2nd Sunday of Advent

Twenty-five years ago, I studied Chinese at the Defense Language Institute. It’s a beautiful place, sitting on an elevation above Monterey Bay, and above the city of Monterey.

Being a military language school, aside from the rudiments of the Chinese language, we studied a lot of terminology that was particular to the military and a military mission. I had thumbed through the textbooks, and was very happy to see a chapter on religion. Even though it wasn’t a large chapter, I was looking forward to learning some vocabulary related to faith and religion.

At the school, all of our teachers were from China. Some from Taiwan and others from the mainland. One of our younger teachers we called “little red.” She wasn’t short. And she didn’t have red hair. But she was prone to make statements like: “you put too much emphasis on freedom ... you may have freedom, but in China we don’t have crime.”

It was obvious to most of us a lot of her observations were heavily flavored by years of growing up in a communist country.

So, the day arrived for the chapter on religion; and into our classroom walks “little red” to be the teacher. We went through the vocabulary, and when we had finished she said: “Now we will have a debate.”

The topic of the debate, she announced, was to discuss the “Uselessness of religion and of God.” She asked who wanted to argue for the “Uselessness of religion,” and a young woman raised her hand. Out of a class of about a dozen, there was only one. She assigned her as the leader of that side, and asked who wanted to argue against the “uselessness of religion.” I looked to the two senior officers, and assumed that one of them (both of them were Catholic), should take the lead. (I was a junior enlisted man at the time.)

The Major spoke up: “Jenuwine will lead us.” Next thing I know, I’m ‘in charge’ of two officers. 
All of this, of course, was to be done in Chinese.

The argument “for uselessness” was that we were seeking nothing more than cheap and easy ‘comfort.’ As if our Faith were nothing more than a cup of hot cocoa on a cold day.

Our argument “against uselessness” was that our Faith required us to do things that the world and most of society saw as ‘inconvenient.’ We talked about our personal sacrifices, and how living a life of Faith required deep personal commitment and many deep personal changes that were far from easy.

Toward the end, our opponents had little to say in rebuttal to our arguments. The teacher was silent until we asked her, “Who won?” Class ended with the teacher proclaiming that “I guess it was a tie.”

Today is the Second Sunday of Advent.

In the Second Letter of St. Peter, our second reading today, the author addresses the issue of perseverance. The people were becoming impatient – some of them had expected Jesus to return and establish His kingdom in their lifetimes. And much like our own world, there was a desire for some sort of “return on investment.” Many must have thought that if they weren’t going to get anything for their Faith or the practice of their Faith ... well, that sounded sort of “useless.”

The letter urges them, and us as well, to persevere in our Faith. To persevere in virtue – “in holiness and devotion” as we hear in the reading.

The first reading, from Isaiah, speaks of giving comfort to God’s people. This is spoken to people in exile. Far from home, and wondering what has become of their home and will they ever see it.

This isn’t an easy ‘comfort.’ This is hard. God is asking for perseverance – sometimes translated as ‘long-suffering.’

The prophet goes on to speak of the future coming of God, and a voice – another prophet – calling out to prepare the way for the Lord.

In the Gospel, we meet this voice – this man – in the person of John the Baptist. Who two thousand years ago preached a baptism of repentance. The Greek word here is “metanoia” which means “a change of mind.” But even more than that, “a change of spirit.”

For us today, we too are called to repentance, that is, to change our minds. In what ways have we given up on God? Where do we find our Faith to be “useless?” We all have places in our lives where we would rather do things ourselves.

Yet God is calling us to change that. God is calling us to let Him into our lives – all of our lives. God desires that we let him into everything.

So, this week, let us reflect on where we may have shut God out.

Let us examine our lives and find the places where we haven’t found God to be “useful.”

And relying on God’s grace, let us ask him to help us open up those places where we haven’t yet let Him in – and invite Him in. So that as we move through this Advent season, we may better prepare ourselves to receive His beloved Son – both at this altar, and “soon” at Christmas.

Let us ask for the grace to allow God to be “useful” in our lives – in all places and all things.

Let us pray for the grace so we might have the courage to “change our spirit” so that we can receive the true ‘comfort’ that God so much desires to impart on us through the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and through the Gifts of the Holy Spirit.

27th Sunday in OT @ St. Mark Au Gres

HOMILY - 27TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

OCTOBER 3/4, 2020

Winemaking … or viticulture … first flourished in the Mediterranean basin due to the influence of various early civilizations such as the Phoenicians, Greeks, and Romans. The Mediterranean climate is characterized by long growing seasons of moderate or warm temperatures. During the growing season, there is very little rainfall. Instead, most of the rainfall occurs in the winter months, which are characteristically on the warm side.

This unique climate exists mostly in coastal regions on either side of the 40th parallel in both the northern and southern hemispheres. Outside of the Mediterranean area, regions suitable for growing wine-grapes exist along the California coast, including Napa Valley, Chile, both northern and southern Africa, as well as western and southern Australia.

The oldest known winery was discovered in southeastern Armenia, and is over 6,000 years old. Yet because of the sophistication of the wine-making process in that particular find, it has been suggested that the wine-making is much older than even that.

Today is the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

In today’s First Reading we hear from Isaiah chapter 5 … what is called the “Song of the Vineyard.” It is a sort of parable meant to admonish Israel for their sins. God is telling them that no matter what He has done for them, they continue to ignore His law and His presence.

In the Gospel, Jesus tells the “Parable of the Vineyard,” in which the tenant workers rebel against a landowner by attacking and killing his servants. As a last effort, the owner sends his son - whom they also murder. Here, the message is that God gave Israel the Promised Land … and sent prophets who were ignored or, worse, killed … and in this parable, Jesus speaks of His coming … and predicts his own death at the hands of the religious leaders who despite their external trappings are rebelling against God, while pretending to be God’s chosen people.

In the passages from Isaiah that follow what we just heard in today’s reading, through the prophet … God enumerates six sins against Israel … namely: (1) greed, (2) lack of self-control, (3) false-piety, (4) deceit, (5) self-aggrandizement, and (6) injustice.

Contrast these six vices with the six things that St. Paul describes as “excellence” and praiseworthy in the Second Reading:

whatever is true, whatever is honorable,
 

whatever is just, whatever is pure, 

whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious …

Here you have an almost one-to-one correlation between the sins that God complains of in Isaiah … with the virtues that St. Paul says have been “learned and received” by the early Christian … and “heard and seen in” his own example. By embracing the example and teaching of the apostles … and by reaching out to God in “prayer and petition” as well as acknowledging God’s generosity through “thanksgiving”, the Philippians are told that “the God of peace will be with” them … and that:

the peace of God that surpasses all understanding  

will guard [their] hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Just as there is are narrow conditions necessary for successfully growing grapes … so, too, there is a narrow path that we must follow as disciples of Jesus Christ. We cannot make things up as we go along … rather, we must follow Jesus Who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life … for all who choose to follow Him … and for all who desire to receive Salvation through, 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 examine our own life according to those six criteria from St. Paul and ask ourselves if we persevere in truth, honor, justice, purity, beauty, and grace … and if there are areas that need ‘fixing,’ then invite Jesus into those areas of our lives that need him most … so that He may redeem us in His love, His grace, and His mercy. 

May the peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and your minds in the knowledge and love of God, and of his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

18th Sunday in OT @ Diocese of Saginaw

HOMILY - 18TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
AUGUST 1/2, 2020




Back in late February or maybe early March, I was in Target in Petaluma, California. That’s where I was stationed up until 6 weeks ago. And the news was ramping up about the Pandemic. It wasn’t called a pandemic yet, but some people on YouTube or other social media were starting to use the word pandemic.

Anyway, I was walking around Target and probably picking up groceries and looking at appliances, when I walked down the paper products aisle. And I stopped dead in my tracks. There were only three packages of toilet paper left – two eight packs and one six pack. I’d seen this sort of thing in the past in California; during the Napa fires. And so, I figured I could load up on twenty-four rolls of toilet paper … just in case this went on for a while.



In case you might be wondering – how much toilet paper does one man need … or for that matter, a household or family need … there is a website HOWMUCHTOILETPAPER.COM that lets you calculate your needs. I figured that with what I already had on hand, I was good for six months. And, the lockdown only lasted roughly 90 days - give or take.

The strange thing is, how for many of us, we have never known shortages. In the old Soviet Union, there were long lines to get basic food items or personal necessities. During the Second World War, there were rationing stamps. And I guess for us, in this pandemic time, there are shortages, too.
Yet many people began hoarding, some early on. And others were left with nothing until shelves were restocked, and even then, many things disappeared rather quickly - or so it seemed.



Today is the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time, and on the surface, our readings seem to have a theme of “food.”

But scratch that surface and not too far down, we see that even when food is given - miraculously or figuratively - we are to move deeper into a Divine Mystery.

In the first reading from Isaiah 55, we hear “Come!” But as we read further, we are called to “Seek!” And finally we are drawn into the presence of the LORD … where we have no other choice but to “Worship.”

In the Gospel, we hear of the miraculous multiplication of five loaves and two fish which fed five thousand men and uncounted women and children; and the left-overs filled twelve wicker baskets.
Some modern commentators would strip this event of its miraculous nature. Claiming that Jesus inspired the crowd to share what they had and to abandon their selfishness. If that is the case, then the evangelists were idiots for recounting this story as miraculous. And that contemporary twist on a psychological theme is nothing more than poppycock.



Rather, the repeated recounting of the multiplication of loaves and fishes by all of the Gospel writers is to point to the “sign” of the Messianic Banquet. What Isaiah speaks of thirty chapters earlier when he says:

On this mountain* the LORD of hosts * will provide for all peoples * a feast  

In this pericope, we hear that Jesus had “pity” for the vast crowd – or rather “his heart was moved with pity for them”. The word, rendered here as “pity” has more customarily been translated as “compassion.”



It is translated from a Greek word that is a mouthful: σπλαγχνίζομαι (splagch-ni-zo-mai) meaning “moved as to one’s bowels with compassion.” So, not just pity, and not just compassion … but rather, what we might call a “gut wrenching” pity or a “gut wrenching” compassion.

Jesus uses this same word in the Gospels in three parables (1) the master who forgives the servant (who in turn does NOT forgive his fellow servant) ; (2) the motivating feeling of the Good Samaritan (which is not shared by the priest and the levite) ; and (3) the father at the end of the story of the Prodigal Son when he sees his son returning home.

Each of the characters in these parables experienced a gut wrenching compassion, and acted in a way that perhaps can only be called “not so normal.”



And the Gospel writers also apply this term – gut wrenching compassion – to Jesus, just before He feeds the multitudes, heals two blind men, heals a leper, drives out a demon from a man’s son, and raises the only son of the widow of Naim.

Based on this limited data set, it would seem that σπλαγχνίζομαι (splagch-ni-zo-mai) – gut wrenching pity or compassion – is accompanied by miracles … and that we are called to dig deep in our guts – so as to be “moved as to the bowels of compassion” in our dealings and our relatinships with one another … in order to experience similar miracles in our own lives … as we come to God, seeking God, and in our worship of God.

This Eucharist is our messianic banquet. Saint Paul, in the pericope from Romans reminds us that nothing “will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”



And so, as we continue in our own act of divine worship in this Holy Mass, and as we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ … let us be moved to the depths of our hearts with love for God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – knowing that nothing outside of ourselves can separate us from God in Christ Jesus … and let us receive Him Sacramentally as a foretaste of the banquet of heaven … in this supreme act of worship.

Corpus Christi @ St. Vincent de Paul Parish

HOMILY - SOLEMNITY OF THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST
JUNE 13/14, 2020
5:00 PM (SAT), 9:00 AM, 10:30 AM ORDINARY FORM (ENGLISH) MASSES



This weekend we commemorated the Memorial of St. Anthony of Padua. You can see his statue next to the St. Joseph altar.

His story is fascinating – you might want to look it up online or in a book. He was known for his powerful preaching, supreme knowledge of scripture, and undying love and devotion to the poor and the sick.



He can also help you find your car keys if you pray for his intercession.

But the story I want to relate was later in his life when he was preaching in Toulouse in the south of France. the people in that area had lost their faith in the Eucharist. They doubted if the bread and wine were merely a symbol, or if it was indeed the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ.



And one outspoken man challenged him. He brought a half-starved mule and waited to see its reaction when shown a pile of food on one side, and St. Anthony holding the Blessed Sacrament in a monstrance on the other. The animal totally ignored the fodder and to everyone’s amazement knelt before Our Lord in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ.



This feast is of relatively recent origin, the Mass and Office texts having been prepared by none other than St. Thomas Aquinas in the year 1264.

The immediate reason was to commemorate a miracle, one year before, where a German priest, doubting the generosity of Christ in coming Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Holy Eucharist … was given a singular miracle when at the Words of Institution, “This is My Body,” the host began to bleed onto his hands and onto the altar cloth.



But even more than commemorating a 13th century miracle, this day celebrates the central mystery of our Faith – what the Second Vatican Council referred to as the “source and summit of the Christian life.”

Which begs the question – do we recognize Jesus in the Most Holy Eucharist?



As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ – quite possibly for the first time in almost 100 days … let us pray for a deeper appreciation and experience of the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in this most Blessed Sacrament. And may the infinite and manifold graces of the Eucharist transform us – and our homes, our neighborhood, our country, and our world – all for the greater glory of God.

10th Week in Ordinary Time @ St. Vincent de Paul Parish

VIDEOS - TENTH WEEK OF ORDINARY TIME

MASS

Friday of the 10th Week in OT 6-12-2020


St. Barnabas, Apostle 6-11-2020


Wednesday of the 10th Week in OT 6-10-2020

Daily Mass for the Dead 6-9-2020


Votive Mass for the Priest Himself 6-8-2020


The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity 6-7-2020


Solemnidad de la Santísima Trinidad 7-6-2020

Trinity Sunday @ St. Vincent de Paul Parish

HOMILY - TRINITY SUNDAY
JUNE 7, 2020
ORDINARY FORM (ENGLISH) MASS



Released in November of 1967, and having the distinction of being both #1 and #2 on the British singles chart simultaneously due to being released on both a single and an EP, the Beatle’s song I am the Walrus was written by John Lennon the previous summer.

The lyrics are a combination of poetry, nursery rhymes, and nonsense syllables and phrases – the result of three failed attempts at three different songs that were eventually joined together and became the iconic tune known to us over 50 years later.

It was the first studio recording made after the accidental death of their first manager, the recording featured orchestral accompaniment that included violins, cellos, horns, and clarinet as well as a 16-voice choir of professional studio vocalists.

Critical reception was mostly positive, although the song was banned by the BBC (British Broadcasting System.)



Today is Trinity Sunday.

While many aspects of the Roman Liturgy have included the Trinity – namely in doxologies, Sunday prefaces; the feast we celebrate today – that is, a particular Sunday honoring the Trinity was not included in the calendar until Pope John XXII (the twenty-second) in the early 14th (fourteenth) century.



The feast was elevated liturgically to the highest solemnity by Pope Saint Pius X (the tenth) in 1911.

Now, anytime we speak of Theology – which is the study of God (theos = God, logos = study) … whether that be the Trinitarian theology, Patrology (the theology of God the Father,) Christology (the theology of the Person of Jesus Christ), Pneumatology (the theology of the Holy Spirit), or Theology proper of itself … we run two difficulties.

What you say can either come out sounding like jibberish. That’s the first risk. When you start bandying about with words like perichoresis in the Greek, or circumincession in the Latin – both are words referring to the relationship and the interpenetration of the three Persons of the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then there are the theological distinctions between the Immanent Trinity and the Economic Trinity.

On the other hand, you may find yourself spouting heresy … and all the big heresies revolve around mistakes about the Trinity or the Persons of the Trinity.



So, Trinity Sunday can be a bit of a theological minefield.

But the Trinity should not be unfamiliar to us.

We are baptized into the Divine life of the Trinity – as we are baptized in “the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

The Mass – the Divine Liturgy of the Church – is a sacrificial offering of the Son to the Father in the power of the Holy Spirit.



We begin our prayers with the Sign of the Cross – proclaiming Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

We end our liturgical prayers with a trinitarian formula.

And we memorize the Glory Be – which is a minor doxology to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Not to mention the Gloria (Glory to God in the Highest) and the Creed which again are Trinitarian in structure.

The difficulty, of course, is that God is beyond our comprehension – making the Trinity a mystery.

And a mystery is best expressed in silence, prayer, and song.

As we continue in the Holy Mass, offering the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ to God the Father in the power of the Holy Spirit – let us remember that we are children of God the Father, redeemed in Christ His Son, and have received an outpouring of the power of the Holy Spirit.

(Goo goo ga joob.)

9th Week in Ordinary Time @ St. Vincent de Paul

VIDEOS - NINTH WEEK OF ORDINARY TIME

MASS

Saturday Memorial of the BVM 6-6-2020


St. Boniface 6-5-2020


Thursday of the 9th Week in Ordinary Time 6-4-2020


St. Charles Lwanga and Companions 6-3-2020


Ss. Marcellinus and Peter 6-2-2020


Mary, Mother of the Church 6-1-2020


Pentecost Sunday 5-31-2020


Domingo de Pentecostés 5-31-2020

Pentecost Sunday @ St. Vincent de Paul Parish

HOMILY - PENTECOST SUNDAY
MAY 31, 2020
ORDINARY FORM (ENGLISH) MASS



Loosely based on the novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum; the 1939 movie titled The Wizard of Oz is perhaps the best-known and most commercially successful adaptation of the book. From a box office perspective, it was not much of a success earning only a little over three million dollars and netting less than one-tenth of that in profits.



Due to the technology utilized, namely Technicolor™, it was up to that point the most expensive movie ever made by MGM. Not until 10 years later, when it was re-released in theaters did it begin to be a money-maker for the studio, and 50 years after its release was included in the U.S. National Film Registry, and named the most-viewed movie on television by the Library of Congress.

Many things from the movie have entered our national consciousness – phrases, songs, and characters – leading to many attempts at sequels and reinterpretations … none of them as successful as the original which is over 80 years old.



The four major protagonists are: a young girl, Dorothy – who only wants to get home; a scarecrow – who only needs a brain; a tin woodsman – who needs a heart; and a cowardly lion – who needs courage. After an adventure involving munchkins, flying monkeys, a wicked witch, and ultimately the Wizard of Oz himself … the four discover that what they desired was already within their grasp. With a final clicking of ruby slippers, and a chant of “There’s no place like home,” … everyone lives happily ever after.



Today is Pentecost Sunday. Fifty days since the end of the Paschal Triduum. Pentecost marks the end of the Easter Season.

Pentecost is associated with the coming of the Holy Spirit. And for most of us, we know that there are Gifts of the Holy Spirit and Fruits of the Holy Spirit … and perhaps you can rattle them off like a well-memorized lesson. But how do these affect you in your daily life? What is the place of these gifts and fruits for an Average Joe and Mary Catholic?



According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 1831) “The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit … complete and perfect the virtues of those who receive them.”

Which requires us to take a step back. If these gifts complete and perfect the virtues, what are the virtues?

The “big three” are easy: The theological or supernatural virtues are Faith, Hope, and Love. We receive these in Baptism, and they are strengthened in us through our exercising them in our daily lives; as well as through our worthy reception of the Sacraments, most especially the Holy Eucharist.



So, what do Faith, Hope, and Love do for us?

Like the scarecrow, the tin-man, and the lion – we all need a little boost. Not from a wizard, but rather from God. Faith affects the mind, Hope affects the soul, and Love affects the Heart.

In a similar way, the first three human virtues of Prudence, Temperance, and Fortitude allow us to properly apply and use our mind’s thoughts, express moderation in our body and soul, and persevere when things become difficult.

Justice, the fourth of the human virtues allows us to balance the actions within our lives by giving of ourselves to God, and to neighbor … in an appropriate mix and measure



These seven virtues – which we possess in varying quantities – are in turn completed and perfected by the Gifts of the Holy Spirit.

The virtues of the mind are perfected by the gifts of Knowledge, Understanding, and Counsel. Knowledge being what fills our mind, Understanding being how our mind processes what it knows within itself, and Counsel being the application of our mind to help others and affect external events.

The virtues of the soul are perfected by the gifts of Fear of the Lord and Piety. Fear of the Lord allows us to show proper reverence for God, and Piety allows us to respond to God’s grace in serving both God and neighbor.

The virtues of the heart are perfected by the gifts of Wisdom and Fortitude. Wisdom allows us to make appropriate choices in prudently discerning between the desires of our heart, and Fortitude helps us to have courage as well as to follow through and persevere.



And finally, “[t]he Fruits of the Holy Spirit are perfections that the Holy Spirit forms in us as the first fruits of eternal glory.” As we grow in virtue by ordering our minds, souls, and hearts to God … the Holy Spirit perfects and completes our efforts through God’s grace. The end result, then, of living a Christian life is holiness – expressed in the twelve Fruits of the Holy Spirit: charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, chastity.

As we continue in this Holy Mass, offering to God the Father the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit… let us pray for the Gifts of the Holy Spirit to be poured out in our lives … to complete and perfect our virtues … and as we conform our lives more and more – day by day – to God’s Holy and Perfect Will, may we experience the Fruits of Holiness in our lives through the Power of the Holy Spirit.

7th Week of Easter @ St. Vincent de Paul Parish

VIDEOS - SEVENTH WEEK OF EASTER

MASSES

The Immaculate Heart of Mary 5-30-2020

Pope St. Paul VI 5-29-2020


The Visitation of the BVM 5-28-2020


St. Augustine of Canterbury 5-27-2020


St. Philip Neri 5-26-2020


Pope St. Gregory VII 5-25-2020


Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord 5-24-2020


Solemnidad de la Ascensión del Señor 24-5-2020

Ascension Sunday @ St. Vincent de Paul Parish

HOMILY - ASCENSION SUNDAY
MAY 24, 2020
ORDINARY FORM (ENGLISH) MASS



William Randolph Hearst was born in 1863, and was a famous ... maybe infamous ... newspaper publisher whose journalistic holdings reached nearly 30 newspapers across the nation.

One of Hearst’s enduring legacies is Hearst Castle. Construction began in 1919 on 240 thousand acres of land overlooking the Pacific Ocean at San Simeon.

Each room is furnished with art and antiques brought over from Europe. Hearst was such a passionate collector of antiques and artistic works, that aside from his castle at San Simeon which was filled with all sorts of priceless treasures; he also had warehouses full of untold treasure.



Supposedly, while reading a magazine on art, he came across a photo of a reproduction of a particular work of art. He called his agent in New York to locate and purchase the original work. After several months, the agent had failed to locate the work ... and Hearst fired him on the spot; hiring a private detective to continue the search.

After nearly two years, and over $100,000 financing this search, the detective returned with good news and bad news.

The good news, of course, was that he had found the painting.

The bad news was, that it lay in one of Hearst’s warehouses ... having been purchased over seven years before. The treasure he had worked so hard to possess ... had been his all along. If only he’d known.



Today is the Solemnity of the Ascension of Our Lord. In two of the readings, we hear accounts of Jesus’ ascension 40 days after His resurrection on Easter.

In the Second Reading, St. Paul gives a theological account of what this should mean for Christian believers.



St. Paul prays that his readers might receive a “Spirit of wisdom and revelation” so as to gain knowledge in four specific areas so that Christian believers might be united with Christ in glory.

(1) The first is that we might know God, and His Son Jesus Christ. There are, of course, two sorts of knowledge. We can know “about” someone - facts and figures, measurements and statistics. But to truly know a person ... requires an experiential knowledge ... living with them, walking with them ... day by day. If we are to truly know God and His Son, we must work on that relationship every day. 

(2) The second is that we might know God’s call. Each of us received God’s call on our lives at Baptism. In this particular text, St. Paul uses the term “enlightenment” which in the early Church was synonymous with Baptism. Because we are baptized ... we are enlightened by Christ and the Holy Spirit. And each and every one of us, in our unique way, must live out the call ... as Apostles in our own time ... in our own day and age. This call is not some divine burden cast on our shoulders, but rather should give us hope. 

(3) The third is that we might know God’s riches - our inheritance, as sons and daughters of God ... brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ. Additionally, because we are united to Christ as members of His Body, we have become God’s possession ... part of the abundance of wealth ... and sharers in His grace, love, and mercy. 

(4) The fourth, and final area of knowledge, is that we might know God’s power. As members of Christ’s Body, we are united to Him ... and He is united with His Father in glory ... and so, God’s power is active in us ... and through us. Through intercessory prayer, we are filled with “the surpassing greatness of his power” inasmuch as we are open to the action of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Without this knowledge, we might find ourselves wasting time and resources looking all over the world ... for the treasure we already share in Christ Jesus. The power and riches of God, which receive by believing in His Son and living out our Baptismal call.



As we continue in this Sacred Liturgy, offering the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ to God the Father in the power of the Holy Spirit ... let us pray for a deeper outpouring of the “Spirit of wisdom and revelation” that we may better know God, hear and live out His call for each of us, and share in the treasure of His divine love and mercy and grace ... which are poured out on us by the power of the Holy Spirit.

6th Week of Easter @ St. Vincent de Paul Parish

VIDEOS - SIXTH WEEK OF EASTER

MASSES

Our Lady on Saturday (Easter) 5-23-2020


St. Rita of Cascia 5-22-2020


St. Christopher Magallanes and Companions 5-21-2020


St. Bernardine of Siena 5-20-2020


Tuesday of the 6th Week of Easter 5-19-2020


Pope St. John I 5-18-2020


6th Sunday of Easter 5-17-2020


VI Domingo de Pascua 17-5-2020

6th Sunday of Easter @ St. Vincent de Paul Parish

HOMILY - SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
MAY 17, 2020
ORDINARY FORM (ENGLISH) MASS



 The modern polygraph, sometimes called a “lie detector” is a device that measures autonomic reactions on a person’s body

People subjected to a polygraph, are strapped up to all sorts of devices that measure skin resistance, breathing rate, heart rate, and blood pressure. The person is then asked three types of questions:

irrelevant questions - to establish a baseline,
comparison questions - which are indirectly related to the subject at hand,
and relevant questions - which are directly related to whatever is being investigated.

The idea, supposedly, is that the subconscious mind is tuned into to the truth, and causes the body to react to lies - even lies the person may consciously and intentionally be trying to hide something. In this, the subconscious shows an aversion to lies, and causes the body to react in various ways.

Today’s Gospel comes once again from Jesus’ “Farewell Discourse” at the Last Supper from John’s Gospel.

In one sense, it foreshadows the next three weeks in the Church’s liturgical calendar. That is, the next three Sundays.

What is coming up next week is the Ascension of Our Lord to the right hand of God the Father.

Followed the next week by Pentecost Sunday - the descent of the Holy Spirit on Our Lady and the Apostles in the Upper Room.

And the next Sunday is Trinity Sunday.



In today’s Gospel, Jesus talks about leaving ... about the Holy Spirit ... and about His relationship to the disciples ... as well as what their relationship – and our relationship– to the three Persons of the Godhead should be.

A key line here is when Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit as “the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept.”

Which begs the question: Can we accept this?



The world cannot accept the deep abiding love that Jesus calls all His disciples to live. The world instead wants a shallow fickle lukewarm love that expresses nothing. No commitment. No depth. No intensity.

The Holy Spirit – what Jesus calls, the Spirit of Truth – empowers us to go forth and tell the good news ... evangelize about the Love we know through, with, and in Christ Jesus ... the Love of God the Father ... poured out on us in the Holy Spirit. These three relationships empower us to be true disciples and fully actualized Christians.

As we continue in this sacred liturgy, offering to the Father the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit ... let us pray for the openness ... the docility ... to accept the Spirit of truth - the Holy Spirit - and to receive in a new way today ... the deep abiding Love of God ... as shown forth in the Paschal Mystery – the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

5th Week of Easter @ St. Vincent de Paul Church

VIDEOS - FIFTH WEEK OF EASTER

MASSES

Our Lady, Queen of Apostles 5-16-2020


St. Isidore 5-15-2020


Feast of St. Matthias 5-14-2020


Our Lady of Fatima 5-13-2020


Ss. Nereus and Achilleus, Martyrs 5-12-2020


Monday of the 5th Week of Easter 5-11-2020


5th Sunday of Easter 5-10-2020


V Domingo de Pascua 5-10-2020

DEVOTIONS

May Crowning Sung Vespers 5-10-2020

5th Sunday of Easter @ St. Vincent de Paul Church

HOMILY - FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
MAY 10, 2020
ORDINARY FORM (ENGLISH) MASS



Today is Mothers Day.

To all mothers, grandmothers, and those relatives, friends, and neighbors who nurture and support in a maternal fashion:

Happy Mother’s Day.

To that end, on the porch of the parish office – at the corner of Liberty and Western – there are carnations for Mother’s Day. There are also Rosaries, medals, and prayerbooks – most of them devoted to the Blessed Mother, Mary – since May is the month that the Church dedicates to her maternal intercession for the entire Church.



Today is also the 5th Sunday of Easter.

Last week, the Gospel readings from St. John shifted from happening after the resurrection to now having happened at the Last Supper. Several chapters worth of John’s Gospel are spent on Jesus’s Last Supper discourses.

Our Lord speaks of his “Father’s house” – and we might be confused. Is His Father’s house this beautiful building? Is it the Vatican? Is it an ethereal, spiritual community?



We receive other symbols in today’s other readings as well. We hear of the first “argument” in the early Church in the first reading from Acts – something about food, and ethnicity, and language. Indeed, “nothing new under the sun.”

But something amazing is going on here. Even in our own culture, people tend to separate out by the languages they speak, or their ethnic history, or the country they came from. It’s a question of comfort … it’s easier. But already in the early Church, the Holy Spirit was reaching beyond human comfort. God continues to take us outside of our comfort zone, if we let Him.

In the early Church, and in our own community, what we’re seeing is the movement of the Holy Spirit within the humanness of the members … and despite the humanness of the member … “the number of disciples continued to grow,” “filled with the Spirit and wisdom,” devotion “to prayer and the ministry of the word,” “the whole community,” “the word of God continued to spread,” and on and on – regardless of human conflict or politics, the Church continued to grow through the Word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit.

So that, despite the human weaknesses within any Church community, as long as we “let go and let God,” the power of the Spirit of God – the divinity incarnated in us – keeps us “one” … and not in some lock-step, cookie-cutter way … but a true unity in diversity.



In the second reading from the First Letter of St. Peter, we hear:

Come to him, a living stone, rejected by human beingsbut chosen and precious in the sight of God,and, like living stones,let yourselves be built into a spiritual house …

A key line here is “for you who have faith,” because without faith, St. Peter points out, none of this makes sense, and it becomes an obstacle – a “stumbling block” – to those who disobey God’s word.

By Faith, we are brought into relationship with God, and are “chosen and precious”. And he repeats that word, “chosen race,” going on to call us “a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of [God’s] own”. This “holiness” is not of our own making, but rather because we have been “chosen” or “taken” by God, for God’s purpose.

And in the Gospel, when Jesus talks about “the many dwelling places” in His Father’s household, he is talking about the universality of His Gospel. As we heard in the first reading, already there were Greeks and the Jews were fighting over who got the most food.

The Gospel message is not limited by race, language, or ethnicity. Rather, it is meant for the whole world. And Jesus told the disciples to expect this – whether they understood it or not.



And this lack of understanding is made evident in the Gospel, where Thomas and Phillip don’t quite get it. Jesus calls them out for their lack of understanding, but he doesn’t condemn them. These are the Apostles – and they didn’t get it.

The Apostles weren’t perfect, or geniuses … Jesus didn’t give them a diploma and push them out of the nest. They were hard-headed, practical, working men … looking for answers – which they found in Jesus. But with each answer, there came so many questions. This should give us hope, that when we are sometimes lost or confused, we are in good company – the company of the Apostles.

And so, what is the “Father’s house” Jesus is talking about? It is the Church. And the Church is “like” a lot of things … the chosen of God, called to holiness by faith, united in Christ and by the Holy Spirit; a nation that transcends all nations, a race that trancends all races; a priesthood, a family, a fellowship, a school of prayer.

We acknowledge this in the Creed when we talk about the Church being “one, holy, catholic, and apostolic”.



The key is Faith, which we receive in Baptism and which is strengthened in all the Sacraments – and not just Faith, but Hope, and Love. The key is to “let go and let God,” to “get out of the way,” and allow the power of God to go beyond our human weaknesses and raise us up beyond our understanding, and beyond our abilities.

As we continue in this liturgy of prayer, offering the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ – the Son of God – as an acceptable Sacrifice to God the Father, in the Power of the Holy Spirit … let us be open to the transforming power of God to take us from where we are and who we are, and make us into living temples of His presence in the world.