8th Sunday after Pentecost @ Holy Family Mission

HOMILY - SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
JULY 30, 2017
12:00 NOON EXTRAORDINARY FORM (LATIN) MASS



From 1970 to 1977, the TV sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show aired on CBS. The protagonist was the aforementioned actress who play the first never-married, independent career woman as the central character.

It is one of the most acclaimed US TV shows, having been praised by critics while it was on the air, as well as still ranking #6 out of the top 100 shows.

The show revolves around the social and work life of Mary Richards who works as associate producer of the Six O’Clock New in Minneapolis, MN. The anchorman, played by Ted Knight, is a buffoonish, idiot ... who can barely read his copy … yet is vain and arrogant despite being inarticulate and untalented.



In one scene, the bumbling news anchor Ted is unable to solve a simple arithmetic problem. That is, until someone quips: "Put a dollar sign in front of it, Ted", at which point the idiot-savant instantly arrives at the a answer.

In today’s Gospel from St. Luke’s 16th Chapter, we hear the story of the unjust but shrewd steward. Who, when caught stealing from his master, quickly steals even more in an effort to make himself allies among his master’s debtors.



At the end of the parable, the master commends the steward giving as the moral of the story:

[F]or the children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light.

In the early 19th century, the Russian saint, Seraphim of Sarov, gave an interview with the nobleman Nikolay Motovilov, to whom he admonished:

Acquire the grace of the Holy Spirit also by practicing all the other virtues for Christ's sake. Trade spiritually with them; trade with those which give you the greatest profit. Accumulate capital from the superabundance of God's grace, deposit it in God's eternal bank which will bring you immaterial interest, not four or six percent, but one hundred percent for one spiritual ruble, and even infinitely more than that.

In other words, for those of us who live in the world, and perhaps struggle to see the value in prayer and sacraments … or the benefit of grace and virtue … maybe it would help us to put a dollar sign in front of it.



We would do well to approach the dispensations of grace and mercy poured out on us in superabundance, and invest them frugally in a life of virtue and holiness.

As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ let us receive this superabundant grace for our salvation with a willing and ready heart. May the graces we receive this day be treated as the valuable assets that they are, and may we not squander them … but rather invest them for our eternal future.

7th Sunday after Pentecost @ Holy Family Mission

HOMILY - SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
JULY 23, 2017
12:00 NOON EXTRAORDINARY FORM (LATIN) MASS



In middle of the 19th century, individuals in Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana created what has now been called the “Underground Railroad.” Sites are still remembered on those secret lines of freedom. Where “freedom seekers,” or escaped slaves, would be moved from “depot” to “depot” by “conductors.”

It was dangerous work. Slaves who were caught would be severely beaten. Those who helped them to hide and eventually escape could be forced to pay the cost of replacing an escaped slave to Southern plantation owners.

The Federal Government even passed stricter laws to try to discourage this lawless sort of behavior on the part of abolitionists and sympathetic whites in the north. Regardless of the law, the Underground Railroad continued.



In that era, one could have safely declared that the “law of the land” was established, and doing nothing was certainly easier than risking injury and financial loss.

A good number of the freedom seekers eventually settled in Michigan. Others fled across the Detroit and St. Clair rivers into Canada.

It is unknown exactly how many escaped slavery through the Underground Railroad. Estimates range upwards of 100,000 … with 30,000 relocating to Canada.

In today’s Epistle from St. Paul’s letter to the Romans, he speaks to us of slavery to sin, and freedom in Christ. In the first several century, believing in Christ was a substantial risk. Christians were called “atheists” – in that they refused to worship the Roman pantheon of gods and goddesses. There were fines, and prison … and also gruesome deaths.



What is the point of risking an easy life to believe in and follow Christ?

We hear in the Gospel that the end result will be either eternal citizenship in the Kingdom of Heaven, or else being cast into the everlasting fires of Hell.



What, then, is the “risk?”



If individuals were willing to risk everything for temporal freedom, how much more should we be willing to risk for eternal freedom?

True freedom is found in Christ Jesus, Our Lord. True freedom is found in casting off the slavery to sin, and living our lives according to God’s law, and the Gospel of Christ.

As we approach this altar to receive the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ … let us reflect on the “long game.” Let us view the “big picture” of eternity vs. the here-and-now. For indeed, “the wages of sin is death. But the grace of God is life everlasting; in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Street Evangelization @ Youth On A Mission Vallejo

STREET EVANGELIZATION TALK
JULY 20, 2017
7:45 PM YOUTH ON A MISSION

Notes for Street Evangelization Talk

CCC Quotes for Street Evangelization Talk

15th Sunday OT @ St. Apollinaris Church

HOMILY - FIFTEENTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME (YEAR A)

JULY 16, 2017

9:00 AM, 10:30 AM, 5:30 PM ORDINARY FORM (ENGLISH) MASSES

A chengyu is a four syllable Chinese idiom. Some of them are seeped in legend – sort of like an inside joke – so that without knowing the entire story, the underlying meaning is all but lost. 

For example, “po fu chen zhou” literally means, “break the woks, sink the boats.” 

This is based on a Chinese historical figure – a General named Xiang You – who, during the Qin Dynasty in the 2nd century BC, ordered his troops to destroy all of their cooking utensils and scuttled all of their boats after they crossed the Zhang River and landed in enemy territory. 

He is believed to have won this battle – known as the Battle of Julu –  due to his ruthlessness by removing any opportunity for his troops to retreat. They had barely enough supplies for three days, and their only option was to fight. In this, the soldiers were forced to be totally committed to the battle and focused only on winning. They were, ultimately, victorious. However, without knowing the entire story, the phrase about woks and boats has very little meaning.

Other chengyu are more accessible and understandable without too much explanation. 

“Bing shan yi jiao,” means “the tip of the iceberg." 

Or take “yi jian zhong qing.” Literally, “one look, time for love;” meaning “love at first sight.”

The Jewish rabbis use what are called “mashal” (משל) or allegories to illustrate moral lessons and religious principals. The Hebrew word “mashal” was translated into the Greek word, παραβολὴ, which means a “juxtaposition” … and is where we get the English word “parable.”

Today is the 15th Sunday of Ordinary Time.

In today’s Gospel, we begin the 13th Chapter of St. Matthew’s Gospel. 

Over the next several weeks, we will work our way through this chapter which contains a total of seven parables.

Seven, in the Jewish tradition carries several meanings. 

Seven can imply perfection or completeness. It also is demonstrative of an oath or a commitment. The seventh day, or Sabbath, was the completion of a week … tied into the completion of creation; whereas keeping the Sabbath was a sign of God’s oath to the people of Israel … and their personal commitment to God’s law by their observation of the Sabbath rest on the seventh day of the week.

Jesus, in these seven parables, presents us with seven “juxtapositions” … or seven analogies … of the Kingdom of God. 

Today’s Gospel was the Parable of the Sower. 

Over the next few Sundays, we will also hear the Parable of the Weeds and the Wheat, the Parable of the Mustard Seed, the Parable of the Leaven, the Parable of the Buried Treasure, the Parable of the Pearl, and the Parable of the Dragnet.

Each of these parables give us a unique and differing perspective on the Kingdom of God – allowing us to alter our viewpoint, and perhaps better evaluate our personal relationship to God and Christ …  the Kingdom of God … our role in advancing His Kingdom … and our daily commitment to living in the Kingdom of God … as well as what we are doing (or are not doing) to build up God’s Kingdom here and now.

Today’s Gospel story was summarized in the verse before the Gospel:

The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower.

All who come to him will have life forever.

And in hearing parables, we are forced to explore the Truth – in the Word of God, in the Person of Jesus Christ, through the action of the Holy Spirit … the Spirit of Truth. We must then live out this truth in our lives – becoming disciples of the Truth. And finally, we become stewards of the Truth – bringing what we have received in the Gospel and taking it to the world.

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 grow daily in our relationship with God and with each other. May we go forth from this place as ambassadors of the Word of God … filled with the Holy Spirit … to build up God’s Kingdom each day.

14th Sunday OT @ St. Apollinaris Church

HOMILY - FOURTEENTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME (YEAR A)
JULY 9, 2017
5:30 PM ORDINARY FORM (ENGLISH) MASS



Eternity.

The concept of Eternity has puzzled philosophers and theologians since before the time of Christ.

The two main schools of thought or maybe we should say the two big question about Eternity are: (1) does it encompass all time? (2) or, is it a state of no-time? The first could be called “the fullness of time” while the second might be called “time-less-ness” - a state of existence outside of time.



Of course, in our own day-and-age, perhaps the one question surrounding Eternity that confronts us every weekend would be - how long is that guy in the pulpit going to go on for? I know that sometimes it can seem like an Eternity.

But Eternity is what we are created for. The Catechism taught us that “God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this  world, and to be happy with Him forever in the next.” And that one little word ‘forever’ is what we’ve been talking about - Eternity.



In the first reading, we hear from the prophet Zechariah, whose name means “the Lord remembers,” and whose career as a prophet began about 520 years before the time of Christ. In this passage, the prophet speaks of a future ‘king.’

In the passage just before this (which we didn’t hear), the prophet is speaking about Alexander the Great, who would be born more than 150 years later. Alexander the Great was a powerful, military king who conquered the entire world with violence … through bloodshed and conquest from the Mediterranean to the furthest reaches of the Far East.



In the passage we just heard the prophet Zechariah gives us second image to reflect on. He speaks of a king who is ‘meek’ and ‘just’ … who doesn’t come on a war-horse with armed chariots, but rather on a donkey. He comes to “proclaim peace,” yet despite his humble demeanor, “His dominion shall be … to the ends of the earth.”

Here, God has reached through time to explain to His people that what they have learned in the world … is not the way that God does things. We hear this fleshed out a bit more in St. Paul’s letter to the Romans, when he speaks to his listeners on the differences between life in ‘the spirit’ and death in ‘the flesh’ … and how the Spirit “will give life to [us]” just as the Spirit raised Jesus from the dead.



These distinctions between spirit and flesh, life and death, God’s ways and the ways of the world; permeate Scripture … and in a certain sense admonish us to live lives that run counter to the pervading culture.

In the Gospel, Jesus puts the period at the end of the sentence on this subject. He cries out in praise of God for having hidden “from the wise and the learned” the knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom … and the relationship of the Father and the Son. Yet while these great theological mysteries are hidden from those in high places … God has “revealed them to the little ones.”

Jesus then goes on to call all those who are burdened and weary to come to Him. And He will give them rest. Which brings us full-circle, because the “rest” Jesus speaks of is what we would know as “eternal rest.”



Indeed, God’s ways are not our ways. Yet because of this, we struggle to live in the world, while not being of the world. Jesus calls us to follow Him, and in following Him, we too must be meek, and humble … in a world that is proud, and domineering.

While this won’t make us rich, or powerful, or famous, or any of those things that our culture values … which often could lead to the loss of one’s own soul … humility and meekness will bring us joy … and salvation … peace … and blessing … rest … and eternal life.



As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, let us pray for our own hearts to be converted so that through the “Spirit that dwells in [us]“ we might truly live out and persevere in our own Christian life … so as to always know the joy, and the peace, and the life … that is ours … forever … in Christ Jesus Our Lord.

This homily was originally preached on 7/6/14 at St. Elizabeth of Hungary Church in Reese, MI.

13th Sunday OT @ St. Apollinaris Church

HOMILY - THIRTEENTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME (YEAR A)
JULY 2, 2017
7:30 AM, 9:00 AM, 10:30 AM, 5:30 PM ORDINARY FORM (ENGLISH) MASSES



Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn is an emeritus Professor of Medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. In 1979 he founded and for years directed its world-renowned Stress Reduction Clinic.
In 1994, he wrote the book Wherever You Go, There You Are … subtitled Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life.

There are many definitions of Mindfulness … but perhaps the simplest is the best:

the quality or state of being conscious or aware of something.

It would seem that for most people, an awful lot of life is lived on autopilot. Now, 23 years later, Mindfulness is all the rage. It’s on television and radio, and all over books and magazines.

Today is the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time.



In the Epistle to the Romans, St. Paul asks the rhetorical question:

Are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus 

were baptized into his death?

One would presume that any Christian would know that. But St. Paul is asking the obvious question because if we are baptized into the death of Christ, then we have risen with Him. Can we forget that? Have we forgotten that?

The issue here is “awareness.” When St. Paul is asking “[a]re you unaware …” he’s making a point to remind the Romans … and us as well … that we have to “live in newness of life” with the risen Christ.



In our reading from Romans, and the verses that follow, St. Paul speaks about going from “knowledge,” to “consideration,” and finally to “offering.”

Knowledge is mere data. We must reflect on it and mull over what it means for ourselves in our own situation, and then unite it with the Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

And so, for a Christian, everything we have … our possessions, our thoughts, our actions, our desires … must be joined to Christ. First through knowing, then by reflection, and finally through union.

In this we become fully aware of our connection to His life, allowing us to more fully “liv[e] for God in Christ.”



This is why we must willingly “take up [our] cross and follow after [Jesus].” As He tells us in the Gospel.

We do not do this out of some desire for self-inflicted pain. Nor do we do it to impress someone, or to receive the honor of the world. Rather, our desire must be to live for Christ … so that everything … everything … we do … is done … through Him, with Him, and in Him.

This awareness consecrates our hearts, our minds, our souls, and our bodies to God … making every aspect of our lives … and every action of a lives … a living sacrifice: through, with, and in Christ Jesus.



As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ – let us offer ourselves with Him as a sacrifice to God. May everything we do – from the greatest to the least … our every thought, word, and deed … be done in Christ, with Christ, and through Christ. His death is our life. Our hope is in His resurrection … which transforms us into the members of His Body – the Church.

May we be drawn more deeply into the life of the Most Holy Trinity … through Baptism, and all the Sacraments we receive … especially as we are nourished today by this great Sacrament of Sacraments … the Most Holy Eucharist.