5th Sunday of Easter @ St. Peter Chesaning

HOMILY - FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER

MAY 2, 2021

The “Tetragrammaton” is the four-letter word in the Hebrew Bible that represents the Name of God. This word has been considered so sacred, that its pronunciation is actually been lost to the annals of history. 

It consists of the four letters yod heh vav heh – or loosely YHWH or JHVH. Whenever a Hebrew reader comes across it, the merely substitute the Hebrew word for Lord – Adonai. In English texts, it has often been transliterated as “Yahweh” or “Jehovah.”

13 years ago, the Vatican – as directed by the pope – asked that any songs or Bible translations used in Catholic worship stop using those transliterations … out of respect for the Jewish tradition of not speaking the name of God.

Nonetheless, the closest approximation of assigning meaning to those 4 letters is found in Exodus 3:14, when Moses is speaking to God in the Burning Bush and asks what name should he tell the Israelites God told him, the Lord responds: “I am who I am . . . tell the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.”

Today is the 5th Sunday of Easter.

Our Gospel reading from St. John’s Gospel – part of the Last Supper Discourse – where Jesus tells the disciples:

I am the true vine …

This is one of seven “I am” statements that Jesus makes in John’s Gospel – in a certain sense, using the alliterative Name of God to a metaphoric title for Himself.

Earlier in that discourse, right after the washing of the disciples’ feet, He says:

I am the way, and the truth, and the life …

Last week we heard from an earlier part of St. John’s Gospel, where Jesus says:

I am the good shepherd …

In the text leading up to that passage, He says:

I am the gate for the sheep …

We heard that last year on the fifth Sunday of Lent.

One chapter later, before He raises Lazarus from the dead, Jesus says, 

I am the resurrection and the life …

We heard that read on the fifth Sunday of Lent this year. 

Two chapters earlier, He says: 

I am the light of the world … 

Next year, we’ll hear that on the fifth Sunday of Lent.

And two chapters before that He says:

I am the bread of life …

We’ll hear that chapter broken up across four weeks this summer, beginning at the end of July and continuing throughout August.

We also hear a snippet of that chapter every year on the Sunday of the Body and Blood of Christ – this year falling on June 6 … or nine weeks after Easter Sunday.

So, this year – the second of the three year cycle of Sunday readings – we hear 5 out of the 7 “I am” statements. 

Although, every year, they are read on the weekdays of Lent and Easter … if you follow the daily lectionary readings.

For your personal reflection – you can call it “homework” if you like – I encourage you to consider these seven “I am” statements of Jesus … and in your reflection, consider that question that Jesus asks His disciples in the synoptic Gospels – that is, Matthew, Mark, and Luke – when He says:

Who do people say that I am?

Followed by:

Who do you say that I am?

As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ – Who comes to us at every Mass as the Bread of Life … let us pray that He may be for us our Way and our Truth and our Life … as we continue to move through Easter season and as we live our lives out and about in the world.

Easter Sunday @ St. Peter Cheasaning / St. Cyril Bannister

HOMILY - EASTER SUNDAY THE RESURRECTION OF THE LORD

APRIL 4, 2021

Last Sunday at 2:48 pm Eastern Daylight Time was the Paschal Full Moon. It was broad daylight, and you might have missed it … but once the sun set, the Full Moon was pretty obvious.

The Paschal Full Moon is the first full moon on or after the Vernal Equinox – which falls on March 21. Since last Sunday was March 28, that made its full moon the Paschal Full Moon. 

Easter is the Sunday following the Paschal Full Moon. It can be as early as March 22 or as late as April 25. 

If you ever notice on some calendars it will also list “Orthodox” or “Julian” Easter as being later than when we celebrate Easter … that’s because the Julian Calendar is about two weeks behind. 

So, according to the Julian Calendar, today is March 22, and so last week’s moon doesn’t cut it. That means that Julian Easter won’t be until the Sunday after the full moon that occurs after yesterday, and that full moon is on April 26, which is a Monday, making Julian (or Orthodox) Easter on May 2.

Nonetheless …

Today is Easter Sunday. 

Christ is risen! Alleluia! He has risen as He said! Alleluia!

This morning we heard from the beginning of the 20th Chapter of St. John’s Gospel.

In today’s Gospel we hear that St. John, on arriving at the tomb first “saw” the burial cloths; and then St. Peter, when he showed up – in second place – went into the tomb and “saw” the burial cloths; and finally, that when St. John went into the tomb and also “saw” … and believed.

Awkwardly, three very different words in Greek are all translated into English as “saw,” providing us with a rather flat reading of a very dynamic story.

Fleshing out the meaning of these distinct words in Greek, it might be more proper to say that when St. John first arrived at the tomb, he “looked” (in the Greek “βλέπει”) into the tomb at the burial cloths. St. Peter, came in behind John, and entering the tomb he “examined” (in the Greek “θεωρεῖ”) the burial cloths. Finally, St. John enters in behind Peter, and “perceived” (in the Greek “εἶδεν”) the burial cloths.

Three different words, the first meaning to “look,” the second meaning to “examine,” and the third meaning to “perceive.” All, sadly, translated as “saw.”

And so, for better or for worse, we are here, this morning, in this particular church, to celebrate Easter. 

How deeply are you participating in the liturgical action being played out in today’s Mass?

Are you “looking?” Sort of just hanging around, taking it all in.

Are you “examining?” Not just looking, but scrutinizing the details – the smells, the bells, the chanting, and the singing?

Or are you “perceiving?” Looking, examining, and understanding – not only with your mind, but with the eyes of Faith, the divine action and supernatural drama that is going on right here, right now?

Today’s Gospel reading begins with Mary Magdalene finding the empty tomb. During this week, we will hear of Jesus appearing to the ten disciples hiding in the upper room. And next Sunday, we will hear the story of Doubting Thomas.

Thomas moves from doubt to belief – by the supernatural virtue of Faith. The disciples move from fear to courage – by the supernatural virtue of Hope. And Mary moves from tears to joy – by the supernatural virtue of Love. 

Faith, Hope, and Love are the Baptismal gifts we have all received. Faith, Hope, and Love are the Supernatural Virtues that make us Christian.

As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, may the eyes of our hearts be opened to be moved from looking, to a deeper participation in the Holy Mysteries of this day. 

May we be renewed in the Supernatural Virtues – the Baptismal gifts of Faith, Hope, and Love – as we recall our own Baptism, and this morning renew our Baptismal promises … remembering that if we have died with Christ in Baptism, then we shall live with Him – and ultimately we shall reign with Him in glory … for all eternity.

Happy and Blessed Easter!

Easter Vigil @ St. Peter Chesaning

HOMILY - EASTER VIGIL IN THE HOLY NIGHT, ST. PETER CHESANING

APRIL 3, 2021

In the early 1970s, a research project at Xerox – the “Alto,” a computer that used the first Graphical User Interface, or GUI (“gooey”) – introduced the computer icon. The Alto had icons for documents, folders, computers, and people. 

In 1981, Xerox released the “Star” computer into the consumer market. It was not very well received.

Apple Computer, released the “Lisa” computer in 1983, and the “Macintosh” computer in 1984. The latter used icons created by noted artist Susan Kare, who also designed the icons for Windows 3.1 … and the rest is history.

We have just – perhaps for the first time in a long time – read through ALL 7 Old Testament readings, the Epistle reading, and the Gospel for Easter Vigil.

Congratulations!

The readings take us down a path of images, tests, promises, and redemptions … covering somewhere between 5 and 10 thousand years.

We heard first, the creation account from Genesis. God creates in pairs:

Heavens and Earth,


(Waters) Above and Below, and


Land and Sea.

He then fills them with 

Sun, Moon, and Stars; 


Flying and Sea creatures; and


Land Animals and Humans. 

Three days to create space, and three days to fill those spaces.

God’s crowning achievement is the creation of humanity. The one and only creation of His that is made in His “image and likeness.”

We then heard of the test of Abraham, sometimes called the “Binding of Isaac.”

In this account: (1) the father has a plan, (2) the son bears the burden, and (3) God provides the sacrifice. Sort of like what we heard yesterday. Although, yesterday, the Father was God, not Abraham; and the son was Jesus Christ, not Isaac.

The first story served as an “image” of the second. 

And … the site of the first story, Mount Moriah, was the eventual site of the Temple of Jerusalem, which was an “image” of Paradise, the Garden of Eden.

We then heard of the Liberation of Israel from Egypt … an “image” of their freedom from sin, and our own freedom from sin and death. 

We heard the back-to-back readings from Isaiah – the Restoration of Israel and the Inclusion of the Gentiles. Then a lyric poem to God’s Wisdom, and the Regeneration of God’s people … a cleansing from sin.

After the Glory to God, and the lighting of the altar candles, we heard St. Paul tell us, in his letter to the Romans, about the effects of Baptism.

And, with the restoration of the Alleluia – for the first time in 40-some days – we heard how the women were “utterly amazed” at the three surprises they beheld: (1) the stone door of the Tomb was rolled away, (2) two angels were waiting to give them a message, and (3) the message of the angels – “Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified … has been raised.”

Images … Restoration, Regeneration, Resurrection.

The image of our first parents in the likeness of God … has been restored. 

Sin no longer has any hold over us. 

We have been “crucified … and died with Christ” … and “death no longer has any power over” us.

God has fulfilled the covenant promises. God has restored us as His beloved Sons and Daughters. 

It looks like we’ve made it … through Lent of 2021 … and have made it to Easter.

Christ has risen! Alleluia, alleluia! Indeed he has risen! Alleluia, alleluia!

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.

4th Week of Easter @ St. Vincent de Paul Parish

VIDEOS - FOURTH WEEK OF EASTER

UPCOMING

May Crowning Sung Vespers 5-10-2020, 4:00 pm
Youtube Link, Facebook Link


MASSES

Saturday of the 4th Week of Easter
Common of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Easter


Friday of the 4th Week of Easter
Votive Mass of Mary, Mother of Divine Providence



Thursday of the 4th Week of Easter


Wednesday of the 4th Week of Easter


Tuesday of the 4th Week of Easter


Monday of the 4th Week of Easter


4th Sunday of Easter 5-3-2020


IV Domingo de Pascua 3-5-2020

4th Sunday of Easter @ St. Vincent de Paul Parish

HOMILY - FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
MAY 3, 2020
ORDINARY FORM (ENGLISH) MASS



Today is Good Shepherd Sunday.

The Fourth Sunday of Easter is always a reading about Jesus as the Good Shepherd. This is also the World Day of Prayer for Vocations.



Regarding vocations, everyone has a vocation. Vocation comes from the Latin word vocare which can mean - “to call” or “to be called.” All of us who are baptized are called to service in the Church and in the world ... each in different ways ... and in different modes.

The call I know best is my own, and so I’ll tell my story.

I’ve been ordained a priest almost 11 years.

I started this chapter in my life nearly 20 years ago. So you can see, it can take nearly a decade to become a priest.

Academically, priests are put through two areas of study: philosophy and theology.



There’s a reason for this. Philosophy is, as I like to call it, “thinking about thinking.” We all think, but do we really think about how we think and about what we think? In Philosophical studies one learns about the different philosophies that have come out of various times and places over the centuries – and the issues and ideologies associated with them.

Now the reason that priests need to be able to think about thinking is so that they can understand themselves and understand others.



The second course of study is in Theology. Theology is the study of God. And since God is beyond our understanding, it’s important to be able to articulate what we know about Him, how we know it, and what it all means ... as well as to be able to know what we don’t know about God … and the difference between the two.

But that’s just the academic part. Priesthood is more about being than doing – although there’s an awful lot to do, even in the middle of a pandemic lockdown.



The key to any vocation - be it Marriage, Single Life, Religious Life, or Holy Orders - is found in relationships. Most especially in one’s relationship with God ... and how that is played out in our relationships with one other.

Another area in any vocation is discernment – trying to figure out what you want to be and why you want to do it. Discernment can be broken into two questions – What are you running away from? And what are you running towards?

Motivation is very important. And you can’t run away from yourself – because, where ever you go … there you are.

And hopefully in any vocation – marriage or holy orders – we are running towards eternity … Christ … and God.



In my own journey to priesthood, I started out as the middle of five kids ... the second boy. One of my first memories of church is running up the middle aisle toward the altar ... I was probably about four years old ... during a Solemn Mass ... so I could get a better view of what was going on up there.

A few years later, I joined the parish music ministry, and eventually ended up leading a music group. While at the same time, I was going through High School, and college, and university.

I worked for a dozen or more years at General Motors, Robert Bosch Corporation, and Ford Motor Company in Engineering research and development. For six years I served in the U.S. Navy ... most of them overseas in Japan in Naval Aviation and Cryptology.



When I decided to start studying philosophy and theology, I did it on my own at night school - while tapping into the GI Bill. So what you see before you are your tax dollars at work.

It hasn’t always been easy. Seminaries are for younger men. And I was already in my 40s when I was going through seminary. It was at times frustrating - probably for those in charge as much as it was for me.

I remember one particular mentor - who recognizing that we were the same age, told me he wasn’t sure how to mentor me other than to “walk with me as a brother in Christ.” That was a period of great blessing.

By the time I arrived in mid-Michigan, I had already completed degrees in Philosophy and Theology ... bought and paid for by my own savings and the Navy College Fund.



In 2008, I was ordained a deacon; and in 2009, I was ordained a priest. The ordaining bishop is now the Archbishop of St. Louis. He’s celebrating 50 years as a priest. He called me a couple of weeks ago to thank me for my priesthood.

Four years ago, I came to northern California, and certainly hope that I am running toward God in all of this. I certainly miss my family who are all back in the midwest; but I am edified by being able to exercise my priestly ministry in a fruitful and productive way. I came out here to be busy, and I have not been disappointed.

This homily is ridiculously long; and I’m not sure I’ve really gone anywhere important, or made any significant theological points.



So, the bottom line in all of this is that vocation is about listening to God’s call, and making sure you’re running toward God. Any vocation requires sacrifice, but despite the sacrifices, doing God’s will comes with enormous blessings.

As we continue in this 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 listen for the voice of the Good Shepherd, and in hearing His voice … follow Him wherever he leads us.

May the graces flowing from this altar strengthen each one of us in our relationship with Almighty God … Father, Son, and Holy Spirit … and with one another … and with all Christians.

3rd Week of Easter @ St. Vincent de Paul Parish

VIDEOS - THIRD WEEK OF EASTER

MASSES

Memorial of St. Athanasius 5-2-2020


Memorial of St. Joseph the Worker 5-1-2020


Thursday of the 3rd Week of Easter 4-30-2020


Memorial of St. Catherine of Siena 4-29-2020


Tuesday of the 3rd Week of Easter 4-28-2020


Monday of the 3rd Week of Easter 4-27-2020


3rd Sunday of Easter 4-26-2020


III Domingo de Pascua 26-4-2020


CONSECRATION

Consecration to Mary, Mother of the Church 5-1-2020

3rd Sunday of Easter @ St. Vincent de Paul Parish

HOMILY - THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER
APRIL 26, 2020
ORDINARY FORM (ENGLISH) MASS



Groundhog Day is a 1993 American comedy-fantasy film starring Bill Murray as TV weatherman Phil Conners. During an assignment to Punxsutawny, Pennsylvania on Groundhog Day with his producer and cameraman, Phil gets caught in a time loop – where he has to live out, over and over again, the worst day of his life.

In the midst of this time loop, he wakes up in a little rural bed and breakfast to Sonny and Cher’s “I Got You Babe,” each and every day.

Only he notices, and at first, he takes advantage of the lack of consequences doing all sorts of terrible things, and wakes up the next day back where he started.



Eventually, he uses his seemingly endless time to better himself, and in the end wins the heart of his producer, and wakes up the next day – not just back to normal, but better than normal.

Groundhog Day only had modest success at the box office, but over time has become more and more popular. The term “groundhog day” now means something like “deja vu,” and the film itself was added to the National Film Registry as being “culturally, historically, [and] aesthetically significant.”

Today is the 3rd Sunday of Easter.

But the Gospel readings for the past three weeks are all from that first Easter Day. It’s almost like we keep waking up to Easter – each time seeing it from a slightly different perspective.



Luke’s Gospel of the Emmaus Road incident is familiar to us all. Jesus “was made known to [those disciples] in the breaking of bread.” Opening their eyes, and lifting their discouraged hearts.

In the section immediately before this pericope, the evidence of the Resurrection is discovered by the women, and reported to the Apostles. In this version of the story, only Peter runs to the tomb, but still returns in amazement. In the opening of the tomb, their hearts are left perplexed.

Immediately after what we just heard, the two disciples run back to Jerusalem, and while they’re trying to explain everything, Jesus appears in their midst – bringing joy to their troubled hearts, and opening their minds to the reality of the Resurrection.



We’re on week 6 of “shelter in place,” and some days it seems like same old, same old … sort of like groundhog day over and over again.

Yet we have an opportunity to do something with all of this free time, or quality time, or alone time that we find ourselves with. And soon enough, we’ll be back to normal – whatever that is. But it will be busier, and we’ll all be wondering what happened to all of this time.

St. Peter, in his first letter, gives us guidance to grow in holiness through “faith and hope … in God.” And in the first reading from Acts, we see the Power of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost directing Peter to proclaim boldly that Christ is indeed alive.



Easter Season is 50 days, and it ends on Pentecost – May 31st. We’re already we’re almost one-third of the way through it.

And while “shelter in place” might have us feeling like we’re living our own groundhog day, let’s use this time to grow in Faith, Hope, and Love … to persevere and grow in holiness, harmony, and virtue.
As we continue with this liturgy and offer to God the Father, the sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit … let us resolve to grow deeper in our daily walk with Christ … and to recognize in our own situations an opportunity – an appointed time – to live through, with, and in our risen Lord and Savior – Jesus Christ.