Tuesday 1st Week of Advent, St. Apollinaris School

HOMILY GRAPHICS - TUESDAY FIRST WEEK OF ADVENT
NOVEMBER 29, 2016
8:45 AM ORDINARY FORM MASS

The First Reading talks about the Isaiahian Gifts of the Holy Spirit (as opposed to the Corinthian Gifts of the Holy Spirit in 1 Cor 12).

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1st Sunday of Advent @ St. Apollinaris Church

HOMILY - FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT
NOVEMBER 26-27, 2016
4:30 PM (SAT), 10:30 AM, 5:30 PM ORDINARY FORM MASS

Sleep is a naturally recurring state of body and mind consisting of decreased interaction with external stimuli, and inhibited physical activity. Observed from the outside, it can appear to be a passive and unchanging state of being.

However, there are three stages of sleep, which can be called light, normal, and deep; as well as REM sleep – called this because of the “rapid eye movements” that occur – which as many of you may know, is the period of sleep in which most dreaming occurs.

Light sleep is the initial phase of sleep, occurring at the outset, and consists of a slowing down of the electrical signals in the brain. Normal sleep consists of a continued slowing of brain signals, with periodic bursts of higher frequency activity. Deep sleep consists of slow and regular brain activity. In these phases of sleep, both breathing and heart rate also slow down.

REM sleep, which is when the most vivid dreams take place, consists of brain signals similar to those in a waking state. Breathing becomes more rapid and irregular, and heart rate increases; while the muscles experience sleep paralysis.

And, so it would seem, sleep is not a uniform, dull, or passive state. While from external observation it appears as if nothing is happening … on the inside, many different things are going on.

Today is the First Sunday of Advent. The church decorations have shifted from green to violet, the Advent wreath has one candle lit, and the Scripture readings diverge from solely focusing on the end of time to our preparation for the Three comings of Christ.

Indeed, Christ will come at the end of time. But He also comes to us in Word and Sacrament every time we come together for prayer. And of course, He came over 2,000 years ago as an infant, born in Bethlehem.

Today’s reading from Isaiah is a mid-point between two events which occur before and after the short reading we have just heard. Before this reading, we hear a courtroom scene before the Throne of God. The charges are stated, and the evidence is presented. And after this reading, follow a series of judgments to be leveled against the accused.

But in the middle, God speaks of a promise. A promise of a future righteous kingdom, where all would worship the One, True God. Where conflict and division would be eliminated. The Word of God would proceed from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth.

In the Epistle reading from St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans, we hear three instruction. The first is to wake up. The second is to clean up. And the third is to grow up.

St. Paul tells us that we “know the time.” And so we are to wake up. To take an assessment of our surroundings and to interact with the outside world. We need to shake off any paralysis or dreaminess and take stock of things … right here and right now.

And once we have done that, we are to clean up. Whatever “works of darkness” we may have taken up or acquired are to be cast off … and thrown out so the we might be clothed in the “armor of light”.

And finally, we are to grow up. That is, we must not wallow in our base desires, pleasing only ourselves, and feedingourthe flesh. But we are to assume our roles as full members of Christ, putting on Christ Jesus in all that we think, say, and do.

The Gospel reiterates these three admonitions, but in reverse. Jesus reminds us of the time of Noah when people were wrapped up in worldly affairs and were eventually carried away in the flood.

Next he speaks of one “being taken” and another one “left”. This word translated as “being taken” means to be carried off by a higher power … arrested, or sent off for judgment of ones crimes.

And finally, Jesus reminds us to stay awake.

As we begin these four short weeks of the Advent Season, let us resolve to draw closer to God. Let us wake up, clean up, and grow up in Christ … so that we might rejoice at His coming not only at Christmas, but whenever we gather in His name, and ultimately when He comes in glory.

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Thanksgiving @ St. Apollinaris Church

HOMILY - THANKSGIVING DAY
NOVEMBER 24, 2016
7:00 AM, 10:00 AM (THU) ORDINARY FORM MASS

Today we have joined together to commemorate our national holiday of Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is historically connected to a 1621 event in Plymouth Plantation in Massachusetts. Those in attendance were the roughly 50 survivors of the Mayflower’s original 100 who had endured the ocean voyage, and 90 native Americans.

Theologically, the pilgrims at Plymouth Plantation were Calvinist separatists – who wanted nothing to do with the Anglican Church. As contrasted with the Puritans who founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony who while also Calvinists sought to remain within – in order to reform – the Anglican Church.

The famous Indian known as Squanto – technically Tisquantum – was originally kidnapped by an English explorer who brought him to England. He was eventually sold to Spanish monks, who freed him, instructed him in the Catholic Faith, and paid for his return to America.

On his return, he found his entire tribe – the Patuxet – dead from smallpox.

Over the next two years, he assisted the pilgrims at Plymouth Plantation due to his facility in the English language, and helped establish a peaceful alliance between the pilgrims and the Wampanoag tribe.

The first 1621 Thanksgiving lasted three days, and was recorded by two historians. The exact date is unknown but is considered to have been around the Feast of Saint Michael.

On October 3, 1789, President George Washington issued a proclamation that said, in part:

"Now therefore do I recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November … to be devoted … to the service of that great and glorious Being … [to] all unite in rendering … our sincere and humble thanks …"

74 years later, President Abraham Lincoln designated it as a permanent national holiday, calling upon all citizens and residents to,

"observe the last Thursday of November … as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who [dwells] in the Heavens."

Contemporary historians present alternatives to the Pilgrims. Many other locations claim to have been the first “first” thanksgiving.

Florida claims Ponce de Leon’s celebration in 1513. Texas claims an event celebrating the victory of Coronado in 1541. Virginia and Maine claim an event in 1607.

Nonetheless, the imagery of the 1621 event is embedded in our imaginations and is part of our own national history … or perhaps mythology.

How fitting that we have gathered here this morning to give thanks to God Almighty through the Eucharistic sacrifice of the Mass. As the word Eucharist itself means “thanksgiving,” let us be attentive to the prayers of the Mass which call to mind this spirit of gratitude.

Our readings from the Old Testament and St. Paul’s Letters both reflect on giving thanks for God’s grace and peace, and the abundant gifts He pours out on – us – His Holy People..

While in the Gospel, we hear how even Jesus Himself struggled to elicit gratitude from people – He only had a 10% success rate.

Perhaps its human nature. We have to work at gratitude. We have to make an effort at being thankful.

Research in positive psychology has concluded that:

"gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness. Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships."

As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ – the Holy Eucharist … a Greek word that means – thanksgiving and gratitude – let us offer a prayer of thanksgiving to Our Lord and God for the benefits we have received in our lives from His most gracious hand.

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32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time @ St. Apollinaris Parish

HOMILY - 32ND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
NOVEMBER 5-6, 2016
4:30 PM (SAT), 7:30 AM, 10:30 AM (SUN) ORDINARY FORM MASSES

Today is the start of Vocations Awareness week. Everyone has a vocation, that is a call … placed on their lives from God. God created each person with a purpose, and it is up to us to sift through the chaos of life and follow Christ … not only as clergy or religious … but also as spouses, parents, and singles.

I can trace my own call to the priesthood to the young age of 4. My parents were in the habit of seating all five of us kids in the front row so that we could see what was going on. As a toddler, there’s nothing worse than staring at the back of somebody’s head and wondering what everybody else is looking at.

Back then, in the 60s, the Mass was the old way. And in the summer of 1966, my youngest brother was born – so we all ended stuck in the back row with the baby. For the rest of the summer, I would attempt, mostly unsuccessfully, to get to the edge of the pew so I could look down the aisle at what was going on up front on the altar. Most of the time, I’d make too much noise, and be picked up and taken outside; or else I’d be told to sit still and be quiet. One Sunday, however, I managed to make it to the end of the pew. I was able to lower myself over the edge and onto the floor. Looking back, it seemed that nobody had noticed.

At that point, I saw my chance. I made a break for the front of the church, sprinting as fast as I could, hoped to reclaim my spot back in the front row.

Of course, my dad was faster … and scooped me up … and took me outside … where I wailed at the injustice of it all.

Off-and-on, we would play Mass, wearing a bathrobe or a blanket, with a beach towel around the neck … two flashlights pointed upwards on the coffee table in the place of candles; and then … the process of making hosts by smashing marshmallows between the pages of the dictionary or phone book … with Hawaiian Punch serving in place of wine … a handkerchief and a dish towel for altar cloths.

I’m not sure that we ever made it completely through a Mass before somebody ate all the marshmallows or drank all of the Hawaiian Punch; but I remember that we at least tried.

I was an altar boy, and sang in the choir or lead the music off and on. I also served as a Minister of Communion and a Lector, and helped with Jail Ministry.

Even with a job or while in the Navy, I did what I could at the local parish.

I got a lot of advice … much of it contradictory. But that shouldn’t surprise anyone. No two marriages are the same. And similarly, no two priests or religious are the same.

Eventually, I started taking night school classes in Theology and Philosophy, and after two years left my job to pursue full-time studies. And after seven years of school, I was ordained a priest.

The bottom-line to all of this is that when God calls, it’s not a one-shot deal or a lightning bolt, but usually there are threads and paths that connect throughout your life. It was less of my choice to go into a certain job or profession and more the choice to finally listen to God’s voice and answer His call … the call that God placed on my life from before I was born.

Through all of this, God knew what He was doing … My job was to figure out what it meant for me … and how I was going to follow Him.

As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, let us pray that we will all listen to … and hear … the voice of God … who calls us to follow Him in a variety of ways. A vocation is a calling, and that doesn’t always mean priesthood or religious life. The vocation of spouse and parent is a challenge. And living as a faithful single person is not always easy.

And so, let us pray for each other … that our hearts may be directed “to the love of God and to the endurance of Christ.”

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Christ the King @ Holy Family Mission

HOMILY - FEAST OF CHRIST THE KING
OCTOBER 30, 2016
12:00 NOON (SUN) EXTRAORDINARY FORM MASS

Today is the Feast of Christ the King. This feast was instituted in 1925 by Pope Pius XI in his encyclical letter Quas primas in response to growing nationalism and secularism as well as the question of the temporal power of the Holy Father.

Pope Pius XI instituted this feast with a desire that it affect the laity. I read from the encyclical:

"The faithful, moreover, by meditating upon these truths, will gain much strength and courage, enabling them to form their lives after the true Christian ideal. If to Christ our Lord is given all power in heaven and on earth; if all men, purchased by his precious blood, are by a new right subjected to his dominion; if this power embraces all men, it must be clear that not one of our faculties is exempt from his empire. He must reign in our minds, which should assent with perfect submission and firm belief to revealed truths and to the doctrines of Christ. He must reign in our wills, which should obey the laws and precepts of God. He must reign in our hearts, which should spurn natural desires and love God above all things, and cleave to him alone. He must reign in our bodies and in our members, which should serve as instruments for the interior sanctification of our souls, or to use the words of the Apostle Paul, as instruments of justice unto God."

That is, Christ has been given all power in heaven and on earth. Period. No “separation of Church and state,” or worse the “I’m Catholic ‘but’ “ issue.

Christ must reign in our minds, our wills, our hearts, our bodies, and in our souls. Every aspect of our person and every aspect of our lives must be subject to the dominion and reign of Jesus Christ, Our King.

While the feast in the Ordinary Form has been given an eschatological bent, that is in effect put off until the end of time or the end of the world, our celebration of this feast in the Extraordinary Form gives this feast an imminent slant.

This is not presented as a “nice idea.” Rather, right here and right now … Jesus Christ must rule over everything and everyone. That was what Pope Pius XI was calling on the laity back ninety-one (91) years ago, and that message is the same today.

During the Christero War in Mexico which began the following year, the persecuted Christians would proclaim “Viva Christo Rey!” … that is, “Long Live Christ the King!”

As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, let us surrender dominion of every aspect of our humanity to Christ, and to Christ alone.

May our every thought and action be subject to the power of Christ, and may our lives reflect the motto of the Christeros: Long Live Christ the King!

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31st Sunday in Ordinary Time @ St. Apollinaris Church

HOMILY - 31TH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME
OCTOBER 30, 2016
7:30 AM, 9:00 AM, 5:30 PM (SUN) ORDINARY FORM MASSES

Born in 1859, English poet and mystic Francis Thompson spent most of his life as a homeless addict on the streets of London. Only toward the end of his life did he finally publish his poetry, among which was the poem titled The Hound of Heaven.

While this name may seem strange or startling, the poem presents the image of God as a hound chasing its quarry … “never ceasing in its running, ever drawing nearer in the chase”. It describes the pursuit of a wayward soul by the grace of Divine salvation.

Such is the desire of “God our savior, who wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth.” as we hear in the second chapter of the Second Letter of Blessed Paul to Saint Timothy.

We are probably not accustomed to visualizing God as a relentless beast stalking an errant soul fleeing toward sin … but there is a strong element of truth in this image of the infinite desire of God almighty racing to save each and every one of us.

Thompson’s imagery influenced several 20th century authors, namely Chesterton, Tolkien, and L’Engle to name a few.

When we are wont to despair of God’s presence, it can help us to realize that God is in all actuality pursuing us while we are running away from His grace. But God is not to be avoided so easily … such is His immense and unending love for all mankind.

Today is the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time.

In the Gospel, we hear the familiar story of Zacchaeus. The chief tax collector who, it would seem, is pursuing his own desire to catch a glimpse of our Savior who is moving through a crowd.

Here we see the arrogant and self-important senior agent of the hated Roman Empire hurrying … No! … running like a child … and equally childish-ly, climbing a tree to get a better look. The sophisticated government official becomes a child in order to achieve his simple goal.

Yet, in his hiding place … literally up in a tree … Zacchaeus is far from hidden. For we hear in Saint Luke’s Gospel that:
Jesus looked up and said,“Zacchaeus, come down quickly, fortoday I must stay at your house.”

And so, he who was lost … or hidden … or hiding … becomes, not only found … but commanded by Christ Himself. Zacchaeus becomes not the host of the Son of God, but in a turn of events he becomes the servant of Christ the Lord.

While Zacchaeus was drawn simply to gaze upon … to catch a glimpse of Jesus, Our Lord had greater plans for Zacchaeus … taking the smallest desire on the part of Zacchaeus and aligning it with His own greater Divine plan of salvation.

And so it is with us as well.

While we may merely be exploring, studying, or seeking to deepen our own Faith walk with Christ … He is pursuing us at high speed with a persistence and a passion far beyond our own wishes or desires.

Similar to the story of Zacchaeus, Christ desires not only to save and redeem us, but deeply desires to take up residence in our homes … in our hearts … and in our lives.

As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, let us gaze upon Christ … He who has saved and redeemed us. May we recognize that He is pursuing us … in His deep desire to bring us into His own loving care.

May we turn toward Christ and accept His offer of salvation … so that as adopted children of God the Father, we might allow Christ into our selves and permit Him to truly save us … filling us with the grace and the power of the Holy Spirit.

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30th Sunday in Ordinary Time @ St. Apollinaris Church

HOMILY - 30TH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME
OCTOBER 22-23, 2016
4:30 PM (SAT), 10:30 AM (SUN) ORDINARY FORM MASSES

Restorative justice is an approach to jurisprudence that focuses on on the needs of both victims and offenders as well as involving the whole community. This differs from traditional – or adversarial – justice, where the focus is on what laws have been broken, who has committed the crime, and what is an appropriate punishment.

Restorative justice looks to allow anyone and everyone who may have been affected by the situation to discuss how the injustice has affected them and what should be done to repair the harm.
In restorative justice, the focus is on healing relationships, not on punishment.

Today is the 30th Sunday of Ordinary Time.

In today’s First Reading, we hear that God is a God of justice.

Because of our own familiarity with our the American justice system – whether through actual personal contact or through television or movies – we tend to think of justice as adversarial and based on punishment.

Yet, when the Bible speaks of justice, the Hebrew word is tsediq which is rendered in Greek as dikiasune. In the original languages, both of these words imply more of a restorative form of justice … that is, a restoration of the individual to right relationship with God, His Law, and His Holy People.

St. Paul, in the Second Letter to Timothy, speaks of his own right relationship with God, and his own focus – with his own execution looming in front of him – on Divine Justice as opposed to human justice.

In the Gospel, from the 18th chapter of St. Luke, Our Lord tells the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector.

Tax collectors in the First Century were local agents of the Roman Empire – traitors to their own people. On top of this, most of them were also corrupt – demanding more than was appropriate in order to line their own pockets.

In the parable, Jesus tells us that it was the tax collector who went home justified, and not the Pharisee.

Of interest is how Our Lord explains that the Pharisee “spoke this prayer to himself” … that is, he was praying to himself … whereas the tax collector offered a humble prayer to God … fully recognizing his sinfulness.

It is imperative, in our own prayer life, that we first recognize our place before God. Knowing that He is God, and we are not. And as the God of Justice … of Righteousness … God desires us to be in right relationship to Him, and to Him alone … anything else and we are worshipping ourselves.

God’s justice seeks to restore us … to redeem us … to save us … from sin and its effects. While Hell may or may not be a place, the punishments come more from the eternal loss of any relationship with God – and by extension, the loss of everything that is good, true, or beautiful.

As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ … let us humble ourselves before our God … the Father Almighty who has sent us His Son to restore our relationship to God and who has sent the Holy Spirit to form us anew through the Sacraments. Let us hear and act on the words of Christ at the end of today’s Gospel:

[that] whoever exalts himself will be humbled, / and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.

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