Christ the King @ Holy Family Mission

HOMILY - FEAST OF CHRIST THE KING
OCTOBER 30, 2016
12:00 NOON (SUN) EXTRAORDINARY FORM MASS

Today is the Feast of Christ the King. This feast was instituted in 1925 by Pope Pius XI in his encyclical letter Quas primas in response to growing nationalism and secularism as well as the question of the temporal power of the Holy Father.

Pope Pius XI instituted this feast with a desire that it affect the laity. I read from the encyclical:

"The faithful, moreover, by meditating upon these truths, will gain much strength and courage, enabling them to form their lives after the true Christian ideal. If to Christ our Lord is given all power in heaven and on earth; if all men, purchased by his precious blood, are by a new right subjected to his dominion; if this power embraces all men, it must be clear that not one of our faculties is exempt from his empire. He must reign in our minds, which should assent with perfect submission and firm belief to revealed truths and to the doctrines of Christ. He must reign in our wills, which should obey the laws and precepts of God. He must reign in our hearts, which should spurn natural desires and love God above all things, and cleave to him alone. He must reign in our bodies and in our members, which should serve as instruments for the interior sanctification of our souls, or to use the words of the Apostle Paul, as instruments of justice unto God."

That is, Christ has been given all power in heaven and on earth. Period. No “separation of Church and state,” or worse the “I’m Catholic ‘but’ “ issue.

Christ must reign in our minds, our wills, our hearts, our bodies, and in our souls. Every aspect of our person and every aspect of our lives must be subject to the dominion and reign of Jesus Christ, Our King.

While the feast in the Ordinary Form has been given an eschatological bent, that is in effect put off until the end of time or the end of the world, our celebration of this feast in the Extraordinary Form gives this feast an imminent slant.

This is not presented as a “nice idea.” Rather, right here and right now … Jesus Christ must rule over everything and everyone. That was what Pope Pius XI was calling on the laity back ninety-one (91) years ago, and that message is the same today.

During the Christero War in Mexico which began the following year, the persecuted Christians would proclaim “Viva Christo Rey!” … that is, “Long Live Christ the King!”

As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, let us surrender dominion of every aspect of our humanity to Christ, and to Christ alone.

May our every thought and action be subject to the power of Christ, and may our lives reflect the motto of the Christeros: Long Live Christ the King!

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31st Sunday in Ordinary Time @ St. Apollinaris Church

HOMILY - 31TH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME
OCTOBER 30, 2016
7:30 AM, 9:00 AM, 5:30 PM (SUN) ORDINARY FORM MASSES

Born in 1859, English poet and mystic Francis Thompson spent most of his life as a homeless addict on the streets of London. Only toward the end of his life did he finally publish his poetry, among which was the poem titled The Hound of Heaven.

While this name may seem strange or startling, the poem presents the image of God as a hound chasing its quarry … “never ceasing in its running, ever drawing nearer in the chase”. It describes the pursuit of a wayward soul by the grace of Divine salvation.

Such is the desire of “God our savior, who wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth.” as we hear in the second chapter of the Second Letter of Blessed Paul to Saint Timothy.

We are probably not accustomed to visualizing God as a relentless beast stalking an errant soul fleeing toward sin … but there is a strong element of truth in this image of the infinite desire of God almighty racing to save each and every one of us.

Thompson’s imagery influenced several 20th century authors, namely Chesterton, Tolkien, and L’Engle to name a few.

When we are wont to despair of God’s presence, it can help us to realize that God is in all actuality pursuing us while we are running away from His grace. But God is not to be avoided so easily … such is His immense and unending love for all mankind.

Today is the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time.

In the Gospel, we hear the familiar story of Zacchaeus. The chief tax collector who, it would seem, is pursuing his own desire to catch a glimpse of our Savior who is moving through a crowd.

Here we see the arrogant and self-important senior agent of the hated Roman Empire hurrying … No! … running like a child … and equally childish-ly, climbing a tree to get a better look. The sophisticated government official becomes a child in order to achieve his simple goal.

Yet, in his hiding place … literally up in a tree … Zacchaeus is far from hidden. For we hear in Saint Luke’s Gospel that:
Jesus looked up and said,“Zacchaeus, come down quickly, fortoday I must stay at your house.”

And so, he who was lost … or hidden … or hiding … becomes, not only found … but commanded by Christ Himself. Zacchaeus becomes not the host of the Son of God, but in a turn of events he becomes the servant of Christ the Lord.

While Zacchaeus was drawn simply to gaze upon … to catch a glimpse of Jesus, Our Lord had greater plans for Zacchaeus … taking the smallest desire on the part of Zacchaeus and aligning it with His own greater Divine plan of salvation.

And so it is with us as well.

While we may merely be exploring, studying, or seeking to deepen our own Faith walk with Christ … He is pursuing us at high speed with a persistence and a passion far beyond our own wishes or desires.

Similar to the story of Zacchaeus, Christ desires not only to save and redeem us, but deeply desires to take up residence in our homes … in our hearts … and in our lives.

As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, let us gaze upon Christ … He who has saved and redeemed us. May we recognize that He is pursuing us … in His deep desire to bring us into His own loving care.

May we turn toward Christ and accept His offer of salvation … so that as adopted children of God the Father, we might allow Christ into our selves and permit Him to truly save us … filling us with the grace and the power of the Holy Spirit.

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30th Sunday in Ordinary Time @ St. Apollinaris Church

HOMILY - 30TH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME
OCTOBER 22-23, 2016
4:30 PM (SAT), 10:30 AM (SUN) ORDINARY FORM MASSES

Restorative justice is an approach to jurisprudence that focuses on on the needs of both victims and offenders as well as involving the whole community. This differs from traditional – or adversarial – justice, where the focus is on what laws have been broken, who has committed the crime, and what is an appropriate punishment.

Restorative justice looks to allow anyone and everyone who may have been affected by the situation to discuss how the injustice has affected them and what should be done to repair the harm.
In restorative justice, the focus is on healing relationships, not on punishment.

Today is the 30th Sunday of Ordinary Time.

In today’s First Reading, we hear that God is a God of justice.

Because of our own familiarity with our the American justice system – whether through actual personal contact or through television or movies – we tend to think of justice as adversarial and based on punishment.

Yet, when the Bible speaks of justice, the Hebrew word is tsediq which is rendered in Greek as dikiasune. In the original languages, both of these words imply more of a restorative form of justice … that is, a restoration of the individual to right relationship with God, His Law, and His Holy People.

St. Paul, in the Second Letter to Timothy, speaks of his own right relationship with God, and his own focus – with his own execution looming in front of him – on Divine Justice as opposed to human justice.

In the Gospel, from the 18th chapter of St. Luke, Our Lord tells the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector.

Tax collectors in the First Century were local agents of the Roman Empire – traitors to their own people. On top of this, most of them were also corrupt – demanding more than was appropriate in order to line their own pockets.

In the parable, Jesus tells us that it was the tax collector who went home justified, and not the Pharisee.

Of interest is how Our Lord explains that the Pharisee “spoke this prayer to himself” … that is, he was praying to himself … whereas the tax collector offered a humble prayer to God … fully recognizing his sinfulness.

It is imperative, in our own prayer life, that we first recognize our place before God. Knowing that He is God, and we are not. And as the God of Justice … of Righteousness … God desires us to be in right relationship to Him, and to Him alone … anything else and we are worshipping ourselves.

God’s justice seeks to restore us … to redeem us … to save us … from sin and its effects. While Hell may or may not be a place, the punishments come more from the eternal loss of any relationship with God – and by extension, the loss of everything that is good, true, or beautiful.

As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ … let us humble ourselves before our God … the Father Almighty who has sent us His Son to restore our relationship to God and who has sent the Holy Spirit to form us anew through the Sacraments. Let us hear and act on the words of Christ at the end of today’s Gospel:

[that] whoever exalts himself will be humbled, / and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.

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29th Sunday in Ordinary Time @ St. Apollinaris Church

HOMILY - 29TH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME
OCTOBER 15-16, 2016
4:30 PM (SAT), 7:30 AM, 9:00 AM, 10:30 AM, 5:30 PM (SUN) ORDINARY FORM MASSES

Called by many the best film of 1982, the movie titled “An Officer and a Gentleman” went on to become the third highest grossing picture of that year.

The story follows the training of a young Naval Aviation Officer and the merciless hazing he experiences at the hands of his Marine Drill Instructor.

Despite this, much of the training portrayed in the movie is relatively accurate, including the obstacle course with the twelve-foot wall, water survival and physical endurance tests, as well as the high-altitude or hypo-baric chamber.

This latter evolution is an enclosed room that simulates the effects of high-altitude on the human body, especially demonstrating the effects of low air pressure or hypoxia – that is low oxygen levels.

As the air is pumped out of the chamber, individuals are asked to perform trivial tasks. At some point, the tasks become increasingly difficult or time consuming. This is where a particular test subject has exceeded their own point of useful consciousness. Beyond this, an individual may pass out, becoming unconscious as their body shuts down to conserve limited resources.

The principal purpose for this training is to familiarize pilots, air crewmen, and flight personnel with the effects of hypoxia. The actual symptoms vary form person to person, and so it is essential that each individual be familiar with and recognize their own particular circumstances in order to avoid in-flight difficulties which might require oxygen supplementation.

Today is the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

At the beginning of today’s Gospel from St. Luke’s 18th Chapter, the parable is introduced by explaining that our Lord wanted to convey to his disciples

the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary.

Interestingly, the word here rendered as “becoming weary” appears a total of six times in the New Testament, and is more often translated as “faint.”

Prayer is essential to our Christian life. And while some times it might seem like a chore, Jesus wanted to emphasize to His disciples … and to us … that is absolutely necessary … lest we grow weary … or faint for lack of it. Prayer is, in this sense, our spiritual oxygen. If St. Luke were to say that Jesus told the disciples to breathe always so as not to faint, we might chuckle … but like respiration is to our physical bodies, prayer is equally important for our souls … and must be constant, regular, and properly enriched.

Hold your breath for a short time, and you get light-headed. If you travel to a high enough altitude, or work in an enclosed space where the air is too thin … you might experience hypoxia and even pass out.

The same can be said about prayer. Without it, our spiritual life grows weak and may even cause us to fall into serious sin – resulting in spiritual death. We, too, must be careful not to spend too much time in environments that deprive us of prayer and prayer’s effects. Bad company, sinful entertainment, or excessive attachment to worldly pleasures … can distract us from prayer and orient us away from God.

As for the parable, it is important here that we realize that while the widow in the story suffered multiple deprivations that kept her from being considered worthy of receiving justice. As far as grace and our own relationship with God, we are not poor nor are we alone; but rather are children of God and rich in His grace.

While the widow in the parable’s only chance at a fair settlement was to embarrass the unjust judge, too often we sell ourselves short … and sell God short … by ignoring or forgetting that we are beloved sons and daughters of the most high God, who is our Father and extraordinarily wealthy in superabundant spiritual and material gifts … most especially gifts of grace, and mercy, and love.

We must recognize our rightful place in the household of God, and constantly draw in the power of the Holy Spirit … every moment of every day … in order to properly nourish our souls through adequate prayer.

As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, let us ask for the graces to more deeply engage ourselves in prayer … and right now, the prayers of this Holy Mass. As we hear the words and respond to their familiar ring and rhythm, may we be enriched by the treasures of God’s presence in both Word and Sacrament.

Let us breathe in the rich atmosphere of God’s love and mercy and grace … readily available to us in superabundance … as we pray together this great prayer-of-prayers … as we continue this liturgy.

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27th Sunday in Ordinary Time @ St. Apollinaris School

HOMILY GRAPHICS / NOTES - 27TH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME
OCTOBER 2, 2016 (ALL SCHOOL SUNDAY MASS)
10:30 AM ORDINARY FORM MASS

1. What makes superheroes "super?" - Superpowers

2. What makes Christians "super?" - Baptism

3. Baptism imparts supernatural graces and the supernatural (theological) virtues of Faith, Hope, and Love.

4. Natural faith is merely "trust," natural hope is merely a "wish," and natural love is merely "desire."

5. Supernatural Faith is faith in God and revealed truth, supernatural hope is directed to the things of heaven and eternity, supernatural love is a desire to do our best for God and to provide the best (greatest good) for our neighbor.

6. St. Paul speaks about fanning into flame the Faith, Hope, and Love St. Timothy received through Ordination, Confirmation, and Baptism through the power of the Holy Spirit.

7. The apostles ask Jesus to increase their Faith, but through the parable Jesus tells them to serve above and beyond in order to be "profitable" (or "useful") servants for God and the Kingdom of God.

8. We, like Timothy need to not take for granted, and cultivate ("fan into flame") the supernatural graces we've received in the Sacraments we've received; and like the Apostles need to be reminded that God's call exceeds our expectations, and that God's grace will help us to serve above and beyond.

9. And of course, "With great power comes great responsibility." (Amazing Fantasy #15)

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time @ St. Apollinaris Church

HOMILY - 27TH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME
OCTOBER 1-2, 2016
4:30 PM (SAT), 7:30 AM (SUN) ORDINARY FORM MASSES

Motivation is a theoretical construct used by psychologists to explain people’s behavior. It seeks to assign a reason to someone’s actions, desires, and needs. It can also be seen as a direction to behavior, identifying what prompts an individual to act a certain way, or why someone might repeat a certain action. It is unique in the sense that while a psychological concept, it has become part of the everyday language of popular culture.

In the Incentive Theory of Motivation, there are two types of motivation – these being intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation is a self-desire to experience new challenges and new things, to evaluate oneself, and to observe and gain knowledge. Here the motivation exists within the person, and is driven by interest and enjoyment. Intrinsic motivation is long-lasting, but is difficult to foster; and the varieties are as diverse as there are individuals.

Extrinsic motivation comes from influences outside of a person, and is the performance of an action in order to obtain a desired outcome. Typical extrinsic motivators are rewards and punishments (or the threat of punishment), as well as competition. Here, there is the difficulty that a person may focus less on the desired action and more (or too much) on the end result. There is even the possibility that punishment or threats may actually result in an increased interest in an undesired activity.

Overall, motivation can be seen as a cycle where thoughts influence behavior, behavior influence performance, and performance in turn influences thoughts. Motivational theories can be categorized as rational or natural, cognitive or process; and there are many different theories … each of which have their own adherents, detractors, and applications.

Today is the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

In the First Reading, we hear from the Prophet Habakuk, one of the Twelve Minor Prophets. Very little is known about this prophet, but because of the content of his oracles and prophecies, it is presumed that he lived around the year 600 BC. His name is also obscure, and is probably based on the Hebrew word meaning “to embrace.”

Today’s first reading begins with the prophet’s lament to God, and ends with God’s admonition to have faith and to persevere in hope.

The Gospel reading, which continues our readings from St. Luke, consists of two parts. First, the apostles’ recognition that they need more faith, and their petition to Christ to increase it. The parable that follows is a lesson addressed to this request.

This parable is a cautionary tale similar to the Parable of the Talents. After all, the expectations of any servant is that he is to serve, and that the master will be waited on. Jesus asks the unlikely question “Who among you …” and indeed, the answer is most likely, not me.

When God bestows a gift on an individual, He expects that it will be utilized to further the growth of the Kingdom of God. If all we do is receive God’s gifts, and merely return them to Him … not seeking to further the greater glory of God – then we are “unprofitable” or in some translations “useless” servants.

Saint Paul addresses this in the beginning of his Second Letter to Saint Timothy which hear in today’s Epistle reading.
Timothy is encouraged to “fan into flame the gift of God” … and we would do well to heed this admonition as well.

Through Baptism, we have all received the Theological Virtues of Faith, Hope, and Love. Supernatural gifts which go beyond mere natural belief, trust, and compassion.

Yet we must use these Divine gifts and fan them into flames … without fear or shame … in order to experience the power of these gifts which come to us from the indwelling Holy Spirit of God. It is only through the motivation of the Spirit of God that we can begin to build up the Kingdom of God.

As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, let us pray that we might embrace the supernatural gifts we have received through Baptism and through all the Sacraments … “profitably” … that is, for the greater glory of God, and for the furthering of His Kingdom. As we ask for a greater outpouring of not only Faith, but also Hope, and Love … let us prove ourselves useful and profitable servants of God, by living out the Gospel of Jesus Christ in our daily lives, and with courage receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

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