Epiphany @ St. Vincent

HOMILY - EPIPHANY
JANUARY 5, 2020
7:30 AM, 10:30 AM (SUN) ORDINARY FORM MASS



Henry Van Dyke - a Presbyterian minister, author, and statesman - was born in 1830 in Germantown, Pennsylvania. He taught English Literature at Princeton University and lectured at the University of Paris. President Woodrow Wilson appointed him Minister to the Netherlands and Luxembourg. He also wrote the lyrics for the hymn “Joyful Joyful We Adore Thee,” which many of us are familiar with.

Van Dyke wrote two Christmas stories: The First Christmas Tree - in 1897; and before that The Other Wise Man - in 1896.

In the story, The Other Wise Man, Van Dyke writes about a fictional fourth wise man who it would seem was always a little bit behind schedule.



On his way to rendezvous with the three magi, he stops to help a dying man - and so is late. By the time he arrives, the caravan has set out across the desert. He is forced to sell 1/3 of his treasure to finance his own journey to Bethlehem.

When he arrives in Bethlehem, it is in the midst of the slaughter of the innocents by King Herod - which we commemorated three days after Christmas. The Holy Family has already fled to Egypt; and this wise man again uses 1/3 of his treasure to save the life of a child by paying off the troops sent to kill the children.

For thirty-three years he travels around - always just a few steps behind Jesus - living his life as a pilgrim and as one seeking for Jesus. When he finally finds Jesus, it is in Jerusalem ... on Good Friday. He is again distracted, using the last 1/3 of his treasure to ransom a young woman from being sold into slavery.



At the death of Jesus, the earth shakes, and our wise man is trapped under a falling stone at the temple. He feels that he has failed in his life’s quest - never meeting Jesus ... and spending his treasure which was intended for the Christ Child so many years before.

As he is dying - besot with remorse - he hears a voice that tells him:

Verily I say unto thee,
Inasmuch as thou hast done it 

unto one of the least of these my brethren, 

thou hast done it unto me.

That is, despite what appeared to be failures to achieve his own life’s goal, he had lived out the Beatitudes in his acts of mercy and charity. And in that sense, had not only met Jesus - but had served as the hands and feet of Christ in 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 graces to truly be renewed by God’s presence among us. May we recognize Christ in our daily lives … in the people that we encounter … and may we be His hands and His feet … His mouth and His ears … in the world in which we live.

Octave Day of the Nativity @ St. Eugene Cathedral

HOMILY - THE OCTAVE DAY OF THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD
JANUARY 1, 2020
5:30 PM (WED) EXTRAORDINARY FORM MASS



Leon Allatius was the librarian of the Vatican Library from 1661 until his death in 1669. He was a convert from Greek Orthodoxy, having been born on the island of Chios – a Greek territory situated off the coast of what is now Turkey. These days, it is famous for its production of “mastic gum,” a natural resin that is used in chewing gum and various other health care products.

Today is the Octave Day of the Nativity of Our Lord.

Several years ago, my sainted mother asked me, “What ever happened to the Feast of the Circumcision?”



And indeed, it remained on the Roman Calendar from the Council of Trent until 1962 – a period of 392 years. While it originally rose to prominence as a feast day in the 13th and 14th century.

One can presume from the writings of the council Fathers and the liturgists of the 1950s and 1960s that there was a desire to cast away anything that was not considered “modern” or “up to date.” In many cases, what ended up was the proverbial throwing out the baby with the bathwater. One need only view science fiction from that era and compare it to something the likes of Star Wars to realize that the perceived future from the midcentury point of the 20th century comes across as extremely dated.



So, in an effort to “update” things, after a venerable period of at most 600 years and at least just under 400 years, the name of the feast was changed; although the Gospel was not. Thus the one line in the entire Gospel is about naming of Our Lord on the eighth day following His Circumcision.

So much for updates.

And, in the calendar promulgated in 1969, in order to try to keep things tidier, the concilium chose to resurrect a feast dating from the 7th century – namely the revered title of Our Lady, Mother of God.

Oddly, it seemed to escape those esteemed fathers that this was one of the four Marian Dogma. And we all know that there’s nothing less controversial than Marian Theology, let alone dogma.



And for the record, as recently as 14 years ago, in the Italian town of Calcata in Viterbo, a relic of this feast was paraded through the streets on January 1st. Sadly, in 2006, the reliquary – and the enclosed relic – were stolen by thieves; and a 2013 National Geographic documentary was unable to find any remaining relics related to today’s feast.

And what about Leon Allatius, the Vatican librarian in the 17th century?

In his own efforts to be “up to date,” Allatius allegedly proposed the theory that at Our Blessed Lord’s Ascension, all of those cast away bits of His body – fingernail clippings, hair clippings, baby teeth, and indeed the after product of the feast we celebrate today – ascended with Him, and took orbit around the planet Saturn as its rings.



So much for being modern, or in Allatius’s case – a Renaissance man.

Nonetheless, the Fathers of the Church point out that Our Lord fulfilled every letter of the Mosaic Law. And here, eight days after Christmas we celebrate that fact.

The early fathers also point out that Our Lord, even as an infant, was not opposed to shedding His Most Precious Blood for our sins. And that this feast of His Circumcision was one of His first opportunities to do so.



As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ – let us remember that what has been given to us in tradition and custom forms a logical whole. And while not all that glitters is gold, not all that seems modern to us will be so in the future.

May you have a blessed and happy New Year.

Holy Family @ St. Vincent

HOMILY - THE HOLY FAMILY OF JESUS, MARY, AND JOSEPH
DECEMBER 28/9, 2019
5:00 PM (SAT), 9:00 AM (SUN) ORDINARY FORM MASSES



Born in 1894 in Surrey, England; Aldous Huxley was the author of nearly 50 books – both fiction and non-fiction.

He was a humanist and a pacifist, with interests in mysticism and universalism. In all, he was nominated for a Nobel Prize seven times; and widely acknowledged as one of the foremost intellectuals of his day.

His fifth and most famous novel, and his first dystopian work, was titled Brave New World.



In this work, a World State has created an imposed stability through genetic engineering, and medical and psychological manipulation. Yet, it maintains order by obliterating the individual, and destroying and discouraging strong bonds and relationships with others.

Words such as family, mother, father, brother, or sister have become obsolete; and their use is even considered perverse and obscene.

While we may consider family as our some of our strongest bonds and our family relations have given us the roots of our identities; in Huxley’s novel, the World State demands quite the opposite. And by manipulating language, individuals thoughts and ideas are manipulated; and ultimate control is exerted.



Today is the Sunday after Christmas, since 1969 known as The Feast of the Holy Family.

Devotion to the Holy Family can be traced to the 16th century. By the end of the 19th century, Pope Leo XIII approved this feast, and encouraged Christian families to dedicate and consecrate themselves to the Holy Family.

Pope Benedict XV extended the celebration of the feast to the entire Church in 1921, as the Sunday after Epiphany. And in 1969, it assumed its current location in the liturgical calendar.
In the early 12th century, St. Bernard of Clairvaux wrote,

God, to whom angels submit themselves and who principalities and powers obey, was subject to Mary; and not only to Mary but Joseph also for Mary’s sake [….]. God obeyed a human creature; this is humility without precedent. A human creature commands God; it is sublime beyond measure.

Our First Reading from the Book of Sirach is a commentary on the Fourth Commandment, namely:

Honor your father and your mother.

Our Lord exemplifies this commandment through His humble submission to his human parents. Humility is a difficult concept for anyone, and it would do us good to contemplate the immense sublimity “humility without precendent” of Christ.

We hear in St. Paul’s Epistle to the Colossians, the text leading up to the parallel of Ephesian’s chapter 5. While the text may sound old-fashioned to our modern ears, twenty-five years ago in my Naval training, we were taught:

To be a good leader, you must know how to be a good follower.

The key to any of this is relationship. The term ‘family’ can be considered and examined through both macroscopic and microscopic lenses. Whether it’s a nuclear family, an extended family, a community – large or small – the family of the Church, or the human race … we are all part of some sort of family.

Considering that the roots of the English word ‘holy’ are the same as the words ‘whole’ and ‘healthy’ – our membership(s) in the various families to which we may belong … complete us and make us whole.

Through the intercession of the Holy Family – Jesus, Mary, and Joseph – may we obtain the grace to give and take in a ordered way … and grow in our human relationship. And may the Eucharist we receive today – Body, and Blood; Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ – unite us ever more closely with God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Christmas @ St. Vincent

HOMILY - THE NATIVITY OF THE LORD
DECEMBER 24/5, 2019
10:00 PM (TUE), 9:00 AM (WED) ORDINARY FORM MASSES



In his 2008 book A Portrait of the Brain, British neurologist Dr. Adam Zeman uses neurological case histories to illustrate the various layers of the brain; zooming out from atoms, to genes; proteins; to organelles; neurons to synapses; neural networks and lobes; ending with the psyche and soul. In all he provides an interesting introduction to neurology for a general audience.

In the Epilogue, titled O Magnum Mysterium, Dr. Zeman reflects on how “music speaks so directly to our feelings … [and] keys readily and powerfully into the brain’s activity.” Concluding that because music is both “mathematical and mindful” that we are enraptured by it because “we, ourselves, are music.” And at least because “our brains are governed by a constant interplay of rhythms.”

Indeed, even with all that science – the complex processes and complicated wiring of (this thing up here) – the human brain remains a mystery.



As an example Dr. Zeman refers to his own euphoric intoxication upon hearing Morton Lauridsen’s 1994 setting of O Magnum Mysterium. Lauridsen has been called “the only American composer in history who can be called a mystic”.

For the record, O Magnum Mysterium is the fourth responsory, occuring in the second nocturn of Christmas Matins. The text and it’s chant are at least 1,000 years old. It has been set in choral polyphony by both Palestrina and Victoria in the 16th century, as well as Ivo Antognini in the 21st century.

Translated into English it reads:

O great mystery, and wonderful sacrament, that animals should see the newborn Lord,lying in a manger.

Blessed is the virgin whose wombwas worthy to bearthe Lord, Jesus Christ.

It evokes the imagery so familiar to us, which has its roots in the third verse of the prophet Isaiah; and is tied in with the second verse of Philippians in St. Paul’s hymn to the humility of Our Lord.



Today is Christmas.

And whether you are hear because gramma said so, or because it’s your annual trek to the 100 year old hard pews of St. Vincent’s. In the very least, I hope that the rhythms and melodies of the familiar carols have brought you here.

As the music speaks to your feelings; allow the prayers and chant; the incense and bells to key into your brain’s activity and stir you into a heightened mindfulness.



Because today is Christmas. The culmination of 4,000 years of divine promise and mystery; played out in the liturgical rhythms of the Mass in Word and Sacrament. For the past 2,000 years.

Tune into this magnificent mystery. Encounter Christ Jesus in this admirable Sacrament.

For,

Today is born our Savior, Christ the Lord.

Blessed are you, for your eyes have seen and your ears have heard,

good news of great joy 
that [is] for all the people.

Glory to God in the highest
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.

Welcome home.



Merry Christmas.

Visuals used to highlight points in homily graphically.

Epiphany @ St. Apollinaris Parish

HOMILY - THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD
JANUARY 6, 2019
4:30 PM (SAT), 7:30 AM, 9:00 AM, 5:30 PM ORDINARY FORM (ENGLISH) MASSES
12:00 NOON EXTRAORDINARY FORM (LATIN) MASS



Henry Van Dyke - a Presbyterian minister, author, and statesman - was born in 1830 in Germantown, Pennsylvania. He taught English Literature at Princeton University and lectured at the University of Paris. President Woodrow Wilson appointed him Minister to the Netherlands and Luxembourg. He also wrote the lyrics for the hymn “Joyful Joyful We Adore Thee,” which many of us are familiar with.

Van Dyke wrote two Christmas stories: The First Christmas Tree - in 1897; and before that The Other Wise Man - in 1896.



In the story, The Other Wise Man, Van Dyke writes about a fictional fourth wise man who it would seem was always a little bit behind schedule.

On his way to rendezvous with the three magi, he stops to help a dying man - and so is late. By the time he arrives, their caravan has set out across the desert. He is forced to sell 1/3 of his treasure to finance his own journey to Bethlehem.



When he arrives in Bethlehem, it is in the midst of the slaughter of the innocents by King Herod. The Holy Family has already fled to Egypt; and this wise man again uses 1/3 of his treasure to save the life of a child by paying off the troops sent to kill the children.

For thirty-three years he travels around - always just a few steps behind Jesus - living his life as a pilgrim and as one seeking for Jesus. When he finally finds Jesus, it is in Jerusalem ... on Good Friday. He is again distracted, using the last 1/3 of his treasure to ransom a young woman from being sold into slavery.



At the death of Jesus, the sun is darkened, and the earth shakes. Our fourth wise man is trapped under a falling stone at the temple. He feels that he has failed in his life’s quest - having never met Jesus ... and spending his treasure which was intended for the Christ Child, the newborn King, so many years before.

As he is dying - filled with remorse - he hears a voice that tells him:
 Verily I say unto thee, Inasmuch as thou hast done it 
 unto one of the least of these my brethren, 
 thou hast done it unto me.

That is, despite what appeared to be failures to achieve his own life’s goal, he had lived out the Beatitudes in his acts of mercy and charity. And in that sense, had not only met Jesus - but had served as the hands and feet of Christ in the world.



For ourselves, especially around this time of year, we make “New Year’s Resolutions.” To lose weight, or read more, or work harder, or be nicer. Whatever they may be. And more often than not, it only lasts a couple of day or maybe weeks.

At the end of the Gospel reading we hear that the Magi did not return the way they came, but that they “departed … by another way.”

There is a significance to this final line. To truly meet Christ Jesus in the flesh means to be transformed … to be changed. As Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen noted,

No one who ever meets Christ with a good will returns the same way as [they] came.

And so, as we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ; let us pray for the graces to truly be renewed by Christ’s presence among us. May we discover Him always in our daily lives … and be His hands and His feet … His mouth and His ears … out and about … in the world.

Mary, Mother of God @ St. Apollinaris Parish

HOMILY - THE SOLEMNITY OF MARY, MOTHER OF GOD (OCTAVE DAY OF CHRISTMAS)
JANUARY 1, 2019
8:00 AM ORDINARY FORM (ENGLISH) MASS
12:00 NOON EXTRAORDINARY FORM (LATIN) MASS



Several years ago, my sainted mother asked me around this time of the year:

What happened to the Feast of the Circumcision?

Now, I’m sure there’s no other word that can cause a grown man to cringe physically – except maybe “Romantic Comedy” – just kidding … but indeed, what happened to this feast?

Looking online at a liturgical resource, we have the Feast of the Circumcision going back into the 13th and 14th centuries; and it is recorded in the Missal before the Tridentine reforms in 1568, and continues to exist until 1955 when it is called quite simply “The Octave Day of Christmas.”



Which is strange, since it is quite biblical, and this is read at Mass today:

When eight days were completed for his circumcision, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

Fifteen years later, in 1970, to make things even more confusing, the feast was renamed for a Roman feast day celebrated in the time of the Fathers of the Church called the “Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God.”



Historically, for the Chosen People, circumcision was the very physical sign of their covenant with God. The entirety of Chapter 17 of Genesis is devoted to this covenant. In the 1962 liturgy it is not read at all in any Mass, and in the 1970 liturgy (no pun intended) it seems we get a cut-and-paste version of Chapter 17 in our Lectionary readings (if at all) on the Friday of the 12th Week of Ordinary Time every other year; and on the Thursday of the 5th Week of Lent every year.

So what’s it all about?

Oddly, or interestingly, the 500 plus year old prayers associated with this day are unchanged. So, whatever we call it, it’s basically the same Mass.

Circumcision has multiple purposes in the ancient world.

One consideration is hygiene. Even in today’s modern era, it seems to provide protection against some diseases.

Another was as a sign of membership in a tribe. This is still seen in parts of the Middle East and Africa.

It could also be a sign of defeat or submission. Ancient warfare often had all men of fighting age slaughtered after a surrender. This was considered a less brutal way of marking a defeated tribe or nation.



So what does this have to do with Jesus?

First, this “marked” Jesus as a descendent of Abraham and the prophecy in Genesis 17 that Abraham (at the age of 99) would father a son Israel who would bring about an enormous family of descendants, one of whom – the anointed one, the Messiah, would save Israel and be a blessing to all nations.

So, Jesus, through the Circumcision becomes of the tribe of Abraham.

Also, Abraham, at the age of 99, took this mark as a sign of submission to God. And it was passed on for thousands of years to all of his descendants. It reminds us of the earliest covenant with Abraham and the anticipation of Israel for thousands of years.



Finally, it is a foreshadowing of Christ’s ultimate sacrifice on the Cross. Because in fulfilling this Jewish ritual, His most Precious Blood was spilled for the first time. For indeed, there is but a short distance between the wood of the Creche and the wood of the Cross.

And so, Mom, what happened to the Feast of the Circumcision? It’s still here. But the names have been changed – perhaps out of a mid-century prissiness, perhaps out of a hyper-historicity – I’m just not sure.

But the Feast of the Circumcision reminds of us Jesus’s connection to Abraham, as well as His total submission to the Will of His Father, and commemorates the first shedding of His Blood as a foreshadowing of His Passion.



As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, let us – in looking at the Creche see a foreshadowing of the Cross. And on this the eighth day – the day of Jesus’s Circumcision – may we circumcise our hearts, as St. Paul says, surrendering them to the power of God Almighty … and as a sign of our kinship to God in Christ.

Holy Family @ St. Apollinaris Parish

HOMILY - THE FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY
DECEMBER 30, 2018
7:30 AM, 9:00 AM ORDINARY FORM (ENGLISH) MASSES



Completed in the year 1086 at the direction of William the Conquerer, the Domesday Book recorded how many hundreds of family estates were in each shire within the several counties of England and Wales; as well as what taxes were owed to the king.

After the wholesale redistribution of land following the Norman Conquest in 1066, the principle purpose of the survey was to determine what taxes were owed to William’s father – Edward the Confessor.

Not until the Victorian era Return of Owners of Land survey in 1873 – nearly 800 years later – was any survey of such extent and scope attempted in England.



In the 11th century, William’s purpose was to assess the financial resources of his kingdom; yet from an historical perspective, it can be shown which family held what lands as well as the land valuation of each estate … nearly one millennium ago.

The original manuscript from 1086 is held at the British Nation Archives at Kew (a district in the borough of Richmond on Thames) in London.



Today is the Feast of the Holy Family which is normally the Sunday within the Octave of Christmas.
An Octave is an eight-day extension of a particular feast. At one time, the Church held as many as 20 octaves associated with various feasts. In the simplification of ecclesiastical calendar in 1969, the Solemnities of Christmas and Easter are the only two feasts retaining Octaves.



Veneration of the Holy Family was formally instituted by the first bishop of Quebec in the last quarter of the 17th century.

It was instituted as a liturgical feast by Pope Leo XIII in 1893 as the Sunday within the Octave of the Epiphany (that is one week later than now). In the Extraordinary Form (the liturgical usage of 1962) it falls on the Octave day of the Epiphany – or January 13.



In instituting the Feast at the end of the the 19th century, Pope Leo XIII indicated that among the fruits of devotion to the Holy Family in the home:

charity is likely to be maintained in the family … a good influence is thus exerted over conduct … the practice of virtue is thus incited … and thus the hardships … are both mitigated and made easier to bear.

He further indicated that:

Joseph [gives fathers a] model of … vigilance and care. [Mary gives] mothers … an excellent example of love, modesty … [and] faith. And in Jesus … children … have a divine pattern of obedience …

In our own time, Pope Francis calls on all families to “find precious guidance for the style and choices of life, and … [to] draw strength and wisdom for each day’s journey” from the example of the Holy Family.

As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ … let us each from within our own family … seek to model our lives on the virtues and example of the Holy Family of Nazareth. May we always look to Jesus, Mary, and Joseph for guidance, strength, example, and perseverance.

Christmas @ St. Apollinaris Parish

HOMILY - THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST
DECEMBER 24 / 25, 2018
5:00 PM (EVE), 8:00 AM ORDINARY FORM (ENGLISH) MASSES
12:00 NOON EXTRAORDINARY FORM (LATIN) MASS (RUTHERFORD HOLY FAMILY)



The year was 1968, and it was known as “The Year the Changed the World,” or “The Year that Changed America.”

The very unpopular Vietnam War was underway – and increasing numbers of troops were being drafted. The US was in the middle of the Cold War as well as the Space Race with the Soviet Union.

Martin Luther King was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee – leading to riots in many major cities. Two months later, presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in Los Angeles.

The Green Bay Packers won the Superbowl, and the Detroit Tigers won the World Series.

The most profitable movie of the year was 2001: A Space Odyssey; while Hey Jude was the hottest single of the year.

Indeed the people were changing, America was changing, and the world was changing.



On the shortest day of the year, Apollo 8 was launched out of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The second manned launch aboard a Saturn V rocket, with a three-man crew.

It was to be the first manned spacecraft to leave low Earth orbit, reach the Moon, orbit it, and return to Earth.



Three days after launch, orbiting the Moon, the astronauts saw for the first time … the Earth rising over the Moon.



They also took this opportunity to read 10 verses from the Book of Genesis, which began:
In the beginning, God created the Heaven and the Earth.


This of course led to multiple lawsuits from atheist Madeline Murray O’Hare – all three of which she lost through a failure to state a claim. I’m not sure if the astronauts having committed the offending action more than 230,000 nautical miles from any Earthly jurisdiction factored into it, but that’s my opinion.



The crew splashed down on December 27, and were named Time Magazine’s “Men of the Year.” Six months later, the US Postal Service issued a stamp commemorating this historic spaceflight.



Fifty years later, astronaut Jim Lovell, now 90 years old, commented that when they saw the Earth from the moon, so many hundreds of thousands of miles away, it struck him how fortunate we are to live:

on a planet that has the proper mass, has the gravity to contain water and an atmosphere, which are the very essentials for life," he said. "And you arrive on this planet that's orbiting a star just at the right distance — not too far to be too cold, or too close to be too hot — and just at the right distance to absorb that star's energy and then, with that energy, cause life to [exist] here in the first place.

Today, of course, is Christmas. And the Gospel we heard proclaimed was from the beginning of St. John. Which, like Genesis, starts out:

In the beginning …

While Genesis recounts the creation of all things … St. John’s Prologue recounts the re-creation of all things in Christ.



The coming of this one child – true God and true Man – in order to change us … so that we might change the world.



As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ … let us pray that the birth of Jesus Christ, when viewed by us through the distance of two thousand year, may give us pause and recognize that He has come … not only to us … but for us … right here and right now … sacramentally in the Eucharist … in order to transform us from who we are … into who God calls us to become.



On behalf of our pastor and myself, and all the deacons … staff … and volunteers … here at St. A’s … have a Blessed and Merry Christmas. And may you know and experience the transforming power of Christ, born for us today.