Talk on the Mass @ St. Apollinaris Church

TALK - THE MASS: THE PRAYER OF PRAYERS
SEPTEMBER 30, 2017





Handout - PDF File

Audio File #1 - ~16 minutes

Audio File #2 - ~90 minutes

26th Sunday OT @ St. Apollinaris Church

HOMILY - TWENTY-SIXTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME (YEAR A)
SEPTEMBER 30/OCTOBER 1, 2017
4:30 PM (SAT), 7:30 AM, 9:00 AM, 5:30 PM ORDINARY FORM (ENGLISH) MASSES



Kin’tsugi – 金継ぎ (きんつぎ) – is the Japanese art of repairing broken ceramic ware with lacquer mixed with precious metals – like gold, silver, or platinum.

Legend has it that a 15th century Shogun sent a damaged Chinese tea bowl back to China for repairs. When it was returned, it was in worse shape than when it was sent … prompting Japanese artisans to look for more aesthetic methods for repairing broken pottery.

Allegedly, collectors became so enamored with the gold and silver seams along the cracks, that some took to smashing their valuable pottery … just so that it could be repaired using the Kin’tsugi method.



Philosophically, it treats brokenness and the subsequent mending as a valuable part of the history of an object, rather than something to hide or disguise. Embracing the imperfections and flaws as an artistic record of an article’s history … as well as avoiding waste … and accepting change.

Today is the Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

In the first reading, Ezekiel shines a spotlight on an all-too human issue: Blame.



In a preceding pericope, Ezekiel calls out the people for blaming their parents and their ancestors … and here, he throws a flag on their attempt to blame God.

The bottom line is: Blame yourself. That is, take responsibiilty.

All too often, we may find ourselves in circumstances where we are looking for a scapegoat. And yet, in the end, the responsibility is our own. By owning our brokenness and growing from our mistakes, we can shed the burden of sinful pride, and in a spirit of humility receive the gracious gift of God.



The parable Jesus tells in today’s Gospel reflects this. If we allow a bad decision to own us, we can never repent. In recognizing that we have made a wrong turn, we can experience a metanoia – that is, Greek for a “mind-change” – and return to the right path without hesitation.

St. Paul, in his letter to the Philippians presents us with the solution – which may seem “easy to say” and “hard to do.” We are called to put on the “mind of Christ” … here it is translated as “attitude” … but it can also mean “disposition,” “interest,” “concern,” or “affection.”

In other words, Paul is encouraging us to think and act … to live and love … like Jesus.
This requires, first of all, a metanoia – a change of mind.



More Jesus. Less me.

St. Paul spells it out:
thinking of others (over ourselves),
acting in service of others (and not just for ourselves),
sacrificing for others … so that by seeing Christ in one another,
we can become more like Jesus.

Which in the end takes the focus off our ourselves and in turn, gives glory to God – Who is “all good and deserving of all our love.”

And this, then, is the mind of Jesus … and this, then, is the remedy for the blame-game … born of sinful pride, and lacking in humility and virtue.



As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ … let us pray for the graces we need to put on the “mind of Christ.” To take up our crosses, without reservation, and – indeed – to truly follow Him.

Then healed of our sins by God’s powerful graces poured out on us, may we own our past so as to embrace our future … through, with, and in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Ss. Cosmas and Damien @ St. Apollinaris School

HOMILY - SAINTS COSMAS AND DAMIEN
SEPTEMBER 26, 2017
8:45 AM ORDINARY FORM (ENGLISH) MASS (3RD GRADE)



Today is the memorial of Ss. Cosmas and Damien. They were twin brothers who were born in the Roman province of Syria. They were both doctors, and as part of their Christian vocation – decided to provide their help free of charge. They saw in every sick and suffering individual the image of the suffering Jesus. Because of their reputation, they were called "the silverless" (i.e. they didn't make any money off of being doctors,) and "the unmercenaries" (i.e. they were not for hire.)

They were martyred in the year 287, and are pictured in icons carrying boxes of medicine and spoons for giving medicine. They are mentioned in the long list of saints in the Roman Canon (Eucharistic Prayer 1.)

25th Sunday OT @ St. Apollinaris Church

HOMILY - TWENTY-FIFTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME (YEAR A)
SEPTEMBER 24, 2017
7:30 AM, 9:00 AM ORDINARY FORM (ENGLISH) MASSES



Today is the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

In the first reading from Isaiah, we hear:

Seek the LORD while he may be found,call him while he is near.

In a certain sense, this passage from Isaiah is the middle of three parts.



In other words, there’s something that comes before “seek,” and something that comes after “seek.”
The full complement from the prophet’s instruction is:

Come,Seek,Worship.

Regarding these three parts, I would hazard that most of us are good at getting around; so coming and going is not too difficult. Seeking can become a bit more difficult. Maybe you’re a whiz at finding things on Google search, or maybe St. Anthony gives you a special hook-up when you mislay your car keys.

But worship. What is entailed in worship?

We have a category of music that’s called praise and worship … in British courts, magistrates are called your worship … and in some countries, mayors are known as his worship (or her worship).



At it’s core, worship is the acknowledgment of a person’s worth, dignity, or superior position.
Etymologically, worship comes from an Old English word whose original meaning was “worth” + “scape” … that is the state or being of being worthy or of value.

While in religion, an act of worship has three parts:

1. Acknowledgment – or recognition of God’s infinite perfection
2. Prayer – that is, asking for Divine help
3. Sacrifice – or the offering to God something precious or valuable

Acknowledgment starts in the recognition that God is God, and we are not. Maybe, however, even before we get to that point, we have to decide what it is we recognize as God. Sadly, for too many, “god” is money, power, or position. For others, the only acknowledged deity would be themselves - the not-so-divine trinity of “me, myself, and I.”



And so the first step in worship is to acknowledge who God is, and that there is a God.

Secondly, is prayer. Prayer is at its root, asking for help. The old saying that there are no atheists in foxholes, realizes that in desperate situations, pretty much everybody is looking for help, even if they aren’t sure where that help is coming from or who it is that can help them.



Yet, prayer without that recognition of a divine source falls short of worship.

St. Paul tells us that he “magnifies [Christ] in his body.” And in our prayer, we have what some call “Catholic calisthenics” of “sit, stand, kneel.”



And in these postures of prayer, we engage our full self … after all, we aren’t disembodied spirits, but rather are human beings of flesh and blood. And hopefully, in these physical actions, we “magnify [Christ]” by what we do right here … right now – as well as what we do, and what we say … hopefully, how we live our lives out and about in the world in some way magnifies, and makes visible Jesus Christ, Our Lord.

And so, after acknowledging God for Who and What He is, and calling upon His divine help, we come to part three: sacrifice.

In the old law, this entailed live animals, and physical sacrifice. It also involved burning the choice portions, as well as consuming other portions.



These sacrificial animals weren’t the left-overs, either. These were the “firstlings” the best, choice, and unblemished sheep, goats, lambs, and cattle.

In the Mass, we re-present the offering of the firstborn Son of God on Calvary … Sacrificed two thousand years ago … for our sins and the sins of the world.



And more than just a memory of the physical sacrifice, we consume a part of that Sacrifice – the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ.

And so, we have come to this place, and we seek God while He may be found, and we have come to worship Him: acknowledging that He is God and we are not, offering prayers for our needs and the needs of the world, and re-presenting that great Sacrifice of Jesus Christ and sharing in that sacrifice through the Eucharist.

As we continue to pray this great prayer-of-prayers in the Divine Liturgy … the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, may we experience God’s mercy, and kindness, His goodness, and compassion … for ourselves and for each other. May we become ambassadors of God's mercy, kindness, goodness, and compassion … and magnify Christ in our selves and in the world.

24th Sunday OT @ St. Apollinaris Church

HOMILY - TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME (YEAR A)
SEPTEMBER 17, 2017
7:30 AM, 6:00 PM (SONOMA STATE) ORDINARY FORM (ENGLISH) MASSES



Born Jean François Gravelet in France in early 1824, he used the stage name “Blondin” – sometimes Charles Blondin, sometimes Jean François Blondin … sometimes Chevalier Blondin or even just the Great Blondin.

As a child, he trained as an acrobat, and is perhaps most well-known for his repeated crossings of the Niagara Gorge on the US-Canada border … on a tight rope … while pushing a wheel barrow.



In one performance, he addressed the crowd … asking if they believed he could do it. They roared back in affirmative reply. When he asked if anyone would get into the wheel barrow … they were silently reserved.

Blondin was so famous that in the mid 19th century, the term “Blondin” came to mean a skilled tightrope walker. President Abraham Lincoln once compared himself to Blondin, pushing “all that was valuable to America in [a] wheelbarrow”.



Today is the 24th Sunday of Ordinary Time.

Our readings focus on forgiveness.



Forgiveness is one of those things that everybody wants to receive, but nobody wants to give. We are enthusiastic about being given forgiveness, sometimes even begging for it. But are perhaps dreadfully silent when we have been deeply hurt by someone.

Just like Blondin’s stunt with the wheelbarrow – everyone was OK if he did it, but nobody wanted to join him.



Even in today’s Gospel, St. Peter hopes for some limits to forgiveness … setting the upper boundary at 7. Jesus boosts it to 77 times … by this is hyperbole, not arithmetic. Elsewhere in Scripture this is recorded as 70 times 7 or even 70 times 70. It is meant as a number that we will lose track of – becoming “infinity.” It most certainly is not meant as a tally we should seek to record and enforce.

Perhaps we say it too often, in the Lord’s Prayer: “forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Yet, in this statement, we are making a contractual agreement – a covenental pledge – to give as good as we get … to forgive as abundantly as we have been forgiven.



God’s forgiveness is not limited by anything on His side. Nor is His love or His mercy. Yet our own unwillingness to forgive can damage our relationships not only with others, but with God.

Expressing forgiveness with the generosity of God can sometimes feel like riding in a wheelbarrow over a gorge while balancing on a tightrope. It isn’t easy, nor are many comforatable with doing it. But this is our Christian duty as adopted children of the Most High God. We are called to be God-like, and to live a life of divine generosity.



As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, let us pray for the generosity of heart to forgive as God forgives. May we let go of any past hurts and grudges and reach out in love to those who have hurt us.

Through the grace of the Eucharist we receive today, may we fulfill that pledge to forgive as we have been forgiven.

Exaltation of the Holy Cross @ MSSR Convent

HOMILY - EXALTATION OF THE HOLY CROSS
SEPTEMBER 14, 2017
5:30 PM EXTRAORDINARY FORM (LATIN) MASS



The phrase, “The Buck Stops Here,” was popularized by the 33rd president of the United States, Harry S. Truman. He allegedly had the sign on his desk, It was made in the Federal Reformatory in El Reno, Oklahoma … out of walnut, and on the back says, “I’m from Missouri.”



The origin of the phrase “The Buck Stops Here” is often considered to be from frontier days and keeping track of the dealer with a buckhorn knife. If someone didn’t want the deal, they could “pass the buck.”



Another thought on the etymology is from a French phrase bouc émissaire. The phrase means scapegoat, and so is a person who is blamed for the mistakes, sins, or faults of another, especially for reasons of expediency.



And indeed, as an Old Testament type, on the Cross, Our Lord has fulfilled the role of scapegoat in “mak[ing] atonement” for the people by “carry[ing] … all their iniquities” (Lev xvi).

For the Cross, indeed, is the high point of God’s plan. As no one man was able to atone for the sins of humanity. But God provided the lamb “for the … offering” (Gen xxii) in the Person of His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ.

And so, in the “fullness of time … God sent his Son” – in essence the buck stopping with the Most Holy Trinity … and with Jesus Christ, who became the Priest, the altar, and the lamb of sacrifice.



Today we mark the 10th Anniversary of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, which occurs on the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. Perhaps there was a reason for Pope Benedict’s choosing of this feast.
Too often over the past 50 years, there have been efforts to place the blame on one side or the other – to scapegoat, if you will, the Council, conservatives, progressives, traditionalists … someone, anyone, for the sorry state we find ourselves, our Church, and our world.



Yet, G. K. Chesterton in the early 1900s in answer to an inquiry from the Times to provide an answer to the question, “What is wrong with the world?” Simply replied:

Dear Sir,

     I am.

Yours,
     G. K. Chesterton

And, if we are willing to embrace this level of personal responsibility, then perhaps there is hope for us yet.



Because, while the Cross is for us most certainly a remedy for sin, St. Thomas Aquinas presents the Cross as an exemplar of the Virtues … showing forth the greatest love, patience, humility, obedience, and self-sacrifice.



Today’s feast also commemorates the finding of the Cross by St. Helena in the 4th century, the dedication of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and the return of the relic after it was taken during a Persian invasion in the 7th century.



As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, let us recognize in the Eucharist Him who is our Redeemer, our Savior, and our Exemplar. And may we, through the infinite graces of God, be drawn ever deeper into the great mysteries of our redemption and salvation.

Tuesday 23rd Week OT @ St. Apollinaris School

HOMILY - TUESDAY 23RD WEEK OF ORDINARY TIME
SEPTEMBER 12, 2017
8:45 AM ORDINARY FORM (ENGLISH) MASS (3RD GRADE)



Saint Peter

Peter was also known as Simon or Cephas. He was the brother of Andrew. He became the leading Apostle after Pentecost until the Council of Jerusalem in 50 A.D. Afterward his whereabouts are not known with certainty.

Peter was crucified in Rome under Nero. An ancient historian records that he asked to be crucified upside down because he felt unworthy to be crucified as his Lord. The keys represent Jesus' saying, "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven."

St. Peter's Day is June 29.

Peter, who was appointed by Jesus the leader of the new sect, is viewed by Roman Catholics as the first pope, was eventually martyred in Rome during the reign of the emperor Nero. As the story goes, Peter asked to be crucified upside down, so that his death would not be the equal of Jesus and the Romans supposedly obliged.




Saint Andrew

Andrew was the brother of Peter. He is said to have founded the church in Russia. He is the patron saint of both Russia and Scotland.

Tradition holds that Andrew was crucified in Greece on a cross saltire.

Saint Andrew's Day is November 30.

According to 15th Century religious historian Dorman Newman, Andrew—the brother of Peter—went to Patras in western Greece in 69 AD, where the Roman proconsul Aegeates debated religion with him. Aegeates tried to convince Andrew to forsake Christianity, so that he would not have to torture and execute him. But when that didn’t work, apparently he decided to give Andrew the full treatment. Andrew was scourged, and then tied rather than nailed to a cross, so that he would suffer for a longer time before dying. Andrew lived for two days, during which he preached to passersby.




Saint James the Greater

James was the brother of John and a son of Zebedee. He traditionally preached in Spain after working in Jerusalem.

James was beheaded by Herod Agrippa. He is the only apostle whose death is recorded in scripture (Acts 12:2). His shield shows a scallop (or cockle) shell, a symbol of pilgrimage by sea, and the sword of martyrdom. Sometimes three shells are shown without a sword.

St. James' the Greater's Day is July 25.

Acts 12:1-19 says that James was killed with a sword. The newly-appointed governor of Judea, Herod Agrippa, decided to ingratiate himself with the Romans by persecuting leaders of the new sect. After James was arrested and led to place of execution, his unnamed accuser was moved by his courage. He not only repented and converted on the spot, but asked to be executed alongside James. The Roman executioners obliged, and both men were beheaded simultaneously.




Saint John

John was the bishop of the church at Ephesus. He was exiled to Patmos and then returned.

Tradition claims that John was the only disciple to die a natural death, at great age. Various attempts were made on his life, including a poisoned chalice from which he was miraculously spared.

St. John's Day is December 27.

John was the only one of the original disciples not to die a violent death. Instead, he passed away peacefully in Patmos in his old age, sometime around 100 AD.




Saint Philip

A questionable tradition holds that Philip was a missionary to Phrygia and Galatia.

Philip is said to have been martyred by crucifixion or the spear, or bound to a cross and stoned to death. Two loaves of bread recall Philip's comment at the feeding of the multitude recorded in John 6:7.

St. Philip's Day is May 3.

Philip, the first of Jesus’ disciples, became a missionary in Asia. Eventually, he traveled to the Egyptian city of Heliopolis, where he was scourged, thrown into prison, and crucified in 54 AD.




Saint Bartholomew

Bartholomew probably preached near the border of India and in Armenia.

According to tradition, Bartholomew was flayed alive, crucified and then beheaded.

Saint Bartholomew's Day is August 24.

Bartholomew supposedly preached in several countries, including India, where he translated the Gospel of Matthew for believers. In one account, “impatient idolaters” beat Bartholomew and then crucified him, while in another, he was skinned alive and then beheaded.




Saint Matthew

Matthew was a son of Alphaeus and a tax collector. He was also known as Levi. According to tradition, he went to Ethiopia after preaching to the Jews in Palestine.

Traditional accounts of Matthew's death vary. Some say he died a natural death. Others say that he was crucified in Ethiopia and was then beheaded. His shield displays three purses.

St. Matthew's Day is September 21.

According to legend, the former tax collector turned missionary was martyred in Ethiopia, where he was supposedly stabbed in the back by an swordsman sent by King Hertacus, after he criticized the king’s morals.




Saint Thomas

Thomas was an evangelist in Persia and India. In India he is reported to have built a church with his own hands.

Thomas died when he was shot with arrows, stoned and left to die. A priest then ran a spear through him.

St. Thomas' Day is July 3.

Apparently Thomas preached the gospel in Greece and India, where he angered local religious authorities, who martyred him by running him through with a spear.




Saint James the Less

James (called "The Less" or "The Just") was a son of Alphaeus. He worked in and near Jerusalem and was probably its first bishop.

An ancient historian claims that James was pushed from a pinnacle of the temple at the age of 96. Near death, he rose to ask forgiveness for his enemies, who then beat him with a fuller's bat and sawed his body in pieces.

Saint James' Day is May 3.

According to Foxe, James, who was elected by his fellow believers to head the churches of Jerusalem, was one of the longest-lived apostles, perhaps exceeded only by John. At the age of 94, he was beaten and stoned by persecutors, and then killed him by hitting him in the head with a club.




Saint Simon

This disciple was also known as Simon the Zealot. Nothing of his missionary work can be authenticated, but he is variously said to have worked east of Palestine or to have accompanied Jude in his journeys.

An early historian claims that Simon was martyred in Persia by being beheaded or sawn in pieces. His shield indicates that he was a fisher of men through preaching the gospel.

St. Simon's Day is October 28.

Simon preached in Mauritania on the west coast of Africa, and then went to England, where he was crucified in 74 AD.




Saint Jude

Jude was also known as Thaddeus.

Traditions vary as to his field of missionary work. he is reputed to have traveled with Simon. His manner of death is also unknown, though some have supposed that he and Simon were martyred together.

St. Jude's Day is October 28.

According to several stories, he was crucified at Edessa (the name of cities in both Turkey and Greece) in 72 AD.




Judas Iscariot

Judas, whose emblem is a length of rope fashioned into a "J" or an "I", is rarely found in a list of the 12 Apostles. His place is usually taken by Saint Matthias, who was chosen by lot to replace Judas after he committed suicide, or by Saint Paul, who many believe to have been God's chosen successor to Judas.

According to Matthew 27:3-6, the treacherous apostle quickly felt remorse over his betrayal of Jesus and went to the Temple to recant. When the high priests ignored his plea, he threw down the 30 pieces of silver that he had been paid, and went off and hanged himself.  But Acts 1:15-20, gives a different and even grislier version of Judas’ demise. He says that Judas used the blood money to purchase a piece of land and then fell headlong from a high place there, so that “he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out.” Jerusalem residents subsequently named the place Aceldama, which means “the field of blood.”

22nd Sunday OT @ St. Apollinaris Church

HOMILY - TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME (YEAR A)
SEPTEMBER 3, 2017
9:00 AM, 5:30 PM ORDINARY FORM (ENGLISH) MASSES

Epictetus was a first century Greek Stoic philosopher. He was born in 50 AD into slavery. At the age of 18, he gained his freedom in Rome upon the death of Nero. 25 years later, he was banished – with all philosophers – by the emperor Domition. In exile, he returned to Greece and lived the remainder of his life teaching philosophy until his death at the age of 85.

Epictetus taught that philosophy was more than just a field of study ... but was rather a way of life. A quote attributed to him is:

What disturbs men's minds is not events 
but their judgments on events.

A similar thought is expressed by Shakespeare in Hamlet (Act 2, Scene 2), where the protagonist says:

There's nothing good or bad but thinking makes it so.

In other words, too often, an individual’s expectations play a larger role in their happiness … than whatever external event they may choose to pin the blame on.

Today is the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time. 

In the first reading, the Prophet Jeremiah cries out in complaint to God – saying that he was “duped” by the Lord – overwhelmed by the end results of his prophesies. Instead of repenting, the prophet watches as Israel’s leaders and people dive headlong into the demise that he has prophesied … without regard or concern for what this means.

Instead of respect, Jeremiah is mocked. Instead of generating repentance, his message is laughed at. 

His expectation that the message of the Lord would turn the hearts of the people from sin causes him distress when they fail to repent. He knows what is coming, and can do nothing to stop it. And it disturbs him to his bones.

Last week, in Matthew’s Gospel, we heard St. Peter’s bold profession of faith:

You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Yet, despite Peter’s ability to articulate the Father’s revelation in that statement; his own expectations of what being “Christ” and “Son of the living God” should mean … interferes with his ability to grasp the fullness of Jesus’s mission … and earns him the harsh rebuke: 

Get behind me, Satan!

Jesus scolds Peter for thinking “as human beings do” and not with the mind of God. 

St. Paul parallels this theme in his letter to the Romans when he says: 

Do not conform yourselves to this age
but be transformed by the renewal of your mind …

Directing his listeners, and us as well, to pursue what is within the “will of God” namely, “what is good and pleasing and perfect [to God].”

Jesus, in the Gospel, doesn’t back down, but rather continues to raise the bar with his disciples … giving them three steps to eternal life:

(1) deny [yourself]
(2) take up [your] cross
(3) and follow [Jesus.]

This, indeed, requires us to allow God’s grace to transform our minds – so that we can be true disciples of Jesus Christ … without the limits and distortions of our own expectations … and without the false and misleading expectations of a world gone mad.

As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, let us – in receiving Him in the Most Blessed Sacrament – allow our hearts, minds, and souls to be transformed. Let us open ourselves to true and total renewal in Christ Jesus – through Him, with Him, and in Him. 

And then freed from the constraints of false and limiting expectations – let us offer ourselves as a “living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God” as we continue with this Divine Liturgy of the Mass … raising our bodies, minds, and spirits to God the Father, through the saving sacrifice of His Son, and in the Power of the Holy Spirit … joined as one body … right here – in this building … united in this sacred act of “spiritual worship.”