Good Friday @ St. Apollinaris

HOMILY - GOOD FRIDAY
APRIL 19, 2019
7:00 PM ORDINARY FORM (ENGLISH) SERVICE



We have just heard the Passion according to St. John. A customary reflection on Good Friday are what are called “The Seven Last Words from the Cross.”

There are three from the Gospel of St. Luke, one from the Gospel of St. Matthew (and St. Mark), and three from the Gospel of St. John.



Enumerated, they are:

Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. (Lk 23:34)Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise. (Lk 23:43)Woman, behold your son. Son, behold your mother (Jn 19:26–27)My God, My God, why have you forsaken me? (Mt 27:46/Mk 15:34)I thirst. (Jn 19:28)It is finished. (Jn 19:30)Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit. (Lk 23:46)

And they are traditionally known as words of:

1. Forgiveness, 2. Salvation, 3. Relationship, 4. Abandonment, 5. Distress, 6. Triumph, and 7. Reunion.

Forty-some days ago, as a spiritual exercise going into Lent, I began what I now call a “Mindfulness of Forgiveness.”



It started out sort of slow … repeating to myself “I forgive,” over and over. Every day. Whenever something … a situation, a memory, or just a turn of mood … got my goat or raised my ire … I would redouble my efforts. And I’d have to remind myself, pretty much every day, too.

Going through Lent, I’ve remembered people who I didn’t necessarily forgive over the course of half a century. And moving through these forty-some days, I’ve learned the power of mindful forgiveness.



Both parish priests here at St. A’s spend roughly 3 hours in the confessional each week.

And, Sacramentally, forgiveness is “easy.”

But in receiving God’s grace in that Sacrament … it’s important for us to not only “receive,” but also to “give.” And in that “giving” … of “for-giving,” we share in the power of God’s grace … and can do so by paying it forward … as well as paying it backwards … with our own forgiveness.



As we reflect on the great gift of God given to us in the Person of His Son … and reflect upon His Passion, Cross, and the Eucharist and all the Sacraments … let us seek always to give as good as we get … imitating Him by taking up our own crosses … every day … and following Christ Jesus, Our Lord.

5th Sunday of Lent @ St. Apollinaris Parish

HOMILY - 5TH SUNDAY OF LENT
APRIL 7, 2019
4:30 PM (SAT), 10:30 AM ORDINARY FORM (ENGLISH) MASSES



A popular TV show that has been around for nearly 25 years is Judge Judy.

While it constitutes a form of Reality TV, Judge Judy does, in fact, adjudicate real-life small claims disputes within a simulated court room.



As Reality TV, both parties receive an appearance fee of around $500, as well as $35 per day during the taping of a show. They also receive airfare and hotel expenses for themselves and their witnesses.
In essence, taking your case to Judge Judy is sort of an all-expense-paid vacation to settle a lawsuit.



In the real world, court can often be stressful, and litigants seek to strategically refute each other’s claims. Yet there are expenses of both time and money involved in pursuing a court case … including the possibility of losing.

Today is the Fifth Sunday of Lent.



In the Gospel, we hear about how “the scribes and the Pharisees [have] brought a woman who had been caught in adultery.” They then ask Jesus to adjudicate the case, and lay out the law for Him to make a decision.

However, the scribes and the Pharisees have no real interest in justice. In reality, they are setting Jesus up in a lose-lose situation.



If Jesus doesn’t embrace the “open and shut” nature of the case – stoning her according to the Law of Moses – then He is showing open disdain for God’s Law … and the scribes and the Pharisees have a reason condemn Him as an apostate – someone who won’t follow the Jewish Law.

On the other hand, if Jesus condemns the woman and allows the crowd to stone her, He will be arrested by the Roman authorities – because the death penalty could only be tried in a Roman civil court.

While the scribes and the Pharisees think they are pretty clever – having set a trap for Jesus – and they think they’ve got it all figured out.



But Jesus turns the table on them by saying:

Let the one among you who is without sin 
be the first to throw a stone at her

The scribes and the Pharisees certainly thought that they were free from sin. But if they’re the ones to start throwing stones, the Romans will arrest them, and they will be charged with attempted murder.
Instead of being boxed-in by the trap set for Him, Jesus operates outside-the-box and reverses things on those who were looking to trap Him.



We hear of God’s “outside-the-box” thinking being spoken of in the First Reading from the Prophet Isaiah, who in speaking through the prophet says:

[Behold!] I am doing something new!

God is admonishing Israel to let go of the past … to let go of their “baggage” … and to allow Him to act in their midst in a new way.



St. Paul, in the Letter to the Philippians, after presenting his qualifications and genealogy – things very much sought-after by Jewish leaders – refers to all of this … his historical “resume” … as

so much rubbish

when compared to

the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.

Monday is our parish Reconciliation Service. There will be about half-a-dozen priests available for confession.

Hopefully in our Lenten reflections we have come to the conclusion that our human condition leaves us far short of the glory of God. That is, no one among us is without sin.

In the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we have the opportunity to allow God to do “something new” in our lives. We get to take out the spiritual trash – “so much rubbish” – which we have been holding onto … for how long? and for what reason?



The Sacrament of Reconciliation puts us in the position to “[re-]gain Christ” and “through faith in Christ” to obtain “[our] righteousness from God” … “to know [Christ Jesus] and the power of his resurrection” in our lives and in ourselves – through the power of the Sacrament.

As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ … let us open ourselves up to God’s plan for … “something new” … without baggage … without shame … without guilt.

Let us move forward toward Holy Week and “continue [our] pursuit toward the goal, the prize of God’s upward calling, in Christ Jesus” our Lord.

4th Sunday of Lent @ St. Apollinaris Parish

HOMILY - 4TH SUNDAY OF ADVENT
MARCH 31, 2019
7:30 AM, 5:30 PM ORDINARY FORM (ENGLISH) MASSES



George William Cooke was born in 1884 in Yorkshire, England. He was a Methodist minister in Wilmington, Delaware; and worked with a group called the Gospel Crusaders that ran gospel revivals and Christian camp meetings.

As a young man, Cooke circled the globe – twice – with Samuel Brengle … a former Methodist minister and the first American to attain the rank of Commissioner in the Salvation Army.

Cooke compiled a book of songs called Gospel Crusade Hymns, and is author of many. Perhaps chief among them titled, “Joy in my heart.” The original lyrics were “I have the joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart,” or as it has come down to us nearly 100 years later, “I’ve got that joy joy joy joy, down in my heart.”



This song has found its way into popular culture through a 2016 Volkswagon TV commercial, and a 2015 Coca-Cola advertisement; as well as in a 1992 Simpsons episode (S04E10) as well as countless scenes from the 1960s sitcom The Beverly Hillbillies.

Cooke died in 1951 in Jamestown – situated in Chautauqua County, the western-most county in the state of New York.



Today is Laetare Sunday – the Fourth Sunday of Lent.

Similar to Gaudete Sunday – the Third Sunday in Advent, the vestments are of a Rose color [Yes, I know this is pink] to signal that we have passed the half-way point in a penitential season. The Introit – or Entrance Antiphon – for both of these half-way Sundays exhorts us to Rejoice!



Unless you are a well-heeled Latin scholar, you may not realize that while Laetare and Gaudare both mean to rejoice. But there is a distinction. In Advent, the rejoicing (Gaudete) is interior; while in Lent, the rejoicing (Laetare) is exterior.

The internet definition of joy is rather misleading. According to Google, joy is “a feeling of great pleasure and happiness.” But this is a bit of a mess.



Philosopher Dr. Peter Kreeft states that:

Joy is more than happiness, just as happiness is more than pleasure. 

And he further elaborates that:

Pleasure is in the body.Happiness is in the mind and feelings. Joy is deep in the heart, the spirit, the center of the self.

And so, it would seem that Dr. Kreeft helps to clarify the confusion generated by the internet definition of joy … while being in agreement with Pastor Cooke as to the location of joy … at least, in some part.

Digging a little deeper, St. Thomas Aquinas, the 13th century Theologian, in his Summa Theologia (originally penned in medieval Latin) addresses “Joy” in Question 28 in the Secunda Secundae (that is, the second part of the second part).



My own very terse summation of those four rather lengthy articles is:

Love is the cause of joy.Joy is a participation in the Divine good.Perfect joy is not something we take in, but rather something we enter into.Joy is an act of Love … an effect of Love … the noblest human act. 

The term St. Thomas Aquinas uses for “Love” is “Caritas” … the highest form of Love – the self-sacrificial total-gift-of-self Divine Love.



Returning to Dr. Kreeft for a wrap-up on Joy,

Everyone wants pleasure. More deeply, everyone wants happiness. Most deeply, everyone wants joy.

As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ … let us pray to receive a superabundant outpouring of the theological virtues of Faith, Hope, and Love … most especially Love … Agape … Caritas … so that we might experience in the midst of our penitential practices … the Spiritual Fruit of Joy.

3rd Sunday of Lent @ St. Apollinaris Parish

HOMILY - 3RD SUNDAY OF ADVENT
MARCH 22-23, 2019
4:30 PM (SAT), 9:00 AM, 10:30 AM ORDINARY FORM (ENGLISH) MASSES



Metaphysics, according to Aristotle, deals with ontology and first principles. Ontology is the philosophy of “being,” while the firmest of Aristotle’s first principles is non-contradiction. Non-contradiction states that “opposite assertions cannot [both] be true at the same time” – meaning that something either “is” something, or “isn’t” something … but that it cannot somehow “be” and “not be” at the same time.

The term Metaphysics can either mean a philosophy that goes beyond the physical world … or else, more simply, the philosophy that Aristotle wrote after his works on the physical world.

As a “first principle” the Principle of Non-contradiction cannot be derived from other principles, and stands on its own.



Today is the 3rd Sunday of Lent.

In the First Reading from the third chapter of the Book of Exodus, we hear of Moses and the burning bush. When Moses asks God for His name, he is told:

I am Who am.

Which at first glance sounds like a conundrum or a riddle or a puzzle. But on further reflection expresses that God’s existence is being – or in other wods, His ontology is to be.

God exists without cause. That is, nobody made God. And He has existed for all eternity – before time, and will continue to exist after time.

God is infinite and eternal, while everything else we know is finite – limited in space and time; and mortal – that is subject to death or eventual destruction.

And so, for God to tell Moses that His name is “I am Who am,” is actually a pretty deep proposition.



St. Paul in chapter 10 of his First Letter to the Corinthians, takes us eleven chapters further along in the Book of Exodus. Paul is talking about the crossing of the Red Sea by the Israelites. He compares that miraculous event to baptism, and speaks as well about the manna – the miraculous bread … and the water that miraculously came from the rock.

Yet despite miracle after miracle that the Israelites experienced in the desert – Paul reminds us – some rebelled; but in the end, they all died.

We are, however, left hanging. Paul is giving a warning to the people of Corinth – and in reading this we, too should be warned. But we are missing the final line of this section.



That last verse is omitted in todays reading. It goes on to tell us:

God is faithful and will not let you be tried beyond your strength;but with the trial he will also provide a way out,so that you may be able to bear it.

And this is the difference between the interactions between God and humanity in the Old and New Testament.

The baptism of crossing the Red Sea provided an escape from slavery in Egypt; while our Baptism not only frees us from Original Sin, but also brings us into a real and actual spiritual relationship with the Most Holy Trinity. We are incorporated into Christ, and as such, become members of Christ; making us children of God; and temples of the Holy Spirit.

While the Israelites saw and experience God’s marvels – as an outward manifestation – they did not share in His grace. They did not share the Divine life of God as Christians do – through sanctifying grace and the power of the Holy Spirit within them.



Our Lord, in St. Luke’s Gospel, provides an additional warning. First Jesus admonishes us not to delay in turning toward God … in accepting the grace of new life in Him; and then, through a parable teaches that we should always seek to be fruitful members in the Kingdom.

Almost three weeks ago, on Ash Wednesday, we heard:

Behold, now is a very acceptable time;
behold, now is the day of salvation.

And so, as we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ – let us immerse ourselves in the Life of God which we have received in Baptism … now! Let us turn toward God with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength … now! Let us allow His sanctifying and saving grace to penetrate to the depths of our being … ! Let us utilize the supernatural gifts of our own Baptism – Faith, Hope, and Love – so that knowing that God is God and we are not, we might go forth to manifest His glory in our lives.

2nd Sunday of Lent @ St. Apollinaris

HOMILY - 2ND SUNDAY OF ADVENT
MARCH 17, 2019
9:00 AM, 5:30 PM ORDINARY FORM (ENGLISH) MASSES



215 days ago, in the village of Westport, County Mayo, Ireland … our bold group of American pilgrims (and one guy from Singapore) were planning the next day’s climb up Croagh Phadrig – the mountain of St. Patrick … where it is claimed that in the year 441 AD, St. Patrick himself fasted and prayed for 40 days.

Typically climbed on the last Sunday of July, known as Reek Sunday – devout pilgrims proceed barefoot up the boulder-strewn path. We were two weeks late, but that evening, over pints of Guinness and Smithwicks … our boldness increased … and we plotted our penitential hardships for the next day.

That next morning, following Mass at the ruins of Murrisk Abbey, all but one brave young lady opted to keep their shoes on. Nonetheless, we scrambled up, and for myself, driven by zeal … or perhaps the fear of running out of steam … I pushed for the summit.



There were plenty of falls, rain, and mud. And in the photos at the top, I have a joyful yet pained expression on my face.

For the record, down was much more difficult than up … but after a couple of hours, I was back at sea level … humbled, wet, dirty … yet victorious, joyful, and exhausted.

Today is the Second Sunday of Lent.

In today’s readings we begin with God’s covenant with Abram … who will soon be renamed Abraham. Catching up to today’s reading … what we have is a 75 year old man who has travelled roughly 1,000 miles on foot – from Ur to Haran; and then Haran to Beersheba – with all of his livestock and possessions; as well as an entourage of servants and slaves.



God asks for a sacrifice, and as Abram waits and prays through the day and into the night … God’s presence is revealed as a “smoking fire … [and] a flaming torch” moving within the sacrificial offerings.

Abram’s personal sacrifice was an enormous pilgrimage of inestimable hardship. He left everything he ever knew to follow the promises of God. And he is rewarded by the vague future promise of what would be left to his descendants … the descendants of one old man who at that moment … at the age of 75 had no children … and no earthly reason to hope that this would come to pass.



In the Gospel, Our Lord reveals His Glory to Peter, James, and John in the Transfiguration. They are overcome and frightened at the sight of Christ in His glory – revealed in the dazzling brilliance of the Holy Spirit, the voice of the Father, and the presence of the Son.

St. Paul points out that “[o]ur citizenship is in heaven” where we await the coming of Jesus Christ to transform us into conformity with His glory.

We live our life in pilgrimage – perhaps not necessarily 1,000 miles on foot – but as we walk through our days with Christ as our guide … we bear the hardships of this life with our eyes focused on eternity … and with a hope of sharing in the glory to come.



God calls us out of our comfort zone – asking us to do what is difficult – in order to fill us with His transforming grace – so that we might go beyond mere human efforts in living the Christian life.

The eastern Church sees each liturgy as an expression of the Transfiguration. The Old and New Laws are revealed to us … and Christ is made present – Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity – through the power of the Holy Spirit … and we call out to God in boldness as we recite the Lord’s Prayer … daring to call Him “Father.”



We are on Tabor … and Christ has come to us in Word … and He will come to us in Sacrament. Let us marvel in awe at His glory … revealed to us … right here … right now.

As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ … let us pray to be awestruck … so that we might be overcome by the marvelous and privileged place we have been given through the Sacramental covenants of Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Eucharist. May the glory of God fill us … so that as we encounter His presence here this morning, we might be transformed into the image of Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit, as God’s holy ones.

Ash Wednesday @ St. Apollinaris Parish / Justin-Siena

HOMILY - ASH WEDNESDAY
MARCH 6, 2019
7:00 AM, 12:00 NOON ORDINARY FORM (ENGLISH) MASS



Organizing consultant Marie Kondo has her own particular organizational method she calls the “KonMari” method.

She refers to what she does as “tidying up,” as opposed to “cleaning up.”

“Cleaning up,” she says, is something that you do to your surroundings. “Tidying up” is not so much about getting rid of things, but about making a choice … or deciding how to live … and what you want to keep in your life.



Marie Kondo stresses that we should only hold onto the things that “spark joy.”

The first step, she says, is to make an enormous pile of all the things you have, and then when you see all of this in one place, you can choose the things that truly “spark joy” … and let go of the rest as not essential to your life.

We find ourselves this morning at the cusp of Holy Lent.

Today is Ash Wednesday.

Marie Kondo’s “Tidying Up” can give us a way to apply Lent to our daily lives.

Just as “tidying up” differed from “cleaning up” – where one was externally focused and the other internally focused … Lent should be less a period of “self-improvement” and more of a time of “self-reflection” and “self-discovery.”



Over these next 40 days, we can take an assessment of our heart, mind, and soul – looking at all that we are and all that we do. And instead of looking at Lent as a time of “giving things up,” we can approach Lent from the perspective of what do we want to hold on to … and what do we want to get rid of … keeping only the things that “spark joy” and letting go of what doesn’t.

When the 40 days are over, we will hopefully find ourselves in a better place … as better people … living a better life. But even more so: in a holier place ... as holier people ... living a holier life.

We have 6 weeks to examine the enormous pile of experiences, memories, attitudes, and ideas that make up our life. And we can choose, not only those things that “spark joy,” but the things that also “spark” love, peace, perseverance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.



These are the 12 gifts of the Holy Spirit, and these are all given to us as a foretaste of heaven on earth.

Let us take this season of Lent to “tidy up” our hearts, minds, and souls … in order to draw closer to God … taking it as a time of “self-reflection” and “self-discovery” … to learn who we are, and to gain a clearer vision of who God is. Let us choose to live the life of heaven here on earth, holding onto only those things which “spark” love, joy, peace, perseverance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control … and living that way each day … in everything we say … and everything we do.

8th Sunday OT @ St. Apollinaris Parish

HOMILY - EIGHTH SUNDAY OF IN ORDINARY TIME
MARCH 3, 2019
7:30 AM, 5:30 PM ORDINARY FORM (ENGLISH) MASSES



Fr. Ubald Rugirangoga (Roo-ji-ron-go-gah), Cyangugu (Cyan-goo-goo), Rwanda. He was ordained 35 years ago, just prior to the devastating genocide in his home country. At that time, the Hutus savagely slaughtered their Tutsi neighbors during the Rwandan Civil War. For Fr. Ubald, this was even more disturbing as his parish consisted of both Hutus and Tutsis, and he himself was an ethnic Tutsi.

In only 100 days, 800,000 people were senselessly killed.

Fleeing for his life in the dark of night, he found himself in Europe. He was to discover that 80 members of his family had died in the conflict.



While at the famous healing Shrine in Lourdes, he heard Jesus tell him:

Ubald, carry your cross.

Fr. Ubald understood that “forgiveness” was the cross he was to carry, and indeed this is the secret to receiving the fullness of God’s grace, mercy, and love. In that moment he was transformed in his heart, and became an Apostle of Forgiveness.



Too often, people hold grudges against others for long periods of time – and this is like drinking poison, hoping to it will kill somebody else. But instead it kills the divine life within a Christian who does not forgive.

Fr. Ubald’s life and message is documented in the movie titled “Forgiveness: The Secret of Peace,” and a book, to be released next week, titled “Forgiveness Makes You Free.”

In his book, he outlines five spiritual choices to draw us to Christ:

1. Gratitude and Faith,2. Choosing to Forgive,3. Rejecting Evil,4. Choosing to Live for Jesus, and5. Claiming God’s Blessing.

But we need to realize that in making a choices, we are not passive observers. Rather we must engage our entire being – heart, mind, and soul – in order to truly receive freedom in Christ Jesus.

Today is the 8th Sunday in Ordinary Time.



Our readings focus on seeking balance between what we are inside versus what appearance we put on in public. We hear in the first reading “The fruit of the tree shows the care it has had,” and Our Lord reminds us in the Gospel: “A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good, / but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil.”



Elsewhere in St. Paul’s writings we hear: “all have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God.”

And indeed, as we approach Lent in three days, it is important to seriously examine ourselves in the light of God’s glory.



In the Greek Church – that is the Byzantines in our Church and the Orthodox – today is “Forgiveness Sunday.” At the end of the evening service of prayer, the priest says to the people:

Forgive me, a sinner.

And the people reply:

God forgives, and so do I.

Then the people say to the priest:

Forgive me, a sinner.

And he replies:

God forgives, and so do I.

And then the people turn to the person on their left or right and do the same one-on-one.

Forgive me, a sinner.

God forgives, and so do I.

As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ ... let us, in receiving the divine gift of grace, mercy, love, and forgiveness ... resolve to “pay it forward.” The forgiveness we receive in the Sacraments must not stop with us. Nor can the other gifts of love, grace, and mercy be hoarded.

Forgive me, a sinner.

God forgives, and so do I.