2nd Sunday after Easter @ Holy Family Mission

HOMILY - SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EASTER
APRIL 30, 2017
NOON EXTRAORDINARY FORM (LATIN) MASS



ST. THOMAS AQUINAS ON THE GOOD SHEPHERD

Characteristics of a good shepherd:

1. Pasture the sheep out of Love (bad shepherd does this for gain, title, money.)
2. Desires the ultimate good of the sheep (bad shepherd looks out for himself.)
3. Loves the sheep enough to sacrifice His life (bad shepherd kills the sheep or lets them die.)

Fruits of a good shepherd (seen in the sheep):

1. Obedience to God (not obedience to the shepherd.)
2. Unity in love (from the shepherd following God's example of love.)
3. Unity in Faith (under the One Good Shepherd, not under many bad shepherds.)

And for a bit of levity:

3rd Sunday of Easter @ St. Apollinaris Church

HOMILY - THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER  (YEAR A)
APRIL 30, 2017
7:30 AM, 9:00 AM ORDINARY FORM (ENGLISH) MASSES



Born in 1903, Malcolm Muggeridge was a British media personality, journalist, author, and satirist. In his late 20s, he became enamored with Communism; but later, his direct observations of life in the Soviet Union led to his eventual disillusionment with it.

During the Second World War, he served in various security and intelligence positions in India, northern Africa, and France. After the war, he edited and wrote satire, challenging the opinions of the day with a profound and cutting wit.

He spent most of his life as an atheist, but in 1969, he became a Christian.



While filming a series of BBC documentaries on the New Testament, he found himself walking along the road leading to the town of Emmaus. In an interview about his conversion, he said:

I understood, in a particularly vivid and personal way, that there is someone else, a third man, who will join one and help one along the way. On his own, no human being can hope to overcome the wickedness and selfishness inherent in his nature. It's absolutely impossible. Yet Christians have been able to do this because there is this help available. I know that this help is available; I know I can call on it myself. 

He is credited with introducing Mother Theresa of Calcutta to the West; and through her influence, both he and his wife became Catholic in 1982.

He died in 1990, having authored more than 20 books and having published 7 sermons.

Today is the Third Sunday of Easter.

In today’s Gospel, we hear the original Emmaus Road account as recorded in the 24th Chapter of St. Luke.

After several hours of walking along, where despite His explanation of Scripture and prophesy about Himself, the two travelers fail to recognize Jesus. Recognizing Him late in the day … “in the breaking of bread.”

In this text, St. Luke records this moment, when Jesus was “with them at table, [and] he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them.”



These four words are repeated in each and every Eucharistic Prayer used in the Sacred Liturgy of the Mass … taken, blessed, broken, given. In an anagogical sense, we can apply these words to ourselves to perhaps better understand our relationship with Christ.

In this sense, we can be said to have been taken by God – chosen – not as bread, but as members of His Body, the Church.

We, too, are blessed – in Latin, benedic … literally “spoken well of.” And in Christ, despite our sinful nature, we are called to live in the family of God as brothers and sisters of Jesus.

In our human nature, we are broken – yet through Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross, He restores humanity to it’s original dignity and draws us together to Himself … unites us in Himself … as members of Christ … disciples and apostles.

And finally, as the Eucharist is given – a gratuitous and free gift of God’s grace – we are called to give of ourselves to each other … in freedom … though, with, and in Christ Jesus, Our Lord.



As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ – let us become more and more aware of Him in our lives – the Third Person Who joins us … and helps us … along our way. May we receive this saving and abundant grace – today – in our lives and in our hearts. That we might overcome the weaknesses inherent in our human nature, and receive the transforming graces of Christ provided to us as we share in His divine nature through our participation in the Life of the Trinity … Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

And then, with hearts burning for Christ, let us go forth from this place to spread the Good News – that Christ is alive! Indeed, He is risen as He said!

First Communion @ St. Apollinaris Church

HOMILY VISUALS - FIRST COMMUNION
APRIL 29, 2017
11:00 AM, 1:00 PM ORDINARY FORM MASSES

Wednesday 2nd Week of Easter @ Justin-Siena High School

VISUALS - WEDNESDAY OF SECOND WEEK OF EASTER
APRIL 26, 2017
11:55 AM ORDINARY FORM MASS



The Gospel was from the Emmaus encounter. And how they recognized Jesus when he "took," "blessed," "broke," and "gave" them bread at the table.

 
 

We can recognize Jesus in our own lives when we realize we are "taken" up in Christ (or "chosen" by God,) when we are "blessed" or become a blessing for others Latin for blessing is benediction = bene (good) + diction (words). When we say and hear good words we are blessed and become a blessing to others. We are all broken, but not in the same ways. When we acknowledge our brokenness, we recognize that others have strengths that support our weaknesses, and that our strengths can support their weaknesses. Finally, we are not made for ourselves, but for others. This means we are given to one another, and need to make a gift of ourselves to each other and the world.



For a more thorough treatment of this, see: Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World, by Henri Nouwen.

          

St. Mark the Evangelist @ St. Apollinaris School

HOMILY - FEAST OF SAINT MARK, EVANGELIST
APRIL 25, 2017
8:45 AM ORDINARY FORM MASS (4TH GRADE)

St. Mark is the writer of the 2nd Gospel, and the companion of St. Peter.

In the icon of St. Mark, there is a lion at his feet. 

Each of the Gospels has an "animal" associated with it.

These come from the first chapter of the Prophet Ezekiel where he describes a vision of angels at the throne of God. Each of these "creatures" had four heads. The head of a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle. 

These are associated with the Gospels as:

St. Matthew: a winged man; because it deals with Jesus' humanity and lineage.

St. Mark: a winged lion; because Jesus is the lion of Judah, and lions were thought to be born dead, and were resurrected by their fathers.

St. Luke: a winged ox; because the story-telling is slow and methodical, and also deals with Jesus and His sacrifice – and oxen were sacrificial animals

St. John: an eagle; because John's theology and ideas soar beyond the other Gospels.

Back to St. Mark, whose feast is today.

He founded the Church in Alexandria, Egypt, and was martyred in the year 68 AD. He is the patron saint of Egypt, Venice (Italy), and of Lawyers.

Low Sunday @ Holy Family Mission

HOMILY - LOW SUNDAY (FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EASTER)
APRIL 23, 2017
12:00 NOON EXTRAORDINARY FORM MASS




Greg Smithey is an American fitness instructor, most famous for his 1987 fitness tape titled “Buns of Steel,” which sold over one million copies in VHS. It is currently marketed as a DVD titled “The Original Buns of Steel,” and while it may only be #117 among Amazon’s “Exercise and Fitness” DVDs, it has spawned an entire empire of various exercise videos that end with the two words: “of Steel”. Giving us: “Abs of Steel,” “Legs of Steel,” and “Arms of Steel,” among many other combinations and permutations of workouts “of Steel.”

Today is Low Sunday, the last day of the Easter Octave, the 1st Sunday after Easter … also known as Divine Mercy Sunday.



In today’s we hear the familiar Gospel of “Doubting Thomas.” And in the Epistle from St. John, we are told that through Faith, we share in Christ’s Victory.

A little under two weeks ago, we were just starting Holy Week with Palm Sunday. We read the end of St. Matthew’s Passion that day, and then heard the Passion of St. John on Good Friday.

The brutality of how Our Lord was executed, and the injustice that led to his Crucifixion … not to mention the fear and hatred of the authorities. From His entry into Jerusalem until He died on Calvary, we heard played out the ups and downs of what could easily be the entirety of human history.

Yet on Palm Sunday, roughly 7,300 miles away – that is, about 1/3 of the way around the planet – at St. Mark Cathedral in the Egyptian city of Alexandria, one man wearing an explosive device killed dozens of people.

Immediately, Egyptian Christians flooded the street shouting the Nicene Creed – the Creed we will proclaim in a few short minutes.

Immediately, various militant groups were claiming responsibility.

And immediately, the press descended, hoping for a good story.

In an interview, the wife of the porter, that is, the door keeper at the cathedral – who was perhaps the first person killed by the explosion – his wife said on international television:

I’m not angry at the one who did this … I’m telling him, ‘May God forgive you, and we also forgive you. Believe me, we forgive you.’

What followed was 12 seconds of silence.



Commentators are not customarily at a loss for words, yet he stood mute for a full 12 seconds. And then he said:

The Christians of Egypt … are made of STEEL!

And commenced to carry on about the magnitude of forgiveness shown by this woman, and how unbelievable it was for him to hear words of forgiveness in a country torn by years … if not decades of violence. His voice cracked he said:

How great is this forgiveness you have!

It is to this sort of Faith that we are called to live as Christians. This is the Faith that “overcometh the world.” This is the Faith that testifies with God to the power of Baptism through the Blood of Christ poured out for us on the altar of the Cross.

In the Gospel, Our Lord admonishes Thomas to “be not faithless, but believing.” And St. John records for succeeding generations of Christians, Jesus’ statement that:

Blessed are they who have not seen and have believed.

Where are we on this spectrum of belief? How deep are we willing or able to dig into our spiritual resources – the supernatural graces of Baptism: Faith, Hope, and Love.



How great … or how little … is our faith, our hope, our love … Do we have an overflowing excess, or are we lacking in joy, mercy, or forgiveness.

Yet in Christ, we have been reborn. In Christ we have been raised up … so that we might share in the super-abundance of God’s joy, God’s mercy, and God’s forgiveness.

Our Faith must testify to the grace of God, and our redemption in  Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit acting in our lives so that we may, indeed, “overcometh the world.”

Which begs the question: What do people see when they look at us?

Do they see steel?

Or do they see Jello?



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 be strengthened and built up in our resolve to embrace and be transformed by the graces of our Baptism: Faith, Hope, and Love.

2nd Sunday of Easter @ St. Apollinaris Church

HOMILY - SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER  (YEAR A)
APRIL 22 - 23, 2017
4:30 PM (SAT), 7:30 AM, 9:00 AM ORDINARY FORM (ENGLISH) MASSES




Greg Smithey is an American fitness instructor, most famous for his 1987 fitness program titled “Buns of Steel,” which sold over one million copies on VHS tapes. It is currently marketed as a DVD titled “The Original Buns of Steel,” and while it may only be #117 among Amazon’s “Exercise and Fitness” DVDs, it has spawned an entire empire of various exercise videos that end with the two words: “of Steel”. Giving us: “Abs of Steel,” “Legs of Steel,” and “Arms of Steel,” among many other combinations and permutations of workouts “of Steel.”

Today is the 2nd Sunday of Easter, also known as Divine Mercy Sunday.



In today’s we hear the familiar Gospel of “Doubting Thomas.” Our First Reading from the Acts of the Apostles presents the idyllic life of the early Church, and in the Epistle, St. Peter encourages us to abide in Faith, reminding us that our Hope is in Jesus Christ and His resurrection, and that were are to persevere in our Love of God and neighbor.

A little under two weeks ago, we were just starting Holy Week with Palm Sunday. We read the Passion of Our Lord from St. Matthew on that Sunday, and then the Passion of St. John on Good Friday.

The brutality of how Our Lord was executed, and the injustice that led to his Crucifixion … not to mention the fear and hatred of the authorities. From His entry into Jerusalem until He died on Calvary, we heard played out the ups and downs of what could easily be the entirety of human history.

Yet on Palm Sunday, roughly 7,300 miles away – that is, about 1/3 of the way around the planet – at St. Mark Cathedral in the Egyptian city of Alexandria, one man wearing an explosive device killed dozens of people.



Immediately, Egyptian Christians flooded the street shouting the Nicene Creed – the Creed we will proclaim in a few short minutes.

Immediately, various militant groups were claiming responsibility.

And immediately, the press descended, hoping for a good story.

In an interview, the wife of the porter, that is, the door keeper at the cathedral – who was perhaps the first person killed by the explosion – his wife said on international television:

I’m not angry at the one who did this … I’m telling him, ‘May God forgive you, and we also forgive you. Believe me, we forgive you.’

What followed was 12 seconds of silence.



Commentators are not customarily at a loss for words, yet he stood mute for a full 12 seconds. And then he said:

The Christians of Egypt … are made of STEEL!

And commenced to carry on about the magnitude of forgiveness shown by this woman, and how unbelievable it was for him to hear words of forgiveness in a country torn by years … if not decades of violence. His voice cracked he said:

How great is this forgiveness you have!

It is to this sort of Faith that we are called to live our lives as Christians.



The First reading speaks of the devotion of the early Christians. But the word translated as "devotion" means "fortitude" or “perseverance.” And so to imitate the early Christians, we must persevere in living out the Gospel message.

St. Peter, in today’s Epistle admonishes the early Church to rejoice as they “suffer through various trials.” The word rendered as “rejoice” falls a bit short of the word Peter uses in the original text, which means rather “to exult, be exceeding glad” … so this is not a passing smile, but rather an overflowing excess of joy that comes from persevering in Faith, and in Hope, and in Love … so that we might “attain the goal of [our] faith, the salvation of [our] souls.”

In the Gospel, Our Lord admonishes Thomas to “not be unbelieving, but believe.” And St. John records for succeeding generations of Christians, Jesus’ statement that:

Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.

Where are we on this spectrum of belief? How deep are we willing or able to dig into our spiritual resources – the supernatural graces of Baptism: Faith, Hope, and Love.



How great … or how little … is our faith, our hope, our love … Do we have an overflowing excess, or are we lacking in joy, mercy, or forgiveness.

Yet in Christ, we have been reborn. In Christ we have been raised up … so that we might share in the super-abundance of God’s joy, God’s mercy, and God’s forgiveness.

Which begs the question: are we made of steel? Or are we made of Jello?



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 be strengthened and built up in our resolve to embrace and be transformed by the graces of our Baptism: Faith, Hope, and Love.

May we be “safeguarded through faith” … “by the power of God” as we “rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy” and “attain the goal of [our] faith … salvation”.

Evening of Reflection @ Life Legal Defense Foundation

NOTES - EVENING OF REFLECTION

APRIL 20, 2017

LIFE LEGAL DEFENSE FOUNDATION

Here are the notes from the evening reflection on Grief and Stress given at Life Legal Defense Foundation in Napa, CA



And here is the link to the text from C. S. Lewis

Easter Sunday @ St. Apollinaris Church

HOMILY - EASTER SUNDAY
APRIL 16, 2017
7:30 AM, 9:00 AM ORDINARY FORM (ENGLISH) MASSES
12:00 NOON EXTRAORDINARY FORM MASS (HOLY FAMILY MISSION, RUTHERFORD)



Opposite Day is an unofficial holiday where every action is modified so that its meaning is negated. It is usually observed as a children’s game, but rarely lasts an entire day. Once Opposite Day is declared, statements mean the opposite of what they usually mean.

Opposite Day may also be declared retroactively to indicate that what was just asserted will have the opposite meaning of what was originally intended. Awkwardly, the mere declaration that it is opposite day would be negated, implying that by stating that is is – it would indeed not be opposite day.



Today is Easter Sunday, and Christ is Risen! Indeed He is risen from the dead.

In a sense today might be seen as an opposite day of an eternal and spiritual sort. God's opposite day!



For our sakes, the Son of God became a son of man; the Lord took the form of a slave; He who dwells in the highest heavens came down to earth, and in dying descended under the earth.

Where our first parents betrayed God in a garden at the prompting of Satan, Christ was knowingly betrayed in a garden in order to defeat the plan of Satan.



Where our first parents sinned by stretching out their hands to eat the fruit of a tree, Christ willingly stretched out His arms to be nailed to a tree to conquer sin; and died to vanquish death.



That first tree was a mere symbol of life, now He who is the author of life has died on a tree to restore us to eternal life.

We who were made from the dust of the earth are now welcomed into the kingdom of heaven.
What was broken is now restored. We who were sold into the slavery of sin are now bought back – redeemed – to be made sons and daughters of God most high.



Christ is risen! Indeed He is risen from the dead! He is risen as He said.



Alleluia! Let us celebrate the Feast of victory! The Feast of our salvation!