6th Sunday in OT @ St. Peter Chesaning

HOMILY - 6TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

FEBRUARY 13/14, 2021

The English language is an interesting conglomeration of ancient languages. Most likely because of it’s location as an island nation, it has been in the middle of multiple conflicts between various parties over countless years.

Taking some word that are perhaps too familiar these past 12 months: pandemic – comes from the Greek, virus – from Latin, sickness – from Old English, illness – from Old Norse, and disease – from Old French.

I’ve never been fond of hospitals. The constant noise: beeping, walking, doors opening and closing, phones ringing, people talking . . .  I guess most people aren’t very excited about them. 

Once in a while someone will talk about hospitals having good food. That’s not my experience.

Getting sick is just no fun. And if one year ago, if we had very little knowledge about disease and illness, thanks to the Pandemic, we’ve all become experts of a sort. Too much information seems to be the order of the day.

Today is the 6th Sunday of Ordinary Time.

In our first reading from Leviticus, we hear of how those suffering with leprosy were quarantined from the community at large. Although medical science, not being as sophisticated as it is now, leprosy could mean anything from acne or a rash to what is now known as Hansen’s disease or even skin cancer.

The temple priest was to do the examination and make the determination as to whether the person did or did not have leprosy. And we hear that a  leper was to “muffle his beard” – that is, wear a mask. And that “[he] shall dwell apart” – that is, maintain social distance. 

The penalty, of course, in those days was death. If a leper broke the rules, he would be stoned to death. 

In the Gospel, a leper approaches Jesus, kneels, and asks to be healed. The man had faith that Jesus would heal him, but as an outcast the question was: Would Jesus heal him?

Now, instead of following proper legal protocols (that is getting away from the leper, and throwing stones,) Jesus touches him. This, by law, makes Jesus subject to the same penalties. Jesus goes even further, He speaks to the leper: “I do will it. Be made clean.”

And, well, the rest is history.

Theologians of every stripe have compared sickness to sin – for better or for worse. The idea that sickness is caused by sin is certainly outdated. But the analogy, the comparison – of the effects of sickness and the effects of sin – can often be instructive.

Sin is often deeper than what is immediately apparent. 
Sin can be contagious. 
Sin can cause injury and harm. 
And sin isolates and separates.

And we can see this, not only in the Bible stories of leprosy, but also in our own lives . . . especially as we have been living in the midst of the COVID pandemic.

This reading isn’t accidentally here in the first several weeks after Epiphany. Rather, the Church knows that we will be heading into the Season of Lent. It’s not just about purple vestments and minor keys in music. 

Lent is about repentance. Lent is about sin. Lent is about being healed from sin.

Jesus came to bring us into right relationship with God. While that gives us freedom, St. Paul points out in the second reading that freedom is balanced by responsibility. And that when we are in right relationship with God, we are called to be in right relationship with one another.

With our siblings in Christ, we are called to glorify God. With those outside of Christ, we are called to reach out to them – by word and example – to win those souls for Christ.

As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, let us recognize that we are mere days from Lent . . . but also, let us recognize the need for us to be healed from personal sin, while reaching out to those who do not know Christ.

And through our efforts over 40 days, and the powerful grace of God, may we move closer to Christ and be healed from all things that separate us from Him.

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.)