17th Sunday in Ordinary Time @ St. Vincent de Paul Parish

HOMILY - 17TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
JULY 27-28, 2019
5:00 PM (SAT), 7:30 AM, 9:00 AM, 10:30 AM (SUN) ORDINARY FORM MASSES



Child development stages are theoretical milestones that involve studying patterns of growth and development. While each child develops in a unique way, there are general patterns of development despite wide variations between individual children.

For instance, most children over a couple of months begin to hold their head up, followed by rolling, grasping, sitting, crawling, standing, walking, climbing, and running. These stages represent motor development over the course of about two years.



Or, regarding speech milestones, a child will coo and babble, laugh, make vowel sounds, then syllables, perhaps musically, begin saying words, making up words, and then joining words – working up to sentences, questions, and eventual fluency over the course of 4 or 5 years.

There are also physical milestones in regards to length, weight, and proportion.

What is remarkable about this, is it’s relative consistency among humans. There is no course on walking or talking. No textbooks or classrooms. Rather, the home and the world – daily life and family interaction – for the most part – results in a reasonably normal child after a couple of years.



Today is the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

In the Gospel from St. Luke chapter 11, we hear one of the disciples ask Our Lord,

Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.

What we hear in Luke’s Gospel is a bit of a reduced version of what is recorded in St. Matthew’s Gospel – what we know as the Lord’s Prayer, which we we all recite together at the beginning of the Communion Rite today at Mass.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church calls the Lord’s Prayer “truly the summary of the whole Gospel.”

Most analyses of the Our Father prayer consider that there are 7 petitions. And while quite a bit of ink has been spent on how the prayer is being translated into modern Italian, the English translation dates from the middle 17th century with minor early 20th century revisions.



This part of Luke’s Gospel follows immediately on the heels of last week’s reading which ended:

Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things.There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.

It could, perhaps, be posited that the “one thing” … “the better part” … in last week’s Gospel is an admonition to greater prayer – emphasizing the primacy of prayer in the life of a follower of Christ.



In His response to the disciple, Jesus first gives the “Our Father” as a pattern of prayer. The prayer we all memorized as children, which we can recite – perhaps without too much thought (for better or for worse) – consisting of an introduction and seven petitions.

Jesus then goes on to speak of the need for persistence in prayer, and finishes by indicating the promises to those who pray.

The requirements of prayer are (1) a recitation – a prayer can be spoken audibly or recited internally … in the mind … from the heart. (2) Prayer requires a relationship – we are praying to someone; and that someone is God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit … with whom we have some sort of relationship through Baptism and the life of grace. (3) There are responsibilities we take on in prayer – to live within God’s will, to abide in His kingdom, to forgive others as He has forgiven us. And finally, (4) there are the rewards of prayer – the graces, mercies, and strengths we receive daily from Almighty God.



As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, let us enter into the Lord’s prayer – as a summary of the Gospel, but also as a “school of prayer.” Let us commit to deepen our own life of prayer … every day … as God’s blessed children, members of Christ, and vessels of the Holy Spirit.

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time @ St. Vincent de Paul Parish

HOMILY - 15TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
JULY 13-14, 2019
5:00 PM (SAT), 7:30 AM, 9:00 AM, 10:30 AM (SUN) ORDINARY FORM MASSES



Ikkyu Sojun was a Zen Buddhist monk and poet from the Muromachi period of Japanese history. He was born at the end of the 14th century, and lived 87 years.

He was known to be a bit of an iconoclast – going outside of the boundaries of normal polite society – and was considered as a bit of an eccentric as well. He was also a bit of a troublemaker – drinking too much, living outside his temple, in a word: mischievous.



While he was made the dharma heir – that is the lawful successor – to his own master … within the Rinzai sect – to which he belonged – he is considered both a saint and a heretic.
He wrote his poetry in classical Chinese. One of which is:

Many paths lead from
The foot of the mountain,
But at the peak
We all gaze at the
Single bright moon.

Today is the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time.



St. Paul in his Epistle to the Colossians, speaks on the pre-eminence of Christ in four distinct points:

Christ is Savior,Christ is Creator,Christ is Head of the Church,Christ is the Beloved of the Father.

In this particular section, St. Paul develops a very emphatic Christology – that is, a solid theological defense – against those who might consider Jesus to be merely “a way, a truth, and a life” as opposed to “the Way, the Truth, and the Life.”



In the Gospel, we hear the familiar story of the Good Samaritan. While the story is known to us, perhaps we may miss what goes before the parable – which is Jesus’s response to a challenge from a scholar of the law asking how to obtain eternal life.

Jesus answers the question with a question, and the man’s response is the prayer known to pious Jews as the Sh’ma Yisrael – from its first two words. In Hebrew, the prayer is:

שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָֽד
Sh'ma Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Eḥad.

That is,

Hear, O Israel: the LORD is our God, the LORD is One.

This prayer is the centerpiece of Jewish morning and evening prayer. It’s twice-daily recitation is considered a mitzvah – a religious commandment. It’s meaning is simple – a profession of faith in the One God, and an acknowledgement of the Kingship of God.



The Old Testament reading from the end of Deuteronomy has Moses re-iterating the Law for the people of Israel. He points out that they have a choice to accept the Law and receive the blessings of God, or to reject it and recieve a curse.

In a short time, we will all make our own Profession of Faith – in the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed. We will profess our faith in One God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; and our belief in One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.



Yet, this is not a question of rigidity on our own part, but rather our acceptance that God has revealed the Truth through His Son Jesus Christ and has established a Church through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Just before today’s reading from the Letter to the Colossians, St. Paul offers a prayer for spiritual intelligence, practical obedience, and moral excellence. We would do well to imitate his prayer and conform our minds, our wills, and our lives to Christ Jesus.



In regard to Ikkyu Sojun, there is indeed one mountain – one God. And for those who are called by God, in Christ through Holy Baptism, we each possess a unique vocation – an individual path of grace in our own daily ascent to God – as we work to grow in holiness and virtue.

As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, let us pray to not neglect our call. Let us pray that the graces we receive in this Eucharist today may unite us more closely with Christ and His Church, and through the power of the Holy Spirit, may we offer ourselves to God as an acceptable sacrifice.

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time @ St. Vincent de Paul Parish

HOMILY - 14TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
JULY 6-7, 2019
5:00 PM (SAT), 7:30 AM, 9:00 AM, 10:30 AM (SUN) ORDINARY FORM MASSES



The Temple of Concordia in Agrigento, Sicily, is the best preserved Greek temple, of the Doric style, in the world next to the Parthenon, in Greece.

For the record, Concordia is the illegitimate love child of the god Mars and the goddess Venus.



Many of the stories about the Greek gods and goddesses seem to have filled the role in the ancient world of modern day soap operas. The goddess Venus was married to the god Vulcan, but was having an affair with the god Mars. So, the children of Venus and Mars were Phobos and Deimos – the gods of fear and terror, respectively – as well as Concordia, the goddess of harmony; and the Cupids – winged deities representing the many facets of love.



She was thus often associated with the “Pax Romana” – representing a stable and harmonious society.

The Temple of Concordia was built in the 5th century BC, and nearly 1,000 years later in the 6th century AD was converted into a Christian basilica dedicated to the apostles Peter and Paul.
Twelve hundred [1200] years later, it was the Christian refurbishments were removed, and the original temple restored.

Today is the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time.



In the first reading from the Prophet Isaiah, we hear the Lord God say, through the prophet:

I will spread prosperity over Jerusalem like a river,
and the wealth of the nations like an overflowing torrent.

The word translated as “prosperity” is the Hebrew word “shalom” which is often translated as “peace” – which, indeed, it is; both in the King James translation and the Douay Rheims as well.

In the Epistle of St. Paul to the Galatians, he tells them – and us as well, to:

never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.

And to “all who follow this rule” he prays that they receive “[p]eace and mercy”.

St. Luke’s Gospel is the story of the sending of the seventy-two [72] “others” … “whom” … “the Lord appointed … [and] sent ahead of him in pairs”. They are instructed to go forth and upon entering a house to say:

'Peace to this household.'[And i]f a peaceful person lives there,
[their] peace will rest on him;
but if not, it will return to [them]. 

Now this word “peace” for us as 21st century American elicits thoughts of “peace talks,” “peace and love,” and perhaps “world peace.”



And this reflects as distinctly Western view of peace. Our culture is descended from the Roman empire, and in the language of the Romans – Latin – the word for peace is “pax,” which while meaning “peace” also carries the meanings of “truce” and “treaty.”



The letter of St. Paul was written in Greek, and the Greek word for peace is “eirene,” which while meaning “peace” also can mean “peace of mind,” “unity,” “quiet,” and “rest.”



And in Isaiah, we hear the Hebrew word, “shalom” which means “peace,” but also means “prosperity,” “completeness,” “soundness,” and “welfare.”

This presents us with many layers, and many flavors of “peace” which we can contemplate and digest. And perhaps, the best admonition is found in the Gospel Acclamation – sandwiched between the Alleluias we hear:

Let the peace of Christ [rule in] your hearts;
[and] let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.

As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, let us pray to receive the graces of peace – many layered and with many meanings – so that this Fruit of the Holy Spirit may rule in our hearts, and in our minds, and in our souls.

Trinity Sunday @ St. Apollinaris Parish

HOMILY - TRINITY SUNDAY
JUNE 15/16, 2019
4:30 (SAT), 9:00 AM ORDINARY FORM (ENGLISH) MASSES

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 songs that when joined together is 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.

Today is Trinity Sunday.

While many aspects of the Roman Liturgy have included the Trinity – namely in doxologies, Sunday prefaces, a particular Sunday honoring the Trinity was not included in the calendar until Pope John XXII (the twenty-second) in the early 14th century.

The feast was elevated 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, 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.

Even the disciples are constantly confused by all of the things Jesus is trying to tell them.

Or else 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 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 approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ – 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.

6th Sunday OT @ St. Apollinaris Parish

HOMILY - SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
MAY 26, 2019
10:30 AM ORDINARY FORM (ENGLISH) MASSES



The United States Bill of Rights is made up of the first 10 Amendments to the US Constitution, which add to the Constitution certain guarantees of personal rights and freedoms. They are based on previous, similar documents – among them the Virginia Declaration of Rights from 1776, The English Bill of Rights from 1689, and the Magna Carta from 1215.

The First Amendment was approved on December 15, 1791 and states:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

The first part of this amendment – covering Freedom of Religion – remains hotly debated to this day. Does this mean a wall or hedge of “separation of church and state?” as Thomas Jefferson proposed 10 years later? Or can it be reduced to “freedom of worship” as envisioned by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1941?

Presently, there are 27 ratified amendments to the US Constitution, and six unratified proposed amendments still outstanding.



Today is the 6th Sunday of Easter.

We continue to move through the Acts of the Apostles, the Book of Revelation, and the Last Supper discourses of Jesus in John’s Gospel.

In the Book of Revelation Chapter 21, we hear of John’s vision of the “holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God.” John notes further along that he “saw no temple in the city for its temple is the Lord God almighty and the Lamb.”

Our reading today is missing seven verses in the middle which describe this city as a fascinating construction of jewels and gems. But perhaps most fascinating is its size, which would be 1,500 miles square. This is roughly the distance from San Francisco to Nebraska, or from North Dakota to Texas.

In other words, this isn’t a city – this is a country!

The other feature is that the holy city is not merely the home of the Bride of Christ. Rather, this city itself is the Bride of Christ. So it isn’t made up of buildings – the holy city is made up of people.
And while John “saw no temple in the city” this was because the “temple is the Lord God almighty and the Lamb.”

Instead of a separation of Church and State, what John sees is a city – which is big enough to be a country – coming down from God, and God Himself is the temple, from whom and out of whom the city itself has descended.

In a sense, what John is seeing is an unimaginable unity between God and man, and between Christ and His Bride, the Church.

In the first reading from Acts, we hear of the First Council (ever) of the Church. Yet St. Peter doesn’t indicate that things went to a vote, or that the Apostles lobbied or politicked for various positions. Rather, Peter says:

It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us …

implying that this unity seen by John in Revelation is already in place.

For ourselves, we tend to impose human and worldly models on the Church, which can cause separation from God and division among the people of God.



In the Gospel, Jesus bestows “peace” on the Apostles, that is – upon the Church. And this is not a worldly peace but a heavenly peace.

Perhaps a good rule of thumb in distinguishing the two is that the world’s peace (or the lack of peace) is more often than not based on resources or the lack of resources … while Christ’s peace – the peace that comes from God – is based upon relationships.

In all of this, we can be assured that through Holy Baptism we share in the divine life of the Most Holy Trinity … through Confirmation we have received the fullness of the Holy Spirit … and through the Eucharist we receive Jesus Christ, Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity.

May the Eucharist we receive today incorporate us more and more into Christ and His Church. And may God’s saving grace draw us deeper into our relationship with Him – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – every day … and every moment of our lives.

5th Sunday of Easter @ St. Apollinaris Parish

HOMILY - FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
MAY 4 - 5, 2019
4:30 PM (SAT), 7:30 AM, 9:00 AM ORDINARY FORM (ENGLISH) MASSES



The traditional rhyme: “Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue,” is pretty much known to every wedding couple.

Its origins are lost in antiquity, but it seems to have come out of England and Wales as a response to superstitions about curses being placed on brides and grooms by jealous spinsters and jilted suitors.

In a more contemporary way, it is symbolic, and reminds a couple entering into marriage to remember where they have come from, to look forward with eager anticipation to the future, to share their joys and sorrows with friends and family, and that the sky is the limit in regards to their dreams and aspirations.

This is good advice for anyone, really, who is embarking on any new endeavor. And is something we should all remember as we journey through life.



Today is the Fifth Sunday of Easter.

And as we progress through the Easter Season, we have been “channel surfing” through the Acts of the Apostles and the Book of Revelation. Today, we find ourselves just past the middle part of Acts, and almost at the end of the Book of Revelation.

In today’s reading from Revelation, we hear about “a new heaven and a new earth” and the

holy city, [the] new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 

And how “God’s dwelling is with … his people” … as “the old order pass[es] away … [t]he one on the throne … make[s] all things new.”



It is important for us to not only remember the symbolism of Revelation, but to recognize that this is a living part of the “consummation” and “accomplishment” of Christ’s mission – what He spoke of from the Cross, and what he will speak of in the next few verses in Revelation.

This is the “becoming” that we experience every day as we allow God’s grace, mercy, and love to “dwell with [us]” more and more.

This comes about in us through the “strengthen[ing of our] spirits” and our “persever[ance] in … faith” as we recognize that despite “many hardships” in this world here and now, our ultimate goal is “to enter the kingdom of God” and to reign with Christ for eternity.



We do this by seeking, not our own glory, but the glory of God. And in today’s Gospel we hear that “God is glorified” through, with, and in Christ Jesus when we “love one another” as He has loved us.

Not a schmalzy love. Not a selfish love. Not a shallow love, or cheap love. But a sacrificial and a divine love. A love that perseveres from all eternity and for all eternity. A love that shares itself without reservation. A love that sets no limits and knows no limits.

Difficult? Yes. Impossible? For human beings, yes. But with God, all things are possible. And we must allow God to always dwell in us.



Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Eucharist are the Sacraments of Initiation … the Sacraments that incorporate us into the Body of Christ … as the Church … the Bride of Christ … in the Kingdom of God.

We must never lose sight of what these Sacraments are – living signs of our union with Christ – and sources of divine grace for us to transcend our human weaknesses … to live as the sons and daughters of God.

As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ … let us never let go of the infinite and transforming graces … which give us the power to live out that “new” commandment … which identifies us as disciples of Jesus Christ.

“As [he has] loved [us], so [we] also should love one another.”

3rd Sunday of Easter @ St. Apollinaris Parish

HOMILY - THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER
MAY 4 - 5, 2019
4:30 PM (SAT), 7:30 AM, 9:00 AM ORDINARY FORM (ENGLISH) MASSES



Antiques Roadshow is a television program broadcast on PBS (the Public Broadcast Service) and has been in production for 22 years. It’s based on a British television program by the same name that has been around since 1979.

The program features regular people who bring in their antiques for appraisal by experts … who discuss provenance, history, and finally the value of the items.



The highest valued item ever on the show was a 1904 Diego Rivera oil painting titled El Albañil – The Bricklayer – painted when the artist was 18 years old. It was thought to have been lost, but was in the possession of the family in Corpus Christi, Texas – who had purchased it in the 1940s, but were originally told it was a fake, and then later determined that it was worth between 1 and 2 million dollars.

There are also plenty of spin-off shows of a similar bent, among them Pawn Stars, American Pickers, Storage Wars, and many others.



Today is the Third Sunday of Easter.

Our readings focus in on the value of our redemption in Christ Jesus.

The first reading from Acts, Peter and the apostles are ordered by the religious authorities of their day to stop talking about Jesus. In the eyes of those in charge, it’s just not worth it to cause so much trouble over one man.



Yet filled with the Holy Spirit, the Apostles reply:

We must obey God rather than men.

A human appraisal of the things of God often comes up short. Only by relying on the Holy Spirit can we assess the true value of the Divine gifts of grace that we have all received.



In the Gospel, Our Lord reverses Peter’s triple denial that we heard during Holy Week – three times asking him “Do you love me?”

Two aspects of the Gospel reading may give us pause – the phrase “more than these” and the miraculous catch of fish numbering 153.



There are plenty of theories, and I won’t bore you with all of them. But one of the ideas on the number has always been the number of beads on a traditional Rosary. Another is that it is the two perfect numbers: 7 and 10 … added together … and multiplied by 3 times 3 (that is, 9). So it is “fullness” (in 7) and “perfection” (in 10) times the thrice holy three Persons of the Holy Trinity.

The phrase “more than these” has been analyzed by Scripture and biblical scholars for years. The question being, is Jesus asking Peter about his friendship with the other apostles? Or his brothers James and John? Or something else?

I would propose that it is all of these and more – namely, anything that takes us away from total union with Jesus Christ … as members of His mystical Body.



Finally, we have in the second reading, the continued vision of St. John in the Book of Revelation … where today a “countless … number” of “angels … living creatures and … elders” sing “a new hymn” declaring “the Lamb that was slain” as “worthy.”

The Greek word here is “axios” – which means “worthy” And in the branch of philosophy called “axiology” we find the study and analysis of values, ethics, conduct, beauty, and harmony.



Christ alone is “worthy” because as the Son of God – He alone shows us the value of our humanity – not only in taking it on in His own Person through the Incarnation … but also by His passion, death, and resurrection – which brings us into the fullness of redemption … buying us back from the worthless things we had given ourselves over to.

As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, let us pray that through our share in His divinity – given to us in Baptism – we might strive to grow in relationship to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – and that we may be made … day by day … and more and more … worthy of our redemption in Christ Jesus our Lord.