26th Sunday in Ordinary Time @ St. Apollinaris Church

HOMILY - 26TH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME
SEPTEMBER 25, 2016
10:30 AM, 12:00 PM ORDINARY FORM MASSES

James Sherley was an English dramatist of the early 17th century. Born in 1596, he was said to have been “the last of a great race, all of whom spoke nearly the same language and had a set of moral feelings and notions in common.” He wrote plays from 1625 until 1642 – when Parliament outlawed the performance of stage plays.

He was born in 1596 in London, and studied at Oxford; eventually receiving his B.A. from Cambridge. After receiving his M.A., he served as an Anglican minister until his conversion to Catholicism around 1623.

His work spans 10 volumes, among which is the poem Death the Leveller. It begins:

The glories of our blood and state
Are shadows, not substantial things;
There is no armour against Fate;
Death lays his icy hand on kings:

He speaks of the tumbling down of crown and scepter, and the how even the strong must admit their weakness before death. Neither might nor earthly glory survive death, but

Only the actions of the just
Smell sweet and blossom in their dust.

So ends his poem.

Today is the 26th Sunday of Ordinary Time, and again we hear from the prophet Amos in the First Reading. We are skipping around in the book. Last week we heard of the reasons for God’s judgment on the people, and today we rewind two chapters and hear the prophet’s lamentations against the indulgent. In the preceding verses Amos also laments the willfully ignorant and the indifferent, and goes on to cry out against those who are impudent.

This is not an essay in dialectic materialism … between the “haves” and the “have-nots.” Rather it is speaking against “having too much” and intentionally neglecting the duties toward ones neighbor.

But even more so, it is a warning against putting one’s trust in this world and the things of this world … to the point of putting our faith in material things and placing them before our duty to both God and neighbor. It is not a condemnation of wealth, but rather is a condemnation of the worship of it.

In the Gospel from St. Luke, we hear the Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man. In this world, the rich man, like the Pharisees, gave lip-service to God, but in his heart placed his trust in wealth and possessions. Lazarus, on the other hand, had nothing to distract his heart from God, and considering that he only received kindness from the local canine population, came to rely on God.
In the afterlife, Lazarus receives the benefits of his spiritual investments. Faith in God has eternal rewards, while faith in the world leaves one not only bankrupt in the next life, but also in a world of hurt.

St. Paul provides some guidance in the Epistle from the First Letter to Saint Timothy.

One phrase, however, is excised from our reading. Timothy is admonished not only to pursue deeds of righteousness, but is admonished to “avoid” worldliness and materialism. In some translations this is rendered as “flee” … that is: run away!

Paul acknowledges that this is not always possible, but that we must “compete” … or in some translations “fight” with our own inclinations to choose the right thing and orient our hearts and minds on the things of heaven.

And we are to do this by our “pursuit” of righteousness – that is, a right relationship based in justice with God and neighbor. Again, “pursue” can also be translated as “follow,” which gives us the three-part formula: flee, fight, and follow.

Of course, if we read just beyond where today’s reading ended, there is a fourth part which is to be faithful,

to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous, ready to share,/ thus accumulating as treasure a good foundation for the future, so as to win the life that is true life.

Indeed, it is difficult to live in the world but not of the world, but death comes, in many cases, too soon. We must be flee the inclinations, fight the temptations, follow Christ, and be faithful to the Gospel. And in this we can be assured of an eternal reward.

As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, let us pray for clarity of mind and heart, so that we might always be in right relationship with both God and neighbor. Keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the source and summit of our Faith … with the firm intention and knowledge that we are made, not for this place … but for eternity.

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Saturday 25th Week in Ordinary Time @ St. Apollinaris Church

HOMILY - SATURDAY 25TH WEEK OF ORDINARY TIME
SEPTEMBER 24, 2016
8:45 AM ORDINARY FORM MASS

Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen is credited with having written 66 books during his life. Even after his death, his talks have been transcribed into book form as well.

One such book is titled, Your Life Is Worth Living: The Christian Philosophy of Life, where in 50 chapters and 375 pages, Sheen covers just about every topic under the sun.

At the beginning of the book he states:

There are two ways of waking up in the morning. One is to say, “Good morning, God,” and the other is to say,“Good God, [it’s] morning!”

And here we are on another beautiful Napa Saturday morning, honoring our Blessed Mother and joining our lives at the altar of sacrifice.

Today’s first reading is long. It’s from the end of Ecclesiastes, part of the Hebrew Bible known as the Wisdom Books. The title comes from the word “Qohal” which means “assembly.” This got translated into Greek as “Ecclesiastes” which in the New Testament is translated as “church.”

In this particular book, the author examines life and asks, “Is it really worth living?”

And indeed it is.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells His disciples:

“Pay attention to what I am telling you. / The Son of Man is to be handed over to men.” /But they did not understand this saying; / its meaning was hidden from them / so that they should not understand it, / and they were afraid to ask him about this saying.

So much seems outside of our grasp. Perhaps not for want of understanding, but in our own day and age, perhaps from lack of time.

At the end of Sheen’s book, he says:

It will not be hard to save your soul; however, being a Catholic will never prevent you from sinning, but it will take all the fun out of it because once you have loved, you know what love is. Sin in the scriptures is always called adultery because it is a false love. I know you will find people who cut corners, play loose, cheat, commit adultery, avoid paying their taxes, and ruin their neighbor’s reputation.They do not seem to have any bumps on their consciences, but they have no peace. If we are to love, we have to have the cross of Christ.We cannot escape it though we try.

And so, the answer to the question posed in the Old Testament wisdom reading, Is live worth living? is quite simply, “Yes.” It’s not hard, but it certainly means being counter-cultural.

As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, let us pray for the grace to “understand.” We cannot escape the cross, but in embracing it, we will have peace and we will know love.

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St. Andrew Kim @ St. Apollinaris School

HOMILY GRAPHICS - SS. ANDREW KIM AND PAUL HASANG 
SEPTEMBER 20, 2016
8:45 AM ORDINARY FORM MASS


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25th Sunday in Ordinary Time @ St. Apollinaris Church

HOMILY - 25TH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME
SEPTEMBER 17 - 18, 2016
4:30 PM (SAT), 7:30 AM, 5:30 PM (SUN) ORDINARY FORM MASS

In his 2005 book titled, Winners Never Cheat, subtitled, Everyday Values We Learned as Children (But May Have Forgotten), author Jon M. Huntsman provides what he calls “Lessons From the Sandbox”. He provides nine lessons, which I will enumerate:

1. Check your moral compass
2. Play by the rules
3. Set the example
4. Keep your word
5. Pick friends wisely
6. Get mad, not even
7. Be gracious
8. Own what you do
9. Give back

I will leave it to you, if you are curious, to find his book and read the explanations.

But indeed – we have all heard it – whether from parents, teachers, siblings, coaches – someone – that winners never cheat … and it’s corollary – cheaters never win.

Today is the 25th Sunday of Ordinary Time. And today’s readings are hard to read, and possibly even harder to preach on.

The First Reading from the Prophet Amos is calls out the people of Israel for not following the rules … that is … for cheating.

The Law of Moses had clear rules and regulations regarding religious festivals, business relationships, and criminal punishments … among others. Yet these were all being ignored.

And God has taken notice of this.

But He doesn’t strike them down or smite them with lightning.
Instead He sends the prophet to call them out and point out that … cheaters never win.

In the Gospel, we hear the parable of the Dishonest Steward. Here, a steward is someone whose job was to manage the land and property of his master. And this steward was being dishonest. And this gets noticed by the master.

This isn’t so much of a lesson in “you can’t take it with you” as it is a lesson in “it was never yours in the first place.

The Dishonest Steward cheated his master, and ended up getting caught. Bottom line: he’s been busted.

As Christians we are called to live “in the world” but not to be “of the world.” The gifts we have are given to us … but we are only stewards, not owners.

We may end up cheating our Divine Master for a time, but ultimately we will face judgment. If we cheat, we will get caught … but if it’s not in this world, most certainly it will be in the next.

And that can make it difficult for us to make the right decisions … to follow those simple, sandbox lessons … especially if our focus has been distorted to viewing only the here-and-now, and we don’t take the long view and consider everything … everything … through the lens of Eternity.

Jesus commends the Dishonest Steward. But not for his dishonesty. Rather, the steward is commended for taking advantage of what he has for a short time, and leveraging it for his advantage later.

He knew that his time was short. And he knew that he needed to provide for his future, unknown life … and so he took that opportunity to provide for himself.

He was a child of the world, and was prudent with the things of the world. Jesus calls us children of the light – but points out that we act imprudently with the resources of Eternity that we have at our disposal.

Jesus, in this parable, points out that the children of the world gladly and actively cheat others out of the limited things of this world for short-term gain … but unfortunately, the children of the light – that is, His disciples … meaning us – we end up cheating ourselves out of the supernatural things that are our inheritance from God because we too often take them for granted.

St. Paul, in the Epistle, gives us a first step in making this happen. He points out that in all things, prayer should come first … prayer must be a priority.

In this First Letter to St. Timothy, St. Paul speaks of: supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings.

The bottom line is that we must make prayer a priority. And never miss the opportunities to take advantage of the resources – natural and supernatural – at that are available to prepare us for our heavenly future. To miss these opportunities is to cheat ourselves out of the generous graces of God poured out on us every moment of every day.

As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ … let us pray that we might be more mindful to the gifts of God … and the presence of God … in our daily lives. May we also become more and more attentive to the action of His grace in our lives. And take advantage of the manifold opportunities we have to grow in grace … and mercy … and love.

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Priest at a Glance @ St. Apollinaris Parish

Bulletin Insert 

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