Christmas @ St. Apollinaris Church

HOMILY - THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST  

DECEMBER 24, 25, 2016  

SATURDAY 7:00 PM, 10:00 PM, SUNDAY 7:30 AM, 9:00 AM ORDINARY FORM MASSES

Just a little over 50 years ago on CBS television, A Charlie Brown Christmas aired for the first time. From a Hollywood perspective, it was destined to fail.
The actors were all actual children, and not adult voice actors. Some of the children were so young that they couldn’t even read – and had to have their lines read to them so that they could repeat them for the recording.
Charles Schulz refused to allow the network to insert a laugh track. After all, it was the ‘60s, and every show had fake laughter and fake applause inserted throughout.
At its initial screening, the network executives thought it was terrible. Only one – slightly inebriated – animator in the back of the studio stood up and said, “It’s going to run for a hundred years,” before falling back down into his chair. Everybody thought he was nuts.
Well, we’re halfway through that century; and it seems that the experts were wrong.
In the show, with only five minutes left, Charlie Brown throws his hands up and shouts:

Isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about? 

At which time, Linus takes center stage and proclaims the very same Gospel we all just heard proclaimed at Mass – taken from St. Luke’s Gospel chapter two.
And at the moment that Linus quotes the words of the angel:

Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

He drops his blanket.
You know what I’m talking about – Linus’ constant companion – that blue security blanket.
There are countless Peanuts comic strips dedicated to Linus and his security blanket. Wrestling with Snoopy who wants to play tug-of-war … arguing with Lucy about giving it up … even phone calls with his grandmother who tries to bribe him to let it go.
But only here – at the message of an angel – does he drop his blanket.
For ourselves, if you watch the news for even a few minutes … it would seem that there’s an awful lot of bad news out there.
And you can’t blame a person for hanging onto something … anything … for security.
The good news of Jesus Christ – the Gospel – can help us to let go of those fears … to “Fear not.” And that may be fine for a time, but then we still have to go back out into the same world we just left
And so, in the show, only one short minute later, Linus finishes his soliloquy and picks up his blanket, and walks off stage.
Charlie Brown ends up abandoning his pathetic little tree, and with less than two minutes remaining, Linus finds the tree and this time he surrenders his blanket … wrapping it around the base of that little rejected tree, saying:

Maybe it just needs a little love.

Because, you see, Jesus came into the world to die for our sins. An no matter how scary the world is, if we put our faith 100% in Him – we too can leave our concerns and fears and worries at the foot of His Cross … that Glorious Tree on which He died for our salvation.
As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, let us open ourselves to that saving grace poured out for us. Let us drop whatever false security we may be holding onto, and leave our fears and concerns at the foot of His Cross. Knowing that in the end, maybe all we need is a little love … God’s love … in our lives.
Because … this Baby, this Child, born in Bethlehem – “. . . is Christ and Lord.”
And “That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.”

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4th Sunday of Advent @ St. Apollinaris Church

HOMILY - FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT  

DECEMBER 18, 2016  

7:30 AM, 9:00 AM ORDINARY FORM MASS  

Today is the fourth and last Sunday in Advent.
Advent this year is somewhat remarkable, in that only 15 times in the last 100 years does Christmas fall on a Sunday, providing a full four weeks of Advent. And in the next 100 years, we will have a full four weeks of Advent only 15 times.
It’s a moving target.
Because of Leap Years, it’s not a simple case of every 7 years. The last time was 2011. The next one will be 2022. And then not until 2033.
Advent, as we have probably heard, is a time of joyful anticipation … that is, a time of waiting.
There are Advent calendars that can be simple or elaborate … marking the days of the season.
We count off the four weeks by lighting a different candle on the Advent wreath.
From a liturgical perspective, every day of Advent has it’s own prayers, antiphons, and readings. And hidden in the last 7 days of Advent, is another “surprise” of sorts that comes to us courtesy an unnamed medieval copyist.
We are all familiar with the Advent carol, “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.” And you may have noticed that it has 7 (seven) verses. These correspond to the last 7 (seven) days of Advent.

Starting on December 17, what are called the “O Antiphons – ” that is “letter O” – are used as Gospel Acclamations, and as Vespers Antiphons.
Counting from December 17 to December 23, the corresponding “O Antiphons” are:

Wisdom,

Lord,

Root of Jesse,

Key of David,

Dayspring,

King of the Nations, 
and
Emmanuel.

Each of these is a prophesied title for the Messiah from the Old Testament. And Each day, from December 17 through December 23, a new Antiphon is used in the Mass and at Evening Prayer.
It would be a great Advent reflection to immerse oneself in contemplating the depth and meaning of each of these. But I will leave you to your own devices.

⎘ Reading the "O Antiphons" Forward, by Gregory DiPippo ⎗

The neatest aspect of this whole thing is that there is a secret message hidden in these titles. But in Latin. The titles in Latin are:

Sapientia

Adonai

Radix

Clavix

Oriens

Rex

Emannuel

And I’m sure that even if you knew Latin, that you would know that despite sounding like a word, “SARCORE” is jibberish.
But in reverse, it spells ERO CRAS … and for those of you who forgot your Latin dictionaries this morning, ERO is a first person future indicative of the verb “to be”, and CRAS means “tomorrow” …
So, putting that all together, the “secret message” revealed on December 23 is “tomorrow I will be” or more loosely, “tomorrow, I will come.”
And so, as we count down this last week to the end of Advent … and the beginning of the Christmas season: let us pray for the graces to prepare ourselves for the coming of Christ … as we commemorate His coming in the Flesh two (2) millennia ago, His coming to us in Word and Sacrament whenever two or more are gathered in His name, and His ultimate coming to us … at the end of our lives, and at the end of time.

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St. Lucy @ St. Apollinaris School

HOMILY GRAPHICS - MEMORIAL OF SAINT LUCY  
DECEMBER 13, 2016  
8:45 AM ORDINARY FORM MASS (4TH GRADE)  



St. Lucy was born in 283 in Syracuse on the Island of Sicily.

She was known for going into the catacombs with food to feed the Christians hiding from persecution.

She wanted to live her life for Christ as a consecrated virgin, and give her dowry to the poor.

Her fiance turned her in to the Roman authorities who tried to sell her into slavery. But the chains didn't hold her, and 50 men and horses couldn't move her.

So they tried to burn her alive, but the fire wouldn't stay lit.

They cut out her eyes in a terrible act of cruelty, but immediately her eyes were restored!

God is more powerful than any other worldly power.

They finally killed her with a sword, and she died in 304 at the age of 21.

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Immaculate Conception @ Justin-Siena High School

HOMILY PROPS / NOTES - SOLEMNITY OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION BVM
DECEMBER 8, 2016
10:20 AM ORDINARY FORM MASS  

The "math" behind the Immaculate Conception:
There are 4 Marian Dogma.
2 Ancient: Perpetual Virginity, Mother of God (Theotokos).
2 Modern: Immaculate Conception, Assumption.

The "science" behind the Immaculate Conception:
At Baptism, we are filled with grace. Through sin, we separate ourselves from God's grace. Through Reconciliation (Confession) we are restored to the life of grace. In the Eucharist, we receive countless graces through this Most Blessed Sacrament. This is the ordinary way to remain filled with grace available to Catholic Christians.

In the Immaculate Conception, Mary was created full of grace. By this special gift of God, she never sinned, and remained full of grace throughout her entire life. This was the extraordinary way that God allowed Mary to share in the graces of the Sacraments before Christ's Sacrifice, and before Jesus established the Sacraments of the Church.

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Immaculate Conception @ St. Apollinaris Church

HOMILY - SOLEMNITY OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION BVM
DECEMBER 8, 2016
7:00 AM, 8:45 AM ORDINARY FORM MASSES

Today is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary.

Our Lady, under this title, is the patroness of the United States; and as such, the National Basilica in Washington, D.C., is dedicated to the Immaculate Conception.

The feast was celebrated in the Eastern Church from the 6th century. It came into the Western Church by was of southern Italy in the 9th century, and England in the 11th century. From there, it spread to France in the 12th century, and Germany in the 13th century.

While there was no dispute regarding the sinlessness of the Blessed Mother – rather, there was dispute on just how it happened. Did it happen at her conception or at a later point before she was born?

A Franciscan theologian in the 14th century, William of Ware, stated it in this way:
"What [God] could do, / it was fitting that He should do so / and from this it follows that He did do it; / for the Son should honor the Mother"

His student, the theologian John Duns Scotus, built on this teaching. Scotus argued the same premise, but from the side of God’s sovereignty:
"grace is the equivalent to [righteousness], so . . . original sin does not reside in a soul that has grace. God could have conferred as much grace on her in the first moment of her soul's existence as He does on another soul at . . . baptism . . . then, the soul would not have had original sin, as it would not have [sin after baptism].
In other words, God supplied the supernatural graces of Baptism to Our Lady – before there ever was Christian Baptism."

So, which came first? the chicken or the egg? That is, how can Mary be redeemed before Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross?

An explanation would be that God, who exists outside of time and dwells in Eternity, can apply the merits of Christ outside of time as He sees fit.

Pope Pius IX (the ninth) declared on December 8, 1854,
"that the Blessed Virgin Mary, at the first instant of her conception, by a singular privilege and grace of . . . Omnipotent God, in virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of [the world], was preserved immaculate from all stain of original sin."

We share in these graces through Baptism – whether we receive them as an infant or later in life. Our Lady was granted these graces from the moment she existed.

This is played out in the word translated in the Gospel as “full of grace.” The Greek word is κεχαριτωμένη (ke-char-i-tō-me-nē).

This word exists only once in the entire Bible. It’s what is known as a hapax legomenon – which means, in Greek, something said only once. In its unique form, it is a feminine present perfect passive voice participle of a verb.

This same verb – but in a different tense, number, person, aspect, mood, and voice – shows up throughout St. Paul’s letters where it always refers to the grace of God bestowed on us through Christ’s saving act on the Cross.

But the word used for Mary by the Angel Gabriel in Luke’s Gospel is unique. It could be translated as “she who has been made and endowed with saving grace.” And so it would seem that, even in Scripture, there is a particular word for this unique privilege, that privilege which we commemorate today in honoring the Immaculate Conception.

As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, let us pray to become more attuned to the saving graces we have all received through our Baptism. And may the Eucharist we receive today fill us with God’s saving grace, so that we might persevere in grace … the grace that pours forth from the One Sacrifice of Christ … which saves us all from sin.

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St. Nicholas @ St. Apollinaris School

HOMILY GRAPHICS - ST. NICHOLAS OF MYRA  
DECEMBER 6, 2016  
8:45 AM ORDINARY FORM MASS (4TH GRADERS)  


Hagiography comes from two Greek words meaning the study of the saints. 

Today's saint is St. Nicholas of Myra, a third century saint ... who is often considered to be where Santa Claus got his name.

He was born in 270 AD, when the Church was being persecuted. He was known for being holy and devout, and was made bishop of Myra on the southern coast of what is now Turkey.

He was imprisoned, beaten, and tortured in an effort to make him, the local bishop, renounce the Christian Faith. The thought, on the part of the authorities, was that if they got one of the leaders to give up Christianity, the flock would give it up, too.

In 313 AD, the persecutions of Christians stopped with the Edict of Milan. Christianity was now legal in the Roman Empire, but was only one of many religions.

In 325 AD, the Council of Nicea was convened to discuss the nature of Jesus Christ. Was He truly God and truly man? Part God and part man? Something completely different besides God or man? 

The Creed we use on Sundays and Solemnities is the Nicene Creed, and was formulated at this council.

During the discussion, St. Nicholas sat listening to a priest named Arius who was trying to convince the emperor, the bishops and the pope that Jesus was not God and was not man, but was some sort of demi-god or maybe an angel. St. Nicholas, who had suffered so much for the Faith, got frustrated, stood up, and smacked Arius to make him stop.

Hitting someone in the presence of the Emperor was illegal (like starting a fight in a court room would be now), so St. Nicholas was stripped of his bishop's garment (stole/omophorion/pallium) and his copy of the Bible, and put him in chains in prison.

That night, Mary and Jesus appeared to him. His chains fell off, and Mary handed him his bishop's clothes, and Jesus gave him back his book of the Gospels. When the guard came the next morning, he saw the bishop St. Nicholas reading the Bible and wearing his bishop's garment.

The emperor heard, and decided God wanted St. Nicholas to be a bishop and to be released from prison.

His life was filled with healings and good works. He is remembered for his generosity and miracles.

He died in 343 AD, and was buried in Turkey.

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2nd Sunday of Advent @ St. Apollinaris Church

HOMILY - SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT
DECEMBER 4, 2016
7:30 AM ORDINARY FORM MASS

This past summer, as I was sorting through my belongings and packing things for my cross-country trip from Michigan to California; my parents were working on their own project.

A couple of lilac bushes that they had planted 20 or 30 years ago had not only gotten too big, but had overgrown and were leaning against the house. And because of this, ants were climbing from the ground, up the branches, and into the house.

So, over the course of several weeks, the task commenced of cutting the branches, dragging them behind the pole barn, and burning them in a fire pit. After the two were reduced to a pair of tangled stump, the next task was loosening the stump by cutting the small roots, digging under it, loosening it, and then hauling the stumps to the fire pit.

In the heat of a Michigan summer, this was quite a task. Not to mention that my parents are both in their 80s. Nonetheless, all that remains of those two bushes is a pile of ashes.

Today is the second Sunday of Advent. And in the First Reading and in the Gospel, we hear talk of stumps.

In the Gospel, St. John the Baptist talks about the axe being laid to the root of the tree, and cutting down unproductive trees which are thrown in the fire.

On the other hand, the prophet Isaiah speaks of new life springing from what seemed to be a dead stump – a shoot sprouts … a bud blossoms.

St. John the Baptist was speaking of the fruits of repentance, and the consequences of unrepentance. While Isaiah was prophesying about the resurgence of the line of King David in the person of the Messiah.

St. Paul, in the Epistle from the Romans speaks of the fruits and gifts of living in Christ Jesus – most especially harmony, peace, and unity.

Isaiah gives a prophetic image of that when he speaks of the vision of predator and prey living together … and deadly poisonous snakes being playmates for children.

This prophesied “day of the Lord” brings with it spiritual gifts for God’s people. Gifts for our sanctification. We know them as the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit, and they are enumerated as:
wisdom, understanding, counsel, knowledge, fortitude, piety, fear of the Lord.

From a moral theological perspective, these gifts complete and perfect the virtues. That is, the more virtuous we are, the more open and attuned we become to the Holy Spirit. The natural or human virtues being understood as prudence and justice, fortitude and moderation. And the supernatural or theological virtues we receive being Faith, Hope, and Love.

As we continue our Advent preparations for the three comings of Christ, let us engage the power of the Sacraments to grow deeper in all the virtues – both natural and supernatural – so as to receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit so that we might grow in holiness of life.

May the Eucharist we receive today draw us more deeply into the life of the Most Holy Trinity … as we pray for an increase in Faith, Hope, and Love.

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2nd Sunday of Advent @ St. Apollinaris School

HOMILY NOTES - SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT
DECEMBER 4, 2016
10:30 AM ORDINARY FORM MASS (ALL SCHOOL MASS)

[The reading from Isaiah is identical to the reading from Tuesday. Therefore, I used the same graphics from the 4th Grade Mass on November 29 at 8:45 am, and upped the ante with the following notes. What follows below is mostly from "A Modern Catholic Dictionary," by Fr. John Hardon, SJ.]

GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. The seven forms of supernatural initiative conferred with the reception of sanctifying grace. They are in the nature of supernatural reflexes, or reactive instincts, that spontaneously answer to the divine impulses of grace almost without reflection but always with full consent.

Complete and perfect the virtues (CCC)

Create docility in obeying divine inspiration (CCC)

GIFT OF WISDOM. The first and highest gifts of the Holy Spirit. It makes the soul responsive to God in the contemplation of divine things. Where faith is a simple knowledge of the articles of Christian belief, wisdom goes on to a certain divine penetration of the truths themselves. Built into wisdom is the element of love, which inspires contemplative reflection on these divine mysteries, rejoices dwelling on them, and directs the mind to judge all things according to their principles.

GIFT OF UNDERSTANDING. The infused gift of the Holy Spirit given to the mind for grasping revealed truths easily and profoundly. It differs from faith because it gives insight into the meaning of what a person believes, whereas faith, as such, merely assents to what God has revealed.

This gift produces three principal effects in those who possess it. They are enabled to penetrate to the very core of revealed truths, without ever fully understanding their meaning; they are confirmed in their belief by acquiring great certitude in the revealed word of God; and they are brought to the knowledge of a greater number of truths by drawing numerous conclusions from revealed principles.

GIFT OF COUNSEL. One of the special gifts of the Holy Spirit; it perfects the virtue of prudence. Its function is to enable a person to judge promptly and rightly, as by a sort of supernatural intuition, what should be done, especially in difficult situations. With the gift of counsel, the Holy Spirit speaks, as it were, to the heart and in an instant enlightens a person what to do. It corresponds to the promise made by Christ to his followers, "When they hand you over, do not worry about how to speak or what to say; what you are to say will be given to you when the time comes; because it is not you who will be speaking; the Spirit of your Father will be speaking in you" (Matthew 10:19).

Counsel refers primarily to prudent conduct in one's own case, and only secondarily in favor of others. Enlightened by the Spirit, a person learns what to do in a specific case and what advice to give when consulted or command to make if he is in authority.

GIFT OF KNOWLEDGE. One of the seven infused gifts. By the illuminating action of the Holy Spirit it perfects the virtue of faith. It gives a person the ability to judge everything from a supernatural viewpoint. The object of this gift is the whole spectrum of created things insofar as they lead one to God. Through infused knowledge the faithful can see the providential purpose of whatever enters their lives, and they are able to put creatures to the right use according to God's will for themselves and for others. Sometimes called "the science of the saints," it enables those who have the gift to discern easily and effectively between the impulses of temptation and the inspirations of grace.

GIFT OF FORTITUDE. One of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit; it gives a person a special strength of will. This gift confers an extraordinary readiness to undergo trials for love of God or in fulfillment of the divine will; unusual courage to bear difficulties even for many years; firmness in carrying arduous tasks to their completion; perseverance in a lifetime fidelity to one's vocation in spite of heavy trials or disappointments sent by God; and gladness in being privileged to suffer persecution or humiliation in union with Christ and for the sake of his name.

GIFT OF PIETY. A special gift of the Holy Spirit; if perfects the virtue of religion, which is the practice of justice toward God. It produces an instinctive filial affection for God and devotion toward those who are specially consecrated to God. As an infused gift of God, it is ready loyalty to God and the things of God, arising not so much from studied effort or acquired habit as from a supernatural communication conferred by the Holy Spirit.

This gift enables a person to see in God not only one's sovereign Master but a loving Father, according to the teaching of St. Paul: "Everyone moved by the Spirit is a son of God. The spirit you received is not the spirit of slaves bringing fear into your lives again; it is the spirit of sons, and it makes us cry out 'Abba, Father!'" (Romans 8:14-15). It engenders in the soul a filial respect for God, a generous love toward him, and an affectionate obedience that wants to do what he commands because it loves the one who commands.

GIFT OF FEAR. Infused gift of the Holy Spirit that confirms the virtue of hope and inspires a person with profound respect for the majesty of God. Its corresponding effects are protection from sin through dread of offending the Lord, and a strong confidence in the power of his help.

The fear of the Lord is not servile but filial. It is based on the selfless love of God, whom it shrinks from offending. Whereas in servile fear the evil dreaded is punishment; in filial fear it is the fear of doing anything contrary to the will of God.

The gift of fear comprises three principal elements: a vivid sense of God's greatness, a lively sorrow for the least faults committed, and a vigilant care in avoiding occasions of sin. It is expressed in prayer of the Psalmist, "My whole being trembles before you, your ruling fills me with fear" (Psalm 119:120). One of its salutary effects is to induce a spirit of deep humility in dealing with others, especially with inferiors, since it makes a person aware that he or she stands constantly before the judgment of God.

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