire authentic human love and not using others for our own benefit. Notice that shalom is not equal to pleasure – it’s not always convenient – it’s not always easy. But shalom is worth it.

            Do you have shalom? Is your heart at peace, is your life overflowing with joy, is your life filled with love? If not – perhaps we’re looking in the wrong places. As St. Gerard Majella said, “Who except God can give you peace? Has the world ever been able to satisfy the heart?”

Homily for Easter 5 - Hidden In Plain Sight

 

Homily for Easter 5

May 18, 2025

The Dwelling of God Is the Eucharist

 

            Have you ever been in search of something that’s right there in front of you? Maybe you’ve lost your glasses only to find them on your head. Or you search everywhere for your keys, when they’re hidden in plain sight, right there on the dining room table. Sometimes our search for God can be like that – we’re looking everywhere for Him, when He’s right where He told us He’d be.

            John has a vision of Heaven in the Second Reading, from the Book of Revelation: “Behold, God’s dwelling is with the human race. He will dwell with them and they will be his people and God himself will always be with them as their God.” God has promised that He would always be with us – but where? Do you ever feel like God is distant? Well, perhaps He’s hidden in plain sight – right where He told us He’d be – here in the Eucharist and at Mass.

            But, I can hear many of you saying, “But I don’t feel God here!” Sometimes it feels like empty ritual, just a habit we do every week, and not like the living glory of God come down among us. It is true that in Heaven we will have vision, while here we walk by faith – but the same God Who dwells forever in Heaven also dwells, hidden, in the Eucharist. How can we experience His presence? I’d like to make five super-practical suggestions of how to actually experience God’s presence at Mass and in the Eucharist.

            First, sing! The Bible speaks about singing praise to God over 400 times, with 50 direct commands to sing to Him. St. Paul tells us: “Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord!” St. Augustine pointed out, “Singing is praying twice!” I look out on a Sunday morning and see a lot of closed mouths. Do we not want to praise Him? Don’t worry about talent or ability – all that matters is the love in our heart, expressed by our lips. As a friend of mine said, “If God gave you a good voice, praise Him with it. If not, sing loud and get even!”

            St. Augustine said that singing to the Lord is evidence that we’ve been changed by Him. Listen to this quote – long but rich: “We are urged to sing a new song to the Lord, as new men who have learned a new song. A song is a thing of joy; more profoundly, it is a thing of love. Anyone, therefore, who has learned to love the new life [in Christ] has learned to sing a new song, and the new song reminds us of our new life. The new man, the new song, the new covenant, all belong to the one kingdom of God, and so the new man will sing a new song and will belong to the new covenant.” A man in love will sing to his beloved – our hearts will learn to love God if we sing to Him.

            Secondly, engage your body! Our souls often follow where our body leads – so if we want our soul to believe more deeply, our bodies should act like we believe. This means dressing up for Mass in our “Sunday best”, keeping the Eucharistic Fast (which means that we do not eat or drink anything but water for an hour leading up to Mass, to show our bodies that what we receive is not ordinary bread but truly the Flesh and Blood of Christ). It is easier to believe this if our bodies kneel and receive on the tongue, too – making clear to our soul that this is Jesus, not regular food. And finally, we can worship more easily if you use the restroom at home before you come here – you know who you are!

            Our bodily actions show what we inwardly believe. There was once a holy nobleman in Austria who was hunting on a drizzly, gray, muddy day. He saw a priest bringing the Blessed Sacrament to a sick person, and the nobleman immediately got off his horse and insisted that the priest take it, so that he wouldn’t get muddy when he was carrying Jesus. The priest did so, and an hour later returned, and tried to give the horse back to the nobleman. But, devout man he was, the man refused, saying, “I am not worthy to ride upon a horse that has carried my Lord.” This nobleman was willing to get muddy for the Lord – what are you willing to do for Him?

            A third help is to use our imagination during Mass! Not to picture yourself in Cancun, but to picture in your mind what is truly going on here. The Mass makes present the Sacrifice of Christ on the Cross – put yourself there at Calvary, in your mind’s eye offer Christ back to the Father (as an aside, this is why we installed a crucifix here – so we could see, visibly, what happens at every Mass). St. John Chrysostom said that tens of thousands of angels, saints, and our Blessed Mother are present at every Mass – use your imagination to see it! We know that Jesus Christ is truly present in the Eucharist – imagine His face or His Cross when you see Him elevated on the altar. I often imagine rays of grace radiating from the Eucharistic Host when I hold Him aloft, the rays penetrating the souls of those who are attending the Mass.

            I know we want to see with our eyes, but God gave us our imagination so we don’t have to physically see to believe. Back in the 1100s in England, there was a Eucharistic miracle in a small town in England where the Eucharist began to bleed at Mass. The Eucharist and the bloody altar cloth were kept as relics and venerated there. One day the holy priest St. Hugh happened to be passing through that town, and some townspeople invited him to see the miracle. He refused to see the miracle, and when his traveling companions expressed a desire to see them, he sharply rebuked them, saying, “Miracles are only for those who don’t believe. If you believe, let faith be sufficient – after all, Jesus said, “Blessed are those who have not seen and still believe!”

            Fourth, bring much! Bring the mess of your life, and spiritually lay it upon the altar. Don’t try to forget the life outside these church walls – bring it to Him here. All our worries, concerns, sins, brokenness – pray about it. Bring it to Him. Lay it before Him. And tell Him you trust Him.

            St. Gregory the Great tells a beautiful story about a man who was a soldier and was captured in battle. He was imprisoned and his chains caused him a lot of physical pain. The soldier’s wife, fearing him dead, prayed for him at every Mass. After a long time, the man was released, against everyone’s expectation. He returned home, to the delight of his wife, and explained that every week at a certain time, his chains would simply fall from his wrists, and his captors had to reattach them. After years of this, his captors thought this was a bad omen, so they released the man. Upon investigation, the woman realized that the chains would fall from his wrists exactly when she would be praying for him at Mass! St. Gregory goes on to say that, if the Mass can break literal chains, does it not have the power to destroy sin, addictions, resentments, and all the spiritual wounds and burdens that we carry into the Church this morning?

            Finally, expect much from God here! Some of us come here with a shot glass, expecting that much grace. Others come with a bucket. Others come with a bathtub. How much grace are you expecting? Do you really think that the Scripture readings actually have something to say to you? Do actually believe that you are receiving God here? Come hungry, and you will leave filled. Expect much from God, and He will be able to superabundantly pour Himself into you. As long as your glass or bucket or bathtub is cleaned (by living in the state of grace and Confessing regularly), He’ll meet you here if you expect Him to.

            At the end of Jesus’ life, there was a big dispute between the angels and human beings. The angels wanted Jesus to return to Heaven, while men wanted Him to remain on earth. So Christ found the best way to satisfy both – He returned physically to Heaven, and remains sacramentally on earth. God is never distant – He is hidden in plain sight, in the Eucharist.

Homily for Easter 4 - What's the Papacy All About?

 

Homily for Easter 4

May 11, 2025

The Pope-Shepherd

 

            How beautiful in God’s timing that the election of our Holy Father comes right around Good Shepherd Sunday. Jesus calls Himself the Good Shepherd, but since one of the titles of our Pope is “Vicar of Christ”, we hope that he will have the same care for the sheep that Jesus has. Let’s discuss what the Pope is all about so that we can better understand the role of our new shepherd.

            It was Jesus Himself who made Peter the first Pope. In Matthew 16, he takes the Apostles on a field trip to a town just north of the Holy Land, where He asks them, “Who do you say that I am?” Simon is the only one to get it right: “You are the Christ, the Son of God.” And Jesus gives him a new name and a new identity, “You are Peter, and upon this rock (your faith) I will build my Church, and the gates of Hell will not prevail upon it. To you I give the keys of the kingdom of Heaven, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven.” To hand someone keys is to give them the authority and ownership of the house – hence, Jesus is giving all power over His Church to Simon Peter, the first Pope. Since then, 266 Popes have taken been elected in the lineage of Peter.

            But there are some myths about the Pope’s role in the Church. So before we talk about what the Pope is, we have to talk about what the Pope is NOT.

            First, the Pope is not an oracle from God. Not everything he says is always true, and Popes can (and have been) very imperfect people. For example, in the 800s, there was a Pope who disagreed with the previous Pope’s political leanings, so he had his corpse dug up and put on trial for treason! Of course the skeleton couldn’t defend itself, so he was found guilty, and as punishment he wasn’t reburied but thrown into the Tiber River! A crazy political rivalry gone haywire! We’ve had some very imperfect Popes in history, and they can even make mistakes in their words. We believe a Pope is infallible (i.e., protected by the Holy Spirit from making an error) only when officially teaching about faith and morals, in union with the other Bishops and in continuity with what has always been taught. So if a Pope gives an interview to a journalist, he can make mistakes! A Pope is not automatically an oracle from God.

            The Pope is also not a political leader. Over the past few weeks we have heard many news outlets talk about whether this or that Cardinal is “liberal” or “conservative”. But these political labels don’t belong in the Church. All that matters is whether or not we are faithful to Jesus Christ and His perennial teachings in Scripture and Tradition. The Pope’s role isn’t to be just another world leader, but to point to a Kingdom yet to come.

            Finally, the Pope is not a religious celebrity. We’ve had some wonderful Popes in the last century, but many were aware of their own weaknesses. For example, Pope John XXIII was a rather large man who was short with huge ears. One day after his election to the papacy, a woman who saw him whispered to her friend, “Goodness, he’s so fat!” The Pope overheard and replied, “Surely you understand, madam, that a conclave isn’t a beauty pageant.” As much as the world wants to make the Pope into a religious rock-star, the reality is that they are frail men, sometimes quiet, sometimes weak – regular human beings, just like us, entrusted with a monumental task.

            So, then, what is the role of the Pope? Three elements. First, his role is to be a shepherd and father. The name “Pope” comes from “Papa” – an intimate term for a dad. One of my favorite stories of Pope John Paul II is that he used to leave the Vatican in disguise to go skiing, one of his favorite activities (according to the Swiss Guard, he snuck out over 100 times in his papacy). One time he was skiing incognito when an eight-year-old boy kept staring at him in line for the ski slopes. Finally, the boy got up the courage to ask him, “Are you the Pope?” And John Paul II said, “Why, yes I am. Would you like to ski together?” So they skied a couple runs together, and then the young lad excitedly ran in to the lodge to tell his mother that he had been skiing with the Pope. The mother thought he was just telling stories, until he said, “No! Come out and meet him!” She reluctantly came out and was utterly shocked to meet John Paul II there on the slopes! But what a beautiful story about a Pope who was truly a father – someone who loved his children, so that he could tell them about Jesus. This was the Pope who traveled 750,000 miles during his papacy – three times the distance to the moon and back – because he wanted to be with his flock.

            Secondly, the Pope must preach the truth in love. He does not have the power to make up a new teaching, but only to faithfully hand on what Jesus has always taught. At the Last Supper in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus makes a really powerful prediction about the trials that the Apostles will go through, when He said: “Simon, Simon, listen! Satan has demanded to sift all of you [Apostles] like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your own faith may not fail; and when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” In other words, do not be tossed about by the trials of this world, by the whims of popular culture, but preach the Truth, in love.

            Back in 1960, there was considerable controversy about whether or not the Church could change its teaching that artificial birth control is gravely immoral. Pope John XXIII started a commission with theologians, scientists, doctors, and regular married folk, to discuss this topic. After six years, the commission was divided, but the majority said that the Church should change its teaching. The world collectively held its breath when awaiting the final document of Pope Paul VI. Much to everyone’s shock, in 1968 the Pope put out a famous encyclical “Humanae Vitae” in which he reaffirmed what the Church always taught, that the marriage bed needs to remain open to life. Although it caused no little controversy, it was also a profound example showing that the Pope’s job isn’t to change teachings according to the whims of the culture or majority opinion, but to strengthen that which has always and everywhere been taught by Christ through His Church – speaking truth in love.

            Finally, the Pope is the “visible sign of unity”. You know you are Catholic if you believe the same things as the Pope teaches, and consider him your spiritual leader. Ever since Martin Luther began the Reformation in 1517, our Protestant brethren have since fractured into 45,000 different denominations – without a central figure of unity, everyone becomes their own pope, each interpreting the Scriptures as they see fit. But Christ so desperately desired Christian unity that his final prayer in John’s Gospel was, “Father, make them all one, as we are one.” And we have a visible sign of this unity in the office of the Pope.

            One of the debates in the early Church was whether or not Jesus was truly human. Perhaps He merely appeared to be human, but was only an apparition? The bishops met at Chalcedon in 451 to debate this. Pope Leo the Great was too sick to attend, but he sent a letter to the bishops, confirming that Jesus was indeed fully God and fully man. When this letter was read aloud, the bishops ceased debating and instead cried out, “This is the faith of the fathers! This is the faith of the apostles! So we all believe! Peter has spoken through Leo! . . . This is the true faith!” The Pope was able to unite these warring factions, as he is the sign of the Church’s unity.

            So, as the Church prepares to elect/inaugurate a new Holy Father, we pray that above all else, he is holy and filled with the Spirit. We do not want a Pope who is merely a nice man, one who “puts a good face” on Catholicism, or only says the right words. Rather, we want a Pope who is in constant union with Christ. The Church is not just a charity or an NGO or social service organization – the Church is the supernatural Body of Christ in the world, with a supernatural founder (Jesus), supernatural goal (Heaven) and supernatural means (the Scriptures, the Sacraments). Hence, we pray that our Holy Father may be a supernatural man, led by the Holy Spirit to be in constant communion with Christ.

            For our part, there are three things we must do. We must love the Pope, because if we love Christ, then we love what He loves, and He loved the Church unto death. We must pray for the Pope, for he is our spiritual father. And we must respect the Pope, no matter who he is, because the Papacy itself is willed by God. Once a saint was asked how they could remain faithful to the Church when there was an evil Pope, and he responded, “I respect the seat, but not the sitter.” In other words, we can respect the authority of the Church, even if the members are imperfect. After all, at the end of the day, it’s Christ’s church, not the Pope’s. Every night before bed, Pope John XXIII would go to the chapel and tell the Lord all the troubles of the day – bishops fighting with each other, Christians persecuted, financial woes, secularism winning the day…and at the end, he would close with, “Well, it’s your church, Lord. I’m going to bed.”

            My friends, it is a great gift that we have/will have a new Holy Father. On this Good Shepherd Sunday, let us recommit ourselves to praying for the Pope, that he may truly become a good shepherd after the heart of Christ.

Three Signs of Spiritual Maturity - May 4, 2025

 

Homily for Easter 3

May 4, 2025

Three Signs of Spiritual Maturity

 

            Many times, little kids will want to act like grown-ups. Sometimes they’ll play dress-up in work clothes, or pretend to be doctors or teachers. But rarely does it go the other way – we don’t often find adults acting like children. Which is why Jesus’ word is so surprising when He calls Peter and the other Apostles “paidia” – “little children”. This would have been a very demeaning term to call a burly, sea-toughened fishermen!

            But Jesus chooses that term purposefully. Peter is acting spiritually immature at this point in the Gospel – and we can take three major lessons from Jesus’ word!

            First, Peter is fickle. He’s probably bored, so instead of praying or waiting patiently, he just goes with his whims – “Let’s go fishing.” It’s his comfort-zone, his fallback. Praying and waiting is hard – fishing is what he’d rather do. His restlessness makes him go along with whatever whim presents itself.

            By contrast, spiritual maturity is steadfast. A person who is spiritually mature has serious spiritual disciplines – a life of prayer, fasting and mortification, discipline, weekly worship at Mass – and isn’t just tossed about by emotions and whims. It is spiritually immature to say, “Oh, I don’t feel like praying, so I won’t do it” or “I know I’ve committed to spiritual reading, but I’m too tired and plus there’s a show on I want to watch.” A spiritually mature person has serious spiritual disciplines, and keeps to them, whether they feel like it or not.

            St. John of the Cross was a Spanish Carmelite priest from the mid-1500s. Every day he used to record what inspirations he received in prayer, Scripture verses that moved him, or conversations he had with God. But for several years, he wrote only one word in his spiritual journal: nada. Nothing. He went for years without feeling God’s presence, without feeling like Scripture spoke to him, without any inspiration or desire to pray. But he was faithful – and after many years of dryness, he experienced mystical union with God.

            Spiritual maturity requires that we have serious spiritual disciples that are unchanging and steadfast – daily prayer, sacrifice, and Sunday Mass – regardless of whether we “feel” like doing them. Faith is not feelings – it is the firm commitment to enthrone Jesus Christ as Lord of our life.

            Connected to this fickleness is Peter’s disobedience. Jesus already told them what to do: go to Galilee and wait for Jesus to meet them there. Just wait – not go fishing, not return to your old way of life. Peter was supposed to be the Pope, not a sailor. But Peter shirks his duty.

            Many Christians struggle to obey Christ or His Church. Christ says we must forgive without condition and love our enemies. But how many of us have said to ourselves, “I’ll never forgive that person for what they did to me!” Christ says that we must worship Him on Sundays – but how many of us have said, “Ah, it doesn’t matter if I miss a Mass here and there, I’m so busy.” Christ teaches us that marriages must always be open to life, but many Christians say, “Eh, what does the Church know?”

            You know who else is disobedient? Two-year-olds. (No offense to any two-year-olds here today). Sometimes we can have that same spiritual immaturity – “I want to do what I want to do, and no Church or religion or holy book will tell me differently.” But the root of the word “religion” in Latin, religare, means “to bind” – it means that we bind ourselves and humbly submit ourselves to Christ as Lord of our lives. Americans cherish their independence, but this isn’t a blind or servile obedience. Rather, it’s the obedience of sons and daughters to a good Heavenly Father and to Holy Mother Church, who love us and always want our best.

            A final sign of spiritual maturity is the ability and desire to give. Consider – little children are takers, not givers. They don’t do chores or say “thank you” or contribute much to the household. But the older we get, we are expected to give more – more service, more kindness, more contributions to charity. Peter still isn’t getting this, but we have to go back to the Greek to understand why. Jesus asks Peter, “Do you love Me?” but He uses a specific Greek word for “love” – agape, which means total self-giving love. Peter responds, “Yes, Lord, You know that I love You” – but he uses a different word, philia, which only means friendship. Jesus says, “Do you agape Me – love Me with total self-gift?” and Peter replies, “Yes, Lord, I love You with friendship only.” He’s not yet ready to give his life to follow Christ – but he’s still wants to bask in the delights of their friendship.

            A spiritually mature person wants to give. They want to give their time, their talents, their treasures. They want to bring other souls to Christ. They don’t come to church just to be “takers” but also “givers” – thinking, how can I serve? How can I use my gifts for the Kingdom?

            The wealthy Philadelphia millionaire Katherine Drexel, who lived in the late 1800s, took a cross-country trip and was very moved by the poverty and the plight of the Native Americans and the free Blacks who suffered under such poverty. In 1886, she took another trip to Rome, where she met with the Pope and told him, “You really must send some priests and nuns to these poor people! They are suffering so much!” And the Pope responded, “Why not you?”

            It was the spark that she needed to give up her wealth and start the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, a religious community of nuns who ran schools, hospitals, and orphanages for Native Americans and Blacks in America. We now know her as St. Katherine Drexel. She was challenged, not just to identify the problem, but to be the solution.

            I can’t tell you how many people say to me things like, “The Church should…” The Church should reach out to young adults. The Church needs better hospitality. The Church needs a ministry to single-parents. Great – so why not start it? You are as much a part of the Church as I am – those who are spiritually mature want to find ways to use their gifts to give, so that we can bear much fruit for Jesus Christ.

            Now, in all of this, I don’t mean to knock Peter. I really love St. Peter – he is my Confirmation saint, and for good reason – because I am very much like him. Far too spiritually immature. But the good news about Peter is that Christ was patient with him until he finally grew into the great saint that Jesus knew he could be. Around 64AD, there was a tremendous fire that broke out in Rome, burning over ¾ of the city. Most likely the Emperor Nero ordered the fire to be lit so that he could have space to build a new palace, but when this news got out, Nero sought to put the blame on the already-disliked Christians, launching a major persecution and putting many Christians to death. Peter had been preaching in Rome, but began to flee the persecution. Very famously, as he was heading out of town on the Appian Way to save his skin, he had a vision of Jesus coming up the road heading into Rome. Peter famously asked, “Domine, quo vadis?” – “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus responded, “I am going to Rome to be crucified again.” Peter got the hint – it was his cowardice which made him run from suffering – so he turned around and headed back to Rome, where he was arrested for being a follower of Christ. The soldiers wished to crucify him, but he said that he was unworthy to die in the same manner as the Lord, so he was crucified upside-down instead. And, hence, Jesus’ prophesy in the Gospel has was fulfilled in Peter’s ultimate self-gift of martyrdom.

            (As an interesting aside, a church was built upon the spot where Peter met Jesus on the road, appropriately named the Church of Domine Quo Vadis. Within that church is a marble slab with two footprints in the marble – and tradition says that these are the footprints of Christ! In case you’re wondering, he wears a size 10).

            So what’s our takeaway? If we wish to have spiritual maturity, we must be steadfast in our spiritual disciplines, obey the Lord in His teachings, and be ready and willing to give. It’s never too early or late to reach spiritual maturity – so whether you’re seven years old or seventy-seven, let’s strive to be mature in Christ, who wishes to call us not “little children” but “friends”.

Hope Triumphs Over Despair - Easter Homily - April 20, 2025

 

Homily for Easter Sunday

April 20, 2025

Hope Triumphs Over Despair

 

            When I was applying to seminary, I had to meet with the Vocations Director for an interview. As part of the interview, he asked me, “What would you do if archeologists found the Body of Jesus, beyond the shadow of a doubt?” That question struck me as odd, but I recalled a quote I heard somewhere, “If Christ is not raised, then our faith is in vain.” It was only later that I realized I had been quoting St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians.

            Our Catholic Faith is based upon a historical fact that Jesus Christ got up from the tomb. In Medina, Saudia Arabia, Muslims often go on pilgrimage to visit the tomb of Mohammed, whose body is encased beneath a green dome in a marble sarcophagus. After his death, the body of Buddha was cremated and his relics have been stored in eight locations across India. But no reputable person has ever claimed to have the Body of Jesus – despite the fact that such a find would bring great fame and fortune to the one who would find it!

            The Resurrection of Jesus is historical, but it is an event that reverberates throughout history. We don’t say that Jesus was risen, but that Jesus is risen – present tense. This makes his resurrection unique in human history.

            Many great saints performed miracles that raised people from the dead. For example, there is a delightful story in Acts of the Apostles where St. Paul is preaching in a house on the third floor. His sermon was going on and on, late into the night, and people were getting drowsy. A young boy happened to be sitting in the windowsill to catch the breeze, but he fell asleep and fell right out the window, hitting the ground and dying from the fall! St. Paul went down, prayed over the body of the boy, and then took him by the hand and raised him back to life. Must be the first case of someone dying from boredom in church!

            But there are two major differences between these “raising the dead miracles” and Christ’s Resurrection. First, only Jesus Christ could raise Himself from the dead – the many other stories of people coming back from the dead require another person to perform the miracle on them. Secondly, everyone else received a resuscitation, not a resurrection. The difference is that this boy would resume his normal life, live for a while, and then die again. Jesus Christ, once raised, will never die again. He did not merely resume His ordinary daily life – His Body was so utterly transformed that it was glorious. His Apostles did not recognize Him, so much did His Body change, and He was not limited by time or space, as he was able to walk through locked doors and vanish whenever he wanted. As Pope Benedict XVI puts it, “The Resurrection opens up a new dimension of human existence” – one that we hope to share in.

            And herein lies the practical takeaway to this most remarkable historical event that is not merely in the past but in the present too – we have the opportunity to participate in it, and this colors everything we do. Imagine for a moment two people walking down the road. Same action, same road. But one person is on the way to be crowned king, while another is walking to his execution. What a difference, although the externals are the same! The difference is that one walks with hope and eager expectation, the other walks with dread and despair.

            Although Christians and those without faith do the same actions, we do it with hope and confidence in the final victory of Christ over the grave. We eat and drink, go to work and school, recreate and enjoy life, suffering and struggle – but to people without faith, those actions are just buying time until the ultimate annihilation of the human person. However, people with faith in the Resurrection see these same daily actions as a journey to our ultimate fulfillment when we shall join the Resurrected Christ in a life that never ends.

            It’s the difference between hope and despair – Christians know that life and love win in the end. So we can look at the chaos of our modern world with peace, and take it all in stride – just as the crucifixion wasn’t the end of the story, so our broken world isn’t the end of the story, either. In the Resurrection, Christ is victorious…even over our broken world.

            Two centuries ago, there was a German noblewoman who firmly disbelieved in the Resurrection. She gave orders that her grave was to be sealed shut with a slab of granite on top of it, for large stones on the corners, and iron clamps holding it all together, with an inscription on top that read, “This burial place will never be opened for all eternity.” She wanted to make a bold statement that she did not believe in life’s triumph over death.

            But a little birch tree seed found its way between the side stone and upper slab, and it started to grow…and grow…and force its way under the iron clamps and the granite slab. Over time, the tree’s growth tore the solid grave apart, so that all of the iron and granite are resting upon the trunk of that solid tree, which is large and flourishing. Life triumphs!

            We don’t say that Jesus was risen, but that He is risen. His death is not a mere resuscitation, but a new way of being human – a way that shows the final victory of hope over despair, the final victory of life over death.

Two Trees - Good Friday Homily - April 18, 2025

 

Homily for Good Friday

April 18, 2025

Wood So Dear

 

            In the beginning, there was a tree. This tree produced a powerful fruit, so powerful that it would make man like the gods. In disobedience, man stretched his hand out to this tree – and unleashed a power he was unable to control, that brought untold chaos and suffering down through the ages.

            But in that garden, there was a second tree. This was the Tree of Life, a tree which would make man immortal if he ate of its fruit. When the Fall happened, this Tree was sealed off, lest man be condemned for eternity in his fallen state, full of suffering and tears.

            But the Tree of Life was unsealed today – now, upon this New Tree, do we see a fruit that, if eaten, will make man immortal. The beautiful, broken Body of Christ, the fruit of this Blessed Tree, must be consumed in the Holy Eucharist, bringing with it both forgiveness and immortality. Now we stretch out our hands to another Tree, not in disobedience but in obedience, eating His Flesh because He told us, “Do this in memory of Me.”

            Consider the shape of this Tree. It has one upright branch, connecting Heaven and earth – for now our reconciliation is complete, and in Christ, God and man are reconciled. God has become man and died, so that man may truly become divine, through grace, and live. While the first man tried to become god by his own efforts and Original Sin entered the world, man can now become Godlike through God’s initiative. And the Cross is the trunk of this holy Tree, leading mankind to God and God back to man.

            But this Holy Tree also has a horizontal branch, embracing all of mankind – and showing us that the path to Heaven is marked by love of neighbor. From the vantage point of the Cross, Christ could see all of the human race – and He orders us to love all, without exception, if we wish to draw near to Heaven.

            It is notable that this Cross stretches out in four infinite directions like a compass, showing the universality of Christ’s love. North, south, east, and west are all embraced by Him.

            This Tree is planted in the ground on a hill called Calvary – Golgotha, in Aramaic, which translates to “The Place of the Skull”. The early Church fathers such as Origen and St. Jerome, echoing a more ancient Jewish tradition, hold that the Skull of Adam, the first man, was buried in that very location. In fact, if you were to visit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher which is built over Calvary, one of the crypt chapels claims to be the burial place of Adam. And you will notice a crack in the rock in the back of the chapel, stained red. When Christ died, an earthquake tore the rock in two – allowing His Precious Blood to flow down upon the skull of the first man. That skull was a visible reminder of the tyranny of death – but now all of us, who labor under the shadow of death, have hope for life everlasting in the Blood that was shed for us.

            Behold the Tree of Life. Do not look upon a dead Man, but look upon a Love stronger than death. Look upon our hope, our victory. Stretch out your heart to the Tree, and find eternal life!

Look at the Cross - Palm Sunday Homily, April 13, 2025

 

Homily for Palm Sunday

April 13, 2025

Look at the Cross

 

            Having just read the Passion and Death of Our Lord, I would like to draw your attention to that most visible sign of His love – the crucifix.

            Look at the Cross, and see the ugliness of sin. Christ hangs disfigured, because sin disfigured you. His face swollen, flesh torn, dripping with blood – because He has born in His flesh what sin has done in your soul. Look upon the ugliness of sin, and sin no more.

            Look at the Cross, and see our example of how to love. From the Cross, those haunting words echo: “Father, forgive them.” On the Cross, His exhaustion gives us strength to love to the end. Behold the greatest example of self-giving love in human history, and hear His words: “Love one another as I have loved you.”

            Look at the Cross, and see the purpose of human suffering. Which one of us has not suffered physical pain, betrayal by friends, mockery, humiliation, rejection, and even felt abandoned by God? Gazing upon the Cross, we see that Christ has suffered all these things before us, and He invites us to unite our sufferings to His for the salvation of the world. Look at the Cross, and help Christ save the world by uniting your sufferings to His.

            Look at the Cross, and see your value and the price paid for your salvation. That which costs the most is always the most valuable, and see how much your soul cost! You are precious in His sight – so precious that He would rather die than spend eternity without you. In those dark moments when you wonder if your life has any meaning, look at the Cross, and see your value to God.

            Look at the Cross, and see the depths of God’s love for you. This is unheard-of – not only does a God take flesh, but a God who dies for the very slaves that spat in His face? A God who adopts those ungrateful slaves and calls them His sons and daughters? His arms stretched wide to embrace humanity, His side opened by a lance to allow you access to the Heart of God – behold the incarnation of St. John’s words, “God…is…love.”

            Our entire Catholic Faith, the ultimate meaning of our life, the mystery of human history, the intimate Heart of God, is revealed to us – if we look at the Cross.

A Debt Paid - Lent 5 - April 6, 2025

 

Homily for Lent 5

April 6, 2025

A Debt Paid

 

            We just read the powerful story of the mercy of Jesus, who did not condemn but pardoned the woman caught in adultery. But it begs the question: why did God command adultery to be punishable by death? This law is in both Leviticus and Deuteronomy in the Old Testament. Some have said that God in the Old Testament was a God of unflinching justice, doling out punishment to evildoers, while the God of the New Testament was a gentle, merciful, and loving God. But that’s actually a heresy called Marcionism (Marcion said there were two different Gods, one for the OT and one for the NT). God is quite kind and merciful in the Old Testament, and Jesus can be strict with those who refuse to repent!

            So, how do we explain such a severe punishment for this sin? There are three explanations for it. First, as the great Catholic writer Flannery O’Connor once said, “to the hard of hearing you shout, and for the almost-blind, you draw large and startling figures.” The Israelites were spiritually blind and deaf. Surrounded by the pagan nations for hundreds of years, they had become numb to their immoral ways - including polygamy and loose morals surrounding marriage. So God needed to “shout” to get their attention: hey, adultery is not acceptable!

            Second, God often uses the physical to reflect the spiritual. Thus, Israel’s slavery in Egypt is a symbol of slavery to sin…crossing the Red Sea into the freedom of the Promised Land is symbolic of baptism, which “drowns” sin and opens the Promised Land of Heaven to us…and the like. So in this case, adultery being punishable by physical death is a symbol that lust is spiritually deadly, without repentance and Confession.

            But third, and most importantly, adultery is punishable by death because all sin is punishable by death - Jesus’ death on the Cross. It says in Scripture that “the wages of sin is death” - if sin means turning our back on God Who is the source of Life, what have we chosen? Death. But Christ could precisely say to that adulterous woman, “I do not condemn you,” knowing that He would be condemned for the sin Himself in a few short weeks, upon the Cross.

            Isn’t this the meaning behind Jesus’ enigmatic action of writing in the dust? What He wrote is anyone’s guess, but some ancient writers conjectured that Jesus was writing the sins of all present in the sand – sins that would be as easy to wipe away as simply as brushing one’s hand against the dust. Once the penalty was paid upon the Cross, all forgiveness could be unleashed, and sins could be wiped away.

            There was an old Tide laundry detergent commercial that illustrated this well. A middle-aged mother had borrowed her teenage daughter’s fashionable shirt, without the daughter’s permission. But while enjoying the night out, the mom spilled something on it. She knew her daughter would be furious – so she had to get the stain out to reconcile the relationship. Tide to the rescue! The shirt returned clean, the relationship restored.

            This adulterous woman’s sin was a scarlet letter upon her, preventing her from being one with God or her fellow believers. Our sin is a blot which also destroys relationships, because our sin shows that we are disobedient and have used God’s gifts of life, health, possessions, and free will very wrongly. Mercy to the rescue! We put our souls in the wash (the Confessional) and come out clean, the relationship restored – because the cleansing detergent is the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ.

            And then we live like the redeemed we are. Another example: imagine you are teaching a young person how to build a fire with flint and steel. They need two things: the tools, and the instruction. Instruction without tools would be futile; tools without instruction would be frustrating and doomed to failure. The Cross is the tool – without it, salvation would not happen. And the instruction is what Jesus ends the Gospel with: “Go, and sin no more.” We can’t “go” or “sin no more” without the grace won for us on the Cross, but the Cross is of no avail unless we are willing to go and sin no more. Christ wins the forgiveness, and then teaches us how to live like the forgiven.

            Back in the early 1900s in Paris, two 13-year-old boys were being forced to make their weekly Confession, but this time they wanted to have some fun. They invited their Jewish friend Aaron to play a prank on the priest – he was to make up ridiculous sins in a mock Confession. Aaron readily agreed, and went in to the priest, confessing bizarre and outrageous sins. The priest listened patiently, then said, “I will offer you Absolution, but first you must do something. Go up to the life-sized cross in the church and declare three times, You did all this for me, and I don’t even care. Then come back.”

            The imperious boy marched to the front of the Church, where he said to the crucifix with arrogance, “You did all this for me, and I don’t care!” Then a second time, a little less sure: “You did all this for me…and I don’t care?” Finally a third time he declared, “You did all this…for me.” And he broke down in tears, returned to the priest, and asked for baptism. He was baptized and eventually became the Cardinal Archbishop of Paris, Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger, who died in 2008.

            Adultery was punishable by death because this is the cost of all sin: the death of Jesus Christ upon the Cross. But the stain of sin has been wiped away for those who believe and confess, allowing us a right relationship with the Living God.

Confirmation Homily - April 2, 2025

 

Homily for Confirmation

April 2, 2025

Stand for Something

 

            You are standing…for something. Never forget Who it is you are standing for. You may be seated.

            All of us must take a stand for something. What’s the core of your life that you would live and die for? A priest-friend of mine takes die-hard Yankee to the next level – his ringtone is the famous, “Yankees win!” call. Or perhaps you’ve seen the bumper stickers that say, “Lacrosse is life.” Maybe it’s your family, or a cause you’re passionate about, or making money, or just “enjoying life” – whatever that means – but all of us must take a stand for something.

            I would like to claim that Jesus Christ alone is worth living and dying for – because He has already lived and died for you. The entire reason why God-became-man in Jesus was for love of you…the only reason He died on the Cross was because He loved you…and His love for you has prepared a place in eternal life, just for you. Does money love you? Does lacrosse offer you everlasting life? Only Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World, offers what your heart burns for.

            But our response to Jesus Christ must permeate to the depths of our being. It’s not enough to be confirmed, we must live Confirmed. A simple example: Two trees will be standing tall, one healthy tree and one that is hollow inside. But once the wind comes, the healthy tree will continue to stand, while the rotten one will fall. Likewise, today our young people stand tall, professing aloud that they believe in Jesus Christ. But only those whose faith is healthy, who are Christian all the way to their core, will remain standing when the temptations, the peer pressure, the hostile postmodern culture begins to blow. Those who are hollow, who may look like Christians on the outside but inside are empty of Him, will be unable to withstand the storms of life.

            You see, tonight it is easy to stand for Christ. You are surrounded by your family and friends; you will celebrate tonight with a nice dinner and gifts. But there will come a time when it costs everything to stand for Jesus Christ.

            We have such beautiful examples of standing firm for Christ – the inspiring examples of the martyrs, those men and women who fearlessly shed their blood professing that Christ is Lord. The word “martyr” literally means “witness” – they were witnesses to the power of Christ Jesus. One of the early Church martyrs has always stood out to me. St. Polycarp knew St. John the Apostle personally, so he was literally a second-generation Christian. When a major persecution broke out, the Romans wanted to put to death anyone who was connected to the Apostles, and they publicly put Polycarp on the most-wanted list.

            When Polycarp heard this, he was untroubled. He hid out in the home of some friends, spending all night and day in prayer. Someone told the governor of Polycarp’s location, so he was arrested. But the governor had been good friends with the elderly Polycarp, so he prevailed upon him, “My dear friend, come – return to the old Roman gods, for the sake of our friendship.”

            Polycarp replied boldly, “For eighty-six years I have served my Lord, and He has done me no wrong. How can I turn my back on my Savior?” Seeing that peer pressure did not shake him, they tried suffering. The governor warned, “I have wild beasts that I will throw you to.” Polycarp responded, “Call them! What are you waiting for?” So the governor tried again, “If you will not tremble before beasts, I will have you burned.” And the courageous elderly saint said, “You threaten me with fire that burns for an hour, but you know nothing of the eternal fire prepared for those who deny the Lord. Bring on whatever you want – I will not deny Him.” They prepared a fire for him, but as he was placed on it, a most remarkable thing happened. The fire began to form an arch around him, as if he were in the midst of a golden dome, and the fragrant odor of incense came forth from him, until he peacefully gave up his spirit.

            What courage! What strength! He withstood peer pressure, threats, and suffering, because he was rooted in Christ. You never know what you are living for until you know what you would die for – and let us have the courage to be willing to live and die for the One Who lived and died for us!

            Your grandparents might remember that before the 1960s, when young people were Confirmed, the Bishop used to offer a very light slap across the face as part of the Confirmation itself. Sound strange? The whole reason was to emphasize that, as a confirmed Catholic, you must be ready to suffer for Him.

            This strange gesture actually has its roots in the Medieval tradition of conferring knighthood on a man. The Church used to call you, my dear Confirmandi, “soldiers of Christ” – ready to fight with love and truth, willing to withstand anything for your Divine King. In fact, listen to the words of the Catechism on what you are to receive here: “[Confirmation] gives us a special strength of the Holy Spirit to spread and defend the faith by word and action as true witnesses of Christ, to confess the name of Christ boldly, and never to be ashamed of the Cross.” Never be ashamed of the Cross – profess the Name of Christ boldly – be a witness with your life and death to the Truth of Jesus Christ and our Catholic Faith.

            My friends, in a few moments you will receive both a gift and a responsibility. The responsibility is that now you must not only follow Christ privately; you must now also stand for Christ, witnessing to Him publicly in your words and deeds. The gift, though, is that God is coming to dwell within your soul with His courage and strength, graces and virtues, to enable you to live that mission well.

            So stand firm. Stand tall. And tonight you receive the Holy Spirit that you may stand for Jesus Christ, Who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life – so do not be afraid!