6th Sunday OT @ St. Apollinaris Parish

HOMILY - SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
MAY 26, 2019
10:30 AM ORDINARY FORM (ENGLISH) MASSES



The United States Bill of Rights is made up of the first 10 Amendments to the US Constitution, which add to the Constitution certain guarantees of personal rights and freedoms. They are based on previous, similar documents – among them the Virginia Declaration of Rights from 1776, The English Bill of Rights from 1689, and the Magna Carta from 1215.

The First Amendment was approved on December 15, 1791 and states:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

The first part of this amendment – covering Freedom of Religion – remains hotly debated to this day. Does this mean a wall or hedge of “separation of church and state?” as Thomas Jefferson proposed 10 years later? Or can it be reduced to “freedom of worship” as envisioned by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1941?

Presently, there are 27 ratified amendments to the US Constitution, and six unratified proposed amendments still outstanding.



Today is the 6th Sunday of Easter.

We continue to move through the Acts of the Apostles, the Book of Revelation, and the Last Supper discourses of Jesus in John’s Gospel.

In the Book of Revelation Chapter 21, we hear of John’s vision of the “holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God.” John notes further along that he “saw no temple in the city for its temple is the Lord God almighty and the Lamb.”

Our reading today is missing seven verses in the middle which describe this city as a fascinating construction of jewels and gems. But perhaps most fascinating is its size, which would be 1,500 miles square. This is roughly the distance from San Francisco to Nebraska, or from North Dakota to Texas.

In other words, this isn’t a city – this is a country!

The other feature is that the holy city is not merely the home of the Bride of Christ. Rather, this city itself is the Bride of Christ. So it isn’t made up of buildings – the holy city is made up of people.
And while John “saw no temple in the city” this was because the “temple is the Lord God almighty and the Lamb.”

Instead of a separation of Church and State, what John sees is a city – which is big enough to be a country – coming down from God, and God Himself is the temple, from whom and out of whom the city itself has descended.

In a sense, what John is seeing is an unimaginable unity between God and man, and between Christ and His Bride, the Church.

In the first reading from Acts, we hear of the First Council (ever) of the Church. Yet St. Peter doesn’t indicate that things went to a vote, or that the Apostles lobbied or politicked for various positions. Rather, Peter says:

It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us …

implying that this unity seen by John in Revelation is already in place.

For ourselves, we tend to impose human and worldly models on the Church, which can cause separation from God and division among the people of God.



In the Gospel, Jesus bestows “peace” on the Apostles, that is – upon the Church. And this is not a worldly peace but a heavenly peace.

Perhaps a good rule of thumb in distinguishing the two is that the world’s peace (or the lack of peace) is more often than not based on resources or the lack of resources … while Christ’s peace – the peace that comes from God – is based upon relationships.

In all of this, we can be assured that through Holy Baptism we share in the divine life of the Most Holy Trinity … through Confirmation we have received the fullness of the Holy Spirit … and through the Eucharist we receive Jesus Christ, Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity.

May the Eucharist we receive today incorporate us more and more into Christ and His Church. And may God’s saving grace draw us deeper into our relationship with Him – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – every day … and every moment of our lives.

5th Sunday of Easter @ St. Apollinaris Parish

HOMILY - FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
MAY 4 - 5, 2019
4:30 PM (SAT), 7:30 AM, 9:00 AM ORDINARY FORM (ENGLISH) MASSES



The traditional rhyme: “Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue,” is pretty much known to every wedding couple.

Its origins are lost in antiquity, but it seems to have come out of England and Wales as a response to superstitions about curses being placed on brides and grooms by jealous spinsters and jilted suitors.

In a more contemporary way, it is symbolic, and reminds a couple entering into marriage to remember where they have come from, to look forward with eager anticipation to the future, to share their joys and sorrows with friends and family, and that the sky is the limit in regards to their dreams and aspirations.

This is good advice for anyone, really, who is embarking on any new endeavor. And is something we should all remember as we journey through life.



Today is the Fifth Sunday of Easter.

And as we progress through the Easter Season, we have been “channel surfing” through the Acts of the Apostles and the Book of Revelation. Today, we find ourselves just past the middle part of Acts, and almost at the end of the Book of Revelation.

In today’s reading from Revelation, we hear about “a new heaven and a new earth” and the

holy city, [the] new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 

And how “God’s dwelling is with … his people” … as “the old order pass[es] away … [t]he one on the throne … make[s] all things new.”



It is important for us to not only remember the symbolism of Revelation, but to recognize that this is a living part of the “consummation” and “accomplishment” of Christ’s mission – what He spoke of from the Cross, and what he will speak of in the next few verses in Revelation.

This is the “becoming” that we experience every day as we allow God’s grace, mercy, and love to “dwell with [us]” more and more.

This comes about in us through the “strengthen[ing of our] spirits” and our “persever[ance] in … faith” as we recognize that despite “many hardships” in this world here and now, our ultimate goal is “to enter the kingdom of God” and to reign with Christ for eternity.



We do this by seeking, not our own glory, but the glory of God. And in today’s Gospel we hear that “God is glorified” through, with, and in Christ Jesus when we “love one another” as He has loved us.

Not a schmalzy love. Not a selfish love. Not a shallow love, or cheap love. But a sacrificial and a divine love. A love that perseveres from all eternity and for all eternity. A love that shares itself without reservation. A love that sets no limits and knows no limits.

Difficult? Yes. Impossible? For human beings, yes. But with God, all things are possible. And we must allow God to always dwell in us.



Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Eucharist are the Sacraments of Initiation … the Sacraments that incorporate us into the Body of Christ … as the Church … the Bride of Christ … in the Kingdom of God.

We must never lose sight of what these Sacraments are – living signs of our union with Christ – and sources of divine grace for us to transcend our human weaknesses … to live as the sons and daughters of God.

As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ … let us never let go of the infinite and transforming graces … which give us the power to live out that “new” commandment … which identifies us as disciples of Jesus Christ.

“As [he has] loved [us], so [we] also should love one another.”

3rd Sunday of Easter @ St. Apollinaris Parish

HOMILY - THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER
MAY 4 - 5, 2019
4:30 PM (SAT), 7:30 AM, 9:00 AM ORDINARY FORM (ENGLISH) MASSES



Antiques Roadshow is a television program broadcast on PBS (the Public Broadcast Service) and has been in production for 22 years. It’s based on a British television program by the same name that has been around since 1979.

The program features regular people who bring in their antiques for appraisal by experts … who discuss provenance, history, and finally the value of the items.



The highest valued item ever on the show was a 1904 Diego Rivera oil painting titled El Albañil – The Bricklayer – painted when the artist was 18 years old. It was thought to have been lost, but was in the possession of the family in Corpus Christi, Texas – who had purchased it in the 1940s, but were originally told it was a fake, and then later determined that it was worth between 1 and 2 million dollars.

There are also plenty of spin-off shows of a similar bent, among them Pawn Stars, American Pickers, Storage Wars, and many others.



Today is the Third Sunday of Easter.

Our readings focus in on the value of our redemption in Christ Jesus.

The first reading from Acts, Peter and the apostles are ordered by the religious authorities of their day to stop talking about Jesus. In the eyes of those in charge, it’s just not worth it to cause so much trouble over one man.



Yet filled with the Holy Spirit, the Apostles reply:

We must obey God rather than men.

A human appraisal of the things of God often comes up short. Only by relying on the Holy Spirit can we assess the true value of the Divine gifts of grace that we have all received.



In the Gospel, Our Lord reverses Peter’s triple denial that we heard during Holy Week – three times asking him “Do you love me?”

Two aspects of the Gospel reading may give us pause – the phrase “more than these” and the miraculous catch of fish numbering 153.



There are plenty of theories, and I won’t bore you with all of them. But one of the ideas on the number has always been the number of beads on a traditional Rosary. Another is that it is the two perfect numbers: 7 and 10 … added together … and multiplied by 3 times 3 (that is, 9). So it is “fullness” (in 7) and “perfection” (in 10) times the thrice holy three Persons of the Holy Trinity.

The phrase “more than these” has been analyzed by Scripture and biblical scholars for years. The question being, is Jesus asking Peter about his friendship with the other apostles? Or his brothers James and John? Or something else?

I would propose that it is all of these and more – namely, anything that takes us away from total union with Jesus Christ … as members of His mystical Body.



Finally, we have in the second reading, the continued vision of St. John in the Book of Revelation … where today a “countless … number” of “angels … living creatures and … elders” sing “a new hymn” declaring “the Lamb that was slain” as “worthy.”

The Greek word here is “axios” – which means “worthy” And in the branch of philosophy called “axiology” we find the study and analysis of values, ethics, conduct, beauty, and harmony.



Christ alone is “worthy” because as the Son of God – He alone shows us the value of our humanity – not only in taking it on in His own Person through the Incarnation … but also by His passion, death, and resurrection – which brings us into the fullness of redemption … buying us back from the worthless things we had given ourselves over to.

As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, let us pray that through our share in His divinity – given to us in Baptism – we might strive to grow in relationship to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – and that we may be made … day by day … and more and more … worthy of our redemption in Christ Jesus our Lord.